And the Emmy Goes To... (2010 Edition)

Rather than a whole post on my thoughts on tonight's Emmy Awards, I thought I'd just share my Twitter feed. Note, some of it's a little (okay a LOT) snarky, but that's because I care. Enjoy!

• 4:23 p.m. Gah. Billy Bush your highlights don't brighten you're dimwitted commentary. Switching back to E!
• 4:27 p.m. Which Gladiator did Anna Paquin kill to drape that abuse of wardrobe on her shoulders?
• 4:39 p.m. Did Ryan really just ask Paula to come back to Idol? WTF?
• 5:00 p.m. SHOW BEGINS
• 5:01 p.m. I figured they'd exploit Glee. Just wasn't expecting it immediately.
• 5:07 p.m. Okay. I'm in love. The Boss. Glee. Hurley. Jon Hamm. Tim Gunn. *sigh* I picked the wrong freaking year to work on the Emmys.
• 5:09 p.m. Nothing says, "Let's start off this show with a bang" than "Craptastical comedy highlight package" #andyouwonderwhyyourunlongyoufools
• 5:11 p.m. 5:11 p.m. and I'm gonna call it: I'm all Betty White-d out. There, I said it.
• 5:16 p.m. Dark horse. But @ least it's not NPH (yes, I adore him, but I'm getting NPH-ed out as well). But, oh, Chris Colfer...I'm sad for you.
• 5:18 p.m. Is it that the makeup is way too heavy on all of them? Or the lighting (like the Oscars) sucks ass this year?
• 5:21 p.m. Dear #Emmys: Stop with the stupid packages. NOW. You may just be able to end at 11 for a change.
• 5:25 p.m. Jane Lynch FTW! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
• 5:26 p.m. *snarf* "I want to thank my Lord and Creator, Ryan Murphy." - Jane Lynch
• 5:29 p.m. Spoiler Alert: That long Oprah commercial means on next year's #Emmys we can expect one big O-Fest to the Queen
• 5:33 p.m. Love you NPH, and told you the time we met I love you, but Mike O'Malley was robbed. #letsbehonest
• 5:34 p.m. Clooney. Superb. Way to play along, man.
• 5:38 p.m. Wow, I must've clapped like a foolmonkey and yelled, "Yay!" 6 times tonight already. Go Jim Parsons!
• 5:39 p.m. Could this be the year that *gasp* the #Emmys consistently get it right all night?
• 5:42 p.m. Since it hasn't happened yet, I vote the inevitably craptastic Reality Package off the telecast.
• 5:45 p.m. Dear HBO Sked Exec Who Put a New True Blood on Tonight: You tool. #thatisall
• 5:50 p.m. Ugh, blech, gak, really? Edie Falco? Is it leftover Sopranos love? #moveon
• 5:53 p.m. Dear #Emmys: If you're going to highlight crappy reality TV, can you please at least show the one that's true talent: SYTYCD? #kthxbai
• 5:54 p.m. This commercial was paid for by the Fine Folks at Give Oprah an Emmy.
• 5:56 p.m. Damn it...got something in my eye during the Lost bit. Nothing to see here, move along.
• 6:05 p.m. I'm mad at myself. I think I'm actually *enjoying* this year's show...which means I'm not full of snark. #damnyou
• 6:15 p.m. Where's the nuanced performance? Bryan Cranston's better than Hall or Foxy?
• 6:19 p.m. Yay! They're embracing diversity by having a drag queen present with John Lithgow.
• 6:21 p.m. MOTOWNPHILLY IN THE HIZZY Y'ALL!
• 6:24 p.m. On the #Emmys our nickname for "In Memoriam" is "Dead Sea Scrolls." WOW. An Emmy first: A Dead Sea Scrolls for *shows* we lost this year.
• 6:28 p.m. Kyra? Zzz...
• 6:32 p.m. For the love of puppies and all things double rainbow happiness, please give this to Conan.
• 6:35 p.m. NBC should have a Santa-like Clooney Tracker crawl bar on the screen counting down his eminent #Emmys appearance.
• 6:39 p.m. Dammit...coulda had a Betty White drinking game for the Emmys. #idbedrunkbynow
• 6:47 p.m. Dear Blackberry: You can't make us call u "BBM." It's like that jackass who tries to start the wave but no one pays attention to him.
• 6:53 p.m. Dear NPH: Take note of Clooney. That will be you in 20 years if you keep your nose straight. #nopunintended
• 6:54 p.m. Now THAT'S how you write -- and deliver -- a speech. Good one, Clooney.
• 7:03 p.m. And now on to the HBO portion of tonight's #Emmys telecast.
• 7:11 p.m. Did they just mean to show the #Emmys Show Clock? (Which, unsurprisingly, is showing "long" already)
• 7:14 p.m. At least this time around they're all clothed. #Bummer #TrueBlood
• 7:15 p.m. Hubs: Wow, Sarsgaard's really tall. Or the other two are really short. #trueblood
• 7:21 p.m. If I wanted a list of names of who was associated with an #Emmys win, I'd go to IMDB. #learnhowtowritearealspeech
• 7:48 p.m. Really? Seriously? Mad Men was better than Lost? #Emmys #fail
• 7:53 p.m. Hubs: Is that Ray Romano?
• 8:00 p.m. SHOW ENDS. ON TIME. NO SHIT.
• 8:00 p.m. Now that the #Emmys are over, let me say it again: Best. Opening. Ever. #Glee
• 8:01 p.m. Round of applause to the #Emmys production staff. I was one of you 7 years ago, so I know how effing tired you are.
• 8:02 p.m. Anyone else notice Lea Michele didn't actually make it onstage in the live opening number? #Emmys #Glee

Those are my thoughts...what did you think of the show?

Photo Essay: North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii (includes Lost filming locations)

At the end of each tax season, we like to take a long trip to unwind. Last year, we went to Europe for 17 days. This year, we spent a week on the North Shore of Oahu in June. Unlike last year's trip, this one was less strenuous and more of a relaxing trip due to my surgery this spring. Here's the photo essay of our trip.

Waimea Valley - Audubon Center & Hike to the Waimea Falls

Flower at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center.

Pretty flowers. Don't know the names of any. Prizes for folks
who leave the correct names of these down in the comments.

Another flower at the Waimea Valley Audubon Center.

We interrupt this display of beauty to bring you this
Porta John, which was touted as "Portable
Sanitation at Its Finest" right next to the falls.

Another flower at Waimea Falls. Due to the fine "hairs"
this one was especially hard to catch on film.

This one particularly struck me. With the
bareness of the branches against the blue
sky and white clouds, the yellow pops.

Another pretty flower, blah blah.

Last one. Swear.

While roosters and hens roam freely on most of the island, this
guy stalked us on our hike. Here he is telling me about myself.

Turtle Bay Resort and Spa

The view from our balcony at Turtle Bay Resort and Spa.

Sunset view from our room first night.

Lost Filming Locations

Seems like everywhere we turned (literally) on the North Shore, we ran into a filming location for the television show Lost. In fact, we weren't seeking them out, we would be driving somewhere and say, "Hey, that's from Lost!" Turns out they filmed it on Oahu, mainly on the North Shore where we were staying.

Mokule'ia Beach Park, across from Dillingham Airfield which
served as the crash site for Oceanic Flight 816 on Lost.

Another view of Mokule'ia Beach Park, looking west.

Dharma Village. In real life it's the YMCA Camp Erdman.

Waimea Falls. Kate goes swimming here in a scene from Lost
in Season 1, and in Season 5 Jack and Hurley swim in it.

Fumi's Shrimp, where Sawyer killed that guy in "Australia"
on Lost. In the show, Fumi's was depicted as a shrimp truck.

Pearl Harbor

As we walked through the parking lot on
the way to the entrance of Pearl Harbor,
this sign simultaneously took my breath
away and gave me pause as I teared up.

This was as close as we got...tickets went fast.

General Shots

Diamond Head Lighthouse, east of Honolulu
and Waikiki Beach. Built in 1917 on the side
of the extinct Diamond Head Volcano.

John picking a nose at the Polynesian Cultural
Center. Didn't know until after we paid to get
in that they're owned by the Mormon Church.
I feel dirty, like I indirectly donated to Prop 8.

Horse in the paddock next to the walk to the super secret
beach just east of Mokule'ia Beach Park.

Public access walk to to the super secret
beach just east of Mokule'ia Beach Park.

Food trucks dotted the North Shore. Most famous for shrimp,
we managed to get a great, flavorful skirt steak at this one.

7 days later, relaxed and heading back to the mainland. Aloha!

We went to Pipeline a couple of times because I wanted to shoot its famous waves, but it was flat the whole week we were there so I didn't get any shots of surfers or waves. We spent our last night in Waikiki so we could do the tourist stuff (Diamond Head, etc.). I'm glad we stayed on the North Shore, because if we'd stayed in Honolulu the whole time my opinion of the island would've been completely different. All in all, great trip!

White Folks and Sharks: Where Rational and Stupid Collide

A local San Diego surfer thought he saw a shark while surfing in Northern San Diego County, near San Onofre, so he did what most logical folks would do: goes back the next day to film the creatures.

White folks are so rational.



According to the videographer, Chuck Patterson: "Sure enough within 5 minutes a 9 ft shark came out of no where and circled twice and slapped his tail on my board before disappearing. Then a minute later a 7 ft young juvenile Great White swam circles around me for 12 minutes."

Now I understand Shark Week, to a point, because you're watching from the relative safety of your living room. But this, really? Dude...

Review: New Flip UltraHD Camcorder (120 minutes)

We've been looking for a quick, easy video camera for awhile. I bought this camera based on the reviews I read on Amazon, and plan on taking it out for a spin. I'll check back in and let you know what I think.

Equality Wins as Prop 8 Overturned (video)

As Ice Cube would say, "Today was a good day." Prop 8, the hateful 2008 California proposition that made it illegal for gays to marry, was overturned by the California Supreme Court. While this is no means the end of the debate (it will most definitely be appealed by the bigots and go all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States), I choose to celebrate this victory today. I summed up my feelings on Prop 8 in this article: "Hershey's vs. Cadbury Chocolate."

In honor of common sense prevailing, here are a few of my favorite Prop 8 and gay marriage related videos.

The West Wing: President Bartlet vs. "Dr. Laura"



One of my main issues is how certain people (whom I call Cafeteria Christians) eat at The Bible Buffet. They walk up to it and say, "I want that verse, and maybe a little of that one, but I don't want this one because it doesn't suit my needs."

Enter this scene from "The West Wing" that proves my point. With the Bible, either you're all in or you're not. You don't get to pick and choose verses which are convenient to your beliefs and toss out other ones. *sigh* I miss President Bartlet.


Prop 8 - The Musical (A Funny or Die Production)

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black

This short musical succinctly and perfectly sums up the absurdity of Prop 8. Starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Neil Patrick Harris, Margaret Cho, Rashida Jones, and Allison Janney, directed by Marc Shaiman.


Keith Olbermann on Prop 8 (2008)

Simple. Heartbreaking. Brilliant.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

So there you have it.

The L.A. Times sums up the ruling quite well (bold added by me):

"Proposition 8 'fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license,' Walker wrote in his opinion. 'Indeed, evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples.' Judicial activism? Hardly. Walker's opinion was based on the evidence presented during the trial — including the testimony of witnesses who supported the ban on same-sex marriage. They tried to defend it as rational by arguing that it would protect traditional marriage from harm, that children are better off when raised by a mother and father, and that marriage exists for "responsible procreation."

Those arguments fell apart when a witness in favor of Proposition 8 could articulate no ways in which same-sex marriage would affect heterosexual marriages. Even if heterosexual couples make better parents — and there is ample evidence that this isn't so — society does not try to strip marriage rights from the ones who make bad parents. Nor does society forbid the marriages of the many heterosexual couples who either cannot or choose not to have children."