And then...

Did lots free writing yesterday in Washington Square Park. Maybe I'll take some time out to actually expand on it and type it up. Some of the more fun stuff, for free, just for you:

• How novel to think that the happiness of many can depend on and not burden the shoulders of one.
• Music- the utmost informal path to one's heart and happiness.
• If the world can be joined together by the simplest rhythms and melodies, we ought to have amplifiers set up in every corner of the world.
• I will never understand why more humans don't follow what their heart trusts and what they love.
• I imagine that even the most talented people suffer a moment of loss and confusion.
• Writing prose is writing lyrics for those without a musical bone.
• Every baby should be a leash baby.
• The most beloved man will be the one who creates a teleporter. He will be my favorite.

OH. AND I wrote a few Haikus because I like 'em; maybe I will turn them into sonnets, because I am capable of that; here's two Haikus:

Light little ditties
Sung of a nonchalant nature
Make strangers smile.
(inspired by random musicians in the park)

Dancing in the rain
The pitter patter of clouds
Gives its own rhythm.
(inspired by little kids running around in a fountain. Also in the park.)

... Moving on. I like parks. I hate parking. See the difference? Does anyone have any Rufus Wainwright I can borrow? I wish I could lick my elbow. Mojito Mint Orbit gum is delicious! Legal pads are the best things to write on. I probably should have pursued/stayed with music as a child and thusly as a teenager and adult. One day, I will read Anna Karenina; it is a novel of a large size. Justine Henin, she's so graceful. The most interesting/fun people to watch are the ones who do what they love and don't hide it. I love Titanic. I can't wait for football season to start. I should finish my scrap book, or at least get past the "start" point. Here's some artwork, because I am next to incapable of drawing and rely on a QWERTY keyboard as my tool:

______ That's a desert.
_/==\_  That's a plateau.
__/\__  Yup. Mountain. :)
_ iiiiiii_ Great Plains.

Have you ever found a book that you really really wanted, hardcover, at a great price, and felt so overwhelmed that you teared up and cried when you read the first page? No? I HAVE! Hooray! Went to Strands and found Teacher Man, the last book in the Frank McCourt "trilogy"  for six bucks and some change. w00t. Planning on going back there to pick up all the books I've ever wanted. Good deal. On the top of the list:
Holes. An Edith Piaf biography. A nice hardcover of Peter Pan. Any nice hardcover of Jane Austen, I like her. More Hemingway (can certainly be found).

I've been writing in an awful amount of fragments lately. Ah, the effect of Twitter. I miss my stylistic run ons. I should go back to those.

Aaaaaand that's my thought process for now. Cheers. Expect more organized patterns of speech in the somewhat near future. Meaning two weeks. Maybe more. Maybe less.

Oh jeez!

Twitter, like blogs, have become too public. There. I've said it.

Sometimes people just need to vent. You don't have to ask me what is going on in life. If I want to discuss it, I will let you know. Hell, I will bring it up myself. Otherwise, just let it be. Not all things are meant to be talked about.

I am seriously considering blocking many people from my Twitter, because some of them have no place in my personal life. Then again, there are some, but not many, people who I am considering blocking from Twitter because they are too close.

It's not that I hate these people or dislike them in any matter. Twitter for me is a quick outlet of short, superficial anger that makes me feel better. They're not things I take too seriously. (Unless I post about something ten times. Then that's serious. But other than that, just let me vent.) Don't think it's too important. After all, Twitter is a trivial matter that doesn't mean anything anyway.

Man, this is looooong Academy Awards. There's a color code to this, I promise.

Hey look, I came through with a post promise! Academy Awards predictions before Sunday! Whoo! This is really long and carefully written; I hope it makes up for the lack of posting lately.

Here we go, predictions for this Sunday's upcoming Academy Awards. Code?
Red-red means I strongly think it will win.
Deep red means they might win.
Black is the dark horse.
And white is a no.

Ok I'll admit: For Documentary (Short and Feature), Short Live Action, and Short Animation, I usually guess. By the name. Yup. Hey, I got The Mozart Of Pickpockets right last year. It works.


Mutation Stuff (Things the actors don to appear as not an actor)

Best Make Up: Star Trek. Is there any other?


Best Costume Design: Coco Before Chanel or Nine. I go with Chanel because, uh, it's Chanel. Nine, because Rob Marshall uses fantastic cloth to elongate Nicole Kidman's legs.

 
Sound Stuff (Not music)
 
Sound Mixing (different from editing, mixing is putting sounds together to create the effect): This will probably go to Avatar. I mean, nothing was real in that movie, might as well splice the sounds too. I would not be surprised if Hurt Locker won this though. ST and IB are longshots; if Avatar wasn't around, Star Trek would definitely walk away with this one.

Sound Editing (putting those sounds to the film): All films are fantastic for this, but I say HL, based on the sole fact that all the explosions and gunshots were perfectly synchronized. So basically, Avatar wins for creating sounds. HL wins for putting it all together. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see Avatar pull this one. Up is a great dark horse in this; it has some really nice effects. And this is another one ST would take if it were't for Avatar.


Music Stuff (Howard Shore is amazing)

Original Song: The Weary Kind from A Crazy Heart, exceptional. Perhaps one of the sings from The Princess and the Frog. Disney rules.

Original Score: If Avatar/James Horner wins, it would be a travesty and a slap to the face of every single composer in the world. Incredible repetitive. Sounds like all his other crap. On the other hand, Mr. Fox and HL could win- but I see Up flying away with this one. So simple. Achingly beautiful. Really incredible music that doesn't take any sort of booms or epic chaos.


Visual Stuff (Ok first off, I do think that anything visual will go to Avatar- and that is completely biased. Just because it's in 3-D does not mean it's the best in that category. Effects, yes. Editing? Cinematography? No. Though it was mindblowing in terms of effects, I don't see anything special in either of those two latter categories.)


Visual Effects: ... Okay, who didn't hear all the overhype about Avatar and how fantastic James Cameron is? (Sense the sarcasm?) I would LOVE to see District 9 take this one away. Incredibly realistic, not cheesy, very well done; but we know 3-D is the new fad right now. Either way it's a Weta win, and then eventually that ties to Peter Jackson, so I'm not complaining. Weta for the win.
Whoo hoo!!!! No Transformers 2!!!!

Art Direction: Avatar, for creating a world out of nothing. Good job, Weta! You win again! Sherlock Holmes is a strong contender, creating a simply gorgeous old London; IDP is just trippy. They love that stuff.

Film Editing: Mmm. Yeah, this is a good one. Honestly, I think Avatar's big win is Visual Effects; I really do think HL had some great editing in regards to the explosions (opening), action sequences (sniper scene), and even the simple grocery scene. The employment of hand held camera was done in a highly non-nauseting and effective way. As I said before, I think Avatar is a big visual clutter that (just because of it's 3-D blah blah blah) is a mess when you take out the sparkle. I really hope the voters look past that and see that the editing is not that fantastic. Of course, IB with it's multiple storylines is a strong contender. Again, I would love to see D9 take this- they did an excellent job with the flow of live news feed. My vote is going to HL or D9- but don't be surprised if Avatar takes it because people are blind.

Cinematography: HP's was really great; but I don't think it was good enough to win. IB was nothing too special in this category (except maybe the Mexican Standoff), so I would be surprised if either of those won. Avatar might win just because this is a visual category. However, I think the most successful film is this is HL, which captured the feel of the Middle East in a majestic, yet terrifying way.


Other Feature Stuff (meaning good, but not enough for Best Picture)

Animated Feature: Up. Up. Up. Up. Up. Coraline, ok, stop animation la dee da dee da. Same thing with Mr. Fox. But Up is so lovely to look at, such a beautiful story, so much more meaningful than half of the live action films out there. Up all the way.

Foreign Film: Uh, I dunno. The White Ribbon, because it's the only other film nominated for something (Cinematography). Why is Flammen & Citronen not included!?


Acting Stuff (... You know, those people you watch.)

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique has been getting tons and tons of hype, which she rightfully deserves and she will definitely win. Maggie is adored; Anna is a n00b, which the Academy loves. Sorely disappointed that Amy Adams was left out of this. I don't understand the fascination with Penelope Cruz.
Missing: Amy Adams for Julie and Julia,  Melanie Laurent for IB

Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, unless someone rips it right from his Gestapo hands. I think Woody Harrelson is waaaaaaaaaaay over due. I would love to see him win, but Waltz is way too awesome. He's a bingo!
Missing: All the guys from HL, Michael Fassbender for IB, Mads Mikkelsen for Flammen & Citronen

Best Actress: I really don't like Sandra Bullock. I think she's an average actress. I don't think she's done anything special. But she'lll probably win. Damn her. Meryl Streep is very close though. And I think Mulligan is an incredible talent and huge dark horse. This will probably be Sidbe's only nomination; but what a break out performance, so she also might possibly win. Mirren is a space filler. I'll say Bullock just based on hype.
Missing: Emily Blunt for The Young Victoria. She's the next Kate Winslet and will be overlooked at every turn; Zooey Deschanel for (500) Days of Summer, Audrey Tautou for Coco before Chanel. Don't say Zoe Saldana; if Andy Serkis didn't get one, she shouldn't either.

Best Actor: Good race. I would be happy to see Bridges, Firth, Renner, or Freeman win. In that order. As long as it's not Clooney. Jeff Bridges. Overlooked and fantastic. Need I say more? Though I would love to see Colin Firth win. He's also often underrated, so subtley talented; I'd be happy to see either of them win, but I think it will go to Bridges. Renner had such a break out year. So good in HL. Such a young, talented guy; and he was on ANGEL! Would love to see him pull this one out. Clooney can't act his way out of a paper bag. I don't know how he keeps picking these up. Freeman, I love Azeem. In any other year, I would say Freeman, because him as Nelson Mandela is a freakin' dream come true. But Bridges. Phew!
Missing: Can I say Sharlto gorram Copely for D9 nine thousand times? And what about Ben Foster for the Messenger? Two truly underrated performances. Also Joseph Gordon Levitt for (500) Days of Summer, Mads Mikkelsen for Chanel and Stravinsky, Matt Damon (The Informant!). Not Sam Worthington; same rules as Zoe Saldana apply to him.

Writing Stuff (Bias always goes to this- usually given to fantastic, acclaimed movies that were not nominated or will not win in other areas; think Eternal Sunshine, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine)

Original Screenplay: Another fantastic race! This will go to either HL, IB, or Up. Up was wonderfully written and I would love to see it win; but it's already got a big award. HL is going big in other areas, so it probably won't win- though it did have some really snazzy dialogue. IB is the front runner and make up in this area. Tarantino knows how to write, I'll give him that. Though I don't think this was his best work, Waltz had some fantastic, memorable, and quotable lines and the Mexican Standoff was classic QT. A Serious Man is a dark horse, simply because it was written by the Coen brothers. And they're kinda cool.
Missing: (500) Days of Summer

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air isn't winning anywhere else. I can definitely see Reitman taking this one. He's that darling director that everyone loves. Makes films as amusing as Judd Apatow, but much more meaningful. Would love to see Neill Blomkamp steal this one for D9 though, even though over half the dialogue was improvised by the gorram overlooked Copely. Precious is another that might win this; An Education is a stretch, but I can see why it might win. Gotta give it to UITA though.


Big Stuff (Just a bit of trivia, Best Director and Picture rarely split! Last time was back in 05 when Crash won for Best Picture and Ang Lee won for Best D)



Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for Hurt Locker, all the way. She did a phenomenol job. Completely gave the look and feel to this massive piece of art. I can see why James Cameron might win this one; he was the captain of a massive ship; but I think Weta mostly ran that show. The actual work on the screen was sub-par. I would have loved to see Blomkamp get a nomination. Much more than Precious. IB might walk away, because, come on it's freakin' QT. But as I said multiple times, not his best work. Reitman is a long long long (think football field) shot; he'll get one eventually though- look at Scorcese. Bigelow really deserves this and I really want her to win.

Best Picture: I'm glad they upped it to ten. It makes the race a bit more interesting and versitile. Ok, where do I begin? Avatar's visuals were great and made the film; however, outside of those, it was one big sloppy mess. I loved loved loved D9 and am SO glad it made it here. Up and UITA are quiet films that have their own following, but not loved by everyone. IB might have pulled this out during any other year (think the Departed- not too many films I would call amazing that year and it was a make up for Scorcese), but this year, HL just blew everyone away. I hope people look past the hype of Avatar and give it to the deserving winner. I'm frightened that people are getting pulled in a blinded by hype rather than quality. HL derserves to win; it is a completely wonderful piece of work, not just spotted in.







Ok, PHEW I'm done. I'd like to close with two things:

1; The reason why I'm so Anti-Avatar is because as a whole, it's not that fantastic. It's a lot of sparkle. People's breaths get taken away by visuals and they're blinded. Good visuals don't automatically make a good movie; just look at Star Wars Episode II. I won't mind if it gets some visual awards. But to win overall Best Picture, when all of the components didn't flow together hamoniously? I don't think it deserves it; there's better made and written films out there without the CGI.

2; While I think D9 should have made more money than it actually did, I'm extremely surprised and pleased that it made it into so many nominations. It shows me that the film industry is thinking of quality rather than sparkle (otherwise Transformers might have been in there) and this is one of the reasons I think HL (quality) will win out over Avatar (glitz); I think it was woefully underrated by the public. It's anti-Bruckheimer/Bay. No, you don't always need a hot girl/guy. You don't need tons of explosions.
Also, I see a ton of similarites between Avatar and D9; and dare I say I think D9 is the better made film. The CGI isn't breathtaking, but it's scaringly believeable. The story was well written/improvised. There's a startingly real feeling to it. And I enjoyed watching it. Absolute pleasure to watch. It really is a rare, well made sci/fi film. Breaks my heart to see that Blomkamp isn't working on Halo after seeing D9; I wish they had kept him on.
Though I don't think D9 will win any awards, though I would be genuinely shocked and happy to see it do so, I just love the fact that it was nominated for so much. Just goes to show that there is faith in a dying genre and people can prevail on true talent and artistry rather than glitter value.

Until Next year, Oscar!

Previews

Coming this weekend, to a blog near you, my annual Academy Awards Predictions! Didn't do them last year. A> I was tired. B> They were incredibly predictable. C> I was too busy watching Ed Norton movies. If you're new to my film geekdom, you should probably be aware that my predictions for the AA are usually around 85% right, including for live action shorts, short and feature length documentaries, animated shorts and feature length,  and foreign, which yes, I don't see all of them. My best year was for 2003, when The Greatest Piece of Cinematic History The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept; 2004 (Million Dollar Baby), 2005 (Crash) were also good years for me; for the most part, I'm pretty accurate. But I skipped last year. (It was obvious Slumdog Millionaire would take it. It was just so good.)

But they will make a comeback this year, as you could guess by my GG/SAG post. And I'll rant about that. And Avatar. I freaking hate James Cameron. So there will be a love post to Peter Jackson, also in the near future.

I will also be posting some retro-posts, throwbacks, whatever you want to call them. These will be posts from my old Xanga, which date back to my freshman year of high school; posts that I think are amusing or still hold strong to what I am. We'll see. I have a lot to go through.

Other than those things, still working on student teaching, still working in my building, and still getting a move on my grad applications. Nothing has really changed. :) Will be back with that AA list in a few days.

I have no accurate title.

Ok so this is what happens with blogs. I get caught up in life, which I guess isn't necessarily a bad thing. ... Right?

So for the past few weeks, I've been doing the following, and mostly running on 5-6 hours of sleep a night:

1. Spending some time with friends, being immature before we all go off and get real jobs.
2. Trying to see a bunch of people I don't get to see very often.
3. RA Training was two weeks ago and boards were my life. Pictures to come.
4. Student Teaching, prep for graduation, and shenanigans for grad school.
5. Duty. Programs. RA stuff.

So right now my main priority (and for many years to come) has been prep work for teaching. Lesson plans, activities, Do Nows, Homeworks, learning names, that kind of thing. It's all incredibly helpful and stressful at the same time. The work of teaching is the planning, the configuring, etc. But just being in the classroom is a reward. So I don't really see that as my future job. Paperwork is job.

I've been placed at a wonderful high school in Wappingers, about an hour away from New Paltz. The commute is a nuisance, but it is indeed totally worth it. I love the faculty. I love the building. I love the students. I love the classes I will be teaching. I love the English Department's lounge. Let me know when to stop gushing. Looking forward to the experiences and relationships I will make there. Can't wait to start! Feb 10th. Have some really quirky, out of the box lesson plans that I think the kids will enjoy.

On the flip side, this Student Teaching semester is my very last semester before I truly am an adult. Eep. I'm looking at grad school, I'm looking at job options... Grad School is probably at the top of my list right now. If I can get a job, I'll do the job and grad school. If not, I'm staying on campus to stay as an RA or maybe I'll go for CDA. There's a lot of options out there, and I think I'll take my time with looking at all of them. I would love to get a job at the school I'm at right now; of course that really depends on the future weeks to come. I would definitely need to love the school; it's not a job for job's sake. However, I LOVE being an RA. I love my staff, I love my residents. Not quite sure if I'm ready to leave... But I'll know what I have to do when the time comes.

That being said, I've been really lucky and blessed in the past few weeks. Nothing is going poorly; everything is very positive and working well. I have all the proper elements to make this a good, relaxed semester. I say relaxed because, as usual, I am staying out of drama. There are more important things to do than whine over who got the last piece of meat.


Can I just write a brief ode to College and the Life of Drinking? Well, this is my blog. So I can.

It is my senior year, and I have experienced some crazy nights here, all fun. I wouldn't trade them for the world. On the flip side, I have seen many people with terrible nights. These are usually the people who are stumbling home, crying about a lover, or running to the bathroom to throw up. If you can't tell, I say that in disgust. Me? I don't drink. I won't say never have; it is something I, as a college student, have grown not to love and make excuses for.

The bottem line is, I don't need things to be crazy to have a good time. In ways, I represent New Paltz pretty well, but at the same time, we're at odds with each other. I'd like to think of myself as laid-back, open minded, and easily amused, which fits the hippy side of things. But I'm not a party girl, I don't get plastered every night, I don't smoke up all the time, I don't go out looking to get laid, I don't look for trouble; but I'm not a typical college student either. I don't have any problem with drinking or people who like to drink. I have plenty of friends who love to drink and party, and there's nothing wrong with that. I have a problem with the peer pressure of college life to drink as much as possible.

Many people (in college, and not just New Paltz) have this stereotype that if in college, please get bombed as often as possible. Listen up little kiddies of America: This is not true. You can have nights where you stay in. You can be the only sober one and still have a good time. I, in my firm decision not to drink no matter how much peer pressure is put on me, have had countless nights of fun- without being ashamed of throwing up in the middle of the night, doing something embarrassing at the bar, or taking the Walk of Shame home. And I have to say, it's pretty self empowering. In a college town with three of four corners being bars, surrounded by Happy Hours and cheap thrills, I can see the pressure of this trend; however, I'm pleased when someone offers a drink and I say no. Yes, you offered me a drink. Yes, I said no. Yes, I'm sure. No, I don't drink.

I'm offended when people ask me what the worst I've ever been trashed and when I reply that I do not consume, they either don't believe me or ask why. Well, why not? I know it is incredibly rare to find a college student who doesn't drink. Hey you see this? I'm raising my hand. And I've been this way from the beginning. I could probably easily slip into this lifestyle;  but yes, I'm proud to live this way, I'm proud to say no, and I'm really happy that I haven't given into this scene.

I strongly believe that alcohol is not always necessary to have a good time. I also like being in control of myself. I believe that if I need to take a substance to loosen up around people whom I consider friends, then how much of a friend can they be if I don't feel comfortable with being myself around them? And to go hand in hand with that, I believe that friends are people who accept you for who you are- that don't pressure you to do something they know you have no interest in.

Believe it or not, this goes much deeper than my attitude towards drinking. I'm not just talking about my non-alcoholic lifestyle; this is commitment to my own awareness of who I am and my morals and values. This alone has launched me above the heads and shoulders of the average college female. I don't sell out; I don;t fake my personality; I don't try and pretend to be something I'm not. I am who I am. I have accepted that. Now please, you should too.

Hey, I'm from the HFPA, would you like an award for some film you made?

Now that it's close to the end of the year and all the movies that matter have premiered, those people who dole out statues have come out of hiding. And there are some terrible names in there. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) always manage to make a fool of themselves, mostly with everything being separated into "Comdey/Musical" and "Drama," allowing the chance for two predictions for the Academy Awards; the SAGs cleaned a bit of that up, and I'm hoping the BAFTAs and subsequently the Academy Awards make up for it as well. Lets just take a look at what we have so far:

Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globes: Penelope Cruz (Nine); Vera Farminga (Up In The Air); Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air); Julianne Moore (A Single Man); Mo'Nique (Precious)
SAG: Penelope Cruz (Nine); Vera Farminga (Up In The Air); Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air); Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds); Mo'Nique (Precious)
What?: Diane Kruger? What is this fascination with Penelop Cruz? Vera Farminga, really? Number one, where the hell is Melanie Laurent? If anyone (aside from Christoph Waltz) deserved a nomination, it is the lovely Laurent, who far outshone everyone (including you, Helen of Troy).No Rachel Weisz? No Amy Adams? I know the GG loves the pretty people- I would prefer to see Rachel McAdams be recognized instead of Farminga. This is kinda disappointing.

Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globes: Matt Damon (Invictus); Woody Harrelson (The Messenger); Christopher Plummer (The Last Station); Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones); Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
SAG: Matt Damon (Invictus); Woody Harrelson (The Messenger); Christopher Plummer (The Last Station); Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones); Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
What?: I actually really like this one. What sucks is that Christoph Waltz will obliterate everyone, he's just THAT good in IB. As much as I love Woody Harrelson, awards people seem to not. That makes me a sad camper. I wouldn't have argued if Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation) had made his way onto the list somehow. He's pretty good.

Best Actress
Golden Globes (Musical or Comedy): Sandra Bullock (The Proposal); Marion Cotillard (Nine); Julia Roberts (Duplicity); Meryl Streep (It's Complicated); Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)
Golden Globes (Drama): Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria); Sandra Bullock (Blind Side); Helen Mirren (The Last Station); Carey Mulligan (An Education); Gabourey Sidebe (Precious)
SAG: Sandra Bullock (Blind Side); Helen Mirren (The Last Station); Carey Mulligan (An Education); Gabourey Sidebe (Precious); Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia)
What?: The multiple nominations of Sandra Bullock make me nauseous. Meryl Streep, I can understand, but Bullock? Really? Julia Roberts hasn't made a good film in how long? Good job in playing favorites. Space fillers much? I hope you have a nice gift bag for this event. Saoirse Ronan from the Lovely Bones. Zooey Deschanel from 500 Days of Summer. I'm surprised that no one kissed Hillary Swank's butt this year. Emily Blunt needs more praise. As does Cotillard. Anna Mouglalis for Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky.

Best Actor
Golden Globes (Musical or Comedy): Matt Damon (The Informant!); Daniel Day Lewis (Nine); Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes); Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer); Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man)
Golden Globes (Drama): Jeff Bridges (A Crazy Heart); George Clooney (Up In The Air); Colin Firth (A Single Man); Morgan Freeman (Invictus); Toby Maguire (Brothers)
SAG: Jeff Bridges (A Crazy Heart); George Clooney (Up In The Air); Colin Firth (A Single Man); Morgan Freeman (Invictus); Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker)
What?: Jeremy Renner should be nominated for The Hurt Locker in every single way possible- and win. I think it's brilliant that the Comdey/Musical category is more fun than the Drama category; Damon and Gordon-Levitt are just better. Mads Mikkelsen for Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. Ben Foster for the Messenger. George Clooney is a terrbible actor. If he wins anything or is nominated for anything else, I might shoot myself. Toby is also equally bad. Colin Firth, YAY! Daniel Day, I think you lose this one. Morgan Freeman will probably walk away with everything important, because Nelson Mandela is cool. Also, two nominations for Bullock and Streep, but no love for Ryan Reynolds, Steve Martin, or Alec Baldwin? Blasphemy.

Best Director
Golden Globes: Kathryn Bigelow (Hurt Locker); James Cameron (Avatar); Clint Eastwood (Invictus); Jason Reitman (Up In The Air); Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)
What?: Why James Cameron and not Neill Blomkamp? At least Rob Marshall isn't here. What about Up? I would love to see Bigelow win. The Hurt Locker was amazing.

Best Film
Golden Globes (Musical or Comedy): (500) Days of Summer; Nine; The Hangover; It's Complicated; Julie and Julia
Golden Globes (Drama): Avatar; Hurt Locker; Inglourious Basterds; Precious; Up In The Air
SAG (referred to as "Best Ensemble"): An Education; Hurt Locker; Precious; Nine; Inglourious Basterds
What?: Avatar? Really? Avatar, but not District 9? Maybe Cameron deserves recognition for the amount of work he put into Avatar, but as a whole, District 9 is such a perfectly paced, symbolic, well made film. Usually, anything with Peter Jackson's name deserves more praise than it gets. The GG loves to kiss ass pandering to favorites, such as the Weinsteins and Tarantino. Don't get me wrong, love the guys, but as the case was with Scorcese and The Departed, IB is not Tarantino's best work. I can understand why people are praising Tarantino, he is truly fantastic both stylistically and technically, but against The Hurt Locker? Hurt Locker is simply a better made and more meaningful as a whole. Without a doubt. I love that the Hangover was recognized- instead of something like the Proposal. I'd like to see 500 take it. And then of course the Hurt Locker.

But it could be worse. Could be Transformers, Megan Fox, and/or Christian Bale. Yechhhh.

Ok that's all the steam I have for now. I'm a little tired. Plus gotta save it for the Academy Awards, the ones that matter more. That article will be far more interesting and organized. You can probably see what I lean towards. (GG, be ashamed of yourselves.)

Hello there, stranger.

Why, hello there stranger. I’ll keep this somewhat short:

I’ve always been a fan of blogging/writing and started in 2002 on the then-popular Xanga; I dropped off of it for a while, but have recently begun to take interest again. However, when I returned, there was a list of problems I had. My Xanga (which I had for five years, 2004, long time much?) had some posts that I really enjoyed rereading that brought me back to those days- but also a ridiculous amount of trivial, high school things on it. I saw a drastic change in my writing in content matter as well as style (huge, elephant sized changes in my style). I really wanted to get away from that and start fresh. I was thinking about simply just opening another account, but I wasn’t at all pleased with Xanga (starting to remind me of MySpace- yeck)- it wasn’t something I would want to keep or simple to use. (Speaking of which, everything is so damn complicated these days.) Lately, I’ve been shopping around for a nice blog site. Hopefully, this one will give me what I want. I’m gonna give it a good, honest test run. Cross your fingers, hold your breath: I’m easily pleased, easily amused.
 
If I do keep this, what can I provide for you? Well, hopefully I can entertain you. That can be anywhere from content (which is going to have a large range of such and such) as well as random thoughts and enlightenments I will embark on. Those are fun. I’ll wing it. Not picky. You get the point. And then maybe you’ll stick around. We can build a virtual campfire, break out some marshmallows, sing Kumbaya, and discuss The Lion King.

It is work time, however. Being a college student, I recently came back from a Linguistics Final from Hell, as well as a paper to write and another final to study for on Wednesday. I’ll come back. Maybe. Probably. Wish me lots of luck. After this, I’ll be sailing.