The Academy Awards And Personal Politics Don't Mix Well

The Academy Awards started off as expected with host Chris Rock calling the Academy "racists" for not nominating any Black actors for two years. I feel the same way every time I watch a basketball game. Oscar nominations or making a basketball team are based on ability, not politics.

You cannot legislate preparedness or ability, the first being based on hard work and the latter, innate. Yet, if you watch any local or national television news station, you'll find that affirmative action is alive and well with many Black anchors and reporters.

As for Chris Rock, during his Black rant, he managed to insult Asians by bringing up three Asian children while joking about Asians being good at math (the three children were introduced as Price, Waterhouse, Coopers accountants with Asian- and Jewish-sounding names), but ended with Rock saying onstage, "If anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone, which was also made by these kids." The audience reaction was silence.

There are plenty of talented actors and television personalities of all races, creeds and religion who deserve their positions. Like cream rising to the top, recognition comes sooner rather than later.

As for the awards themselves, I tuned out after Chris Rock's monologue. The Awards are becoming too political to pay attention for three plus hours.

I was pleased to learn that Leonardo DiCaprio finally walked away with an Oscar for his dedicated turn in "The Revenant." Brie Larson continued to sweep award season for her incredible performance in "Room." Best Picture honors went to "Spotlight."

The Academy passed over sentimental favorite Sylvester Stallone who was nominated as best supporting actor in "Creed". Personally, his only movie I ever liked was "Rocky". which spawned a tedium of "Rocky" sequels, ad nauseum.

All said, if you missed the Oscar Awards last night, from what I've read, you didn't miss much. Methinks Chris Rock wont be hosting the Oscar Awards for some time to come.....
  

Alicia Vikander accepts the award for the best actress in a supporting role for "The Danish Girl."

The News As I See It: Hillary Clinton, in a recent interview, said that one of the jobs that prepared her to be president was skinning fish in Alaska, as opposed to Bill, who learned by catching crabs in Cancun.

The firefighters' union announced that it was no longer supporting Hillary for president. You know your campaign's in trouble when firefighters are like, "Even we can't put out that many fires."

This Date In History: 46 b.c.: The first Leap Day proclaimed by Julius Caesar. 1692; Three women, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, were the first to be accused of witchcraft in Salem, Mass. 1796; George Washington proclaimed Jay's Treaty in effect.

1940; Hattie McDaniel became the first black woman to win an Oscar. She won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind. 1944; General Douglas MacArthur led the invasion of the Admiralty Islands.

1960; Hugh Hefner opened the first Playboy Club in Chicago. 1968; Robert McNamara resigned as Secretary of Defense in the wake of the Tet offensive. 1972; Hank Aaron became the first baseball player to sign a $200,000 a year contract.

Picture Of The Day: Brie Larson won the best actress award for her role in "Room".

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) As long as I can remember, I've had amnesia. 2) If I ever get another cat, I'm going to name him Mandu. 3) Always keep several "get well" cards on your mantel. That way, if unexpected guests arrive, they'll think you've been sick and unable to clean. 4) I've always wondered why Japanese Kamikaze pilots wore helmets. 5) How do you know when it's time to tune your bagpipes?.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Pisces - February 29th: Walk without worn out shoes for a day and you will soon understand the true nature of the sole. Life will throw many things at you over the coming months, including a book-shelf which you will have to assemble yourself because you bought it from Ikea.

Birthdays: Ann Lee, religious visionary 1736, Gioacchino Rossini, Italian Composer 1792, Herman Hollerith, inventor 1860, Antonio Sabato Jr, actor 1972.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A woman with really hairy underarms boards a crowded bus. Unable to find a seat, she settles for hanging onto one of the poles. An old drunk man next to her stares at her for three minutes, then tells her, "I just love ballerinas."

The woman stares at the drunk and replies angrily, "I'm not a ballerina!" The drunk man then looks at the woman and says, "Then how did you get your leg up so high?"

The passenger tapped the cab driver on the shoulder to ask him something. The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up on the sidewalk and stopped within inches from a shop window.

For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said, "Look mister, don't ever do that again. You scared the crap out of me!" The passenger apologized and said he didn't realize that a little tap could scare him so much.

The driver replied, "I'm sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my first day as a cab driver. I've been driving a hearse for the last 25 years".

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: A mother took her daughter to the doctor and asked him to give her an examination to determine the cause of the daughter's swollen abdomen. It only took the doctor about 2 seconds to say, "Your daughter is pregnant!" The mother turn red with fury, and she argued with the doctor that her daughter was a good girl and would never compromise her reputation by having sex with a boy. The doctor faced the window and silently watched the horizon.

The mother became enraged and screamed, "Quit looking out the window! Aren't you paying attention to me?" The doctor replied, "Yes, of course I am paying attention, ma'am. It's just that the last time this happened, a star appeared in the east and three wise men came. I was hoping they'd show up again, and help me figure out who got your daughter pregnant!"

Jim and Bob are out golfing. Jim slices his ball deep into a wooded ravine. He grabs his 8-iron and proceeds down the embankment into the ravine in search of his ball.

The brush is quite thick, but Jim searches diligently and suddenly he spots something shiny. As he gets closer, he realizes that the shiny object is in fact an 8-iron in the hands of a skeleton lying near an old golf ball.

Jim calls out to his golfing partner in an agitated voice, "Hey Bob, come here, I got trouble down here." Bob comes running over to the edge of the ravine and calls out, "What's the matter Jim?" Jim shouts back, "Throw me my 7-iron! You can't get out of here with an 8-iron."

That's it for today, my little hamburglars. Remember, unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes.

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More on Wednesday.

Stay Tuned !