So No Country for Old Men picked up Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, and There Will Be Blood got Daniel Day Lewis a best actor award. Can't really say there are any surprises there. There Will Be Blood wasn't exactly my favorite movie of all time, but there was no denying that the performances in it were pretty powerful (especially on the part of Lewis).
I'm still kind of surprised that America has wholeheartedly embraced No Country for Old Men. America likes dark movies, so I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. Still, when I finished up that book, it really left me kind of depressed. I remember thinking about it pretty regularly for several days after having read it- thinking about Chigurh's innocent (and not so innocent) victims, the fact that evil goes unpunished, and about the eventual resignation of Sherriff Bell in the face of such evil. The performances in the film and the cinematography are pretty great, but it's just one of those films where I thought the overall themes and subject matter would have people dismissing it as "weird". I'm happy to have been wrong. Maybe it's one of those films for which the audience reaction is kind of a sign of the times. Maybe Americans are growing increasingly skeptical and wary of being sold happy endings in a world where politicians, corporations, and the world at large all seem be readily willing to lie to us in order to further their own agenda. Even though the proclamation may be disturbing, it's kind of refreshing to hear someone admit that the modern world sometimes presents forms of evil that are so powerful that you just can't fight them, and that the best that you can do is stay out of their way. There's something about that message that is striking a chord with audiences (I think they find it more realistic than the usual "overcome any obstacle in two hours" approach of most movies), and somehow I find that resonance both satisfying and a little depressing.
Anyway, it was a good movie with strong performances all around.

Other from that, I don't have much. The Republicans have launched an attack on Obama, trying to call his patriotism into question. Obama fired back with a retort about soldiers being sent into battle without proper equipment and body armor, a president who sees fit to implement a domestic wiretap program against American citizens, and a question about what patriotism really means (Obama's patriotism was called into question because he failed to wear an American flag lapel pin and was seen standing without his hand over his heart while the national anthem was played). The patriotism issue is a pretty weak ploy, and if that's all they've got, Obama should do pretty well cruising into the general election (if he gets that far).