Our friend, who normally invites us to an Oscar night party, was ill.  So Pat and I had a lovely roast beef dinner and watched the event by ourselves.

While I did not like Ellen Degeneres  as the host (she seemed so nervous and the whole Pizza concept failed for me) the entire program seemed to be tighter and better organized than previous years.

Granted there was not a single piece of music that I would ever download, but they did manage to keep the boring speeches to a minimum (aside from those that wanted to thank every intern or slave that they had on staff)

As in previous years it did remind me of how few of the great movies we have actually seen on the big screen.

There was a time, when we were younger, that we would have seen most of the films up for awards.  This was a time when Saturday night held no TV attraction (because there was nothing on but Hockey) so you took your date to movies.   Now we wait for them to show up on TV.

There are certain movies you must see on the big screen.  Gravity you must view in IMAX 3D.  Captain Phillips with the ocean views is a big screen event.  Most of the others…. well we can wait and download.

Still there is a reason why I watch the Oscars.   All the old fart actors bulging out of their tuxes and not giving a damn, and every female actress, no matter what age, struggling to stay skinny and fit into their designer dresses.

Makes me realize why I am glad I was born a male.