6-15-10

In case you missed it...

SOME ROSIE RADIO RANDOMOSITY TO START THE SHOW
Rosie said that something was wrong with Janette during the beginning theme song. She said that Janette has been having a lot of issues lately. Pete and Rosie were really tired today and Rosie's crown fell out last night! She said the temporary that the dentist had put in fell off and she couldn't drink or eat anything hot or cold and nothing sugary.

Rosie also said she's been taking Suzanne Somers vitamins for about 2 years and her assistant, Shoshana, has been laying them out for her every morning. Shoshana told Jackie that she feels like Michael Jackson's pusher and one day Rosie's going to be gone and Shoshana will be the one to blame. Rosie also said she successfully weaned herself off of Effexor. She said it took her 6 weeks but she's off of it after finding out that she was only low in Serotonin. She has since switched medications. Rosie said that people on the blog have suggested to her that that might be the reason she's been grouchy lately.

Janette said that she is a little edgier and been talking a little faster since she stopped smoking. She also admitted that she never read the paper before because she didn't give a crap but lately she's been reading the paper every day because her job requires it and and now she thinks she either needs to move or she needs to bury supplies in the backyard and she can't trust anything. She said the news is making her scared and paranoid.

Rosie said that Parker is out of school for the summer and was listening to the radio show yesterday and wanted to see the video of the tap water catching on fire they were talking about on yesterday's show. She showed it to him and he said "Holy shit! Sorry to say shit mom, but holy shit!" Go to gaslandthemovie.com to read more about yesterday's interview and the movie Gasland.

TANNING AND SUNSCREEN AS CANCER ACCELERANT
Rosie said at the 8th grade graduation party she had this weekend a woman came up to her and advised her to see a dermatologist because of the spot on her nose. Rosie explained that the spot on her nose is not skin cancer but she said she will go again to put everyone's mind at ease. She also said that New York Senator Charles Schumer has been putting heat on the FDA to warn the public about how sunscreen contains the cancer accelerant Retinyl Palmitate. This ingredient is found in most sunscreens and accelerates the growth of tumors and skin cancer. The FDA had this information 10 years ago but never shared it with the general public! Shoshana went to buy the kind of sunscreen at the drug store that didn't contain it and couldn't find any of the safe products that were listed. All she could find was one very small bottle that cost $15!

Janette was then made fun of a bit for her general pessimism with life and how she wakes up every morning and thinks about dying. She explained that she doesn't think about dying per se but she thinks death is coming so she better make the most of today! Rosie refuses to believe that the sun, that she loves so much and that she feels so good when she's in it, will hurt her. She knows people have died of skin cancer but she still has a hard time believing it's bad for you. Jackie's mom still calls Jackie up and yells at her for laying by the pool with Roseann. Rosie enjoys seeing women who are in their 60s or 70s that have that tan, leathery look from years of sun exposure. Rosie thinks it looks good. Also, everyone has been coming up to Rosie and telling her how thin she looks since she's been tan! Deirdre suggested a spray tan and said that they can even spray on a 6 pack for you! Rosie laughed at this thought and said that a sprayed-on 6 pack doesn't work if you have a pregnant-like belly! Rosie said that when she had to get her ovary removed (back when she was doing TROS) she had 3 different incisions. She said that one kept opening up and the doctor told her that was because it was right near her crease! She laughed and said you never want to hear about your "crease" from your physician.

Someone said that skin cancer rates have increased tremendously over the years and that could be because of the sunscreen accelerants or the depletion of the ozone layer. Rosie asked why strangers feel the need to come up to her just to tell her that sunning is bad for her. She said you would never come up to someone and say that being fat is bad for you!

TALKING ABOUT UNCOMFORTABLE SUBJECTS AND THE DARKSIDE OF GIVING
Rosie said that 14 years ago when Parker was in public school, another mom at the school had a face covered in blackhead pimples and acne. The woman's face was giving Rosie a tremendous amount of anxiety so she told this woman that she had just had a facial and how much she enjoyed it. She told the woman that they gave her a free facial and she offered to give it to her (which was a lie, she basically went out and bought the woman a facial). Rosie said nearly a month went by and there was no change in this woman's face and then one day the woman walked in with her hair pulled back and a totally clear face! Rosie said she barely recognized her! The woman told Rosie how much she liked it and thanked her for it. Rosie couldn't believe how great the woman looked. Rosie said she often helps strangers with problems. Deirdre told Rosie she is really sweet. Jeannie, on the other hand, thought giving someone with bad skin a "free" facial is really transparent. Pete said that people also get facials for relaxation so she may not have thought that it was about her skin. Rosie admitted that the need to give is often to quell her own anxiety and that there is a dark side to giving. Rosie said the dark-side of giving is when it actually benefits yourself to do so. For example, she will use giving to control her own inability to fix everything around her. Tracy often asks Rosie who told her she could fix everything. Janette has said it many times, that her going to third world countries to give of her time is more about what she gets out of it than what she gives. Rosie said it's the same when people commend her on adopting kids. She said she's the winner in the adoption because she gets to have kids which makes her incredibly happy.

Jeannie told a story about a girl at the grocery store with a disfigured face. She noticed her kids were staring at the girl so she encouraged them to shift their focus and try to find something else that they noticed about the girl. Her daughter said that she really liked the girl's hair so they told her so. The girl with the disfigurement said that she just got her hair done and smiled. She said it was a good lesson. Rosie said that the reason Jeannie is like this is because she dedicates her life to kids and instead of seeing the malady she sees the totality. Rosie said that Tracy is the same way. Tracy thinks her kids are not that hard because she's dealt with them for years.

Jackie scolded Rosie the other day because Rosie told Tracy that Wyatt almost looks like he's from another planet. Rosie didn't mean it in a bad way at all, she thinks he's beautiful. Rosie talked about seeing beauty in our differences and mentioned a book that Tracy loves called Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic. Rosie said that in the book the woman is walking along the beach and thinks she sees a diamond so she picks it up. After she picks it up she realizes it's cellophane and not a diamond at all and then discards it. The author talks about why we see beauty in things and how something can still be beautiful even if it does not hold the typical standard of beauty. Rosie said it can be a huge perspective shift to see the world with a different set of eyes.

Rosie said that she had a similar experience to Jeannie's at the Starbucks near her house. She said the girl behind the counter had a facial scar and Rosie asked the girl what had happened to her. Rosie said she wanted to connect to her as a person and not ignore it. Rosie said her kids were horrified that she asked about it. But Rosie liked Jeannie's way of focusing on something else rather than the disfigurement. She thought that approach might be better. Jeannie thinks Rosie, because she is famous, can take liberties that the "average Joe" cannot. But Rosie said she's been this way before she became ....pregnant and then corrected herself and said famous! Whoops! She laughed about the slip and said that she didn't have any special pregnancy news to share with the listeners.

SLOPPINESS, INTERVENTION, MURDERERS AND RAPISTS
Rosie said that she will also go up to kids that are virtual strangers and clean them up! She finds this a little odd because she is sort of sloppy. Deirdre and Pete said that Rosie isn't sloppy and Jeannie said they were just kissing her butt because she IS! Rosie said she has OCD about showering and bathing but she's sloppy when it comes to eating. Jeannie said that Rosie had toothpaste on her pajama top when interviewing Chita Rivera! Pete said he's sloppy too and Jeannie said on Pete, the sloppiness is adorable.

On the sloppiness topic, Pete said that Jackie's house is so clean. Rosie said that Jackie's grandmother lived with them growing up and would clean from the moment she woke up in the morning until dinner time. She had a pantry full of cleaning supplies. After Rosie's mother died, Jackie's grandmother would ask Rosie who was cleaning her house since her mom died. And Rosie said "no one." This made Jackie's grandmother crazy and she wanted so badly to go over and clean. Rosie said with 5 kids, no mother, an elderly grandmother and her dad, the house could have really used it! But Jeannie said no matter how messy Rosie's house was it was never as messy as Jeannie's (whose mother was a hoarder).

Rosie said that she watched last night's episode of Intervention but that the show isn't pulling her in like it used to. She said the show was about a woman who was an alcoholic who drank only vodka so that no one could smell it. Rosie wasn't sure if that was possible but Pete said that he would do that in college and it worked. Janette and Pete then talked about how they can tell the difference between vodkas by the taste. Pete compared it to being able to tell the difference between different kinds of pizzas. Rosie asked Pete if he could tell the difference between and an Oreo and a Hydrox. Pete said he could and he and Brendan preferred Hydrox cookies to Oreos which made Rosie gasp in horror! Janette said she used to have a glass of vodka every night of stand-up. Janette said she could drink a half a bottle of vodka and not feel it at one time. But not anymore!

Bobby had a friend named Dean who he once introduced to Rosie that is currently in jail for murder! Dean was not a doctor, he was trained in electrolysis and had learned how to remove hair, tattoos, and moles with this machine. One day he injected a patient with lidocaine and she had an allergic reaction. Instead of taking her to the hospital, she died and he put her in a suitcase and drove her to a house and buried her under a cement driveway! Now Rosie is in the book about the murder just because she met him one time and he came to her house once!

Janette and Rosie said that a comedian that they used to travel with on the road turned out to be a serial rapist. He was a $100,000 winner on the show Star Search and he was booked in a lot of small towns for having a "clean" act with no cursing. Rosie and Janette once shared a condo with him at a booking and stayed in the next room! At the time they had stayed with him he already had a record. The thing was, both Rosie and Janette said he was one of the nicest guys they ever met on the road. They ended up catching him because someone interrupted him raping a girl and the girl grabbed the mask off his face and then went to police and the police created a sketch of him. After he was identified the police went to the towns that he visited and connected him to other unsolved rape cases.

Rosie was only 16 years old when she started stand-up and can't believe she started at it so young because she doesn't even let Parker go to the mall!

JANETTE'S MELTDOWN, JEANNIE'S BIG NEWS AND RAISING RESPONSIBLE TEENS
Janette said she had the driver fired who drives them from the city out to Nyack everyday (though she didn't mean to). She said the driver was very nice but the car, that would smell normal in the morning, would smell as if he bathed in bad cologne by the afternoon. The smell gave her a powerful headache and she had to rinse her sinus cavity out with a Netti pot when she would return home to get the smell out of her nose. Janette said she told the driver that his cologne was giving her an allergy but he didn't listen. Yesterday, after Deirdre checked out the car for Janette and told her she "was fucked" Janette "had a small snit and yelled into the air." She slammed the car door and sort of said, "I don't want another fucking headache!" Deirdre sat in the front seat for her and was texting back to them about how bad the smell was. They have now since changed drivers and Janette feels horrible about it.

In reference to the "small snit" that Janette had, Brendan emailed to the others "Remember in the movie Alien when Ian Holm goes berserk and tries to tear everyone apart?" Yeah, it was sort of like that. That was Janette. Janette defended herself that she had to ride with her head out the window like a dog!

Rosie announced that there is BIG NEWS IN JEANNIE'S LIFE!!!!! Jeannie's daughter, Toni, is graduating from high school a week from today! Toni passed gym! She also passed English which she was struggling in because of Shakespeare. Toni had an anxiety attack during the scheduled final so the guidance counselor and the teacher arranged for her to do a makeup of it yesterday. Toni scored an 88% and passed English. Jeannie said that public school oftentimes gets a bad rap and she's written a letter to the town paper about how wonderful the school is.

Rosie said Jeannie is just finishing up the teen years with Toni and Rosie is just beginning this journey of teendom. Jeannie said the teens are the hardest thing you will ever have to make it through as a parent. She said that parents have no idea how hard it's going to be until you're in it. Jeannie said we enter into parenthood thinking we're so much more evolved and educated than our own parents, that we're never going to have the same problems, blah, blah, blah. And then BAM- the teen years hit. Jeannie said that having gone through what she has gone through with Toni gives her more appreciation of the little ones and the times she has with them. Rosie said that she still misses having a baby around terribly and will call Ellis (her friend/nanny's baby) just to talk to him on the phone! She adores him to pieces.

Rosie has had "the talk" with Parker about safe sex and what age is appropriate but last night she was taking a bath and she called to Parker (who was with his girlfriend watching a movie) and he took WAY too long to answer. Then he told her "be there in a minute!" She said Parker and his girlfriend are both 15 and she's worried. She asked Parker why he turned off his phone and told him that he needs to be accessible to her. She even talked to his girlfriend too to explain to her that they have certain rules in her house that they need to abide by.

Rosie then took several callers who shared their own troubles they have had with their teens, putting teen girls on birth control, maintaining open communication, and teaching teens about STDs . Jeannie said when Toni was 15 she had a steady boyfriend so Jeannie brought her to a gynecologist to have her put on birth control. She said that people in her life expressed their disapproval to her but Jeannie believes that the kids who are going to have sex at a young age are going to do it whether they have birth control or not. She wanted her to be safe and not get pregnant.

Rosie said that Parker shares with Rosie what is going on within his group of friends and she appreciates that. Rosie talked with a caller who will interrupt her sons with their girlfriends with spontaneous bowls of popcorn and drinks but Rosie said she has no desire to catch and shame them.

A listener called in who was a gynecologist who said that parents are terrified to put their teen girls on birth control because they think it gives them permission to have sex. She said that the ones that are going to be sexually active are going to do it regardless and if you're thinking they might need birth control they are probably already are having sex. The doctor said that letting your teen girl see a doctor privately is part of the letting go process. She often has to tell parents that they are not her patients, their daughter is her patient. She said it can be an education for both the mom and the teen. They discussed having sex at a young age and girls giving away too much of themselves sexually without an emotional connection to their partner. They also discussed the gross amount of pornography available to teens on the internet today.

Rosie asked Jeannie if she remembered what it felt like to have those feelings for her boyfriend. Jeannie said she did and she also remembers the feelings of shame and guilt she battled when dealing with sexual feelings. She said she had to walk a fine line with her daughter to not shame her for her feelings but not let her think that it was acceptable either. Jeannie said she stressed with her daughter that she wanted her to be emotionally ready for sex first because if you're not emotionally ready, you will crumble from it. Jeannie's daughter tells her that to this day that she has absolutely no regrets because her first time was with a lifelong friend who will always respect her and be in her life. Jeannie said she at least feels good about that.

Jeannie thought they were going to get disapproving calls from mothers who think it was horrific for her to take her daughter to a gynecologist at a young age. They did not though.

WOULD YOU GIVE A KIDNEY TO A STRANGER?
Bobby mentioned an article he read about a Massachusetts man who put a sign in his front yard advertising that he needed a kidney. He was aware that he was one of 80,000 people who were on a list for a kidney so he began to advertise for one. People seem to be responding to his ad. They then asked the question whether or not you would give a kidney to a complete stranger. Hypothetically, Bobby doesn't know if he would be able to give one of his kidneys to a complete stranger (although he couldn't because he only has one). Janette definitely knows she wouldn't be able to. She said she would help in any way that she could but she wouldn't be able to give up a kidney and have the unnecessary surgery. Jeannie said she would have a lot of questions like how her quality of life would be after the fact since she's a busy mom of three.

Bobby was in a skiing accident almost 30 years ago and the impact of landing on the ski pole severed his kidney. In the hospital for a long time because of it and now only has one kidney. Rosie told Bobby he shouldn't drink so much diet soda because it's bad for his only kidney that's already working overtime.

Rosie said she thinks she would be able to give a kidney to a perfect stranger. She then said she would probably die of a staph infection because of it because she always gets a staph infection after surgery. Bobby said he would definitely give a kidney (if he had one to give) for a family member but if it was for a stranger, he would have to know more about the specific case.

Rosie briefly mentioned a story about a little boy who was selling a valuable Titanic postcard to raise money for his best friend's mother who was dying. Janette mentioned the book Never Let Me Go by the author who wrote Remains of the Day about clones who are created in order to harvest their organs. Rosie then asked if any of the staff has ever read a book and then realized at the end of the book that you're read it before. Pete said that he has done this. Rosie said she did this with the book The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb. Janette loved Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone.

A listener called in who gave up one of his kidneys 13 years ago for his Aunt that had kidney failure. He said he was the only match and when he realized it was the only chance to keep his Aunt alive it was a nondecision. His Aunt is still doing well. The caller said he was out of commission for about 2-3 weeks and had some pain and internal things that had to correct themselves but no long lasting effects. He never regrets it and he and his Aunt have a unique bond because of it.

BRYAN BATT

Rosie then interviewed the talented Broadway actor and star of the show Mad Men - Bryan Batt! Bryan and Rosie performed the same role in the Broadway play, Suessical.

Rosie asked Bryan about when he found out he was getting fired on the TV show Madmen. She asked him if he was told ahead of time or if he found out in the script. Bryan said he was told beforehand and as of right now that's Bryan was just on the last 2 episodes of Ugly Betty and he just did a film called Brawler. He also just filmed Mel Brooks' son's movie called Sam.

Bryan is a Broadway boy though and he said he can't wait to get back to Broadway. His first show ever was Starlight Express and he learned to skate for the play skating through Central Park.

Bryan just wrote a book entitled She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother: A Memoir. The "momoir" as he likes to call it is about his childhood growing up in New Orleans. Bryan's mother is now 79 years old and battling cancer for the 4th time. He said she rests all day and goes out every night with her friends. Bryan and his partner have been together for 20 years and live in New Orleans where they own a store called Hazelnut. He said they opened the store 2 years before Katrina and then reopened after. Bryan really enjoys working at the store and finds it freeing to do as an actor. Bryan said that Hurricane Katrina put life into perspective and what was important. Bryan's mom is really happy about the book and has even done a few book signings with him! She loves it and she's loves the notoriety she's getting from it in Louisiana.

Rosie and Bryan talked about how he was gay and how his mother took the news when he came out to her. He said he was amazed that she didn't figure it out on her own. He said he was more worried about how his Republican brother was going to take the news. When he finally came out to his brother his brother asked him "Are you Gay?" And Bryan said "Yes." And his brother said "Thank God, I was worried you just weren't getting any." He said his mother had a greater adjustment period but she loves his partner Tom and in the end everything worked out.

Rosie asked Bryan if he and his partner ever considered having kids and Bryan said that he has 7 Godchildren and 2 wonderful nieces and he never wanted to necessarily have his own kids. He said he admires parents and his friends that are parents because he knows it's a hard job. You can check Bryan's website for a book signing in your area! Bryan ended the interview with Rosie talking about his mom and how he really lucked out having her as a mother. He said he's so thankful his mom is in his life and admires her greatly for her inner strength and her beauty. Rosie said she hopes Parker can say the same thing about her one day. She said he'll say "She's in an institution now, and she still hates that Trump guy, but I love her!" LOL!

GAME -OPENING NARRATION
Brendan called this game Opening Narration. He said there have been a lot of television shows with narrated openings. The game is to guess what show the narration is from. Rosie guessed this game would be Pete's forte! Here we go...

ROUND 1
Pete: "If you have a problem, if no one else can help if you, if you can find them, maybe you can hire_______. He guessed GhostBusters the cartoon. That was wrong. The answer was The A Team! Pete was OUT!
Janette: "In the criminal justice system the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups." She guessed Dragnet and then said Law and Order. Janette got to stay in.
Jeannie: "Gentleman, we can rebuild him, we have the technology." The answer was The Six Million Dollar Man and she got it.
Bobby: "A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hardy high ho silver." The Lone Ranger was the answer and he got it.
Sandy (caller): "You're traveling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind." The answer was The Twilight Zone and she got it.
Rosie: "Ladies and Gentleman the stories you're about to hear are true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent." The answer was Dragnet and she got it!
Pete was freaking out because he knew every answer except the answer to the narration that he got.

ROUND 2
Janette: "Once upon a time, there were little girls who went to the police academy. But I took them away from all that and now they work for me." The answer was Charlie's Angels and she got it!
Jeannie: "Dr. David Banner, physician, scientist searching for a way to trap into the hidden strengths that all humans have." The answer was The Incredible Hulk but she didn't get it so she was out.
Bobby: "On November 13th, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife." The answer was The Odd Couple and Bobby got it.
Sandy (caller): Like sands through the hourglass, these are __________. The answer was The Days of our Lives and she got it!
Rosie: "Theorizing that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr. Samuel Beckett stepped into the _________. Pete had a seizure-like fit and yelled out "Quantum Leap! The greatest show!!!" Rosie cracked up and peed a little. The way Pete said it made him earn his way back in the game. Rosie said Pete was 5 seconds away from needing medication so she let him take her place.

ROUND 3
Pete: Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and one son....." He got Arrested Development.
Janette: "A shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a life of a man who did not exist." Janette couldn't get it. No one could. The answer was Knight Rider! She didn't get it so she was out.
Bobby-"There's nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture." The answer was The Outer Limits but he didn't get it.
Sandy (caller): "What you're witnessing is real, the participants are not actors, they're actual litigants with a case pending in_______." The answer was The People's Court and the caller got it!
Pete: "This is a story about two sisters. Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell. These are the Tates and these are the Campbells and this is________. The answer was SOAP and Pete didn't get it but Sandy stole it and won!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete did not lose graciously!

Rosie gave Sandy a $50 Visa Giftcard, a $25 Starbucks giftcard, a $100 giftcard from SteppinBirkenstocks.com, Silly bandz, and a Rosie swag bag!

PETE NEEDS LOSING MANAGEMENT
Rosie told Pete that he needs to go to a losing management class. He admitted that the worst fights he and his wife Barbara have ever had have been about games. They've fought over Scrabble and once had a really big fight over a trivia contest they were once in. They had to put three events in chronological order - The Exxon Valdez oil spill, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Black Tuesday. Pete was positive that it was Berlin wall and then Exxon Valdez. Barbara thought she was correct and said she knew the answer. They went with Barbara's guess and she was WRONG. He said it got nasty. Janette said she once didn't speak to someone for a year after he took revenge on her in the game of Life.

Rosie said that she and Jackie and Jeannie and their spouses are going to see James Taylor and Carole King in concert! Lou went out to the end of the show playing so they went out to I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet.

Rosie closed the show.

and that's what you missed - kw