I would go to the beach and people would kick copies of Byron in my face!

So Robin Williams was fabulous. Hysterical as always, just don't ask me what he talked about! That was 90 minutes of straight nuclear-level energy and I don't know if I saw the man take a breath. Even when he'd take a drink of water you'd still be catching up and then it kept right on going. Very impressive and damn funny, it wore me out.

Spent the better part of the day at the Magnolia yesterday (shudder) and it got so crowded by evening that I opted for dinner rather than a 7.50 Slumdog Millionaire, which I'll knock out today. But I saw all the shorts, animated and live action, and The Reader.

I wish I had done some online research first, because you can watch 4/5 of the animated shorts for free here. LOVE the Oktapodi one, but my favorite, as noted: Absent is the Japanese/French “La Maison en Petits Cubes” directed by Kunio Kato. That's the one I hope wins. And from what I can tell, that one is not to be had on the net. (You can find a clip, at least.)

I have a bad feeling, however, that since a Pixar short has been nominated (Presto, which we all saw in front of Wall-E) that it's going to snag it...and that just sucks. You know I love Pixar but I like the idea that the shorts category can be a place for first-timers, amateurs or lesser-knowns. Maybe everyone else will vote that way, too.

On the plus side, not only did I get to see “La Maison en Petits Cubes” but they had 5 more shorts, "highly commended," to round out the time to something worth paying for!

I really enjoyed all 5 live action shorts. I think the only way to watch these is on itunes, all ranging from $0.99-1.99 each...

On the Line: Really enjoyed, but the ending left me dissatisfied.

Manon on the Asphalt: TOTALLY FUCKING DEPRESSING, right up my alley and I really liked it.

Toyland: also depressing but very heavily-visited material, so it was my least favorite (but still great).

Pig: One of my top three and it reminded me of something my dad would really like. It was very European.

New Boy: To me, the clear winner. An Irish short based on a Roddy Doyle short story. Cute and funny, my pick.

I'll have to talk about The Reader later. I really liked it, it raised some amazing questions and arguments, but then totally failed to really address them. Wtf. But for now must shower and hit the theater!