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By Nigel on February 28, 2013 8:24 PM | 3 Comments

Oscars 2013 Predictions

By Nigel on February 24, 2013 5:09 PM | 4 Comments

Got around to seeing many of the nominated films this year.

For Best Picture I can confidently predict that Argo will win. I liked some of the other nominees more (Beasts,Django, Les Mis) but Argo is a lock.

Best Actress is a tough one. Odds are on Jennifer Lawrence but I'm hoping Emmanuelle Riva wins.

Best Actor for Daniel Day Lewis

If Supporting Actress doesn't go to Anne Hathaway I'll eat my remote.

Supporting Actor is a tossup with my money on Alan Arkin

Best Director I'm thinking Ang Lee.

Best Adapted Screenplay - Lincoln?

Best Original Screenplay will probably go to ZDT but I really hope Moonrise Kingdom wins.

Best Animated Film I pick Wreck It Ralph (sadly haven't seen any nominees)

Best Foreign Feature to Amour (should never have been also nominated in Best Picture category)

Best Visual Effects to Life of Pi

Best Production Design Les Miserables

Best Cinematography to Deakins for Skyfall

Best Costume Design "Snow White and the Huntsman"(?)

Best Makeup - Hobbit

Best Documentary - Searching for Sugarman

Best Film Editing - Argo

Best Score - Thomas Newman for Skyfall

Best Song - Skyfall

Best Sound Editing - ZDT

Best Sound Mixing - Les Miserables

And for the shorts I pick Fresh Guacomole, Asad, and Inocente.

Sharing my latest tweet

By Nigel on December 29, 2012 9:44 AM | 2 Comments

Finally wanting to let the land line go.Why do I hold on to it?Anybody out there regret cutting it? #commentfishing
— Nigel Stewart (@nigelstewart) December 29, 2012

My Winter Solstice 2012 Mixtape Is Up Yo (+ a bonus!)

By Nigel on December 21, 2012 9:18 PM | 2 Comments

Can't believe I got this out on the actual day of the solstice. It's one of the rare moments in my life where I started something and finished it.

Just go to my solstice mix tape directory @ http://nigelstewart.org/music/Solstice to get the latest .zip (filename NWSM_2012.zip) of 19 DRM free 192kbps mp3s I'm sharing in good faith with friends and family.

As a super extra added bonus this holiday season I am releasing a mix tape from this past Spring Equinox 2012 which is available in my Equinox directory @ http://nigelstewart.org/music/Equinox as a .zip (filename NSEM_2012.zip)

I was just too lazy to release it back in March. I also neglected to make mixes for the summer and fall of this past year due to some serious lollygagging around :)

All the mixes you'll find in those directories should fit onto a normal 80 minute / 700 MB audio CD.

Enjoy your post Mayan apocalyptic life! Be good!

music

Rest in Peace, Hooper

By Nigel on December 17, 2012 5:29 PM | 4 Comments

Hooper lived to 18 years and 10 months.

He's been our friend and pal since first moving to Los Angeles so our sadness will remain for a long time coming.

For the sake of posterity these are his nicknames we came up with over the years:

Chooper

Choop Choop

Choopy

Chupper

Chup Chup

Chuppaquidick

Hoopty Hoop

Hupper

Pupper

Heeby

Nebbish

Nebber

Bleej

Bleejum

Noblesse Noblige

Nebber Kanebbish

Noblomo

Noblo

Bleejeekins

Bleejer

Kins

Hoopeeze

Ermagerd Herper

The Old Man

Gubbish

Gubber

Just Finished Reading "Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story"

By Nigel on October 21, 2012 4:44 PM | 4 Comments

I don't remember when I first heard about "Infinite Jest," the David Foster Wallace masterpiece published by Little, Brown in 1996. I am a long time Harper's subscriber so I remember some of his non-fiction reporting pieces there ("Rabbit, Ressurected" and "Ticket to the Fair.")

Found a used 2006 paperback edition of IJ (with the Eggers intro) in my local used bookstore soon before his death in 2008. When the Infinite Summer project caught my eye I tried the course but only made it through day 17 before submitting to summer travel in Belgium and France. I brought it with me but never cracked it.

This past Spring I picked up the non-fiction collection of his essays "Consider the Lobster." It blew me away. This fall's publication by Viking of D.T. Max's new biography came at a perfect time for me to revisit the work of DFW since I seriously want to make it through all of IJ once or twice to find its rewards. Upon reading "Every Love Story Is A Ghost Story" I found myself lost in my own romantic ideals of what a great fiction writer's life is like. Reality hits hard in the story of his life and early death at 46. I couldn't put it down and I am eagerly delving back into IJ this very evening.

Can't wait to read every work of his that has been published. A great primer is DFW's commencement speech to Kenyon College to the class of 2005.

My new must do's that follow this reading:

Need to see "The Wire."

Need to read more Franzen, DeLillo, Dostoevsky, and Vollmann.

Need to see Lars Von Trier's "The Kingdom."

For the record

By Nigel on September 30, 2012 4:23 PM | 5 Comments

So here's my general election prediction:

Obama 50.9% of popular vote

Romney 48.3% of popular vote

Electoral College: 350 Obama, 183 Romney, Paul 5

This Makes Me VERY Happy

By Nigel on September 27, 2012 7:41 PM | 4 Comments

Screen Shot 2012-09-27 at 7.34.06 PM.jpg

h/t to Nate Silver's Five Thirty Eight on the NYT's website.

A daily check for me during this high political season.

Smile Ride Day 7 - Carpinteria to Santa Monica

By Nigel on May 14, 2012 4:49 PM | 5 Comments

It was May 12, 2012. (Strava map) Got up and out of the hotel in Carpinteria at 7:30 am. Had a pretty easy go of it to Ventura since I got a nice night's sleep. Had a meh breakfast in Oxnard Shores and then caught my second flat of the trip in Port Hueneme. Met up with Colin near the Rock at Point Mugu and we shot some great vid of me coming down the coast past the Rock. Truly a dream come true to have footage of me going past that landmark. Slowly made my way through Malibu and met my Strava hero Brian Perkins who was mashing away on his mountain bike when I met up with him near County Line. Split off from him at Point Dume to say hi to Steve Silver and I had a rest in the Malibu Bluffs park. I was trying to time my arrival home to 3:30 since there was a welcome home party waiting for me. Dropped in on Dean Makovske at Will Rogers State Beach and also took a break at the 5 mile out mark. As previously agreed upon I let Colin know when I was 5 minutes out so people could get ready. I rounded 2nd from Ashland and saw a few dozen folks out in the street in front of my house whooping it up. I rode by everyone and said I was heading to San Diego. Rounded the block for my 2nd arrival and from then on it was one long party that lasted to midnight. Such a great time. Had so many good wishes. I never even got out of my kit. Took me a long while to even get my riding shoes off. Daniel Sokolow had a few homemade beers with labels dedicated to my ride. What a cool thing to do for me. Found out the next day that we raised over 10K (40 kids' lives) thanks to a very generous old friend from Colorado. So proud to have done this ride. I have found that philanthropic work gives me the greatest happiness.

Smile Ride Notes Day 6 of 7

By Nigel on May 11, 2012 10:14 PM | 1 Comment

Day 6 - Friday, May 11. Lompoc to Carpinteria. (Strava map) Had a great breakfast at the Embassy Suites. Left at 9:00 am ish. The ride through the Lompoc Valley past Jalama was gorgeous. I was worried about the climb up to 1000' before the 101 tunnel but it turned out to be not so bad. Met some cyclists who I've seen on the road alongside me at the Gaviota rest stop. Had a tail wind to El Capitan State Beach and I caught a break there while catching up with my parents who both communicated to me how proud they were. I was feeling great as I got back on the highway but as soon as I got up there I got my first flat of the ride. Changed it out very quickly and soon I was back on the road finding my way into Santa Barbara. Got a little lost but eventually made it to Steams Wharf where I ate my packed Subway lunch that I bought way back in Lompoc since there are no services between there and SB. I can't believe at one point I thought I could make it to Ventura by the end of the day. The road was longer than I thought and I didn't make Carpinteria until almost 5 pm where Colin had us set up for the night. CB's friend Evita came up from Ventura to visit with us and we had a wonderful dinner at Sly's Steak House on Linden Avenue. What an incredible meal. We had cocktails, (me - Belvedere martini, Colin - a Corpse Reviver # 2, Evita - a Sazerac) abalone, dragon kale, ripini, osso bucco, linguini ala vongara, sand dabs, a steamed choke, and a creme brûlée. Wow. Colin picked up the tab which was very kind and generous. I've raised 9K and I'm hoping on my last day to somehow get to 10K. Highlight: Making the Lompoc pass and thinking nothing of it - my last major climb of the trip! Lowpoint: Noticing after 58K that I had my bib shorts inside out. Doh!

The fundraising page is @ http://crowdrise.com/smileride