Sunday, February 26, 2012

- I almost didn't post my 2012 Oscar picks.  Tough to motivate myself this year.  We are well into the 21st century, yet a black and white, silent movie is going to win most of the major awards.  My picks:


Best Picture: The Artist
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin.  Clooney won a few years ago for Syriana.  The academy prefers actors who stretch, and play difficult roles.  Clooney is simply playing himself in The Descendants.
Best Actress:  Viola Davis.  Last night over dinner, the son of a friend of mine explained to all of us that the Academy award voters are mostly old white guys.  This is correct, however the voting academy is still one of the most politically-correct entities on the planet.  Davis wins.
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer.  Plummer for best supporting actor, and The Artist for best picture, are the two locks of the night.
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer.  See Best Actress


This cat at the NY Times seems to have a good feel for who will win the 2012 Academy awards:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/movies/awardsseason/the-carpetbaggers-2012-oscar-predictions.html?pagewanted=all


- For car buyers, it's tougher to end up with a lemon:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hvGaZXiSG6GL1qG7aXj2dbiCb9DA


- "Who was the best pilot I ever saw?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager


- Soprano's was one of the best TV series ever created.  I was certainly hooked on it.  It created a whole new genre and style of television, but was that a good thing?
http://www.avclub.com/articles/did-the-sopranos-do-more-harm-than-good-hbo-and-th,69596/


- 20 common grammar mistakes:
http://litreactor.com/columns/20-common-grammar-mistakes-that-almost-everyone-gets-wrong


- Why do astronauts crave spicy foods?
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/02/23/147294191/why-astronauts-crave-tabasco-sauce

Friday, February 17, 2012

John Tyler and Lewis Carroll prefer Jedi Shadows over Hunters

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?"
http://io9.com/5872014/the-answer-to-the-most-famous-unanswerable-fantasy-riddle


- Having a grand time playing Star Wars, The Old Republic.  Plenty of people have asked me to compare The Old Republic to World of Warcraft.  Here is what I say to them: if you have never played an online game, and want to start one, I would recommend Warcraft over Star Wars. If you have never played an online game, and you are a Star Wars junkie, I would recommend Star Wars over Warcraft.  The story of how SWTOR got created:
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/2012/01/20/star-wars-the-old-republic-the-story-behind-a-galactic-gamble/#/0


- Former president John Tyler (1841-1845) has living grandchildren.  How is that possible?
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/former-president-john-tyler-1790-1862-grandchildren-still-191230189.html


- The most popular sports in America:
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/NewsRoom/HarrisPolls/tabid/447/mid/1508/articleId/950/ctl/ReadCustom%20Default/Default.aspx


- Detroit's infamous purple gang:
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=183


- Why is Scotland Yard named "Scotland Yard?"  The Yard is located in London:
http://www.historybytheyard.co.uk/scotland_yard_name.htm


- The last World War I veteran passed away:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2012/02/very-last-world-war-i-veteran-has-died/48402/


The average life-span has nearly doubled in the past 100 years, but the maximum age attainable has been rather static.  Why is that?
http://singularityhub.com/2012/02/14/while-average-lifespans-increase-114-remains-a-stubborn-and-mysterious-upper-bound-why/


- There are billions of stars in the typical galaxy, and there are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe.  Let that sink in for a bit.  In our Milky Way galaxy, there is likely at least one planet for each star:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203436904577154803588270744.html


- Stubborn body myths:
http://lifehacker.com/5873922/10-stubborn-body-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-science