11-10-10 - Janette Calls, Glee, Bullying and an Interview with Mario Cantone

In case you missed it...

DWTS, SARAH PALIN, WHY ROSIE HATES TO TRAVEL AND JANETTE CALLS IN!
Rosie began today's program talking with Bobby about last night's episode of Dancing With The Stars.  They both cannot believe Bristol Palin is still on it.  Bobby does think Palin has good footwork and is progressively getting better and better but he said she's "dead from the waist up."  Rosie wondered if the show was fixed?  Bobby thinks they wouldn't take the risk to fix the show because it's the number one show in America and the show would never recover from a voting scandal.  Deirdre thinks there are a lot of young women in their early 20's voting and that's why Palin is still on.   

Rosie was watching a show last night with her son Blake and a commercial for Sarah Palin's Alaska came on.  Blake loves animals and the outdoors and cannot wait to see it!  Rosie thinks it's a bit scary that a future Presidential candidate is on a reality television show. Brendan's convinced Palin is already running for President because of a nondescript commercial she's recently appeared in (that was clearly a presidential campaign ad in his opinion).  Brendan thinks there's a 40% chance Palin will win a Presidential election.  Deirdre said if Palin wins she's moving out of the country.  Rosie told her to "shut up" and hates when people say they'll move out of the country if a certain person becomes president because they never do.  Rosie said she's never leaving the country, not even for vacation apparently. 

Bobby asked Rosie why she will never travel out of the country and what is it that she hates about it so much?  Rosie couldn't really answer that question.  She said she traveled for 10-15 years of her life doing  standup She said it's the general anxiety she feels about traveling that she hates and said she can't relax if she doesn't have her entire family around her and if they're not in a place she's familiar with. 

Rosie said she was watching some of the videos on Janette's blog (who is in the Philippines for MMFC) and she said there's no way she could do what Janette is doing.  She said it would be too sad for her and Bobby agreed.   But Bobby goes on vacation out of the country all the time to Holland and Amsterdam and doesn't understand why Rosie doesn't like it.  Rosie said she's been to England and Italy but she had so much anxiety about going there she threw up.   Shoshana thinks it's merely about being home where Rosie is most comfortable and that's why she likes it.

Just then , Janette called in from the Philippines!  It was 11:00 at night where Janette was.  Rosie told Janette they've all been watching her videos on JanetteBarber.com and Rosie told her she would never be able to do what she's doing.  Janette didn't think that was true because she said it's so rewarding.  She said it's not always easy but when you see the kids it makes it all worth it.  Janette told Rosie and the listeners about the new videos she's put up on her blog about Milicent and Angelo, just two of the many kids they've been able to help.  She really fell in love with little Angelo and his mother.  He wrote her a note today when he left the hospital after the surgery thanking her for the little money she gave his mom and for the toys she had given him.  The note said: "Dear Sir and Madam, thank you very much for all and for giving me money.  I love you, Angelo."  Janette said no matter how hard or hot it gets over there it makes it all worthwhile when you see the affect you can have on a child's life.  She said it sent her to "seventh heaven." 

Rosie told Janette it takes a special kind of person to do what she does.  Janette talked with Rosie about the challenges she's facing such as the extreme heat and the smell.  She told Rosie about when they took Milicent home to her house instead of letting her go home taking public transportation.  When they got to her house it was like going back to the 1500s.  Her father, a farmer, offered her something to drink and he literally climbed a tree and retrieved two coconuts, stuck a straw in them and handed them to her! She has been careful not to drink the water but said she accepted that drink.  Rosie told listeners they can go to Janette's blog to get updates on Janette's trip and see her videos and go to MMFC to find out more information.  Janette will be coming home on Sunday and will be back on Rosie Radio on Monday.  Janette said she really misses everyone on the staff!  Rosie played a clip of Janette singing Bali Hai from a previous show for her and told her they love her and they'd see her next week.  

After the phone call Rosie talked about what an amazing thing it is that Janette is doing.  No one on the staff thought they could do what she does.  Rosie again said it takes a special kind of person to do what they do.

BRENDAN GIVES 127 HOURS TWO THUMBS UP AND P!NK IS PREGNANT
Brendan saw 127 Hours at a press screening last night and loved it. In '127 Hours' a mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoneering in Utah and resorts to cutting off his arm in order to survive. Brendan said he had no expectations for it and was surprised by how much he liked it and called it captivating.  Rosie thought it wouldn't be very suspenseful since we all know how it ends.  But Brendan said the only movie that he could compare it to was Touching the Void.  He said until now, that was the most intense movie he's ever seen.  He said he could feel his heart beating. He said it was like watching a magic trick and he didn't know how the director pulled it off.   When he walked out he said James Franco should win an Oscar for his portrayal.  In fact, he said he should win every Oscar ever given.  Rosie really wanted to see it now! 

This  morning before the show when they were talking about it Rosie was the only one on the staff who said she would be able to cut her own arm off in this situation.  When she was a child she fell off her bike and broke her wrist and loved the attention.  She said all of the sudden she was the kid with the broken arm and not the kid with the dead mother anymore.  She has talked about how she used to hurt herself as a child and said you don't feel pain when you're actually doing it.

Pete isn't really a fan of James Franco as he once went to his art exhibit which he did not like at all.  

Then Deirdre announced that she just read that P!nk is pregnant!  Rosie and Deirdre were so happy for P!nk and asked everyone to raise a glass to P!nk as a congratulations.  They then played her song.... 

P!nk Raise Your Glass

MARIO CANTONE

Rosie then introduced Mario Cantone who called in to the studio!  Mario is performing at Caroline's this weekend.  Rosie and Mario chatted about life and their mutual distaste of Facebook.  Rosie told Mario she doesn't "get" Facebook and said she feels like her father trying to understand the VCR.  Mario agreed.  He said he has a fan page but doesn't get it either. 

Mario talked with Rosie all about his distaste for reality television.  He said he's never seen an episode of The Real Housewives and he's only seen one episode of the The Jersey Shore.  He said it's upsetting and appalling to him when he sees reality television stars standing next to Meryl Streep on the red carpet.  He said it's horrifying to him.  He couldn't imagine living his life having people coming up to him saying "I like your car crash of a life."  

Mario is a fan of Dancing With The Stars, however, so he and Rosie chatted for a while about that.  He said it's the closest thing we have to a Variety Show right now and he really likes it.  But Mario said he thinks Glee is a "car crash."  GASP!  He said he watches it but he's never moved by it.  Rosie told Mario she thinks Glee is the best show on television.  Mario explained why he doesn't like Glee.  He said he doesn't think the acting is so great and he thinks the tone of the show is heightened.  Therefore, all the acting is heightened and it seems too over-the-top.  Mario did say all musicals are over-the-top though but he's still not a huge fan. 

Rosie then brought up the rash of gay teen suicides and said we need a show like Glee on television.  Mario actually agreed. They both felt there's always been teen suicide but only now people are starting to pay attention.  Mario said he was bullied horribly from 7th to 9th grade.  He was called fag and queer and afraid to go to the store with his parents because he was worried he might run into someone from his class.  But by 10th grade he was doing standup, musicals, plays and directing.  He said he forged forward and the kids who were once bullying him realized he was just doing what he wanted to do and began to respect him for it.  Some of the kids who were his biggest bullies eventually became his protectors.  Mario said he really looked up to his sister who had gay friends and showed him that if he was gay it was going to be alright.  His mother didn't approve of him being gay but Mario said he knew his sister was right and his mother was wrong.  Mario said he never had  thoughts of suicide and said his sister being in his life was probably part of the reason.  

Rosie and Mario chatted more about life, relationships, politics, Ricky Martin and Oprah's final year. At one point Rosie said to Mario "Life, as you get older, is just a series of doing things you never thought you would."

Mario then launched into a fantastic Liza Minnelli impersonation!  Rosie wanted to know if Mario had ever done that impersonation to her face?!  Rosie once took Mario to see Liza perform and meet her backstage.  He said he had met her before but that was the first time he really got to chat with her.  



Mario Cantone does Liza

Rosie ended the phone call with Mario by telling him how much she misses him.  She told listeners to go see him this weekend at Caroline's.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ABOUT MARIO AT CAROLINE'S

GLEE AND ROSIE TALKS TO CALLERS ABOUT GLEE, BULLYING AND BEING GAY

Rosie came back from commercial break saying they love Mario Cantone but he's wrong about Glee.  Rosie and Bobby then talked about last night's episode.  Bobby loved Glee last night.  He loves the writing and he loved the story-lines.  He was caught by surprise when the bully ended up kissing Kurt, the gay character, in the locker room.  Rosie said that part scared her but she thought it was a powerful message.  Many of the most outspoken against being gay seem to secretly BE gay. And Rosie and Bobby loved the Teenage Dream performance last night.  Watch!  

Kurt's Teenage Dream

Rosie mentioned how much she loves watching Glee with her kids.  She then took a call from a listener who named her daughter Hunter after a SuperKid that Rosie had on The Rosie O'Donnell Show.  A SuperKid was a child highlighted on The Rosie O'Donnell Show who had done something outstanding in his/her life and Kellogg's gave them a scholarship to college.  Rosie told the caller that the SuperKids segment was her favorite part of the show and she hopes to reinstate it when she goes to the OWN network next fall.  Rosie said a woman once stopped her on the street crying.  She asked Rosie if she remembered her and Rosie couldn't.  She told Rosie she was 15 when she was on The Rosie O'Donnell show and her father had murdered her mother.  She stopped Rosie to tell her she just graduated from Harvard law school!  The caller likes Glee but is uncomfortable with the sexual references when she watches it with her children.  Rosie said she could understand.  

One listener told Rosie she was doing all the right things with her rebellious daughter Chelsea and to keep it up.  Rosie said she counts on her friends for advice about her teens because she grew up without a mother and doesn't have a mother to come to now for advice.  She told the caller, who goes to her mom for advice about raising her teenagers, to never take her mom for granted.  

Rosie took a call from a listener who has always felt a bond with Rosie because she lost her own mother when she was only 9 years-old.  Today she's a 60 year-old woman with a 39 year-old gay man as a son.  Last night, the caller was overwhelmed by Glee.  Her son was bullied heavily in high school and last night's episode made the caller cry.  She said the same boys who abused him in high school are now out and come up to him at the gay clubs to apologize to him.  Rosie said she thinks that all the time about the people who are the most outspoken against homosexuality like Fred Phelps.  She sees Phelps and thinks "there's a gay man tortured by his own existence."  Rosie talked with the caller about her son and when he came out to his father.  Her son called her after he came out to his dad and said "I've lived up to Dad's expectations I'm a faggot."  His father eventually committed suicide and the caller believes he was probably living in the closet too and that was the reason he killed himself.  The caller told Rosie how much it means to parents of gay kids when people like Rosie, Portia and Ellen come out and talk about being gay.  Rosie applauded the caller for being so supportive of her son and said on cruises she's seen 40 year-old accomplished people approach the supportive parents of other gay cruisers in tears.  They are so moved by seeing parents be supportive of their children's sexuality and they tell them how much it gives them hope for their own parents that don't accept them.  Rosie and the caller discussed PFLAG which Rosie called a wonderful organization.   Rosie thanked the listener for her call and for sharing her story. 

Rosie then took a call from a listener who said that he was one of the kids who used to bully gay kids at his school.  He said he knew that he was gay and did it so no one would think that he was.  Rosie said Lance Bass has said the same thing.  She thanked the listener for his honesty and for calling in to the show.   

STRANDED AT SEA, ROSIE'S MAD AT JAMES AND NO ONE WANTS TO DO BOOT CAMP

Pete discussed the news-story about a Carnival cruise ship stranded off the coast of Mexico with 4500 people on board.  The ship had a fire in the engine room and lost power.  The passengers don't have air conditioning, hot water, hot food or engines and they're being towed back to port at four miles an hour.  The U.S. Navy is dropping Spam and Pop Tarts for them to eat.  Rosie wanted to know why Spam?!  She thought that was just wrong!  Then this began an entire conversation about imitation crab-meat and who likes it and who doesn't.  This lead to a conversation about sushi and Shoshana seemed surprised that Rosie would like sushi. Rosie said her palate might surprise you!  One of the only fishes she will eat is Chilean Sea Bass and Brendan broke the news to her that Patagonian Tooth Fish is the real name for Chilean Sea Bass.  Rosie then thanked Brendan for the news and for taking one of her favorite fishes off the list of things she will eat.  

As Rosie was getting progressively more and more irritated she then yelled at James for suggesting she would like the Twinkie Diet.  She said it was insulting that she would like such a diet!  And she didn't like his suggestion in this morning's meeting that the staff might want to partake in boot-camp as a workout routine.  She told James boot-camp for the staff was not going to happen and he should go back to screening callers. 

GAME

During today's game Brendan listed off a fact with an incorrect number in it and the player had to guess if the correct number was more or less than the number he gave.  If the player guessed correctly and could give the correct number they would get an additional two points.  

ROUND ONE 

Pete: Baskin Robbins is famous for it's 35 flavors.  He said the correct number was LESS which was correct.  He guessed 31 which was also correct for 3 points. 

Bobby:  The Delorean Time Machine from the movie Back to the Future needs to hit 98 miles an hour to take flight.  He guessed MORE but the correct answer (88) was LESS. 0 points

Deirdre: There are 18 herbs and spices in KFC.  She guessed LESS which was correct.  She guessed 12 but the correct answer was 11.  1 point

Rosie: Heinz has 27 varieties.  She guessed MORE, 57 varieties.  She was correct for 3 points. 

Shoshana: Dr. Pepper has 21 flavors in it.  She guessed LESS but it was MORE (23).  0 points

ROUND TWO

Pete: Cheers has won 39 Emmys.  He guessed LESS which was correct.  He guessed the correct number was 27 but they actually won 26. 1 point

Bobby:  Franklin Delano Roosevelt served at President for 13 years.  He guessed LESS which was correct and then he guessed the correct number was 8.  That was wrong the correct number was 12.  1 point. 

Deirdre: There are 5,260 feet in a mile.  She guessed MORE which was correct.  She guessed there are 6000 feet in a mile.  There are actually 5280.  1 point

Rosie: There were 9 members of the Waltons family.  She guessed MORE and guessed 11.  That was correct for 3 points. 

Shoshana: There are a total of 7 Harry Potter movies. She guessed LESS.  That was incorrect.  There are MORE, there are 7 books but the last book is being made into two movies so there are 8 altogether.  0 points

ROUND THREE

Pete: The number on the side of Herby The Love Bug is 66. He guessed LESS which was correct and then he guessed 57 which was incorrect.   The number on the side is 53.  1 point

Bobby: Sherlock Holmes lives at 222 B. Baker Street.  He guessed MORE which was incorrect.  It is LESS, 221.  0 points

Deirdre: There are 720 calories in a Big Mac.  She guessed MORE.  It was LESS.  There are 540 calories in a Big Mac.  0 points 

Rosie: All My Children has been on the air for 29 years.  She guessed MORE and said 33 years.  All My Children has been on for 40 years.  1 point and Rosie ended the game as the winner with 7 points!

Shoshana: The New England Patriots have won the Superbowl five times.  She guessed LESS which was correct.  She then guessed the correct number was 4 but they've only won 3 times.  1 point 

Rosie was the WINNER!!!!!!!

Rosie and the staff ended the show talking about how much money Bobby spent on making the game tally board.  Apparently, he spent $200 on making the board!  Same with decorating the pumpkin!  He won Halloween decorations and the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Arts and Crafts.  He had lots of fun making the pumpkin though. 

Rosie then said how much she wants to go see 127 Hours soon and closed the show. 

and that's what you missed -kw