Favorite Movies of 2012

1. Django Unchained

2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
3. Argo

4. Silver Linings Playbook

5. Moonrise Kingdom

6. The Avengers

7. Looper

8. This is 40

9. Searching for Sugar Man

10. Brave

[Movies I didn't get a chance to see: Zero Dark Thirty, Amour, Cloud Atlas, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, The Grey, Flight.]
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Revisiting 2012 Resolutions

1. Cease biting finger nails once and for all.

[Yep, I finally did it. The experience of trimming my fingernails for the first time in 29 years of existence was quite surreal.]

2. Visit a national park.

[Hoped to visit Ellis Island for the first time, but never made it. And now, due to damage from the hurricane, the island is closed indefinitely.]

3. Write twenty-five pages of anything.

[It seems the countless hours of "writing" I've done in my head while lying awake at night don't count, unfortunately.]

4. Be less frustrated by small issues.

[I really tried, honestly, but then somebody incorrectly uses the word 'infamous' in a Facebook post, and I'm left seething with rage.]

5. Adopt a dog.

[Our community association does not allow dog ownership. Our community association does allow cat ownership. This makes me very, very upset.]

6. Help re-elect President Obama.

[A donation here, a campaign phone call there, and boom: four more years!]

7. Scan collection of childhood photos.

[No way my outdated scanner would have been up to the task. And to be honest, there's something special about having a bunch of old shoeboxes brimming with photos tucked away under the bed.

8. Watch all seasons of Mad Men and/or Breaking Bad.

[And Mad Men instantly moves to the top tier of my favorite television series of all time.]

9. Donate blood.

[Just hours prior to my scheduled appointment, I discovered I was ineligible to donate this year (and possibly beyond). A monetary donation to the American Red Cross would have to suffice.]

10. Complete half of these resolutions by June 30th.

[Not quite, but that's the beauty of making all these resolutions: underperforming still yields good results. Like ending a lifelong bad habit.]

(Original Post: 'Resolutions for 2012')

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My 2012 Presidential Election Prediction

(click map for larger view)
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Barack Obama ~ 303 Electoral Votes, 52% Popular Vote

Mitt Romney ~ 235 Electoral Votes, 47% Popular Vote
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2012 Oscar Predictions

BEST PICTURE
Predicted Winner: The Artist

Potential Spoilers: Dare I say Hugo?

Preferred Winner: The Artist

BEST DIRECTOR
Predicted Winner: Michel Hanazavicius, The Artist
Potential Spoilers: Everybody loves Martin Scorsese.

Preferred Winner: Well, Martin Scorsese, of course.

BEST ACTOR
Predicted Winner: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Potential Spoilers: George Clooney, unfortunately.

Preferred Winner: Jean Dujardin's smile.

BEST ACTRESS
Predicted Winner: Viola Davis, The Help
Potential Spoilers: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Preferred Winner: Team Streep, always and forever.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Predicted Winner: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Potential Spoilers: Maybe the other veteran actor, Max von Sydow, but most likely not.

Preferred Winner: Hmm, I guess Plummer.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Predicted Winner: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Potential Spoilers: Berenice Bejo, The Artist

Preferred Winner: Melissa "Hot Lava" McCarthy!

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Predicted Winner: Midnight in Paris
Potential Spoilers: The Artist

Preferred Winner: Midnight in Paris

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Predicted Winner: The Descendants
Potential Spoilers: Maybe Moneyball, or Hugo?

Preferred Winner: Hugo

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Predicted Winner: Rango
Potential Spoilers: If it's a kooky year, maybe Chico & Rita.

Preferred Winner: Anything but Puss in Boots, please.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Predicted Winner: A Separation (Iran)
Potential Spoilers: Any it seems, but leaning towards In Darkness (Poland).

Preferred Winner: Haven't seen any of the five, unfortunately.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Predicted Winner: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Potential Spoilers: Again, it seems anyone could win, but maybe Undefeated.

Preferred Winner: Once again, haven't seen any of the five.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Predicted Winner: The Tree of Life
Potential Spoilers: The Artist, and outside chance for Hugo.

Preferred Winner: Hugo or The Artist

BEST FILM EDITING
Predicted Winner: The Artist
Potential Spoilers: Hugo

Preferred Winner: Hugo or The Artist

BEST ART DIRECTION
Predicted Winner: Hugo
Potential Spoilers: The Artist

Preferred Winner: The Artist or Hugo...notice a pattern?

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Predicted Winner: The Artist
Potential Spoilers: This category is all over the place, but maybe Jane Eyre or Hugo.

Preferred Winner: The Artist...or Hugo.

BEST MAKEUP
Predicted Winner: The Iron Lady
Potential Spoilers: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Preferred Winner: None really, though the makeup of Albert Nobbs haunts my dreams.

BEST SOUND EDITING
Predicted Winner: Hugo
Potential Spoilers: War Horse

Preferred Winner: Hugo

BEST SOUND MIXING
Predicted Winner: Hugo
Potential Spoilers: War Horse

Preferred Winner: Hugo

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Predicted Winner: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Potential Spoilers: Hugo, and outside chance for a Harry Potter farewell win.

Preferred Winner: Hugo

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Predicted Winner: The Artist

Potential Spoilers: Hugo

Preferred Winner: Clearly, no score was more critical this year than The Artist's score.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Predicted Winner: 'Man or Muppet,' The Muppets
Potential Spoilers: Insert joke here about only one other song being nominated.

Preferred Winner: Academy Award winner Bret McKenzie? Yes, please!

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Predicted Winner: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Potential Spoilers: Any really, but maybe La Luna.

Preferred Winner: Loved The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Predicted Winner: Saving Face
Potential Spoilers: Thinking The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.

Preferred Winner: Unfortunately, haven't seen any of them.

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Predicted Winner: The Shore
Potential Spoilers: Again, any of them, but maybe Tuba Atlantic or Raju.

Preferred Winner: I don't know, but Time Freak is either the best or worst title ever.

Resolutions for 2012

1. Cease biting fingernails once and for all.

2. Visit a national park.

3. Write twenty-five pages of anything.

4. Be less frustrated by small issues.

5. Adopt a dog.

6. Help re-elect President Obama.

7. Scan collection of childhood photos.

8. Watch all seasons of Mad Men and/or Breaking Bad.

9. Donate blood.

10. Complete half of these resolutions by June 30th.