Oscar Race

So why are ratings down year after year. Organizers of the telecast seem to think it is the length of the acceptance speeches. So why are those same speeches the most interesting part of The Golden Globes? Keep the opening monologue, but get rid of the banter, dance numbers, and other distractions. Turn the night into a huge dinner with open bar, and let us see the stars as they really are. I say let them talk. And let the crowd react. Frankly, isn't that what we hope for...to watch the train wreck.

So good luck all the nominees!

The Oscars on Sunday Night

Am I the only one surprised that ABC is not putting more effort in Sunday night's telecast of the Oscars. Everything is being geared to the linear telecast, but no consideration seems to be given to all the other opportunities. What opportunities - they could push a vote of winners on their website and through mobile phones, they could advertise behind the scene streaning on their website, they could ask for downloads of viewers interpretation of this year's best movie scenes, they could announce a live chat with the winners, and so much more. Heck they could try selling on abc.com dvd's of the winners, discounted if they order the night of the telecast. Instead, we will most likely see a linear telecast with the same insipid monologue, silly repartee between presenters, and bad acceptance speeches.

Lots of favorites to root for, but the one I most want to see is the Best Director to Martin Scorsese. Too long a wait after too many great films. The Departed is not his best work, but it is very good and offers great performances. He deserves the Best Director award simply because of his entire filmography of work.

Lastly, Best Picture. The problem with the category is no one can define what a best picture means "officially". To me, it should be a film that lasts through time. And my winner is Little Miss Sunshine.

Entertainment at Home and on the Go

Audio and Video entertainment no longer makes us wait; rather, with on-demand and streaming, it comes when we want, where we want. The idea of the 1000 channel universe is in the past; today, the choice is endless. And lastly, we are no longer tied to a wire to receive entertainmnet or information content; today it can be had wirelessly.

Still, there is one thing that has not changed for these mobile devices. The lifespan of the battery is still extremely limited. Devices may do a lot more, but we still need power to keep it going...and going...and going! So one of the next challenges out there will be a quantum leap in power. A battery that holds the charge or regenerates power to adequately run all the programming being offered. Till that leap is made, I'm afraid we will be recharging our cellular phones, blackberries, pda's, gameboys, portable dvd players and computers nightly.

And for devices attached still by a wire, your entertainment choices are endless, Half the battle is knowing what you want and then searching for any number of ways. But what of those folks that don't want all that programming to choose from and would rather sit back and let it all come to them; just surf their line-up. Either way, there is more than enough to choose from: broadcast and cable programming, radio and satellite radio, on-demand and on-line. The key for all our entertainment choices is the right search engine; Google did it for the internet, but who will make it work for tv and all our video choices. Have you met anyone who likes their cable box and the way you "navigate"? It's time for another innovation!