John of all trades

Today was a particularly enjoyable weekend. I welcomed a friend from high school, Olivia, for the weekend. Friday some friends and I ventured out to the trendy area of Chicago called Wicker Park. We had a great time at the bar, Northside, until I went out to O'Hare to pick-up Liv. After a little iHop, Olivia and I spent the afternoon doing some Chicago tourist things. It was a brutal cold, but she enjoyed all the shopping areas on Michigan Avenue. We also walked around Millennium Park, The Bean, and the rest of the loop. Saturday night we had a nice dinner at Angelina's, and then met friends at Lux downtown for Nimit's birthday. Liv had never been to Chicago before; and it was fun to show her around. I dropped her back off last night and wished her well.

1. One of the movies getting a lot of Oscar buzz is the Iraq War drama, The Hurt Locker. The stars are not any big names, but there are minor roles for Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pierce. Everyone I spoke with thought the movie was terrific. I actually give the movie only a C. Clearly the director tried very hard to make the film a piece of art. Over-acting and an abundance of superfluously sad moments will make the film an instant favorite with the Oscar voters. For example, super slow motion shots of bullet shells hitting the ground were examples of the director trying too hard for the film to be artsy. Not a terrible movie, just over-rated.

2. Taylor Swift won Album of the year? This is American music in 2010, huh? I will just keep rocking on to my classic rock thank you very much.