With a steady stream of information and misinformation about the current outbreak of swine flu swirling about, the UW Department of Global Health has put together a panel discussion, "Update on the Evolving Swine Influenza Outbreak," set for Monday, May 4, at 5:30 p.m. in Hogness (no kidding) Auditorium in the Health Sciences Building. Directions can be found here. more ›

Seattlest went to Ignite way back in '06 and loved the shit out of it: "We learned so much about happenings in and around the Seattle tech world we feel like we leveled up like twenty times." more ›

SPELL OUT CHARITY: The Jewel Box Theater, located at Belltown mainstay the Rendezvous, will be hosting Buzzword, their first annual spelling bee for adults. Not an actual bee that spells, of course, but the good old-fashioned kind, and it's for charity! All proceeds will benefit Pike Place Market's Medical Clinic, Senior Center, Child Care & Preschool, and the Downtown Food Bank. They will be picking ten teams of three to compete for great prizes and the title of Killer Bee Spelling Champion, which will be decided in the final round on July 28. Who doesn't love to spell, and who doesn't love to give a little back? We know we do. more ›

Stephen Mitchell has introduced us to both Rainer Maria Rilke and Lao-tzu. He did the same for a lot of people, we suspect--his translation of the Tao Te Ching has sold over a million copies. Now he's on a book tour for The Second Book of the Tao, which is based on the writings of Lao-tzu’s disciple Chuang-tzu and Confucius’s grandson Tzu-ssu. He's in town Saturday, February 28, at the Elliott Bay Book Company for a 2 p.m. appearance. We ask him a few "We haven't read your book yet" questions below--after the jump there's an excerpt he selected just for Seattlest. more ›

You wouldn't think the age-old roommate battle over who's doing the dishes would have much to do with ant and bee research, but you're wrong! Ha! We win again! more ›

There's been a lot of talk about the possible closure of the P-I lately, but this Thursday there's going to be a panel discussion of Seattle as a "no-newspaper town." The cold truth is that neither the P-I nor the Seattle Times may emerge from this recession--and if one or both do, it is likely that massive restructuring will be called for. So "No News Is Bad News" asks what we rely on professional journalism for, and what we need to do to guide it through the end of the print mass media bottleneck. more ›

You know who you are. Our evil sunny sister site LAist did an interview with co-host Teresa Strasser that's entertaining, and what the hell, it's Friday, we've already got the earthquake out of the way, take a little time for yourself. Here's Strasser on how she got the job: "They called my agent, and asked if they had anybody with a news background who is Latin. Latin newsgirls are in high demand. I was the closest thing. You get the Jew, and that’s the best we can do." Also, we learned she's a former ballerina in recovery for an eating disorder, and that Charles S. Dutton killed a man. more ›

LIVE LOCAL RADIO: Seattlest Abbey joins Josh from Sound on the Sound (Abbey's other writing gig) to play over an hour of great local bands, who not only have great albums out but also put on an amazing live show. This celebration of the best local live acts of 2008 is courtesy of basement-dwelling Hollow Earth Radio, an internet-only radio station that's on 24 hours a day, despite the fact you've never heard of them. more ›

(UPDATE: Apparently Michael Kinsley did not call blogging in general "extremely distasteful." That makes the remainder of this post less interesting. We don't advise paying much attention to it.) more ›

THINK GLOBALLY: Global development is such a lonely two words. But it doesn't have to be. Think tank Global Washington invites you to drop in at their event Global Connections this afternoon, with guest speaker Adam Smith. It's all about helping Washington’s nonprofits, businesses, academics, and government agencies come together and increase their impact globally. The talky part is 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and then there's an hour-long reception. more ›

Author John Updike was at Seattle Arts & Lectures this week. The upcoming SAL appearance of Annie Leibovitz (November 19) is sold out. Michael Pollan (January 12) is almost sold out. more ›

SWEDISH SUGAR POP: Swedish songstress Lykke Li returns to Seattle to vamp and stamp and otherwise sex up her blend of hook-tastic bubblegum and Euro-artsong. Here's her video for her single "Little Bit," but we warn you that after listening to it, you will fall deeply in love with the very next person you see. That only lasts about 15 minutes, but trust us, it can get awkward. High-energy Britpop/electronica group Friendly Fires opens. This is definitely a dance-friendly evening. more ›

Pacific Northwest Ballet has been putting on a terrific series of educational events the last few weeks: there was the Twyla Tharp-narrated rehearsal of her two new works, and then Doug Fullington gave us firsthand foreign policy experience by showing us real Russian choreography. more ›