9-8-10 "Pat Tillman, the death penalty debate and Sheryl Lee Ralph"

In case you missed it...

A NEW MONTH OF GAMES, SINGING PUBLICLY AND THE PAT TILLMAN DOCUMENTARY
Rosie started today's show talking about how funny Pete was during the game at the end of yesterday's show.  They decided to give $100 cash to the studio member with the most game wins this month!   September's winner will be announced October 1st.  Shoshana won yesterday's game and is currently in the lead.

Janette said she was signing South Pacific's Bali High around her apartment yesterday and it made her cat howl.  Rosie thinks Jeannie (Weenie) is still mad at her for making her have a singing lesson on the air.  Janette said it was a good segment and that's all that matters and Bobby said that Weenie was a very good singer so she has nothing to worry about.  Rosie has no problems singing in public even though (she said) she can't sing.  Janette said that Rosie can and reminded her of her Rosie Christmas album where she sang so well and Bobby reminded Rosie that she sang Sunrise, Sunset in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway!  Rosie said she would love to play Ms. Hannigan in the revival of Annie on Broadway but knows it's going to be playing at a time when she will most likely be very busy.

Bobby said he saw the play South Pacific just before it closed which prompted Janette to start singing Bali High and all the songs from that musical.  Rosie said that she thinks that doing a Broadway show would help her depression that she feels like she might be slipping into.  She's going to her shrink today to talk about it.  She said she cried a lot last night for the first time in a long time.  She watched the Pat Tillman documentary and cried a lot.  She also went to Parker's parent orientation last night for his new high school.  Parker told Rosie he wanted her to be more involved in school and with the PTA.  Rosie said she would think about it.  Rosie talked for a while about the Pat Tillman documentary and how he was the eldest of 3 boys from a non-conventional family.  The documentary is about his life and his death and the cover-up afterward.  Rosie said that Pat's death seems purposeful when you watch the documentary.  She talked about Pat's mother's anger that they took her son's death and used it as a recruiting tool.  Rosie said that Pat Tillman seemed like an amazing guy and it was a very moving documentary. 

A WOMAN ON DEATH ROW AND FEELINGS ON THE DEATH PENALTY
Rosie and the staff discussed the recent news story of Teresa Lewis who is on death row in Virginia.  She is charged with the double murder of her 51 year old husband and his stepson in order to collect the $350,000 life insurance policies.  You can read the full story HERE.  She admitted to the hiring of the men to kill her husband and stepson and assisted the police in locating the men who committed the crime for her.  Both of the men were given life sentences but she was given the death penalty.  She will be the first woman put to death in 5 years in this country and the first in 98 years in the state of Virginia.  Ms. Lewis was given an IQ test while in prison and she scored a 70 and a 73 on the test.  The cutoff is 70 for being mentally impaired and it is illegal to put mentally impaired people to death in the United States.  One of the shooters committed suicide in jail and before he killed himself he wrote a letter saying that he committed the crime and manipulated the woman into allowing him to do it  in order to get the money from her.  In his letter he said that as soon as he met her he knew he could use her.  Rosie wanted to discuss everyone's feelings on the death penalty. 

Janette said she completely changed her feelings about the death penalty after seeing Dead Man Walking.  She said the character in the film was so loathsome and repulsive yet the movie showed that underneath we are all human beings.  Janette said she thinks everyone should go out and watch that movie.  Pete recommended the book because he said it's even better.  Janette talked about the need for redemption no matter what you've done.  Rosie stressed that they didn't believe this woman should ever be free but they felt that killing her because she killed someone else does not help serve the point that killing is wrong. 

Rosie took several callers.  Some callers were for the death penalty and some were against it.  One caller said it is too costly for tax payers to house prisoners for the rest of their lives and Pete said it's more costly to put someone to death than it is to incarcerate them for life because of the amount of money spent on trials.  He cited The Autobiography of an Execution and said that David Dow says that in a regular trial it takes 1-3 days for jury selection while in a death penalty case, it's at least a month.  In the end it costs millions more to put someone to death than it does to incarcerate them. 

Rosie took a call from a listener whose father was murdered by a crack addict.  She heard Rosie's interview of Bill Clegg, the author of Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man, and then chose to read it in order to better understand the addiction of the man that drove him to kill her father.  Through reading Bill's book and hearing his interview she better understood the desperation the man who was addicted to crack must have felt.   She felt as if the man who killed her father might have had a totally different life if he had not gotten involved with crack and said it affects her opinion of the death penalty.  Rosie thought it was truly remarkable and evolved that the caller would be brave enough to explore the addiction that drove the person who murdered her father.  She thanked her for her call. 

DANCING WITH THE STARS, THE EMMY'S AND FAVORITE TV SHOWS
Janette listed off all the new celebrities (and I use that term loosely) that are going to be on this season's Dancing With the Stars.   The "stars" include Bristol Palin, Kurt Warner, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino (the former stripper and Jersey Shore cast-mate famous for his rock hard abs) Jennifer Grey (from Dirty Dancing), Margaret Cho (YAY!  Love her.  Rosie wondered how the uptight judges would react to her sleeve tattoos.) Rick Fox (former L.A. Lakers player also formerly married to Vanessa Williams), Florence Henderson (from The Brady Bunch.  Rosie and Janette think she will win it because of her Broadway dancing experience) Brandy (the pop singer), Michael Bolton (singer who Rosie predicts will be the first to go home), David Hasselhoff (former America's Got Talent host and Baywatch lifeguard), and Audrina Patridge (from MTV's The Hills).

Deirdre said that some people will watch just to see Bristol Palin.  'Dancing With the Stars' premieres on ABC on September 20th! 

Rosie mentioned she loved the Emmy's this year hosted by Jimmy Fallon and said she thought he did a great job.  She also loved the opening number!  (see below)  She did say that there were many shows and winners she has never heard of before!  Janette blamed age and the fact that there are just too many shows on T.V. today.  One of Deirdre's favorite shows Breaking Bad won an Emmy and she said that made her so happy! She watched seasons 1-3 over summer break while she was recuperating from knee surgery.  Deirdre recommended Rosie go on iTunes and download Modern Family so she can get caught up because it's such a great show. 

The opening skit of the Emmy's with Jimmy Fallon.

Rosie briefly mentioned that she saw the film Mao's Last Dancer over break.

PETE DRUNK DIALS BOBBY, TONY DANZA THE TEACHER AND REALITY TV
Pete and Lou got drunk one night over break and "drunk dialed" Bobby telling him they were outside his building.  Only problem was Bobby was in Florida visiting family!  Rosie admitted that she's drunk dialed Bobby too and said it's fun.  They got drunk on Amstel Light and Jack Daniels and then  Pete played bad music and scared the whole bar. 

A person wrote in on the blog and asked if they saw Pete at a barbecue this weekend. The person said that they wanted to approach him and say hello but they did not.  Pete said that was a good thing because he had his face full of meat the entire barbecue.  Rosie mentioned that one of her favorite restaurants Tony Roma's is opening at her mall and she is excited about it. Janette has only been to Tony Roma's once and that was with Rosie.

Rosie mentioned that Tony Danza has a new show airing where he's going to teach English for a year. Rosie said that as a celebrity she has been asked to do many reality shows but said that being a teacher sounded like a fun idea.  

SHERYL LEE RALPH
Rosie then introduced Sheryl Lee Ralph who is a talented singer and Broadway actress.  Sheryl was in The Flintstones with Rosie!  She played the adoption counselor who gave Rosie's character Bam Bam.  Sheryl and Rosie reminisced about making the film together. 

Sheryl was Ms. Teenage Black New York and said that many famous women including herself come from that contest.  Sheryl sang "Summertime" during her talent portion of the contest. 

Sheryl's Broadway debut was a musical called Reggae.  She said it was a big flop and closed not long after it's opening.  However, at one of the Sunday matinee performances a director saw her perform and told her he had her next musical.  He asked her to audition for "Project Number 9" which was eventually the Broadway show Dreamgirls!  Sheryl said performing in Dreamgirls was a dream and the audience was often filled with celebrities like Michael Jackson, Sylvester Stallone, Diane Von Furstenberg, etc. She said every night the cast was showered with applause of appreciation and love.

Sheryl has a son who is almost 19 years old and a daughter who is 15.  Sheryl and Rosie commiserated about the challenges of raising teens.  Sheryl encouraged Rosie to take the time to bond with her teens when things are going well and it will help when they are in crisis.  Both Sheryl's teens are into performing and acting and it makes her crazy!  She asks them why they want to suffer like their mother.  But both Rosie and Sheryl agreed that nothing their parents could have done could have stopped them from being in show business.

Rosie discussed with Sheryl her foundation - The Diva AIDS Foundation.  Sheryl said she created it to help bring AIDS awareness and to raise up the memory of her friends that she had lost to AIDS.  People just died from AIDS.  She said that in the beginning there wasn't a treatment for the disease and many of her friends got ill and simply died immediately.  She said that so many people died under stigma, shame and silence and she wanted to honor them with her foundation.  Sheryl said that for 20 years she's been lucky enough to put together great talent to raise their voices for AIDS.  Rosie and Sheryl discussed many of this years performers as well as performers from past events.  The concert benefiting her foundation is on October 9th and you can find out more about the foundation and the performers at DivasSimplySinging.com.  If you cannot make the event, Sheryl encouraged listeners to make a donation online if they can.   

GAME - POPULAR MISHEARD LYRICS
Brendan read off some popular misheard lyrics and the player had to guess the correct lyrics to the song.  

ROUND ONE
Pete - the misheard lyric was "Excuse me while I kiss this guy." The correct lyric was "...kiss the sky." He got it.
Janette - the misheard lyric was "There's a bathroom on the right."  Janette had no idea.  Brendan gave her the band Creedance Clearwater Revival and she still couldn't guess it.  The correct lyrics were "there's a bad moon on the rise." She was OUT.
Bobby - the misheard lyric was "Another one buys the duck." The correct lyrics were "Another one bites the dust."  He got it. 
Caller - the misheard lyric was "It doesn't make a difference if we're naked or not."  The correct lyrics were "It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not"  The artist was Bon Jovi.  She didn't get it and was out. 
Shoshana - the misheard lyric was "We built this city on the wrong damn road."  The correct lyrics were "We built this city on rock and roll."  She got it.
Rosie - the misheard lyric was "You made the rice. I made the gravy."  The correct lyrics were "You may be right. I may be crazy."  The artist is Billy Joel and she got it.

ROUND TWOPete - the misheard lyric was "Here we are now, in containers."  The correct lyrics were "Here we are now, entertainers."  The artist is Nirvana and he got it. 
Bobby - the misheard lyric was "Hold me close and tie me down sir."  The correct lyrics were "Hold me closer tiny dancer."  The artist was Elton John and he got it.
Shoshana -  the misheard lyric was "The algebra has a devil for a sidekick eeeee."  The correct lyric was "The Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me."  She didn't get it and was out. 
Rosie  - the misheard lyric was "Let's pee in the corner. Let's pee in the spotlight."  The correct lyric was "That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight."  The artist was REM and she got it. 

ROUND THREE
PETE - the misheard lyric was "You've been outright offensive for so long now."  The correct lyrics were "You've been out riding fences for so long now."  The artist was the Eagles and he got it.
Bobby - the misheard lyric was "Slow motion Walter a fire engine guy."  The correct lyrics were "Smoke on the water, the fire in the sky."  The artist was Deep Purple and he was OUT.
Rosie - the misheard lyric was "Wrapped up like a douche and then you roll her in the night."  The correct lyric was "Revved up like a deuce another runner in  the night."  She was OUT.
Pete (for the win)- the misheard lyric was "Hit me with your pet shark." The correct lyric was "Hit me with your best shot" and he said that was TOO easy and requested another one! 

Pete (for the for sure win)- the misheard lyric was "Shamu's the mysterious whale."  The correct lyric was "She moves in mysterious ways."  He won!  And let me just say Pete ROCKED this game.  Not only did he get all his correct he got almost everyone else's too!   

Rosie closed the show saying that with only a few days until the anniversary of 9/11 that she woke up this morning and remembered that day in September and the beautiful weather they had in New York at the time.  She asked the other studio members if they had thought about the upcoming anniversary and Bobby said that last night he saw them testing the lights they shine into the sky where the World Trade Center stood and that brought back memories for him.  Rosie said she will be going to the shrink today and deciding about her diet soon! 

I will keep all you One Year Planners posted on that news when I hear it.  And if you're interested in starting your own One Year Plan don't forget to send me the link to your blog.  As for me, today I ran for the first time in a long time and I've already lost 5 pounds from dieting and cutting out soda and beer for the past two weeks.  We will see if I can stick to the exercise.  That's the hardest part for me.  Let me know how you all are doing too and check out the other One Year Plans to motivate others and stay motivated yourself!  xo

6 comments:

  1. Wow, Kelly, you've lost 5 pounds ALREADY! Holy moly. That's fantastic!! Exercising is the hardest part for me, too. I haven't started that part of my plan yet (that's my October goal). But I've already lost weight, too, just from getting my eating under control and I feel fantastic. I want to thank you again. Thank you, THANK YOU for encouraging us to start our own one year plan blogs. Many of us are doing really well and your idea of blogging together and encouraging each other is working. I hope others will join us. Can I ever thank you enough? I don't think so.
    (Leigh of The Mambo Project)

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  2. That's terrific that you've lost so much so far! I have one request, can you move the picture of Jeannie Weenie's Cake away from the list of bloggers participating in the weight loss effort? It looks sooo delicious and to see it every time I check the list of bloggers, is torture :):)

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  3. i'm so glad you ran!!! i hope it felt good. going to be a beautiful few days for running coming up! controlling my eating is my hardest part!

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  4. Hi Kelly:

    To which email address do you want us to send our one year plans?

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  5. So I do come here when I miss the show, so thank you so much for doing this. Today I sat here laughing tears because of the game lyrics!!! Great Job!!!

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  6. Hi Kelly,
    So enjoyed this show (and your recap) - loved the Sheryl Lee Ralph interview, especially, as 'Dreamgirls' was my first broadway show ever! And she was still in the cast, though Jennifer Holiday had moved on by then. JH's replacement was still fantastic, though, and the music of that show just blew me away.

    I always am mentally 'talking back' to Rosie & Co. when I listen, but during this show I really wished I could join in during the Emmy discussion. I totally understand that there are so many offerings on TV now that it's hard to keep up. But not knowing Archie Punjabi from 'The Good Wife'?! That was my fav new drama last year (and Julianna Marquiles was robbed, I tell you, robbed!). Punjabi plays Kalinda, the law firm's investigator, and she's a wonderful character, tough and smart, and probably bi-sexual (though they've been kind of mysterious about it) - not to mention, she wears what those of us online fans call 'the boots of justice' (tall black boots) - love her and really imagine that if Rosie watched the show, she'd love her and the whole series. (I'm actually re-watching it just in time for season 2 to begin in a few weeks - and yes, I'm a TV geek!)

    Glad that Rosie's going to catch up on 'Modern Family', too, as that show is consistently both moving and hilarious. And love 'The Big C' so glad they're covering that, too.

    Wish list for other shows that Ro would get into and that she and the radio staff would discuss (aside from 'The Good Wife'):

    *Treme (brill HBO about post-Katrina New Orleans; by the creator of 'The Wire')
    *True Blood (as someone on the net described it: 'vampire soap opera porn' - which is pretty accurate, but also why it'd be so fun for them to talk about)
    *So You Think You Can Dance (one of the best 'reality' shows, IMO, and Cat Deeley blows away every other host(ess) out there!)
    *Mad Men (have watched from the start - each episode is like a tapestry, and often harkens back to previous seasons - so layered and wonderful)
    *Gossip Girl (for the cheesy glory of its often trainwreck quality)

    And just want to add: I *love* the games on the show! They not only make me laugh (sometimes until I'm snorting) but I like to play along. (Only missed one of the 'correct lyrics' game!) Thanks for including these in your recaps - they're a bright addition to the show.

    And also want to wish you well on your one-year effort!

    xveronica

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