Mabel, formerly “Mei-Mei,” formerly “Betty,” arrived at my house July 4th weekend as a foster cat, tiny, bitter, and silent. At first, she hid on a bathroom shelf, and tried to impersonate a Scrubbing Bubble …

…In which we braid each other’s hair, eat tons and tons of candy, and debate whether Brad has any idea where anyone’s rosebud is and/or what to do with it. Chat goes live at 7:45 …

I didn’t do so well on these last year, which I think is because of the Death Race, not in spite of it — but perhaps I can improve my percentages in ’11. From a …

FINAL SCORE: Sarah 54, Death Race 2; 22 of 24 categories completed
None of the documentary-short nominees really caught fire for me. I didn’t hate any of them, not something I could say for my fellow …

Sarah 49, Death Race 7; 21 of 24 categories completed
(Stay tuned through the weekend for a Documentary Shorts roundup; a predictions entry, whose prognostications you should do the opposite of in your Oscar …

I’m hoping your bibliophile readers can help me come up with the title of a book I read as a kid in the ’70s.
It’s about a boy who goes on a camping trip/hike up …

Sarah 48, Death Race 8; 20 of 24 categories completed
The 2011 crop of animated shorts, like their live-action brethren, also came off less turgid than last year’s; I liked almost all of them. But I …

I’m writing to you today about a very delicate situation. I’m totally lost as to what, if anything, I can do. I really need your help.
Here’s a little background: I have a sister who I …

A more entertaining, less self-serious crop than last year’s, or at least I felt that way when the lights when up Monday. It helps that the program chose its order well, and ended with a …

Sarah 43, Death Race 13; 19 of 24 categories completed
…Wow. How to describe Incendies without giving away anything. How to describe it, period, really, but I will try not to tip anything here (if you’d …