The 2012 Oscar Nominations, Dwight Shrute, and Guy Fawkes Masks

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The following were on my mind between Monday, January 23rd and Thursday, January 26th:

-I know it's pretty easy to point out all the flaws and various snubs of this year's Oscar nominations (and there were quite a few, including: no Oscar nominations for any of the "Drive" actors, specifically Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks whose performances were very well-received; no nominations for Michael Fassbender's performance in "Shame"; Leonardo DiCaprio losing out on a nomination yet again despite arguably his most desperate attempt at one playing J.Edgar Hoover; "Extremely Loud and Incredible Close" being nominated for seven Oscars despite receiving the worst reviews from critics by far while the final "Harry Potter" movie only got some token technical awards; the fact that we have to forever say "Academy Award nominee, Jonah Hill," and so much more), but I'm just going to focus instead on the positive. I mean, "The Tree of Life" (arguably one of the best movies of 2011) got nominated for Best Picture despite many thinking that it would just get a token nomination for Best Director. Also, Gary Oldman got nominated, and "Rango" earned its "Best Animated Feature" nomination. Meanwhile, "Community's" Dean Pelton (a.k.a. Jim Rash) got nominated for his co-writing of "The Descendants." Sure, he'll probably lose that award to Aaron Sorkin, but at least fans of the show can take credit of knowing this Oscar-nominee when he was the quirky guy who wore a bee costume in airports.

-Speaking of "Community," everytime I've looked at the ratings and noticed that both "Whitney" and "Are You There, Chelsea?" have continued to tank on Wednesday night (from a 1.9 and a 2.3 respectively just two weeks ago to a 1.4 rating yesterday) and that "30 Rock" has had similar trouble in the same Thursday night timeslot (a 1.6 rating last week, the same rating that "Community" had just before it was put on hiatus), I can't help but feel more confident that this show is going to come back in March and later get renewed for a 4th season.

- Never in my life did I ever believe that I would live to see the day that Kevin Durant, Monty Python, "The Big Lebowski," Bugs Bunny, and David Brent from "The Office (UK)" in the same commercial. Thanks, Nike+Fuelband! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT50eLLxPco)

- Well, Colts fans, it looks like it's time to finally start saying goodbye to Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. No way does a player say that he's feeling that he's "walking on eggshells" in his own clubhouse after losing his old coach and general manager without going away along with them.

- A spinoff of "The Office" starring Dwight Shrute? And Paul Lieberstein, the worst showrunner of the series, is helping in the development of this one? Yeah, this doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. (http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/the-office-spinoff-starring-rainn-wilson-nbc-2013-new-launch/)

- I'm really getting tired of seeing all these Guy Fawkes masks in every pro-reform protest. Unless you're plan is to blow up British Parliament and restore Catholicism as the ruling body of the land, I suggest that you find some other way to express how hip and anarchic you feel. I'm sure there are plenty of Che Gueverra T-shirts still on sale.

More random thoughts to come on Monday. Until then, enjoy the start to the end of your week!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15





If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.