I LOVE the Oscars! It’s a great mix of the high and pop culture I adore. Though I do have to ask why, oh why, does Miley Cyrus have to be at every awards show? That agent of hers better be getting a massive cut of her paycheck.

Anyway, I thought the show was great, except for the interpretive dance thing they do every year to the film scores. Poppin to Avatar music - I’m not feeling it. The set was gorgeous, the hosts fun, Neil Patrick Harris’ opening smashing, the speeches pretty good (with the exception of one...more on that below.)

As always, there are some heartfelt shout-outs to moms and some lovely mom arm-candy accompanying a nominated child. I picked out a few of my favorite mom-related moments from the 2010 Oscars:

Gabourey Sidibe turns down Oprah and sticks to just showing up with her mom
Oprah asked Sidibe if she wanted to ride together and Sidibe declined saying “People will think we’re too cool.” I’m not sure what that means, but I like it when moms feel important. (btw Oprah, I’m free to ride with you next year.)

Sandra Bullock martyrizes moms
Every mom last night during Bullock’s speech was like “Totally, right on!” Didn’t see it? She was really eloquent, but basically she said that moms everywhere are not praised enough and we deserve thanks and kudos...and everyone should buy us presents and spa treatments regularly. (I’m just kidding. She didn’t use the word “kudos.”)

Sandra Bullock’s primer on raising daughters
Bullock links her success to her mom’s warning not to “ride in cars with boys.” Smart advice, no doubt, but one that left a lot of us wondering if we’d be winning Pulitzers or curing cancer had we heeded such advice.... Nonetheless, a sweet homage to her mom.

Jeff Bridges wins “most moving shout out to his parents”
He seems so tough, but his tearing up and lovely words about his actor mom and dad were sweet.

Roger Ross Williams’ mom tries to save a woman from embarrassment
It’s rumored that Roger Ross Williams’s 87 year old mom might have used her cane to try to block the path of Elinor Burkett who, as they say, “Kanyed” Williams’ speech last night. If this is true and had mama Williams been successful, it would have saved Burkett a great deal of embarrassment. As it went, Burkett made it to the stage and the rest is history. I think Roger’s mom did right -- a mother protects her cubs from the wild things. 

And about Elinor Burkett...

The one thing I despised about this year’s Oscars: Elinor Burkett's Behavior
When she barged in on Roger Ross Williams’ speech, not only did she have nothing intelligible to say, but she started out with “Let the woman speak.” Lady, the Oscars is no he-man she-haters club -- let’s not make everything an issue. But then, she has made a career based on making issues and being contrarian. Not only is Elinor Burkett a moment-in-the-spotlight-killer, but she also seems to have a thing against, among other things, parents.

By the way, did you know that she has a Minnesota connection? She followed the students and families at Prior Lake High for a year and wrote about it in her 2001 book Another Planet: A Year in the Life of a Suburban High School. Really, Elinor - “Another Planet?” Interesting word choice.

Her conclusion was that Prior Lake High students lack motivation and the parents are to blame. Coming from Burkett, who by my digging appears to be childless, this argument seems a bit too convenient.

And parents, lest you think that Burkett’s railing about how we seem to be the problem with everything wrong today, she also wrote The Baby Boon: How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless. In this book, she claims that babies are not just “bundles of joy,” but bundles of cash for parents. Apparently, she has never had to drop $1000/year on diapers and wipes, or hand over a week’s income in order to go see one of those Oscar films in the theater: babysitter + film tickets + popcorn = Burkett is a clueless rabble-rouser. 

The winner of “low-point of the Oscars” goes to Elinor Burkett, a writer about issues...or is that, a writer with issues?