RWPE Y2 #8 – Market

Not many submissions for MARKET. I have to confess that MARKET was one of the themes that was under consideration for termination. In the end we kept it because my MARKET picture from last year might have been my favorite RWPE picture from last year.

Here are this year’s submissions for MARKET:


WEEK 8 - MARKET - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson

WEEK 8 - MARKET - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

I’ve been down to visit the Random Theme Generator and I asked him for a category that would really spark the creative interest of many, many people. This is what it spat at me:

Silhouette

One of my favorite themes.

A look back at the submissions in 2010:

2010 Silhouette

I hope for many submissions next week as this is one of the easiest artistic themes.

Oscar Preview

I thought it wouldn’t hurt to give some predictions on tonight’s Academy Awards. At least the categories that I think I can write semi-competently about.

Adapted Screenplay

The nominees are…

  • 127 Hours
  • The Social Network
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit
  • Winter’s Bone

I have seen all 5 of these movies and read none of the source material.

I want to win: The Social Network.  This is the most brilliant script of the year.  Adapted or otherwise.

I think will win: The Social Network. I repeat, the most brilliant script of the year.

Original Screenplay

The nominees are…

  • Another Year
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech

I have seen all the nominees except for Another Year.

I want to win: The Fighter.  Although Inception is my favorite of the nominees, The Fighter brings to life better characters.  Although the script isn’t without its flaws.

I think will win: The King’s Speech. Even though it isn’t one of my favorite movies from this year, it is a solid script that centers around 2 very interesting characters.

Documentary Feature

The nominees are…

  • Exit through the Gift Shop
  • Gasland
  • Inside Job
  • Restrepo
  • Waste Land

I have not seen Inside Job or Waste Land.

I want to win: Gasland. Flammable water. That is all I need to say.

I think will win: Restrepo. War documentaries seem to do well in this category and this is well-done.

Animated Feature

The nominees are…

  • How to Train Your Dragon
  • The Illusionist
  • Toy Story 3

I have seen all 3 nominees.

I want to win: How to Train Your Dragon. I think this movie is the funniest and best of the 3. I admit to being partial to dragon movies.

I think will win: Toy Story 3. They might as well just retire this category and give the award to Pixar every year. Toy Story 3 is nominated for Best Picture and the other 2 are not.

Supporting Actress

The nominees are…

  • Amy Adams in The Fighter
  • Helena Bonham Carter in The King’s Speech
  • Melissa Leo in The Fighter
  • Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
  • Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

I have seen 4 of 5 nominees. I have not seen Animal Kingdom.

I want to win: Melissa Leo. That is hard for me to say, since I think everybody knows my favorite actress is Amy Adams, but I have to confess that Melissa Leo is even better than her in this movie.

I think will win: Melissa Leo. Although there is potential to split The Fighter votes, I still think Leo will win. It still annoys me that Hailee Steinfeld is in the Supporting Actress category, when she clearly should be nominated for Best Actress.

Supporting Actor

The nominees are…

  • Christian Bale in The Fighter
  • John Hawkes in Winter’s Bone
  • Jeremy Renner in The Town
  • Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
  • Geoffrey Rush in The King’s Speech

I have seen all 5 nominees.

I want to win: Christian Bale. Even though I want to hate Christian Bale he is tremendous in this role. There are some great performances by the other nominees, but I think this is the biggest no-brainer category of this year.

I think will win: Christian Bale. Any other year, Geoffrey Rush would have won this category. He chose a bad year to have his best performance since Shine.

Leading Actress

The nominees are…

  • Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right
  • Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole
  • Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone
  • Natalie Portman in Black Swan
  • Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

I have seen 4 of the 5 nominees. I have not seen Rabbit Hole.

I want to win: Michelle Williams. I think she had the most interesting performance of the year, but the nomination was the award for her. I would also like to see Jennifer Lawrence win. She gave a pretty amazing performance for somebody who’s biggest accomplishment before this was being on The Bill Engvall Show.

I think will win: Natalie Portman. There is no denying that her performance is great.

Leading Actor

The nominees are…

  • Javier Bardem in Biutiful
  • Jeff Bridges in True Grit
  • Colin Firth in The King’s Speech
  • Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network
  • James Franco in 127 Hours

I have seen 4 of the 5 nominees. I have not seen Biutiful.

I want to win: James Franco. Eisenberg is great. I have no clue why Jeff Bridges is even nominated. I didn’t know that mumbling was considered great acting. Franco’s was my favorite performance and he spent most of the movie trapped under a rock.

I think will win: Colin Firth. As much as I hate royalty, Firth is pretty amazing as the king with the stuttering problem. Oscars frequently go to actors portraying people with a disability. This is the only 1 of the 5 performances that involves a disability, unless Rooster Cogburn is suffering from a disability that doesn’t allow him to enunciate words properly.

Directing

The nominees are…

  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • The King’s Speech
  • The Social Network
  • True Grit

I have seen all 5 nominees.

I want to win: The Social Network. David Fincher is one of my favorite directors and I felt that he was in a little bit of a slump. He hit the ball out of the park with The Social Network.

I think will win: I just can’t imagine a world where The Social Network doesn’t win this award.

Best Picture

The nominees are…

  • Black Swan
  • The Fighter
  • Inception
  • The Kids Are All Right
  • The King’s Speech
  • 127 Hours
  • The Social Network
  • Toy Story 3
  • True Grit
  • Winter’s Bone

I’ve seen all 10 nominees.

I want to win: The Social Network. It is the most complete well-rounded movie of the year. It is my favorite movie of the year and it is also the most entertaining.

I think will win: The Social Network. It is the most original movie of the year, so that works against it slightly. However, I think the Academy has done a pretty good job in the last few years getting this category right. I have full faith that they will get it right again.
That is it for my preview. Enjoy the Oscars!

Personal Photo Project of the Week #56


Personal Photo Project #56
The Finite is Not the Infinite

I decided to start experimenting with multiple exposures again and when I got this roll of film back, I realized how rust I had become with this photo technique.

This was a roll of 36 pictures and most of the multiple exposures came back so beyond creepy, that they will never see the light of day. That was slightly disappointing considering that nobody in Ames develops real black & white film any longer, so just getting this roll of film developed involved multiple trips to Des Moines.

Here are a few more pictures from the roll of film that turned out or hasn’t been rendered obsolete by time.


Personal Photo Project #56

Personal Photo Project #56

Personal Photo Project #56

Personal Photo Project #56

Personal Photo Project #56

Personal Photo Project #56

Personal Photo Project #56
Forgot to set the camera for multiple exposure on this one!

I have another roll of film out for development from my pinhole camera. I have no clue what to expect from that roll of film, but I doubt that I get it back before next Friday. Next Friday’s Personal Photo Project of the Week will be Sara and the 9 Emotions.

The Archives: Edition Five

These pictures are from backup/Old My Pictures/Beaver Massacre

I’ve try to come up with a good reason for why these pictures exist, but I can’t really defend them.

I will just try to explain what the general idea was supposed to be. These were supposed to be “Production Stills” for a movie that didn’t exist, The Beaver Machete Massacre.

Why?

I don’t know. I think Beaver looks like the set of a horror movie and I owned a machete.

Here they are:


IMAGE LOST
I believe Jay was the first person to fall under my blade. Sometimes when two great artists get together a creative synergy occurs and amazing things are done. Sometimes they do garbage like this…

IMAGE LOST
Bill was next and by this time my maniacal hillbilly character had bought a new plaid shirt. I think it was quilted so he wouldn’t get cold during the long winter nights in the woods.

IMAGE LOST
By the time Willy had come around, I had lost the machete. But I had found an axe. Locally there was a clothing sale at Big Bear and the maniacal hillbilly had picked up yet another quilted flannel shirt.

IMAGE LOST
We drove all the way out to Ledges, we might as well take more than one shot.

IMAGE LOST
Poor Steph. Why did she ever agree to such a thing.

IMAGE LOST
Jesse was next. I think this was done on his lunch break. Apparently I had found a hammer by this point.

IMAGE LOST
I think we found that bottle littered on the ground at Wakefield Woods.

IMAGE LOST
Jesse used to have a similar look on his face when he saw that he was going to have to defend me on the basketball court.

IMAGE LOST
I’m pretty sure that Jay took these cinematic shots.

IMAGE LOST
Jesse must have really been into this little project.

IMAGE LOST
I must have found the machete again. The look on Andy’s face almost makes this old project worthwhile.

IMAGE LOST
Take that Old Navy!

Next week’s folder is backup/Old My Pictures/County Fair 2004

RWPE Y2 #7 – Silence

SILENCE did not keep people from being silent. There were a healthy amount of submissions this week. Here are the submissions for SILENCE:


IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause of Impassioned Versifier

IMAGE LOST
Geri Derner

WEEK 7 - SILENCE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson of The Joy is in the Journey

IMAGE LOST
Carla Stensland

WEEK 7 - SILENCE - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest of Waxen Media

Mike and I fired up the Random Theme Generator and it fired out a kind of consumerist theme for this week:

MARKET

You can take a look back at last year’s submissions for MARKET by clicking on the link below:

MARKET – 2010

It is a good broad theme that might push the comfort levels of some people. I hope this is another great week for participation!

Personal Photo Project of the Week #55



Valentine’s Day 2011

Last year I believe I republished the love letters that they were covering on Writer’s Almanac. This year I’ve decided just to quote my favorite line in my favorite love songs by my favorite musicians. The one notable exception being what I always consider to be the greatest love song ever written, Goofy’s Concern by the Butthole Surfers.

“Everything means nothing, if I ain’t got you.”

“’cause I’ve been in love before; And I found that love was more; than just holding hands.”

“I was born when I met you; Now I’m dying to forget you; And that is what I know.”

“Just like an angel off the page; You have appeared to my life; Feel like I’ll never be the same.”

“Ev’ry time that you’re near; All my cares disappear; Darling, you’re all that I’m living for.”

“Lately I’ve been running on faith; What else can a poor boy do? But my world will be right; When love comes over you.”

“He said, ‘Son why you got to sing that tune? Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon? Let an angel swing and make you swoon; Then you will see, you will see.'”

“Breathe out; So I could breathe you in; Hold you in.”

“She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted; She is everything that I want that I never knew I needed.”

“With every breath that I am worth; Here on Earth; I’m sending all my love to you.”

“I can’t direct the universe; I can’t pull off the road and take a rest; I can’t go on for evermore; I can’t refuse the weight of intellect; I can’t avoid the hands of time; I wish her touch was of a softer kind; and if the world decides to melt; there’s nothing I can do to change her mind.”

“We’ve all got our funny moods; I’ve got mine, woman you’ve got yours too; Just trust me like I trust in you.”

“I go out on a party; And look for a little fun; But I find a darkened corner; ‘Cause I still miss someone.”

“Tap on my window; knock on my door; I want to make you feel beautiful; I know I tend to get so insecure; It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I’ve been a lot of places all around the way; I’ve seen a lot of joy, and I’ve seen a lot of pain; But I don’t want to write a love song for the world; I just want to write a song about a boy and a girl.”

“When I saw the break of day; I wished that I could fly away; Instead of kneeling in the sand; Catching teardrops in my hand.”

“These arms of mine; They are lonely; Lonely and blue; These arms of mine; They are yearning; Yearning from wanting you.”

“I seem to recognize your face; Haunting, familiar, yet I can’t seem to place it; Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name.”

“Though your hurt is gone, mines hanging on, inside; And I know it’s eating me through every night and day; I’m just waiting on your sign.”

“I don’t know how to make lots of money; I don’t know all the right things to do; I can’t say where we’ll go, but the one thing I know; Is how to be a good man to you; Until I die that’s what I’ll do.”

“I hear in my mind all these voices; I hear in my mind all these words; I hear in my mind all this music; And it breaks my heart.”

“And now if I should see you; Or call you on the phone; I wonder who’s that person; I could never call my own; Although I kind of like you; I’ll never understand; Why I got so excited; Each time we held hands.”

“A fish was made to swim in the ocean; A boat was made to sail on the sea; As sure as there are stars above; I know, I know you were made for me.”

“Red letter day and I’m in a blue mood; Wishing that blue would just carry me away; I’ve been talking to God; Don’t know if it’s helping or not; But surely something has got to got to give; Cause I can’t keep waiting to live.”

“Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone, but I never had yours; I followed you back to the end of the path, but I never found the door.”

“People talk and people stare; Tell me I won’t really care; This is the place I should be; And if they think its really strange; For a girl like you to be in love with someone like me; I want to tell them all to go to hell; That we’re doing very well.”

“And if a double-decker bus crashes into us; To die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die; And if a ten-ton truck kills the both of us; To die by your side; Well, the pleasure – the privilege is mine.”

“I’m scratching at the surface now; And I’m trying hard to work it out; So much has gone misunderstood; This mystery only leads to doubt; And I didn’t understand; When you reached out to take my hand; And if you have something to say; You’d better say it now.”

“I wanna sit you down and talk; I wanna pull back the veils and find out what it is I’ve done wrong; I wanna tear these curtains down; I want you to meet me somewhere; Tonight in this old tourist town.”

“I don’t know you, but I want you; All the more for that; Words fall through me and always fool me; And I can’t react.”

“Hello; I’ve had you on my mind; For hours there’s no doubt; And there’s no use wasting time.”

“You have gone and made me such a fool; I’m so lost in you’re love; And oh, we belong together; Won’t you believe in my song.”

Feel free to leave some of your favorite lyrics in the comments section of this Journal entry.

Movie Review: The Illusionist

Movie – The Illusionist

Director: Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville)
Writers: Jacques Tati and Sylvain Chomet
Starring: Jean-Claude Donda and Eilidh Rankin

Theater – Fleur Cinema – Des Moines, Iowa

Companion – Nader

Food – China One International Buffet

Intellectual Honesty

I don’t know that I brought any positive inclinations into the theater with me. I’m not overly familiar with anybody involved in this movie. Although I was excited to see a traditionally animated movie again.

Baggage

I am painting this with a very broad brush here, but I don’t really enjoy foreign animated movies. I enjoy foreign live action films, but have never really liked a foreign animated film with the exception of Persepolis. In particular, I can’t stomach anime. Literally. I get sick watching anime. The Illusionist is a French film, like Persepolis, so it had that going for it.

Synopsis from IMDB

Details the story of a dying breed of stage entertainer whose thunder is being stolen by emerging rock stars. Forced to accept increasingly obscure assignments in fringe theaters, garden parties and bars, he meets a young fan who changes his life forever.

Review

I go to about 30 movies a year with Nader. Maybe more. He is awake for about 10% of them. This is the 2nd time we have been down to The Fleur to see a movie and the 2nd time that he has fallen asleep before the movie even started. This time, I kind of wished I could have joined him in grabbing some shuteye.

Although there are times that this movie is beautiful to look at (particularly), it is mostly just boring.

The Illusionist is followed around by a girl that thinks he is actually a magician. Even though she is extremely poor, she becomes very materialistic very fast. She thinks that The Illusionist is making the things she want appear magically, but in actuality he is buying the things and then making them appear through illusions. Then she keeps wanting more.

This is a French film and it is presented without subtitles. However, there is hardly any dialogue in the the entire film, so not being able to understand what little dialogue there is, doesn’t really hurt the movie. It isn’t necessary for understanding it.

The movie just feels very deliberately paced and what does happen might seem whimsical to some viewers, it just left me wanting more of a plot than an entertainer watching his job disappear before him trying desperately to cling to his last audience member.

The ending is also incredibly depressing. That isn’t a criticism. I can handle depressing endings, but considering how bored I was for the first 75 minutes of the movie, I didn’t need to be depressed for the last 5.

Although I could relate to The Illusionist’s plight of owning a rabbit that hates him.

Rating
2.5/5.0 Caramels

Buy on DVD
No chance.

2010 Ranking
Dead last of the animated films I’ve seen. I think Despicable Me probably deserves the Oscar nomination that this movie holds.

Bonus Information
On Tuesday Waiting for Superman came out on DVD. If you have even a passing interest in what is laughingly referred to as the education system in this country you should run to your nearest video store and pick up a copy of this movie. It is not nominated for Best Documentary and that is the greatest travesty of the Oscar nominations.

Waiting for Superman nails it on the head what is wrong with our educational system (hint: bad teachers and teacher’s unions) and it will tear your heart out watching our nation’s youth being reduced to gambling (yes, that is what a lottery is) for a chance at going to a decent school and therefore a decent life.

The stakes are really that high. Win a charter school lottery and get to attend a school that is a feeder system for colleges OR lose the lottery and attend a school that is a feeder for our much better funded prison system.

Although I would strongly urge you to watch it by any means necessary (short of theft, looking at you pirates) it is definitely worth buying. Why? In addition to being a great movie, the Blu-Ray (I don’t know about the DVD, I’ve kind of evolved) comes with a 25 dollar donation to the local public school of your choice. In a way, you are getting your money back.

For more information, go to the Waiting for Superman website: http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/