Hindi film song by a Chinese guy
Check this out, I think he sang it well.
Check this out, I think he sang it well.
I miss him.
It’s unfortunate the man is still the target of lawsuits. One can’t help but feel sorry Jacko.
Followed this link to an article by Richard Muller on Popular Mechanics.
Among all the tributes being posted for George Carlin everywhere, I picked out the following, on a topic many of us love - the use and abuse of language. Here he is then; cerebral, irreverent, profane, and very funny. Thanks for the laughs, George!
One of my favorite channels on youtube recently seemed to end with the following episode. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that there will be more, but if this was the last, what a way to go! If you haven’t seen any, check out all the episodes. They all tell part of the story so watching them in sequence is recommended.
As a movie buff, I look forward to the Academy Awards every year with great anticipation. However, the 80th Academy Awards being hosted at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles tomorrow, doesn’t excite me as much as some of the previous years. There seems to be a shortage of superstar celebrities in the running save a Depp or a Blanchett. And even the movies for which these two are nominated didn’t ignite the box office like a “Gladiator” or a “Blood Diamond” from recent years. Even a potential hit like “Charile Wilson’s War” with uber stars Tom Hanks and Julie Roberts (both not nominated) was a dud at the box office.
But still, I have seen a few of the movies for which lesser (from a box office perspective) stars have been nominated and have to say all of them are fabulous movies in their own right and some of the performances will go down in history as among the greatest ever. Cue in my predictions for a few categories.
I have mentioned all nominees in the lists below with my choices in bold yellow color.
This is not exactly a tight race if the critics and oddsmakers are to be believed. I haven’t yet seen “There will be Blood” but I am really looking forward to. I do think Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors of our generation and that he should have won over Adrien Brody in 2003 for “Gangs of New York.” So that’s why I am casting my vote for him despite not seeing the movie. Depp will be my emotional favorite as he has never won. Mortensen was phenomenal in “Eastern Promises” but I am not sure he deserves an Oscar for this role. Tommy Lee Jones should be given another Oscar just once and they should not do it for a specific movie as he plays the same character every time (and he’s real good at it). I didn’t see “Michael Clayton” and can’t comment on Clooney’s role though I was so bored by “Ocean’s Thirteen” that I don’t want him to win this year.
I have seen most of these movies and I had earlier blogged about “La Vie en Rose” and at that time said that if the Academy did not nominate Marion Cotillard, it’d be time to throw the members to the dogs. Yes, Cotillard’s performance was that good. So, I think she should win this. While most people are rooting for Julie Christie, I think she was only good in “Away from Her,” not great. Although I think the Academy missed out on nominating the director of “Away from Her,” Canadian actress Sarah Polley. Blanchett, to me is a worthy successor to Meryl Streep for the title of the world’s greatest living actress and I am certain that she’ll be nominated many more times and I am really hoping she will win this year’s supporting actress award for also which she’s nominated. There has been only great performances in Linney’s career but I don’t think this is her year. Ellen Page, while fabulous in “Juno,” is too fresh to win it this year.
For best supporting actor, I think Javier Bardem is a shoo-in for “No Country for Old Men.” In it, he utters to a hapless store clerk: “Call it, friendo.” This spine chilling phrase is still stuck in my head. See the movie if you haven’t: you’ll be stunned. If Bardem doesn’t take the prize, I’d want this to go to Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild,” a very brief but moving performance.
For best supporting actress, I am rooting for Cate Blanchett even though Amy Ryan is supposed to be very good in “Gone Baby Gone” from Ben Affleck.
For best animated feature, my pick is “Ratatouille” from the incomparable Brad Bird. Even though Bird did not convince me to start liking rats, he came very close.
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Earlier this week, the Indian government was having a tough time figuring out the correct protocol of dealing with a visiting head of state’s girlfriend. French president Nicolas Sarkozy was coming to town and the rumor had it that he was bringing his new found love, former supermodel, Carla Bruni. One moment she was coming, the next, not. And now apparently she is going but separately. This is less troublesome but still a spot of bother for the protocol keepers as the couple are planning to visit that old monument of love, the Taj Mahal.
The global media has been all over the Sarkozy-Bruni romance as it’s not often that we get to see heads of state in the same predicament as a Hilton or Spears (please, I beg you, let’s leave Bill Clinton out of this). Even the bastions of serious journalism, The New York Times, The BBC, and horror of horrors, The Wall Street Journal (Rupert Murdoch is already showing his true colors at the newspaper) had lengthy articles on the relationship.
Bruni is quite familiar with this sort of attention having dated a who’s who of bad boys (Eric Clapton, Sir Mick Jagger, Vincent Perez, and even Kevin Costner). She retired from a lucrative modeling career (apparently she appeared in around 250 magazine covers) at the age of 30 and is now trying her hand at singing when she’s not visiting ancient monuments with Sarkozy. Lovers of French cinema will probably know that Bruni is the sister of noted French actress, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi. Today, the Journal even compared her to Norah Jones. Curious, I dug up a video of the woman singing on youtube and I have to admit, I am impressed (see below). Too bad the Sarkozy tie might actually hurt her singing career. Though, let’s hope not.
Aleksey Igudesman and Richard Hyung-ki Joo met when they were 12 years old at the Yehudi Menuhin music school. Their goal of bringing classical music to the masses is now a reality after premiering their unique show called “A Little Nightmare Music” in 2004 at Vienna’s esteemed Musikverein. They seem to combine humor with real talent in their show. There are many clips of their performances on youtube. Among the best are “Rachmaninov had big Hands,” “I will survive” and the following medley of Mozart and the James Bond theme:
[Thanks to Jonathan Adams for the facebook post]
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