That trailer had me from hello - or it’s opening line about kids and coloring. I miss coloring more than I miss most things. Beautiful Losers looks pretty great to me not only for the discussion of art but also for a glimpse of New York City as it was in the 90’s.

The film opens t in NYC - and the directors and artists will be in attendance. And takepart to learn more about the Joan Mitchell Foundation and how they try to make sure all kids get the chance to color and create art!

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1) African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal

For the Cinema YouTube Video of the Day, Click here>>

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Brigitte Bardot Fine: Top 5 Bardotisms That Got Hot Sex Symbol In Hot Water

Obama Pound: In Historic Moment, White People Exposed To Fist Bump For First Time

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Nicole Hughes:

Get a Job: Top 10 Guides to Finding the Perfect Eco Career

Schwarzenegger Declares Drought in California

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Andy Kondrat:

Barcelona Fines Citizens for Using Drinking Water in Pools and Gardens

Coal Power Plants Waste Two-Thirds of Energy Input

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Jon Popham:

Megabus Expanding to the East Coast

Egyptian Blogger Freed from Prison

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Giulia Rozzi:

Diamonds In The Rough: A Ugandan Hip Hop Revolution

Cluster Bomb Ban

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Gina Telaroli:

Interview with Nina Davenport, Director of Operation Filmmaker

KidZui : Internet for Kids (and Those Young at Heart)

Diamonds in the Rough chronicles the incredible journey of the hip-hop group, the Bataka Squad, who use hip-hop to spread awareness of their countries’ troubles, and to offer positive alternatives for the youth. As narrator of the film, Michael Franti of Spearhead guides us through an incredible journey from the riot-torn streets of Uganda, to the remote villages in the countryside and finally to the concrete jungle of the United States.

Babaluku and Saba Saba are the two remaining members of the Bataka Squad, Uganda’s first major hip hop group

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What do Brigitte Bardot, beach litter, and American rappers on skid row have in common? They’re all on the TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup!   The Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie:

Pras On Skid Row (Literally)

Top 10 Reasons to Go to the Havana Film Festival in New York

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Nicole:

6 Million Pounds of Trash Found On World’s Beaches In One Day

“Take A Bite” Out of Climate Change

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Giulia:

Once Upon A Time Mommy Wasn’t This Pretty

We Can Solve It

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Gina:

The Fresh Air of the Flight of the Red Balloon and Hou Hsiao Hsien

Brigitte Bardot on Trial for Her Contempt Towards Muslims

In his latest project, hip hop artist, actor, and filmmaker Pras Michel (The Fugees) goes undercover for 9 days and nights as a homeless person in downtown LA’s notorious Skid Row. I met up with Pras in a hotel lobby in Manhattan to discuss Skid Row, the documentary based on his time on the street living with 90,000 people in a 50 square block area. Pras talked to me about Muhammed Ali, why he likes Obama and doesn’t go for Bill Cosby, how Oprah and Snoop could help the “lost African-American generation” by meeting face to face, and why we’re in a “transitional moment.”

Check out www.skidrowthemovie.com to find where it’s showing near you.

Why did you make this movie?

To make people aware. The majority of Americans just want to be able to work and provide. People on Skid Row … they just want to be able to work, they don’t care what it is. A lot of people think if something’s going on over here and not where they are, then it doesn’t affect them. We have to get away from that mindset.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Several topics really stood out this week, including the Oscars as social advocacy inspiration, civil rights and Black History Month, and lots of hot news on entertainment going Green. Check out our most popular posts of the week on these subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Happy Belated “Freedom to Marry” Week!

Rosa and Raymond Parks: Valiant Valentine #5

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Nicole:

Top 10 Oscar Picks to Inspire Social Action

Cornel West: Black Thoughts On Black History Month

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Giulia:

H&M’s “Fashion Against AIDS”

Ed Begley Jr. Goes Green

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Gina:

Top 10 Best Picture Winners That Inspire

Remixing “Chicago 10″

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Kerry:

How To Set the World On Fire Without Burning Out

Eco-Brokers Cater to Green Homebuyers

As Black History Month 2008 draws to a close, celebrate with Cornel West’s Never Forget 101 course created “to unsettle, unnerve, and un-house you, as we wrestle with the history of the modern world by highlighting the doing and the suffering of people of African descent.” Think.MTV features Cornel West as their Artist of the Week, and has created a series of short clips with West taking questions from a diverse representation of voices including black musical artists in a virtual lecture hall, as well as children in an actual classroom setting.

West’s signature raw, lyrical lecture style is a delight to listen to as he tackles questions by artists including George Clinton and Lupe Fiasco about wealth discrepancy, gang violence, the role of hip hop in contemporary society, and the search for unity in America.

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Corn-based ethanol is an unmitigated environmental disaster. Guess the kernel-poppin’ hip hoppers who celebrate this oh-so-bad biofuel on YouTube didn’t get the memo. Enjoy the dancing corn cobs, but consume Lead’s Stand Up! video with caution: swallowing this pop corn may be hazardous to the planet’s health!

Find out about more viable solutions to our energy crisis at Rising Tide North America.  

A group of young teens in New York City’s Queensbridge neighborhood have united together to use music to tell their stories. The Triumph : Our Journey, Our Story, is an album produced at an after school program called Project Excel, that happens at the Jacob A Riis Neighborhood Settlement House located in Long Island City in Queens.

Over the past summer and fall, the teens wrote and recorded an entire album full of music that talks about what it’s really like to be a teen in an inner city neighborhood.

They have also used the power of the internet to get the music out - be sure to check out their myspace page and listen to some of the amazing songs : http://www.myspace.com/projectexcelnyc - my favorite tracks are My Life, My Story and Who I Am. You’ll be really glad you decided to give a listen!

to learn how you can help support programs like Project Excel at the Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House and watch the video they made about The Triumph below.