Golden Globe Predictions

I will be live tweeting the Globes.  Follow me @midwestsmartass on Twitter.

The Globes are a weird beast.  For the amount of influence they have, there are really less than 90 people who decide.  So, they tend to be a little more out there in their choices.  I usually do OK on choices with the movies, but TV tends to be batshit crazy.  Below you will see the choices I made for a contest on Awards Daily.  I do NOT endorse them as an example of my prognostication abilities.

Drama - Argo
Comedy/Musical - Les Mis
Director - Ben Affleck
Actor-D - Daniel Day-Lewis
Actress-D - Naomi Watts
Actor-C - Hugh Jackman
Actress-C - Jennifer Lawrence
Sup Actor - Leonardo DiCaprio
Sup Actress - Sally Field
Screenplay - Lincoln
Animated - Brave
Foreign - Amour
Score - Cloud Atlas
Song - Skyfall

TV - These are always pretty wacky.

Drama - Downton Abbey
Comedy/Musical - Smash (Pia Isadora Memorial Pick)
Actor-D - Bryan Cranston
Actress-D - Michelle Dockery
Actor-C - Don Cheadle
Actress-C - Lena Dunham
Mini - Hatfield & McCoys
Actor - Benedict Cumberpatch
Actress - Sigourney Weaver
Sup Actor - Mandy Patinkin
Sup Actress - Hayden Panettiere (They Love Their Young Ingenues)

Thursday, December 4th - Musings of a Scattered Mind

No strict narrative today, mainly because Wednesday was a wallow day for me. So, on to the musings:

• The Grammy Nominations: While I didn't watch the nominations concert, I have to give the Grammy's kudos for shaking up the process. Though I do have to say, in my world, Lil Wayne did NOT just get 8 nominations. Seriously? I was happy to see Jennifer Hudson get a few nominations in R & B, and I hope maybe she'll be able to perform at the show in February. It was also cool that Adele got some nominations, even though she has had little to no airplay in the US. Of the top categories, I would say the Robert Plant/Alison Krausse collaboration sticks out the most, but from what I have heard, it is at least deserving of the recognition, unlike some left field nominations the Academy has handed out in the past. I still can't believe there at 110 categories. I know music is varied and everyone has their own tastes, but things like Best Polka, well...ahem. Plus, technical stuff like Best Surround Sound? I dunno, that seems more appropriate for a sound mixers guild or something. Ah well, I suppose everyone deserves their recognition. Oh, and to anyone who watches Kathy Griffin's Life on the D List. She got her Grammy nomination!
  
• "To Change Washington is to Know Washington": I wrote this back on January 4th in the aftermath of Obama beating Hillary in the Iowa Caucus, and while I was writing in a hypercritical way against Obama, I am happy to say that my words are now proving prophetic in the choices Obama is making for his cabinet. Of course, the progressives out there and the change mongers who ate up the Obama rhetoric like junkies looking for a fix are now wondering if an administration full of those hated Clintonistas is really "change they can believe in." I don't think some of them would be happy unless Obama scoured grad schools and liberal think tanks as the only source of brain power to populate his administration. The fact is this: you simply cannot give a gigantic bureaucracy over to someone who has never worked in Washington. I wish I could shake these crazy people who think that Obama is abandoning them by choosing people who are actually qualified for their jobs. If anything, Obama is dispelling most of the doubts I had about him, simply by filling the vast gaps that he has on his resume with people who actually know what they are doing. It's asinine to think that he wouldn't look at veterans of the Clinton administration. Clinton didn't have the luxury of a recent presidency to find experienced people, and it was much to his detriment at the beginning of his term. Anyway, I am happy with almost all of Obama's pics (sans Tom Daschle), and all those people who think chanting "Yes We Can" gives them some sort of knowledge of Washington, really just need to shut up and trust the man they elected.
• My Blog Traffic: It has been interesting to see my traffic spike by even mentioning Twilight (Twilight, Twilight, Twilight lol). So, since I have been blogging for a good year and a half now, I have been looking closer at my traffic to see where it comes from and what brings people here. The funny thing is that my cyberstalking of weatherman, Jeff Renari, has caused the most traffic here. Granted, it was other people cyberstalking him that brought them here ("jeff renari" and "gay" being the top search words, but still). I thought it would be fun to post the world map for my traffic:
  Obviously, I have some holes here. I'm not expecting much from the interior of Africa or Greenland, but come on Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Iraq, Nepal and Mongolia! Help me out! :)
  
  

Monday, July 21st - The Dark Oscar, or How Batman Could Save This Year's Oscars

It seems apropos that I'm writing about the Oscar's today, because I totally missed my Blogoversary, and what I did on the web before I started this blog was run a semi-successful awards show website that followed all of the shows out there, with much more emphasis on the Oscars, just because I loved them and there is a much more mature system in place to follow them (i.e. it starts with the critic awards, moves to the professional/guild awards, and they all influence the Oscars).

Last year though, I just started getting tired of it.  My yearly Oscar Party was still a lot of fun, mainly because it was always a good time to get my friends together, and while I still enjoyed the politics and star power of it all, I was really unmotivated to even see most of the movies that would end up getting Best Picture nominations.  Sure, just from being so close to the buzz, I was still the master of the Oscar prediction, but 9 times out of 10, I hadn't even seen the movie.  So, I decided it was time to shut down the site, and thus, here I am blogging.

Now, you're probably wondering why I am bringing this up.  Well, one of the reasons that I lost interest and the Oscars have been losing viewers on a yearly basis is that the intersection of art and commerce hasn't really intersected since Titanic in 1997.  Heck, I think Chicago was probably the last movie to win Best Picture AND make more than $100 million at the domestic box office, and since so few people are invested in the nominees, the interest and viewership has declined precipitously.  I think that could change this year, because this is the year of The Dark Knight.

I'm not going to do a full blown review because frankly enough compliments have been spilled about this magnificent movie, but if you haven't seen it, believe the hype (and for gods sake, see it on an IMAX screen).  This is probably the most mature movie about a guy running around in a costume ever put on film, and everything from the writing and direction to acting and special effect is absolutely top notch.  We're talking Godfather, Part 2 good.  Silence of the Lambs good. Forrest Gump good (wait, I hated that movie and it is NOT good). If this is not a contender for Best Picture (especially in a year that has seen so few up until now), then the members of the Academy need to get their heads examined, and by giving it the accolades that it deserves, they can single-handedly make sure that the American public is invested in the Oscars next year.

Of course, I would be remiss to not talk about Heath Ledger.  Frankly, I've never been impressed with the guy as an actor, even in Brokeback Mountain.  Yes, he was good, but I am sure there were a host of younger actors out there who could have done just as well if not better than him.  When he died, while I recognized the tragedy of it all, I can't say I was beside myself with grief.  Well, after seeing him as The Joker, I finally see what we have lost.  We really have lost someone who could have been as good as Brando, and the fact remains that even if he had not died, he would have won the Oscar next year.  Now, it is just a fait accompli.  As someone who considers himself pretty good with Oscar knowledge, I can tell you that Oscar voters love nothing more than to reward an old actor for their body of work if they manage to be nominated late in life.  In most cases, it is not deserved for the role they currently portrayed.  In this instance, the Academy will be honoring Ledger for the career that would have been, and I do not think there will be anyone in this world who can say he doesn't deserve it.

Okay, Academy.  You're on notice.  I'm ready to resurrect my Oscar party, but I cannot do it if all you nominate are movies that make $10 million at the box office.   I understand the elite out there say it should be about the art, and I agree with them to an extent.  However, when a movie like The Dark Knight comes along, that is not only exceptional and at the very top of the celluloid art form, it should not be relegated to the ghetto of the special effects awards.  This is the real deal.  Don't mess it up!

Monday, February 11th - Tina!

I am working from home today trying to get rid of the last vestiges of my cold, but I just want to give a shout out to 68 year old Tina Turner for making the Grammy's interesting for at least 5 minutes.

Sure, she's not moving quite as well as she used to, and I probably would have not have chosen the silver outfit. Regardless, she rocked the night! She even made Beyonce seem relevant and less annoying!

Of course, to add even more gay, Cher was the one to introduce them. I'm not sure what kind of dress that was, but she looked like she couldn't move. I texted Blanche and said, "The only way the night could get gayer is if Madonna and Charo did a duet of Don't Cry for Me, Argentina!"



I wish I had video of Aretha last night. Wow, she looked like a yellow clad blimp. The best though was the kinda cute choir guy standing behind her. He kept making the funniest faces. If figured maybe he saw that she had sat on her poodle or something, and it was struggling to get out.

Thursday, January 17, 2008 - Hodge Podge

For most of the week, I have been doing more general posts, mainly because I haven't had all that much to talk about other than the damn reports that are consuming my waking thoughts. Since I do reports for work on a monthly basis, I figured most people get tired of hearing me bitch about them. So, I gave you some puff pieces. I actually found those kinda fun, and I'll do more as the thoughts hit me.

Anyway, to catch up, I am going to do my usual bullets so I don't have to try and make this a cohesive narrative.

• Yesterday, I received the most hits in a single day ever in over six months of blogging. So, if you're new, welcome to my cluttered mind. I have to imagine the bump came from my commenting on other blogs, and from the shout-out and placing on the blog roll of one of my favorite blogs, Brechi Reborn. I also noticed that Craig over at Puntabulous reorganized his massive blog roll, and he kept me on his "Daily Reads." I [heart] Brechi & Puntabulous. Thanks guys!
• I've been kind of silent on the political front since Hillary's surprising win at New Hampshire a week ago, and I have to say it was not unintentional. While I love politics, I know a lot of people out there would rather have a root canal than listen to someone ramble on an on. So, I am giving it a rest. However, as we move closer to Super Duper Tuesday on February 5th, you can expect more rantings from me. Super Duper Tuesday? Couldn't they come up with something better? It was very funny to hear Mitt Romney say "Super Duper Tuesday" on the Today show, though.
• In a former online life, I used to run a website/blog dedicated to awards shows, and seeing as we're in the middle of Oscar season, it has been quite odd to not be talking about it after about 5 years. Of course, with this dang writer's strike, the show may not go on, which makes it even worse because this would have marked the 10 year anniversary of my Oscar Party. Ah well, I suppose we'll find another reason to party, but seeing as how oppressively dark a lot of the movies have been this year (thanks Dubya for the national mood), I really wasn't looking forward to trying to find/make a themed dessert for There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men. They don't really lend themselves to confections.
• I'm a little bit miffed that Nintendo announced this week that Super Smash Brothers Brawl is being delayed until March 9th. Since I am a gaming nerd who doesn't really play all that much, I was looking forward to getting this game, especially in view of the fact that I have finally beaten Super Mario Galaxy. Ah well, I suppose I can wait...*shakes fist*
• After sleeping in yesterday, I dragged my butt to the gym this morning, and I was pretty happy with the extra day of rest. I was able to lift a lot more than I was last week. The every other day thing is still much better for my schedule, but I'm hoping my bod gets used to the workout soon so I am not in so much pain between workouts. I'm going to have to start Creatine loading soon, too.
• I'm LOVING Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I am not sure if that is because there is so little scripted dramas on TV right now (I am saving that last Grey's Anatomy for a rainy day), but I am really digging the whole concept. I've never been a big fan of the Terminator franchise. I think I've only seen Terminator 2, which is good because the show completely disregards T3. I will write more about TV stuff soon.
• Last thing I want to talk about is my indebtedness and the light at the end of the tunnel. Without going into the gory details, after living for many years outside of my means, about 4 years ago, I started a program to become debt free. I was excited for the beginning of the 2008 because August was to be the end. However, I've discovered that if I apply the majority of my tax refund (thank god, I have one this year), I should be able to get out from under the bi-weekly payments that have really stung me for the last 38 months by May-ish. This will be such a major weight off of my mind. I will finally be able to turn my thoughts towards owning a home and all those other adult things that I have had to put off. Most of all, I will be happy to just be able to travel, without having to cut corners.

Anyway, enough rambling -- back to my LAST report.