Posted 2:23 PM by Blah blah

Adrien Brody Kissing Halle Berry. My Gun and Handcuff Story.

In the right lower part of this CBS page, see videos. The Sandra Hughes report includes brief parts from Adrien Brody's acceptance speech. The Jess Cagle report includes a brief clip of Adrien Brody kissing Halle Berry. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any longer clips on the Internet.

Watch the post-ceremony interviews here, in streaming video! Of course I had to see Michael Moore first. The director of Bowling for Columbine won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. He gave a scathing attack on Bush and the war during his acceptance speech (read it). I disagree with his style and thought it very bad taste, disrespectful to the occasion and the day in which people had just seen captured American soldiers paraded on Al-Jazeera. "[H]e couldn't resist the temptation to lump his antiwar stance in with the rest of his portfolio of grievances. As a result, he made a speech guaranteed to alienate even many people who are also against the war." Shame on You, Mr. Moore! Shame on You! (Time)

Plus see my favorite actor from last year, Adrien Brody of The Pianist! He joked that kissing Halle Berry (the award presenter) was his giftbag to her. "I took my shot!" Read Brody's acceptance speech and see video of his post-ceremony interview!
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I must watch Bowling for Columbine. This documentary is about the 1999 Columbine High School killings and America's love for handguns. My gun story:

In college, I went on a fun week-long trip to Redding, a town 500 miles north of San Francisco, with some international students from my dorm. (I was the only American student.) We stayed with different host families in that tiny community, surrounded by forests and acres of open spaces. Most people in Redding go there to retire from the fast pace of city life. They are mostly conservative Republicans, Christians, and Rush Limbaugh radio fans. My host dad listened to G. Gordon Liddy. Liddy is notorious for being the ex-FBI agent who helped plan the Watergate break-in under President Nixon. He spent 4.5 years in jail. Now he hosts his own right-wing radio talk show. Many in Redding own guns and hunt for sport. Our host families were all members of the Redding Chamber of Commerce, and my host dad was a bald, friendly guy who ran a business making hot tubs. He and his wife treated me very well!

Despite our vast differences in politics, my host dad and I got along well. We went shooting. This guy collected WEAPONS for fun. His home was filled with shotguns, police revolvers, lady's handbag-sized pistols, nanchucks, crossbows, Japanese swords, a fake grenade, and even handcuffs. That wasn't enough. He rubbed his hands, explaining how his latest gun was coming in the mail soon. He had given the specs to a manufacturer for a gun of extra power, and he couldn't wait!

That day, he took me out in his pickup truck. We went shooting, in a valley with a herd of grazing cows. We put some cans on rocks for target practice. I ended up shooting SIX different types of guns! *TWANG* *BOOM* The cows barely turned their heads and kept chewing grass. They were bored of gun noise.

You may think this guy was wacko, but he and his wife were very friendly and normal. They let me try their home hot tub. He gave me a tour of his business. They'd raised a sweet teenaged daughter who had left for college. The typical American family. I liked them. But Berkeley and Redding are two foreign countries to each other. He'd lived in Los Angeles before, and he argued for MORE guns in LA so people could protect themselves.

"What if some thief breaks into your home and takes some of your arsenal of weapons? What if he uses them against you and your wife?" I said.

"I'll be ready for him," said my host dad with a wink. "If necessary, I'll get with my friends and form our own militia," he grinned. He seemed serious.

Once he was showing off his handcuffs to me. Telling me to stand near the fireplace, he handcuffed me to the mantelpiece. (I thought it was all cool.) Then he looked for the key. "OOPS!" he said. He searched for a while but couldn't find it.

Then his cheerful wife walked in from the kitchen, where she was cooking dinner. "Now, honey, WHAT did you do to our guest??? Get the hacksaw and cut him out right away!"

"Yes, dear," he said sheepishly. He said that often that week.