Monica Seles on Dancing!

I got creamed in my Oscar pool, but the one upside to watching the Oscars tonight was seeing the commercial for the new season of Dancing with the Stars. Most exciting is that Monica Seles will be on. As for the rest of the line up, click here.

Hello, Friendo

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men.

I won the Oscar pool at my work last year. I was pretty surprised and, I'll admit, super stoked. I entered this year's pool on Friday. As last year's winner, I feel a keen pressure to repeat, to show that last year wasn't a fluke. As one of my co-workers said, "Chanchow, you are the one to beat."

I submitted my ballot hastily, perhaps overconfidently, and now I'm not feeling too good about my picks. I think it's a toss up this year. Either No Country will win big, or There Will Be Blood will win big, or they will split the vote and something like Diving Bell or Atonement will sneak in in a few categories. For my ballot, I gave a few trophies to Diving Bell. Not sure why I did this; I think this is a weak point in my ballot.

Any Oscar predictions?

Your Friday Afternoon Video #24: Sex and the City Extended Trailer

Looks pretty good to me. Check it out.

Please, No.

An interesting article about Hillary. These days the more I see of her, the less I like her.

Kareem's Blog

With Bruce Lee in Game of Death (1978). The big man has a blog.

How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You

The Obama wedding. Quite 80s looking even though they married in '92.


The Clinton wedding in '75. How nice they looked. What happened?

Your Friday Afternoon Video #23: Michelle Obama on Larry King

She's a class act.

New Year, New Fortune

It was Lunar New Year last week. We went to visit my parents and hung out with extended family. It was pretty low key. 2008 is the year of the rat. My mom went to the Buddhist temple and got her stick fortune (I've never done this, so I can't be more descriptive) and it said that 2008 would be a good year for my family.

I can't decide if I'm a believer in this fortune stuff. I'm not a wholesale believer, that's for sure, but I don't not believe. As I've posted before, my dad went to a Chinese fortune teller decades ago and everything that guy said has come true. Makes me wonder.

I've never gone to a fortune teller myself, but my dad went to one (an old friend of his) on my behalf a few weeks ago. According to this guy, I might develop heart problems and probably won't live past 70. When I heard this, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Even when you don't totally believe, you still want it to all be good.

Your Friday Afternoon Video #22: Kathy Griffin, Super Funny

On Anna Nicole (before she died) and Hollywood Squares.



Anna Nicole (cont'd).

When, Oh When, Will I Have Nice Skin???

I'm not asking for flawless, how does she do it skin. I'm talking about nice, clear skin. And it bothers me that, at this age, it is still not mine. Perhaps it's hormones and I should just accept that one day it will all pass. I remind myself that my oily skin helps me stay young looking. But the fact is that it's all very distressing and it makes me feel like a teenager again. Sad and self-conscious.

Are You the Same Person You Always Were?

A friend asked whether I think I'm smarter now than I was when I was 9 years old. Obviously, I am more knowledgeable, I have more experience (I have been vetted, just kidding). But really I don't think I'm that different. I still have the same issues. I still get pissed about the same things. When I think back on what I've done (or what I wish I hadn't done), I can totally relate to why I did what I did at the time. I'd like to think that I'm different, that I've grown and become the person I want to be, but I don't think I have. Do we really change?

Your Friday Afternoon Video #21: On Rotation in My Car: Jose Feliciano and Dusty Springfield

I really love his Star Spangled Banner from the 1968 World Series. Apparently, his rendition was very controversial, and one of the first non-traditional interpretations to hit the mainstream. Really quite beautiful, I think.


And here are Dusty Springfield and Jose Feliciano singing together, in Spanish.