WEDNESDAY 11/18
Ian Coble
Local skier Bryce Phillips
bustin’ fresh pow at Crystal.
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Stage/Film: The Birds and the Bees
Isabella Rossellini needs no introduction. Yet the star of Blue Velvet and daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini wears her glamorous aura lightly. How else to explain the book/DVD volume Green Porno (Harper, $24.99) and its whimsical vignettes of animal sex? Created for the Sundance Channel and now in its third season, Green Porno is more comic than carnal. Rossellini is willing to wear silly costumes and embrace giant pink shrimp for the sake of art. Or is it education? Says Rossellini, "My interest is not so much in sex as it is animal behavior, though I know the audience out there might be more interested in sex." Presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures, whose top-tier ticket gets you into a reception with Rossellini herself. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 621-2230, lectures.org. $10–$75. 7:30 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
THURSDAY 11/19
Photography: Outcast Nation
One of America's most important living photographers, Danny Lyon is represented in this exhibit by an early period in his work: 1962–72, when he went among motorcycle clubs, civil-rights marchers, and prison inmates before it was fashionable to do so. (Nor would he ever call it slumming.) Although not a Life-style photojournalist of the day, he practiced immersion reportage—riding for two years with the Harley enthusiasts, for instance, to produce his classic 1968 volume The Bikeriders. By getting his hands dirty, rebuilding his '56 Triumph 650 among the grease monkeys, he became an insider/outsider in their close-knit Chicago clan. His portraits are generally friendly, not condescending. These aren't the freaks of Diane Arbus or the existential specimens of Robert Frank. He's always sympathetic to these outcasts, even the death-row inmates in Texas who've been convicted for terrible crimes. A common thread in these portraits is their overlooked humanity—people who are ignored, sometimes despised, lacking any power or social standing. Yet Lyon treats them all the same. (Through Dec. 22.) James Harris Gallery, 312 Second Ave. S., 903-6220, jamesharrisgallery.com. Free. Reception: 6 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
FRIDAY 11/20
Skiing/Film: Prelude to Snow
Mount Baker and Crystal Mountain are now open, meaning that winter has officially arrived for Northwest skiers and snowboarders. Meanwhile, down at sea level, snowy scenes from Crystal are tantalizingly close in Dynasty, which includes the area in a short segment. (Resorts typically pay Warren Miller Entertainment to be featured in its annual ski flicks.) Bryce Phillips, Ingrid Backstrom, and other locals are seen hiking into the south backcountry and bombing off Silver King. But using a helicopter? Isn't that cheating? Snippets of archival footage recall the good old days when Backstrom's family camped in the parking lot, ski pants were form-fitting, and people drove sensible cars like MGs into the Cascades with bald tires and chains. And helmets? Nobody wore helmets! Today, Dynasty's best moments are in travelogue visits to Norway and China. Wry old Warren Miller, his company sold and now retired to the San Juans, is missed as narrator. But it's entirely possible to ignore ex-Olympian emcee Jonny Moseley—the Matthew McConaughey of hosts—and just concentrate on the scenery. Then go home and check the weather forecast. McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., 800-745-3000, warrenmiller.com. $21.50. 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. (Repeats Sat.) BRIAN MILLER
Golf: Greens of Death!
Those reckless artists at Hazard Factory, known for their power-tool races at Artopia, are now bringing that demolition-derby spirit to the formerly benign sport of putt-putt golf. Smash Putt! will "encourage malicious mischief" among competitors, says organizer Jeremy Franklin-Ross. One hole allows interference with a foot-controlled Weed Whacker to mess with your opponent's ball. The indoor, nine-hole course features a full bar (with special family hours on Saturdays), since mini-golf "is really meant to be a drinking sport," says Franklin-Ross. "There are drink holders at every hole." While braving other hazards including compressed-air blowers, disappearing holes, a Parisian-style traffic circle, and a Ferris wheel, foursomes can compete to win a free drink. (Yes, you get little pencils and scorecards.) And naturally the final hole will pit putters against "several brutal power tools each prepared to take a chunk out of your ball." Spiked golf shoes are not recommended, but plaid knickers and golf caps are strongly encouraged. (Fri.–Sat. through Nov. 28.) Smash Putt, 912 12th Ave., smashputt.com. $10–$15 (21 and over). 6 p.m.–1:30 a.m. BRIAN MILLER
SATURDAY 11/21
Classical: Winter Music
Parallels between the musical style of composer John Luther Adams and the landscape surrounding him—Alaska, where he's lived for 30 years—are easy to draw: spaciousness, icy-clear grandeur, profound silence, thunderous and elemental outbursts, rawness, delicacy, stark and startling loveliness. (Not only does his music evoke his environment, it's also in one instance controlled by that environment: Alex Ross has written intriguingly about Adams' The Place Where You Go to Listen, an installation where digital seismological and biomagnetic information collected at research stations is converted via computer into an ever-changing soundscape.) Three of Adams' works will be heard tonight in a concert, produced by Nonsequitur, devoted to him. Pianist Cristina Valdes will play Among Red Mountains, in which craggy pile-ups of two-fisted chords build into airily sonorous sound-clouds, and Nunataks. Steven Schick will play The Mathematics of Resonant Bodies for percussion and processed sound. The hour-long work's eight movement titles: Burst, Rumble, Shimmer, Roar, Thunder, Wail, Crash, Stutter. Chapel Performance Space, Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave., waywardmusic.blogspot.com. $5–$15. 8 p.m. GAVIN BORCHERT
