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Monday, February 25. 2008

Oscar, Oscar, Ralph?

As I sit, Jon Stewart has started the Oscars show. He’s funny! His ode to his beloved writers; Vanity Fair cancelled its Oscars Party to “support” the writers during their strike. Stewart’s riposte: “Invite some of the writers to the Vanity Fair Oscars Party.” Forgot what movie is Hillary Clinton’s “feel good” movie, but it was funny. Atonement?

Anyway, he got in some good — not too scandalous — political humor. After that, it was straight into the awards. Jeez, just give Jon Stewart an hour of standup, interspersed with some of the entertainment we have to endure — skip the awards — and we’ll go to sleep happy and comforted that we participated in the experience.

Now I gotta see Juno. When hard core bikers and parolees are telling me it’s the best movie they’ve ever seen — “Better than There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men?” “Yes” — then I gotta see it. They didn’t really care for Brokeback Mountain … go figure …
 Dwayne Johnson was a presenter. “Who is Dwayne Johnson,” you ask? Former wrestler and now action movie hero, The Rock. Guess he’s moving on.

But, really, are the Academy Awards really the big story today? I beg to differ. Earlier today, and I never thought the day would come when I would curse this man, Ralph Nader entered the presidential race. That effin’ Ralph Nader! Yeah, I voted for him in 2000, not really convinced the chimp in office now would be close enough to pull off the steal in 2000, now Nader is a Democrat’s most painful nuisance.

Jeez … I can’t disagree with his reasoning; “Dissent is the mother of assent, and in that context I have decided to run for president,” he said and the anti-government revolutionary in me says “yeah baby!” but the fact is, the candidacies of Clinton and Obama have stirred even the young people to vote. THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE VOTING! That’s pretty effin’ revolutionary.

So, Ralph, stop this madness. Let Obama — or Clinton — win without trouble from a vote-splitting candidacy.

The rumor is Clinton will drop out after the March 8th primaries if she doesn’t do well. Well, we’ll see. Huckabee, who doesn’t have a fly’s chance in a spider web, is still slogging it out on the Republican side. Course, the Democrats are closer than shit and shinola so Clinton staying in even if she looses what she needs to win March 8 isn’t such a stretch. My prediction: she looses Texas.

So far, the Oscars have gone through two musical numbers. I’m wondering: what’s up with the musicals? I’m not the least bit familiar with either song, can’t name them here, nor am I familiar with the films from which they came. We did get winners for Supporting Actor and Actress: Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton (who “gave” her Oscar to her agent) and Best Screenplay from a Previously Produced or Published work: Ethan and Joel Cohen won for No Country for Old Men. Another movie I gotta see.

Didn’t see many movies last year; life dictated differently for me … I’m trying to channel the eternal optimism of the people I meet in the flesh and online and hold firm to the idea that life continues to improve as long as we take the next indicated steps. Every day provides us with a new beginning, an opportunity to start over, try to make something of our life.

For so many years — decades even — my philosophy was ruled by cynicism, anger (fear) and pessimism and it’s hard to change that all around, but I’m certain an old dog can learn new tricks. The dog just has to be willing.

So, tonight, as I write and watch the Oscars, I vow to be willing to change, from this moment even. Check the words coming out of my mouth, detect any hint of cynicism and negativity and either keep my trap shut or find something positive to say. It’s easy to say something, almost innocently even, that hurts someone else, all in the name of trying to be funny. When the pattern is a character trait worn into the fabric of the soul by decades of selfish, unthinking behavior, it’s almost impossible to see or hear it until too late. So, that is the task, again, one that needs constant reinforcement, every day, even every moment on some days, especially when it appears the shit has hit the fan.

2008 will be a great year.

Posted by Tim Forkes in NEWS and POLITICS at 00:01 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

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