The Academy Awards!

Ok, so I always love predicting the winners of the Academy Awards every year, and this year is no exception! This has been a fairly good year for movies-- a lot better than last year, anyway, which was pretty unmemorable.


So, here is a list of nominees from moviephone.com, with my picks for winner highlighted. Some of them are guesses-- Best Supporting Actress, for example. From what I've seen, and the reviews I've read, it really seems to be a toss-up. But for now, I'll go with Steinfeld. Also, I really am not sure about Best Original Song. I love Randy Newman, and his song for Toy Story 3, but he has been nominated for an almost record number of times without winning, and most of his songs are very similar.

For Foreign Language Film, "In A Better World" seems to be another high choice among judges, but I'm still going to go with Biutiful, because it really seems to be a popular favorite, and the Best Actor nomination can't hurt.

Finally, for Best Original Score (yayy!), I'm sticking with my buddy Desplat. It's really about time that he won his much-deserved Academy Award, and I've been with him through good times (Benjamin Button, which won several awards the year it was released, excluding the Oscar), difficult times (The Queen, which is my favorite score of Desplat's, nominated for an Oscar the year that the stupid score to Babel won), and silly times (yes, he did in fact write a score for one of the Twilight movies. Then again, so did Howard Shore. I like to think they felt sorry for poor, poor quality of the movies and wanted to help out a little with that). Anyway, it's time for him to finally win one. :)

(btw, sorry for the bad html. I did delete a few categories that I don't really know anything about, and that plus highlighting the "winner" names kind of messed with everything. For Best Animated Short, which I did not mean to delete, I am naturally going to choose Night and Day.)

Best Picture

'Black Swan'

'The Fighter'

'Inception'

'The Kids Are All Right'

'The King’s Speech'

'127 Hours'

'The Social Network'

'Toy Story 3'

'True Grit'

'Winter's Bone'

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky

'Black Swan'

David O. Russell

'The Fighter'

Tom Hooper

'The King's Speech'

David Fincher

'The Social Network'

Joel and Ethan Coen

'True Grit'

Best Actress

Annette Bening

'The Kids Are All Right'

Nicole Kidman

'Rabbit Hole'

Jennifer Lawrence

'Winter's Bone'

Natalie Portman

'Black Swan'

Michelle Williams

'Blue Valentine'

Best Actor

Javier Bardem

'Biutiful'

Jeff Bridges

'True Grit'

Jesse Eisenberg

'The Social Network'

Colin Firth

'The King's Speech'

James Franco

'127 Hours'

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams

'The Fighter'

Helena Bonham Carter

'The King's Speech'

Melissa Leo

'The Fighter'

Hailee Steinfeld 

'True Grit'

Jacki Weaver

'Animal Kingdom'

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale

'The Fighter'

John Hawkes

'Winter's Bone'

Jeremy Renner

'The Town'

Mark Ruffalo

'The Kids Are All Right'

Geoffrey Rush

'The King's Speech'

Best Animated Feature Film

'How to Train Your Dragon'

'Illusionist'

'Toy Story 3'

Best Foreign Language Film

'Biutiful'

Mexico

'Dogtooth'

Greece

'In a Better World'

Denmark

'Incendies'

Canada

'Outside the law'

Algeria

Best Original Screenplay

Mike Leigh

'Another Year'

Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy; Eric Johnson

'The Fighter'

Christopher Nolan

'Inception'

Lisa Cholodenko; Stuart Blumberg

'The Kids Are All Right'

David Seidler

'The King's Speech'

Best Adapted Screenplay

Danny Boyle; Simon Beaufoy

'127 Hours'

Aaron Sorkin

'The Social Network'

John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton; Lee Unkrich

'Toy Story 3'

Joel Coen; Ethan Coen

'True Grit'

Debra Granik; Anne Rosellini

'Winter's Bone'

Best Original Song

'Coming Home' from 'Country Strong'

Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey

'I See the Light' from 'Tangled'

Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater

'If I Rise' from '127 Hours'

Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong

'We Belong Together' from 'Toy Story 3'

Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best Original Score

'How to Train Your Dragon'

John Powell

'Inception'

Hans Zimmer

'The King's Speech'

Alexandre Desplat

'127 Hours'

A.R. Rahman

'The Social Network'

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Film Editing

'Black Swan'

Andrew Weisblum

'The Fighter'

Pamela Martin

'The King's Speech'

Tariq Anwar

'127 Hours'

Jon Harris

'The Social Network'

Angus Wall; Kirk Baxter

Best Visual Effects

'Alice in Wonderland'

Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas; Sean Phillips

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1'

Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz; Nicolas Aithadi

'Hereafter'

Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski; Joe Farrell

'Inception'

Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley; Peter Bebb

'Iron Man 2'

Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright; Daniel Sudick

Best Cinematography

'Black Swan'

Matthew Libatique

'Inception'

Wally Pfister

'The King's Speech'

Danny Cohen

'The Social Network'

Jeff Cronenweth

'True Grit'

Roger Deakins

Best Sound Mixing

'Inception'

Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo; Ed Novick

'The King's Speech'

Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen; John Midgley

'Salt'

Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan; William Sarokin

'The Social Network'

Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick; Mark Weingarten

'True Grit'

Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff; Peter F. Kurland

Best Sound Editing

'Inception'

Richard King

'Toy Story 3'

Tom Myers; Michael Silvers

'Tron: Legacy'

Gwendolyn Yates Whittle; Addison Teague

'True Grit'

Skip Lievsay; Craig Berkey

'Unstoppable'

Mark P. Stoeckinger

Best Costume Design

'Alice in Wonderland'

Colleen Atwood

'I Am Love'

Antonella Cannarozzi

'The King's Speech'

Jenny Beavan

'The Tempest'

Sandy Powell

'True Grit'

Mary Zophres

Best Art Direction

'Alice in Wonderland'

Production Design: Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I'

Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan

'Inception'

Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat

'The King's Speech'

Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Judy Farr

'True Grit'

Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Best Makeup

'Barney's Version'

Adrien Morot

'The Way Back'

Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk; Yolanda Toussieng

'The Wolfman'

Rick Baker; Dave Elsey

How This Weather Utterly Destroyed Everybody's Life

So I woke up this morning at seven forty five after hearing reports yesterday of the rapidly dropping temperature. I rummaged around my closet for the freezing weather clothes that I didn't have, and left for my eight thirty Old Testament class, stopping only to get my new favorite morning drink: a caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso.

But I never got to finish that drink. During my professor's lecture, there was a huge explosion, and all the power on campus went out forever. Several students screamed, and our professor searched desperately for something to start a fire with, but there was nothing. No lighter, no flint, nothing. Not even pieces of wood to rub together. Some students immediately fell into shock and were paralyzed in their seats, but the rest ran out of the room in a stampede that destroyed every single desk. In all of the chaos, my caramel macchiato got tipped over, and the coffee spilled out. I would have cried, but survival mode kicked in, and I realized that if I cried, the tears would freeze on my face, and I would be wasting water. I got up and left the room, heading straight for the music building. I could set up camp there.

The journey from the religion building to the music building was the worst five minutes of my entire life. I began to imagine myself in this post-apocalyptic world like in SM Stirling novels, or McCarthy's The Road (which I'd just recently read), and realized that those people were really lucky because even though they were starving and had no power and were freezing to death, they had jackets and boots. I would have been able to write an excellent novel of my travels from building to building, aimlessly wandering (sans winter clothes) on a journey that would have put Frodo's trek up Mount Doom to shame. I couldn't even check emails because there was no power, so I had absolutely no idea of whether or not classes were cancelled.

The music building was deserted. There were a few people hanging out in the music lounge, but that was it. They had started a small campfire in the middle of the lounge, and were pulling out various packaged foods, as well as weapons for the more-than-likely attacks that would start from the other buildings. One student pulled out a bow-and-arrow from his backpack, and another had a collection of knives and daggers slung over his back. I hid out with them for several days, foraging for food during the day, and keeping watch at night, in the electricity-less campus that had become my prison, gathering the energy that I would need so I could make the daunting quest back to my dorm. I traded three precious cans of baked beans that I had gathered for a spear in order to protect myself from potential zombie attack on the way back. On the eighth morning, I left the building.

Finally, I got back to the dorm, after several weeks, fingers falling off from frostbite (I'm typing this with my toes right now), and with three broken legs because of all the times I'd slipped and fallen on the ice that covered the entire campus. I swear all of what I have said is true. Actually, I'm sending this message out to see if there is anyone left in Texas-- anyone left in the entire world-- who can read this and send help. We need rations, clothes, weapons, anti-zombie medicine, and moral support. There aren't many of us left here at Trinity, and we can only pray that this ice age ends soon. It has to end if we are to survive.

Also, I can't sign this in case there are spies.

Sandwiches!

It's been a while since my last post...I've been busy with the plunge back into school, seeing friends again, finding out which professors I need to be terrified of, etc. Oh, and with the new reading-intense class I'm taking (contemporary literature), I've decided to start a blog on books that I've read: Maer Parma, more for my own benefit than anyone else's. If I feel forced to write a review of every book I read, then I'll be more likely to finish on time.

Anyway, here at Trinity, we have a sandwich line. My favorite sandwiches are BLTs on cheddar bread. I also like a wrap that my suitemate Victoria got once-- chicken, bacon, and feta, toasted, and then with cucumber slices, tomato slices, spinach leaves, bell peppers, and pesto mayo, all on flatbread. It's very good!

So recently, I've been running out of ideas and I'm looking for new sandwich ideas. I've often asked people about this, but I would like a place where they're all written down. I want anyone to comment on this, even if I don't know them that well! Here is a pretty complete list of everything we can get in the sandwich line:

Breads:

Cheddar bread

French bread

Parmesan bread

Spinach wrap

Tomato wrap

Flatbread

Wheat bread (honey wheat, or whole wheat)

White bread

Rosemary bread

Croissant

Focaccia

Ciabatta 

Pita

Cheeses:

Cheddar

Parmesan

Swiss

Provolone

Mixed shredded cheese

Feta

Gouda

Mozzarella

Pepper Jack

Meat:

Roast beef (sliced)

Corned beef (sliced)

Ham (sliced)

Turkey (sliced)

Chicken

Bacon

Toastable spreads/other stuff:

Humus

Butter

Chicken salad

Tuna

Other things (these have to be put on after the bread/cheese/meat is toasted)

Diced bell peppers

Spinach leaves

Lettuce leaves (iceberg)

Lettuce leaves (romaine) 

Tomato slices

Cucumber slices

Sprouts

Cranberries

Onions

Pickles

Corn

Black Beans

Dressings:

Ranch

Honey Mustard

Mayo (pesto, regular)

Mustard (French, Dijon)

Oil

Vinegar (balsamic, regular, red wine, etc)

Caesar

They pretty much have whatever dressing you can think of. 

Also, everything above "other things" can be toasted; everything else has to be added on after the meat, bread, and cheese are all toasted.  What kind of sandwich would you make??

To the Professor!

Every year on Janurary third, people all over the world raise their glasses honoring The Professor on his birthday. Today would have been his 119th (or eleventy ninth) birthday.

My relationship with Tolkien has been a long one (relative to my age, of course), starting from middle school when the librarian at our school gave me The Hobbit to read one weekend, towards the end of first semetser. It was a Rankin-Bakshi edition, with the Bakshi illustrations, which I thought were rather odd. However, I read it in one sitting, and came back the next Monday asking if there was any more to read. She then gave me the trilogy to check out over a winter break. I read all of them over the break. I remember the covers-- they had screenshots from the movies (Shire for FOTR and Isengard for TTT) and the back was bordered with different characters from the movie. The films hadn't even come out in America at the time.  It wasn't until I was in high school when I realized that there were even more books, and I read the Silmarillion and Children of Hurin another year later.

I did like the movies when I first saw them, but I had to see them a few times before I really fell in love with those, as well.  I did indeed have to get used to the new Faramir, and while I had mixed feelings on Tom Bombadil, I was very happy when I finally realized that his lines were in the movie, just delivered by Treebeard. I did love the Ents, and the scene with Sam and Frodo on Mount Doom was perfect. Mostly, I had real issues with Helm's Deep (Haldir dies???? Excuse me???), which I also came to accept, and the scene with Aragorn and Haldir will make me cry 9/10 of the time. And also, there is no Haldir Hug in the book!!! I do like Haldir Hugs.

An integral part of my Tolkien experience has been my membership on the wonderful forums of theonering.net (or, TORn). The users there are incredibly warm and friendly, and after lurking for a while in 2007, I finally joined in February of 2008 and was encouraged to participate in the book discussions and movie quizzes! At this point, I realized that I knew far less of Tolkien's works than I thought I did, and I've had a really amazing time on those boards, even if I am not on as much recently as I used to be. I still giggle when I see a post that has a significant number of "glugs" in reply (Why no Eagles? / What about Balrog wings? / Will The Hobbit be in 3d? / This actor/actress was terrible in that role in LOTR because of their age/looks/acting. / Tolkien would be turning over in his grave if he knew that xyz / Here is a funny video parody of a scene.). And as for the movies, I have especially loved learning about the small details and easter eggs and even everyday mistakes that I would not know about otherwise: Figwit, Boromir's magical vanishing arm, Theoden's double-sided chest armor, Aragorn's broken foot (and excellent broken foot acting), etc.

Anyway, so it's been a combination of everything that's sealed it for me. I am a Tolkien fan. I haven't read everything he's written (letters, Leaf by Niggle, most of HOME, to name a few), and I don't even remember everything from what I *have* read. But one day I will! I love his beautifully descriptive writing and what he stands for when he writes (the way I see it): light, hope, and renewal.

At first the beauty of the melodies and of the interwoven words in elventongues, even though he understood them little, held him in a spell, as soon as he began to attend to them. Almost it seemed that the words took shape, and visions of far lands and bright things that he had never yet imagined opened out before him; and the firelit hall became like a golden mist above the seas of foam that sighed upon the margins of the world. Then the enchantment became more and more dreamlike, until he felt that en endless river of swelling gold and silver was flowing over him, too multitudinous for its pattern to be comprehended; it became part of the throbbing air about him, and it drenched and drowned him. Swiftly he sank under its shining weight into a deep realm of sleep.

To The Professor!