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November Geek About Town!

Hi everyone!

First and foremost, many thanks to all of you who came out to GeekGirlCon ‘14! We had ourselves a great time! While our con year for 2015 begins, enjoy what November has in store for the Seattle geek!

Saturday, November 1-Sunday, November 2: Día de Muertos: A Mexican Celebration to Remember Our Departed
From the website: “Seattle Center Festál presents Dia de Muertos – A Mexican Celebration to Remember Our Departed, Nov. 1 and 2. Explore and experience the cultural roots of Mexico through live performances, spectacular community altar and cemetery, special hands-on activities, foods, face painting and exquisite rituals. Create sugar skulls and paper skeletons, explore community altars and march in a musical procession to remember the dead. The art and spirituality of Mexican culture is celebrated at Dia de Muertos. This “Day of the Dead” festival honors the lives of loved ones who have passed.”

Sunday, November 2: Game Design Workshop
From the Meetup page: “Want to make games but not sure you have enough time? Lack the programming chops to turn your ideas into reality? Or perhaps you’d just like to practice designing games?
Join us for an afternoon of good, old fashioned game making! We’ll be using pen, paper, and various other odds and ends to design games from scratch.”

Friday, November 7-Saturday, November 8 (Recurring every Friday and Saturday of November): Citizen Zero
From the press release: “Citizen Zero is an urban street game for adults where you’ll run for your life from zombies. Think of it as a massive game of tag + hide and seek in Downtown Seattle. Essentially it’s a chance to act as your favorite character from such favorites as Left 4 Dead, The Walking Dead, or 28 Days Later.

This event is for 18+. Run from zombies, and help Chase the Cure for Cancer. 10% of every ticket sold goes to our non-profit charity partner, the Seattle Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.”

The event costs $40-65, and happens Nov. 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 21st, and 22nd from 6:30-9pm.”

Saturday, November 8: Hmong New Year Celebration
From the website: “Seattle Center Festál presents Hmong New Year Celebration, Saturday, November 8. Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of the people from the hilltops of China, Laos and Thailand through live performances, visual arts, hands-on activities, foods, games, and a lively marketplace. Gain insights into the customary courtship ritual of ball tossing and participate in flower cloth sessions. The Lunar New Year is a time for the Hmong people to reflect on the past year and seek out new beginnings. Hmong New Year Celebration helps Hmong people to reflect on the past year and seek out new beginnings. The Hmong New Year Celebration helps preserve the unique culture of this Southeast Asian highland culture that originates in the mountains of China.

Presented in partnership with Hmong Association of Washington.”

Monday, November 10: Board Game Night at AFK Elixirs & Eatery
From the Meetup page: It’s time for another board game night at AFK Elixirs & Eatery 🙂 So come play games with us Monday night, Board games, card games, Video game, Mini’s, RPG’s … games! Meet some new people and play a new game, all while enjoying a nice meal and some drinks.”

Friday, November 14: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse
From the Meetup page: Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find King of Tokyo, Völuspá, Alien Frontiers,Tsuro, Locke & Key, Coup, Tokaido, The Resistance, Skull and Roses, Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders, Toc Toc Woodman, and many more!

Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee. There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay.”

Sunday, November 16:  Handmade Puppet Dreams: Vol. 2 and Toby Froud’s “Lessons Learned”
From the announcement: “Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam is proud to team up with Krab Jab Studio and the Grand Illusion Cinema to present an evening of short puppet films produced by Heather Henson, plus a Q&A with puppeteer Toby Froud. Handmade Puppet Dreams: Volume 2 and Froud’s short film “Lessons Learned” will screen November 16th at the Grand Illusion Cinema starting at 6pm.

Handmade Puppet Dreams: Volume 2 is an award-winning collection of puppet film shorts, handpicked to showcase a spectrum of live-action puppetry styles. With the Handmade Puppet Dream series, Heather Henson has set out to introduce a new generation of puppeteers who embrace film as a medium for breathing life into their dreams.

“Lessons Learned” is an award-winning short film created by Toby Froud and produced by Heather Henson. Well known as “Baby Toby” in Jim Henson’s “Labyrinth”, Toby Froud is a Portland, OR based sculptor, costumed performer, and puppeteer who is also a fabricator for the recently released stop-motion animation film “Boxtrolls”.

Handmade Puppet Dreams: Volume 2 includes: “Harker” by Tony Giordano, Jason Murphy, & Scott Shoemaker; “Finger Puppets Everywhere” by Laura Heit; “Unicycle Baby Guy” by Matty Sidle; “A Small World” by Lyon Hill; “Project Huxley” by Simon A. Brown; “The Tea Party” by Kate Artibee; “Isemond” by Xander Marrow & Mat Brinkman; “Hold Me Now” by Damien Eckhardt-Jacobi and Vincent Bova; “Dante’s Inferno” by Sean Meredith; “Hot in Herre” by Thomas Sontag & Alex Moulton.

*despite the presence of puppets, this program is not intended for children

For those who can never get enough puppet action, Froud will also give an intro to the screening of Labyrinth the same night. Tickets for this screening will be sold separately and are available in advance on the Grand Illusion website.

Wednesday, November 19: Recreational Marjiuana: Science & Society
From the event page: “Please join AWIS and ACS for this forward-thinking scientific panel discussion, where we will be exploring topics such as regulating impaired driving, ensuring quality control of marijuana and cannabis-based products, understanding and treating marijuana dependency, and neurochemical and neurobiological issues surrounding marijuana use. Our distinguished panelists are:

Michelle Sexton, ND, Founder and Chief Science Officer of PhytaLab, Washington’s original cannabis quality assurance testing facility;

Caleb J. Banta-Green, PhD, MPH, MSW, Senior research scientist for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI) at the University of Washington, studying the impacts of legalized cannabis on impaired driving in Washington State

Denise Walker, PhD, Research Associate Professor at the UW School of Social Work, studying marijuana dependency and addictive behaviors in adults;
Pratistha Ranjitkar, PhD, Clinical Chemistry Fellow for the UW Department of Laboratory Medicine, studying the development of clinical laboratory methods and testing.

Our panelists will discuss their specific programs and research, the way that their science intersects with law and policy, explain the current challenges in working in the field, and answer YOUR specific questions! This panel will be a guided discussion, but we are soliciting questions from YOU prior to the panel. If you have a question you would like to ask, email programs@seattleawis.org to submit.”

Saturday, November 22: Kirkland Geek Gala
From the Gala page: “The Kirkland Geek Gala is a chance for geeks to give back to their community and to help the children who will one day be its leaders. On November 22, 2014, we’ll be hosting a dinner and silent auction, at the beautiful Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland, WA, to raise funds for the Seattle Children’s Hospital through Extra Life, a Children’s Miracle Network program.

Children’s Miracle Network hospitals treat thousands of sick and injured children each year, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. These kids are facing scary illnesses; illnesses like cancer, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and injuries from accidents to name just a few. All proceeds from our event will be going to Seattle Children’s Hospital via the Extra Life charity.

We have lofty goals in regards to the amount of money we’d like to raise, but we can’t reach them without your help. There are several ways that you can help out. You can purchase a ticket to the charity dinner, you can become a sponsor of the event, you can donate an item to our silent auction, or you can choose to donate online at our Extra Life team page.

Thank you for helping these kids get the treatment and care they so desperately need!”

Saturday, November 22: Sonny Sixkiller Buys The Washington Redskins
From the website: STG Presents Sonny Sixkiller Buys the Washington Redskins at The Moore Theatre in Seattle on Saturday, November 22, 2014. Doors open at 7 p.m.; show starts at 8 p.m.

The Theatre Production, “Sonny Sixkiller Buys the Washington Redskins,” is a comedic story with a serious punch line about the controversy around the Washington Redskins mascot. Sonny Sixkiller, an ex-star athlete at the University of Washington, convinces Native American leadership to buy the Washington Redskins from Dan Snyder, owner of the Redskins.

The story sheds light on Native American mascots and the history of ridiculing Native American symbolism after the near complete genocide of Native Americans by the Europeans. The youth involved with the production will receive an education on Native American people and their historical trauma.

The youth from the Northwest Indian College and Lummi Youth Academy will be involved with all phases of the production from script writing, rehearsals, graphic art development, stage management, and promotions.

Saturday, November 22: Vox Fabuli Holiday Puppet Building Workshop
From the announcement: Vox Fabuli Puppets hosts a holiday-themed version of their basic puppet building class. Students walk in with a sad, naked hand and walk out with a fabulous new puppet friend.

Attendees dip their toes into the wide, weird waters of puppet construction, learning new skills as they cut, sew (hand and machine) and hot glue their way to a finished puppet. Seattle-based puppeteer Rachel Jackson guides students step-by-step as they create a holiday-themed puppet, the perfect gift for the child or puppet freak in their lives.

What: Basic Puppet Building – Holiday
Saturday, November 22nd
10am – 5pm

Cost: $160

Where: Inscape Arts Building, Studio 230
815 Seattle Blvd South
Seattle, WA 98134

*Class recommended for ages 15 and up
*Class size limited to 8

Wednesday, November 26: The STEAM Vent: The Art and Science of Math!
From the Meetup page: “What do eggs, ferns, lightning, and computer art have in common? They’re all described by simple equations. In this discussion, we’ll talk about how amazingly beautiful art, both natural and created, arises from the simplest math. We’ll see seashells, crystals, Mandelbrot sets, and even do some hands-on artwork ourselves. Our presenter, Stephen Riley, is an unabashed computer geek. He started coding at age 6 and never stopped, and is constantly amazed that people want to pay him to do something he loves. Stephen is a co-founder and CTO of Stabilitas Ventures, and serves as a Captain in the Washington National Guard. Want to know more about the connections between Art, Science, and Math? Join us for this intriguing evening of fun, beer, and prizes!”

Friday, November 28: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse
From the Meetup page: “Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find King of Tokyo, Völuspá, Alien Frontiers,Tsuro, Locke & Key, Coup, Tokaido, The Resistance, Skull and Roses, Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders, Toc Toc Woodman, and many more!

Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee. There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay.

Friday, November 28: West Seattle Board Games: Go Local Friday Open Gaming
From the Meetup page: “ Let’s recover from Thanksgiving by gaming. Open gaming, no theme, all games. Planning to run this as an all-day event.

There is a small parking lot in back of Meeples (90 minute limit) and street parking is available all around. Meeples is served directly by Metro #128 and #50 and indirectly by the Rapid Ride C line. Meeples is one-half mile from the Alaska Junction.

NEW PLAYERS: YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW THE GAMES. WE WILL TEACH.

Have you got an awesome event to share with our community? Email shubz@geekgirlcon.com! Please be advised that submissions must be in alignment with the GeekGirlCon Mission Statement.

Shiboo_Krismer
“Rock On!”

October 2014 Geek About Town

Hi everyone!

Fall is in full swing! Check out some of these events to welcome in the changing of the season!

Thursday, October 2: Gender Diversity: Beyond the Binary (UW Seattle Campus, Chemistry Building 439)
Gender Diversity: Beyond the Binary is a workshop about gender expressions and identities beyond those of male and female, including different gender expressions, common experiences of trans* and gender-nonconforming persons, and how to make public spaces more accessible to non-binary persons. Join us with QCenter staff Jen Self (PhD, MSW) and Jaimée Marsh (MSW), activists and educators dedicated to fighting oppression in all its forms. A free pizza lunch will be provided!”

Thursday, October 2: Burke Trivia Night at College Inn Pub
From NW Science: “The Burke Museum presents a monthly pub quiz for science buffs, culture gurus, and museum lovers. Bring your friends to the College Inn Pub and test your knowledge of the natural world. Compete with other teams for drink vouchers and other prizes. Teams are limited to 6 players. Cost: $5 per team.”

Friday, October 3: Green Lake Public Star Party

Saturday, October 4: Paramount Park Star Party

Saturday, October 4: Ladies Night at Fantasium Comics
From the website: “Fantasium Comics & Games will be hosting Ladies Night on Saturday, October 4th starting at 4pm. Join us for an evening filled with awesome vendors, awesome foods, awesome people, and an awesome silent auction! We will be raising money for the Pink Ink Fund to help those who have already fought breast cancer and for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to cure it in the future.”

Sunday, October 5: CroatiaFest
From the website: “Seattle Center Festál presents CroatiaFest, Sunday, Oct. 5. Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of Croatia through live performances, foods, hands-on activities, and a lively marketplace. Acclaimed dance ensembles and musicians, intricate costumes, art exhibits, tourist information and displays showcase Croatia’s rich past and dynamic present.”

Monday, October 6 Open Mic Science: Dr. Phyllis Stabeno
From the Treehouse Cafe: “Physical Oceanographer at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory. Co-leader of NOAA’s Ecosystems and Fisheries Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (EcoFOCI). For the past 25 years, she has worked on physical oceanographic, climate and ecosystem projects in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and more recently, Chukchi Sea. Recently she has focused on climate change impacts on the subarctic seas around Alaska. She is the lead investigator in maintaining the biophysical mooring array in the Bering Sea. She is a Principle Investigator for the North Pacific Research Board sponsored Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Plan (BSIERP) project and NSF Bering Ecosystem Study (BEST) and has served on the Science Advisory Board for the BEST/BSIERP program since its inception. On October 6, she will give us a presentation on what the data from the long-term mooring tells us about the Bering Sea. These moorings have monitored important biological, chemical and physical properties of Bering Sea water for about 20 years.”

Thursday, October 9: Cornel West: “Rekindling ‘Black Prophetic Fire”
From the website: “Trayvon Martin, the New Jim Crow, immigration reform, and an Obama presidency have brought up modern issues of race, equality, and the African American legacy. In his latest book, Union Theological Seminary’s Cornel West explores the phenomenon known as Black Prophetic Fire, offering an analysis of six well-respected African American leaders — Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, Malcolm X, and Ida Wells-Barnett. By both praising and critically analyzing the actions of these influential figures, West takes them off the pedestal they were placed on so long ago. According to West, modern African American leaders are either incarcerated or, like President Obama, have been co-opted and “have no deep conviction.” His book asks where the radical, outspoken spirit — the “black prophetic fire” — of the 19th and 20th centuries disappeared to, and opens a door to potentially “rekindle” it. West is the bestselling author of Race Matters and Democracy Matters.”

Saturday, October 11 – Sunday, October 12: GeekGirlCon
It’s our 4th year! Will you be joining us?

Monday, October 13: October Eastside Science Cafe
”’What Are We Buying When We Buy Organic?’ Cynnie Curl, School of Public Health, University of Washington”

Tuesday, October 14: October Tacoma Science Cafe
”’Microbes & Shellfish: Using Science to Reduce Seafood-borne Illness in our Local Water’ Dr. Rohinee Paranjpye, NOAA Fisheries

Saturday, October 18 – Sunday, October 19: TurkFest
From the website: “Seattle Center Festal presents TurkFest, Oct. 18 and 19. Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of Turkey through live performances, visual arts, hands-on activities, foods, games, an authentic Turkish tea house, and a lively marketplace. This enriching, engaging, and entertaining festival of friendship celebrates the multiple cultures that link modern Turkey to the East and West.”

Friday, October 24: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse
From the Meetup page: “Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge! Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find King of Tokyo, Völuspá, Alien Frontiers,Locke & Key, Coup, Tokaido, The Resistance, Skull and Roses,Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders, Toc Toc Woodman, FLUXX and many more! Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee. There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay.”

Friday, October 24: Science Friday Tour
From Washington Life Science: “Learn more about medical research through Science Friday events at Benaroya Research Institute that include a light breakfast, conversation with a leading researcher and a lab tour led by scientists.”

Friday, October 24 – Saturday, November 1: Vox Fabuli Puppets and Kendra & Michael Hayes Present Stories for Bad Children Chapter 2
Vox Fabuli Puppets and Kendra & Michael Hayes team up once again to bring you Stories for Bad Children – Chapter 2, a cabaret-style show celebrating the darker paths of the fairy tale world. Stories for Bad Children – Chapter 2 plays at Hugo House, October 24 through November 1st, with a special show on Halloween. *Not intended for actual children. Recommended for patrons 15 years old and up.

Saturday, October 25: Watch the D&D Team marathon 25 hours of “Hoard of the Dragon Queen”
From the Meetup page: “GeekGirlCon’s own Gaming Event Coordinator, Andy Munich has been graciously invited to participate in Wizards of the Coast’s 24-hour Dungeons & Dragons session during October 25-26, 2014! Why is this important? These folks are gathering together to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital. As a part of the Children’s Miracle Network of hospitals, SCH treats hundreds of children each year, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. Their staff help kids and their families face challenges more harrowing than those found in the deepest dungeon. Andy set a modest goal as part of a greater team effort to raise $25,000 (roughly equivalent to a sack of 20 gold pieces). Andy’s part of the adventure begins at the stroke of midnight on the 26th. Dice will be rolled until they put an arrow in his knee! Tune in to watch the mayhem unfold live on the D&D Twitch TV channel and cheer him on (or pine for his ultimate destruction). If you would like to support Andy during this marathon, you can make a safe donation online today. You’ll be showing your support for heroes, both imagined and very, very real. Donations go directly to the hospital and they are tax-deductible. ALL proceeds go to help the kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital.”

Sunday, October 26: Neal Stephenson and Cory Doctorow with Ed Finn: Reigniting Society’s Ambition with Science Fiction
From the website: “Advance tickets for this event have been sold out. A limited number of stand-by tickets will be available at the door starting at 7:15 pm. Author Neal Stephenson (Reamde, Snow Crash) laments our society’s loss of a key superpower — the ability to “Get Big Stuff Done.” He shoulders some of the blame, along with colleagues in the realms of science and speculative fiction, with what he calls a failure to supply “hieroglyphs”: “Asimovian robots, Heinleinian rocket ships, Gibsonian cyberspace… plausible, thought-out pictures of alternate realities in which… compelling innovation has taken place.” Project Hieroglyph brings together writers, artists, scientists, and new technologies in an effort to “reignite the iconic and optimistic visions” of the past, and the new anthology Hieroglyph: Stories and Visions for a Better Future features works from Stephenson, Cory Doctorow (Little Brother,Rapture of the Nerds) and others, to challenge people to think in terms of technology, creativity, and bold futures. They’ll appear in conversation with Ed Finn, one of Hieroglyph’s editors.”

If you have any geeky events you would like to see on Geek About Town, email shubz@geekgirlcon.com. Please note that we reserve the right to include or exclude events from our list.

Shiboo_Krismer
“Rock On!”

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