SOPPING WET OPERA: Byron Au Yong has composed 64 mini-operas meant to be performed in water--fountains, pools, and streams--throughout the Pacific Northwest. In this weekend's installments of Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas, musicians and vocalists will perform unique mini-operas at parks and beaches in Des Moines/Burien (Saturday) and South Seattle (Sunday). "Who publishes the sheet-music of the winds or the music of water written in river-lines?" wrote 19th century poet John Muir; maybe that someone......

Photo courtesy of Adam Lyon Lightning, thunder, and heavy rains are beautiful and exciting, particularly to us in the Pacific Northwest who get to witness them so infrequently. When a storm comes in we always hope we're near a window (or camping, so said people on the bus this morning) so that we can catch random glimpses of nature's fireworks. Other people react differently, though. When a storm whips up Dad, back in Illinois, mans......

Wednesday, November 15 >>>UW iSchool at Kane Hall, 7:00-9:00pm. "Voices in an Empty Room: Five Apologies for the Narrative": Children's author Richard Peck discusses his writing and teaching careers, and his experiences with the kids today. He'll read from On The Wings Of Heroes, his new novel about a World War II childhood. Free with RSVP. Kane Hall, Rm. 220. >>>Third Place Books, 7:00pm. We saw this book talk about adoptive parents and thought......

Eric Blehm’s third book, The Last Season, reconstructs the story of Randy Morgenson, a National Park Service backcountry ranger in California's rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains who heads out for a routine 3-day patrol in the summer of 1996, never to be seen again. Exploring numerous theories surrounding the circumstances of Morgenson's disappearance--suicide, accidental death, even starting over with a new anonymous life--Blehm retraces the ranger's steps, weaving together a story that celebrates the juxtaposition of......