I started my trek viewing the Oscar nominees by taking in two movies the easy route, via PPV. The first was "Little Miss Sunshine", which I thought was terrific. Excellent cast with Abigail Breslin as the little kid, Olive, and Alan Arkin as the heroin-snorting Grandpa getting nominations, and it also got a "Best Picture" nod. This hooked me immediately. Well acted as everyone had their moments. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, and Steve Carell (who I'm beginning to like in everything) all had the individual spotlight at different times. A hilarious and kind of frightening post-Jon Benet look at these beauty pageants for kids. Skewering of the self-help and healthcare industries were added for good measure. And the journey to get to the pageant crammed in enough surprises to make it a wonderful trip. Nice soundtrack, too, with Sufjan Stevens contributing "Chicago" and the closing song "No Man's Land" and Rick James with "Superfreak" as Olive's dance music at the show. I liked this one very much.

I also saw "The Devil Wears Prada" with Meryl Streep getting a nomination in this one. Of course, this role was right in her wheelhouse and she smacked it out of the park. But it is a comedy and I wonder about her chances of winning. Anne Hathaway (great body, but does she have "Runaway Bride" eyes?) did pretty good work as the girl who needs a job, knows nothing about fashion, gets sucked in by it, then rediscovers what was really important in her life. That seems like a tired formula and it probably is. But they did a decent job with it, I guess. I actually liked Emily Blunt the best in this one, as the number one assistant. "Entourage" guy played Hathaway's boyfriend and the always reliable Stanley Tucci played the Hector Elizondo-type role from "Pretty Woman". Probably rates as a pleasant enough diversion from your cable or satellite provider.

Meal of Links

The Smokey Bones chain is having some troubles outside of their core regions. And it's not a favorite with women, apparently. But I was there last night and I'm not sure why that is the case, unless there are just way too many chains to choose from. Not a huge bar, decent enough. Flat-screen TVs all around, that's a plus. And I had a barbecue chicken and shrimp dinner that was pretty good. And, of course, donuts. Mmmmm...donuts. Not bad.

ABC punts. Yes, "Knights of Prosperity" moves to 8:30 in a last ditch effort to get viewers.

Chris Matthews is a Miss America judge. I wonder if he interrupts the contestants during questioning or plays "Hardball" with them.

Exercise Yard

Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik, a middleweight from Y-Town, had a really good debut on HBO's "Boxing After Dark". The opponent, Juan Luis Zertuche. Pavlik completely dominated in a very enjoyable fight. Lots of action, virtually no holding, and very infrequent interruptions by the ref.

Pavlik delivered a knockdown with a huge right hand near the end of the 6th. Zertuche had trouble finding his corner after the bell. Pavlik then took his time and delivered a beauty of a right hand in the 8th, set up by the jab, which put Zertuche far into next week. Actually, into next month. With Zertuche out on his feet, he delivered another right to a defenseless Zertuche that damn near killed him. Pavlik is now 30-0 and talking up the usual suspects, with the most intriguing matchup being Edison Miranda. That would be one to watch.

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