oscar escape route

photographer marc steinmetz collects images of home-made prison-escape devices

it is the night of the oscars. it seems a bit strange as i am not so keen on the movie as an entertainment medium- as my friends would know that it takes much determination on their parts to bring me to a movie. but since i somewhat missed a gigantic amount of television (funny enough, i really wanted to watch some tv while i was over in europe, especially during the 2010 olympic ceremonies, but trying to watch non-english coverage in uk was almost impossible as all those things were heavily copyrighted), i suppose this is a good way to make up for it.

i dont even know the half of the movies on the list. though i can recall a few of them being a real entertainment, and often education as well. it made me laugh to listen to the contenders for the documentaries, as i have seen all that has been nominated (unlike the best film categories, where i feel somewhat clueless). that is what i usually rely on the movies: to convey factual information, rather than bringing in an external fantasy world. it is often frustrating for me to watch a movie and feel as if there are something that is... missing.

in a movie, so many things are possible as it can engage most senses of the masses (minus the taste and smell. one cannot touch yet, but with this 3D tech, who knows, may be it will be possible to cross-stimulate touch through visual). however, its wide-possibilities also mean that there are more rooms to be filled in. and imagination could be a very big and lonely room.

i was walking with a medievalist today (not the kind you see in renaissance fairs who is happy to dress in silly homemade garments albeit without the the scholarly knowledge) (which made me extremely happy as she is the first friend beside PO that i got to see, and that she's really amazingly warm and perceptive person), and she mentioned the expression 'the decade of too-much possibilities.' extravagance. indulgence. too much choices. the options simply becoming ensnaring vines that grounds one to stationary spot. sheer weight of the idea of comparison-process-decision-review. can be very frightening. and that's the way i feel about movie at times. often, there are moments where i feel that they have fallen short- i understand that everyone has different realm of expressions and dreams, and what one may find insufficient may be completely satisfactory for another. a director has an idea one wants to convey and one's job is not to personally please me but to merely express the presented idea to the very best possible way.

and there are only very few that i think they meet the true dream-state. avatar (which i ranted about awhile ago) was one of them. hurt locker was another. so far from my fav category of documentary (which has the goal to keep one firmly on the ground of reality, as much as possible), once done well, they can completely transcend the boundary of reality.

at a point of return to familiar but strange place, yyz, i am hoping for more of these moments where i could escape the crushing weight of uncertainty. and watching the oscar presentation makes me think that perhaps it's alright, not all things are going to be good (which is subjective), but once things are well-balanced with care and attention, it is possible to elope. to fly to the highest point. as i felt so happy walking in the sunshine with the good friend for two hours in my favorite part of the town, with no care in the world (oh lets not worry about my personal life, lack of career aspiration, blister on my right foot, unruly children crashing into other peoples' knees, just for now). i have to come back to reality, yes, but much like the alluring perceived scent of fantasy world of avatar, i couldnt help but to float on air.

and some may still call it walking, not floating. bah. love to you all. if you dont think i was floating, well, you just will have to get out for a good walk with a friend on a sunny late winter afternoon in yyz. canada's cold but it surely can be beautiful .