Well, for all my distress about predicting Picture and Director, I guessed right. I also guessed right on two other key toss-up awards, Supporting Actress and Score. My total for the night was 19 out of 24 -- good for a tough year. This is also the first year I've correctly guessed all of the top eight categories.

Despite the fact that few of the wins were locks (or maybe because of that), there weren't really any surprises. The biggest was The Incredibles for Sound Effects Editing, which I assumed would go to Spiderman 2. Perhaps we've gotten to a point where the media can analyze the Oscars so thoroughly that there isn't much room for surprises anymore.

Three of my five misses were in the three short categories -- doc short, live action short, and animated short. Usually, nobody but Academy voters even knows what these are, let alone having seen them, but this year I saw three of the animated shorts and two of the live-action shorts, as they were put on the web for a special pre-Oscars screening. Being more educated than usual in these categories didn't seem to help me predict the winners, but it was fun. I didn't see "Wasp," the live-action winner, but I was greatly impressed with "7:35 In the Morning." As for the animated shorts, I thought the winner, "Ryan," was insufferably pretentious, the innovative animation style being the only thing going for it. I didn't think "Gopher Broke" (which was cute) or "Guard Dog" (which was funny in a maniacally wicked way) had the strength to win it either, so I guessed one of the ones I hadn't seen.

It's too bad Scorsese missed another chance for a remedial Oscar, but this year righted two other wrongs: it's about time Morgan Freeman and Cate Blanchett had an Oscar.

As for the ceremony itself, I know a lot of people thought Chris Rock made a great host, and the ratings were up this year which means we'll probably be stuck with him again in the future, but I thought he was the worst Oscar host imaginable. I did laugh at, if memory serves, three of his jokes. But I laughed more at Robin Williams during his one minute on the stage. I wish he'd just host the whole show.

As for the presentation of technical awards in the audience or having the nominees stand around like Miss America contestants, I can only hope that goes away next year. One of the good Chris Rock jokes: the quip about handing out the Oscars in the parking lot next year.