I know that the shooting at Virginia Tech has greatly affected many people all across the country and the world ... I don't think there will ever be a "good reason" for what happened and why -- stuff like this should never happen ... and yet, they still do ...

... and we can never forget the lost.
As difficult as it may be, let's try and move on so that we can get back to a little bit of normalcy. One thing to note tho ... I received an email this morning from
Pink reader
Lane with this announcement:
Virginia Tech family members across the country have united to declare this Friday, April 20th, an "Orange and Maroon Effect" day to honor those killed in the tragic events on campus Monday, and to show support for Virginia Tech students, faculty, administrators, staff, alumni, and friends. "Orange and Maroon Effect" was born several years ago as an invitation to Tech fans to wear orange and maroon to Virginia Tech athletic events. We invite everyone from all over the country to be a part of the Virginia Tech family this Friday, to wear orange and maroon to support the families of those who were lost, and to support the school and community we all love so much.I think it's a great idea and I encourage all y'all to participate. I'm going to do my best to find
Hokie colors to wear on Friday (if anyone has any ideas where I can find official
Virginia Tech apparel out here in the LA area, please let me know).
UPDATE:
Pink reader
Rochelle tells me that
THIS site is selling memorial t-shirts to raise money for a memorial bench with the victims names engraved that will be given to the campus of
Virginia Tech -- sounds like a great idea to me.
OK ... So ... let's get to it ...
Today is the National
Day of Silence which is an annual event held to bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools. Students and teachers nationwide will observe the day in silence to echo the silence that LGBT and ally students face everyday. In it's 11th year, the
Day of Silence is one of the largest student-led actions in the country. When I taught at
ULS in Grosse Pointe, MI the Gay-Straight Alliance observed the
Day of Silence each year and normally, I also observe that "silence" here on the blog. But, in light of yesterday's moment of silence I'm going to blog today ... but my commitment to the
Day of Silence remains strong. I know there are many teachers and students out there who will observe today's
Day of Silence and I commend you all. For more information on what today is all about, click
HERE.
UPDATE:
Pink reader
Nicole, from El Paso, TX, sends in this great picture she took today at her school's
Day of Silence observance:
But even silent folks need some goss so here you go ...
Britney Spears really appears to be attempting to get her life and career back on track. She's been bizzy working her little tush off at the
Millennium Dance Studio in North Hollywood, CA and apparently she's been cleaning house ... it appears that she is ready to get rid of some old stuff ...

... and bring in some new stuff. Apparently,
Britney is
blaming her manager Larry Rudolph for her recent troubles and has decided to give him the ol' heave-ho ... word on the street is that she fired his ass last Friday:
BRITNEY Spears is trying to take back her career. Not only has the pop tart been back in the music studio and taking regular dance classes, an insider claims she fired her manager of several months, Larry Rudolph, on Friday. Spears ... blames Rudolph for recent
missteps, including introducing her to her nemesis, Paris Hilton. There may be legal ramifications as she signed a multi-year deal with Rudolph. But, since she just rehired her one-time p.r. woman, Leslie Sloane Zelnik, we're sure it will all be spun nicely in the press. Sloane didn't know about Rudolph's status when contacted. Yowch! Well, if it was
Larry's brilliant idea for
Britney to start hanging around
Paris Hilton then he should be fired. In the span of just a few weeks of partying with
Paris,
Britney's chances at a successful comeback plummeted about as fast as her panties did -- and if it's all
Larry's fault then he should deff be dunzo. I'm encouraged that
Britney has rehired
Leslie Sloane Zelnik ... hopefully now,
finally,
Britney can get serious about her comeback. This is a great move on her part ... let's hope she continues with a string of great moves. [
Source,
Source]
ATTENTION: 24 SPOILER ALERT WARNINGWell, it was bound to happen ... Monday night's ep of
24 was, by far, the most boring ep of the season and prolly the most boring ep
EVER IN CREATION! Now, I realize that things have to slow down for a bit every once-in-a-while but c'mon ... Monday night's ep was such a snoozer that even
President Palmer couldn't stay awake! We did get some new info and we now see where the story is going ... so I guess it wasn't a total waste of time:

Screencaptures via Twenty Four OnlineSo the bulk of Monday night's "drama" revolved around the release of
Audrey Raines ... there was way too much talking for my taste. I get that they have to explain stuff but can't they be shooting off AK-47s while repelling from helicopters into enemy territory while doing so? Even
Chloe's chagrined facial expressions weren't enough to keep me totally entertained. The big shocker was that
VP Noah Daniels was ready to resign as the VP as soon as
President Palmer's press conference was finished ... and then
Prez Palmer freaks out and then passes out on live TV. Now
Daniels is in control and we're all effed. Since
Jack made his deal with
Palmer to try and trick the Chinese into releasing
Audrey in exchange for classified Russian technology (yeah, this was what all that talking was about for most of the ep) that means that
Daniels has no interest in honoring that deal and
Jack is going to have to take matters into his own hands. Interesting ... even tho
Jack Bauer has had idiot Presidents in the past to deal with I don't think he's acted in such direct opposition to the White House before. So now
Jack Bauer is taking on the US of A? That's a twist ... too bad I was way too uninterested in most of the ep to get all excited by that revelation. Next week's ep should be better, things look like they'll get back on track ... hopefully nap time is over. [
Source]
Adam Brody,
JC Chasez and
Zachary Quinto were among the famous faces at the Hollywood premiere of
Adam's new movie
In the Land of Women Monday night ... here are a few pics from the red carpet:

Photo credit: Splash NewsAdam Brody looked great in his little 3-piece suit, as per usual, but what the hell was
JC thinking with that scarf thing around his neck. Isn't that what, In the land of Women, is called a pashmina? LOL. I've seen the trailer for the flick and I gotta admit, it doesn't quite look like my cup o' tea ... despite the fact that
Adam Brody is in it. It looks like something Sarah would drag me to go see ... maybe I'll have to let her drag me to see it next time I'm in Detroit. [
Source]
Shia Labeouf made an appearance on
MTV's
TRL Monday afternoon ... and it looks like he shared a tender moment with VJ
Damien:

Aww ... I love young love. Now, I may be a new
Shia fan but I am not a fan of that slick hairdo he's got going on. It gets a resounding
poop sandwich from me ... he needs to try again. [
Source]
Forest Whitaker was
honored with the 2, 335th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday afternoon ... here are a few pics from his ceremony:

Photo credit: Splash NewsForest Whitaker snagged Oscar, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild trophies this year for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland." On Monday he cemented his winning streak with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "I remember as a kid coming to the Walk of Fame. It was like a field trip and very exciting to us," said the 45-year-old actor-director at the ceremony for the Walk's 2,335th star. The honor represents "where I came from, and where I am going and hopefully where I am at right now," he said. Guests included
Kiefer Sutherland, Angela Bassett and Whitaker's wife, Keisha, and three daughters, Autumn, Sonnet and True. You know, I'm pretty impressed ... the latest round of
Hollywood Walk of Fame stars seem to be going to pretty deserving people. Even tho the timing of
Forest's star is around the time he's releasing a movie on DVD (
The Last King of Scotland out today) seems a bit suspect, the fact that he's an
Academy Award winner lends credence to the honor. Congrats all around ... he is deff deserving of the honor. [
Source]
Here are a bunch of pictures of
Madonna and her eldest child
Lourdes as they made their way around Malawi Monday:

Photo credit: Splash NewsThere's just something about
Madonna in Africa that seems so ... odd. She did trade in her
Ed Hardy headwear for something more appropriate and it looks like she's having a grand time.
Lola looks less impressed ... the pic of her holding her nose is funny. I'm actually very surprised that
Madonna was able to get mobile service out there ... I guess they keep putting up cell phone towers everywhere these days. I guess that's progress for ya. [
Source]
Back in Southern California,
Angelina Jolie and
Brad Pitt took their children
Zahara and
Pax Thien out for a little stroll ... and it looks like
Pax is fitting in nicely as the newest member of the family. You can just remove
Maddox and just insert
Pax and no one would be none the wiser:

Do you suppose they are going for the interchangeable kid thing? I wonder how they decide which kids they want to take out in public on any given day. Like yesterday they were all, "Let's take the princess and the new one ... since we're wearing grey they match the best!" Hahahahah! [
Source]
The New York Daily News is reporting that
Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling might be dunzo ... at least according to something that was overheard at the
Fracture premiere last week:
We hear that "The Notebook" true-life couple Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have split. A pal of Gosling's was overheard asking the actor, "Where's Rachel tonight?" at the Los Angeles premiere of "Fracture" Wednesday. Gosling responded, "Don't you know? We broke up." A rep for Gosling refused to comment on the actor's personal life. Hmmm ... no denial ... so that's something. I'm not sure I totally believe that they are finished but ... well, these days you just never know. If true, I think
Ryan Gosling would make a great match for
Reese Witherspoon ...
Jake Gyllenhaal needs to stay single, I think. [
Source]
Woot! After being sidelined for 6 weeks with an injured knee,
David Beckham appears to be healed and back to normal. Here's a pic of
Becks as he took the field to practice with his
Real Madrid soccer team in the Spanish capital Monday afternoon:

He even got a cute haircut for the occasion. Love it! I can't wait until he starts practicing with his new
LA Galaxy soccer team in just a few short months. [
Source]
I don't think I'll ever tire of watching
Matthew McConaughey work out ...

Photo credit: Flynet... it's all in his technique. There is something very alluring about his workout technique ... I just can't put my finger on it -- but I'd like to ;) [
Source]