Academy Award Winner Predictions for 2013 Films

Here’s the third annual Oscar-predictions-posting from Two Guys in the Dark, although I’ll (Ken Burke, the “public face” of Two Guys reviews, at least for the present) admit that some of my “predictions” are just wild speculations.  Check out the ceremony on ABC on Sunday, March 2, 2014, starting at 5:30pm Pacific/8:30 Eastern, or check back here shortly after that and I’ll update my predictions with notations of all of the ecstatic (and probably hungover) winners.

Color coding key: red = my prediction, green = my preference of the nominees (plus a few other greenies that are my real preferences but that didn’t make the final list of the Oscar contenders through some oversight by the Academy), red + green = prediction and preference, purple = predictions from my normally-silent-partner, Pat Craig (although there are no stated preferences from Pat, just predictions in some of these categories), and gold + bold at a later date = WINNER! 
[3/3/14 This turned out to be one of my best years ever concerning winner predictions as I got 20 of 24 for an 83% average, the same as Entertainment Weekly but our misses were slightly different in various categories (by another measure, though, I did better than my local film guru, the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle, who got 16 of 24 for a 67% average); don't count on this being the start of better results on my part, however, as I probably just got lucky in a few places.  Pat made 13 predictions, got 8 of them correct for an average of 62% for the ones he picked.]

BEST PICTURE

American Hustle (Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison, and Jonathan Gordon, Producers)

Captain Phillips (Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca, Producers)

Dallas Buyers Club (Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter, Producers)

Gravity  (Alfonso Cuarón and David Heyman, Producers)

Her (Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, and Vincent Landay, Producers)

Nebraska (Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, Producers)

Philomena (Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan, and Tracey Seaward, Producers)

12 Years a Slave (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, and Anthony Katagas, Producers)  Pat predicts this one to win also.  WINNER!

The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joey McFarland, and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers)

I’ve been promoting 12 Years a Slave as the likely best film of 2013 ever since I first saw it, holding the door open to the possibility that someone could top Steve McQueen’s’ vision but not assuming that anyone could.  I now have finished my explorations of most anything that could have been a competing contender, secure that I was correct in giving this marvelous film only the second 4 ½ stars of 5 since I began posting reviews over 2 years ago.  As to whether the Academy will agree with me rather than being pulled in by Gravity (or fired up by American Hustle fever) remains to be seen. Had I been picking these Best Picture finalists I’d have added a tenth one, All Is Lost (J.C. Chandor [the director—same citation format on most other films in this posting]), and dropped Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass), Philomena (Stephen Frears), and The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese) in favor of The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino), Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen), and The Place Beyond the Pines (Derek Cianfrance), but none of these decisions are ones I’d fight anyone over because I certainly accept the quality of all of the Academy voters’ final choices.  (Normally I note when you can peruse our previous postings for past reviews of films noted in the context of a given review’s comments, but because most everything listed this time—at least in these first 10 more-highlighted-categories—is in our archive of reviews I’ll simply refer you to it rather than clutter up the flow of this text with all of those extra citations.)

DIRECTING

American Hustle, David O. Russell

Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón WINNER!

Nebraska, Alexander Payne

12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen

                     

The Wolf of Wall Street, Martin Scorsese

It’s hard for me to separate the leadership and vision that the director brings to whatever I like each year as the Best Film from the work's overall success as a cinematic presence because I feel that a fully-functional-film (as opposed to one such as Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, where I don’t find the whole to be as completely realized as it could be but am so overwhelmed by the acting quality of Cate Blanchett that I’m willing to mostly ignore the minor aspects that don’t work as well for me) first owes its success to its director’s insight and command of all aspects of the production.  That said, though, I’ll admit there are times when the demonstration of the director’s craft is so overwhelming that even if the total film doesn’t quite get to the level of #1 for me (Gravity was “only” #2 in my rankings of last year’s best; full list in our January 24, 2014 posting) I still have to give my highest admiration to the directorial aspects of a “lesser” triumph, which is the case this year for me with the vision, technical innovation, and overall sense of sublime beauty that Cuarón imparted to his “lost in space” tale (especially given his additional roles as co-producer, co-screenwriter, and co-editor, bringing him fully into the original concept of auteur as developed by François Truffaut, Andrew Sarris, and others like them).  Given the press buzz and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) feature-film-trophy Cuarón’s work received ever since Gravity’s wide release last October, I think I’m safe in predicting an Oscar from the Academy’s perspective as well (my choices for the top 5 directors almost coincide with theirs, only with me trading The Great Beauty's Sorrentino for Greengrass, but I realize that it’s rare for a foreign-language-film-director to crack these hallowed ranks—until they direct an English-language-film, as with Cuarón—so, again, no major arguments with this category, unless they get crazy and give the Oscar to someone else besides Cuarón or McQueen).  Pat predicts Cuarón as well, for similar reasons as stated already.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club  WINNER!

In this category as well I’m almost in full sync with the Academy, although I’d ideally exchange Joaquin Phoenix in Her for DiCaprio, even as I agree that this may well be Leo’s finest performance yet (but don’t forget his amazing work—along with all of the other top pros in the cast—in Revolutionary Road [Sam Mendes, 2008]).  This one’s the hardest for me to call (because there were so many excellent performances this year, including DiCaprio's), both in terms of preference and prediction, with my personal impression still favoring Ejiofor but for prediction’s sake favoring McConaughey, based on both his win from the thousands of actors in the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the respect he has in Hollywood for a long and increasingly-successful career, now in a role that can resonate with social-justice-concerns among Academy voters in a manner to match that of Ejiofor’s superb depiction of a free Black man callously sold into slavery in the pre-Civil War South.  If I could conjure up a tie for this race I’d be happy to do so and certainly won’t be disappointed if either of the leading contenders takes home the trophy.  Pat's predicting Bruce Dern in this category, based on his long-but-so-far-Oscar-unrewarded-career, which often pays off for actors [3/3/14 Although it didn't this year, a shame for Dern because he may not get many other chances].

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine WINNER!

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

As marvelous as Amy Adams was in American Hustle I’d still have traded her out for Brie Larson in Short Term 12 (Destin Daniel Cretton).  That minor quibble aside (and agreeing that Meryl Streep belongs within the 5 finalists, despite the “scenery-chewing” complaints of many of my critical colleagues), I think that Cate Blanchett has good reason to have already cleared a space on her mantle for her next Oscar—she was simply astounding in Blue Jasmine, even if her role can be understood as a riff on Blanche DuBois, for which you might consider criticizing director-screenwriter Allen (along with the other off-screen-life-criticism-and-defense that’s been swirling around him lately) but not the woman who brings her character of Jeanette “Jasmine” Francis to stunning life on screen.  When Streep finally retires (which I hope isn’t anytime remotely soon), Blanchett will be ready to claim her status as the ultimate female thespian on the American screen.  Pat agrees with everyone else on the planet for this one.

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club  WINNER!

Again, I’m almost in alignment with the Academy regarding the nominees—with me preferring James Franco in Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine) to their choice of Bradley Cooper—but except for that relatively minor change I think we’ll be in harmony with the winner as well, despite the high quality exhibited by all of these guys in their various—and drastically different—films.  Riding the wave of SAG-AFTRA support for winning this award, I think that Leto’s a lock here, about as comfortable as Cuarón and Blanchett should be, with that confidence based on a magnificent performance which might ideally (for full authenticity's sake) have been done by an actual transgender actor (as some complaints have called for) but would doubtfully have been done better by anyone else.  As well, I have great admiration for Abdi being able to rise up of non-actor-obscurity for his commanding role as a Somali pirate (just as I’m still chilled by the vicious cruelty that Fassbender brought to his depiction of a maniacal slave owner), but I think the victory here rightfully belongs to Leto, who should prevail.  Pat predicts an Oscar for him as well.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave  WINNER!

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Here’s where I diverge a bit from the Academy, preferring to drop Hawkins and Roberts in favor of Scarlett Johansson for her voice-over work as the alluring-but-non-corporal-OS in Her and Julianne Nicholson, the even-more-effective-sister-in-the-somewhat-smaller-role of Ivy Weston for August: Osage County.  For me, though, the hands-down-winner is Nyong’o, a devastating presence as Patsey, the most abused of all the slaves in 12 Years … , resulting from nothing more than the tormented insanity of her “master,” Edwin Epps (Fassbender).  What I fear more than any other decision in these awards, though, is that as Academy voters begin making their choices among the various categories they’re going to realize that despite being nominated for 10 Oscars that American Hustle may not be coming out on top in other head-to-head-matchups so they’re going to feel the need to compensate for that where it might be most arguably-acceptable to honor David O. Russell’s latest triumph: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and/or Best Supporting Actress.  If either of those other 2 attract enough Academy support to satisfy the need to send … Hustle home with some gold then I think that Nyong’o will be safe here; if not, then here comes Jennifer Lawrence again after having stolen—in my still-grumpy-opinion—the Best Actress Oscar last year from Emmanuelle Riva (Amour, Michael Haneke) or even Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow), so I’d hate to see it happen again in a situation where, even though I admire and respect Lawrence’s talent and versatility (I still think she was at her best, however, in Winter’s Bone [Debra Granik, 2010]), I just don’t think she’s the top competitor in her race and would hate to see her dazzled with another Oscar so early in what is sure to be a long and successful career anyway.  OK, Academy voters, let’s show some gumption here, whaddya say?  However, Pat thinks the award in this category will go to June Squibb (Ken says she's an almost sure winner any other year).

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

Before Midnight, Screenplay by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke

Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray

Philomena, Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

12 Years a Slave, Screenplay by John Ridley  WINNER!

The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter

This is another area where I diverge from the Academy’s choices somewhat in that I’d eliminate Captain Phillips and Philomena, substituting instead August: Osage County (screenplay by Tracy Letts) and The Spectacular Now (screenplay by Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber), although my real dilemma comes in picking the winner, a choice I essentially made back in early summer 2013 with the searing dialogue of Before Midnight (which I still haven’t understood the “adapted” aspect of, except that Delpy and Hawke played these characters previously in Linklater’s Before Sunrise [1995] and Before Sunset [2004], but I still see this as an original script despite whatever definitions about this sort of distinction exist within the policies of the Writers Guild of America [WGA]).  However, with the rare circumstance (for me) of having actually read Solomon Northup’s autobiography (but none of the other original works; well, that’s not true because I saw both of the previous Before … films, the source of the “adaptation” in this case) I can see how well that Ridley has transformed the source material so I see this one as another difficult tossup for Academy voters—one that could have been avoided if Before Midnight were where it belongs (with apologies to the actual Original Screenplay authors).  Here again there may be a “catch up” factor in play if 12 Years a Slave, despite its 9 nominations, gets blocked in categories where it (at least for me) should have conquered, so this writing award might become more viable, especially given the film’s legitimate gravitas in comparison to what could just easily be seen as an ongoing yuppie (Does anyone but me still use that term?) bitchfest in Before Midnight, worthy of consideration but not a small, bald, gold guy.  The WGA winners both here and for Original Screenplay could carry a lot of weight in how the Academy’s decisions tally up, but that leads to even more confounding speculation because the WGA awarded their Original Screenplay prize to Her and their Adapted one to Captain Phillips so if Oscar voters should follow suit then I predict ripples throughout other categories that I may not have even considered yet.  At this point, I’m still predicting that the Adapted Screenplay Oscar will go to 12 Years a Slave, but that could also boost Jennifer Lawrence’s chances for Best Supporting Actress if my prediction for Her (another film that I think Academy voters also want to honor somehow) in the Original Screenplay category holds up.  To cap off this discussion, this is probably the only category where 2 other respected nominees, Captain Phillips and Philomena have a chance either, so it’s hard to predict how potential sympathy vote vs. true quality of adaptation will play out here (augmented, I’m sure, by some confusion in the minds of all those non-scriptwriter-voters as to whether this award should go to the best transference from one medium to another—with the further complication that I doubt many of them have read any of the original writings/actings from which these scripts emerged—or simply to the best script that happens to be adapted from some other medium—or earlier script/performance, as I have to keep rationalizing the presence of Before Midnight in this category; with all of these factors in play, this could be 1 of the most interesting winners of the night).  The honest-Oscar-truth, though, is that sometimes some very worthy films achieve the nomination stage but go no further, which I think will be the case this year with American Hustle, Her, Captain Phillips, and/or Philomena, which will result in some after-the-fact-pundit-grousing, no matter how those chips may end up falling.  Pat says the Oscar will be to Before Midnight; I hope he's right. [3/3/14 Of these immediately-above-noted-films, only Her got an Oscar while The Wolf of Wall Street also joined the 2013 empty-hands-club; "Many are called but few are chosen."]

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen

Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

Her, Written by Spike Jonze  WINNER!

                                                                                             Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson

If Before Midnight can’t compete in this arena then I’m generally satisfied with the Academy’s nominees, although for some reason in my muddled mind Best Original Screenplay isn’t where I find Dallas Buyers Club’s greatest strengths so I’d trade it out for Inside Llewyn Davis (written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen), which would also get the Oscar from me if I could make those decisions.  However, given that it’s not even nominated nor am I the “decider” (like a former U.S. President claimed to be, regarding his "vision" on foreign-policy and defense initiatives), I’ll say that my #2, American Hustle would be my preference but now have doubts that the Academy voters will feel the same—unless 1 of those “compensation scenarios” starts building by American Hustle having been the choice of enough voters in at least 1 other area already, leading to sympathy for Her, with 5 nominations but maybe not too many chances otherwise for an award and incentive from its WGA win.  Whatever happens here, in conjunction with the Original Screenplay Oscar, will likely have had some impact in many voters’ minds as to other decisions in a few of the other top-public-interest categories.  Pat agrees with the prediction for Her as the winner here.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

The Broken Circle Breakdown, Belgium

The Great Beauty, Italy WINNER!

The Hunt, Denmark

The Missing Picture, Cambodia

Omar, Palestine

I have great admiration for The Great Beauty (if homage rather than rip-off is the feeling about Blue Jasmine vs. A Streetcar Named Desire [Elia Kazan, 1951]—which seems to be the case—then I hope that similar feelings attach to this spectacular Italian production which easily conjures up Fellini [especially La Dolce Vita, 1960], but with love and admiration not intellectual-property-theft), but, in all honesty, it’s the only 1 of these 5 I’ve seen so while I do feel it’s award-worthy I can’t honestly say yet that it’s the best of the nominees, only that I have good reason to feel that it should be—and was willing to put it as #3 overall for my best of 2013, following 12 Years a Slave and Gravity.  However, now that everyone in the Academy can vote for the Best Foreign Language Film based only on video screeners, word of mouth, and favors to friends (just like the way they vote on almost all of the other categories, sadly similar to how the U.S. electorate can put politicians in office with no better understanding of their leadership qualifications than their ability at consistently-successful-soundbites) rather than having to attend actual screenings, it’s a real crapshoot as to what will take this Oscar this year, but I’m still predicting The Great Beauty, both because I think it’s merits will make an impact on those who do actually see (and thereby promote) it and because it likely has the best name-recognition of the bunch, the “holy grail” of any advertising or public-relations campaign in the crowded mediascape of our competitive culture, no matter what you’re selling.  I hear good things about The Hunt (Thomas Vinterberg), though, so I won’t be too surprised if I’m not enough in the know to be aware of what sort of voter buzz this entry may be enjoying.  [3/3/14 I've now seen Omar but still would choose The Great Beauty.]

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

The Croods

Despicable Me 2

Ernest & Celestine

Frozen  WINNER!

The Wind Rises

Once again, I’m 1 for 1 in seeing these nominees so Frozen is my favorite by default (although I did enjoy it), but I’m having to rely on press chatter to get some sense if long-time-animation-king Disney (especially after they absorbed Pixar) is riding the waves among Academy voters this year or if there's any sort of backlash against their frequent-financial-dominance (now that they've further upped the ante by acquiring the Marvel Comics franchises).  If there’s any sentiment involved, though (as well as what I’d expect about high quality, given past examples of his craft), the voters may favor Japan’s The Wind Rises, given that it’s the announced swan song from famed director Hayao Miyazaki (Oscar for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away [2001], wins and nominations for dozens of others).  I do think the enormous box-office success of Frozen works heavily in its favor, however.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

The Act Of Killing                                      Cavedigger

Cutie And The Boxer                                  Facing Fear

Dirty Wars                                                 Karama Has No Walls

The Square                                              The Lady In Number 6: Music Saved My Life WINNER!

20 Feet From Stardom  WINNER!              Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

CINEMATOGRAPHY FILM EDITING

The Grandmaster                                      American Hustle

Gravity  WINNER!                                     Captain Phillips

Inside Llewyn Davis                                   Dallas Buyers Club

                      

Nebraska                                                 Gravity  WINNER!

Prisoners                                                  12 Years a Slave

PRODUCTION DESIGN VISUAL EFFECTS

American Hustle                                       Gravity  (Pat also)  WINNER!

Gravity                                                     The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Great Gatsby (Pat also) WINNER!        Iron Man 3

Her                                                          The Lone Ranger

12 Years a Slave                                       Star Trek Into Darkness

COSTUME DESIGN MAKEUP AND HAIR STYLING

American Hustle                                       Dallas Buyers Club WINNER!

The Grandmaster                                      Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

The Great Gatsby (Pat predicts) WINNER!  The Lone Ranger (Pat Predicts)

The Invisible Woman

12 Years a Slave

SOUND EDITING SOUND MIXING

All Is Lost                                                  Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips                                         Gravity  WINNER!

Gravity  WINNER!                                     The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug         Inside Llewyn Davis

Lone Survivor                                            Lone Survivor

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

The Book Thief                                          “Happy,” Despicable Me 2

Gravity  WINNER!                                     “Let it Go,” Frozen  WINNER!

Her                                                           “The Moon Song,” Her

Philomena                                                 “Ordinary Love,” Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Saving Mr. Banks  (Pat predicts)                                   

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

Feral                                                         Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me)

Get A Horse!                                             Avant Que de Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing
                                                                         Everything)                                                         

Mr. Hublot  WINNER!                                Helium  WINNER!

Possessions                                              Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have To Take Care
                                                                           Of Everything?)

Room On The Broom                                The Voorman Problem

I have little further to add on the 14 categories most immediately above (although maybe I should explain my Makeup and Hair Styling preference for The Lone Ranger comes about because of that dead bird on Tonto’s [Johnny Depp] head, a choice made in deference to total derangement which I think should get more notice in awards ceremonies besides the Golden Raspberries [where The Lone Ranger is well represented for the ceremony that occurs this coming Saturday, March 1, 2014; you might want to look over the full Razzies nomination list]), except that I expect Gravity to do well in these technical areas, I haven’t seen nearly enough in the Documentary Feature category to even have a personal favorite so I’m depending mostly on my unreliable psychic abilities (you could count my lottery winnings on less than 10 fingers) for these awards, and it’s always quite a gamble as to how many of these technical areas will go because there are so many members of the Academy who aren’t in most of these guilds so it’s a majority of the largely uninformed making decisions about production areas that many of them don’t particularly understand (quick, Jennifer Lawrence [see, I’m picking on her again], what’s the difference between Sound Editing and Sound Mixing [as if I could give you a clear definition of either of them myself]), making it hard to be a seer in many of those races except when you become aware of an unstoppable “bandwagon” effect (as evidenced by the record-holding 11-for-11 Oscar sweep of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [Peter Jackson, 2003]).  Difficulties in these areas for me contribute heavily to my roughly 60% accuracy in Oscar-winner-predictions, but it’s a rare year when the winners don’t exceed my preferences among those nominated, notwithstanding even my un-nominated-true-preferences in various contests.  At least this year I can say with confidence what I prefer in all 3 of the Short Film categories having seen all 15 nominees for the first time in my life (reviews of the Live Action, Animation, and Documentary contenders in our February 6, February 14, and February 20, 2014 postings respectively) with a reasonably high degree of confidence that the Academy voters will see things my way in these categories, but, again, I wouldn’t bet the farm on it (even if the farm in question is in the drought-plagued California central valley, which is turning into enough of a dust bowl to encourage a reverse-migration of Tom Joad's descendants back to the Midwest for those struggling to stay on the land until some rain finally comes east of the Rockies later this year).

If you want much, much more of everything Oscar then go to http://oscar.go.com/nominees where you’ll find links to considerably more information on each nominee in each category and trailers for all of these nominated films.  [3/3/14 Razzie winners are at http://www.razzies.com/history/34th-press-release.asp if you're interested in what could be called the Bizarro World Oscars.]

At least until the Oscars for 2013 have been awarded on Sunday, March 2, 2014 (which, in no relationship whatsoever, is also Texas Independence Day—some things you don’t forget after they’ve been drummed into you for 37 years [after which I finally escaped to California]) I’m also going to include reminders in each review posting of very informative links where you can get updated tallies of which 2013 films made various individual critic's Top 10 lists and which ones have been nominated for and/or received various awards.  You may find the diversity among the various critics and the various awards competitions hard to reconcile at times—not to mention the often-significant-gap between critics’ choices and competition-award-winners (which usually pales in comparison to the even-more-noticeable-gap between box-office-success—which you can monitor here—and any sort of critical/statuette recognition), but as that less-than-enthusiastic-patron-of-the-arts, Plato, noted in The Symposium (385-380 BC)—roughly translated, depending on how accurate you wish the actual quote to be—“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” so your choices are as valid as any of these others, especially if you can offer some rationale for your decisions (unlike many of the awards voters who simply fill out ballots, sometimes for films they’ve never seen).

We encourage you to check your tastes against ours with the summary of Two Guys reviews, which we update with each new posting.  But please be aware that the links we recommend in our reviews may have been removed or modified without our knowledge.  Other overall notations for this blog may be found at our Two Guys in the Dark homepage.

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By the way, if you’re ever at The Hotel California knock on my door—but you know what the check out policy is so be prepared to stay for awhile.    Ken

P.S.  Just to show that I haven’t fully flushed Texas out of my system here’s an alternative destination for you, Home in a Texas Bar, with Gary P. Nunn and Jerry Jeff Walker.