The New Hampshire primaries have begun. You know, something I really do not understand is why there is such a thing as an open primary. It just seems stupid to me. It allows members of one party to come in and vote for the least electable candidate of the other, something you can bet a lot of Republicans are doing today, since the Republican primaries are meaningless. So you’ll probably see more votes for Al Sharpton than can be accounted for by just Democrats; one can only hope that it doesn’t screw things up too much.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who railed at Bustamante in the California elections last year because Bustamante accepted $2 million from Indian tribes (before Arnold himself accepted millions from other special interests), is in bigger trouble: $4.5 million in bank loans, which he took out to save his campaign in the last critical days of the election, were illegal. Apparently, he may have to pay back the money from his own personal funds. But he gets to keep the election. That’s kind of like an arrested drug trafficker having to pay duty fees but he can keep the drugs. And it’s not like Arnold, who made tens of millions of dollars per movie, will really suffer to much. But by now we should all be used to Republicans stealing elections by committing illegal acts and then getting to stay in office. Who’s next?

Oscar nominations are out, and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is getting the nominations for pretty much the whole series. In a trilogy like this, you know they’ll save the big awards for after the whole thing is out. It’s nominated for eleven awards, most of them technical except for Best Picture, Directing, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay). The actors all got hosed–no nominations, though one could readily pick out several worthy of awards. With luck, the trilogy will come out with one of the big three awards. Don’t count on it, though–the industry has long looked down upon Science Fiction and Fantasy as being unworthy of notice. No SF or Fantasy film has ever won Best Picture or Director awards.

On a Japan note, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation netted four nominations–Best Picture, Actor, Directing, and Original Screenplay. It’s a good flick, but don’t count to see too much plot or action–it has been accurately described as a “mood piece.” Still, I liked it enough–but then, a lot of the background is in a part of Tokyo I am very familiar with, so much of my interest was in that area.