Nominees

I'm rather pleased. My three favorite movies of last year have all been nominated for Oscars. In somewhat indeterminate order (they are all very different movies, so it's hard to rank them), the nominees are:

The Bourne Ultimatum

• Achievement in Film Editing
• Achievement in Sound Editing
• Achievement in Sound Mixing

August Rush

• Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)

Ratatouille

• Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
• Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
• Achievement in Sound Editing
• Achievement in Sound Mixing
• Original Screenplay

I highly recommend all of these movies. August Rush isn't out on DVD yet, but give it a couple months.

Mystery

Great talk from J.J. Abrams (creator/writer/producer/director of Lost, writer/director of Mission Impossible III and producer/director of the upcoming Star Trek movie) about the value of mystery in storytelling, among other things. It's about 18 minutes long.

Convenience, Alas, Is Dead.

I drove past my usual movie theater at about 10:00 tonight, and it was dark. No lights, no cars. It is closed. This is the theater that in three years (sadly and ironically, to the exact day) I have never known to be sold out, even on opening night — which is probably why it is closed. Now the closest theater is the one that has been sold out three of the only four times I have tried to see a movie there (mainly because it seats less than half as many people at a time), which means that on occasion I may be forced to drive as far as the Valley View Mall. This is a travesty whose magnitude varies in direct proportion to your particular degree of inertia (not an insignificant consideration in my case).

Apparently it was sold, and will be replaced with a shopping center/apartment complex. I had been noticing a distinct, nay, even severe shortage of shopping centers and apartment complexes here in Dallas, so to hear that we are getting not one but both of these rarest of facilities is doubly thrilling.

Unexpected Ways

Scattered showers, turning into light drizzle later in the morning. Possibility of lightning early on. Use caution when boating.

I prayed last night that God would give me an opportunity to talk to my upstairs neighbor. I think I should have been a little more specific, or at the very least I should have watched the weather forecast. I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. Proceeding out of my bedroom to investigate, I found that it was indeed raining — streams of water were pouring out of the ceiling fan directly onto my office chair. It was also raining in the kitchen.

My first thought, like any sensible person, was, "It shouldn't be doing that." My second thought — again, like any sensible person — was, "Move the computer to high ground." With the computer safely relocated to the living room, I shut off the electricity in my apartment (I'm pretty sure there's a warning label on my ceiling fan that states, "Do not use in shower."), called the emergency maintenance line — "fire or flood" as they say — and was told it would be an hour wait. I proceeded upstairs to investigate (broken pipe), and my neighbor and I had a good hour and a half conversation.

All in all, a pretty good morning.