Monday, February 28, 2005

77th Oscars



There were very few surprises at the Oscars last night. I correctly picked all of the major awards except one. I felt that Martin Scorsese should have won Best Director. Client mentioned that it only took him 36 days to make Million Dollar Baby. The Aviator was a much grander and more difficult movie to make. Both were excellent films though, so I can't be too upset. Chris Rock was pretty good. My wife didn't care for him though. I loved his jab on Michael Moore. He should have done Super Size Me since he had done enough research on that. I heard an interesting tidbit on the way to work this morning. The guy who sang the snippet of his Oscar winning song last night had no idea that Antonio Banderas was going to be singing it. They wouldn't let him sing it himself, so he had to sing it during his acceptance speech. It was bittersweet for him. I think Hillary Swank gave the best speech of the night. Morgan Freeman's was great too. Really humble and to the point. Jamie Foxx's speech was a little too staged for me. He has been crying about his grandma on every talkshow leading up to the Oscars, so everyone was expecting him to cry. In the past, it seemed genuine, but last night it seemed like he was faking it. Not that he doesn't miss his Grandma. He just needed to fake the emotions. As always, I was very happy to have it on TiVo. I got to fast forward the boring speeches and drawn out honorary awards. At least we don't have those lame dance routines anymore.

Friday, February 25, 2005

Mark From A-Z

I have seen a lot of these lately so I thought I would do it too.

Me from A-Z:
A Age: 31
B Bands: U2, Linkin Park, No Doubt
C Career of Future: Retired
D Dad's Name: Denny
E Ethnic Background: Caucasian
F Favorite Song at Moment: Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
G Great Escape: One of my favorite movies of all time.
H Hometown: Aliso Viejo
I Instrument: MP3
J Job Title: Facilities Manager
K Kids: Coming September 21 to a hospital near you
L Last Person You Talked to On the Phone: My Wife
M Mom's Name: Marci
N Number of Siblings: 2
O Oldest Living Relative: Nana and Grandpa Ford
P Phobias/Fears: Heights (Sometimes), Tight Spaces
Q Favorite Quote: “Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dieing,” Red in Shawshank Redemption
R Religion: Christian
S Song You Sang Last: All I Can Say by David Crowder
T Time You Wake Up: 6:00
U Unknown Fact About Me: I am addicted to audio books.
V Vegetable You Hate: Onions, Squash, Zucchini, Beets, just to name a few
W Worst Habit: Eating because I am bored
X X-rays You've Had: Teeth
Y Yummy Food: Pizza, Chicken Wings, Cheesecake
Z Zodiac Sign: Leo

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Second Appointment



We had our second doctor's appointment yesterday and our baby is doing well. It is growing normally and all of Alissa's blood tests were good. We have an official due date of September 21 now. So, in 30 more weeks we will have a new baby. Alissa has been experiencing morning sickness for the past couple weeks, so we are praying that it ends after the first trimester. If it doesn't, it looks like we might be adopting our second time around.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

American Idol Finals Begin



So, we have finally gotten down to our 24 finalists. I am much more impressed with the guys this year than the girls. On Monday night, I had a hard time deciding which guys America would send home because for the most part they were all good. I think that the two eliminated will be Jared Yates, Joseph Murena, Judd Harris, or possibly David Brown. I think the rest were good enough to stick around. Then last night the girls performed. I felt the exact opposite. I had a hard time trying to figure out which of them would make it to the final six girls. The only three that really stood out for me were Carrie Underwood, Jessica Sierra, and Nadia Turner. For me, the biggest surprise this week was Bo Bice. I expected him to be one of the worst, and ended up liking his performance the best.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Upcoming Oscars

Every year during Oscar time, I try to see as many nominated films as I can before the show. It is the one time of year where you know you will get to see some really good films. I enjoy the summer blockbusters and the comedies that come out during the year, but they are not always great films. Of the Oscar nominated films, I have seen Ray, Finding Neverland, Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, Hotel Rwanda, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, and Collateral. I am still contemplating seeing Sideways this week before Sunday. In each of the nominated films I have seen, there is one common thing about each of them. I found myself interacting with the screen during the movie. I got really sucked in and felt like I was actually part of it. I get attached to the characters and don’t want to see anything happen to them. I think that is what makes them so great.

For Best Picture, I think Million Dollar Baby will beat out The Aviator, even though The Aviator won the Golden Globe. It is definitely between these two pictures. I enjoyed Jamie Foxx’s performance in Ray, but the film itself was too long and slow in parts. My favorite of the five was Finding Neverland, but it won’t win.

For Best Actor, Jamie Foxx will win for his amazing portrayal of Ray Charles. All of the rest of the nominees deserve the nomination, but they were not good enough to beat Jamie.

For Best Actress, Hilary Swank will win for Million Dollar Baby. She made that movie. The only other nominee that I saw was Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind. She did a great job, but it didn’t blow me away.

For Best Supporting Actor, Morgan Freeman will probably win. Alan Alda could beat him out though. Jamie Foxx won’t win for Collateral because he is already going to win for Ray.

For Best Supporting Actress, Cate Blanchett was amazing as Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator. Sophie Okonedo had a powerful performance in Hotel Rwanda. I wouldn’t mind seeing her win the award.

Finally, I think that Martin Scorsese will beat out Clint Eastwood for Best Director.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Survivor 10

So, Survivor 10 kicked off last night and it was great. I felt really bad for Wanda and Jonathan. It's like being picked last during PE for kickball, only you came half way across the world to play the game only to be sent home before it starts. It was a cool twist though. It was sweet that they all had no clue what was happening for the first day. In our Survivor Pool I have Tom the NY Firefighter, Ian "Ace Ventura meets Dumb and Dumber" the dolphin trainer, and Jeff the personal trainer. It should be a great show. The setting is definitely beautiful.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

All Time Angels Team



With Spring Training getting under way for the 2005 season, I started thinking about my picks for the All Angels Team. If I could field a team of current or former Angels in their prime, this would be it.

1B - Rod Carew
2B - Bobby Grich
3B - Troy Glaus
SS - Gary DiSarcina
LF - Garret Anderson
CF - Jim Edmonds
RF - Vladimir Guerrero
DH - Reggie Jackson
SP - Nolan Ryan
SP - Chuck Finley
SP - Dean Chance
SP - Frank Tanana
SP - Mark Langston
RP - K Rod
C - Troy Percival

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Who's Your Daddy?



Alissa and I are expecting our first child in September. Baby Ford is the fetal pole above. What the heck is a fetal pole? We are so excited and cannot wait to be parents.