Original: Checklist (2010)

Checklist

I’m gonna kill the giant and win the war.

Gonna find the treasure I’m looking for.

And I’ll be faster than the boys because I want it more.

What else is there in store…?

I’m gonna be an explorer,

Riding all seven seas –

I don’t need to tame them or own them,

Just so long as I’ve known them.

Let ocean breeze bloom

In my taste buds

And sweep its scent across my face,

Stinging my cheeks with life like a sunrise.

Before uncharted skies,

I’ll redraw all the maps

Of all they think there is to see

As new worlds open their doors,

Their shores, and horizons to me.

I’ll drive headlong into the storm

Without fear, only free.

I’ll be smarter than my teachers,

The ones who live in cursive lines,

Who think inside times-table boxes,

Locked into the thought

That there’s just one way to be and know and see.

I’ll be a tongue-stuck-out Einstein,

Never caring at the groans, sighs

And rolling eyes

That meet my endless “Whys?”

‘Cause living is learning,

And there’s too little of one

And too much of the other

To ever waste a moment not asking.

I’m gonna build my own wings to go flying,

And I’ll gladly rise too high.

And when my wings start to melt

And I start to fall,

You won’t hear me sighing,

‘Cause I’d rather regret “too far” than “not yet.”

Just you wait,

Someday I’ll show you

All I’ve done and I’ve won,

And no denying –

I’m gonna be immortal…

…Or die trying.

2017 Oscar Awards

We’ll start with the obvious:  holy crap!  I was flabbergasted.  While I wasn’t super into La La Land and was very glad to see Moonlight take home Best Picture, that was not the way for it to go down.  Obviously, I felt bad for the La La Land folks, who managed to be incredibly gracious in the face of a big disappointment, but I felt bad for the Moonlight team, too.  Yes, they won Best Picture, indisputably – however, it couldn’t have felt like that in the moment.  I’m sure most of their feelings were somewhere between “No, wait – are you serious?  Are you actually serious?  Is this a joke?” and “So you’re basically saying, ‘Here, have the night’s most prestigious award!  All you have to do is tear it out of your colleague’s hands!’”  Plus, all anyone’s talking about now is the screw-up, giving Moonlight’s actual big win less attention than it ought to be getting.  (Side note:  is this the first movie about LGBTQ people to win Best Picture?  I went back as far as 2000, and while a handful have been nominated, none have won.)

But how about the rest of it?  Since my own preferred picks were very Lion-heavy, I never saw Manchester by the Sea, and I was pulling really hard for Moana to get Best Original Song, not much went my way here.  I was nothing but happy for the following wins:  Viola Davis for Best Supporting Actress, Zootopia for Best Animated Film, The Jungle Book for Best Visual Effects, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for Best Costume Design.  If Arrival was only going to get one award, Best Sound Editing was a pretty well-deserved one, and although I was rooting for Lion folks for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, Moonlight also impressed me a lot in both categories, so I can’t be mad about their wins there.  I’m glad the whole night wasn’t the La La Land show, with Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea also picking up a few big awards each before Moonlight’s ultimate win, and I’m particularly happy that La La Land didn’t pick up Best Sound Mixing. 

The telecast was a mixed bag for me.  I thought most of Jimmy Kimmel’s bits fell flat (the best was the recurring Matt Damon digs, and at least dropping cookies/candy from the ceiling by parachute while the orchestra plays “Ride of the Valkyries” is a pretty expedient way to get the now-annual “give the audience some food” routine out of the way.)  For the most part, though, the proceedings felt fairly plodding, with lots of dragged-out gags and pre-filmed insertions that took forever.  Meanwhile, I thought most of the political stuff hit home quite well, even if they sometimes felt dropped in without preamble – I appreciated the remarks sent by Asghar Farhadi about the Muslim ban, Gael García Bernal referring to actors as “migrant workers” and speaking against the wall, and other statements made over the course of the night.

And because it must be said – Moana!  It didn’t win Best Original Song, but I maintain that it should have.  Regardless, they gave an amazing live performance.  When I first heard their number was going to be “performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda,” I wondered how that was going to work.  I love me some LMM, but 1) I was very confident that Auli’i Cravalho could sing that song better than him, and 2) I didn’t think the lyrics would resonate as well being sung by a man.  Luckily, Miranda knew all that and instead came out to set the scene with a newly-written rapped introduction, because these are the kinds of things he does as often as the rest of us breathe or eat, before turning the stage over to the wonderful Cravalho.  She was amazing, ridiculously poised for a teenage girl performing at the Oscars on national TV, and the ocean-themed visuals of the design and the dancers behind her were gorgeous.  Loved every second of it!

Top Five Big Damn Hero Moments: Gwen Cooper (Torchwood)

Not gonna lie; this is one of the toughest Big Damn Hero Moments I’ve done.  Gwen’s not a favorite, making me less patient with her than other characters, so it’s easier to remember her screw-ups than her wins.  After a fair amount of mulling, this is what I came up with (spoilers.)

Trying to Remember Torchwood (“Everything Changes” – Series 1, Episode 1)

Having just uncovered a secret alien-fighting organization, and having just learned that the organization’s head put an amnesia pill in her drink, Gwen is on a mission not to forget.  Frantically documenting everything she saw at the Hub – before the Retcon’s sedative kicks in – is a smart move, and Gwen isn’t to know Ianto can delete her computer file remotely.  When he does, she’s is too far gone to write it all down again, but she manages to scrawl “REMEMBER” on a pamphlet for the Millennium Centre in the hope of jogging her memory when she wakes.

Shooting the Nostrovite (“Something Borrowed” – Series 2, Episode 9)

Nothing like having your wedding day spoiled by the shapeshifting alien who asexually impregnated you and is now stalking you to rip its offspring out of your body, all while wearing the faces of everyone you know.  The Nostrovite is disguised as Gwen’s new mother-in-law when she shoots it with a gun concealed behind her bouquet, and I’m sure Gwen tries hard not to point out how much easier it was to shoot it when it was disguised as her mother-in-law

Searching for the Negative Rift Spikes (“Adrift” – Series 2, Episode 11)

I debated about this one, because a lot of the actual work is done by Tosh (researching the connection between negative Rift spikes and missing people) and Ianto (surreptitiously giving Gwen the location of Flat Holm.)  Gwen’s contribution, though, is latching onto the problem like a dog with a bone.  She’s horrified at the thought of the Rift depositing people God knows where in time and space, and she won’t rest until she finds out what Jack knows that he’s not telling.

Recruiting Lois (“Children of Earth:  Day Three” – Series 3, Episode 3)

“Children of Earth” isn’t an especially sterling showing for our Torchwood crew.  They’re on the run, mostly without resources, and a high-profile alien encounter is all happening behind closed doors.  Thanks to Gwen and Rhys’s proclivity for playing sex games with the I-5 contact lenses, they have the lenses’ hidden cameras at their disposal.  Gwen gets the idea to take a chance on the only friendly voice they’ve encountered in the Home Office, and she convinces Lois to meet her, demonstrating the I-5s and explaining why it’s so vital that she help.

Destroying the Camp (“Miracle Day:  The Middle Men” – Series 4, Episode 6)

For the most part, “Miracle Day” isn’t my cup of tea, but Gwen’s big revenge moment – blowing up a Category One death camp, releasing a film of it to the public with a “this is what Phicorp is really up to” explanation – is definitely satisfying.  The act itself, with the huge fireball and the motorcycle, is good for badass points, but I think the real victory here is getting the truth out.