Robbing the Cradle

Lately I haven't updated this blog with events going on in my life. Quite frankly, my life hasn't been very exciting these past few months. No immediate travel plans, just work and thesis composition consume a majority of my daily life. There is one thing that is somewhat new. I don't know what it is but the past two boys I've been on dates with (note, these are not really "relationships" as we never even progressed to that level) have been younger than me. The first was nineteen going on twenty, but we agreed to stop seeing each other since he had finals to study for and I was quite busy with my work and writing. It was very natural, the way that ended since there was really nothing to end at all.

Then there is Dave... The story of how I ended up on a date with him is a little strange, perhaps. I was invited to a poker night this past Saturday, which I decided to attend despite my absolute incompetence at card games. Not surprisingly, I lost rather quickly and headed off to another group of people playing board games. Board games, especially puzzles, I’m much better at, and this German block game was something I could deal much better with than poker, which is all about lying, reading people, and chance… things with which I lack expertise. In the end, I was able to face off with one other person, the boy named Dave. He then suggested that we play for something, since, after all, this is the “final” game. I personally couldn’t think of anything to play for except perhaps a few pounds, but then he said, “If I win this game, we have to watch a movie together.” I’m pretty dense, but perhaps not that dense since I kind of took understood it as his way of asking me on a date. Rather bold, I thought but I couldn’t think of anything to ask in return should I win. In the end, my conditions were that we don’t watch a movie together should I win since I knew he was the younger brother of a friend.

Whether unfortunately or fortunately, I lost… by one point, which meant I had to watch a movie with him. Turns out, he’s not so incredibly immature for his age and he picked a really interesting documentary series by BBC titled “Planet Earth” and we watched a couple episodes of “Life” together (Hunter and Hunted and Fish). I really enjoyed the movies and surprisingly, his company since he is probably the funniest boy with whom I’ve ever been on a date. Then comes the catch, he’s eighteen and he’s in the American equivalent of high school! I definitely feel a little awkward knowing that and he knows that I’m twenty-three and that I’m a graduate student in hopes of obtaining a PhD. He will turn nineteen this year, but nine days AFTER my little sister… which makes him younger than my little sister! I really don’t know how to feel about this. How would I feel if my sister told me that she is dating someone older than me? I doubt that I would be OK with it. His older brother is OK with this though, which makes the situation even more awkward for me. In any case, we have another date this weekend, so I suppose I’ll figure out where this is going after date two. Honest opinions, am I robbing the cradle? 

Today's Random Picture: 

Results of the 2010 Academy Awards

Interestingly enough, the one film of the nominees for best picture I watched (The Hurt Locker) won! The rest of the awards are below, with the winners in bold font.

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Hurt Locker (2008)

Avatar (2009)

The Blind Side (2009)

District 9 (2009)

An Education (2009)

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

A Serious Man (2009)

Up (2009)

Up in the Air (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 
Jeff Gridges for Crazy Heard (2009)George Clooney for Up in the Air (2009)

Colin Firth for A Single Man (2009)

Morgan Freeman for Invictus  (2009)

Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side  (2009)Helen Mirren for The Last Station (2009)

Carey Mulligan for An Education (2009)

Gabourey Sidibe for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (2009)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role  
Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009)Matt Damon for Invictus (2009)

Woody Harrelson for The Messenger (2009)

Christopher Plummer for The Last Station (2009)

Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones (2009)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role  
Mo'Nique for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) 
Penélope Cruz for Nine (2009)

Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air (2009)

Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart (2009)

Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air (2009)

Best Achievement in Directing  
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2008) 
James Cameron for Avatar (2009)

Lee Daniels for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Jason Reitman for Up in the Air (2009/I)

Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen  
The Hurt Locker (2008): Mark Boal 
Inglourious Basterds (2009): Quentin Tarantino

The Messenger (2009/I): Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman

A Serious Man (2009): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Up (2009): Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Thomas McCarthy

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Geoffrey Fletcher 
District 9 (2009): Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

An Education (2009): Nick Hornby

In the Loop (2009): Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

Up in the Air (2009): Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

Best Achievement in Cinematography 
Avatar (2009): Mauro Fiore 
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009): Christian Berger

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): Bruno Delbonnel

The Hurt Locker (2008): Barry Ackroyd

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Robert Richardson

Best Achievement in Editing 
The Hurt Locker (2008): Bob Murawski, Chris Innis
 Avatar (2009): Stephen E. Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron

District 9 (2009): Julian Clarke

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Sally Menke

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009): Joe Klotz

Best Achievement in Art Direction 
Avatar (2009): Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair 
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): David Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith

Nine (2009): John Myhre, Gordon Sim

Sherlock Holmes (2009): Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer

The Young Victoria (2009): Patrice Vermette, Maggie Gray

Best Achievement in Costume Design 
The Young Victoria (2009): Sandy Powell 
Bright Star (2009): Janet Patterson

Coco avant Chanel (2009): Catherine Leterrier

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009): Monique Prudhomme

Nine (2009): Colleen Atwood

Best Achievement in Makeup
Star Trek (2009): Barney Burman, Mindy Hall, Joel Harlow 
Il divo (2008): Aldo Signoretti, Vittorio Sodano

The Young Victoria (2009): John Henry Gordon, Jenny Shircore

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score 
Up (2009): Michael Giacchino
Avatar (2009): James Horner

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Alexandre Desplat

The Hurt Locker (2008): Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders

Sherlock Holmes (2009): Hans Zimmer

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song 
Crazy Heart (2009): T-Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham("The Weary Kind") 
Faubourg 36 (2008): Reinhardt Wagner, Frank Thomas ("Loin de Paname")

Nine (2009): Maury Yeston ("Take It All")

The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman ("Almost There")

The Princess and the Frog (2009): Randy Newman ("Down in New Orleans")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing 
The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson, Ray Beckett
Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Mark Ulano

Star Trek (2009): Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson, Peter J. Devlin

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Geoffrey Patterson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing 
The Hurt Locker (2008): Paul N.J. Ottosson 
Avatar (2009): Christopher Boyes, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle

Inglourious Basterds (2009): Wylie Stateman

Star Trek (2009): Mark P. Stoeckinger, Alan Rankin

Up (2009): Michael Silvers, Tom Myers

Best Achievement in Visual Effects 
Avatar (2009): Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andy Jones 
District 9 (2009): Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken

Star Trek (2009): Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year 
Up (2009): Pete Docter 
Coraline (2009): Henry Selick

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009): Wes Anderson

The Princess and the Frog (2009): John Musker, Ron Clements

The Secret of Kells (2009): Tomm Moore

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
El secreto de sus ojos (2009) (Argentina) 
Ajami (2009)(Israel)

Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (2009) (Germany)

Un prophète (2009) (France)

La teta asustada (2009) (Peru)

Best Documentary, Features 
The Cove (2009): Louie Psihoyos, Fisher Stevens 
Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (2008): Anders Østergaard, Lise Lense-Møller

Food, Inc. (2008): Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009): Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith

Which Way Home (2009): Rebecca Cammisa

Best Documentary, Short Subjects 
Music by Prudence (2010): Roger Ross Williams, Elinor Burkett 
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province (2009) (TV): Jon Alpert, Matthew O'Neill

The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner (2009): Daniel Junge, Henry Ansbacher

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant (2009) (TV): Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert

Królik po berlinsku (2009): Bartosz Konopka, Anna Wydra

Best Short Film, Animated
Logorama (2009): Nicolas Schmerkin 
French Roast (2008): Fabrice Joubert

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2008): Nicky Phelan, Darragh O'Connell

La dama y la muerte (2009): Javier Recio Gracia

Wallace and Gromit in 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (2008) (TV): Nick Park

Best Short Film, Live Action 
The New Tenants (2009): Joachim Back, Tivi Magnusson 

The Door (2008): Juanita Wilson, James Flynn

Istället för abrakadabra (2008): Patrik Eklund, Mathias Fjällström

Kavi (2009): Gregg Helvey

Miracle Fish (2009): Luke Doolan, Drew Bailey

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Hockey

Tough, athletic, and not afraid of a fight. You don't mind putting your body on the line!

What Winter Sport Are You?

Quality, Not Quantity

The Oscars are supposed to be held today, according to my sister who wants to study film. I really haven't been keeping up with pop culture media, so I was clueless when it came to most films. Last year, best picture went to Slumdog Millionaire, which I really loved and think it deserved. This year, I can't say I have a favorite; the nominees are:

Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Of these, I've only seen The Hurt Locker, which was a good, but not great movie. I have a vague idea about Inglourious Basterds and Up. Up in the Air and Avatar were recommended by many but Avatar was also said to be extremely overrated, especially according to my brother and sister. I trust them because we generally have similar tastes, so I'm sure I wouldn't like Avatar that much. Apparently, Avatar = Disney's Pocahontas, except with amazing graphics. It might be a visually pleasing movie, but that doesn't mean it deserves best picture if the plot is one that's been rehashed and is unoriginal. Sure, it sold the most tickets, but things like this should be about quality, not quantity.

Can't say I'm expecting much since I probably won't watch the Oscars anyway. Not just that, but I almost never agree with the movie that wins best picture. Last year was an exception since they actually picked the film I would give the Best Picture Award to, which normally never happens. Since I'm apathetic this year, I just spent most of my free time baking/cooking:

Lemon-molasses glazed salmon over a tossed salad

American Southern biscuits

Whole wheat spaghetti with broiled salmon topped with a curried vegetable sauce and a lemon wheel

Today's Random Quiz:

You Would Win Best Documentary Feature

You are very curious about and engaged with the world. Everyone is interesting to you. You have a variety of interests, and you delve into them quite deeply. People are impressed by the sheer quantity of stuff you know, and you're learning more every day. However, you're not just informed. You also are very informative. You share what you know in an engaging and interesting way.

What Would You Win an Oscar For?

Decade in Review

We'll now be entering the 2010's as the 2000's come to a close. I must admit, a lot has happened during the last 10 years, in terms of general world events and personal events in my life. It was a decade well-lived and I think I'll take this time to reflect on it before starting anew for 2010.

I remember January 1, 2000 very, very well. I was 12, living with my parents, a freshman in high school. I celebrated the new millennium with my family and amidst all of the hype and paranoia of Y2K all my computer did was reset its date to 1980.

In the year 2000, Vermont became the first American state to allow civil unions for same-sex couples, Bill Gates stepped down as CEO, the St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl, Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon, and Vicente Fox became president of Mexico. 2000 was also the year that both Vladimir Putin (on March 26) and George W. Bush (November 7) were elected president of Russia and the U.S. respectively. Despite election controversy, (Al Gore won the popular vote), the Supreme Court ruled that Bush would be president and Colin Powell was chosen to become the first ethnic minority American secretary of state.

2001, another action-packed year, during which the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl, Bush was sworn in, rejected the Kyoto protocol, approved federal funding for limited stem cell research, Milosevic was arrested on war crime charges, and then came the announcement of the discovery of the first new solar system outside our own. September 11th terror attacks marked the deadliest of its kind in U.S. history then came the anthrax scare and the war in Afghanistan. The iPod made its debut in 2001 and the Patriot Act was signed in late October of that year. Both the first "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" movies were released in late 2001 and terror suspects were to be held at Gitmo.

Switzerland voted to join the UN in 2002 and Bush first labeled his "axis of evil". The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl and the "color-coded" terror alert system made its grand debut, which, by the way, has been perpetually elevated to orange if anyone else has been noticing. They never change the color; it's always orange, every single time I'm at an American airport. On May 20, 2002, Timor-Leste (East Timor) became an independent country and the Supreme Court made a landmark ruling to ban execution of the mentally retarded. Baseball finally decided to test its players for steroids on a regular basis in 2002 and the first "American Idol" winner, Kelly Clarkson, was elected. In the American football world, Emmitt Smith set a new NFL rushing record in 2002. NATO invited former communist countries to join its alliance while United Airlines filed for bankruptcy.

Early in 2003, North Korea withdrew from the anti-nuclear proliferation treaty and Hispanics surpassed blacks as the biggest American minority group. The space shuttle Columbia disaster took place in 2003 and the Iraq war began, shortly thereafter, resulting in the fall of Baghdad. Sign ups for the national "do not call" list to evade telemarketers started in June, Massachusetts ruled in favor of gay marriages, and Saddam Hussein was captured before the end of the year.

Following the Mad Cow disease scare, the avian flu scare was launched in 2004. Facebook came online, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, Martha Stewart went to jail, and Lance Armstrong won his 6th Tour de France. New Jersey governor resigned saying he was homosexual, Google joined the stock market, and Chechen militants took hostages in a Russian school. The second greatest sports moment of the decade happened with the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, finally breaking the "curse". Bush was re-elected for a second term and Ukraine experienced its "Orange revolution" with the election of Yushchenko, who survived the poisoning. There were also a handful of natural disasters, including the massive earthquake in Nagaoka, Hurricane Jeanne and the four earthquakes of Florida, and the tsunami attack in South Asia. Yassar Arafat died and Hamid Karzai became Afghanistan's new president.

The NHL canceled its season in 2005 and baseball called for stricter drug testing. The Supreme Court ruled against death penalty for juveniles, Prince Charles finally married Camilla, Pope John Paul II died and Benedict was chosen as a replacement. YouTube launched this year, Ahmadinejad was elected as Iranian president, the London terror attacks took place, and Lance Armstrong won his 7th Tour de France. Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza strip and parts of the West Bank, Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana, Angela Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor, and "The Colbert Report" premiered on cable. Chicago's White Sox won the World Series and the New England Patriots won its 3rd Super Bowl, becoming a dynasty and marking the best sports moment of the decade (for me). Bush acknowledged the wired tapping going on in U.S. homes at the end of the year and 2005 was the warmest year on record.

In 2006, Morales came to power in Bolivia, "Phantom of the Opera" became the longest running Broadway show, Milosevic was found dead, Libya was removed from the terror list, and North Korea test fired missiles and conducted its first "nuclear" test, though whether it was really a nuclear weapon or the seriousness of this is rather dubious. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl, liquids were banned in carry-on luggage in late summer of 2006, and Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead. Serbia and Montenegro peacefully split into two, separate, independent countries, Google bought YouTube in 2006, Wii made its debut in the gaming world, and Pluto was demoted from its previous status as a planet. New York City banned trans fats in restaurants and Saddam Hussein was executed.

2007 started off with Nancy Pelosi becoming the first female speaker of the House, Beckham signing a contract to play soccer (football) in the U.S., and climate scientists warning about the real consequences of global warming. NFL made instant replay permanent and the Super Bowl was won by the Indianapolis Colts (unfortunately, since I hate Peyton Manning!). 32 were killed in the Virginia Tech massacre, Sarkozy was elected French president, and Gordon Brown became the new British Prime Minister. The last Harry Potter book was released in the summer of 2007, Barry Bonds broke the record for career home runs, and Bret Favre broke the NFL record for touchdown passes. Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, Hollywood writers went on strike, and Argentina's first female president, Cristina Fernandez, was sworn in.

Last year, oil hit record-high prices at $100/barrel, Sarkozy married Carla Bruni, Fidel Castro resigned, Bush vetoed water boarding ban, and New York's governor was caught up in a prostitution scandal. Bear Stearns was rescued earlier last year, though the worse was yet to come in terms of financial crises and Kosovo declared independence. Medvedev, Putin's protégé, was sworn is as Russian president and polar bears were declared a threatened species. California banned trans-fats in restaurants and frozen water was found on Mars. The Russia-Georgia war started along with the Olympics in Beijing during which swimmer Michael Phelps set an Olympic record with 8 gold medals won at a single Olympic tournament. McCain picked Palin as a running mate and California banned gay marriages while Connecticut approved. Barack Obama became the first ethnic minority president in the U.S.

This year, Obama was sworn in and ordered the closing of Gitmo, signed a $757 billion stimulus packaged, announced a new Afghan-Pakistan strategy, and won the Nobel Peace Prize. Gay marriage was legalized in Iowa, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice, the swine flu scare started, and the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson, died. Vermont passed a law allowing gay marriages while Maine voters repealed its law that allowed gay marriages and Michael Jordan was inducted in the basketball hall of fame. Unemployment in the U.S. hit 10% and thus came the end of the decade.

On a personal level, a lot has changed for me since 2000. I not only graduated from high school, but I also graduated from university and now I'm in France doing a graduate program. I managed to visit 36 countries within the decade past and learned to speak 2 additional languages fluently while adding on another 4 to the list of languages I'm studying. I moved 5 times and lived in 3 different countries on 3 different continents ("lived" in this case meaning over 3 months), learned how to hitchhike and completed 108 of the 263 things on my list of things to do before I die. At this rate, I hope to complete the list within the next decade or two! (Oh and I haven't forgotten, merry 7th day of Christmas!)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Should Celebrate Friendship

It may have been a good year or a bad year, but no matter what, your friends helped get you through it. And you can't imagine celebrating New Year's Eve without your closest friends around. You are always happy to catch up with old friends on this night, and you're hoping to make some new ones too. So this year, raise a toast to old and new friends. They make every day of the year a little brighter.

What Should You Celebrate?