I’m Already Yawning

22 Jan

So the Oscar nominations were announced today. Wanna watch the announcement? Here you go:

http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/496e682876b273c0/4979076e5f89a48a/496e682876b273c0/55f882b5/-cpid/8bc17a0f9353b6cf

What’re my thoughts? Well, I’m not excited. For one thing, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is waaaaaay overrated. Some categories are largely as expected, based on previous awards nominees. Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, for example. But others had their share of surprises, and not good ones. The Reader, which I still have yet to see, got a slot for Best Picture instead of the very worthy The Dark Knight, which I was really pulling for and which had a legit shot at a nomination based on nominations by the Producers, Writers, and Directors Guilds. I’m also really really surprised by the omission of Bruce Springsteen and Jamie Cullum from the Best Song category for their contributions to The Wrestler and Gran Tornio, respectively. I was really looking forward to both performances on the telecast. And what’s with two of the only three Best Song nominations going to Slumdog Millionaire? I also think that not nominating Dark Knight for Best Score was a huge omission. And does Angelina Jolie deserve her Best Actress nomination (for Changeling)? No.

Truth be told, there’s nothing about the nominations that really gets me excited for the ceremony this year. At this point, it’s pretty safe to say Slumdog Millionaire will win Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, and that Mickey Rourke and Heath Ledger will win too. Otherwise, I could really care less about Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress this year, and many of the other categories. I really hope Benjamin Button doesn’t win many of the 13 categories it’s nominated in. And more importantly, I hope host Hugh Jackman is good, because otherwise it could be a very, very, very long night for me when the awards are handed out on February 22.

Too Much Change Needed

21 Jan

Alright, so not all was worth celebrating on Inauguration Day.

Eager to have a keepsake, I stopped off on the way home from work to pick up the Globe‘s special Inauguration Extra. After all, on a day like that, despite the Web and the decreasing interest in print media, you still can’t replace the tangible reminder that a newspaper provides.

I expected the Extra edition to be the day’s paper, but with an updated version of the front section. Instead, it was just an 8-page recap of the swearing-in ceremony itself, with the full text of Obama’s speech, some analysis, and a compilation of some of his previous speeches.

But that’s it, just eight pages.

What’s worse, it cost $2, which, if you don’t know, is $1.25 more than the entire daily paper.

Yes, I bought it anyway, but I felt like a real sucker.

A Great Day in America

20 Jan

Keith Olbermann looks back on the day (after a brief snippet of Joe Biden at one of the balls) …

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/28761189#28761189.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks a:hover, .msnbcLinks a:active {color:#CC0000 !important;}

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Hail to the New Chief

20 Jan

“The time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/28657278#28657278.msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;} .msnbcLinks a {text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px;} .msnbcLinks a:link, .msnbcLinks a:visited {color: #5799db !important;} .msnbcLinks a:hover, .msnbcLinks a:active {color:#CC0000 !important;}

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Today Is the Day

20 Jan

I’m really not a very political person.

I don’t side with any causes passionately and I can’t hold my own in an intelligent political discussion.

But there’s something that really engaged me about the election last year, and while I thought it had something to do with politics, I don’t think that’s actually true.

Perhaps it was the drama of it all. More likely it was Barack Obama himself. That guy could make a stone come alive. Continue reading →

Whatever

19 Jan

Absurd Associate Press headline of the day:
Tom Cruise ‘always wanted to kill Hitler’

A Hopeful Sign

19 Jan

Harvey Shine is one of those sad sack characters we meet every now and then in the movies. Within the first third of Last Chance Harvey, he’s lost his job, he’s missed a flight, he’s belittled by his ex-wife, and he’s been told by his daughter on the eve of her wedding (that, by the way, he’s flown from New York to London to attend) that she considers her stepfather to be a more significant parent than Harvey was. He’s lost, sad, lonely, out of his element, and hopeless. And then … And then he meets Kate Walker in a bar, and wouldn’t you know it, Harvey gets a new outlook on life and is willing to take a chance on love again. So goes LCH, a charming little film that’s like a hybrid of Before Sunrise/Sunset and An Affair to Remember for people my parents’ age to enjoy.

Led by very likable performances by Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, LCH doesn’t reinvent the romantic drama or push any boundaries. In fact, some of it is predictable and sort of silly (like an unnecessary subplot about Kate’s mother being scared of her neighbor). But no matter. Hoffman and Thompson transcend the material and make a very appealing, if a little unlikely, couple. This one won’t rock your world or anything, but it’s pleasant, sweet, and enjoyable, and the acting by the two stars makes LCH worth seeing. I’m giving it a strong B.

Hit the Road, George

19 Jan

On this, the final full day of George W. Bush’s presidency, I thought I’d share David Letterman’s final “Great Moments in Presidential Speeches” compilation, from his show Friday night. I’d like to say I will miss Bush because he’s provided some great comedy over the years, but the truth is I won’t miss him very much at all. My favorite clip here comes around 3:40. Watch for the kid standing behind Bush.

For an alternate version of this compilation not assembled by Letterman’s people, click here.

Emergency Band Meeting

18 Jan

Tonight’s the night I’ve been waiting for: It’s the premiere of season two of Flight of the Conchords! If you didn’t watch this show last year, you really missed out. FotC is a show about a folk-parody duo from New Zealand trying to make it big in New York. They’ve got a clueless manager, one devoted fan, and no real chance of success. The music is hysterical; check out this example or these songs. In short, FotC was one of my favorite shows of 2008.

Anyway, depending on when you read this, maybe you can’t wait for tonight. Or maybe you missed the episode after it aired. Either way, the season two premiere is embedded in its entirety below. Truth be told, I watched the episode a couple weeks ago on iTunes, but you can watch it right here, right now. Enjoy!
http://hbo.a.mms.mavenapps.net/mms/rt/1/site/hbo-hbocom1-pub01-live/current/conchords/multipleCategoryPlayer/client/embedded/embedded.swf

Life Is Better

18 Jan

I always thought the first rule of condo-buying was “Get a new TV.” Well, I waited to get mine. But now I can introduce y’all to my new BFF, a 42-inch LCD TV from LG. I ordered it from Amazon.com (low prices, no tax, and free delivery/set-up!) and it arrived yesterday. Woo hoo! The TV was intended to be a joint housewarming/birthday gift, but given the delay, and the fact that I also used money I received for Hanukkah to buy it, and the fact that I was holding out till I got a new job, and then I used a Best Buy gift card I received as a farewell gift from my old company toward the purchase of a stand, the TV is like a big ole belated multi-occasion present to myself. And, since I was holding onto the stimulus check I got over the summer to use toward this purchase, it also allows me to play my part in the jump-starting of the economy.

But forget about all that. My new TV is damned cool. First of all, it just looks great. It’s sleek and black, with a red accent around the edges. The picture on the screen is large, it’s so bright and sharp, the blacks are deep blacks, and the 120Hz makes it all even better. Plus, the sound is good (though I’ll admit, it would be better if I had surround sound speakers). Damn, I love my new TV (and of course, that photo up there just doesn’t do it justice). I can’t wait to watch all my favorite shows on it. Yesterday I watched The Dark Knight using my new upconverting DVD player and it looked good. I even like the TV stand, which I assembled all by myself. But the TV is really awesome on a day like today, what with the multi-colored high definition weather reports and football games and all. And with the snow coming down outside, it looks like I’ll be spending most of today on my couch getting to know my new acquisition.

LG’s corporate slogan is Life’s Good. Today I can say that my life, which was already pretty darned good, is even better. Woo hoo!

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