Goodbye 'Greek'

I watched the series finale of 'Greek' like I watched most of the episodes of its 4-season run: With a drink in hand, uncontrollable guffaws, and just a few tears streaming down my face.

At its core 'Greek' is lighthearted, snarky fun. It deals with issues that other shows turn into Issues, from underage drinking and gay relationships, to cheating and graduating college. As I said goodbye to these slightly caricatured but totally lovable characters, there was more than one point that I thought "See, this is what this show's about." And I was referring to 'a story about siblings,' 'a story about the real love of your college life - your roommate,' 'a story about love,' and a few other half-dozen plot points they managed to sneak in there. And that's the beauty of it - it's about everything, so there's always something to be invested in. It's (it WAS) sometimes predictable. It was sometimes really (really) not. And it was always (always!) enjoyable.

There's a very good chance you've never seen an episode, and, for that, I'm jealous. Because (if you're smart), you'll start fixing that soon, and you'll get to hold onto it a little while longer.

Best Picture

Since I haven't done all the reviews yet, let's do this inspired-by-haiku-style of years past:

Winter's Bone: Gritty, dark, with a lead who's wise
Consider the nomination your prize
Same for 127 Hours, with my man Franco
You're first in my book, but it just won't be so
The Kids Are All Right is probably suffering from time
Released in June, it's certainly not front of mind.
Toy Story 3 is just the third animation considered tops
I cried a whole lot, but it doesn't quite have the chops
True Grit, I liked way more that I'd thought
The Coen Brothers - count them out not.
Despite the acting, The Fighter doesn't stand a chance
10 nominations got them in this dance.
Black Swan - you are so intense and unexpected
I think Portman's in, but you'll be bested
Social Network and Inception - brilliant and quick
You're a bit too young for the Academy to get.
King's Speech: You're a bromance and not too much more
And yet I think this Oscar is yours to score.

Another year, another Oscars

Make no mistake: I don't find the repetition of yearafteryear Academy Awards mundane, but reassuring and almost always surprisingly rewarding. It's like opening a Christmas stocking from my Mom & Dad - I know it's going to happen every year, and there will be patterns and there will be surprises, and I am going to love the process as much as anything contained.

As I sit here, the mountains of San Diego are being doused with snow - ten inches since this morning, and it's still falling - and the only thing on my mind is: What if we can't drive down the mountain for the Oscars? The roads are nowhere near plowed, and we live in a land of no cable, with only a Toyota Camry to our name. So, moreso than ever before, there's the chance that tomorrow Trevor and I will not be watching the Academy Awards. Gulp.

Of course the Oscars will still happen. Of course I could read about them online. of course I would know what everyone wore, and who won what, and who offended whom. And it won't change anything in the world at large. Right?

Well, let's not worry about that yet - let's focus on the Oscar predictions!