Strangechord

Been a long time, been a long time.

Much to catch up on, in list fashion:

· The Oscars would have been ok and fine and all of that if it weren’t for “A Beautiful Mind” (see next bullet). I actually enjoy all of the tribute films they show each year - it’s great workout (and show-off) for my “guess that film from 2 seconds footage” skills. Check out Joan Rivers red carpet bloopers and especially Salon’s “Oscars 2002 - Somebody make it stop!” Highlights from that article:

People in the audience started laughing, until they realized that Tom was Not Being Funny At All. He was chosen to frankly address the post-Sept. 11 whither-the-Oscars conundrum head-on. “Should we celebrate the magic the movies bring? Now?” Tom asked, his eyes boring into the eyes of the TV multitudes and implanting rays of total domination. “Dare I say it?” He flashed a smirk with his robotically flawless teeth. “More than EVER,” he hissed, laying on his most Extreme Scientological Unction.

and

Connelly’s speech was cute, the way she read it with her face lowered the whole time, reading off a bunch of papers. It was evocative of a shy fourth-grader doing an oral presentation on the solar system. Maybe she was ashamed because she sold her soul.

· Speaking of sold her soul, I bowed in to Best Picture peer pressure and saw “A Beautiful Mind” on Monday night. Ugh. A mediocre film that reminded me of “Mr. Holland’s Opus”. Ron Howard has no genius in him. And to think it won Best Adapted Screenplay when, from what I’ve read, the movie is whitewashed and anesthetized compared to the book and Nash’s ACTUAL LIFE. It’s not so much that the filmmakers left some bits out or added some fictional bits, it’s the spirit in which they did this - to deliver a saccharine, dumbed-down, thin crowd-pleaser. I like Jennifer Connelly, but the role was anemic and the Nashes’ relationship completely bewildering. I never got a sense of why these two people were together. I could go on, but it actually bores me to write about it. Best Picture material?! Bah!

· I just, I just, I just received my BUST! Bust magazine is back on track with their first issue out in over eight months. Check out their online “Girl Wide Web”.

· Jer and I went to a slide show presentation at Powell’s Books last night by Ben Kilham, author of Among the Bears. He is a tall, quiet, and shy man, and told wonderful stories about raising orphaned black bear cubs on his property in New Hampshire. In doing this, he made quite a few breakthroughs in knowledge of bear behavior and psychology. Tip: if you come across a bear in the wild, stand ground and look at the bear. Do not run, do not drop down, do not threaten it or walk towards it. Simply stand still and look the bear in the eye. The bear will know you are a powerful creature and do not intend to hurt him and will probably turn and amble away eventually.

· “Fellowship of the Ring” coming out on video and DVD in August. The DVD will be loaded with goodies, including 30 minutes of extended footage to shift it from a PG-13 to an R rating. Heehee!

· The weather is turning for the better here in Portland. The sun is shining more often than not, and my creaky bones are looking forward to arm-swinging walks in the spring air. This of course means I should change the Strangechord Setlist sometime soon. Any ideas on a new theme? C’mon, let me know (I have over 4800 mp3s to draw from).