Let the blogging begin! (In 45 minutes)

Hi, hello, and welcome to andpop's blog to the Oscars, to quote the late, legendary Johnny Carson, two hours of first class entertainment stretched over a four-hour show.

It's interesting how every year critics (including me) grouse about the Oscars, isn't it? Every year they complain that another crop of movies was ignored, that another set of undeserving actors are shoo-ins, and afterwards that another pair of speeches went on too long, the host was disappointing and overall it was a boring show. I've seen columnists write about how awful the Oscars are, how pointless the Oscars are, how self-congratulating the Oscars are, how we're all lemmings for playing into its hand, and how the Oscars have left us with nothing new to write about.

There's a dirty little secret, though, and it's this: we're grateful for the Oscars. For a few weeks it gives us something to write about - it lets us write about the same old garbage we've been writing about since the Academy Awards first started.

And me personally? I like the Oscars. I liked David Letterman when he imitated Jack Nicholson by smashing a car with a five-iron, I liked Steve Martin bringing Danny DeVito carrots and dip, I'm glad that I saw Halle Berry crying over her Oscar win, acting like she was the Rosa Parks of film history. I like that stuff. I didn't even mind watching Crash win undeserved awards last year for best picture and best screenplay, and I probably won't mind this year watching Babel deliver on one or two of its undeserved nominations. It's fun to watch upsets. It's fun to see things happen that we knew were gonna happen. And it's fun to cry foul when a movie you know deserving of a win loses.

So, time to see how many of my predictions were right (about half of them, I'm hoping), time to see how long it takes for Ellen DeGeneres to mention Finding Nemo (I'd be timing how long it takes for her to dance, but she already said she won't be), and, like many of you, time to head over to my friend's Oscar party, where I'll be updating from his laptop. Feel free to watch along with me; I can't promise it'll be more entertaining, but I'm sure I'll deliver more substance.

Let the blogging begin!