Arts & Culture

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.

For improv artists performing in front of an audience, their every word and move is open to scrutiny. But despite the public nature of their art, the innards of improv subculture are largely hidden. Until now.

On one end of the spectrum of improv actors is Mike Lane, a senior international relations and history major and director of Birdstrike Theatre. The acting troupe has grown every year since its inception in 2005, though Lane has grander plans that may cause friction with anti-establishmentarian fans.

"When people stand up, things change."

In six words, Sean Penn managed to sum up the entire movie of Milk. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't still see it.

Believe it or not, in about a week's time you'll be free of classes, tests and term papers. To help you pass your winter days, The California Aggie has compiled a list of non-required reading based on recommendations from UC Davis professors.

Next time you head out to the bars or to the clubs, give second thought to the person checking your ID.

With an insider's view from the outside, they're an integral part of the bar scene - working as bouncers at various bars in downtown Davis, fifth year senior English major Matthew Nickerson and junior biochemistry and molecular biology major Andrew Del Real witness another side of Davis nightlife.

The UC Davis theatre and dance department's #5 The Angry Red Drum offers a unique look into writer/director Philip Kan Gotanda's inventive mind. Set in bizarre circumstances and moving in an undefined direction, the play can best be described in one word: abstract.

Emily Lacy

Newsworthy New York Tapes

Self-release

Rating: 5

In the Nov. 20 issue of The California Aggie, the article "Feats of Strength music festival carries bands into the area" incorrectly stated that shows presented by KDVS are in conflict with university policy.

Hanging sandbags and TV screens are just a part of what makes up the strange and dream-like world of End Times, where every important decision is centered on a red drum.

MUSIC

Los Lonely Boys

Today, 7:30 p.m., $25

Sacramento State University Union Ballroom

Texas-based band Los Lonely Boys has created a pleasant, non-confrontational wave in the adult contemporary charts with hits like 2004's "Heaven," and the band is in its eighth year of making "Texican Rock 'n' Roll" (they're words, not mine). So what if they're about as authentic as Chevy's or Chipotle, they're still pretty catchy.

In "Each Person is a Universe," Emily Lacy describes herself as "relentless like the ocean … regardless like the word." This cathartic moment is one of many on the home-recorded Newsworthy New York Tapes.

Maybe it's the Thanksgiving season that's making me all nostalgic for pre-college/childhood relics. Could it be the return of holiday foodstuffs at grocery stores or the change of the weather and its autumnal wardrobe changes?

With a string of three shows - starting tonight and ending Saturday - the KDVS 90.3 FM organized Feats of Strength music festival returns to the Davis and Sacramento area. The show locations are as diverse as the bands: tonight's show with headliner AIDS Wolf is on-campus in the Silo Union, Friday's concert is inside Sacramento restaurant Luigi's Fungarden, while Saturday's bands will perform in the living room of the DAM house in Davis.

Today's politically charged world can often encourage us to overlook international cultures. This week's Mexican Film Festival at UC Davis hopes to remind us of the significance of Mexican culture by examining it through the eyes of its people.