It's nice to know that Lady GaGa isn't letting all her uber-success go to her head. The up and coming superstar is lending some of her time and beauty knowledge to a good cause that affects millions of people worldwide, HIV/AIDS.
GaGa has teamed up with MAC Cosmetics' From Our Lips campaign to design her own Viva Glam lipstick, proceeds of which will benefit the AIDS Fund.
You can get your hands on MAC's Viva Glam GaGa when it is released in February 2010.
What do you think Gaga's lipstick should be called? Puckerazzi? Pucker Face?
Do you have your personal URL yet? If not, now might be a great time to get yours, because very soon, you're going to be wanting to share your SocialVibe profile with everyone who is willing to look.
This coming Wednesday we're going to be making a few improvements to SocialVibe.com, namely where user, sponsor and cause profiles are concerned. Here are a few things you can look forward to seeing:
- Re-designed profiles that make it easier for your friends to sign up, earning more points for you and your cause (100 points for each signup on your page).
- Easier ways to raise money for charity. Brand activities will be more prominently featured on profiles, encouraging visitors to engage and helping your cause even more.
- More celebrity profiles on SocialVibe, celebrities that will be using their influence to help the causes.
Photos, videos, comments, links to other profiles and friends will STILL appear on your profiles.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and of course, we'll go into detail about the changes prior to the launch late next week. Let the countdown begin!
We're aware of bald eagles and hairless cats, but a furless bear? Now that's a first. Several female bears in a zoo in Leipzig, Germany are feeling a bit chillier these days after they lost all their fur save for a few tufts on the crown of their head for an unknown reason.
Several very confused veterinary experts have begun studying the bears, like Dolores (shown above), in hopes of discovering the cause of the fur-loss, which they believe may be genetic. The bears are native to South America and would normally be sprouting a lush coat of dark brown fur to get them through the winter.
Aside from perhaps needing an extra blanket or two this winter and looking a little funny, the bears seem to be in good health. Still, anytime something odd like this happens, it's a good idea to figure out why. After all, bears have fur for a reason!
Do your friends and family give you a hard time about spending too much time online, calling you a loner or saying you have no social life? You and I know they're wrong, but a new study proves that time spent on the Internet can actually increase your social activity rather than create isolation, as previously thought by many, especially in the days before the popularity of Facebook and celebrities on Twitter.
The study, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that social networking, e-mailing and blogging can lead to larger and more diverse social networks.
“Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.”
The study states that though social isolation still effects roughly 6% of the population (and has since about 1985), internet usage isn't making that number grow.
In addition to confirming that internet users are more likely to reach out to those from different ethnic backgrounds, the research confirms some data already widely accepted, such as the primary reasons for use, i.e., keeping in touch with "IRL" family and friends. The group of 2,512 adults polled reported that they called each person in their close circle of friends at least 195 days in a year, and saw them in person 210 days a year. 71% of MySpace and Facebook users listed at least these same members of their core network of friends as a friend on one of these services.
The study also found that 45% of internet users are more likely to visit a coffee shop, bookstore or other public, un-isolated place where internet access is readily available for use.
The entire study's findings are pretty interesting and can be read here.
Has your internet usage caused you to be more or less social in the real world?
An online petition calling for the Kansas City Chief's Larry Johnson to be fired has gained signatures from over 10,716 people who feel the player should be dismissed following gay slurs published on his Twitter account.
The all-star football player is a mere 80 yards away from breaking the all-time rushing record currently held by Priest Holmes, an honor many feel Johnson does not deserve. The petitioners are calling for general manager Scott Pioli to take action soon so he does not have the opportunity to break the record and gain more praise.
The petition reads:
"Allowing Larry Johnson to attain a record is something that can never be erased," the petition reads. "In a year where the team is trying to look toward the future with many young players, please don’t add to the collective morose this city is feeling by allowing one of the truly great players, people, and role models in this city’s sporting history to be replaced in the record books by someone who we don’t like and who doesn’t like us."
The homophobic comments were directed towards Chiefs coach Todd Haley, questioning his qualifications and calling him a "Christopher street boy," a reference to NYC's Christopher Street, a neighborhood known for its gay pride.
Jason Shukeat, one of the petitioners, calls Johnson an "embarrassment" to the team and said his return would be a "travesty."
"Between beating women and voicing slurs toward fans and media, there is absolutely no reason this trash should even have a job, much less become the franchise's all-time leading rusher," Shukeat commented. "With new management and coaching this year, Johnson needs to be gone to show that the attitude within the organization has changed and that we will not stand for thugs on this team."
Though team representatives have not commented on the petition and the possibility of Johnson's dismissal, he has publicly apologized for the incident on October 22, for which he was suspended and ordered to pay a $315,000 penalty.
"I regret my actions," he said. "The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate. I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said."
Johnson continued, "I'm going to work to that point to get my life back on track and know that I and I alone put myself in these critical situations and environments to where things don't come out favorably to me."
This incident is not the first brush with misconduct for Johnson, who has been arrested four times since being drafted in 2003 for various degrees of battery, once for spitting in a woman's face at a nightclub in Kansas City.
Johnson has served two years probation and was ordered to attend a domestic violence diversion program for an earlier arrest.
Despite the charges, Johnson's contract with the Chiefs was extended in 2007, potentially earning him $45 million and including a guaranteed $19 million.
Johnson's agent, Peter Schaffer, says he has learned from his action and is hoping others have learned from it as well.
"My hope is that people learn that something positive can come out of this and that there are words that should not be used because they demean people," said Schaffer.
Johnson is due to return to the field on Monday.
What do you think: are the gay slurs in addition to his previous record enough to fire him, or should we all give the guy a break? Do you think he's paid his dues or should he be let go? Sound off in the comments!
Can't get enough Taylor Swift? Get your fill of the record-breaking country crooner this week as she hosts AND performs as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
Taylor filmed this promo for the episode alongside cast member Bill Hader, and naturally, had to poke fun at the whole Kanye-VMA thing. (It's like the song that doesn't end... it just goes on & on my friend!) Oh yeah, it's also NSFW.
Are you planning on watching Taylor on SNL this weekend?
Months after her physically abusive relationship with Chris Brown came into the public eye, Rihanna is ready to react and offer her advice to girls (and boys, for that matter) who may be in a similar situation. The singer gave a tearful interview to ABC's Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America this morning. You can see video snippets of the first part of interview here, which will be continued tomorrow.
When asked why she was ashamed to admit the abuse, Rihanna explained, “I fell in love with that person; that’s embarrassing,” she said. “So far in love, so unconditional that I went back.”
Rihanna emotionally explained the turning point for her was when she realized that girls were carefully watching her reactions, ready to mirror them and continue tolerating abuse from their own partners.
“When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result into some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part,” she told ABC’s Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” this morning in the first part of an exclusive interview. “I couldn’t be held responsible for telling them, ‘Go back.’ Even if Chris never hit me again, who’s to say that their boyfriend won’t? Who’s to say they won’t kill these girls?”
This interview is definitely one worth watching. Countless women (and men) suffer from domestic abuse, so it is extremely important that someone with as much influence as Rihanna speak out and help spread awareness and instill courage and hope in victims.
Rihanna also appears on the cover of this month's Glamour, in which she talks more about her abusive relationship with Chris, who received 180 days of community service for his attack on Rihanna after pleading 'not guilty.'
If you're in an abusive relationship, there is a way out. Please seek help at loveisrespect.org.
Elena Desserich was diagnosed with brain cancer at the tender age of five years old. Given at most 135 days to live, Elena fought through her illness for 255 days before passing away in 2007. Despite having her life drastically cut short, Elena is still finding a way to share her love for her parents, sister, dog and other family members, through hidden love notes she secretly placed around their home.
Elena, who used art as an outlet during her treatment, began writing and hiding the notes shortly after her diagnosis. Many months after her death, her parents Brooke and Keith began finding the love notes, hidden in between CD cases, in dresser drawers and inside backpacks.
"It just felt like a little hug from her, like she was telling us she was looking over us"
Here are a few of her youthful drawings and heartfelt letters:
Elena's parents were so touched they decided to share them with the world by publishing the book Notes Left Behind, which will fund pediatric brain cancer research through the non-profit organization The Cure Starts Now. See more of Elena’s notes here.
