Manic Monday--Our Take on "SNL 40" and More Oscar Talk

Good afternoon and Happy President's Day! I am glad to have the extra day off, but I am not loving the polar vortex we're having right now. With the wind chills at minus 20, I haven't ventured outside the house since Saturday. Last night, the low temperature reached 2 degrees! I can't wait for spring soon enough!

Even though the "SNL" special had a little too much Kanye for my liking, there were some truly funny moments: the new digital short with Andy Samberg and Adam Sandler, the news with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Jane Curtin, "Wayne's World," and the opening with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake. Emma Stone did a decent Roseanne Rosannadanna, and Melissa McCarthy was convincing as Matt Foley, motivational speaker. Steve Martin's cold opening and Jerry Seinfeld's Q&A were great, too. The big mystery of the night was Eddie Murphy. He came onstage for about 30 seconds, made a speech, and suddenly disappeared. Major disappointment.

BTW, it seems I made an error in Friday's blog. I was told that Alec Baldwin hosted "SNL" 16 times, not 12. I apologize for the mistake.

Today's Oscar topic is the Award for Best Original Screenplay. This is an award for a script not based on previously published material. The award was introduced in 1940 as a replacement for "Award for Best Story." The first winner of the award was Preston Sturges for "The Great McGinty." Here are some fun facts and trivia about the award:

• Woody Allen has received the most nominations with 16. He's won three. 
• Ben Affleck is the youngest winner at age 25. His "Good Will Hunting" screenwriting partner, Matt Damon, was 27. 
• The only siblings to win in this category were the Coen Brothers (Joel and Ethan). They won the award for "Fargo" in 1996.
• Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola are the sole father-daughter pair to win the award. 
• When Orson Welles won the award for "Citizen Kane" in 1941, he was actually booed. The film is now considered one of the greatest of all time.
• Billy Wilder holds the record for writing the most Best Picture nominations with seven.
• Francis Ford Coppola and Alan Jay Lerner hold the record for writing more Best Picture winners with three each.
• Joan Harrison was the first woman to co-author a Best Picture winner ("Rebecca").

This year's nominees for Best Original Screenplay are:

• "Birdman," Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
• "Boyhood," Richard Linklater
• "Foxcatcher," E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
• "The Grand Budapest Hotel," Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
• "Nightcrawler," Dan Gilroy

It's a close race between Anderson and Linklater, who have already won awards for their respective works. For example, Anderson won the Writers' Guild Award, while Linklater received the BAFTA prize.

I would now like to present yet another movie-themed game from the shop. These samples are  a part of a series called "Movies by the Decade." Party guests will match the plots from classic films from the '20s through the '90s with their titles. Individually, the games cost $7 each. However, if you buy all nine, you pay just $55. That's an $8 savings!




Now for today's lists:

Party Idea of the Day comes from the website Lux and Concord, who shows us some upscale finger foods for your party guests. I love these suit-and-tie cake pops. The site even suggests music to get party guests in the mood, such as "Mrs. Robinson," "My Heart Will Go On," and "Over the Rainbow." Note that these are all Oscar-winning songs.

Black History Month Fun Fact of the Day: There are currently 46 African-Americans in the 114th Congress. The first black senator was Hiram Rhodes Revels from Mississippi, and the first black Congresswoman was Shirley Chisholm, who represented New York for seven terms.

Oscar Fun Fact of the Day: Nine of this year's twenty performers are first-time nominees: Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Keaton, Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike, Emma Stone, J.K. Simmons, and Patricia Arquette.

Today's Birthdays: Elisabeth Olsen (26), Lupe Fiasco (33), Taylor Hawkings (43), Dave Lombardo (50), Andy Taylor (54), Lisa Loring (57), Ice-T (57), LeVar Burton (58), James Ingram (63), William Katt (64), and Jeremy Bulloch (70).

Holidaze: In addition to President's Day, we are also celebrating National Almond Day. I love almonds and try to sprinkle them on food whenever I can. According to several health professionals, almonds provide healthy fats and proteins and are part of a beneficial lifestyle. They can reduce cholesterol and risk for heart disease. 

National Do a Grouch a Favor Day is today's "nonsense" holidaze. Webster's defines "grouch" as a habitually irritating person, a complainer, a grumbler. We all have these people in our lives, whether it be a neighbor, co-worker, or family member. This is a day to surprise the grouches in our lives when they least expect it.

Breaking News: We just learned that Lesley Gore, the singer of such hits as "It's My Party" and the groundbreaking feminist anthem "You Don't Own Me," has passed away at age 68 from lung cancer. She is survived by her partner of 33 years, Lois Sassoon, her mother, and her brother. RIP.

This weeks topics will include Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, and still more Oscar talk.

Have a PRINTASTIC day and stay warm!

Kathy

Weekend Edition: Live From New York!

Happy Friday the 13th! According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, an estimated 17 to 21 million people are affected by fear of this day. They avoid their normal routines and traveling, especially flying. The only thing nasty about today is the weather. I woke up to nine-degree temperatures this morning, and it's going to be extremely cold all weekend.

The original "Not Ready for
Prime Time Players"

Enough with the bad-luck spiel . . . it's time to talk about the real event of the weekend. Forty years ago, NBC premiered a little sketch comedy show called "NBC's Saturday Night," which eventually became known as "Saturday Night Live" ("SNL") On Sunday night, NBC will be airing a three-hour special featuring highlights and special guest appearances by alumni. (Update: I've just heard that everyone who ever appeared on the show was invited. and the confirmed guest list is impressive. 

Prior to "SNL," the network had been airing reruns of "The Tonight Show." Johnny Carson requested that NBC stop airing them because he was planning to take extra time off during the week. NBC President Herbert Schlosser and Dick Ebersol, VP of NBC Late Night Programming, approached comedy writer Lorne Michaels to assemble a cast for the new show. "SNL" premiered on October 22, 1975 and was an instant hit. I was among the first generation to watch the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players": Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner, The show was a springboard for many young stars who went on to successful movie and TV careers. Since then, the show has gone through some great years, and some not so good. I remember the complete cast overhaul in 1980 when Lorne Michaels left the show, along with the 1985 "all-Hollywood" cast, which included Robert Downey, Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, and Randy Quaid. Michaels returned to the show the following year. My son watches the current cast while I'm fast asleep.

Here are some additional fun facts about the show:\

• Cast members originally earned $750 a week. By the 1990s, the starting salary for cast members was $5,500 per episode.
• The first guest host was George Carlin. The musical guest that night was Paul Simon. 
• Candice Bergen was the show's first female host.
• "SNL" has an exclusive "Five-Timers Club": those who have hosted the show f0r five or more episodes. Alec Baldwin holds the record with 12 appearances.
• During the '70s, Ackroyd and Belushi rented the Blues Bar in NYC and started to play live music there. This was the birth of the Blues Brothers
• Eddie Murphy consistently called the show's talent coordinator, Neil Levy, to give him an audition. Levy finally relented and found Murphy so good that he got a contract. Murphy eventually distanced himself from the show for many years but is supposed to make a return appearance on Sunday's show.
• Ron Reagan, Jr. is the only child of a president to host "SNL."
• The least successful film based on an SNL character was "It's Pat," which grossed just over $60,000. 
• The most successful was "Wayne's World," which grossed over $180 million." Ben & Jerry's has released its a new flavor based on its characters called "Wayne'Swirled."
• Sketches that were almost turned into movies were Coffee Talk, Sprockets, Mr. Peepers, and Superfans.
• Larry David wrote for the show in the '80s but didn't last too long. He walked out five minutes before the show went love one Saturday. Once he left, he realized he made a stupid mistake and showed up for work on Monday. Nobody noticed, and this story was later used on "Seinfeld."
• On one of its most controversial shows, Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope following her musical appearance.
• Now-famous people who auditioned but didn't make the cut: Louis C.K., Paul Reubens (Pee-Wee Herman), Stephen Colbert, Lisa Kudrow, and Marc Maron.
• Kenan Thompson is the first cast member who was born after 1975.
• Rolling Stone magazine ranks all 141 cast members. In a sidebar, the magazine also lists the 50 greatest sketches.
• Decider has published a list of the 40 greatest "SNL" characters.
• Hitfix lists the 20 best impressions by "SNL" cast members.
• The New York Daily News also has their list of the 20 best sketches.
• Seth Meyers had the longest tenure of all the "Weekend Update" anchors, followed by Tina Fey and Dennis Miller.
• We remember the cast members who died before their time: John Belushi, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Gilda Radner, Charles Rocket, and Danitra Vance, 

Today, I am offering two Freebie Friday games for the long weekend. One is a matching game based on "SNL" characters. The other is a President's Day trivia game. Answers will be published on Tuesday.

Now it's time for the usual lists:

Party Idea of the Day: Today, we present the first of our Oscar Party ideas. Although this recipe is a few years old, these statuette sugar cookies by Bakerella have a huge online following. They're very sophisticated and I'm sure they're tasty, too.

Maya Angelou

Black History Month Fun Fact of the Day: Maya Angelou stopped celebrating her birthday for many years following the assassination of her friend, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which was on the same day. She sent flower to his widow annually.

Special Valentine's Day Fun Fact: The website My Fitness Pal measured the "romance index" of each state in the U.S. They present their findings with this interactive map. Who knew that the smallest state of the union (Rhode Island) would also be the most romantic? New York came in at number 10. Hawaii, however, didn't fare so well. It ranked 48th out of 50. Go figure.

Oscar Fun Fact of the Day: Despite "Boyhood" being filmed over the course of 12 years, it took only 39 days to complete.

Today's Birthdays: Mena Suvari (36), Kelly Hu (47), Freedom Williams (49), Henry Rollins (54), Matt Salinger (55), Peter Hook (59), David Naughton, Peter Gabriel (65!), Jerry Springer (71), Stockard Channing (71), Carol Lynley (73), Peter Tork (73), Bo Svenson (74), George Segal (81), and Kim Novak (82).

Tomorrow's Birthdays (2/14): Freddie Highmore (23), Rob Thomas (43), Valente Rodriguez (51), Enrico Colantoni (52), Sakina Jeffy (53), Dwayne Wiggins (54), Meg Tilly (55), Ken Wahl (58), Teller (of Penn and Teller) (67), Pat O'Brien (67), Maceo Parker (72), Florence Henderson (81!), and Hugh Downs (94).

Sunday's Birthdays: Amber Riley (29), Gary Clark, Jr., Ronnie Vannucci (39), Sarah Wynter (42), Renee O'Connor (44), Michael Easton (48), Mikey Craig (55), Ali Campbell (56), Janice Dickinson (60), Matt Groening (61), Melissa Manchester (64), Jane Seymour (64), and Mick Avory (71).

Today's Holidaze: It's National Blame Someone Else Day, which occurs on every first Friday the 13th of the year. This holiday was invented by Anne Moeller of Clio, MI, after her alarm clock failed to go off one Friday the 13th, which created a domino effect of everything that could go wrong.

For foodies, it's National Tortellini Day. This pasta dish is very much like ravioli and is usually stuffed with ham, white meat, or cheese. There's actually an organization called the Learned Order of the Tortellini, which is dedicated to the preservation of traditional tortellini. Meh.

Tomorrow's Holidaze: We all know what tomorrow is. However, did you also know it's National Organ Donor Day? Thousands of lives can be saved with the donation of organs, tissues, blood, etc. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 100,000 people waiting for life-saving organ donations. This day was started in 1998 by the Saturn Car company and the UAW in partnership with the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

On the foodie calendar, it's National Cream-Filled Chocolates day. This is self-explanatory. I'm not a fan of raspberry or cherry-filled candy, but I love mint creams. If you want to know how to make your own, check out recipes by Wilton.

The last of the holidaze for tomorrow is National Ferris Wheel Day. This day was created to honor its creator, George Ferris, Jr. The amusement park and carnival favorite first appeared at the 1893 World's Columbian Expedition in Chicago.

Sunday's Holidaze: Sunday's foodie holidaze is National Gumdrop Day (yum!). Although they are pure sugar and bad for your teeth, I love gumdrops, especially the licorice and cherry flavors. They're not only good for cakes and cookies, but they're great for crafts and gifts.

Finally, it's National Singles Awareness Day. This is a day for the unattached to stand up and say it's OK to be single!

We are mourning the loss of the New York Times media writer David Carr, who died suddenly at age 58. He interviewed Edward Snowden at a TimesTalk last night, returned to his office, and had a heart attack minutes later.

We continue with our Oscar coverage next week. Have a very Happy Valentine's Day and stay warm! For those who are lucky to have next week off, enjoy!

Have a PRINTASTIC weekend!

Kathy