The Big Read

As the snow falls yet again I'm ready to hunker down and spend the day finishing The Big Rich, Bryan Burrough's account of the rise and fall of Texas oilmen and Texas oil money. In less than a decade, various "independents" or wildcatters amassed incredible fortunes, and in less than a generation most of those men squandered those fortunes. Burrough focuses on four oilmen: Cullen, Murchison, Richardson, and Hunt. It's a fascinating story, and a fun read. In a time when if not fortunes then at least savings have been disappearing, it's a book that can provide solace. No matter how much you've lost in the past year, it wasn't billions, after all.

For a time, these men had enough money to do whatever in the world they wanted. Hunt became a bigamist, with three families. Richardson helped Eisenhower achieve the White House and came close to convincing him to dump Nixon in 1956. A related story is that of Glenn McCarthy, who in five years blew through over $50 million (mid-century dollars - probably a billion today), much of it spent on Houston's Shamrock Hotel, and attempt to make Texas the center of the universe.

Richardson and Murchison enjoyed going to the races at Del Mar in La Jolla, so Richardson built his own hotel nearby where they could stay for the season, having whatever food they liked flown in - BBQ from Tulsa, steak and duck and pheasant from Texas, whatever. These were the first businessmen to own private planes and private islands. These were the men who invented Texas ultraconservatism. For a while, Hunt owned his own mini-media empire, the Liberty radio network, a kind of proto-Fox News. His rabid support of McCarthy led to Liberty's demise, but for a few years he controlled a certain portion of the airwaves.

With the exception of Richardson, whose heirs (the Bass family) expanded the family fortune, the riches disappeared. The post-WW II opening of Saudi Arabian oil fields led to an influx of cheap imported oil, and the federal regulation of natural gas did away with profiteering. The fortunes were lost in part due to economic change, in part to the ineptitude later generations of Hunts, Cullens, Murchinsons. I don't want to give away the plot, but suffice it to say that the undoing is probably more interesting than the building of wealth.

So yeah, I'm quite tired of snow, but as long as I have a big book to read, I'll make do.

Retail Theory

I'm used to seeing stores erect their Christmas sections right after Labor Day. I don't like it, but I'm used to it. I'm the kind of person who takes one holiday at a time, in order, and the rush to Christmas seems to me to give, say, Columbus Day the short end of the stick. However, I didn't realize until yesterday that spring actually begins in mid-January.

My local big-box bulk discount store has already set up its spring garden section. Who cares if the yard is full of ice? It's time to buy Miracle Grow and plastic "Grecian" pots! Is there a better way to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday than by buying some patio furniture? All of you with flower boxes better rush out this weekend and stock up on marigold seeds; they might be gone by the time you need them in mid-May.

Also, and I learned this the hard way, be very careful with your winter coats. Should a tragedy befall your winter coat in the middle of winter, you will be screwed. Winter is the time to buy shorts, not warm coats. OK, I'm off to shop for some mulch.

Oscar Pick-A-Mix

Because it's snowing and I'm bored, here are the Synthetic Culture Oscar predictions (or at least my predictions as of this morning):

- The writer's strike will be the butt of a joke in the first 5 seconds of Jon Stewart's monologue

- Heath Ledger will be featured prominently in the Montage of the Dead

- The performances of the original songs and accompanying dance numbers will be the best time to go refill your drink

- 99% of the country hasn't seen four of the five best picture nominees, so the evening's focus will be on couture and the end of the writer's strike

- The writer's strike will be mentioned approximately 18 times during the broadcast

- The nominees are all depressing; let's talk about the writer's strike

Enough of that. Who will walk away with a statue? Take my advice and you'll win your Oscar pool:

Daniel Day-Lewis (Leading Actor) will be rewarded for his ability to chew up both scenes and scenery and spit while doing so.

Javier Bardem (Supporting Actor) will be rewarded for reminding America of the perils of a Price Valiant haircut.

Julie Christie (Leading Actress) will be rewarded for providing Hollywood a chance to pretend that good acting is appreciated in actresses over the age of 30.

Ruby Dee (Supporting Actress) will be rewarded for still being alive, and for being the best thing about a surprisingly boring film.

Ratatouille (Animated Feature) will be rewarded for being a Pixar product.

No End in Sight (Documentary Feature) will be rewarded because at this point everyone hates the war.

Juno (Original Screenplay) will be rewarded because everyone loves a literate stripper. See, they aren't all working their way through community college.

There Will Be Blood (Adapted Screenplay) will be rewarded for tremendous and sincere effort, plus a lot of spitting.

No Country For Old Men (Best Picture) will be rewarded for having a shorter running time than There Will Be Blood.

Best Director is a toss-up - will the Academy do a split in order to give PT Anderson another nod, or will voters line up behind the Coen brothers? My guess is the Coens sweep, but we'll have to wait until Sunday to see. Happy Oscar party to everyone!

Update! What will Atonement win, you ask? Costume design and Original Score and that's it. Give Film Editing to No Country. The Diving Bell and Butterfly needs to be recognized even though it was made in France by an artist wearing a sarong, so it will take Cinematography. I think that's it for the major categories, except all the shorts and Foreign Language Film. For those categories, you're all on your own.