An early favorite for Name of the Year has to be Bucky Gunts, the man who collected an Emmy last night for directing the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics. And it wasn’t just me and thousands of twelve-year-olds who enjoyed his name. Here’s what Ricky Gervais said before presenting the award:

“I hope it’s Bucky Gunts, ’cause I didn’t know you could say that on television. Let’s face it – we’re all Bucky Gunts here. And the Emmy goes to… BUCKY GUNTS!”

After the announcement, John Hodgman — whose voiceover work was an excellent addition to the telecast — chimed in with this:

“Bucky Gunts majored in hotel management at Cornell but changed to television after his thesis on ice-making machines was deemed wildly speculative and probably dangerous. That name again is Bucky Gunts!”

I can’t help but wonder how much of his award comes from his talent, and how much comes from voters wanting to see “Bucky Gunts” on the TV screen. I bet I could win an Emmy if I just had the right name. Look out, world! Here comes Harry Fupa!

At Friday night’s Radio & Television Correspondents’ Association Dinner, author/actor/humorist John Hodgman delivered the keynote speech at what he dubbed “Nerd Prom,” and used the forum to test whether Barack Obama — seated to his right — was really the “first nerd president.” The whole speech is excellent and chock-full of nerdy references, but the highlight comes four minutes into part 2 (video below), when Hodgman’s excitement about the sci-fi classic Dune reaches a fever pitch.

By the way, I’m hoping that this speech raises Hodgman to level of fame where people no longer have to refer to him as “the PC guy.”  He’s written two hilarious books and is a regular contributor to “The Daily Show” — please, let’s stop associating someone smart and funny with Justin Long.  That guy needs to get attacked by wild dogs wielding two-by-fours.

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