Oscar Watch 1.0

This is quite a busy time: besides the constant Super Bowl frenzy, I am frantically movie-watching to prep for Oscar night. In fact, I've had a few clamors for more information on my personal cinematic habits and so, I officially put it out there in the form of a proposed series of blogs. And off we go!

I'll start with "Milk." Best picture nominee, this Gus Van Sant gem is a biopic of slain gay-rights activist and politico Harvey Milk. Any discussion of this film must start with Sean Penn's nominated performance, a study in losing oneself in a character. Sean Penn is no stranger to gut-wrenching, moving roles - and he already has one coveted gold man on his mantle for "Mystic River."

His Harvey Milk is a strong, sympathetic man who really, at baseline, wants to make a mark on this world before he goes. This theme is what struck me the most, since it is pervasive in any one of our lives. Prior to seeing the movie, I heard a critic marvel at the quiet moments in Sean Penn's performance and point to that as the crux of the acting.

He got that right. There is a scene near the end with Sean Penn and Victor Garbor, who plays mayor George Moscone, the other casualty of Dan White's rampage. Unbeknownst to either of them, their respective fates are sealed. After their conversation, Harvey makes a move out the door. Sean Penn, in that one moment, captures the heart behind Harvey Milk's unbelievable journey. It is that gesture, the look in his eyes that sticks with you afterwards.

The entire movie is masterfully comprised of seamless archival footage blended with the actual film. Shots of Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch in their roles layer over actual 1970's activists in the streets, actual news footage of election night. It creates an experience unlike many others.

Gus Van Sant is not a surprise at the helm of such a rich picture. "Good Will Hunting" remains one of my all-time favorite movies for more reasons than just the emergence of Matt and Ben. "Milk" ranks as a touching, important piece and should be enjoyed as well as admired for both its artistic qualities and its resounding message: peace, equality, acceptance.

"Milk" is a wonderful experience. It can't be ignored that Sean Penn is the star. But, praise for the other players is deserved. Josh Brolin, nominated in his supporting role, embodies the paranoia and desperation of Dan White in all its uncomfortable truth. Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and Allison Pill as Harvey's companions - some personal, some professional - are underrated, yet lovely.

And Jared Leto, as Harvey's true love Scott, is a revelation to me. I have admired Jared Leto for some time, as I think he could easily fall into the "pretty boy" stereotype and get rich from "Spider Man" and the like. But he takes chances, especially in this film. He is brilliant, and he could have easily scored himself an Oscar nod had this year's Supporting Actor race not been so crowded. I look forward to more from him and feel his work here is integral to the dramatic arc of this story. Well done.

"Milk" has honestly earned its spot among the Best Picture nominations this year and its actors rose to a fine occasion. It is a must-see, particularly to point out that the more things in this wacky world change, the more they stay the same.

Who Has Time For This? Well...

So, for me right now, it's all Steelers, all the time. I try very hard to keep it all in perspective and to relax. But then, I'm reminded of the craziness of Super Bowl Week.

As I prepared some bills and organized my files for the week, I listened to NFL Network - more specifically, the 1981 San Diego Chargers' "America's Game: The Missing Rings." Not that I'm super interested in the 1981 Chargers, but it soothes me to hear football speak in the background of my life and I did hear some interesting tidbits about Kellen Winslow. (Kellon Winslow, Sr., of course, not his "soldier" son.)

All of a sudden: Breaking News! The Steelers U.S. Airways charter flight arrived at Tampa International Airport! This is big on NFL Network. I watched live as the team, coaches, staff, managers, owners, et. al. exited the plane and boarded team buses.

Mike Tomlin was the first big-wig off the plane. He looked snazzy in a brown suit - and he did not smile. Duh. Ben Roethlisberger wore a long sleeve under a polo shirt - one of my personal favorite looks, on guys and myself. He's kind of always a bit disheveled - but not as much as Eli. He had a camcorder to capture the memories. Adam Schefter pointed it out several times.

Adam also sounded relieved, as was I, that Hines Ward moved "perfectly." (Of course, he only walked about ten steps on that bum knee, but so far, so good...) Heath Miller took the metal stairs one at a time - which struck me as odd, as he is pretty agile on the field. He looked awkward coming down. I empathize. I imagined he might be wary of taking a tumble, as I always am coming down those rickety plane steps and I'm not even broadcast live on NFL Network! I understand, Heath. Just catch the ball and run fast.

Everyone arrived safe and sound and they looked all business. Adam Schefter pointed out it was 66 degrees in Tampa and only 19 degrees in Pittsburgh, which means the Steelers are in a warmer climate now. Thanks, Adam. He talked a few minutes about how nice it likely felt to be in a warm climate because some players described Pittsburgh as "dreary" the past few days. Nah, not Pittsburgh! I shook my head because I myself, two weeks ago, traveled from cold weather to warm and sunny Florida, too. The Steelers and I aren't that different after all!

This is all pretty crazy, you know. How much pressure it must be if your plane arrival is "BREAKING NEWS!" on NFL Network. Who is sitting around watching this? Get a life people!

Except, I genuinely got excited and pressed "record" on the TiVo. And I re-watched it and will show my husband when he gets home and I guarantee he will be sincerely interested. (Not like some other gems I TiVo and make him watch, like various dog shows on Animal Planet and one memorable episode of "Meerkat Manor." He only lasted roughly thirty seconds, but still...)

Yep, it's only a game and I tell myself it will be fine, no matter what. It's great just to get to the Super Bowl, what an honor - wait, what? Deion Sanders will interview Big Ben this afternoon? Hines Ward on Total Access tonight? Well, sign me up!

Yes, people, it's going to be this kind of week, you know. And I, for one, could not be happier. Keep it coming - no detail too mundane, no stat too meaningless.

Not for me. Not this week. Not ever.

It's A Brand New Day

Today, on a day of dreams, I relish the abundant riches of this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers are headed to Super Bowl XLIII and Barack Obama is inaugurated the forty-fourth President of the United States of America. Life is good.

Most of the best days in my life, the most proud moments, the memories of which I think most fondly are things that happened around me, not directly to me. I don't complain about this, as I feel quite fortunate to have the happiness I do. Like millions of others today, I feel connected to this glimpse in history and I recognize the importance and grandeur around me.

And in my own little world, I am ready to turn over a new leaf. Because on this day of change, when America looks toward hope, I, too, will set my sights on something new. I don't know yet how I might accomplish this, and I'm not entirely sure what direction my path might take. But I am inspired by this breathless idea that one can turn into the light and come out stronger, braver, better able to focus.

These next two weeks, I will immerse myself in sports shows and Steelers highlights in preparation for the "Bowl that is Super." In the future, I will immerse myself in the hopes of an entire world, and I will be better.

Yes I will.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

This happened to be quite an eventful day, even though I never even left my house. I am totally exhausted and can't exactly put the right words down to address the enormity of today's events, but I must stress that my world shifted a bit. I will, then, for simplicity's sake, focus on the obvious.

The Steelers won their playoff game, which is the cause of my sheer exhaustion. To watch the game, in my world, is not a sedentary event. It requires both physical and mental energy. One must jump, pace, hide in corners, run in place, breathe heavily, order husbands to "lucky" spots in the room, high five, hug beagles, and pump fists. For roughly four hours. All the while paying close attention to field position, play-calling, the announcers' inept commentary, and referees' attempts at sabotage (of which there were several.)

So, after three games before this one, after three home teams' fall from grace, after a bad feeling in my gut all week long, the Steelers played a near-flawless football game and brought themselves within one game of a Super Bowl berth.

Unbelievable. It caps a tremendous weekend of football and a stressful season of close victories. It marks a hope to be the first franchise with six Lombardi trophies. It brings a fear of playing the Baltimore Ravens for the third time in a season, but in a good way. My head spins from the enormity of it.

Now, as for the rest of my strange and exciting day, I will have to leave that for another time. Because the Steelers' win is really and truly enough for now.

Here we go!

Snowflakes of Joy

Today, it snowed. And it wasn't like the usual flurries which count for snow down here. Big, fat snowflakes fell from the sky, almost too perfectly, like what you'd expect to see in a "Peanuts" comic. It struck me as absloutely beautiful.

All my life, I've hated snowy winter. I inherited my attitude honestly from my parents, and who could blame them? In western PA, snow starts about October and in April, the dirty, ashy snowpiles on the roadsides begin to melt. Winter means treacherous roads and cancelled plans and long, cold days with no sun in sight.

But today, I realized snow can be lovely and fascinating, even. Of course, it doesn't stick on the ground for any length of time and the roads are clear and tomorrow, the weather is to be sunny and warmer.

So, today's snowfall appealed to me, knowing it would all be gone soon enough. I could appreciate and admire it. And I enjoyed a fresh look on something I've detested for so long.

It does not change my opinion on the stuff, though. There are too many Pennsylvania winters in my past for all that. Overall, snow can go.

Get Your Priorities Straight, Sister!

Oooh - this is a good time of the year. Yeah, I have the annual post-holiday blues and feel like I gained ten pounds (I really did not) and hate the cold, snowy, winter weather. But, the "Mighty 'Guins" are on a possible icy upswing (Let's Go Pens!), the WVU basketball team will enter some high stakes inner-conference play soon, it's NFL playoff time and to boot, the movie award season is upon us.

Naturally, things are bound to be busy around here. If I'm not careful, work and responsibilities can really get in the way of all this excitement. So, I must devise strategical plans to make sure my priorities stay in order. In the past, I've faced some real challenges in this area, but I always persevere. To commemorate, I thought I would relay a few instances of which I'm most proud.

In my Senior year of high school, the Penguins won the second of their back-to-back Stanley Cups. Awesome. I got to skip school the next day and stayed up all night to watch the television coverage. I was set to graduate about five minutes later, which is, I'm sure, why I got away with this. I like to think it sincerely set the tone for the rest of my adult life. (A shout-out to my parents for that one!)

During law school, when time could get tight, I'd sometimes be forced to skip classes to make sure I fit in all the Oscar nominated movies in time for the big night. When you think about it, this is not much of a sacrifice. I'd also skip class to catch the end of a good Lifetime movie (i.e. "Death of a Cheerleader" or, as I so refer, "the one where Kellie Martin stabs Tori Spelling with the knife") or watch especially good 90210 reruns (i.e. Kelly's cocaine days.) In addition, I blew off my third year Insurance final to make sure I saw "Eight Mile" with Eminem before it left the theatre - totally worth it, since I'll never understand Insurance law anyway and it's not like that final was going to be the difference.

When the Steelers made their fantastic, stupendous Super Bowl run a few years ago, I was lucky enough to work a job where I traveled much of the time, so my presence at the office was hit or miss anyway. The day after Pittsburgh beat Denver to make it to Super Bowl XL, I made a trip to southern West Virginia and then straight home to watch SportsCenter highlights. The day after the Super Bowl victory, I simply did not show up at all and no one even wondered why. (Due to my frenetic Steelers love, I'm sure they put it together. Attorneys are supposed to be logical, analytical thinkers, right?)

My best memory, though, is the release date of the Steelers Super Bowl DVD . As fate would have it, I was on my way to Wheeling, which led me right through Western PA. So, I stopped off at the "Little Washington" Target, bought my DVD, and was home by noon to watch it and re-live the glory. When my office called to see when I might be in, I told them the DVD release was a "holiday" and I'd see them the next day. (I'm pretty sure they thought I was kidding. I assume they figured out I sure wasn't. Back to the logic.)

Of course, I don't have the energy to recount every time I called off work or blew off homework or sat through three movies in one day to make sure I could "fit it all in." That's just part of my daily life. These more exceptional examples make me proud. I'm nothing if not loyal.

So, bring it on. I'm super excited and ready and I can not wait. Because this might be the most wonderful time of the year.

Happy New Year, Six Days In

Happy 2009! While I suffer from the year's inaugural head cold, which felt the need to arrive, uninvited, on New Year's Day, I have recalled a few of my brighter points from last year.

After watching the movie "Hancock," wherein Will Smith eats these fabulous-looking meatballs, I felt inspired to make homemade meatballs myself. This might not be monumentous, but I am really not much of a cook. By summertime, and that popcorn flick, I'd already sat through an entire season of "Top Chef" which had started the inspiration, and marveled at the animated culinary skills in "Ratatouille." Those meatballs pushed me over the edge and now, I tend to step into the kitchen more regularly and actually like it. Who knew?

Even though I certainly was no less lazy, I managed to make my peace with this character trait last year. After the umpteenth time I put off a work project to the last possible minute, I realized something: I'll never be a real go-getter. It's possible I may not find my true calling or establish goals. This used to easily depress me. But, I accept this now and will simply be content to work around it. That's what I've done anyway, if you think about it, except I've just concurrently beat myself up. Now, I'll procrastinate without the familiar beratement and emerge in the same place as before, but without the feeling-bad-about-myself. Who knew?

About a month ago, when I decorated my tree and put up all my Christmas decorations, I did so in a different order from other years. At one point, this probably could not have happened, due to my incessant internal demand that things be done in the same way, all the time, to establish consistency and control. After I realized I broke my own rules, with no consequences and no sense of guilt, it has opened up a whole new world of possibilities. I've already tried it out in some other areas of my life. Of course, something like this necessitates baby steps, so it won't alway be perfect.

But, it's a start. Who knew?