Some Albums I Listened to Today

Albums I listened to in their entirety today while @ work (in order of listen):

Phrazes for the Young - Julian Casablancas

Transference - Spoon

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon

Weird Era Cont. - Deerhunter

Sisterworld - Liars

My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello

Imagine - John Lennon

No Depression - Uncle Tupelo

Parklife - Blur

Clubland - Elvis Costello & the Attractions

I'd say the Costello hit the spot best. I haven't listened to that album straight through in a while. Plus, I'd never listened to the bonus tracks and they're all very fine. Great acoustic version of "Lip Service".

Spoon, as I always say, have great songs but their albums tend to drag/have some weak links. Transference may be their most cohesive album. I enjoy it as a whole possibly more than I do any individual song. I can't say the same of Ga; the latter half isn't too memorable. I also find, with Spoon, that the sound can be a little wearing, annoying - too perfect and concise, even the rough moments. Brit Daniel's voice - which I love - can get on the nerves a little bit during the course of an album. Still, they write some pop gems, and they're masters in the studio, getting that lean, minimal sound. To me, they've always sounded like a Spoon.

The Casablancas album is straight up good. And I think it's in the class of music that is both totally weird and different while still appealing to a large audience. My favorite kind!

Imagine, always a great listen. And a strange album! It's weird stuff, if you think about it, and heavy. "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier" - that's intense. Imagine may not be as emotionally intense as Plastic Ono Band, but it certainly has its fair share of bitterness and anger. I would say that musically, it's stranger and more polarizing. And today I realized: the guy starts the album with "Imagine"? That's not what you'd call a classic opener. More like a closer, and "Oh Yoko!" is more like an opener. But that's the genius of Lennon going on there. He knows what works best.

CYCLE

PRECIOUS

Watched Precious: Based on the Novel Push By Sapphire last night. Great film, all around. It was also not what I expected. What did I expect? I'm not quite sure, but Precious was far more fantastical a film, and more sweeping in scope and execution, then I thought it would.

All the performances were great, especially Gabourey Sibide - classic.

But, the best part of the film is its title. Here are some variations:

Novel: Precious Based on the Sapphire By Push

Sapphire: Push Based on the Precious By Novel

Based: Sapphire Push on the Novel by Precious

Push: On the Novel Based by Sapphire Precious

Sapphire Based on the Precious Push: Novel

OK OK, I could do this all day - and I think I did yesterday. Anyways, if you felt any reservations about seeing Precious for any reason, don't. One of the best of the past year. All praise deserved.

2010 Oscar Predictions: Who Gives A Shit???

Here are my predictions for the 2010 Oscars. These are what I think WILL win, not what I think SHOULD or what I WANT to win.

I would love it if Inglourious Basterds wins every award it's up for because I think it's the best film, but I've got THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS riding on this so I have to think very logically and cagily.

Note that I've got Cameron winning Best Director while I have The Hurt Locker winning Best Picture. I think this is kind of cagey of me, and I think it may happen cuz people want to give props to Avatar, but a lot of people think that while it is amazing on so many levels, it's really not THAT great of a movie or, at least, not the best movie of the year - but it did become the highest grossing film of all time, changed the way people can make movies, and still is basically very bad ass. So people will vote this way to ensure that both movies get props. It could go the opposite way, or one of the two will get both, or none will, but I'm feeling confidently cagey and saucey, so there ya go.

Also, just saying, that, you know, some of this shit is just, you know, "Oh, The Door sounds like a A Best Live Action Short winner!" Basically, you know, guessing, based on nothing but the name of the god damn thing, you know?

My predictions are bolded.

Best actor in a leading role Oscars 2010 nominees
* Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
* George Clooney in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Colin Firth in “A Single Man” (The Weinstein Company)
* Morgan Freeman in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
* Jeremy Renner in “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

Best actor in a supporting role Oscars 2010 nominees
* Matt Damon in “Invictus” (Warner Bros.)
* Woody Harrelson in “The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
* Christopher Plummer in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Stanley Tucci in “The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks in association with Film4, Distributed by Paramount)
* Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)

Best actress in a leading role Oscars 2010 nominees
* Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)
* Helen Mirren in “The Last Station” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Carey Mulligan in “An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics)
* Gabourey Sidibe in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)
* Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

Best actress in a supporting role Oscars 2010 nominees
* Penélope Cruz in “Nine” (The Weinstein Company)
* Vera Farmiga in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Maggie Gyllenhaal in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
* Anna Kendrick in “Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios)
* Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Best animated feature film of the year Oscars 2010 nominees:
*“Coraline” (Focus Features) Henry Selick
*“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Wes Anderson
*“The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) John Musker and Ron Clements
*“The Secret of Kells” (GKIDS) Tomm Moore
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Pete Docter

Best in art direction Oscars 2010 nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg
Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair
*“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Art Direction: Dave Warren and Anastasia Masaro
Set Decoration: Caroline Smith
*“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
*“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
*“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Art Direction: Patrice Vermette
Set Decoration: Maggie Gray

Best in cinematography Oscars 2010 nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore
*“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (Warner Bros.) Bruno Delbonnel
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Barry Ackroyd
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Robert Richardson
*“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) Christian Berger

Best in costume design Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Bright Star” (Apparition) Janet Patterson
*“Coco before Chanel” (Sony Pictures Classics) Catherine Leterrier
*“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (Sony Pictures Classics) Monique Prudhomme
*“Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Colleen Atwood
*“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell

Best Director Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Cameron
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Kathryn Bigelow
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Quentin Tarantino
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Lee Daniels
*“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Jason Reitman

Best documentary feature film Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Burma VJ” (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
A Magic Hour Films Production Anders Østergaard and Lise Lense-Møller
*“The Cove” (Roadside Attractions)
An Oceanic Preservation Society Production Nominees to be determined
*“Food, Inc.” (Magnolia Pictures) A Robert Kenner Films Production Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
*“The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers”
A Kovno Communications Production Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith
*“Which Way Home” A Mr. Mudd Production Rebecca Cammisa

Best documentary short subject Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
A Downtown Community Television Center Production Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill
*“The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner”
A Just Media Production Daniel Junge and Henry Ansbacher
*“The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant” A Community Media Production Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
*“Music by Prudence” An iThemba Production Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
*“Rabbit à la Berlin” (Deckert Distribution) An MS Films Production Bartek Konopka and Anna Wydra

Best in film editing Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Julian Clarke
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Sally Menke
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Joe Klotz

Best foreign language film of the year Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Ajami”(Kino International) An Inosan Production Israel
*“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Haddock Films Production Argentina
*“The Milk of Sorrow” A Wanda Visión/Oberon Cinematogràfica/Vela Production Peru
*“Un Prophète” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Why Not/Page 114/Chic Films Production France
*“The White Ribbon” (Sony Pictures Classics) An X Filme Creative Pool/Wega Film/Les Films du Losange/Lucky Red Production Germany

Best in Makeup Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Il Divo” (MPI Media Group through Music Box) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
*“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Jon Henry Gordon and Jenny Shircore

Best in music written for motion pictures Oscars 2010 Nominees (Original score)
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) James Horner
*“Fantastic Mr. Fox” (20th Century Fox) Alexandre Desplat
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
*“Sherlock Holmes” (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

Best in music written for motion pictures Oscars 2010 Nominees (Original song)
*“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
*“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36″ (Sony Pictures Classics) Music by Reinhardt Wagner. Lyric by Frank Thomas
*“Take It All” from “Nine” (The Weinstein Company) Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston
*“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight) Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best motion picture of the year Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) A Lightstorm Entertainment Production James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
*“The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.) An Alcon Entertainment Production
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Block/Hanson Production Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham, Producers
*“An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Finola Dwyer/Wildgaze Films Production Finola Dwyer and Amanda Posey, Producers
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) A Voltage Pictures Production
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) A Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures/A Band Apart/Zehnte Babelsberg Production Lawrence Bender, Producer
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) A Lee Daniels Entertainment/Smokewood Entertainment Production Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness, Producers
*“A Serious Man” (Focus Features) A Working Title Films Production Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Producers
*“Up” (Walt Disney)A Pixar Production Jonas Rivera, Producer
*“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) A Montecito Picture Company Production Daniel Dubiecki, Ivan Reitman and Jason Reitman, Producers

Best animated short film Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“French Roast”A Pumpkin Factory/Bibo Films Production Fabrice O. Joubert
*“Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty” (Brown Bag Films) A Brown Bag Films Production Nicky Phelan and Darragh O’Connell
*“The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)” A Kandor Graphics and Green Moon Production Javier Recio Gracia
*“Logorama” (Autour de Minuit) An Autour de Minuit Production Nicolas Schmerkin
*“A Matter of Loaf and Death” (Aardman Animations) An Aardman Animations Production Nick Park

Best live action short film Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“The Door” (Network Ireland Television) An Octagon Films Production Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
*“Instead of Abracadabra” (The Swedish Film Institute) A Directörn & Fabrikörn Production Patrik Eklund and Mathias Fjellström
*“Kavi” A Gregg Helvey Production Gregg Helvey
* “Miracle Fish” (Premium Films) A Druid Films Production Luke Doolan and Drew Bailey
*“The New Tenants” A Park Pictures and M & M Production Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Best in sound editing Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Wylie Stateman
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Silvers and Tom Myers

Best in sound mixing Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin
*“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro, Distributed by Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson

Best in visual effects Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken
*“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton

Best in Adapted screenplay Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“District 9″ (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
*“An Education” (Sony Pictures Classics) Screenplay by Nick Hornby
*“In the Loop” (IFC Films) Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
*“Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate) Screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
*“Up in the Air” (Paramount in association with Cold Spring Pictures and DW Studios) Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Best in Original screenplay Oscars 2010 Nominees:
*“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Written by Mark Boal
*“Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Quentin Tarantino
*“The Messenger” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) Written by Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
*“A Serious Man” (Focus Features) Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
*“Up” (Walt Disney) Screenplay by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Dan is the Cute College Grad of the Day on DanGrgas.blogspot.com

Dan from long island, ny (da strong!!)

age: 23 || employment: web manager || salary: private! || eye color: blue || religion: no




Would you rather have your back rubbed or your hair played with?
Why can't I have both? LOL. I dunno...I kinda like both at the same time. It really puts me to sleep!

Boxers or briefs? Why?
BOXER-BRIEFS because I can't make decisions! hahahha

Have you ever made out in a movie theater?
Uhh, like who hasn't? HAHA straight through Shrek 2 AND 3!!

If the two short sides of a right triangle are three and four what is the length of the longest side?
MATH IS MY WORST WORST SUBJECT!!!!

What's something you do if you really like a guy?
Hmm...Prob go catch the newest Scorsese movie or something. Maybe I'd ask him if he wanted to play a little one-on-one. But then again that's only if he's the athletic type, you know?

What'd you get on your SAT/ACTs?
ACTs? What's that?? Haha oh no I honestly don't remember! that was high school! Good enough to get into college, I guess...barely! ;)

Have you ever hooked up with someone you met on the internet?
Yeah. A few. I was young and desperate for some reason. I hope younger people don't make the same mistakes I did.

When was the last time you spit?

Haha ew! I don't.