11-17-10 Rosie Shares her Good News and an Interview with Joe Lovett

In case you missed it...

GLEE, ROSIE'S GOOD NEWS AND DWTS
Rosie and Bobby started today's broadcast talking about last night's Glee with Gwyneth Paltrow.  They both thought she was fantastic.  Rosie's kids recognized Gwyneth as "that girl from the movie Iron Man."  Rosie thought that was funny.  Janette's prediction is that Gwyneth's character will become a recurring role as Mr. Schuester's new girlfriend.  Deirdre didn't really think she'll come back because she's more of a movie actress as opposed to a television actress.  Rosie doesn't think there is as much of a separation for actors and actresses today when it comes to television work versus film work.  Rosie really loves Glee and is excited to see Carol Burnett as Sue Sylvester's mom on next week's episode.

Rosie was happy to announce that her biopsy results came back and she's cancer free!  All the staff brought in treats to celebrate the news with her.  First she got a text from her doctor last night saying her right boob is fine.  Then she texted the doctor back (who is her friend and coauthor of the book Bosum Buddies) and asked her about her left breast, the one she had tested last week.  Then she got the news that that breast was cancer free, too.  Rosie said she's been getting mammograms for 18 years and for 18 years she's gotten the thumbs up that she's okay.  She said she feels very, very lucky.  But either way she knew she'd have to keep going no matter what news she got.  She talked about the women who were waiting with her on the days she was in the waiting room at the hospital and how the chances are some of those women will  not get the good news she did.  She talked about the bonding, unifying and leveling experience that occurs amongst women when they wait in the waiting room together for mammograms.  Janette was so relieved that everything was okay with Rosie and since she had recently gone through a scare of her own, she was sure Rosie would be okay too.  But she was incredibly relieved to find out.  Rosie said had she not done the MRI, they wouldn't have found the spots they found in her breasts because they weren't visible on the mammogram and ultrasounds that were ordered after the fact.  She knows that the MRI was the reason she had to get something tested that wasn't seen in a mammogram but she's still thankful she had it done.  Deirdre wanted to know if any of the technicians acknowledged who she was when they were working with her.  Rosie said they do but they are all so young they aren't really effected by her fame in the same way that other fans might be (or at least they don't act like it). Rosie said one of her breasts got horribly bruised from the biopsy but one didn't at all.  Mostly, she's glad it was nothing and that she's done with that for now.

Rosie wanted to know what the hell happened on Dancing With The Stars last night.  Bobby believed it's a Tea Party conspiracy that Bristol Palin is still on the show.  Brandy got higher scores than Palin by the judges but Palin was the one who got to stay last night. Rosie wanted to know when Bristol Palin became so beloved.  Deirdre read from an article posted on Jezebel.com where they're saying that Palin conservatives are cheating the DWTS voting system and voting multiple times.  The staff talked about how this is the 11th season of DWTS and how it's evolved over the years.  Rosie (again) said she would never do it but when she sees how much weight Kelly Osbourne lost, she realizes it would be a great way for her to lose weight.   Rosie took several calls from listeners.  One caller said he is not in the Tea Party but votes for Bristol on the show.  He said his vote has nothing to do with her mother or the Tea Party, he just liked Bristol and he doesn't think Brandy has a good personality.  He said he's never been able to vote more than 5 times, and he's tried.  One caller believed the voting is rigged and thinks ABC needs to look into it.  He told Rosie about the NBC show Clash of the Choirs - a real life glee club competition starting in January.  Rosie sounded excited about it and said she'd check it out.

PEDOMETERS, ROSIE AND DWTS, I LOVE BOOBIES AND SQUIRRELS GONE WILD
Janette got pedometers for everyone on the staff and after Thanksgiving break they're going to all wear them and see who is walking the most.  Rosie is sure she is walking the least out of everyone and honestly thinks she only takes about 48 steps a day.  She's thinking about giving the pedometer to Vivi for the day and cheating.  A listener called in and told Rosie she would love to see her on DWTS!  Rosie said she would be horrible on that show and with the clothing, the high heels, and the anxiety it would just make her cry a lot.  She told the caller to get that thought out of her head and to never bring it up again!  (She then gave the caller a gift and thanked her for calling.)  Pete thought Rosie could rock one of those frilly dresses.  Rosie said she's been asked before to be on the show and her typical response is "laughter almost to the point of almost peeing" and then a resounding "NO."  Bobby was laughing hysterically at even just imagining Rosie's B-Roll footage of her learning the dance with her choreographer.

Rosie asked the staff if they had heard about the controversy surrounding the I heart boobies bracelets.  She read from an article that they're being banned in some schools.  Rosie said the bracelets are really about breast cancer awareness and thinks it's silly that they're banned.  Janette agreed.

Then, all the sudden a rogue squirrel started climbing up the screen on the window of the studio!  It threw the entire show and staff into complete chaos.  Watch the video from the live streaming camera below...

DEATH, EXPLAINING DEATH TO KIDS AND DEALING WITH DEATH OURSELVES
After the chaos of the squirrel gone wild, Rosie asked the staff if they heard about the publicist who was shot on her way home from the Burlesque movie premiere.  You can read about that HERE.  Deirdre, who really knows everyone in show business, was totally shocked when she heard about it.  Rosie thought it was horrible and couldn't think of a reason why someone would shoot this woman's car.

Rosie has had to have talks with her kids lately about dying since her breast cancer scare.  Blake and Rosie were talking about how everyone dies and Blake asked her about accidents and how you know if it's your time to die or not.  Rosie said it's a hard thing to explain to kids and she didn't really have an answer for him.  Janette likes to believe everything happens for a reason but a small part of her wonders if we hold onto that thought process in order to make sense of senseless things that happen.  That's why Janette tries to enjoy every moment that's left.  Rosie mentioned how a simple text of only two words like "no cancer" comes and you can go on with life.  But if the words were different, life would have changed for her instantly and completely.   Rosie then mentioned one of her favorite shows The Big C on Showtime.  She said it's the best drama on TV and Janette agreed.  Rosie thinks it's fantastic acting and loves the storyline.

BARBRA ON OPRAH AND ROSIE'S MOM
Rosie, of course, wanted to talk about Barbra Streisand on Oprah yesterday!  Rosie loved it!  Janette said it shocks her that The Way We Were was 1973 and makes her feel old.  Rosie believes it and was watching The World of Jenks recently where they featured the life of a standup comic and said to her that time in her life seems like a lifetime ago.  Rosie thought Streisand sang beautifully and said she has a new book coming out entitled My Passion for Design where all the money goes to the Women's Heart Initiative.   Rosie loved Barbra on Oprah and thought it was serendipitous that she got the text that she was breast cancer free as she was watching Barbra.  She talked about what's been going on with her breast cancer scare in therapy and her fear she's always lived with of dying the same way her mother did.  Rosie wondered if she would have wanted to be a performer if her mother had lived because a large impetus that pushed her to do well was her fear of dying at a young age like her mom.  She definitely saw getting her good news about her cancer scare while watching her hero, Barbra, on Oprah as a gift from her mom. 

Rosie recalled the time Parker said the phrase, "Come on, Bessie," out of nowhere one day when they were playing a Lego soccer game.  "Come on, Bessie" was the phrase her mom always used to say as she was driving their beat-up station wagon up the hill of her development where she grew up.  She said sometimes she even feels someone is sitting on her bed and wonders if that could be her mom.  She and Janette talked about how they'd give anything in the world for just one more day, just one regular ordinary day, with loved ones who have passed.  Rosie said she's interested in finding out more out about her mother and said she will start taping for the the Lisa Kudrow show Who Do You Think You Are? next week and they will be researching her mother's side of the family.  She said for the first week of the show she thinks she will be mostly in the tri-state area but the second week she'll be leaving the country possibly to Canada or Ireland.  She doesn't know if she's excited or what she feels about it at this point.  She said the producers have been researching her family history for the past 6 months and have told her they think this will be a very emotional interview for her.  But once she's done filming she is legally forbidden to talk about it until it airs in September 2011!!!! 

Then all chaos broke out as Boscoe the squirrel scaled the screen during today's show again.

MOTIVATING TEENS
Rosie wanted to discuss her son Parker's grades and his lack of motivation in school.  He was perfectly happy with 3 grades in the 80s and 3 grades in the 60s.  He thinks that's totally fine and acceptable.  Rosie does NOT think it's acceptable and said Parker is extremely unhappy with the ramifications he now has to face because he didn't study enough this semester.  Bobby said he was the same way in school.  Rosie had to fight with Parker to get him out of her bathroom last night and longed for the days they never ever fought.  She said those days have "all gone to shit."   Janette reminded Rosie that this too shall pass and that some day he'll be in his 20s and this will all be over.  Rosie said she's told Parker that the choice is his and he can either make the next three years enjoyable or the most miserable three years of his life.  Rosie also loves Parker's Biology teacher, whose husband just died, and wished Parker wasn't being such a problem for her to have to deal with.  Janette never cared what her grades were in math and said she always regretted it in later life.  She admitted she can barely tell the time on a digital clock and said she's only really mastered it in the last month of working at the studio.  Rosie doesn't see the point in learning algebra or why that would ever be useful in life.  Janette said math is the key to the mysteries of the universe. Rosie wondered if taking his sports away was a good punishment for poor grades and invited listeners to call in with their thoughts.  She also asked how do you motivate a kid to do better in school.

Kids from Bye Bye Birdie

Rosie took some callers on the topics of teens, grades and motivation.  One caller thought taking sports away was a bad idea.  One caller said Rosie should threaten him with got being able to get his drivers permit unless he keeps his grades up.  Rosie thought that was a great idea!  Another caller talked about her teen's frustrating sense of entitlement and likes how the school sets the limits for grades and sports.  One caller talked about the importance of time management with teens and how she gives her children a specific time to get their work done and if they don't she walks them into their class and tells the teacher they didn't finish.  Rosie didn't think walking into school would work with Parker because she said he doesn't have a level of embarrassment and would just think it would be funny.  She vented about how he emails his teachers late at night to try to get out of doing homework, how he's on the list of people that need help at school and doesn't care, and how he's had academic detention for not doing his homework recently.  Rosie seemed frustrated that she can't inspire Parker to want to do better in school.  One caller told Rosie she should let Parker fail and "hit bottom" so the motivation can come from within.

Rosie said part of Parker's consequences of not getting the grades he needs is getting his iPhone taken away until January.  She gave him a "baby phone" that only allows him to call five pre-programmed numbers (Rosie, Kelli, Stanley (their driver), Tanya (their nanny), etc).  She called it an "embarrassing baby phone" but Parker really doesn't seem to care!  It doesn't embarrass him at all!  She called him on his baby phone yesterday to talk to him about his grades and he hung up on her saying he had to start practice.  When he got home later that night, instead of yelling at him she decided to put a big smile on her face and walk up to him and say, "Don't hang up on Mommy again, okay?"  She said she's trying to take a different approach to dealing with him because the screaming isn't fun. 

JOE LOVETT FROM THE FILM GOING BLIND
Rosie then introduced Joe Lovett who directed and starred in the documentary Going Blind a movie that aims to increase public awareness about sight loss.  Rosie saw the film and said she felt like she knew Joe then she realized she worked with him before.  She said it is a beautiful documentary that explains how people prepare when they're losing their sight and how life changes after they do.  She told her listeners it is definitely worth seeing.  Rosie told Joe how much she loved his documentary and how she had never thought about what it would be like to lose her sight.  Joe said people with vision loss are oftentimes living in a world we choose to ignore, almost like a parallel universe.  Joe has glaucoma.  He spoke to Rosie about his glaucoma and how it has changed over the years.  When he was in his 40s he had extraordinarily high pressure in his eyes and his doctor sent him to a specialist.  Shortly thereafter he started to lose his eyesight.  Rosie said the documentary is a fascinating look at what it's like to go blind.  She and Joe talked about the scene in the film where they explain how our brains fill in the gaps for what we no longer see and the time he ran right into a man on the street because he was in his blind-spot.

Rosie asked Joe about what is was like to be the subject of one of his films and how he went about finding other people to be in the documentary.  Joe said optometrists don't want to talk about vision loss because they don't want to upset you so he had to talk to people who had been through it to find out what happened to them.  Joe said he heard the most unbelievable stories and shared a few of them with Rosie.  Joe talked about how going blind is like learning a new language and how 70-80% of people who have had vision loss don't have the skills they need to succeed in the world.   

Joe said they're really encouraging educational institutions, schools and community groups to hold screenings of the film in their own communities to create group discussions about it and to better understand what's involved with eye care and low vision care.  Listeners interesting in seeing the film can go to www.goingblindmovie.com and click on Going Blind and Going Forward to learn more.  He said eventually they would like to have it on Amazon.com for downloading. 

Joe has been participating in electro-brain stimulation by the Human Brain Institute to better the pathways with which your brain creates sight out of the data that your eye sends.  He decided to try it though he wasn't sure it would work.  For two weeks he had electrodes attached to his eyes and he almost immediately noticed changes.  He realized he could read the text on a program at the ballet without his glasses!  He could also see the features of the dancers on the stage and the glare wasn't there when seeing headlights on the street (which is common for people with bad glaucoma).  He doesn't know if the changes are permanent and only time will tell.  Joe said we think of Glaucoma as a benign disease but it's honestly a relentless disease.  Rosie told Joe he's doing a tremendous service with his film and wished him great success.  She offered to do anything she could do to help get the word out on his film.  She thanked him for calling in and recommended listeners go to goingblindmovie.com  for more information.

GAME
During today's game, Brendan had a list of the hundred biggest brand names in the world and he went around the room and gave each player a chance to guess one.  Each player got the same number of points where the brand was on the list.  So, the lower the brand was on the list (and the more obscure) the more points the player got.

ROUND ONE
Pete: guessed McDonald's for 8 points.
Janette: guessed Nabisco, which was not on the list.
Bobby: guessed Hershey which was not on the list.
Shoshana: guessed Apple for 7 points.
Rosie: guessed Ford for 68 points! 

ROUND TWO
Pete: Nokia, 9 points.
Janette: Nissan, 59 points!
Bobby: IBM, 6 points.
Shoshana: Samsung, 58 points!
Rosie: Honda, 37 points.

ROUND THREE
Pete: Chevrolet, 69 points!
Janette: Coca Cola for 4 points.
Bobby: Kodak which was not on the list.
Shoshana: Sony which was not on the list.
Rosie: Mercedes for 36 points.

ROUND FOUR
Pete: Volvo which was not on the list.
Janette: Daewu which was not on the list.
Bobby: Disney for 23 points.
Shoshana: Kraft which was not on the list.
Rosie: Gap which was not on the list.

Rosie won with a total of 141 points!!! Brendan listed off some of the other brands on the list which were Standard Chartered, Morgan Stanley, American Express, MasterCard, Visa, AT&T, Verizon, Volkswagen, Nike, etc. 

Rosie closed the show wishing that everyone waiting for test results has good news like she did yesterday. 

and that's what you missed -kw