Last night were the Academy Awards/Oscar's. I don't know why sometimes they're referred to the Oscar's and other times the Academy Awards. Beyond me. Either way, all of the best stars of Hollywood gathered on the famous Red Carpet (which I hear is rather warm) and had all their pictures taken by hundreds upon hundreds of photographers. After being told numerous times how gorgeous/handsome each star was, they were each asked the famous question "Who are you wearing?" This is an opportunity for the highly paid designers of Hollywood to get their two seconds of fame. Pronunciation and practice of each designer's name is done time and time again so that the celebrity doesn't mess it up. However, what happens when the interviewer forgets to ask who you're wearing as this happened to Chris Rock last night. At the end of his interview, he shouts "By the way I'm wearing..." and the interview turned pink as she had just messed up her only job.
After the parade of stars and cameras on the Red Carpet, the Academy Awards began. This year's host (for his seventh or eighth time) was Billy Crystal. Stars and fans alike were excited at this choice as they knew he would be one to entertain but also one to be respectful and appropriate. The show opened with a rather long video of Billy Crystal in numerous box office hits from this year featuring stars like George Clooney and Justin Bieber. He also opened by singing an original song, directing many of his lines to directors/actors in the audience. A common theme among the male award presenters was facial hair, and lots of it. Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and Zach Galifianakis all sported mustaches, beards, and long locks. In my opinion, the only one that truly pulled of this look was Zach.
Among the most memorable awards of the night was Hugo, the Artist, and Meryl Streep. Hugo walked away with most of the technical awards for the night, totaling five Oscars. I have yet to see the movie, but it is clear after the overwhelming response from the Academy that I should watch it. The Artist, a black and white film with no dialogue also took home five Oscars including the biggest of the night, Best Picture. What. I can't say much because I haven't seen the film, but there is nothing appealing to me about a movie with no dialogue and entirely in black and white. (except for the incredibly talented jack russell Uggie) Meryl Streep took home her third Oscar for her performance in Iron Lady, after 17 nominations. She now holds the most nominations of any actor/actress in history. Duh, she's fabulous. She was truly surprised at the win, but the crowd wasn't as they all jumped to their feet for a standing ovation. All eyes and ears were on her as she made her speech, which she claimed to be "the last time I'm ever up here" (*cue small chuckle from the crowd*). Meryl Streep is one of the classiest and most talented women in the industry and as Cam from Modern Family quotes, "...Meryl Streep could play Batman and be the right choice. She's perfection".
The show only ran eight minutes over the allotted time frame which I dare say is a win for the production crew. Ellen debuted her JC Penny's commercials throughout the show, which of course I thought were fantastic (I'm biased..) I have never sat down to watch the full Oscar's until last night, but I am glad I did. If you missed any of the show, here is a quick clip of the evening's highlights.
For all of you lovely ladies looking for love, TV time, wine, traveling for free, and drama...The Bachelor just might be your perfect fit. Despite the over produced and commercialized aspect of the show, millions of women (and men) tune in every Monday night at 8 o'clock to watch the romance and drama unfold. Myself included. If The Bachelor is new to you, the basic premise of the show is that one "lucky" bachelor gets the chance to fall in love from a hand picked selection of 25 women. The goal at the end of the season is for the bachelor to propose to one lady and they go on to live happily ever after....with a fantastic track record of 1/17 couples still together, the odds aren't in your favor. Nevertheless, women flock to this show hoping to find true love.
This season, bachelor Ben Flajnik has embarked on his journey to find true love. After being rejected by Ashley Hebert in the previous season of The Bachelorette, fans wondered if he could even fall in love again. And then Courtney walked through the door. A "breathtaking" brunette model, Courtney has been the talk of the season and also the cause for most of the in house drama. If living with 24 other girls wasn't hard enough to begin with, Courtney has managed to create tension with every single girl in the house. Though most fans hate her for her rudeness, bluntness, and over the top techniques, it is hard to deny that she plays the game perfectly. I personally find her hilarious. Ben certainly was captivated by this woman and has remained so throughout the season...(probably because of their skinny dipping excursion). This week was "hometowns" where the final four girls bring Ben home to meet their families. Definitely one of the most crucial weeks of the season, each girl brought their A-game. While Courtney was at home, I actually began to like her and feel that she might be in it for Ben, not just the game.
Each girl was tasked with preparing dates for themselves and Ben and at the end of the week, one was sent home. The girls are lined up and given roses at the weekly rose ceremony. If you are given a rose, you stay for one more week. If not, you get to ride in a limo filled with camera men and cry your eyes out to America. SPOILER ALERT: This week, it was Kacie B's turn. Personally she was my favorite throughout the season, but her family is what I believe scared Ben off. With a father that doesn't drink alcohol (Ben's a winemaker..) and who is also a federal probation officer...Ben ran as fast as he could, breaking sweet Kacie B's heart along the way. Still in the running are Courtney, Lindzi, and Nikki. My bet is on Courtney, and at this point, I'm actually rooting for her.
With only three weeks left, The Bachelor is drawing to a close, and Ben is drawing closer to proposing to the woman of his dreams. But don't cry Bachelor fans, it's not over. The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad are soon to follow so you can keep your Monday nights occupied with Chris Harrison, roses, and crying throughout the summer!
For those of you that are completely lost about this show, these two video clips are all you need to know about this season. After watching these, you'll be good to go for next Monday night.
Tomorrow is February 14th, also known as Valentine's Day. Some of the men reading this just ran away from the computer in a panic as this post was their reminder. You're welcome. Come back and finish reading :) My brother thinks that Valentine's Day is an over commercialized holiday and chooses not to celebrate it. Apparently his wife is okay with that...for the rest of you men out there, you're probably not so lucky.
Tomorrow is a day for men to spoil their women with flowers, chocolates, and teddy bears. Many of these men would probably say that their girlfriend or wife is "already spoiled", but that doesn't matter. She will still be expecting something, so be prepared. Now I'm not the type of girl to expect the Kay jewelry bracelets or expensive gifts like that, a nice card and a rose would be perfect. I know that Valentine's Day can put a lot of pressure on boys to perform and buy lots of things, but I don't really think it should be like that. I guess that's where I sort of agree with my brother about the holiday being over commercialized. I think Valentine's Day should just be a day where couples set aside extra time for each other and take a few minutes to share how they appreciate one another. While I might talk the talk, I probably don't walk the walk perfectly. I can't say that I wouldn't love a special gift from Ben, because then I'd be lying.. :)
For all the single folks out there, (and by folks I mean ladies) Valentine's Day is the worst day of the year. It's a day to go out and buy chocolate, ice cream, and pinatas and have a self pity/loathing party. Many groups of girls throw "I hate men" parties on Valentine's Day and get incredibly drunk and loaded up on chocolate to the point where they hate themselves. It's a time to watch classic romantic movies such as The Notebook, but instead of falling in love with Ryan Gosling (...as I do every time) they choose to scream at him and throw chocolates at the television. Come on, ladies. How do you expect a man to fall in love with you when you don't even love yourself? ...and that's my deep thought of the day.
So whatever your relationship status may be, have a great day tomorrow...and if you don't, well, Wednesday is right around the corner :)
P.S. Since I am very busy with school work and such, I have decided to pick one day a week to write a post. This day will be Monday (today). I figure that this will give my readers some routine as to when to check Gainesville Goodies as well as something to look forward to at the beginning of each week. Of course, for recipes, food reviews and other news I will post a link to Facebook to direct you here. Thanks everyone!
Hey all! This past week (two) have been crazy! Like four exams crazy. I guess that's one of the downfalls of trying to maintain a blog while being a full time student, sometimes, there are not enough hours in the day to do both.
That being said, Superbowl XLVI was last night, and the New York Giants edged out the New England Patriots in what came down to a very close, intense game of football. I personally don't like the Patriots, however, I was pulling for them last night because I bet Ben that they would win....and they didn't. But, congratulations to Eli Manning and the Giants. Game well played.
While I watched the game for football being played, millions of people watched instead for the commercials. Commercials this year, for each 30 seconds, were running between $1-5 million. Ridiculous. My favorites were the Coca-Cola bear commercials, gotta love the polar bears. I'd actually like a pet polar bear, if it wouldn't kill me...I thought, however, the two cleverest commercials that debuted were the Sketcher's commercials (with the bulldog) and the Bud Light "Here, We Go!" commercial (with the beer retrieving dog). If you missed them, here they are:
I hope that everyone enjoyed a great Superbowl weekend. I am already having football withdrawals as I will not have Sunday or Monday night football for a very long time. I guess that's what baseball season is for ;)
