5-12-10

In case you missed it...

CUPCAKE CONTROVERSY HEATS UP AND ROSIE TALKS MARTHA
The Martha Stewart Cupcake Controversy has heated up! Click HERE for a recap of yesterday's show if you missed what this is all about. Apparently, Alexis Stewart had the balls to call Rosie yesterday while Alexis was on the air and told Rosie that her adorable Shady cupcake looked unprofessional and like a piece of poo! Jennifer (the cohost of Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer) said Rosie was cheating for giving callers gifts for voting. Rosie said that it is NOT cheating to give gifts, it is merely a creative use of swag. Pete (who is seriously the Cliff Clavin of Rosie Radio) said that George Washington gave out beer and wine to voters to entice them to vote so if our first President did it, it's not cheating! Rosie said the cupcakes are to be rated on originality and presentation so if a contestant COPIES his idea from a cake shop the score for originality should be zero.

Spot, who is a producer from the Sirius radio show Covino and Rich, is the creator of the controversial Billiard cupcakes. Rosie asked why he is called "Spot" and one person in the studio said it is because they heard he "hits the spot" when he's with a woman. But they also heard that it is really because when he first started out in radio he used to do all the commercial spots. Janette said he is probably called Spot because that's the only book he ever read - See Spot Run.

The crew analyzed yesterday's phone call between Rosie and Spot and questions Spot's long dramatic pauses. They talked about the photographic evidence that he sent to Rosie and the holes in his story. Rosie and crew thought they could see the box that Spot bought the cupcakes in in the photo he sent them! Rosie accused Covino and Rich of making people vote on their Twitters and Facebooks. The Covino and Rich crew also name-dropped like crazy on their radio program and claimed to call all their famous celebrity friends. Rosie said she is above calling Madonna and begging celebrity votes. Rosie asked if Covino and Rich's plan was to emulate Donald Trump and beat up on poor Rosie - the mother of 4.

The Covino and Rich producers sent Rosie Radio the tapes of them talking about the cupcake contest but they FORGOT to cut out the parts of them conspiring during the commercial breaks. Here is a transcript of what was said during the commercials that Rosie played on air today...

Covino and Rich: They found your cupcake spot?
Spot: You have to have my back on this and say it was my idea!
Covino and Rich: Okay we can say that, but you lied.
Spot: It just so happens that the place they picked (The Pink Cake Box) just so happens to be where I got my inspiration from.
Covino and Rich: What do you mean the place they picked?
Spot: They called up a place in New Jersey.

BUSTED!

Then they played Rosie asking Spot on yesterday's program if he came up with the idea on his own and his response sounded breathy and like "one of Rosie's kids when she asks them if they ate the brownies."

Rosie contemplated withdrawing from the competition because she said she's not interested in a fraudulent election and the controversy that comes with it. Janette thinks we cannot idly sit by and allow them to commit this injustice. They pleaded with listeners to rally all their friends via Twitter and Facebook. Tracy said that the Radio staff doesn't need the cupcakes for a year. Pete and Bobby said they DO need the cupcakes for a year!

Rosie said she feels like Spot should be disqualified for copying his idea. Just as Rosie thought she wouldn't have the strength to carry on, listeners called in and encouraged her to keep up the fight. One caller spoke to Rosie about how exhausting it was for her to eat chips, watch TV and continue to vote repeatedly last night. Rosie asked one caller if she had any connection to the "lesbian underground" and encouraged her to spread the word! Janette said that she just got word that Frank DeCaro is advocating for them on OutQ!

A producer from the Martha Stewart Radio show called in to talk with Rosie about the official rules. She said that each cupcake should be voted on for originality and presentation. She explained that if voters feel that a cupcake is not original then they shouldn't give them originality points. She said it is up to the voters and they were not going to be disqualifying any cupcakes. Rosie asked if she dropped out of the contest if she could gift her votes to another cupcake? The producer told Rosie to stay strong and that she wasn't sure but she wasn't with the Martha Stewart legal department. Rosie ended the call with "Tell Martha that I'm still 'odd and curious'."

When Rosie did Martha's TV show she suggested that she and Martha join forces and let Rosie come on air every once in a while. Martha called Rosie "odd and curious." Rosie went to visit Martha when she went to jail for stock fraud. Rosie said that Martha was made a scapegoat and should never have gone to prison for that crime. Rosie described the prisoners as mostly moms like one would see at the mall. She said the majority of the inmates were mothers and grandmothers who were mostly there for drug charges. She and Martha sat and spoke for 4 hours. Rosie asked Martha what she missed most about her life in prison (thinking she would say her dogs or her horses) and Martha said "the flavor of lemon." Rosie found that incredibly funny and thinks that Martha may be on the "autism spectrum." So, when Martha was released from jail, Rosie sent her a lemon tree from Capri, Italy. Rosie really enjoys Martha. Rosie was very affected by the things she saw in prison and wanted to become involved in prison reform after her visit.

A clip from Rosie on Martha's Show

Rosie said that if her listeners care about truth, justice and the American way, VOTE for Rosie.

AMERICAN IDOL, GLEE AND RYAN MURPHY'S NEWSWEEK BOYCOTT
The radio staff discussed Crystal Bowersox's performance last night on American Idol and Rosie said that Crystal deserves to win. She absolutely loved her performance. Here is a LINK to Crystal's performance and HERE is a link to her duet. They all felt badly for Casey because they made his song "all about Cara" and not about the singing. Rosie said her kids want Mike to win but said that she thought he had an off night last night. For more information on the performances and the contestants of American Idol go to AmericanIdol.com.

Rosie talked about Glee and what a groundbreaking show it is. She wondered if the actor that played the character with a spinal cord injury last night was really disabled. She was so moved by the character Kurt and his father and by the show in general and on how many levels it touches you. She loved Kurt's version of Pink Houses and said his version of Rose's Turn was "Broadway Tony Award quality." She said she had tears in her eyes and emailed Ryan Murphy, the creator of Glee, and told him "Honey, you are fucking genius!" They played clips of Kurt's songs from the show. I found an article about the actor that was in Glee with the spinal cord injury.

Kurt's version of Rose's Turn (audio only)

Go to www.fox.com/glee for full episodes!

Rosie then discussed Ryan Murphy's call to boycott Newsweek over their "mind-blowingly bigoted article" that claimed that gay actors could not play straight characters well. Here is a LINK to the original article written by Ramin Setoodeh. The staff discussed the original article and Ryan Murphy's response back to it. They also discussed Kristin Chenoweth's response to the Newsweek article. Rosie referenced many gay actors who play straight characters and found the article very bigoted and untrue. Rosie said she saw Ramin on MSNBC and described how he said he could tell that people in the audience were thinking what he thought. Rosie thought it was ridiculous and it was total BULL. She said it really annoys her. Deirdre didn't know people even thought like that. Pete proposed that he should have maybe just asked the question "Can gay men play straight characters?" and that would have been a more intelligent thing to do.

Rosie said it's absurd and bigoted because she knows many gay people who have been in love with the opposite gender in their lives. Janette wondered what in his life made him lash out like this to an entire community? Rosie said that his life must be pretty sad. Janette warned at the dangers that come out of our own self-loathing.

Just before commercial break Rosie recommended that listeners go and see American Idiot. They went to commercial playing Brian Charles Johnson singing Give Me Novocaine from when he appeared on Rosie Radio. Here is my unprofessional taping of that performance...

Brian Charles Johnson signing Give Me Novocaine

SECRET CONFESSIONS OF THE ROSIE RADIO STAFF
After commercial break they continued with the self-loathing discussion and listed George Rekers as a perfect example of self-hatred projected onto others. Rosie said that George Rekers recently resigned in wake of the rentboy scandal. They discussed the secrets that we keep and why.

Pete revealed that he once killed a kitten, something he had never admitted. He explained that when he was 8 or 9 years old his cat had kittens and he was told not to touch them. They were under a table and he wanted to hold the kitten so badly he went to pick it up and mistakenly bonked it's head on the underside of the table. The cat never opened it's eyes and died 2 weeks later. He said he never told anyone that until today!

Rosie said in 6th grade she let a boy throw an egg at her little brother Timmy. She said she felt so guilty about it for years and apologized to Timmy later when they were adults. He didn't even really remember it and it was a life defining moment for her.

Janette said she once inadvertently let a rabbit die. She saw a rabbit run into a pool of water and was too concerned with the branches scratching her face when trying to save the rabbit that she took too long and the rabbit died.

Bobby revealed that he once threw a softball through his parent's window and denied it. He said it was easy to deny because no one ever thought he would have been playing with a softball! A high heel? Maybe. But not a softball.

Rosie said she used to change her grades in Kindergarten with a crayon. She said she failed "sleeptime" because she couldn't take a nap and she just kept talking to Jackie. She said the school never allowed Jackie and Rosie to be in the same class again. She said aside from the time she threw Jackie up in the air with a blanket (like Piglet in Winnie The Pooh) or the time she hit her in the head with a baseball bat, she has always stuck up for Jackie.

DR. JANE ARONSON

Rosie then introduced Dr. Jane Aronson, the founder of the WorldWide Orphans Foundation. Rosie recently met Dr. Aronson when she attended the Family Equality Council's dinner where she was recognized for her work. Rosie said she was blown away by Dr. Aronson's speech that evening. Dr. Aronson said to be in a room with mostly gay people and to talk about what it's like to be whole in her identity was very powerful for her. She explained that she doesn't use notes for her speeches on purpose because she wants to be able to relate to the audience directly and be in the moment.

Rosie asked Dr. Aronson how she got involved with adoption. Dr. Aronson said she always wanted to adopt a child when she was young. Rosie said that was the same for her, too. Rosie said she always wanted to adopt one of the babies from the Vietnam air lift. Dr. Aronson said she once answered a call for adoptive parents during the time of the Air Lift and after the interview she was told she wasn't allowed to adopt because she was single. Dr. Aronson said that she didn't even think she would be pregnant but she always wanted to have children in her life.

Rosie saw Dr. Aronson on the news with Anderson Cooper when the Haiti earthquake happened. Dr. Aronson said she went to Haiti 3 weeks after the earthquake and she just recently returned from her second trip there. Dr. Aronson thinks her organization could do great things for the orphans of Haiti. Rosie and Dr. Aronson discussed International adoption and how there are 163 million orphaned children in the world and how that number is growing everyday. She said there are innovative models now how to teach countries to take care of their own children so that the children do not need to leave the country. She said there are also many reports of parents leaving their children in Haiti because they can't afford to raise and feed them. She called those orphans "social orphans." She stressed the need to provide appropriate services to families so they can care for their own children. Rosie and Dr. Aronson discussed the news story about the woman who sent her adoptive son back to Russia.

Rosie and Dr. Aronson discussed how many times adoptive parents are not appropriately prepared for the special needs of the children they receive through adoption.

Rosie asked Dr. Aronson why some families choose International adoption as opposed to Domestic. She said there are many reasons. She said one reason is because of the celebrated cases of people losing the child back to the birth parents that is very rare. The second reason families often go International for adoption is the feeling that there won't be a birth family involved. She said it's unrealistic in today's world to think that children will not go check out their roots. Rosie talked about Chelsea and how she's at the age where she's very interested in meeting and finding out more information about her birth parents. They discussed the needs of adopted children to find their birth families because it's part of their identity.

Dr. Aronson helps families prepare for adoption. Her own children came to her as infants through an agency and she discussed with Rosie her own process of adoption and how she immediately fell in love. She did admit it has been a tough transition for her son from Ethiopia to America. Dr. Aronson said she often tries to prepare parents for the struggles they will face when they adopt children internationally.

Dr. Aronson's organization tries to educate orphans so they can grow up and be leaders in their own country. She said in Serbia they've been teaching photography and film-making to orphans and recently had a child receive a scholarship in elementary education! Rosie recommended and described the documentary A Small Act and said "it will slay you." Dr. Aronson said she would like to see it.

A Small Act Trailer

Dr. Aronson said she was a school teacher for special ed and children with autism and then decided to get her degree in medicine when she was 31 years old. She loved to work with families and working with the children. She said there is a family tradition to work abroad and work internationally. She was greatly influenced by her Rabbi who would travel all over the world and come back with tales of how they could change the world. After she became a doctor, Dr. Aronson realized there were kids outside our borders who needed help and she became very passionate about her work. She realized she could do so little and make such a huge difference. She began doing medical missions but realized she had a lot of understanding of children with developmental issues and attachment disorders. She also does a lot of post adoption work.

Rosie said she would love to do talks with Dr. Aronson for families to help prepare them for what they will face when adopting kids who have special needs. Dr. Aronson and Rosie talked about the importance of art in children's lives and Rosie's Broadway Kids and how RBK accesses the poorest schools in the New York area to bring art to children who couldn't otherwise afford it. They agreed that providing art is all about providing hope for the kids. Dr. Aronson said that when people ask her why she is working abroad she tells them we are global now and we all need to pay attention to all kids in need. Go to WWO.org for more information about Dr. Jane Aronson's organization.

Rosie closed the show reminding listeners to vote for her Shady cupcake!

and that's what you missed - kw