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Halloween: Jinxed, Oct 27^th, $15, sort of a Vaudeville take on Halloween with a marching band, performance of Houdini's water escape, acrobatic martial arts, and a reenactment of Michael Jackson's Thriller zombie dance.  *  Also, Halloween Bash 2006, Oct 28^th, $25.  This party used to be good, but it's getting to be too big and unwieldy to be really kick-ass Halloween-level fun.  Go to this one if you can't find anything else better to do.  *  Also, if you want a a smaller venue that's a bit more genuine, then consider Cadaver Cadabra at Studio Seven, Oct 31^st, $10.  Actually, this one is an all-ages gig.  It's a party in a dress-up creepy atmosphere with artists and aficionados of the macabre.  *  Also, different Halloween events at Pacific Science Center, Oct 27 - 29^th.  Ad you'd expect, these are events tailored for fun peppered with education.

Food Events: Under the Alki Moon Wine Dinner, Oct 16^th, $125.  Italian cookbook author Roberto Russo and Hanson Small vineyards tag-team for a five-course dinner.  It's at these semi-private wine dinners where the full flavor and fun of food emerge.  The chefs get a more expansive forum to express their talents, and you get to hear the background stories from the chefs and wine masters.  *  Also, Little Italy, Oct 16^th, $35.  A dozen restaurants and a dozen wineries team up.  You get a small bite at each station, and by the time you've made the circuit, you're plenty full and pleasantly feeling the wine.  Probably better than the food are the Ferraris and Lamborghinis on display.

Gala: First Night for Charity, Oct 25^th, $200.  This gala is the first night of the PSADA International Auto Show, and is cool for three reasons.  First, it's a benefit for Junior Achievement.  Second, there's no cheesy auction to get in the way of the party.  Third, they have some amusing activities going on like a scavenger hunt, fashion show, and "celebrity" entertainment, so non-motor heads can enjoy themselves, too.

Health: Noogiefest by Gilda Club, Oct 27^th, free.  It's probably a fair assumption that people with cancer could use a smile, so this event provides it.  Come in Halloween costume to enjoy the International Pirates, games, treats, food, fortune teller, and other activities to help lift the spirit.  *  Also, Alive Expo, Oct 21 - 22^nd, $12+ (save $5 with code AEW06)  If you're full from eating at the food events, then roll down to this expo.  At these Wellness expos-they're worth going to, but don't leave your skepticism behind.  They have their share of good health advice backed by solid science, as well as folks literally hawking magic pills and other spiritual, namby-pampy feel-good advice.

Opera: The Bravo folks are hosting a party at the Museum of Flight, Oct 18^th, $10.  This group always manages to hit the cool venues in town.  It's sort of the über-crowd sans martini glasses, with performances by the young artists.  Actually, "young" for opera talent just means someone in their 20's.  *  If you prefer the real opera, then The Italian Girl in Algiers, until Oct 28^th, $45+.  Somewhat zany, this comic opera remains stubbornly popular and tough to produce.  Anyway, by the time you amortize the ticket price by the number of personal chuckles, it ends up being pretty cheap.

Performing Arts: Sing Tango: Songs and Dances of Argentina, Nov 4-5^th, $20.  Seattle Choral Company opens its 25th year on that salsa-y Latin-blood thing.  Tango music infuses European, African, and American jazz into that sensual dance form.  *  Also, Company opening at the 5th Avenue Theater, starting Oct 17^th, $20+, a musical that won its awards back in '71, is a comedy of five married couple told through the eyes of a perpetual bachelor.  *  Also, Sophisticated Ladies, Oct 28^th, $30.  It's big dancing to the big orchestra sounds of Duke Ellington.

Activity: Zombie Walk, Oct 29^th, free.  This is one of those, "Why?  Why not?" sort of events.  Apparently, folks dress as zombies and then go for a stroll in the city looking creepy, and supposedly getting a kick out of the odd looks from passerby's.  If anything, it provides a new perspective to "Eat the rich!" and "Dine on Seattle Shoppers."

Family: Chicks Play Hard, Oct 28^th, free, an event to build confidence in girls 9-13 by developing self-expression and risk-taking.  Go to this event whistling Thank Heaven for Little Girls.  One good thing about this event is the activities are led by high-school girls (who in turn are led by adults), providing a guide that's a bit more easy to relate to.  *  Also, Pumpkin Prowl at Woodland Park Zoo, Oct 27 - 29^th, $9.  Actually, the zoo can kinda be a creepy place at night when it's dark and strange animal sounds surround you.  The zoo builds on this with a special kidlet event.

Lecture: Shaping Globalization: Economic & Social Justice - Can We Have It All?, Oct 16^th, $15. Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize-winning economist, essentially talks how how to get the good out of globalization (increased intellectual property right enforcement, better human rights) and not the bad (environmental damage, depressed wages.)

Organization: The Washington State Society of Healthcare Attorneys This is mostly a trade association of attorneys involved in both sides of health care honing their skills and staying on top of current practices.  For the average civilian, this group is probably only relevant if you get sick and need an attorney on your side, where "Are you a member of the WSSHA?" becomes a qualifying question.

Conspiracy Lust
Why do people so readily hook into conspiracy theories?  As Dan Brown demonstrated, everyone loves a conspiracy.  Perhaps it's our cynicism, the temptation of blaming some unknown boogieman, or simple attraction to a mystery.  Generally, for a conspiracy to work, three items must happen: no one is ever able to peer inside the black box, the conspiracy is flawlessly executed, and everyone involved is able to keep the secret - for life.  Anyone who's ever been involved in any business or military operation knows how extremely rare this is.  Actual attempts to implement conspiracy show otherwise, such as Watergate and Iran-Contra.  Nonetheless, conspiracies attract interest like a pile of dog crap attracts flies.

Republicans and big oil conspired to lower oil prices.  This seems to be a case of backwards deduction.  Gasoline prices take a big dive before November and Republicans are in bed with big oil, so something must be foul, right?  For this one to work, a group would be able to control the enormous complexities of world oil dynamics, and of course, keep all communication completely hidden while doing so.

AIDs was deliberately manufactured. This conspiracy seemed to be in vogue in the 80's.  Supposedly, AIDs was purposefully manufactured to injure the groups most affected: homosexuals, Africans, or others.  Of course, this conveniently ignores the first cases of AIDs was positively diagnosed in 1959 (and was probably active before then), when biotechnology was simply too primitive at that time to create anything as complex as the AIDs virus.

Various 9/11 theories  Pick your favorite conspiracy theory here, which mostly either have the government playing a part in 9/11, or knew about it and did nothing to prevent the disaster.  According to polls, 1-in-3 Americans now believe in some conspiracy elements of 9/11.  Again, this seems to be a case of backwards deduction.  To some, the Bush Administration has acted so aggressively to 9/11, they must've wanted it to happen, or actually made 9/11 happen.  A Popular Mechanics article did a good job taking apart the most prevalent theories swirling about 9/11.

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About: Seattle Spin is a weekly email newsletter highlighting the best restaurants, activities, and venues in Seattle this particular week Contact: Publisher: Gerard Wirz; Editor: Nathaniel Hollywood; Contributors:  Mike Ford and Mary Novak .