The title of this post is not meant to be derogatory in any way; you'll never find this vile phrase mentioned here. I chose it to reflect a true sense of fascination on my part, and as a colorful means of sharing two events that left me grinning this weekend from ear to ear.

Fascinating Event # 1 - A picture on my Flickr account that was taken last summer in Provincetown - Kiss N Tell - was added as a favorite by a Flickr user - a stay-at-home mom - whose hobbies appear to include reading and knitting.

Fascinating Event # 2 - Fool For Love: New Gay Fiction was reviewed on the engaging book blog Impressions of a Reader, a blog written by a passionate female book lover.

As a gay man I find this endlessly fascinating, as a fiction writer even more so.

The Blind Side for Best Picture? Seriously? Not many saw that coming. I guess I'm going to have to see it now.

I will say this about the Best Actress race. I like Sandra Bullock a lot; she was great in last summer's The Proposal. And though I haven't seen it yet I'm sure she's very appealing in The Blind Side. But she would have to give a phenomenal performance to come anywhere near the authenticity of Meryl Streep's Julia Child in Julie & Julia, or the emotional truth of Gabouray Sidibe's Precious. If Sandra Bullock wins an Oscar this year simply because she's Sandra Bullock, I fear she will take Helen Hunt's place as the Worst Best Actress winner of all time.

See the full list of the 2010 Academy Award nominees here, and while you're at it, check out The Oscars through the Years.

Last month when I wrote a post about the books I would be reading first in 2010, marikanola asked me to tell her when I planned to read RAGTIME, as she had a copy of the novel but had never read it, and thought it might be fun for us to read it together and "compare notes" afterward. beckycochrane liked Marika's idea - she had never read Ragtime either - and thus, THE LJ BOOK CLUB was born!

We gave each other about a month to read the book, and Becky, Marika and I have now all finished reading Ragtime, which was written by E. L. Doctorow and first published in 1975. We all enjoyed reading Doctorow's novel very much, and rather than limit our thoughts of the book to just the three of us via email, we thought it might be fun to open up our discussion here, in a public setting, in case anyone else has read Ragtime and would like to join in. Or, even better, if someone stumbles across our discussion and decides to pick up this gem of a novel for themselves.

So! I'm not exactly sure how this will go - or what it might evolve into - but for now I thought it might be best to kick off the discussion with a one of the questions from the RAGTIME reader's guide. BUT PLEASE NOTE: Though this first question may sound formal, the discussion is not! Please feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments however you like!

"In Ragtime, Doctorow chooses to incorporate historical figures in a fictional context. Some of the historical figures who make appearances in the novel include:

Harry Houdini
Evelyn Nesbit
Emma Goldman
J. P. Morgan
Henry Ford
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Booker T. Washington

Why might Doctorow have chosen to include these people? Does his portrayal of them match historical accounts? Does Doctorow succeed in making these real life people appear as "real" as his fictional characters (or vice versa)?"


As Linda Richman would say, "Discuss!"

1. The Hurt Locker



( Complete List Here )

The Hollywood Foreign Press likes to make big stars happy. Often the winners of the Golden Globe Awards are the most popular in their catagory, not necessarily the most deserving. This makes prdicting the Globes the most challenging of all the award shows. But it's also the most fun - especially as the evening plays out - because, when it comes to the Globes, anything can happen!

X denotes predicted winner.

X denotes actual winner.

Best Motion Picture -- Drama
Avatar X X
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

( MORE PREDICTIONS HERE )

Today I went to a taping of MARTHA. I've only seen Martha Stewart's new show a handful of times; I was a bigger fan of her "Before Prison" show. But I jumped at the chance to see former inmate # 55170-054. in person when my coworker Lorraine told me she had an extra ticket asked me if I wanted to join her.

There were no celebrities on today's show, unfortunately; the most exciting guest was Martha's exotic plant expert. And the gift bag we received after the show was pretty lame (ie: NO CAR!) But Martha allows her audience to take as many pictures as they want before and after the show. As you'll see, that's a very good thing.

Whatcha Watchin? Crowd watching skaters at Wollman Rink.

As I was purging books back in November I came across a pile of stuff I had yet to read. I'm not commiting to anything as rigid as a New Year's Resolution, but these are the books I'm determined to read first in 2010.



Left column (top to bottom)

The Devil in the White City: Muder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo

The Extra Man by Jonathan Ames

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

Maurice by E.M. Forster

Right column (top to bottom)

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts

Three Junes by Julia Glass

Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

Long time readers of this blog might remember how I praised THE ROAD back in 2007, after I finished reading Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. When I first heard about the planned film version of McCarthy's book I feared the worst; so many great stories are lost in translation from the page to the screen. But I relaxed somewhat when I read that Viggo Mortensen had been cast in the lead role. With Viggo in the movie I was pretty sure it wouldn't totally suck. And I'm happy to report that it doesn't.

While The Road may not be a great movie, it's a solid attempt at filming what some have called an unfilmable novel. In my opinion Mortensen gives his best performance to date as a man who will stop at nothing to save his son, and newcomer Kodi Smit-McPhee is fantastic as the innocent boy born into a devastated world. Onscreen together for most of the film, the pair are both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and watching them I found myself tearing up no less than three times.

I caught Viggo Mortensen on David Letterman's show when he was on to promote the film. He said in order to prepare for their roles he and Smit-McPhee slept outside and ate bugs. It's this level of dedication I think that is missing in the supporting cast (with the exception of Robert Duvall, who is excellent in a small but pivotal role). When it's just Viggo and the boy on screen the film is riveting to watch, but whenever the extra actors appear it's as if they're acting in a remaking of Dawn of the Dead. They just don't bring the same level of commitment to their parts as the two leads do, and unfortunately it shows.

Then again, I'm not sure it's fair to fault the extras at all. What they're portraying - human cannibals, hunting other humans - is something so horrific, I suspect it would be difficult for even the greatest of actors to imagine the mindset of such an inhuman existence.

Just as the father must carry most of the burden in The Road, the weight of this film falls squarely on the shoulders of its star. Unfortunately for Viggo Mortensen he probably won't receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts, but he should.

Potential Academy Award nominations: Best Actor