Leonardo DiCaprio — BLOOD DIAMOND Ryan Gosling — HALF NELSON Peter O'Toole — VENUS Will Smith — THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS Forest Whitaker — THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
ACTOR -- SUPPORTING
Alan Arkin — LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Jackie Earle Haley — LITTLE CHILDREN Djimon Hounsou — BLOOD DIAMOND Eddie Murphy — DREAMGIRLS Mark Wahlberg — THE DEPARTED
ACTRESS -- LEADING
Penélope Cruz — VOLVER Judi Dench — NOTES ON A SCANDAL Helen Mirren — THE QUEEN Meryl Streep — THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Kate Winslet — LITTLE CHILDREN
ACTRESS -- SUPPORTING
Adriana Barraza — BABEL Cate Blanchett — NOTES ON A SCANDAL Abigail Breslin — LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Jennifer Hudson — DREAMGIRLS Rinko Kikuchi — BABEL
ANIMATED FEATURE
CARS HAPPY FEET MONSTER HOUSE
ART DIRECTION
DREAMGIRLS THE GOOD SHEPHERD PAN'S LABYRINTH PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST THE PRESTIGE
CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE BLACK DAHLIA CHILDREN OF MEN THE ILLUSIONIST PAN'S LABYRINTH THE PRESTIGE
COSTUME DESIGN
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA DREAMGIRLS MARIE ANTOINETTE THE QUEEN
DIRECTING
BABEL THE DEPARTED LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA THE QUEEN UNITED 93
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DELIVER US FROM EVIL AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS JESUS CAMP MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT RECYCLED LIFE REHEARSING A DREAM TWO HANDS
FILM EDITING
BABEL BLOOD DIAMOND CHILDREN OF MEN THE DEPARTED UNITED 93
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
AFTER THE WEDDING DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES) THE LIVES OF OTHERS PAN'S LABYRINTH WATER
MAKEUP
APOCALYPTO CLICK PAN'S LABYRINTH
ORIGINAL SCORE
BABEL THE GOOD GERMAN NOTES ON A SCANDAL PAN'S LABYRINTH THE QUEEN
ORIGINAL SONG
"I Need to Wake Up" — AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH "Listen" — DREAMGIRLS "Love You I Do" — DREAMGIRLS "Our Town" — CARS "Patience" — DREAMGIRLS
BEST PICTURE
BABEL THE DEPARTED LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE THE QUEEN
SHORT FILM -- ANIMATED
THE DANISH POET LIFTED THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL MAESTRO NO TIME FOR NUTS
SHORT FILM -- LIVE ACTION
BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY) HELMER & SON THE SAVIOUR WEST BANK STORY
SOUND EDITING
APOCALYPTO BLOOD DIAMOND FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
SOUND MIXING
APOCALYPTO BLOOD DIAMOND DREAMGIRLS FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
VISUAL EFFECTS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST POSEIDON SUPERMAN RETURNS
SCREENPLAY -- ADAPTED
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN CHILDREN OF MEN THE DEPARTED LITTLE CHILDREN NOTES ON A SCANDAL
SCREENPLAY -- ORIGINAL
BABEL LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE PAN'S LABYRINTH THE QUEEN
NBC has had "The First Person in the History of the World to Dance" removed from YouTube.
In typical mega-corporate fashion, NBC has made a stupid business decision in a desperate attempt to defend their copyrights. Now that this potentially viral video has been removed from YouTube, there is (to the best of my knowledge) nowhere on the Internet where you can watch it, and that includes NBC's own site.
By attempting to stranglehold the distribution of their content, NBC has hindered a potentially powerful marketing tool. Videos like "The First Person in the History of the World to Dance" can create viral marketing campaigns, and they have no additional cost for NBC or other content providers. So other than outdating copyright laws, desire for power, and sheer business stupidity, I can't think of any reason why big business insists on stifling YouTube.
We all know that being friends with Jack Bauer is a dangerous proposition. If last season's massacre was a sign of a pattern, it's likely that Jack's going to be attending a lot more funerals this year.
I've applied my high-tech algorithm for 24 survival calculations - it's a bit complicated, but it's kind of like Dick in a Box in reverse - and I've figured out the probabilities of survival for each of this season's characters. So without further ado, here they are: the odds of survival.
Hamri Al-Assad (The reformed terrorist): 5%
I like Al-Assad's character, but unfortunately I don't think he'll last long. His history only makes him relevant to this season, so he has no reason to be around next. Also, the reformed bad guy rarely lasts long, so I don't think this one will.
Ahmed Amar (Kumar): 80%
For some reason, Kal Penn (of Harold and Kumar) was cast as a terrorist this season. If there's one thing I learned from Harold and Kumar, it's that Kal Penn has a tremendous will to meet his goals. It'll take a lot to stop this mountain of a man.
Jack Bauer (The Man): 100%
Jack Bauer will survive, for three reasons. One, Kiefer Sutherland is the executive producer and main character of 24, making him the primary reason people watch it. Two, Kiefer's contract for 24 had recently been renewed for a few more years, so they'll need to keep Jack alive for a bit longer. And three, HE'S JACK FUCKING BAUER.
Kim Bauer (Jack's daughter): 0%
I actually don't know if Kim will survive or not, but I'm hoping the latter.
Bill Buchanan (Head of CTU): 50%
Bill is an uninteresting head of CTU, compared to the people who've held that position in the past (Jack Bauer, Tony Almeida). I think there's a good chance Bill will be removed and a more interesting character will take his place.
Abu Fayed (The bad guy): 0%
The bad guy always dies.
Karen Hayes (Bill Buchanan's wife, and advisor to President Palmer): 90%
Karen Hayes is unlikely to see combat, and her survival will make her husband's death more tragic, so I suspect she'll survive.
Curtis Manning (Idiot): 5%
Fans of stevekwan.com know Curtis Manning as the most useless CTU employee of all time. I think that Wayne Palmer will establish a role as 24's token black guy, rendering Curtis unnecessary.
Chloe O'Brian (Computer genius): 70%
The writers of 24 really seem to like Chloe, which is good because she's one of the only interesting characters they have left. I think she'll survive.
Sandra Palmer (The President's sister): 95%
Clearly Sandra's role in this season is to be a political character. She's likely to avoid combat and will probably survive.
Wayne Palmer (The President): 80%
Losing David Palmer last season was a huge setback to the cast of 24. Wayne might survive to fill his shoes.
Audrey Raines (Jack's flame): 50%
Jack's love interests have a habit of dying, which makes his life all the more sad.
I was driving to work yesterday in the left fast lane. A cop car was directly in front of me. The officer drove to the right lane, then continued right until he was sitting on the shoulder. Suddenly he blared his sirens, flew back into traffic, and was right behind me.
I moved out of the way to let him pass. He moved in behind me. That was when I realized, "Shit...he's after ME!"
I pulled over to the shoulder. The officer walked up to me, and I asked him what the problem was. The conversation went something like this.
Steve: "What's going on?"
Officer: "You were driving in the HOV lane."
Steve: "No I wasn't."
Officer: "Yes you were. I was watching you."
Steve: "Well, I'm a new driver, so help me clarify something. The HOV lane is the left-most lane, correct?"
Officer: "Right."
Steve: "And were you in the HOV lane?"
Officer: "No. I was in the left fast lane."
Steve: "Well, I was the car directly behind yours. And I haven't changed lanes. So if you weren't in the HOV lane, I fail to understand how I could have been."
Officer: "I'm going to write you a ticket for driving in the HOV lane. You also did an illegal lane change over a solid line, but I'm going to let you off the hook for that."
Steve: "I appreciate that, but I neither did an illegal lane change, nor was I driving in the HOV lane, so you're not actually doing me any favors."
Officer: "Have a nice day, Steve."
So I'm off to court again to dispute a ticket.
When I got my original TransLink ticket, I was really pissed off. This time, however, I'm not upset. I just find it kind of funny. I learned enough about traffic law from my last go-around that I know I'll probably have this ticket waived. Plus, the officer was really nice to me, and I could tell he was just doing his job. He honestly believed he saw me move into the HOV lane, and was ticketing me accordingly. Unlike the other TransLink "cop" who ticketed me, I don't have a grudge toward this one.
But all the same, I hate having to waste my time going through courtroom procedures to get tickets waived. I was really hoping 2007 would be a better year than 2006, but it's only mid-January and I've already received a bullshit ticket and been screwed out of $1,700 by my ex-roommate. I guess I'm going to have to be a bit more aggressive in ensuring that things start going my way.
I'm trying to find a roommate, and I've received an alarming amount of scam e-mail responses to my postings.
For example, I posted an ad on Craigslist and received an e-mail from a Russian girl claiming she wanted to take the room. I had barely posted any information on the room whatsoever, and no pictures, but this girl was really keen on taking the room. I was a bit surprised that she was so eager to rent the place with such little information; normally I'd expect prospective tenants to stop by, check out the place, establish a rapport, and the like. But she seemed nice enough.
I told her she could have the room, at which point I received this in an e-mail response.
"I will be shipping some of my luggages like,well Art Designed house and bedroom frames with my stored research profile desktop and Laptop computer and my car (Toyota camry 2.2 LE 2002 Model)that my uncle bought for me during my graduation, my uncle has promised to include the money for the shipment with the money for the rent,so as soon as the shippers come to deliver my stuffs,you will help me to give them the remaining money at the point of there delivery after you
may have deducted the money for the rent.."
Whoa, whoa. Wait a second. She's going to send me the rent, plus additional money to handle business on her behalf?
A quick Google search revealed that this is actually a scam. I found an advisory posting from Brock University that almost exactly matched my situation (see "RENTAL SCAM" Regarding Off Campus Housing). From the article:
"The alleged tenants are not all that interested in the details of the housing, but are more interested in having the landlord accept a cheque as a down payment. Once accepted, the cheque arrives in excess of the amount required."
"The scam artist (prospective tenant) then contacts the landlord with an urgent need to have the excess returned to them. This is in hopes that the landlord sends the excess back to them before the original cheque clears the bank and is found to be worthless."
Since this incident, I've received a lot more e-mails from out of country that meet this description. Sadly, I've received many more scam e-mails than legitimate ones.
I've noticed a few patterns. All these scam e-mails seem to have the following characteristics:
The scammer isn't interested in obtaining more information about the room. Right off the bat, he/she wants to take it.
The scammer offers to send me money in gross excess of the rent required, often thousands of dollars more. The scammer then asks me to conduct some sort of business on his/her behalf. The end result is the scammer's attempt to get me to send him/her the difference.
The scammer says he/she hopes I "can be trusted."
The scammer is out of country - usually from Europe or Asia. He/she has terrible English.
The scammer mentions all of his/her nice belongings that will be brought over, such as a Benz, plasma TV, and so on.
The scammer makes a point of saying he/she is a "good person," good Christian, etc.
The scammer uses a yahoo.com or yahoo.co.uk e-mail address.
The scammer often claims to be either a student or a software engineer.
My advice to anyone looking to find a tenant or roommate:
Insist on meeting the person. Never, ever rent to someone you haven't met. Especially if you have to live with him/her.
Do not take out-of-country tenants. Call this discrimination if you want, but it's just protecting yourself from scammers. Insist on having them come here first so you can meet them in person.
Do not conduct ANY business on the tenant's behalf. If asked to handle a tenant's shipping or send a cheque back, RUN, don't walk, away from the discussion.
Overall, be careful. This Russian girl almost had me convinced, and I'm pretty Net-savvy. Some of these scammers are very subtle. Honestly, it never even occurred to me that someone might try to scam me by posing as a tenant, so this really blind-sided me. Just a heads-up to other landlords.
I really, really need a roommate starting this month or next. Please send me an e-mail if you're interested. At this point, I'm getting a bit frantic and I'd be willing to take almost anyone, even if you're a serial killer (so long as you can take $500 a month off the corpses of your victims).
Leonardo DiCaprio — BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling — HALF NELSON
Let's be friends!