Joel McHale On the Rocks

Once upon a time (January 2010), in a land far, far away (well far if you live in China), I did a set visit to the NBC show “Community”.

In this magical land of television… of lights, cameras, action and all that other fancy stuff related to Hollywood… I had a conversation with Joel McHale, host of E’s “The Soup” and star of said-show I was visiting.

I was sent there to get a story (as my then-career as a journalist dictated). My angle? “Cast members funniest college memories in real life” – a good angle, yeah? I figured I could always elicit a funny answer when asking someone about college (and then when story was written, people would want to click on it and share. Clicks are HUGE on the internet. Tweets and Diggs and Stumbles? Even better.)

Instead? I ended up spending most of my time talking to him about…scotch. No, not the maker of tape. Rather, the alcoholic beverage, one I don’t drink… (shout-outs to E! Director and fabulous singer/songwriter Tim Turner for the tip)

SK: I heard from a friend that you’re a big scotch fan!

(Yes, I cheated by asking my friend who works w/him what to talk about.)

JM: I’m a HUGE fan. Macallan is my favorite.

(I’ve never heard of this brand. The only thing I had heard of was Johnnie Walker cause my Business Communication professor in college, who I had a crush on, happened to be their spokesperson at one point and I listened to everything he said)

JM: Do you drink Macallan? (Uhhh…eeek…what to say?!)

SK: I don’t. (Don’t judge me, Joel!)

JM: Macallan’s the best. (Phew, he’s NOT judging, he’s still talking to me.)

SK: But the first drink I was ever offered was scotch. It was by my sports director. I was 17.

(Yes! A relatable story to win him over.)

JM: Hahaha (I win, he laughed!)

JM: When I was 21 it was the first time I had ordered a drink with my parents and their friends – I had drank before – and I was like, I’m gonna have a Kahlua and cream, and my dad’s friend was like, ‘Spoken like a 21-year-old’ – and from that moment on I was like, ‘I will never order one of those things again.’ And I never have. And from that moment on, it was scotch or wine.

(conclusion: Joel breaks laws, and he’s fancy)

SK: Straight scotch or scotch on the rocks? (Trying to sound smart…)

JM: No straight, always straight – and even when it’s calf strength, I don’t add water- and some people like adding water but I don’t.

(I have no idea what calf’s strength means, but I’m impressed…so I just do the journalistic thing of nodding as he answers and slightly smiling **Note: Just googled it. It’s “cask” strength. Nothing to do with infant cows…)

JM: But Macallan 30 is like, it’s like a thousand dollars a bottle, but it’s like drinking some sort of thing – I’m gonna call it angel’s urine. The greatest tasting thing ever.

(I’d like to argue that chocolate is the greatest tasting thing ever, but given that I haven’t had this drink he speaks of, nor have I had angel’s urine, I stop myself)

And so there you have it. I was on the set of Community, asked nothing about the show, barely got my answer for what his funniest college memory was, almost missed my ride off the set, and ended up talking about angel urine. Ahh, the life of a “journalist”.

Hogan Knows Best?

When I was four years old, Hulk Hogan scared me.

When I was twenty-four years old, I told him this.

Now, telling a professional wrestler that he’s scary is one of two things. It’s either a risky move (assuming said-wrestler is still violent and needs a punching bag) or it’s an opportunity for an entertaining moment. Thankfully, it was the latter.

In fact, Terry himself (no his first name isn’t really Hulk) said he even had his own preconceived notions about me. Yes…SK! Obviously, I tried to find out what those were, but…he wouldn’t tell me.

Anyway. Back to scary Terry. His response to his frightening façade? Well… that wrestlers are basically actors. That I, at age four, was watching him act, playing the role of “Hulk Hogan.” To put it into perspective, he compares it to Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator.  (I think this confirms the widely-held suspicion that wrestling is fake.)

Naturally, the inner four-year-old is jumping for joy.

All these years I had been terrified of Hulk Hogan and he’s really just the nicest guy ever! He doesn’t want to hurt others! OMG YAY!

But before I can utter those thoughts, he asserts that he doesn’t want the mystique to go away, and that he’s still “crazy” in a scary-deep, only-Hulk-could-make voice.

When he did that, I remembered a story with him about how he once called this entertainment PR firm that I had interned at, Warren Cowan and Associates. I answered the phone and his voice, at the time, scared the 18-year-old version of me.  Apparently his then-publicist, Ian Abrams, worked at that company. We bonded over this mutual non-friend.

Anyway. Since we’re on this whole preconceived notion kick, I had to ask him if there was one rumor about him that was totally false… that he wanted to clear up right here, right now.

He tells me how people THINK  he went to a camp for juvenile delinquents called the Sheriff’s Boy’s Ranch. However, that is fiction. Fact? He went to the Christian Youth Ranch, where he played guitar every Monday nights at Bible study, accepted Christ, played basketball and video games and yeah…. Pretty much the opposite of a camp for teenage hoodlums.

He mentions guitar playing, so then I ask him about musical influences. Obviously, he knows my age, so he tells me I’m not old enough to know them. He then brings up Aerosmith, and I fire back…saying that I obviously know Aerosmith, and share my “Steven-Tyler-groped-me” story as proof. He then laughed, and told me I was horrible (I’m not sure how to take this.)

However, since he laughed, I had to once again ask about what his preconceived notion was about me. Once again. He didn’t answer. But he did tell me he was wrong, that that was a good thing, and um… that he was glad he was wrong.

Ummm so all we know is that he thought I was a horrible human being. I blame terrorism.

Topanga vs. Danielle

When I say “Topanga,” what does it mean to you?

If you’re old and into ‘suburban life’ and live in LA, you’re probably thinking of the mall right off the 101 freeway.

However if you’re young and cool and hip and watched TGIF (like me), you obviously thought of Cory Matthews love interest on the greatest show ever — “Boy Meets World.”

(There’s also Urban Dictionary’s definition here.)

Admit it. You loved “Boy Meets World” too.

Perhaps now, she’s best known to Style Network and FUSE fans as Danielle Fishel, the TV host. But for me? She’ll always be Topanga. And since I didn’t want to come off as some uber-geek fan, I didn’t tell her that. In fact, I didn’t even mention “Boy Meets World,” or the fact that I relate many of life’s lessons back to that show (there’s this episode where Cory is torn between love-of-his-life Topanga, and newcomer-Mountain-Girl Lauren. He uses jellybeans to decide who to go for before having the epiphany that he can’t see his life without Lauren. I’ve always like that episode.) Anyway. We simply had a chat about fashion. Starbucks. Met her boyfriend. Introduced her to my BFF. Exchanged numbers (alright I lied about that last part.) You get the picture.

Anyway. Topanga (yes I will refer to her interchangeably as both her character’s name and her real name) is now a full-time student, getting her Psych degree in Orange County. (I wonder if she misses Mr. Feeny?) Her plan B is working in marriage and family therapy, assuming this whole TV thing doesn’t pan out.

So far? TV’s working. Since she has this whole Style Network gig, of course we talk fashion. She helped dress her boyfriend that night.  Oh and speaking of boyfriend…. her must-have item? The boyfriend blazer.

Danielle (see I told you I’d interchange names) is a huge fan of the Kim Kardashian look. “She doesn’t look like she’s starving. I try to follow that curvy girl’s mentality.” So how does she do it? Um…eating.  Fave foods? Breakfast: pancakes. Lunch: Chicken wraps. Dinner: Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Dessert: Frozen yogurt, cheesecake, maybe pie.

Since she likes consuming calories…she’s in luck! Her boyfriend’s a barista at Starbucks…meaning, all-she-can-drink! Thus, we talk about drink orders. She’s a skinny caramel latte kinda girl. Extra pump. Extra shot. Mixes nonfat and soy milk (that’s a lot of writing on one cup.) Me? Depends. If it’s holiday season, a peppermint mocha. What they don’t tell you is that it’s actually on the menu ALL YEAR LONG! (Topanga didn’t know this fun fact. She told me i was like the secret menu at In-N-Out.) I, however, am weird, and can only drink holiday beverages in the red holiday cups, therefore I only get that drink between November and January. The rest of the year? Tall, soy, extra-hot sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte, thank you.

Somehow this Starbucks talk gets us to literature (I recently read a book called “How Starbucks Saved my Life.” No, it’s not about excessive caffeine intake.)  She starts talking about her Kindle, and how she’s reading Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol.” BFF Priya gets excited, and those two get all intellectual and begin to talk about their favorite Dan Brown books.

As for me and the barista boyfriend? …We continue talking about Starbucks drinks.

So even though I may not be able to discuss Dan Brown novels with the best of them… I can at least guarantee me a free drink at an Orange County Starbucks. And perhaps another run in with Topanga.

Toofer Talk: 30 Rock’s Keith Powell

I have a confession to make. I…

um.

Uh.

I.

I don’t really watch TV.

*gasp*

Yes, I know some of you may be thinking, “WTF?! She worked at TV Guide Network for two years, how the heck does she NOT watch TV! Doesn’t her job require her to be on TV??”

The answer is…yes. However. I did watch a few episodes of “30 Rock” recently, and it reminded me of a red carpet interview I did with one of the stars…

You may know him as Toofer, assuming you watch critically-acclaimed TV. For those of you who would rather just watch the latest episode of Jersey Shore or TMZ (although I’d like to believe my readers are better than that),you can just call him Keith Powell.

In my opinion, Powell kinda has it made. I mean, TV show with Tina Fey?? Kinda awesome (and yes, for all you haters, liking Tina Fey IS cliche, but you can’t blame me.)

So, in case you’re interested in how Powell is adjusting to fame, and how he deals with creepy people that approach him at bathroom urinals, watch this next clip.

Breaking News! Brian Williams Entertains Me

This just in: Brian Williams is a huge fan of obituaries, owns two American cars, and thinks Jon Stewart is a necessary branch of government. Good evening, I’m Samia Khan. (The lead of my hypothetical newscast after my run-in with Brian Williams.)

Alright enough of the daydreaming. Let’s talk business. My business. News business.

I grew up a Peter Jennings (RIP) kinda girl. From age five onwards, you could be certain I was watching World News Tonight on the regular (not to mention my post-TGIF 20/20 ritual with Barbara Walter and Hugh Downs.)

Anyway, Brian Williams has that same PJ appeal. Collected. Composed. Confident. You WANT to hear the news from him. He’s like the professor you wish you had.

It’s safe to say that Brian Williams is the man when it comes to “breaking news.”

However, when I finally had my 200 or so seconds with Bri-Wi, I let all my broadcast journalism colleagues and professors down… when I talked to him about… entertainment.

Yes, entertainment. Not major world issues. Not minor issues that affect our local community. Rather. Entertainment (and yes, the word “Kardashian” was muttered, so naturally, you can understand the guilt I feel in retrospect.)

SK: What do you think about the way entertainment influences news these days and vice versa, the way news determines what goes on TV?

BW: Well the vice versa thing is the most interesting, I think my job is different. It’s to prevent entertainment from encroaching into news. The business of covering entertainment is now a massive industry in a way that it wasn’t when I was coming up. So, I’ve only got 30 minutes a night from the network, and then you subtract commercials from that. And we have a really serious world, and I’ve got troops to cover, fighting wars on two fronts. So that’s why NBC nightly news has only done two stories on Tiger Woods – we gotta move on, we just cant we cant get wrapped up in all things Kardashian because we’re busy covering what’s going on in Kabul.

SK: What about the MJ story? (Yes *cringe* I asked about MJ… as if I hadn’t had enough of him over at TVGuide…)

BW: I think that, I say to people,  ‘You know where to find it.’ We’re not gonna be the place where people go for the latest on Michael Jackson. We’re just not. We noted the fact that he was an American icon and entertainer.  But that’s all. Um we’ve moved on. And there are no shortage of places where you can learn about the life or times and music of Michael Jackson. (I suggest Hollywood blvd…)

OK enough of the hard-hitting questions, let’s get to the fun stuff… like, what’s on Brian Williams entertainment radar? (Because if we imitate him, we too just may be the next network news anchor…)

He tells me he’s a movie-kinda guy (as we talk movies, he even apologizes for “Going all Leonard Maltin” on me. I then tell him Leonard Maltin was my teacher at USC.) This past Oscar season, he checked out “It’s Complicated,” “Up in the Air,” “Crazy Heart,” and “Brothers.” He says he loved “It’s Complicated.”

He’s also a big fan of Thursday nights on NBC (I wonder if he’s allowed to plug a rival network?) And yes… he plans to make a future cameo (once again) on “30 Rock.”

Other Fun Facts:

• He enjoys writing obituaries, and for some reason, its the first section he turns to in a newspaper.
• Owns two American cars – a Ford and a Chevy.
• Considers Jon Stewart a sort of necessary branch of government, keeping everyone in check
• Told me I should replace him on ‘Nightly News’ when he retires (ok maybe not…but, I just wanted to end this post on an optimistic note.)

Flash Forward…Rewind

John Cho and Gabrielle Union on set

OK so anyone who is ever been around me on a red carpet or set visit or basically anywhere I’ve done interviews or even when I’ve befriended strangers know I have this habit of asking random questions that in some odd way, are relevant.

Anyway…ABC has this show Flash Forward. I happened to visit the set one day. And I really wanted to ask this one question…so I did. But, to understand the question, I guess I must explain the show.

Basically, in the series premiere of Flash Forward last fall, a dramatic event occurred that caused everyone in the world to black out for 137 seconds.  During the blackout, people saw glimpses of their future… specifically, visions of April 29, 2010.

Life-changing, right? I mean, you can’t possibly go about life normally knowing what’s to come…thus, these 137 seconds, in my opinion, forever change the characters’ lives.

So I ask:
What 137-second moment changed your life?

Michael Ealy and Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes (FBI Special agent Mark Benford): “There was a moment, but I don’t remember what happened. I did black out with too much tequila once at a party in London (Haha). Those two minutes are missing and I’m terrified that someone’s going to come up and say “hey!” I’d never had that experience, of literally losing time. That’s my blackout.” (PS I love his British accent.)

John Cho (FBI Special Agent Demetri Noh): “I think that all of your life turns on 2-minute moments or shorter. You know, there are just big lulls of time in between, and really the moment is a moment where everything turns, literally a moment where everything clicks in your brain. So I would argue that everything is a moment.” (PS I think talking to him is cool because yes, I loved Harold and Kumar. I may just dedicate a whole post to him later.)

Christine and Courtney

Christine Woods (Special Agent Janis Hawk): “I think it took me two minutes to decide to leave college and come to LA. It took me about two minutes to decide, ‘Three years, I’m done, let’s go, I wanna work.’ I was a the University of Arizona, I was a musical theater major, I was like a triple major, I was working so hard, and I remember I just had this epiphany. I woke up one morning, and I just thought, ‘I wanna go work, I wanna get out of here.’” (PS apparently that’s what I did wrong in life. I shoulda totally  dropped out of USC in 2006, I would have made it then…)

Courtney B Vance (FBI Assistant Director Stanford Wedeck): “I was doing a play in Chicago, and I just happened to audition for a movie, and got it on the spot. But I knew I couldn’t do it, I was just auditioning to keep sharp and I got it on the spot, and it created a firestorm, and my [137-second moment] I guess was when I made the decision NOT to do it, and to stay in school and finish up.” (PS I also should have gone to theater school at Yale like Courtney. Then dropped out like Christine.)

Michael Ealy (Marshall Vogel): “I was playing Hamlet actually, I was doing a scene where Gertrude his mother smacks him – [the actress] just smacked me and as an actor, that was a breakthrough moment for me. I was like ‘Oh wow, I didn’t know  she was gonna do it,’ there was no reaction – that really hurt! And it changed the rest of the scene for me, all of sudden it became much more passionate, probably more accurate.  It was just a quick moment, but it definitely affected me as an actor and made me want to be a bit more method as an actor.” (PS I kinda wanted to slap him. Just to test this out. But then I thought it’d be awkward. )

Parks, Recreation, and…Mustaches?

OK so I have a confession…

Everytime I see a mustache, I can’t help but laugh. OK maybe not laugh, but smile. Smirk. LOL in my head.

And well, this past November was no exception… that’s when, thanks to a few dear friends (yes Waldo and Waseem, I’m talkin about you guys,) I learned about the Movember movement.

Little did I know that this knowledge would inspire a conversation, and perhaps a storyline, with “Parks and Recreation” star Nick Offerman (aka: Ron Swanson.)

My favorite mustache...on TV

After listening to him speak on a P&R panel, I walked up to him because well…I was dying to know.

SK: What are your thoughts on the Movember movement?

NO: Movember? I don’t know what that is…

SK: !!!!

(OK. So. He doesn’t know what I’m talking about. Awkward? Not quite. I just keep talking.)

SK: Oh, well in November, in order to raise awareness for prostate cancer, guys grow their mustaches.

NO: I’ve never heard of it!

SK: It suddently became all the buzz this last November; it started in Australia.

(And now, the inspiration hits…)

NO: I’d love to get in on that. I love ya know, anytime, a jackass like me is lucky enough to get a job like this, anytime we can use that to help awareness or research of any type of cancer or sickness, I think that’s great. So hopefully, next Novmeber, Ron Swanson can become a flagship for the Movember Movement.

(Wait a sec…did I just inspire a storyline? Like, does that count as being a contributing writer? This could totally up my IMDB game…)

NO: I’m gonna tell the [writers]. We love incorporating real-life sort of public issues like that, i think that’d be real fun.

SK: Are you lying to me?

NO: I’m not

SK: So if I see an episode that features Movember, I’ll know I contributed somehow.

NO: When youre on a show with 7 regulars, you’re always looking like “Hey, here’s a good story that has me in it.”  Haha, so thank you for the tip.

I ended up seeing Nick later that night at the NBC party, and he told me he had already told the writers about Movember and they were fans.

So there you have it. My first potential writing credit. November 2010. Parks and Recreation. NBC. (Does this mean I get a 10-percent cut?)

Jerry Seinfeld: My Relationship Ref

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to watch Seinfeld. In fact, you’d typically hear my mom saying, “Samia, go to your room!” whenever my older brother was watching this (or Friends. I was also sent to my room when my dad watched “90210” and “Melrose Place.” Don’t ask me why my dad chose the programming he did.)

Well well well, mom… looks like I’ve one upped you! Not that I was holding a 15-plus-year-grudge or anything…but. I’ve met Jerry Seinfeld. Well, more like interviewed him. OK well, not even that, really. I actually got relationship advice from him.

Confused? Well…Seinfeld is the executive producer of the new reality show, “The Marriage Ref,” a show that features couples who are fighting. Comedian-host Tom Papa and a panel of celebs give their take on the fight.

Obviously I had to ask them (Seinfeld and Papa) about their take on my “issue.” I won’t give it all away (you’ll have to click on the one-minute clip below to find out) but let’s just say… these guys think I’m funny.

Arjun Gupta: My Favorite “Nurse”

June 2007. Los Angeles. NYU actor and USC broadcast journalist meet. They dine together. Smoke hookah. Shop on Melrose. Try Pinkberry. Have deep conversation.

March 2010. Los Angeles/New York. Actor is a series regular on Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie.” Broadcast Journalist is figuring out the next move, meanwhile maintaining a blog called Khanversations. The two g-chat and talk on the phone.

OK enough with the vague statement making. The actor? Arjun Gupta. The broadcast journalist? Um. Me.

I like smoothies. Arjun likes smiling.

This is one of the few “Khanversations” I’m sharing with someone who I actually have an established relationship with (he’s old school family friends with my BFF Priya… you may remember her from the Chris Brown post.) Ya see, usually these posts come from 5-min to hour-long encounters with people I’ve never met before. But I thought I’d mix it up because I can.

Priya likes smirking. Arjun likes staring off into space.

I chatted with Arjun the day that season 2 of Nurse Jackie premiered (yesterday.) Last season, he had a guest role, but the execs loved him and brought him back (personal note: Arjun does have this charm about him… I mean, he won Uma Thurman over in the film “Motherhood” so naturally he’d win over others too…. OK fine his character won Uma over…but STILL! No one could have done it better.)

Anyway. Arjun plays a newly-sober nurse named Sam. Last name? Ayem. Yes. It’s pronounced like “Sam-I-Am.” OK not really. BUT! His “nurse badge” on the show says “Sam Ayem” (those people in the prop department sure are clever.) The writers have yet to give him a last name.

So yeah. He plays a nurse. In real life, his dad’s a doctor. When he got the role, he told his parents “Yo, this is the closest I’ll ever be to a doctor so enjoy it!” (I’m not really sure if he used the term “yo” with mom and dad, but… that’s how he told me the story and well as a journalist, I don’t wanna misquote.)

No but in all seriousness, despite being Indian, Arjun has a super supportive parents…heck, his mom is even an actor! OK OK…maybe not an “actor” but… she and Arjun’s grandmother did get to be “extras” when they visited Arjun on the set of “Nurse Jackie” (now it’s up to the editors to decide whether they make the show, and well…get Arjun’s mom and grandma their first IMDB credits.)

And the fun facts don’t stop there…

Highlights?

• He’s preparing to file his taxes. Naturally, we discuss the things you can deduct as “on-air talent.”- Write off your metro pass because you need a way to get to auditions. Write off cable bills because well…watching TV counts as “research.” And if you really feel like admitting it, write off your gym membership because maintaining looks is important to the industry.

• “Fame.” OK so despite walking red carpets and photographers yelling “Arjun, over here,” and being interviewed by outlets like TV Guide, he’s not there yet. As he puts it, “If you have to tell people I’m famous, I’m not famous.” However, he does get recognized occasionally from his “Motherhood” role and from the last season of “Nurse Jackie,” but nothing major…yet. The girls aren’t flocking because he’s “not Robert Pattinson” (his quote, not mine.) I’ll ask him again in a month and let you know if things have changed. (Side note: I’m taking all his red carpet training credit. We did mock interviews months ago over the phone. Practicing the perfection of the soundbite. You editors/producers owe me.)

• He’s a Florida boy at heart. So yeah, he may be a NY actor, but he can’t stand the cold. After six winters “it’s still a beast” and “you never get used to that shit.” I tried to convince him to move to LA, but…well, he made it clear that’s not happening – bicoastal maybe, but he says he’ll always have a home in NYC.

• Our relationship. It’s funny. I hit him up everytime I’m in NYC. Problem? I usually give him like, a 3-hour notice, and I’m usually only in town for like, a day. So we never see eachother. Alas, we must hang on to the memories of years past.

• Speaking of distant memories…back in 2007 when we went shopping on Melrose, we stopped by the shop Wasteland and I pretty much made him buy this hat. One, because I’m obsessed with hats, and two because it was a Bob Marley hat. Fun fact: I was obsessed with Bob Marley songs and would sing them around the house when I was four. Yep. “Buffalo Soldier” (didn’t get it,) “I Shot the Sheriff” (I had no idea why someone would brag about that,) and “No Woman, No Cry” (even at four, I knew what that meant.) Anyway… Arjun, too, is a huge Marley fan. Faves? “Three Little Birds” and “One Love.”

He wore a hat in "Motherhood." (Yes I took this photo in the theater.)

• His inner doctor. So his cousin is working with the CDC in Uganda, doing AIDS prevention/treatment, and Arjun wants to go out there sometime to visit/help out… especially to work with children.

• His view on nurses. He was watching “Meet the Parents” recently, and well, if you haven’t seen it, in the film Ben Stiller gets ridiculed (called gay) for being a male nurse. Arjun’s response? “Are you kidding me?!” Preparing for the role, Arjun shadowed a couple of nurses, and learned how tough it really is, and what great people nurses are. Arjun says he couldn’t do it on a day-to-day basis (only on the small screen for him) but… that he’d love to have a nurse like Jackie.

• And because we chatted during an oh-so-historic time in healthcare and well, since he “works” as a nurse, I had to get his thoughts on the new law. Arjun is a huge proponent of health care reform, because there are so many uninsured people…especially children. As Arjun puts it, “It’s not a perfect system, but there’s no system that’s perfect.”

PS. Just because I know you can’t get enough Arjun… check out  Arjun Gupta in Dec 2009 issue of TV Guide and this recent interview with Crushable (I’m guessing they feature people worthy of having crushes on? Stalkers…please submit me for consideration.)

Rosie Reunion

OK so I just sat in on a TCA panel featuring Rosie O’Donnell and Parker O’Donnell, who were here in LA promoting her new HBO doc “A Family Is A Family Is A Family” (Parker and Rosie? They’re…family.)

Now this post isn’t to talk about the film, but rather, my reunion with Rosie. Wait…reunion?! I thought you might be confused. See clip below from February 2009 for a refresher…

OK so as you can see, Rosie and I? Like BFFs… or so I thought! This time around, it was a sorta media frenzy, so I didn’t get my one-on-one time with her, and instead had to share her with a bevy of other print reporters (this is the first time I’ve ever used the word “bevy.”)

Media frenzy because? Well, two issues. Gay marriage/families, and the obvious talk-of-the-town, Conan versus Leno. I’ll cover the first issue in my “Rosie Reunion, part 2” post where I feature an interview with her son. For now, I’ll focus on issue two… the late-night controversy.

Rosie’s thoughts?

“Shame on Jay Leno. I think he’s forgotten his roots and who he is and what stand-up comedy is about. Graciousness has never been his number one quality.”

Eeeeks! Drama. And yes, I’m contributing by spreading it. (Sorry. Shame on me, too?)