I didn't tell you so, but...

I admit that I am an idiot when it comes to Oscar night, but I'm blogging about it anyway.

A few years ago -- whichever year Gladiator was the big flick -- I attended an Oscar party. The hostess had printed ballots, and the attendees had a little contest to see who could correctly pick the most winners. Boss came in first, and had seen almost all of the films. I came in second, and had seen none of the films.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I accurately predicted most of the big winners last night. (I probably should have addressed this matter in this space yesterday morning, but, you see, the point is that I didn't really care.) One rule of thumb appears to be that if the backstory about a film is substantial enough to make it all the way to me -- a fellow who spends most of his entertainment dollars on records and rock shows, not at the cinema -- that's usually enough to push it over the top on Oscar night. Hilary Swank's diet and biceps? That's enough. And after all that gushy talk about Clint sitting right there, it seemed like he and his movie just had to win the big ones at the end.

I didn't see Ray, but I saw the commercial for it, and that means I knew Jamie Foxx was very, very convincing as one of my musical heroes. (How wonderful that Ray's Web site has a personal message from him in the present tense, just a few short months after his death.) Compared with, say, Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, who may very well act decently enough but still looks like some kid in a fake beard, you knew Foxx would win an a walk. I'd like to see Hotel Rwanda, and I heard Don Cheadle was great in it, but you knew that too few Academy members had, uh, made time for that one.

One more thing: It was a treat to watch the Oscars with an actual winner in the room -- or at least, a direct employee of a winner.

Anyway RustedRobot gives a superior rundown of the proceedings -- and I'll bet he actually saw some of the movies that received awards, too.


Now playing: Coleman Hawkins & Roy Eldridge onstage together at Newport, Fourth of July 1957