Yes? No? Volume II

Again, I pose the question: have we ever seen these two in the same place at the same time? Because I am not seeing any real distinguishable difference between the two.

Actress Kelly Rutherford from Gossip Girl (above) and actress Elizabeth Mitchell, from Lost (below).

Really? Not the same person? We are sure of this?

Click here for Volume I.

PS: As a matter of fact, NO, I do not have anything else to do, but really, thanks for asking.

THE OSCAR POOL

Let the gaming begin...

I've set up a spreadsheet on Google Docs. I don't think you need to have a Google account to access it, but if you do it's a freebie to set one up. And in fact, doesn't Google own Blogger? So if you have a Blogger account, that will suffice. Here's the link.

The Oscars will air Feb. 22. I'll be in New Orleans, so no Oscar viewing party for me (drats!) but I'll probably twitter/facebook my way through it. If I am not in a drunken stupor in the French Quarter. Either/Or.

Here's how the pool works:

Add your name to the top of the spreadsheet. Mark your choices, one per category, in some manner. Answer the tie-breaking question just in case. Pay Pal $20 to me at shanaob@msn.com. That's it. It's a winner take all pool. The person who gets the most correct answers wins.

The spreadsheet will go into lockdown on Feb. 20, so all selections have to be made before midnight 2/20/09. Tie breaker answer has to be locked in at that time also.

TIE BREAKER: In honor of the 2009 Oscar host, Mr. Hugh Jackman, the tie breaker question is: what will the temperature be on Oscar day in Sydney Australia? Give your answer in degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature will be determined by The Weather Channel and will be the temperature reading at the Sydney Airport at 8 p.m. on 2/20/09.

All right. Who's in? I need to start seeing some movies, pronto.

Are you ready for some... Oscars!

Have I mentioned that I HEART awards shows? And red carpet coverage. Because? I have no life. But still. GLAMOUR!

I used to have a sister-in-law whose mom did an Oscar pool every year. $20 buck buy in, choose a winner in each category. Person with the most right picks takes the pot. And with 10 to 20 people playing along, it's a nice take.

When I no longer had that sister-in-law, I carried on the tradition within our family. With moderate success. Like, maybe 10 people? But last year I didn't do it, just kind of let it fizzle and die.

But I'm thinking of resurrecting the pool. Would any of my virtual homegirls be interested in that? Having money riding on the Oscars adds a whole new element of excitement to your viewing enjoyment! If I get five yes responses here, I know I will have five real live people I can pull in, so even with just ten of us, that's $200 to the big winner. And there will be a random tie breaker question answered in advance in the event of a tie. Are you a play-ah?

And the nominees are:

(links courtesy of Perez Hilton)

BEST PICTURE

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

"Frost/Nixon"

"Milk"

"The Reader"

"Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"

Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"

Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Meryl Streep, "Doubt"

Kate Winslet, "The Reader"

BEST ACTOR

Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"

Sean Penn, "Milk"

Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, "Doubt"

Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Viola Davis, "Doubt"

Taraji P. Henson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Marisa Tomei, "The Wrestler"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Josh Brolin, "Milk"

Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"

Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Doubt"

Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"

Michael Shannon, "Revolutionary Road"

BEST DIRECTOR

Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

Stephen Daldry, "The Reader"

David Fincher, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon"

Gus Van Sant, "Milk"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River"

Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"

Marttin McDonagh, "In Bruges"

Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon, "WALL-E"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Simon Beaufoy, "Slumdog Millionaire"

David Hare, "The Reader"

Peter Morgan, "Frost/Nixon"

John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"

Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

"The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany)

"The Class" (France)

"Departures" (Japan)

"Revanche" (Austria)

"Waltz with Bashir" (Israel)

BEST ANIMATED FILM

"Bolt"

"Kung Fu Panda"

"Wall-E"

BEST ART DIRECTION

"Changeling"

"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button"

"Dark Knight"

"The Duchess"

"Revolutionary Road"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

"Changeling" Tom Stern

"Slumdog Millionaire," Anthony Dod Mantle"

The Reader," Chris Menges

"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Claudio Miranda

"The Dark Knight," Wally Pfister

BEST FILM EDITING

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

"The Dark Knight," Lee Smith

"Frost/Nixon," Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill

"Milk," Elliot Graham

"Slumdog Millionaire," Chris Dickens

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

"Australia," Catherine Martin

"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Jacqueline West

"The Duchess," Michael O'Conner

"Milk", Danny Glicker

"Revolutionary Road," Albert Wolsky

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

"The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"

"Encounters at the End of the World"

"The Garden"

"Man on Wire"

"Trouble the Water"

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Slumdog Millionaire," "Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman

"Slumdog Millionaire," "O Saya," A.R. Rahman & M.I.A.

"Wall-E," "Down To Earth," Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button," Alexandre Desplat

"Defiance," James Newton Howard

"Milk," Danny Elfman

"Slumdog Millionaire," A.R. Rahman

"WALL-E," Thomas Newman

BEST MAKEUP

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Colleen Callaghan, Fionagh Cush

"The Dark Knight," Peter Robb-King, John Caglione Jr.

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Mike Elizalde, Thom Floutz

BEST SOUND EDITING

"The Dark Knight," Richard King

"Iron Man," Frank Eulner, Christopher Boyes

"Slumdog Millionaire," Tom Sayers

"Wall-E," Ben Burtt, Matthew Wood

"Wanted," Wylie Stateman

BEST SOUND MIXING

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Mark Weingarten, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce

"The Dark Knight," Ed Novick, Lora Hirschberg, Gary Rizzo

"Slumdog Millionaire," Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty

"Wall-E," Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick

"Wanted," Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montaño and Petr Forejt

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Eric Barba

"The Dark Knight," Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber

"Iron Man," John Nelson

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

"Auf der Strecke (On the Line)"

"Manon on the Asphalt"

"New Boy"

"The Pig"

"Spielzeugland (Toyland)"

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

"La Maison en Petits Cubes"

"Lavatory - Lovestory"

"Oktapodi"

"Presto"

"This Way Up"

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM

"The Conscience of Nhem En" 

"The Final Inch" 

"Smile Pinki" 

"The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306"