Egads!

Please post any and all thoughts about any and all things!

Egads! noted items:
-Helen Thomas booted from press corps front row.
-Kansas City plucks Funkhauser and Brooks from the most packed primary bunch (12) in mayoral primary history. They’ll duke it out for mayor in March.
-The sky might not be falling today, but the stock market sure was - Lowest day since 9/11.
-Oscar picks and pans - best/worst dressed; acceptance speech; imitation of a penguin.

Start your engines…Go!

An important investigative piece on the future of journalism. It shines a light on the inner workings of news organizations as well as the Wall Street stiffs that control them as cattle companies.

As a sample: David Hiller, Tribune Comp. exec. and Publisher of the L.A. Times after two years of firing leading editors and publishers, stated that America only needs three newspapers covering the Iraq war - NYT, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The L.A. Times should only focus on hyper-local coverage to boost profits (profits that already excede many other companies).

At my first, and second, glance, that seems to say that Hiller’s intent is to turn a nationally important, prominent and brilliantly journalistic news outlet into a “little” paper. There is no way that a newspaper of the L.A. Times scale can remain highly reputed when it chooses to turn its back on the most important and critical news story of the day. Suggestion: Become more localized by adding staff and content, not by sacrificing quality and integrity.

Frontline has created a comprehensive, compelling presentation.

This has been a banner week on NPR:

Monday - It’s Showtime for Ira Glass, ‘This American Life’
LISTEN HERE

and

Tuesday’s Show was Seymour Hersh on U.S. Policy Toward Iran
LISTEN HERE

If you had the pleasure of reading Genevieve Contey’s blog about Italy, then you know that the NG Traveler Mag’s blog is a valuable resource for insider travel info and clever, crisp writing.

If you missed it, you can catch up HERE. You’ll thank yourself

The Travvie Awards for best travel blogging are being held this week and depend on reader votes to determine the winner. I’m plugging for Traveler’s Blog.

It takes less than a minute to click on the link below and vote for Traveler’s site. I urge you to vote now - tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 28, is the last day to vote!

[Added bonus: There are several other categories - for specific bloggers and smaller sites. I wasn't familiar with them, but it was a great opportunity to learn about them and check them out!]

Thanks so much!

Check out the flipbook for The toast of the town: the Annual Champagne Chair Contest from Design Within Reach.

Over 1,000 entrants designed chairs using the cork and label from bottles of Veuve Clicquot. The designs represent creativity from many countries, including Thailand, France, Spain and Israel.

Film Independent, while letting me down with the Robin Wright nod, put on a great show and handed out awards to some talented indie folks. Thanks, Film Independent!

NOTED:
-First, yes, disappointed that Robin Wright lost, but Shareeka Epps won in her first-ever film, and that’s pretty swell.
-The Altman Award was created to honor ensemble casts in the Robert Altman tradition.
-FABULOUS musical tributes to each film up for Best Feature.
-Little Miss Sunshine director Valerie Faris’s groovy Canasta jacket dress.
-FANTASTIC Media Lab winner for “What Independence Means To Me”*
*Egads! had a moment of thought on the contest, something to do with Independence, Mo., but that didn’t happen, did it. Snaps for the winner…but IFC, where’s his name and link to the video?!
-Little Miss Sunshine shone: Best Feature; Best Director(s); Best First Screenplay; Best Supporting Male (Alan Arkin).
-Half Nelson strong-armed best actor categories with the lovely Shareeka Epps and the sweet-speeched Ryan Gosling.
-Irreverant Sarah Silverman’s quick and tarty comeback from Felicity Huffman mispronouncing Shareeka Epp’s name (”Shakira”). Silverman ended the show saying it would be hosted next year by “Fecility” Huffman. In Silverman’s presence no one’s safe - not even herself.
-How to be a “Hollywood Insider” from Longmont, Colo., Milwaukee, Wisc. or West Caldwell, NJ? Become a Film Independent member and vote in next year’s Spirit Awards! (Students: Take advantage of the student rate!) Here’s how…

[Check back for links to Media Lab winner video and Best Feature musical tributes]

See the full winner’s list here…

Here we go! The Oscars tomorrow, preceded by the Spirit Awards today, mark the Main Event weekend for film awards.

RANDOM NOTES:

I made it to many of the top-nominated films…but sorely missed a few key players. The Departed is my top pick – however, I didn’t see Letters from Iwo Jima. The Departed was the second of a double-feature night. I watched Flags of Our Fathers first. REALLY did not like it. I felt there were too many violins, a weak, clichéd script that never broke the veneer to address any issue that would have made the film worth watching. And the war scenes were long and graphic – what I guessed were outtakes from Saving Private Ryan, seeing as Spielberg was one of the FOOF producers.

On the other hand, The Departed had amazing flow, a great, if foul-studded, script (hey, we’re talking gangsters, here! What do you expect? – Ditto with people getting killed. Murder happens in this world – however, I didn’t feel the murder scenes were over-the-top graphic, as in FOOF).

Foreign Language Film – I loved the three I saw; Pan’s Labyrinth, Water and The Lives of Others. I felt that The Lives of Others ended on a stronger note, though. I hate to say anything that might seem like I’m dissing the other two because they were brilliant – script, acting, direction. I just found more reward from The Lives of Others as a film – the characters were not as extraordinary as the characters in the other two, and yet the performances were as complex.

Best Supporting Actress is an interesting category. I did not see Dreamgirls, but Jennifer Hudson seems to be a shoe-in from all the buzz. However, Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza gave AMAZING performances in Babel. If Hudson wins, Dreamgirls is the next movie I’m watching!

I hope it’s Scorsese’s year, though. He has made such a major contribution to film – albeit brutal and seamy. He’s totally deserving – and it would be really odd if in 10 years he’s receiving an honorary Academy Award without ever having actually received one!

Question: Who’s the most Oscar nominated person who’s never won?

And the Spirit Awards are today. My main concern is Robin Wright Penn for Sorry, Haters. She was fantastic (as aforeblogged).

We’ll see what happens.

Happy award watching!

Great resource for fact and informed opinion:
Oscar guy (via Springfield, Mo.)
The Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Biz Blog

“When did we become the terrorists?” a guest asked on Wednesday’s Talk of The Nation on NPR. Good question.

Listen to the broadcast of WHY DO AMERICANS TUNE INTO TV VIOLENCE?

Joel Surnow, the man behind “24,” is a staunch Republican. However, the show’s head writer, Howard Gordon, considers himself a “moderate Democrat.” “Honest to God, I’d call [some of the torture scenes in '24'] improvisations in sadism,” Gordon told The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.

Read Mayer’s article WHATEVER IT TAKES.

Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Barak Obama (D-Ill.) are teaming up to propose legislation to right the wrong of sub-par state-side care for wounded active duty military.

Senate rookie McCaskill and second-term Obama were moved to action after a Washington Post report citing degraded outpatient and patient care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Read all about it:
Sen. McCaskill press release
WP: Paul Kane’s Capitol Briefing Blog
AP/Kansas City Star

This just in…

Reports: Test scores, grades don’t jibe

By NANCY ZUCKRBROD, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON - Large percentages of high school seniors are posting weak scores on national math and reading tests even though more of them are taking challenging courses and getting higher grades in school, say two new government reports released Thursday.

“The reality is that the results don’t square,” said Darvin Winick, chair of the independent National Assessment Governing Board, which oversees the national tests.

Nearly 40 percent of high school seniors scored below the basic level on the math test. More than a quarter of seniors failed to reach the basic level on the reading test. Most educators think students ought to be able to work at the basic level.

Read the whole story