Another Oscar Wrap-up

Another year, another Oscar night.

• I felt so sorry for my beloved Peter O'Toole when he got passed over yet again. I suspect this will be his last kick at the can, not counting the inevitable 'Lifetime Achievement' award. Nice to see Forest Whittaker win, though. And impressive that a mere 5 years after Denzel and Halle's groundbreaking Best Actor and Actress awards, it is no longer extraordinary or even noteworthy when an African-American wins an Oscar.
  
  
• I was shocked when 'Pan's Labyrinth' got passed over for Best Foreign Language film, and upset that it wasn't Canada's 'Water' that unseated it. Go figure.
  
  
• I was so very, very happy to see Scorsese get his long overdue Oscar. He is such a classy guy.
  
  
• I thought Ellen Degeneres did a terrific job as host. Of course, I thought Jon Stewart did a terrific job last year. I don't know what it is about that job that brings the knives out. It seems like every Oscar host since Bob Hope has gotten shredded in the press the next morning.
  
  
• I'm never all that interested in what people wear at these things, but this year's Freaky Hair Award was a tie between Philip Seymour Hoffman's sweaty mess (someone get that man a comb!) and Jack Nicholson's Brittany-inspired pate.
  
  
• My big moment of vicarious fame came when I heard the name of a high school friend mentioned among the thank yous. Jeff Skoll (if you don't already know) was the first employee and first president of eBay, and has recently been putting his billions into producing politically and socially conscious films like 'Syriana', 'North Country', 'Good Night and Good Luck', and most impressively, 'An Inconvenient Truth' for which he was thanked last night.
  
  He was also my little slacker buddy at York Mills Collegiate.
  
  
  We used to cut class together and then turn up half-baked at Mr. Daniels' Enriched English class. We took Computer Studies together, back in the days of Fortran and bubble cards. He signed my yearbook ("Have a party-out time!"). I think I might have asked him to the prom, although I could be imagining that part.
  
  I would have voted him "Most Likely to Be Living in His Parents' Basement at 30". Go figure.
  
  Yay Jeff!