Calgon!

There is so much to discuss a girl hardly knows where to begin! The Oscars, the do-we-nationalize-the-banks debate, Rihanna/Chris Brown AND the leaked Rihanna photo, the continuing mystery of why someone hasn't given Miley Cyrus the spanking she deserves, Obama telling the GOP governors to behave themselves... Oh, it's all so exciting! Put it all in one post or divide and conquer? Start with the celeb stuff and then go politics or vise versa? Possums, what do I do??????

Deep breath.

Let's start with the fun stuff, shall we?

THE OSCARS! Random thoughts to follow:

Hugh Jackman = amazing. Charming, funny, so at ease in his own skin, singing, dancing! I thought he was great.

Kate Winslet = Yay!! Finally! The woman was o for 5 going in to last night. Thank goodness she won. And as an added bonus, she looked positively stunning. Stunning. Step back a moment and reflect on the fact that she is only 33 years old and already has SIX Oscar nominations to her name. That's impressive, folks.

Dresses. Oh, dresses! Though I am a woman devoted to her blue jeans, I must admit to longing for the days when women wore dresses more often. Don't you sometimes think it would be fun to get dolled up simply to go to the movies? A night out to a film or a play or a museum used to be an event. Aaaaanyway, pretty dresses! (And not so pretty dresses. I'm talking to you Beyonce. What was that black and gold monstrosity you were wearing?). Most everyone looked great; hell, I even thought Angelina Jolie looked terrific and recently she's been wearing glorified trash bags on the red carpet. But she looked splendid last night. Taraji P. Henson -- could be my pic for favorite dress. Oh, but then there's Kate's ensemble, Anne Hathaway's gorgeous creation, Evan Rachel Wood's dress was so lovely...

Some of the ladies didn't fare as well. There is the aforementioned Beyonce, a woman with a glorious set of pipes but often questionable fashion sense, in my opinion. Jessica Beal is super, super pretty but even she could not make that half bow thing look good. Sarah Jessica Parker is one of the actresses I'd most like to hang out with over a beer 'cause she seems like such a geniunely lovely person but I'm tired of the ballerina dresses (and this, coming from a former ballerina). Also, is it me or did Matthew Broderick look puffy about the face?

There should have been more Daniel Craig. There can never be enough Daniel Craig. Here's hoping that next year all the awards will be presented by Daniel Craig.

Queen Latifah singing over the dearly departed montage? Lovely. Just lovely.

On the blogosphere today reactions are mixed re: former winners in the acting categories extolling the virtues of the nominees. I really liked it. I thought it was different, moving and how great for the winner to be greeted by their respective club members upon hitting the stage? Speaking as one with fantasies of winning an Oscar, I would freakin' love it. Oscar producers, please keep this in mind when I'm nominated. Thank you.

Dustin Lance Black, winner for his screenplay for Milk gave such a touching, heartfelt speech. He made me cry.

Perhaps the funniest moment of the night? No... not Ben Stiller's mockery of Joaquin Phoenix, although that was indeed inspired. My pic for most amusing was the winner of the Best Foreign Film who actually said Domorigato Mr. Roboto. Brilliant. (Please don't chastise me for misspelling that). Or was Sean Penn's "... you commie, homo-loving sons-of-a-gun..." the funniest moment? That was pretty damn great as well. (I do wish he'd thanked Robin though).

Okay. Next.

Rihanna/Chris Brown. Not much to say here except -- that poor, poor girl. I hope she's okay and has good people looking out for her. And then to have her photo leaked like that. Kudos to those entertainment shows such as Access Hollywood that refused to air the photograph. Shame on all the "newspapers" and other programs that did publish/air the pic.

What's next? The banks? Oh, crap. I'm actually a bit pooped at the moment. Can I get back to that one? Or, can I simply direct you to Paul Krugman?

Where does that leave us? Ahhhh, Miley Cyrus. She's obnoxious. End of discussion.

And Obama and the governors. He basically told a few GOPers to quit whining about the 2 or 3 percent of the stimulus package they object to and save their campaigning for 2012. Awesome.

Well. I'm working through an essay on socialism and the debate this country seems to be having about said subject. But I'm reluctant to publish that post until I've got my thoughts in order and my ducks in a row. Stay tuned.

Oh, and do me a favor, would you, bunny rabbits? Please check out my other blog which has now moved to its very own server: http://www.calliopesdiary.com/. Thanks!