The Oscars are in town and I have Proof

On the corner of 44th and Broadway, right in the heart of Times Square, the usual torrent of passers-by went along their business not even glancing at me and my Camera. I was the only one looking in the window of the ABC studios and snapping photo after photo of the pre-engraved statues.

Those 50 little men smiled up at me saying the oscar goes to you!

Personally I'm not a huge fan of awards shows. Sure they can be entertaining at times. Mainly they are riddled with inside jokes that i simply don't get. I suppose if i kept up with my tabloid reading I'd find them hilarious. I just can't bring myself to put down Vonnegut for a Tabloid. I know, how un-American. Oh well.

Here they are, the little lovelies. I tried for an artistic shot through the panes of glass. I never claimed to be a photgrapher.

Some little known facts about the statue, it was designed a Mr. George Stanley for the academy. Apparently his fee for the commissioned work in 1927 was $500. A steal by our standards. The statue is that of a man standing on a reel of film. In his hands he is holding a sword with the point down.

The first Oscars were made of solid Bronze. During the metal shortage of WWII they were made of plaster. Today they are made of gold-plated britannium. Its not very big, standing 13 inches from head to base and it weighs about 8 Lbs. His official name is the Academy Award of Merit. But we all know him as Oscar.

No one really knows where the nickname came from. For what ever reason, in 1934, a columnist referred to Katherine Hepburn's Award as an Oscar. The name was adopted by the academy in 1939. So there you have it, the history of that covetted little guy.

Here is one last look at the shiny little guy.

For those of you interested, The 78th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland. They will be televised live by onABC beginning at 8 p.m. EST, preceded by a half-hour arrival segment.

Enjoy.