PERSON IN TOWN
“Saturday Night Live” player Fred Armisen appears in an evening of clips and conversation with “Mythbusters” co-host Adam Savage. [8 p.m., Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., S.F.]
LECTURES
School achievement: Speakers from the San Francisco Unified School District talk about the new student assignment system, aimed at closing the achievement gap. [12:30 p.m., SPUR, 654 Mission St., S.F.]
Wayne Koestenbaum: The essayist and cultural critic presents a new piece relating to the exhibition “The Steins Collect.” His topic: painting and writing. [7 p.m., San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., S.F.]
LITERARY
Book awards: The 2011 California Book Awards event features a ceremony, book-signing session, and reception. Honorees include poet Alexandra Teague and biographer Yunte Huang. [6 p.m., Commonwealth Club, 595 Market St., S.F.]
Emma Donoghue: The best-selling author talks about her latest novel, “Room.” [7 p.m., Kepler’s Books and Magazines, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park]
Chris Carlsson: The writer, editor and historian talks about “Ten Years That Shook the City: San Francisco: 1968-1978.” [7 p.m., City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Ave., S.F.]
COLLEGES
Chancellor’s Concert Series: The Haussman Quartet performs music by Beethoven. [Noon, UCSF, Cole Hall, 513 Parnassus Ave., S.F.]
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Thursday film series: “Buddies” (1985), the first American feature film about the AIDS crisis, screens. [Noon, Main Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin St., S.F.]
‘Great Teen Book Swap’: Teens receive free books with the understanding that they will give the library a bookmark review by the end of the month. [1:30 p.m., Parkside Branch, 1200 Taraval St., S.F.]
CITY
Sonic night: Exploratorium After Dark, an adult-geared museum social, welcomes Haitian-American composer-violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain and DJ Elan Vytal (aka DJ Scientific). [6 to 10 p.m., Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon St., S.F.]
World premiere: Dance artist Sara Shelton Mann premieres “Zeropoint,” a multimedia work tackling questions of nuclear meltdown, multidimensional perception, and transformational world healing. [8 p.m., Z Space, 450 Florida St., S.F.]
Community dancing: “Let’s Go Dance@Jessie” presents a country-western-flavored line-dance party. The Vima Vice Squad provides dance guidance. [6 p.m., Jessie Square, 701 Mission St., S.F.]
Crafts social: The Museum of Craft and Folk Art’s June social features a book-signing session and the Craft Bar. Guests include artist-authors Clare Rojas and Diana Schoenbrun. [5 to 8 p.m., 51 Yerba Buena Lane, S.F.]
Jazz and blues: The Faye Carol Quintet performs in Union Square. Carol has led her own bands for decades and appeared with Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles, among others. [12:30 p.m., Powell and Post streets, S.F.]
Bookstore film: “Paperback Dreams,” a documentary featuring local independent booksellers Andy Ross and Clark Kepler, screens at the Red Vic Movie House. A discussion follows the film. [7:30 p.m., 1727 Haight St., S.F.]
DINING OUT
Butterfly: Chef Robert Lam creates cuisine reflecting Asian traditions, and his three-course Dine About Town dinner is highlighted today. Appetizer choices include fire-fried calamari, and caramelized-Maui-onion soup. Main-course options are grilled pork porterhouse; turmeric-grilled young snapper; and gnocchi and baby-squash stir fry. Dessert: warm chocolate torte with coffee ice cream, or creme brulee. [Pier 33, on the Embarcadero, S.F.; (415) 864-8999]
