Monday: 'Tis the night before Christmas and the house is probably empty, because everyone you know has gone to the venerable (read: old and charmingly skeezy) Blue Moon Tavern for the fourth annual "Blowdog and Sneezy Christmas Pageant and Midnight Mass." Members of the Hopscotch Boys and A Gun that Shoots Knives will provide musical inspiration; DJ Country Mike will spin tracks rich with both picking and grinning; the lovely, ukulele-armed Christmas Belles will "weave tragic Christmas tales around a sunshine superstructure"; and Satan himself will fire up the place with his ebullience. Forget eggnog -- the bar's serving four-dollar Bloody Marys. And to all a good night.

Tuesday: Well, it's Christmas Day, innit? Nearly everything is closed, except for movie theaters and a few restaurants serving Christmas meals. Your entertainment options are limited today, but you've got them: You can go to the movies, you can go to one of those aforementioned restaurants, you can take comfort in your friends and family or you could make plans for your New Year's Eve. Personally, I'm going for three out of four. Friends? Family? Pfeh.

Wednesday: In celebration of the final week of its "In Search of Giant Squid" exhibit, the Burke Museum is screening a series of fishy films. The Ocean Odysseys film series includes such diverse deep-sea stories as Disney's "The Little Mermaid," (Dec. 27), Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (Dec. 29) and the James Bond classic "Thunderball" (Dec. 30). Tonight, though, it's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," starring James Mason, Peter Lorre, Kirk Douglas and one giant, ill-tempered squid. It's an unfairly underrated sci-fi epic, a genuinely moving adventure yarn and one of the best-looking films Walt Disney ever had a hand in making. Don't wait for Disney to make an inferior "re-imagining" with Will Smith. See it tonight.

Thursday: Holy Ghost Revival, the Bainbridge Island band that New Musical Express recently dubbed "the future of rock and roll," plays Chop Suey tonight with the Pharmacy and Emeralds. HGR is a progressive rock/folk/metal/indie-pop outfit fronted by one Conor Kiley, an indefatigable madman with a voice that's just this side of goofball, a hairdo that's just this side of Axl Rose and stage presence that's just this side of riveting. Get a look at him now, because the next time you see Kiley and HGR, they may well be on a distant stage surrounded by thousands of fans.

Friday: Many years ago, the Earth was ruled by DJs. They dated celebrities, pulled down six-figure paychecks playing Vegas nightclubs and sold well-sequenced CD compilations of boom-chikka-wakka music. Most of the superstar DJs have vanished (except for Paul Oakenfold -- jeez, we'll never be rid of that guy), and thankfully, all that remains are the DJs who spin records not for their ego, but simply to move the crowd. Spinderella, the DJ who put the fierce beats under Salt & Pepa's rhymes, is such a talent. She's probably not getting six figures for playing the War Room tonight, but she'll probably work the joint as if she is.

Also: The decades-old contest of "Prince vs. Michael" will be decided tonight at Nectar Lounge, as DJs Dave Paul and Indica Jones pit album cuts, dance mixes and rare cuts from Michael Jackson and his clan against those of Prince's lingerie-clad coterie. Janet will get Nasty, Morris will flip The Bird, Michael will bounce Off the Wall and Prince will Go Crazy -- and no matter who comes out on top, the true winners will be us, the club-going public.

Saturday: Quebec's got Cirque du Soleil -- so what? Seattle's got Circus Contraption and the Aerialistas, and we're pretty darn happy with the level of service that they provide. Circus Contraption's Klezmer-fueled "dark cabaret" never fails to make us smile, and the Aerialistas have a way with the rope and trapeze that goes way over our heads in the best possible way. The troupes perform tonight and tomorrow at Seattle Center as part of the Winterfest revels, and the shows are free.

Sunday: Last week's closing of the Crocodile Café left a lot of good people out of a job, at a time of year when no one wants to be out of a job. The "Unscrew the Crocodile Employees Benefit Show," tonight at Chop Suey, acts in two capacities: as a wake for the beloved venue and as a financial salve for those disenfranchised Croc tamers. Members of Fleet Foxes, Peter Parker, Siberian, Pale Pacific, J.Tillman, Damien Jurado, Pleasureboaters and many others will be on hand to ease the Croc gently into that good night and to make a few bucks for some very worthy bookers, bouncers and bartenders.

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