Thursday on Today 9/27

New and noteworthy on Thursday's third hour of Today was a segment about Stopping Emotional Abuse. "The Bully In Your Relationships" is a new book by Anne-Renee Testa about how to stop being bullied. A bully demeans you, takes advantage of you and makes you a low priority--like you mean nothing. She suggested some tips to stop being put down by first getting out of denial. Acknowledge that it's happening and assess your options. Confront the bully and don't back down. Take action and tell him/her "I don't like the way you're treating me and the kids. This behavior will stop or I'm changing the locks." Well, that threat might work on a reasonable person but aren't most bullies unreasonable? Ironically, they had a segment on prior to this about sex and how to get a better sex life with your partner. Maybe if they focused on fixing the relationship in other ways, such as this, they might have an easier time getting what they want in bed.

The best sandwich in America was revealed, but I missed what it was. But you can now vote for a name for the new baby walrus that was born recently at the NY Zoo. It's adorable but the names you get to choose from aren't so cute. You can visit http://todayshow.com/ for more information and to see the choices.

Melissa Ethridge closed the show with a song from her new CD Awakening. She also joined the cohosts on the fourth hour to discuss life and music. She said she wants to do everything and have everyday for love and joy and love fully. She has four kids and she waits for them to finish school at the end of the year before going on the road so they can all go with her. She faces life without fear. After cancer I guess that becomes easier. Seeing her recover so well is an inspiration. My sister is now battling breast cancer and I hope she fares as well.

Sex therapist, Laura Besman was a guest for a segment called Great Sex After 40. There are many women who lose their desire at this age so it's a big problem that no one is talking about. Nobody is talking about it? That's all anybody ever talks about. They just did a sex segment on the third hour. Look at all the magazines on the newstand. We're bombarded with it. She says to put your relationship before the kids. The kids will be better off when their parents are happy. This is true. So many couples put their lives on hold--including their relationships--after having kids. But kids are happier when their parents aren't fighting and bickering and are in a loving marriage. And she also suggested the opposite of what the third hour experts said and that is to schedule sex. On the third hour, they claim it becomes too routine when it's scheduled. Well, better routine than nonexistent, right? If you don't schedule it, it becomes a low priority.

Trace Adkins was a guest and has a new book, "A Personal Stand: Observations From A Free Thinking Redneck." He was also a judge for the dancing that Hoda Kotb did with her partner who taught her the Texas Two-step. He obviously did a good job because she won the dancing contest they had this week among all the cohosts on the fourth hour. Natalie did the Tango, Ann did some hip-hop and Tiki Barber danced a waltz. But viewers voted and gave Hoda 53% of the vote. I guessed that she would win. Her dance looked like the most fun, too.

And that's a wrap.

More Monday on Today 9/10

This is a bit of an extension of yesterday's post since it was the first day of the fourth hour on The Today Show. This hour has just three co-hosts, Ann Curry--who's not doing the news in this hour, Hoda Kotb and Natalie Morales. This hour seems to be dedicated more toward women's issues. Though, the first three hours are too. The first segment was a sit down discussion on women and aging called Graying Gracefully: Embracing Your Age. Nora Ephron was a guest along with a couple of actress/models who look great despite their advanced age. One had natural silver/gray hair that looked really pretty at shoulder length. I personally think gray hair looks good at longer lengths. I don't know who ever wrote the rule that once a woman is over a certain age or has white hair she must wear it short, but it's about time that was changed. You shouldn't cut your hair just because it's gray or white. And forget hair dye. It looks so much better natural. It just looks too fake after a while. But to each her own. At least women have a choice and can get a fairly decent dye job for a price. Men cannot no matter who does their hair. They always end up as copper-heads and the result is laughable rather than sexy. Anyway they discussed how women are judged more harshly than men. Especially in Hollywood where actors can get prime roles right into their 60's (think Harrison Ford), but actresses are shelved once they get to be a certain age. Sure, Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda are still at the top of their game, but do you see them paired with men 30 years younger for action/romance flicks like their male counterparts? There is quite a double standard. Women have to start standing up for their rights. Starting with shedding the husband's last name tradition. Why give up your identity for a man? We've come a long way since the suffragette movement, but we've got a hell of a long way to go for equality. Let's stand up for our rights and not bow to old standards. Who says we're the weaker sex? Women live an average of 5.2 years longer than men. Okay, enough of my rant. Their advice for living a longer, healthier and happier life was: self acceptance, which comes from the inside. And let go of other's perceptions. Do what you want, you've earned it--that's my advice.

After that discussion, the three co-hosts discussed the disaster that Britney Spears called a performance at the MTV Awards. It was supposed to be a come-back, but most say it was a come-down. Just when you thought the 25 year-old trailer trash bleach blonde couldn't sink any lower, she surprised everybody with an abysmal stage show that made people either shake their heads or just laugh because it was so pathetic. I just hope her kids are placed in a loving home with people who put their welfare above getting their next fix. Obviously, Ann, Hoda and Natalie didn't tear her apart like most people have (myself included) but even they didn't have a kind word to say about the former pop princess. If you're looking for a place for people to give honest opinions and not shy away from controversy, better switch over to The View. But so far, this is a good alternative for some informative stories. And I like it better than the third hour, so my main focus might switch to this new fourth hour show, which is a show within itself. Only problem is, my son is back in school and I have to get him off the bus about 40 minutes into the show. Seems the important stuff comes early on anyway, so we won't miss too much.

They're also going to feature Best In Show every day and today's doggie guest was a collie mix who broke all sorts of records on the obstacle course circuit--or whatever they call those things where dogs jump through hoops, among other things. The dog jumped rope and even walked up a set of stairs on its hind legs.

My only question is, since this new hour airs at 11:00 (there's an hour break between 9 and 10 for Regis and Kelly, at least on my local NBC affiliate), so what happened to The Martha Stewart show which used to air at 11?

And that's a wrap.