Hurricane Katrina

[pharmgirl]

Another storm headed our way ....... keeping our fingers crossed!

[Dade]

Still thinking of you and praying for you all.

[Guest ranster627]

I am praying for Lousiana and everyone else with the new Hurricane ... be safe!

[Guest ranster627]

FROM TV GUIDE: Entertainment News

A BIG, BIG CONCERT: From the Big Apple to the Big Easy, a star-studded concert being held tonight at New York City's Madison Square Garden, will be available for live viewing via pay-per-view

[Guest ranster627]

-- Hurricane Rita expected to reach category 4 in the Gulf of Mexico by 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, forecasters say.

FROM CNN

everyone be careful out there and be safe and wise!

[Guest ranster627]

FROM TV GUIDE: Entertainment News

CHARITY BEGINS IN HOLLYWOOD: Fox Searchlight announced yesterday that it would donate 10 percent of the b.o. from Roll Bounce's opening weekend to Operation USA for Hurricane Katrina. The company has also teamed up with DirecTV to broadcast the feature in more than 80 Gulf Coast shelters on Thursday, the day before it hits theaters. A nice move or just a shrewd one? For once, I'm going with nice.

IN RELATED NEWS...: Star Jones is donating her Emmy gown to the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. And because of the goodness of this deed, I will refrain from making a joke at her expense or even speculating about how much a Marc Bauer tent might fetch at auction.

[Slowpoke]

Rita now a Category 5

[Dade]

I tried to reply to this and I am speechless...

Take care all.

[Slowpoke]

Went to our Community College yesterday - and at one of the entrances they had a table set up for contributions for Katrina.

They had some boxes where you could drop off various items.... and....

They had a huge bowl of Mardi Gras Beads..... They were charging $1 for a string of beads.

The proceeds going to Katrina.

I looked up sites that sold beads wholesale and found this one http://www.emardigrasbeads.com/

They have a price of $31.95 for 60 dozen of assorted beads (720 stings of beads) They would almost clear $690 with just that one batch.

From all the beads I saw on campus - it looked like the students were being pretty generous.

I thought I'd pass the info along to anyone that's looking for a neat way to raise money.

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( Praying that Rita will lose some of her strength before she hits landfall in the gulf )

[Adria0]

When hurricane Katrina hit I saw a clip on "Sportcenter" that showed an NBA (pro basketball) player saying that the NBA players association were all "chipping in" to the cause, and that they plan to raise a WHOLE two million dollars. I thought this was the most ridiculous statement I have EVER heard. Kobe Bryant, a star player makes 28 million dollars a year, plus endorsements. He is estimated to be worth 175 million dollars (net worth). Jason Kidd, from the New Jersey Nets, earns 17 million dollars a year. Tim Duncan, 24 million. And so on. Now there are 14 players on each NBA roster. On average the roster makes 87.433 million dollars a year. There are about 20 NBA teams, thats $1,740,000,000. Now some players do endorsements (comercials for shoes and such) and that is where they make their real money , not to mention some have very wealthy wives such as the previously mentioned Jason Kidd. The average NBA player makes 7 million dollars a year. 20 teams of 14 players on each roster = 280 players that make (on AVERAGE) 7 million dollars a YEAR. The NBA player association is giving two million dollars, that is 7,000 dollars per player. Problem? I think so.

[gigathon-x]

Are celebrities even sincere when it comes to things like this? After all they live for the spotlight.

Hollywood idols are the biggest panhandlers.

[Dade]

To all Mortyites in East Texas, La and all people in Rita's way....Get the heck out of Dodge and check in when you can.

Take care and be safe

[kayman]

it is just so ridiculous that these multi multi millionaires contribute so little. All they want is to boost there image by donating as little money as possible and then getting the media to spread their good deeds. it's disgusting.

[Adria0]

I so agree, and as sad is it might sound, most of them only donate so they will look good to the public, thus gaining more endorsements=more money to spend on drugs, cars,mansions, sex, etc. All while children starve, and fight AIDS in Africa. Rapper "The Game" said in a recent song called "Hate it or Love it" and i quote

"How can the government spend thiry million dollars on airplanes, when there's kids starving." To date he hasn't given any money to benefit starving children or the situation on his old streets of Harlem. If you have a problem with the situation DO SOMETHING, don't complain.

Feels good getting that out.

[TV_Paige]

Stars Honor New Orleans at Katrina Benefit

'New Yorker' musician Lou Reed plays at the 'Parting the

Waters' benefit concert for the American Red Cross.

It's not often that a Nobel laureate, Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Academy Award winners and just about every other kind of winner share a single stage. But a benefit for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, sponsored by The New Yorker as part of its annual New Yorker Festival, brought an eclectic and star-studded cast of performers to Manhattan on the night of Saturday. September 24.

Most of the evening's entertainment celebrated New Orleans culture. Actress Patricia Clarkson read Tennessee Williams' letters from the French Quarter, New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin read an essay about the city's anything-goes attitude and actor Terrence Howard read a Mark Twain essay about New Orleans architecture.

Woody Allen played the clarinet with Eddy Davis and his New Orleans Jazz Band. Kevin Kline played Randy Newman's "Louisiana 1927," a song from the mid-1970's that sounds as if it could have been written about Hurricane Katrina. New Yorker editor David Remnick said many of the performers were still searching for relatives missing since the hurricane.

The lineup for "Parting the Waters" included Toni Morrison, Lou Reed, Elvis Costello, Kevin Kline, Richard Ford, Willem Dafoe and lots of zydeco music. Other performers included musician David Byrne, Buckwheat Zydeco, Queen Ida and Her Zydeco Band, Audra McDonald, Mary-Louise Parker, Walter Wolfman Washington and the Roadmasters and more.

Tickets for the event ranged from $50 to $250, with all proceeds going to the American Red Cross. Conde Nast Publications, publisher of The New Yorker, will match the donation. Allen Touissant, a legendary New Orleans pianist, summed up the night: "If you'd like to know how to get from the Big Apple to the Big Easy, take Highway Love, and you'll get there."

[TV_Paige]

Celebs Gather for Katrina Concert in Ole Miss

Mississippi Rising Master of Ceremonies Morgan Freeman opens the

'Mississippi Rising' benefit. Proceeds from the concert and telethon

will benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Actor Morgan Freeman opened a star-studded benefit concert for hurricane victims Saturday, October 1 telling a national television audience that the state he calls home "will rise again" from the ruins of the storm's destruction. Freeman described families living in tents on sites where their homes used to stand before Hurricane Katrina.

Freeman, who lives in Tallahatchie County in northern Mississippi, assured viewers that the people of Mississippi and the Gulf Coast would bounce back. "We will rise again," the teary eyed Oscar winner said. "Mississippi crawled out of the rubble and helped their neighbors and got about the business of surviving."

Nearly 40 celebrities graced the stage at the University of Mississippi for the three-hour concert benefit called "Mississippi Rising," which was shown on MSNBC and aired on commercial television stations throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, and on Mississippi Public Television. Singer Macy Gray performed a soulful rendition of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song."

Ray Romano performs at the 'Mississippi Rising' benefit concert

and telethon at the University of Mississippi.

Sitcom star Ray Romano got back to his standup comedy roots with a lighthearted monologue, including references to flying into Oxford's "International Airport." "We couldn't land right away there was a dog on the runway," Romano quipped.

Former "Designing Women" co-stars Delta Burke and Jean Smart manned the celebrity phone bank, alongside Burke's husband, actor Gerald McRaney, a Mississippi native, and actress Marilu Henner. In a taped documentary, Whoopi Goldberg toured the coast narrating scenes of the destruction.

"You look at the 'Wizard of Oz' and you see things flying up in the air . . . this is where everything goes that didn't land," Goldberg said while riding past destroyed homes and wondering where the people had gone. "That's the thing about Mother Nature, she really doesn't care what economic bracket you're in," Goldberg said.

Mississippi native Faith Hill sings at 'Mississippi Rising,' a benefit concert

and telethon held for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The broadcast included four songs by Mississippi native Faith Hill, including "Mississippi Girl" and "Breathe." Also among the performers was former boy-band singer Lance Bass, who agonized over not being able to reach family members in his hometown of Laurel, Mississippi.

Bass, a one-time singer with 'N Sync, said three days passed before he learned that his relatives were unhurt but had lost their homes in the disaster. "It is very devastating, especially having to watch it on television, when you have family members that are being bombarded by the thing," Bass told The Associated Press.

Donations will go to the Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund, which was started by Gov. Haley Barbour, and to a similar fund in Louisiana administered by Foundations for Recovery. The concert was organized by Mississippi natives: Sam Haskell, former head of television for the William Morris Agency in Hollywood, and Lanny Griffith, chief executive officer of the Washington lobbying firm Barbour Griffith & Rogers.

'N Sync's Lance Bass talks to reporters about his own families

devastation in the wake of the hurricane while comedians Ray

Romano and Jason Alexander look on. The press conference

was held to bring attention to the 'Mississippi Rising' benefit

concert and telethon.

To offer your help, contact one of the following agencies:

Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund

Hurricane Katrina Orleans Recovery Fund

Rebuild the Coast Fund

[TV_Paige]

Usher Starts Up Hurricane Benefit

Usher

Usher wants to be startin' something good this fall. The R&B megastar announced he will headline a benefit concert, Project Restart, in his native Atlanta to aid those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. "When I thought about what I could do to help, I decided that I wanted to do something direct and personal for the evacuees," he said in statement.

Usher will admit free of charge around 5,000 displaced Gulf Coast residents currently living in the greater Atlanta area. The concert is set to take place October 9 at the city's Phillips Arena. Remaining tickets for the concert went on sale to the general public. Usher hopes to raise further money by offering up a limited number of VIP seats and corporate suites for the fundraiser.

Proceeds from Project Restart, which has the blessing of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, will go to the Project Restart Objective, a charity providing temporary housing for those who lost their homes to the hurricanes. In addition, Usher's New Look Foundation will team up with Freddie Mac with the goal of placing 1,000 families in homes in 13 different states via funds raised from the gig.

Usher

While Usher is the only confirmed act on the bill so far, the "Burn" singer says some of his "celebrity friends" will make an appearance at the fundraiser. A full list of confirmed openers is expected to be announced soon.

"This isn't just another concert to benefit the victims," says Usher. "This is a movement to uplift the survivors and give them hope." Per Usher's press release, the first city that will benefit from Project Restart will be Houston, Texas. The Grammy-winning artist plans to visit the city soon and award a new home to a Katrina victim.

Meanwhile, one of the extras on the chart-topper's forthcoming Truth Tour DVD is a behind-the-scenes look at the superstar's charitable work. The three-disc set, which also features live footage from a recent Truth Tour performance in Atlanta, will be available for purchase beginning Nov. 8 exclusively at Best Buy locations nationwide.

[TV_Paige]

Leno's Signed Bike Raises $505,100

Jay Leno watches as Pamela Anderson signs the Harley

Davidson motorcycle for auction on eBay. Proceeds will

go to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief efforts.

BURBANK, California -- Jay Leno's celebrity-autographed motorcycle has raised nearly a half-million dollars for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Bidding for the bike closed on the eBay auction Web site at 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 29. Leno announced during the taping of Thursday's 'Tonight Show' that the winning bid was $505,100. Ninety-five percent of the winning bid will be donated to the American Red Cross for Katrina relief efforts.

For the past four weeks, 'Tonight Show' guests and surprise arrivals have been autographing the Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The final signers on Thursday, September 29 were guests Matthew McConaughey and Angie Harmon with surprise walk-ons Jimmy Smits and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Previous signers include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner and Pamela Anderson.

[TV_Paige]

Spike Lee To Make Katrina Documentary

Spike Lee

LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) - Famed US filmmaker Spike Lee is reportedly to produce and direct a new documentary about the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in flood-stricken New Orleans. Lee is slated to make "When the Levee Broke" for the US HBO cable television channel, the network told Daily Variety.

Lee, 48, is the maker of such hit feature films as 1992's "Malcolm X" and 1989's "Do the Right Thing." Lee is currently putting the final touches on his latest film, "The Inside Man," starring Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. No details of the new documentary project were immediately available at this time.

[TV_Paige]

Bo Bice Offers Home and Talent to Katrina Relief

Bo Bice and SugarMoney's latest CD

"American Idol" runner-up Bo Bice opened his home to victims of Hurricane Katrina recently. Bice, 29, his wife, Caroline, and their infant son live in Tennessee, but he still owns a home in Helena in suburban Birmingham and opened it to a family of evacuees from Louisiana after Katrina. Now he's singing to help the cause.

In a further chance to help hurricane victims, Bice and his band, SugarMoney, will perform a benefit concert for Katrina relief on Saturday, October 15 at Verizon Wireless Music Center in suburban Birmingham. Tickets are $20 to $55, with proceeds going toward Habitat for Humanity's reconstruction and relief work.

In an interview published Friday, October 14 in The Birmingham News, Bice said there's a need "to lift some spirits up." "People also need to know this is an ongoing problem. It's not just something you give your $5 to and forget," Bice said in a phone interview from Nashville, Tennessee, where he was in a songwriting session.

Bice said fans needn't worry that recent ill health will stop him. Bice underwent emergency surgery in mid-August to repair a blocked intestine, and broke his foot July 31 during a performance on the "American Idol" tour. "I'm doing great," he said. "It's cool. I actually got better after I laid down and took a break. I'd been sick for a while and just kept on going."

[TV_Paige]

Music Biz Sings for Hurricane Victims

Harry Connick, Jr.

New Orleans is getting a double dose of relief. Like the TV networks before them, the usually competitive major labels, Universal Music Group, EMI, Sony/BMG and Warner Music Group, are joining forces with many of their A-list acts for an unprecedented double-disc album benefiting victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"Hurricane Relief: Come Together Now" will be released in mid-November, the record companies announced recently. It will contain brand-new songs written in the wake of the killer storms, previously unreleased studio recordings and live performances, and classic cuts by legendary New Orleans artists.

The Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group representing the music biz, says 100 percent of net proceeds will be shared among the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund. The disc, which will retail for $20, includes two "We Are the World"-style all-star collaborations that originally came together following last winter's tsunami tragedy in Asia.

Joss Stone

"Come Together Now" features vocals by Celine Dion, Patti LaBelle, Joss Stone, Ruben Studdard, the Game, Aaron Carter, Nick Carter, A.J. McLean, Natalie Cole, Chingy, JoJo, Mya, Angie Stone, Kimberly Locke, John Legend, Gavin DeGraw, Jesse McCartney, Anthony Hamilton, Brian McKnight, Stacie Orrico, Kelly Price, Lee Ryan, Garu, Glenn Lewis, Tren'l and R.L. Huggar. The song was written and produced, in part, by a rather unlikely songwriter: Sharon Stone.

The Sharon Osbourne-produced cover of Eric Clapton's somber 1992 hit, "Tears in Heaven" will also be included. The track features contributions from Elton John, Ringo Starr, Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Josh Groban, Steven Tyler, Velvet Revolver, Gavin Rossdale, Mary J. Blige, Kelly Osbourne, Katie Melua and even Robert Downey Jr. Both tracks are also be available for download at iTunes Music Store beginning Tuesday, October 18.

Among the other hurricane-specific songs making their debut on CD: the Norah Jones-Wyclef Jean benefit single, "Any Other Day," previously only available through MSN Music and "I Believe," a never before released Barbra Streisand song (not to be confused with Lenny Kravitz's similarly titled "Believe," also included).

Norah Jones

Other songs on the CD include the new ballad "Heart of America," featuring Michael McDonald, Wynona Judd and Eric Benet, along with Terry Dexter and the First Full Gospel Choir of New Orleans, which served as the soundtrack for hurricane coverage on NBC's "Today Show" and the John Mayer and Aaron Neville duet, "Heart So Heavy."

One much-hyped cut that is notably MIA is Michael Jackson's "From the Bottom of My Heart." While Jackson is in London working "full-speed ahead" on the track, which is supposed to feature vocals from Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, R. Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Lauryn Hill, James Brown and Snoop Dogg, one unnamed participant told the Los Angeles Times this weekend that the song "was going nowhere."

Meanwhile, Hurricane Relief will feature several live tracks, including Coldplay's "Fix You," James Brown's "Try Me," Gloria Estefan's "Coming Out of the Dark/Always Tomorrow" and Elton John's "I'm Still Standing," recorded in New Orleans. Among the other tracks confirmed so far: Brian Wilson's "Love and Mercy," Bonnie Raitt's "I Will Not Be Broken" and Earth, Wind and Fire's "Devotion."

Neville Brothers

The Crescent City vibe permeates the album thanks to contributions from New Orleans natives such as Neville Brothers' "Brothers," Fats Domino's "Walking to New Orleans," Harry Connick Jr.'s "City Beneath the Sea" and Louis Armstrong's "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans."

Thematic songs are popular cuts on the CD like John Fogerty's "Born on the Bayou," the Dave Matthews Band-Robert Randolph "Louisiana Bayou," Sting's "Moon over Bourbon Street," Clint Black's "The Great Mississippi Flood" and Kirk Whalum and Coolio's "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Additional artists are expected to be announced in the coming days. "Flooded streets, shattered lives, broken hearts, yet through it all, the music never dies," says Connick. "This CD helps us heal a place that has given so much music to the world."

Gloria Estefan

Track Listing (in progress):

Gloria Estefan............................Coming Out of the Dark/Always Tomorrow

James Brown.............................Try Me

Norah Jones/Wyclef Jean.........Any Other Day

John Fogerty...............................Born On The Bayou

Barbra Streisand.........................I Believe

Clint Black...................................The Great Mississippi Flood

Dave Matthews Band

featuring Robert Randolph..........Louisiana Bayou

Earth, Wind and Fire....................Devotion

Kirk Whalum/Coolio....................When the Saints Go Marching In

John Mayer/Aaron Neville...........Heart So Heavy

Harry Connick Jr...........................City Beneath The Sea

Louis Armstrong............................Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans

Various Artists...............................Come Together Now

Fats Domino...................................Walking To New Orleans

Coldplay..........................................Fix You

Lenny Kravitz..................................Believe

Neville Brothers..............................Brothers

Bonnie Raitt.....................................I Will Not Be Broken

Various Artists.................................Tears In Heaven

Brian Wilson.....................................Love and Mercy

Michael McDonald, Wynonna Judd,

Eric Benet and Terry Dexter.............Heart of America

Elton John..........................................I'm Still Standing

Sting...................................................Moon Over Bourbon Street

[TV_Paige]

Osbourne Charity Single Released

Sharon Osbourne

Music greats united to put their talents to a good cause on a single for victims of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, which recently went on sale. The star-studded recording of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven" will raise funds for Save The Children. The song was originally written by Eric Clapton as a tribute to his four-year-old son, Conor, who died tragically in 1991.

The brainchild of music maven, Sharon Osbourne, the single features the sounds of Rod Stewart, Katie Melua, Sir Elton John, Mary J Blige, Gwen Stefani, Pink, Phil Collins and Andrea Bocelli. Producer Osbourne didn't have to go far to get a little family support as hubby, Ozzy Osbourne and daughter, Kelly Osbourne contribute their voices to the cause. The single also showcases the talents of Robert Downey Jr and the band, Velvet Revolver.

The single is being sold as a download through the 7 Digital website. Osbourne originally conceived the single as a response to the Asian tsunami. But the money affected will now also go to victims of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters. "The magnitude of these natural disasters surpasses anything we've seen in our lifetime," said TV personality Sharon Osbourne.

"With this single and other relief efforts, our intent is to keep these tragedies at the forefront of everyone's minds. We must not forget and do all we can to help these people rebuild their lives," Osbourne explained. "Music fans who purchase this single will aid the relief efforts and own an historic recording for which these talented artists graciously donated their time."

[TV_Paige]

Guthrie Riding 'City of New Orleans' for MusicCares

Arlo Guthrie

Arlo Guthrie famously sang about the train called the "City of New Orleans." Now he's riding the rails himself, performing in cities along the route to benefit musical venues and musicians who suffered in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Guthrie kicked off his Arlo & Friends benefit tour on Monday, December 5 at Chicago's Vic Theatre. He and his fellow musicians boarded Amtrak's City of New Orleans on Tuesday, December 6 for the 70-mile trip to Kankakee, where he is scheduled to perform Wednesday, December 7.

Guthrie, who made the late Steve Goodman's song "City of New Orleans" a hit in 1972, said the idea for the tour came as he was watching television coverage of the hurricane's aftermath and saw that Amtrak had resumed its service to New Orleans on the City of New Orleans. "I thought, there's something we can do a light bulb went off, as it were," he said.

Arlo Guthrie

Guthrie will perform with various musicians during the 13-day tour, including his son Abe with his band Xavier, his daughter Sara Lee Guthrie, Cyril Neville, Guy Davis, Ramsay Midwood, Kevin Kinney with Drivin' Cryin' and the Burns Sisters.

Guthrie will disembark for shows in Urbana, Effingham, Carbondale and Memphis, Tennessee. Willie Nelson is scheduled to perform during the final show on December 17 at Tipitina's in New Orleans.

The money being raised and equipment being donated will be distributed by MusicCares, a program of The Recording Academy, and Tipitina's Foundation to performers, along with churches, schools, clubs "and anywhere where music is being played," Guthrie said.

Arlo Guthrie

"We all saw images of famous people like Fats Domino being rescued, and if he's in those kind of dire straits, what must it be like for the nameless musicians who are playing these little clubs, mostly maybe for tips?" Guthrie said. "I really can't imagine what they've been going through these past few months."

Goodman's song with its chorus of "Good morning America, how are you?" was based on a train operated during the day by Illinois Central prior to the creation of Amtrak. Sadly, the name was discontinued in 1971.

Steve Goodman

In tribute to the long-running rail line, Amtrak christened an overnight train that runs much the same route with the City of New Orleans name in 1981. According to Amtrak officials, the name was continued partly because of the popularity of Guthrie's recording.

Guthrie had just finished a late set at a Chicago club in 1970 when he met Goodman, who came in and asked Guthrie to hear a song he had written. Guthrie was tired, but he said if Goodman bought him a beer, he'd sit and listen until his drink was finished and Goodman played "City of New Orleans" for him.

"I don't know how Steve Goodman managed to write a song that captured the hearts and the spirit of so many people, but the genius really belongs to him, and I was just thrilled to be a part of it," Guthrie said.