Tuesday evening, drinking iced tea

[cleolinda]

More Oscar coverage, with particular regard to the hijinx of Dame Helen:

Sunday night: "Helen Mirren doesn't expect to be getting a congratulatory call from England's Queen Elizabeth II, the woman she portrayed in her Oscar-winning role in The Queen. 'Not ever,' she said backstage at Sunday's Oscar show.... 'There are many countries in the world where one would not be allowed to make this film. It's generous of the queen and the royal family to sit back and not interfere. I do believe she is a noble person in the best sense of the word.' "

Tuesday morning (link from bookworm): The Queen's people are inviting Mirren to tea, or at least "looking at a number of options." That should be interesting.

And then, from akathorne: Mirren reveals on Oprah that she went braless to the Oscars. “You look at the inside of this dress. It’s as beautiful as the outside. It’s fantastic. It was all made for me, so I didn’t have to have any underwear. [grabbing chest ] It held me like two angel’s hands.” With, uh, video.

Speaking of which, our Best Dressed poll: The top four, as decided by y'all, were 1) Cate Blanchett (28.0%), 2) Helen Mirren (19.9%), 3) Kate Winslet (14.6%) and 4) Reese Witherspoon (13.1%). Meanwhile, I didn't even notice Jennifer Hudson's third dress until this evening, and would have put it on the poll instead of the red dress in a heartbeat.

Infernal Affairs Filmmakers Divided on The Departed.

Oscar FeudWatch: Sound Mixer Smackdown! "A reporter asks the Sound Mixing winners for Dreamgirls about Kevin O'Connell, one of the Sound Mixing losers for Apocalypto--and one of Oscars all-time losers, now having been vanquished 19 times. 'I just wonder what Kevin's trying to do out there by trying to get an award by using sympathy,' an absolutely straight-faced Oscar-holding Michael Minkler says. 'And Kevin's an okay mixer, but enough's enough about Kevin.... I think he should just take up another line of work." Jury's out on whether this was tongue-in-cheek or not, but... the guy goes on a little bit too long, you know?

Linkspam proper:

lauramcvey, from whom I heard it first: "Kenneth Eng is at it again: he published a piece on why he hates African-Americans. During Black History Month. Oooh, boy. For those of you who aren't familiar with the guy, he's widely known on the Net for spamming messageboards with praise for his (godawful) sci-fi novels. He also runs a website, from which he speechifies about why he is God. No, really. He lists himself as 'Kenneth Eng, God' on his Amazon page."

jasminelily: "To piggyback on the above, here's the article in the SF Chronicle about that."

From CNN: Column on 'Why I Hate Blacks' condemned.


Study: Vanity on the rise among college students. " 'We need to stop endlessly repeating "You're special" and having children repeat that back,' said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. 'Kids are self-centered enough already.' " THANK YOU. I swear, my class (high school class of 1997) was one of the last classes before the You're a Winner Just for Showing Up! ethos really set in at schools. Granted, we were always given little "thanks for participating" trophies in the (non-school) softball league, but I do believe actual merit-based trophies were also given out. And I can understand wanting to shore up kids' self-esteem to a certain level--as in the example above, to encourage girls to be athletic. But the participation trophies were always comfortably dinky, and they didn't take the place of merit-based awards. By the time my sister was in grade school, we were at the point where some schools were phasing out merit-based awards because kids' feelings might be hurt. You know what? Fuck you. Sorry, but this really burns my toast, because in a world where no one values merit, neither is anyone given any incentive to surpass the status quo. I mean, why bother? Everyone's got the God-given right to receive the same dinky trophy, no more and no less, so why put forth any extra effort? Besides, you shouldn't have to--the awards should just come to you, because you're special. And I'm telling you, I instantly realized what fruit this policy had borne when I started watching American Idol in its first season and saw all those talentless, self-entitled, back-talking kids in the cattle-call auditions--kids who had just emerged from that wonderful cocoon of encouraged mediocrity. GAH.

(Where's my walker? Is it time for Jello yet?)

thatlizgirl: "Few people know this, but yesterday marked the beginning of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAW)." She mentioned this in the context of Jennifer Hudson being completely fabulous and a great role model, by the way.

mercat: "Hey, I thought you might be interested in this since you put the hunger site/breast cancer site/literacy site links at the bottom of each post: it's to raise donations of pads and tampons and whatnot for shelters and other situations where people who can't afford it can get most everything else but that. At least that's the gist of it!"

Occupying Entire Wing Of Promises Assures Britney Spears A Baldwin-Free Recovery Experience.

Suspected steroid ring to stars busted.

JJ Abrams officially directing Star Trek reboot for Christmas Day 2008 release. Speaking of which, EW did post an uncanny Sinise/McCoy comparison.

New Umbridge, Harry, Weasley Twins Photo from OotP. The twins lost all their floppy hair! What the hell! Meanwhile, 'Harry Potter' makes racy stage debut; Potter Fans Mob "Equus" Actors at Stage Door; Daniel Radcliffe fans force Richard Griffiths out of window. ("Radcliffe looks at Equus as a way of bidding his best-known character, Harry Potter, farewell: 'With this, they can say I'm good or terrible, but the one thing they can't say is I haven't challenged myself.... That iconic scene is the physical and emotional climax of the play. So if I do that with pants on, it would be crap.' ")

SEGA Reveals Golden Compass Game Details.

'Chad Vader,' Brother of Darth, Becomes YouTube Smash.

Nicolas Cage may do remake of The Fly. NO.

Dueling Darwin biopics? I agree, though--whoever casts Skandar Keynes in some capacity wins.

shusu has an Amazing Grace poll! Go forth and help us figure out if I'm crazy the advertising really was skewed.

Comments

[gabsy.livejournal.com]

Although does commando imply no underwear at ALL? Because I thought she meant that her dress had breast support meaning that she did not need a bra.

But maybe I'm wrong.

I have a soft spot for Gary Sinise since he was Lieutenant Dan.

[lysariala.livejournal.com]

thats what i thought too...

[sideofzen.livejournal.com]

Everyone lost their floppy hair in OotP! I already cannot stand Harry's hair from the pictures. WAY too short. Bring back the floppy, I say!

[kismeteve.livejournal.com]

Um, wow. I applaud anyone who manages to get Richard Griffiths through a window.

[tavella.livejournal.com]

I suspect the invited-to-tea thing may be less spectacular than you are thinking; the Queen hosts several large garden tea parties every summer. So not the two of them eyeing each other over a table, but more a quick few words in the receiving line.

[laurelin-kit.livejournal.com]

By the time my sister was in grade school, we were at the point where some schools were phasing out merit-based awards because kids' feelings might be hurt. You know what? Fuck you. Sorry, but this really burns my toast, because in a world where no one values merit, neither is anyone given any incentive to surpass the status quo. I mean, why bother? Everyone's got the God-given right to receive the same dinky trophy, no more and no less, so why put forth any extra effort? Besides, you shouldn't have to--the awards should just come to you, because you're special. And I'm telling you, I instantly realized what fruit this policy had borne when I started watching American Idol in its first season and saw all those talentless, self-entitled, back-talking kids in the cattle-call auditions--kids who had just emerged from that wonderful cocoon of encouraged mediocrity. GAH.


I agree with everything here. It has always, always pissed me off that there's this special unique snowflake and you just tried so that was wonderful, now go have a cookie attitude. Fuck that. I started seeing the consequences of that when kids at my high school no longer felt shame for doing things wrong. Not breaking the rules, no, just having the wrong answer. Where did the shame go? I thought when you were called upon to answer a question and you didn't know, you were supposed to feel guilty, not own it and be all "Yeah, I'm ignorant. Jellus?"

And don't even get me started on this "red pen is harmful" crap. Teachers grade in purple because red pen hurts children's feelings. Boo-hoo. They made a mistake on a paper or a test. That is bad. It should sting so they have motivation to get better.

As an example, Twenge cited a song commonly sung to the tune of "Frere Jacques" in preschool: "I am special, I am special. Look at me."

AUGH. This explains MySpace.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

YES.

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

Seriously, this "I am special" crap needs to go. We need healthy competition in schools and less mollycoddling. I'm in college and the professors mark exams in red, so I'll never understand this "red hurts kids' feelings" idea. I went to high school with so many people who just floated by, smirking because they knew they could get aay with the same priviledges as the AP students without any efforts. It sucked and it needs to end. NOW.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hey, you know what? If we answer questions incorrectly, maybe we NEED to feel bad. I'm not saying suicidally so, but then--it's RED PEN, not your firstborn's blood, for God's sake.

[iczer6.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but this really burns my toast, because in a world where no one values merit, neither is anyone given any incentive to surpass the status quo.

I agree.

I'm thinking of the line from 'The Incredibles' about how making everyone special means that no one is.

[londonsparrow.livejournal.com]

My first thought on seeing the Vanity on the Rise headline: "What, college students being self-absorbed? SHOCKING!" Because, really, what else is new (I say this as a college student, btw). But the difference between getting to know yourself and blind vanity is being wrongly obscured, sadly.

I hope that Golden Compass game is cool. (Speaking of, from several weeks ago - would you have any objection if I used the icon you made of the screencap of Serafina Pekkala? I heart Eva Green.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hey, go for it--I have two different versions, take your pick. : )

[serizawa3000.livejournal.com]

Here's an Oscar Fashion sort of question...

Apparently George Takei was spotted on the red carpet and in the words of someone who saw him on the TV, he was in a "gorgeous hakama." No screencaps have turned up yet, and I didn't see Takei myself, but now I'm curious...

Anybody seen screencaps of Mr. Takei? Anyone? Anyone?

I fail at pop culture slang

[ter369.livejournal.com]

From your Oscar-blogging, would you please explain to Ter (who goes to the opera more than to the movies): "Dr. Tumnus"? It came up at least twice, but I breezed on to other (of the MANY) details you covered.

Thanks!

Re: I fail at pop culture slang

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

James McAvoy played Mr. Tumnus in the recent Narnia movie, but as he also played Idi Amin's physician in The Last King of Scotland, I figured it was time to upgrade him to Dr. Tumnus.

[kethlenda.livejournal.com]

I'm high school class of '95, and I find that most people older than myself tend to assume that I was one of the children of this trend. Nope. We were definitely living in the days of merit-based awards when I was in school. They did have "comfortably dinky" (love that phrase) participation awards sometimes, though it was a lot more likely that there would be one person who would win an award for sportsmanship or participation or whatever, so that there was even competition to go above and beyond in terms of participation.

I wouldn't like to be a kid today. I loved kicking ass at something and being recognized for it. I wasn't even an athlete. I did spelling bees, that sort of thing. But still.

[troubleinchina.livejournal.com]

I find it incredibly difficult to deal with people who were raised with this new mentality. I mean, my former flat-mate wanted praise for *looking for work*. Not getting work, not looking for work on her own (she needed someone to go with her because it was scary), not even looking for work for a whole day (in the three months she lived with me, she looked for work for about a full 8 hours), but just looking for work.

....

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[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Thoughts:

-I think The Incredibles really made your point for you about Special Snowflake Children, Cleo.

- The "Kenneth Eng is at it again" link goes to the wrong place. It's some kind of financial report? WTF?

- Jennifer Hudson's 3rd dress looks great.

[serizawa3000.livejournal.com]

I barely remember much of grade school now, other than the fact that children, for all we do or try to do to keep them on the straight and narrow... are cruel (even at a Catholic school, such as the one I went to). Maybe not intentionally, even, but still... I was one of the brainy ones. There was a gifted program, and I was in it.

Then came high school. Looking back on it, I thought of it as a prison term: keep your head down, do your own time. I grew up at a time when teachers seemed to have the power of life and death.

I'm a substitute teacher nowadays... well, I was... but for the most part I have had little or no power over the children. Possibly because I'm not a real teacher? Considering my first day on the job was on a Friday in June before the last week of school. Lesson plan and everything. But it's all some sort of joke, it seems... sink the sub, sink the sub. Raised my voice a little more than I wanted to. But at least I walked out of there on my own, as opposed to being wheeled out... And the last time I had to actually flex some disciplinary muscle (taking two first-grade boys to the principal's office. Well, what was I supposed to do? One of them jabbed the other with a pencil... the principal later said it was an accident)... I was called on it (had to go tell my side of the story to Human Resources), and so I'm not teaching at that school again, and due to my lack of experience (which I'm not getting because I'm not getting called in to teach), I'm more of a teaching assistant... and my first day on *that* job was with the ED kids...

If the children are our future, I dare say we been PUNKED.

[eldritch-flame.livejournal.com]

But at least I walked out of there on my own, as opposed to being wheeled out...

Yeah, subs where open season for my class when I was in elementary/junior high. I would usually just take the opportunity to catch up on whatever book I was reading (I was a dreamy kid and not overly vindictive), but the rest of the class... I still remember one of the subs I had in junior high (I think gr7, but might've been gr8) going out into the hall to cry. And one of my actual teachers in elementary gave up teaching completely (we were her first class) and moved to, like, China or somewhere.

[evilsimon.livejournal.com]

I am of the Special Snowflake generation, and even I want to smack most of my fellow age-people. Grah.

[promise19.livejournal.com]

Did anybody else think that Nicole Kidman was missing an extra little Nicole Kidman head coming out of that "thing" on her dress, like Johnny Knoxville (http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/columbia_pictures/men_in_black_ii/johnny_knoxville/cog.jpg) in Men In Black II? (Yes, I know it was a bow, but most of the time, it just looked like a holder for her missing "little head.")

And thanks for the Chad Vader link! Loved it.

[alexthedevil.livejournal.com]

Thought you might be amused by this:

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21294336-2,00.html?from=public_rss

THREE teens who allegedly tried to steal petrol from a sawmill's fuel shed have been charged with arson after they used a cigarette lighter to see in the dark - and burned the place down.

The idiocy astounds me.

[flamingtoilet.livejournal.com]

I'm highly amused by your tag listing of "asshaberdashery".

[undying-rose17.livejournal.com]

I remember very clearly when the whole "you're special just because you can breathe" thing started, because for me, it literally happened from one year to the next.

When I was in third grade, they still grouped us by ability in classes. If you still couldn't read, you weren't put in the same class as kids who were reading chapter books at the tender age of eight-and-a-half. If you could do long multiplication, you weren't put in the same class as kids who still hadn't learned that 1+1=2. Granted, there were a few classes where everyone was grouped together--back then, social studies and science were a pretty even playing field, at least if you could read--but those of us who excelled were allowed to excel.

But then, what a difference between third and fourth grade. When I entered the fourth grade, I was at a seventh-grade reading level, but because they didn't want any hurt feelings, I was placed in the same class as kids who were still having a rough time with "See Spot Run." Everyone got gold stars "just for trying," and those of us who actually accomplished something were so bored with the level of work we were stuck doing and finishing half an hour before anyone else that we actually started getting in trouble.

Is it important for kids to feel good about themselves? Sure, but for the right reasons, not "just because we don't want anyone's feelings hurt." Kids should be praised for what they do well, if only so that they have a realistic expectation of what things will be like when they reach adulthood. I mean, I don't know of any bosses who would give you a $500 bonus "just for showing up."

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

What scares me is what these kids are going to be like when they're in their 30s and 40s.

[cindyg.livejournal.com]

NICK CAGE IN A REMAKE OF THE FLY?!?!?

I'm sorry for the allcaps, but holy Mother of Everything, that is just SO WRONG.

::shudders::

[zrath.livejournal.com]

As if "The Wicker Man" hadn't been bad enough.
I mean, I like Cage, he's done some good stuff, but holy crap, he needs to be pickier.

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

Meanwhile, I didn't even notice Jennifer Hudson's third dress until this evening, and would have put it on the poll instead of the red dress in a heartbeat.
I would have voted for it! It's gorgeous.

[yarha.livejournal.com]

Mirren reveals on Oprah that she went braless to the Oscars.

It's been said before: there is nothin' like a dame.

Yarha,Nothin' in the World (http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/southpacific/thereisnothinlikeadame.htm): For Those Too Young to Remember, and Even Me

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hey, *I* remember--my mom used to play R&H songs on the piano all the time when I was very young. I particularly liked the one about washing that man right out of one's hair.

[anonymisty.livejournal.com]

By the time my sister was in grade school, we were at the point where some schools were phasing out merit-based awards because kids' feelings might be hurt. You know what? Fuck you.

WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I'm right behind you!! We're raising generations of kids who never learn how to handle failure, then we wonder why they end up as unsuccessful adults. I work in a middle school, where we are constantly fussed at about test scores, right next to administrators who pat kids on the head and tell them that "just okay" is good enough. I spoke to one of the language arts classes recently, about my upcoming novel. They couldn't fathom how I managed to write 100K original words all by myself. *sigh*

[riney.livejournal.com]

I know the Chad Vader guys!

Really, that's all I wanted to say.

[lucky-guess.livejournal.com]

I'm sorta glad the floppy hair is gone on both the twins and harry. It makes them look more serious, which is on par with the movie's general tone. That, and short hair cuts are more practical for fighting, and are associated with soldiers. I think it's deliberate.

[dancingxstar.livejournal.com]

My stepsister is firmly part of this "Snowflake generation", and it just makes her so much worse. Her mother is a rather poor parent, and praises everything she does anyway, but even when I was her age (which would be less than 10 years ago - can't be more exact than that, as I have no idea how old she is), that type of thing would be quickly corrected at school. Instead she's constantly being told how wonderful she is, though from what I've seen of her work she's only just at or perhaps slightly below a reasonable standard for her level.

One of these days she will have to see what the real world is like, and God help her then. Let's just hope that by then the real world hasn't become just as bad...because she really needs a good shock.