Emmy Award Nominations
Nominations for the 63rd Annual Emmy Awards were announced this morning, with HBO leading all other channels in nominations (104!). Modern Family was the most nominated sitcom, and my personal favorite, 30 Rock, was close behind them.
The Emmy’s are taking place this year on September 18th. Here are a few of the nominations that were announced this morning for the major categories:
–Nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series include 30 Rock, Modern Family, Glee, and the Office.
–Nominations for Outstanding Drama Series include Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, and The Good Wife.
–Nominations for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series include The Colbert Report, SNL, and my two favorite late night shows, Conan and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
–Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series include Matt LeBlanc (he’s on TV again??), Steve Carell, Alec Baldwin (30 Rock!), and Jim Parsons, while Lead Actor in a Drama Series includes Jon Hamm, Hugh Laurie, and Steve Buscemi.
–As for Actress in a Comedy Series, Melissa McCarthy, Edie Falco, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey were nominated. For Drama, Mariska Hargitay, Connie Britton, and Elisabeth Moss were among those nominated.
Did your favorites make the list?
Everyone, calm down.
Adele!
Hi! I’ve not contributed to YourItList since approximately 1964, but I’m back! Get excited.
- Celine Dion – she is amazing after all.
- Justin Timberlake – now that he’s an “actor” I don’t guess this is likely to happen.
- Dolly Parton – it’s coming on June 28th! Before the apocalypse(s)!
- En Vogue – but I’m probably Never Gonna Get It.
- Charlene – without her, I’d have never been to me.
And since it seems that I’m writing about music, I have to tell you … not that you asked … that I’m getting quite tired of this “Lady Gaga is trying to be Madonna” thing. It’s getting old and I have other things to think about … like the Tony Awards or what I’m supposed to watch until 30 Rock and Modern Family come back. Anyway, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it; probably too much time. If you like Lady Gaga, listen to Lady Gaga. If you like Madonna, listen to Madonna. If you like them both, well, then you have good taste and you should carry on.
Gaga vs. Madonna
Our Favor!te Things 2010: Kateri Benjamin
Favor!te Film: Tie between The Kids Are All Right and The Social Network
Favor!te Album: Vampire Weekend’s Contra 
Favor!te Book: Patti Smith’s Just Kids
Favor!te Designer: Mondo from Project Runway – He deserved to win but Gretchen needed the money more, so I’m ok with how it turned out. 
Favor!te TV show: 30 Rock. Always.
Favor!te Blog/Website: Racked.com posts the most interesting fashion stories
Favor!te Twitterer: @McNallyJackson gives good book tweet
Favor!te You Tube Video: “Many too small boxes and Maru”. This is perhaps the best video demonstration of cat psychology that I have seen in a while:
What do you want the most as a holiday gift? iPad!
Cool Gifts for Everyone on Your List
Your It List presents our eleven top books to give this holiday season.
Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Lifeby Justine Picardie
Richly illustrated with hundreds of color and black and white photos, Coco Chanel illuminates Chanel’s path from little-known seamstress to the aristocracy of style in this stunning look at the fashion icon.
Perfect Gift for anyone who loves Chanel in all it’s forms – clothes, perfume, jewelry, bags, shoes –as well as all those who loved Audrey Tautou‘s award-winning role of Gabrielle Chanel in the film Coco Before Chanel.
Buy Coco Chanel, read an excerpt or watch a video.
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
The # 1 New York Times bestseller and inspiration for the hit CBS sitcom, $#*! My Dad Says, starring William Shatner, Justin Halpern’s memoir of his dad is laugh out loud hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. You’ll never think of little league, Denny’s or your dad the same way again.
Perfect gift for your Dad, for fans of the show and followers of Twitter.com/ShitMyDadSays.
Buy Sh*t My Dad Says or read an excerpt.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
One of the biggest bands in the world, The Red Hot Chili Peppers finally bring fans an audacious look back at their thirty-year odyssey, in their own words and accompanied by over 300 photos.
Perfect gift for all RHCP fans, past and present, and those who can’t wait for their next album.
Buy The Red Hot Chili Peppers or read an excerpt.
The Tattoo Chronicles by Kat Von D
The New York Times bestselling follow-up to High Voltage Tattoo, The Tattoo Chronicles delves deep into Kat Von D‘s personal journals and notebooks to reveal one tumultuous year in the life of the star of TLC’s LA Ink and contains photos taken and drawings made by Kat herself as well as the stories behind some of the most meaningful tattoos Kat has ever created.
Perfect gift for fans of LA Ink and lovers of tattoos.
Buy The Tattoo Chronicles, read an excerpt or watch a video.
How to Beat Up Anybodyby Judah Friedlander
An instructional and inspirational Karate book by the World Champion and star of 30 Rock, Judah Friedlander. Learn how to beat up street gangs, attackers with weapons, ninjas, dinosaurs, and gangs of street ninjas with weapons riding on dinosaurs! With over 500 photographs, this is a book that could quite possibly save your life.
Perfect gift for fans of 30 Rock and anyone wanting to survive.
Buy How to Beat Up Anybody, read an excerpt or watch a video.
Harry Potter Film Wizardry by Brian Sibley
The official, behind the scenes guide to ALL the Harry Potter Films, including the recently released Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Volume 1 AND the upcoming Volume 2, Harry Potter Film Wizardy shows fans why Yule Ball ice sculptures never melt, where Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts are really “minted,” how to get a Hippogriff to work with actors, the inspiration behind Hogwarts castle, and why Dementors move the way they do.
Perfect gift for all Harry Potter fans.
Buy Harry Potter Film Wizardry, read an excerpt or watch a video.
The Simpsons World: The Ultimate Episode Guide by Matt Groening
At 1,200 pages, this cromulent compendium provides a comprehensive synopsis of every episode for the past twenty years, including every couch gag, every “D’oh” and “Mmm…” Homer has ever muttered, every song ever sung by citizens of Springfield, over 400 character profiles and lots more stuff you may have missed!
Perfect gift for all Simpsons fans.
Buy The Simpsons World or read an excerpt.
Designs on Film by Cathy Whitlock
Open the curtain on movie magic and explore the set designs of the biggest films in movie history including The Wizard of Oz’s yellow brick road, Cleopatra‘s ancient Egypt, the Dakota apartment building in Rosemary’s Baby, Norma Desmond’s “white elephant of a place” from Sunset Boulevard and the vast world of Pandora from Avatar.
Perfect gift for fans of classic films and those interested in behind the scenes details of their favorite films.
Buy Designs on Film or read an excerpt.
The Art of Classic Rock by Rob Roth
For many, the items lovingly cataloged in the pages of The Art of Classic Rock will evoke nostalgic memories of their youth—of blazing lights, drifting smoke and of the all-pervading power of their favorite rock concerts.
Perfect gift for fans of classic rock, especially the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Queen, Alice Cooper and Elton John, as well as fans of album and music poster art.
Buy The Art of Classic Rock, read an excerpt or watch a video.
Al Jaffee’s Mad Life by Mary-Lou Weisman
A biography of Al Jaffee, creator of the massively popular MAD magazine “fold-in” delves deep into the artist’s life and brings readers from the shtetls of Lithuania to the streets of New York and deep inside the world of the top cartoonists of the 20th century, fully illustrated by Jaffee himself.
Perfect gift for fans of MAD magazine and readers interested in 20th century America.
Buy Al Jaffee’s Mad Life, read an excerpt or watch a video.
The Lost Rolling Stones Photographs by Larry Marion
A revealing look at the earliest days of the legendary Rolling Stones, captured in a collection of personal, never-before-seen photographs—the largest single trove of such important rock images ever uncovered—shot as the band were on the brink of international stardom.
Perfect gift for all fans of The Rolling Stones and readers of Keith Richards’s memoir Life.
Buy The Lost Rolling Stones Photographs or read an excerpt.
An It Halloween
For some publishers, it might not be all that fun to play author dress-up on Halloween. I guess one could arrive as Salman Rushdie (with newest ingenue in-tow), or go for the conceptual “Jonathan Franzen’s $100k eye glasses” costume. For us, however, our eclectic and fabulous authors offer many opportunities for clever Halloween attire.
A few suggestions from the It Books team:
Our fearless leader Carrie says she’d go as Isabella Blow. “For the fashion. The fashion.”
Dearest Joseph would like to dress as Russell Brand, and provides a helpful hair-styling lesson from Mr. Brand’s Booky Wook 2.
Editor extraordinaire Kate takes a cue from one of her own projects. She’d choose Alison Arngrim, “because it would be fun to wear Nellie Oleson’s infamous blonde ringlet wig, though (if you read Alison’s book you’ll know that) it was extremely painful for Alison to put on every day and often made her scalp bleed!”
In these recessionary times, I’ll opt for a budget-friendly Judah Friedlander costume. A t-shirt and trucker cap are easy enough to procure at a reasonable price.
The real World Champion vanquishes all imposters.
Which author would you channel for this year’s trick-or-treat ensemble?
A World Champion Event
Last night, friends, colleagues, and former opponents of Judah “The World Champion” Friedlander gathered at New York’s SPiN ping pong club to celebrate the release of his satirical karate guide HOW TO BEAT UP ANYBODY (on sale October 5).
In attendance were a number of Judah’s “3o Rock” cast members, including Jack McBrayer (Kenneth), Scott Adsit (Pete), Keith Powell (Toofer), Grizz Chapman (Grizz), John Lutz (Lutz), and Sue Galloway (Sue).
As ping pong balls whizzed by and party-goers imbibed drinks offered by the soiree’s sponsor, Southern Comfort, attendees admired a number of props from Judah’s book, including a real-life, in-the-(tuna-and-kielbasy-)flesh homemade World Champion Pizza Sandwich (whose recipe is included in Chapter 4 of Judah’s book!) and The World Championship Trophy, which (you’ll learn in chapter 2) he received from the President of South America when The World Championship was held in Zaire in 1998.
Suffering in the northeast corner of the club was one of Judah’s many victims, a man whose limp, bludgeoned body served to warn attendees of the fate that might befall them if they offended The World Champion by not buying his book.
The highlight of the night was when a squad of EMTs and New York’s Finest showed up to “save” the bloodied man, tipped off by a subway-rider who spotted him through the two-way glass window that faces both the interior of SPiN and the 23rd Street #6 train subway stop.
For more pictures, including shots of New York firefighters arriving on the scene, check out New York MetroMix’s slideshow.
Live every week like it’s Shark Week
Started in 1987 by the Discovery Channel, Shark Week happens annually every summer. And every summer, fans get more and more obsessed. Shark Week has gotten so big that sharks have begun appearing on TV, in the streets and even on buildings. Take a look:
To start off, here’s a funny shark commercial that I really hope airs on Discovery Channel this week during the festivities:
It seems just about everyone can get into celebrating Shark Week. Here’s a pedicab riding around Manhattan during Shark Week in July 2008:
Even Discovery Channel, the sponsor of Shark Week, pulls out all of the stops at its national headquarters in Silver Spring, MD:
Also, Martha Stewart endorses Shark Week:
What better way to enjoy a Shark Week episode such as “Into the Shark Bite” (where you “…go on a wild ride as [the Discovery Channel shows] you the LAST thing you’d ever want to see in real life: close up views of attacks by the world’s most deadly sharks — from INSIDE their mouths!” airing Aug.5 at 10 pm EST on the Discovery Channel) than to watch while indulging in Martha Stewart’s clever shark and beach cupcakes?
And hand it to 30 Rock to mention Shark Week while also providing another hilariously quotable phrase.
In a first season episode, Tracy gives Kenneth some advice: “So, here’s some advice I wish I woulda got when I was your age: Live every week like it’s Shark Week.”
Happy Shark Week!
Our Favor!te Things 2009: Joseph
In our third Favor!te Things installment, I’m pleased to present Joseph’s (YIL contributor, publicist extraordinaire and wearer of thigh-highs) 2009 picks.
Favor!te Film: It’s a dead tie between Where the Wild Things Are and The September Issue, which I’ve already discussed.
Credit: Caroline Knopf
Favor!te Album: Nellie McKay’s Normal as Blueberry Pie. She divine.
Favor!te Concert: Semi-Precious Weapons. I’ve seen them live probably 5 times in 09 and they get better every time. My favorite show was the one they played in the courtyard of the Hudson Hotel in NYC. They are now on tour with Lady Gaga.
Favor!te Book: I re-read Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman. He’s a breathtaking story teller.
Favor!te Art Show: Noah Scalin’s Skull exhibit at Quirk Gallery in Richmond was pretty brilliant. His book was pretty cool too.
Favor!te Fashion Trend: I’m just really happy that color seems to be universally okay again. Even in New York. As I mentioned before I’d get a sex change to wear these shoes.
Favor!te TV show: 30 Rock reigns supreme, but as far as new shows go, I’m loving ABC’s Modern Family.
Favor!te Blog: www.towleroad.com
Favor!te Real Housewife: Me. My life’s goal is to be a housewife. Volvo and all. Bring it on. 
Favor!te Twitterer: Kirstie Alley. She’s a big ball of crazy.
Favor!te You Tube Video: Undoubtedly the gays lip syncing Party in the USA.
Bonus Coverage:
What are you most excited about for 2010? The summer, when my short shorts can make their return.
Who do you most want to smooch on New Year’s Eve? Zac Efron.
Tina Fey’s Top-10 “30 Rock” Moments
Last week, Tina Fey opened up to the Daily Beast and shared her favorite moments from her hit TV show “30 Rock.” The list is entertaining, illuminating, and, at times, surprising. Check it out for a window into the mind of the creator of the best comedy show in TV history….or at least to help you procrastinate til you’re able to get your next “30 Rock” fix tonight!
