ad astra!

“Falling Slowly” won the Oscar tonight for Best Song! Jon Stewart even brought Markéta Irglová back on stage to do her thank-you speech after the wrap-it-up orchestra cut her off. I think the award itself was to speak for the entire film, which wasn’t eligible or nominated for other categories—including Best Picture. So great!

And speaking of the orchestra, I understand the whole point is to get all this in under 4 hours, but sometimes it’s terribly disappointing when people get whisked off the stage in the middle of things.

Also, it’s always great to see Marty Scorsese looking well. Now I’ve got some movies to watch!

Here’s a loot at how a total eclipse works:

As you can see, the moon is trapped between the sun and the shadow of Bonnie Tyler.

Have you ever had the great big hand of the universe come down and give you the finger?

Every now and then a film comes along to remind us what the movies are for.

Once is such a film. It’s an incredibly simple story: Glen Hansard plays a Dublin busker (known only as “Guy”) who meets Markéta Irglová, a Czech immigrant (“Girl”) who likes his songs. She provides the impetus for him to finally record some of his songs (along with her and a backup band of other buskers) and go to London to be with his girlfriend, who most of his songs are about. That’s it really, and the story takes all of 88 minutes to tell, but the brilliance is in the execution. The leads wrote all of the songs themselves as they’re musicians firstly and had never acted before—which is why the film’s undertaking is so wildly successful.

It is of course a movie about music. Don’t be fooled, however as it’s billed as a musical, but it’s really not—it’s a movie about musicians and since musicians make music that’s what you get. The music is what shines through in the movie; the plot is really touching and delightful but the songs are absolutely amazing and it’s when they make music that the chemistry between the leads come out. This movie is just so brilliant and amazingly good, the music is absolutely terrific—Hansard strums and sings with such emotion he manages to deliver some of the most authentic music I’ve ever heard.

Not many movies (or songs) make your heart swell like this one does, and it does it without ever being sappy or sentimental or even unbelievable. A lot of the songs are sad, but done in such a way as to trick you into joyful toe-tapping. Not many songs can do that, but this film is packed with them.

If you love music and movies see this film, get the soundtrack: it’s absolutely amazing.

I had to put these here because it’s pretty cool.

Suture

Originally uploaded by Paul Pellerito.

Took the big dressing off today and found this underneath.

Looks a lot worse than it feels; but it’s still awfully sore.

3 stitches, 3 cheers for the Giants. Oh and remember that for every one XLII Championship Giants hat you see there’s a corresponding Patriots one in a dumpster in the Arizona desert.

This was my favorite of all the commercials.

“She along with the crew had her life snuffed out in her prime. Just as her crew has, Columbia has left us quite a legacy….hail Columbia.”
—Captain Robert Crippen (Pilot, STS-1)

previously

Hands Open

Originally uploaded by Paul Pellerito.

Surgery was okay yesterday. I had an IV in each hand, both of which the nursing student couldn’t get in, so she had her teacher do it; it was kinda freaking having needles put into me, but I did alright. I woke up 1/2 through the surgery & asked “are we there yet?” and got some more anesthesia, my whole arm was numb so nothing hurt… then woke up again and it was all over. It hurt terribly yesterday & I had to talk the doctor out of tylenol 3 (I finally got some norco) & today it’s just kinda sore. Which is great.