You can't actually make this shit up:
Filmmaker David Lynch will announce during a global webcast (www.DavidLynchFoundation.org) on Tuesday, May 1, at 12 noon (EDT), the David Lynch Foundation’s new plan to end school violence: Teach one million students around the world to meditate to transform schools from breeding grounds of stress and violence into centers of creativity and peace.Keep reading at DavidLynchFoundation.org
Don Imus, Barack Obama, John Edwards, The CEO of hip-hop speaks out.
EXCERPT:
Questions for Russell Simmons
Hip-Hop Guru
Interview By DEBORAH SOLOMON
Published: April 29, 2007
As the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings and the so-called C.E.O. of hip-hop, do you think the outrage over Don Imus’s prickly language and his firing might broaden into a crusade against song lyrics? It already has broadened to lyrics. It’s been that way since 1983. They’ve been yelling at me from Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys till now.
What do you make of Barack Obama, who recently said that rap musicians should reform their lyrics? What we need to reform is the conditions that create these lyrics. Obama needs to reform the conditions of poverty. I wish he really did raise his money on the Internet, like he said. I wish he really did raise his money independently.
Barack Obama's been referred to as rock star by competing candidates and the media alike. And this past weekend's event at the Hollywood nightclub Boulevard 3, paparazzi included, rang true to form as Obama sought to win the hearts and votes of the Hollywood elite. The allure of Obama seems to have drawn some of the luster away from Hillary Clinton and a line in the sand has been drawn down Sunset Blvd. From the outsider it looks as if the younger Hollywood crowd is looking to get behind the new horse, Mr. Obama. Will that be the deciding factor? Age? Will older loyalists to the Clinton family stick with Hillary - and younger, newer Hollywood folk (agents, managers, producers and studio execs) look towards the new kid on the block...the rock star?
Read more on the Hollywood fundraising events here.
Actors + Activists has obtained an image of the event invitation for last Saturday night's Barack Obama Celebrity fundraiser which included the likes of Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel. Check it out.
Recently, Madonna and Cheryl Crow have gotten some lousy press for their hypocrisy about global warming. They have been criticized for simultaneously being vocal activists yet requiring enormous carbon consumption for touring and playing shows. Frankly, I find such criticism unjustified. The fact is, fans pay lots of money to see spectacular stadium shows and putting on such events require huge amounts of transportation and infrastructure. Consequently, they also provide jobs for many individuals and contribute greatly to local economies. Of course such shows are responsible for a great deal of emmisions, but the shows go on because the public demands it. Musicians only tour because loads of people want to see them. Otherwise, they'ed be at home like the rest of us. Clearly, no one is holding up signs saying: BOYCOTT CONCERTS, THEY CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING. People love to make noise about saving the world, but they're clearly not read to give up their entertainment. But on the other hand, there's John Travolta...
EXCERPT:
Question Celebrity
With Hank Stuever
Flogging the British release of his film "Wild Hogs" recently, John Travolta urged everyone to "do their bit" to combat global warming, reported London's Daily Mail, which quickly calculated that Travolta -- who it says owns at least five aircraft of various sizes, which he parks at his private home/airport in Florida -- leaves an annual "carbon footprint" of pollution nearly 100 times greater than that of the average British citizen.
Ed Asner spear-heads 9/11 conspiracy movement. It's over four minutes long but you can fast forward through cuz i think he's sleeping for about half of it. What? That's not very nice!
Actor + Activist Sean Penn clearly takes all in this long awaited show down against Stephen Colbert.
Saturday Night, Global warming was the topic de jour when Sheryl Crow and Laurie David strolled over to visit Karl Rove. These ladies of guitar-strumming and Inconvenient Truth fame, attempted to engage Rove in a discussion on the environment - the resulting exchange was suitably heated. "I am floored by what I just experienced with Karl Rove," David reports. "I went over to him and said, 'I urge you to take a new look at global warming.' He went zero to 100 with me. . . . I've never had anyone be so rude." When Crow attempted to interject, "You work for me," to the presidential adviser, according to one bystander, "No," was his response. "I work for the American people." Ah, politicians...so affable, it warms the heart. Read more on the Rove exchange here.
EXCERPT:
Obama's Hollywood Nights
Barack Obama is going Hollywood. Again.
The Democratic senator from Illinois is hitting up Hollywood poo-bahs for another presidential campaign fundraiser at the end of this month.
The host committee is chock-full of celebrities and other tastemakers, including Taye Diggs, Gabrielle Union, Jessica Biel, Adam Brody, Joy Bryant, Hill Harper, Sanaa Lathan, Oscar-winning producer Lawrence Bender and nightlife guru Pantera Sarah.
The director who's given the world such films as Platoon, Wall Street, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, The Doors, Nixon, and World Trade Center (fine, yes...he also did Alexander. Nobody's perfect) will direct a TV commercial for MoveOn.org.
It turns out that one oversexed Actor & Activist pushing PDA in India is more off-putting than an entire gaggle of UN weapons inspectors. Check the coverage below:
Leonardo DiCaprio's feature length documentary THE 11TH HOUR will be released later this year. It focuses on the state of the global environment and includes visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's beleaguered ecosystems. Learn more here: THE 11TH HOUR
Chuck D talks to PETA2 about why fish doesn't count as an animal.
Today, CNN.com covered campaign contributions made by celebrities. Here are some highlights:
Sen. Hillary Clinton
Chevy Chase +1, $4,600
Steven Spielberg +1, $4,600
Rosie O'Donnell, $2,300
Barbra Streisand, $2,300
Larry David +1, $4,600
Sen. Barack Obama
Barbra Streisand, $2,300
Tom Hanks +1, $4,600
Jennifer Aniston, $2,300
Steven Spielberg +1, $4,600
Brian Grazer +1, $4,600
Celebrities ante up for Democratic campaigns [CNN.com]
Sean Penn made me start a blog today. The below CSPAN footage was recommended to me by a friend. And at about 5 minutes and 15 seconds into it, my mind was officially blown.
Long Sleeve