I'm not going to overanalyze the reasons or meanings behind that, but tonight, chilling on the back porch, intentionally being still and soaking in the experience of nature accessible to me, Silence stuck out amid all the other great tunes that Shuffle brought my way.
If it's this exhilarating to watch the video, I can only imagine what it actually feels like. Reminder, these are actual people doing this.... not Superman or Iron Man with special effects.... Insane
So, I know I haven't seen all of this year's Oscar nominated movies, but after watching Gran Torino this past weekend, I am appalled that it isn't even nominated. Not for Eastwood's compelling performance, nor for his directing, and not Best Picture for the film as a whole. Honestly, I am very disappointed in the Academy.
Gran Torino is a truly great movie. It is Clint Eastwood at his best. Even as the sun sets on his acting career, he still has that same badass, gritty nature that lets you know not to mess with him. It says something when an almost-80-year-old can still kick your ass. But it wasn't just the hardness and grit of his performance, it was also the raw emotion, the comical political incorrectness and racism used to represent his character's culture and war-hardened disregard for social norms. Yet he hasn't completely given up hope on future generations and still wants to do what he can to make a difference and instill his traditional values and integrity on the boys and girls in his neighborhood.
Eastwood's performance is gripping, the directing is very well done, and the story incorporates both action and suspense with humor and heart-rending emotion.
So, my question to the Academy is why not? Why does this film not even get a nomination? Are the other movies you have nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor really more deserving than this farewell performance from Eastwood? I haven't seen Milk, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, The Visitor, or Benjamin Button. Frost/Nixon was really the only one of those I had significant interest in seeing. I did see Slumdog Millionaire and The Wrestler, both with Oscar nods. I think Rourke does deserve a nomination for his performance, but if it were between him and Eastwood in Gran Torino... Clint might win in a very close vote in my book. Slumdog was fun and moving and a good story that was well-done. But I would take Gran Torino for Best Picture over it any day.
As far as the rest of the nominees, I can't comment cause I haven't seen them, but the curious case of Eric Roth, writer for both Benjamin Button and Forrest Gump, leads me to believe I have seen this one before. See below for a quick synopsis.
Whether or not you like Forrest Gump 2 or Slumdog or Milk or whatever, I think Gran Torino and Clint Eastwood deserve to be in the discussion and I am disappointed that they are left on the outside looking in.
"You have some people, very sincere, who philosophically just think the government has no business interfering in the marketplace..."
Yeah, people who believe that smaller government is better government, less taxes encourage more spending and growth. But that doesn't really fall in line with your socialist agenda does it? How is this governmental intervention not legalized federal theft? It is redistribution of wealth taken from all and given to some, the recipients of which the Government decides. As Frederick Bastiat said,
"...the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime..."
Another person who thought the government shouldn't be involved in the marketplace was John Locke, whose opinions and theories heavily influenced our Founding Fathers in the writing of the Constitution. Their assertion was that the role of government is to protect (not interfere with or intervene in) the God-given right to life, liberty, and property.
The American people are right to worry about this package. In light of where the government is taking this money from, we deserve to know precisely what they plan on doing with it and why. Make an argument to us that your billions of dollars are not pork. We should be worried that politicians are taking advantage of the economic climate and the fear of Americans to push their own agendas and skim off the top... Even Rahm himself said it:
"...it's an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before..."
This seems like a good reason to watch CSPAN more often...
Has Schumer never heard of Thomas Jefferson? If good ole TJ were here today, he might say something like:
"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
So whether or not you believe the American people (the "governed") have any interest in what is going on in the government and where all this money is going, your responsibility as the Government is to ensure that they have easy access and ability to find out what the Government is doing with their hard-earned money. The sheer brashness of this comment makes me sick. The American people are not an endless resource of money that you can utilize for your pet projects, arrogantly assuming that you don't need to be accountable to the electorate. Seems Obama is talking out of both sides of his mouth.... I already found it hard to trust him, but in my opinion, he isn't getting off to a great start. New Sheriff in town is takin' everyone's money and deciding how to distribute it... Where is Robin Hood?Another thing hidden in the bill is new health provisions written up by Tom Daschle. Restrictions and controls and penalties for doctors, a new powerful appointed body....? Does this bother anyone else? And even though Senator Leahy's "truth commission" sounds dangerously Orwellian, maybe there should be an outside governing body keeping the government in check and disseminating true information to the "governed." Problem of course is that everyone has their price...
This is what I continue to experience in the mornings from my TV of all places. My living room, the grey local light creeping in, is bathed in the sun's warmth from halfway around the globe. Discovery HD's Sunrise Earth is, in my opinion, one of the greatest, most beautiful shows on TV right now. The cinematography is amazing. The tangible sense that you are out in nature on some remote corner of the world, or possibly watching the sun rise over the Vatican or a silent Siberian village. It is calming, serene, and awe-inspiring. Although not always silent, the stillness can be deafening.
So, my recommendation is, turn off the morning edition of Sportscenter, turn off Mike and Mike or Today or Weather channel. Take a moment while you're scarfing your granola and yogurt or eggs and bacon, switch over to Sunrise Earth, and soak up the beauty of God's creation.
So, I know I haven't seen all of this year's Oscar nominated movies, but after watching Gran Torino this past weekend, I am appalled that it isn't even nominated. Not for Eastwood's compelling performance, nor for his directing, and not Best Picture for the film as a whole. Honestly, I am very disappointed in the Academy. 
