Oscar nominations

Also today, the Academy Award nominations have been released. "Brokeback Mountain" is in the lead with eight nominations, which, although unjust, probably doesn't surprise anybody. On the positive side, "The Chronicles of Narnia" has been nominated in three categories: best makeup, best sound mixing, and best visual effects. It definitely deserves to win in these categories, and in fact deserves to win best picture, but knowing the tastes of the Academy, I never expected that to happen anyway. The Oscars will be awarded on March 5 (I always thought it would make more sense to have the nominations on January 1 and the ceremony at the end of January) and the full list of nominees is available at http://oscars.org.

Congratulations Alito!

Despite Kerry and the Democrats' filibuster threats, Samuel Alito has been sworn in as America's newest Supreme Court justice! Congratulations to Justice Alito, as I am sure he will be a satisfactory judge on the highest court of the land.

SAG Awards

At the SAG Awards tonight, Dakota Fanning (along with Jamie Lee Curtis) presented Shirley Temple with the lifetime achievement award. Shirley definitely deserved this award. As a child, she was possibly the best actor in history. Dakota was also excellent presenting the award. She wore a beautiful dress and was extremely poised as she spoke about Shirley's career. Dakota brough a Shirley Temple doll onto the stage with her, telling the audience that she and her family are fans of Shirley's films and that she doll has been passed down through her family.

Update: the SAG Awards have now all been given out and, surprisingly, I don't believe "Brokeback Mountain" won anything.

Saddam misbehaves again

Saddam Hussein lost his temper again at the first session of his trial since December 22. Saddam had refused to come back to court until today. The new judge threw out a defense lawyer and one of Saddam's co-defendants, and they Saddam and the rest of his defense team stormed out in protest. As he left, Saddam shouted, "Down with traitors" and "down with America!" The judge apparently agreed with Saddam's decision to leave, as he was trying to eject him anyway. "I am a judge, and you are a defendant," he told the former dictator, "and you have violated order in the court." The trial is scheduled to resume later this week. For the full story, see CNN.

Hatch's tax injustice

Richard Hatch's conviction in his tax evasion case was an injustice. Hatch won $1 million as the first winner of "Survivor" and was expected to give some of it to the government in exchange for nothing! Taxes are government-sponsored theft. What a way to take all the fun and excitement of game shows like "Survivor." With taxes, winning means nothing. People are punished for being successful, and poor people are rewarded for being poor. There needs to be a flat tax - everyone pays the same sum of money- or even better, no taxes at all! The tax system as it presently exists puts America one step closer to Communism, and it must be abolished.

Defending Druce

On Thursday January 26, Joseph Druce was convicted of first-degree murder for killing pedophile priest John Geoghan in a Massachusetts jail. Druce was sentenced to life in prison without parole. This is a great injustice. Druce did nothing wrong! Geoghan was a disgusting individual who deserved what he got. He has been accused of molesting 150 children against their will! Druce should get a medal for taking out this pedophile.

Congratulations on Crisp

Coco Crisp is finally coming to the Red Sox. Although I still miss Johnny Damon, Coco will be a great replacement in center field. He's a good player (he had a .300 batting average last season) and he has a cool name. Congratulations on the trade, Red Sox!

Theo returns; Alito approved

After all the fuss of the past few months, Theo Epstein will be returning as the Red Sox general manager! Theo has done an excellent job as GM so far, and I'm glad that he'll be keeping the job. Another bit of good news is that Supreme Court Nominee Samuel Alito has been approved by the Senate Judicial Committee and is likely to be confirmed by the full Senate. Although I would have preferred Harriet Miers, who is an unmarried, conservative woman, I think Alito will make a decent Supreme Court justice.

Miscellaneous news

Sorry for not posting sooner; I have many things to say but have been too busy to say them until now. First of all, happy belated birthday to Benjamin Franklin, who turned 300 on Tuesday. Happy birthday as well to Robert E. Lee, the brave, brilliant, and charming Confederate commander-in-chief, who turns 199 years old today!

I did not watch the Golden Globes because "24" was on at the same time, but I would like to congratulate Hugh Laurie of "House" for his win in the category of best actor in a television drama. The nominations for the BAFTA awards have been announced, and "The Chronicles of Narnia" has been nominated in three categories: costume design, visual effects, and makeup and hair. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is nominated in the same categories, but "Narnia" is better (not by a huge amount, but by a substantial margin), and it is way better than almost any of the other movies that have been nomiated in any category. It's too bad that "Narnia" wasn't nominated for best picture or any other categories, but, knowing the bizarre tastes of film critics, I'm slightly surprised that it was nominated for these three categories. If you would like, click for the full list of nominees. Go Narnia!

Now for some Supreme Court commentary: the Court did well with its ruling in the doctor-assisted suicide case. People have a right to die if they want to, since dying isn't morally wrong. Therefore, they have a right to pay someone to help them die, and doctors have a right to kill someone if that's what the person told them to do. Why would you pay someone if they weren't going to do what you told them? On this ruling I actually agree with the liberal judges! What a scary thought!

The Supreme Court justices were sort of wimpy on their ruling about the New Hampshire law that required parents to be notified before minors can get an abortion. This law should be struck down, as it is un-individualistic and imposes an undue burden on minors that do not want a baby. Yes, it was immoral of the minors to get pregnant in the first place (unless they were raped), but getting an abortion is the right thing to do if one is pregnant, since babies are yucky, and it is more moral not to have a baby than to have one. I support abortion because it is a way to mitigate an immoral situation. Another issue on which I side with the liberals! However, my father tells me that I support abortion for fascist reasons, and I like to think that he's right!

Finally, did I mention Osama bin Laden's new tape? On Al-Jazeera, Osama declared that he plans to attack the US, but is offering us a truce. It's the first time he's been heard from in over a year! I've always though he was alive. For the full story, go to CNN.

History and movie rant

Today in history, Prohibition began in 1920, outlawing alcohol in America. This was a great day in history, and Prohibition should still be a national policy. Additionally, on this date in 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft's confirmation hearings began. Ashcroft was an excellent A.G. (not to insult Alberto Gonzales), and is an awesome and one-of-a-kind conservative leader!

Another one of my random observations: the PG-rated movie "Hoodwinked," a new take on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, is number one at the box office this week. Amazingly, the reviewers at Kids-in-Mind found no sex or nudity in this movie. Kids-in-Mind is a ridiculously strict website that reviews movies for parents, listing all potentially objectionable material that parents might not want their kids to see. I am pro-sensorship, and even I find many of the things they list ridiculous. For example, they consider the following things to be sexual in nature:

• A man dancing with his cat in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
• Harry and Hermione, who are platonic friends, hugging in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
• Elves dancing in "The Polar Express"
• A boy and a girl, who are also platonic friends, hugging in "The Polar Express"
• Male centaurs without shirts in "The Chronicles of Narnia"
• When Alexander the Great's mother kisses him on the forehead in "Alexander"

None of these things, in my opinion, are in the least bit sexual, and Kids-in-Mind has no right to label them as such. "Hoodwinked" is the first movie in about two years about which this site found nothing sexual. It seems like a good movie, and I'm looking forward to seeing it sometime. If you want to read some of their reviews (interesting though often ridiculous), go to my link above. Note that even if the site gives a movie 0 out of 10 for sex/nudity, it might still list a few things if you click for the detailed review.

Menendez on "Larry King Live"

Just a few minutes ago, murderer Erik Menendez was on "Larry King Live" with his wife, Tammi, who has written a book about her husband's trial and his life in jail. In the early 1990s, Erik and his brother Lyle were convicted of murdering their parents in Beverly Hills, California, and they received life sentences in different prisons. Menendez talked to Larry King by phone and had some interesting comments. For example, he said that he was never abused in prison and that he sticks up for himself and for other inmates. I wil try to find a transcript and post the link. For now, go to http://www.erikmenendez.com for more information on the book.

Update: Read the transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/transcripts/0601/12/lkl.01.html.

Peterson updates website

Scott Peterson's official website, hosted by the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, has been updated. Go to http://ccadp.org/scottpeterson.htm to read his comments about Sharon Rocha's new book. Hmmm, I wonder if he's telling the truth? I doubt it. Someone who had been wrongly accused of murder would probably sound angrier than Scott!

Rocha's Nancy Grace interview

I ought to have posted this earlier, but Sharon Rocha, the mother of slain California woman Laci Rocha, did an interesting interview with Nancy Grace last night. She said that during the trial, she was so angry at Scott Peterson, her daughter's killer, that she wanted to "lunge over" toward him, and that after her daughter's death she once saw a vision of Laci sitting on the couch in her house. A video clip of Scott's father, Lee, was played during the show, in which Lee said some really nice things about Scott that I had not heard before. Lee described Scott as "a wonderful boy" and "the perfect kid." To read the transcript of the show, go to http://transcripts.cnn.com/transcripts/0601/10/ng.01.html

New evidence against Pelosi

Yesterday, a witness named Christopher Parrino testified in court that Daniel Pelosi definitely did murder millionaire Ted Ammon. Pelosi was convicted of the murder in December 2004 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. At the time of the murder, Ammon was planning to divorce his wife, whom Pelosi later married. On the night of the murder, in 2001, Parrino rode with Pelosi to Ammon's home in East Hampton, New York, to discuss the divorce. Pelosi entered the house alone and, according to Parrino, returned covered in blood and said that he killed Ammon in a fight. Parrino is being charged of hindering the prosecution for failing to share this information during Pelosi's trial. This new evidence essentially ruins Pelosi's chances for an appeal. To read more, go to http://courttv.com/trials/pelosi/011106_witness_ap.html.

Critics' Choice Awards

Yesterday, as many people know, was the 11th annual Critics' Choice Awards. The winners that I thought deserved their wins were Dakota Fanning (best young actress), Freddie Highmore (best young actor) and the Chronicles of Narnia (best live-action family film). Congratulations! The rest of the winners, however, were fairly lackluster and not very surprising.

Go to http://cnn.com/2006/showbiz/movies/01/10/critics.awards.ap/index.html to see the complete list of winners.

Bad SAG Award nominees

The nominations for the Screen Actors' Guild Awards have been released, and, not very surprisingly, "Brokeback Mountain" has the most nominations. I've never seen this movie, but I'm sure any movie that's about gay people and contains nudity can't be very good. Overall, the nominees are extremely lackluster - if I'm not mistaken, no PG or G rated movies were nominated for anything! The only nominations that I found reasonable were Hugh Laurie of "House" for best actor in a TV drama, and Keifer Sutherland of "24" for the same category. The movies that should win awards are "The Chronicles of Narnia," "Because of Winn-Dixie," "War of the Worlds," and maybe "Chicken Little" and "Dreamer" (I haven't seen the last two yet). The nominees and the movies that weren't nominated aren't the least bit surprising, but I still enjoy criticizing the Guild's taste!

Go to http://www.sagawards.org/PR_060105.htm to see the list of nominees.

Sharon suffers stroke

Today Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel, suffered a fairly severe stroke while at his ranch in Jerusalem. There was a hemmorhage in his brain, and he is currently undergoing surgery. Vice Premier Ehud Olmert has taken over Sharon's governmental powers for the moment, so the Prime Minister's condition appears serious. However, Sharon's doctor, Shmuel Shapiro, stated that "I expect him to emerge from it (meaning the surgery) safely." Experts have said that Sharon has little chance of recovering fully, but I wish him a happy recovery anyway, no matter how likely this is.