SFist Rita is out of town for work, so we are donning our tiara and gown for this weeks Swells analysis. Tra-la-la! Total number of people pictured in this week's Swells society column: 57. Total number of people pictured whom we recognize/know: 23. This high number is because of the SF Library event with lots of writers, including Amy Tan, Vendela Vida, Dave Eggers, Stephen Elliot, Ben Fong-Torres, Michael Lewis, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Sam Barry,......

3.... 2.... 1.... blast off! Yuri's Night at NASA's Ames Research Center is a science-sound-music-art shindig that sounds fun and interesting. Hosed by Keynote Speaker (and hottie!) Anoushe Ansari, the first privately funded femme space explorer. There's demos, organic food and drink, robots, and interactive art, yo. This World Space Party is one of 90 events in 30 countries, and celebrates Yuri Gagarin, who was only 27 when he was the first human to......

Busy, bookish night! First, we're heading over to (if you work someplace conservative this link could be NSFW) Good Vibrations (603 Valencia Street at 17th) to have Stephen Elliot sign a copy of his new book, My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up, at tonight's party to celebrate its release. The party runs from 6:30-8:30, but we have to rush out sooner, so we can get to... Berkeley's Black Oak Books......