BLUE CARPET EVENTS
Oceana aids at the blue carpet
The Ocean Heroes Award was created by Oceana in 2009 to recognize an exceptional personal commitment to ocean conservation.
The first winner, announced on World Oceans Day, June 8, 2009, was John Halas, a marine biologist and manager of the Upper Region of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Halas, who won a $500 Nautica gift certificate and an outgoing voicemail greeting by Ted Danson, has been working to protect coral systems in Florida since 1981. He developed an environmentally friendly anchor and mooring buoy system that prevents damage to coral reefs and has worked to implement this anchorage system in 38 countries.
Bob Schoelkopf was the runner-up for his work rescuing and rehabilitating seals, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine animals in New Jersey. Shark expert Andy Dehart earned the third most votes for his work educating the public about sharks.
GREEN PRESS
Green Street at Lollapalooza
There tends to be a lot of green vibes floating around during this three day music and arts festival, and at Lolla there was an entire street dedicated to it. Lollapalooza has been one of the few progressive festivals to add eco-friendly causes to the festival experience. To start off, fresh fruit samples were offered to all passerby’s at one of the local farmer’s market stations. Concert goers recharged and supported their local markets with each ad every purchase. The market included apples, cheeses, smoothies, yogurt, and an assortment of vegetables. But beyond this small import of local farm food, there was a large team of volunteers who picked up the sea of cans scattered throughout Grant Park. Lollapalooza features a rock&recycle program which dispenses trash bags to those who individuals who wish to clean up their mess and who later will be rewarded for their actions; when they return with a bag full of trash they are then eligible to win a bicycle and then walk away with a free Lolla shirt. What made the biggest environmental impact this year at Lollapalooza were the H20 water bottles. Individuals could refill these water bottles, available at $2 a piece, and fill them up at one of the water stations, cutting down the amount of water bottles used down by thousands. This year was another remarkable leap towards giving back to Grant Park and to giving the environment the kind of authority it needs in our every day partying lives.
GLOBAL VIEWS
Soundgarden back at Lollapalooza
Soundgarden
After a thirteen year hiatus the ultra-heavy grungers of Soundgarden are back in the studio again and, even better, back on stage together. For frontman Chris Cornell, who has directed Audioslave and recorded three solo records in the meantime, there was no better place for this reunion to occur. “I’ve played more shows in Chicago [than anywhere else],” said Chris, alluding to his affection for The Windy City. In their younger years, Soundgarden treated the city as a base-of-sorts because of Kim Thayil – guitarist and life-long Park Forest, Chicago resident. That Sunday, it was a sweet feeling tinged with sour. The old-guard was definitely there, as forty-somethings pushing ear-muffed toddlers in strollers was a common sight, and a few of the younger fans managed to pull themselves away from The Arcade Fire for this performance. [Read more...]
FEATURED Article
Phoenix Grabs stage at Lollapalooza
Every year at Lollapalooza there are always great alternative bands that headline the Budweiser stage. Phoenix, a band who has been present in the alternative scene for about ten years, was welcomed to headline the stage this year on Saturday night. Their ambient music was a nice counterpart to the opposing band, Green Day, playing a few hundred yards across the park. Before their latest album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, their fan base in America included french following indie trendsetters, but with their latest album, their sound and lyricism has expanded. Now they have are one of the most popular bands in mainstream music. They have acquired new fans without losing their unique sound that made them independent in the first place. Their performance at Lollapalooza was not as groundbreaking as their music, it was reserved as far as live performances go. Fans were pleased to hear the similarity between the live performance and the tracks on the album, but their was hardly an additional accent that came from the musicians in their live set. The members did not step out in front of the crowd to show something that is not already in their music. Maybe they have reached their edge. Still, it was still a pleasure to mellow out and recover for day three of Lollapalooza with Phoenix.
TheCoveMovie 
