Lucky

Amour won for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars tonight. I wasn't watching the Oscars, I was watching Amour. it's the story of an elderly couple in France. The wife suffers a stroke, the husband cares for her. It goes okay until she has a second stroke, and then the caregiving is not so easy. The acting is very good for both leads, but only the wife is up for an Oscar. As of this writing, the award has not been announced. The film does a great job of showing the level of commitment in a relationship that leads one spouse to care for the other. Yet the husband is no spring chicken, and it gets much harder once the second stroke hits. The daughter of the couple is portrayed as distant and unrealistic. The movie raises the question of assisted suicide as, after the first stroke, the wife does not want to go on. After the second stroke the husband doesn't want her to go on either, especially as he sees her deteriorating. It's poignant. The director, in my opinion, should not win any awards. At times the movie moves so slowly as to be painful. Other scene changes are abrupt, and some scenes leave the viewer wondering what he just saw and why it was on the screen. All in all, a good, but not great movie. It's in French with English subtitles, and sometimes none.

The house behind us, completely behind a wall, is undergoing noisy renovations. On the weekend they either put a watchdog in there, or a tape recording of a dog barking that plays endlessly. I heard one of the neighbors yelling at it to "shut up." It did, for all of two minutes. This barking went on all night, or so it seemed. But I fell asleep, realizing that the poor dog couldn't help himself. It probably doesn't hurt that I have two dogs myself. So, when I stopped resisting the barking and just accepted that it was going too happen, did I follow the very same advice that I just called stupid?

Tracie Bennett reprises her tole as Judy Garland in End of The Rainbow, playing March 12- April 21 at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. I saw the show in New York and loved it. I might see it again. www.centertheatregroup.org/rainbow

The link worked for me, but took a second to load. Too bad, but they don't show the go-go dancer on the story. He must be shy.

See the news story of the ax attack in Phoenix at the Oz Bar!! http://www.towleroad.com/2013/02/go-go-dancer-helps-subdue-ax-wielding-man-in-gay-club.html

Poor Acapulco. It just can't get out of the news! here a guy was trying to keep his Mercedes from being stolen near the princess hotel... ACAPULCO (Reuters) - A Belgian man was shot dead in Mexico's Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Saturday, the latest episode of violence to strike one of the country's most important tourist destinations.

His sequester column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-the-manufactured-crisis-of-sequester/2013/02/22/d22d4466-7c81-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html

I also went alone the first time I went to Rio. It was fun learning the lay of the land, so to speak, but on subsequent trips I had more fun. tagasian, I hope that you have a great trip.

Thanks, EXPAT. That did allow me to view the article. Since point holders have the opportunity to book through 2015 under current rules, they should be able to use their points before moving to a chain that values them more.

Or everything they hear. But Americans are notoriously ignorant when it comes to history, so I say Hollywood has an obligation to get it right. I know, I am outvoted.

I am not a reappropriator. Some words deserve to live in shame.

Once I had sex with a man, I never again went with a woman. I'm gay, and proud of it. I realize that diversity is to be valued, so if your boat floats with women once in a while, then sail on, my congratulations.

Is Bird's Eye a horse's ass for selling horse meat? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/business/global/23iht-horse23.html?ref=todayspaper

Oh, come on, Oz. "Fag" has long been an anti-gay slur. I appreciate the effort to be bouncy and upbeat in these travel guides, but let's leave the slurs to the bigots.

The link brought me here: You 404’d it. Gnarly, dude. Surfin’ ain’t easy, and right now, you’re lost at sea. But don’t worry; simply pick an option from the list below, and you’ll be back out riding the waves of the Internet in no time. Hit the “back” button on your browser. It’s perfect for situations like this! Head on over to the home page. Punt.

Oh, come on, Oz. The poster who said he would never go with a gay guy is just a bigot. He has a false admiration for masculinity and his self-loathing of his own homosexuality makes him steer clear of people like him. We are to admire that as a standard of modern sexuality? I posted not so long ago on this topic, or more accurately the reluctance of younger people to box themselves in as gay or straight. They see themselves as just sexual. Hard to argue with that in some sense, but we are who we are despite any labels we use. Clive Davis bisexual? Or is he just not ready to come out all the way? That's been the story with most bisexuals I have known. Some people are highly sexual, and for them, any warm body will do. So what doe we call them? Omnisexual? Or sluts?

One reason that I don't want Argo to win an award for Best Picture is that the ending is completely false. It just didn't happen. Given Argo's documentary style, I think it misleads the public. Zero Dark Thirty may have lost a chance at Best Picture due to the controversy over whether it is truthful on the torture needed to find Bin Laden. The NY Times today takes a lengthy look at this subject, also pointing out falsehoods in Lincoln and Django, which is almost all false history. Poor Silver Linings Playbook had no truth to live up to, just audience expectations. Many liked it more than I did. And don't get me started on DeNiro deserving an Oscar because it has been 32 years since his last one. He doesn't deserve an Oscar for his role in Playbook. No one does. Take a look at the Times article, which also raises the question as to what movies owe us when it comes to truth. Should we not be smart enough on her own to ferret out falsehoods? How many people know what really happened with the Americans smuggles out of Iran through the Canadians? Not many is my bet. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/movies/awardsseason/the-history-in-lincoln-argo-and-zero-dark-thirty.html?ref=arts Since I don't have cable or satellite, I am relying on EXPAT to post the Oscars here in real time. He'll tell the truth!

Lucky You!

He is both.

The NY Daily news is also headlining the gay scandal. Was it not enough for priests to have molested little boys? They have to bring down the pope too? http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pope-resignation-linked-gay-conclave-report-article-1.1271328

Well then, so am I.

"Being prepared for the future and preventing serious damage are activities that show that we care and protect people from unfortunate events. I see great value in that..." If it were only true. Did you know that many New Yorkers are still homeless after Hurricane Sandy? They weren't prepared for that and they didn't prevent serious damage...Just one example.

This is not lighthearted or sexy, just to warn you... "More soldiers took their own lives than died in combat during 2012, new Department of Defense figures show. The Army's suicide rate has climbed by 9 percent since the military branch launched its suicide-prevention campaign in 2009. Through November, 177 active-duty soldiers had committed suicide compared to 165 during all of 2011 and 156 in 2010. In all of 2012, 176 soldiers were killed in action -- all while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom, according to DOD.Army suicides have increased by at least 54 percent since 2007 when there were 115 — a number the Washington Post then called "an all-time record." *** And it seems as if the same soldiers keep having to return to battle after a rest at home. Why is that, and why is care for the injured soldier, especially the one suffering PTSD, so bad?

Rio is number one for many here. Last Sunday the LA Times wrote up Acapulco, which had recently seen an upswing in visitors after drug killings had decimated the industry. Then the rapes occurred. and the streets emptied again. I loved Acapulco, going there for 12 straight years, hiring my very first hire on the beach there. It is so beautiful, and the boys so accommodating and friendly. I am not worried about getting raped, but I do like my head attached, so doubt I will see it again.

Take a taxi? I'm taking you.