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.
The United States Navy (USN) is the United States Armed Forces’ naval warfare service branch and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States.
The U.S. Navy is currently the largest, most powerful navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage. The service has over 340,000 personnel on active duty and more than 71,000 in the Navy Reserve.
Seven uniformed services? Actually eight, in addition to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force, there are the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps).
What is the true meaning of the 4th of July and American independence? This special episode of A People's History of Native America argues that the 4th of July’s roots are further from patriotism and closer to propaganda. Rather than independence, this day represents the centuries-long seizure and ethnic cleansing of Native American land. By looking at the history surrounding the American Revolution, we will uncover that Native Americans were an unexpected threat to the founders’ vision for their future country and plans for Westward expansion.
After watching this video, I feel even more strongly that Americans who worry about genocide and ethnic cleansing should focus on its survivors here before displacing their guilt elsewhere. Of course, I would feel this way, because, as I wrote 14 years ago, "My wife, my ex-girlfriend, and my ex-wife all have Native American ancestry. At least two of them would qualify as Native Americans under U.S. government policy, and one of them is enrolled as a Cherokee..." My wife and I put our money where our mouths are by donating to a charity in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. It's the least we can do.
As dozens of Native Americans braved the heat and wind in Northern Arizona to uphold a beloved tradition that falls days before the 250th anniversary of the US this year, some reflected on what the milestone means to them.
Again, the high proportion of Native Americans who served shows up again in this video.
RuPaul's Drag Race leads nominations with nine (eleven for the franchise), followed by six for The Traitors, five each for Dancing with the Stars and Survivor, and four for Top Chef. The prognosticators at Gold Derby orders the top two like they did last year, when I wrote 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win again. Every editor, 95.2% of experts, and 93.5% of users think The Traitors will threepeat. The fans and the professionals diverge on the next most likely, with 4.3% of users rooting for RuPaul's Drag Race to upset, while the remaining 4.8% of experts and 1.8% of users selecting Survivor. Dude, I used to be such a big Survivor fan that I was a moderator of a reality TV forum; I get it, but it's not happening this year. Top Chef trails with the last 0.4% of users, while no one is picking Dancing with the Stars.
By the time of the live televised awards, every expert and editor along with 95.9% of users had consolidated around The Traitors, Survivor sat in second with 1.9% of users, RuPaul's Drag Race dropped to third with 1.6%, 0.6% of users moved to Dancing with the Stars, and Top Chef lost all of its support. All the professionals and the overwhelming majority of users got it right. Watch Reality Competition Program: 78th Emmys.
Alan Cumming and the team behind The Traitors accept the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 78th Emmys.
Yes, it is amazing how a show about treachery and betrayal can bring people together, but not surprising if one is a reality show fan like I was. Survivor did the same thing a quarter century ago. Also, thanks to Cumming for reminding the audience to register to vote. I've been slacking on that.
For some reason, hurricanes are terrified of South America. In fact, as long as we’ve been keeping track, it’s only EVER been hit by ONE! Hurricane Catarina was the hurricane that, according to meteorology, never should have happened. So how did it? On this episode of Weathered, we take a tour of hurricane regions around the world to answer that question. And we find out what Catarina can teach us about how hurricanes really work, and how they’re changing.
Catarina features in An Inconvenient Truth as a possible example of climatechange affecting hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, and tropical storms: "Explain how the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons fit with predictions based on global warming." That no hurricane has formed in the South Atlantic since shows that it was most likely a fluke and may have nothing to do with climate change. That doesn't detract from what Maiya May and other meteorologist learned from it nor from the other predictions, that hurricanes will get stronger and rising sea levels will increase the amount of storm surge, making coastal flooding worse. That's the answer to a question I ask in Chasing Ice, which replaced An Inconvenient Truth: "What effect will rising sea level have on hurricanes and typhoons?" California is seeing that right now as a result of ElNiño amplifying the waves of Tropical Storm Rachel, something I'll mention to my students next week.
In my Environmental Science class, the lab I run is one to introduce my students to the metric system, which many of my students struggle with. In fact, their issues with it are such that I tell my students a joke about it. "There are only three groups of students in community college who understand the metric system, the science nerds, the foreign students, and the drug dealers." That never fails to get a laugh.
My job would be a lot easier and I could cover something else if the United States fully adopted the metric system.
My joke has changed a little over the past 13 years, as some gamers also understand the metric system thanks to their games using it, but my opinion hasn't.
Apple has built-in accessibility features like Magnifier, Accessibility Reader, Braille Access, VoiceOver, Sound Recognition, Name Recognition, and Live Captions that can create new opportunities for people with disabilities to study, socialize, and succeed in college.
These features can enhance learning and create new opportunities for people with disabilities to study, socialize, and succeed in college.
For Audio Descriptions, click on the Settings gear icon and select the descriptive audio track.
Last year, when I complained "there doesn't seem to be a single public service announcement (PSA) in the field," I wrote "While there are no nominated PSAs, Apple's nominees are doing their best imitation of selling their products' features as services." The winner fits that description. It also made me tear up. I can see and feel how it won. Congratulations!
I telegraphed this entry in Randy Rainbow sings 'Dummy with the Wig On Top' plus the short form winners at the Emmys when I wrote "seeing the two presenters reminds me that I never wrote anything for Outstanding Commercial or the winners of Outstanding Promotional Announcement at the News & Doc Emmy Awards. It's on my to-do list." Follow over the jump for the News & Doc Emmy winners.
Narb: But [what] I really want you to blog about is Yo-Yo Ma's playing LoTR music with the Michigan Marching Band on Saturday!
All my favorite things rolled into one (except for beer).
Me: I just watched that show on YouTube. Yes, I plan on doing just that later this week. The 25th anniversary of the first Lord of the Rings movie is right up my alley.
Music Selections:
Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - composed by Howard Shore
Concerning Hobbits from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - composed by Howard Shore
A Shortcut to Mushrooms from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - composed by Howard Shore
Riders of Rohan from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - composed by Howard Shore
Isengard Unleashed from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - composed by Howard Shore
Musical Arrangements by Scott Boerma, Richard Frey, and Chuck Ricotta
Flag Choreography by Joan Noble-Pruett
Drill by Richard Frey
“You shall not pass,” …up the chance to watch as the MMB performs Howard Shore’s score from Lord of the Rings with special guest soloist Yo-Yo Ma. This Saturday, we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with music arranged from the film series, originally composed by Howard Shore.
One does not simply walk into Kinnick Stadium… we march! Today’s halftime show celebrates 25 years of the Lord of the Rings films, featuring the iconic music of Howard Shore.
Iowa won the football game, but Michigan won the halftime.
Stay tuned for a more serious post tomorrow or Saturday, whichever day I don't dedicate to the winner of Outstanding Commercial at the Emmy Awards.
While Queer Eyewon last year, the Gold Derby odds doubt it will repeat. Instead, 71.4% of experts, 66.7% of editors, and 75.4% of users expect Antiques Roadshow will win. The remaining experts are split with 14.3% each forecasting Queer Eye and Love Is Blind. The users break that tie with 14.8% backing Queer Eye and 6.6% loving Love Is Blind. 33.3% of editors and 3.3% of users selected Shark Tank. No one thinks Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives will win. Always a nominee, never a winner.
If anything, opinion dispersed instead of consolidating by the time of the Saturday ceremony, as 64.7% of experts, 50.0% of editors, and 73.5% of users stuck with Antiques Roadshow, while 17.6% of experts, 37.5% of editors, and 16.2% of users chose Queer Eye to repeat, 11.8% of experts and 5.1% of users loved Love Is Blind, 5.9% of experts, 12.5% of editors, and 4.0% of users selected Shark Tank to return to the podium after a year, and 1.2% users defected to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Those who chose Antiques Roadshow were rewarded. Watch Structured Reality Program: 78th Emmy Awards.
Marsha Bemko, Sam Farrell, Sarah K. Elliott and Jill Giles accepts the Emmy for Structured Reality Program at the 78th Emmy Awards.
Congratulations and as a fan of public broadcasting, thank you and everyone at PBS for what you do.
That's a wrap for today. I have two more posts planned in this series, one for Outstanding Commercial, which will be Friday or Saturday, and a final one for Outstanding Competition Program, which I plan on posting as the Sunday entertainment feature on National Coming Out Day. I will follow that with Indigenous Peoples' Day. Looks like I have my blogging cut out for me. Stay tuned for all of that and more!
Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards
This week the average price of diesel in UK petrol stations rose above £2.00 a litre for the first time, just one of many consequences of the surge in worldwide prices caused by the Iran war. Donald Trump and his policies are also hammering his own electorate in the inflated costs at the pump and in the grocery store. So we figured we'd put a parody together to reflect on this, and to give us the chance to sing an all-time classic Dolly Parton number. She was lost to the world a few weeks ago, leaving the planet much diminished in sparkle and heart, but still able to celebrate her incredible legacy of musical belters and of philanthropy, warmth, and support (especially for education and charities). "Jolene" was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee in 1973, its desperate lyrics apparently based on a true story, and also written by Parton within a day or so of another of the most expressive tracks in the country genre, "I Will Always Love You"! Alfie's back at uni now, but found a moment to post-record the bass to give it some umph!
As for Republicans opposing the war and distancing themselves from Pervert Hoover, I think that's as much because of the war's effect on fuel prices as anything else. I lived through the stagflation of the 1970s and today looks a lot like 50 years ago. It reminds me that people get more upset about inflation than unemployment. That's one of the reasons I used to be all over gas prices; they affect people's mood and political choices, as the GOP is figuring out and Pervert Hoover is ignoring. I think he's too focused on the third thing he cares about after self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment, revenge. He can't get over how Iran has frustrated him.
The official music video for The Marsh Family - FINGERTIPS.
We are releasing it on World Suicide Prevention Day (10th September), and wish to point viewers to the vital work of The Samaritans (here in the UK and Ireland). We're supporting their vision and their vital efforts to provide a 24/7 listening service - so that whatever challenges someone might be facing, they can find a moment of genuine human connection, and a safe, judgement free, confidential space to be heard.
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The song is from our debut album "Hollow Chapters" which came out in March 2026 and has been in the UK Folk Album Charts for six months. Thanks to everyone who supported the project on Kickstarter and Patreon.
This was also a fundraiser for Suicide Prevention Month. The link to it is at the video itself on YouTube.
That's a wrap for today. Stay tuned for another brief entry tomorrow.
Stephen Colbert talks about The Late Show winning seven Emmys, what he’s doing with his suits from the show, Jimmy spilling wine on him at a wedding, wearing a tan suit to an event for President Obama, writing a new Lord of The Rings movie with his son, his son John calls to re-enact him getting pulled over in New Zealand, Stephen shaves off his beard, and Stephen has a very special gift for Jimmy.
I'm glad Stephen is enjoying his forced retirement, including writing a new Lord of the Rings movie.* The rest of us miss him.
Love on the Spectrum leads with five nominations, followed by Welcome to Wrexham with four, America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked tied at two, and Summer House with just this one. That's close to how the Gold Derby odds rank their chances. Every expert, 83.3% of editors, and 87.6% of users picked Love on the Spectrum to repeat. The editors and users split on which shows could upset the leader. America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is the choice of the remaining 16.7% of editors but no users, while 7.5% regard RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked as the runner-up with Welcome to Wrexham at 4.3% and new nominee Summer House as the selection of the final 0.5%.
One month later, Gold Derby's prognosticators consolidated around Love on the Spectrum with every editor, 94.1% of experts, and 92.4% of users predicting it would win, while the remaining 5.9% of experts joined 6.0% of users to rally around RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked. Watch Love on the Spectrum win Unstructured Reality Program: 78th Emmy Awards.
Cian O’Clery, Karina Holden and Kelly Martin accepts the Emmy for Unstructured Reality Program at the 78th Emmy Awards.
I applaud the goals of the producers for the program. Congratulations!
Love on the Spectrum is the defending winner, so it's the nominal favorite. That written, it's facing stiff competition from, no joke intended, the competition programs. In fact, that's a pattern this season, as the structured reality program nominees have only one nomination each.
Marcus Kjellberg, Leanne Cole, Kim Lloyd and John Rosser accepts the Emmy for Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program at the 78th Emmy Awards.
Looks like this was a pleasant surprise for them as well as me. Congratuations!
Follow over the jump for a description of National Boyfriend Day.
Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump facing backlash from his own party for using taxpayer dollars to air campaign ads and his handpicked candidate for Senate in Texas bashing him.
As for Republicans opposing the war and distancing themselves from Pervert Hoover, I think that's as much because of the war's effect on fuel prices as anything else. I lived through the stagflation of the 1970s and today looks a lot like 50 years ago. It reminds me that people get more upset about inflation than unemployment. That's one of the reasons I used to be all over gas prices; they affect people's mood and political choices, as the GOP is figuring out and Pervert Hoover is ignoring. I think he's too focused on the third thing he cares about after self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment, revenge. He can't get over how Iran has frustrated him.
Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump's solution won't work. First, as Seth pointed out, it will take too long. Second, natural gas has nothing to do with gasoline. Maybe Pervert Hoover thinks people are as confused about natural gas and gasoline as he is. Sigh. That's a small part of why Ken Paxton is upset with Pervert Hoover, who insulted Paxton, then ran a convention in Paxton's home turf that tied Paxton to Pervert Hoover, when (not my) President has record unpopularity. Jailbirds of a feather may flock together, but they might not like the results.
Pervert Hoover calling the taxpayer-funded campaign ads "public service announcements" (PSAs) once again demonstrates that he has the worst case of L'Etat, c'est moi I have ever seen. As far as he's concerned, he is the country, so what's good for him is good for the country. I doubt he realizes that the reverse might not be true.
Seth found plenty to laugh at in the taxpayer-funded campaign ads, but they deserve a serious examination from Leeja Miller, an actual attorney, who stated Your Tax Dollars Just Paid For Trump's Propaganda.
Trump has spent the last week disseminating propaganda paid for by the US Government and claiming they're all "public service announcements." Is the public service in the room with us? How does this compare to past presidential PSAs and propaganda used by authoritarian governments around the world?
Leeja is right; these are bad PSAs and look more like propaganda by authoritarian regimes. Speaking of which, Leeja "reminds me that I never wrote anything for Outstanding Commercial or the winners of Outstanding Promotional Announcement at the News & Doc Emmy Awards. It's on my to-do list." Stay tuned.
Jordan Klepper breaks down the headlines, including an AI summit in Washington that left us with exactly the same amount of federal AI regulation (read: none). Plus, former Trump prosecutor Jack Smith appears before the Senate to answer questions about his “misconduct,” and Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt falls on his proverbial ass on live TV when his ambush of Smith backfires spectacularly. By the way, did anyone see that Atlanta Hawks game? Neither did Jack Smith.
As I wrote in the last closer look, Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump is interested in three things, self-aggrandisement, self-enrichment, and revenge. Rebranding and empowering A.I. (no, it's not super intelligence; even the best computers have just enough capacity to rival a fly's brain) qualifies as the first two, while going after Jack Smith qualifies as the third. The former will likely succeed. The last failed spectacularly, at least on Tuesday, as Seth Meyers also documented in Sen. Eric Schmitt & GOP Humiliate Themselves at Train Wreck Jack Smith Hearing: A Closer Look.
Seth takes a closer look at Senate Republicans humiliating themselves in a train wreck hearing where they tried and failed to catch former special prosecutor Jack Smith in a gotcha moment.
Trying to make the wheels of (in)justice grind Jack Smith failed, at least this time. Schmitt and the other Senate Republicans were too invested in their narrative to realize that the facts didn't support it. Also, Schmitt only talking about NBA and Men's NCAA games showed that they didn't even consider Women's NCAA. That makes them look sexist as well as stupid. Kudos to Senator and likely future Governor Amy Klobuchar for correcting the record.
Aunt Chippy joins us in Brooklyn, the Yankees hosted the Red Sox for Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series, Trump told the truth today for the first time ever, had lunch with Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and other A.I. leaders, Trump is still trying to blame everything on Joe Biden and can’t stop falling asleep, Republicans are investigating Jack Smith’s investigation, and we talk to Guillermo & his partner Witney on the set of Dancing with the Stars.
Pervert Hoover falling asleep after calling Joe Biden "Sleepy" is not my first choice for "every accusation is a confession," but it sure works. And, yes, Senator Schmitt is a Schmitthead.
I could go on about MAHA, but it's time to wrap up. Stay tuned for a longer post tomorrow.
In this episode of Retail Archaeology we take a look at Kohl's.
Erik also posted an AI summary.
Retail Archaeology explores the current state of Kohl's by examining inventory management, store presentation, and recent corporate changes. The walkthrough highlights the retailer's expansion of toy selections and partnerships, while documenting the ambiance of empty retail spaces as the store prepares for upcoming holiday seasons.
Based on the video, inventory management and external factors are still issues for Kohl's. At least the company got $150 million back from tariff refunds, $100 million of which it used to buy back stocks. That made the shareholders happy, but customers not so much. As Erik showed, they could have used some of that money for new displays. Priorities. Is it a sign of poor leadership? We'll see.
The chain is also shrinking, as evidenced by my wife going to the closest store and finding that it has closed, apparently one of 27 stores that closed last year. Kohl's also has no plans to expand.
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We probably won't be Kohl's shoppers in the future, as the nearest store is now nearly seven miles away instead of two. We'll go that far for Costco, but not for a department store. If so, there are better stores that distance, like a Macy's, and a Target closer.
That's a wrap for September's blogging. Stay tuned for the first post of October. Spooky season!
Jon Stewart examines the limits of Republican allegiance to Trump after his weekend of wooing President Xi with granite, helipads, and an exclusive tour of the White House ballroom. Will MAGA loyalists denounce Trump's offer to sell weapons to China, America's supposed enemy, or is their frustration with the president a Susan Collins-style display of feigned outrage?
When I called for continuing cooperation between the U.S. and China in U.S.-China EcoPartnerships: The CoDominion plans for sustainability 15 years ago, the U.S. selling arms to China was not what I had in mind! Not only does Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump have the worst case of L'Etat, c'est moi I have ever seen, he sees everything that isn't a way to aggrandize himself as a commercial opportunity that could enrich himself. I'm reminded of the quote attributed to Lenin, "The capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." Pervert Hoover is certainly living down to that sentence.
Seth takes a closer look at Donald Trump saying he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Republicans openly broke with him and called for an end to the war.
Pervert Hoover was being too accomodating to Xi about the ballroom, that is, if it's really about national security and not just his edifice complex. Also, I'm a geologist and I'm not as into granite as Pervert Hoover thinks he and Xi are.
As for Republicans opposing the war and distancing themselves from Pervert Hoover, I think that's as much because of the war's effect on fuel prices as anything else. I lived through the stagflation of the 1970s and today looks a lot like 50 years ago. It reminds me that people get more upset about inflation than unemployment. That's one of the reasons I used to be all over gas prices; they affect people's mood and political choices, as the GOP is figuring out and Pervert Hoover is ignoring. I think he's too focused on the third thing he cares about after self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment, revenge. He can't get over how Iran has frustrated him.
We are back in Brooklyn for a week of shows, Guillermo won’t be with us until Wednesday because he is busy Dancing with the Stars, no quarterback has been sharper after the game than Giants QB Jameis Winston, Jimmy kicks an annoying Red Sox fan (Matt Damon) out of the audience, Trump hosted President Xi of China for a state dinner, and the monologue gets interrupted by a pothole crew and their angry supervisor (Jon Hamm).
Before I go onto to something serious, that's the best "your momma" bit I've ever seen on TV! As for Pervert Hoover being a hypocrite about state dinners, file that under "there is always a tweet" (or clip, in this case).
Enough of last night's monologues. Follow over the jump for the Emmy Awards won by The Daily Show writers and Jimmy Kimmel.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (Ramy Youssef) gets a visit from President Trump (James Austin Johnson) and Natalie Harp (Ashley Padilla) during a nor’easter.
Ashley Padilla as Ashley Harp stole the scene. Two horror movie references, Weapons and Obsession? Perfect. She made a bigger impression than James Austin Johnson's Trump crushing on Ramy Youssef's Mamdani. Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump loves winners and Mamdani certainly is one of those.
China taking its pandas back messed with a lot of Americans' entertainment and they want new pandas. The media are happy to cater to this desire, which draws clicks and views. Should the Chinese lend pandas back to U.S. zoos, it will make both China, if not Xi, and Biden more popular in the U.S. That's a win-win. Now to see if it actually happens.
It's too late to help Biden, but not too late to help China and Xi. I don't know if it will help Pervert Hoover. His approval ratings are at record lows.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like critics calling out Hanukkah Barbie appearing to have a larger nose.
I'm not surprised 20% of Gen Z hasn't had sex. Even by Wikipedia's definition, Gen Z's last birth year was 2012 (I'd place it later), so they're 14. Age of consent in the U.S. ranges from 16 to 18. That's probably 20% right there.
Follow over the jump for Weekend Update's interviews and more.
Mr. Scorsese and Sean Combs: The Reckoning co-lead with three nominations each, followed by The American Revolution and The Yogurt Shop Murders tied at two and Rafa with one. That's not exactly the order that the prognosticators at Gold Derby handicap this category. The professionals mostly picked Mr. Scorsese to win with 62.5% of experts and 57.1% of editors along with 37.6% of users, while 57.9% of users support The American Revolution with the remaining professionals, 37.5% of experts and 42.9% of editors, agreeing. The rest of the users rank Sean Combs: The Reckoning third with 2.9%, Rafa fourth with 1.3%, and The Yogurt Shop Murders fifth with 0.3%.
By the time of the ceremony, the 64.8% of users fighting for The American Revolution persuaded enough of the professionals that 58.8% of the experts and 50.0% of the editors joined them, leaving 35.3% of the experts, 50.0% of the editors, and 28.9% of the users sticking with Mr. Scorsese. The professionals should have held their ground, as Mr. Scorsese won. Watch Documentary or Nonfiction Series: 78th Emmy Awards.
The team from Mr. Scorsese accepts the Emmy for Documentary or Nonfiction Series at the 78th Emmy Awards.
Between the two, I think The Tale of Silyan is the favorite. First, it has a second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, which I'll examine over the jump, while The Librarians has only one. Second, it earned a nomination for Best Documentary at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in addition to Best Cinematograpy. The Librarians also earned a nomination at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Political Documentary, but not Best Documentary. Third, The Tale of Silyan earned nominations at the Film Independent Spirit Awards and PGA Awards and wins at the Cinema Eye Honors Awards and Golden Trailer Awards. Yes, the trailer I embedded is a winner in its own right for Best Documentary Subject. Meanwhile, The Librarians earned nominations at the Satellite Awards and Cinema Eye Honors Awards. When the two films earned nominations at the same awards shows, The Tale of Silyan won awards and more and better nominations. Gold Derby hasn't created a predictions page for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards yet, but I don't have to wait until they do; I can tell which nominee is more likely to win, especially since this is a juried award. The experts will prefer the craft and storytelling of The Tale of Silyan over the subject matter of The Librarians.
The experts, editors, and users at Gold Derby all disagree with me; 87.5% of experts, 71.4% of editors, and 91.4% of users are currently voting for The Librarians to win. They must think the Television Academy considers the craft level is even enough that the anti-censorship message of The Librarians will be enough to beat The Tale of Silyan. I'm not convinced yet. It depends on the composition of the jury.
By the Saturday night ceremony, professional opinion consolidated around The Librarians as 94.1% of experts, 87.5% of editors, and 95.1% of users chose it. They were right and I was wrong, but that's O.K. Watch Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking: 78th Emmy Awards.
The team from The Librarians accepts the Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the 78th Emmy Awards.
A day after Paramount Skydance and a group of state attorneys general announced a settlement clearing the way for its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, questions remain about whether the deal does enough to protect consumers and competition. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Oliver Darcy of Status.
I've writtenmanytimes that the surest way to get Americans to act is to mess with our entertainment. This will mess with our entertainment, just like the Paramount-Skydance merger before, which resulted in Late Night with Stephen Colbert being canceled. Also, there is no new Star Trek being produced for the first time since Star Trek: Discovery debuted in 2017. However, I don't think consumers have yet seen how this merger will mess with their entertainment. It might take a while, like HBO not renewing Last Week Tonight with John Oliver next year, although The Daily Show is still going.
Critics said they feel betrayed and duped by the California leaders.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass may have urged a settlement to save their political careers. Instead, they created new enemies. As for the protest doing anything useful, I'm recycling what I wrote in 'DTF St. Louis' wins Outstanding Limited Series while 'Beef' is shut out at the Primetime Emmy Awards: "What the shareholders want and what the Hollywood creatives desire are not the same and the shareholders are in charge unless the courts rule otherwise." The most visible actors may be well-paid and influential, but at the end of the day, they're just employees.
OPINION: Lindsey Granger gives her lens on the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, which cleared a major hurdle after reaching a settlement with a dozen states that had sued to stop the merger.
People are freaked out over the Ellisons and their relationship with Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump and the possible effect on CNN, but this is the first I've heard of people being concerned about foreign ownership. I hadn't considered that as being bad for America.
I'm sure I'll write more about the fallout from this deal. In the meantime, stay tuned for more Emmy Awards coverage.
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Ocean with David Attenborough co-lead with six nominations each, followed by John Candy: I Like Me with five nominations and Marty, Life Is Short tied with My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay at three. Normally, I'd consider Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Ocean with David Attenborough to be co-favorites, but the experts, editors, and users at Gold Derby disagree. They think John Candy: I Like Me and My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay to be the favorites, with 50.0% of experts, 28.6% of editors, and 61.0% of users picking the former, while 50.0% of experts, 57.1% of editors, and 26.3% of users choosing the latter. Normally, I'd favor the editors over the experts except one of the experts picking John Candy: I Like Me is Joyce Eng, whose opinion I trust. The remaining editor(s), 14.3%, are currently voting for Ocean with David Attenborough along with 3.5% of users. The rest of the users are split between Marty, Life Is Short with 6.2% and Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! with 3.0%. I've often written that, all things being equal, the Emmy electorate will vote for a good story about themselves. The corollary is that they will vote for a nominee about a dead celebrity over a living one. The prognosticators at Gold Derby seem to agree. Again, electorates matter.
By the time of the Saturday ceremony, most of the professionals lined up behind My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay with 58.8% of the experts and 50.0% of editors, along with 34.6% of users. The majority of users, 55.9%, joined by 41.2% of experts and 37.5% of editors, stuck with John Candy: I Like Me. The remaining 12.5% of editors held their position with Ocean with David Attenborough. The professionals called it. Watch Documentary Or Nonfiction Special: 78th Emmy Awards.
The team from My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay accepts the Emmy for Documentary Or Nonfiction Special at the 78th Emmy Awards.
Congratulations!
Outstanding Narrator
Sir David Attenborough – A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (Netflix)
Sir David Attenborough – Ocean with David Attenborough (Nat Geo)
Jodie Foster – Breakdown: 1975 (Netflix)
Werner Herzog – Ghost Elephants (Nat Geo)
Octavia Spencer – Lost Women of Alaska: "The Missing" (Investigation Discovery)
The experts, editors, and users disagree about the odds in this category, too, with 87.5% of experts and 83.0% of users but only 28.6% of editors electing for Sir David in Ocean with David Attenborough, 42.9% of editors along with 12.5% of experts and 9.4% of users choosing Octavia Spencer, and the remaining 28.6% of editors along with 2.9% of users on board with Warner Herzog. The remaining users split between Jodie Foster at 2.6% and Sir David's other nomination at 2.1%. Let's see who switches first, the experts or the editors.
The editors lost their nerve by the time of the ceremony, as 66.7% of them joined 88.9% of the experts and 82.3% of users in selecting Sir David, while only 11.1% of both experts and editors along with 11.3% stuck with Octavia Spencer. More editors, 22.2%, wanted Werner Herzog to win! The editors should have held fast, as Spencer won. Watch Narrator: 78th Emmy Awards.
Octavia Spencer accepts the Emmy for Narrator at the 78th Emmy Awards.
Congratulations to Spencer, who now has an Emmy to go along with her Oscar.
I also listed the other nominations for Ocean with David Attenborough.
The answer seems to be a very English version of "as little as necessary." Too bad we don't live in a world as idyllic, but Middle-Earth in general and The Shire in particular are fantasy lands, as Robert himself points out.
In this edition of IDTIMWYTIM, Hank explains why the common understanding of "equinox" is wrong, what the equinox actually is, and then rages a little against astronomers and their stupid confusing Latin terms.
Science! Also, look how young Hank is.
That's a wrap for today's triple holiday. Stay tuned for continuing Emmy Award winner coverage.
