Maria is an Oscars fan (remember her lovely little Oscar ballot?) and I find this infographic on the color distribution of gowns worn by Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress winners very interesting. Lesson learned: Oscar winners do not wear orange. The full infographic is available here.
Good luck being a journalist, Maria, I think you’ve just hit the old-news archives. Oh well. The Academy Awards are my SuperBowl, and I believe I have a right to be obsessed up to a full week after they’re over.
I always like to imagine what kind of atrociously bright garment I would wear at my Academy Award debut, and in the meantime am always saddened by the lack of color on the red carpet (except for the red… carpet). Angelina Jolie: all black (except for those green earrings, which gave her this odd witchy edge)! It worked for her because she always seems so mysterious and eccentric. Kate Winslet (so happy she won, obviously): why were you so dark and dreary! Sean Penn wore all black, but looked great since he stood out against the usual black/white tuxed men, and he made a great speech and I absolutely love it when straight men aren’t afraid to stand up for gay rights! (Er, I messed up the picture. I think I meant to say, “standing out because of all the black?” Sigh, journalistic inspirations crushed again!)
Anyway, I was actually intrigued with the white dresses this year. Miley Cyrus looked cute and princessy in her white layered dress that seemed to have been delicatly dipped in silver sparkles. (Last year she wore something way too lady-like and unplayful.) Penelope Cruz could’ve been getting married. Taraji P. Henson wore my favorite white dress, mostly because it was off-set by a dark red clutch and colorful jewels which made the whole look really pop.
Melissa Leo managed to pull off both brown and sleeves without looking matronly, and Freida Pinto not only brought some color to the carpet with her bright blue dress (along with Natalie Portman, looking like a cute little Barbie), but brought some extra stlye with her single decorated sleeve.
And finally, my favorite, Amy Adams. I’m indifferent to the red dress (wearing red is practically like wearing white or black on the Oscar carpet), but her huge, bright, and complex necklace somehow managed to work, turning the whole ensamble from something ordinary into something special.
Either click on the picture above or click here for the pdf of your own Printable Oscars Ballot.
I love the Academy Awards. The only way I can get friends to watch is by pretending it’s an exciting contest for them, too. Thus, you can usually find me printing off the internet a stack full of ugly full-page Oscar Ballots the day of the awards (though, yes, I usually have mine filled out way ahead of time).
Anyway, to help you if you should have this very same problem, I made my own Stickers & Donuts brand of Oscar Ballot, but this one is cute and pocket-sized! You can carry a bunch around with you and pass them out. There are two ballots per page, so you’ll always have one for a friend (or mistakes).
If you’d like, check-out my previously posted Oscar Ballot How-To Video where you can see me cutting out my Oscar Ballot and marking it up at Top Speed with my special Oscar ballot mark-up method (read: I am insane). Or, look below to check out my instructions, which are also downloadable in pdf.
One Way to Use your New Pocket-Sized Oscar Ballot
1. Print & cut out your ballot. (Yes!!!)
2. Get a card from your wallet to help you make your ballot *truly* pocket-sized.
3. Starting at the bottom of the ballot, fold the paper around the card until the paper and the card are the same size. (Too complicated? Just watch the video.)
4. Place a sticker on the flap where the front of the ballot folds over the bottom. This is mostly for cuteness. Carry your tiny ballot in your wallet and ponder your choices daily.
5. Select favorites carefully over time using whatever method you choose. Mine? Highlight those I WANT to win, X off those I THINK will win.
6. On the big night, take out your ballot and circle the winners. Hopefully you’ll have made a few ballots for friends and you can compete with them. Revel in glory or cry in defeat.
In Summary:
So I made this cute, printable, pocket-sized Oscar ballot, which I will put up in ample time before the Academy Awards (Feb 22, in case you aren’t counting down), sometime next week when I pdf-it and have it all ready to go. Anyways, I’m not sure what possessed me to make a little video about how to fold up your ballot and carry it around in your pocket, but I did, and here it is.
And yes, there is a Stickers & Donuts You Tube Channel, but it has only been used twice, and once when I was 20 lbs fatter. If you do like my videos, check out my (Maria’s) Personal You Tube Channel, which is full of silly videos (such as a nine second stop action valentine), serious projects, semi-infrequent vlogs that I use in conjunction with my personal blog, shorts starring my fabulous cousins (such as This is Boring, though I apologize in advance for my apparent inability to act), and me dancing on a table at age seven.You know, the You Tube usual.
Alright, that was not supposed to be a tour of my forays into filmmaking, but alas, it is one AM and not the hour to think clearly. Thursday I will do another Valentine’s Day post, and it will be fabulous, and you’ll want to make several overnight purchases, I assure you. xo, me
