The Oscars are Full of Themselves 02.26.2008 11:48PM For someone who rarely watches movies and more often than not does not enjoy movies, I always tune in to the Academy Awards. I'm not sure why, maybe its for the host (this year it was Jon Stewart and he was lackluster to say the least), maybe I'm trying to subliminally convince myself to see a certain movie if it wins a big award (like No Country for Old Men though the Coen brothers are hit or miss for me), maybe its for the dead persons montage (especially those taken before their time, ala Heath Ledger). Yeah thats it, the dead persons montage. But whatever the reason I watch it every year. All 3+ hours of it. Though it was reasonably short this year, clocking in around 3:45. And the question I'm always left with, "Is there a more self-centered award show/organization out there? They look back on the Golden Age and yesteryear more than they praise the current honorees. Oscar was celebrating 80 years this year and at some point during the show they showed a montage of the previous 79 Best Picture winners. So maybe 80 is a special "anniversary" except for the fact they did the same thing last year with 79 years of Oscar. But that wasn't the only clip, they also show clips of the presentation of the other "big" categories like best actor/actress from years past. If they would only focus on the here and now, the show would have no trouble coming in under 2 hours. But then you'd have no idea that "Marty" took home the Best Picture Oscar in, you guessed it, 1955. Right? Oh who cares they'll remind me next year. While Jon Stewart wasn't great he did manage a Saddam Hussein and Hitler joke. Its hard to pull off either of those alone, so to get a double whammy, nice work. He also muttered, "Am I supposed to be winded?" after they came back from commercial and he was playing Wii Tennis on stage. If I enjoyed anything, other than the dead persons montage of course, it was the song that took home the Academy Award for Best Song. The song "Falling Slowly" comes from the Irish musical "Once" and is sung by Glen Hansbard and Marketa Irglova. Its an awesome song. And finally I think its time the Academy Awards stops stiffing animated features from the Best Picture category and creates a category for Best Comedy, because a comedy never has a chance at Best Picture. Ramblings: February Edition 02.19.2008 9:21PM - Just a Footnote: It's only fitting that Fidel Castro's iron-fisted reign over Cuba came to an end today with his resignation. I say this because for my lifetime, Castro and Cuba has been as irrelevant as a country can be. From what history tells me, Cuban Missile Crisis to Bay of Pigs, one would think it wouldn't have ended so quietly. - Not Gonna Happen: You will never be able to convince me that Kelvin Sampson, who was caught cheating in his final year at Oklahoma and again now in his second year at Indiana, did not cheat in the interim of those two occasions. As an Illini fan I'll remind you that interim is when Eric Gordon reneged on Illinois and pledged his alliance to Indiana. And oddly enough, when I found out Gordon was indeed headed to Indiana, I said the only way that happened is if Sampson cheated. -And My Balls Can't Take It: This seems like an annual gripe, but more than ever the weather is completely nonsensical. The range of temperatures during what should be the heart of winter is simply ridiculous. Its not only the ridiculous swing in temperatures but its the extreme low temperatures I've been experiencing. I can't remember a winter with more single digit/negative wind chill days than this current one. And I lived through some hellish winters in Champaign. - Coming Soon: Be on the lookout in the near future for a "companion" to Beavers and Ducks. That's all I'm say. Just get ready. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 02.14.2008 4:57PM This is the only Valentine's day gift I need. The first trailer for the fourth (and final?) Indiana Jones movie has made its way to the internet. The trailer is below and I'll see you at the movie theatre on May 22. R.E.M.: Accelerate 02.12.2008 4:07PM Whoa, back to back posts Greg. Whats the dealio? Well if you haven't checked out yesterday's post make sure you check it out after this. But this folks is "the greatest thing since bread came sliced." R.E.M. has announced limited North American tour dates to promote "Accelerate", their newest album and the first since "Around the Sun" in 2004 (4 years ago!). "Accelerate" will be released on April 1st. They're playing throughout the month of June before heading to Europe for a full blown tour, and who can blame them since European's respect their music a lot more than us Americans. While I haven't decided what I'll be doing this summer and where that will be, that's not going to stop me from making it to one of the stops. This is one of those times where I will pay top price for the best seats. You can check out the first single of album "Supernatural Superserious" below: "Imitation of Life" anyone? This sounds like classic R.E.M. The album is supposed to be a return to their guitar driven roots. A return that has been long overdue. You can find first impressions of the yet to be released album here. Holy shit I'm so pumped for this. Chicago? Washington, D.C.? Who wants to join me at the concert? Chambana 02.11.2008 9:35PM With my return to Champaign-Urbana this past weekend, I have now traversed every section of I-465. I-465 is the perimeter road that circles Indianapolis. Only God nows how many times I traveled the southwest section that links I-65 with I-74 and therefore Louisville and Champaign. And to get to Muncie from Louisville I have to take the southeast and east section. So that left only the northern portion that connects I-69 with I-74 and Muncie to Champaign. I-465...done! And as exciting as all that sounds, the real fun was had with the old gang back on our old stomping ground. Ground that some from the gang still stomp. And as always the goal was to have a good time. And if the group (8-12 of us depending on the circumstances) are only successful at having an awesome time together, and successful at nothing else in our lives, than so be it. Its a life well lived. Of course drunken shenanigans ruled the weekend. Its nice to know that if we're all struggling with something its most definitely growing up. For me it was a nice juxtaposition. I've been in Muncie for 5+ weeks now and even small, middle of America, college towns aren't the same. The people you meet aren't the same. The classes aren't the same. Everything is different, yet, somehow its all still the same: I'm always true to myself and thats why I have a great group of established friends at Illinois and growing group of friends at Ball State. They enjoy me for me. Watch the Lamb 02.05.2008 6:46PM Believe it or not, its that time of the year again. With Ash Wednesday tomorrow and the start of Lent, its time for the tradition that dates back to the original Beavers and Ducks. When it was the Lenten Song of Moment. That is of course, "Watch the Lamb". By this point you should have a copy of "Watch the Lamb" on hand, but if for some reason you don't it's by Ray Boltz (not sure if it was written pre- or post-mullet) and every version pales in comparison to the "live" version (..."clap your hands for Jesus"). And the tradition is real simple. Listen to "Watch the Lamb" at least once a day, every day, for all of Lent. But the experience can be more than listening. There are plenty of videos to "Watch the Lamb" available at Youtube, like this one.. So let's everybody celebrate, its "Watch the Lamb Season". Yes! Check out Last Month 02.01.2008 3:03PM Check out last month at Beavers and Ducks, while you wait for a new post for February.January 2008

Gregory 'Jesus' Dowell Muncie, IN - I'm a 2007 graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies. Currently pursuing my graduate degree in Architecture at Ball State University. I just finished a 7 month internship with RRJ. The internship has taken me from coast (Bethany Beach, DE) to coast (San Diego, CA), while showing me the ropes. Resume Portfolio Greg's Calendar Mar. 8-16- Spring Break Apr. 1- "Accelerate"- R.E.M. May 2- Spring Semester ends May 3- Kentucky Derby May 19- "TBA"- Coldplay May 22- Indiana Jones May 24-31 Pawley's Island, SC Important Wii Release Dates - Beat GH3 on medium so now its back to Super Mario Galaxy Mar. 9 Super Smash Bros. Brawl Q2 2008 Mario Kart Wii Q2 2008 Wii Fit Other Wii Games To Watch For Feb. 26 SEGA Bass Fishing Mar. 3 MLB 2K8 Mar. 11 Winning Eleven: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 TBA 2008 Rock Band TBA 2008 Wii Music The Latest Podcast Last Month at Beavers and Ducks January 2008 Links Bloomington or Bust Smelkem Spargel Lives of Wander Theresa's Freelance Site

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