It has been days since the final Oscar nominations were announced. LAGAAN becomes only the third Indian film to make the final list of Foreign Film nominees. Aamir talks more about it in his interview for this week's issue of SCREEN.

This Saturday's trip to the public library results in a large haul. Despite my conscious efforts to cut down on my extra-curricular reading I have ended up with Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster, Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem, The Films of Clint Eastwood by Boris Zmijewsky and Lee Pfeiffer, Names by Paul Dickson, Coming to Terms by William Safire, Hollywood Urban Legends by Richard Roeper, and Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub. If that wasn't enough, I also got a handful of CD music. Here goes (each title links to the all music guide entry for it, just in case you want to evaluate my taste based on their reviews:):

• Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) by the Rolling Stones: their first hits compilation


• Always never the same by Kansas: with the London Symphony Orchestra


• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas: The 2001 revival of one of Broadway's unlikliest hit musicals


• Voices by Vangelis: Yet another album from the Greek electronica export


• L. A. Confidential: The Soundtrack to Curtis Hanson's splendid adaptation of James Ellroy's gnarled, violent crime thriller also boasts two extracts from Jerry Goldsmith's fine score


• L. A. Confidential (the score): Jerry Goldsmith's score to Curtis Hanson's adaptation of James Ellroy's sprawling masterpiece. Isn't this a great way to make money? Sell the "soundtrack" as two separate releases. But then, who's complaining?


• La Bamba - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The usual walk to Atlanta Underground resulted in my first visit to a Häagen-Dazs outlet. I tried the Belgian Chocolate Chocolate small cup (which was more than enough after the heavy lunch at the food court). Good stuff. I accompanied my friend to macy's one block north of the public library and ended up giving in to a Club Room sweatshirt on clearance. My first sweatshirt ever.

More proof that some people just have too much time on their hands. A friend just sent me an email that asked to try out the following command:
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl. This interesting enterprise, or the Starwars Asciimation as the site prefers to list it also has an article in The Register devoted to it titled "Ever wanted to see Star Wars in Telnet?".

Daily Readings for Lent
Isaiah 58:9-14
Luke 5:27-32