Chandler, U.S.A. — A USA Today article has reported a telethon put on to raise funds for Hurricane Sandy victims brought in $23 million. The telethon, presented by the American Red Cross, aired on NBC earlier this month. Christian Weems, an active participant in community service efforts, made note of the generosity of her fellow Americans.

According to the news piece, New Jersey natives Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi were featured performers during the telethon. Popular recording artist and star of the hit NBC television program The Voice Christina Aguilera was also featured. Matt Lauer of the station’s wildly successful morning show Today, hosted the event. Nightly News anchor Brian Williams also stopped by.

In addition to its featured performers, the article noted the telethon provided viewers the opportunity to take in a variety of musical acts. New Yorker Billy Joel, along with rock band Aerosmith and R&B artist Mary J. Blige entertained the crowd. Saturday Night Live alum and current television stars Tiny Fey and Jimmy Fallon provided comedic relief.

Christian Weems was heartened to hear of the telethon’s overwhelming success. She has a good deal of community service experience under her belt, including the organization of a relief effort following Hurricane Katrina. After that storm devastated much of New Orleans and its surrounding areas, she spearheaded a drive to make hygiene kits for citizens. The people of her hometown Chandler, Arizona, donated supplies that resulted in the delivery of 2,500 kits.

In statement about the most recent relief efforts, Christian commented: “What an amazing testimony of the goodwill of people and the positive impact we can have when we pull together during a time of crisis. Let us not forget that more help is still needed in many of the areas that were damaged most by Sandy and that these communities will need help for years to come.”

The article also highlighted appearances were made by actors Kevin Bacon, Whoopi Goldberg and Danny DeVito as well as comedian Jon Stewart.

In 2005, the broadcast company held a similar telethon to solicit donations for Hurricane Katrina victims. The article noted that show brought in $40 million worth of support.

Image Courtesy : Anton Oparin / Shutterstock.com

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Nashville, U.S.A. — Conveniently located within walking distance of many of Music City’s top concert venues, Renaissance Nashville Hotel is a premier destination for this month’s hot ticket events. Guests of this Music Row hotel will enjoy an unforgettable stay just minutes from Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena and so many other renowned venues.

Upcoming concerts near Renaissance Nashville Hotel include:

• Aerosmith and Cheap Trick at Bridgestone Arena December 13
• Christmas at the Ryman with Amy Grant and Vince Gill December 18 through 20
• Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes now through December 24 at Grand Ole Opry House
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra December 26 at Bridgestone Arena
• Vanderbilt University versus North Carolina State in the Music City Bowl December 31

Bridgestone Arena and Ryman Auditorium are just a block away from the hotel, while Grand Ole Opry is just an 11-mile drive.

After a night listening to today’s top artists, enjoy dinner at The Bridge or Commerce Street Grille, the hotel’s delectable Nashville restaurants serving savory American fare. The Bridge offers eight 60-inch LCD TVs for ultimate dining-room entertainment, while Commerce Street Grille serves regional dishes, including fried green tomatoes and smoked prime rib. Finally, retreat to one of nearly 700 stylish guest rooms highlighted by plush bedding and innovative technological amenities.

About Renaissance Nashville Hotel
Experience all that Music City has to offer within one distinctive hotel near unforgettable Nashville tourist attractions, Renaissance Nashville Hotel. Perfectly positioned in the heart of Nashville’s business and entertainment district, this recently renovated luxury hotel is conveniently connected to Nashville Convention Center and provides easy access to Bridgestone Arena, LP Field, B.B. King’s Blues Club, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, Schermerhorn Symphony Center and Historic Second Avenue District.

For more information, to make a reservation or to submit a request for proposal, visit www.RenaissanceNashville.com.

Image Courtesy : S_bukley / Shutterstock.com

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“The world knows I’m a recovering drug addict and alcoholic,” relates the Aerosmith front man.

The book is an exertion of Steve Tyler’s life. The story narrates a lot of his life experiences; he provides an insight look on how his band Aerosmith, and the situations he had to overcome as a rock star. The first lines of the book start like this: “ Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that makes you smile”.

The book contains a variety of experiences by the author. He mentions and describes tough situations that he was over passing at the moment, such as his addiction with drugs. “I made no qualms about being a drug addict in the ’80s and getting sober. I have an addictive personality. It’s a daily process, and I’ve got to keep my eyes open. I don’t want it to bite me in the ass. I’ve got to be careful.”

As well, Tyler also describes his experiences by being part of his band Aerosmith. He also portrays his private life mentioning his marriages and children, such as his daughter Liv Tyler.

Here is a small preview of Steve Tyler’s new book, published by the NBC:

Semiprologue

If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

If you’re a singer, everything looks like a song.

“Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that makes you smile.” We’re not quantified; there’s no chart of desire. When the roaring flames of your heart have burned down to embers, may you find that you have married your best friend. Hunch, conjecture, instinct … a blind allegiance to anything can get you killed, and always remember … sing as though no one can hear you; live as though heaven is here on Earth. Here I want to say something deep and meaningless, like ‘To thine own self be true,’ but in truth, the first thing we have to do is KILL ALL THE LAWYERS.

When I was a kid and in a gang, my so-called best friend Dennis Dun, would slam me in the arm and say, ‘Pass it on, motherf—-!’ So I turned to Ignacio and punched him in the arm and said, ‘Pass it on!’ Ignacio turned to Footie and punched him in the arm, and Footie punched Raymond, who in turn punched me again. It’s all about fighting for position. Later on in life I was to find that being in a band was not too different. Only in my new gang, Brad punched Tom, Tom punched Joey, Joey punched Joe, and Joe punched me (in the mouth), and that’s the sweetest way I can tell you what happens in every band that ever there was (at least those that lasted more than ten years and got the chance to manifest the light).

I remember once my mother telling me, when I said I wanted to be like Janis Joplin: ‘If you manifest the light, you will become a dartboard for others’ fears, doubts, and insecurities. And if you can handle that, Steven, my little skeezix, you may have your Blue Army.’ And guess what? I got both barrels! I also wish to articulate at the outset here, neighbors and ne’er-do-wells, that my life’s journey has not taken me to place to defile, demoralize, or damage anybody … So all of YOU who have ruffled my feathers and done me wrong for being an inquisitive child or an oversensitive pain-in-the-neck artist, remember, just as they said about Mongo in the movie “Blazing Saddles,” if you shoot Steven, you’ll just make him angry.

When you’re young, you experience everything for the first time, and because it’s happening to you so matter-of-factly, it just is … and you argue your way through it. In midlife, you question f–ing everything, and so much energy is wasted questioning the whys of it all. You want to find that angel of thunderstorms that will put out your internal fire. You start to believe that you made it through six decades because there is an angel on your shoulder.

That’s why I’m a songwriter … because I’ve lived through the changes of not knowing ANYTHING … to knowing EVERYTHING … and now at sixty-two I’m back to NOT KNOWIN’ NOTHIN’. And when your mind is free of so-called knowledge, it is now set free to use its imagination. Like Albert Einstein once said: ‘Knowledge will never replace imagination.’

Radio plays your song; the melody is so catchy that it crawls inside of the people listening and changes their Everything. They start singing it! You got into them. You made love to them. You got into their soul … and vice versa. It’s like Vuja Dé and that’s when the miracle manifests … you’re trading faces, places, spaces, and graces.

Father of four children (loves of my life), a songwriter, got a doctorate at Berkeley and another one at UMass, Boston, a poet, a painter, a drug addict, and a peripheral visionary who learns something new on a daily basis, from the Malibu Home for the Recently All Right to having dinner with Sheikh Nion in Abu Dhab… and now … an author? You gotta be kidding! RoMANtics. SeMANtics. Exotic, neurotic, you got it! Does the noise in my heather bother you … yet? Yeah, really? I’d say we’re off to a good start.

Nowadays Steve Tyler is involved in this year’s T.V show American Idol. His book was completed before he got enrolled in the program, so it does not provide any of his experience as a judge. Now he is enjoying a lot this opportunity, and his presence has definitely spiced up American Idol, bringing to the screen, hilarious, and unforeseen moments.

His new solo single named” It Feels so Good, will be released on May 10. Nevertheless, Aerosmith is coming back with a lot of strength and new projects. The band will be working on a new album this summer, and they will heat up the stages by the end of the year, giving out concerts in Japan and South America.

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