Oscar Comments

I watched more of the Oscars ceremony than I have in years. But before I delve into my comments, first, a message.

Reading Pancake City on the web is a magical experience. Don't think you can get the same experience reading it on a PDA or through a RSS reader. Only HTML can capture the excitement and wonder that comes in irregular bursts from 1001words.com. Sure, you can steal Pancake City by having your friends read you my posts over the phone, but you are only stealing from yourself.

(My page views were down in 2005).

Okay, Jon Stewart saved the Oscars. Or, at least, he made it more bearable in years. His jokes and the political ad parodies made the show entertaining enough to put up with the endless montages and self-congratulations.

I have no interest in who won or didn't. Well, almost no interest. The voters who selected March of the Penguins over Murderball need to be whacked, preferably to the point of being crippled. But I've been a hermit the past few months and haven't seen most of the nominated movies.

Random thoughts:
* George Clooney is five wrinkles away of switching from cute to obnoxiously smug.

* The Oscars showed a clip of another, lesser awards ceremony. Kind of like pointing about the janitor at the annual company picnic.

* My roommate remarked that none of the performers thanked God. Which is odd, in a way, especially considering how often he appears in post-game interviews.

* On the same note, as Smirky remarked, some people criticize Hollywood for being out of touch with America. They're right. Some of the subjects in the nominated movies: gay cowboys, single moms, the disabled, racial hatred, and conformity. For the most part, I'm glad Hollywood is out of touch.

* Anyone else get an urge to download a movie off BitTorrent while watching the show? I haven't download anything illegally in months, but I wanted to do so just out of spite.