Wes Music Round-Up

• MGMT gets a new music video for "Congratulations." 

• Das Racist is coming out with a new mixtape with Diplo and Mad Decent

• The Elks (with member Josh Scannell '08) got reviewed in the Village Voice.

• and Flo Anito '01 was named a finalist in the Cosmo Radio Breaking the Band contest

Dan Wolf '79 for State Senate

From a Wesleyan LinkedIn posting:

We write to share some exciting news with you. One of our own – Dan Wolf ’79 – is running for the State Senate for Cape Cod and the Islands. The Democratic primary, which is contested, is on September 14, 2010.

In a nutshell, here’s who Dan is and what he’s been up to:

After graduating from Wesleyan, Dan moved to Cape Cod, where he founded Cape Air. Starting small, with one plane, one route, and a handful of employees, under Dan’s leadership, Cape Air became one of the Cape’s biggest employers, and one of the most successful regional airlines in the country. Now with close to 1,000 employees, through Cape Air, Dan has created jobs and opportunity for Cape Codders and Islanders even in the toughest economic times.

Watch CSI:Miami Tonight To See...

Tara Erica Moore '08 is making it as an actress in Hollywood.  You can find her tonight at 10pm on CSI:Miami for a re-run of "Kill Clause."  Or you can watch the clip below:

Cardinal CEO at WV Covenant House

Covenant House, a non-profit that provides food, shelter, and services to 30,000 people across 22 counties in West Virginia, has named a Wes alum as its CEO. Melissa Doty '92, a West Virginia native, had been serving as the interim director since last June.

"It's an exciting time at Covenant House, and I've seen a real enthusiasm here during this transition period," Doty said to the Charleston Gazette. "This decision really enables us to keep moving forward and build upon the outstanding work that former Covenant House leaders began."

Full story available here.  Convenant House's website here.

Congrats Melissa!

New Ad For Hickenlooper '74

John Hickenlooper '74 MA' 80 released his first gubernatorial advertisement, and it's a positive one.  Shouldn't be surprised given Hickenlooper's pretty interesting background.  The Washington Post's Chris Cizilla called it the "best (positive) ad of the campaign cycle."   Not a bad way to kick off the campaign.

Filmmaker Demme, Keeping Up With the Man From Plains

In recognition of his new movie, Jimmy Carter Man From Plains, The Washington Post has a great interview with alum and director Jonathan Demme (he came to Wes a couple years ago for a screening of "Silence of the Lambs").

An excerpt from the interview:

Q: More stamina: Jonathan Demme, 63, or Jimmy Carter, 83?

A: [Laughs.] I'm a much healthier aerobic person having been on the road with Carter. Carter has the stamina.

...and...

Q: In college you wanted to be a veterinarian. How do you get along with animals nowadays?

A: I love kids more than animals now. My standard poodle is one of the stars of the film I'm doing now ["Dancing With Shiva"]. Her name is Olive, please mention her. I went to college one semester, long enough to know that I couldn't do college chemistry. For years as a kid I worked as a kennel man and as a veterinary assistant, but I never had to put on the white coat.

>>>Wanna catch the movie: click here for showtimes; check out the trailer here.

Remembering Jonathan Gray, 59, Finance Analyst

From The New York Sun:

"Jonathan Gray, who died Monday at Mount Sinai Hospital, was a longtime mortgage and finance analyst for the investment firm of AllianceBernstein L.P. He was 59. A well-respected and often-quoted figure in the industry, he was elected to the Institutional Investor All-Star team for 29 of the last 30 years, missing only 2003 because of an illness...

... continued here.

From The New York Times, death notice:

"The AllianceBernstein community mourns the passing, at age 59, of Jonathan Gray-our partner, colleague, friend and one of the funniest people you'd ever meet-after a courageous six-year battle with cancer..." {emphasis mine}

... continued here (guestbook available).