Enough of this cold weather and rain - PLEASE

If it never rains again between now and June 30th, our rainfall figures are way above normal so the lack of rain would be no problem for a number of months. As for the temperatures in the forties and fifties, we have had enough of those, or am I just getting older and finding it more difficult to deal with. It may seem strange in a way as I am originally from colder climates (Boston and Reno) but then was much younger when I lived in those locations and when I did so, I had never been to Southeast Asian and knew nothing about warmer climates. I only have been back from my most recent journey to Thailand for six weeks but find myself desiring to return post haste if this keeps up.

This was a discouraging week with the Oscars. I had only seen Brokeback Mountain and while I personally did not enjoy it that much, I had to admit that it was a good movie in all respects but for Crash to win the Oscar for best movie is an insult. I rented the DVD this week and found it to be a pile of rubbish to put if mildly. Every tired cliche or stereotype of racists and racist events was too much. If I had been an actor in such a movie, I would have been greatly embarrassed by the whole affair. I did not see the other movies nominated for best picture but I am sure that Capote and the others had to be better than Crash.

In relation to the Academy Awards, there was an excellent letter to one of the local newspapers about its members and how they do some things. It read as follows:

"Having been in the entertainment industry and witnessing a friend of mine fill out his Oscar ballot, I can attest to the fact that the process is hardly scientific or evenhanded. He hadn't seen most of the nominated films and had no intention of doing so. As he went from page to page, marking his choices, he made comments such as "Heard this one is pretty good," "I'd never vote for this one," "Why they nominated this I'll never understand," "Hate everything this guy does" and so forth. The academy has about 5,000 members, and I'll bet something like 25 percent -- if that -- actually complete their ballot and send it in.

The process is completely arbitrary and has nothing to do with the worth of the material being judged. People in the industry understand this and take the whole affair with a grain of salt. They realize it's about business and that's the bottom line. Anyone who actually takes his Oscar seriously is desperately in need of counseling.

The Academy Awards are about show and that's why it's called show business. And let's not forget that anyone who has won an Oscar has voted himself, so he knows exactly what the process entails."

Well, next year I will boycott the Academy Awards. As for MC's I have not enjoyed any since the days of Bob Hope and Johnny Carson. The Golden Globe Awards are probably more meaningful now and will look to see what they do next year.