Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: August 19

Dozens of events this weekend and in the coming week to keep you very busy!

Published

15 years ago

August 19, 2011

Today

“American Idol’s” top 11 contestants are making at stop in D.C. at the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $45 to $65 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.

Zenith Gallery presents “Character of Chevy Chase” at the Chevy Chase Pavilion (5335 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) featuring works by Kim Abraham, Harmon Biddle, Deborah Brisker Burk, Lou Kaplan, Carol Gellner Levin and Joan Samworth. The gallery, on the second floor, is open from noon to 6 p.m.

Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) presents “Pop!” a musical murder-mystery by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Anna K. Jacobs which peeks inside the artistic revelry of Andy Warhol’s infamous Factory, today at 8:30 p.m. Tickets range from $35 to $50 and can be purchased online. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit studiotheatre.org.

Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave.) in Arlington presents “The Marcy and Zina Show” starring Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich as part of its 2011-2012 cabaret series tonight at 8:30 p.m. There will be another performance Saturday at the same time. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online by visiting signature-theatre.org.

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) has two exhibits on display, MiniSolos@Touchstone, which features the work of 37 area artists and a small companion show, Summer Sampler, which features works by the gallery’s members, which will run through Aug. 27. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 20

Brightest Young Things is teaming up with BYGays for fashion camp today from noon to 8 p.m. at the Capitol Skyline Hotel (10 I St., S.W.) with DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer. There is a $15 cover.

Rock & Roll Hotel (1353 H St., N.E.) is celebrating its fifth anniversary and Mixtape is taking over both floors to throw its closing party tonight from 9 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. with guest DJS vANNIEty Kills and Cale. There is a $7 cover or $5 with a BYGays Pool Party wristband. Attendees must be 21 or older.

There will be two performances of the Olney Theatre Center’s (3001 Olney-Sandy Spring Rd.) production of “Grease” directed by Bobby Smith today at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets range from $26 to $49 and can be purchased online at olneytheatre.org. The show has been extended to run through Sept. 4.

Sydney Theatre Company returns with an exclusive U.S. engagement of Andrew Upton’s tragicomedy “Uncle Vanya” starring Oscar winning actress Cate Blanchett, today at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.). Tickets range from $59 to $135 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.

DJ Theresa, who plays the bongos live as she spins, will be playing at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight at 10 p.m. with Wess providing music and video downstairs. There is a $8 cover from 10 to 11 p.m. which then goes up to $12. All attendees must be 21 or older.

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers help with Books Plus, the nonprofit library store at MLK Jr. Memorial D.C. Public Library (901 G St., N.W.) today. Volunteers will be unpacking boxes, selecting interesting titles and sorting them by category on book carts. Volunteers will get special pricing and dibs on books they would like to purchase. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

Sunday, Aug. 21

The Beach Boys will be performing at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna today at 3 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $38 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.

The musical “Wicked” will be performed at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) today at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. “Wicked” tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, before Dorothy landed in Oz. Tickets range from $37 to $250 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org, though mostly only the pricier tickets remain available.

Monday, Aug. 22

SAGE Metro D.C. is holding its monthly meeting tonight from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).

Tuesday, Aug. 23

Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.).

Maryland’s first gay legislator, Sen. Rich Madaleno, will be at Nellie’s tonight for a friend, host and sponsor reception to help pass same-sex marriage in Maryland at 7 p.m. followed by drag bingo from 8 to 10 p.m. For more information and to donate, visit actblue.com/page/richmadaleno.

Wednesday, Aug. 24

Busboys & Poets is having its monthly book club at its Shirlington location (4251 South Campbell Ave.) in Arlington tonight at 7 p.m. The group will be discussing Alice Walker’s “The Chicken Chronicles.”

Green Lantern (1331 Green Court, N.W.) will host the weekly Poz D.C. happy hour upstairs from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Train and Maroon 5 will be performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion (10475 Little Patuxent Parkway) in Columbia, Md., tonight. Tickets range from $40.50 to $75.50 and can be purchased online at merriweathermusic.com. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 25

The Temptations and The Four Tops will be performing at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna, Va., tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $22 to $38 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.

Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) is having its monthly meeting tonight in the main room at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington will be opening for Del Shores’ “Sordid Confessions” tonight at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) at 9 p.m. Tickets range from $15 to $20 and can be purchased online at delshores.com.

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Books

New book reveals what we can learn from animal sex

‘Poking the Squid’ on homosexuality, gender swapping, and more

Published

15 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy W.W. Norton)

‘Poking the Squid: What We Can Learn from Animal Sex’
By Perrin Roosevelt Ireland
c.2026, W.W. Norton
$29.99 241 pages

Birds do it.

According to Cole Porter, bees do, too, but it’s not exactly what he imagined. Wild and tame, avians, insects, and mammals all have sex – although not always as you’ve been told or for reasons you might think. Even educated fleas do it and, as in the new book, “Poking the Squid” by Perrin Roosevelt Ireland, humans can learn from them all.

If you read through scientific papers on animal reproduction, you might notice something unusual: for scientists, the word “sex” means a lot of different things.

Says Ireland, “It’s used to describe behaviors, biology, life histories, and more.”

That might be because animals are not simply binary.

Take, for instance, hyenas. It’s easy for the casual observer to mistake a male hyena for a female and vice versa because of stereotypes of anatomy. Mating, for hyenas, requires subordination for the male and a nifty trick on the part of the female’s body to get things done.

Our feathered friends are no birdbrains, either: black-browed albatrosses were once thought to be monogamous but global warming seems to have changed their nesting habits sometimes. Male flamingos have sex with one another, as a territorial thing; other birds and animals form same-sex pairs for other reasons.

The Chinese mantis eats her mate after fertilization. Female snakes, alpacas, guinea pigs, and monkeys are anatomically able to enjoy sex. Genitalia between species varies quite a bit; in fact, the vaginas of ducks “are highly complex.” Lionesses will mate up to 100 times when in heat. Female damselflies will change into a “third sex” to avoid overly aggressive mating males. Bearded dragons can change their sex, if needed, as can yellow clown goby fish. And seahorse pregnancy and birth sparked a book banning in Tennessee.

So, asks Ireland, if animals, including us, vary so much in biology and life, “… why are we using the word sex like it means something, anything, consistent?!”

Pick up “Poking the Squid,” page through it a few seconds, and you’ll see that the information here is largely told through cartoon-like drawings mixed with captions. It seems to be something on the lighter side, but don’t let that artwork fool you.

Author Perrin Roosevelt Ireland offers readers solid information that cozies up to the scholarly, with hard science, philosophy, feminism, and quotations from researchers to support it, thus furthering the narrative and hitting the points squarely. If you see the art and expect something lighthearted, comic, and small-talk-worthy, you could be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you want solid, wryly serious facts, you’re in for a treat.

There’s lots of learning to be gleaned here, and some slight nudge-wink whimsy to emphasize the absurdity of wrong-headed thinking. This can make readers feel like they’re in-the-know on the jokes, and the playfulness balances the seriousness of the information well.

So, serious, scholarly, or slightly silly, none of these are negative but you’re going to know what you want from a book like this. For the right reader, someone in the mood, “Poking the Squid” is wild.

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