Funny that you mentioned gay marriage. While it isn't about gay marriage I was watching "The Tyra Show" yesterday and even though I know you have an intense dislike of Tyra the topic was very interesting. It was about gay people who want to be straight. At the end of the show Tyra invited viewers to join the dicussion about "The Gay Switch" on her website www.tyrashow.com. I visited the site and voted and amazingly only 60% of the people who answered believed that you are born gay, and 40% believe that it is a choice. I then read what people posted and it is insane that in today's day and age people still think that it is a choice. One post in particular was insulting saying that people chose to be gay because it is chic and popular. As someone who is gay it was bizarre to me because in what world is being a gay teenager popular. While I was never beat up in high school it's a reality that teenagers are beat up, killed, or so scrutinized that they live in shame. Additionally among teenagers, gay teens have the highest suicide rate or attempted suicide rate. Being gay is not chic or popular.

So, apparently Barbara Walters saw John McCain recently and asked him if he would be joining them on "The View" any time soon and he said "Not likely." I think that is a definite snub and I cannot understand why because Elisabeth Hasselback is a huge supporter of him. Even though you has a dislike for Elisabeth, and even though I find some of the things she says to be very insensitive I appriciate her contribution to the dicussions. It makes "The View" interesting because if they were all liberal it would be boring. Elisabeth offers the conservative view point, Sherri offers a christian perspective, Joy is the liberal, while Whoopi and Barbara play devil's advocate. Additionally, "The View" has seen a surge in ratings this past season. Many believed that after the election, ratings would decrease, but they have remained high. I'm not surprised because it is a very fascinating show.

So the Academy Awards are in FOUR DAYS! Apparently there is going to be a song and dance portion of the opening involving the host Hugh Jackman and various stars: reported to be Zach Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and even Beyonce Knowles have been mentioned. M.I.A who recently gave birth has been courted by the shows producers to perform her nominated song "O Saya" from the film "Slumdog Millionaire." They are sensitive to the fact that just gave birth and have offered her a bed to perform in. It would be interesting to see if she performs, we'll probably have to wait to see if she does or not. John Mayer also announced that he will be attending the Academy Award ceremony with Jennifer Aniston, but many are saying that he is only attending because Jennifer does not want to go alone. I say leave Jennifer alone! I like her and she is a good actress, and at 40 she looks great. Let her be happy and have faith that they are really in love.

I haven't been able to watch much of "American Idol" because of rehearsals for the musical but I have been catching recaps on shows like "E! News" and "The View" and I think the show only has two seasons left for it. I like Danny Gokey whose wife died before the auditions of cancer, he is very talented and he has a Daughtry feel to him, also for guys I like Von Smith, who sang "Over the Rainbow" for his audition and was once on "The View." I don't know how far he will go because he does have a big voice, but it'll be cool to see him advance. I like the new judge Kara because she is like a female Simon. She is not afraid to voice her opinion and she offers more balance to the show. I don't think that the show is jumping the shark because there was supposed to be a fourth judge in the second season. Also, many of the other Idol shows and X Factor shows have four judges instead of three. This season should be interesting because we have a new Sanjaya, but this time it's a girl. Tatiana del Toro from Puerto Rico is the annoying girl that has that freaky giggle and I hope she doesn't advance beyond the semi-finals because she doesn't have the vocal chops.