I’ll be making some changes to this site during the next few days, so it might look a bit off. Right now this is a free blog on wordpress.com, but I’m going to move it over to my remote server and install wordpress.org software. I’ve done this once before and it took me forever to figure out since everything I know and do with my websites is self-taught. Hopefully this time, things will go a lot smoother and it won’t take long before my new and improved site is up…*fingers crossed*
The preliminary program for the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, DC is now available. Jenny Levine has highlighted some lib/web 2.0 – related programs. I cannot wait to get to this conference!
Originally uploaded by tolrich7.
I stopped by the Friends’ used book sale this past Saturday morning. Arriving shortly before the doors opened, I was surprised to see just a small group waiting to get in. Later, I heard from a Friend that most of the serious book sellers and collectors showed up the night before, which makes sense. Apparently there were about 200 people Friday night and over 40% of the books on sale were sold. Still, I found a lot of interesting stuff on Saturday morning and came home with four nice books for the grand total of $5! By the time I left, around 10:40am, there were quite a few people there. The next time the Friends have a big book sale, I’ll definitely try to get there on the first day and take pictures of the madness 
There will be a 2-day used book sale, sponsored by the Friends of the Thousand Oaks Library, this Friday from 6-9pm and Saturday from 10am-3pm. Held three times a year, these used book sales have a reputation of having some great finds for serious book collectors as well as the casual reader. They also have a reputation of getting pretty rowdy as people compete for the best books. I imagine the scene to be something like a toy store a few days before Christmas, only instead of crazy parents searching for the best toys there will be no-nonsense bibliophiles and bookworms searching for the rarest (and cheapest) books. I’m going to try to make it to the book sale after work on Friday or early in the morning on Saturday to see the madness up close and personal! One colleague has advised me to wear body armor…
We had our pre-Oscar party at the library today. Over 60 people attended so it was a great turnout! We had popcorn, candy, and drinks and it really seemed like people enjoyed the event. After starting things off with a little Oscar trivia (2 lucky winners went away with a nice Thousand Oaks Library bag stuffed with candy), we got to the main event, which was the screening of some 2005 Academy Award nominated short films. I think the audience enjoyed most of the films, but the one that actually received some applause was the winner for best animated short film, The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation. Both before and after the event, many people came up to me and told me how happy they were that the library was putting on this event. I was asked repeatedly about future film programs at the library, so I know people are looking forward to seeing more interesting films at the library. I now know that there is definitely a community of movie lovers in Thousand Oaks. We even had an influx of Oscar contest submissions today, many of them probably coming from people here for the screening. I think there were around 25-30 new ballots submitted today. I’m anxious to see who wins the prizes. Maybe I can get the winners to pose for a quick pic and post it here
So, I’ve been thinking about this year’s Oscars and I think I pretty much have my predictions and personal picks decided for most of the major categories. I wish I could comment on some of the other categories like editing and cinematography, but I haven’t seen enough of the nominees in those categories so I’ll just stick to the ones where I’ve actually seen a good number of the nominees.
Best Actor
- Will win: Forest Whitaker
- Should win: Forest Whitaker
I’ve been a fan of Whitaker for a long time (a personal favorite is his role in Ghost Dog) and he’s amazing in The Last King of Scotland.
Best Actress
- Will win: Helen Mirren
- Should win: Helen Mirren
Mirren made you forget that you were actually watching an actress playing a role. And to do that while playing a real person who’s still alive is even more impressive.
Best Supporting Actor
- Will win: Eddie Murphy
- Should win: Mark Wahlberg
Murphy was good in Dreamgirls, but can an Oscar really go to the man who just made Norbit?! Mark Wahlberg stole every scene he was in and he did it while sharing the screen with the best of the best. On a side note, I heard Djimon Hounsou was terrific in Blood Diamond, but I could not get myself to go see that movie because of Leonardo’s accent. When I first saw the trailer to that movie, I knew immediately that I would not pay money to see it the second Leonardo started speaking.
Best Supporting Actress
- Will win: Jennifer Hudson
- Should win: Rinko Kikuchi
Everyone’s talking about Hudson and I’m not sure why. I’ll admit that she was good, but most of her “acting” in the movie was simply standing there and singing, which she did on “American Idol.” Kikuchi was absolutely haunting in her role and I think she deserves the Oscar.
Best Director
- Will win: Martin Scorcese
- Should win: Paul Greengrass
I will be happy to see Scorcese win it because I love his movies, but I’m not sure Departed was much a departure (sorry) for him. I wish he would tackle different types of stories…like Kundun, which is one of his best films in my opinion. As for Greengrass, I’ve loved every film he has made, including one that’s on my all-time best films list, Bloody Sunday. He probably won’t win it this year, but I think he’ll win one sooner rather than later.
Best Film
- Will win: The Departed
- Should win: Babel
This is a difficult category to pick. I haven’t seen Letters from Iwo Jima, but I have seen the other four nominees. I liked all of them, but I especially found Babel powerful in its storytelling and filmmaking. It definitely kept my attention during them movie and it stayed with me afterwards.
Recent Comments