ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

March 11th 2008

Third-Party Harry Potter Encyclopedia To Cut Into Rowling’s Charity Plans?

Stupefy!

Filed under: books, campaigns — michael @ 1:23 pm

There’s a battle going down over the world of Harry Potter, and this one is taking place in a location more terrifying than the deepest recesses of Azkaban. That’s right, the US Court system.

JK Rowling and Co. have submitted an injunction against Michigan-based publisher, RDR Books, to prevent publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon, an A-Z guide to all things Hogwarts. On March 24th, a NY-based court will consider the case and potentially make history over how an author control secondary works, as well as the right to publish in book form that which already resides on the web. The information for the Lexicon is being derived from an online fan site that compiles and keeps track of all HP facts and oddities.

Even more damaging, however, is the fact that releasing such an unauthorized piece of the Harry Potter universe might cut into Rowling’s future charity plans. From the article,

“Warner Bros and Rowling argue that the publication of the Lexicon infringes Rowling’s copyright and that she has openly and repeatedly expressed her interest in publishing an encyclopedia covering all seven of the Harry Potter books, whose profits would go to charity.”

Unlike the handwritten companion pieces she auctioned off earlier for record amounts, this Rowling-penned encyclopedia would be served up fresh to the millions of fans worldwide. The charity-generating potential of this release would be staggering to say the least. Defendents of the alternative Lexicon argue that people would buy Rowling’s version regardless, but her lawyers aren’t letting that hold sway on their decision to fight its release. This should be an interesting court battle to say the least. Anyone want to get dressed up and sit in the audience?

 Loading …

February 20th 2008

Hey NY! Wanna Hang Out With Ed Begley Jr. Tonight?

Filed under: books — michael @ 10:21 am

Ed Begley Jr. has made one of his rare east coast trips (the guy hates to travel for environmental reasons) and if you’re in NYC tonight, you can go hang with the green guru tonight at the Strand Bookstore. Environmental Defense is putting on the event, with Eco-Libris presenting an offset scheme whereas customers can pay to plant a tree to balance out books they purchase in the store. The purchase is made at checkout and customers will receive there an Eco-Libris sticker saying “One tree planted for this book.”

All of this revolves around Ed’s new book Living Like Ed — which pretty much translates the ‘down-to-earth’ practical advice the Begleys dish on their TV show into book form. We’ve no idea if Rachelle will be present, but chances are if she is in NY, she’ll be out shopping anyways.

Have fun tonight — and tell Ed we said hello!

February 18th 2008

Razzi Snap: Harrelson’s Search For An Organic Toothbrush Delays Reporter

Filed under: animals, books — michael @ 5:34 pm

You can’t argue Woody Harrelson’s commitment to green living; although you might have to first wait patiently to even make the attempt. Such was the case for one New Zealand reporter who was left hanging for 40 minutes for an interview with the actor. Apparently, Harrelson was not about to use one of the plastic toothbrushes on location and sent away an assistant to track down an organic replacement. Almost an hour later, and with a freshly brushed set, he was ready to go. In traditional Kiwi style, there were no hard feelings. [via celebitchy]

Ed Begley Jr. has conquered the television world with his hit series Living With Ed, and is now set to strike out into publication with the new book Living Like Ed. As expected, this how-to will cover all aspect of going green — from transportation, recycling, energy, food, and clothing. Wife Rachelle also pens some portions of the book to offer some Yin to Begley’s Yang. [via amazon]

Like most family disputes in the Hollywood circle, this one revolves around money — and a polar bear. Apparently, Knut the Polar Bear — the wildly successful ’symbol of climate change’ that’s been on the cover of magazines, has his own book, and recently sold movie rights — is being asked to dish over some of the $15 million he’s made. The zoo that owns his bio-dad, Lars, says it deserves that cash, while the Berlin Zoo where Knut currently resides, says that’s a bunch of bull. Neither side is backing down. We’re sorry Knut. But if it helps, Macaulay Culkin had the same trouble with his parents and he turned out OK. Kind of. [via newser]

January 10th 2008

Global Warning, Celebrity Assistance

Filed under: books, green and famous — thomas @ 10:41 pm

If the prospect of your cruise ship hitting an iceberg is too frightening for you to consider taking a journey to Antarctica, why not go for the next best thing? Antarctica: The Global Warning is a book of sumptuous photography by Sebastian Copeland (above, left), a big-wig at Global Green and (as it happens) the cousin of Orlando Bloom (above, right). With a foreword by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and a preface by green-supporter extraordinaire Leonardo DiCaprio, the coffee-table book provides proof positive (as if any such thing were needed) of the importance of preserving the sanctity of the seventh continent.

Copeland’s junior by thirteen years, Bloom (a.k.a. “Orly,”—to his cousin, anyway) accompanied the photographer-filmmaker on a journey to Antarctica last February aboard the Ice Lady Patagonia. Regal as the ship might sound, it’s actually a research vessel with few amenities. Nonetheless, the actor was overtaken by what he saw there, telling Elle magazine a few months later: “Those icebergs are so majestic, but they felt like dinosaurs to me, like a dying breed. I can imagine coming back to Antarctica next year or ten years from now and seeing the difference.”

Copeland says that his primary reason for his publishing the book was to raise consciousness and in so doing, pay back his debt to future generations. “You take one step at a time and before you know it, you start to rethink everything.” He’s also the first to admit that celebrities (such as his cousin as well as boldfaced names like Salma Hayek and Jake Gyllenhaal, both of whom accompanied him to the other of Earth’s extremities, the Arctic—see below) have an even greater ability than the rest of us to bring important attention to the cause, sounding the global warning for Antarctica and the other continents as well.

January 6th 2008

Shanna Moakler Is A Skinny Bitch

Filed under: books, food & drink — paige @ 11:51 pm

It looks like this ex- beauty queen and  co-host of the CW Crowned has jumped on the Skinny Bitch bandwagon. Joining other skinny bitches like Victoria Beckham, this mom of three recently spoke about her shift to a vegetarian lifestyle:

My husband (drummer Travis Barker) is a veggie and I always wanted to try it. Our first step was making our entire family go “organic.” I only wish we had done it sooner! I also read a book called Skinny Bitch“, which opened my eyes to cruelty to animals, and that was it! It hasn’t been that hard for me… Los Angeles offers lots of great alternatives!

Looks like she discovered the New York Times bestseller just in time. The sassy authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin have just released Skinny Bitch in the Kitch for “Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!).” According to the website:

Quit your bitching—they’ve heard you already! You read Skinny Bitch and it totally rocked your world. Now you want to know, “What can I cook that’s good for me, but doesn’t taste like crap?” Well, lucky for you, the Bitches are on the case. Self-proclaimed pigs, Rory and Kim understand all too well: Life without lasagna isn’t a life worth living; chocolate cake is vital to our survival; and no one can live without mac n’ cheese—no one. So can you keep to your SB standards and eat like a whale? Shit yeah, bitches.

Clearly this is an “in-your-face” approach to going vegan, but the girls are on a mission. Go ahead, let your inner skinny bitch out (like so many other hollywood starlets) and jump on the bandwagon.

December 13th 2007

Harry Potter Book Magically Raises $3.9 Million For Charity

Filed under: books, donations — michael @ 2:39 pm

It was expected to only sell for about $100,000. However, much like magical world from whence it came from, JK Rowling’s limited edition handwritten book defied all expectations. At an auction at Sotheby’s today, “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” fetched almost $4 million dollars. That price broke a number of records as the highest price ever achieved at auction for a modern literary manuscript, an auction record for a work by J.K. Rowling, and an auction record for a children’s book. The buyer, London art agent Hazlitt, Gooden and Fox, now has one of only seven copies of the illustrated work. From the article,

“The standing-room-only crowd at Sotheby’s auction house applauded as bidding topped the 1 million pound ($2 million) mark. The money will benefit The Children’s Voice, a charity co-founded in 2005 by Rowling and Baroness Nicholson, a member of Britain’s House of Lords. Rowling, 42, watched the auction on the Web from her home in Edinburgh, Scotland, and said she was ecstatic. ‘This will mean so much to children in desperate need of help,” she said in a statement. ‘It means Christmas has come early to me.’”

What a fantastic outcome. As we mentioned earlier, the book contains five fairy tales given to Potter character Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in the final book of the series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. Said Rowling, “‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years.”

November 21st 2007

Secret Harry Potter Book To Benefit Children’s Charity

Shhhh...

Filed under: books, campaigns — michael @ 12:02 pm

Author JK Rowling has written a not-so-secret companion piece to the Harry Potter series that’s set to go under the auction block at London’s Sotheby’s on December 13. Titled The Tales Of Beedle The Bard, the book contains five fairy tales given to Potter character Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in the final book of the series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Only ten copies were created — handwritten and illustrated by Rowling — and each is different in some way from the other. Additionally, they are all bound in leather and decorated with silver ornaments and moonstones. Proceeds from the auction (with a starting bid of $100,000) will go to benefit The Children’s Voice campaign; a charity Rowling established to help vulnerable children.

I love the exclusivity of this book — but why not just make it a commercial companion piece to the series? I’m sure it would generate millions that could benefit a hundred different charities. Chances are, that’s exactly what will eventually happen. The good news is you’ll be able to view the full copy online before the auction starting December 9th.

November 4th 2007

Orlando Blooms Attends Global Warning Exhibit

Filed under: books, events: la — michael @ 4:13 pm

Back in January, Orlando Bloom boarded a ship headed for Antarctica as part of an expedition to study the effects of climate change on the icy landscape. Joining him was his cousin Sebastian Copeland, who took photos for a new book and exhibit titled Antarctica: The Global Warning. The gallery opened Friday night at the Jan Kenser Gallery in Los Angeles. You can check out the official website for the new book here.

via justjared

October 29th 2007

Cameron Diaz On Being Selfish From The Green Book

Filed under: books — jen @ 1:59 pm

From Treehugger, our favorite Eco Celeb shares her thoughts on the Green Movement…

“I never got into the environmental movement [before] because I really didn’t connect to what was being said and how it was being said. I’m a selfish American. I don’t want to give it all up. Then I started listening more closely to what was being said because I was looking for a way in. I wanted to help other people do more…We can figure out how to maintain our lifestyles and the health of the planet if we do it right. And that’s what I want. I just want to maintain what we have for a long period of time—forever. How nice would that be? I’m very selfish.”

—Cameron Diaz in the foreword of The Green Book (2007, Three Rivers Press)

October 24th 2007

Laurie David Wants Your Kids “Down-to-Earth” About Global Warming

Filed under: books — stefani @ 10:33 am

Laurie David may have stirred the proverbial green pot this summer with her questionable carbon footprint, but she still knows a thing or two about global warming. Her new book, titled The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming with co-author and fellow environmentalist Cambria Gordon, is geared toward kids ages 8 and up, and is a thorough and accessible look at the many facets of global warming, as well as the impact children can make on the future of the planet.

Broken down into four major chapters - “It’s Getting Hot in Here,” “Weird, Wacky Weather,” “Extinction Stinks,” and “What You Can Do to Stop Global Warming,” The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming is filled with snarky writing and a ton of pop culture references (SpongeBob, the Will Ferrell, and the X-Games are all referenced) to help kids make connections in an otherwise tough concept to grasp. To it’s credit, The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming takes a tricky subject and lays it out well-balanced, and without sugar on top. This is not a book for smaller children, however, who may get scared that global warming means immediately, or who think those cute polar bears can come live with them when their homes melt away. The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming also has a great glossary of global warming terms; a directory of careers for future green crusaders; and many resources for kids to help make their voices known about how much they care about the planet, including promoting the website Stop Global Warming as a next step for global warming education.

It also seems that The Down-to-Earth Guide has created a bit of a stir with the Science and Public Policy Institute, a watchdog non-profit organization “advancing scientific and policy debate in the public health arena”. David explains in a Huffington Post article that the SPPI apparently scoured the book, hoping to find something worth shouting about - and all they could find was a mislabeled chart. With all the controversies surrounding global warming theories, at least we can bring a great book to our kids to let them start conversations about the planet, and let them make up their own minds.

Win your own copy of The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming at teensygreen, Stefani Newman’s green kid’s website.