For Your Consideration

I kinda feel like I haven't been writing anything interesting lately. I like to think that occasionally I'm good for something deep, thought-provoking, perhaps even controversial, but nothing of that ilk has been forthcoming for some time now. So I thought that rather than try to furnish it myself, I could point you to some interesting content elsewhere in the universe.

Let's start with movies. The Oscar nominee list is out, so that should give you plenty of stuff to check out. Best Actor looks like a hit list of the usual suspects...my money's on Daniel Day-Lewis. Best Supporting Actor...a very enjoyable, watchable group. Philip Seymour Hoffman is a fun pick, but he got his in 2005, so I'll go with rookie Javier Bardem to upset veteran Tom Wilkinson. Nice to see Cate Blanchett pulling a Jamie Foxx this year with nominations in Leading and Supporting Actress...she'll probably land one of the two, since I don't recognize many other names in those categories. As far as Best Picture/Best Director/Best Screenplay, I'll be pulling for No Country For Old Men from Minnesota boys Joel & Ethan Coen to pull a hat trick, though Atonement and There Will Be Blood look like superb films as well.

Of course, it's not like I've actually seen any of these films yet. I don't get out much. I'll do my best, but I'm not promising anything. Hey, let's talk about movies I have seen!

I got out and saw Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street, so if you're wondering whether or not you should see that, you've come to the right blog. This movie is weird. Really weird. If you like weird movies, this might very well be still too weird for you. It's gorgeous, it's dingy, it's bloody. There's a lot of singing and a lot of murdering, and it's gory, bloody murdering, and it's creepy, unsettling singing. Follow this advice: If you loved, and only if you loved, all three of the following: Edward Scissorhands, Moulin Rouge, and Saw, see Sweeney Todd.

And I have a sleeper pick for you. I just watched Slam which is the only non-documentary film by documentary film maker Marc Levin, who is a genius. See his documentaries, if you have not. But Slam is also excellent. It's sort of like an inspiring after-school special about hope rising from the unlikeliest places, only with lots and lots and lots of F-words. And freestyle rapping. And F-words in the freestyle rapping.

So that's movies. But I also want to give you some good stuff to read, in case you're in the mood to read good stuff on blogs and I'm not helping. Here are a few I always enjoy.

Jenell Paris is a professor of something along the lines of anthropology or the like; I won't commit myself to an error. She writes about spirituality, social justice, and changing diapers, and she never misses.

Jacob Ulasich is an actor, novelist and newlywed in Utah. If that's not interesting enough, he seems intent on stirring up some controversy with his last few posts...I couldn't resist getting in on the discussion myself.

My Aunt Kathi and her family are preparing to travel around the world. Seriously. Right now they're doing so by posting very interesting, well-written reviews of very interesting, well-written travel books.

Several more of the blogs on my blogroll are good. I should take a quick spin through them and delete the ones that have died for your convenience. Um, delete them for your convenience. I doubt that they died for your convenience.

Anyway.

I also read a few "celebrity" blogs. Blogs written by famous people. These three are worth checking out, if that's your thing.

Matthew Good is an obscenely talented musician, as I have discussed previously. His blog is less about music than about politics, however. He is very left wing, very intelligent, and very passionate.

Mark Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks and has made a billion dollars by knowing a lot about business and just enough about technology. His blog is more about technology than business or basketball, but always readable.

Saving my new personal favorite for last, Cute With Chris is a weekly internet show hosted by Canadian actor Chris Leavins. He is pure deadpan laugh-out-loud offend-your-mother funny. He shows pictures of cute animals and swears at plastic toys. That's pretty much it.