Wednesday, December 26, 2007

IN GREEN RAINBOWS

So I finally downloaded the new Radiohead album - gotta say, it's a whole lot 'o brillz. And there's been quite a big stink over this album release because the band put it out online and let fans pay whatever they felt appropriate to obtain a copy of the new album entitled In Rainbows.



If rainbows are a fleeting, beautiful result of Mother Nature's work, then it sounds to me like Radiohead especially want that work to continue and therefore the band is encouraging fans to think green when it comes to being a true Radiohead fan... here's the goods:

Radiohead's Colin Greenwood has suggested the band could quit touring. Writing on the band’s blog Greenwood shared the results of a study carried out by Best Foot Forward on the band’s behalf. They discovered that comparing the band and the fans’ share of the total carbon dioxide output, moving from smaller amphitheatre venues shifts the fans share from 86 per-cent to 97 per-cent of total emissions. The band pledged to ensure that future gigs are held in city centre to improve use of more efficient transport links and to reduce reliance on flights. They’re asking fans to cut the amount of flights they take to gigs and to try raising average car occupancy to three per vehicle from the current 2.2 Greenwood said: “We’re aware that this study is tentative and partical but it’s a start.” (*Root*)

Gimme More of that! Seems like Greenwood and the other Radiohead boys have done some serious binge thinking to come up with such a strong way to relate to their fans and honor their environmental conscience. Reminds me of the Radiohead show I went to back in '01 - five of us piled into one vehicle and headed out to Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, on the UBC campus. Pure bliss found us all for this outdoor show, as the summer sun set behind Radiohead and their stage - not quite a rainbow but just as sweet to see.

HAS THE EGO LANDED?

Find me a celebrity who hasn't been to rehab in 2007. Seems like they've all been heading there, don't it? Robbie Williams, the UK's top-selling solo artist ever hit an Arizona rehab back in February for a reported addiction to anit-depressants. But he appears to have turned his rehab experience into something really quite good.

While the year may have started out rough for him, it looks like he's ending it in a good place both literally and figuratively - the Union Rescue mission in L.A.'s skid row. For this kinda story on Christmas Day, I say... Gimme More! Here's the story...


Robbie Williams will spend Christmas feeding the homeless in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old singer has volunteered to spend Christmas and Boxing Day serving food and singing Christmas carols at the Union Rescue Mission in the 'Skid Row' part of town. Raymond Terry, who first brought Williams to the refuge on San Pedro Street, said, "If it's better to give than to receive, then this is the most satisfying way to spend Christmas. Robbie does an awful lot of charity work. And this is really close to his heart. Everybody I've taken to 'Skid Row' is moved to tears." One of the homeless men said, "Most of the guys over here don't really know who Robbie is. But there's a lot of excitement in the air, because they've been told he is a big pop star in Europe."
(*Root*)

Sunday, December 23, 2007

DUFF & HER STUFF

Hilary Duff tried unsucessfully to get the hell outta Vancouver without being photographed,
but I guess even here in Hollywood North the photogs are lurking at YVR despite the snow we
got this weekend and the chilly temps.
She's been in Vancouver filming Safety Glass with Amanda Peet (most recently from the cancelled, much to my chagrin, Studio 60 tv series) and Amber Tamblyn (used to portray Emily on General Hospital).
Hillz was also spotted a couple weeks ago shopping with her Mom at the oh-so-glam Holt Renfrew at Vancouver's much-improved Pacific Centre adjacent to the Four Seasons Hotel - there's a good chance she's been living in that hotel. Sure, Hilary's had her share of drama over the years with LiLo and Avril - but it's not all "Oh no you di'int" with her. She's also involved with Kids with a Cause:

Kids With A Cause was founded by Linda Finnegan in September, 1999, to teach the principles and practices of philanthropy to today's youth through interactive programs. The unique perspective of Kids With A Cause is the empowerment of children helping children. Our goal is to provide solutions to specific problems affecting children who suffer from poverty, lack of education or health-related issues. The members behind Kids With A Cause are young performers in the Entertainment Industry (film, television, stage & music) that donate their time and talent to bring hope and happiness to youth near and far. Kids With A Cause provides "hands-on" opportunities for celebrity youth to give back to their communities and to the children of the world. hich is a charity that uses young celebrities to encourage philanthropy among youth. *Thx*

Let's hope some of the cash she gets from working on 'Safety Glass' finds its way to Kids with a Cause. They're gonna need to pay for their superflash new digs in L.A.

FREE YOUR WILLIE NELSON

When Pet Shop Boys hit the Top 10 with "Always On My Mind" in 1987, I figured there was some inexplicable connection between country music and homos that had finally, thankfully, reached beyond the aesthetic appeal of tight jeans and cowboy hats.

After all, the Willie Nelson version of the song had been a #1 hit on the Billboard country music chart five years earlier, but Pet Shop Boys weren't even a twinkle in anyone's eye at that time.
But when PSB recorded the song, it became clear that a song known for twang and drawl could easily be re-interpreted with keyboards and drum machines and pack the dance floors of gay clubs from Down Under to the Great White North.

In 2005, when Willie Nelsons' song "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond of Each Other" was included on the Brokeback Mountain soundtrack, I figured the connection between queers and country music was now very clear and no longer required a British pop duo to bridge the gap.

While Willie might come across as a big 'ol friend of Dorothy, I doubt he really is one (despite the long hair and earrings). None of that matters though because his supportive and charitable nature has reared its lovely head once again. It has happened in Vancouver - not the Vancouver I live in (Canada), but another, smaller Vancouver in the state of Washington.

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Willie Nelson hasn't forgotten the town that knew him before he was famous. The 74-year old country singer has donated $40,000 to Vancouver, the southwestern Washington city where he sold some of his first records a half-century ago. Nelson performed at The Amphitheater near Vancouver on June 30. He promised to share some of the proceeds with the city and area charities. In the late 1950s, Nelson worked as a disc jockey for Vancouver station KVAN.
He financed and recorded the single "No Place for Me" and sold it to some of his listeners. Nelson soon moved back to his native Texas and then on to Nashville, Tenn., and fame. Vancouver received the $40,000 cheque three weeks ago. On Wednesday, the city gave $15,000 to the Humane Society of Washington and $15,000 to the Boys and Girls Club, the remaining $10,000 would be used for efforts to make city government and the community more ecologically friendly.
*Root*


Life without Willie would be like Kool-Aid without sugar, so... Gimme More!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

INTO THE ARMS OF PITT

As if he isn't hot enough already, Brad Pitt elevated his already-super-hot status by showing up for a full hour on Larry King Live.

While it saddened me last week to hear his declaration of no more nude scenes, it Deee-Lite's me tonight, as I sit on the couch and get older by one hour, to watch Brad's beauty intensify - both outside and, yes, deep down too.

The altruistic hottie was interviewed on location in the lower 9th ward in New Orleans to publicize his project Make It Right. Sure, the sight of his shirtless torso makes me cream my jeans but when he reveals the pleasure he derives from using his profile to bring change to New Orleans, well... there just ain't nothing sexier than that.

Imagine: Brad sans shirt/avec toolbelt swingin' a hammer for the good of the people. To quote the immortal words of the great Golden Girl, Blanche Devereaux, I'd be all over that "like a tight shirt on a sweaty farm hand!"

http://backseatcuddler.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/brad-pitt-beach.jpg
http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/D20050303/9_942969917_brad_pitt6_H204927_L.jpg

Here's some intriguing snippets from the interview:

Brad admitted to liking geometry - so, that obviously means if I were to stand in front of him, my back to him, and then bend over while not wearing any pants, that would put me at a right angle to him, and right angles are, like, totally geometric, so I'm thinking I'd merely be getting into a position he likes. N'est-ce pas?

The Pink Project, which is the focal point of his Make It Right effort features non toxic, pink paint which will (somehow) be re-used once the 150 pink homes are adopted by someone like you. Not only that but the houses are lit by solar panels.

Larry King asked Brad how Angelina Jolie feels about what he's doing. Like the perfect and hot common-law partner I'm sure he is, Brad said she is a 'great voice, great intelligence, one of the great leaders as far as helping and changing...'

On fatherhood, Brad says it's the 'hardest job, most-rewarding job, it is everything...'

On acting, Brad said "I see it becoming less and less a focus as I get older"

Here's a Did You Know? about Brad: He didn't graduate from journalism school at University of Missouri. He is about credit and a half short.

Back to the Make It Right Project:

Pink structures now exist where houses, churches and businesses once did. These structures are shaped like houses, some upright and some not, to symbolize the neighbourhoods that once stood in their place and will, in time, exist once again.

Brad described the display as part social protest and part art installation - they're all pink because, as Brad said, pink "screams the loudest". You go, girl... uh, Brad.

Now that we've had the pleasure of drooling over Mr. Pitt for a bit, let's all do the right thing and visit the Make It Right website to learn about what is doing and what still needs to be done.

To encourage you, take a look here at His Hotness and then check out where the hotness can take you by visiting www.makeitrightnola.org

You'll get a good feeling in the Pitt of your wanna-do-good stomach, and that feeling says... Gimme More!

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