Tag Archives: charities

Pop Culture Potpourri: Paying Up and Teeing Up

PAYING UP How much would you shell out to dine with a world famous billionaire? Apparently, you practically need to be one yourself to share a meal with one. According to news reports, a record $650,100 was the top bid in an auction to break bread and bend the ear of billionaire Warren Buffett. That’s $30,000 more than last year’s winning bid. The winner has yet to be identified but whoever he or she is spent quite a bit of time monitoring the eBay auction, which wrapped up Friday night. According to eBay officials, 72 offers were submitted by pre-qualified … Continue reading →

Hollywood Do-Gooders Donating To Darfur

Sometimes I wonder how many people would know what or where Darfur was if it wasn’t for George Clooney. The handsome actor certainly has devoted a ton of his time turning the spotlight on the impoverished people who live in the region of Sudan. Both Libby and I have documented Clooney’s ongoing work to bring humanitarian efforts to the region and it seems as though the “ER” star’s work is paying off. According to Clooney, his “Ocean’s Thirteen” co-stars recently donated a huge chunk of change to humanitarian efforts in Darfur. Clooney along with his “Ocean’s” pals, Brad Pitt, Matt … Continue reading →

Newsmen Making News

ABC News’ Charlie Gibson took a break from his anchoring duties recently to urge students at his father’s alma mater to be honest and fair. Gibson made the remarks during commencement ceremonies at the school. “It sounds old-fashioned, but I will tell you there are ethical imperatives in this life,” Gibson told members of the graduating class. “Compassion. Honesty. Fairness. Trustworthiness. Respect for others. If those things are not the bedrocks of your life, you will suffer for their absence in time. And I would wager you won’t much like yourself.” Gibson also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters … Continue reading →

Musicians With Heart

Less than two weeks after a gunman unleashed his anger on students and teachers at Virginia Tech, a famous R&B singer has put his feelings about the event into song. According to his publicist, R. Kelly has written a new song, “Rise Up,” about healing in the aftermath of the shootings that snuffed out 33 lives. The new song will be available (digitally) beginning May 15th, and according to Kelly’s record label, 100% of the net proceeds from its sale will go to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. (The fund was created to provide assistance to the victims of the … Continue reading →

Jessica Simpson’s Big Heart

A lot has been written about Jessica Simpson’s big pocketbook (and I’m not talking about the size of her latest, luxury leather Louis Vuitton creation), I’m referring to the millions she raked in as a result of putting her marriage on display on MTV. Simpson and then husband Nick Lachey’s reality show “Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica” skyrocketed the pair from mid-range B-listers to one of Hollywood’s hottest A-list couples. Two years ago their relationship bottomed out when Simpson filed for divorce. In the days and weeks that followed the media took aim at the blond beauty’s treatment of Lachey and … Continue reading →

Hummer Goes for $1.25 Million

It seems that everyone loves the Hummer – the sport utility vehicle made popular by California governor Arnold Schwartzenegger. In case you do not know, the Hummer started out as a military and government vehicle called the Humvee (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle). It was originally built by AM General and the coverage it received during Operation Desert Storm made civilians want to drive one. In 1995 AM General rolled out the first version of the Hummer, the H1. One that was actually used by CNN during the war in Iraq sold Saturday at an auction for Fisher House Foundation … Continue reading →

Who Did You Go To School With?

I hope you will forgive me today as this blog might be a bit off the Pop Culture subject, although we often talk about celebrities and charities. Today, I wanted to write about another charity, but there are no celebrities involved in this one. I was fortunate enough to attend a four-year college (Christian Brothers University) right after high school. When I read the trash mags, I always see articles about people who went to school with Brad Pitt or Jennifer Aniston and think “Man, why didn’t I ever go to school with anyone famous?” Turns out, I went to … Continue reading →

Gimmie, Gimme, Gimmie—Give, Give, Give: Charitable Celebrities Lend a Helping Hand

We’re used to hearing about the demands that some of Hollywood’s biggest names frequently voice on movie sets or at various concert venues. Perhaps that’s why there is so much press generated when any one of Tinseltown’s mega-watt stars illustrate a preference to give than to receive. In just the last week we’ve read that Angelina Jolie regularly donates a third of her income to charitable causes. Then billionaires Warren Buffet and Bill Gates announced that they are giving half of their fortunes to charity. Just a few days ago the pop-rock band, Hootie and The Blowfish kicked off a … Continue reading →