![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.road-dog-productions.com\/weblog\/altman-oscar.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tonight, the millions who tune in to the Oscars will hear dozens of short speeches.<\/p>\n
A few people who have been blessed with incredible opportunities to do what they do best will go to the microphone, blink back tears, and thank the people who helped them do their work. While the Oscar winners will get the attention, their pictures plastered all over the news for the next 48 hours as if this statuette is actual confirmation<\/em> that they are the best, the acceptance speeches will indicate, for a few fleeting moments, that it really isn\u2019t about one glamorous celebrity. It\u2019s about a creative community who made something good happen. It\u2019s about a team effort that enabled them to contribute in a way that earned the appreciation of Hollywood. (For whatever that\u2019s worth.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s my favorite thing about the Oscars. I won\u2019t be tuning in tonight. (I\u2019m hosting a Boycott the Oscars party for dozens of moviegoers who would rather watch WALL-E, Shotgun Stories, The Dark Knight, Flight of the Red Balloon,<\/em> and other films that actually deserve<\/em> high honors. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen the Academy blow it as badly as they did this year.)<\/p>\n I love to hear people give thanks to other people in public.<\/strong> I love it so much that I think I\u2019ll host a little Oscar Speech party right here.<\/p>\n The spotlight is now on YOU.<\/strong><\/p>\n Think back over 2008, or the past couple of months in 2009.<\/p>\n Think about the opportunities and blessings you enjoyed. Then think about all of the people who were involved in making that happen.<\/p>\n This is your chance. Thank them. In public.<\/strong> I don\u2019t have Oscar\u2019s audience of a bazillion viewers in the audience worldwide, but I do get, oh, between 1,500 \u2013 2,500 readers a day\u2026 so that\u2019s a decent audience for you. If the spotlight fell on you, and you had 30 \u2013 60 seconds to thank people in your life for parts they played in 2008, who would you thank?<\/p>\n It\u2019s okay if you cry. We\u2019ll cheer anyway.<\/p>\n Make a quick list of four, five, ten people to whom you are grateful. Post your personal \u201cspeech.\u201d Then contact the friends, family, colleagues, and others who you thanked. Give them this link. Let them know you mentioned their name in the spotlight.<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to make a list of my own. If I receive 10 responses in the comments below, I\u2019ll post it. Since we\u2019re all here, let\u2019s make something memorable out of it.<\/p>\n Gratitude.<\/strong> It does a body good.<\/p>\n And congratulations to everybody involved. Especially the Director.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tonight, the millions who tune in to the Oscars will hear dozens of short speeches. A few people who have been blessed with incredible opportunities to do what they do best will go to the microphone, blink back tears, and thank the people who helped them do their work. While the Oscar winners will get […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1051,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[666,247],"class_list":["post-66352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","tag-gratitude","tag-oscars"],"yoast_head":"\n