Tuesday on Today 8/7

We started off the hour with Curse Of The Mama's Boys: Mother May I. Psychotherapist, Robi Ludwig and Galina Espinoza from People Magazine were guests discussing what to do so your son doesn't become a mama's boy. Because no self-respecting woman wants anything to do with a man who respects his mama more than himself. If your guy has a super close relationship with his mom, you could be in for trouble if she becomes your mother-in-law. Trust me, I have some personal experience here. If he has to ask his mama for permission before he makes any kind of commitment, he's got problems--and you will too if you keep him around. Some celebrities they used as examples are: Usher--his mama was the reason he had to postpone his wedding until this past weekend and then the future mother-in-law didn't show for the nuptials. Usher's new wife has her job cut out for her. Tom Cruise's mom lives with him and Katie. Katie Holmes is obviously a sucker for punishment. First she becomes a Scientologist for Tom and endures a silent birth, now she lives with her mother-in-law? I think aliens have done a brain transplant on her. If you didn't know, Scientology was started by science fiction writer, L Ron Hubbard, who believes we are all descendants of aliens. Anyway, on the other end of the spectrum is Brad Pitt, whose mom still visits his ex, Jennifer Aniston. And they didn't even have kids! If you are a mother of a son, as I am, they suggest you not criticize his relationships, let him make his own decisions. My son is only five, so I have a few more years before I worry about him becoming a mama's boy. Or dating a girl that's not good enough for my perfect boy--just kidding.

Today's Family featured Middle Child Syndrome with Michele Borba from iVillage. She says the middle child generally gets less attention then the oldest and youngest. A study monitoring parents with their children found that 65% of moms favor the eldest and 75% of fathers favor the eldest. So the advice here is pretty simple: don't favor one child. I'm serious, that was her advice. Talk about a page from the book of the obvious. Also, make special time for the middle child, don't compare and don't let the middle child become the referee. But she also said not to give hand-me-downs. Why the hell not? My daughter wears hand-me-downs from her big brother. Clothes are clothes. I say don't let your kids run your life, and if you're paying the bills, they'll wear what you say. Other than that, it's pretty obvious how to keep the peace--make sure they all know--not just the middle child--how special they are. Some famous and very successful middle children: JFK, Madonna, Bill Gates, Princess Diana and Today's own Natalie Morales.

Boy Shakira from America's Got Talent danced on the plaza for a minute before being cut off by a commercial break. That boy can really move his hips.

And one thing I noticed as I was eating my waffles this morning is that they waste entirely too much time talking about what's coming up next. "Coming up in the next half hour is..." fill in the blank " "And then..." fill in another blank "But up next is..." another blank "right after your local news and weather." Then Al comes back, does a rote rundown of the weather around the country and says his trademark, "That's what's happening around the country. Here's what's happening in your neck of the woods." There were at least ten minutes between Boy Shakira getting cut off and their next segment. I don't know why they have to talk about their show so much instead of just doing the show. Just a pet peeve of mine.

Fresh From The Oven: The Cupcake Craze was all about bakeries that make nothing but cupcakes. Sprinkles in LA is one of many cupcake boutiques that are serving up the tasty treats. Another shop featured had a specialty called red velvet which has cream cheese frosting that had my mouth watering--who doesn't like cupcakes? And of course, Natalie Morales couldn't wait to say, these bakers are living their dreams--they have their cake and eat it too. Then all the hosts sat around eating cupcakes. Some day I've got to get a job on that show.

Today's Kitchen featured Chef Michael Morano (at least I think that's his name) of Union Square: Cooking With Corn. Another pet peeve I have is they always leave their catchy segment titles on the screen, but they only give a quick flash of a person's name when they're being interviewed. Anyway, he cooked up some Gorgonzola cheese sauce with corn and fettuccine. He also showed some seared salmon with corn, shitake mushrooms and biscuits.

And finally, 27 year-old singer songwriter, Sara Bareilles, made her TV debut and sang "Love Song" to end the show.

That's a wrap. Till tomorrow.