AP Photo/NBC, Paul Drinkwater

Live updates from Richard Roeper:

6:24 p.m.
Kudos to Stacy Keibler on the multiple red carpet appearances as George Clooney's awards-season date. She's outlasting many of Clooney's previous girlfriends, including, you know, the one that worked as a restaurant hostess in Las Vegas, and, um, the one that's an Italian TV something or other.

Matt Lauer to Keibler: "I promised I wouldn't ask 'Who are you wearing?' but, 'Who are you wearing?' "

Wish he'd kept that promise.

Cut to Al Roker interviewing Jennifer Lawrence, who's about a hundred feet taller than Roker. "How did you [play a] young widow who lost her husband so early?" Roker asked Lawrence, who paused and then said, "Uh..I don't know Al!"

Meanwhile, the over/under on those of us at home who couldn't help but think of Roker's recent admission about his embarrassing, post-surgical episode at the White House: 65 percent.

7:23 p.m.
They should host everything.

The eternally funny Tina Fey and exactly-the-same-level-of-funny Amy Poehler stepped up to the plate as co-hosts of the Golden Globes and knocked out one line drive after another, with many of their one-liners easily clearing the fence.

Singling out Ben Affleck in the crowd, Poehler said, "Hey Ben, I'm from Boston too. You're not better than me."

Fey and/or Poehler also delivered zingers about Anne Hathaway's disastrous turn as James Franco's Oscar co-host; Kathryn Bigelow truly knowing about torture because "she was married to James Cameron for three years," and the Hollywood Foreign Press itself. They looked beautiful, and they were brilliant and edgy without coming across as snarky or too cool for the room.

8:33 p.m.
The first time I saw Tommy Lee Jones onscreen, he was delivering one of the most wooden non-performing performances I'd ever seen in a god-awful cheesefest called "The Betsy."

Imagine my surprise as the years went on and Jones turned into one of the more compelling actors of our time--even if he doesn't have the range of a Sean Penn or a Daniel Day-Lewis.

Off-screen, however, Jones seems incapable of even pretending to be having a good time. Whether he's growling one-word answers at a press junket or seemingly on the verge of falling asleep at an awards show, Jones always looks like he wishes he'd rather be anywhere but here.

Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig brought down the house with their routine about knowing nothing about the five performances they had to introduce. ("Jennifer Lawrence...JLaw...Silver Linings Playbook, she had all this silver...and she was like, 'Get out of here, this is my cookbook!' "). Every time they cut to someone the audience, all we saw was joy and laughter.

Until they cut to Tommy Lee Jones. As Ferrell and Wiig were killing it, he looked like he wanted to kill them.

Sir. You're an actor. I've met Secretaries of Defense and four-star generals that take themselves less seriously.

All the stars are out for tonight's Golden Globes, airing at 7 p.m. on NBC and hosted by funny ladies Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. But we've got a great crew of writers ready to live-blog the events, including Richard Roeper, Bill Zwecker, Rogert Ebert, and many more. Follow below as we go live at 5:30 p.m. with the countdown to the red carpet, followed by the red carpet at 6 p.m., and the ceremonies at 7 p.m. We'll be here all night!

(Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP)

BY: RICHARD ROEPER

What's it going to take for Daniel Day-Lewis or Claire Danes or Sofia Vergara to take home a Golden Globe tonight?

One way to do it would be with votes from Ersi Danou, Dagmar Dunlevy, Munawar Hosain and Rocio Ayuso, aka Maria Bernal--and about a dozen other members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Academy.

I keep seeing stories about the "approximately 90" members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association--but according to the HFPA's own site, there are just 76 international journalists that make up the voting body for the Globes.

The aforementioned Ersi Danou is a Greek entertainment journalist. Dunlevy's Canadian. Ayuso/Bernal is affiliated with Spain. And Hosain is listed as representing Australia, the Netherlands AND Cuba.

Way to trot that globe!

It's one of Hollywood's biggest open secrets: the Golden Globes are kind of a joke, but they count because nearly all the major stars nominated in the sometimes dubious categories show up for the nationally televised ceremony, which is often described as the precursor to the Academy Awards, which is of course a huge insult to the some 6,000-plus professionals that belong to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

To become a member of the HFPA, you have to be publish at least four entertainment articles--a year. (I have colleagues that have published four entertainment articles in an afternoon.)

Also, you have to be asked, and many of the leading foreign journalists covering movies and television have never been asked to join the HFPA. It's a very small organization that only rarely opens their doors to new members.

The Globes are Jake LaMotta fighting Sugar Ray Robinson in "Raging Bull"--they take shot after shot after shot, but they never hit the canvas. There have been periods when no self-respecting television network would air the awards ceremony. Then there was the embarrassment of 1981, when Pia Zadora was crowned Best New Star. Not to mention the various articles over the years noting many of the members are not even full-time journalists and often hold down "civilian" jobs.

Not to mention some of the ridiculous categories, e.g., pitting actors from cable movies and mini-series against actors on weekly shows. Somehow, Hayden Panettiere from "Nashville," Sofia Vergara from "Modern Family" and Sarah Paulson from the HBO movie "Game Change" are all competing against each other in the same category. Huh?

But even with the lawsuits and the whispers and the rumors about how the awards are decided, even though I've spoken with Globe-nominated individuals who know the process is a joke but play along because it's undeniably good for the career, even though a large majority of even the casual viewers tuning in tonight realize there's something sketchy about the Globes, we don't care. We want to see how the wonderful Amy Poehler and Tina Fey do as hosts. We want to see which actress gets caught in the bathroom when her name is announced, which upset winner has to thread his way past the star-studded tables, which star will slur his speech after a few too many sips of the complimentary champagne.

Besides. Aren't ALL awards shows, even the Oscars, just a little bit silly when we take a step back? All these beautiful, talented, wealthy, famous winners of life's lottery trembling uncontrollably because they've won a trophy?

Yes, the Globes are a farce, but they're usually a pretty entertaining farce. Let the goofiness begin.

He's now principal clarinetist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York City, but you might best remember Chicago native Anthony McGill from his fine work alongside world class musicians Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma and Gabriela Montero at the first inauguration of Barack Obama in January of 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFALyKG_Bck

On January 20 and 21, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, the South Sider comes home to take part in an annual tribute to the iconic civil rights leader. He'll perform with the Chicago Sinfonietta, baritone Eric Owens and the Waubonsie Valley High School Mosaic Choir. They'll all be led by music director and conductor Mei-Ann Chen.

Annual Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Chicago Sinfonietta
January 20 at Wentz Concert Hall in Naperville (171 E. Chicago)
January 21 at Symphony Center in Chicago (220 S. Michigan)
Tickets $26-50
http://www.chicagosinfonietta.org/event/1213concert-iii/

He doesn't have what you'd call a famous face, but radio icon Ira Glass's distinctively nasal voice and meticulously casual cadence are unmistakable to the couple of million devoted public radio listeners who comprise his weekly audience. On Sunday, Glass's formerly Chicago-based program "This American Life" (which was for a decade headquartered at the studios of Chicago's WBEZ, until Glass and his gang moved to New York in 2006 ) will feature a guest host -- "Portlandia" (IFC) and "Saturday Night Live" star Fred Armisen.

Or so the scuttlebutt goes.

This American Life's web site specifies only "a public radio personality, one familiar to This American Life listeners." But who else would Armisen imitate? David Sedaris? Jonathan Goldstein? Sarah Vowell? Not likely. His impersonation was initially developed for SNL, Armisen told Entertainment Weekly, but the subject of his skewering "isn't quite famous enough to be mocked on network TV."

According to his official NBC bio, Armisen "began his career as a musician in the Chicago-based post-punk band Trenchmouth as well as playing with Blue Man Group." So there's that.

Since the local media loves a success story -- hometown boy or girl made good -- readers too often don't learn much about talented folks in their own backyard until said folks ship off to New York or L.A. and then return whence they came for some overdue adulation. The Chicago-born-and-bred comic Hannibal Buress is a perfect example. Until he landed a writing gig at SNL and then on NBC's "30 Rock," he got scant ink. Now he's filling big rooms and getting major plaudits from comedy giants like Louis C.K. and Chris Rock.

The standups of CYSK -- who for years have staged a weekly showcase in town and around the country -- are in the same boat. One or more of them could break big. But wouldn't it be swell to say you saw them early on, during their rise to stardom? Yes. Yes, it would. So check out the CYSK 5th anniversary blowout on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 9 p.m. (doors open at 8). It's in the back room of Timothy O'Toole's pub (622 N. Fairbanks in Streeterville) and tickets are only $5 in advance ($10 at the door), which means more money left over for liquid refreshment.

In addition to the group's current roster of comics--Marty DeRosa, Danny Kallas, Joe Kilgallon, Mike Lebovitz, Drew Michael and Michael Sanchez--the event will feature sets from CYSK alums Mike Sheehan and Junior Stopka.

More info at www.comediansyoushouldknow.com.

And here's a link to their self-titled album, available on iTunes, if you want to give a listen before heading out.

http://tinyurl.com/a5bo4bz

If you don't know who Jon Glaser is, here's a link--it's him on his former boss Conan O'Brien's TBS talk show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OP6hJPjDcs

On Friday, Jan. 18, the Second City alum will return to his roots for a comedy writing salon. Which conjures visions of Versailles and Louis XIV and grand fetes in the Salon de Mars. But Glaser is far more hilarious than the Sun King was, as evidenced by his appearances on such celebrated comedy hits as "Parks and Recreation," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "30 Rock." He's also the creator of "Delocated" on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, and not long ago he wrote a book called "My Dead Dad Was in ZZ Top." Here's a shaky, blurry video of actor Paul Rudd reading an excerpt in 2011. (Warning: Some content may not be suitable for all viewers--perhaps you). Rudd's impression of Jay Leno is pretty damned funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8DsQIiJ_ok

The Particulars:

Second City Writing Salon with Jon Glaser
Friday, Jan. 18 at 5:30 p.m.
1608 N. Wells, Rm. 305
Tickets $20 (including light snacks and beverages!!)

Buy 'em here:

http://www.secondcity.com/training/chicago/coursecatalog/240/

This just in - nine lucky ladies got a little more ice than they expected at the 2012 ZooLights at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The event, which spreads more than 2 million twinkling bulbs throughout the zoo, brought 420,484 visitors to take in the show, a new record. At least 18 of those zoo lovers are now engaged, with the big question being popped under the twinkling lights, according to a press release from the zoo.

The Lincoln Park Zoo is always free and open 365 days a year. Staff call it "the perfect place to pop the question, whatever the season."

He's got brown hair, blue eyes and a graduate degree. He doesn't smoke, is a social drinker and pulls down $150,000 to $200,000 a year.

That's the profile of Chicago's perfect man, according to a survey of 4,000 Chicago women by WhatsYourPrice.com, a dating auction Website where "generous" members looking to date "beautiful" members pay them for their time. That's right, the "generous" daters not only spring for dinner and a movie but also pay cash money to the person on the first date for the privilege of their time.

Ed Swiderski, of "The Bachelorette" and "Bachelor Pad," doesn't have a graduate degree. We have no idea what he makes. We're not even sure if his eyes are blue (though they look blue in the picture above). But he lives in Chicago and is certainly social when he drinks, if his appearances on ABC are any indication.

Could he be Chicago's perfect man? If not Ed, then who?

The creative force behind Frankfort's Elaya Vaughn Bridal tries her hand at Project Runway this season.

Season 11 premieres Jan. 24 on Lifetime and in a new twist, the dreaded team challenge is in play all season. Fashion designer Zac Posen replaces Michael "Hi guys" Kors on the judging panel -- with Heidi Klum and Nina Garcia.

Talk about making it work.