Gotham City of Stars

I've been trying to figure out where I've heard the opening of the La La Land tune City of Stars before.

Not to ruin your Oscar weekend, but...

MOVIE MONDAYBrokeback Mountrain

June is gay pride month.  Celebrate with the powerful, groundbreaking movie BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN below...

Oscar Mickey, by the numbers...

Some Mickey Mouse facts on tonight's OSCARS (literally)...  

 - Tonight's nomination for GET A HORSE! is Mickey's first Oscar Short nom since "Mickey's Christmas Carol" in 1983,

 - If it wins, it's the first short with Mickey to win since LEND A PAW in 1941...

 - If it loses, it's fifth in a row, joining  "Squatter's Rights" (1946), "Mickey and the Seal" (1948), "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) and "Runaway Brain" (1995).

 - GET A HORSE! is the third Disney short to be filmed and released in 3-D.  The first was "Melody" and the second was "Working for Peanuts" both in 1953...

 - Walt Disney Animation Studios won Best Animated Short last year for "Paperman."   It was the first Disney animated short film to win the category  in 43 years (since "It's Tough to Be a Bird" in 1969)...

 - Mickey Mouse was the first non-human recipient of an Oscar.  In 1932, Walt was honored for his creation, although Mickey's short "Mickey's Orphans" lost to Silly Symphony "Flowers and Trees."

i have a moustache now and other midweek musings

I have a moustache now.
It's two weeks old.
I look like this...

Yes, I am participating in MOVEMBER, which is a fundraiser that allows me to grow an awesome moustache during the month of November for a great cause - fighting Prostate and Testicular Cancer!

If you think that's awesome, and I know you do, CLICK HERE and donate whatever you can!

You can keep up with my moustache progress on that page too.

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Last night I caught Killing Them Softly which is a lovingly boisterous crime caper with a sense of ironic humor.  I enjoyed the director's previous film The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford and he brings the same off-beat visuals to his new film.  Returning is Brad Pitt, but he's just the anchor for a phenomenal cast that gets to ham it up - Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins and Scott McNairyn (look for Sam Shepard in a brief but memorable roll too).

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There's a new band to celebrate from my favorite Indie label Graveface Records called The Casket Girls.  It's a crossover band featuring members of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Dreamend and The Marshmallow Ghosts.  It's haunting pop rock at its best.  Available as a digital download and CD.

If you're a member of their record club, I don't have to tell you that it's also available on Vinyl, but that's our little secret.

Unless you join their Record Club here and then it's your secret too.

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In the too little too late department, I finally saw the Microsoft Windows pop-up store in Times Square this past week.  I literally laughed out loud upon passing it.

Finally Microsoft has sort of attempted a branded retail presence and they've ripped the form from Apple.

• Guys in casual wear with lanyards around their neck - CHECK

• White or transparent, minimalistic furniture to display the goods - CHECK

• Oversized propaganda graphics for walls to loom over customers - CHECK

• Colorful "new" product line - CHECK

Some words of advice to Microsoft.  "We're not for everybody"probably isn't the best first line of your new Windows Phone campaign should you perhaps want to increase your Market Share in the sector.

tweet tweet oscar...

I'll be live-tweeting the awards on Sunday.
You've been warned. Follow me @bewareoftheblog on Twitter.

stranger things have happened...

crowd-sourcing could win an Oscar...

They should invite all the members of the crowd-sourced YouTube movie LIFE IN A DAY to the Oscars if it gets a nomination. You can watch the entire movie for free here...