At Sundown the 14th of Nissan (aka March 30), Jews in the Central Time Zone (US) will begin the celebration of Passover. Israelis will start the same date but about 8 hours earlier.
For Christians this year, March 30 is Good Friday (AKA: Holy Friday, Great Friday, and Black Friday...although that name has been appropriated by Retail)
Black Friday: Preparing for the Birthday of Jesus
There is considerable speculation that The Last Supper was a Passover Seder. See Speculation. This seems unlikely as Passover, during the time of Jesus, was a time for ritual sacrifice at the Temple. The tradition of a Seder is not mentioned in any religious or historical text until 70 CE after the destruction of the Second Temple and 37 years after the death of Jesus.
It is possible that Jesus and the lads (and perhaps the redheaded woman) were simply enjoying some delicious roasted sacrificial meat.
(Left: Mary Magdalene or John? It's a pick-em)
Thus on this coming weekend, Jews and Gentiles alike will rejoice in their own tales of slavery, liberation, plague, death, betrayal, crucifixion, and resurrection.
To share in this celebration, I offer this video explaining the significance of the Number 4 in the Passover Haggadah.
By now you have all seen the video, "Don Goes to the Movies," which weaves clips from 9 films nominated for Best Picture into a creepy narrative about racism, sexism, Hitler, misery, and how scary Michael Shannon looks "The Shape of Water." (If you haven't, take about 3 minutes to enjoy it or enjoy it again).
Is anyone completing the full Oscar ballot anymore? For over 20 years, Benjamin Shearn and I have competed in head to head competition including all categories. This year there are 24 categories.
Voting for Oscars ended Feburary 28 so recent events could affect this year's selections. Last year, you will recall the Moonlight/La La Land confusion.
Jimmy Kimmel will again be hosting the Oscars. And probably make Matt Damon jokes which are funny if you know about their feud. Which I don't. I predict a joke about a nominee having their Darkest Hour. If I were hosting, I would say....'that great film Get Out...Hollywood and Harvey Weinstein.
But I am in the basement where I belong.
Get out your pencils and your scorecards and I will give the starting lineups for the March 4, Academy Awards.
Daniel Kaluuya, the son of Ugandan parents, grew up in London played an African-American in Get Out and plays an African-Wakandan in Black Panther. I didn't understand the motivations of his character W'Kabi in BP. But I don't want to spoil Black Panther. I can only say that the screenwriters took some liberties with the succession rites of Wakanda.
Daniel Day-Lewis has already won 3 Oscars and has lost to Oldman at the Golden Globes, Bafta, and was not even nominated for the Screen Actors Guild. Everybody hates him and thinks he's a jerk. He plans to retire and perform at second-tier casinos in Nevada,
Actor in a Supporting Role: Toss up. Edge goes to Sam Rockwell.
I liked Sam Rockwell in 'Moon.' I guess he did a good job of playing a dangerous, possibly psychotic racist who inexplicably becomes a sympathetic character in the disagreeable movie, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. He will win, probably.
I'm told that Willem Dafoe was the best part of The Florida Project. I didn't see it. I don't like movies with kids in them unless they are G-Rated. This movie is an 'R' so that kids in the movie can't see them. That's wrong.
Woody Harrelson. Give someone else a chance. You have been in nearly 80 movies and you are 56. You were fine. Maybe the best part of that movie. But c'mon.
Richard Jenkins: Liked him. Sympathetic quirky. But how is Michael Shannon not nominated for The Shape of Water? Shannon is an excellent villain. Cruel. Ambitious. Greedy. Predatory.
Christopher Plummer: I saw the previews. Did that movie ever come out? A good prop bet is whether Plummer will show up for the ceremony. I think he will.
Actress in a Leading Role: Frances McDormand as a grief-stricken, deranged, arsonist. It's been 20 years since Marge Gunderson stole our hearts in Fargo. In Three Billboards, she plays a crazy person who seems normal which I guess is why she is considered the lock for the Oscar.
Sally Hawkins is charming, courageous and loyal in The Shape of Water. True, she plays love scenes with a man-fish. That should be a plus.
Sally Hawkins (left), Man-fish-god (right)
Margot Robbie: If she did her own skating in I Tonya, I would give her at least a bronze medal.
Saorise Ronan has been acting for 15 of her 23 years. She was fine. She'll get more work.
Meryl Streep. Every year there seems to be an article about who got snubbed when Meryl Streep gets nominated. I didn't find one for this year so I guess she deserved it. She wasn't believable as the wealthy socialite. Although that's kind of what she is now. So her turn to journalist heroine didn't convince me. I thought her best performance of all time was The Devil Wear Prada. Actress in a Supporting Role: Allison Janney is despicable and mean in I Tonya and she had a bird nibbling at her ear.
Mary J. Blige: Mudbound/Didn't see it.
Leslie Manville: Phantom Thread/Didn't see it.
Laurie Metcalf: She plays the mom in Ladybird. She is troubled, stressed and confused as the parent of the lower middle-class girl. Not as over the top as Allison Janney but a better performance.
Octavia Spencer: I know The Shape of Water is set in 1962 but Spencer's character doesn't belong in a 2017 movie. This character was written especially for Spencer. And everybody seems to love her in it but me. Is it post-modern to have a sassy black sidekick?
Animated Feature Film: Coco is the consensus choice.
But Pixar chief John Lasseter is currently on a leave of absence because of sexual misconduct. "He was inappropriate with the fairies,”(young actresses promoting a Disney product line )...We had to have someone make sure he wasn’t alone with them.”
Then again, it made a lot of money, people love it and it respects Mexican culture. So #metoo and #timesup will have to wait to punish Pixar.
Coco and the Dead
Cinematography: Blade Runner 2049: Roger Deakins has been nominated 15 times including Oscar winners, No Country for Old Men and Fargo. And Not even nominated for Oscar winner, A Beautiful Mind. Longtime Coen brothers collaborator. His time has come. Loved the scene in post-apocalyptic Vegas.
Directing: The Shape of Water, Guillermo Del Toro is the pick. He won all the major awards.
Christopher Nolan: I haven't seen Dunkirk. Glad I wasn't there. Looks scary.
Jordan Peele: Get Out was my favorite movie of the year. I always favor large casts and degree of difficulty for best director awards. (For a good time, click on this link for best director. Think about Bob Fosse winning for Cabaret over Francis Ford Coppola/The Godfather. Or Kevin Costner/Dancing with Wolves over Scorcese/Goodfellas.) Peele won't win but the most thought provoking horror movie since the original Night of the Living Dead.
Greta Gerwig...Ladybird. I guess. Paul Thomas Anderson. Phantom Thread. I'm prejudiced. They rejected my tagline. "Not Just Another Sewing Picture!"
No love at all for Rian Johnson, The Last Jedi. That was a great looking movie.
A bunch of other awards.... Documentary Feature: Didn't see any of them.
Documentary Short Subject: Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?
Film Editing: Shouldn't that be same as best picture? How can the best picture not be the best edited? I pick Dunkirk because the betting line in England likes it.
Foreign Language Film: A Fantastic Woman. I didn't see it but I believe it is a reimaging of the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm-Richards).
Makeup and Hairstyling: Darkest Hour Original Score: Ask my friend Kevin.
Original Song: "Remember Me" from Coco is the favorite. I'm calling for the upset..."This is Me" from the Greatest Showman. It hit 58 on the Billboard 100. And people love that movie.
Production Design, Animated Short, Live Action Short, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects. These awards should be given out at that ceremony that they always have for Sci/Tech awards. Here is what it would sound like.
Adapted Screenplay: Call Me by your Name...A lock. Nobody saw any of these other movies. No, Mike and Dina saw Molly's Game and didn't like it.
Original Screenplay: Get Backbut it's a squeaker.
I like this category and the competition.
The Big Sick...Immigration-comedy-disease.
Lady Bird...Independent. Spirited. Sacramento.
The Shape of Water...Nostalgia. Cold War. Illustration versus photography. Human-Creature Love.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri...Not a fan. Why did the Sheriff have the glamorous wife? Why are all the black characters positive and all of the white characters (except Peter Dinklage) crazed or stupid?
Best Picture: Here is the 538 predictive model.
It shapes (pun intended) up to be a 2 picture race with The Shape of Water and Three Billboards being the favorites. Even though this is more of #metoo year (Ladybird?) than an #oscarssowhite (Get Out)year, The Shape of Water has its share of Oscar-worthy themes.
Outsiders overcoming the odds-Evil government forces-Sexual predator-disabled character (usually a gateway to an acting award- and most importantly...A deep and abiding reverence for movies.
Birdman-The Artist (how did that happen?) Argo (seriously how did that happen. What was going in 2012 ?)
The Oscar goes to The Shape of Water. To which I say...
It has been a bumpy few weeks for the stock market. I have been watching CNBC and clicking on the Stocks icon pretty regularly and thus have become an expert. It is clear that volatility has returned to the market, the VIX index is not tracking with the general market, and there is uncertainty regarding inflation in light of the last jobs report on wage growth and the need for increased borrowing by the government to fund the tax plan and the deal that the Dems and GOP are likely to make regarding the budget. If you are looking for a safe haven, I suggest a very heavy buy, in fact, a double buy recommendation in Don's Basement. It has a clean balance sheet with no obligations, steady management and brand recognition in a desirable demographic.
Don's Basement logo
Let's address the elephant in the room.
And is pink and wears glasses. That elephant is saying, "there is no revenue from Don's Basement," and thus how will I get a return on my investment. Well, just take a look at this, Loxodonta ! Here is a chart showing the world wide reach of Don's Basement.
Here is their 2018 business plan.
It is a no brainer. Like buying pets.com in 1999. Next question? How can I invest in Don's Basement as it is not a publicly traded company? Good question. You are the type of savvy investor DB wants to partner with. Currently, the best way to do this is to stuff large amounts of US paper currency (50s and 100s only) into a paper bag. We prefer paper bags as we are a green business. Let us know how much is in the bag and we will pick it up AT NO CHARGE.* Quit worrying about what the Wall Street sharpies and hucksters are doing with your money. Invest today and sleep it off tomorrow. *Do NOT consult any financial analysts. Or even tell anyone that you are doing this. This is your chance to beat the system. Free pick up is limited to Chicago area. If you live outside of the area, simply give us your bank information and passwords and we will handle all the paperwork.
Whilst researching this post, I tried to remember that psychic who predicted the future on late night TV in the 60s and 70s. My first choice was the "Amazing Kreskin" who is still active today.
Kreskin who prefers to be called a 'mentalist' is an entertainer and only does predictions as a stunt. He favors card tricks. And locating his paycheck for his personal appearances in odd places...inside a stuffed turkey, a musician's horn, a bra. Mandrake the Magician influenced a young Kreskin. Presumably, before he became "Amazing." "Although Mandrake publicly works as a stage magician, he spends much of his time-fighting criminals and combatting supernatural entities." His superpower is his ability to quickly hypnotize people. (See Don's Basement hypnosis post.) Kreskin does have a civic side. Here is Kreskin on AOL's Weird News.
1934-2002
In fact, the person I sought turned out to be The Amazing Criswell. An older man than Kreskin, Criswell was featured on radio, TV, newspapers, and in the films of Ed Wood.
Here are some of his predictions.
The aphrodisiacal era: May 1, 1988, to March 30, 1989. I predict that our own United States will in the future be swept by the popular clouds of an aphrodisiacal fragrance. ... This aroma will fill every man and woman who inhales it with uncontrolled passion. It will be sold at first "underground" like LSD or STP today. But it will soon become easily available. ...
Interplanetary Convention
Las Vegas, Nevada, March 10, 1990: The first Interplanetary Convention will be held in the new Convention Center on the famed Strip with colony citizens of Mars, Venus, Neptune and the Moon in full representation; Governor Sawyer will make the opening welcome address.
Governor Grant Sawyer: 1918-1982
South DakotaI predict that South Dakota will become the first state to legalize prostitution and the sale of marijuana. I predict that a group of ruthless men will control the state government of South Dakota in the late 1970s and their open traffic in prostitution and drugs will cause repercussions throughout the country.
Incredibly 2 out of these 3 predictions came true. Do you know which ones?
