This is going to be a short intro for the sponsor note this month. I've got all sorts of things to work on and so I'm going to make this quick.
After considering the feedback from the General Meeting at the end of March, I've decided that I'm going to focus on improving the store and cafe this year and leave the larger world for next year. You can expect to see some small and large improvements around the place throughout this year. Two of them are almost done now.
First, thanks to help from my friend Bruce, the WiFi in the cafe has improved substantially. With some better hardware, speeds on the sponsor network are almost double what they were before. And, it should be much more reliable from here on out (not that it was bad before but . . . there's always room for improvement). Since we were doing all that work, I've also changed the password for the sponsors-only WiFi. If you need the new password, drop me a note or ask at the counter in either the bookstore or the cafe.
Second, almost a full year after I intended to get it done, we've got a very nice set up in the cafe to show movies and other video content. With the help of a stone cold pro on the subject, I got a very nice screen and video projector. We tested it out this last weekend to show the movie based on Dan Well's excellent novel I Am Not A Serial Killer. Despite some little technical glitches, it worked out very well. So, if you've thought about throwing a party at the cafe sometime, movies are now an option. Of course, there are a number of ways that this projection capacity is going to make for neat events.
Over the next few months, I hope to be getting the back room at the store open as a used book section, sorting our some long standing problems with the audio clarity of author events, and getting some paint and repairs done.
As always, thank you for all the support and I'll look forward to seeing you around the shop.
All Best,
Alan
PS Just as I was about to send out this note, I got some very sad news. Dark Carnival bookstore in Berkeley will be closing after 41 years of operation. This is a big loss to our field and I'm going to be very sorry to see it go. Back in 2013 they were having some financial problems which I wrote about at the time <http://borderlands-books.blogspot.com/2013/12/dark-carnival-bookstore.html>. It seems that things just didn't get better for them, hence the current decision <http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/12/41-years-berkeley-sci-fi-bookstore-dark-carnival-closing/>.
Stores like Dark Carnival and Borderlands are becoming increasingly rare. When I opened my shop in 1997, there were four other science fiction specialty stores in the Bay Area alone. Now, we're the only one left. In fact, to my knowledge, there are only two stores like ours west of the Rockies, and only five or six left in the whole country.
Thank you all for saving us. That means even more to me and our field as the remaining stores close.
The mouse version:
If you would like to RSVP for any sponsor event, just reply to this email and, if necessary, let us know if you're bringing a guest. That's all there is to it. And, same goes if you want to get in touch with me -- just reply to this and it'll get to me.
Short:
(1) On Thursday, June 15th at 6:45 pm, we're exploring the haunted side of San Francisco history. We'll be taking a Ghost Walk tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood. We're currently full, but if you would still like to join, please contact us ASAP and we'll place you on a waiting list.
(2) Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Who doesn't love drinking at Churchill? We will definitely be out again this month at the same location and time to enjoy the company of fellow sponsors. Meet us at Churchill, 198 Church Street at Market Street.
(3) Sunday, July 2nd at 10:00 am, join us for a guided tour of the San Francisco Center for the Book (375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The cost for the tour is $10. Please RSVP if you're interested. You may bring one guest.
(4) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Inspired by the rousing success of the first one, we'll be doing a monthly game night at the Cafe on the second Monday of each month. Guests are welcome and no RSVPs are necessary.
(5) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. Sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak have again very graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! The event will take place at the bookstore and the cost will be $10. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible.
(6) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(7) Thursday, September 7th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). 21 and over, no cover charge (but there is a 2-drink minimum), guests welcome. Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(8) Win tickets to BATS Improv! We have 2 sets of two tickets to give away for any Bay Area Theatresports Improv show. Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm, this dynamic improv company presents "Warp Speed", Star Trek themed improv theatre! We'll select winners from local folks who reply to this email by Friday, June 23rd and include the words "Beam me up" in their notes.
The mammoth version:
(1) Ghost Tour -- On Thursday, June 15th at 6:45 pm, we're exploring the haunted side of San Francisco history. We're currently full, but if you would still like to join, please contact us ASAP and we'll place you on a waiting list.
From their website: "The original San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour, SF's first ghost tour, is a historical walking tour of the Pacific Heights neighborhood, one of the few neighborhoods to survive The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906. You'll walk a mile on tree-lined streets in a safe residential area with fine Victorian architecture. You'll learn about real historic names of San Francisco -- how they lived, how they died, and the reports of their hauntings ever since. We don't make it up. We just report it. You'll enjoy 90 minutes to 2 hours of guaranteed unearthly fun!" The San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour meets on the corner of Octavia and Bush Streets, in front of 1801 Bush Street. NOTE: Please meet us by 6:45 pm for the 7:00 pm tour -- it starts promptly. The lovely folks at SF Ghost Hunt have offered us a Borderlands discount, so tickets will run only $15 per person. If interested in joining us, please reply to this email and we'll get you on a waiting list.
(2) Tuesday, June 27th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Cocktails. Our next Monthly Sponsor Cocktail night will be at Churchill (198 Church Street at Market) <http://www.churchillsf.com/>; some combination of us will be there from at least 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm. No need to RSVP and any number of guests and friends are welcome. The bar is INCREDIBLY convenient to public transit -- the MUNI Metro Underground (via F, K, L, and M lines at Church Street,) and J and N lines stop less than a block away.
(3) Sunday, July 2nd at 10:00 am, join us for a guided tour of the San Francisco Center for the Book (375 Rhode Island St, San Francisco, CA 94103). The San Francisco Center for the Book was co-founded in 1996 by Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch, "who recognized a growing need in San Francisco, the Bay Area and on the West Coast for a facility specifically designed and equipped to support the appreciation, teaching and creation of book arts." Attendees can expect a walk-through of the space, both the Bindery and Print Studio, with details about the equipment, what it's used for, and a little history of bookbinding and letterpress printing. There will be demos of some of the equipment so we can see how things work, and the tour will wrap up in the Print Studio with a letterpress demo. The Center also has a bookbinding workshop scheduled for July 2nd, so we will get to see some students at work. The cost for the tour will be $10, and the guided portion will take about an hour. Attendees can stay longer to explore the space if they wish. For more information about the Center, their website is here: https://www.sfcb.org/home . We will meet outside the Center at 9:45 am before the tour, and guests are welcome; however, please do RSVP for this event so we know how many people to expect.
(4) Monday, July 10th from 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm -- Game Night. Join fellow sponsors & "game" staff for chess, Cards Against Humanity, Scrabble, Pictionary, or whatever other board games you'd like to bring to play! Please bring games that have a usual play-cycle of less than 3 hours, so probably NOT Monopoly, Seven Ages, Arkham Horror, or The Longest Day (that's the Normandy Invasion strategy game that takes an average of 90 hours to play). Are you a secret Balderdash champion? Kick butt at Connect 4? Here's your chance to shine! We'll have adult beverages (after eight pm), iced tea and lemonade on offer, but feel free to bring your favorite beverage to share. Also, you're welcome to bring food if you wish -- the cafe will be shutting down at eight. No need to RSVP, and please feel free to invite your friends along, as there really isn't any limit to the number of folks we can accommodate -- the more the merrier.
(5) Friday, August 4th at 8:00 pm -- Blind Wine Tasting. We're very grateful to sponsors Joe Thomas and John Plevyak, who have again graciously offered to host a blind wine tasting for sponsors! Here's the way it will work: We'll be hosting the event in the bookstore. You're welcome to show up early, if you like, or just come to the door at eight or so. Joe and John will be bringing the wine, with covered labels, and we'll be pouring and chatting about what we think, guided by Joe & John, for a couple of hours. The cost will be $10, and the proceeds will go to the Borderlands' Building Fund. We might even have a prize or two for the folks with the best (or luckiest) palates. This will be a very low-key event and so, if you don't know much about wine, this is a perfect chance to get your "feet" wet. Attendance is limited, so please RSVP as soon as possible. Oh, and please do be over 21 years old. It also might be a good idea if you've had dinner before you arrive. The glasses are pretty small but there might be a lot of them.
(6) Saturday, August 19th from 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm -- Summer Sponsor Social. More details to come next month!
(7) Thursday, September 7th at 7:00 pm -- Sponsor Karaoke with Seanan McGuire at The Mint (1942 Market Street, San Francisco). Nebula Award winning author, singer/songwriter, snake handler, Borderlands sponsor, and all-around amazing person Seanan McGuire has graciously offered to be a special guest at the very first Borderlands Sponsor Karaoke Night! This will be an enormously entertaining event, and we hope you'll join us to show off your vocal prowess (or your irrepressible attitude, if you happen to lack vocal prowess -- that's great, too). The Mint is located at 1942 Market Street, San Francisco, and we have reserved space for sponsors. Some pertinent info about The Mint: it is a bar, so this event will be for those 21 and over. There is no cover charge, but there is a 2-drink minimum. Guests are welcome, and please RSVP so we know how many people to expect.
(8) Win tickets to BATS Improv! Thanks to the kindness of brand-new sponsor Regina Saisi, we have 2 sets of two tickets to give away for any Bay Area Theatre Sports Improv show at The Bayfront Theater, Building B, Third floor, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco. Saturdays in July at 8:00 pm, this dynamic improvisational theatre company presents "Warp Speed", a Star Trek themed improv show, so perhaps you'll want to attend one of those shows! We'll select winners on Saturday, June 24th from local folks who reply to this email and include the words "Beam me up" in their reply, so email us by 8 pm PST on Friday, June 23rd to enter the contest. Winners will need to pick up their passes at the store by July 8th. For more information about BATS Improv, check out their website: http://www.improv.org/
Useful links for sponsors:
Sponsors' Twitter feed - @bl_sponsors
Google Event Calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=ud8v8s1cfutjemfeusiv72ubvo%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/Los_Angeles
