UC Berkeley’s Center for Japanese Studies has released a bevy of new details about Hayao Miyazaki’s visit to the campus next month, and so far it’s looking spectacular. From PFA screenings to a film premiere and rare live appearance from the man himself, the program looks to capture all facets of the filmmaker’s celebrated body of work, including the ideas and issues that drive his cinematic sensibilities. Full details up ahead.

A side note: “Spirited Away” snagged an Oscar for Best Animated Feature back in 2002. Guess who was there to accept the award? Not Miyazaki. (Just to show how significant this US visit will be and, above all, how fortunate we are to have a director of this stature grace the Berkeley campus.)

Without further ado, the program of events: (Click here to read more…)

Riding the current wave of pre-spring break student-run shows that have played on campus in the last few weeks is an intriguing production that has been more than a year in the making– a classic work brought to Durham Studio Theater by a dedicated group of students.  When I say classic I don’t mean classic like “Gone With the Wind” or Coca Cola; I mean classic as in old and Greek, as in ‘The Classics Department.’ The show is of course Euripides’  tragedy, “Hippolytus.”  Here’s the catch: It’s all performed in Ancient Greek, with the English translations projected above the stage. How many people even get to hear ancient Greek pronounced in their lifetimes? Not too many. It gets even better–tickets are 100 percent free.

(Click here to read more…)

In a few minutes, “The Big Bang Theory” will start on CBS, and I can give you one blue and gold reason to tune in--George Smoot. He might not be a pop superstar like Britney Spears, but this man is a Nobel laureate in physics who teaches that very subject here at our humble little university. He is a big fan of the show, supposedly, and wrote and emailed until he was granted an appearance. Very exciting!

P.S. Special bonus for any reader who can name the show following “The Big Bang Theory.” Blog high-five!