The Oscars: Live...Sorta

So it's the Academy awards and I've decided to blog and write down my impressions as they happen:

- NPH when is he going to go crazy with a Broadway show?
- Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have amazing chemistry
- What's with Clooney's face? I think this is a bit but have no idea to what
- That's a bingo! Christoph Waltz should be up for best actor. Period. Great acceptance speech and can't believe he stuck with the expedition theme throughout. I really hope he breaks out here in the states.
- I didn't realize that John Hughes was responsible for so many of the movies I loved from my youth.
- I really want to check out this Secret of Kells flick. It looks like it's drawn by the same guys who did The Critic.
- Still haven't seen Fantastic Mister Fox and I really want to if anyone's interested.
- Big surprise, Pixar wins the best animated movie
- Is Jason Bateman with Jane Seymour?
- The animated shorts looked cool, how do you get to watch those?
- I'm pretty sure the guy who accepted for best documentary short subject was not expecting that lady running up at all.
- Ben Stiller in Avatar makeup is freakin' awesome!
- District 9 was a book?! What?! That's incredible, I want to read it.
- Lauren Bacall still looks like a classy broad.
- Really? A balls joke, Robin Williams?
- If Penelope Cruz is with Javier Bardem, they're going to make one hot Spanish baby.
- That's a whole lot of woman for that little man (on Monique winning Best supporting actress)
- Can someone please tell me what Lenny Kravitz is doing at the Academy Awards?
- Paranormal Activity parody murders me.
- Salute to Horror, awesome. Putting Twilight actors as the presenters makes me gag.
- Something hilarious about Morgan Freeman narrating an explanation on sound in movies.
- Looks like the Oscar's are running a little behind schedule if they're not rollin clips any more.
- Demi Moore is the exact same color as her dress.
- I always feel like these tributes to people who've passed in the past year are kinda scary.
- Dom Delouise is dead?
- The dance being linked with composed scores music does not look right. Well at least with members of America's best dance crews.
- There! A break in Clooney's caustic facade!
- It's not part of the Oscars, but now I want to watch ABC's Happytown
- You're right, Tyler Perry. I hope they never say your name at the Academy Awards again, ever, either.
- They're really running over time if they're cutting off the whole announcement who wins.

--This is where I asked a room mate of mine to DVR the rest of the Oscars because I was leaving for some late night Korean--

- I didn't know that Quentin Tarrantino has one an Academy Award. Maybe it was for Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction.
- I feel it odd that they mentioned how many nominations the nation of Argentina has had as a whole.
- Poor Argentinian guy made an Avatar joke and no one laughed...also continued to get played off.
- After hearing Michelle Pfeiffer's praises for Jeff Bridges, I might just have to start taking "The Dude" seriously. I don't know if I like this.
- Finally George Clooney is smiling like he's actually amused.
- I really want to believe that Tim Robbin's anecdote about Morgan askin him to get him a cup of coffee and getting his name wrong actually happened.

--This is where my DVR cut off the Academy Awards because apparently it ran way over time...so now I'm angry but will give my impressions about what I learned about the rest of the awards second hand--

- Jeff Bridges wins an Academy Award for Best actor and I'm very pleased by that, as stated before, I'm not sure if I like having to take "The Dude" seriously.
- Sandra Bullock wins an Oscar for best actress. I'm sorry, I like her, I really do, but best actress? That accent alone should have excluded her from the running. I've never seen either The Blind Side or An Education, but I feel like I've heard way better things about that chick's performance.
- Kathryn Bigelow wins for best director. I think that's awesome. Not only did James Cameron not win, but his ex-wife beat him. On top of that, I'm pretty sure her movie beat his out in every category that wasn't special effects.
- The Hurt Locker wins best picture after yet another rushed presentation.

I have to admit this was the least prepared for any Oscars I've been in recent years. I think this is in part to a huge reduction in me going to see movies in theaters, and a lack of people with whom to see them. I'm excited for this upcoming year's movies and blockbusters. I already hope that costumers for Alice in Wonderland get a nod next year.

Losing Myself in Lost...Again (Spoilers Ahoy!)

Much like and adolescent at their first make-out party, I've been swamped with peer pressure to blog about the season premier of Lost last night. And following suit with that analogy I will try my best at a recap/breakdown/theorization. Something you'll have to keep in mind as you read this, is understanding that while I really enjoy the show, I'm not obsessed with it. This year is the first year I've read anything about the episodes, and truth be told the only reason I read it is because it was sent to me by friends. I will likely forget things that you more obsessed fans may think is elementary. What I will put forth is theories and questions I have. I'll tell you right now, I enjoy Lost not only for its great story and character development; but for the fact that it has brought sci-fi back into the mainstream. It had its inklings in the first few seasons, but as soon as you add time travel to the mix? NERD ALERT! Throw in a dash of some of comicdom's finest writers since circa Season 4 and you have something that has my rapt attention.

I'll start off by saying that I thought it was a strong premier that thoroughly blew the collective socks off of everyone in the room where I was watching. It seems like everyone and their sister has decided that the 2-hour premier is the only way to do a long running show's season premier these days. I used to find them exciting and special but, and maybe my age is showing here, I think I'm finding them increasingly tiresome. That being said let's break this bad boy down, shall we? Oh, and before I forget, I must give the customary Spoiler Alert!

The opening picks up, thankfully, right where we left off, and has Juliette smashing the core of Jughead the H-bomb. This puts us back on Oceanic 815, with Jack charming an extra vodka off the stewardess (I know she's the one that pops up later with the other Others). We catch him being reassured by Rose which is funny because he was the one consoling her when the plane crashed. That's when we get smacked with the big surprise! Desmond's on the freakin' plane, Brothah! It seems that Jack either has some residual memory of his as of yet time spent on the island, or he actually remembers some random dude from the stadium where he ran years ago. We are then taken several miles below them into the ocean where we see that the island has sunk. We're treated to some average CG (although better than "V" zing!) and a view of some old Dharma buildings, the four-toed foot, and a Dharma-stamped shark (I really want to know why Dharma has its own shark)!

We bounce back to the island where we see Kate in a tree. They do a great gag here where they try to simulate someone's ears being blown out. I thought it was hilarious, because I caught on immediately, while my room mates were asking what was wrong with the sound. We're kept guessing if only some of the survivors made it back to the plane until lo and behold! Jack is also still on the island! This is the point where my brain turned inside out for a second. Meanwhile on the other side of the island we watch as Black Locke watches Ben awkwardly murder Jacob. We continue to bounce between these three story lines for the rest of the show.

Highlights:

The Plane: Boone's back and reports that he actually left Shannon in Australia. Charlie tries to choke on a baggie of heroin. A friend points out that it's ironic that Charlie drowned on the island, and he's trying to cut off his airways with the baggie (Sidenote: Does anyone know how the song Charlie's band plays goes?). We find Kate is also on the plane and still a fugitive. Bernard makes it back from the tail section's bathroom to rejoin with Rose. We don't get to see any of the other tail section survivors. Jin gets taken into custody because he can't explain the shady bag of money in his luggage. We see Kate escape what must be the absolute worst U.S. Marshall ever with some help from her burly protector Sawyer/James. Claire makes her first non-ethereal appearance since what must be Season 4 as Kate narrowly escapes airport authorities.

The Island: Sawyer/James is angry and brooding (surprise) blaming Jack for still being stuck on the island and Juliette seemingly dead as a result of the initial attempt. Sayid's still bleeding out; but luckily an undead Jacob is able to ask Hurley to take Sayid to the "Temple" to save him. It's at the temple we're introduced to a whole other group of "Others". Sawyer/James hears a somehow not-crushed-to-death Juliette and rushes to her aid. She's crushed to bejeezus and dying and in classic Lost fashion tells James she has something to tell him right before she dies (and apparently is transported to the universe of "V"). Sawyer/James and Miles bury Juliette and we are reminded for the first time in a while that Miles can talk to dead people. We are told that "It worked", and we can only assume at this point that this means that Jack's/Farraday's plan actually worked. Lost continues to borrow from comics as the other Others attempt to revive Sayid with a Lazarus Pit (for you non-nerds, it was a pool of primordial goop that was able restore youth to aging people and in extreme cases, life to dead ones in Batman). It doesn't work, and the crew loses more morale. Upon discovering that Jacob is dead, the other Others send up a flare to warn Richard Alpert's crew on the other side of the island. Return to the temple, to find that surprise, Sayid's alive.

The Foot: Jacob's little group of bodyguards, incensed by Ben's vagueness about the condition of Jacob, rush in to see what happens. Unfortunately that means they rush in unprepared to deal with the Black Locke. They fire their weapons, and one even hits Black Locke. When they circle his position, they find the bullet on the ground, and we find that Black Locke is the smoke monster. We also learn that the smoke monster is deterred by a ring of ash poured in a protective circle. Deterred, not defeated, as we see that the monster merely needs to knock you out of it with any kind of implement. He emerges from the foot, and totally delivers a righteous yet effective beat-down to one Richard Alpert while expressing disappointment in everyone. We're only left with an ominous statement to Ben that Black Locke wants to go "home".

Implications and Questions:

So the idea of two divergent timelines has emerged. We are faced with "flash side-ways" as opposed to flashbacks or flashforwards. It seems at this point that they are two distinct timelines since characters exist simultaneously in both the island and on the plane/airport. The fact that they showed that the island was sunk also means that their actions in the '70s had ramifications in the timeline where Oceanic 815 doesn't crash. This may explain why some characters are no longer on the plane. You're aware of the butterfly effect? Well, if a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane somewhere else, imagine an H-Bomb going off. Lost using principle of quantum realities also brings up the idea that multiple universes can exist, and some characters seem to have more awareness of that than others (Jack, Charlie, Juliette).

So what are some of the questions this begs? Are any of the other tail-end people going to return? Is Boone back to stay? Do the timelines intersect again or converge? Will everyone meet similar fates in both realities displaying some sort of "destiny"? Does Jack/Charlie know on some level that things are not as they were supposed to be? How can Jacob speak with Hurley if he's already dead? Where's "home" for the smoke monster? Is Locke coming back? Can the Lazarus Pit be used to save Juliette or Locke (despite Jules being on another show)? Can Jacob take on new forms? Is Sayid just Jacob in Sayid's body? Is Desmond skipping between timelines like he was skipping through time? Are there characters that will be able to move freely between timelines? Will the divergence cause similar headaches and deaths like moving the island did?

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly:

Good: It looks like the writers of Lost have not lost their sense of pacing or the ability to create cliffhangers and have brought sci-fi to the mainstream for the first time since Quantum Leap.

Bad: By quasi-rebooting you create more mysteries in the final season of a show that has already promised answers (although it's asking a lot from a producer of Cloverfield).

The Ugly: Through no fault of the actual premiere, I had to watch that scene where Juliette's crying and smash the bomb maybe four or five times that night.

It was a good episode, and I'm glad I've stuck with the show 'til now. I probably won't be writing down breakdowns like this for every episode, because this in of itself took much longer than I had expected. I actually have way more respect for those "Lost Ones" who write blogs about this regularly with more extended breakdowns and research and pictures, blurgh. If anything I'll probably write something for the finale.

My Year in Lists

So as another year slingshots its way around the last orbit of the toilet bowl of time, one cannot help but look back at the last year. I've done a whole lot of nothing in the sense that I've not really moved forward professionally or educationally; but somehow that doesn't really bother me right now. I've taken up a few new hobbies, and resumed one for which I thought I'd lost almost all interest. I've made a great deal of new friends that I really appreciate, and hope that I've broadened their horizons as much as they have mine. That's all I'm going to say on that type of retrospective self-indulgence. But, there still remains the entertainment factor of my year.

Concerts:

1. Pixies - DAR Constitution Hall
Easily the best show of the year. I finally got to hear these rock icons play in an incredible venue (the only detraction was having to stay in the area of my seat). They played the entirety of Doolittle and all pertinent B-Sides as well as encored with most of Surfer Rosa. There was a kid who even got on stage and danced across. He would've gotten away too, if the little re-re didn't try to get back to his seat after running away. I mean seriously, the security is smarter than the video game guards you go up against on the daily, junior.

2. Cake - 9:30 Club
What can I say? My first real blog was about this show, and it carried its way all the way through to my top 5 concerts. The sing-a-longs and witty repartee was classic Cake. Double set? Yes Please! Commemorative 9:30 Cupcakes? Yupcakes!

3. The Thermals - Black Cat
I have to put this concert in the top 5 if nothing else but for the fact that I was in the first mosh pit I've been in for nearly a decade. It was also the first positive mosh pit I've been in...ever, really. High energy indie pop punk that brings to mind sitting in your parents basement listening to punk albums and damning the man.

4. Matt and Kim - Black Cat
These two kids show just how happy they are to be playing on a stage in front of people at every show. That newness is so refreshing. With their wild stage antics (mule kicking, and impromptu dance party-ing) and random :30 second covers of pop and hip hop, Matt and Kim are an infectiously catchy group that I will continue to see (even if they really are retiring some of their :30 second covers)

5. Ghostland Observatory (ACLMF) - Zilker Park
I just finished writing about this, but it was that important an experience that I didn't care if it was no longer timely. I love this band, live, and had so much fun at this particular show. Between the cameo by the UT marching band and my almost-over-enthusiastic 5-person dance party people, I had to let this one round out the top 5.

Albums:

1. Matt and Kim - Grand
Incredibly simple, straight-forward, dancy indie pop. These kids are catchy and the fun of their live shows nearly translates to the album.

2. Gossip - Music for Men
Frontwoman, Beth Ditto, provides a voice that's equal parts cotton candy and whiskey over dancy guitar and drums.

3. The Protomen - Act II: The Father of Death
Incredibly geeky, but a band that is slowly producing an epic rock opera about Megaman is freaking awesome. The sound itself is way more mature with a fuller, more rockabilly influenced sound. I must say though, I do miss some of those 8-bit sounds...

4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - S/T
Sweet, noisy songs of being in love that call to mind bands like the Vaselines and the Smiths.

5. Passion Pit - Manners
Loud, dreamy songs that embody summertime fun.

Songs:

1. 1901 - Phoenix

2. Little Secrets - Passion Pit

3. Good Old Fashioned Nightmare - Matt and Kim

4. Albatross, Albatross, Albatross - The Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band

5. Love of an Orchestra - Noah and the Whale

Movies:

1. Inglorious Basterds

2. District 9

3. Moon

4. Drag Me to Hell

5. Up

Comics (!!SPOILERS!!):

1. Invincible Iron Man (Matt Fraction/Salvador LaRoca)
Incredible story, if last year was the rise of Tony Stark as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.; this year's frantic spiral down into the Disassembled arc is the perfect reversal of fortune.

2. Fables (Bill Willingham/Mark Buckingham)
Fables had slipped in my eyes after the Flycatcher arc, but the goings ons on the Farm, and Buffkin rebuffing Babayaga's attempts to escape the office are both intriguing and action packed.

3. Green Lantern franchise (Geoff Johns & Peter Tomasi/Various Artists)
The War of Light that has been building since 2004 has finally arrived and gives rise to a new breed of "zombies" in the DC universe!

4. Dark Avengers (Brian Michael Bendis/Mike Deodato)
The Marvel Universe is upside down, and a homicidal maniac is in charge of the world's premiere peace keeping organization. He has used his new governmental powers to misappropriate the identities of earth's mightiest heroes and give them to known criminals to deliver his own unique brand of justice.

5. Batman and Robin (Grant Morrison/Frank Quietly & Philip Tan)
Bruce Wayne is dead. His son is the new Robin and the first Robin is the new Batman. Grant Morrison's sense of the bizarre and macabre lends itself seamlessly into Batman's world and shows that Batman is an ideal and not just a man while delivering us new villains and unique takes on classic ones.

TV:

1. Sons of Anarchy
The biker drama roared back this season with a super-intense opening that grabbed you by the throat and kept squeezing like a vice until the finale kicked you to the ground to recover for next season.

2. Flash Forward
Who thought that stealing half of Lost's concept would work so well and not feel as hackneyed as it sounds? It brings up great predestination/free will arguments to boot.

3. Modern Family
Well-written mockumentary style show about a complex interconnected family. Ed O'Neil proves that he's not just a one trick pony that needs to be put out to pasture.

4. Community
In my opinion, the first of NBC's post-Seinfeld comedies to hit its stride in the first season. The credit bits with the guy from Derrick Comedy? Easily best part of the show.

5. Venture Bros.
The stoners at Astro-Base Go! bring us Season 4 of Venture Bros. The cast continues to expand, characters continue to grow and change, all the while delivering top-notch satire and nostalgia.