Oscars, Babies & A New Tradition...

Dear Locals:

One of the more irritating things about "Hollywood" is when self-important actors, actresses and assorted entertainers take themselves too seriously (read: an actor taking himself even a little bit seriously is usually too seriously), and as such the Academy Awards are often full of irritatingly self-important moments. That said, it's also generally very very compelling television, especially for those of us who love movies. Although I regularly attend an Oscar "party," I generally find myself annoyed at all the banter that goes on: the jokes, the fashion commentary, the loud breathing...I am a loser who likes to watch and listen to the entire telecast. This year's show was most compelling to me in large part because the Academy actually rewarded, in most cases, what I believe to be the finest films released in 2007.

Rare is the year that I find myself in complete agreement on four of the five nominated films for Best Picture (the only one they severely whiffed on was Atonement), and even rarer still, I have no problem with the winner being No Country for Old Men, which was neck and neck for me with There Will Be Blood, both of which were just ahead of Michael Clayton.

The show itself was a bit dull, with the occasional surprise; Jon Stewart provided a few nice moments though generally played it safe. He showed good sense and class when he allowed Marketa Irglova from Once to return to the stage to deliver her speech after she had earlier been cut off. I'm a sucker for Jack Nicholson doing just about anything. Harrison Ford looked like he had been enjoying the fruits of Humboldt County a bit before he came on stage. The Coen brothers demonstrated their unflappability: I believe that they would remain calm and placid even if the room they are in suddenly catches fire. They completely avoided sentimentality, or any emotion for that matter, when they were handed the Best Director Oscar from Martin Scorsese.

In the end, it was a good night for Hollywood after a long 3 months of bad nights, but I fear the ratings that come out tomorrow may demonstrate otherwise.

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In other news, Humboldt County producer Captain Deadpan and his lovely wife Julie Deadpan welcomed their first child Saturday night, a healthy baby girl, Sloane Erika Weiss. No photographs are available as of yet, but here is a baby picture of CD, at just a few months old...

Finally, today I'm announcing and launching a new tradition. I believe that people respond to routine, and order. We like that which we can count on. So my aim is to give you, our loyal Lost Coast Locals, something to believe in, and something to count on. Every Monday.

Football has Monday Morning Quarterbacking, the Mamas and the Papas sang about Monday Monday, and we are going to have Darren or Danny's "Monday" Day Celebratory Blog (DODMDCB). This is the first of a regular weekly post every Monday with updates on Humboldt County but also general stuff that I think might be of interest to you. There will continue to be frequent other posts throughout the week, but know that you can begin your work week every week by taking a gander at DODMDCB. I welcome any suggestions for future DODMDCB topics, and I will try to answer questions you might have.

As for this first one, I thank you for the initial feedback regarding the Drugs in Film panel. I'll leave you with some additional fun facts I'll be bringing to the panel that you might like to chew on this morning....

- 25 million Americans smoked pot at least once in 2006 [Time Magazine]

- Marijuana is top cash crop in the U.S. ($3.5B annually, equal to than annual production of corn, wheat, and cotton combined) [Reuters]

- Marijuana production has increased an average of 9.6% annually for the past 25 years [Time Magazine]

- 12 states have legalized medical use of marijuana for medical purposes

Fondly,

--DODMDCB