The best movie I saw in October was a three-way tie between Zach and Miri Make a Porno, Let the Right One In, and Hunger, all of which I saw at the Chicago Film Festival. In regular movie releases, I also really liked The Duchess.

The best book I read in October was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson. I also really liked Conversations at Curlow Creek, by David Malouf, my favorite Aussie author.

The best gig I went to in October would be Fujiya & Miyagi. I didn’t write up any of the October shows so here’s the quick and dirty: Liam Finn, was completely unlike his album, super into experimental, extemporaneous, and jam band-type style if you can be a jam band when there are only two people on stage; Catie Curtis sang some really nice sweet songs, but also some goofy stuff that isn’t really my thing. And Fujiya & Miyagi was good, they sounded great, people were into it, the beats were hoppin’….but at some point all the songs start to sound the same. Felt like we heard an hour of one long song with a great beat.

My favorite tunes in October were the latest albums from Keane and Ray LaMontagne and my top two favorite songs were “Honey Let Me Sing You a Song” Matt Hires and the First Aid Kit cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”.

Random personal highlights: My dad came to visit and joined wholeheartedly in my 365 project and it was outstanding.

Lowlights? Fallout at secondary browsing location continued. My Morning Jacket concert cancelled and then I wound up blowing off a Joseph Arthur concert as I just didn’t have any energy that day. Also had a weird shiatsu massage that bruised/hurt my back so badly I could barely sit in a chair for two days afterward