Animoto - my new best friend

I've recently discovered my love for a wonderful website called animoto.com
The genius' behind this website thought that America needed an easy and quick way to make videos of their photos set to music. What they created was, in fact, just that. This website is so easy to use my grandmother could maneuver her way through. And as quick as quick can be, a video with your photographs of a vacation, friends photo shoot, senior portraits, or day-to-day candids are thrust together in a great conglomeration.
There are a few down-sides, however. Along with the quickness and easiness of it all, your photos are set to the tempo of the music. So if you pick a fast song, expect them to go faster than your eye can keep up. You can change the tempo of the photo-turning, but it's either 2x or 1/2x, which sometimes seems awkward. This also means you can't change one photos' length of time, either.
The other downside is that if you want the free version, you only get 30 seconds to play with. The good news: a year's subscription to "all access" is only $30, which includes unlimited video time.
Videos can also upload actual video clips, also, but are limited to 5 seconds for the free version and 10 for the all access. (The all-access does not include copyrights, especially to their songs. If you own a company, there is another alternative for you.)
For the average person who just wants a new way to portray their photos of their every-day-lives, this is a brilliant website.
Here's my latest example:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Go to animoto.com to begin your newest video scrapbook.

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From worse to worst - Oscars 2010 fashion gone wrong.

The 82nd annual Academy Awards filled the screens tonight. And while millions of viewers tuned in to see if Kathryn Bigelow would beat out ex-husband James Cameron for Best Director, or if Sandra Bullock could finally break through her RomCom facade and win Best Actress, the other portion of the world tuned in to see only one thing: The Fashion!

The Oscars are known as the time where the biggest designers and actors' sense of fashion either flourishes or fails. And like other favorite shows we watch (*cough* American Idol), most of our enjoyment of the evening comes from making fun of the flubs...and by flubs, I mean the biggest fashion mishaps in the year. Hence, the worst dressed lists were born.

So, my dear friends, without further ado, I give you my top ten worst dressed of the Oscars 2010.


10) Jennifer Lopez, wearing a silk organza Armani Prive.

Trying to play with textures and structure, J-lo thought these extra curves would enhance her own. The top suites her well, but all of those structural curves near her hip enhanced all the wrong places.

9)Miley Cyrus, wearing Jenny Packman.

Dear Miley - a corset-looking top does not bode your breasts well. Although I will give you grace since I liked the chiffon skirt.

8)Zoe Saldana, wearing a Givenchy Haute Couture gown by Riccardo Tisci.

The top on this dress was actually quite stunning. But once you get past the waist, it looks as if a Viking cheerleader attacked it with purple pompoms. Textures are a big trend this year, but don't expect to see this one anytime soon (although maybe by the time 'Avatar' comes true.)

7)Mariska Hargitay in Vera Wang

Although her slender bodice fits beautifully in this piece, I'm afraid Wang forgot to finish sewing the bottom of it. It looks like she took the bottom of a bedskirt, wrapped it around the bottom of the dress and just forgot to sew it across.

6)Carey Mulligan, nominated for actress in a leading role for "An Education," wore Prada.

This black sweetheart dress doesn't seem sweet after taking a second glance at the long train on such a short dress. It seems as if she couldn't make up her mind if she just wanted it short or long. One or the other, dear.

5) Matt Damon looked more handsome and chiseled than usual, but his wife Luciana's dress didn't demand as much attention.

As a matter of a fact, it seems as if the attention she gave this dress was about 5 minutes...the amount of time it takes to make a towel look that good, which is what it seems to look like. The only difference I see is that I don't see any terry-cloth nor wet hair.

4)Charlize Theron - wearing ??? (nobody wants to admit it.)

This dress could have been simple and stunning between the two shades of purple and the form-fitting foundation. What nobody seems to understand are the two circles of lavender that seem to be attacking her breasts. It demanded attention in a place that's neither lady-like nor flattering. Her hair pulled back gave us a view of her gorgeous face, but nobody could pay attention any farther up than her neck.

3) Diane Kruger is a subtle beauty, but this dress makes it even more subtle. Trying to play with the textures, this dress chops up her slender figure. As a whole, the piece isn't cohesive from top to bottom; the ruffles in that middle section are what makes this dress fly right over the edge.


2)Mariah Carey. Now, I'm usually not the biggest fan of Carey's fashion to begin with, but this one just didn't do her justice at all.

Dear Mariah,
Try a little more on the bottom and a little more on the top, next time, and you might hit it right. Learn how to cover yourself up and you might actually land yourself on the "best dressed" lists for once.

....and the WORST dressed of the 2010 Oscars goes to:
1) Nicole Richie.

Taking the opposite approach as Carey, Richie thought that dressing from head to toe (almost literally) would make her hit the best dressed lists of 2010. Looking more like a better designed piece of sheet metal or chain mail, this dress would have been better served being in the best costume category for "Joan of Arc."

So there you have my top 10 worst dressed - Do you agree/disagree? Who did you like the most? Were there any in my worst dressed that you liked? Anybody you thought I missed?

.....stay tuned for the BEST of Oscars 2010!

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