May the fourth be with you

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...


I don't really like Star Wars. The battle scenes get repetitious, the aliens freak me out, and whenever I see Anakin in the prequel movies, I hear Weird Al singing in my head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANmFVXhyAsk

But, still, I am a fan. As long as Luke isn't on screen, I enjoy the original three movies. A lot. (Sadly, I can't repeat that phrase for the new ones).

And here's why:
1) Harrison Ford- (aka Han Solo) my old man crush. If only he wasn't 67...

Epic quotes:
"I've got a bad feeling about this."

Leia: "Why you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerfherder!"
Han: "Who's scruffy looking?"

"Boba Fett? Boba Fett? Where?"

2) Alec Guinness- (aka Obi-Wan Kenobi)one of my dead old man crushes. Amazing actor (just watch The Bridge Over the River Kwai- a war movie I can actually enjoy). He hated the movies though:
"Guinness recounts grudgingly giving an autograph to a young fan who claimed to have watched Star Wars over 100 times, on the condition that the boy promise to stop watching the film, because, as Guinness told him, "this is going to be an ill effect on your life.""

Epic quotes:
"Obi-Wan Kenobi...Obi-Wan...Now, that's a name I've not heard in a long time...a long time."

"The Force will be with you. Always."

"Why do I sense we've picked up another pathetic life-form?"

3) Yoda- (aka Frank Oz, Grover, etc.) I wish I could talk like him without feeling like a complete dweeb. I also have a thing for big pointy ears (Spock...). I watch the prequels just to see him fight with his little lightsaber.



Epic quotes:
"No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try."

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size do you?"

"Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

4)Carrie Fisher- (aka Leia) because she's Debbie Reynold and Eddie Fisher's daughter and because of this one line:
"Will someone get this big walking carpet outta my way?"
Her hair is kickass too...

5)Chewbacca- inspired by the same dog Indiana Jones was named after. Big, hairy sweetheart.

Epic quote:
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!"
Obi-Wan: "Let the Wookie win!"
"Grrf."


6) Mini Chewbaccas- (aka Ewoks)I want one. Makes me cry every time when the one striped Ewok is killed...



7) The Millenium Falcon
8) C3PO and R2D2
9) The Garbage Crusher scene
10) Any scene with Jabba the Hutt
11) Jar-Jar Binks
12)George Lucas
13) The awful graphics
14) The original final scene of the very last one; before they decided to put Hayden Christensen in to make it correlate to the prequels...and the change in the party song :(
15) The attempt to make it scientifically viable.
16) Parodies of it
17) Darth Vader's asthma problem
18) The Emperor's electrocution
19) I am your father
20) NOOOOOO
21) The instant classification given to Star Wars fans. You watch Star Wars? Nerd.
22) The wacky fan base
23) Lightsabers and blasters
24) Anachronisms
25) Greedo

etc...

May the fourth be with you.
At least for 24 hours.

Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Nerd

Big Feet....Large Shoes

Instead of getting packed for Orlando (I do have 14 more hours anyways...) or cleaning my pigsty of a room (I barely use my bed anymore anyways...), I feel like writing.

Last Friday, we had "Career Day" over at sunny Bishop Lynch, my second home. And while my first home is where my heart is, my second home only has a claim on my brain.

So, after attending a wonderful session on secondary education, in which we decided that only extroverts can be teachers (sucks for me) and that men can, in fact, have children up to the date of their death (unless, of course, they take ether), I went to a session on journalism and document design (aka technical writing blahh). Although this sounds like I'm about to blast another speaker, I'm really not. In fact, I tried to get something out of it. Unfortunately, I would rather be an engineer than a technical writer (and I would rather be a truck driver than an engineer...)

So, the most I got out of it was that I need to have an overall theme to my blog.
As you may have noticed, I don't have an overall theme to my blog because,actually, my overall theme is not to have an overall theme. I shall explain.

Honeyed Apricots is derived from my favorite movie ever. Notting Hill. Yeah, it's no Casablanca or Lord of the Rings or Citizen Kane, but it makes me laugh. And it NEVER gets old. I've seen it nine? ten? times. And it's because of the honeyed apricots scene.

"Would you like something to eat? Something to nibble on? Apricots, soaked in honey? Quite why, no one knows, because it stops them tasting like apricots and makes them taste like honey... and if you wanted honey, you could just... buy honey. Instead of apricots. But nevertheless they're yours if you want them."

So, channeling Kurt Vonnegut, this whole blog is a lie. If you really want some deep philosophical thought, pull out some Jean-Paul Sartre or Camus. If you really want humor, go rent a Marx Brothers movie. If you really want to hear about my life, talk to me. But, if you're reading this, you obviously want to read it.
And that is where the lack of a theme comes in. I don't like apricots. I need the honey flavor.

So instead of going on and on and on even more about the best movie in the world, I invite you to watch it. I will even lend it to you if you ask. It is worth the two hours.
And you will learn why men with big feet...have big shoes and why you should always, always, stop in that travel bookshop (but don't ask for Winnie-the-Pooh).

Normal as Blueberry Pie

Today, as I was lamenting the end of my free Pandora hours (40 is not enough for one month...), I was scrambling around youtube, using my long facebook list of musical artists as a reference and finally ending up with Nellie McKay, a singer-songwriter-ukelele-piano aficionado.
I have been listening to her for the last two hours.

I disagree with almost all of her lyrics (from a political standpoint, at least...), but I must say that she is definitely my favorite musician (at the moment).

Her style is jazzy-ish, bluesy-ish, rock-ish, funk-ish, rap-ish, even country-ish.

Besides covering bunches of the normal jazz/blues standards (her version of P.S. I Love You was used in the movie), she writes the most original, sadistic, sarcasm-filled satirical songs I have ever heard. Mostly making fun of conservatives, anti-feminists, warmongers, marriage, Columbia University, meat-eaters, and city folks. She's a supporter of Ralph Nader and PETA. Her interviews are awkward, to say the least.
Every song makes me die a little inside...
But they're so damn clever!

This is a song called Won't U Please Be Nice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLDGaWqPlks
Listen to the melody first, don't listen to the words.
Sounds like a nice, Sinatra worthy song, right?
Then read the lyrics here:

If you would sit
Oh so close to me
That would be nice
Like it's supposed to be
If you don't I'll slit your throat
So won't you please be nice
If you would hug your arms right around me
That would be snug
Like it's supposed to be
If we part I'll eat your heart
So won't you please be nice

Oh don't you love this romancing
Know that it's your life you're chancing
Isn't it nice
Now you've married me
Sugar and spice
Like it's supposed to be
If you go I'll get your dough
So won't you please be nice

Stop with your jazz oratory
I only listen to top forty
N'Sync rules
Isn't it nice
Together we'll always live
No sacrifice
We'll vote conservative
If you run I'll pull a gun
Give me head or you'll be dead
Salute the flag or I'll call you a fag
Oh won't you please be nice

That's some old Hollywood ballad all right.

But it was her last album's name that completely won me over.
Normal as Blueberry Pie.
For those of you who are not familiar with South Pacific, the title hails from the song "Wonderful Guy", conveniently sung in the musical by a character named what else but Nellie...
I absolutely love that song for the one line which is now the name of Nellie McKay's CD.

Nellie channels Doris Day in everything she does, including her style. Compare this to the photo of Nellie above. Clonies for sure.


In case you are as interested in this wacko as I am, look her up. Just make sure no one below a certain age (or above a certain age if your grandma has sensitive ears...) is in the same room, or else you may be cringing as she, in a demure forties style dress, drops words that you may not want little Jimmy to learn for another decade or so...

One of these days, I may get around to writing a Nellie McKay-ish song. I will be sure to share :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM0fBP9_lkI&feature=related

Capitalism Doesn’t Explain Everything or The Puzzling Quest of Writers

When J.D. Salinger died in January, his fiercely guarded private life was exposed for the first time since his acclaimed novel, The Catcher in the Rye, was published in 1951. The world was amazed that he had hidden away his talent for fifty years without capitalizing on it. Why, it asked? Why miss out on a wonderful business opportunity?

On the other side of New York, the cynical commentators of the world believed that Salinger’s isolation was purely artistic, and his death synonymous with the end of true literature.

However, Salinger was not the first, nor the last, unselfish writer. For writers do not write to make money. It’s a side effect. But, you’re asking, “What about those mainstream authors – you know, Danielle Steele– who shuttle out dozens of novels a year and always top the bestseller list?”

Key word there: author.

Authors are those who write to get published. They want money. Who can blame them? Isn’t that why most lawyers become lawyers and geeks become Bill Gates?

On the other hand, writers are the unselfish missionaries of the written word. Writing for some is like punching pillows or screaming into space. Kate Chopin poured her anger at the sexually constrained nineteenth century into The Awakening. Others teach through their books: Chaim Potok wrote The Chosen as a way to encourage friendships among dissimilar people. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee wrote Inherit the Wind to show the misconceptions of both the deeply religious and the deeply scientific.

Writers, unlike authors, write not to make money, but to voice a thought about society.

However, the realms of authorship and writing often collide, as shown by the aforementioned writer-authors. Sometimes, an author becomes a writer. J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was written as a desperate attempt to earn some money; however, she disapproves of fan fiction (even threatens lawsuits!) and because of this, preserves the dignity of her characters and deserves to be considered a bona fide writer.

Unfortunately, writers often become authors. Stephanie Meyer, with her now cultish series Twilight, began with a well-intentioned effort to draw young people to read (and couldn’t be expecting too much money, because fourteen agents rejected her!), but eventually succumbed to the media machine and began including more and more ‘teen romance’ and ‘true love’ until her last novel became an adolescent version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

But why are D.H. Lawrence’s words considered better than Ms. Meyer’s?

Harold Acton, in saying, “So often is the virgin sheet of paper more real than what one has to say, and so often one regrets having marred it,” makes an undeniable declaration. There is such a thing as bad writing. The first hint of bad writing comes with the first misspelling. Or, to pick on Stephanie Meyer again, when the main character has a thought like this: “I tried to make my smile alluring…He smiled back, looking allured.”

Good writing is harder to define. Sometimes it grabs the reader and forces him to finish reading (Michael Crichton anyone?). However, Charles Dickens certainly didn’t write gripping thrillers, and yet he is considered one of the greatest novelists in history. He was able to relate to the reader through one of his hundreds of characters, while using proper grammar and developing a plot line.

Salinger only published a handful of stories; nevertheless. he is world-renowned. Not many true writers can also claim to be uncorrupted authors. Salinger’s goal, though, was not to prove his literary merit, but simply to voice his thoughts.

And whether those were about ducks or human nature was for him to decide, and everyone else to criticize.

Lamentation

A compilation of depressing poetry; each line is from a different poem.
Don't worry, I'm not actually suicidal, ;)


About suffering they were never wrong
I’ve lice in my tunic and a cold in my nose
Oh death will find me, long before I tire
Come hither, Sleep, and my griefs unfold
Death may be very gentle after all
The day is done, and the darkness
Hovers within my gates
Though it be darkness there
In me nothing is extinguished or forgotten
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Sing no sad songs for me
On my black coffin let there be strown
Firewood, ironware, and cheap tin trays
Thus unlamented let me die
Better by far you should forget and smile
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
Shall cover you
They are not long, the days of wine and roses
They rush in red and purple from the red clouds of the morn
I do not think that they will sing to me

Cut the Politics and Start Teaching Again, SBOE!

Don't worry y'all, I didn't write this just for my blog...I don't have that much free time ;)

While reading coverage of the recent Texas State Board of Education changes to social studies guidelines, I asked myself, why are these decisions being made by people who have never taught, never even been exposed to the modern-day classroom?
Why aren’t teachers, the ones being forced to teach this, being consulted?
And why aren’t historians (you know, those people with extremely advanced degrees in…history) being asked to confirm the accuracy of the proposed changes?
Instead, lawyers, a dentist, and a newspaperman, among others, held the future of history education in their hands.
I personally would rather call Geek Squad when my computer crashes instead of a florist.

Without change, there can be no progress. However, the kind of change that the politically-minded Texas Board of Education is endorsing cannot be tolerated in public schools today. With Texas continuously ranking in the bottom half of the states in terms of proficiency in math, reading, and writing, the public school system is shirking its responsibility to teach students today what really happened decades or centuries ago. By distorting history, the Education Agency is making a fool out of itself in full view of the nation, which is forced to follow along in the same distorted path because of Texas’s huge textbook market.
For once, I’m not proud to say that everything is bigger in Texas.

Among the most controversial changes was the removal of Thomas Jefferson from a list of important world philosophers who influenced political revolutions after 1750. He was replaced by John Calvin (an “icon” of the religious right – from the 1500s) and St. Thomas Aquinas (a medieval philosopher). Although both of these men deserve to be credited for their innovative ideas, Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, deserves more of a spotlight in the 1750s-an era he actually lived through – and a time full of democratic awakenings rather than religious revivals.
Perhaps if the Republican board members had not so enthusiastically condoned adding in frequent references to American exceptionalism, this could be overlooked. But the logic in stressing the uniqueness of America, but leaving out the man who inspired other nations to declare their freedom and basic human rights escapes me.

However, it is not only the ten conservative board members who seemed to have an agenda to fulfill, but also the five outnumbered Democratic members, whose main purpose was to thrust every possible minority hero, specifically those Tejanos who died at the Alamo, into the revised documents. The purpose of history is not to cater to the particular ethnic group reading the book, but to provide an unbiased and practical summary of events. The popular story of the Alamo is practically all myth; the battle itself was not a decisive factor in the Texas Revolution. We lost. Just as we don’t study the individual names of soldiers in the Battle of Gettysburg, it is impractical to single out a handful of names of men who did not hold major leadership positions, though they were courageous.

Francis Bacon once said, “Truth will sooner come out of error than from confusion.” True history is an error-riddled tragedy. Not a public forum to advance beliefs of any sort, be they conservative or liberal. Without learning true history (which doesn’t include those happy embellishments added to make the current good guy look better), schoolchildren will grow into the same misguided public officials of today, who slide through their banana peel blunders and leave them for the next person to trip over. Mistakes will be repeated. Over and over again. The tragedy will continue. Romeo will continue to drink the poison, and there will be no Prince Charming to save him.

Hopefully, enough people will catch on and this twisting of history will be straightened. And maybe the rest of the educational system, which fails so many students and fails to reward so many teachers, can be fixed as well.
Until then, I quote Mark Twain in saying, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

If I Were a Rich Man

Over the course of my extensive and exhaustive college search during the past two weeks, there was one thing that stood out at every school.

They cost money.
And they don't like giving it back.

Unless, of course, an applicant has a strange or unique talent, like playing the ukelele or underwater basket-weaving. I personally would make the argument that surviving high school is a talent in itself, but I don't make the rules (yet).
And other scholarships are reserved for certain religions, races, financial levels,etc. If only those scholarships applied to MY religion, race, or financial level. But there really aren't many scholarships out there for Caucasian middle-class folks. Of course there are some, but since there are so many kids who fit that description, those scholarships are reserved for Caucasion middle-class kids who also happen to have won the world foosball championship.

Unfortunately, my talents are quite mundane. I take piano lessons (who hasn't?), I'm in choir (along with 80+ other people), I'm in too many clubs (which actually was discouraged by every. single. college admissions person), my grades tend to come out on the higher rather than the lower (but I don't have a perfect SAT score) etc... My most unique 'talent' would be my rather large family. I have been told by numerous people to write essays about my family. But wait, isn't the college accepting me, not my family? What an ego-booster.

But, as my dad says, might as well apply to 8 or 10 schools and see if any of them like me enough to give me something other than junk mail. I hope one does because otherwise my ass has been worked off for absolutely no reason.

I would go cultivate a new talent right now (you know, fill up the tires in my mom's old unicycle and join the circus), but I have to study for a physics test. Story of my sad, sad life.

DISCLAIMER: I do not resent scholarship winners. I appreciate your cheese-grating talent or mad dog training skills and am insanely jealous.

Harvard? Yale? Overrated. Visit Real Colleges!

So, for spring break, instead of swimming or watching movies or reading or relaxing, I went on college visits! Whoopee.
Yep, that's how I felt the day before leaving. I was feeling a little bit like my social life, dominated for the past five? six? months by the musical Curtains, had died. Depressing, right?
North Carolina and then San Antonio were my destinations. I was to be accompanied by my courageous father and blood-shedding little brother (oh the horrors of heavy suitcases and light fixtures!).
But anyways, we started by driving all the way down to Houston to save airplane fare (always economical!) and barely made our flight.
However, once we stepped outside the Raleigh airport and into our clean rental car (don't you love that smell!?) after a confusing mix-up involving Prius's and a guy named Butler (a name which would haunt our whole journey!), we, or at least I, felt like North Carolina was THE perfect state, clean looking, smelling, and with the most magnificent weather!
To continue with our journey, we drove a few hours over to Charlotte (we could have just flown into the Charlotte airport and saved those few hours-maybe finding real food instead of burgers, a recurring theme- but once again, economy over comfort!)

Maybe I'll actually start with my chosen topic now. COLLEGES!

First was Davidson. Home for nerds? yes. Tiny? yes. Gorgeous? yes. Great theatre? yes. Division I athletics? yes, though I really couldn't care less. But you might. Dream school? I think, therefore the answer is YES!
Although this school may be small for some folks (1800 students) and may not offer amazing science and math programs (the science building was pretty kickass anyways), it has very strong English, political science, and theatre programs. It is one of the most selective and highly ranked liberal arts colleges in the Southeast (rating up there with Washington and Lee - the Fiske guide gives it four and a half stars for academics). My favorite part was the eating club system (aka Greek life for the non-elitist) and free laundry service (legit!). However, all of this is figured into the tuition, which is pretty steep. There are quite a few merit and athletic scholarships given out, though. The dorms were so-so, not awful, but not exactly spacious. The cafeteria food looked edible, but we actually ate at a cute little old-style cafe in the actual town of Davidson (no drive-thrus allowed there) which had amazing wraps and sweet potatoe fries. Eat there. I almost forgot the honor code which actually is supposed to work! Cheating and theft are almost non-occurrences. Pretty sweet for those morally aligned among us. Visit and see for yourself if you want an intellectually stimulating and comfortable college life!


Next was Wake Forest. I can't judge this fairly, since our visit was scarred by an admissions lady with the ummm...uhhh... habit (pet peeve). 20 times per minute. I counted. We also had a pretty crummy tour guide. So, although the campus was gorgeous and the eating hall looked the best out of all the schools we visited...I was not impressed. However, my dear father has insisted that I do more research and probably apply. Just in case. (My just in case list expands with every college I visit. No yes-man needed in this family.) But visit. It is pretty enough to warrant that. And the t.p.ed (tped? tepeed?)trees were pretty funny to see (a tradition arisen out of pride. The students t.p.ed their own trees before Duke students could. How admirable)

The following day, we visited UNC-Chapel Hill, continuously ranked as one of the top public universities in the nation, with the third largest library system after the Library of Congress and Harvard. Yes, I was influenced by the rather impressive library. The campus was gorgeous and a few new music buildings had just been constructed. Our tour guide was very good and even pointed out one of the seven foot basketball players, just in case we didn't notice him. The downside here was that over 80% of the incoming students are required to be North Carolina residents and the tuition rises drastically for out-of-staters. If I received a big enough scholarship, though, I would definitely be able to survive for four years here. There is also a rather awesome program with Duke, where 18 students from each school switch campuses for a semester. We did drive around Duke, which was like entering a castle ground (my dad disapproves of Duke though, so we didn't actually take a tour). Application will be in the mail for sure.

Finalement, we arrived back in Texas and drove to San Antonio to visit Trinity University. I loved it as well. Luverly weather complemented the beautiful campus, mostly a very uniform and stately red brick. The dorms were the standout feature (they were rated best college dorms by CosmoGirl!). I mean, suites with private bathrooms and walk-in closets, not to mention balconies? Ahh... For this high-maintenance chick, it was perfect. However, the academics, though improving, are not exactly Harvard standard. And the English program is not one of the strongest. In fact, it sounded like engineering and pre-med were very popular. However, the music program is relatively strong and there's a creative writing minor! The tour guides were great, the info session was wonderful. If you are looking for a Texas school with strong enough academics in a culturally rich city (remember the Alamo!) located in an oasis full of trees and friendly people...come here! Application will be sent.

Soooo this was my spring break. Hopefully it is helpful to whoever is crazy enough to read it. At least it helped me organize my thoughts a bit. If you are really serious about finding the perfect college, be sure to visit these schools. Or at least spend a week in North Carolina. Mountains to the west, Beach to the east (Disregard the fact that all of Nicholas Crap Sparks books are based there. It doesn't affect the quality!)

Je suis qui je suis

I haven't actually gotten around to explaining why I started this amazing blog...
It all started with Julie and Julia. That incredible movie probably caused an inundation of blogs, most of them second- or third- rate (much like mine), from people who think they have something important to say or those who think they don't have anything important to say but want to test it out just in case, or those who actually DO have something important to say. I like to think I am a mix of all of the above, and so my posts may range from totally random and seemingly anti-normal English grammar to incredibly insightful and deep.

But anyways, I have always loved to write - anything from research papers to poetry to short stories. However, I tend to leave things half-finished, or even just write a sentence and give up. I did start a subscription to Writer's Digest a few months ago and once I get around to actually reading the three issues which have come, I'm sure my writing will show progress. In fact, I believe I will post my favorite bit of work:

Make Lasagna Instead

What are we but strings of spaghetti?
Birthed through the pain of scalding water and salt
Emerging fresh and renewed from the Baptismal pot
Just to be corrupted by the scarlet marinara of life
Twirled about the tongs of a power seemingly higher (or lower?) than our own
Our lives shortened each day, cut by the knife of age
Intertwined with others suffering the same
Obstructed by the meatballs of fear and loneliness
The white dusting of Parmesan gradually pinkening and melting into nothing more than an added texture
Eventually gathered into an indiscriminate ball
And thrust into the black hole of digestion
While the rest of the noodles struggle to escape
Only to reach the disposal

I also read constantly, though my reading list has been lately limited to reading school required texts. However, I did just finish a book by my new idol, Jordan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and I am starting All the King's Men, which captivated me by the first page (a digression about being hypnotized by the black line on the highway and falling to one's doom as a result). I also recently discovered that in spite of my best efforts, I adore Jane Austen. And despite the supposed unresistable sentimentality of Nicholas Sparks, I was unable to finish either of his books that I started. (and sorry, female readers, but Channing Tatum is not attractive at all-he looks like a thug). But I believe I will use another opportunity to tout my reading list.

So, to summarize, I started this blog for my own enjoyment, for the hoped for enjoyment of my readers, and for my own sanity parce-que this is probably the most relaxing hobby I have as of now.

Enjoy! Or Don't! It's Your Choice!

P.S. Excuse my ramblings.

The Downfall of Intelligentsia, or, The Crucible and the Oscars

My English class is currently reading The Crucible, an excruciatingly depressing play by Arthur Miller (redundant, I know). Today, an awful Monday, we were forced to write a one paragraph essay on an important theme in the play. Now, instead of resorting to writing on the corruption of the theocracy like the majority of my class, I decided to use my creative juices and write about the stupidity of giving power to stupid people (phrased a bit differently). Considering that I have not slept for more than five hours a night for the past week and a half, I believe I wrote a relatively decent essay. Hopefully this will be a relatively decent post.

But what prompted this creative spurt after such a draining weekend and past week?

Could it have been the absolute ridiculous decisions made last night by the Academy Awards judges or whoever else chooses the winners? Or maybe the even more ridiculous choices at the Grammy's a few weeks ago?

My question is: Who chooses these choosers? and who would cast some of these actors/actresses in movies or sign deals with these untalented or commonplace musicians?

My answer is: We do.

Sandra Bullock is very funny. Ha Ha. I loved The Proposal, but mostly because I'm a sucker for romantic comedies and because Ryan Reynolds was in it. No chemistry at all. It was more awkward than Claudette Colbert's love scenes. I did not see the Blind Side, which is what she won the Oscar for, but I have seen enough terribly cheesy sentimental sport movies to know that this was probably Remember the Titans Part 2 with Nicholas Sparks as guest-writer.
Meryl Streep, on the other hand, for her absolutely genius role as Julia Child in Julie and Julia, deserved the Oscar but once again was passed over.

I would complain about the Best Picture award...but I actually have not seen either Avatar or The Hurt Locker yet (shame on me, I know), so I can't. Je suis desolee.
However, Star Trek seemed to drop off the face of the Earth for the Oscars. Zachary Quinto as Best Supporting Actor, anyone?

Now for the Grammy's. Most awful awful AWFUL choices ever. And I mean ever. Kings of Leon...best record...FAIL. I mean seriously, clear your throats, boys. But considered to the other nominations, it was one of the better choices.
Album of the Year: Fearless by blond Taylor Swift. Wait, who decided she was original? And quite honestly, her songs do not apply to my teenage-girl life in the least. Maybe I'm just bitter?

I must say that Joe Jonas's parody of Beyonce's Single Ladies was hilarious, but if parodies are being made of a nominee for best song, doesn't that mean that maybe it WASN'T the best song. Hmmm...
I could continue on this rant, but I'm sure you're getting bored, so I'll finish off with those albums which actually were a result of raw talent and originality but which were completely ignored.

-Melody Gardot's new album, all written by her except for a soulful rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I think it might have been nominated for best engineering or something...
-Michael Buble's Crazy Love was forgotten...but his Madison Square Garden recording won best traditional pop album?
-Harry Connick Jr.: probably the most talented and least appreciated musician/actor whose last album, Our Songs, was surely worth some sort of award?
(Yeah, I'm a bit prejudiced against anything that is not jazz/blues/fusion/indie...)

But, in order to relate all of this to my topic, the world is falling into a state of deafness to anything but the constant clawing of the media. In order to stay on-air, the judges must choose winners who will either warrant a David and Goliath feeling (too bad, Avatar) or are so wildly popular that everyone will recognize the winners (Beyonce, Taylor Swift, etc.).
Why are we so easily influenced by bad decision makers? Why can't we appreciate those who actually work hard to succeed, who write their own music, who resurrect forgotten styles, who start a whole new era of science fiction?
We choose these judges, these winners, these conformists. Music, and film are the three most free realms, but they are slowly being limited to only those who can attract attention.
In order to solve this dilemma, I recommend everyone to get a Pandora radio station or BROWSE the video store or Netflix. Maybe you will discover something more exciting than songs about single ladies and crazy parties.

And also, STOP BEING STUPID!