Tangled in the fallen vines, Picking up the punch lines...

I'm taking one class this spring... The Political Systems of the Middle East. I started on Friday, and I'll be attending every MWF for the next 6 weeks. I've really enjoyed being back on campus these last two days. The class is just starting, so it hasn't been terribly challenging yet. It seems like most of the students are new to the major. Some students have had to be disabused of the rare misconception that the whole world was made in Japan. They don't seem to understand that the term "Middle East" was coined during an era of eurocentricity. Anyway, we trudge along.

This back-to-school event deserves to be noted and recorded here on the blog, just because my first post dealt with my departure from school. So this post serves as a sort of book-end to my time away. I had a full year of traveling and adventure and relaxation, and it's time to get back to work.

I've opted for a lighter load (per the guidance of my adviser) so that I can ease my way back to student lifestyle. The real test will be how well I apply some of my new discipline methods. There will be tempting movies that will come out and try to consume my time and distract my attention, but I will be strong, and delay that gratification. The French Open starts at Roland Garros in the last week of May. I will have to ration the matches that I watch and prepare ahead in order to avoid the perils of procrastination. Maybe, like Max Fischer, I'm spending too much of my time starting up clubs and putting on plays. I should probably be trying harder to score chicks.

JJ Abrams' Star Trek comes out this weekend and I already have my ticket for Thursday evening. I'll be anxious to talk to all of you friends and family out there about it. I'm optimistic that it will be nonstop fun. It would be a bonus if the character and plot work is well developed. Metacritic and Rottentomatoes are both reporting positive reviews among critics.

So, expect to hear more from me through this medium. I don't know what makes me want to write... it's something of a true oddity for me to be inspired out of the blue like this.

More later...

OSCAR BALLOT!

I am guessing that the following Oscar nominees win in the following categories. These don't necessarily reflect who I WANT to win... but we can discuss that later. These movies are not impressive compared to the nominees/winners from last year. I guess it's just been a slow year.

I've seen each movie in every category except for the nominees in Documentary, Foreign Film, and all three Short Film categories. From those categories, I have seen Man on Wire, Waltz with Bashir, and Presto. Anyway, I am very excited about the Oscars ceremony this weekend. I'm sure I'll have something to say after the show. See you on Monday.

BEST PICTURE - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
I feel like either Milk or The Reader are better movie than this, and they deserve to win, but this one is the safe bet. I won't be too disappointed if this one does win, because I enjoyed it. Also, I'm a huge fan of this director, and I like the idea of him receiving awards. Really though, this is just Oliver Twist retold in India. My idea is to steal another great Dickens story and put it somewhere where there are a bunch of poor people... so we can watch them and enjoy the colors that surround them.

DIRECTOR - DANNY BOYLE
I bounced back and forth between Boyle and Fincher on this one. I was enamored with the direction in Slumdog Millionaire. I felt like the pacing and the narrative structure were unique and engaging.

ACTOR - MICKEY ROURKE
Rourke is certainly everybody's favorite comeback. I'm not very familiar with Rourke's past work, and I was impressed by his performance in The Wrestler. So I'm assuming most people are also impressed, and they're being influenced by their emotions from Rourke's successful return.

ACTRESS - KATE WINSLET
This is the sixth time that Winslet has been nominated for an Oscar of some kind, and I am convinced that she will finally win now. She's being nominated for her performance in The Reader, which I think was great, but I think she was even better in Revolutionary Road. So, basically it seems like she's been given the nomination for one movie, but the other is written in between the lines, and there's no real way she can lose.

SUPPORTING ACTOR - HEATH LEDGER
There's pretty much no way that Heath Ledger won't win this one. If he were not to win, I'm certain there would be a riot within the walls of the theater. The bigger question is: Who will be accepting the statuette in place of Heath? Nolan, Bale, Maggie, Eckhart, Heath's dad? Heath's mom?

SUPPORTING ACTRESS - PENELOPE CRUZ
The winner in this category is impossible for me to predict. I've heard lots of love for Tomei's stripper performance in The Wrestler, and sure, it was daring, but anybody can take off their clothes, and I don't think that alone merits an award. Everybody loved the mom in Ben. Button, and the mom in Doubt... but neither of them really did much for me. So, I'm blurring the lines a little bit here. I WANT Cruz to win, and I think she will win. She was fantastic and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - IN BRUGES
If I could, I would supplant one of the Best Picture nominees with this one. Out of all of the movies of the year, this is one of the few that I could watch again and again. It's more clever, thoughtful, amusing, and entertaining than anything else.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
I really just guessed on this one. I have a little hunch... and I feel like the other nominees are kind of poor adaptations compared to this one... which, I didn't even know was adapted. Does anyone know the original story? Is it Oliver Twist?

FOREIGN FILM - WALTZ WITH BASHIR
This is the only nominated foreign film that I saw this year. This movie affected me profoundly. It left me stewing for a few days. Interesting technique, certainly, and tragic story. I am a bit upset that Let the Right One In was not even submitted to contention by Sweden, but it still wouldn't've been able to beat Waltz.

ANIMATED FILM - WALL-E
Wall-e is almost certain to win. I liked it plenty, and I think it deserves to win... but I have to say that I enjoyed watching Kung Fu Panda more than this. Kung Fu Panda was hilarious.

ORIGINAL SCORE - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
I vacillated between this and Slumdog Millionaire. But I felt like I would give Slumdog the Original Song, and Button gets the Original Score. It's hard to choose at this point in the ballot.

ORIGINAL SONG - O SAYA, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
I just want M.I.A. to win. She was fabulously pregnant at the Grammys.

ART DIRECTION - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
I loved the look of this movie. It was really beautiful and seamless. I know people had problems with the story and characters, but the movie is beautiful.

CINEMATOGRAPHY - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Nothing really to say.

COSTUME - THE DUCHESS
Great period piece... and these ALWAYS win the costume awards.

MAKEUP - THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

DOCUMENTARY - MAN ON WIRE
This is the only documentary that I saw, and I think it's bound to win. I hope people watch this. Most documentaries, especially this one, have a wonderful way of telling stories. Petit is a real-life character that will charm your socks off.

SOUND MIXING - THE DARK KNIGHT

SOUND EDITING - THE DARK KNIGHT

FILM EDITING - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

ANIMATED SHORT - PRESTO
Presto was the only one that I saw in this category, too. Hopefully the one I saw is the one that wins.
LIVE ACTION SHORT - THE PIG
These next two categories are mysteries to me. I haven't seen any of the nominees. All I did was read the synopses and make my best judgment. Not much better than a shot in the dark from the hip.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT - SMILE PINKI

Return trip...

Hello again. This little post is just a bridge to the next post, so that there is some sense of narrative in the blog. I'm no longer in Egypt. I loved my last two months in Egypt. My quality of life increased ten-fold around the last handful of weeks. I spent a few days in Palestine/Israel and loved that.

I spent the holidays in Barcelona with some wonderful and gracious friends. It was refreshing to revisit the city I grew to know and love years ago. Barcelona will always be an important place for me. I'm counting this visit as my first time back. Many more to come.

And now I'm back in Orem! Hooray! I've done little more than read books, watch movies, and romp and caper with my cousins and friends. When possible I work my old painting job.

Ok, that's it really... this is just to bridge the gap between Egypt and the next post.... OSCARS! (after the jump)