From Strawberry Fields in Central Park...

Imagine


(c) Kerri L. Berney 2007

Finally, I can end my candlelight vigil...

Our long national nightmare is over... After 3 days (though she is getting credit for five), Paris Hilton is out of prison.

She is apparently getting out because of psychological issues she experienced in prison. I'm currently watching the press conference (on both CNN and MSNBC), and she actually gets credit for 5 days, as they include today (even though it was really early) and the day she went in (even though it was late). The reporters are not happy, it seems.

She is under house arrest for 40 days. A reporter just brought up a good question... When Martha Stewart was on house arrest, she was allowed to leave the house for business, but Paris Hilton's business is going to parties. So, will she be allowed to leave her house to go to parties? The spokesguy didn't know; it's apparently a question for the LA Sheriff's department.

And for some reason, I'm just speechless...

My, how MTV has fallen...

I freely admit that I have been out of the target MTV demographic for nearly a decade, but I still find myself watching the channel at work. We only get a dozen channels, and there are only so many times I can watch The Real Housewives of the OC on Bravo. This afternoon I watched almost two full episodes of My Super Sweet 16 and marvelled as to how much I loathed the protagonists. And then I felt bad because a) it's their birthday and b) they're 16. But then I stopped feeling bad because I'm pretty sure I would have loathed them even more when I was 16. Because, my G-d, have you seen that show? Anyway, since I do try to keep up with pop culture, I DVR'd the MTV Movie Awards, but... I haven't been able to bring myself to watch them yet. Instead, I'm reading the recap on TWOP. What do you think? Is that a sign as to how far MTV has fallen?

Old photos of February peace rally...

This is from February '07... Thank goodness I upgraded and got the 1 GB memory card, otherwise I would not have gotten quite so many pictures of quite so many signs...

DC peace rally
(c) Kerri L. Berney 2007

R.I.P. Steve Gilliard: 1966-2007

I never met Steve Gilliard, in fact I only heard of him a few years ago when I stumbled upon his blog, www.thenewsblog.net, but in a short time, I became a huge fan. He was a New Yorker, a liberal, a soccer aficianado and a die-hard fan of the New York Mets. Shortly after I first read him, he became a regular stop on my daily blog reading. Whenever I wanted a local perspective of a national issue, he was there. And of course, he was more than just a New York view on national issues. As a student of history, he could always be counted on to bring a new perspective on the history of the Middle East, historically, politically and militarily. I rarely commented on his blog, because either he or someone else would say what I wanted to say faster and more eloquently than I ever could. But, for the past three or four years, I was always there as a reader, often nodding my head in agreement to what I was reading.

And, as Steve would say... PUCK the Yankees (though he would have no trouble using the vernacular, as he was not afraid to mince words).


Steve, you will be missed, and I offer my most heartfelt sympathies to those friends and family (of which there are many), who knew and loved him.

Happy Memorial Day...

Let's take a moment to remember the men and women who have lost their lives protecting the USA, as well as those who are still in harms way (regardless of what we feel about the current administration who put them there, we all hope they come home quickly and safely).

Picture of the Day...

One of two lions that guards the New York City Public Library headquarters on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.


One of two lions that guards the New York City Public Library headquarters on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street.
(c) Kerri L. Berney 2007

Picture of the Day...

And, we're back... No, not with a scintillating bit of commentary about the state of television today... Instead, I'm showing off a picture I took with my brand spanking new camera. It's of New York City (natch...)


(c) Kerri L. Berney 2007

Picture of the Day...

The day after the (hopefully) last snowstorm of the winter. Yes, this was the snowstorm that kept me visiting my dad down in Florida for the weekend. Instead, I saw Journey's End at the Belasco and then The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Circle in the Square. This picture was taken when I was killing some time before seeing Spelling Bee (which was a great show).

(c) Kerri L. Berney 2007

Great movie alert... Night of the Hunter (1955)

I just noticed that my DVR was recording one of my favorite movies of all times... Night of the Hunter (1955). If you haven't seen it, you should. It stars Robert Mitchum, silent film star Lillian Gish and Shelly Winters. The only film Charles Laughton directed, it was based on a story by James Agee. At it's core, it's a version of Little Red Robin Hood, with the wolf as a killer in preacher's clothing and Robin as two Depression era kids (John and Pearl). Mitchum is deliciously evil as the preacher who woos a killer's widow in order to get to the money he hid. When he realizes the woman doesn't know anything about the murder, he dispatches her and takes off after the kids who have seen his true colors and run for their lives. They end up at Lillian Gish's place (Rachel Cooper) and join her happy brood of unofficial foster kids. Where the Preacher sees a dark and vengeful G-d (Old Testament, if you will), the Widow Cooper sees a G-d of light and forgiveness (New Testament, anyone?). As in any movie with good and evil, the two sides meet in a showdown and one of them gets it in the end.

Several years ago, it was adapted into a stage musical. Oh, and if you are looking for this on television, make sure you are watching the 1955 version, and not the made for tv version from the early 90s. Trust me. It's a mistake I made once and will never make again.

In the 60 years since this film was released, there have been many homages to it, owing mostly to the love and hate tattoos on the Preacher's knuckles (Do the Right Thing and The Simpsons are among the most prominent).

Cool Quotes...

Ben Harper: I got tired of seein' children roamin' the woodlands without food, children roamin' the highways in this here Depression, children sleepin' in old abandoned car bodies in junk heaps. And I promised myself that I'd never see the day when my young-uns had want.

Rev. Powell: [when he notices John staring at the words "love" and "hate" tattooed across his knuckles] Ah, little lad, you're staring at my fingers. Would you like me to tell you the little story of right-hand/left-hand? The story of good and evil? H-A-T-E! It was with this left hand that old brother Cain struck the blow that laid his brother low. L-O-V-E! You see these fingers, dear hearts? These fingers has veins that run straight to the soul of man. The right hand, friends, the hand of love. Now watch, and I'll show you the story of life. Those fingers, dear hearts, is always a-warring and a-tugging, one agin t'other. Now watch 'em! Old brother left hand, left hand he's a fighting, and it looks like love's a goner. But wait a minute! Hot dog, love's a winning! Yessirree! It's love that's won, and old left hand hate is down for the count!"

Rachel Cooper: You know, when you're little, you have more endurance than God is ever to grant you again. Children are humanity's strongest. They abide.

Icey Spoon: [about the conjugal bed] When you've been married to a man for forty years you know all that don't amount to a hill of beans. I've been married to Walt that long and I swear in all that time I just lie there thinkin' about my canning.

Icey Spoon: [about sex in marriage] A woman's a fool to marry for that. That's somethin' for a man. The Good Lord never meant for a decent woman to want that. Not really want it. It's all just a fake and a pipe dream.

Jennifer Garner's bike...

Sure, she is no longer portraying Sidney Bristow on ABC's "Alias" (three of the best tv seasons ever, unfortunatel, it lasted five), but I like to think that she still owns this bicycle, given to her by creator, JJ Abrams. I took a friend to lunch on the Disney lot, when Alias was still in production, so we could try stalking any Alias castmembers, but it was Christmas-time so most shows were on hiatus and besides I'm sure I would have chickened out anyway.

Postmortem...

As I mentioned earlier, I think Ellen did a great job. Yes, even better than Jon Stewart, mainly because I think she fit more into the Hollywood ideal of what a host should be. Although, I have no doubt that Jon Stewart would have had fun with Al Gore's film.

As to how I did with my Oscar picks, assuming we're just going to go with what I thought would win (as opposed to what I thought should win), I did not do well at all, going just 13 for 24, barely over 50%.

I did a little better with the pool I was in for work, going 18 for 24, but still not quite passing, and I did beat the other folks who guessed from my department. So, research group, eat your heart out!

And now, we have snowy conditions in NYC which means my commute tomorrow is gonna suck... Excellent...

Overall, good Academy Awards... though lose the America montage and start earlier and I think we can move that up to a solid great Academy Awards. Most of the folks I wanted to win won, and even with the categories I guessed wrongly on, I was never displeased with the result. And, so I end my blogging on the 79th Academy Awards with this...

RUN AL, RUN!

And the Oscar goes to...

BTW: Diane Keaton looks great!

And, The Departed wins!

Backstage, Spielberg gives Scorcese a hug even though he just lost the Oscar to The Departed.

And another Brit gets to give an acceptance speech. Good on you...

And so another Academy Awards comes to an end.

Ellen did a great job, even though it ended 45 minutes past what my DVR said it should.

Best Picture...

We're down to the wire...

Babel...

The Departed...

The Queen...

Letters from Iwo Jima...

Little Miss Sunshine...

George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppolla, and Steven Spielberg present the Best Director Oscar...

That was very funny. They start off talking about how great it is to win an Academy Award when Lucas pipes in with he's never won one. They start mocking him. He says it's better to give than to receive and they rejoin with it's better to give than to receive.

And Marty Scorcese wins!! Awww... that's awesome! Finally, he's tied with 3-6 Mafia!

And everyone seems genuinely happy! Spielberg says, "Hey, Mazel Tov," like a good Jewish boy. And he gets a standing O from the theater. Scorcese asks that they check the envelope. He thanks his reps, the producers, the crew, the cast... He thanks his fans... And his family. good job, Marty. And as he walks off, Nicholson captures him in a big bear hug.

Best Actor...

is presented by Reese Witherspoon who does look fabulous. Divorce agrees with her?

I do enjoy Ryan Gosling...

This is a very tough categry, but the Oscar goes to... Forest Whitaker!

Yay! I called that one.

Okay, but I did not know that he had gotten his start in entertainment by getting a scholarship as an operatic tenor. That's pretty cool.

For such a big guy, he sure is soft spoken.

How come he didn't get played off? He had kind of a long speech...

Another commercial...

cause we haven't had enough of these. And while I liked the Apple ad the first time I saw it, by time #3, it's really beginning to lose something. This is why commercials shouldn't air more than once per show. That said, yes, I still do want an Apple Iphone, but no, I won't be switching to Cingular to get it.

Didn't Jon Stewart last year come out on time? Or, close to it?

Yes, we could have lost the Salute to America through the movies montage. Unless, the producers did it so they could point to their patriotism when pundits from the right went off on their awarding so many Oscars to Al Gore's film?

And with running so late, did we really need this brief comic interlude by Ellen? Though, it was really funny, I agree.

Ellen Degeneres

was again very funny when she comes out and says that we're done and under time. Then she gets a voice in her earpiece saying that there are several awards left to present.

Philip Seymour Hoffman comes out to award the Best Actress Oscar...

While I love Meryl and hopes she wins, her role was not big enough to warrant a win in this category.

And the Oscar goes to... Helen Mirren... yeah... that's what I thought. And they're not wrong. Speeches are just more interesting when they're said by Brits. And, Aussies. And she gives a shout out to her fellow nominees (the only one to do so, I believe - well, maybe Adam Arkin did) and the filmmakers on The Queen. And then a shout out to Queen Elizabeth II.

And the dancers are back to do The Departed in the shape of a gun.

Bank of America commercial...

Assuming it was a national commercial, that was a great commercial. It's a mirror in the shape of the Bank of America logo and it shows the future (or possible future) of the person looking in the mirror. And it's a cross section of the American public (age, sex, race) and then the voice over says the future is full of possibility and Bank of America can help take you there...

And Jodi Foster is presenting...

the In Memorium tribute... I don't like how some people applaud during it. Especially for the folks who did the bulk of their work during the 40s and 50s, they might not be as well known today, so of course they wouldn't get the same amount of recognition, but that doesn't take away from their body of work. They should do like we're taught to in grade school... save your applause til the end.