It’s Jim Henson & Brian Froud Movie Night : Dark Crystal & Labyrinth

Cash bar and doors open at 6:00 PM, Films start at 7:00 PM

FREE POPCORN

$5 donation at the door or bar gratefully accepted – help us reach our goal of $5,000 for the year for the kids served by Variety Children’s Charity. For this event – Tachyon Publications will MATCH the bar tips and thus give that much more to the charity.

Seating is limited, and this event is on a first-come, first-seated basis. Numbers will be given at the doors – we’re raffling off a hardcover edition of the book about the making of Dark Crystal!

DARK CRYSTAL – 1982 – 93 mins.

“The prophecy didn’t say anything about this!”
“Prophets don’t know everything!”

A work of art and love, it’s puppet perfection. One of the finest things to come out of the Jim Henson Workshop. With creature design by Brian Froud, it’s an unforgettable tale of the Mystics and the Skeksis on another planet in another time. When the Crystal cracked, the land became barren, and the Urskeks (a race of God-like beings) have split into two separate races, the peaceful Uru ‘Mystics’ and the evil Skeksis-a horrific cross between bird and reptile. The three suns that shine upon the land are about to line up in a great conjunction that only happens once every 1000 years. If the crystal is not repaired before then the cruel Skeksis will rule the land forever. Jen, a Gefling, and his companions Aughra and Kira, embark to fulfill the prophecy that a single Gelfling will defeat the Skeksis, and restore peace to the land. And there’s Podlings!

LABYRINTH – 1986 – 101 mins.

David Bowie. It’s pretty cool.

Young Sarah, left alone to babysit her little brother Toby, decides to tell him a story to stop him from crying…bad decision! She inadvertently conjures the fantasy world of her favourite book. The Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie) who steals the child and brings him to his castle in the middle of a labyrinth. Sarah has to rescue him before midnight, or the baby will became a goblin. Jareth gives her the option; she could take her dreams or spend 13 hours in his kingdom, an ever-changing maze called the Labyrinth. If she was able to get to the castle at the center within the specified time, her brother would be spared from becoming a goblin. Sarah was resolved to save her brother and the king left her to do her task. And there in lies a tale…gorgeously decorated and characterized by the Henson workshop and Brian Froud.

The Variety Preview Room Theatre, The Hobart Bldg. 1st Floor
582 Market Street at 2nd & Montgomery, San Francisco.

DON’T DRIVE!! We are steps away from the BART/MUNI station at Montgomery, and parking sucks in SF anyways.

The 24th Bay Area Storytelling Festival takes place on May 16 and 17, 2009 at the Kennedy Grove Regional Recreation Area, El Sobrante.

Outstanding storytellers from around the world visit the Bay Area each Spring to bring to life tales old and new: folk tales, family stories, fables, recollections, ghost stories, tall tales, fairy tales, and classic stories from many many cultures. Join us for a weekend of outdoor concerts of oral storytelling, and treat your imagination to the power and elegance of the well-told story.

Featured tellers for 2009: Judith Black, Doug Elliott, Jay O’Callahan, Antonio Rocha, and Gayle Ross.

For more information about the Festival, please visit their website.

The Festival is a project of the Storytelling Association of Alta California, a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting storytelling as a living art form. The SAAC is a regional voice for story listeners and storytellers in California, reminding the local and national community of the power and the joy of storytelling.

Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 PM
Ask A Scientist! Presents “The Science of CG Animation” with the DreamWorks dream team.

To those of us who grew up watching Popeye and The Flintstones, animation seemed like a pretty simple concept. You could even make your own respectable frame-by-frame cartoon with nothing but a notepad and pencil. These days animation is a whole different game — entailing technical innovations that make cels and gouache look like artifacts from Bedrock. Tonight we’ll learn how the art and science of computer generated animation has evolved from a single pixel on a screen to fully rendered scenes that can be hard to distinguish from live action. Our DreamWorks dream team will walk us through the building blocks of a CG animated project, explaining the science and math behind the transformation of tiny dots of color into fluid that flows, fur that bristles, and feathers that ruffle.

SPEAKERS: From PDI/DreamWorks Animation: Andrew Pearce, Director of R&D; Eric Tabellion, R&D Software Engineer; and David Eberle, R&D Software Engineer

At the Axis Cafe, 1201 8th Street (btw. 16th & Irwin, bottom of Potrero Hill) San Francisco.

Monday, May 11, 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
The 11th Hour, 11 Hour Jam Session! Help support Bird & Beckett Books!

We’re roping in all the jazz players we can — those who know Charlie Parker’s music inside out — to take part in an 11th-hour, 11-hour jam session — if you know a musician steeped in the bop vernacular, pass the word — or just come and listen! Keep in mind, this is a benefit to help raise funds to free the bookstore from the bony clutches of the banks! Donate what you can. If you can’t make it to the date, feel free to send a check! All participants are donating their talents, and all funds raised will help pay down our bank debts — starting with the ones with the most usurious interest rates! Does 29.99% seem high to you too???

At Bird and Beckett Books & Records, 653 Chenery Street (in Glen Park), San Francisco.

May 1 – August 7

Once Upon a Book:The Creative Process of Children’s Books

Once Upon a Book showcases six acclaimed children’s book illustrators in a new light – through doodles, sketches, mock-ups, all the way through finished art. The exhibition looks into the creative processes of six masters of children’s books: Remy Charlip / Maira Kalman / Elisa Kleven / David Macaulay / Chris Raschka / Brian Selznick.

Curator’s Walk-Through, with Thacher Hurd: Friday, May 15, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM – please call the Center to reserve a space

San Francisco Center for the Book, 300 DeHaro St. at 16th, San Francisco.

Only one so far…

Thursday, May 14 – 4:00 PM
The Inked Books: Graphic Novel Book Club will discuss something at Books Inc. in Palo Alto, 855 El Camino Real #74, Palo Alto.

Friday, May 22 through Monday, May 25 at The Hyatt Regency, Santa Clara, CA

Guests of Honor include Mercedes Lackey, Larry Dixon, and artist Tim Kirk. Events at the con include a Masquerade, a Dealers’ Room, Art Show, gaming, anime, music, and much more! Local favourites Borderlands Books, Cargo Cult Books, and Handee Books will be in the dealers room…go, go, go, buy, buy, buy!!!

To buy your membership, go online – pre-registration closes May 10, so act fast! One day memberships are also available.

More info here.

Wednesday, May 6, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Join the Center for the Book at their Annual Silent Auction.

The San Francisco Center for the Book is a place where you can learn about the many arts and crafts of the book. Through workshops, exhibitions and public events, the SFCB promotes both knowledge of traditional book arts and exploration of experimental book forms.

VIP Preview: 6:30-9:00pm – $75/person or $140/couple – Includes champagne and wine open bar and plentiful hors d’oeurves, a special printed memento, a discount ticket to Macy’s Community Shopping Day Event (May 16), preview access to the silent auction and a early-bird special interest auction of valuable and rare items.

General Admission: 7:30-9pm – $20/person in advance or $25 at the door – Includes two drink tickets, fun party food, chill euro beat spun by our DJ and an opportunity to bid on book art from teachers, exhibiting artists and supporters of SFCB. Great date for aspiring collectors!

Tickets available from Brown Paper Tickets.

The San Francisco Center for the Book, 300 De Haro Street, San Francisco, CA – The entrance is on the 16th St. side of the building, enter at the red awning.

Tuesday, May 5, 6:00 PM
Don Herron – The Dashiell Hammett Tour: 30th Anniversary Guidebook – Members free, public $12 – at the Mechanics’ Institute, 57 Post Street, San Francisco

Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 PM
Shawna Yang Ryan – Water Ghosts, A Novel, at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park

Wednesday, May 6, 6:30 PM
Mary Roach – Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science & Sex – Free for members, $18 for non-members – at The Commonwealth Club of California, 595 Market Street, 2nd Fl., San Francisco

Wednesday, May 6, 7:30 PM
Shawna Yang Ryan – Water Ghosts, A Novel at Books Inc. in Alameda, 1344 Park Street, Alameda

Thursday, May 7, 7:00 PM
Shawna Yang Ryan – Water Ghosts, A Novel at Rakestraw Books, 522 Hartz Avenue, Danville

Wednesday May 6, 4:00 PM
Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy / Frostbite / Shadow Kiss – The New York Times Bestselling author of the Vampire Academy series for teens will be holding a meet & greet booksigning at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park.

Wednesday, May 6, 7:00 PM
Sarah Waters – The Little Stranger (a stunning haunted house tale!!) at Books Inc. in Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness, San Francisco.

Friday, May 8, 7:00 PM
Cindy Pon – Silver Phoenix – Come to the Northern California Launch Party for Cindy Pon, who will read from her debut teen fantasy book, Silver Phoenix, at Books Inc. in Laurel Village. With a sweeping quest and Chinese-inspired mythology, this book introduces a heroine who sheds the constrictions of her sheltered life, discovers the well of power within herself, and vanquishes an age-old evil. At Books Inc. in Laurel Village, 3515 California Street, San Francisco.

Friday, May 8, 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Hot Zombie Chicks Love BrAiNs Comic Book Tour 2009! Horrific Laughs Galore! Come check out these cooky & crazy comic book creators on their west coast tour: Paul Allen / Anthony Leano / Mike Hampton / Emonic / Stephen R. Buell at Comic Relief – THE Comic Book Store, 2026 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley.

Saturday, May 9, 11:00 AM
Rick Riordan – The Last Olympian ( Percy Jackson series). The You Say Read, We Say Party Book Club & Books Inc. present a ticketed event at Capuchino High School, 1501 Magnolia Avenue, San Bruno. Tickets are available at your Neighborhood Books Inc..

Saturday, May 9, 5:00 PM
Rick Riordan – The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson series) at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park.

Saturday, May 9, 1:30 PM
Lewis Buzbee – The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History – Buzbee’s The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore. A veteran of the booktrade, Buzbee shares his passion for books, and weaves together a fascinating historical account of the bookseller trade. At Copperfield’s, 138 N. Main Street, Sebastopol.

Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 PM
Glen David Gold – Sunnyside at Books Inc.in Opera Plaza, 601 Van Ness, San Francisco.

Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 PM
Shawna Yang Ryan – Water Ghosts, A Novel at Clayton Books, 5433 D Clayton Road, Clayton.

Wednesday, May 13, 7:00 PM
Lee Konstantiou – Pop Apocalypse: A Possible Satire at Books Inc. in Palo Alto, 855 El Camino Real #74, Palo Alto.

Thursday, May 14, 9:00 PM
An Evening with Barry Gifford, Sailor & Lula. A Pegasus Books/Cerrito Speakeasy Theater Event – Admission: $8.00 – To celebrate the publication of Barry Gifford’s The Imagination of the Heart – book seven of the story of Sailor and Lula, we present a screening of David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, a discussion with Barry Gifford, and a performance by actor Anne Darragh as Lula. At the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater, 10070 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito.

Saturday, May 16, 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Jeff Prucher – Brave New Words: The first historical dictionary devoted to science fiction. Join us for a discussion with local freelance lexicographer and editor Jeff Prucher, who has assembled the first historical dictionary devoted to science fiction. Brave New Words won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book last year. “It’s a window on a whole genre of literature through the words invented and passed along by the genre’s most talented writers. In addition, it shows how many words we consider everyday vocabulary — words like “space shuttle,” “blast off,” and “robot” — had their roots in imaginative literature, and not in hard science.” This is a fascinating book to browse — each entry you read reminds you of more that you’d like to read. You’ll find yourself captivated for hours! At Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia Street, San Francisco.

Tuesday, April 28, 7:00 PM
Mary Roach – Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex at BookShop West Portal, 80 W. Portal Avenue, San Francisco.

BOOK CLUB MEETING
Wednesday, April 29, 7:30 PM
Desert Island Book Club discusses The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon at Books Inc. in Alameda, 1344 Park Street, Alameda.

Friday, May 1, 4:00 PM
AN ANARCHIST MAY DAY PICNIC
Dolores Park, San Francisco (look for the black & red flag). AK Press is pleased to cosponsor this event organized by the Alexander Berkman Social Club. Come celebrate our holiday with good company and good food (and bring something to share)!