click to enlarge Mask inspiration. I didn't watch the Academy Awards broadcast this year; from what I've read, you likely didn't either. That I say I don't care about the Oscars, seeing them as increasingly culturally insignificant and out of step, and yet feel compelled to constantly mention them in this context is something I wrestle with. In fact, I paid closer attention to the "race" this year than I have in, well, maybe decades. This could be symptomatic of a year in which we've welcomed almost any diversion from our suddenly hazardous reality. But the nominees and winners this year, like the recent growth of the Academy itself, suggest something greater to me.