Good Vibrations Women Like Me program is proud to present Dr. Carol Queen, PhD, sex educator, activist, and author.  Join us and learn valuable tools to achieve effective sexual communication with your partner.     

The Organization of Special needs hosts it’s 4th annual festival for people of all walks (or wheels) of life. May 17th is filled with fun activities. Flag raising ceremony, a special parade, a special soccer tournament, children’s arts/crafts/music and face painting activities, inflatable games like Bounce House, Giant Slide and Obstacle Field, children’s books give away, live community multi-cultural stage performance, over 40 FREE community service exhibits and Health & Nutrition service exhibits, and a one day Youth Leadership Conference. The festival will also prepare an international food court and outdoor music concert,
plus the carnival must have — icy, cotton candy, pop corn, and colorful balloons for children.

Walkable Castro Street will be transformed into a resplendent sea of people and colorful tents for the 12th Annual presentation of A La Carte & Art; a vibrant, multiethnic celebration of the arts. The open-air festival will feature two full days of attractions with live music (rock/jazz/world beat), a juried art show with 250 craftspeople exhibiting their latest wares, festive food, and drink with premium wines, microbrews and margaritas, a farmers’ market with fresh seasonal produce, the popular chefs’ demonstration tent, a variety of amusements for kids and free facials, hand massages and mini-makeovers from Burt’s Bees and Maybelline brand ambassadors.

Let’s go Green in May. Meet Christie Matheson Of Green Chic, a guide for your thoughtful decisions in every day life, from food to beauty to wine, travel and home and Anne Vollen of Green Zebra, valuable coupons to dozens of green retailers in San Francisco. Both authors support The Reading Tree, a San Francisco based non-profit dedicated to supporting early literacy and healthy reading habits.

Woven through actual letters, diary entries and haiku poetry, “From A Silk Cocoon” is an award winning documentary about the true story of a young couple whose shattered dreams and forsaken loyalties lead them to renounce their American citizenship while held in separate prison camps during World War 2. They struggle to prove their innocence and fight deportation during a time of wartime hysteria and racial profiling. Followed by Q&A with filmmaker and psychotherapist Satsuke Ina.

Figaro: San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley interviews Theatre de la Jeune Lune company members Dominque Serrand and Steven Epp.

Every season, Berkeley Rep hosts Page to Stage, a series of free discussions with eminent theatre artists, designed to give audiences additional insight into the plays and playwrights produced at Berkeley Rep. Past programs have featured theatre luminaries such as David Edgar, Sarah Jones, Tony Kushner, Delroy Lindo, Donald Margulies, Terrence McNally, Charles Mee, Rita Moreno, Salman Rushdie and the Chicano performance trio Culture Clash. The discussion series is sponsored by Peet’s Coffee and Tea.

Each talk starts at 7PM; doors open at 6:45PM for general-admission seating. No tickets are necessary for these free events, but seating is limited. At every event Peet’s offers a free coffee tasting for the audience before and after each lecture. Donors who have given $250 or more to Berkeley Rep enjoy an exclusive post-talk reception with each guest. For more information, call 510.647.2949.

Psychoactives…the name itself conjures up hundreds of images: hippies at Woodstock, those “well acted” anti-drug PSAs, even Colombian drug cartels. One thing is for sure, human history and psychoactive use are intertwined.

The term psychoactive covers a wide range of compounds…ranging from caffeine & alcohol to heroin & meth. Within that range, there again exists a wide range of use…historical use, cultural use, recreational use, and abuse.

But what do psychoactives reveal about our brain and its neural mechanisms? the connection between our mind & body? our spirituality?

These questions & more will be answered by our panel this month. Dr. David Presti is Professor of Neurobiology at UC Berkeley. Fire & Earth are founders of the member supported site Erowid, delivering access to information about psychoactives. (more…)

Red Hill Books presents a Free Fundraiser to defeat Proposition 98 and save rent control in San Francisco with a literary and musical evening to fill the full moon. On the bill for reading are: Stephen Elliot (Happy Baby, Sex for America) Katie Crouch (Girls in Trucks) Richard Loranger (Poems for Teeth, Poems for a Centralized Church) Alvin Orloff (Gutter Boys, I Married an Earthling) Andrew Foster Altschul (Lady Lazarus) With live music performed by members of Camper Van Beethoven, Mushroom, The Sippy Cups and Cracker,
Jonathan Segel, Victor Krummenacher and Alison Faith Levy.

Seneca Klassen is one of the founders of Bittersweet Chocolate Cafe. With locations in Oakland and San Francisco, Bittersweet is dedicated to brining some of the world’s best chocolates to its customers. In addition, Bittersweet has recently developed its own line of chocolate bars called Bittersweet Origins, featuring cacao from Mexico, Madagascar and the Dominican Republic. Please join us as Seneca shares his stories and experiences in the Bay Area chocolate world and beyond.

May is National Masturbation Month, the perfect opportunity to learn more about everyone’s favorite pastime.  Join Dr. Carol Queen and Dr. Robert Lawrence for one of our most popular events as they explore the ins and outs of masturbation. 

Join Verrieres & Sako and Fashion Group International-San Francisco Chapter, as they present the Fall/Winter 2008/2009 collections from New York, Paris, Milan and London via video screening. Get your collection questions answered in a panel discussion by top industry experts. rsvpwsfevents@whotels.com

What’s the difference between Rum and Rhum? What does barrel aging do to a spirit? How is blanco different from añejo? These are the types of questions that you’ll find the answers to at Cocktail Club at the Elixir in the Mission District. Every Monday from
7pm - 9pm, education and tastings. Every week is a different type of alcohol. May 22 - 7 Leguas Tequila - Learn about the original Patron from David Grapshi C

With its huge production-ready sound library, advanced KoreSoundВ® Browser, highly flexible Sound Matrix and analog-style controller, KORE 2 offers practically endless creative music making potential. The interactive workshops are aimed at boosting your workflow and deepening your knowledge of the Super Instrument. True to the motto “Find, Play & Tweak”, NI’s knowledgeable experts will be taking you inside KORE 2 and answering your questions on any of its powerful and groundbreaking features.

Topics to be covered:
the KoreSoundВ® Browser, the controller, morphing, effects sound design features advanced browser features KORE in a sequencer: management, host automation KORE as a live host: creating and organizing performances.

Do you have a Striptease God or Goddess inside you just bursting to get out? Come and practice putting on those bedroom eyes, channeling your seductive self, and learn the art of the tease! You don’t have to be a trained ballerina to entrap the attention of your lover, it’s all in the attitude. Join local burlesque performer and Lusty Lady dancer, Tricksie Treat, in this fun and active workshop! All genders welcome! Come alone, or bring a friend! Held in the Polk Street Gallery for added privacy.

Good Vibrations and Upper Playground are proud to present a new vibrator, “Barry the Beaver”, designed by local celebrity artist Jeremy Fisher. Come by, meet the artist and have him sign your vibe. This limited edition vibrator is already a collector’s item, so be sure to get yours before they’re gone! Visit http://www.vinylpulse.com/2008/02/jeremy-fish—b.html for a sneak peek.

Gen. Abizaid (ret.), who served from 2003 to 2007 as Commander of the US Central Command overseeing military operations in the Middle East, will discuss the prospects for victory or peace. Sunday, June 1, 2008 9:30 am - 10:30 am Pacific Time.

The Forum at Grace Cathedral is a unique live and broadcast talk show, bringing people and ideas together on a community level. The Forum is dedicated to open conversation on critical issues. Listen live or on-demand at www.GraceCathedral.org.

Come to the California Genealogical Society Library for a free Genealogy for Beginners Class every first Saturday of every month at 11:00 a.m. Trace and compile your family history at Northern California’s premier genealogy society library. Volunteer members are available to help you use our extensive library and online databases. Bring information about an ancestor’s family and we will help you find them in the 1920 or 1930 census. (more…)

Located at the finish line of the Accenture Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon, the 14th annual Fitness Festival & Expo will take place Saturday, June 7th from 11:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 8th from 7:00am – 3:00 pm. This event is free and will showcase the latest products and services from the health and fitness industry. Festival elements include 40 vendor booths, a food court, beer garden, and experiential displays all designed to entertain the 20,000 spectators who annually congregate on the Bay Area’s Marina Green to participate in the event.

Everyone’s seen birds flying, ants foraging, bees working, and fish swimming — all with the apparent purpose and coordination of a single conscious organism. But with no leader, no centralized management, how does each individual participant know what to do and where to go? The collective behavior of such animals — each oblivious to the master plan, but contributing to the group’s goals and success — is what’s known as swarm intelligence. Researchers have found that such self-organizing systems function through constant interactions between individuals, each of which is following simple rules. In 1986, computer graphics researcher Craig Reynolds created a steering program called boids, in which life-like graphical objects follow three basic rules of motion. The result looks awfully familiar. He is now a leader in the field of computer animated crowd simulation, doing research on visual effects for films and video games. Tonight Craig will talk with us about his work and how it relates to biology, society, business, robots, and more!