Wats Neu?

I am trying something different soon. Actually several something different;
The first one and the one that is attached with this page is a podcast
through a company called gcast. I am in the process of testing it for
myself to see how well it works. It will give voice to my text based
rantings.I'll be able to call in and post to site my rants views and shout
outs.... The second is yoga...yes you heard right yoga. My back is shot due
to falling down stone cold drunk down 2 flights of stairs. I have a
partially crushed vertebrae in my spine that has given me trough since
1988. Now I need to free it up a bit... #3 I guess is I'm learning how to
change brake pads from a friend here at work. This will happen once it gets
warmer and once I buy 2 hand tools to do it...#4 is teaching my self
guitar. My Son got an actual kids size electric guitar from his uncle and I
don't play so now I have to learn at least one song to show him its not
tooooo hard. I see smoke on the water as a start....


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bad dream???...

I had a very disturbing dream the other night. But the just of it goes that
one friend had killed another friend and I was trying to help him get away.
It was not a murder but some sort of accident. (details are sketchy). I had
to help him drive out of state and through the south west all the time I
was trying to get the full story out of him. I don't remember great detail
and full locations but I remember hospitals, canyons, elevators and a lot
of driving with bad pop music on the radio.......I hope you are all OK and
this is not some weird glimpse in to the future....night everybody.

Zach and Miri

Dear god did I need a new laugh and Zach and Miri deliver. I had the
oportunity to watch a copy of Z&M and I laughed from the first laugh to the
end. It is Raunchy, funny and breathes new life to the new breed of
slacker 30 year old generation. 40 year old virgin, forgetting sarah m,
pineapple express and more.... I can't get into too many things but it is
one long dirty joke with some tugging at the heart strings. If you get a
chance throw this one in after the kids are well asleep......

and the Nominees are.....

Reprinted from the Nytimes 1/22/09 without permission. I'll be happy to
removed if asked.

January 22, 2009, 8:53 am
And the Nominees Are:
By The Bagger

BEST PICTURE

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
* "Milk" (Focus Features)
* "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ACTOR

* Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
* Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner
Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ACTRESS

* Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

* Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by
DreamWorks/Paramount)
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by
Paramount Vantage)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

* Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and
Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

* "Bolt" (Walt Disney), Chris Williams and Byron Howard
* "Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), John
Stevenson and Mark Osborne
* "WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Andrew Stanton

BEST ART DIRECTION

* "Changeling" (Universal), Art Direction: James J. Murakami, Set
Decoration: Gary Fettis
* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Art
Direction: Donald Graham Burt, Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), Art Direction: Nathan Crowley, Set
Decoration: Peter Lando
* "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Art Direction:
Michael Carlin, Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
* "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage), Art
Direction: Kristi Zea, Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

* "Changeling" (Universal), Tom Stern
* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.),
Claudio Miranda
* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
* "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company), Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

* "Australia" (20th Century Fox), Catherine Martin
* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.),
Jacqueline West
* "The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films), Michael O'Connor
* "Milk" (Focus Features), Danny Glicker
* "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage),
Albert Wolsky

BEST DIRECTOR

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David
Fincher
* "Frost/Nixon" (Universal), Ron Howard
* "Milk" (Focus Features), Gus Van Sant
* "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company), Stephen Daldry
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Danny Boyle

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

* "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)" (Cinema Guild), A Pandinlao Films Production,
Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
* "Encounters at the End of the World" (THINKFilm and Image Entertainment),
A Creative Differences Production, Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
* "The Garden" A Black Valley Films Production, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
* "Man on Wire" (Magnolia Pictures), A Wall to Wall Production, James Marsh
and Simon Chinn
* "Trouble the Water" (Zeitgeist Films), An Elsewhere Films Production, Tia
Lessin and Carl Deal

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

* "The Conscience of Nhem En" A Farallon Films Production, Steven Okazaki
* "The Final Inch" A Vermilion Films Production, Irene Taylor Brodsky and
Tom Grant
* "Smile Pinki" A Principe Production, Megan Mylan
* "The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306" A Rock Paper Scissors
Production, Adam Pertofsky and Margaret Hyde

BEST FILM EDITING

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Kirk
Baxter and Angus Wall
* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), Lee Smith
* "Frost/Nixon" (Universal), Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
* "Milk" (Focus Features), Elliot Graham
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Chris Dickens

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

* "The Baader Meinhof Complex" A Constantin Film Production, Germany
* "The Class" (Sony Pictures Classics), A Haut et Court Production, France
* "Departures" (Regent Releasing), A Departures Film Partners Production,
Japan
* "Revanche" (Janus Films), A Prisma Film/Fernseh Production, Austria
* "Waltz with Bashir" (Sony Pictures Classics), A Bridgit Folman Film Gang
Production, Israel

BEST MAKEUP

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Greg
Cannom
* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
* "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (Universal), Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner
Bros.),Alexandre Desplat
* "Defiance" (Paramount Vantage), James Newton Howard
* "Milk" (Focus Features), Danny Elfman
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
* "WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

* "Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Music by Peter Gabriel and
Thomas Newman, Lyric by Peter Gabriel
* "Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R.
Rahman, Lyric by Gulzar
* "O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Music and Lyric by
A.R. Rahman andMaya Arulpragasam

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

* "La Maison en Petits Cubes" A Robot Communications Production, Kunio Kato
* "Lavatory - Lovestory" A Melnitsa Animation Studio and CTB Film Company
Production, Konstantin Bronzit
* "Oktapodi" (Talantis Films) A Gobelins, L'école de l'image Production,
Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand
* "Presto" (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Doug
Sweetland
* "This Way Up", A Nexus Production, Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

* "Auf der Strecke (On the Line)" (Hamburg Shortfilmagency), An Academy of
Media Arts Cologne Production, Reto Caffi
* "Manon on the Asphalt" (La Luna Productions), A La Luna Production,
Elizabeth Marre and Olivier Pont
* "New Boy" (Network Ireland Television), A Zanzibar Films Production,
Steph Green and Tamara Anghie
* "The Pig" An M & M Production, Tivi Magnusson and Dorte Høgh
* "Spielzeugland (Toyland)" A Mephisto Film Production, Jochen Alexander
Freydank

BEST SOUND EDITING

* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), Richard King
* "Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), Frank Eulner and
Christopher Boyes
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Tom Sayers
* "WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
* "Wanted" (Universal),Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), David
Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed
Novick
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and
Resul Pookutty
* "WALL-E" (Walt Disney),Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
* "Wanted" (Universal), Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.), Eric
Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
* "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.), Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber
and Paul Franklin
* "Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment), John Nelson, Ben Snow,
Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

* "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.),
Screenplay by Eric Roth, Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
* "Doubt" (Miramax), Written by John Patrick Shanley
* "Frost/Nixon" (Universal), Screenplay by Peter Morgan
* "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Hare
* "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

* "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Courtney Hunt
* "Happy-Go-Lucky" (Miramax), Written by Mike Leigh
* "In Bruges" (Focus Features), Written by Martin McDonagh
* "Milk" (Focus Features), Written by Dustin Lance Black
* "WALL-E" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon,
Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Brave new world.

Obama was sworn in today. I watched what I could because I was working. I
felt good about it, not because he's the first black president, but because
I feel he can transcend politics. I feel he can use both the democrats and
Republicans to full potential. Maybe he can stop all the in-fighting
between parties and work for a unified America.
I know the race thing was important to many many people as well as
the rest of the world. Skin color did not have any pull for me either way.
Granted I would love to see this trend continue; Presidents descended from
immigrants, Mexican, Indian, Asian or even a lady President. There is
nothing wrong for a white man to be in office, but America has many faces.
I voted with my heart and head in this race. I could have voted for McCain.
I liked him as a person , but he seemed to be the puppet of the current
regime. Asking Sarah Palin to be on board with you did not help matters
with me either.
Some people are falling over them selves as if Obama is the messiah. I
think he has so much to do that its a daunting job for anyone. Hes got 2
wars, the economy, unemployment, the auto industry, housing, gay marriage
and every terrorist to deal with. He is going to be under the microscope
every moment he is President and beyond.
I pray for the future, I pray for my kids and I pray for him....Funny I
did not cry with Regan was shot or died, nor did I do this with the pope
but I might with him....Were in uncharted waters now kids. Pick the second
staron the right then straight on til morning.....

Oscars, globes and critics choice....

Well this last week I had a great chance to view several movies that have huge Oscar potential ..... blah blah blagh....  lets just say it they were good movies.  I have seen Slumdog millionaire, seven pounds, the wrestler, grand torino and the start of Benjamin button.....All different all unique all with something to say.......

 When I was younger I used to go to the movies quite a bit. My uncle and I would often go to theaters that no longer exist. They have been swallowed up by giant multi plexes or simply closed their doors. As I grew up we would almost go to the movies every week when we were teens. Watching all sorts of crap b and even c movies. We would even go to the drive in during the summer months.  Its funny how if you think hard enough you can remember who you saw what movie with and when. I can remember Rambo 3 was a drive in flick for me, deadly friend was at the hillside theater and lost boys was with a group of new college friends.  I fell asleep during vision quest, I was in the front row for ferris billers day off and I went with Ron dubee and his dad to see Star wars.  Many many memories are tied in to going to the movies with friends. For the most part a whole evening was involved some sort of food either before or after and of course the time well spent with friends. From holding hands with a girlfriend to being as high as a kite with friends.

     As I  have gotten older and in theory wiser, I have selected Way movies I want to go see. I have developed my own rating system over time that a few of my own friends follow them selves. 

1. Pay full price (Friday night)
2. Matinée price (Sunday afternoon)
3. Cheep show (middle of the week  and for under $3.00)
4. Rental (This is pre net flicks)
5. Cable TV  (HBO, Showtime etc.)
6. Cable TV (Spike , TNT, AMC. This has commercials)
7. Regular broad cast TV (just having the TV on for background noise)

This not only reflects how much I'll pay for a show but the time commitment to the movie as well. With Net flix and INTERNET downloads things have changed a bit. Now with the kids I have to be more selective with movies. I also thing that allot of the old school b movies have become straight to video movies. I think these would be fun to watch at the theater at the old midnight show for a couple of bucks.... Times change , but movies always have the ability to take you for 2 hours......... FOCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fish stomach sauce???

I had a horrible dream last night, I has a dream that I wholly blame on the
TV in fact I blame it on Andrew Zimmer and bazaar foods. I had dreamed that
some one offered me fish stomach sauce tea. I could see it like coffee in a
white cup. When I drank it my brain told me that it was salty like a strong
soy sauce. - The bad part was that I had watched the show where they made a
fish stomach sauce in Thailand for restaurants. A kind of highly salted
sauce that goes in to the most basic of dishes. -- Sounds nasty.......I
know I have watched way too much TV if thats leaking in to my head at
night.

I hope your dreams are at least more flavorful than mine were.....blech...

Movie review: Slumdog.

I had the opportunity to watch <b>Slumdog Millionaire<b/> last night.I
have to say it was a beautiful movie that inspired dreams of hope and of
love. Many times through this movie I had to wince at the life of this kid
who had to grow up way too quickly in an ultra corrupt country. The entire
underclass was shown from pimps, freak makers, whores, gangsters, crooked
police and even game show hosts. You had to figure for your self how much
corruption is tolerable? It showed that sometimes it is ok to steal a loaf
of bread to feed your family.
The movie also shows you how hard life can be and how to enjoy what you
have. It shows that both love and hope are out there and even in the
bleakest of times they still thrive.

I want...2009

It's getting to feel like I do this once a week; putting out a list of what I'd like to do in the up coming year. This is not a resolution list , its just a list of should have and could haves.....
hmmmm let put the ink to paper then;

I want to .......

• ....Lose weight. Go from 290 to 250...
• ....Spend more time with my kids....(OK ok I did not do that bad with that this year)
• ....Learn more things. That is always a challenge based on time available. I'd love to learn a 3rd language, finish a degree or something useful.
• ...work on the house. That is always money and time dependent. There are some things I'd like to do and some things I have to do .
• ..take a vacation.
• ..dig out the damn root thats in my back yard....
• ... go camping with my kids. I want to go to Starved rock. I'd like to go fishing with them and actually catch something outside of just weeds.
• ... sleep for a day with out end.
• .... work out more....I need to make time for that. No ones going to make time but me.
• .....get a new camera or even an old digital camera. Mine bit the dust and I want to catch my kids before they grow old.
• .... fly a kite.Just pick a day and go fly a kite.
• ....for the umpteenth year I want a new tattoo
• .... get drunk.
• ......read more books. (I read about 20 in the last year, but more is better)
• ..... write a book...(about what I have no Idea..)
• ..... ride 200 miles on my bicycle this year.
• ..... get my motorcycle up and running. (I need a new battery and carbs cleaned)
• ...ride 500 miles on a motorcycle.
• .....finish my motorcycle tech class.
• ..... eat healthier.
• .....fast once a month.
• ...... get back in to meditating
• ....to get away from everything for a week
• ....to cook a banquet for friends
• ....to brew my own beer
• ...to go to the movies more.
• ....to learn how to weld or solder copper pipe
• .....to make a potato gun
• .....have my back looked at by a professional
• ...get a straight razor shave.
• ....to have some one fine me attractive.
• ....to win 25 million dollars.
• ....to sleep with a beautiful stranger.
• .....write down my dreams again.
• .....get back in to the bow and arrow.
• ...build a pinewood derby.
• ....buy a lever action rifle.
• .....go hunting for whitetail deer.
• .....make an award winning chili
• .....help the homeless.
• ....drive on rt 66 from end to end.
• .....to back to Quaker Steak and Lube.
• ....buy a rolex.
• ....upgrade my cars.
• ....buy my parents a new home.
• ....cry and feel good while doing it.
• .....laugh ntil I cry.
• ....paint the garage.
• ....watch battlestar galactica.
• .....do so many things befor my time runs out.
• ....go to India.
• ...go to Antarticia.
• ...go to Spain.
• ...go to Japan.
• ...Place a bet in the Kentucky Derby.

 

Thanks for letting me ramble on and on about could have, would haves and things that should never be.....