Three of a Kind

Now Director Martin Scorsese’s long march to Oscar glory is finally over. I was rooting for him to finally get the nod this year. I even wrote about it in my blog, B.M.S. when I reviewed his movie The Departed last January 31, 2006. You could read it here

He finally ended his Academy Awards drought with the film, the action- packed The Departed, a fitting tribute to the man who specializes in violent but notable films such as Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Raging Bull and Taxi Driver among many others and certified classics in their own right.

I caught the Academy Awards on TV late and missed some of the “minor” awards but I was glued on the boob tube for the rest of the evening and enjoyed the show quite well.

I cheered for Jennifer Hudson who bagged the Best Actress in a Supporting Role trophy for her portrayal of Effie White in the movie, Dreamgirls where her version of the song "And I am telling you I’m not going" was a showstopper and made the movie her own despite the presence of stars like Beyonce, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy.

I hailed Helen Mirren’s victory when she was named Best Actress for portraying Elizabeth of Windsor in the much- heralded movie, The Queen and applauded Forest Whitaker when he won as Best Actor for his role as the Ugandan despot Idi Amin in the film, The Last King of Scotland.

But the night belonged to Martin Scorsese and I have an inkling before the Best Director Award was announced that this time he will bring home the bacon when the three giants of the film industry, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas were on hand to present the golden trophy to the eventual winner.



And yes, Signore Scorsese deserved this overdue recognition from the Academy more than anyone else and although it was really a long time coming but as the usual cliche goes, "it is better late than never."



FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I am always a big fan of the bounties of the sea and squid is one of my favorites whether it is cooked broiled, fried (calamari style) or the specialty of Ma Diay, my grandmother whose name now escapes me where she cooks the squids swimming in their own inks but let me just tell you that it was really good !

Anyway I came across these pictures of Giant Squids in the National Geographic wherein one was caught by Japanese Scientists near the islands of Chichi Jima.
Read the story
here

For those of you who are not familiar with history, Chichi Jima is the island near Iwo Jima where Flyboy Lieutenant Junior Grade George H. Bush was shot down and rescued off its waters during World War II.

We could only imagine what if one of this giant creatures have snatched the future American President and dragged him deep into the waters during that time, would history be different from what we have experienced and experiencing right now as a result of his and his son’s world policies?



Anyway, you can check the book Fly Boys by James Bradley of the Flag of Our Fathers fame regarding the true accounts and courage of the downed pilots during the last world war and their ordeal at the hands of their captors in Chichi Jima. It is a good book especially for history buffs and WWII enthusiasts.

Recently, another giant squid was caught in Antarctica (read it here) and now scientists are saying that they can now study and unravel some of the facts and myths behind this elusive and strange giant creatures (read: Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) that lurk in the deep recesses of the ocean.

The big question in many people’s minds is whether these giants are fit for human consumption if ever they will find their way into somebody’s plate in the future.

Calamari, anyone?


MEN VERSUS THE VOLCANO

In Indonesia where engineers are trying to drop 375 concrete balls weighing 400- 450 kilograms each into the crater of a volcano to slow down by 50- 70 percent its mudflow which has submerged villages and forced some 15,000 people to flee.

Whoever thought about this concrete balls to work against the force of mother nature should be hanged by his “balls.”

It is a waste of time, effort and money if you ask me. The best thing to do is evacuate the people into safer places and let nature take its course.

But you got to take your hat off to these so- called experts and the government officials who approved this ballsy solution, for it takes a lot of balls to implement these plans and faces at the same time ridicule of the whole world if their plans would go way off the ball park.



Read about the Indonesia Mud Volcano-
here