An off topic nag, brought to you by Spike Lee, Mary J. Blige, Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Greene, Susan Sarandon and Paul Auster.
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I think it’s interesting that the faceless narrator at the end wasn’t identified – Bill Clinton.
I think that was a wise move. If you go to their website, his foundation is mentioned but so are many other non-profits. Fighting these diseases (all of which disproportionately impact poorer nations) ought not to be a political issue, and let’s face it, Clinton is still controversial.
I don’t know. I don’t think he’s viewed as THAT controversial anymore, especially by people who would actually support MassiveGood or any other organization that supports the treatment of HIV/AIDS, etc. If he is too controversial to mention, then why use him as the narrator in the first place? And finally, my guess is that anyone who despises Bill Clinton enough to reject supporting MassiveGood because of his association with the organization probably would recognize his voice immediately. If anything, maybe they chose not to identify him to avoid giving the impression that it’s a partisan organization.
I agree–Bill Clinton is not that controversial anymore. And why should he be? He is doing good works internationally; even teamed up with George H. W. Bush (41)–no stranger to “controversy”.
Nice.
Yes, really well done. Love Samuel L Jackson — he could have done the whole thing and it would have been great.
Agree with that!
Yeah, it’s funny they didn’t identify Clinton – perhaps MassiveGood is connected to his foundation? In any case, his voice is so recognizable it probably seemed redundant to identify him LOL.
See my comment above — I have a feeling it was a conscious choice.
Ooh, Paul Auster is standing in the New York Public Library’s Reading Room… one of my favorite places in the world!
Isn’t cool? Actually, it’s cool that Paul Auster is in the mix at all.
I’d love to see MassiveGood connected to other things besides just airplane travel. Or is it? I haven’t checked the website.
For now, looks like it’s only set up for travel (air tickets, hotel reservations & rental cars) — hopefully they’ll expand. But you can donate any time at:
http://www.massivegood.org/en_US/donate
Thanks Robin!
Honestly I thought this was going to be an ad for filing out Census forms, lol. We have a census station at the library and I have census numbers on the brain! So here goes:
FILL OUT YOUR CENSUS FORMS – accurate numbers help get good and appropriate funding for libraries, schools and other public institutions!!!
And then donate $2.00 to Massive Good.
After watching “Who Do You Think You Are?” on ABC – the show about celebrities researching their geneology – I filled out my census form ASAP. That show made me realize how important it is for even the most “insignificant” to be counted. (Incidentally, Spike Lee will be on it – tonight I think? It airs on Friday nights.)
Also – I saw a similar show once on PBS (with Meryl Streep) but haven’t caught it again since. Anyone know anything about this one?
Yes, that one is Faces of America, hosted by Henry Louis Gates. I’ve watched the 1st two so far (there are 4 episodes, I think?) and I want to love it — the topic is fascinating — but I find the structure, in which they switch between the 12 celebrities every few minutes instead of focusing on one or two per show, annoying. It is very hard to even remember who HLG is talking to, and just when a story is getting really interesting they cut away to someone else. I would like to reedit it myself and then watch it.
Thanks, Robin. That does sound frustrating! That quick-chop edit is something I’d expect more of Mtv than PBS! :O The ones I’ve seen on ABC focus on one person per episode, which is nice.
It isn’t *quite* MTV/quick chop, but I think that’s exactly right — they’re trying to be modern — but in this case, it gets in the way of the stories, some of which are really fascinating. If they absolutely wanted to do it this way, covering 5 people instead of 12 would have worked way better.
I found the PBS one frustrating too. They should have done each person at a time.
I’m no great fan of Bill, but anyone hateful enough to ignore the great thing he is doing here and elsewhere is probably not interested in doing anything charitable anyway.
Possibly…
Thanks for the off-topic nag. Always welcome. Just chiming in to say that I find one of the easiest ways nowadays to contribute is to have a small monthly recurring donation… I use it for public radio and charities and I hardly miss the money, but it adds up. I give way more than I would if I only made one donation per org per year or whatever.
I wish more charities would take Paypal…I’d donate more if it was that easy.