Margaret Cho has had a huge influence on my career. Her candid discussions on self image, her fearless energy, and of course her immigrant mom impressions (I too have an adorable immigrant Mom that makes her way into many of my jokes) have always inspired me. After I read “I’m the One that I Want” I was officially a huge fan. That book bluntly and beautifully examined the racial and size prejudices in Hollywood.

Check out this clip from the “I’m the One that I Want” show:

Not only an artist but also an activist, Cho recently received the First Amendment Award from the ACLU of Southern California, and the Intrepid Award from the

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On tonight’s Rock of Love reunion show there was lots of screaming, lots of fighting, and lots of cleavage. But the show wasn’t all about rowdy drama and really low cut tops, the show also served as a PSA for the American Liver Foundation in memory of contestant Destiney’s father who sadly passed away in March from cancer. Destiney’s father had appeared on the program and those clips were featured on the reunion show as well as a link to the American Liver Foundation.

and donate to liverfoundation.org which promotes education about liver wellness, provides assistance to those affected by and at risk for liver disease, and works to find cures and better treatments for all diseases of the liver.

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Don’t miss these excellent posts on some very engaging and thoughtful topics - from going green at the office to Julian Beever to dystopian film telling us to take action now. Check out our most popular articles of the week on a variety of subjects, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Katoucha’s Body Found: Model Helped African Women Escape Mutiliation

Julian Beever Brings Art to New Orleans Sidewalks

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Nicole:

Heath Ledger Nick Drake Video for “Black Eyed Dog” Hits Web

Top 10 Ways to Go Green in the Office

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Giulia:

Crate & Barrel Goes Green

The Black Comedy Project

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Gina:

Top 10 Dystopian Future Films Telling Us to Take Action Now

Going to “The Edge of Heaven” with Fatih Akin

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Kerry:

Sustainable Songstrees Sue West’s Rural Revival

No Impact Home A Hit At Ecobuild Exhibition

Oh when will the ignorant humor epidemic end? You know, lame comedians perpetuating racial and ethnic stereotypes through lame shticks. We’ve seen it, we’ve heard it, and we still don’t think it’s very clever.

Fear not intelligent comedy fans! There are comedians out there who are making an effort to explore and celebrate their heritage on stage without being hacky. Better yet, there are groups of comedians joining forces to explore and celebrate their heritage without being hacky. One of those groups is The Black Comedy Project.

As explained on their site “there’s a difference between what people think “Black Comedy” is and what it actually happens to be. NYC Based comedians Baron Vaughn and Elon James White have reached out to comedians across the nation to finally let the world know that there’s very different voices within the community. Let us bring them to you.”

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The latest VH1 reality creation, Celebrity Rehab follows a group of celebs living together at an addiction counseling center and being treated by Dr. Drew Pinsky (best known from Love Line).

Is public addiction treatment a good idea? Dr. Drew Pinsky certainly believes so

Dr. Drew has also said

the media has a moral responsibility to start reporting on celebrity drug abuse in the wake of the shocking drug-related death of actor Heath Ledger and the drug-addled travails of pop star Britney Spears.We have a saying in the addiction field: `You’re as sick as your secrets’.Secrets keep addicts ill and cost lives. Families that have addicted members learn to operate with secrecy. And Hollywood is operating, and the media with them, like a sick family. If this secrecy hadn’t been maintained, Heath Ledger could be alive today.”

While keeping addiction secrets is indeed harmful, is exposing them in on-air group therapy the best way to curing these addicts?

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I don’t know if posting the following is helping or adding to the problem, but the video posted here: http://blog.vh1.com/2008-01-30/just-another-brit-lost-in-her-mercedes/
made me want to cry.

It’s of Britney Spears being attacked by, you guessed it, paparazzi as they try and “help” her drive home. In a strange British accent Britney repeatedly says “I am scared.” Yet the camera’s keep rolling and the photogs keep snapping shots of the girl they have all helped destroy.

You’d think by now there would be better laws against this sort of personal invasion, however for celebrities there are loop holes in these laws. This loophole comes into the picture if you are legally defined as a public figure. Celebrities, public officials and private citizens involved in newsworthy incidences are all legally defined as public figures. Public figures actually have far fewer rights to privacy than an “ordinary person.”

For more on how the paparazzi works and about your privacy rights visit http://people.howstuffworks.com/paparazzi.htm

“I believe if you want to change the world, you need to change Hollywood,” said Tim Winters of the Hills Church which according to http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3880740 is praying for troubled Hollywood. Let’s hope they pray that there isn’t a third season of I Love New York.