;Thursday•19
;;"Part and Parcel of God" lecture Get in touch with your inner transcendentalist with guidance from Rollins professor Barbara Harrell Carson. She'll be lecturing at the heady program titled Part and Parcel: Transcendentalism and Cosmic Unity, which will explore the works of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, the two authors generally credited with launching the American transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. The ATs were a group of writers and philosophers who shared a deep respect for nature while challenging the cultural norms of their day. Carson's talk is being held in conjunction with Cornell Fine Arts Museum's current Tranquil Vistas: 19th-Century Landscapes exhibit, a collection of artwork inspired by the writings of the transcendentalists. And so you can see what's up for discussion, museum admission is included in the price. (6:30 p.m. at Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, Winter Park; $5; 407-646-2526; www.rollins.edu/cfam)
;;;AIGA 50 Books, 50 Covers AIGA, the professional association for design, has completed its competition for excellence in book design and production. The 2005 winners are on show in New York, but the 2004 exhibit of winners is touring around the country and stopping here for a one-night viewing, hosted by Orlando AIGA. After the collection has made its rounds, it lands in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library of Columbia University, home to all of the 50 Books, 50 Covers winners, back to the start in 1924. Included in the show are trade, reference, juvenile, university, music, limited-edition and special-format books. The evening draws both graphic designers, who check out the competition, and bibliomaniacs, who go insane for the limited editions. For images from the 2004 show, visit www.aiga.org. (6:30 p.m. at Juicy Temples, 2424 E. Robinson St.; $10; 407-895-5015; orlando.aiga.org)
;;;Friday•20
;The Spore Project When it comes to creative ideas, Doug Rhodehamel leaves you shaking your head in wonder about what planet sent him here and why. Then again, if he's an alien, he's got a great cover: growing up in Ohio with sisters, brothers and a mom who bakes fantastic pumpkin bread. (Because Doug is such a sharing individual, many of us have tasted his mother's baked treats.) His multitude of artistic expressions — ultracool mobiles, garden ornaments in the shape of butterflies and a "foster cow" website, to name but a few — are always odd labors of love. That's because Rhodehamel is full of odd love. His random acts of ingenuity frequently are only known by few, but this time around, he's thinking big with his Spore Project — aka mushrooms fashioned from brown paper bags. Perhaps you've driven by a patch of his hand-fashioned fungi and wondered, "What the hey?" Well, keep your eyes peeled Friday and throughout the weekend as Rhodehamel's Spore Project comes to fruition. What began as his personal fancy has become a bona fide curriculum for schoolchildren. And on Oct. 20, stockpiles of paper-bag mushrooms will sprout up all around town, including a public planting at Maitland Art Center. Everything you need to know— how to make them, downloadable fliers, Spore Project T-shirts — can be found at www.dougrhodehamel.com. (1 p.m.-4 p.m. at Maitland Art Center, Maitland; free; 407-539-2181)
;;;;Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins Better known as the incandescent frontwoman of indie pop outfit Rilo Kiley, Lewis has stepped out to chase her own muse. Fans of that band's pastoral style can rejoice because Lewis has revisited, isolated and amplified that edge. Her debut isn't exactly an all-out country album, but it radiates with a folksy, soulful sort of charm. She even namedrops our fair city in the song "The Charging Sky" (aww, BFF). Her stroke of inspiration was enlisting the Watson Twins, an alt-country duo of statuesque sisters. Anything involving twins always earns bonus points with us, but that's not why we love them. Virtually unknown but genuinely talented, the curtseying grace shown on their excellent self-released debut shows glimpses of big potential. (with Johnathan Rice, The Blow; 6:30 p.m. at the Club at Firestone; $16; all ages; 407-872-0066)
;;;Demetri Martin Trendspotters among us will note that Demetri Martin's shaggy 'do might be too NYU-sloppy for a comic pushing 34, but by placing himself in that nü-slacker wash (also occupied by SNL's Andy Samberg and various cast members of That '70s Show), Martin has made a killing among the smiling cynics of the Comedy Central generation. Onstage, he's more like a pleasant, foot-shuffling friend at a dinner party than, say, Emo Phillips. He makes drawings of cacti, talks about them dying, then reports that he's "less nurturing than a desert." But it's the relative hilarity of his po-faced "Trendspotting" segments on The Daily Show that have garnered him a faithful following. At least that's what Microsoft is hoping. He's reportedly to give advertising voice to their Windows Vista campaign. And we all know how trendy Windows is. (7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 at Hard Rock Live; $27.50; all ages; 407-351-5483)
;;;Swearing at Motorists Add Dave Doughman to the list of indie-rock's beautiful losers. Like Paul Westerberg, Mark Eitzel and Thelonious Monster's Bob Forrest, Doughman's got self-esteem problems that originate in reality. He is growing older. He is relatively unsuccessful. No matter how great a song he writes — and 2000's Number Seven Uptown and this year's Last Night Becomes This Morning are packed with sad, smart, dejected tunes worthy of adulation — he's still an unknown singer from Dayton, Ohio, sleeping in the back of a van. His back hurts, and he could use a full-body massage. But at least he keeps costs down; the Motorists are a power duo. Who needs more than drums and guitar when you have all that angst? (with New Roman Times, Christina Wagner; 9 p.m. at AKA Lounge; $8; 407-839-3707)
;;;Sunday•22
;;Walk for Peace on Earth and Patriots for Peace Concert After a friend's son was killed in Iraq in July, Mount Dora resident Rachel Williams knew that something had to be done. With the help of the Mount Dora Friends of the Environment, she organized this pro-peace — not anti-war — event focusing on the effects of war on both people and the planet. The 1.5-mile walk, which starts at the corner of Donnelly Street and Highway 441, leads the way to the park for the concert. Local musicians of the blues, folk and jazz persuasion (Ruth King, Cyd War, Bluesgotus, MaryLea Leuth, Dan Gribben) will provide peaceful music in between a variety of speakers, including congressional candidate Charlie Stuart, John Russell and members of Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, the Sierra Club and Code Pink. Williams' message is simple: "We may not all share the same religious or political views, but we all have to share the same fragile planet." (11:30 a.m. at Donnelly Park, Mount Dora; free; 352-223-8148)
;;;Wednesday•25
;Celtic Frost Forgive us for our honesty here, but we haven't heard Celtic Frost's comeback album, Monotheist, even though it's their first new record in 14 years and it's been out since May. Simply put, there's no way it can top the wretched, satanic sludge of Morbid Tales, much less the maniacal, magisterial bombast of To Mega Therion (the weirdest evil album ever made?). We hear it's all up in goth-metal's grill, which is probably to be expected from the ever-experimental (but never-too-original) Tom Warrior, who's recruited a largely new cast of characters to round out his new, revived vision of Celtic Frost. We can't believe that Celtic Frost is playing Back Booth, either. (with Goatwhore; 6 p.m. at Back Booth; $19.50-$22; all ages; 407-999-2570)
;;; Contributors: Jason Ferguson, Amber Foster, Bao Le-Huu, Billy Manes, Rob O'Connor, Lindy T. Shepherd, Bart Zino
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