Culture Fiend

Four Things to Know Before John Irving Comes to Town

Always be prepared.

Posted by: Brandon L. Bye on May 14, 2012 at 02:00PM 0 Comments

The world according to John.

John Irving’s 13th novel, In One Person, which came out last week, gives us yet another classic Irving outsider—a fatherless boy prone to sexual mishaps—and a timely discussion of intolerance. Here are four things you should know before the author reads from his latest book at Town Hall on Thursday:

— John Irving is one of America’s great contemporary storytellers, and one of the last of his kind. He writes first drafts in longhand. He was in the room with Kurt Vonnegut when that little old “Dresden novel” was in the typewriter. The man is a modern legend.

—His readings, like his character-driven stories, are theatrical. Imagine a reading of A Prayer for Owen Meany. THAT WOULD BE A SIGHT TO BEHOLD. The author grips the lectern. His glasses pinch low on his nose. He locks eyes with the audience, barely glancing at the text as he “reads.” He knows the story so well it seems the book is for appearance’s sake.

—The term “sexual suspect.” It’s an Irvingism first used in The World According to Garp for someone who doesn’t fit neatly into the get-married-have-kids formula for a happy life. In In One Person, bisexual narrator Billy Abbott is another one of Irving’s sexual suspects, walking us through a lifetime of desire and discovery, starting with his early “crushes on the wrong people” (the school wrestling star, the transgender librarian Miss Frost).

—Irving’s book couldn’t come out at a better time. These days, while bullying is a top news topic (ahem, Mitt Romney) and everyone from President Obama to Governor Gregoire is taking a stand in favor of marriage equality, In One Person has become part of an important conversation concerning human rights. Irving’s reading is a chance for you to take part in it.

John Irving
May 17 at 7, Town Hall, free, no tickets required

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks

Coming to Town Hall: George R.R. Martin, Chuck Palahniuk

Winter is coming…this summer.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on May 07, 2012 at 02:00PM 1 Comments

Photo courtesy Karolina Webb.

That’s no sea captain George R. R. Martin has been called the “American Tolkien” by Time magazine. The New York Times says he’s even better than that.

Fresh off of last night’s episode of Game of Thrones—curse you, Theon!—comes this exciting news: George R.R. Martin, author of the bestselling Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series that birthed HBO’s bloody, lusty, Peabody Award–winning Thrones, will visit Seattle this July for a reading at Town Hall. Though Thrones TV is only two seasons/books in, Martin is currently working on the sixth of seven installments, The Winds of Winter, which he’ll preview here. (He’s also teasing chapters on his website, if you just can’t wait.) No publication date set yet, but speaking for everyone who just finished reading his 1,016-page fifth novel, we need a little time off to, you know, buy groceries, or read a magazine, or talk to our spouses.

Also coming to Town Hall in July: Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, touting Invisible Monsters Remix, an update of his ’99 novel Invisible Monsters with new scenes, new design, and some memoir laced in.

Both authors travel to Seattle courtesy of the Clarion West Writers Workshop, an annual intensive for fledgling sci-fi and fantasy writers that draws the likes of Martin and Palahniuk each year as instructors. This summer’s workshop is already booked, but CW will start accepting applications for the 2013 summer session in December.

If you can’t take a sabbatical to write about dragons, get your tickets now for these Town Hall talks.

George R.R. Martin
July 3 at 7 at Town Hall

Chuck Palahniuk
July 24 at 7 at Town Hall

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Tags: Ticket Alerts, Town Hall, Books & Talks

Bushwick Book Club Seattle Sets Hunter S. Thompson to Music

An unusual book club creates songs of fear and loathing for the concert hall.

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Dec 09, 2011 at 10:25AM 0 Comments

Illustration: Carty Sewill

Originally published December 2011. "There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge,” Hunter S. Thompson warns in the opening pages of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as he freewheels across the Nevada desert in a red Chevy convertible with a trunk full of drugs and booze. (“Two bags of grass, 75 pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine…”)

But what would Thompson’s mescaline-fueled misadventures sound like if they were a symphony? It’s the latest challenge set by Seattle’s Bushwick Book Club, a rotating cast of singer-songwriters that performs original music inspired by a monthly reading assignment. Bushwick launched in October 2010 with a Slaughterhouse-Five session at the Can Can cabaret (and about 50 friends in the audience). Since then, they’ve tackled S. E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, Frank Miller’s graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, even Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Tonight, they’ll hold their biggest show yet, as the 60-piece Seattle Rock Orchestra joins them for a little Fear and Loathing at Town Hall.

Read more about the Bushwick Book Club in our December feature.

The Bushwick Book Club Seattle and Seattle Rock Orchestra Present: Original Music Inspired by Hunter S. Thompson’s ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’, Dec 9 at 8pm at Town Hall. Tickets are $13–$15.

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Tags: Concert, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Town Hall, Books & Talks

TONIGHT: Nathan Myhrvold on How to Use a Centrifuge in the Kitchen

The coauthor of Modernist Cuisine mixes things up at Town Hall.

Posted by: Seattle Met staff on Dec 05, 2011 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

“This book will change the way we understand the kitchen,” says leading molecular gastronomist Ferran Adrià, of the 2,438-page, six-volume Modernist Cuisine that Nathan Myhrvold coauthored. The former Microsoft chief technology officer will discuss the science of cooking, from sous vide to the many uses of a centrifuge, tonight at 7:30 at Town Hall. And as of this morning, tickets ($5) were still available at brownpapertickets.com. If you want a preview, watch the fairly hilarious Today show video above. Myhrvold, ever earnest, makes a striped mushroom omelette with dehydrated mushroom puree, and Matt Lauer can’t resist a few jabs: “Other than just because you can, what’s the purpose of this?”

There’s even more Myhrvold in our future: Nosh Pit’s Allecia Vermillion reports that he’ll be a guest chef on reality show Top Chef this season, taste testing some of East Texas’s best barbecue. The episode airs January 4.

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks, Modernist Cuisine, Nathan Myhrvold

John Hodgman Will Prepare Us for the Coming Global Superpocalypse

Posted by: Laura Dannen on Nov 02, 2011 at 03:00PM 0 Comments

“If you are not concerned about identity theft and ferrets, then you are living in a fantasy world.” — John Hodgman

What, you haven’t heard of Ragnarok, the coming global superpocalypse? (Not to be confused with the Mayan apocalypse, which some say already came and went. Surprise!) We’re talking about the latest prediction by John Hodgman, The Daily Show’s longtime resident expert and purveyor of fake facts, in the final installment of his Complete World Knowledge trilogy, That Is All (on sale November 1). He’ll coach us on how to prepare for the end of the world at Town Hall next Monday, but before then, here’s a handy tip on “how to make essential household products yourself” postapocalypse.

“Like all things with computers inside of them, microwave ovens will be rendered useless by the omega pulse. So if you want to enjoy good, old-fashioned microwave popcorn, you’re going to have to dip into your dried corn stockpile, and then kidnap one of the descendants of Orville Redenbacher, about a third of whom still carry his telepathic mind-popping gene."

Hodgman’s arrival is yet another reason Seattle is a hilarious place to be this month.

John Hodgman is at Town Hall on Nov 7. This event is presented by Elliott Bay Book Company.

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Tags: Comedy, Elliott Bay Book Co, Town Hall, Books & Talks, John Hodgman

Big Trimpin: Seattle Sound Artist Unveils New Book at Town Hall

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on Jun 22, 2011 at 04:00PM 0 Comments

Trimpin, the Seattle sound artist behind the EMP’s If VI Was IX (pictured), celebrates the release of his new book at Town Hall.

Trimpin. The name sounds familiar, right? It should: It belongs to the Seattle-based sound sculptor behind the Experience Music Project’s If VI Was IX, that tornado of self-picking, self-tuning guitars. “My work is always visualizing sound,” the artist says. "A blind person can hear the movement and a deaf person can see it.”

Although Trimpin’s work has appeared all over Seattle (remember KeyArena’s Hydraulis, the wall of water that responded to the movement of sports fans?), access to most of his projects is limited. Only a few of his sculptures are viewable; he doesn’t allow recordings of his music; and then there’s the problem of commercial viability. It’s kind of hard to purchase a Bunsen burner-powered organ designed to float on water while making duck call noises.

Published this month, coffee table book Trimpin: Contraptions for Art and Sound was designed to fill the void, and document—as best a 2D rendering can—the artist’s major works. The book is composed of passages by Trimpin, paragraphs lifted from museum programs, and essays by writers, composers, curators, and friends. “The (Un)Common Object” by Washington State University museum of art director Chris Bruce is a particularly insightful look at how Trimpin fits into the tradition of sculpture (hint: he doesn’t).

Illustrated with large photographs, the book’s visual style is geared toward clarity, not glamour shots. The most exciting images are the colorful sketches, diagrams, and blueprints of Trimpin’s outlandish contraptions. The designs take you inside Trimpin’s artistic process—a joyful collision of messiness and precision, music and science. It appeals to artists and tech geeks alike.

Trimpin’s known for a while he’s not quite like the rest of us: In the afterword, he thanks his parents for “ignoring the fourth-grade teacher’s warning that ‘there was something wrong with my logical way of thinking.’” But perhaps its us who should be thanking him.

Town Hall will host a launch party for Trimpin on June 24 at 6pm. The artist will be on hand to discuss the book and provide “a musical interlude.”

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Tags: Visual Art, Review, Town Hall, Art Events, Books & Talks, University Bookstore

Free Comic Book Day

This Saturday, celebrate the nation’s best holiday you’ve never heard of.

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on May 05, 2011 at 11:00AM 0 Comments

Free Green Lanterns for everyone!*

(*While supplies last.)

Duck into any participating U.S. or Canadian comic book shop on Saturday (find one near you with the store locator) for your very own complimentary comic. If the latest installment of Green Lantern isn’t really your thing, there’s a host of other book events that day to keep you entertained:

Comedian Demetri Martin (you know, the “Senior Youth Correspondent” on The Daily Show) will make an appearance at University Book Store to talk about his new publication This Is a Book by Demetri Martin Called This Is a Book.

Charlaine Harris —author of the paperback series that spawned HBO’s True Blood—will be at Town Hall promoting the latest Sookie Stackhouse adventure, Dead Reckoning. The tickets start at $35, but this price doesn’t actually suck (sorry!): It includes a signed book and an alcoholic beverage of your choice.

For a more thought-provoking time, head over to Pilot Books, where New Orleans photographer Jennifer Shaw will sign and speak about Hurricane Story. Told through 46 photographs, Shaw uses dolls, toys, and a plastic Holga camera to illustrate her real-life escape from Hurricane Katrina.

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Tags: Pilot Books, Free Stuff, Town Hall, Books & Talks, University Bookstore

Paul Allen Talks Yachts and Gates at Town Hall

The Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist shows off his lighter side.

Posted by: Annie Rose Favreau on Apr 25, 2011 at 10:00AM 1 Comments

"At some point when I was a teenager, I thought, programming or music? Programming won.” —Paul Allen at Town Hall Seattle, Apr 22, 2011.

For someone usually described as reserved, Microsoft cofounder and Seattle native Paul Allen showed off his lighter side for a sold-out Town Hall crowd on Friday night. Let it be said that the man who owns three of the world’s largest yachts isn’t afraid to laugh at himself—and poke a little fun at fellow cofounder Bill Gates, too. Who knew Gates once tried to eat chicken with a spoon?

Moderated by GeekWire’s Todd Bishop, the conversation didn’t shy away from serious topics—including Allen’s recent bout with cancer, and the media controversy about his new and decidedly candid memoir, Idea Man, which details his scuffle with Gates over Microsoft ownership. “You are faced with a decision… Are you going to make [the memoir] unvarnished, warts and all?” Allen said. “I wanted something of substance, something that was accurate, something that was honest.” He was equally frank the rest of the evening:

On whether the memoir jeopardized his friendship with Bill Gates: “I don’t think so, but I’m sure there are things in the book that Bill wants to discuss… That discussion will be very, very intense.”

On the good ol’ days at Microsoft: “It’s good to go back to those halcyon days of when you were 20 and you go into the office and Bill is asleep in a doorway…”

On his yachts: “They’re too big and they’re too many of them. Do I need to say anything else?”

On the South Lake Union Trolley, aka SLUT (which Allen owns): “I haven’t ridden the trolley yet… I was always more of a monorail type myself.”

Star Wars, Star Trek, or Battlestar Galactica? “All of them.”

On submarines: “It turns out if you go about 1,000 feet down, it’s really dark. The animals are really strange. But put on some Pink Floyd and it’s fantastic.”

On the search for extraterrestrial intelligence: “It’s a very, very long shot. If they do hear something, they’re supposed to call me.”

On cancer: “Whenever you go through one of these treatment regimens many things are completely out of your control. You just have to be patient… On the other hand, realize that if there isn’t a positive outcome, your time may be limited. It makes you that much more focused on realizing your dreams and hopes. All of our times on this planet are limited.”

On Seattle: “It’s home. This is home.”

On Twitter: “I was thinking, I should send out some tweet saying, ‘Bitter billionaire retires. This is my last tweet. Look out Howard Hughes. Going to Vegas today.’”

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Tags: Tech, Town Hall, Books & Talks, Paul Allen, Microsoft

This Week’s Literary Events: David Laskin, Joyce Carol Oates, Paul Allen

Posted by: Allison Williams on Apr 18, 2011 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

From Ellis Island to the Great War David Laskin follows 12 new Americans who fought for the U.S. during WWI in his book The Long Way Home.

As a writer for Seattle Met, David Laskin has gotten lost in the Oregon prairie, deciphered Northwest weather and unearthed a dream island in the Georgia Strait. But the busy traveler stays put for his latest project, The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War, which profiles 12 newly minted Americans who fought for their adopted country in World War I.

As part of the research process, Laskin also interviewed fellow Seattelite Tom Gudmestad, a Great War historian who managed to contact some 500 WWI veterans before they passed, collecting tales of death in the trenches and terrified teenagers. Laskin will talk war stories at Elliott Bay Books on Wednesday, April 20, at 7pm.

Also this week: If Joyce Carol Oates makes you feel lazy (she’s written 50 novels, numerous short stories and has won the National Book Award and National Humanities Medal), you’re not alone. The literary luminary speaks tonight at Benaroya Hall; tickets ($15–$70) are available at lectures.org. The man who actually gets to call them my Seattle Seahawks, Paul Allen, reads from his new memoir on Friday, April 22, at 7:30pm at Town Hall. Tickets are $5 at 800-838-3006 or townhallseattle.org.

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Tags: Elliott Bay Book Co, Town Hall, Books & Talks, Seattle Arts and Lectures, Seattle Met Around Town

Tickets Available for Paul Allen’s Talk at Town Hall

He makes us want to be a billionaire so freaking bad.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Apr 08, 2011 at 12:30PM 0 Comments

Paul Allen’s new memoir, Idea Man, is out April 19.

Seattle’s resident Bruce Wayne, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, spills his secrets to success in his upcoming book Idea Man (step 1: Invent Microsoft, and it’s all downhill from there). He’ll be interviewed by GeekWire’s Todd Bishop on Friday, April 22 at Town Hall, and tickets ($5) are going quickly; buy now at brownpapertickets.com or 800-838-3006.

As noted by Knute Berger of Crosscut.com, Paul Allen is the kind of billionaire we’d all be in our dreams. He starts geek museums, owns a soccer team, buys cool movie theaters, and runs a trolley called the SLUT through downtown. And need we mention space tourism ? Which isn’t to say that Allen’s spendy ways are always popular; his book is bound to raise discussion regarding his Microsoft days and city-reshaping ventures. Before you see him in person, get a head start on his memoir, out April 19, at vanityfair.com.

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks, Paul Allen

Sarah Vowell Leis It On Us

Hear the NPR favorite break down Hawaiian history, or check out this week’s other literary events.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Mar 28, 2011 at 09:30AM 0 Comments

Photo courtesy Bennett Mil.

Sarah Vowell reads from Unfamiliar Fishes March 28 at Town Hall.

You’ve already heard essayist Sarah Vowell if you’re an NPR fan (she was a regular on This American Life ) or saw The Incredibles (she voiced whispery Violet). After writing several books about Puritans and American history, Vowell went where all research nerds go—the beach. Unfamiliar Fishes traces the history of Hawaii from bloody unification to bloodless annexation by the U.S.; hear Vowell read from the book at 7:30 tonight at Town Hall; $5 tickets available at brownpapertickets.com. Or just book your tickets to Honolulu already, since Vowell’s fact-heavy chronicle is enough to inspire a visit. Here’s three good reasons from Unfamiliar Fishes to island-hop right now:

— On Kamehameha Day (June 11, so start planning!), Hawaii puts on floral parades to honor a native king who unified the islands back in 1790. Ol’ Kamehameha pulled that off by killing so many people on Maui, the dead bodies formed a human dam in a river. So…party time?

— Check out the state’s popular plate lunch: It’s a boxed meal that combines Japanese rice, American macaroni salad, and meat, like Polynesian roast pork or a hamburger patty topped with gravy and a fried egg. Vowell uses it as a metaphor for the various foreign influences on Hawaiian culture (the melting pot and all that), but mostly it sounds like a killer combo of chow. President Obama reportedly misses the meal out in D.C.

— Hawaii has America’s only royal palace, ’Iolani (you saw it as the police HQ on the old Hawaii Five-O). The country’s last queen, Liliuokalani, was locked up in a room there when the U.S. annexed Hawaii. It’s Manifest Destiny meets medieval fairy tale.

Also this week: Dan Savage and partner Terry Miller discuss their new book, It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying and Creating a Life Worth Living, tomorrow night at 7:30 at Town Hall. Then on Friday, April 1 at 7:30pm, the no. 1 author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective book series, Alexander McCall Smith, reads from his latest at the Seattle Public Library. Also that night, rue the comic indignities of parenthood at Third Place Books with blogger Jeremy Greenberg, who shares his collection Sorry I Peed on You: And Other Heartwarming Letters to Mommy. It’s free at 6:30pm at Third Place Books.

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks, Sarah Vowell, Third Place Books

David Brooks Gets Inside Our Heads at Town Hall

Ponder life’s questions with a New York Times all-star, or check out this week’s other literary events.

Posted by: Allison Williams on Mar 21, 2011 at 10:15AM 0 Comments

New York Times columnist David Brooks knows why you are the way you are.

If you’ve been plagued by existential questions lately—the “Who am I?” and “Why did I do that?” sort, not “How could Butler only be an 8 seed in the NCAA tourney?”—consider heading to Town Hall tonight, March 21, at 7:30. Writer and social commentator David Brooks has a few things to say on the matter of our existence.

Who he is You know how Sarah Palin uses catchy slogans and TV spots to spread her right-wing message? Brooks is the opposite kind of celebrity conservative. He writes intellectual columns for the New York Times, and even dared to say ‘Barack Obama should run for president’ back in 2006. (And not just because he hoped Obama would crash and burn. Because he actually liked the guy.)

Why he’s talking Back in 2001, Brooks wrote the social study Bobos in Paradise (think Stuff White People Like for the cocktail-party set). Now he’s releasing The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement (March 2011, Random House), which looks at the unconscious and social influences on a fictional American couple. He’ll talk about human nature and success—and why we’re not really in control of our destiny at all. Cheery thought! Tickets ($5) are available at the door starting at 6:30 (cash or check only).

Also this week Music journalist-turned-pickup artist Neil Strauss signs his new book Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead at the University Book Store at 7pm on Tuesday. Sci-fi goddess Ursula K. Le Guin reads her poetry at Seattle Public Library’s Central branch on Wednesday (free event), and Seattle’s Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, is the featured guest at Thursday’s fundraising dinner Words Matter at the W Hotel, in support of Seattle Arts and Lectures. Tickets are $150.

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Tags: Town Hall, Books & Talks, University Bookstore, Seattle Public Library