Live-Blogging the 2011 Oscars

Let's get the show on the road a little early, shall we?
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Pre-show
7:54 PM- I'm watching the ending of the Red Carpet stuff. Robert Downey Jr. and his wife are on now. They're adorable!
8:01 PM- Waitwait, half an hour until the awards start?! C'mon!
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The show
8:30 PM- Ooooooh, awesome opening montage! And excellent song choice!
8:31 PM- Eeeeee! ^_^ I love this! Franco and Hathaway in Inception, The Social Network, The Fighter, True Grit ... MORGAN FREEMAN! :D ... The King's Speech, Black Swan ... Alec Baldwin! "Inceptioned!" ... BACKTOTHEFUTURE! :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
8:37 PM- Where was the DeLoreon?! XD
8:40 PM- And we're thanking the moms ...
8:41 PM- "Where's the dad?" XD
8:42 PM- First award! Presenting: Tom Hanks! And it's for Art Direction.
8:43 PM- The girls across the hall just squeed about Titanic.
8:44 PM- Art Direction goes to Alice in Wonderland! 1 for 1
8:47 PM- Cinematography ... and it goes to Inception! Congrats to Wally! 1 for 2
8:49 PM- Commercial
8:51 PM- Kirk Douglas?! Wow ... *applause* 95 this December ... presenting for Supporting Actress, huh?
8:55 PM- Eeee! Adorable!
8:57 PM- Congrats to Marissa Leo! 1 for 3
8:59 PM- And Melissa got bleeped. XD
9:00 PM- Nearly cried, maybe?
9:01 PM- Let's see if Justin tries to hit on Mila. XD And no, Justin, you aren't Banksy. And Justin and Mila are presenting Best Animated Short.
9:02 PM- And he whips out his iPod/iPhone. XP
9:03 PM- And ... The Lost Thing. 1 for 4
9:05 PM- Best Animated Feature!
9:06 PM- TOYSTORY3! :D 2 for 5
9:08 PM- Commercial
9:12 PM- And we're back! Anne Hathaway is taking about the history of the Oscars!
9:13 PM- Oooh, Brolin and Bardem in matching suits! ^_^ And they're presenting Best Adapted Screenplay!
9:14 PM- Sorkin wins! :D 3 for 6
9:16 PM- And here goes Original Screenplay ... God, I love Javier's tone!
9:18 PM- And ... The King's Speech it is! 3 for 7
9:20 PM- And another commercial
9:23 PM- Anne Hathaway in a suit! ^_^ Song and dance number?
9:24 PM- Cut to embarrassed Hugh! XD
9:25 PM- That's ... that's ... XD And a Charlie Sheen joke!
9:26 PM- Will Russell hit on Helen? I hope not! ... Oh dear. XD
9:27 PM- In a Better World ... 3 for 8
9:29 PM- And Reese is presenting Supporting Actor!
9:32 PM- Aaand ... Christian Bale! 4 for 9
9:35 PM- Commercial time
9:39 PM- And the Oscars will still air on ABC until the world ends ... or past that. XD
9:40 PM- Ze Aussies are coming, ze Aussies are coming! XD Ze are presenting Sound Editing! And probably Sound Mixing, too. And Score, I would guess. Classic John Williams medley! :D
9:42 PM- Okay, Best Score it is.
9:43 PM- Oh, well ... I'm still very pleased that Trent and Atticus won. 4 for 10
9:45 PM- And here's ScarJo ... and Matthew who slurs a bit ... I think. XD Presenting Sound Mixing and Editing, I guess.
9:47 PM- INCEPTION! Sound Mixing! Alright! 5 for 11
9:48 PM- "Chris is the architect ..." ... Wait ... so who is in control of the dream? XD And now it's Sound Editing.
9:49 PM- And it's Inception ... 5 for 12
9:50 PM- And we're back to the commercials
9:54 PM- Tomei presenting ... the Science and Tech stuff.
9:55 PM- Here we go to Cate Blanchett, presenting for Makeup!
9:56 PM- Rick Baker wins! 5 for 13
9:58 PM- And here we go to Costume Design.
9:59 PM- Another win for Alice? XD 6 for 14
10:01 PM- Well, hello, Mister President! Nice to see you poking into the Oscars! And here's Kevin Spacey!
10:02 PM- For Best Song ... we start with Randy Newman for Toy Story 3.
10:05 PM- Mandy Moore ... and Zach Levi! :D
10:07 PM- And a commercial break partway through the Best Song part? XP
10:11 PM- Jake! Quite making James jealous! But you're presenting Best Documentary Short with Amy Adams! :)
10:13 PM- Congrats to Strangers No More. 6 for 15
10:14 PM- And to Best Live-Action Short!
10:15 PM- And I got it wrong. XP 6 for 16
10:17 PM- Remixing and Auto-tuning .. did they get the Gregory Brothers or Mike Relm for this? XD
10:19 PM- Oprah ... what're you doing presenting at the Oscars? XD But you're presenting Best Documentary.
10:21 PM- And another one for my brother XD 6 for 17
10:23 PM- And another commercial?! Geez!
10:26 PM- Oh, Billy ... you've put on some weight ...
10:29 PM- Oooooh, the first televised Oscars!
10:30 PM- Yeah ... a talking Bob Hope is a little unnerving ... but hey, it's Jude and Robert! :D I love the bromance.
10:33 PM- INCEPTION! :D YES! 7 for 18
10:34 PM- And to Film Editing we go!
10:35 PM- Congrats to The Social Network! And it's another I lost. XD 7 for 19
10:36 PM- I hope I will break into the double digits tonight. XD I won't get them all right.
10:37 PM- And another commercial XP
10:41 PM- Mkay, James, innuendos? Really? XP But at least the Songs are continuing.
10:42 PM- Florence of Florence & The Machine did the vocals for this song?! WHOA! :D
10:46 PM- Randy Newman got it? :/ Oh well ... 7 for 20
10:48 PM- And another commercial break XP
10:52 PM- And here's Celine Dion honoring the ones we've lost.
10:55 PM- And to another commercial? XD Or no! Halle Berry talking about Lena Horne ... and another commercial ... after Lena finishes singing?
11:00 PM- Well, they didn't keep the ceremony under 2 and a half hours. But here's Hillary Swank introducing Kathryn Bigelow introducing Best Directing.
11:02 PM- Whoa! That's a shock! Congrats, Tom! 7 for 21
11:05 PM- Heeeere's Annette!
11:06 PM- Oh, wonderful awards recap!
11:08 PM- And another commercial XP
11:11 PM- And we're back! Get to the final awards! JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEFF! And here we go, glad-handing the Lead Actress nominees.
11:16 PM- Called it! 8 for 22
11:18 PM- Quick! Zoom in on Natalie's belly!
11:19 PM- Anne, you're flubbing your words. XD Hrm ... last year's Lead Actor and Actress winners presenting to this year's.
11:21 PM- Is Jeff going to win this again? Nah.
11:25 PM- COOOOOOOOOOLIN! :D 9 for 23 Can I make it to double digits?!
11:29 PM- C'mon! Can't we get this ceremony under 3 hours?

11:31 PM- STEVEN! :D FINALLY! Get on with the presentation!

11:35 PM- EXCELLENT montage!

11:36 PM- And the Oscar goes to ... THEKING'SSPEECH! I got into the double digits! 10 for 24

And with that, I bid you all adieu. Thanks for following along and see you all next year at the Oscars! Allons-y!

2011 Oscar Picks

From one awards show to another we go. This time, it's the Oscars. And I'm a film buff (despite not seeing a fair amount of the classics like Gone With the Wind, Braveheart, and Dances With Wolves), so this is a big deal for me. And for the first time, I've seen all but two of the Best Picture nominees. So without further ado, Here are my picks. And yes, I'll be live-blogging the ceremonies on Sunday. And once again, I'll be competing with Danielle. Friendly competition, mind you. We haven't decided on what the winner will receive. ANYWAY (in reverse order) ...

Best Live-Action Short is one of the over-looked categories that I don't get to ... so I'm just going to pick Wish 143. It sounds amusing. Dying 21 year old cancer patient goes to a Make-A-Wish-like group and asks for sex before he dies. Also nominated are The Confession, The Crush, God of Love, and Na Wewe.

I'm going with Pixar's Day & Night out of habit for Best Animated Short ... 'cause it's Pixar and they're awesome. The Gruffalo, Let's Pollute, The Lost Thing, and Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage are also nominated.

Um ... *does Eenie Meanie Miney Moe* Poster Girl for Best Documentary Short? Also nominated were Killing in the Name, Strangers No More, Sun Come Up, and The Warriors of Qiugang.

I'll give Best Visual Effects to Inception. Seriously awesome stuff. Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Hereafter (Seriously, was it for the giant wave or for Clint?), and Iron Man 2 were also nominated.

Inception for Best Sound Mixing! The King's Speech, Salt, The Social Network, and True Grit were also nominated.

Let's give one to TRON: Legacy, shall we? Also nominated in Best Sound Editing is Inception, Toy Story 3, True Grit, and Unstoppable.

Another category I don't pay much attention to, but I'll go with "If I Rise" from 127 Hours for Best Song. Also nominated are "Coming Home" from Country Strong, "I See the Light" from Tangled, and "We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3.

The epicness of Inception or the awesome electronica of The Social Network ... Zimmer it is! Also nominated for Best Score is 127 Hours, How to Train Your Dragon, and The King's Speech.

Um ... let's just give The Wolfman Best Makeup, shall we? It's Rick Baker! Also nominated were Barney's Version and The Way Back.

Oh ... the smooth flowing ballet-like editing of Black Swan or the stacatto cutting of The Social Network? I'll go with Black Swan. Also nominated in Best Editing are 127 Hours, The Fighter, and The King's Speech.

I'll say Alice in Wonderland for Best Costume Design. Also nominated were I Am Love, The King's Speech, The Tempest, and True Grit.

Grrr, another tough category ... part of me is saying The Social Network, but another is saying Black Swan for Best Cinematography ... I'll go with Black Swan. Also nominated are Inception, The King's Speech, and True Grit.

I'll pick Alice in Wonderland for Best Art Direction. Also nominated were Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Inception, The King's Speech, and True Grit.

We can either go political (Gasland, Inside Job, Restrepo) or odd (Exit Through the Gift Shop) or inspiring (Waste Land) for Best Documentary. Sounds like Exit Through the Gift Shop is going to take it, so I'll go with it.

Best Toy Animated Story Feature 3. Additionally, How to Train Your Dragon and The Illusionist received nominations.

Um ... I don't get to see many foreign films ... but let's go with Biutiful for Best Foreign Language Film. Dogtooth, In a Better World, Incendies, and Outside the Law are also nominated.

Let's give one to Nolan for Inception, shall we? Also nominated in Best Original Screenplay are Mike Leigh (Another Year), Scott Silver + Paul Tamasy + Eric Johnson (The Fighter), Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg (The Kids Are All Right), and David Seidler (The King's Speech).

Gaaaaaaah, why must the Best Adapted Screenplay category be another tough one? Um ... I'm going with Sorkin for The Social Network. Also nominated were Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3), The Coen Brothers (True Grit), and Debra Granik and Anne Roselini (Winter's Bone).

I'd honestly be happy with any of the nominees for Best Director, but I think I'll have to go with Fincher (The Social Network). But Aronofsky (Black Swan) would be a pleasant surprise. Additionally, David O. Russell (The Fighter), Tom Hooper (The King's Speech), and the Coen Brothers (True Grit) were nominated.

Natalie Portman. Black Swan. Best Actress. Need I say more? Additionally, Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone), and Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) were nominated.

Best Actor, without a doubt, goes to Colin Firth as King George VI in The King's Speech. Additionally, James Franco (127 Hours), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), and Javier Bardem (Biutiful) were nominated.

I'd be all for Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross in True Grit for Best Supporting Actress, but Helena Bonham Carter was pretty good in The King's Speech ... Hailee it is! Additionally, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo were up for their performances in The Fighter and Jacki Weaver got a nod for her part in Animal Kingdom.

Best Supporting Actor seems to be a bit of a toughie for me. See, I've heard fantastic things about Christian Bale in The Fighter, but Geoffery Rush was excellent in The King's Speech ... but I'll go with Bale. Additionally, John Hawkes (Winter's Bone), Jeremy Renner (The Town ... and also fantastic in The Hurt Locker), and Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right) garnered nominations.

For Best Picture, I'm going with The King's Speech. My explanation is here. Additionally, The Social Network, True Grit, Black Swan, Inception, 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, The Fighter, Toy Story 3, and Winter's Bone are nominated.

Let's see how my picks do tonight. What are some of yours? And who will do better with their picks?

On Arcade Fire's Win

Well, where to begin? Seeing Arcade Fire on the stage launching into 'Month of May' was absolutely fantastic, although I didn't think it was the best choice from the album to play at the Grammys. But then again, it was the first single. When I heard it last year when it dropped, I listened to it and thought something along the lines of "Oh, this is cool. Maybe a little loud and scream-y for me ..." And then I heard the whole album when it dropped and I flat out loved it.
And then when Barbara Streisand announced that The Suburbs won ... I nearly jumped out of my seat. Both fists shot up in the air and started pistonning. I was making a high pitched noise somewhere short of a dog whistle. I was jubilant. ... Extremely jubilant. Yes, I know that The Black Keys won an award or two or three for Brothers and Vampire Weekend was nominated in two or three categories for Contra but didn't win and Mumford and Sons didn't win either ... but still ... we can now say that Arcade Fire is a Grammy Award-winning band.

Live-Blogging the 2011 Grammys

I haven't really done this for the Grammys before, but what the hell, I'll give it a whirl.

Pre-show
I've seen two promos for the Grammys so far naming the artists who'll be performing. And they don't mention Arcade Fire, The Avett Brothers or Mumford and Sons. x_x

The show
8 PM: Yes, starting with an honorary performance/award for Aretha Franklin! Great way to start! ... But Aretha, oh how the years have treated you. :(
8:02 PM: Christina Aguilera and Martina McBride as part of a tribute to Aretha? Um ... interesting. But toss Florence of Florence & The Machine in there? Nice! :)
8:05 PM: Florence ... you are awesomeness!
8:13 PM: Oh, hi, Aretha! :D
8:14 PM: And we have a commercial.
8:19 PM: And we're back. Bows for the tribute performers. Oh, and they're presenting for Pop Performance (Duo or Group). Hrm ... *sees nominees* ... I'd be fine with Glee, Train, Maroon 5, or ... Paramore.
8:21 PM: Congrats to Train!
8:22 PM: Oy! Easy with the playing people off! And Ricky Martin ... are you in silver lamé pants? XD
8:23 PM: Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Gaga! ... In an egg. And she's hatching! ... I like the hat!
8:26 PM: Organ? A la Phantom? ... Or ... wait ... it looks like something out of the Fortress of Solitude. And the dancers are in skin-colored underwear.
8:28 PM: And another commercial. ... C'mon! Announce Mumford and Sons, Arcade Fire, and The Avett Brothers!
8:33 PM: Wait ... who is this guy? ... *goes on Wikipedia* Oh. Huh. Miranda Lambert's hubby. Can you say preferential treatment? XD
8:38 PM: Lenny Kravitz! Nice to see ya! And introducing Muse! :D
8:40 PM: Someone rushing on stage? What? ... Oh, part of the act! XD
8:45 PM: And another commercial. XP
8:49 PM: Seacrest! Bravo! ... How are you still relevant? ... Um ... interesting super group? Bruno, aren't you supposed to be somewhere ... on charges? *checks Wikipedia* Okay, never mind, community service. Get going on that! ... After this set. I'm rather enjoying it. :)
8:57 PM: Dierks ... who? Country singer? Finally another award presentation! Sure took long enough! ... Female Country Vocalist. Um ... yeah ... I don't really care about this category ... but I'd be fine with Jewel.
8:59 PM: Well, Miranda performed and she won. Congrats to her.
9 PM: And a commercial. ... THEY MENTIONED MUMFORDANDSONSANDTHEAVETTBROTHERSYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! ANDARCADEFIRETOO! *HAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPYDANCE*
9:05 PM: ... Eva, what are you doing introducing Justin Bieber at the Grammys? ... *snickers at "Beautiful relationship"*
9:06 PM: Justin ... you can play guitar? ... 'Baby' on acoustic guitar? Well ... I'm slightly impressed. No Auto-tuning? ... Japanese drummers?! ... And back to the Autotuning singing. XP *cracks open Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns*
9:09 PM: Jaden? Where's your sister? Too busy whipping her hair? XD ... And you're in leopard skin tight-pants.
9:13 PM: Paramore and the goth actress (and by goth I mean the character she plays dresses goth-like) from NCIS? Uh ... okay. But it's Best Rock Album! Oh, Jeff Beck, Muse, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Neil Young ...damn, I'd be fine with any of 'em. ... Okay, Muse, nice, nice! :)
9:15 PM: And another commercial.
9:20 PM: Donnie, please take off the glasses ... unless you're hungover. ... And paired with Selena Gomez? Uh ... And in this category (Best Pop Vocal Album), I'm either for Susan Boyle or Lady Gaga. Or maybe John Mayer. Maybe Katy Perry. ... Congrats, Gaga! ... Skin-tight, pre-fitted leather outfit? Okaaaaay ...
9:23 PM: And they start to play Gaga off, but they let her finish. :) And Letterman has a bit? Okaaaaaaaay ...
9:25 PM: MUMFORDANDSONSMUMFORDANDSONSMUMFORDANDSONSMUMFORDANDSONS!
9:27 PM: AVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETBROTHERS! :D
9:30 PM: DYLAN ... and his raspy growl. XD
9:34 PM: *clears throat and calms down* So ... 'The Cave', 'Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise', and 'Maggie's Farm' were just fantastic! Wow ... I kinda want to see Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers, and Bob Dylan make an album together. :) And now a commercial.
9:39 PM: Oh, Lifetime Achievement awards. Nice, nice. :) And ... wait, wait, an NFL player? Okaaaaay?
9:40 PM: Lady Antebellum covering Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes? I'm impressed!
9:44 PM: Miley with Kings of Leon? ... Nothing about Miley having sex while on fire? ... I kid, I kid. And presenting for Best Country Album. Hrm ... I'm going with the Zac Brown Band. Or Lady Antebellum. Congrats, Lady Antebellum!
9:50 PM: Okay, Cee-Lo looks like a giant painted turkey. And Gwyneth Paltrow singing along with him on 'Forget You'? And another commercial.
9:56 PM: NPH! SINGSINGSINGSING ... no? :( ... But a sex joke about Katy Perry? Okaaaay?
10 PM: And now you're in a tiny diamond coated summer dress. Bravo, Katy, I think you gave a fair amount of the male Grammy audience a raging hard-on. ... Me? No thanks.
10:02 PM: Going a bit country now? Oh, never mind, this is a good tune. Dolly Parton cover, huh? :) Maybe minus John Mayer.
10:04 PM: Song of the Year. Okay. Either Ray LaMontagne or Cee-Lo. Mkay, Lady Antebellum is still good. :)
10:06 PM: Mkay, another commercial ... and nothing against Bieber, but I don't want to see him win when he's up against people like Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons.
10:12 PM: Seth Rogen presenting a Grammy? Mkaaaaay? Well, the Miley Cyrus pot joke was amusing.
10:13 PM: *mutes TV/lowers volume and opens The Dark Knight Returns*
10:20 PM: Jewel? John Legend? Okay. ... Best New Artist? Bieber? Nope. Drake? Nah. Florence and the Machine? I could go for them. And Mumford and Sons too. ^_^ Dunno about Esperanza Spalding. AAAAAAAAAAAAAND ... okay, an unknown in my book, but congrats, Esperanza!
10:23 PM: Another commercial. But Album of the Year is coming soon. :)
10:28 PM: Matthew Morrison! Do something from 'South Pacific'! ... Probably not.
10:32 PM: And a memoriam. Bobby Hobb? I recognize the song he's singing. Gerry Rafferty ... :( Oh, so many great names. Alex Chilton too. ... We lost Jimmy Dean? O_o
10:34 PM: MICKJAGGER!
10:40 PM: Commercial. God, as if there weren't enough. XP
10:46 PM: Kris, we haven't seen you in a while! ... And is it just me or are you and Jeff Bridges looking oddly similar nowadays? XD
10:47 PM: Babs!
10:50 PM: A remix of 'Misirlou'? Mkay ... Nikki, you have ... Marge Simpson hair. Best Rap Album? Um ... *picks blindly* The Roots? ... Eminem. Well ... I guess white guys can rap.
10:53 PM: Mkay, another commercial. GETTOARCADEFIREALREADY!
10:58 PM: Puff Daddy/P-Diddy/Sean Combs ... you're still relevant?
10:59 PM: Rihanna and Drake performing? *returns to The Dark Knight Returns*
11:02 PM: Marc Anthony and J-Lo? Presenting Record of the Year ... I'm pulling for maybe Cee-Lo.
11:04 PM: Well, congrats again, Lady Antebellum! Really taking the Grammys this year!
11:05 PM: And another commercial. Arcade Fire already, c'mon!
11:12 PM: ARCADEFIREYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!
11:20 PM: Babs and Kris presenting Album of the Year! Arcade Fire all the way!
11:22 PM: YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!
11:25 PM: And they're playing 'The Suburbs'. This is the best end to the Grammys. Ever. (Correction: 'Ready to Start')
11:28 PM: Hey! End credits and Delta and Hilton ads! Off my screen! I wanna see Arcade Fire!

And the Grammys are over. Well, not a fan of all the winners, but I might have to check out Lady Antebellum now. Until the Oscars! Allons-y!

On ... Well ... Stuff

While this doesn't necessarily represent my dabblings in cooking ... it's a bit close. XD The most I've made is a quiche ... but that was back in September.
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I started using Pandora again the other day after getting a bit tired of my Alternative playlist. I started an Arcade Fire station. So far, I've gotten ... probably close to 10 Arcade Fire songs ... and 3 different versions of 'Hallelujah'. One is by Rufus Wainright, another by Jeff Buckley, and another by John Cale.
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Updates ... let's see ... classes are going well. I'm doing my best to keep up with the Lit Theory readings, which are going to be the most demanding. My internship is going well, too. So far, I've locked and uploaded one video. I'm finishing another up hopefully for this Thursday.

Until next post! Allons-y, Alonso!