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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.