7-15-10

In case you missed it...

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT, MELISSA ETHERIDGE AND GREEN CLEANING PRODUCTS
Bobby sang the opening theme song and Rosie joked with him because he messed it up a little bit.  Bobby and Janette watched America's Got Talent last night and Janette was ecstatic that the 19 year old contestant named Nathaniel got through.  They also loved the girls with Cystic Fibrosis and the dance troop at the end of the show.  One thing they didn't like was how they waited until the very end of the show to announce who was going through.  Rosie commented on what a good show America's Got Talent is and how much she enjoys Howie Mandel on the show.  They all agreed that the host Nick Cannon is absolutely fantastic.  Bobby thought with David Hasselhoff on it, the show wasn't as good.  Bobby's only issue with America's Got Talent is they're comparing apples to oranges and that makes it difficult to say whose talent is greater.  Rosie said that you need to go with which acts entertain you the most.

Rosie and Tracy went to see Melissa Etheridge in concert last night!  Rosie said that Melissa looks fantastic and she can't believe they're both almost 50!  Rosie said she has never seen Melissa that great.  When Rosie was a VJ in 1987, she was nominated for Best New Artist.  Rosie didn't know her but she suspected she was gay and really wanted to interview her for VH1.  When she met her she tried to hint to her that they have "mutual friends."  Melissa and Rosie then became friends and Melissa would have these Hollywood parties with K.D. Lang, Ellen DeGeneres and Dermot Mulroney.  Rosie said that night was amazing to watch her up on stage at her best and realize that they've taken their journeys in their careers together. Tracy isn't as familiar with Melissa's music as Rosie is but Rosie knew every word to every song.  Rosie played "air drums" to most of the songs to the point where Tracy said she was in fear for her life!  lol  Rosie said that in general, lesbians on the whole are not the best dancers.  She did say there was a lot "air guitar" and "air drums" in the audience.  At the concert Tracy asked why anyone thinks a polo shirt looks good on them.  Tracy thinks that polo-shirts can look good on kids but lesbians with big tummies = not a good look.  Janette said polo shirts don't look good on men with big tummies either.  Good point!

Rosie said they had 3rd row off to the side and at about 40 minutes left in the concert, Melissa started singing a song and about 100 people charged the stage.  Tracy thought there was a fire in the building!  Tracy also thought she was going to have a heart attack because of the booming of the base and she wished she had ear plugs because it was so loud. Janette once went to a Hinder concert with Barry and the music was so loud it actually hurt her ears.  Tracy has swimmers ear from the pool which is part of the reason her ears hurt from the bass. 

Rosie said that her kitchen was cleaned yesterday and Rosie loved the smell and Tracy thought it smelled like chemicals and horribly toxic.  Rosie thought it smelled fresh and clean!  Janette said that Barry uses an all natural cleaner that smells fantastic called Parsley Plus.  Pete's been using Simple Green that he loves.

THE MEL GIBSON TAPES, WHOOPI'S DEFENSE AND CALLERS
Rosie said the over all message of Melissa's concert was about being secure in your own body and knowing that you are the light inside of you.  Along those lines, Rosie has been talking to her shrink about how upsetting the Mel Gibson stuff has been to her and why.  Her therapist told her she has to choose to not ingest that stuff and then she has to separate herself from it and realize that it has nothing to do with her personally. 

Now there's a new audio clip once again and Rosie feels at at this point, there shouldn't be any more released.  James was listening to Howard Stern and the guy who owns Radar Online was on and has said that they have lot of tapes.  He said that they have about 30 minutes worth of actual phone calls that they're releasing in bits and pieces so we are to expect more. Rosie doesn't understand what new information we're getting from the latest tapes.  Janette thinks this is information that should remain private, or be used by the courts to determine custody or the police to press charges.  She does not think this should be released by our media outlets and she thinks parceling them out in such a way is merely a ratings technique.

For example, when Michael Jackson was going through all of his stuff with the charges of molestation against him, Rosie couldn't get that out of her head either.  Rosie used to do 6 ft paintings about Michael Jackson in order to get him out of her dreams.  At one point, she even tried to call him.  She has a fantasy that she can fix everything when she knows she shouldn't try to fix everything else she should try to fix herself.  Rosie's first thoughts are that the celebrity in crisis are going to kill themselves.  She said she struggles with these thoughts perhaps because of her history of child abuse and how she used to struggle with wondering if the abuse was going to happen again.  But what's odd is that Rosie doesn't even have a particular connection to Mel Gibson. 

Whoopi Goldberg has been getting a lot of criticism for the comments she has said on The View and she spoke about that yesterday.  They played the audio of what she said on yesterday's View and discussed it briefly.  Mostly they let Whoopi's words stand for themselves but both Janette and Rosie said that they felt a little panicked listening to the audio of the show (flashbacks). 

Janette said that to merely take these tapes at face value is a mistake because they are one sided.  Janette said that no one would ever want our private lives exposed like this and it's actually increasing her compassion for him because it's so manipulative. 

A listener called in who gets angry when Janette sticks up for Mel because she had been married to a man that treated her this way.  Rosie explained that Janette was not defending what he did she was just saying that this is only one slice of his private emotional life and we're only getting the see what his girlfriend has put out for show.  Janette said she knows what it feels like to be abused in this way and has been beaten before.  She said that this behavior is never the sum total of the individual and she's not condoning the way he is acting but she does believe in forgiveness.  Rosie talked to the caller about her own situation and what finally made her leave the marriage.  The caller explained that one night she felt like she was being raped and she had a moment where she got the strength to leave and she was no longer afraid.

Rosie again stated that she cannot understand why Mel's girlfriend doesn't just hang up!  Bobby's theory was she was trying to get evidence to prove what he was doing to her.  EXACTLY!  Thank you, Bobby. 

They took several more callers to discuss the Mel Gibson tapes.  One caller thought that Mel's girlfriend was provoking him and she wished we could hear the phone call in its entirety including what she said to him before the taping began.  One caller left her very successful husband and posh lifestyle because her husband abused her and her kids and treated them like they were his employees.  Unfortunately the call was lost and we didn't get to hear the end of the story. 

CAPPING OFF THE OIL SPILL, JOAN RIVERS VS. LILO, NAKED ENRIQUE, AND DEIRDRE LOSES
After the commercial break, they discussed the oil spill and the cap that they have installed to try to stop it.    Janette and Pete questioned the delay and what is taking so long.  Rosie said that Tracy found something on the Internet that shows the gravity of the oil spill.  She said the oil is as far as the eye can see in the photos.  Deirdre said this topic (as opposed to the Mel Gibson topic) is what she has to stop watching and ingesting.  To Deirdre, this is so upsetting she has to stop taking it all in because it is sending her into a downward spiral.  The only other topic that has effected her in such a way is 9/11.  Rosie's therapist said she had to make a conscious choice to not ingest it.  She said she needs to choose to stay present without distractions and just be in the moment.  Janette said there's a responsibility to know about what is going on in the world but we do not have a responsibility to swirl down into a depression because of it.  She also said that happiness and positivity can be contagious too! 

The staff talked about the latest celebrity news regarding Joan Rivers and Lindsay Lohan.  Apparently Joan made a joke about Lindsay Lohan in her act.  She talked about how LiLo had "fuck u" painted on her fingernails at the trial and she joked that the judge had "eat me you party skank" written on her finger nails.  LiLo's former girlfriend, Samantha Ronson, has a problem with the jokes and they had an exchange on twitter over it.   Rosie again recommended the documentary about Joan Rivers called A Piece of Work.  Rosie LOVED it and Janette and Deirdre loved it too.   

Rosie said that Enrique Iglesias will water ski nude because Spain won the World Cup in Biscayne Bay which is where Rosie goes to see the dolphins near Miami, Florida.  Rosie hopes she's there when it happens.  Janette is not interested in seeing him naked in the slightest.  Deirdre said that Enrique calls his thingy an "Anaconda" and told a story about the time when she walked in on him naked! 

Deirdre has lost weight recently with Jenny Craig.  Since her boyfriend left and they went on their 2 week vacation she began working more on herself.  She's also working out, she's stopped drinking and she's meditating!  She asked Rosie if she seems calmer and Rosie said she does!  (for now)  Overall, Deirdre likes Jenny Craig but she doesn't like how they call you every week.  She does like the food though and she talked about how it's all about smaller portion sizes.  Deirdre's food weaknesses are pizza and ribs while Rosie is more of a sweets eater.

FIRE ISLAND AND THE CHUPACABRA
Rosie said she's going to Fire Island this weekend!  It was supposed to be a weekend away with her and Tracy but since Chelsea had to stay behind from the vacation Kelli, Blake and Vivi went on (because of some "bad choices") now it's Rosie, Tracy and Chelsea going to Fire Island.

Rosie and Tracy were looking at pictures of a Chupacabra last night.  The Chupacabra is like the "big foot" of Latin America according to Rosie.  A listener called in who who said it's a hairless mutant raccoon.  She thought that this meant that Janette would really like it (since Janette has a hairless cat).  Rosie believes in the Loch Ness Monster but not Bigfoot.  Pete doesn't believe in the Loch Ness monster but does believe in Bigfoot. He said scientists have proven that the Loch Ness Monster doesn't exist but he hasn't seen the evidence to prove that Bigfoot doesn't not exist.   

Rosie then took a call from a listener who believes in the Chupacabra and has heard of dead cows showing up with their blood drained.  She also told Rosie she believes in Bigfoot and the Humanzee that lives in San Antonio.  The caller said that a Humanzee walks upright and is a chimp but looks human.  Rosie then took a call from a listener who had a Chupacabra found near her home.  She insisted the animal was not a raccoon .  Janette started to feel sorry for the Chupacabra and said, "It must be awful to be a monster because if you're a monster everyone wants to kill you."

JACKIE HOFFMAN

Rosie then introduced actress and funny lady Jackie Hoffman!  Rosie first met Jackie when she starred in Hairspray on Broadway.  Jackie trained with Second City for 8 years and she was born in Bay City Long Island.  She's currently starring on Broadway in The Addams Family.   

Jackie's father was very supportive of her going into acting as a career and her mother thought it wasn't a normal way of life and she should get married.  She eventually came around once the women in the neighborhood took notice of Jackie's accomplishments and validated her career choice. 

Jackie is the youngest of 4 children who are all all artists in their own  way.  Her mother always wanted her to be a dental hygienist but Jackie never wanted to do anything but perform. Jackie had many influences including Barbra, Carol Burnett, Car 54 and the Honeymooners.  Her father was also a very funny man and a great inspiration to her.  

Rosie asked Jackie if she's exhausted from doing 8 shows a week.  Rosie said for her, it's the only way she can lose weight.  They joked about the flashes and cell phones that go off in the theater audience and how difficult that is to perform when that happens. 

Jackie played Caroline's Comedy Club a few times but she was never a stand-up comedian.  She said to her stand-up is the scariest thing you can do as a performer.  

Jackie said she still gets star struck and she told a very funny story about the time she met George and Barbara Bush when she was performing in Hairspray on Broadway. 

Rosie told Jackie that the word on the street is that she's a workaholic.  Jackie talked about her hysterectomy she had and how she didn't ever want to miss work because of it.  She spent 6 days in a hospital and after 3 weeks she was back at work! 

The pair talked about Broadway and shows that they've seen.  Rosie's eldest daughter Chelsea was in the studio and Rosie told Jackie that Jeff Garlin recently got Chelsea to laugh.    Jackie was in Second City Improv with Jeff and she joked about how he wouldn't bide by the rules of Improv. 

Rosie asked Jackie about her performance as the "Old Lady Gaga" that has received over a million hits!  Watch below: 

Rosie asked Jackie if she ever gets in trouble for not following the script.  Jackie said that on every show they fight her on her improvisations but in every show it happens. 

They both talked about how they can't believe that Kevin Chamberlin didn't win the Tony for his performance in The Addams Family!  The Addams Family was very overlooked at the Tony's.  Rosie is going to come and bring all 10 children to come see the show this summer! 

Rosie then gave away tickets to the first 4 callers who called in. 

Pick up the CD Jackie Hoffman at Joe's Pub and go see The Addams Family on Broadway (if you can get tickets, that is)!

After the Hoffman interview Rosie was eating a tomato fresh from the garden and she and Janette talked about how much they love Jackie Hoffman.  They hypothesized a little about what kind of species the Chupacabra could be and then started talking about vampires.  This led to a discussion about Twilight which revealed that Janette is totally Team Edward and Rosie is totally Team Jacob!  I am so Team Jacob, too! 

Rosie closed the show.

and that's what you missed -kw

7-14-10

In case you missed it...

BOBBY AND HIS MAC PRODUCTS, AN ANTI-MEL DAY AND MORE TIME OFFLINE
Bobby sang the Rosie Radio theme song today with his best version I've heard him do so far! Bobby also shared with everyone that he is the new owner of an iPhone 4. Bobby said Mac has changed his life once again and he thinks his new phone is fabulous. Rosie said she just read an article that an iPhone 4 recall is inevitable. Bobby said he received an email from Apple saying that there is a software issue and they will send out a fix for it so he is confident that it will be okay. Deirdre wanted to know why Bobby would ever need the video conferencing feature. She also commented how Bobby carries his iPad "like a baby" and his iPhone and his computer with him everyday. So the newest gadgets just means he has more to carry around, not less. Janette said that because Bobby is so prepared that means, as a staff, they will always be very prepared. In his life, Bobby said he is always prepared.

Janette mentioned an article that called cellphones "blood cell phones" (similar to "blood diamonds") that states that the increased demand for the minerals used in cell phones is causing more war in countries like Congo. Here is an article I found about blood cell phones. And Rosie pointed out that we have just found a large amount of these minerals in Afghanistan which Janette said will keep us there for the rest of our lives.

Bobby gives away his old Mac computers and he stores his old iPhones in case he ever loses or breaks the one he has. Pete told a story about a time that Rosie ruined her iPhone and he had the old one stored in his desk as a backup. Bobby mentioned an application on your computer that allows you to locate your phone on a map. Bobby said the coolest thing about the latest iPhone is the camera on the front and back that allows you to video conference. He said there is also a flash and a zoom for the camera feature which the older phone didn't have. Janette said that it makes her crazy that these "new" features, which were around at the time of the last phone's release, are purposely not included so that you are forced to buy the next version. Janette said she will use her razor phone until it dies. Pete has the zoom feature on his Droid phone but says that when you use it the pictures have a low image quality which he finds disappointing. They mentioned the documentary The Story of Stuff and how they talk about many of these topics. Anne Leonard from the Story of Stuff was a guest on Rosie Radio on April 28th. It was one of my favorite interviews so read about it if you have the time.

Rosie mentioned that her girlfriend, Tracy, was skyping in and saying that they were being boring and they needed to change the topic. Pete suggested they talk about making a roof for the chicken coop out of old iPhones and perhaps that would catch her interest. Then they started talking about the vegetable smoothies that Tracy likes to make in the morning. Janette said she goes into a gym everyday after work to buy a freshly made vegetable juice drink which totally cracked Rosie up. Not that she drinks a vegetable drink but that the only reason she steps foot into a gym is to purchase a drink and then she leaves. Deirdre gets them too and loves them.

Rosie said that today she does not want to talk about Mel Gibson and here's why. Yesterday she was depressed all day long after their conversation about the phone calls he made to his girlfriend. All day yesterday she was worried that there was going to be another one released. She talked to Jeff Garlin about it on the set of Curb Your Enthusiasm and he told her he chose to not even listen to it. So, last night she got home from shooting and there was another phone call released and she had to listen to it in spite of herself. They talked about how the constant release of these audio tapes may begin to make people question the girlfriend's motive. Rosie said that it is a running theme in her life where she seems like she is always waiting for people she knows to "rip off the mask" and reveal their deep, dark, evil side. Her therapist told her this is common in people who have suffered abuse and it could be from her own past where someone who was supposed to take care of her, abused her. Janette feels that the Mel saga has now become a media circus and Mel will be tried in the court of public opinion. Rosie wondered why she can't just stay away from the dark side and not participate in it. She wondered who runs the website Radar Online. Pete googled it and said that Radar used to be a print magazine and now it's just a web magazine. He said they pay people to be interviewed.

Rosie said for 17 days she turned off the "AskRo" portion of her blog and she's starting to think she wants to turn it off completely. She said that most people are incredibly sweet and wonderful to her and they've even gotten good show topics off of it but she is coming to realize that she doesn't want to live in a virtual world anymore. Rosie said that the Internet takes you out of your own life and distracts you from living. She said it isn't because she doesn't love her bloggers or her listeners but she has more time for real life when she's not online. Pete thinks time spent on the Internet is like anything and anything in moderation can improve your life and your experiences. But too much of anything is a bad thing. Pete spends hours on the Internet researching things for work. Deirdre said she has cut down greatly on her Internet time that she spends communicating with people online and now she only does it twice a day. AND, she has started shutting off her phone at 10 pm every night and is reading more before she goes to bed.

Rosie agreed and said that at her Jersey Shore vacation she read many more books than she would have when she was spending a lot of time on the Internet. She said she she isn't sure that the Internet time is contributing to her life and the things she is reading about is taking up too much in her brain. Conversely, Bobby is always connected and online and can be reached anytime. Janette checks her email for emails from Rosie but beyond that she still has yet to listen to the voicemail messages she had from when they were on vacation last week.

PARKER AT CAMP, REALITY TELEVISION, GAMESHOWS AND THE CHICKENS
Rosie finally connected with Parker yesterday and she said he sounds really happy. Rosie's eldest son Parker is at a sleep-away camp to prepare him for a highly competitive high school that he is beginning in the fall. She was waiting in the trailer on the set of Curb Your Enthusiasm when she got the call. She was so worried about him and she said he sounded totally fine. Rosie spoke about the special love she has with her eldest son. She said it is an intense relationship and she thinks it's partly because he was her first child. They talked about how the oldest kids often get all the photos of them taken and the youngest kids barely ever have any. Rosie said that there are barely any photos of her brother Timmy who was 5 years old at the time of her mother's death. Rosie said that none of her kids like to have their photos taken and treat her like she's the paparazzi when she tries to take their picture. However Vivi, Rosie's youngest, loves to get her picture taken and will even pose for the camera. She said that her girlfriend Tracy still likes to look at pictures of her kids when they were babies.

Rosie said that when she and Chelsea were riding in the car to visit Parker at his camp she noticed that Chelsea had a picture of her and Parker when they were 5 and 7 years old in her pocketbook. Rosie made them hug each other when they saw each other at camp.

Deirdre said that she needs to go on the Internet to know the major headlines for work but she doesn't need to know why Kim Kardashian cut her hair. Rosie asked why the Kardashians are even famous which then launched an entire debate about reality television. Rosie said she has no idea what The Hills is and admitted she has never even watched any of The Real Housewives before. Rosie said those types of shows don't speak to her anymore. She also used to love Survivor and Amazing Race but not anymore. She said those shows are not a true game-show, they are more of a contest. Rosie loves game-shows and still wished she was chosen to be the host of the Price Is Right. This started a detailed conversation about old game shows like Match Game. Janette never saw the Match Game so Rosie described it to her. Rosie talked about the time she did the remake of Hollywood Squares and said she wished there were more game shows back on air. Rosie has also been on Password, Celebrity Jeopardy and Celebrity Millionaire. Pete said he has added something to his Bucket List. Pete wants to be on Cash Cab! Rosie and the ladies of The View were Cash Cab when she was on the View. Deirdre had never heard of Cash Cab so they described it to her.

Rosie announced that actress and performer Polly Bergen would be on the show today. Polly is celebrating her 80th birthday today so they brought her a cake at the studio. Polly contacted Rosie to tell her about Add the Alert which is an application you can download on your computer that will alert you when a child goes missing in your area. Rosie was looking forward to talking to Polly and hearing more about this application to help find missing children. Deirdre said that Rosie reminds her a lot of Polly because Polly chose to put her life ahead of her career similar to the way that Rosie did.

During today's broadcast Rosie got an email from Parker's summer camp saying that he did amazingly on his test scores! Rosie said that Parker is doing really, really well at his camp and she can't even begin to articulate how much she loves him. She even thinks of him when she hears a love song. Parker has mentioned to Rosie that he wants to go to Italy for a semester in high school (which makes her incredibly nervous) because he loves it there. Parker has traveled to Italy with Kelli in the past. Bobby talked briefly about his time at boarding school.

Janette said she read an article about a new reality show named The Choir. Janette read a review about it and heard it is supposed to be better than Glee. Bobby and Rosie said it's not possible for a show to be better than Glee. Glee received 19 Emmy nominations and they raved about the musical numbers and the dance numbers and the amount of work that must go into it. Janette said she heard the show is supposed to be fantastic.

Rosie said it has become apparent that they have two roosters in the chicken coop. They can't really get replacements for the roosters because there is a pecking order. Rosie said it's shocking to her how much she loves having the chickens. Rosie hasn't had to do any of the work for the chickens because Tracy has done all of it. She talked about how much fun it is having the chickens around and how much enjoyment they have watching them. Rosie said her kids like to try to catch them and throw them in the air to see if they can fly. She also admitted that it's become a tad bit embarrassing going out to dinner with Tracy because whatever is leftover she will take home for the chickens. For example, the other night at Casa Del Sol she took all the leftover chips and salsa on the table to feed to the chickens. Rosie said that if they have roosters they have to get rid of them because there is a noise ordinance in the town. Rosie said they may give the roosters to an exotic animal rescue that feeds them to the Lions that they rescue! Janette and Pete offered to take the roosters and eat them! Then they talked about how long it takes to kill a chicken and how you snap its neck.

ANIMAL RIGHTS AND BEING A VEGETARIAN
Rosie said that Janette was fired up at the morning meeting because of a New York Times article about the killing of 400 geese in the New York area. The geese were disposed of because of the dangers to the airplanes. Janette understood that something needed to be done with the geese if they posed a danger to airplanes but she didn't like that they just took them 2 at a time and euthanized them and then threw them away. Janette thought they should have killed the geese in another way so they could have fed people with the meat or used it for animal feed. She said it seemed wrong to kill them and then to waste their death. Rosie said that the level to which it upset Janette surprised her because she doesn't respond to humans with the same compassion that she does to animals.

Janette talked again about how wrong she was about Sonya Fitzpatrick, the Animal Communicator they had on the show, and what a wonderful woman she really is. Janette thought that Sonya had insulted her beautiful hairless cat and then admitted she was wrong. Rosie gave that "beautiful" animal to Janette who Rosie thinks is the ugliest animal on the planet. Pete loves the hairless cat but Bobby pointed out that Pete also wanted his child to be a dragon. Good point.

Janette's cat

Janette just thinks that if we have to kill animals we should honor and respect them.

Shoshana, who is a vegetarian, asked if Janette then feels bad eating meat. Janette explained that she was a vegetarian for a few years until the night she saw an alligator eat a snake on the National Geographic Channel. That show made her realize that we are meat eaters and she immediately went out and bought a 10-pound ham, boiled it, and ate it. Shoshana wondered how we determine which animals are okay to eat. Shoshana does not refrain from eating animals because she loves them but she doesn't eat animals because she doesn't like them. Shoshana said that animals gross her out and the thought of eating them disgusts her. Plus, the thought of eating something that is dead grosses her out.

Rosie just read Big Mouth & Ugly Girl and the girl in the story never eats meat. Rosie found it interesting and thought it seemed totally possible to never eat meat. Shoshana mainly eats carbs like pasta, rice, and french fries. She also eats pretend chicken (which Tracy feeds to her kids which Rosie thinks is a form of child abuse) and Morningstar Farms vegetarian meats.

POLLY BERGEN
Rosie then introduced actress and entertainer Polly Bergen! When Polly arrived Rosie's Chihuahua "attacked" Polly's poodle and they had to take it out of the studio. Polly said that she got her dog from a breeder who couldn't show her. It's Polly's 80th birthday today! Polly explained that she has always had so much responsibility growing up because both her parents had to work that she has always felt older. Rosie said she felt the same way and realized she started to act like a teen when she was 40 years old. Polly did that too when she married her first husband. She said it was the first time she was having fun in her life. They talked about gambling and how they would watch high rollers bet thousands on a hand in Vegas and it gave them both panic attacks.

Polly started singing professionally at 15 years old. Her first gigs were in bars and her mother would travel with her as her sister. Her last name is really spelled Burgin but she changed it to Bergen because no one ever spelled it correctly. She would sing whatever songs were current at the time and she made about $95 a week! Rosie told a story of Richard M. Dixon (who looked just like Richard Nixon) who owned the bar where she started doing stand-up. Rosie would get $5 to do a 20 minute set. In high school, she would sing on a little weekly radio show that they had in Richmond, Indiana, where she lived. The manager loved her and offered her her own show. Everyone who listened thought she was 25 years old and black because she learned to sing off of imitating Sarah Vaughan records. When Polly was in her early 30s she went to see a young singer perform at the Ambassador hotel. She had been singing since she was 15 but this kid walked out on stage and within 10 minutes of watching her she said she would never sing again. That kid was Barbra Streisand. Polly said it took her 35 years to learn to do what Barbra was already doing - her presence, the singing, her confidence, the communicating with the audience, etc. Polly and her husband adopted both their children. She made sacrifices in her career so that she could spend time with her children and her husband. She turned down great roles to be with her family. She made a deal with herself after her first marriage failed that if she ever married again her marriage would be more important than her career.

Rosie and Polly talked about her role on the show Desperate Housewives. Polly admitted that she had never seen the show before so she had a friend tell her all about the plot line from the beginning. Polly said it was an amazing experience and that everyone on set was warm, charming and sharing.

Polly and Rosie talked about Broadway and the sense of family that you feel with a cast when you do a Broadway show. They talked about her career on Broadway and the famous actors and actresses that she worked with.

Polly was on the show to discuss the website Add The Alert. 800,000 children go missing every year in the U.S. Add the Alert will notify you when a child within a 100 miles of where you live goes missing. You get a picture and a description of the child. The system works in conjunction with Amber Alert and Polly and Rosie talked about how great it is and how much it can help alert the public today since we live in a world where so much information we get is on the Internet.

The staff then presented Polly with a cake and sang Happy Birthday to her!

After the interview Rosie and the staff talked about what a legend Polly Bergen is and how honored they were to have her in the studio. Rosie first met Polly after a performance of Grease on Broadway at Joe Allen's.

Rosie apologized for not taking any calls and said that tomorrow is going to be call-in Thursday! Get your questions and topics ready people!!!

and that's what you missed -kw

7-13-10

In case you missed it...


80s HAIR, PERMS, ROSANNA DANNA AND KELLYW BRINGS THE PERM BACK!
Today on Rosie Radio, Rosie jokingly started off the show saying "This is Rosie, star of the Flintstones." She frequently introduces herself this way and today she explained where she got it from. Rosie explained that Roseann Barr once did an impersonation of her on Saturday Night Live and called herself "Rosie O'Donnell, Star of the Flintstones." It was right around the time that the movie came out. Rosie thought that was so funny so she adopted the saying. Janette loves it when she "I.D.s" herself as someone other than herself like Chaka Khan. Rosie said that all started because back in the days when she was a VJ on VH1 she had to I.D. herself up to 4 times an hour. Every time they came back from commercial she had to say her name. Rosie said it got old fast so she would have fun with it by saying she was someone else and started making up names.

This then led to a discussion about Rosie's hair during the VH1 VJ days. Rosie said she got a horrible perm that made her look like Gilda Radner's Rosanna Danna. She said the perm was part of the reason she became funny because everyone made fun of her for it. She told a story of a disaster perm that she got in the 8th grade that made her cry when she saw her reflection. She said she wanted to have "loose spirals" and it ended up looking like a Brillo pad! And she hated the smell which lasted forever. Deirdre didn't know how anyone would want to perm their hair because she has naturally curly hair and wants nothing more than straight hair. Rosie ended the conversation by saying that "Perms are bad on the whole."

WHOOOAAAA Nelly. I just got a perm for body and I totally love it! And I have to stick up for myself here so yes, I'm posting a picture dammit. It looks good and these ladies obviously don't know what they're talking about. Perms have changed and if I had more guts I would have called in! lol And I don't think I look like Rosanna Danna. So there!

KNIGHT AND DAY, RAISING KIDS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, CLOTHES FOR PLUS SIZES

Rosie said that she and her eldest daughter Chelsea are having some "quality alone time" this week because Chelsea wasn't allowed to go on vacation with Kelli, Blake and Vivi because of some bad choices she made. So, she and Rosie have a week together alone. Last night they went to see Knight and Day together. Rosie said it was really enjoyable and the movie reminded her of a movie from the 70s or 80s. She called it a homage to old summer action and comedy films. Rosie said that Cameron Diaz looks fantastic in it and so does Tom Cruise! Rosie wanted to call Tom and tell him what a great movie it was but she and Tom are more "industry friends" not real friends. She said in order to call him she'd have to call his "people" and then he would have to call her back and it would lose something in the delivery. Tom has always sent Rosie flowers on her birthday and never misses a significant moment in her life. She said she wishes she knew Tom well enough to just call him up and say "Tom, you're so good in that movie." Rosie said that after the movie Chelsea was imitating the scene where Tom tells Cameron her ability to live increases dramatically with him as opposed to without him. Watch the trailer below to see a clip of that scene.

Rosie said that after the movie they went to Chilis and she spoke to a mom who was there with her special needs daughter. Rosie said that now that she has special needs kids in her life she notices them more. Rosie and the mom talked about the difficulties she faced trying to get a diagnosis for her daughter and the mom had seen Rosie on Good Morning America talking about her book The Sound of Hope and Auditory Processing Disorder. Rosie talked about the difficulties parents face who have kids with special needs that are invisible to the naked eye, unlike with Down Syndrome. Rosie said that she and Jackie were talking about what Jeannie had said to them regarding kids and hugging strangers and she asked Jeannie to explain. Jeannie said that it's typical for a child to be wary of hugging strangers but that some children with special needs will simply go up and hug people they do not even know. She said that can often be a sign that something socially might be "off" with the child because it's more typical for kids to be wary of strangers. The child at the restaurant immediately gave Rosie a big hug when she asked for one. Rosie said that there is a bond amongst parents of kids with special needs and Janette related it to the common experience. Rosie said that Blake has been wondering why everyone keeps coming up to them and thanking them for the book that they wrote about APD and for speaking about it. Rosie explained to him that they've helped a lot of kids get diagnosed because of what he went through. Rosie mentioned that former Rosie Radio guest and blogger Kelle Hampton, who wrote a blog that went viral about her birth of her daughter with Down Syndrome, is one of the people being considered to have her own show on the Oprah Network. Deirdre adores Kelle and thinks she would be great on a show because she's a great conversationalist and is also very beautiful.

Rosie said that on her way out of the mall, she and Tracy's daughter Desi and her daughter Chelsea stopped into a full figure store called Fashion To Figure to shop for clothes. Rosie said that the woman who worked there was so nice and was full figured herself. Tracy's daughter Desi is plus-sized too but wears much more form fitting clothing than Rosie does. Rosie adores Desi and Desi kept encouraging Rosie to try on tighter sexier things. Rosie didn't try anything on in the store but when she got home she did and didn't like anything she got. Chelsea, who is not plus-sized, went through the clothes Rosie didn't want and kept a lot of them because that's the style now.

Rosie said that she and Eileen Fisher are officially back together because when she had a "mystery guest" at her house before vacation she wore a shirt to the meeting that the people in her life couldn't believe that she would wear! Rosie called herself a "special needs wardrobe person." Rosie's friend Lois picked up Rosie some things at an Eileen Fisher outlet store the other day and Rosie told her to get her a 2X. Lois knew this would be too big for her and got her a 1X and then told her to stop getting things so big!

Then they started talked about being naked, spas where you are naked, and seeing other people naked. Rosie said that if she had a body like Cameron Diaz, she'd be naked all the time.

PETE IS A COMPUTER GOD, ROSIE'S RETURN TO CURB AND WAITING 4 PARKER TO CALL
Jeannie interrupted the naked conversation to say how much she adores Pete. She said he took her fried old 2004 laptop computer and retrieved everything off of it. She said he saved all of her data and he's the best guy in the whole world. Janette commented on how fantastic Pete looks and Pete said that's because he's a little tan. Rosie told him he's still pasty white but Jeannie said he looks great.

Rosie said she is anxiously awaiting Parker's phone call because she missed his call yesterday because her phone was on silent.

Rosie is off to film another episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm after today's show and she briefly talked about last week when she filmed a baseball scene for the episode in 110 degree heat. Here is a link to more pictures from the filming. Rosie said that during today's taping she is keeping her phone on her in case her son calls and she is going to take the call no matter what. She said it's improv so they can just improv it into the scene.

Um, check out the heading of the photo to the right. Dude, it's O'DONNELL. At least get the spelling correct.

MEL DOES IT AGAIN
After yesterday's discussion about the mean Mel Gibson phone call that was leaked to the press there was yet another phone call released to the media. This one worst than the last. Rosie listened to the entire thing last night and was so disturbed by it she said she had trouble sleeping. During yesterday's airing of the phone call audio they bleeped out many of the horrible things he said. Rosie thought they shouldn't have bleeped out so much because she said it changed the gravity of what actually happened. Today they discussed whether they should play the latest phone call or not and how much they should bleep out. Rosie said she decided they would play it without bleeping out any of the bad stuff because she thought it was essential to fully realizing what they were dealing with.

Pete said he read that in 2002 Mel Gibson was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Rosie said it sounds like he is suffering from severe mental illness in the phone call. She said the audio was terrifying and made her physically sick listening to it. Rosie discussed the questions that some people are having about why Mel Gibson's girlfriend recorded the tape at all. Rosie and the staff thought that she probably did it because she was in fear of her life. Rosie said that because the audio can be heard on so many sites on the Internet, and in order to have a good discussion about what was actually said, she felt it was necessary to play a portion of it, unedited. She warned her listeners that it was not appropriate for children and they played a portion of the audio that was released yesterday. They only played 44 seconds of an 8 minute tape. Here's a good link to the audio and an article that discusses what he says.

Janette felt a little compassion for Mel when he said he had no friends. She said she could hear the pain and the tragedy in his voice. She does not understand his anger and she does not agree with what he is saying but she said she does have compassion for that level of pain that would cause someone to be so hateful. Deirdre does not have compassion for Mel. Deirdre said that if Mel is truly bipolar then he has the ability to change his life and he should do so. Janette said her compassion for him is not about condoning his behavior. Jeannie brought up the A&E show Intervention and how many of the addicts on that show also suffer from mental illness and get hooked on drugs trying to self-medicate their illness. Janette discussed how driven we are by our bio-chemistry.

Rosie took a call from a listener who is a licensed counselor who cannot believe the police haven't become involved in this situation sooner. Rosie said that she heard that some people are saying that the girlfriend was provoking Mel and Pete said that it seemed as if he was provoking her because he noticed how he became happy when she would start to become angry during the conversation. It was like he wanted the fight to escalate. Rosie asked the caller about her daughter who has Aspergers and bipolar disorder and had tried to commit suicide at one point. Rosie offered to call her daughter and talk to her.

Rosie took another call from a listener who felt sorry for Mel when he said he didn't have any friends. Rosie said she too feels sorry for him. They discussed whether Mel's career might be over after all this. Janette pointed out that this isn't completely a real tape because she knew the call was being recorded and he did not. She said whenever the evidence is selective and media is just airing a piece of the story all they can really say is that Mel is in need of help and that it is a relationship in crisis.

Rosie said that when Britney Spears was going though her crisis it was Mel Gibson who went over to her house and talked to her. They discussed how Whoopi tried to defend Mel on the View and say that he isn't a racist because they worked together and he had been to her house. Rosie said she doesn't know many people who are not racist who use the "N" word. Janette said that the anger can be explained by his illness but the antisemitism and racism have to do with his character.

DEATH, WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO DIE, PARENTING, SUICIDE AND THE 3 MONTH RULE
Rosie announced that the owner of the New York Yankees George Steinbrenner has died. He was 80 years old but his health had been deteriorating over the years. Then they discussed at what age is a good age to die. All Rosie ever thinks is how old will her kids be and that's how she determines the acceptable time for her to die. Jeannie agreed. I have to say, as a listener, I hate when they discuss this topic. Not because it's sad or heavy but I do not enjoy talking about my impending death or the death of my loved ones - not for the sake of simply discussing it.

Rosie did say that they taped a portion on Friday's show yesterday and she encouraged her listeners to tune in. She said the discussion was heavy and intense and they were discussing death and what you believe and what you don't believe happens to you.

Pete admitted to feeling like a bad parent for saying something awful to one of his daughters and Janette and Rosie tried to make him feel better about it. Rosie said that every new parent needs to read Anne Lamott's Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year about the truth of how difficult it is to be a parent. They talked about how forgiveness is essential and Rosie discussed the time that she talked to her friend Alec Baldwin after an audio tape of him yelling at his daughter was released to the media. She then went back to discussing the Mel Gibson phone call and said she hopes that Mel remembers he can get help and that there is help out there.

Rosie then discussed the time she spoke at a suicide prevention dinner. Medication had helped Rosie recover so much she was asked to speak at an event where family members gathered who had lost someone to suicide. She said the pain of the people in the room felt like walking through a syrup of sorrow. Pete said that suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S. Rosie said that in the latest CD by Eminem entitled Recovery, Eminem talks about the time he contemplated suicide after his friend Proof was killed. Rosie loves Eminem and the honest way he talks about himself and his own struggles and the truth of his life. Rosie said that she has only ever been suicidal maybe one time in her life. Janette said she has a 3 month rule. She said she made a rule for herself that she must want to kill herself every minute of everyday for 3 months before she is allowed to contemplate suicide. If she is happy at all during that 3 months she must start the countdown over again. Rosie thinks the rule is a great rule because she thinks suicide is often and impulsive decision. Rosie and Janette both know people who have killed themselves and Rosie's girlfriend, Tracy, had a very close friend kill himself. They then discussed the legal ramifications of attempting suicide. Rosie wanted listeners to know that there's always another way and that suicide is never the answer. Pete read the suicide helpline: 1-800-273-TALK for suicide prevention.

Rosie briefly mentioned the time that Jeannie came to her and was worried about her because she felt as if Rosie was becoming a hermit and becoming agoraphobic. Pete asked why that statement was in the past tense. Rosie took great offense to this and said she would edit out all the loving comments about Pete for the West Coast feed.

GAME
Brendan announced a new game for the staff! In this game Brendan listed off a name of a television doctor and the contestant had to name the television show that the doctor is on. They chose a caller named Andrea to play along. Brendan said they will be keeping track of the wins by the staff members and by the end of the month they are going to give a grand prize to the staff member that has the most wins!

Round 1
Jeannie - Dr. Leonard Nemoy. She guessed Star Trek (reluctantly) which made everyone yell at her because she didn't know it immediately.
Bobby - Dr. Cliff Huxtable. He guessed The Cosby show and he was right.
Rosie - Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. She guessed St. Elsewhere. The answer was the Muppet show which Pete knew. Rosie was OUT.
Pete - Dr. Tobias Hunt. He guessed Arrested Development and he got it right.
Janette - Dr. Alan Harper. She guessed Two and A Half Men and she got it.
Andrea (caller who loves Janette's laugh) - Dr. Robert Hartley. The answer was The Bob Newhart Show but she didn't get. Rosie gave her a $50 Visa giftcard and $100 giftcard from steppinbirkenstock.com as a consolation for playing.

Round 2
Jeannie - Dr. Niles Crane. The answer was Frasier but she didn't get it.
Bobby - Dr. Alex Karev. The answer was Greys Anatomy but he guessed ER.
Pete - Dr. Leo Spaceman. The answer was 30 Rock and Pete guessed it right.
Janette- Dr. Monica Quartermane. The answer was General Hospital but she didn't get it.

Soooooo, Pete was the winner of the first game in July!!

THE WORLD CUP AND DESSERT HOARDING
Rosie said that she heard that Enrique Iglesias promised to water ski naked if Spain won the world cup. Since Spain won, Rosie suggested that they all book their flights to go see it in person. They discussed the World Cup and how it is a little boring to watch. Bobby thinks the field is too big. They discussed the foul cards that the soccer referees use and Rosie suggested they institute the use of foul cards in the studio. Janette thinks it would add unnecessary stress if they did that and Rosie said that Pete would have received a foul card for his comment today about her declaration that her agoraphobia has improved. Rosie said that she's doing things she never thought she'd do like spending a week at the Jersey Shore in a house she didn't know, she's driving places herself, she has chickens and a garden. Janette is beyond proud of Rosie and adores Tracy and all the wonderful changes she's seen in Rosie because of their relationship. Rosie said that there's one thing that Tracy says that bothers her and that's "It's Rosie's world and she just lives in it." Pete said his wife says that to him all the time and that made Rosie feel better.

There was then a discussion of how Pete and Shoshana hoarded the remainder of the Heath Bar Crunch Cake that Jeannie brought into the studio yesterday. Apparently, Chelsea and Desi came into the studio after yesterday's show to get a piece of the infamous cake and Shoshana and Pete stood over it and wouldn't let them have any. Chelsea came back up to the house and said that "Pete and his wife (who is really Shoshana, Rosie's assistant and a segment producer for Rosie Radio, not Pete's actual wife) wouldn't let us have a lot of cake." Pete also admitted to hiding and storing goodies around the studio so that no one else can find them. Rosie told Jeannie that many people are writing in to her requesting her cake recipe.  Here it is:

Jeannie's Heath Bar Cake recipe:
1 Chocolate cake mix
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 small jar butterscotch topping
12 oz. whipped topping (i.e., Cool Whip)
4-5 Heath or Skor bars, chopped
Prepare cake according to directions on the package and bake in a 9 x 13 pan.


While still hot, use a wooden spoon handle to poke holes in the top of the cake. Pour condensed milk evenly over the top, then pour butterscotch topping evenly over that. Sprinkle half of chopped Heath bars over the top. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.
Spread whipped topping over cake, then sprinkle with remaining Heath pieces.
 
 Then Pete began analyzing how there was a piece of the leftover cake missing this morning when he came into the studio and Brendan said it was like "CSI for fatties." Jeannie offered to make Pete his very own Heath Bar Crunch Cake for fixing her computer for her.

Rosie closed the show saying we all should hope and pray there aren't any more Mel Gibson tapes that are going to be released. She was off to tape an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David. She loves the show and she loves Larry and she was excited to do it.

UPDATE: Here's a picture from the filming of Curb Your Enthusiasm--------------------------------------------------->>>

and that's what you missed - kw

Rosie's Broadway Kids has an official NYC Marathon Team! There's guaranteed entry if you pledge to raise $2500 for RBK! Visit their Facebook page HERE to message them if you're interested!

7-12-10

In case you missed it...

A VACATION WRAP-UP, THE JERSEY SHORE, SURFING, SHARKS AND A WATER PARK
The Rosie Radio crew is back from vacation! And after a few minor technical issues with Rosie's headphones the show was under way. And then it was time to discuss what everyone did on their vacations! Jeannie said she didn't really have a vacation because she was still working. Jeannie is a early childhood speech-language pathologist and I'm assuming she meant she was still providing speech therapy for her clients during the past two weeks. Lou shared that he went to one of Rosie's favorite hangouts in Nyack, Casa Del Sol. Lou said that Nyack is a "weird town." He said he couldn't get a good feel for it and he said it's like "The Village meets a ski town." He didn't like the meal he ordered at Casa and Rosie recommended to him their blue cheese encrusted steak. He said that he spent $15 on one pack of cigarettes while he was there and Rosie audibly gasped at the cost of cigarettes!

Jeannie sent a mass email last night to everyone on the staff to let them know there would be dessert for them at the studio today to help ease them in the transition back to work. She made a chocolate Heath Bar crunch cake and then described it in detail!! YUM!

Then it was time to hear what Rosie did on her vacation! Rosie went to the Jersey Shore and hung out with Snooki and The Situation. (LOL, just kidding, just wanted to check to see if you were paying attention). Rosie and her girlfriend Tracy each drove up with the kids to a shore house that they rented on the Jersey Shore in Loveladies. Rosie said they had a great time but the owner of the house neglected to mention to them that the house next door to where they were staying was under construction! This meant that every morning they were awakened to the sounds of jackhammering and men yelling and fighting. Not only was it loud in the morning but you couldn't spend a lot of time outside the house because of the noise. Aside from that, they had a lovely time but Rosie said next year she would like a house with a pool and maybe less noise.

Rosie said the water was beautiful and she even went surfing! Tracy is a surfer and to teach Rosie how to get up on her board Tracy drew a surfboard in the sand. She then proceeded to show Rosie how to get up on her board by pretending the sand-drawn surfboard was a real board. Rosie thought this was way funny and had Tracy show her how to do it many, many times. Rosie did surf but she never really got all the way up.

Also the second day of their trip there was a Great White Shark being tracked along the shore. They chose not to tell the kids of the shark warning so they wouldn't be scared to get in the water and luckily no one got eaten.

Rosie and the family did go to a water park while they were at the shore. Rosie said, "If you're famous and fat, a water park is a bad place to be." Initially, Rosie stayed back with the towels and bags while Tracy went out and tried a few water slides. When she returned she wanted Rosie to try some! Tracy again wanted to know if this wasn't something on her bucket list. This is a frequent tactic Tracy uses to try to get Rosie to try something new. And I have to say, Rosie may make fun of Tracy for it but it ends up working because Rosie usually gives in! Who's the winner in that scenario?! That's all I'm sayin. Rosie told a hilarious story of riding a luge water slide and how all she could do was think about the luger who died during the Olympics. At one point she fell off her tube and screamed and lifeguards had to jump in and save her. Janette added to this story saying that she once got stuck on a water slide when she was heavier so it could have been worse.

FIREWORKS, JULY FOURTH, AUTISM, LIFE WITH GPS AND PARKER AT CAMP
Rosie said that they celebrated the Fourth of July at a restaurant at the shore where they could watch the fireworks. There was an Elvis impersonator at the restaurant. Rosie said fake Elvis was sweet and nice to the kids and all Vivi wanted to do was give him a tip for his tip jar. Fake Elvis was also very sweet to Tracy's son Wyatt who absolutely LOVED the fireworks. Wyatt is Tracy's youngest son who has Down Syndrome. Rosie talked for a few minutes about how special Wyatt is and how he enthusiastically appreciates so many things that typical people do not even notice.

Tracy did lots of planning for things to do as a family while they were at the shore and one of the things she was excited to do as a family was to make cheese as a group! Yep. They made their own cheese. That has to be a first at the Jersey Shore.

On the way back to Nyack from their trip Tracy took one car full of kids and Rosie took another car full of kids. Both cars stopped at a rest stop together but then they drove home separately. Tracy put "home" into her GPS and ended up driving all the way back to the shore house! Whoops!

Rosie and Chelsea also went to visit Parker at his Academic camp during their two week break. Parker has chosen to attend a fairly difficult high school in the fall and in order to be fully prepared for the course-load they recommended he go to a 5-week sleep away camp. He is now in week two of the five week camp. Rosie said that she used the GPS to help navigate her way up to the New Hampshire camp and then Janette and Rosie then discussed the wonders of GPS and how it is so different than using a map like in the olden days. ;)

Rosie said they're going to make the Jersey Shore trip a family tradition for every year over the 4th of July!

Rosie's friend and makeup artist, Eric, came with them to the shore. When Eric first arrived at the house Archie's friend Connor was over. Archie is Tracy's 9 year old son who has Autism and Connor is Archie's 6 year old friend who also has Autism. Rosie thinks Connor is so funny and she just loves him. Connor had never met Eric and when he walked in Connor said "Oh my God, Archie! How did you get so big?" Rosie told Connor that that was her friend Eric, not Archie and Connor said that Eric was "Archie from the future." Rosie thinks Connor is gifted in his thinking and she loves his quirkiness and unique way of seeing the world. Over vacation, she read House Rules and she recommended it to the listeners. House Rules is a story about a boy with Asperger's who is accused of murder. Rosie really liked the book except for its ending. She and the staff talked about Autism and how interesting it is how kids with Autism see the world. Rosie compared it to her son Blake who has Auditory Processing Disorder who once took everything that was said literally. Rosie admitted that she's totally fascinated with Autism and she also recommended the book The Curious Incident of the Dog at Midnight to her listeners.

ANTI-DEPRESSANTS, BED AND BREAKFASTS, AND SEEING YOUR PARENTS CRY
Rosie shared that she's been off her anti-depressant medication for a month now and said it is interesting to her how different she feels. She had trouble putting it into words what the exact difference is but she said she remembers feeling similarly before she ever needed medication. She also said the medication she has been on for the past 10 years was very necessary for her survival. She attributed her ability to get off of the drugs to the use of bio-identical hormones she is taking for her menopause. The Rosie Radio staff talked about the frequency of use of antidepressants amongst their friends and the high incidence of anti-depressant prescriptions that are given out. Jeannie recently went on anti-depressants and said that they have really helped her be there for her daughter who has really needed her lately. For Jeannie, the anti-depressants are completely necessary for her right now. Jeannie did say that they went to see Toy Story 3 as a family and everyone around her was sobbing and she couldn't shed a tear, she wondered if it had anything to do with the anti-depressants she was on.

Rosie said that she and Chelsea had reservations to stay at a Bed and Breakfast in New Hampshire when they went to visit Parker. She is generally not a fan of Bed and Breakfasts and when they checked out the room where they were going to stay it was full of "antiques" and it was way too hot. They had a hard time finding a place to stay in the little town. Rosie and Chelsea ate at the restaurant in the hotel in town and she said the people there were so nice to them. She decided to turn on the questions on her blog while she as there because they sometimes use the topics people write in to her about for show ideas. When she checked the questions later, a mean blogger named Tom wrote to her and told her how he was at the restaurant at the hotel and he could barely finish his meal because of how fake and horrible she was. Rosie doesn't understand why people choose to be so mean just for the sake of being mean. She also said that everyone in that town was so nice to her and that most people generally are and she doesn't understand why she lets the horrible things a few people say bother her so much. This totally reminded me of a poem called Incident by Countee Cullen. You can hear a million nice things about yourself but it's always the one mean thing someone says to you that you remember and you think must be true. Why is that?! Janette referenced a book entitled Lafcadio's Adventures by Andre Gide about gratuitous violence. The reference gave the staff a big chuckle because no one had ever heard of the book or the author and Janette often has an obscure reference to some random author or novel that no one has ever heard of.

Rosie explained that her family is not a big "sleep away camp" family. She said that Chelsea went to a horse camp last year and that this year she is going to Outward Bound but that's been it. Parker is doing really well and getting great grades at his summer camp but as she and Chelsea were leaving he started to cry and said he wanted to come home. She said it broke her heart to pieces. Rosie said she cried as they drove away from the school and that Chelsea, who was riding with her, wasn't comforting to her as she was crying. Deirdre said that was because you rely on your parents to be your rock and when you see them crying it can make you feel unsafe. Jeannie agreed and said that when her younger kids see her crying they become completely undone. Rosie said she wanted to scoop Parker up and bring him home even though he had made this very adult decision to go to this Academic Summer School to prepare for high school. Deirdre said she used to cry every time she went to summer camp. Janette said she has an "underground documentary" about boys at camp that's never been released and told Rosie she'd give it to her to watch.

Rosie took several callers who sent their kids to sleep away camps and who attended sleep away camps themselves. Rosie said as a parent, sometimes her heart cannot take the amount of love she has for her kids. Rosie has emailed Parker 4 times since she's left. He's allowed to receive email but he's not allowed to send any. One caller sent her 7 year old and 11 year old to sleep away camp for 28 days which completely horrified Rosie! Rosie took several callers about the pros and cons of summer camps and why parents do it and why it's good for kids. Jeannie, ever the one to call Rosie out on her BS, said that Rosie needs to be careful because it's as if she's implying that those who love their children most want them at home and those who don't send them away to summer camp. She also said that many of Rosie's hangups about sleep away camps are about her feelings and not her childrens'. Janette said there can be value in the struggle of camp and said that the definition of courage is not the person who doesn't feel fear but the person who feels fear and does it anyway. Conversely, if I can add my two cents, humans are the only animals on the planet who feel fear and talk themselves out of it. Every other animal feels that gut instinct and retreats when they feel fear. For example, a woman who feels that a stranger might be unsafe yet doesn't flee because she does not want to appear rude. She is then taken advantage of because she didn't trust her gut. I'm just saying, fear can be useful too sometimes. Rosie eventually had to change the subject so she could call her therapist because she was getting all emotional talking about it.

MEL GIBSON - WHAT THE "F"
Rosie started the next topic but simply saying "Mel Gibson, dear Lord, what the F!" Rosie explained Mel's history of saying some very hateful things over the years. In the December 1, 1991, issue of El Palms Sunday magazine, Mel said some very bad things about homosexuals. Gibson was asked his opinion of homosexuals and he replied “They take it up the ass.” According to the reporter, Mel laughed, got up, bent over, pointed to his butt, and continued, “This is only for taking a shit.” He also said “With this look, who’s going to think I’m gay? I don’t lend myself to that type of confusion. Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?" He refused to apologize and said he would only do it when hell freezes over. Here is an article about that instance.

In 2006, Mel had a drunken anti-Semitic tirade against a female police officer. In the police report filed after his arrest it says that Mel launched into a barrage of anti-Semitic statements including "Fucking Jews... The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world." Here is an article about that incident.

NOW Mel has done it again and Rosie said that this incident was even harder for her to believe....until she actually heard it. Mel and his girlfriend are broken up and she tried to get a restraining order against him because she had said he knocked her teeth out. She then began to record some of the phone calls. The phone calls were released to the media and they played the audio....

Rosie wondered how his real self has managed to stay hidden for so long? Pete suggested that Mel hides it so well because we only typically see him in his roles and not as himself. Pete said that Mel's religious experience is all centered on pain and he said he cannot be considered a mainstream Catholic. Rosie's first thought when something like this is exposed about a celebrity is that they're going to kill themselves because to have your essence exposed for who you really are seems irrecoverable. Pete said that Mel comes from a twisted religious belief that God hates him and therefore he hates everyone else. Jeannie's first thoughts when she heard this phone call audio was what happened to Mel in his life to make him like this. A listener called in to talk with Rosie and said that Mel's behavior is alcoholic behavior whether he's actually drinking or not. The caller said she was shaking because she was once in a relationship like this. Rosie thanked the caller for her phone call and told her how happy she was for her that she was free from that horrible relationship.

Rosie ended the show commenting that she doesn't think she will ever be able to get Mel's tirade towards the mother of his baby out of her head.

And that's what you missed -kw

96 hours and counting....

Well folks, we've got 96 hours (as of Thursday at 10am) until the show is back live on Monday, July 12th.  And since Rosie has been M.I.A. enjoying her vacation and not blogging updates for her fans (GASP! :) ) I thought I'd at least update so we could try to be less bored for 3 minutes while we anxiously await her return. 

Here's what I've been up to for my two weeks off.  I went to the beach in North Carolina but could only stay for a few days because my husband and I had to leave early to attend his 20 year high school reunion in Cleveland.  I have two statements regarding this: 1. it should be illegal to ever leave the ocean early to go to Cleveland.  Even though I have family there and I love my family, the time at the beach for me is irreplaceable and 2. my 20 year reunion isn't for 3 years and I feel the need to tell this to everyone I see  whenever I discuss what I did this summer.  Issues with growing older?  Who's to say.

Some pics of my boys and my nephew wearing their rash guard swimsuits that they wore under their bathing suits.  Yes, I made them line up for this photo.  In the second photo my little niece made an appearance :).  On a sad note, these are some of the last photos I took before my camera BROKE.  I still can't talk about it and have yet to take it out of my camera case.  A summer with no pictures seems like a crime to me.  I'm just heartbroken over it.

Then for the fourth of July I went to a friend's ski house in Pennsylvania with my kids.  My littlest son really really wanted to do the paddle boats and absolutely couldn't wait for the four-seater to return to the dock so I volunteered to go out with him on the two-seater.  BIG MISTAKE.  Basically, he helped me paddle until we got to the center of the pond and then he decided he was "too tired" to paddle anymore.  So here we sit in the middle of the pond having a chat while mommy rests and contemplates how she's going to make it back to shore before her legs completely cramp up and someone has to send a rescue boat out to save us. 

And now I'm home organizing closets, picking up the "disaster room" better known as the toy room in the basement and reminding myself everyday not to wish my summer away and begin counting down the days until my kids go back to school.  For example, as I was sweating my butt off cleaning out the closet in my youngest's room yesterday I broke up a WWF wrestling match occurring in my bed.  All I heard were the screams of my 10-year-old yelling "TAP OUT!" as he was pinning my 6-year-old down on the bed.  After screaming until my throat hurt, I kept repeating my silent mantra "you love time with the kids, don't kill them."  It is a constant reminder with 3 boys in the house and 100 degree temperatures outside. 

I've been getting lots of emails with questions regarding the new gig with Rosie Radio.  I'm an official part-time employee of KidRo but beyond that you know as much as I know.  I still can't believe it and I certainly don't feel any different.  I am still as much of a fan as you all are and I promise to keep you updated on the scoop!  As far as what the future holds, I have no idea but it's been an amazing ride so far and I'm ready to get back to work.  

Have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday for the full update if you miss the show.  If you'd like, let me and maybe even the Rosie Radio staff know what you've been up to for the past 2 weeks in the comments section.  

just remembering....

Annnnnnd, Bobby Pearce updated his website so go check it out!  He's had a pretty amazing career and there are some fantastic new photos up that I think you all would love. 

See you on Monday.  xo kw