oscar song

can't shake this song. was actually singing it to a 3 month old in la last week. (before the oscars). Her mother told me to shut my trap, cause it was my go-to song to shut the kid up. but at 4 am the baby seemed to like it. so here's to indie films!!!

and i liked that they sing it live.

swamp porn

ok, i don't have cable. i use a real live antennae on my tv. but sometimes if i get the right reception on channel six, there is an entire show/channel devoted to swamp shots and close ups on snakes scored by a really bad nyc radio station. no talking. just shots of swamps and snakes. and their prey. and lisa lisa and cult jam.

april come she will

was never a huge fan of S&G, but after all the hullabaloo lately re the graduate, i went back and re-listened to this tune and i think it might be (one of) the most perfect songs ever.

it's also nice to see sean lennon working.

and...

what about charles frickin nelson reilly????

o-scar(e)s cont'd.

another glaring omission, ie renfro:

Ali Arikan said... By the way, Ulrich Mühe was also not included in the In Memoriam section. I mean the film to which his performance was central only won best foreign film last year..

aka: The Lives of Others. awesome.

o-scar(e)s cont'd.

i agree with mr. Haskin
whoever he is.

Steve Haskin said...

Three favorite reactions of the night:

1) Cate Blanchett looking genuinely surprised and delighted for Marion Cotillard's win.

2) Frances McDormand just pretty much not being able to contain her joy at the Coens winning director(s) and picture.

3) Laura Linney as basically the default reaction shot to everyone, just because she always looks so empathetic and kind. She's like Oscar's mom or something. :)

andtheend says: I also thought Frances was the most beautiful woman in the room. and i like having fun with text colors.

o-scar(e)s

my favorite part of the show. wasn't a huge fan of the movie, liked the song, but loved her being allowed to come back. and she's 19, yo.
(ps. also loved the czech/irish accent. planning on working on it.)

hhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe5ybN3eh-A

the riches

been trying to catch the first season of the "the riches" on hulu.com cause it's free.
however, after the pilot, i just watch about every two seconds, followed by a seven second pause. apparently i don't have the right bandwidth or something, whatever that means. it is a real shame because although i lerve eddie izzard, it catches him at his worst attempts at an american accent. the dude is an awesome stand-up comedian/actor/heterosexual-transgender-dresser and is funny as shit. but can i believe he's an appalachian gypsy? ummm, no. are there really any appalachian gypsies left? did they ever exist? can we just call them "southern homeless people"?
believe me, i know gypsies. i've had to punch those little fuckers in rome, just to stop them from stealing my espresso. but come on, just write a show about a poor family who steal and who once lived in a winnebago.
anyway, the dude is funny, but unless he's got velvet on or a really bad "who'-icure" on his nails, i just don't buy it.

new moniker?

thinking of changing my alter ego name to "Dusty McCarbunkle". has a certain ring to it, and it kinda fits into how i'm feeling these days. i've already come up with a back story that includes nautical themed bars, 1972, faux wood paneling and chablis.
still working on it tho.

overheardinnewyork cont'd.

30-ish black woman: She can tell me what book to buy... She can recommend a good bra... But Oprah telling me who to vote for? I don't think so!

--42nd & 8th

NYT the new Perez?

was it just me, or did it seem the mccain article reeked of InTouch? unsubstantiated rumors from "sources close to" the senator, conjecture, and innuendo ruled the piece. where was the "what's he hiding... a baby bump?!" it just seemed like shoddy reporting.
i don't care if john tapped that hot lobbyist. hell, he tapped his second wife while on number one. and as far as politcal ethics (an oxymoron?) go, relationships with lobbyists are not illegal and not all of them are unethical. so, they shared a few meals, a few private jet rides, a few sky-high-clubs. who cares. was it bad judgment? sure. but this clearly smells of a smear job just to bring up the Keating 5. and dude, i'm not even voting for him.
the thing that worried me most was it would cast a bad shadow on my man Obama. clearly not on his ethics, but i kept thinking about the middle grounders who might see this as some democrat conspiracy. conservatives are gonna have a field day.
i just hope NYT has something in it's back pocket that their holdin' on to to sell more papers in the next few days. i guess readership is down.

no we can't

if you are one of the 2 people left who haven't seen the will.i.am/yes we can video, watch that first. then check this out.

mo'omar

my computer won't allow me to link. so cut and paste wire suckers.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/lifestyle-features/id.1026/title.michael-k-williams-omar-never-scares

oh and ps. for the road fans, check out the last line of the interview

folks

why do campaigners always use this word? does anyone in real life EVER use this word. does anyone ever refer to themselves as "folks?" it sounds condescending and patronizing. and this is worse: "regular folks." as opposed to "irregular folks?"
you can't even use the word "folk" music anymore without everyone in the room thinking you are a douche.
so, a moratorium on "folks." and the end.

ladyfriends

just got back from LA and from helping a friend out with her cancer and her 3 month old. was joined by two other great friends who felt it was important to fly from New York City at the crack of ass to sit around, crack jokes about cancer and pass a baby around for a few days. although i am exhausted (not used to staying up all night with babies, y'all) i feel pretty good. i also feel incredibly blessed (much like theknowall) to be surrounded by such amazing women (and a few dudes) in my life. although not related by blood, this "family" is one of the most important things in my world. when i'm at the end of the road i will look back at my life and relationships and see that i have been very lucky.
of course, by then i'll be in a wet cardboard box under the bqe eating catfood out of a can and i'll probably smell like pee.

loose change

things i hope the new administration can change:
1. please cancel antiques roadshow
2. gum on the street
3. sex and the city spinoffs.
4. A market economy in a state of high instability. The challenge for policymakers is to minimize this instability without reducing the ability of the economic system to raise living standards through the increasing productivity, efficiency, and employment that it generates. Experience has shown that a country with the strongest growth and employment rates, and the least economic instability, follow sound macroeconomic (fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate) policies.
5. kanye west thinking his grief should grant him a grammy.

excitement in the air

i don't know about everyone else, but voting today was extremely exciting. no matter what happens, history is in the making.
the following is one of the reasons i think we are on the right track. even tho it's supposed to be a conservative condemnation on a conservative, it sounds like an ad for mccain. hell, i've even thought about voting john. tho i didn't. i just like the line about "foul and obscene language." the senator may be a total crazazy, but i believe he's a good man. not as good as obama though.

James Dobson, Focus on the Family president on John McCain:

"I'm deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, who voted for embryonic stem cell research to kill nascent human beings, who opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, and who has little regard for freedom of speech, who organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language.

"I am convinced Sen. McCain is not a conservative, and in fact, has gone out of his way to stick his thumb in the eyes of those who are. He has at times sounded more like a member of the other party. McCain actually considered leaving the GOP in 2001, and approached John Kerry about being Kerry's running mate in 2004. McCain also said publicly that Hillary Clinton would make a good president. Given these and many other concerns, a spoonful of sugar does not make the medicine go down. I cannot, and I will not vote for Sen. John McCain, as a matter of conscience."

dream

i had a dream about my wedding. but it came too fast and without warning. and i was strapped with it. i had to be everything to everybody. and i forgot who my betrothed was. but what was worse, i forgot to invite my best friend. the one who had to be there. the one. and i could not go thru with it. the way i can't even commit to a 4 pack of toilet paper.
maybe i should get a costco card.
baby steps....

time

".....pay the fiddler off til i come back again.
and it's time, time, time.
it's time, time, time.
and it's time, time, time that you love
and it's time, time, time."
tom waits.

things that are ubiquitous

1. health care plans
2. emmylou harris singing back-up
3. bad construction in williamsburg
4. feeling sorry for yourself
5. the words, "i 'm just too crazed right now."

bowl

what i'll be watching this sunday. watch the video. it's awesome.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/arts/television/02bark.html?th&emc=th

another bellow bombshell

"America is a didactic country whose people always offer their personal experiences as a helpful lesson to the rest, hoping to hearten them and to do them good-an intensive sort of personal public-relations project. There are times when I see this as idealism. There are other times when it looks to me like pure delirium. With everyone sold on the good how does all the evil get done?"

on beauty

" "Isn't that beautiful out there!" I looked out, and she was right. Beautiful was indeed there. But I had seen Beautiful many times, and so I closed my eyes. I rejected the plastered idols of the Appearances. These idols I had been trained, along with everybody else, to see, and I was tired of their tyranny."
Saul Bellow, Humboldt's Gift.

this reminded me of a time my friend g and were driving somewhere in the midst of a beautiful autumn day, the colors sparkling all around us as if life was aflame. i said, "isn't that beautiful?" and she said, "yeah, it would make a great jigsaw puzzle."