How many Academy Award Best Picture winners have you watched?

The 84th Annual Academy Awards were presented last Sunday, and “The Artist” received this year’s Academy Award for Best Picture. “Rango” received top honors as Best Animated Film Feature, and “Undefeated” won for Best Documentary Feature.

Some of you will remember that in November 2010, I launched a movie-watching project in which I aim to wall all of the Best Picture winners, going all the way back to the first Best Picture winner in 1927. To date, I’ve managed to watch 63 of the 84 all-time winners. This project has taken some time, and it would have been very difficult to accomplish without the aid of NetFlix.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Academy Award for Best Picture, which is awarded each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, it is considered the most important of the Academy Awards. There was no Best Picture award in 1927. Instead, the award was called Most Outstanding Production. The following year, the name of the award was changed to Best Production. In 1931, the title of the award was changed to Best Picture.

Before I close this thing out today, I want to give you a complete, updated list of the all-time Best Picture Award winners, starting with the most recent winner and working my way back. Without further ado, here’s the list:

2011 – The Artist
2010 – The King’s Speech
2009 – The Hurt Locker
2008 – Slumdog Millionaire
2007 – No Country for Old Men
2006 – The Departed
2005 – Crash
2004 – Million Dollar Baby
2003 – The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
2002 – Chicago
2001 – A Beautiful Mind
2000 – Gladiator

1999 – American Beauty
1998 – Shakespeare in Love
1997 – Titanic
1996 – The English Patient
1995 – Braveheart
1994 – Forrest Gump
1993 – Schindler’s List
1992 – Unforgiven
1991 – The Silence of the Lambs
1990 – Dances with Wolves

1989 – Driving Miss Daisy
1988 – Rain Man
1987 – The Last Emporer
1986 – Platoon
1985 – Out of Africa
1984 – Amadeus
1983 – Terms of Endearment
1982 – Gandhi
1981 – Chariots of Fire
1980 – Ordinary People

1979 – Kramer vs. Kramer
1978 – The Deer Hunter
1977 – Annie Hall
1976 – Rocky
1975 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
1974 – The Godfather: Part II
1973 – The Sting
1972 – The Godfather
1971 – The French Connection
1970 – Patton

1969 – Midnight Cowboy
1968 – Oliver!
1967 – In the Heat of the Night
1966 – A Man for All Seasons
1965 – The Sound of Music
1964 – My Fair Lady
1963 – Tom Jones
1962 – Lawrence of Arabia
1961 – West Side Story
1960 – The Apartment

1959 – Ben-Hur
1958 – Gigi
1957 – The Bridge on the River Kwai
1956 – Around the World in 80 Days
1955 – Marty
1954 – On the Waterfront
1953 – From Here to Eternity
1952 – The Greatest Show on Earth
1951 – An American in Paris
1950 – All About Eve

1949 – All the King’s Men
1948 – Hamlet
1947 – Gentleman’s Agreement
1946 – The Best Years of Our Lives
1945 – The Lost Weekend
1944 – Going My Way
1943 – Casablanca
1942 – Mrs. Miniver
1941 – How Green Was My Valley
1940 – Rebecca

1939 – Gone with the Wind
1938 – You Can’t Take It With You
1937 – The Life of Emile Zola
1936 – The Great Ziegfeld
1935 – Mutiny on the Bounty
1934 – It Happened One Night
1933 – Cavalcade
1931-1932 – Grand Hotel
1930-1931 – Cimarron

1929-1930 – All Quiet on the Western Front
1928-1929 – The Broadway Melody
1927-1928 – Wings

I’m sure that more than a few of you have seen a number of these movies, especially those that were released in the past decade. In the end, how many of these movies have you seen? What did you think about them? Which would you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.

What's your favorite Nathaniel Hawthorne novel?

Regular readers of this blog will know that my favorite all-time writer is H.P. Lovecraft, and one of the biggest influences on Lovecraft’s writings was the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, “The House of the Seven Gables.”

A month or so ago, I ran across an old paperback edition of this classic Gothic novel at the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library, and I just finished reading it the other day. Published in 1851, this novel is about several generations of a New England family who live in a large gabled mansion. Set in the mid-1800s, the story contains a number of supernatural elements, including more than a few references to a family curse, mysterious deaths, ghosts and witchcraft.

H.P. Lovecraft, who died in 1937, is best known for his horror, fantasy and science fiction stories, and he admits to being heavily influenced by Hawthorne’s “Seven Gables” novel. In Lovecraft’s famous long essay, “Supernatural Horror in Literature,” in which he surveyed the field of horror fiction, he said that “The House of the Seven Gables” was “New England’s greatest contribution to weird literature.”

In his essay, Lovecraft described how Hawthorne artfully used the setting of the old mansion in his novel, and I was interested to learn that the fictional house was actually based on a real house. In fact, this old house still stands and you can visit it today. Constructed in 1668, the House of the Seven Gables, which is also known as the Turner House or the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, is located in Salem, Mass. It currently serves as a museum, but it was once the home of Hawthorne’s cousin, Susannah Ingersoll. Hawthorne was born in a small house a few blocks away from “The House of the Seven Gables,” which is currently listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

I’d never read any of Hawthorne’s novels prior to “The House of the Seven Gables,” so I didn’t fully appreciate the supernatural aspect of this famous novel before reading it. After having read it, I can now see how the novel was very similar a number of Lovecraft’s stories. While reading it, I couldn’t help but be reminded of such classic Lovecraft tales as “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” “The Picture in the House” and “The Shunned House.”

Hawthorne is probably best known for his 1850 novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” and “The House of the Seven Gables” was a follow up to that highly successful novel. In all, Hawthorne wrote seven complete novels and one unfinished novel. In order of publication they include the following titles:

- Fanshawe (1828)

- The Scarlet Letter (1850)

- The House of the Seven Gables (1851)

- The Blithedale Romance (1852)

- The Marble Faun (1860)

- The Dolliver Romance (1863)

- Septimius Felton (1872)

- Doctor Grimshawe’s Secret (unfinished, 1882)

In the end, how many of you have read “The House of the Seven Gables”? What did you think about it? Did you like it or dislike it? Why? Which of Hawthorne’s novels is your personal favorite? Why? Let us know in the comments section below.

Daily Weather Observations for Fri., March 2, 2012

Temp: 66.7 degrees F (19.3 degrees C)

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.9 inches.

Humidity: 84 percent (Humid)

Conditions: Overcast.

Winds: 2.0 mph out of the South-Southeast (light air)

Barometric Pressure: 29.43 inHg.

Week to Date Rainfall: 1.4 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 1.1 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 13.5 inches

Local Weather Alerts: Local Pollen Alert in effect.

NOTE: 72nd day of Winter. Standing water in the yard from yesterday's rains.

And Remember - "When the wind is blowing in the North, no fisherman should set forth."

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level

Local editor attends 'aviation meet' in Montgomery a century ago

It’s that time of the month again, time to take a trip down memory lane and review all of the interesting things that took place in Conecuh County 100 years ago, way back in March 1912.

It appears that J.C. Whitcomb, the editor of The Conecuh Record, was out of town during the week of the March 7, 1912 edition of the newspaper, and that other members of the paper’s staff were in charge of that week’s news. True to the old saying that “when the cats away, the mice will play,” it appears that some of his co-workers took the opportunity to poke a little fun at their boss.

“Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Whitcomb were visitors at Montgomery this week to attend the aviation meet – whatever that is.

“We confess to a vague feeling of uneasiness for the personal safety of the editor of The Record while absent at Montgomery, for the reason that he hasn’t ‘been about’ much of late years and is naturally a little ‘rusty’ as to the metropolitan ways of a big town, and he might get run over by an airship. We trust, however, to the watchful care of Mrs. Whitcomb to keep him clear of the danger zone.”

Elsewhere in that week’s paper it was reported that “a young street waif was picked up in Montgomery for humanity’s sake, brought to Evergreen and given a home by Ralph Irwin, but in a spirit of base ingratitude, the lad betrayed the confidence of his benefactor by stealing some jewelry belonging to Mrs. Irwin. The misguided boy was allowed to go without prosecution.”

Also that week, readers learned that “J.A. Mills is the new clerk at the depot,” and that “a heavy hailstorm visited the neighborhood of Finklea recently.”

Whitcomb was back on the job for the March 14, 1912 edition and reported that the “Evergreen Motor Car Co., despite the prevailing dullness in business circles, has made a new record in selling automobiles – four or five cars being sold in the last week or two and an order placed for a carload of new machines. All of which indicates rare hustling qualities on the part of Manager Rob Whitcomb.”

Readers that week also learned that the “livestock dealers of Evergreen seem to be doing a pretty good business.”

In news from the Belleville community, signed by a correspondent named “X,” it was reported that “none of our farmers have been able to plant anything thus far this spring. The ground is too wet for any kind of farm work.”

That week’s paper also included the following announcement – “The first quarterly meeting of the Farmer’s Union of Conecuh County will meet at the court house in Evergreen on Tuesday, March 26, at 10 o’clock a.m. Locals will take notice. (Signed) F. Simmons, Secretary; R.T. Shipp, President.”

Subscribers also read that “John W. Abercrombie, candidate for congressman-at-large, was in the city Tuesday.”

Whitcomb closed out the week by saying that the “winter of 1912 has passed into history, making a decided and enduring dent in it.”

In the March 21, 1912 edition of The Record, Whitcomb had a little crime news to report.

“Thanks to the vigilance and shrewd detective work of Sheriff Hines, a blind tiger was caught in his lair a short distance from Evergreen the other day. The dusky operator is now behind the bars.”

That week’s paper, under the headline “Great Excitement At Mobile,” it was also reported that “Hundreds of people afflicted with all kinds of diseases are flocking into Mobile to consult the celebrated electro-radio physicians.

“These doctors have a $5,000 machine which reveals the inner workings of the human body. The stomach in action, the kidneys and liver secreting their juices and the rise and fall of the diaphragm. They can readily detect the cause of disease and offer a free examination to all those in this vicinity who take the trip at once and call at 106-1/2 Dauphin St., Mobile, Ala.”

Readers that week also learned that “John Lott, prominent citizen of Herbert, died last Sunday. He leaves a wife and five children.”

Whitcomb also reported that “P.B. Skinner and E. Downing were up from Castleberry Tuesday, soliciting funds for a high school to be located in their town.”

Subscribers also learned that “Kyle B. Price delivered an address at the court house Thursday.”

In the March 28, 1912 edition of The Record, Whitcomb reported that “R.G. Wood, leading merchant of Red Level, transacted business in the city Tuesday.”

In news from the Fletcher’s Cross Roads community, submitted by correspondent “Blue Violet,” its was reported that “F.F. Beasley is teaching school at the McCreary school house. His school will close the last Friday in this month.”

In news from the Owassa community, written by correspondent “Chips,” readers learned that “Rev. Fletcher filled his appointment here the third Sunday. Rev. S.E. Spencer preached at the Baptist church here Sunday.”

That week’s paper also included the following announcement – “We, the undersigned, announce ourselves as Underwood delegates to the state convention to be held at Montgomery, April 15, subject to the action of the democratic primary: W.D. Brown, J.R. Smith, S.P. Dunn, Henry L. Dees, D.J. Foshee, Walter Lee, W.K. Horton.”

Readers also learned that the “Alabama Sunday School Association will hold a convention in Selma April 10, 11, 12. A large attendance is expected.”

Whitcomb closed out the month of March by letting readers know that the “McCreary Drug Co. has just received a large assortment of fishing tackle – hooks, lines, reels, rods and minnows.”

Well, I guess that’s all that space will allow for this month. Next month, I plan to take a look at the events of April 1912 in Conecuh County. Until then, if you get the urge to research the county’s past yourself, take advantage of the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library’s excellent selection of old newspapers on microfilm and other resources. The library’s friendly and courteous staff will be more than happy to get you started.

The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Thurs., March 1, 2012

10 YEARS AGO
MARCH 7, 2002

“Youth Basketball Director Earnest Boykin recently presented Keith Nettles, principal of Evergreen Junior High School, a $250 check to help with the light expense for the EJHS gym. The Evergreen Youth Basketball Program uses the gym for their basketball games. Boykin stated that they are a non-profit organization and their only funding is what they raise. The check was a way of showing Supt. Ronnie Brogden and EJHS how much they appreciate them giving the youth basketball program and the kids a place the play.”

“Sally Hartley, daughter of Gloria Hartley and Tommy Hartley, has been selected to be an Auburn Tigerette Host for the 2002-2003 football recruiting season. The Tigerettes and Tiger Hosts are the official hostesses and hosts of the Auburn University Athletic Department.
“In addition to providing moral support to the Auburn Tigers, they are active in football recruiting and act as tour guides to people visiting Auburn. Sally is a sophomore from Evergreen, majoring in communications.
“’The Tigerettes and Tigers Hosts are extremely important to the success of our football program,’ said Auburn Head Football Coach Tommy Tuberville. ‘They assist us in so many ways during the season and recruiting, they are invaluable. Much of the success we have had in recruiting comes from these young people and their efforts to help prospective student athletes experience student life at Auburn. The Tigerettes and Tiger Hosts do an outstanding job in a classy, professional manner.’”

25 YEARS AGO
MARCH 5, 1987

“Senior Jason West represented Sparta Academy in the APSA All Star Basketball Game played Saturday night at Huntingdon College, Montgomery. Jason is the son of Dr. and Mrs. Fred West of Evergreen.”

“Conecuh County High School’s girls basketball team had an outstanding season under the leadership of Coach Wayne Pope. Players are Tammy Taylor, Candy Godwin, Carolyn Rogers, Felicia Wiley, Missy Stringer and Mindy Stringer; and Cassandra Cunningham, Trena Richardson, Meredith Walton, Janice Powell, Jennifer Ikner, Tracey Covin, Shirley Richardson and Teresa Jones.”

“Eddie Salter competes in Linden Monday nite: Ben Rogers Lee, world champion turkey caller, will be the Master of Ceremonies at the Hall of Fame turkey calling contest Monday night March 9 in Linden.
“Since this major turkey calling contest is open to all callers, some of the best in the nation are expected to compete. Among them already committed are Bill Wright of Jackson and Eddie Salter of Evergreen.”

“Jerry Cotton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Cotton of Evergreen, will appear on ‘Young World’ on WSFA TV 12 Saturday morning at 6:30 o’clock and again Sunday morning at 7:30 o’clock. Jerry will help promote the junior turkey calling contest to be held in Montgomery next week.”

40 YEARS AGO
MARCH 2, 1972

“These Marshall Middle School Mustangs had a successful basketball season, winning 10 and losing only three. They won the Conecuh County Jr. High Tournament and were runners-ups in the Area II tournament, although Marshall’s top grade is the eighth, and they had to compete against ninth-graders. Charles Jones led the scorers, averaging 16 points. Larry Philyaw and Ronald Fantroy led the rebounding, picking off 109 each. They were coached by John Pugh. Two players, Bob Johnson and Robert Kent, weren’t present for the picture.”

“Donnie Griggers, star center for the Sparta Academy Warriors, was named to the all-tournament team at the District 2 Basketball Tournament of the Alabama Private Schools Association held recently in Monroeville.”

“Coach Mickey Goneke’s Sparta Warriors donned pads Tuesday for the first time in the spring practice. They had conditioning workouts last week and are working toward participation in a jamboree in Greenville on March 10.
“Goneke said that when he gets discouraged, he just thinks about how things were a year ago. This will be Sparta’s second year of football. He said that three players had been impressive at new positions, Don Owens at halfback, Jerry Sasser at tight end and Buddy Monroe at quarterback.
“Coach Robert Andress is also working his junior team players. There are about 50 boys taking part in the varsity and junior drills.”

55 YEARS AGO
MARCH 7, 1957

“Managers for both the Junior League and the Minor League were named at an officials meeting of the Evergreen Junior Baseball League last week, according to Morris Thornley, secretary.
“Two new teams were added to the Minor League and each of the four Minor League teams will have working agreements with one of the Junior League teams. The Yankees will remain under the managership they had last year with Waynard Price and Randy Moorer at the helm. The Yankees farm club will be the Orioles, a new addition to the Minor League, managed by John Horne and Melvin Brooks.
“The Dodgers, defending champs, have new managers this year with John Briggs, last year’s League president, and Hubert Holcomb, who assisted the Giants last year. The Chicks, under the managership of Robert Glass and Ralph Crysell are the Dodgers’ farm club.
“Oz Hansen will again manage the Red Sox with a new assistant, Robert Key, aiding him. The Hawks, the other new Minor team, are the Red Sox farm team, managed by Francis Williams and John Gibson.
“J.W. Weaver, last year’s manager of the Giants, will be assisted this year by John Nielsen. The Pelicans, managed by Morino White and Carl Dyess, are the Giants’ farm club.”
“Committees appointed at the meeting are: Grounds and Concession Stand, John Briggs, chairman, Howard Dees, Clint Ward, Bob Kendall, Jack Frazier, J.W. Weaver. Signs: Byron Warren, chairman, Oz Hansen, Waynard Price, Stanton Coker. Schedule: John Briggs and Ray Owens. Uniforms and Equipment: Randy Moorer, chairman, Oz Hansen, Robert Glass and Ray Owens.

70 YEARS AGO
MARCH 5, 1942

“Aggie Cagers Win County Tourney: Coach J.L. Smith’s Evergreen Aggies defeated the Lyeffion team in the finals here Friday night, 34 to 29. The game was one of the best to ever be played on the local court. Lyeffion held an early lead, but not for long. The Aggies surged from behind to hold a 18 to 6 lead at the end of the half. In the last quarter Lyeffion rallied, and came to within one point of the locals, but Moorer and Thames dunked a field basket each to pull the Aggies out of trouble.
“Thames led the scoring for the locals with 12 points. The rest of the points were equally divided with Hanks and D. Moorer getting 11 points each. E. Sanders and Morrow were best for the losers with seven points each.
“In the first game of the tourney, Evergreen defeated Repton in a thriller, 25 to 21. Evergreen held a slight lead all the way, but the margin was never comfortable. A pretty ‘freeze’ was put on by the locals in the last minute of play. D. Moorer paced the Aggies with 12 points. Pullen was best for Repton with nine points.
“In the second game, Lyeffion defeated Castleberry 25 to 16. Lyeffion grabbed an early lead and was never threatened seriously. E. Sanders led the winners with 17 points.
“In the consolations Repton defeated Castleberry easily to win the third place in the tourney, 24 to 17. Repton was in command all the way, and won without much trouble. This game was played immediately prior to the Evergreen-Lyeffion game.”

Sports movie among Best Picture nominees at this year's Academy Awards

I thought it was interesting that a sports movie was among the list of Best Picture nominees at this year’s Academy Awards.

“Moneyball,” which is based on Michael Lewis’s 2003 book about the Oakland Athletic’s 2002 season, was among nine nominees for a Best Picture this year.

Directed by Bennett Miller, “Moneyball” stars Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was released last September and reaped box office revenues of over $108 million.

The full title of the original book version of the story is “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.” I’ve yet to read this book, but I plan to remedy that situation very soon. I also haven’t seen the movie, but for it to have been among the Best Picture nominees indicates to me that it must be a pretty good.

In the end, “The Artist” won the Best Picture Oscar at the awards ceremony, which was broadcast Sunday night.

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Those of you who watched the NBA All-Star game on Sunday will know that Western Conference players put on a show for the fans as they led the West to a three-point win over the Eastern Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored 27 points to break Michael Jordan’s all-time scoring record in All-Star games, and Kevin Durant, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, finished the night with 36 points.

With the NBA season at its halfway point, it’s hard to argue that this year’s eventual champ won’t come out of the Western Conference. Ten of the 15 teams in the West have records of .500 or better, including Oklahoma City (.794), San Antonio (.706), the L.A. Clippers (.645), Dallas (.618), Houston (.588), the L.A. Lakers (.588), Memphis (.559), Portland (.529), Denver (.514) and Minnesota (.500). Weird thing is, the Clippers are actually ahead of the Lakers in the Western Conference Pacific Division Standings.

Only six of the 15 teams in the Eastern Conference have records of .500 or better. They include Miami (.794), Chicago (.771), Indiana (.636), Orlando (.629), Atlanta (.588) and Philadelphia (.588).

If the playoffs started tomorrow, I’d probably go with San Antonio in the West, and Miami in the East with Miami to win it all.

----- 0 -----

Speaking of basketball, I read a weird basketball story earlier this week about a high school player in Minnesota who scored 71 points in a game only to see his team lose.

According to the Duluth News, Anders Broman, a 6-foot-1 junior guard at Lakeview Christian Academy scored 71 points Saturday in a 114-110 loss to Melrose High School. His point total was the second-highest single game total by an individual player in the state’s history. Melrose’s leading scorer, Scottie Stone, scored a school-record 39 points to lead his team to the win.

Earlier this year, Broman, who has yet to play his senior season, became the youngest player in Minnesota history to reach 3,000 career points. He’s being recruited by Northwestern, San Diego State and Virginia Tech.

Daily Weather Observations for Thurs., March 1, 2012

Temp: 67.5 degrees F (19.7 degrees C)

Rainfall (past 24 hours): 0.2 inches.

Humidity: 82 percent (Humid)

Conditions: Overcast.

Winds: 0.1 mph out of the South-Southwest (calm)

Barometric Pressure: 29.51 inHg.

Week to Date Rainfall: 0.5 inches

Month to Date Rainfall: 0.2 inches

Year to Date Rainfall: 12.6 inches

Local Weather Alerts: None.

NOTE: 71st day of Winter. First Quarter Moon.

And Remember - "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."

Readings taken at 0700 hrs Central Standard Time (1300 GMT) daily, just west of the Monroe-Conecuh County line, near Excel, Alabama, USA, in the vicinity of Lat 31.42834°N Lon 87.30131°W. Elevation: 400 feet above sea level