Oscar Picks

IT'S THE BIGGEST NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD!  I'm so excited for the Oscars tonight.  My picks are bolded in red, with my commentary in purple italics.

Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook"- But I really want it to be Bradley!
Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln"
Hugh Jackman in "Les Misérables"
Joaquin Phoenix in "The Master"
Denzel Washington in "Flight"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin in "Argo"
Robert De Niro in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones in "Lincoln"
Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained"

Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty"- Total Toss-up between J.Law and Jess
Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"- But I love her!
Naomi Watts in "The Impossible"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams in "The Master"
Sally Field in "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway in "Les Misérables"- Anne is by far my least favorite actress, but she'll probs win
Helen Hunt in "The Sessions"
Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook"- I WISH she would win.  Incredible, little Jacki, incredible!

Animated Feature Film
"Brave" Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
"Frankenweenie" Tim Burton
"ParaNorman" Sam Fell and Chris Butler
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits" Peter Lord
"Wreck-It Ralph" Rich Moore

Cinematography
"Anna Karenina" Seamus McGarvey
"Django Unchained" Robert Richardson
"Life of Pi" Claudio Miranda
"Lincoln" Janusz Kaminski
"Skyfall" Roger Deakins

Costume Design
"Anna Karenina" Jacqueline Durran
"Les Misérables" Paco Delgado
"Lincoln" Joanna Johnston
"Mirror Mirror" Eiko Ishioka
"Snow White and the Huntsman" Colleen Atwood

Directing
"Amour" Michael Haneke
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Benh Zeitlin
"Life of Pi" Ang Lee
"Lincoln" Steven Spielberg
"Silver Linings Playbook" David O. Russell

Film Editing
"Argo" William Goldenberg
"Life of Pi" Tim Squyres
"Lincoln" Michael Kahn
"Silver Linings Playbook" Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
"Zero Dark Thirty" Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

Makeup and Hairstyling
"Hitchcock" Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"  Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
"Les Misérables" Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Music (Original Song)
"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice," Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted," Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi," Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall," Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables," Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Best Picture
"Amour" Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka and Michael Katz, Producers
"Argo" Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers- Probably gonna win, but I really want SLP
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
"Django Unchained" Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
"Les Misérables" Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
"Life of Pi" Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
"Lincoln" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
"Silver Linings Playbook" Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers- This may be more hopeful than anything, but I gotta go for it.
"Zero Dark Thirty" Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers

Visual Effects
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" 
"Life of Pi" 
"Marvel's The Avengers" 
"Prometheus" 
"Snow White and the Huntsman"


Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"Argo" Screenplay by Chris Terrio
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
"Life of Pi" Screenplay by David Magee
"Lincoln" Screenplay by Tony Kushner
"Silver Linings Playbook" Screenplay by David O. Russell

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Amour" Written by Michael Haneke
"Django Unchained" Written by Quentin Tarantino
"Flight" Written by John Gatins
"Moonrise Kingdom" Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
"Zero Dark Thirty" Written by Mark Boal

And just to be fun, my predictions for best red carpet:
Best:
Beyonce (is she even going?  I don't know.  But if she does, she'll sweep the red carpet)
J. Law.
Octavia Spencer


Worst:
Jessica Chastain--- she's been on the struggle bus with dresses this awards season
Amy Adams
Anne Hathaway, obvi

Insights on Freedom: Flannery O'Connor

One of the recurring themes of the negative comments on my Washington Post op-ed are that I am a relativist, which in reality, could not be farther from the truth.  However, I think one of the most obnoxious things in blogs is when the writer defends himself against anonymous critics.  Instead, I thought the words of Flannery O'Connor shed some insight on the situation.

"Even in the life of a Christian, faith rises and falls like the tides of an invisible sea. It's there, even when you can't see it or feel it, if you want it to be there. You realize, I think, that it is more valuable, more mysterious, altogether more immense than anything you can learn or decide upon in college. Learn what you can and cultivate Christian skepticism. It will keep you free - not free to do anything you please, but free to be formed by something larger than your own intellect."
-Flannery O'Connor, writing to a college student.

Live Life Week 1: Fast

For Lent, I am joining up with the Live Life program from World Vision.  Each week has a different challenge.  This week is fasting.

I've never been a fan of using Lent as a diet, so I immediately ruled out the idea of fasting from some sort of food.  But what could I fast from that might bring me closer to God?

My phone.

I am addicted to my phone.  Especially email.  And facebook too.  And twitter and pinterest.  And checking the weather.  And texting my friends.  So yeah, pretty much all of it.

Given that I still want to be employed at the end of the week, I knew that fasting from my phone entirely was not an option.  So I kept it simple:  I will not check my phone while walking places.

No kidding, this just might be the hardest challenge ever.  The amount of stress it is causing me is unreal.  Yet, when I make it at to the end of a 10 minute walk to my next meeting without checking my phone, there is a sense of accomplishment (obviously, not the point of the challenge, but still, it's there).  In my head, I had romantic visions of enjoying the beauty of campus and feeling close to God that way.  Unfortunately, single-digit weather and high winds are not conducive to me feeling the presence of God all around me.  But I do feel more centered and more connected with others.  And that's a really important part of Lent.

Washington Post: The Church Young Catholics Want

My blog was featured in the Washington Post!  Check it out:  The Church Young Catholics Want.

In the coming days, I'll share my thoughts on the process of writing this blog and of course, reading the comments.  Just letting it all sink in for now...

Lenten Challenge

I've long wanted to work on this blog regularly.  There's always an excuse, a desire to be complacent.  This Lent, I'm finally doing something about that.  In addition to my other Lenten intentions (which I'm sure will be topics of later blogs), I'm getting serious about this blogging thing.  At the suggestion of my brother, I'm writing one post a week.  Maybe more, but hopefully not less.  Get excited, folks, we're off for a wild ride.

Has Hell Frozen Over?

US Catholic recently did a cover story on Hell.  It used to be something present at all times in people's minds--- now it is barely present.  What gives?  Peter Nixon dove into this topic, looking at it from a variety of angles.  I was honored to be his "young" angle, offering insight on what I noticed when working at a high school and what I observe currently with college aged students.  The entire article can be found here.  


Some highlights of the story:  

Annie Selak, a rector at the University of Notre Dame, sees a similar dynamic at work among a younger generation. “I would say that most of the high school and college students I’ve encountered rarely think of hell. The vast majority assume they are going to heaven. It seems like an automatic for them. They are good people, so of course they will end up in heaven.”

Some recent polling also bears out this change. The Pew Center on Religion and Public Life’s 2007 Religious Landscape Survey found that only 60 percent of Catholics believe in hell. While comparable to mainline Protestants (56 percent), that’s far below the 82 percent recorded by evangelical Protestant churches.

And later on:

As for the younger generation of Catholics, Annie Selak is not convinced that a renewed emphasis on hell is what they need. “There is so much pressure on these kids to live up to the expectations of their parents, administrators, older siblings, high school teachers, and principals. The pressure is astounding! I think the move away from the fear of disappointing God and ending up in hell with one bad decision allows them to have a healthier relationship with their faith.”

To be clear, I am not advocating for a therapeutic deism--- a sense where God is strictly our cheerleader and there just to make us feel good.  There are struggles in any healthy relationship, even with God.  My observation is that a fire and brimstone approach drives a wedge between college students and God.  I'm all about a healthy relationship, not an easy relationship.  My question is how we get there?

The Future of Women Religious

I was recently quoted in National Catholic Reporter regarding the role of lay ministry and the future of women religious.  Sandra Schneiders, IHM, is one of my idols and a former professor.  I jumped at the chance to hear what she had to say on this topic, even if it was early on a Saturday morning.  


Here is my quote:

Not all in the audience were religious. A group of rectors from the University of Notre Dame who work with religious women agreed with Schneiders’ analysis of the need for laity and religious women to collaborate.

“For me, being a lay minister, I’m conscious of not wanting to be a replacement for religious life,” said Annie Selak, 28

The entire article can be found here