Inglourious Basterds is just the most fun I’ve had at a movie in a long time, so that’s my vote. I liked Up In the Air, but I’m a little sick of movies being released in December just to qaulify for awards when a lot of good movies (and some admittedly shitty ones, to be fair) come out during the rest of the year, so I wouldn’t give it the honor of best picture. (500) Days of Summer, while not necessarily “Oscar-worthy”, was a nice take on the traditional rom-com as we’ve come to know them. All of them pale in comparison to “Miss March,” however…I’m kidding.

I fail at life, don’t I?

But, I don’t think you’re wrong about the Senate in Rome. Clearly representational democracy is more successful and practical than direct when the pool of voters is large- that’s why Athenian democracy failed, and that’s why Crazy Squirrel Lady doesn’t vote. ;p

I guess in ancient times, we would have had to rely on the Roman Senate or various other select groups to decide our awards. Really, as it is now. I don’t think any award show can say that it asks every member of the population like my fiercely anti-computer former teachers, or that woman who stands in the middle of the street screaming about talking squirrels and scaring small children and everyone else. But I digress.

@gab. Really, you should be upset about the lack of attention to detail. No accent on the “o”? For shame auto-correct. For shame.

Hm, pop icon with an electronics company contract… Nicoli Machiavelli. Or Princess Peach. Or maybe both. At the same time.

I have only seen two of the nominees, but I definitely prefer _The Hurt Locker_. That movie was/is spectacular. I know I just talked about it elsewhere, but I genuinely think _500 Days of Summer_ was one of the best (new) movies I have seen in the past year. Well-acted, pretty, inventive, engaging… ::shrug:: Best OLD movie I have seen (for the first time) was the original _12 Angry Men_.

There was once an article in the New York Times relating how monkeys who lost in a fight against a more dominant male would often go masturbate. The article then related how strip clubs of New York would see increased sales in down times and vice versa. (I’ve been told that the strip club scene in New York has totally changed due to legislation.)

What does this have to do with OverThinking It and the Open Thread, you ask?

Every year the Consumer Electronics Show (CES, referenced above) is on the same weekend as the Adult Entertainment Expo, or maybe the Adult Entrainment is on the Geek show. This has happened, almost continuously, since the 90′s. Porn stars making a side buck??? Not at all, actually it’s big money.

There are many connections between porn and consumer electronics (no, I don’t mean vibrators)

The betamax vs VHS wars were key to porn industry income at the time, the porn industry’s choice of VHS was a financial blight on Sony.

Video phones in the 1980s were used had declining sales and then rebounded before dying. The reason for the rebound, porn.

Streaming internet technology, IPTV, and other video on demand technologies have considerable consumption from porn.

iPhone and other smartphones have video, porn maybe?

But, alas, the iPhone is not available for purchase currently in New York due to oversaturation. I guess the stock brokers will have to dust off their VHS tapes.