Night+Day

wednesday
may 17
a.k.a Don Bonus "Don Bonus" is the nickname of Cambodian refugee Sokly Ny; a.k.a. Don Bonus is Ny's first film, a video diary of life on and off the streets of the Tenderloin. Taping conversations with friends, teachers and parents, Ny captures the bravado of his crew and the struggle of his uprooted family -- Variety compares the resulting story to Hoop Dreams. a.k.a. Don Bonus stems from Ny's involvement in a video taught by Spencer Nakasako at the Vietnamese Youth Development Center, so it's fitting that this screening -- followed by a reception with Nakasako and Lee -- benefits the VYDC. a.k.a Don Bonus begins at 7:30 pm at the World Theater, 644 Broadway, S.F. Tickets are $15; call 771-2600.

Martin Amis This year's British literary brouhaha came when Martin Amis fired one agent, hired another, then sold his new novel for close to a million bucks. That's petty cash for the likes of Danielle Steel, but an unheard-of sum for a work of "literature." Adding to the drama, the novel in question -- The Information -- details the rivalries of literary London. Likened to Flaubert and Joyce by Christopher Buckley (son of William F.), Amis (son of Kingsley) reads at 7:30 pm at the Booksmith, 1644 Haight, S.F. Call 863-8688.

Birth of Perception RU-486 -- the French "abortion pill" -- is unavailable in the U.S.: Birth of Perception, a new documentary by Kristine Clark, explores why. Join Clark for an evening featuring music, dance, comedy and a screening of Birth of Perception's trailer. Proceeds pay for the film's completion and distribution. The event runs 7-10 pm at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center, S.F. Tickets are $10-20; call 392-4400.

Foo Fighters Eddie Vedder's top-secret super-obscure side-project, Hovercraft, is playing, and Vedder will probably join headliner Mike Watt for some turgid funk-punk jams, but the highlight of this bill at Slim's is Foo Fighters, the new band led by ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Grohl is headed for glory, not obscurity: With low-bottomed riffs and a raspy growl, he channels the ghost of a former bandmate, adding some pop and subtracting some angst. Hear for yourself 9 pm at 333 11th St, S.F. Tickets are $10; call 621-3330.

thursday
may 18
Girls in the Garage The souped-up instrumentals of the Trashwomen have garage-rock connoisseur Domenic Priore -- host of the Shindig-inspired local-access cable show It's Happening -- foaming at the mouth; Cockpit -- formerly known as P.M.S. -- take a twisted John Waters approach to eating disorders with binge-and-purge originals like "Feeding Frenzy" and a ravenous cover of "Yummy Yummy Yummy"; the Inhalants are part three of a garage-rock triple threat at 8 pm at Club Kilowatt, 3160 16th St, S.F. Tickets are $6; call 861-2595.

Out of Bounds In Travels With Lizbeth, Lars Eighner provides a first-person account of homelessness, mixing wry character studies and tips on Dumpster-diving with a scathing critique of America's health and welfare system. Just out in paperback, Travels With Lizbeth was one of The New York Times Book Review's best books of 1994. Join Eighner and novelist Singrid Nunez for Out of Bounds: In Bounds, a discussion of nontraditional writing; Wendy Lesser, editor and publisher of Threepenny Review, moderates. The event takes place at 7:30 pm at Delancey Street Foundation, 600 Embarcadero, S.F. Admission is $4; call 338-2227.

June Watanabe in Company An evening of abstract and concrete dance works, Woman-Water-Time ... and other memories features three world premieres. Daniel Nagrin's Apartment 18 C and Rebecca Fuller's A Valentine Out of Season are choreographed for Bay Area dancer June Watanabe; Jo sui. Je suis ... as water, I am ... is choreographed by Watanabe herself. Profiled on KQED's special series The Creative Mind, Watanabe employs video, scenic design, movement and music within an Eastern temporal and spatial framework. She's joined by Helen Dannenberg, whose My Reindeer Flies Sideways conveys a single woman's take on life. Woman-Water-Time ... and other memories plays 8 pm, then Fri-Sun 8 pm, at Theater Artaud, 450 Florida, S.F. Tickets are $13-15; call 621-7797.

friday
may 19
Dr. Susan Love Dr. Susan Love's plain speaking hasn't won her friends in the medical community, but it has helped save women's lives. Though a trained surgeon, Love believes political action -- not surgery -- is the best hope for halting the increase in breast cancer. Criticizing the current emphasis on self-examination (which she feels implicitly blames women for problems), Love has helped make lumpectomy a viable choice. As part of City Arts and Lectures' On Arts and Politics series, the director of the UCLA Breast Center and author of Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book is interviewed by Sadja Greenwood 8 pm at Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, S.F. Tickets are $15; proceeds go to the Women's Foundation. Call 392-4400.

Raw Sex and Deep Thought Producers Miranda Mellis and Allison Hennessy know how to mix postmodern wordplay with a carnival barker's hyperbole: They describe The Switch Show as "three nights of potent performance" by "femme-fag-females, proud bi-criminals, dykes who fuck men and other nomads of sexuality," who will "confront and entice you with an array of erotic, hilarious and tragic per/mutations of desiring and powerful queer flesh." The fun runs Fri-Sun at 8:30 pm at Luna Sea, 2940 16th St, Room 216-C, S.F. Tickets are $7-10; call 863-2989.