Meeting Benjamin Netanyahu

I visited Israel during winter break of 1996/the first day or two of 1997. It was an amazing trip. I was part of the leadership bus consisting of college students throughout the country. Most of the people on the bus didn't know more than a few others, so there weren't the cliques that you might expect. I became friends with a couple from the University of Houston and went to their wedding a few years later. My assigned roommate attended Texas A&M, and I remember him trying to bargain for cheaper ice cream at Ben & Jerry's since you're expected to bargain at retail stores in Israel. Obviously, this did not apply at Ben & Jerry's but the interaction between my roommate and the employee was hilarious. I made friends with people from George Mason University, Arizona State University and San Diego State, and in this last case, she vouched me, helping me get a job there.

Unfortunately, I lost all of my pictures from this trip. I don't know if I accidentally threw them away packing up after college graduation, but they have been gone for 18+ years now. However, I recently found a newsletter that included this picture of me with the current Israeli Prime Minister and the leader at the time, Benjamin Netanyahu.

I honestly don't know why I was picked to meet Netanyahu, and more importantly, why the Prime Minister took time out of his schedule to address a group (though a large group) of American college students. I think I probably said hello, but I doubt we said more than ten words to each other. I'm positive that I was much nicer to Netanyahu than I was to former California Governor Gray Davis.

Netanyahu is in the news quite a bit these days. He's currently running for re-election in Israel and may or may not address Congress in the near future. Whether or not you agree or disagree with any (or all) of Netanyahu's opinions and policies, how often can you say that you shook hands with a country leader? I mean, sure I got a holiday card from the Gore family, but Al Gore was only the Vice President at that time, and it's not like we actually met.

Found In My Basement: Al Gore's Family

Al Gore invented the internet just for this blog post!

With a second child on the way, we started clearing out the guest bedroom to convert into a kid's room. As part of this clean-up, I came across a box of cards and letters I received over the years.* For 2-3 years in the late 1990s, I received holiday cards from Vice President Al Gore and his family including this card from 1998.

While I'm still not sure how I ended up on this list, I enjoyed receiving these seasons greetings cards. Plus, Al Gore was and still is the most famous person who sent me a happy holiday card.

I wonder if he'll see this post and start sending me holiday cards again.

* Yes, technically I found the cards in the guest bedroom, but they are now in the basement, so I consider this close enough.

Live Oscars Journal

Welcome to my live journal of the 2007 Academy Awards! I will be here all night (or at least until I get bored or tired) posting my thoughts about the Oscars. Please feel free to add your own comments. Let’s begin:

* For the Oscars pre-show, I am switching between The TV Guide Network with Joan and Melissa Rivers, E! with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana DePandi and the Maryland-UNC basketball game. E! seems to be in love with its Glam-A-Strator, which they think is the greatest invention of all time. John Madden and Mike Fratello (The Czar of the Telestrator) have used this for years.

* Reason #72 why I need TiVo: I would have liked to have been able to rewind live TV so I could have the direct quote of what Joan Rivers said to Rinko Kikuchi of Babel. Basically, Rivers told Kikuchi that her pink dress at the Golden Globes looked horrible, but that her dress at the Oscars is nice. OK, I just found a picture Kikuchi’s dress from the Golden Globes. I don’t know fashion, but Rivers is right.

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* Maryland defeated North Carolina. Even though there was a few inches of snow in the DC area today, I'm sure there will be student riots or burned couches in College Park this evening.

* Before I forget, how many commercials do you think ABC will air for "Dancing With The Stars" and "Lost" tonight? I'll go with 5 for Dancing and 4 for Lost.
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Questions that I did not hear on the red carpet:
- Cameron Diaz, where is Justin Timberlake tonight?
- Eddie Murphy, how’s Melanie B doing? When is she expecting?
- Rinko Kikuchi, you’re dress at the Golden Globes was terrible. Oh wait, Joan Rivers did say that to her.

OK, Showtime!
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* Ellen’s intro was fine. A few good lines, but nothing special.

* The first winner: Pan’s Labyrinth for Art Direction. It looks like it is going to be a big night this film.

* Who has a better afro: Ben Wallace or Will Ferrell? By the way, the Will Ferrell-Jack Black-John C. Reilly song and dance was great.

* Best Make-up: Pan’s Labyrinth. That’s two wins.

* By the way did Jack Nicholson shave his head? While watching Lakers games, did he see Lamar Odom's shaved head and decided to do the same?
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* Dreamgirls gets its first win of the night for Sound Mixing.

* I made predictions for nine different categories. Almost one hour into the show, they have not announced the award for any of them.

* Rachel Weisz looks a lot less pregnant than last year.

* Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin. I’m 0 for 1, but I really wanted Arkin to win, so I’m going to say that I’m .5 for 1. Arkin was also great in Grosse Point Blank.

* The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter works perfectly for “The Departed” commercials and promos. Is the song also featured in the movie? (I was going to watch “The Departed” today, but it was sold out at Blockbuster.)
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* Happy Feet wins for Best Animated Movie. Even though they lost 5-1 today, I think this is a good sign for the Penguins in the Stanley Cup playoff run. I am now 1.5 for 2. (In case you were wondering, my picks - made on Friday - are here.)

* Did you ever think about the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck? Matt Damon is becoming one of the greatest actors of his generation (see: The Departed, Syriana, The Good Shepherd); Ben Affleck is not (see: Jersey Girl, Gigli, Surviving Christmas).

* Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed. This plus a Scorsese win for Best Director (even though it hasn’t happened yet) could be a sign for a Best Picture.

* It is 10:00 Eastern time. Not only am I starting to get tired, but there has been no commercials for Lost or Dancing With The Stars.

* For weeks, Dan has written that he is going to update his List. Even though I have not made an official List, Anne Hathaway, who just presented the award for Best Costume, would certainly get strong consideration for my Top Five.
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* Biggest surprise of the night: Pan's Labyrinth did NOT win for Best Foreign-Language Film. The winner: “The Lives of Others” – Germany.

* Biggest non-surprise of the night: Tie - Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress; An Inconvenient Truth won for Best Documentary.

* I am now 3.5 for 5 in Oscar picks.

* I’m not sure why they showed Larry David during Al Gore’s acceptance speech, but he did not look happy.

* 10:55 Eastern time; not sure how much longer I’m going to go. I’m not nearly as funny as I was a few hours ago (the Rachel Weisz line was pretty good, right?).
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* 11:05 Eastern and the awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Original Screenplay, Editing, Song and Score have still not been presented. The Academy Awards won't end until midnight, but I'm going to sleep. Good night (and good luck)!

Oscar Picks

Let me be one of the first of thousands of people to make predictions for the 2007 Academy Awards.

Best Actor: I’ll go with Peter O’Toole in an upset over Forest Whitaker. Even though Whitaker’s performance in “The Last King of Scotland” may have been better and more powerful, O’Toole will get his lifetime achievement award since this is his eighth nomination and he has never won an Oscar.

Best Actress: Helen Mirren for “The Queen.” This seems like the easiest pick of the night.

Supporting Actor: Everyone seems to think that Eddie Murphy is going to win. I personally think voters saw previews of “Norbit” and decided there is no way they would vote for Murphy. Alan Arkin was really good in Little Miss Sunshine. I’m pulling for Arkin but think Djimon Hounsou will get the nod for “Blood Diamond.”

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson for “Dreamgirls.” I wonder if Beyonce is upset at Hudson’s success at an actress.

Director: Martin Scorsese. Every voter has Jon Stewart’s line from last year’s Oscars in their mind: Three Six Mafia – 1; Marin Scorsese – 0.

Best Picture: None of these movies really stand out. Little Miss Sunshine was great, but do comedies ever win Oscars? For some reason I think Babel will win even though the movie did not receive many nominations in other categories. I’ll pick “The Departed” for Scorsese.

Documentary: Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” Al Gore – 1; possibly Peter O’Toole – 0

Foreign Language Film: “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Since this movie does not involve the salmonella of Peter Pan peanut butter or feature David Bowie, I think it will win.

Animated Feature Film: Happy Feet. Besides Capitals fans, who doesn’t like Penguins? I did not see the movie but I'm sure Crosby and Malkin were great.

Disclaimer: Of all movies and actors nominated, I have only seen Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happiness,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada.” However, I did very well in my picks last year going 7 for 9 (yes, I looked this up).

Feel free to make your own picks in the comments. I will probably have a running journal of the Academy Awards on Sunday.