With the Oscars a week away, and a need to get work done today, this was the easiest choice. The Oscars air on Sunday March 7 at 7 p.m. Lets see how I do.
Best Picture:
My Pick: The Hurt Locker. If I really had my way, “Inglorious Basterds” would win, but it is either “Hurt Locker” or “Avatar” and if “Avatar” wins I might have to give up watching movies.
Other Nominees: “The Blind Side,” “District 9,”
”An Education,” “Precious,” “A Serious Man,” “Up,” “Up in the Air”
Best Director:
My Pick: History has shown that the director who wins will also get a golden statue for their movie, so my pick is Kathryn Bigelow-“The Hurt Locker”
Other Nominees: James Cameron-“Avatar,” Quentin Tarantino-“Inglorious Basterds”
Lee Daniels-“Precious,”
Jason Reitman-“Up in the Air.”
Best Actor:
My Pick: The popular choice seems to be Jeff Bridges-“Crazy Heart.” Have not seen the movie, but I have heard plenty of good things about Bridges.
Other Nominees:
George Clooney-“Up in the Air,”
Colin Firth-“A Single Man,”
Morgan Freeman-“Invictus,”
Jeremy Renner-“The Hurt Locker”
Best Actress:
My Pick: Again, I am going to go with the popular choice, Sandra Bullock-“The Blind Side”
Other Nominees: Helen Mirren-“The Last Station”
Carey Mulligan-“An Education”
Gabourey Sidibe,-“Precious’
Meryl Streep-“Julie and Julia”
Best Supporting Actor:
My Pick: My choice and the popular choice are the one in the same here, Christoph Waltz-“Inglorious Basterds.” He was one of the best bad guys ever in film. If he does not win, it will be a travesty.
Other Nominees: Matt Damon-“Invictus,”
Woody Harrelson-“The Messenger”
Christopher Plummer-“The Last Station”
Stanley Tucci-“The Lovely Bones”
Best Supporting Actress:
My Pick: This one I am not going to get right. Everyone is saying that Mo'nique was great in “Precious.” I did not see the movie, so I have to go with my biggest superise for the year Anna Kendrick-“Up in the Air.” She added so much to the movie and stood toe to toe with the likes of Clooney.
Other Nominees:
Penelope Cruz-“Nine”
Vera Farmiga-“Up in the Air,”
Maggie Gyllenhaal-“Crazy Heart”
Best Animated Feature Film:
My Pick: Pixar has yet to lose when they have a movie nominated in this category so m pick is “Up”
Other Nominees: “Coraline,”
”Fantastic Mr. Fox,”
“The Princess and the Frog,”
“The Secret of Kells.”
Best Original Screenplay:
My Pick: I am going to pick with my heart here and go with “Inglourious Basterds.” No one writes better dialogue scenes than Quentin Tarantino
Other Nominees: “The Hurt Locker,” “The Messenger”
”A Serious Man,” “Up,”
Best Adapted Screenplay:
My Pick: Another pick from the heart here, “Up in the Air.” It was really well written and it deserves at least one of the major awards.
Other Nominees: “District 9,” “An Education,” “In the Loop,” “Precious”
Now it is Western New York’s turn to get hammered with massive amounts of snow. I remember a few weeks ago when the southern states were getting slammed with snow and I just laughed. It is amazing how much experience helps. In other parts of the county when they get an inch or two of snow and the entire state shuts down and goes into a panic.
The governor of Washington D.C. even called Buffalo’s mayor, Byron Brown to get information on how to deal with snow. It just kills me how other states deal with something I have become so used to. I know not all cities have the resources (eg. Plows) to get the job done. You would think that they would learn to keep some extra plows around for the off chance of a freak snowfall.
You want to know what it takes to shut down Buffalo?
That is what it takes. This was taken during the "October Surprise" in 2006. That is "shut down your city" snow. Heck, Buff State even got a day off and that never happens.
Now that Buffalo is getting snow I can tell you no one is panicking. For the residents of Western New York, this is just another day in winter. Sure, a few schools closed and some activates were canceled, but life moves on for us here. The plows were out in full force making sure of that. 24 hours after the snow began, the roads are clear and the city is up and functioning.
That is how the professionals take care of it. Let it snow, bring out the plows and move on.
I have been sitting here for the last hour and a half doing work for my online class. It is an exhausting class. I am so busy during the week that I do not get time to do anything related to this class until today (Friday.)
The hardest part is the motivation to get it done. I do so much for my other two classes and for the school paper during the week that when Friday, my first real day off, rolls around I lack the motivation to get it done. It is an emotional kick in the gut. There is something about busting your ass all week and then having almost 2 hours of work left that kills me.
But I press on. I go through the work and do it despite the fact that I would love to hop back in bed and slip into a coma for the rest of the day. I tried doing the web stuff over a few days in the first week, but I ended up missing some of the things I had to do and ended up with a 75 on the first assignment. (Not to worry though, I can go back and fix all that to get a 100.) I do it all today because I need the weekend to get my other work done. I have about six papers (all one to two pages) due on Monday. This combined with the fact that Sunday night means I go to bed early means that Friday is really the only day I can afford to put aside to do all this.
I had another post up, but then I ate dinner and had a much better idea.
I wrote about a food earlier in the week and having just finished my dinner, I got an idea for today’s post. Red Hot, or more specifically, Frank’s Red Hot is a great way to spice up a dull meal.
I made chicken quesadillas for dinner tonight and since cleaning the George Forman Grill is a pain in the butt, I just cooked the chicken in a pan. Well, I don’t know if you have ever just used oil to cook chicken, but it tastes really bland. I made it through my first one and was trying to think of something to spice up the meal. As usual my thoughts turned to the best food pick-me-up: Frank’s Red Hot.
There is very little I will not put that on given the chance. I have dipped tortillas in it when I need to use any extra tortillas after I make tacos. In a pinch a dash on some noodles tastes pretty good. Not too much though, I have made that mistake and it is a little overwhelming. It’s a good, spicy, flavorful additive that makes any meal instantly better.
My second quesadilla sure tasted better than the first.
Well it is after 7 at night and I realized that I had not done my post for the day. Today and Wednesday and that means yesterday was Tuesday. That means last night was Tuesday night and that means one thing: “LOST.”
This season is the final season for the show. On May 24th “Lost” will air their series finale. There will be time for the sadness and depression that is sure to come when I no longer have a show to “geek out” about.
I have spent untold hours theorizing, listening to podcasts, browsing “Lost” websites, watching and re-watching episodes and planning how I would have survived on the island.
They have done flashbacks, flashforwards and even traveled through time. So what do they do for the final season? Well, there was only one direction they had not gone yet—sideways. What we have now is flashsideways of a parallel timeline where we see life of the castaways if Oceanic 815 had landed at LAX. Meanwhile they are still touching on the story of the people who are still on/returned to the island.
The ABC promos keep saying that, “The time for questions is over.” Yeah…not so much. As much as there is to still answer, there are still plenty of time for more questions. I still love this show and am both looking forward to its end and still dreading it as well.
When the final scene airs on May 24th, one of the greatest and most intriguing TV shows of all time. It has withstood a huge on slot of copycats and yet it still remains. They got it right and there will never be another show like it.
I had an idea for what to do for today as I walked home from my copy editing duties, but after doing my homework, I have no idea what it was. So instead, I will talk about “24.”
Being in its eight season, it is no surprise that things are not as good as they have been. It is still miles ahead of season six, but not close to seasons one or three.
Where the show has always struggled with is the non-Jack parts. Kim being stalked by a cougar in season two was the epitome of how low the side stories can get. This season it is getting almost as bad, maybe even worse given where things are headed. The side story in question revolves around Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff) and her past coming back to haunt her. Best I can tell, she is not who she says she is, she might have spent time in jail and now her criminal ex-boyfriend or something like that wants her to help him get some money.
It just needs to end. I zone out when they go to that story. Its not that I love the Jack stuff that much, but this side story is just a way to complicate things and nothing more than that.
In season one, the side story of Kim and Jack’s wife Terri had much more of an impact on the main storyline, plus it was interesting to boot. “24” needs to get back to keeping things more Jack centered. All these side characters I just don’t care about.
Not that I am going to stop watching.
This whole write a post a day thing seemed like a good idea on Thursday when all I had in front of me was a little work to do and some curling to watch. Now with classes getting in the way I start to question this choice.
I made it during a time in my week when I am free enough to be able to do it. Now I want nothing more than to pop in a movie and lay in bed.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to stop it. I have enjoyed getting into my thoughts on other things besides movies. It has gotten me to thinking I might continue doing something like this once these 40 days (plus weekends) are over.
Granted I would be going against the very title and URL of the blog, but it is super easy to chance the URL without losing any content.
Why do this even if I am more into movies and naps? Because this is therapeutic for me. Plus there is a reason why I have myself the 200-word minimum. I can knock out that in less that 30 minutes depending on the idea. Well, 200 words is approaching (now passed) and my bed is calling.
With the start of the Easter season comes one of my favorite indulgences — Cadbury Eggs.
They are my favorite part about this time of year. They are only available for a few weeks every year and that is why I feel no guilt when I unnecessarily spend money on them.
Ben Franklin once said “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” I disagree, I think it is Cadbury Eggs. The combination of the chocolate shell and rich cream filling is absolute bliss. If I lacked self-control, I could eat a dozen of them in no time at all.
Besides tasting great, it is their availability that gets me so excited when I see them on the shelf at Wegmans or in a bin at the counter of a convenience store. It is like finding a four-leaf clover or a heads up penny. You just know things are going to get better.
I picked up a 4-pack when I went to Wegmans this morning and it is taking everything I have not to tear it open and scarf all four down in record time. It is my desire to prolong the Cadbury Egg experience combined with trying to get work done while watching the U.S. Women get their butts handed to them by Canada in curling that is keeping me on this couch.
When I wake up days I do not have class I have two options. 1) get up and get work done or 2) stay in bed as long a possible because I can always do work later.
Yesterday was one of those days and I chose the former. I got all my online class work done so I could take it easy for the rest of the day. I took a $25 Blockbuster gift card (Thanks Deb/John) and decided to feed my DVD addiction. I ended up getting “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” and “Star Trek.” Even as I walked to the register to check out, I was struck at the dichotomy of my selections.
On one hand I had “Star Trek.” It was one of the best movies I saw last year. There is very little I did not like about the movie and it was a close to the perfect summer movie as you can get. Fun, smart, great computer graphics, great cast, acting… you get the point.
On the other hand I had “G.I. Joe,” a movie that I think is complete crap yet, loved every minute of it. It was fun but dumb. It had tons of crappy special effects and terrible acting and a completely ridiculous plot full of holes.
I think that these two choices epitomize my taste in movies. I have a lot of great movies in my collection—classic movies with strong acting and even better storytelling. Then I have my “fun” movies—the ones where you can put your brain aside and just enjoy it for what it is. In some cases I watch these movies more than the quality ones in my collection.
Part of the reason why I am doing this is that I am so busy with stuff for school that I have very little time for fun. For me writing is fun. It is part of the reason why I decided to go into journalism. I just like to write. I am more articulate in writing than I am when I speak. There is nothing wrong with that, it just means I am able to from a more intelligent thought when I have more time to think about it.
One of my hopes, now that my career path is teaching, is that I can pass my love of writing on to my future students. For me writing as always been a great form of expression. When I was first handed that highlighter yellow composition notebook, I got my first taste of creating something to be proud of. That feeling still stays with me. All of the sociology papers I wrote in my undergrad I am very proud of. Most of the articles I wrote in my journalism classes/for the Record and internship I am proud of.
It is the idea of creating something that I love. Each time I write, no matter what it is, I start with a blank page and I get to fill it with my thoughts and my opinions. No matter what grade I get, I can only hope I get the chance to get my students as excited about writing as I am.
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs-not destroying my childhood as much as I thought
0 comments Posted by Matt Levy at 4:25:00 PMI know that when I wrote my review of “Where the Wild Things Are,” I said I would never see the movie adaptation of “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs.” Well, I did. It is not the book, but it has some good things going for it. Seeing as I have set down a 40 posts in 40 days goal for me, I figured this was good enough to warrant 200 words.
There are elements to the movie I liked. There were some funny parts and it was cool to see parts of the book on screen. The one scene that sticks out from the book for me is the picture of the pancake on the school—that was in the movie too, so I appreciated that shout out
I still cannot get past the fact that they explained the weather. In the book it just happened. It is a kid’s book; there is no need to explain anything. The same can be said for a kid’s movie. If the movie had just revolved around the crazy weather is Chewandswallow I would have been happier.
This is one of those times where I cannot put aside any bias. I remember that book more than any other from my childhood.
There was nothing they could have done short of a direct adaptation to make me happy. If you have kids, watch it. It is enjoyable. If you have a special place in your heart for the movie like I do, don’t bother.
Whenever the winter Olympics come around, one thing seems to be in style: watching curling. The question is why. The sport boils down to a odd combination of darts, shuffle board, and doing the chores. Where is the fun in watching that?
I don’t know why I love curling, but I do. Living in Buffalo I get access to the Canadian television channels and every now and then curling is on and I will watch it if I catch it when channel surfing.
So now that the Olympics are underway, I get to watch curling on an international scale. I was watching the US lose to Switzerland last night and it got me thinking about why I watch the sport.
Just because I watch it, does not mean I understand it. I barely know the basics of the game and very little of the terminology. I think that is why I love it: I don’t get it. It is a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a Lost episode. I get it. I just don’t understand it.
That is why I keep watching, I want to understand it. Sure I could Google it and get all the rules and strategies, but where is the fun in that?
I don’t know if you have seen the trailer for “Clash of the Titans,” but if you have not, I embedded above. When I first watched it I call tell you that I have not been so excited for a movie in a while. Now, it is not the plot or the actors involved that has me looking forward to its April 2nd release date. It is my history with the content. Greek mythology has been something I have loved for a very long time. It is the reason why I love to write and by extension it is the reason why I once wanted to be a journalist/movie critic.
I got my start writing because of Greek mythology. In 7th grade a friend of mine handed me a highlighter yellow composition notebook and told me the story he had in mind. (I still have the notebook by the way). The story was called “The Quest,” and the plot revolved around a group of Greek gods called The Gods in Gold. They went on a quest to rescue Odysseus who was captured by a Cyclopes. Needless to say once we finished writing that there was more ideas that followed. In my closet right now there is a stack of about 14 other notebooks that he gave me to write.
With my busy schedule, I have very little time to go see a movie, but this is one I am going to make time for. Even with all the movies coming out that have piqued my interest, this is at the top of that list for so many reasons. I just hope the rest of the world makes it the hit I hope it will be — the 7th grader in me is more than ready for a new trend to start.
