I don't own a television, so this is the first time in possibly almost 10 years that I have seen the Oscars LIVE via an unauthorized web stream (muahaha). So that fact alone made me quite giddy. Didn't see all, but saw most of it. Overall it wasn't quite as thrilling as I remember previous years though. Only one dance/musical performance? Only two nominated best original songs? Seems like they were really under pressure to keep it within time constraints. Some classy speeches towards the end (I thought the "odes" to each of the best actor and best actress nominees was a bit much though), and I was delighted to see two meta-cinematic movies, The Artist and Hugo, so richly rewarded. Gotta admit, haven't seen either of those two yet, but those are the ones that I'm most eager to catch. I've heard a lot about The Artist and am already predisposed to love it given my interest in early silent film.
The black and white photographic presentation of the In Memoriam tribute (always a bittersweet highlight, one of the primary reasons I want to watch) was lovely. "What a Wonderful World" was a trite song selection, but I'm glad that they didn't choose "I Will Always Love You" and went for a more understated nod to the late Whitney Houston.