Who's in town
Dylan Ratigan, host of MSNBC’s “The Dylan Ratigan Show” and author of “Greedy Bastard$!,” speaks at the Commonwealth Club. Ratigan is known for his hardball approach to those he says are taking advantage of the system. [6 p.m., 595 Market St., S.F.]
Lectures
Frank Rettenberg: The retired U.S. Foreign Service officer discusses Turkey’s emergence as a serious player on the world scene. [7:30 p.m., Los Altos Youth Center, 1 South San Antonio Road, Los Altos; RSVP: www.worldaffairs.org]
‘Working Landscapes’: The California Historical Society hosts a discussion titled “Working Landscapes, Working Waterscapes: Appropriate Uses on Public Lands.” [6 p.m., CHS, 678 Mission St., S.F.; RSVP: rsvp@calhist.org]
Literary events
Jojo Capece: The novelist presents “All Roads Lead to Rome.” [6:30 p.m., Italian Cultural Institute, 814 Montgomery St., S.F.]
Jarett Kobek: The California-based writer talks about “Atta,” a fictionalized psychedelic biography of lead 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta. [7 p.m., City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Ave., S.F.]
Ross Goldstein: The novelist talks about “Chain Reaction.” [6 p.m., Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, S.F.]
Book group: The Central SF Classic Lit Book Club discusses “Moby Dick,” by Herman Melville. [6:30 p.m., Books Inc., 2275 Market St., S.F.]
Keshni Kashyap: The filmmaker talks about “Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary.” [7:30 p.m., Booksmith, 1644 Haight St., S.F.]
At the colleges
Bachelor’s completion: The meeting, hosted by USF’s School of Management, gives an overview of evening bachelor’s-degree completion classes for working adults. [6 p.m., USF, Lone Mountain Room 216, 2800 Turk Blvd., S.F.]
At the public library
Richard Bolles: The author of “What Color Is Your Parachute?” talks about jobs, job seeking and the economy. [6 p.m., Main Library, Latino/Hispanic Room, 100 Larkin St., S.F.]
New Year in Asia: Asian Art Museum storytellers explore New Year traditions through the art and stories of China, Japan and Vietnam. [4 p.m., Presidio Branch, 3150 Sacramento St., S.F.]
Local activities
Samurai films: “Four Samurai Classics,” a film series, opens with Masahiro Kobayashi’s “Harakiri” (1962) at 1:30 and 6:30 p.m. and Akira Kurosawa’s “Yojimbo” (1961) screen at 4:15 and 9:15 p.m. [San Francisco Film Society Cinema, 1746 Post St., S.F.; www.sffs.org]
Job fair: National Career Fairs presents a job fair in San Francisco. Attendees can meet top employers and receive a résumé review. [11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Golden Gateway Holiday Inn, 1500 Van Ness Ave., S.F.; register: www.nationalcareerfairs.com]
History tour: The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society hosts a tour of Civic Center and City Hall. “Architecture, History and Mythology” is the theme. [1 p.m.; meet at Pioneer Monument, Fulton Street near Larkin Street, S.F.]
Dining out
Dosa: Emily and Anjan Mitra serve South Indian food, and a Dine About Town (three-course meal for $34.95) menu is available. First-course options include Chennai chicken and red-beet croquette. Course-two selections, served with chutneys and sambar, include white-truffle dosa and sunchoke and sweet-pepper uttapam. Third-course choices include prawn masala, California fish mollee, and seasonal-vegetable curry. [1700 Fillmore St., S.F., (415) 441-3672]
