Check this out!

March brings Michael Chabon, Linda Gregg and Arundhati Roy to Seattle!

2010-02-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

Michael Chabon
Lecture: 3.9, 7:30 pm, Benaroya Hall, $10-50
Imaginative and prolific Michael Chabon has won the Pulitzer Prize for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and the Nebula Award for The Yiddish Policemen's Union.
Join Chabon for his talk, "I was Edgar Allan Poe! A true story of imaginary reincarnation, literary influence, and pathetically belated revenge."
Order online at www.lectures.org, or by phone at 206.621.2230

Linda Gregg
Reading: 3.25, 7:30 pm, Benaroya Hall, $10-$35
Poet Linda Gregg, author of All of It Singing will read from her work and sign books.
Order online at www.lectures.org, or by phone at 206.621.2230

Arundhati Roy
Reading: 3.29, 7:30 pm, Town Hall, $15-$30
Co-presented by Elliott Bay Book Co.
Order tickets: https://www.lectures.org/orderforms/order-09special-events4.php

Traditional or Low-Res MFA Programs: What’s Right for You? Wed, Jan 27, Hugo House

2010-01-25T11:08:00.000-08:00

Traditional or Low-Res MFA Programs: What’s Right for You?

Wednesday, January 27, 7 p.m. at Richard Hugo House

Traditional MFA programs immerse students in a campus-based learning experience for several years, often offering teaching assistantships, fellowships and internships. Low-residency programs combine distance learning and limited on-campus meetings with colleagues and professors, so that students can honor their obligations to work, family and other commitments. Beyond the basic model, how do the programs differ? Ryan Boudinot, Rebecca Hoogs, Laura Hirschfield and Peter Mountford will discuss their experiences with traditional and low-residency programs. Moderated by Angela Jane Fountas.

More info here: http://hugohouse.org/content/inprint
Admission to the panel is $5.

Elizabeth Kostova teaching workshop at 826 Seattle on Tues, Jan 26, 7-9 pm

2010-01-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

Read The Historian? Elizabeth Kostova will be launching the new How To Write Like I Do series at 826 Seattle on Tuesday, January 26: How to Write Like You Dream About History At Night (And Maybe You Do)

From the 826 Seattle website: In this workshop, we’ll explore avenues into historical fiction, including the family histories we all have as ready material. We’ll discuss the obsessive joys of research, experiment with turning historical events into character, dialogue, and description, and begin a new short story/novel. Bring your interests in the past, any information you’d like to share about aspects of history that fascinate you, and the oldest (safely portable) object you have in your home.

Purchase tickets here: http://www.826seattle.org/writelikeido/schedule.html#2010

AUDREY NIFFENEGGER at Elliott Bay Book Co on Thurs, Jan. 21 at 7 pm

2010-01-20T22:32:00.000-08:00

Author of the Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger, will be reading from her new book, Her Fearful Symmetry, at the soon-to-be-moved Elliott Bay Book Company in Pioneer Square. Soak up the basement atmospher while you can!

For more information, visit: http://www.elliottbaybook.com/node/events/jan10/niffenegger

Elizabeth Kostova at Elliott Bay Book Co on Jan. 25, 7 pm

2010-01-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

Read The Historian? If so, you're likely keen to read Elizabeth Kotova's new book, The Swan Thieves. See her in person at Elliott Bay Book Company on Monday, January 25th at 7 pm, one of the last times before the bookstore moves to Capitol Hill.

For more information, visit: http://www.elliottbaybook.com/node/events/jan10/kostova

Why more equal societies almost always do better, Webcast on Jan 19 (3-5 pm EST)

2010-01-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

Why more equal societies almost always do better

Richard Wilkinson, Professor Emeritus at the University of Nottingham Medical School
and Honorary Professor at University College London.
Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York and a National Institute for Health Research Career Scientist.

When:
Tuesday, 19th January 2010, at 3:00– 5:00 pm Washington DC time

Please check the local time in your own town: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Where: in front of your personal or work computer anywhere in the world or at:
PAHO HQ Room 1017
525 23Rd St. NW Washington DC 20037

Link to participants – Via Internet
https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=1110&password=M.A4FA308B5F1FA6CD60DB62C0137303

We will broadcast this session in English via the Elluminate Live!® software using integrated VoIP for the audio component. Please connect a few minutes before 3 pm Washington DC time. You must have a headset or speaker and microphone

The event is free and open to interested people. You may attend virtually from your personal or work computer anywhere in the world. In addition to watching live presentations, you will have the option to ask questions and provide comments.

This conference will enable the sharing of good practices and lessons learned.

Welcome

3:00 – 3:20pm
Juan Manuel Sotelo, Manager, External Relations, Resource Mobilization, and Partnerships PAHO/WHO
Jarbas Barbosa, Manager, Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control (HSD) PAHO/WHO
Theresa Bernardo, Manager, Knowledge Management and Communications (KMC) PAHO/WHO

Presenters
3:20 – 4:00pm
Why more equal societies almost always do better

Where in the developed world do people live the longest? Where do people born at the bottom of the economic ladder have the best shot at climbing up?

In which nations do children do best in school? Which countries send the most people to prison? Have the teenage pregnancies? Suffer the most homicides?

The answers matter and are indicative of a society’s overall health and the quality of life for its citizens.

That is the contention of eminent British epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, authors of The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger.

Presenters

Richard Wilkinson has played a formative role in international research and his work has been published in 10 languages. He studied economic history at the London School of Economics before training in epidemiology and is Professor Emeritus at the University of Nottingham Medical School and Honorary Professor at University College London.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wilkinson_(public_health)

Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of York and a National Institute for Health Research Career Scientist. She studied physical anthropology at Cambridge, nutritional sciences at Cornell and epidemiology at Berkeley before spending four years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago.

4:00 – 5:00pm
Q&A from Participants
Contact Information:

E-mail: Ruglucia@paho.org
Pan American Health Organization PAHO/WHO - Washington D.C.

Daniel H. Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” on Mon, Jan 11, 7:30 pm

2010-01-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Town Hall and University Book Store presents Daniel H. Pink on:

“Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.”
Monday, January 11, 7:30 p.m.

Pink exposes the mismatch between the motivational approaches that businesses use and what science knows about human motivation: it’s all about our wanting to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by our world and ourselves.

Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006,
and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

JANE AND MICHAEL STERN in Seattle on Tues, Jan 12

2010-01-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 12
Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm

Two of America's "most famous foodies," Jane and Michael Stern, will be at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. https://www.lectures.org/orderforms/order-10singletixliterary-combo.php I love listening to them on Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table.

Join them for a splendid "Community Dinner" to benefit Seattle Arts & Lectures (SAL), January 11 at the fabulous Palace Ballroom. Food by awared-winning chef Tom Douglas, wonderful wine, and a chance to win a truly great piece of barbecue equipment—a Weber Summit S-670 Gas Grill!

Special pricing is available for the Dinner\Lecture Combo Plate: Feast at the Community Dinner and get $10 off each lecture ticket! Dinner tickets are $75. Click here to order now!

NORTHWEST SCIENCE WRITERS ASSOCIATION JANUARY CALENDAR

2010-01-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

FEATURED EVENTS

Friday, Jan 8, 7-10 p.m.: NSWA presents “2010: A Science Odyssey.” Please join us at our annual post-holiday party, and bring friends and colleagues.
Light hors d’oeuvres and drinks are included.
Admission is $15 for NSWA members and $20 for nonmembers.
Venue: The Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.
RSVP to mbradbury@realscience.us to reserve your space.
Information: www.nwscience.org/

Thursday-Sunday, Jan 7-10: The Knight Foundation, University of Washington (UW) Digital Media, UW Department of Communication, University of Missouri’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, Microsoft, NSWA, and other worthy organizations present “Journalism That Matters (JTM) Pacific Northwest: Reimagining a New News Ecology.” This four-day community conversation about the future of journalism, including science journalism, is open to members of NSWA—and everyone else. Open-space technology will facilitate an interactive discussion about the current state of media, where it’s heading, and what we can all do to participate, make it better, or reimagine it altogether.
Admission is on a sliding scale between $50 and $250. To accommodate more voices at the table, the organizers can offer scholarships for interested parties who request them. There is a $10 registration-processing fee.
Venue: UW Haggett Hall, Seattle, WA.
Information: www.journalismthatmatters.org/jtm-pnw. RSVP by Jan 3 by scrolling down and clicking Register now!

JOIN US:

As an NSWA member, you get discounts on some of our events, inside information on job openings and other opportunities, and the satisfaction of knowing you're supporting the Pacific Northwest's community of science communicators. Annual dues for 2010 are just $25—or $20 if you act today. For information on joining up, check out www.nwscience.org/join/join.html

JANUARY CALENDAR

Jan 5, 7:30 p.m.: Science on Tap, Pacific Science Center, and KCTS Public Television present UW’s Joshua Bandfield on "Mars: A Tour of Familiar and Alien Landscapes on the Red Planet."
Venue: Lower Queen Anne Location, Science on Tap, T.S. McHugh's Irish Pub, 21 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109, (206) 282-1910.
Information: www.scienceontap.org

Wednesday, Jan 6, 7:30 p.m.: Town Hall and University Book Store present Larry Downes on “Laws of Disruption: Harnessing the New Forces that Govern Life and Business in the Digital Age.”
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Thursday, Jan 7, 7:30 p.m.: Town Hall, Bastyr University, and PCC Natural Markets present Brendan Brazier on “Thrive Fitness: The Vegan-Based Training Program for Maximum Strength, Health, and Fitness.” Ironman triathlete Brazier discusses his vegan diet and fitness.
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Friday, Jan 8, 7:30 p.m.: Town Hall and University Book Store present Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett on “The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger.” They describe how gross income inequalities are bad for everyone within unequal societies—the prosperous as well as the poor.
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca).
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Sunday, Jan 10, 2010, 7:30–9 p.m.: Town Hall, Kim Ricketts Book Events, Bastyr University, and PCC Natural Markets present Atul Gawande on “The Power of the Checklist.” Surgeon and writer Gawande describes how innovative checklists are being adopted in hospitals around the world, improving responses to everything from flu epidemics to avalanches.
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Venue: Great Hall, Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue (enter on 8th Avenue)
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Monday, Jan 11, 7:30 p.m.: Town Hall and University Book Store present Daniel H. Pink on “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.” Pink exposes the mismatch between the motivational approaches that businesses use and what science knows about human motivation: it’s all about our wanting to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by our world and ourselves.
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Tuesday, Jan 12, 7 p.m.: Town Hall presents Laura Kastner on “Getting to Calm: Cool-Headed Strategies for Parenting Tweens & Teens.” Kastner says the best way to know how to parent a teenager is knowing how the teenage brain works.
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Thursday, Jan 14, 7:30–9 p.m.: Town Hall, Elliott Bay Book Company, Bastyr University, and PCC Natural Markets present Gabor Maté on “Understanding Addiction.” Physician Maté of Vancouver describes addiction’s root causes: an interplay of personal history, emotional and neurological development, brain chemistry, and Western culture.
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Saturday, Jan 16, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: Gilda's Club Seattle and the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research present “Cancer: What People Really Want to Know.”
Venue: Gilda’s Club Seattle: at (1400 Broadway, Seattle). Leading local experts in cancer research from the Institute of Translational Health Sciences (www.iths.org) will describe how they are using patients' own cells to fight cancer, and about the process of biomedical research and how ordinary people can play a role. A bioethicist will explore ethical issues and show a documentary film illustrating clinical research.
Admission free, including lunch, but donations accepted.
Information and RSVP: www.nwabr.org/takepart/cancerworkshop2010.html

Monday, Jan 18, 7:30–9 p.m. Town Hall and Elliott Bay Book Company present Raj Patel on “Looking Beyond Price Tags.” Social scientist and activist Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved, discusses how people inflate the cost of things we can live without, while assigning no value to the resources we all need to survive. He says we must make dramatic changes in practical economics to save the earth.
Venue: Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (Enter on Seneca)
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

Tuesday, Jan 19, 6-8:15 p.m.: Society for Technical Communication (STC) presents “Competition Showcase: Puget Sound Art, Online, and Technical Publications.” See some of the year’s best work in technical communication.
Admission: $10 for STC members; $15 for non-members; $5 for students
Venue: UW Waterfront Activity Center, 3900 Montlake Blvd. NE, Seattle
Information: www.stc-psc.org

Monday, Jan 25, 7 p.m.: Science on Tap, Pacific Science Center, and KCTS Public Television present UW’s Shawn Domagal-Goldman on
"Cylons and Smelloscopes: False Positives and False Negatives in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life."
Venue: Ravenna Location, Science on Tap, Ravenna Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115, (206)-525-2347
Information: www.scienceontap.org

Tuesday, Jan 26, 6:30-8 p.m.: UW Graduate School and UW Alumni Association present Charles Falco on “The Science of Optics; The History of Art.” University of Arizona Chair of Condensed Matter Physics, Falco shows optical evidence for artist David Hockney’s claim that certain artists from as early as the Renaissance, whose work seems almost "photographic" in detail, must have used optical aids. Learn more about this unusual collaboration between an artist and a scientist.
Venue: UW Kane Hall 120, Seattle.
Admission is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. RSVP by Jan 25 at 5 p.m.
Information: www.grad.washington.edu/lectures/falco.shtml, 206-543-0540, or 1-800-AUW-ALUM

Tuesday, Jan 26, 7:30–9 p.m.: Town Hall, Pacific Science Center, University Book Store, and Microsoft present Jaron Lanier on “How the Web’s Gone Wrong.” Known as the father of virtual-reality technology, Lanier is a computer scientist. He says the Web’s first designers made crucial choices (such as making one’s presence anonymous) that have had enormous—and often unintended—consequences, including elevating the “wisdom” of crowds and algorithms over the intelligence and judgment of individuals.
Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Venue: Great Hall, Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue (enter on 8th Avenue)
Information: www.townhallseattle.org

REMINDER:

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the UW hosts “Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway” through Monday May 31. This premiere of a nationally touring exhibit will take visitors on a "road trip" through the American West to learn about our region’s intriguing fossils and the stories they tell about the past, based on the book by the celebrated duo Ray Troll and Kirk Johnson.
Venue: Burke Museum. Information: Call: (206) 543-5590 or visit www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/

Additions? Corrections? Write calendar@nwscience.org.

Science on Tap

2009-12-30T15:44:00.001-08:00

Put science talk and a microbrew capital like Seattle in the same place and what do you get? Yep. You got it. Science (and beer) on Tap.

The forum brings together the in-the-know, the curious, and the thirsty, to discuss the lastest and greatest (or even esoteric) science issues with local scientists.

Meetings usually last about one to two hours. The speakers give a short talk about their area of interest, followed by a break to fill up on coffee (or other libations) and a time for small group discussions. Afterwards there will be a question and answer session and general discussion of the topic with the speaker and the audience at large.

Last Monday of the month at the Ravenna Third Place Bookstore in Seattle at the corner of 20th Ave NE and NE 65th Street. Free parking is available. And the first Tuesday of the month at T.S. McHugh's Pub in Lower Queen Anne.

Brendan Brazier: Vegan Fitness at Town Hall, Jan. 7

2009-12-30T15:37:00.001-08:00

Town Hall has a lineup of speakers for their Future of Health series. Next year starts with Brendan Brazier, an Ironman triathlete. He's one of the few professional athletes in the world whose diet is completely vegan. He developed a series of books--Thrive Books--alongside a line of food called Vega--to train others to be healthy, strong, and look great, all at the same time. Check him out: Thursday, January 7,
Thursday, January 7, 2010, 7:30 – 9pm. Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.

For more information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

The 2010 "Write Like I Do" Season Announced!

2009-12-29T22:20:00.000-08:00

826 Seattle lined up an incredible cast of folks to teach the 2010 "Write Like I Do" series. All ticket sales benefit the kids' writing programs at the Greenwood neighborhood-based writing center. For more information, visit 826 Seattle

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO WRITE LIKE YOU DREAM ABOUT HISTORY AT NIGHT(AND MAYBE YOU DO)
with Elizabeth Kostova

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 - 7PM
FICTION IS STRANGER THAN TRUTH,TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION
with Emily White

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO USE A TOMATO TO TELL YOUR LIFE STORY
with Matthew Amster-Burton and Molly Wizenberg

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO INTERVIEW SOURCES FOR NON-FICTION WRITING (and How to Tell When They are Lying)
with Charles R. Cross<

Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO DO WHAT ACTORS DO - BUT ON THE PAGE, NOT ON THE STAGE
with Stephanie Kallos

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO PERFORM LIKE I DO
with Karen Finneyfrock

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO WRITE ABOUT MUSIC WITHOUT SOUNDING LIKE A LIAR
with Carrie Brownstein

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO WRITE AND DRAW A GRAPHIC NOVEL(THE CRASH COURSE)
with David Lasky and Greg Stump

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 7PM
HOW TO SUFFER FOR A STORY
with Brendan Kiley

Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders, Mon Dec. 14 (One Night ONLY!)

2009-12-14T10:49:00.000-08:00

"Gripping. Haunting. Real...experience firsthand a guerrilla-style documentary...'Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders'." —Tampa Tribune

See it tonight only. Find a theater near you.

For one night only on Monday, December 14, thousands of people across the country will have the chance to get uncensored access to the humanitarian aid operations of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Get this rare inside look through the critically acclaimed independent documentary, “Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders" and a live panel discussion with ABC News 20/20 Anchor Elizabeth Vargas, besting-selling author Sebastian Junger and other special guests.

"Living in Emergency" was recently announced as 1 of 15 documentaries selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to continue in the Oscar® nomination race.

Following the documentary, ABC’s Elizabeth Vargas, an Emmy-award winning investigative journalist, will moderate a town hall discussion that will go beyond the headlines of today’s humanitarian crises and go behind the scenes of one of the leading international medical humanitarian organizations.

The panelists will include:
EVENT HOST - ELIZABETH VARGAS, anchor of ABC News 20/20. As an Emmy-winning anchor and correspondent, she has traveled the world covering breaking news stories, reporting in-depth investigations and conducting newsmaker interviews.

SEBASTIAN JUNGER is the bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and an award-winning foreign correspondent. His war coverage included reports from Liberia, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Sierra Leone.

DR. WALTER GWENIGALE, who appears in Living in Emergency, is Liberia's Minister of Health. He is rebuilding a health system destroyed by years of civil war.

DR. CHRIS BRASHER, who appears in Living in Emergency, is a 9-year MSF veteran. His last field mission was captured in the filming.

DR. TOM KRUEGER, who appears in Living in Emergency, was a first mission during the filming. He has gone on to become an MSF surgeon in numerous emergencies.
SOPHIE DELAUNAY is the Executive Director of MSF-USA.

NSWA Presents: Reality of Grey's Anatomy Television vs. Surgery

2009-11-27T22:03:00.001-08:00

NSWA Presents: Reality of Grey's Anatomy Television vs. Surgery

When: Thursday, December 10, 6:30 to 8:00 pm
Where: Pacific Science Center, Eames Auditorium
What: Author Andrew Holtz, MPH, will discuss his new book, The Real Grey's Anatomy, about the truth of life for surgical residents. For more informationon the book, visit: www.holtzreport.com.

Cost: Free for members of NSWA and/or Pacific Science Center; $5 for non-members.

RSVP: Michael Bradbury: mbradbury@realscience.us

OCTOBER Science CALENDAR

2009-10-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

NORTHWEST SCIENCE WRITERS ASSOCIATION

Saturday, Oct 10, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.:
The Museum of Flight and the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) will honor Northwest aerospace luminaries Dr. James Joki and Mr. John Roundhill during the 28th Annual Pathfinder Awards Banquet. Seating is limited and by reservation only. Individual tickets start at $100 per person, patron tickets at $150 and table reservations start at $1,500 per table of 10. To purchase tickets or request an invitation, please contact Alison Bailey at (206) 764-5715 or e-mail abailey@museumofflight.org. Venue: Museum of Flight.
Information:http://www.museumofflight.org/event/2009-pathfinder-awards/

Saturday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.:
"Butte, America," a new feature-length documentary film, will be at Seattle University's Pigott Auditorium. Tickets are $10 per person. Narrated by Gabriel Byrne, the documentary tells the story of Butte, Montana, where rock mining that was lucrative for some trashed the environment for the people left behind: immigrant miners and their families. Distinguished science writer Edwin Dobb wrote the film. A Butte resident and native, and descendant of Butte miners, Dobb is a visiting lecturer at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He edited The Sciences (RIP) and is a regular contributor to Harper's magazine.
More info at http://butteamericafilm.org/ and http://www.irishclub.org/

Monday, Oct. 12, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.:
Julia Parish from the UW Program on the Environment and School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences will give a talk titled "Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Citizen Science, Sea Ducks and Surfactants." The talk is part of the UW School of Forest Resources’ Wildlife Science Seminar. Venue: UW Smith Hall, Room 120.
Information: Contact Steve West at (206) 685-7588 or sdwest@u.washington.edu

Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.:
David Domke, chair of the UW’s Department of Communication, will give a talk titled "Healthcare in the Media Revolution." It wasn’t so long ago that staying informed meant subscribing to your hometown newspaper and watching one of three broadcast networks. Today, the business models of "the news" are under siege, and with them the role and popular understanding of journalism itself: in its place, niche-marketed cable shows, and an amateur and professional “news-gathering” apparatus of blogs, news portals, and social networking. A media revolution is being waged all around us—how are we doing? As where and how we get our news changes, can we still interpret in the same way? And what are the consequences for our democracy? A new series, co-produced with the UW’s Department of Communication and called "The Revolution is Here: How Digital Media and Awakened Citizens Are Changing the World," will explore the ways we are empowered and diminished in the new media environment. Each program in the four-part series will zero in on a different "top story"; the series kicks off with Domke’s analysis of the ways public engagement around and news coverage of the healthcare debate inflect, and even supplant, public understanding. Advance tickets are $5 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, or at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall membersreceive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.:
The Seattle chapter of the Association or Women in Science (AWIS) will present "Preventing Hearing Loss: Fish Tales," a free talk by Kelly Owens and Allison Coffin, from the Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center. Non-members are welcome. Venue: UW South Lake Union Building. First Floor Auditorium
Information: http://www.seattleawis.org/events.htm/

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Peter Maass, writer for New York Times Magazine, will give a talk titled "Totalling the Cost of Oil." When gas prices topped $4 a gallon in 2008, we were all vividly reminded of the volatility of oil prices. But Maass, author of Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil, says there’s a lot more to the cost of oil than dollar signs, from an environmental, humanitarian and political point of view. Maass says every oil-producing nation is touched by a "resource curse"—the power of oil to exacerbate existing problems and create new ones. From the pipeline to the boardroom, from rebels to activists to CEOs, Maass documents a complex and troubled world, the unnatural consequence of our addiction to oil. Presented as part of the Seattle Science Lectures series, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Advance tickets are $5 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, or at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Thursday, Oct. 15, 10:30 a.m.:
Irwin Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm, will give a talk titled "From Cell Phones to Smart Phones to Smart Books." Venue: UW Paul Allen Center.
Information: http://www.ee.washington.edu/news/2009/lytle_lecture.html

Friday, Oct. 16, 9 a.m. to noon:
Yoky Matsuoka, UW associate professor of computer science, will be a panelist in "Thriving in the Age of Imagination," Washington State's Imagine Conversation moderated by Eric Liu and Scott Noppe-Brandon. This free event is sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education Venue: UW McCaw Hall.
Information: http://imagination.eventbrite.com

Friday, Oct. 16, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.:
Emily Brodsky, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz, will give a talk titled "Earthquakes and the Pacific Northwest." If you were here for Seattle’s 6.8 rumbler in 2001, you don’t need to be reminded that we live in Earthquake Country. In fact, the Pacific Northwest experienced its last massive seismic event in 1700, and some researchers believe devastating quakes occur regionally on a 300-year cycle. Brodsky is a leading expert on earthquakes and what triggers them, and will separate fact from fiction, discuss our quake history, and address what we know about predicting the where and when of seismic events. Presented by the University of California, Santa Cruz. Advance tickets are $7 and available at http://community.ucsc.edu. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.ucsc.edu/

Saturday, Oct 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
K- 12 educators, administrators, and their families can enjoy The Museum of Flight free of charge at an Educators’ Open House. Come explore the museum;s exhibits, learn about their educational programs, and discover air and space resources, products and programs. Venue: Museum of Flight.
Information: http://www.museumofflight.org/

Monday, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Viktor Mayer-Schonberger will give a talk titled "Deleted, but not Forgotten." Thanks to your Facebook "friends," those incriminating photos of your sloppy night in Cancun will circulate forever. And thanks to e-mail, that bitter diatribe you accidentally copied to your boss will linger in a holding folder until your next evaluation. Can’t we just put the past behind us and move on? Not these days, we can’t, and Mayer-Schonberger, director of the Information and Innovation Policy Research Centre at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, thinks we could be losing a quintessentially human right as digital technology and global networks override our natural ability to forget. Mayer-Schonberger, author of Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age, sees danger in everlasting memory and holes in information-privacy rights and other superficial fixes, as we try to figure out who owns what, and who can make what go away. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life. Advance tickets are $5 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com, (800) 838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.:
The Puget Sound Society for Technical Communication will present a discussion on writing for mobile devices. Experts Jim Causey and Teresa Goertz describe how they tackle the challenge of writing for the small screen every day – for both consumer and developer audiences. Register online or call (206) 623-8632 by midnight, Monday, Oct. 19 $10 for STC members; $15 for non-members; $5 for students. Venue: Microsoft Building 37, Room 171, Redmond.
Information:http://www.stc-psc.org/

Tuesday, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Authors Orrin Pilkey and Rob Young discuss The Rising Sea as part of the "Soundings from Island Press" series of talks. By 2100—the time it will take a child born today to grow old—the seas could rise as much as seven feet. That might not sound alarming, say professors Orrin Pilkey and Rob Young, authors of The Rising Sea, but the consequences are daunting: All along America’s coast, the tide will rise and fall on massive seawalls or ruined roads, homes, businesses, and public buildings. Coastal cities such as Miami, New York, and New Orleans will be forced to enact a policy of retreat. Rising seas are inevitable, the authors say, but despair is not: We can save lives and communities, but only by facing hard and controversial choices, including abandoning storm-damaged property, changing where and how we build, and developing a national exit strategy from our coasts. This is the second installment of a new series on emerging, essential sustainability issues called Soundings from Island Press, presented through Town Hall Center for Civic Life, in association with IslandWood and Elliott Bay Book Company. Advance tickets are $5 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, or at the door. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m.:
Magdalena Balazinska and Tadayoshi Kohno, UW assistant professors of computer science & engineering, will give a talk titled "The Cyberspace Data Explosion: Boon or Black Hole?" The talk is the first in the UW College of Engineering’s Fall Lecture Series. We are entering a cyber world where millions of sensors continuously collect data. From the ocean bottom to deep space, scientists are monitoring environments at unprecedented scales. On a more personal level, implanted medical devices can now monitor our well-being, and "smart chips" embedded in passports, IDs, and transit cards can track our comings and goings. Massive, ubiquitous databanks offer promise of great benefits but also dangers. How do we manage this data onslaught wisely? How do we guard our privacy and ensure our safety? UW scientists are asking these questions and blazing research trails on the latest frontiers of cyber-security. Venue: UW Kane Hall.
Information:http://www.engr.washington.edu/alumcomm/lectures.html#102109

Thursday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Australian scientist Tim Flannery will give a talk titled "Soving Our Climate Crisis." Flannery appeared at Town Hall in 2006 to speak about his last book, The Weather Makers. His latest book, Now or Never, describes pragmatic steps being explored and taken towards remediation of the crisis, from storing the carbon released by dead plants to carbon-trading strategies in South America to collaboration between a Danish wind-energy company and an automobile manufacturer on a viable electric car. Leavening the doomsday scenarios of much current reporting on climate change, Flannery’s work looks forward in the belief that "a sense of hopelessness is just as great a danger to our future as the bankrupt philosophies of the recent past." Presented as part of Town Hall’s Seattle Science Lectures series, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Tickets are $5 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information:http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Saturday, Oct 24, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.:
Victor Riley, an Associate Technical Fellow in Boeing Flight Deck, Crew Operations, gives a talk titled "Aircraft Design, Automation and Human Factors." Riley will give an overview of what aviation issues are, how aviation human factors has dealt with automation, and how these lessons apply to other applications of technology, as it becomes ubiquitous in everyday life. Venue: Museum of Flight.
Information: http://www.museumofflight.org/event/aircraft-design-automation-and-human-factors

Monday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m.:
An expert on medical robotics from Swedish Medical Center is scheduled to give a talk titled "Robot-assisted surgery: the past, present and future" as part of Science on Tap. Venue: Ravenna Third Place Books.
Information: http://www.scienceontap.org/

Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Thedore Gray, author of the "Gray Matter" column for Popular Science Magazine, will give a talk titled "The Elements." Anyone who’s walked into a basic chemistry classroom has seen the periodic table—that blocky catalog of the elements that everything is made of. But few have seen it as Gray has—as art. Gray, author of the new book The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe, spent five years researching and photographing the table’s 118 elements in their purest, uncombined form. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Sponsored by Microsoft. Tickets are $5 at http://www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
James Ralston from the UW School of Public Health will give a talk titled "Patient Access to the Medical Record and Its Impact on Medical Practice and Quality of Care." The talk is part of the UW Laboratory Medicine Grand Rounds series. Venue: UW Health Sciences Building D-209.
Information: Contact Georgia St. Aubyn at (206)
598-6131 or georgias@u.washington.edu

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Fulvio Melia, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Arizona, will discuss Cracking the Einstein Code. For more than four decades after its publication, Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity remained largely a curiosity for scientists; it seemed accurate, but the code of six interlocking equations was difficult to crack. But 29-year-old Cambridge graduate Roy Kerr solved the great riddle in 1963, the same year as the discovery of black holes, finally providing fertile testing ground for general relativity. Few know how Kerr did it, but Melia, author of Cracking the Einstein Code, unmasks the history behind the search for a real-world solution to Einstein’s field equations, ultimately showcasing how pathfinding theoretical science gets done. Presented as part of Town Hall’s Seattle Science Lectures series, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Tickets are $5 at beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.:
Archaeologist and archaeological writer Brian Fagan will give a talk titled "Water: The Elixir of Humanity." If water is the magic potion that enables and sustains life, then what will we do in the face of prolonged drought? Fagan will discuss how earlier civilizations flourished or foundered during water crises, and what a future of deep drought could look like for us. Fagan, author of The Great Warming: Climate Change and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations, is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara and has written several books on historical climate change and related topics. Presented as part of the Walter P. Kistler Lecture Series, a program of the Bellevue-based Foundation for the Future. Free, no tickets required. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: Visit http://www.futurefoundation.org or call (425) 451-1333.

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m.:
NSWA will present "Nitty Gritty of Science Lit." Alan Boyle, David Williams and Carol Kaesuk Yoon promise to tell NSWA members the behind-the-scenes stories of their books, from idea to published work. How did they find agents and publishers? Where did they stumble and what can they share? The moderated discussion is sponsored by NSWA and the Society of Professional Journalists, SPJ, Western Washington Chapter. Admission is free to members of both groups, and $5 for non-members. Please RSVP to mbradbury@realscience.us. Venue: Seattle Times auditorium, 1102 John St., Seattle.
Information: http://www.nwscience.org/

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.
Gregory Johnson, a NASA astronaut in 1977, will give a talk titled "Eye on the Universe: Final Mission to Hubble." The 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope has yielded stunning images and a remarkable scientific legacy —revealing new insight into the age of the universe, black holes, and the role of "dark energy" in our expanding universe. Husky alum Gregory Johnson piloted the space shuttle Atlantis for the final service mission to Hubble. Imagine the extreme challenges of launching the shuttle 358 miles into space, capturing the huge telescope, and making tricky repairs during five spacewalks. Johnson takes us on a thrilling journey into space and inside the final mission to Hubble. This talk is part of the UW College of Engineering’s Fall Lecture Series. Venue: UW Kane Hall.
Information: http://www.engr.washington.edu/alumcomm/lectures.html#102109

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
Vashon Island writer Brad Matsen will discuss the life of legendary underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau. Just like the seas Cousteau loved, his life held depth well beneath the surface of his global reputation as a celebrated oceanographer and environmentalist. With the cooperation of Cousteau’s collaborators, friends, and family, Matsen’s biography Jacques Cousteau: The Sea King examines the people, the adventures, the science and the lure of the sea that shaped Cousteau’s life. From his work for the French resistance during World War II to television’s Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, Matsen has captured the essence of a man who profoundly changed the way we view, and treat, our planet. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Advance tickets are $5 and are available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com, (800) 838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating. Venue: Town Hall Seattle.
Information: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Thursday, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m.:
Forty years after the historic Apollo 11 moon landing, Andrew Chaikin looks back at the incredible lunar adventures of Armstrong, Aldrin and the other Apollo astronauts who made humanity’s first journeys to another world. Chaikin will share anecdotes from his extensive conversations with the moon-voyagers during his research for his definitive Apollo history, A Man on the Moon. He also will report on the recent LCROSS lunar-impact mission. Free for members and students with ID, $5 for general public. Venue: Pacific Science Center, Eames Theater.
Information: http://www.pacsci.org/events/

Friday, Nov. 6 to Sunday, Nov. 8:
Pacific Science Center in partnership with Northwest Association for Biomedical Research presents the third annual Life Sciences Research Weekend. Meet real scientists, and enjoy interactive exhibits and science demonstrations during this three day special event. Venue: Pacific Science Center, Eames Theater.
Information: http://www.pacsci.org/events/

NSWA Presents: Nitty Gritty of Science Lit

2009-10-08T11:19:00.001-07:00

NSWA Presents: Nitty Gritty of Science Lit

When: Wednesday November 4, 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Where: Seattle Times Auditorium, 1120 John St., Seattle, WA
What: Three local science authors promise to tell us the behind-the-scenes stories of their books, from idea to published work, and beyond to the lecture tours. The moderated discussion is sponsored by NSWA and the Society of Professional Journalists, SPJ, Western Washington Chapter.

Featuring: Alan Boyle, author of The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference; David Williams, author of Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology; and Carol Kaesuk Yoon, author of Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science.

Cost: Free for members of NSWA and/or SPJ; $5 for non-members.

RSVP: Michael Bradbury: mbradbury@realscience.us

Writers Reading Resources (The W2R)!

2009-07-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Seattle is a literature-lover's mecca. Some of my favorite writers come here in person.
Special note: Please let me know if I've missed any important hubs of author-events' listings below.

University Book Store calendar: http://www.bookstore.washington.edu/calendar_iframe.taf?page=1

Elliot Bay Book Company Author Events: http://www.elliottbaybook.com/events/index.jsp

Ravenna Third Place Books Author Events: http://www.ravennathirdplace.com/

Third Place Books (Lake Forest Park) Author Events: http://www.thirdplacebooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents

Town Hall Seattle Events: http://www.townhallseattle.org/calendar.cfm

Seattle Public Library Events: http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=audience_current_calendar

How to Write Like I Do, 826 Seattle: http://www.826seattle.org/writelikeido/

2009-10 Literary Arts Series

Subscribe now to the 2009-10 Literary\Arts Series!

All Literary Arts Series events begin at 7:30pm in the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium at Benaroya Hall.

Annie Proulx - October 7, 2009
Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author of The Shipping News and superlative short stories such as Brokeback Mountain: Wyoming Stories 3

Lydia Davis - November 4, 2009
Short story wrtier and National Book Award finalist for Varieties of Distrubance and Samuel Johnson is Indignant; translator of Proust, Foucault, Flaubert

Richard Price - December 1, 2009
Author of seven novels, including Clockers and Lush Life; recipient of American Academy of Arts and Letters award and an Edgar Award as a co-writer of HBO's The Wire

Jane and Michael Stern - January 12, 2010
Travelers of America's back roads and authors of Two for the Road: Our Love Affair With American Food and Blue Plate Specials and Blue Ribbon Chefs: The Heart and Sould of America's Great Roadside Restaurants

Dr. Abraham Verghese - TBD, 2010
Dr. Abraham Verghese has published two acclaimed works of non-fiction, the National Book Critics Circle award finalist My Own Country: A Doctor's Story(1995), which is based on his experiences as an AIDS physician in Tennessee, and was turned into a film by director Mira Nair, and the best-selling memoir The Tennis Partner (1998), which recounts his move to El Paso, Texas and his new job as a staff doctor at the county hospital. His most recent book and first novel is Cutting for Stone (2009), a family saga set in both America and Verghese’s home country of Ethiopia. Verghese is the Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. He was born in Ethiopia to parents from Kerala in south India.

Michael Chabon - March 9, 2010
Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and the Nebula Award-winning The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Elaine Pagels - April 30, 2010
MacArthur Fellowship-winning scholar and author of The Gnostic Gospels; Adam, Eve and the Serpent; Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity (with Karen L. King)

Favorite People

2007-07-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

I love to show off really talented people I know. I talk about them to others. I love checking out their work. And I admire how their brain works, that root of creativity that comes out in a way I never could have imagined and yet thrill at. They make me stop. Think. And look at something familiar in a new way. Curious , yet, who I'm thinking of?

Check these people out:

Tom Sharpe
Michelle Sharpe
Bryan Voell