CBS ALL ACCESS 1 month free: so much more than Picard!

CBS ALL ACCESS 1 month free: so much more than Picard!

I would say that

CBS ALL ACCESS

has been using Star Trek: Picard (a sequel series to Star Trek: The Next Generation) as the main attraction for their subser (subscription service). Since they are giving away a month free right now, with no obligation, I thought I’d try it (despite having enough to watch) to see what else it has.

I was pleasantly surprised!

Let me say first that they made signing up for it easy. The “coupon code” (ALL, in this case), was already filled in for me. I pretty much just put in my contact and payment information, and that was it. I can cancel before the month is up and pay nothing. I told Alexa to remind me a couple of days…I plan to cancel.

Now, as to content:

Of course, they have their original…Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Discovery, The Twilight Zone (remake)…

I also knew they would have older shows, but that turned out to be a better selection than I thought. Some things that caught my eye:

• Archie’s Weird Mysteries, a cartoon with the Riverdale gang
• Beauty and the Beast (the Linda Hamilton/Ron Perlman version
• The Brady Bunch
• Brain Dead
• Cheers
• Danger Mouse
• Danny Phantom
• Extant
• Family Ties
• Fraser
• Gunsmoke
• Happy Days
• The original and remake Hawaii Five-O
• I Love Lucy
• Inspector Gadget
• Jericho
• The Legend of Korra
• The original and remake MacGyver
• Madam Secretary
• Medium
• Mission: Impossible (the original series, yes, starting with the Dan Briggs episodes)
• The original and (recent) remake The Odd Couple
• Perry Mason
• Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Melissa Joan Hart)
• Scorpion
• Lots of Star Trek, including The Animated Sereis
• Strange Angel
• Taxi
• Tell Me a Story
• Touched By an Angel
• The original Twilight Zone (in addition to the remake)
• The original Twin Peaks
• Under the Dome
• Wings
• Young Sheldon

Quite a bit there that is bingeable…and I didn’t mention game/reality shows.

There was also live TV, but another good opportunity during your free month is movies. I did check, and they appear to be unedited…by that I mean they haven’t had the racy/violent parts removed, such as would have happened in the old days if they were broadcast on CBS over the air.

Some of those:

• The American President
• Awakenings (with Robert De Niro & Robin Williams)
• The Big Chill
• Clockwork Orange
• The Craft
• Eat Pray Love
• Escape from New York
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose
• Funny Girl
• Gattaca
• The Gift (with Cate Blachett)
• Godzilla 2000
• The Iron Giant
• Kung Fu Hustle
• The Mothman Prophecies
• My Best Friend’s Wedding
• My Girl
• Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
• The Perfect Storm
• Pretty in Pink
• The Prince of Tides
• The Professional
• Rachel Getting Married
• Single White Female
• The Social Network
• Something’s Gotta Give
• St. Elmo’s Fire
• Stand By Me
• Star Trek IV (the original crew…time travel to San Francisco), VIII, VIII, X
• Starship Troopers (that’s the reason I know they didn’t bowdlerize them…that famous scene was still there)
• Starshine Cleaning
• Tin Cup
• You’ve Got Mail

All in all, I don’t expect to get through everything I’d like to see in a month…but there’s still no obligation. 😉

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The “Handsomest Man in Hollywood” died from the pandemic…in 1918

The “Handsomest Man in Hollywood” died from the pandemic…in 1918

The pandemic of 1918 is estimated to have infected 500 million people (roughly a quarter of the world population…the equivalent of about two billion today) and probably killed tens of millions.

One of those is largely unknown today, but was one of the biggest movie stars of the day…the equivalent of the “Sexiest Man Alive”.

He was thirty.

Harold Lockwood had worked his way up through the system. He had success paired with Mary Pickford, but really hit it big as a team with May Allison.

He was so popular that magazines wrote “lifestyle” articles just about him…talking about him changing a tire or having a picnic. He also became a writer himself, doing a monthly column for one of the biggest film magazines, Motion Picture.

Not only was the flu devastating the planet, there was a World War happening. We call it “World War I” now, but at the time, they didn’t expect another…it was called “The Great War” and “The War to End All Wars”.

Lockwood was active in the effort to sell war bonds to help support the troops abroad…one of the most successful.

It’s now thought that it’s possible he caught the flu while working in a booth…picture George Clooney shaking hands with the public to get them to support a cause.

Thanks to the internet, it’s possible for you to see some of his movies right now. My guess is that he’d appreciate that in another pandemic, more than 100 years after the one that cut short his career, people could still get some pleasure from the work he did.

at Archive.org

Tim Lussier’s excellent article at SilentsAreGolden.com helped expand my knowledge of Harold Lockwood for this post. Please consider visiting it and the rest of that site:

• Harold Lockwood “A bright star…gone too soon” by Tim Lussier
• Harold Lockwood at Wikipedia
  • Over 25 images at time of writing related to Harold Lockwood at Wikimedia
• Harold Lockwood at IMDb

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* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. 

Shop ’til you help! 

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I went for a walk yesterday…but I think it was too stressful to do it again

I went for a walk yesterday…but I think it was too stressful to do it again

My Significant Other and I usually walk for a couple of hours each weekend day. That could be at the dog park (we drive quite a ways to get to a giant dog park, one of the best in the world) or around our neighborhood.

We think of it as our favorite date. 🙂 It’s a time when we get to focus on each other and talk, and also get to see other people. We “know” lots of people (and dogs) at the dog park. We love seeing them and chatting.

I’m also very into animals. At the dog park, we see many different kinds of birds, and some different mammals (we always look for the pinnipeds, and they aren’t there consistently, which makes it even more exciting).

I had a pretty intense week. I work in healthcare, although I don’t do direct patient care. I train doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, primarily on software. That does mean I’m often where patient care is happening, but I’m not doing that now. I have an additional risk factor over many people, so I’m really trying to avoid being around others…which is very hard for a super social extrovert.

However, I am doing a lot remotely. Workflows have changed (I’ve also taught change management & time management). I may have three things going on at once: actively involved in one online meeting, monitoring two others on phones.

I was looking forward to walking yesterday.

After we did, though, I was really aware of how stressful it had been.

Now, I don’t usually make decisions based on my emotions. Spock was a fictional hero of mine, and I’m a great person to have around during an emergency (because I’ll make the, yes, logical choices). It would be illogical to ignore the affect of stress hormones on my body, though.

Why was it stressful?

One element was hypervigilance. I always look around when we walk: I’m looking for animals, such as squirrels. This was different: I was looking ahead for humans to avoid.

It felt like being on The Walking Dead.

I might see someone 50 meters/yards up ahead on the path. I’d look around for a place for my SO and I to go where we could be six feet/2 meters away from them. If we could step up on a hill, great. If not, we would step out into the traffic lane (it’s a quiet area, even more so now). In more than one case, we crossed to the other side of the street.

During those interactions, there often was tension, at least at first. I get that it could look like an ambush…we were standing out there in the weeds, and we probably weren’t immediately visible.

We actually resented people who were stopping to look at nature, or walking more slowly than us. We weren’t mad at them, but it meant we had to change our pace or take another path so we didn’t overtake them.

We did end up having a nice conversation with another couple about dogs…standing far enough apart with them outside their house.

Still…

I understand stress really well: that’s an important part of time management. What’s the difference between stress and hard work? Stress is unresolved. If your job was to dig ditches and you dug three in a day, that would be hard work, but it wouldn’t be stressful. If you felt like you had to call somebody today, and never reached them, it would be stressful.

Your body can rev up its capabilities during a time of special need…but it’s costly. Think about someone who lifts a car off another person who is trapped. Their body can change what it is doing to enable that slight lifting…but hours later, the hero might be unable to stand up.

When something is unresolved, your body stays in that ready mode. That’s one reason why it is so important to set achievable goals.

Was it hard work to maintain social (actually physical) distancing? Sometimes…it wasn’t always easy to get out of the way. I have some mobility restriction which makes it a tad more challenging. Remembering all the time to judge where someone was going to be took effort.

It was certainly stressful. We couldn’t know when we got home if we’d been exposed or not (we figured we hadn’t and had done what we could). We followed recommendations: we came in, washed our hands (I know how to do that properly from my training at work), took off our “outside clothes” and put them in the washer, washed our hands again, and then each took showers.

We are close to each other: we are exposed to each other all the time. My Significant Other has been going out doing the necessary shopping and could bring it home. I jokingly say if we go, we are going together.

I should also say that joking about it is fine. Different people will deal with external threats different ways. Joking about something helps disempower it in your mind (I’ve taught humor, too…laughter is a signal that there is apparent danger, but no real danger, generally). I would never joke about it affecting other people negatively…that feels too real to me, but joking about myself is fine.

Bottom line: I know we’re better off than many. We have a backyard (our dogs can go in and out). We can exercise at home. We have more tech than most people…more books/videos/audio, and VR (although I haven’t gone into it all week, which is very unusual for me). My employer is considered essential, and (virtual fingers crossed), my job is likely to be continued. No one in our families so far has tested positive, although some are seriously affected by the economic changes.

I’ll stay home today, and then get back to work tomorrow…

Getting outside is important, and I don’t begrudge you at all for doing it, following the guidelines. It’s just not the right choice for me right now.

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The most important psychological thing about working at home: structure

The most important psychological thing about working at home: structure

While many people can’t do their jobs from home, there are also a lot of people who are now working from home for the first time.

As someone who has done that in the past, I thought I’d give you my biggest tip for adjusting to it.

It’s not something technical, like how to make sure your internet is up to the task.

It has to do with your mental framing.

I do want to say right off, this is just a layperson’s opinion. I’m not a mental health professional. If you are seriously concerned about your mental health in this situation, I’d recommend you consult someone licensed. Your work may even have resources for you.

I am, though, in my “day job”, a trainer. I enable people to do things which are new to them (or do the things they already do better), and that includes an understanding of motivation. My responsibility isn’t just to give them the capability to do it, but to help them change their behavior to meet the new workflows. I’ve taught change management.

It may seem like a great thing to be working from home, but it can feel…weird. You may have a mindset that separates very strongly work life from home life. You may be one of those people who very deliberately doesn’t bring work home, or perhaps when you do work at home, you resent it. If you are working at home for the next few weeks (or shorter or longer), you don’t want to spend all that time being angry about it.

You also want to be able to do a good job. If you felt like you weren’t producing like you were at work, that by itself could mess with your head. The vast majority of people want to feel like what they are doing is valuable, and that they are good at it.

Here is the most important thing about working at home: structure.

When you go to an office (or some other worksite), you usually go at the same time or at the direction of a boss or because your clients have a requirement. You don’t choose whether or not to go, or when to go. You get into “work clothes”. You do something different with your grooming than you do on a non-workday (a weekend, for many).

You still want to do that.

Your commute may have changed from 30 minutes to 30 steps, but still set an alarm. Still get up at the same time every day…it doesn’t have to be the same time you got up when you went “into the office”, but it should be the same time.

Change into work clothes. Does that mean you’ll be on the couch in a suit and tie or put on pantyhose? It doesn’t have to mean that, but it shouldn’t be what you would have worn for a day of leisure. Superman feels different when he changes out of his Clark Kent clothes into his supersuit. “This looks like a job for…my job!” 😉

Have a designated workplace in your home. Ideally, sit at a desk or a table, not where you hang out with the family. Check it for ergonomics and safety. It’s possible, that if you are working at home and you have your work laptop balanced on the arm of the couch, and it falls off and breaks your foot, it will be workers’ compensation (I don’t know that for sure…I’m also not a lawyer). That will help your pets/Significant Other/kids adjust to you working, too. They may not understand why they can’t interact with you if you are sitting where you normally sit, but they can (maybe, perhaps) learn to respect this.

Take a lunch! Separate your work time from your non-work time, even at home. If you are used to taking breaks at work, take them at home. Move away from your workspace. If you take lunch at the same time of day every day at work, keep taking it at that time. Be aware that you may eat more at home, with food readily available at any time.

That’s it, that’s the main thing, and once you think about it, you’ll know right away whether something fits it or not. That will help you still feel valuable, and still be productive.

Working at home isn’t as bad as not being able to work at all, of course, or being sick. To pretend it isn’t a challenge, though, isn’t realistic. You may not feel like you have control over your circumstances, but you can influence how those changes impact your mental state.

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This is a good time to try virtual reality

This is a good time to try virtual reality

I’m an early adopter of virtual reality (VR). I’ve been using it regularly for years now, bringing my headgear with me to work to use at lunch.

I’ve written about it in this blog a number of times, but I know that many people haven’t tried it, or haven’t tried It in years.

It’s now much easier to use than it used to be. It also works better than it used to work. Once you get a device on your network (which I know can be a challenge with any kind of device for some people), it’s not any harder than sending a text.

The “motion sickness” that some people felt in the past has been largely resolved for most people, I believe. That had to do with lag: as you moved your head, if the image lagged behind your eye position, it was disorienting. Devices are so much faster than they were 10 years ago, it’s less of an issue (but I won’t say it’s completely gone for everybody).

Just in the past couple of years, the option of “stand-alone” devices, which don’t need to be plugged into a computer or have you put your phone in it (the latter is how I do VR currently), have become easily available and relatively affordable. The

Oculus Go (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

is a standalone which is about $200 at times of writing. I know that’s not cheap, but it’s less than a lot of options have been, and it has a 4.4 star customer rating out of 5 with 4,073 reviews at the time of writing.

If you are technically adept, you can get much less expensive devices which will work with your phone (Android or iPhone)…I’ve seen them for under $30. They work, but you don’t have the same sorts of options for content and they can be a lot harder to set-up and use.

What are you going to do with them?

Well, there are a lot of “experiences” (that’s what apps are called for VR)…sure, games, but you can also just “be” in a place by yourself, like underwater with fish swimming around you, on a train, or in space.

However, the reason I’m especially recommending them now is because of the social experiences.

That’s what many of us are going to be missing…hanging out with family, friends, or strangers.

Yes, you can do that just by voice on a phone call. Yes, you can do video calls (which devices like the Amazon Echoes with screens have made much simpler).

In VR, though, even though you are seeing an avatar (a cartoon) of the person, you can see some of their body language, and that’s crucial.

VR actually feels more natural to me than a videocall like Skype.

That seems ridiculous, right? How can a cartoon, maybe one with purple skin or cat ears, feel more realistic than an actual image of the real person?

The etiquette on a videocall is that you just stare at the screen. It’s considered to be bad form to even turn your head away to look at something else in the room. That just isn’t natural.

Let me give you an example.

I was being interviewed in VR by Len Edgerly of The Kindle Chronicles

My interview about (and IN) VR with Len Edgerly…and giveaways!

We were virtually sitting next to each other in a forest-type scene…and, as I recall, a deer appeared across a river. Just as I would in real life, I could see Len turn his head to look at the deer, and I could follow suit.

The same thing happened when we were underwater, and a grouper swam by.

That’s the real world way things work.

You follow someone’s gaze, which you can do as the avatar moves its head the same way the person does.

Depending on the set-up, you may also be able to see hand gestures (that requires a sensor of some kind to pick up what the hand is doing, although there are some alternatives to that).

You can also look around you: off to the side, behind you, above you. That’s what people do. I’m amused when people seem to think that single-tasking is natural. If you were on the savannah making a stone axe and weren’t, at the same time, paying attention to noise in the tall grass, you wouldn’t last long. 🙂

You can watch a video together. You can go to a show or a sports event (although those may be recorded currently). You can play games.

You can use a platform like vTime to just be in a place and talk to other people (whether you know them or not). Here’s a listing of those:

Best VR Social Platforms from G2

I expect there to be a considerable increase in VR use over the next year or so…and augmented reality (where you see what is around you in the real world, but other things overlay it…and that could include people at some point) will be much bigger than that in the future.

If you have questions or comments about VR, feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

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The free JustWatch app can help you find free videos to watch

The free JustWatch app can help you find free videos to watch

Right now, many people are asking for recommendations for movies & TV shows to watch. Whether actually restricted to home, or staying home out of choice, adults (and children) may find themselves with more opportunity to watch.

That’s not to suggest people just become couch potatoes. I never watch TV without doing something else at the same time…writing, exercising, folding laundry… I do reference TV and movies a lot (I also reference books a lot…I used to manage a bookstore), and I used to have people tell me I’d get a lot more done if I didn’t watch TV as much.

I’m scientifically minded, so I did an experiment. 🙂 I didn’t watch TV for a year…and I didn’t get anything more done (I think I’m generally seen as pretty productive). Now, it’s up to them to do the experiment: watch more TV and see if they get less done, but somehow, I don’t think they are going to do that. 😉

I’m an eclectic consumer of content (I like 1960s TV and 19th Century literature, and don’t really see why one is more respected than the other), but there are certainly times I want to see something specific, or have something suggested to me.

For example, on Friday someone referenced a particular Twilight Zone episode. I wanted to watch it at lunch at work (in VR…my favorite way to watch videos) while I exercised, but how was I to know in just a minute where I could (legally) do that?

Easy.

I turned to one of my favorite resources, the JustWatch app.

It told me that it was available on Hulu, and I have a VR experience (that’s what apps are called in VR) for that. The Hulu app isn’t as good as the Netflix one for me, because it doesn’t let me change the orientation of the “screen” (my exercise is floor work), but it works.

I’m not connected to the JustWatch app except as a customer, but I use it quite often.

The basic concept is pretty simple: it searches streaming services for videos. It’s the execution that makes the difference.

Now, I have to say, the experience is different on different platforms. I like it better on my Android Galaxy than I do on my Fire TV. The Android app gives me a lot more choices for streaming services, but that makes sense…more apps are available. Weirdly, though, the Fire TV app won’t search Tubi, even though Fire TV itself does search Tubi…so I’m thinking it’s not an Amazon decision.

Back to the features:

You can create an account so you can sync your preferences and watchlist between devices, but it’s not necessary. If you create it, it’s free.

There are four main “tabs” (I’m going to work off the Android app for this article):

• Home
• New
• Popular
• Watchlist

New breaks it down by service (you tell it which services you watch…more on that below) and date. That can be very helpful. On March 13th, they listed 84 titles for Tubi, 2 titles for Pluto TV, one for Netflix, 1 for Prime Video, and so on. If you want to watch one, you can just tap it to see all the watch options, then tap again to launch it. Although I headlined free, this will also give you options to rent or buy it…and choices for different formats (SD/HD/4K).

Popular is actually how I can find all titles. With my filters, it is listing 8,222 titles at time of writing, but I could limit that to just movies or TV shows. I can also adjust how old it is, rating on Rotten Tomatoes and/or IMDb, price (which includes ones that are just free/free with ads/or subscription). I can also filter for genres:

• Action & Adventure
• Animation
• Comedy
• Crime
• Documentary
• Drama
• Fantasy
• History
• Horror
• Kids & Family
• Music & Musical
• Mystery & Thriller
• Romance
• Science-Fiction
• Sport
• War & Military
• Western
• Made in Europe
• Age rating (MPAA)…it may be worth noting that with many services, it’s easy to find gore and nudity

You can also sort in a number of ways, and that’s important to me. I find most streaming services have really inefficient search options. That may be because they want to use algorithms to suggest content to you. One of the things I really like to do is just scroll through alphabetically. I’m familiar with a lot of movie & TV shows, and I may see one I want to rewatch or that I’ve never seen.

As to what they search if you choose it (again, on the Android app at time of writing):

• Netflix
• Prime Video
• Disney+
• Hulu
• IMDb TV (free with ads)
• Amazon Video (buy or rent)
• HBO Now
• Apple TV Plus
• YouTube
• YouTube Premium
• YouTube Free
• Google Play Movies
• Apple iTunes
• CBS
• The Roku Channel
• Hoopla (connects to public libraries)
• The CW
• CW Seed
• Starz
• Criterion Channel
• FandangoNOW
• Vudu
• VUDU Free
• Quibi
• Showtime
• PBS
• Pantaflix
• FXNow
• DC Universe
• Kanopy
• Comedy Central
• Microsoft Store
• Crunchyroll
• Redbox
• Max GO
• HBO Go
• ABC
• DIRECTV
• Tribeca Shortlist
• Crackle
• AMC Theatres
• AMC
• Fandor
• Curiosity Stream
• NBC
• Epi
• Freeform
• History
• Syfy
• A&E
• Livetime
• Shudder
• Screambox
• Acorn TV
• Sundance Now
• Popcornflix
• BritBox
• GuideDoc
• realeyz
• Mubi
• Fandango
• Netflix Kids
• Pantaya
• Boomerang
• Sling TV
• Pluto TV
• FlixFling
• TCM
• okay, okay…etc., etc., etc! 😉

Once you’ve selected them, you can just tap to toggle one on and off, meaning you could just search Prime, for example, if you wanted.

It’s also worth noting that I’m searching the USA right now, but you can pick your country!

There you go! It’s no cost to get the app, and then you can find videos to watch.

By the way, as a bonus, here are a few free services I use:

• Tubi: this one skews towards the geek, but even though there are commercials, it respects the original material
• YouTube: a lot of old movies are available for free here
• Pluto TV: there are ads, and they sometimes cut away at odd points, but it has nice streaming channels. This weekend, we’ve pretty much had the Paramount channel on (African Queen is running right now). They also have movies & TV shows on demand

Enjoy!

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Amazon’s taking on Disney+ with movies they wouldn’t carry

Amazon’s taking on Disney+ with movies they wouldn’t carry

I’ve said, and I think it’s true, that I don’t see why someone who was already paying for a video subser (subscription service) wouldn’t pay for Disney+. I’ve watched quite a bit on it, mostly older content, but also some newer items and originals.

I also watch:

• Amazon Prime Video (PV)
• Hulu
• Netflix

and some others, including YouTube and Tubi.

I didn’t think many people would drop a service to pick up Disney+: some people might, but not most.

Prime Video needs to make itself valuable, though. Even if not many people are going to drop it at first (and certainly, not those who are paying for Prime for other reasons, including shipping benefits), it’s better to keep those eyeballs and thoughts on Amazon.

The are spending tons of money on originals (there is a Lord of the Rings TV series in the works), but I’ve noticed what seems to be an additional strategy.

They are offering offbeat movies, things that Disney+ wouldn’t carry. Sometimes it’s because of the content, sometimes it’s just going to be from other studios besides all the Disney varieties and what D+ has access to from Fox.

That’s a real bonus for geeks like me and exploitation/kitsch fans!

I haven’t found that any of the subsers make it easy to find things, but I do find the JustWatch app helpful. In this post, I thought I’d list ten of these “anti-Disney” movies. I should be clear: some of these may be offensive in some ways, and Amazon isn’t giving you a “trigger warning”, the way that D+ is. I’m also not saying these are the best: I’ve seen them all, though, and found them at least interesting.

Also, movies can move in and out of subser libraries at pretty much any time, so it’s possible that something I listed won’t be part of Prime when you check.

I’m going to work through the movies alphabetically, only picking a few out of the thousands. I probably won’t get very far, so I may do more recommendation posts like this (let me know if you want to see them by commenting on this post).

Okay, let’s step outside the bounds of the Magic Kingdom!

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
Overview: John Sayles scripted what has been called the Magnificent Seven in space. Stars in include Richard Thomas, George Peppard, Robert Vaughn, Sybil Danning, and John Saxon as the big bad. Roger Corman (he’ll show up again on this list) co-produced but this is different from his low budget efforts of a couple of decades earlier…for one thing, it’s in color. 😉 It’s a lot of fun!

Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)
Overview: Edgar G. Ullmer directs this low-budget time travel movie…it’s hokey for sure, but that’s the appeal. It’s influenced by the Cold War, with a totalitarian government and a Russia vs. USA element.

A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Overview: Don Johnson stars in this adaptation of a Harlan Ellison work. Jason Robards & Alvy Moore also appear. It has violence & sexual content, but a really clever relationship between Johnson & a dog (voiced brilliantly by Tim McIntire)…the telepathic dog is the brains of the pair in a futuristic wasteland. L.Q. Jones’ script (the actor also directed) has dark humor and surprises.

Bride of the Gorilla (1951)
Overview: Lon Chaney Jr. & Raymond Burr appear in this weird low-budget movie where someone is cursed to turn into a gorilla…it’s definitely a gorilla suit picture, and was referenced on M*A*S*H. One of the most brilliant screenwriters of all time, Curt Siodmak, both writes and directs.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
Bruce Campbell stars as Elvis Presley…wait, I need to say more? 😉 Don Coscarelli wrote and directed, Ossie Davis co-stars as John F. Kennedy (or, at least he says is), and the two of them fight an evil mummy endangering the retirement home where they live.

A Bucket of Blood (1959)
Overview: Roger Corman directed the inimitable Dick Miller is this low-budget horror comedy. It’s one of my favorite Corman works: the title is misleading, it’s really about the acting and script, with Miller as a sad sack busboy who goes to extreme measures to fit into beatnik culture.

Bug (1975)
This is a weird one. Jeannot Szwarc directs, from a script co-written by William Castle and Thomas Page. Page had written the source novel, The Hephaestus Plague. An earthquake releases bugs that can start fires. Bradford Dillman stars and ends up, well, bug-eyed at the happenings.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
After the horror adaptations of the 1960s, Hammer gave screenwriter Brian Clemens a chance to direct his own original script. In the original Dracula, Van Helsing is one of the great proto-geeks, but Captain Kronos is a swashbuckling vampire hunter! R-rated in America, it features Caroline Munro.

C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979)
Overview: Hey, I had to get at least one kid-friendly one on the list! Wesley Eure (Land of the Lost) creates a robot dog in a story by Joseph Barbera of Hanna-Barbera (but this is live action). Conrad Bain and Valerie Bertinelli co-star. It’s got a bit of a Disney feel…but you don’t watch this one because you want to see an exceptionally good movie, it could be fun nostalgia for you.

C.H.U.D. (1984)
Overview: Infamous horror movie with people disappearing, and even the poster made clear that the danger was coming from underground. Daniel Stern and John Heard star. It generated a sequel…

I happened to be posting this on Presidents’ Day in the USA…if you were looking forward to watching a movie at home on this day off, there are ten for Prime Video that you’ll probably never see on Disney+! Enjoy!

Oh, and in case that’s not enough, here is a quick listing of some more…I may describe them in more detail in later posts, if there is interest.

• Aswang (a traditional Philippine monster)
• Attack of the Puppet People
• Countess Dracula (Ingrid Pitt)
• Rocky Jones, Space Ranger: Crash of the Moons
• Creature of Destruction
• Bad Taste (Peter Jackson)
• Crucible of Terror
• Cry of the Banshee
• Cthulhu
• Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
• Day of the Animals
• Dead Snow
• Deadtime Stories
• Deep Star Six
• Delicatessen
• Dementia 13
• Demon City Shinjuku
• Destination Moon
• Devil Girl from Mars
• Diabolique
• Dog Soldiers
• Don’t Look in the Basement
• The Doomsday Machine
• Double Dragon
• Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs
• Dr. Terror’s Gallery of Horror
• Dragonslayer
• Earth Girls Are Easy
• Earth vs. the Spider
• Eegah
• Elvira Mistress of the Dark
• Embryo (Rock Hudson, Barbara Carrera)
• Encounter with the Unknown (narrated by Rod Serling)
• Fire Maidens from Outer Space
• Flowers in the Attic
• Forbidden World
• Frankenstein vs. The Space Monster
• Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie

Maybe more another time!

Join thousands of readers and try the free The Measured Circle magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard our The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project (AKA Enwoven)! Join the TMCGTT Timeblazers!

Bufo’s Alexa Skills

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the The Measured Circle blog. To support this or other organizations, begin your Amazon shopping from a link on their sites: Amazon.com (Smile.Amazon.com)

BOPMadness (Bufo’s Oscar Prediction Madness) 2019 results: the group scored 83% overall, our overall winner was 97%

BOPMadness (Bufo’s Oscar Prediction Madness) 2019 results: the group scored 83% overall, our overall winner was 97%

Thanks to everyone who played! BOPMadness is now decades in the running, and this was a good year!

I personally underestimated the recognition of Parasite by the Academy, and that did surprise our group overall. Ford v Ferrari also did better than we (or I…not my best year) expected. That said, as a group, we only missed one and a half Big Six (acting/directing/Best Picture) category, Best Picture. We went with 1917, with Parasite our second choice. Why the half? We were tied on 1917 or Parasite for directing.

On The Incredibly Difficult Maven Section (everything else), we missed on the following:

• Original Screenplay (we picked Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, then Marriage Story, with the winner Parasite 3rd)
• Film Editing (we picked Parasite; the winner was Ford v Ferrari, which we had 2nd)
• Song (we picked Stand Up from Harriet; the winner was I’m Gonna Love Me Again from Rocketman, which we had 2nd)
• Sound Editing (we picked 1917; the winner was Ford v Ferrari, which we had 2nd…interesting that the two sound awards split)
• Documentary Feature (we picked For Sama; we had the winner, American Factory, 3rd)

That was it! We predicted every other category!

As to our individual winners, congratulations to the following!

• The Big Six winner was DBibby with 97% (picked Bong Joon-Ho 2nd for directing), The group was 88%.
• The Maven winner was George Monkey Experience with 98% (only missed Live Action Short & Sound editing, but had the winners 2nd). The group was 81%
• And the Overall winner was…George Monkey Experience! They scored 97% overall, missing on only three categories (with the winners being their second choices). They win that most valuable of all human possessions: braggin’ rights! The group was 83%.

I plan to e-mail their individual results to everybody this 3-day weekend.

I do want to mention that I was pretty much liveposting our results during the ceremony, but I don’t see that it actually published. 😦

Thanks again to the players! Hope you all play again next year, and if you didn’t play this time, I hope you will, too!

See you in the movies!

Join thousands of readers and try the free The Measured Circle magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard our The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project (AKA Enwoven)! Join the TMCGTT Timeblazers!

Bufo’s Alexa Skills

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the The Measured Circle blog. To support this or other organizations, begin your Amazon shopping from a link on their sites: Amazon.com (Smile.Amazon.com)

2019 BOPMadness (Bufo’s Oscar Prediction Madness) predictions

2019 BOPMadness (Bufo’s Oscar Prediction Madness) predictions

Thanks to everybody who has made predictions in this year’s BOPMadness (Bufo’s Oscar Prediction Madness)!

Here are our predictions, first by category, with nominees within the category ranked in order:

The Big Six

Best Picture

Nominee	%Chance
Best Picture [1917 (Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Callum McDougall…)]	86.67
Best Picture [Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, Kwak Sin Ae)]	73.33
Best Picture [Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh]	64.44
Best Picture [The Irishman (Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff)]	60.00
Best Picture [Joker (Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff)]	60.00
Best Picture [Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, Carthew Neal, Chelsea Winstanley)]	44.44
Best Picture [Little Women (Amy Pascal)]	42.22
Best Picture [Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, David Heyman)]	42.22
Best Picture [Ford vs. Ferrari (James Mangold, Peter Chermin, Jenno Topping)]	26.67

Lead Actress

Lead Actress [Renee Zellweger in Judy]	96.00
Lead Actress [Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story]	72.00
Lead Actress [Charlize Theron in Bombshell]	52.00
Lead Actress [Cynthia Erivo in Harriet]	44.00
Lead Actress [Saoirse Ronan in Little Women]	36.00

Lead Actor

Lead Actor [Joaquin Phoenix in Joker]	100.00
Lead Actor [Adam Driver in Marriage Story]	68.00
Lead Actor [Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory]	52.00
Lead Actor [Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood]	52.00
Lead Actor [Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes]	28.00

Supporting Actor

Lead Actor [Joaquin Phoenix in Joker]	100.00
Lead Actor [Adam Driver in Marriage Story]	68.00
Lead Actor [Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory]	52.00
Lead Actor [Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood]	52.00
Lead Actor [Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes]	28.00

Supporting Actress

Supporting Actress [Laura Dern in Marriage Story]	92.00
Supporting Actress [Scarlett Johansson in JoJo Rabbit]	68.00
Supporting Actress [Margot Robbie in Bombshell]	60.00
Supporting Actress [Florence Pugh in Little Women]	44.00
Supporting Actress [Kathy Bates in Richard Jewell]	36.00

Directing

Directing [1917 (Sam Mendes)]	80.00
Directing [Parasite (Bong Jong Ho)]	80.00
Directing [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)]	64.00
Directing [The Irishman (Martin Scorsese)]	44.00
Directing [Joker (Todd Phillips)]	32.00

 

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The Incredibly Difficult Maven Section

Original Screenplay

Original Screenplay [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)]	76.00
Original Screenplay [Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)]	72.00
Original Screenplay [Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won)]	64.00
Original Screenplay [1917 (Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns)]	60.00
Original Screenplay [Knives Out (Rian Johnson)]	28.00

Adapted Screenplay

Adapted Screenplay [JoJo Rabbit (Taika Waititi)]	76.00
Adapted Screenplay [Joker (Todd Phillips, Scott Silver)]	68.00
Adapted Screenplay [Little Women (Greta Gerwig)]	64.00
Adapted Screenplay [The Two Popes (Anthony McCarten)]	48.00
Adapted Screenplay [The Irishman (Steven Zaillian)]	44.00

Cinematography

Cinematography [1917 (Roger Deakins)]	100.00
Cinematography [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Robert Richardson)]	60.00
Cinematography [The Irishman (Rodrigo Prieto)]	52.00
Cinematography [Joker (Lawrence Sher)]	48.00
Cinematography [The Lighthouse (Jarin Blaschke)]	40.00

Film Editing

Film Editing [Parasite (Yang Jinmo)]	80.00
Film Editing [Ford v Ferrari (MIchael McCusker, Andrew Buckland)]	68.00%
Film Editing [Joker (Jeff Groth)]	64.00%
Film Editing [The Irishman (Thelma Schoonmaker)]	48.00%
Film Editing [JoJo Rabbit (Tom Eagles)]	40.00%

Production Design

Production Design [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh)]	88.00%
Production Design [Parasite (Lee Ha Jun, Cho Won Woo)]	72.00%
Production Design [1917 (Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales)]	68.00%
Production Design [The Irishman (Bob Shaw, Regina Graves)]	36.00%
Production Design [JoJo Rabbit (Ra Vincent, Nora Sopkova)]	36.00%

Costume

Costume [Little Women (Jacqueline Durran)]	100.00%
Costume [Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (Arianne Phillips)]	76.00%
Costume [JoJo Rabbit (Mayes C Rubeo)]	48.00%
Costume [Joker (Mark Bridges)]	44.00%
Costume [The Irishman (Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson)]	32.00%

Makeup and Hairstyling

Makeup and Hairstyling [Bombshell (Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, Vivian Baker)]	80.00%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Judy (Jeremy Woodhead)]	72.00%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Joker (Nicki Ledermann, Kay Georgiou)]	68.00%
Makeup and Hairstyling [1917 (Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis, Rebecca Cole)]	52.00%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Paul Gooch, Argen Tuiten, David White)]	28.00%

Score

Score [Joker (Hildur Guonadottir)]	88.00%
Score [1917 (Thomas Newman)]	60.00%
Score [Little Women (Alexandre Desplat)]	56.00%
Score [Marriage Story (Randy Newman)]	52.00%
Score [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams)]	44.00%

Song

Song [Stand Up from Harriet (Joshua Brian Campbell, Cynthia Erivo)]	92.00%
Song [(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman (Elton John, Bernie Taupin)]	68.00%
Song [I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away from Toy Story 4 (Randy Newman)]	52.00%
Song [I’m Standing With You from Breakthrough (Diane Warren)]	52.00%
Song [Into the Unknown from Frozen II (Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez)]	36.00%

Sound Mixing

Sound Mixing [1917 (Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson)]	92.00%
Sound Mixing [Ford v Ferrarri (Paul Massey, David Giammarco, Steven A. Morrow)]	68.00%
Sound Mixing [Joker (Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Tod Maitland)]	60.00%
Sound Mixing [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minler, Mark Ulano)]	60.00%
Sound Mixing [Ad Astra (Gary Rydstron, Tom Johnson, Mark Ulano)]	20.00%

Sound Editing

Sound Editing [1917 (Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate)]	92.00%
Sound Editing [Ford v Ferrari (Daniel Sylvester)]	72.00%
Sound Editing [Joker (Alan Robert Murray)]	64.00%
Sound Editing [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Wylie Stateman)]	48.00%
Sound Editing [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Matthew Wood, David Acord)]	24.00%

Visual Effects

Visual Effects [1917 (Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, Dominic Tuohy)]	84.00%
Visual Effects [The Irishman (Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Stephane Grabli)]	60.00%
Visual Effects [The Lion King (Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Elliot Newman)]	60.00%
Visual Effects [Avengers: Endgame (Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick)]	52.00%
Visual Effects [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy)]	44.00%

Documentary Feature

Documentary Feature [For Sama (Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts)]	68.00%
Documentary Feature [Honeyland (Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevsa, Atanas Georgiev)]	64.00%
Documentary Feature [American Factory (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert)]	60.00%
Documentary Feature [The Edge of Democracy (Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris, Tiago Pavan)]	56.00%
Documentary Feature [The Cave (Feras Fayyad, Kristine Barfod, Sigrid Dyekjaer)]	52.00%

Documentary Short

Documentary Short [Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) (Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva)]	76.00%
Documentary Short [Walk Run Cha-Cha (Laura Nix, Colette Sandstedt)]	64.00%
Documentary Short [St. Louis Superman (Smriti Mundhra, Sami Khan)]	60.00%
Documentary Short [In the Absence (Yi Seung-Jun, Bary Byung-Seok Kam)]	52.00%
Documentary Short [Life Overtakes Me (John Haptas, Kristine Samuelson)]	48.00%

Animated Feature

Animated Feature [Toy Story 4 (Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera)]	84.00%
Animated Feature [Klaus (Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh, Marisa Roman)]	72.00%
Animated Feature [Missing Link (Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight)]	72.00%
Animated Feature [I Lost My Body (Jeremy Clapin, Marc du Pontavice)]	52.00%
Animated Feature [How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis, Bonnie Arnold)]	20.00%

Animated Short

Animated Short [Hair Love (Matthew A. Cherry, Karen Rupert Toliver)]	84.00%
Animated Short [Kitbull (Rosana Sullivan, Kathryn Hendrickson)]	68.00%
Animated Short [Memorable (Bruno Collet, Jean-Francois Le Corre)]	64.00%
Animated Short [Sister (Siqi Song)]	48.00%
Animated Short [Dcera (Daughter) (Daria Kashcheeva)]	36.00%

Foreign Language Film

Foreign Language Film [Parasite (South Korea/Bong Joon Ho)]	100.00%
Foreign Language Film [Pain and Glory (Spain/Pedro Almodovar)]	68.00%
Foreign Language Film [Honeyland (North Macedonia/Ljubo Stafanov, Tamara Kotevska)]	56.00%
Foreign Language Film [Les Miserables (France/Ladj Ly)]	44.00%
Foreign Language Film [Corpus Christi (Poland/Jim Komasa)]	32.00%

 

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Now, here are the predictions across all categories, ranked by probable success, so you can see what we consider the surest bets and the longest shots:

Nominee	%Chance
Lead Actor [Joaquin Phoenix in Joker]	100%
Cinematography [1917 (Roger Deakins)]	100%
Costume [Little Women (Jacqueline Durran)]	100%
Foreign Language Film [Parasite (South Korea/Bong Joon Ho)]	100%
Lead Actress [Renee Zellweger in Judy]	96%
Supporting Actress [Laura Dern in Marriage Story]	92%
Song [Stand Up from Harriet (Joshua Brian Campbell, Cynthia Erivo)]	92%
Sound Mixing [1917 (Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson)]	92%
Sound Editing [1917 (Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate)]	92%
Production Design [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh)]	88%
Score [Joker (Hildur Guonadottir)]	88%
Best Picture [1917 (Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Callum McDougall…)]	87%
Visual Effects [1917 (Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler, Dominic Tuohy)]	84%
Animated Feature [Toy Story 4 (Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen, Jonas Rivera)]	84%
Animated Short [Hair Love (Matthew A. Cherry, Karen Rupert Toliver)]	84%
Directing [1917 (Sam Mendes)]	80%
Directing [Parasite (Bong Jong Ho)]	80%
Film Editing [Parasite (Yang Jinmo)]	80%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Bombshell (Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan, Vivian Baker)]	80%
Original Screenplay [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)]	76%
Adapted Screenplay [JoJo Rabbit (Taika Waititi)]	76%
Costume [Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (Arianne Phillips)]	76%
Documentary Short [Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) (Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva)]	76%
Live Action Short [The Neighbors’ Window (Marshall Curry)]	76%
Best Picture [Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, Kwak Sin Ae)]	73%
Lead Actress [Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story]	72%
Original Screenplay [Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach)]	72%
Production Design [Parasite (Lee Ha Jun, Cho Won Woo)]	72%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Judy (Jeremy Woodhead)]	72%
Sound Editing [Ford v Ferrari (Daniel Sylvester)]	72%
Animated Feature [Klaus (Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh, Marisa Roman)]	72%
Animated Feature [Missing Link (Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight)]	72%
Lead Actor [Adam Driver in Marriage Story]	68%
Supporting Actress [Scarlett Johansson in JoJo Rabbit]	68%
Adapted Screenplay [Joker (Todd Phillips, Scott Silver)]	68%
Film Editing [Ford v Ferrari (MIchael McCusker, Andrew Buckland)]	68%
Production Design [1917 (Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales)]	68%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Joker (Nicki Ledermann, Kay Georgiou)]	68%
Song [(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman (Elton John, Bernie Taupin)]	68%
Sound Mixing [Ford v Ferrarri (Paul Massey, David Giammarco, Steven A. Morrow)]	68%
Documentary Feature [For Sama (Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts)]	68%
Animated Short [Kitbull (Rosana Sullivan, Kathryn Hendrickson)]	68%
Foreign Language Film [Pain and Glory (Spain/Pedro Almodovar)]	68%
Best Picture [Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh]	64%
Directing [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)]	64%
Original Screenplay [Parasite (Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won)]	64%
Adapted Screenplay [Little Women (Greta Gerwig)]	64%
Film Editing [Joker (Jeff Groth)]	64%
Sound Editing [Joker (Alan Robert Murray)]	64%
Documentary Feature [Honeyland (Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevsa, Atanas Georgiev)]	64%
Documentary Short [Walk Run Cha-Cha (Laura Nix, Colette Sandstedt)]	64%
Animated Short [Memorable (Bruno Collet, Jean-Francois Le Corre)]	64%
Live Action Short [Brotherhood (Meryam Joobeur, Maria Gracia Turgeon)]	64%
Best Picture [The Irishman (Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jane Rosenthal, Emma Tillinger Koskoff)]	60%
Best Picture [Joker (Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff)]	60%
Supporting Actress [Margot Robbie in Bombshell]	60%
Original Screenplay [1917 (Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns)]	60%
Cinematography [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Robert Richardson)]	60%
Score [1917 (Thomas Newman)]	60%
Sound Mixing [Joker (Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Tod Maitland)]	60%
Sound Mixing [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minler, Mark Ulano)]	60%
Visual Effects [The Irishman (Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Stephane Grabli)]	60%
Visual Effects [The Lion King (Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones, Elliot Newman)]	60%
Documentary Feature [American Factory (Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert, Jeff Reichert)]	60%
Documentary Short [St. Louis Superman (Smriti Mundhra, Sami Khan)]	60%
Live Action Short [Nefta Football Club (Yves Piat, Damien Megherbi)]	60%
Score [Little Women (Alexandre Desplat)]	56%
Documentary Feature [The Edge of Democracy (Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris, Tiago Pavan)]	56%
Live Action Short [Saria (Bryan Buckley, Matt Lefebvre)]	56%
Foreign Language Film [Honeyland (North Macedonia/Ljubo Stafanov, Tamara Kotevska)]	56%
Lead Actress [Charlize Theron in Bombshell]	52%
Lead Actor [Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory]	52%
Lead Actor [Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood]	52%
Cinematography [The Irishman (Rodrigo Prieto)]	52%
Makeup and Hairstyling [1917 (Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis, Rebecca Cole)]	52%
Score [Marriage Story (Randy Newman)]	52%
Song [I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away from Toy Story 4 (Randy Newman)]	52%
Song [I’m Standing With You from Breakthrough (Diane Warren)]	52%
Visual Effects [Avengers: Endgame (Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken, Dan Sudick)]	52%
Documentary Feature [The Cave (Feras Fayyad, Kristine Barfod, Sigrid Dyekjaer)]	52%
Documentary Short [In the Absence (Yi Seung-Jun, Bary Byung-Seok Kam)]	52%
Animated Feature [I Lost My Body (Jeremy Clapin, Marc du Pontavice)]	52%
Adapted Screenplay [The Two Popes (Anthony McCarten)]	48%
Cinematography [Joker (Lawrence Sher)]	48%
Film Editing [The Irishman (Thelma Schoonmaker)]	48%
Costume [JoJo Rabbit (Mayes C Rubeo)]	48%
Sound Editing [Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood (Wylie Stateman)]	48%
Documentary Short [Life Overtakes Me (John Haptas, Kristine Samuelson)]	48%
Animated Short [Sister (Siqi Song)]	48%
Best Picture [Jojo Rabbit (Taika Waititi, Carthew Neal, Chelsea Winstanley)]	44%
Lead Actress [Cynthia Erivo in Harriet]	44%
Supporting Actress [Florence Pugh in Little Women]	44%
Directing [The Irishman (Martin Scorsese)]	44%
Adapted Screenplay [The Irishman (Steven Zaillian)]	44%
Costume [Joker (Mark Bridges)]	44%
Score [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (John Williams)]	44%
Visual Effects [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach, Dominic Tuohy)]	44%
Live Action Short [A Sister (Delphine Girard)]	44%
Foreign Language Film [Les Miserables (France/Ladj Ly)]	44%
Best Picture [Little Women (Amy Pascal)]	42%
Best Picture [Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach, David Heyman)]	42%
Cinematography [The Lighthouse (Jarin Blaschke)]	40%
Film Editing [JoJo Rabbit (Tom Eagles)]	40%
Lead Actress [Saoirse Ronan in Little Women]	36%
Supporting Actress [Kathy Bates in Richard Jewell]	36%
Production Design [The Irishman (Bob Shaw, Regina Graves)]	36%
Production Design [JoJo Rabbit (Ra Vincent, Nora Sopkova)]	36%
Song [Into the Unknown from Frozen II (Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez)]	36%
Animated Short [Dcera (Daughter) (Daria Kashcheeva)]	36%
Directing [Joker (Todd Phillips)]	32%
Costume [The Irishman (Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson)]	32%
Foreign Language Film [Corpus Christi (Poland/Jim Komasa)]	32%
Lead Actor [Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes]	28%
Original Screenplay [Knives Out (Rian Johnson)]	28%
Makeup and Hairstyling [Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Paul Gooch, Argen Tuiten, David White)]	28%
Best Picture [Ford vs. Ferrari (James Mangold, Peter Chermin, Jenno Topping)]	27%
Sound Editing [Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Matthew Wood, David Acord)]	24%
Sound Mixing [Ad Astra (Gary Rydstron, Tom Johnson, Mark Ulano)]	20%
Animated Feature [How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis, Bonnie Arnold)]	20%

 

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There you go! The ceremony is scheduled for 5:00 PM Pacific today, Sunday, 9 February! I’ll report how we to do, and the winners for The Big Six, The Incredibly Difficult Maven Section, and Overall. Thanks again to everyone who is playing this year!

See you in the movies!

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Bufo’s Alexa Skills

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The Oscars are next Sunday! Help us predict the winners

The Oscars are next Sunday! Help us predict the winners

For decades, I’ve done an Oscar prediction contest, BOPMadness (Bufo’s Oscar Prediction Madness).

We tend to be pretty accurate, predicting most of the categories.

Why is that?

It’s the wisdom of crowds, and the method I use for people to make their predictions.

You can still make your predictions, and the more people who do so, the better I think we’ll do. Use this form:

https://forms.gle/TANNaLckU4nhniWw5

It should just take you a couple of minutes: you rank every nominee in every category.

You have until noon Pacific time on Sunday, 9 February to complete it. I’ll close the voting then.

That will give me time to put out our predictions before the ceremony.

In case you are wondering, I make my own predictions before I receive anybody else’s, so I’m not unfairly influenced. I also don’t make our predictions publicly available until I close the voting.

While so far, I’ve talked about the group value, individuals certainly do compete as well. We announce winners in The Big Six (the acting categories, Best Picture, and Director), the Incredibly Difficult Maven Section (everything else), and Overall (combining the two). We play for that most valuable of human possessions…Bragging Rights. 😉

You also have the option to have your guesses e-mailed to you, so you can play along.

I’d love it if you play, but even if you don’t, you can see our predictions in this blog on Sunday.

See you in the movies!

Join thousands of readers and try the free The Measured Circle magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard our The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project (AKA Enwoven)! Join the TMCGTT Timeblazers!

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the The Measured Circle blog.