Hey, Paris!

What happened to that trip to Rwanda you said you were going to take?! You know, to help the poor?

The 80th Academy Awards

The Academy Awards just keep on getting duller and duller each year. But I have to give the organizer’s credit this year, it’s not like they had much time to prepare with the writer’s strike going on. But anyways, here’s the breakdown…

Best Picture — No Country for Old Men

No surprise there.

Best Directors — Joel & Ethan Cohen

Finally these guys are getting the recognition they deserve.

Best Actor — Daniel Day-Lewis

Again, no surprise. Day-Lewis completely deserved the award and none of the other actors could even hold a candle to his performance in ‘There Will Be Blood’.

Best Actress — Marion Cotillard

Though Julie Christie was favoured to win the award, Cotillard swept in and stole it. I was really hoping that Christie would win it (although she has won before, 42 years ago for ‘Darling’), her performance in ‘Away from Her’ was amazing. And the film was written and directed by Canadian Sarah Polley, so of course I had to root for it. However, Cotillard did an amazing job portraying Edith Piaf in ‘La Vie en Rose’ and she definitely deserved to win as well.

Best Supporting Actor — Javier Bardem

 No surprise here. Truly one of the best actors in Hollywood.

Best Supporting Actress — Tilda Swinton

This was a huge surprise. I was really expecting Ruby Dee to win, and felt that her performance in ‘American Gangster’ was 100 times better than Swinton’s.

Mitt Romney Drops Out of the Race

Multiple sources are confirming that Mitt Romney has decided to suspend his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. This comes two days after he was handily defeated by John McCain in most states on Super Tuesday, and after he has spent $35 million of his own money to finance his campaign.

Romney is expected to announce his decision at a speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee conference this afternoon.

Heath Ledger’s Death Ruled ‘Acute Intoxication’

The NYC Medical Examiner today ruled that Heath Ledger’s death was accidental and was caused by ”acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine.”

Can he RIP now?

And It’s a Tie!….Again

Ho hum. Super Tuesday ended up being just like any other Tuesday. We’re no further along in the candidate race — Clinton and Obama are in a virtual dead heat, and McCain has emerged as the clear front-runner for the Republicans.

Really, the only thing that surprised me was Huckabee’s performance. Gomer did pretty well.

Super Tuesday: A Three-Ringed Circus?

I’ve been watching Super Tuesday today on CNN, and it all just seems a little ridiculous. I can’t understand the concept of “super delegates” — why should these individuals exert as much power over the elections as an entire community? Also, why wouldn’t the US just have one national primary, rather than fighting over which states get to go go first and which ones get left behind?

Anyways, I do have to say CNN is doing a great job covering the event. It looks like it’s going to be an incredibly tight race for both Democrats and Republicans.

Ashlee Simpson ‘Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)’

I’m loving Ashlee Simpson’s new song ‘Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)’. Totally cool. And a rad video. Actually, her video is by far the coolest and quirkiest of the year so far.

Love it.

Paula Abdul’s Super Bowl ‘Performance’

Paula’s back — for better or for worse.

I, along with millions of other people, saw her comeback on the Super Bowl pre-game show yesterday and I have to say — it wasn’t all that bad. Now, it’s important to note that Abdul wasn’t exactly known for her singing abilities. She’s not exactly Whitney Houston. But she is what she is. And her performance for the Super Bowl delivered the Paula Abdul brand, en masse. Yes, it was pre-taped and yes, she was clearly lip-syncing. But so what? The show was better than Britney’s at the VMA’s. She looked hot and the song wasn’t that bad.

The question now is can she come back and have a bonafied hit on the charts? The single ‘Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow’, is good but it’s awfully sugary. And I’m not sure that that’ll fly on today’s charts. Maybe it would’ve worked in 1990. But regardless, if she puts out a good video with tons of dancing and promotes the shit out of it, she might be onto something good.

I just hope she has some edgier songs on her new cd (which she says will be released in the summer).

Clinton vs. Obama (and the Republicans, too)

Alright, I guess it’s time for me to finally weigh in on the US candidate races. I haven’t done so in the past because I didn’t really have much of an opinion. I’m not American and I don’t identify with a lot of the national issues that they face. A lot of things that have been brought up in the debates seem like common sense to me (like universal health care).  But I honestly think that the Democratic party has put forward two remarkable candidates, either of whom would make an excellent president.

1) Barack Obama

Barack Obama is one of the most exciting candidates I have (ever?) seen come out of the Democratic party, aside from JFK in 1960. He is an incredibly powerful, charasmatic speaker who has the rare ability to ignite passion and excitement in young voters — a quality that no other candidate has, or ever will have. In that aspect, I can certainly understand why Ted & Caroline Kennedy would make the comparision to JFK. Obama is a candidate who has the capacity to bring about real change in America.

However. When I hear his positions on the issues, especially when compared to Hillary Clinton, they seem weak in comparison. I disagree with a few of his stances, and I worry that his relative inexperience would hurt him in the White House. Americans need a president that they can feel confident would have the knowledge, experience and skill sets to end the war in Iraq, revitalize the slowing economy, and fix the heathcare crisis in America. And while Obama is exciting and passionate about igniting change and bring people together, I don’t think he’s quite ready for prime time.

Which bring us to…

2) Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has been the clear frontrunner in the Democratic race ever since she announced her intention to run. She is a powerhouse. 35 years of experience, coupled with the backing of a much-admired former US president, can’t go wrong. Which is why I have to commend for going from Barack Who? to a formidible contender for the Democratic nomination.

But what she lacks in charisma and excitement (something about her just leaves me a bit cold), she makes up for in powerful positions on the issues and clear strategies on how she plans to implement her ideas. Plus, she has the experience and skills to carry everything out successfully. Her ideas make logical sense, and I honestly think that having a white woman as President is an even bigger change that having a black man. Because, really, underneath it all, there isn’t much difference between a black man and a white man — they’re still men. But there is a strong difference between a man and a woman and the ways in which they handle different situations.

So, Barack brings me excitement, but Hillary brings me confidence. What about the Republicans? First of all, I would never endorse a Republican candidate. But I have to say that the McCain-Giuliani partnership (and it is a very clear running-mate kind of partnership) is a very strong candidate for the nomination. I worry that at 72, John McCain may be too old to serve as president. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he took office, and even he seemed like a relic. But McCain has this youthful energy about him that is kind of exciting.

But this race isn’t about the Republicans. They haven’t got a chance. Which brings us back to Obama vs. Clinton. As I said, whoever gets the nomination would make a fine president. So I’m really just looking forward to an exciting, passionate election, more than anything else.

Rock Box Vol. 4: Where Is the Music?!

It’s been a while.

You’ll notice that my tone has changed, both on the blog and in life. I think it’s called growing up. That doesn’t necessarily mean that my tastes in music have changed (they’ve always been incredibly diverse), but my tastes do continue to evolve and right now I’m in a bit of a mellow mood. So I haven’t been as in touch with the indie dance-rock type of stuff I used to write about (although I still love it).

Plus, I haven’t been listening to an awful lot of music lately, and when I have it’s usually just been the same songs over and over again. But anyways, here’s what I’ve been listening to:

Janet Jackson Feedback

I said this about her last album, but this time I really do meean it: this is the album that will put Janet back on top of the charts. I haven’t heard the whole record yet, but the single is fucking rad. And the artwork for the CD cover is amazing. I’m looking forward to hearing more.

Paul McCartney Ever Present Past

This is a song I first heard at about 3 am one morning when I had left Much Music on the TV and had fallen asleep. It woke me up. I have to say this is one of the coolest, most contemporary songs McCartney has put out in years. It sounds like he’s been listening to some Killers and Rapture tracks. And a stunning video. Paul dances??

Bruce Springsteen Radio Nowhere

Speaking of comebacks, it’s good to see Bruce Springsteen get back to doing good old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. This is a song that is politically relevant, and Bruce seems energized in a way that I haven’t seen him in at least 15 years. Could be my new favourite song.

Staying Motivated as a Writer

One of the hardest things for me, as a writer, is staying motivated. I tend to get so caught up in all of the administration and business side of things that I lose focus on what I’m actually supposed to be doing: writing. It’s hard to stay focused when there are so many other things that need to be done — everything from emailing editors and sending off queries to managing everything that’s going on in my personal life.

So what I think I have to do is schedule in a specific time that I can write uninterrupted, just as I would schedule anything else. Time for me to just be creative and not have to think about anything else. Even if it’s just for an hour or two each day. We’ll see how that goes.

Michelle Williams’ Statement on Heath Ledger

Today Michelle Williams released the following statement regarding the untimely death of her former fiance, Heath Ledger:

“Please respect our need to grieve privately. My heart is broken. I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day. His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up with the best memories of him.”