the world may continue about its business

on the day after the oscars, an anxious world was held hostage once again as it is every year. housewives sat in silence. businessmen postponed meetings. doctors and congressmen sat nervously in their offices. all waiting. waiting for the news to trickle into their lives once again. news that will determine the next course of human history. but, will it be good news. or bad.

so few circumstances can captivate a nation, or a world quite like the anticipation of one, final judgement. the air was thick with eagerness.

then, at 11 am est. like the sky ripping from north to south, the terrible wait was over. the silence was shattered and a collective sigh rang across this great land...




joan and melissa rivers declared "no oscar fashion flops."

the world can continue. but for how long? fight on brave ladies. fight on.

a solid "f"

the 77th annual academy awards are now in the books.

according to my "will win" category, i got 13 of the 24 categories correct. that's an appalling 54%.

on a brighter note, if you look at my "should win" category, i scored a 16 for a 66%. a passing grade. but, still not honor roll material.

all in all, in my personal "official" ballot (as downloaded from oscar.com) that was basically a combination of the two, i also scored a 16. and since that is about my average over the past 6 or 7 years. i will humbly accept it.

the only categories that i completely tanked were:

-documentary short film - my sister rose's joke really cost me here. not that i would have gone with mighty times, but whatever.

-original song - i absolutely LOVED the motorcycle diaries, but did not think much of the song. and given the santana horror-fest from the telecast, i certainly wouldn't have gone with it. but it won.

-live action short - i admitted that i knew nothing of this category. i stand by that lack of knowledge now.

-editing - how the H-E-double-hockey-sticks the aviator won in this category, i (and more importantly, dr james) will never understand.

overall, chris rock was funny. the rest of the show was pretty lame. and i think the academy did a fairly good job with their picks.

i just can't wait until miss congeniality 2 sweeps the awards next year.

until then...

the oscars made easy

what follows are my opinions on all 24 oscar categories. some are fact. some are fancy. all are to be taken seriously. come monday morning, you can all sit back and marvel at how right-on i was. unless, of course, i'm completely wrong. if that's the case, i don't want to hear it.

(warning: does contain possible spoilers regarding million dollar baby and the sea inside)

supporting actor
will win: clive owen; closer
should win: morgan freeman; million dollar baby

note: haven't seen closer but i've done my research.

supporting actress
will win: virginia madsen; sideways
should win: cate blanchett; the aviator

note: academy will reward madsen, deservedly or no, for her 'second coming.'

actor
will win: jamie foxx; ray
should win: jamie foxx; ray

note: as close to a lock as we have this year. deserves to and will win for a stark, moving performance.

actress
will win: hilary swank; million dollar baby
should win: hilary swank; million dollar baby

note: see above note, minus the lock part. annette benning always has the academy eating out of her hand. but, she's not pregnant this year so...it's gonna be '99 all over again.

director
will win: martin scorsese; the aviator
should win: clint eastwood; million dollar baby

note: one of these year, scorsese is going to win for 1980's raging bull. this could be it.

picture
will win: million dollar baby
should win: million dollar baby

note: the most complete and solid of this year's nominees.

cinematography
will win: robert richardson; the aviator
should win: zhao xiaoding; house of flying daggers

note: wanted to go with bruno delbonnel for a very long engagement but i haven't seen it. if it's anything like amelie he deserves it, too.

art direction
will win: dante ferretti; the aviator
should win: dante ferretti; the aviator

note: this is the most open category of the year, in my opinion. don't be surprised if phantom's anthony pratt, makes a trip to the podium.

adapted screenplay
will win: alexander payne & jim taylor; sideways
should win: alexander payne & jim taylor; sideways

note: who isn't in love with that script?

original screenplay
will win: brad bird; the incredibles
should win: charlie kauffman; eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

note: i'm all for giving it to the former the simpsons writer who crafted a funny and surprisingly human tale of cgi superheroes...but how many MORE brilliant scripts does mr. kauffman have to write before they give him the damn statue?! just once! come on!

animated feature
will win: the incredibles
should win: the incredibles

note: shark tale? shrek 2? no contest.

animated short
will win: gopher broke
should win: ryan

note: same old funny cgi (gopher) vs. edgy, depressing pshyco-trip (ryan.) sometimes the academy is just too predictable.

live action short
will win: the little terrorist
should win: two cars, one night

note: terrorist is the only one i know anything about. but, i love the title of two cars. basically. i don't know about this category.

foreign language film
will win: les choristes; france
should win: the sea inside; spain

note: sweet + sappy = oscar. besides, you can't have two movies about euthanasia winning big in one night.

documentary feature
will win: born into brothels
should win: farenheit 9/11...oh wait, that's right. it wasn't nominated! ha ha. michael moore is a fat idiot.

documentary short
will win: autism is a world
should win: sister rose's passion

note: if the passion of the christ is going to get shut out, sister rose should get a shot, right?

costume design
will win: sandy powell; the aviator
should win: colleen atwood; lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events

note: as long as troy's bob ringwood doesn't win. we can't go on thinking that putting brad pitt in a skirt makes a movie worth seeing.

make-up
will win: valli o'reilly & bill corso; lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events
should win: valli o'reilly & bill corso; lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events

note: i really just want to type that title as many times as i can.

original score
will win: jan a.p. kaczmarek; finding neverland
should win: thomas newman; lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events

note: see above rant about charlie kauffman. in this case, insert the name "thomas newman" for "charlie kauffman" and the word "score" for "script." it's about time he wins something.

original song
will win: "believe" from the polar express
should win: "learn your path" from the phantom of the opera

note: i'm just kidding. andrew lloyd webber should stop writing music NOW. he has lost whatever "touch" he arguably had in the first place. did anyone SEE bombay dreams?

film editing
will win: million dollar baby
should win: ray

note: sorry gentry. flying montage aside, ray was masterfully put together.

sound editing
will win: spiderman 2
should win: the incredibles

note: in my opinion, and animated picture has 2 elements. the animation. and a whole lot of sound to put together. this should earn almost every animated feature a nomination every year.

sound mixing
will win: ray
should win: the aviator

note: music soothes the savage beast. an apparently the academy voter as well.

visual effects
will win: spiderman 2
should win: spiderman 2

note: uh...does the word "no-brainer" mean anything to anyone.

enjoy the show, folks. i'm out.

alright suckahs...

it's on!

you wanted to hear about the trip. hear about it.

http://www.cadeland.com/peru_pro.htm

more pictures will be added to the cadeland galleries soon as well.

enjoy.

an open letter to the country of peru

dear peru-

thank you so much for the time that we spent together. you are truly one of the most beautiful countries i have ever met. thank you for your bright green mountains and colorful indigenous people. i can't tell you how much in enjoyed learning of your rich history and ancient culture. i will always look back on our time together with amazement and great fondness.

true, we had our moments of disagreement. but, i believe that is all part of getting to know each other. it would be naive of me to think that it would all be sunshine and roses, but i can certainly say that i learned a lot from you. and, i can only hope that you learned a little something from me.

what i don't understand is why, when we were parting, you had to go and make leaving you so difficult both financially and physically. it's not that i blame you for charging a ridiculous exit fee. or for making a simple task like immigration a mind-numbing annoyance. i want to be very clear. i was angry, yes. but that does not mean that i think any less of you. i forgive you for your shortcomings. i embrace you for them.

oh, and if you talk to bolivia, make it known that i enjoyed the time we had together as well, however brief it was.

all in all, i can only hope that you took the same experience from our meeting as i did. i feel richer and more aware of the world having met you. this past week has been everything i would have dreamed it to be. thank you again for your generosity. your warmth. your eccentricities. your faults. you should be very proud of who you are and what you have to offer the rest of us.

it has truly been a pleasure.

sincerely
cade

ps. if you happen to come across my mp3 player, could you send it back to me? if not, i understand. but it would be great to see it again.

estoy en peru

y estas no aqui....ha ha.

buenos noches

cade'

24 hours and counting

this time tomorrow, we will boarding a flight to newark. but the fun doesn't stop there. oh no, then we fly to peru. i am so pumped.

but, since i will not be in the country for my favoritist of all fabricated "holidays," valentine's day, i have decided to leave all of my friends a special greeting:



updates are possible, but a full review is certain.


take care and God bless.

more thoughts on violence in our society

a trip to the local mall turned into a monumental humanitarian effort yesterday.

in the wake of the recent blizzard that struck much of the northeast, i was horrified to discover a new group of victims affected by this tragedy. victims who we didn't even know about until the mountains of snow began to melt away. leaving a path of devistation no one should have to see.

until now, these victims have gone basically unnoticed and i believe that if it weren't for me, their story may never have been told.

i was just glad i had my camera.

view the injustice.

even from the very beginning, the devastation was evident. i'm sure the thoughtless plow trucks don't want you to see this.

the tragedy.

the horror.

the struggle for survival.

the unknowing carts were frozen in the throws of death.

a survivor tries in vain to rescue a lost friend.

in the eerie silence of a new day, the melting snow continues to uncover the nameless casualties.
snow removal bueracracy has GOT to be re-evaluated. this simply must not happen again.

i hate to be a downer but...

i am very, very ashamed at myself right now.

every year, as the academy awards roll around, i make it a point to see as many of the movies nominated in the major categories as possible. this year, i have (at post time) seen all of the best picture nominees and most of the acting award nominees. as of this morning, the only two movies i was lacking and had a desire to see were closer (supporting actor: clive owen; supporting actress: natalie portman) and hotel rwanda (actor: don cheadle; supporting actress: sophie okonedo).

so, fulfilling my duty, i went to see hotel rwanda this afternoon so i could "cross it off my list." what followed was a personal lesson in getting my ass kicked for being so incredible shallow. suddenly, seeing a movie simply so i can be "more educated" on oscar night showed me how truly uneducated i am.

this movie, while maybe not the BEST movie i've seen in years (although i could probably argue that,) was certainly the most IMPORTANT one i've seen in years.

i just wanted to take the time, not to review the film or it's performances (which are incredible,) but to vent a little at myself for the life of ignoance and comfort i choose to live. i was so moved by the people and the impossible situations in this film. i was reminded in such a real way of the absolute horror that exists in this world of ours. that the reality of life for parts of the world relies on family and survival despite unbelievable adversity, not on the fact that the heater doesn't work in my car or that i only have enough spending money to buy ONE dvd this week.

truly, i just want to openly evaluate my world view before i go and watch the ever-important superbowl and begin the process of letting my uneasiness slowly slip away, as i forget about this momentary feeling and recomform to the selfish and materialistic life that i have built for myself. but before i do that, i want to remember what i learned: and that is there is a lot of pain and injustice out there and a lot of joy to be found in simplest of moments.

i wish i could say that this will change me, but i know myself too well.

i urge you all to see hotel rwanda. i'm not saying everyone will have the same reaction, but believe me, it's worth it to find ot.

senseless

WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC CONTENT AND IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

i'm beginning to wonder what kind of neighborhood i've moved into. tonight, i was struck with a sudden and unavoidable craving for ice cream. so, i did the only thing i could. i headed to the local stop 'n' shop for some tin roof sundae.


to my horror, my trip was cut short as soon as i hit the back steps of the apartment.

i stumbled upon this...shocking carnage:




i mean, honestly. i don't know what to think anymore of a society that allows this sort of violence to take place so close to my door.

i really feel for the pumpkin's poor family.

all right i'll post something.

i've gotten a few queries as to why i haven't posted anything this week. quite simply i haven't had anything to talk about. so here is a forced post detailing the past week in cadeland:

-thought about, but ultimately decided against, cleaning my room

-am close to finishing the first draft of my new short film script to be shot sometime in the next 10 years

-have carried on a lengthy correspondence with a man in ireland with terrible english skills about our ability to transfer money from one of his dead client's accounts into mine to help him out (despite my every insult and firm "no"s he continues to email me in a postive manner...actually this has been pretty fun)

-thought about, but ultimately decided against, doing a load or two of laundry

-have watched approximately 6 movies including finding neverland, maria full of grace, rushmore, dirty pretty things and (because of james' post) serendipity

-left the apartment to meet my roommate at galyans and subsequently went to 4 other places. combined cost of trip: $150 (this is why i don't go outside)

-developed a rather unhealthy addiction to the espn.com college basketball message boards

-put a dent into the organizing of the countless digital photographs i have taken in the last year

and finally

-thought about, but ultimately decided against, beginning my search for a new job

if you find any of this interesting, i'm sorry. hopefully, this will keep some of you busy until something actually happens worth writing about.