Oscar Movie Review - "Nixon/Frost"
This is the first of the 5 Best Picture nominees that I've seen. I imagine the title of this movie either intrigues people or they just keep on walking. The title says it all, this is indeed about the 1977 interviews between David Frost and President Nixon.

Your enjoyment of this movie would heavily depend on your interest in the subject matter. Although it begins with a short recap of what led to Nixon's resignation, it still assumes a lot of knowledge on the part of the audience. Since I've always been fascinated by anything and everything Nixon, I loved the movie, although I understand it probably has very limited widespread appeal.

Frank Langella, nominated for Best Actor, does a very good job embodying Nixon, even if he doesn't really look like him. But you never doubt for a minute that is Nixon. The actor playing Frost does a great job also. Very well done, and if you are interested in this place in time that took place over 30 years ago, I highly recommend it.

Obama v. Limbaugh

It's his choice, but I'm not sure why he is going up against this guy. I'm talking about Obama. Does he really think that blasting Rush publicly is going to make him go away? Think about it. The most powerful man in the world, who has a host of major problems to deal with in running this country, is instead talking about Rush Limbaugh. Perhaps there are other issues on Obama's plate he should be more concerned with?

How do you think this makes Rush feel? He is absolutely loving it. Clinton did the exact same thing and it only empowered Rush. I don't listen to Rush much anymore, although I do get daily email summaries of his show. It always amuses me when people spend so much time talking about how much they hate listening to him. But if you hate listening to him, WHY DO YOU KEEP LISTENING?!?

Reminds me of a story about Howard Stern's early days. His manager despised him and asked the marketing folks how long the average Stern fan listened. It was something like 2 hours. He then asked how long the average Stern hater listened. It was about 3 hours.

This is why Limbaugh is absolutely loving all this. Whether you love him or hate him, a ratings point is all the same if you are tuning in.

The Bush Legacy

Wow, does it seem like the Bush/Cheney years never happened? In just his first three days, Obama has pretty much done all he can to erase any memory of Bush being in office. Every executive order and other directives he has issued to this point have been aimed at making people forget Bush was even in office.

It has been said that history will not be kind to Bush and that he will quickly disappear as he left office with a dismal approval rating. But it's too early to write the history on Bush yet. I'm not convinced, even with all that went wrong, that he will be judged as harshly down the road.

As for his remaining years, Americans have a tendency to like their leaders, popular or not when they leave office. Carter was a disaster as a president, whose own party turned on him and paved the way for Reagan. But as an ex-President he's been considered one of the best. Look at Nixon. After resigning from office, in his later years he still commanded lots of respect for his foreign policy expertise. George H.W. Bush, unpopular in 1992, has remained quite popular in the years since leaving office. Bill Clinton's legacy was slightly tainted during Hillary's campaign but still can wow an audience.

As for W, I think the same will happen to him, even though right now you won't hear anyone giving any kind of favorable review of his adminstration. But time has a way of making people forget and rethink things. Although it may be hard to see it now, I think Bush will someday return in a favorable light as he now joins the popular club of our ex-Presidents.

Oscar Nominations

Okay, out of the 25 nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress, I've seen one (Heath Ledger). As for the Best Picture of the Year, I have a hard time believing that a movie like "The Reader" or "Milk," even though I haven't seen it, can be considered a better movie than "The Dark Knight" and will stand the test of time.

For my annual Oscar party, I will go in only knowing all the animated features. I also got a jump on next year's nominations by seeing "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" last weekend.

Inaugural Notes

Watched the ceremony here at IU South Bend in a packed room with lots of faculty, staff and students. As recommended by my brother Steve, I also checked out the live blog on Swampland, which is often very funny. Some random observations:

• Barbara Bush looked the same now as she did back in 1988. Bush, Sr. was really looking old this time around (maybe it was the way he was walking).


• Image of the day? Cheney in a wheelchair! What a farewell shot of this guy. He has been called the worst vice-president of all time, the one who really ran the country and ran roughshod over the constitution and was despised by many. But here he was, confined to a wheelchair. Kinda reminds me of Mark Felt (aka Deep Throat). A guy that brought down Nixon we only remember as this 90 year-old with a walker.


• A little long on the prayer Mr. Warren, you could've cut it a bit short. One of the Swampland bloggers asked, "Why did Rick Warren say "Malia and Sasha" like he was introducing Siegfried & Roy?" Kudos for Obama for not replacing Warren after the criticism he received.


• Nice job by Aretha Franklin. She can still belt it out. But what was up with that hat?


• The music by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and those other two? Kinda strange and surprisingly downbeat for such an occasion. Don't think the younger generation really connected to that. Not that he needed Springsteen or Bono to come out and sing, but, well, maybe he should have.


• Lots of people in the room I was watching laughed when they saw the size of that Bible. The thing is huge!


• Another Swampland nugget: "Dorky constitutional question: after Biden takes the oath of office, is he, for however many minutes, technically George W. Bush's vice president?"


• Did Obama flub the oath or did Roberts? Will David Letterman add this to his "Great Moments in Presidential History?" A swampland blogger said, "I am registering www.obamaflubbedtheoathandthereforeisnotofficiallypresident.com".


• Obama's speech? Very anti-climactic. He's been trying to dial down expectations ever since election night and he seemed to be trying extra hard to do so with this speech. I was kinda lost at times at exactly what he was saying. I figured we'd see the Obama from the campaign trail, as this was the time to really inspire the audience. But much of it fell flat to me, but I imagine the analysis will say it was great. I also expected him to be interrupted multiple times with applause (like in a State of the Union speech), but that never really happened. Maybe it was just the hype, but overall a curiously downbeat speech. Lots of zingers thrown in at the Bush administration, though, as Bush sat right there beside him. Overall, the speech just seemed to be missing something.
  
• But the crowd! All this for a presidential inauguration? It was a sight to see. There's no way Obama will be able to keep up this fervor, but on this day, it was impressive to see everyone excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. Yes, Obama does make you feel good about America.
  
• Uh, why exactly did we need a poet there at the end?
  
• Was that a prayer or a speech by Lowery? I don't know, but it was good.
  
• Neat seeing the Obama's walk along the route back to the White House. They seemed most relaxed at this point. Is this the most photogenic first family or what?
  

Okay Obama, you got the Congress, Senate, and White House all to yourself. Your move.

Game Over, Ready to Exhale

Cardinals in the Super Bowl? You gotta be kidding. But it's happening. What a game. First half was great, 2nd half was nerve-wracking, and I was fairly convinced the Eagles would prevail. But Warner pulled them through.

I don't care who they play in the Super Bowl. Getting there's a great accomplishment. But you never know what can happen. Remember last year when the Patriots were a sure thing to go undefeated? Not so fast.

An Amazing Happy Ending

Not too long ago, I watched an episode of "When Weather Changed History" on the Weather Channel. The story was about the Air Florida jet in 1982 that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, killing just about everyone on board save a few passengers lucky enough to get out.

When I first got a "breaking news alert" on my computer about a jet going down in the Hudson River, I assumed the worst. When I watched the coverage I was astounded that everyone got out alive. This pilot, "Sully" is definitely a hero in the truest sense as his soft landing in the water without breaking the plane apart allowed everyone to get out as the plane never sunk. Also, there seemed to be very little panic inside the plane as everyone exited pretty calmly, which is incredible when you think about what had to be going through their minds knowing they crashed into water.

What a great story!

. . . .And Doggone it, People Like Him

Yikes, it looks like Al Franken is the next Senator from Minnesota, although this is going to be challenged in the courts for a while. Certainly shows how every vote counts. I'm just not a big fan of this guy. He was funny at one time, but most of his attempts at humor now just aren't even original.

Now someone like Michael Moore, who is extremely liberal like Franken, I'll go see his documentaries even though I disagree with a lot of what he says. But he can sure say it in an entertaining fashion. Franken titles his book, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." Okay, and I'll write a book and call it"Keith Olberman is a Dork." I don' t mind insults, but make 'em at least partially unique.

So what kind of Senator will he be? Minnesota put up with Governor Jesse Ventura not long ago, so they are used to elected officials who kinda surprise themselves by getting in office. Franken is extremely critical and mean-spirited towards Christians, so I imagine it won't take him long to say something stupid. I would venture to guess that even Obama isn't all that impressed with him.

Good Answer

We've been having a lot of problems with Cameron (age 6) not asking permission to do something when he should be. In particular, when candy or other treats are involved. He'll sneak a piece of candy then have to hide his tracks, and, of course, get in trouble for doing so.

The other night, he brought Dorene a piece of candy and asked if he could have it. Dorene said, "Why should I say yes?" Cameron replied, "Because I actually asked."

He got the candy.

Cardinals 33, Panthers 13

OH YEAH, BABY!!!

Wow, can't believe how Arizona stuck it to this team. Warner was awesome, their receivers were incredible, and Jake Delhomme totally stunk it up for Carolina. That first half was so fun to watch.

Arizona going to the NFC Championship? Hard to believe. I'll be rooting for the Eagles tomorrow, because if they win, Arizona gets to host the game rather than travel to New York.

Twenty years after moving from St. Louis to Arizona, the Cardinals are one step away from the Super Bowl. Who would've thunk it?

Boring BCS Game

Not a very exciting game last night, although it's always good to see Oklahoma lose. Their vaunted offense that averaged 60 points a game during the season kinda got shut down.

I noticed that Florida QB Tebow had "John 3:16" imprinted on the eye glare he was wearing. He made a good impression when he proceeded to get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the closing minute when the game was already decided.

Baby Allie at 3 months

Yep, Anna and Cameron like their new baby sister!

The Atlanta Braves of the NFL

For 14 consecutive years, the Atlanta Braves made the post-season, often with the best record in baseball and often-times with MVP winners or at least candidates. In all those years of getting to the post-season, they only had one championship to show for it.

Looks like the Colts are following suit. Things were looking good. They rolled into the post-season and were playing a team that had to win 4 games in a row at the end just to have a record of 8-8. But, like last year, the Chargers took the Colts out. Time may soon be running out on Peyton Manning to get that second trophy and for the Colts to make their mark as one of the all-time teams. Another frustrating post-season loss for them when everything seemed to be in place.

The bright spot? My Arizona Cardinals won their first home playoff game in 47 years! Kurt Warner is looking good. They are off to Carolina next weekend. Win that one and they are one game from the Super Bowl. I wonder if the fans in St. Louis are glad they let Warner go?