I find it very hard to watch the Oscars or any awards show any more. I’m in my 40’s and I’m getting crabbier every year. It’s not like I’m not happy for people that win and achieve their dreams. I think the Oscars are one of the few awards that still matter. There are so many music awards any more that it’s hard to keep track of them. I also find it very odd that there is “an academy” that votes for these awards and there are always really good performances and great movies left off the list and strange one’s that win and that makes me mad. It’s one of the reasons why I prefer sports with scoreboards like basketball or soccer or clocks like swimming and track & field to those with a panel of judges like gymnastics and figure skating. Never trust a panel or an academy to get it right.

This year, there were also a lot of very strong messages delivered by winners about women’s pay equity, and self worth, and terrible diseases that need cures. If you win, you get to have the microphone for like 45 seconds so by all means, make an impression. Not everyone can make a memorable impression by what they wear on the red carpet, so they better make people remember their performance and what they say. One performance in particular was shocking to most of us – Lady Gaga singing a “Sound of Music” medley. It made me think of one of my favorite lines from the movie Pretty Woman after Richard Gere walks in on Julia Roberts in the bathroom and thinks he catches her taking drugs but in actuality she was just flossing her teeth. Here was the dialog that ensued:

Edward Lewis: It’s just that, uh, very few people surprise me.
Vivian: Yeah, well, you’re lucky. Most of ’em shock the hell outta me.

I don’t think that many people recognized Lady Gaga or thought she could sing like that (or dress like that) so that shocked us all. If you missed it, here’s a link to her performance. I myself have never been a huge Gaga fan with her weird costumes and behavior but she has an incredible voice. I think that was a great message for a spectacle like the Oscars and from now on, I will appreciate Lady Gaga a bit more and I will try not to judge her just for her hair, or tattoos or her dress made out of meat.