Helpful hint to the legions of Democratic strategists who read this (I hear I’ve got a huge following in — no, wait, that was my stomach rumbling): When Scalia says that there’s no material difference between legislative proclamations invoking God’s name and putting up the Ten Commandments, he’s (intentionally or not) setting up a trap. He’s absolutely correct, too. I’ve written about this before; Cambridge City Hall has a keystone which explains that the Commandments are the source of the law and which is just as religious as anything Roy Moore did. ...

Speaking of Oscar nominations, here’s the stupidest thing I’ve read today (original): But here’s an interesting dog that isn’t barking… Michael Moore gets passed over for the big award he coveted… and the lefty bloggers aren’t up in arms. In fact, nobody on the left is talking about Moore today. I still strongly believe that no blogger is obligated to write about any topic, but I just find it interesting that web personalities who one would think would be big Michael Moore fans are collectively shrugging their shoulders over this. You know a lot of Christian conservatives are grumbling about the three nominations in technical categories for “The Passion of the Christ,” and Kathryn’s already noted this on the Corner. ...

First off, if you want links to everything, check out the IMDB Oscars page (original). Second off, Defamer claims they’ll be liveblogging as well. Chances are the snark quality will be somewhat higher over there.

Souvenir Press is reprinting the Modesty Blaise books, but they’re in no particular hurry about it. For my own notes: Haves Sabre-Tooth (1966) I, Lucifer (1967) A Taste for Death (1969) The Impossible Virgin (1971) The Silver Mistress (1973) Last Day in Limbo (1976) Dragon’s Claw (1978) The Xanadu Talisman (1981) Have Nots Modesty Blaise (1965) Pieces of Modesty (short stories) (1972) The Night of Morningstar (1982) Dead Man’s Handle (1985) Cobra Trap (1996)

It would be unkind to assume that the choice of water as a metaphor for magic in Constantine was made so as to enable multiple shots of Rachel Weisz preparing for a wet dress shirt contest. Unkind, but probably accurate. On the other hand, the cheesecake was balanced by the way the movie handled the sexual dynamic between her and Keanu. You win some and you lose some, which rather summarizes the entire experience. ...

Random technology comment: Dave Winer asks, “And consider what heat would be generated if what Google is doing to us were done to Google. Can I put up a Web app that scrapes Google and replaces their ads with mine, or adds mine to theirs?” Dave answers himself, “When you search Scripting News with the Weblog Search page, it sends your search request to Google, and gets back the top 50 matches.”

For reference: Oscar predictions from CNN, the Guardian, Associated Press, and the talented Robin Laws. Without summarizing all of them, suffice it to say that my picks were not deeply daring. Then again, neither is the Academy.

More gratuitous photos of my vacation follow. Follow links for bigger versions, etc. Warning: warm blue water ahead.

It’s about that time. I’ll probably live-blog the Oscars tonight, just because I like doing it. My commentary on the nominees is here. My picks for winners (and preferred winners if I had to pick from the nominees): Best Actor: Jamie Foxx. Should be Clint Eastwood, but the Academy will steer clear of him this year. The political aspects to Million Dollar Baby didn’t help him. Best Actress: hard to call, but I think Hilary Swank. (My other guess would be Catalina Moreno.) Kate Winslet should win it, though. ...

In 1981, Steve Martin took on his second starring role in a motion picture in Pennies From Heaven. It was not exactly what was expected from the guy who’d just starred in The Jerk. People went in looking for broad slapstick, and found themselves in the middle of a deeply cynical musical. Instead of using the musical numbers as uplifting emotional high points, Pennies From Heaven recasts the musical number as an unhealthy fantasy. This goes beyond the musical work of Sondheim, who broadened the emotions depicted by the musicial number to include angst and despair, and subverts the entire concept of the musical. Pennies From Heaven uses the musical form to critique the musical form. It is unclear to me how this ever got greenlit; I suspect MGM was just caught up by the idea of reviving the musical. ...