It’s not often we get to celebrate kindness and generosity here at Glosslip. In the world of celebrities, selfless acts aren’t the norm, but in the real world, there are real people doing amazing things to help others. We are humbled to share one of their stories.

Amy Patel, after finding out a high school friend’s child was diagnosed with cancer, wanted to help and has come up with a unique way of doing so. More about Amy’s efforts from the Huntsville Times:

Dramatic gestures are not uncommon for Patel, who is the theater teacher at Butler High School. And going bald on purpose, as she has called her cause, is a dramatic statement to raise awareness of childhood cancer.

“It’s the extreme makeover edition,” Patel said.

Patel decided to raise money for St. Jude’s after she asked her friend, Melissa Shuford Thomason, what she could do to help. Thomason, who lives in Birmingham, suggested making a donation to cancer research or to the hospital.

Thomason’s son, Evan, spent months at St. Jude’s in Memphis and returns every week for treatment. He still has cancer, but he has grown his hair back, attends school, plays baseball and is in Cub Scouts.

“St. Jude’s has become part of our family,” Thomason said.

As she explored ways to raise money, Patel learned about a program called St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Participants shave their heads to raise money for childhood cancer research organizations.

Because she wanted her money to go to St. Jude’s, Patel has gone out on her own with her head-shaving efforts. The St. Jude 5K Race in Florence, she decided, was the place to do it.

So tonight, she’ll run her first 5K race and then her hairdresser, Jonathan Fowler, will break out the razor.

She doesn’t like to use the word sacrifice, but she’s definitely leaving her comfort zone.

“I know it will grow back, but I know it’s going to take awhile,” which is why she’s been buying lots of hats, she said.

One concern the Patels had was that people would think she was sick.

She’s had a T-shirt printed saying “I shaved my head for a child with cancer.” She’s also thought about wearing a button that says “Ask me why I shaved my head.”

“I hope we will create a situation that we will talk about it,” Patel said. “We avert our eyes from things that are painful, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s there.”

Amy has a website, BaldOnPurpose, where you can see pictures and video of Amy shaving her head, including before and after pictures. Amy, who was a beauty before she shaved, is even more gorgeous sans hair, must be that inner grace showing through.

Here’s a link to Amy’s St. Jude’s donation page, where Amy and her husband Sandy are collecting donations to help sick children like her little friend Evan.

Amy has raised $4425 and her goal is $5000.00 — if there is anything you can do to help, this is a great cause.

(Many thanks to my good friend Suli who shared Amy’s story with me, and that of little Evan Thomason.)

If you haven’t seen Breaking Bad yet, that’s not good.

Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, who is better known for playing the dad in Malcom In The Middle, plays Walter White, chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal cancer who hooks up with an ex-student Jesse Pinnkman to cook meth together in a Winnebago in the desert in order to pay for his cancer treatments on the DL. Seems normal, right?

Now that the show is a hit, the story line has his cancer in remission of course and all hell is breaking loose with all lies he has been telling his wife and family and the double life he has to lead. And to make family life  and the story even more complicated, his wife just had a baby girl.

Cranston takes this edgy dark comedy to new heights. Aaron Paul who plays, Walter’s druggy side kick Jess Pinkman, is a brilliant actor and has been in a myriad of movies and other cameo appearances on various TV shows. I see MUCH bigger rolls 
headed his way.

Jesse and Walter

I was afraid that  this show was just too strange for it to be picked up again, but the show surprised fans by picking up many awards and nominations in both 2008 and 2009. With great writing, excellent acting and each episode darker than the last, I was thrilled to hear that  it will be returning for another season. Breaking Bad is top notch and full of balls. Yeah that’s right I said it. Full Of balls.

AMC took a chance with Breaking Bad and it may just end up to be the next Twin Peaks  (although not as kooky or spooky) of dark comedies, minus the log lady and Bob.

Wikipedia has it in a nut shell:

American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The series is broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable network AMC. It premiered on January 20, 2008, and completed its first seven-episode season on March 9, 2008. The show’s 13-episode second season premiered on March 8, 2009. A third season was announced in April 2009.[1]

Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad revolves around Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher with a teenage son who has cerebral palsy (RJ Mitte), and a pregnant wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn). When the already tense White is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he breaks down and turns to a life of crime, and starts producing and selling methamphetamine with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) in a desire to secure his family’s financial future.[2]

Breaking Bad has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its writing and Cranston’s performance on the show, and won two Emmy Awards for its first season in addition to numerous other awards and nominations.

This happens to be one of my favorite shows on TV right now, if not my favorite. And although the season finale has just aired, I am already counting the days till its return. Plus it aires on Sunday night — a DEAD night for anything decent on TV.

You have plenty of time over the summer to catch up on season one, so you can be brought up to speed on what has already gone down in this show before next season starts. If you appreciate quirky,dark comedies with end-of-the-show cliffhangers to boot, this show is for you.

If you are a fan of Google (which I certainly am) then you probably use the search engine every day. One of the neat features is Google’s seasonal search screens which reflect holiday themes incorporating their rainbow logo.

Well Google had a novel idea and invited kids to submit their own doodles with the winner having their art displayed for a day. That day is today and the winner, 6th grader Christin Engelberth of San Antonio, TX submitted a great doodle, aptly titled “A New Beginning” featuring what can only be described as a colorful mini version of the Garden of Eden. From the story:

[Christin] titled her doodle “A New Beginning” to express her wish that “out of the current crisis, discoveries will be found to help the Earth prosper once more.”

Great message, pretty awesome drawing I must admit, and the runner’s up (who each received a laptop) had amazing doodles as well. To check them out, proceed to the jump:

But wait, there’s more…

David Ogden Stiers 66, who played the snooty Major Charles Winchester on the TV Series MASH, has FINALLY come out. He is happy, an accomplished actor and searching for a life partner. Kudos to you sir for sharing and we hope you find the soul mate you are looking for.

Here’s the poop:

Celebrity Blend Reports:

M*A*S*H star David Ogden Stiers has come out as gay – after years of fearing he would be denied roles because of his sexuality. The actor first tasted fame as Major Charles Winchester on the hit TV comedy before finding steady work as a voice actor in several Disney projects, including Beauty And The Beast and Pocahontas. But throughout his career, he was warned he risked losing work if he came out as a gay man.
He tells the Gossip Boyblog,  ”From the late 1980s until about seven or eight years ago, you would find certain individuals coming up to you, me, and advocating the position that since we were doing family fare that it would be best were the actors to maintain a certain palatability to parents. These parties likely had heard rumors or harbored suspicions about me and wanted to make sure no embarrassing incidents were forthcoming.”

But he insists his reasons for coming out now, at the age of 66, have nothing to do with his profession – he wants to find a life partner. Stiers adds: “I could claim noble reasons as coming out in order to move gay rights forward, but I must admit it is for far more selfish reasons. Now is the time I wish to find someone and I do not desire to force any potential partner to live a life of extreme discretion for me.”

Gossip Boy’s Interview with David:

But wait, there’s more…

In another life, when I come back as a lonely spinster, this will be my fate. I love the pussy…cats. Can you imagine the smell at the Caboodle Ranch? I am sure having all those kitties around would get old, but being a life long lover of animals, especially cats, this would be a variation of heaven for me. All the purring and pretty cat faces to look at and pet.

Craig, or Mr. Caboodle Ranch guy takes care of 500 cats, and has created a haven for kitties on a 30-acre ranch he built using his own money, including feeding, treating their various illness and loving them as best he can. He has a website you can donate to if you are so inclined, www.caboodleranch.org.

Here’s one answer…having a golf tournament, accepting swag, and gorging themselves at private dinner parties.  Yep, while you’re eating ramen noodles and wondering just how in the world you’re going to catch up on your mortgage payments after you were laid off from the job you’ve slaved at for ten years, bank bigshots are having a high old time playing Caddyshack:

The Chicago-based Northern Trust bank may have received $1.6 billion in federal bailout funds, but that did not dampen the lavish long weekend featuring a golf tournament and headliner music the bank threw in Los Angeles last week, much of which was caught on tape by the celebrity news outlet TMZ. Critics are up in arms over yet another apparent boondoggle hosted by a bank that received federal bailout funds. [...]

This is the second year in a row that the bank has hosted the Northern Trust Open, a golf tournament held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. The bank described it as “an integral part of Northern Trust’s global marketing activities”. But according to TMZ, the parties surrounding the event featured multiple rock concerts, gift bags from Tiffany’s, and private dinner parties at luxury hotels.

TMZ’s cameras were rolling when Sheryl Crow took the stage at the House of Blues in West Hollywood for a small private party.

They also took video of the band Chicago performing at the Ritz-Carlton after a dinner hosted by Northern Trust.

Northern Trust says it did not approach the federal government for bailout funds, but rather “agreed to the government’s goal of gaining the participation of all major banks in the United States.”

Their reasoning?  Well, you just gave us the money, we didn’t ask for it:

“The key point is Northern Trust is a business that earned an operating net income of $641 million last year,” said senior vice-president Douglas Holt. “We paid for these events ourselves. They were paid for as part of a business decision regarding an annual event to show appreciation for clients. Northern Trust is not a bank that was or is losing money and therefore had to go to the government for assistance.”

But the bank took a strikingly different tone in December when it announced it would eliminate 450 jobs.

“The macroeconomic environment has been extraordinarily difficult and has impacted all segments of the global economy,” said the bank’s CEO Frederick Waddell.

“Our decisions, while difficult, will further enhance Northern Trust’s position amid challenging conditions, while maintaining our focus on clients and those activities in which we have significant competitive advantage and continue to see opportunities for growth,” said Waddell.

Some in Congress say whether or not the bank sought the funding, once they accepted it they have a responsibility to the taxpayer.

“This type of spending is outrageous and disgraceful. The government did not hand over $1.6 billion for Northern Trust to go off partying or give away taxpayer-subsidized trinkets from Tiffany’s,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) who sits on the House oversight committee.

“This is money that should be used to expand lending or pay the salaries of the hundreds of employees that the company recently laid off,” said Rep. Cummings.

Northern Trust says it is using the bailout money to support lending and that the expenses for the golf weekend came from their operating expenses, which do not include the federal funds.

And what were they supposed to do, cancel their party or stay in a Super 8?

Critics say even if the bank has contractual obligations, money could have been saved by canceling concerts or staying in budget accommodations.

“That’s really the issue more than prior commitments,” said Schatz. “You can cancel a concert.”

“You’ve recently fired 450 employees,” said Schatz, “so this certainly isn’t great for the morale of other employees or for the morale of taxpayers.”

Well, you know, maybe the combined salary of those 450 employees just covered the cost of the event.  Hey, somebody has to take one for the team.  Tiffany ain’t cheap, y’know.

Whether they asked for it or not, they accepted bailout money.  They are still using money from the taxpayer (that’s you and me, people) for their bank.  And then they go out and do something like this?  Where is the accountability?

And just what did these poor people do at their party?  Stand around a Crock-Pot eating little weenies on a toothpick while listening to CDs out of the dollar bin?

Northern Trust flew hundreds of clients and employees to L.A. and put many of them up at some of the fanciest and priciest hotels in the city. We’re told more than a hundred people were put up at the Beverly Wilshire in Bev Hills, and another hundred stayed at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Still more stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey and others at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica.

Here are the highlights:

- Wednesday, Northern Trust hosted a fancy dinner at the Ritz followed by a performance by the group Chicago.

- Thursday, Northern Trust rented a private hangar at the Santa Monica Airport for dinner, followed by a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire.

- Saturday, Northern Trust had the entire House of Blues in West Hollywood shut down for its private party. We got the menu — guests dined on seared salmon and petite Angus filet. Dinner was followed by a performance by none other than Sheryl Crow.

There was also a fabulous cocktail party at the Loews. And how’s this for a nice touch: Female guests at the Chicago concert all got trinkets from … TIFFANY AND CO.

So how much did this run, cost-wise?

As for what all that costs: Well, the company isn’t talking. We spoke with a rep from the band Chicago who said Northern Trust paid them around $100,000. A House of Blues source told us it cost more than $50,000 to close the joint down last Saturday night. As for Sheryl Crow’s fee, her rep didn’t get back to us. Earth, Wind & Fire acknowledges payment but won’t say how much.

As for the golf tournament, a rep from the PGA told us Northern Trust wrote one big fat check in order to sponsor the event. That check covers part of the $6.3 million purse, the advertising costs for the spots on CBS (which broadcast the final two rounds of the tournament) and operating costs. The rep says the fee was negotiated and is confidential.

Lots of people from Northern Trust went to the golf tourney … in special Mercedes that shuttled them to and from the hotels. But for those who weren’t into golfing, they could spend a few hours at the Northern Trust seminar on the credit crunch.

Wonder if they’d give me a loan if I asked real nice?  Hey, if they don’t need that $1.6 billion dollars, I got a few bills I could use some help with.  And I’m kind of tired of ramen.  Hey, I ain’t sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

I don’t know too many people who haven’t been hit in some way by the economic crisis both here in the states and abroad. Americans are the most giving nation in the world, at the top of all charitable donations both as a country and as individuals. It’s something we pride ourselves on despite the U.S. being demonized by many nations across the globe.

But what about our own suffering children and their families here at home? The one thing we have learned in the last few months, is no one is immune and no one is safe from hardship.

While most of us may be tempted dig in and look after our own, we can’t forget our neighbors. The U.S. government may be trying to help, but it’s economic recovery plan is deeply flawed and leaves too many gaps. It’s we as individuals who must look out for each other in our community.

The problem is, how do we help those in need? CNN highlighted a story right here in my home state of Ohio, which currently has an unemployment rate of 7.8%, .2% higher than the national average and one of the highest in the country. One community in particular is in need, Wilmington, Ohio where the package delivery company DHL laid off 3000 workers, which represent 1/4 of the entire population of that town. With residual hardships spilling over, almost everyone in that town has been affected. It’s almost impossible to comprehend how devastating it must be.

Tony Sellars, the nonprofit’s [Feed The Children] director of communications, said, “This is the largest distribution we have had in such a small town.”

Sellars said the organization is monitoring layoff conditions in various cities and identifying critical locations where it can be of assistance.

“We have been around since 1979, and this is unprecedented in terms of need,” Sellars said. “In Wilmington, the residents are proud and confused; they are resilient and trying to solve their problems on their own, but they don’t know where to turn.”

Feed the Children distributed the food and other items in conjunction with partners that include Avon Products and the local Sugartree Ministry Center.

Larry Jones, founder and president of Feed the Children, urged communities to reach out to one another.

“If we are going to solve the problem, it’s not going to be the government; it’s going to be churches and charities and colleges, literally everyone working together,” Jones said. “We are not the total answer, but we are part of the answer, and hopefully when people see us doing what we are doing, they will join in to help.”

He’s right, we can’t expect the government to do it all. Sometimes just know WHO to donate to is all people need. I just donated as much as I could to Feed The Children because they are helping RIGHT HERE in the U.S., in my state. My donation will feed seven families for a month. If all of us who can (and I realize some people just can’t) would donate what we can afford, we can help real families.

I grew up not having much money and I remember how hard it was on my parents, but I was lucky, because I always had food and warm place to live. Unfortunately,I knew kids in my community who did not and that hurts to even imagine.

Please help if you can, it’s tax deductible and you know where your money is going to.

Thanks!

Glosslip’s own Dawn Olsen will be a guest tonight on Ian Halperin’s Live TV Chat show. We will discuss all the important topics of the day, like why is Brad Pitt so whipped, is Angelina Jolie the devil, which disease will ultimately consume Michael Jackson, who is “toothy tiles” (google it) and our favorite, why outing gay actors is “uncool” (to use Jenny Aniston’s phrase). We will also be taking questions from the chatroom and most likely, we will discuss Tommy Cruise’s favorite crazy cult, Scientology.

Join us, but bring a blindfold to shield your eyes. To watch, click here.

This is the kind of story that makes my frigid heart feel warm and fuzzy inside.

During a basketball game last weekend, a group of about 15 men walked into gymnasium and within minutes a gunfight ensued. Amidst the mass confusion 6-year old DeSean Merrit was separated from his father Sean. A quick thinking and courageous, Jullaion Jones stepped off the court and used his body to shield DeSean from the shower of bullets erupting in the gym, which injured 4 people, with a least one bullet grazing Jullaion as he placed his body over DeSean’s during the gunfire.

It’s unimaginable what could have happened had Jullaion simply thought of his own safety. DeSean’s father is eternally grateful that a guardian angel in the form of young basketball player stepped up to protect the precious life of his son.

Now that’s a real hero. Kudos to you Jullaion, you are an inspiration!

Austin, Texas drivers were treated to a special case of the willies recently when they encountered official road signs warning them about ZOMBIES!!! Apparently some mischievous types hacked into the city owned responsible machines and set up the signs with the ZOMBIE!!!! warnings, causing both panic and confusion (oh, and plenty of LOLS too I am sure). Here’s more about the ZOMBIE gag from KXAN:

The signs near the intersection of Lamar and Martin Luther King boulevards usually warn drivers about upcoming construction, but Monday morning they warned of “zombies ahead.”

“I thought it was pretty funny,” said University of Texas sophomore Jane Shin, who saw the signs while driving down Lamar Bouelvard with friends Sunday night. “We wondered who did it.”

The City of Austin does not own the signs, but they are responsible for the message. The contractor on the construction project owns the signs. A city spokesperson said the hacked messages were only up for a few hours, until the construction project manager saw them during his morning commute and immediately ordered them to be changed back.

“Even though this may seem amusing to a lot of people, this is really serious, and it is a crime,” said Austin Public Works spokesperson Sara Hartley. “And you can be indicted for it, and we want to make sure our traffic on the roadways stays safe.”

Hartley said though it was a locked sign, the padlock for it was cut. Signs such as these have a computer inside that is password-protected.

“And so they had to break in and hack into the computer to do it, so they were pretty determined,” said Hartley.

This crime is a class C misdemeanor in Texas, and Hartley said it endangers the public.

“The big problem is public safety,” said Hartley. “Those signs are out there to help our traffic on the roadway to stay safe and to know what’s coming up.”

KXAN Austin News cameras caught many drivers slowing down to read the signs as they approached. Some read, “Zombies ahead! Run for your lives!”

Am I a bad person for finding this story hilarious? Probably, but oh well. One of the games we play with the kids is the DEAD ZOMBIES ATTACK game, and my youngest (who is altogether very strange) asks us to chase him around the house pretending to be mutant ZOMBIES!!! The game typically ends with tickling and laughter, but sometimes we EAT HIS BRAINS.

Just kidding, or am I????? Seriously, if my son had seen that sign, he’d certainly have dropped a deuce, because at least once a week he asks me if ZOMBIES!!! are real. And well, who knows, maybe, you can’t ever be too sure. And now there’s proof!

BWAAHAHAHAH!