Mourning Receives Community Assist Award for July!!

NEW YORK, August 14, 2008 – Miami HEAT center Alonzo Mourning has been named the recipient of the NBA Community Assist Award for July, in recognition of his outstanding efforts in the community and for his ongoing philanthropic and charitable work.

The seven-time NBA All-Star and well-known philanthropist is being honored for the success of his 12th annual “Zo’s Summer Groove,” held last month in Miami, Florida. This year, Mourning joined forces with his teammate Dwyane Wade and his Wade’s World Foundation, raising money to support a variety of educational programs in the greater Miami area. Thousands of participants turned out for the weeklong event, which included a golf tournament, concert, benefit dinner, youth summit, basketball clinic and a star-studded basketball game that closed out the festivities.

“My passion and commitment to provide kids with the tools they need to succeed is as strong as when I started Alonzo Mourning Charities in 1997,” said Mourning. “Zo’s Summer Groove, our largest fundraiser, has truly been a fun, community-centered effort that provides many programs with the financial support needed to make education a priority.”

Through AM Charities, Mourning’s community assistance continues year-round. Since 1997, the organization has donated millions of dollars to support existing youth programs and toward creating youth enrichment centers, including the Overtown Youth Center in South Florida. Mourning opened the Center in 2003, and today it continues to provide children with a safe environment in which to learn and excel. Another major component of the Alonzo Mourning Charities is the Honey Shine Mentoring Program, which strives to empower young girls through biweekly workshops and summer camps, promoting positive body image, a strong sense of self and helps members to develop into happy, healthy adults.

This marks the second time that Mourning has been named the recipient of the NBA Community Assist Award. He last won the honor in July 2006.

As July’s NBA Community Assist Award recipient, Mourning will receive the David Robinson Plaque, with the inscription, “Following the standard set by NBA Legend David Robinson who improved the community piece by piece.” In addition, a $5,000 donation will be given by the NBA to the Alonzo Mourning Charities.

The league presents the NBA Community Assist Award monthly to recognize players for their charitable efforts. The award honors the NBA player who best reflects the passion that the league and its players have for giving back to their communities.

The Levi's(R) Brand Digitally "Unbuttons" a Diverse Cast of Emerging Artists as Part of Global 501(R) Marketing Campaign

Campaign Features exclusive new tracks by talented musicians Estelle, Nikka Costa and Wale and content from celebrity blog sensation Perez Hilton

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- This week, the Levi's(R) Brand launches an innovative digital experience as part of its global "Live Unbuttoned" campaign celebrating the iconic Levi's(R) 501(R) jean. The digital program 'unbuttons' a cast of some of the hottest new artists from the world of music, art, sports and entertainment. Fast rising R&B star Estelle, lyrical wizard Wale, celebrity blogger extraordinaire Perez Hilton and XGames gold medalist Jamie Bestwick are just a few of the stars who 'unbutton' themselves to reveal fun, whimsical videos and exclusive online content.

At the heart of the Levi's(R) new digital experience is the idea that everyone has something to reveal, they just need to be 'unbuttoned'. Levi's "Unbuttoned" digital concept was developed and executed by EVB San Francisco with artist-relations support from Cornerstone. The experience offers fans a sneak peak into each artist's 'revelations'; through exclusive full motion videos, music downloads and film content. Exclusive tracks by Estelle, Wale and Nikka Costa from their respective forthcoming albums were produced for the "Live Unbuttoned" digital campaign. The tracks are available for free download at www.levi.com/estelle, www.levi.com/nikka and www.levi.com/wale.

"Levi's is a brand that represents creativity, individuality and freedom of expression. This spirit is at the heart of the 'unbuttoned' campaign and the new digital experience curated by Levi's(R)," said Doug Sweeny, Director of Levi's(R) Brand Marketing. "The emerging artists we partnered with unbutton themselves in their own unique and inspired way. The resulting brand experience invites consumers to interact with Levi's(R) in a fun and relevant way that will evolve and grow as consumers interact with it over time."

The "Unbuttoned" digital campaign is supported by an awareness print media campaign by EVB in magazines including Rolling Stone, The Fader, Giant, Dime, Vibe and ESPN. A rich online media campaign produced by Ave A/Razorfish was also developed to support the launch of the campaign.

About Levi's(R) "Unbuttoned" Talent

Estelle -- Singer, song writer and producer, Estelle brings a mix of lounge-funk, reggae, hip hop and soul to her ground-breaking sound. Estelle stands out as a strong, independent woman who inspires others with her relentless pursuit of being real and authentic. Estelle's recent chart topper "American Boy" featuring Kanye West is a number one single worldwide. Levi's customers can get a free exclusive download of Estelle's new song "No Substitute Love Remix" at www.levi.com/estelle.

Perez Hilton -- Celebrity blogger and television personality writes one of the most visited and loved entertainment sites online at perezhilton.com. The site generates as many as 8 million readers a day. Check out what Perez has to say in early September at www.levi.com/perez.

Wale is known and respected by fans worldwide for his mix raw energy, lyrical wizardry and genre-bending production. Wale garnered crazy buzz and many industry-firsts in 2007, all without a record deal. In 2008, he signed with Interscope via Grammy Award winning producer Mark Ronson and will release his first album in 2009. Wale produced an exclusive remix for Levi's off "100 Miles and Running" called "Breakdown" available now at www.levi.com/wale.

Nikka Costa -- Born into a family of musicians, this songstress takes a dash of Janis, a pinch of Tina and a spoonful of James Brown to deliver music that is confidently unique and continually evolving. For those who like their tunes fresh and soulful with an injection of rock and R&B, Nikka's style fusion hits that musical sweet spot. Download Nikka Costa's exclusive "Stuck On You" remix at www.levi.com/nikka.

Jamie Bestwick -- The world's preeminent vertical BMX rider, Jamie won an XGames Gold Medal just last week and is a five time XGames Gold medal winner. If anyone knows the value of taking a chance, it's Jamie. "The King of Vert" dumped his day job to ride BMX full time almost ten years ago and has never looked back. Look for a cool video featuring Jamie at www.levi.com/jamie.

Let's Take IT Global!!!

Over the weekend, Japanese game developer Square Enix Co Ltd invited the video game enthusiasts to an event held in Tokyo, meant to provide a peak at several upcoming releases, including trailers for the Final Fantasy XIII series, news and also new information on other games.

The event, called the DKΣ3713, managed to accommodate close to 1,500 fans, all eager to see what the company’s currently working on. One of the most exciting news refers to the playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII, which will be included in the Blu-ray Disc package prepared for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete. In order to make it a mandatory buy for all of the game’s fans, the company will also include trailers for Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII.

The company is carefully building up the hype around the Final Fantasy XIII release, which is scheduled for 2009 in Japan and it is very likely to become Square Enix’s best seller. The company recently made the fans extremely happy, announcing during the E3 show in Los Angeles that the Final Fantasy XIII game will also be available on the Xbox 360 platform. The game will be available on Sony Corp’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 in the United States and Europe and exclusively on the PS3 in Japan.

If the fans in Japan know that they will get to enjoy their favorite game in the second part of 2009, the fans from Europe and from the United States still have to wait for an official announcement, as there is no information about the game’s worldwide release.

Rage To Perform During Democratic National Convention

Rage Against The Machine will perform for free on August 27 at the Denver Coliseum during the Democratic National Convention, in conjunction with the Iraq Veterans Against the War and Tent State University.
The performance, according to Billboard.com, is part of the Tent State Music Festival to End the War, and also features Flobots, the Coup, State Radio and Wayne Kramer. The event begins at 11:00 AM, and has no age requirements.

Fans can sign up for tickets, which will be given away free by lottery, by presenting a photo ID at Cuernavaca Park at the university's campus starting August 24 through August 26 from 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM.
Rage is keeping it fair, as the group will also perform on September 3 in Minneapolis - the same week the Republican National Convention takes place. Bassist/guitarist for the group, Tom Morello, has also said he intends to perform with Steve Earle at a union rally in the Twin Cities on September 1 (Labor Day).
Rage Against the Machine, noted for its political subject matter, as well as its incorporation of Hip Hop in its music, reunited at last year's Coachella festival, seven years after the group split. They also headlined last year's wildly successful Rock The Bells tour series.

Just in time for Madden!! Microsoft Unveils Its New 60 GB Xbox Console

Starting with August 15, the new 60 Giga Bytes Xbox 360 console will be available in the United Kingdom. The price announced for the new release remains the same as before at £199 and it will replace the 20 GB Pro package as the mid-range Xbox Stock-keeping unit.

The decision to develop a console with significantly more space came naturally for the company and Mr. Neil Thompson, senior regional director of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, managed to explain it best: " No other device offers the depth and breadth of entertainment that Xbox 360 can deliver and we know consumers need increasingly more and more space to store the amazing digital entertainment content we provide." He also underlined the fact that users will now be able to enjoy the extra space at no extra cost.

The company included in its offer a wireless controller, a headset and one month subscription to Xbox Live Gold.

The rest of the company’s offer remains the same, with the Xbox 360 Arcade, which includes a 256 MB memory card but no hard drive, selling for £159.99 and the Xbox 360Elite with its 120 GB selling for £259.99.

Another version, this time with an 80 GB hard drive, is also scheduled for release later this month on August 29 at the price of £299.99.

The Xbox 360 was first presented on May 12, 2005 during a show on MTV and since then it reached immense global popularity with its three available versions. The company is constantly looking for new ways to top its main competitors, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii.

Samantha Morton Backs Volunteering For Charity

A couple of years ago, British actress Samantha Morton loaned her voice to A National Voice (ANV). Now it’s resonating through Vodafone’s World of Difference campaign.

Impressed that ANV – whose goal is to address the lack of support for the over 60,000young people in care in the UK – was founded by a local woman literally out of a room in her flat, Morton contacted the charity to see how she could help.

One of the young members was equally impressed with Morton: “We got to interview [Samantha] to be an Ambassador for ANV and she was so lovely. She talked to us about her experiences being in care. It was an amazing experience to meet her.”

Then Morton and ANV helped launch the World of Difference, Vodafone’s campaign to financially support volunteers to give up their day jobs to work for a charity of their choices for a year.

“I feel really passionate about helping children and young people who are in the care system,” said Morton. “I support A National Voice as it aims to make positive changes to the care system in the UK and gives a voice to those being cared for. The World of Difference project gives people the opportunity to work with their own favorite charity – I’ve seen first hand what a difference an extra pair of hands can make… It just seemed to me that I understood the ethos behind it.”

Acceptance of applications to the World of Difference campaign ended July 31. The four winning volunteers will be announced in September.


Article pulled from Look to the Stars

Kanye West To Open Restaurant Chain

Kanye West has a treat for all the West Coasters in Chicago: The rapper’s KW Foods LLC got a license to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in his hometown, Chicago Business reported.

According to a spokesperson of Fatburger Corp., Kanye West’s KW Foods LLC, has the rights to develop 10 Fatburgers in Chicago area!

The first burger joint is set to open up in September (date to be determined) at 15110 S. La Grange Road- Orland Park. The 2,353-square-foot fast-food will feature 74seats. He hopes to open a second Fatburger in January 95th and Western Avenue- Evergreen Park in Beverly neighborhood. He also has a spot picked for the third location, but the lease has yet to be finalized. A spokesperson for the burger chain confirmed Kanye’s plans. Kanye West’s 10 restaurants will join the 93 Fatburger outlets that already exist across the US and Canada.

The restaurants maintain that old-fashioned atmosphere, with three jukeboxes (will they all play hip-hop music?) and the famous slogan “The Last Great Hamburger Stand.”

Fatburger is a California burger institution and is In-N-Out Burger’s biggest competition. And, well, we all know how much Kanye likes a little competition.

Fatburger, which primarily calls California home, is a popular fast-food chain. This will be the first restaurant in Chicago.

It appears that hip hop and Fatburger have a longer history together, which goes beyond West entrepreneurial approach. Notorious BIG and Ice Cube had their rhymes, rapping about the burgers, moreover, Beastie Boys had their own lyrics dedicated to the tasty food. Also, it is rumored that Queen Latifah and E-40 own franchises as well, while Pharrell Williams’ outlet competes with the Chinese gastronomic tradition in nowhere else but China.

In the meantime, Kanye West is reportedly going back in the studio to prepare some new material. His last released album is called “Graduation.” Reports state that the rapper is currently working with Jay-Z, preparing the release of his forthcoming album, “Blueprint 3.” Leaks on the internet revealed that one of the tracks on the album is titled “Jockin' Jay-Z.” Although the media rumored that Kanye West is to produce the greatest part of Jay-Z’s album, neither part has confirmed or denied the allegations.