When Chris Rock mentioned all the black nominees, did they have to then show every single black person in the audience on camera? I hate the people who run the Oscar cameras.

Kate Winslet looks so beautiful in blue. Halle Berry looks beautiful but please have a cookie.

Okay, Chris Rock's monologue is great. The stuff about Bush is hilarious. "Imagine you work at the Gap and you close out your register and it's 70 trillion dollars short."

WTF with having all the nominees on stage? WTF??? This is the dumbest idea in the history of the universe.

Renee Zellweger should never have dark hair. It looks terrible. Her dress looks like it belongs on Mrs. Santa Claus, except it would only fit on Mrs. Santa's arm or something. Talk about needing a cookie. Or maybe a dozen.

Closer looks cheery. I wonder why I haven't run out to see that?

I can't believe Morgan Freeman has never won an Oscar before. This brilliant man has been nominated four times and this is the first time he's ever won?

Robin Williams is very funny but I bet the song he wanted to sing would have been funnier. James Dobson is such a smacked ass.

If Shrek 2 beats The Incredibles it will be a travesty. Is it a travesty? It is not a travesty. Yay! Such a great movie. I can't wait until it comes out on video. March 15th baby! Yay Pixar people! Yay escaping Disney!

Having Cate Blanchett in the aisle? Again with the stupid. Are they really going to present an award in the seats? How incredibly stupid is this? Why not cut the stupid montages? They all suck except the one with the people who have passed away. That one that started the show? Sucked. Sucked! Totally blew. Oh my God. A microphone came out and they made a speech in the aisles. Stupid. Totally stupid!

Having Edna from The Incredibles help with the costume award actually makes the award interesting. Not enough to watch the whole thing, but still interesting. Oh TiVo, how I love you. Fast forwarding...

Chris Rock's comment about Tim Robbins boring people with his politics was great, and apparently Tim Robbins thought so too since he was laughing as he entered.

Cate Blanchett was a pretty safe choice for Supporting Actress. I thought The Aviator was okay. It was overlong and I don't love Leonardo DiCaprio in most things. Cate was good but I thought the first twenty or so minutes of her performance was more caricature than anything. She settled into it later and calmed it down, but at first I felt like she was almost making fun of Hepburn. I don't know who I would have picked - the only other nominated performance I saw was Virginia Madsen's, and I thought she was good but not Oscar good - but I think Cate was a safe choice.

We have run out of Oscars to fast forward. Now we are pausing so we do not have to watch every single freaking second.

Chris Rock's monologue was good but otherwise this broadcast is a big fat snooze.

I wish Annette Bening would beat Hilary Swank this time. I love Annette Bening. It will suck if she loses to Hilary again. It would also be nice if four times nominated Kate Winslet won, even though I didn't like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Sigh. Hilary Swank. Boring. Boring hair, boring makeup, boring dress. boring speech.

Okay, and boring awards. Boring sweep. Boring.

Oscar blogging!

Pre-show thoughts first:

Emmy Rossum. She is so freaking beautiful. Ralph Lauren is dressing her for everything and this red dress she has on is exquisite. Her hair is also beautiful and so is the jewelry. Beyonce looks amazing as well - vintage Versace. Fantastic.

Why does Giselle Bundchen or whatever her name is look so pregnant? The dress is awful. And Adam Duritz. Why? Why?

Melissa Rivers is so annoying. SO. ANNOYING. More annoying than her mother. If she doesn't stop drawing on the stupid screen I'm going to smack her. I loathe these two but it's the only way to see all the dresses. Maybe I should mute it. Joan is talking to the team from The Incredibles and being an idiot at usual. I loved that movie so much.

What the hell is Melanie Griffith wearing? She's getting older and the dress makes everything look saggy. Those sleeves are terrible. They look like they're falling off. At least it looks like the collagen in her lips has gone down. The last time I saw a picture of her it looks like a hive of bees had landed on her lips.

I love the white streak in Imelda Staunton's hair. In a fantasy series I love (The Belgariad by David Eddings) a character with a white streak in her hair is a sorceress, so every time I see someone with one I wonder if she's a sorceress. (I also wonder if closets lead to Narnia, so go figure.)

Leonardo DiCaprio will look fourteen years old forever.

What is up with Laura Linney's hair? Why would you try to make yourself look like you have a mohawk? Her dress is pretty but I wish she'd wear a more vibrant color. The necklace is weird. It hangs too low for that neckline.

What in God's name is Hilary Swank wearing? Her dress is horrible. Horrible. The back is nice but oh, the front is so bad. Why is she wearing that? Chad Lowe is so cute. He sort of looks like Billy Boyd's older brother. They should make a movie together.

Scarlett Johansson always looks beautiful. She's so very old Hollywood. A class act.

Drew Barrymore. I have always loved her, and she looks amazing. Her hair is a beautiful color and she always looks like she has an occasional cookie, which is refreshing.

Joan is with Virginia Madsen and there was the most embarrassing moment while Joan caught up on who the hell Virginia was...while Virginia was standing right there. She looks beautiful. Lots of beautiful dresses tonight, lots of dark, classy gowns.

Cate Blanchett is wearing yellow with a scarlet sash and it is lovely. Very different.

Oh, Natalie Portman. Please get a better stylist. You are so beautiful; why do you dress so horribly at awards shows?

Okay! The pre-show is over. I'm going to post this and then I'll do the Oscars themselves!

I have some books to sell. I usually sell them only on the Betsy-Tacy email list I belong to, but this time I'm going to donate 100% of the profits to the Red Cross to help with the tsunami disaster, and I thought some of my readers might be interested. So your postage cost will go to postage, but the book cost will go to the RC. Postage in the U.S. is $2.00 for the first book and $.50 for each additional book. If you live outside the U.S. contact me for the shipping rate. This book sale is going to be Paypal only.

This is a long list; most of them are children's/YA books but some are adult fiction as well. If you have any questions about condition or plot or anything, please email me at melissa@ladydisdain.com. If you see anything you'd like, email me for a total and Paypal info. I'll update this constantly as stuff is purchased.

CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT FICTION

The American Girl Book of Horse Stories. PB published in 1971. I literally read this book to pieces - the front cover is completely detached and has a big corner sliced off besides. Pages have some folds and the front page or two have tears in the corner. Still readable. If you were a horse nut, though, this book rocked. $1.00

Alcott, Louisa May. Little Men. 1986 Puffin classics paperback ed. G condition; remainder mark on bottom and my name and the date when I bought it written on the inside front cover. $1.00

Alexander, Lloyd. The Castle of Llyr. 1990 Dell Yearling paperback. Good condition. $1.00

Almond, David: Skellig. 1998 Hodder Children’s Books PB ed (1998 British ed). G+. $1.00

Anderson, Laurie Halse: Speak. 2001 Puffin trade PB ed. Excellent condition. $2.00

Arden, William: Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators and the Mystery of the Moaning Cave. 1978 Random House PB. VG. $2.00

Bauer, Joan: Thwonk. 1995 Laurel Leaf mass market paperback ed. Very good condition, but inexplicably the word (or name?) “Sweat” is written on the outside of the top of the pages in red ink, and also on the inside cover. $2.00

Blyton, Enid: The 5 Find-Outers - the Mystery of the Hidden House. 1991 Armada PB (British ed). VG. $1.00

Blyton, Enid: The 5 Find-Outers - the Mystery of the Invisible Thief. 1991 Armada PB (British ed). VG. $1.00

Buffie, Margaret: Who Is Frances Rain? 1989 Kids Can Press PB ed. G+. $1.00

Byars, Betsy: The 18th Emergency. Weekly Reader Book Club HC ed. $3.00

Byng, Georgia: Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism. Advance reading PB in excellent condition. $1.00

Calhoun, Mary: Depend On Katie John. 1970 Harper Trophy PB ed. G: cover is a little banged up, former owner wrote on the inside cover and also decorated the inside cover with a couple of small stickers. $1.00

Calhoun, Mary: Katie John. 1960 Harper Trophy PB Ed. Good condition; small tear on spine. $1.00

Cooney, Barbara: The Kellyhorns. 2001 Volo reprint PB ed. VG. $1.00

Cooper, Susan: The Grey King (Book 4 in The Dark Is Rising sequence). Simon and Schuster/Aladdin PB edition. Perfect condition. $2.00

Corbett, Scott: The Hangman's Ghost Trick. Weekly Reader HC edition. VG. $2.00

Downie, Mary Alice and George Rawlyk: A Proper Acadian. Ex-lib PB edition. 1980 Kids Can Press ed. $1.00

du Jardin, Rosamond: The Real Thing. Ex-lib HC with plastic-covered DJ, ninth printing. Cover beat around the edges. G. $3.00

Edwards, Julie Andrews: The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. HarperTrophy PB ed. VG. $2.00

Edwards, Julie Andrews: Mandy. 1973 Bantam PB edition, 2nd printing. Cover is a little battered around the edges and yellowed; spine has a small black marker mark at the top; insides are excellent. $1.00

Farley, Terri: Phantom Stallion - The Wild One. Advanced reading copy paperback. $1.00

Farley, Walter: The Black Stallion. 1972 Random House PB ed. G: Cover is beaten. Good reading copy - this was my very first copy of this book. $1.00

Fitzgerald, John D: The Great Brain at the Academy. HC, no DJ. Stated first printing. Excellent condition. $4.00

Fitzgerald, John D: More Adventures of the Great Brain. 1983 Dell Yearling PB ed. Excellent condition with gift inscription from small child on inside front cover. $2.00

Garden, Nancy: Annie On My Mind. 1984 Farrar, Straus and Giroux PB ed. VG. $2.00

Gruelle, Johnny: Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel With the Wrinkled Knees. 1977 Dell Yearling PB ed, ex-lib. G with usual library markings and some folding on cover; pages and binding tight. $2.00

Haywood, Carolyn: Eddie's Menagerie. HC, no DJ – stated 1st edition. Gift inscription inside front cover. Excellent condition. $5.00

Klein, Robin: Hating Alison Ashley. Puffin Australia PB ed. G+; inscription inside front cover. $1.00

Klise, Kate: Regarding the Fountain: a Tale in Letters, of Liars and Leaks. 1998 Avon Books HB ed, 1st edition with DJ. Excellent condition. $3.00

Krumgold, Joseph: ...and now Miguel. 1984 HarperTrophy PB that has had the covers laminated but doesn’t appear to be ex-lib. 1954 Newbery winner. G+/VG-. $1.00

Krumgold, Joseph: Onion John. Brand new HarperTrophy PB. $2.00

Lambert, Janet: Just Jenifer. 1965 PB Tempo Books ed. Reading copy only - chunk of lower right hand corner of cover is ripped away. $1.00

Lambert, Janet: Star Spangled Summer. 1960 Scholastic Book Services PB. VG condition; book has the number 20 written in pen on the top of the spine and a "this book belongs to" sticker on the inside front cover. $2.00

Lambert, Janet: Star Spangled Summer. 1941 HC ex-lib edition, bound in red with black and white picture cover. Could be first edition. $5.00

Lambert, Janet: The Stars Hang High. 1965 Scholastic Book Services PB. Excellent condition. $3.00

Livant, Rose A: A Song For Pamela. 1963 Ex-lib HC ed. Stated first edition. Small tear in bottom of cover on spine, spine faded, otherwise VG. $3.00

Lovelace, Maud Hart: Heaven to Betsy (first of the high school books in the Betsy-Tacy series). HarperTrophy PB; not the new keyhole cover. G: tear in bottom of back cover, a few cover wrinkles. Pages and binding tight. $1.00

McKay, Hilary: Saffy’s Angel. HC with DJ; DJ has slight water damage on back. Otherwise looks brand new. $4.00

Milne, A.A.: Eeyore’s Gloomy Little Instruction Book. Small HC with DJ. Looks brand new. $2.50

Milne, A.A: Winnie-the-Pooh’s Friendship Book. Small HC with DJ, small tear in bottom front of DJ. Otherwise VG. $2.00

Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds: Alice Alone. Brand new MM PB that has a slice through the upper third of the back cover and the last three or four pages. $1.00

Peel, Arthur J. and Evangeline Robinson: 'Pon My Sole! 1940 HC House of Field ed. No DJ. VG. $2.00

Rapp, Adam: The Buffalo Tree. Front Street HB ed with DJ, 1st edition. Looks brand new. $4.00

Rapp, Adam: Missing the Piano. Puffin PB ed. Former owner's name written inside front cover – otherwise looks new. $2.00

Robertson, Keith: Henry Reed’s Journey. 1978 Dell Yearling PB ed. VG. $3.00

Sharp, Margery: Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines. 1978 Dell Yearling PB ed. VG. $3.00

Smucker, Barbara: Underground to Canada. Puffin Canada PB ed. Looks brand new. $2.00

Smucker, Barbara: White Mist. Puffin Canada PB ed. VG. Blank bookplate inside front cover. $2.00

Thomas, Rob. Rats Saw God. Advanced reading copy paperback. $1.00

Thorndyke, Helen Louise: Honey Bunch: Her First Trip on the Great Lakes. 1930 HC ed, red tweed cover with color picture on front. A few pages are written on, others have red crayon scribble. A small section in the front is nearly detached from the rest of the binding. Rest of the book is sound. $2.00

Thorndyke, Helen Louise: Honey Bunch and Norman and the Painted Pony. 1962 HC edition, brown tweed, with tattered DJ. First pictured page ripped from book; otherwise in VG condition. $3.00

Thorndyke, Helen Louise: Honey Bunch and Norman on Lighthouse Island. Grosset and Dunlap HC ed with brown tweed cover. No DJ. $3.00

OR TAKE ALL HONEY BUNCHES FOR $6.00

Townsend, Sue. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4. 1985 British MM paperback. VG+. $2.00

Wells, Helen: Cherry Ames, Army Nurse. 1944 Grosset & Dunlap HB. Rust colored tweed cover, no DJ. VG: someone wrote "Linda + Tommy" on the inside front cover, otherwise VG. $4.00

West, Jessamyn: Cress Delahanty. 1953 Harbrace PB ed. VG. $2.00

Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie. Scholastic PB ed. Excellent condition. $2.00

Wilder, Laura Ingalls: The Long Winter. HarperTrophy PB ed (not the yellow covers). Excellent condition. $2.00

Wilder, Laura Ingalls: These Happy Golden Years. HarperTrophy PB ed (not the yellow covers). Excellent condition. $2.00

Withrow, Sarah: Bat Summer. Groundwood Books PB ed. Excellent condition. $2.00


ADULT FICTION

Ciresi, Rita: Pink Slip. Trade PB in excellent condition. $4.00

Deveraux, Jude: The Mulberry Tree. MM PB in excellent condition. $2.00

Satran, Pamela Redmond: Babes In Captivity. Trade PB in VG condition. $4.00

Saunders, Kate: The Marrying Game. Trade PB in very good condition; only flaw is a bend to the upper right corner of the cover. $4.00

Gilman, Charlotte Perkins: The Yellow Wallpaper. Feminist Press PB ed. $1.00

Keyes, Marian: Angels. British Penguin trade PB ed. VG. $5.00

McNaught, Judith: Perfect. 1994 Pocket Books MM PB ed. G+: cover is a little banged up. Pages and binding tight and clean. $2.00

Michael, Judith. Inheritance. 1989 Pocket Books MM PB ed. G+: cover is a little banged up. Pages and binding tight and clean. $2.00

Orwell, George: Animal Farm. Signet Classic MM PB. Reading copy. $1.00

Read, Miss. Farther Afield. Ex-lib HC/DJ in plastic. 1st American ed. 1975. This book has library markings as well as a couple of teeny tears in the bottom and top of the DJ along the spine. $5.00

Read, Miss. Summer At Fairacre. Ex-lib HC/DJ in plastic. 1st American ed 1985. This book has library markings and a couple of spots on the outside of the pages as well as a couple of teeny tears in the bottom of the DJ along the spine. $5.00

Rose, Don: Full House. HC with DJ which is slightly battered along top edge and has a small round yellow sticker on the upper right front corner. Inscribed by the author. Stated first edition. $3.00

Streeter, Edward: Father of the Bride. HC, no DJ, fourth printing. Two small dark spots on upper right corner of front cover; former owner’s name written on title page. Otherwise VG. $3.00

NONFICTION

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: the Making of the Classic Film. HC with DJ. Beautiful condition. $4.00

I can't remember if we've already swiped this link from TUS, but if we haven't, it's really, really freaking cute. Who is that with Jeremy? (I LOVE the picture with Jesse L. Martin.)

I am looking for two old friends - Jill Ann Hills, formerly Beatty, married to David, mother of Athena. Jill, if you google yourself and find this, please email me! I would love to hear from you.

Ami Szuchy, you and I seem to hear about each other every few years or so but never actually talk. If you ever google this page, please get in touch with me!

It's my mom's birthday today! She'd get a kick out of it if my readers dropped her a line or sent her an e-card, so if you have a second and are so inclined, mail away! Happy Birthday Mom!

For a blog that's supposed to be mostly about books, it really isn't, huh?

The truth is: I have been reading Mansfield Park for weeks. I'm not sure what's taking so long. I'm enjoying it, albeit not as much as Emma or Sense and Sensibility. I like Fanny, I like Edmund, I like William, I like the various Crawford storylines. I'd like to smack Mrs. Norris really hard. It's a good book. And yet it is taking me weeks to read.

While I've been reading MP I've also read Straight Talking and Babyville by Jane Green (both in London, both picked up for 50p in a charity shop) - these were okay. Chick fic to the extreme. Good London reads as I recognized street names and such while I was reading.

Beyond that, it's been a bunch of Shaw plays and criticism for school. I'm not nuts about Shaw so far - the plays just aren't holding my interest all that much. Of course, we're still in the earlier ones - perhaps the later plays will be better. I do enjoy his scene and character descriptions very much. They're incredibly detailed - the most detailed I've ever read. How handy for a director, to know so well what the playwright intended from setting and personality.

Greg and I returned from London last night. When you return from a foreign country to Philly, you exit the building through the International Arrivals Hall, where this amazing installation is displayed. What I love most about it are the words that the artist chose to highlight with blue neon. Truths. All. Equal. Life. Liberty. Happiness. The most important words of all.

When was the last time you read those words - I mean really read them? We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rghts, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Creator. Not God. All men, not some men. Unalienable rights.

Think about these words before you speak, would you?

What is going on?

No, I mean it. Someone please tell me what the hell is going on.

The President of the United States wants to amend the Constitution in order to discriminate against a huge body of people. An amendment which says separate, not equal. An amendment based 100% on a religious belief and on nothing else. Nothing. There has yet to be a single argument for this reprehensible proposal that isn't based on religious belief. If you believe that this amendment is a good idea, then you'd better stay the hell away from me. Far away. This is a make it or break it issue for me, and if you can sit there and tell me that you are in favor of denying rights to a group of citizens based on who they are, then you can just get the hell away from me and stay away.

Scores of people are flocking to see a two-hour movie filled with scenes of torture, starring a pale-skinned American citizen as Jesus, made by a man who is obsessed with violence (watch his other movies, would you?) whose father believes that the Holocaust was fictional (and this same man was quoted as saying "My father has never lied to me about anything) - and these scores of people? They are taking their small children. To a two-hour graphic beating. With subtitles. (Don't write to me with any shit about religion, because I don't want to hear it. The last thing anyone in this country needs right now is more religion.)

Our precious administration wants to reclassify fast food jobs as MANUFACTURING so they can cover up how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since Bush took office; they moved the accepted date of the recession's beginning back so it would appear as if it began during the Clinton administration (which is untrue); they have cut benefits for veterans and money for AIDS care and prescription drugs and doubled the amount of money going to useless abstinence education. (Because that worked so well in Texas, George! You know, where they still have one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the country? Good job, buddy.) This is an unbelievably stupid and dangerous way to placate the growing-more-terrifying-by-the-day religious right who are starting to make me feel like they are taking over the country.

I don't understand Republicans right now (and yes, believe it or not, I usually do at least to some extent) because I cannot believe that intelligent people would vote for George W. Bush again and remain sane. That is, I cannot remain sane if I believe that, so I'm going to have to not believe it. Perhaps somewhere in my little fantasy world where everyone has equal rights and God is kept where God should be kept - in the church and in the home and in private lives and not in the government that is in charge of this country - and people are employed and have retirement money and don't have to work until they're 75, if they can even keep a job that long. I need to live in this fantasy world or I will seriously go out of my mind.

If you can look at the record of this administration and tell me unequivocally that this country is a better place, then I have to question your sanity and not my own. Look at the joblessness rate, the cost of healthcare, the deficit, my God, the deficit, the rollbacks to environmental programs, the partial-birth abortion ban which makes absolutely no allowances for the safety of the mother, the price of gas, the kinds of things the budget is concentrating on, the screwed-up mess that is Afghanistan and Iraq, our hundreds of dead soldiers (who continue to die daily), the terrorist attacks and lack of security still in our ports and many other places, the threat to our Constitution and our private rights -- if you can look at all of those things and tell me that the Bush Administration has done a great job of governing this country, then you really are insane.

I am ordering this poster right now.