--- title: The Awkward Part of The Emmys and Other Fascinating News on the Web description: August 26, 2014 canonical: https://time.com/3182866/the-awkward-part-of-the-emmys-and-other-fascinating-news-on-the-web/ author: Dave Pell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-26T20:26:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:27.239Z og:title: The Awkward Part of The Emmys and Other Fascinating News on the Web og:description: August 26, 2014 og:url: https://time.com/3182866/the-awkward-part-of-the-emmys-and-other-fascinating-news-on-the-web/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Awkward Part of The Emmys and Other Fascinating News on the Web twitter:description: August 26, 2014 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Awkward Part of The Emmys and Other Fascinating News on the Web > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=dc327581-70bf-4f56-b9c5-b9d875fbc9f9&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The 2014 Emmys in 75 Seconds [Watch (HLS stream): The 2014 Emmys in 75 Seconds](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dzhliUjO.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2014-08-26. The 2014 Emmys in 75 Seconds_  by [Dave Pell](https://time.com/author/dave-pell/)  ## Dave Pell Aug 26, 2014 8:26 PM UTC  by [Dave Pell](https://time.com/author/dave-pell/)  ## Dave Pell Aug 26, 2014 8:26 PM UTC  ## 1\. Stolen Television This is undoubtedly television’s golden age, but as _The New Yorker’s_ Sarah Larson explains, its top TV awards show [is still in its awkward stage](http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/emmys-2014-television-still-awkward-stage). At least the Emmys is the most child-friendly awards show. (Especially if you have children in their 80s.) \+ No, you weren’t watching last year’s show on a DVR. _Breaking Bad_ and _Modern Family_ once again took home the top awards. If you’re looking for a big trend, consider this. Increasingly, the shows that win the biggest awards are on pay cable and/or some other service that charges viewers to watch. We are creating a new Couchtocracy where the best of television is available only to those who can afford it. Everyone else is stuck watching shows like the Emmys. And this trend is not limited to TV. I [just read a story about television’s paywall](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/arts/television/bryan-cranston-and-cable-shows-sweep-emmy-awards-again.html) behind a newspaper’s paywall. \+ Here is a look at [all the winners](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emmy-awards-2014-complete-winners-725969), the [seven moments you (sort of) need](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/emmy-awards-2014-watch-shows-728073) to watch, and everyone’s favorite, [the list of folks who got snubbed](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/emmys-2014-who-got-snubbed-727716). Jon Hamm has thirteen nominations and zero wins. \+ Sofia Vergara says the notion that her spinning around on a pedestal during the show was sexist is “ridiculous.” [The Internet disagreed](http://www.thewrap.com/sofia-vergara-says-emmys-pedestal-sexism-charge-is-ridiculous-internet-disagrees/). \+ And with this tweet, [Adam Shankman won the Emmys](https://twitter.com/adammshankman/status/504077791697334272). ## 2\. Back to Stool It’s back to school time, and that means it’s time for parents to become extra cautious about food allergies. Food allergies have gone through the roof in recent years, and scientists are trying to find the root cause of the surge. A new study has identified [a gut microbe that stops food allergies in rodents](http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/08/gut-microbe-stops-food-allergies). “The research fits neatly into an emerging paradigm that helps explain a recent alarming increase in food allergies and other conditions, such as obesity and autoimmune disease.” ## 3\. Truce After weeks of fighting, Israelis and Palestinians have reportedly [agreed to a long-term truce](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28939350). Hamas called the truce a “victory for the resistance.” It’s hard to see how this was a victory for anyone. ## 4\. More Than You Think A couple of recent surveys asked people in countries around the world if they had a favorable view of ISIS. [The numbers might surprise you](http://www.vox.com/2014/8/26/6067123/isis-poll). In France, 16 percent of those surveyed said they supported ISIS. \+ ISIS is [demanding a $6 million ransom](http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/isis-demands-66m-ransom-26-year-american-woman/story?id=25127682&singlePage=true) for a 26 year-old American woman. \+ _NBC News_ on [the American who died fighting for ISIS](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/american-douglas-mcauthur-mccain-dies-fighting-isis-syria-n189081). ## 5\. Less White After Labor Day For the first time, white American students are returning to public schools during a term in which [they will no longer represent the majority](http://www.bbc.com/news/education-28937660): “In autumn 2014 the proportion of white pupils is expected to have fallen marginally below 50% for the first time, with about 26% of pupils Hispanic and 15% black. \+ Some kids are still enjoying Summer. And in some places, that’s because of a [really strong amusement park lobby](http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/local-news/kings-dominion-law-still-reigns-in-virginia.php). ## 6\. The New Editors Twitter and YouTube banned images and videos of James Foley’s murder. That choice, on its own, made sense. But who made big tech companies the new editors of what we do and don’t get to see on the Internet. In _The Atlantic_, [Dan Gillmor provides an answer](http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/the-new-editors-of-the-internet/378983/): We did. \+ _The Intercept_: Should Twitter, Facebook and Google [executives be the arbiters of what we see and read](https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/21/twitter-facebook-executives-arbiters-see-read/)? ## 7\. The Kill Bill California just became the second state to pass a mandatory “kill switch” bill which requires all cell phones sold in the state to enable their owner [to render them useless in the case of theft](http://www.fastcompany.com/3034843/fast-feed/california-passes-mandatory-kill-switch-bill-to-deter-phone-thefts). \+ Maybe the kill switch needs to be applied more broadly. We can’t even [stop sleeping with our phones](http://www.buzzfeed.com/hillaryreinsberg/we-cant-stop-sleeping-with-our-phones-and-were-a-little-anxi). (My phone must prefer sleeping with my kids, because I keep finding it their rooms.) ## 8\. Contagion Two In order to stress that the idea of pouring fresh water on one’s head seems crazy, actor (and water charity co-founder) Matt Damon decided to tweak the ice bucket challenge and [dump a bucket of toilet water on his head](http://www.thewrap.com/matt-damon-dumps-toilet-water-on-his-head-for-als-because-using-clean-water-seemed-crazy-video/). (It might have been easier to just write a check.) \+ Coke just abandoned India expansion plans [due to a lack of water](http://www.citylab.com/work/2014/08/coca-cola-abandons-india-expansion-plans-due-to-lack-of-water/379141/). ## 9\. Yes, Your Honor The owner of North Dakota coffee shop lets the place work on the honor system. The coffee and pastries are all self serve. The prices are listed on a sign. And from there, it’s up to the customers to pay whatever they want. The result: [People tend to pay over the asking price](http://consumerist.com/2014/08/26/self-serve-coffee-shop-manages-to-make-money-on-the-honor-system/). ## 10\. The Bottom of the News We started with TV. Let’s end with it. New research explains why should really [shouldn’t feel guilty about watching](http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/guilty-pleasure-television-lazy-ego-depletion-couch-potato-bad-89359/) all that television. \+ A gadget that stops plane seats from reclining caused a fight that [resulted in a diverted flight](http://gizmodo.com/a-gadget-that-stops-seats-from-reclining-caused-a-plane-1626696368). \+ Greatest guitar riff ever? A panel says it’s [Whole Lotta Love](http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28929167). Special thanks to perhaps the greatest guitar player ever for going to eleven with this explanation: “There was this intent to have this riff and the movement of it, so it was menacing as well as quite sort of caressing.”  ## Transcript This year we're doing the Emmy's on a Monday night in August which if I understand television means the Emmy's are about to get cancelled I am honored to announce the first award of the evening best onscreen orgasm in a Civil War reenactment oh Matthew McConaughey doesn't even own a television. I happen to know for a fact that he traded his television for a conch shell full of weed. Louis Dreyfus over her career she's won five Emmys and had eighteen nominations. Previous wins have been for Seinfeld, The New Inventions of Old Christine, and Veep. A heartbeat away from the presidency and not a single vote cast in my name. Democracy is so overrated. Our academy is more diverse than ever before both in front of and behind the camera. [ MUSIC ] Too attached to a certain guy. And the globe will be so bright, and it will warm your heart. 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