“A Separation” Wins

The award for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars went to the Iranian made film “The Separation” directed by Asghar Farhadi.  This was the first Academy Award for an Iranian based film and only the second nomination (1997 – Children of Heaven).  Congratulation go out to Farhadi and the cast members for creating a film that translates across cultures (divorce), while also taking into account Iranian society.

The film which also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, has won over 50 awards domestically and internationally including best screenplay, best director, and best actress.

The movie will capture your interest by making you care about the characters and leave you fascinated by the decision the will be made at the end of the film.  The conclusion of the film may upset some but leaves it open to the audience to base what they would do in a similar situation.  Thanks to the international acceptance via the victories at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes more people will have a chance to view a movie that focuses on a common issue across all cultures (the challenges of keeping a family together).

Political Cartoon of the Week (Feb 20-26)

Jeremy Lin is not just conquering the NBA, but the world as well!!!!

Mitt Romney Parody Video

Maybe if Mitt Romney played this on his tour he might be able to drum up some more support and finally put an end to the GOP nomination process.  Enjoy!!

*thanks to 2505Brian at youtube.com for the video

Kentucky Kernel Article

I am posting the link to an an article that was written about ordained ministers at UK which I was interviewed for.  Enjoy.

http://kykernel.com/2012/02/13/more-college-students-becoming-ordained-ministers/

 

Political Cartoon of the Week (Feb 13-19)

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the minority leader in the Senate.  Kentucky’s very own . . . Mitch McConnell!

Romney Still Ahead: Republicans Look to 2016?

Rick Santorum may have carried the same number of states as Mitt Romney,  however Romney remains ahead as far as delegates pledged for the Republican nomination.  This story continues to fascinate me as all four competitors reiterate that they believe that the nomination is still up for grabs.

I believe that it will take something drastic for President Obama not to be reelected and I think the GOP is starting to come to that conclusion.  Right now there is a division in the party over who could realistically defeat President Obama.  The Republicans are pretty glad that Newt Gingrich’s campaign has started to slide as they are starting to look forward to the 2016 election.  Why does this matter?

The Republican party knows that there is a small shot at defeating the President.  However after four more years little growth, high unemployment, overseas interactions (if you seriously think we are going back to isolationism, think again), American citizens will be looking for a change.  Much like after four years of George Bush, Americans were almost willing to elect anyone the didn’t resemble the ex-President.

Romney or Santorum would fit what the Republicans want most out of 2012.  Don’t embarrass us!!!  Santorum fits this bill a little more than Romney.  As long as the candidate doesn’t provide a black-eye to the Republican Party, the GOP should be able to keep control of Congress which will put even more pressure on the Democrats.  And when the Democrats have to fight between themselves for the nomination in 2016 it will give the GOP even more of an advantage.

Is Santorum Relevant?

On Tuesday Rick Santorum won a decisive victory, or three decisive victories to propel him back into relevance for the Republican nomination.  Polling in Colorado had shown Santorum at a 15 point underdog, but he was able to beat Romney by 5 percent of the total vote.  While all three primaries are non-binding, Santorum can use this to reach a larger audience and now quite possibly surpassed Gingrich and is well on his way to challenging Romney.

The Colorado primary is especially surprising due to the polls, but also because Romney campaigned hard in Colorado.  Gingrich might have exposed some character and political flaws in Romney, but it’s Santorum who may end up being the beneficiary.

Political Cartoon of the Week (Feb 6 – 12)

Cheap iphones or human dignity . . . hold on, I’m thinking!

Bush-isms

Last week I posted a video from youtube.com that showed a number of mistakes political leaders have made in various speeches and in action.  Today I wanted to show a video of President George W. Bush (and the mistakes he made).  However this is not necessarily a shot at the ex-President.  It is a reminder that no matter what, anybody can become President.  And if you think that is funny, than start laughing even more because America voted for him.  TWICE!!!

Facebook Goes Public

Not since Google Inc went public in 2004 has an a company attracted this much attention.  Most of the news has been focused on the billionaires that Facebook has created by those who have invested shares since the beginning.  The stock market can be a very tricky investment strategy and Facebook’s popularity could cause some to invest in a company’s whose prices will probably be overvalued.

The big question is what is going to happen to the predominant form of social media now that it has sold out.  This will probably be the bigger question to the near billion users as opposed to the hundreds of thousands of investors.  Facebook made over a billion dollars last year and are seeking to earn somewhere between 5-10 billion by going public.  Apple, Google, and Amazon are the recent success stories of companies going public and making investors rich.  Will Facebook be able to do the same?  Possibly, but it is still a risky investment and in today’s economy that will make some people nervous.  Shares are expected to range from anywhere between 25 and 35 dollars per share.  And that is if you are one of the lucky ones.  The media swoon has caused brokers to hold these shares for “valuable” and “high-investment” customers.

In conclusion, just because you like using Facebook does not mean the you should/or even can invest in them.  And by going public this could put pressure on those running the site to make it more cost-effective which in turn could cause changes in the way that Facebook has run.  This will probably have a more profound effect on more people than the few that are able or winning to invest in the company.