So exciting. I made myself wait until 11:03 a.m. (my morning break) to read the complete list of nominations:

oscar nominations

Not too many shockers. I was thrilled that Catherine Keener was nominated for best supporting actress as well as Amy Adams. Jake Gyllenhaal deserved his nomination, I reckon.

Noah Baumbach (S&W), Woody Allen (Match Point) and Dan Futterman (Capote) are all up for best screenplay (original, original and adapted) Okay. Absolutely.

I hope Phillip Seymour Hoffman wins best actor.

The best supporting actress category is unbelievable. I'd be happy to see any of them win. Keener, McDormand and Weisz are three favorites. And Amy Adams and Michelle Williams were phenomenal.

There were some disappointments. If it were up to me I'd replace Judi Dench with Laura Linney. The Squid and the Whale and Match Point could and should have garnered a few more nominations. A little bit shafted.

Best song: Dolly Parton is nominated for "Travelin' Thru" and so is a song called "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp" from Hustle and Flow. (I guess I need to get over my Taryn Manning issues and see it.) This should be good. Can't wait.

I'm guessing now that Susan Sarandon introduces Brokeback Mountain.

I look forward to the dresses and the funny speeches and even the awkward moments when I need to leave the room. (And I always have to leave the room at least once during the Oscars.) All this and add Jon Stewart to the list of perks. Yippie.

Joe's Action Hero Article

Joe's Matador Review

I noticed another article on The Daily Cardinal entitled: "Cat Power 'Chan'nels Southern Roots."

Quotable Fran P (continued and cute):

On The Shield:
"IAD is gunning for Vic."

"You know Steely Dan. They sing that song '819'."

Just read that John Krasinski has a role in For Your Consideration. Very cool.

The Office: "The Carpet"

"Is someone making soup?" -Creed
So wrong.

I liked how they randomly cut to the Kelly character and caught her mid-sentence/tangent:
"Beyonce, pink the color, Pink the person, hot dogs, basically anything that is awesome...snow cones...."

As always much of the humor was in the subtle looks and glances. Lovelorn Jim made me sad. (Sidenote: As I've said before nobody does disgust better than Peter Saarsgard. Forrest Whitaker is on target with the creepy on The Shield. And John Krasinki owns lovelorn/heartsick.) His thing for Pam is realistic and seemingly hopeless. Very relatable. They are taking things in more of a Tim and Dawn pre-Christmas special direction, which I like. I am just a little bit into this show. Understatement. More to follow on this, to be sure.

Song of the day: "On the Table"

Just received Comedians of Comedy via Netflix and the Sarah Silverman movie starts here. Plus I want to rewatch the episode of Strangers with Candy where Jerri has anorexia, for the brisket exchange specifically. Should be a funny weekend. Hoot.

The Office got picked up for a third season, which makes me happy. Found a new (new to me) site devoted to the show:

northern attack

There are links to other Office related sites/items, including one that lists all the memorable quotes. I like how the Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson characters are obsessed with Titanic. (The Dwight character likes quoting from it: " 'A real man makes his own luck.' Billy Zane, Titanic.") I am glad that the secondary characters are now regulars-they're hilarious. That Toby guy is a hoot.

Side projects: (only if I have time between visits to Gawker, perusing the twop forums and compiling a list of my favorite tv show opening credits)
Confronting both my extreme phobia of driving in the city (missing too many concerts!) and crippling social anxiety.

I look forward to Thursdays.

At the office where I work "acco" is used as a verb.

Congrats on the new job Matthew! Yippie.

I am sad that The Office is ending the season early. The return of The Sopranos will help.

Over at the twop forums somebody said of Lisa Loeb's new show:
"This is a trainwreck from which I cannot look away." Yeesh. Pretty much sums up most things.

I think maybe yeesh is the new jeez.

Capote- My thoughts on the movie were perfectly summed up by the woman in front of me at the theatre: "Very dark. Probably not the best thing for me right now, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman was extraordinary. And I just love that Catherine Keener." Well stated, random lady.

Match Point- Very good. I was "antsy times four" and on pins and needles throughout. I loved the line about the characters with the "intertwined nueroses."

Junebug- Amy Adams is as good as they say.

I watched the first episode of the new Lisa Loeb reality show, #1 Single, which is a chronicle of her dating escapades. She's super cute. She has loads of Chococat/Sanrio items, like certain people I know very well. Ahem. She referred to not wanting to meet any "smarmy smarmitons" and that won me over. The show can be cringeworthy too. She went on a blind date where the guy sang "Stay" on one of those home karoke machines. I almost had to stop watching at that point. I think she should date actor Adam Goldberg, who she shared a friendly lunch with in tonite's episode. He seems funny and has cool shoes.

On the music front, I'm glad I decided to give Death Cab another go.

Pretty Dresses and Nice Suits (best dressed):

Rachel Weisz
Michelle Williams
Kate Beckinsale
Natalie Portman
Emily Mortimer
Laura Linney
Jeremy Piven
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Joaquin Phoenix

Happy to see the following wins:

Rachel Weisz
Hugh Laurie (charming speech)
Steve Carell (best speech, very funny/sweet)
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Joaquin Phoenix
Walk the Line (multiple wins)
Brokeback Mountain (multiple wins, Ang Lee also had a nice speech)

The Critics Choice Awards were on tonite. Kind of an awkward show at times, (some smug star behavior can always be expected) but it is pretty amazing how many exceptional movies are out there right now. I need to see more, I've missed quite a few (The Constant Gardener, Grizzly Man, Munich....) Panic is setting in.

Brokeback Mountain did very well (yippie!) winning best picture, director (Ang Lee) and supporting actress (Michelle Williams, who tied with Amy Adams- who tonite looked like a cute redhead Ione Skye clone.) Good going Brokeback Mountain!

Glad that both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti won. They are both neat and it was funny to see them joke about their scruff-tastic looks.

Also, it was nice to see The 40 YO Virgin win best comedy. What a sweet movie.

I thought that Catherine Keener and Reese Witherspoon were the best dressed gals and had the nicest hairdos. Catherine Keener is so cool.

Looking forward to more. Hoping to possibly throw either a Golden Globes or Oscars shindig. More to follow.

I saw Brokeback Mountain tonite. Very well done, very sad. Heath Ledger was excellent playing such a quiet and tortured man. I'm not suprised that he is the awards season front runner. Jake Gyllenhaal stole the show for me. He was so vulnerable and you could really feel his pain and frustration. Pain is really made tangible in this film. Michelle Williams was also just phenomenal. (Watch her in Me Without You- a great movie. She is always impressive.) She certainly deserves all the supporting actress noms/wins she gets.

My friends and I were really taken aback by the scene where Jack (Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Ledger) reunite for the first time and Alma (Williams) witnesses them. A very intense and staggering scene indeed. The chemistry between Gyllenhaal (so handsome!) and Ledger is electric.

Brokeback Mountain is spare and heartbreaking and just lovely.

People who avoid this movie because it is a love story between two men are really missing out.

So glad Jon Stewart is hosting the Oscars! So worth watching.

The Office was good tonite. I was tired of the hiatus. Funny and hard to watch/really sad at the same time. The Jim/Pam stuff was too much (compliment!) and the vending machine thing was cute. Plus there were many nice JK close-ups. He's quite expressive with his face and the nonverbal. People over at twop are freaking out.

Grey's Anatomy is boring. House, M.D. is now my medical show of choice. I think I might even be a House-a-holic. It is very smart and funny. Tonite's ep featured Ron Livingston, Robert Sean Leonard and Hugh Laurie. Yikes!

Could Robert Sean Leonard be my generation's Sam Waterston?
Maybe.