the Reasons I Drink

I was on a FaceTime with Rebecca two days ago and one of her comments to me was: "just looking at you makes me want to have a beer". 

Now, that could be the biggest compliment I've received in a long long while, or the largest insult. 

Naturally, I took it as the former no matter which way she meant it. 

...and either way, it made me laugh.

Anymore, Becky drinks as much as I do. Maybe less. However, there were the days a beer in hand was almost a prerequisite for socialization. Though this is true with almost anyone I knew or with whom I hung out. 

I might have been the lowest common denominator. 

Still, I knew what I think she meant. Some of our most fun, or trying, times centered around sitting, drinking, talking and laughing. 

Sometimes we stood. 

I immediately flashed on the time that she, Morty and I were in Houston drinking Sally Hansen and Pepsi's. 

Now that I "say" that aloud, I'm not sure what we were drinking. I can't imagine it was rum and cokes, but it was an early early happy hour and if the price had been right they just may have been. I just remember whatever we were drinking smelled like nail polish remover - hence the name. 

In our youth, we mostly all stuck to beer - as it was in our budget. It was our budget. Well......mine. As you can see back in 1989 (?) I could only afford Black Label. What I lagged behind in quality I more than made it up by quantity. 

Usually it is wine for me anymore. If I'm with Morty, there is just a LOT of it. But I haven't had that since December 2025. ...and only two beers in 2026. 

Of course, I cannot rule out the possibility that her looking at this mug alcohol free makes her want to drink. She wouldn't be the first to think it.........say it................or do it. 

She won't be the last. 

Song by: Alanis Morissette

All By Myself

I don't know if this was the last Annual Academy Award Guessing Games®, but it might be. 

Blobby got stood up, but good. 

Take a look at the text chain. 

At least I got a warning I was going to get stood up. I suppose that's something? 

I just suppose the magic is gone with Mike and me. I can see no other reason. 

Sure sure.....he and his husband are "on vacation", but still. He knew about this. He always knows about this. 

I'm just ever so slowly getting the brush off. I suppose the friendship ran its course. 

On the plus side, I only had to win one category to prevail. As it would turn out, I should not watch all the movies more of the time if we are to continue this contest. I only lost 6 of the 24 categories. 7 if you count there was a tie for Best Short Action Film (clearly I guessed neither). 

All I get are bragging rights. 

I hold out hopes for Mike and myself. At least he texted to make fun of Barbara Streisand's appearance at the show. He was right to do so. 

That said, we watched very little. I'd only turn up the volume when Conan was on. 

Anyhoo......from the accounting firm of Dewey, Cheatam & Howe, I give to you the results. 

Best supporting actress - I lost (but still glad Amy Madigan won)

Best actor - I win

Best actress - I win

Best supporting actor - I win

Best director - I win

Best makeup and hairstyling - I win

Best original score - I lost

Best live action short film - I lost. Twice. 

Best adapted screenplay - I win

Best original screenplay - I win

Best animated short film - I lost

Best casting - I lost

Best original song - I win

Best documentary feature film - I lost

Best documentary short film - I win

Best international feature film - I win

Best animated feature film - I win

Best production design - I win

Best film editing - I win

Best sound - I win

Best visual effects - I lost. Stupid Avatar

Best cinematography - I lost

Best costume design - I win

I'm guessing this is how Mike felt when he'd win his "office pool". 

Song by: Eric Carmen

Guessing Games

If you ever thought I was winging it before in Mike's and my 15th Annual Academy Award Guessing Games® you haven't seen anything yet. For better or worse. 

I might officially be old, but Mike is older, so I'll always have that. 

I'm not sure what movies (if any) he has seen. I have seen a whopping zero. Some I haven't heard of; ditto with the actors, music or costumes. Hence the old comment. But to be fair, staying away from media has me at a huge disadvantage here. In the past I'd have heard about some of this shit. 

2026 really puts "guessing" into the spotlight here - for both of us, I'd assume. 

Let's just say, I already know what cookies Mike will be getting when I lose this thing. I could easily go to websites to see who favours whom / what, but I might just go with my gut. 

While I will try to have fun quips below, it's gonna be tough going into this totally blind. 

Best picture "Bugonia" "F1" "Frankenstein" "Hamnet" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "The Secret Agent" "Sentimental Value" "Sinners" "Train Dreams" 

I haven't even heard of three of these. Maybe I've seen the clips somewhere. Maybe. You gotta figure it comes down to Sinners or One Battle. The latter didn't do that well at the box office, but it had great buzz for a while. Still, I'm gonna pick the former. 

Best supporting actress Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value" Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, "Sentimental Value" Amy Madigan, "Weapons" Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners" Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another" 

If I'm being honest, I'm going with my friend Jon's take on Taylor's performance. And I know Amy Madigan plays a freakish character, but she has done such great work over the years, I wouldn't be mad if she won this and I lost the category. 

Best actor Timothée Chalamet, "Marty Supreme" Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another" Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon" Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners" Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent" 

Ya know, opera / ballet comment aside, Chalamet's demeanor has just become exhausting. He's quite full of himself. Maybe he's been dating a Kardashian for too long. I just want him to lose. 

Best actress Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet" Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You" Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue" Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value" Emma Stone, "Bugonia" 

Emma Stone shaving her head won't let her win this time. 

Best supporting actor Benicio Del Toro, "One Battle After Another" Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein" Delroy Lindo, "Sinners" Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another" Stellan Skarsgård, "Sentimental Value" 

Again, my friend Jon said Penn was great. And if I can look past his personal persona, he is a great actor. As must as I'd like to see Elordi {sigh} up there......just to look at.....it probs won't be he. 

Best director Chloé Zhao, "Hamnet" Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme" Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another" Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value" Ryan Coogler, "Sinners" 

Best makeup and hairstyling "Frankenstein" "Kokuho" "Sinners" "The Smashing Machine" "The Ugly Stepsister" 

Jacob Elordi {sigh} says his make-up took up to 12-14 hours for this movie. That alone should get them something. And who wants to cover up all that beauty???

Best original score "Bugonia" -- Jerskin Fendrix "Frankenstein" -- Alexandre Desplat "Hamnet" -- Max Richter "One Battle After Another" -- Jonny Greenwood "Sinners" -- Ludwig Göransson 

Best live action short film "Butcher's Stain" "Jane Austen's Period Drama" "A Friend of Dorothy" "The Singers" "Two People Exchanging Saliva" 

I adore Miriam Margolyes, so I hope Dorothy wins. I'm sure the others are good too. 

Best adapted screenplay "Bugonia" -- Will Tracy "Frankenstein" -- Guillermo Del Toro "Hamnet" -- Maggie O'Farrell and Chloé Zhao "One Battle After Another" -- Paul Thomas Anderson "Train Dreams" -- Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar 

Best original screenplay "Blue Moon" -- Robert Kaplow "It Was Just an Accident" -- Jafar Panahi "Marty Supreme" -- Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie "Sentimental Value" -- Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt "Sinners" – Ryan Coogler 

Best animated short film "Butterfly" "Forevergreen" "The Girl Who Cried Pearls" "Retirement Plan" "The Three Sisters" 

I don't know. 

Best casting "Hamnet" -- Nina Gold "Marty Supreme" -- Jennifer Venditti "One Battle After Another" -- Cassandra Kulukundis "The Secret Agent" -- Gabriel Domingues "Sinners" -- Francine Maisler 

Is this new? Did it replace something? I don't remember a 'casting' category. Lord fuck knows about this. 100% guess. As if the others were more educated ones. 

Best original song "Dear Me" from "Diane Warren: Relentless" "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" "I Lied to You" from "Sinners" "Sweet Dreams of Joy" from "Viva Verdi!" "Train Dreams" from "Train Dreams" 

There must be some law that says Diane Warren MUST have a song in this category. I'm not sure she's ever won - or should. But there she is...........again. (she's had 17. I had to look it up.).  She won't win. 

Best documentary feature film "The Alabama Solution" "Come See Me in the Good Light" "Cutting Through Rocks" "Mr. Nobody Against Putin" "The Perfect Neighbor" 

I dunno. But neither does Mike. Or you. 

Best documentary short film "All the Empty Rooms" "Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud" "Children No More: 'Were and Are Gone'" "The Devil is Busy" "Perfectly a Strangeness" 

Are we really voting for ones that aren't about killing children in school shootings?  Je think not. 

Best international feature film Brazil, "The Secret Agent" France, "It Was Just an Accident" Norway, "Sentimental Value" Spain, "Sirât" Tunisia, "The Voice of Hind Rajab" 

I always pick the one that is also up for Best Picture. It almost ever wins best picture (maybe except Parasite(?).)

Best animated feature film "Arco" "Elio" "KPop Demon Hunters" "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain" "Zootopia 2" 

I've seen Josh Brolin go on and on about this - and how it makes him cry. REALLY cry, well, you kinda gotta love that. 

Best production design "Frankenstein" "Hamnet" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" 

It's Del Toro. He always goes beyond. 

Best film editing "F1" -- Stephen Mirrione "Marty Supreme" -- Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie "One Battle After Another" -- Andy Jurgensen "Sentimental Value" -- Olivier Bugge Coutté "Sinners" -- Michael P. Shawver 

Best sound "F1" "Frankenstein" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" "Sirât" 

C'mon. vroom vroom vroom.  Right? 

Best visual effects "Avatar: Fire and Ash" "F1" "Jurassic World Rebirth" "The Lost Bus" "Sinners" 

It seems like another Avatar should get it. I just don't want it. 

Best cinematography "Frankenstein" "Marty Supreme" "One Battle After Another" "Sinners" "Train Dreams" 

Best costume design "Avatar: Fire and Ash" -- Deborah L. Scott "Frankenstein" -- Kate Hawley "Hamnet" -- Malgosia Turzanska "Marty Supreme" -- Miyako Bellizzi "Sinners" -- Ruth E. Carter

Again: Del Toro movie. 

For the record, for the first time ever, I asked AI to generate a pic for me:  Mike (insert last name here) holding an Oscar. 

That is what I got. While a perfectly decent looking man, it's not Mike. This guy has more hair and it's darker. Not the ash blond that real Mike sports.  ....I mean, what's left of it. 

Mike can claim the win of looking better than his AI generated counterpart.  ....but it's not an actual category. 

Check back Tuesday for results. 

Song by: Daryl Hall & John Oates

Snowed In

It's been days since I've drafted a thing. 

Food, Pet and Music posts can be done well in advance if necessary, so in a way, I've had days off. It's been nice. Yet now the pressure is back on to perform. 

Olympics?  Nah. 

BLOTUS stealing $10B right in front of us and no one does a fucking thing? No. 

Puerto Vallarta being under siege after a cartel boss is killed?  Interesting, but it means I'd have to go beyond Morty verbally telling me about it to speak on it with quasi-authority. That seems unnecessary. 

Weather?  

Safe. Topical. Relatable. 

NE Ohio got snow, but not like New York, Massachusetts and parts of the northeastern seaboard experienced. 

While I can't speak with full authority, I have been texting with friend and former blogger, Mike. He of the Cape. He of the town of P. 

I shot him a message before the storm and it seemed he was prepared. He said he had an adequate supply of tequila, so I don't know what else he could have done to get ready. All bases seem to be covered. 

I didn't hear from him most of yesterday, as he didn't answer my texts. I reminded him what the "I" in "IM" meant. He finally shot a message back. 

26" of snow and counting. No power. But they have a propane powered fireplace and stove so they have heat and can eat. 

He sent a pic of them digging out - which I said was adorable, as there was nowhere to go. But I get it, Ollie has to go out to go, so even though he's taller than Shep, I don't know he's 26" tall. So dig out they must. 

I did tell him I was stopping texting, as I'm sure he'd rather not waste what phone charge he had left conversing with me. He didn't fight me on it.  I'm somehow offended though. 

I've seen pics of deserted avenues in Manhattan. I didn't see their snowfall. These last few days I've really tried to steer away from most social media. The NYT is for crosswords, Spelling Bee, Connections and Wordle. Oh, and Strands. 

I don't ever have to leave the Game page. It's perfect. 

But we are two-thirds the way done with Winter. 

.....in theory. 

Song by: Mindy Smith

Love Me

It's that time. The round-up of pets from around the globe. 

Or at least the ones that read this blog and respond to the assignment. Plus some other dogs that I know who are totally unaware of this blog. 

We have an assortment of cats and dogs. I did not get any updated Simon shorts or of Virginia and Henry, the kittens. Sorry about that. 

Charlie is Elle's heterochromaic (if that's a word)  handsome boy. 

Cooper and George have a détente thing going on at this moment. 

I love when dogs and cats are friends.  Thanks to Christin for these two. 

Speaking of getting along - Bosch and Ridic are friends as well. 

Meredith and Norman try to keep them in line, though I think it is the other way around. 

This is at least Brenda's third appearance here. She is SO pretty. 

Greg M is her partner in crime. 

Terry says that Tucker (above) is usually patient with him and Mike. 

Everything I've experienced with corgis tells me that this is a lie. 

But cuteness lets you get a way with A LOT. 

Tasha keeps coming back here - and that makes me happy. 

Walt sent this all the way from France. I don't know which languages Tasha understands. 

Brett has moved back to the UK, so now all of his Rhodesian Ridgebacks are together*.

Rhaegar, Minnie and Harley.

Lilou and Bruno hang by Jon and Tom's holiday tree. 

Olive hangs on Bob and Matt's sofa (well, really - whose sofa is it really????) near the holiday pillows. 

Gibbs!

Technically a dog I met at my xmas eve morning race. He is a Shiba Inu terrier mix. 

His owner called him a 'garbage dog'. I told his owner she was wrong!!!!   

He was SOOOOOOO adorable. 

I did the wong thing and put my face down to his, I got licks and no bites. I'm too trusting with cute dogs. 

Christopher's Luna finally became a lap cat after years and years. 

OLLIE!

Mike and Peter's P-town dog. So bohemian. Never without a kerchief. What a mug though!

Zooey, Albus and Boo. 

Oh, and Rebecca's daughter. I didn't have written consent to show her. 3 cats hovering: that's the dream!

Serious side-eye. 

My sister did not provide a holiday themed Bailey pic, so I had to take one of my own the other night. 

.....and my cousin got me one of Siggie. My lord he's adorable. 

The dog. Well, and my cousin. 

No offense to the others, but here is the king of the show! Shep that is. Not Santa. 

In Memorium

You know me - this is important to do, even though none of want to the deed. On the 'plus' side, it's a small list. 

*Holden was the 4th of the UK / US group of Rhodesians. He passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. 

His birthday would have been two days ago.  Brett and Nico will miss him greatly. 

Harper - the dog I never got to meet also left her owners - Dr. Spo and Someone. 

She was adorable. Her ears just got me each and every time. 

A HUGE thanks to everyone who participated this year. I love doing this post and I hope others like seeing everyone else's pets. 

Song by: Elvis Presley

Similar Features

It looks like Becky was at Lowes or Homo Depot yesterday. And even though it is almost three weeks out from Halloween, the xmas decorations are on display and on the market. 

She sent me a short video of it and I had an immediate reaction. 

Holy Mother of g-d, Yukon Cornelius and Jason Kelce are the same person !!

How have I not noticed this before?? 

And so I mentioned it. If I'm totally honest, I was slightly astounded that Rebecca knew who Jason Kelce was. 

Travis Kelce has a cuteness quotient going on, but Jason is the fun one, hands down. More fun and funnier. He's not the Gucci wearing on game day brother. It's flip-flops or Crocs for Jason. 

No offense to Taylor, but Jason also has the better wife. 

But if you ever watch New Heights - the Kelce brothers podcast - it's almost immediate that Jason is the better brother. 

So in a matter of seconds - lit-rah-lly - I Goooooooooged Jason Kelce Yu....and then it just autofilled in with 'kon Cornelius'. It was less than a minute from reading Becky's IM to me when I responded with words AND images. 

While Gooooooogle is good at reading what little mind I have, I'm really thinking many others have already make this connection.  

....and they had. 

Clearly if you go to 'images' in your Goooooogle search, you'll find many like the above. Someone has already put in the work. 

I should be clear, it's not only a physical resemblance, but there are some mannerisms and vocal inflections that are similar. 

The association is just great and it lifts both Kelce and Cornelius' brand image. 

If there is ever a live stage production of Rudolph, casting should have Jason on speed dial. 

Song by: Melissa Ethridge

Best Laid Plans

My last half-marathon for 2025 is over.

Well. Kind of. 

I agreed to run a half-marathon relay in late November...or 6.55 miles. I'm not running the entire thing but.....I guess it counts as a half.  

Kind of? 

I was not planning on running four half-marathons this year. Or 4.5, as the case may be. But some things are out of my control. 

In July, Morty texted me saying he was considering running the Akron half. In my mind it was a passive-aggressive move, then I thought oh it's just informational and I'm overthinking. He didn't ask me to run with him.........he just left the thought of him running dangling in front of me. 

I was supposed to run the full marathon relay last year, but again, that pesky hip and being on crutches thwarted that. So, I kind of wanted to do Akron in some form anyways. 

But I really wanted to run a race with Mort, so I took the bait and axed him if he'd be ok to with him.

Sorry - "with him". 

Anymore, I usually don't purchase race images. Some of the smaller races oddly have them for free. For the bigger races they are money makers.  I paid for pics for my first half and first full....and that's about it. But this would be a monumental occasion - Morty and I crossing the finish line together and with a picture to boot. 

Yeahhhhhhhhhh.............I didn't think that through. 

We were in the same corral at the start......and that's about it. 

As always, I went out way too fast and Mort was doing is first race since before Covid. I wouldn't see him again until mile 12...............when he passed me. And slapped me on the ass as he did it. 

Actually, at mile 10 my back was hurting me so badly. I made it to 12 before I had to walk some - which was when Morty caught me. I tried to run with him, but it wasn't gonna happen. And as he so aptly put it: "I just want this over with".  I couldn't argue with that. 

He ended up getting in two minutes before me, so there was no finishing together, let alone capturing a digital image of such. And it's not that I told him ahead of time I pre-paid for the pics. It was to be a surprise. Oh well. 

Oddly, my pic (well one of them) came out ok. I look strong finishing, but it's a still image and you can't hear my internal thoughts of "ouch.....ouch....ouch....". 

As it would turn out, I'd get in about 22 seconds before the first full marathoner finished. So, at least I beat him.......kind of. 

Still, I loved hanging the Morty, his husband and their grandson. It was a perfect weathered running day. I still think we were all happy it was over though. 

And I got to meet Mr. Peanut. 

SCORE!

Song by: James Blunt

Back Again

I'm exhausted, truth be told. 

A friend and I went on a 10 hour sojuorn to the capital of Ohio. 

My friend Doug and his husband were in town. Whle Erik worked, we took our quick trip - out and back - to visit mostly campus.

Doug had not been back to THE Ohio State University in about 30 years. I'd say it's not the same campus, but in many ways, it still is. 

The Oval (seen in the image) is still the centerpiece and not much has changed other than the maturing of trees. 

We covered a lot of territory, but not the entire campus. That's fairly impossible in the timeframe in which we had. And Doug was still recovering from a knee replacement, so long bouts of walking weren't really in the cards. 

On the big plus side, we got to see Georty and have lunch with the 'orty' side of the couple. Again, Doug hadn't seen Mort in 30 years. It was a nice, if abbreviated, visit. 

Still, down and back in the car was tiring. And I was up well before dawn for an a.m. run, since I knew I'd be sitting a lot of the day. 

Song by: Collective Soul

Only You

I find it almost implausible that Mike saw multiple entries into this (well, last) year's movies. I supposed when you're older and retired one can plant themselves in the reclining seats at the theater and get the gist of the movie while you actually take your daily nap. 

Though I'm sure he's awake enough for popcorn and Jujubes. 

We had fun texting during the awards. He had to remind me they were actually on. It never occurred to me they'd start at 19:00. 

Regarding the show, there wasn't much to be critical of - except Cynthia Erivo's nails. I could not figure out how she'd work a toilet paper roll, but Mike assured me she "had people for that". We both figured that physically Demi Moore was unable to fully close her mouth. Botox gone bad? And Timothy Chalamet just needs a long bath. Lots of soap and scrubbing. 

And while I like Adrian Brody, man that 110 minute speech just tested everyone's patience. Everyone being Mike and myself. If it were the Gong Show.......I'm 100% certain JP Morgan or Jaime Farr would have hit it. 

I loved Mick Jagger coming out to present. He's older than Mitch McConnell who couldn't have flowed across that stage with as much fluidity (read: any) of Mick. Mike thought he looked like a Muppet.  I'm assuming he meant Janice. 

This also looks about how Meg Ryan did during the last award. Mind you, this is way better than she has in the past few years.  .....and Goldie Hawn's very very recent face peel looked ok on the 173 year old actress. 

Ok, maybe I had a few more criticisms than I thought. 

Normally we are in the mid-single digits for things on which we differ - at least movie wise. This year, there were 11 (!!) things up for contention. On the other 12 we would either both gonna win or lose together, so it really came down to the 11. 

I like prime numbers, so I felt this might be an omen. A good one. Not like the Damien kind. It's also an odd number, which theoretically means we could not tie as we have done in the past. 

And trust me, there was no tie. The aforementioned omen much more evil than Damien. I was Lee Remmick dangling from the upper staircase in this metaphor. 

Mike prevailed. Again. He only loves his alcohol more than his Oscar wins. Only one of those won't hurt his liver.....unless he falls onto the statuette. 

Mathematically it was over for me a little more than halfway through. Mike got the first six (of the 11) very early on, and eventually near the end, Only after he got those six, I finally eked out three. I really started to think it would be a total shut out. Two other categories we both lost on. 

Don't get me wrong, I picked many categories correctly, but those were all ties with Mike. Just my individual selections bombed. 

In the past, Mike, appropriately so, has made fun of me for not sticking with the telecast. But as this started an hour earlier and mostly moved along (well, except for Brody), I was awake for the entire thing. I thought Conan did a decent job. 

Mike was a gracious winner - I mean, as gracious as he can be with barely showing empathy and / or compassion. Bottom line - he stopped short of pointing and laughing at me. At least via text. What went on in person is anyone's guess. 

Meanwhile, I remained pleasant and congratulated him on his win. I said 'congrats', what more do you people want from me????

I was afraid the accounting team of Dewey, Cheatem & Howe were not going to be available for results tabulation due to all the work going on at DOGE, but then it occurred to me that DOGE aren't actually doing any auditing. So the trio was able to squeeze us into their busy schedules making sure the 14th Annual Academy Award Guessing Games®  is on the up and up. 

Best picture - both win

Best director - Blobby wins

Best actress - both lost

Best actor - both win

Best supporting actress - Mike wins

Best supporting actor -  both win

Best original screenplay - Mike wins

Best adapted screenplay - both win

Best international feature - both win

Best documentary feature - Mike wins

Best animated feature - Mike wins

Best cinematography - both win

Best costume design - both win

Best film editing - Mike wins

Best production design - both win

Best original score - both win

Best original song - both win

Best sound - Blobby wins

Best visual effects - both win

Best makeup and hairstyling - Mike wins

Best documentary short - both lose

Best animated short - both lose

Best live-action short - Blobby wins

It is amazing to note that we have done this for 14 years. Mike is a good foil and overall a decent guy. I just give him a hard time here.............and no doubt will continue to do so. 

Until next year, when the Pauley Shore biopic comes out with Emo Phillips as the star........we will see you at the movies. 

Song by: Yaz

Unnatural Selection

Blobby is uncharted territory with the 14th Annual Academy Award Guessing Games®. I'm kind of in Mike territory, actually. 

....and that is a scary place to be..........I'm told. 

Normally, I'm the one who has seen a handful of the movies in question and Mike has maybe seen one. Sometimes none. 

That would be me this year. 

None. 

Not one in any category. Some I haven't even heard about or of. Usually, I get at least that much 4-1-1: titles.  But alas, not reading news of most any kind has left me at a disadvantage. 

....or has it? 

Mike sees jack-squat and with his utter lack of knowledge usually prevails here (not just with movies, either, I must say). Maybe he's onto something.

I'm not even sure I can contribute a lot of quirky (read: funny) comments below. It won't stop me from trying, though it probably should. 

Mike has told me he's voting Wicked as a straight (ha!) ticket - even in the categories in which they are not nominated. That would give me a HUGE advantage, as I can't see them winning in the ones for which they did get nods. 

I considered voting for everything Emilia Pérez because, well.......illegal alien sounding name. And if it sweeps, it would just ignite MAGA. It's going to anyway, but.......let's pour on the gasoline. 

Alas, I'm just making guesses. Even more than before. 

Mike will post his selections in the comments section. 

Best picture "Anora" (Neon) "The Brutalist" (A24) "A Complete Unknown" (Searchlight) "Conclave" (Focus) "Dune: Part Two" (Warner Bros.) "Emilia Pérez" (Netflix) "I'm Still Here" (Sony Classics) "Nickel Boys" (Amazon/MGM) "The Substance" (Mubi) "Wicked" (Universal) 

Is there a world where Wicked should win - or be nominated?  Short answer is 'no'.  The long answer is "noooooooooo". 

Best director Sean Baker, "Anora" Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist" James Mangold, "A Complete Unknown" Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance" 

Best actress Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked" Karla Sofia Gascón, "Emilia Pérez" Mikey Madison, "Anora" Demi Moore, "The Substance" Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here" 

I mean, she was robbed for no nods for St. Elmo's Fire or GI Jane. This is just payback. 

Best actor Adrian Brody, "The Brutalist" Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown" Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing" Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave" Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice" 

I love Fiennes, but it's not his year. Nor Chalamet's. Maybe had he been nominated for Dune. To be fair, I've only seen (and liked) Brody in Wes Anderson movies, and one Tori Amos video. I'd say he'd "win by a nose", but that things half the size of Iowa. 

Best supporting actress Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown" Ariana Grande, "Wicked" Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist" Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave" Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez" 

C'mon!  Original nepo baby for the win!  Listen - as long as it doesn't go to Wicked, I'd be happy. But we love Isabella. 

Best supporting actor Yura Borisov, "Anora" Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain" Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown" Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist" Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice" 

It's Kendall v Roman. Though I like Guy Pearce. But just like in Succession, Kendall (Strong) isn't getting the nod.  (oh yeah, Succession spoiler alert)

Best original screenplay "Anora," Sean Baker "The Brutalist," Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold "A Real Pain," Jesse Eisenberg "September 5," Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder "The Substance," Coralie Fargeat 

The only way Eisenberg is ever going to be introduced as, "Academy Award winner......"

Best adapted screenplay "A Complete Unknown," Jay Cocks & James Mangold "Conclave," Peter Straughan "Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Nicolas Livecchi "Nickel Boys," RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes "Sing Sing," Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin & John "Divine G" Whitfield 

Gotta throw something to the Catholics. I mean, they never get any love!

Best international feature "I'm Still Here," Walter Salles (Brazil) "The Girl with the Needle," Magnus von Horn (Denmark) "Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard (France) "The Seed of the Sacred Fig," Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany) "Flow," Miguel Gomes (Latvia) 

It's the Roma of 2025. If you can't take the big prize, you get the international one. As long as you're nominated for both, that is. 

Best documentary feature "Black Box Diaries," Shiori Itō (MTV) "No Other Land," Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor (No distributor) "Porcelain War," Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev (Picturehouse) "Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat," Johan Grimonprez (Kino Lorber) "Sugarcane," Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie (Nat Geo) 

Had the BLOTUS' / Zelensky's oval office conversation taken place before ballot voting, Porcelain War might have taken this - it still might. All movies look worthy, but I love the juxtaposition of Coup d'Etat. 

Best animated feature "Flow" (Janus Films/Sideshow) "Inside Out 2" (Disney/Pixar) "Memoir of a Snail" (IFC Films) "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" (Aardman/Netflix) "The Wild Robot" (Dreamworks/Universal) 

I so wanted it to be Wallace & Gromit, but I think not. 

Best cinematography "The Brutalist," Lol Crawley "Dune: Part Two," Greig Fraser "Emilia Pérez," Paul Guillaume "Maria," Edward Lachman "Nosferatu," Jarin Blaschke 

Best costume design "A Complete Unknown," Arianne Phillips "Conclave," Lisy Christl "Gladiator II," Janty Yates "Nosferatu," Linda Muir "Wicked," Paul Tazewell 

This movie was about style over substance, right?  Not Substance. 

Best film editing "Anora," Sean Baker "The Brutalist," Dávid Jancsó "Conclave," Nick Emerson "Emilia Pérez," Juliette Welfling "Wicked," Myron Kerstein 

no witty remark. 

Best production design "The Brutalist," Judy Becker "Conclave," Suzie Davies "Dune: Part Two," Patrice Vermette "Nosferatu," Craig Lathrop "Wicked," Nathan Crowley 

see Best Costume design

Best original score "The Brutalist," Daniel Blumberg "Conclave," Volker Bertelmann "Emilia Pérez," Clément Ducol & Camille "Wicked," John Powell & Stephen Schwartz "The Wild Robot," Kris Bowers 

I listened to nothing. But you gotta figure the Brutalist would have an imposing score - just by title alone. 

Best original song "Never Too Late," "Elton John: Never Too Late" (Elton John & Brandi Carlile) "El Mal," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard) "Mi Camino," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol & Camille) "Like a Bird," "Sing Sing" (Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander) "The Journey," "The Six Triple Eight" (Diane Warren) 

Honestly - anything that's not Elton is fine with me. Like I said last time, he's worth $500M and still wears shitty hair - whomever's it is. Or was. 

Best sound "A Complete Unknown" "Dune: Part Two" "Emilia Pérez" "Wicked" "The Wild Robot" 

I'm assuming a lot of sand noises. 

Best visual effects "Alien: Romulus" "Better Man" "Dune: Part Two" "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes" "Wicked" 

How many fucking Planet of the Apes movies are there???? And WHY?

Best makeup and hairstyling "A Different Man" "Emilia Pérez" "Nosferatu" "The Substance" "Wicked" 

see Best Production design. 

Best documentary short "Death by Numbers" "I Am Ready, Warden" "Incident" "Instruments of a Beating Heart" "The Only Girl in the Orchestra" 

Torn here. I hope it is Instruments or the Orchestra. Both music oriented, one with a woman, one with a girl. 

Best animated short "Beautiful Men" "In the Shadow of the Cypress" "Magic Candies" "Wander to Wonder" "Yuck!" 

I watched all the trailers at least. None wow'd me. So, maybe the one where one of the animated guys looks like he's hanging brain?

Best live-action short "A Lien" "Anuja" "I'm Not a Robot" "The Last Ranger" "The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"

Saw the trailers here. Most looked intriguing, but I like this premise of the I am Not a Robot. 

You will all find out Tuesday who has won. 

As to what we've won is another matter. I never fulfilled my obligation last year - as I lost. So, I suppose it will be double or nothing. And in that regard - either way, I lose. 

Song by: Muse

All the Love

I LOVE doing this post. It's a bit of work to wrangle everything and everyone, but it is SO worth it. 

This year, I didn't really solicit pics 1:1 as I've done in the past (sometimes). I feared people thought they were being forced into it and I didn't want folks to feel obligated. It is all just for fun. 

Still there is a good mix. Mostly dogs and cats you've seen in other years, but with a few new friends. 

Tucker !

Terry & Mike belong to him. It is said he brings joy to them. He'd probs be a good bud for Bailey. 

Clearly, Cooper is too cool for school, and just about anything and anyone else. 

Brother George seems like a fun goof ball. 

Christin is their caretaker. But I suspect it works both ways. 

Jon & Tom. 

Ooops. No. Bruno and Lilou. My mistake, but they do say dogs look like their owners though. 

Brenda.  Greg M's girl. 

Allegedly she won't pose - which I totally get. 

Boche!   Norman and Meredith's insistent little guy. 

Becca's cats - Albus & Zooey

Mike & Peter's Ollie. 

Yes, he sports his gang colours with pride, but it's P-town.....they only weapons he has are brie knives. 

The next three are from Morty & George. While they are petless, they have a cavalcade of dogs who stay with them because they make excellent dog sitters. 

Pearl - who you saw last year here, and when I visited earlier in 2023. 

Lucy & Hawk - who you saw me fawn over in July. 

I haven't met these two littles -  Zuzu and Tori. 

And Brett has is US and UK set of dogs. 

US - Minnie & Rhaegar

UK - Holden & Harley

CB's Luna. She's adorbs. 

Elle sent me this pic of Charlie. OMG - Isn't she absolutely beautiful???

Spo & Someone's Harper. She still has the best ears!

Bailey!!!

My sister has been super lazy and has not gotten a holiday outfit pic of her dog. I'm sure we'll be seeing one soon enough. 

Simon - and the untouched tree. 

I'm quite amazed at that. 

...and Shep in his annual daycare Santa / Photo shoot. 

In Memoriam 

this is the tougher part to do, as we all know how tough it is to part with a beloved pet. But respect and tribute must be paid!

Meredith and Norman lost Rollo earlier this year. He was a beast, but a mostly gentle one. 

Friends Doug & Erik had to say goodbye to Maggie, whom I loved so!

Until next year - keep loving these guys and all of the ones not included here in your hearts. ...and give them treats....and pets. 

Song by: Kate Bush