I Am Not Making This Up

For those who know me, my Hierarchy is extensive. There's the main Hierarchy and the sub-hierarchies. Growing up, the Favorite Writer Hierarchy had one name and one name only: Dave Barry. Dave Barry is a humor writer, and a good enough one to win the Pulitzer Prize. I heart him. His column was the first thing I read every Sunday morning. It wouldn't be Christmas unless Santa bought the new Dave Barry book. He was the best.

When I was a senior in college, he was having a signing at Brookline Booksmith promoting his first novel, "Big Trouble". Not going was not an option. The problem was that his appearance was at the same time as a class. This was a conflict because I had never been late for a class, nevermind skipping one outright. But this was senior year, and this was my favorite writer, so I opted to skip to see Dave Barry.

Meeting him was great. He was very nice and I made him laugh, which I was quite proud of. I even got to have my picture with him, which I have to honestly say, is the greatest photograph I have ever taken (Man, I wish I still looked like this). Circa September 1999:



Now, eight years later, much has changed. Dave Barry stopped his column. There isn't always a new humor book every year. David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell and Tony Kornhesier surpassed him on the Favorite Writer Hierarchy. Yet, when I read that he was going to be at the Union Square Barnes & Noble tonight promoting his new book, I couldn't resist going.

I got a seat right up front. By the time he came out, all the seats were filled. He informed us today was Talk Like a Pirate Day, so we all gave an enthusiastic "Arrrrggghhhh!!". He told us about getting older, AARP, and how he got his start. He was hysterical and it's been quite some time since I've laughed so hard. He asked us trivia question and the prize was a "Dave Barry for President" bumper sticker. I won one by knowing the name of the Clinton's dog (Buddy).



He did a Q&A before the book signing. Knowing he is good friends with Gene Weingarten, I told him that I was one of Gene's "I Heart Gene" chatters and asked about the screenplay they were writing. I also asked if the publishers put him up at the Hotel Shpennsylvania (a reference to my ALL-TIME favorite column: http://fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=1&tid=34939126). He laughed and signed the book and bumper sticker.

I was on the PATH before reading what he wrote. It brought a big smile to my face:



Shameless flattery definitely propels him back to the top of the Hierarchy.

Quote of the Day:
"Pez. It doesn't matter if it's a candy -- it could be a construction material for all we know -- but it comes out of Popeye's mouth and that's cool" -Dave Barry

Neil Patrick Harris Was Robbed!

"[Insert Losing Nominee's Name Here] was robbed!" That was pretty much my mantra during the 59th Emmy Awards last night. As all of you know, Emmy night is my favorite night of the year. And my expectations were not met.

But to show I'm not a total sourpuss, I'll start with the highlights:
* The opening with Stewie and Brian from Family Guy. Bravo!
* Portia de Rossi's dress. Absolutely beautiful.
* Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert giving Steve Carell the Best Actor, Comedy award by default.
* Lewis Black's ranting monologue against network TV executives. Credits go by entirely too quickly, or are so compacted you can't see anything. I want my credit, dangnabbit!!
* Kudos for Late Night with Conan O'Brien for winning Best Writing, Variety Series. They were 0-20 in nominations and it's about time they get their due.
* 30 Rock winning Best Comedy. I kinda have a crush on Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth the Page.

And those were the highlights. Now for the rest:
* What was up with that theatre-in-the-round. Emmy people: Don't ever do that again!
* Brad Garrett. Not funny.
* I have nothing against Tony Bennett. He is a wonderful man with a storied career. With that said, there is no way he should have beaten Letterman, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert for Individual Performance in a Variety Show. Last year it was Barry Manilow and now Tony Bennett. If you want to honor old musicians, give them their own category.
* I love Jeremy Piven. Really, I do. But Neil Patrick Harris is so incredibly good on How I Met Your Mother, that the Best Supporting Actor, Comedy award really belonged to him.
* Again, I like James Spader, but the Academy should have handed Best Actor, Drama to James Gandolfini one more time.

And now for fashion...
Top 5 Best Dressed:
1. Portia de Rossi
2. Felicity Huffman
3. Eva Longoria
4. Stephen Colbert
5. Kate Walsh (minus the horrible decision for that side-swept hair-do)

Top 5 Worst Dressed:
1. Jenna Fischer
2. Ellen Pompeo
3. Elizabeth Perkins
4. Vanessa Williams
5. Hayden Panerette

I was glad to see the classic deep red back in style. Loved the host of Top Chef's diamond necklace. I question William H. Macy's ascot, but I heart him, so it's hard to give him any criticism.

Overall, somewhat disappointing. I really need to become an Emmy voter soon to set these people straight.

Quote of the Day:
"Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. " -Jules Renard

All The News That's Fit To Print

On Friday, my roommate Cathy and I were in the audience for the season premiere taping of the Ellen Degeneres Show. While waiting to be seated, we were approached by a reporter for the New York Times. We were questioned about our views for first guest Hillary Clinton. Honest, but diplomatic, we expressed our dislike for her. Here are the links to the New York Times and nj.com, that also made mention of us:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/degeneresclinton08/
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2007/09/dance_hillary_dance.html

Quote of the Day:
"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will." -Jawaharlal Nehru