The State of the Oscars and the State of the Union

So, today was an exciting day, despite the fact that it's a Tuesday, which means that I still have two more days of classes left until the weekend. The Oscar nominations are out and the President's State of the Union's address was tonight. I, along with apparently the rest of the world, was pretty surprised at Christopher Nolan's exclusion from the Best Directing category. I thought Inception was a great movie, and while I am unsure about who I would trade from the the five that were nominated (Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan, David Russell for The Fighter, Tom Hooper for The King's Speech, David Fincher for The Social Network , and Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit), I assumed Nolan would get an Oscar nod for directing what may have been one of the most challenging movies of the year. He's been snubbed from the Oscars before (Dark Knight, I'm looking at you), but I wouldn't have called this one. My other disappointment was that Andrew Garfield was not nominated for Supporting Actor for The Social Network.
I mean, look at him.

My conspiracy theory is that the Academy saw him bungle his presentation at the Golden Globes and was worried he'd mess up his acceptance speech on the off chance he actually won the thing. Other thoughts. I'm sincerely hoping Christian Bale does not win the Supporting Actor category he's nominated in, because I do not think I could stand having to look at the terrifying beard he was sporting during the Golden Globes during his acceptance speech. Toy Story 3 has become the third animated movie in history to also get a Best Picture nomination. Toy Story 3 was not the best picture of the year, but its nomination for Best Picture is quite an accomplishment.

The State of the Union address was tonight. I learned that the Union is apparently full of all sorts of hope and change and that Biden's mouth looks remarkably like a line almost all of the time. Obama's defense of the health care plan in economic terms was particularly interesting, and it was something that probably angered a bunch of people. Rhetoric on fiscal restraint seems like a standard for the State of the Union address, but it's good to hear it anyway. Without the policy changes to back it up, though, the President's speech means nothing. We'll see if the interesting seating arrangement might have made anyone listen to it a bit more.