Days 18-22: The Oscars and halfway there!

Many people asked if I was going to watch The Oscars this year. When I said no, some understood, while others tried to convince me that it'd be ok. After all, the show is about movies, right? True, but the real joy in watching them, for me at least, is to see all the stars. Analyze what they're wearing, listen to what they have to say. Some people told me to just skip the red carpet and watch the actual show. I felt better missing both.

Last year, I had my Mom and a few friends over for martinis and short ribs and together we watched the pre-red carpet, the actual red carpet and the 3+ hour show. This year, Daniel and I took a long, late-afternoon walk in snowy Prospect Park, cooked dinner, hung shelves in the baby's nursery and caught up on some reading. I didn't feel like I was missing a thing and not watching was once again easier than I'd expected.

Then around 11pm, I got some Oscars updates via email from my Mom. She and I both loved La Vie En Rose, so she wrote to tell me that Marion Cotillard had won Best Actress. As I was reading, I couldn't decide if I was cheating or not. The she wrote again to tell me that the tribute to people who had died this year had ended with Heath Ledger. This made me much more curious and for a second, I wished I could watch. That soon passed and then, she wrote again to tell me that Best Song went to Falling Slowly from the movie Once (a great independent film that I highly recommend). She told me that the female star of the film got cut off during her speech and that Jon Stewart brought her back out after the commercial break to finish up. Hearing this was the hardest part of all. I'd loved that movie and have listened to the soundtrack repeatedly since downloading it from Itunes a few weeks ago.

I told Daniel that I wanted to search on You Tube for the clip so I could hear the acceptance speech. He did this finger shake thing he does when he thinks I'm trying to break my Celebrifree rules and told me that would be cheating (although when I brought this up with him again last night, he claims he never said that). I haven't searched for the clip yet, but I think I will. After all, I don't really consider the people from this movie stars. I'd never heard of them beforehand and I could really care less about them and their lives. I just really loved this movie and the fact that they shot it in three weeks, with two handheld cameras for $100K and that it's getting so much deserved attention. What do you all think?

Sounds like the Oscars were pretty boring this year, so aside from not hearing the stars of Once perform Falling Slowly (and their acceptance speech), it doesn't sound like I missed much. I doubt I'll skip it again next year, but I can honestly say I'm still really enjoying this much needed celeb break.

In other news, I had dinner with my Mom last night. She claims she doesn't care much about this celeb stuff, but she's definitely having a fun time tempting me with juicy tidbits. For example, she asked if she could tell me about a certain star's new girlfriend. This star just so happens to live right near my brother in Marin County, California and my Mom and I always like to drive by his house whenever we're out there.

I told her no, she could not tell me about him since that would be cheating, and now of course, I'm dying for the scoop. Guess I'll have to wait a few more weeks for that!