Forbes' Money Honeys

When Forbes published its list of highest-earning women in Hollywood, it was no surprise that the lovely ladies above made the cut. The top ten women earned $835 million between June 1, 2009 - June 1, 2010 (compared to the top men who earned $1.2 billion). That being said, Oprah Winfrey-who made $315 million- out earned everyone male or female! The other chicka who gave the men a run for their money was Beyonce Knowles, the 2nd highest earning women, would have placed 9th on the male list. The list of Hollywood's Top 10 Highest-Earning Women is as follows:

1. Oprah Winfrey at $315 million

2. Beyonce Knowles at $87 million

3. Britney Spears at $64 million

4. Lady Gaga at $62 million

5. Madonna at $58 million

6. Sandra Bullock at $56 million

7. Ellen DeGeneres at $55 million

8. Miley Cyrus at $48 million

9. Taylor Swift at $45 million

9. Judge Judy at $45 million

To view a complete slideshow with a write up explaining each person's worth click here

PS: were you surprised about Judge Judy? I was!

The Girl Effect

(Double click on video to watch full screen)

The Girl Effect is passionately dedicated to spreading awareness about the tragic lives of adolescent girls in the developing world. They stress the importance of education-among other things- in order to keep the girls safe as well as empower them to inflict change.

Here are some FactSnacks provided by The Girl Effect's website:

- An extra year of primary school boosts girls' eventual wages by 10%-20%. An extra year of secondary school: 15 %-25% percent

- When a girl in the developing world receives 7+ years of education, she marries 4 years later and has 2.2 fewer children

- When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30%-40% for a man

- 1 in 7 girls in developing countries marry before 15 (38% marry before 18)

- One quarter to one half of girls in developing countries become mothers before the age of 18

In Nicaragua, 45% of girls with no schooling are married before 18 versus only 16% of their educated counterparts. In Mozambique, the figures are 60% versus 10; in Senegal, 41% versus 6!

Girl Effect is full of passionate people striving to eradicate poverty and give girls the chance at a better life. To visit their website CLICK HERE and you can make a donation, spread their key messages/videos through Twitter and Facebook, and learn more on what they are all about. I encourage you to visit their website and learn about how these young girls can make a difference.

Addicted to Love

**This post has no relevance to "singer" Ke$ha aside from the fact that her lyrics are dangerously related to my quoted FactSnack of the day... **

"In laboratory studies, scientists have learned that, when it comes to love, a very tiny portion of the brain is actually involved. For example, friendship lights up receptors all over the cerebral cortex, but this isn't true with love, which activates parts of the brain more commonly associated with emotional responses like fear and anger. The brain of a person in love will show activity in the amygdala, which is associated with gut feelings, and in the nucleus accumbens, an area associated with rewarding stimuli that tends to be active in drug users. Or, to recap: the brain of a person in love doesn't look like the brain of someone overcome by deep emotion, It looks like the brain of a person who's been snorting coke" - Jodi Picoult's "House Rules" (pages 401-402)

LGBT Bullying Epidemic

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) bullying amongst teens in North America has been a hot topic this year in the media. As seen above, Ellen DeGeneres has continuously shed light on what has been happening and encourages those being bullied that they are not alone and there is help. She has had many guests recently on the show to talk about their bullying experiences and this issue including Ricky Martin and actors Chris Colfer and Mike O'Malley from GLEE. This Monday, November 22, Ellen will have Graeme Taylor on her show.

Graeme is a 14 year old gay student who defended high school teacher, Jay McDowell. One of McDowell's students told the class he "didn't accept gays". McDowell did not like where this was going and asked the student to leave the classroom. As a result, McDowell was then suspended without pay for a day. Here is what Graeme had to say about this at a Howell school board meeting:

"I want to force adults to look at what situation we've created,'' he said. "I would really like us to be more aggressive in our policing of harassing and bullying.'' - McDowell

There are many campaigns right now creating awareness of and trying to rid North America of this tragic bullying epidemic. Love is Louder is another example, it was started by Brittany Snow, the Jed Foundation, and MTV. MTV Canada also dedicated this week to talking about this issue and encourages others to talk about it as well.

To read the full story with regards to McDowell please click here

For more information about Love is Louder please click here

Also, remember to tune into The Ellen DeGeneres Show Monday to hear more about Graeme's story and the impact standing up for someone has on an individual and an epidemic like this.

Movember

For those of you who live under a rock, we are currently on Day 11 of Movember. Movember being the month where men commit to growing a mustache to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer.

"The mustache becomes a ribbon for men's health" - Movember.com

Did you know...

- This clever idea was generated back in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia.

- In 2004 432 Mo Bros raised $55,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (aka the largest donation they had ever received)

- Movember has now spread to Canada, USA, the UK, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, South America, the Netherlands, and Finland!

- In 2009 there were 255,755 Mo Bros & Mo Sistas globally raising $47 million

And last, but not least...

"Last year’s Canadian campaign was the second largest in the world behind Australia, with 35,156 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas coming together to raise $7.8 million for Prostate Cancer Canada."

Shout outs to all the guys committed to rocking their Mos (and of course the ladies to support it)! Here are a few:

The fundraising during Movember is something to be very proud of but it is equally important to remember the reason why the money is being raised and the awareness being made. In a recent survey of the Movember community it was found that "because of their involvement in Movember, 39% of the Mo Bros sought medical advice, whilst a further 36% encouraged someone else to seek medical advice. "

Happy Movember everyone! Special thanks to those who showcased their pictures for FactSnacks, much appreciated :)

For more information and/or to show your support please visit www.movember.com

Giving Art Deeper Meaning

This blog highlights some of my favourite pieces from Chis Jordan's "Running the Numbers: an American self-portrait" collection. He has an unbelievable gift to not only create remarkable artwork, but also have the end product speak volumes. Each piece of art illustrates an alarming American statistic which is stated in the caption. Take a look at the following I have chosen to get the picture...

Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every 30 seconds.

Now if we take a closer look at the piece, we can see that it is in fact made with 106,000 aluminum cans!

Depicts 32,000 Barbies, equal to the number of elective breast augmentation surgeries performed monthly in the US in 2006

Again, when you zoom in, it is made clear that the piece is comprised of 32,000 Barbies.

Depicts 28,000 42-gallon barrels, the amount of oil consumed in the United States every 2 minutes

Depicts 320,000 light bulbs, equal to the number of kilowatt hours of electricity wasted in the United States every minute from inefficient residential electricity usage

I strongly encourage you to visit Chris Jordan's website to take a close look at his artwork. The website actually allows you to slowly zoom in on each piece so you can see the intricate details that make up the big picture. To visit CLICK HERE (it's worth the look!)

Gotta Go... In Style

Accepting Award

I am certain that everyone can attest to having to use some dangerously sketchy bathrooms; I know I can! It is safe to say that there are a broad range of bathrooms out there ranging from debatable sanitary to surprisingly immaculate. Apparently some are so impressive they are awarded the title of Best Restroom. This year's winner for Canada's Best Bathroom Award went to Cactus Club Cafe in Burnaby, BC.

Highlights of the winning bathroom included magnifying make-up mirrors, exotic foot flush toilets, stall screens streaming Food Network footage, and privacy stalls equipped with fans, a sound system and lighting.

The Top 5 Restroom in Canada 2010 are as follows:

1. Cactus Club Cafe in Burnaby, BC

2. Spice Route Asian Bistro & Bar in Toronto, ON

3. Mildred's Temple Kitchen in Toronto,ON

4. The Shangri-La Hotel in Vancouver, BC

5. Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto,ON

Even more interesting is the 3rd place finish because I did a very shocking FactSnack on them earlier in the year. Click Here to find out what else goes on in their restrooms...

Also, I think what we can take away from these awards in not only people's appreciation for a classy bathroom but that bathrooms outside of Ontario and British Columbia need to step up their game.

For the full article and pictures of the 1st place finish please Click Here