Here’s my thoughts on [[Academy Awards 2004]].

Here’s the short version… [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]] rules Middle Earth! Yeah!!!

Peter Jackson has been shut out for the last two years. Is the third time the charm?

Who should win, will win, and did win the various awards

[[pjoscars]]

Well, here we are again, it’s Oscar time. Will this year be the year of Peter Jackson and **The Lord of the Rings**? I think so, and it’ll be a crime if its not. People and studios just don’t seem to make the kind of commitment that he and his crew did while making that series of movies.

One thing is for certain… BILLY RULES!!!!! What a great opening montage!!!!

##Best Picture

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Please!!!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!! Wahoo!!!!!!! A SWEEEEEPPPP!!!!!!!! Unbelievable! Tying for most wins ever with [[Titanic]] and “Ben Hur”! What a night!!!!!

It’s the first fantasy movie to ever win this award. This is for “Star Wars”, “E.T.”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “The Wizard of Oz”, etc.

Wonderful.

[[golden_gandalf]]

##Best Director

** Should/Will Win: **Peter Jackson* for [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

** Did Win: **Peter Jackson* for [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Yeah PETER! It’s about time!!!!! Ten for TEN!!!!

##Best Actor

** Should/Will Win: **Sean Penn* for “Mystic River”

** Did Win: **Sean Penn* for “Mystic River”

Awesome! I’ve been a HUGE Sean Penn fan for years!!!! A standing ovation! You deserve it Sean!

##Best Actress

** Should/Will Win: **Charlize Theron* for “Monster”

** Did Win: **Charlize Theron* for “Monster”

Congrats Charlize (my babe [[:-)]]). I knew you were going to be a star years ago. I can’t wait to actually see this movie!!!!

##Best Supporting Actor

* Should/Will Win: Tim Robbins

* Did Win: Tim Robbins

Congratulations Tim! You’ve given some great performances (“The Shawshank Redemption” comes to mind). It’s about time you got recognized.

##Best Supporting Actress

* Should/Will Win: Renee Zellwiger

* Did Win: Renee Zellweger

I didn’t see the movie, but she had all the momentum going into the voting season. I have a feeling that Holly Hunter really deserved it though.

##Best Adapted Screenplay

* Should Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

** Will Win: **Mystic River*

** Did Win: **Fillipa Boyens, Fran Walsh, and Peter Jackson* for [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

SWEEP BABY!!!! I didn’t think that this would get the award. This is the one award that they deserved over any other. The sheer scope of adapting such a complicated storry deserves nothing less. YES!!!! Nine for NINE!!!!!

##Best Original Screenplay

* Should/Will Win: Sofia Copola. This is her award for the night.The academy likes giving writing awards to people that are first time nominees in other categories as well (remember Mat Damon and Ben Affleck with “Good Will Hunting”?).

* Did Win: Sofia Coppola.

Wonderful! Congratulations Sofia. I guess it runsin the family!!!

##Best Score

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Six for SIX!!!! Yeah BABY!!!!!

##Best Song

After listening to the other nominees, this should be a lock. **Into the West** is quite simply a beautiful song that so perfectly matches the film that there should be no question as to whether it should win. We’ll see if the Academy has a clue.

** Should/Will Win: **Into the West* from [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

** Did Win: **Into the West* from [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Go Fran!!!! You SO deserve an award. Now, if only all the stars line up and you get the Writing award too. Wonderful. Eight for EIGHT!!!!!!

##Best Cinematography

* Should Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]], but it’s not even nominated! Can you believe it!!!

* Will Win: “Master and Commander”

* Did Win: “Master and Commander”

##Best Visual Effects

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Was there ever any doubt! That’s 3!!!

##Best Sound Editing

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]], but it wasn’t even nominated, so “Master and Commander”

* Did Win: “Master and Commander”

How could ROTK not even get nominated in this category?? Oh well.

##Best Sound Effects

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Five… FIVE!!!!

##Best Editing

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Unbelievable. It’s like the Academy has been reading my mind. Seven for SEVEN!!!

##Best Costume Design

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

YEAH! 2 Baby!!!!

##Best Art Direction

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

YEAH! That’s one!

##Best Animated Feature

* Should/Will Win: “Finding Nemo”

* Did Win: “Finding Nemo”

##Best Makeup

* Should/Will Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring]]

* Did Win: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]

Four and Counting!!!!!

##Tally

What a great night!!! Everybody who should have won did win. Perfect… no disappointments.

The US Olympic Ice Hockey team defeats the Russians in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.

The miracle of this movie is that it isn’t just one big cliche.

It follows the parallel stories of one man’s redemption and a nation’s healing.

Ya just gotta love this. It’s about time!

The DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally served as a near-perfect barometer for the Academy Award for Best Director. Only six times since the DGA Award’s inception in 1949 has the winner not gone on to receive the Academy Award for Best Director.

Yahoo! Go Peter!!!!

Apple is turning into a great open source citizen.

The Konqueror Web browser, which shares its basic engine with Apple’s Safari, has benefited from Apple’s Safari work, KDE said. Konqueror now loads and renders more quickly and has better support for Web standards.

You just gotta love the way Apple is playing nice with everyone these days (well… except [[M$]] of course [[:-)]]).

Election season is upon us. Should we listen to our religious leaders when they tell us how to vote?

Essay: [[Religion and Politics]]

The New England Patriots win their second Super Bowl title in three years.

It was all so familiar . . . Vinatieri kicking the game-winner . . . quarterback Tom Brady winning the Most Valuable Player Award . . . coach Bill Belichick and owner Bob Kraft hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy while Patriot players hugged and brushed confetti off one another. All of these things happened two years ago when the Patriots upset the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans.

Ain’t that the truth. I was even watching the game in the same spot with the same people!

I kinda hope that people start to realize that this should be the key measure of the cost of a computer system, not the initial purchase price.

Because Linux beats Windows on price, Microsoft has been forced to change gears and tout an operating system’s total cost of ownership as the new focal point which companies should consider when making their purchasing decisions. The following editorial contribution to osViews suggests that Microsoft’s new mantra is a moot point because Apple’s Macintosh already holds the TCO crown.

…

So, if Linux has the best up front cost and Macintosh has the best TCO. Where does that leave Microsoft?

Up shit creek apparently.

I’ve been trying to tell people this for years, but I’ve been able to convince them only rarely. So, if Microsoft starts to tout this, maybe they’ll listen and look up the facts and find out that Apple is the way to go.

One can only hope.