Lauren Graham, who you may know best from her role on Gilmore Girls, was on the Ellen show this morning where she was her normal, insane self.  She’s always a fun interview because you never know how she’s going to act.  I’ve seen her be giggly and odd (like she was on Ellen today) and I’ve seen her subdued and even stranger on late-night shows (I think it was Conan O’Brien).

She was talking about her new movie, Flash of Genius , in which she stars with Greg Kinnear (who, aside from Little Miss Sunshine, I pretty much loathe).  Check out the interview here:

The presidential campaign seems to be causing a rift on The View these days with the rumors suggesting that Elisabeth Hasselbeck is upset with her “liberal” co-hosts (she’s a staunch Republican).  I find it particularly appalling because Elisabeth is the only one of them who has gone to a party convention and trashed a former guest, Michelle Obama, the wife of Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama. 

The Chicago Sun Times wrote (with information from a longtime View staff member): ”It’s not as bad as during the Rosie [O'Donnell] era” but that it’s gotten to the point where Barbara Walters has had to call a ”cooling off” meeting.

It’s always Elisabeth vs. someone so maybe it’s time to consider her the problem.  I’m a bit exhausted by all of the hand-holding and “calming down” people need to do with Elisabeth.  Either toughen up and take it or stop dishing it out, is my opinion…

image credit: newscom

On the Today show, they made Chicken Piccata and it looked absolutely delicious!  It’s a little bit of a spicy dish (I think) and it’s hard to resist a meal that starts with oil and butter.  I thought it was great too because the chef gave so many options for how you can customize the piccata to suit your tastes – you can add different types of meat, different types of wine and substitute things like ginger for shallots.  I love recipes like that!  It takes the stress out of cooking because you can really improvise and see where it goes! 

Watch the segment here:

To see the full recipe, click here.

On the Today show, they looked at some of the choices people are making when they grab a quick breakfast in the morning.  I know that, when I went to Las Vegas this past weekend, I was worried I was going to really make all the wrong decisions so it would have been helpful to have seen this before my trip (I ended up doing just fine).  Watch the segment:

Below are the items they talked about from various restaurants.  The first item is the unhealthy option and the second item is the healthier alternative (which by no means is actually healthy but, rather, is a better choice at the same restaurant). 

Burger King

• Large order of hash browns from Burger King (620 calories which is the equivalent of eating 12 chicken wings and contains 13 grams of trans fat!).
• Egg and Cheese Croissanwich (300 calories, 11 grams of trans fat

Denny’s

• Kids D Zone French Toast (770 calories, 71 grams of fat!!!!)
• Smiley Alien Hot Cakes (340 calories, 11 grams of fat)

Smoothie King

• Grape Expectations Smoothie (1,102 calories, 256 grams of sugar!)
• Strawberry Smoothie (268 calories and just a few grams of sugar)

McDonald’s

• Breakfast combo (1360 calories)
• Egg McMuffin (310 calories)

IHOP

• Steak Omelette (1490 calories – the equivalent of 12 Krispy Kreme donuts)
• Garden Scramble (440 calories

• Dr. Phil – The Goldmans on O.J.’s Trial
• Ellen – Steve Spangler, Lucy Liu and Joshua Radin
• Martha – Chris ”Ludacris” Bridges
• Oprah – Christina Applegate: Why She Had a Double Mastectomy
• Rachael Ray – Jamie Lee Curtis & Jerry O’Connell
• Regis and Kelly – Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Alonzo Mourning
• The View – Bill Maher, Kevin Farley and Robert Davi. Plus, Dr. Drew Pinsky.
• Tyra – Girl on Girl Kissing

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I’ve seen a lot of things in my life but today’s episode of Oprah really got to me.  First, she spoke to a family where all of the family members, except for the baby, was addicted to heroin.  What struck me was that, before they started using drugs, they were a well-off, middle-class family living in a nice home with nice cars.  It hits home because it really illustrates that it can happen to anyone.

The husband/father, Mike, went from earning about $100,000 a year to getting addicted to prescription drugs after suffering a back injury.  It’s not clear how his wife, Darla, started using but they both admitted to eventually shooting heroin in front of their two older sons, who are now also addicted top the drug.  They live in a homeless shelter now and were so honest about it all that it really broke my heart.  I found Oprah to be a little harsh with them and she seemed to almost be judging them for finding a way to fund their addiction rather than finding the money to pay for detox/rehab.  It’s shocking coming from her because this is an addiction and, most of the time, people need all sorts of resources and support to quit.  She made it sound so simple which was disappointing given the fact that I think struggling with overeating and weight gain should make her understand the nature of addiction – it’s not exactly like she looks like she’s resolved those issues and, having struggled with weight problems myself, I felt I could understand how difficult it is to stop certain behaviors even though it’s bad for me.  Anyway, it frustrated me but, in the end, the family was offered treatment which they all tentatively accepted.

Oprah also spoke to Merry, a young mother who chose to go through a detox while five months pregnant (she also has a 4-year-old daughter) after her boyfriend was arrested.  Her mother, who was in the audience, said that it was the fifth time they’d been through the process but, in the end, Merry was invited to stay at a live-in treatment facility called Seabrook House.  I truly hope that she gets the help that she needs for the sake of her unborn child and her little girl.

- What did you think of today’s show?
- Have you ever known someone addicted to heroin?
- Do you think Oprah crosses the line when she talks to some people?

Make sure you check out the “Five Things You Should Know About Addiction” on the Oprah website.

image credit: oprah.com

American Idol superstar, Jennifer Hudson, was on The View this morning where she performed her new single “Spotlight.”  She was also interviewed (watch Whoopi’s face while Barbara Walters introduced Jennifer – hilarious!).  Sherri Shepherd pointed out that only four African-American women have won an Oscar and two of them (Jennifer and Whoopi) were on The View couch this morning! 

Of course, they also talked about her recent engagement and how her life is going to change after she gets married.  They joked about her becoming a Bridezilla (she said she wouldn’t but that she still wanted the wedding to be what she wants! LOL). 

They also discussed about her performing at the Democratic National Convention, her debut album (which drops tomorrow) and how she handles the tabloid rumors.  Watch the interview now:

Watch her performance!

Could Elisabeth Hasselbeck be getting ready to leave The View?  I’ve read reports that she is considering jumping over to Fox News but, the original source for the story is the National Enquirer so you really have to take this with a grain of salt.  Supposedly, “[She] feels she can’t win at The View, but she’s been told by friends at FOX News that they’d find a spot for her without hesitation.”

Something tells me that this is all wrong – not just because it comes from the Enquirer but because I have a hard time believe Elisabeth would want to give up her daily dose of drama and opportunity to “stand alone” for her values and morals.  She’s not going anyway.  I’m almost 100% positive.

image credit: newscom

Paris Hilton and Ellen Degeneres, who was filming a segment for her daytime talk show, were spotted getting out of a little blue Smart Car and heading over to an Apple store.  I can’t wait to find out why Paris is dressed that way but I wish it was warm enough where I live to be wearing so little!

Click to enlarge images

Photo by Henry Flores, OutOfSightMedia/BuzzFoto.com

My husband has always wanted to go to Cuba but we either never had the opportunity nor the means.  Some day I’m hoping to get there but, in the meantime, whenever the chance arises, he always orders anything “Cuban” from the menu when we go out.  When we were in California last month, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory and he ordered the Cuban sandwich so I was pretty happy to see this segment!

The Today show was down in Tampa where they talked with some restauranteurs about their Cuban sandwich and some other goodies.