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.
Noticed that the “Gender Diversity: Beyond the Binary” workshop does not appear to have a time associated with it (or a website where a person could check said time). When on the 2nd is it taking place?
Thanks for pointing that out. It is held from noon – 1 pm in the Chemistry Building Room 439 on the UW campus.