POP 5 Favorite Barack Obama Lip-Dubs
5. “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea
4. “SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake
3. “Do What U Want” by Lady Gaga
2. “Sexy And I Know It” by LMFAO
1. “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk
5 Favorite Maya Angelou Quotes
“We are only as blind as we want to be.”
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
“Hope for the best, be prepared for the worse. Life is shocking, but you must never appear to be shocked. For no matter how bad it is, it could be worse and no matter how good it is, it could be better.”
“I’m grateful for being here, for being able to think, for being able to see, for being able to taste, for appreciating love – for knowing that it exists in a world so rife with vulgarity, with brutality and violence, and yet love exists. I’m grateful to know that it exists.”
“When members of a society wish to secure that society’s rich heritage they cherish their arts and respect their artists. The esteem with which we regard the multiple cultures offered in our country enhances our possibilities for healthy survival and continued social development.”
POP 5 Celebrity
Commencement Speeches
5. Barack Obama: The President of the United States spoke to Arizona State University in 2009. There’s no doubt about it, the man is really good at public speaking.
“That’s the great American story, young people just like you, following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They weren’t doing it for the money. Their titles weren’t fancy, ex-slave, minister, student, citizen. A whole bunch of them didn’t get honorary degrees but they changed the course of history and so can you ASU, so can you Class of 2009. So can you.”
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger: In 2009 the Terminator himself shared his “6 Rules Of Success” with the University of Southern California graduates. Those rules were: trust yourself, break the rules, don’t be afraid to fail, don’t listen to the naysayers, work your butt off, and give back.
“Now, of course, people ask me all the time, they say to me, “What is the secret to success?” And I give them always the short version. I say, ‘Number one, come to America. Number two, work your butt off. And number three, marry a Kennedy.’”
3. Steve Jobs: What an honor to have the founder of Apple speak at your graduation. In 2005 at Stanford University he spoke about death, unknowing that those words would mean much more in about five years time.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure, these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
2. Oprah: She didn’t give everyone a car, but she shared some personal experiences to make everyone more confident at Howard University in 2007. She could of just stood there and I believe all the students would of been inspired, she’s Oprah.
“You have to be willing to stand up for what you believe in. If I could count the number of times I have been asked to compromise and sell out myself for one reason or another, I would be a billionaire 10 times over. My integrity is not for sale and neither is yours.”
1. Ellen: After numerous years of basically killing yourself so you can graduate, the one thing you deserve is to kick back and laugh. Ellen delivered joke after joke in 2009 at Tulane University.
“I thought that you had to be a famous alumnus, alumni, aluminum, alumis; you had to graduate from this school. And I didn’t go to college here, and I don’t know if President Cowan knows, I didn’t go to any college at all, any college. And I’m not saying you wasted your time, or money, but look at me, I’m a huge celebrity.”
Pop 5: 2014 Oscar Surprises
5. Singers Get Pitchy
Pharrell and Darlene Love both seemed to be struggling vocally, while we felt slightly awkward during Bette Midler’s post in memoriam performance of “Wind Beneath My Wings.” Thankfully Pink wowed the audience with her tribute to “The Wizard Of Oz” with “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”
4. American Hustle Shutout
The American crime comedy was nominated for ten awards and walked away with zero golden statues. Categories ranged from “Best Supporting Actor/Actress” to “Best Production Design.” This was one heist they failed to complete successfully. Meanwhile “Gravity” walked away with seven awards.
3. Jennifer Lawrence Falls…Again!
We all remember her famous trip up the stairs while accepting her award for “Silver Linings Playbook” at the 2013 Oscars. Even if you forgot, Ellen reminded us all during her opening monologue. She also brought up that upon arrival Jennifer fell again, but this time almost taking someone else down also…and producing us with a hilarious GIF.
2. Ellen’s Record-Breaking Selfie
Image via Twitter.com/TheEllenShow
As any host would do, Ellen walked down the theater aisle and began asking the stars to join in on her selfie. With phone in hand a group gathered around including: Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Spacey, Bradley Cooper, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Jared Leto, Brad Pitt, Lupita Nyong’o, and even her brother in attempt to break the record of most retweets on Twitter. Her mission was accomplished as she surpassed the previous record held by Barack Obama on election night in 2012.
1. John Travolta’s Flub
Travolta butchered Idina Menzel’s name when introducing her as “Adele Dazeem” for her performance of “Let It Go” from the movie “Frozen.” It was definitely the biggest WTF moment of the night, and it didn’t take long for the flub to be created into a Twitter account, that shared some hilarious tweets.
What was your favorite moment of the 86th Academy Awards? Leave a comment below and let us know what you thought of Hollywood’s biggest night!
Oh sure, there’s the dead give-a-ways like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Maureen O’Hara and Collin Farrell. But then there are the few, the proud, the Irish folk that fly under the radar simply because their name isn`t O`something.
Image via AnotherWineBlog.com
President Barack Obama
Granted it’s not O’Bama (but wouldn’t that be fun?), but our 44th President of the United States is indeed of Irish decent. Everyone loves to talk his Kenyan roots and his birth in Hawaii, but little is ever said about his Irish ancestry. The president’s wee bit o’Irish stems from his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham and her great-great-grandfather, Falmouth Kearney. Just goes to show that you need the Luck o’ the Irish to become leader of the free world. Right, JFK?
Although John Travolta has made his mark in the film industry by playing predominantly Italian characters (Vinnie Barbarino Welcome Back, Kotter, Danny Zucko Grease and Tony Manero Saturday Night Fever) he’s actually got a strong dose of Irish in him. John gets his Italian roots from his father, but it is his mother who carried on the Irish ancestry to her son.
He’s widely known for being a proud Jewish-American comic, just like Mel Brooks and Woody Allen. Ben’s dad Jerry Stiller is Jewish, but yet again continuing on with the pattern, Ben’s mother is of Irish decent. Thus, making Ben Stiller Jewish-American and half Irish. Makes perfect sense to me, Ben could totally pass as a leprechaun.
If you remember back to when she was nothing but a wee lass, Lindsay fit the bill as the typical Irish stereotype – bright red hair and freckles. And glory be – turns out she has a drinking problem, to boot. Before you push me off the Cliffs of Moher, I’m Irish too, so the jokes are all in good Irishy fun.
LiLo apparently gets the green blood from her mother’s side of the family. Before she was the infamous Dina Lohan, she was simply known as Donata Sullivan.
Although between he numerous bouts with the law, it doesn’t appear Linds has the Luck of the Irish with her.
Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez
Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen… are we seeing a pattern here? Although brothers Charlie and Emilio are known for being of Spanish decent, their paternal grandmother Mary Ann Phelan called County Tippeary in Ireland her home. Forget the tigerblood, Charlie’s got Irish blood in him too!
Source: Catholic Vote
A controversial anti-abortion ad has been pulled from NBC’s Super Bowl line-up.
The ad, by Catholic Vote, challenges Americans to rethink the repercussions of abortion and life without Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. “Life, Imagine the Potential,” it states.
Controversial? Too much? Is NBC in the right, or are they overreacting?
Image via TheHuffingtonPost.com
If you were one of the many Americans who were watching the coverage of the inaugural balls last night, you saw Barack Obama, with wife Michelle in tow, walking across the stage of ten different parties in D.C. Aside from the fact that this was probably the most hyped-up and exciting presidential inauguration in my lifetime, it was also the most fashion forward. Last night, Michelle Obama solidified the fact that she is, indeed, the next Jackie O.
Mrs. Obama wore white chiffon, embellished with appliques, beading and one thick strap draped over her right shoulder. The dress was designed by Jason Wu, a 26-year-old Taiwanese designer who now works in Manhattan. She kept the accessories simple, staying away from excessive jewelery, and instead opting for just a bracelet and dangling earrings.
As superficial as it sounds, I believe her choice of dress was extremely important. It set the tone of the next four years, whether this was a calculated choice or not. Wearing white sends a message to America, conjuring up common associations with purity, goodness and invigoration. It’s almost as if our innate feelings about the color white secure a sense of trust regarding political and economic reform to come.
When it comes to the political stage, we are privy to the plot: actors come and go, and promises that are easily made are also easily broken. While Obama has been able to bring in the crowds and inspire the masses, we have yet to see if his actions live up to his charisma. But 2009, and especially inauguration day, is representative of a new start and new hope for the future of America. The fact that the first lady wore white symbolizes a fresh, youthful, optimism. A blank slate, if you will, and a new beginning that the voting population of the country asked for when they showed up in droves at the polls on November 4th.
Maybe my youth and innate idealism inspired me to write these claims, making what may appear to be exaggerations about the importance of Michelle Obama’s clothing. Admittedly, when all is said and done, the dress is just a dress. But regardless of how deep we probed into the meaning of the gown, it’s hard to refute that Michelle Obama was truly a vision in white.
On February 23, a Saturday Night Live skit staged a debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. While the press reacted to Obama’s words with orgasmic displays of approval, they remained hard on Hillary, echoing complaints we’ve heard from Clinton’s camp over the past few months. Although the politically savvy were already aware of these sentiments, the SNL satire brought the issue to the nation’s attention.
Call this accusation a Clintonian political strategy, call it blatant exaggeration, call it the truth. Whatever we choose to call it, the question still remains. Has the media been favoring Obama over Clinton? Probably. Can we blame them? Not really. There’s no secret to the fact that media thrives off of the sensational. Obama’s charisma, charm and recent swell of campaign success provide a story that sells. After all, at the end of the day, this is a business like any other. If the editors of a periodical predict an issue with Obama’s face on the cover will gain more attention, you’ll have to delve through the inner pages to find a feature on Clinton. Knowing this, were we actually expecting the media to be objective?
We can’t deny that we are inundated by messages from the media every day. Whether we’re listening to the radio as we sit in traffic, watching the news over morning coffee, or reading magazine headlines in the check out line at the grocery store, it’s an inescapable part of our lives. Considering this, a media slant is a powerful tool that could pave a path to the Oval Office. NBC reporter Brian Williams admitted to his Obama favoritism in January. Yet at the same time, The New York Times has been accused of blatantly backing the New York Senator, Clinton. Although both democratic candidates deserve equal treatment from all facets of the media, we simply can’t expect that to happen.
2008 has proven to be the most exciting election year we’ve seen in a long time. The two democratic front-runners are both dynamic, yet very different characters. Inevitably, people and the media are going to gravitate to one over the other. It’s human nature. Have we suddenly become afraid of opinions when we are lucky enough to live in a country that allows us to express them freely?
Regardless of media bias, it’s the responsibility of American voters to educate themselves and form their own opinions about politics, policies and potential presidents. Not only do we owe it to our country to sift through what we read, see and hear, we owe it to ourselves. After all the debates and media coverage are over, all we have is the power of a single vote. So as we select the future leader of our country, let’s arm ourselves with information so we don’t become victims of voter’s remorse.