Oscar Fashion

So, here we are. The Academy Awards are finished for 2010, and I must say that I enjoyed this year's ceremony more than I thought I would have. It was fun (um, helloooo NPH! totally did not see that coming, but thoroughly enjoyed his song and dance number).  And it was quite to the point.  There was not a lot of fluff that the ceremony has been bogged down in for years.  I mean, it even finished by 10pm! I went 19 for 24 in my predictions (not too shabby). In the major categories, I only missed Best Adapted Screenplay.

Okay, before I get to the fashion, I have a few things I want to get off my chest.  #1) To all those who seemingly loathe Sandra Bullock: Have you seen The Blind Side? She was terrific and gave a stellar performance! She totally deserved that award! As I said in my last post, I wish that Meryl Streep could've won, but thats not the reality.  Bullock gave a performance that was just as good as Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia. And, please, for the love of all that is holy, this was an award for ONE performance! It's not a lifetime achievement award! I know she's been in a lot of crap, but look at Jim Carrey's career for heaven's sake.  He was typecast as the dumb, irreverent comic, but went on to give stellar performances in both The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind! I still can't believe he wasn't nominated for those roles.  Anyway, my point is that Sandra Bullock was a legitimate contender in that race and I am happy for her and, to be honest, I got choked up during her acceptance speech. #2) Did anyone else notice that Farrah Fawcett and Bea Arthur were completely absent from the In Memoriam montage?  Does this make anyone else as livid as it made me?  Yes, they may have been primarily television stars, but Michael Jackson was certainly less of a movie actor than either of them were.  It's like a spit in the face of these two beloved and venerated actresses.  This was the only major flaw of the evening.  Okay, now that that is done, on to the dresses!

I've divided the dresses into three categories: Hits, Misses and Mehs. And they are presented in no particular order.

Hits

Sandra Bullock If I had to pick a favorite, I think I would go with Sandra's beautiful golden dress to complement her new golden statue!

Kate Winslet I think she can officially become a permanent member of my Hit List. I don't remember a dress of hers that I haven't liked.

Demi Moore Yes, I know the dress color was a tad too close to her skin tone, but I adored the style.

Jennifer Lopez Was it the cool off-to-the-side train, or the fact that her dress was studded with Swarovski crystals?

Elizabeth Banks

Queen Latifah

Penelope Cruz Everything about this dress is awesome, but I just love the color on her.

Helen Mirren Classy, as always

Misses

Sarah Jessica Parker ewwwww. Her horrible fake tan completely threw off the so-so yellow dress.

Diane Kruger Could possibly be the sequel to Bjork's infamous Swan dress from 2001?

Charlize Theron Umm, I think you have something on your boobs.

Maggie Gyllenhaal Don't know what it is, I'm just not a fan. Maybe the watercolor print?

Miley Cyrus just an ugly color and design. Plus, STOP SLOUCHING!

Kristen Stewart Just . . . awkward. As always.

Carey Mulligan You know, the dress is fine, it's the hair that throws it all off.

Mariah Carey Sorry, but your boobs are just too big for that dress. How do they not pop right out?

Meh

Cameron Diaz

Zoe Saldana LOVED the top half. I never knew purple and gold could go so well together, but the feathered bottom threw off the whole dress.

Sigourney Weaver

Rachel McAdams Again, not a fan of the watercolor prints. But this dress' style is much better than Maggie Gyllenhaal's

Anna Kendrick

Tina Fey Sorry, Tina. I love you, but leopard print is so not in. But I am digging the one shoulder strap.

Meryl Streep Way to pull off the white Meryl, I just wish there had been a tad more to the dress.

Vera Farmiga Liked the color, but it seems as if she was emerging from a seashell.

Oscars 2010

The Oscars are upon us!  One of my favorite nights of the year. It's like the gay man's Super Bowl.  I get so excited every year for this night.  The glitz, the glamour, the pomp and circumstance, all make me giddy as a schoolgirl.  Tomorrow I will have a rundown of my favorite dresses from the red carpet, but for now I give you my fearless predictions of the winners in all the major categories.

Best Picture
So pretty much this race is a toss-up between Avatar and The Hurt Locker. As I loved both of these movies, It's hard for me choose.  It really could go either way, which would be fine with me.  But, as The Hurt Locker has been winning more awards recently, my money is on The Hurt Locker.

Best Director
It's a showdown of the exes. The ex-husband James Cameron (Avatar) vs. the ex-wife Kathyrn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker).  But it's one of those years where a female has the first real shot of winning a Best Director statue, so I think the Academy will go with Kathryn Bigelow.

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges is getting so much hype for his role in Crazy Heart that it's hard for me to pick anyone else in thise catergory.  As much as I would love Colin Firth to win it for A Single Man, I still think Jeff Bridges will take it.

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Oh wow, what a race. Probably the least predictable acting category.  You've got first-time nominee Sandra Bullock vs. Oscar veteran Meryl Streep vs. new-comer Gabourey Sidibe.  My personal pick would be Meryl Streep for her spot-on portrayal of Julia Child in Julie & Julia, and for the fact that she is the most nominated actor in screen history (16 nominations!) but has only taken home two statues (and only one of those was for a Leading Role).  I think Streep needs more love from the Academy.  But she has America's sweetheart to contend with.  You know, I really did enjoy The Blind Side and thought Sandra Bullock did an amazing job.  This race is by far the hardest one for me to call, but I'm going with Sandra Bullock on this one (sorry, Meryl, much loves).

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Christoph Waltz will waltz away with this one (oh, please forgive me for that).  As much as I adore Stanley Tucci in pretty much everything (The Lovely Bones is no exception), Waltz's equally evil and charming role as a Nazi S.S. officer in Inglourious Basterds is impossible to ignore.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Mo'nique. Period.

Best Animated Film
Up. Period.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Could go to the writers of Up in the Air or the writers of Precious.  To be honest, I did not like Up in the Air, but it was well-written.  I still haven't seen Precious, but from what I hear, it is amazing.  Because I can't pass judgement on Precious, I'm going with Up in the Air on this one.

Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
It's a hard choice. Quentin Tarantino is a master of screenplays.  Inglourious Basterds was no exception. But you've also got The Hurt Locker in the mix, which was masterfully written.  Also, Up had seriously the most heart-wrenching yet warm-spirited story I've seen in a while.  So it's a crapshoot.  I'm gonna take a wild stab and say the The Hurt Locker will win this one.

So, fellow bloggers, what do you think?  Do you think my predictions are solid?

Gaga in Wonderland!

Holy Crap! I almost wet myself in excitement and amazement when I saw this. Oh how I pray to the gods that this could be a real movie. So, enjoy this fake "trailer" and all it's Gaga-lisciousness.

Aftermath

This song pretty much sums up the way I feel right now.  Thanks Adam Lambert for this song.

Have you lost your way?
Livin' in the shadow of the message that you made.
And so it goes
Everything inside your circle starts to overflow.
Take a step a step before you leap
Into the colors that you seek.
You give back what you give away.
So don't look back on yesterday.

Wanna scream out,
No more hiding.
Don't be afraid of what's inside.
Gonna tell ya you'll be alright,
In the aftermath.
Anytime anybody pulls you down.
Anytime anybody says you're not allowed.
Just remember you are not alone,
In the aftermath.

You feel the weight
Of lies and contradictions that you live with everyday.
It's not too late.
Think of what could be if you rewrite the role you play.
Take a step before you leap
Into the colors that you seek.
You give back what you give away.
So don't look back on yesterday.

Before you break you have to shed your armor.
Take a trip and fall into the glitter.
Tell a stranger that they're beautiful
So all you feel is love, love
All you feel is love, love.

Wanna scream out,
No more hiding.
Don't be afraid of what's inside.
Wanna tell ya you'll be alright,
In the Aftermath.

Bliss.....

Have you ever been in a moment you wish could have lasted forever?

I don't think I've ever felt that before.  That is, until tonight.  Oh, how I wished and wished time to stop completely.  A few hours of pure and utter bliss...

What is a Moho?

Last week in my geography class, we began learning about the layers of the Earth.  You know, the crust, the mantle, etc.  Yeah, that stuff.  Anyway, as we were working our way down through the layers, learning about each one, I learned something that just made me laugh.  According to my textbook, "At the base of the crust there is a significant change in mineral composition.  This relatively narrow zone of change is called the Moho."   In the diagram below, the Moho is shown by the red line, just under the crust.

Yes, people, that is right.  Moho is an actual geological term.  For those who don't understand why I find this funny, "Moho" is a term that refers to a gay Mormon (i.e. me).  So, yes, I actually giggled out loud in class when I heard this.  Am I immature?  Am I in middle school when we giggled in health class everytime our teacher said "penis" or "vagina?"  I guess the only reason it is funny to me is because no one else in my class gets that there is a double entendre.  Its like a sexual innuendo in a movie.  You get it, but the person next to you doesn't. It's only funny until you have to explain it.  It kinda loses it value.  Anyway.  Sorry for rambling on.  I thought it was kinda funny.  You may not.

Can't Sleep

Can't sleep.  I hate these bouts of insomnia.  I lay in bed and start to think about life, which gets me thinking about how lonely I really am.  This is what's on my mind tonight:

My last fortune cookie read: "You are going to have a very comfortable life."  Ha!  Comfortable life, indeed.  I am a gay Mormon.  Nothing is going to be comfortable or easy.  Going through life battling between my sexual orientation and my faith will not lead to a very comfortable existence.  Right now is definitely one of those times.  I am not comfortable at all where I am (physically, emotionally, etc.).  Perhaps until I get away from BYU, from Provo, or even away from Utah altogether, I will not be able to live a "very comfortable life."  But in oder for that to happen, I will need to come out to my family and my friends (an extremely uncomfortable thought in and of itself).

Out of my already short list of friends, only a few of them know that I am gay.  I always think that I want to come out, but I am afraid of people judging me or looking at me differently.  Can't they see that I'll still be the same person after I come out, albeit a little more free and unburdened.  I want to tell some people, but every time I think about it, I get a sickly feeling deep down in the pit of my stomach.  It's that same feeling you get right before you go on stage in front of thousands of scrutinizing eyes.  I may be coming out to only one person, but it feels like the world is watching.  Just this morning for example, I was on the phone with my mother and the thought popped in my head: what if I just blurt it out? "Mom, I'm gay." But, as soon as I thought it, I felt like I needed to rush to the nearest bathroom.

I'm guessing it's going to be like when I went bungy jumping.  I got to the edge with my toes hanging out over the ledge. The countdown started: 3 . . . it's about this time I thought why am I doing this? . . . 2 . . . what if the harness isn't secure? what if the cord snaps? . . . 1.  Go!  But inexplicably, despite my misgivings a second earlier, I found myself leaping off the platform and plummeting toward the water as fast as gravity could pull me.  I felt light and free as a bird.  It was a liberating sensation, like I was weightless.  And, to nobody's surprise, the safety features remained intact and they performed their desired fuction to get me back to the top without injury.  Coming out will be hard, and I will have misgivings.  But I just have to go for it and trust that those who support me and love me will not fail me when I need them the most.

*FYI: Yes that is really me in the picture. Cool, huh?

Before I go, I want to take time to thank everybody who follows and/or comments on my blog.  I know this sounds cheesy and cliché, but I do sincerely appreciate all your words of comfort, advice and humor.  So, thanks for reading.  Now, hopefully I have expelled enough of the thoughts rambling around in my brain to get some sleep. Arrivederci.