Gandolf (with an O) and the Oscars

That's a signature for bad weather down in the Bayou... the tail of this storm dips all the way down into the Gulf, tapping strong energy that could translate to twisters and severe weather later today. Could being the operative word here as it is not mixing with very cold weather despite being the well into January.

You will notice that Winter does exist in the Western Half of the US which will be dealing directly with Gandolf which will bring snow totals consistent with... Winter Weather.  They are, by the way, very testy at TWC on the spelling of the name being with an O not an A so as not to confuse anyone with a commercial for the movie the Hobbit I suppose.  We wouldn't want people to go out to the movies and not stay home and watch TWC would we?

Note the very cold weather is up in Canada shown on this image below as a deep red swath. What is interesting is it seems to be getting colder and spreading so if and that's a big "if" it moves south into the Plains and moves across the Eastern part of the Country in say two weeks... that could make us feel that it really IS winter. Could and IF being "iffy" words.

Note the S shaped line moving towards New Orleans and places to the North and East which indicate possible rotation and there is in fact a Tornado Warning for the area.

So...keep watching, it's a developing situation in Real Time... 

As for the Oscars.. 

Personally I am a little sad that the movie Lincoln did not play up the Weather part of the War more than they did.  I will admit though that sitting through a movie that easily seemed three hours long made me a little SAD as it is such a dark, claustrophobic movie that I felt it was the longest day of the year in the middle of January.. go figure.

I felt like any moment Lincoln was going to try and cross Valley Forge, before remembering that's a different president...or movie.  It's a cold, gray, dark depressing movie if you ask me that could have been livened up a bit more to show the difference between the battle field and the rich colors of Washington and the times ...the only color you see here is RED and that may be for blood but I think it's just a coincidence. Hard knowing what was in Steven's head when he was putting this movie together.  I have very mixed feelings on it... 

On one hand it's about history and I love history. It shows us a personal side to a man who is more legend and fodder for historical novels than we usually see. It also has Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones in roles they take to heights well deserving of Oscar nominations. I do have a BIG .. HUGE.. problem with Sally Field being nominated for "Supporting Actress" as she is the lead actress in the movie and should have been nominated as such.  It makes it harder for an actress like Jacki Weaver who gave an Award Winning Performance in Silver Linings Playbook.

From her first scene she steals the show from a great cast and holds her own against Robert De Niro who also earned a nomination for his role as a some what fractured father dealing with his own problems as he is both loving and caring and at the same time possibly has more problems than his son who had a mental breakdown in a very incredible movie with a complicated plot and multi-faceted performances.  Without all the hype of a movie by Steven Spielberg movie on Abraham Lincoln, this movie lingers in your memory in detail in a way that Lincoln does not.

Then again, Lincoln may be a "guys" movie as most of the men I know loved it. I did not. I found it very wanting and poorly edited and lacking the right "pace" as it seemed the movie dragged on longer than the Civil War itself.  

I would have preferred Sally Field get "Best Actress" and have seen the 

Gloria Reuben really brings the role to life and let's us see the drama of Lincoln through her eyes in her role as the maid to Mary Todd Lincoln. But, the Ocscar Nominations don't always "make sense" and they are often about nominating in the category that is easier to win the award and it's a good call to make... however an incredible performance that was well acted in a quiet way was overlooked when the leading actress was nominated for the supporting actress...

 

So, I'll be back later to discuss the weather that did or didn't develop today, but for now there is a Tornado Warning on the Map.

And, I'll discuss the role of weather in the Oscar movies and the role of weather in the Civil War later. Hint... it was a really, really, really cold winter which worked against the Southern Confederate soldiers who were far from home fighting the elements not just the Union troops. The weather in the Revolutionary War also played a big part, possibly worthy of Supporting Actor status.

Besos Bobbi

Ps... a friend asked me to read this article and it's way over my head as I can only understand the basics of how a computer works... but if anyone wants to explain to me what this is I'd love it as it really does something like something that was waiting for the right person to develop it. 

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1103771-ipass-an-inexpensive-undiscovered-play-on-the-boom-in-smartphones-and-tablets