Happy Hump Day! I guess you've all heard that Jon Stewart is leaving "The Daily Show." This show is a winner of 20 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Variety Series and several for writing. Around four years ago, I attended a taping on a very cold and rainy November afternoon. The special guest was Martin Scorsese, and it was right before Thanksgiving and his movie "Hugo" was released. My husband and I had to get there hours before to pick up our tickets. We were numbers 35 and 36. With a few hours to kill, so we grabbed lunch at the Cosmic Diner, then walked around a bit. At around 4:30, they started to line us up but we didn't actually go into the studio until almost 5:30. The taping ended at around 7:00, and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Mr. Scorsese. Good luck to Jon Stewart in his future endeavors and may he do even bigger and better things! FYI, he shares the exact same birthday as me. :-) Also, if you haven't seen "Hugo," I recommend you get the DVD and watch it.
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| Emil Jannings |
Today's Oscar topic is the award for Best Leading Actor. Since its inception in 1928, the award has been given to 77 actors for their outstanding performances. The recipient of the first award in 1929 was Emil Jannings for "The Last Command" and "The Way of All Flesh."
Here are some fun facts and trivia about the Best Actor award:
- Daniel Day-Lewis has received the most awards for this category with three Oscars.
- Spencer Tracy and Laurence Olivier have received the most nominations (nine).
- Two actors have received the award posthumously: Peter Finch and Heath Ledger.
- Only Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy have won back-to-back Oscars two years in a row.
- George C. Scott and Marlon Brando won but refused to accept the award in 1970 and 1972, respectively.
- The oldest nominee Richard Farnsworth at age 79.
- The youngest nominee is Jackie Cooper at age 10.
- The oldest winner is Henry Fonda at age 76.
- The youngest winner is Adrien Brody, at age 29.
This year's nominees for best leading actor are:
- Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
- Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper"
- Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
- Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
- Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"
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| Eddie Redmayne |
This is probably the most competitive category of all, with very strong performances by all the actors.Will it be a battle between British stars Cumberbatch (who portrayed Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game") and Redmayne (who portrayed Stephen Hawking in "The Theory of Everything")? Or will it be Keaton, who scored a big comeback with "Birdman." Cooper ("American Sniper") could be a surprise win, considering how well the film is doing at the box office. Redmayne has the edge right now with a SAG award and a Golden Globe, but it's hard to predict who will win this category. (FYI, I just learned that Eddie Redmayne and Prince William were on the rugby team together at Eton. How cool is that?).
Today's featured item from our shop is a simple game called "Sort it Out." which is two games in one. In the first game, party guests will rank the 20 top-grossing films of all time from 1 to 20. In the second game, guests will do the same with the top-10 grossing actors and actresses
Now for today's lists:
Party Idea of the Day: For your teenager and her gal pals, host a spa day! You can set up mani-pedi stations, give each other chocolate facials, provide spa-themed food, including lettered mini marshmallows, peppermint Neccos, and pink meringues. Kara's Party Ideas shows you how.
Oscar Fun Fact of the Day: The total domestic gross of all this year's Oscar-nominated films is $203,078,365, down from last year's $813,115,481. There were no major blockbusters like last year's "Gravity," "American Hustle," or "The Wolf of Wall Street." It is the lowest total gross since the category was expanded in 2009.
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| Cabin of Josiah Henson |
Black History Month Fun Fact of the Day: Uncle Tom's Cabin is a real place. The inspiration for the novel is the life and home of Josiah Henson. The house was restored and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.
Today's Birthdays: Taylor Lautner (23), Aubrey O'Day (31), Matthew Lawrence (35), Jon Jones (35), Brandy (36), Brice Beckham (29), Jennifer Aniston (46), Sheryl Crow (53), Carey Lowell (54), Catherine Hickland (59), Otis Clay (73), Sergio Mendes (74), Tina Louise (77), Burt Reynolds (79), and Conrad Janis (87).
Holidaze: There are lots of Holidaze today! First up, it's National Make a Friend Day. This is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to meet someone new and form a friendship. Sometimes in our busy world, it's important to realize how much our friends mean to us.
Second on the list is National Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. This day reminds us to always look on the bright side of things and avoid the negative. Life is too short to let the little things bother us.
Next up, it's National White Shirt Day. This day honors the men and women who participated in the General Motors Strike of 1937. These protests changed the unionization of the automobile industry as we know it today.
Do you know anyone who is ill and can't do the things we take for granted, such as going for a walk, eating at a restaurant, or working out at the gym? Make a positive difference in their lives on National Shut-In Visitation Day.
For foodies everywhere, it's National Peppermint Patty Day! This is one of my absolute favorite candies. The York Peppermint Patty was first produced in 1940 and products are now available ranging from the original patties to cookies to sundae syrup.
Finally, I forgot to post the solutions to Friday's free cryptograms. Here they are.
Have a PRINTASTIC Day!
Kathy
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