They can nominate ten movies for Best Motion Picture, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll have seen more than one. I do better with Animated Feature Films (3/5) and Actress in a Leading Role (2/5), but on the evidence I think it is safe to conclude that this was another year where I didn’t get to the movies much. It isn’t a habit of mine, I guess. When there is something I’d like to see other things get in the way, or the people who I go to movies with don’t want to see it.

Just for the hell of it, here’s how I see it breaking down: Best Picture: The Hurt Locker. James Camron backlash, plus Hollywood self-seriousness = Victory! Best Actor: Jeff Bridges. Everybody loved Clooney, but he’s in something good every year. Supporting Actor: Stanley Tucci. Just a hunch. Best Actress: Sandra Bullock. Did you realize she’s 45 years old? Not exactly the best argument against the proposition that there are no roles for women over 24, since she plays at least ten years younger, but still. Plus the Streep movie wasn’t that good (even though she was). Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique. That way Gabourey Sidibe can get a shout-out from the podium. Animated Feature Film: Up. This is the one category where I’ve seen the majority of the nominees, and it impresses me as the strongest field of any this year. Coraline is too dark; Mr. Fox is too arch,; The Princess and the Frog won’t win because Mo’Nique is going to win Supporting Actress and that will take care of the African-American slot for the night. I don’t know what The Secret of Kells is. Sounds Irish. Up was actually really good, and it was cheerful. People like cheerful. Art Direction, who knows? Let’s call it for Avatar, since the number one box office hit of all time is going to win some stuff, and the two Victorian-era nominees are going to cancel each other out. Avatar will win Cinematography too. The Directing award will go to Up in the Air, because it is not Avatar, and it is the sort of socially aware movie that Hollywood likes to congratulate itself for making. Adapted Screenplay will go to Precious, because Up in the Air is going to win Directing. Original Screenplay is a tough call. Maybe A Serious Man, because they won’t want to give it to Tarantino, and Up is a cartoon.

That’s pure handicapping, folks, all done on form, and no content.

Spree is sponsoring a pretty exciting event this coming Thursday, November 5, at the Burchfield Penney Art Center: a panel discussion titled “Journalism on the brink: When the daily paper becomes the daily blog, who wins and who loses?”

The discussion sprang out of an article I wrote for the November issue that sought to take a closer look at our many local news blogs and bloggers, their relationships, similarities, and differences, and try to make some determinations on what’s good, what’s bad, and where it’s all leading.

The panel will feature a pretty stellar group of participants: Jim Heaney and Brian Connolly, the Buffalo News; Geoff Kelly, Artvoice; Newell Nussbaumer and Elena Buscarino, Buffalo Rising; Ben Siegel, Block Club; Marc Odien and Chris Smith, WNY Media.Net; blogger Sharon Bailey “So … Sharon”; blogger Alan Bedenko, Buffalo Pundit.

The article is online in full at Spree’s website, along with some extended interviews and extras. The free panel discussion is 7 p.m. at the Burchfield on November 5. We hope to see you there for what’s sure to be a fascinating evening.

Our October issue has just seen the light of day, with a cover feature saluting 27 of our favorite regional bars. We’ve even included a list of about three dozen more that are gone but not forgotten. But we know we’ve only scratched the surface. Here’s your chance to sing the praises of juke joints and taverns we missed–provided you’re willing to tip other people off to your secret spots, that is.

For the past three years, Forever Young, Buffalo Spree’s sister publication, has teamed up with the Buffalo Broadcasters Association to help honor its inductees. And 2009’s list was another interesting, diverse group.

Tonight is the BBA’s induction ceremony, at the WNED Studios downtown; for info on this year’s group, the BBA’s vital archiving work, and its plans for the future, visit Forever Young’s website.

Tomorrow morning, Spree’s Jared Mobarak and I head to Toronto for the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, and this is always a trip—a cinematic orgasm of high-caliber Oscar bait, obscure art films, and bushels of celebrities.

Jared posted a preview of some of our selections last week (scroll down). While we’re only visiting for four days, from Thursday to Sunday, it’s plenty of time to catch quite a bit. There are several films we’re bummed about missing—The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, A Serious Man (which conflicts with another screening), both Werern Herzog films—we’re quite pleased.

Face is one of these “wonder what the hell this will be” picks. Tsai Ming-Liang’s 141-minute work features a strange mix of French actors (Jeanne Pierre Leaud, Fanny Ardent) and supermodels (Laetitia Casta), and is said to be a conceptual masterpiece. The imagery alone might make this worth a drive north.

Jane Campion has struggled to hit the highs of The Piano in the last decade or so, but who could? Star seems like her return to relevance, focusing on the doomed relationship of poet John Keats and his neighbor Fanny Browne. Advance buzz is this will be an awards-season favorite.

Meanwhile, another female filmmaker, Jordan Scott, follows in the footsteps of dad Ridley and uncle Tony with Cracks, a dark tale of a British boarding school and its sultry headmistress, played by Eva Green. I’m hoping for Picnic at Hanging Rock-style creepy.

And the rest?
We shall see. We’re booked tightly, but do have room for at least two more. So stay tuned here, on the blog, on our Facebook page, and on our Twitter page. We’ll be posting reviews, witty bon mots, and more. Enter the void, with us.

Spree contributor Terri Parsell Hilmey looks at a key event in the lives of kids, and parents—the first day of school:

My first child is going to school. We’ve sacrificed and saved and decided on parochial school, even though we’ve got at least two more coming along after her. We got a list of items she needed for her uniform: plaid jumpers, Peter Pan collared shirts, white ankle socks, black Mary Janes, school logo-ed t-shirt and shorts for gym, school logo-ed sweatshirt and sweatpants for when it gets colder, and a school logo-ed cardigan for when it starts getting chilly. We thought we had it all under control.

Then we got the medical forms, immunizations forms, doctor’s forms, dentist’s forms, sports participation forms, emergency contact forms, potential allergy forms, etc. I did it. I did it all. I photocopied it and sent it in. I was on it.

Then we got the information about orientation day. We went, and I’ve never been so disoriented in my life. They explained nothing about how the child’s day would go, and handed me a fistful of calendars telling me when it was my responsibility to bring in a class snack, when she had to have something for Show-and-Tell, when she had to be dressed for gym, what days she would be having Music, Art, and a dozen other forms that just confused me.

But we got her there, on time, the first day. We all went. Her little sisters, too. We took pictures out in front of the school. I felt a little bit emotional, but good.

Then, my husband called and asked me when I was picking her up. I said, “2:40.” He said, “Um, I thought it was 1:45.” I pulled out my two-inch thick packet of paperwork and started rooting through it. I found something that vaguely said that dismissal was at 2:08, that children taking the bus would be let out first, and that children that would be picked up would be available to their parents between 2:20 and 2:30.

So, I called the school. They said, “We’ve got her signed up to take the bus.” “What?” I said, “I’m picking her up.” They replied, “Did you send in a note?” “I was supposed to fill out a note?” So, long story short (I know, too late), I hurried down there at about 1:45 and got the information correct. They stopped my poor five year-old from being placed on a school bus to God Knows Where. She was presented to me, along with the older “picked up” children with a big bus sign around her neck, with her address on it. She may as well have been wearing a sign that said, “I have a bad mother.”

So, she’s home. Safe. With a backpack full of more forms for me to fill out, sign and (ostensibly) read. Mummy needs laser vision correction surgery, and a glass of wine.

… coming tomorrow!

Buffalo Niagara Event Professionals presents the 3rd OUTSTANDING EVENTS AWARDS on October 28, 2009 at The Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.

Did you have a favorite event in 2008-2009? Nominate it now for a BUFFALO NIAGARA EVENT PROFESSIONALS Award! (Event must have taken place between 7/1/08 and 6/30/09). Deadline for nominations is Friday, August 28. Go to www.bneventpros.com and nominate your favorite event today!

Well, not exactly. I think of the It Bag as the prime example of design houses pushing for every last drop on the Bullet train economy we used to enjoy. How much, then, to appreciate Cathy Horyn’s description of couture as “a lot like a novel or piece of music. It offers a very specific experience.”

Christian Lacroix will probably be forced to close his house. How very low one’s shoulders then droop. And I’ve just heard that Cosifini here on Elmwood is closing its doors. Cosifini was not an excess, It Bag kind of place. It was a go-to shop for presents that stood apart, for scents to calm the nerves, and for linens that made a home feel like its owner wanted her guests to feel, well, at home.

I appreciate so much redux that the new economy has put upon us, a better perspective included. I’m not sure why the shop is closing, but regardless. During these times it is tough to stomach the thought of losing even more, such as smart places and smart people.

“As violence in Buffalo escalates to an all-time high, single mothers on the East Side struggle to keep their sons from becoming another statistic on the morning news. Friends Destiny and Matty, East Side mothers, collaborate on a new vision for East Side women when they open the Total Women’s Health Spa. East Side Mommas featuring seven talented young actors, will be performed at the Ujima Company’s TheaterLoft as a reading on Monday, July 13th at 7:30 pm. Admission is $5 for adults. Seniors and students $3 and children free. Half of the proceeds will be donated to Paradise House, a home for recovering women on the East Side.

I’m so there.

If you can find a bottle of Bal D’Afrique perfume, do anything to get it. Vanilla, amber, and lemon scents should work on any guy.

Tomorrow’s an AM Buffalo style day, and I have seven Buffalo Girls ready to show off Summer dresses. In the meantime, I’m reporting that animal prints in any color but animal will carry us from Summer to Fall, and green is still the hook. It’s just the angle that changes. Some highlight organic fabrics, other promote sustainable style. Whatever it takes ….

Stars of the screen (big and small) used to mimic the clothes worn by the individuals they were hired to portray, but today it is the individual who is inspired by the movies and television shows costuming. (There is a standing exception for Audrey Hepburn. There is always a standing exception for Audrey.) I’m not sure when that tide turned. It had to be before Sex and the City, but did that phenom exist at the time of Patty Duke?

Florsheim by Duckie Brown has a Facebook page. This look will eventually take; a substantial man’s shoe in “I’m a creative type, but don’t mess with me” colors.

For the young one in the Florsheim crowd, try the mocs by Trumpette. Almost worth reproducing for.

If you happened to miss Spree’s Best of Party, benefiting Camp Good Days, (we raised $6.680 thanks to all your help), or if you just want to relive the memories, Spree designer J.P. Thimot has complied a video of the evening for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Here, courtesy of RDC member John Carocci, is a slide show from last night’s fabuloso Best Of WNY party, demonstrating the metamorphosis of the Real Dream Cabaret into “Royally Delicious Cuisine,” a catering company offering zero-calorie, zero-carb, zero-content food and drink amongst the other food vendors:

Lemme say, serving invisible food is every bit as much work as serving the visible kind.

Move over all you holier than thou elected officials who can’t keep it in your pants.

Take a back seat Ryan O’Neil. You had, what, 28 years to convince the love of your life that regardless of your parenting skills you were still worthy to wed? “O’Neil, who is 68, told Barbara Walters in an interview for ABC News “20/20” that they will wed ‘as soon as she can, say yes … Maybe we can just nod her head.’ Apparently the 62 year old actress is in very poor health. He told Waters that during the wedding ceremony that he may dress up ‘like a gigolo. You know? And a little thin mustache and slicked-back hair. I don’t know. We have fun, we tease about that.’” From here. I don’t have the stomach to imagine O’Neil with a pencil on, and I don’t have the time to Photoshop a montage of the 2008 mug shots of Tatum, Ryan, and Redmond, although I think they would understand time crunch issues. I mean it’s tricky to fit scoring heroin and stashing meth into a life chock full of a family member trying so very hard not to die. But none of this matters now that Michael Jackson’s heart decided to call it quits. None of these Washington or Hollywood people can even come close to what Michael and his kid brothers managed to accomplish four decades ago.

He was the only one of all this noise who mattered. We white, farm kids would hear Michael every morning during the 45 minute bus ride to school. He and his brothers would sing happy out of the part time bus driver/full time driver’s transistor radio. Back then, it was the closest any of us got to anyone of color, and we loved him. So did the bus driver. I think collectively we considered the manufactured white version – the Osmonds – cheap and weak, and being unexposed to the whole Morman phenom beyond an ability to spell “Palmyra”, half of us thought they were Jehovah’s Witnesses or a circus family. Anyway, for a whole group of sequestered southern Erie County people, the Jackson Five built a bridge, our first one.

That he and the Tatums and Redmunds of the world grew up with issues, is not a reflection of these children, but of our own failing to remember that kids are sort of ill equipped to handle strip clubs and full on spoiling. It’s not really written in a book anywhere, but if even I know it, then it must be a no-brainer.

I can sing Rockin Robin (link to YouTube version) by heart. Each word. Even the intro medley.

I should have something better to say about Farrah, besides the fact that I have always entertained a nagging thought that she should have had a better go of it in Hollywood. The Houston Chronicle writes up her bio a bit here. She only spent one year on the Angels series and still she made it to almost every boy’s bedroom wall. To not do more, all I can figure is that she had the the worst agent ever.

Farrah Red

Pantone should work her name into their pallet line up.

Do we REALLY have to remind you that Spree’s Best of WNY party is tonight, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Shea’s Performing Arts Center (646 Main St.)? I should hope not … but I will anyway. Details:

It’s the best time of year again: Buffalo Spree is celebrating the finest that our area has to offer, and we want everyone to be part of the fun!

Join us for fabulous food from twenty of your favorite restaurants, plus live entertainment from The Real Dream Cabaret, wine tasting, music, a silent auction, and the revealing of our “Best of WNY” 2009 winners (as selected by our readers and multiple panels of experts).

Food stations include: Anderson’s, Chef Bink’s, Edible Arrangements – Williamsville, Harry’s Harbour Place Grille, Fiamma Steak, Joe’s Deli, The Melting Pot, My Tomato Pie, Nick Charlap’s Ice Cream, Old Bank Bistro & Bar, The Other Woman Catering, The Red Coach Inn, Salvatore’s Italian Gardens, Sample, Shango, Spar’s European Sausage & Meats, Tandoori’s Royal Indian Restaurant,Verbena Grille and Yancey’s Fancy.

This year’s party is a benefit for Camp Good Days and Special Times, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges. To learn more about the organization, please visit www.campgooddays.org.

Tickets are $40 at the door. Ticket includes food and wine tasting, and cash bar will be available. Dress is cocktail party attire. Order tickets by calling 716-783-9119 ext. 2202 or by visiting www.buffalospree.com.

100% of the dollars that will be raised from the silent auction, plus $10 from each ticket sold benefits Camp Good Days.

My goodness—are we getting spoiled? Wilco, Gaslight Anthem, and now a return show for the Decemberists, at UB’s Center for the Arts on August 13? Killer, killer announcements.

The Decemberists previously played the CFA in 2007, and the show was utterly fantastic, proving Colin Meloy and company to be one of the finest live acts in America. This coming show has the chance to be even more intriguing, since they’re touring behind the most ambitious, and debated, album of their careers: The Hazards of Love.

A very nice opener, too: Ohio’s Heartless Bastards. Tickets go on sale this Friday. Get them fast, as this should sell out easily.

Don’t you just love nostalgia for the very recent past? Let us relive the joy which was the Real Dream Cabaret’s strolling performance at Spree’s Best of WNY party last year:

But there is no need to live in the past–the Cab will be back at Shea’s with a whole NEW act THIS year. (That’s Thursday, June 25, as we know you already know.) Don’t tell us you haven’t bought your tickets yet; just spare yourself the shame and get ‘em online this very second.

When you cross the finish in a marathon or a half marathon they drape a finisher’s medal around your neck. Covering that kind of distance deserves a medal, but once you’ve worn it home there aren’t really any occasions where you can show off your athletic prowess in jewelry form. As a general rule men should limit themselves to a wedding band and a watch, but cufflinks are an acceptable adornment as well, and these, from deSignet International in Grand Island are pretty cool looking. A minor quibble: in the running community there is an ongoing debate about what to call the 13.1 mile distance. Traditionally its been called the Half Marathon, but its partisans argue that it diminishes a challenging race to refer to it as half of something. That aside, these would be a nice gift for the French cuffed endurance athlete in your life. deSignet should consider a line of triathlon accessories too.

With the Allentown Festival behind us we’re past the first significant sun exposure event of the season. This is no time to e lulled into complacency, at least for the fair-skinned. UV exposure is a constant threat, and I’m not even half joking. It’s bad enough to look like a boiled ham, but even worse is the wear and tear. Women call them “laugh lines”, and then laugh ironically, trying to hold their faces stiff. Truth is you can laugh away, but if you don’t protect yourself from the sun you’ll end up looking more like Casey Stengel than Derrick Jeter.

I’ve found that what works best for me is to have sunscreen cached all over, so that I’m never more than an arm’s length away from a dime-sized dollop. I keep a tube in my car (the car sunscreen is a high-spf sports glop that I’ll write about another time), and in my office, and at home next to the shaving stuff. I’ve got a tube in my gym bag, and one by my front door. The one I’m liking quite a bit lately is this one. Zirh Defend is only SPF 15– it is really a moisturizer with a sunscreen component– but that’s ideal for most of the time during the day, during the week. It doesn’t have a strong smell, and it rubs in quickly, so I don’t have to worry about rocking the Marcel Marceau look. If this isn’t what Jeter uses it should be.