Cowslips in the swamp

I watch the Oscars every year - sort of.  They don't tend to give awards to the kind of movies I like (low on dialog/big on explosions) so the movies they do award I usually haven't seen.  Of course, there are sometimes outliers where we agree such as 'The Return of the King'.  Plus I believe the Oscar often isn't given for the best performance for that year.  Too often the acadamy is swayed by the popularity of an actor, an older actor's possibly final performance, or give it posthumously to an actor's very final performance.    No, I watch for the fashion, for the singing of the nominated songs, and for the memorial given to all of those in the profession that passed away in the last year.  So, I was puzzled why at this year's Oscars the memorial flashed by so fast you barely had time to read the names.  It's not like the industry will have another chance to honor these people.  (I'd forgotten Kirk Douglas died last year.)   I saw them present the Oscar for best song but haven't a clue what any of the songs sounded like.  I wasn't vigilantly watching so thought the songs might have been performed earlier but this morning a recap of the event said there were no singing or dancing performances.    At least there was haute couture.  I'm OK w/ showing some skin but not a fan of dresses that look like at sudden move by the wearer would expose more than planned. This year my favorite dress of the bunch was Laura Dern's  - simple, strong, and eminently wearable (provided one can sit on ostrich feathers).