More people are using Facebook than ever before. It is officially the "it" place to be - aside from SocialVibe, that is. If you haven't already done so, make sure you become a fan of us on our Official SocialVibe Facebook Fan Page!
This is the only REAL fan page that is run by SocialVibe. It's another great way for us to talk with you guys, share photos, videos, and news about what we're up to over here.
What a guy! First Hugh Jackman pledges $100,000 donation to charities suggested by his Twitter followers, and now he's feeding his fans. The X-Men Origins: Wolverine star recently bought breakfast for all the fans who were camping out to buy tickets to the movie - a meal that came out to around $4300.
Paradise Bakery in Tempe, Arizona confirmed he bought 67 breakfast trays - bagels, muffins, croissants- and 80 gallons of coffee for the die-hard X-Men fans the day before Monday's premiere.
The virus N1H1, better known to many as the swine flu, is becoming more and more of a threat to us everyday, the number of confirmed cases in the US has jumped to a scary 109, and schools are closing left and right. The World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control are on top of it, taking every measure possible to prevent the spread and educate people on how to avoid getting infected.
This might be the first time you've heard of the swine flu, but the truth is, this disease has been around for almost a hundred years, and an outbreak had Americans freaking out back in the 70s too. Check out these vintage PSAs about swine flu.
They're a little cheesy - ok very cheesy - but they have a good message. Take every precaution to avoid contracting and spreading the virus. Wash your hands, use antibiotic wipes and gel, and steer clear of anyone who may have come in contact. Read more about how to avoid N1H1 here.
When Disney released their nature documentary Earth this past Earth Day, they vowed to plant a new tree for each ticket sold. They sold an impressive 500,000 tickets before the actual release date, but now that it's had a week or so in theaters, we're eager to see just how many trees will be planted.
The numbers are in, and is looks like the movie Earth is giving planet Earth 2.7 MILLION new trees! Disney has teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to help execute their great green plan. The trees will be planted in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered rainforests in the entire world. Only 7% of this rainforest still remains, yet it is among the most biologically rich and diverse forests in the world, and is home to a very high number of species that can be found nowhere else on Earth.
Why Nature Conservancy? It seems like a good fit, considering the organization has been a global leader in restoring the rainforest to it's original state through it's campaign Plant a Billion Trees. Their plan is to reforest 2.5 million acres of land and re-connect more than 12 million acres in the Atlantic Forest. They are now 2.7 million trees closer to reaching their goal!
Beth Stevens, senior vice president, of Environmental Affairs at The Walt Disney Company, said:
“We are thrilled that through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund that we were able to expand a long relationship between Disney and The Nature Conservancy. The fund was established to support the study and protection of the world’s wildlife and ecosystems, and ‘EARTH’ presented the perfect opportunity to give back to our planet in this tremendous way.”
Here's a video from the Nature Conservancy about the Atlantic Forest:
Yay for new trees! Were you one of the 2.7 million people who went to see Earth?
The cool new thing to do these days is to voice your opinion on gay marriage. Via PSA, beauty pageant, blog, etc... we've all got an opinion and gosh darn it we wanna share it! Howard Stern is no different. Here's what the King of all Media had to say about the topic of him having "too many gay guests" on his Sirius radio show.
It's highly interesting! And a little bit NSFW.
We think it's great that people are willing to speak up - no matter what their opinions are. But Howard, the notorious woman-lover, makes a lot of great points. For example, if gay marriage is a choice, then why would someone make that choice, knowing his/her life will be that much more difficult? As his sidekick Robin Quivers says, "Why would you choose to get the sh*t kicked out of you?"
'Try to do' is the heartwarming story of a Big squirrel and a baby squirrel trying to get them both over a cement wall. Baby squirrel was having a bit of trouble making the jump, so students at the UCLA campus where the challenge took place stepped in to help. It's a little long, but totally adorable.
What smart little nut-eaters. It's cool to see animals communicating and teaching one another, isn't it?
Great music in the video, by the way. (Chairlift - Bruises, The Knife - Hearbeats)
Another New England-area state has joined the ranks, coming one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriage. The state Senate in New Hampshire recently voted 13-11 to legalize gay marriage. Unless vetoed by Gov Lynch, the law will go into effect January 1, 2010.
The veto is a very likely possibility, as Lynch has publicly spoken about his opposition to gay marriage, however, he has never mentioned whether or not he would veto a legislation relating to the issue. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
New Hampshire would be joining the likes of Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa, all of whom have passed laws giving homosexuals the right to marry their partner. Washington D.C. has not legalized gay marriage yet, but they recently voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
Bad news, everyone. A chunk of ice the size of New York City recently broke off of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica, creating thousands of miniature icebergs. This particular ice shelf has been reduced by a third of it's original size in the past few decades. We're talking ice so thick, it would take hundreds of years to re-form.
This doesn't confirm or deny that humans are the cause of global warming, a much-talked-about debate, but it does confirm that global warming is indeed a very real problem. This might seem obvious to many, but sometimes we need visuals to remind us just how big of an impact these changes in climate will have on us.
Before
After
Although the ocean levels didn't rise TOO much because of this particular breakage, it's still worth noting that this is the tenth shelf Antarctica has lost in the past 50 years. That isn't counting the ten additional shelves currently falling apart, mile by mile. The increased temperature of the Antarctic Peninsula, now 5.4 Farenheit, may have something to do with this.
As we were discussing this article in the SocialVibe office, a few questions were brought up. So we did some research and discovered some interesting facts about the Arctic and the Antarctic. Both are cold, dark and remote, but they have quite a few differences. Like, for example, did you know that polar bears only exist in the Arctic, and penguins only exist in the Antarctic? Learn more about the two endangered land masses here.
