And the Oscar goes to ...

The nominees for the Oscars were announced this morning! I'm ready to set my picks for this year. I have a few categories that I'm really looking out for, best actor and, my favorite, best screenplay (original and adapted). For me, the writing makes the movie, it inspires the players. Last year's winners were my favorite movies as well: "Sideways" for adapted and "Eternal Sunshine" for original (go, Charlie Kaufman!).

Here are the nominees and my picks (they do not necessarily reflect the picks of my husband!):

The nominees for best picture are "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich."
Pick: "Brokeback Mountain"
Query: What happened to the much heralded "Syriana"? Although I haven't seen it yet. Too political?

The nominees for best actor are Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote"), Heath Ledger ("Brokeback Mountain"), Joaquin Phoenix ("Walk the Line"), David Strathairn ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow").
Pick: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Although, I'd really love it if Heath Ledger could win.

The nominees for best actress are Felicity Huffman ("Transamerica"), Reese Witherspoon ("Walk the Line"), Charlize Theron ("North Country"), Judi Dench ("Mrs. Henderson Presents") and Keira Knightley ("Pride and Prejudice").
Pick: Reese Witherspoon
Felicity Huffman would also be a great contender. Why wasn't Laura Linney nominated for "The Squid and the Whale"?

The nominees for best supporting actor are Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man"), George Clooney ("Syriana"), Matt Dillon ("Crash"), Jake Gyllenhaal ("Brokeback Mountain") and William Hurt ("A History of Violence").
Pick: Jake Gyllenhaal
Although I hear George Clooney was also very good.

The nominees for best supporting actress are Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener"), Amy Adams ("Junebug"), Catherine Keener ("Capote"), Frances McDormand ("North Country") and Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain").
Pick: Amy Adams!!! Please give it to her!
But yay for the women in this category! Great actresses here. I love Catherine Keener and Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams.

The nominees for best director are Paul Haggis ("Crash"), Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain"), Bennett Miller ("Capote"), George Clooney ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and Steven Spielberg ("Munich").
Pick: Ang Lee
Yes, I have a soft spot for "Brokeback".

The nominees for best original screenplay are "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Match Point," "The Squid and the Whale," and "Syriana."
Pick: "The Squid and the Whale"!!
We love Noah Baumbach! "Mr. Jealousy" rules!

The nominees for best adapted screenplay are "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "The Constant Gardener," "A History of Violence" and "Munich."
Pick: "Brokeback Mountain"

Voulez vous aller a la discotheque?

NPR ran a great short piece about the Montreal music scene, both the Anglo and the French bands. Roger has been listening to the Montreal band Arcade Fire. At first I thought the sound was kind of creepy, but now I think the lyrics are kind of cool!

One for the thumb

It has been "All Steelers, All the Time" at our house for the past two weeks. The yellow-and-black have made a great run so far and Roger's hoping the Bus and Big Ben are going to take it all the way.

Here is a quote from our favorite ESPN columnist, Bill Simmons, (taken from his column from last week, before tonight's win against Denver):

Pittsburgh seems like a team of destiny.

Look at what happened in the past six weeks. With the Steelers needing help to make the playoffs, the Chargers obliged by blowing a home game to Miami, then the Chiefs couldn't tackle Tiki Barber in the Meadowlands. So Pittsburgh ran the slate against some weak teams and grabbed the sixth seed. Heading to Cincy for Round 1, they caught a break two plays into the game when Cincy's franchise quarterback blew out his knee in 34 places, leading to a full dose of the Jon Kitna Experience. Then their nemesis (New England) self-destructed in Denver in Round 2, one night before the Steelers played in Indianapolis. With the door wide open now, they whupped the Colts for three quarters, nearly blew a big lead after a bogus call, finally clinched the game, watched in horror as the Bettis Fumble happened, and then Nick Harper cut right into Roethlisberger when he could have taken it outside for the game-winning touchdown. Yet another bullet dodged. Then Manning and Vanderjagt took care of the rest.

After all of that ... do you really think the Steelers aren't going to the Super Bowl?

The run is reminiscent of the Red Sox's 2004 run ... they're backs up against the wall, etc. In fact, the Bettis fumble kind of had that Game 4, 9th inning feel to it. And Ben's sack tantamount to Mueller's RBI?

Junebug

Junebug, a film by Phil Morrison

Last night, Roger and I rented Junebug, a story about a recently married Chicago couple who go down to North Carolina to visit the husband's middle-class family and to see an eccentric artist whom the wife, an art gallery owner, is trying to sign for her gallery.

I really enjoyed the story, the mood conveyed in the film, and the characters. It was a great study of sudden relationships, as in meeting your in-laws for the first time, trying to like them, but not get in their way - wanting to belong, but also recognizing how you don't. I'm not being very eloquent in describing the film.

There's an excellent "Director's Statement" on the film's website that does a better job of stating the film's intention:

I've never had that feeling of "this story must be told." That's sort of a prose-based inspiration, I guess, and thank God people have it. I've been inspired more by moments, or by phenomena, in movies. ... Just a couple of transcendent moments are enough to make a movie worthwhile to me; and if there are more, and they work together in some mysterious way to create the moral-mystical-delirious experience that's unique to movies, then I'm inspired.

I like that sensibility, that approach to storytelling. I think that is what I find in storytellers like John Cheever, Alice Munro, and most recently in an old story by John Updike, "Here Come the Maples."

Phil Morrison goes on to write:

JUNEBUG is meant to explore the difficulty created by relationships based on patronage, however well meaning. For instance, one idea that arose is that such relationships glorify the peculiar, and convince us to view what is common as "cliche." It was not at all my intention to avoid cliches, but rather to try to explore what it is about a particular thought, object, phrase, etc. that so raises my hackles that I declare it "cliche."

Max and Ruby

Max & Ruby is a half-hour animated comedy series based on Nick Jr. on the children's books by Rosemary Wells. Each episode centers on Max, a determined three-year-old bunny, and his big sister, Ruby, a smart, goal-oriented seven-year-old.

I first became acquainted with Max and Ruby when I was looking for a Christmas present for Jeremy when he very young. I bought him Max's Christmas. I really liked the bunnies and the way they were drawn ... so cute!

More recently, Roger came home post-call and caught an episode of the animated series on TV - the one about a magic trick - and he became smitten too.

Make it work

"One of you will be in ... and one of you will be out." Heidi Klum.

Yes, it's true. Our guilty pleasure of the moment is Bravo's "Project Runway," Season Two. Every Wednesday night at 10pm. We had caught the last few episodes from last season (Roger's sister Anita was a big fan of that season) and while watching the Fashion Week episodes we got hooked ... on the concept, the characters, and (for me) the fashion.

This season's designers are pretty colorful as well as talented. Our favorites are still in the running: Nick Verreos and Chloe Dao.

But my most favorite part of the show is Tim Gunn, Chair of the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons School of Design. He is so great. He's the guy in the workroom with the designers, overlooking their progress and giving them his honest opinions, but in a kind, not condescending way. His comments are no-nonsense (e.g., "make it work, people") - he is definitely a much welcomed island of common sense in this sea of crazies.

I also like that he has a blog and a podcast!

Golden Globe Awards

"Walk the Line" won the Golden Globe awards for its two great leads, as well as Best Picture, Musical or Comedy.

Podcasting update

At work, we recently recorded an interview with Peter Rojas from Engadget.com for Tech@Tuck. Check it out!

Peter is another Merced connection ... his family used to live across the street from us, and he was Jeff's classmate in elementary and middle school. Be sure to check out Engadget.com for the latest tech updates.

Hello World!

Little Jackson Webb sends greetings from Chicago!

Philadelphia, getting to know you, part 2

Anita and Rosalyn enjoying gelato.

For our last evening, Anita and Avi treated us to an evening of puppet theatre with the Lantern Theatre's production of The Foocy. Afterwards, we walked to 13th Street for dessert at Capo Giro.


The Ghoshs dig into some tasty hazelnut. Avi samples some pomegranate.


Roger and Gen share three scoops, one each of nocciola, cioccolato, and clementine.


Catalina opts for the sorbetto. Tasty treats and good company made for a great evening, and a wonderful holiday!

Philadelphia, getting to know you, part 1

The Kimmel Center on South Broad Street.

After a festive Christmas in Vermont, we drove down to Philadelphia to meet up with Anita, Avi, and Avi's parents, who had flown in from Houston. We spent a few days getting to know each other and do touristy things, like visit the Reading Terminal and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

One outing took us to the recently built Kimmel Center near City Hall.


More views of the amazing plate glass ceiling of the Kimmel Center.


We took the elevator to the Roof Garden for a closer look.


Family photo on the Roof Garden.

During our last trip to Philly, we spent most of the time in Avi's house in West Philly. This time we became more acquainted with the neighborhoods closer to the city center, including South Street, Walnut Street, and Old City. We ate our way through the city, with dim sum at Ocean Harbor and some coffee and Italian cookies at Di Bruno Brothers.


The Chans and the Ghoshs walk towards City Hall.


Family photo at the local Ritz-Carlton.