An explanation

So where have I been the past four months you might ask? I've been busy, not quite feeling myself, and sadly, the blog has suffered as a result. The past week at work has been painfully slow, so I decided what better time to reacquaint myself with my blog. What have I been up to? Here's a quick month by month rundown:

September
Started off great. Headed west for Labor Day weekend to San Diego to hang out with Brian Gilb and run the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. Did ok (finished in 2:45) for not really training. The middle of the month brought a devastating blow. George Parks, director of the UMMB and one of the reasons I went to UMass, died suddenly on the way to Michigan. I was shocked and saddened, and was pretty much in a haze my entire trip to Michigan. After the UMMB performed at The Big House, I expected him to jump out of the stands. Sadly, that never happened. The following Monday, I was on my way to work and there was a brief mention of his death on 98.5 and I burst into tears. It wasn't pretty.

October
Oakmont kicked into high gear and we had a competition and I also went with Nick LaPete to NYC to see Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and American Idiot (yes, for the 3rd time. Billie Joe Armstrong was in it. Couldn't pass it up) the first weekend. The rest of the month was pretty uneventful. Went to a wedding of a friend in Providence which was fun, and Oakmont was crowned USSBA Division III Open New England champions again.

November
Started out the month with a trip to NYC and Annapolis with the Marching Spartans to see The Phantom of the Opera and compete in the USSBA National Championships. was ok, and the band came in 12th in Nationals. Not bad, but they could have done better. Paid a return visit to NYC the following weekend to catch Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, which was pretty awesome. I was supposed to run in the Philadelphia Half Marathon, but because of my stress injury, that didn't happen. Went to Philly anyways and went to the Eagles/Giants SNF game thanks to Rachel. I don't really like football, but it was cool to go to a game (it was actually my 2nd professional game, saw the Lions/Eagles play when I was in Michigan. I've seen the Eagles more times than I've seen the Patriots). November ended with a great Thanksgiving, and my leg starting to get better.

December
My favorite month of the year - I love the holidays. Decorations, Christmas trees, being the one month it's socially acceptable to listen to "All I Want for Christmas Is You" on repeat, etc...Marathon training started again for the Museum team. I won't be running, but I'll train with them during the winter. Jess and I both ran the Somerville Jingle-bell 5K and got accepted into the NYC Half Marathon in March. Nick Druar and Miss Alison Hay and I did some awesome community service with Harpoon Helps and UMass got blown-out by BC at the Garden (that all happened on the same day). And of course, last week was CHRISTMAS! I got a sweet blu-ray player and a new pair of running shoes.

Whats on tap for 2011? FINALLY seeing Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark and the final performance of In the Heights in January, a trip to Spain in February, the NYC Half Marathon in March and a whole lot of other stuff.

My resolutions for 2011? I know this one has come up before, but this time I'll have help behind me, but my goal is to become financially responsible and get out of debt. I also have a goal to get back into my old running habits and try and do a half marathon a month, with the end goal being running Boston again in 2012. I think two is enough, and those are pretty major.

And what would a blog update be without some film chat? Here are some quick takes over the past couple months:

The Kids are All Right - wasn't impressed, and thought it was pretty MEH. C
The Town - Ben Affleck's sophomore directorial effort and it was excellent. One of my top 10 of 2010. A
The Social Network - pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this, Aaron Sorkin's dialogue is razor-sharp. I can't wait to see it again on blu-ray January 11th. A
127 Hours - Heart-stopping. Danny Boyle can do no wrong and James Franco was outstanding. A-
Black Swan - Don't even know where to start. I saw this a month ago and am STILL thinking about it. Natalie Portman is a revelation. Darren Aronofsky, you've arrived. A
The Fighter - Christian Bale gives a (pun intended) knock-out performance, as well as the rest of the leading cast. A-
The King's Speech - Good, not great. Colin Firth was excellent, but after all of the hype, I was expecting more. B+
Winter's Bone - Just caught this on DVD and I was riveted for most of it (it got off to a slow start). Jennifer Lawrence was great. B+

Seeing True Grit tomorrow and Blue Valentine sometime next week and my movie-going in 2010 will be complete. A couple of films to catch up on once they're on DVD/blu-ray, namely Animal Kingdom, Get Low and The Tilman Story.

That's about it for this re-start. My goal is to update once or twice a week in the coming year. Next post will probably be my top 10 of 2010, followed by a review of the highly anticipated (and highly problematic) Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark.

Happy New Year!

Climbin' in your windows...

two of the funniest videos ever. you need to watch them in order.



and



you can thank me later...happy friday!

Pacey-Con

True confession: in high school, I was a big fan of Dawson's Creek. I bought into the drama of being a teenager at Capeside. I got completely caught up in the lives of Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen and Jack. Didn't really watch through college, but, like a good viewer, I did watch the finale, and am still kinda pissed that Joey ended up with Pacey.

Today, I came across this from Funny or Die and laughed out loud.

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

Poor Joshua Jackson. Seriously though, this dude has had an amazing career and created some of the most memorable characters EVER - Charlie Conway, Pacey Whitter and Peter Bishop (I don't watch Fringe, but I hear he (and the show) is quite good). I'd go to Pacey-Con.

Paradox

Without question, the film that I was looking forward to most this summer is Christopher Nolan's Inception. Not a whole lot was known about the film before it's release except that it had an impressive cast, was a sci-fi thriller and had some incredible visual effects. The tagline on the poster, Your mind is the scene of the crime, didn't really help too much either. Nolan is notorious (try saying that 5x fast) for keeping his films top-secret, so why would Inception be any different.

There are few films I feel like I have to see the day they're released, and this was one of them. I knew people would be talking about it, there would be spoilers galore, my twitter feed would blow up with comments/theories and I don't have the self control to stop myself from reading them. It seemed my only option was to see a midnight screening.

I had a wedding to go to in Cleveland (that's a whole 'nother post) over the weekend, so midnight screening it was, but that didn't exactly pan out. Fortunately, I had 5 hours to kill on Saturday after the ceremony before the reception, so I found a movie theater near the hotel and spent the afternoon ready to be wowed. It. Was. Awesome.

Basically, Inception is Ocean's 11 meets The Matrix with a little bit of Alfred Hitchcock thrown in for good measure. The premise is fascinating; the idea that a professional "dream hacker" could break into your dreams and plant ideas into your subconscious that could eventually come to fruition in the real world. Leonardo DiCaprio plays said hacker, and assembles a team (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy) to try and help Korean businessman Saito (Ken Wantanabe) defeat a rival company, headed by Fischer (Cillian Murphy). The group delves into Fischer's subconscious and a thrilling caper ensues.

There were cries that this film is a game-changer and could revolutionize cinema forever (hm..where have we heard that recently?). While I don't necessarily agree with that, because when you get down to it Inception is a glorified heist film, I do think that it's an incredibly well made film. The visuals are amazing, and the sheer originality of the script is borderline brilliant. Yet another marvel? Nolan's direction and Lee Smith's awe-inspiring work editing the film - he basically has the editing Oscar sewn up for simultaneously balancing the multiple levels of the film and keeping it totally coherent. There were a couple times where I could feel my heart beating faster during the more intense sequences, and it's been a while since I've become that involved with a film.

Another reason it's so great? It's inspired INTENSE debate and discussion, and you almost have to see it twice. I did. Initially for the visceral experience, and then again to actually appreciate it and pick up on things you missed the first time. It's a complete mind-bender, I'm sure you'll say (in your best Keanu Reeves voice) "whoa" more than once.

It's my favorite film of the year so far (How to Train Your Dragon is next) and I can easily see it scoring multiple Oscar nominations. Among them Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Score, and if there is any justice in my world, a Best Supporting Actor nom for Joseph Gordon-Levitt (and maybe one for Marion Cotillard too).

See it. See it twice. See it in IMAX. You won't be disappointed and you'll be talking about it for days.

Coming Attractions...

Ben Affleck's sophomore directorial effort is released this fall. It was shot in and around Boston. I cannot wait to see this - might even do a midnight screening.

flash mob

The 2008 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, In the Heights is currently in the middle of it's national tour. I've seen it twice in New York and when it came through Boston in January. It's currently in Los Angeles, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and original star re-joined the cast in the role of Usnavi. This is some great publicity for it:



Lin-Manuel is the guy in the green shirt on the balcony. I want to be in a flash mob. In the Heights comes to Providence January 11-16 2011. Get tickets to see it.

American Idiot

Ok, ok, before y'all wield pitchforks because I again promised that I'd write another entry the following day and haven't - I'm sorry. Life has gotten in the way of the blog. I feel like I shouldn't neglect it so much. So let's start over.

Hey guys, it's Joe. And this is my (self-indulgent, some say)blog.

As a reward for finishing the Marathon, I headed to NYC with Dev and Rachel to see American Idiot. Yes, it's a musical based on Green Day's album of the same name, along with some tracks from "21st Century Breakdown" and an original tune or two thrown in for good measure. Helmed by Michael Mayer (the guy who brought Spring Awakening to life), American Idiot had a regional run last September at the Berkeley Rep in California. Green Day had a pretty big say in creating the show, Billie Joe Armstrong is credited along with Mayer as the book writer, and have seen the show numerous times, including the night we went. I was looking forward to it, it received quite a few good notices in CA and I'd consider myself a casual Green Day fan ("Dookie" was one of the first cd's I owned. I'll admit I wasn't familiar with the entire album, but had heard, and enjoyed, most of it). It was also heralded as the show to beat come awards time. It opened to mixed to positive reviews, including an ever important rave from The New York Times. I had also been checking the website, following it on twitter, saw some pictures, and it looked pretty exciting.

Basic premise: 3 friends, Johnny, Will and Tunny, totally disenchanted with their lives in dead-end Jingletown make a pact to get out and achieve the American dream. Before they even leave, Will's girlfriend is pregnant, and thus stays behind. While they're on the road, Tunney sees a catchy ad for the Military and promises of being America's "Favorite Son" and joins up. Left alone, Johnny turns to drugs and pusher St. Jimmy. Sadness, political commentary and life lessons ensue. The opening number "American Idiot" left me a little skeptical, there was A LOT going on - strobe lights, projections on what seemed like 100 monitors - but it was none the less exhilarating. After the initial jolt of energy, the show settled in nicely and the 90 minutes pretty much flew by. Three things really stuck with me - first, the incredible performances of John Gallagher Jr as Johnny and Stark Sands as Tunny. Yeah, the plot was paper thin (if non-existent) but Gallagher and Sands made you feel for these characters, character development be damned, and actually care about what happened to them. There's a great sequence about half way in that takes place in a military hospital that's stunning, and the last 10 minutes of the show are nothing short of extraordinary. Initially, I hated how it ended, and the last song "Whatshername" seemed tacked on to just try and fit in another song. After thinking about it for a while and listening to the CD a couple more times, I realized that it was the perfect epilogue, and was one of the most thrilling endings to a show I've ever seen. The crowd gave an immediate standing ovation, to which I whole-heartedly agreed with.

The second thing that I was most taken with were the orchestrations and arrangements. Tom Kitt, who orchestrated my favorite show last season, Next to Normal, was responsible for fleshing out songs written for guitar, bass and drums into something suitable for a Broadway musical. The vocal arrangements are incredible too. Even if you have the studio album of American Idiot, I encourage you to pick up the cast recording too - it's sensational. I've been playing it for the past month. I think it's a crime that he was overlooked for a Tony nomination for his work, but that's another post for another day.

Finally, Michael Mayer's direction and vision. The attention to detail was out of this world, on everything from the set, video projections to the props. I was honestly expecting a revamp of Spring Awakening, and there were indeed shades of it, but this was completely new and engaging. The way the cast moved around the stage, and the amount of energy the had for the entire 90 minutes - it was exhausting just watching them. I can't possibly imagine doing that 8 times a week. Unfortunately he was egregiously overlooked for a Tony nomination as well, but at least he's in good company.

It's been interesting to see how polarizing the show is - it's either been a love it or hate it, not a whole lot of middle ground. Count me in the "love it" camp. Is it as groundbreaking as some want it to be? Sadly, no, but it's a major leap forward in the genre and introducing an entire new audience to Broadway.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've been speechless after leaving a show. Add American Idiot to that list.

photo courtesy of The Chicago Sun-Times

Happy Mother's Day!

Greetings bloggers! First, I need to send a very Happy Mother's Day to my mom who is the best mom anyone could ask for. I know, a lot of people say that, but it's true. My mom is better than yours - haha, just kidding - sort of...

Anyways, It's been an incredibly busy past month, the major event being the 2010 Boston Marathon. That's right friends, at approximately 4pm on Monday, April 19, 2010, I became a Marathoner (Yes, Marathoner is a proper noun - at least, I think it should be, and if it's not, it is now). The entire day was incredible - an absolutely amazing experience I'll never forget. I was a bundle of nerves the day before, both emotionally and physically. I tried to not do a whole lot on Sunday, but that was much easier said than done. I got a lot of phone calls with well-wishes, which were much appreciated. I carb-loaded for dinner (and threw some chicken and salad in there too), raised my bed like Coach Rick said, and tried to sleep.

Fast forward to 5:30am, I was awakened out of a surprisingly sound sleep by the sound of my alarm. I got up, took a shower and put on my "uniform" for the day. I tried to eat breakfast, but I was a little too nervous/excited to eat much. I was meeting the team at 6:55 at Park Street to take the buses out to Hopkinton. I was shocked (but I shouldn't have been) at the amount of people that were waiting to get a bus. I met the team and we stood in line to get on one of the parade of yellow school buses to take us to the Athlete's Village. At about 7:45, I was sitting next to my friend and training partner Mike Wasserman and we were on our way to start the biggest adventure of our lives.

It took about an hour to get out to Hopkinton, but it felt like a lot longer, especially thinking "holy crap, I have to RUN all this way back". Arrival in the Village was pretty cool, again an amazing sight, people everywhere, helicopters circling, music playing, and an almost party-like atmosphere. I met up with the rest of the team and everyone talked about how excited/nervous they were. At about 9:50, we started to make our way to the starting corrals (our start time was 10:30am) and along the entire .7 mile route to the corrals, people were cheering and clapping for us - it was just a small indication of the excitement that was to come. Once I was packed into corral 24 with about 500 other runners, the energy level was almost through the roof. There was a giant clock counting down the minutes remaining until it was time for us to start. At 10:30 on the dot, the gun sounded and there was a surge towards the starting line. There was a slow trot/jog up to the starting line and within minutes, I crossed the starting line and was on my way.

The first five miles of the course were down hill, and I was incredibly excited. I was swept up in all the excitement as well as the other runners, and was pretty much disregarding time. My friend Rae decided to run bandit, and she jumped in with me at mile 2. I was surprised at how fast the time (and miles) was going, and the people cheering us on kept me going. When we got into Framingham I saw some of the students I teach at Oakmont, which was really exciting, I was glad they came out. I was cruising along at a great pace up through mile 7, and then I stopped to pee. Mistake number 1. I lost Rae, but quickly found some other friends from the training runs so I ran with them through Wellesley and Wellesley College. The scream tunnel at Wellesley was everything I imagined it would be, and you could hear it from about a quarter of a mile away. The Wellesley girls even made me a sign! I jumped up and down with excitement when I saw it, and kissed the girl that made it. I was blazing through the course, and I crossed the halfway point at about 2:05. Mistake number 2. I saw some coworkers in Wellesley, and it was a welcome sight to see them because my quads had started to get a little sore. I made it through Wellesley and got into Newton, crossed over 128 and about a half mile before the Woodland Country Club (mile 17) I hit the wall. Usually I was able to overcome them, but not today.

I turned the corner onto Commonwealth Ave and the beginning of the three Newton hills, and my heart sank. I still had 8 miles to go. I ended up walking the up hills and jogging the downhills/flats through Newton. At the top of Heartbreak Hill (probably one of the most infamous hills in running lore), I saw two of my Pi Kapp bros, Diego and Justin, and they gave me a huge hug and said there was another group just about 100 yards up the road - and there was. It was so uplifting to see all of them, screaming and cheering for me - they gave me the energy to make it the last 5 miles. Meg and Emily had amazing signs and Beth, Anthony, Michael, Nick, Rusty, Miss Alison Hay, TJ, Czabaj, Kramer and Sloan were yelling and taking pictures - it was glorious. I stopped at a medical tent at about mile 21 to see if they had anything to help my quads (at this point, they were on fire). I took a short break and got some freeze-it and the medical people gave me some water. After a few minutes (the clock hadn't stopped, by the way - I had given up my goal of coming in under 5 hours, my goal now was just to finish in one piece), one of the nurses asked me if I was done. I said "lady, I've trained for 18 months, raised $6,000 and told way too many people about this - I'm getting to the finish line if I have to crawl." There was a state trooper from New Hampshire sitting next to me and was having the same calf problems, and we gave each other a fist bump and we ran the last five miles together. It was really awesome to make a new friend along the route and for both of us to finish.

Katie was waiting for me just after Coolidge Corner with her clappy-hands, and was jumping up and down when I came by - it was one last push to get me the last 2 miles. I ran up Mount Kenmore and got into Kenmore Square and saw the Citgo sign and the flag that said "1 Mile to Go" and Molly Hayes standing right after the sign with a smile and her camera. All I had to do was go under Mass Ave, turn onto Hereford Street, and make the final turn onto Boylston and I would be home free.

Coming back up under Mass Ave was a little more painful than I thought, and I made it up the short hill on Hereford onto Boylston. I turned the corner and could see the finish line - but it was still 300 yards away. My initial reaction was "fuck, it's still so far!", but I didn't listen to my head and picked up the pace a little bit and ran the last four blocks to the finish line. About 100 yards before the finish line I saw Jaj and Mike DiPietro and my Aunt and Uncle and cousins Molly and Melanie and my sister Jess - who I was expecting to be in the bleachers with my mom and dad and Aunt. I didn't really have too much time to think about it because by the time I looked up again I was at the bleachers and saw my mom and dad, Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill and my Gramps - I was totally surprised and wasn't expecting him to be there. I could tell that my mom was crying, dad and Gramps were smiling and waving and Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill were hooting and hollering.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 5:27.53 and couldn't believe I had done it. After all the hard work and training and fundraising and aches and pains were totally worth it when one of the B.A.A. volunteers put the finisher's medal around my neck. I took a second to look down and admire it - I had earned it. Yeah, I didn't finish in the time that I wanted, but I finished. I ran the Boston Marathon. I got some food to refuel and headed to the Westin where I was meeting everyone.





It was great to meet my family and see all my friends that had come out and get to chat with them for a while. It was great to see Coach Rick and to see how proud he was. After I changed and cleaned up, the fam and I headed to dinner in the North End, and by 10pm I was home and in bed - exhausted, but feeling incredibly accomplished.

Ok - that's enough for one entry, I'll be back tomorrow to blog about American Idiot, the best theatrical event of the year, and a borderline religious experience...

blog - fear not, I have not abandoned thee. i will post in the near future - Marathon wrap up and trip to NYC to see American Idiot - in a word, phenomenal.

19 DAYS!

That's right readers, 19 days until the 2010 Boston Marathon - I can't believe it's already here. We had our last long run on Saturday, the first 21 miles of the course, from Hopkinton to Boston College. The run was organized by the nice folks at Children's Hospital for all of the official B.A.A. charity runners - about 1,000 of us. It was the longest run of our training and also the most nerve-wracking. I woke up around 4:30am on Saturday morning and tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 6. I was incredibly nervous, so much so I was pretty sure I was going to throw up. Upon arrival at BC, I looked around for some familiar faces, and once I found my running buddies Mike and Sarah I felt a little better. I nervously watched the towns go by on the bus there, Newton, Wellesley, Natick, Framingham, Ashland - and we finally arrived in Hopkinton.

The first 3 miles of the Marathon are downhill - and I didn't really believe it until I actually saw it. The starting line is actually on a decline. Everyone said that you need to start out conservatively and not go too fast, even though it's down hill. I thought I started out pretty conservatively, and we kept a pretty good pace through the rolling streets of Hopkinton and Ashland. It was pretty amazing to think that on race day, we'd be able to run in the middle of the road and not confined to the shoulder and sidewalks.

I would get excited every time we'd see a sign announcing we'd crossed into another town, and when we got to wasteland that is also known as Framingham, I was shocked. I thought it'd be all malls and stores like along Rt 9, but alas, it was anything but. After Framingham, we spent what seemed like FOREVER in Natick, although they did have a really nice Town Common. I again thought it was pretty cool that come race day, the streets would be lined with thousands of people cheering us on.

After Natick, we hit Wellesley and we were pretty much running through the woods, but I smiled because that stretch would be filled with the infamous screaming lasses from Wellesley College on April 19th. I hope some of them ask to be kissed, because I'll totally stop. We hit the half marathon mark in about 2:08 - we were blazing, faster than I had previously run a half, and we were just over 10 minute miles and I was feeling good. We hit a HUGE downhill that lasted about .5 miles that took us from Wellesley into Newton Lower Falls.

We then had to venture up and over 128 where I was convinced we would die, trying to dodge the highway on and off ramp traffic. Some motorists were none too pleased with us. We kept a pretty good pace past Newton-Wellesley Hospital and Woodlawn Country Club, but when we turned the corner on to Commonwealth Ave just after mile 17 my heart sank. I had forgotten (well, at least for the past 3 hours or so) about the dreaded hills of Newton. I had a hard time restarting after the water stop - Mike and Sarah soldiered on without me, and I pretty much trotted (not really walking but not really running either) the last 3.5 miles to finish at the top of Heartbreak Hill in 3:55 (Sarah and Mike finished in 3:50 in case you were wondering).

I felt incredibly accomplished and proud - I had done it, the hardest part of the course! The last 5.2 miles are, for the most part (literally and figuratively), downhill. I could see the Boston skyline as we crested Heartbreak - I got goosebumps. It was really encouraging to see a lot of people out along the route cheering their runners and everyone else out there, constantly saying "Great job! You look great! Keep it up!". I can't even imagine what it's going to be like on race day - I'm excited just thinking about it. I'm glad we were able to experience the course in real time, and I learned that yes, I do need to start a little slower out of Hopkinton to preserve my energy for the Newton hills and a nice, strong finish. I'm running down Boylston Street to the finish line if it kills me. Here's a pic of me at the top of the hills after the run - it was a beautiful day! Below are two visuals for you; one from the B.A.A. and one from MapMyRun.com for a little perspective. I think the 2nd one is more impressive, ha.

A nice, illustrated map of the course highlighting all the fun landmarks.

Yeah, that's pretty far...

On the fundraising front, I've passed the $4,000 mark. I'm currently at $4,200!! That means only $2,800 left to go to meet my $7,000 goal. Can I do it in 19 days? With your help, I certainly can! You can donate online via credit card or send a check to the Museum of Science, Attn: 2010 Boston Marathon with my name in the memo field. By donating to my run and the Museum of Science, you will help bring science and engineering programming to over 81,000 students throughout New England! And, you get a hand-written thank you note from me - what else could you ask for?!

Spring has arrived!

After the floods of biblical proportions last weekend, the skies have cleared to give way to absolutely beautiful weather the past few days - I'm actually excited to do my 8 mile run today just because I'll be outside! I also had a great massage yesterday - I'll probably get one more before the marathon and then one the week after.

Avid readers of ...this is home... know that I'm a huge fan of Glee (pass judgment elsewhere! haha), so I stopped flipping the channels last night when I came across this:



Can't April 13 come any faster?

23004

That's my bib number for the 114th running of the Boston Marathon! I'll be towards the back (but I knew that already), but I'm not worried - I'm running the Boston Marathon!

This past weekend I felt like I was initiated into the "club" - I can really call myself a runner now, after 19 miles in the wind, rain and cold. It was as miserable as you probably all think, and I'll admit, I didn't mind it too much until the last 2.5 miles or so. By then, I had puddles in both of my shoes, I was soaked to the bone, and was pretty tired. BUT! I finished in approx. 3:10, which puts me on pace (I hope) for around a 4:30 marathon.

I've been running with the same group for the past month or so, and we've begun to utilize the run/walk method that Coach Rick has been such a big advocate of. Basically, for every 9 minutes you run, walk 1 minute. It sounds like it would be counter-intuitive and wreak havoc on your overall time, but studies have shown that it actually improves your overall time because you're not as fatigued as you would normally be. It's a little difficult to do at the beginning of long runs (it takes me about 3 miles to get into my rhythm), but once you're well into the run, the break is welcome. And, with my pacing, every 9 minutes I should be hitting a water stop along the course, so it's an easy break. I've also been eating Power-Bar energy chews during the long runs like it's my job - I'm becoming immune to their taste.

I've got just over a month left to meet my $7,000 fundraising goal, and if you haven't donated yet, it's not too late! Click here to support me!

Taking it easy this week - busy weekend, Michael Buble Friday night, NYC on Saturday to see Come Fly Away, A Little Night Music and Sondheim on Sondheim and maybe run the NYC 1/2 Marathon bandit! But if not, I'll be meeting up with a MOS team member who lives in Long Island City to run through Central Park - it's supposed to be beautiful this weekend.

Oscar Reactions

Overall, I thought the winners were deserved. Only minor shock/upset of the night was the Adapted Screenplay win for Precious, and Up in the Air batting 0-for-6 and going home empty handed. I was also a little disappointed with Foreign Language film, I thought Un Prophete was outstanding.

Here's the trailer for Ridley Scott's Robin Hood remake. Looks like Gladiator redux (down to the score), but I've already got plans to see it on May 14th. Does that make me a fanboy?

2010 Acacemy Award Winners

Picture: The Hurt Locker
Director: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
Actor: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Actress: Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz - Inglorious Basterds
Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Original Screenplay: Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
Animated Feature: Up
Foreign Language Film: El Secreto de sus Ojos - Argentina
Documentary: The Cove
Art Direction: Avatar
Cinematography: Avatar
Costume Design: The Young Victoria
Film Editing: The Hurt Locker
Makeup: Star Trek
Original Song: "The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)"
Original Score: Up
Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker
Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker
Visual Effects: Avatar
Short Film - Live Action: Music by Prudence
Short Film - Animated: Logorama

Live Oscar Blogging!

12:01am - And with that, The Hurt Locker becomes the lowest grossing Best Picture winner ever, with a domestic gross of about $13 million. It was the big winner of the night, winning a total of 6 awards; Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.
11:59pm - THE HURT LOCKER!
11:58pm - BEST PIC- I CANT HANDLE IT!
11:55pm - The Academy makes history and awards Kathryn Bigelow best Director for The Hurt Locker - I'll be able to watch the Oscars next year!
11:50pm - SaBu wins! Hooray!
11:44pm - Traipsing out the next set to present Best Actress - Oprah is speaking about Gabby Sidibe - should be ridiculous
11:33pm - Nice speeches to the nominees, and Jeff Bridges wins Best Actor and gets a standing ovation...bring on Best Actress
11:24pm - And things just got interesting with the Best Actor presenters....
11:16pm - El Secreto de sus Ojos wins foreign - boo
11:10pm - Ugh, there are 5 awards left! Do we REALLY need to go to another commercial?! Nice Hurt Locker montage though
11:08pm - The Hurt Locker takes editing
10:55pm - Avatar wins best visual effects. In a related story, the Earth is round.
10:52pm - So that was pretty terrible
10:46pm - Do we really need to have this dance segment? I'd like to get to bed before 2am...
10:36pm - In Memoriam montage - ends with Karl Malden, left off Farrah Fawcett - whoops
10:28pm - The Hurt Locker takes both sound awards - things are getting interesting...
10:08pm - Avatar gets its first win, art direction. These "I see you" jokes need to stop, they're lame
9:59pm - Mo'Nique wins Supporting Actress and gets a well deserved standing ovation. Outstanding
9:50pm - First major upset - Precious wins Adapted Screenplay - wow
9:39pm - Good for Ben Stiller for fully committing to the Avatar bit - awkward, but funny. And Star Trek wins make up
9:35pm - Shorts are over (read: most boring)
9:22pm - Nice John Hughes tribute - Judd and Macually are a mess...
9:16pm - Hurt Locker wins Best Original Screenplay!! Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come!
9:12pm - This is going to be a long night - it's been almost 40 minutes and only 3 awards have been given out
9:05pm - T-Bone Burnett is a GIANT!
8:58pm - Up wins animated - again, big shock...
8:47pm - First award of the night, Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
8:42pm - Great opening - but a little nervous that The Hurt Locker didn't get a ton of applause and Avatar did...
8:34pm - Ok, awesome opening
8:32pm - YES!! NPH!!
8:30pm - OMG!! IT'S STARTING FOR REAL THIS TIME!!
8:22pm - Miley Cyrus is one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people?! Seriously?!
8:14pm - According to Sherry Shepard, JLo is wearing Armandi Preeday - ABC's casting people need to get the axe. Seriously. Do their decisions not have to be vetted by anyone?
8:10pm - Who hired Kathy Ireland? Someone should loose their job...
8:03pm - Ok, we get it, Precious: Based on the novel 'Push' by Sapphire - could we be any more pretentious?
8:01pm - Ugh, I forgot that ABC does a stupid pre-show. I have Oscar blue-balls
8:00pm - IT'S STARTING! IT'S STARTING!
7:58pm - Made the switch from E! to ABC - Ryan Seacrest was getting abrasive
7:55pm - Kate Winslet is beautiful. Sam Mendes is a lucky man
7:50pm - I still can't believe that Gerard Butler played the Phantom of the Opera
7:46pm - If NPH opens the show, I just might pee...
7:43pm - From @Awardsdaily I follow on twitter: When the camera cuts away from Gabby to any of the other actresses I have flashbacks of Auschwitz. #oscars. #jokesinpoortaste
7:40pm - Quote of the night goes to Gabby Sidibe "If a dress were porn, this would be the money shot." Game. Set. Match.
7:38pm - Whoa. Keanu Reeves. What's with the patchy beard? And Woody Harrelson is wearing a hemp suit. Are you surprised? Gabby Sidibe is gonna tell me somethin' bout her dress
7:36pm - If you're curious about the breakdown of the Academy:












7:33pm - Marc Anthony, you're at best, a B list celeb. You're not entitled to wear sunglasses when it's raining.
7:30pm - I think that Adam Shenkman would be fun to hang out with. And Meryl, why do you always look like an old woman - you're not THAT old! And can someone please give Demi Moore a steak? THIRTY MINUTES TIL THE BIG SHOW!
7:27 pm- Do you think George Clooney is as nice in person as he seems?
7:25pm - Live blogging or live tweeting? Ima do both
7:17pm - Is Ryan Seacrest a midget? I think so. Kathryn Bigelow is a COUGAR
7:12pm - Live blogging commences! I've waited 365 days for this - it's one of my favorite days of the year. SaBu looks amazing, Miley Cyrus is a whore, so is her mother with stupid angel wing tats. Ryan Seacrest asked Tom Ford who he was wearing - seriously? SJP looks a little tragic...

IT'S OSCAR SUNDAY!

Greetings readers! Just got back from a great weekend with the brothers of Theta Mu and their New Member Education retreat in Connecticut. It was a great weekend to see a lot of the guys and meet some of the new members. Also did a couple of great rituals, and it was an absolutely beautiful weekend. And now, onto bigger and better things: ...this is home...'s 2010 Oscar predictions.


Those that know me know that today is my Super Bowl, and that starting at 6, I'll be camped out on the couch and live blogging from 39 Winnecowett Drive (didn't feel like driving back to Somerville after driving back from CT today). I'll also be live blogging. There are quite a few locked down categories, and a few too close to call, most notably Best Picture. I'll start with the sure-thing winners and then move on to the less certain...

LOCKS (or pretty close to it)
Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Geroge Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Directing
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious: based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
District 9 - Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education -Nick Hornby
In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air - Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Feature Documentary
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Original Score
Avatar - James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker - Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes - Hans Zimmer
Up - Michael Giacchino

Original Song
"Almost There" - The Princess and the Frog
"Down in New Orleans" - The Princess and the Frog
"Loin de Paname" - Paris 36
"Take It All" - Nine
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" - Crazy Heart

Fairly Certain
Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
It's either Sandra or Meryl, and I think Sandra will take it - she has the momentum now. Meryl will have to be content with her 2 Oscars and 16 (yes, 16) nominations.

Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
I wont be surprised if any of them (except Harry Potter) win - Basterds and Ribbon are dark horses

Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Avant Chanel
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria
Young Victoria could upset, but I heard the Chanel recreations were immaculate

Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Avatar could upset here, but editing gave THL a lot of its suspense

Make-Up
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

Sound Mixing
Avatar
Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Sound Editing
Avatar
Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
Both of these categories are tough to call, because they usually go hand and hand. A double win for Avatar or The Hurt Locker wouldn't be a major surprise, nor would a split. I'm gonna go with the split, overall sound going to The Hurt Locker and specific sounds to Avatar.

Foreign Language Film
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophete (France)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
I've seen 3 of the 5 (Ajami, Un Prophete and The White Ribbon) and Un Prophete stayed with me the most. It won the Grand Prix (runner up) prize in Cannes last May - the winner of the Palm d'Or? The White Ribbon. Academy members must see all 5 in order to vote. The buzz is they'll go with something more audience friendly (The Milk of Sorrow), but I'd be surprised if they're not stunned by Un Prophete.

Too Close to Call
Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger - Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy
Hurt Locker and Basterds have split precursors, with Hurt Locker winning the WGA and BAFTA. Basterds was brilliantly written by Tarantino, but I suspect Basterds will be thrown a bone with Christoph Waltz's win. I'm going to go with The Hurt Locker, but won't be surprised by a Basterds win.

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air
Really, this is a 3 film race, Avatar, Hurt Locker and Basterds. Towards the end of February, it seemed like it was The Hurt Locker was in it to win it, sweeping almost all of the critics and guild awards (2 misses, Golden Globes - Avatar, SAG - Basterds). Then there was some major backlash the past week, including a Hurt Locker producer sending an e-mail asking Academy members to vote for his film (a blatant rule violation), and war vets disputing its accuracy. I think though, most ballots had been turned in by that point. I think that The Hurt Locker has pretty broad support (based on it's guild wins), where as Avatar was pretty much visually stunning (the script was terrible) and Basterds is an actors piece. I'm going to go with The Hurt Locker, but I also really enjoyed Avatar and Basterds, so I won't be terribly unhappy if any of them win. The Hurt Locker is my #1 film of the year regardless of tonight's results.

What are your thoughts? Check back starting around 7 for live blogging!

MIA

I apologize, dear readers, for my complete lack of attention to my blog. Life has gotten in the way. I'm still alive, and with less than 7 weeks to go, Marathon training has consumed my life.

What have I been up to for the past few weeks you may ask? Not a whole lot. Training, training and more training. Completed 18 miles last weekend and felt pretty good about it. A 13 mile "break" this weekend (did you ever think I'd consider 13 miles a break? I didn't), and then the final 2 long runs of training - 19 and 21. Whoa! I can't believe it's almost here!

Went to NYC on the 17th to see A View From the Bridge and A Behanding in Spokane, both were blah, and I wasn't able to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, so a disappointing trip overall. Saw Shutter Island two weeks ago - will someone please give Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar? Please?

It's also Oscar week, so I'll be back later with predictions for the big dance on Sunday night. Are you pumped? I am.

I leave you today with this clip. Roger Ebert was on Oprah yesterday. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and has had various surgeries to rid himself of it, but it eventually meant losing part of his jaw and his ability to speak. Esquire ran a fantastic story about him in the March 2010 issue.

He was a frequent panelist at the American Pavilion when I interned at Cannes in 2006 and was lucky enough to meet him and his wife, Chaz. He was an incredible speaker, and reaffirmed my love for film, even if I didn't want to get into the business. Turns out, this was right before he lost his voice. He has been working with a company in Europe to be able to speak through his computer. The results are incredible.

a pre

Back tomorrow with a more in-depth update, but I couldn't pass this up...

The clothes are in the dryer, shoes are at the ready, and the fuel belt bottles are in the fridge. I think I'm set for tomorrow's 15 mile run through the hills of Newton. I'm nervous because I've had a minor bout with shin-splints this week, but I'm excited because tomorrow's route is taking us up Heartbreak Hill - woo! I'm sure I'll do fine, and I'm hoping that my shins cooperate. Bed time now, and I'll report back on how the run went.

2010 Animated Short Film Nominees

Here are 4 of the 5 the nominees for Best Animated short film. Check them out, they're all great. I especially like Logorama and Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty. Watch them quick before they're taken down!

Logorama

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty


French Roast

The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)

Working on finding the last one, A Matter of Loaf and Death by the creators of Wallace & Gromit. What do you think readers?

11 Weeks

I made two big purchases today - the shoes I very well may end up running the Marathon in, and a hydration belt (more on that in a second). I've been wearing the same shoes since July (which is really not a good thing, I should get a new pair every 3 months) and I needed a new pair. I'm sticking with the Asics GT2140, but decided to get a different color combination, I was tired of the blue/grey. This time, I went with red/grey. Only other difference, the other two pairs I had were wide with, these are not. They don't feel any different, so we'll see how it goes.


And now, for the hydration belt. We're going to be doing a couple of long runs where there won't be people to pass out water. Staying hydrated (even in the cold) is key, so some folks developed this creative belt that carries small water bottles that you wear around your waist. Kind of like a fanny pack, but cooler and more practical. Anyways, I bought one, and tried it out today while I was at work.


Sorry it's a little blurry - and yes, I know what you're all thinking. I will be running the Marathon dressed exactly like that.

And The Nominees Are...

Here they are, the 2010 Academy Award nominees - my thoughts are below

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglorious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
Geroge Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Directing
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious: based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
District 9 - Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education -Nick Hornby
In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - Geoffrey Fletcher
Up in the Air - Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner

Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger - Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman
A Serious Man - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Up - Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy

Animated Feature
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Foreign Language Film
Ajami (Israel)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophete (France)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The White Ribbon (Germany)

Feature Documentary
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Art Direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria

Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Avant Chanel
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious

Make-Up
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria

Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek

Original Score
Avatar - James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox - Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker - Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes - Hans Zimmer
Up - Michael Giacchino

Original Song
"Almost There" - The Princess and the Frog
"Down in New Orleans" - The Princess and the Frog
"Loin de Paname" - Paris 36
"Take It All" - Nine
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" - Crazy Heart

Sound Mixing
Avatar
Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Sound Editing
Avatar
Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up

Documentary Short
China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
Music by Prudence
Rabbit a la Berlin

Animated Short
French Roast
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

Live Action Short
The Door
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants

Totals:
Avatar, The Hurt Locker - 9
Inglorious Basterds - 8
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Up in the Air - 6
Up - 5
District 9, Nine, Star Trek - 4

A couple of surprises - for me at least:

• The exclusion of Star Trek and The Hangover from Best Picture and the inclusion of The Blind Side and A Serious Man. I thought for sure one of those two would make it in; both are crowd pleasers, made serious cash at the box office, and were (for the most part) embraced by critics.
• Very disappointed (500) Days of Summer didn't show up in original screenplay category, but great to see In the Loop.
• The Avatar love wasn't as strong as some suspected, as evidenced with it's 9 nominations. It missed out on costumes, screenplay and song. For the first time in a long time, there really is a race for Best Picture, between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. As of right now, I'm going to give the edge to The Hurt Locker, it's 9 nominations say a lot (it got a nomination for original score!), and it's clearly embraced by all branches of the Academy - most importantly the writers and actors.
• I was thrilled for Jeremy Renner's nomination - I was watching them via Today on NBC this morning and he and Anthony Mackie were on the show about to be interviewed, and it was great to see his reaction. I watched The Hurt Locker again last night and was captivated all over again. I'm serious, if you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it. Tonight.
• Sandra Bullock has the perfect storm of buzz right now to catapult her to the winners circle: a long career in Hollywood, support from her peers (SAG award), and the The Blind Side has made a ton of money and is an audience pleaser. The nomination for Best Picture has pretty much sealed the deal.
• No major surprises in the acting categories except Supporting Actress - Maggie Gyllenhaal in favor of Julianne Moore and Penelope Cruz managed to sneak in for Nine (although if anyone should have been nominated from Nine, it should have been Marion Cotillard).

Everything else was pretty much status quo. I'm going to see The Blind Side tomorrow, and The Last Station opens at Kendall this weekend. If I had to guess right now, I'd say The Hurt Locker gets Best Picture and Director - it has all of the noms that a film needs to take it all; Picture, Director, Writing, Actor/Actress and Editing. Up in the Air and Precious have those as well, but they're second tier. The real dark-horse? Inglorious Basterds.

What are your thoughts readers?

Initial Thoughts

Anne Hathaway is smokin at 5:38 am

Hooray Jeremy Renner!

THE BLIND SIDE IS A BEST PICTURE NOMINEE?!

Wow - that's quite the Best Picture line-up

Congrats Mo'Nique!

Ok - time to get to work, will post again when I get there and see all the nominees...

No Guts, No Glory

3 Last Minute Picks

Nine and The Hangover make the Best Picture cut
The White Ribbon shows up in Best Original Screenplay
Avatar and The Hurt Locker get the same number of nominations - 10

It's almost here!

The run on Saturday went well - it was cold, but after about 2 miles or so my body temperature warmed up and the cold didn't really bother me. Our route took us along the Boston side of the Charles up to the Arsenal Street bridge, across the river, and back along the Cambridge side. I ate one of the gel bursts at every bridge, and I think that helped. I was tired by the time we got to Mass Ave, but I was running with 2 other folks and we kept pushing each other. I really like running with other people, it gives you someone to talk to, and someone to keep pushing you. I think that we kept a fairly consistent pace, and finished in about 2:25, just over a 10:00 mile pace. We're on our own for the long run this coming weekend, and then next weekend, February 13, we're doing a group run with Children's Hospital out on the actual Marathon course. We'll be starting around mile 9 in Framingham and running into Copley Square - I'm a little nervous for that one!

Dr. Grayson Kimball came to talk to us before we ran on Saturday, and he put a lot of my fears at ease. It's perfectly normal to be nervous about the race but that shouldn't get in the way of your training. Keeping a positive, can do attitude is essential. Set goals, but keep them manageable. And the biggest thing he said? If you need to take a break, take a break. For me, that's the hardest part, I have this fear that everyone around me would be judging. This is definitely the most challenging and exciting thing I've ever done.

Today also happens to be Oscar Nominations Eve, my 3rd favorite day of the year after Christmas and my Birthday. Here are my predictions in the major categories:

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker
Avatar
Inglorious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air
An Education
Star Trek
District 9
Up
Invictus
Alternates: (500) Days of Summer, , A Single Man, Nine
Long Shots/Shocker: The Hangover, A Serious Man, The Blind Side

The top 5 are locked and loaded, and if there were only 5 nominees, those would be them. After that, there are about 7 films vying for the final 5, and I wouldn't be surprised if Up and Invictus don't make the cut in favor of one of the alternates. There should be quite a few blockbusters in the mix - there's a reason the Academy upped the nominees to 10.

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
James Cameron, Avatar
Quentin Tarantino, Inglorious Basterds
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Neil Blomkamp, District 9
Alternate: Lee Daniels, Precious
Long Shot/Shocker: Clint Eastwood, Invictus

3 of the 4 are locks (Bigelow, Cameron and Tarantino), and Reitman is a pretty safe bet. The last slot is between Blomkamp and Daniels. I think the Academy will take a risk and reward Blomkamp for his sci-fi drama, although he's already won an Oscar for Alive in Joburg, the 2005 short film District 9 is based on. If they want to make it a landmark year, they'll nominate Daniels, who'll be the first openly gay African American nominee. But really, it's all about Bigelow and Cameron.

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Alternate: Matt Damon, The Informant!
Longshot/Shocker: Ben Foster, The Messenger or Viggo Mortensen, The Road

This award is pretty much Bridges' to loose. His performance as Bad was exceptional, even if the story was a little trite and overdone. If I had a vote, Jeremy Renner would win hands down. His performance is nothing short of extraordinary - I can't single out one specific scene. I'll say it again, if you haven't see The Hurt Locker, stop reading and watch it.

Best Actress
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julie
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Alternate: Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Longshot/Shocker: Zoe Saldana, Avatar

Meryl is on her way to a record 16th nomination, and it's down to her and Sandra for the win. I've yet to see The Blind Side, but I've heard that SaBu's performance elevates an otherwise pretty weak film. Congrats to Sidibe and Mulligan for having great break-out roles. Here is where you can tell the barometer of the Academy - if Zoe Saldana gets the shocker nomination (and it will be the biggest shock of the morning if it happens), then it's all over - Avatar has a tidal wave of support. Game, set, match.

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, Inglorious Basterds
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Stanley Tucci, Julie and Julia
Matt Damon, Invictus
Alec Baldwin, It's Complicated
Alternate: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones or Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Longshot/Shocker: Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker

Might as well skip the formalities of a nomination, Christoph Waltz wins this in a cake walk. Nothing more to talk about.

Best Supporting Actress
Mo'Nique, Precious
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Diane Kruger, Inglorious Basterds
Alternate: Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Longshot/Shocker: Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds

See above - Mo'Nique steamrolls to the podium.

Best Original Screenplay
Inglorious Basterds
The Hurt Locker
Up
(500) Days of Summer
A Serious Man
Alternate: Avatar
Longshot/Shocker: The Messenger or The White Ribbon

Best Adapted Screenplay
Up in the Air
District 9
An Education
Precious
Julie and Julia
Alternate: In the Loop
Longshot/Shocker: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Animated Feature
Up
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Coraline
The Princess and the Frog
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Alternate: 9
Longshot/Shocker: Ponyo

So there you have it, my EXPERT predictions. Be sure to set your DVR for all the major morning news shows and E! for the nominations, live at 8:30 am.