Although Avatar was anticipated to dominate the Oscars last night, it was Cameroon’s ex-wife, Katherine Bigelow, who walked smiling form ear to ear as her directing stint on The Hurt Locker made history as the first time ever such a prize went to a female director. That wasn’t the only feat for the film and its crew. It also took the coveted Best Picture gong, as well as 4 other Oscars, including Best Writing for Mark Boal.

The gripping story of illiterate teenager Precious, based upon Push, a novel by Sapphire, also made history at the Academy Awards. On top of garnering an Oscar for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress for Mo’nique, it clinched the Best Adapted Screenplay, making it the first time for an African American for Geoffrey Fletcher. Speaking of mo’Nique, I loved her speech. I was particularly touched when she paid tribute to Hattie MacDonald, the first black actress to ever be nominated and win an Academy Award. Even the colour blue of the dress Mo’Nique wore and the hairstyle were a homage to Ms. MacDonald.

I had a pleasure of watching the live broadcast of the Academy Awards at a glitz event staged by Nu Metro at the Emperors Palace recently re-furbished establishment. When I arrived, the Top Billing crew was already there. It turned out Jeanie D was also our host for the night, updating us on what was going on and doing prize giveaways that included a 42 inch flat-screen TV, weekend vouchers to Emperors hotel as well as a weekend of sheer luxury and breeze as a driver of the elegant Maybach. There was plenty of fancy foods and drinks, including bubbly to fit the theme of the occasion.

Back to the Oscars. Hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin did a sterling job keeping the guests and viewers entertained. It actually didn’t even feel like watching the event for over 3 hours the way they were so funny and witty. One of many highlights included their roasting of Meryl Streep, the fact that she the only actress that has been nominated the most, and subsequently lost the most, including tonight, or this morning. That segment kept everybody in stitches.

Other winners included Sandra bullock, who won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her exceptional acting chops on the inspirational The Blind Side. Her speech was both moving and funny. Jeff bridges finally got his first Oscar after being nominated about 4 times. I was also happy for him. Crazy Heart was an enjoyable film and he did a great job portraying a down and out country singer attempting to revive his career. I was surprised though that there were no musical performances at this years event. However, I did enjoy the dance performance showcasing different dance style routines.

I was actually tweeting throughout the event. I even had tweet exchanges with rapper/singer Estelle, Pabi Moloi (who was there shooting for All Access) and singer Kelly Rowland. You can check my timeline on Twitter to see what went down. Click on the Follow Me icon next to the window scroller on the right. I immensely enjoyed myself at my first-ever viewing of the awards at Emperors Palace. Thanks to Emperors Palace and Nu Metro for the invite and for taking care of us.