The Best of the Worst

If you are a movie buff like I am, tonight is THE NIGHT of the year, because tonight the Oscars are awarded. There seem to be a lot of awards being given out since the beginning of the year in the movie industry, highlighting the best of the best in films. But last night the best of the worst was honored.

Every year, the night before the Oscars is the annual Razzies (http://www.razzies.com/) are film industry awards given by the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation to the best of the worst in the movies. This was started in the 1980s by John Wilson and the first ceremony was held in his living room. It’s grown and is now held in a Hollywood auditorium. There isn’t a red carpet outside and the nominees usually don’t show up, but the press is there and the “winners” are always well publicized. Of course, there are some exceptions when it comes to the nominees attending. Just last year Sandra Bullock claimed her Golden Raspberry for her performance in All About Steve (I saw the movie, it was a well deserved award) and the very next night won the Best Actress Oscar for The Blind Side. It just goes to show that even talented people like Sandra Bullock and put out two movies in the same year on different ends of the spectrum.

The Razzies have a lot of the same categories as the Oscars and then some of its own. A person can be nominated for more than one movie and in some cases a nomination for a category can be shared (when there is an ensemble cast – you’ll see what I mean below).

Some “winners” from the 2010 movie season this year include (there seemed to be a lot to choose from):

Worst Picture – The Last Airbender
Worst Actor – Ashton Kutcher for Killers and Valentine Day
Worst Actress – the entire case (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Kristen Davis and Cynthia Nixon) of Sex and the City 2

And here’s some interesting news, anyone with $35 a year can become a member of the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation and vote for these awards.

As for the Oscars this year, if Colin Firth doesn’t win for Best Actor I may have to write an angry letter to someone, somewhere in Hollywood.

Something I've Never Done

This morning on the radio they were talking about things that you might never have done or seen before that it seems like everyone else has. Some were kind of lame. One guy said he’d never seen an episode of Friends (his loss, great show). I don’t have cable so there are probably a lot of shows I’ve never seen. One guy said he’s never seen a James Bond movie. I’m sure everyone has at least one really popular movie they’ve never seen. I’ve never seen It’s a Wonderful Life or any of the Godfather movies. One girl said she’d never been to Las Vegas. I’ve never been to Disney World (and a whole lot of other places) but I’m sure I’m not the only one. And there was one woman who said she’s never had a glass of alcohol and another that said she’s never smoked a cigarette. Don’t think they are the only people in the world who have never done either of those things.

There were some good ones. One woman said she’d never had a McDonald’s hamburger and one guy said he had never even seen a Facebook page before.

Now I could “out” some people I know (like a relative who has never pumped her own gas before – you know who you are) but I won’t name names.

So I started to rack my brain for things that I have never done before that it seems like everyone else has. Best I could come up with is that I’ve never sent a Tweet before but, as popular as it is, not many people I know actually use Twitter so I guess that really doesn’t count. I’m sure something will come to me when I wake up at 3 a.m. and realize I forgot to do something at work.

In the meantime, does this mean I am socially and culturally adept? Are you?

Good morning, good morning...NOT

This morning as I was brushing my teeth I realized something. I had already brushed my teeth not 10 minutes earlier. Why did I do this? Because I am NOT a morning person. This type of thing happens but usually I forget to do something, not do something twice. Like I’m blow drying my hair when I realize I forgot to condition it. Or I’m taking some medication before bed and realize I didn’t take my medication from that morning (that’s a bad one). Or I get to work and realize I forgot to put on deodorant (this has happened enough times that I now keep a stick of deodorant in my desk drawer at work). Sometimes I forget to take things with me when I leave in the morning: yogurt for breakfast, a book I want to return to the library, my cell phone.

For as far back as junior high school I have always needed an alarm clock to wake me up and the first thought in my mind has always been, “I wish I could sleep another hour.” It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get (last night I got just over 8 hours of sleep and was still in such a daze I brushed my teeth twice). I’ve always needed a lot of sleep but getting up in the morning has always been hard.

Right now I’m pretty damn lucky. My commute to work is about 10 minutes. But I still push it. I’m supposed to be at work by 8 a.m. (this does happen on occasion). My alarm clock goes off at 7:05 a.m. and I immediately push the snooze button. By the time I actually get out of bed it’s between 7:20 a.m. and 7:25 a.m. I don’t dilly-dally in the morning. I get up, take a shower, get dressed, do what I need to do to be presentable and then walk out the door. I don’t eat breakfast at home (I eat at work). I don’t read the newspaper, watch television or have a cup of coffee (I don’t drink coffee – hum, maybe that’s part of my problem?). Getting an extra 10 or 15 minutes of sleep is more important than any of that.

Back in high school my mother dragged me to the doctor because I was going to bed at 9 p.m. Of course, there must be something wrong with a teenager who goes to bed at 9 p.m. I tried to explain to my mother that I was going to bed that early because I had to be up so earlier. Back then I had to get up at around 5:30 a.m. in order to have just over an hour to eat breakfast, shower and get dressed before catching the bus at around 6:40 a.m. in order to get to school for first period which started at 7:40 a.m. The doctor didn’t find anything physically wrong with me.

And yes, I’m yawning as I’m writing this but I did remember deodorant today (at least I think I did, let me check – yup, I’m good).

To Be Or Not to Be...

Ah Shakespeare...one of the greatest playwrights ever. Every year the Denver Center Theater Company (http://www.denvercenter.org/) always includes a Shakespeare play in it's season and this year it was A Midsummer's Night Dream and it was fabulous, just great. It's one's of Shakespeare's comedies and a rather complicated story with fairies and misuse of love spell on humans. It's a wonderful show.

Now I know that not everyone has an appreciation of Shakespeare and I think I know why. Most of of, at some point in our educational career, were required to read Shakespeare. But the problem is that Shakespeare was not meant to be read, he didn't write books, he wrote plays and the words he wrote weren't meant to be read, they were meant to be spoken (and there is a huge difference). I will readily admit that reading Shakespeare is really hard and can be extremely boring but to see Shakespeare being performed is a whole other story. When you got to a Shakespeare play you get lost in the story. It doesn't matter that you may not understand every single word the actor is saying, you'll get the gist of it and then enjoy it. Shakespeare wrote wonderful stories, drama and comedy, he wrote about death and romance and farce and hatred. There are love scenes and sword battles, there is something for everyone.

So maybe give Shakespeare another try. Maybe see one of his comedies (one your first time around a drama like Hamlet might be too much). If you can't see a theatrical production (and by the way, Colorado has a Shakespeare festival ever year in Boulder (http://www.coloradoshakes.org/) that is also awesome), I recommend the 1968 movie version of Romeo and Juliet. Yes, it's an older movie but it's good.

What's the Secret?

Okay guys, I need some help here. For several years we’ve all seen teens and young men sporting the fashion of what I’ll call droopy drawers (when their jeans fall down past their waste, to their hips and halfway down their butt). First of all, who told them this was an attractive look (because it’s not)? And secondly (and my most burning question), how do they keep their pants from falling down?

Please, I very curious to know. Is there some special male secret to how these pants defy gravity and stay up? Women (okay, mainly female celebrities at award ceremonies) have used two-sided tape to show cleavage but keep the boob covered up. What’s the secret here? And let me say it again…IT’S A TERRIBLE LOOK.

And I bet you didn’t know (unless you live in the vicinity or Orlando, Florida) that Florida State Senator Gary Siplin is sponsoring a “droopy drawers” bill (apparently he does it on an annual basis and it has never passed). It requires schools in Florida to ban “clothing the exposes underwear or body parts.” Sounds like a good idea.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-04-16/news/os-ed-quickhits-041610-20100415_1_droopy-drawers-mr-siplin-lawmakers
Hey guys, nobody wants to see your boxers!!!!!