Those Crazy Academy Award Nominations--A Rant

The Academy Award nominations were announced this morning and I have a few thoughts on them.  Here they are.

This is the second year that there were 10, count them, 10 nominees for Best Picture.  All the other categories have five or less nominees, but in an obvious ploy to get more people to see more movies, they have 10 nominees for this category.  I think I saw maybe two movies in the theater last year.  I did see True Grit recently and I again swore I would never go to another in a movie theater.  People just do not understand they are in a public place and not their living rooms.

In this instance, Shane and I got to the theater early so that I could claim my favorite seat--back row center.  It prevents me hearing people behind me chit chatting or whatever.  Anyway, even though we were among the first ones in the theater, it filled up enough so that someone ended up sitting right next to me.  This lady constantly popped her gum and occasionally talked to movie.  It drove me crazy.  I would have said something, but her gentleman friend looked like he could have possibly been a professional football player.  I didn't think it was worth a brouhaha.  Anyway, my point is that I will not be going to the movies to see the other nine films nominated against True Grit.

The other movie I saw from last year was Harry Potter.  Poor Harry has never been an Oscar darling, but he did manage to wrangle two nominations this year--Visual Effects and Art Direction.  Luckily, Harry does just fine without the Oscar buzz other films seem to need.

My favorite thing about the nominations is how, out of all the movies released in the year, the technical awards also seem to also go to the films that end up being the best picture even when it doesn't make any sense.  For instance, True Grit got nominated for Costume Design.  Costume Design?  It was a western! The costumes were barely designed.  I liked the film very much and the costumes seemed very appropriate, but the best of any picture for the whole year?  That seems odd to me.

Also, I would like someone to explain to me the difference between sound editing and sound mixing.  How is it that some films were nominated in one of those categories and not the other?  You would think they would be dependent on each other.  Also, is there someone out there that is convinced to see a film based on these nominations?  "I wasn't very interested in Salt, but I see it got a sound mixing nomination, so perhaps I will see what all the buzz is about."

My only complaint about the nominations is that Matt Damon did not get included in Best Supporting Actor for True Grit.  He should get a special award for schooling Glen Campbell on how the role should have been played.  Campbell in the original version was so bad, that he nearly ruined the movie.  I know Campbell is not an actor and he just got the role because he bought the ladies into the theaters, but my God he was bad.  Damon wasn't anything more than adequate in the role, but when you compare it to how it was played previously, it was quite an accomplishment.

I used to be very into the Oscars, but lately I can't seem to be that interested in them.  Why do I care what films when awards?  It doesn't really affect my life.  I get an occasional award for working in the Government, but millions of people don't want to watch my performance appraisal.  I probably would work harder if it was televised.  I would dress better.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #273

We're going to need a bigger snow thrower. 

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #273.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

A More Practical Purchase--It's a Maytag!

We decided against buying the art we were considering yesterday.  We were more practical since the washer we have here in Florida has a major problem.  When you wash stuff, it can leave oil stains that weren't there when we put it in the washer.  That makes in not a washer, but a dirtier.  Anyway, I read up on the problem and there seemed to be any number of things that could cause the problem.  So we decided it would be easiest to just get rid of the problem and buy a new washer.  So, instead of the lovely painting of irises we were considering, we're getting the above Maytag washer from the Home Depot.  Problem solved!  It will be delivered in a couple weeks.  The Home Depot will install the new washer and take away the washer that dirties.  

Don't Try This at Home (Or On Your Home)

Irises In Window

It is a chilly, windy day in Florida. I flew down this morning and
Shane met me at the airport. He had been traveling on business in
Atlanta this week, but flew down to Florida Thursday night. Since the
weather was icky, we traveled north to Sarasota to look at some
galleries. We are thinking about this painting we found by Karin
Riccardi. We're on the fence.

Knowing When to Leave from Promises Promises

Shane and I saw this show last August on Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes.  Shane actually saw it twice.  He saw it with my sister in September.  He really liked it. This is the best song from the show.  This is a homemade vid someone made with personal pictures and the song from the soundtrack.  It was a great show, but it has closed, so too late for you.  You can still buy the soundtrack though.  I love the Burt Bacharach songs!

Interestingly, at the end of the video, there are related videos listed, and one is another version of this song sung by Betty Buckley.   Very cool to contrast and compare them.

British Animal Voiceovers Viral Video

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #272

On the bright side, at least they weren't triplets.

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #272.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

Where In the World Is Shane?

Shane is on travel for work this week and this is a picture he took outside his hotel room.  Be the first to guess what city he is in or near, and you win a brand new car*!  Since this might be a tough one base the fact his hotel isn't realy close to the cityscape, here's another shot out anotuer window of his hotel below.  Good Luck!

*The stated prize of a new car may be substituted for another prize or no prize at all. 

Tweet of the Day--Crutnacker

Sarah Palin has issued a statement offering condolences to Sargent Shriver's family and praising his work on Gomer Pyle USMC. -- @crutnacker

Skating to Work 2 Hours Late

Sleet and freezing rain fell over DC last night, leaving a coat of
ice. The result was that the Federal Government opened 2 hours late.
Even with the delay, the sidewalks in DC were still quite icy this
morning. This is the walk near Eastern Market Metro Station at 8th
and Pennsylvania. I, fortunately, did not fall and break a hip.

Viral Video of Kid Doing "I'm Yours" on the Ukulele

I know this has been around for a while, but I am a bit slow about these things.  Isn't this the cutest thing without cats on the web?

Allison Road by the Gin Blossoms--Songs to Run To

The week before Christmas, we were in New York City and we happened upon a free concert the Gin Blossoms were taping on the a plaza outside NYC Fox News headquarters for a New Year's Eve show.  I love the Gin Blossoms, but hate Fox News, so I was conflicted.  This song is one of my favorites to run to. I was listening to it today as I ran 5 miles at the gym.

I hadn't run since Wednesday, which was the last day of my 10-day streak.  I weighed myself at the gym just after I ran last week and saw that I had gained 2 more pounds.  Granted, I have been eating horribly, but I thought running everyday would negate all the calories.  Wrong.  Anyway, I ran again today finally.

Below is a picture of the Gin Blossoms from last month in NYC.  We recorded the Fox News New Year's Eve show, since we were in Florida without cable when it actually aired.  You could see glimpses of Shane and I in the crowd.  Who would have thought we would ever be on Fox News?  Not me.

Three Pairs of Shoes for $68--Total!

On my way home from my mom's today, I stopped at some outlet stores at
Perryville, MD. They were having a sale--buy a pair of shoes and get
two pairs free. I needed some black shoes, so I bought two pairs of
black and one pair brown. They are all the same style. The retail
price for each pair was $109. They were also discounted and I had a
$5 coupon. My total was just under $68. I LOVE a good bargain!!!

A Blast from the Past

I came to visit my mom today and she had dug up this photo that we had professionally taken of my grandparent's grandchildren at the time.  This was taken around 1976, when leisure suits were high fashion--in my world at least.  I'm on the left side in the blue suit.  My mouth is closed to hide my braces.  I am 15 years old.  Next to me is my brother, Gary, and on the other side of him is my sister, Kathleen.  Everyone else is a cousin.   There are 26 offspring from the people above.

My brother, Gary, saw this photo had been published in a local magazine.  They were looking to figure out who the people were.  The picture was found among the collection of the photographer, who had died.  My mom went to the publication and identified all the people--her children and nieces and nephews--and they gave her a copy of the photo.  They took a photo of her identifying it and were waiting to see if they publish it in the next issue.

Tweets of the Day -- Crutnacker's Bad Restaurants

Nathan Lane's Hot Dogs #badrestaurants


Bob's Big Boil #badrestaurants


Waffle Hovel #badrestaurants


Westboro Baptist Church's Chicken #badrestaurants


Hairy Queen #badrestaurants


Manson Family Restaurants #badrestaurants


Benihaha's #badrestaurants


Howard's Johnson #badrestaurants


PF Chunks #badrestaurants


Jersey Shore Crab Shack #badrestaurants


Marie Choleras #badrestaurants

--@crutnacker

Bigredshark Richard Mallon 

 by crutnacker

Tavern on The Soylent Green #badrestaurants

Tweet of the Day -- The Cajun Boy

Brett Favre's sister arrested in meth lab bust. Suddenly, texting penis pics doesn't seem like such a stain on the family honor. -- @thecajunboy

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #271

Do not covet your neighbor's duck?

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #271.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! 

Refinance Nightmare Par for the Course

We went to closing to refinance our house today.  I wish I could say it went well, but whenever we go to any type of closing it rarely goes smoothly.

We got a really good rate for a 20 year refi, 4.125 percent fixed for 20 years, down from the 6 percent fixed rate we got 8 years ago for 30 years.  Also, we're saving 2 years of financing.  We have really good credit ratings and equity in the house.  You'd think this would be smooth sailing, huh?

Our first indication that this was going to be bad was we got a phone call on the way to the closing from the title company letting us know that we needed money for closing.  What?  We were on the way and that's when they thought it was a good time to bring it up?  I was told the only out-of-pocket expense would be the home appraisal, which I paid weeks ago.  Then, on the way they tell us we are going to need more than $3,000!  It didn't really seem like this refinance was actually going to happen.

Anyway, we arrived at the credit union anyway, and after lots of back and forth, redoing the paperwork and a lunch break, we finally did get the papers signed without the out-of-pocket expenses.

We've had worse closings.  When we bought a house in Maryland once, the owner hadn't finished moving out and threatened to not sell.  We had all of our furniture on a truck ready to move in.  That was stressful.

Sunday Dinner -- Popovers Pop

We went over to our friend, Elaine's, last night to finally celebrate Christmas with her.  One of the gifts she gave me was a popover pan.  I put it to good use today and made these wonderful, if I do say so myself, popovers.  They would give Jordon's Pond House, a restaurant in Acadia National Park (Maine), a run for their money.  I found the recipe online and it was amazingly simple.  Two eggs, a cup of flour and a cup of milk lightly beaten and they turned into the above.  Soaking them in butter and raspberry jam also helped.  Yummmmm!

Dog Whisperer Shane and Patient

Our friend Elaine's Yorkie, Winston, is a bit high strung with visitors--except he seems to love us! Shane works with him to ease his stress.

Tweet of the Day -- Kathy Griffin

Watching the news? Congresswoman in AZ, who is ON Sarah Palin's crosshairs map was SHOT in the head 2day. Happy now Sarah?  -- @kathygriffin










Here is the map to which she is referring:

The Beginning of a New Streak?

I ran everyday this week--5 days in a row of running 3 miles.  I actually ran 4 miles on Wednesday.  Last year I ran a minimum of 3 miles a day for 25 days in a row--my longest streak ever.  How long will this one last?

Time for Chiristmas to Be Over

A neighbor is still decorated. I say that Christmas should be over,
but we're going to our friend, Elaine's, tomorrow to exchange gifts.

Less Ambitious Books -- My Top 10 List

Greg from A Life in the Day blog got me started on this when I saw him do one on the Twitter Machine.  The idea is to come up with the title of a book that is less ambitious than the original.  I don't know... I think I might rather read the less ambitious versions.

1. The Five People You Meet in Cleveland
2. Interview with an Umpire
3. Bridget Jones's Diarrhea
4. The Wit and Wisdom of Sarah Palin (Sorry, that is for the short book list)
5. A Farewell to Hands
6. To Slap a Mockingbird 
7. Scents and Sensibility 
8. Gone with the Breeze
9. The World According to Carp 
10. The Girl with the Butterfly Tattoo  

Tweet of the Day -- Sticker of da Week

Repubs will read the Constitution on the House floor, because some of the new members really need things read aloud to them.  -- @stickerofdaweek

Miss New York Supports Beauty of Equality

Vote for her here!!!

Maude On Her Altar

Maude loves to lay on the pillows of our bed, especially when we are laying in bed.  Shane often looks like he is wearing a cat hat.  Maude also likes to lick the tops of our heads.  That takes some getting used to.

Tweet of the Day -- The Cajun Boy

Massage therapists sue Brett Favre for sexual harassment. It's just a hunch, but a lawsuit probably isn't the "happy ending" he was seeking. --@TheCajunBoy

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #270

Why the hell does the color of my parachute matter?

This is my submission for the the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #270.  Let me know if you come up with a caption too! Does anyone actually get this joke?  Trust me, if you did, it would be hilarious (or at least slightly humorous).

Just Bought Tickets for Angels in America in NYC

Angels In America - Signature Theatre Trailer from Signature Theatre Company on Vimeo.

We are going to see both parts, all 7 hours, on Saturday, March 26, in New York City. Can't wait.

Tweet of the Day -- SteveOnBroadway

I just asked noisy girls outside my hotel room to please be quiet. One said, "But it's New Year's Eve" I said, "Honey, that was last night." --@SteveOnBroadway

Riding in a Car with a Boy

Shane and I are driving home to DC today from Florida. It is about a
quarter past one and we're about halfway. We left at 6 am. Needless
to say, we didn't stay up last night. We're hoping to get home to
Maude around 9. The weather has been good, but it is starting to
sprinkle.

To kill time, we've been listening to Patti LuPone's autobiography.
She isn't afraid to insult people. She isn't much of a fan of Andrew
Lloyd Webber or the guy who played her husband on Life Goes On. It
kills time.

In the photo, I'm giving the evil eye to a pokey driver who we are
passing on the right cause the are clogging up the left lane. As you
can see, I'm traveling stylishly in my green cashmere sweater. So
far, Shane has driven the whole way, though I have offered to drive.
He'll want me to drive later, when it's dark, rainy, and I'm tired.
Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

We are starting our drive back to DC today.  Nothing like starting the new year off cooped up in the car for hours on end.  Woo Hoo!  Bye Bye sunny Florida.  We'll be back.

Since I'll be riding in the car for hours, I suspect there will be many posts from the road.  Also, I love to play on the Twitter machine--follow "Bluespongerun" or see my posts in the sidebar here.

Tweet of the Day--John Fugelsang

Um, Barnes & Noble? If you look at the facts you'll see that Sarah Palin's book is a bit more than just '40% Off.'. -- @JohnFugelsang

Finally at the Beach

We arrived in Florida on Sunday, but today, our last full day in
Florida, is the first day nice enough to go to the beach. It has been
chilly and downright cold--below freezing cold, but it is in the 70s
today. Lots of people at the beach today too. Haven't seen anyone
swimming. Water temperture is just above ice.

Most people are shelling. You'd think these shells were filled with
gold the way people are searching. You can buy a big bag of nice
shells for $3. I guess it's not the same. There are lots of shells
here. Shane and I are not shelling. Just relaxing before our big
drive back, which we don't want to think about.

New Year's Resolutions for 2011

Even though I am not that good at achieving my resolutions (see yesterday's post), I still make them.  Here's my goals for 2011.  Along with the usual of eating better, exercising more, and reading a million books, here are my main goals for 2011.

1.  Run a marathon in less than 4 hours.  One of my goals in life is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  The fastest I've ever completed a marathon is just over 4 hours and 20 minutes.  At my age, in order to qualify for Boston I would have to run a marathon in 3 hours and 35 minutes.  I know that is not possible at the moment, but my goal for the year is to run a marathon in less than 4 hours.  Baby steps.

2.  Post a post on my website everyday.  Everyday.

3.  Get my Qrank on with the 365 day award and to score over 10,000.  Yes, I know what is important. @Qrank.

There are just the three this year.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Tweet of the Day - Mo Rocca

Extreme Couponing on TLC is my mother's version of porn -- @MoRocca

New Year's Resolutions Recap for 2010

There were seven goals for self-improvement I posted on December 31, 2009 to achieve in 2010.  This is a recap of how I did.

1. Decide whether to say "Two Thousand Ten" or Twenty Ten." I'm sort of leaning toward Twenty Ten.  -- I achieved this one.  I say Two Thousand Ten.

2. Read 30 Books.  - FAIL -- I don't know how many books I read this year, but it was far short of 30.  

3. Run to Florida -- Not an actual run to FL, but running the distance to Punta Gorda, FL, from DC (about 1,000 miles).  - FAIL -- Actually, I did run about 750 miles during the year, which puts me well into Florida, but still about 250 miles away from Punta Gorda.  I got a cold during Thanksgiving and haven't been running regularly since.

4. Weigh less than 165 lbs.  - FAIL -- I was in the low 170s prior to Thanksgiving, but I've fallen off the exercise wagon and been eating badly. I was 184 last I checked.  

5. Run two marathons.  - FAIL -- I did run two 10-Milers this year, but no marathons.

6. Get more than 100 Followers on my blog. - FAIL -- Still at less than 100 followers.  I started the year with 10 followers and have 91 at last check.

7. Save money. - FAIL -- I've have saved some, but not nearly enough.


If you are keeping track, the only one I actually achieved during the year is #1, which was hard to not achieve.  Oh well, there is always next year.

Our Morning View - Pelican On the Dock Pole

The new camera has a nice zoom.  This is through the window.  

Florida Sunset from Our Lanai

Taken with my new camera I got for Christmas from Shane's mom and stepdad.  Thanks Sharon and Jerry!

Christmas Dinner at the Waffle House in GA

Riding to Florida on Christmas

We're in NC. I'm wearing the new sweater my mom gave me this morning.
Love it!! Thanks mom!

Christmas On the Road

We had planned to go Florida tomorrow by driving 5 hours south to
Greensboro, NC, flying on cheapo Allegiant Airlines directly to Punta
Gorda, FL. Mother Nature had her own idea. Greensboro is predicted
to get 6-10 inches of snow by tomorrow. We decided not to chance
driving out if our way to Greensboro just to find a canceled flight.
We left this morning right after opening presents. We're missing
Christmas dinner, but we spent last night and this morning with my
mom, sister, and her girls.

At 2 today we're just north of Richmond and hope to make it to
Georgia, and miss the worst of the weather. We did stop in and checked
on Maude very quickly. She got a turkey and gravy dinner, which is
more than we got. We are munching on a bunch of cookies my mom made.
Mmmmm!

The Reason for the Season

Some of the Walton's Homecoming Reposted

I posted this last year, but here it is again.  This is one of our favorite Christmas shows that we watch each year at Christmas.  This predates the TV series and the cast is a bit different.  Patricia Neal is amazing as Olivia Walton.  It might be that she reminds me of my grandmother, but I love her.  Richard Thomas still plays John Boy -- in fact all the kids are the same as the series cast, but only Ellen Corby, who plays the grandmother, did the series of the family adults.

Shane and I use many of the lines from this show in much of our everyday conversation.  For example, if one of us suggests we should buy something, the other person usually says, "That's the first thing I'm going to do once this Depression is over!"  (Olivia was referring to a getting a phone.)  "Favorite line:  What were you doing in your room John Boy with the door locked?"  I realize this is a long show, but it is worth it.

UPDATE: Some of the links no longer work, but you can still see parts of it.  Sorry.

A Christmas Song Dedicated to Shane and Me

Shane's step brother and his wife are a little bit insane in a fun way.  Trent is an amazing professional trumpet player and his wife, Laurie, also is very musical.  They collaborate on an album of holiday music each year, and this year they dedicated a song to Shane and me.  I had suggested they do a Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme duet, and they took that suggestion and ran with it.  They also redid the original album cover of the Steve and Eydie holiday album.  We almost wet ourselves with the result.  These guys are Hell airy ass!  It is so fun to listen to the other tracks with Laurie's attempts at playing trumpet and them cracking up.  Thanks Trent and Laurie!!!! Listen to their song dedicated to us below!  Also, download the whole album (this one is free) and other albums by Trent at http://trentaustin.bandcamp.com or click here.  Enjoy!

 

Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center

This was as close as we could get. The crowd was crushing and starting
to get a little scary. I'm not claustrophobic, but it was very
crowded. Very.

The Evening Show & After

We liked Time Stands Still much better than Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Seeing Laura Linney live was amazing. The whole cast was awesome. The subject matter was a bit depressing, but it was a good play. It was much better than that Bloody Bloody silliness.

We went out to a piano bar at Don't Tell Mama, which we had gone to the last time we were in the city. Before, it was a sparse crowd of die-hard theater lovers listening to show tunes. Tonight, there was a big crowd of loud, obnoxious straights talking over the music. It was so good before and so not good tonight. We're back in the room after a wonderful day despite some disapointments.

Getting ready for bed and hearing lots of car horns outside our window. Yikes!

Dinner at Wolfgang's

Dinner with Wolfgang

We had diiner at Wolfgang's Steakhouse in Midtown. They tricked us by having the lunch menu outside on display. We suffered sticker shock once we got inside, because the prices were substantially higher--Substantially. I had the salmon and Shane had a filet mignon. It was good though. Not sure if this restaurant is associated with Me. Puck. I saw no sign of him.

Free Concert by the Gin Blossoms

We happened upon a free concert by the Gin Blossoms, who were taping a segment for Fox News's New Year's Eve Show. We were right near the front and should be on camera, so look for us on December 31st on Fox News (I never ever thought I would write that sentence!). I wanted to give Shane a big kiss while on cam on Fox News, but he wouldn't go for it. The trio of bimbos...I mean reporters (2 blonds and a brunette--i didn't think they hired non-blond spokes models)introducing the band looked like vacant-eyed Miss America contestants. The Gin Blossoms sang Hey Jealousy and a couple other songs... Very cool. I'm not sure why the band would agree to appear on The evil Fox News, but they did talk about their recent trip to Iraq and how happy they were that things were winding down over there. That probably will get cut though, since it is outside the Fox News talking points.

Our Next Show: Time Stands Still

We're seeing a regular play--a non-musical with Laura Linney and
Christina Ricci... Time Stands Still.