What?  It’s too late for Oscar buzz?  Too bad.  That’s what I’ve got for today so you’re just gonna have to deal with it.

I didn’t post yesterday but I figured I had earned a good day off anyhow.  Anyhow, isn’t Sunday the day you rest?  That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

In our grand old tradition, we watched the Academy Awards last night, from Ryan Seacrest’s red carpet show on E! to Hugh Jackman’s fond adieu at the end of the broadcast (we had to turn off Barbara Walters’ show because, seriously?  Jonas Brothers?  I DON’T THINK SO.).   A good time was had by all.  Sure, there were dull spots.  There always are.  And sure, there was a moment a little more than halfway through the thing where I got supremely sick of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Slumdog Millionaire” being called out as the winners.  But on the other hand, I haven’t seen either movie so for all I know, they were very deserving of their honors.  But dang it, why couldn’t “Iron-Man” or “The Dark Knight” won for Visual Effects?? I mean, at least I SAW those!

Still, despite the fact I’d seen probably a grand total of three movies that were nominated (wait, correction, make that four.  I did see “Kung Fu Panda”), I enjoyed the whole thing and as is my nature, I have some observations to share with you all.

• Robert Pattinson.  *drool*  He was there and he brought his hair.  And his eyes.  And, you know, the rest of him.  *dreamy sigh*
• Hugh Jackman made a awesome host.  I was convinced of this a mere 10 minutes into the show after watching his truly fabulous opening number.  As Kile said, it rivaled Billy Crystal’s infamous montages.  That’s saying a lot.  He had great energy.
• The new format with the old actor winners bestowing the new nominees with praise and advice?  LOVE.  That was awesome and I’m sure it meant a lot to the nominees to hear it.  I hope they do that again.
• Heath Ledger.  I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house when he won Best Supporting Actor.  I know I was a freakin’ mess.  Shoot, even BRAD PITT had tears in his eyes.  By far, the most beautiful, sad and meaningful moment of the entire awards show.
• That said, the “In Memorium” montage was also very beautiful and sad this year.  Queen Latifah singing “I’ll Be Seeing You” literally gave me goosebumps (still does, in fact). And being reminded of all the wonderful talent we lost this last year pretty much kicked my ass.  Damn you, Bernie Mac!
• SO glad that Kate got the award, even if I didn’t see the movie.  I’ve been a big fan since “Titanic”.
• During the Best Actor presentation, whenever they would show Mickey Rourke, I couldn’t help but stare at Robert Pattinson sitting behind him.  Humina.
• Surprised that Sean Penn won but not too much.  You gotta love the guy, prickly as he is.
• Aaaaand “Slumdog” wins.  Big surprise.

We had to watch “The Dark Knight” afterward because I was still on a Heath Ledger high.  Better than the Jonas Brothers, that’s for sure.

So did you watch?  What were your thoughts?  And why did I write most of this post this morning and then totally forget to finish and post it?  Am I that lame?  (Don’t answer that.)

So here is my list of everything that made me happy in 2008. And I’m having to tap this out on my iPhone because, as is always the case at the end of the month, we are already in the midst of very busy day. And I’d like to get this posted sometime before the end of the year, thankyouverymuch.

Neil Patrick Harris – I don’t really think I need to explain this one. He’s just plain awesome.
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – thanks to the above awesomeness, this was also very awesome. And, hello, Joss Whedon? Always the bomb.
Hitler’s rant about Twitter – did you not see this YouTube video? Cuz if you did, you’d know why it’s on this list.
Twilight – my dear friend Michelle finally gave in and started reading these books. And OF COURSE she loves them. Because it’s almost unheard of to read these books and not get totally sucked in. They are SO awesome. These are not great works of literature, but that doesn’t prevent them from being entirely wonderful.
Edward – I thought Edward deserved his own entry in this list. Because without Edward, it’s entirely possible that “Twilight” would not been as fabulous.
Robert Pattinson – I had to throw Rob a bone and also give him his own entry. He IS Edward. I know he got a lot of flack when he was cast from fans who didn’t think he could live up to their vision. But as far as I’m concerned, he exceeded my expectations.
Evie – Duh. How could I do this list and NOT include Evie? She has been the most wonderful surprise this year. I will ALWAYS look back fondly on 2008 simply because it brought me her. I honestly can’t say enough glowing things about her.
John Adams – did you catch this miniseries on HBO last spring? Paul Giamatti totally rocked the 2nd president and watching this perspective on the birth of America was nothing short if fascinating.
Barack Obama – I STILL can’t quite believe he’s going to be our president. That is just so unbelievably FANTASTIC. And he also got me excited about America, hope and politics again. No small feat, I assure you!
Robert Downey Jr – Did this guy have the best comeback this year or what? “Ironman”, “Tropic Thunder”… Both so awesome that each alone would have made RDJ a comeback legend. But both? I now officially love him.
Cloth diapering – I discovered the joys of cloth diapering this year. And yes, I said “joy” and “diapering” in the same sentance. I could not gave predicted just how easy, and enjoyable this has become. And cloth diapering has opened the door to so many other things too, like knitting. I just wish I had started sooner!
The iPhone – you didn’t think I would leave this off the list, did you? This little gadget has enhanced my life so much that I just wishvi could share the love with all of you. Because like “Twilight”, you can’t appreciate the awesomeness until you’ve experienced it.
Lost – in a year where TV pretty much sucked, “Lost” kept the faith. This show is so awesome that the only bad thing is that the stupid hiatus between seasons is soooooo long.
Whole foods – we just got one of these in town a couple months ago and already I don’t know what I’d do without it. Too expensive for regular shopping but excellent for browsing and special treats.
The new Target store – as you saw with yesterdays post, this place is new nirvana. I don’t think I need to explain myself here.
OnDemand – without OnDemand, I’m sure we wouldn’t get our money’s worth of HBO and it’s ilk. I love being able to cue up a movie whenever I want.
Rachel Maddow – I don’t know if I could have made it through the election without the fabulous Ms. Maddow. I’d tune in every night as I was nursing Evie to sleep and Rachel would help me understand what was going on, give me perspective and make me laugh. She ROCKS.
Rock Band 1 and 2 – we’ve only had it a week and already I’ve got Nirvana’s “Drain You” stuck in my head while I sleep. Oh, and I totally suck at the drums. And the guitar. Our band is called “Crashing Power”.

So what made your awesome list this year? Any that are the same as mine? And what are your plans tonight?

It was quite a year.  There were ups and downs.  Today?  I’m going to cover the downs.  Because I’d like to finish on a high note.  I’ll either do the “ups” tomorrow or tonight or whatever.  I’m still on vacation.  Time is relative.

• The economy.  Ooooooohhhhhhh boy.  Yeah.  It sucks.  It is The Bad.  I don’t like to expect that we’re all going to spiral down into the abyss so… I try to focus on the positive.  But yeah, it doesn’t look good.  The economy definitely took a dump this year.
• The many depressing celebrity deaths.  There were many.  And they were hard to bear.  Some harder than others.  I mean, no more Heath Ledger!  Bernie Mac!  George Carlin!  This is very sad.  Shoot, even Eartha Kitt died this year.  Who’s next?  (Don’t answer that.  I don’t want to know.)
• My health.  Oy.  This is pretty much all my fault, I know.  But the fact of the matter is my health, like the economy, took a dump this year.  I’d really like to turn that around in 2009.  I’d like to feel better, physically and mentally.  I’m not sure I could feel a whole lot worse (you know, without something catastrophic happening).
• Weather.  Yeah, I’m not terribly happy with the weather we’ve had this year.  Maybe this has to do with global warming or something.  Less rain, less snow.  Sure, the summer was fairly mild but mild temperatures aren’t exactly a good thing.  We need moisture, ya’ll.  It’s sorta important.
• All those stupid earthquakes we had last spring.  What was up with THAT??  Talk about nerve wracking.  Let’s hope we don’t see a repeat of that in 2009, mmkay?
• The Van Registration Fiasco of 2008.  Cuz that whole thing has sucked rather hardcore, I gotta say.  Another moment from 2008 that I’d rather not see replayed in 2009.
• All the crap that went wrong with our house this year.  Our back fence, the busted windows… shoot even the balast that went out of our flourescent overhead light in the kitchen.   What the heck, yo?
• Bad TV.  BAAAAD TV!!  There was a lot of bad television shows this year.  That stupid show “Momma’s Boys” or whatever it’s called takes the cake.  That is the worst of the worst.  And there was a lot of “worst”, believe you me.  Even shows that used to be awesome sucked this year.  Like “Heroes”.
• Anything related to “High School Musical” or Hannah Montana.  HATE HATE HATE.  I’m so tired of seeing this licensed crap all over the stores and the television and everywhere else.
• Basically any news story or current event that made my eyes roll back into my head.  There were a lot of them.  Far too many to mention here.  Rest assured, if it was someone victimizing children or being a stupid ass, then it made My List.

There’s my list.  But you know what?  “Worst” lists aren’t any fun to put together.  Nope.  I’m far more looking forward to the “Best” list that I’ve been cooking for the last couple of weeks.  There was an awful lot of awesome in 2008, if you knew where to look.

So what tops your “Worst of 2008″ list?  Lets get it all of our chests now, shall we?

I got email from my dear friend Michelle last night that she sent to my friend and I.  She was having a hard time sleeping and had thought up how we were six degrees of seperation away from Kevin Bacon.  And not just once but TWICE.  That, my friends, is pretty freakin’ awesome.  I’ve always wanted to play this little game but… meh.  It seemed like a lot of work and brain power and I really feel like doing or having either of those things.  But thanks to Michelle, I don’t have to.  So here’s the first run-down:

• We are friends with Angela, whom we have known since high school.  Lurves Angela!
• Angela met Sean Astin (she got his book signed and a picture taken with him for her Christmas card that year.)
• He was in the “Lord of the Rings” movies with Cate Blanchet
• She is in that new movie with Brad Pitt (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, fyi Michelle)
• Brad Pitt was in “Interview with a Vampire” with Tom Cruise
• Tom Cruise was in “A Few Good Men” with… Kevin Bacon.

Dang but that’s fun.  But that’s not all!  Here’s another one:

• We were taught by Ms. Ray in high school (she was my favorite teacher!)
• Ms. Ray’s cousin (maybe 2nd cousin) was married to Tom Selleck  (I remember when she called him Cousin Tom and was very impressed) (I was too, Michelle)
• Tom Selleck was on “Friends” with Courtney Cox (He was “Richard”, remember??  I loved the scene where he and Ross were waiting impatiently for Monica and Rachel to fight over the last remaining condom in the apartment)
• Courtney Cox was in the “Scream” movies with Neve Campbell
  Neve Campbell was in “Wild Things” (Naaaaaasty movie) with… Kevin Bacon.

So tell me.  How are you seperated from Kevin Bacon?  Do you have the brain-power to do one of these?  If so, you gotta share with the class.

photo credit: John Griffiths