February 2007 Archives

This theme dominated the discussion last night at our Oscar party. People were flinging snarky remarks about people's makeup and jewelry at the television. "Nicole Kidman's dress makes her look like a Christmas present." "Why do the winners always thank their mothers but not their fathers?" "Jack Nicholson does not look good bald." Perhaps this is gossip. But isn't that the fun of watching the Oscars? I don't really care that much who wins, although I was rooting for Little Miss Sunshine, and it was pretty cool to see Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas give Scorcese his first Oscar. Oh, and Ellen's, Seinfeld's, Al Gore's, and Ferrell/Black/Reilly's performances were worth watching and laughing at. But the true fun of watching the Oscars has always been making fun of the silly things that happen, like the shot of Borat muttering to himself when Ellen mentioned movies with subtitles, or the uninterested/dissatisfied look on Ennio Morricone's face as he was being honored by Clint Eastwood. I don't see any problem in laughing at people who are totally asking for it.

In other news, we went to see Amazing Grace this weekend. I highly recommend it. It's a film in the spirit of Chariots of Fire, except without the stirring musical score or breathtaking scenery. But that's not necessarily a shortcoming. It's full of British witticisms, Parliamentary debates and maneuverings, a passion for social justice, a lot of my favorite BBC British-novel-to-film actors, and a little bit of Albert Finney. The perfect combination, in my opinion.

After you see the movie, go to www.theamazingchange.com and sign the petition.

...check out MIT.

Felony? Up to 20 years in jail? Talk about uptight.

I was thinking about this subject the other day when I heard that Ellen Degeneres is going to host the Oscars this year. (Someone told me once that I look like Ellen...what the...? but that's another story). So here are some women who I think are funny:

Actors/movie stars:

Parker Posey
Catherine O'Hara
-> both Christopher Guest regulars
Toni Collette
Elaine Benes (yes, the character, not the actress in her other roles I've seen)
I think Ellen is sorta funny

OK, so that list is rather short. I'm not including women in romantic comedies who have funny roles (i.e Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts); I'm talking about truly comedic women here.

So here are women I know personally who have a witty way about them:

Grandma Belz and her sisters (especially the late Aunt Billie)
My mom and her two sisters, Sara and Julie
Sisters-in-law Kim and Andrea

There are several other women who are not related to me who I know will make me laugh whenever I'm around them, but for the sake of brevity I won't name them all here. My point is this: it seems that funny men are a dime a dozen, but when I come across a truly comedic woman, she is usually much more funny to me than a room full of funny men. Case in point: my grandmother could outwit a roomful of my uncles any day of the week.

I can hardly believe that now I am caught up with Hope.

And happy birthday to my sisters, who were also born on this day. It's fun to be able to have a birthday and also wish others a happy birthday on the same day. Here's to another quarter of a century, on our way to the goal of being the oldest living triplets.

And, Obama announced his candidacy today. And his first campaign stop is in Cedar Rapids, IA, our fair city of birth. Must be a good sign.