Town Hall Seattle http://townhallseattle.org Arts Science Civics Culture Community Wed, 16 May 2012 23:41:53 +0000 en hourly 1 Science: Frank Partnoy: The Art & Science of Delay http://townhallseattle.org/science-frank-partnoy-the-art-science-of-delay/ http://townhallseattle.org/science-frank-partnoy-the-art-science-of-delay/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 23:40:40 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9427 Full houses at Town Hall this spring heard Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow) and Jonah Lehrer (Imagine) talk about what the latest neurobiology research tells us about how we think. Now, Frank Partnoy, a leading expert of financial market regulation, draws from the world of finance and sports to show how decisions of all kinds, whether “snap” or long-term strategic, benefit from being made at the last possible moment. In Wait: The Art and Science of Delay, Partnoy demonstrates that procrastination is often virtuous, that patience is the path to happiness, and that our gut instincts often betray us. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.

Advance tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

LEARN MORE:
Partnoy’s site

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/science-frank-partnoy-the-art-science-of-delay/feed/ 0 Touché: 1930s Paris Jazz Cabaret http://townhallseattle.org/touche-1930s-paris-jazz-cabaret/ http://townhallseattle.org/touche-1930s-paris-jazz-cabaret/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 23:27:52 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9425 More]]> Enjoy an evening of dancing to French Gypsy Jazz as Christophe Changnard and his Gypsy Jazz Sextet, Touché, recreate the music made famous by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli. Chagnard, a Paris native, is also Music Director of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra and the Northwest Sinfonietta. Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres and dessert. Beverages available for purchase. Presented by the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association and the Seattle-Nantes Dollars for Scholars.

Tickets are $25/$23 Seattle-Nantes and Town Hall members (table for four)/$20/$18 theatre-style/$14/$13 students & seniors at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006.

LEARN MORE:
www.seattle-nantes.org
www.seattle-nantesscholars.org

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/touche-1930s-paris-jazz-cabaret/feed/ 0 University Book Store: An Evening with Laurell K. Hamilton http://townhallseattle.org/university-book-store-an-evening-with-laurell-k-hamilton/ http://townhallseattle.org/university-book-store-an-evening-with-laurell-k-hamilton/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 23:24:46 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9422 Kiss the Dead is the 21st book in her breakout Anita Blake series, and finds the vampire hunting U.S. Marshal searching for a fifteen-year-old girl who discovers a group of bloodsuckers unlike any she's seen before–a group of terrifyingly ordinary people. ]]> Laurell K. Hamilton is the Billie Holiday of erotic urban fantasy—trend-setting, genre-defining, often imitated but never supplanted. Kiss the Dead is the 21st book in her breakout Anita Blake series, and finds the vampire hunting U.S. Marshal searching for a fifteen-year-old girl who discovers a group of bloodsuckers unlike any she’s seen before–a group of terrifyingly ordinary people. Talk can include R-rated topics. No signing at event. Presented by University Book Store.

Tickets are $30/$35 for a companion ticket at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006 (includes one signed copy of ‘Kiss the Dead’).

LEARN MORE:
www.laurellkhamilton.org

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/university-book-store-an-evening-with-laurell-k-hamilton/feed/ 0 Science: John Palfrey: The Dream of a Common Tech Language http://townhallseattle.org/science-john-palfrey-the-dream-of-a-common-tech-language/ http://townhallseattle.org/science-john-palfrey-the-dream-of-a-common-tech-language/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 23:08:17 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9418 Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems, John Palfrey, Harvard Law professor and technology expert (with co-author Urs Gasser), illustrates how interoperability is a critical aspect of any successful system and is more important than ever in today’s interconnected world.]]> Interoperability—the standardization and integration of technology—will determine the ways in which technological integration and innovation will flourish in the future. In Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems, John Palfrey, Harvard Law professor and technology expert (with co-author Urs Gasser), illustrates how interoperability is a critical aspect of any successful system and is more important than ever in today’s interconnected world. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.

Advance tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006 and at the door beginning at 5:30 pm. Ticket also gains admission to Richard Martin at 7:30 pm

LEARN MORE:
Palfrey’s blog


]]> http://townhallseattle.org/science-john-palfrey-the-dream-of-a-common-tech-language/feed/ 0 **CANCELLED** David Crist: Our Secret War with Iran http://townhallseattle.org/david-crist-our-secret-war-with-iran/ http://townhallseattle.org/david-crist-our-secret-war-with-iran/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 00:48:05 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9377 The Twilight War, reveals the war’s secret negotiations, clandestine counterattacks, and hidden casualties and explains why, although much has changed since 1979, Iran and America remain each other’s biggest national-security nightmares.]]> For three decades, the United States and Iran have engaged in a secret war that began with the Iranian Revolution and simmers today inside Iraq and in the Persian Gulf. This briar patch of a conflict has frustrated five American presidents (snaring its sixth with Barack Obama), divided administrations, and repeatedly threatened to bring the two nations into open warfare. A senior historian for the federal government with unparalleled access, David Crist, author of The Twilight War, reveals the war’s secret negotiations, clandestine counterattacks, and hidden casualties and explains why, although much has changed since 1979, Iran and America remain each other’s biggest national-security nightmares. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life with the World Affairs Council and University Book Store.  Series supported by The Boeing Company, the RealNetworks Foundation, and the True/Brown Foundation.


 

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/david-crist-our-secret-war-with-iran/feed/ 0 Science: Sam Kean: The Case of the Mysterious DNA http://townhallseattle.org/science-sam-kean-the-case-of-the-mysterious-dna/ http://townhallseattle.org/science-sam-kean-the-case-of-the-mysterious-dna/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 00:08:00 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9374 The Violinist's Thumb, for instance, refers to Niccolo Paganini, who suffered from a rare genetic disorder that gave him "freakishly flexible fingers," as well as a host of painful ailments. ]]> Bestselling author Sam Kean explores genetics with the panache of Sherlock Holmes and the storytelling chops of Arthur Conan Doyle. The eponymous violinist of Kean’s new book The Violinist’s Thumb, for instance, refers to Niccolo Paganini, who suffered from a rare genetic disorder that gave him “freakishly flexible fingers,” as well as a host of painful ailments. Wunderkind Kean also tackles the case of Homo Sapiens vs. Neanderthals (we won), and illuminates the work of Darwin and contemporary scientists alike. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.

Advance tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

LEARN MORE:
http://samkean.com

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/science-sam-kean-the-case-of-the-mysterious-dna/feed/ 0 Global Voices: John Dramani Mahama: My First Coup d’Etat http://townhallseattle.org/global-voices-john-dramani-mahama-my-first-coup-detat/ http://townhallseattle.org/global-voices-john-dramani-mahama-my-first-coup-detat/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 23:56:27 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9372 My First Coup d’Etat, Ghanaian Vice President John Dramani Mahama chronicles his coming-of-age during the dismal post-independence “lost decades” of Africa. ]]> In his literary debut, the memoir My First Coup d’Etat, Ghanaian Vice President John Dramani Mahama chronicles his coming-of-age during the dismal post-independence “lost decades” of Africa. Offering a look at the country that’s long been considered Africa’s success story, Mahama recalls his childhood—he was 7 years old when rumors of a coup reached his boarding school in Accra, and his father, a minister of state, was imprisoned for more than a year—and how he grew up to be vice president of his nation. Presented as part of the Global Voices thread of the Town Hall Center for Civic Life with the World Affairs Council and Elliott Bay Book Company. Series supported by The Boeing Company, the RealNetworks Foundation, and the True/Brown Foundation.

Tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

LEARN MORE:
Mahama’s page at The Huffington Post

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/global-voices-john-dramani-mahama-my-first-coup-detat/feed/ 0 Meghan McCain and Michael Ian Black: A Love Letter to Freedom http://townhallseattle.org/meghan-mccain-and-michael-ian-black-a-love-letter-to-freedom/ http://townhallseattle.org/meghan-mccain-and-michael-ian-black-a-love-letter-to-freedom/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 23:48:36 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9370 In the summer of 2011, writer (and John’s famous daughter) Meghan McCain and comedian Michael Ian Black embarked on a political cannonball of a cross-country tour. They talked to politicians, gun lovers, abortion-rights advocates and opponents, gay parents, flag burners, Muslims, poker players, Tea Partiers, veterans, teen moms, bikers, fast-food workers, and a hooker or two. They toured the White House. They fired semiautomatic weapons. They ate at every Olive Garden along the way. But mostly they talked to each other about their differences and their similarities. And then they wrote it all down as a red, white and blue letter called America, You Sexy Bitch. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life with University Book Store. Series supported by The Boeing Company, the RealNetworks Foundation, and the True/Brown Foundation.

Tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

LEARN MORE:

http://mccainblogette.com/

www.michaelianblack.net/

 

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/meghan-mccain-and-michael-ian-black-a-love-letter-to-freedom/feed/ 0 Science: Brian Fagan: Tales of Brave Mariners http://townhallseattle.org/science-brian-fagan-tales-of-brave-mariners/ http://townhallseattle.org/science-brian-fagan-tales-of-brave-mariners/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 23:39:03 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9367 Beyond the Blue Horizon, chronicles our enduring quest to master the oceans, the planet’s most mysterious terrain. From the moment ancient Polynesians first dared to sail beyond the horizon, Fagan reveals how seafaring evolved, and how our mastery of the oceans changed the course of human history.]]> We all know Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 14 hundred and 92, yet much earlier mariners made equally bold and world-changing voyages. Archaeologist/historian Brian Fagan, author of Beyond the Blue Horizon, chronicles our enduring quest to master the oceans, the planet’s most mysterious terrain. From the moment ancient Polynesians first dared to sail beyond the horizon, Fagan reveals how seafaring evolved, and how our mastery of the oceans changed the course of human history. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Series media sponsorship provided by KPLU.

Advance tickets are $5 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006 and at the door beginning at 5:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

LEARN MORE:
www.brianfagan.com

]]> http://townhallseattle.org/science-brian-fagan-tales-of-brave-mariners/feed/ 0 Clarion West Summer Reading Series: Chuck Palahniuk http://townhallseattle.org/clarion-west-summer-reading-series-chuck-palahniuk/ http://townhallseattle.org/clarion-west-summer-reading-series-chuck-palahniuk/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 23:30:22 +0000 sheila http://townhallseattle.org/?p=9362 Fight Club. A self-described minimalist, Palahniuk blends horror and satire to create genre-crossing stories about nontraditional protagonists.]]> Bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk reads from new work as part of Clarion West’s writer workshop—and it might be OK to talk about Fight Club. A self-described minimalist, Palahniuk blends horror and satire to create genre-crossing stories about nontraditional protagonists: Fight Club won the 1997 Oregon Book Award and became a controversial cult film, Choke was a New York Times bestseller, and Lullaby won the 2003 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award. Also an ardent teacher, Palahniuk is an instructor at this summer’s annual workshop, and the 2012 Susan C. Petrey Fellow. Presented by the Clarion West Writers Workshop.

Advance tickets are $10 at Brown Paper Tickets or 800/838-3006.

LEARN MORE:
http://www.clarionwest.org
http://chuckpalahniuk.net

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