My New Goal


I have a new goal.

Over the weekend I caught part of the 31 Days of Oscar on Turner Classic Movies (TCM).  For the first time in over 20 years I stayed up to watch Gone With the Wind.  The South still lost.  Rhett still left.

Then on TNT last night, I caught The Shawshank Redemption.  It’s the perfect Valentine’s Day movie. After all, he really didn’t kill his wife.  But, seriously, it’s one of my favorite movies, so I found myself wondering what year it won the Academy Award.

It didn’t.  It was nominated for a host of awards in 1994, but was overshadowed by Forrest Gump.  Now, I haven’t seen Forrest Gump in a number of years, but I thought, really?  Maybe the powers that be at the Academy sought to remedy that when a few years later Shakespeare in Love, admittedly a good film…for a chick flick…beat out Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture.

But, I digress.

I started wondering how many Best Picture Winners I’ve actually seen.  So I went to the Academy and checked the list.  Of the 82 films that have won the distinction of year’s Best Picture, I’ve seen thirty.

Thirty.  Three-zero.

That’s a sad little number.

So my new goal, and no it has no time limit, is to see all of the Best Picture winners from the beginning.  I’ll have to re-up my Netflix membership, and some of them may be hard to find.

Some of them may also be hard to watch.  I’m pretty sure I’ve already slept through Dances with Wolves and The Last Emperor.  But I’ll try them again.

And maybe, when I’m through with this list, I’ll go back for Best Director, or Best Actor…or something.

Time to go…the popcorn’s ready.

No, The President Did Not Drop the “S-Bomb” Today

Over at Real Clear Politics today, they’re trying to tell us that President Obama Drops “S-Bomb” At Presser On Budget. 

Actually no he didn’t.  He stumbled over the phrase “lowest share.”  He did not “drop the “s-bomb”

Now, let’s be clear.  There are plenty of s-bombs IN the budget of which he was speaking.  But he didn’t drop one in his press conference.

You have to go over to Real Clear Politics to see the video.

Look, there are very few areas where I agree with the President.  The horrific disaster that he calls a budget is one of those areas.  But let’s stick to the issues.  It’s just stupid to pounce on everything the man says or does, or doesn’t say.  Focusing on this supposed slip has merely taken the focus from the budget.

Issues like this don’t help to get the message across.  This kind of…um…stuff…is just silly.