RE: the State of the Union last night (if you missed it, don’t worry, you didn’t miss much), my reaction pretty much echoed Wonkette’s, particularly where it concerned “human-animal hybrids“.

Seriously. Where the hell did that come from?

You all know I love this time of year. “Highlight” nominees:

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Philip Seymour Hoffman – CAPOTE
Terrence Howard – HUSTLE & FLOW
Heath Ledger – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Joaquin Phoenix – WALK THE LINE
David Strathairn – GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.

## Have seen WALK THE LINE, and Phoenix is good but not outstanding. Really need to see GOOD NIGHT and CAPOTE.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
George Clooney – SYRIANA
Matt Dillon – CRASH
Paul Giamatti – CINDERELLA MAN
Jake Gyllenhaal – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
William Hurt – A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE

## Haven’t seen any of these. Would be nice to see Matt Dillon pick this one up.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Judi Dench – MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS
Felicity Huffman – TRANSAMERICA
Keira Knightley – PRIDE & PREJUDICE
Charlize Theron – NORTH COUNTRY
Reese Witherspoon – WALK THE LINE

## Witherspoon is good in WALK THE LINE, but based only on reviews, my guess is this goes to Huffman for TRANSAMERICA.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams – JUNEBUG
Catherine Keener – CAPOTE
Frances McDormand – NORTH COUNTRY
Rachel Weisz – THE CONSTANT GARDENER
Michelle Williams – BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

## Spielberg versus Clooney! Worlds collide!

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
CAPOTE
CRASH
GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK.
MUNICH

## Wow, so, I’ve got my work cut out for me before March 5. Casey! You want to go to the movies…?

So three weeks into re-learning to eat with my gestational diabetes, I found out there’s only one thing I really can’t live without – dessert after dinner. Sounds minor, but after ditching my most prized treats of candy (no small feat for yours truly), soda, and all things sweetly delicious, it turns out the little things can make all the difference.

Couple the challenges of the diabetes diet with the requirements and restrictions of a regular pregnancy diet, add in cravings, and you’ve got a pretty desperate woman. So we were pleased (no one more so than poor Gus) to discover the other night while shopping these sugar-free (but made with Splenda) ice cream and ice cream bars shown above, and even Splenda brown sugar for my oatmeal and some subsequent oatmeal raisin cookies.

So life is still way more regulated than I would prefer, but is bearable again AND my levels are under control. Now peace (or our version of it) reigns once more at Chez Dahlberg.

Thank you science, and thank you scientists who figured out sugar-free sugar, for saving this crazy pregnant woman, her dear and forgiving husband, and her insane toddler from certain demise!

Boy, is this one time I’m glad Val has the TiVo set to record Oprah: apparently, she taped a show today where she confronts James Frey, the author of the “memoir” A MILLION LITTLE PIECES. Gawker liveblogged the show; here’s the report.

(For context, here’s the original Smoking Gun piece on the book’s many fallacies.)

Columbus blogger and recent Ohio State Law graduate Chris Geidner is apparently filling in as Wonkette For a Day today, before the imminent arrival of the blog’s new propietors.

Another one via boingboing — here’s a link to a gallery of artist Mary Blair‘s work on the Golden Books LITTLE VERSES from the early 1960s, which has apparently been out of print for more than 40 years. I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention, but the style caught my eye, and after a little bit of Googling, sure enough, the same artist is responsible for one of Carl’s favorite Little Golden Books, the wonderfully charming I CAN FLY.

Neat!

Not a doctored photo — those are Georgetown University law students protesting at a speech given by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday.

I’m sure it will be picked up by the news outlets at some point, if it hasn’t already, but here’s a firsthand account.

It’s been three weeks and I haven’t even gotten myself together enough to post a Christmas/New Year’s wrap-up, so rather than keep putting it off, I’ll just link you to the pictures and let y’all have at it in comments.

Christmas 2005, here in Columbus at our house and the Pope/Justice family party, and in Wellston at Moogie & Poppy’s.

The Hoover House Alum Baybay Partay 2006, at Jenn’s mom’s place near Chillicothe.

Groovy.