new stuff

I'm moving to Studio City, about two miles from my current apartment. Finding a place was an exhausting venture, but I think it's gonna work (because it has to).

I've started a new blog to help me not become a hoarder. It's called cardsfrommygrandmother.blogspot.com. Guess what I'm transcribing on it? Yep.

I finished a sitcom pilot and a film script so far this year. Now I'm working on specs. Very slowly.

I'm really angry I didn't win $300+ million in last night's lottery. I really want to go visit Bhutan. But not China, which I just read a long book about, until the air pollution issue is addressed. God help us all.

I don't think I have anything else to report. I'm exhausted. Moving is not on my list of favorite things.

not hard

Things that are not hard, but you'd never know it from reality:

1. Mailing stuff. The world has post offices and grocery stores in abundance. And by the world I mean Los Angeles. Mailing an antique bookcase to India is tough. Sending a piece of paper to someone who lives across town is not tough. Even if you can't make it to the post office during normal business hours, every grocery store sells envelopes and stamps, and mail boxes are ubiquitous.

2. Vacuuming. I have a vacuum. It's in the living room. And yet my bedroom remains unvacuumed. Why have I not vacuumed yet?

3. Taxes. Taxes aren't that hard if you're smart and you only have to fill in your W-2, the $200 IRA deduction, the $18 in interest on your savings account, and the $1775 spent on student loans. I keep trying to itemize other stuff despite knowing that my standard deduction is higher. I filled out a federal tax form about four different times this year before filing this morning.

4. Finishing a book. I used to finish books all the time. I am currently in the middle of six books.

5. Getting dressed. It's four minute before noon and I am still in my pj's.

6. Making decent pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I went wrong somewhere, and I don't know where, but it makes me sad.

7. Eating healthy. Considering how crappy the cookies I just made are and how much produce is literally falling from the branches in my neighborhood, you would think eating healthier would be something that I could do without too much effort. You would be wrong.

8. Exercise. All you have to do is move.

9. Making more money. I went to one of the finest universities in the country. I am smarter, if we're talking basic IQ, than lots of people I know who make waaaaay more than me. I think IQ tests should include how much a person makes and how much power they have exercised in the world. Dubya and the Saudi kings and Gates and your average Chinese person would all have approximately equal IQs, and I would have the same IQ as someone living in the Falklands. No offense to people living in the Falklands. They at least are breathing much cleaner air.

See...

All Egypt needed was a little encouragement. Adios, Mubarak.

Mubarak and what I've learned from REALITY (television)

Why are we Americans not supporting this man? What every reality show I've ever watched (under duress) has taught me is that the person who wants it the most wins things and deserved to win it. And clearly Mubarak just really wants to be president of Egypt more than all the rest of Egypt (plus a major chunk of the rest of the planet) wants him to not be president. Contestants, judges, and victims alike all agree the thousands of losers of American Idol and Top Chef and America's Next Top Model and Survivor and so on and so forth simply didn't want to win enough and, as such, had to lose because their desire wasn't at the same pitch as the winners. This information was obvious to all through some kind of special thermometer the contestants stuck up their butts before every taping or production cycle to see whose desperation for victory was greatest and who had the flu.

Some would say great "want" translates into the kind of dedication to craft or work that, when combined with talent or opportunity, leads to success and that this is what this repeated statement actually means. Fine, then that means Egypt's citizens don't just not want Mubarak not to be president hard enough, they are also not dedicated and skilled enough to oust him. Sorry, Egyptian citizens, please pack your knives and go.

Golden Globe TV should/will

Best Television Series (Drama) - The Good Wife/Mad Men

Everyone loves Weiner.

Best Actress (Drama) - Julianna Margulies/Julianna Margulies

I think if Sons had a wider audience, Sagal would take it, but I think this is Margulies' award.

Best Actor (Drama) - Jon Hamm/Hugh Laurie

Bryan Cranston literally has no more room in his house for awards, and Hamm deserves it, but I think everyone misses Laurie. The man gives good speech.

Best TV Series (Comedy) - The Big Bang Theory/Modern Family

Just a personal taste thing.

Best Actress (Comedy) - Tina Fey/Laura Linney

This is tough, because I only watch 30 Rock and The Big C, but I believe Liz Lemon exists. So...

Best Actor (Comedy) - Jim Parsons/Jim Parsons

I also believe Sheldon exists and that his seat is sacred.

Best Miniseries/Made-for-TV movie - The Pillars of the Earth/?

I'm sure The Pillars of the Earth does not, in fact, deserve it over its fellow nominees, but it's the only one I've seen, and I'd like Starz to get some credit for the sheer unadulterated joyful madness of its programming over the last few years.

Best Actress (Miniseries) - Romola Garai/Claire Danes

Romola was a fantastic Emma.

Best Actor (Miniseries) - Idris Elba/Carlos Ramirez

I've only seen Luther, and Idris Elba is spectacular, but I've heard great things about Ramirez.

Best Supporting Actress - Julia Stiles/Sofia Vergara

I think everyone thinks Sofia is overdue.

Best Supporting Actor - Scott Caan/Eric Stonestreet

I know people are thinking Colfer for this, but I don't buy it. Anyway, really Scott Caan's hair deserves the award. Love me some Caan.

Golden Globe movies should/will

Best Motion Picture (Drama) -- Black Swan/The Social Network
I've seen all these movies, and I really take issue with The Social Network's structure. Moreover, it's ultimately a lawsuit movie. I love Sorkin, but I think the film's overrated.

Best Actress (Drama) - Natalie Portman/Natalie Portman

I've only seen two of these, so this is probably unfair, but Natalie (who I formerly loathed and will probably loathe again) killed it.

Best Actor (Drama) - Ryan Gosling/Colin Firth

Again, I saw all these movies, and it's a tight race, but Ryan singing "You Always Hurt the Ones You Love" trumps everything else.

Best Motion Picture (Comedy) - The Kids are All Right/The Kids are All Right

Please.

Best Actress (Comedy) - Annette Bening/Annette Bening

Again. Please. Emma was great, but she was in a mildly-better-than-average high school movie. And Julianne Moore should be in supporting.

Best Actor (Comedy) - ?/?

I saw none of these, so...

Best Supporting Actress - Helena Bonham Carter/Melissa Leo

This is tough. I saw everything but Animal Kingdom. I think Melissa Leo has it locked, but I loved HBC in a surprising but inspired casting choice.

Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale/Christian Bale

In any other year, Rush would have it in the bag, but Christian Bale tore himself apart for this role, so it's no contest.

Best Animated Film - Toy Story 3/Toy Story 3

I only saw Toy Story 3 of these five, but I would bet my firstborn on this one.

I'm gonna skip Best Foreign Language Film because I didn't see any of them.

Best Director - Christopher Nolan/David Fincher

I thought there were a lot of flaws with Inception, but you've got to be impressed with how Nolan mastered all the technical madness.

Best Screenplay - 127 Hours/The Social Network

Do you know how hard it is to make a movie about a guy trapped in a cave and have it be utterly captivating? No, because Beaufoy and Boyle made it look easy with their insanely great script.

I'm gonna skip the music stuff too as I'm not really qualified. I'll post my TV predictions and feelings later.

Glynn Turman: An Appreciation

I'm (belatedly) finishing the first season of In Treatment. Near the end, Glynn Turman, best known (by me) as Colonel Taylor on A Different World, plays Alex Prince Sr., the father of regular patient Alex (Blair Underwood). Turman is perfect. Everything about his performance, his voice, his mannerisms, hell, his gaze makes you believe that this is Blair Underwood's dad, who has been described over the course of the previous six weeks. To so completely fulfill a character sketch like that is both rare and deeply impressive.

After sobbing through his first big episode, I thought, "God, Turman totally deserved an Emmy." And guess what? He did get an Emmy for it. So sometimes everything falls into place.