HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MEETS 90210
Disney star in Beverly Hills for Make-a-Wish Foundation

Last night in the what's-old-is-new-again zipcode, Ashley Tisdale showed up lookin' all glam with boyfriend Jared Murillo at Wish Night Gala 2008, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles' annual charity dinner.

image: jordan strauss/wireimage.com

I gotta admit that I hadn't heard about this dude until now, but apparently Ashley's boyfriend is in a new boy band V Factory. Go ahead and check out their MySpace page.

Also apparently he's not one to shy away from selling his name for product promotion, or from maybe trying to get all the cool kids over at Disney/High School Musical hooked on the alleged benefits of Goyin. See for yourself...

Here's a bit more on Wish Night Gala 2008 from the organization's website:

In addition to high-profile honorees, there is always great entertainment, like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, and fun auction items.

Wow, I haven't thought about Big Bad Voodoo Daddy since some time around Clinton's first term in office.

There were a couple other people at last night's party whom I like, so let's take a look at their pics taken on the red carpet.

Carmen Electra posed with Guiliana Rancic from E! I totally love Guiliana and always get a kick out of watching her own red carpet coverage on E! for shows like the Emmy Awards. Her style is just so inviting and she's a hip gal with lots to say and lotsa love for what she does. She certainly must have the most unlikely name for a TV broadcaster. Her name turns generic names like "Karen Taylor" or "Jim Hodge" right on their ears! Guiliana totally gets thumbs up from me.

credit:wireimage.com

Then there's Carmen Electra. While I do generally get a kick out of her, I just have to LOL at this 'over the shoulder' pose. It's just so... contrived. She does look good in yellow, though.

credit: wireimage.com

It obviously makes sense for Disney to stay aligned with an organization like the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I hope a sizable portion of Disney's corporate donations are directed towards bringing a little light to the life of sick kids.

It's easy to feel a bit inspired by their mission:
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the nation's largest wish-granting organization. It has fulfilled the wishes of more than 161,000 children in the United States and its territories since 1980. Based in Phoenix, the Make-A-Wish Foundation serves every community in the United States, Guam and Puerto Rico through its 67 chapters.

Good work they're doing! Despite the current economic crisis, maybe you're able to figure out a way to help out the Make-A-Wish Foundation?

MADONNA TO BUILD GIRL'S SCHOOL IN AFRICA
Singer clearly fit enough to assume all construction work

I've been on a fairly insane Madonna kick for the past 2 or 3 weeks, ever since I was able to attend her FIRST EVER concert here in Vancouver back on October 30th.

I've been *continuously* playing a shite-load of so much Madonna music that my neighbours probably think there's a Paula Goodspeed/Paula Abdul situation happening in my apartment.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not poking fun at that tragedy, but I'm simply aware that my current Madonna obsession will soon be topping the "bit-too-much-o-meter".

One of the reasons I loves me some Madonna so much is that for as long as I can remember, she's been kickin' ass and takin' names and doing it all her own way. No question she's a trendsetter.

But that all started to change a bit - in my mind, at least - when she went off to Africa and adopted David Banda in Malawi.

Some might say she's gone off and done the same thing that someone like Angelina Jolie has already done. But that doesn't bother me on bit. The main thing to remember is that Madge is doing some real good and really trying to help her little boy's home land, through her organization Raising Malawi.

But now, with all the drama surrounding her impending divorce from Guy Ritchie and as her Sticky & Sweet Tour gets set to wind up its North American leg, Madonna has made a very smart move.

She has begun to publicize her latest and bravest endeavour in Africa which looks and sounds *alot* like something we've seen done by another one-named famous lady.

And I don't mean Charo (unless she's now the black host of a daytime talk show based in Chicago - and if that's was true, Love Boat re-runs would be even more confusing to watch than they already are).

Back to Madonna - let's pick up the story now running on US Magazine's website:

Madonna wants to follow in the footsteps of Oprah.

The singer has released a video on her Web site asking fans for donations to a girls' school in Malawi.

"There are very few girls in Africa in general who are encouraged or allowed to go to secondary school so after spending a lot of time there I realized that one of the ways I could help was to build a girls' school," she said.

She continued: "I would really be grateful if you would get involved and help me in any way that you can with donations, spreading the word, visiting my website, reading about the progress that we've made so far.... I would appreciate any help you could give us."

Wow, eh?! Let's pause for a moment to read Madonna's letter just posted on her website, and there's also a link below to watch Madonna make her request for help from you:

To All My Friends,

I am really excited to share with you a new video message about a project that you can be a big part of: The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

After witnessing the potential of Malawi's girls firsthand, I made it my mission to give them an opportunity to become their personal best.

I hope you will share my urgency and make a donation today. Every donation counts toward helping impoverished girls to reach their full potential. And every dollar will make a difference.

Visit: http://www.raisingmalawi.org/rm_girlsacademy.php

Thank you for helping me to bring education and opportunity to the girls of Malawi. They are deeply grateful to you for your support, and so am I.

With Love, Madonna

Totally, totally cool. I love it! Although one has to wonder how someone reportedly worth approximately half a billion dollars finds it necessary to go on the Internet and ask her fans to help donate to her project. Sure, I get it, it's a way to get people engaged in helping others, but really Madge ... open your heart and your wallet ;-)

Here's the rest of the Us article...

Madonna has made regular visits to Malawi since adopting her youngest son David, 3.

Madonna found David at an orphanage through her Raising Malawi charity and was later granted temporary custody. The High Court in the capital of Lilongwe approved the adoption this past May after a two-year battle.

Oprah Winfrey opened a school for promising girls from deprived backgrounds in South Africa in January 2007. "The school is a symbol of leadership, it stands for what is possible for African children," Winfrey said at the opening.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, is located in the small town of Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg.

So there we have it. Madge has gone and impressed me all over again. I have to say, it was amazing to finally be able to see her live in concert a few weeks ago on the Sticky & Sweet Tour. And today, I'm also really jazzed for her latest venture for the girls of Malawi.

She just never stops! And frankly I hope she never does. If you wanna know more about Raising Malawi, here is its website.

THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
"He could play the guitar just like ringing a bell"

This has got to be thee-most surprising quote ever made by a celebrity living with a disease ... here are the words of Michael J. Fox in response to performing on stage last Wednesday with The Who:

"This is almost worth getting Parkinson's for!" Michael J. Fox declared as he took the stage to play guitar with The Who in New York City Wednesday night.

image: people.com

Wow - I gotta say, I love the guy's sense of humour. Big props to him for that.

It's kind of amazing to realize that no matter who you are or what you might be facing, we can all still go a little ga-ga for our favourite bands (or movie stars or whatever). Here's more of the story from People:

The actor – who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 – rocked out to the legendary band's "Magic Bus," trading licks and windmill guitar riffs with Pete Townshend.

The once-in-a-lifetime performance was the grand finale of Fox's annual A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Cure Parkinson's.

Ryan Reynolds – who recently ran the New York City Marathon in honor of his father, who suffers from Parkinson's – also attended the star-studded event, along with his new wife Scarlett Johansson. Also on the guest list: Rachael Ray, Julianne Moore, Ben Stiller and New York Yankee Derek Jeter.

Mmmm.... Ryan Reynolds. Can we just stop this blog for a moment to let our mouths fall agape and enjoy the hotness that is Ryan at a marathon?

image: Splash

AND... we're back.

The event was even more celebratory than usual, thanks to Barack Obama's presidential win the night before.

"I'm positive that one of the first things that [Obama] is going to do ... is revisit the [George W. Bush's] ban on stem cell research ...," Fox told PEOPLE at the event, which he attended along with wife Tracy Pollan and daughters, Schuyler and Aquinnah. "I'm really excited."

I gotta say, I also hope to see the same thing come from President-elect Obama. We ALL would benefit from exploring the possibilities inherent with stem cell research. LIFT THE BAN, indeed!

As for Michael J. Fox, while not a rabid fan of all of his work I do absolutely acknowledge his acting talent and his perseverance in life especially since is diagnosis way back in '91. I also feel a bit of - oh, I don't know - a 'connection' with him because I was born at the same hospital as he ... the Royal Alexandra Hospital to be exact.

That pic of him on stage with The Who reminds of that fun scene from Back to the Future where his character, Marty McFly, takes to the stage at the high school dance to perform Johnny B Goode and ends up rocking out so hard on his electric guitar - way before the actual days of real rock n' roll - that he completely freaks out not only his backup band but also all the kids at the dance. Watch it again with me, won't you? The BEST part is at :52 seconds into the clip!

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA!!!
Ya did yourselves (and your Canadian neighbours) proud

CANADA LOVES OBAMA

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA!

image credit: cnn.com

image credit: AP

image credit: Getty

OBAMA + CANADA = OBAMA-DA!!!!!!!!!