Take a Stab at Oscar ®

Despite having had very little success in the past, I'm still going to have a guess as to the winners in a handful of Academy Award categories -- only the biggies!

Give it a try yourself as a comment (that's where I'll record my picks). Check back after all is said and done and see how you've made out. Number your choices and see if you can best me --> Challenge!

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Complete Nominees List: The 82nd Annual Academy Awards
by The Associated Press
February 2, 2010

1. Best Picture: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air.

2. Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart; George Clooney, Up in the Air; Colin Firth, A Single Man; Morgan Freeman, Invictus; Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker.

3. Actress: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side; Helen Mirren, The Last Station; Carey Mulligan, An Education; Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire; Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia.

4. Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, Invictus; Woody Harrelson, The Messenger; Christopher Plummer, The Last Station; Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones; Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds.

5. Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Nine; Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart; Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air; Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire.

6. Directing: James Cameron, Avatar; Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker; Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds; Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire; Jason Reitman, Up in the Air.

7. Foreign Language Film: Ajami, Israel; El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina; The Milk of Sorrow, Peru; Un Prophete, France; The White Ribbon, Germany.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, District 9; Nick Hornby, An Education; Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, In the Loop; Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire; Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air.

9. Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker; Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds; Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, The Messenger; Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man; Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, Up.

10. Animated Feature Film: Coraline; Fantastic Mr. Fox; The Princess and the Frog; The Secret of Kells; Up.

11. Art Direction: Avatar, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, Sherlock Holmes, The Young Victoria.

12. Cinematography: Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, The White Ribbon.

15. Original Score: Avatar, James Horner; Fantastic Mr. Fox, Alexandre Desplat; The Hurt Locker, Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders; Sherlock Holmes, Hans Zimmer; Up, Michael Giacchino.

16. Original Song: "Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman; "Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, Randy Newman; "Loin de Paname" from Paris 36, Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas; "Take It All" from Nine, Maury Yeston; "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from Crazy Heart, Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett.

17. Costume: Bright Star, Coco Before Chanel, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Nine, The Young Victoria.

18. Documentary Feature: Burma VJ, The Cove, Food, Inc., The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, Which Way Home.

Haiti | Paste Magazine | Donate | Listen

Paste Magazine, well known as a source of indie "cool" in the music world, has made donating to disaster relief for beleaguered Haiti even easier. The initiative offers free music downloads from a vault of 250 songs to those who donate via the Songs for Haiti drive, and, rather remarkably, as a thank you gift to those who have contributed via other organizations.

This does not mean helping should always be rewarded. This is technology working for the greater good. It is "on your honor" so please don't abuse it; just use it to do some good for our neighbors in El Caribe.

Songs for Haiti

By Another Name...

Again, it's high time to change this space's name, if not for you then for me. The last cycle was an attempt to 'audi alteram partem' which was meant to give rise to commentary around here. Well, I'm not sure it did that, but in any case, I think traffic was up due to a great respect for German automotive engineering (a nice trick to emply now that I know it!).

So, this time I'll go with the title 'vade mecum' which roughly translates into "go with me" but that take on the Latin phrase could be a little misleading. It's not a plea; instead it's a definition for what this gathering of tidbits has become to me. It's something that's following me around; conversely, sometimes I'm the one following the interests that arise. In the sense that a journal or a handbook goes with you, so too does this blog 'vade mecum'.

However I dissect it, this place is slowly evolving into something, and I suppose I'll try to take a little pride in that. My continued thanks to those of you who come around to visit, read, listen or otherwise open your minds here.

Jean Baptiste Reinhardt

...that's Django to you and me!

The man, the legend would have turned 100 this weekend and don't I just wish he had had the longevity of masters (genre jumping here) like Chucho Valdés or Doc Watson. There are many out there who've researched and written on the world's most respected and most emulated Romany, so follow the links below to read more and listen to Django's recorded legacy.

For more info and a chance to listen:

Musical Interlude - excellent article for bmj.com

Django Reinhardt - Joseph Dinkins article for redhotjazz.com

Sample tracks - some samples from 7digital.com

Django Radio - all gypsy jazz on last.fm

The Cove

Typically, if I'd come across a film about dolphins and activists, I'd probably dismiss it thinking, "It's been done. We all know about Greenpeace." However, The Cove, from director Louie Psihoyos in coordination with the Oceanic Preservation Society, is far from the conventional stories we've all heard about "Flipper" and his (and her actually!) fellow cetaceans.

With extensive interviews from Ric O'Barry, original trainer to television's "Flipper" and a dolphin activist ever since, The Cove is perhaps the most unnerving, disheartening yet exhilarating and enthralling documentary film you're likely to see.

By the end, if you have even a sliver of a heart, you'll be deeply sympathetic to the plight of the world's dolphins but also to the state of the oceans in general. Just by shedding light on one dolphin "killing cove" in Japan, the film's organizers have opened the flood gates of international compassion, and hopefully action as well, that will lead to end of these abhorrent practices.

Despite the inherent weight of the work's message, the OPS team has produced a captivating spy tale full of cat-and-mouse reconnaissance, covert operations, breathless near misses, and triumphantly OO7-esque surveillance. Put all this together and you have what deserves to win the Oscar for best documentary film of 2009.

Some of the scenes involving a pair of champion free divers are quite breathtaking. In an underwater world that is made up essentially of sound and sound alone, dolphins and whales are generally perturbed by s.c.u.b.a. equipment, so these especially gifted divers are able to commune with the creatures without restrictions -- just beings sharing an environment together.

There are so many ways you can help: One way is to completely avoid consuming large fish species in foods like sushi and sashimi (your neurons will thank you for keeping them free from mercury exposure which is a central theme of the greater environmental issues presented in The Cove); another way is to start with the Internet and find out how to contribute in any way possible.

TheCoveMovie.com
SaveJapanDolphins.org
TakePart.com
Facebook.com/causes
OPSociety.org

MLK: In His Own Words

It is a beautiful, sun-filled day in the South. On this day, our country honors the memory and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His own words speak best to his mission of equality and justice which continues to this day.

Today's Christian Science Monitor has published a collection of quotes:

• Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.

• I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil
triumphant. –Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, Dec. 10, 1964

• Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.

• Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

• I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.

• When you are right you cannot be too radical; when you are wrong, you cannot be too conservative.

• Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. –letter from Birmingham jail, April 16, 1963

• The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers. –"Strength to Love"

• I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered
something he will die for, he isn't fit to live.

• The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. –"Strength to Love"

I'll Take Conan, Please

With its sale to Comcast, NBC has clearly been desperate for a good, long while. Now, this business with shuffling late-night hosts and line-ups has made it even worse. Moving Jay Leno to a talk show slot before the 11'o'clock news was a mistake and not simply because of the time slot; Jay may have been funny once, but he should move along and make room for some fresh minds -- oh, wait...but he already did!

In light of all this, should Conan O'Brien, who has earned his comedic reputation and his new 11:35 pm spot with years of hilarity, have to step aside for the leader of the old guard who, for whatever reason, couldn't make it work in primetime?

If anyone at the network had any vision whatsoever, someone in charge would realize that Conan O'Brien is the single biggest talent in their stable followed closely by Tina Fey. Is there a trend developing? Good comedy and quality entertainment on the National Broadcasting Company comes straight out of the Saturday Night Live comedy finishing school / farm team / college for the performing arts. Why not let Lorne Michaels run the entire network!

Most of the chatter indicates that this will be the end of O'Brien's remarkably short run as Tonight Show host. In his own words, Conan was hardly given a chance to get the historical show back into the late night mix with his inimitable brand of comedy, one heavy on humility and self-deprication. He's a star and a favorite personality of most people my age and to let him go because of what are essentially logisitcal difficulties is short-sighted and just more evidence that NBC is a sinking ship operating with a braindead, skeleton crew.

If Conan O'Brien can find another network to support his efforts to entertain us, then we'll get to smile again and I sincerely hope he does just that.

Fotos dos Campos de São Paulo

My Brasilian "cousin" (then later my "brother" in Michigan) from my days as a Rotary exchange student sent these colorful shots from his current hometown of São Jose dos Campos in São Paulo state. The more rural image was taken at a family gathering in the gently rolling hills nearby.

Bem visto, Fernando, e obrigado por os compartir!

Impeccable timing, really, to catch that lightning -- parabems!

I like this next shot because I can spot where all the great "churrasco" is made, outside, in the fresh air with family and friends. Que saudade!

Humming a Different Tune

While it may be new compared to the song of Kyoto, the new Copenhagen Accord on climate change regulation may not be exactly the kind of progress we needed, but at the least it sounds like a secondary step in a positive direction.

Sunday's New York Times editorial sums it up and at once highlights just what I thought was wrong with the media's treatment of the conference and its goals despite the intense preparations made by participating factions:

The global climate negotiations in Copenhagen produced neither a grand success nor the complete meltdown that seemed almost certain as late as Friday afternoon. Despite two years of advance work, the meeting failed to convert a rare gathering of world leaders into an ambitious, legally binding action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It produced instead a softer interim accord that, at least in principle, would curb greenhouses gases, provide ways to verify countries’ emissions, save rain forests, shield vulnerable nations from the impacts of climate change, and share the costs.

Now, after the fact, it seems fine to pin a good deal of the credit on Mr. Obama and his eleventh hour efforts to save the disintegrating negotiations from failure. This new accord may be a save of sorts, but the article overstates the case that our man in Washington was the main catalyst.

President Obama deserves much of the credit. He arrived as the talks were collapsing, spent 13 hours in nonstop negotiations and played hardball with the Chinese. With time running out — and with the help of China, India, Brazil and South Africa — he forged an agreement that all but a handful of the 193 nations on hand accepted.

Nonetheless, the heavy-hitters (or more aptly named, "heavy smokers") are now further obligated to make significant changes in climate regulation in their home countries, although I won't qualify the U.S. target of 17% reduction by 2020 as any kind of glorious illustration of leading by example. At the very least, we and all the rest of the most noxious emitters are dancing to the same tune for now, and it seems that the world's leaders can agree that this climate cycle is, for the most part, man-made and should thus be addressed and ameliorated by the same guilty party.

So, even after months of negativity and doubt, there is an accord, with real emissions targets on the horizon, to which governments and corporations must adhere. This should be the christening needed to send a new, greener ship on an inter-continental voyage to sweep fossil fuels, hopefully along with last century's other environmental ills, right out the back door like so much useless grit.

Produce: Labor's Fruits

As I paused to let a garbage truck turn clumsily in front of me, I caught the a scent-memory of photo fixer in my nose and it slipped me back years in time, back into the darkroom on a day reminiscent of this misty, muggy day. I'd spend hours with that familiar smell wafting into my head, my mind transfixed on images and processes and exposure times and light. By the end of such a day, I'd have a stack of dried down prints to marvel at, nitpick over, and sometimes actually enjoy. But the day had sure enough satisfyingly slithered away from me like a venomless snake through leaf litter.

Now, the days slip by but I've little concrete to show for those days of long work. My eyes become a filter and what does not belong deserves mention, a discussion, a suggestion, a lesson. The students glean something from every session, but in the end what exactly that is eludes measure.

What scent will trigger these days? Will this be a fond recollection of good work and satisfaction? My wish is only this.

Copenhagen | Hopenhagen

The climate talks in Copenhagen: It's clearly an "all your eggs in one basket" kind of deal. However, it's better that the "eggs" ride along in any basket as opposed to being kicked around like golf balls "foot-wedged" from the rough. If we leave it up to lawmakers alone, though, we may end up scrambled anyway, but that's an entirely different discussion.

Admittedly, the Kyoto Protocol has served the world's governments as a framework within which they can build and implement environmentally conscious policies. What has been disturbing about all the lead up to the Copenhagen talks is that most new agencies and media figures have been repeating their skepticism at reaching any kind of binding climate agreement.

Even as the talks get underway, the media is poisoning the diplomatic dynamic, one that is inherently fragile and often emotionally charged, by continuing to convey only the doubts surrounding the summit. The media should report on the talks day-to-day, bringing the public a snapshot of a restricted, influential slice of the democratic process; leave conjecture to the think-tanks and just see what happens instead of jinxing the whole affair with negative projections.

As a media leader, The New York Times is doing the prescribed job at least: the organization is trying to present a multi-faceted look at Copenhagen while using Kyoto as a reference point (maybe the only one available). Check out the piece on the Kyoto Protocol's effect on carbon emissions and we begin to see from where the negative outlook for results in Copenhagen sprung forth. The interactive page-by-page diagram is particularly informative.

For the most part, the media has put a figurative "dark cloud" over Copenhagen where a literal cloud has already formed -- over there and over here and everywhere in between. My hope is that humanitarian vision and idealism will prevail over the practicalities of economic strength and profit trajectories as related to emissions legislation. Our leaders need to see that, in addition to supporting bottom-up, grassroots conservation efforts that keep local economies thriving and green, they need to put the U.S. in a political and economic position to lead by example and let that ecologically-minded position trickle down to developing world where the environmental battles can still be fought and won, as well.

We all have a responsibility to "quit smoking" fossil fuels, as we've learned to do so well since the Industrial Revolution, and begin sipping green energy to the benefit of the entire earthly system. Let's hope that those in Copenhagen can find a path through the concrete jungle of rhetoric and greed to a healthier planet for us all -- one where human rights, economic fortitude, and environmental impacts all still matter.

Friday Night in San Francisco

Of all the great vinyl that I listened to as a kid, this album was the epitome of that crackly, hissy but markedly vibrant set of experiences.

By now, the cover art and the font here seem trite and dated, but the music captured on this inspirational night in 1981 is by the far the highest level acoustic performance I've yet heard recorded. Each player comes through on his individual channel with John McLaughlin playing from the center.

Sure, there are probably a handful of classical guitarists out there who could top the technical skills of any of these three men; however, I'm confident that never before had three towering talents all converged for one evening at the vortex of style, technique and passion, leaving the crowd in wild ecstasy while leaving behind a record of rhythmic and melodic nonpareil. These guys were flamenco/classical rockstars at the time and it's easy to discern the source of their legend as you listen to each serendipitous mounting of theme and improvisation, each phrase that seems to threaten to take the whole ensemble irrevocably over some precipice of control and reason. The result is a tension-filled frenzy of fingers and breath and chills that leaves the listener enraptured and jealous of the audience on that inspired night in San Francisco.

Check out Walter Kolosky's article about this historic recording at AllAboutJazz.com

Photography: Roy DeCarava

Other Roy DeCarava links of interest:

NPR blog picture show - nice overview of images

Minneapolis Institue of Arts Retrospective - bio info & images

NY Times blog - good series of photos

LA Times obituary - died at age 89

The National Public Radio story following the death of photographer Roy DeCarava does a fine job with the biography of the relatively unknown artist. Just a glance at a very few images, though, gives one the notion that he had an unrivaled power of observation and immpecable timing to capture the essence of African-American life in the mid-20th century.

photo courtesy of www.dpgr.gr

DeCarava's subject matter was what he found around his home, the people in the streets or on buses and trains, and with his remarkably keen eye, he was able to capture certain fleeting but very telling moments that most of us would never even notice. A fine example of his astute observational skill comes in the form of this famous image of a subway platform, one in which race plays a central role but is emphasized by space rather than color.

photo courtesy of web.ncf.ca

DeCarava's photographs of jazz legends are some of the finest in the genre. There were others who sidled up to the likes of Duke Ellington and Thelonius Monk, but Roy DeCarava's shots genuinely seem to evoke sound, smoke, heat and excitement, the kind found right there at the foot of the stage (Decarava's Coltrane photo courtesy of arteseanp.blogspot.com).
Whether historically accurate or not, my inclination is to put DeCarava in an elite category with another lover of the street, the patriarch of spontaneity in photography, Cartier-Bresson. And Gordon Parks, that renaissance man of visual, sonic, and written language, is also of DeCarava's era and the two have complimentary styles which are worthy of comparison.

Odilon Redon

The Buddha (1905) ~ Bertrand-Jean (Odilon) Redon

image courtesy of artinthepicture.com

This image is one of my favorite oil paintings from any time period. I'm not sure why I enjoy it so much, but I think it's something in the way the objects and figures seem to float on top of the lush backgrounds, appearing separate from the landscape but not completely detached.

The effect is surrealist, in a sense, but Redon's subject matter, mostly still-lifes with plenty of natural themes, lends a calming tone to the work overall. The fact that the French artist was a skilled printmaker draws me in further. There is much more to discover about this underrated master.

This vision of the Buddha with the Bodhi Tree is one that appears in a few of Redon's paintings and I appreciate the Buddhist mythology, the serenity of the classic pose, as well as the vibrant but earthy color palette.

For more exquisite paintings by Redon, visit Odilon-Redon.org. Another site, OdilonRedon.net, can provide some more detailed biographical info.