Well, here’s where I come in.

This was supposed to be my inaugural post, before yesterday's best-picture news intruded.  So, a day late, welcome to The Odds, a six-month excursion into the heart of all things Oscar. I suppose an introduction is in order.

I’ve been doing this for a while. I came to the Oscars a little late, after about a dozen years writing about rock ‘n’ roll, but by now I’ve been to 17 Oscar shows. One in the audience, two in the pressroom, and 14 backstage.

Around town and around the web, there’s been plenty of fuss about the effect of the new best-picture voting rules. Some examples:

At In Contention, Kris Tapley says it’ll level the playing field and stifle block voting.

This is Hollywood, where anything worth doing is worth redoing. Herewith, a few more random observations by way of introduction, so that you’ll know where I’m coming from when I spend the next six months spouting off.

I believe that the Oscar show is, in a way, broken. But it’s probably unfixable, without the kind of drastic changes that would turn it into something other than the Oscar show.

Yesterday was the deadline for submissions in the Oscars’ documentary and documentary shorts categories. This probably wasn’t a big deal for Michael Moore, or for the makers of, say, "The Cove" or "Food, Inc." or "It Might Get Loud," all of whom have easily satisfied (or will easily satisfy) the various requirements necessary to qualify.

Until now, I figured it would be hard to top Ann Reinking’s execrable version of the Phil Collins song “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” from the 1984 Oscar show.

But, you know, new L.A. Laker Ron Artest gives Reinking a serious run for her money with his melody-challenged stab at the "Titanic" chestnut “My Heart Will Go On.”

Today’s roundup of Oscar news 'n' notes from around the web …

Thompson on Hollywood’s Anne Thompson and In Contention’s Kris Tapley inaugurate what they promise will be months of podcasts by dissecting the respective coolness levels of Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan, among a whole lot of other things. (Thompson on Hollywood)

Academy president Tom Sherak recently told TheWrap that the buck really stops at the desk of Bruce Davis, the organization’s executive director for the past two decades. Though Davis laughs that “it’s best for executive directors to deflect such comments whenever possible,” he agreed to address the challenges AMPAS faces in a time of declining Oscar viewership and uncertain finances.

Today’s roundup of Oscar news 'n' notes from around the web …

And the nominees are…

Ambient Occlusion, Point Based Color Bleeding, Rigtight, Heden Lens Motors with Two-Stage Friction Drive Planetary Torque Amplifier, and seven others.

Or, to use names that might be marginally more recognizable for those of us who don’t dwell on the sci-tech side of the film industry, the nominees are Pixar, Fujifilm, Industrial Light and Magic and eight of their high-tech brethren.

Today’s roundup of Oscar news 'n' notes from around the web …