Awards on board

So it's finally Oscar Night, barring any last-minute war-related pre-emptions, and my overwhelming favorite to win buckets of awards is "Chicago." Of course, it's not Hollywood savvy or advanced critical skills that lead me to make that pick; it's just that it's the only film of all the many many nominees that I've actually seen. My kids haven't even made me see any of the animated contenders; I'm a complete Oscar nincompoop, except for "Chicago," and I wouldn't have even seen that if my friend hadn't taken a day off from work and dragged me out to play. I will say, it's the perfect film for a frazzled mom who only gets to sit in the dark with her very own bucket of popcorn once a year or so -- pure entertainment, tuneful and fun, not entirely frivolous but not so sad or thought-provoking that you can't go right back to obsessing over your kids once it's done. So, you go, "Chicago"! If I've only got one horse in the race, it'd better be a winner.

With the Academy's red carpet rolled up this year, and Joan Rivers and Barbara Walters effectively benched, those looking for some Oscar warm-up fun can turn to the Web. Check out the Family Oscar Quiz on parenting.com; there are also quizzes and a crossword on teachervision.com, though specifically what they have to do with teaching I can't guess. And if you haven't yet had your fill of award features, photos and trivia, Entertainment Weekly has more than you can possibly stand, including Oscar odds. "Chicago" is lookin' good.

Speaking of awards... Mothers with Attitude, the parent site of "Parenting Isn't Pretty," is today's Cool Site of the Day. If you found this blog after checking us out as a cool site, well, welcome! And if you didn't, please surf over to Cool Site of the Day, click on the "Today's Site" button, and vote for us in the voting frame. Of course, the idea that anything I have anything to do with could get the designation "cool" would amaze and amuse my daughter, now less than a month short of teendom. "Embarrassing Site of the Day," she might vote for. Anybody know where I go to sign up for that?