I need a windshield built for war that can withstand my confidence

Holidays rolling around. Love the weather and smells, hate the crowds and traffic. Not too much going on. Went to an open mic last Saturday which was a spectacular experience. Mainly went for Iamani but ended up enjoying everybody who participated thoroughly. Some were intense and piercing, some were political and thought provoking, and others were light hearted and humorous. All were heartfelt and entertaining. It was an amazing way to spend a Saturday night with friends and experience it with them. Every 3rd Saturday of every month. Let me know if you'd like to join us.

As far as typical live music, besides the open mic which was part music, there haven't been too many shows. The Revival Tour was in early November which was pretty awesome. Chuck Ragan, Frank Turner, Jim Ward, and others made for a fun night. Also saw Jonah in the crowd up front and participating which was nice to see. It's great to see other artists in the audience showing their support. Last night I got tickets to see A.F.I. in Santa Cruz at The Catalyst. The venue is pretty small and I am really looking forward to this show immensely. It's been a while since I've seen A.F.I. at a proper venue. Last time I saw them was at a festival at Shoreline. Our seats weren't too bad, but...they were seats. The time before that was a pretty large venue in S.F. but Tiger Army did open for them which was rad. The Catalyst however, is a good sized venue that isn't very big and parking is not a problem.

Films.

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Great fun. Hilarious. Warm. One of my favorites this year, hopefully it can hang in the top 5.



The House of The Devil - Throwback to '80's horror films was greatly welcomed. Stands apart from the typical "shock" horror films. The pacing is a little slow but it builds and builds and I felt like it was a decent pay off. Huge fan of Tom Noonan.



The Road - Dark. Heartfelt, but the kind of heart strings being pulled here play a sad sad tune. Somehow though, it's uplifting. Based on Cormac McCarthy's book by the same name.



Been playing some PS3 games. Far Cry 2, Rock Band 2 (which is always in rotation), Prince of Persia (the latest one), Final Fantasy 7, and occasionally the demo of Fat Princess and Katamari Forever. I'm having a blast with every one of these games. For the first time in a long time there are a bunch of games in my queue to play and all of them are great.

Books.

Currently reading...
- Helter Skelter: A shocking account of the murders and everything surrounding them done by the Manson family. It's incredibly interesting but disturbing at the same time. I'm loving it though.

- Under the Dome by Stephen King: His latest opus coming in at just under 1100 pages. I'm a little over 100 pages thus far, but loving it and enjoying getting to know everyone in town.

- Conversations with Walter Murch: One of the most famous film editors (Apocalypse Now...need I say more?). It's interesting to read about how he edits and views editing. Fascinating guy.

Music.

A.F.I. - Crash Love: At first I felt this would be a better album if AFI didn't put it out, but then it grew on me with a vengeance. I'm really digging this album. It's poppy and really catchy. I'm curious to see what direction they go after this album.

Portugal. The Man - I'm still trying to get all their stuff. The one album (Censored Colors) I do have is incredible though. Somewhat bluesy and indie. Almost sounds like it could be an offspring of MGMT...not Kids or Electric Shock MGMT, but Handshakes MGMT. There's also male and female vocals which is always beautiful.



Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca: As with Portugal. The Man, I'm bummed I found out about them when I did because they had recently played a show in my area and I would have loved to catch both of those shows. Anyway, I heard their track with David Byrne on the Dark Was The Night compilation and proceeded to check out this album which I love. Beautiful and interesting female vocals. Very different from the other stuff I'm currently listening to which is always good.