If someone told me that I couldn’t defeat the Jabberwocky to save some opium-induced fantasy world, I wouldn’t believe it. That’s because I survived Catholic school. After that, taking out a Jabberwocky would surely be a cakewalk. I probably did miss out on the typical high school experience by opting to go to school with 700 chicks and flurries of Hail Marys, but Catholic school – like most things in life – had its moments. I shall never forget being told off for showing cleavage because the top button on my Oxford shirt wasn’t buttoned.

Ah, Hollywood. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d like to write in L.A. and carve out a niche for myself down there somewhere in the near/distant future. So, of course, I watched the Academy Awards so I can be hip to all that goes down. I was impressed by the Oscars this year, in that they weren’t the most boring they’ve ever been. Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin snubbing George Clooney was more fun than watching Wolverine sing songs and tap dance, and The Hurt Locker was a pretty good film. (I liked A Serious Man and Inglourious Basterds better, but not everyone has such exquisite taste.)

Two Door Cinema Club’s debut LP, Tourist History, is a neat and tidy collection of their past Kitsuné singles and a handful of new ones. Simple lyrics are tacked onto simple pop melodies, which clasp onto even more simple rhythms and beats. The album mainly consists of unornamented and straightforward compositions, but the sincere and charming lyrics seem to pick up the slack. If Tourist History were milk, it would probably be non-fat – in the sense that extra sugar was added to make up for the lack of nourishing substance. Listening to the entire album is like eating a $1 microwave dinner from Safeway. Sure, it gets the job done, but there are definitely better things out there.

Not much is known about Little Big Adventure, a.k.a. Vladimir Vasilyevich Markovnikov, except that all of his songs are about hate and that he loves his Casio keyboard. Throughout The Hateful Eye, Markovnikov skillfully combines many modern soundscapes and inserts anamorphic transitions from one to the other in an original and unconventional manner. Though the EP consists of only five tracks (and was released May of last year), it nicely captures LBA’s eccentric pop sound of past releases and evokes feelings of self-pity, shame and melancholia – very fitting for the transition from winter into spring. The Hateful Eye is worth a revisit or two.

It’s hard to imagine a concept behind a triple album as anything other than abstract and inaccessible, but at just over two hours, Joanna Newsom accomplishes just that on Have One On Me. Framed by the trills of her harp and the eloquence of her lyrics, Have One On Me chronicles romance and heartbreak in a way that is tempestuous, whimsical and painfully honest.

In their debut, Montreal-based alt-rock group Chocolat produces a creative and alluring soundscape that integrates hints of folk, pop and blues into psychedelic garage rock. Singer Jimmy Hunt’s Dylan-esque croon sails over feverish guitar riffs, strains of intricate bass lines and a frenzy of walloping drums. Chocolat EP is clearly indebted to many of Chocolat’s influences, such as the Kinks, the Yardbirds, the Pretty Things and Jacques Dutronc. The content of the seven songs are centered around the rock ‘n roll lifestyle – that is to say the songs are generally about sleeping with your best friend’s girlfriend, funding a party with your girlfriend’s paycheck, Johnny Depp, groupies and watching the one you love get fat.

A $1.79 million cut to the UC Davis Intercollegiate Athletics Department could result in the removal of between five and nine teams from the 2010-2011 budget. In a Feb. 5 budget-planning letter to the Council of Deans and Vice Chancellors, Chancellor Linda Katehi wrote that the campus would assign higher reduction targets for intercollegiate athletics (ICA). Rather than tell athletics what cuts to make, Katehi said the department would have the opportunity to find its own solutions. The unfortunate conclusion, said aAthletics dDirector Greg Warzecka, was the department won’t be able to continue funding all 27 of its ICA teams.

A jester on a pig. Aerial views of rivers, grassy fields, countryside. The Davis Amtrak Station, depicted in brushstrokes. Wetlands. Step foot into Davis’s Aioli Bodega tapas restaurant on 2nd Street, and an ambiance of refined dining, wining and scenic art awaits you. Aziz Bellarbi-Salah, waiter at Aioli Bodega and family member of the restaurant owners, said that the owners of Aioli have a good partnership with the John Natsoulas Gallery. As a result, they display many of the paintings from his art gallery collection.

Event: Frank Gifford Memorial Tournament Teams: UC Davis vs. Air Force; vs. Southern Illinois; at Santa Clara; at San Jose State Records: Aggies, 6-6; Falcons, 3-9; Broncos, 5-4; Spartans, 5-5 Where: Municipal Stadium – San Jose, Calif.; Stephen Schott Stadium – Santa Clara, Calif.

Question: Is it legal to pull a fire alarm? And if not, what are the consequences?

MUSIC Student Chamber Ensembles Today, 12:05 p.m. and 4:10 pm, free Room 115, Music Building Head on over to the music building today at noon for a free concert by student chamber ensembles. For more information, visit music.ucdavis.edu. Happy Thursday: Black Cat Bone Today, 4:00 p.m., free Rominger West Winery, 4602 2nd St., Suite 4 If you love the blues and live music, you’ll love the Black Cat Bone. This four-piece combo consists of a harmonica, bass, guitars and drums. All that music might make you hungry, so order a glass of wine and some appetizers while you’re at it. Hefty Thigh: Fem Fest DJs and Bands Friday, 7 p.m., $5 general, all ages TCS Building (formerly the Art Annex) Come party and spread the fem-love with KDVS 90.3 FM and the Davis Feminist Film Festival ’til two in the morning! Enjoy performances from Inca Ore to A Sunny Day in Glasgow, along with some great DJs. Check out the KDVS Events Facebook page for more information about the bands.