Twenty Years Ago Today

This is special day in my household--a milestone in no uncertain terms. Twenty years ago, I committed myself. No, not to a mental institution -- though some would argue that point. I committed to an notion that had floated in my head since I was a young teen. For some crazy reason, I thought there was a special someone, out there among the masses, that I'd be with, happily, until the day I died. It just took a couple of decades for it to arrive, that's all.

Yes, friends, this blogger is an some sort of idiot crazy romantic. Oh, there were plenty fits and starts in this endeavor (to borrow Jen's one word resolution for this year) before meeting her. Train Wrecks Galore (yes, I once dated the younger sister to that Bond girl from Goldfinger). And of course, this put me on a road that had plenty of U-turns and accidents--relationship-wise. Add to this the expectation that the person I'd marry would also be the mother of my children, too. You see I had to set that goal just high enough to clothesline myself, to be sure.

Remember, this was the late 60's. I often wondered why I kept that hope alive in my head over the span of time since then. And it was too easy to become cynical, as well. I figured that the dream, as I would later learn to see it and keep to myself, sprung from being a child of divorce. It all comes down to bitter history--witnessing, from a front row seat at age four, how your parents could disintegrate as a set when one of them choose not to care of the effects of walking away. That skepticism almost cost me, dearly.

It was a cloudless, clear Saturday that one would not have expected, even in L.A. An 80 degree-day that sprang up during our normally wettest month. Back in 1989 I married my best friend, the mother of our children, and my partner in life. Easy words to say. And at times, it was hard to believe that it would ever come true. But, it did. I may refer to my spouse in a glib manner at times, but there is no one I respect, love and trust more in this world. And if she reads this, hopefully my wife will realize that I consider myself the luckiest man on Earth to have her as my bride--then and now. Happy Anniversary, Andy.

Canada::Common Sense

Worthwhile Canadian Initiative -- Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek

Interesting piece by Mr. Zakaria. Some of the key elements:

• "Guess which country, alone in the industrialized world, has not faced a single bank failure, calls for bailout or government intervention in the financial or mortgage sectors. Yup, it's Canada. In 2008, the World Economic Forum ranked Canada's banking system the healthiest in the world. America's ranked 40th, Britain's 44th."
  
• "So what accounts for the genius of the Canadians? Common sense. Over the past 15 years, as the United States and Europe loosened regulations on their financial industries, the Canadians refused to follow suit, seeing the old rules as useful shock absorbers."
• "Canada has been remarkably responsible over the past decade or so. It has had 12 years of budget surpluses, and can now spend money to fuel a recovery from a strong position."
• "Its health-care system is cheaper than America's by far (accounting for 9.7 percent of GDP, versus 15.2 percent here), and yet does better on all major indexes."

Sobering, as well as humbly. We pride ourselves as being the most successful industrialized nation on Earth. And what's that old saying? Pride before a fall? The prescription is straightforward, though:

"If President Obama is looking for smart government, there is much he, and all of us, could learn from our quiet--OK, sometimes boring--neighbor to the north."

The Best Oscar Post-Mortem

... goes to today's post by John Gruber. A very clear and straight forward piece, and so true. My kids (and their kids) and I will be watching and appreciating WALL-E for years to come ("... long after the Academy's choices have been forgotten.", as John puts it). In fact, my favorite part in last night's Academy Awards was the WALL-E clip where he tosses the found Oscar statue for the videotape (at the 1:45 mark):

Saul Bass: 1920 - 1996

More in the spirit of film than just in the Oscars, let's hear it for one of the great graphic designers, ever: Saul Bass. If you've seen a bunch of movies, you've likely see his work in many a great movie title sequence. I give credit to today's post by Steven Hart to bringing me to this wonderful tribute site for the artist. And if that's not enough, check out this other video salute:

Newsweek's Greatest Oscar Snubs

This being the week of the Academy Awards (if your week goes Mon - Sun, that is), Newsweek has come out with its list of Greatest Oscar Snubs. I love their intro image for the piece--see later note. Of course, this type of list draws many an opinion as the Academy has rebuffed plenty great performances and pictures throughout their history. So, let's tear into this, shall we?:

1. Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz - I agree that the then 17 year-old should definitely have been nominated. However, given the competition for that year--which included Bette Davis for Dark Victory--she would have been hard pressed to win, even if she was nominated.
2. Katherine Hepburn, Bringing Up Baby - yes, she should have been nominated. Though, I doubt she'd have beaten Dame Bette.
3. Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca - yes, yes yes. Not only was she robbed for this movie, but the Academy managed to ignore what is for many the first or second greatest film of all-time. Count me as one of them for having it first--I have the other one, Citizen Kane, lower down. At least Ingrid was nominated in that year for For Whom the Bell Tolls.
4. Cary Grant, The Philadelphia Story - oh, hell yes! Not that I hold Jimmy Stewart (winner for the same movie) any ill will, but Cary was criminally under-nominated for the body of his work in film. He could have won for this, too.
5. Humphrey Bogart, The Maltese Falcon - I have to admit, Newsweek is on a roll here. Bogie should have been on that year's list. Who would I have cut to get him there? Probably Robert Montgomery (in a favorite of mine), Here Comes Mr. Jordan.
6. Lana Turner, The Postman Always Rings Twice - okay, she deserved a nod, here.
7. Jimmy Stewart, Vertigo - if Jimmy didn't deserve a nomination/win in 1940, then this edgier role surely deserved the nod. But, I would have given the Oscar to him for It's a Wonderful Life. So what do I know?
8. Orson Wells, Touch of Evil - the movie was ahead of its time, but was this performance enough to get past those that were nominated for Support Actor? I don't know on this one.
9. Peter Sellers, Lolita - see #8.
10. Sidney Poitier, In the Heat of the Night - he deserved it, but the Academy bowed to the flashier, accented role with Steiger. And, it was a year with a number of strong actor performances (Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, Cool Hand Luke, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner).
11. Malcolm McDowell, A Clockwork Orange - iffy, but who do you bump in 1971?
12. Gary Oldman, Sid and Nancy - yes, he deserved the recognition. But, is the snub one of the greatest? Again, a lesser one.
13. Martin Sheen, Apocalypse Now - he was good in it, no question. I'd have him there, perhaps bumping Dustin Hoffman (the eventual winner) off the list. Sorry, but I'm still disappointed that Roy Scheider didn't win that year for his performance in  All That Jazz (Dustin would have survived to get it for Rain Man).
14. Vincent D'onofrio, Full Metal Jacket - I don't see it, here. Yes, very good performance. But, I don't see him getting past those who were nominated. This is a stretch.
15. Samuel L. Jackson, Jungle Fever - now this role by SLJ got me (and others) to notice how good an actor he is. Problem was it's a so-so movie with an outstanding performance by the supporting actor. Still, I would have nominated him.
16. Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic - agreed. He was better than two of the actors on the nominated list that year (psst...Peter Fonda, Dustin Hoffman).
17. Jim Carrey, The Truman Show - maybe, only just maybe. It's not in the 'greatest' category, to me. 
18. Madonna, Evita - oh...come...on!!! In perhaps her only really good film performance, she received due credit. But, to count it as one of the greatest snubs?!? Yes, she won the Golden Globe. But then, the Hollywood Foreign Press also awarded one to Pia Zadora, for christ sakes! Thank God she torpedoed her nod by arrogantly and shamelessly telling all that would listen that she'd get that year's Oscar.
19. Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino - this easily makes it as one of the Greatest Snubs--little wonder it was chosen for the intro image of this piece. With all due respect to Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), he's not in Eastwood's league when you watch their respective films. What were the voters thinking? Not much, I assure you.

Really, I'm not bitter... ;-)