Oscars & Beans

In case you've forgotten, the Oscars are coming up the end of February. Until about five years ago, they really didn't hold much interest for me (other than curiosity as to whether I had actually seen ANY of the movies nominated for best picture). Then we happened to visit a friend on Oscar night and discovered that if you're willing to pledge a few dollars and enter a "contest" to see who can come up with the most correct winners, the Oscars become a WHOLE lot more interesting. I happened to "win" that first year through no fault of my own. I've been hooked ever since. I've also lost ever since - through no fault of my own, of course.

So, what, you may ask, has that to do with beans? It goes like this... When the Oscar nominations are released, John & I diligently print out the list and attempt to see as many movies as we can either in the theater (preferred) or on video/DVD. We happen to have a fairly OLD TV (it still works doesn't it?). It's so old in fact that the connections for the video/DVD are in the front. This is okay (who cares about looks anyway?). However, there's a short in the connecting plug in the TV which can't be fixed. This means sometimes you get a picture, or sound, or nothing, or, if you're very lucky, picture & sound - together! John discovered by chance that if you hold the cord "just right" and your mouth "just so" you get both. Rather than holding the cord throughout the movie (he does rather block the screen for anyone else who wants to watch), a jar of beans makes a fairly decent substitute. Of course the trick is to make it to your seat without jiggling the cord AT ALL (VERY hard to do in an old house). Our house sitters for some reason find this part of the "what you should know about our house" instructions fairly perplexing. Will we ever replace it? Only the Oscars know for sure...