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jcjec
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Name: Jim
Location: Illinois
Gender: Male
Expertise: Find the three-part "Introductions" post (Sept. 13 - 15, 2005) to learn about my background. It goes into far greater detail that I can fit into this small space. :-)
Occupation: Education/training
Industry: Education/Research
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
Yahoo:  jcjec
Member Since:
9/12/2005
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| Last week, Doug and I did our annual TWERPcast dedicated to the Academy Awards with OscarCast 2009. As per tradition, we made our Oscar picks and we managed a tie with 5 out of 7 correct (we both missed on Best Supporting Actress and split the difference on the two categories we disagreed in -- I got Sean Penn right, but Doug was on the money with it being Kate Winslet's turn to win). Now that the show is over, though, I feel the need to comment on the the best and worst moments the production had to offer. Best Moments: The Opening Number - The Oscars returned to Billy Crystal glory as Hugh Jackman opened the show with a musical tribute to the Best Picture nominees, as well as the one that SHOULD have. Especially funny was the tribute to "The Reader" in which he talks about having wanted to see it, but just couldn't find the time. Jackman managed to bring a comedic spice to the presentation and all that was missing was saying goodbye using a toothbrush as a microphone. Heath Ledger winning Best Supporting Actor - This was a foregone conclusion for everyone, but the crowd in the Kodak Theatre were still taken to tears as Ledger's father, mother and sister accepted his Oscar. Everyone with a half-a-heart was moved by a father's pride, a mother's sorrow and a sister's spirit. Worst Moments: Could We Have One More Dress Rehearsal? - The evening with filled with minor mistakes that became seriously noticeable the longer they lasted. It started with a curtain that didn't open on cue and a voice cutting into the broadcast yelling to get it open. The evening seemed filled with production errors that seemed amateurish and more fitting for a high school play than the premiere awards ceremony. Disrespectful "In Memoriam" - One of the traditions of the Academy Awards Ceremony is the honoring of those who have passed away during the proceeding year. This year, though, the directors decided to appease the ADD-inflicted masses by having Queen Latifah sing "I'll Be Seeing You" while the presentation flashed on several screens behind her. The problem? The director's decided that it was far better to feature Latifah singing and giving the audience motion sickness with unnecessary panning rather than show the artists honored. As such, several honorees were unrecognizable and unreadable, completely dishonoring the people they were supposed to be honoring. Cutting Out The Wrong Sequences - In the Academy's constant attempt to cut broadcast time, they decided that they didn't need to show clips from the nominated actor's performances and give Best Original Song nominees individual performances, instead favoring longwinded praise-fests and a "musical melody" combining all three songs into one ill-fated performance. Instead, they chose to keep such entrees as "Romance in 2008," "Action in 2008" (etc.) and a tribute to the return of musicals (because "MaMa Mia" was SUCH a success). You want to cut things? How about removing the fluff and leave in the things that feature the nominees. Or better yet, just accept the fact that the show is 4+ hours and plan accordingly. After all, the NFL doesn't worry if the Super Bowl goes into overtime. Let's Use Some Common Sense In Planning The Order Of Awards - For the first time in years, the Academy put the awards in some semblance of order by taking the process of making a movie from the beginning stages of preproduction through applying music to the film (often the last stage in postproduction) and giving out the awards according to this process. It seemed to work well until the very end, where they decided to give out the awards for Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Picture .... in that order. In years past, Best Director is always the second-to-last award because most of the time it is the same film as the Best Picture winner. This year was no different and viewers learned that "Slumdog Millionaire" won Best Picture a full half hour before it was announced. This was very poor follow-through for an otherwise beautiful concept. | | |
| Given the fact that I was just informed yesterday that I will not be invited back to Jerling next year (a long, complicated story that if I go into here could be used against me in a defamation case ... let's just leave it at the fact that the new principal and I disagreed on several things and she gets the last words), getting this from a coworker actually managed to put a smile on my face because it so matches my mood right now.
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8-year-old again. I want to go to McDonald’s and think that it’s a four-star restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks. I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer’s day. I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn’t bother you, because you didn’t know what you didn’t know and you didn’t care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset. I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again. I want to live simple again. I don’t want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones. I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow. So... here’s my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401k statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you’ll have to catch me first cause... Tag You’re it! | | |
| As you know, I don't usually spread e-mail jokes, and when I do I do so here and only when I find them very funny. Well, this one was sent to me by my aunt and it definitely qualifies. Enjoy.
WHY WOMEN SHOULD NEVER TAKE MEN SHOPPING AGAINST THEIR WILL! After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women - she loved to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart: Dear Mrs. Evans, Over the past 6 months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Evans are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras. 1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people's carts when they weren't looking. 2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals. 3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women's restroom. 4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, 'Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away. ' 5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M's on layaway. 6. August 14: Moved a 'CAUTION - WET FLOOR' sign to a carpeted area. 7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he'd invite them in if they would bring pillows & blankets from the bedding department. 8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him, he began crying and screamed, 'Why can't you people just leave me alone?' 9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose. 10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were. 11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the 'Mission Impossible' theme. 12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his 'Madonna look' by using different sizes of funnels. 13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled 'PICK ME! PICK ME!' 14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed 'OH NO! IT'S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!' And last, but not least . . . 15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, 'Hey! There's no toilet paper in here!' | | |
| In the spirit of keeping this New Years Resolution (so far), and the fact that Alan (a TrekUnited friend of mine) and I have spent the past 24 hours working on day 8 of the 12 Trek Days of Christmas (yes, we're a little bit behind), I am adding to the list of Star Trek Music Videos with some of my favorites. These are all located on YouTube, and if I had actually succumbed to peer pressure and joined a different blogsite, I could have probably linked these in directly. But because I'm a loyal person (sticking with the date that brought me to the dance, as it were), I'll just have to give you some links to follow.
Angel - Featuring Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher "Weird Al" Yankovic's rendition of Loser - Slamming the First Officer of the USS Voyager If I Was Will Riker - A fan tribute Star Trek as The A-Teamand last but not least... Rockstar featuring the cast of Deep Space Nine.
Enjoy!
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| OK, it's a new year, and one of the resolutions I've made and will probably break fairly quickly is to get back to blogging.
Last night was a bit of a rough night. Doug, Ken and I gathered to ring in the New Year and we brought family. In spite of the fact that she knew she'd probably be bored out of her mind, Cassie came with, figuring it had to be better than staying home. About 10:30, she ate a chip with dip on it and, within a few minutes, was saying that her throat felt like it was on fire and hurt. I took a look at her and smelled acid reflux on her breath, so I told her to drink a little bit of milk to ease the pain. Then she started having trouble breathing and I decided that it was enough with the home remedies and packed her up and took her to the emergency room. The way she was acting, I was afraid she was having an allergic reaction to something and didn't want to take any chances. I called her mother and told her where to meet us.
As soon as we got there, they got her in and looked at (the drunks hadn't tried driving home yet, so it wasn't busy) and said that she wasn't having an allergic reaction, but that the chip had probably scratched her throat on the way down, causing her to choke and gag, bringing up the stomach acids that then burned the sore area. The trouble breathing was caused by her panicking and triggering her asthma. They gave her a Benadryl to help her sleep and we were headed back home before midnight.
It was a rough way to finish out 2008, but it was also a reminder that this year was fairly rough for friends and family (above and beyond the toils of being a friend or family member of mine). So my first prayer is that 2009 takes it a little easier on us. I'm OK with 2008 going out with a roar as long as it's not a sign of what the new year has in store for us.
For 2009, I pray for good health, prosperity and happiness for all. Part of what will make that happen, I am sure, is that we need to maintain a positive outlook, even in the face of trouble. Remember that God is with us. Even in the worst of situations, take joy in the fact that God will not make you face it alone. We can do all things through God, who gives us strength.
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