Now that we’ve dished on the dresses, speculated on the shoes, and have sampled all our at-home treats, it’s time for the show to begin. SETH MCFARLANE! He’s funny and this may end up being a franchise for him, kinda like Billy Crystal had for a while.  And the Academy Awards Oscars need some stability, what with the name change of both the ceremony and the the theater it’s held in, and the rules. I miss having only five films in Best Picture, since I think it dilutes the vote. I’d love to see Argo win, but it will probably be Lincoln, the easy choice.

It’s that special season that happens very four years, the Presidential election. And kicking it off at the RNC Convention tonight, Governor Chris Christie speaks. This morning on Fox News Channel, it was reported that Christie might go off his prepared teleprompter speech, so this could be fun.

May Day is here! And FDL has correspondents in New York City broadcasting LIVE on UStream. Events at Bryant Park, Union Station and elsewhere. Check the schedule and updates for events.

Are you ready for your close-ups? We’re live blogging the Oscars.

The conference is attracting a bit of attention, especially among WikiLeaks supporters on Twitter, after WikiLeaks released a statement claiming that UNESCO had not invited anyone from the organization to speak at the conference. In the statement, WikiLeaks called for people to #OccupyUNESCO because they were “stacking” the conference with “WikiLeaks opponents.”

Oakland police in riot gear fired smoke, tear gas, flash bang grenades and rubber bullets at Occupy Oakland protesters trying to take a vacant building this afternoon. Near the Oakland Museum of California, demonstrators had planned to take a building nearby and make it a headquarters. But, police were prepared to stop then from occupying the vacant building.

Even though the fire and police trucks were there at 8 am, they have still not evicted. The courts are now open, giving the ACLU attorney a chance to file an injunction.

Firedoglake’s premier live blog on Occupy Wall Street & all things “Occupy” continues.

Firedoglake’s premier live blog on Occupy Wall Street & all things “Occupy” continues.

For over one hundred days, the nation has watched the Occupy movement, sparked by Occupy Wall Street, grow and flourish. Over the span of a few months it grew into a top story of the year not just in the United States but the world. As 2011 comes to a close, it still has quite a bit of momentum with around sixty encampments still going.