Watching The View

The folks over at Best Week Ever have taken some liberties with the video of Alec Baldwin’s interview on Friday’s episode of The View and created an extremely funny piece of work. Thanks to Chris at Tall Freak for sending me the link to the video!

Best Week Ever, Alec Baldwin, The View, Rosie O’Donnell, Barbara Walters

According to the New York Post, Roseanne Barr is the front runner to replace Rosie O’Donnell at The View. Other possibilities, according to the article are Kathy Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, Connie Chung, Joan Rivers, and Kathie Lee Gifford. While I talked about several potential new hosts in last week’s podcast, I didn’t mention any of these.

I think that Joan Rivers and Kathie Lee Gifford would both be bad ideas because they both have too high of an annoyance factor. I think Connie Chung would be too serious as a replacement for Rosie, but certainly has the credentials for the job. I think Kathy Griffin, Whoopi Goldberg, and Roseanne Barr could all handle the job well. However, if ABC is trying to steer clear of a controversial figure, I don’t think that Roseanne Barr would be the way to go. Although controversy might be just what they are looking for.

On her video blog this morning, Rosie O’Donnell said that she doesn’t get a vote, but that she would choose Whoopi Goldberg to replace her. What do you all think?

Rosie O’Donnell, Roseanne Barr, Roseanne, The View, Kathy Lee Gifford, Whoopi Goldberg, Connie Chung, Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin

Rosie went to see Legally Blonde the musical and she loved it, as did Joy. Joy thinks it will be good to bring a lot of young people to the theater.

They talked about the madam in Washington D.C. who is going to be naming names about who used her escort service, which is expected to include many politicians. Randall Tobias, State Department Advisor, resigned as a result of the upcoming announcement. Rosie suggested that the reason he resigned is because he was “extra kinky” or something.

They also discussed George Tenet’s interview on 60 Minutes. Barbara said that if he really believed that there were problems, he should have resigned. She didn’t seem to believe him when he said that he thought he could do more good from the inside. Elisabeth also said that she didn’t believe him because he mentioned a conversation he had with Richard Pearl, which could not have happened as he said, because Pearl was not in the country at the time. According to Barbara, Tenet has said that he just got the time wrong, but the conversation did happen.

Joy said that in Philadelphia the psychic fortune tellers are being shut down. Joy asked what is the difference between this and any belief system. Rosie went to one psychic who accurately predicted many of the things that actually happened in her life. She also had several readings from “TV” physics who all claimed to be speaking to her mother, and they were all completely wrong.

Masi Oka, from the television show Heroes, appeared on the show. Rosie said that Masi did computer programming and designed the program for the digital effects for George Lucas for Star Wars Episode I-III. He also did the digital effects for The Perfect Storm. He loves doing both and continues to consult on the digital effects. Rosie said the reason that he has to consult is because that no one else can understand the program that he designed.
(more…)

Elisabeth Hasselbeck announced today that she is pregnant with her second child! Elisabeth and her husband Tim have one daughter, Grace Elisabeth, who just turned two.

On today’s episode of The View, Rosie asked Elisabeth if there was anything new. Elisabeth said, “Like I’m totally three months pregnant.” Elisabeth said that she will be lonely without Rosie, so she and Tim decided to “get together and make a co-host.” Barbara mentioned that the baby will be born in November, which is sweeps month.

Rosie said that she has known for two weeks and she has managed to keep it a secret. She is normally very bad with secrets and that is partly why Elisabeth hadn’t told her sooner.

Elisabeth doesn’t want to know the gender of her child and the “not knowing” gets her through the labor, because she will have a surprise at the end.

People has a short video clip of Elisabeth’s announcement on their website.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck, pregnancy, pregnant, The View, Tim Hasselbeck

The cartoon below appeared in Time magazine as one of the “cartoons of the week” from last week.

Rosie O’Donnell, The View, Time magazine, cartoon

Here is the second installment of the Watching the View podcast. Click below to listen or download.

On today’s show:
Rosie O’Donnell is leaving The View…now what?
* My reaction to the decision
* Possible replacement hosts
* What should Rosie do next?

The View, Rosie O’Donnell, Jacque Reid, Sherri Shepherd, Gayle King, Soledad O’Brien, Megan Mullally, podcast

Barbara Walters again talked about her 20/20 special which airs tonight. It features three transgendered children, from ages six to seventeen, and their experiences, as well as interviews with their parents. Both Rosie and Elisabeth said that the special made them cry.

Two 9/11 first responders appeared on the show to talk about how an estimated 25,000 first responders are now seriously ill.

Bonnie Giebfried, an EMT 9/11 first responder who now suffers from both gastric and respiratory ailments was buried alive under debris for about 10 minutes. Prior to 9/11, she had passed four physicals and was completely healthy. Some days she is lucky to make it up the the stairs. She has Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) and chronic asthma, conditions she did not have prior to 9/11.

Vito Valenti volunteered at Ground Zero for two days doing search and rescue. He was not given a mask to wear. He was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and is in need of a double lung transplant. He was hooked to an oxygen tank during the interview. He was healthy prior to 9/11. He also has a lesion on his leg as a result of heart problems. He cannot sleep lying down and has to sleep in a chair.

Dr. Jacqueline Moline appeared on the show. She is the director of the WTC Monitoring and Treatment Program at Mount Sinai hospital. She said that the air around Ground Zero was unsafe to breathe and continued that way for many months after 9/11. She said that countless first responders, including those who came from other states to help, are now seriously ill with asthma, Reactive Airway Disease, lung scarring, and other illnesses.

They need funding to monitor and treat these individuals for the rest of their lives. About $50 million was given by the Federal Government last fall, but it will not last until the end of the year. Currently all the patients are having their care paid for, but that might end if they don’t get additional federal funding. The doctor estimated they need $250 million per year to treat and monitor all of the first responders.

Here is a link to an organization that helps first responders and will let you know how you can help.

Alec Baldwin appeared on the show to attempt to explain his behavior when he left his eleven year old daughter a voicemail that was angry and hurtful. The voicemail was leaked to the media and in it he calls his daughter “pig” and other equally horrific things. His appearance was not so much an interview, but him speaking and presenting what he wanted to say.

He said that he has learned three things:

His deep frustration about the situation, in which his ex-wife Kim Basinger does not allow him appropriate access to his daughter, led him say something to his daughter that he really wanted to say to Kim. Because of the court order, he is unable to speak to his ex-wife, so he said the things to his daughter.

He has received a lot of e-mails from people lashing out against him. He has learned that many of them were hurt by their own parents. He added that he had never done anything like that before in his life.

He also learned how much the people who work in the tabloids are abused themselves and live with shameful secrets. He said that the man responsible for releasing the tape to the public has his own secrets. He said that people who work in the tabloids are filled with self-hatred and shame, so they destroy the lives of other people.

He said he can’t discuss, or prefers not to discuss, whether he has talked with Ireland. His mother doesn’t have a phone number to call her granddaughter. Kim took Ireland to her home town to see all the relatives, except for Kim’s mother. Alec said he is still friendly with his former mother-in-law. He said that he has right of first refusal, which means that if Kim travels for work, he is supposed to get Ireland. She has violated this order, but the court won’t do anything. He said that judges do nothing to protect rights of men in California.

He said that he doesn’t want 30 Rock to get hurt. There are 250 or 300 people who work on the show and he doesn’t want them to be negatively impacted. He has asked NBC to let him out of his contract. He wants to spend a few years on the cause of parental alienation and changing the laws. He has a book coming out in the fall about divorce litigation. He said that he couldn’t care less if never acted again. He said the cause is more important to him than anything.

He said that when the father does a certain thing it is perceived one way, but when women do it, they are perceived another way. He gave the example of when he wakes up his daughter he strokes her hair and then asks her what she wants for breakfast. She told him that her mom yells at her to “get the hell up” in the morning because they are running late.

He added that he wanted to say that he was sorry to anyone who was offended and is sad about how it all played out. At the end of the segment, Rosie hugged him and told him that she loved him and that she thinks he is a great guy. She added, “Hang in there. It’s not just one phone call. It’s your whole life.”

The View, Rosie O’Donnell, Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, 20/20, Alec Baldwin, 9/11, 9/11 first responders, first responders, Dr. Jacqueline Moline, Bonnie Giebfried, Vino Valenti, transgender

ABC has posted next week’s schedule of guests for The View. Of note, Jenny McCarthy will guest host on Thursday. She recently revealed that her son was diagnosed with autism, so it will be interesting to see if she discusses this on the show.

Scheduled guests for April 30-May 4, are as follows (subject to change):

MONDAY, APRIL 30 - Masi Oka (”Heroes”); Bill Bradley (author, “The New American Story”).

TUESDAY, MAY 1 - Guest co-host Judy Gold; Ricki Lake, Peter Krause (”Civic Duty”); musical guest Miranda Lambert.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2- Keri Russell (”Waitress”).

THURSDAY, MAY 3 - Guest co-host Jenny McCarthy; Marcia Cross (ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”); Eric Mabius (ABC’s “Ugly Betty”); couple eliminated from ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

FRIDAY, MAY 4 - Edie Falco (”The Sopranos”).

Masi Oka, Heroes, Bill Bradley, The New American Story, Judy Gold, Ricki Lake, Peter Krause, Civic Duty, Miranda Lambert, Keri Russell, Waitress, Jenny McCarthy, Marcia Cross, Desperate Housewives, Eric Mabius, Ugly Betty, Dancing with the Stars, Edie Falco, The Sopranos

Carrie Ann Inaba, judge on Dancing with the Stars, sat in as guest host. She said that she doesn’t understand why Heather Mills blamed her for getting kicked off the show. She said that whether you like Mills or not, she deserves credit for dancing with one leg. She added that it is a strange position to be a judge, where she was raised not to judge others.

Rosie O’Donnell said that she was surprised that her announcement yesterday was as big of news as it was. She didn’t watch any of the news and instead made lots of cards and crafts last night. She echoed her blog post that she thinks there is something wrong with America when she got so much media attention and the first responders who were leaving the studio behind her were ignored.

Joy Behar said that a lot of people are against and for Rosie and that is why it is big news. She said that Bill O’Reilly hates her politics, for example. Rosie said that Bill O’Reilly did not have a problem with her politics until she inadvertently mentioned his scandal on the show. Then O’Reilly called the show and said they were not to mention his scandal again or they would be “in his cross hairs.” Rosie said that sounded like The Sopranos. The Dump Truck was on all of the news shows yesterday and, according to Joy, kept talking about how “irrelevant” The View is. He also said that Joy has no talent, but she said she doesn’t care because she knows she has talent.

Barbara Walters has a special on 20/20 that will air Friday night on ABC about transgendered children.

They showed a clip of President Bush dancing at the White House. In with the Dancing with the Stars theme, they all rated him with numbered cards: Carrie Ann Inaba and Joy Behar gave him a 1. Elisabeth gave him a 10. Joy added that Laura looked like she has been drinking or is a bit stoned.

Rosie’s 11 year old son Parker has a girlfriend. He is changing his tastes based on what the girl likes, like changing allegiance from the Yankees to the Mets. Elisabeth said when you are that age, you don’t believe that someone can like you for who you are. Her 4th grade boyfriend dumped her when she got glasses and told her they were ugly. Although she couldn’t see, she went without her glasses for the rest of the year. Rosie said that she gave all her baseball cards to her fifth grade boyfriend and then he dumped her. Carrie said that all her friends watched her first kiss and told her she did it wrong. Rosie said that she was playing basketball with a boy when she had her first kiss. Joy said that between the baseball cards and the basketball she was a lesbian in training.

Tyra Banks appeared on the show. She said that when she was in the 7th grade she had a big crush on a boy, but he told her she was skinny and ugly. She has started a “So What?” campaign in response to a photo of her that appeared in magazines that criticized her weight. She showed off her spanx on the show and said it doesn’t matter. She is having a “belly brigade” of women in tube tops that say “so what” to march down the street. She is currently appearing on the cover of Shape magazine without airbrushing.

She went out to lunch with Russell Simmons and his children. She went to pay the check and he said he would cover it. Apparently he didn’t pay the bill and she read in the newspaper the next day that she skipped out on the bill. After the show she said she was going back to the restaurant to pay the bill.

Elisabeth said that Tyra is so impressive because she will go to great lengths on her show, such as wearing a fat suit and doing an ultrasound to prove that her breasts were real. Rosie joked that her breasts are real and then Tyra felt her up to make sure.

Marc Summers, star of Unwrapped, appeared on the show to talk about “retro candy.”

Wax lips: byproduct of oil industry

Nik L Nips: little candy soda bottles

Twizzlers: started in 1929, a million miles of them are made everyday

Candy Buttons: original penny candy: don’t eat the paper!

Charms Blow Pops: invented in the 1930s; now they make mini ones without sticks

Rocky Road candy bars

Carrie Ann Inaba, Tyra Banks, Marc Summers, Rosie O’Donnell, The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Dancing with the Stars, Donald Trump, Bill O’Reilly, 20/20, spanx, candy

Rosie O’Donnell posted on her blog that Friday’s show will also feature two 9/11 first responders who are extremely ill from inhaling the toxic fumes at Ground Zero. Rosie said that there are 25,000 people who are similarly sick after 9/11, many of them unable to breathe without the help of an oxygen tank. She said that during the commercial break, a woman, a former EMT, stood up and held up a photo of her children and said that they would be orphans soon because her disease would soon kill her.

Rosie said that as she left the studio, there were photographers everywhere, like she was Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan. She said that it was wrong that she was the story today and not the first responders. She added:

what’s wrong with this picture
nearly everything

Rosie O’Donnell, rblog, first responders, 9/11, The View

Mia Farrow appeared on the The View on Wednesday to talk about her work to help end the genocide of the people in the Darfur region of Sudan. According to Farrow, more than 90% of the villages of the Darfur region have been bombed and burned by the Sudanese government as part of an ethnic cleansing. There are estimates that as many as 500,000 black African people from Darfur have been killed by the Arab government. She showed a photograph of a woman that she met in Darfur whose three children were thrown into a fire and burned alive.

She said that the villages are bombed, often by planes painted to look like UN aid planes. Then an armed group called the Janjaweed, come in on horseback and camel to rape and murder the people.

She said that UN has been rendered helpless because China sits on the UN security counsel and has economic ties to Sudan. The Chinese government is very financially supportive of the Sudan government because of oil ties to the country. China will be hosting the Olympics in 2008. Mia and her son Ronan co-wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal which suggests that the Olympic sponsors should put pressure on the Chinese government to, in turn, use its influence over the Sudanese government to help put an end to the genocide against the people of the Darfur region.

According to Farrow, film director Steven Spielberg has been involved with the upcoming Olympics in China and she called on him to use his voice and take a stand against the Chinese government. He has made a statement about this and may have not known that China was supporting the Sudan, but Mia said that just making a statement is not enough.

Mia said that everyone in America should write to their Senators and Representatives and tell them that the United States government needs to help the people of the Darfur region of Sudan.

You can visit Mia Farrow’s website for more information on what you can do to help, as well as photos that she took on one of her trips to the region.

Mia Farrow, Sudan, Darfur region, The View

Alec Baldwin will appear in a taped segment of The View on Friday to try to clean his image up after a voicemail was released to the press, in which he went on an angry and hurtful tirade against his 11 year old daughter. Rosie O’Donnell said that she is friends with Alec and he called her and asked to be on the show.

According to E!Online, who obtained a transcript of the interview, Alec said that he wants to get out of his contract at 30 Rock because he no longer wants to work in television. He does not want his recent actions to reflect negatively on 30 Rock. He also said that repairing himself in the eyes of his daughter is what he wants to focus on.

Be sure to tune in on Friday for the full interview or check back here for the full recap.

Alec Baldwin, The View, Rosie O’Donnell, 30 Rock

Unfortunately I was right in my prediction on my podcast that Rosie O’Donnell was going to leave The View. Rosie just announced live on The View that she will not be returning to the show as a host when her contract ends at the end of June.

Rosie said that she could not reach contract terms with ABC and although she will not be coming back in the fall as an everyday host, she will be back for guest hosting duties. She will also be doing one hour specials on topics that are important to her.

She said that it came down to ABC wanting to tie her down to a three year deal and she only wanted a one year deal. She added that this latest development is “not sad” and she is “not going away,” just that she will not be on the show everyday.

What do my readers think about this announcement?
I, for one, am sad today.

Below is the video of her announcement, from Best Week Ever.

The View, Rosie O’Donnell

On today’s show, as well as on her blog, Rosie O’Donnell sent out Happy Birthday wishes to her one of her favorite people Barbra Streisand, who turns 65 today. I was surprised that Rosie didn’t bring out a birthday cake for her idol and only mentioned her birthday briefly. I guess there were too many other topics to cover today. In honor of Barbra’s birthday, why don’t you check out this post on the history of the birthday cake, done by my colleague, Gillian, over at Food Past, who is celebrating her own birthday tomorrow.

Barbra Streisand, The View, Rosie O’Donnell, birthday cake, food history, food past, rblog

Today’s hot topics recap is here. Vanessa Redgrave appeared on the show to promote her play The Year of Magical Thinking. She does find herself thinking magically. It is where you play the what-if game, saying that if you do one thing, someone will come back to life or if you don’t do something else, they won’t come back to life. Rosie said that it is like a coping mechanism. Vanessa is also appearing in the film The Fever on HBO about a women and her realization that her actions help to maintain poverty. It also stars Angelina Jolie and Michael Moore and was directed by Vanessa’s son.

Vanessa is a UNICEF ambassador and works for all children everywhere, so she would decline being “damed” by the British empire if she were asked. She said that we keep hearing about lawless things being done by the administration of many countries, including her own. She said that, despite that, in all those countries there are people working for the basic human rights of the citizens of the countries.

Hairstylist Bryant Refroe appeared on the show to talk about new products for your hair:

Dry shampoo: It doesn’t need water and is good to refresh your hair without affecting the style.

Bio-ionic brushes by J tools: They help add lift to the hair and remove split ends.

Chi flat iron: It has ceramic plates and comes with stand to put it safely on your counter.

Clairol Shine Happy: You can shampoo into color treated or non-treated hair and it will add shine for six weeks

There are cell phone and covers for your glasses to prevent getting hair dye on them.

Sulphate-free shampoo: This is good for sensitive scalps or people dandruff and doesn’t suds up.

Rosie plugged the show that she is executive producing: The Big Gay Sketch Show. It premieres tonight on the LOGO channel.

Vanessa Redgrave, UNICEF, Big Gay Sketch Show, LOGO, The Year of Magical Thinking, The Fever, Bryant Renfroe