2010 Best Picture Oscar Nominees by Main Character’s Occupation

Written by Christopher Null on March 3rd, 2010

Want to make a hit movie? Here’s what your main character ought to do for a living… at least per 2010′s 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees*.

* Presumes The Blind Side is actually about Michael Oher and not Leigh Anne Tuohy. If you disagree, adjust chart accordingly.

For kicks, adding in the occupation of the 20 Best Actor/Actress and Supporting Actor/Actress nominees (includes some movies more than once).

How Much to Delete this Post?

Written by Christopher Null on March 1st, 2010

I wonder if the critic got any of the $400,000? That’s like $1000 a word… nice!

Last month, Variety panned a thriller called Iron Cross. But the review has been disappeared from Variety‘s web site, which probably has something to do with the $400,000 Iron Cross‘ producers paid to Variety for an awards campaign.

From the Mouths of Babes

Written by Christopher Null on February 20th, 2010

Scene: Kids watching TV in the morning via Tivo. Commercial comes on.

Me: “Fast-forward it.”

Child: “I wanna see this!”

Me: “It’s a commercial!”

Child: “But it’s cereal!”

Exeunt.

Unsubscribe, Unsubscribe, Unsubscribe…

Written by Christopher Null on February 18th, 2010

Whatever you do, don’t let yourself get signed up for any General Electric newsletter, or you’ll have to deal with this.

Not Quite a Quarter

Written by Christopher Null on February 11th, 2010

Time on the phone spent trying to close a checking account with a lingering, $0.16 balance: 9 minutes.

Implied wage: $1.06/hour.

How Much Do I Love This GIF?

Written by Christopher Null on January 31st, 2010

THIS much.

I Like Forest

Written by Christopher Null on January 19th, 2010

Something about this email from “Stephenie” (reprinted verbatim) just speaks to me. Can’t put my finger on it. Oddly there are no links in the email, just this text.

Im woman. I have a red hair with copper shimmering. My eyes is purple. I am high. I have beautiful chest. My hair is long straight. I live in a big city. I work in banking. I like to watch funny comedies. Representations in the theater. I like meet friends . I like forest. If you talk about me I am dangerous panther. Most of all in men I value sense of humor. When I saw you theater. I agreed that must. Because I can be for you a incredible lover or someone great if you want. I’m wait.

Oil Rigs?

Written by Christopher Null on January 12th, 2010

This is a photo of the actual warning notice on a new Blu-ray disc… not a joke.

(click for larger photo)

Don’t Look at the Camera

Written by Christopher Null on January 7th, 2010

Publicity still from today’s Lady Gaga/Polaroid event…

(click for full size to see if you can spot “the issue”…)

It Was Only a Matter of Time…

Written by Christopher Null on January 4th, 2010

I’m surprised it took so long…

Watch Me Race

Written by Christopher Null on January 4th, 2010

This is my 10th (I think) year participating in the Tiger Direct Charity PC Race, which begins at 7pm on Thursday, January 7th while I’m at CES. You can watch it live right here:

Anything to Stay Relevant…

Written by Christopher Null on December 31st, 2009

In Roger Ebert’s world, the best movies of the decade include the retarded Bad Lieutenant remake, the Kill Bill movies, Spike Lee’s tepid The 25th Hour, Linklater’s experimental (and little else) Waking Life, and Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York (the best movie of the ’00s)!

I guess Herzog’s threat has done its job.

Like Getting Hit in the Face

Written by Christopher Null on December 25th, 2009

“I can’t stand to see a woman bleed from the mouth. It reminds me of that country and western music, which I cannot abide.”

- one genius line of many from In the Loop

Everything’s Coming Up Roses

Written by Christopher Null on December 24th, 2009

Daily Virgo Horoscope – 24th December, 2009

T’was the night before Christmas and all through the land, there were Virgos who were realizing that they had two basic choices: they could continue to act like the weight of the world was on their shoulders or they could get with the new program and start to embrace the fact that the worst of the tough times are over. Virgo, you are actually in line for some happy times, intense maybe, but potentially very happy and also fun. Life is what we make of it – you don’t need to be a New Age hippy to get that.

Just Click It

Written by Christopher Null on December 21st, 2009

Don’t want to tell you too much. Just give it a try.

You Want Teeth? I Give You Teeth

Written by Christopher Null on December 17th, 2009

Sometimes two press releases arrive at just the right time…

when emails collide

Ever Wonder What Nickelodeon Slime Is Made Out Of?

Written by Christopher Null on December 7th, 2009

Well, we were wondering about that last night, so I figured I’d look it up… Wikipedia to the rescue.

Several different recipes of slime were used during the series’ decade-long run, some resulting in thin, watery slime and others in thick, chunky slime. In an interview with YCDTOTV.com, longtime YCDTOTV crew member Bill Buchanan explained the origin of the slime in 1979: “…one script called for this kinda disgusting slimy green stuff – but with no real indication of what it was going to be used for. … The description was that it was just something green and slimy and disgusting … Anyhow, [properties man Paul Copping] mixed up a whole green garbage can … with slime. I know he’d colored it with green latex paint. God knows what else was in it, but it was disgusting. And it was parked inside the studio door, and everyone was kinda avoiding it because it was really foul looking. I mean, he had like sausages floating in it.”

By the time it was actually used to be dumped on a child’s head, toxicity became a concern…

“We concocted some stuff made out of green Jell-o, or gelatin. We made it by the bucket. We bought hundreds of packages of lime Jell-o or gelatin over the years.”

For several years afterwards, the slime consisted of this mixture of lime green gelatin powder and flour; eventually, oatmeal was added to the recipe, as was baby shampoo so that it would wash out of the actors’ hair more easily.

Step One: Obtain Typewriter Ribbon

Written by Christopher Null on December 4th, 2009

Love this letter from J.D. Salinger…

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I’m Wondering If You Can Help Me…

Written by Christopher Null on December 3rd, 2009

As someone who used to fix computers part-time but stopped advertising his services over six years ago, I can attest to the veracity of this “guide to being the local PC repair dude.” Specifically:

Expect to be riddled with calls and requests for fixing computers for the rest of your natural life.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Written by Christopher Null on December 2nd, 2009

If this isn’t Snuggie weather I don’t know what is.