Few selected quotations to ring in the New Year

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. - Bill Vaughan

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day. - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. - T. S. Eliot

More on the year in film

The award nominations and critics best of lists are coming so fast and furious that it is becoming difficult to keep track of them all. To shift through the nominations or critics lists, however, it helps to check out those nominations and lists that have traditionally been relatively good indicators of Oscar nominations and, ultimately, Oscar success, and one such nomination is the Golden Globes. The Golden Globes top prize for film is actually separated into two categories, one for drama and the other comedic or musical performance. And while the lists of films nominated in the aforementioned categories were not surprising, there were, I thought, a few interesting selections. For example, the films I had chosen as possible shoe-ins for Oscar nominations, namely The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Up in the Air and Precious, were all nominated in the Golden Globe drama category, but I did not expect Inglourius Basterds to get the nod as well. As for critics lists, two of the most respected are, I think, A O Scott and Roger Ebert. With the exception of Knowing, which I thought was okay but not great, I believe both their lists are terrific.

Based on the films nominated for Golden Globes, the “best of” films compiled by A O Scott and Roger Ebert, the aggregate ratings on Metacritic and my own humble opinion, I believe – and I could be wrong about a few of these choices – the ten films that stand a good chance of being nominated for the Best Picture Oscar include: The Hurt Locker, Avatar, Up in the Air, Precious, Star Trek, Bright Star, Coraline, District 9, Gommorah, Crazy Heart, An Education. I did not choose Up, the Pixar animated feature which received mostly stellar reviews, because I thought the story-telling was not nearly as compelling as Ratatoullie or, one my favorite films of all time, Wall-E. I also left off a few other noteworthy films, primarily due to their slightly below-stellar ratings on Metacritic: Inglorius Basterds, Public Enemies and Invictus. As for which film will win the Oscar for Best Picture, I believe it will come down to Avatar and Up in the Air. Of the two, I have only seen Avatar - a groundbreaking, even revolutionary visual spectacle, with a script that, while good for the most part, is the film’s only drawback. Most of what I have read about Up in the Air, however, leads me to think that it is the leading contender for the top prize. The subject matter might not be as enthralling and the visuals as sweeping as Avatar, but the story-telling and acting appear to be top notch. I will provide an update on my impressions of both films once I see Up in the Air this weekend.

Update: I saw Up in the Air over the weekend. It was everything I thought it would be – great plot structure, witty, tragic. Perhaps a bit uninspired. Nonetheless, a great picture overall. On my facebook move-rating application, I gave it a perfect five. On the other hand, I rated Avatar a four and ½. So, yes, if I were to make a judgment about which film I thought was the best film at this moment, it would be Up in the Air. But I have heard some good things about Avatar since I saw it on the day it was released (although not in 3D, which had been sold out at the time). I heard that James Cameron thought Avatar represented a historical allegory of humanity. I have also done some reading on where the term “Avatar” comes from and the various themes found in the film. There is definitely much more to Avatar than meets the eye, and I will see it at least one more time, this time in 3D, before I come to a conclusion of which I think is the year's best film.

Time of the year for "the best of the year"

In a recent blog entry, I mentioned the movies released so far this year as well as those slated for release this month – namely, Avatar, The Lovely Bones, The Road and Broken Embraces - are not of the caliber of similar films that were contending for the Best Picture Oscar prize last year. Nonetheless, since writing that blog entry, a number of films have come to light that I, for one reason or another, overlooked, films that now seem like choose-ins, while films that had a lot of early buzz, such as The Lovely Bones, have only garnered lukewarm praise. Some of the films I overlooked, a number of which were featured prominently among the customary critics lists of “best films of year”, include The Hurt Locker, Coraline, Invictus, and Up in the Air. Indeed, if I were to pick the top four pictures, based on the critics’ lists released so far, I would include Precious, The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air and Avatar, with Up in the Air shaping up to be the favorite for Best Picture due to the emerging view that it captures the mood and atmosphere of the current economic environment like no other film currently in Best Picture Oscar contention.

Films were not the only form of entertainment receiving “best of” treatment. The New York Times released its list of most Notable Books of the Year and Ten Best Books of the Year. Metacritic has released its list of best Games of the year. Paste has released their list of best Music of the year, well, of the decade. But the most intriguing list I have seen is Time Magazine's Top Ten Everything of 2009, an exhaustive compilation of miscellaneous events, gadgets, entertainment. Inevitably I was drawn to the best movies, which had the usual suspects with a few independent choices thrown in, and the best books, which featured a book called Strength in What Remains: a Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness by Pulitzer Prize winning author Tracy Kidder. The book borrows its title from the William Wordsworth’s Poem “Ode: Intimation of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” (“Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind”), and tells the extraordinarily inspiring tale of a young African immigrant succeeding in the face of incredible odds, though aided by the kindness of strangers. The story from this book reminded me of another story I read in one of Nicholas Kristoff’s columns, called “Triumph of a Dreamer,” about a woman who, despite having five children and being in an abusive relationship, managed to earn a doctoral degree. Tracy Kidder’s book is definitely among the books I would like to read early next year.

Kindness as a Social Epidemic

When I saw this video, a wonderful story of kindness in action, I returned to something I have been thinking about on and off for the past couple months, that is what I would like this blog to be about. The idea for this blog did not germinate with the essay that is listed at the beginning but, rather, over the course of a couple years. The book I read recently, The Tipping Point, broaden my understanding a little by demonstrating the ways information and practices can spread. But what struck me from reading The Tipping Point - with its examples of how negative or questionable information and behaviors are spread - is that not all information and practices that could be spread should and, similarly, individuals who are capable of spreading information and practices are not always justified in doing so. In his Nobel Lecture a few days ago, which I will talk about later on, President Obama said, to paraphrase: people who toil year after year for worthy causes with little or no recognition were far more deserving of the honor given to him. I think this is a vital point, reminiscent of the quiet acts of heroic service to others that Arthur Ashe spoke of, exemplified by such phrases as “leading by example” and “being the change you wish to see in the world.” Demanding, yes; but it's the most compelling, enduring and just way to influence others. By the way, to avoid confusion about its meaning, I removed the “ripple effect” subtitle from my blog.

Answer - Sarah McLachlan (Live)

On recent trends in civic engagement

There has been a relative decrease in civic engagement, but it would be misleading to attribute this trend solely to the effects of the recession. According to an AP report, a recent study from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), to be webcast on the NEA website today, finds public participation as a percentage of the population has been trending downwards for several years, most notably starting “in 1992, just as the internet was taking off,” and the effects has been across the board, ranging from attendance at movie theatres, jazz concerts, art exhibits, “ballet, opera, musical and non musical theatre, and arts/craft fairs and festivals” to parks, monuments and historical buildings visitations. The only bright spot has been an increase in reading of “‘literature,’ as defined as ‘plays/poetry/novels/short stories’”.

If not the recession, could the cause of the decline be the result of the internet and social and new media technology? I am not so sure. Several weeks ago, I read a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project which indicated that the effects of the internet and social and new media technology on civic engagement were either neutral or positive in most cases. Among the findings: “(i)nternet use does not pull people away from public spaces”, “is associated with engagement in places such as parks, cafes, and restaurants, the kinds of locales where research shows that people are likely to encounter a wider array of people and diverse points of view”; “cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization”; and “internet use in general and use of social networking services such as Facebook in particular are associated with having a more diverse social network.”

As Jesse Rosen, in the article I referenced earlier, speculates, however, the cause of the percentage decline may actually be due to a shift in ways Americans choose to participate in public life. What’s more, a percentage decline may not necessarily mean that there is a net decline, given the population has obviously grown since 1992. Nonetheless the study does raise interesting questions about getting more citizens involved in art appreciation and civic engagement as well as whether traditional ways of defining such public participation fully account for recent changes in how citizens choose to participate. I will try to follow up on the points raised in the webcast and post my comments here if I encounter something that is noteworthy.

Nobel Peace Prize and National Historical Landmarks

There are a couple of things I would like to comment on in the next couple of days. The first would be President Obama’s Nobel Lecture, where, his aides have suggested, he will lay out his vision for peace and address the seeming irony of being both a war-time President and a Nobel Peace Laureate. (By the way, I am watching a streaming video on the CBS News website of the pre Nobel Lecture ceremony as I write this blog entry). Also, I will try to talk about National Historical Landmarks, particularly in the state of New York, which has by far the most Landmarks, and the state of Texas. Until next time, best wishes.