Actress Emma Stone and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane — this year's host — got up nice and early to tell some really atrocious jokes and announce this year's Oscar nominations. If you were smart enough to avoid this stupid ceremony, here's what's totally surprising: neither Zero Dark Thirty's Kathryn Bigelow nor Argo's Ben Affleck received Best Director nominations, even though both directors were considered locks and both movies are nominated for Best Picture.

Yesterday afternoon, New York Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson abruptly announced her resignation. She may have been pushed out, though she got a nice fat "consulting" paycheck to cushion her fall. The important question now: who takes over?

You can't say the Emmy nominations are ever shocking, but there were a few delightful surprises this morning when they were announced. All the usual suspects got nods, but a host of new shows cracked into the competition.

The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol is so excited that "patriot" Campbell Brown is heroically leaving CNN—because she can't compete with other TV blowhards—that he wants her to run against NY Senator Chuck Schumer. [Weekly Standard, pic]

Will America never get its precious Commerce Secretary? Obama's latest Commerce nominee, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg, has just withdrawn from consideration. Maybe they shouldn't have picked a guy who opposes Obama on everything?