When Spain’s Javier Bardem won the Academy Award for Best Supporting actor for his role in the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men, he responded by saying

Mamá, esto es para ti. Esto es para tus abuelos, para tus padres, Rafael y Matilde. Esto es para los cómicos de España que han traído la dignidad y el orgullo a nuestro oficio. Esto es para España. Y esto es para todos vosotros

which means

Mom, this is for you. This is for your grandparents, for your parents, Rafael and Matilde. This is for the Comics of Spain who brought so much pride and dignity to our profession. This is for Spain. This is for all of you.

OK. But what does that mean?

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The 80th annual Academy Awards are on Sunday and on everyone’s minds. But instead of predicting this years winners, I wanted to write about some of the losers in Oscar’s history. OK, maybe losers is a little too strong. These 5 Best Picture nominees didn’t win the Academy Award. But by highlighting important social issues, raising awareness, and inspiring action, they won our hearts and minds. So get ready to be inspired!

1. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939) starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Frank Capra is both a scathing critique of Washington DC corruption and a heartfelt and hopeful story of an individual’s ability to make change in the face of adversity. The film was criticized by the media, politicians, congressmen, (surprise surprise!) who called it Communist and Anti-American. Another measure of the film’s power and reach is that it was banned in Fascist Italy and Spain and Nazi Germany.

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So ! You can be a Mr./Mrs./Ms. Smith and you don’t even have to go to Washington. All you have to do is e-mail Washington! Tell Congress to stick to its principles and not cave in to special interests and corruption.

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The Washington Post’s 2005 Neologism contest results are old news, 3 years old, to be precise. But since I just had them forwarded to me by a friend, they are news to me. And thanks to the neologists, I have been able to diagnose a timeless problem I have confronted as a satirical comic and blogger. (I know, get over myself, it’s you, Katie, not your audience, or a “problem,” who needs a diagnosis etc., but whatever. And NO I’m not comparing myself to Steven Colbert or Lenny Bruce, they’re just amazing satirists. So shut up!) The word is

Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.

I feel so validated, knowing there is a name to describe the sarcasm I have experienced. This neologism is so dead-on, I’ve invented my own: neologosis: a (n) diagnosis made by a neologism. Below are instances of sarcasm, when my satire was misunderstood. Here’s what the sarcastic critics are saying:

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