OSCARS GALORE ... AT 7TH AND MONTANA

The Oscars were all the buzz this morning at 7th and Montana, as Baristas, locals and everyone else traded predictions about tonight's ceremony. The Mystery Actor pictured above, for example, didn't seem to mind sharing his opinions with Barista Tyler. Here's a Trivia Question: I'll bet you can't name him. I'll give you two hints: (1) He played a President and (2) He's not nominated for an Oscar this year. Speaking of Oscars, shortly after leaving Starbucks, I went into my Oscar the Grouch mode at LAX, sputtering and yelling at various United Airlines employees until I was blue in the face. You see, I'm hitting the road again today and was taken by surprise by United's new -- and far less generous international upgrade policy -- which they have hidden behind a bunch of marketing language designed to make it look like they're doing us a favor. Here's the issue: In addition to collecting the usual number of miles for an international upgrade, they suddenly try to slap you with a $250 fee. I've been with United through thick and thin over the years, often taking less convenient flights because I know they'll upgrade me. The fact that they now add a hefty fee on top of the upgrade -- something I would never expense as a business traveler -- means that they've taken away my only reason to stick with them. Times are tough. I could understand if they increased their mileage requirements, or even upped their fares a bit, but this -- a fee that penalizes their most frequent travelers -- I don't understand. Apparently, neither do some of their employees. The nice woman at the check-in counter seemed to completely agree with me.

UPDATE: Well, folks, it's four hours later and my flight still hasn't taken off. The folks at United discovered that the back door wouldn't close on my aircraft. And wouldn't you just know it, without my upgrade I was sitting pretty darn close to the back door!