Rosies Family Cruise

[Chefzhat]

Has anyone seen this? How sad are some of the stories!!! But how happy too!

[LakeMartinGal]

OK, I feel out of touch... is this a movie?

[blazedog]

It's a documentary that was filmed on one of the cruises she does for gay families with childr

[Chefzhat]

Linky (http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/allaboard/index.html)

Synopsis

What is a family? Is it something defined by law, by tradition, or by love? For the growing numbers of gay and lesbian families in America, the answer is most definitely love - but too often, parents and children in such families are stigmatized, unable to participate in many of the simple, public joys that most families take for granted.

For years, Rosie and Kelli O'Donnell, parents of four, dreamed of a society free of such discrimination. In 2004, they made that dream come true when 1,500 people - gay, lesbian and straight - set sail on a seven-day cruise to the Caribbean. With a bold stroke only Rosie O'Donnell could make, a joyous new community was born in this judgment-free setting, as passengers celebrated their freedom and made a positive, progressive statement about what "family" means today.

In 2002, comedian/actor Rosie O'Donnell, her partner Kelli and their friend Gregg Kaminsky (a travel-industry executive) were discussing the possibility of creating vacation packages for the gay and lesbian community. According to O'Donnell, Kaminsky said, half-seriously, "Why don't we rent a cruise ship?" From this conversation emerged what O'Donnell dubbed "the first gay cruise with family values," organized by Kelli and Gregg's "R Family" agency and held onboard the chartered cruise ship Norwegian Dawn in the summer of 2004.

In addition to providing viewers with the sights and sounds of the precedent-setting cruise, All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise includes profiles of many of the guests: from an older gay couple facing an empty nest once their teenaged daughter goes to college, to a lesbian couple looking for a possible sperm donor among their shipmates, to a gay couple who have adopted five children (two sets of biological siblings), to onetime NFL star Esera Tuaolo, who was "in the closet" as a player but made headlines when he "came out" after retiring, and now is a role model in the gay community as well as the proud father of twins.

[greta]

oh debie, are you sure you want to open THIS can of worms? :p :D
greta

[Chefzhat]

ha - well, I didn't think about it that way! :D I do seem to have a knack for this, don't I? :D

I ran across this show today - normally I would just flip by, but something about the show just caught my attention. I'm of two opinions on the whole issue, but the love that all these families were showing was beautiful.

I swear, I gotta start wearing paper bags around here! :D

[Aubergine]

i've been meaning to watch it, but it runs all the time and i'll get to it soon. why would this be a 'can of worms?' i have always gathered this forum to be, for the most part, a fair-minded group of persons. and who doesn't love Rosie?

[blazedog]

i've been meaning to watch it, but it runs all the time and i'll get to it soon. why would this be a 'can of worms?' i have always gathered this forum to be, for the most part, a fair-minded group of persons. and who doesn't love Rosie?

Let's see probably not, Tom Cruise, Star Jones and Naomi Banks at the moment. :p

[Aubergine]

Let's see probably not, Tom Cruise, Star Jones and Naomi Banks at the moment. :p

blaze, TC i get, but why Star Jones (who's barely in my radar), and who is Naomi Banks? nevertheless, i got a good giggle.

suz

[blazedog]

blaze, TC i get, but why Star Jones (who's barely in my radar), and who is Naomi Banks? nevertheless, i got a good giggle.

suz

Rosie has a blog now in which she blasted Star for lying about her weight loss surgery -- the specific reference was to the quality of the body function that might ensue if she ate more than one Oreo cookie. :eek: :D

Sorry that was Naomi Campbell who was recently arrested for assaulting her aid with a cellphone -- Rose had some choice comments about that also.

[colleency]

Does that mean that Rosie doesn't consider Tom Cruise her boyfriend anymore?

[Chefzhat]

i've been meaning to watch it, but it runs all the time and i'll get to it soon. why would this be a 'can of worms?' i have always gathered this forum to be, for the most part, a fair-minded group of persons. and who doesn't love Rosie?

I can't stand Rosie.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I don't really like Rosie either, and that's why I haven't watched the documentary. I thought it was a cruise she was taking her family on, obviously I wasn't well-informed.

[Aubergine]

Rosie has a blog now in which she blasted Star for lying about her weight loss surgery -- the specific reference was to the quality of the body function that might ensue if she ate more than one Oreo cookie. :eek: :D

Sorry that was Naomi Campbell who was recently arrested for assaulting her aid with a cellphone -- Rose had some choice comments about that also.

okay, lol. i figured out that you mebbe had Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks mixed up. again! not really in my radar! but i do recall NC as breaking the Vogue, etc. cover bias for women of color.

since i don't read blogs, i guess i'm missing out on...not a whole lot, imho. i mean, truly, i could give a flying you-know-what about Star Jones' life, seriously.

[southjerseymom]

I know someone who personally knew Rosie back in the mid 80s when she was starting out. Yeah, I found her show entertaining, and she has done some good. I can't get past the fact that she really is not a nice person in private ( so I've been told by this person). We all have our moments, but IMO, she doesn't seem as "genuine" as maybe some other big names. She has a chip on her shoulder. Something about her doesn't settle right with me. I could care less about her sexual orientatation. To me, it's what's in a person's heart that matters.

[Laura]

and who doesn't love Rosie?

Well I am guessing a lot of people who worked at her magazine for one. Wasn't there a big lawsuit against her related to that a few years back? I don't know why she doesn't seem sincere to me either.

[eas11]

I wish there was a cruise like this when my best friend (who is gay with 2 kids) and I (straight with a DH and 1 bio kid, several foster kids) were raising our young families years ago. DH, DS and I would have joined for fun AND support of all families.

Aside from supporting gay families and children in need of homes in my personal life, working professionally for many years in adoption and foster care has absolutely added to my perspective (and anger, actually) about people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk. In my state alone there are enough kids in state care so that every family that opposes that kids be cared for by gay singles/families can have at least one :)

No real personal opinion on Rosie here, but I do think she's done more than "some" good. She has given away millions of her own to mostly childrens' causes, but also was one of the 1st to donate 1 million herself to 9/11 cause and chide other stars publically for their lack of support during that crisis. I really applaud her for not being afraid to do that.

[Wendy w]

Not a Rosie fan either and its not due to her sexual orientation. It's just that I find her overwhelming and obnoxious.

[Aubergine]

Well I am guessing a lot of people who worked at her magazine for one. Wasn't there a big lawsuit against her related to that a few years back? I don't know why she doesn't seem sincere to me either.

yes, there was some brouhaha when she bought out McCall's (my mom's favorite mag, <sniff>, and mine as a child) and then the whole thing rapidly collapsed, you're quite correct on that.

it's been very interesting reading the input here. i can easily see her as having a tough side, but so do many of us, after enough knocks. i never really saw her show, so i guess my fondness for her comes from her films, like "A League of Their Own," and "Another Stakeout."

[blazedog]

yes, there was some brouhaha when she bought out McCall's (my mom's favorite mag, <sniff>, and mine as a child) and then the whole thing rapidly collapsed, you're quite correct on that.

it's been very interesting reading the input here. i can easily see her as having a tough side, but so do many of us, after enough knocks. i never really saw her show, so i guess my fondness for her comes from her films, like "A League of Their Own," and "Another Stakeout."

I never saw the show so never thought of her much one way or another. Since I knew she was gay years before she officially came out, the whole idea of her being middle America's sweetheart was kind of funny to me.

I'm not sure she is any "tougher" than self made male executives -- or even females like Martha Stewart.

I have a lot of admiration for how she is living her life - she decided she had more money than she could spend in 100 lifetimes and is doing what she wants to do -- from what I've heard devoting herself to her family and whatever causes she is interested in. She gives away a lot of money to charity also.

But I really don't spend much time thinking about her. :)

[Aubergine]

blaze, ditto, and ditto, and ditto quadruple on all of your points. lol, i thought of bringing up the MS analogy, and even some male ones, but i was trying to stay succinct, which is not my strong suit.

[colleency]

I like her. She reminds me of my mom. I love, love, love A League of Their Own.

I kind of wonder how many people would really like celebrities if we got to know them? Probably some more than we think and some less than we think. I feel sorry for all the various ways things can be twisted by the media.

[U-R-Kidding]

I absolutely LOVED this documentary. The families were loving and caring. I have always said that ANYBODY that can adopt should be able too (obviously after making sure they have passed all background info checks etc). The love that came from those families to the children was so abundant. I hated to see the children's faces when they got off the boat in Nassau. But as one of the mother's said, this is the way that many homosexuals have to live and the children need to know how to overcome the hate. I think the documentary will be an I opener for many. A big thumbs up for Rosie and everyone that participated in the show. :)