Found at Starbucks: The Pentagon's Papers

Some assistant to Rumsfeld named "Eric" left some documents at a Starbucks in DC. Another customer found them and gave them to the Center for American Progress. They include planned discussion points for Sunday morning talk shows and a map to the Secretary's house. Click on the above link for more info. What a stupid mistake. Poor Eric is going to get fired for this, surely.

I'm listening to Air America Radio. The stream is pretty sucky - it keeps breaking in and out. And now I just lost it. Blah.

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich

The last entry to my focus for the month of March (a woman a day for Women's History Month) is Ellen Taafe Zwilich. Unless you are involved in the world of 20th Century (now 21st Century) music, you may not be familiar with Zwilich. My limited knowledge of her music began in college. My junior year I took a class on 20th Century music, where we only focused on Western European/American male composers. We only had a semester, so this is somewhat understandable. In our last project for the class, we got to choose a composer and/or work of music we hadn't gone over in class to research and discuss in class. The only female composer I could find much information about at that time was Zwilich.

She really came onto the scene in 1983 when she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. She was recognized for her Symphony No. 1 (this was the work I studied). This opus is an exploration of the first fifteen bars of the first movement. I strongly recommend listening to it if you can.

"Many of her works have been issued on recordings, and Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians [8th edition] states: "There are not many composers in the modern world who possess the lucky combination of writing music of substance and at the same time exercising an immediate appeal to mixed audiences. Zwilich offers this happy combination of purely technical excellence and a distinct power of communication."link

Zwilich is currently on the faculty of the School of Music at Florida State University.


- List of her works

More great quotes found in my Wordsmith daily newsletters:

"The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be
governed by men worse than themselves."

- Plato, philosopher (427-347 BCE)

"Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one
where they sprang up."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., US Supreme Court Justice (1841-1935)

"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."

- Victor Hugo, poet, novelist, and dramatist (1802-1885)

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics
won't take an interest in you."

- Pericles, statesman (430 BCE)

"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that
one's work is terribly important."

- Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician, author, Nobel laureate (1872-1970)

Thanks, A Word a Day!

I'm going through my A-Word-a-day e-mails. I have a bad habit of not reading messages and letting them accumulate. But I just found this quote from a 2/23 e-mail and thought I'd share:

"In science it often happens that scientists say, "You know that's a really
good argument; my position is mistaken," and then they would actually
change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They
really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists
are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I
cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or
religion."

- Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)

Our satire as art

I never thought I was making art when I made my poster on the BC04 "Sloganator" (now demised). Apparently, our posters are now considered art, at least according to this site: ArtLex on Posters. We're right on the same page as Toulose-Lautrec and WWII propaganda posters. Seeing a BC04 poster in comparison with those is a bit humbling.

Mexican Wine

He was killed by a cellular phone explosion
They scattered his ashes across the ocean
The water was used to make baby lotion
The wheels of promotion were set into motion

But the sun still shines in the summertime
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change, but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine

She lived alone in a small apartment
Across the street from the health department
She left her pills in the glove compartment
That was the afternoon her heart went

And the sun still shines in the summertime
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change, but I changed my mind
I think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
I think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine

I used to fly for United Airlines
Then I got fired for reading High Times
My license expired in almost no time
Now I'm retired, and I think that's fine

Because the sun still shines in the summertime
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change, but I changed my mind
I think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine

Because the sun still shines in the summertime
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change, but I changed my mind
I think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
I think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
Won't you have another glass of Mexican Wine?

by Fountains of Wayne

See the video!!

Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work for the rights of Iran's children and women. She also works for the rights of refugees in Iran. Ebadi is the first Iranian, third Muslim, and eleventh woman to win this prestigious award. She once was a judge, but now serves as an attorney:

"She represented the family of Ezzat Ebrahim-Nejad, a student killed during the 1999 Tehran University protests. Her work on his family’s behalf exposed the link between vigilante groups and highly placed government officials. This work led to her arrest and detention in 2000."link

She recently helped form an organization that will provide legal aid to families of imprisoned activists and journalists, the Center for the Defense of Human Rights.

- Text of her Nobel lecture
- BBC profile

Incredible

I find what I read at Change for America this afternoon both incredible and extremely disturbing. Apparently BushCo has made it legal for federal employees to be fired for being homosexual.

Change for America: Jim W. Crow

Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first American female to receive a doctor of medicine degree. A bit of trivia - she was sister-in-law to Lucy Stone. Dr. Blackwell was involved in the abolitionist movement, and believed that women deserved equal education. It is said she became involved in medicine because she "visited a family friend who was dying of cancer and who told her how much she had suffered from the humiliation of being treated by male doctors. This woman also mentioned that Blackwell, who had such a "love of study," would make an ideal doctor" link.

Throughout her medical career she was met with great opposition, but perservered nonetheless. Born in England, she moved back there for the later part of her life. She taught at the first British college of medicine for women.

- Hobart and William Smith's Blackwell site
- Letter, Elizabeth Blackwell to Baroness Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron concerning women's rights and the education of women physicians, 4 March 1851.

Gish Jen

I first read Gish Jen when I was interning at Holt, Rinehart and Winston. I got to read various short stories that might be used as "Connections" for well-known novels. The first story of hers I read was "The White Umbrella". I don't know how I can remember the title and not remember the plot, but oh well. Her stories deal with the immigrant experience, culture clashes, and other such topics, but she manages to infuse humor into them very successfully. A few years ago I read Mona in the Promised Land and enjoyed it a lot.

She says that Jewish-American authors have been a large influence on her: "It's partly Scarsdale, and partly the sympathy I see between the Jewish and Chinese cultures. If there is one thing I hope readers come away with, it's to see Asian Americans as 'us' rather than 'other.'" link

- Powell's interview with Gish Jen

Piano Returns to Berlin, Releasing Family Secret

This is a neat story, worth passing on.

edit: I forget not everyone is registered with the New York Times online. Here's the gist of the article:

". . . (T)he story has been a voyage of self-examination for Tessa Uys, a South African concert pianist based in London and the daughter of the German music teacher who first took the piano from Berlin to Cape Town.

"As she pored over her mother's documents last year, Ms. Uys (pronounced ace) said, she was also obliged to confront what she had always suspected about herself, a revelation for which her research into the history of her mother and the piano proved to be the key.

"Brought up in the Calvinist tradition of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa, the daughter of an Afrikaner musician and organist in his local church, she was unaware of one critical fact: her mother, Helga, was Jewish."

This South African concert pianist is sending her family's piano back to Berlin to be put in the Jewish museum after discovering one of the reasons her mother moved to South Africa was because she was banned from her piano academy for being Jewish. Does that make sense? I thought it was neat to see this article after finishing In the Image.

My poster didn't make it in . . .

But I'm okay with that.

Sloganator Memorial

Madame C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker)

Madame C. J. Walker was a great inventor and businesswoman whose innovations have impacted the beauty-trade. She invented a hair softener that could be used with an iron comb to straighten hair. She created a regime of hair-care products that she called "The Walker System". She went on to form schools of beauty, and amassed a large fortune, becoming one of the first African-American millionaires.

A few years ago, I read The Black Rose, which is a sort of fictionalized biography of Madame C. J. Walker. I think I checked it out because Alex Haley had started the work on it and died before finishing it. I remember it being a very interesting book, and that's about it. I read so many books, I'm surprised I remember this one. I don't know if I'd recommend this book, but I strongly recommend reading up on this awesome woman.

- Info on the Madame Walker stamp
- Indiana Historical Society's site for the Madame C. J. Walker Collection - includes a VERY detailed biography.

Betty Friedan

Betty Friedan, whom I would call the mother of modern feminism, wrote the opus The Feminine Mystique about "the problem that has no name". This book really led many women to realize their current situations and started what gender studies historians term the second wave of feminism (we are supposedly in the third wave now).

In her work, Friedan explored the lack of opportunities available to women in post-World War II America. During the war, women had taken over factory jobs and sales jobs that had been vacated by men who left to fight. All of a sudden, society accepted women working in atypical roles: building materials for war, flying planes, etc. When the men came back from war, however, the women lost their jobs and were relegated back to the "homefront".

Betty Friedan later helped to found the National Organization for Women (NOW) and served as the first president of the organization. She still serves as a voice for feminism and women's rights more than forty years after the publishing of her influential work.

- About Betty Friedan
- Atlantic Monthly: Mystique of Betty Friedan
- Introduction to The Feminine Mystique

NPR News Is Replacing Morning Host

Bob Edwards apparently will be replaced by NPR "as part of an effort to update its programming." Who will replace him has yet to be announced. I wonder if Juan Williams is in the running. . .

Abigail Adams

Best known for being married to John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams, Abigail Adams was an amazing woman. What I adore about Abigail Adams is her entreaty to her husband to "Remember the ladies" while he was at the first Congress. She is a woman that should remembered for her own story, but her story happens to be attached to two early Presidents of the USA.

- Here is her official White House bio.
- Abigail Adams Historical Society
- Correspondence between John and Abigail

Sacagawea

As most of us know, Sacagawea served as an interpreter and guide for Lewis and Clark in their famous expedition. She died at the young age of 25, and Clark adopted her two children. Some believe that another woman who died 70-some-odd years later was the real Sacagawea, but historical documents disagree with this.

When I was a kid, I remember reading a series of books that espoused certain values while giving biographies of famous people in history. I think the only one I still own is about Louis Pasteur. Anyway, I remember reading the ValueTale of Sacagawea. I couldn't find an image of it on amazon. Perhaps none of these books are still in print? That's a sad loss.

- Here is another, slightly more detailed, bio of Sacagawea.
- Her page on about.com

The bluebonnets are coming out!

I started seeing them late last week, and they keep increasing in number. I love spring!

I'm off tomorrow to work at SxSW. It's over after Saturday! I'm skipping church Sunday to recoup, because Saturday I'm working from 11am to 4pm and 6pm to 11pm. What was I smoking when I signed up for that?

Have a good weekend . . .

From my SojoMail today:

God the Synecdoche in His Holy Land
i.m. Rachel Corrie
by Linda McCarriston

Around you the father gods' war. This
Father. That father. The other father.

What more dangerous place could
A woman stand, upright, than on that sand, as if
She were still antiphon to that voice, the other
Mind of that power. The very idea!

Crush her back in to her mother!
Crush her. Crush her. Consensus. War.


For more on Rachel Corrie at the anniversary of her death, visit http://www.rachelcorrie.org.

Gary Sinise to Head Cast of "CSI: New York"

I may have to watch it now. I think Gary Sinise is one of the finest actors alive. Finest meaning greatest. . . although I do think he is attractive too!

Jane Addams

Jane Addams founded Hull House in Chicago, was the first woman to receive an honorary degree from Yale University, and was the first American woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She lived an amazing life, appearing to fit into the feminine stereotype, yet living with the same woman for forty years. She worked for the rights of immigrant workers, women suffrage, and was involved with the peace movement during World War I.

Quote:
"I am not one of those who believe - broadly speaking - that women are better than men. We have not wrecked railroads, nor corrupted legislatures, nor done many unholy things that men have done; but then we must remember that we have not had the chance."

Pictures of Jane Addams
Information about the founding of Hull House

Called to Love and Fidelity

This is a link to an awesome sermon sent to Allen about gays and marriage. Here's a quote:

"Is "the future of the human race threatened by gay marriage"? That's not what I hear Jesus saying. And Jesus is, by and large, pretty clear. I hear Jesus saying that the future is imperiled by greed, by prejudice, by bigotry, by hatred and by violence. I hear Jesus calling you and me to heal those deep wounds and invite the diverse human family to a feast of love, fellowship and grace. I hear Jesus singing a tune of joy and love and welcome and affirmation. I'm not sure which bible they're reading these days - but it's not the one I'm reading."

Please go read it. If this is going to be an issue, I don't want people who claim to be Christians speaking for all of us. I'm all for getting the Progressive Christian view out there for the world to hear.

Ann Richards

I saw her last night at one of the SxSW movies I caught. Ms. Richards is definitely a tough broad, and a great Texas Democrat.

Here are some great quotes from Ann Richards.

Here you can read her speech from the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

Mr. Bojangles. . .

Okay, I did not realize that Jerry Jeff Walker wrote Mr. Bojangles. I'm not a huge fan of either the song or the artist, and I never would have the put the two together.

As a sidenote - my senior year in high school I was in an internship program with JJW's daughter. She wasn't the nicest person; maybe she's better now. I'd be hard-pressed to tell you her name. I'm getting bad about names nowadays, especially from (gulp) 8 years ago.

Barbara Jordan

Barbara Jordan is someone that makes me proud to be a Texan. She accomplished so much during her life, creating a terrific legacy. Her biography is at the above link, but here is more:

THE FIRST AND ONLY: Barbara Jordan Remembered from The Newshour
I love how Molly Ivins says, "if Hollywood ever needed somebody to play the role of God Almighty, they ought to get Barbara Jordan." It's so true! She just had the most amazing voice.

UT's story on Barbara Jordan
The LBJ School for Public Affairs at UT holds the Barbara Jordan National Forum on Public Policy annually.

Rosemarie Freeney Harding

I just read about this amazing woman who passed away last week in Denver, CO. Click on the link above to read about her incredible life journey.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

urgh. . . today has been so busy, all I've had time to do is add a new button to my sidebar - go get a book for a soldier. I got a letter recently from my cousin's wife telling me that he would love books to be sent over. I want to send him a book, but I don't know how shipping works in the army. I got a new copy of Antwone Fisher for $1 and I figure it would be a good book for him. A nice pro-armed forces work, but still a good read. Okay, I'm assuming it is, I've only seen the movie. I'll try to post this weekend. If I can.

Mary Wollstonecraft

I'm reading this book I found in the kiddie section of the library. I am about a third of the way through. I will have to read one her works next; I'm finding her politics very interesting. Anyway - Wollstonecraft is my woman of the day!

Mary Wollstonecraft is probably best known as the mother of Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) and for writing The Vindication of the Rights of Women. Ms. Wollstonecraft was raised in a society where married women were treated as property and girls learned to be passive and quiet. Her first book was Thoughts on the Education of Girls, where she espoused her views on how girls should be taught and encouraged to learn.

Her life was not typical - she stayed single for a large part of her life and had a baby out-of-wedlock. She did eventually get married, and died after having her second child, Mary, in 1797.

It is really hard to summarize such an amazing woman's life and accomplishments in a blog entry! For more information, you can read a bio here or here. Hooray for free-thinking women!

For all my regular readers

No entries tomorrow; I'm spending the day bagstuffing at SxSW. If you go and pick up a bag, think of those zany volunteers who donated their time to stuff that bag. All the time and love we put into it. Or not.

I tried "Because smart people suck!"

But it wouldn't let me. Thanks to Wonkette for keeping the public informed about how to make your own BC04 poster.

See what it let me do! (you gotta have Adobe Acrobat) I give you permission to print it out and pass it around.

I know you want to make your own - you can do it here. It is just too much fun to pass up.

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony

Anthony was a mover and shaker in the early women's rights movement. She became a close friend and ally to Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was a "spinster" who never married. There has been much written about Ms. Anthony. I wanted to focus on her on this primary day here in Texas. Susan B. Anthony strived for women's suffrage, was arrested for attempting to vote, and died before women got the vote she worked her life for.

Ken Burns made a documentary about Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. If you haven't seen it yet, you can at least go to the official site and learn more about their work together.

It is imperative that we exercise our right to vote after all the work Anthony and MANY others did to get it for us. If you don't vote, you can't complain. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is. After the struggle for women's suffrage and the work of the Civil Rights era, there is just no excuse for not voting.

New button

I've added a new button on my side-menu to coincide with Amnesty International's two-year campaign to stop violence against women worldwide. Here is a 10-minute video about their campaign (requires Realplayer).

They sent me about 8 urgent actions regarding this campaign, so I better get started!

I'm counting this as my Women's History month entry of the day - unless I get time to write about Susan B. Anthony later on.

from Margaret's blog

Margaret Cho writes about how she was sent a package from a gal stationed in Iraq:

"She's a pilot in the Air Force, and her squadron watched my DVDs to keep up morale when they felt like there wasn't anything left to smile about. She included a group photograph, about ten men and women, dusty and tired, glasses raised up to me in the dark blue desert night. . .As a gesture of thanks, she sent me an American flag. I have never had one before. It came with a document that said the flag had been on a plane over Iraq in my honor, and that my name was added to the long list of freedom fighters who battle at home as well as overseas."

I got a little veklempt just reading it.

Dolores Huerta

Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farm-workers of America. Although she got a teaching degree in college, she moved on to organizing, where she knew she could make a bigger difference. One of her ideas was to spearhead the grape boycott ("no grapes!") in the 70s. More information on her can be found here.

When I googled her, I found this:
Dolores Huerta and Richard Chavez Endorse Dean for President

Well, what are you?

Useful Voter Guide: Are You A Democrat Or A Republican?
I took it twice - the first time I was a communist, the second time a moderate Democrat. It is difficult to decide who is more annoying at times. Enjoy, and let me know your results.

Yet another reason why Bush has got to go

I am tired of hearing about how this administration is catering to big business at the cost of our health and environment, damn it.

Lethal bromide

"This is the first time any country has tried to reverse the phase-out and increase production of an ozone-destroying chemical that is supposed to be eliminated," says David Doniger, the top climate change guy at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The Bush administration is putting Americans' health at risk by catering to big chemical and agribusiness companies."

Yowza.

Martha Stewart Convicted of All Counts

I didn't really care either way, as I don't care for her programs or magazines. I did feel that her story was really fishy, but I hate the fact that she is being prosecuted and Enron, which I feel did a much worse thing, isn't such a focus. Anyway, if you want to read what Martha thinks about this verdict, go to Martha Talks.

She says, "I will appeal the verdict and continue to fight to clear my name. I believe in the fairness of the judicial system and remain confident that I will ultimately prevail."

That's mighty optimistic of her.

Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Mott was a Quaker activist against slavery and for women's rights.

"In America she helped organize women's abolitionist societies, since the anti-slavery organizations would not admit women as members. In 1840, she was selected as a delegate to the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London, which she found controlled by anti-slavery factions opposed to public speaking and action by women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton later credited conversations with Lucretia Mott, while seated in the segregated women's section, with the idea of the holding a women's rights convention."

Their women's rights convention, also known as the Seneca Falls Convention, is an important moment in American history, especially where the women's rights movement is concerned. Frederick Douglass attended, along with about 200 other people.

At this convention, The Declaration of Sentiments was formed. You can read a report of the Convention.

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

If you like:
a) dead parrots
b) silly walks
c) the larch
d) spam
or e) all of the above,

you should check this news item out:Lunatics Required: Open casting for Python project.

edit: because I always remember it as being "No one expects yada yada yada" and that is wrong.

Exploitation of 9/11 by Bush?! What a shocker

I'm sure by now you've heard about the use of Ground Zero in the BC04 ads coming out now. I heard Karen Hughes on NPR commenting that she understands why "Democrats" might not want America to remember "the great leadership and strength" Bush showed in the face of this act of terrorism. Um, Ms. Hughes, I think any relative of a victim of 9/11 might have a problem with the campaign exploiting their pain and sorrow. But as Tom Tomorrow says,

"In all seriousness, if they think it's a good idea to use the WTC site as a backdrop for ads and later, for their convention, I say let 'em. If Boy Genius thinks it's going to be a good thing for Republicans to come to New York City and trample the ground where so many died--well, let's just say I suspect that'll play about as well as most of his other election-year schemes so far."

You can also read this entry by a New Yorker on Change for America.

Maya Lin

I have only been able to view Maya Lin's works in photos and film. I love the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and was able to see the traveling version of it when I was in elementary school (but it isn't the same). My favorite of her works is the Civil Rights Memorial (this site has an amazingly powerful slideshow). I would love to be able to view that in real life.

Maya Lin was 21 years old when her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was accepted. After working on that and the Civil Rights memorial, she stopped designing memorials.

You can go here to view some of her more recent works.

Gil wants to bring back the Federalist party

We'll have to see about that. As I learned in Political Science, our current system can really only be two parties. We'll have to change the system for any other party to really get some power.

Marian Anderson

I am currently reading The Time of Our Singing, a work of fiction in which the parents meet at Marian Anderson's concert at the Lincoln Memorial. About the concert, this bio from Afrovoices says:

"The most highly publicized racial instance involving Anderson occurred in 1939 when Hurok and officials from Howard University tried to arrange a concert for her in Constitution Hall, the largest and most appropriate indoor location in Washington, D.C. The hall's owners, the Daughters of the American Revolution, sparked national protests when they refused to allow her to sing there.

"In answer to the protests, the United States Department of the Interior, with active encouragement from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, scheduled a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial fon April 9, 1939. The Easter Sunday program drew a crowd of 75,000 people and millions of radio listeners, and the entire episode caused the news media to focus greater attention on subsequent cases of discrimination involving Anderson and other African Americans."

Because the DAR refused Anderson's performance in their hall, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote this letter resigning from the DAR.

Of course, I have only had the chance to listen to recordings of Marian Anderson, but even the recordings are still very powerful.

More links:
- The Kennedy Center has another bio online for her.
- Here's a link to an interview with her nephew and a fellow singer. The Newshour also did a special segment on Anderson at the centennial of her birth.
- Go here to learn more about the amazing Ms. Anderson.

Black Legislators Stall Marriage Amendment in Georgia:
"'At the national level and in states like Massachusetts and Georgia, African-American leaders have been pretty clear in their opposition to these kinds of constitutional amendments,' said Seth Kilbourn, national field director for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group in Washington. 'No matter how they feel about marriage for same-sex couples, they don't want to write into our governing documents laws that treat one group of people different from another. They've seen this country go down that road before.'"

Later on in the article:
""What I see in this is hate," Ms. Sinkfield said, standing outside the ornate House chambers between votes. "I'm a Christian, but if we put this in the Constitution, what's next? People with dark hair? You're opening the floodgates for people to promote their own prejudice." (emphasis mine)

You can go here to view the Human Rights Campaign's new ad. I'll warn you, it takes a while to load (and I'm on a cable modem!).

Happy Women's History Month!

March is Women's History Month, so I'll try to focus on someone each day of the work week.

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

1860-1935
American social activist and writer

"Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a prominent social activist and leading theorist of the women's movement at the turn of the twentieth century. . .best known today for her short story The Yellow Wallpaper, in which she portrayed a young woman's mental breakdown based on her own experience."

yes, I watched the Oscars

I have to say that this year's Oscar ceremony was better than last. My favorite Oscar moments, in no certain order:
- the homage to Kate Hepburn
- the performance of "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" by Mitch and Mickey (the only real moment of suspense - I wondered if they would kiss or not)
- Sofia Coppola winning Best Original Screenplay for Lost in Translation
- when Sean Penn commented about WMDs in his speech
- when Michael Moore made a cameo in the Billy Crystal intro video
- the "boring" song sung by Jack Black and Will Ferrell

and that's about it. I was glad Lord of the Rings won Best Picture, but I wish the rest of the awards could have been more spread out. I love Annie Lennox, but I don't think that "Into the West" was the best song. I thought the song from The Triplets of Belleville was sure to win, but perhaps that's because I've heard it so much on KUT. I do think James Horner's music was deserving of his win, but part of me wanted Thomas Newman to win for the Finding Nemo music.

And I wanted Capturing the Friedmans to win Best Documentary, darn it! I guess I should check out this Fog of War movie when it comes out on DVD. I already missed my chance to see a free showing of it.

At least Lost in Translation kicked a-- at the Independent Spirit Awards! I just happened to catch those on Saturday night. They were so much fun, but would have been better live. I didn't get to see enough John Waters.

Oscar Night: Winners List

CD of the moment: I bought Alison Krauss and Union Station: Live on a whim and I love it (I also bought the DVDs of Pieces of April and Lost in Translation at the same time).