As I type this my home team, the Celtics, are down by four. I never thought I’d be so into a sporting event. I mean, I’m usually a girl who usually picks which team to root for based on thier uniform colors (not only are the Celtics and I both from Boston but we both like to wear vibrant shades of green) but these NBA finals have drawn me in. And in addition to playing awesome games, both the Celtics and the Lakers take part and do some pretty cool charity work too.

The Celtics Boston have the Celtics Shamrock Foundation  benefiting area children directly, through programs that provide education and support. The Shamrock foundation also partners with community based organizations that provide healthcare, shelter and vital services for children in need. takepart  and get involved at http://www.nba.com/celtics/community/community-index.html.

The Lakers through The Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation’s which assists nonprofit community organizations based on need. With the Foundation’s focus on the use of sports to promote education, teamwork and self-esteem among Los Angeles area youth, The Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation’s  fundraising directly supports these initiatives by providing financial assistance to children and local youth programs. Check them out and takepart by visiting http://www.nba.com/lakers/community/foundation.html.

Ooh the score is 55 Lakers, 52 Celtics. I gotta get offline and get back to my couch, this game is getting good!

Last week, an usher at Safeco Field asked a lesbian to stop kissing her date because it made another fan uncomfortable.

As the Mariners played the Boston Red Sox on May 26, Sirbrina Guerrero and her date were approached in the third inning by an usher who told them their kissing was inappropriate, Guerrero said.The usher, Guerrero said, told them he had received a complaint from a woman nearby who said that there were kids in the crowd of nearly 36,000 and that parents would have to explain why two women were kissing.

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The second look at one of my favorite movie dads. (#1 is here)

The Lebowski’s in The Big Lebowski

By the film’s end, both The Big Lebowski and the other Lebowski known as the Dude are both fathers, one of Maud and one of Maud’s baby. The Big Lebowski, as it stands, is definitely not the world’s best dad. He remarried a young blond after his wife’s death and faked her kidnapping so he could get money from his daughter Maud. While the Dude (the other Lebowski) actually helps Maud, his lady friend, to conceive her own child and by request won’t have anything to do with the child. Regardless of their parenting skills, these dads are fun to watch.

takepart to learn how Big Brothers/Big Sisters are using bowling for good and click click to see a great scene from the movie.

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When I think of gaming, visions of fast cars, lost of violence and scantily clad women pop into my head. Well, that was until I participated in the Games for Change conference taking place at the New School in New York City this week.

There is such an amazing community of gamers who want to create and want to play games that have a social message. I’ll post video highlights from the panels in the next few days and in the meantime, here are 10 amazing games that were highlighted at the conference:

1) PeaceMaker
PeaceMaker is inspired by real events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It challenges players to succeed as a leader where others have failed: bringing peace to the Middle-East. Playing both perspectives, players could experience the joy of winning the Nobel Prize or the agony of plunging the region into disaster. Play now!

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FATWORLD is a video game using cute characters and bright colors to teach players the relationships between obesity, nutrition, and socioeconomics in the contemporary U.S.

As explained on FATWORLD.org: The game’s goal is not to tell people what to eat or how to exercise, but to demonstrate the complex, interwoven relationships between nutrition and factors like budgets, the physical world, subsidies, and regulations. Existing approaches to nutrition advocacy fail to communicate the aggregate effect of everyday health practices. It’s one thing to explain that daily exercise and nutrition are important, but people, young and old, have a very hard time wrapping their heads around outcomes five, 10, 50 years away. You can choose starting weights and health conditions, including predispositions towards ailments like diabetes, heart disease, or food allergies. You’ll have to construct menus and recipes, decide what to eat and what to avoid, exercise (or not), and run a restaurant business to serve the members of your community. 

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Wal-Mart, the biggest toy retailer in the world, has raised its safety standards on toxics in toys. The announcement comes on the heels of some 25 million toys having been recalled in the United States last year, in many cases due to unsafe levels of lead. Toy suppliers for Wal-Mart must meet the new standards by later this year.

Wal-Mart’s new standards apply to several toxics including antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury. Their new lead standard is six times stricter than the current federal standards. Also, the levels of some phthalates will be restricted in products used by children under the age of three.

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Woah LeBron! With Mother’s Day only a few days old and the NBA playoffs heating up I thought this might be a good video to post. During the Cavs and Celtics game that took place last night, LeBron James was driving to the hoop when Celtics played Paul Pierce decided to tangle him up. They two ended up falling into the crowd where LeBron’s mom Gloria was sitting.. She’s wearing a white shirt - check out her reaction:

LeBron had a quite reaction as well..

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Conan O’Brien may be all over the news since his late night replacement was announced, but I’ve been thinking of him for a different reason, I’ve been thinking of his unique approach to gaming! Check out below where he presents with a “toned down” version of the notoriously violent Grand Theft Auto:

I love Conan!

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Which shade of green are you? Find out with these top 5 Eco IQ quizzes. Gauge your environmental awareness in the areas of travel, food, investments, and even with how you vote!

1) “How Green Do You Go” from MSNBC

2) “How Green Are You” from Newsweek’s Project Green

3) “Test Your Eco IQ” from the Green Guide

4) “Just How Green Are You?” from Forbes

5) “How Green Are You Quiz” from the Times Online

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I am sorry to say that the Derby fillie I  wrote about yesterday died!

Eight Belles finished a strong second in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, but any celebration turned to grief and sorrow when the filly collapsed with two broken ankles and had to be euthanized.

Trainer Larry Jones was clearly emotional and fighting back tears as he spoke at his barn after the race at Churchill Downs. [USA Today]

Sadly many race horses live short lives. According to PETA, ”a New York Daily News reporter remarked, “The thoroughbred race horse is a genetic mistake. It runs too fast, its frame is too large, and its legs are far too small. As long as mankind demands that it run at high speeds under stressful conditions, horses will die at racetracks” Yikes!

To learn more about the ethical treatment of animals and check out peta.org.