I have an Academy Award

Apparently, I am on the only person on the earth who thought that the Oscars were OK. I enjoyed the show. And, I thought Billy Crystal was fine. Yes, I have seen the song and dance before and yes I have seen him insert himself into the hit movies before but, truthfully, if those bits were not there I would have been disappointed.

In other Academy Awards news:

Fifteen Academy Awards statuettes from the 1930s and '40s, including the Best Screenplay Oscar given to Herman Mankiewicz for "Citizen Kane," have been sold at a Los Angeles auction.

Auction house Nate D. Sanders said Tuesday that the sales totaled more than $3 million.

Mankiewicz's 1941 award sold for $588,455, more than double its auction price from 1999.

The 1941 Best Picture award, for "How Green Was My Valley," went for $274,520. It was last sold in 2004 for $95,600.

A statuette for "Cavalcade," 1933's Best Picture, brought in $332,165.

Other Oscars on the block were Ronald Colman's 1947 Best Actor award for "A Double Life" and Charles Coburn's Best Supporting Actor statuette for "The More the Merrier" in 1943.

I wonder what the statuette for “Best short documentary” from 1953 would sell for. That’s the one that I will be bidding on if it ever comes for sale. Then I could say, “I have an Academy Award.”

Most awkward Oscar moment

Thanks to Anglelina for supplying the two most memorable Oscar moments.

First, the most awkward Oscar moment...

It seems that this pose will be the new "planking" or "Tebowing."

Second, the best Oscar moment (thank you Jim Rash)...

For the ten best pictures of Angelina Jolie's right leg CLICK HERE.

Christopher Plummer and pantyhose

Congratulations to Captain Von Trapp who finally won an Oscar. Christopher Plummer (Canadian) became the oldest person in history to win an Academy Award. Yay.

OK… I know it’s weird. But, when I saw him on the red carpet with his lovely wife my thought was, “Do they make pantyhose that do not have the seam on the front?” I am curious. She is a beautiful women with a beautiful dress with... well... unsightly underwear lines.

Avril Lavigne to judge on X-Factor?

 Um… you’re not kidding?

With two judging slots to fill, it seems the folks at "X Factor" might not have to look far to fill one of the spots ... because former L.A. Reid protégé Avril Lavigne is interested in the gig ... TMZ has learned.

According to our sources, Avril had her people reach out to the folks at "X Factor" to let them know she'd like to be considered for the job. Our sources says Avril feels that since she came up in the biz at such a  young age, she can mentor the kids on the show the right way.

We're told talks are already happening between the two sides.

Besides her connection to Reid, Avril performed on the finale of season one of "X Factor" with finalist Chris Rene. (From TMZ)

 I have two thoughts:

(1)   Love Avril’s music but I have never thought of her as particularly articulate or insightful. I have difficulty seeing her as a mentor or teacher.

(2)   So much for rebel, counter-culture Avril, not that she ever was that much. Can you imagine Pink doing X-Factor. Uh, no. On the other hand, Steven Tyler is on American Idol and it hasn’t really damaged his rock image like I thought it might.

(For a video of Tyler stripping down on Idol CLICK HERE).

A brief tribute to my friend Bob Williamson

(Bob is the older one...)

Benjamin, Karla, Beth, Peter, Laakkuluk, Tom, Nora, and Jean

I am sorry that I am not in Saskatoon today for Bob’s funeral. The best funerals are terrific celebrations of the deceased and, despite the tears, there is a lot of laughter. I am sure that today will be a wonderful event. Bob has left a tremendous amount to celebrate and a lot to laugh about.

To me, one’s soul is the memory that one leaves behind. It is a collection of memories and work and influence that lives on in the tender care of those that remain. Bob has a very, very big soul. 

I remember phoning, “Williamson residence, Bob speaking.” The voice boomed. I remember the note that was beside the phone instructing one in proper phone etiquette. And now, every single time I answer my phone, I think of Bob when I say, “Hello, Dave speaking.” In accordance with the note on the kitchen wall on Temperance, I always identify myself. Bob taught me that, even though he didn’t know that he did. I want to be like Bob.

I remember visiting Temperance Street with Billy and Kristian, in particular. When visiting I always hoped that Bob was there because he made the visit better – more fun, funny, and enriching – because he took a genuine interest in me. He cared.

I remember many meals. The kitchen and the dining table were such a healthy family focus in the Williamson house. And, I was always welcome. And the bread…. Oh, the bread. There is no better bread in the world than a thick slice of Williamson bread with butter. My kids tell me that their friends rarely eat together as a family. Dinner is served, everyone reports to the kitchen, gets their food, and goes back to whatever they were doing. My family eats together. If we are home, we sit at the same table. We rarely have anything as marvelous as a Williamson supper but we are together as often as practical. I want to be like Bob.

Of course I remember Christmas. On at least two years I was up, had breakfast, opened presents with my family, and then walked over to the William residence only to discover that nobody was even out of bed?!?! I remember reading the packages from Greenland. I remember Bob roaring with laughter. I suspect that it was more to make me feel good than it was because it was that funny.

I remember Bob serving me my first ever cigar and snifter of brandy. This may be the only thing with which I disagree with Bob – I’ve tried, but I am not fond of brandy or cigars. I wish I were there to indulge today, though.

My biggest single memory of Bob is how he made me feel. One of my favorite pieces of fatherly advice that I often repeat to my kids is, “Make it easy for people to be around you.” Be polite and respectful. In my life I have known a very short list of people who not only are easy to be around but who actually lift others up. It seems to me that Bob’s greatest pleasure was in making other people feel good. That is a beautiful way to be. And, I wish I was more like Bob. I wish I could be with you to celebrate the life of a wonderful man who is a significant formative influence in my life.

Love,

David

Hillbilly dad embarasses teen or not?

Have you seen this video? Giant YouTube sensation in which dad Tommy bawls out his daughter and then shoots her laptop...




I come down on the side of "bad parent." I was relieved to see his post-video explanation. But, personally, I don't talk to anyone with the tone and method that this dad does, least of all my kids. It's not a disaster, but it's not my style.


Here is a perspective, I never thought of, though:

There, on the pages of Facebook or MySpace or Tumblr, they go about the natural business of being teenagers — gossiping and complaining and saying stupid things in stupid ways. And though they know they are essentially doing this in public, there is something about the forum that also makes it ephemeral. The commentary may never be erased, but for Hannah and company, the instant it rolls off the screen, it doesn't matter. However badly they comport themselves, it's out of sight, out of mind and off the conscience.

That's why I suspect it wasn't Hannah's brattiness or disrespect that drove Tommy to shoot the laptop. It was his perhaps unconscious awareness of an unbridgeable gap between him and his daughter, the gap between knowing what it means to be publicly humiliated and belonging to a cohort for whom humility is an increasingly arcane concept. (For oringial op ed piece from Meghan Daum, Los Angeles Times, CLICK HERE)

To paraphrase,you can't embarass your daughter on YouTube because she doesn't play by the same assumptions that you do. Teenagers are trashing each other on the internet ALL THE TIME and they are immune to it.

I don't quite agree but it certainly is true that the experience of today's teenager is MUCH diffferent than it was for me. And, social media is at the vangaurd of the difference.

Sony (Scrooge) Records

Talk about Public Relations disasters… There is no way that Sony Scrooge Records can spin this positively.

Sony Music has come under fire after it increased the price of a Whitney Houston album on Apple's iTunes Store hours after the singer was found dead.

The music giant is understood to have lifted the wholesale price of Houston's greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection, at about 4am California time on Sunday. This meant that the iTunes retail price of the album automatically increased from £4.99 to £7.99.

Did anyone at Sony consider doing the opposite? Lower the price? Even slightly? You might have succeeded in both (1) looking like good guys and (2) selling more.

Or… at the very, least, doing nothing at all.

Whitney...

From TMZ:

Whitney Houston was found in the bathtub of a Beverly Hills hotel yesterday ... with her face underwater ... people close to Whitney tell TMZ.
According to our sources, her stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguards were among the people in the room at the time. We're told they became worried about Whitney because she had been in the bathroom for over an hour and it was time to start getting ready for the Clive Davis party.
Our sources say they began to knock on the door and there was no answer. We're told the hairdresser, who is female, went in to check on Whitney. She immediately screamed and, according to our sources, one of the bodyguards came running in and pulled her out of the tub.
We're told Whitney's face was below the water and her legs were up ... like she had slid down the back of the tub.
According to our sources, her body was very cold and the bodyguard attempted CPR. That's when hotel security was called.
Paramedics arrived shortly thereafter, but Whitney was pronounced dead at 3:55 PM.

I am struck, as I was with Amy’s death, that drug addiction doesn’t play favourites. Consider an anonymous Vancouver junkie. Yes, there are people who are trying to help – trying to get that addict safely off the drugs. But, mostly this addiction is invisible and we don’t care. Often the addict never sees these people. Never understands that there are people who care. And, there are those who actually prefer to keep the junkie hooked because they continue to pay or turn tricks or whatever.

Compare this anonymous junkie to Amy or Whitney. There are lots of people trying to help – lots and lots of people – many more than are trying to help the anonymous junkie. If Whitney or Amy can stay clean and make great recordings there are lots of people who benefit. It seems impossible that Whitney doesn’t know there are lots of people cheering for her. It seems impossible that she does not understand that there are people who care -- fans, producers, record companies, and on ans on it goes. And, yes, there are lots of people who want to keep the celebrity hooked – the pushers and the partiers – those who are making a buck and those who are enjoying the ride. 

Because they are celebs we joke about them, “Oh Whitney was busted again…” This stuff is the gristmill of radio morning shows and stand-up comedians. Funny at the time. Tinged with guilt after the fact.

In the end, something has to cause the addict – celeb or anonymous Vancouver street person – to want to help themselves.