I Have Found

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Reason #1,245 why I love living in New York City: Last night I was in the audience as Billie Joe Armstrong played St. Jimmy in American Idiot, the show he created. A role that he wrote. Music he wrote. He's on for one week only, and I was there. I was there.

It probably isn't a huge deal to most people. Hell, half of my friends don't even like Green Day. And that's fine. They're all crazy people, but I accept that. I, however, grew up listening to Green Day. My first Green Day album purchase was Nimrod, when I was in 7th grade. (Holy shit, that was 10 years ago). I remember being sprawled out on the floor in my room, feeling (or pretending to feel) angsty about something, with "Redundant" on repeat. Green Day shaped my angsty adolescence. Warning was released the same year, and I remain one of the only people who really loves that CD. (Whatever). Shortly following that, I purchased Dookie.

I went to my first Green Day concert (along with Blink 182 and Jimmy Eat World) my freshman year of high school. They remain the best band I've ever seen live. Ever.

In 2004, American Idiot was released. I bought it the first weekend. I still think it's completely brilliant, and it was always one of my most played CDs on my iPod. So this year when it make the big leap to Broadway, I was one of the few "theatre folk" who wasn't completely skeptical and expecting a disaster. I knew how brilliant it already was, knew it was written for this kind of project in mind, and didn't even wait a week to see it. Mike and I saw the 4th preview.

This show is totally polarizing - people hate it or love. They get it or they don't get it. It's most definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and I understand why. I love it. Though would I still love it if I weren't a life-long Green Day fan? Hard to say. I see people's complaints - a very loose narrative is the biggest quip with the show. But looking at shows like Hair, I've never needed a totally structured piece of theatre. It tells it's story in a very different way. To me, everything is clear. It's not the most original story in the world, but it's the way that it's done. It connects to people in very different ways - it brings people back to that time, especially in my age group, even though it wasn't so long ago. Someone posed the question on BroadwayWorld - "were we really that angry?" Well, yeah. We really were. I remember being that angry. Are we still that angry? Not in the same ways. Is it still relevant? Absolutely - especially for the people it's talking to. In the same ways that Hair is more relevant than ever. Totally different time periods, same passion and same sentiment.

Anyway, I really love the show. That's the point of that.

So Billie Joe Armstrong stepped into the role of St. Jimmy for one week, and I was there. I burst into tears the minute he entered the stage. And, okay, let me explain this - people have different reactions to different emotions. But for me, I tend to have one gut reaction for every single emotion - sadness, happiness, excitement, anger, fear, anticipation, pride, disappointment, etc., etc. - I cry. When any of these emotions gets big enough and overwhelming enough, I just cry. That's just the way I am. I don't sob or go into hysterics, but I can't help it. My eyes well up. And this was definitely a big and overwhelming moment. I haven't seen him live since 2002. Big stuff.

But what he good? Yeah, he really really was. He energized the show in a completely new way. It wasn't a question of him being able to sing it - obviously he can. He wrote the damn music and still performs it all over the world. (And, btw, how does his voice still sound the same? And moreover, how does he still look 15? My theory: highlander). I was really surprised that he really came out as an actor. I'm not saying he's going to be playing Hamlet any time soon, but he wasn't just doing this for publicity or for shits and giggles. He really invested himself in it. And that's impressive. This guy tours with Green Day and plays in stadiums full of thousands and thousands of people. And this week he's in front of a (comparatively) small house and really putting his entire self into it. (Or is really good at faking it). His take on St. Jimmy was pretty different from Tony Vincent's. He was goofier, while still being menacing. He found a lot more laughs, in places I hadn't expected them. During his last exit, he sat up and smiled at the audience, waving himself off. He's clearly having a good time. Maybe even... the time... of his... LIFE?! Couldn't resist. But that's a nice transition...

And then there was, of course, the curtain call finale. And this is where I cried like a little schoolgirl. The minute he started playing Good Riddance, that was it. This song is nostalgic for anyone in my generation. It was really special to see him sing it live again, especially with the rest of the cast. Two worlds, and two of my favorite things, came together - musical theatre and Green Day. Did they get this idea from my subconscious or what?!

Didn't I say this was going to be a good fall?

Next this week: Jake Gyllenhaal Saturday night, Steve Carell Sunday morning. Hopefully Aaron Sorkin tomorrow night. (CAN YOU IMAGINE?!)

And, btw, my favorite TwitPic ever posted ever:

@GreenDay: Your favorite musical sucks. American Idiot rules! Fuck me hard! XXxxxxxxxxX st Jimmy"

*K

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For all of you on the edge of your seat, my birthday was a smashing success! The trip to Maine, though not without some expected bumps, was one of the best I've had in a while.

It was nice to be there for 3 whole days - the longest I've spent in Bar Harbor in about 5 years. It was even nicer to have Anthony back in town, and to introduce Gary. And to have Mike there again. And to be together. In a happy group of awesomeness. Not to mention seeing all of the family I have in Maine.

My dad put together a big dinner/birthday party the night after my birthday, which was pretty cool. The coolest part, however, was THE CAKE.

Yes, friends. That is a GIANT WHOOPIE PIE. It weighed about a million pounds and was so completely epic. It was my dad's idea, and he had our head baker person at the restaurant make it. What more could I have possibly wanted???????

Present wise, I was nearly moved to tears when presented with a confirmation e-mail from Gary for 2 tickets to the freakin' VENDY AWARDS. THE VENDY AWARDS. (Educate yourself: www.streetvendor.org/vendys) I'll talk more about that in a second. And Mike, my love, drew me a picture of what was (apparently) the blackberry torch. *CRIES OF JOY* (The torch will be purchased... he didn't just draw me a picture...)

The best part of visiting Maine - BABIES EVERYWHERE. They just keep growing. I love them so.

It was exciting for Anthony to FINALLY meet all of the chillen's. It's been long enough.

Anyway, I really am hoping to get to Maine more often than once or twice a year. Access to free cars has recently entered my life, which will make things much easier.

Going back to the Vendy Awards - hopefully you know what that means now - I recently started a website/blog/awesome experiment: www.newyorkstreats.com. Because I am OBSESSED with food trucks, and as Mike said "why don't you write about it?" Why not indeed. Read and enjoy and tell all the humans you know!

Well, now I am 23 years old... so... that's... not interesting at all.

ONWARD.

*K

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He's been hinting it for some time, but it hit the press today: Steve Carell has confirmed that the next season of The Office will be his last.

Give me minute here.

Okay.

If you know me, you know that I am a very passionate fan of this show. And I am here today to write an open letter to NBC.

Dear NBC,

Hi. Kerrie here. Long time fan, first time writer. First of all, it would seem unreasonable to start this letter without wildly thanking you for the joy you've provided me throughout my life. First of all, for Friends. The backbone of my existence. But also for Saturday Night Live, even in it's bad years. For the first 2 seasons of Heroes. For ER, Scrubs, Caroline in the City, Mad About You, Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, Wings, Will and Grace, The Golden Girls, any failed sitcom that I secretly watched, and more recently, Parenthood.

NBC, I forgave you for airing the Grease reality show and for canceling Freaks and Geeks.

We hit a rough spot recently throughout the Conan O'Brien/Jay Leno disaster. I have yet to fully forgive you. I'm not sure I can trust you to responsibly handle your programming ever again. But in this coming year, I am giving you a chance to redeem yourself.

Please, I am begging you, do not continue The Office without Steve Carell. I know what you're going to say. What about all the money? But is it worth it, NBC? The Office is still a great show. Don't you want to end it while it's still riding high? Do you really want to beat it to death the way Fox did with That 70's Show? Is that the network that you aspire to be, NBC? FOX?!?!

I know your next argument will be to quote Steve Carell himself...

"They've incorporated so many new characters and so many new, great storylines that I have no doubt it'll continue as strong if not stronger than ever," Carell told E! on the red carpet.

(Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2010/06/29/2010-06-29_steve_carell_confirms_that_he_will_leave_the_office_after_seventh_season_.html#ixzz0sGJKRDjk)

Don't listen to him! He had to say that! He couldn't very well say, "The show can't live without me", now could he? He's a nice guy, that Steve Carell. But that's why I'm writing to tell you what's what.

NBC, do you remember when you were smart enough to let Scrubs go after its perfect ending? It wasn't your fault that ABC decided to air a following season with annoying new characters and no purpose. You did the right thing there! Please, do the right thing again. Don't follow in the footsteps of an Eric-less That 70's Show, or a John Ritter-less 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Because it is awkward, forced, and an inevitable failed experiment that fans will resent you for forever.

Your loyal fan,

Kerrie Bond

*K

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Things I learned this weekend:

1. When I say I'm going to use mobile blogging, I'm a liar.

2. Indiana looks a lot like Ohio.

3. Pennsylvania never ends.

4. New Jersey is still evil.

5. What life really means, because of deep dish pizza.

6. Other things.

I had every intention of blogging throughout the trip, but as it turns out, 2 days isn't a lot of time to see a giant city, so I didn't have much time to sit down at the computer. I did absolutely take advantage of the Twitter application, as is evident by the very up to date THINK POUND TWITTER ACCOUNT.

Anyway, the whole weekend, though long, was pretty fantastic. It's probably because I don't know how to drive, but I really enjoy road trips. Especially those in a giant fancy van full of people I like. The drive getting there was a little intense. We got off to a late start, and before we knew it we were lost in Jersey. Not that I was surprised by this. Mike and I have driven in Jersey before, it's a giant maze of one ways and no U-turns and clueless people and the smell of garbage. I was able to get directions from the manager at Fuddruckers, where we consumed consumables of the dinner variety, and we were back on the correct highway in no time.

This, of course, was not our only setback. We were on the correct highway for no more than 20 minutes before we were stopped in a man eating traffic jam that only New Jersey could create. About an hour later, we were flying free and into the night, 3 hours behind schedule, soundtrack provided to us by the all 90s alternative/grunge satellite radio station.

Anyway, long (long... long... LONG) trip short, we made some stops here and there, drove throughout the night, some went crazy, some slept, some didn't. I slept about an hour. We got to Chicago and were greeted happily by another massive traffic jam. And then, finally, arrived at the glorious Holiday Inn near O'Hare airport and nothing else.

Opted not to sleep upon arrival. It was nearly 2pm and we had a whole city to cover. Sleeping would have only robbed us of our day. So some of us took the L out to Wicker Park and ate some of the best BBQ I've ever had in a great neighborhood with the sun shining and the birds chirping, and my body screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN 31 HOURS!"

Afterwards we headed off to Navy Pier, which was a great spot to hang out and decompress after the adventure we had just had. Then three of us headed out to Wrigleyville to meet up with others. Wrigleyville may have been my favorite neighborhood of the few we had time to visit. I'm not a baseball fan, but it was still very cool to be outside Wrigley Field. Went to a great place with dueling pianos to end the night, and then dragged ourselves back to the hotel to get some well deserved sleep.

Saturday began with a trip out to Museum Campus, where all the (you guessed it) museums are located. Aside from that, it's a gorgeous park with really great views of the skyline, crazy art installations, and Soldier Field not too far away. Soldier Field is sort of insane in it's design and a little bit stunning to take in.

After that came THE Chicago experience. Deep dish pizza at Lou Malnati's. Yes. YES. It was everything I expected and still more. I'd never had deep dish before, and I'm glad I waited until I was actually in Chicago. (Because that was clearly intentional). Fantastic pizza that didn't rape our wallets. Can't complain there.

Between pizza and our Chicago debut, we swung by Steppenwolf theatre to satisfy my theatre nerd desires. And then headed to Second City to soak in as much comedy genius as we could... by standing in front of the theatre for about 45 minutes. THE SHOWS ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE.

Anyway, the main event: THINK POUND AT SNUBFEST. Chemically Imbalanced Theatre could not have been more welcoming to all of the out of town groups. Free pizza, beer, soda... BACKSTAGE SPACE. (Unreal to us). The first set we did in the showcase brought the damn house down. We had a really good crowd and we pleased them in all kinds of ways. (Ohhh yeah). The groups performing with us were all hilarious people, though we didn't get to see them do their things I can only assume they were all insanely talented. The second set we did for the competition also was fairly well received, and we got to meet more awesome and hilarious people who were pretty much all from the east coast. All in all, it was a really great night, and an experience I'm really glad we all had as a group.

The trip back was less eventful than the trip there. Shorter by 5 hours, though being down one driver took a little bit to adapt to. We unfortunately also did not think to account for the time change coming back. These elements all contributed to us not pulling into the city until midnight, which caused us to not be able to return the car on time, which means that it is now sitting in parking garage around the corner from our apartment waiting to be returned in an hour or so, which means we're being charged an extra day. Well... yeah. C'est la vie, I suppose. We just spent a whole weekend in one of America's great cities, so I find it hard to complain. If that's what had to happen, then so be it.

I would have liked just one more day in Chicago. There was still a lot I didn't get to see that I had really wanted to, especially Lincoln Park and the zoo. But that just gives me another reason to go back out there and visit. And when that time comes... I'll probably fly.

Check out pictures on OUR FACEBOOK. (Go to Photos. Obviously.)

Anyway. We have a car to return.

*K

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So for the next few days, this blog is going to be taken over by Think Pound content. What is Think Pound, you ask? Well first off, shame on you. I'm assuming if you're reading this, you're a friend of mine. And if you're a friend of mine, there's no excuse for you not to know that I'm in a sketch comedy group named Think Pound.

If, by some off chance, you're a reader who has found this blog by googling NEXT TO NORMAL BOOTLEG... well, you can learn all about Think Pound at the official website.

Anyway, in T-minus 4 hours, we will be jumping into our rented mini-van and driving 12-13 hours to CHICAGO. The comedy promise land. We're performing in the Chemically Imbalanced Theater's festival SNUBFEST on Saturday night.

So, on the overnight drive where I will not be driving because I don't have a license, I will be abusing my newfound mobile blogging capability. But not as much as I'll be abusing the Twitter for Blackberry app. Do yourself a favor and follow Think Pound on Twitter. You won't be sorry.

Anyway, be on the look out for pictures of people sleeping, pictures of the highway in the dead of night, and the delusional babblings of a girl trapped in a minivan for 13 hours.

*K

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Even when she looks 20 years older than she really is. Or when she looks 15 years younger than she really is. (How old IS SHE?) Even when she makes movies that no one sees. (Because they're fantastic and under-rated). I want to be Maggie Gyllenhaal.

If Mo'Nique wasn't nominated this year, I'd give her the Oscar. Without even thinking about it. (You did know that I have the power to give out Oscars, didn't you?)

If anyone knows of any way I can become Maggie Gyllenhaal, I would really appreciate you letting me know. It's a hard thing to accomplish. And I'm not so keen on identity theft.

-----

Anyway. Tomorrow is the Oscars. I'm watching a really mediocre "Road to the Gold" special on ABC. So incredibly mediocre that they called The Dark Knight not being nominated last year a "travesty" - as an argument FOR the 10 nomination system, no less. I don't know why I've kept this on my TV.

I don't want to repeat all of the opinions I stated in this entry, especially since I'll be full of many more after the show. But I don't want Avatar to win and I want James Cameron knocked off of his high horse.

I was watching the Independent Spirit Awards last night because I do every year because I think it's a really important area of film making to support. Part of me wants to win an Independent Spirit Award more than an Oscar - the whole thing just feels a lot less political and so much more about actors and film making. It's refreshing and inspiring to watch.

I'd never thought much about film and TV acting until recently. Theatre has consumed my entire life for so long, I hadn't had the chance to think about other areas until I graduated and had my own time to do with what I wanted. I just took a commercial class and found that I don't hate being on camera, and that I'm actually fairly good at it. Theatre is always going to be my number one priority, but it's nice to know that I'm comfortable with the whole shebang, and not just because I would never turn down any acting work - but because I would WANT to.

I'm starting Sheri Sanders' Rock Audition class this coming week and am really, really excited to start singing again - somewhere other than my living room.

Man, ABC is losing credibility rapidly with this Oscars special, btw. Sandy Kenyon (seen in the back of taxis) is grating on my nerves.

Okay. I'm toying with the idea of live blogging during the Oscars - well, I guess not LIVE, but I'll blog as the award show goes on and then post. Though I might be too busy keeping up with my Twitter and Facebook... can I tackle 3 social networking mediums at once?!?!??$!@:!?!?#:?1$:14

Kbye.

*K

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(I'm an Oscar Fish. The real mascot of the Oscars.)

Okay, kiddies. I've kept quiet about award season until now. I figured it didn't matter to whine about anything until the Oscar nominations were finally out. So what is the verdict?

Overall: okay, Academy. Okay.

Everything makes sense and was pretty easy to call - best actor noms, supporting actor and actress (why they even bothered nominating anyone besides Christoph Waltz and Mo'Nique...) Best Actress? Well, yes and no. We all know by now that Sandra Bullock is going to win, unless the Oscar angels grant me my one wish of Carey Mulligan walking away with the golden man. Helen Mirren, Gabourey Sidibe - makes sense. I haven't seen The Last Station, but it's Helen Mirren, so I'm willing to bet she's giving a Helen Mirren quality performance. Gabourey is fantastic in Precious, and were it any other year I think she'd have a serious shot. So, here comes the kicker. Meryl Streep for Julia and Julia.

Maybe it isn't a "kicker". Maybe I should have seen it coming. She's Meryl Streep. And she's nominated BECAUSE SHE'S MERYL STREEP. I would find it hard to take anyone seriously who could look at me and say that she deserves that nomination spot over Emily Blunt or Marion Cotillard. Julie & Julia was a really good movie. I loved it. I read the book the minute it was over. She was great, Amy Adams was great. They were both charming in a Nora Ephron penned feel good "chick flick". It is not - I WILL REPEAT - it is not an Oscar worthy role. And with so many other performances out there, I think it's embarrassing that the Academy felt the need to nominate her. And trust me, I think just as highly of Meryl as everyone else. But I'm realistic about it.

All of that aside, the winners are fairly easier to figure out.

But I'm here today to call shenanigans on the new NOMINATE EVERY MOVIE EVER rule.

Well, no. Not every movie ever. Because somehow A Single Man was overlooked for a sentimental, run of the mill movie like The Blind Side.

Why, dear Oscars, do you feel it's necessary to nominate TEN movies? I mean, TEN. Really? TEN? Is it really that difficult to make up your mind? I can't wrap my head around why this is a good or even relevant change. Did you feel, dear Oscars, you were leaving too many people out? Were you hurting feelings? Did someone complain to the teacher? But wait, this is HOLLYWOOD NOT KINDERGARTEN.

Movies get overlooked all the time, usually for lesser quality movies that sneak their way into the nominations. That sucks, it does, but that's how it works. If they were really concerned about this, maybe try to vote for quality movies, EH? We all know that five or ten nominees, the outcome will be the same. Let's be honest here.

Does this look right to you:

OSCAR NOMINATED THE BLIND SIDE.

UP, OSCAR NOMINATED FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE AND BEST PICTURE! BECAUSE WE LOVE TALKING DOGS!

I am, however, thrilled that this put An Education into the mix. But I would have understood had it not made it into the normal five movie list.

The whole change is just bizarre and I still can't understand the thought process. But, c'est la vie.

On that note, if Avatar wins best picture, I'll have lost faith in all humanity.

Not really.

But, well, a little bit. I'm not saying Avatar is bad, I'm really not. I did really enjoy it. I love Pocahontas. (HAH! I kid. Sort of). But it is NOT the best movie ever made. It is especially not the best movie of the year. Up against brilliant, original, WELL ACTED, finely crafted movies like The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Up in the Air, and An Education... I'd find it hard to be at peace if a movie mainly being praised for it's technical feats walked away with the big prize.

Same goes for James Cameron as director - win all the technical awards there are, dude. You deserve them. It's really a stunning movie to look at. But best director? No, no, no. Kathryn Bigelow better walk away with that award. The Hurt Locker is so engaging and difficult and thrilling, it would be so unjust for her not to win. And, yeah, I'm a little biased being a woman. She would be the first woman to win best director. THE FIRST. I'm thinking... yeah, it's time.

Who knows what the academy has in store for picture and director - I honestly can't predict it.

Leaving you now with the full list of nominees, my personal picks bolded. Because you care. Deeply. Also comments in bold. Because sometimes I comment on things.

(Categories not bolded are categories I have absolutely no clue about. That happens. Sometimes I don't know things. Sometimes. I'll put those first.)

Best Short Film (Animated)

'French Roast'

'Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty'

'The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)'

'Logorama'

'A Matter of Loaf and Death' (Is it bad that I want this to win based on title alone?)

Best Short Film (Live Action)

'The Door'

'Instead of Abracadabra'

'Kavi'

'Miracle Fish'

'The New Tenants'

Best Documentary Feature

'Bruma VJ'

'The Cove'

'Food, Inc'

'The Most Dangerour Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers'

'Which Way Home'

Best Sound Mixing

'Avatar' (Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Tony Johnson)

'The Hurt Locker' (Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett)

'Inglorious Basterds' (Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti and Mark Ulano)

'Star Trek' (Anna Behlmer, Andy Nelson and Peter J. Devlin)

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' (Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers and Geoffrey Patterson) (Though, it has to be said, part of me would LOVE a Transformers movie to win a freaking Oscar just for the mass quantities of LOLs that would ensue).

Best Sound Editing

'Avatar' (Christopher Boyes and Gwendolyn Yates Whittle)

'The Hurt Locker' (Paul N.J. Ottosson)

'Inglorious Basterds' (Wylie Stateman)

'Star Trek' (Mark Stoeckinger and Alan Rankin)

'Up' (Michael Slivers and Tom Myers)

Best Visual Effects

'Avatar' (Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones)

'District 9' (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros and Matt Aitken)

'Star Trek' (Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh and Burt Dalton)

Best Cinematography

'Avatar'

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'

'The Hurt Locker'

'Inglorious Basterds'

'The White Ribbon'

Best Film Editing

'Avatar'

'District 9'

'The Hurt Locker'

'Inglorious Basterds'

'Precious'

Best Original Song

'Almost There' from 'The Princess and the Frog' (Music and Lyric by Randy Newman) (This was really hard. I really did love the 'Crazy Heart' theme, and I know it will win, but I can't betray my Disney).

'Down in New Orleans from 'The Princess and the Frog' (Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman)

'Loin de Paname' from 'Paris 36' (Music by Reinhardt Wagner, Lyric by Frank Thomas)

'Take it All' from 'Nine' (Music and Lyric by Maury Yeston)

'The Weary Knd (Theme from Crazy Heart)' from 'Crazy Heart'

Music and Lyric by Ryan Bigham and T Bone Burnett

Best Original Score

'Avatar'

'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

'The Hurt Locker'

'Sherlock Holmes'

'Up'

Best Adapted Screenplay

Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell ('District 9')

Nick Hornby ('An Education') (Nick Hornby, who I talk about here, winning an Oscar would make things so, so right).

Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche ('In the Loop')

Geoffrey Fletcher ('Precious')

Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner ('Up in the Air')

Best Original Screenplay

Mark Boal ('The Hurt Locker')

Quentin Tarantino ('Inglorious Basterds') (Duhr.)

Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman ('The Messenger')

Joel Coen and Ethan Coen ('A Serious Man')

Peter Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy ('Up')

Best Animated Feature Film

'Coraline'

'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

'The Princess and the Frog'

'The Secret of Kells'

'Up'

Best Supporting Actress

Penelope Cruz ('Nine')

Vera Farmiga ('Up in the Air')

Maggie Gyllenhaal ('Crazy Heart')

Anna Kendrick ('Up in the Air')

Mo'nique ('Precious') (Any other year I would have said Maggie, because she's a beam of fantastic humble sunshine. But Mo'nique was out of this world.)

Best Supporting Actor

Matt Damon ('Invictus')

Woody Harrelson ('The Messenger')

Christopher Plummer ('The Last Station')

Stanley Tucci ('The Lovely Bones')

Christoph Waltz ('Inglorious Basterds')

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock ('The Blind Side')

Helen Mirren ('The Last Station')

Carey Mulligan ('An Education') (In a perfect world!!!!)

Gabourey Sidibe ('Precious')

Meryl Streep ('Julie and Julia')

Best Actor

Jeff Bridges ('Crazy Heart')

George Clooney ('Up in the Air')

Colin Firth ('A Single Man') (You will notice here I bolded two actors. Because either can win, and one will coughJeffBridgescough. But if anyone is competition for him, it's Colin Firth. He was really really fantastic in an overlooked movie. But all the hype about Jeff Bridges is totally true. So, I would be satisfied.)

Morgan Freeman ('Invictus')

Jeremy Renner ('The Hurt Locker')

Best Director

Kathryn Bigelow ('The Hurt Locker') (Girl power.)

James Cameron ('Avatar')

Lee Daniels ('Precious')

Jason Reitman ('Up in the Air')

Quentin Tarantino ('Inglorious Basterds')

Best Picture

'Avatar'

'The Blind Side'

'District 9'

'An Education'

'The Hurt Locker' (Wow, these ten nominees really make this easier. It's not like I'm overwhelmed with choices or anything. It's not like the voting is going to be more spread out now... this makes sense. Sense. (I'm being SARCASTIC.))

'Inglorious Basterds'

'Precious'

'A Serious Man'

'Up'

'Up in the Air'

*K

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"Before we bring this rodeo to a close, I think a couple things should be said.

There's been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can't say about NBC.

nd this isn't a joke.

To set the record straight, and this is true, tonight I'm allowed to say anything I want.

(Man laughs)

Um, and no it's not a joke, but thanks sir. Tonight I really am allowed to say whatever I want and what I want to say is this.

Between my time at "Saturday Night Live," "The Late Night Show," and my brief run here on "The Tonight Show," I've worked with NBC for over 20 years.

Yes, we have our differences right now, yes we're going our separate ways, but this company has been my home for most of my adult life.

I am enormously proud of the work we've done together. And I want to thank NBC for making it all possible.

I really do.

(Audience applauds)

A lot of people have been asking me about my state of mind and I'll be honest with you, walking away from "The Tonight Show" is the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

Um, making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world.

I absolutely love doing it and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium.

I will fight anybody who says I don't, but noone would.

But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian...every comedian dreams of hosting "The Tonight Show" and for seven months, I got to do it.

And I did it my way with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we've done here.

(Audience applause)

And yeah.

And I encounter people when I walk on the street now who are just uh who give me sort of a sad look.

I have had more fortune than anybody I know.

And if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven Parking lot we will find a way to make it fine. We really will.

I have no problems. And, I don't want to do it on a 7-Eleven parking lot.

(Audience laughs)

But whatever, uh, finally I have something to say to our fans.

This massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming for me.

The rallies, the signs, all the goofy outrageous creativity on the Internet uh, the fact that people have traveled long distances and camped out all night in the pouring rain.

(Audience cheers)

It's pouring! It's been pouring for days and they're camping out to be in our audience.

Really, you...Here's what all of you have done.

You've made a sad situation joyous and inspirational.

So to all the people watching I can never ever thank you enough for the kindness to me and I'll think about it for the rest of my life.

And all I ask is one thing...and this is...I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch...please do not be cynical.

I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality.

It doesn't lead anywhere.

Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get.

But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you. Amazing things will happen. (Audience claps) I'm telling you.

It's just true.

As proof, let's make something amazing happen right now.

Here to close out our show are a few good friends, led by Mr. Will Ferrell."

:( Will miss him on The Tonight Show. A lot.

*K

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Sometimes I have a lot of doubts and questions about the experiences I've left myself out of, such as dating. I never dated, I only had exclusive relationships. So it's a weird thing for me to think about. Sometimes I wonder if I missed anything.

But I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it much anyway.

And I also know that even if I had, I would have ended up in the same place. Because this is where I belong.

I'm content with what I've experienced and how I've lived my life. Because I'm so happy where I am right now. Really, I'm just glad I didn't take any longer to get here.

-end sappy-

Keywords to bring unsuspecting people to this entry: Next to Normal Bootleg, Feeling Electric, Alice Ripley, Dexter. (My Dexter entry has been getting tons of traffic).

Oh, and if you don't mind, click on the ads.

*K

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