If you’ve ever wanted to visit China, a massive Earth Day concert planned for Beijing’s Olympic Green may just be the push you need to buy that plane ticket. Confirmed acts include Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and The Black Eyed Peas, and best of all, it’s completely free.

Who else but Ecorazzi has all the details:

The event, which is being hailed as the first-ever global peace and environment concert in China, will be held in Beijing’s Olympic Green. “Tickets are free. You can’t charge for peace and green. It is going to be for everybody, it’s like China’s gift to the world and the people,” promoter Rick Garson told reporters.

“What we are going to do is raise money, obviously, from sponsorship, international distribution, merchandising, Internet, ringtones, DVDs, CDs. That’s how we are doing it, it is being self-funded as we speak.”

Tuning into the whole “Live Earth” vibe, musician Jimmy Page got all esoteric saying, “This (concert) is a tribute to the power of music and its positive effect. Music has been one of the most powerful languages that speaks to the heart of the people around the world.”

Other acts currently in talks to perform include Pearl Jam, Lady Gaga, Green Day and 50 Cent.

As Ecorazzi points out, it’s a bit ironic to hold a huge Earth Day Celebration – especially the 40-year anniversary of the holiday – in one of the world’s smoggiest cities. But perhaps such a setting will inspire attendees into activism even more than would a pristine, pollution-free locale.

More details will be posted as they come in!

Link [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Captain Paul Watson, head of anti-whaling activist organization Sea Shepherd, got the Obama treatment: a patriotic red, white and blue portrait by Shepherd Fairey, the same artist responsible for that iconic portrait of our President.

Ecorazzi writes,

“I am opposed to injustice in any form and I am an environmental advocate,” said Fairey. “The delicate balance of eco-systems needs to be maintained to protect all species, including humans. The mission of Sea Shepherd and founder Paul Watson to protect the oceans and their species is noble and inspiring. Any important movement requires a great leader to galvanize and motivate. Captain Watson is a leader who I wanted to celebrate with my art and hopefully have the art benefit the mission of Sea Shepherd.”

There are only 900 total numbered 18 x 24 copies of the print available for sale, and they’re all signed by both Fairey and Captain Watson. A portion of the profits will be donated to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Link [Ecorazzi]

Nobody’s perfect – and people who dedicate a portion of their time to environmental causes hardly need to be all-around green saints. But if you’re going to preach green values, you’d better be practicing them – at least when you’re in the public eye. But so-called ‘green celebrities’ – whether they want the label or not – keep getting caught in cringeworthy eco-sins.

From The Times Online, via Ecorazzi:

John Travolta notoriously encouraged the British public to do its bit to fight global warming — after flying into London on one of his five, yes, five private jets (one of which is a Boeing 707). In 2006 his piloting hobby produced an estimated 800 tons of carbon emissions, more than a hundred times the output of the average Briton, according to the Carbon Trust.

It is less well known that Tom Cruise — who has campaigned for the LA-based environmental group Earth Communications Office — also has an air fleet and a licence to pilot his five planes, including a top-of-the-line customised Gulfstream jet he bought for his wife, Katie Holmes.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin has been fingered as one of music’s biggest eco-hypocrites. George Monbiot, a writer and environmental campaigner, noted on his blog that Martin flew thousands of miles on his private jet, including brief trips between LA and nearby Palm Springs. Monbiot calculated that Martin’s trips back and forth to see his family produced 250 times the carbon emissions of an average Briton.

Well, Tom Cruise and John Travolta are Scientologists. Enough said. But the rest of these people are certainly making themselves look bad with all of this “do as I say, not as I do” stuff. The Times Online continues to detail the egregiously non-green activities of such ‘green celebs’ as Harrison Ford, Jennifer Aniston and Dame Trudie Styler (whose antics are well known around here).

But we have a bone to pick with the Al Gore comments. The Time Online writes of his home, “Indeed, according to the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, it burnt twice as much power in the month of August 2006 than most American homes do in an entire year.” Too bad the Tennessee Center for Policy Research isn’t a legitimate organization – it won’t even disclose where it gets its funding. Check out our smackdown of their claims.

Link [Times Online]
Photo credit: Times Online

From Al Gore lecturing Kenneth Parcell about global warming on 30 Rock to the appearance of ‘Recyclops’ on The Office, NBC has unleashed a slew of subtle and not-so-subtle green messages on its audiences this past “Green Week”. But perhaps the funniest bit was Jimmy Fallon’s hilarious greenified medley of hit songs from the likes of Amy Winehouse and Jay-Z.

While we applaud NBC’s initiative, we also couldn’t help but laugh at the inconsistencies pointed out by (of all sources) Maxim.com:

Via [Ecorazzi]

It seems too ludicrous to be real: a U.S. Army unit that sought to acquire and refine Jedi-like powers, and trained by attempting to kill goats through mind power alone. But the movie ‘The Men Who Stare at Goats’, starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey, is based on actual events and people.

One of those people is retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Channon, who was the brains behind the loopy 1st Earth Battalion.

From Sign On San Diego:

Channon, who is loosely portrayed by a Dudelike Bridges, embarked on a two-year government-funded fact-finding mission that included naked hot tub encounters and yoga retreats so he could write a military manual in 1978 to help Army “Jedi” soldiers reach a higher spiritual plane. He envisioned a more Zenlike approach to combat, with troops wearing ginseng-equipped uniforms, offering symbolic flowers, cradling baby lambs in hostile territory and greeting enemies with “sparkly eyes.”

“If the ideas were instituted and they worked, we would be a far better world,” Heslov says. “Do I believe it could happen? Probably not. But I’ve got to give the military credit.”

Channon now lives on an “eco-homestead” in Hawaii and describes himself as a “global elder” and “mystic landcrafter” still pursuing creative ways to bring world peace. In a video posted on his Web site, firstearthbattalion.org, he takes the movie’s humor with a grain of salt and asserts that his out-of-the-box thinking for his “mythical battalion” wasn’t absurd.

“If soldiers are telepathic during a firefight, that would be very useful,” Channon explains at one point. He ends the video with his trademark “Go Planet!”

The movie definitely takes liberties with the story – director Grant Heslov figures about 65% is lifted from Jon Ronson’s non-fiction book of the same name – but fear not, Jim Channon is here to tell you the real story. His website contains all kinds of information about the 1st Earth Battalion, and he explains some of it below:

Read more at Sign On San Diego.

Link [Sign On San Diego]

Every celebrity has lunatic fans, but pole-dancing tween queen Miley Cyrus seems to have inspired a particularly fervent devotion among the completely unchained. First there was her extremely creepy stalker, and now she’s got someone threatening to kill their beloved cat if she doesn’t come back to Twitter.

Why did Miley leave Twitter? Who the hell cares? Oh, wait. This dude (or chick?) clearly does. And if Miley doesn’t come back by November 16th, Fuzzy is going to get it.

The other day I asked myself: ‘What can I do to bring Miley back to Twitter?’ Fan video? Petitions? Letters? That never works. Heck, Miley even made her own video about never wanting to use Twitter again. Then I looked at my cat, Fuzzy and I realized, maybe Fuzzy can help. Fuzzy can make the ultimate sacrifice for this cause. It was very difficult for me, you see, as I sincerely love Fuzzy. But my mind is made up. I could always get another cat, but nothing can replace Miley’s tweets for me!

The idea is very simple. I’ve set a deadline of November 16, 2009, when Fuzzy will part with his life and become a meal. I intend to make a cat dish according to our ethnic cuisine. Check out the Recipes section for more information. Also, you can view some pictures of Fuzzy here.

I do not consider myself a cruel person and I do love my cat. Fuzzy will receive quick and swift death and I’ll try to minimize his suffering.

Wondering what, exactly, this unnamed psycho fan is going to do with Fuzzy? Well, you need look no further than MileySaveFuzzy.com, where he/she has posted a recipe for ‘Braised Cat’. This fan swears that it isn’t a hoax or a joke (though, you know how that goes).

Hey, eating cats is as normal as eating chickens in some parts of the world – and there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that. In fact, it’s kind of messed up that we place such sentimental significance on certain species and are totally blasé about the treatment of the ones we eat.

But eating your pet for Miley freaking Cyrus’ TWITTER ACCOUNT? Maybe you should marinate yourself and let Fuzzy put you out of your misery.

Link [MileySaveFuzzy.com]

Talk about tone-deaf, ham-fisted marketing: somehow, Denny’s thought it would be a good idea to promote the very vegan Morrissey’s West Coast concert with free hamburgers. Cue Morrissey’s head spinning like the Exorcist in 3…2…1…

From Ecorazzi:

On recent ticket orders for Morrissey’s upcoming west coast gig,Ticketmaster has allowed Denny’s to run a cross promotion offering a free hamburger. Why isn’t this okay? Only because Morrissey is one of the most outspoken vegetarian celebs ever!

Earlier this year, Morrissey banned all food that “used to have a face” from his concert hall and even walked off stage once because he was annoyed with the meaty smell from the crowd.

No word yet on if Morrissey knows about this promotion, but we’re pretty sure he’s going to FLIP when he does.

Hellooooo, Denny’s/Ticketmaster: this is the man who wrote the song Meat is Murder!

Apparently the company is promoting something it calls a ‘Better Burger’, which is suppossedly higher quality than the meat that it usually offers, and one of the choices is a Boca Burger. So, why not target that marketing a little better and push the Boca Burger? Vegetarians have drunken late-night cravings too.

Lame advertising + missed opportunity = FAIL.

Link [Ecorazzi]

Last spring, British actress Sienna Miller traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to document the lives of the women who are embroiled in the inescapable political conflict of the region. The documentary, titled ‘8 Minutes’, is named after a horrifying statistic: a woman is raped in the Congo every 8 minutes. The journey changed Miller’s life, and the story she tells is undeniably poignant.

From her travelogues on Take Part:

I met a mother who was running away from a group of militia three days earlier with her baby strapped to her back. They both got shot, but survived and thankfully made it into the facility in time. Her boy is so little and the huge bandages on his arms break my heart. Everything about this place breaks my heart.

These people all have stories which they share with me and there is just simply too much to try to grasp. Everyone has lost something, everyone has lost someone. I meet malnourished babies, mothers, fathers, widows and widowers, malaria sufferers, their eyes glazed, victims of rape and pillaging.

They are all here in massive numbers, and their stories are agonizing. I meet a group of about a hundred who have selected an old man to read out on behalf of them all, their list of grievances. They have no homes and no possessions and they need others to recognize they are in crisis.

Read the rest over at Take Part – and watch the documentary in its entirety at Ecorazzi.

Link [Take Part] + [Ecorazzi]
Photo credit: Take Part

It’s not often that pretty young Hollywood actresses admit to something weird like enjoying the act of shoveling goat manure. But, Ellen Page isn’t a typical Hollywood actress.

The ‘Juno’ and ‘Whip It’ star told USA Today that she discovered just how relaxing goat shit shoveling can be while taking a break from the spotlight.

“I went to Oregon to study permaculture and lived in an eco-village for a month outside Eugene. It’s called Lost Valley. It was amazing and exactly what I needed.”

“You’re learning how to live in a holistic way with the cycles of the Earth. At one point I was digging goat manure and putting it into a wheelbarrow, and while shovelling it, I just went, ‘Oh, my God, this is exactly what I want to be doing right now.’”

Page definitely seems a lot more down-to-earth than peers like Lindsay Lohan, and you won’t find her hawking nasty spray tan or crashing somebody else’s Maserati any time soon.

“I’m not a fancy person. I love small spaces. I like tiny cars. I don’t buy things, aside from music and books. I don’t get loads f attention and maybe it’s because I’m kind of boring. I don’t think I’m boring, but I have different interests. I don’t go out much, not because I’m hiding but because I’m not a big drinker. I go out and have a good time, I go to concerts and stuff.”

Page stars as roller girl “Babe Ruthless” in Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut ‘Whip It’, which is in theaters now.

Link [Digital Spy]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Does Matt Damon secretly have a wicked temper? The Bostonite has been captured on camera giving a verbal ass-kicking to environmentalist and actor Adrian Grenier while filming a PSA for clean water organization OneXOne as Grenier’s fellow Entourage star Jeremy Pervert Piven looks on.

Damon is set to appear in a cameo on Entourage next week promoting OneXOne, which is his real-life charity. Here’s the scoop, from US Magazine via Ecorazzi:

“The joke is that Matt is very passionate about his charity — almost in a stalkerish kind of way,” Adrian Grenier, who plays movie star Vince, said. “Vince becomes intimated by his intensity. He ends up bullying Vince into giving much more than he should.”

Costar Emmanuelle Chriqui, who plays Sloan, added: “Matt gets Vince to make a massive donation. He’s like, ‘Bro – whip out your checkbook!’”

So, of course it’s just promotional for Damon’s appearance on Entourage. But, it’s still funny to see this notorious ‘nice guy’ drop the F-bomb a dozen times in a two-minute clip!

Link [Ecorazzi]