2-18-11 - Celebrity Crushes, Would You Rather and Room's Emma Donoghue

In case you missed it...

ROSIE RADIO CHATS WITH VIVI AND TALKS CURRENT EVENTS
Firstly, don't forget Rosie's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs tonight on NBC at 8pm EST! 

Rosie and the staff chit-chatted for a while at the beginning of the broadcast about the beautiful weather the east coast is planning to have this weekend.  And Rosie said she may go to Miami this weekend since the kids will be at Kelli's.  Janette and Jeannie talked about leaks in their homes and water damage to their flooring.  And Vivi was in the studio with her cute little voice commenting every once in a while.  Rosie asked Vivi if she remembered the time they found mold in the walls of their Miami home and had to have them replaced.  She asked her if that was the grossest thing she ever saw and Vivi said it wasn't.  She said the grossest thing she ever saw was Mama Kelli's pool!  Apparently, the house Kelli owns has a pool and the previous owners never took care of it but kept it covered.  When they took the cover off the pool looked like sewer water!

Janette said it's been quite a year for her so far.  She's had to replace her floor and has had to replace her car because it was stolen out of the garage she kept it in.  Janette thanked the fabulous NYPD detectives who caught the person who stole her car but said she's still on the hook for replacing it.  Janette and her boyfriend Barry have ordered a new car that they should get in 6-8 weeks.    

Rosie and the staff discussed a recent Wall Street Journal article that states that your brain can only hold 147.8 friends at once.  Rosie wondered how they came up with that number and said she has a list of close friends she can count on two hands.  Janette agreed and said her list of close friends is very short too.  Pete said his wife has a lot of close friends.  Vivi shared and said she has only two close friends.  Rosie told her she is still young so there's plenty of time for more.  Then there was a brief mention of Facebook and the difference between online friends and friends in "real life."  Janette said she likes both her online relationships and her personal relationships.  Rosie talked about how she enjoys playing Scrabble on Pogo.com with strangers.

The staff then discussed an article about whether or not it's better to keep kids from bad news or to share it with them.  Rosie asked Vivi and used the 9/11 as an example and asked her if it was better to know or not.  Vivi said it wasn't too scary but that it's only too scary if there's a fire.  And Rosie asked Vivi if she still wants to be a bounty hunter when she grows up and she said she does.  Rosie said she thinks if the bad news is financial it would be better not to tell your kids.  Though she did say she's never been in that position before. This started a conversation about thunder and lightning and how you explain it to children when Pete revealed he was once hit by lightning!  He said he as walking his dog in a thunderstorm and lightning hit just in front of him.  He described it as the brightest light he ever saw and still remembers how his hairs on his arms stood on end from the electricity.  Rosie remembered reading on the Internet about someone who got hit by lightning three times and wondered if people send off different electrical signals.  Pete TOTALLY thought that was true and said there are certain people that can kill a computer because of the electricity they give off.  He also thinks certain areas in the house can affect a computer by the amount of electricity in that area.  Janette said her sister is like that and if her sister is in the room, no work will be getting done because the computer most likely will not work.

Amanda (the call screener) and the staff then discussed an article she read about the The Guide for an Apocalyptic New York for lawyers.  This month, "an official state legal manual was published in New York to serve as a guide for judges and lawyers who could face grim questions in another terrorist attack, a major radiological or chemical contamination or a widespread epidemic."  [source: New York Times]  Amanda said she's convinced she's going to need this information and that a man-made apocalyptic event will happen in the next 20 years. Janette recommended she read Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. 

The staff also discussed an article they read that states that iPads may replace waiters at some restaurants.  Rosie wanted to know what everyone thought about this idea!  Everyone thought Janette, the original curmudgeon who has a tendency to be tough on restaurant staff, would love the idea.  But she wasn't so sure.  Janette said she would rather tell a human being about her specific needs.  Pete said that's because she has very specific tastes and said he'd never want to wait on her in a restaurant. Janette said she's sent things back because she just doesn't like the meal but swears she's not mean to the staff.  Her boyfriend Barry told her she gets a "tone" with wait staff however.  Deirdre and Bobby like the iPad idea.  Deirdre likes to relax when she's out with a friend at a restaurant and hates when the waiter comes over to them every five minutes asking them if they want to place their order.  She said with the iPad, she wouldn't have to stress over it.  Rosie wasn't sure because she hates when she's at a restaurant and everyone is looking at their phone or electronic device.  She thought it would be too similar to that.  The staff then shared some bad restaurant experiences and times when waiters pushed items at them that they didn't want or order.  Rosie once heard a story about Barbra Streisand that she went to a Chinese food restaurant and said she wanted "a little bit of everything" and they actually brought her "a little bit of everything!"  She's since asked Barbra if that story was true and Barbra says it isn't.  Rosie was excited to go to the new Tony Roma's near her but said it wasn't as great as she remembered it was.  She then remembered going to Sizzler's and Beefsteak Charlie's when she was younger and started to sing Those Were the Days with Janette.

Rosie was excited that Adele, one of her favorite artists, has a new album  coming out soon!  She asked Deirdre if she could get an advanced copy and Deirdre said it's on the way.  Apparently, Rosie plays Rolling In the Deep every morning before the show lately.  She asked Lou to play it for the listeners at home.  You can pre-order Adele's album 21 which will be released on Tuesday! 

Adele: Rolling In the Deep

THE CELEBRITY CRUSH GAME

For this game, each staff member wrote down their first celebrity crush and the staff had to guess which crush belonged to which staff member.  Jeannie has mentioned a million times that her first crush was Donny Osmond so she chose another one for this game.   Janette read all the crushes and asked the staff members to pair them up with who they thought selected them.  The celebrities were: Olivia Newton John, Samantha Fox, Christina Ricci, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Peter Frampton, Pernell Roberts, David Cassidy, Prince and Kate Jackson. 

Rosie guessed Bobby's was Kate Jackson and he said it absolutely was! He said he used to watch her on Dark Shadows and had a huge crush on her.  Rosie said Kate is a lovely woman and talked about how she helped her with her adoption.   

Jeannie guessed Peter Frampton was Deirdre's but that wasn't correct! 

Bobby guessed Deirdre's was David Cassidy and that was correct!  Deirdre said she fell in love with him during The Partridge Family. 

After looking up who Pernell Roberts was Rosie guessed he was Janette's crush and that was correct!  Everyone laughed because no one knew who he was or thought he was attractive.   

Jeannie revealed her crush was Prince and that she had a huge poster of him in her room growing up. 

The staff guessed Amanda's was Mark-Paul.  Rosie told Amanda that Mark-Paul was Shoshana's celebrity crush too!   

Pete guessed Rosie's crush was  Peter Frampton and he was correct.  Rosie said she loved his picture on the cover of the album Peter Frampton Comes Alive. 

James revealed his crush was Samantha Fox and he played a song by her. He said he used to try to sneak into the back of a store where there was a topless poster of her hanging up! 

Lou's crush was Olivia Newton John especially in Grease where she comes out wearing her leather pants!  He liked that she was a sweet girl who was a little bad too! 

And Pete's crush was Christina Ricci.

WOULD YOU RATHER

The staff played this game where Janette gives them 2 choices and they have to pick which choice they'd rather do.

Janette asked would you rather...
...have the power to read minds or make anyone fall in love with you? Bobby and Pete said read minds. Rosie thought it would be exhausting to read everyone's minds so she chose love. Janette wouldn't want to read everyone's thoughts about her so she chose love too.
...have your significant other catch you reading your journal or have your significant catch you writing bad emails to your significant other's ex (while posing as you)? Everyone discussed it and thought the bad emails to your significant other's ex would be easier to recover from then getting caught reading your significant other's journal. Rosie said either way it's a breech of trust and it's hard to recover from. Rosie said she's read her significant other's journal and had hers read and both are traumatic.
...spend the rest of your life as 63 years old or 13 years old? Rosie said 63 immediately because she has teens right now and wouldn't want to relive the angst of the teen years. Pete said 13 (because he is 13).
...work on a political campaign for someone you hate or lose your right to vote forever? Rosie said neither and ask to hear some of Bobby's made up questions.

Bobby read some of his made up "would you rathers" for humorous purposes. He asked the staff if they'd rather....

...lose their arm or win a million dollars? It was a tough one but Rosie chose the million.
...be hit by a blue Volvo or a black Saab? After debating which car was softer they chose the Saab.
...eat fresh dog dirt or fresh brownie? After some debating they selected brownie.

Then it was back to Janette's. She asked if they'd rather

....as a writer rather lose your life's work or have someone steal your idea and make a fortune? Rosie and the all the others said steal their idea but Janette said she'd rather lose it and recreate it herself then see someone else make a fortune of her work. She said it would eat her alive seeing someone else make money off something she wrote.
...live completely alone for one year or never be alone for one minute for one year? Jeannie, Bobby and Rosie said never have a moment alone because they're never alone anyway. Pete and Janette chose alone for one year because they both need their alone time.
...rather have one long thick eyebrow across your forehead or a massive amount ear and eye hair that cannot be removed? Rosie said NEITHER! and wouldn't answer. She asked Bobby to ask a few more of his.

Bobby asked would you rather learn Chinese or eat Chinese? Everyone laughed.
Rosie asked if you'd rather have your toe nails pulled off one at a time by an angry man or have a sundae at Friendly's? Everyone laughed again. Bobby or Pete? asked if you'd rather have your arms ripped off by a bear or watch the movie Funny Girl? Rosie didn't that that question was funny at all! Pete said he needed more time to think about it.

THE BROADWAY GAME - PART II
During this game the player heard a song and they had to guess what musical it was from.

ROUND ONE
Rosie heard a song from Jersey Boys and guessed it! 1 point
Pete heard a song from Oliver and guessed it. 1 point
Janette heard a song from Les Mis and guessed it. 1 point
Jeannie heard a song from Chicago and guessed it. 1 point
Bobby heard a song from Annie and guessed it. 1 point

ROUND TWO
Rosie heard a song from Little Mermaid and guessed it. 1 point
Pete heard a song from The Sound of Music and guessed it. 1 point
Janette heard a song from Rent but didn't know it. 0 points
Jeannie heard a song from Gypsy but didn't know it. 0 points
Bobby heard a song from Phantom of the Opera and guessed it. 1 point

ROUND THREE
Rosie heard a song from My Fair Lady and guessed it. 1 point
Pete heard a song from Wicked and guessed it. 1 point
Janette heard a song from Jesus Christ Superstar but didn't know it. 0 points
Jeannie heard a song from West Side Story and guessed it. 1 point
Bobby heard a song from Guys and Dolls and guessed it. 1 point

ROUND FOUR
Rosie heard a song from Evita and guessed it. 1 point
Pete heard a song from Sweet Charity but didn't know it. 0 points
Janette heard a song from Annie Get Your Gun and guessed it. 1 point
Jeannie heard a song from Mama Mia but she didn't guess it. 0 points
Bobby heard a song from Sweeney Todd and guessed it. 1 point

FINAL ROUND - Rosie and Bobby!
James played two 30 second medleys of 6 different songs each and Rosie and Bobby had to quickly identify as many shows as they could in 30 seconds. In the end, Rosie missed 5 and Bobby missed only 2! Rosie bowed to Bobby's Broadway greatness and BOBBY WON THE GAME!

AN INTERVIEW WITH EMMA DONOGHUE THE AUTHOR OF ROOM

Rosie then introduced Emma Donoghue, the author of Room,who was calling in to the show from Ireland.  Emma said Room is the  seventh novel she's written and definitely the one that's been most successful.  Rosie told Emma how much she loved the novel and how she read the entire book in only one day.  Rosie and Emma discussed the premise of the book and how it's about a young boy who's in a room with his mother but doesn't know why.  He knows nothing else about the world except the room he is in and his mother.  The boy's mother doesn't want him to know that he's been born into captivity and she's a sex slave. 

Emma said the book is really about the parent/child bond.  She said everybody's childhood is small and weird and then they grow up, move out and realize there's a whole big world out there.  She loosely based the book on some criminal cases in the news that were similar but said it's mostly fictional.  She wanted the book to be about the "best cased scenario" for this situation and about the love story between a mother and child and not a thriller. 

Emma said she hopes to have the book optioned into a movie but said she's looking for the perfect director for it.  She realizes with the wrong angle the book could be made too sentimental and or a thriller and she doesn't want that.  Rosie talked with Emma about specific moments in the book that she loved.  Emma said she wanted to show how life for the boy was not perfect before when he was in the room or after they escaped from the room as in real life.  

Rosie talked with Emma about how they're both gay moms!  Emma has been with her partner for 17 years and said the book relates to her life because strangers sometimes see her own family with two moms as peculiar or lacking and they know there's nothing lacking at all.  Emma and her partner have two children ages 7 and 3. 

Emma is currently writing another book based on a true story about a woman in 1870 who keeps getting arrested for cross dressing and then is shot to death.  Rosie thanked Emma for calling in and recommended the book Room to all the listeners at home.  Rosie said the book is "full of heart and soul and a beautiful metaphor for life."

Rosie closed the show. 

and that's what you missed - kw