Earlier this week, the most extreme, devastating consequences of bullying hit close to home: A 12-year-old sixth grader* in my community committed suicide as a result of being bullied.

His funeral is tomorrow.

Earlier this week, his older sister gave an interview to our local news channel. She discussed not only the serious bullying her brother endured (so serious, in fact, the family had plans to move and enroll him in a new school next week), but also how prevalent bullying is at that particular school. She spoke of students crying in class, fearing for their safety, and even missing school to avoid their bullies.

According to the news, the school district has yet to recognize a link between bullying at the school and the boy’s suicide.

It’s difficult for me to wrap my brain around the fact that this 12-year-old child, who had his whole life ahead of him, is now gone. My heart aches for his family and friends, and for him, who could still be here today if only the bullying were stopped in time.

Or didn’t happen at all.

If you remember when Keith Richards released his autobiography, Life, you also might remember some of the less-than-flattering things he had to say about bandmate and Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

(Richards hit Jagger below the belt, if you know what I mean.)

Yet, during an interview for an upcoming documentary chronicling the band’s 50-year career, Jagger and Richards discuss the nature of their relationship, and Richards expresses remorse for his comments:

As far as the book goes, it was my story and it was very raw, as I meant it to be, but I know that some parts of it and some of the publicity really offended Mick and I regret that.

For more information about the upcoming documentary, visit The Rolling Stones online.

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Quick reminder!

Remember when I told you all about Lady Gaga‘s new youth empowerment foundation, the Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) and its poster contest?

Well, today’s the day!

The Foundation requires that all contest entries be received TODAY – March 23, 2012 – to be eligible.

Haven’t started yet? Consider this question swiped from the BTWF Web site:

Keira Knightley may soon find her Safe Haven (oh my, how bad was that?), but the actress best known for her roles in hits like Pirates of the Caribbean, Atonement, and Pride & Prejudice apparently doesn’t feel as safe as some of us might expect.

Well, regarding her appearance, that is.

Although Knightley has appeared on lists like FHM‘s “100 Sexiest Women In The World” and Maxim‘s “Hot 100,” the actress tells Vogue that she doesn’t see herself as glamorous or even attractive.

Actually, she’s self-conscious about her body image and blames her career for her anxiety:

The Amy Winehouse Foundation, launched shortly after the 2011 death of its namesake, has announced a new scholarship program.

Overall, the Foundation is designed to assist charitable activities that help troubled youth, with an emphasis on those kids dealing with disabilities, poor health, financial disadvantages, and addiction and substance abuse problems.

For this particular scholarship, the Amy Winehouse Foundation has teamed up with the Sylvia Young Theatre School, the same London school Amy Winehouse attended as a girl.

Starting in September 2012, the Foundation will pay the full tuition for one talented child who can’t otherwise afford to attend, and will continue to pay until the child “reaches official school-leaving age.”

Do I really have to give a reason why you should spend your weekend listening to Dave Matthews Band?

Really?

Well, if you insist.

Dave Matthews spent last Sunday helping raise money at the ninth annual John Varvato’s Stuart House Benefit.

The Stuart House is a facility for child victims of sexual assault established by the Santa Montica-UCLA Medical Center’s Rape Treatment Center.

According to the Stuart House page on www.911rape.org, the Stuart House:

[...] remedies many of the problems in the traditional system that often revictimize these profoundly traumatized children, such as multiple, repetitive interviews in cold, institutional settings; low prosecution rates; and critical shortages in expert medical care and therapy services.

Happy Hump Day, lovely readers!

Remember when I told you about “Touchdown Tommy” Edwards? The former Hokie football star who, after learning how to manage his own substance abuse problems and bipolar disorder, launched the Heart of Virginia Foundation and Music 4 Mental Health?

Well, Music 4 Mental Health currently is trying to raise $100,000 to fund a documentary about substance abuse and mental health in southwestern Virginia. The documentary will be in conjunction with PBS.

Speaking of Oprah…

She and Lady Gaga kicked off Gaga’s new “youth empowerment” foundation, the Born This Way Foundation, at Harvard University just a couple of weeks ago.

Although Lady Gaga has been active in the anti-bullying movement, the Born This Way Foundation is not an anti-bully organization; rather, Gaga says the Foundation is a “youth-empowerment foundation.”

The Born This Way Foundation lists three pillars – safety, skills, and opportunity – and aims to “foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated”:

The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world.

We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

Anyone surprised Oprah got the first interview with Bobbi Kristina Brown following the death of her mother, singing icon Whitney Houston?

Show of hands?

Nobody?

This Sunday (March 11, 2012) at 9 p.m. EST, OWN will air a much anticipated episode of “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” during which Oprah sits down with Houston’s brother, Gary Houston, her sister-in-law and confidante Patricia Houston, and her daughter with Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina.

Speaking of MTV programming…

We’re pretty used to people either loving or hating reality television, yes? I mean, as an tube-viewing society, we get that some folks can’t wait to see more deliciously sweet bromance moments between Pauly D and Vinnie, and some would rather disconnect their cable service than watch one minute of Mafia princesses sluggin’ it out, right?

Right.

So, as the Teen Mom 2 finale last month got closer, I wasn’t all that surprised to see some of the usual positive and negative buzz pop up on the ‘net.

However, I was surprised – just a little – to see a certain type of negative buzz pop up again, and again, and again…

Teen Mom glamorizes teen pregnancy.

Glamorizes, as in, makes it look glamorous.

Um…have you SEEN this show?