And why...

Barack, does your wife read such high-brow fair like US Weekly, lol.

Yeah...but it was an educated guess

So Maxim (where all people should be getting their music knowledge from) finally admitted that their reviewer didn't actually listen to all of the new Black Crowes album before assigning it a 2 1/2 star review. But like I said, at least it was an "educated" guess.

It used to be...good

Wrestling, yes, professional wrestling used to be good. It was fun to watch, and for a time...say about 1997-2003, it was competitive. I'll still tune in to watch Shawn Michaels (the 2nd best ever to Ric Flair) and a few others. But honestly, Vince McMahon has no idea what he is doing since he now has no competition, or hasn't for about 7 years. The first few years were okay, when the Rock was kind of still around, but anymore, 80% of it is pure shit. Ah, but wait! Floyd Mayweather is going to save it. Yes, you heard me. Honestly, I don't why anyone in McMahon's stable would bitch about what they are getting payed or who is in charge of marketing or anything like that. $20 million. That's right. More than he could make in a boxing match in the future. Another arena that's dried up for now.

NADER!

Yeah baby! Ralph's Back to keep those corporate whores in check. Hehe. Seriously though, I'm loving this. I know many will disagree with me, but that's okay.

Oscars...should and will...

Okay, I used to be really good at this, like usually 85-90% for major categories...though I think my skills are slipping. I'll give it an educated guess though.

Best Picture - Regardless of what anyone is telling you about Juno, it's between No Country and There Will Be Blood. This is as close to a toss-up as I've seen. I'll go with TWBB just because I think No Country's end may have pissed-off enough people to hurt its chances.

Best Director - Diving Bell is too small, Juno is too cute, and Michael Clayton is too straightforward. So here we are again, the Coens vs. P.T. Anderson. I'll side with P.T. Though as with Best Picture, either can win.

Best Actor - This has to Daniel Day-Lewis' second statue. Especially after getting screwed out of this 4 years ago by Adrien Brody. All the performances here are great, but DDL's is by far the most memorable...and the best.

Best Actress - Cate Blanchett's second turn for Elizabeth was eh...fair. Ellen Page was too cute, and Marion Cotillard is too foreign. I have a strong feeling this is going to go Julie Christie for her excellent turn in "Away from Her". Should it? No. Laura Linney's performance in the other movie of similar subject matter, "The Savages", is more nuanced and much less romantic. But hey, the Academy has awarded Christie before, and looks like they will do so again.

Best Supporting Actor - Nobody, including the Academy saw Casey Affleck's performance. Sadly, Into the Wild never truly caught steam. Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent, though in a movie with mixed reviews. Everybody has said that Javier Bardem's turn in No Country will and should win. I'll agree with the first part. But in my opinion, I would give the statue to Tom Wilkinson. Just barely. He has every opportunity to turn his role into a complete stereotypical mess. But he rides the tightrope without every falling off.

Best Supporting Actress - Experts are pointing at Cate Blanchett on this one. Honestly, I have not seen her or Saorise Ronan's performance in Atonement. I know Tilda Swinton and Amy Ryan both were amazing. And Ruby Dee...eh...very good but this seems like a lifetime acheivement award. I'll stick with Blanchett here.

Best Original Screenplay - I haven't seen Lars and the Real Girl. Though I will most likely the day after in the dollar theatre. As for the rest here...I'd give it to "The Savages". Quite realistic and yet, quite funny, in a very human way. But I'm guessing the Academy is going to favor the cute "Juno". They tend to that more with screenplays than Best Picture.

Best Adapted Screenplay - Diving Bell is foreign, Christie will get AFH's for Best Actress and Atonement's momentum seems to have stalled out to early. So...surprise, we are back to the Coen's vs. P.T. Anderson. Anderson has already lost in screenwriting for Boogie Nights and Magnolia...and I have a feeling he will here too, especially if he wins for Best Director/Picture. My dough is on the Coen's.

And I'll once again say...wtf is up with three of those crap songs from Enchanted being in the best song category and Eddie Vedder being completely shut out with his songs from "Into the Wild"? Garbage.

So yeah...its late...but its here

So, the ceremony is actually going to happen. And I still can't come up with a 5th and final nominee for Supporting Actress. Apparently I missed a lot of the movies with good female parts this year. Sorry. And let me say, that the Original Song category including 3 songs from Enchanted??? WTF? And not including Golden Globe winner Eddie Vedder's "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild? I can only hope that "Falling Slowly" from Once can at least take that. It's a late opinion but I was trying to catch up on some other movies before giving my opinion :) (And even with that I still have yet to see Atonement, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Lars and the Real Girl, and a few others). So, here they would be, if I was givinge noms based on what I've seen...


Best Picture
Into the Wild
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac

Best Director
David Fincher, Zodiac
Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson, There Will Be Blood
Sean Penn, Into the Wild
Judd Apatow, Knocked Up

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Tommy Lee Jones, In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortenson, Eastern Promises
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages

Best Actress
Angelina Jolie, A Mighty Heart
Ashley Judd, Bug
Kate Dickie, Red Road
Julie Christie, Away from Her
Laura Linney, The Savages

Best Supporting Actor
Hal Holbrook, Into the Wild
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson's War
Robert Downey Jr., Zodiac
Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Garner, Juno
Catherine Keener, Into the Wild
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton, Michael Clayton

Best Adapted Screenplay
Charlie Wilson's War
The Hoax
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Original Screenplay
The Darjeeling Limited
Knocked Up
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
The Savages

The Gaslight Anthem

Yes, The Gaslight Anthem do indeed have a new 4-song EP out now, titled Senor and the Queen. I highly recommend giving it a spin or a purchase. And if you still haven't listened to their debut, Sink or Swim, well...you are disappointing me, and hurting yourself :)