internet. welcome to the blogosphere. whether you need to make your mark is a rudimentary grasp of the technology and some opinion you feel compelled to share with the rest of the world. rita braver will be reporting this morning's cover story. >> reporter: when new york congressman anthony weaner finally came clean about sending inappropriate internet messages.... >> to be clear the picture was of me, and i sent it. >> reporter:... it was all because a blogger broke the news online, proof of the growing impact of blogs. >> everything that we reported was true in that story. >> reporter: later on sunday morning, we'll go into the blogosphere. >> osgood: tonight is tony night on broadway. here on cbs as well. one play that's up for multiple awards has an actor on stage who is probably more widely known for roles he's been playing on tv. this morning seth doane will pay him a visit. >> reporter: hello. how is it going? >> he's the star of one of television's most successful sitcoms. >> i have returned to save the day. >> reporter: but this summer jim parsons has decided to do something seriously different. >> there's nothing like it. you know, there's no experience like doing a play. >> reporter: a geek goes to broadway. later on sunday morning. >> osgood: jimmy fallon is a comic with a great gift for making people laugh and making himself laugh too which is one of his most enduring qualities. but he sure does enjoy his work which makes fallon the envy of everybody including our russ mitchell. >> reporter: whether creating memorable characters on saturday night live or hosting his nightly talk show, jimmy fallon always has a good time. sometimes too good a time. >> it's tough for you not to laugh. >> yes. yeah, i have a problem with that. >> reporter: later on sunday morning, turning the tables on jimmy fallon. do you like that? >> it feels weird. can i sit there, please? >> reporter: we'll see. that's coming up. >> osgood: don't try this at home is is the very least that can be said about the event our bill geist has attended. >> reporter: now you might think saturday night in omaha sounds a little dull. but when they start lighting the roler derby girls on fire, you'll think again. one recent saturday night was an absolute blast. you'll see for yourselves later on sunday morning. >> osgood: michelle miller marks a big birthday for big blue. serena altschul shows us how to attend a to terrarium. mo rocca heads off to a summer camp for young performers and lots more. but first the ed lines for this sunday morning the 12th of june, 2011. we're getting our first look at congresswoman giffords since she was shot in the head in a mass shooting in tucson in january. congresswoman's facebook page features two pictures. in one she's seen with an aide. giffords might be releaseded from a houston rehab center as early as later this month. as you heard, new york congressman anthony weaner has gone off to seek professional help in the aftermath of his sexting scandal. democratic leaders called for weaner to leave congress for good. we have more. >> reporter: the calls for congressman weaner to resign came from four top house democrats who released their statements one after the other to make it clear they were acting in concert. congresswoman debbie wasserman shultz called weaner's behavior sordid and indefensible. minority leader nancy pelosi said he should seek help without the pressures of being a member of congress. the move came hours after weaner informed them he was taking a leave of absence from his congressional duties to get help. in a statement, the new york congressman said he planned to get evaluate and map out a course of treatment to make himself well. he did not say where. senior aides tell cbs news democratic leaders had tried for days to convince weaner privately to step down because the lewd tweets and emails he sent to several women were becoming an embarrassing distraction. weaner declined. and polls show a majority of his constituents still support him. >> as long as he does his work for his constituency, that is the only thing that anyone should care about. >> reporter: until now, most house democrats had avoided commenting on the scandal. but now that their leaders have made their wishes clear, it's likely that the calls for weaner's resignation are going to start piling up. for sunday morning, this is nancy cordes on capitol hill. >> osgood: that two-week old wild fire in arizona is spreading now into new mexico. spot fires have been seen across the state line and officials are warning that smoke from the growing blaze could soon be a health threat as far away as albuquerque. the fire has now consumed 672 square miles. the al qaeda operative believed to be behind the u.s. embassy bombings in kenya and tanzania has been killed in somalia's capital. he had a $5 million bounty on his head for allegedly planning the 1998 bombing that killed 224 people. the government has issued health warnings about two commonly used materials. scientists say repeatedly exposure to formaldehyde poses the risk of cancer. they also say that styrene used in products like plastic cups and plates may cause cancer but it's generally found in such small quantities that the risk is comparatively small. on a sloppy track in new york yesterday, long shot ruler on ice pulled away just yards from the wire to win the belmont stakes. that victory marks the third straight year that each triple crown race has been won by a different horse. now the weather. storms across the northern plains. and much of the east. and dry and mild in the great lakes. looking at the week ahead rain in the northwest, hot and humid in the south. and after a rainy start in the northeast, by week's end you can pack in the umbrella and pack up a picnic. next up, the blogosphere. and later, the big bang theory's jim,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: welcome to the blogosphere. for the uninitiateded that's the nickname for the rough-and-tumble on-line world that anyone with a laptop and a strong opinion can enter and sometimes get into trouble. our cover story now reported by rita braver. >> reporter: the whole nation may be talking about congressman anthony weaner's sexually suggestive internet messages. >> to be clear the picture was of me. and i sent it. >> reporter: but it was one man, andrew breitbart who posted the story online in his blog and forced the new york democrat to finally own up to his actions. >> i apologize to andrew breitbart and the many other members of the media that i misled. >> we were vindicated at first after a three-day frenzy of trying to attack my journalism. >> reporter: what all week and what a clear sign of the growing clout of bloggers. blogging has a short history. in the early 1990s sharing personal observations on the internet became known as writing a web-log. later shortened to blog. before long the world of bloggers was so big, it was dubbed the blogosphere. today there are more than 50 million active blogs on the web. some are under the auspices of major companies or larger websites. others are run by individuals. many are chatty, personal style reflections, and they usually encourage readers to respond. blogs cover everything you can think of from architecture to zombies. if you know about it or even think you know about it, you can blog. how important do you think bloggers are to the national conversation these days? >> i think pair paramount. i think they're real authentic communities of people talking about really important subjects and really frivolous subjects. >> reporter: deanna brown is ceo of fed rated media which represents thousands of bloggers. >> we're seeing blogs in general make a huge difference in everything from what products people are buying acoliseum the board to who is being elected into public office. >> reporter: which brings us back to congressman weaner's woes. what started on conservative activist andrew breitbart's blog is now being reported by mainstream news organizations nationwide. but it was the same andrew breitbart who last year posted an edited video that falsely indicated shirley sharrod an agricultural department employee had discriminated against whites. she's now suing him. that episode illustrates a problem. blogs can be a law unto themselves. there doesn't seem to be any way that anything catches up with bloggers or any way of addressing when a blogger really does something or says something that's not true. >> it's their community. the community in the web in general will actually correct facts on particular blogs if they feel they're not factual. believe it or not those are actually the least desirable blogs from a business perspective. >> reporter: and business is what drives many blogs. with all of broadway gearing up for tonight's tony awards, no one is paying closer attention than robert diamond, founder of the website broadway world dot-com. >> they will have several blogs going simultaneously on tony night from back stage with the winners, from behind the scenes, from rehearsals as well as at the broadcast itself. >> reporter: while his main website offers straightforward information like what's playing and where to get tickets, diamond says the blogs he features, including one he writes himself, have become a big draw. >> i get hate mail when they disagree with me. i get nice things when people agree with me saying thank you, i wouldn't have seen that otherwise. there's a nice amount of feedback there. >> reporter: that's not all. the most successful bloggers are getting. >> i attended a class at stanford ton and the professor said you will never make money writing a blog, never. that made me mad. i thought, you better wait. >> reporter: indeed 32-year-old abby larsen makes enough money from style me pretty, her multi-million dollar wedding blog to employ her husband and 12 other people full time. in the early days what was a blog like? >> the blog was this like really small like we're talking ten people maybe reading at any given moment. >> reporter: but word got out that she was offering personal attention to brides. >> readers would write in. they would say, you know, i'm having this great wedding at a vineyard but i can't really figure out my style and how to bring it altogether. then i would write details as as to how to articulate this vision in real life. >> reporter: four years after starting out she said she draws about 700,000 readers per month. that's more than the circulation of most bridal magazines. she openly admits that she blogs about some of her favorite advertisers. >> let's go with a pretty.... >> reporter: it has added up to a dream life in a boston suburb. >> i didn't want to leave my couch. i wanted to have a family. i wanted to do something in my home. i wanted to roll out of bed, pick up my computer, pour my coffee and go. that's what i did. >> reporter: so no wonder so many people are trying to blog their way to success. >> bloggers of all shapes and sizes are making money. >> reporter: more than 1500 hopefuls came to this recent conference in manhattan. >> my blog is called kitten a go-go. >> reporter: why in. >> you know what? i don't even know why. >> reporter: they blog about self-fulfillment. >> i try to encourage people to pursue their passions and follow their dreams. >> reporter: they blog about their hobbies. >> the underlying motivation for all of this amazingly is just so that i can surf more. that's how big a part of my life it is. >> reporter: and like this person, they are well aware that few bloggers ever hit the big time. >> i think the reason you have so many people who start it is because the barrier to entry is so low. but the thing is that so many of them just drop off after the first 90 days. >> reporter: it doesn't stop bloggers from dreaming of stardom. just ask this 29-year-old celebrity-obsessed computer geek. >> first of all i didn't know a single person in hollywood. i started blogging in my parents' house in the bedroom. i would chain myself to the computer. i would not leave. i would constantly be updating the site. >> reporter: now he writes his just jared blog from a pent house office provided by his sponsor, lacrosse, the clothing brand. but jared has not forgotten the days when he trawled the web for tidbits about stars and desperately tried to get his own interviews. >> first i was red carpet. i would spend six hours on the red carpet trying to get one quote. >> reporter: just go there and hang out. >> exactly. >> reporter: soon people started feeding him tidbits. he posted the first official photo of angelina jolie and brad pitt's daughter shiloh. how did you get that? >> i can't reveal my sources. a blogger never tells. >> reporter: he may get some scoops because his blog provides a stark contrast to sites known for secure... skewering celebs. why did you choose that route? >> i've always been a nice guy. >> reporter: sometimes nice guys finish first. with 14 million viewers a month, just jared has become a celebrity himself. >> it's very surreal. >> reporter: just like so much of the blogosphere. >> osgood: ahead. >> would you like paper or plastic. >> osgood: in the bag. [ male announcer ] why is toyota the number-one choice among consumers? maybe it's because of trucks like tacoma, the best-selling compact pickup in america or the rugged tundra, named a 2011 best overall value of the year by intellichoice.com. and right now, get 0% apr financing on a new 2011 tundra. plus, every new toyota comes with toyotacare, a complimentary maintenance plan with roadside assistance. we have lots to choose from, so hurry in today. with your host, betty white. featuring lifetime aarp member, betty white. and betty white. i'm sorry, betty isn't here. [ male announcer ] with outstanding performances by the bettys. if you're 50 or over but hesitant to join aarp because you think it makes you old, i have a very important message: [ all ] get over it! [ male announcer ] joining aarp is only sixteen dollars a year. so call in and get a free travel bag when you join now. [ male announcer ] joining aarp is only sixteen dollars a year. 66% of new products have some kind of intelligence built in... refrigerators order groceries from the store. washing machines run when energy prices are lowest... and dryers call for service before they break down. air conditioners respond to local weather reports. software gives businesses new ways to connect to customers. by making things smarter, life gets better. that's what i'm working on. i'm an ibmer. i'm an ibmer. i'm an ibmer. let's build a smarter planet. >> osgood: now a page from our sunday morning almanac. june 12, 188, 128 years ago today. the day papa and everyone else got a brand new bag. that was the day a patent was issued for a machine that made a paper bag with a flat bottom and pleated sides, a bag that would stand upright and stay open all on its own. labeled the s.o.s., the self-opening sack, it was the technological breakthrough the world had been waiting for. before long shoppers all over the world were bringing home the goods in that ubiquitous bag. playful pranksters were constantly figuring out clever ways to have fun with it, a tradition that endures to this day. the paper bag has even played an unlikely role in a seinfeld episode. >> what do you want to see? >> how about a sack lunch? >> how about the english patient. it's up for all its oscars. >> look at the poster for sack lunch. >> it's a family in a brown paper bag. >> don't you want to know how they got in there? >> no. >> osgood: but in recent years the paper bag has been punching it out with an upstart competitor, the plastic bag. the rivalry, which has made this.... >> would you like paper or plastic. >> osgood:... one of the most divisive questions of our time. some have gone so far as to call for a ban on the plastic bag. many environmentalists point out that the manufacture and disposal of both sorts of bags can cause pollution and shoppers should opt for reusable bags instead. still, after all these years, it's safe to say the brown paper bag isn't going anywhere any time soon. unless it's to school with somebody's lunch inside. up next, under glass. i can't let allergies stop me from leading the way. so, i get claritin clear. non-drowsy claritin relieves my worst symptoms. and only claritin is proven to keep you as alert and focused as someone without allergies. no other brand can say that not even allegra. live claritin clear. >> osgood: nothing brings the outside in quite like a terrarium. serena altschul with the in's and out's. >> reporter: we love nature here at sunday morning, so much so that every week we leave you in a place of natural beauty. >> it is something that helps us to cope. it's just calming. i mean, you know, we think about nature and sort of our roots. >> reporter: this woman loves nature too, but what she really loves is nature in miniature. >> this is is your opportunity to be a landscape designer. i think that's one of the main beauties of terrariums. >> reporter: martin is a missionary for the lilliputian world of terrariums. she writes about them, creates them and gives workshops to convert others to their miniscule beauty. this one was held at the terrain at styers garden center in pennsylvania. >> what is a terrarium? it is a closed environment where the condensation dribbles down and the plant is self-watering. >> reporter: tova insists that anyone, with or without a green thumb, can create a beautiful terrarium. >> you can do it with the mason jars you find in your attic. you can do it with that all old fish bowl stuck in your basement. you can probably look around your house and find something that works as a terrarium. >> pretty. >> what made you attracted to come take this class? how did you hear about it? >> i just heard about it from a friend. sounded fun. kind of a creative way to get some nature into the house. >> reporter: do you feel like anybody could do this? >> pretty much, yes. >> reporter: this is your first one? >> yes. >> reporter: wow. i need to have a look from up here because that is is amazing. are you proud? >> yes. >> reporter: i was pretty proud too. so nice. i really love it. terrariums came to life in 1830 when nathaniel ward, a british surgeon and naturalist accidentally discovered that a plant would stay alive indefinitely with almost no care when put in an enclosed glass case. there was a boomlet of terrarium makings in the '60s and '70s mostly as science projects for grade school kids. today grown-ups and kids alike semen tlauled. sales of terrarium supplies here at styers have increased 25 to 0% a year over the last couple of years. >> there really are no rules. whatever your inner gardener is asking you for designwise, that's what works for you. that's what you should do. >> reporter: paula hayes' inner gardener is asking for this. >> open. >> reporter: an original hand blown container for each terrarium. no mason jars, please. >> this is all little creeping.... >> reporter: hayes is the high priestess of ter rare yums and her creations of living art as she calls them sell for between $4,000 and $60,000. >> where do you want me to focus it? what if it goes towards the lip? what if it goes towards the back? >> i prefer it back here. >> reporter: the blob in question, a seemingly impossible glass-blowing techniques, creates a unique effect. >> what's really really beautiful about this particular piece of glass is that it has this magnification so you can see way down deep inside. >> reporter: so pretty in there. you could say for a paula hayes' terrarium the maintenance is magnified as well. hayes will tend to the plants for as long as three years before putting them in a container. when each terrarium is complete, she will tend to it for at least a couple more years before she allows an owner to claim it. >> is it hard to let them go? >> it is. >> reporter: but she does let them go. to private collectors as well as gallerys and art fairs around the world. >> i think we can easily lower it like three inches. >> reporter: this past winter these two huge terrariums created by hayes in partnership with her husband grace the lobby of new york's museum of modern art. one is 15-feet wide. the other weighs 130 pounds. >> there are a few aspects of the architecture of the pieces themselves that lend themselves to either something that is crawling and growing this way or is more vertical. >> reporter: and how about these out of the box terrariums? an architect-designed cactus chair that can be yours for $3,000. or these icelandic pieces created by a company called fern-a-bloom. here's to terrariums. >> it's like i can take this home and i can take care of this and it's not going to go away. >> reporter: the perfect way to bring the outside in. >> people don't enjoy this chair. i don't know why. >> is is that by design. >> osgood: ahead talking the talk with jimmy fallon. and later trouble in paradise? >> interesting. you're afraid of insect and women. lady bugs must render you cat a tonic. >> it's sunday morning on cbs and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: tim parsons has been getting lots of laughs on the tv series big bang theory. right now he's also performing a very different sort of role in a play that's been nominated for five awards at tonight's tonys to be broadcast here on cbs. our seth doane tracked parsons down on broadway. >> hello. how is it going? how is it going? is this recess? >> yes. >> what would i sign. >> reporter: he's the geeky star of the big bang theory. one of the most successful comedies on television. >> what are you doing? >> attempting to few more work as a fleeting peripheral image to engage my brain. >> you look up and down the street and there's billy elliott and jerusalem. >> reporter: this summer something else entirely has got actor jim parsons excited. >> that's what i'm in. that's what i'm doing. i'm literally on broadway. this street has tons of broadway shows up and down it and i'm in one of them. there's nothing like it, you know. there's no experience like doing a play. >> reporter: the play is "the normal heart." a seering revival of the 1985 drama about the beginning of the aids epidemic. >> a sweet, dying child together with his mom. they haven't seen each other for 15 years. he never told her he was gay. he didn't want to see her now. >> reporter: parsons plays tommy boright a gay activist giving comfort where he can. >> it's very hard-hitting. i think it's a real slap in the face. i think it's a real slug in the gut. >> there are going to be a lot of mamas flying into town not understanding why their sons have suddenly upped and died from pneumonia. >> we've been blessed with beautiful reviews. we've been blessed with five tony nominations. suddenly it's a real event. >> reporter: right now parsons can't get enough of broadway. >> it's an absolute addiction right now. i'm quite swimming in it. >> reporter: it sounds a little sheldon cooperesque. >> you're right. it's obsessive. >> reporter: and obsessive is surely one way to describe sheldon cooper. >> you know me to be a very smart man. don't you think if i were wrong, i'd know it? >> reporter: the role that has made the 38-year-old actor famous. >> one at a time. >> reporter: though parsons says in real life shy was the way to describe him as a child. growing up in houston. >> my first role ever was in first grade. the elephant's child was the play. i was the kola bird. >> reporter: what is that? >> hell, if i know. for me it was something with wings and yellow tights and a black mask on my head that my mother built. you don't forget your first experience in panty hose. >> reporter: was there a point that you thought, "i want to be an actor?" >> yeah. i had been in plays through elementary school. i had mirren been in plays through high school. i had a very torn relationship with it. my own realistic side thought this is a fool's errand. >> 3, 2, 1. >> reporter: still he took the plunge. >> no problem at all. thank you. >> reporter: this happens a lot? >> yeah. i mean, it happens a fair amount. >> reporter: earn ago theater degree and then taking work wherever he could find it like this commercial. >> were you raised by wolves? >> yes, i was. >> the main thrust of the audition, 50 of us lining up to do this, was what do you look like suckaling at the teat. >> reporter: of a wolf. >> that's literally how i got this. i nailed it. >> reporter: you just nailed it? >> i mean, who knew? i don't think it was a talent. i think it was a willingness. >> reporter: did this commercial break you into the acting stratosphere? >> no, but it broke me into the rent stratosphere. it did get some attention. it certainly gave me a conversation piece. >> reporter: it would do that. >> it's half the battle and that's not kidding in certain casting sessions and everything. do you have something interesting to say. and you suckaled at the teat of a siberian husky you have something interesting to say. maybe not good but it's interesting. >> i was wondering if you could make teach me a little physics. >> a little physics? >> reporter: it was at one of those casting sessions five years ago that parsons landed the role of a lifetime. sheldon, a brilliant, if awkward, physicist. >> it's always exciting to me. it's always a stretch. why is it a stretch? he's a genius which i'm just not. he's got... his mind works in these ways that i don't even have the first way of understanding. >> sheldon, this is ridiculous. >> reporter: complete with great gusts of geek speak. >> regarding polymer degradation phenomenon while scraping congealed nachos off a plate. >> reporter: how do you memorize sheldon's lines? you look at some of the word you're saying out of your mouth. >> terrible. one of these days they're going to break me. i'm positive. in the meantime i'm a big note card fiend. >> i've been meaning to thank you for your notes on my paper disproving quantum brain dynamic theory. >> my pleasure. for a non-physicist you have a remarkable grasp of how electric di-poles in the brain's water molecules could not possibly condon sat. >> i have a little cue on the first side. on the next one will be my entire line written out. i will pace around my house. that's what i do for hours on end. i'm temperaturing you it's like memorizing the symbols on a periodic table. >> the show is popular. >> reporter: you have won a golden globe. you've won an emmy for your portrayal of sheldon. you are so well known for this character. is there a danger? >> i'm sure there is. i'm sure there is. and here's why i don't worry. i will find a way to work, whether it's back in my mother's backyard making my sister put on a show with me, although she probably wouldn't be willing now. she has two kids. anyway, i'm going to keep doing it. in what form i'll be had, in whatever project they'll allow me to work, that's where i'll end up being. >> reporter: even if it's your mother's backyard. >> that sounds sad. so maybe not that far. but something will happen. >> reporter: for jim parsons it's safe to say something probably will. >> osgood: next, a dog's life. intelligence ig that's helping drive the future of business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ machines have a voice. ♪ medical history follows you. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities... committed to delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience to help move business... forward. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] and just like that, it's here. a new chance for all of us: people, companies, communities to face the challenges yesterday left behind and the ones tomorrow will bring. prudential. bring your challenges. ♪ [ female announcer ] nutri-grain -- one good decision... ♪ ...can lead to another. ♪ ♪ with real fruit, more of the whole grains your body needs, and a good source of fiber. nutri-grain can help you eat better all day. bridgestone is using natural rubber, researching ways to enhance its quality and performance, and making their factories more environmentally friendly. producing products that save on fuel and emissions, and some that can be reused again. ♪ and promoting eco-friendly and safety driving campaigns. ♪ one team. one planet. bridgestone. one team. one planet. >> osgood: it happened this week. belated word of the death last december of a dog named trouble, a multi-millionaire who used to belong to the late leona helmseley who vowed in the tabloids of the queen of mean. she and her husband were really real estate tycoons. they owned the empire state building along with many of new york's swangyiest hotels. in 1989 she was convicted of tax evasion after a trial in which a former employee quoted helmseley as saying we don't pay taxes. only little people pay taxes. she served 18 months in prison. but after harry's death in 1997 she lived a reclusive life with trouble as her most devoted friend. >> i try to be a nice person to people. i really do. >> reporter: and upon her death in 2007,ity merged that she had left trouble a trust fund worth $12 million. outraging many of helmseley's critics and moving two of her grandsons to contest it in court. a judge reduced trouble's take to a mere $2 million, more than enough it turned out to fund her $190,000 a year lifestyle. a spokes woman says the balance of trouble's trust will revert to the charitable trust which has assets of more than $3 billion. trouble was 12 years old. ♪ i'm just... >> osgood: ahead,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: across the land the curtain is rising figuratively on another season of summer camp. literally in the case of our mo rocca has seen in action. >> reporter: if greece paint is in your blood and you've always dreamed of a life on broadway, this is the place for you. ♪ and maybe tomorrow i'll find what i'm after ♪ >> reporter: welcome to stage doormanor. >> welcome home. >> reporter: a theater camp for kids nestled in the catskill mountains of new york. with show tune sing-alongs, costumed counselors, and, yes, where funny girl... ♪ don't tell me > reigns supreme. >> i'm a big barbra streisand fan since the age of 2. ♪ love to rain on my parade >> this is probably the only summer camp you'll find where the kids would say, it's all about the crafts. >> reporter: not long ago mickey rapkin author of theater geek spent a summer chronicling the high drama of theater camp. ♪ i'm just... > 280 campers, aged 10 to 18, coming from as far away as australia for the chance to tread the boards in one of 13 shows ranging from the musical cinderella to the holocaust drama and a child shall lead. >> there is a very different kind of social hierarchy here. you know, the most popular kids are not the kids whose parents have the most money or the prettiest kids. it's the kid who could hit the d above middle c. >> reporter: first-time campers isabel a and callie took to the stage like mice to cheese. not surprising when we first met them they were champing at the bit. >> i'm really excited for my first year here at stage door. >> reporter: now callie, where are you coming from? >> san antonio texas. >> reporter: you came all the way from texas. >> yes. >> reporter: how did you find out about this camp? >> dad? >> that's me for the most part. i'm a stage dad apparently. >> reporter: but stage parents are barely allowed past the stage door. after move-in, they're banished until the end of session performances. for the first week campers' cell phones are confiscated. >> you can't call your parents when you get your part. >> reporter: it's old hat for six-time returnee. >> but other than that, i don't need to talk to my friends. all my friends are here. >> reporter: if it all seems a little niche, it's really not. in the 1970s, there were fewer than a dozen performing arts camps in the united states. today there are more than 800. but stage door may be the best known. since its start more than 30 years ago, it's churned out a cavalcade of a-list alums like robert downey jr., natalie portman ♪ come here the music play > and glee star leah michelle. >> when i was an early teen in the late '70s, early '80s, the least cool thing you could possibly want to be involved with is musical theater. >> reporter: when john cryer of cbs's two-and-a-half men sang and danced his way through stage door theater camp didn't have much buzz. back then boys had to be actively recruited. >> when i went there it was for people who just wanted nothing better than to sneak into the second act of dream girls on a wednesday afternoon. and sad to say, that was me. >> reporter: today there's a waiting list for boys and girls alike. even agents line up to see an array of shows where the casting isn't just color blind. it's age blind. >> what role did you end up with? >> i am the older woman in thoroughly modern milly. >> they don't know my flare for the dramatic. >> reporter: what's the role hike? >> she is a actress dressed up as an old chinese woman who enslaves young girls. >> reporter: multi-layered. >> yes. >> i'm an orphan. >> are you? i kind of have like an epiphany. >> reporter: for some at stage door it's not only about the works. after all these really are just kids. ♪ where is love? >> reporter: first-timer jonathan came looking for more than a good part. are you hoping you make friends here? >> yes. i guess a lot of people sometimes feel uncomfortable around me. even at school. so i think a place like this i would fit in and i belong here i guess. >> reporter: jonathan was cast in the musical once on this island in the role of the deem onof death. and as the curtain came down on jonathan's first stage door summer, what was his review? did you feel like over the last three weeks you kind of came out of your shell. >> i think i have. when i came here, i think that myself esteem was not that high. it was kind of low. and like after like our sneak peak everybody was like, oh, my gosh. you did so well. you're such a good singer. i think that that's really given me a boost. >> reporter: you think you'll come back next year. >> definitely. >> reporter: well, you know what? you're positively glowing. you're carrying yourself like a star. >> thank you. >> reporter: a star of tomorrow shining bright on a summer's night. ,,,,,, it's not about logging on to this week's class. today is a celebration, a triumph of dedication, a victory for that little voice that urges us on. today is a day to recognize that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, and to prove that not all heroes wear a cape. some wear a cap and gown. congratulations to the strayer university graduates of 2011. >> osgood: remember this? it's a select-ric typewriter, cutting edge of its time manufactured by i.b.m., one of america's legendary corporations which this week reaches an historic milestone. michelle miller will do the honors. >> reporter: it's a logo known the world over. three letters and a sleek, simple design. representing one of the largest, richest and most powerful companies in the world. it is also, you may be surprised to learn, one of america's oldest. the company that brought us into the computer age, helped put a man on the moon, and gave us among other things the select-ric typewriter, the universal bar code.... >> watson, what is.... >> reporter: and a machine that can beat humans at jeopardy. turns 100 years old on thursday. >> essentially we've been doing the same thing for 100 years. a lot of companies can't say that. >> reporter: i.b.m. archivist paul lazowitz says even in the beginning it was about storing information more efficiently. >> this is the equivalent of the central processing unit for our tabulating system. >> reporter: it began as the computing tabulating recording company making time clocks, food processors, and this machine, the taboo lating system that recorded information as a series of holes punched on cards. those punch-cards would revolutionize and globalize american industry. >> virtually every major enterprise by the 190s way using systems like this: railroads, retail, oil companies. >> reporter: in 1935 when f.d.r.signed the social security act into law, i.b.m. was ready. >> we actually had to invent a machine that enabled them to do the social security account. >> reporter: the man who engineered i.b.m.'s meteoric rise was thomas watson sr.. >> he very intentionally, which i don't think many people before him did, he very intentionally created a culture at i.b.m.. >> reporter: i.b.m.'s culture, says watson biographer kevin mainy, would become as recognizable as its name. adopted in 1924, and its iconic slogan: think. >> i.b.m. had this bizarrely quirky culture that the press actually couldn't get enough of. these guys all wore the stiff white shirts, legendary, suits. they sang company songs at meetings. ♪ we're the i.b.m. go-getters ♪ all the live long day >> reporter: there were trips and conventions to reward top salesmen who were encouraged to write down their thoughts on this, the originally think pad. >> they'd be able to jot down notes and inspiration whenever it came to them. >> reporter: right here you listeded goals. >> a little bit of motivation. during the late 1930s tom watson sr. was the highest paid executive in america so he was sort of a bill gates of his era. >> reporter: but there was a dark side to i.b.m.'s global reach. one of its taboo lating machines on display at the holocaust museum in washington d.c. whereas used... was used by its german subsidiary to help the nazis identify and track jews. whether watson himself knew about it is a matter of debate. kevin mainy thinks not. >> the machines were already there. they were taken. the idea that there was anything more than that, any kind of collaboration is grossly unfair. >> reporter: is it fair to say that once he found out what was going on, he pulled his company out. >> it is fair to say that, yes, absolutely. >> reporter: in the 1950s thomas watson sr. handed over the reins to his son, thomas watson jr., who would put all the company's resources into developing the world's fastest and best computing system. >> this begins a new generation of computers. >> they essentially stopped r&d on every other product they were making and for two years just worked on this and spent what was the equivalent today of about $34-$35 billion to develop this thing. it wasn't a gigantic success. i.b.m. would be ruined. >> reporter: gigantic success doesn't even begin to describe i.b.m.'s system 360. >> it was one of the machines we used to help put men on the moon. >> it basically helped i.b.m. just absolutely dominate the computing industry for the next 20, 0 years. >> reporter: that domination didn't last forever. >> it was known as the giant. but yesterday old number one reported giant second-quarter losses of $8 billion. >> reporter: in the early '90s overinvested in main frame computing and overtaken by microsoft and apple in the personal computer fields, i.b.m. laid off tens of thousands of workers. kevin mainy, who was a technology reporter for usa today during that time, says it was a question of survival. >> the only way to save the company was to essentially chop it in half. i.b.m. survived, and it actually is back up to the size that it was when it had to cut all of those people. >> i.b.m. has liveded this 100 years by constantly reinventing itself. >> reporter: bernie meyerson is vice president of innovation at i.b.m.. as a young engineer he came up with a smaller, more powerful computer chip. >> the funny thing is is it was a basic piece of sigh eps we did back in the early '80s that found its way into 2010 into literally every computer that is out there, literally every hand set. there's a bit of it almost everywhere. >> reporter: the kind of innovation meyerson hopes that will keep i.b.m. around for the next 100 years. >> i.b.m. had this unending optimism about science and technology. we'll put the money into this and it will create new and great stuff. you know, so far it always has. >> osgood: coming up bill geist driven to extremes. but first, russ mitchell laughing outloud with jimmy fallon. [ male announcer ] who's feeling power hungry? who's ready to break through more barriers, from brick walls to budgets. then let's get our hands on some of those tools that only live on orange shelves. cause when we come home with that fistful of doing, and keep that pocketful of savings, there's nothing we can't conquer. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. power more projects, with this ryobi starter kit or dremel multi-max, each just 89 bucks. and all we need to do is change the way we're thinking about them. a couple decades ago, we didn't even realize just how much natural gas was trapped in rocks thousands of feet below us. technology has made it possible to safely unlock this cleanly burning natural gas. this deposits can provide us with fuel for a hundred years, providing energy security and economic growth all across this country. it just takes somebody having the idea, and that's where the discovery comes from. >> osgood: we got to know him on saturday nights as one of the headliners on saturday night live. these days you can see jimmy fallon monday through friday on his own late night tv show. here's russ mitchell with a sunday morning profile. >> this is back stage where i go right before i go on the show. i come in here look in this mirror and make sure my hair piece is on right. you see the spotlight hit the curtain from the outside. you're just on the other side like. >> 4, 5, 3. >> you get announced like jimmy fallon. >> here he is, jimmy fallon. >> then the curtain opens and you walk out to the monologue mark. that's when you get nervous. that's when it's like, oh, my god. is it going to be good? who knows what it's going to be. >> reporter: jimmy fallon is having way too much fun. >> hi, my name is what? my name is who? my name is.... >> reporter: when he's not singing with justin timber lake... ♪ there's a... > or paul mccartney ♪ there's a way i know where i go for... ♪ >> flowered.... >> wallpaper. >> reporter: he's playing pass wrd with bety white. >> i like being the last thing you see before you go to bed. people watch our show and they fall asleep to me. that's a good feeling like you don't have to worry about anything. you don't have to do any work. i want you to go to bed with a smile on your face and go to sleep. >> lawmakers here in new york have proposed a new program to teach teenagers about the danger of sexting. seriously. how about a program to teach new york lawmakers about the dangers of sexting. mr. weaner? come on. >> reporter: late night with jimmy fallon brought cast from historic studio 6-b in rockefeller center home to milton berle, jack paar and the king of late night. >> and this is the studio where johnny carson did the first ten years of his tonight show run. johnny was will in that monologue mark there. his desk was there. >> reporter: rockefeller center has always been mecca for fallon. he grew up two hours away in upstate new york. when he wasn't playing the guitar, he was watching a certainty vee show. >> live from new york, it's saturday night. >> reporter: is it fair to say you were obsessed with saturday night live as a kid? >> very fair to say. i used to get paper plates and fall down my steps of my childhood home and then say live from new york, it's saturday night. you know. >> reporter: he would tape record saturday night live and lip sync routines by richard prior and steve martin. >> my sister and i would do, we are two wild and crazy guys. we do a sketch in front of our grandparents. we have to go to the statue of liberty to get birth control devices not knowing what was that. i thought it was a remote control device. >> reporter: right, right. what did your grandparents think about that? >> they almost walked out. that was probably my first walkout of the nightclub. they did not appreciate that humor. >> reporter: but his mother did appreciate it. she convinced him to enter a comedy contest at a local club at the age of 17. and what happened? >> i won. >> reporter: you won. >> it was the craziest thing. i ended up winning the contest. i think the prize was like $700 or something. i was like, i just made $700 in two minutes. like this is is my career. this is the best. >> reporter: he honed his stand-up act and then came his big chance. a personal audition with saturday night live creator loren michaels. >> this is a celebrity walk-a-thon. >> reporter: but the sln staff warned him. >> just to let you know, loren doesn't laugh at everything. don't feel bad if he doesn't laugh at your stuff. no problem. the guys put my make-up on. he said jimmy good luck. i have want to let you know loren doesn't laugh at these things aate low of the times. don't be thrown if he doesn't laugh. i go okay. i just heard that. yeah, okay. the audio guy put the microphone on me and he goes jimmy, loren doesn't laugh. i go what is this guy's problem? he's in the wrong business. what is is this guy's view. >> we're all going to the same place. i mean why don't we just take a bus? it's a bus-a-thon. i get through seinfeld. i get to the end, i finish with add adam sandler. why don't you go to the store with your mother? i remember loren started laughing. he put his head in his hands. he was like laughing. and that's when i thought, the rest was slow motion. >> reporter: he joined the snl cast at the tender age of 2 and became known for characters like barry gibb, jimmy fallon style. >> i put this altogether on barry gibb. i will put you in the ground. i'll put you in the ground. i'll put you in the ground. >> reporter: fallon also became known as the guy who couldn't keep a straight face. >> is it hard to go into that? >> actually.... >> reporter: it's tough for you not to laugh. >> right. yeah i have a problem with that. i like to laugh. i think things are funny so i don't do it to break up on purpose. but i do it because i'm having fun. >> reporter: finally after six seasons at sln fallon decided it might be fun to make some movies. >> will you go to opening day with me? >> reporter: while shooting fever pitch, he actually met his wife, producer nancy givonin, a good thing that came out of a film career marked by some not so good reviews. >> i think people do this a lot where they always want to do something that they're not good at just to challenge them themselves. . it's dumb for me to do that. i'm not a dramatic actor. it's not what i'm good at. no one can tell you that when you're in that zone. ♪ fantastic day > here's the thing about jimmy fallon. he always seems to be thrilled with whatever he happens to be done. especially if he's taking a few minutes out for his favorite hobby. bowling. >> ugly. >> reporter: nothing seems to bring him down. even if his opponent opens the game with a strike. >> what was that? >> i'm going to tell osgood about this. >> beginner's luck. >> reporter: fallon might be having fun but he also clearly likes to win. on this night i'm sorry to say he did. >> oh, man. yes. >> reporter: the same applies to his show. when he took over late night two years ago it took him a while to find his groove. some of the reviews were not so kind. >> yeah. >> reporter: did that bother you? >> no. they were pretty much right. i was nervous. i wasn't calm. you know, you've got to kind of be in that moment. you have to like breathe and let the interview happen. you know, it's not easy. i mean the first couple interviews have to have been bad. >> reporter: i still have a few now that i'm not so proud of. >> this is our rehearsal. >> reporter: these days fallon road tests his material. a few hours before the show he invites a tour group into the studio and tries out jokes for that night. this is cool. the obama administration is buying 116 electric cars for government use. they're also buying one remote control car for vice presidential use. he's proud of the show's skits like thank you notes. which he's turned into a best- selling book. >> thank you. hard taco shells. for surviving the long journey from factory to supermarket to my plate and then breaking the moment i put something inside them. ladies and gentlemen, neil young. >> reporter: but it's his musical parodys that have really taken on a life beyond his show. >> tell me what if neil young sang whip my hair back and forth. ♪ i whip my hair become and forth ♪ >> couldn't you just hear that? it would never happen in real life. ♪ all my ladies can't you feel me with your hair ♪ ♪ do it, do it, with your hair ♪ >> reporter: we made it happen here and bruce springsteen came and dressed up and did the whole song. he even put on a wig and sunglasses. ♪ do it, do it with your hair ♪ >> reporter: if that weren't enough lately he takes it up a notch by doing both voices. ♪ all the ladies did you feel me whip your hair ♪ ♪ do it, do it, with your hair ♪ ♪ with your hair do it.... >> reporter: will jimmy fallon ever get serious? don't count on it. he's having so much fun, he just can't help himself. ♪ do it with your hair > serious dramatic role still in your head anywhere? at in point? >> i'm about to start crying now. this will count. i knew this was going to happen. i can't do it. come on, start crying. fallon, start crying. think of bad memories. think of something. come on. i can't do it. >> is it easier sitting in that chair or siting in this chair? >> i would probably say i like sitting in that chair. >> osgood: the conversation continues live. join us online at noon eastern. go to cbs sunday morning dot- com. when you've lost interest in everything. when you've had one too many days feeling sad or anxious... aches and pains, fatigue. when it becomes hard to ignore that you need help. that's the day you do something. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. is today your day? talk to your doctor... and go to cymbalta.com for a free 30-capsule trial offer. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. but they'd rather they disappear. mott's medleys has two total fruit and veggie servings in every glass but magically looks and tastes just like the fruit juice kids already love. mott's medleys. invisible vegetables. magical taste. the place they've been searching for. staples. the one place that makes it easy to buy a new laptop. ♪ or get one fixed. ♪ with highly trained tech experts, staples makes trouble-shooting and repairing technology just the way you want it -- easy. easy to buy. easy to fix. easy to save. staples. that was easy. ♪ >> osgood: director of the lyndon johnson presidential library in austin texas. his commentary is not about our 36th president but a birthday tribute to our 41st. >> reporter: the winter years have been warm for george herbert walker bush who turns 87 today. a vascular disorder has compromised his mobility, relegating him to a motorized scooter and bringing an end to his sky diving days. but bush has lived long enough to see a new appreciation of his one-term presidency. in january he reunited the top players of his administration to recognize the 20th anniversary of the gulf war as the media noted the focus and precision with which the war was planned and executed. in february, president obama awarded bush the medal of freedom. then in march three former presidents including the 41st president's son george w paid tribute to him at a kennedy center gala. but what may have been even more satisfying for bush was a "newsweek" article that appeared that same month entitled a wimp he wasn't. the piece repudiated its own 1876 cover story on bush with its infamous headline fighting the wimp factor offering a truer view of bush that has emerged with the passage of time. that's often how it is with our former presidents as we see the forest for the trees and its passions held so deeply recede a truer view comes to light. it was that way for instance with harry truman who left the presidency with an anemic approval rating of 32%. today he's considered one of our near great presidents. bush lambasted for a lack of domestic vision and a broken pledge not to raise taxes.... >> read my lips. no new taxes. >> reporter:... was driven out of the white house by bill clinton. >> i william jefferson clinton do solemnly swear.... >> reporter: now we're beginning to revalue among other things the quiet diplomacy president bush summoned to ensure that the soviet union and eastern europe didn't slip into chaos after the fall of the berlin wall. when he campaigned for the presidency more than 20 years ago, bush promised us a kinder, gentler nation. now history seems to be extending him a kinder, gentler verdict. not a bad birthday present. >> osgood: next, gentlemen, start your engines. and i've learned a lot from patients who use levemir flexpen. flexpen comes pre-filled with my long-acting insulin, and i dial the exact dose of insulin i need. my flexpen is discreet and doesn't need to be refrigerated. and flexpen goes wherever i go. levemir is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. do not take if your blood sugar is too low. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions, including if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. the most common side effect is low blood sugar. other possible side effects include reactions at the injection site. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat or sweating. ask your healthcare provider about levemir flexpen today. learn more about the different insulins available in flexpen at myflexpen.com. flexpen, insulin delivery that goes with you. if you're hesitant to join aarp because you think it makes you old, i have a message for you: get over it! call in. i'm standing by. ♪ get over it i love this slide ! i love knowing coppertone protects across 100% of the uva/uvb spectrum. i trust it. and pediatricians recommend it most. i love this nose. coppertone. embrace the sun. >> osgood: the saying don't try this at home sure does apply to the sport our bill geist has been to see. frankly i thought saturday night in omaha might be a little dull. that was until they started lighting roler derby girls on fire. it was part of a daredevil spectacular hyped as the greatest ever by its producer dr. danger. >> this is the best guys in the business. they're all in one place. they want to entertain. they want to please the fans. they're willing to risk their life doing it. >> welcome to the world of insanity. >> spanky spankaler making his way down track side for you, ladies and gentlemen. >> reporter: the star of stars was the incomparable spanky spankaler. who has been defying death for decades with 22,000 daredevil stunts under his seat belt. where did you get the idea to land on trucks and cars? >> people like crunch. you know, when you're doing throw show, they like the crunch. i hold the record for the longest car jump. i hold the record for triple spiral in the air. over 200 feet. i hold the record for a car jumping into water. >> 225-foot mark. >> reporter: he began this unusual career as a hollywood stunt man. then one day he met the all mighty. >> i met evil k neef ill. when he started doing the live shows and i started doing them, i said that's where i want to be. >> are you ready to meet the super star? let me hear you make some noise, omaha, nebraska. >> reporter: this live show was special. his very own granddaughter kristen sang the national anthem. >> and the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. >> bless these stunt people. keep them safe and give us a good show. in jesus' name. amen. >> reporter: gene sullivan who heads the jump for jesus ministry delivered the invocation. and then all hell broke loose. >> that's right. it's time to smash the metal, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. rock-and-roll. yeah! >> reporter: sensational stupefying. this was only the beginning. >> are you ready to blow something up tonight, omaha? let me hear you. >> reporter: ambulances were standing by. >> 3, 2, 1. >> reporter: stunning. these folks really know how to have a good time. >> it was awesome, man. that was the best time of my life. >> want to let them walls get burning here. >> reporter: this is not pro wrestling, folks. this is real. >> i probably have about $300,000 in hospital bills that i'm working on. >> reporter: broken a lot of bones. >> broken a lot of bones. been on life light helicopter four times. people could die here tonight. >> reporter: mr. dizzy, for example, who raced around the track inexplicably dragging a trailer of burning hay bound for a high-speed rendevouz. >> that was fire. that was for you. love you, nebraska. >> reporter: oddly, many daredevil off spring choose to enter the family business. >> i'm wiley. i'm 19. i plan to follow in my dad's track, mr. dizzy. i just recently started doing stunts, blowing myself up and everything. >> reporter: spankpy's son brian sometimes perform stunts side by side. you recommend this to young people? >> you know, i don't recommend stunts to anybody. i would never ask anybody to do a stunt. there's a certain breed of people that want to do this. >> spanky spankaler in the big car getting ready to go high, high, high in the sky. >> reporter: in his signature stunt, the car drop, spanky is raised as high as 190 feet in the air. >> spanky! spanky! >> reporter: and then launched to earth. think of him as sort of john glenn in reverse. >> here we go. >> reporter: spanky's luck had held one more time. from the wreckage emerged a man with a message and perhaps another concussion. >> when you're an american daredevil it's a sign of freedom. we're lucky to live in a country like this where we have freedom. >> being a daredevil and doing what you want to do no matter how dangerous it is, it's freedom. it's freedom. >> osgood: our own free spirited correspondent bill geist. to the relative safety of washington d.c. and bob schieffer who has nothing to face but the nation. good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. we'll be talking about the trouble with mr. weaner and the dismal economic outlook. >> osgood: thank you, bob schieffer. we'll be watching. a reminder of our on-line web cast later on sunday morning. ♪ he's just there to... >> osgood: jimmy fallon and russ mitchell making beautiful music. yep. the longer you stay with us, the more you save. and when you switch from another company to us, we even reward you for the time you spent there. genius. yeah, genius. you guys must have your own loyalty program, right? well, we have something. show her, tom. huh? you should see november! oh, yeah? giving you more. now that's progressive. call or click today. >> this sunday morning moment of nature is sponsored by... >> osgood: we leave you this sunday morning in rocky mountain national park. still plenty of winter snow left to melt. >> osgood: i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then i'll see you on the radio. with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib, that's not caused by a heart valve problem. today we have pradaxa to reduce the risk of a stroke caused by a clot. in a clinical trial, pradaxa 150 mg reduced stroke risk 35% more than warfarin. and with pradaxa, there's no need for those regular blood tests. pradaxa is progress. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding. don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding, and seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have kidney problems or a bleeding condition, like stomach ulcers. or if you take aspirin products, nsaids, or blood thinners. tell your doctor about all medicines you take, any planned medical or dental procedures, and don't stop taking pradaxa without your doctor's approval, as stopping may increase your stroke risk. other side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you have afib not caused by a heart valve problem, ask your doctor if pradaxa can reduce your risk of a stroke.