small month, BIG NIGHT

Well, blogging for the month of February turned into a complete and utter failure. I could blame it on school, I could blame it on work, I could blame it on illness. But I can't. The truth is I just didn't do it. (Although, I recently purchased a new videogame and caught myself playing it for extended periods of time during the wee hours. I could promise to try better next month, but it won't happen. Because blogging, just like women, is one of those things that I jst can't commit to. Yippy Skippy, last day of the month!
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I always enjoy watching the Oscars every year. I'm not one of those people that gets all dressed up, or even goes to some fancy party, or any party for that matter, just to watch millionaires give out golden statues to each other. But, I usually try to watch as many of the nominated movies as I can beforehand, and see how they do and if my opinions matched the critics'. Because they've raised the limit of Best Picture nominations to 10, it has gotten increasingly difficult to catch them all in theaters, and this year I only saw The Help, Midnight in Paris, and The Artist. So, here are a few of my observations of the show last night.

- I respect Billy Crystal, but he is just no longer a relevant host. His jokes would have been funny if it was the year 1994, but his performance just felt old and recycled. To be honest, I'm not sure that Eddie Murphy (the original host) would have been better. Golden Globes won this year with Ricky Gervaise as host. Oscars has a long climb back up.
- I was surprised by the love for Hugo. I figured it might win something, but it ended up tying The Artist for most wins with 5. About halfway through, I started believing it might actually pull the upset in the Best Picture race. I had wanted to see it before, and now I really! want to see it.
- I figured Harry Potter would win at least one award. After eight films and many years of hardwork, that team deserve to be recognized. This was their first year to be nominated for an Oscar, and they got shut out in all three of their categories. Although, they got jipped for Best Makeup by The Iron Lady. Come on, Academy!
- Best Animated Film category was a dud this year. Were there really that few good animated films made this year. Rango won, the only one nominated I saw was Puss in Boots and it was so-so.
- Best Song was from the Muppet movie. Bret Mackenzie, from Flight of the Conchords, wrote it.
- During the memorial sequence of the show, they left off Bob Anderson. He was the swordmaster and fight choreographer for Lord of the Rings, Robin Hood, Princes Bride, Mask of Zorro, Darth Vader's stunt double in Star Wars, Pirates of the Carribean, and James Bond movies. RIP Bob Anderson.
- Octavia Spencer was a great choice for Best Supporting Actress. The Help was a great film, and I only have positie things to say about it... More on that later.
- Kudos to Christopher Plummer for his first Academy Award win. He's done so much over a long time, and I can't wait to see his performance. Although, I saw Nick Nolte in Warrior, and it was a very powerful performance. Good group this year of veteran performers.
- FUCK MERYL STREEP! Iv'e never liked Meryl Streep cause I've always thought she was just so full of herself, and she showed it last night. How the hell can you not give the Best Actress award to Viola Davis. She brought me to tears in that movie, I'm not afraid to admit it. I've never seen Meryl Streep do that. Maybe it's cause I'm a man, and Streep always plays such polarizing, strong female leads, but I've always walked away from her movies just feeling sour. Viola Davis got robbed.
-Iwas surprised The Artist swept Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Picture. It is an amazing and endearing movie, something remarkably unique for this era. I think it will remain a legendary film for a long time, but I just didn't think it would survive the politics of the Oscars. Kudos to those guys.

All in all, It was a great year for film, as was last year. Here's hoping for three good years in a row.

Speaking of Love #2

Introducing the new Mitt Romney condoms- for the lover who likes to constantly switch positions!

LoveNote #2

I'm starting to run out of steam on this blogging thing. It's been a few days, and I've been to busy procrastinating on some of that schoolwork. Oh me.

I'm not quite sure how I went 26 years of my life without going to a Karaoke Bar. It would seem, with my personality, charisma, and musical inclinations that I would be a natural. Alas, I've never really never had a friend or "homie" that would willingly step up to the mic with me. All that changed this past Friday night.

We were supposed to go to Whitewater Tavern to Cory Branan and Ben Nichols play. By we, I mean James, myself, Jon, Nick, Mike, and Kenny. We even had a Designated Driver lined up for the evening in case we imbibed a litle too often. We've literally gone to dozens of shows at Whitewater, seeing these guys play and standing right up front. It's always a fun night when they come to town. And we've never had any problem before. That's why it was so weird to hear when we arrived that the show was ticketed and already sold out. Tickets?!? For what? People just stand up the entire time. Whitewater never does ticketed shows, so you would think that they would mention this on their website or show posters. We drove all the way up there for nothing. Crap!

We quickly huddled together to plan our next course of action. It was far too early to go home, and now we were so pissed we literally had to have some beers. So we jump in Mike's old ass minivan and struggle to find our way (no thanks to the GPS) to a little dive bar called the Town Pump. They had $1 Pabsts', and to our surprise a raucous Karaoke night goin on.

Now, I've been to a bar with a Karaoke night before, but on that particular occasion they had a very limited selection of songs that I knew or could perform. However, this guy at the Town Pump had nearly everything. And with my homies by my side and a little (which turned into a lot) liquid courage, I set that little bar on fire with a terrific rendition of Salt-n-Pepa's "Shoop"

What a fun night, and I can't wait to do it again, although next time I may hold back on the number of beers. Shoop ba Doop!

LoveNote #1

Ben Nichols and Cory Branan at Whitewater Tavern tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Love #1: What I Love

It's February now. It has been for two days, I've just been too busy to celebrate its' grandness right away. Yay February! (still waiting on that sarcasm font)

So I decided to change the design of the blog to coincide with the arrival of the month of Love. I guess pink is a pretty accurate color for love, and at least now I can say I'm doing something for Breast Cancer Awareness at the same time.

I'm not a mushy guy. Sure, I enjoy the odd chick flick from time to time, but I'm not one to go overboard on the romantic route on Valentine's Day. Perhaps the main reason for that is simply because I've never had a significant other to shower with romance and sex on V-Day. Not once. Not one year of my life. I've literally avoided so many purchases by skipping this rite of passage. I don't regret it.

Contrary to popular belief, Brian Chambers is perfectly capable of love. I'm not a cold hearted bastard. But, I'm not in love. At least not with anyone I'm comfortable revealing to the one person who may read this blog. So, when you don't love girlfriends, you gotta send that love somewhere else. Here's what I love.

I love Haribo Gummi Bears.
I love Apple Products.
I love music.
I love Converse Sneakers.
I love ice cream.
I love the snow days that usually come in this month.
I love The Office and King of the Hill. Oh, and America's Funniest Videos. Oh,and Conan.
I love Mila Kunis, my hollywood crush.
I love swimming.
I love Salsa, the dance and the snack.
I love Basketball. Go Trojans!
I love performing for an audience, even if it's in a 7-11 parking lot.
I love that February is the shortest month, because no matter how shitty it may be, it'll be over soon.

King of the Hill quote #2

"You just go ahead and grieve any way you want to. Red Book says that the death of a boyfriend is the fourth most painful loss- right in between grandmother and penis."- Peggy Hill

God, I love that Woman!

King of the Hill quote #1

"If you want, I can teach you how to make a bomb out of a toilet paper roll and a stick of dynamite." - Dale Gribble