Saturday's lineup for Pygmalion LitFest is non-stop for most of the day, noon til 8 p.m. Solidly in the middle (around the time waking up is less offensive) at 3:30 p.m.,  will sit a special session of the Reading Room, a series that has regularly been happening at the Accord. Since the official schedule has been saying "TBA", I bring you the "A": 

• Ben Miller, poet
• Michael Hurley, poet
• Katrina Gaffney, author
• Katherine Kendig, author
• Alison Syring Bassford, author

You'll probably be milling around the Book Fort or Made Fest at that point, anyway, and this Reading Room will be outside, so swing by and take a listen. 

Sylvia's Irish Inn, a B&B at 312 W Green Street, Urbana, is hosting a Greek dinner for the second time this year at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 1st. 

Tickets are $40 each, and reservations are required. Call 217- 384- 4800 to get your seat(s). Check out the menu below. 

Appetizers
Spanakopita
Greek Salad
Tzatziki, Hummus, Eggplant Dip & Grilled Pita Bread

Main Course
Roast Lamb
Roast Potatoes
Stewed Green Beans

Dessert
Spiro's Homemade secret

Image from Facebook. 

The Human Library event taking place Thursday, September 22nd, has announced its lineup of books to check out. 

Pictured above is Zaid, who is prepared to let you read about him as a Black Muslim. Below is Joe, who is presenting his story as an Air Force Veteran. 

These are just two of the "titles" that can be checked out for 20 minutes each to discuss the topic they represent. Other stories on the shelf include Female Martial Artist, Male Eating Disorder, Non-veteran PTSD, and Autism Spectrum "DIsorder", among many others. Check out the event's website for the full list of titles. 

Stop by the lobby area of the Colwell Playhouse at Krannert Center tomorrow, any time between 4:30-9:30 p.m. to take a moment and "read" a story. It is free and open to the public, no wristband needed. 

This past Sunday, the News-Gazette published a guest op-ed entitled "Let's help confused kids make healthy life choices." 

The piece, by Joe Gerber, frames transness as a disease, as in the following:

The truth of the matter is that child and family psychologists have done quite a bit of research on transgenderism in youths, and the results are troubling to say the least.

For starters, transgenderism can often be traced back to what psychiatrists call gender dysphoria (formerly known as gender identity disorder), which is the emotional stress caused by the failure to identify with one's biological sex. While gender dysphoria is not considered a mental illness in the psychological literature, it is considered an objective condition of gender/sex misalignment.

Gerber goes on to argue for conversion therapy, claiming "The best option is to pursue clinically sound interventions and therapies that help children self-identify with their biological sex."

Today, the UP Center of Champaign County responded to the N-G's guest op-ed:

The Board of The UP Center of Champaign County is dismayed at the publication of a particularly concerning opinion piece in Sunday’s edition of the News-Gazette. The article in question, entitled “Let’s help confused kids make healthy life choices,” makes a disturbing call for the violent, pseudo-medical procedure colloquially known as “conversion therapy” to be enacted upon trans children. Conversion therapy is illegal in many states, including Illinois, and has no proven medical benefits—something that has been proven by a plethora of peer-reviewed studies. The American Psychiatric Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, The American Counseling Association, The American Medical Association, The American Psychological Association, and The National Association of Social Workers (among many others) have all stated that conversion therapy has devastating physical and psychological for youth, and can even result in the death of the individual forced to endure the “treatment”.

You can read the UP Center's full statement here.

Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners (B2P) is a not-for-profit project that provides recycled books free of charge to Illinois inmates and operates lending libraries at the local jails.

UC B2P is sponsoring a used book sale for one day only on Saturday, October 22, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 5p.m. The sale will be located at the Independent Media Center in the downtown Urbana Post Office building (202 S. Broadway, Urbana). Admission is free. Children’s books $0.25-$1.00, paperbacks $0.50. and hardbacks $2.00.

For more information about Books to Prisoners website here. 

Alternative rock band Elsinore released a new single today, and a video to go along with it. Called "Examples of Magnetism," the song is another guitar-charged track backed by the group's sense of humor, and features a hilarious video directed by John Isberg of Swede Films. This is the next on the list of collaborations between the band and the director, which is always a winning combination. Check out the video below.

Elsinore is releasing the single in time for their Pygmalion performance this Friday, 9/23, where they will join dozens of other artists that are playing over the three days. Tickets are almost gone, so make sure to grab one now.

Arguably Champaign-Urbana's biggest popular musical landmark, American Football house (located at 704 W. High St. in Urbana) has served as the artwork for both American Football's debut, a standard-setter for emo music, and their newest album, set for release after a 17-year hiatus.

A new feature from Vice's music mag Noisey (and local writer Sean Neumann!) has shone a spotlight on the west Urbana house, which rests on a nondescript street full of college students, and includes some really cool nuggets of info from Polyvinyl Records co-founder Matt Lunsford, as well as some familiar faces.

Check out the full feature here, via Noisey.

The amount of unique food and drink options in Champaign-Urbana sure is flourishing - and a prime example of that is Nitro Cup, a new (and mysterious) business that popped up on Twitter today.

Though details on the new business are sparse (no Facebook page, just a Twitter account), there is limited information out there. Apparently, Nitro Cup is a travelling coffee vendor, run out of a bicycle. The coffee will be making it's debut this Thursday at Urbana's Flow in to Fall Yoga Class.

For more information, keep your eyes posted to Nitro Cup's Twitter account.

Hammerhead Coffee, a coffee shop located in the new Latitude Building at 608 E University Ave, Champaign, is now open. 

The coffee shop serves all sorts of coffee beverages (caf and decaf), including cold brew, as well as hot chocolate and teas. Pastry is from Pekara. You can check out the menu here. 

Hours are Monday through Friday,  6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more info, follow Hammerhead on Facebook.

Image from Facebook. 

The Big Ten Network and the University of Illinois tell the story of how one man changed the world for people with disabilities in The Game Changer, a new 30-minute documentary premiering September 22nd. It will air at 8 p.m. CDT or immediately following the Illinois vs. Maryland women’s soccer game, which may move the broadcast earlier or later on BTN.

The program tells the story of Tim Nugent, known by many as the “Father of Accessibility,” who founded the first comprehensive program for college students with physical disabilities at the University of Illinois. Prior to the start of that program, people with disabilities were not expected to go to school, find employment or play sports. Those with spinal cord injuries were not expected to live more than a few years. Nugent, a World War II veteran returned from the war and never stopped fighting for the rights of the disabled.  Rare film from the University Archives shows how Nugent changed the public's perception of disability. Current Team USA Paralympic Athletes and  Illinois students reflect on how he paved the way for their success. The documentary was produced by Tim Hartin, Kaitlin Southworth and Alison Davis Wood.