Straight Out of Lackawanna

I know that you`re out there wondering: Dinah, what do you have on your iPod right now that you can`t stop listening to?

Well, I`m glad that you asked. The answer is: Male Prima Donna by Subtle Sexuality.



Is it just me, or is B.J. Novak kind of really hot in his rap section?

NaNoWriWhaaaaa?

As expected, I have changed my NaNoWriMo plot somewhat. It's now, well, it's now about something completely different. There's a woman who is the daughter of a former big celebrity musician, and one day he holds a press conference, announces that he's dying, and that he also wants to see his daughter dance on a Dancing With the Stars-type reality dancing show. So the show invites her and she does it, and all the while she's trying to deal with being thrust into a bit spotlight, questioning the life she made for herself out of the spotlight and wondering if she's thrown that all away by doing the show, and dealing with her father.

Yeah, I'm still figuring out how to describe it.

Best of all, I was able to use most of what I had already written as flashbacks and diary entries.

I'm at about 12,000 words, more or less on schedule. So that's good, I think. I'm starting to feel better about the story, and when I fleshed it out it seemed to have legs enough to last for the whole 50,000 words. It's exciting, even though I'm approaching it a bit more this year like a duty than an excitement. I mean that I didn't have a story that I wanted to write, one that I really want to go get out. It's more like an exercise to me, I guess.

Anyway, to anyone else writing this month: Write on!

Update

So, how is everyone doing?

Me, I'm good.

Happy November! I still haven't readjusted to the Fall Back time difference. I know it was just one hour, now I am just exhausted by, like, nine o'clock.

I'm watching Nathan Fillion right now in Castle. Man is he awesome. I have Firefly to watch soon.

Anyway, I'm doing NaNoWriMo again this year, and I am determined to 'win' after last year's...not winning. So that's taking up a bit of mind space as I try to figure out what I'm going to write about. I have a kind of idea right now, but I'm slowly realizing it's not going to be worth 50,000 words, so I'm going to have to bust out something crazy like "and then a spaceship landed and took all the main characters back to its home planet." Yeah, definitely something like that.

Week Five: Five Random Things that Make Me Happy

1. Single-person escalators
2. Mango flavoured drinks
3. Mo Willems books
4. Getting a non-bill in the mail
5. Choreographed dance routines

Week Five: Five Fake Things that I Wish Were Real

Fictional universes have lots of cool stuff in them. And sometimes I wish that that stuff was real. Some of it would be seriously awesome. Like the holodeck. Or transporters. Or those invisibility cloaks from Harry Potter. This list is mostly just entertainment stuff, though, books and movies and such. Someone should make it for real.


1. A Taste for Love, the Dracula musical in Forgetting Sarah Marshall



2. The Man Inside Me, by Tobias Funke (on Arrested Development)


3. Satan's Alley, the Tobey Maguire/Kirk Lazarus trailer in Tropic Thunder



4. TGS with Tracy Jordan (on 30 Rock) (this was a close tie with The Rural Juror)


5. Angels with Filthy Souls (from Home Alone)


Keep the change, you filthy animal!

I feel like there is a fake book that I'm totally overlooking, a biography of some sort...it'll come to me later, no doubt.

Week Five: Five Websites I Usually Visit Daily

Outside of coven blogs, here are some sites that I visit almost daily:

1.Television Without Pity
The site isn't as great as it was in its heyday, and I don't spend as much time in the forums as I used to (always lurking, never as a poster), but I still use it to get caught up on tv shows and entertainment news.


2. STFU, Parents
I'll be honest: there are some people that I'm friends with on Facebook that I've considered submitting to STFU Parents, a blog that chronicles the oversharing tendencies that a lot of parents seem to have. Do not read this blog while you're eating.


3. Cake Wrecks
Don't read this one while you're eating, either, but because you'll laugh so hard looking at the mishappen cake disasters.


4. Awkward Family Photos
I laugh a knowing laugh at this site, because my family could definitely fill this site all on our own.


5. Daytime Confidential
Daytime soap opera spoilers, recaps, gossip, casting news, and podcasts are covered on this site. I like to read and see what's going on, even though I'm not currently watching any soaps.

Week Five: Five Shows that Have a Series Pass on my DVR

So, my DVR has been the best thing that has come out of having my new job. Well, maybe not - I like having my own apartment, and a job itself, and a savings account. But my DVR brings me a lot of pleasure on a daily basis, over and over again. Here are five series that I have set up to record automatically:

1. Project Runway


2. The Simpsons


3. Glee


4. 30 Rock


5. Murder, She Wrote

Week Five: Five Phrases I Hate When Talking about Women

1. Cougar
2. Boo
3. Happy wife, happy life
4. Baby mama
5. Slut


Cougar just seems like a way of trivializing women, especially older women, and by older that apparently means anyone over 30, and making a sex drive seem like a bad, predatory thing. It's just applied so indiscriminately. Boo, meaning girlfriend, just got on my nerves when I was reading a lot of TWoP forum posts about Natalia and Olivia on Guiding Light's last days, and the posters were always having Natalia and Olivia call each other "boo," something I think the characters would never do, and it got on my nerves. Happy wife, happy life comes up a lot on the TLC-esque shows that I watch, like "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Rich Bride, Poor Bride," and it's usually a way for an immature, spoiled girl to get her way. Baby mama ( and baby daddy, which maybe bothers me even more) is just bad grammar. Slut seems like it can't be said without some kind of sneer or derision, which is just as bad as the words itself.

Week FIve: Five Words I Love Saying

You know when you get a word in your head, or you come across it somewhere, and it just sticks? And you find yourself saying it over and over and just caressing it with your mind? Okay, maybe not that last part (or maybe just me...), but some words just are really fun. Here are five words that I like to say:

1. exude
2. Stompanato
3. lackadaisical
4. somnambulist
5. osculate

Week Five: Five Shows I Watched When I Was Younger

So apparently I got a new keyboard and then promptly stopped writing. I've been thinking about it a lot, though. So in an effort to get in some more blogging time, I'm going to go short and frequent, starting with a whole week of new content. Starting today! And to keep me on theme, it's going to be lists of five things.

Today I'm starting out with five shows I watched when I was younger, television being a huge part of my life growing up and a huge part of who I am now. Here, with the help of youtube, are some things that formed my mind growing up.

1. Zoobilee Zoo

Truthfully, I only have the vaguest memories of this show about these wisecracking animals who lived together and sang and danced. In pre-youtube days, I would get the theme song in my head and think "Did I imagine that?" No. No, I did not.



2. Adventures in Wonderland

I think I've blogged about this one in the past, a 'modern' update of Alice in Wonderland with a White Rabbit on Roller Blades, the Tweedles as rappers, and Hatter and Hare as so much of a couple I could pick up on that even when I was little. They weren't fooling anyone. Lots of songs and dancing in this one, too, maybe three or four per episode.



3. Welcome to Pooh Corner

Are you detecting a "people in animal costumes" theme? I am, and I had never really put this together before. I guess this was cutting edge in the day - more exciting than regular people, less high tech than cartoons (right? I mean, they're just costumes). I have no idea. Anyway, you don't tend to see as much of this today. This was another update, and Tigger was kind of annoying, but not too much had changed. Also, I have no idea what a 'hoopty-pooh' time is.



4. Today's Special

I think I might have blogged about this one before, too. Jody worked in a department store, and Jeff was a mannequin that came to life if you put on his magic hat and said the magic word. Sam was the puppet night watchman, and Muffy was a mouse who talked in rhyme. And every night they would get together for adventures and learning.
Jody and Jeff were another couple that I really wanted to get together, too.



5. Fred Penner's Place

I watched this one, but I never really liked it. Fred Penner was a musician, and he would frolic in the countryside and then climb through a log to this secret lair where he kept his guitar. And there was a wordbird, who gave us the word of the day, and that was the best part. The rest was just strange and did not interest me.

Reunited and It Feels So Good

You know what they say: You don't know that you've got 'til it's gone. And it's so true. In my case, it was the letter keys of F and W. Possibly because I type WTF too much. But that's neither here nor there. I tried getting by without these letters, but it proved way too difficult. An online search indicated that fixing these keys would be a bit harder than I had anticipated, and I'm not quite ready to buy a new computer (although, frankly, this new computer has just been fairly disappointing from the start and has serious flaws and will have to be replaced soon). So I thought, hmm, maybe I could just get a new keyboard?

Turns out you can. I went and got an el-cheapo model (about $10), mostly because I wasn't sure if it would align with my laptop. I bought it and the saleswoman (not even the one who was ringing it up but one who just kind of butt herself in) asked if I wanted a warranty and I said no, and she said "UH, are you SURE?" in a "DUH, DUMB ASS" kind of voice, like I had just told her that the capital of Alberta is Venezuela. I assured her that I was sure, and she gave me a bit more sales pitch and I was just like, "yeah, no, wrap it up, please." And I went on my merry way.

Anyway, long story short(er), the new keyboard works and I have access to W and F (as well as TAB) and I am all ready to keep plugging away with my new fully-functioning keyboard. Hurrah!

TV Me Up

The autumn TV season is here, and I've been getting into a number of good shows, both new and returning. My thoughts:

Glee
I meant to catch the premiere episode that aired last spring, but I missed it, and then it got so much hype over the summer that I thought, "It can't be that good." But I gave it a chance and yes, it sat on my DVR for a few weeks, but then I finally saw it and I really liked it. It's funny and smart and there's singing.




90210

Last season kind of got off to a boring start, but this season it's back and soapier than ever. I am enjoying it a lot more now. I haven't gotten into the new Melrose Place, yet, though.

The Beautiful Life: TBL

The title was the most intriguing thing about this Ashton Kutcher-produced soap drama about models. why the extra letters? No idea. I wanted this to have a soapy badness to it, a total guilty pleasure, but it was just bad. And the 1st show to be canceled in the new season. Sorry, Mischa Barton.



Gossip Girl
This year it's Gossip Girl Goes to College, and it's having a hard time keeping my interest. It's disconcerting to see their elaborate world come up against the 'real' world at NYU, and there's so much long lost son drama that I'm not that much into, and...yeah. I haven't given up on it, though.

Community
I hadn't planned on watching this new Joel McHale NBC sitcom, but it came on after The Office and I got sucked into it. It's very funny and different from the other sitcoms out there. It's about a successful lawyer whose not-quite-legit undergraduate degree is uncovered and must go to a local community college to get a replacement degree. In the premiere episode he creates a Spanish study group to impress a girl, and that plan doesn't work but they do end up sticking together in a way that's more amusing than contrived. Plus: Chevy Chase!


I think that's good for now. Anyone else watching some good new shows?

How to Make an SNL Entrance

This is Jenny Lake, one of the new girls on SNL, during a Biker sketch. I was watching at the time and it didn't really even register what she'd said - all I noticed as the thing she did with her mouth at the end, which I thought was maybe a biker thing?




This might be removed soon, depending on how strict NBC gets about it.

"Live" Blogging the Emmys

Remember last year? Mary Tyler Moore's arms, Candace Bergen's unflattering outfit, and much much more. Here we go!

I'm calling it "Live" because I had to work today, so I came in when it had already been on for forty minutes. But then I started over from the beginning again and watched it live, for me, for the very first time.

6:00 - my PVR joins the opening in progress, with NPH (Neil Patrick Harris, as I will call him all evening) doing a fake newsreel of sorts as he tells us how important TV is.

6:01 - NPH implores us through song to put down the remote. He name checks Tina Fey, who looks very soft, I mean not harsh. Tony Shaloub seems embarassed to be called out. On Mad Men's Joan: "She could turn a gay straight, oh wait, nevermind, Jon Hamm." So true. NPH is really just performing his little heart out.

6:04 - the crowd applauds, acknowledging how awesome TV is.

6:05 - NPH says he grew up on television. He is so cute. I just love him. He says he loves reality shows, which must be true, because he showed up on one season of Big Brother as a special guest.

6:05 - NPH criticizes short theme songs. Shot of Stephen Colbert! Oh, NPH is so cute. I might say that a lot.

6:06 - Kanye West mention. Timely!

6:07 - Ooh, differences. They're giving away all of the awards for a genre at once. This could be good? Montage! I love montages. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but I also like fruitcake. Family Guy bit, The Office, Family Guy again? NPH! On a mechanical bull! I think I should start watching the Big Bang Theory Scrubs. Two and a Half Men. Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives and Entourage were in there somewhere, along with a few others. 30 Rock: Liz Lemon on the toilet. End montage.

6:10 - Tina Fey and Jon Hamm. Jon Hamm thanks everyone for looking at them. No problem.

6:10 - Supporting Actress in a comedy. They're all wearing funny glasses. Kristin Chenowith has 2009 New Year's Eve type glasses. Jane Krakowski has opera glasses. Elizabeth Perkins has like, Coke Bottle lenses. Amy Poehler is wearing an eyepatch. Kristin Wiig has a monocle. Vanessa Williams refuses to take part. Winner: Kristin Chenowith! Pushing Daisies! I know that's a favourite. She is really excited to win. Her dress is really sparkly. She's in tears! The Emmy is a big as she is! She is sobbing. Not like regular crying, but like, sad crying. She begs for a job from the shows she loves, and thanks the Academy for recognizing a show that's no longer on the air. Burn!

6:14 - Super long shot of the trio leaving the stage.

6:14 - Something about voting for...something. I don't know, or care. Split screen shots show lots of backstage stuff.

6:20 - John Hodgman is the announcer guy who is making up stuff about the winners. Okay...? NPH introduces the rest of the How I Met Your Mother Cast. Alyson Hannigan looks smoking hot. Jason Segel does not, which makes me sad.

6:21 - Some kind of technical award, where all but one of the nominees are from 30 Rock. Someone from 30 Rock wins!

6:22 - A teaser at the bottom of the stage promises Justin Timberlake and the Gossip Girls in 6 minutes. In case we were already bored?

6:23 - Some bit involving the Harlem Globetrotters...? I don't know. Here coems Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler. Supporting Actor in a Comedy. Jon Cryer. Some guy from Entourage. NPH. Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock. Tracy Morgan. He cracks me up just when he's clapping! Rainn Wilson. Jon Cryer wins! Okay, I have to go back and look at the reaction shots. Everyone looks pissed. Except Jack McBrayer. There are really close up shots of Rainn Wilson and Entourage Guy, and they do not look happy.

6:26 - Charlie Sheen is looking like he's having a good time. Jon Cryer is wearing some kind of weird striped vest.

6:32 - Aw, he lost, and he's making jokes about it. He says how not awkward it is. He introduces Justin Timberlake. Who is wearing glasses, because he's serious? His hair looks different. He looks really young, like early NSYNC days. He mentions Bea Arthur, and there's a round of applause. Will she win the death applause meter?

6:33 - Lead actress: Christina Applegate. Toni Collette. Tina Fey. Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Mary-Louise Parker. Sarah Silverman. She's wearing a moustache. It's actually quite funny. The Emmy goes to Toni Collete. These women all have much better fake-happy faces, or, in the case of Sarah Silverman, very angry faces. Toni Collette looks kind of orange. She thanks Diablo Cody, amongst others. I am about a half second away from FF through this speech. Maybe because I don't watch this show? She ends on a strange joke about breastfeeding.

6:37 - NPH cuts to Jon Cryer in the pressroom. Jon Cryer plays along with this, rubbing it in his face in a funny way. NPH makes Jon Cryer show us the envelope, and then introduces the Blair and Serena from Gossip Girl, who talk about the actors nominated for guest actor/actress in a comedy series, AKA let's give someone big and famous an award: Jennifer Anniston, Christine Baranski, Tina Fey, Gena Rowlands, Elaine Stritch, Betty White, and Alan Alda, Beau Bridges, Jon Hamm, Steve Martin, Justin Timberlake. Tina Fey and JT won.

6:39 - JT is back on our screen? He can be introduced as "Emmy-award winning Justin Timberlake." I think he makes another Kanye West joke. And they're off the screen. What was that about?

6:40 - Comedy writers have made up bits about what's the funniest thing about being nominated, but they're all kind of sad, and not funny. The guy from The Office wins, but Blake Lively messes up his name, but she just kind of laughs it off.

6:43: Coming up: Maxim and Karina from Dancing with the Stars. Didn't they just break off their engagement? Awkward!

6:48 - Rob Lowe! He's wearing a very shiny tux. And being self-deprecating. Outstanding lead actor: Alec Baldwin, Steve Carrell, Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords), Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory), Tony Shaloub, Charlie Sheen....oh, if he wins, it will be an 80s reunion up on stage. Alec Baldwin wins. I feel like...it's again. He says he would trade his Emmy to look like Rob Lowe. I have a feeling he's about to go off-script....oh, it's just to thank Lorne Michaels. I was hoping it was going to be something controversial. I feel kind of bad for Jim Parsons, and I don't even watch the show.

6:52 - Family Guy clip, specially for the show. Brian says that Neil Patrick Harris is hilarious, and then gets beaten up by Stewie. I like Family Guy, but the extended violence segments are my least favourite parts.

6:53 - We're transitioning to reality! With Bachelorette Clips. The music sounds very much like an EPCOT stage show. Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, Speidi, Big Brother, Gordon Ramsey, The Apprentice, Jon and Kate, the Hills, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, ANTM, Project Runway, I'm A Celebrity Get me Out of Here, Real Housewives, American Idol, Dog the Bounty Hunter, lots of singing, lots of shouting, lots of hugging, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance.

6:55 - Maxim and Karina dance. She's wearing these fringed pants that are super unflattering. He's wearing super shiny sneakers. And no shirt. No there's a whole group of them, but I don't recognize anyone else. I do love choreographed dancing though. Maybe I should go see Fame.

6:57 - I love that NPH is introducing a lot of people by really obscure credits. Hayden Panettierre makes me remember that Guiding Light ended on Friday, and I'm going to post about that soon. Best reality host: Phil Keoghan, Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Jeff Probst, Padma Laksmi, Tom Colicchio (or something). The winner is: Probst. Boo-urns. I do like Probst, particularly when he gives a shoutout as to how craptacular the hosting was last year (with the multiple reality hosts). Phil is awesome, and Tom Bergeron is pretty great too. I don't agree that Heidi should be there, but that's because I majorly love Tim Gunn.

7:05 - Tracy Morgan is out on stage. Everyone is waiting for him to be crazy hilarious. He calls 30 Rock a reality show, and says the fix is in. Reality show, competition: Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Project Runway (love it!) (featuring Tim Gunn!), Top Chef (never watched it). Winner: The Amazing Race! Hoorah. I didn't actually watch this season, but I still have love for the show.

7:08 - Bored by some executive producer you haven't heard of? Patricia Arquette is coming up in eight minutes!

Oh, I guess reality is...over? Is there not a non-competitive reality show winner? Is that given out ahead of time? I need answers, NPH!

7:09 - Movies and Miniseries, coming along to cleanse the palate of people who are disgusted by Reality show programming. Expect lots of PBS and HBO here. I probably haven't watched any of these. Lots more movie stars, though. Kevin Bacon. Sigourney Weaver. Drew Barrymore. Shirley MacLaine. Lots more.

7:11 - Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick come out, and NPH makes a Six Degrees joke. They look really good. Nominees for something, oh supporting actresses in mini series and movies. Shoreh Aghdashloo, Marcia Gay Harden, Janet McTeer, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Cicely Tyson. Shoreh Aghdashloo wins. She has a very strange moment where she just stands at the top of the stairs and looks out over the crowd. She has a very lovely voice, deep with an accent.

Supporting Actor: Len Carious, Sir Tom Courteney, Ken Howard, Bob Newhart (for The Librarian movie with Noah Wyle! Directed by Jonathan Frakes!), Andy Serkis. Ken Howard wins, and brings us another Kanye joke.

7:17 - There have been so many television-related deaths this year. The memorial is going to be epic.

7:21 - Kate Walsh and Chandra Wilson. Kate Walsh is towering over her. Lead Actor in movie/miniseries. Kevin Bacon, Kenneth Branagh, Brendan Gleason, Kevin Kline, Sir Ian McKellan, Kiefer Sutherland. Kind of like, one of those things is not like the other, eh? Anyway, Brendan Gleason wins. Aw, he talks about his late mom.

7:24 - They're back to the girl from the Harlem Globetrotters bit. Apparently she won a "Best Seat in the House" contest? Patricia Arquette never really looks good at these events. Her dress is very severe. I think this is directors for a Mini Series or Movie. Oh, no, it's writing. Andrew Davies wins for Little Dorrit. He couldn't be here! They accept on his behalf! On to directing! Dearbhla Walsh wins and I have to rewind so I can see how to spell her name. It's pronounced like Divila? or Dibila? She's wearing a dress that really accentuates her right nipple. I like the red colour, though. She's also from Little Dorrit. This Dickens fellow might really be on to something. She's from a town in Ireland that sounds like "Tub-O-Curry." I'm going to have to fact check that.

7:29 - Accountants! Their bit is taken over by a Dr. Horrible. It's aweseome. He talks about how much better the internet is over tv, while really promoting tv. It's a song. OMG. Nathan Fillion is there too. He's hot. Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog won an Emmy? Yay! Aaand we're back to accountants.

7:32 - Alec Baldwin comes back out. Lead Actress in MSorM. Drew Barrymore. Jessica Lange. Shirley MacLaine. Sigourney Weaver. Chandra Wilson. Jessica Lange wins. Drew Barrymore is about to fall out of her chair from clapping so hard.

7:35 - I used Jessica Lange's speech time to fact check Dearbhla Walsh, who is in fact from Tubbercurry. Jessica Lange is still talking.

7:36 - Drew Barrymore is there with Justin Long. I find that a lot weirder than I think I'm supposed to.

7:41 - Does anyone watch Fringe? I want to start. Anna Torv is a presenter, with Kiefer Sutherland. Made for TV Movie. Coco Chanel, Grey Gardens, Into the Storm, Prayers for Bobby, Taking Chance. Winner: Grey Gardens, which is a surprise to absolutely no one. Mini Series: Generation Kill, Little Dorrit. Is...that it? Two nominees? Poor loser! Who is Generation Kill, because Little Dorrit wins.

7:46 - New genre! News and variety! SNL, with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. The Olympics. Grammys. David Letterman. Obama on Leno. JT singing Motherlover on SNL. Craig Ferguson. David Letterman and Joaquim Phoenix. The OScars. Remember that weird night? Jennifer Hudson. Fireworks. Barbra Streisand. Inauguration Day. Stephen Colbert. Jon Stewart. Whew.

7:49 - The three stars of The Big Bang Theory. They can't get any of their lines right. Anyway, the directors of variety, talk, and whatever shows give us bits of advice. The winner is the American Idol guy. He's had seven nominations and this is his first win.

Bored? Jimmy Fallon is up in six minutes!

7:51 - Writing. The Colbert Report. The Daily Show. Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Late Show with David Letterman (Billy Crystal is singing the names). SNL (I get really excited when I see John Lutz). The Daily Show wins. He gets a big hug from Stephen Colbert. Remember when Jon Steward, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carrell ran around jumping up and down at the Emmys? Some guy accepts who is not Jon Stewart.

8:01 - Jimmy Fallon comes out. He's doing a musical number. The people there think it's really funny. I am not as convinced. Kevin Kline as the funniest WTF face. Original music and lyrics: Something from a muppet Christmas movie, something from A Colbert Christmas, the opening number from the Oscars, a song from the ESPY awards (JT is everywhere!), A Flight of the Conchords song, Motherlover from SNL. Winner: The Oscar song wins.

8:04 - I'm fact checking Jimmy Fallon and I totally forgot he was in Almost Famous. 11 minutes to In Memorium.

8:05 - Ricky Gervais. I know he's another favourite. He comes ou, and there's no mic. He reminds us that this show is better than last year's. His suit looks like it's teal. He dumps on film stars, with their jawlines and chiseled looks, and Kevin Kline is still WTF. Tom Hanks is playing along. He calls Rainn Wilson weird looking, and they don't even go to a reaction shot. Maybe he left? Ricky Gervais says his jokes are for the 5,000 people in the room, not the 5,000 people watching at home. Show: Colbert, Letterman, Daily Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, SNL. Daily Show wins, and this time Jon Stewart does accept. He says how well of a job NPH is doing, which I agree with. Partly because NPH is hanging out there on stage in what looks like a DJ booth.

8:15 - President of Television Arts and Sciences, who will not be talking. Drama! Genre change! Shatner! True Blood! Lost! Doctors! NCIS! House! Did the other montages get to have their names in the montages? Are they going to show every drama on tv? How many would that be, I wonder. CSI! Battlestar Galactica! Law and Order! Grey's Anatomy! True Blood! Everyone is so into that show. LOST! Mad Men. What? No love? Just a title card? When I had to watch Izzy from Grey's Anatomy? Boourns.

8:19 - LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell present Supporting Actor. Christian Clemenson, Michael Emerson, William Hurt, Aaron Paul, William Shatner, John Slattery. Michael Emerson wins! It's the second win for him. He seems really appreciative of the award and the job, but because of how good he is he still seems creepy, even though I'm sure he's really nice.

8:21 - Supporting Actress: Rose Byrne, Hope Davis, Cherry Jones, Sandra Oh, Dianne Wiest, Chandra Wilson. Cherry Jones wins. Who? I don't watch 24. Anyway, there's just such a difference between these people who are nominated and are winning and who are usually in the tabloids. Think about celebrity, and it just seems different with these people.

8:23 - Sarah McLachlan is there to sing through the In Memoriam section. It starts off so far away I can't even see who it is. Edie Armstrong? Gale Storm. Van Johnson. Eartha Kitt. Patrick McGoohan. Karl Malden takes an early lead. James Whitmore Sam Cohn. Henry Gibson. Bill Melendez. Paul Benedict. Bernie Hamilton. Dom DeLuise died? Dominick Dunne. Probert Prosky? Fred Travalena. Ron Silver pulls into the lead, overtaken by Natasha Richardson and then David Carradine. Michael Crichton. Beatrice Arthur, but they play audio over her part and I can't hear any applause. Ricardo Montalban. Ed McMahon. Larry Gelbart gets a lot of applause. Paul Newman. Michael Jackson. Patrick Swayze (which makes me tear up). Don Hewitt. Farah Fawcett. Walter Cronkite, which also makes me tear up. I would guess Patrick Swayze on the applause meter. Why don't they mute the applause on this?

8:32 - NPH thanks Sarah McLachlan, calling it "IN..TENSE." Stephen Moyer and David Boreanez come out and share a double entendre about "meaty." Except I don't think it was scripted. Anyway, it's actor and actress in a drama series. The winners were Ellen Burstyn and Michael J. Fox, who present the next award: Directing. It's won by the guy who directed what I think is the final episode of ER, which I think is nice. He's not there either. Writing. Mad Men is nominated all but one of the times, and they win, but I'm not sure for what episode. Does it matter? John Slattery's hair looks delightfully toussled.

8:38 - Simon Baker is going to present outstanding lead actress in a drama series. Glenn Close. Sally Field. Mariska Hargitay. Holly Hunter. Elisabeth Moss (who I hope wins). Kyra Sedgwick. But Glenn Close wins. Oh well. Elisabeth Moss's Peggy is kicking ass this season so I really really hope she's nominated and wins next year. Glenn Close's earrings are huge. I like the neckline of her dress.

8:47 - Dana Delaney goes out, wearing glasses. And not looking at all like herself. Why is she presenting leading actor in a drama? Who knows? Simon Baker. Gabriel Byrne. Bryan Cranston. Michael C. Hall. Jon Hamm. Hugh Laurie (who's frowning). The winner is: Bryan Cranston! I've never seen Breaking Bad. The others all look tightly happy for him. Bryan Cranston says he's thankful that Glenn Close is actually a woman. He also makes a Cinderfella reference. And he's still talking, but since he's promoting his show I'll let it slide.

8:51 - final awards! Bob Newhart comes out to present the Best Comedy award. NPH calls him a hero. Has he been on 30 Rock? He should be! He makes a Halle Berry/Adrian Brody reference with Tina Fey. He's now telling jokes, and this time, the audience looks a bit dazed and Kevin Kline is killing himself. Nominees: 30 Rock, Family Guy, Entourage, Flight of the Conchrods, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Weeds. The winner is: 30 Rock! Tina Fey goes to kiss Bob Newhart Adrian Brody-style, it looks like, but the camera cuts away. She thanks the network for keeping them on the air.

8:55 - The weird breakthrough performance that we've been voting for all night (?) is the Vampire meets Sookie on True Blood. Or something. It was totally pointless, and I think just a way to include True Blood in some way.

9:00 - Has it really been three hours? Anyway, Sigourney Weaver comes out to present the last award, Best Drama. Nominees: Big Love. Breaking Bad. Damages. Dexter. House. Lost. Mad Men. All in the first half of the alphabet! The Emmy goes to Mad Men. There is a very strange shot of Elisabeth Moss looking deep into the eyes of Fred Armisen, her fiance. January Jones' dress looks a lot better than last year. Jon Hamm is just grinning away. I'm skipping Mad Men to watch the Emmys right now. Good thing I'm taking it!

9:02 - NPH bids us goodnight. He was also a producer of the show? Strange.

And that's the show!

Me Meme

I was tagged by IDV.

1) My mother once: gave the most hilarious Christmas grace. It started "Dear God....I'm sorry about the potatoes."

2) Never in my life: have I dyed or coloured my hair.

3) When I was five: I could count to 105, but no higher. I wasn't sure what came next.

4) High school was/is: starting to feel like a long time ago. And I am okay with that.

5) I will never forget: the words to the tv theme songs I watched when I was little.

6) I once met: Norman Jewison (when he was chancellor of Victoria College). He said they were all proud of me.

7) There's this person I know who: has an amazing blog.

8) Once, at a bar: I did all of the cheap shots on the cheap shots list (and I'm pretty sure I came back and blogged about it...)

9) By noon I'm usually: ready to go back to bed.

10) Last night I: set up my bookshelves, had some pizza, and watched Project Runway.

11) If only I had: gotten my act together to my laundry today, then I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow.

12) Next time I go to church: I will either wonder why I came, or wondered why I didn't come sooner.

13) Terri Schiavo: is a name I haven't heard in a long time. I do remember her, though.

14) I like: big butts and I cannot lie.



15) When I turn my head left, I see: a bookshelf that holds my children's books, most prominently my Baby-Sitters Club books.

16) When I turn my head right, I see: my remote for the tv, the remote for my fan, and another smaller bookshelf that holds.

17) You know I'm lying when: I'm telling a story...it's almost guaranteed that I'm exaggerating in some way or another.

18) In junior school: I don't know what this is. Elementary school? In elementary school, my potential was not recognized.

19) If I was a character written by Shakespeare: I'd be the comic relief, not the romantic lead.

20) By this time next year I: hope that I have a job somewhere (my current job is just for a one-year contract).

21) A better name for me would be: nothing, because I love my name.

22) I have a hard time understanding: furniture instructions...but I've had a lot of practice.

23) If I ever go back to school, I'll: either do a Masters in Education, or a PhD of some kind.

24) You know I like you if: I ask you a lot of questions.

25) If I won an award, the first person I'd thank would be: whoever gave me the award.

26) I hope that: I do win an award some day!

27) Take my advice: nighttime can be oh so nice, good things happen in the dark!



28) My ideal breakfast is: huge. Pancakes or french toast with scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, and potato.

29) A song I love but do not have is: I can't think of anything! But I have hardly any current music.


30) If you visit my hometown, I suggest: that you bring me with you, because otherwise you won't know what to do or where to go.

31) Tulips, character flaws, microchips and track stars: are these lyrics of some kind?

32) Why won't anyone: tell me what to write for this answer? Seriously, I have no idea why anyone won't do something.

33) If you spend the night at my house: you now have a couch to sleep on! Or I do, if I give you my bed.

34) I'd stop my wedding: if something came out during the 'does anyone object' part that I didn't know about.

35) The world could do without: I was going to say things like this, but I do enjoy them. I'm having a hard time thinking of answers for this one, and I'm sure on some level there's a world-wild value of getting to know people.

36) I'd rather lick the belly of a roach than: lick the rear end of a roach.

37) My favourite thing is: root beer, in terms of pop.

38) Paper clips are more useful than: those pencils that have an eraser but the eraser just makes everything all smudged and not erased.

39) And by the way: I never use an umbrella. When it rains, I mean. I use them all the time in my drinks.

40) The last time I was (really) drunk: was awhile ago now!

41) My grandmother always: says, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.