Having played saxophone in junior high and high school, as well as being a member of marching band, jazz band and concert band, I think I know a little something about the importance of music education in schools. That’s why I teamed up with DoSomething.org and The VH1 Save the Music Foundation so we can motivate young people to advocate to keep these programs alive. But this isn’t just some generic fudnraiser — it’s a Battle For The Bands! Last year, #BattleForTheBands got 20,000 teens involved in pushing for music education. This year, with a little celebrity help from folks like Kelly Clarkson, we’re going even bigger with a national video contest — and I’m judging it!

Why is this so important? Because music education doesn’t just foster creativity among young people, it’s a fact that teens involved in these programs have better test scores and lower drug-use and drop-out rates. And I honestly think that that is something that we can and should all get behind and support.

If you want to get involved then head over to DoSomething.Org/Battle to find out how you can submit a music video (including fun parody videos) and (hopefully) grab the most votes from judges like me ;) The Top 10 winners will score awesome prizes for their schools like much needed money (for instruments, uniforms, sheet music, etc.), scholarships and even tickets to a concert of their choice. You can also help the Do Something cause by spreading the word by clicking HERE to tweet this post!

C’mon, y’all … let’s ALL Do Something to help save music education in schools :)

Emma has signed up for a role playing a sex shop employee in a black comedy called Adult World.

“It’s a quirky coming-of-age story. My character is very smart, but the economy is very bad. So she works at a porn store. It’s an interesting backdrop because when you’re a young person you’re always looking for inspiration. But then you find yourself asking, ‘How did I end up here?’ It’s very relevant for young people who are asking themselves, ‘What do we do?’”

Emma is young herself, and she recently put college on hold to pursue her acting career. She has said that she relates to the character she will be playing… well, not all of the character but some of her struggles.

Adult World is going to be filmed in New York soon and will be out later this year. When I first heard about it, I couldn’t help thinking about Pretty Woman,one of my all-time fave films with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. At the time that Julia filmed this she was also relatively new to the Hollywood scene, and she played the role of a young prostitute that finds love and in turn her own identity. It is not exactly the same as a sex shop employee, but the parallels are definitely there… I wonder if this will be the film that brings Emma Roberts into the limelight and propels her career?

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So, apparently, a man is suing Jay because he is offended by a joke made about a sacred Sikh temple. On Thursday night, Jay told a joke mocking Mitt Romney by comparing his home to India’s Harmandir Sahib, the Golden Temple of Amritsar.

TMZ reports that Dr. Randeep Dhillon, a Sikh living in Bakersfield, is suing for general and punitive damages, claiming that Leno “falsely portrays the holiest place in the Sikh religion as a vacation resort owned by a non-Sikh.” The monologue joke, which was intended to poke fun at Romney’s extreme wealth, cut to a photo of the temple with a voiceover saying, “Here’s a look at Mitt Romney’s summer home on Lake Winnipesaukee,” after showing other Republicans’ modest homes.

Apparently, many Sikhs were offended by the joke and a Facebook group has been established with the goal of starting a BOYCOTT of Jay Leno. The group now has over 4,000 members! The issue has also extended beyond Facebook and into the higher levels of government… reports are saying that the matter is going to be addressed by India’s Ambassador to the U.S. The Overseas Indian Affairs Minister has also commented on the joke, saying it was “quite unfortunate and quite objectionable.”

Ok… so this issue has actually gotten some legs and pretty senior people in government and official affairs have become aware of it. As I said with the Jimmy Fallon case (which I know is a totally different issue, but they are both late night TV hosts and the law suits have come out in the same week), suing people at a whim has become a significant issue in the U.S. We have many flippant cases going into the courts and then subsequently being thrown out for having no grounds. To me, the Jimmy case seems to be about a disgruntled employee while the Leno case is about a person highly offended by a joke. They are different, but it is interesting to see two cases in one week against late show TV personalities.

I know that comedians are often making jokes that are bordering on inappropriate and politically incorrect, but isn’t this the fundamental feature of comedians? (Every time I have ever been to stand-up comedy, I laugh myself so hard, but very often find myself questioning whether it is wrong of me to be laughing!). I am torn between feeling sympathetic to the Sikh community and wondering whether they have taken the joke too seriously. Cultural insensitivity is not acceptable at all, and the fact that senior leaders of the community have made comments on the issue reminds me of the severity of the issue. Is this a case of being overly sensitive or have stand-up comedians gone too far?

What do you think? Do you think this case has any legs or is it also another attempt at suing for the love of suing?

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The Harvard prize, The Pudding Pot, might seem like a light and comical award, but it has serious history (it was founded in 1795!) and has previously been given to some of THE biggest women stars – Katharine Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.

Claire Danes has established herself as one of Hollywood’s leading actresses throughout a critically acclaimed career that has spanned film, television, and theater. Danes currently stars on the Showtime series “Homeland,” for which she recently received the 2012 Golden Globe Award, her third Globe win.

This is the second year in a row that Danes has won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress, last year for her starring role in HBO’s critically acclaimed “Temple Grandin” biopic. The performance also earned her an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild award.

Claire has been steadily collecting awards (both serious and lighthearted ones) over the past few years and I think is really rounding up to be one of the leading female actresses of our time. Despite its casual demeanor, in this award she has been likened to the ‘greats’ like Meryl and Julia. What do you think – is she of that caliber?

How is one honored with such a prestigious award? A parade through Cambridge (which will be on Thursday) and feted at a celebrity roast! It is certainly more fun than a formal award ceremony…

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What: New York City Opera lives on
Who: NYC Opera, La Traviata, Prima Donna, Cosí fan tutte and Orpheus
When: From now for at least the next 3 years
Where: New York City!!

NY high brow and actually all culture fans can breathe a sigh of relief this week as we have learned that the New York City Opera has signed a 3 year agreement that will keep the company going, for now at least.

There has been anxiety the last few months as the company coming scarily close to going under due to finances and the dreaded GFC… blah, blah.

It’s an immense relief that the season’s four productions—La Traviata and Rufus Wainright’s Prima Donna next month, Cosí fan tutte in March, and Telemann’s Orpheus in May—will go on. Without that, City Opera might well have ceased to exist. Musicians, singers, and stagehands would have exchanged the promise of not enough money for the certainty of none. New Yorkers would have seen their cultural landscape immeasurably impoverished. This grand, scrappy, perpetually strapped, and always stouthearted company has been part of the city’s story for the past 60 years, and it has accumulated a catalog of accomplishments that should mortify the competition.

PITNB and the Opera don’t always go hand in hand, but we are all about culture, and even though I am not the biggest Opera or ‘high culture’ fan, I know how important these things are to the fabric of a city and a society. What would NYC be without the Opera or the ballet or the theater? We would be lost. So good to know that things are safe for now. We need to be getting out and showing our support for all things cultural – book a play or live music or a ticket to the opera instead of watching TV.. go on, do it (myself included!)

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The cross-dressing comedy didn’t last long, it was canned after just 2 episodes… but was that because it wasn’t very funny or because it was too controversial?

ABC Entertainment Chief Paul Lee told reporters that he was “confused about the response from the advocacy groups…he appreciates the cheeky humor that comes with cross-dressing comedies like the Dustin Hoffman movie Tootsie.”

GLAAD’s senior director of programs released this statement today: “While many of ABC’s positive and groundbreaking portrayals of LGBT people have been critical and popular successes, the public had little interest in this outdated show. As a result of this campaign, an important dialogue has been started in Hollywood and mainstream media about the real discrimination faced by transgender people today.”

It seems there is a bit of confusion about the show.. some people really feel strongly about it being harmful to the transgender community, others aren’t sure what the issue is with it – it was just meant to be a light comedy…either way, it has really polarized people on the topic. I don’t know how I feel about this show… I watched the 2 episodes, but am not sure I had enough time to form an opinion about it. I do think it felt quite outdated but am not sure it was offensive. I personally think that creating a conversation about whether it was offensive is successful in itself… still, I don’t think that is enough to keep a show on the air, it wasn’t that funny. Would love to know your thoughts if anyone saw this show before it was canned…

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The American Airlines incident occurred back in early December and gave Alec a huge amount of publicity, both good and bad. AA’s Facebook page gave us all a great summary of what happened.

Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all airlines, must enforce. Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding…. When the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for taxi-out and take-off. This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation. The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding.

Look, if this is how the incident panned out (we’ll never really know because Alex went silent on the matter and completely removed himself with social media straight after the debacle) it isn’t great news for Alec because no one wants to be seen to be rude to the crew, but it was certainly a hilarious incident, and I think it gave Alec a whole lot more street cred. Any publicity is good publicity, as the saying goes, so maybe this was all a stunt to get him into everyone’s dinner table conversation, who knows? What do you think of Alec’s image as a bit of a bad boy now?

I’m glad he’s back – I loove him as Jack Donaghy on the brilliant and downright funny 30 Rock! Welcome back Alec – it would be so good to be on the next flight you take!

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The American Airlines incident occurred back in early December and gave Alec a huge amount of publicity, both good and bad. AA’s Facebook page gave us all a great summary of what happened.

Since an extremely vocal customer has publicly identified himself as being removed from an American Airlines flight on Tuesday, Dec. 6, we have elected to provide the actual facts of the matter as well as the FAA regulations which American, and all airlines, must enforce. Cell phones and electronic devices are allowed to be used while the aircraft is at the gate and the door is open for boarding…. When the door is closed for departure and the seat belt light is turned on, all cell phones and electronic devices must be turned off for taxi-out and take-off. This passenger declined to turn off his cell phone when asked to do so at the appropriate time. The passenger ultimately stood up (with the seat belt light still on for departure) and took his phone into the plane’s lavatory. He slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked. They immediately contacted the cabin crew to check on the situation. The passenger was extremely rude to the crew, calling them inappropriate names and using offensive language. Given the facts above, the passenger was removed from the flight and denied boarding.

Look, if this is how the incident panned out (we’ll never really know because Alex went silent on the matter and completely removed himself with social media straight after the debacle) it isn’t great news for Alec because no one wants to be seen to be rude to the crew, but it was certainly a hilarious incident, and I think it gave Alec a whole lot more street cred. Any publicity is good publicity, as the saying goes, so maybe this was all a stunt to get him into everyone’s dinner table conversation, who knows? What do you think of Alec’s image as a bit of a bad boy now?

I’m glad he’s back – I loove him as Jack Donaghy on the brilliant and downright funny 30 Rock! Welcome back Alec – it would be so good to be on the next flight you take!

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Isaac is the host on the new Project Runway All Stars show, which aired last night. He is most famous for his fashion designing empire, but he has also been on our TV in various forms the last few years. In Fall 2005, the Isaac Show debuted on Style Network. He also appeared as himself in the episode “Plus One is the Loneliest Number” of the fifth season of Sex and the City, and in an episode of Spin City.

“We didn’t think we wanted to get married until they said we could in New York, and then it was like, ‘We’re getting married!’We were at a dinner party [when we told everyone] and people have ideas. You have to have a series of parties, Vera Wang has to be called … it’s like, start now! We were terrified and decided to just elope at City Hall.[When the justice of the peace] said, ‘Meet us at the chapel … Please come forward. Do you, Arnold Germer, take…’ [and] I started sobbing. It was one of those moments [where] I wasn’t expecting that kind of emotional, emotional impact. I think when it’s right, you know it.”

The nuptials took place on the 30th November and by all accounts, listening to his priceless comment here, were beautiful, stylish and very emotionally driven. Divine! Congratulations to the happy couple – hope you have a lifetime of bliss!

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The Devil Inside is in theaters now

Remember the 80s? Isabella sure does. That’s when her mother Maria dialed 911 and confessed she … killed three people. Now 20 years later, Isabella wants to know what actually happened that night — but with her mother locked up in a ward for the insane in Italy, she must travel there to find out whether she’s the offspring of a mentally ill woman. Or a demon. With the help of two young exorcists, Isabella will soon find out: Is that the devil inside her mother? Is there more than one?