Light in Winter festival

The eighth annual "Light in Winter" continues with such events as:

• "The Lost World," Jan. 22, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Statler Auditorium, a 1925 silent film screening with live music by Alloy Orchestra, preceded by a talk on imagining dinosaurs by Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution and professor of paleontology at Cornell.

• "The Physics of Star Trek," Jan. 22 at 2:30 p.m., Statler Auditorium. Astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University, will talk about the plausibility of warp speed, time travel and humanoid aliens.

• The Hall of Wonders, Jan. 23, noon-4 p.m. at the Statler Atrium, a science and museum fair featuring math and computer puzzles, the fractal construction of quilting, artwork and animals.

• A celebration of the 30th anniversary of "Cosmos," the television series created by and starring the late Carl Sagan. Lecture by son Nick Sagan and music by John Boswell, Jan. 23, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Statler Auditorium.

• Dark Dining Project. A four-course meal and wine tasting with musical accompaniment -- and guests blindfolded -- will be held at Taverna Banfi, Statler Hotel, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Information, prices and tickets: http://www.lightinwinter.com.

Employee Celebration

Tickets for the winter Employee Celebration, Feb. 12, are on sale until Feb. 4.

Sporting events will include wrestling vs. Princeton University, 1 p.m.; gymnastics vs. Ithaca College, 1 p.m.; women's ice hockey vs. Yale University, 4 p.m.; men's basketball vs. Princeton University, 7 p.m.

A Cornell community dinner will be held in the Ramin Room, Bartels Hall, 4:30-7 p.m. and will feature chicken parmesan, baked ziti with Italian cheeses and children's activities. Free parking at Hoy Garage and Crescent Lot.

Tickets are $5 and include the dinner and admission for the athletic events. For either the dinner or the athletic events, tickets are $3. For tickets, visit the Athletics Department Ticket Office, Bartels Hall (bring CU ID) or call 607-255-4247.

New season of folk music

WVBR's "Bound for Glory" begins its spring season with folk singer-songwriter Bill Staines, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m., Anabel Taylor Café. For more than 40 years, Staines has performed at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs and coffeehouses. Free and open to all. The concert will also broadcast live at WVBR.

New exhibits

The Johnson Museum's opening reception for winter exhibits will be Jan. 26, 5-7 p.m., with music, food and art activities. Prior to the reception, a gallery talk at 4:30 p.m. will focus on "Unpacking the Nano," an exhibit of India's new car that opened Jan. 15. Exhibits opening Jan. 22: "Salvatore Grippi: Selected Works, 1945-2009," including works from the founder of the painting department at Ithaca College; "Splendor of Dynamic Structure: Celebrating 75 Years of the American Abstract Artists," a group that formed in 1936; and "The Stories Objects Tell: Life in Latin America Before Columbus," which includes stone sculpture, ceramics, jewelry and textiles. Information: http://museum.cornell.edu/.

Cinema at the Straight

"Howl" recounts poet and counter-culture adventurer Alan Ginsberg's road trips, love affairs and search for personal liberation as well as the trial to ban his poem of the same name. Shows Jan. 25 at 7:15 p.m., Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. and Jan. 28 at 9:30 p.m.

"Inside Job," revealing the truth behind the financial meltdown of 2008, will show Jan. 26 at 7 p.m., with a post-screening discussion by Law School Professor Robert C. Hockett.

Yunte Huang, Society for the Humanities fellow, will introduce "Shanghai Express," starring Marlene Dietrich and Anna May Wong, Jan. 27 at 7:15. Tickets and information: http://cinema.cornell.edu.

Glee Club returns

The Cornell University Glee Club will present its "Return From Tour" Concert, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m., Sage Chapel, conducted by Scott Tucker with Director Emeritus Thomas A. Sokol and including premieres by Glee Club alums David Lefkowitz '86 and David Conte, D.M.A. '83. The Hangovers will present original arrangements of popular music, and the concert will close with Cornell songs. Tickets: http://www.gleeclub.com/events/2011catour/.

All about Schoenberg

A "Schoenberg's Playlist" festival has been organized by pianist and associate professor of music Xak Bjerken, Jan. 27-30. The playlist will feature concerts with such guest artists as the Daedalus Quartet and mezzo-soprano Rachel Calloway, showcasing works by Schoenberg and his contemporaries; as well as colloquium talks, preconcert lectures and a museum event Jan. 28 with music, food and art. The final concert is Jan. 30 at 3 p.m., Barnes Auditorium, featuring works by Korngold, Debussy and Schoenberg. All events are free and open to the public. Information: http://music.cornell.edu/calendar/.

Literary Luncheon

Fiction writer Stewart O'Nan, M.F.A. '92, will be the featured author at the next Literary Luncheon, Feb. 4 at the Cayuga Heights residence of Professor Robin Davisson and President David Skorton.

O'Nan had worked as a structural engineer before deciding to pursue a writing career. His new novel, "Emily, Alone," will be published in March by Viking.

A light lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., with O'Nan's presentation at noon. The event is free and open to the first 25 people who respond by Jan. 28 to special-events@cornell.edu.