 |
 |
 |
 |
Modern Times is now investing 10% of the total sales on all events books to community organizations... Read more »
See a list of archived events... Read more »
|
 |
Reading and Virtual Radical History Tour
Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California
Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi
- Thursday, December 3
- 7:00 PM
The first-ever account of the struggle to develop and protect rights in the Golden State, Wherever There's a Fight captures the sweeping story of how freedom and equality have grown in California, from the gold rush right up to the precarious post-9/11 era. The book tells the stories of the brave individuals, from early Chinese immigrants subjected to discriminatory laws to those of professionals who challenged McCarthyism, who have stood up for their rights in the face of social hostility, physical violence, economic hardship, and political stonewalling.
In their presentation at Modern Times, the authors will take the audience through a virtual civil liberties tour of San Francisco with photos and stories of all the civil liberties hot spots that you may pass by every day, never realizing the struggles that took place there 20, 50, or 150 years ago.
 top of page
|
|
 |
New!
Activist Spanish Classes by Francisco Jimenez
- Saturday, December 5 and 12
- 2:00 - 3:30 PM
- $15 - 20, pay what you can
Do you have basic Spanish language skills but want to improve and build them? Do you feel like traditional Spanish classes are too expensive, and not focused on the kind of Spanish you want to learn? Instead of institutional classes, come to Francisco Jimenez’ drop-in Spanish classses. Through talking about our lives and experiences, about real conversations and topics, we’ll build Spanish language skills and self confidence.
About Francisco: Francisco Jimenez has been teaching Spanish for the past four years in the Bay Area. An immigrant rights activist, he works with homeless people and teaches in after school programs in San Francisco public schools. He believes in creating non-hierarchal educational settings where everyone can feel free to learn.
top of page
|
|
 |
Spanish Book Group / Círculo de Lectores de Literatura en Español
- Tuesday, December 8 (note change of date)
- 7:00 PM
Join us for our Spanish language book group (usually on the fourth Tuesday of each month, this month moved to the second Tuesday due to the winter holidays.) A mix of native speakers and advanced level hablantes, the group has been meeting in the Mission District on a monthly basis for nine years. In December the group will discuss a short story by Julio Cortazar - please call Graciela at the store to have it emailed to you.
top of page
|
|
 |
Acoustic Set and Author Reading
Deflowered
Jon Ginoli of Pansy Division
- Wednesday, December 9
- 7:00 PM
Jon Ginoli is a guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of Pansy Division, a gay punk rock band whose CDs include Undressed, Deflowered, Wish I'd Taken Pictures, and more. Deflowered is Jon Ginoli's journey of self-discovery, musical passion, and drive to become the founding member of Pansy Division, the first out and proud punk rock band to make the national scene. We follow the band from their inception in the early '90s in San Francisco, to their search for a music label, and their current status as indie rock icons. We see the highs—touring with Green Day—and the lows—homophobic fans—of striving for acceptance and success in the world of rock. Featuring behind-the-scenes photographs and replete with the requisite tales of sex, drugs, groupies, band fights, and label battles, this rollicking memoir is also an impassioned account of staying true to their artistic vision of queer rock'n'roll.
top of page
|
|
 |
Book Launch and Signing
A Glass of Water
Jimmy Santiago Baca
- Thursday, December 10
- 7:00 PM
Award-winning memoirist, poet, and activist Jimmy Santiago Baca's first novel, A Glass of Water, is a gripping tale of family, loyalty, ambition, and revenge that offers us a glimpse into the tragedies unfurling at this very moment on our country’s borders. The promise of a new beginning brings Casimiro and Nopal together when they are young immigrants, each having made the nearly deadly journey across the border from Mexico. They settle into a life of long days in the chili fields and in a few years their happy union yields two sons, Lorenzo and Vito. But when Nopal is brutally murdered, the boys are left to navigate life in this brave but capricious world without her.
top of page
|
|
|
Institute for the Critical Study of Society (ICSS) Talk
Marxism and Feminism—A Duality? Or A Unity?
Urszula Wislanka
- Monday, December 14
- 7:00 PM
Marx's historical materialism has been counter-posed to women's liberation (and vice versa) since the beginning of the modern Women's Liberation Movement. Can Marx's view of labor address the schism between Marxism and feminism?
About ICCS: The Institute for the Critical Study of Society is a diverse group of activists and educators based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through classes and workshops, social events and community action, we focus on an analysis of our society from a working-class perspective. Class analysis is used to provide crucial insights into how today’s conditions came about and how we can implement positive changes in our society. If you are seeking a deeper understanding of our socio-political-economic conditions, and want to contribute to positive change, we invite you to join us.
top of page
|
|
 |
Double Header Solnit! Book launch!
A Paradise Built In Hell
Rebecca Solnit
The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle
edited by David Solnit & Rebecca Solnit
- Wednesday, December 16
- 7:00 PM
Why is it that in the immediate aftermath of a disaster—whether man made or natural—people suddenly become resilient, resourceful, generous, empathic, and brave, motivated by a newfound sense of urgency and purpose? And what does this joy reveal about ordinarily unmet social desires and possibilities? In A Paradise Built in Hell, award-winning author Rebecca Solnit explores this phenomenon, looking at the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, the 1917 explosion that tore up Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Mexico City earthquake of 1985, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. Solnit describes how disaster throws people into a temporary utopia—a social paradise—of transformed human nature and society, bolder and freer, more altruistic, more communitarian.
From dawn to dusk on November 30, 1999, tens of thousands of people shut down the World Trade Organization meeting, facing cops firing tear gas and rubber bullets, the National Guard, and the suspension of civil liberties. An unexpected history was launched from the streets of Seattle, one in which popular power would matter as much as corporate power and people began envisioning who else they could be and what else their economies and societies might look like. The Battle of the Story of the Battle of Seattle explores how that history itself has become a battleground and how our perception of it shapes today’s movements against corporate capitalism and for a better world. David Solnit recounts activist efforts to intervene in the Hollywood star-studded movie, Battle in Seattle, and pulls lessons from a decade ago for today.
top of page
|
|
 |
Food Demo and Author Reading
Frugal Foodie
Lara Starr
- Thursday, December 17
- 6:00 PM
Everyone is jumping on the frugality bandwagon these days, but the newly released The Frugal Foodie Cookbook distinguishes itself with this one simple gourmet decree from the get-go:
"Being frugal is about getting the most value from your food. It doesn't mean using absolutely the least expensive ingredients."
Cookbook author, cake decorating teacher, radio producer, marketeer, card-carrying cheapskate, wife and mom. Whew! My first cookbook The Party Girl Cookbook was written 1998. Back then I was newly married and kid-less, the streets were paved with dot-com gold, and a young Ben Stiller taught us how to laugh. I had plenty of time and money for parties that included elaborate themes, silly costumes and the inevitable next-day hangovers. Lara Starr never lets a limited budget get in the way of a good meal. Lara has offered advice on easy, affordable cooking and entertaining on TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, and websites throughout the US and Canada. She lives in Marin County, California, with her well-fed husband and son. Read about her culinary adventures here: http://cakestarr.blogspot.com.
top of page
|
|
| |
Queer Open Mic
- Friday, December 18
- 7:00 PM sign-up for performers
- 7:30 PM start time
Queer Open Mic is a regular event offering a mixed bag of open mic performances (usually poetry and short stories, sometimes music or comedy) and kick-ass features. Primarily serving the queer community, it’s been running since 2004. All ages and minds of queer writers are welcome- just bring that rough draft or polished gem! Five minutes max, $3-5 donation, no one turned away, and lots of queer literary love. For more information: queeropenmic.com
top of page
|
|
|
The Burger Queen Social
- Saturday, December 26
- 5:30 PM
From the minds that brought about Gay Shame and Ships in the Night comes the Burger Queen Social—a fun and exciting opportunity to meet other radical queer, trans, and genderqueer folks to hook up with for political witchery and discussion. With free vegan eats and a wildly engaging DJ!
top of page
|
|
 |
Left Turn Film Night
Argentina: Turning Around
Lara Starr
- Monday, December 28
- 7:00 PM
Our economy has collapsed. National unemployment is in the double digits, we all know someone who lost their home in the foreclosure crisis. Join Left Turn Magazine to uncover how the Argentinian people are re-inventing their society to offer a better life for all through new models of work, politics and community development.
top of page
|
|
|
Gay Shame Weekly Meetings
- Saturdays
- 5:30 PM
Gay Shame seeks nothing less than a new queer activism that foregrounds race, class, gender and sexuality, to counter gay consumerism and the increasingly hypocritical left. Come to a general meeting: all are welcome.
top of page
|
| |
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
