Archive for the ‘friday free for all’ Category
oscar predictions ’09 »
Friday, February 20th, 2009
… Because the big show is Sunday, I need to get the predictions out there. I mean, only amateurs wait ’til afterward to extol their brilliance. I can extol at the drop of a hat. (::hat drops to floor::)
Titles in italics will probably be winners. Titles in bold are ones I’m pulling for. *s are by ones I haven’t seen.
ANIMATED FEATURE
- Bolt *
- Kung Fu Panda *
- WALL-E
ORIGINAL SONG
- Slumdog Millionaire – “Jai Ho”
- Slumdog Millionaire – “O Saya”
- WALL-E – “Down to Earth”
EDITING
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- Frost/Nixon *
- Milk
- Slumdog Millionaire
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Changeling
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- The Dark Knight
- The Reader
- Slumdog Millionaire
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Doubt
- Frost/Nixon *
- The Reader
- Slumdog Millionaire
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Frozen River *
- Happy-Go-Lucky *
- In Bruges
- Milk
- WALL-E
DIRECTING
- Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
- Stephen Daldry (The Reader)
- David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
- Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) *
- Gus Van Sant (Milk)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Amy Adams (Doubt)
- Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
- Viola Davis (Doubt)
- Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
- Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Josh Brolin (Milk)
- Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder) *
- Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
- Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
- Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)
ACTRESS
- Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) *
- Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
- Melissa Leo (Frozen River) *
- Meryl Streep (Doubt)
- Kate Winslet (The Reader)
ACTOR
- Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
- Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) *
- Sean Penn (Milk)
- Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
- Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)
PICTURE
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Frost/Nixon
- Milk
- The Reader
- Slumdog Millionaire
I doubt I’ll be as victorious as last year (sarcasm) but one can hope I’ll catch a few. It wasn’t a good season (tons of repeats on here) but the ones listed were fairly solid. (As you can tell from the above, I’m quite partial to Slumdog Millionaire.)
I know you can’t wait ’til the recap to fully appreciate my genius. I know it. (Delusion is the first step toward success, right?)
In case you think you’re smarter than I am (and probably are), pick a category or two and lay out your prediction in the comments. We’ll see on Monday who emerges with the prize.*
* There is no prize.
friday free for all »
Friday, February 13th, 2009
… I was sick Saturday night through Tuesday night. I caught up on “Flight of the Conchords,” “Six Feet Under,” finished “This Land is Their Land” and watched a few movies. Calling that productive is like calling me handsome or universally liked. (In that it’s so obvious it causes nosebleeds, of course.)
… Wednesday, Girlfriend and I had a night out. With the trips and work and pulling my hair out (metaphorically) and all that, it’s been awhile. As it’s winter and Minneapolis can make a witch’s teet seem tropical, we went to a movie. (The Reader, more on that later.)
Kerasotes, awhile back, bought out the multi-screen downtown. They offer a Five Buck Club (free!) that sends you a card and then emails about upcoming shows you can get at that ridiculously low (high, for the “back in my day” folk) price. If you’re not part of the club, you’re dimmer than an compact-fluorescent after the Apocalypse, I guess, is what I’m saying.
… This weekend is Valentine’s Day. I try (and fail) to make Girlfriend feel as special as I think she is every day. Luckily, there’s a day when I can do that when everyone else is doing the same. (Individuality!)
Guys, make sure you do something worthy of her telling her friends about it. It’s all she thinks about (according to all the sexist ads out this week) between how many carats her dream ring is/which detergent to use/how fat she feels and how annoyed she is that you like sports/don’t vacuum/are a terrible father.
Singles, here’s your annual chance for some pity-play. Happy hunting!
friday free for all »
Friday, February 6th, 2009
or: Google is my digital-lifemate.
… Last night, at Grumpy’s, I attended my first “tweetup“. It was entertaining. Pretty sure I’ll do it again. Nice to be among a crowd of digital dorks, like myself. Speaking of…
… My Gmail inbox is sort of my digital enclave. I redecorate constantly and reside there daily. I have my documents, my calendar, my AIM/gchat and a theme. I’m also a bit of a filter slut, organizing and reorganizing my labels, directing traffic.
So I pissed myself (just a bit) when Google read my mind, creating multiple inboxes. Over the course of the day I’ll be refining filters and adjusting labels. Because I lead a sheltered, nerd-centric, physically attractive life.
… Screw it, let’s dry-hump Google some more:
Latitude? Passive observation (read: creepy) but has privacy settings more advanced than other geo-locator programs. (Can select, by friend, if they see nothing, citywide, or best location; can hide your location globally.) Also, it stores only your latest location.
Mobile Books? I like the idea (it’s FREE!). I don’t have a cool kid phone so I can’t say I’ve tried it for its intended use but it works in a standard browser too (if impossible to read because it scales width). Seems a good travel companion for those with mobile interweb that want more features than the Kimble can sort out.
It even remembers what page you’re on under the “My Books” section. (Which is nice.)
friday free for all »
Friday, January 23rd, 2009
… The Oscar noms have been announced. Here’s the list on ScreenCrave. I’ll have more on this later after I’ve cine-binged and have more to say on the topic. (Downey Jr.? Really?)
… Today, for me, is a half day. To say I’m looking forward to my trip to Sydney is an understatement. But so is saying I’m not excited about the travel. Here’s how I imagine the trip going:
- Depart to Chicago, 3.30p today. Finish one book because it’s written at a third-grade reading level (Left Behind series… heard of it?)
- Fly to San Francisco. Hustle desperately for connecting flight with only an hour betwixt.
- Fly to Sydney. Finish another book, pace incessantly, twitch uncontrollably, cry incrementally and murmur gibberish constantly.
- Arrive in Sydney, 8a Sunday. Wobble off the plane on atrophied legs, kiss the ground and start greeting everyone with “g’day mate!” in a terrible British accent.
Return trip:
- Repeat the above, in backward order, replacing SFO with LAX and doing it all within one day. End with crushing jet-lag.
… Because of the above, posts next week will be sparse or non-existent. No apologies, just like last time.
friday free for all »
Friday, January 9th, 2009
… I had to scrape ice from the inside of my windshield Tuesday night. That’s the most painful “welcome back to winter” bitch slap I’m able to think of.
… Every month, we have an employee newsletter. (Think, “how could an office be more lame?” and you can probably imagine most of the topics covered.) I, (un)fortunately, was chosen this month.
I was emailed a set of questions and I answered most of them, as honest as possible, thinking they wouldn’t take as many as they did. The “interview” is as follows, word for word but for some anonymity-motivated redacting. (Links added.)
- Where did you grow up? [Hometown]. Northwest of Milwaukee.
- What are your plans for the holidays this year? I’m going back to MKE for Christmas, then to Cabo San Lucas until New Years Day.
- What’s on your wish list? Money, clothes and money. In that order.
- If you were not in Marketing at [Employer], what else what [sic] you like to do as a career? Design websites for small and medium sized businesses from somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe become a retiree. I hear good things.
- What are some of your hobbies? Watching movies, blogging, snowboarding (theoretically) and darts.
- Describe your favorite thing to do on the weekend during Minnesota winters. Relaxing with a movie, a fire and some drinks with a few choice friends.
- What is your order at your favorite restaurant? Juicy Lucy with pepperjack in the center, cheddar on top and jojo’s on the side at the 5.8 Club or a medium meatball and chicken pizza from Fat Lorenzo’s.
- What did you want to be when you grew up? A lottery winner.
- What’s the last concert you went to? Kings of Leon at the State Theater.
- What is the most interesting place you’ve ever traveled to? The NW coast, Portland and Seattle. Which just barely beat out Wall Drug by a few figurative miles.
- What will your News Years Resolution(s) be for 2009? To take certain things less seriously, others more seriously and to enjoy every day more than I’ve enjoyed the last. That, or to lose ten pounds.
… and finally:
It looks like I’m headed to Vegas in March. I have no idea how I’m going to do this but there’s a wedding in the works. (Sacrifices right? ::snicker::)