(43-216) Another One Bit The Dust

Well, I hate to say I told you so; BUT, I did.... When I posted "Diving In," I shared my concerns about James Franco and Anne Hathaway hosting the Oscars; and well; let's just say that James Franco proved that I had every reason to doubt him.   I'll gladly give credit where credit's due and say that the opening montage was entertaining; although it was mostly in part to Anne Hathaway and the guest stars in the piece.  AND, kudos to Anne for her singing.  I had no idea that she had such a nice voice and I'd be happy to see her in a musical.  I could totally see her as Ms. Anna in a revival of "The King and I."  I was amused when Mr. Franco came out in drag; but apparently so was he; because he was more interested in tweeting it to is followers; than he was in hosting the show.  It appeared that Franco just wasn't invested in the production; and he left poor Annie to carry the show; which she was clearly anxious about.  Unfortunately her beautiful wardrobe changes (accept for that Royal blue cat woman dress;) weren't enough to pull off a win.  Truth be told; I think that Ms. Hathaway could have done a much better job, had she hosted the show ALONE.

I could go on and on about what a let down James Franco was; but honestly, my expectations were so low, that he didn't let me down; he just proved that I was right to doubt him to begin with.  I dunno, I just find him creepy and disturbing.  Yes I know, he speaks so highly of me; but that's not the point.  I find him to be an enigma.  He reminds me very much of the character that he's playing on "General Hospital;" whose name just also happens to be  Franco; because I suppose there was no other name that the staff of writers could think of. He's playing a multi-media artist; who just so happens to be a serial killer, and if you know anything about the "real" James Franco, then you know that he too is somewhat of a multi-media artist.  He's written both novels and children books.  He's earned several educational degrees and is still in the process of acquiring more.  He's an award winning actor, and Oscar nominated actor; and yet he's chosen to have a recurring role on "GH,"  with his real life mom playing his mom; FREAKY!  But enough about him.  I won't go as far as to say that Ms. Hathaway won't ever be asked to host the Oscar's again; but as for Mr. Franco's chances, let's just say; another one bit the dust.

Now, if anyone happened to be keeping track of my Oscar predictions, you'd know that I had 16 out of 24 correct; BUT, that wasn't enough to win my pool.  The winner had 17 picks and got 2 points for tie breakers.  The next person had 17 picks with one tie breaker; and then Michelle M and I each had a respectable 16; while the remaining 5 people had between 15 and 9 correct.  I know, I know.  Had I listened to my own reason regarding the best director; I too would have tied with 17; but I didn't want to go with my own judgement.  Oh why, oh why, I didn't  follow that rule when it came to best song, is any one's guess; but I'll know better next year.  I hope.

As for the fashion, I only want to talk about what I liked; because there are  plenty of others out there, who have a lot to say about the not so well dressed and I don't feel like putting any negativity out there today.   With that being said; at the very top of my list is Mandy Moore.  Not the dress that she wore to sing her nominated song; but the one that she wore on the red carpet.  Glitter, Glitter, POW!  She looked like a princess.  So elegant, so perfect.  It was the pinnacle of Oscar fashion in my opinion.  I also enjoyed Mila Kunis in her lavender gown; and I liked the lace, back and color of Scarlett Johanson's gown as well; although it was absolutely NOT amethyst as one reporter stated.  It was crimson, or cranberry or dare I say SCARLETT; but it certainly wasn't amethyst.  I thought Jennifer Lawrence looked sensational.  She wore a very simple, red, Calvin Klein gown; proving that less truly is more.  Michelle M suggested that she'd like to see her as young Carrie in the "Carrie Diaries," and I concur; although we hear that Blake Lively has already been tapped for the role.  I thought that Hailee Steinfeld was ideal.  So sweet, so age appropriate; just lovely.  I'm gonna leave well enough alone in the Best dressed category and conclude with a comment about last night's Best Actress winner, Natalie Portman.  I adored the Aubergine color of Natalie Portman's gown. I would have preferred her hair in an up do; and maybe some tasteful, bling on her ears; but all and all I thought that she looked beautiful; the gracious Oscar winner that she was.

OK, so I talked about the hosts, I gave my opinion on the best dressed; so that leaves the highlights; and if you know me at all, then you know that the BEST part of the show for me was when the BEST OSCAR HOST EVER, made his appearance.  I am SO hopeful that the fact that Billy Crystal got a standing ovation just for walking out on the stage, signaled to the Academy that it's time for him to take his rightful place, back on that Oscar stage, as the host extraordinaire that he is.  I think that the standing O showed the Academy that the stars are clamoring for Billy's return; just as much as the public is.  So here's my prediction.  I expect that Billy Crystal will return to host the Academy Awards no later than 2013. You heard it here first!   I'm optimistic that the Academy will realize that there's no time like the present, and they should plan for his return sooner rather than later.  BUT, if they really feel the need to try and hit the younger demographic one more time; then perhaps the 85th Academy Awards will be enough of a milestone to warrant their reinstatement of the King of The Oscars.

You get the point.  I love me some Billy Crystal.  I also loved Colin Firth's acceptance speech.  The award presentation by future Academy Award Winner, Robert Downey jr. and Jude Law.  Sandra Bullock's presentation of the Best Actor Oscar and Kirk Douglas presentation of the Best Supporting Actress award.  It was slightly uncomfortable to watch; but that could be said for the hosts as well.  Good for you Kirk Douglas!
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

(43-11) The Red Box

I know that a lot of people are fans of Netflix; and I certainly don't have one negative thing to say about them; in fact, I give them the utmost credit for their ingenuity.  Now there's a business idea that I wish I'd had AND that Blockbuster wishes Netflix hadn't.  I personally don't utilize Netflix because I never seem to have the time to watch enough movies to make it worth my while.  Heck, I only just finished watching 2 months worth of "General Hospital" episodes that had been stacking up on my DVR.
Anyway, when I do find the time to watch a movie, or there's something new that my kids want to see, I rent from The Red Box.  I'm a fan of The Red Box.  DVD rentals are just $1.00 a day, you can reserve online so that you don't have to drive from location to location looking for the movie that you want; AND you can return your DVD to ANY location, not just the one that you got it from; ALTHOUGH you do need to make sure that you return it to A RED BOX, red box; because there are imitations out there; and YES of course I'm telling you this from experience...
The first time that we rented a movie from The Red Box, I had to reserve at a location that was not THE CLOSEST to my house; so when it came to return it, I opted to go to the supermarket that was closer to our home.  I left the kids in the car, which I double parked, ran in and was trying to return the DVD but I just couldn't get the machine to accept it.  I tried and tried and finally when my patience ran out; I went back to the car and asked Nicky to come inside to help me.   (I know, that's just sad in it's own right.)  Nicky tried for a while but he couldn't figure it out either; so I waved down a manager and I politely informed him that I was having trouble returning a DVD and he took a look at it and politely me informed me that this was NOT The Red Box.  Oh my God!  To say that I was embarrassed would be an understatement.  I fell prey to the impostor!  Yes, the supermarkets also seem to have their own version of The Red Box and of course they too are RED...Yikes!  So I took my RED face back to the car and hightailed it back to the location where I'd gotten it, and suffice it to say that the return went much smoother.
Now I'm sure that many of you have rented from The Red Box, or something like it; I just thought I'd write about it today because Michelle M and I had  talked about getting a movie for the kids and The Red Box was our plan.  I really needed to keep it light today and I remembered that when I'd told other friends that they could reserve a DVD ahead of time, this was GOOD news to them; and so in the interest of, say it with me "THE GREATER GOOD," I'm telling you.
Till next time...
Queen of EVERYTHING

What's in a name?

When I first started writing this blog, I made the conscious decision not to use the names of my family members. Thinking about it now; I can't remember why I made that decision, other than it having something to do with my fantasy that "The Bumpy Ride" would be read far and wide; and then the distinct possibility would exist that I might piss somebody off, in which case my families anonymity would be paramount. Ha Ha Ha.
So now we're in present day and I think it's safe to assume that my 8 readers - LOL all know my family members names; so from here on out I will refer to them as: Luis -my husband, also sometimes known as Eb (short for Ebenezer - need I say more...) or Ricky during my most Lucy-esque stories. My 8 1/2 year old son Nicolas,(aka Nicky) my 6 year old daughter Lyndzi and my 4 year old daughter, Kelsie (sometimes referred to as Stitch - yes, as in Stitch from Disney's "Lilo and Stitch" - again, need I say more?) I mean Queen of Over thinking that I am - you HAVE to know that I gave MORE than a great deal of thought and consideration to my children's names; so by all means, I should use them.
For instance, I wanted to name my son Noah. I was looking for a boy name that started with the letter N so that I could name him after my Grandfather Nathan. I LOVED the name Noah (and contrary to what Big V may think, it had nothing to do with Rick Springfield and GH - though would that be so bad?) Anyway, Luis was CERTAIN that his family (all residing in Mexico) would call him No-a. I myself didn't think that a short A sound should be that difficult for them; but he was adamant. I remember telling him, "OK, we'll make his middle name Jose and then they can call him No-A Jose." And for those of you who might not have picked up on my phonetic break down; it would be No Way Jose.
OK so we passed on Noah and decided on Nicolas instead; and in the meantime, my sister-in-law gave birth to Vladamir. That's right, you read that correctly; and yes they live in Mexico and NO they are not Russian, and guess what... No one has any trouble calling him Vlady (except me, because it's just weird) and now, we are awaiting the birth of my brother-in-law's son, Axel in May. Hmm, no short A in either of those names huh?? Luis says that we can change Nicky's name, but I think at 8 1/2 that ship has sailed. Aahh Well...

Luis is one of six children. His oldest sister is named Josefina (though she's only ever called Pina or cheppy. According to Luis, his older brother's name is Jose Guadalupe. Luis' given name is Jose Luis, and then there is Ignacio (Nacho), Alicia and Erika. Now although his given name is Jose Luis; in the 14 years that we have been together; I have NEVER heard anyone in his family call him Jose or even Jose Luis. It is ALWAYS Luis, and only Luis and same goes for his older brother - they call him Lupe or his wife calls him Guadalupe, but NEVER Jose Guadalupe or Jose. (Maybe I could call one of my Lisa's Jose instead of one of the Vietnamese names I chose, since Jose isn't really being used - haha) Anyway, when I fill out papers for Luis, I always put his first name as Jose Luis and then no middle name; but when he fills them out he puts Jose as the first and Luis as the middle. It has been the topic of many of our conversations as I have maintained that unlike George Foreman, his mom did not name 3 of her 6 children Jose. I have assured him that Jose Luis is his first name just as a woman's name might be Mary Ann; but he disagrees.
Now I don't know why I haven't thought of this before, but on our drive home to Puerto Vallarta, I told Luis "While we're home, we're going to ask your mom about your name." He laughed and said "OK." So one day we were having breakfast and I urged him to ask his mom about his name; and guess what... the Queen was right - Surprise! Surprise! Luis' first name is Jose Luis and NO middle name; to which my 37year old husband said "I didn't know that." Well allow me to introduce you to yourself - You are Jose Luis Ramos. Of course he will be having an embarrassing little chat with his HR department when he returns to work.

So, with one win under my belt; I decided to press my luck and while we were at Lupe's for lunch, I asked Luis to ask Lupe about his name. Luis once again was SURE that Lupe thought his first name was Jose and his middle was Guadalupe and I of course, feeling extremely confident, maintained that Jose Guadalupe was his first name; so imagine Luis' surprise when he found out that Lupe's given name was actually Lisa - ha ha just kidding, it's actually, just Guadalupe. Jose was used in his baptism but was no where to be found on his birth certificate - no wonder Luis has trouble remembering our kids names - Just kidding; he knows their names, he just forgets how to spell them. Say it with me "Who can make this stuff up?"
Till next time... Paige Karen Howell Ramos
Queen of EVERYTHING