According to an MSNBC report, How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris (aka the dude who will always be Doogie) is about to be confirmed as the host of this year’s Emmys. He’s successfully helmed the Tonys, but with the awards show under pressure to make up for last’s year’s abysmal ratings, will it be enough? After the jump, a reminder of what he brings to the table.
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Hey, we enjoyed Juno as much as anyone [ed note: that's the editorial we; I sort of agreed with bloggers who thought it sucked] but, like many of its indie compatriots, its conformity to indie stereotypes made it ripe for satire. In this ode to “every indie movie,” the Rotten Tomatoes Show hosts Ellen & Brett attack everything from Garden State to The Royal Tenenbaums, waxing on bearded intellectuals, wood paneling, and Kimya Dawson along the way.

Toronto-bred spazz-rockers the Rural Alberta Advantage mine the erratic tropes of skewed Canadian pop acts, while simultaneously mimicking the lo-fi buzz of American indie institution Neutral Milk Hotel.

The band’s self-released debut, Hometown, is already a subterranean success, but, with a Saddle Creek reissue out this week, this is the perfect time to call yourself a convert. Lucky for you, we’ve got a stream of the entire album.

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The State announced this morning that it’s taking a genuine, depression-style approach to paying back its debts. According to the LA Times:

With budget negotiators at a loggerheads and California government facing a cash crisis, the state controller’s office will start printing IOUs this afternoon for the first time in 17 years.

The presses are set to start at 2 p.m., churning out 28,742 IOUs worth $53.3 million that will be dispatched mostly to residents throughout the state still awaiting their income-tax refunds.

IOUs, eh? I didn’t realize those actually existed. At first what what’s happening here appears outragous, but this SRSLY certificate actually goes to the state’s inhabitants. SRSLY guys, you didn’t want to pay more taxes to balance the budget? Well guess what, the government doesn’t want to pay tax returns.

1. Tony-award winning Broadway mainstay Ragtime is set to return next November. [via Variety]
2. To the dismay of 15-year-old girls everywhere, Kevin Jonas is officially engaged.  [via MTV]
3. The former head of the Dutch the Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture, is being hunted by police after siphoning and absconding with more than €15.5m of the organization’s assets.[via The  Arts Newspaper]
4. Vibe  magazine may not go away after all, at least not if Quincy Jones has anything to say about it. [via CNN]
5. Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden passed away yesterday. His credits included cinema classics like A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront. [via LA Times]

CNN reported today that, rather than repeal the woefully out-of-touch policy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is considering the “selective” enforcement of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. We can’t really imagine how it’d be “more humane” to lead someone to believe their sexuality is OK only to single them out afterward, but sure, we’ll give it a go. After the jump, we help folks in the field apply this dubious idea with a Seven Point Field Test to See if You’re Too Gay for Gates.

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As much as I hate to distract everyone from their Michael Jackson autopsy updates (anyone else smell a backlash a’brewing?) another little piece of news is about to unfold: the end of that little war in Iraq. While we’ve still got a long haul ahead, today’s preliminary pull-out of American troops from Iraqi cities went surprisingly well. While some expected violence occurred, the all-out civil war many are betting on has NOT happened.

Which leads me to wonder… why aren’t Americans celebrating? I don’t expect anything on the scale of last week’s pride parade, but come on kids, shouldn’t we spend a little time singing in the streets? After the jump, a reminder of how we we felt about Iraq before the recession, when a withdraw was all we really wanted.

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Just as Princess Diana’s death eclipsed everything around it (including the tragic passing of Mother Teresa), Michael Jackson‘s untimely end has made it difficult for anyone else to gain attention. While the King of Pop should certainly be honored for his unquestionable achievements, it’s sad to see his mourning come at the expense of others that have died in the last seven days. After the jump, eight scientists, activists, and celebrities just as deserving of their due.

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As Chinatown bus services find new ways to cut into Greyhound’s bottom line (and the travel war continues to rage), one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the discount service is being overrun by a less savvy and adventurous type of traveler. I know, because I’m in the middle of it.

I left work an hour ago and arrived 20 minutes early for a 2pm bus. I went to the location as instructed, asked if I was in the right spot, and listened carefully as the ticket agents issued instructions. Now, here I am: on as bus every bit as good as Greyhound wandering the internet on free wi-fi while I stretch my legs in an extended seat. And the walk-up price to DC was only 20 bones! So why have I heard nothing but complaints all afternoon? After the jump, a list of the culprits and what these noobs don’t seem to know.

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Mainstream media outlets have confirmed that pop superstar Michael Jackson, age 50, went into cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon. Reports are now coming out from TMZ and Gawker that the singer was not revived (TMZ also has photos of what they say is Jackson being wheeled into the hospital). E! Online is reporting that the singer collapsed in his home around noon, and was unresponsive. His father, Joe Jackson has reported that, “He had a heart attack… He is not OK.” Reports are conflicting as to whether or not he made it to the hospital alive. While mainstream outlets have not declared Jackson deceased, CNN‘s now-retracted statement that “The music icon from Gary, Indiana, was known as the ‘King of Pop.’” [emphasis added] is not encouraging.

UPDATE: Entertainment Tonight is reporting that it has a photo of Jackson’s stretcher emerging from the ambulance.

UPDATE: Radar has confirmed that siblings Tito and La Toya have just arrived at the hospital and are being updated.

UPDATE: According to the LA Times

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.

UPDATE: According to the Washington Post, Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the report.

Jackson is survived by Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.