Updated Academy Picks

January 30, 2009
After doing some research (browsing the latest EW issue), I have revised my picks for this years Academy Award Winners. Well, just Best Actress in a Leading Role. Anne Hathaway, I believe, does not have enough history to win at this stage in her career. Because I totally know what I am talking about hah. Good thing I don't have money on this.

Best Actress:
Anne Hathaway-Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie-Changeling
Melissa Leo-Frozen River
Meryl Streep-Doubt
Kate Winslet-The Reader

It could be anyone.
The Academy Awards air February 22nd 5:00 pst.

Welcome New Geekdom Website!

Zack Snyder, director of Watchmen and 300, launched cruelfilms.com. It's for his production company Cruel and Unusual Films. Check it out to find the newest in Watchman news and images.
Watchmen will be released on March 6th.

Handy HTML

January 28, 2009
Looky what I found!! -->from Stu Nicholls/cssplay.co.uk

So Sweet!!!
By the way I am going to watch Inkheart soon and add my remarks. And the SAGs. School is time consuming. :P

Helpful Google Search Rules

January 24, 2009
Found this while I was surfing the web-

Several of us use Google through out the day for simple stuff, but we've never quite grasped the power of this tool. So, I am copy/pasting some tips from an article that David Pogue published in NY Times. (Pogue is a column writer for NY Times' weekly Circuits e-magazine.) Enjoy!

================================

• Download and install the Google toolbar. Not only does it put the Google search box into your browser full-time, but it also blocks pop-up ads and fills in forms for you. For Windows at http://toolbar.google.com. (Ad blocking, form-filling and Google's search box are already built into the Apple's Web browser, Safari.)

• Phrase your question in the form of an answer. So instead of typing, "What is the average rainfall in the Amazon basin?", you might get better results by typing "The average rainfall in the Amazon basin is."

• This is an old one, but very important: Put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. If you put quotes around "electric curtains," Google won't waste your time finding one set of Web pages containing the word "electric" and another set containing the word "curtains."

• Similarly, put a hyphen right before any word you want screened out. If you're looking up dolphins, for example, you'll have to wade through a million Miami Dolphins pages unless you search for "dolphins -Miami."

• Google is a global White Pages and Yellow Pages. Search for "phonebook:home depot norwalk, ct," Google instantly produces the address and phone number of the Norwalk Home Depot. This works with names ("phonebook:robert jones las vegas, NV") as well as businesses.

Don't put any space after "phonebook." And in all of the following examples, don't type the quotes I'm showing you here.

• Google is a package tracker. Type a FedEx or UPS package number (just the digits); when you click Search, Google offers a link to its tracking information.

• Google is a calculator. Type in an equation ("32+2345*3-234=").

• Google is a units-of-measurement converter. Type "teaspoons in a gallon," for example, or "centimeters in a foot."

• Google is a stock ticker. Type in AAPL or MSFT, for example, to see a link to the current Apple or Microsoft stock price, graphs, financial news and so on.

• Google is an atlas. Type in an area code, like 212, to see a Mapquest map of the area.

• Google is Wal-Mart's computer. Type in a UPC bar code number, such as "036000250015," to see the description of the product you've just "scanned in." (Thanks to the Google Blog, http://google.blogspace.com, for this tip and the next couple.)

• Google is an aviation buff. Type in a flight number like "United 22" for a link to a map of that flight's progress in the air. Or type in the tail number you see on an airplane for the full registration form for that plane.

• Google is the Department of Motor Vehicles. Type in a VIN (vehicle identification number, which is etched onto a plate, usually on the door frame, of every car), like "JH4NA1157MT001832," to find out the car's year, make and model.

• For hours of rainy-day entertainment, visit http://labs.google.com. Here, you'll find links to new, half-finished Google experiments-like Google Voice, in which you call (650) 623-6706, speak the words you want to search for and then open your browser to view the results. Disclaimer: It wasn't working when I tried it. (Ditto a lot of these experiments.)

• Poke around the "Services & Tools" link on the Google.com home page and you'll find some of the better-known lesser-known Google features, if that makes any sense.

For example, there's Froogle (product search), News, Groups (Internet discussion boards), Google Catalogs (hundreds of scanned-in product catalogs), Images (find graphics and photos from other people's Web sites), Blogger (publish your own online journal), Google language translation, Google Answers (pay a couple of bucks to have a professional researcher find the answers for you) and much more.

I found this info from englishforums.com

Academy Award Nominations 2009

January 22, 2009
View the list in its entirety at Oscars.com
Just for fun I underlined who I believe will (or want to) win. In most cases I haven't seen the movie. XD Just for fun.

Performance by an actress in a leading role
* Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Angelina Jolie in "Changeling" (Universal)
* Melissa Leo in "Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Meryl Streep in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Kate Winslet in "The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
-No Emma Thompson?-

Performance by an actor in a leading role
* Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor" (Overture Films)
* Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
* Sean Penn in "Milk" (Focus Features)
* Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)
-Clint Eastwood? Leo Dicaprio? Dustin Hoffman?-

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
* Amy Adams in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (The Weinstein Company)
* Viola Davis in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Taraji P. Henson in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
* Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
* Josh Brolin in "Milk" (Focus Features)
* Robert Downey Jr. in "Tropic Thunder" (DreamWorks, Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) -So funny-
* Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt" (Miramax)
* Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.)
* Michael Shannon in "Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage)

Best animated feature film of the year
*"Bolt" (Walt Disney) Chris Williams and Byron Howard
*"Kung Fu Panda" (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) John Stevenson and Mark Osborne -I love this movie-
*"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Andrew Stanton

Achievement in art direction
*"Changeling" (Universal) Art Direction: James J. Murakami Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt Set Decoration: Victor J. Zolfo
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Peter Lando
*"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Art Direction: Michael Carlin
Set Decoration: Rebecca Alleway
*"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Art Direction: Kristi Zea Set Decoration: Debra Schutt

Achievement in cinematography
*"Changeling" (Universal) Tom Stern
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Claudio Miranda
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
*"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Chris Menges and Roger Deakins
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Anthony Dod Mantle

Achievement in costume design
*"Australia" (20th Century Fox) Catherine Martin
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Jacqueline West
*"The Duchess" (Paramount Vantage, Pathé and BBC Films) Michael O'Connor
*"Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Glicker
*"Revolutionary Road" (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount Vantage) Albert Wolsky

Achievement in directing
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Fincher
*"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Ron Howard
*"Milk" (Focus Features) Gus Van Sant
*"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Stephen Daldry
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Danny Boyle

Achievement in film editing
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lee Smith
*"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
*"Milk" (Focus Features) Elliot Graham
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Chris Dickens

Achievement in makeup
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Greg Cannom
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) John Caglione, Jr. and Conor O'Sullivan
*"Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (Universal) Mike Elizalde and Thom Floutz

Achievement in music written for motion pictures
(Original score)

*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Alexandre Desplat
*"Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) James Newton Howard -<--JNH rocks-
*"Milk" (Focus Features) Danny Elfman
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
*"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Thomas Newman -<--As does this guy-
-I'm still really bummed Hans couldn't be nominated for The Dark Knight-

Achievement in music written for motion pictures
(Original song)

*"Down to Earth" from "WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Music by Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Lyric by Peter Gabriel
*"Jai Ho" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman
Lyric by Gulzar

*"O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Achievement in sound editing
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Richard King
*"Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) Frank Eulner and Christopher Boyes
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Tom Sayers
*"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Ben Burtt and Matthew Wood
*"Wanted" (Universal) Wylie Stateman

Achievement in sound mixing
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Mark Weingarten
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo and Ed Novick
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty
*"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Ben Burtt
*"Wanted" (Universal) Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

Achievement in visual effects
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron
*"The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros.) Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Tim Webber and Paul Franklin
*"Iron Man" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment) John Nelson, Ben Snow, Dan Sudick and Shane Mahan

Adapted screenplay
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.) Screenplay by Eric Roth Screen story by Eric Roth and Robin Swicord
*"Doubt" (Miramax) Written by John Patrick Shanley
*"Frost/Nixon" (Universal) Screenplay by Peter Morgan
*"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company) Screenplay by David Hare
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy

Original screenplay
*"Frozen River" (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Courtney Hunt
*"Happy-Go-Lucky" (Miramax) Written by Mike Leigh
*"In Bruges" (Focus Features) Written by Martin McDonagh
*"Milk" (Focus Features) Written by Dustin Lance Black
*"WALL-E" (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon
Original story by Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Best motion picture of the year
*"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (Paramount and Warner Bros.)
A Kennedy/Marshall Production Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
*"Frost/Nixon" (Universal)
A Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Working Title Production Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Eric Fellner, Producers
*"Milk" (Focus Features)
A Groundswell and Jinks/Cohen Company Production Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, Producers
*"The Reader" (The Weinstein Company)
A Mirage Enterprises and Neunte Babelsberg Film GmbH Production Nominees to be determined
*"Slumdog Millionaire" (Fox Searchlight)
A Celador Films Production Christian Colson, Producer

-The Dark Knight?-

Feature Films with two or more nominations-

(This list does not include Short Films or Documentary Short Subjects.)

Picture
Nominations
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
13
"Slumdog Millionaire"
10
"The Dark Knight"
8
"Milk"
8
"WALL-E"
6
"Doubt"
5
"Frost/Nixon"
5
"The Reader"
5
"Changeling"
3
"Revolutionary Road"
3
"The Duchess"
2
"Frozen River"
2
"Iron Man"
2
"Wanted"
2
"The Wrestler"
2



Just in case you missed it at the top of the post-
View the list in its entirety at Oscars.com

The 81st Academy Awards airs February 22nd.

Barack Obama's Inauguration Speech

January 20, 2009

Just in case you missed it.

Fast and Furious - Second Trailer

January 15, 2009

Twilight Book Extras on StephenieMeyer.com

January 14, 2009

If you have read every Twilight book published and don't know what to do next, hope is not lost. Just in case you missed it there are a ton of Twilight goodies on the authors website stepheniemeyer.com. This includes content that was lost in the editing process and extra chapters Stephenie wrote after the books were released. She graciously added what she had written for Midnight Sun before putting up the pen. If you don't know what I'm talking about click on the link, it explains.
Warning: Be sure you have a free afternoon before clicking on these links. The amount of reading involved may cause a few hours of your time to disappear.

Better Inkheart Trailer

January 10, 2009

I feel this trailer better suits the book. Oh, and it doesn't come out till January 23rd. I found that out.

Inkheart Trailer

January 7, 2009


I love the book. I just bought the third and devoured it. I'm not impressed with what I have seen of the movie so far. At all. It's really hard not to pick this trailer apart.. no. rip apart. If they change Dustfinger.... *take a deep breath* Paul Bettany is good. I will keep an open mind until I see it.
Until I see it.

My 2008 Ratings

Iron Man (A-)
What Happens in Vegas (B)
Indie 4 (C+)
Narnia: Prince Caspian (B-)
Kung Fu Panda (A-)
The Incredible Hulk (B-)
Hancock (B)
Wall-E (B+)
Center of the Earth (D)
Hellboy II (B)
The Dark Knight (A-)
Pineapple Express (C)
Tropic Thunder (B+)
Bangkok Dangerous (F)
Burn After Reading (C)
Twilight (B)

People's Choice Awards

Jen McDonnell, Dose.ca
Published: Wednesday, January 07, 2009

The people were united in their love of The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's gritty take on the Batman franchise starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger. The film swept the ceremony with five wins: favourite movie, favourite superhero, favourite onscreen match-up, favourite action movie and favourite cast. Bale accepted the awards with a short speech, closing with "Here's to Heath."

Read the article in it's entirety at Canada.com

People's Choice Awards Winners:
Favourite Funny Male Star: Adam Sandler
Favourite Star Under 35: Carrie Underwood
Favourite Competition Reality Show: Dancing with the Stars
Favourite Talk Show Host: Ellen Degeneres
Favourite Combined Forces: "No Air" - Jordin Sparks f. Chris Brown
Favourite Male Singer: Chris Brown
Favourite Movie Comedy: 27 Dresses
Favourite Female Movie Star: Reese Witherspoon
Favourite Male Movie Star: Will Smith
Favourite Family Movie: Wall-E
Favourite R&B Song: "No One" - Alicia Keys
Favourite Leading Man: Brad Pitt
Favourite Sci-Fi Fantasy Show: Heroes
Favourite Rock Song: "All Summer Long" - Kid Rock
Favourite Male TV Star: Hugh Laurie
Favourite Female Singer: Carrie Underwood
Favourite TV Guest Star: Robin Williams - Law & Order: SVU
Favourite Leading Lady: Kate Hudson
Favourite Movie Drama: The Secret Life of Bees
Favourite Female TV Star: Christina Applegate
Favourite TV Drama: House
Favourite New TV Comedy: Gary Unmarried
Favourite New TV Drama: The Mentalist
Favourite TV Comedy: Two and a Half Men
Favourite Movie: The Dark Knight
Favourite Superhero: The Dark Knight
Favourite On-Screen Match Up: The Dark Knight
Favourite Action Movie: The Dark Knight
Favourite Cast: The Dark Knight

Your Spiritual Number

January 1, 2009



Your Spiritual Number is Nine



You bring satisfaction and competence into people's lives.

You are very influential... sometimes more of an influence than you even realize.



Right now, your life is all about reflection and completion.

You have ended a long journey, and you are taking the time to figure out what it all meant.



You are an easy going, charming, and charismatic person.

Whether you want to or not, you have a lot of devoted followers.

Get Out!

Watch to find out!

"Get Out!" = My initial reaction after seeing this trailer.