DIVERSIONS
FRIDAY 9/7
AUTHOR YOUR LIFE–I remember reading an article a few years ago about whether or not the word “author” can be used as a verb. I guess the people in favor of it won, and it looks like some of them are on to bigger projects, like fixing your life. A workshop co-sponsored by Seattle University, “Author Your Life” is facilitated by Sara Eaton and Pamm Hanson, and will help you identify and achieve your goals by discovering “the power of the ‘inner author.'” This workshop is a prerequisite to joining the Learning Committee–a support group–but it does not require a membership (if you have “learned” to “author” your life without such a group, I suppose). Graham Visitor Center in the Washington Park Arboretum, 2300 Arboretum Dr E, three-day workshop is $250. Call 324-7388 for more information.
SATURDAY 9/8
BOOKS TO PRISONERS BENEFIT–Jean Genet discovered the writings of Marcel Proust while incarcerated, and it was behind bars where Malcolm X discovered the racism encoded in the English language, by reading the dictionary. Prisoners reading books have had a wonderful effect on the social and intellectual world at large. Books To Prisoners, the organization that sends books to prisoners free of charge, is throwing a party to drum up some money and support. BTP receives about 800 book requests per month, and needs some money to send them. Musical guests Lesliwood, Studfinder, and Social Studies perform, and you can learn more about what prisoners are reading nowadays. Elysian Brewing Company, 1221 E Pike St, 8 pm, $6/$5 with the donation of a paperback dictionary. Call 323-1938 for more information.
SUNDAY 9/9
NORTHWEST AIDS WALK & FUN RUN–June 2001 marked 20 years since the first official recognition of the retrovirus that would be known as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, which causes AIDS. While the panic of the last two decades has now dissipated, plenty of people are still ignorant about the disease, and plenty are still dying, which is why the Lifelong AIDS Alliance produces this annual event. Interestingly, AIDS was once the symbol of urban blight, as most cases were contracted within the social networks found in cities. But now, in Washington state, 52% of all new reported AIDS cases occur in rural counties. The same story is writ large on a global scale: while the epidemic has waned in the United States, it is destroying sub-Saharan Africa–70% of the world’s HIV cases are reported there. In our North American city centers we no longer walk for us; we walk for them. The Walk and Run will start at the Seattle Center International Fountain, 10 am. For more information call 323-WALK or go to www.lifelongaidsalliance.org.
TUESDAY 9/11
REALITY TV SEMINAR–Piggy Thomas, the MTV “reality TV” personality, will tell you what really happens on these shows, taking your awareness to a whole new level of “reality.” For real. If you were among the 51.7 million Americans swept away by the first Survivor, you won’t want to miss the thrilling conclusion of “Piggy Thomas: Behind the Scenes of Reality TV,” sponsored in part by Discover U (for real). Northgate Discover U Campus, 2150 N 107th St, 6:30 pm, $39 (really). Call 1-800-574-4677 for more information.