July 2008 - Posts
UPDATE: You asked for it, and we delivered. Today Meredith caught up with Christian's former owners, John Rendall and Ace Bourke, over 30 years after the reunion video was filmed. Check out the story and video, as well as photos of Christian in London and Africa.
We've all been there. You buy a baby lion, raise it in your home, then have to return it to the wilds of Africa because it grows too large for your apartment/house/hovel.
If it's happened to me once, it's happened 10 times.
And apparently, it happened to a couple of British men in the 1970s. The difference with their experience, though, is that a year after bringing the lion back to Africa, they returned to see if they could find their feline friend (known as Christian).
Against all odds, they were reunited (in slow motion) with Christian, and the video -- set to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" has become a viral video sensation. And apparently, it's not a hoax. Want more? Read the FULL STORY or see the VIDEO.
We had to cut away before the last lines of the video, but this is what they say:
"Love knows no limits and true friendships last a lifetime. Get back in touch with someone today. You'll be glad you did."
We usually see Los Angeles-based correspondent George Lewis at the site of a wildfire or some disaster on the West Coast, up at the crack of dawn to bring us his reports.
This morning, though, he was in our studio to talk about his own battle with prostate cancer. WATCH VIDEO
You can read George's cancer diary HERE and watch a special Web extra HERE.
By Stephanie Becker, TODAY producerFirst we had two little jolts and a pause and then a 10-15 second set of bigger movements. It was like the Earth's core was sending up some seismic Morse code. In that small break between the jolts, three of us producers tucked back here in the Burbank offices, away from the hubbub of the main desk of the newsroom, all came out of our offices looking at each other, still unsure if it was just a tease or the big one.
How we reacted really may tell a lot about us. Ian and I stood in the hallway and just took the ride like we were surfing. When it was over we grabbed our bags and our cell phones and headed for the newsroom desk to work the phones. Richard grabbed the Today Show camera to head out. Our associate producer, Molly Palmer, was out driving to a story and is furious because she didn’t feel it. She feels she’s still an earthquake virgin.
We didn't see it, but a bevy of interns slid under their desks. Newbies! This is news. This is what we live for. Although when I first came out here I reacted the same way. Mercifully, it was a false alarm and no one saw me. It was just the water-man rumbling down the hall with a cart of about 100 gallons of water. When I realized my over-reaction I sheepishly came out from my hiding place and smacked my head on the edge of the desk and vowed I would never do that again.
CONTINUED >>
Hello again! Today, for me, is an exciting day. In light of some of the questions and comments I received yesterday, here is some more inside info about how the show is put together, and some other personal background info. (Can you handle the suspense?)
Today is Tuesday, and I'm a little sleepy. My parents have come to visit this morning's show, and last night I took them out to dinner. That meant staying out past 9 pm, which, sadly, is usually my bedtime! So if the puffy eyes are a little more pronounced, well, now you know why! I'm such a rebel.
CONTINUED >>
During TODAY’s chat, Hoda mentioned her mother’s mild criticism of her cute and curly look from this past Friday’s show. Although we think it's adorable, Hoda swore off the carefree hairstyle in favor of her usual coiffed do.
What do you think? Should Hoda let loose and embrace her curls or should she continue blowing us away with her sleek, straight look?
WATCH THE VIDEO
My name is Brian Balthazar. I currently oversee the fourth hour of TODAY with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. From time to time, you'll see me off to the side, chiming in about something coming up on the show that they've forgotten, or weighing in on something they're talking about. Even more often, I'm heard, not seen... laughing (or howling in shock!) during the chat. It's not because I want to be heard on television. (Although I'll admit I do enjoy a little face time!) But truthfully, it's that I really do find them that hilarious.
It's with a heavy dose of melancholy that I blog this week. As Kathie Lee and Hoda said today on the show, I'm leaving the show for new challenges. I've been so tremendously fortunate to work with such amazing people. This week I'll have the opportunity to reflect on them, and give
you a little inside scoop at what goes on behind the scenes.
I've worn a lot of hats over my eight years with the company. I began at MSNBC before coming over to the network to work on TODAY. Somewhere in there, I squeezed in time as a features reporter, entertainment booker and producer, Internet writer, and, as anyone at NBC can be, impromptu tour guide.
In that time, I've had some pretty amazing experiences.
CONTINUED >>
What's going on in this picture?
Either Matt was really excited about the possibility that new head coach Bo Pelini will return the University of Nebraska football team to prominence...or someone in the audience handed him this novelty hat.
Despite Matt's encyclopedic knowledge of Cornhusker football (he's still upset that Sam Francis lost out on the Heisman Trophy in 1936 to Yale's Larry Kelley), I'm going with the latter. WATCH VIDEO
Any outraged Oklahoma fans out there?
What's with the matching outfits lately? First, Matt and Al trot out their tan summer suits on the same day two weeks ago.
Today, Meredith and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi apparently coordinated their attire as well. WATCH VIDEO
Full disclosure: I was wearing the same pantsuit today as well. Boy, was I embarrassed when I walked into Meredith's dressing room and found we were dressed alike. But what can I say...seafoam green a nice color.
CONTINUED >>
I keep hearing about how in today's culture, none of us has time to do anything anymore.
We're too busy checking our BlackBerries, getting our political news from the Internet, and convening around the proverbial water cooler to discuss the hilarious hijinx of the celebrity of the day (did you hear the latest about Mickey Rooney?).
Some people also apparently spend a lot of time raising children, but I'm far too busy for that (a group of highly-trained professionals take care of my septuplets, 24 hours a day).
If you're like me, you have a list of things to do (some call it a "to do" list), but I'm constantly adding to the list ("adopt pet lemur") and rarely crossing anything off of it. I think I've had clothes at the dry cleaner since the first Cleveland administration.
So with so much time and so little to do (wait a minute...scratch that, reverse it), what are we to do?
TODAY National Correspondent Amy Robach investigated one approach to getting things done: hiring a virtual personal assistant. WATCH VIDEO
CONTINUED >>
Last December, Matt and Al wore the exact same tie. Al thought it might bring on the apocalypse. Well, it didn't (as far as I can tell).
Today, Matt and Al wore the exact same suit, not unlike the one that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito wore in Twins (as Al pointed out this morning). WATCH VIDEO
Assuming that this doesn't bring on the apocalypse, I have several questions.
If Matt and Al are Twins, which one is Arnold and which one is Danny?
And for the one who is Arnold...is he destined to eventually become the governor of California?
Furthermore, who would make a better governor, Matt or Al?
These are the things that keep me up at night.
The folks at JibJab have been busy lately, putting together their latest animated satirical number, this time taking aim at the presidential race.
I think most people will agree that it's funnier than the ill-fated New Yorker cover.
No word yet on whether either the Obama or McCain camp has expressed outrage about it, but it's probably only a matter of time.
Take a look: WATCH VIDEO
From Stephanie Becker, TODAY producer
Usually saying you're a producer for TODAY is like saying "open sesame" or "shazaam" and you magically cut to the front of the line. While sometimes it's a true news emergency, in this case I was just one of the crowd – one of the 265,000 customers of IndyMac Bancorp who had lined up to get our money back. Backstory: In one of the largest bank failures in American history, the Pasadena, Calif.-based bank was seized by federal regulators on Friday.
I thought I came up with a winning strategy to avoid the crowds and arrived later in the morning. Not so much. I signed in just before 11 am, and was customer #290. When I left at noon, I watched as #32 was permitted to slip into the inner sanctum flanked by two security guards. They were taking 10 customers an hour. At that rate, I'd get my money sometime after the vice presidential candidates are selected. CONTINUED >>
We reported this morning on the continued flap over the current cover of The New Yorker that depicts several of the misconceptions that some Americans have (and rumors that some pass along as fact) of Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. WATCH VIDEO
The magazine has a long history of satirical covers, and Barry Blitt, the illustrator, has certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of mocking President Bush and Vice President Cheney (comparing them to the Odd Couple and depicting a Cheney visit to the cardiologist in terms of the Terrorism Threat Level).
Another illustrator, Mark Ulriksen, re-imagined the Bush-Cheney relationship as a real-life Brokeback Mountain situation on a New Yorker cover.
The point is, New Yorker covers are often satirical, poking fun at the powerful, particularly politicians. So what was it about this cover that caused such an uproar?
CONTINUED >>
Forget the Wonderbra! Kathie Lee modeled the latest in provocative underclothing – The Wine Rack, a handy sports bra equipped with a drinking tube that holds the ladies’ wine (and increases your chest by two sizes). In case you were curious, Kathie Lee’s “bra” was filled with cranberry juice.
Not one to let the men off the hook, the 4th hour duo let TODAY producer Brian Balthazar try out the male equivalent – the beloved Beerbelly, which works as a removable spare tire to help men sneak their favorite beverage into public areas. If you need to hide your habits – at the ballpark, movies, or on the TODAY plaza – these crazy kitchen gadgets are for you.
Click here to watch the segment.
From Stephanie Becker, TODAY producer
No one will ever mistake me for a trendsetter. For instance, when it comes to clothing, the only reason I'm fashionable now is because I've lived long enough that my 30-year-old outfits are back in style. Please note that I can still fit into my high school peasant skirt.
So it was surprising to discover that I was in with the "in" crowd – or at least in with the growing number of "alone-together" couples. As we reported this morning, these are couples who are married but lead rather separate lives. Some by necessity because of work schedules and family obligations, and others by choice. WATCH VIDEO
CONTINUED >>
They say opposites attract – and it seems as if that cliché holds true even for the "couples" of morning television. Take, for example, the TODAY fourth-hour co-hosts, Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb: Where Kotb is measured and mellow, Gifford is excitable and gleefully uncensored.
The current issue of USA WEEKEND features an interview with the co-anchors, and attempts to suss out the method behind their morning madness. "You have to acknowledge that you can't have two people driving the bus," Kotb offers. "I'm very comfortable with my role on the show."
And what of Gifford's role? "I was hired to be the Energizer Bunny," Gifford says.
Read the USA WEEKEND story here.
From Aarne Heikkila, TODAY producer
It's difficult to comprehend just how tall 7 foot 6 is until you see Yao Ming duck through a doorway. Correspondent Peter Alexander and I caught our first glimpse of the NBA star at a recent press conference in Houston, where his mere entrance elicited 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from fans and reporters. That's because Yao didn't just walk into the room, he bent his knees, slouched his body, and ducked his head underneath a doorway that I probably couldn't have touched if I had jumped.
For Yao, it's just a part of everyday life, but for those of us who are fortunate enough to spend just a little bit of time with the superstar, its an image that makes for a lasting impression.
The NBA agreed to sit down with NBC News for an exclusive interview just prior to returning home to China where he's hoping to lead the Chinese basketball team to Gold in Beijing this summer. In the two hours we spent with him, the superstar touched on the pressures he faces from the 1.3 billion Chinese back home, his Olympic dreams, and his life as a newlywed (Yao married 6 foot 3 Ye Li, a former member of China's national basketball team, last year). CONTINUED >>
(From Janet Shamlian, NBC News Correspondent)I
was unprepared for the flood of e-mail following our report on women
and alcohol. (
Read the original post here.) Your letters were heartbreaking and inspiring, from
courageous stories of recovery to desperate pleas for help. None was
more touching, though, than the one from a mother named Laura. She's a
recovering alcoholic, sober more than a year, who wrote about her "rock
bottom" moment. With her children in the backseat of her car, she drove
them across town so drunk she didn't even remember doing it until the
next morning.
We met Laura for a follow up to our initial report.
She speaks honestly of her struggle and how she got help. That was a
question from many viewers who asked about the options for treatment.
Several of you said you could never leave your families for a month to
go to a rehab center. There IS help and support available close to home
and we've addressed those options in our report.
See today's video here.
