Well known science fiction writer, Jay Lake, will be in San Francisco at the weekend. You can catch Jay at two events.

On Saturday 13th Jay will be appearing at Writers with Drinks, 7:00 pm at the Make-Out Room, 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco. Also appearing will be Cat Rambo, Camille T. Dungy, Steve Ferris and Damon Brown.

On Sunday 14th Jay will be demonstrating the art of creating fiction live at Borderlands Books between 1:00pm and 4:00pm. If you want to know how science fiction is created, this is your chance to see it happen live. If you watch carefully you might even see where Jay gets his ideas from.

A new book club focusing on issues of religion in science fiction is being launched next year. The discussions will be led by Rev. Randy Smith who, as well as being a Methodist Pastor, is a well-known local science fiction fan. Indeed, he was the director of the Hugo Award ceremony at the 2002 Worldcon in San Jose. The meetings will take place at 7:00pm at the First United Methodist Church, 1183 “B” Street, Hayward. The current schedule is as follows:

• January 25, 2009: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• February 22, 2009: A Case of Conscience by James Blish
• March 22, 2009: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
• April 26, 2009: Eifelheim by Michael Flynn

Update: Randy says that anyone wanting more information can phone him at the church on (510) 581-2266 or e-mail him.

Join us at our SF in SF Unholiday Movie Party! (Happy Festivus?)

We have one last chance this year to raise a little extra for Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California!!

Thursday, December 25th – 12 noon for 1:00 PM

Come and not celebrate anything with us!! There will be bagels and toppings (lox! cream cheese!), holiday cookies, coffee, tea, and cocoa. The movies start at 1:00 PM.

The Yellow Submarine (1968 – 90 mins)
(Nominated for the 1969 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation!)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004 – 2 hrs.)
(“Don’t point that gun at him, he’s an unpaid intern.”)

At this time of the year, please consider making a gift to Variety Children’s Charity, in return for a tax-deductible contribution your taxes – donations always cheerfully accepted! Give a donation to Variety as a gift, as thank-yous, or just to make yourself feel good!! 415.781.3894

And RSVP us at sfinsfevents@gmail.com, so we know how many bagels to bring!!

Here are some events from the next two weeks.
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Opening Reception: Thursday, December 4 – 7:00 PM

Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear
with special guests Gene and Adrienne Colan

The Cartoon Art Museum is honored to celebrate the life and work of cartoonist Gene Colan with a retrospective. One of mainstream comics’ most significant artists, Gene Colan was born in New York in 1926 and studied at the Art Students League of New York under illustrator Frank Riley and surrealistic Japanese painter Kuniashi. Colan’s official career in comics began in 1944 at Fiction House and Timely, and over the last 60 + years he’s worked at almost every major publisher, including EC, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Bongo and Archie. His most memorable work includes unsurpassed runs on Daredevil, Iron Man, Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Dr. Strange, Tomb of Dracula and Howard the Duck, not to mention inspired depictions of Conan, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

Beginning in the 1980s, Gene took on more varied and unusual work, including Nathaniel Dusk, Ragamuffins, The Spider (a graphic novel), Stewart the Rat, and Michael Chabon’s The Escapist. Colan has taught at both the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Colan is the recipient of a Shazam Award, two Eagle awards and in 2005 was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

This exhibition has been assembled by Guest Curator Glen David Gold, local author of the novel Carter Beats the Devil and many comics-related essays.

Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission Street, San Francisco

Wednesday, December 3 – 7:00 PM

Ask A Scientist! How Computers Look at Art

Thanks to cutting edge advancements in computer science, questions and controversies in the study of art are now being answered in ways that were not previously possible. In short, how is computer image analysis changing our understanding of art? Come find out.

Speaker: David Stork; Chief Scientist of Ricoh Innovations, Consulting Professor of Statistics and Visiting Lecturer in Computer Science at Stanford University.

This event takes place at: Axis Cafe, 1201 8th Street (btw. 16th & Irwin, bottom of Potrero Hill) San Francisco. More info here.

We are delighted to be able to announce our guests and date for the January reading. For your entertainment we will be presenting Aimee Bender and Sean Stewart on Saturday January 17th, 2009.

There’s plenty of up and coming book club action in the remainder of the month.
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Book Passage is launching a brand new book club just for children’s book creators. You do have to join up to attend, but it sounds well worth it. Here’s what they have to say:

Book Passage is thrilled to be launching the Kid Lit Salon for both established and beginning childrens book writers and illustrators. Come socialize with like-minded, creative types in your field, as evenings include a wildly diverse array of speakers, member updates, event, conference, retreat and grant info, ever-evolving web essentials, cool insider tips AND, afterwards, we’ll gather at the next door watering-hole for relaxed schmoozing and casual conversation. Book Passage will be showcasing Kid Lit Salon member books. Writer and illustrator Lissa Rovetch is the author of Ook the Book and the Hot Dog and Bob chapter book series. She illustrated her 84 year-old mother’s book There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat and Other Vile Little Poems, writes the “Ask Arizona” series for Highlights Magazine, and teaches at the California College of the Arts.

This Monday, November 17th, come discuss fantasy with Henry H. Neff – author and illustrator of the highly acclaimed contemporary fantasy fiction series The Tapestry, Walter (the Giant Storyteller) Mayes – performer, writer, literacy advocate, educator Valerie & Walter’s Best Books for Children, and Summer Dawn Laurie – book diva, bookseller and children’s book ediitor extraordinaire.

And all this is courtesy of Book Passage – Corte Madera Store, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera

Hey, Thanksgiving is family time – there are plenty of things for kids to do:
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