Oscar Followup

Ok, I should have gone with my gut picks. Million Dollar Baby and Eastwood's Director award were misses. I just thought Hollywood would go with the big flick.
Otherwise I didn't do badly. I missed the adapted screenplay. I got Swank, Foxx, Blanchett, and Freedman. I nailed the animated feature. I still don't remember any of the songs.

6 for 9.

Oscar Picks

I’m going to attempt some Oscar picks before tonight’s ceremony. I should note that I haven’t seen all the nominees. But I have seen a few programs highlighting performances, etc. And, of course, it means nothing.

Best Picture
The Aviator
(I really came close to selecting Million Dollar Baby, but I went for the spectacular Hollywood film.)

Director
Martin Scorsese
(Another tough one. Eastwood may very well win.)

Actress
Hillary Swank

Actor
Jaime Foxx
(A slam dunk)

Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett
(Although Virginia Madsen looked really good in a clip I saw.)

Supporting Actor
Morgan Freeman

Original Screenplay
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Adapted Screenplay
Million Dollar Baby

Original Song
I don’t remember any of them!

Animated Feature
The Incredibles

Those are my (sometimes reluctant) picks. We’ll see tonight how I did.

Fantasy Baseball

I've played Fantasy Baseball since the mid 80's. For the last 14 years or so I've been playing Baseball Manager. To me the daily results are a little more interesting than pure rotisserie leagues. I started the Mantle League in BBM. I've yet to win it. I did win the Yogi AL on Compuserve once. It was my proudest fantasy baseball moment. I played with some remarkable players. A few I even met personally. But it adds a dimension to baseball that wouldn't be there otherwise.
If you think you'd like to try it, let me know.

Movie Review: Ray

The thing I liked the best about “Ray” was the music. Coming a close second was the performance by Jamie Foxx. Foxx just makes us believe we’re watching Ray Charles and not an actor playing Ray Charles. His moves and mannerisms are down pat. The third good thing about “Ray” is a good supporting cast.
The plot of the biographical movie is a little too pat. Ray’s brother’s accidental death is featured and we’re to believe this was the foundation for drug addiction and infidelities. The story of his music was fascinating. The blend of gospel with the lust of R&B gave Charles his uniqueness. Most interesting was the problems many in audience had with using “the Lord’s music” in such a way. It made me wonder how something similar would go over in today’s society.
I do give credit to the film for showing some of the dark sides of Ray Charles. However the tie up at the end suggests the singer became clean, sober, and faithful for the remainder of his life. While he never took heroin again I believe he still drank and had a few other vices until his death. He divorced his wife in 1976.
Ray’s music and Jaime Foxx’s performance are the stars of this film. I would imagine some day there will be a good book written about his life.
The film gets a B.
The music an A plus

Quotes - "Crisis point"

I thought I'd share this quote from Bartcop:

"In 2018, Social Security will begin paying out more money than it takes in. This is what
Dennis Hastert calls the “crisis point.” But the entire federal government is paying out
more money than it takes in right now. Indeed this has been the case for four years, thanks
to GOP tax-and-spending policies, and it will continue. Why is it that a modest deficit in
Social Security that won’t begin for over a decade requires immediate radical action,
while a vastly greater overall federal deficit occurring right now doesn’t?"
--Paul Glastris

Travel: Seats

I just returned from a trip to North Carolina via air. Do you think the airlines can include an inch or so of cushion in their seats?

On the Tube Tonight

My wife's quote: "I'm glad we got to see The Village tonight ("M. Night Shyamalan's The Village") rather than the village idiot."