The Voices in Frank's Head

Kirsten Haglund of Farmington Hills, Michigan was named Miss America 2008 this past weekend. I heartily congratulate her. It's always great to see a fellow Detroiter accomplish something cool on the national stage. As proud as I am of my neighbor, I can't help but thinking that, way back in the 1960s, the Miss America pageant was targeted for protests by feminists who believed it was symbolic of everything that they were opposed to. It was after those protests that the pageant's television rating began to fall - from almost 2/3 of the American public tuning in to its current state where the show isn't even on any of the major television networks. While feminists like Robin Morgan , who organized the first protest of the Miss America pageant, might be pleased with the pageant's declining status, I can't help but feel that we as a society have lost something. As Miss America has declined in its status, it has been replaced by the likes of Paris Hilton , Lind...

Okay - so I haven't posted very much this month. One could even say that I've been down right neglectful of all things in cyberspace. The fact of the matter is that I launched a brand new event this month - the first annual Detroit Oscar Film Festival . It showcased some of the Academy Award winning film makers who have come from Michigan as well as some of the young, up and coming ones. The main event happened at the Music Hall on January 13, but I also had a launch party at the Garden Lofts the evening before. I was even lucky enough that one of my favorite photographers showed up to snap some cool photos of the event . (Thanks again, Liza!) You can see the rest of Liza's amazing photos here . Anyway, the weeks leading up to Oscar Fest were a non-stop flurry of activity. There were interviews with local newspapers . I also went on three different radio stations (WDET-FM, WJR-AM and WWJ-AM) as well as the local ABC affiliate, WXYZ-TV. We had a decent turnout for an ...

This year's Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. I would feel remiss if I didn't take a moment to put forward my picks. We'll have to wait a little over a month to find out just how accurate these picks are. Best Picture : No Country for Old Men. Actor in a Leading Role: Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises. Actor in a Supporting Role: Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton . Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age . Actress in a Supporting Role: Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone . Director: Ethan & Joel Coen for No Country For Old Men . Original Screenplay: Tamara Jenkins for The Savages. Adapted Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood . Animated Feature: Ratatouille . Foreign Language Film: 12 . Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer for Atonement . Cinematography: Roger Deakins for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford . Documentary Feature: Richard E. ...

Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger was f ound dead in New York City this afternoon at the age of 28. I first saw Mr. Ledger in his 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You and was impressed with his acting abilities. My respect for him only grew as he moved into more challenging roles. He will be missed. His family and friends will be in my thoughts and prayers this evening.

Michigan had its presidential primary today - such that it was a primary. But I won't get into that rant right now. Instead, I'll simply say that this video persuaded me to cross party lines and vote for Mitt Romney . I'm sure it was my vote that put him over the top .