Oscar Night

With Ellen at the helm, last night's show was top notch Oscar night.  When she ordered three large pizzas, then handed out slices on paper napkins, did anyone else worry about a blob of pizza falling on Merle Streep's dress or on Brad Pitt's tux?

One of the highlights was the acceptance speech given by Lupita Nyong'o for Best Supporting Actress in Twelve Years a Slave; another was watching Sidney Poitier walking a bit unsteadily to the microphone as a presenter, then urging the younger actors to keep up the good work.  He's always struck me as the grand man of moviedom.

Bette Midler's performance of "Wind Beneath My Wings" was an excellent tribute to the people honored "In Memoriam"--including Karen Black, Peter O'Toole, Robert Ebert, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Here's a line from Ebert's memoir, Life Itself/A Memoir:

 "'Kindness' covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts."