Surprising Rex

Lovie finally wised up and demoted that schlub Grossman. A collective cry of happiness rang out throughout the city. Oddly enough, Rex admits he was surprised to learn of his demotion. Yes, surprised. Perhaps if he spent more time reflecting on his poor performances, he would've been prepared for the news. If nothing else, he'll now have more time on his hands for grooming those overly-plucked eyebrows of his.

Weekend Randomness

Friday I decided to be uber-responsible both professionally and personally/financially and cancel my minibreak in Berlin, which would have taken place after my week of work over there in October. I know I'm going to be working weekends and extra-long hours for the remaining months of the year and I need to get back Stateside to start plugging away on action items from my South American marketing plan [which is slowly spinning out of control]. My friends think I'm slightly crazy, but seeing as this will save me several hundred dollars that can be applied to my December island vacation I'm Ok with the decision.

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I've managed to avoid the domesticity that are Pampered Chef parties--until Friday night, that is. To support a co-worker, I drove out to the middle of nowhere to her gorgeous home and made small talk with judgmental soccer mom's (yes, being single and childless at this particular juncture has been at least 75% my choice). Thank god the Traveling Vineyard lady was there, too. And, because I have a hard time saying no to overpriced kitchen gadgets, I walked away spending close to $75, which is technically a cheap night if the prices in the catalog are any guideline.

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After doing a 5k charity walk last weekend, J and I decided to do one every Saturday morning...for our ass's charity. The upside is we can catch up weekly in person (which has proven a difficulty since my move over a year ago). The downside is early Saturday mornings (like, 8am early) will be difficult on those Friday nights that occasionally quickly turn into early Saturday mornings. Oh, who am I kidding. It's more than just occasionally.

Week 1 of this new (personal) charity walk was quite refreshing once I woke up.

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Adorable Diva Niece spied me yesterday at my parents' house, booked right past her grandparents as she walked in the door for her 2-day stay, and jetted over to me, screaming my name. There are few greater feelings than being adored that unconditionally. To repay the show of affection, I got up extra early this morning to go over and spend some quality time with her, which made for lots of early morning shrieks and countless twirling around and falling down playing Ring Around the Rosie, which is far more exhausting in your 30's than, say, when you're 2.

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Somehow my camera battery just up and died. It was working fine when I downloaded some pictures a couple weeks ago, but when I went to turn it on today nothing happened. It's been charging for the past 4 hours and it's no closer to holding a charge than it was at the beginning of the day. I'm not sure how it happened, but it pisses me off and now it means a trip to Best Buy to make good on my warranty. I'm not a big fan of dealing with customer service people who try to find loopholes in the warranties they sold you. Fingers crossed I get a competent one.

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I *heart* Indian Summer!

Those Bleeping Fox Execs

The Fox network hosted one of the most sedate Emmys I've watched in a long time. Ryan Seacrest was benign in his role as host. There were a lot of silly upsets (in my humble opinion). And that damn theatre in the round... well, whoever came up with that idea is probably lining up for the dole right now.

That aside, what about the censors? And those poor cameramen forced to cut away to an enlarged ugly globe? Why not just bleep out the "naughty" word rather than cut away entirely? It seems as though Fox execs were a little too rash in their censorship judgment.

Consider:

Since when is "screwed" a naughty word too vulgar to be aired on primetime? We can show people simulating sex or greatly insinuating lots and lots of sex all over network TV, but to say the word "screw" is forbidden?

Same with the profane "goddamn." Is it really that awful? Or was it just Sally Field's war comments that were considered a bit too forward?

(By the by, I so dislike when celebrities use the podium as a forum to air their hot button opinions and get all riotious on viewers asses. Sit down, for gods sake, and drag your soap box outside the awards ceremony. It's all about time and place.)

This sort of censorship seems as though it's getting a bit too over the top, and I'm starting to wonder what agenda is being worked where...and why. I mean, c'mon people, it's an awards show.

59th Annual Primetime Emmys: Picks & More

Tonight's the night. The 2007/08 Awards Season begins! I'll be watching all red carpet coverage and the event itself at the annual Emmy party I attend wondering how o how I can get myself involved in this fun awards evening. Not nearly as pretentious as the Oscars but still full of glitz, a little glam, and a whole lot of celebs. Love it!

My picks are always, off, but here's who I am hoping will take home an Emmy in the following categories:

(Oh, how wrong can one person be? I was laughably off, with nearly all of my picks failing to see fruition.)

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock
Entourage
The Office
Two and a Half Men
Ugly Betty

Lord knows that I adore 30 Rock, but Ugly Betty is really quite good. I'm so on the fence and would love for either of them to win, but since there can only be one winner, I'm going Ugly on this one.

Oustanding Directing (Comedy)
30 Rock
Entourage
Extras
Scrubs
The Office
Ugly Betty

To be blunt, it doesn't matter to me. But since I picked Ugly Betty earlier, I'll go 30 Rock on this one.

Outstanding Directing (Drama)
Battlestar Galactica
Boston Legal
Friday Night Lights
Heroes
Lost
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
The Sopranos

Here's the thing of it it: There's so much buzz about Heroes that I'm sure it will win...or maybe The Sopranos since it's its last hoorah. But the one show that was always consistently fantastic (and it's such a shame it's off the air now) is Studio 60. Alas, it's doubtful it'll win, so I'm back to going for Heroes even though I've never ever watched one episode.

Oustanding Directing (Miniseries)
Broken Trail
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Jane Eyre
Prime Suspect: The Final Act
Tsunami, The Aftermath

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. It got so much buzz, I wouldn't doubt it's popularity.

Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Program
American Idol
SNL
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Tony Bennett Special

Jon Stewart. All the way.

Outstanding Drama Series
Boston Legal
Grey's Anatomy
Heroes
House
The Sopranos

Grey's is my pick...with a second choice of Boston Legal. I'd be happy with either of those, even though Sopranos and Heroes are both strong contenders.

Outstanding Lead Actor (Comedy)
Alec Baldwin -- 30 Rock
Ricky Gervais -- Extras
Tony Shalhoub -- Monk
Steve Carell -- The Office
Charlie Sheen -- Two and a Half Men

Love them all. Seriously. But Alec Baldwin is amazing in his role.

Outstanding Lead Actor (Drama)
Kiefer Sutherland -- 24
James Spader -- Boston Legal
Hugh Laurie -- House
Denis Leary -- Rescue Me
James Gandolfini -- The Sopranos

In my humble opinion, it should be Spader. Oh, James, how I adore thee! However, it's very likely James Gandolfini will take it.

Outstanding Lead Actor (Miniseries)
Robert Duvall -- Broken Trail
Tom Selleck -- Jesse Stone: Sea Change
Jim Broadbent -- Longford
William H. Macy -- Nightmares & Dreamscapes
Matthew Perry -- The Ron Clark Story

I guess I'll go with William H. Macy...because he's just fab.

Oustanding Lead Actress (Comedy)
Tina Fey -- 30 Rock
Felicity Huffman -- Desperate Housewives
Julia Louis-Dreyfus -- New Adventures of Old Christine
America Ferrera -- Ugly Betty
Mary-Louise Parker -- Weeds

America it is.

Outstanding Lead Actress (Drama)
Sally Field -- Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay -- L&O: SVU
Patricia Arquette -- Medium
Kyra Sedgwick -- The Closer
Minnie Driver -- The Riches
Edie Falco -- The Sopranos

It will probably go to Edie, and I don't feel strongly enough to much care about another winner.

Outstanding Lead Actresss (Miniseries)
Queen Latifah -- Life Support
Helem Mirren -- Prime Suspect
Mary-Louise Parker -- The Robber Bride
Debra Messing -- The Starter Wife
Gena Rowlands -- What If God Were the Sun

I like Debra Messing. I'm not sure how I felt about her Ponds-sponsored miniseries over the summer. But she was trying something different, and for that she'll be my pick.

Outstanding Made for TV Movie
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Inside the Twin Towers
Longford
The Ron Clark Story
Why I Wore Lipstick to My Matectomy

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. It got a lot of buzz. I wonder if I can NetFlix it.

Outstanding Miniseries
Broken Trail
Prime Suspect
The Starter Wife

I don't know much about the first two, so by defaiult I'll go with Starter Wife, even though I'm pretty sure Robert Duvall will make Broken Trail a shoo-in.

Outstanding Individual Performance (Variety or Musical)
Ellen Degeneres -- Academy Awards
David Letterman -- Late Show
Stephen Colbert -- Colbert Report
Jon Stewart -- The Daily Show
Tony Bennett -- An American Classic

I thought Ellen did a stand-up job for the Academy Awards and it would be refreshing to see her win. It's probably not the best choice, but I never claimed to make sound decisions when it comes to my picks for awards shows (gootball picks -- now that's something to be taken far more seriously).

Outstanding Reality Show
American Idol
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
The Amazing Race
Top Chef

Amazing Race. Absolutely.

Outstanding Supporting Actor (Comedy)
Jeremy Piven -- Entourage
Kevin Dillon -- Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris -- How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson -- The Office
Jon Cryer -- Two and Half Men

All excellent and that's what makes it so hard. But I really have to go with Doogie. NPH is too fantastic as Barney not to get my vote.

Outstanding Supporting Actor (Drama)
William Shatner -- Boston Legal
T.R. Knight -- Grey's Anatomy
Masi Oka -- Heroes
Terry O'Quinn -- Lost
Michael Emerson -- Lost
Michael Imperioli -- The Sopranos

I love T.R. and Shatner is great as Denny Crane, but I think Imperioli should get it.

Outstanding Supporting Actor (Miniseries)
Thomas Haden Church -- Broken Trail
Aidan Quinn -- Bury My Heart ay Wounded Knee
August Schellenberg -- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Ed Asner -- The Christmas Card
Joe Mantegna -- The Starter Wife.

Joe Mantegna gets my vote

Outstanding Supporting Actress (Comedy)
Jaime Pressly -- My Name is Earl
Jenna Fischer -- The Office
Conchata Ferrell -- Two and Half Men
Holland Taylor -- Two and a Half Men
Vanessa Williams -- Ugly Betty
Elizabeth Perkins -- Weeds

How could Ms. Williams not win?

Outstanding Supporting Actress (Drama)
Rachel Griffiths -- Brothers & Sisters
Sandra Oh -- Grey's Anatomy
Chandra Wilson -- Grey's Anatomy
Katherine Heigl -- Grey's Anatomy
Lorraine Bracco -- The Sopranos
Aida Turturro -- The Sopranos

All of these nominees are fantastic women, but I adore Chandra Wilson.

Outstanding Supporting Actress (Miniseries)
Greta Scacchi -- Broken Trail
Anna Paquin -- Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Samantha Morton -- Longford
Judy Davis -- The Starter Wife
Toni Collette -- Tsunami

Anna Paquin seems like a good choice. She was a gifted kid and I'm sure she's just as talented as a young adult.

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Show with David Latterman
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Colbert Report
Daily Show with Job Stewart.

Jon Stewart and his team get my vote.

Here Comes Autumn

In Chicago a sure sign that Fall is around the corner isn't just the morning chill in the air but also the boisterous oompah band hailing the forthcoming Oktoberfest activities on the Madison St. bridge. Oh the hooplah this morning! Autumn is fast approaching.

Depreciation

I met the resident real estate agent, DP Mary, in the laundry room this evening--and she effectively saddened the mood of the night. During our conversation she mentioned that the units currently for sale in the building aren't selling because they're over-priced for the market. I casually asked what the (supposedly outrageous) average asking price was--and she stated a dollar amount $5k less than mine was sold at. The look on my face must've given away my suddenly sour mood because she said, "Oh sure, things have devalued by about 15% since you bought." Not what I wanted to hear. I know the market has its ups and downs, but you never want to think something you're living in is rapidly depreciating.

How Does THIS Happen?

Who was the brainless fool who made this "mistake?"

A definite career-stopper of a move.