Arts & Culture

The ASUCD Entertainment Council will be bringing more live music to campus today at 7:30 p.m. as another free concert comes to the ASUCD Coffee House. Limbeck will be traveling from Orange Country to headline the show with its alt-country rock sound. Opening the show are Push Push Pull, a local indie-pop group that includes two current UC Davis students, and Santa Rosa-based band The New Trust.

MUSIC

Beneath the Rapture, The Fall of Autumn, The Shotgun Effect, Light in August, Hello Sailor

Today, 8 p.m., $10 in advance

The Boardwalk in Orangevale

Not to seem entirely sacrilegious, but I've never understood the appeal of Christian rock, let alone Christian metal. Perhaps the actual hardcore aspect of bands like The Fall of Autumn and The Shotgun Effect will distract me of the whole godly, finding a higher power purpose of their musical endeavors.

The beginning of the year always prompts a time of promise for the year to come and stuff like that. For me and many others, this manifests itself in the form of half-arsed New Year's resolutions, mine of which either tend to be overly pragmatic (i.e. floss regularly, drink more water, get more rest) to downright unfeasible (be taller, get perfect vision, stop procrastinating).

Fixed gear bikes aren't a new invention, but they are one of the fastest growing trends in biking these days. Rare just a few years ago, today most UC Davis students have probably noticed people racing around campus on these minimalist road bikes, which use only one gear and cannot coast like a standard road or mountain bike. Often fixed gear bikes can be spotted outside the ASUCD Coffee House, where dedicated riders sometimes gather to perform tricks: wheelies, track stands, skids, bar spins and so on.

From an outsider's perspective, campus events like poker tournaments and open mic night seem to effortlessly take place each quarter. But in reality, Campus Unions program coordinator Lexer Chou is the woman behind the scenes, planning and orchestrating each event brought to the UC Davis campus.

Rating: 5

Slumdog Millionaire doesn't just "have heart," as some people say; this movie runs on heart. Heart is all it knows, its entire raison d'être, its focus and emphasis at the same time.

It's a classic story with enough creativity to avoid feeling stale. The plot follows Jamal Malik through his childhood in the abject poverty of Bombay slums, eventually leading to his fateful appearance on India's version of the game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and his attempts to reconnect with the girl he loves.

Entertainment Council

The Entertainment Council has a number of events planned for the quarter. The first music event of the year will bring pop-punk bands Limbeck and Push Push Pull to the ASUCD Coffee House next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Other events such as Singles Awareness Night and the Coexist Comedy Tour are planned for February. The EC is also sponsoring the annual International Film Week in March, and is presenting a screening of Choke next Monday at 8 p.m. in 123 Science Lecture Hall.

ur Davis apartments and dorm rooms are not immune to invasions of various non-human creatures. So why do we hate them so much?

Artist Catherine Chalmers will explore humans' hatred of such creatures with the lecture "Sex, Food Chains and Cockroaches" tonight at 6:30 in Wyatt Pavilion Theater.

Fans of "The Simpsons" and Shakespeare alike will have an opportunity to rejoice next week as the theatrical mash-up MacHomer makes a stop in the Mondavi Center on Dec. 11. The one-man show, which was created by Rick Miller in the summer of 2004, replaces the original characters of Shakespeare's Macbeth with characters from the popular cartoon "The Simpsons."

Miller, who has performed the show for over 500,000 people in the last 13 years, said the idea came to him as a result of too much idle time backstage during a touring production of Macbeth.

Being that the scheduling gods just aren't on my side (two finals and two papers all on Tuesday are just the beginning of my suffering) combined with the fact that stuffy noses and horrible headaches have recently become my new best friends, I can confidently say that I'm very ready for the upcoming break.

It's Dec. 12 - finals are done, fall quarter's notes are either filed or trashed and you've probably forgotten most of the quarter already. But if you're not going home, you're in for a long winter of Davis cheer (i.e. you're probably stuck alone in an empty apartment). For all of those staying in Davis over the break, here's an exciting and provocative list of local winter activities to keep you busy throughout the break.

The Hebrew Hammer (2003)

Christmas movies tend to grab the attention of almost every media outlet during the holiday season, so it's always nice to see some diversity on the regular cable channels. If you haven't seen this 2003 holiday classic on Comedy Central already, it's bound to be on eventually. Starring Adam Goldberg, Judy Greer and Andy Dick, the film follows a former Israel Defense Forces captain as he becomes a pimped out Orthodox Jewish badass on a mission to save Hannukah. With frequent mentions of circumcision and character names like Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal, stereotypes obviously run rampant.

"Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis" by Tom Waits

So there aren't a lot of hookers in Davis. But that's okay, I can still identify with this song; it's not like Tom Waits actually gets Christmas cards from hookers either - on second thought, maybe he does. With the song's sleazy piano and Waits' distinctive smokers' croon, this might be just the kind of slow burning love song even someone as potentially jaded as a hooker can fall in love with. Besides, when you're strutting your stuff up and down the cold streets of Davis this weekend - in fishnet stockings and high heels - you just might feel a little like a lady of the night. In that case, Tom Waits and I have you covered. You can thank me later. I recommend a card.