Seattle Spin - Your Weekly Update on Seattle Events, Culture and Media

Week of November 10 to November 23

Irreverent, non-commercial and unrestrained fun for local urban professionals. You won't find a more connected, entertaining or succinct lowdown on What's Happening in Seattle! To stay informed on Seattle events, culture and media, sign up for Seattle Spin by sending an email to: subscribe@seattlespin.net. Free and delivered weekly.

Publisher: Gerard Wirz | Editor: Nathaniel Hollywood

SPECIAL OFFER FOR SEATTLE SPIN MAMAS

Mom's Night Out: Dapper Baby's Fantasy and Fairytales Mom's Night Out, Nov. 21, $15. Moms, you work hard, so pamper yourself at this fun night out at the Bellevue Westin, which will include the hottest kiddie fashions, drinks, shopping and auction benefiting NW Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Seattle Spin readers get $25 off any purchase over $100 - enter coupon code "HollidayGift" at checkout.

Jazz Festival: Ballard Jazz Walk, Nov 20th, $18. Ballard has grown up since its days as a sleepy Norwegian fishing community. Check out 15 jazz bands at 11 venues with one ticket, and discover this part of town.

Lecture: Evolutionary Trees, Nov 13th, free. This is an intriguing new set of lectures from the math egg-heads at the UW, demonstrating the application of mathematics to various scientific fields while making the subject matter accessible to all. At this lecture, they discuss how evolutionary tree graphs provide important insight into molecular and biological evolution, although the mathematical tools to help formulate conclusions from these trees is less developed.

Party: Chat With Women Holiday Party, Nov 20th, $44. Seattle's two grand dames of the radio are whooping it up, and everyone else is invited. They certainly know women, they know how to pamper and how to entertain, and how to make a women feel good, inside and out. There will be plenty of entertainment of all sorts here.

Health: Spa Party Event, Nov 20th, free. The folks at Bellevue MedSpa celebrate their opening by spreading the health to the public. The event includes complimentary hydrotherapy and chair massages, as well as brow and facial waxing. Of course, they'll have a ton of specials, too. Pre-registration is recommended.

Opera: The Young Artists showcase their talents, which is pretty much an opportunity to hear tomorrow's stars today. On Nov 13th, they perform Hansel and Gretel at City Hall during a lunchtime performance, for free. Then, on Nov 14th, they go to Benaroya Hall with Tatyana's Letter, $20. Finally, Ring tickets go on sale on Nov 15th. Even though it's more than six months away, for this biggie, you really do need to get your tix ahead of time.

Veteran's Day: Flying Heroes of WWII, $12 (free for Veterans). The fighter pilots of WWII gather together, sharing their true dog fighting tales. Listen to their fly-boys stories, and their discussions on how air power changed the course of the war, and continues to shape current conflicts.

Food: Cabaret Night, Nov 14th, $125, of a three-course dinner served up at the Columbia Tower Club with a cabaret show to keep you entertained throughout. It's tasty food and PG-rated fun. * Also, the Georgian room at the Fairmont Hotel is running the flavors of autumn. To us, that'd mean rain; to them, it means grilled veal chop, rabbit loin, butternut squash, and other dishes served in 3- and 7- course formats. This is worth the treat.

Performance: Uncle Bonsai, Nov 15th, $27. This trio reworks the lyrics to songs you'll recognize with cutting edge wit and observation, as well as crafting some of their own songs with satirical content.

Dance: Seven Dancing Sultanas, Nov 22, $12+. This is our favorite Nutcracker alternative. Seven Dancing Sultanas is a belly dance fairytale for the whole family. In this opulent production, a storyteller spins a tale of a love-struck drummer’s quest to win the hand of a royal sultana. This story has something for everyone, beautiful dancing daughters, a tricky fairy, a sly imp, fierce royal guards, and an evil enchantress.

Arts: Drawing, starting Nov 11th, cost varies. Bellevue Arts Museum starts off two workshops, drawing for kids ages 8-12, and drawing for teenagers and adults. They take age-appropriate material and media, and then mix it with a healthy dose of fun, to encourage expression of your creative side. If you'd like to explore your artistic talent, then this is a good first step.

Heritage: Coffee House Concert by the Pacific NW Folklore Society, Nov 14th, free. Even your grandpappy couldn't spun a yarn this entertaining. Performers play old-time songs and fiddle tunes, mixed in with family songs, for a front-porch style of singing.

Organization: Seattle Boards and Commissions, sort of an organization for organizations. There are over 50 different boards and commissions to provide input to the city and how it runs its affairs, and most are hungry for volunteers who want to serve their city. It can be like a half-time job though, 10-15 hours per week of your time.

Opinions of Questionable Worth

Political Signs and their Wavers. We've seen enough of these in the last weeks. Is human psychology really so simplistic that the path of thinking is, "I've seen a sign for candidate X; therefore, I will vote for that person?" Perhaps they have some worth as an education vehicle, prodding people on the fence to do some research and consider the matter. Weigh this against the visual clutter they produce and how they galvanize the opposition, and, well, aspiring office seekers can probably spend their money better elsewhere.

Newspaper Sound-off Columns, Online Rant Forums, and the Rest of their Ilk. Most of these do not serve the cause of intelligent dialogue; rather, they provide a place for people to get some pseudo feel-good feeling by being able to put in their two-cents’ worth. The passion and rhetoric is high, the intelligence low, and conversation is quick to be spun off to irrelevant pet topics. It's just a mosh pit of prattle.

Many Blogs. Like books and songs, there's only room at the top for a few hits, and the rest fall into the pile of mediocre, noticed by few. Blogs discussing applicable information can certainly be useful, such as a health-care lawyer discussing recent court cases or a doctor discussing new research directions for diabetes. Or, other blogs do break fast-moving news stories later picked up by the mainstream media. However, many are just stream-of-conscious thoughts. Are you really interested in knowing that Mr. No-Name ate a pita sandwich for lunch today?

Cool Video: The City of Seattle Channel, City Stream has put together this video about school kids and cyberbullying.

The Billboard