Here’s some photos of Alanis Morissette being inducted into Guitar Center’s Historic RockWalk yesterday. For whatever reason, Alanis brought Alicia Silverstone along to provide support in what is essentially a paid-for honor similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Of course, this is a familiar public relations strategy when a musical artist is preparing to drop a record, and Alanis’ next effort arrives in stores next week.

Speaking of carefully refined PR strategies, Alanis has spoken out on how much she actually enjoys dealing with the paparazzi unlike most stars. Her words remind me a bit of January Jones’ sentiment that she doesn’t mind the paps who lurk outside her home because they make her feel “safe” since she lives alone and they essentially function as “the best security system ever.” I imagine that January gets a lot more pap attention than Alanis does though, and the latter expresses a different sentiment for not minding the photogs. Her message? Transparency:

Alanis Morissette is a rare celebrity who doesn’t hate paparazzi. “I actually like the paparazzi,” she said during a listening party hosted by Target for her new album, Havoc and Bright Lights, at Sonos Studio in LA. “They’re forcing transparency . . . What are we afraid of? Our relationships being dysfunctional?” The singer also discussed fame. “I love all the trappings,” she said. “I’m as shallow as you can be. I love my 6-inch heels.” Her new album drops Tuesday.

[From Page Six]

I get what she’s attempting to say about transparency — that celebrities who choose to earn their living in a the public eye shouldn’t be afraid to be photographed in candid moments if they aren’t doing anything wrong. The complicating factor, however, is when “candid” shots are staged, which happens all too often and a perfect example is Christina Hendricks earning some dough for calling the paps to show off her $23,980 purse. Then there are the staged, fake romances between celebrities and happy-family photo ops. It’s all a muddled mess, and “transparency” doesn’t really work as a descriptor unless one assumes that everyone is being truthful, which obviously isn’t the case.

However, I guess Alanis, who has managed to live a scandal free life thus far, really doesn’t mind the paps at all. Here’s some photos of her with husband Mario “Souleye” Treadway and their son Ever on 5/26. They do look totally cool with those photographers.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

This story came out a little earlier this week, but we’re (ok I’m) lazy and just getting to it now. Alicia Silverstone of course recently posted a video in which she was shown chewing up some food and feeding it to her toddler son, Bear Blu (his actual name) directly from her own mouth. The video quickly went viral, with the general response being WTF? I guess I can understand chewing up food for your child, but it seemed kind of out there to feed the kid like a baby bird and to post a video of it online. It’s an actual natural childcare thing though, and Alicia thinks it’s no biggie. She was recently asked about the video during a screening for her new film Vamps. She wasn’t embarrassed about it, basically said it was a natural thing to do, and added that she found it adorable that her son eats like that:

Despite the fallout since her March video, the actress maintains that there’s nothing wrong with her mealtime method.

“People have been feeding their kids that way for thousands for years. It’s a weaning process,” Silverstone, 35, told reporters Saturday at a screening of her cult classic Clueless and upcoming film Vamps at the Brooklyn Academy of Art and Music.

“He attacks my mouth and I think it’s adorable … it makes me laugh every time he does it,” she says.

“He also knows how to use his hands and he also eats regular food. When babies are weaning, he still breastfeeds. Some people think that’s disgusting too, which is insane.”

As for the critical commentary that followed, “Honestly, when I posted the video I was not thinking, so maybe I was like [Clueless character] Cher!”

Besides, she points out, it was a personal video posted on her website — hardly propaganda.

“I didn’t think I was inventing anything. I really wasn’t trying to tell anybody what to do,” explains the actress, adding that she was definitely not intending to “cause such a ruckus.”

[From People]

DListed has more quotes from Alicia’s interview. Including this gem, which made me laugh. I work out at the Y too and I can imagine this happening. “Every time my husband [Christopher Jarecki] goes to the YMCA, some guy comes over and says, ‘That’s how we do it in the South.’ Between him getting those great comments and me knowing in my gut it’s natural and lovely, I really wasn’t trying to tell anybody what to do.” She’s just really chill and blase about everything.

Well I still think it’s bizarre, but good for her for owning it I guess. As I said in our first story about this, as long as her kid is happy and healthy that’s what matters. It sounds like she handled the fallout from that video very well, with a big shrug.

Photos credit The Kind Life and WENN.com

Video is below

Like the Octomom story, Kaiser, Bedhead and I all had a little e-mail conference yesterday in which we agreed to skip this story for a while. Now that it’s even bigger news this morning, we’re giving in and covering it. So you’ve undoubtedly heard that actress Alicia Silverstone posted video in which she chews up food and feeds it to her baby, Bear Blu, now ten months old, from her own mouth. Alicia wrote that Bear was a month or two younger when she filmed that video and that now he will crawl across the room expecting to eat from her mouth whenever he sees that she’s eating. It’s controversial to say the least. Alicia put out a vegan cookbook in 2009 called The Kind Diet. This may be a natural parenting thing, but this is the first I’m hearing of it.

Is Alicia Silverstone getting her parenting tips from birds?

The actress’ 10-month-old son, Bear Blu, is already eating solids — as long as they’ve been pre-chewed. In the latest video posted on Silverstone’s website, the 35-year-old feeds her baby by chewing up his food and feeding it to him mouth-to-mouth.

“I just had a delicious breakfast of miso soup, collards and radish steamed and drizzled with flax oil, cast iron mochi with nori wrapped outside, and some grated daikon. Yum!” she wrote on The Kind Life, the website for her vegan cookbook, “The Kind Diet.”

The “Clueless” star explained, “I fed Bear the mochi and a tiny bit of veggies from the soup … from my mouth to his. It’s his favorite … and mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I’m eating. This video was taken about a month or 2 ago when he was a bit wobbly. Now he is grabbing my mouth to get the food!”

“Pre-chewing” is actually a thing, but it’s very uncommon in the US and other Western nations and not recommended by health care professionals, as it can pass infection and disease from parent to child.

Dr. Jennifer Landa, who dedicates her practice to bioidentical hormone therapy, customized nutrition and fitness programs, told Fox News:

“There are those who think that a mom chewing a baby’s food provides helpful enzymes from her mouth but it doesn’t seem like a hygienic practice. Various viruses and bacteria, but especially herpes virus, may be passed from mother to baby. These microbes present a challenge that the infant’s immune system may not be ready for.”

[From The Huffington Post]

Some people are saying this is shocking and not at all hygienic. Others are saying that this is how mothers fed their babies for thousands of years (we haven’t been around for millions yet) and that it’s natural and safe. This is why I quoted this story from Huffpo, because it seems to have a good balance of both perspectives. My reaction is more of puzzlement. I’ve read comments in which people say they’ve chewed up food for their babies, and maybe I’m naive or not creative but this never occurred to me and I’ve never seen other moms do it. I just fed my baby soft food. Plus there are blenders, food processors and gadgets specifically for making baby food. So it seems unnecessary and kind of risky. Alicia is putting this out there, though, so she wants us to talk about it. To each their own I guess. As long as her kid is happy and healthy.

Oh, goodness. Alicia Silverstone has given birth to a healthy baby boy, and everybody is doing fine. Good for them, and congratulations. But two pieces of news disturbed me slightly. First of all: Alicia is only 34 years old?!? I thought she was much older, honestly. Someone might have skimmed a few years off, I’m just saying. Second thing: Alicia and her husband Christopher Jarecki named their innocent little baby boy… Bear Blu. For the love of God.

Alicia Silverstone is a mom! The actress and author, 34, welcomed her first child with husband Christopher Jarecki on Thursday, her rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

Son Bear Blu Jarecki weighed in at 7 lbs., 15 oz.

“Mom and Dad are completely in love” with their “beautiful baby boy,” Silverstone’s rep said in a statement.

She and Jarecki, 40, wed in June 2005 in Lake Tahoe after eight years together.

The author of vegan cookbook The Kind Diet, Silverstone will next be seen in the films Vamps and Butter.

[From People]

I know you bitches are going to be like “Oh, it’s not that bad of a name, look at Bear Grylls!!” First of all, Bear Grylls is not his birth name, it’s Edward Michael. Meaning that “Bear” is the kind of name you have to earn in adulthood, by being strong and/or hairy. Second of all, why would you name your baby after Bear Grylls, if that is in fact what they did? Here’s my opinion (and keep in mind that the doctor prescribed me Sizzurp this afternoon): you shouldn’t name your baby child Bear (or Grizzly, or Shark, or Predator, or Skunk, or Opossum, or Squirrel, or Dolphin, or Abominable Snowman) unless you are so overcome with (drugs) the unusual sight of an “unconventional” baby. You know what I mean? Say you gave birth to an especially hairy baby. THEN you can name him Bear. Although “Teddy” would be better.

Photos courtesy of WENN & Fame.

You have to hand it to the PETA people. They know the best way to getting attention for the cruelty of fur and their belief that meat eating is unnecessary is to get a naked starlet to talk about it. We all pay attention to naked people, especially if they’re famous. Maybe they should team up with that photographer who takes pictures of hoards of nude people in public.

In a PSA for the PETA promoting vegetarianism, Alicia Silverstone emerges naked from a pool with sexy music playing in the background. Her arm and leg are strategically placed to ensure a PG rating, but the idea is that not eating meat makes you hot and desirable if you’re a woman, and able to land hot chicks if you’re a guy. At least that’s what I got out of it.

She says in the ad that being vegetarian makes her feel so much better. In a statement on PETA’s website for vegetarianism, GoVeg, she talks about the cute little lambs and cows that she no longer has to feel guilty about eating:

Like most people, I wasn’t always a vegetarian, but I’ve always loved animals. If you ever have a chance to meet a cow, pig, turkey, or goat, you will see that they are just as cute and funny as your dogs and cats and that they, too, want to live and feel love. They don’t like pain. Now when I see a steak, it makes me feel sad and sick because right away, I see my dog or the amazing cows I met at a sanctuary. I’ve been vegan for 10 years, and it’s the single-most important and helpful decision I have ever made. Physically, the effect has been amazing. Once I went vegan, I lost the weight I wanted to lose, my nails were stronger, and my skin was glowing. I feel great, and I look better now than I did 11 years ago.

[From GoVeg.com via The Sun]

I’m a meat eater and I always feel guilty when I see little animals from species I’ve eaten, that’s true. We like lamb at my place, and my family and I were at a farm and I just thought how cute the little lambs were and felt sad for eating them for a moment. It’s like that episode of the Simpsons where the lamb on Lisa’s plate gets up and says “Lee-eehsa, don’t eat me.”

Going vegetarian not only has health benefits, it’s also much better for the environment. My parents are vegetarian because they know that meat production is unsustainable and uses much more water and fossil fuels than grain production, especially with factory farming.

Although I have a lot of respect for vegetarianism it’s not something that I think is right for me, and I don’t believe it should be anything more than a personal choice. PETA oversteps their boundaries a lot, in my opinion, and I don’t like how they made it their business to tell Victoria Beckham, a vegetarian, that she was unknowingly sharing her land with free-roaming sheep owned by a chef that were meant for slaughter. It’s not like the sheep were mistreated or anything, they had tons of space. They also bashed Michael Moore for eating meat and being heavy when he was promoting Sicko.

PETA does know how to get attention, and there’s nothing like a hot naked chick to make vegetarianism seem sexy. There are sexy meat eaters too, though.

All opinions are respected here, and many of you have quite intelligent and well-researched things to say about this issue. Past posts about vegetarianism vs. meat eating have resulted in some flame wars, so please don’t bash people for opinions that you don’t agree with. We are kind to each other here.

Update: Thanks to Best Week Ever for linking the video, which wasn’t available earlier when the post was first published: