Not Qutting My Day Job

I called four out of 13 categories. It's like I don't even own a television.

I'm completely baffled as to how Glenn Close beat out Holly Hunter for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

I've said it before, but seriously Emmys. You're dead to me.

2008 Emmy Picks

DRAMA

SERIES:
"Boston Legal (ABC)
"Damages" (FX)
"Dexter" (Showtime)
"House" (FOX)
"Lost" (ABC)
"Mad Men" (AMC)

ACTOR:
James Spader, "Boston Legal"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
Hugh Laurie, "House"
Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
William Shatner, "Boston Legal"
Ted Danson, "Damages"
Zeljko Ivanek, "Damages"
Michael Emerson, "Lost"
John Slattery , "Mad Men"

ACTRESS:
Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters"
Glenn Close, "Damages"
Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"
Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace"
Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Candice Bergen, "Boston Legal"
Rachel Griffiths, "Bothers & Sisters"
Chandra Wilson, "Grey's Anatomy"
Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy"
Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment"

COMEDY

SERIES:
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO)
"Entourage" (HBO"
"The Office" (NBC)
"Two and a Half Men" (CBS)

ACTOR:
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
Lee Pace, "Pushing Daisies"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Charlie Sheen, "Two and a Half Men"

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Jeremy Piven, "Entourage"
Kevin Dillon, "Entourage"
Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"
Rainn Wilson, "The Office"
John Cryer, "Two and a Half Men"

ACTRESS:
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Christina Applegate, "Samantha Who"?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
America Ferrera, "Ugly Betty"
Mary-Louise Parker, "Weeds"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Kristin Chenoweth, "Pushing Daisies"
Jean Smart, "Samantha Who?"
Amy Poehler, "Saturday Night Live"
Holland Taylor, "Two and Half Men"
Vanessa Williams, "Ugly Betty"

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES:
"Late Show With David Letterman" (CBS)
"Real Time With Bill Maher" (HBO)
"Saturday Night Live" (NBC)
"The Colbert Report" (Comedy Central)
"The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" (Comedy Central)

REALITY

OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM:
"Antiques Roadshow" (PBS)
"Dirty Jobs" (Discovery)
"Extreme Makeover Home Edition" (ABC)
"Intervention" (A&E)
"Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" (Bravo)

OUTSTANDING REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
"American Idol" (FOX)
"Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
"Project Runway" (Bravo)
"The Amazing Race" (CBS)
"Top Chef" (Bravo

Patriotism

I have a confession to make.

I am not always proud of my country.

When I think of the waste we produce, and how we deplete our natural resources and contribute towards global warming, I am not always proud. When our country stands by while atrocities are committed in the Congo and Darfur, I am not proud. It disappoints me that with our vast power and resources, we don't take more responsibility for protecting the least among us, in our own country, and the global community.

There has been a running theme at the Republican National Convention where the speakers all talk about how they've always been proud to be Americans, as if that makes them more patriotic. The definition of patriotism is love and devotion for one's country. Pride not required. I believe it's possible to love this country and all of the many things it offers, and to still feel that we can do a better job than we have done, of working towards a world where those advantages can be available to those who struggle.

From the earliest days of this country with the Salem witch trials, the forced relocation of the Native Americans, the practice of slavery, the war between the states, black listing during World War II, Japanese internment camps, the bombing of Hiroshima, the civil rights movement, the women's movement, the KKK, the Guatanamo Bay imprisonment of persons who have not been charged with a crime, provided legal representation or a trial by jury, and every war we're ever fought in where we sent our willing soldiers off to certain death- I have trouble believing that people who lived through any of those events, have always been proud of their country.

The Founding Fathers began the Constitution by saying:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union..."

Don't you see? They knew this country wasn't perfect.

They knew this country was a work in progress.

I believe that it still is.

Sarah Palin: Book Banner?

From the Time magazine article, "Mayor Palin: A Rough Record":

[Former Wasilla mayor] Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. “She asked the library how she could go about banning books,” he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. “The librarian was aghast.” The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn’t be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving “full support” to the mayor.

[via]

Midnight Sun

Stephenie Meyer's Midnight Sun, which is the first book in the Twilight series told from the male character's point of view, has been postponed indefinitely.

She's so devastated that the first 12 chapters of the rough draft were posted online illegally, that she can no longer find it in her heart to complete the novel.

Meanwhile, I'm so depressed by the fact that the rough draft ends right before the pivotal meadow scene, that I don't even want to talk about it.

Fall TV Premieres

It’s that time of year... So in case you call within the next month or two and want to know why I don’t answer the phone this is what I’m watching:

Sept 1 – "Gossip Girl" Love it! Soapy, trashy fun! Leighton Meester is brilliant. “Haven't you heard? I'm the crazy bitch around here.” XOXO

Sept 1 – "One Tree Hill" More soapy, trashy fun. I’m addicted to this silly mess. I just can’t help myself. I am a 13 year-old at heart.

Sept 2 – "90210" I’m still on the fence. I watched the original, but never loved it. And I’m bummed Tori Spelling won’t be joining the cast.

Sept 3 – "Bones" This show is improving all the time, and it’s the only way to satisfy my embarrassing Boreanaz adoration.

Sept 7 – "True Blood" Vampires! HBO! Anna Paquin! What more do you need to know?

Sept 9 – "Fringe" Newest series from “Alias” and “Lost” creator JJ Abrams, so I’m all over it. Bonus? Pacey!

Sept 22 – "Heroes" Season 2 bit it, but part of that could be blamed on the writer’s strike. I have higher hopes for season 3.

Sep 25 – "My Name is Earl" They really lost me last season when Earl was in a coma. It just went on FOREVER, but I simply can’t wait to hear what awful thing they make Jaime Pressly say next.

Sept 25 – "The Office" Jan is pregnant! Jim almost proposed! Andy did propose! Angela made out with Dwight! Dude, this is better than "One Tree Hill".

Sept 29 – "Chuck" Another show that gets better all the time, plus Bruce Boxleitner has been cast as Captain Awesome’s dad! Oh, and Adam Baldwin = yum. It doesn’t get much better.

Oct 1 – "Pushing Daisies" There’s been a lot of talk about the network forcing the show to be less quirky, which would be a real blow. Since the damn show is supposed to be quirky. (12, count them, 12 Emmy nominations.) This is what I’ll be watching on my birthday.

Oct 6 – "Samantha Who" This show doesn’t get me that excited, but it’s mostly reliably funny.

Oct 9 – "Kath & Kim" The early reviews for this one are BAD, but Molly Shannon and Selma Blair sounds so promising.

Oct 30 – "30 Rock" Flerg.