To-do lists

Man I love lists. I think human brains work in lists. Think about it. You're making a list of things you make lists for aren't you?

Last night I made a reasonably long list of things I need to get done within the next day or so. I went over it and figured out which things I wanted to get done TODAY, and which things could wait till later. Cutting edge stuff.

Then I left the list at home.

So here I am, sitting at work, trying to remember some of the things I wrote down, and getting trapped into doing incidental things that feel productive, but probably aren't nearly as urgent as the things I wrote down last night, only a tiny handful of which I can actually remember right now.

In other news, the Oscars were cool. Talk about lists.

First, the list of nominees. I don't think this list is representative of ALL the worthwhile films of the year, but it's a good start. And certainly there are some stinkers on there, but at least we won't see any stupid, boring, hackneyed animated cartoon bears among them. So some things are still right with the world.

And then there's the list of winners. In every invested person's mind, this particular list is actually a composite of several lists: the wins that make us happy; the wins that we can live with; and the wins that are actually losses in the long run. I won't go into great detail, but here are some of my thoughts.

First of all, I haven't seen The King's Speech. I plan to, certainly, since everything I've heard seems to indicate that it deserved its recognition.

According to my Top Ten list on Rhombus, I guess I should be upset that Inception didn't win, but I feel the same way this year that I feel every year. The Academy Award for Best Picture, and the highest (or one of) grossing film shouldn't necessarily be the same film. Sometimes they are, but I tend to think it's fair to spread the love a bit. Inception didn't need a Best Picture win. It was almost everyone's favorite film (or one of) anyway. King's Speech was a smaller film, and had a whole lot more to gain from a win like that.

I haven't seen Inside Job, but I wanted to strangle the life out of Charles Ferguson for being a smug, sniveling, finger-pointing piece of poop. His was the only acceptance "speech" that inspired thoughts of violent regurgitation.

At the risk of giving the impression that I simply didn't watch any films last year, I'll admit that I have not seen, nor do I have any intention of seeing, Black Swan. I respect the amount of attention it's getting, and I am quite comfortable admitting that Aronofsky is a virtuosic filmmaker, but it's not my kind of film, owing to some of the content to which I'd prefer not to be exposed. However, there would have been an outcry if Natalie Portman hadn't won Best Actress, and her acceptance was gracious and sincere. I also whole-heartedly support her succinct description of motherhood as her "most important role."

The most bitter disappointment for me was 127 Hours total lockout. It didn't win anything. Not even Best Editing, which it deserved so far above any of the other nominations it was almost a joke. But oh well.


Overall, I would say last year was more exciting. But I still love the Oscars. I'll continue to watch them every year, given the opportunity. It's like the Superbowl of the arts. It's possibly the most important award show in the world (at least according to the Academy.) And despite what any embittered film-enthusiast/wannabe says, they are still incredibly relevant. Pay attention to those nominations, if nothing else. Those lists aren't shabby.