A Statement About the Emmys (An Attempt)

So we're trying something new this year... I'm going to watch the Emmys and comment as we go along. The commentary isn't going to be live because I'm an hour behind, but it doesn't really matter because you won't be reading this live anyway. Right?!

MINUTES BEFORE: I am already in a bad mood because I'm behind. A certain un-helpful someone on the East Coast has volunteered to tell me all of the winners as they are listed live, and I have had to issue some harsh words of rebuke.

THINGS WE ARE EXCITED FOR: Neil Patrick Harris!! Dr. Horrible!! How I Met Your Mother Best Comedy upset!! (Although, to be honest, we won't be heartbroken when the the stellar 30 Rock inevitably wins.)

THINGS WE ARE NOT EXCITED FOR: Reality competitions, Anything having to do with Two and a Half Men, the notable absence of anything having to do with Battlestar Galactica

OK...

Ready... Steady... GO!

*NPH is singing. And that white jacket? HAWT. And he wants me alone? I don't think that'll be a problem.

*What a start. Great musical number, trivial without being tedious.

*He grew up ON television. Get it?!

*He is ADORABLE. I'm sorry, but I'm going to be saying that a lot.

*Interesting format change. ALL of every category all at once? That's new... and if they pull it off, it just might work.

*Tina Fey and Jon Hamm! The combo gives hope for all geek girls everywhere.

*KRISTIN CHENOWETH?! Holy upset Batman!! I mean, for serious. Pushing Daisies, welcome to your only recognition ever. Aaaaaaaaand the Emmy is bigger than she is! And she's having some sort of nervous breakdown. And she's trolling for roles. LOVE IT.

(also, she is the smallest person in the history of the world... even in spikes, she's shorter than Tina Fey. Which is hard to do.)

*John Hodgman as commentator?! STUNNING. AND HE'S MAKING THINGS UP AS HE GOES ALONG. This might be the best innovation of the night. Oh wait... way too early so say that.

*Let the HIMYM plugging begin!! At least they deserve it. Both of those women look fantastic considering they're less than 6 months out of childbirth. Did Josh Radnor even say anything, BTW?

*Hello comedienne superteam! Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler! I've heard some rumors... and if NPH didn't win... IT'S JON CRYER?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I'm not commenting on this in protest. In fact I might not watch TV ever again. Except that CHARLIE SHEEN DOES NOT NEED AN EMMY. Whattheholyfrak.

*Wait for it... yep. NPH is better for having not won.

*Really Justin Timberlake? Really with the glasses? You weren't cool enough without trying mimic the geeks? And he's giving the Best Actress in a Comedy Emmy. Suddenly the show has taken a terrifying turn... AND HE'S TURNED ON BY PRESENTING THE AWARD? What to the Ever. But he has to take a moment to recover from Sarah Silverman. Ten points.

*HOLY SECOND UPSET BATMAN. Well, Toni Colette is cool enough. And so is her accent. And so is her dress. OK, so maybe I'm recovering from the Cryer win... maybe.

*AND NPH is calling him on the win. And they're being good sports. Recovery in progress.

*Leighton Meester and Blake Lively (is it just me, or is Lively channeling Princess Leia?). Plunging necklines anyone? You know, 30 Rock did get a ridiculous number of nominations... Justin Timberlake and Tina Fey for Saturday Night Live. Interesting.

*Todd Holland better win for 30 Rock- Generalissimo. Ok, The Office... OK.

*Rob Lowe made a funny! For serious? He chose Dr. Vegas over Grey's Anatomy?? Love all the men in the Comedy Actor category, but I'd love Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords. Also, I think I need to start watching The Big Bang Theory. O.K. I could have gone without Alec Baldwin win again. But he gives a gracious speech.

*Stewie's punching Brian over The Bro Code. And I am not cool enough for this sketch.

*Very smart people, still hold the big awards for the end. And at least he was honest about it... "So no clicking."

**I'm not blogging the best reality categories. Sorry.**

*I lied. Hayden Panetierre is too beautiful and too boring not to be commented on. Also, I think Stewart and Colbert's categories are here anyway. Compromise: Abbreviated commentary.

*AND PROBST NAILS IT.

*NPH wins Kick Ass Dude of the Night.

*Is Tracy Morgan drunk? Because 30 Rock seems like it is a reality show for him.

*The Amazing Race again?! Quel surprise.

*Dear Justin Timberlake, See Kevin Bacon? That's how you pull off the glasses.

*Shoreh Agdashloo is gorgeous. But is she having some sort of asthma attack? Or is that the mic?

*I don't know his name, but Best Supporting Actor in a TV movie-guy ROCKS. Make his speech short before he gets interrupted by a Congressman or rapper indeed.

*LoveloveloveloveLOVE Jennifer Love Hewitt's dress. Sorry, that was probably a bad joke, but I didn't mean it, I swear.

*Best Director TV Movie really really needed to have picked a better dress.

*OMG, the Accountants are talking-- AND DR. HORRIBLE IS ON!!!! Hotness hotness hotness. Now all we need is... NATHAN FILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The hottest thing EVER. Counting Jon Hamm and NPH himself. AND THE WHOLE DAMN CAST SHOWED UP. This is officially the best Emmys ever. STUNNING.

*Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens. Let's see how long it takes for her to call up Drew Barrymore. Oh, no?! Just a big lovefest. Cool beans.

*The comedy stylings of Kiefer Sutherland and Anna Torv. Ha. And OMG she's Australian. I totally forgot. And Sutherland's got the glasses too. I might start boycotting my own, they've become so cool.

*4 women accepting for Little Dorritt. Rock on.

*Variety. WOOT. Director goes to an Idol dude? THE DUDE WHO DIRECTED THE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY VIDEO?! Three cool points.

*Colbert Report rocks. But we knew that. Hell, they all have good videos. Billy Crystal?! Hi Billy! The Daily Show wins. Obviously. You know what, though? It never EVER gets old. Why? Because they are always all 57 kinds of awesome.

*Jon Stewart is dreamy.

*Awesome acceptance opening.

*Have I mentioned I kinda like the split-screen thing? OK, good. Cuz I kinda do.

*Jimmy Fallon is kinda funny...? But not as funny as Carell seems to think. No Flight of the Conchords love, huh? Unimpressed.

*NPH, I would have your babies, but can Ricky Gervais have a go at hosting next year? He declares first off that it's the best award show in the world, and then that he doesn't like the Oscars because all the people there are better looking than him... and then goes on and on about syndication and making money off of The Office. Maybe he shouldn't host... he'd piss off waaaaay too many people while being frakking hilarious. THE DAILY SHOW WINS!! Anything involving Gervais and Stewart in the same room is OK by me.

*Jon Stewart gives NPH a shout-out! Wa-hoo!

*Battlestar Galactica shout-out in Drama montage! WOOT!

*Best Supporting Actor in a Drama... I'd love Michael Emerson or John Slattery... AND IT'S MICHAEL EMERSON!! SEMI-UPSET!! 12 kinds of awesome. And an excellent, brief, gracious speech.

*I honestly don't care about the Best Supporting Actresses. Is that bad? Cherry Jones. Cool chick.

*Nice live In Memoriam.

*Holy Vampire Hotties! Angel and Bill *sigh.*

*Michael J. Fox has the glasses, too. I guess they're getting better, then (PS- he looks awesome). Is it just me, or are the drama writing videos better than the variety writing videos?

*Finally a frakking Mad Men Emmy. I mean, honestly. Matt Weiner- you are a genius, but you are a bit of a tool.

*NPH's inconsequential intros are awe-- SIMON BAKER, WHY DID YOU JUMP ON THE GLASSES BANDWAGON?!

*Yay Glenn Close. Kind of. I wish it was Elisabeth Moss.

*Dana Delaney has the glasses, too. WTF?

*Brian Cranston's beating of Jon Hamm was just made better by his statement that he's glad Glenn Close is a woman, and by declaring himself to be a "Cinderfella."

*And Bob Newhart killed the joke, but he was intimating that he has a massive crush on our Tina, so who cares?

*30 Rock wins! Yay Tina almost making out with Newhart. "Robert, I want to work with you everyday until I put you in the ground." And she thanked Ben Silverman and then SLAMMED NBC... "for keeping us on even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show." Beautiful.

*Hi Sigourney! Golden Age of TV Drama, indeed. MAD to the MEN. Holler. Love that theme song. And Jon Hamm is dreamy, too. What is it about the Jons with no "h"?

*NPH wraps it up with his imaginary glass... he produced the show, too? Ka-ching.

OVERALL: Vast improvement on last year (not too hard to do). NPH can come back anytime he wants. Winners overall were unimpressive, but also vastly improved at least in terms of variety.

Did you have fun? I hope so. KBye.

A Statement About the First Few Days

And so, the first week in Park City has been peaceful, relaxing (believe it or not) and generally good, except for the tragic news from back home. We won't get into that, though. I'll just ask for your thoughts and prayers for the family, please.

Moving swiftly onward to lighter topics, yay Sundance! Yay Park City! Friday afternoon and Saturday were spent in the gracious company of Lady Liberty (whose infinite patience with trips to the Post Office and weird-start-up shopping will not soon be forgotten) and her family. Aunt Joan, Uncle Dave and the kids welcomed me to Utah with open arms, basement, and date book. Considering I had expected to be more-or-less on my own out here, finding family away from family was a wonderful surprise.

Sunday was spent preparing mentally for Monday (because, as we all know, I'm still not sure why I am doing this job) and then Monday was orientation, orientation, orientation!

My for those of you who haven't been kept abreast by Facebook, you should know that my commute was interminable. Like, down some stairs and a whole 25 steps. I honestly don't know how I'm going to survive. The introduction to Sundance was lovely and educational-- a lot of information without being too much. There was even time in the afternoon to sit down with my immediate supervisor for some database going-over (wa-hoo) and general introduction to the department.

And you know what? So far, so good. Having been really unconvinced I was going to know what I am doing in this thing, the first three days have told me that I am very, very prepared. Everything in all of my other jobs (all of them) has completely prepped me for what's to come. Well... except for the chaos. But you know how there are special library patrons we just do things for because it's easier than not? Same for journalists. You know how there's always the "special one" who needs help with everything? I've already been provided with a list of those. And I get to produce my own method for keeping materials organized and under control. Huzzah, people!!!

So there we are. Park City, Week 1 update. I'm not sure things are going to stay interesting enough for constant and dedicated updates, so we're going to get back to business talking nonsense about TV shows and movies next week (don't worry, casual updates included). So... yeah. There you go.

A Statement About Another Long-Ass Day, and Arrival (finally)

It seems hard to believe that it was just yesterday that we awoke in Denver to celebrate Lady Liberty's 23rd birthday, but that's exactly what happened. We passed a perfectly pleasant morning eating brunch at a trendy restaurant called Snooze in the Ballpark neighborhood, and then wandering down to (wait for it...) The Tattered Cover book store. Try not to be shocked.

Having made the executive decision to take the "long way," we spent the early afternoon strolling through Boulder and then heading out on Route 40 through the Rockies.

I'm not sure either of us expected the route to take is directly through Rocky Mountain State Park, so the surprise was ours, but what a surprise it was. Luna behaved admirably, chugging up and up and UP, and then gliding down and down (but not "and down" again. Even settled in Park City, we're at 7,000 feet).

The drive was long and boring to be honest, with lots of straight interstate broken up only by terrifying hairpin turns. 1:00am saw us in Park City, whole and hale, and then into the hotel room of the lovely Auntie Laliberte.

I still bear the bruises of Lady Lib's merciless beating of this afternoon, when we finally came to lay claim to my apartment. To say the area is beautiful is an understatement (the Park City Golf Course is my front yard and the slopes are my back), and to say the apartment exceeds my expectations is even moreso.

Lucky Princess Brat? You bet your ass.

And so the rest of the weekend shall be spent organizing and reorganizing and spending time with the lovely "family" I suddenly have in the area.

Oh, and let's not forget, work starts on Monday.

A Statement About the Long-Ass Day

All professional attempts at regulating the travel blog-entries have been discontinued until further notice.

Where to begin? How about yesterday when we woke up in Pittsburgh, in the charming apartment of Stringbean and his Lady Love. Pennsylvania provided more than anticipated... If by "more" you take my meaning to be "more trees and more interstate." And I think you do.

The drive to Chicago was pleasant and uneventful, with a little bit of requisite city traffic as our arrival coincided inevitably with rush hour. Finding the apartment was remarkably easy thanks to the capricious Vivian and the parking stunningly acquired by that darling Lady Lib.

After parking the car in a secure lot (hooray!) and ourselves in Kylah's neighborhood watering hole, we took stock of our lives, toasted another of the many random cities we find ourselves uniting in, and La Lalib proceeded to begin embroidering right there in the pub. Classic.

Side note: We did indeed arrive late-er than expected in Chicago, as I could not pretend to be a good daughter without first stopping in South Bend ("South Bend, it sounds like dancing") at Notre Dame, calling my Dad, and taking pictures of everything in sight. And also eating a Notre Dame emblem shaped pretzel.

Kylah kindly met us at her local and then led us to her beautifully appointed studio apartment, on to Wrigley Field and a restaurant called Goose Island, where we took the advice of legal counsel and ate the beef.

As we awoke this morning, we were determined to make progress, but didn't know how much we were actually going to accomplish. After a quick stop at Whole Foods ("I don't think Skinny Bitch would approve of our Softies Donuts") and a let-down by the ever changing Vivian (losing satellite reception in Chicago? For serious?), we were on our way across the plains, and learned soon enough that Nebraska does indeed make Pennsylvania feel like a rest stop.

And speaking of rest stops, quick round-up: Ohio? Very clean and pleasant. If you must stop anywhere, let it be in Ohio. Iowa? Pleasant, but the stall-walls are very short... I don't recommend being a tall person (using "tall" liberally) and looking around when you stand up from using the facilities.

Then the fateful decision came down: On to Denver it is. So with 2 Mona-Vies each (actually I think I had 3) the hustle across the plains and into the mountains was completed, and with 2 days to spare, we find ourselves with only about 1 day's worth of driving.

Ah, the wandering in the Rockies.

Luna is now taking a well-deserved rest and relaxation (after all, that's 1,000 miles in a day) and myself and Madame are off to do the same.

A Statement About the Day 1

Road Trip Journal

Day 1, 21:13

Distance Covered (Today): 510.8 mi

Distance Covered (Total): 510.8 mi

First day of the trip was also a day of many general firsts: First time in Trumbull, first time on the Merrit Parkway, first time at a Cracker Barrell Restaurant.

The Burgh is lovely, though the 'burb of the Burgh is even lovelier (and the name much more exotic). Indeed, Zelienople is the place for all the cool kids to be on this... er... cool September evening.

Have *officially* looked to determine that the Sundance Film Festival runs 21-31 January 2010. So only 136 days left to go (thank you, Google homepage countdown).

Not much to report about scenery as PA is generally (and widely) acknowledged to be the longest, tree-iest state in the union.

More tomorrow from the Windy City (with potential Obama pilgrimage), following a brief stop in South Bend (it sounds like dancing!) for the Dads.

A Statement About the New Gig

... and then I moved to Utah.

Things just keep happening, folks, and it looks like the next few months are going to be more than a little bit hectic and challenging. It turns out that I'm working for the Sundance Film Festival, and it turns out that the format of the blog is going to change a bit.

For the next week (when I can and where possible), TheMovieGirl will chronical my trip across the country to Utah with The Lady Liberty. Then we'll start talking about the Festival, what I'm doing, my new digs, etc.

And in between I'll still talk about movies and TV sometimes. Plan? Plan!