Combine science fiction with romance and you have Stephanie Meyer’s first adult fiction novel. The Host focuses on what it means to be human in the wake of a foreign invasion.

We’ve all heard the cries of the conspiracy theorists who believe that the Earth is under attack and people are being abducted. This novel explores what would happen if those conspiracy nuts were right all along. This isn’t just another extraterrestrial sci-fi conundrum — we see the story through the eyes of one of the aliens, forcing a perhaps unwanted sympathy. By constructing such a point of view, Meyer turns the violence and animalistic nature of humans into a dualistic package.

Thursday 10/9:

Sneak Peek! Tonight at 8 p.m., Cornell Cinema will be screening a free sneak preview of Ridley Scott’s latest film, Body of Lies, in Uris auditorium. The film is based on David Ignatius’s novel about a CIA operative who chases a lead on a terrorist operating out of Jordan, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. For (free!) tickets, go to WSH or download them from UberDuzi.com.

Cornell architecture alumnus investigates barns, scarecrows and archaic modes of printing. Interested in farm-itecture? Aleksander Mergold ’00, cofounder of Austin+Mergold, will be speaking at 5:15 p.m. today in 157 E. Sibley. If visuals appeal to you more than aural, check out the Austin+Mergold exhibit in Hartells Gallery in Sibley, today through Saturday.

Friday 10/10:

Adam Vana '09Adam Vana ’09 doesn’t mind if you don’t call him a musician. “I think DJs who insist on that are just insecure,” he says. One of Cornell’s most prolific practitioners of electronic music, Vana prefers to use the word “prosumer,” a concept that fuses the roles of producer and consumer.

Vana, along with fellow Cornell DJ Dan Bailey ’08, has a residency at Le Poisson Rouge on Saturday nights at Collegetown’s City Style Salon and Sake Bar. An equally talented DJ with a complementary style, Bailey plays alternate weekends. Since its introduction this summer, Poisson Rouge has become one of Collegetown’s few dependable non-top 40 club ventures.

This past weekend, animator Brent Green showcased his short films at Cornell Cinema. As a sort of experimental vaudeville, he narrated his films live with accompaniment from four indie musicians: Brendan Canty (Fugazi), Jim Becker (Califone), Alan Scalpone (The Bitter Tears) and Rodney McLaughlin. Before the event, The Sun sat down with Brent and Brendan, to get a sense of the men behind the music (so to speak).

The Sun: How do you feel that animation and music enhance each other?

Brendan Canty: Watching a film with pre-recorded narration is vastly different from watching one where the narration is improvised. There’s a degree of temporality within improvisation.

Sun: What makes temporality important?

B.C.: I think that shared experience is the crux.

The 2nd annual Ithaca Brew Fest dawned dark, wet and nasty on a September day, a day that students and adults alike would usually spend indoors watching Project Runway reruns or getting their study on. But a select group of troopers — those tough-skinned Cornellians, Ithaca Collegians, townies and out-of-towners who possessed a legitimate (hopefully) driver’s license claiming they were 21 years of age or older, made their way to Stewart Park on Saturday afternoon to dance, taste and get their drink on.