Right in the Center

Forget those affectionate Glamour Goddesses on the left. The Lady with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress...lady with the blue dress on is our Golden Ticket to the Oscars, Lauren. And the gawking imported interlopers to the right of Will Smith are the dazzled parental units.
Gotta get rid of the orange and brown. Clashes with the carpet.

PITY THE BEAUTIFUL

Our friend, Dana Gioia, wrote a poem. I memorized it for the Academy Awards. 
This year it seems most appropriate.

Pity the Beautiful

Pity the beautiful
The dolls and the dishes,
The babes with Big Daddies 
Granting their wishes.

The hotties, the knockouts
The tens out of ten,
The drop-dead gorgeous,
The great leading men.

Pity the pretty boys,
The hunks, the Apollos,
The golden lads
Who success always follows.

Pity the faded, 
the bloated, the blousey,
The paunchy Adonis
Whose luck's gone lousy. 

Pity the gods
No longer divine.
Pity the night
The stars do not shine. 

And I would add:

Pity the botoxed
Whose faces are frozen
The wrinkled, the aging,
The no longer chosen.

Pity Kim Novak
And daugher of Judy,
The butt of cruel jabs
From youthful and snooty.




 

And we want to thank...

Miss Lauren Selman for making all the OTRC (On The Red Carpet) Magic happen. The Academy thanks you, your Family thanks you and your Friends adore you.

Oscar statistics

This year will change all this a bit.

Ready for the Camera, Mister DeMille

That large hulking thing on the marquee of the El Capitan is not NSA approved. But we are ready for our close-ups (especially me with my Lucille Ball color).

About to begin

We arrived, got our credentials, SWAG bags, hair done, massages and lunch and are ready to watch Lauren, as Lindsay says, "Large and in CHARGE."

Oscar Optimism

So here's the indoor Red Carpet at midnight last night after we previewed the Governor's Ball. For the beautiful*, it's a long and luxurious walk up the ramp, waving at the throng of fans and gracefully ascending the stairs (no tripping in those gowns, please).

*see the next blog post for a poetic rendition

The night before the Oscars

We got to preview the Governor's Ball (they have a "dress rehearsal" to be sure the decor is dazzling, food perfect, waiters on point, champagne and signature drinks sparkling, etc). Lauren escorted me through this Cinderella experience. Took photos with my eyes and heart since no cameras are allowed ( imagine an enchanted garden for the stars under the stars - with walls made of living, fragrant plants). I know that I will never forget it.

Hard to tell

It's a week of producers, directors, make-up and hairstyling artists, and casually clad (brilliant) animators. For us backwater folk, most are either hard to distinguish or have no glamorous but determined trophy wives (of either gender) ferociously guarding them. John Williams conducting the Oscar Concert was not a Celebrity Sighting but a Legend Sighting.
However, wherever we go: No photos allowed. "Enjoy the experience. Text about it later." That encourages grand storytelling, which is what this is all about.