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 Elements of Style: The Legacy of Arnocroft. Through Jan. 3. Georgia Museum of Art. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday; and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. 542-4662.
Arnocroft was the home of the late Eugenia Arnold Friend, who bequeathed the house, furnishings and gardens to the Junior League of Athens on her death in 1994. This exhibition of decorative arts from Arnocroft focuses on the eclecticism of one Southern family’s collection and includes period and reproduction furniture and other decorative objects, such as porcelain.
Arnocroft, which is located on Milledge Avenue, was built in 1903 and remodeled in 1933. The Junior League plans to make the house into a museum, to be open for tours within the next year.
“Why People Believe Weird Things,” Michael Shermer, best-selling author and editor of Skeptic Magazine. 7 p.m. Chapel. Sponsored by Sagan Society. 542-1784
Michael Shermer is the best-selling author of Why People Believe Weird Things and publisher of Skeptic Magazine. As founder and director of the  Skeptics Society, he has appeared on numerous television shows and documentaries in the role of skeptic about extraordinary claims. He is also the author of Teach Your Child Science and co-author of Teach Your Child Math and Mathemagics. His analysis and debunking of Holocaust denials will appear in Denying History, co-authored with Alex Grobman and currently in press.
Shermer received a B.A. in pyschology from Pepperdine University, an M.A. in experimental psychology from California State University-Fullerton and a Ph.D. in the history of science from the Claremont Graduate School. He currently teaches the history of science, technology and evolutionary thought at Occidental College.
 Forte concert.House of Blues: Highway 61. $10-$20 (students $8-$12). Nov. 4, 8 p.m. Classic Center Theater. Tickets are available in advance at the Tate Student Center cashier’s window and the Classic Center box office. Sponsored by University Union. 542-6466.
This multimedia performance uses music, film and narrative to trace the historical and geographical progression of the blues. It features Buddy Guy, Billy Boy Arnold and the Blind Boys of Alabama with Clarence Fountain.
The evening begins with the origin of blues in African rhythms brought to America with the slaves. The music moves through the field chants of slaves in the cotton fields to the gospel music of African-American churches. As African Americans moved North, so did the next generation of the blues, up from the Mississippi Delta to Memphis. With the music of W.C. Handy, father of the blues, the music moves further north to Chicago and the sounds of urban blues.
Highway 61 is more than a concert--it is a choreographed event, both theatrically and musically. Starting in history and moving to the Chicago blues that reverberated in rock’n’roll, Highway 61 is a cultural experience.
Charter Lecture. “Writing on the Other America: Is Anybody Listening? Does Anybody Care?” Alex Kotlowitz. 4 p.m. Chapel. 542-0415.
In two acclaimed books and numerous magazine articles and broadcast commentaries, Kotlowitz has tried to overcome what he terms the “most frustrating thing” in writing about race: “absence--the absence of dialogue, the absence of interaction.”
Kotlowitz says his work is aimed at making white Americans face the reality of racism and poverty. “For white America, there’s no compelling reason to deal with race, while the black community has to wrestle with it every day,” he says.
His first book, There Are No Children Here, grew out of a series of articles he wrote in 1987 while working for the Wall Street Journal. The book received a number of awards, including the Helen B. Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Carl Sandburg Award and a Christopher Award.
Kotlowitz covered urban affairs and social policy as a Wall Street Journal staff writer from 1984 to 1993. Previously he was a free-lance writer contributing articles to magazines and reports and commentaries to the MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour and National Public Radio. His articles have also appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine.
His journalism honors include the George Polk Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.
 Ethos Percussion Group. 8 p.m. Hodgson Hall, Performing Arts Center. Free. 542-4400.
Embracing musical styles from around the globe, the ensemble’s programming showcases a vibrant musicianship as well as an extensive and unique collection of instruments, including marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, timpani, odaiko, tabla, congas, teponaxtle and dumbek.
One of North America’s most active touring percussion ensembles, Ethos has received critical and popular acclaim for presentations that are fascinating both to the eyes and the ears. The group gave its New York debut at Merkin Concert Hall and its Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall; the New York Times praised the ensemble for its “expert togetherness, sensitivity and zest.” Ethos gave its international debut in London’s Wigmore Hall earlier this year.
The members of Ethos are Michael Sgouros, Eric Phinney, Joseph Gramley and Yousif Sheronick. The program for this concert includes pieces by John Cage and Lou Harrison, Frank Zappa and Christopher Rouse, among others.
In conjunction with the Ethos Percussion Group performance, the Performing Arts Center will sponsor an educational residency for UGA students and area schoolchildren.
The performance is part of the Franklin College Chamber Music Series and funded, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Admission is free.
 Milton Masciadri, bass. 8 p.m. Ramsey Hall, Performing Arts Center. 542-3737.
Masciadri’s recital is devoted to Italian bel canto. Masciadri hopes to show the double bass in a new light. The bass will imitate the warmth of a human baritone voice in its operatic virtuosity.
Masciadri will be assisted by pianist Liana Embovica Rivkin, soprano Stephanie Pierce, clarinetist Theodore Jahn and violinist Eva Zekely.
A frequent recitalist and soloist with symphony orchestras, Masciadri is one of the few double bassists in the world who also maintains a regular schedule of solo performances. This year he has performed in Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Italy, Spain, Germany, Croatia, Central America and the United States. He is the first double bassist to be invited by the United Nations to present a solo performance at the UNESCO Great Hall in Paris.
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