Stainless Steel Droppings

Oscar gives cold shoulder

2005-01-26T01:06:00.000-06:00

Snubbed by Oscar

Phantom of the Oscars

2005-01-25T23:28:00.000-06:00

Oscar nomination day was not something that I was particularly excited about this year. Unlike the last few years there is a noticeable absence of truly great movies this year. The 2 movies that I really enjoyed, Finding Neverland and Phantom of the Opera, are movies that I knew would garner nominations but that I honestly don't believe will win Oscars. That being said I was disappointed that Phantom was ignored in the Best Picture category and even more disappointed that Emmy Rossum's magnificient performance as Christine Daae was overlooked for a best actress nomination. Her performace was truly memorable, all the more so considering the fact that she was just 16 years old when shooting began. On the radio this morning I heard an interview in which Ms. Rossum genuinely expressed how wonderful it would be to receive a nomination and I'm very sorry that her performace was not acknowledged by the Academy.
I will watch the Oscars this year, but not with the same enthusiasm that the past few years have generated. I sincerely hope Jamie Foxx wins a best actor award for his portrayal of Ray Charles as the trailers alone show what a marvelous job he does in recreating a legend. In the end, the night will be more about the clothes that were worn than who won the awards anyway and that's really sort of sad.

2005-01-23T22:10:00.000-06:00

Norfolk says 'goodbye'

Hometown Legend Passes On

2005-01-23T21:47:00.000-06:00

I was saddened by the news today of Johnny Carson's death. Mr. Carson was raised in my hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska and his name and presence have always been a big part of the town. Norfolk has always been proud of Johnny Carson, not just because of the fame garnered from many years on the Tonight Show, but because of the type of man that he was when not in the limelight. Mr. Carson contributed much to this small town, giving money towards a new high school several years ago, funding what is now the Carson Cancer Center, and other philanthropic work. In addition to making donations that caught the public eye, Mr. Carson was generous in private as well. For several years my mother worked in a local retirement center in which Mr. Carson's high school drama teacher lived. Without any fanfare, and often by sneeking in unannounced, he visited this teacher who had meant so much to him and provided for her needs throughout the last years of her life. He was very caring that way. Being allowed to stay up late to catch the beginning of The Tonight Show was always a special treat as a child. Johnny, as a fellow Norfolkan, I wish you "a very heart-felt goodnight".

2005-01-22T12:14:00.000-06:00

hooray

Nightmare Returns

2005-01-22T11:52:00.000-06:00

Its no secret that I'm a big fan of Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas so I was very excited when perusing Ain't It Cool News today to discover that Mr. Burton has done it again. Halloween 2005 will bring us Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. (watch the LARGE trailer, the fullscreen one requires an iTunes browser). A sequel to Nightmare has been rumored for years and, while not a true sequel, Corpse Bride looks to carry on the tradition of top-notch stop motion animation and the bizarre imagination of Tim Burton. I'm VERY excited!

Sign of the Apocalypse

2005-01-20T21:50:00.000-06:00

I don't really have anything else to say but, "OUCH!"

2005-01-19T19:22:00.000-06:00

Dancing Tarts

Scopitone Fun

2005-01-19T19:10:00.000-06:00

For a taste of the bizarre check out scopitones. Click on 'Scopitone of the Day' and you'll find a list of scopitones that you can watch. I've only watched a few but my favorite thus far is Queen of the House. They take a little while to download even with a broadband connection but they are fun. I'm guessing that Queen of the House was filmed in the late 60's or early 70's based on Jody Miller's appearance. The cheesy sexuality of the dancing-tarts is quite comical, but someone needs to explain to me why the ice man, in his tight blue high-waters, gets a brief cameo. I imagine Ms. Miller would die of embarrassment if confronted with The Race is On. And for those of you counting the days until the end of the school-year make sure you check out L'ecole est finie (School is Out) Enjoy!

Serendipity

2005-01-19T17:56:00.000-06:00

I had another of those moments today. 'Serendipity' may not be the right word to use but its definition-The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident-fits what I'm trying to describe. Its a premonition, a "knowing". For example: Off and on over the past year I've tried to remember the name of a science fiction novel I read about 12 years ago when I worked at Waldenbooks in Tulsa, OK. I remembered that it was essentially a novel about space pirates and had a vauge notion of a pirate ship being on the cover...that's it. Not the kind of information that you can type into a search engine and easily find an answer. Before leaving for work this morning I was looking at a book up for auction on ebay and clicked on the link to the ebay store of this particular seller. He is located in Australia and had a HUGE list of books for sale. I scrolled through a few and then it came to me-this overwhelming feeling that if I just kept looking I would find out about the book that had been eluding me. Though running late I continued to look through page after page of tiny pictures of books for sale....and there it was, a serendipitous moment. Though the picture was less than half the size of a postage stamp I immediately knew that was it! The book is Henry Martyn by L. Neil Smith.
This type of thing has occurred several times over the years. During our time in Tulsa there was a certain author that my wife enjoyed and I always knew when the local bookstore had a new book of hers in stock. I'd just know. As my fantasy football team can attest to I have no control over these amazing powers but hey, its fun when it happens.
Incidently, the word 'serendipity' was coined by Horace Walpole whose book, The Castle of Otranto, was the last book I read in 2004.

2005-01-18T22:55:00.000-06:00

NYPD Blues

2005-01-18T22:32:00.000-06:00

It happened. Less than one week ago today over a bowl of Panera's brocolli and cheese soup I wondered aloud "how long will it be before ABC starts announcing how many episodes of NYPD Blue are left". Tonight at a quarter to nine the magic number was announced.....seven. And now there are only six. Six more episodes of the one show out of all shows that I have religiously followed, year in and year out. I missed the first year or so (although Christmas brought me year one on DVD...Thanks Pat!) but have watched it faithfully since. I have found no other television show to be this compelling nor any character as fully developed as Andy Sipowicz. Dennis Franz (and the writers) have brought more than one tear to my eye over the past several years and I'm sure there will be more to come before the final March 1st episode. When that day comes I will feel like I've lost an old friend and Tuesday nights will never be the same.