Tears, Tears and More Tears

This maybe be TMI but I found myself curious recently about why the body produces an increased amount of mucous, specifically snot, when one cries. The harder I cry, the more I find myself blowing my nose and eventually I end up exhausted and with a headache probably from that act alone. I actually googled (that is a word now, right?) "why crying produces more snot" and variations of that and did not find my answer quickly enough so I have yet to learn why. I did however learn that crying evolves as a communication tool for humans from infancy through adulthood and that there are different types of tears. The three types are defined below (abridged) in Wikipedia:

Basal tears: Lubricate the eye and keep it clear of dust and fight against bacterial infection in healthy mammalian eyes.

Reflex tears: Result from irritation to the eye by foreign particles, or substances such as onion vapors, tear gas or pepper spray. These tears attempt to wash out irritants that may have come into contact with the eye.

Crying or weeping (physic tears): Due to strong emotional stress, depression or physical pain. Not restricted to negative emotions; many people have been known to cry when extremely happy or when they are laughing. In humans, emotional tears can be accompanied by reddening of the face and sobbing — cough-like, convulsive breathing, sometimes involving spasms of the whole upper body. Tears brought about by emotions have a different chemical make up than those for lubrication. The tears contain hormones and 25% more proteins than the other types of tears.

I found the last tear tier to be the most interesting of all partly because it is what brought me to my research and because the content of the tears is so different from other tears. I'll need to continue looking up snot but at least I learned something both from my tears and about them.

BTW -- The title of this post is from an Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint song off of their album River in Reverse and is a great tune.

79th Annual Oscars

The Oscars have come and gone as of last night and there were some pretty big surprises. For the last couple of years I've been part of an Oscar pool and I never know which way to vote. This year, I went with what I thought would win for the most part, not what I would have wanted to win. In some cases, those views are in sync but often they are not. In a few cases, I would have gotten much closer to winning the pool had I gone with people I wanted to see win. The surprises were pleasant in those cases and disappointing in others. Here is a brief recap of my view (won't go into too many details this time):

Supporting Actor: It was expected that Eddie Murphy would win following the Golden Globes, or, Jackie Earle Hayley who had a standout/comeback performance in Little Children. Instead, veteran Alan Arkin won for his role as one of my favorite characters in a favorite movie of mine, Little Miss Sunshine. This was a great surprise that got me no points but left me all smiles.

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson was expected to win and did in a tough category. Hers was a great performance though she was the least experienced actress in the category (though not the youngest). Let's hope she doesn't peak here but goes on to do more outstanding work.

Best Actress: Went as expected to the brilliant and also mysteriously sexy-sixty something Helen Mirren for her portrayal of The Queen in The Queen. Any of the nominees could have taken and deserved the statuette in this category though. If you haven't seen the films the actresses represent, please do.

Best Actor: Again, not a big surprise here as Forest Whitaker graciously and gratefully accepted his award. The Last King of Scotland would not have been possible without Whitaker's masterful performance as General Amin of Uganda. It is such a performance that is a delight to see and so earns an Oscar, when another actor in the role is unimaginable. Of course, it would have been great to see Peter O'Toole win and I would have considered that a good surprise.

Best Animated Feature: Happy Feet was not, in my opinion, the best of the 3 nominees. It was similar to Babel, for me. There were too many messages and ridiculous/lengthy situations used to portray the messages. Granted, Happy Feet is animated and would of course seem ridiculous in some ways making it a much different film from Babel, my point should not be lost. Message or preachy films need to be done incredibly well to not offend viewers. This was an unpleasant surprise.

Director/Picture: The Departed. Yes! Congratulation to Mr. Scorsese and all involved.

Original Song: I thought one of the Dreamgirls numbers would win though like a third party candidate, I also wondered if having 3 songs in the same category would dilute the power of Dreamgirls a little giving way to another song. Melissa Etheridge took the Oscar home, which was a nice surprise but a surprise nonetheless. Her song is good and supports a great cause (uh, the environment) so good for her.

Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth, the Academy voted and no one has requested a re-count so Al Gore still has his Oscar as of this morning!

Ellen was fun as host displaying her charming brand of awkwardness and accessibility to the Oscars.

That's all I have to say about that.

Jury Duty

I warn you, this entry may disturb you. You see, the integrity of San Diego's jurisprudence was nearly compromised today...I was assigned jury duty. Fear not, I did not go, but postponed my service to a later date. Rest assured, a person who has recently found herself on leave, somewhat depressed, and indecisive about her future, has not entered into the employ of civic duty as a juror. I am sure today found in the jury, are only emotionally stable, rational people whether they be well-adjusted and well-tempered or possessing of undesirable ideas such as bigotry, racism, misogyny, homophobia, ageism, classism, narcissism, sexism, chauvinism or general dislike for anyone who serves as a defendant. You can feel confident that I am not amongst them.

Additionally, since there is a possiblity my insanity would be espoused by a jury of 11 additional people, and that the 11 other people on a jury would submit to my sadistic whims*** there is great fortune in my not attending. Juries are not composed of only one individual but it is possible a powerful individual such as myself could impact the outcome of a trial.

Why would you not want me as a juror? I am not sure you wouldn't but 2 people who know me quite well expressed surprise that I could go to jury duty while taking time away from my normal place of employment. Interestingly, I think that there is little other than the terse and tedious practice of voir dire to protect the accused from a rogue juror so it is a good thing my 2 friends stepped in. I had not thought of it but regardless, the views of 2 could be the view of many so San Diego's legal justice system is still safe now that I, an undesirable juror, has temporarily removed myself from the pool.

I will serve next time I'm called, pro bono. :)

***There is some sarcasm here and throughout because I was offended initially but now find funny the notion of my friends.

Rolling Stone's Top 100

Rolling Stone's "The Best 100 Songs of the Year" includes songs that have been over played, under played and never played by the radio stations I listen to or my personal CD player. One song that the list does include is: "If I Was in El Dorado" by
Oakley Hall. Rolling Stone's comment is, "Imagine the Band if they were twenty-first-century New York kids. A steady-rollin' rave-up that wanders off into the tall grass of a long, loose jam."

Working with piratepods.com, I had a chance to chat with Oakley Hall outside the Casbah several months ago and they were a great group of people. If you want to check out my interview, click here and be sure to give them a listen.

Signing out as my alter-ego,
Pirate RC

Britney Bald?!?!?!

Just kidding. Yeah, Britney Spears shaved her head and yeah, she entered rehab (again--she thought it was a nightclub the first time) but this is really about PAN's LABYRINTH (El Laberinto del Fauno), a film from Mexico that is up for six Oscars including Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay.

The director, Guillermo del Toro, will be familiar to American film-goers who may have seen Mimic, Hellboy or Blade 2.

The film was beautifully shot and is visually appealing beyond the unique story. As time since viewing the film has passed, I continue to recall parts of the film that were interesting or held greater meaning than I initially realized which makes the film even better.

There isn't much time until the Oscars and this is one that might make an impact on the Academy. I recommend seeing it this week if you can and if not, see it another time. There are subtitles but they are easy to read and follow. My recommendation to viewers is to let go and allow your imagination to come alive. I spent too much of the film thinking like a logical, unimaginative adult and did not enjoy it as I could have. I don't want to reveal the plot so that is all I will say.

Others to see before Sunday if you can: The Last King of Scotland, Letters from Iwo Jima, The Departed (now on DVD).

Ambivalent

I'm not indifferent about the incorrect use of ambivalence. Are you?

Often people will say they are ambivalent about something when in fact, they are indifferent. Having no opinion about something does not mean you are ambivalent. For example, if someone says, "Do you want Mexican or Chinese for dinner?" If you think to yourself, "I really don't care at all, I am just hungry," you are indifferent. If you say to yourself, "I really like Mexican and a taco would be good. I like Chinese too and could eat it if we go," you are ambivalent. You have an opinion one way and you have an opinion another way.

Why do I bring this up? A friend and I talked about this in a different context recently and I thought it would be fun for me to blog about as it isn't the first time its come up for me. Ambivalent and indifferent are not the only words misused so maybe I'll do this again. I'm not indifferent about proper grammar but I still have a ton to learn myself!

Robbie Rehab

Have you heard of Robbie Williams? Probably, in the late 90's. He had a few trans-Atlantic hits namely "Rock DJ", "Millenium" and "Angels". "Rock DJ" had the crazy video where he stripped off his clothes, then skin, then even his muscles. You can see it by clicking here. The video for "Millenium" featured a handsome Robbie in a tuxedo. "Angels" was a lovely ballad that showed Robbie's depth as a song-writerthat Jessica Simpson unimpressively remade. The level of popularity for any of these songs in the U.S. has been minimal which is partly why Americans bought into Simpson's version of Angels. In the UK, Robbie has become a mega-star after coming out of a boy band, Take That. Think Justin Timberlake's post-N'Sync success expanded over a 10 year period.

If you haven't heard him, he is one of my favorite artists and someone I highly recommend so download a few songs on LimeWire and then when you like what you hear, buy an album!

People.com reported today that Robbie has entered rehab for an addiction to prescription drugs. This follows a previous stint in rehab for alcohol addiction. Robbie's latest album, Rudebox, features a song called "Good Doctor" which I found entertaining yet disturbing at each listen. It begins:

I went to the doctor to get a prescription,
I told a little fact and lots of fiction,
about a bad back that I ain't got
write this to wish Robbie luck.
He tried to sell me on faith healing, but I think not.
I want Xanax, Vicodin and Oxycontin...

The song goes on mentioning the names of many drugs and alludes to drug abuse.

Robbie is not unique in facing prescription drug abuse adding to the list of countless celebs who have or will enter rehab for it not to mention less-public person who are also suffering. Should "good doctors" that are prescribing drugs illigitimately be held responsible at some point? Probably. Yes, the addict is responsible for his/her actions but someone is an enabler.

I went to the doctor because my eye was hurt and red a few weeks ago. My doctor tried to convince me that I had a migraine and offered me medication for that. I was able to get a referral to an Opthamologist instead and it turned out I had a cornea infection and needed eye drops, not pills. How easy it would have been to get some painkillers though.

I wish Robbie luck and hope he is back on stage soon. I missed his last tour since he only performs in Europe but as a long-time fan, I've already planned on going overseas to see him next time he is around.

Pop Goes My Heart!

Music and Lyrics is exactly what one expects it to be. It looks like a cute, fun romantic comedy and it is just that. Arriving in theaters on Valentine's Day, audiences will most likely consist of groups of Singletons (single women) and couples (women and men who are forced to be there) and though it is a chick-flick, guys will be able to appreciate it as well.

There were some really funny moments and Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore are great together. They are not smoldering together from the onset but there is a great amount of chemistry that makes their connection believable. Kristen Johnston previously of television's "3rd Rock from the Sun" co-stars as Barrymore's older sister and is hilarious. Brad Garrett is Grant's manager and though I was thoroughly annoyed with him on "Everybody Loves Raymond" (I don't love Raymond...that will not be discussed at this time), I really liked him in this role which was more low-key and much smarter.

Hugh Grant lent his vocals to most of the songs in the film and he and Barrymore sing one together as well. "Pop Goes My Heart" was stuck in my head for a little while after the movie and thanks to writing this is in my head again. It is the hit song by Grant's character Alex Fletcher's ficticious 80's band "Pop". The cheesy Wham!-ish music video for "Pop Goes My Heart" opens the film and for any VH1's Pop-up Video fans, there is also another video treat at the end!

Again, I recommend this one because I like romantic comedies that don't necessarily delve too deep but do make you feel good, and like you might find love even if you don't have it this Valentine's Day.

Best if served with buttered popcorn.

Please Write Back...

Letters From Iwo Jima is Clint Eastwood's Japanese-language answer to another World War II film he did earlier this year, "Flags of Our Fathers". It is also far and above a better film and more interesting story. Don't let the sub-titles or possibly the previous viewing of Flags deter you from seeing Iwo Jima.

Ken Watanabe stars as real-life General Kuribayashi and leads a wonderful cast of Japanese actors portraying his soldiers and officers as they prepare for and then experience the US invasion of the island they were protecting. We get a look at the strategy the Japanese employed against the US and through unique story-telling, a perspective on what fighters from each level of Japan's military heirarchy dealt with the situation through their letters home.

This is another must-see whether it be in the theater or at home. It was shot in very, very washed out color, not quite black and white as from time-to-time shades of red could be seen. I could be wrong and there is probably a professional term for it but that is my best description. :)

Dreamgirl(s)

Jennifer Hudson, previously most famous for her shocking and premature elimination from American Idol a few seasons ago, truly does shine in Dreamgirls. There was much criticism when Oscar nominations were announced when the film was not nominated for Best Picture but I have to agree that though Hudson and cast were strong, and possibly will receive Oscar's as individuals, the film as a whole was not worthy of the Best Picture nod.

It was no surprise that Hudson could belt out the songs as member of "Dreamgirls" and on her own, but the emotional range she projected in the song "You're Gonna Love Me" and throughout the movie was that of a woman born to do just this role. There is talk that another movie role has already been taken by Hudson which will surely be a treat for fans.

Eddie Murphy deserves special mention as his performance earned him a well-deserved Golden Globe and may finally earn him an Oscar as well. He is no stranger to awards recognition but Oscar is king, right? It was great to watch Murphy act in a darker role as most of his recent work has been light and comedic or even animated.

Beyonce, though the biggest real-life star among the "Dreamgirls", gracefully and modestly has let Hudson have the spotlight in the press surrounding the film. Her performance was strong and she shows great potential as an actress. In the right role, she too may end up with some formal recognition for her acting in the future.

As a musical with big numbers, this is a worthwhile film for viewing in the theater but if you don't have a chance, definitely rent it.

I'm Your Venus...

Venus is the film that may grant Peter O'Toole the Oscar that he has earned by now. It is his 8th nomination and there is much buzz surrounding the nomination and his performance in the comedy about two aging actors whose lives are interrupted when one's great-niece comes to live with him in London. O'Toole's character, Maurice, is enamoured with the young girl, sexually and somewhat emotionally, driving the story. There is an "odd couple" quality to the two old men that makes for some very entertaining moments.

For anyone who is aging (and all of us are) and anyone who will die one day (again, we all will), this film is one to be enjoyed.

On another Oscar note, this may be the year for those who should have gotten an Oscar by now--"body of work" awards so to speak. With Scorcese picking up a Golden Globe this year, it is possible the Academy will honor him too, in this case for The Departed. The Departed was re-released in theaters and the DVD is available soon (February 13th) so there is still time to catch it before the big show on February 29th! It is a treat with excellent performances by Nicholson, DiCaprio, Damon, Baldwin, Wahlberg and more.