Friday Frenzy (Episode 2...on Saturday)

As usual, I have only one man on the mind this weekend. His name is Oscar. We have a date for Sunday night.

I think there might be a few other people joining us. Maybe Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, and Javier Bardem. Just my usual groupies.

Seriously though, this Sunday night is the 83rd Academy Awards on ABC 8 e/5p.


My adoration for all things Oscar can best be explained by admitting that when I recorded things on VHS, back in the 1900's, I regularly had 'OSCARS' scrawled in Sharpie across a row of tapes.

One of the highlights of my childhood was watching Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and all the other insignificant people from 'Titanic,' accept the Oscar for Best Picture in 1998. I'm pretty sure the eleven year-old history nerd Eva squealed with delight, and may or may not have cried a little.

In the spirit of all things gold-naked man-statue, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some memorable Oscar moments throughout the years - BUT - Oscar, the grouch, doesn't let you embed his treasured YouTube videos. Stupid.

So plan B - I'll give you my two cents on who/what the winner should be for the top 3 categories: Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, and Actress in a Leading Role.

Actress in a Leading Role:

Helen Mirren.



Okay, you caught me. She's not even nominated. I just love her so much. I want to be her when I'm 65, Emma Thompson when I'm 45, and Kate Middleton right now. I have a thing for wanting to be British.

But seriously, this year's nominees are...

Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole (seriously?)
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone (and again...seriously?)
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Picking a winner in this category is tough because of all the films, I've only seen "The Kids Are All Right." I've read articles about how Natalie Portman's preparation and dance training for "Black Swan" role nearly killed her - so that warrants merit. I'm just going to take out Nicole and Jennifer because those movies have weird names. As for my girl, Michelle Williams...bless 'em, I've seen the previews for "Blue Valentine," read a number of reviews of her performance, and from what I can gather, she killed the role.

So...it comes down to three: Annie, Nat, and Mick...

And Eva's winner is....


My home slice, Annie B. She was the stand-out cast member of this film - which was great, but I have mixed feelings towards the whole plot. Regardless, Annette broke my heart, made me wince, made me cry, made me laugh, and made me believe in her genius once more. Once more implies that I have found her brilliant before - and I have, as the ever-awesome, Sidney Ellen Wade of Virginia.


I'm pretty sure from the moment I watched "The American President" with my mom, I wanted to be Annette Bening. So it's only right that my allegiance remains with one of my favorite President's girlfriend.

Actor in a Leading Role:

The nominees are:
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours
Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network
Jeff Bridges - True Grit (s)
Javier Bardem - Biutiful (someone's script editor missed something here...)


Two words: COLIN FIRTH. ohmygod. Have you seen "The King's Speech?" If you haven't, I'll tell you more about how it's life changing later in the blog. But as for Mr. Darcy, he is my absolute favorite actor of all time. Without a doubt. The man is one of the most gifted and empathetic performers I have ever watched on screen. I knew I loved Colin when he played Mr. Darcy. I fell in love again (through tears) when he learned Portuguese to ask Aurelia to marry him in "Love Actually." He broke my heart in "A Single Man." Built it back up again in "Nanny McPhee." Caught me by surprise in "What a Girl Wants." And took my breath away in "The King's Speech." My bet is it's only a matter of a few years until the man is knighted. So to you, (future) Sir Colin Firth - I bestow you with an Eva Oscar. Congrats.

Best Picture:

Yes, there are MANY nominees:

Black Swan - "Where's my good girl? AHHHHH."
The Fighter - I love Christian Bale. And Mark Wahlberg.
Inception - Is this real life?
The Kids Are All Right - Their son's name is Laser - win.
The King's Speech - My heart just skipped a beat.
127 Hours - Takes the whole "break a limb" adage to a completely different level.
The Social Network - I quite Facebook.
Toy Story 3 - Are you just happy to see me or "is that a snake in my boot?!"
True Grit (s) - I like cheese in mine.
Winter's Bone - Weird.

Phew. I'm winded from typing.

My winner is without a doubt: THE KING'S SPEECH.



I saw this film in the theater alone - I only go to movies alone when I know it's going to be an emotional, life-changing experience for me. Colin, Helena, and Geoffrey did not disappoint.

I'm actually so full of admiration for the script, soundtrack, cast, special effects team, videographers, etc. that I am at a complete loss for the adequate words to express how awesome this film was.

Here's what I can say - my favorite thing about the film is that this is the Queen's dad we're talking about here. I love the idea that Queen Elizabeth lived long enough to see her dad's story of perseverance against all obstacles - a crippling stammer, an over-bearing father, a love-struck brother, and you know, trying to keep a country together during WW II - play out for the world to see. What better way to see your father honored than to have Colin Firth deliver one of the greatest screen performances of all-time? Not to mention, Helena Bonham Carter played your mom. Queen Elizabeth, I'm talking to you. I cried just thinking about what this film must mean to the Royal Family (my people...you know).

I love it! LOVE IT! You should get up from whatever you're doing this instant and go see the film.

Okay, Eva's Oscars have now been distributed.

We'll see how I do compared to tomorrow's awards. I'll be watching, and hope you will, too!

GO COLIN, GO!

Happy Thoughts and Straight on 'Til Morning - Good News in Pop-culture

As many of you know (and some of you may be now learning), I am a pop-culture expert. I am a walking encyclopedia of celebrity knowledge, people.

I chose not to use the word "junkie" because of the negative implications of the word - i.e. drug junkie, Bieber junkie, World of Warcraft junkie, chunky junkie, etc.

You might be wondering how I find time to cram knowledge about who is married to whom, whose baby has a weird name, who may or may not be going to jail or rehab, etc. while I maintain such a rigorous "life of the mind" in grad school. Easy - I rename my daily browsing of People.com, TMZ, US Weekly, and Chelsea Lately as "ethnography." Seriously, you can get away with academic murder in graduate school as long as you sound smart while doing it.

I don't know what it is about pop-culture, but ever since I realized that you could get Hanson posters out of BOP Magazine, I've been hooked. Unfortunately Hanson no longer graces the cover of my favorite celebrity news junkets. Regardless, I thought it would be a good idea to take my extensive range of pop-culture know-how, and report some of the good news happening in the world of celebrities. Here are some "Happy Thoughts" my friends:
Lady G and Maria spreadin' love via YouTube:

Lady Gaga's anthem, "Born This Way," came out last week (pun fully intended), and broke sales records in like 120 countries or something...just further solidifying Ms. Gaga as a platinum bad-ass. I love GG. I love her lyrics. I love her videos. I may or may not practice her dances with my sisters and alone in my room. I'm just saying.

As awesome as the Gaga-greatest is, she has met her match a ten year-old girl and an electric keyboard:



Her name is Maria Aragon, and as GG tweeted, "She is the future." I mean, seriously, how cute is she? She was on Ellen today, and when Ellen asked why she chose to cover this particular song Maria responded that the message of the song inspires her to believe in herself and be kind to all people. You know what that is folks? Good news. Don't be a drag, just be a queen.

Justin de-Biebs himself, praise Jesus:

Justin Bieber cut his hair. Let us rejoice and be glad that the swoosh (or flop, or ugly, or whatever it was called) is gone. When asked why he decided to cut his signature mane, the Biebs simply responded, "I've had this hair for 3 and a half years, and it was annoying how it got in my eyes all the time." Oh really, Bieber? Really? We all knew that. All of us.


Here is a photo of the Canadian's new cropped mop. I like it. I guess.

London Calling:


In the best news of all, the invitations to my bff's, Kate and Wills, wedding were sent out this week. Check out these two. I mean, geez, they're adorable:


You might be wondering how I became besties with the future King and Queen of England. Truth be told, Wills fell in love with me while I was living in Oxford. We had some Shepherd's Pie, a few pints of Stella, then he confessed his undying love. (Check out the time-line of his break-up with Kate...the math figures.) He was devastated when I broke the news to him that I only had eyes for Harry, whom I've loved since adolescence. But we're friends now. And he, obviously, went back to Kate. So, Wills, if I don't get an invitation, you watch yo'self. Son.

April 29. Yes.

Happiest Thought of All:

Glee comes on in an hour.


Thank you for making life a little sweeter, Heather Morris.

That's all for now, dear ones. But if I forgot anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. Any news about happiness, weddings, Lady G, Bieber becoming a man, etc. is better than any headline about L. Lohan or Charlie Sheen.

Best always!

Friday Frenzy (Episode 1)

Well, it's Friday. Which I have decided will be my dedicated day to blog about madness happening in pop-culture and other lesser important headlines.

To kick things off, let's turn our attention to the state divided, Alabama, and the omnipresent battle of the Crimson Tide and those damn Kitty-Birds (aka. Auburn).


To say that the last two seasons of college football have heightened the level of tension in the eternal battle between the Crimson believers and the Auburn heathens is, well, right. Two years. Two SEC championships. Two National championships. Two Heisman trophy winners. One disastrous Iron Bowl. And Gene Chizik just standing there poppin' that gum.

The divide in Alabama has never been greater, and the volatility of the greatest rivalry in college football is at an all-time high.

While I am an avid believer in rivalries, and my allegiance to the Tide is a huge part of my identity, things got OUT OF CONTROL this week thanks to a real idiot named Harvey Updyke.
Mr. Updyke, the biggest fool in Alabama, took it upon himself to poison the two historic oak trees on Toomer's Corner in Auburn after the Tigers staged one of the greatest comebacks in Iron Bowl history last November. Check out this article, it's disgusting me to type about it much more, so you can just read it yo' self - here.

As a marquee Alabama fan, let me just say here and now: This man is crazy. What he did is wholly deplorable. Alabama fans, although we do have strong feelings of disgust when we hear the army of orange and blue sing, "War Eagle, fly down the field...," do not all come from this same strain of crazy. I'm sad for my Auburn fan friends (and family...sad, but true) who have sentimental ties to that which has been spoiled by hate. I'm sorry for what they may, or will, lose, but I also know that in Alabama, passion for one's team isn't going to be deterred by a little poison. New traditions will emerge.

I say, long live the Iron Bowl. Long may the madness of that late-November buzz of Roll Tide, touchdowns, War Eagle, and victory reign.

Now, I will leave you with this jewel:



Roll Tide.

My World(s)

My life revolves around a holy trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are great and all, but nothing melts my heart like these three wonders of the world:

left to right: Momma T, Al, me, Shel-iza.

Thanksgiving 2009

I have millions of words in my arsenal to express what these women mean to me - they are my sunshine, my best thoughts each day, and the most divine pieces of heaven on earth that I know.
In the words of the new, true Bruno Mars, "I would catch a grenade for them."

I mean, look at these people. How could they not steal my heart?

Shel, me, and Al - July 2010

Megginson Tacky Christmas 2010


Cherry Blossom Festival - March 2007


Seriously though, the greatest gift I have received is the love of my mom and my sisters. Over the last six years we have all been through hell and back, to the gates of hell again, and then home safely once more. We've survived divorce, issues of church families and faith journeys, illness, worry, death, mourning, and now - finding renewed joy and purpose in life. It hasn't all been a struggle - we were all blessed to have the 8th wonder of the world in our home and lives throughout the journey. I think much of the credit of our strength as a family unit is due to this angel woman, Cleo Megginson, and the wonderful woman she raised our mom to be:

Mom and Maw Maw - May 2005

Celebrating our "great-nursing home-birthday-escape"- April 2010

We have definitely been on an arduous journey, but it's only led us to places of bare truth and sharing, which is what makes us so close. It also helps that my sisters are the two coolest people on the planet. As witnessed below:

Me and Ally - Halloween 1994 (?)

Loving America and Lake Burton 2010

I like these women forever, I love these women for always, and as long as I'm living, my world(s) they will be.

Things I Can't Get Enough Of

Now that I'm off 'the Facebook,' my days are filled with limitless amounts of heretofore unimagined time. Time to do what, you might be wondering. I'll tell you. To waste time in new ways. And here are some of my absolute favorite time-consuming habits/hobbies/loves:

You may or may not know this about me, but I'm obsessed with engagement videos (on youtube) and wedding photos.

My favorite wedding photographer is a dude based out of Birmingham, ABryan Photography. I love his work. Love it. Check out his 8mm videos of weddings on his blog, they are better than chicken noodle soup for the wedding-depraved soul. And while I'm thinking about it, I hated those books. So let's make that saying seasonal and formally change it (here and now) to "King Cake for the wedding-depraved soul."

http://abryanphoto.com/

And now that I've shamelessly admitted to stalking engagement videos on youtube, I'll share one of the most romantic and another that's, let's say, not so romantic.

The good (ignore the Motorola ad at the end, for your own good):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8eTg3VIR78

The gone-horribly-terribly-wrong:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pued7LiZnI

Another of my new daily obsessions is checking the BBC's Day in pictures, featuring photographs from around the world, everyday. It's a photographic wonder-trip.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12463608

Looking at the photos also gives me the travel bug something awful. Which is tolerable at the moment, because I'm spending a good amount of time planning early-summer trip to London, Oxford, and Paris with my darling sister, Ally.

We'll be visiting architectural, historical, and aesthetic wonders like:

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford:


My old flat, Oxford:


The River Isis, Oxford:


Westminster Abbey (two weeks after Kate and Wills...my bff's...mega-awesome wedding):

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to not only travel back to a place I called home (if ever-so-briefly), to a place I've never been, and to have my sister along for the wild fun! It's going to be a great trip!

More soon. I'm dedicating entire posts to my other obsessions: Glee, Pretty Little Liars, Naya Rivera, the Blues, finding a job after graduate school, Hanson, wondering why I'm still in graduate school, and Colin Firth.

Check back soon!