TAMPA, FL ? I have been traveling like a mad man for a long time. But nothing compares to Monday, the eve of the Florida Republican primary. I got the chance to be a part of the traveling press corps and follow Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney everywhere he went. For a political junkie like myself, it was like living a dream.

As we roofed hundreds of miles, leapfrogging from Jacksonville to Tampa and beyond, I had one goal: to question Romney about Florida’s new voter registration laws and additional issues facing young Americans. The former Massachusetts governor hadn’t taken a question from the press in more than a week. Subdue, we were rock stars ? well, political ones anyway.

With an early-morning rally at a local gray equipment peddler, we hustled to the Jacksonville airport, where I stood on the tarmac as I was patted down by security. Then I stood in awe as the possible prospect president got the same treatment.

I was told not to film it, but I had to. What if TSA found a gun in Romney’s belt? One of Romney’s guys who knows me (and knows I am sometimes up to no excellent) yelled, “Jenks! Not the TSA!” So, I pretended I was filming a bird and apologized.

“That must be weird,” I said to the TSA agent afterwards.

“I’ve done a lot weirder,” he answered. I’m subdue not sure what that meant. Once we were on the plane, I tried to get as close to Romney as possible so I could get my question in, but I was told to sit toward the back. An NPR reporter told me I could sit as far up as the emergency exit row, but maybe he was just hazing the new kid.

I was enjoying some cherries, cheese and crackers provided by Team Romney when the press corps suddenly stood up and the lights turned off. I thought to myself, “I must be on the incorrect plane, right?” That’s when they all started singing “Pleased Birthday.”

The next thing I saw as I recorded this odd vista was the governor delicately walking alone down the dark aisle carrying a birthday cake with candles lighting his face. His expression said, “Why the heck am I carrying a huge, wonky cake as a plane full of photographers capture my every go?” But he seemed relaxed.

For one extraordinary moment, I wondered if this was the prospect president. When he laughed, we all laughed, and it all seemed kind of habitual ? celebrating a birthday. But with he cracked a few jokes and doled out chips to everyone, the plane took off, and for the remained of the day I could only see Romney from afar.

“Does Governor Romney do that often?” I questioned a German reporter as he chowed on a roast beef sandwich provided by the campaign. He smiled. “You must have come on a special day.”

On the plane and bus everyone does their own thing. They are friendly and some joke around, but mostly they sleep, read books on Romney, go through their notes and type on a variety of devices to get their tales in on time. They seem pretty resigned to getting just a few tidbits of actual news on any given day.

The day’s final event was at a retirement community called The Villages. As we approached I joked with an ABC reporter that this would probably be the low-key event of the day ? just the governor speaking with some older citizens. She laughed at me. When we stopped, there were barricades up ? a lot of them. It was loud. More than 1,000 seniors filled the picture perfect town square as giant record screens rolled footage of visits from past presidential candidates and dignitaries.

By the time Romney took the stage, with just a few events, I knew his speech word-for-word. The opening jabs at Newt Gingrich, a recitation of his favorite verses from “America the Gorgeous,” and the same tale about the cross-country trips his family took when he was a child and ample fire aimed at President Obama’s policies.

He finished with a terse note on how our current president has been reckless, anti-military and anti-business. A few reporters and I agreed that the only tale breaking at this point was that Romney really sang “America the Gorgeous” this time around.

And that was it. The day previous to the largest primary we have had so far, I celebrated a birthday, went to a concert at a nursing home and learned the words to “America the Gorgeous.” Sometimes this journey hasn’t felt serious sufficient. I am not always sure that I am covering whatever thing of substance, but hopefully I will return with tales larger than a TSA pat-down or a nursing home mosh pit.

MTV is on the vista in Florida! Check back here around the clock for up-to-the-minute coverage on the primary caucuses and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season.

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So much goes into predicting and ultimately deciding Oscar nominations that it can be hard to choose which award shows to pay attention to and which to ignore. This week’s Oscar nominations, but, proved that one award show in fastidious can be very useful in predicting some of the Academy’s more surprising picks.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards announced their nominations weeks previous to the Academy’s and showed that their picks must not be overlooked during award season. SAG both honored and turned away many of the same performances that the Academy shocked and snubbed earlier this week.

Here’s our breakdown.

Demián Bichir
The “A Better Life” actor had stayed just outside the award conversation for most of the season, earning some recognition with critics’ circles, but never snagging a huge nod. That changed with the SAG awards, which gave Bichir recognition that the Academy echoed weeks later.

Michael Fassbender
One of the most daring roles in film this year didn’t yield award returns to the man who bared it all, Michael Fassbender. He may have earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role as a sex addict in “Shame,” but Fassbender didn’t do again for the Screen Actors Guild and was ultimately shut out at the Oscars. It just goes to show that nudity doesn’t always mean awards.

Jonah Hill
If the Golden Globes nominate a huge star, it’s never a guarantee that an Academy Award nomination will follow. While Hill was a more likely nod than Bichir was previous to the Oscar nominations, he was far from a lock. The SAG nomination certainly helped bolster his chances, and when the Academy’s nod came weeks later, it was much less of a bolt from the blue.

Albert Brooks
Throughout award season, Brooks made no secret of the campaign to get him a nomination for his villainous role in “Drive.” He joked openly and often about his nominations and wins, but when he missed out on a SAG nomination, the laughing stopped, and the conversation changed. The Academy snub this week came as only a mildly surprising disappointment.

Melissa McCarthy
The “Bridesmaids” breakout went through a series of ups and downs during her campaign for a nomination. The buzz around the role and the film’s popularity catapulted McCarthy into the conversation, but a snub at the Golden Globes made some skepticism that the Academy would recognize a comedic role. Opportunely for McCarthy, she rode the wave of the SAG nomination and turned it into her ticket to Oscar night.

Tell us what you reflect about the SAGs in the comments section and on Twitter!

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Lady Gaga is known for being grandiose, outrageous and making the largest entrance possible. But for a star that has made her name for shocking our senses, Mother Monster’s newest venture is unequivocally low-key.

With dropping several mentions in interviews over the past few months about a new restaurant she plotted to launch with her father, Joseph Germanotta, Joanne Trattoria will irrevocably open its doors on Wednesday.

The modest Italian neighborhood eatery on West 68th Street in New York was described by The New York Times as having a “well-stocked bar, a cozy back patio and seating for about 70 people.” The walls are roofed with scenes of the Tuscan countryside, and near a fireplace at the entrance, diners will see some Germanotta family photos hanging by a front booth.

The restaurant will be run by Joseph and Gaga’s mother, Cynthia, and her proud pop admitted that his daughter “just generates a lot of sizzle,” helping to get the word out about the venture. The chef and partner in the business is Art Smith, who met Gaga at a taping for the “Oprah Winfrey Show.” Smith was Winfrey’s personal chef for several years.

The name was inspired by Joseph’s late sister, Joanne, who died of lupus at age 19. Not only is “Joanne” Gaga’s middle name, but in a number of interviews the singer has opened up about her strong connection with her late aunt.

“I thought I was gonna die,” she said last year. “I wanted to be the artists I loved, like Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol — and I thought the only way to do it was to live the lifestyle. But then I realized my father’s sister Joanne, who’d died at 19, had instilled her spirit in me. She was a painter and a poet — and I had a spiritual vision I had to end her business.”

The Times noted that Gaga is not officially a part-owner of the restaurant, which Joseph said the family could have afforded to open even if his daughter had not risen to global fame. It has long been his dream to open the eatery, he said, and visitors at Joanne will dine on “Southern Italian,” given that Smith is from the South and the Germanottas are Italian.

That means they will chow down on dishes such as “Papa G’s chicken,” traditional offerings like osso buco inspired by Joanne and “Cynthia’s salad,” named for Gaga’s mother.

Hoping to temper fans’ expectations, Joseph said he wasn’t sure if he’d post current pics of Gaga among the family photos. Maybe, he said, just an ancient one in which she’s not as recognizable. And even if he’s pleased to have his eldest get the word out about the family business, if fans make the trek expecting to see a trophy case with VMAs and Grammys, “It’s not going to happen,” he warned.

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