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Lectures: Symbolic Understanding in Infants and Young Children: Challenges and Benefits, Feb 21st, free but must RSVP.  Two psychologists discuss the use, learning, and communications of symbols with infants and young children, just as their brains are starting to develop cognitive functions.  *  Also, Suicidal Individuals: Evaluation, Therapies, and Ethics, Feb 28th, free but must RSVP.  Testing on suicide-prone individuals presents promise as well as a morass of ethical issues, so typically, they're excluded from the test groups.  Here are some thoughts on how to approach testing of treatments on this vulnerable set. * Also, The Wisdom of your Face, Feb 21st, free.  Level 1 face reading is understanding how somebody looks and feels (duh) - that's the sophomore level.  Move up to level 2 face reading, revealing how people think and feel. *  Also, Restoring America's Good Name Abroad, Feb 25th, free.  Ask foreigners what they think of America, and they always admire our principals and detest our politics.  America needs a bit of its own public-relations management, so here's one way to get the job done. * Also, Got Art? Collectors Workshop, Feb 22nd, free but must RSVP. This one is put on by Poncho, and usually these Poncho events are three-digit-dollar affairs. Local experts provide advice on how to best part with your art dollars.

Film: Oscar Viewing Party at Spit Fire, Feb 25th, by donation. It's the party thing to guess the Oscars, celebrate a bit, and then drink and dine.  These sorts of events work best if you're really into it, or are with someone else who is.  Being a big TV watcher helps too.

Libations: Boutique Winery Showcase!, Feb 21st, $35. This area seems to sprout wineries like poplar trees.  Seems that every wine enthusiast with a spare-money problem is becoming a gentleman wine producer.  So, here's the newest bunch, wineries 4-5 years old producing fewer than 5,000 cases.  *  Also, on the flipside, Samuel Smith Beer Tastings, Feb 21st, $1. If you're into that fancy sipping bear, then meet with like-minded folks.

Folk Arts: Seattle Storytellers Guild, Feb 22nd, free. Here's a place to lab-test your story before taking it to the party circuit, or listen to somebody else's yarn and see what makes a good story.  All sorts of folks, and experience levels, show up at these events.

Performing Arts: Chita Rivera - The Dancer's Life, starting Feb 28th, $22+.  Actually, not sure if a dancer's life is terribly interesting, but here, they bring it up to show level using the biography of Chita Rivera.  *  Also, United States Air Force Band, Feb 21st, free.  You can be sure they're going to play the Stars and Strips forever. * Also, Flute and Piano recital, Feb 24th, free.  Pablo Sepulveda and Francoise Papillon perform the big ones from Bach, Schubert, Varese, and Piazzolla.  It's relaxing music for a Saturday afternoon, and coincidentally, the concert is held on a Saturday afternoon.

Tournament: Chess, Feb 19th, $25.  One thing about chess is there's no luck factor.  A bad backgammon player can beat a good one with favorable rolls.  With chess, it's all mental horsepower. You lose - your fault.

Event: Your Handwriting Can Change Your Life, Feb 23rd, $15, We can see handwriting maybe making a difference for writing out checks, but not sure how much of a difference beyond this.  Anyway, according to these folks, your handwriting makes a major difference, so here's how to improve upon it if your handwriting still looks like a third-grader's.  While you're down there, ask them why female handwriting tends to be more elegant and loopy than a man's?

Vocation: Driver's Job Fair, Feb 24th, free. In theory, if you like sitting on your ass all day, this should be a pretty good job.  Of course, then they need to move stuff all around the place, so the reality probably has its share of back-busting work involved. 20+ year drivers always retire with bad backs, too.

Gaming: LAN Party, Feb 24-25th, $25.  If blowing up computer-generated aliens is getting a little namby-pamby, then duke it out against RL (real life) opponents. Bring your system and a game from their pool.  This seems pretty good in theory, but one picks up a vibe that this is going to be on the same geek level as a Star Trek convention.

Organizations: Nikkei Concerns, providing elder care for folks.  Their angle is honoring Japanese-Americans; so of course, the ethnic makeup of the patients reflects this focus.  There are still probably some good WWII stories in this group.

Standing Ovation Inflation
Lamenting like a grumpy old-timer on when standing ovations were earned instead of some Pavlovian end-of-show response: why is it just about every show here in Seattle ends with the audience applauding on its feet?  It used to be that standing ovations were the exception.  Now, by contemporary standing ovation counts, either the shows have gotten consistently better, or we've gotten lax.  Are all of these shows really standing-ovation-worthy, or are we Seattleites just a bunch of generous rubes willing to applaud for anything they throw up on stage?

Seattle Opera: At Seattle Opera ticket prices, it better be good, or so the theory goes.  Yea, yea, wonderful has become Seattle Opera de rigueur: the talent outstanding, the costumes gorgeous, and the sets sumptuous.  Yet, by the sixth call forward, you're beginning to silently question, it wasn't that wonderful, was it?  Are we celebrating a grand show, or is that the diva's ego stepping forward one more time?

Pacific Northwest Ballet: Under Peter Boal's new reign, the PNB is becoming more progressive and edgier, which is mostly good.  Taking new risks means some things work out and some don't, yet people still give a standing ovation for everything, the hits as well as the flops.  The theory here is, apart from the performance, the ballet can be so visually stunning, it's easy to admire these talented performers in their rich costumes and be stirred to applause.

The Greater Seattle Theater Community: Perhaps this is the greatest culprit.  There are lots of good shows here in Seattle, but should you applaud on your feet for merely good?  One can be forgiven for yearning a bit for the rudeness of a New York audience, where they don't give it up as easily unless it's really earned.

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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 .