New Hampshire Liberty Forum

This weekend I attended the New Hampshire Liberty Forum, which was an event hosted by the Free State Project. The purpose of this event was to have individuals come to Concord, NH from Feb. 22-25 to discuss issues for "attaining personal and economic freedom" for the individual.

The Free State Project is made up predominately of a group of political activists known as libertarians and held this event in order to promote the initiatives of the project, but to also bring together a large group of people with the same political interests.

There were many speakers the forum including:
*John Stossel, co-anchor of ABC's 20/20 news
*Michael Badnarik, former Libertarian Presidential Candidate of 2004
*Jim Harper, director of information policy studies at the CATO Institute
*Jack Cole, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

There were also many other speakers addressing the issues of taxes, personal freedoms, problems with drug prohibition, and conflicts of the two major political parties.

On the last day, Congressman Ron Paul (a registered Republican, however has many libertarian views) gave a the closing speech for the forum and entertained the idea of running for the Republican presidential ticket in 2008.

The forum was very insightful, entertaining, and provided a lot of information and discussion on issues relevant to the direction of American politics today.

A Date with Oscar

This year the 79th Annual Academy Awards has everyone in a bustle over who deserves the coveted, golden Oscar. 2006 proved to be a very diverse year with the number of films came out from the mafia dramas, to musicals, to indie surprises.

There are six categories that many people sit around their television to anxiously see who the winner is and they are Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Picture. All of which have nominees that equally deserve their spots.
The following are the predictions for the winners in each category.

*Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy for Dream Girls; Murphy proved to be a pleasant surprise as the jazzy James "Thunder" Early, and has given the best performance of his career in this film.

*Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson for Dream Girls; Hudson stole the spotlight from her costar Beyonce Knowles with her beautiful voice and touching performance.

*Best Actor: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland; Whitaker has always been regarded as one of the great actors of this generation, and he only reaffirms those beliefs in this film playing the tyrannical dictator, Idi Amin. Hands down the best acting performance in any film of 2006. Period.

*Best Actress: Helen Mirren for The Queen; Mirren gives a riveting performance as Queen Elizabeth in the days following the death of Princess Diana. Mirren as been a true gem in the cinematic world and will be given admiration at this year's Oscars.

*Best Director: Martin Scorsese for The Departed; Having already been nominated for best director five times for terrific films such as Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas, Scorsese as yet to win an Oscar for best director. He is long over due and The Departed his is ticket.

*Best Picture: The Departed; A gripping film of cops and mobsters, with a stellar cast, this film has been hailed by dozens of renowned film critics as the best film of 2006 and is the leading contender for the best picture category this year.

The 79th Academy Awards will air live February 25, 2007 at 8pm et on ABC.

Al Gore's Concert Against Global Warming

Former Vice President Al Gore is taking his initiative to save the earth from global warming one step further with the help of actress, Cameron Diaz, and music producer Pharrell Williams. The initiative will be called "Save Our Selves: The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis".

As part of the initiative, on July 7, 2007, a 24 hour world wide concert called Live Earth which will be held to bring attention to the serious issues involving global warming. The concert will include over 100 musicians and span over seven continents.

Musicians expected to participate are Pharrell, the Black Eyed Peas, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Green Day, Snoop Dog, Faith Hill, Fall Out Boy, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and many others.

Al Gore first gained notoriety for his involvement to raise awareness about global warming with his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" which was released in 2006.

The Departed: New on DVD

Martin Scorsese's film "The Departed" was released on Tuesday, February 13. Hailed as one of the best films of 2006 by critics, "The Departed" is up for five Academy Award nominations including Best Director and Best Picture.

Set in the rough neighborhoods in Boston, the film centers around the lives of Billy Costigan, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon. Costigan is a Massachusetts' state trooper who goes undercover as a member of the mafia to infiltrate the workings of Frank Costello (played by the infamous Jack Nicholson). However, Costello sends in one of his closest men, Sullivan, to pose as a cop.

Tangled webs are weaved here, but the audience is able to stay captivated by the intricate plot and ingenious performances by all of the actors including Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and new-comer Vera Farmiga.

It's going to be a close race at the Oscars between "The Departed" and the ensemble drama "Babel", directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, nevertheless, "The Departed" has proven that Martin Scorsese can still create a terrific mobster movie for the new generation.

The 79th Annual Academy Awards air live on Sunday, February 25th at 8pm on ABC.

The Good, The Bad, & The Queen

Damon Albarn's newest project The Good, The Bad, & The Queen has been one of the most anticipated bands over the past year. Needless to say, the band delievers on every expectation. Albarn, who was the frontman for the Blur as well as the creator and lead singer for the musical sensation of the Gorillaz, continues to show has talents and musical range with this new band.

The Good, the Bad, & The Queen's debut, self titled album provides a more mellow tone the underground indie crowd can certainly appreciate. Their first single "Heculean" combines electronic club beats with eerie background vocals and is the perfect song to get anyone hooked on this album. The song "80's Life" has Albarn displays his full range while hooking you with it's nostalgic lyrics. Other songs include "Nothern Whale", "Three Changes", and "Kingdom of Doom" which the band has released the first music video for.

Although this album certainly has a different tone than Albarn's previous dance beats found in the Gorillaz, it is certainly a nice change and we can only hope for more albums to come.

http://www.thegoodthebadandthequeen.com/