A weird Oscar night that produced good outcomes

What can you say about Ellen?  Edgy.  Quirky.  Was the pizza delivery guy for real or an actor? And what did the stars really think about eating a slice in their formal wear?

I rank last night's Academy Awards show as one of the worst in Oscar's history.  The nominated songs were lackluster and their performances no better.  And Ellen's antics were just pointless, only mildly amusing fillers.

But the awards went where they belonged.  "Gravity" took most of the technical stuff, including Best Director, just as it probably deserved.

Meanwhile, four great performances and a film of real substance got the accolades they deserved:  McConaughey, Blamchett, Nyong'o, Leto, and "Twelve Years a Slave."

That looks about right to me.  I wasn't sorry to see the garish "Great Gatsby" and "Wolf of Wall Street" largely overlooked, but for a stray costume and set statue.

Herewith some other views on last night's awards:

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