A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
I wrote that Forever 21 was facing bankruptcy just three weeks ago. Today, Forever 21 declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. WXYZ reported on this tale of the Retail Apocalypse on location from the Oakland Mall in Troy, Michigan.
The chain said it will file a motion to close up to 178 of its more than 800 stores, though it said in a letter to customers that "the decisions as to which domestic stores will be closing are ongoing, pending the outcome of continued conversations with landlords."
WXYZ excels at person on the street interviews, which in this case show that the regular shoppers had little to no idea that one of their favorite stores was in trouble. At least they seem as concerned about the employees as they do about losing their place to go for "fast fashion."
Fashion retailer Forever 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. to restructure. The company said it plans to discontinue operations at most of its international locations, including Canada.
The customers outside of the Oakland Mall location may worry about their local store closing. Forever 21's customers in Canada know their store will close.
CNBC's Courtney Reagan and Lauren Thomas, CNBC.com retail reporter, join the "Power Lunch" team to discuss brick-and-mortar stores and where millennials and gen-Z are shopping.
The panel did a good job of at least touching on all the issues and major players in less than three minutes, although I noticed that the host quickly diverted the discussion away from sustainability when it was brought up. Instead, she was more interested in the possible winning companies to invest in than a major cause of Forever 21 failing. Things that make me say "hmm."
I promise to keep following this story as it develops. In the meantime, stay tuned for the first entry of October, which begins in a few hours.
I am celebrating National Coffee...Day by asking my readers to donate to my favorite nonprofit, Coffee Party USA. I am a director and officer of the organization and I just donated $88.00 in addition to my regular $10.00 monthly dues.* That's far more than I expect my readers to donate, so instead I am asking my readers to please make a donation to match what I donated on National Nonprofit Day or my regular monthly contribution.
Coffee Party USA ia a 501c(4) nonprofit social welfare organization dedicated to empowering and connecting communities to reclaim our government for the people. To support its efforts, which include educating the public on our website and on our Facebook page, registering people to vote with our partners TurboVote and National Voter Registration Day, and reminding them to vote through our Voter Buddy program, please consider donating. A donation of $10.00 for ten years of Coffee Party USA is recommended. For those who wish to give at a higher level of support and be more involved in the organization, please consider becoming a member. To do the valuable work of the Coffee Party, as well as vote for future Golden Coffee Cup nominees and winners, volunteer. Not only will Coffee Party USA thank you for it, so will the country!
The Board of Directors is also holding its annual retreat at the end of this month, and your donations will help support our meeting while we plan the direction of the organization through next year.
Thanks for reading my appeal and even more thanks if you matched my dues through your donation or became a member. ... *I decided this year that I would make a matching donation to Coffee Party USA for any donation I made to any other nonprofit this year. Since I just renewed my my dual membership to the Detroit Zoo for $88.00, that means I matched it for the Coffe Party. I also donated $40.00 last month to match the $40.00 I paid to vote in the 2019 Saturn Awards. I'm not asking my readers to match those donations, but if any of you did, the Coffee Party and I would appreciate you and your donation!
Now treat yourself to a cup of coffee. There are lots of deals out there today. Go find one!
Now that we know the inspiring destiny of William T Dillard... in the modern retail climate, what IS the destiny of Dillard's stores?
Thanks for watching!
Sam of Brick Immortar did this with the help of Erik P. of Retail Archaeology and it shows. Good work. Also, when he asked if he should do this project, I not only said yes, I told him I would post this to my blog. I'm following through on my promise.
Furthermore, the name has a ready-made piece of music for it, Modest Mussorgsky's "Great Gate of Kiev."
Douglas Gamley conducts his own orchestration of the finale from "Pictures at an Exhibition," with the New Symphony Orchestra, the Men's Chorus of the Ambrosian Singers, and the organ of Kingsway Hall, London. From the Readers Digest 10-LP set "Music for You," produced by Charles Gerhardt (published 1968).
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quoted founding father Benjamin Franklin today in her speech announcing the beginning of an official impeachment inquiry against President Trump.
Good thing the studio audience didn't buckle up. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to give Nancy Pelosi a 40-second standing ovation for announcing the inquiry.
Nancy Pelosi announces a formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump after a whistleblower complaint alleged the president pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The White House releases a memo of Trump’s potentially impeachable call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, and Democrats and Republicans predictably paint the call record along party lines.
More Democratic lawmakers are calling for impeachment hearings for President Donald Trump.
Haley Stevens also joined Slotkin in supporting hearings. That means that every Democratic member of Michigan's Congressional delegation is now in favor of impeachment hearings. Add in Justin Amash and a majority of Michigan's U.S. Representatives now favor impeachment. That's one of the reasons why Nancy Pelosi called for initiating hearings on an impeachment inquiry.
It's also the reason why my response to The Odor of Desperation at Kunstler's blog now seems ironic.
You may be looking for Biden to dissolve over his ties to Ukraine, but the meltdown in Ukraine that more people are paying attention to right now is the HBO limited series "Chernobyl," which earned three Emmy Awards last night in addition to the seven it already won for technical categories.
Now more Americans will be watching news about the inquiry than watching "Chernobyl" on HBO Go or Amazon Channels. I'll probably be one of them.
Today, September 24, 2019, is National Voter Registration Day. Americans are celebrating National Voter Registration Day with a massive 50-state effort to register voters before Election Day this November.
With local elections happening in a few weeks, every eligible American voter should exercise his or her right to be heard at the ballot box this year and next. National Voter Registration Day is the right place to start by getting registered.
That is why communities across the country are planning to use National Voter Registration Day to increase voter participation.
Thousands of national, state, and local organizations and volunteers will be the driving force behind National Voter Registration Day 2019. Partner organizations will coordinate hundreds of National Voter Registration Day events nationwide and leverage #NationalVoterRegistrationDay on all social media platforms to drive attention to voter registration and the midterm elections.
Coffee Party USA is proud to be a National Voter Registration Day partner. Today, Coffee Party USA is engaging its constituency and community by registering voters online at Coffee Party USA's Turbovote page. The effort’s website, www.NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org, provides a listing of National Voter Registration Day events across the country.
Founded in 2012, National Voter Registration Day is designed to create an annual moment when the entire nation focuses on registering Americans to exercise their most basic right – the right to vote. More than two million Americans have registered to vote on this day since the inaugural National Voter Registration Day. For inquiries about National Voter Registration Day, please contact: vince@coffeepartyusa.com.
Coffee Party USA ia a 501c(4) nonprofit social welfare organization dedicated to empowering and connecting communities to reclaim our government for the people.
I found three former Oscar nominees nominated at tonight's News & Documentary Emmy Awards, "I Am Not Your Negro," "Lifeboat," and "Traffic Stop." The headliner of the three is "I Am Not Your Negro," which is nominated for Best Documentary.
"Quest" probably displays the least injustice of the movies telling the stories of African-Americans, but it still puts their experience in a political context, as Vox notes.
But the portrait that sticks with me most from 2017 is found in Jonathan Olshefski’s film Quest, a documentary portrait of a North Philadelphia family shot over a decade. Quest is a cinéma vérité documentary portrait of the Rainey family, who operate a recording studio. But life (and movies) doesn’t always go as planned, and when tragedy hits the family, the documentary takes an unexpected turn. It is, by far, one of the most moving documentaries of the year, and vital viewing that somehow captures the past 10 years of the American experience — including life in the city as well as the broader political and social situation in America — better than either the Raineys or Olshefski could have ever imagined.
"Quest" is also nominated for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary where I think it's strongest competition is "Crime + Punishment," a nominees at the 2018 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards. "I Am Evidence" is also nominated for Outstanding Investigative Documentary. I already mentioned that "Nowhere to Hide" appears to be the favorite for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary, but it has both "The Facebook Dilemma" and one of this year's Best Documentary Short Subject nominees, "Lifeboat" about rescuing refugees from Lybia. I'll be a good environmentalist again and recycle what I wrote about it and its nominated category.
FRONTLINE PBS The Facebook Dilemma
HBO Documentary Films HBO It Will Be Chaos
HBO Documentary Films HBO Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped by Boko Haram
Lifeboat Spin Film/ RYOT
POV PBS Nowhere to Hide
The other nominees with two nominations are "Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped by Boko Haram," which is also nominated for Outstanding Music & Sound, and "Nowhere to Hide," whose other nomination is for Best Documentary. On the basis of that second nomnination alone, I think "Nowhere to Hide" is favored in this category, but not for Best Documentary. In the latter category, I think the Oscar-nominated "I Am Not Your Negro" is the favorite. I'll examine the chances of "Stolen Daughters: Kidnapped by Boko Haram" for Outstanding Music & Sound when I examine either
"Dawnland," which has two nominations, or the nature documentary nominees, two of which are also nominated for their music.
Unfortunately, I won't get around to doing either, as the ceremony is tonight. On the other hand, I plan on looking at the winners next month.
The other thing that struck me was how violent the clip from "Traffic Stop" appeared and how topical the subject was. Variety had a concise summary explaining the violence.
“Traffic Stop” is lauded documentarian Kate Davis’ first short. (She previously won a Sundance Documentary Grand Jury prize for “Southern Comfort.”) An Austin, Texas, traffic stop leads to the brutalization of driver Breaion King, an African-American school teacher with no record. The short, which will air on HBO in early spring, tackles questions about racism, law enforcement and gender.
In the era of Black Lives Matter, which I've mentioned on this blog only once before, this is a very important film. Given an electorate that looked like America and not like Hollywood, it might have won.
Here are its competition.
Outstanding Short Documentary
Beneath the Ink GQ / Condé Nast Entertainment
HBO Documentary Films HBO Traffic Stop
Meet the Press Film Festival with AFI: Guns Found Here NBC
POV Shorts and The New York Times PBS Earthrise
The Family Business: Trump and Taxes Showtime
Trans in America: Texas Strong them. / Condé Nast Entertainment
This is the only nomination for these short subjects, so I can't use that criterion to handicap the category. I'll just say that I think "Traffic Stop" has a boost up because of its Oscar nomination.
Time to circle back to "I Am Not Your Negro" by listing its other nomination.
Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary
HBO Documentary Films HBO Arthur Miller: Writer
HBO Documentary Films HBO Believer
HBO Documentary Films HBO The Price of Everything
Independent Lens PBS I Am Not Your Negro
ReMastered: Who Shot The Sheriff Netflix
"I Am Not Your Negro" is the favorite, not only because it is an Oscar nominee, but because it is the only one with another nomination.
In his new film, director Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished - a radical narration about race in America, using the writer's original words. He draws upon James Baldwin's notes on the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. to explore and bring a fresh and radical perspective to the current racial narrative in America.
My readers can watch the News & Documentary Emmy Awards livestreamed at their YouTube channel during the evening of September 24, 2019. Either that, or wait for me to post clips of the winners next month. It's up to them.
I plan on taking a break from the Emmy Awards tomorrow when I write about National Voter Registration Day for Coffee Party USA. Stay tuned.
"Veep" will have very stiff competition for its nominations, particularly from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," which won eight Emmy Awards last year and is nominated for twenty this year, the most of any comedy both seasons. It is contending with "Veep" for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series, where it has two nominees to one for "Veep," and Outstanding Casting For A Comedy Series, and is the returning winner in four of them, Comedy Series, Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, and Casting. There are other match-ups to watch in comedy particularly between "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Barry," but this is the one I plan on looking at closest when I examine all the comedy nominees and make predictions. Stay tuned.
Comedy series have nearly as many top-nominated shows as limited series, as the following infographic demonstrates.
In addition to the 20 nominations for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," second only behind "Game of Thrones," "Barry" tied "Fosse/Verdon" for 17 and "Russian Doll" has 13 (how oddly appropriate). "Veep" doesn't even rank fourth, as "Fleabag" has 11 nominations. So that means that I don't think I will be looking as closely at "Veep" vs. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" as I had planned today. The matchup really is between "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and "Barry" with "Fleabag" as the likely spoiler, as it won Outstanding Achievement in Comedy at the Television Critics Association Awards while "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" was not even nominated.
Too bad, as my other favorite comedies besides "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", "Veep" and "The Good Place," do not look like they have good chances of winning. The final season of "Veep" will have to be content with its Golden Coffee Cup for Best Comedy Series about Politics and Government while "The Good Place" will need to be satisfied with its Hugo Award. I'm not even sure the Golden Globes will deliver for either; they were the first to jump on the bandwagon for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and might prefer "Fleabag" or "Schitt's Creek" over either.
Speaking of "Schitt's Creek," it is the other comedy that covers politics and government besides "Veep," albeit on a much smaller scale, a small Canadian town, where the Mayor is a supporting character, not the federal government of the U.S. where a once and future President is the title character. Political figures make cameos in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" but the show primarily makes social points while examining family dynamics.
The Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series are Bill Hader, Don Cheadle, Anthony Anderson, Ted Danson, Michael Douglas, and Eugene Levy.
While I think this award is Bill Hader's to lose, my reaction to watching this clip is "damn, this is a strong field!" Personally, I'm happy that Ted Danson is being recognized for his work in "The Good Place," but Don Cheadle is an Oscar-nominated and Golden-Globe-winning actor while Michael Douglas is a two-time Oscar winner. Either one, particularly Douglas, could upset Hader.
The Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series are Christina Applegate, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Rachel Brosnahan, Natasha Lyonne, Catherine O'Hara, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Again, this is a strong field, although I would have preferred Kristen Bell from "The Good Place" instead of Christina Applegate. As for the favorites, it's between the previous two winners, Rachel Brosnahan and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the spoiler. It helps Waller-Bridge that she won Individual Achievement in Comedy at the Television Critics Association Awards.
The Nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series are Anthony Carrigan, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler, Alan Arkin, Tony Shalhoub, and Tony Hale.
Like his co-star Hader, I think this award is Henry Winkler's to lose, but Tony Hale of Veep is strong competition as the previous winner for the same role. It doesn't help that he has two other actors from "Barry" competing against him. Of the two, I prefer Anthony Carrigan, who became familiar to me as Victor Zsasz from "Gotham." He obviously has experience playing bloodthirsty crazy criminals. The other two nominees with decent chances to upset Winkler are Alan Arkin and Tony Shalhoub.
The Nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series are Sarah Goldberg, Sian Clifford, Olivia Colman, Betty Gilpin, Alex Borstein, Marin Hinkle, Kate McKinnon, and Anna Chlumsky.
Barry (Episode: "The Audition"), Directed by Alec Berg (HBO) Barry (Episode: "ronny/lily"), Directed by Bill Hader (HBO) The Big Bang Theory (Episode: "The Stockholm Syndrome"), Directed by Mark Cendrowski (CBS) Fleabag (Episode: "Episode 1"), Directed by Harry Bradbeer (Prime Video) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Episode: "All Alone"), Directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino (Prime Video) The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Episode: "We're Going to the Catskills!"), Directed by Daniel Palladino (Prime Video)
Amy Sherman-Palladino is the returning winner, so I think she's the favorite. The only other returning nominee is Bill Hader, so he, along with Daniel Palladino and Alec Berg are my picks for the major contenders. In any event, it looks like either "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" or "Barry." Watch them split their votes so that "Fleabag" sneaks in.
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Barry (Episode: "ronny/lily"), Written by Alec Berg and Bill Hader (HBO) Fleabag (Episode: "Episode 1"), Written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Prime Video) The Good Place (Episode: "Janet(s)"), Written by Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan (NBC) PEN15 (Episode: "Anna Ishii-Peters"), Written by Maya Erskine, Anna Konkle, and Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Hulu) Russian Doll (Episode: "Nothing in This World Is Easy"), Written by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler (Netflix) Russian Doll (Episode: "A Warm Body"), Written by Allison Silverman (Netflix) Veep (Episode: "Veep"), Written by David Mandel (HBO)
That Amy Sherman-Palladino, last year's winner for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," was not even nominated makes me worried about the likelihood of winning Outstanding Comedy Series. On the other hand, I'm encouraged about "The Good Place," as "Janet(s)" won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. I'm not sure that it has the best chance of winning, as "Barry" is the only other returning nominee while "Veep" is the only previous winner nominated. I think it is between those two for the Emmy.
The 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards nominations were revealed Tuesday, with returning drama series champ Game of Thrones back in the mix in a record way.
The HBO epic, which wrapped its final season this year, set a new benchmark with 32 total nominations, the most for any program in a single season (beating NYPD Blue‘s previous mark). The series returns to the Best Drama series fight and also scored lead acting noms for Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, along with a slew of supporting noms — seven of the 12 slots in those categories went to GoT actors including Peter Dinklage returning to defend his title.
Game of Thrones led all television shows with nine nominations and was named the best fantasy series on television for its finale season. The Game of Thrones cast also dominated acting categories in its medium. Emilia Clarke, who portrayed Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO series, won the best television actress award. Peter Dinklage won best supporting actor on television for his role as Tyrion Lannister, besting a field of nominees that included his on-screen brother, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
The prize for best younger actor on television went to Maisie Williams, who portrayed Ayra Stark, the girl warrior of destiny on the fantasy series based on the books of George R.R. Martin.
The Nominees for Outstanding Drama Series are Better Call Saul, Bodyguard, Game of Thrones, Killing Eve, Ozark, Pose, Succession, and This Is Us.
My personal favorite is "Ozark," which turned into a very political show during its second season after being a crime drama in the vein of "Breaking Bad" during its first, but that doesn't mean it's going to win. Instead, I'm sure "Game of Thrones" will win this award one last time, repeating last year's victory. That's despite the Television Critics Association voting for "Better Call Saul" for Outstanding Achievement in Drama while nominating "The Good Fight" instead of "Game of Thrones."
Both "Game of Thrones" and "Ozark" are explicitly about government and politics, but so are "Bodyguard" and "Killing Eve," while "Better Call Saul" is government-adjacent as it takes place in the court system and "Pose" makes a politically significant social point. As for "Succession" and "This Is Us," they're both about family dynamics, although even "Succession" is also about politics as the clip above shows.
The Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series are Bob Odenkirk, Kit Harington, Jason Bateman, Billy Porter, Sterling K. Brown, and Milo Ventimiglia.
Once again, my personal favorite is Jason Bateman of "Ozark," but I don't think he'll win. I'm also not sure that there will be enough "Game of Thrones" enthusiasm to sweep Kit Harington onstage to accept the award; he couldn't even beat Sam Heughan of "Outlander" at the Saturn Awards. Instead, I'm going with the only previous winner for the same role, Sterling K. Brown, who won this award two years ago.
The Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series are Emilia Clarke, Robin Wright, Viola Davis, Jodie Comer, Sandra Oh, Laura Linney, and Mandy Moore.
If it were up to me, I'd vote for Laura Linney {"Ozark"), Sandra Oh ("Killing Eve"), Viola Davis ("How to Get Away with Murder"), or Robin Wright ("House of Cards"), in that order. I even voted for Sandra Oh at the Saturn Awards. I doubt the Television Academy voters agree with me. On the one hand, Viola Davis is the only previous winner for the same role, winning four years ago. On the other hand, Emilia Clarke might just get swept onto the stage. On the gripping hand, a lot of people thought Sandra Oh should have won last year and did win a Golden Globe, so my second choice has a chance, even if her co-star Jodie Comer might split the vote.
The Nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series are Jonathan Banks, Giancarlo Esposito, Alfie Allen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Peter Dinklage, Michael Kelly, and Chris Sullivan.
The Nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series are Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Fiona Shaw, and Julia Garner.
The only one I considered voting for at the Saturn Awards was Maisie Williams and that because Julia Garner from "Ozark" wasn't nominated but I don't think either are favored. Instead, I expect Lena Heady will win.
Game of Thrones (Episode: "The Iron Throne"), Directed by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (HBO) Game of Thrones (Episode: "The Last of the Starks"), Directed by David Nutter (HBO) Game of Thrones (Episode: "The Long Night"), Directed by Miguel Sapochnik (HBO) The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Holly"), Directed by Daina Reid (Hulu) Killing Eve (Episode: "Desperate Times"), Directed by Lisa Brühlmann (BBC America) Ozark (Episode: "Reparations"), Directed by Jason Bateman (Netflix) Succession (Episode: "Celebration"), Directed by Adam McKay (HBO)
Better Call Saul (Episode: "Winner"), Written by Peter Gould and Thomas Schnauz (AMC) Bodyguard (Episode: "Episode 1"), Written by Jed Mercurio (Netflix) Game of Thrones (Episode: "The Iron Throne"), Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (HBO) The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Holly"), Written by Bruce Miller and Kira Snyder (Hulu) Killing Eve (Episode: "Nice and Neat"), Written by Emerald Fennell (BBC America) Succession (Episode: "Nobody Is Ever Missing"), Written by Jesse Armstrong (HBO)
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Friday morning that he's ending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination after making no headway in the polls and failing to qualify for the last debate. CBSN political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns has more on the latest shakeup in the race.
Oddly enough, I had just mentioned Mayor de Blasio in a comment to Turning on the Light at Kunstler's blog.
I've been following the ideological progress of Mayor De Blasio according to On The Issues since he announced his candidacy. For such a notorious liberal, he started off near the right end of the spectrum. Since then, he has moved to the left and is now the median candidate ideologically in the remaining field. That means he's just an average Democrat.
And now he's gone, so it's time to quote FiveThirtyEight in their first 2020 drop out draft and then retire some memes and recipes. Follow over the jump for those.
The nominees for Outstanding Limited Series are Chernobyl, Escape at Dannemora, Fosse/Verdon, Sharp Objects, and When They See Us.
Four of the five nominees depict failures at some level of government, ranging from the catastrope of "Chernobyl" through the miscarriage of justice in "When They See Us" to the incompetence in "Escape at Dannemora" and "Sharp Objects," while the fifth, "Fosse/Verdon," is about show business. The most nominated with 19 nominations as well as the most winning so far with seven Emmy Awards is "Chernobyl," the fictionalized story of the meltdown of the nuclear reactor, with 19 nominations. "Fosse/Verdon" is the next most nominated with 17 nominations and the second most winning with three statuettes, followed by "When They See Us" with 16 nominations and one trophy. "Escape at Dannemora" has twelve nominations while "Sharp Objects" has eight nominations; neither has any wins so far.
My personal favorite is "Sharp Objects," but I think its best chances are for Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actress. It's not going to win this category. Instead, I think this contest is among the three nominees that already have awards, "Chernobyl," "Fosse/Verdon," and "When They See Us" with "Chernobyl" favored. However, I think it will be close, as "When They See Us" is just as well acted and about an issue closer to home, literally, while "Fosse/Verdon" enjoys the advantage of being about entertainment, albeit musical theater, not movies and television. All things being equal, that would give it a good chance of upsetting the other two leaders, but I'm not sure all things really are equal.
The Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie are Hugh Grant, Jared Harris, Benicio del Toro, Sam Rockwell, Mahershala Ali, and Jharrel Jerome.
This category features a match-up between two Oscar winners, Sam Rockwell and Mahershala Ali. I think they are the favorites with a slight edge to Ali, who has won two Oscars to Rockwell's one. This is also his second Emmy nomination to Rockwell's first.
By the way, this is one of two nominations for another limited series, "A Very British Scandal." This is also about a failure of government, or at least politics, so it fits the overall theme.
The Nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie are Patricia Arquette, Michelle Williams, Amy Adams, Joey King, Niecy Nash, and Aunjanue Ellis.
This is another category featuring Oscar nominees and winners. Amy Adams is my personal favorite who has been nominated several times for an Oscar but never won. She's competing against Patricia Arquette, who has won an Oscar. Furthermore, both are contending with a very strong field including the Television Critics Association's choice, Michelle Williams from "Fosse/Verdon," who won Individual Achievement in Drama. Any one of them could win along with Joey King for "The Act."
The Nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie are Ben Whishaw, Stellan Skarsgård, Paul Dano, Michael K. Williams, John Leguizamo, and Asante Blackk.
The biggest names here are Stellan Skarsgård and John Leguizamo, but I'm not sure they're favored. If it were up to the fans who responded in the comments, I think Asante Blackk could win. However, this is not the People's Choice Awards, where they would be voting. Instead, it's the entertainment industry professionals, so I think it will be one of Skarsgård and Leguizamo.
The Nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie are Emily Watson, Margaret Qualley, Patricia Clarkson, Patricia Arquette, Vera Farmiga, and Marsha Stephanie Blake.
Patricia Arquette has a second nomination for "The Act," where the clip shows her as a stage mother of sorts who projects her illness on her child. One of the plot twists of "Sharp Objects" is that Patricia Clarkson's character has the same flaw and does the same to her daughters. Emily Watson's character is more admirable as the Soviet physicist in "Chernobyl." I'd say she would be favored on her performance alone, but she's probably not as well known to the Emmy electorate as Vera Farmiga, who plays the prosecutor in "When They See Us." Too bad, as she is probably the most heroic of the field.
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Chernobyl, Directed by Johan Renck (HBO) Escape at Dannemora, Directed by Ben Stiller (Showtime) Fosse/Verdon (Episode: "Glory"), Directed by Jessica Yu (FX) Fosse/Verdon (Episode: "Who's Got the Pain"), Directed by Thomas Kail (FX) A Very English Scandal, Directed by Stephen Frears (Prime Video) When They See Us, Directed by Ava DuVernay (Netflix)
While I think "Chernobyl" is the best miniseries, I'm not sure Renck is the best director. That goes to Ava DuVernay. Whether she will be recognized for it is another story. Ben Stiller is also known to the Emmy electorate, but mostly for his acting and writing. I'm not sure that will translate to his directing.
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Chernobyl, Written by Craig Mazin (HBO) Escape at Dannemora (Episode: "Part 6"), Written by Brett Johnson, Michael Tolkin and Jerry Stahl (Showtime) Escape at Dannemora (Episode: "Part 7"), Written by Brett Johnson and Michael Tolkin (Showtime) Fosse/Verdon (Episode: "Providence"), Written by Joel Fields and Steven Levenson (FX) A Very English Scandal, Written by Russell T Davies (Prime Video) When They See Us (Episode: "Part Four"), Written by Ava DuVernay and Michael Starrbury (Netflix)
I'm rooting for "Chernobyl," but I really have no idea. DuVernay and Michael Starrbury could just as easily walk away with the trophy.
Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Appropriately enough, my car Pearl, short for The Black Pearl, Jack Sparrow's ship, passed 48,000 miles on Monday, September 16. That means it's time for a combined energy and driving update along with a celebration of the fake holiday. I'll begin with three videos from CNBC about the effects of an attack on an Aramco oil facility that took out 5% of the world's oil supply above the jump followed by the driving update and a song for Talk Like A Pirate Day below the jump.
Drone strikes attacked an oil processing facility at Abqaiq and the nearby Khurais oil field on Saturday, knocking out 5.7 million barrels of daily crude production — or 50% of the kingdom's oil output. CNBC's Hadley Gamble reports from Riyadh.
I commented about this attack in response to A View from the Brink at Kunstler's blog.
I was reminded of what you said in "The End of Suburbia" about "all it takes is 50 pounds of plastic explosive and a camel to take out a pipeline." This is very similar, although it was some cheap drones and a facility more sophisticated than a mere pipeline. Still, the concept applies.
All this takes place as the United States is fixing to tip into recession anyway, something the yield curve, "the chart that predicts recessions" is already telling us. A good old-fashioned oil price shock would do the trick.
Amy Jaffe, Council on Foreign Relations, and John Kilduff, Again Capital, join "The Exchange" to discuss the price of oil soaring following attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
In addition to a yield curve inversion, which hasalready happened, a large prolonged oil price spike is one of the phenomena I told my readers to watch out for in The tax bill and the U.S. economy in 2018 and beyond almost two years ago: "The second is a rapid rise in oil prices, which has occurred either slightly in advance or concurrently with every recession since 1973." Whether this price spike is big enough or will last long enough remains to be seen, but if so, that's another recession warning.
Bill Smead of Smead Capital Management, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the momentum vs. value stocks and who stands to lose the most from higher oil prices.
While I'm sure higher oil prices passed on as higher delivery costs will hurt Amazon's profitability, I don't think it will hurt the company enough to slow down the effect of online retail on their brick-and-mortar competitors, who also have to pay for increased transportation and delivery charges.
Follow over the jump for the driving update and a celebration of Talk Like A Pirate Day.
"Stay tuned," I told my readers at the end of 'Queer Eye' wins four Emmy Awards, as "I plan on looking ahead to the nominations for television movies and limited series. As I started researching both categories, I remembered why I wrote about the television movie and limited series nominees separately last year; despite the overlap in the individual achievement categories, combining the two was too much work. Therefore, I'm doing the same thing this year and looking at the movie nominees first.
Since the Television Academy has provided me an example to show the nominees for Outstanding Television Movie instead of merely telling my readers about them, I'll take it. Watch 71st Nominees: Outstanding Television Movie.
The Nominees for Outstanding Television Movie are Bandersnatch (Black Mirror), Brexit, Deadwood: The Movie, King Lear, and My Dinner With Hervé.
After looking at science, diversity, and political satire, I finally get to write about an Emmy nominee that is speculative fiction, "Black Mirror." It's the one I'm rooting for, as it's both the two-timereturning winner as well as the current holder of a Golden Coffee Cup for television as Best Miniseries or Movie for Television about Politics and Government. It's also the only nominee to win an individual achievement award at the Creative Arts Emmys, Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media Within A Scripted Program. The rest came up dry last weekend.
That wasn't for lack of opportunity. In particular, "Deadwood: The Movie" was nominated for seven awards — Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Make-up for a Limited Series or Movie (Non-Prosthetic), Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or Movie, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie, and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role. It lost all of them to limited series, five to "Chernobyl" and two to "Fosse/Verdon." Still, by my other way of handicapping nominees for awards shows, number of nominations, it is my pick to upset "Black Mirror."
The other nominees, "Brexit," "King Lear," and "My Dinner with Hervé," only have the one nomination for Outstanding Television Movie, so I'm not too worried about their winning. Too bad, as "Brexit" is a topical examination of the origins of an ongoing political crisis and "King Lear" is a classic. As for "My Dinner with Hervé," it's an example of Hollywood nominating a good story about itself. However, I think it's the weakest of the lot.
I plan on returning later this week with the limited series nominees, especially "Chernobyl," which has already won seven Emmy Awards in technical categories. Why not tomorrow? It's Talk Like a Pirate Day. Arr!
If I continue on as I have, my next logical post will be about the awards won by "Queer Eye." Stay tuned to see if I follow through.
It's the path of least resistance, so I'm following it. Here are the Emmy Awards for "Queer Eye."
Outstanding Structured Reality Program.
Antiques Roadshow (PBS) Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network) Queer Eye (Netflix) Shark Tank (ABC) Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (Netflix) Who Do You Think You Are? (TLC)
Diversity may be less featured among the structured reality show nominees, but it still plays a role, with "Queer Eye" and "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" having diverse hosts and "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and "Who Do You Think You Are?" showcasing a variety of diverse guests. The latter also features science and history, so it would be the one I'd recommend for its educational value (as I would "Antiques Roadshow"). In contrast, "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" is my go-to guilty pleasure. I watched a marathon of it in the hospital as I recovered from my surgery for prostate cancer and I used a clip from the show here six years ago. "Queer Eye" is the returning winner, but I'm not confident about its ability to repeat despite being nominated in six categories and winning Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming at the Television Critics Association Awards. I suspect "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" could pull off an upset. It has more buzz even though it has only two nominations, fewer than "Shark Tank" with three.
Fortunately for "Queer Eye," I was wrong to be worried, as it repeated in this category. It really was the favorite!
Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program
Bertram van Munster for The Amazing Race (Episode: "Who Wants A Rolex?") (CBS)
Patrick McManus for American Ninja Warrior (Episode: "Minneapolis City Qualifiers") (NBC)
Hisham Abed for Queer Eye (Episode: "Black Girl Magic") (NBC)
Nick Murray for RuPaul's Drag Race (Episode: "Whatcha Unpackin?") (VH1)
Ken Fuchs for Shark Tank (Episode: "Episode 1002") (ABC)
"RuPaul's Drag Race" won this category last year, the first year it was awarded, so I consider it the nominal favorite. I'm not sure I'd pick "Queer Eye" as the most likely to pull off an upset — "The Amazing Race" perhaps. Still, I'm using an image from "Shark Tank" for this category even if I don't think it will win.
Once again, I was wrong. "Queer Eye" did pull off the upset over "RuPaul's Drag Race." Congratulations!
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program
The Amazing Race – Editing Team (Episode: "Who Wants a Rolex?") (CBS) Queer Eye – Editing Team (Netflix) RuPaul's Drag Race – Editing Team (VH1) RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars – Editing Team (Episode: "Jersey Justice") (VH1) Survivor – Editing Team (Episode: "Appearances Are Deceiving") (CBS)
"Queer Eye" won this category last year, so I think it's the favorite. However, "RuPaul's Drag Race" won it the year before, so it could pull off an upset.
"Queer Eye" repeated, so it justified my calling the show the favorite in this category.
Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program
Born This Way (A&E) Queer Eye (Netflix) RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1) Shark Tank (ABC) The Voice (NBC)
"Queer Eye" won this award last year and "Born This Way" the year before, so I consider them to be co-favorites. However, all these shows have strong sets of subjects and contestants, so the competition will be fierce, particularly with "RuPaul's Drag Race" in the mix.
"Queer Eye" repeated its win here, so I was right to call it one of the favorites.
Finally, congratulations to Netflix and "Queer Eye" not only for being a fun show that helps people be more fashionable, but also being an example of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. Keep up the good work!
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN) Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix) Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (A&E) My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix) Surviving R. Kelly (Lifetime)
"Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" has won this category five of the past six years, being beaten only by "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath" once two years ago. Based on that and the other nominees having only their single nomination in this category, I think it's still the favorite, despite all the rest of the nominees being about show business.
It won for the final time. I can say that about the next award as well.
Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Episode: "Kenya") (CNN) The Case Against Adnan Syed (Episode: "Forbidden Love") (HBO) Fyre Fraud (Hulu) Hostile Planet (Episode: "Grasslands") (Nat Geo) Our Planet (Episode: "Jungles") (Netflix) Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men (Episode: "Episode 1") (Showtime)
"Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" won this award last year, so I think it's the nominal favorite. Also, there are two nominees about entertainment, "Fyre Fraud" and "Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men," which gives them a leg up, although not as much as if they were about movies or television instead of music. Still, this is a category in which both nature series have nominations, which attests to their quality.
Anthony Bourdain was a great writer right up until the end. I will miss him.
Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
Born This Way (A&E) Deadliest Catch (Discovery Channel) Life Below Zero (Nat Geo) RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (VH1) Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix) United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell (CNN)
"United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell" is the two-timereturning winner, so it is the nominal favorite to repeat. In addition, it's my favorite of the field, as Bell examines politics and race relations in America with a light touch. He's very good at communicating with people who disagree with him, building bridges across racial and political divides. However, his show has very stiff competition, as "Deadliest Catch" has won twice and "Born This Way" won three years ago. Also, both shows have three nominations to two for "United Shades of America." While I'm rooting for Bell's show, I would be O.K. with either of its main competitors winning, as "Deadliest Catch" is as much about nature as it is about the fishermen (and women), while "Born This Way" makes an explicit social point about acceptance of differences and celebrating what makes us all both human and special. The spoiler could be "Life Below Zero," which also has three nominations and is also about people facing a harsh environment.
Bell and "United Shades of America" won against a worthy field. It also repeated in the next category.
Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program
Born This Way – Editing Team (A&E) Deadliest Catch – Rob Butler, Isaiah Camp, Nathen Araiza, Ben Bulatao and Greg Cornejo (Episode: "Battle of Kings") (Discovery Channel) Life Below Zero – Tony Diaz, Matt Mercer, Jennifer Nelson, Eric Michael Schrader and Michael Swingler (Episode: "Cost of Winter") (Nat Geo) RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked – Kendra Pasker, Shayna Casey and Stavros Stavropoulos (VH1) United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell – Alessandro Soares (Episode: "Hmong Americans and the Secret War") (CNN)
This category was the second that "United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell" won last year, so I think it's the favorite to win in addition to the one I want to win, but "Life Below Zero" won the year before and "Deadliest Catch" has been nominated every year this award has existed, so the two man versus nature shows have a sporting chance of winning.
Congratulations to Bell and his crew. Here's to their show's continued success and congratulations to CNN for both shows.
If I continue on as I have, my next logical post will be about the awards won by "Queer Eye." Stay tuned to see if I follow through.
