And You Thought Her Career Was Over

Britney scores her second biggest hit for her career...and the biggest since ...Baby One More Time.

"Gimme More" also hit #1 in Canada this week.

It's not a bad little song actually.

The Lighter Side: Titanic Redux?

Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio...
no, not Titanic
not even Titanic Part II

Jack and Rose are reuniting for a film version of the classic Robert Yates novel "Revolutionary Road" directed by Sam Mendes. Winslet and DiCaprio will play April and Frank Wheeler for those of you who know the novel

The Oscars- Recap

The Academy Awards are about to begin, so I'm taking an evening off from political blogging to blog the Oscars.

Let's see if my picks win...they almost never do;

8:30
oh good, it started on time

I'm noticing how it took about three minutes to get the first woman into the nominee montage, what's the about?...and where's Al Gore?

I like Ellen's velvet-looking suit. Seriously, she's the only person who can kill a joke and make it's death so funny

"Jennifer Hudson is here, America didn't vote for her, Al Gore is here, America DID vote for him"- excellent!

Ellen said no dancing...oh well, guess she couldn't resist.

Best Art Direction- Pan's Labyrinth

Random shadow dancers after Maggie Gyllenhaal left the stage...what the hell was that about?

9:00
Love the Will Ferrell, Jack Black, John C. Reilly number...it's about time they added some fun to this otherwise snore of a broadcast...although I think Eddie Murphy, Will Smith and Robin Williams should also be mentioned here

Best Achievement in Makeup: Pan's Labryinth

Abigail Breslin and Jaden Smith are so cute together...won't it be funny if they're together at the Oscars again, say in 2030.

Best Animated Short Film: The Danish Poet

Best Live Action Short Film: The West Bank Story
I randomly saw The West Bank Story...it was great, a funny story about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict that shows just how absurd the whole situation really is...if we can laugh at our stupidity more, we would be a better place, I've always believed that, it's a must see, well deserved Oscar.
Sound Effects chorus? um, random

Best Sound Editing: Letters From Iwo Jima

Best Sound Mixing: Dreamgirls
About time a non-violent movie won a sound award

FINALLY AN ACTING AWARD, JESUS!

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin: "Little Miss Sunshine"
Surprise upset here, but Little Miss Sunshine did have the momentum going in. Arkin did win the BAFTA. I'd say this is the only surprise in the acting awards tonight. Expect Little Miss Sunshine to win Best Picture.

Ok, the theme of these Oscars are random...what's with the random shadow dancers again?

9:30
What's an Academy Awards ceremony without Randy Newman performing a song?

I love that Melissa Etheridge managed to rhyme "An Inconvenient Truth."

Al Gore takes the stage with Leonardo DiCaprio...who do you think is the bigger star here? Poor Al, he can never catch a break.

I like Cameron Diaz better as a blonde.

Best Animated Feature Film: Happy Feet

Oye, a bald Jack Nicholson is scary!

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed

10:00
Actually Ellen's Oscar carrying thingy isn't such a bad idea. I just don't think it would go with Alan Arkin's suit.

Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette
Didn't see that coming

The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
What does Tom Cruise look so constipated?

The Liberal Lion from Paramount Sherry Lansing, roaring in her fire red and black dress.

Gwyneth Paltrow is aging well.

Best Costume Design: Pan's Labyrinth

ugh, random shadow dancers again

HAHAHA, Robert Downey Jr. made a drug addict joke...good for him, laughing at your troubled past.

Best Visual Effects: Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Catherine Deneuve never ages does she?

I can't believe all the Best Foreign Language Film winners I've actually seen

Best Foreign Language Film: The Lives of Others- Germany

Ah, George Clooney, my favorite Kentucky liberal

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson- Dreamgirls

Like nobody saw that coming. I guess it is better to loose American Idol after all.

Best Documentary Short Subject: The Blood of Yingzhou District

wha? Jerry Seinfeld is at the Oscars? More randomness at the Oscars...oh, Documentary Feature, it would be interesting to see Jerry Seinfeld give an Oscar to the former Vice President. Like this show isn't random enough.

How political are these nominees, you got two alone concerning Iraq, Al Gore, and a Religious Roight

Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvienent Truth

Enter Clint Eastwood...I was kinda hoping for the dead people montage. I love the dead people montage. Ugh, I'm so morbid.

Ok, now Celine Dion is randomly singing...what the hell is happening? This has segued from the Oscars to a disorganized benefit show. Oh, and why does she always look so confused when she sings...I miss Ellen.

ooooh, this is the Italian music dude from all the Clint Eastwood movies, I get it now, it makes sense...um, he's speaking Italian, you think somebody can translate?...Thank you Clint, btw, since when does he speak Italian?

Totally didn't recognize Hugh Jackman

Best Original Score: Babel

Yay, Ellen's back!

Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire don't look that happy together...my Spidey senses sense trouble.

Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine

Enough with the shadow dancers, geez!

Jennifer Hudson looks more at home singing, and who would've thought Beyonce would sing at the Oscars? Quick trivia, who was the last Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner to perform at the same ceremony...give up? Well, I'll give you a hint, Jennifer Hudson is from Chicago, this actress was from Chicago.

Hairspray, that's the secret musical turned movie Queen Latifah and John Travolta are starring in together coming up. No, John Travolta wasn't kidding when he said he's a "full figured woman singing," he's playing Edna Turnblad, a role made famous by Divine.

Best Original Song- "I Need To Wake Up"- Melissa Etheridge from "An Inconveinent Truth"

Melissa Etheridge is right, global warming is not a Red or Blue issue, and that's beginning to show itself. Funny how the most political statement of the night wasn't attacking anyone.

11:30, already this show is running over

OMG ENOUGH WITH THE MONTAGES!!!

Best Acheivement in Film Editing: The Departed

That's where I saw Thelma Schoonmaker before, she won for The Aviator

Um, Jodie Foster is getting old...oh, the dead actor montage, I love this part...I'm so bad

Yeah Ellen, sorry, you're running 21 minutes over...here's Philip Seymour Hoffman with Best Actress

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Helen Mirren- "The Queen"

I love Helen Mirren, but when I see her, all I see is Mrs. Tingle

GODDAMN SHADOW DANCERS PISSING ME OFF!!!

Ellen is holding her own...and a vacuum lol

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker- "The Last King of Scotland"

Haha, poor George Lucas, poor guy, dwarfed by Francis Ford and Steven

Best Director: Martin Scorsese- "The Departed"

About time Martin won...wow, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg on the stage together, there's the absolute best in American cinema right there.

Helen Mirren is holding on to her Oscar for dear life

Sweet, Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. I find Diane Keaton to be absolutely fabulous, but I can't get used to a bald Jack Nicholson

Best Picture: "The Departed"

Wow, I really thought it was gonna be Little Miss Sunshine, but I guess this is much deserved. There was a lot of bitter feelings among Scorsese fans when Eastwood beat him out two years ago with "Million Dollar Baby"

Ok so overall. Ellen rocked as a host in my opinion. No more random shadow dancers. Jennifer Hudson makes us all believe in fate. Martin Scorsese finally got what he deserved. Al Gore is probably better off talking to us through a movie than through a State of the Union, and playing a real life world political leader, whether evil or beloved, will win you an Oscar.

Back to politics tomorrow

Need A Comeback, Go To Rehab

Let's just all check into Rehab. It seems to be the hip thing to do today. Did something stupid? Go to rehab! Screwed up? Go to Rehab! It cheapens the whole reason it exists.

Britney Spears checked back into rehab today...perhaps she needs to, but I've noticed the endless parade of celebrities and other newsworthy individuals entering rehab. Lindsay Lohan goes to rehab at the ripe old age of 20, as does Miss USA Tara Conner for just doing what girls normally do anyway.

Former Congressman Mark Foley who went from chasing teenage boys to suddenly becoming an alcoholic. Mel Gibson, who tried to use liquor to disguise his anti-Semitism, then go to rehab.

Rehab is there to help people with real problems, not for celebrities who screwed up and want to make themselves look better in the public eye. It cheapens rehab, makes it look like a waiting room for comebacks.

This is the only Britney Spears post, I swear.

Ready to Make Nice...Five Times

For the last few years, I thought it was such a shame these excellent artists were being blacklisted.

So it was just great to see the long-vilified Dixie Chicks win five Grammy awards last night. I always wondered why this was a big issue. Were conservatives worried that the Dixie Chicks were going to shape public opinion. If not, who cares? It's not just those who freely choice to burn them in effigy (since they have that right), but the ones who forced others to also boycott the Dixie Chicks, such as disc jockeys in Colorado who were fired for playing their records...freely.

Last night was almost a "Sorry we made a big fuss about your right to freely speak and by the way, you were right about the war" statement.

Perhaps it is time for a general vindication of original war critics. We are today looking for some way to stop the war, but we weren't about to stand up against it in 2003. Perhaps it is time to give credit to those who were. We were all duped, the Dixie Chicks were not.

What's great is that they won 5 Grammy Awards for saying this;

It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter sayin’ that I better shut up and sing or my life will be over

Could This Get Anymore Bizarre?

In reference to my last point, stuff like this is why her death is still a top story.

Seriously, this is becoming more and more like a bizarre tragic chick novel

We Love To Watch Falling Stars

It amazes me just how the media has covered the death of Anna Nicole Smith.

Even the most serious of news reporters and news shows went wall to wall with her death yesterday, almost to the level they covered the Pope's death.

The story of a 39-year-old former fashion model and actress does seem to invoke thoughts of a Hollywood movie (and I'm sure it'll soon become one), but why is this story so damn interesting?

Well, first of all, the 24-hour television news media is driven by who watches it and who watches depends on what the viewers are interested in at the time, so Anna Nicole's death would not have been a wall to wall story if we weren't so obsessed with it.

You ever notice how we love to watch celebrities fall from grace? Just look in the newsstands at your local grocery stores, the cover stories on the supermarket tabloids, what do you see? The trials and turbulent lives of famous people. The National Enquirer and The Globe have circulations of over a million (once as high as six million).

Perhaps it just makes us middle-class nobodies feel better when we see the rich and famous suffer worse than we do.

Perhaps we're all just jealous we cannot be as famous and as wealthy as these people, so we thrive on the idea of watching them suffer.

Perhaps there's something sadistic about us.