A Night with a Legend
So as many of you probably know I usually write these posts on the *illustrious* lives of untouchable celebrities. But my post this week focuses on something that happened right here in our community. This past Monday the Grammy award winning singer John Legend came to PSU as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series. Me and a group of my friends braved the cold in order to get the chance to be up front and center for his performance. Unfortunately, as the line outside Eisenhower auditorium got longer and the crowd more rowdy a stampede ensued as soon as the doors opened resulting in complete chaos.
It wasn’t all about piano playing and singing for John Legend’s purpose at Penn State. The topic of his speech was the importance of education. He urged the audience young people at various crossroads in life to remember the opportunities they have been afforded in life and how lucky we all are to be at this university. He juxtaposed this advice with descriptions of children with next to no opportunities in the area of education and explained that not everything is equal when it comes to the futures of our youth. This tied into the charities that are very close to Legend’s heart: The Show Me Campaign and Teach for America. With Teach for America, Legend is a board member while he is the founder of the Show Me Campaign.
Finally, the evening closed with John Legend performing five of his most popular songs with help of the many young girls in the audience, myself included. When the night was over the one thing I took away from the event wa show inspiring it was to see John Legend; a man with so much influence and talent use his rhetorical platform to bring awareness about education inequality in our country.
Read MoreMy Passion – Sticking with the Old
Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love celebrity gossip, really just gossip in general. I have my host of celebrity websites so I can keep up with all the news and I seriously enjoy scoping out the who’s wearing what and who’s dating who stories that pop up everyday. I knew that I would have a hard time finding something that I loved but could also write about every week for a whole semester. I mean how genius is it to blog on celeb news, something new happens almost every day. In addition to keeping the same topic I’ve decided that I will do more than just scratch the surface, the opinions that I present will be in depth and have evidence such as articles, videos, etc. This way I can do a better job of sparking a thoughtful debate amongst my audience.
Hopefully you guys will continue to read my post and remember; comment, comment, comment!!!
Read MoreDramatic Weight Loss
Sooo everyone knows that people will go to extremes for their art but there is a line that maybe shouldn’t be crossed. Anne Hathaway, for her new movie Les Miserables, admitted that she did not eat for 13 days in order to prepare for filming. Let me repeat that: THIS GIRL DID NOT EAT FOR THIRTEEN WHOLE DAYS FOR A MOVIE ROLE. Now I understand that Anne Hathaway’s character in the movie is poor and malnourished but to starve yourself for such a long time is such an extreme. Hathaway dropped a total of fifteen pounds and for someone who was already skinny that means that she has entered the realm of dangerously underweight.
The issue of body image can be largely attributed to the media. Everyday young girls are assaulted by images and ideas surrounding the “perfect woman”. If someone doesn’t fit this standard, they’re made to feel inferior. Unfortunately, it seems that normal people are not the only ones who get caught up in the complex of body image issues. Evidently, Anne Hathaway struggles with fitting in to the mold perpetuated by the world that she is so a part of.
Isn’t there a problem with this extreme dieting that so many actresses fall into? Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis both lost an obscene amount of weight in order to look the parts of ballerinas and they also got praised for it. In all of her interviews Anne has been seen as such a dedicated actress for her sacrifices for the role. This shows the dysfunctional nature of a society that praises women for extremely altering their bodies for the entertainment of others.
Read MoreTurkey with a side of Assault and Battery
So, if you’ve been keeping up with the celebrity world you have definitely heard of the massive altercation between Halle Berry’s ex Gabriel Audry and her fiancee Olivier Martinez. If you haven’t heard the story; here’s the rundown. Gabriel Audry was dropping off his and Halle Berry’s daughter Nahla at her house on Thanksgiving morning. While at the house Audry and Martinez exchanged words which escalated into a physical altercation. Both men came out of the fight harmed; Martinez has a broken hand and Audry has a broken rib, multiple contusions to the face and a possible head injury. To further complicate matters Gabriel Audry was arrested and a restraining order was placed on him which prohibits him from being less than 100 feet from Berry, Martinez and his daughter as well.
If you’re wondering where exactly the tension from the two men comes from you can look back at all the legal drama between all of the people involved. Halle Berry and Gabriel Audry had their daughter in 2008 and separated in 2010. It was also announced that year that Halle Berry was dating Olivier Martinez and this year thy announced their engagement. Since they separated Berry and Audry have been involved in a high profile custody battle. Berry has claimed that Audry uses racial epithets around their daughter as well as physically harms the child. Also, the two have disagreed over Berry’s desire to permanently relocate to France with her fiancee and child. The physical altercation between the two men occurred shortly after Berry’s request to move to France was denied.
The one thing that makes this story very sad is the involvement of Nahla. She is 4 1/2 years old and a complete innocent in this situation. The altercation between her father and future stepfather occurred at her home while she was there; she must have heard or seen something. Also one has to wonder if the adults in her life are dragging her into the situation. Is her dad bad-mouthing her mom when she’s with him? Is her mom doing the same thing? I think that all of the adults in this situation need to re-examine how this affects the child and make a decision from there instead of long, tiring months of legal battles
Read MoreLove is Respect
So this post is a little bit of a downer. It has to do with soccer player Hope Solo and her new husband Jerramy Stevens. Their recent nuptials may seem like cause for celebration but this may not be the case. The couple, who have been together for just over 2 months, have been in court for the investigation that Stevens may have abused his then- fiancee at a party earlier this week. The arrests and charges didn’t stop the couple from tying the knot soon after Stevens release from jail. However, the media attention from this story have revealed some shocking things about the past of Jerramy Stevens. He has a long and detailed history of violence. His rap sheet includes the rape of a college freshman, assaults, drug use, and DUIs.
What’s important to remember is Hope Solo in this whole situation. Here we have a woman
who is not only marrying a man who she has been dating for 2 months but one who also has a daunting history of violence and who may have hurt her also. Another scary aspect of this is how friends of the couple reacted to their wedding. Not only are they ecstatic for the couple but there is seemingly a lack of concern for the woman who may be in an abusive relationship.
It seems likely that given Stevens’ past history with the legal system that this investigation would be a no-brainer. It also doesn’t seem far-fetched that he may have been violent towards Solo. Hopefully in time the truth can be revealed and if Hope Solo is in fact in a dangerous relationship she can find safety and someone to help her.
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