*What newly minted Oscar winner brought his golden statuette to the clubs last night, hitting up West Hollywood’s OBar? One of those beautiful people out there in the dark tipped us off saying, “Someone brought their newly-won hardware out in their murse for the evening. Oscar, meet Smack. A week from now, it would go from funny to tacky.”
Trust me, dear, it’s already tacky and oh so him.
*I think it’s safe to assume that this year’s other big Oscar winners — Sean Penn, Danny Boyle and the ghost of Heath Ledger — weren’t cruising the bars in WeHo Thursday.
Any optimism I have regarding the future of this country is tempered by stories like this:
iFart and Pull My Finger, the two gladiators, joined the App Store at around the same time, and both achieved some success. iFart eventually pulled ahead, but through some underhanded tactics, like using the phrase “pull my finger” in videos and publishing a review from the app’s creator saying his own app is “better than Pull My Finger.” (He justifies this by saying “Of course, I have the right to state my opinion, especially one I believe to be true!”)
In response, the makers of Pull My finger, Air-O-Matic, asked Apple to step in and quiet the flatulent fighting, but Apple left the players to settle it between themselves.
A group of liberal bloggers said it is teaming up with organized labor and MoveOn to form a political action committee that will seek to push the Democratic Party farther to the left.
Soliciting donations from their readers, the bloggers said they are planning to recruit liberal candidates for challenges against more centrist Democrats currently in Congress.
Two influential conservatives acknowledge what’s been obvious for some time:
If you want to get a sense of how unserious and ungrounded most Americans think the Republican Party is, look no further than how conservatives elevate Joe the Plumber as a spokesman.
Blame Hannity.
Much as their blind loyalty discredited the Right, perhaps the worst effect of Limbaugh et al. has been their draining away of political energy from what might have been a much more worthwhile project: the fostering of a middlebrow conservatism.
“Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.”
New Republican National Committee President Michael Steele said recently, “[W]e need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.”
Everyone, it seems, but gays.
GALLAGHER: Is this a time when Republicans ought to consider some sort of alternative to redefining marriage and maybe in the road, down the road to civil unions. Do you favor civil unions?
STEELE: No, no no. What would we do that for? What are you, crazy? No. Why would we backslide on a core, founding value of this country? I mean this isn’t something that you just kind of like, “Oh well, today I feel, you know, loosey-goosey on marriage.” [...]
A Republican, allowing states to make a decision without federal interference? That is crazy.
Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party’s principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
We’re nearing the 16th anniversary of Deacon Burton’s death, and if you don’t know who he is you don’t know how good fried chicken can be.
Al Kosa and I were there the day Deacon died. The Inman Park cafeteria was virtually empty, the lights dim and the mood, dimmer. It was the same day as the first World Trade Center bombing, in 1993. They sure did seem to be taking it hard.
The next day we read about Deacon’s death in the paper.
He’s been impossible to replace. Son’s, owned by one of Deacon’s scions, isn’t bad, but there’s something missing.
Mary Mac’s? Please.
Thelma’s came close, and though it’s Web site is operational it was shuttered the last time I paid a visit. I hope it’s still around.
Ria’s Bluebird Cafe on Memorial Drive once claimed its chicken was comparable to Deacon’s. It wasn’t. I haven’t been back since.
I will be paying a return visit to the Busy Bee Cafe on the Atlanta University campus. I’ve heard good things, and today I finally had the opportunity to sample their fried bird.
Outstanding. No one compares to Deacon’s, and the sides weren’t all that great, but the chicken surpassed expectations.
No question where I’m headed next time I have a hangover. Probably Sunday afternoon.
11:57 Joe Biden takes us out: “You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts or the Academy Awards unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”
8:40
A big musical number, complete with stale Bruce Vilanch bon mots — told ya.
8:49
Graceful speech by Penelope Cruz, though I was not a fan of “Vicki Cristina Barcelona,” yet another Woody Allen masturbatory fantasy. And I’m a fan (of Woody and that other thing).
8:58 I knew it. Speaking for God, Dustin Lance Black.
9:08
We’re told Jack Black is funny, but I’ve yet to see any evidence. “Pathetic little fat man, no one’s bloody laughing …”
9:13
Dusty’s Oscar win could’ve been worse (imagining myself in Andy Millman’s place):
9:26
I figure it’ll be two hours before the next big award is handed out. A “Becker” marathon would be about as interesting.
9:30
“Always fade out into a montage… (Montage)
If you fade out it seems like a long time has passed in a montage… (Montage)
Montage… (Montage)!”
9:40
Jessica Biel’s resume:
Justin Timberlake’s GF
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry”
“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”
“7th Heaven”
How’d the Oscars ever manage to get her?
9:53
Yet another musical number — are people really entertained by this? And is Hugh Jackman supposed to have a good voice?
10:02
The Salute to Musicals reminded me of everything I hate about musicals.
10:06
And people said Cuba Gooding Jr. would never be onstage at the Oscars again! I loved him in “Daddy Day Camp” and “Norbit.”
10:13
This should’ve been Heath Ledger’s second Oscar. I like Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Best Actor in 2006), but “Capote” was overrated. Ledger’s performance in “Brokeback Mountain,” though praised, was still underrated.
10:15
Are any of these documentaries about the Holocaust? If so, then I think I know which film will win.
10:24
“That’s called a montage. (Montage)
Even Rocky had a montage! (Montage)”
10:26
I’ve always wondered if Will Smith is a real person or merely a visual effect. And is he going to be Scientology’s lone representative onstage tonight?
10:37
“Slumdog Millionaire” will win Best Picture, BTW. But first, a Jerry Lewis tribute. Like I said, Worst Oscars Ever!
10:41
Jerry Lewis paved the way for Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler. Shouldn’t he be shot instead of feted? To be fair, he was fantastic in “King of Comedy”:
10:49
Only two Hugh Jackman musical numbers left! What’s next, a lifetime achievement award for Debbie Allen (otherwise known as the most annoying woman on the planet)?
10:53
Stupid Oscars producer — the only people who care about seeing Zac Efron have already fallen asleep! And methinks Alicia Keys takes herself a bit seriously.
10:56
So what are the odds Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman act out their own little musical after the show?
10:57
I’ll bet you Sting incorporates some bhangra into his next Jaguar commercial.
11:09
I’m officially losing interest. I just hope Sean Penn doesn’t win, though it might be fun to riff on what would surely be an intolerably insufferable acceptance speech.
11:29
Why are they making Shirley MacLaine fawn over Anne Hathaway, who wasn’t that good in “Rachel Getting Married.” And I’m sure MacLaine’s a big fan of “The Princess Diaries.” BTW, if you’ve never seen “The Children’s Hour,” you should. Shirl was quite the hot number back then, and a helluva talent, too.
11:37
Robert DeNiro, Ben Kingsley, Anthony Hopkins and … Adrien Brody?
11:39
Sean Penn, campaigning for human rights everywhere (except in Cuba and Venezuela). Repeat after me: Mickey Rourke! Mickey Rourke!
11:41
You’d think Anthony Hopkins would want to forget “Meet Joe Black” and “Legends of the Fall,” movies in which he appeared along with Brad Pitt.
11:43
We’re sorry for Prop. 8. We’re really, really sorry.
11:46
Shame on you for supporting homophobic dictators in Cuba and Venezuela, (Sean Penn)!
11:57
Joe Biden takes us out: “You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts or the Academy Awards unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”
Santelli’s the guy who got all Howard Beale-ish on CNBC the other day.
I’m not unsympathetic to his point, but are the Republicans really this desperate for new leadership? I’ll resist bashing Coach Palin for the thousandth time.
Ah, if we could go back to the times when America stood for something. The 1950s, say, when people were ethical and caring and God-fearing. Just ask a black person, a gay person, or a woman who wanted to do something besides type or be a telephone operator. Good old days. Baseball owners were corrupt tyrants who had players under their thumbs. Oh, for the days of the Black Sox scandal.
The reusable wipes come in four different designs: Understated, Solids, Juvenile and, I kid you not, Fun and Funky (pictured).
What he said was overshadowed by how poorly he said it. Did he think he was addressing a bunch of second graders?
