• I’ve been so busy taking preventative measures against catching the cold/flu that has been going around at work, I almost forgot to blog today. Between the Zinc pills and the vitamin C and the Echinacea and the various other supplements I’ve shoved down my throat over the last forty-eight hours, it’s a miracle I’ve managed to leave my room. Actually, that’s not true. I had to leave my room at least twice to cleanse my sinuses with my trusty Neti Pot. The good news is my symptoms haven’t worsened since I first noticed the slight tickle/soreness at the back of my throat on Thursday night. With any luck, I’ll beat this thing into submission before it has a chance to even begin fighting back.
• The good news is, I got to eat one of my favorite burgers in all of Los Angeles last night, at the Golden State on Fairfax. Jason and his kitchen crew cooked up an absolutely perfect bacon cheeseburger for me, which I washed down with a Drakes Denogginizer. Their spicy aioli that comes with the standard french fries (as much as I love the sweet potato ones I needed that spice) is ridiculous. So good. Afterwards I met Dan and some of his friends at Largo for the Jon Brion show. Jesus H. Christ, that guy is literally a one-man multi-track recorder. I’ve never seen anything like that in my entire life. I’m not usually into the kind of music I associate with him (other than Elliott Smith, of course) but he put on a phenomenal show. Forget about the batshit-fucking-crazy one-man band stuff, his solo rendition of “Strawberry Fields Forever” on vibraphone sealed the deal for me. Unbelievable.
• Sure you laughed when I wrote about Ray Kurzweil and his theories about a future in which humans and machines are forced to merge, but this week the Guardian (UK) published an article detailing how researchers have successfully used virtual reality avatars to create a real-life out-of-body experience for test subjects. For the first time (I think), scientists have actually “projected” volunteers “into digital avatars that can move around a virtual environment.” Score one for Mr. Kurzweil… [story]
• …But wait, there’s more! One of Kurzweil’s predictions that in the next few decades we would see computers the size of human blood cells that could be installed in our bodies to help fight diseases and illnesses. Well, the current world’s smallest computer was unveiled this week, and it’s barely the size of the “N” on a penny. The computer “is intended to monitor eye pressure for glaucoma patients. It connects wirelessly to other computers and is charged with a solar cell, needing just 1.5 hours of sunlight or 10 hours of indoor light to reach full power.” Score two for Mr. Kurzweil! [story]
• Here’s proof that my hatred of “cat people” is well founded. “The bond between cats and their owners turns out to be far more intense than imagined, especially for cat aficionado women and their affection reciprocating felines…cats attach to humans, and particularly women, as social partners, and it’s not just for the sake of obtaining food.” In fact, a comparison is made between cats and “children,” which is what freaks me out most about cat people. They fucking coddle those things as if they’re people. It freaks me out. Sure, chicks do that with dogs, too. But cats are especially creepy to me. You rarely hear about an insane woman living in a house with 100 dogs, but cats? There’s a story in the news like that every week. Fucking cat people. Stop being so crazy. [story]
• And, lastly, here are some Oscar picks. I’m heading to party tomorrow night after work (Ugh, that’s so “LA” of me) so I don’t know if I’m going to have time to post a mix tape for you (I know, Mitch…I Know.). Anyway, this year was the first time probably ever I’ve seen every movie that’s been nominated for major awards. Feel free to pat me on the back and congratulate me for being a person who is so highly evolved he has an insatiable thirst for high culture, and filmmaking is no exception. Also it helps when you date a SAG member who receives free DVDs in the mail.
Best Picture: The King’s Speech – I liked “The Fighter” and “Inception” more but they won’t win. Still, The King’s Speech was really good. I didn’t even want to watch it because I thought the premise sounded stupid (and by “stupid” I mean it hit too close to home, what with my own childhood speech impediment playing a huge role in my social life) but I was impressed.
Best Actor: Colin Firth. I thought what James Franco had to do in “127 Hours” was impressive (there were, what, three other people in that film total, and their combined screen time was about 10 minutes?), but it’s like I keep telling people: the job of an actor is to deliver his/her lines clearly, concisely and with conviction. Firth had to pretty much undo everything in order to learn how to not speak well, and I think that’s awesome.
Best Actress: Natalie Portman. Why the hell wasn’t the girl from “True Grit” nominated for this? She was the only actor in that movie who was in every single scene? Which leading actress did she even support in that film? Oh well, the best of the rest was Portman.
Supporting Actress: Haile Steinfeld. The girl from “True Grit,” duh. Helena Bonham Carter might win, but she was the lead actress in her film! These nominations make no sense.
Supporting Actor: Christian Bale. Dude was insane. He nailed it. No one can came close to touching his performance.
Best Director: David Fincher. I love David Fincher, but it’s kinda fucked up that Christopher Nolan wasn’t nominated for “Inception.” Still, Fincher’s film was beautiful and well-directed, even if the subject matter meant nothing to me. Hell, even if it was between Nolan and Fincher I might still give it to Fincher…
Most Fuckable Actress: Gail Simmons. What do you mean they don’t give an Oscar for that? WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE’S NOT AN ACTRESS? Well, what awards can se get!? SHE DESERVES AN AWARD, DAMMIT! Ugh. I guess I’ll just have to “award” her my “dick” in her “ass”. You can step up and claim your trophy at any time, Gail…
[Image courtesy of Discovery]
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