Women's Interest: Girl Power Hour, May 15th, $10, Seattle's social diva and fashionista, Girl About Town, brings together the estrogen for empowerment and supporting good causes.  Connect with entrepreneurial and like-minded women in varying industries and social circles.  Women are wearing red for the Heart Association, and the main attraction is a pole dancing session, which is a win-win for everyone.

Lectures: Sephardic Genealogy Resources and the Historic Important of Ancient Sephardic Surnames, May 12th, $5, an overview of Sephardic genealogy resources, what they have in common with traditional Ashkenazi genealogy resources, and how they differ.  Raise your hand if you understand that one.  *  Also, An Evening with Iyanla Vanzant, May 20th, $30+, on creating the life you want through a spiritual path.  It's either inspirational or woo-woo - take your pick.  *  Also, Words & Wine, May 20th, $45, with author James Frey of A Million Little Pieces, that little piece of literary fraud.

Grief: Broken Hearts Still Beat, May 12th (and every second Monday of the month), free, for parents who have experienced the loss of a child, age 25 or younger.  It's against the natural order of life when a child goes before the parent, for whatever reason.  Learn to cope with others who also experienced the same pain.

Politics: Public Campaign Financing, May 19th, discussion and public input.  Nobody likes the corrosive influence of money in politics, so what do we do?  Maine and Arizona have public financed campaigns, and they seem to be doing alright.  So, is this idea ready for our state?  Do we like the idea enough to pay even higher taxes to help keep politicians in office?

Ethnic: Norwegian Constitution Day, May 17th, free, starting off with a parade in Ballard.  During the day, they have lots of activities for the kids, and a dance for the grown-ups at night.  Interestingly, they're importing a couple of Norwegian Fjord horses to show off and demonstrate.  *  Also, French and Francophone Film Festival, until May 23rd, of life in the francophone world.  This is the first year they're trying to pull this off, and the line-up looks good so far.

Music: Ten Grands, May 17th, $36+, ten well known pianists on one stage playing jazz, classical, contemporary, pop, boogie woogie, blues, and more.  *  Also, Turn It Down, May 17th, $8,  Instead of cranking it up, this concert promotes safe hearing by turning it down.  There's nothing over 100 decibels rocking at this concert, and they even provide free ear plugs to boot.  *  Also, Billy Joe & The Dusty 45's, May 17th, $10, a rockabilly band.  They say it takes a decade to become an overnight sensation - this band is proof.

Performance: The Show To End All Shows, starting May 16th, $20+,  The circus misfits have put together a new show based upon the traditional American circus, backed by an original score.  This is traditional circus, then amped up on the brazen.

Children: Culture For Kids: Raising Global Citizens, May 15th, free, a panel discussion on the benefits of early language and culture learning, and tools to bring these elements into a child's life.  It works best when you get them while they're young.  *  Also, Live From Planet Earth, starting May 12th, $18+, with 18 international acts of circus, music, theatre, puppetry, dance, and multi-media shows.

Women's Interest: Sex and the City Party, June 4th, $85.  Seattle's grand dames throw a soirée for the most anticipated movie of the year, at least by chicks.  Of course, the cosmos will be flowing, along with tasty bites, à la the fine food of El Gaucho.  This will probably be the biggest giggle-fest in Seattle this year.

Organizing: Closet Rescue Workshop, May 31st, $75.  Why is it that most people enjoy shopping for clothes and like what they buy, but hate what they have in their closet?  Get rid of morning frustration by first getting your closet in order.  Learn how to clear out the clutter and crap, categorize, flatter your color palette, and identify gaps.  Don't buy more clothes until you take this class first.

Cancer: Coping with Post-Cancer Fatigue, May 28th, free.  If you're fortunate enough to beat cancer, you're left pretty wiped by the battle.  Learn how to identify causes of fatigue, and possible solutions to restore your energy level.  Get back to the life you once had.  *  Also, Five Wishes: Specifying End Of Life Care, May 21st, free.  You're going, and you've accepted it.  Now, learn how to make your last wishes known and documented, for your physical, emotional, and spiritual care.  Take control of your destiny.

Burlesque: Burlesque Fundraiser for the Burlesque Hall of Fame, May 20th, $15.  Now here's an excuse to go to a burlesque show - it's for charity!  The proceeds from the event go to the Burlesque Hall of Fame.  How much money do these gals need?  G-strings and pasties can't cost that much, can they?

Storytelling: Film + Storytelling, May 23rd, $5, of blending film with storytelling.  Not sure what this is about - the storytelling as part of a film is usually called "the dialog."  That's the thing with these pro storytellers - they'll yap through anything.  At this meeting, they break out their collection of guerilla video and give it their voices.

Family: Run With Cops, June 21st, $35.  Instead of running from them, run with them.  It's a 5K run/walk, with prizes for costumes.  *  Also, Crafty Saturdays, May 17th, free with admission.  The kids are shown a couple of basic crochet techniques, and then let their imaginations take over.  Getting ready for crocheted potholders?

IT Topics: IT Talent Crisis, May 21st, $70.  You talk to the unemployed right now, and they'll tell you how soft the economy is, and how no one is hiring.  Then, you talk to employers, and they'll tell you how they can't find enough good people to fill their openings.  At this conference, employers learn how to grow and retain talented IT people.  *  Also, Unmasking the Future, May 28th, about Web 2.0.  Web 2.0 still seems to be a lot of hype and less substance, more than where people are actually making money (think YouTube).  At this conference, learn what Web 2.0 is, future predictions, and how it might affect your business.

Language: French Language Cafe, May 24th, $98.  This is basically how not to be the stupid American when you travel.  Pick up key language patterns to get you through the most common situations, of ordering in a restaurant, shopping, directions, getting around by public transit, small talk, cultural sensitivity, and so on.  Don't crack any Jerry Lewis jokes while you're over there.

Lecture: Jane Austen lecture: Viewing Austen Through Vermeer's Camera Obscura, June 8th, free lecture, and $5 for the tea and cake reception afterwards.  The president of the North American Jane Austen society comes into town with a discussion on female domesticity viewed through both Ms. Austen’s words and Vermeer's camera obscura paintings.  Get a new perspective upon perhaps the best novels in the English language, and you can bet the Earl Gray tea will be flowing afterwards.  Those Regency era chicks can be pretty hilarious, after they let the crinoline down.

Arts: Spring Arts Fling, May 30th, $10, for young arts patrons.  (If you're under 40 and subscribe to the arts, then that makes you young.)  This is a casual social event, to cross-pollinate exposure from one arts organization to the other, of hanging out and chatting with performers from the theater, symphony, and ballet.  Afterwards, the artists put together short performances, creating little mash-ups.

Fashion: Spring into Summer - A Rendezvous of High Tea & Fashion Infusion, June 1st, $65.  Undisputed Seattle fashion queen Luly Yang launches her 2009 collection of dresses, swing coats, and suits.  Like cars, the 2009 models always seem to come out 7 months early.  This is a good mother/daughter sort of event.  Pay the bucks for a stunning piece that no one else will own.  *  Also, it's not until August 7th, but the tix for Fashion First are on sale now, $40+.  It's hard to think of a bigger fashion show in Seattle than this one.

Fundraiser: Firefighter Calendar Judging, May 29th, $20, with the audience voting for their pick for the calendar cover.  This isn't just some ogling chick event; there are enough female firefighters to make it interesting for both genders.  These firefighters are not the sexy hard-body types, they're more athletic.  These firefighters must have a full sack of puns ready-to-go, "You can use my fire hose any time."

Ballet: All Robbins, starting May 29th, $20+, featuring three works from the master himself, whose 60-year career spans numerous works of ballet and musical theater.  PNB produces its favorite three, all of which are typical crowd- pleasers.  One interesting little tidbit about Robbin,is that he testified to the House Committee on Un-American Activities, ratting out his former friends.

Business: What To Do About Rising Costs in China, May 28th, $20.  Say you're a business, making your goods with the cheap labor in China, sending them to the US.  But now, with the declining dollar and the rising yuan, you're no longer making the big profits, which you've become accustomed to.  So, what do you do?  Move onto a different country and exploit its cheap-o labor pool, or stick it out in China and try new tactics to adjust?  Go hear what the options are for American companies making their goods overseas, and then selling them to US consumers.

Film: Silent Movie Mondays, $12. This is great-grandpa type of stuff. Paramount Theater puts a silent movie up on the big screen along with an organ accompaniment. See film when the captions were actually part of the story. As far as film goes, this is old-old school.

Family: Speed, starting May 31st, at Pacific Science Center, $6+.  You think your life is fast?  Well, go see what fast really means.  Learn about how things go really fast, plus the associated attributes of speed, such as stopping, drag, and acceleration.  Kids get to build a fast car, drop pennies into the Penny Smasher, and other experiments associated with speed.  A lot of the scientific concepts are based on Newtonian physics, so they're actually not that hard to understand, except the speed of light, where everything gets weird.

Activities: Bothell Recreation Guide, dates and costs vary.  The city of Bothell has a good group of little activities for its citizens, including Belly Dancing classes, Scrapbooking, Softball, and Bocce Ball.  Since these are through the City of Bothell, the costs are reasonable.