my favorite oscar moments

in no particular order...

1. steve carell and greg kinnear presenting the award for best sound editing
2. the dreamgirls cast performing their 3 nominated songs
3. jerry seinfeld presenting the best documentary oscar (i can't find a clip!!!)
   
4. ellen degeneres talking to martin scorsese, and then again with clint eastwood and steven spielberg
5. a comedian at the oscars
6. martin scorsese finally wins an oscar
7. anne hathaway and emily blunt channel their "prada" alter egos
8. elements & motion presentation by that sound effects choir in the honda ad
   
9. the ellen oscar bjorn
   
10. leo di caprio urges al gore to make an announcement.
    
11. hello iphone
    

ok, that last one wasn't part of the show, but they were a sponsor. word is apple had over $1M worth of ad spots.

update: oscars 2007

it's oscar night. what am i looking forward to the most? how ellen degeneres is going to do hosting hollywood's biggest night. i just love her sense of humor. she can be funny without being offensive, and she's not as polarizing as... chris rock for example.

why am i not looking forward to who'll win the big awards? because the winners, unless there's a major upset in any of the categories, are pretty much locked in: helen mirren, forest whitaker, jennifer hudson, eddie murphy, martin scorsese. the only category that's probably most up in the air is best picture.

best actor:
leonardo dicaprio (blood diamond)
ryan gosling (half nelson)
peter o'toole (venus)
will smith (the pursuit of happyness)
forest whitaker (the last king of scotland)

best actress:
penélope cruz (volver)
judy dench (notes on a scandal)
helen mirren (the queen)
meryl streep (the devil wears prada)
kate winslet (little children)

best supporting actor:
alan arkin (little miss sunshine)
jackie earle haley (little children)
djimon hounsou (blood diamond)
eddie murphy (dreamgirls)
mark wahlberg (the departed)

best supporting actress:
adriana barazza (babel)
cate blanchett (notes on a scandal)
abigail breslin (little miss sunshine)
jennifer hudson (dreamgirls)
rinko kikuchi (babel)

best director:
clint eastwood (letters from iwo jima)
stephen frears (the queen)
paul greengrass (united 93)
alejandro gonzález iñárritu (babel)
martin scorsese (the departed)

best picture:
babel
the departed
letters from iwo jima
little miss sunshine
the queen

who will win? check back later!

**********

random comments:

• i missed ellen degeneres' opening monologue because i was talking to a friend. but the gospel choir she called onto the stage caught my attention. based on the audience's reaction, i think she did well.
• why is jack nicholson bald? i almost didn't recognize him. is it in support of britney spears?
• loved the production number with will ferrell, jack black and john c. reilly.
• how cute is will smith's son? he is his father's son, as evidenced by his adlib when he flubbed a line.
• it's that sound effects choir doing the... uh... sound effects for a movie scene montage. this is the same group that did the honda commercial right?
• steve carrell: sound editing is like sex. it's usually done alone, late at night, surrounded by electronic devices. greg kinnear: ... and to get the best, you have to pay top dollar for a professional. --- so far, the best spiel of the evening.
• omg! alan arkin won best supporting actor! first upset of the night. can't wait to read what the entertainment writers will say about this. i guess "norbit" did hurt his oscar chances.
  
• first it was the sound effects choir. now it's the visual effects dance troupe (that's not their official name - obviously - but that's the best way to describe them). i think they were also used in an automobile commercial (honda? hyundai?)
• who knew al gore had a sense of humor? sure, it was nothing less than ham acting, but why, oh why couldn't he have shown this side of him when he ran for president in 2000? it worked for bill clinton (hello, arsenio?), it would've worked for him.
• loved how ellen asked steven spielberg to take a picture of her and clint eastwood.
• i heart ken watanabe
• pan's labyrinth didn't win the best foreign language oscar. that must suck for guillermo del toro especially since his creative team are practically sweeping the creative awards.
• i'm liking how ellen degeneres is handling her hosting duties. she's really put a fresh spin on the normally stiff, high brow award show.
  
• jennifer hudson wins best supporting actress.
• there's really something about gael garcia bernal that i find very, very attractive. oohhh, he has a really nice speaking voice.
• jerry seinfeld is presenting the award for best documentary feature. saw him in the audience earlier and wondered what his part would be. he's hilarious. can we have more comedians in the oscars next time? and, of course, "an inconvenient truth" wins the award. that guggenheim guy is kinda creepy, especially the way he latches on to al gore's arm. by the look on his face, looks like the former vp was kinda creeped out as well.
• clint eastwood understands italian? evidently so, since he's translating musical scorer ennio morricone's emotional acceptance speech for his honorary oscar.
• jennifer lopez looks like a chandelier. it's time for the dreamgirls extravaganza. with 3 songs nominated for best original song, can we expect anything else? i'm so afraid jennifer hudson's boobs are gonna pop out of her gown. i didn't know anika noni rose is a tony award winner. i vote "listen" will take the award. oh! melissa etheridge won for the... song from "an inconvenient truth."
  
• time for the in memoriam portion. don knotts, red buttons, joe barberra, maureen stapleton, james doohan, peter boyle, sydney sheldon, jack palance, jack warden, mako, robert altman... those were the ones familiar to me.
• philip seymore hoffman one of the 50 most beautiful people? why? anyway, he's presenting the best actress award. helen mirren wins. she brought her purse up on stage. maybe she's planning to leave the ceremony as soon as she leaves the stage.
• reese witherspoon is presenting the best actor oscar. love her dress. she looks great. forest whitaker takes home the gold. poor peter o'toole. why's forest angry as he leaves the stage?
  
• coppola, lucas and spielberg present the best director award. martin scorsese wins! finally! he used to be in the seminary? cool. hey! jack nicholson's presenting the final award for the night. looks like it's gonna be anti-climactic, given how the audience is screaming their love for marty.
• oh! it's diane keaton and jack nicholson who are presenting the award for best picture. and the winner is... the departed!

thank you and good night!

everything comes in two's

two names you go by:
1. pia
2. piatos

two things you are wearing right now:
1. blue sweater
2. black sweats

two things you want in a relationship:
1. love/constancy
2. respect/trust

two of your favorite things to do:
1. watch videos/movies
2. shop

two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. peace of mind
2. the one

two pets you had/have:
1. a spincher (spitz/pincher)
2. daschund

two people who will fill this out:
1. jowi (?)
2.

two things you did last night:
1. slept
2. watched tv

two people that live in the same house you are:
1. marco
2. noah

two things you ate today:
1. pata tim
2. oatmeal

two people you last talked to:
1. joey
2. noah

two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. errands
2. making calls

two longest car rides:
1. drive from florida to virginia
2. drive from victoria, canada back to seattle, washington

two favorite holidays:
1. christmas
2. my birthday (i know it's not a holiday. but it's still the only day i can call mine)

Two favorite beverages:
1. water
2. vodka-based cocktails

celebrity look-alikes

Clockwise from top left: Brad Garrett (a.k.a. Robert Barone of "Everybody Loves Raymond"), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (a.k.a. Denny Duquette of "Grey's Anatomy"), and John Lloyd Cruz (Filipino television & movie personality)

Diba pwede silang magkakamag-anak?

What do you think?

i'm back!

after a 14-hour drive, an near-collision at the earlier stretch of I-95, a 30-minute nap in the first rest area i passed, and a number of stops for gas, i'm finally back in virginia.

my plan was to leave florida at 4am so i would get here by evening. but since i couldn't sleep last night, at 1am, i decided to just make the drive earlier. all my stuff, except for the few remaining articles of clothing, were already in the truck anyway. so i left crystal river, florida at 2am, not even the crack of dawn.

now i feel sleepy. i was pretty much running on adrenaline and caffeine during the entire trip, so i'm expecting an crash anytime now.

ahhh... but the superbowl's starting. i'm feeling energized a bit. well, energized enough to watch with thrina, *joey and the kids.

it's great to be back :)

* joey, not jowi, is thrina's hubby. thanks to jowi for pointing out my typo... hehehe.