A League of My Own

2015 Oscar Predictions

BEST PICTURE
Birdman

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman

BEST ACTOR
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Still Alice

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Graham Moore, The Imitation Game

Favorite Movies of 2014

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

2. Interstellar
3. Birdman

4. The Theory of Everything

5. Boyhood

6. Snowpiercer

7. Foxcatcher

8. The Skeleton Twins

9. Whiplash

10. Edge of Tomorrow

[Movies I'd still like to see: A Most Violent Year, Big Hero 6, Dumb and Dumber To, Inherent Vice, Into the Woods, Lucy, Mr. Turner, Nightcrawler, St. Vincent, The Interview.]
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Revisiting 2014 Resolutions

1. Take a tour of the U.S. Capitol Building.
[Unfortunately, didn't take any trips to D.C. last year. Hoping to return soon with some friends who haven't been since childhood.]

2. Create and prepare an original food recipe.

[Still too apprehensive to deviate greatly from a recipe.]

3. Support someone's artistic expression.

[Considering every film watched or book read fulfills this resolution, sure. But also sought out the artistic works of amateur creators more than previous years, so definitely.]

4. Patronize a bed and breakfast on vacation.

[Airbnb is like the hyper-modern equivalent of a bed and breakfast, and we stayed at two Airbnb homes during our California adventure. Counting it.]

5. Grow a robust beard.

[Real talk: due to my genes, every beard I grow is robust. And I did grow one for a couple of weeks at the end of the year. But I'm still waiting to undertake a true beard journey.]

6. Read a graphic novel for the first time.

[Decided to go with Y: The Last Man and enjoyed the heck out of it, especially since I read it over the course of numerous days lounging on the beach. Still largely prefer other media forms to the comic book format, but it was an enjoyable first experience.]

7. Learn to use advanced video editing software.

[Oh, how I yearn for the day I may escape the buggy clutches of the beast known only as the Windows Movie Maker.]

8. Successfully complete the 30 Day Plank Challenge.

[What.]

9. Focus on long-term, big-picture perspectives.

[Another year of feeling bogged down by the here and now.]

10. Convince someone else to complete one resolution.

[Well, I didn't stay at those Airbnb homes by myself, so technically this was fulfilled.]

(Original Post: 'Resolutions for 2014')

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