OakMonster’s Den

…if the law is the cold…and the law won.

Here at home, achy, drippy, and…a pink eye to boot.

Oh yes. The cold virus gets in your eye and what you get is an instant teary mess that is a pink eye. Nice, huh?

Continuing with Zycam and Tylenol and fluid therapy. Lots of fluid. Keeping the kettle boiling my tea water.

Sleep? Will do that after my comfy flannel sheet returns from the washer.

Ack.

ACK.

Brandon was home again today from the cold. I think I’m catching it but I’m fighting tooth and nail with vitamin C, Zycam, and sleep. Nyquil is warming me up.

Must get well. Vegas is 3 days away!

Rain, rain. Go away.

Come again another day.

Don’t want to stay on the freeway.

Rain, rain. Go to Spain.

Brandon’s at home sick again.

Rain, rain. Why Tuesday?

Where were you on Saturday

When I was in the theater all day?

*sigh*

I just realized I never posted MY Oscars pick other than Best Picture! So here’s the list of who won tonight and my guesses.

RESULTS: 19 out of 24.  79.17% accuracy.  Good to know that my “It” radar still works.

BEST PICTURE
“Babel” - Should win…but I had a feeling…
“The Departed” *Winner* - My pick
“The Queen”
“Letters From Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
Helen Mirren, “The Queen” *Winner* - My pick
Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
Kate Winslet, “Little Children”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”- She looks good here (from the trailer), but it’s not as challenging as keeping all your emotions inside like Helen did with the Queen.

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Blood Diamond”
Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland” *Winner* - My pick
Will Smith, “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Peter O’Toole, “Venus” - Sorry, Pete. They DID give you an honorary Oscar already so there you go.
Ryan Gosling, “Half Nelson”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Adriana Barraza, “Babel” - Should win
Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls” *Winner* - My pick.
Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine” *Winner* - My pick. I was going to say Djimon, but it’s hard to top Alan Arkin on this one.
Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”
Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed”
Djimon Hounsou, “Blood Diamond”
Jackie Earle Haley, “Little Children”

BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Eastwood, “Letters From Iwo Jima”
Paul Greengrass, “United 93″
Martin Scorsese, “The Departed” *Winner* - My pick. For political reason, after all these times, Marty should probably get it. But compared to the rest of these guys, he does stand out.
Stephen Frears, “The Queen”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Babel”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Guillermo Arriaga, “Babel”
Michael Arndt, “Little Miss Sunshine” *Winner* - My pick. It was just so fantastic!
Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis, “Letters From Iwo Jima”
Guillermo del Toro, “Pan’s Labyrinth”
Peter Morgan, “The Queen”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Patrick Marber , “Notes on a Scandal”
William Monahan, “The Departed” *Winner* - My pick
Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”
Todd Field & Tom Perrotta, “Little Children”
Alfonso Cuarón & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, “Children of Men”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“After the Wedding” (Denmark)
“Days of Glory (Indigènes)” (Algeria)
“Lives of Others” (Germany) *Winner*
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Mexico) - My pick…and boy I didn’t see this one coming.
“Water” (Canada)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Cars”
“Happy Feet” *Winner* - My pick. I didn’t like Cars that much so even though I haven’t seen Happy Feet, I’d guess it’d be better than Cars anyway.
“Monster House”

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Dreamgirls,” Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“The Good Shepherd,” Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
“Pan’s Labyrinth,” Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta *Winner* - My pick
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs; Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
“The Prestige,” Art Direction: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Black Dahlia,” Vilmos Zsigmond
“Children of Men,” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Illusionist,” Dick Pope
“Pan’s Labyrinth,” Guillermo Navarro *Winner* - My pick
“The Prestige,” Wally Pfister

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Curse of the Golden Flower,” Yee Chung Man
“The Devil Wears Prada,” Patricia Field
“Dreamgirls,” Sharen Davis
“Marie Antoinette,” Milena Canonero *Winner* - My pick. It’s elaborate without going over the top. If the Oscars is based on complex costumes alone, I’d choose Curse of the Golden Flower.
“The Queen,” Consolata Boyle

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Deliver Us from Evil,” Amy Berg and Frank Donner
“An Inconvenient Truth,” Davis Guggenheim *Winner* - My pick. Such a no brainer on this one.
“Iraq in Fragments,” James Longley and John Sinno
“Jesus Camp,” Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
“My Country, My Country,” Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“The Blood of Yingzhou District,” Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon *Winner* - My pick. Kids and AIDS, obvious choice.
“Recycled Life,” Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
“Rehearsing a Dream,” Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
“Two Hands,” Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

BEST FILM EDITING
“Babel,” Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
“Blood Diamond,” Steven Rosenblum
“Children of Men,” Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
“The Departed,” Thelma Schoonmaker *Winner* - My pick
“United 93,” Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

BEST MAKEUP
“Apocalypto,” Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
“Click,” Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
“Pan’s Labyrinth,” David Marti and Montse Ribe *Winner* - My pick

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Babel,” Gustavo Santaolalla *Winner*
“The Good German,” Thomas Newman
“Notes on a Scandal,” Philip Glass
“Pan’s Labyrinth,” Javier Navarrete - My pick
“The Queen,” Alexandre Desplat

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth,” Music and lyric by Melissa Etheridge *Winner*
“Listen” from “Dreamgirls,” Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler; lyric by Anne Preven - My pick…oh I’m VERY surprised at this too!
“Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls,” Music by Henry Krieger; lyric by Siedah Garrett
“Our Town” from “Cars,” Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“Patience” from “Dreamgirls,” Music by Henry Krieger; lyric by Willie Reale

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“The Danish Poet,” Torill Kove *Winner*
“Lifted,” Gary Rydstrom
“The Little Matchgirl,” Roger Allers and Don Hahn - My pick…totally random pick based on the clips I’ve seen. Heh.
“Maestro,” Geza M. Toth
“No Time for Nuts,” Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)” Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
“Éramos Pocos (One Too Many)” Borja Cobeaga
“Helmer & Son,” Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
“The Saviour,” Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
“West Bank Story,” Ari Sandel *Winner* - My pick also based on the clips I’ve seen.

BEST SOUND EDITING
“Apocalypto,” Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
“Blood Diamond,” Lon Bender
“Flags of Our Fathers,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman - My pick #2…it was going to be one of these two war movies but Letters being the one I’ve seen so there goes my #1 pick.
“Letters from Iwo Jima”,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman *Winner* - My pick
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

BEST SOUND MIXING
“Apocalypto,” Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
“Blood Diamond,” Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
“Dreamgirls,” Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton *Winner*
“Flags of Our Fathers,” John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin - My pick
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall *Winner* - My pick
“Poseidon,” Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
“Superman Returns,” Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum - Using CGI Superman when you could’ve put in the real one? That doesn’t get my vote.

HONORARY ACADEMY AWARD
Ennio Morricone

I survived the movie marathon yesterday!

Actually, it wasn’t bad at all and I could’ve gone 5 for 5. There’s a 15 minute break between each film, but if you count the credit roll, you at least get 20 minutes plus. AND they let you, with the fancy Oscar pass, to bring outside food into the theater. It was a lot of fun though. The theater was totally packed.

Now that I’ve seen all 5 Oscar-nominated film, my prediction for the winner is…

Should win: Babel
Will win: The Departed
Dark horse: Little Miss Sunshine

Babel is along the line of Crash. Everyone is connected all over and everyone has issues with connections. The stretch to Japan was quite a stretch but it is nonetheless fantastic. Since Crash won last year, I don’t know if the Academy would go for the same type of story again.

The Queen, now that was a surprise to me. I thought it was going to be emotional drama. It turned out to have loads of that British humor that shows the humanity of all involved. My favorite scene is when Queen Mom was thoroughly deflated that they had to use HER funeral plan for Diana’s, that was just too funny!  Helen Mirren does a fantastic job.  But I don’t think this is going to win the top award, though.
Now, The Departed. My biggest issue with it is that it’s almost frame for frame from the original Hong Kong film, The Infernal Affairs. How could something THAT closely resemble the original film be considered for an Oscar? I mean, a remake that win an Oscar? That’s just not very deserving, is it?  (Well then again, Godfather II is a sequel, isn’t really a remake…)
Letters from Iwo Jimas was supremely emotional too. My gosh at some point I was cheering for the Japanese! LOL. But it’s so dark, I don’t know if the public was going for that kind of movie this year.

Little Miss Sunshine is fan-fucking-tastic! If I have my say, I’d throw the Oscar to them. But again, when was the last time a comedy wins best pictures? Well, actually Chicago won in 2002…so, it could happen.

Also, I have survived the Big Event Wednesday. Everything ran smoothly enough. We have more notes to improve the July version of this. A few newbies have been baptized by fire and next time they’d only be better. This is also a good prep for our big Awards Dinner in October as we may just use our own staff to run the show there as well. We’ll see about all of that.

Next up on my plate? Vegas, baby.

Can you believe it? We’re going to Las Vegas! Finally! Aunty Or is coming in from Thailand via Chicago. She’s having everyone meets her in Vegas. Her friend has a few comp room at the Monte Carlo, so she gave that room to us. Brandon and I will pick up another Aunty from Monterey Park bright at early on Friday to get to Vegas by 1 p.m. to pick up Aunty Or and her friend at LAS airport. Aunty Or will be going around town with us while the other 2 aunties go gaming. It works out so well!

Finally, Brandon and I get to complete our pilgrimage to the Star Trek Experience!!

Damn it, Kitty. I’ve been Moo‘ed.

Now I wait for my first pack of 100 mini cards.

Like I need a new addiction. I mean, seriously. Spoonfuls of Nutella and Jon’s home made apple cider aren’t enough??

Just a line to let you know I’m not dead.

Wednesday event was a huge success. I will deal with the heaps of follow up paperwork next week because Friday we have a planning meeting for our big October awards dinner I have to prep for.

Oh yeah babes. It just doesn’t end.

*Blip*

*Blip*

*Blip*

Only a speck on a radar.

Not significant

Enough

To pay attention to

Yet ever present.

*Blip*

*Blip*

*Blip*

Like a gnat.

A distant mosquito.

A stubborn fly.

Its absence would be just

Enough

To make someone wonders

Hey, did it all of the sudden just get

Quiet

In here?

*Blip*

*Blip*

*Blip*

And they move on along

As the little *Blip*

Fades into the dark corner

*Blip*

Of a lonely night

*Blip*

Where she belongs

*Blip*

- GOOD -

Went out for 20-minute run/walk around the neighborhood on Saturday morning. It was summer out there. Windy though. I walked most of the trip, but I did get in some running. As I head out there with my music on, I tried to run at least 2 verses or 1 verse and a chorus which came out to about half a block per block. Not too bad. But I definitely feel like a wussy.

Well, I *AM* a wussy. Who am I kidding! LOL.

The Fried Chicken Experiment #4 turned out okay. Shane and Serena came by to be my lab rats. We finished off that evening with a trip to Golden Spoon. Yummy yummy frozen yogurt treats on a warm California winter night! Us and the entire girls’ softball league seemed to have agreed.

Today, the same gang went to see Ghost Rider. I want $7 of $9 back for this one. Completely predictable. It’s cliche all the way for this one. No twist. No surprises. No character growth or curve. Sure, there’s a bit of back story, but you don’t really see Johnny Blaze as a character transformed or anything. Overall, it’s a mildly entertaining time waster.

Although there were some quirky, oh so very Nick Cage moments that you get a little chuckle out of. At times, it was just plain cheese. Most of the time, even *I* was distracted by Eva Mendez’s cleavage. I mean, every scene except for the first white dress she wore was boobbylicious. They’re trying so hard to use her fantastic Girls to distract you from the fact that the entire movie sucks.

- GOOD *AND* EVIL -

Working on a holiday is evil. Yep. Tomorrow is just another work day for me. Although Brandon may be persuaded to come have lunch with me downtown. We’ll have to see.

Now, I have learned that my beloved Aunty Or, my mom’s best friend, is heading out to America! She’s not going to come out all the way to California because she’s “been there”. (Well, she did. She spent a few years in Pasadena when her son was going to Art Center College of Design.) But she’s having everyone meet her in Vegas.

So this Monday off I don’t have? I can substitute this day for Friday March 2 as Brandon and I head out for Las Vegas to meet Aunty Or.

This would mark our very first trip to Vegas together. Actually, it’d be the first trip together outside going to visit our parents since we got married! It should be fun.

- EVIL -

A jar of Nuttella + A spoon + A glass of milk. My mouth is already watering just thinking about it. Must. Stay. In. Here. Not. Going. Out. To. Kitchen……..aaarrrgggghhh…..!

And Scrubs. We’ve been catching a clip or an episode here and there since they started 6 seasons ago. But the other day, Brandon finally got into it when Comedy Central had a block of reruns on. We TIVO’ed the bunch and now put the DVDs on Netflix cue.

Great. Another TV show we get hooked on. Not that our current list is not enough. And on that list: Heroes, NCIS, House, Dresden Files, Battlestar Galactica, Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation, Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, and just for me, Lost and Nip/Tuck. Now, Scrubs is going on that list.

See? Television is EVIL!

My twin sister from another life KorBua tagged me again. And like a good twin sister from another life, I obliged.

The Rule:

1. Take a picture of your desktop
2. Explain your desktop in the way that others would come to understand who you are, what you do and what you enjoy.

Yes. It looks like my desk exploded. So, there you go. First thing about me, I am absolutely not a neat freak.

And secondly, yes the date/time stamp is totally off. We keep forgetting to replace the back-up batteries for the inner working of the camera. Every time Brandon takes out the actual batteries, the date/time resets.

A pile of notebooks to my left each contains data for different thing. One has Shane’s PR plan and web update. One has Olaina’s. One is my former on-the-bus notebook. All of these are sitting atop my passport and paperwork I have to send to the embassy for renewal.

The CDs are my newest ones I just bought and ripped. Corrine Baily Rae’s and Joss Stone’s first album, Soul Session. Behind that is my wireless antenna and my actual inbox for the household operation.

The Aquafina Alive is new. I’m trying out this flavored water. Once again, trying to get myself to drink more water anyway I can.

Now, the monitor is embellished with iZone mini Polaroid pictures of friends and family. The background image is the picture I took from the beach in Kao Lak where the Tsunami Memorial will be built.

Now, the right side of things. The Ikea storage for postage, collected business cards and other daily use things. Atop that, business card holder for Boren Consulting business cards, a jar of rock candies that was my brother’s engagement party favor, address labels, and a bucket full of pens. In that also holds the rose ring holder which housed my engagement ring when Brandon proposed. Down below, the brand spanking new drawing tablet he got for me. I haven’t yet played with it.

The surrounding is equally important, I guess. The t-shirt Irena got for me from E3 2005 said “Extreme Indoor Enthusiast”. And, finally, my trusty little Dusty the Guitar. If you pan a little more to the right, past Dusty, that’ll be where Red Kimmy the piano is at.

So there you go. Hope that gives you more clue about me. Well, shit. Now you know I really am a slob. LOL.

And now I tag. I tag…Rude Cactus, ‘Mazing Amy, Kuri, and Owen. (I will add link to your reply when you do. )

P.S. If you click on the picture above, it’ll take you to a more “interactive” map of my desk on Flickr. Plus some bonus materials!