Blogging the Oscars...Continued from page 1

Enough of that. You've read it all before, right? Even if you haven't, you don't care all that much. We're down to 15 minutes until airtime. I've mentioned the favorites in the major categories. What about my preferences? Here they are:

Best Picture: "Babel"

Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress: Kate Winslet, "Little Children"

Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls"

Best Supporting Actress: Adriana Barraza, "Babel"

Best Director: Paul Greengrass, "United 93"

Best Foreign Language Film: "Pan's Labyrinth"

Best Cinematography: "The Black Dahlia"

Best Adapted Screenplay: "Little Children"

Best Original Screenplay: "Pan's Labyrinth"

My Upset Pick: Adriana Barraza, for "Babel"

Seven minutes till show time.

8:30: It begins! Famous folks speaking in soundbytes against a white backdrop. Some not so famous faces get the best lines. One man says he's been nominated 7 times and has never won, and tonight will be his eighth loss. Eddie Murphy gets a big laugh just by staring at the camera.

The announcer introduces -- the audience in the auditorium! Yes, it's this year's Oscar nominees! One hundred and seventy-seven of them, we're told, although clearly the crowd is larger. Several of the audience members stand and applaud themselves. Or are they applauding the others? Does it make any difference?

8:36: Host Ellen DeGeneres takes the stage and tells us the short film that began the telecast was directed by documentarian Errol Morris. As I type, looking down at the screen, my wife asks, "What in the heck is Ellen wearing?"

Good question. "It's a velvety thing," she says, unimpressed. Calling Mr. Blackwell! Calling Mr. Blackwell!

8:39: "There's a billion people watching," Ellen says. Aren't there always a billion people watching the Oscars? When was it less than a billion? When will it hit 2 billion?

8:41: First Al Gore joke of the night. Crowd goes wild!

8:44: Gospel Hour! A gospel choir walks the aisles of the theater, telling the crowd, "This night's for you," or something like that.

"I would not want to follow that," Ellen says.

8:45: First Oscar, Best Art Direction

WINNER: "Pan's Labyrinth"

And that's the way it oughta be.

Hey, did Nicole Kidman announce by saying, "And the winner is"? I thought it was supposed to be, "And the Oscar goes to." Remember when they made that change, because to cite a "winner" was to imply that the non-winners were LOSERS, right? Well, maybe they changed it back. Maybe they did it last year. I'm not sure.

8:49: First commercial break, with a very strange lead-in to the ad break. Silhouetted dancers, two announcers telling us their names. Who cares?

While the ads unfold, it’s time to check CBS to see who’s winning this leg of "The Amazing Race."

Kevin and Drew got eliminated. Drew isn't happy.

8:55: I missed something, but it seems to be a musical number. Jack Black, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly. Looks like it was funny. I wish the Oscars had more lighthearted moments like that one.