by Jac Kern
09.25.2012
Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings
The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place Sunday night. Each year I get excited for
this one awards show dedicated to television, and every year I forget how
boring and predictable it usually is. First off, there is no booze served at the Emmys (unlike
the drink-friendly Golden Globes which honor TV and film), and that just puts a
damper on everything. Pre-show red carpet interviews have to be one of the most
uncomfortable interactions ever (I swear one E! douche bag actually said, “I don’t really
care, ‘cause we’re dudes, but it’s my thing tonight — Who are you wearing?”
Gag.) — stars need some hooch to make it all OK. Then there are the clear academy favorites that are continually nominated
year after year for no apparent reason — Can’t we all agree Big Bang Theory lacks any real humor or
geek cred? But I suffer through the Emmys just in case there’s a redeeming
wardrobe malfunction or surprise winner. Raise your hand if you're tired of faux nerdery!
Jimmy Kimmel made
an entertaining host, playfully poking fun at various celebs and, in a
particularly funny bit, showed an “In Memoriam” video of himself, stating that
we shouldn’t wait until stars are dead to remember their work.
The big winners of
the night were Showtime’s drama series Homeland,
the HBO movie Game Change and ABC’s Modern Family (one of those perpetual
comedy winners).
Fashion trends for
the night (and fall in general) included bold solids and metallics, but I always
find it interesting just a few stars sport very similar, striking looks. This
year it was apparently good luck to mimic the award statue — all dressed in yellow, Julianne Moore (Game Change), Julie Bowen (Modern Family) and a pregnant
Claire Danes (Homeland) each walked away with a golden lady for their respective leading
performances.
The good: Tracy
Morgan faked a medical issue to generate buzz, Amy Poehler and Julia
Louie-Dreyfus “accidentally” swapped acceptance speeches and Jon Stewart kept
censors on their toes during his acceptance speech on behalf of The Daily Show (which makes 10 wins in a row for the show). I was happy to see Jessica Lange honored as best supporting actress in a miniseries/movie — and, really, how smart of them to re-define American Horror
Story each season, categorizing it as a miniseries. The always-hilarious Louis C.K. was "vindicated" with two Emmys for his writing on Louie and his stand-up special, Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theater. And while the drama category was
filled with some of my favorite shows, a very deserving Homeland pretty much swept the
category. Aaron Paul was awarded for his role as Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad,
to which I say, “Yeah, bitch!” While Paul may have been confused during fashion
week, he must have picked up some style tips on the
catwalk, because his chocolate suit was sick, and only enhanced by his fiance’s coordinating gown. All together now: Aww!Season 4 of Breaking Bad was
outstanding, and I’m a Jesse fan but…
The bad: Giancarlo Esposito
should have won for his performance in Breaking Bad. I will never not be terrified
of him after seeing him as the disturbing Gus Fring. I would have liked to see Kristen
Wiig win for her last season on SNL. And Jon Cryer? I love ya, Duckie, but Two and a
Half Men does not belong in the awards arena. "Wait, me? Are you guys sure?"So, it was mostly
a snoozefest, but at least we had the opening skit featuring all the leading
ladies and, namely, a “nude” Lena Dunham eating cake in a bathroom stall.
In non-Emmy news, Clint Eastwood’s infamous
empty chair assault during the Republican National Convention is old news by
now, but that’s not going to stop the folks at Extra from babbling on about it. During an interview about his
film Trouble With the Curve, Eastwood
had this to say: "If
someone's dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say
something, they're going to have to take what they get."
Serious question:
Is Amanda Bynes the new Britney? With Ms. Spears cleaning off
her Cheeto dust to fulfill her duties as “Britney, bitch”
on The X Factor, another
downward-spiraling starlet must accept the role as train wreck supreme. Sure,
Lindsay Lohan is the obvious candidate, but if you’ve been following the
“retired” actress of Nickelodeon fame, you know Bynes is barreling to the front
of the race. Seemingly out of nowhere, Bynes has recently had her car impounded after facing charges for a DUI, driving without a license (twice) and two hit-and-runs.I will go as far as calling my dad in from the 'burbs to
chauffeur my ass around (or, in dire situations, dealing with the living hell that is Ron’s Cab) to
avoid traffic stops and drunk driving. Can’t these child stars payroll a driver to be
available at their every whim, or call a damn taxi? Also, people are saying she's crazier than one of those silly characters she played when she was 12. AMANDA PLEASE
Apple sold more
than 5 million iPhone 5s over the weekend, completely running out of stock.
Those who didn’t camp outside Apple stores or take advantage of pre-sale offers
will have to wait until October for the newest iPhone, but I borrowed my
boyfriend’s I tested one out all professional-like over the weekend. Here’s
the rundown. “Fastest, thinnest, lightest iPhone ever?” Yes. It's so light, it feels like a
toy phone that should have chiclets inside or something. iPhone 5 prototypeThe phone itself is
more compact, but the screen surface is actually larger. It’s equipped with 4G
LTE and features a new smaller, reversible charger. Siri remains pretty
inessential to those of us with the ability to look out windows, although I’ve found it moderately entertaining to ask it existential
questions and see how well it can decipher fake accents. And the cool, easy-to-use panoramic camera
feature is sure to set the Instagram world on fire.
0 Comments · Wednesday, September 21, 2011
If you were to drive north on I-75 toward
Monroe during the past year, it’s likely that you noticed something
missing along the way: highway expansion projects (check), multiple TGI
Fridays locations (yup), anatomically correct horse statue (still
there), giant Jesus statue signaling a touchdown in football (dude,
where’d it go?!?). That’s because Touchdown Jesus was smote by god last
year.