Stuck in My Head
Limp Bizkit, “My Way”

The BlogVoices comment count has been removed (by the BV programmer). This is both a positive and a negative. Positive, in that the blog is now loading MUCH faster. Negative, in that I can’t tell who the heck, if anyone, is commenting anymore. So PLEASE continue to post comments…

Things learned on Saturday night
1) Brian Douglas is a cool guy. (Well, actually, I knew that already, but…)
2) Jenkinson’s is not my type of place. Sure, there were tons of scantily clad women, but I really wasn’t into all the loud, poorly remixed dance music played between sets, the annoying lighting, and the close quarters. Also, it had to have been over 100 degrees in that room…
3) Yahoo Maps joins the list of things that suck Darren’s ass.
3a) It’s REALLY EASY to get lost based on directions from said ass-sucking maps.

Well, Blogger is apparently feeling better. Whatever that means.

I have come to the same (or similar) conclusion as…well, pretty much everyone else – BlogVoices is too slow, and causes the page to take forever to load. Options are being investigated.

So, I know I haven’t had much to say this week, aside from the usual collection of goofy links. I’m trying to get myself going with diet and exercise this week (the treadmill arrives today), which is the main reason I haven’t called anyone and said “wanna get something to eat tonight?” I’m also doing what I can to get my career prospects back into shape – and as much as I don’t want to, I have to face the reality that work is work is work, and that very few jobs are going to make me genuinely happy. So if I seem a little quiet this week, I guess its just because I’m in something of a reflective period.

AdCritic.com Commercials: Fox Sports – China Ad
Folks, this one is just totally f*cked up.

The Palm Graveyard
If you’re like me, and you live and die by your PDA, you need to check out these tales of woe.

Now, as much as I detest the whole concept of Pokemon, I have to ask – does this look like the face of a Zionist to you?

BBC News | MIDDLE EAST | Saudi Arabia bans Pokemon
“Photo” courtesy BBC News Online

The 73rd Annual Academy Awards
For once, the majority of the Oscar races were not “sure things” – with the exception of Juila Roberts (who was brought to us last night by the letters X and Y), there weren’t really any givens across the major categories. Also, for once, deserving people won (for the most part – more on that in a second.) Here’s my take on what went down last night.

As for the show itself, I was amazed how quickly it moved along, especially after last year’s yawnfest. (Unless I miss my guess, they actually finished EARLY!) Steve Martin was a perfect choice for host, and did a fantastic job. (“The FBI has just informed me that they have a suspect in the Russell Crowe kidnapping case, and all I have to say is…Tom Hanks, you should be a ashamed of yourself.”) While I generally enjoy the job Billy Crystal does as host, his routines were wearing a bit thin on the nerves last year.

As I alluded to earlier, NEARLY everyone who won was deserving. I say NEARLY because Tom Hanks really should have won Best Actor. I won’t deny that I enjoyed Russell Crowe in “Gladiator”, but he had a very strong supporting cast to work with throughout the movie – Tom Hanks, on the other hand, carried an hour and a half of “Cast Away” with only a volleyball to play off of, and did so superbly. The real reason Russell Crowe won last night was that Hollywood didn’t want to give Hanks a 3rd Oscar. (That, and they were trying to repent for overlooking Crowe in “The Insider” last year.)

There’s the matter of Julia Roberts, but seeing as how her winning was a forgone conclusion since the nominations came out, I’ll just say this – I’ve never cared for her as an actress. Also, with all her money, why hasn’t she gotten those horse teeth fixed?

I’m gratified that Steven Soderbergh won Best Director for “Traffic” – I was afraid that his vote was going to be split, and Ridley Scott was going to win for “Gladiator”. In my view, substance won out over special effects.

But on that note, I can live with the fact that “Gladiator” did walk away with Best Picture. It was one of those films you just can’t take your eyes off of for the whole 3 hours. It was damned entertaining. The performances were solid, and it was popular as hell. It was also more accessible to a general audience than it’s closest competition, “Traffic” – which is why it won. And I can live with that.

One last thing: Hey, Academy – what was with all the freaky close-ups on Bob Dylan? I felt like the nation was giving him a collective throat culture for a few minutes there.