6:00 PM – Poems of Night: Some Forms: Workshop
Richard Hugo House, Classroom
Do you know what a sestina is? How about a ghazal? In this introduction to the world of poetic forms led by writer-in-residence Ed Skoog, learn to work within a structure to create pieces in which construction and content come together as a powerful whole. Limitations and constraints oftentimes lead to the best work, so put down your free verse and try some poetry from the skeleton out. FREE. *This workshop is for TEENS ONLY. [Source: RHH]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Mary Jane Knecht, Stacey Levine, Melinda Mueller, & special guests: Looking Together: Writers on Art
UW Bookstore, U-District
A collection of short pieces by local authors who were asked to write in reaction to a piece in the permanent collection of the Frye Art Museum. We will welcome the incomparable prose writer, Stacey Levine, and the equally talented poet Melinda Mueller to read their submissions to the collection. There will also be some as of yet unidentified special guests. [Source: UW Bookstore]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Melissa Marr: Fragile Eternity
Barnes & Noble University Village
“Aislinn and Seth struggle with the unforeseen consequences of Aislinn’s transformation from mortal girl to faery queen as the world teeters on the brink of cataclysmic violence.” Sequel to Wicked Lovely, a surprisingly good YA debut novel. Marr’s characters are interesting and her take on Urban Fantasy is gritty and unique. Hopefully, the sequel lives up to Marr’s other novels. (Not a sequel, but set in the same universe, is Ink Exchange.]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Tamim Ansary and Stephen Zunes: Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes
Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center
Stephen Zunes is an associate professor of politics and chair of the Peace & Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. Tinderbox looks at freedom and dominance post 9-11. [Source: UW Bookstore]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Warren St. John: Outcasts United: A Refugee Soccer Team, an American Town
SPL Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium
“A brilliant and empathetic depiction of our common quest for meaning and happiness. Warren St. John invites us into the lives of a community of refugees, their bewildered neighbors in a small town, and a Jordanian woman who not only coaches but also mentors, mothers and inspires some remarkable boys, to create a heartwarming tale about the transformations that occur when our disparate lives connect.” – Ishmael Beah. “Truly unforgettable, Outcasts United offers a stirring lesson in the power of a single person to transform the lives of many. It’s an incisive window into the world ahead for all of us …” – Reza Aslan
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Michael Perry: Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting
Elliott Bay Book Co.
In over his head with two pigs, a dozen chickens, and a baby due any minute, the acclaimed author of Truck: A Love Story gives us a humorous, heartfelt memoir of a new life in the country.
Last seen sleeping off his wedding night in the back of a 1951 International Harvester pickup, Michael Perry is now living in a rickety Wisconsin farmhouse. Faced with thirty-seven acres of fallen fences and overgrown fields, and informed by his pregnant wife that she intends to deliver their baby at home, Perry plumbs his unorthodox childhood—his city-bred parents took in more than a hundred foster children while running a ramshackle dairy farm—for clues on how to proceed as a farmer, a husband, and a father. [Source: Elliott Bay Books]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Stage Fright: Open Mic
Richard Hugo House Cabaret
Hugo House’s open mic for writers 14-24. [Source: ]
[LINK]

Damn Hell MC Chris by PunkJr

Consumerist points out that starting this summer, Washington State will force companies with 3 or more staff members clocked in to let customers use their restrooms in times of need. Previous horror stories likely prompted the bill.

The bill goes into effect on July 26th. The Seattle Times points out that “Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, who suffers from Crohn’s disease, testified for the bill earlier this year.” Woohoo celebrity endorsement!

If you missed having your pants charmed off by the reunited inexpressibly adorable Vaselines last year at SP20, tonight is your chance–they’ll be at Neumos, in support of the recent fancy deluxe edition re-release of 1992′s “The Way of the Vaselines,” titled “Enter the Vaselines.” (It’s got all of the old stuff plus new mixes, secret demos, and old live recordings.)

Surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to be sold out yet. Last year, they offered to let audience members dry hump Frances McKee for $20. You don’t want to miss it if that happens again.

Doors are at 8, tickets $20 at the door. With Hallways.

12:00 PM – Poetry Appreciation Group
SPL Central Library
Join fellow poetry lovers to read and discuss poems.
[LINK]

6:30 PM – Andrea Helman: Caribou Crossing: Animals of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Fremont Place Books
This charming picture book takes young readers on a trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a place like no other: cold, remote, dark, and frigid. But there’s another side to the refuge, one that is bright, colorful, and teeming with wildlife. It’s an undisturbed land where the plants and animals depend on the environment and each other for survival. There are no trails into this pristine place. Caribou Crossing is an excellent way to teach children about flora and fauna, featuring beautiful photographs and fun facts about 23 animals from the refuge, from bearded seals to beluga whales. [Source: Sasquatch Books]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Daniel James Brown: The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride
UW Bookstore, U-District
The story of the Donner party is one of those American stories that people think they know, but often understand only a little about. Local author Daniel James Brown studied the history exhaustively, and produced this book, an account from the perspective of a young bride who survived the tragic journey of a group of settlers bound for California. [Source: UW Bookstore]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Carol Levin: Red Rooms and Others
Open Books
Levin’s work has been published in numerous journals and other venues, including The Massachusetts Review, Third Coast, The Seattle Review, The Pedestal Magazine, and The Centrifugal Eye. Her poetry has been set as a choral work by composer Carol Sams, and she has collaborated in the translation of Chekhov plays. Ms. Levin teaches the Alexander Technique in Seattle. [Source: Open Books]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Christine Hale: Basil’s Dream
Elliott Bay Book Co.
Inspired in part by the author’s years living as an ex-pat in Bermuda, Basil’s Dream also conveys some complicated truths about contemporary life on the island colony. Christine Hale currently teaches in Murray State University’s MFA program. “Christine Hale is an extraordinarily gifted writer, as Basil’s Dream so eloquently testifies. Her moral vision is as clear and unblinking as the fine eye she trains on Bermuda, in all its paradoxical beauty and poverty, its landscape of privilege and thwarted dreams.” – Richard Russo. [Source: Elliott Bay Books]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Mattias Klum: Borneo: Paradise Under Siege
Benaroya Hall
S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium
One of the most highly regarded natural history photographers, whose advocacy on behalf of biodiversity earned him a medal from the King of Sweden and designation as a 2008 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Mattias Klum has a special passion for Borneo. He has spent 20 years exploring its unique flora and fauna and producing magazine articles, books, and documentary films. [Source: ???]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Peter Ward: The Medea Hypothesis: Is Life on Earth Ultimately Self-Destructive?
Pacific Science Center, $5
This book is a compelling argument against James Lovelock and the Gaia hypothesis. In it, UW professor Peter Ward proposes a revolutionary and provocative vision of life’s relationship with the Earth’s biosphere, one that has frightening implications for our future yet also offers hope. Using the latest discoveries from the geological record, he argues that life might be its own worst enemy, a view that stands in stark contrast to Gaia. Ward instead invokes Medea, the mythical mother who killed her own children. Could life by its very nature threaten its own existence? Part of the Seattle Science Lectures. Sponsored by Town Hall, Pacific Science Center, and University Book Store. [Source: UW Bookstore]
[LINK]

The Ford Motor Company plans to start selling the fuel-efficient Ford Fiesta in the US next year but wants to start building up anticipation for it this one so they created a “social media campaign” called the Fiesta Movement, an advertising experiment in which “agents” across the US get to test drive a European version of the Fiesta for six months taking their vehicle out for “missions” which they share with the public through a variety of social media platforms.

More than four thousand people applied to be part of the Fiesta Movement, but only 100 were chosen. One of them is Seattle comedian Dartanion London, producer of improv/stand-up hybrid “Dartmondo”, the “Week of Comedy” and “The Super Mega Art Show” as well as a cast member of the highly-regarded Jet City Improv troupe. His plans for his time as a Fiesta agent include stopping at clubs and theaters for improv performances while out on his missions. His first mission is a visit to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. Follow this adventure and more to come at his website.

photo by (taylor) [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• While Seattleite Greg Johnson is in space you can drink Tang-rimmed orange margaritas in Mukilteo. [voracious]
• Seattle’s faux-speakeasy scene expands with the opening of Tavern Law in Trace. The real speakeasies, we expect, aren’t advertising their existence as widely. [slog ]
• the Matador goes undercover for a while, partially in response to last year’s bizarre legal battles. [myballard]
• Robin Pecknold takes some time away from Fleet Foxes to release a couple of singles in the guise of a White Antelope. [mbv]
• When the reader happens to be working you can trick your ORCA into paying for multiple passengers. [seattletransitblog]
• There will be but one Wandering Weiner in Cal Anderson this summer. We’ve now got hot dogs, burritos, and ice cream within steps of the park. Now can someone please get to work on installing a temporary beergarden, authorized or otherwise? [chs]

Back on May 5, the West Seattle Blog reported on a death at the Roxbury Safeway, or, more specifically, a dead body at the Safeway, a woman who’d died elsewhere and was brought to the store by two men looking for a phone to report the death.

Reading this story it struck me that if I somehow came across someone who died, I’d have no idea whom to call. I’ve never been in the company of someone who’d passed away without also being in the company of someone who knew what to do. It dawned on me that I might not be the only one who was at a loss as to how to handle a death, so I turned to the Seattle Police Department for answers.

Per the helpful Lt. Jim Dermody, Homicide/Assault Commander, the best and most efficient way to report a death is to dial 911. You should tell the operator the situation and where you are and he or she will determine whether to send both the Police and the Fire Department. The SFD would definitely respond as it is their duty to attend to the medical needs of the person found or to determine that they are, in fact, deceased. If the person is definitely deceased, the SPD will then get involved to investigate what happened.

Should the details warrant, the Homicide/Assault Unit might be summoned as well. In any case, the King County Medical Examiner’s office would be called, as the KCME has jurisdiction over all bodies in King County under RCW 68.50.10, a law that specifies people in otherwise good health who die unexpectedly, people whose death appears to be caused by unnatural means, people whose death occurs in suspicious circumstances, people whose death occurs by violence, and so on. Simply put, if you find a dead body somewhere you weren’t expecting to find a dead body, the KCME is going to take charge of that body.

Hopefully, none of our readers is ever going to stumble across a body, but if you ever do, keep in mind that the law does require you to report it and now you know how. Just dial 911.

12:00 PM – Mary Malloy: The Wandering Heart
Seattle Mystery Bookshop
Historian Lizzie Manning is invited to England to catalogue and prepare for display the writings and artifacts of Lieutenant Francis Hatton, who sailed with Captain Cook in the 18th century. She is excited about getting the first look at these unique papers and objects, including items from the Tlinget in Alaska. While there, she’ll become involved in a centuries-old search for relic from the Crusades. The author was born in Spokane and now lives on the East Coast. [Source: Seattle Mystery Bookshop]
[LINK]

6:30 PM – Michael Perry: Coop: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting
SPL Ballard Branch
In over his head with two pigs, a dozen chickens, and a baby due any minute, the acclaimed author of Truck: A Love Story gives us a humorous, heartfelt memoir of a new life in the country.
Last seen sleeping off his wedding night in the back of a 1951 International Harvester pickup, Michael Perry is now living in a rickety Wisconsin farmhouse. Faced with thirty-seven acres of fallen fences and overgrown fields, and informed by his pregnant wife that she intends to deliver their baby at home, Perry plumbs his unorthodox childhood—his city-bred parents took in more than a hundred foster children while running a ramshackle dairy farm—for clues on how to proceed as a farmer, a husband, and a father. [Source: Secret Garden Bookshop]
[LINK]

6:30 PM – NW Independent Editors Guild: Meeting
Richard Hugo House, Alice Room
Instructor, editor and writing coach WaverlyFitzgerald will discuss the differences and similarities of the editor/coach relationship. All Editors Guild meetings are open to current members and to professional freelance editors considering membership. Bring a potluck item to share if you like. [Source: RHH]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Mike Gastineau, Art Thiel, & Steve Rudman: The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists
UW Bookstore, U-District
We’ve lost the Sonics but not our Emerald City enthusiasm for sports. In this new book, three local sports commentators have collected a series of debate-inspiring lists about Seattle sports with the help of some locals: Mike Holmgren, Ichiro Suzuki, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Kevin Calabro. It’s sure to get a crowd of sports nuts talking. [Source: UW Bookstore]
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Tamora Pierce: Bloodhound
Secret Garden Bookshop
Beka Cooper is finally a Dog–a full-fledged member of the Provost’s Guard, dedicated to keeping peace in Corus’s streets. But there’s unrest in Tortall’s capital. Counterfeit coins are turning up in shops all over the city, and merchants are raising prices to cover their losses. The Dogs discover that gamblers are bringing the counterfeit money from Port Caynn. In Port Caynn, Beka delves deep into the gambling world, where she meets a charming banking clerk named Dale Rowan. Beka thinks she may be falling for Rowan, but she won’t let anything–or anyone–jeopardize her mission. As she heads north to an abandoned silver mine, it won’t be enough for Beka be her usual “terrier” self. She’ll have to learn from Achoo to sniff out the criminals–to be a Bloodhound. [Source: Secret Garden Bookshop]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – John Daniel: The Far Corner: Northwestern Views on Land, Life, and Literature
Elliott Bay Book Co.
The Far Corner builds on themes explored in earlier books such as The Trail Home and Rogue River Journal, fine writing not only about this part of the country, but insightful writing about what others have written here, as well. [Source: Elliott Bay Books]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Mattias Klum: Borneo: Paradise Under Siege
Benaroya Hall
S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium
One of the most highly regarded natural history photographers, whose advocacy on behalf of biodiversity earned him a medal from the King of Sweden and designation as a 2008 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Mattias Klum has a special passion for Borneo. He has spent 20 years exploring its unique flora and fauna and producing magazine articles, books, and documentary films. [Source: ???]
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Tony Horwitz: A Voyage Long and Strange
Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs
Everyone knows Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, and Jamestown’s 1607 founding is an American history staple, but what about the time in between? Best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz set out on an epic expedition of his own to rediscover the New World of that “lost century.” Following in the footsteps of the Europeans who preceded the pilgrims, Horwitz blends history, myth, and misadventure in A Voyage Long and Strange, an accessible, enjoyable travelogue. Journeying from Florida’s Fountain of Youth to Plymouth’s sacred Rock, Horwitz captures the wonder and drama of first contact as Vikings, conquistadors, and French voyagers roamed an unknown continent in quest of grapes, gold, converts, and even a cure for syphilis. [Source: Town Hall Seattle]
[LINK]

Seattle’s Hop Scotch Festival is over now, but for us, it is a weekend that won’t soon be forgotten. This was our first year at Hop Scotch, and while I can’t say for sure whether we’ll go back next year, it was a fantastic event and I’m very happy we attended. Hop Scotch is a benefit for the Seattle International Film Festival, so of course, since we love SIFF, we wanted to attend.

Let’s start with the space. Fremont Studios is a fantastic location for an event. Two large rooms, decent sized bathrooms (especially important anywhere mass quantities of beer are consumed), and the most amazing walls ever. Solid white walls that curve up to the ceiling and down… forming the floor. The entire room took on a bluish tint with the lighting, and various slide shows and movies were shown throughout the room.

Helpful signs well above the crowd pointed out which breweries and which beers you’d find at the various stations. The food was limited, but very well priced for an event such as this. Pretzels and fries are perfect “sop up that alcohol” foods.

The beer was actually the weakest part of the day for me, mostly because I don’t much care for IPA’s. I’ve had a couple decent ones, but I’m more of a brown ale type of girl, so I only found five beers I really wanted to taste. But then we wandered over to the lone winery booth. Small-Lot Wine Co-Op helps small wineries get their wines out there for the public to enjoy. They were offering a full glass of wine for two tokens or a half pour for one. We tried each of the reds they brought with them and I can honestly say that those wines were some of the best I’ve ever had. It seems odd to find amazing wines at a beer fest, but wow.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

photo by seattle bon vivant [flickr] via our group pool [#].

From time to time suggestions for better Seattle living find their way to Seattle Metblogs HQ. This promising-looking Sunday morning brings such a missive from Steven Blum, proprietor of Oh My God Seattle, who wants to help you better enjoy Greenlake. His note, interspersed with pictures from our group pool, follows.

photo by grundlepuck [flickr] and jeff carlson [flickr].

Look at you, ya schmuck: Sitting in front of the computer. Another day checking the email to see if you’ve got a new message. Would it kill you to leave the house every now and then? It’s gorgeous out here! Come to Greenlake. What’s Greenlake you ask? Why, it’s a lake with a concrete path around it. There are geese and boats and little kids fishing and grown women sleeping on towels with their dogs and muscley men I never knew existed. There are about a thousand people here right now earnestly attempting to enjoy the weather and be happy (happy is when your mouth opens and you laugh for no reason and you look like you have dementia).

Here are a few tips for maximum Greenlake enjoyment:

1. Don’t go to Greenlake if you need to go poop.
If you really, really need to go, there are bathrooms in the pool building with doors on them. Everywhere else is a strip show starring your ass. (Sometimes also starring “no toilet paper.”) Poop at home.

2. Don’t park on the “dark side” of Greenlake.
This includes the houses on street names like Wallingford and Sunnyside. Every house here looks the same and has an enormous veranda and is on a dead end. You will lose your car and be forced to walk up and down the streets as young families look at you like you’re crazy.

photo by smohundro [flickr].

3. There are rules for checking out hot runners
These people are everywhere. You will be enjoying your walk when they’re suddenly up in your grill with their pecs and sweaty heads full of hair. Remember-don’t fall down. And look at the pec parts not the sex parts.

4. Don’t run near young children on bikes.
They will fall off their bikes.

5. For god’s sake, talk to the man playing his harmonica.
Seriously? You’re just going to walk by this man and not say a thing? He is talking directly at your face! He is saying “Don’t look at me, the only crazy in Greenlake, don’t look at my paintings, fine don’t look!” Don’t buy into his woefulness. Look directly at him and say “I love you.” This person could be you someday. He could be you.

photo by bunnies with sharp teeth [flickr] .

6. Don’t scare the turtles!
There are wittle bitty turtles sitting on logs near the Bath House theatre. They will remind you of your uncle Maurice with his reptilian face and slow reaction times. Don’t be too loud or they’ll fall off the logs! TURTLES!

7. Email me.
I’ll be here every sunny day starting now.

Thanks again to Steven for contributing. Do you have tips and tricks for the Seattle summer? Send them to seattle.metblogs at gmail.com.