Marcus Picks the Oscars - Part I

That time is rapidly approaching once again- The Academy Awards. I, like all of you, have thoughts on what will and what should go down. I (also like most of you) also happen to blog which subjects you to my thoughts on the matter. It isn't going to be pretty-

BEST PICTURE

What Will Win: The Social Network. Don't give in to the hype about The King Speech's resurgence. The Academy is shying away from the traditional in an effort to prove they're as hip as you. It will go to The Social Network, especially since nothing negative has come out of the Social Network's reign.

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What Should Win: Black Swan. What other movie made you feel the things that movie made you feel? It was entertaining AND it was an emotional experience. Which is exactly what a movie should be. It was cathartic. It was chaotic. It was beautiful. It has incredible performances, supporting actresses (yes, that's a dig at the Social Network), an amazing score and cinematography, and costumes to die for (Halloween is already being planned). Above all, it captivated me. It moved me and I am dying to watch it again- unlike any of the other Best Picture Nominees (Kids Are All Right excluded- more on that later). The Best Picture award is collected by the producer, making it the "Best Produced Movie" award. The pieces all came together on this movie like on no other.

BEST DIRECTOR

Who Will Win: David Fincher. Riding the success of his movie, Fincher will walk away with the gold. He delivered a tense, captivating movie about computers. He did not, however, deliver any performances that will walk away with a prize. I think the Academy also feels like they owe him (for Benjamin Button, although god knows why. I feel like Fincher owes ME for that movie).

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Who Should Win: Darren Aronofsky. Black Swan was his vision executed to perfection. I will be the first to admit that the script to Black Swan is not very good. (But what? Didn't I just say it should win Best Picture? Yes. Yes I did. It's my blog. Let me be.) Aronofsky mines gold out of it. Without him, this movie would be nothing. His directorial efforts stretched beyond camera angle and performance. He put faith in his actors, which helped pull out the performances he got. From the visuals to the score, everything was so fittingly "Aronofsky"that this movie couldn't be anything other than a directorial masterpiece. I mean shit... look at how he made you FEEL.

BEST ACTOR

Who Will and Should Win: Colin Firth. Way to go Firth. You made me feel for someone who sounds like a bumbling idiot. The frustration was all too real (and this was that you controlled the stutter!) To have such a mastery over your own voice to do that is enough to take the prize, but why would Firth stop there? His relationships with Rush and Carter are passionate and understandable. He stepped into Bertie and never looked back. Plus he's "owed" for A Single Man.

BEST ACTRESS

Who Will Win: Natalie Portman. Before I go on- this is THE best category this year. Now back to Portman- she did an amazing job and I will be completely happy when she takes the stage of the Kodak. She became a ballerina and her control of her emotions (both while dancing and while speaking) is incredible. She may never top this performance. It wasn't until she took on the black swan that I realize dhow phenomenally she acted the white swan. Amazing.

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Who Should Win: Michelle Williams. What? You expected me to say Annette Bening? Hell, I expected me to say Bening - but at the end of the day we need to be honest and she was not the best actress this year. She was good, but not great. And as much as I love her and that movie, she's going to have to wait because Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine DESTROYED me. Two words for you - SPOILER: Abortion (1). Scene (2). She was hardly acting; she was being.

Areas I Love: Runyon Canyon

Finally, another installment of "Areas I Love." Here's parts I and II for reference.

While this blog sub-genre is usually reserved for streets or small parts of LA, today I'm using it to declare my love for a certain Runyon Canyon.

Tucked up in the Hollywood Hills at the top of Fuller Street, Runyon Canyon is one of those not-so-secret Hollywood Secrets. Locals know about it, but its never a place a tourist would find, even though it's a hop, skip, jump away from Hollywood and Highland.

While parking can be dicey (just give it up and park a ways away. You're going to hike... you don't need the closest parking spot...), its absolutely worth it.

There's a little stand where you can grab water and a banana. Its an honor system "leave money" situation. Don't make them take it away by grabbing a water and running. Don't be that douche.

And then you're inside. Weekend mornings, grab some friends (see below) and head in.

There's an easy way up (read: sloped) and a more difficult (read: steps) way to the top, but no matter how hard you climb, the view from the top is phenomenal (assuming its not a super smoggy day). The hike takes around an hour and is a great little work out.

Look at this! It amazes me that amidst the city is this beautiful pocket of nature. Its easy to disappear away from the city for a while- that is, until you get to the top and catch a view of it all.

But lets not kid ourselves. There is a reason I love Runyon Canyon above all others: PUPPIES!

See that picture? That is Runyon on a good day. There are puppies EVERYWHERE. Its easy for me to get to the top of the hike because I just run from puppy to puppy. They're off their leashes and SO DAMN CUTE. With their tongues dangling out of their mouths, they get just as tuckered as their human counterparts and pass out on top of the hill.

TANGENT: One time I was hiking and stopped to tie my shoe. Out of nowhere a golden retriever leaps on my back and begins to lick my face. Her owner, mortified, apologized profusely to which I responded: Why would you apologize for that? It just made my day.

And you know what? It did.

Because how do you NOT try the garlic ice cream?

If there is one thing I can say about my group of friends it is this: we eat DAMN well. We've taken to trying new restaurants and this Sunday was no exception. Ladies and gentlemen, The Stinking Rose!

Our reason for going was twofold.

1) We needed to celebrate Denny's promotion. Blog Shout Out: Congrats Denny!

2) We needed to try this restaurant.

The Stinking Rose is a restaurant dedicated to garlic. I love garlic, so naturally this is a match made in heaven. We had no idea if we'd need reservations and so Mikey called and we got their voicemail which sounded like it was narrated by this guy:

I'm already in love with it (and we didn't need reservations). So Denny, Mikey, Amy, Jackie, Caroline, Daniel and I climb around a table and stare at the menu.

Garlic Wine.

40 Glove of Garlic Chicken.

Surf and Turf (All garlic enhanced, of course).

Garlic Encrusted Baby Back Ribs.

Garlic Rolls.

Garlic Ice Cream.

Holy friggin' crap. This is awesome. Our poor waitress, not only was her name Agnes, but she told us about how she cannot get the smell of garlic out of her hair. Now, I love garlic as much as the next guy, but its not exactly a scent you want for yourself. The price you pay to work with delicious food, I suppose.

We pussed out when it came to the garlic wine, so we made sure we hit up the garlic ice cream. Do NOT- I repeat, DO NOT- get it. The consensus was WHAT THE FUCK ARE WE EATING?!

The surf and turf was delicious (and it was amusing watching Denny and Amy trying to get the crab out of the shell).

And the decor is lots of fun (just not as fun as the garlic hat they make the poor host wear). Will I be back? Sure. It's an event place though- not so much a place you could just.... go.

We all went home and brushed our teeth and took showers. It was coming out of my pores, I swear it.

Definitely hit the place up if you have a taste for garlic (and lets be honest, who doesn't?) and a fun group to smell really bad with.

IT'S GOT LAVENDER IN IT aka My Triumphant Return to Blogging

I am aware that it has been a good many months since I've last set pen to paper, or rather, finger to keyboard. It isn't so much a matter of not having anything to say, as it is not having the energy to say it. That all changed when I was re-energized by a little cocktail at The Library Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel.

IT'S GOT LAVENDER IN IT!

The Kentucky Bubble Bath - but alas, I'm getting ahead of myself- so let us go back...

Sass and I are obsessed with this bar. Where other bars have a counter top, the Library Bar has a mother fuckin' garden.

Here's one of the bartenders. With his garden. Notice all the fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables? Well they get mixed into drinks. That's right... getting a drink with orange juice? Hold please while he MUDDLES THIS FRESH ORANGE.

This being said - you can't just get a screwdriver. No regular drinks allowed. Here its about flavor. Looking for something savory? sweet? sour? that doesn't start with an "s"?

I came looking for kiwi. I walked in and there was a row of them on the counter/garden and I was like "whoa, hold up. What are you making right now with kiwi?"

Turns out it was a Bourbon/Sage/Kiwi cocktail that had my head a-spinnin'. I don't even drink bourbon and I was in heaven. Not to be outdone by my 3+ ingredient cocktail, Sass orders the Library Bar version of a Bloody Mary. The one that has 17+ ingredients (including hand picked, ripe vine tomatoes squished in the bottom. Squished with love. And care. And vodka).

I'm on a high from this bourbon drink and I want to know what else he can do with this smooth as silk Bulleit Bourbon. Well, he asks - Do you like lavender? I saw yes before I even think what this entails... I mean... I like the smell of lavender. Its a pretty color and the lavender ice cream I had once at Mashti Malone's wasn't bad but....

And by the time my brain got to that point this beauty was sitting in front of me. Its a Kentucky Bubble Bath. Bourbon and Lavender and Cynar all shook up to the point of frothy deliciousness. Sass and I didn't even know what hit us, because mind you, this is lavender from the flower. As in... I'm going to take this flower and put it in your drink. Wrap your mind around THAT.

So delicious. Must go back... I mean... IT'S GOT LAVENDER IN IT.

The 8 Types of People You Meet on the Bus

As you may know from previous posts - I've started to take the bus. It really is very simple and the mental break it allows me is well worth the buck fifty each way. Its an hour and 45 minutes a day where I'm not behind the wheel of a car and instead can be reading a script (or so my boss has discovered). I have, however, noticed a very distinct clustering of bus riders... there are 8.

1) Bestseller Reader



The bestseller reader doesn't want to just sit on the bus while it drives. NO! they're the type to seize their new found free time and get some of those books on their nightstand read. The bestseller reader, however, doesn't really have an opinion on literature, nor does she have anything that she needs to read, so she settles for a bestseller. You see, when people see the bestseller, they know its regarded as a good book, and in hopes the best seller reader will appear cultured and intellectual. Mam, please put "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" down and pick up something that actually interests you... like that People magazine slightly sticking out of your purse.

2) Phone Talker



Of being this person, I am guilty as charged. The phone talker has zero to no consideration for those around him and will talk on the phone while riding the bus. Bus riders sit in close quarters, but this doesn't stop the phone talker from discussing intimate conversations within earshot of 35 of his fellow commuters. This is his time and he'll use it as he pleases, damn it! Buses are loud places, which both bothers the phone talker and works to his advantage. You see, the phone talker hates nothing more than when the bus gets quiet and he realizes everyone is listening to his every word...

3) Angry Commuter


Rosa Parks... the angriest of commuters.

The angry commuter is not happy about having to take the bus and while often gripe and groan when things don't seem to be going her way. The angry commuter often yells out at the bus driver when things are taking too long, as if the bus driver can magically control traffic. She rarely smiles, and often stands up to see what's going on. Commonly heard on but 704 "Hello!? Some people have to get to work here!" The angry commuter is in direct conflict with-

4) The Flirt



The flirt stands directly behind the bus driver (behind the yellow line, of course) and talks to him as he drives. She is always chatty, flirty and overly sexual. She will talk with the driver about any old thing that comes to her mind. Honestly, she is lonely and this is one man who literally cannot go anywhere. On the rare occasion that en engages in conversation, he is liable to get distracted and forget that he is stopped at a light, even as it turns green and then yellow and then red again.

5) The Homeless Babbler



The psychotic babbler is just as much a nuisance as the phone talker. He is of the handful of... putting this politely... fuckin' nuts homeless people... that climb onto the bus, throw their pennies at the bus driver and take a seat or twelve. They are natural conversationalists, and I'm sure whoever it is they are talking to in their heads is enjoying the conversation. They are loud. Potentially even louder than the phone talker and definitely more distracting than the flirt. They usually have nothing to say, but say it anyways. Whenever possible, sitting next to this bus rider should be avoided.

6) The Nap on Wheels



What's that? You've got twenty whole minutes before your stop? Sounds like the perfect time for a cat nap! The nap on wheels is no slave to comfort and will make do with wherever his head will fall. Be it against a window, pole, or the bestseller readers shoulder, the nap on wheels is instantly snoozing. He miraculously wakes up in time to get off his stop and gets up as if nothing happens. The nap on wheels is someone I'm entirely jealous of because I would just sleep all the way to Santa Monica and back. That is, of course, unless I'm stuck next to the psychotic babbler.

7) The Green One



Hey! Another category I fit into. The green one is someone on the bus because it's better for the environment. They are not shy about their love of the Earth, or about proclaiming "how green" they are. Letting everyone know what you're doing, makes you a better person (right?). The green one can be seen carrying their Whole Foods canvas bags and sporting shirts with clever earth friendly messages on them. The green one is often hip, young, independent and financially capable of driving a car. Most green ones, do not remain bus riders, as they get frustrated with its limitations. They instead justify it to themselves that driving their hummer hurts, while bad for the environment, allows them to get to that yoga class on time after all.

8) Sandra Bullock



Avoid getting on the bus with her at all costs. Sandra Bullock will undoubtedly get into some sort of trouble with a terrorist and be forced to drive your bus over a bridge that does not exist. If you are stuck on a bus with this Academy Award winner, try and remain calm and do as Keanu says. Sandra Bullock will complain of gum on her seat and is only taking the bus because she got her license taken away for speeding. Sandra Bullock does not frequent buses anymore, but on the off chance she is on your bus, take a picture for me. I have yet to be in the presence of this rare sighting, Sandra Bullock.