All Event Books 10% Off A Game As Old As Empire Editor Steven Hiatt and Contributors Ellen Augustine and Antonia Juhasz   - Wednesday, May 2   - 7:00 PM New College Theater, 777 Valencia Street, San Francisco John Perkins' controversial and bestselling exposÈ, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, revealed for the first time the secret world of economic hit men (EHMs). But Perkins' Confessions contained only a small piece of this sinister puzzle. The full story is far bigger, deeper, and darker than Perkins' personal account revealed. In A Game As Old As Empire other EHMs, journalists, and investigators join Perkins to tell their own stories, providing the first probing and expansive look into this pervasive web of systematic corruption. With chapters spotlighting how specific countries around the globe have been subverted, A Game As Old As Empire uncovers the inner workings of the institutions behind these economic manipulations. The contributors detail concrete examples of how the "economic hit man game" is still being played: an officer of an offshore bank hiding hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen money, IMF advisers slashing Ghana's education and health programs, a mercenary defending a European oil company in Nigeria, a consultant rewriting Iraqi oil law, and executives financing warlords to secure supplies of coltan ore in Congo. Together they show how this system of corruption and plunder operates in real life, and reveal the price that the rest of the world must pay as a result. A Game As Old As Empire connects the dots, showing how the various pieces of this system come together to create the world's first truly global empire. Free and open to the public. Co-Sponsored by: New College Center for Education and Social Action, Global Exchange and Modern Times Bookstore. top of page Independent Arts & Media Expo Indy Publishing & Distribution: A How To Workshop   - Thursday, May 3   - 7:30 PM You have an idea for THE next great American novel, but how do you get it out there to people who want to read it – maybe even make a buck? Learn from members of AK Press, Other Magazine, and long-time zinesters about running an independent publishing company, submitting books for publication, producing your own magazine, professionalizing layout and design, and complete DIY creation and distribution. Bring a pen and paper – you are going to want to take notes! top of page Re-thinking Revision: Improving your Fiction Sarah Stone   - Saturday, May 5   - 6:30 PM Writing exercises, craft discussions, and examples from diverse international fiction, help writers to create vivid, memorable stories and novels. Join Sarah Stone, core faculty member in New College's MFA program in Writing and Consciousness, as she offers revision examples and exercises from The Longman Guide to Intermediate and Advanced Fiction Writing. Stone will be discussing ways to use multiple revisions to blend the practical strategies of craft with the intuitive originality of art. top of page A "Classified" Discussion Group   - Monday, May 7   - Monday, May 21   - Monday, June 4   - 7:00 PM Open to all, join us for this three-part book discussion of Classified: How to Stop Hiding Your Privilege and Use It For Social Change. Part 1 of the series covers the first half of the book and candid group discussion of the issues it raises. After reading the second half of this book, Part 2 opens discussion to concrete steps toward taking responsibility for a privileged class experience while working toward social change. Finally, in Part 3 we join to discuss lifting the book’s insights from the pages and putting them to good use. top of page The Grayline Gary Norris   - Tuesday, May 8   - 7:00 PM Join us as author Gary Norris discusses his new book, The Grayline, a short history chronicling the lives of disabled Black Americans coping with the politics and attitudes of the non-disabled world. Norris will be accompanied by fellow authors Frank A. Jones, What Have We Done, Leroy F. Moore, A Black Disabled Male with A Bad Attitude and High IQ, and Frank Williams, Knowledge in Poetic Views. top of page Paradise Stories Dustin Heron Ecstatic Monkey Literary Series   - Thursday, May 10   - 7:30 PM Paradise Stories is a short story collection about a working class family in Chico, their exploded septic tank, and hope. It is also the first publication of Small Desk Press. Small Desk Press aims to publish writing by emerging artists, giving primacy to no one school or style of writing by supporting work that challenges the conventional divisions of experimental, narrative, poetry and/or prose. top of page Every Night Is Ladies Night: Lesbian Bar Culture Since the ‘60s – Q Nic Weinstein, et al   - Friday, May 11   - 7:00 PM The Every Night Is Ladies Night exhibit draws from photos, fliers, and other materials in the San Francisco GLBT Historical Society archives to present a picture of lesbian bar culture from the 1960’s to the present in the Bay Area. Join us as generations of local lesbians and queer women gather to discuss their experiences of the ultimate dyke meeting, fighting, loving, crying, laughing, and organizing spot: the bar. Curator Nic Weinstein to moderate discussion. The GLBT Historical Society Archives exhibit runs through May 20 at The Lexington Club, 3464 19th. Qu(e)eries Series - Thoughtful discussion of queerness: A prideful alternative to buying a rainbow / American flag combo. Join us for one, two, or all of these fabulous panel discussions, readings, and performances. Running through May and June, look for titles marked with a "Q" to read more about each event in this series. top of page Taking On the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism Is Good for Families, Businesses, and the Nation Ellen Bravo   - Monday, May 14   - 7:30 PM Are the barriers to women’s workplace successes really disappearing? Former director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women and author Ellen Bravo poses this very question in her new book. Bravo spotlights the everyday lives of working women and finds that times have not changed as much as we may have been led to believe. Of Taking On, author Barbara Enrenreich writes, “Feminism at its butt-kicking best!” top of page Fight Like A Girl Megan Seely   - Tuesday, May 15   - 7:30 PM Megan Seely, the youngest president of the California chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), reclaims feminism for a new generation in Fight Like a Girl. By boldly detailing what is at stake for women and girls today, Seely outlines the necessary steps to achieve true political, social and economic equity for all. top of page No One Belongs Here More Than You Miranda July   - Wednesday, May 16   - 8:00 PM Miranda July, star, screenwriter, and director of the internationally-acclaimed, award-winning film Me and You and Everyone We Know, graces Modern Times for a reading from her new book No One Belongs Here More Than You. July's debut collection of short stories is a startling, sexy, and tender collection. "These stories are incredibly charming, beautifully written, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and even, a dozen or so times, profound," says author Dave Eggers. July explores the hearts and minds of characters who are desperate for human connection but don't know how to find it—or what to do when it actually happens. In addition to her writing and filmmaking accolades, July's art has been presented at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum and in the Whitney Biennials. Her short fiction has been published in The Paris Review, Zoetrope All-Story, and The New Yorker. Her film, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, including the Camera d'Or. top of page Abolition From Within: One year of "The Abolitionist" Newspaper Critical Resistance   - Thursday, May 17   - 7:30 PM Join members of Justice Now, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, the Beat Within, and Critical Resistance to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Critical Resistance’s newspaper for prisoners and community members who are organizing for a world without cages, The Abolitionist. Stay for a panel discussion about prisoner-focused publications, looking directly at the challenges and visions experienced by organizers and the importance of prisoners’ voices in breaking down prison walls. top of page A "Classified" Discussion Group   - Monday, May 7   - Monday, May 21   - Monday, June 4   - 7:00 PM Open to all, join us for this three-part book discussion of Classified: How to Stop Hiding Your Privilege and Use It For Social Change. Part 1 of the series covers the first half of the book and candid group discussion of the issues it raises. After reading the second half of this book, Part 2 opens discussion to concrete steps toward taking responsibility for a privileged class experience while working toward social change. Finally, in Part 3 we join to discuss lifting the bookâs insights from the pages and putting them to good use. top of page Spanish Book Group / Círculo de Lectores de Literatura en Español   - Tuesday, May 22   - 7:00 PM Join us for our Spanish language book group on the fourth Tuesday of each month. A mix of native speakers and advanced level hablantes, the group has been meeting in the Mission District on a monthly basis for eight years. This month we will be reading Abril Rojo by Santiago Roncagliolo. June's book will be El viento de la luna by Antonio Muñoz Molina. Books are available for purchase at the store. top of page Childcare Collective All-Member Meeting   - Monday, May 28   - 7:00 PM The Bay Area Childcare Collective provides trained, competent, and politicized childcare providers to grassroots organizations and movements composed of and led by immigrant women, low-income women, and women of color. The Collective is part of a long-term effort to build a multi-generational movement with parents, women, and children at its center. General meetings are held at MT every 4th Monday of the month. top of page Flight Sherman Alexie   - Tuesday, May 29   - 7:30 PM At the Roxie New College Film Center, 3117 16th Street, San Francisco Sherman Alexie, a treasure of American literature, reads from his first novel in ten years. Flight is the hilarious and tragic portrait of an orphaned Indian boy on a shocking sojourn through American history in a search for his identity. This is Alex at his most brilliant—making us laugh while he's breaking our hearts. At once wrenching and humorous, contemporary yet steeped in history, Flight is fearless and groundbreaking. In 1998, Alexie participated with seven others in the PBS Lehrer News Hour Dialogue on Race with President Clinton. Alexie has also been featured on Politically Incorrect, 60 Minutes II, and NOW with Bill Moyers. He is the author of Reservation Blues, Indian Killer, The Toughest Indian in the World, and Ten Little Indians. Alexie also wrote the award-winning screenplay for Smoke Signals, a Miramax film based on his short-story collection The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. The event promises to be a spirited reading by a gifted storyteller known for his exceptional humor and stage presence. Tickets $4 in advance at Modern Times; $5 at the door. This event is co-sponsored by Roxie New College Film Center. top of page American Furies: Crime, Punishment, and Vengeance in the Age of Mass Imprisonment Sasha Abramsky   - Thursday, May 31   - 7:30 PM Sasha Abramsky is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, New York Magazine, The Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. In 2000 he was awarded a Soros Society, Crime and Communities Media Fellowship. In this disturbing yet elegant expose of US Penitentiaries and their surrounding communities, Abramsky draws on years of research to show the ways in which American prisons have shifted away from initial goals of rehabilitation towards longer, more severe sentences with increasing violence and cruelty towards prisoners. top of page A "Classified" Discussion Group   - Monday, May 7   - Monday, May 21   - Monday, June 4   - 7:00 PM Open to all, join us for this three-part book discussion of Classified: How to Stop Hiding Your Privilege and Use It For Social Change. Part 1 of the series covers the first half of the book and candid group discussion of the issues it raises. After reading the second half of this book, Part 2 opens discussion to concrete steps toward taking responsibility for a privileged class experience while working toward social change. Finally, in Part 3 we join to discuss lifting the book’s insights from the pages and putting them to good use. top of page "Indies Under Fire" Film Screening Jonathan Crosby   - Tuesday, June 5   - 7:00 & 8:00 PM At The New College Creamery, 780 Valencia St. In the span of just a decade, over half of the nationís independent bookstores have vanished. This past year, many landmark independent booksellers in San Francisco were forced to close their doors. This compelling film follows the stories of conglomeratization of the book trade and raises tough questions about the place of local culture in an increasingly homogenized world. Join producer Jonathan Crosby for the screening and discussion of this compelling film. Visit their site for more info on the film. Co-sponsored by New College of California. Tickets available at the door for $5. All proceeds will benefit the filmmakers and your local indie bookseller, Modern Times. top of page Defending Our Right to the City: A Panel Discussion on Gentrification in the Mission The Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition   - Wednesday, June 6   - 7:30 PM Greedy developers and sell-out politicians have been scheming throughout urban history to put down and force out working-class African-American, Immigrant and Indigenous communities from San Francisco. No one knows this better than the Latino/a immigrants of San Franciscoís Mission District. Join Jazmin Barrera, Eric Quesada, Veronica Mejia, Nick Pagoulatos, and Carmen Ramirez for a thought provoking and action orientated panel where local organizers, mom & pop merchants, and neighborhood artists share tales from the barrio on local resistance and the national movement to defend our right to the city. top of page Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, Laura Allen & Annie Danger   - Thursday, June 7   - 7:30 PM Edited by the coauthors of the notorious zine The Guerrilla Graywater Girls Guide to Water and illustrated by MT's own Annie Danger, this collection of original essays, drawings, and photographs is part radical history of water and part DIY guide to disengaging oneís home, school, or workplace from the wasteful water grid. Renowned author Mike Davis writes, "The politics of water—as this brilliant anthology makes clear—are the politics of human survival. Read this, and believe me, youíll never flush with the same equanimity again." top of page The Day After: A Conversation Jordan Essoe and Alla Efimova   - Monday, June 11   - 7:30 PM On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War, artist Jordan Essoe speaks with Alla Efimova, chief curator at the Judah L. Magnes Museum, about his new paintings and video work exploring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Through his new piece Omega Man, Essoe allegorically conceives of the chronic brutality within the region as a kind of self-perpetuating contagion. Omega Man is on display at TART Gallery through June 22. top of page Liar Mike Amnasan   - Tuesday, June 12   - 7:30 PM Small independent San Francisco literary press Ithuriel's Spear is proud to release Mike Amnasanís new novel. Liar showcases the life of a construction worker and the intimate ways class oppression informs our protagonistís every move. top of page The Ten Minute Activist The Mission Collective   - Wednesday, June 13   - 7:30 PM If making a difference only required ten minutes a day, how many more people would try to change the world? In this bold compilation, a group of five independent writers and activists who work and live in the Bay Area lays bare how small choices concerning energy conservation, global warming, wildlife preservation, community building, spiritual awareness and political action can feel like big changes to the planetís environmental health. All you need is 10 minutes. top of page Baby Remember My Name & Rose of No Man's Land Michelle Tea Ecstatic Monkey Reading Series   - Thursday, June 14   - 7:30 PM Michelle Tea is the author of a book of poetry, four memoirs, a novel, and some edited anthologies, most recently Baby Remember My Name: New Queer Girl Writing. She runs Radar Productions, which curates literary performance events all over the place. Her first novel Rose of No-Man's Land was recently released by MacAdam Cage. Ecstatic Monkey member Page McBee joins Michelle. top of page Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity – Q Julia Serano   - Tuesday, June 19   - 7:30 PM Transgender activist and UC Berkeley biology researcher Julia Serano offers a hard-hitting look at societal constructs of femininity and gender identity in her new book. Assuming a decidedly feminist angle in her writing and research, Serano breaks with past studies by openly questioning the validity of many previously accepted theories in feminist thought and academia. Qu(e)eries Series - Thoughtful discussion of queerness: A prideful alternative to buying a rainbow / American flag combo. Join us for one, two, or all of these fabulous panel discussions, readings, and performances. Running through May and June, look for titles marked with a "Q" to read more about each event in this series. top of page Children of Prisoners: A Discussion on Activism Sydney Gurewitz Clemens, et al   - Wednesday, June 20   - 7:00 PM Five activists who work in very different arenas share their experience and suggest ways that you, too, can make a difference in the lives of children of incarcerated parents. Join Cassie Pierson, from Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; Yolanda Robinson, from the offices of City Attorney Jeff Adachi; Sophia Sanchez, from the Center for Young Women's Development; Tara Regan, from Centerforce; and Sydney Gurewitz Clemens, early childhood consultant and author for this informative and inspiring discussion. top of page Menopause with Science and Soul: A Guidebook for Navigating the Journey Judith Boice   - Thursday, June 21   - 7:30 PM Blending spirituality, holistic care, user-friendly womenís health advice, and defining menopause as a journey rather than a phase, naturopathic physician Boice outlines strategies to help women develop healthful habits and make informed choices that will enrich every aspect of their lives. This event is a co-sponsored by the New College Women's Spirituality Program. top of page Childcare Collective All-Member Meeting   - Monday, June 25   - 7:00 PM The Bay Area Childcare Collective provides trained, competent, and politicized childcare providers to grassroots organizations and movements composed of and led by immigrant women, low-income women, and women of color. The Collective is part of a long-term effort to build a multi-generational movement with parents, women, and children at its center. General meetings are held at MT every 4th Monday of the month. top of page Círculo de Lectores de Literatura en Español   - Tuesday, June 26   - 7:00 PM Join us for our Spanish language book group on the fourth Tuesday of each month. A mix of native speakers and advanced level hablantes, the group has been meeting in the Mission District on a monthly basis for eight years. This month we will be reading El Viento de la Luna by Antonio Muñoz Molina. July's book will be Alta Infidelidad by Rosa Beltran. Books are available for purchase at the store. top of page The Invisible End of the Rainbow: Liberation politics in the queer community – Q Gay Shame & LAGAI   - Wednesday, June 27   - 7:00 PM Join members of LAGAI—Queer Insurrection and Gay Shame for this thoughtful discussion on such topics as: why gay assimilation is not liberation, how gay consumerism is antithetical to social justice, why direct action is where it is at (or not), and why organize around queerness at all? LAGAI is a small independent radical queer anti-authoritarian, anti-militarist, pro-feminist and anti-racist activist group and publishers of the free newspaper UltraViolet. Gay Shame is committed to fighting racism, classism, misogyny, heterosexism, transphobia, ableism and all other hierarchies is by means of a queer extravaganza that brings direct action to astounding levels of theatricality. Qu(e)eries Series - Thoughtful discussion of queerness: A prideful alternative to buying a rainbow / American flag combo. Join us for one, two, or all of these fabulous panel discussions, readings, and performances. Running through May and June, look for titles marked with a "Q" to read more about each event in this series. top of page art abjects + crafts with Twincest – Q Twincest   - Thursday, June 28   - 7:30 PM Hey Grrrl, come celebrate Pride '07 in style! Multi-media duo Twincest will be leading a hands on souvenir-making extravaganza. Some materials will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their own flare. Qu(e)eries Series - Thoughtful discussion of queerness: A prideful alternative to buying a rainbow / American flag combo. Join us for one, two, or all of these fabulous panel discussions, readings, and performances. Running through May and June, look for titles marked with a "Q" to read more about each event in this series. top of page