To hone my data visualization and information graphics chops, I’ve been seeking out and collecting data on topics of interest to me. Here’s one that bugs me around this time every year.
Tag Archives: Oscars
And the Oscar Goes To: Best Picture
15 Jan
The Oscar nominations are out. No big surprises. When it comes to patting themselves on the back, the industry that is Hollywood is still overwhelmingly white and male. Still, it was a year for several good films and many wonderful performances and, per usual, I have a lot to catch up on before the awards are handed out next month. Cue up the movie tickets, Netflix, and popcorn.
For fun, I wondered what it would be like to name my personal Oscar nominations and winners this year. Oh, I don’t mean making picks based upon the movies of last year, but the events of my life during that time. What would be the Best Picture of my 2015? Who would be the Best Actress? Best Director? What was the Best Score, the background music of my year?
I sat down with pen and paper and started my lists. It’s more difficult that I thought and thus will take a few posts, but let’s start with what those darned Oscar celebration directors always make us wait until the end to find out – Best Picture. No need to stay up past midnight here.
The 2015 nominees for Best Picture in my year are:
It’s a long way from the Library to the 7th floor of the ACC.
The Road Less Traveled – A medical research librarian leaves the familiar confines of the library and her library kin to explore the highway of evaluation in clinical and translational science. Along the way she meets up with intense grant writing, crazy deadlines, people who speak a different language, and much packing and unpacking of office boxes. Will it be a cliffhanger or a “happily ever after”? You decide.
*****
Dogs always steal the snow, er… show.
Snowpocalypse 2015 – The bustling, blue collar, chip-on-its-shoulder city of Worcester, Massachusetts is pummeled with snow the likes of which it cannot remember. Almost 120 inches of snow falls, leaving the City buried in challenges, but full of heart as the citizens all get behind the race to claim the title, “Snowiest City in the US.” No spoilers here. You’ll have to check out the Golden Snow Globe to see who won.
*****
Austin, Texas. The backdrop alone makes for a winning film.
SwingTime – A bunch of medical librarians land in Austin, Texas and discover that honky tonks and margaritas and Texas Swing are all right up their alley. Meeting? Was there also a meeting? Think of this one as Todd Phillips writes a movie with smart people in the cast.
*****
It’s ideal, but is it a winner?
Our House in the Middle of the Street – Adopting the title of the hit song by the band, Madness, back in the 1980s, the attempt to buy a home becomes maddeningly complicated at every turn possible. A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World it was, but this picture avoids the pitfalls of The Money Pit and becomes an instant classic. Home, Sweet Home.
*****
Who will fall into the drama?
The Big Thrill – Four friends gather by a lake for a weekend of reminiscing. Twenty five years may have gone by between meetings, but the reunion is filled with laughter and tears. Lawrence Kasdan’s influence knows no bounds.
***************
Wow! What a slate. There’s not a non-deserving picture in the bunch. Hand me the envelope there, judges. And the Oscar for Best Picture of 2015 goes to…
Our House in the Middle of the Street!
This is the first Oscar win for first-time homeowners Sally and Lynn. The sentimental favorite, yes, but who can argue? We can now sit in the comfort of a warm and cozy home and watch movies forever. Definitely a “Happily Ever After” feature.
Stay tuned for more. We’ll be back after a commercial break.
A Librarian by Any Other Name 