Clay Shirky, Social Media Theorist; Author, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations and Cognitive Surplus: How Technology Makes Consumers into Collaborators; Adjunct Professor, NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program

Contrary to popular opinion, the Internet does not run on magic or a series of complex electronic  and wireless signals. According to writer and big-thinker Clay Shirky, the Internet really runs on love – group love, that is. With decentralizing technologies, the Internet is facilitating new kinds of global cooperation via peer-to-peer sharing, wireless capability and open-source development. In his studies of the effects of the Internet on society, Shirky asserts that the actions of a group add up to something more than just the sum of individual actions, giving collaborative efforts online great potential for change. Join us as this leader among the digerati delves into how the production capacity of the Internet, plus the willingness of humans to share with one another, is allowing ordinary citizens to shape our culture in unprecedented ways.

Location: SF Club Office
Time: 6 p.m. check-in, 6:30 p.m. program, 7:30 p.m. networking reception
Cost: General admission: $20 non-members, $12 members, $7 students (with valid ID). Premium (includes reserved seating and premium reception with speakers): $35 non-members, $25 members

When journalist Daniel Quinn meets Ernest Hemingway at the Floridita bar in Havana, Cuba, in 1957, he has no idea that his own affinity for simple, declarative sentences will change his life radically overnight. So begins William Kennedy’s novel, a tale of revolutionary intrigue, heroic journalism, crooked politicians, drug-running gangsters, Albany race riots, and the improbable rise of Fidel Castro. Come discuss this book with fellow lit lovers. As a reminder, the author will not be present.

MLF: SF Book Discussion
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. program
Cost: $5 non-members, MEMBERS FREE
Program Organizers: Barbara Massey and Howard Crane

Sanjay Basu, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Epidemiologist, Prevention Research Center at Stanford University; Co-author, The Body Economy: Why Austerity Kills

Can public health be upheld during years of financial crisis? Through his international research, Dr. Basu posits that austerity and government policy become a matter of life and death during these historic times. He will discuss his research regarding sugar and diet in relation to the economy and recession.

MLF: Health & Medicine
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Bill Grant

Pavel Khodorkovsky, President, Institute of Modern Russia

Khodorkovsky will discuss the current human rights and political situation in Russia and the importance of supporting civil society there as it develops. Though he cannot return to Russia for fear of endangering his father, famed political prisoner, businessman and author Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Pavel maintains close relationships with many Russian opposition leaders and will relay his thoughts on the current political and socio-economic situation. He will also elaborate on what Americans can do to help support Russia on its journey to modernization and democracy.

MLF: International Relations
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Norma Walden

Linda Fodrini-Johnson, MFT, Eldercare Services Founder

Eldercare expert Fodrini-Johnson presents a guide to sensitive conversations that she says must take place to promote independence and quality of life as we age. She will discuss how to have the "difficult" conversations with ourselves, our children and our spouses regarding real and imagined challenges we may encounter in later years. She will tackle tough topics, including keeping or selling the family home, future health considerations, and when it's time to stop driving.

MLF: Grownups
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: John Milford
Also know: In association with San Francisco Village

Mark Cloutier, SF Foundation
Masen Davis, Transgender Law Center

Rents across San Francisco are ballooning at a frightening pace, giving New York City a run for its money as the nation's most expensive rental market. How is this situation affecting different populations and organizations within the city? Don't miss this panel exploring the impact on the LGBT community as nonprofit organizations are forced to leave the city due to unaffordable rent increases. Panelists will explore possible creative solutions to retain vital services in the city.

MLF: LGBT
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20-non-members, $8 months, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Julian Chang
Also know: In association with the SF Foundation, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and the Transgender Law Center

Russian Hill Walking Tour

Join a more active Commonwealth Club Neighborhood Adventure! Russian Hill is a magical area with secret gardens and amazing views. Join Rick Evans for a two-hour hike up hills and staircases and learn about the history of this neighborhood. See where great artists and architects lived and worked, and walk down residential streets where some of the most historically significant houses in the Bay Area are located.

Location: Meet in front of Swensen's Ice Cream Store located at 1999 Hyde Street at Union. Your best option is to take bus transportation (details below) or come by taxi. There is absolutely no parking on Russian Hill. (No parking lots or street parking). Muni: 45-Union Stockton will drop you off at the corner of Union and Hyde - right in front of Swensen’s. Use www.nextmuni.com to determine bus stops and schedule. The tour ends about six blocks from the Swensen's Ice Cream Shop, at the corner of Vallejo and Jones. It is an easy walk down to North Beach from there.
Time: 1:45 p.m. check-in, 2–4 p.m. tour
Cost: $45 non-members, $35 members
Program Organizer: Kristina Nemeth
Also know: Steep hills and staircases, recommended for good walkers. Parking difficult. Limited to 20. Must pre-register. Tour operates rain or shine. Photo by missmillie/flickr.

David A. Hall, Ph.D., Author; Professor; Ordained Buddhist Priest

The Japanese samurai were a class of warriors who dominated Japan’s military, political and social culture for almost a thousand years. Ferocious warriors, they have become known as much for their “spirituality” as for their lethal swordsmanship. Hall, author of the Encyclopedia of Japanese Martial Arts, will discuss the training methods used by the samurai, which taught both martial skills and spiritual/psychological armoring. These methods, evolved over hundreds of years, have been preserved in a number of classical martial arts schools in Japan today. Join us for a fascinating look at martial arts and the spirit of the samurai.

MLF: Asia Pacific Affairs
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizers: Lillian Nakagawa and Sylvie Grillet-Rivera

Bernie Krause, Ph.D., Musician; Naturalist; Director, Wild Sanctuary

Listen through the ears of Dr. Krause to an unforgettable soundscape presentation of the voice of the natural world. Krause has traveled the world to record, archive, research and express these increasingly rare sound environments of nature. His personal narrative is also recently described in The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places.

MLF: The Arts
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 11:30 a.m. check-in, noon program, 1 p.m. book signing
Cost: $20 non-members, MEMBERS FREE, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Anne W. Smith

The Integration of Modern Psychology and Eastern Philosophy: Initiation into a New Age of Environmental Consciousness

Thomas Knoblauch, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist; Co-author, Elders on Love: Dialogues on the Consciousness, Cultivation, and Expression of Love

Knoblauch will explore the barriers to developing and maintaining an intellectual as well as moral perspective on both engaging and protecting the world around us. He will discuss the role language plays in shaping our thinking about ecological problems and our pursuit of environmental activism. He will also offer up recommendations for promoting new approaches to increasing our environmental consciousness.

MLF: Psychology
Location: SF Club Office
Time: 4:45 p.m. networking reception, 5:15 p.m. program
Cost: $20 non-members, $8 members, $7 students (with valid ID)
Program Organizer: Patrick O'Reilly