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| Emma, 2013 |
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
My Oscar Picks
Best Picture: I think 12 Years a Slave is not only the best movie of this year, but may be the most completely satisfying movie I've seen since The Thin Red Line in 1998. Like the latter film, its power is simultaneously emotional, intellectual and artistic. Such a combination is a rarity, so naturally I think it should win. Having said that, I also have an immense amount of affection for Nebraska, and would not be too heartbroken if that took the prize. In fact, this is the strongest field of contenders in memory (and I haven't even seen Gravity or Philomena yet), and several of the others might have been a favorite in a year that did not see the release of 12 Years a Slave.
Best Director: Given what I wrote above, clearly Steve McQueen deserves this for 12 Years a Slave, and that's who I'm pulling for. This is another strong field, and it doesn't even include the Coen Brothers, whose Inside Llewyn Davis was (to me) even better than I expected, and I had high hopes when I first heard about their intention to make a movie about the folk scene in Greenwich Village circa 1960.
Best Actor: Every one of the nominees did work good enough to win. My sympathies are about evenly slip between Bruce Dern (Nebraska), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), and Chiwetel Ojiofor (12 Years a Slave).
Best Actress: The only one of these performances that I've seen is Amy Adams in American Hustle. I thought she was great, so I'm pulling for her.
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave: he was fantastic as a slave master completely corrupted by the system that bred him.
Best Supporting Actress: I'd be equally happy if either June Squibb (Nebraska) or Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave) won this category.
Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel's photography on Inside Llewyn Davis was truly evocative of both a time and place (I wasn't there, but it made me think of stuff I've seen from the era by Robert Frank and John Cassavetes, among others). Since this is the only really big award the film is up for, I'm pulling for Delbonnel.
Screenwriting: For adapted screenplay, I'm hoping Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy take the prize for Before Midnight (another movie ignored in the other categories), and for original screenplay I'd like to see Bob Nelson take the prize for Nebraska.
Note that these picks represent who or what I think deserve to win, not necessarily who or what will win. Please feel free to post a comment with your favorites.
Monday, February 24, 2014
This Week's Playlist and Podcast
Below you will find
a listing of the songs played this week on Dr. John's Record Shelf. Also, if you click here, you can listen to a
complete podcast of the program. Enjoy!
Beat on the Mountain,
Jason & the Scorchers
Stomp and Holler, Hard
Working Americans
Trouble in Mind, Jon
Langford & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Are You Okay, Dum Dum
Girls
Misery, Big Troubles
Blue Line, Let's Active
Knives From Bavaria, Dean
& Britta
Christine's Tune, Flying
Burrito Brothers
West Texas Waltz, Joe Ely
Suspicious Minds, Waylon
& Jessi
Watery Moonlight,
Beachwood Sparks
Breathless, Jerry Lee
Lewis
Ode to Rock, Manda &
the Marbles
All the Way From Moscow,
Jesse Malin & the St. Mark's Social
Limited By Stature, White
Denim
Million $ Man, Imperial
Teen
It Takes Two, Marvin Gaye &
Kim Weston
The Message, Grandmaster
Flash & the Furious Five
Lady Madonna, Swamp Dogg
Most Likely You Go Your
Way and I'll Go Mine, Sue Foley
New Kind of Kick, The
Cramps
Otto, Replacements
That Man, Those Darlins
State of My Union, Long
Ryders
I Want to Walk You Home,
Fats Domino
Talk to You, Small Faces
The Late Great Cassiopia,
Essex Green
Kool Thing, Sonic Youth
Convention '72, The
Delegates
I Put a Spell On You,
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
On the Street 17
The latest set of pictures in my ongoing attempt to try and get within shouting distance of the great work of Garry Winogrand and Saul Leiter (amongst outstanding street photographers). The above shot was taken in Toronto, the others in and around Buffalo.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
Photo of the Day
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| Tribute to Spain Rodriguez, Abandoned Freight Platform, Buffalo Central Terminal 2013 |
This Week's Playlist and Podcast
Below you will find a listing of the songs played this week on Dr. John's Record Shelf. And, if you click here, you can listen to a podcast of the show. By the way, that link also provides access (via a menu on the right side of the page) to the previous three episodes, in case you missed them.
Jubilee, Patti Smith
Too Much of One Thing, The
Go-Betweens
Ribbons and Chains, Steve
Wynn & the Miracle 3
Too Stubborn to Fold,
Wheels on Fire
Whiskey Woman, Flamin'
Groovies
Yonder Comes a Freight
Train, Laura Cantrell
Raleigh & Spencer,
American Ambulance
Alright Guy, Todd Snider
Louisiana Man, Bobbie
Gentry
Wall-Eyed Girl, Ass Ponys
Phone Calls, Vancougar
Give Back the Key to My
Heart, Uncle Tupelo
Rock Me Gently, Andy Kim
Roll On, Thea Gilmore
Flat Foot Flewzy, NRBQ
Gravity Talks, Green on
Red
Rockaway, Clutters
Opelousas (Sweet Relief),
Maria McKee
Country Death Song,
Violent Femmes
I Wish It Would Rain,
Temptations
Just Like Tom Thumb's
Blues, Nina Simone
One Way Street, The Cobras
Mr Soul, Everly Brothers
Pounds and Hundreds, Otis
Redding
Hokey Pokey, Richard &
Linda Thompson
Second Song, TV On the
Radio
Gravity's Bringing Us
Down, Beulah
Blues Run the Game,
Jackson C. Frank
So
Long, Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Three Portraits
My nieces Helen (above) and Emma (below) are often on the move, meaning I get a lot of blurry pictures of them. Their brother Nik (bottom) is easier to catch at rest, but sometimes I mess up pictures of him too. But with a little cropping and sepia tint, sometimes those blurry shots end up looking pretty good (I think).
Friday, February 14, 2014
Carnival Shots
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Playlist and Podcast 140209
This week on Dr. John's Record Shelf we paid tribute to the
life and legacy of Pete Seeger, one of the most singular figures in the history
of American music and culture. Below is
a list of the songs played on the program, and if you click here you can listen
to a podcast of the show.
Oh Freedom, Pete Seeger
Hard Ain't It Hard,
Weavers
Goofin' Off Suite, Pete
Seeger
Hard Travelin', Woodie
Guthrie
Ramblin' Boy, Tom Paxton
What Did You Learn in
School Today? Pete Seeger
Ringing of Revolution,
Phil Ochs
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine,
Weavers
Chase the Rising Sun,
Journeymen
Where Have All the Flowers
Gone, Kingston Trio
If I Had a Hammer, Trini
Lopez
Turn Turn Turn, The Byrds
You Were On My Mind, We
Five
Mail Myself to You, Pete
Seeger
Green Green, New Christy
Minstrels
We Shall Overcome, Bruce
Springsteen
A Hard Rain's a-Gonna
Fall, Pete Seeger
Corrina Corinna, Bob Dylan
John Riley, Joan Baez
Dear Mr. President,
Almanac Singers
Roll On Columbia, Pete
Seeger
Hoodoo Voodoo, Billy Bragg
& Wilco
Darkest Hour, Arlo Guthrie
Sinner Man, Pete Seeger
Little Boxes, Pete Seeger
Gonna Be an Engineer,
Peggy Seeger
The Arkansas Traveller,
New Lost City Ramblers
Dink's Song, Pete Seeger
Keep Your Eyes on the
Prize, Pete Seeger
So Long It's Been Good to
Know Yuh, Weavers
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
Unintentional But Interesting
Thursday, February 6, 2014
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