Honk if You're Ra Ra-Ra Ra-Ra-Ra!!!!

I made this for a scholarship contest where you had to make a bumper sticker. I didn't even come remotely close to winning, but I thought I'd share. Have a good day.

UPDATE: Kavi and I will come out with a new bumper sticker of the week if we are able to. I have a couple good ideas in mind already.

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2010 Senate Race Ratings UPDATED w/ cool graph

I came up with a disgustingly early rating for each Senate seat for the 2010 midterm election. The ratings go from Strong Democrat to Strong Republican. I have included explanations for each seat, although in the future I will only provide explanations when I change the rating on a seat. I don’t expect to do this very much in the near future. The reason I am doing this so early is twofold: (1) I like to see how a race has evolved over the course of two years, and (2) I am a total geek. I’ll do it in the form of a chart soon. While I know that other, more legitimate websites do ratings systems like these, I don't always agree with them, so I'm doing my own.

My early analysis – Republicans will probably lose more seats in 2010 than they gain, if they gain any.


Strong Democrat
AR (D-Lincoln) – Republicans have no bench whatsoever in Arkansas besides Huckabee, who won’t run.
CA (D-Boxer) – If Schwarzenegger enters the race (which I don’t think he will) I would move this to Likely Democrat, but otherwise Boxer is safe.
CT (D-Dodd) – Dodd doesn’t have high favorables, but he is safe.
DE (D-Kaufman, will be open seat) – Even though this will be an open seat, consider it safe democrat. Mike Castle is the only popular republican in the state, but he is so old that if he doesn’t retire he will stay in the House.
HI (D-Inouye) – He is old enough he could retire, but even so Hawaii is a very Democratic state. The Republican Governor Lingle could potentially run for Senate, but she has no real reason to at this point, especially since she is far from guaranteed a win.
IN (D-Bayh) – He is wildly popular here. In addition, Indiana is far more blue than it used to be.
MD (D-Mikulski) – Maryland is definitely a Democratic state.
ND (D-Dorgan) – Even though North Dakota is a Republican state, I don’t foresee Dorgan having any problems.
NY (D-Gillibrand) – Republicans were hoping so badly that Caroline Kennedy would be the pick.
NY (D-Schumer) – You don’t topple Schumer. Schumer topples you.
VT (D-Leahy) – Leahy isn’t budging whatsoever.
WA (D-Murray) – She has proven herself very adequate indeed at thwarting off challenges.
WI (D-Feingold) – Feingold always faces top notch challengers, yet he always wins. My guess is that he receives only token opposition this time.

Likely Democrat
CO (D-Bennet) – The fact that he has no name recognition whatsoever, yet still leads prospective Republican opponents in the polls is pretty telling.
IL (D-Burris) – Illinois is pretty damn liberal. Burris will have a tougher time winning the primary than the general I believe.
NV (D-Reid) – No one really likes Reid, but Nevada lacks a strong Republican bench. As the Republicans put immense amounts of political capital into defending McConnell, so will the Democrats in defending Reid. Personally, I don’t like him.

Lean Democrat
--

Tossup
FL (R-Martinez, will be open seat) – Martinez has been wildly unpopular during his first time, thus he is retiring. I have no clue what is going to happen here at this point. If Jeb Bush runs it is his, but he said he won’t. Alex Sink is the leading Democrat for the job, but he has also refused. Who will run? TBD.
KY (R-Bunning) – If Bunning doesn’t retire, I am pretty sure he will lose. Bunning has mental issues – not a joke. The state strongly dislikes him. Republican leaders are trying to get him to retire, but he is refusing. He has raised a pitiful amount of money during his term. His Democratic challenger barely lost to him last time, and Bunning is even less liked now.
MO (R-Bond, will be open seat)- Bond retired, which may be due to the fact that nobody really enjoys being a Republican in Congress right now. If beloved Democrat Robin Carnahan decides to run, I feel she will be the front runner.
OH (R-Voinovich, will be open seat) – Voinovich also retired, maybe due to the same reason as Bond, although Voinovich is fairly old. Republican Rob Portman may be the frontrunner at this point, but we don’t know who his opponent will be and he worked for President Bush, which certainly doesn’t help him.

Lean Republican
NC (R-Burr) – Burr is in what has been labeled the “revolving-door-seat.” Nobody, Democrat or Republican, can seem to stay in office for more than one term. Early polling has shown Burr vulnerable, and North Carolina is becoming increasingly bluer.
NH (R-Gregg) – Gregg seems to know he is in trouble. He just saw his Republican partner in the Senate, Sununu, defeated in November. Gregg has been floated as a possible appointment for the Secretary of Commerce. If this happens, his seat will be empty and Democratic Governor John Lynch could pick whoever he wanted. However, I think he would pick a Republican. Just a hunch. If a Republican is appointed, they will face an extremely strong challenger in 2010, although so will Gregg if he stays.
PA (R-Specter) – Specter is nowhere near safe, but Specter seems to be a survivor. We shall see. He may also retire, which would give Democrats a huge boost.

Likely Republican
LA (R-Vitter) – Vitter has a prostitute type sex scandal a couple years back, but Louisiana is crazy and I think he will stay in office.

Strong Republican
AK (R-Murkowski) – The only possible change I see in this seat is which Republican holds it. The incumbent Murkowski? Or Palin perhaps?
AL (R-Shelby) – He won’t be moving anywhere unless he retires.
AZ (R-McCain) – Janet Napolitano was the Democrats best hope, but she is the new Attorney General of the United States. There are some rumors that he will face a Republican primary challenger because people don’t find him conservative enough. If a primary battle erupts and there is a legitimate Democrat in the race, it has the slight possibility of becoming interesting.
GA (R-Isakson) – Isakson may also face a primary challenger because some Republicans view him to not be conservative enough…what the hell? I understand McCain, but Isakson is pretty damn conservative. Even with a heated primary I don’t see Democrats having much of a chance at this early stage.
ID (R-Crapo) – Nothing to see here, move along.
IA (R-Grassley) – If Grassley retires, this may go straight to Lean Democrat. Iowa as a state can’t stand Republicans…except Grassley. Grassley may still face a decent challenger, but I expect him to keep the seat if he wants it.
KS (R-Brownback, will be open seat) – Brownback announced his retirement a couple years ago I believe. He is doing this to most likely run for Governor because the crazy-popular Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, is term-limited. Sebelius is the one and only Democrat who could win this race. If she enters, this goes straight to Tossup.
OK (R-Coburn) – He is a crazy, crazy man. However, Oklahoma is a crazy, crazy state.
SC (R-DeMint) – DeMint is safe.
SD (R-Thune) – Safe, safe, safe.
TX (R-Hutchison) – Texas could become interesting. Hutchison may resign to run for governor against the current Republican governor Rick Perry. If this happens, there will be a crazy Republican primary process. There are some strong Democratic challengers who have declared they will run. Keep your eyes on this one.
UT (R-Bennett) – Besides Crapo, Bennett is possibly the safest Republican in the Senate.

If you read all of this, have an incredibly wonderful most glorious of days day.

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Coleman Attorney: "I don't care about your procedures."

As the court battles for the Minnesota Senate Race continue, my annoyance at Norm Coleman, or at least his political team, grows.

[Coleman Attorney Joe] Friedberg: In point of fact, even though I did something I wasn't supposed to do with the application, my ballot should still count because my signature is genuine.

Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann: Not according to the procedures we use to determine whether the signature is genuine.

Friedberg: I don't care about your procedures.

(Franken lawyer calls an objection, is sustained.)

Friedberg: Okay, I do care...

This is just ridiculous. Have a good day.

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Superman Exists, and He's American

This is great.



For a direct link click here.

Better blue than red man.

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Good Riddance

Bye-bye Blagojevich

Former Illinois Governor (that has a nice ring to it) Rod Blagojevich was unanimously removed from office by the Illinois senate yesterday.

The Bleeping Golden Quote of the Day:

"We have this thing called impeachment and it's bleeping golden and we've used it the right way," Democratic state Sen. James Meeks of Chicago said during the debate, mocking Blagojevich's expletive-laden words as captured by the FBI on a wiretap.

Recently they released some recordings of taped phone calls involving Blago. They certainly didn't include any of the really exciting parts. The one part I did find somewhat interesting was this:
Replacing Blago is the Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, whose first executive order as Governor fittingly deals with corruption.

"Newly minted Gov. Pat Quinn's first executive order will be to establish the Illinois Reform Commission as an official state body under the governor's office, he said this morning."

I truthfully don't know much about Quinn, other than that he has been extremely ready and willing to take over for Blago. I will continue to report on him.

Have a nice day!

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Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles! A Tintin Movie!

Remember this guy?



Well, he's coming to the big screen in 2011, courtesy of a couple of dudes named Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. What kind of mediocre talent would work with these hacks? Let's take a look...

For those unfamiliar with comic books about Belgian reporters, the guy with the weird hair is Tintin. He and his dog Snowy had some pretty amazing adventures in the comic strips printed between 1923 and 1976. You may also remember him from the equally cool cartoon series that aired on Nickelodeon in the 90's. Basically, Tintin went around the world foiling bad guys in Egypt, China, Tibet, Palestine, Peru, and other locales. The comics and cartoons were a nice mix of humor and surprisingly hardcore action.


Watching this theme again sure does make me happy.

So Tintin is getting a three picture deal. The first will be directed by Spielberg. Peter Jackson will take over the second. The thought of these two working together is a dream come true. The third director is to be determined, but I have my fingers crossed for Quentin Tarantino.

Even better is the team they complied to write the script. The headliner is Edgar Wright, who you may remember from rocking your world with his screenplay/direction of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz . He's joined by Doctor Who scribe Stephen Moffat and some guy named Joe Cornish. Both Moffat and Wright are brilliant at combining thrills and comedy, which is the essence of every Tintin adventure.

And oh yeah, it's going to be a motion-capture 3D film. Just like Beowulf and The Polar Express . Hopefully the technology will improve in the next few years...

The Cast
Tintin is Jamie Bell. of Billy Eliot and Defiance .



Captain Haddock, his foul-mouthed best friend will be played by Andy Serkis. Serkis already used motion capture to play Gollum in the Lord of the Rings series, so he knows what's up.

Doppelganger detectives Thomson and Thompson will be played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the leads in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz . Even though they look nothing like each other. To me, it doesn't matter because Pegg and Frost are the best comedy duo since Woody Allen and Diane Keaton.



The new 007, Daniel Craig, will make an appearance has the villain of the film, a pirate named Red Rackham. I couldn't find a picture of Red Rackham but he shows up at 0:35 in the video above. Since we know Rackham will be featured, it can be assumed that the first picture will follow the Tintin classics The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure .

The cast is rounded out by one of my personal favorite actors, Mackenzie Crook. He's great as Gareth Keenan in the UK version of The Office but he's more famous as the pirate with a wooden eye in the Pirates trilogy.

I haven't been this excited for a movie since Indiana Jones 4. I've been reading Tintin for as long as I have been able to read. We have pretty much the entire collection (except Tintin in Tibet ) at my house. And now Spielberg, Jackson, and Edgar Wright are working on it? There is a god. Plus, George Lucas isn't around to screw things up. Unless he's the third director. Ye gads...

I will leave you with a classic Gareth moment.

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Obama Approval Ratings

SurveyUSA has job approval ratings for Obama in 14 states.

SurveyUSA
1/20-21/09; 600 adults, 4% margin of error (for each state)
Mode: IVR

14-States Job Approvals

Alabama: 60%
California: 77%
Iowa: 68%
Kansas: 62%
Kentucky: 62%
Massachusetts: 78%
Minnesota: 64%
Missouri: 65%
New Mexico: 65%
New York: 78%
Oregon: 68%
Virginia: 62%
Washington: 69%
Wisconsin: 70%

While obviously Obama has been in office less than a week at this point and these numbers most likely won't stay this high...

These numbers are great. Obama has a pretty clear mandate right now. Republicans may not be wise to prevent this stimulus package right now.

Have a good day!

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Is Obama Being Hypocritical?

Yes, he most certainly is.

“Shortly after taking office, President Barack Obama issued ethics requirements prohibiting individuals from working for government agencies they have lobbied in the past two years.”

Good requirement in my mind. I’m glad he put it in place. There is a conflict of interest.

However,

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man nominated to be the Pentagon's second-in-command [William J. Lynn] could make at least a half-million dollars next month with vested stock he earned as a lobbyist for military contractor Raytheon.

Wait, Obama nominated a lobbyist?

As a Raytheon lobbyist, Lynn worked on matters with far reach across the Pentagon, including contracting policy, the military's use of space, missile defense, munitions and artillery, sensors and radars, and advanced technology programs.

Obviously due to Obama’s new requirements, Lynn can’t take office…right?

But last week, the Obama administration gave the Senate Armed Services Committee a waiver exempting Lynn from two specific sections: a two-year prohibition on employees from participating in decisions related to their former employers and a more specific section banning individuals from taking jobs in the agencies they recently lobbied.

Instead, Lynn's dealings at the Defense Department will be subject to ethics reviews for one year.”

D'oh! What the hell? Tssk tssk Obama. I’m not very happy that you went against your own regulation. Carl Levin voiced his approval for Lynn. McCain isn’t very happy with the ethics violation. I have McCain’s back on this one.

Have a good day.

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Oscar Night to be Dominated by Short Indian Men

Now that I've had some time to digest the Oscar nominations, I'm not as angry as I was Thursday morning. I was mostly annoyed by the fact that The Dark Knight was knocked out of the big awards by a Nazi pedophilia flick, The Reader . But all is well, because of this glorious man:


Famed Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman, seen above with his majestic hair, was nominated for three Oscars. Most notably, he was recognized for his work in Slumdog Millionaire . P Diddy's magic must have rubbed of on the diminutive Indian when they hugged at the Golden Globes (1:45 below). On top of that, Rahman won two out of the three nominations for Best Original Song. Both "Jai Ho" and "O Saya" are competing for the Oscar. Yes, that means we are going to see M.I.A. and Sukhwinder Singh perform songs in Hindi at the Oscars. Tell your friends.


Here are some other interesting things about the 2009 nominees:

• The Reader has Ruined Everything

This movie gashed my otherwise kick-ass Oscar Predictions (all of which you can see here)
1) Kate Winslet was nominated for Best Actress for this picture, not Supporting Actress as I (and everyone else) thought.
2) The Dark Knight was axed in favor of this film in three categories: Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. Picture I understand, but Christopher Nolan is a maestro and orchestrated some pretty amazing action sequences.
3) The categories I actually thought The Reader would be nominated for, it wasn't (Art Direction and Costumes). However, it was nominated for Cinematography.
4) If not for this movie, my picks for Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography would have been perfect.

As one can see, my vendetta against this movie is justified.


• Gran Torino Didn't Receive a Single Nomination

I was pretty sure that the old guy would pull off another Best Picture nomination and especially one for Best Actor. After all, this was rumored to be Clint Eastwood's last performance. Instead the Gran Torino was completely shut out. Is this karmic payback for offending me so deeply? I'd like to think so.


• Nobody is Going to Watch the Academy Awards

Last year's Oscar presentation was the least watched ever, when No Country for Old Men took home the big prize. The voters had a chance to demolish ratings records this year, if only they would have nominated The Dark Knight for the prestige awards. It was only the second highest grossing movie in American history. The highest? Titanic . Which, coincidentally, provided the most-watched Oscar telecast the year it won Best Picture.

Instead the Academy threw in Frost/Nixon and The Reader . I don't know a single person that watched either of those movies. Milk wasn't a huge hit either. The only bonafide blockbuster was Benjamin Button , but it doesn't have the rabid following Batman would have brought to the ceremony. Everyone and their uncle knows that Slumdog Millionaire is going to win Best Picture, and it's filled with unknown Indian actors. One could argue that its presence would bring it lots of international viewers, but Indians don't seem to like it too much.


• Things I'm Personally Proud of

1)I was all over that Original Screenplay nomination for In Bruges
2)I got all the nominations for three categories right: Editing, Makeup, and Visual Effects. It's a start.
3)The two Original Song nominations for Slumdog , as I predicted. I knew "O Saya" was too good to pass up.

Overall, I was pleased with the Oscar nominations. Were you?

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The 28th Amendment to the Constitution

In my post about Roland Burris, I wrote:

"Hopefully this will lead to more states changing their laws and making it so governors cannot appoint replacement U.S. Senators. It is inherently undemocratic. There should be special elections, just like in the U.S. House. At least some progress can be made. Maybe appointments have to have been elected to statewide office before (sorry Caroline). Another possible step is to make it so that there is a special election, but until then there is a temporary appointed placeholder. Either way, this current system blows."

Not much more than a week later and *BAM* here comes Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin:

“The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats make it painfully clear that such appointments are an anachronism that must end. In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution gave the citizens of this country the power to finally elect their senators. They should have the same power in the case of unexpected mid term vacancies, so that the Senate is as responsive as possible to the will of the people. I plan to introduce a constitutional amendment this week to require special elections when a Senate seat is vacant, as the Constitution mandates for the House, and as my own state of Wisconsin already requires by statute. As the Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee, I will hold a hearing on this important topic soon.”

His proposed constitutional amendment would require special elections in the event of Senate vacancies.

Not only do I support this amendment, but I think it is one of the few times an amendment actually has a possibility of passing. Usually they are just symbolic gestures.

Have a nice day!

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Obama's First Three Days In Office

Obama's First Three Days

Day-yam! The man gets to work fast!

Day #1. Obama becomes President of the United states.

I found it interesting that the Vice President is sworn in to office before the President.

Rahm Emanuel (Chief of Staff) signs a memorandum ordering all agencies and departments to stop all pending regulations until a legal and policy review can be conducted by the Obama administration.

This deals with regulations that Bush put into effect during the last few weeks in office. Law allows sixty days before these can go into effect. Obama wants to stop these last minute deals.

Controversial late rules by the outgoing Bush administration include allowing the carrying of concealed weapons in some national parks and prohibiting medical facilities from receiving federal money for discriminating against doctors and nurses who refuse to assist with abortions or dispense contraceptives based on religious grounds.

It may be hard for him to do this, but it is possible. Possible ways include:

1. Passing a law that allows an incoming President to have say on last-minute regulations.
2. The Senate can pass a law that overrules the President's orders. Basically, they would pass a law making illegal what an order allows.
3. I believe the Senate can get rid of these orders with a 2/3 vote, but I'm not sure. Truthfully I am a little confused on this entire subject.

The Obama administration also requested a continuance in the military commissions trials scheduled for this week. Basically this stops the trials of Guantanamo detainees for 120 days, which gives the administration time to change the way detainees are put on trial. He wants them in U.S. Courts instead of military coutrts, so as to give them their due process. Tuesday morning the judges granted the request.

Oh ya, click here for a picture of his new ride...THE BEAST!

Day #2. Ethics Reform Day

Obama started the day by calling foreign leaders, including many Middle Eastern leaders.

He also issued some regulations.

1. He will freeze his White House senior staff pay at current levels to the full extent allowed by law ... The President and his staff recognize that in these austere times, everyone must do more with less, and the White House is no exception.

2. In the Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel, the President, first, prohibits executive branch employees from accepting gifts from lobbyists. Second, he closes the revolving door that allows government officials to move to and from private sector jobs in ways that give that sector undue influence over government. Third, he requires that government hiring be based upon qualifications, competence and experience, not political connections.

3. The President instructs all members of his administration to operate under principles of openness, transparency and of engaging citizens with their government. To implement these principles and make them concrete, the Memorandum on Transparency instructs three senior officials to produce an Open Government Directive within 120 days directing specific actions to implement the principles in the Memorandum. And the Memorandum on FOIA instructs the Attorney General to in that same time period issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the FOIA context.

4. This order ends the practice of having others besides the President assert executive privilege for records after an administration ends. Now, only the President will have that power, limiting its potential for abuse. And the order also requires the Attorney General and the White House Counsel to review claims of executive privilege about covered records to make sure those claims are fully warranted by the Constitution.

That last one is key because it no longer allows members of President Bush's administration to claim executive privelege when they are put on trial, which is what they have been doing with the justice department scandal. Basically, they will have to give over documents and be more transparent with what happened.

Day #3. Guantanamo Must Close!!!!!! Waterboarding Must Stop!!!!!!

More regulations!! These ones I love.

1. Close the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay within a year and establish a process by which the U.S. government figures out what to do with the remaining detainees.

2. Create a task force to recommend policies on handling terror suspects who are detained in the future. Specifically, the group would look at where those detainees should be housed since Guantanamo is closing.

3. Require all U.S. personnel to follow the U.S. Army Field Manual while interrogating detainees. The manual explicitly prohibits threats, coercion, physical abuse and waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and has been termed a form of torture by critics. However, a Capitol Hill aide says that the administration also is planning a study of more aggressive interrogation methods that could be added to the Army manual - which would create a significant loophole to Obama's action Thursday.

Obama also met with military officials to talk about the process of withdrawing from Iraq, which he pledged to do within 16 months while he was on the campaign trail. I won't forget your campaign promises Obama.

In other administration news, the following cabinet members have been confirmed by the Senate:

Steven Chu as energy secretary
Tom Vilsack as agriculture secretary
Ken Salazar as interior secretary
Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security
Peter Orszag as head of the White House budget office
Hillary Clinton as secretary of state

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And the winner is...

First poll Results

What is your favorite mythical creature?

Amoebacorn - 15%
Zebratard - 10%
Jewish Starfish - 42%
Noobasaurus - 31%

If you add those percentages together you do NOT reach 100%. That is sad.

Besides polls being easy to make and fun to participate in, they serve another purpose. They let Kavi and I know that people are viewing our blog each week. So please vote!

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Norm Coleman is a Dick

Norm Coleman is a total dick. Go figure. It has been obvious for weeks that Al Franken won the November 4th election. He was certified as a winner, but Coleman contested the election, which prevents Franken from being sworn in. For those who aren’t familiar with this entire recount process, it has been really, really aggravating.

On Nov. 4th, Coleman was up by a few hundred votes. He told Franken that he should concede, even though there were thousands of votes yet to tally. He also said that there should not be a recount because it costs the state money. If the difference between candidates is less than 0.5% in Minnesota, there is an automatic recount unless the losing candidate concedes.

The final votes came in with Franken up by a small amount. Coleman doesn’t concede, instead letting the recount go forth. I welcomed the recount, although Coleman is definitely a hypocrite.

During the recount, there were tons of really crazy ballots viewable online. The Franken and Coleman camps argued the ruling on thousands of ballots, even ones that weren’t worth arguing about.

Both sides dropped some arguments, with Franken dropping most. After the recount, Franken came out ahead by even more.

Then there were absentee ballots that Franken argued were wrongly revoked. When he was ahead, Coleman said not to review them. As soon as he was slightly behind, he said to look at some, but only ones in conservative districts. Now that he is far behind and is going to lose, he wants all of them to be viewed. If he gets his way he is totally screwed because they will most likely increase Franken’s lead instead of shrinking it. He wants them to not be viewed, however, so as to decrease the “legitimacy” of the election, even though it has been pretty fair in my view.

Today, however, is when Coleman reached the status of being a total dick, before he was just a prick. He has taken a day job as a consultant. He knows he has lost. Everyone knows he has lost. He isn’t continuing on his legal challenges in hopes that he will win. My best guess is that he is trying to bloody up Franken as much as he can. Franken is a fairly controversial figure. Any other Democrat would have crushed Coleman, but Franken isn’t any normal Democrat. Coleman is probably working with John Cornyn (head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee) to make this draw out as long as possible to make the election seem illegitimate, which they hope will hurt Franken and make him easier to beat in six years. In addition, they hope that it will affect peoples’ views of the Democratic Party as a whole.

Al Franken will be the next senator from Minnesota. He already won the election, and Coleman’s challenge is unlikely to be successful, and if it is it would only help Franken.

In addition to being a dick, Coleman is likely a criminal as well. He is currently under investigation. The investigation revolves around lodging he accepted in violation of the Senate gifts rule. Coleman used some fundraising money to pay for his lawyers, although, for some reason, I don’t think that is illegal, just pretty unethical.

I’m not sure if Franken will be a good senator or not. I have trouble believing he won’t be better than Coleman, however. I look forward to watching him.

Have a nice day.

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Live Blogging the Oscar Nominations

8:28 am: Yes, in fact, I did wake up this early just to watch the telecast of the Oscar nominations. I'm kind of in a panic right now because I can't find it anywhere.



8:30 am: Ok, I found it on Fox News, but I'd rather watch it on an entertainment channel.

8:31 am: Did you get the joke? Because Fox News is entertainment. It's ok, I suck at writing this early.

8:35 am: Hooray, it's playing on E!

8:38 am: Idi Amin himself is here to assist the Academy president with the announcements.

8:39 am: I think I just missed the nominations for Best Supporting Actress. I'm really tired.

8:39 am: Dev Patel didn't get a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It's ok, I always thought he was kind of overrated. RDJ my man did though for Tropic Thunder.

8:40 am: Mellisa Leo? Who the hell is that? And why is she nominated for Best Actress? Seriously, has anyone ever heard of this woman?

8:41 am: Kate Winslet did get nominated for Best Actress. But for The Reader. Not Revolutionary Road. Pay attention, aspiring actors. Holocaust movies are gold mines.

8:41 am: Go Richard Jenkins. Best Actor for The Visitor. Did I call that? Yes, I did.

41: Best Director is crap. Where art thou Christopher Nolan? Stephen Daldry can go to hell. Nobody watched your pathetic little film, The Reader. The Dark Knight made like a billion dollars and was superbly directed.

41: In Bruges for Best Original Screenplay bitches! I called that shit. My mood can only be described as a mix of exhaustion and exhilaration.

41: I think I was perfect on Adapted Screenplay...no wait I wasn't. The Reader foiled The Dark Knight yet again.

42: 3/5 for Foreign Language. Not bad for not having seen a single one of these films.

42: Too bad for Wall E. It just got Best Animated Feature, so it won't get a Best Pic now.

42: Alright Best Picture time...If I don't see The Dark Knight I'm going to destroy something.

43: Benjamin...expected. Frost/Nixon? C'mon people. Milk...deserving.The Reader? Goddammit. And then Slumdog. No Batman. I have just ripped up a piece of paper. Did you actually think I was going to break my computer?

44: Well, that was it. I seriously got up at 8:30 just to see 15 minutes worth of nonsense. Now I am sleepy and pissed off. I'm pretty much going to boycott The Reader for ruining everything. The Dark Knight owned and should have been recognized. Instead, we get stuck with another movie about Nazis, this time with lots of sex. They didn't even go through the technical categories. Now I'll have to scour the internet for those. But now I'm going back to sleep.

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Growly McRacist - Gran Torino Review

Clint Eastwood's new feature, Gran Torino is beloved by critics and audiences alike. It has made almost $80 million in the past few weeks and most Oscar Watchers (including me!) think that it's going to win a Best Picture nomination.


Gran Torino follows Walt Kowalski, a Korean War vet and retired Ford factory worker living out his retirement in the beautiful ghettos of Detroit. The movie opens at the funeral of Walt's wife. Estranged from his two sons, all he has left now is his dog and his mint condition 1972 Gran Torino. Like every stereotypical old man, Walt refuses to accept the lifestyles of new generations. He hates the fact that his neighborhood is being taken over by minorities, most of them coming from the Southeast-Asian Hmong culture. He also hates "kids these days" who wear inappropriate clothing and behave disrespectfully. Of course, an incident forces Walt to befriend his neighbors, eventually becoming a role model for a teenage boy. Yeah, I'm purposefully being vague. I hate saying more than I have to. Believe me, interesting things do happen, especially with the local gang culture.

How was it? Click the link to find out...

I needed to divide this review into two parts. First, I'll run through the good parts of Gran Torino and why people should check it out. Then, I'll explain why I will always hate this movie.

There's nothing about Gran Torino that's particularly original. It has a straightforward plot with familiar characterizations. But there's something about the charisma of Clint Eastwood which makes the entire film engaging. He's an out of control racist, which make his interactions with the Hmong neighbors uncomfortably hilarious. Even at the ripe age of 78, Clint Eastwood's still a total hard-ass. When he threatens people, there's no doubt in your mind that he is willing to shoot someone in the face. The best parts in the movie involve the growth of the friendship between Walt and his neighbor Thao. Walt essentially becomes a father figure to him, guiding him to maturity and teaching him how to score with women. You have to give respect to Eastwood for casting actual Hmong people in the lead roles. He could have easily picked Asian actors of other ethnicity, and few people would have complained. It's nice to see genuine authenticity in film for a change. Lastly, having Detroit as the setting is perfect. The ridiculously bad economic conditions of the city reflects the helplessness and struggles of the characters.

If I had seen Gran Torino on my computer, or on DVD at home, I would have loved it. But I didn't. I saw it at a theater in Ann Arbor. The town's pretty diverse, but the room was filled with white people. After all, Eastwood has some pretty vocal opponents in the African American community (Clint Eastwood: Spike Lee Should "Shut His Face").

Well, Walt says a lot of racist things in Gran Torino . His racial slurs towards African-Americans and especially Asian-Americans are nonstop, and often pretty inventive. A few include: "spooks", "zipperhead", "gook", "dragon lady", "egg roll", "Click Clack, Ding Dong, and Charlie Chan", "swamp rats", "chink", "fishheads", and "slopes". I'm getting disgusted just typing these up. What Nick Schenk, screenwriter of Gran Torino ? Couldn't use the n-word? Oh no, that would be crossing the line. Yeah, go with calling them "spooks". No one will raise a fuss over that.

I respect Clint Eastwood enough to know that he didn't throw in all these slurs for entertainment. But people in the audience would roar with laughter whenever he used them. Not quiet chuckles, I'm talking hearty belly laughs. At first, I was laughing too, but it was more of the "is this really happening?" variety. After a while, I felt sick. People were taking Walt's creative slurs as humor. As laughter burst out after a Hmong kid was called a "gook" for the umpteenth time, I honestly felt like everyone was also laughing at me.

Again, I feel terrible about hating the movie. I understand the real reasons behind Walt's remarks, and why Eastwood chose to include them. As Krym said, "He's only hiding behind his racism". Which is totally true, and makes Walt into an even stronger character. I would have appreciated all these subtleties more if I was with a different audience. Sorry if you were expecting a more legit review of this movie, but I had to address these issues that are very important to me. Seeing my fellow Asians get torn apart by Eastwood, and on top of that, having the audience laugh at these dialogues really bothered me.

One more thing: The kid's name is Thao, but Eastwood always calls him "Toad". I mean, how hard is it to say "Thao"? It's one syllable for God's sake.

So if you're Caucasian and reading this, you'll like the movie. Not because I think you're a racist, but because I don't feel like the slurs will affect you. It truly is a well made movie. Everyone else, if you see it, I'd like to hear your opinions.

That is all. I'm not giving it a score because
1) I haven't figured my scoring system yet and
2) I don't know what to think about this movie

Ok last thing: I love how the screenwriter (yes, you Nick Schenk) chose the minority group in focus to be of Asian descent, when it could have just as easily been blacks or hispanics. I have a feeling that this movie would find a LOT more controversy if Clint Eastwood threw around slurs towards those ethnic groups. Way to target Asians, you dick.

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Mr. President

Barack Obama officially became the 44th President of the United States today.

"I, Barack Hussein Obama, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God."

Indeed, so help you God Mr. Obama because this job is no small task and will take every ounce of energy, but I believe in you. In fact, the entire nation wants to believe in you. By my estimate Obama will begin office with the highest approval ratings for any incoming President. In the latest poll he was two percentage points below JFK, but he will undoubtedly have a strong post inaugural bounce that will put him ahead.

After taking the oath of office, Obama gave his inaugural address. My three favorite parts of the speech were:

"The people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Seeing as I want to work in developing nations, it comes as no great surprise that I liked that part.

"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

Obama will be tested by foreign nations. He must be strong.

"Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship."

In words reminiscent of JFK, Obama asks for a call to service.

For the full text of the speech, click here.

While I don't expect Obama to save us from all of our problems, for it is hard to save us from ourselves, I believe he will be a great improvement from the last eight years, and maybe even the last fifty years. I will set the bar high for him, as any voter should do for their representative. To settle for less than one believes is to hardly believe in anything at all.

In conclusion, I welcome our new President and say farewell to the old President. May the door not hit you too hard on the way out George.

Have a nice day.

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Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday, which is January 19th, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Let us not forget his dream. This is my favorite speech of all time. My roommate said the same thing. He's Asian, I'm white, MLK was black. I guess that speaks for the power behind his message that all men are created equal.



Alternatively, click here to visit the original link.

While we remember MLK, let us not forget that there is more work to be done. If you want a reminder that there are many racist people out there just read the comments on youtube for this video. Maybe things will continue to change for the better now that Obama is President. Rosa sat, King walked, and Obama ran. As we watch the inauguration tomorrow, remember that King's dreams echo still.

Have a nice day.

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Hip-Hop/Rap

I am tired of people assuming that all hip-hop and rap music is meaningless and only about sex, drugs, and money. In my point of view rap is one of the best forms of poetry out there. While I do think a lot of hip-hop and rap music is pretty excruciating to listen to, there are definitely plenty of notable exceptions. My favorite songs are those that deal with politics/conflicts/social affairs. Thus, for my fun and your potential pleasure, I have assembled ten songs that I think people should actually read the lyrics to. They are arranged in a top ten format, although they are certainly not necessarily the best songs out there, but ten that I happen to like a lot. For each song I will include a snippet of lyrics and a link to the complete lyrics.

10. Black Eyed Peas – “Where Is The Love?”

This song was very popular when it came out, and not only did it have a catchy tune, but a good message to boot.

Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate

Full Lyrics

9. Eminem – “White America”

This song has a lot of energy and deals with the freedom of speech

America, hahaha, we love you, how many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful
Country of ours, the stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect,
The women and men who have broke their neck's for the freedom of speech the United States
Government has sworn to uphold, or so we're told...

Full Lyrics

8. Public Enemy – “Fight The Power”

Public Enemy is one of the quintessential oldschool political hip-hop groups

While the Black bands sweatin'
And the rhythm rhymes rollin'
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power

Full Lyrics

7. Saul Williams – “Scene III Act 2 (Shakespeare)”

Saul Williams is a poet who is well know for his unique blending of alternative hip-hop with poetry. This song is about President Bush and the War in Iraq.

I didn't vote for this state of affairs. My emotional state's got me prostrate, fearing my fears. In all reality I'm under prepared. 'Cause I'm ready for war but not sure if I'm ready to care. And that's why I'm under prepared. 'Cause I'm ready to fight, but most fights got me fighting back tears. 'Cause the truth is really I'm scared. Not scared of the truth, but just scared of the length you'll go to fight it. I tried to hold my tongue, son. I tried to bite it. I'm not trying to start a riot or incite it. 'Cause Brutus is an honorable man. It's just coincidence that oil men would wage war on an oil rich land. And this one goes out to my man, taking cover in the trenches with a gun in his hand, then gets home and no one flinches when he can't feed his fam. But Brutus is an honorable man.

Full Lyrics

6. Mos Def – “Dollar Day for New Orleans (Katrina Klap)”

This is Mos Def's unreleased (I think) song about Hurricane Katrina.

So there's a story about the lady in Louisiana
She's a flood survivor and the rescue teams
They come through, and they, I guess tryna recover people
And they see this women she's wadin through the streets
I guess it'd been some time after the storm
And I guess they were shocked that you know she was alive
And rescue worker said, "So, oh my God h-how did you survive
How did you do it? Where've you been?"
And she said, "Where I been? Where you been?"
Hah, Where you been? You understand?
That's about the size of it

Full Lyrics

5. Nas – “Sly Fox”

I can't stand Fox News. Apparently neither can Nas.

Watch what you watchin'
Fox keeps feeding us toxins
Stop sleeping
Start thinking
Outside of the box and
Unplug from The Matrix doctrine
But watch what you say Big Brother is watchin'

Full Lyrics

4. Jedi Mind Tricks – “Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story”

Jedi Mind Tricks is crazy. I included a really long passage, but this may be the single best anti-war song I have ever read/listened to.

They want to harm us
They all up on us
Bang, bang, bullet hit my chest, feel no pain
To my left, the captain caught a bullet right in his brain
Body parts flying, loss of limbs, explosions
Bad intentions, I see my best friend's intestines
Pray to the one above, It's raining and I'm covered in mud
I think I'm dying, I feel dizzy, I'm losing blood
I see my childhood, I'm back in the arms of my mother
I see my whole life, I see Christ, I see bright lights
I see Israelites, Muslims and Christians at peace, no fights
Blacks, Whites, Asians, people of all types
I must have died, then I woke up, suprised I'm alive
I'm in a hospital bed, they rescued me, I survived
I escaped the war, came back
But ain't escape Agent Orange, two of my kids born handicapped
Spastic, quadriplegia, micro cephalic
Cerebral palsy, cortical blindness, name it they had it
My son died he ain't live, but I still try to think positive
Cause in life, God take, God give

Full Lyrics

3. Emmanuel Jal – “Warchild”

Emmanuel Jal was born in Southern Sudan. When civil war broke out there his father joined a rebel army and his mother was killed by government soldiers. Emmanuel joined thousands of other children traveling to Ethiopia for an education, but when he got there he was recruited by a rebel army and turned into a child soldier. He was taught to kill Muslims and was brought back to Sudan to fight. After five years he escaped with other boys on foot. Many boys didn't survive the trek. Those that survived are known as the "Lost Boys." He eventually reached a friendly aid worker who smuggled him into Kenya. While studying in Kenya, Emmanuel took his frustration out by singing. I really like him, which may be due to his amazing story as a child solder turned hip-hop artist.

Note: I couldn't find a site with lyrics of his songs, so I copied the lyrics down myself.

All people struggling down there
The storms only come for awhile
And after awhile they’ll be gone
My father was working for the government as a policeman
A few years later I heard he joined a rebel movement
That was formed to fight for freedom
I didn’t understand the politics at hand
Of this because I was only a child
After awhile I saw the tensions rise at hand
Between the Christian and the Muslim regime
We lost our possessions
And my mother suffered depression
And because of this…
I was forced to be a war child.

I believe that I’ve survived for a reason
To tell my story, to touch lives.

Music Video

2. 2Pac – “Changes”

I really like this song and really wanted it to be number one. There are few songs that create such a portrait of life in the projects. As a note, Huey refers to Huey Newton, the co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party. He was later assassinated.

I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself
is life worth living should I blast myself?
I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black
my stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a negro
pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares
one less hungry mouth on the welfare
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers
give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other
It's time to fight back that's what Huey said
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead
I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other

And still I see no changes can't a brother get a little peace
It's war on the streets & the war in the Middle East
Instead of war on poverty they got a war on drugs
so the police can bother me

Full Lyrics

1. Immortal Technique – “The 3rd World”

There really wasn't any question about it in my mind, Immortal Technique's lyrics will blow your mind.

Lock and load your gun, where I'm from: the Third World son,
Been to many places but I'm Third World-born.
Guerrillas hit and run where I'm from: the Third World son.
You polluted everything, and now the Third World's gone.
The waters poisoned where I'm from son,
Seven hundred children die by the end 'this song.
Revolution'll come, where I'm from: the Third World son.
Constant occupation, leaves the Third World torn.

Full Lyrics

That's it for now, have a good day!

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Oscar Nominations Predictions!

These are predictions for what films are going to be nominated for Oscars. The actual nominations will be announced in a week, on the 22nd of January. A lot of these picks are conventional wisdom, but I'm going to give it a go anyways. And no, I won't be predicting the categories like sound mixing. I'd love to but I don't have the time. For some awards, like cinematography, I'll give a quick brief on what each means. Even I had no idea what Art Direction was until a few weeks ago.

Best Picture

Slumdog Millionaire

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Milk

The Dark Knight

Gran Torino

The first three are locks. Gran Torino is gaining a lot of support, especially because of the $30 million it made over the weekend. Frost/Nixon is a popular choice, but I feel like it's losing steam. The Dark Knight could easily be replaced by that or Doubt, but a man can hope.

Best Actor

Sean Penn, Milk

Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon

Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Richard Jenkins, The Visitor

I see Brad Pitt getting bumped off in favor for Jenkins. The Oscars always throw in an under-appreciated actor just to recognize them for a good performance (see Ryan Gosling for Half Nelson and Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises ). Plus, Pitt didn't do much besides look old and sad. And later, young and sad.

Best Actress

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married

Meryl Streep, Doubt

Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky

Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long

The first four are locks. I picked Scott Thomas over Angelina Jolie (Changeling), who got love for A Mighty Heart last year. Her film, in French, is about a woman with a painful secret that returns to her sister after a fifteen year absence. Happy-Go-Lucky is a British film about a schoolteacher who always remains optimistic and happy, no matter what her predicament is.

Best Director

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Gus Van Sant, Milk

Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino

Once again, I have Frost/Nixon going down in favor of Clint Eastwood.

Best Supporting Actor

Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt

Josh Brolin, Milk

Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder

Downey Jr. is a wild card but he's going to get the final slot for a few reasons. First, Heath Ledger is going to win anyways so it doesn't really matter who's nominated. Second, the Academy Awards needs the ratings boost. Lastly, he's awesome and totally deserves the recognition.

Best Supporting Actress

Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis, Doubt

Kate Winslet, The Reader

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

All of these are pretty solid, little competition here. The only question is, will Kate Winslet be eligible for a supporting role? She had a major part in The Reader , but she's trying this category to avoid competition with herself in the Best Actress race. She made it into the supporting category at the Golden Globes, but who knows with the Oscars.

Original Screenplay

Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon, Wall E

Martin McDonagh, In Bruges

Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Robert Siegel, The Wrestler

Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married

In Bruges is a long shot, I know. I have hope, especially since it's been gaining popularity since the Golden Globes and BAFTAs. This category is insanely wide open. The only sure thing is Milk .

Adapted Screenplay

Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

John Patrick Shanley, Doubt

Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon

Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight

No real surprises among this bunch. The sources of these screenplays: Two Broadway plays, an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, a little-known novel, and a comic book character.

Cinematography

Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Tom Stern, Changeling

Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight

Mandy Walker, Australia

The cinematographer works with the lighting of each scene. It may not seem like a big deal, but a film's lighting often influences the audience's mood. For example, a lot of The Dark Knight is shot with low-key lighting in order for us to feel as somber as the characters in the movie.

Art Direction

Mark Digby and Michelle Day, Slumdog Millionaire

Donald Graham Burt and Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Nathan Crowley and Peter Lando, The Dark Knight

Erwin Prib and Eva Stiebler, The Reader

Kristi Zea and Debra Schutt, Revolutionary Road

Art direction is really made up of both the art director and set design. They construct the sets, choose locales, create props, basically everything in the background of the film. This award usually goes to period pieces which require re-creating the look and feel of decades long past. I know the first three seem repetitive, but they are technically dominating movies. The Reader is the compulsory Holocaust-era movie, and Revolutionary Road follows Mad Men-style 50's production design.

Costume Design

Jacqueline West, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Johnetta Boone, Cadillac Records

Michael O'Connor, The Duchess

Donna Maloney and Ann Roth, The Reader

Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road

This category also features epic dramas set in the past, as it would require a lot of ingenuity to recreate the everyday clothing of their settings.

Makeup

Jean Ann Black, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Roz Abrey, Hellboy: The Golden Army

Peter Robb-King, The Dark Knight

Benjamin Button for all the old-person makeup, Hellboy (which I'm watching as I type this) for its amazing, creative creatures, and The Dark Knight for making Heath Ledger unrecognizable as The Joker.

Editing

Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Elliot Graham, Milk

Lee Smith, The Dark Knight

Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill, Frost/Nixon

Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

Eh.

Visual Effects

Eric Barba and other dudes, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Shane Patrick Mahan, John Nelson, and Ben Snow, Iron Man

Chris Corbould and others, The Dark Knight

I feel like listing my favorite effects shot from each movie here.
Benjamin Button : What else but the beautiful battle with the submarine?
Iron Man : When Tony Stark's armor goes too far into the atmosphere. His armor freezes, and he slowly plummets back to earth.
Dark Knight : Two words: Truck Flip.

Original Score

Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Thomas Newman, Wall E

Hanz Zimmer and James Newton Howard, The Dark Knight

Hanz Zimmer, Frost/Nixon

A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Hanz Zimmer is just a sweet name. But props to my boy A.R. I never thought I'd see him here. For those that don't know, Rahman is probably the most famous composer in India. He does the soundtracks for lots and lots of popular Bollywood films. And to Oscar presenters - when you say his name, it's pronounced Rehman, not Ramen like the delicious noodles.

Original Song

"Gran Torino", Gran Torino

"Down to Earth", Wall E

"The Wrestler", The Wrestler

"O Saya", Slumdog Millionaire

"Jai Ho", Slumdog Millionaire

Clint Eastwood returns to his Paint Your Wagon days (remember that Boy Meets World episode?) and sings once more. Seriously, yeah, he sings the song "Gran Torino". Bruce Springsteen was commissioned to write the depressing-as-hell theme for The Wrestler . Two songs from Slumdog is probably unlikely, but they're equally deserving. "O Saya" is the drum-heavy song in the very beginning when the boys are being chased by the police. "Jai Ho" is the song during the credits dance sequence. Here's hoping both get nominated so we can see the performances during the ceremony. A.R. Rahman and M.I.A. on stage together would be pretty incredible.

Animated Film

Wall E

Kung Fu Panda

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Kung Fu Panda was the shit. If it wasn't for that cute little robot, it might have had a chance to win.

Foreign Language Film

Israel, Waltz With Bashir

France, The Class

Turkey, 3 Monkeys

Sweden, Everlasting Moments

Germany, The Baader Meinhof Complex

Bashir is the frontrunner, an animated documentary in the style of A Scanner Darkly . It's about an Israeli soldier who fought in the first Lebanon War. His memory of that period seems to be missing, so he interviews fellow soldiers and friends to remember what happened during the war. The Class is a French film about a teacher and his students in a run-down Parisian school. The Turkish production 3 Monkeys has a politician accidentally killing a pedestrian and asking a servant to take the fall in exchange for a substantial reward. Everlasting Moments is a Swedish movie in which a poor woman wins a camera in a contest, changing her life forever. Lastly the German film with the really long title is about the Red Army Faction, a German terrorist organization that did assassinations and bombings and such in the '60s and '70s.

Should be fun.

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Roland Burris

Roland Burris, Blagojevich’s appointment to replace Obama in the United States Senate, was sworn into office today. Thus, Burris is now my new Senator. How do I feel about this?

1) Burris is a terrible candidate. He has lost many, many races, including a failed run for U.S. Senate (he never made it out of the primary). He won’t last more than two years. He’ll have a serious primary and general election opponent.

2) He is pretty egotistical. I don’t know his policy views too well, but I know that he thinks he is the big tuna. He freaking named his son and daughter Roland and Rolanda.

3) Blagojevich will be removed from office, but he and Burris got the last laugh. I found it fitting that Burris was sworn in with a huge grin on his face. Seriously, who would have dreamed that anyone would not only accept Blagojevich’s appointment, but would actively pursue it after Blagojevich was arrested? Not I, and definitely not Harry Reid.

4) Harry Reid has egg on his face. Seriously, while I don’t like Reid, I feel bad for the man because he took a leap and finally took a firm stance on something, only to have the unthinkable happen.

5) Reid and Durbin had no legs to stand on when they originally denied him his seat.

6) I am glad Burris was seated because I strongly believe in justice and the concept of “innocent until proven guilty.” Burris hasn’t done anything wrong, so there is no reason not to seat him. Actually, Blagojevich hasn’t even been indicted yet.

7) Hopefully this will lead to more states changing their laws and making it so governors cannot appoint replacement U.S. Senators. It is inherently undemocratic. There should be special elections, just like in the U.S. House. At least some progress can be made. Maybe appointments have to have been elected to statewide office before (sorry Caroline). Another possible step is to make it so that there is a special election, but until then there is a temporary appointed placeholder. Either way, this current system blows.

8) I am actually looking forward to seeing what kind of a Senator Burris is. I am kind of a geek.

9) Have a good day.

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2008 Awards in Film

I already posted this as a note on facebook so you may have read it already. I made a handful of changes for this version, including a few more awards.

Best Movies of 2008
These are my 8 favorite movies of 2008 (to hell with top ten lists), my favorite performances, the biggest disappointments and other miscellaneous awards.

Note: I wasn’t able to see the following movies as of January 15 which were supposed to be good and may have affected the final awards:
Wall E, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, Doubt, Rachael Getting Married, Gran Torino, Punisher: War Zone

8. W. (Oliver Stone)
This film is far from perfect, but it must be included for doing something I never thought was possible. It made me feel sympathy for George W. Bush. Yes, the same George W. Bush that stole an election, shoved two wars down our throats, outed Valerie Plame, patted Brownie on the back for a job well done, and a handful of other misdemeanors. W. shows how Bush was assailed all his life by people who didn’t think that he could live up to the family name. His quest for the presidency was nothing more than an attempt to prove to all these people, especially his parents, that he could do something with his life. Josh Brolin as Dubya and Elizabeth Banks as Laura give career performances. The rest of Bush's cabinet was hit and miss. Jeffery Wright was cool and collected as Colin Powell. Thandie Newton's Condi Rice made me want to stick a live grenade in my mouth to end the torture of her twitchy, nasally caricature. W. could have been a classic if Stone didn't rush this project into development.

7. Tropic Thunder (Ben Stiller)
Easily the funniest movie of 2008. Robert Downey Jr. playing an African American could have been hideously inappropriate but it worked really well. Instead, the movie was controversial for the “full retard” joke, which was actually pretty brilliant. Production values for this movie, with the massive explosions and shootouts were as good as actual war movies. The fake trailers at the beginning were priceless. Not the biggest fan of the Tom Cruise sequences, though.

6. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman)
I have no idea what this movie is about but I know that there was some great message to be found within all the insane things that happened. I need to watch it a few more times to digest everything. Otherwise, the acting is really good. Even though the main character is the ever-awesome Phillip Seymour Hoffman, all women in his life, including Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, and Catherine Keener, steal every scene. I can only recommend this movie to people who are fans of movies like Blue Velvet and Eternal Sunshine... that are trippy and confusing. This movie is really messed up, but probably a masterpiece.

5. Choke (Clark Gregg)
The most criminally underappreciated film of 2008. It received a lot of attention at Sundance but a weak opening and mixed reviews killed its chances of finding a wide audience. Sam Rockwell is hilariously twisted as a sex-addict who works at a historical re-enactment village and pretends to choke in fancy restaurants in order to exploit the Good Samaritans who rush to his aid. But that’s not what the movie focuses on. The movie is really about the relationship between Rockwell and his mother (Anjelica Huston, mamma Tenenbaum). The sex and choking are just quirks of the main character. Choke is based off a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, so expect a lot of Fight Club-esqe dark humor. Plus, it has the semen of Jesus Christ, which is always nice.

4. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan)
I have nothing else to add to the discussion. Everyone knows why this is good. My only complaint is that the movie wasn’t longer. I wanted Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face to take more time. He turned from a saint to a psychopath to quickly for me.

3. Milk (Gus Van Sant)
The fact that Prop 8 passed makes this movie even more relevant. As much as it’s about the political rise of Harvey Milk, it’s about the crusade for homosexuals to achieve equal rights. They still don’t, because of bitches like Anita Bryant, even after the all the progress made by Milk in the 70’s. Sean Penn is so good, it’s one of those times when you forget that he’s an actor and not Milk himself. The film is shot like a documentary, cutting back and forth between actual footage and what was recreated. All the supporting actors are good, with Emile Hirsch and James Franco. Josh Brolin dominated his bit role as Dan White, the conservative rival of Harvey Milk, especially during his drunken tirade. Watch Milk. Be moved. Overturn Prop 8.

2. In Bruges (Martin McDonagh)
That’s right, In Bruges is #2. I've been trying to champion this film ever since I saw it at the Michigan Theater in March. I laughed, I cried, I fell out of my seat when Colin Farrell karate-chopped the dwarf. Farrell is at his best as an emotionally devastated, yet hysterically cynical hitman. He has great chemistry with his patient, wise partner played by Brendan Glesson (Mad-Eye Moody). The best part about the film is the complexity of each character, even the “villain” played by Ralph Fiennes. Everyone does good and bad things, so you find yourself loving and hating them at the same time. The film is has layers of subtext and metaphors and all that, so watch it a few times to pick up on everything.



1. Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)
Bollywood movies are awesome. Yeah, they’re unrealistic and melodramatic but I grew up with them so they hold a special place in my heart. Slumdog Millionaire is a typical Bollywood film, but this time it’s placed in the hands of an auteur. It’s kind of bizarre how well this movie worked, especially for me. Danny Boyle was already my favorite film director from his work in Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. A.R. Rahman is my favorite singer/composer from his decades of Bollywood music. Them working together only existed in my dreams before this. The cinematography and editing is frenetic and exciting. “O Saya” blasting in the background as a group of boys outrun the police in the slums of Bombay is pure cinematic magic. Acting is decent but the actors are young. It’s nice to see actors from my childhood like Anil Kapoor and Saurab Shukla in a movie like this. Slumdog combines the style of Pulp Fiction with the genuine good feelingness of The Shawshank Redemption. Fact: This is the best film I have ever seen.

Best Actor:
Sean Penn, Milk
(Runner Up) Josh Brolin, W.

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
*Embarrassingly, I haven’t had the chance to see the better female performances of 2008 like Anne Hathaway in Rachael Getting Married, Meryl Streep in Doubt, either of Kate Winslet’s movies, among others. I’ll fix this for 2009.

Best Director:
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
What other director can you think of that made a kick-ass zombie movie( 28 Days Later), next made a pleasant kid's movie (Milions), then directed an intense, beautiful sci-fi thriller ( Sunshine ) and followed that with a Bollywood movie? Danny Boyle is a mad man. What's next, a revenge drama about an undercover African soldier infiltrating the Janjaweed, only to be revealed as a time-traveling vampire? Knowing Boyle, that movie would own.
(Runner Up) Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
* I feel bad for Christopher Nolan. Because his work was sweet.

Best Supporting Actor:
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Yeah yeah you know why. RIP.
(Runner Up) Josh Brolin in Milk
*no, I do not have a man crush on Josh Brolin. He’s just a good actor this year

Best Supporting Actress:
Michelle Williams, Synecdoche, New York
(Runner Up) Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Biggest Disappointments:
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
It was entertaining enough for me to enjoy it three times, but it could have been SO much better. More action with real stunts, none of this green screen nonsense. Less Shia swinging with monkeys.

2. Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers follow up the American classic No Country for Old Men with this crap. Terrible things happen to all of the characters, like in all their films, but at least No Country… wasn’t trying to pass off as a comedy. John Malkovich needs to realize that shouting all the time isn’t funny. After this and Leatherheads , George Clooney needs to stop doing comedy.

3. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
It’s not a bad film at all. The cinematography and all that technical stuff was first class. But when you team up David Fincher and Brad Pitt, you except something like their previous two masterpieces, Fight Club and Seven. Benjamin Button was way too long and didn’t have enough exciting sequences. Sure that sounds whiny, but when I see a three-hour long film I want hardcore, face-melting action sequences like in Return of the King.
* It’s not Brad Pitt’s fault. He was really good in both movies, but the overall products weren’t that great

Best Quote:
“There’s nothing I like better than kicking your ass. Except maybe eggs”
~ The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), The Spirit

Real Best Quote:
“Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn't, so it doesn't.”
~Ray, In Bruges

Best Quote From a Movie That Applies to the 2008 Presidential Election:
"I am not a candidate, I am part of a movement. The movement is the candidate."
~Harvey Milk, Milk

Best Scene:
*MILD SPOILER*
Slumdog Millionaire: Jamal dives into a pool of human excrement and swims through it to get a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan. While disgusting, this perfectly embodies India’s adoration of film stars. Jamal’s pure joy after receiving the autograph is something we all hope to feel one day.



Best Mamma Mia Song and Dance Sequence
Does Your Mother Know? Word.



The Will Smith Award for Ok Movies With Awful Third Acts:
Hancock
(Seven Pounds was awful throughout)
*This award was started after 2007’s I Am Legend, which actually pretty awesome for most of the movie except for the ending, which was so bad that it made the whole movie worse.
Hancock was really funny when Will Smith was an asshole. It was also pretty solid for the action sequence in the bank and the dialogue with his PR guy (It’s nice to see Jason Bateman in roles like this). The twist was surprising and well done. Everything after that, especially the boring-as-hell climax in the hospital, sucked. I wanted a smackdown with some super-powered villain that would tear up downtown L.A.

The New Trend:
There has been a resurgence of movies shot from the perspective of hand-held cameras (which tends to give Xin Xu headaches). First seen in The Blair Witch Project, it returned in January’s Cloverfield, followed in Diary of the Dead and Quarantine. All were hits and this technique is going to be bled dry in the coming years.

Signs That the Superbad Backlash has Begun:
1) Star Michael Cera’s new teen comedy Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist grossed a meager $31 million dollars. Superbad made $121 million. That’s a big difference.
2) Zack and Miri Make A Porno also grossed $31 million, and that was with the Kevin Smith fanbase already in place. I guess the title drove people away.
3) Pineapple Express did a bit better with $87 million overall, with Paper Planes and some surprisingly intense action sequences. But it was nowhere near Seth Rogen’s last lead role in Knocked Up, which had $148 million.
4) Role Models had McLovin and it grossed a fairly solid $66 million.

Is the end of the Seth Rogen-Judd Apatow era already coming? We’ll see in 2009’s Year One, Funny People, and Observe and Report.

The Requiem for a Dream Award for “Why Would You Make A Movie This Depressing?”
The Boy With the Striped Pajamas. Children. Innocence. Holocaust. Tears.

Thanks for reading. Please post comments/observations if you feel like it.

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Obama's Stimulus Plan

Obama is a smart man.

Many people have heard about Obama’s stimulus recovery plan. There are two basic tenets to the plan: (1) the liberal approach – government spends, spends, spends, and (2) the conservative approach – tax cuts. While this is an extremely condensed version, it is fairly accurate.

Obama’s stimulus plan included 300 billion dollars in tax cuts, even though his economic team came out with a report showing that tax cuts are only two-thirds as effective in creating growth as increased spending is. While he had more money going towards spending, it isn’t as much more as one would expect. Why is this?

Over the last couple weeks there has been some public outbursts about his plan. Where did these come from? Republicans? No, but instead they came from Democrats. Mitch McConnell (the Republican Senate Minority Leader) didn’t make a peep. Instead, John Kerry and other Democrats demanded increased spending, especially on “green industry.”

Obama then met with Senate Democrats and agreed to their wishes, giving the appearance of working with the Senate, while improving his plan and still keeping Republicans content with the 300 billion dollars in tax cuts.

This is smart for four reasons:

1) Obama isn't going it alone. People love checks and balances.

2) It will pass through the Senate, I think, fairly easily.

3) If it doesn't pass for some reason, people will blame the Senate.

4) If it passes and then fails when it is implemented, Obama isn't solely responsable.

Have a good day.

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