ETHAN BANTERS WITH JON STEWART ON THE DAILY SHOW
Grotto Co-founder Ethan Watters graciously held his own recently on The DAILY SHOW with Jon Stewart, in discussing Crazy Like Us, his new book. See Ethan and Jon Stewart at 02:51 of the recap athttp://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/fri-january-29-2010/recap---week-of-1-25-10
JD DISCUSSES HER LATEST BODY OF WORK, MATERIAL LANGUAGE AT MERIDIAN GALLERY THIS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH
Also this Thursday, Grotto dweller JD Beltran will be discussing latest body of work, Material Language at an artist panel discussion, from 7:30 8:30. Her new series uses a novel combination of painting, photography, film, and video, whereby JD juxtaposes all of these materials in a single composition to explore how each material evokes its own singular language of meaning. JDs work is featured on the entire first floor of the gallery. The exhibition Unexpected Reflections, curated by Terri Cohn, also highlights the work of artists Jim Campbell, Gigi Janchang, and Marion Grey on the other floors. Preview the show at http://vimeo.com/8989596 , and you can get more information athttp://meridiangallery.org/en/exhibitions/unexpected_reflections.htm See more of JDs work at http://www.jdbeltran.com
The San Francisco Writers' Grotto is a place where professional storytellers practice their craft. Here you'll find the latest news about the Grotto and its inhabitants.
Ethan Watter's has been getting a lot of national attention (including a recent appearance on The Daily Show) for his new book Crazy Like Us. But this Thursday, February 4th, will be a unique event that promises to be particularly fascinating: Ethan will be interviewed by his fellow Grottoite Todd Oppenheimer for Berkeley Arts & Lectures Tickets are $12 in advance; $15 at the door. The conversation begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillside Club (2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley. For more information, see the Berkeley Arts & Letters site, brownpapertickets or call (800) 838-3006. In case you haven't tapped into the buzz yet, nere's an overview of Crazy Like Us: American culture is homogenizing the way the world goes mad. Our exportation of everything from movies to junk food is a well-documented phenomenon. But neither our golden arches nor our bomb craters represent our most troubling impact on the world: the bulldozing of the human mind itself. In CRAZY LIKE US, leading trend-spotter and science writer Ethan Watters shows that we are not only changing the way the world treats and understands mental illness, we are actually changing the symptoms and prevalence of the diseases themselves. In CRAZY LIKE US, Watters reveals how: Ethan Watters is the author of Urban Tribes, an examination of the mores of affluent “never marrieds” and the coauthor of Making Monsters, a groundbreaking indictment of the recovered memory movement. A frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Discover, Men’s Journal, Details, Wired, and NPR, he has appeared on such national media as Good Morning America, Talk of the Nation, and CNN. Todd Oppenheimer works as a journalist at The Writers Grotto. During his 25 years as a journalist, Oppenheimer has won a variety of national awards for his writing and investigative reporting and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including ABC's "Nightline." His articles have appeared in The New Yorker, Newsweek, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, Mother Jones, and an assortment of daily and weekly newspapers. He is the author of The Flickering Mind: Saving Education from the False Promise of Technology, a finalist for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award.
It's that time again -- the Grotto's annual LitQuake/LitCrawl show!
PSYCHO BABBLE: STORIES ABOUT CRAZY PEOPLE AND CRAZY IDEAS
Saturady, Oct. 17
Casanova Lounge (527 Valencia, bet 16th and 17th)
Time: 6pm (sharp!) to 7pm
Come out this Saturday evening and enjoy some true--and truer-than-true--stories about crazy people, including sneak peeks at highly anticipated new books from Grotto writers! Grottoites are also reading at other LitQuake/LitCrawl venues, so check the schedule:
PO’S ALREADY SUCCESSFUL “NURTURESHOCK” HITS THE AIRWAVES AND SOON, THE BOOKSTORES
If you didn't catch Grotto co-founder Po Bronson talking about his new book, NurtureShock, last Thursday on All Things Considered, he also was on Good Morning America Monday morning (this morning), and will be on CNN with Campbell Brown Monday night (tonight) at 8 pm. NurtureShock has already hit #15 on Amazon and surely will go higher as next week one of his and Ashley's chapters, "Why White Parents Don't Talk About Race," will be on the cover of Newsweek. Next Thursday night he'll be on Nightline and early the following week on Fresh Air. Po's events in the Bay Area don't start until the end up September, when he'll be with Ayelet Waldman ("Bad Mother") at the Commonwealth Club September 30th. Then he's at Book Passage October 4th and then doing a KPFA event with Berkeley Arts & Letters on October 6th. You can follow it all on http://www.nurtureshock.com.
Join us at the Grotto for a glass of wine and the finest snacks Trader Joe's can offer.
This is a terrific opportunity to check out the Grotto, as well as chat with some of our teachers (and their students) about all our upcoming classes. 5:30 pm until 7:30 pm. No need to register, just come on by.
Grottofilms' whimsical road comedy "Full Grown Men" will have its home video release August 25th through Liberation Entertainment. Winner of the 2007 Undiscovered Gems Sundance Channel Audience Award, the film was written by Grotto filmmakers David Munro and Xandra Castleton, directed by David and produced by Xandra. "Full Grown Men" tells the story of a hopelessly nostalgic man who learns the hard way that the best years of his life may still lie ahead. Stars Matt McGrath, Judah Friedlander (30 Rock), Amy Sedaris (Strangers With Candy), Alan Cumming (X-Men 2, Cabaret), and Deborah Harry (Blondie). You can pre-order on Amazon or save on your Netflix queue by clicking links below. If it's not at your neighborhood video store, contact us via our website and we'll make sure it is. You can read about the "making of" in our series of Filmmaker Diaries for the SF Chronicle (see the link below), and there's a new blog about the current state of indie film distribution at Filmmaker Magazine blog. More information at http://www.fullgrownmenthemovie.com.
Amazon, Netflix, Filmmaker Diaries, Filmmaker Magazine
MELANIE’S “THE SLIPPERY YEAR” GARNERS STELLAR NEW YORK TIMES AND NEW YORKER BOOK BENCH REVIEWS – DON’T MISS THE BOOK LAUNCH ON AUGUST 12-13
We're in for a new spate of Grotto books this late summer and fall, and the accolades are already coming in. Hot off the press is Melanie’s profile in the July 30th New York Times (see link below). And Andrea Walker reviewed Melanie's book in the online New Yorker Book Bench, stating, “By the end of the book I felt like I had just spent several hours knocking back drinks with an especially funny friend. Which is some of my highest praise.” (As Grottoite Caroline Paul remarked, “I like the way the reviewer starts her review all crotchety and at the end wants to have a drink with Melanie. Wait in line, girl. We all want a drink with Melanie.”)
DON’T MISS JILL SOBULE, COMEDY, MUSIC, AND SEX AT THIS TUESDAY’S RUMPUS SHOW
This Tuesday, July 7, 7pm The Rumpus and Kink.com present:
Sex-Music-Comedy Night featuring JILL SOBULE
Hosted by Grottoite Stephen Elliott and Co-sponsored by The Center for Sex and Culture
WHERE: The Makeout Room, 3225 22nd Street, San Francisco
Featuring readings and performances from sex worker authors: Zak Smith, Kirk Read, Michelle Tea, and Madison Young
Comedy by Los Angeles based comedian Kyle Kinane
Songstress burlesque by Mariel a la Mode
Music by Sig Hafstrom
And Special Guest Musician JILL SOBULE
Purchase Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/70578
Catered reception, 5pm at The Latin American featuring the artists and special guests from Kink.com
$20 event, $55 event and reception. More information at http://therumpus.net/sections/rumpus-events/
JULY IS THE MONTH TO TAKE A SUMMER WRITING CLASS AT THE GROTTO!
This summer, we're offering a terrific bunch of one-day and shorter multi-week classes. And the Grotto was just awarded a mention in the 2009 BEST OF THE BAY: BEST WRITING CLASSES [see the link at http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/write-novel ], so check it out for yourself!
San Francisco Magazine hails the Grotto writing classes in its Best of the Bay Area issue! http://www.sanfranmag.com/story/write-novel
Summer classes start in July...get more info at http://www.sfgrotto.org/classes
Mina Dresden Gallery honors ZYZZYVA editor Howard Junker with an exhibition featuring small works on paper done in black and white by artists who have appeared in the journal during its first 24 years.
June 20 – July 18, 2009
Opening reception: Saturday, 20 June, 6-8 pm
Mina Dresden Gallery, 312 Valencia at 14th st., San Francisco 94103
Gallery open by appointment. 415-863-8312. www.minadresden.com
