World Affairs Council: Gen. David Petraeus
Civic
The economy, swine flu, and North Korea have been generating the big headlines lately, but U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan remains a major issue, and few can offer the firsthand perspective of the former Commanding General of Multi-National Force-Iraq. Gen. David Petraeus, now Commander of United States Central Command, will speak on the U.S. military and foreign policy in the final event of the World Affairs Council’s 2009 Global Leadership Series. Petraeus, who served as Commanding General in Iraq for more than 19 months, will address the lessons that America’s Afghanistan-bound troops can learn from Iraq; how to prevent Pakistan from falling into a state of anarchy (and prevent Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal from falling into the hands of the Taliban); and the modern theory of counterinsurgency, which calls for winning over populations as the key to long-term peace. Well-known and well-regarded, Petraeus was named one of America’s 25 Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report in 2005, and in 2007 was…
Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Great Hall, enter on 8th Avenue.
Science: Dean Kuipers: Radical Environmentalism
Science
Environmentalism is all the rage these days, gaining followers, momentum, and exposure. But outside the mainstream’s gentle “green” movement lies a different kind of rage: radical environmentalists who take eco-defense into their own hands. Rod Coronado, an animal-rights activist and arsonist who was recently released from prison and has claimed to denounce direct action, spearheaded a movement that has led to more than 1,200 acts of sabotage, a billion dollars in damages, and a legal showdown that will define America’s relationship with environmentalism, raising tough questions, such as: What is the definition of nonviolence? Should environmentalists be tried for terrorism? Los Angeles Times editor Dean Kuipers, author of Burning Rainbow Farm and Operation Bite Back: Rod Coronado’s War to Save American Wilderness, looks into the radical Animal Liberation and Earth Liberation fronts through Coronado’s story. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with University Book Store and Pacific Science Center.…
Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Hedgebrook Presents: A Conversation with Gloria Steinem
Literary
How do women author change? What woman writer altered your reality? Join iconoclast Gloria Steinem, who is currently writing her memoir at Hedgebrook, with special guest—the groundbreaking singer/songwriter/activist Holly Near—and a panel of powerhouse Hedgebrook alumnae for a provocative discussion, readings, songs, and conversation with the audience exploring how women's voices have shaped our culture across generations, and continue to impact our world in an era of revolutionary change.
Tickets are $10/$20 preferred seating and are available at www.hedgebrook.org, or at the door the evening of the event.
Friday, July 10, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Great Hall, enter on 8th Avenue.
‘Sisters Singing’: Poetry, Prose, and Sacred Music
Music
In celebration of the new anthology Sisters Singing: Blessings, Prayers, Art, Songs, Poetry and Sacred Stories by Women, an intimate exploration of contemporary women’s spiritual lives, female singers and poets will present an evening of sacred music, prose, and poetry. Singers include Jami Sieber, Alysia Tromblay, and Coleen Renee, with poets Carolyn Brigit Flynn, Katherine Metcalfe Nelson, Anne Mize, Sonya Lea, Beth Coyote, June BlueSpruce, Pesha Gertler, and Carolyn Davis Rudolph. Presented by The Bon Future Fund and Elliott Bay Book Company.
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Advance tickets are $15 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006. Call 206/962-5311 or visit .
LEARN MORE:
www.sisterssinging.com
www.jamisieber.com
www.alysiatromblay.com
www.coleenrenee.com
www.carolynbrigitflynn.com.
Saturday, July 11, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Brown, MIT, and Yale Information Session
Family
President Obama has asked all Americans to commit to at least a year of higher education, and if you’re going to comply, you might as well aim high. At this session for high-school students and their parents, representatives from three highly regarded East Coast universities – Brown, MIT, and Yale – will offer information about their institutions, admissions, and financial processes. Presented by Yale University.
Free, no tickets required.
LEARN MORE:
www.yale.edu
web.mit.edu
www.brown.edu.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
Great Hall, enter on 8th Avenue.
Chris Hedges: The End of Literacy
Civic
Newspapers are folding across the country, but we can’t get enough 140-character Twitter Tweets. Presidential debates and political rhetoric are delivered at a sixth-grade reading level. Serious film, theater, and books are pushed to the margins of society. It’s as if we live in two Americas, says Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges: One, now the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world that can cope with complexity and separate illusion from truth. The other, the majority, is retreating from the scary reality-based world into one of false certainty and squalid celebrity pseudo-events. Hedges, author of Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, visited professional wrestling bouts, the Adult Video News Awards, and Ivy League graduation ceremonies to expose the mechanisms used to divert us from confronting the economic, political, and moral collapse around us, and to chronicle the terrifying spiral of a dying culture. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with…
Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Howard Dean: ‘Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform’
Health
Americans have pondered how to reform healthcare since the days of Harry Truman. But little has changed except that healthcare costs have soared, health-insurance companies have grown, and millions of Americans lack health insurance, or pay for coverage that doesn’t protect them from serious illness. In his new book, Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform, the physician (and former Democratic National Committee Chairman, presidential candidate, and six-term governor) argues that all Americans need the option to participate in a public health-insurance program, much like Medicare. The book, co-written with Faiz Shakir and Igor Volsky, also explains President Obama’s healthcare plan; how other countries handle healthcare; which special interests are standing in the way of progress, and why; and how healthcare reform will help American businesses prosper. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life and the Future of Health Lecture Series, with Elliott Bay Book Company.
Tickets are $5 at…
Friday, July 24, 2009, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM.
Great Hall, enter on 8th Avenue.
Thom Hartmann: Saving a Planet in Peril
Civic
Witnessing a planet seemingly bound for the breaking point—socially, economically, and environmentally —the provocative radio commentator Thom Hartmann sees plenty of looming crises, as well as reasons for hope. Hartmann, author of Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture, says religious fundamentalism, capitalism run amok, and militarism are draining Earth of its natural and human resources, endangering millions for the benefit of a few. But by examining cultures that have thrived, and by targeting policy for specific reform, Hartmann offers solutions, and motivation for anyone hoping to build a better, more sustainable world. His nationally-syndicated radio show airs in Seattle from 9 a.m. to noon, on AM 1090. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with KPTK-AM 1090 and Elliott Bay Book Company.
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Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.
LEARN MORE:
Thom Hartmann Program:…
Thursday, July 30, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Future of Health: T.R. Reid: A Quest for Better Health Care
Health
According to the World Health Organization, the United States, the richest country in the world, ranks 37th overall on healthcare costs, quality, and coverage. As politicians, providers and just plain folks debate how to reform America’s healthcare system, NPR commentator and author T.R. Reid took a more global view: He visited successful healthcare systems around the world, examining why other countries have better, fairer, and cheaper healthcare than we do – and looking for ideas we could use. In his new book, The Healing of America, Reid concludes that one key lesson is that most foreign countries do not use socialized medicine. Japan has 99 percent private hospitals and 5,000 health-insurance companies, for example, but provides universal coverage and excellent care for less than half what we spend per capita. Presented as part of the Future of Health Lecture Series with University Book Store.
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Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm.…
Tuesday, September 8, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Science: Carol Yoon: ‘Naming Nature’
Science
Bellingham biologist and journalist Carol Yoon calls her new book, Naming Nature, “the story of the rise of a science, the science of taxonomy or the classification of all life,” even as it illuminates our urgent need to stay connected to the natural world by using familiar, rather than scientific, names. From Linnaeus, whose system turned classification from a hobby to a science, and Darwin, who ended the idea of rigid species definitions, to today’s dream of naming all of Earth’s species and listing them online, Yoon investigates the poetic and deeply human need to label the natural world, and what such a drive means to us today. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store.
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Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.
LEARN MORE:
http://carolyoon.com.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Robert Spector: Celebrating Mom & Pop Stores
Civic
Business journalist Robert Spector grew up working in his family’s butcher shop in New Jersey, where he learned invaluable lessons about the independent retail business—and about life. Mom & Pop stores like Spector’s Meat Market have always brought people together, fostering a sense of neighborhood identity and camaraderie, connecting people in big cities and small towns alike. Spector, who lives in Seattle and wrote The Nordstrom Way and The Mom & Pop Store, visited independent retailers across the country to discover the state of independent retailing, finding that small stores still thrive on attentive customer service and renewed community support for local businesses. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with University Book Store.
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Advance tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800/838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30. Town Hall members receive priority seating.
LEARN MORE:
www.robertspector.com
Read a story about Spector from the Deseret…
Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Historic Seattle: 2009 Bungalow Fair
Special Programming
Historic Seattle is dedicated to preserving our local architectural legacy, and because the bungalow is such a huge part of that, the Bungalow Fair has grown into a tradition of its own. The 12th annual weekend-long fair features Arts & Crafts lectures and more than 50 of the nation’s leading designers and craftspeople in metal, tile, glass, textiles, ceramics, and lighting; antiques dealers; architects; and interior designers who will show and sell antiques, contemporary furniture, and decorative arts. Lectures include "Thirty Years as an Arts & Crafts Collector" by author and columnist Bruce Johnson, at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and "The Glasgow Style" by author Laura Euler, at 11:30 am. Sunday. Event hours: 10 am-5 pm. Saturday, Sept. 26, and 10 am-4 pm. Sunday, Sept. 27.
Advance tickets are $8 Historic Seattle members/$10 general public/$5 students; each lecture is an additional $8/$10/$5, at www.historicseattle.org/events/orderform.aspx.
LEARN MORE
www.historicseattle.org.
Saturday, September 26, 2009, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Enter on 8th Avenue.
Historic Seattle: 2009 Bungalow Fair
Special Programming
Historic Seattle is dedicated to preserving our local architectural legacy, and because the bungalow is such a huge part of that, the Bungalow Fair has grown into a tradition of its own. The 12th annual weekend-long fair features Arts & Crafts lectures and more than 50 of the nation’s leading designers and craftspeople in metal, tile, glass, textiles, ceramics, and lighting; antiques dealers; architects; and interior designers who will show and sell antiques, contemporary furniture, and decorative arts. Lectures include "Thirty Years as an Arts & Crafts Collector" by author and columnist Bruce Johnson, at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, and "The Glasgow Style" by author Laura Euler, at 11:30 am. Sunday. Event hours: 10 am-5 pm. Saturday, Sept. 26, and 10 am-4 pm. Sunday, Sept. 27.
Advance tickets are $8 Historic Seattle members/$10 general public/$5 students; each lecture is an additional $8/$10/$5, at www.historicseattle.org/events/orderform.aspx.
LEARN MORE
www.historicseattle.org.
Sunday, September 27, 2009, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Enter on 8th Avenue.
Elliott Bay presents: David Byrne: A Talking Head on a Bike
Literary
David Byrne might be best known as leader of the new-wave band Talking Heads, but he’s also an author, an artist, and an avid cycling advocate. Moving beyond merely riding bikes, he recently started to contemplate their role in urban life. Byrne, author of Bicycle Diaries, lives and rides regularly in New York, but he’s also cycled through some of the world’s busiest cities–London, Berlin, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Paris, Belgrade, Sydney, and Manila. And all the while, he was chronicling what he saw from his “big window positioned at bike level that looks out on a dense man-made landscape.” Presented by Elliott Bay Book Company.
Tickets TBD. Call 206/624-6600 or visit www.elliottbaybook.com for more information.
LEARN MORE:
Byrne’s blog
www.davidbyrne.com
Read a New York Times story on Byrne the civic bicyclist.
Monday, September 28, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Great Hall, enter on 8th Avenue.
Science: Glen Chilton: ‘The Curse of the Labrador Duck’
Science
Like the passenger pigeon, the dodo, and the great auk, the Labrador Duck holds a revered status among extinct birds. Asked to write an article on the long-dead duck for the Birds of North America series, ornithologist Glen Chilton, Professor Emeritus at St. Mary’s University College in Calgary, Alberta, set out to chronicle every stuffed specimen of the bird in the world. Beset by challenges ranging from fabricated claims to Middle Eastern intrigue and insane millionaires, Chilton’s book documents an engaging and obsessive journey to the edge of extinction, yielding more than three trips around the globe, and 55 stuffed ducks. The title, by the way, refers to a particular duck that has changed hands many times and brought misfortune or an untimely death to each of its owners; its current owner is in prison. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store.
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Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800/838-3006 and at the…
Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall, enter on Seneca Street.
Michael J. Sandel: Justice for All of Us
Civic
Professor Michael J. Sandel and his jam-packed “Justice” courses are legendary at Harvard: The course is one of the most highly attended in the university’s history, with swarms of students packing the campus theater to hear Sandel connect the big questions of political philosophy to the most vexing issues of modern life. What are our obligations to others as people in a free society? Should government tax the rich to help the poor? Is it ever wrong to tell the truth? Questions such as these are at the core of our public life, and at the heart of Sandel’s belief that a firm grasp of philosophy can help us make sense of politics, morality, and our own convictions. Sandel is the author of many books, including Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life, with University Book Store.
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Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.
LEARN MORE:
Watch Professor…
Thursday, October 1, 2009, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.