My Oscar views

Okay, so I watched the Oscars.  Having no host was a big improvement.  To me, it seemed as if a lot of the pomposity was taken out of the ceremony which was fine with me.  For years the show has been more like "The Cavalcade of Stars," with presenters slowly walking to the microphone while the orchestra plays.  That didn't happen last night, they walked on and listed the nominees and announced the winner. I saw where some people complained about the set... again, I liked it.  They shrank the proscenium down, which mean shorter walks for everybody while creating a more intimate feel.  In fact, the whole show had a much more personal feel, something lacking for so many years.
Interesting points:  The two films with the most nominations failed to live up to their promise, with "The Favorite" winning one, and "Roma" winning three awards.  "Black Panther" won the most, garnering the tech and costume awards.  "Vice" didn't win anything... that didn't surprise me, in the end it's only a star vehicle to win Christian Bale and Best Actor Oscar.  "Green Book" won Best Picture.  To be truthful, that win could have gone a number of ways because there were a number of good films.  I thought, for a while, it might actually go to "Bohemian Rhapsody," except it had that Bryan Singer cringe worthy shit hanging over it; no one mentioned his name.  After "Roma" won for Best Foreign Film, it was out of the running for Best Picture...
Two things that didn't work:  Acceptance speeches - if you're a major winner, (Best Actor, Actress, etc) then you can talk.  If you win "Best Documentary," or Best Short Subject" understand you have a limited time n the stage.  If there are 4 to win awards and you're the first to reach the microphone, don't pull out a phone book and start reading - show a little consideration... you have a limited time on the stage.  The other thing that didn't work:  gowns with trains.  Holy shit!  If you do not wear a gown with a 4 foot train (or longer) do not wear one to an award ceremony where you may need to walk more than 2 feet, and then climb a stairs.  Trains were rampant last night!  What the hell were these women thinking?  There is absolutely nothing glamorous about hoisting 20 pounds of fabric over your arm so you can struggle down the aisle and up to the podium.  Perhaps they were all hoping Chris Evans would help them to the stage.
I was thought it very refreshing not to have any gimmicky bullshit like pizza getting delivered, or going to the theater next door to thank the fans.
Bette Midler was great!
Having Brad Cooper and Lady Gaga come up from the audience to sing "Shallow" was very simple and very smart.  Like I said, a lot of the pomposity we've seen for so many years was absent.
Finally, there was a lot of brown skin on stage last night.  I'm sure a lot of white Republicans didn't watch... that's part of the denial process.  What shame.  They missed a good show.

Celebrate This

Well, here it is, Thursday, November 8, and it's my birthday.  A little over an hour ago (0513) I celebrated circling Sol (our glorious sun) 66 times.  Ain't it great!

The backside has my feet on it.

As well as some of my vitals - length, and weight.  How neat is that!  How special is this, and my birth certificate, which looks like a reverse photo copy?  Well, the hospital at Eglin Air Force Base was decommissioned.  And then first Hurricane Andrew and years later Hurricane Michael went through destroying Eglin, Tyndall, and Homestead.  So, what I have is pretty much all of the documentation I will ever have.  Let me tell you, it made getting a passport a bitch!
I saw "Bohemian Rhapsody" last evening.  Rami Malek is very, very good.  The movie?  A lot of screen time is given to the early years and to the 'blonde girl' in his life.  The later years?  Short shrift.  There's a scene with the band, some other quick scenes and then voila! 7 years have passed.  In reality you are watching the story of Freddie Mercury and Queen, not the Freddie Mercury story, which is, I think, what most people are expecting to see.
I was asked how I'm going to celebrate my birthday... well, the celebration is going to start with Red Velvet Cake and French Vanilla ice cream.  Then I'm going to pay a short visit to my Mom, who will not remember what today is.  Then the celebration will continue with an hour of cardio!  and a visit with friends.  My phone will stay sitting on the sideboard.  It started buzzing with birthday wishes about 20 minutes ago.  I will respond later.  Otherwise this will be pretty much the same routine except for the cake and ice cream.