Health, Oscars, politics, and other random thoughts
Health
I am sick. It appears to be the head cold that everyone else in the office has had. I suppose the silver lining is that I have it now rather than coming down with it during the week, when I'm supposed to be traveling. The sooner it's out of my system, the better. Wow, my head hurts.
Oscars
Missed the first half hour of the Oscars. My thoughts about it are disjointed so I will present them in a bulleted list to provide if not order then at least ease of ingestion.
--I still don't know who Seth McFarlane is, why I should care, or why he was chosen to host the show.
--Halle Barry's dress was awesome, possibly my favorite of the evening, though Anne Hathaway was, as usual, channeling Audrey Hepburn in the best way, and Naomi Watts' shoulder cutout was unique. Amanda Seyfried's dress was lovely, too.
--Happy for Anne Hathaway having won Best Supporting Actress, but I wish it had gone to Sally Field. I thought she gave a fierce, fearless performance.
--Delighted that Ang Lee won for best director for Life of Pi. It was a stunning achievement.
--Adele is pretty great, but her performance seemed tame to me, especially in the shadow of Jennifer Hudson's vocal pyrotechnics.
--Anyone who bitches about Catherine Zeta-Jones lip-synching "All That Jazz" has never tried to sing while bending herself in half and dancing across a stage. Trust me when I say that unless you're doing it on Broadway every day, you're not doing yourself or your performance any favors by trying.
--I'm OK with "Paperman" winning for best animated short, but I really think it should have gone to "Head Over Heels."
--Why does anyone anywhere think that they should put Kristin Stewart on a stage? I know it's for the younger viewers, but I've never seen her be anything but sullen and suck the energy right out of a theater. She doesn't like being in front of people, she looked like a mess tonight (why didn't someone give her a hairbrush?) and is kind of a brat about it. Daniel Radcliffe is a complete and utter professional and has more presence than it seems like he has any right to. He makes her look like what she is, a spoiled child.
--They brought out the Avengers--all of them except the woman. Talk about perpetuating stereotypes. Where was Scarlett Johansson?
--It's always great to see Barbra Streisand perform. Fun to see Shirley Bassey, even if she sounded a little rusty around the edges to me.
--I loved that the First Lady gave the Oscar for Best Picture--what a wonderful surprise! That she gave it to a film about service to our country made it seem that much more appropriate.
Politics
Someone on my Facebook feed tonight declared with complete certainty that President Obama has signed more executive orders than any president in the history of this country. When people do this sort of thing, it sends me right into research mode because someone is wrong on the internet! Truth is, for anyone who's interested, the record holder is Franklin D. Roosevelt, at 3,500. Obama hasn't even signed 200, which is less than, among others, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan individually, and he's done it because Congress can't get their thumbs out of their asses and get things done that need doing.
The Coming Week, Writing, and Existential Angst
I'm sick. I'm supposed to be going to Rainforest Writers Village on Wednesday. I'm wondering if I'm even a writer anymore. I still don't know what I'm going to do about having a car or not. Tomorrow is a pretty wretched anniversary. I'm not sure what the point of, well, anything is right now. I'm sure I'll be over most of this by the time I wake up in the morning. I'm just venting. I think what I need is to take some Nyquil and go to bed. ::sigh::
I am sick. It appears to be the head cold that everyone else in the office has had. I suppose the silver lining is that I have it now rather than coming down with it during the week, when I'm supposed to be traveling. The sooner it's out of my system, the better. Wow, my head hurts.
Oscars
Missed the first half hour of the Oscars. My thoughts about it are disjointed so I will present them in a bulleted list to provide if not order then at least ease of ingestion.
--I still don't know who Seth McFarlane is, why I should care, or why he was chosen to host the show.
--Halle Barry's dress was awesome, possibly my favorite of the evening, though Anne Hathaway was, as usual, channeling Audrey Hepburn in the best way, and Naomi Watts' shoulder cutout was unique. Amanda Seyfried's dress was lovely, too.
--Happy for Anne Hathaway having won Best Supporting Actress, but I wish it had gone to Sally Field. I thought she gave a fierce, fearless performance.
--Delighted that Ang Lee won for best director for Life of Pi. It was a stunning achievement.
--Adele is pretty great, but her performance seemed tame to me, especially in the shadow of Jennifer Hudson's vocal pyrotechnics.
--Anyone who bitches about Catherine Zeta-Jones lip-synching "All That Jazz" has never tried to sing while bending herself in half and dancing across a stage. Trust me when I say that unless you're doing it on Broadway every day, you're not doing yourself or your performance any favors by trying.
--I'm OK with "Paperman" winning for best animated short, but I really think it should have gone to "Head Over Heels."
--Why does anyone anywhere think that they should put Kristin Stewart on a stage? I know it's for the younger viewers, but I've never seen her be anything but sullen and suck the energy right out of a theater. She doesn't like being in front of people, she looked like a mess tonight (why didn't someone give her a hairbrush?) and is kind of a brat about it. Daniel Radcliffe is a complete and utter professional and has more presence than it seems like he has any right to. He makes her look like what she is, a spoiled child.
--They brought out the Avengers--all of them except the woman. Talk about perpetuating stereotypes. Where was Scarlett Johansson?
--It's always great to see Barbra Streisand perform. Fun to see Shirley Bassey, even if she sounded a little rusty around the edges to me.
--I loved that the First Lady gave the Oscar for Best Picture--what a wonderful surprise! That she gave it to a film about service to our country made it seem that much more appropriate.
Politics
Someone on my Facebook feed tonight declared with complete certainty that President Obama has signed more executive orders than any president in the history of this country. When people do this sort of thing, it sends me right into research mode because someone is wrong on the internet! Truth is, for anyone who's interested, the record holder is Franklin D. Roosevelt, at 3,500. Obama hasn't even signed 200, which is less than, among others, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan individually, and he's done it because Congress can't get their thumbs out of their asses and get things done that need doing.
The Coming Week, Writing, and Existential Angst
I'm sick. I'm supposed to be going to Rainforest Writers Village on Wednesday. I'm wondering if I'm even a writer anymore. I still don't know what I'm going to do about having a car or not. Tomorrow is a pretty wretched anniversary. I'm not sure what the point of, well, anything is right now. I'm sure I'll be over most of this by the time I wake up in the morning. I'm just venting. I think what I need is to take some Nyquil and go to bed. ::sigh::