Google Holiday: Norman Rockwell’s Birthday. Our buddy Norman would have been 116 today, assuming I’m capable of doing math this early. You, of course, know Rockwell from such famous works as these:
Rockwell is about as iconic as you can get here in America, and I found it sort of sad to read (on Wikipedia, duh) that a psychiatrist once told him that he painted his happiness, but did not live it. Let’s hope that changed by the end of his life.
If you happen to be in Stockbridge, Massachusetts later today, stop by the Norman Rockwell Museum to celebrate.
I’m taking advantage of the two hours of Bachelor that stretch before me to catch up on a little blogging. (While we’re on the topic…nice turtleneck, Jake.)
Shall we talk about the Grammys? Until I got bored about three-quarters of the way in, I was impressed. The performances were mostly fun and I managed to stay engaged and entertained, which rarely happens when I watch awards shows. It didn’t hurt that the show was infused with some country flavor. Nice work, Grammy people! Zac Brown Band, Lady Antebellum, Jennifer Nettles: you blow me away. T.Swift: well, that was hard to watch. But I’m sure Stevie Nicks is a damn intimidating person to sing with.
Also, remember how there was a crazy cute little boy with Jay-Z and Rhianna?
I SOLVED THE MYSTERY! It was Solange Knowles’ son, so Jay’s nephew. Cuteness to the max.
You’ll also be pleased to know that I watched almost until the end of the show waiting for Lady Gaga’s finale performance and then realized (thanks, Internets) that she was the opening act and I just hadn’t turned on the teevee in time. So I watched some bootleg version of the performance on YouTube and called it a night. Sigh.
I’m going to turn my full attention back to rotting my brain via reality television, but I’ll leave you with my favorite performance of the night:
NBC recently announced they would be moving the struggling Jay Leno Show to 11:35, moving back Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show and Jimmy Fallon’s Late Show until after midnight. Conan finally put his foot down and submitted this statement:
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over “The Tonight Show” in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004, I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.
But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my “Tonight Show” in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.
Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate the “Jay Leno Show” at 11:35. For 60 years, the “Tonight Show” has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.” Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the “Late Night” show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.
So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard, and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of “The Tonight Show.” But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the “Tonight Show,” I believe nothing could matter more.
There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.
Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.
Holy hairdo! Kate Gosselin’s got a new ‘do, and it’s…pretty:
Right? I mean, it’s all extensions, which freaks me out, but it’s DECIDEDLY better than the last styles she was rockin’. Apparently Kate also has a new man to go along with her long hair. Go Kate!, I think.
I’m still somewhat torn about all of this. It has been well-documented that I have lurved J&K+8 for a while now, to the point of delusion about their “perfect” relationship (ahem), but I can’t help but think that they REALLY were happy for a while there. At this point I feel bad for everyone involved, because I don’t think either Jon or Kate went into this with any malicious goals (or aspirations to ruin their own lives) in mind. It seems more realistic that their celebrity surprised them and then got out of control, as tends to happen with, oh, every celebrity.
There will always be a soft spot in my heart for the Jon and Kate crew, especially as long as the kids continue to look like this:
Cheers to 2010! I was pondering today what the nickname for the newest decade would be when I realized something…no one ever came up with a nickname for the past 1o years. Sure, the ’80s, ’90s, etc. kind of wrote themselves, but how is it possible that not one of the six billion of us could think of something to call ’00-’09 collectively? Come on people. Lets do better for the next 10.
On another (much more embarrassing) note, I shamefully admit that I was, yet again, sucked into The Bachelor’s premiere episode tonight. The Bachelor is now on its 14th season, not counting The (far superior) Bachelorette seasons. New Bachelor Jake was surprisingly less douchy than he was last year, but the majority of the 25 female contestants put all women to shame. Who watches this garbage? Oh yeah, me.
can you feel my rolling eyes?
This season promises to have just as much ABC Network-induced drama and fake-by-the-railing emotional breakdowns as any other season, so I’ll probably DVR every episode. Especially because the gossip is a contestant and one of the show’s producers were having an affair while taping was going on. Not even The Bachelor producers take this show seriously!
And one last thing, because Jake is a pilot – the title of this season is “The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love.” ABC, FIRE your writers.
Sad day, guys: Brittany Murphy (who got her start in Clueless and went on to star in movies like Girl, Interrupted, Just Married, Uptown Girls, and dozens of other films) died last night. According to Gawker, Murphy died after going into cardiac arrest, which could be the result of some underlying condition or drug use.
Our thoughts go out to her family, especially her husband, screenwriter Simon Monjack.
So everybody, guess what? I am officially finished with my second-to-last semester of school ever. (At least, let’s hope it’s for forever.) I am also back in Colorado for the next two weeks, which feels simply wonderful. I suppose I should savor this, because from what I hear, the Real World doesn’t just hand out monthlong winter breaks. Sigh.
Now that I’m at home, I’m doing my best to not launch full-on into lounge mode quiteeee yet. This means that I exercised this morning (!!!), showered, BLOW DRIED MY HAIR, and even put on a bra. The bra might be buried under a few layers of pajamas, but it’s all about the little victories, people.
In honor of not launching into full-on lounge mode, I have decided to set a resolution for myself: I am going to (try to?) post on this here blog every day while I am at home. Hold me to it! The blog has suffered with the onset of a second year of grad school, and that’s not fair to you guys.
Speaking of the blog, I’m working on getting things a little more organized around here. Like, say, posting more regularly in general and rounding up our crew of posters in a more organized way. Details to come on that.
But enough of the housekeeping issues. (Ed Note: It took me like five minutes to think of the phrase “housekeeping issues.”) Can we talk for a minute about Tiger Woods? Because I’m at home, I have had the pleasure of watching a lil daytime teevee today, and that included a trashy show about celebrities called The Insider. OnThe Insider, they said that it’s been confirmed that Tiger Woods has dallied about with at least 14 mistresses. And to that I say both, “Really, Tiger? Your wife is HOT.” And also, “Can we please stop talking about this now?” I was as interested as the next guy at the beginning of all this — and if you’ve been living under a rock, check out Shan’s original post about Tigergate — but I’m a little over it now. (Though it is incredibly ironic and noteworthy that he’s just been named AP male athlete of the year.) Sure, the dude made a lot of mistakes, but I feel like we are practically stooping to his level if we continue to focus on this. It’s kind of why I didn’t want to post about the Salahis. It’s a different situation, but at a certain point we become part of the problem by feeding into this bullshit.
Tangent (as though these posts are anything but a series of tangents): I just took a break from writing to focus on Bonnie Hunt interviewing Mary Louise Parker, and Mary Louise Parker was talking about adopting a baby and I began sobbing. SHOCKER!
In non-frustrating, non-crying news, watch this video. It combines two of my favorite things: adorable children and Taylor Swift. SOLD!:
Oh my god, right? When I was at the airport last night, I thought I saw this little girl and got SUPER excited for a second. It wasn’t her.
Sorry for the hiatus ladies and gents. I actually started a new job this week (yay!) so thats the reason for my absence.
My absolute favorite season is coming up and it’s not Christmas. The awards season is upon us! The Golden Globe nominations came out today and the Awards are on Sunday, January 17. Soon after, we’ll see who’s up for the Oscars (on March 7, fyi).
I personally love the Golden Globes for a few reasons. First off, the Golden Globes are wayyy more laid-back that the Oscars, i.e., comedies and musicals actually have a shot to win (mostly because they have their own separate category). Secondly, tv shows are awarded too and the variety tends to be better. Lastly (and most importantly) booze is served! Who doesn’t love watching trashed stars act completely inappropriately in formal wear?
I’ll let you read through most of the nominee list yourself, but my boy George and crew got the most nods for “Up in the Air.” Here’s the trailer if you’re living under a rock and haven’t seen it yet.
I can’t remember the last time I was so excited for so many movies that come out around the holidays. It’s Complicated, The Blind Side, Precious, Invictus, and Nine, they all look so good. Except Avatar, which I can’t take seriously in ANY way. Also, it’s not Titanic 2..so THAT’S disappointing.
I’m disappointed that this year’s holiday iPod commercials don’t have a song for me to get addicted to. Same for the GAP ads. So this year’s top contender for best song in a commercial is (drum roll): the Palm Pixi!
six words to change the world. 
