Okay, so I have to mention the Oscars

Besides the fact that I yawned all through my day today, and for the first time since the 90s I haven't seen all the Best Picture nominees, I still enjoyed the show. Here are my favourites:

Best Dress: Ellie Kemper from The Office and Bridesmaids. The colour and sheen reminded me of a juicy red caramel apple. So gorgeous and unique.

Best Comment: from Zach Galifianakis. When asked who he was wearing, he replied "Garanimals." Loved it.

Favourite Red Carpet Moment: The Sasha Baron Cohen/Ryan Seacrest tête-a-tête. If you haven't seen it already... really? Where've you been all day?




Aside from that it was nice to have Billy Crystal back. I always love his openings. And his comment about watching millionaires giving each other gold statues in this economic downturn had me howling. I love his hosting. Nothing mean or petty just pure funny stuff. I hope he does it again.



I celebrated this year with a bag of Doritos and orange juice rather than my usual champagne and brie extravaganza. I mean one year I actually travelled to Miami just to watch the telecast on tv with my bestie Kathy, for goodness sake. But I just wasn't feeling the excitement of the run-up to the show and the event itself this year. Lots of stuff is happening in the real world that I couldn't ignore. No worries, I'll pick it up again in 2013. So, did you watch? Did you like?

kxx

I'm watching the Amazing Race

Season 20 started Sunday and out of every single reality game show out there, this is the one I could do. There are no tribes only you and your partner, there is no lying or backstabbing to get ahead and if you just play your game with your partner, without worrying about the rest of the field, you can get pretty far. Even if you don't, there really is no one to blame but yourselves, although the last few seasons have employed a couple of stalling tactics that can have another team pause you or make you do the other half of a challenge which can slow you down and affect your time. It's mean but not malicious like other shows where there can be real animosity between players.

One thing, though. I'd love to see a timer at the bottom of the screen while teams are completing tasks. It'd be fun to know that it took a team 2.5 hours to learn a choreography to a Swedish folk dance to the satisfaction of a hilariously costumed non-English speaking judge or pour 20 cups of tea without dribbling (the tea not the contestants). I'd love to know how long their flights are or how long it takes to drive to places.

Today I saw two contestant fail. One at driving a stick and the other freaked out having to parachute. Really? Have they never seen this show before? Seriously, it's been on for 20 seasons. Before I even dream about signing up for a show like this I'd learn to drive a standard vehicle (maybe even a truck), I'd brush up on my swimming. I'd get hypnotised to not freak out over bugs, heights or flying. I'd prepare myself for potentially having to eat something gross or humiliate myself in public either by begging or dancing. And I'd learn how to say "please", "thankyou", "internet", "toilet" and "help me" in at least 10 languages. This is the nature of the show, people. There's nothing that turns me against a team faster than the inevitable person freaking out over the drop zone crying in shock that they're afraid of heights or quivering on the edge of a diving board terrified that they have to swim. Ugh. Again I ask: Do you not have a tv? How on earth did you sign up for this show before overcoming your fears? Seriously.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to another awesome season and dreaming of there eventually being a Canadian version someday. I think I'd actually apply. Of course I'd have some self-improvement to achieve first...

kxx

I'm extremely well read.

Okay, the above post title is a lie. What I do is I wait for a novel to become popular or ingrained into the pop culture, then I grasp on to that bookish bandwagon for all it's worth. It was like that with the Twilight series (ugh), and The Harry Potter Books (amazing), and The Hunger Games trilogy (fantastic).

I love book series (serieses? serieii). I enjoy spending long periods of time with characters that I've gotten attached to. Which is why I don't mind falling into a series later in the game. Because I prefer to read all the books in a row without stopping. How on earth were people able to wait between Hunger Games books? That would have been brutal. I could barely wait overnight once I finished Catching Fire to download Mockingjay. Did I mention that I prefer audiobooks? What better way to get supper on the table, commute to work, run on a boring treadmill or just plain feel like a little kid getting read to by your mummy or daddy than listening to an audiobook before bed?

Anyway, all that said, I'd like to share with you the weighty tomes that are on my bedside table. Here they are in no particular order:

3 magazines about Will and Kate's wedding
1 magazine about the life (and death) of All My Children
1 Walking Dead graphic novel
1 Archie comic digest
1 companion book to Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

So now you know what a cosmopolitan, sophisticated and urbane individual I am. Do with this valuable knowledge what you will.

kxx

When was the last time you "had a moment"?

Earlier this week I was sitting in my car on my way to work when I burst out crying. I cried and drove for a few blocks, then wiped my tears and it was over. I had had a moment.

It was prompted by a couple of things. That morning when I got dressed, I grabbed for a pair of earrings and noticed that they were the pearls my brother and I gave my mum for her birthday. The last she had before she died. No problem. Worn them a million times. But then in the car they played "Celebration" by Kool And The Gang which was her favourite song. I felt like she was saying "hi" and I just lost it. Those things usually don't set me off but that day they did. The thing that made me stop blubbering was wondering what must the other drivers be thinking (hostage situation? raw chopped onion sandwich?) and the fact that I must be the only person in greater Ottawa that is wailing during what must be one of the most happy songs in the world. I started to giggle and that was it.

I felt great after. It was one of my best days of the week, in fact. These bawling sessions don't happen very often or last very long but they sure make me feel great. I'm curious. Do they happen to you? How often? What's your trigger? How do you feel afterwards?

kxx