Just wanted to register my total agreement with this post. “Once” is actually the next film on our Netflix queue, so we haven’t seen it yet. But in a ceremony filled - almost by design - with a great deal of hot air and flash, we were glad they took a few extra seconds for someone who actually had something to say.

Mike: please let me know what you think of Once, once you’ve seen it. I’d love to read your take.

As to Irglová’s speech, it didn’t strike me as particularly memorable (though that may be my failing, not hers); I was primarily glad that they took some time to let her have the moment that she’d richly earned. The Oscars are too frightfully self-conscious about their fear of boring their audience.

Yeah, Once is now at the top of my Netflix queue too.

My god, I guess that movie was this year. I’d blocked it out completely, to the point where I didn’t recognize her photo in the Oscar coverage. Seems years ago, but that may just be the distorting effect of winter.

Irglová’s speech wasn’t exactly the Gettysburg Address, but it struck me as a particularly heartfelt moment with some actual content (and such moments were rare). I suppose she had my attention as soon as she mentioned struggling independent musicians, so the “hope connects us all” line didn’t seem overly trite to me. Heather and I also saw a lot of these young Czech kids while we were in Ireland last year — the tech boom in Ireland has catapulted a lot of Irish out of the service industries and into the middle class, leaving room for an army of Polish and Czech immigrants looking for work. They can be found behind the counters of retail shops, grocery stores, and restaurants all over the Republic. I suppose this gave me an additional feeling of connection to Irglová and I couldn’t help but root for them.