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Before we get too far, I’d like to begin with the history of 101.5 The View. Prior to ‘The View’ the station was previously operated as KXGZ, “Grizz Country 101.5,” a country music station. On March 25, 2009 the Federal Communications Commission granted a change in call letters from KXGZ to KVWE and ‘The View’ was born.

KVWE, “101.5 The View,” is an adult contemporary music station, that appeals primarily to women 25 and older. Delilah was the first show featured on The View, then on March 1, 2011 they hired Danny D! (that’s me) for a morning show and shortly after we added John Tesh to afternoons.

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Working mornings for the last year has been an amazing journey and we’ve had some wonderful feedback fromthe community. Believe me, it was a tough and hard fought decision to let go of my favorite radio station and I know many of you will have hard feelings as well. With that, here’s what is happening to “101.5 The View”: on March 1, 2012 at midnight “101.5 The View” will become “Missoula’s News Talk KGVO-FM.”

Since March 1931, KGVO 1290AM has served western Montana with local and national news and talk. Montana Morning host Peter Christian is a Missoula staple and his familiar voice can be heard in the stadium at Grizzly Football games and even on the morning news on The View. Now, for the first time in history, Montana Morning and the entire KGVO line-up are coming to crystal clear FM. Starting March 1, hear familiar voices like Peter Christian’s along with America’s

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biggest talkers Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Coast To Coast and more. Plus, local favorites like Montana Grizzly Football, Montana Outdoor Radio Show and more. Missoula’s most important radio station is so big, after over 80 years, KGVO-AM is coming to 101.5 FM.

We’ve already had some phone calls and an a few emails from listeners of The View expressing their love for the station and many are wondering what will happen to me. It feels great to know you care, thank you; although I will not be doing a morning show in the immediate future, I will continue my role as Brand Manager for Townsquare Media here in Missoula. In addition to The View, for the last year I’ve also been the Brand Manager for sister station 107.5 ZOO-FM and do a mid-day show from 10am to 2pm Monday through Friday. ZOO-FM is a top 40 radio station here in Missoula that plays an array of new music from Lady Gaga to

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Rihanna to Katy Perry to LMFAO to Adele to Gavin DeGraw. If you like the new music on The View, you may enjoy 107.5 ZOO-FM and I encourage you to take a listen. You won’t hear Journey, Styx, Elton John, Jimmy Buffett or Rod Stewart, but during ZOO-FM’s “90′s @ Noon” you’ll hear lots of your favorites from Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Sugar Ray, Edwin McCain, Backstreet Boys, Boys II Men, etc.

Thank you for making the last year so much fun and please leave your comments below, good or bad, about your thoughts on the change, your favorite View moments (Easter Treat Hunt comes to mind…) or anything else you’d like to add.

I’ll talk to you down the dial at 107.5 ZOO-FM!

KGVO AM FM

Here’s the plan:

Choose one (or more) of our sister stations (see below) and sign-up to be a member of their VIP club. (We just recently re-vamped all of our other VIP clubs with more prizes, easier navigation and new contests– so you’ll likely enjoy it even more!)

Once you have signed up to one of our other VIP clubs, send an email to Jordandawson@townsquaremedia.com with your name, username, email address and which club you are now a member of. She will then make sure all of the points you’ve accumulated with the View Crew are moved to your new club. If you’re already a member of one of our other VIP clubs you can email her now and she’ll get your points moved over to that club.

Please note that Wednesday, Feb. 29 will be the last day you will be able to log in to your View Crew account.

Our other stations include:

107.5 Z00 FM, a hits station (more details)  that is home to Zootown VIP

94.9 KYSS FM, a country station (more details) that is home to the KYSS Corral

96.3 The Blaze, a rock station that is home to The Blaze Rock Mob

KGVO 1290, a news talk station that is home to Club VIP

1240 KLYQ, a news talk station covering Hamilton and the surround Bitterroot Valley that is home to its own Club VIP.

If you have any questions please send an email to Jordandawson@townsquaremedia.com.

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Missoula’s home for Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, Danny D!, Aaron ‘Tallest DJ In America’ Traylor and the Weekend Top 30 with Hollywood Hamilton. 107.5 ZOO-FM plays today’s hottest music from Adele to Katy Perry to Gym Class Heroes to Rihanna and so more, if you love new music and love to stay plugged in to pop culture ZOO-FM is Missoula’s BEST choice on-air and online. Plus, ZOO-FM is Missoula’s only radio station featuring updates each hour from TMZ.

View ZOO-FM’s website

View ZOO-FM’s most played songs

View ZOO-FM’s on-air schedule

Listen to ZOO-FM online now

KYSS

Missoula’s home for the Craig and Al Morning Show, a staple in Missoula morning radio for more then 20 years.  Plus, long-time host Denny Bedard with the KYSS Cafe and more. 94.9 KYSS-FM plays real country music for western Montana including your favorites from yesterday and today’s biggest country stars. From Alabama to Taylor Swift you’ll find it all on KYSS!

View KYSS-FM’s website

View KYSS-FM’s most played songs

View KYSS-FM’s on-air schedule

Listen to KYSS-FM online now

Photo courtesy of Jeff Moser/BikeCarson.com/Flickr

As I was driving home from an event at UM last week, I noticed flashes of movement in the parking garage next to the library.

Campus was otherwise dark and deserted, so I was intrigued. I slowed down and peered curiously into the slats separating the structure’s concrete levels. I saw a group of kids riding bikes. They weren’t moving in any particular direction, and I could have sworn they were carrying sticks. I squinted my eyes and curled my lips into a confused half-smile as I muttered, “Hmmm. I wonder what that was.”

I sort of forgot about it until I drove by the same parking garage in full daylight a couple of days ago. When I got home, I decided to do some research. I plugged some odd word combinations (bikes+sticks+Missoula) into Google, and a few minutes later, I stumbled upon a blog run by a group known as Polo Bikes of Missoula. At the top of the page, they cleverly made use of a phrase familiar to Bon Jovi fans: “On a steel horse we ride.”

I was surprised to learn that apparently, bicycle polo is a thing — and a popular thing at that. According to the group’s blog, members meet Thursday and Sunday evenings to get their polo on. From what I gathered, they are serious in a not-so-serious kind of way. It’s not exclusive — anyone with a bike can join in the fun. But they do keep score, and they do have an official shield.

The group doesn’t always meet at the UM garage, but it’s definitely a good place to avoid slick surfaces in the wintertime. And it’s not a bad way to get in some fun and exercise as we make the final push to spring.

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

Photo courtesy of Leo Larson

If you’re not a fishing widow like me, you might not be aware of the fact that it is steelhead fishing season. This usually starts around the first of the year.

This is when the fisher of the house feverishly checks the river flows and weather every hour of every day searching for just the right conditions, which happen to be on the tail end of a water spike (when the river is dropping) and the water is clearing. Of course, steelhead are not found in Montana, so your fish crazed family member has to head for the tributaries of the Salmon and the Clearwater rivers in Idaho to find them.

Steehlead are essentially giant rainbow trout. These trout are born in the rivers where they spend their first few years, then they head to the ocean for two to three years where they fatten up and get really big. They are unique in that they can adapt from fresh water to salt water and then back to fresh water again. After their stint in the ocean they feel the need to spawn, so they return to the exact river where they were born, which is where they can be caught.

Winter steelhead fishing is a mixture of frigid weather and usually long fishless days. In fact, a good day steelhead fishing is catching two fish in a matter of 10 hours (which makes one wonder if it is even worth it.) I’m told that once in a great while the snow lets up, the ice thaws from the guides on your pole, the stars align, your line goes tight and this time it’s not a rock or the bottom of the river, it’s the biggest trout you’ve ever caught in your life.

It is important to note that steelhead fishers are often territorial, waking at 3 or 4 in the morning to claim their fishing holes. Of course, I can’t tell you the exact location of these holes, because they are “secret” and if I told you I would have to kill you, or my husband would kill me for telling you, but I will share some of their funny names: the mailbox, the bale, the park and the drunken squirrel holes. I can tell you this, however, there is at least one tiny town in nowhere Idaho where my husband has spent many cold days and nights.

The key to surviving your first day back on the slopes: plenty of rest periods.

“It’s just like riding a bike.”

That’s what all my friends said when I told them I was thinking about getting back into snowboarding this winter after a 10-year hiatus.

To put that in perspective, the last time I headed up the mountain, I didn’t even have a driver’s license.

I snowboarded pretty regularly in middle school. But once I got serious about track, my coaches sort of discouraged it. For someone as clumsy as injury-prone as I am, traveling down an icy mountain at excess speeds isn’t the best way to supplement a budding athletic career.

So I traded my board and boots for running shoes and a treadmill. And that was the extent of my “winter sports” repertoire through every winter since — until now.

This past weekend, I finally got back on the saddle. To be honest, I wasn’t overly optimistic about the outcome, despite my friends’ words of encouragement. I’m glad I didn’t go in with soaring expectations, because let me tell you, those first two runs were pretty rough. Just ask my knees and my tailbone.

But once I found my balance and got reacquainted with the technique I had learned more than a decade ago, I had a blast. Even a mid-afternoon graupel storm couldn’t keep me from squeezing out every last second of time on the slopes.

As I was gliding down the hill, I thought, “Man, I have to get up here more often. I can’t believe I’ve missed out on this for so long!”

The next morning, however, was a different story. I woke up with more aches and pains than I’ve had after any track workout or race. My enthusiasm for taking on round two dwindled a bit, but after a few hot baths and some ibuprofen, I think I’ll be ready to go.

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

One of the most popular Lent commitments? No sweets. (Photo courtesy of Jo@net/Flickr)

In Montana, Mardi Gras isn’t celebrated with the degree of enthusiasm typical of places like New Orleans. In fact, if it weren’t for the Internet, I probably would have forgotten about it all together.

But thanks to my Facebook friends in the South, I was well aware of the festivities — which of course, reminded me of Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday. And that reminded me of Lent — the annual ritual that many people not-so-secretly dread all year.

Admittedly, I’ve never really been a loyal Lent participant. If I happen to be around other people who are super-serious about their Lent sacrifices, I might join in for moral support — you know, for a week or two.

When I was in college, I had several roommates who committed themselves to some pretty solid demonstrations of self-denial. Some gave up chocolate. Some gave up sugar. Some gave up television. Some even — gasp! — gave up Facebook. (I actually thought the Facebook thing was, in theory, a good idea. So I joined in for all of 48 hours. Then I realized how sadly dependent on it I have become.)

A few years ago, one of my good friends made the wildly bold decision to give up alcohol. I never in a million years thought she would make it. She was the kind of girl who drank beer with everything — pizza, pasta and even ice cream.

But her willpower proved unflinching, even as the rest of us blatantly taunted her with pints of Cold Smoke. It was actually kind of inspirational. Plus, we had a guaranteed designated driver for more than a month. And by the end of the ordeal, she had lost about five pounds.

It might not be enough to make an Arnold Palmer your new beverage of choice, but it’s definitely food (or drink) for thought. Happy Lenting!

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

Photo courtesy of sully213/Flickr

What’s the deal with Saturday Night Live? It used to be funny. Am I the only one who thinks this? I don’t know if it is just because I am getting older and apparently humor is changing, or if it is because SNL is just not as good as it used to be.

I miss the golden years of Chris Farley, Adam Sandler and David Spade. Nothing was funnier than the Zagats, Canteen Boy, Spade in America, Farley’s Chip N’ Dales audition, the Gap Girls, any one of Sandler’s original songs or Matt Foley living in a van down by the river.

The next cast with Cheri Oteri, Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell was hilarious also. The cheerleaders were classics along with Barbara Walters, Mary Catherine Gallagher, Harry Caray and the infamous Cowbell sketch.

The years with Tina Fey, Jimmy Fallon, Rachel Dratch and Amy Poehler were also good ones. I never missed Weekend Update with Jimmy and Tina or Amy and Seth. The horny teenagers from Boston, Appalachian Emergency Room, Colonel Angus, Debbie Downer, mom jeans and any sketch that Jimmy cracked up in were all great.

The current cast of SNL has some really talented and funny people. Kristen Wiig, Andy Samberg and Bill Hader are some of the best. I think the writing isn’t as good as it used to be. The talent is there, but they just aren’t given good material. If a sketch is funny, it’s because one the actors does something to make it funny, not because the sketch was funny on its own. With the exception of Andy Samberg’s Digital Shorts, I’m afraid the new SNL is nothing to laugh about.

Joy Larson is a mother of four, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.

Photo courtesy of @dino/Flickr

Like most Americans, I start my day with a cup of coffee. I have a cup or two while I’m at work and then maybe a cup when I get home. Sometimes I wonder if it’s good for me to be drinking so much coffee. I’ve done a little research lately, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/coffee-healthbenefits_n_1064577.html#s440649&title=Coffee_Or_At, and found that it’s not so bad to drink so much coffee, in fact it can actually be good for you.

1-3 cups per day

Women have a 15 percent lower risk of depression. Men have a 30 percent less chance of getting prostate cancer. Coffee also helps lower the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease by as much as 25 percent.

3-5 cups per day

Women have a 20 percent lower risk of depression. Coffee helps to fight Alzheimer’s disease. It also lowers the chances of getting basal cell carcinoma (the most common cancer in the world) in women by 20%, and it lowers the chances of men getting carcinoma by 9 percent.

6 cups per day

Men have a 60 percent less chance of getting a dangerous form of prostate cancer.

It is important to note that decaf coffee does not have the same health benefits as caffeinated coffee does. Also, with all things, it is important to consume coffee in moderation.

If all these health benefits aren’t enough, it might be helpful to learn that for every extra cup of coffee you drink a day, it lowers your risk of getting type 2 diabetes by 7 percent.

Joy Larson is a mother of four, graduate of The University of Montana, animal lover and writer.

Photo courtesy of put that down/Flickr

If you watch ESPN on a semi-regular basis, you’ve probably seen the NCAA public service announcement that features several former Division I athletes rattling off statistics about student-athlete graduation rates.

At the end of the spot, a women’s basketball player peers into the camera and says, confidently and matter-of-factly, “Still think we’re just a bunch of dumb jocks?”

The facts and figures don’t lie. Despite the “dumb jock” stigma often associated with college athletes, they are ahead of the general student population in many areas.

At The University of Montana, the academic performance of student athletes is probably much more impressive than you would guess. For the past 13 consecutive semesters, Grizzly athletes have maintained an average cumulative GPA above 3.0, with UM’s 272 student-athletes turning in an average GPA of 3.06 for the fall 2011 semester.

That’s a full .15 points higher than the average GPA of 2.9 that was earned by the 10,000-plus undergraduates in UM’s general student population.

On top of that, athletes averaged more credits (13.29 versus 11.84) and earned more perfect 4.0 GPAs (7.7 percent versus 5.4 percent) than the general student population, despite time-consuming commitments like practice, travel and competitions.

Granted, the sports that often get the worst rap for academic performance — football and men’s basketball — didn’t make the list of UM teams with the top five GPAs. That group included women’s cross country (3.69), women’s track and field (3.45), volleyball (3.42), soccer (3.32) and men’s tennis (3.31).  But that just goes to show, you can’t judge a group of almost 300 athletes based on vague stereotypes.

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

Photo courtesy of Maria Keays/Flickr

When it comes to technology, Montana has a reputation for being behind the curve. (Remember when we finally got the iPhone? It was pandemonium rivaled only by the announcement that Elton John would perform in Missoula in 2007.)

After seeing this story in the Missoulian, however, I am convinced that Montana is rapidly outgrowing its label as a technologically deficient state.

The article explains the concept of three-dimensional “printing” — a process in which a computerized 3-D design can be instantly recreated as a tangible object through the use of a 3-D “printer.”

It sounds like science fiction, and, for me, conjures up images of a futuristic world in which people don’t shop for manufactured items like household appliances, clothes or shoes; instead, they simply pick a model and “print” whatever they need.

But after looking into this whole 3-D printing thing a little deeper, I’ve realized that the world — and yes, even Montana — might not be that far away from this vision of the future.

The media arts program at the University of Montana has already acquired a 3-D printer, which students use to “give life” to their digital designs. Its name — the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic — might sound like a make-believe invention from a cartoon, but it’s very real. According to the Missoulian article, one student even used the machine to craft a replacement button for his car’s emergency brake, which ended up saving him $140.

At a price of somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,200, it might be awhile before this technology makes the jump from “cutting-edge” to “common household.” But apparently, it’s becoming more and more widespread.

The website www.thingiverse.com provides a catalog of free designs for simple gadgets, candy molds and decorative accessories. In fact, fashion designers have already begun using the online database as a way to promote their work.

At New York’s Fashion Week, designer Asher Levine created a buzz when the models in his runway show donned sunglasses that can be “printed” from a design available on Thingiverse.

It could be the next big thing in the art world — and believe it or not, Montana is already ahead of the curve.

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

Photo courtesy of Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar/Flickr

It’s that time of year again — the time when little girls all over the country find their inner shrewd salesperson as they hit the streets to hock their wares.

For most people, any mention of Girl Scout cookies conjures up images of delicious treats with names like Samoas and Tagalongs. For me, Girl Scout cookie season always brings up memories of childhood anxiety and failure. Why? Because I was pretty much the worst cookie salesgirl in the history of Do-Si-Dos.

Sure, I was capable of ringing doorbells and politely asking door openers if they were interested in purchasing a box of cookies. But I had no finesse. No pizzazz. No I-won’t-take-no-for-an-answer attitude. Consequently, I came in last place for cookie sales out of everyone in my entire Brownie troop.

As a result, I have grown up to be a total sucker for kids who sell superfluous products door-to-door. I buy popcorn. I buy bookmarks. I buy candy. And you better believe that I buy Girl Scout cookies.

I’ve always thought of the annual cookie sales-drive as a means of fundraising and teaching young girls the value of hard work. But apparently, the cookie program was recently revamped to put more emphasis on financial literacy and the business principles behind selling cookies. According to a girlscouts.org blog article, troop members learn about customer relations, research and development, marketing, business plans and sales analysis — all by selling boxes of Thin Mints!

Selling cookies seemed complicated and difficult back when I was a Girl Scout; I can’t imagine what it must be like in today’s complex business market. Luckily, these days I find myself on the customer end of the sales transaction. And even though eating cookies won’t earn me any badges, I find it infinitely more enjoyable.

Brooke is a 2010 graduate of The University of Montana, where she ran track and cross country for the Grizzlies. She is currently working as a writer and editor in Missoula.

Photo courtesy of Georgio/Flickr

This week the cold bug went through my house. It reminded me of just how differently men and women deal with being sick. I’m not sure why there is such a difference in how the sexes react to illness. From my experience, and others who I have talked to, the following is a typical scenario for how each sex deals with the common cold…

The first thing men do is complain about their symptoms. Then they complain about them some more. Then the woman asks the man if he has taken any medicine, and of course, the man replies “no.” So, the woman gets the man some medicine to relieve his symptoms, because apparently, men are incapable of finding the medicine themselves and the woman is tired of hearing the man complain. Then the man spends the remainder of the day “resting” because he is too miserable to possibly do anything else besides watch hunting or sports on T.V. The woman is certain from the way he is carrying on, that he is on his death bed and the end is very near. When it is bedtime, the man doesn’t take the recommended dose of Nyquil. No, he instead takes a large swig of it and passes out for the night. He doesn’t hear if any of the kids wake up coughing or crying. He doesn’t hear the dogs wandering the house and I’m sure he wouldn’t hear it if one of the kids was setting off fireworks in the house. He is completely dead to the world. Then he wakes up so groggy the next day that all he wants to do is sleep.

Women, on the other hand, seem to have a slightly different experience when they are sick.

The woman, unlike the man, quickly treats her symptoms at their first appearance. The only reason why she would not, would be because she was too busy tending to the man’s incapacitating symptoms, or dealing with the sick child/children. The woman then goes about her day, as if she is not sick – still cooking, cleaning, taking care of the house, the kids and now the ailing man. When the woman finally gets all the chores done, the sick kids asleep and herself in bed, she cannot fall asleep because the man’s snoring from his combination Nyquil induced coma and stuffed sinuses makes it seem like she is trying to sleep next to a grizzly bear with indigestion. The woman, of course, cannot take Nyquil, because she is either A. breastfeeding a small child and or B. has to get up with the older kids when they wake up hacking and crying in the middle of the night. The woman spends her night tending to the sick children, getting, if she is lucky, two hours of sleep at a time. Then, in the morning, she rises before everyone else (because she wasn’t getting any sleep) to make coffee for herself and breakfast for everyone else. She then will go about this day just as she did the last.

You may have noticed that it seems that the man has symptoms that are more severe than the woman’s, as he is incapable of preforming his everyday tasks when ill. (I’m certain this is a defect on the Y chromosome.) While the woman, yet stricken with the same crippling illness, is still able to function at full capacity. How can this be? The only explanation I have for you is that there is no explanation. It is a mystery of science and nature.

Joy Larson was raised in Montana, is a graduate of The University of Montana, mother of four, animal lover and writer.

Photo courtesy of The Humane Society of Western Montana

Lora O’Conner the director of the Humane Society of Western Montana shared this story with me.

This is Missy. She has been at the shelter for over a year now. She has her own Facebook page (Let’s Get Missy Adopted).

The staff at the Humane Society even wear shirts each Friday with a picture of Missy on them.

All in an effort to find her a home.

Missy is a medium hair black female and is five years old. She is spayed, elegant confident and playful.

She is looking for a home where her independence will be appreciated and she prefers a home without other pets. Call the Humane Society of Western Montana at (406) 549-3934 or click here for more information on Missy.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington (More info)

1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City (More info)

1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘Swan Lake’ has its premiere performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (More info)

1962 – While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth (More info)

2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, RI, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others (More info)

Paul Zimmerman, Getty Images

In yet another sad turn of events in the light of Whitney Houston‘s death, her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, allegedly got high following her mother’s funeral.The Daily Beast reports that while Houston’s family and friends gathered a restaurant following the memorial service, it was all too much for Bobbi Kristina, who “simply disappeared,” and was found later on in her hotel room “getting high.” It is unclear what drugs she may have been using.

“Everyone was freaking out and calling Bobbi Kristina’s cell,” a family friend told the Daily Beast. “It was so much commotion and activity after the funeral that Bobbi Kristina just slipped away. Ms. Cissy [Houston, Whitney’s mother] was beside herself.”

A family spokesperson denied the claims, but admits Bobbi Kristina slipped away. “There was some confusion about Bobbi Kristina’s whereabouts last night for a short time, but she’s OK,” the rep said. “She needed some time alone.” The rep said that Bobbi Kristina isn’t on drugs, but is understandably emotionally fragile. “She is going through a very hard time as you can expect.”

While we certainly hope Bobbi Kristina is on the straight and narrow, recent reports have suggested otherwise. Family and friends desperately want Houston and Bobby Brown’s daughter in rehab, but are giving her time to grieve her mother before beginning an in-patient treatment.

Bobbi Kristina was hospitalized twice immediately following her mother’s death, once for stress and once for mixing alcohol with prescription sedatives — the same combination that likely killed Houston. There were even reports that Bobbi Kristina had an eerily similar bathtub incident before her mother’s passing.

Bobby Brown released a statement on his Bobbi Kristina’s health following her hospitalizations. “Today my daughter did visit with doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,” he said of her hospitalization. “She has been released and is presently with my family, including her siblings. Obviously the death of her mother is affecting her, however, we will get through this tragedy as a family. Again, I ask for privacy during this time.”

One good thing Bobbi Kristina has to her benefit? Her grandmother, Cissy Houston. “She had the people she loved and love her the most around,” a source said of Bobbi Kristina at the funeral. “Ms. Cissy was holding on tight and watching her every move.”

“It’s a horrible situation for everybody,” the family friend continued. “They tried to save Whitney, and it didn’t work. Now with Bobbi Kristina, they fear the same thing is happening again and they won’t be able to stop it either. Bobbi Kristina is all Ms. Cissy has left of Whitney. She’s so tired, but she’s ready to fight again to save her grandbaby.”

Source: PopCrush.com

Jemal Countess / Samir Hussein, Getty Images

Here’s a look at some notable birthdays being celebrated today:

Cindy Crawford
Age: 46
Occupation: Model and Entrepreneur
Known For: Being among the world’s most popular supermodels in 1980s and 1990s, adorning hundreds of magazine covers, starring in several music videos, hosting MTV’s ‘House of Style,’ and the trademark mole above her upper lip

Rihanna
Age: 24
Occupation: Singer
Known For: Chart-topping singles like ‘SOS,’ ‘Umbrella’ and ‘We Found Love,’ famously being beaten by then-boyfriend Chris Brown three years ago, and inexplicably being more forgiving about it than the general public

Sidney Poitier
Age: 85
Occupation: Actor and Director
Known For: Being the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in ‘Lilies of the Field,’ other acclaimed roles in ‘To Sir, with Love,’ ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,’ directing the movies ‘Let’s Do It Again’ and ‘Stir Crazy,’ and being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009

J. Geils
Age: 66
Occupation: Singer and Musician
Known For: Founding the J. Geils Band, known for 1980s hits like ‘Love Stinks,’ ‘Centerfold’ and ‘Freeze Frame’

Lili Taylor
Age: 45
Occupation: Actress
Known For: Memorable roles in the films ‘Mystic Pizza,’ ‘Say Anything…,’ ‘Short Cuts’ and ‘I Shot Andy Warhol,’ and in the HBO drama ‘Six Feet Under’

Vince Bucci, Getty Images

Whitney Houston was buried today at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, N.J.
Houston was buried next to her father, John Russell Houston, who passed away in 2003. As we previously reported, Houston’s casket was heavily guarded leading up to the burial.

TMZ noted that the burial was a private, family-only ceremony, much unlike Houston’s funeral yesterday (Feb. 18). Houston’s three-hour funeral was aired on CNN and streamed online for fans. Funeral guests included Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and Rev. Al Sharpton, with performances by Alicia Keys, R. Kelly and Stevie Wonder.

The burial took place not far from the funeral site, the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J. Our thoughts and prayers are with Houston’s family and friends. May she rest in peace and live on through her music.

Source: PopCrush.com

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When R. Kelly wrote ‘I Look to You’ for Whitney Houston 10 years ago, he never thought that he’d be singing it at the legend’s funeral. Kelly choked back tears during his rousing performance of the song at Houston’s memorial yesterday (Feb. 18), giving a new meaning to the track he penned.Kelly pauses briefly to collect himself at several points throughout his performance, his longest break about midway through. His lips quiver, and he clutches tissues in his free hand.

However, he regains his vocal power shortly after, almost seeming to garner it from the spirit and memory of Houston herself. “When all the melodies are gone,” Kelly sings, “In you I can be strong.“ At times, Kelly sings to the sky, pointing up towards the heavens where he’s confident Houston now resides.

Despite his visible sorrow and grief, R. Kelly delivers a powerful performance, evoking tears in everyone onscreen. He rouses the crowd out of their seats before closing with the simplest of sentiments: “Goodbye, Whitney. We love you.”

Watch R. Kelly Perform ‘I Look to You’ at Whitney Houston’s Funeral

Source: PopCrush.com