The View's Pathetic Chat with Greg Allman

I looked forward to seeing Greg Allman as a guest of  "The View." This is what I already knew about Greg Allman without doing research: He's a great musician and singer who sounds black, but he is very white (blond). He has made great music with the Allman Brothers Band, and as a solo artist with his own band.

For a short time Allman was married to Cher. They have a son together, Elijah Blue. Allman has also had a drug problem that probably hurt his marriage to Cher.

The beginning of Greg Allman's greatness might have begun with the Allman Brothers Band before Greg's brother Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident. (Duane was one of the dueling guitars featured in the song "Layla" with Eric Clapton in Derek and the Dominoes.) In my opinion, Greg and Duane were both musical geniuses whose careers were hampered---in one way or another---by drug abuse.

Oh goody, I thought. I was about to find out what Allman has been doing since the last time I saw him in concert, or that is what I thought. What a disappointment!

The co-hosts knew little about Allman; they had few interesting questions to ask. They obviously had done no homework. Even the facts that the show's staff dug up were incorrect:.

Barbara asked Allman about his marriage to Cher. He has been married six times and about to take the plunge for the seventh time with a woman who is 24 (40 years younger than Allman's 64). Here is a man with a long history of making beautiful music and surviving years on the road, and Barbara wasted her interview time by getting hung up on this age difference.

Although Whoopi claimed to have read Allman's book My Cross to Bear, and she used the colloquial word "man," as she tried to make this musical legend and genius somewhat comfortable ("this is a great book, man"), she didn't know much about his life or his book.

After the show I Googled "Greg Allman." The first paragraph of Wikipedia says the following:

Gregory LeNoir Allman (born December 8, 1947 in Nashville, Tennessee, known as Gregg Allman), is a rock and blues singer, keyboardest, guitarist and songwriter, and a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2006. His distinctive voice ranked him 70th in the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time." 

Wouldn't this short paragraph help sell Greg Allman's book? The co-hosts didn't mention any of these facts. They also didn't know that Allman had battled Hepatitis C. I noticed that Greg had aged. Haven't we all? As I watched him, I wondered if his appearance had been affected by his drug use. I'd had no idea that he'd also had a liver transplant.

In regard to his marriage to Cher and their son Elijah Blue, Allman has four other children with four different women. Two of these unions were outside of marriage. These statistics certainly reveal something about the man and his life on the road. His pending nuptials would indicate that he is still looking for love.

Ladies of "The View": Was Greg Allman a last minute guest? Couldn't one of you have Googled before the show? Did anyone care to read Allman's book, My Cross to Bear?

Co-hosts Know Nothing about Taylor Armstrong

What a boring show. A guest must have canceled.  A whole segment was presented on "interesting" Tweets by celebrities, like Jessica Simpson who "loves her boobies," or Lindsay Lohan who thinks her sister is beautiful. The Lohans claim that Lindsay's sister Ali has never had plastic surgery.

What do you think? Frankly, I see no surgery except maybe her nose. I see a young woman who is unusually thin.

Then there was a real yawner about current legal cases. Seriously. This segment featured legal pundits, Jeanine Pirro and Sunny Hostin, who gave their two cents about the Dr. Conrad Murray trial and other cases that get more than enough news coverage. But I was happy to find out that the tide is turning for Amanda Knox who was convicted in an Italian court of murdering her roommate Meridith Kercher. Amanda may win her appeal..

Negative people find fault with everything. For that reason, I hate to bitch about The View every day, but when I ponder over blog material, I spend all of 30 seconds coming up with something to write. Usually, I'm already steaming about something stupid that I saw on the show. I could probably watch "Hot Topics" each day and skip the remaining show because the co-hosts opinions are infuriating.

Why? Because they will offer an opinion whether they're familiar with the topic or not. Case in point: The Real Housewives of New York and the suicide of Russell Armstrong. The panel disapproves of the show and its portrayal of Russell Armstrong in the days leading up to his suicide. I CAN GUARANTEE THAT NONE OF THEM HAVE WATCHED THE SHOW THIS SEASON.

Toward the end of last season, the Real Housewives of New York featured much about Taylor Armstrong and the loneliness she felt in her marriage. Russell Armstrong worked many hours; he wasn't physically or emotionally available to his wife. When he did make an appearance, he seemed preoccupied. Taylor talked about leaving the marriage but she wanted to make it work. She loved her husband.

The first few episodes of this season were filmed before Russell killed himself. Let me add that Russell wasn't a star of the show by any means. He was featured occasionally as husband to star Taylor. To honor Russell, the show filmed a short tribute at the beginning of episode one, and then the show resumed the story from last season that had already begun taping before the suicide.

The subject of Taylor's marriage is sad. During a dinner party at Adrienne Maloof's house, someone asks Taylor how her marriage is going. She says she and Russell have been in counseling--and she's sick of thinking about herself. In the next episode, the housewives go to Beaver Creek, CO to visit Camille Grammer's lovely home in the snow. (Incidentally, Camille must give up this home as a result of her divorce from Kelsey.) After the ladies ski one day, Taylor and my favorite housewife Kyle, relax in a sauna that is nestled outdoors in a pristine snowy glen. The two friends discuss Taylor's disintegrating marriage. Kyle, who seems to have it all, including love and respect of her husband, tries to understand her sad friend. Kyle is concerned because Taylor has lost so much weight. She asks Taylor a few questions without pressing too hard. Taylor seems sad that she has spent eight years with her mouth shut, instead of sticking up for herself. She says she's having difficulty forgiving Russell, but she never gets specific. Then she begins to cry and she says she doesn't want a divorce; she loves Russell, and she's afraid to be alone.

This touching scene does way more than attract viewers and raise ratings. The audience gets to know Taylor, the same person who spent a reportedly $60K on daughter Kennedy's birthday party.

Why would several co-hosts object the airing of this show? They didn't watch it; they have no idea what they're talking about.

I bring this up to emphasize my point. Giving an opinion is not necessary if you're not familiar with the topic, whether it's Real Housewives or Human Papillomavirus, let somebody else talk until you do some research on the topic.