Super Bowl XLII: The Live Blog

This is my second go-around at the live blog, with my first being the live blog during last year's Oscars telecast, which was met with quite a nice reception, so here we go again, this time as the Super Bowl captures the attention of millions across the world.

So join with me as I enjoy the game, (which I predicted to result in a Patriots victory last night - - but really, who isn't picking the Pats!?!?) - - I hope I can help you enjoy it more!

And away we go (keep refreshing for constant updates!):

3:03 pm - For the record, I can't stand Joe Buck. My friend Joseph and I could broadcast this one with much more panache than Mr. Buck there. In the words of Joseph, "Stick with the St. Louis Cardinals, Joe." Indeed.

3:05 pm - I'm surprised that Troy Aikman can still carry on a conversation, let alone hold his head up after all of his concussions. And of course, that doesn't affect his decision to broadcast next to Buck. . . o no, he really enjoys that. . .

3:07 pm - The first set of commercials, kinda. The real big money spots happen after kickoff, but it's still exciting to see what the ad-wizards out there have in store for us. . . If that commercial where the animals jump in the car and start singing comes on more than 3 times, I just might turn the whole thing off!

3:10 pm - American Idol now has instruments! That just might get me back to watching the show. But not really. . .

3:11 pm - I like Eli Manning. He's a good quarterback (some of the time, at least) and a nice guy, based on his personality from his many commercials with big brother Peyton. Too bad Peyton is better. And the team he is about to lose to, yeah, they are pretty darn good too. . .

3:12 pm - The Giants just came out to Kanye West's "Stronger," which is a good choice actually. The Pats should come out to Queen's "We Are the Champions."

3:13 pm - A little Ozzy instead, huh? That works for me. . . But what exactly does the "Crazy Train" refer to for the Patriots. . .

3:15 pm - This VANTAGE POINT movie looks inventive, if nothing else. I'll probably go with Heather, who is infatuated with Mr. Matthew Fox, of LOST fame. Apparently the scraggly good guy (his character, at least) is attractive. On an unrelated note, I'm growing out my chin hair. . .

3:17 pm - These SYNC commercials are the best! My favorite is when the lady walks into the glass doors though. Nothing better than coffee going everywhere!

3:18 pm - Nice to see that Tom Coughlin's face looks better than it did last week. Man, I thought he would have permanent frostbite after that game in Green Bay! . . Keep your fingers crossed for Arizona's own, Jordin Sparks. Just don't say the wrong line. . . She's got a good voice, that one.

3:21 pm - And. . . goosebumps

3:23 pm - It's nice to see Owen Wilson back up and moving after the whole attempted suicide thing a few months ago. . . but not in that P.O.S. movie. Come on Owen!

3:25 pm - The game is gonna be in the dome exclusively. Now it's really over. The Pats are the new "Greatest Show on Turf." I wouldn't want to defend Randy Moss on any surface, let alone turf. . . Those are some great 49ers right there. That is the reason why I grew up a Niners fan. But once Rice retired, that was it. He is the greatest. No questions.

3:27 pm - The Giants won the toss. That will be their last victory of the year.

3:28 pm - Looks like my favorite show HOUSE is gonna be awesome tonight. Too bad I'm an episode behind on my TIVO. . . Hmmm. . . decisions decisions

3:32 pm - First play will be a run up the middle. . . and I'm right.

3:33 pm - I was concerned about Eli's first pass. But that was a good one. It's easier when Plaxico Burress is your receiver - the guy is huge!

3:36 pm - I said Patriots 34, Giants 21 before the game. I'm sticking by it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a bit more high-scoring. . .

3:37 pm - Fire-breathing commercial gets an early lead on best commercial of the night. . . and Audi and their beautiful sports car? Well, amazing car. Not so good commercial (really? a Godfather reference?)

3:39 pm - First HUGE play of the game with this 3rd and short. . . I'm thinking Jacobs running up the middle. . . I was wrong, it was to Bradshaw. Either way, the Giants are running a nice drive here. I still think it ends with a field goal. . .

3:44 pm - Buck just said something that the Giants just want to keep the ball away from Brady. That's too defensive of a game plan, in my opinion. You have to go for the TD as well as keep him off the field. And now they have to settle for a field goal. . . Giants 3, Pats 0. Here we go!

3:47 pm - Pepsi is on its way to worst commercial of the night with the "What is Love?" one (is Chris Kattan supposed to be the celebrity in that one? Or is it LL Cool J?).

3:48 pm - Just what Tom Brady needs: good field position.

3:49 pm - Well done, Bud Light (the "Wine Party" commercial). And if it was Under Armour's intention to scare the crap out of us, then they did a good job.

3:51 pm - I'm rooting for the Patriots. I want to see history made here tonight. But I really like that Steve Spagnuolo, the defensive coordinator for the Giants. I hope he gets a good head coaching job over the next season or two.

3:54 pm - They have completely overkilled the Brady-ankle injury thing. He's playing. He's fine. Leave him alone. . .

3:58 pm - That penalty will come back to bite the Giants. They would have had a stop there and it would have been just a tie game going into the second quarter. . . Instead, the Pats have 2nd and goal on the 1-yard line as we begin the second. End of the first quarter now - Giants 3, Patriots 0. But not for long. . .

4:02 pm - And once the game is over, don't forget it's almost SUPER TUESDAY!!! I'm leaning more towards Barack Obama every day actually. . .

4:03 pm - See? Not long at all. . . Pats 7, Giants 3. O and this WANTED movie? Yeah, it is gonna be freakin' awesome!!!

4:04 pm - Good call Danica. You think they made life difficult for you in the car racing world because you were a girl. Yeah, the whole "Exposure" thing with Godaddy? Not gonna help. . .

4:06 pm - And there are several great commercials!!! FedEx (scary carrier pigeons), Cars.com ("Ring of Fire"), and Tide ("The Talking Stain"). Well done to you all. . .

4:09 pm - Anyone betting against Jim Carrey as one of the luckier men in the world? Actually, now that I think about it, I'm gonna go with Tom Brady. . .

4:10 pm - Here comes another Giants field goal. . .

4:12 pm - There's the first obligatory sight of big brother Peyton. You know he wishes it was him out there, thus sayeth my father.

4:13 pm - See, I was wrong. No field goal. Just an interception that was not Eli's fault. Bummer.

4:15 pm - Budweiser played their cards right with a "Rocky"-inspired commercial, and then we got our first TV spot for this summer's to-be blockbuster IRON MAN. One word: HellYeah!!! (You say them together when you are as excited as I am!)

4:17 pm - Surprising call on the 3rd and 1 by the Pats. I would have preferred a 4-wide receiver set with a throw of some kind. But I'm also not paid to make decisions, so there's that. Giants ball near their own 40. Let's see how Eli reacts. . .

4:20 pm - Funny Toyota Corolla ad (the "Badger" one) as well as a funny TV spot for this spring's LEATHERHEADS, which I mentioned in my movie preview from a couple weeks ago. Smart placement there, seeing that it's a football-central movie and all. . .

4:22 pm - Buck just said that him and Aikman aren't the best announcers around. Finally, something out of Buck's mouth that isn't complete nonsense. . .

4:23 pm - Tough series for the Giants. Without a TD on that first possession and a couple letdowns (the interception in the red zone, a terrible drive that went for -6 yards), the Giants should be careful here. . . Watch out for Moss going deep on this drive. . .

4:25 pm - More bad commercials!!! Just what we spent millions of dollars on! Careerbuilder.com (the heart quitting), some sort of Life Water or something (the "Thriller" dancing lizards, etc.). It's just crazy the type of stuff that gets on television. . .

4:27 pm - Wow. . . that Giants defense showed up right there. That was impressive.

4:30 pm - As soon as I saw Carlos Mencia, I had to simultaneously bite my tongue and push every throwable object away from me so I didn't hurl it at the TV. O, yeah, I can't stand him. . .

4:33 pm - Here comes another Giants field goal. . .

4:35 pm - I don't get how this is a half of football that Giants can be happy with. I mean, I kind of understand. But are they winning? Is there intention in this game to play close with the Patriots, or is it to win?

4:38 pm - Just as a warning, I will be taking off the live blog during halftime. These last two minutes are gonna produce some excitement, I have a feeling, so I'll stick around til then. But as soon as Tom Petty shows up, I'm done blogging. . .

4:40 pm - Good ads this time around. Planters showed some guts with that unattractive woman getting guys to make fools of themselves (physical humor is easy) and the Fave Five with Charles Barkley making me laugh like always (Except when he is saying bad things about my SUNS). Pepsi and Justin Timberlake is always a good combo as well. As for that NARNIA movie: Meh. The first one was pretty underwhelming and I probably won't be seeing this one in theaters at all. . .

4:45 pm - Huge first down. . . But you knew that. . .

4:47 pm - I'm gonna save all of my analysis once the half ends, but Brady is getting roughed up and that is never a good thing if you are the Patriots.

4:49 pm - That was pure New England Patriots football right there. They will score on this drive. . .

4:50 pm - Maybe not. . .

4:54 pm - And that's the half. Patriots 7, Giants 3. I gotta give it up to Steve Spagnuolo and the way he prepared his defense. They seem extremely ready for the long haul of the Super Bowl and they are certainly getting in Brady's grill nonstop. I don't think that the Pats should be concerned just yet, though. They get the ball first in the second half and a score there makes it potentially a two-possession game. I still like the Pats to win by a couple scores, but the confidence level has certainly dropped. Enjoy Tom Petty and I will go enjoy some food from the refrigerator. See you in a little bit!!!

5:23 pm - And. . . we're back. A couple notes about halftime: 1) Tom Petty is old. And is that really what we want? Apparently! Consider some of the most recent musical guests during the halftime shows of the past few Super Bowls: U2, Prince, Aerosmith, and the Rolling Stones. It sure seems like we like to see old guys coming back to play songs that were popular back in the days of people like my friend Manny and other late twenty-somethings (there's your shout out, sir!) or even before that! 2) After some more thinking, I'm even more sure that the Pats come out and put up at least 21 points before the game ends. The Giants will continue to struggle on offense and may not break single figures. I'm going with 24-9 as my new final. 3) I'm fed up with Joe Buck. Just one more half. . .

5:29 pm - All Brady needs is a little bit more time. The more time he has to throw the ball, the more he will begin to pick apart the Giants' secondary. . .

5:32 pm - I like those Cars.com commercials with the whole "Plan B" thing. On the other hand, I hate those Salesgenie.com ones. Really? Chinese panda bears selling bamboo? And don't get me started on Shaq's ad with Vitamin water. If you can't step foot on the court, you should not be able to do ads, especially ones that have you horse racing, or at least pretending to do so. And even if you weren't hurt, you are still not as big of a name as you once were. . . sorry

5:36 pm - Cavemen humor is still not funny. Neither is Carmen Electra (pretty? Yeah. Funny? Um, no). And if I have the choice between swerving in the road and running over Richard Simmons, well, let's just say there's a reason that I'm not the driver in that commercial. . .

5:38 pm - Another huge break for the Patriots! Wow, what a challenge!!!

5:39 pm - Is anyone really going to go on Myspace to re-watch commercials? I think not only has the quality gone down in them across the board, but really the excitement over them has dropped as well. With internet advertising being as big as it is, I don't think that it's worth all of the money that these companies pay for these ad spaces.

5:41 pm - That was the biggest play of the game so far (the Kevin Faulk reception for the first down on 3rd and 13). I actually yelled out loud when he made it over that digitalized yellow line!

5:43 pm - I'm not sure about that call to go for it on the 4th down. It would have been a 49-yard field goal which is long, but not too long for Gostkowski, I think. But again, I'm not the one getting paid for that decision. . .

5:46 pm - WALL*E is going to be absolutely amazing. We're talking RATATOUILLE amazing. And that's pretty, well, amazing!

5:47 pm - Having your knee reconstructed is not something that sounds good. At all.

5:50 pm - I like seeing the Giants going for that TD there. It shows they see a chance to actually win this thing and that they want it. So far, I've only seen that desire in the defense.

5:52 pm - Another missed opportunity for the Giants. Until they can get a good drive going, I don't like their chances. And I don't like our chances of seeing an exciting game, as we are just a couple minutes away from going into the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl with a score of 7-3!

5:53 pm - No, I'm not interested in JUMPER, and no, the E*Trade commercial with the baby talking with a man's voice was not funny at all. Bud Light continues its hit-and-miss night with another funny ad featuring a flying man getting sucked into the airplane turbines. Again, physical humor like that cant miss. However, I have yet to laugh out loud at any of these, so it's still not a good night commercial-wise. . .

5:55 pm - I just wanted to take a second and congratulate Steve Spagnuolo on his new job as the Washington Redskins head coach. . .

5:57 pm - A box of bananas was reportedly taken to the Giants locker room at halftime and then to their bench now. This is considered investigative sports reporting, by the way. Aren't we excited that Pam Oliver and Chris Meyers are our sideline reporters for tonight's game?

6:00 pm - Wow. This has to be the most unbelievable score ever! Patriots 7, Giants 3 after three quarters!!! This fourth quarter is either going to be extremely exciting or extremely boring. Either way it's going to be EXTREME! (A little Harold and Kumar humor for those of you who like that sort of thing. . .)

6:04 pm - I still don't understand these Propositions (94-97) about the Indian gambling or whatever. At all. Except that one side is supposed to be "greedy". . . Right, like that clears thing up!

6:06 pm - I had Stewie as the prohibitive favorite to get that Coke balloon. Then the underdog. . . no not Underdog. . . Charlie Brown came out of nowhere and picked up the victory!!!

6:08 pm - There's your big play. Wow. . . But even still, here comes another Giants field goal.

6:10 pm - How many times are they gonna show Peyton up there? Leave the man alone!

6:11 pm - Giants 10, Patriots 7. Just unbelievable. . . I'm still not worried for the Pats, but now you have to score (obviously) and that hasn't happened since quarter two. But the Pats aren't the best scoring team of all-time for nothing. . .

6:13 pm - Kudos to both James Carville and Bill Frist for participating in that Coke commercial. Good stuff all around. . .

6:15 pm - Can we all just agree that Adam Sandler is no longer funny. . . thanks.

6:19 pm - Another turnover on downs for the Pats. Just shocking. . .

6:20 pm - Babies speaking with an adult voice has not been funny since Adam Sandler made a really funny movie. That would be The Waterboy. . . and actually, it wasn't funny then either. I just thought I'd slam Sandler one more time. . .

6:23 pm - Nine minutes left and the Giants are up by a field goal and have the ball. No one saw this coming.

6:25 pm - That tackle by Rodney Harrison just might end up being the biggest play of the entire game if the Patriots are able to score here on this drive.

6:27 pm - So that SEMI-PRO movie with Will Ferrell seems to be ANCHORMAN: THE BASKETBALL VERSION. Which is fine by me. ..

6:28 pm - Who could possibly be the MVP of this game? Can the Giants defense get it collectively? Can it be Steve Spagnuolo? Of course, if Mr. Brady there orchestrates a comeback then we all know who gets the trophy. . .

6:30 pm - I wonder if the Pats wish that they had kicked that field goal earlier on that 4th and 13???

6:32 pm - I'm telling you, it's all about time! Give Tom Brady an extra second to find his receiver and you will lose. That's what is happening on this drive. . .

6:34 pm - You had to know this was coming. . . the Giants D is good, great even! But even the greatest get tired. . .

6:38 pm - A TD here would be huge, of course, but you have to make sure a FG is possible at least. Be careful, if you're Tom Brady. . .

6:39 pm - There it is! You KNEW it was coming!!! He was going to Moss all the way!

6:42 pm - That's a football hit!!!

6:44 pm - I just don't want to see Eli throw an interception. . . a turnover on downs or a fumble by a receiver. Just no pick Eli!

6:45 pm - There's the two-minute warning. Pats 14, Giants 10. Here. . . we. . . go!!!!

6:46 pm - Amp (an energy drink of some sort I guess) worked it with that fat man dancing commercial. You can never go wrong with fat men dancing! And kudos to Big Ben, the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, for singing solo on an American Idol ad. Good stuff.

6:47 pm - Huge huge fourth down. . . run up the middle, I say. . . yep, it was.

6:49 pm - Eli better be careful if he decides to do that again. . . slide earlier, sir!

6:51 pm - I don't think they can score a TD here. Not against this team.

6:52 pm - If the Giants DO win this game, that will go down as one of the greatest plays in the history of the Super Bowl. . . simply amazing, young Manning.

6:55 pm - Heart pounding. . .

6:56 pm - Unbelievable. . .




6:57 pm - Keep in mind that the Pats have all three timeouts left and only need a field goal. Just a thought. . .

7:00 pm - That was the entire game in one play. Brady pressured and goes down. That's what has been the difference tonight. . .

7:03 pm - This is it. . .

7:04 pm - Wow. . . The Giants actually did it!!! Hey, hats off to them. They played a great defensive game and did just enough on the offensive end to warrant them a victory. Congratulations to the New York Football Giants! You are the winner of Super Bowl 42!

7:05 pm - And now, four hours (almost exactly) from the moment this all began, the Live Blog from Super Bowl XLII is absolutely done. Give me a hand, huh? But either way, the NFL season is officially over and will be until Labor Day. And that means only one thing, since we know that Spring Training isn't for another couple months. . .

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE NBA!!!

And with that, I leave you for the night. Hope you enjoyed the game and the live blog, which I hope to do again if the Academy Awards happen later this month. Please take the time as well to scroll down and read my brand new "Ass of the Week" which I posted last night and comments are greatly appreciated as always!

Thanks as always for joining me here at A RAMBLER'S RAMBLING. And take care!

Until later,

The Oscars 2007: The Live-Blogging Event

Welcome everyone (veteran readers and first-timers alike!) to A RAMBLER'S RAMBLING and my first ever attempt at a live-blog, an up-to-the-minute update on everything the OSCARS. It is finally February 25, 2007 which means that the biggest night in Hollywood is upon us and it wouldn't be me if I didn't have an opinion on everything that occurred at the Kodak Theatre.

So this is how it's going to work:

I'll be posting as much as possible (as often as possible, I should say). The way you will be able to read the most recent post is by hitting the refresh button to get the most up-to-date version of the page. . . Get it? Got it. Good!

I'll be starting a little before 1700. . .

AND AWAY WE GO!!!!!!!!

1630: We're a half hour away from the OSCARS! Does anyone else find the combination of George Pennachio and Richard Roeper a little odd? Pennachio is way too "star struck" and asks the most long, tenuous questions. Roeper, as much as I like him, is just a complete tool. I miss Roger Ebert. . . Get better soon Roger!

1633: More Pennachio nonsense and Roeper just called him on it. . . I love it! The main man, Clint Eastwood, is looking at Pennachio like he is an idiot. Behind those sunglasses, those old eyes are rolling. I guarantee it!

1636: While we're at commercial, let me throw out a couple of predictions. . .

- Best Picture: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (it's the dark horse and I think will surprise everyone just like CRASH did last year!)
- Best Director: Martin Scorsese for THE DEPARTED (it's his year!)
- Best Actor: Forest Whitaker in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
- Best Actress: Helen Mirren in THE QUEEN
- Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin in LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (the surprise of the night over Eddie Murphy - - NORBIT's release honestly hurt Eddie!)
- Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson in DREAMGIRLS (although an Abigail Breslin or Adriana Barraza upset would not surprise me at all!)

1641: Eddie Murphy looked like he wanted to attack Richard Roeper for his vehemently rough review of NORBIT. . . I'm telling you, this Red Carpet thing is just asking for an actor to go off after he answers the same question for the fifty thousandth time!

1644: Ryan Gosling is awesome! He has a huge career ahead of him and also gets many points for his "Shut up already!" look at George Pennachio. . . and then old Penny started yelling at Peter O' Toole like a five-year old wanting a lollipop. I have never said this before, but can Ellen Degeneres please take the stage!!!

1648: More predictions. . .

- Best Cinematography: CHILDREN OF MEN
- Best Foreign Language Film: PAN'S LABYRINTH
- Original Screenplay: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
- Adapted Screenplay: THE DEPARTED
- Documentary: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

1653: I want to meet Marty Scorsese! I hope against hope that he wins tonight!

1656: Yay!! No more George Pennachio! It's Oscar time baby!!!

1700: Intro time. . . references to HAPPY FEET, BORAT, CARS, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE QUEEN, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Hmm. . . no laughs though. . . Wait!!! I thought the telecast began at 1700!!! Dammit!!! Now we have to suffer through another half hour of interviews. . .

1705: Well since I don't care about what Jennifer Hudson is wearing, allow me to complete my list of the (major) predictions. . .

- Film Editing: BABEL (although I hope it wins nothing!)
- Makeup: PAN'S LABYRINTH
- Art Direction: DREAMGIRLS
- Sound Mixing: DREAMGIRLS
- Sound Editing: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
- Visual Effects: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
- Costume Design: MARIE ANTOINETTE
- Original Score: THE QUEEN
- Original Song: one of the DREAMGIRLS songs (that's me bailing out and taking the odds!)
- Animated Feature: HAPPY FEET

1714: Will Smith is straight up the coolest guy in Hollywood. And that Jaden kid already has his composure and I love how he already has a disgust for this whole interview/Red Carpet process. I think he just wants to sit down and eat some popcorn. . .

1720: Well, I'm going to do a final bathroom stop before the real deal begins (which hopefully is at 1730). . . And what's the over/under on length for this bad boy? We gonna hit four hours again? I'm thinking 225 minutes. That's just a guess though ha ha!

1730: Ok, now here we go!!! I have my fingers crossed for not only my movies (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THE DEPARTED) but also that Ellen does a good job. I wanted either Jon Stewart again, Stephen Colbert, or even Conan O' Brien, but I have high hopes for Ellen.

1733: Love this intro!!! BABEL director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu says that they may have gotten too many nominations. . . I agree!!! Alan Arkin is very cool. Leo is the most underrated, overhated actor in Hollywood. More funny, touching moments. . . Best intro since last year!!!

1740: So far, so meh. Two successful jokes and just an ongoing same-joke monologue. Ok, we get it. It should be stressful for them, but wait, why? They already did the acting thing. Now they're just sitting there listening to you struggle. Dangit Ellen!

1741: "8th nomination, right Peter O' Toole? Well, you know what they say, third time's the charm!" - Best joke yet!

1744: Steve Carell is the funniest man on the planet. Let's just get that out of the way right now.

1745: I don't think a wonderful choir singing "Hallelujah" is going to make the losers feel better. . . just a guess. . . and now the first envelope!!! It's for art direction. . . I picked DREAMGIRLS, but I'm not sure. Watch, PAN'S might win. . . Yep, it's PAN'S LABYRINTH. I shoulda picked that the first time!!!

1750: Um, why are those aerobic people who make up the car in that one commercial (their bodies conform together to look like a car) moving behind this screen. . . O, it's an OSCAR award! I get it (what the hell!!!). So far, it's pretty disappointing. . .

1754: Will Ferrell's hair is funnier than his song. . . wait! There's Jack Black!!! He made it better (and the Mark Wahlberg execution was pretty funny - - he is bad ass right!) and wow, now there's John C. Reilly! On a scale of 0 to 10, this gets a solid 6.5 - - it had the opportunity to be INCREDIBLE!!! Now we have the Makeup nominations. . . (CLICK is nominated and that is absolutely ridiculous for that film to even be mentioned here) Winner is PAN'S LABYRINTH just like I predicted. . . Uh oh!!! PAN'S is gonna win everything!! (O wait, it didn't get any significant nominations. . . hmm)

1800: They should just let Jack Black and Will Ferrell host this thing. . . Now the new kids in Hollywood (LMS' Abigail Breslin and little Will Smith, Jaden) present the Animated Short Film Oscar. . . They're both cute - - - shame on the Academy for exploiting them! (Not really, but seriously, how are these kids so damn successful already!!!) Some short film called THE DANISH POET wins. . . yeah, still never heard of it.

1804: Now it's LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM. Are these films ever shown in theatres? WEST BANK STORY wins and that's cool for this guy. I'm glad!! Holy crap!!! Jack Nicholson shaved his head!!!!!!! He steals everyone's thunder and he may not even try! Unbelievable!!!

1807: LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, a Best Picture nominee, gets its little feature intro thing. This is the only one of the BP nominees that I haven't seen. . . I struggle with foreign films, sorry. I love Eastwood though. Peter O' Toole is legendary and all, but Clint Eastwood is actually two years older and still looks like someone you shouldn't mess with. The man IS Hollywood!

1812: Ellen just tried to regain some props. Didn't work. . . Now these people who do sound effects with their own noises and voices and whatnot prove once and for all that they need to only be heard and not seen.

1815: Sound editing joke is funny just because, wait for it, Steve Carell is involved!!! Sound editing Oscar goes to. . . LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Another one right for me!

1818: The little goat guy from THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (James McAvoy) and the rebellious 7TH HEAVEN daughter (Jessica Biel) present for Sound Mixing. How is PIRATES getting nominated for so many things. . . I said DREAMGIRLS would win. . . and IT DID! I'm on a roll everyone!

1822: First big nomination of the night!!! Best Supporting Actor time. I said Alan Arkin would upset Eddie Murphy. Honestly, I wish Mark Wahlberg would win (and even wish that Dustin Hoffman were nominated from STRANGER THAN FICTION) but I just don't want Eddie to win. With NORBIT out, I don't think he should win. . . The winner is Alan Arkin!!! I am so excited!!!

1825: What the hell is going on with this interview thing by Ellen? Didn't we already get enough interviews?!?!? Kudos to Scorsese for going along with it, but still, I'm already sick of Ellen. And I had such high hopes! . .

1827: Those crawly people are back again forming the penguins from HAPPY FEET. . . Sure it's interesting and original but WHAT THE HELL!!!

1830: THE DEPARTED just got it's feature thingy. I loved that film. I might just watch it again tonight because it's so amazing! That honestly is more of a nod towards LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, which I find to be a better movie. I could just watch THE DEPARTED over and over, that's all. . . Now we segue to the song "Our Song" from CARS being peformed by James Taylor. . . I have never understood this part. Can't they just play a sample of the song like they do with the scenes before the acting awards (although, the scenes they chose on the Best Supporting Actor one were rather questionable - actually, now that I think about it, that was probably the only line that Marky Mark spoke that could have been put on national television ha ha!).

1833: I'm kinda half expecting/waiting for Ellen and Melissa Etheridge to kiss after she finishes this song. . That could be a way to get the crowd on your side, Ellen! (Just to note: I'm not asking for it or anything, but I just think that's exactly what Hollywood wants on a night like tonight - - lesbians kissing - - - - On a side note, this song sucks! Since when does a global warming documentary need a song sung by a pop singer. . .).

1836: Algore (yes, one word) and the Oscars. . . Hmm, never thought I'd type that sentence. . . He is pretty popular, though. At least we know who voted for him 7 years ago. And is Leo gonna hump his leg? Seriously, I love Leonardo Dicaprio, but he was all over the always-boring former VP. Funny joke with him kinda announcing his candidacy for 2008. I'll give him some credit there. . .

1843: Even Ellen's old jokes are falling flat. . . She was a bad choice. So is Cameron Diaz's hair in fact. She's presenting the award for Animated Feature. I liked HAPPY FEET more than CARS and MONSTER HOUSE looked pretty childish. . . the winner is the Penguins that Heather loved so much! It was a lock considering the "Oscars going green" thing. . .

1847: Now we get another montage. This one is about writers. I guarantee a rant if there is no mention of ADAPTATION, my all-time favorite film. . . ok good, there was a quick glimpse of Nic Cage! Quick cuts of CAPOTE, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, and ED WOOD, all of which I loved. Jack Nicholson is fun at all times! Just a thought. Another thought is that Tom Hanks, I'm glad you cut your hair ha ha - - Adapted Screenplay time. These are my favorites since I am a fledgling screenwriter (well, kinda). I love what they're doing with presenting these nominees. It shows the immense amount of blocking and other parts there are to writing a screenplay. . . the winner is THE DEPARTED! I'm so glad - seriously, though, with this winning a few awards and LMS winning a few, I really don't know what is going to win the biggest award. I say, if LMS wins Original Screenplay, it does everything.

1855: Chris Connelly (or whatever) just created the cheesiest moment ever, resulting in Tom Hanks going "Lots more fun!" in a line that sounded like it belonged in THE DA VINCI CODE. Hmm. . . I guess we have two more hours of fun then. . .

1900: Another botched Ellen joke with the baby carrier thing holding the Oscar. Just a bad follow through. . . Nice follow through though for the lead-in to the Costume Design award by Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt. Plus, now we see a practical use of Meryl Streep's talent and straight-facedness (yeah, I made that up). Is it weird that these two actresses were in one of these films? Maybe it's just me. . . I picked MARIE ANTOINETTE but I'm thinking now that maybe DREAMGIRLS might win. . . plus this whole thing with the PRADA girls presenting makes me wary. . . but MARIE wins! Am I incredible or what!!!

1905: Manny (shout out to you sir!) and my boy Tom Cruise presents some humanitarian award. . . It's nice when the unknowns get some accolades. O, and I was wondering if they could have shown Nicole Kidman when Tom was announced. That would have been DRAMA! . . I think this lady is reading from the teleprompter though. Kinda awkward.

1910: There's Ellen in the crowd again. . . and it's still lame. Ooh, a MYSPACE joke! How original! Do you think Spielberg is just humoring her? I say yes. So is Clint. I think he wants her to run back to the stage right about. . . now! Gwyneth Paltrow is now presenting the award for Best Cinematography, but gets to say the words "YOUTUBE" and "cell phones". That's not cinematography Oscar writers!!! I think CHILDREN OF MEN will win cuz I hear nothing but good things about that aspect of the film. I loved THE ILLUSIONIST though and would not mind if it won. It won't. Glad it got nominated, though. . . the winner is PAN'S LABYRINTH. That's the third win for this film, which many say is actually the best film of the year. I'm still not interested. . .

1916: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE gets presented (kinda) by those crawling aerobic people. . . it's still weird and I don't like it!

1920: I love ROBERT DOWNEY JR!!!!!!! He is my favorite actor of all-time because of his ability to create incredible characters and also because he can make fun of himself and his storied, rough past. . . This visual effects category makes me laugh. PIRATES, POSEIDON, and SUPERMAN. Are you kidding!!! PIRATES will absolutely win. . . and it does. This one was as in-the-bag as Helen Mirren and Forrest Whitaker. . .

1923: Ken Watanabe is smooth. Just a thought. . . Another montage. This one is of foreign films because it's the 50th anniversary of that award being a part of the process of the Oscars. . . Not that it matters, but how many of these have been seen by the casual moviegoer? I'm going to count the ones I have seen. . . For me, there were only three, the overrated CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON; the incredible ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, and the brilliantly beautiful 8 1/2. I don't know what that says, but that was a long montage nonetheless. . . Go ahead and add PAN'S LABYRINTH to that last. It's a shoo-in. . . O snaps!!! Germany's THE LIVES OF OTHERS wins in a huge surprise! I don't know what to say really. Congrats to you, sir!

1932: The crawly aerobic people thing is getting more and more annoying!!! And now, we're recognizing SNAKES ON A PLANE on this night. . . Wow. For the record, George Clooney is freakin' awesome and could own all of Hollywood if he wanted to. . . Best Supporting Actress time. I think Jenn Hudson will win just because she is such a success story and all. The upset of this award would be Adriana Barraza who gave the only good performance in BABEL. . . the winner is Hudson. Congrats to her. Think about it, not too long ago she was auditioning for Paula freakin' Abdul and now she is kissing George Clooney on the cheek and talking to millions of people at the Oscars. Very cool indeed. I still don't want to see DREAMGIRLS. . . Beyonce looks like she wishes it was her. Cat fight during their performance? Maybe those aerobic people can re-enact it later too!!!

1940: Now we're watching the feature for BABEL, one of the most tortorous films I have ever seen. The director said in one of those pre-show interviews that the reason some people don't like this film is because they don't like to tap into their emotions. Yeah, whatever. I cry every time I watch CRASH and AMERICAN HISTORY X. You are now dismissed, sir.

1942: Now we get to the Documentary Short award, which for Joe Oscar means absolutely nothing. It's a shame that these films aren't promoted better because I'm sure some of them are fantastic. . . THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT wins. Don't you feel better now that has happened? . .

1944: Jerry Seinfeld is still funny. Always. I think they should let Jerry Seinfeld host the rest of this thing. Wait, why does everyone who presents have to be better at this thing than Ellen? He is presenting Best Documentary and rocked the house and I want to meet him tomorrow. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH is the sure-winner, although I have heard that JESUS CAMP is really good. I will end up renting both. . . the winner is Algore and his global warming pic. Congrats sir! Now this Guggenheim guy is going to hump Algore's leg. He has such a power of these people! They are all just nodding like little bobble heads! Whether or not global warming is real or not, he's still boring, and that is reason enough for me to say "No" to Algore!

1950: Clint Eastwood looks a little weaker up on the stage, but I still hear "Do ya feel lucky punk?" when I look at him. He is ever-frightening, but in a very gentle way - - - another montage. This one is for the scorer (I think it's right Clint!) of some 400 total films. That record alone is incredible! I just hope they don't show all 400!!!

1956: They didn't, but they showed a great many. . . Now Celine Dion (huh?!?!?) is singing a song this guy wrote or something. She kept looking to her right while she sang. She's weird. I get that she has a great voice. But she's not a great performer! She stood in one spot and did not move! I think this year's Oscars telecast is one of the most boring ever! I don't think they want that many people watching for some reason. They're saying "Go watch the movies we're honoring, not our show!" I wonder if AMERICAN IDOL or GREY'S ANATOMY would have more viewers if put up against this telecast. . . Now the guy they're honoring can only speak his native language, which I think is Italian. I'm no dialect expert. . . How lucky that Clint Eastwood speaks that language though! What would they do? Wow, the Oscar producers really didn't think of everything when they planned this night. . . I told you Clint's the man!!!

2002: I just checked, and it was Italian. That was sweet when he dedicated it to his wife Maria. Old people in love are the best!

2006: Hugh Jackman makes me feel very self-confident. He's good looking. . . Best original score time. I guess the guy who did THE QUEEN has never won after countless nominations (kinda like Scorsese and O'Toole). That's why I picked him. . . the guy from BABEL won. Damnit. If you hadn't noticed already, I don't like that film!!!

2009: Wow, Ellen is back. I had kinda forgot about her. . . It was nice. So this telecast is supposed to be cut back in order not to be over four hours. But they're really ruining the whole thing. Now they have a dignified Academy member in fast forward. Whatever. . .

2011: Boring Tobey Maguire and dumb Kirsten Dunst are presenting Original Screenplay. This one will decide the Best Picture race. If LMS wins, it takes Best Picture. If BABEL wins, it's either BABEL or THE DEPARTED. If it's PAN'S, then it's completely up in the air. . . the winner is LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE! I'm telling you right now, this film is gonna win everything!

2016: Crap. Those aerobic people are back forming the devil high heel from THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. This is just as disturbing as that Propel ad where the sports players pop out of the water. . . Chris Connelly speaks so fast and ridiculously that I'm not sure what his purpose is. . . Does anyone know?

2020: "Film star, recording star, and a reason to have high definition television" - this is how J. Lo is presented. Really??? That's flattering? Probably not. . . Now it's time for the DREAMGIRLS to sing. Finally some life will be on the stage. . . I don't like this song either. Beyonce looked like a fembot from AUSTIN POWERS in that first song and now I can tell the multi-platinum artist feels very upstaged by the newcomer Hudson. Even this performance is unimaginative and uninspiring. Too much scream-singing by Beyonce. We get it. You have a powerful voice. . . Does anyone else want one of them to have their voice crack? . .

2026: The final song of their three-song presentation is the best of the three, but that's only because all three of the girls sing and they have a choir behind them and a pretty smooth cat singing with them. That one should win; "Patience". . . Ellen just said "I would hate to follow that" for the second or third time. GET. NEW. MATERIAL. O well. The winner for best original song is. . . the Melissa Etheridge song from AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Unbelievable. . . She just thanked her wife and four children. The Bible belt just turned off the Oscars. . . "We're not Republican or Democrat. We're not Red or Blue. We are all Green." . . . Um, no. Thanks for the idea though!

2034: Back from a commercial break with the feature on LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Great great film. I might watch that again tonight. . . (yes, I know I said that about THE DEPARTED, but whatever). . . Now Will Smith is up to present a Michael Mann-directed tribute/montage to movies about something. I don't know, I really wasn't listening to Smith. He is entertaining, sure, but when he is talking about whatever those Oscar writers produced, I can't pay attention. . . I like this montage actually. But, like I said, I'm not sure what it's about. . . I just found out it's about how America is presented in films. Why??? I think Michael Mann asked to do it and the Oscar guys were like, "YES". Maybe they thought it would have a point. . .

2040: Kate Winslet (always beautiful) is now presenting the last of the semi-major awards, the one for Film Editing. I picked BABEL to win this one, although I think THE DEPARTED could take this one. It should. Watch out for a win by UNITED 93 after that American montage, though. . . the winner is. . . THE DEPARTED! Yes! Down with BABEL!

2044: Jodie Foster is now on stage. We only have the four major awards left (actor, actress, director, and picture) but she is here to present the montage of IN MEMORIAM like always. . . let's see who wins the audience clap-o-meter award. . . First, it was Jane Wyatt, no wait, now it's Don Knotts. Actress Maureen Stapleton and actor James Doohan get heavy applause as well, but it's Peter Boyle and Robert Altman that ultimately take the cake (and no, this is not disrespectful - - ).

2051: Ellen makes a time joke and then a "My bad" joke. . . Weird. Philip Seymour Hoffman is here to award the Best Actress. It's Helen Mirren and everyone knows it. How does she feel, I wonder. I can't imagine the security and the confidence she must be feeling right now. . . Judi Dench is not there tonight - she, even she knows it! . . . I think I want to see this LITTLE CHILDREN movie. It looks pretty darn good. . . and the winner is Helen Mirren, of course. She's graceful and happy and giddy and respectful and honoring and tasteful and humble and just plain wonderful. I really like her. . .

2056: Now, after a brilliant actress accepts an award, what else could we have but those stupid aerobic people. Ridiculous. . . What's even more ridiculous is Chris Connelly again with his absurd "Stay tuned" speech and recap of the night. Get. Off. The. Screen!!!

2100: Ellen is vacuuming! O wait, that's not funny either. Strike ten. You're out. . . Now it's Best Actor time and another obvious choice. It's gonna be Forrest Whitaker for his portrayal of Idi Amin. If Leo was nominted for THE DEPARTED, then maybe that would work. If the Oscar guys want O'Toole for nice' sake, then I would not be surprised. Congrats on the nominations Will Smith and Ryan Gosling! I think you both will win at a later date. . . the winner is. . . Forest Whitaker. Congrats!

2104: On another note, Reese Witherspoon is very beautiful and Ryan Philippe is an absolute idiot! . . Whitaker is choking up. . . good job sir!

2106: Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg (the original "Three Amigos", apparently) are presenting Best Director. Please please please please please let Scorsese win!!! If he doesn't I will scream obscenities at the TV, I promise! The winner is. . . MARTIN SCORSESE!!!!! That has made my night, and as long as BABEL does not win Best Picture, the awards portion of this show will be a success in my eyes. . .

2109: The man is a genius! He's funny, sweet (so how is he so violent!), and very, just, cool! I hope they don't play the music to send him off. Let him finish! Sweet, they did!

2111: The feature for THE QUEEN is on now and I'm sure the Best Picture award is not far behind. . .

2112: It's BEST PICTURE TIME!!! Who is gonna win? I'm going with LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, but it's truly either that, THE DEPARTED or BABEL. . . Please not BABEL. . . Diane Keaton is annoying. . . I'm actually nervous right now. . . Jack is still cool with his shaved head. . . The winner is. . . . . . . . . THE DEPARTED!!!!!!! I feel bad for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, but I'm so glad that BABEL did not win. . . I'm so happy for Marty! They just had this shot from behind Scorsese who was standing offstage looking at the producer who is speaking and he is so cool! Dangit! This guy cannot do anything wrong, really. . .

2117: That's it! Ellen is saying goodnight (it's brief, thank God) and everyone is getting ready to PAR-TAY!!! THE DEPARTED wins the night with four wins with PAN'S LABYRINTH winning thrice and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, DREAMGIRLS, and AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH winning twice. . . What a night! . .

2118: Now I say goodnight. . . It has been an absolute blast to attempt this live-blogging thing, and I am sufficiently exhausted now, thank you very much. But now, I must write two articles about this show since it is fresh in my head. . . Congrats again to the winners and to Ellen who hosted for her first and last time! Bring on Stephen Colbert!!! It's been an honor and a pleasure to do this - - I hope you enjoyed it!

At the end of the night, my predictions looked like this: I got 14 out of the 21 that I attempted to guess (I didn't even try to act like I knew the Documentary Short nominees). Also, I was two minutes off on the running time (227 was the end total) and I take great pride in being so close on that one. . .

All in all I would say it was an unpredictable (thus exciting), but ultimately extremely boring telecast that had a few highlights. But in the end, the entire show was a success because one Martin Scorsese took him his first ever Best Director Oscar and that's enough for me!

And finally, here are some links to some other running diaries or articles about this year's Oscars. . .

Nikki Finke
EW's Live-Blogger
Mike Morrison

Until later - - -