The Core Junction

This post marks my third consecutive year attempting to predict winners of the Oscars. The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be exciting as usual and, with the expansion of the Best Picture category to ten films, every movie has a shot at a golden statue. This year, the two favorite films come from two completely different genres. James Cameron’s Avatar, the most expensive film ever produced (not to mention a favorite by vice president Joe Biden), has gorgeous green-screened and CGI effects, and a fun and engaging story for all ages to enjoy. The Hurt Locker, directed by Cameron’s ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow for about 1/21 of the price of Avatar, has the edge of being an enthralling and tense war film with a perilous, realistic feel to it.

Two years ago I successfully chose 10/14 (71%) of the categories, though I did not predict the full board. Last year I chose 16/24 (67%) of the categories correctly, successfully choosing most of the bigger categories successfully and slipping with the most obscure awards. This year I have once again placed my bets on all 24 categories, and feel confident of improving on my predictions from 2009. Complete picks after the break:

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Not too long ago, Patrick Kane and company were suiting up in the USA locker room, ready to face three of his teammates, including his NHL captain Jonathan Toews, and two of the most dynamic defenders in the sport of hockey, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Needless to say, team Canada was thought by most to be the overwhelming favorite, considering the three Blackhawks mentioned above are not even the club’s premier players. In fact, Team Canada is lead by a much scarier exterior of “Syd the Kid Crosby”, Dany Heatly, and two seemingly unbeatable goaltenders in Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo. However, it was the Americans that stood victorious, with Brian Rafalski and his two goals leading the way.

As I watched the contest between USA and Canada come to a close, and feeling an immense amount of patriotism towards my red, white, and blue. I never thought I would hear the nation, often considered to be America’s little brother chant, “We want USA! We want USA!” Nevertheless, that was the cry of Team Canada fans as the team narrowly escaped the grasp of Marrian Hossa’s team Slovakia. As if to steal the words right from Charles Dikens’ Oliver Twist’s mouth, “please sir, I want some more!”

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[As published in the Columbia Daily Spectator on Tuesday, February 2, 2010].

Of the many factors that bring sports fans to the arena, the opposing team is certainly a major motivation.

If your team is good, watching an intense matchup against a top contender is highly enticing. And if your team is bad, heading to the stadium to watch a strong opponent might be your only chance to see the game played correctly for the entire season.

Such was certainly the case two weekends ago when students took the advice of my colleague, Bart Lopez, and “packed the house” for the men’s basketball game against Cornell (which was just ranked No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll). While Columbia’s chances of winning were slim, many students wanted to get a glimpse at the best Ivy League team in over a decade, the team that almost knocked off No. 1 Kansas over winter break.

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[As published in the Columbia Daily Spectator on Thursday, January 21, 2010]

I’m getting really tired with “kicking” in professional football. Does anybody else feel this way?

Football is supposed to be about quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and tough defenses—not kickers and special teams. Yet, as was evident last weekend, kicking and everything that goes along with it is increasingly taking over the game.

Let’s examine the most common uses of kicking from best to worst:

THE PUGNACIOUS PUNT
In all honesty, I don’t have too many problems with the punt. It’s relatively fast, doesn’t require any commercials and it serves as a decent way to turn the ball over to the other team. Punters are also pretty skilled when you think about it, and this is especially evident when they try to place the ball within a few yards of the end zone.

But where punting bores me is on the return. The majority of the time, the punt returner “fair catches” the ball, meaning he chooses not to return it. When the receiver does return the punt, he is usually tackled immediately, given the limited range of the punter’s leg compared to the kickoff, where the ball is situated on a tee. Even worse are the monotonous occasions where the returner simply lets the ball bounce.

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I’ve found that trying to create a list of the greatest Beatles songs of all time is an impossible task for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there are simply way too many amazing songs to try to put the best in order. I could pick 10 or 20 of my favorite Beatles songs (with difficulty), but putting them in order would be impossible. Secondly, part of what makes the Beatles great is their ability to cover a wide variety of sounds to the extent that picking favorite songs can only accurately be accomplished by album. Alas, this list has been made before, many, many, times. Instead, I’ve decided to make a list comprised of one song from each album that I find to be underrated. There are millions of music lovers who consider themselves “Beatles fans”, but far fewer who really understand the Beatles. Many listen to the same few songs over and over again. The Beatles composed hundreds of songs, thus leaving fans with an overwhelming list to choose from. I hope this list will help those who love the Beatles and could use some pointers in the right direction of some new songs to listen to. This list has one underrated song (in my honest opinion) from each Beatle album written down in chronological order from when the album was released. This list is long, and composed in the extreme boredom of my last few days of Winter break so feel free to skim it, skip around, or peruse it if you are very interested. I encourage you to agree and disagree with me as necessary.

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Heath Ledger as Tony

“The film’s over, it’s as simple as that,” thought director and writer Terry Gilliam’s after receiving news that his lead actor for his new film, Heath Ledger, had died. Gilliam received this shocking news on January 22, 2008 and, within two days, the film’s production was indefinitely suspended. It seemed as if a 30 million dollar budget would be all but wasted. However, Gilliam was determined to finish the film as a tribute to Ledger and decided to find a way to complete it. He weighed several options including digitally inputting Ledger into the film. Luckily, the movie’s bizarre storyline seamlessly allowed for four different actors to contribute to a single character. Therefore, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, all friends of Gilliam and Ledger, took turns playing Ledger’s character Tony. The three actors agreed to give their earnings from the film to Ledger’s baby daughter, who was left out of an old version of his will. The pressure was on to make Ledger’s last on-screen performance a success. Gilliam did not disappoint with The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

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