Hello, everybody! Yes, it's been months since saying those words, and why? I've been mega-busy with tons of things (work), including ending my annual Sexiest Woman of the Year poll after 15 years.
But enough babbling; we begin first up with the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, in which streaks ended and history was made. HBO's "Game of Thrones" got its first Outstanding Drama, beating out AMC's "Mad Men", which went out on such a high note as Jon Hamm finally copped Lead Actor-Drama. And "How To Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis became the first-ever African-American Lead Actress-Drama winner, and this passage from her speech summed it up very well: "'In my mind I see a line, and over that line, I see green fields and lovely flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me over that line, but I can't seem to get there no how. I can't seem to get over that line.' That was Harriet Tubman in the 1800s."
"Modern Family's" five-year Emmy reign came to an end as "Veep" dethroned them for Comedy Series; star Julia Louis-Dreyfus picked up her fourth straight Lead Actress (seventh overall) while Jeffrey Tambor got Lead Actor for Amazon Prime's "Transparent." Other winners include: "The Voice" (Reality-Competition Program), "Inside Amy Schumer" (Variety Sketch Series; Schumer herself will be part of the Oddball Comedy Festival here in Atlanta on October 4), Uzo Aduba ("Orange Is The New Black"; she is the second person after Ed Asner to win for playing the same character in a comedy and drama series), "Olive Kitteridge" (Miniseries-Movie, plus acting honors for Frances McDormand and Bill Murray), and, for the final time, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (Variety Talk Series).
Host Andy Samberg was "smooth, saucy, purposely goofy and self-assured", raves the Associated Press, especially when he gave out a functioning login/password to the HBO Now streaming service to 11.9 million viewers (making it the least-watched Emmycast ever). But I thought the highlight of the night belonged to Tracy Morgan, making his first public appearance on the Emmy stage to a rousing ovation since last year's near-fatal car crash.
The other highlight was the red carpet, and man, was it sizzling! No, not the fashions, but the weather, as temperatures soared up to 100 degrees! Even though she graciously lost to Viola Davis, "Empire's" Taraji P. Henson was very scorching in her Alexander Wang, making her my best dressed followed by Kerry Washington (Marc Jacobs). As for Heidi Klum? Sure, she may still be a 10, but her Alterier Versace reeked Big Bird and my score: 0! That same score should also be given to the reigning -- and our last -- Sexiest Woman winner Julianne Hough (Marchesa); no offense to her male fans, but her butt is flat as a pancake.
From television's biggest night comes this news just in as far as the presidential race is concerned: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker is the second Republican candidate after Rick Perry to throw in the towel.
Now this comes almost a week after Walker and others including, of course, Donald Trump, clashed in the second debate which garnered a record 23 million viewers for CNN. But Walker got only less than half a percentage point among Republican voters, while numbers for Trump, Dr. Ben Carson, and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina have been increasing over the last couple of weeks.
On the Democratic front, Hillary Clinton has been losing some steam to Bernie Sanders, but the big question is: Will Vice President Joe Biden crash the party? Rumors have been swirling about him making a play to get promoted, but as of right now, Biden is still pondering.
Last month, we got quite a jolt as there was a surprise contender from out of nowhere: Deez Nuts! It turns out that that was the work of 15-year-old Brady Olson of Iowa, who decided to drop out when he realized one thing he learned in history class: To run for President, you must be at least 35 years or older!!! No is, ands, or buts; the constitution put it in writing over 225 years ago. Oh well, at least Deez Nuts would've been the worst president since...I would say Jimmy Carter.
But in the end, I think the battle for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be Clinton-Bush II. Trump may be taking his race very seriously for now, but...when was the last time we had an entrepreneur as president? Probably never, but hey, we once elected lawyers, a World War II general, even a Hollywood actor. Make no mistake: when things get down to the nitty gritty, Trump will have had enough, and it'll be the public saying to him, "You're fired." So long, stay strong, and God bless.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
"Birdman" flies away with Oscar Gold!
Hello, everybody. "Boyhood" was coming into the 87th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday as the odds-on favorite; but in the end, Best Picture of 2014 belonged to "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" which, along with "The Grand Budapest Hotel", walked out of the Dolby Theatre with four Oscars apiece. "Birdman's" other wins were for Cinematography, Original Screenplay, and Director (Alejandro G. Innaritu); while "Budapest Hotel" collected Original Score, Production Design, Makeup, and Costume Design.
"Boyhood" did get a rightfully deserved Supporting Actress win in Patricia Arquette (its only award of the night), while J.K. Simmons easily earned Supporting Actor for "Whiplash". Best Actor was awarded to Eddie Redmayne, and after four previous tries...Julianne Moore finally claims her first Oscar: Best Actress for "Still Alice." Other winners include: "Big Hero 6" (Animated Feature), "Ida" (Foreign Language Film), and "Selma" (Original Song, and how about the performance that left everybody in tears?)
Neil Patrick Harris left us entertained all throughout in his first stint as host, shedding light to the lack of diversity as far as the acting nominees were concerned calling the Oscars "Hollywood's brightest and whitest night." There were a lot of standout moments during the show such as Lady Gaga paying tribute to "The Sound of Music", Arquette standing up for women's equality, Graham Moore's "Stay weird, stay different" speech, Joan Rivers omitted from the In Memoriam montage, and Oprah Winfrey being given a Lego Oscar during the "Everything Is Awesome" performance. Oh yeah, and Harris in his tighty whities.
Not even a downpour prevented the stars from displaying their ultimate Sunday best on the red carpet. Dakota Johnson, still riding high from the success of the uber-steamy "Fifty Shades of Grey", was in a shade of Yves Saint Laurent red; we also had Scarlett Johansson in Versace; last year's Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o in Calvin Klein; Lady Gaga (designer unknown); and Margot Robbie in Van Cleef & Arpels.
Overall, I thought Julianne Moore outshone them all in Chanel couture; as for Reese Witherspoon? One of the sexiest Oscar winners ever was unsexy in her Tom Ford.
Now the ubiquitous suck-up: Once upon a time, we started seeing her not once, but twice as Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on "As The World Turns", earning her an Emmy. The late Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" would put her on the map, followed by "Nine Months", "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", "Boogie Nights", "The Big Lebowski", and channeling Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling in "Hannibal."
She really made a name for herself with "The Forgotten" followed by her turn as Sarah Palin in "Game Change" and recently, alongside Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay". But in the end, it was her performance as a college professor stricken with early Alzheimer's Disease that would earn her the praise she's been waiting for. At long last, after 30 years with four previous attempts along the way, Julianne Moore finally got the ultimate reward: Oscar gold!
Everything was truly awesome at the 87th Academy Awards...except that we never got to Best Original Sauce. But whatever; it was legen -- wait for it -- dary. So long, stay strong, and God bless.
"Boyhood" did get a rightfully deserved Supporting Actress win in Patricia Arquette (its only award of the night), while J.K. Simmons easily earned Supporting Actor for "Whiplash". Best Actor was awarded to Eddie Redmayne, and after four previous tries...Julianne Moore finally claims her first Oscar: Best Actress for "Still Alice." Other winners include: "Big Hero 6" (Animated Feature), "Ida" (Foreign Language Film), and "Selma" (Original Song, and how about the performance that left everybody in tears?)
Neil Patrick Harris left us entertained all throughout in his first stint as host, shedding light to the lack of diversity as far as the acting nominees were concerned calling the Oscars "Hollywood's brightest and whitest night." There were a lot of standout moments during the show such as Lady Gaga paying tribute to "The Sound of Music", Arquette standing up for women's equality, Graham Moore's "Stay weird, stay different" speech, Joan Rivers omitted from the In Memoriam montage, and Oprah Winfrey being given a Lego Oscar during the "Everything Is Awesome" performance. Oh yeah, and Harris in his tighty whities.
Not even a downpour prevented the stars from displaying their ultimate Sunday best on the red carpet. Dakota Johnson, still riding high from the success of the uber-steamy "Fifty Shades of Grey", was in a shade of Yves Saint Laurent red; we also had Scarlett Johansson in Versace; last year's Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o in Calvin Klein; Lady Gaga (designer unknown); and Margot Robbie in Van Cleef & Arpels.
Overall, I thought Julianne Moore outshone them all in Chanel couture; as for Reese Witherspoon? One of the sexiest Oscar winners ever was unsexy in her Tom Ford.
Now the ubiquitous suck-up: Once upon a time, we started seeing her not once, but twice as Frannie and Sabrina Hughes on "As The World Turns", earning her an Emmy. The late Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" would put her on the map, followed by "Nine Months", "The Lost World: Jurassic Park", "Boogie Nights", "The Big Lebowski", and channeling Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling in "Hannibal."
She really made a name for herself with "The Forgotten" followed by her turn as Sarah Palin in "Game Change" and recently, alongside Jennifer Lawrence in "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay". But in the end, it was her performance as a college professor stricken with early Alzheimer's Disease that would earn her the praise she's been waiting for. At long last, after 30 years with four previous attempts along the way, Julianne Moore finally got the ultimate reward: Oscar gold!
Everything was truly awesome at the 87th Academy Awards...except that we never got to Best Original Sauce. But whatever; it was legen -- wait for it -- dary. So long, stay strong, and God bless.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Hello, everybody. Well...Punxsutawney Phil is right again: Winter is halfway over, and there's still proof in many parts of the country, especially here in the South.
For the last few weeks in a row, we've been pelted with a deep freeze that made us wish we were in Hawaii by now; wind chills even went to as low as -20 in the Midwest areas. One Minnesota town even hit a temperature that I was always accustomed to in Alaska: -41F!!! The Siberian Express, which is responsible for all those record-breakers, have claimed 15 lives so far; and we're not done as heavy snow is expected in the Great Lakes and Northeast and yet another snowstorm about to hammer Boston sometime next week.
Of course, we all need a break from that, and that will be on Sunday with one of the biggest events in auto racing: the Daytona 500. But as soon as the checkered flag is raised and the winner makes his (or her, if you're Danica Patrick) way to the winners' circle, it's over to Hollywood for the biggest event in entertainment: the 87th Academy Awards!
Last year's show with host Ellen DeGeneres and the selfie that originally broke the Internet drew the highest ratings in four years. That was when Neil Patrick Harris opened the show with a rousing musical number before handing things over to Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin; this time, he's handling the festivities.
In addition to producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, director Hamish Hamilton is back for his third show; in the last few years, veteran TV directors like Louis J. Horvitz (who himself did the Oscars for a dozen of years) and Glenn Weiss have been learning from him, especially Weiss. The video of him working the 2013 Tony Awards like a boss is probably why he beat Hamilton for the Emmy last year, while Horvitz for the Golden Globes got the close-ups of the winners during their speeches -- another Hamilton technique -- down pat.
Okay, enough with the technical stuff and on to what the Oscars are really all about: the films and nominees. Of the eight up for Best Picture, "Boyhood" stands a chance at being the favorite followed by "Birdman"; "American Sniper" (despite its box office success and an ongoing trial), "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "The Imitation Game", "Selma", "The Theory of Everything", and "Whiplash" all at least got a nomination certificate. For the first time ever this year, all of the categories were announced with J.J. Abrams and last year's Director Alfonso Cuaron reading the first half and Academy president Cheryl Davis and Chris Pine handling the second and most important half.
At first, Michael Keaton with his Golden Globe and Critics' Choice wins for Best Actor seemed to be the front-runner, but the momentum would immediately tip in Eddie Redmayne's favor. If I were Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper, or Benedict Cumberbatch (who got married just recently), I would just stay home. The same should go for 2007 winner Marion Cotillard, newcomers Felicity Jones and Rosamund Pike, and 2005 winner Reese Witherspoon, as Best Actress is all about Julianne Moore.
I'm leaving Supporting Actor/Actress alone since they will ultimately go to J.K. Simmons and Patricia Arquette respectively (despite the presences of returnees Edward Norton, Keira Knightley and Ethan Hawke, newcomer Emma Stone, and past winners Robert Duvall and three-timer Meryl Streep), so here's who else I think will be the happiest people on Earth the moment the words "And the Oscar goes to..." are read and the envelopes opened on Sunday:
Best Actor: Like I said, it's been the tightest race between Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne, but remember: Keaton was Batman and one of his successors, George Clooney, already owns two Oscars. Michael has two, Eddie has two himself (Screen Actors Guild and BAFTA); since the latter two really count, I'll have to go with Eddie Redmayne.
Best Actress: She has literally swept the board all during awards season with her performance as a college educator suffering with Alzheimer's, and...nah, who am I kidding; it's Julianne Moore all the way!
Director: Richard Linklater ("Boyhood")
Best Picture: "Boyhood"
We'll see how I fare with the rest of the world when the 87th Annual Academy Awards will be handed out this Sunday on ABC. So long, stay strong, and God bless.
Monday, February 02, 2015
Patriots deflate the Seahawks!
Hello, everybody. Not even the fallout of "Deflategate" couldn't stop the New England Patriots, as they put that controversy to bed as only they could: by doing their job and dethrone defending champions the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX Sunday. Seattle was on the verge of hoisting their second straight Vince Lombardi Trophy with a last-minute touchdown and 20 seconds left in the game, but an interception by New England's Malcolm Butler in the end zone sealed the deal for them, giving head coach Pete Carroll a shellacking. That dramatic ending -- and everything else -- was viewed by a record 114.4 million viewers, as for the sixth year in a row now, the Super Bowl remains the most-watched television event ever!
Social media erupted over the call that cost the Seahawks the game; Dwight Clark (who made "The Catch" that sent his San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XVI) said it was "The dumbest catch in the HISTORY of NFL football", while Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith called it the "Worst call I've ever seen in the history of football."
The festivities kicked off with John Legend performing "America the Beautiful" followed by Idina Menzel with the national anthem. But those two were only a warmup to the real non-game highlight: Katy Perry setting off fireworks at halftime! Accompanied by Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott (whom we've not seen in about 15 years), it had all the makings of a halftime extravaganza for ages, from Katy on top of a lion to her on a shooting star that screams out, "The More You Know."
As for the commercials? They had a touchy-feely vibe this time around, and here were my top five favorites:
5. Snickers' "The Brady Bunch" (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! This ain't "Sons of Anarchy"!)
4. Nationwide's "Invisible Mindy" (if Mindy Kaling really wanted to be invisible, she should've contacted Harry Potter)
3. Mercedes-Benz's "Fable" (Slow, steady, and yes, a new set of wheel does win you the race alright!)
2. Bud Light's "Real Life Pac-Man" (next up, "Real Life Donkey Kong", "Real Life Q*Bert", etc.)
And I already have my #1 favorite ad already locked in already in days before the game, which was also tops in "USA Today's" Ad Meter:
Social media erupted over the call that cost the Seahawks the game; Dwight Clark (who made "The Catch" that sent his San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XVI) said it was "The dumbest catch in the HISTORY of NFL football", while Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith called it the "Worst call I've ever seen in the history of football."
The festivities kicked off with John Legend performing "America the Beautiful" followed by Idina Menzel with the national anthem. But those two were only a warmup to the real non-game highlight: Katy Perry setting off fireworks at halftime! Accompanied by Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott (whom we've not seen in about 15 years), it had all the makings of a halftime extravaganza for ages, from Katy on top of a lion to her on a shooting star that screams out, "The More You Know."
As for the commercials? They had a touchy-feely vibe this time around, and here were my top five favorites:
5. Snickers' "The Brady Bunch" (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! This ain't "Sons of Anarchy"!)
4. Nationwide's "Invisible Mindy" (if Mindy Kaling really wanted to be invisible, she should've contacted Harry Potter)
3. Mercedes-Benz's "Fable" (Slow, steady, and yes, a new set of wheel does win you the race alright!)
2. Bud Light's "Real Life Pac-Man" (next up, "Real Life Donkey Kong", "Real Life Q*Bert", etc.)
And I already have my #1 favorite ad already locked in already in days before the game, which was also tops in "USA Today's" Ad Meter:
1. Budweiser's "Lost Dog"
(nothing to say about it; just let this ad speak for itself)
(nothing to say about it; just let this ad speak for itself)
Most of us were rooting for Seattle to claim back-to-back Super Bowls, but let's face it: the last two times New England were in, they fell victim to the New York Giants--twice (especially in that quest for perfection). But sports in Boston is picking up the pace again after that Boston Marathon terrorist attack and the Red Sox's 2013 World Series win, and the Patriots' fourth championship should help the city in their ultimate quest: the 2024 Olympics, as they're now in contention to bring those games back to America. So long, stay strong, and God bless.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
As I'm doing this, 2015 has already arrived in Australia and Japan, so let's get to this before it heads our way. It's...
The Top 15 Things That Were Trending in 2014
15. Abigail Breslin attempting to sing (Hey, Rebecca Black called. She wants her gimmick back.)
14. "Utopia" (Hey, "Big Brother" called. They want their gimmick back.)
13. Brock Lesnar ending The Undertaker's winning streak at Wrestlemania XXX (and who says wrestling isn't fake...oh, wait, it is?)
12. Joe Namath's fur coat at Super Bowl XLVIII (apparently, he didn't get the memo that it was unseasonably warm!)
11. Maitland Ward (for the love of God, please stop teasing us and get naked already!)
10 (and making her 16th consecutive appearance!). Britney Spears (still with her Las Vegas show and now a lingerie line to boot...you really think I was going to exclude her?)
9. Idina Menzel (yep, Adele Dazeem had a pretty good year herself)
8. Ben Affleck's penis in "Gone Girl" (paging Seth MacFarlane!)
7. Apple CEO Tim Cook coming out of the closet (followed by reverting to the old Apple logo)
6. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (the whole world took part...why wasn't I called out?!)
5. Sony Pictures hacking scandal (the North Koreans demand deleted nude scenes to be released)
4. Weddings of George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (and I didn't receive invitations for any of them!)
3. TIE: Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande (the two unstoppable forces in music)/Arthur Chu and Julia Collins (two of "Jeopardy's" unstoppable contestants)
2. The Fappening (which saw sales of Kleenex and lubricant rise by 629%)
And the #1 thing that was trending all throughout 2014, which there was lots of visual proof...
1. The butt (we saw Nicki Minaj's and Jennifer Lopez's, but if I see Kim Kardashian's one more time...)
And that's the AllenBlog's 2014 Year in Review. So long, stay strong, God bless, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Monday, December 29, 2014
The Year in Pop Culture
The 86th Academy Awards may have been headlined by "Gravity" taking seven Oscars including Best Director for Alfonso Curano, but the main honors were saved for "12 Years A Slave" as it nabbed Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o), Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Matthew McConaughey and Cate Blanchett were easily honored Best Actor/Actress, while host Ellen DeGeneres bunched up as many stars as she could for the selife of all selfies. Now that was very SFW, as opposed to the dozens of NSFW selfies that were leaked to the whole world, which I'll get to later.
"Breaking Bad" wrapped up their run with their second Outstanding Drama Series at the 66th Primetime Emmys, followed by "Modern Family" continuing their Outstanding Comedy Series streak (tying with "Frasier" with five apiece). But despite the ever growing onslaught of Netflix and other streaming services, there were a lot of outstanding DVR-worthy moments all throughout television this year, brought to us by "True Detective" (and Alexandra Daddario's boobs), Shonda Rhimes's Thursday night trilogy (completed with "How To Get Away With Murder"), "Gotham", "NCIS: New Orleans", "Masters of Sex", and "Game of Thrones." Then there were those that were not DVR-worthy: "Gracepoint", "Utopia", "Manhattan Love Story", "The McCarthy's", "Red Band Society" (despite all the critical buzz), and "Bad Judge."
The biggest TV highlight was the ever changing late night landscape. It started with Jay Leno bowing out of "The Tonight Show" after 22 years with Jimmy Fallon taking the reins and the show back home to New York, leaving Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O'Brien high and dry in Los Angeles. Then David Letterman announced he's hanging it up next year, passing the torch to Stephen Colbert (who just wrapped up his "Colbert Report"). Craig Ferguson already finished his last "Late Late Show" before turning everything over to James Corden, but there was already one casualty: Arsenio Hall, whose revival failed after only one season. And on the cable side, Chelsea Handler said goodbye to E! and hello to Netflix.
"Interstellar" was, well...interstellar as far as movies were concerned, as were "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Lucy", "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies", and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Part 1)." Shailene Woodley had a breakout year with "Divergent" and "The Fault in our Stars"; "Boyhood's" acclaim has won the hearts of critics (and maybe Oscar voters); and "Let's Be Cops", "Robocop", and "Dumb and Dumber To?" It too won the hearts...of pissed-off moviegoers.
Who rocked it this year? Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" became our summer anthem; pint-sized Ariana Grande became a huge powerhouse; Pharrell Williams made us "Happy", Taylor Swift took us back to "1989"; Weird Al was...well, still Weird Al; Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga made the unlikeliest duet ever; former Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande left everything behind to "Break Free"; and it was all about the rear end thanks to Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, and Iggy Azalea. And my advice to Abigail Breslin: Please stick to acting; don't be another Rebecca Black or Don Johnson (yes, I'm old enough to remember "Heartbeat")!
Speaking of rear end...the most famous one of all, Kim Kardashian, bared hers in "Paper" magazine in an attempt to #breaktheinternet. Apple, on the other hand, broke record sales with their new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus; and when temperatures soared this summer, there was one charitable way to cool off: the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
Scandals? Yeah, there were many! Justin Bieber provided the bulk of them includng his smiling mugshot in Miami, but that was nothing compared to Orlando Bloom giving Biebs a taste of his own medicine in Spain. One other elevator video besides Ray Rice that made headlines featured Solange Knowles attacking Jay-Z outside the Met Ball gala, though cooler heads really prevailed in the end. "Modern Family's" Sarah Hyland put out a restraining order against ex-boyfriend Matt Prokop because of his abusive ways against her, "7th Heaven" star Stephen Collins's admission to molesting teenage girls while he was younger, and the continuation of Miley Cyrus's wild adventures ranging from her "Bangerz" tour to going nearly topless at public parties...while new boyfriend Patrick Schwarzenegger's enjoying all this!
It was also a year of A-list celebrity weddings worldwide. The biggie, of course, was George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin, who tied the knot in Venice, Italy; that would be followed by the other no one saw coming: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at a private ceremony in France. Other "I Do's" include: Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg, Stacy Keibler and Jared Pobre (baby daughter Ava Grace would follow months later), Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade, Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo, Katie Couric and John Molner, Jodie Foster and Alexandra Hedison, Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Elton John and David Furnish, and Scarlett Johansson and Romain Dauriac. Oh yeah, and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
As for the "I Don't's": Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (who would later date and call it quits with Jennifer Lawrence), Kris and Bruce Jenner, Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn, Ricki Lake and Christian Evans, Heidi Klum and Seal (divorce finally finalized in October), Jason Deluro and Jordin Sparks, and Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. Meanwhile
There were three major entertainment stories this year: First of course, were the hundreds of leaked nude photos featuring Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Rihanna, and a dozen other celebrities that exploded onto the Internet in what was called "The Fappening." While the makers of Kleenex and KY Jelly were high-fiving themselves over all this, the FBI however, wasn't celebrating and they're trying to pinpoint the mastermind behind, in Lawrence's words, a "sex crime".
That would be later followed by the sex scandal targeting Bill Cosby, as dozens of ladies including models Janice Dickinson and Beverly Johnson stepped forward claiming the comic legend sexually assaulted them decades ago. Cosby has vehemently denied those allegations with wife Camille standing by him every step of the way, while TV Land, Netflix, and NBC pulled the plugs on upcoming projects involving him.
Another that was still developing at publish time: Leaked emails by Sony Pictures targeting Angelina Jolie, Aaron Sorkin, and even President Obama which led to the pulling of their upcoming movie "The Interview" a week before its Christmas Day release. The film, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, was a satire about North Korean president Kim Jong Un; the FBI has confirmed that North Korea was behind all this and Obama said the studio made a big mistake in 86'ing the movie. Now, Sony has rectified that decision and the film was out on Christmas after all in only a handful of theaters as well as online.
There's only one more bit of business left to do, and that is to name my Entertainer of the Year: Disney's "Frozen." Now I originally announced on Twitter that it was going to be Taylor Swift, but even though her "1989" album sold like hotcakes and that tickets to her upcoming world tour next year were the ultimate stocking stuffer this Christmas, her alone was no match to the power of the most successful animated movie of all time. It may have came out in late 2013, but "Frozen's" popularity was carried over into 2014, with Oscar wins for Animated Feature and Song ("Let It Go") and of course, John Travolta bumbling Idina Menzel's name as "Adele Dazeem".
But that's only a movie, so my second Entertainer of the Year is a human: Steve Harvey! From his radio show in the morning, to his talk show in the afternoon, to "Family Feud" at night he has been deactivating mute buttons on remotes everywhere because just like Oprah Winfrey, Steve was a one-man dynamo all throughout 2014. His Emmy wins this year (especially for "Feud", which is continuing to run circles around "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" in the ratings) cemented his stature.
What's in the cards for 2015? We could be expecting quite an Oscar showdown between Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon thanks to their respective stellar performances in "Cake" and "Wild." The theatrical version of "Fifty Shades of Grey" is expected to steam up screens everywhere; Hilary Duff is returning to TV with "Younger", which has gotten immense buzz on social media; Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge will be welcoming another baby at the royal nursery; and who knows what Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus have up their sleeves this year? What we do know is starting January 1, we'll all find out together.
Next time: We conclude our Year in Review with the Top 20 Trends of 2014; where will Britney Spears rank this time?
Saturday, December 27, 2014
It was the year when the whole world faced fears of a virus you couldn't get from a computer.
The year when terrorism got a whole new crISIS of its own.
The year when police unrests in the East and West had Rodney King turning in his grave.
The year when the public voted the Republicans back in the Senate and Honey Boo Boo out of our lives.
The year when "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the "Captain America" sequel were #fawesome, while "Hercules", "Sex Tape", and "Winter's Tale" were #fails.
The year when one singer "shook off" her country roots, while booties were shaking everywhere from J.Lo to Nicki.
The year when a pint-sized powerhouse "broke free", while someone else broke the Internet.
The year when fighting a battle against a hot disease required a nice, cold dousing.
And yes...it was the year that we did get to see Jennifer Lawrence's boobs...and everybody else's.
That year was 2014.
Join the AllenBlog for a look back at another 52 weeks that changed the world.
Every day, every week throughout 2014, there has always been drama: The drama of the Ebola virus hitting America, the drama of a missing downed plane with everyone on board, the drama of a discontented president and a do-nothing government not getting the job done, the drama of waves of terrorism in outlying areas hitting our way, and the drama of corrupt police forces killing innocent, unarmed victims when they should be left alone.
Our first big drama this year was the Polar Vortex, which resulted in bone-chilling temperatures all throughout the country including Hawaii. But that pales in comparison to Winter Storms Leon and Pax that numbed the South, including here in Atlanta. For two periods in late January and mid-February, we've seen our freeways jammed as far as the eye can see, as motorists spent up to a whole day trying to get home.
Super Bowl XLVIII should've been called Super Blowout I, as a record 111.5 million viewers saw the Seattle Seahawks totally humiliate Peyton Manning and his Denver Broncos 43-8. The attention of the sports world would later shift from New York/New Jersey to Sochi, Russia, and the XXII Olympic Winter Games, where Meryl Davis and Charlie White claimed the inaugural ice dancing gold, Canada still ruled the hockey universe, Adelina Sotnikova made her home country proud in figure skating, and Shaun White's dynasty came to end as Switzerland's Iouri Podladtchikov became the new halfpipe king. In the end, Russia owned the medals podium with 33 (13 of them gold); United States, 9 golds and 28 overall.
Then there was the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, which saw the United States barely advancing to the next round, only to fall to Belgium. But after everything was said and done, it was Germany as the only one left standing.
The NFL had all kinds of drama off the field, starting with the video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice attacking his wife in an elevator in Atlantic and dragging her unconscious; Rice would be suspended indefinitely by the team but won his appeal of the decision, saying that the league was asleep at the wheel when it came to obtaining the footage. He's now waiting for any team to sign him as soon as possible.
Another involved Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings, who abused his young son in September but would remain suspended without pay until next April. However, the NFL Players Association filed an a lawsuit against the league after an arbitrator decided not to grant Peterson an appeal.
And there were countless non-Olympics/World Cup sports highlights: The San Antonio Spurs' sweet redemption by claiming the NBA championship they almost got last year (which resulted in LeBron James taking his talents back home to Cleveland), Bubba Watson's second Masters Green Jacket, Connecticut once again the mecca of college basketball, the Los Angeles Kings on top of the Stanley Cup throne once again, Florida State outranking Auburn in the last BCS National Championship game before the newly created College Football Playoffs, L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks leading to a lifetime ban from the NBA and his team put up for sale, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Hunter-Reay dominant in Daytona and Indianapolis respectively, the San Francisco Giants denying Kansas City's first World Series title in 29 years, a record-breaking Iditarod -- and his second -- for Dallas Seavey; and Tonalist's Belmont Stakes upset costing California Chrome the Triple Crown, extending that winless streak to 36 years.
Malaysia Airlines had a tumultous year, all stemming from the disappearance of Flight 370 off the Gulf of Thailand with all 239 people on board before crashing into the Indian Ocean. That would be followed in July by Flight 17, shot down by a missile in Ukraine killing 298 people. In an historic first, Popes John Paul II and John XXIII were canonized in the Vatican; there was turmoil in Ukraine as President Viktor Yanukovych was out and Oleksandr Turchynov was in and pro-Russian unrest that culminated in the annexation of Crimea; and 276 females were held hostage in a Nigerian school, raising global awareness with the #BringBackOurGirls hashtag on Twitter. But in light of all that, 17-year-old Malala Yousafzi became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
Meanwhile, same-sex marriages continue to take shape from coast to coast with the exception of Tennessee. From July to August, the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers and a Palestinan in the wake of growing tensions between Israel and Hamas led to Operation Protective Edge; 2,100 Palestinians and 71 Israelis were killed during those seven weeks. In April, the Korean ferry MV Sewol sunk with more that 290 on board; 35 tornadoes claimed 35 lives across the Midwest and Southern U.S.; a 6.0 earthquake struck Napa Valley, California in August; and President Barack Obama launched a coalition against the Islamic terrorist group ISIS, responsible for the beheadings and executions of three humanitarian workers.
But as in every year, we have experienced a lot of significant losses, including: Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mickey Rooney, Harold Ramis, Shirley Temple, Maya Angelou, game show hosts Jim Lange and Geoff Edwards, Richard Kiel, director/playwright Mike Nichols, professional wrestlers Mae Young and The Ultimate Warrior, fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, Jan Hooks, Ruby Dee, Sid Caesar, Don Pardo, Mary Ann Mobley, Maxmillian Schell, Pete Seeger, Bob Hoskins, Casey Kasem, Bobby Womack, Richard Attenborough, Lauren Bacall, James Garner, Elizabeth Pena, Ben Bradlee, Eli Wallach, Joe Cocker, television producer Glen Larson, and author P.D. James.
What were the three biggest stories of 2014 that had everybody on edge? The first was nationwide police unrest, starting with the shooting of Michael Brown that sparked unrests in Ferguson, Missouri and resumed in riots after a grand jury decided not to indict police officer Darren Wilson with protests spread across the country. It would be deja vu for the latter as far as Eric Garner was concerned, as a Staten Island grand jury refused to indict Daniel Pantaleo over the chokehold that killed him. Even LeBron James and Reggie Bush among sports stars had T-shirts which read "I can't breathe" (Garner's last words) during pregame warmups. And on the last weekend before Christmas in Brooklyn, police officers Rafael Ramos and Wen Jian Liu were shot to death in their patrol car before the gunman pulled the trigger on himself, igniting a new wave of protests throughout the Big Apple.
Second was the Ebola epidemic spinning out of control, even making its way to the United States. Those stricken with the virus such as Dr. Keith Brantly, Thomas Eric Duncan, Nona Pham, Amber Vinson, and Craig Spencer were fighting for their lives in hospitals in Omaha, Dallas, and Atlanta; all but Duncan got clean bills of health and were named "Time" magazine's Person of the Year.
And finally...with President Obama's approval ratings still in a freefall, voters took to the polls in November to stage a political intervention. The result: Republicans retaining control of the House but claiming the Senate. Meanwhile, those in Oregon, the District of Columbia, and my home state of Alaska said "yes" to legalizing marijuana; Alaska and three other states also voted to raise the minimum wage, which became an issue as China once again surpassed the U.S. as the world's largest economy.
Now we look forward to what kind of new real-life dramas 2015 will bring us. One thing that's already slated is the general election in Britain, whose outcome could offer us a sneak preview of 2016. As of publish time, President Obama recently announced that the United States and Cuba should kiss and make up after 55 years, meaning those Eisenhower-era cars that have been on the streets of Havana all this time may be headed for the auto museums here. And there are countless others that will be developed in the blink of an eye; the first drama will start as soon as the ball drops.
Next time when the Year in Review continues: the biggest entertainment stories, trends, and everything else.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Hello, everybody. As we're doing this, a newsflash: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were finally wed in a private ceremony last Saturday in France. This was Pitt's second marriage (Jennifer Aniston, anyone?) and Jolie's third (Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton), and one that we weren't expecting after seven years together.
Now...it was a good night for "Breaking Bad" as the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards Monday night as the already ended AMC series went out on a high note with Drama Series and acting honors for Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Anna Gunn. "Modern Family", despite the threat of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black", remained unstoppable with their fifth Comedy Series prize (tying with "Frasier") and Ty Burrell's second Supporting Actor.
But the major winners were all reruns anyway: Jim Parsons, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (still Best Actor/Actress-Comedy), Julianna Margulies (Best Actress-Drama), "The Colbert Report" (still Variety Series despite Gwen Stefani's flub; also won for Writing as the Creative Arts awards), and "The Amazing Race" (once again Reality-Competition program after losing to "The Voice" last year). Other winners include "Fargo" (Miniseries) and "The Normal Heart" (Movie).
This was the first time since 1976 that the Emmys were held on a Monday, and for good reason: The Sunday was already booked for MTV's Video Music Awards across town at the Forum (which I won't get into) and that being on NBC this year, they were committed to "Sunday Night Football." Look at this year's Grammys; they had them in mid-January to avoid clashing with the Olympics, and the Oscars moving from late March to late February/early March in 2004 had the American Music Awards being held twice in 2003. Despite all that, the show pulled in a strong 15.6 million viewers, already making it the week's top program.
Other than host Seth Meyers moving things along (and ending the show a few minutes ahead of schedule) and Cranston and Louis-Dreyfus re-creating their "Seinfeld" scene, what moved us of course was Billy Crystal's tribute to Robin Williams that capped the In Memoriam segment that also included Mickey Rooney, Paul Walker, James Garner, Maya Angelou, and Don Pardo.
Once again, without running down the fashion roundup, my top five best-dressed were: A very glowing Hayden Panettiere (Lorena Sarbu), Amy Poehler (Theia), Sofia Vergara (Roberto Cavalli), Lucy Liu (Zac Posen), and Halle Berry (Elie Saab). The bottom two worst dressed besides Lena Dunham: Debra Messing (Angel Sanchez) and Katherine Heigl (John Haynes).
And last but not least...Labor Day weekend is two things: The unofficial end of summer, and of course, the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual "Show of Strength" telethon Sunday on ABC. Among the many neuromuscular diseases they're trying to find a cure for is ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, in which awareness has been raised in such a big way.
For the last month now, almost the entire world has been taking part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge including numerous celebrities too many to name and even former President George W. Bush. The premise is this: Take a bucket or cooler full of ice, fill it with water, issue a challenge to who knows how many people (friends, family, co-workers, even the Pope), have yourself or somebody dump it on you, and make sure you get it on video. Oh yeah, and make a donation to the ALS Association, who thanks to all this has raised $94.3 million as of Wednesday.
But not everybody has been digging this summer craze. Pamela Anderson on her Facebook page has been slamming the ALS Association for animal testing saying, "Recent experiments funded by the ALS Association, mice had holes drilled into their skulls, were inflicted with crippling illnesses, and were forced to run on an inclined treadmill until they collapsed from exhaustion. Monkeys had chemicals injected into their brains and backs and were later killed and dissected."
The California Biomedical Research Association, however, tends to differ. According to them, animal research has always been used in medical breakthroughs over the decades. Remember when monkey kidney cells were the key to Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine in the 1950's? That was the result of animal research.
Back to the ice bucket challenge: As someone who used to donate to MDA, nobody has called me out yet. But if they do, I'll be ready...to take a worthy plunge colder than Nestea! So long and stay strong.
Now...it was a good night for "Breaking Bad" as the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards Monday night as the already ended AMC series went out on a high note with Drama Series and acting honors for Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Anna Gunn. "Modern Family", despite the threat of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black", remained unstoppable with their fifth Comedy Series prize (tying with "Frasier") and Ty Burrell's second Supporting Actor.
But the major winners were all reruns anyway: Jim Parsons, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (still Best Actor/Actress-Comedy), Julianna Margulies (Best Actress-Drama), "The Colbert Report" (still Variety Series despite Gwen Stefani's flub; also won for Writing as the Creative Arts awards), and "The Amazing Race" (once again Reality-Competition program after losing to "The Voice" last year). Other winners include "Fargo" (Miniseries) and "The Normal Heart" (Movie).
This was the first time since 1976 that the Emmys were held on a Monday, and for good reason: The Sunday was already booked for MTV's Video Music Awards across town at the Forum (which I won't get into) and that being on NBC this year, they were committed to "Sunday Night Football." Look at this year's Grammys; they had them in mid-January to avoid clashing with the Olympics, and the Oscars moving from late March to late February/early March in 2004 had the American Music Awards being held twice in 2003. Despite all that, the show pulled in a strong 15.6 million viewers, already making it the week's top program.
Other than host Seth Meyers moving things along (and ending the show a few minutes ahead of schedule) and Cranston and Louis-Dreyfus re-creating their "Seinfeld" scene, what moved us of course was Billy Crystal's tribute to Robin Williams that capped the In Memoriam segment that also included Mickey Rooney, Paul Walker, James Garner, Maya Angelou, and Don Pardo.
Once again, without running down the fashion roundup, my top five best-dressed were: A very glowing Hayden Panettiere (Lorena Sarbu), Amy Poehler (Theia), Sofia Vergara (Roberto Cavalli), Lucy Liu (Zac Posen), and Halle Berry (Elie Saab). The bottom two worst dressed besides Lena Dunham: Debra Messing (Angel Sanchez) and Katherine Heigl (John Haynes).
And last but not least...Labor Day weekend is two things: The unofficial end of summer, and of course, the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual "Show of Strength" telethon Sunday on ABC. Among the many neuromuscular diseases they're trying to find a cure for is ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, in which awareness has been raised in such a big way.
For the last month now, almost the entire world has been taking part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge including numerous celebrities too many to name and even former President George W. Bush. The premise is this: Take a bucket or cooler full of ice, fill it with water, issue a challenge to who knows how many people (friends, family, co-workers, even the Pope), have yourself or somebody dump it on you, and make sure you get it on video. Oh yeah, and make a donation to the ALS Association, who thanks to all this has raised $94.3 million as of Wednesday.
But not everybody has been digging this summer craze. Pamela Anderson on her Facebook page has been slamming the ALS Association for animal testing saying, "Recent experiments funded by the ALS Association, mice had holes drilled into their skulls, were inflicted with crippling illnesses, and were forced to run on an inclined treadmill until they collapsed from exhaustion. Monkeys had chemicals injected into their brains and backs and were later killed and dissected."
The California Biomedical Research Association, however, tends to differ. According to them, animal research has always been used in medical breakthroughs over the decades. Remember when monkey kidney cells were the key to Dr. Jonas Salk's polio vaccine in the 1950's? That was the result of animal research.
Back to the ice bucket challenge: As someone who used to donate to MDA, nobody has called me out yet. But if they do, I'll be ready...to take a worthy plunge colder than Nestea! So long and stay strong.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Hello, everybody. Boy, it's been months, but what has been up in my life? A new job here in Atlanta, of course (and in the very high-end Buckhead district)! But other than that, scores of things going on, starting first up with -- you guessed it -- the World Cup.
Group play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil has already ended and we're now into the next phase: Win or go home. And in the case of the United States, they ain't going home...at least not yet.
After beating Ghana in their first game, the attention turned to Portugal last Sunday, where a win against them means a berth in the next round. We were just a few heartbeats away from that, until Portugal, thanks in no small part to Cristiano Ronaldo, tied it up at 2-2 in the very end. Not since Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals (in which San Antonio almost won the title until Miami's Ray Allen's 3-pointer kept his team alive; the Spurs truly got their redemption this year) have we ever seen the whole country -- especially soccer fans watching the game at Atlanta's Soccerfest in Brookhaven Park -- suffer emotional strokes after that last-second goal.
So it's on to the next game against Germany, and despite our 1-0 loss...we barely made it to the Sweet 16! Germany may have won Group G (which has been dubbed the "Group of Death"), but it's Portugal and Ghana -- among several countries including England, Australia, and defending champions Spain -- that's gone home. We survived Ghana, Portugal, and Germany; can we do the same with Belgium? We'll find out on Tuesday.
Now the USA/Portugal match was on television, but right after that, most of us hit our computers, tablets, and/or smartphones for that other big event on Sunday: The 41st Daytime Emmy Awards. Now usually I've recapped the Primetime Emmys, but quite frankly, the daytime counterpart has never been the same since Susan Lucci finally won in 1999 after some 20-odd nominations. At one point it ended up on The CW and even HLN to the point that nobody even cared anymore.
So, what did they do this year? Put the show exclusively online and, just like PBS, commercial-free! It could've been also rated TV-MA because presenter Sharon Osbourne, knowing that the awards aren't televised anymore, dropped a few F-bombs before awarding Best Drama to "The Young and The Restless." The other big winner was the absent Steve Harvey, claiming both Game Show Host ("Family Feud") and Informative Talk Show.
And last but not least: I've said that most of Atlanta watched the USA/Portugal match at Soccerfest last Sunday, which is quite fitting as we have become a soccer-crazed city as of late.
It started last spring with the Mexico/Nigeria exhibition match, which filled the Georgia Dome to the brim. That success led to the announcement of a Major League Soccer franchise, helmed by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank; they'll be playing in the new Falcons stadium under construction right now. And on the night before I started my new job last month, I went to a Braves game for the first time. Fairbanks may have a baseball team of their own with the Goldpanners, but let's face it: baseball season back in Alaska lasts about only 13 weeks while high school football runs from September till late November.
In about a few years when soccer comes our way (team name TBA), we're all going to be in our seats with our sweet tea shouting, "GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL, ya'll!" So long and stay strong.
Group play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil has already ended and we're now into the next phase: Win or go home. And in the case of the United States, they ain't going home...at least not yet.
After beating Ghana in their first game, the attention turned to Portugal last Sunday, where a win against them means a berth in the next round. We were just a few heartbeats away from that, until Portugal, thanks in no small part to Cristiano Ronaldo, tied it up at 2-2 in the very end. Not since Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals (in which San Antonio almost won the title until Miami's Ray Allen's 3-pointer kept his team alive; the Spurs truly got their redemption this year) have we ever seen the whole country -- especially soccer fans watching the game at Atlanta's Soccerfest in Brookhaven Park -- suffer emotional strokes after that last-second goal.
So it's on to the next game against Germany, and despite our 1-0 loss...we barely made it to the Sweet 16! Germany may have won Group G (which has been dubbed the "Group of Death"), but it's Portugal and Ghana -- among several countries including England, Australia, and defending champions Spain -- that's gone home. We survived Ghana, Portugal, and Germany; can we do the same with Belgium? We'll find out on Tuesday.
Now the USA/Portugal match was on television, but right after that, most of us hit our computers, tablets, and/or smartphones for that other big event on Sunday: The 41st Daytime Emmy Awards. Now usually I've recapped the Primetime Emmys, but quite frankly, the daytime counterpart has never been the same since Susan Lucci finally won in 1999 after some 20-odd nominations. At one point it ended up on The CW and even HLN to the point that nobody even cared anymore.
So, what did they do this year? Put the show exclusively online and, just like PBS, commercial-free! It could've been also rated TV-MA because presenter Sharon Osbourne, knowing that the awards aren't televised anymore, dropped a few F-bombs before awarding Best Drama to "The Young and The Restless." The other big winner was the absent Steve Harvey, claiming both Game Show Host ("Family Feud") and Informative Talk Show.
And last but not least: I've said that most of Atlanta watched the USA/Portugal match at Soccerfest last Sunday, which is quite fitting as we have become a soccer-crazed city as of late.
It started last spring with the Mexico/Nigeria exhibition match, which filled the Georgia Dome to the brim. That success led to the announcement of a Major League Soccer franchise, helmed by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank; they'll be playing in the new Falcons stadium under construction right now. And on the night before I started my new job last month, I went to a Braves game for the first time. Fairbanks may have a baseball team of their own with the Goldpanners, but let's face it: baseball season back in Alaska lasts about only 13 weeks while high school football runs from September till late November.
In about a few years when soccer comes our way (team name TBA), we're all going to be in our seats with our sweet tea shouting, "GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL, ya'll!" So long and stay strong.
Monday, March 03, 2014
Hello, everybody. We'll get to the Oscars in a moment, but I should start with the serious news up front.
First up...the continuing conflict in Ukraine, as the United States and its allies are left with a decision to bolster their missile defense systems in Europe. Secretary of State John Kerry will be heading to Kiev on Tuesday to meet with the Ukrainian government while calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull his troops out of the Crimerian peninsula, which until 60 years ago was part of their country's territory. But according their Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Crimeria is still on Ukrainian soil despite the Russian presence.
Back here in the States, the week has already started with the never-ending winter with the latest (and hopefully last) blast pummeling the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, closing down schools and businesses yet again. Up to 10 inches of snow will have fallen in Washington and Baltimore with a foot of snow to come in New Jersey and parts of West Virginia, with governors of Tennessee and Virginia declaring a state of emergency.
Punxsutawney Phil was right about those six extra weeks of winter coming our way. Here, we have General Beau Lee, whose forecast called for an early spring in Atlanta. When it comes to weather in March, it's all about asking yourself one question: Who do you trust?
And now...
"Gravity" may have walked out of the 86th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday with the most overall haul (seven Oscars including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron); but in the end, the more prestigious honors belonged to "12 Years A Slave" with Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o, and Best Picture of 2013. Those two films and "American Hustle" were in a cutthroat battle for the big prize, with "Slave" coming in with a huge advantage after racking up Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA wins ("Hustle" on the other hand, got nothing, as did "The Wolf of Wall Street").
As predicted, Matthew McConaughey was named Best Actor for "Dallas Buyers Club" with Jared Leto claiming Supporting Actor, while the heavily favored Cate Blanchett completed her winning streak with her second overall Oscar, this time Best Actress for "Blue Jasmine."
Other big winners include: "Frozen" (Animated Feature and Original Song ("Let It Go")), "20 Feet From Stardom" (Documentary Feature, punctuated by Darlene Love ultimately singing her praises), Italy's "The Great Beauty" (Foreign Language Film), and "Her" (Original Screenplay in a surprise).
Ellen DeGeneres in her second go-around as host put a whole lot of fun into the 3 1/2-hour Oscarcast, as opposed to Seth McFarlane's fawning last year. In addition to serving pizza to the audience, she was also solely responsible for the selfie that crashed Twitter, amassing 2 million retweets and counting. But I thought the best highlight went to Bette Midler in her first visit to the Oscar stage with "Wind Beneath My Wings" closing out the In Memoriam segment (which was probably completed on the fly to include Harold Ramis, whom Bill Murray gave a shout-out to)
One major highlight prior to all that's going on was in the skies above Los Angeles, as torrential rains threatened to put a damper on the fashion action. But thankfully, the sun came out to play just in time, though Jennifer Lawrence still couldn't get the sting from last year out of her head as she tripped in her red Dior yet again...this time on the red carpet. Though they both graciously lost to Blanchett, Sandra Bullock and Amy Adams looked like Old Hollywood in Alexander McQueen and Gucci respectively, while among the men, Jared Leto looked like a true winner himself in his Yves Saint Laurent jacket and red bow tie.
I think the best honor goes to Lupita Nyong'o in her icy blue Prada, but (back to the guys) Pharrell Williams? This is the Oscars, not the Grammys; leave those shorts in the house!
Cate Blanchett has always been the odds-on favorite ever since "Blue Jasmine" was released last summer, and her Best Actress prize did the trick for her. As for Lupita Nyong'o? Like Jennifer Lawrence last year, this is definitely not the last we'll be seeing of her...well, unlike Mo'Nique when she won that very same award four years ago.
And then there was the Sexiest Man of 2005 winner whose Texas charm has drawn the females wild for years. Even though his big-screen persona has now been carried over to the small screen in HBO's "True Detective", there is no doubt that Matthew McConaughey's stature is well cemented now that he and his wife Camilla have welcomed the newest member of their family: an 8 1/2 bundle of joy named Oscar.
Heroes and Hollywood may have been the theme, but there was one other keyword all throughout the 86th Academy Awards that held true: Diversity, and we've seen it. Quite fittingly, the Oscars did soar to new heights in more ways than one. So long and stay strong.
First up...the continuing conflict in Ukraine, as the United States and its allies are left with a decision to bolster their missile defense systems in Europe. Secretary of State John Kerry will be heading to Kiev on Tuesday to meet with the Ukrainian government while calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull his troops out of the Crimerian peninsula, which until 60 years ago was part of their country's territory. But according their Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Crimeria is still on Ukrainian soil despite the Russian presence.
Back here in the States, the week has already started with the never-ending winter with the latest (and hopefully last) blast pummeling the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, closing down schools and businesses yet again. Up to 10 inches of snow will have fallen in Washington and Baltimore with a foot of snow to come in New Jersey and parts of West Virginia, with governors of Tennessee and Virginia declaring a state of emergency.
Punxsutawney Phil was right about those six extra weeks of winter coming our way. Here, we have General Beau Lee, whose forecast called for an early spring in Atlanta. When it comes to weather in March, it's all about asking yourself one question: Who do you trust?
And now...
Slavery and "Gravity" triumph at the Oscars!
"Gravity" may have walked out of the 86th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday with the most overall haul (seven Oscars including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron); but in the end, the more prestigious honors belonged to "12 Years A Slave" with Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong'o, and Best Picture of 2013. Those two films and "American Hustle" were in a cutthroat battle for the big prize, with "Slave" coming in with a huge advantage after racking up Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA wins ("Hustle" on the other hand, got nothing, as did "The Wolf of Wall Street").
As predicted, Matthew McConaughey was named Best Actor for "Dallas Buyers Club" with Jared Leto claiming Supporting Actor, while the heavily favored Cate Blanchett completed her winning streak with her second overall Oscar, this time Best Actress for "Blue Jasmine."
Other big winners include: "Frozen" (Animated Feature and Original Song ("Let It Go")), "20 Feet From Stardom" (Documentary Feature, punctuated by Darlene Love ultimately singing her praises), Italy's "The Great Beauty" (Foreign Language Film), and "Her" (Original Screenplay in a surprise).
Ellen DeGeneres in her second go-around as host put a whole lot of fun into the 3 1/2-hour Oscarcast, as opposed to Seth McFarlane's fawning last year. In addition to serving pizza to the audience, she was also solely responsible for the selfie that crashed Twitter, amassing 2 million retweets and counting. But I thought the best highlight went to Bette Midler in her first visit to the Oscar stage with "Wind Beneath My Wings" closing out the In Memoriam segment (which was probably completed on the fly to include Harold Ramis, whom Bill Murray gave a shout-out to)
One major highlight prior to all that's going on was in the skies above Los Angeles, as torrential rains threatened to put a damper on the fashion action. But thankfully, the sun came out to play just in time, though Jennifer Lawrence still couldn't get the sting from last year out of her head as she tripped in her red Dior yet again...this time on the red carpet. Though they both graciously lost to Blanchett, Sandra Bullock and Amy Adams looked like Old Hollywood in Alexander McQueen and Gucci respectively, while among the men, Jared Leto looked like a true winner himself in his Yves Saint Laurent jacket and red bow tie.
I think the best honor goes to Lupita Nyong'o in her icy blue Prada, but (back to the guys) Pharrell Williams? This is the Oscars, not the Grammys; leave those shorts in the house!
Cate Blanchett has always been the odds-on favorite ever since "Blue Jasmine" was released last summer, and her Best Actress prize did the trick for her. As for Lupita Nyong'o? Like Jennifer Lawrence last year, this is definitely not the last we'll be seeing of her...well, unlike Mo'Nique when she won that very same award four years ago.
And then there was the Sexiest Man of 2005 winner whose Texas charm has drawn the females wild for years. Even though his big-screen persona has now been carried over to the small screen in HBO's "True Detective", there is no doubt that Matthew McConaughey's stature is well cemented now that he and his wife Camilla have welcomed the newest member of their family: an 8 1/2 bundle of joy named Oscar.
Heroes and Hollywood may have been the theme, but there was one other keyword all throughout the 86th Academy Awards that held true: Diversity, and we've seen it. Quite fittingly, the Oscars did soar to new heights in more ways than one. So long and stay strong.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Hello, everybody. I'll get to my Oscar preview in a bit, but first up, the latest on Young Hollywood's bad boy and a relocation:
Now other than Keshia Knight Pulliam, I can't think of any other major celebrities that call Atlanta home. But soon, you can add Justin Bieber to the list as he has reportedly purchased a home in the exclusive Buckhead area, which has been dubbed the Beverly Hills of the South.
Apparently, some people were so against their newest resident that they wanted Bieber out...or so we thought? A group that called themselves the "Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition" started up a Facebook page and on Monday morning, even went all out to hold a protest near Blackland Street, where the house is located. It garnered worldwide media attention, but in the end...it was all for show! Yes, this whole thing was brought to us by Rock 100.5 radio's The Regular Guys, the brains behind the phony group/fake protest, and we were all duped. Even though there were only five "protesters", two others were actually pro-Bieber. Sam Massell, the head of the real Buckhead Coalition, had nothing to do with the faux protest and is welcoming Bieber with open arms.
After that prank, I'm really all for Biebs shacking it up in Atlanta; but since it's that time of year once again, the Girl Scouts should be given fair warning.
And now...with the Winter Olympics in Sochi already over, we are immediately moving forward to two big events this weekend: the 42nd annual running of the Iditarod back in Alaska in which dog mushing's biggest names will be roughing it to see who'll be the first to Nome; and of course, the 86th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday. For the latter, crews have been working round the clock to prevent a soggy red carpet as those aforementioned rains are continuing to pound Los Angeles with a vengeance.
Meanwhile, host Ellen DeGeneres will be doing everything in her power to get the show back to becoming a major event again in the face of not just Richter scale ratings, but also AMC's "The Walking Dead" already ruling Sunday nights after taking a chunk of viewers away from the Olympics. A lot has changed since DeGeneres last hosted in 2006, but after last year's host Seth MacFarlane got some lambasting (thanks primarily to "We Saw Your Boobs") followed by Billy Crystal's rusty return and James Franco and Anne Hathaway bombing (though Hathaway got a lot of redemption also last year with her Supporting Actress win), the Academy felt that Ellen is the safe bet.
"American Hustle", "Gravity", and "12 Years A Slave" are locked in a three-way battle for Best Picture with "Slave" already the heavy favorite. As for "Captain Philips", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Her", "Nebraska", "Philomena", and "The Wolf of Wall Street"? They wished it was back to just five nominees.
Supporting Actor may be all about Jared Leto, but Barkhad Abdi, Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender, and Jonah Hill in the mix. The Supporting Actress showdown is between Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lawrence, who wants to add that to go along with the Best Actress she collected last year (Sally Hawkins, 2000 Best Actress Julia Roberts, and June Squibb are also in there).
Matthew McConaughey may have Best Actor in the bag, but he's not alone as Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Chiwetel Ejiofor could take that away from him. And Best Actress? If not Cate Blanchett, then Amy Adams', Sandra Bullock's (winner of that same category four years ago), Judi Dench's, or three-timer Meryl Streep's names could be on that envelope instead.
With all that said, here's whose names I think will be embedded on that ultimate piece of hardware after Sunday night:
Now other than Keshia Knight Pulliam, I can't think of any other major celebrities that call Atlanta home. But soon, you can add Justin Bieber to the list as he has reportedly purchased a home in the exclusive Buckhead area, which has been dubbed the Beverly Hills of the South.
Apparently, some people were so against their newest resident that they wanted Bieber out...or so we thought? A group that called themselves the "Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition" started up a Facebook page and on Monday morning, even went all out to hold a protest near Blackland Street, where the house is located. It garnered worldwide media attention, but in the end...it was all for show! Yes, this whole thing was brought to us by Rock 100.5 radio's The Regular Guys, the brains behind the phony group/fake protest, and we were all duped. Even though there were only five "protesters", two others were actually pro-Bieber. Sam Massell, the head of the real Buckhead Coalition, had nothing to do with the faux protest and is welcoming Bieber with open arms.
After that prank, I'm really all for Biebs shacking it up in Atlanta; but since it's that time of year once again, the Girl Scouts should be given fair warning.
And now...with the Winter Olympics in Sochi already over, we are immediately moving forward to two big events this weekend: the 42nd annual running of the Iditarod back in Alaska in which dog mushing's biggest names will be roughing it to see who'll be the first to Nome; and of course, the 86th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday. For the latter, crews have been working round the clock to prevent a soggy red carpet as those aforementioned rains are continuing to pound Los Angeles with a vengeance.
Meanwhile, host Ellen DeGeneres will be doing everything in her power to get the show back to becoming a major event again in the face of not just Richter scale ratings, but also AMC's "The Walking Dead" already ruling Sunday nights after taking a chunk of viewers away from the Olympics. A lot has changed since DeGeneres last hosted in 2006, but after last year's host Seth MacFarlane got some lambasting (thanks primarily to "We Saw Your Boobs") followed by Billy Crystal's rusty return and James Franco and Anne Hathaway bombing (though Hathaway got a lot of redemption also last year with her Supporting Actress win), the Academy felt that Ellen is the safe bet.
"American Hustle", "Gravity", and "12 Years A Slave" are locked in a three-way battle for Best Picture with "Slave" already the heavy favorite. As for "Captain Philips", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Her", "Nebraska", "Philomena", and "The Wolf of Wall Street"? They wished it was back to just five nominees.
Supporting Actor may be all about Jared Leto, but Barkhad Abdi, Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender, and Jonah Hill in the mix. The Supporting Actress showdown is between Lupita Nyong'o and Jennifer Lawrence, who wants to add that to go along with the Best Actress she collected last year (Sally Hawkins, 2000 Best Actress Julia Roberts, and June Squibb are also in there).
Matthew McConaughey may have Best Actor in the bag, but he's not alone as Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Chiwetel Ejiofor could take that away from him. And Best Actress? If not Cate Blanchett, then Amy Adams', Sandra Bullock's (winner of that same category four years ago), Judi Dench's, or three-timer Meryl Streep's names could be on that envelope instead.
With all that said, here's whose names I think will be embedded on that ultimate piece of hardware after Sunday night:
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Jared Leto
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Jennifer Lawrence had one hell of a 2013 with her memorable trip to the Oscar stage as the headliner, but she's been a workaholic and is deserving of a long breather. The chances of back-to back Oscars have already been against her, so it's safe to say that Lupita Nyong'o is the easy bet.
BEST ACTOR: Matthew McConaughey
BEST ACTRESS: Sandra Bullock may have also shared the same sentiment with Jennifer Lawrence, but remember what Mo'Nique said when she won in 2010: It's the performances, not the politics (or your name, for that matter), that land you the Oscar, and Cate Blanchett's in "Blue Jasmine" was a whole lot powerful than political.
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
BEST PICTURE: "12 Years A Slave"
We'll see how I fare Sunday on the original Show of Shows (sorry, Wrestlemania!), with my full recap to follow on this blog Monday. So long and stay strong.
Monday, February 03, 2014
Super Blowout for Seattle!
Hello, everybody. In what was one of the most lopsided finishes in history, the Seattle Seahawks ran circles around the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII Sunday night. Fueled by their powerful defense, linebacker Malcolm Smith was named the game's MVP, giving the Broncos' Peyton Manning the worst defeat of his career.
A blowout Super Bowl like this has also resulted into blowout ratings. The game pulled in a new all-time record 111.5 million viewers, knocking the series finale of "M*A*S*H" out of the top five!!!
Maybe it was because of New Jersey natives Queen Latifah and opera superstar Renee Fleming with "America The Beautiful" and the "Star-Spangled Banner" respectively before kickoff. Maybe it was because of the unseasonably warm climates of MetLife Stadium (49 degrees!), with fears that a blizzard might postpone the big game. Maybe it was because of Hall of Famer Joe Namath and his coat that made the folks at PETA switch to the Puppy Bowl. Maybe it was because of Bruno Mars at halftime with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which I thought was excellent though Bruno, for the love of God, should get a haircut!
Or maybe, perhaps MAYBE, it was the commercials. Crude was out, class was in this time, and here were my top five favorites from the game:
5. Coca-Cola's "It's Beautiful" (remember the controversial Spanish version of our national anthem years ago? This one, on the other hand, wasn't like that in my opinion)
4. Bud Light's "Ian's Up For Whatever" (what really happens when you cast a llama, Minka Kelly, One Republic, and Arnold Schwarzenegger alongside an average Joe? Hilarity ensues!)
3. Radio Shack's "Phone Call" (Whatcha gonna do when the California Raisins, Jason from "Friday the 13th", ALF, Chucky from "Child's Play", Q*Bert, Mary Lou Retton, and Hulk Hogan clean out your very outdated store still full of boom boxes and Tandy computers and make an ass out of you?)
2. Audi's "Doberhuahua" (which was why the Puppy Bowl took a chunk of the Super Bowl's ratings this year)
A blowout Super Bowl like this has also resulted into blowout ratings. The game pulled in a new all-time record 111.5 million viewers, knocking the series finale of "M*A*S*H" out of the top five!!!
Maybe it was because of New Jersey natives Queen Latifah and opera superstar Renee Fleming with "America The Beautiful" and the "Star-Spangled Banner" respectively before kickoff. Maybe it was because of the unseasonably warm climates of MetLife Stadium (49 degrees!), with fears that a blizzard might postpone the big game. Maybe it was because of Hall of Famer Joe Namath and his coat that made the folks at PETA switch to the Puppy Bowl. Maybe it was because of Bruno Mars at halftime with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which I thought was excellent though Bruno, for the love of God, should get a haircut!
Or maybe, perhaps MAYBE, it was the commercials. Crude was out, class was in this time, and here were my top five favorites from the game:
5. Coca-Cola's "It's Beautiful" (remember the controversial Spanish version of our national anthem years ago? This one, on the other hand, wasn't like that in my opinion)
4. Bud Light's "Ian's Up For Whatever" (what really happens when you cast a llama, Minka Kelly, One Republic, and Arnold Schwarzenegger alongside an average Joe? Hilarity ensues!)
3. Radio Shack's "Phone Call" (Whatcha gonna do when the California Raisins, Jason from "Friday the 13th", ALF, Chucky from "Child's Play", Q*Bert, Mary Lou Retton, and Hulk Hogan clean out your very outdated store still full of boom boxes and Tandy computers and make an ass out of you?)
2. Audi's "Doberhuahua" (which was why the Puppy Bowl took a chunk of the Super Bowl's ratings this year)
And my number one favorite commercial from the Super Bowl which was also tops in "USA Today's" Ad Meter:
1. Budweiser's "Puppy Love"
(the King of Beers remained the King of Super Bowl ads, and this one was a prime, touching example)
There were others that failed to impress me, like Chrysler. They were tops on my list for three years in a row, but their "American Import" with Bob Dylan? They missed the mark this time. Scarlett Johansson's SodaStream ad (in which there was an alternate ending) also fizzled, as did Maserati's with Quvenzhane Wallis, Dannon Oikos' "Spill" after all the pre-game buzz, and newcomers Turbo Tax and Squarespace. Talk about $4 million for 30 seconds of ad time being pissed away.
The last Seattle sports team to ever win a major title was the 1979 Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder). That 35-year drought has come to an end, as another trophy is coming their way...the Vince Lombardi Trophy. All of the Emerald City is still celebrating, as is my brother Lawrence in Tacoma and especially the whole state of Alaska, which has been Seahawk Country all along. And for this Super Bowl blowout, at least they, uh, "smoked" Manning and company.
Now while all this was happening, there was one major story developing on the other end of the George Washington Bridge: Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won an Oscar in 2006 for "Capote" and has also starred in "The Hunger Games" among other films, was found dead in his New York City apartment late Sunday morning of an apparent drug overdose; he was 46. An autopsy was conducted Monday while we have learned new details on his tragic death, as Hoffman had a syringe in his arm and packets of heroin stamped with an ace of hearts symbol.
The actor joined the "Hunger Games" franchise with "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay"; he was here in Atlanta working on both films. Lionsgate has announced that Hoffman won't be replaced and said in a statement: "Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We're very fortunate that he graced our 'Hunger Games' family. Losing him in his prime is a tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Philip's family."
This is the second time in seven months that we have lost someone who was in the prime of his or her life; Cory Monteith is the other. And after that other week, I hope Philip Seymour Hoffman serves as a wake-up call to Justin Bieber after his DUI arrest/smiling mugshot.
And last but not least: President Obama's State of the Union Address snagged in a paltry 33 million viewers, as the state of Atlanta, Georgia was a whole lot more important. All last week, a violent snowstorm closed down schools and businesses and our freeways turning into something out of "The Walking Dead", as hundreds of cars took 12 hours or even more trying to get home from work. A lot of fingers have been pointed at Mayor Kasim Reed and Governor Nathan Deal to blame for all this, as Atlanta thought they learned from their mistakes stemming from the 2011 snowstorm that shut the city down for days though since then, they were well prepared.
Meanwhile, my folks back in Alaska had a nice laugh at all this, as at the same time, temperatures hit to as far as 60 degrees! But when it comes to heavy snow like we had, they are the experts at handling it.
Now all my life in Alaska, I've had my share of brutal winters, but Atlanta this time of year is a completely different animal. But whose winter is the 800-pound gorilla of them all? I settle this score once and for all in my...
The actor joined the "Hunger Games" franchise with "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay"; he was here in Atlanta working on both films. Lionsgate has announced that Hoffman won't be replaced and said in a statement: "Philip Seymour Hoffman was a singular talent and one of the most gifted actors of our generation. We're very fortunate that he graced our 'Hunger Games' family. Losing him in his prime is a tragedy, and we send our deepest condolences to Philip's family."
This is the second time in seven months that we have lost someone who was in the prime of his or her life; Cory Monteith is the other. And after that other week, I hope Philip Seymour Hoffman serves as a wake-up call to Justin Bieber after his DUI arrest/smiling mugshot.
And last but not least: President Obama's State of the Union Address snagged in a paltry 33 million viewers, as the state of Atlanta, Georgia was a whole lot more important. All last week, a violent snowstorm closed down schools and businesses and our freeways turning into something out of "The Walking Dead", as hundreds of cars took 12 hours or even more trying to get home from work. A lot of fingers have been pointed at Mayor Kasim Reed and Governor Nathan Deal to blame for all this, as Atlanta thought they learned from their mistakes stemming from the 2011 snowstorm that shut the city down for days though since then, they were well prepared.
Meanwhile, my folks back in Alaska had a nice laugh at all this, as at the same time, temperatures hit to as far as 60 degrees! But when it comes to heavy snow like we had, they are the experts at handling it.
Now all my life in Alaska, I've had my share of brutal winters, but Atlanta this time of year is a completely different animal. But whose winter is the 800-pound gorilla of them all? I settle this score once and for all in my...
Winter in Alaska vs. Winter in Atlanta
ON A CLEAR WINTER NIGHT YOU CAN SEE:
Winter in Alaska: The Northern Lights
Winter in Atlanta: Bunches of stars above the Atlanta skyline
Advantage: Draw
SCHOOL CLOSINGS DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER:
Alaska: None, but school children stay inside during recess
Atlanta: Lots, causing school children to catch up on Netflix
Advantage: Alaska
STUDDED TIRE USAGE:
Alaska: Yes, from November to May
Atlanta: No, if you have all-weather tires
Advantage: Alaska
BUNDLING UP FOR THE COLD:
Alaska: Carhartts and Sorel boots
Atlanta: Varies, as temperatures fall to as low as the single digits with below-zero windchills
Advantage: Draw
AND FINALLY, TRAFFIC:
Alaska: Normal
Atlanta: As we've seen last week, hellacious!
Advantage: Alaska, with auto-starts and cars plugged in at 20 degrees or colder
By a score of 5-2, experience triumphs over inexperience.
Both areas until the beginning of the year have never heard of the term "Polar Vortex", but I've been seeing the aftermath of last week's storm here with help large and small, from strangers helping out fellow strangers on the roads with food, water, and even cat litter, to business offering shelter and free meals to those who were stranded for hours. We never saw that same outpouring after the ice storm in Fairbanks a few months ago that left most without power for days.
But at the end of the day, Alaska has always been immune to severe winters as opposed to Atlanta, and for good reason: We're more well prepared than them, and there's no need for calling out our government leaders after all that mess. That's how they do it in the AK, and I have put that same expertise to work now in the ATL. So long and stay strong.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Hello, everybody. They had to do it a little early to avoid the Super Bowl/Olympics crush, but the 56th Grammy Awards on Sunday was dominated by crushing wins and not-that-crushing moments.
Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams (who with his fedora was named Arby's honorary Employee of the Year) claimed the most with five Grammys including Album of the Year for "Random Access Memories" and Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Get Lucky". Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were not that behind with four; Best New Artist among them. They were followed up by New Zealand sensation Lorde picking up Song of the Year and Pop Solo Performance for "Royals", and Pop Vocal Album going to Bruno Mars ("Unorthodox Jukebox"), as a warmup to what will be an extremely cold Super Bowl halftime next week.
And although Robin Thicke and Taylor Swift got nothing, there were others that got something: Alicia Keys (R&B Album, "Girl on Fire"), Kacey Musgraves (Country Album, "Same Trailer Different Park"), Stephen Colbert (Spoken Word Album, "America Again: Re-becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't"); and finally, after many nods, Kathy Griffin (Comedy Album, "Calm Down Gurrl").
Beyonce with the help of Jay-Z kicked things off as only they could, but the night's ultimate highlight belonged to a mass wedding of 33 straight and gay couples during Macklemore and Lewis' "Same Love" with Queen Latifah officiating.
As always, there are little to no rules when it comes to Grammy fashion, and I thought Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Anna Kendrick, and Beyonce aboded by them. Madonna, Paula Patton, and Katy Perry? I'm afraid they violated them.
But of course, the big talk prior to the Grammys was Justin Bieber, as on Thursday he was arrested for DUI and drag racing on a Miami area street. That would be followed by pulling a Tom DeLay for his mugshot before being released on $2,500 bail. On Sunday, he spent some downtime in Panama, but the news of his arrest was pure comedy and social media gold. You know, if I was the U.S. ambassador to Canada, I would deport Bieber's ass and bring Celine Dion with him.
And last but not least...ugh, not again! The Deep Freeze which has numbed the Midwest and Northeast U.S. on two different occasions this month has returned with a vengeance, and is now spreading to as far as the Deep South including here in Atlanta. Chicago is once again the epicenter, as wind chills may fall to -40, with schools, businesses, and city governments closed. But back in Alaska, a series of avalanches have shut down the only road to and from Valdez on the Richardson Highway, and it will remain so for a week.
With Super Bowl XLVIII now less than a week away, the only places that are worried right now are New York and New Jersey, and if the pundits are right, we may see the big game happen earlier or maybe later than Sunday. And to my Seattle Seahawks: I hope they came well-prepared; they may probably need more than gloves to grab not only the football in the frozen tundra of MetLife Stadium, but the Vince Lombardi Trophy. So long, stay strong, and stay warm.
Daft Punk and Pharrell Williams (who with his fedora was named Arby's honorary Employee of the Year) claimed the most with five Grammys including Album of the Year for "Random Access Memories" and Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Get Lucky". Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were not that behind with four; Best New Artist among them. They were followed up by New Zealand sensation Lorde picking up Song of the Year and Pop Solo Performance for "Royals", and Pop Vocal Album going to Bruno Mars ("Unorthodox Jukebox"), as a warmup to what will be an extremely cold Super Bowl halftime next week.
And although Robin Thicke and Taylor Swift got nothing, there were others that got something: Alicia Keys (R&B Album, "Girl on Fire"), Kacey Musgraves (Country Album, "Same Trailer Different Park"), Stephen Colbert (Spoken Word Album, "America Again: Re-becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't"); and finally, after many nods, Kathy Griffin (Comedy Album, "Calm Down Gurrl").
Beyonce with the help of Jay-Z kicked things off as only they could, but the night's ultimate highlight belonged to a mass wedding of 33 straight and gay couples during Macklemore and Lewis' "Same Love" with Queen Latifah officiating.
As always, there are little to no rules when it comes to Grammy fashion, and I thought Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys, Anna Kendrick, and Beyonce aboded by them. Madonna, Paula Patton, and Katy Perry? I'm afraid they violated them.
But of course, the big talk prior to the Grammys was Justin Bieber, as on Thursday he was arrested for DUI and drag racing on a Miami area street. That would be followed by pulling a Tom DeLay for his mugshot before being released on $2,500 bail. On Sunday, he spent some downtime in Panama, but the news of his arrest was pure comedy and social media gold. You know, if I was the U.S. ambassador to Canada, I would deport Bieber's ass and bring Celine Dion with him.
And last but not least...ugh, not again! The Deep Freeze which has numbed the Midwest and Northeast U.S. on two different occasions this month has returned with a vengeance, and is now spreading to as far as the Deep South including here in Atlanta. Chicago is once again the epicenter, as wind chills may fall to -40, with schools, businesses, and city governments closed. But back in Alaska, a series of avalanches have shut down the only road to and from Valdez on the Richardson Highway, and it will remain so for a week.
With Super Bowl XLVIII now less than a week away, the only places that are worried right now are New York and New Jersey, and if the pundits are right, we may see the big game happen earlier or maybe later than Sunday. And to my Seattle Seahawks: I hope they came well-prepared; they may probably need more than gloves to grab not only the football in the frozen tundra of MetLife Stadium, but the Vince Lombardi Trophy. So long, stay strong, and stay warm.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Hello, everybody, and welcome to our first blog of 2014. The road to the Dolby Theatre began in Beverly Hills on Sunday and the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards, where "12 Years A Slave" (Drama) and "American Hustle" (Musical/Comedy) took the top film honors and setting things up for the ultimate showdown on March 2.
Matthew McConaughey picked up Best Actor-Drama for "Dallas Buyers Club" (which also earned Supporting Actor for Jared Leto), Cate Blanchett beat out Sandra Bullock for Best Actress ("Blue Jasmine"), and Leonardo DiCaprio collected Best Actor-Musical/Comedy for the profanity-laden "The Wolf of Wall Street."
But it's "American Hustle" that's prematurely coming in with the huge advantage, thanks to wins by Amy Adams (Best Actress-Musical/Comedy) and Jennifer Lawrence (Supporting Actress). Meanwhile, Foreign Language Film went to Italy's "The Great Beauty" and Animated Feature Film, "Frozen."
On the television spectrum: "Breaking Bad" picked up where they left off from last September's Emmys by cooking up Best Drama, with Bryan Cranston finally Best Actor. Robin Wright received Best Actress for Netflix's "House of Cards", leaving -- you guessed it -- a now-pregnant Kerry Washington in the dust yet again. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" shot out perennial Emmy winner "Modern Family" for Best Comedy (ditto for Best Actor Andy Samberg), while repeat Golden Globes co-host Amy Poehler collected Best Actress ("Parks and Recreation") after planting a big one on Bono. Other winners include fellow Emmy leftover "Behind the Candelabra" (Miniseries/TV Movie and its star Michael Douglas) and Jacqueline Bissett, who not only took forever to get up to the stage, but sort of woke up the censors a bit. Woody Allen was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, in which Diane Keaton accepted on his behalf.
The only malfunction that occurred well before the show was a water sprinkler flooding a portion of the red carpet and the press line -- yards away from the "Entertainment Tonight", "Access Hollywood" and E! platforms -- leading up to the entrance of the Beverly Hilton.
Once again bypassing the usually dull fashion rundown, I'll say that Amy Adams (in Valentino) gets my best-dressed prize, while Sandra Bullock (Prabal Gurung)? She may be turning 50 soon, but I didn't think she didn't look it.
The Golden Globes ended a thaw from the Deep Freeze that numbed most of the country in the first full week of the year. Temperatures plummeted to as low as -15 in Minneapolis, which is the Lower 48's equivalent to -40 in Fairbanks, which I don't have to deal with anymore. Here, it went to as low as 8, which resulted in a growing number of school closures all throughout metro Atlanta including Clayton County, where I live. But three years ago at this time, a violent snowstorm shut the whole city down, turning roads into instant ice rinks for the vehicles. Compare that to the recent ice storm Fairbanks had this past fall, which left most residents without power for days.
Long story short: I'm glad that I'm enjoying real weather once again, especially when it's 50 degrees above zero...in January! Take that, Mike Shultz, and so long and stay strong.
Matthew McConaughey picked up Best Actor-Drama for "Dallas Buyers Club" (which also earned Supporting Actor for Jared Leto), Cate Blanchett beat out Sandra Bullock for Best Actress ("Blue Jasmine"), and Leonardo DiCaprio collected Best Actor-Musical/Comedy for the profanity-laden "The Wolf of Wall Street."
But it's "American Hustle" that's prematurely coming in with the huge advantage, thanks to wins by Amy Adams (Best Actress-Musical/Comedy) and Jennifer Lawrence (Supporting Actress). Meanwhile, Foreign Language Film went to Italy's "The Great Beauty" and Animated Feature Film, "Frozen."
On the television spectrum: "Breaking Bad" picked up where they left off from last September's Emmys by cooking up Best Drama, with Bryan Cranston finally Best Actor. Robin Wright received Best Actress for Netflix's "House of Cards", leaving -- you guessed it -- a now-pregnant Kerry Washington in the dust yet again. "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" shot out perennial Emmy winner "Modern Family" for Best Comedy (ditto for Best Actor Andy Samberg), while repeat Golden Globes co-host Amy Poehler collected Best Actress ("Parks and Recreation") after planting a big one on Bono. Other winners include fellow Emmy leftover "Behind the Candelabra" (Miniseries/TV Movie and its star Michael Douglas) and Jacqueline Bissett, who not only took forever to get up to the stage, but sort of woke up the censors a bit. Woody Allen was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award, in which Diane Keaton accepted on his behalf.
The only malfunction that occurred well before the show was a water sprinkler flooding a portion of the red carpet and the press line -- yards away from the "Entertainment Tonight", "Access Hollywood" and E! platforms -- leading up to the entrance of the Beverly Hilton.
Once again bypassing the usually dull fashion rundown, I'll say that Amy Adams (in Valentino) gets my best-dressed prize, while Sandra Bullock (Prabal Gurung)? She may be turning 50 soon, but I didn't think she didn't look it.
The Golden Globes ended a thaw from the Deep Freeze that numbed most of the country in the first full week of the year. Temperatures plummeted to as low as -15 in Minneapolis, which is the Lower 48's equivalent to -40 in Fairbanks, which I don't have to deal with anymore. Here, it went to as low as 8, which resulted in a growing number of school closures all throughout metro Atlanta including Clayton County, where I live. But three years ago at this time, a violent snowstorm shut the whole city down, turning roads into instant ice rinks for the vehicles. Compare that to the recent ice storm Fairbanks had this past fall, which left most residents without power for days.
Long story short: I'm glad that I'm enjoying real weather once again, especially when it's 50 degrees above zero...in January! Take that, Mike Shultz, and so long and stay strong.
Monday, December 30, 2013
As we speak, it's the next-to-last day of 2013 while in Australia, it's already the last day of 2013. So without further ado, I present to you...
The Top 15 Things That Were Trending in 2013
(15 because I couldn't think of 20)
15. The Cronut (The Cadillac of baking wonders. But who wants to plunk down $40 for a croissant/donut hybrid when Krispy Kreme has one cheaper for about $4.25)
14. Manti T'eo's imaginary dead girlfriend (the spirit of the "invisible chair" from last year's Republican Convention lives!)
13. The return of Hostess snack cakes (Twinkie the Kid was offered to host next year's Academy Awards; he declined)
12. Amanda Bynes (if only Penelope Taynt knocked some sense out of her...oh, wait)
11. Selfies (If Geraldo Rivera snaps one one more time, I'm deleting my Instagram account. Then again, I don't do Instagram!)
10. "Scandal" (they call die-hard fans of the show "Gladiators." Isn't that a slap in the face to "American Gladiators?")
9. Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" (Wonder if a nearly naked Emily Ratajkowski attempted to twerk in front of Robin?)
8 (and in her 15th consecutive appearance). Britney Spears (with her two-year Las Vegas gig now underway, she is still working it, bitch!)
7. Candy Crush Saga (already causing fake diabetes among mobile users)
6. The ends of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, Ryan Seacrest and Julianne Hough, and George Clooney and Stacy Keibler (proof that the "13" in 2013 was unlucky indeed)
5. TIE: Prince George and Pope Francis (one has touched the hearts of royal watchers, the other prefers to touch everyone's flesh without the aid of extra security)
4. The Healthcare.gov website (cue dial-up modem sound here)
3. "Duck Dynasty" (as Bart Simpson once said to Orthodox Jews thinking as if they were ZZ Top, "You guys rock!"...to the point that anti-gay remarks in between seasons would get you in trouble in bit. But the Osbournes and Kardashians they aren't)
2. TIE: Jennifer Lawrence (she's had one hell of year with "Hunger Games", "American Hustle", and some new man in her life that lives in their family home)/The Harlem Shake (suddenly, the bosses at work were going, "You're all FIRED!!!!)
And the #1 thing that was trending in 2013 which will continue in 2014 once her much-anticipated tour kicks off in February (she's coming here to Atlanta on March 24):
1. Miley Cyrus (And yes, we advise you keep your foam fingers, tongues, wrecking balls, and twerking to yourselves while seeing her live)
And that's it, the AllenBlog's 2013 Year in Review. So long, stay strong, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
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