OSCARS 2011 CON'T

Best Supporting Actor! Bale's to lose and Rush's to steal.

Bale was amazing... so good.
John Hawkes may slip in on a split vote.
So could Jeremy Renner...

God, I love this category.

Ruffalo is the only one that doesn't make a lot of sense. He was good, but it wasn't anything he hadn't done before.

Goes to... Batman! Holy hand grenades Batman!

So the next Batman film has 4, count them 4, Academy Award winners. Bale, Freeman, Caine, Cotillard. Oh, and 5 if you count the production team!

Break!

OSCARS 2011!!!

I think I finally get to watch the Oscars after last years debacle left me wildly unsatisfied. In China you get the Golden Globes and the Grammy's, but not the Oscars. So this year, STAR Movies made a special point of covering the awards and here we are.

I am not a fan of the 10 best picture category as I think it lets in some films that have no business being considered and splitting the votes from the creme de la creme. However, you do get the much needed omissions that end up getting rewarded in Screenplay and Director's categories.

James Franco doesn't really seem to care that he is hosting. Weird. Anne Hathaway is throwing herself into every joke.

Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland takes the bald dude. Awkward acceptance where the guy puts a tiny mad hatter hat on the statue.

Best Cinematography: True Grit is the favorite here...

Wally Pfister for Inception! Wow, what an upset. I wonder if Inception will clean up in all it's other categories. After this, Pfister goes onto the next Batman movie.

We're back...



They roll out Kirk Douglas to remind everyone that he is indeed Spartacus. He is presenting best supporting actress.

Really strong category as always. Amy Adams continues to be the most consistently awesome actress working today. Melissa Leo was also great in The Fighter. I thought Hailee Steinfeld was good, but not the revelation everyone else said she was. Douglas has hijacked the awards...

Melissa Leo for The Fighter! Great win for an actress who has paid her f'n dues. She looks great. She is just completely overwhelmed by the moment. Every actor dreams about this ...OH she dropped the F-bomb! Congrats Melissa! She and Kirk need to go on the road.

Back to awkward humor from Franco and Anne. BTW, James Franco may only be referred to as Franco from now on. Got to keep the meta up.

Timberlake is evidently Banksy.

What are Kunis and Timberlake talking about? Stupid inside jokes.

Best Animated short: The Lost Thing.

Sorry, had to warm a bottle. Great acceptance speech.

Best animated feature:

Toy Story 3's to lose.

Annnnnd... Toy Story 3. Pixar just keeps knocking them down. Suck it Dreamworks!

Break!

Back again, a look at the first "Aren't we awesome awards".

Bardem and Brolin in matching tuxes. Odd. Bardem...oddest looking-good looking man.

Best adapted screenplay: Has to go to Social Network. Sorkin's dialogue is always razor sharp...

Boom, Social Network. Aaron Sorkin in his first win. Camera lingers on Jessie Eisenberg lovingly.

Best original Screenplay: King's Speech... David Seidler (Sp?) Yes, spelled correctly.
Great speech from an old pro. I get pissed when their speeches get interrupted by the producers telling them to wrap it up. Why? So I can watch more montages and awkward comedy that no one in the viewing audience gets? It is an award show! Let them talk!

Break!

Hey, Anne Hathaway sings, let's have her waste time and sing!

Ah, Franco in a dress...

And token Charlie Sheen joke.

Russel Brand, Great British Comedian of the moment.

Best Foreign Language Film:

Oscar goes to... In a Better World, Denmark. This was the favorite. A film about the human process of revenge and anger. I really want to see this.

Goodbye Ronnie.

Ron Santo died today. I feel sad of course, but mostly I am just angry. I know that isn't any way to live life, but in this case I think some anger needs to be released, because the Santo family is too classy to do it themselves.

Ron Santo played 14 seasons for the Chicago Cubs. He was one of the greatest third basemen of all time. He was never elected to the Hall of Fame. Journalists had years to put him in, then the Veteran's committee had their opportunity. Through arrogance, derision, our outright jealousy they denied him his place while he lived. Now, more than likely, Ron will be inducted posthumously. That is an outrage and and an offense of grand proportion. Ron developed diabetes at 18 and played his entire major league career with the condition. He never had the medication or the treatment that would have prolonged his career or could have prevented the amputations that robbed him of both of his legs a few years ago. He put up numbers that rank him as one of the best players of all time, period. The stats don't lie people.

Ron smiled through it all. He never let the insult get him down. He was the epitome of class to the very end. Ron deserved better. The Hall of Fame is filled with racists, cheaters, junkies, and others whose entire existence never held a candle to Ronnie's. He was a champion of the game, and he was champion in life.

So I find myself standing for his defense. After Ron ended his playing career, he became an announcer for the Cubs on the radio. Ron was the voice of the fan. The heart of every bleacher bum was Ronnie. He called the games as his emotions dictated. It was never in-depth, but it was always from the heart and it was never mean, never cruel. I don't know if Ronnie had it in him to be spiteful.

Those members of the Veteran's committee who never voted for him before but will vote for him now should be ashamed. Through their own arrogance, they have denied a man his reward for a lifetime of love dedicated to the game. Ron deserved the chance to speak before the assembled throngs of Cooperstown. He deserved to see an ocean of Cubbie blue filling the lawn to applaud his induction. I have always felt that if you earn your seat in Cooperstown, you deserve it from the day you hang up your spikes. I don't believe in the absolute sham of voting that exists today. No one will ever care about how may votes it takes to get into the Hall. The only thing that matters is induction. We will never know who kept Ronnie out, but I can take a guess. They were people who built their own careers off the greats that played with them. They had teammates who enhanced their stats and helped win them championships. They held it against Ronnie that he never won a World Series. Which, the last time I checked was impossible to do by oneself in the game of Baseball.

My heart weeps for the Santo family. Ronnie's number hangs from the foul pole at Wrigley to wave until the game of Baseball is wiped from human history. The city of Chicago has lost a legend. They have lost a role model. They have lost a beloved friend. Fans of all teams knew and respected Ronnie. They feel his loss almost as dearly as Cub fans do. He will be greatly missed and his legacy will live on. The young man, the Cub, the embodiment of joy in the game of Baseball clicking his heels in the summer of '69 will never be forgotten.

We love you Ron. In our hearts and minds there is no one better.

Time flies when you are sleep deprived...

What day is today? Is it Wednesday? Thursday? Halloween? I really don't know from day to day anymore. For anyone not in the know, my wife and I celebrated the birth of our first child last month and it has been a blissful blur of days ever since. So much so that I haven't time to jot down my thoughts. I am beyond happy to have a child in the house, and I love my wife even beyond the bordering on silly levels at which I loved her before. While we have plenty of ups and downs as any new parents do, the change to your life is truly indescribable until it happens to you. I had all these preconceptions of what fatherhood would be like, but nothing prepared me for the moment. The wave of emotions and realizations that wash over you is all-encompassing. Every parent has a World of hopes and dreams for their child and we are certainly no different. Keeping perspective through all of that has been a priority. I am trying very hard to enjoy all the small moments of every single day and appreciate just how wonderful those quiet, serene moments are as I stare at him in amazement. Every time he looks up at me and squeezes my finger I can't help but feel that I would move mountains for him if I could.

Tastes like victory!

This weekend I joined the American consulate dragon boat team in defending our championship. We won first place for the third straight year, but it wasn't the cakewalk that last year's was. We defeated the second place team by just a mere second. I have to say, I don't know if my arms have ever hurt more than they did at the end of that race. For 500 meters we paddled as hard as we could. Probably too hard! With our Marines up front setting the pace, we started fast and furious and probably burned ourselves out faster than we needed too. We kept our lead, but our second place rivals saved their best for last and were only a few more meters from taking the trophy.



The race was held out at a huge recreation park holding an aquatics center, a golf course, residential villas, and an aircraft carrier... Yes, that's right. A full size aircraft carrier parked in concrete. Surrounded by rockets, and old model jet airplanes. Ah, "The China". I really wish we had a picture of the thing so everyone could see it. It is really something to behold.

New Blurg.

I have a new blog that I will be posting on dedicated to my pursuit of all things trivial and geek related. I can't say my first post is light and fluffy considering the subject matter, but be aware that all who go to this blog will lost in a land of geekery from which you may never return. Stay tuned to Global D'oh-mination if you just want random stories about daily life in "The China" and cute baby photos which are coming soon. You can find the direct link to Aspiration Figures on the right side under "Other assorted ramblings".

-Ryan

Oh, the anticipation!

Today my wife is officially full term with her pregnancy. It's great news, but we are still three weeks from the expected due date and we are both tired of waiting. This baby cannot arrive soon enough. I find myself having a difficult time focusing on any non-baby related tasks simply for fear of having to abandon them for a full week once the baby decides he is tired of hanging out in his own personal water-park. I have some custom projects yearning to be worked on, but I just cannot muster the single minded intensity to leap into them. Now, many of you would say; "You better start them now, because once the baby is there every free second you get is a blessing." To that I say, you're right. Fundamentally I understand that a whopping majority of my free time will now be spent seeking out a comfortable nap. However, there is still this small section of me that thinks I can slip in an hour or two to paint or sculpt.

How do you get impatient with something that has no idea it is on time table? We want that baby here, but baby gonna do what baby gonna do. At this point he has essentially finished cooking. Yes, I am comparing my unborn child to a chicken-pot pie. Once he arrives though he still requires an absurd amount of care. We are one of the only species that gives birth to a child that is absolutely helpless for nearly the first year of it's life. A video we watched posited the theory of using the first three months outside the womb as the fourth trimester. It is a fantastic concept and one I never gave any thought to. When I look back at my lifeline, I am amazed at how little real concerted thought I gave to the concept of childbirth and development. Anyone betting on me to be a pediatrician lost big time, and I am talking Los Angeles Clippers big time.

We have another doctor's appointment on Saturday, but let's be honest, that baby could show up tomorrow! I don't have time for all these "appointments" I am too busy observing my wife, and jumping every time she says "ooh".

And in a case of "wow, this would be a great water breaking story..." We are going to try and see Inception today. I will finally be able to absorb all information pertaining to said film and discuss every crazy plot point a full month past the point of anyone caring!!!!!!!