And the winner is...

James Franco, Anne Hathaway

The last of the awards are being handed out in a few days at the 83rd Oscars. The 2011 Oscars air on ABC at 8 p.m. (EST) on

Feb. 27, 2011. James Franco and Anne Hathaway are hosting this year’s awards.

In the past I have never shown an interest for award season; however, this year I have been fascinated with the nominations, styles, and gossip around the awards.

During my award captivation I have learned a few interesting facts and figured I would share them.

Did you know…

• The red carpet at the Kodak Theatre, where the ceremony is held, is about 500 feet long and 33 feet wide. Along this 500 foot long space, over 100 photographers and 300 TV media members will be documenting every moment. No wonder actors and actresses get stressed out when it comes to finding the best red carpet outfit.  

Youngest winners

Tatum O'Neal

• The youngest Oscar winner, excluding special awards, was 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal, who won for best supporting actress for 1973’s Paper Moon.

• Youngest to receive an Oscar of any kind was Shirley Temple at the age of five in 1934; however, Shirley’s Oscar was considered an honorary award.

Oldest Winner

• In 1990, Jessica Tandy won the Best Actress Oscar at age 81 for Driving Miss Daisy.

Longest acceptance speech

• Actress Greer Garson’s acceptance speech went on for an overwhelming five minutes. Today, Oscar winners are advised to keep their speeches to 45 seconds in length.

 Additional Facts

• The Academy Awards were first broadcast on radio in 1930.
• Over 90 million people watched the first television broadcast in 1953.
• Gone With the Wind was the first coloured movie to win best picture (1939).
• The biggest loser of all times is Kevin O'Connell, a sound re-recording mixer who holds the record for most Academy Award nominations without a win at 20. He originally set the record in 2006 with his 18th nomination and loss, making him the "unluckiest nominee in the history of the Academy Awards".

Share your knowledge; please add any “award winning” facts below.

Sources: Oscar.com, Oddee.com, Wikipedia.com, Oscarworld.net, Popmatters.com

They don’t call it ‘French Kissing’ in France.

Happy Valentines Day! I hope everyone is taking a second today to tell their friends and family how much they care about one another. With all the recent talk surrounding Valentines Day in the news and magazines, I decided to explore a fact about kissing.

Everyone can remember his or her first kiss, good or bad. This was an exciting experience for some and a game of tongue-war for others. When a kiss is done properly it is a very personal and sensual experience.

With many forms of kissing around the world, the French Kiss is famously known as the “kiss involving the tongue”. Some people have referred to the French Kiss as the “Soul Kiss because the life and soul are thought to pass through the mouth's breath in the exchange across tongues”. Did you know that in France they don’t actually refer to this type of kissing as the French Kiss?

With a little digging I found out that French kissing has been referred to as baiser anglais (translation: “english kiss”) in some northern parts of France. More commonly in France it is referred to as baiser amoureux ("love kiss") or baiser avec la langue ("kiss with the tongue"). In French slang, this type of kissing is called a patin (“ice skating shoe”), or rouler un patin ("roll a skate") or rouler une pelle ("roll a shovel"). How romantic is that once you have translated it into English? 

I pondered, why do they still call it a French Kiss if that is not how the French refer to it? Well, why not? The French have historically been know as romantic and one of the first people to accept public displays of love and affection. Also, Paris, France is recognized as a destination of love and romance to visitors from around the world. To me it only makes sense that we still refer to it as a French Kiss.

What do you think?

Other types of kissing

11 Minutes

In honor of the weekend Super Bowl celebration: did you know the actual football is only played for an average of 11 minutes during a seasonal NFL game?

“According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.”

Written in an article of the Wall Street Journal by David Biderman.

Meaning, when you tally up the time it takes for the football to be snapped to when the referees call the play dead is only adds up to 11 minutes.

If there is only an average of 11 minutes action in a football game, then how do broadcasters fill the other 174 minutes of airtime for an average football game?

Keep in mind that an NFL game is typically scheduled between 21/2 to 3 hours of TV airtime and that does not include pre-game and post-game commentary.

Based on my research, the following times are estimates of what TV stations will cover during an NFL broadcast:

Players standing around/ huddling = 75 min

Commercials/ Half time= 60 min

Replays = 17 min

Play Action = 11 min

Shots of head coaches and referees = 
7 min

Injured players = 2 min

Player Celebration (during the game) = 1.7 min

Cheerleaders = 3 seconds

Side fact: that broadcasters will show the Dallas Cheerleaders more frequently then any other cheer team.  This makes sense since they were voted number one in the Beer Store’s Chill magazine.

Some TV networks will fill in extra airtime with fan coverage; different networks concentrate on different elements.

I know as a football fan watching all the extras makes the Sunday football experience. Sitting around with friends, having a few beers, and munching on snacks is part of why I enjoy the game. Still it was surprising to discover that I am only watching 11 minutes of play action. Especially considering it can take up to a whole day to prepare for a Super Bowl party, if not longer. 

This started to make me think about how much play action there is in other sports?

If you know, please share.