Just last week, we learned that last year’s Academy Awards host, Hugh Jackman, would not be returning for the job (Read: Good News Everyone: Hugh Jackman NOT Hosting The Oscars; Who’s Next?), leaving us wondering who would get the gig and if it would be worth caring about in the slightest. The NY Times is now reporting that the annual show’s producers have made not one choice, but two. That’s right, the next Oscars will have two hosts, and they are none other than comic legend Steve Martin and greatest actor ever to live, Alec Baldwin.

The plan this year to to have the wild and wacky antics of Martin contrast Baldwin’s calm, dry delivery. We know that both are very much capable of some great comedy, so it is easy to declare that this could be a phenomenal production. The two actors are also appearing together in master of the romantic comedy Nancy Meyers’ (What Women Want, The Holiday) It’s Complicated, where they will battle each other for the love of Meryl Streep.

It’s being reported that last year’s Academy Awards host, Hugh Jackman, has decided that he doesn’t want to host for a second year in a row. Jackman currently has a Broadway show going on and obviously has other projects making him quite the busy man. He ensured that he might be willing to return sometime in the future, but as for consecutive appearances, he was not interested.

Every year, fans of the Oscar ceremony anxiously wonder who will host the show that year. The decision on who will host sets the entire table and hints at whether you get really excited, or really skeptical of the show and how entertaining it could be.

Last year, Jackman was brought in to host the ceremony. It was one of many new moves that the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science have taken to try and refresh the awards and bring new fans in to fortify their dwindling ratings numbers. Traditionally, the Oscars were hosted by comedic entertainers and actors who weren’t usually nominated and could really own the stage — most popular of them being either Johnny Carson or Billy Crystal. Jackman did a great job with the production and, being a well-trained stage actor, had no problem making a flashy show of it, although his effort was met with many mixed reactions overall.

Most of you who’ve read me for a while already know that I’m a true metal warrior and have been since childhood. But every so often, I get nostalgic for music that was popular when I was young — stuff I really didn’t listen to at the time. That’s why I just purchased the MP3 version of the Bryan Adams album Reckless, which is available for a limited time for only $.99.

Besides the fact that it’s only a buck, this album, which blazed up the charts in 1985, contained hits like “Heaven,” “Summer of ’69,” “Run To You,” and “Somebody” and you know you know these songs. I mean, in 1985 I was in junior high school already going to see Iron Maiden and even I knew all these songs, even if I didn’t own the album (matter of fact, I didn’t even know the name of the album til just now) — but the songs were always on the radio. I actually got to see Bryan Adams when he played with Def Leppard a few summers ago at the ballpark near my house (a great place to see a show and cheap too!). And you know what, Bryan Adams totally rocked. Who wouldn’t thunk? Anyhow, for 99 cents, you can swing this purchase.

Here’s another steal: The Yes Album by Yes for only $5.94 — that’s less than a buck a song. Yes, it’s only 6 songs, but they go on forever, you’ll really get your money’s worth. This album is up there as one of the best classic rock albums of all time — seriously, there’s not one mediocre song on it. For those of you who know a little Yes, this is the album with “I’ve Seen All Good People” on it; for those of you who only know them from their hit “Owner Of A Lonely Heart,” the songs on The Yes Album are about 1,000 times better than that.

These are great deals, but guess what? Amazon actually has like 500 mp3 songs available for FREE download. Now, I know what you think Free = Shit. But not so! I downloaded like 15 free songs, and I’m really picky about my music. I’m sure the average person would probably like at least 50 of them.

Horton Hears A Who!
Single-Disc Edition
Directed by Jimmy Hayward & Steve Martino
Starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell, Carol Burnett, Seth Rogen, Will Arnett, Jonah Hill, Isla Fisher
Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 9, 2008

Out of all of the original Dr. Seuss books and cartoons to be adapted to movie form, Horton Hears A Who! is the first to go all CG, differentiating itself from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and The Cat in the Hat.

The movie follows Horton (Jim Carrey), a friendly and innocent elephant teacher who thinks that he hears a noise from a small speck on top of a small flower and comes to believe that this small speck holds a world of tiny people, to which most of the other animals think he’s absolutely nuts. In time, he finds a way to communicate with the Mayor of this tiny world (Steve Carrell), known as of Whoville. The Mayer tells Horton that his continuous movement is messing up the little world’s climate and will eventually destroy everything. This sets Horton off on a journey to find the perfect spot to safely put them while trying to avoid an extremely tyrannical soccer mom kangaroo (Carol Burnett), her hired vulture (Will Arnett), and a grab bag of other speedbumps along the way.