Mid-week Musings

I mistakenly got to school early today b/c I thought I neglected to finish editing pages for the paper. However, it turns out I did in fact finish them yesterday. So, I have some down time right now to schmooze.
Noteworthy things of late: (bulleted; I can't seem to think of one particular topic I want to write about today.)
-Thumbs up to Change.gov, the website of the Obama transition team. Continually informing the American public of his message and agenda in a multitude of ways can't hurt in times like these. It also debunks a lot of myths about the administration, or as my World Affairs teacher puts it: “Your crazy Republican friends can shut up.”
-Canadian politics (old news, but I feel like weighing in): It’s pretty interesting that the opposition parties have formed a coalition in retaliation against Conservative PM Stephen Harper. I doubt that would ever happen here. Not surprisingly, this is all caused by the economic crisis.
-Greek riots: Social unrest at work again. It always astounds me how one event, in this case the shooting of a teenager by police, can have massive repercussions across an entire population. The youth already had animosity towards the police, and so this tragic incident lit the spark for the widespread riots plaguing Athens. It is hard to fathom how the government can possibly resolve this.
-Awards update: Amid everything else, year after year, I always manage to keep track of at least the major things b/c of all of the bloggers and pundits who do such a good job of breaking everything down. So a big thank you to all of them who make this so easy for amateurs/non-fanatics/casual observers like me. :) As always, you can check the blogosphere for the complete lowdown on the latest developments.
Broadcast Film Critics (BFCA) nominations- The shocker presented in the slightly alarming graphic on The Film Experience blog. (Shameless promotion: TFE is one of the most original blogs out there. I am a big fan.) Yes folks, Revolutionary Road was completely shut out in all categories. Hmm… The problem is that the snub really doesn’t add up. Positive reviews, prestige, great source material, and raves for the acting usually doesn’t amount to this. And even if it is a “good not great film with better performances” like some films are, it should have at least gotten some love in the acting categories. Some BFCA members said that the DVD screeners were not mailed in time for them to see it, contributing to the lack of votes. It’s either that, or this film isn’t as good as what we all thought. In a matter of minutes, we should know which situation fits. In the meantime, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Milk led with 8 nominations each.
Los Angeles Film Critics (LAFCA) winners- The surprise Best Picture winner, WALL-E, is receiving a lot of buzz. It also raises the question: Can an animated film be nommed for BP when there’s already a category for its genre? Best Actor went to Sean Penn (Milk), and Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) made up for her BFCA snub by winning Best Actress. It looks as if Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger are the frontrunners to win Supporting Actress and Supporting Actress, respectively. They racked up wins with both the LA and NY critics.
New York Film Critics (NYFCC) winners- BP winner: Milk! (Now I really want to see it!); more wins for Penn and Hawkins! It’s interesting how Sally was basically out of the running for an Oscar nomination, but her buzz has grown exponentially in a matter of days. Btw, I saw Happy-Go-Lucky a few weeks ago, and it is a splendid little flick. More on that later.
Golden Globes nominations, today at 8am ET = "judgment day" for Revolutionary Road. The Globes generally favor big stars, so if DiCaprio & Winslet are snubbed this morning, they are most likely out for the season, creating some big changes in the already unpredictable horse race. On the other hand, Sally Hawkins is a sure bet to be nommed and very likely win Actress in a Musical/Comedy, seeing as that she has no strong competition. This will further fuel the fire for an Oscar nod. But enough speculation; we’ll see what prevails. Of course, there will also be other surprises everywhere else, so I will stay tuned! And don't despair if you're not a film fan: The nice thing about the Globes is that they also honor TV shows, which make the ceremony a pretty diverse, star-studded gala.
Time for class. Changetheworld360 out. =D