Scary music

The annual Halloween chimes concert takes place Oct. 31 from 10:30 p.m. to midnight at McGraw Tower. Cornell's "chimesmonsters" welcome the community to attend this special performance that features costumed chimesmasters, a decorated tower, treats and, of course, a repertoire of eerie chimes music appropriate to the occasion. Free and open to the public. Costumes encouraged.

Asian avant-garde

Cornell Cinema presents a mini festival of films from Thailand, Malaysia, Laos and Indonesia. They include: "Syndromes and a Century" (Oct. 31 and Nov. 1) by director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who has been described as the "Thai auteur of languor"; "I Don't Want to Sleep Alone" by Taiwan's Tsai Ming-liang; the Indonesian "Opera Jawa" and the documentary "Nerakhoon: The Betrayal," co-directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath, whose family fled war-torn Laos only to land on the mean streets of New York.

Keeping hope alive

The cost to keep a child in primary school in the impoverished Wanhe District of Gansu province of rural China is only $44 for a full year. Hope Fest, a fundraising event to help these children, will be held Nov. 1 from 1-4 p.m. in the Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall. There will be games, dances and Chinese food. The event is sponsored by Cornell Project Hope, a student-run group that targets orphaned, single-parent and underprivileged children for help.

Homegrown classicists

The student-managed Cornell Contemporary Chamber Players (Ryan Gallagher, Christopher Stark and Zachary Wadsworth, directors) and new-music ensemble Ossia, from the Eastman School of Music, perform music by Cornell graduate composers Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. in Barnes Hall.

Agenda for the next president

Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development, will speak on "The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President" Nov. 3 at 4:30 p.m. in Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Birdsall is a former executive with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank. Her talk is part of the Einaudi Center for International Studies' Foreign Policy Distinguished Speaker Series.

Woven culture

The Africana Studies and Research Center Colloquium Series presents Judith Byfield speaking on "Wrapping and Rapping: Cloth and Politics in Post-World War II Nigeria," Nov. 4 at 4:30 p.m. in the center's Multi-Purpose Room, 310 Triphammer Road. Byfield, an associate professor at the Africana Studies and Research Center, focuses on African and Caribbean histories and cultures and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of African History and the Indiana University Press series Blacks in the Diaspora.

Prison nation

Jeremy Travis, president of John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, presents a University Lecture titled "Living in the Era of Mass Incarceration: Implications for Our Communities and for Our Democracy," Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in 142 Goldwin Smith Hall. Travis, a lawyer and professor at Jay College, is a former director of the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the Department of Justice. He has advised members of Congress and New York City mayors and served as law clerk to Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Poetic remembrance

Poet Brenda Hillman delivers the Robert Chasen Memorial Poetry Reading Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall. Hillman is author of seven collections of poetry: "White Dress" (1985), "Fortress" (1989), "Death Tractates" (1992), "Bright Existence" (1993), "Loose Sugar" (1997), "Cascadia" (2001) and "Pieces of Air in the Epic" (2005). She has edited an edition of Emily Dickinson's poetry and co-edited "The Grand Permission: New Writings on Poetics and Motherhood" (2003).