Dragonflies!!! Sorry. Tom Hiddleston is doing something, and I thought you’d like to know because bitches be lovin’ their Hiddles. Can I just say? As I continue to cover Hiddles, I grow less fond of him as a person, but I enjoy covering him more and more. I think his heart is in the right place, I think he’s a good actor, and I think he’s handsome, but his fandom and his treatment of his fandom makes my biscuit factory close down. Still, this is something nice…
Tom is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, and he’s currently participating in a week-long stunt (a stunt with a message) with UNICEF. The stunt is to live on £1 per day to raise awareness of poverty and hunger issues around the world. If you go to Tom’s Twitter, he’s been tweeting and asking his followers for support, and he’s been posting photos of his cheap, barely-there meals. He tweeted: “I start living Below The Line to help UNICEF stop children suffering from hunger. Take the challenge too. The World Bank defines poverty as living on less than £1 a day. The challenge is to buy all the food and drink you need to survive for five days with just £5 (£1 per day).” He also says he’s going to “miss coffee very much”. If this was Gwyneth Paltrow, I would call a scheme to find public support for her eating disorder, but I think Tom really is trying to bring awareness to global hunger and poverty issues. You can read more about Live Below The Line here.
Photos courtesy of Jason Hetherington, WENN.
Out of curiosity I started following Hiddles on twitter, he seems to be doing quite well with this live below the line thing. Savvy budgeting can do a lot, I guess.
Is it really pernickety and bitchy of me to wonder if he’s taking into account the energy he’s using to cook his meals and tap water?
Yes?
Okay, I’ll just be over here in the corner cowering from the Hiddlestoners . . .
*throws stone*
You can’t really recreate third world conditions in the first world, I guess, but he’s doing a good thing. So stop nitpicking 🙂
Haha, I guess you’re right.
Like Kaiser said, I think his heart is in the right place which is certainly more than can be said of a lot of people.
It’s not going to fix everything that’s wrong with the world, but that doesn’t mean to say we shouldn’t do our bit.
Aaaand, now I’m feeling guilty 😉
No need to cower Amelia. I am also following Hiddles on twitter (Shhhh) and sometimes I say enough with the song of the day and the read this amazing poem tweets.
I can appreciate a celeb that gets involved with charities. If it’s for their own selfish reasons at least they still attach their names to it which can be beneficial to that particular cause.
But feel free to nikpik my blonde ambition; it reminds me that he is not without fault and it makes him more likeable to me.
Since I live in a developing country, my first thought was that this is sweet, but seriously, not all that useful. But hey, it’s a UNICEF thing, so basically it’s for people in the First World to “know” what it’s like elsewhere. £1 a day here for just one person’s food, converted to local currency, is normal for people who don’t even consider themselves to be living below the poverty line.
Having worked with quite a few local NGOs, I can tell you that most people who actually do live this way have no opinion either way about these awareness programs. Because at the end of the program period, all the nice middle class folks who take part can go back to their normal lives feeling good about themselves for having participated, but very little, apart from awareness, will have actually been done about the problem.
Of course the hope is that all this awareness will get people to donate more money but frankly, SO much more money is needed and that’s the kind of money that has to come from very rich people whose money can actually make a dent. But yes, sure, every little bit still counts, and every effort is appreciated.
“…all the nice middle class folks who take part can go back to their normal lives feeling good about themselves for having participated but very little, apart from awareness, will have been actually done about the problem.”
This is one of the exact reasons I can’t get onboard with the Comic/Sport Relief schemes.
So, once or twice a year a load of C-listers participate in a telethon to try and convince people to pledge 5 or 10 quid. People text in, celebrities contribute their services for free, get a load of good publicity and can cleanse their hands of guilt for another year because they pledged £5 or wrote a charity single. Then all that money gets siphoned off to the wrong places. It just seems like a depressing exercise in futility.
I definitely don’t proclaim to be an authority on the way NGOs and organisations like UNICEF operate (I did a bit of work in Uganda for a couple of months, so I have a small understanding) but I just get the rather depressing feeling that no-one really pays attention to anymore.
I’m not entirely sure where this post is going, but in a very long-winded, ranty and roundabout way, I share your sentiments, Andrea 🙂
Middle class folks, at least in this country (USA), are struggling. They’re losing their homes and their health insurance while the government takes one third of their earnings to fund people who don’t work (many can but don’t….). There isn’t anything great about “returning to a middle class life”. These families, caught in the middle between the low-income folks who are funded by the government and the wealthy who don’t need anything, are falling through the cracks. Maybe you should re-think your slam at a very hard-hit class of people.
@Hayley – I consider myself part of the American middle class, and in no way do I see a parallel between people who own one pair of shoes, maybe two pairs of pants, have to survive on beans and rice and filthy, contaminated water and middle-class Americans. Sure, some people are struggling – to buy a third HDTV or a Coach purse or another pair of Nikes. While I understand what you’re saying, there is simply no comparison between having to cut back vs having to survive.
I concur with you as well Andrea.
Hi Hayley, I wasn’t slamming your middle class and I don’t think you see your middle class the way I do.
In a developing country like the one I live in, “middle class” usually means you’re making at least minimum wage. Minimum wage in the capital is the equivalent of around $10/day (less in the rural areas). If you’re at the comfortable end of the middle class range, you’re probably making around $25/day. With that $10-$25, a parent is supposed to feed, shelter, and clothe a family, as well as educate the children (yeah, there tends to be 2 or 3). Oh, and there’s hardly ever a health or dental plan, and welfare services are dodgy. Decent jobs that hire for longer than temporary basis are still quite hard to come by, so many households are often supported by just 1 working parent at a time. This is our middle class. As you can see, it’s quite different from yours.
@Hayley, that’s no way comparable to developing countries. I live one in too (add in the conflict) and you are lucky if you find a job that pays a little over minimum wage. Some people don’t even get their paychecks for months and months because of the bad economic situation here and everyone has to work 6 days a week.
Most people rely on international agencies for health care (such as the international red cross and red crescent) as well as Health NGOs. There’s a reason why the red cross, the UN and health NGOs are not in America.. because the majority of the population does not rely on them.
We also have a large population of refugees here so they rely a lot on UN agencies to provide education and health care.
@Andrea, so true. Even having a full-time working parent is very hard to come by. The middle class families are the ones who are making $10,000 USD (atleast where I live) per year…. which correct me if I’m wrong is actually in the poverty line for the US.
@Hayley, I’m sorry but the attitude you express is exactly the problem here. A complete lack of perspective. I’m not trying to attack you but let’s look at the situation a little more clearly. If you have clothes, shelter, food, and clean water, you are doing better than at least 50% of the world’s population and I would wager the number is much higher. If you have access to healthcare, can walk the street with relative safety, and say what you want without fear of the government, that number goes even higher. I will take the American middle class with all it’s problems any day of the week.
Hi Leen! Actually, $10K sounds a bit big to me because that’s like the salary of an upper level manager here. But that’s until I factor in the extended family/neighborhood system.
Like Crumpets talks about further down in the comments, it really is the way people in many developing nations get by, isn’t it? Adult children live with their parents and their grandparents and other extended family pretty much all their lives, and it’s the combined contributions that get everyone through the month. And the big corporations here have made it easier for these households in the wide C/upper D markets to have small luxuries, like basic cable and mobile phone service, so I think this allows people to feel like it’s not so bad most of the time.
It is getting a lot better though, and thankfully, there is no open conflict here (despite what the international media says sometimes) which is why I’m reluctant to use the label “Third World country.” I think a good snapshot of our developing middle class is the lunch time scene here: when you walk out onto the streets of the CBD in the richest part of the metro, don’t be surprised to see these clean-cut twenty/thirtysomething guys in their neckties hunched over the street vendor stalls eating cheap rice meals, because despite appearances, that’s all they can really afford on their budget.
Ah yes, $10k is usually when you have two family members (often three) working. We also have a lot of taxes imposed here (on land, on household, utilities etc), and that’s no way taking in account the refugees (we have 2 million in the country) and they make far, far less and most do not have a stable income and rely on UN agencies to get by.
Indeed, it’s not strange to see adult children living with their parents (usually until they get married they move out, men and women alike and tend to live close by their families or in the same building).
There’s a lot of investment in developing countries which I think is slowly improving people’s lives but still it is still a long shot. Unfortunately where I live, there is still a lot of conflict here, and the government is relying more and more on international donors sooo I’m afraid it will get worse before it gets better, shame. And a lot of youth have started to purposely get imprisoned by the occupation forces because by law they give the families a stipend to support them so for them t’s better to remain in prison for 5-7 years, being clothed and fed, while their families receive a stipend, rather than remain unemployed and with no source of income… shame.
Not really Amelia.
He’s raising awareness and that’s not a bad thing but the irony of him tweeting his meals on good plating from his mobile isn’t lost on me.
Not a slight to him, just an observation.
It’s nice but living one week with that money is a breeze. Living a year with that money and without a house sounds more like it. Add to that threats of violence and lack of clean water to drink…
Everyone should try to live a month like that, and suddenly ppl would care about the world matters a bit more than “is some actress black enough to play another actress, is Nicole Richie’s booty big enough or is it ok for some other actress to use flat irons.”
Nice idea though. 99,9% of ppl who have the money, wouldn’t do that. You go dude.
I know I couldnt live off a $1.50 a day that sounds really hard makes me appreciate the things I have think about this.
I spend more than that on coffee; I too am greatful for what I do have.
Agreed, I could never survive with $1.50 a day in NYC. You can’t even buy a bottle of water with that in some stores.
Yeah. I agree. I just spent $2.50 for a regular drip coffee. It’s amazing how spoiled we are. So many people in developed countries think they’re struggling but don’t realize how lucky they are just to have things like an abundance of clean water.
I also have to agree with some of the other commenters that the more I see and hear from Hiddleston the more it kills my Hiddles lust. Actually, I think the tide turned with that horrible jacket.
Good for him. I do think his heart is in the right place.
I’d also like to suggest that next time, instead of dragonflies, he covers his jacket in hedgehogs..
No, Cumby has the hedgehogs, The Mac has sloths… let’s think. Tommyanna and…
MEERKATS!
Meerkats are fabulous, with their standing-tall alertness. But I suddenly remembered that Cumby likened Sherlock himself to a meerkat. This was a while ago, when his Tumblr fandom were arguing over whether he was an otter or a seahorse.
It makes me wonder if Hiddles might be better off as a starfish or something.
Or….he could just be a dragonfly, as he is already dressing up as one.
No I like the dragonflies dammit!
Also don’t mind that more people are disembarking the Hiddleanna train. Moar Hiddles for me. 😀
And, may I just add, I couldn’t care less where his heart is – that’s not the organ I have my eye on. Also his hands, I care very much where his hands are… and mouth – I have a few spot marked for his mouth as well.
EsCon – Starfish. Absolutely and I can’t believe we didn’t see it earlier.
Dear Miss Eyre, I present you with this:
http://www.quickmeme.com/Sassy-Starfish/?upcoming
& send my deepest apologies, in advance. (I dig the Sassy Starfish.)
@j.eyre: Getting way out of hand, aren’t you?! now that you don’t have anyone shaking left and right…
@Agent MOL – yes, I am a bit unhinged today. I am not sure what my problem is, must be lust-brain. My bravado is out of control.
that said, tea?
EsCon – I.Can’t.Stop.Giggling. Tommyanna and Sassy Starfish – I may cry! Somebody bring me CHemboy to cradle me until I regain composure.
No – although Sassy Starfish just rocked my world, I’m thinking the original rodenty impulse was correct. Perhaps a gerbil?
ETA: just did a meme search, but all I could find were germaphobe gerbil and sombrero gerbil. The latter is quite fabulous, but no tug-of-war hedgehog.
I like the starfish! Though I think seahorse a would also suit him.
@j.eyere: tea is always welcomed, thanks! I did answer you today about the frankenhiddles project on the Cumby thread.
I am not reading much here. Hopefully, my pc will be fixed today, :).
OK, Agent MOL, set the Franhiddles project aside and get to work: we need something that has the sassiness of a starfish, the adorable but rabid quality of a small rodent, the lithe shape of a seahorse and the wings of a dragonfly. I think we can use Tommyanna’s eyes.
All set?
pronto!
I don’t know what to think about the new nickname you gave to Hiddles (aka Tommyanna). Pollyanna was one of my fave books growing up and I thought “The glad game” was an awesome idea. *Sigh*
@j.eyre,
There, there, Jane, *pats head of Miss Eyre* it will be all right. I’m so glad you’re enjoying Miss Sassy—I love her.
She might even fit on the back of Thor’s little pink scooter. Won’t that lift your spirits?
I wonder if men in their mid-to-late thirties who discover that their female fans compare them to & discuss them as precious little creatures (hedgehogs, seahorses) ever roll their eyes just a little bit. And like it, secretly….
EsCon,
I’ll bet they all secretly lurk. We are *so* much better than the competition. There’s only so many times a person can read the phrase “oh, my ovaries” without wanting to shoot oneself.
It’s a nice idea but it’s just a week. It’s a bit like Earth Hour; in the end it’s just a gimmick and wouldn’t really do anything to help if we only do it once a year.
But still, props to Hiddles I guess.
He is probably not really living on less than £1 a day, he still lives in his fancy appartment with water and power.
I like Hiddles, but he is coming off more and more contrived.
I don´t doubt he is doing this out of good intent, but to me this seems like a typical tumblr-style vanity project, “I lived 5 days as a poor person despite my upper class background, my private school education and the fact my future is perfectly secured I now know what it feels like to be poor”.
But I am prob just bitchy today.
Totally agree with you.
Now I’m getting flashbacks to Tyra Banks telling America’s Next Top Model that she knows what it’s like to be homeless. I could totally see Hiddles doing that at a cocktail party.
(I tried to be nice above, but now I’m ready to co-sign on the cynicism)
YEAH! Cynicism for the win!
*breathes heavily* T. Fainty, I’m your mother…Come to dark side and let’s rule the Celebitchy-galaxy together! *breathes heavily*
On a serious note: this reeks (to high heaven) of publicity stunt to me. Sorry, Hiddlestoners — everything the man has been doing lately seems contrived (to me).
It’s all how you do it and the attitude you take. Raising awareness is one thing, i work for monprofits and i get that, but it does seem to be really important to him to be *seen* doing these things and to have the press and the headlines. It’s a full time job being Saint Tom.
Man alive! There’s cynicism and then there’s C and C. How the worm turns.
T.Fanty!!! Can I follow you on Twitter? I’ve got Sherlock news!!!
Or Natalie “the recession is really an exciting time”, “I am not black, but I know what it feels like” Portman
My apologies, Tfanty. This is just how all the publicity strikes me. It’s a great cause, and I believe he is sincere.
The point of the campaign is symbolic, and is meant to raise awareness. Most people who do this understand that at the end of their five days they will go right back to their luxurious first world lifestyle. I think Hiddles’s heart is in the right place, but….
Please. Tweeting everything you eat? It still comes across as kind of look-at-me. I am bracing myself for the MTV Awards coming up– if he talks about this on the red carpet while wearing Armani, I am going to groan.
I’m liking the dragonfly jacket. I looked up how much it cost though and realized I cannot afford to even *think* about Alexander McQueen.
At present, I still think that Tom’s commitment to Unicef is genuine.Time will tell and if my take changes, I’ll be all for a healthy dose of cynicism. Lol.
I’m not familiar with his fandom, I’ve just checked Twitter today and, TBH, I’ve seen worse. Should I maybe consider something else to form my opinion?
Millions of people do this every year, and it’s really hard. the whole idea is to know what it’s like to try and live below the poverty line. It doesn’t matter that it’s just for a week, it’s incredibly hard. In Australia it’s $2 a day, and it’s kind of insane to see how little people have to survive on. It raises awareness, actually makes people do something more than just give money and it’s a good cause.
Yes! I’m Thisby’sMantle
Hmmm…I was already pouting (hadn’t seen your answer under my comment/question).
EDIT: already following you *sinister background music*
And that’s why I watch my back whenever I have to leave work at nightfall.
Girl, I can only send you a private message if you follow me as well.
Check your Twitter, the newest person who added you has to be me, plus I’m following C&C and Miss M.
Oh I agree. I find these stunts annoying and immaterial at best. Also condescending, misinformed, ineffective, and self-serving. And…words! 😉
We must be in the same mood, so.. it’s… I don’t know, when I was unemployed I had only 2/3€ per days and it was longer than a week and o lot of people are in my situation and in worst so give some money and do your stuff but is he unemployed himself or not ?
He lives in a converted Victorian farmhouse in a section of London that is famously posh. Or so I’ve heard. He wants for nothing. I have never understood the motives of posh people who do this, it seems more of a need to prove something than a call to action to do something.
I did notice that Hiddles did not post pictures of his last two meals, he got quite a beating on Twitter so maybe it’s time for him to keep his challenge more low key.
Hampstead I believe– a very, very wealthy section of North London. And yes, he has always been this wealthy.
I think he is superficially sincere, but I do think this has a lot more to do with appearances and desire to be seen as being aware. He has gotten quite a beating on Twitter for all of this. I wonder if anything has sunk in.
Hearts probably in the right place, but at the end of the week he goes back to being extremely wealthy.
“you’ll never live like common people, you’ll never do what common people do, you’ll never fail like common people…if you called your dad he could stop it all”
His heart is in the right place but pretending to be poor to raise awareness is not the right way to do it. We kinda know what it feels like to be poor and hungry.
Anyway, Tom’s a good person and God bless him.
Good guy, Hiddleston.
I like him as an actor, and he seems like a genuinely nice person trying to get across good messages etc, but how does he not realize he’s being a little contradictory when he’s TWEETING from his HOME that has heat and running water?
Question about the fandom thing – I know some of the fans are a little crazy (look on tumblr) but how does he treat his fandom…?
(can: open. worms: everywhere….)
The short answer is that his fans are nuts and he facilitates the crazy.
^ That’s pretty much it.
I think a celebrity can be nice and not overindulge his fans. I think Nathan Fillion is a good example. Then again, his fans don’t seem crazy in the first place.
Hey now. We aren’t ALL crazy. Ok maybe just a little bit…
Yeah, I am completely off my rocker – but in a really nice way.
He treats his fandom pretty well considering what the fandom has done to him in the last year.
edit: wrong reply.
His UNICEF blog is actually a good read and he comes across really humbled by his trip to Africa. But I’m just happy that I got a Hemsworth and a Hiddleston post in one day. Feels like Christmas morning!
Well, good morning handsome!
Instead of his coat being covered in dragonflies it needs to be covered in my fingerprints.
The things a broken heart will do… Poor Hiddles, I still love you but not that way… I moved on with Hardy, so should you (not with Hardy, of course). Now eat something!
Hahaha
ps: Jokes aside, I agree with Kaiser that he’s heart is in the right place.
that top photo, i could stare at it for hours
So it’s a stunt, so he eats his peas and rice (or whatever) on nice plates in the comfort of his home in swanky London… So? Couldn’t all celebrity charity things be called stunts? Very few have the inclination to go to the level of say Ms Jolie, so they all technically fly in and fly out, write a single, swim a channel…. But at least they’re trying. You may not do anything about the problem they’re trying to highlight but you can’t now say you’re unaware of it.
Right. If I did it I’d also probably do it from the comfort of my home with electricity and water ’cause I still have to go to work and get on with my life, and I’d also probably go back to my prior life and all those great comfy little things I have. It’s just supporting the cause and he’s doing it right; at least he’s participating. Are we?
Tom just twittered how much he would have to really give up to truly live below the line, along with a picture of his lunch for the day (sigh).
Having a hard time lately liking this guy.
I really don’t know what to think of him though. That’s why I opened this post. Was curious. Didn’t notice strange fans yet. But I think I’ll go check ASkars now. Cause I’m superficial like that and spring is doing it’s thing…
The mayor of Newark did that a while back, lived on food stamps for a week. While I agree it doesn’t really change anything, it might open someone’s eyes as to the struggles many people face.
I think it was more useful for a politician to do it, as they have the power to do something. I’d actually love to see all politicians have to do something like that and really see how many people live.
LOVE Cory Booker!
Yes. More like him, please.
My understanding is that the challenge was to live on that much food per day. No one said anything about living in true poverty conditions for 5 days. That would be something totally different.
I can think of very few people, celebs or otherwise who would be willing to do that just to make a point.
[speaking as someone who has]
It is a good intention and hopefully a few people will get off their duffs about it, but at the end of the day, its the local warlord governments that are the main problem in these areas and no amount of food money is going to fix that.
I live in a third world county and I live on less than 1 GBP per day! Mind you I drink tea four times a day and have my three meals and snack in the afternoon.
It’s a different point that $1 in some countries actually goes a long way. When I lived in Turkey, my budget was $7 a day– I wasn’t buying any new dresses, but I was never hungry or unable to travel wherever I wanted to go.
The culture is different, and this is a factor: people share everything, nobody lives alone, and the weird competitive shopping culture that rules the west just doesn’t exist (at least it didn’t while I was there– things have changed). Tea? It’s practically free: step into any shop and the first thing they do is offer you tea. It’s impolite to decline. Nobody feels deprived I not having $4 lattes.
This is going way off topic I know. Forgive my digression….
I appreciate this post very much, Crumpets & C. I think we need to be reminded especially of this “…..people share everything…& the weird competitive shopping culture doesn’t exist.”
Are people teaching their kids not to share now, I wonder? When I was a kid, we heard that every day & learning to share was a major theme. I don’t think we can overestimate that as a view of life. It would ripple out to everything in a most wonderful way.
C&C: did you read the article I tweeted the other day on American psychology? Your comment reminds me of it.
Lets put it this way: if everyone lives on their own apartment, drives their own car, cooks for just one or two (and throws out a lot of stuff because things spoil), life gets very expensive very fast. Look at the highway during rush hour– how many cars do you see with one person in each?
If everyone lives with extended family and you have ten people sharing stuff, and ten people pitching in toward a big meal at the end of the day, and you live in a neighborhood where people show up at your door if they heard a rumor that you were (gasp!) eating alone and insist on inviting you over, life gets a lot less expensive. Ten people trying to eat alone on $1 each are not going to do too well; those same ten pooling that money together and making a pot of soup and baking some bread are going to do much better.
This is how people live in many other countries. They look after one another.
Tfanty: I did! The article about the anthropologist, right? And I agreed with his conclusions: no, we are not all the same.
Yeah when you live around the extended family, it’s almost a guarantee there’s always an aunt inviting you over for lunch!
Yes, stuff is cheaper in developing nations, so your dollar stretches further.
However, the Live Below the Line figure accounts for that. The dollar/pound value for your country is calculated using purchasing power parity. That’s why the target is $1.25 in the US, but $2 in Australia … the US/Aussie dollar is very close at the moment, but food is far more expensive in Australia so it’s not a straight 1:1 conversion.
Does that make sense?
You can’t say “I can live okay in a third-world country on 1 pound/day”. This – the extreme poverty line – is about trying to live on 1 pound/day while in the UK!
I can’t emphasise that enough. There are 1.4 BILLION people living at or below that level. Horrifying.
I take back the Fassbender comments, the dude is looking more and more like Lee Pace.
your comment: I grow less fond of him as a person, but I enjoy covering him more and more. I think his heart is in the right place, I think he’s a good actor, and I think he’s handsome, but his fandom and his treatment of his fandom makes my biscuit factory close down.
i’m completely not trolling — just curious about why this is so — does he have a reputation for treating fans badly? i’m just curious – thank you!!!!
Quite the opposite. See T.Fanty’s comment above, he regularly interacts with his fans and sort of invites the weird behaviour from a few of them.
Seriously, if the dude isn’t careful, he’s going to end up tied up in someone’s basement.
see — that’s what i’ve heard about him too so the comment made me curious — thank you!
Actually, from what I’ve been reading on CB, people are disliking him for being too NICE to fans. To the point that they feel he is “facilitating the crazies”.
I don’t really understand the logic personally, but I guess it’s how the world works. They hate you for being a jerk and they hate you for being too nice. You just can’t win.
Personally I’d take too nice any day.
I beg to differ. The issue has been not that he is “nice” to his fans but hat he actively facilitates the crazier ones because he likes the attention and the fawning, and that it is part of an overall famewhoring pattern.
I can think of a lot of famously nice celebrities (Bill Murray anyone?) who are simply loved for their niceness. But they are also not feverishly working at being known for their kindness of putting it on headlines on their photo shoots. They are just nice.
Kind of like celebrities who do real work for charitable causes (Angelina Jolie, Mia Farrow, Matt Damon etc.) and don’t feel the need to tweet everything they do or claim credit from the red carpet.
About an hour ago, Hiddles tweeted that he fully understands that he is privileged enough to have electricity, water, etc., and he is appreciative that this will only last a week.
*waves to Hiddles*
That was me, actually. He is weakened by his malnourishment so he just faints after sex (during, sometimes – it’s getting annoying) And since he doesn’t have any *%$#@*&^ coffee, I felt bitchy and decided to tweet from his account. Wait until you read the one I have set to go out in an hour – it’s a doozie!
Now if you will excuse me, I am currently painting up my little comatose Tommyanna to look like Marie Antoinette (twitpix!)
God, Jane you are killing me!
I am so sorry for my behavior today. I have nothing better to do right now as I am waiting for Mr. Rochester to return from the gym so that we can work on a project I need to do today (Photoshop – completely beyond my skill set).
At this rate, when he does return, the project we work on will result in a new Heir.
b
I want to see this, Miss Eyre. Do you promise a big white wig with a functioning fountain installed?
I am just finishing the wig as we speak. I used freshly spun cotton candy… don’t tell Tommyanna – it put me back above the line in cost. Photos soon!
Cotton candy! Oh please make it pink! Then we can all take turns eating it and making that poor skinny boy very very sticky!
Miss Eyre, I beg you, please don’t let Tommy wear that quilted jacket over a three-piece suit anymore.
Ooops, I typed “wilted jacket.”
That either.
@ J.Eyre:
I bitchslapped you on that Theron/MacFarlane thread. Sorry, but I had to. It was for your own good (and it hurt me more than it hurt you).
C&C – sticky Tommyanna? (sorry Agent MOL – I love the nickname too much) Well now we are having a discussion I can get on board with. Quick, get your crotchshot, he’s coming around. Must be ready to consume another $.17
@EsCon – and yet another reason I am not a well woman (number 2,316 for those of you playing at home), I think that quilted parka over the suit is sexy as hell. First time I saw those photos, I skimmed over them thinking it was just him in the suit. and then I saw the parka and, I don’t know – it brought to mind him dashing out of the theater, grabbing me mid-stride and whisking me away on the Thames. Or something.
@Eve – I was just going to comment on that. You say you can’t but have you really tried? I will stay perfectly still and you see how far you can reach.
Jane,
Not sure why my comments keep disappearing today.
All is forgiven, dear. Truthfully, I am happy you are there today to look after our Tommyanna. Of course, by taking care I do mean letting him get sufficient rest and keeping him hydrated with tap water *ahem*
I shall send you a supply of my coffee. I’ve no use for it as I’ve taken ill, I’m sipping ginger ale instead 🙁
@Lemony – no! Why did I not know sooner? I shall be over with chicken soup toute suite! Ginger ale – is it the flu? I have no tricks there but if it is a cold, I absolutely swear by a hot toddy. Mr. Rochester will say he married me for some romantic nonsense but I say I won him the day I made him a hot toddy to cure his cold (I was a bartender in college)
Feel better soon. I shall take good care of your coffee and Tommyanna until you are mended. Oh dear, he’s blacked out again. Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten the potato he put aside for dinner.
@ J.Eyre:
Yes, I tried. But then again, I’m 5’2″ — short legs and arms (with really, ridiculously tiny hands and feet).
Now I want a picture of TommyAnna (sorry AgentMOL) passed out, with a half munched Marie Antoinette wig (plus face powder and elaborate fake beauty spot) with a sad little empty plate of potato crumbs in the foreground. I’ll fill in the sound effect of Miss Eyre (delicately) belching myself.
*taps foot impatiently, while waiting for Miss Eyre to finish her man-devouring rounds for the day*
@J.Eyre:
Thank you for your well-wishes & the soup!
I’ll spare you the details, but it appears to be a flu, coupled with my time of the month, and a lack of sleep for the last week (the company I work for recently added hospice to it’s available services, we just had our first hospice patient pass away last week, so I was doing daily as well as nightly visits with her until her passing on Fri) Why does my uterus hate me so much? I’ve been nothing but kind to it. Sigh.
I happened to see your hilarious $h@mef*ck L!st comment on the Charlize thread…. I’m thinking we need CB to run a $h@mef*ck L!st thread for us, I think that would cheer me up a great deal! But what tone would we strike? Shameful, of course, but would we battle each other, like the Cumber Games? Or rally together, like a girls’ night? Or treat it as a therapy session? Would a such a thread be more divisive than a Hot Guy Post? Or less? I have new entry to add to my list. I didn’t choose him willingly, he appeared to me in a dream at the onset of my illness & I cannot shake him. Perhaps once I’ve recovered my strength.
PS-would Tommyanna like me to send some lentils along with the coffee? Perhaps the nutrients would energize our Dragonfly through the night….
@Lemony – feel better soon!
TommyAnna would love to send you some lentils for soup, but they cost 12.3p, and if you and Miss Eyre have your way, he will need the last little bit of energy he can get. I don’t want to come to Thornfield tomorrow and find him sitting amid the ashes of the hearth, sobbing and clutching a moldy piece of bread to his chest, with the remnants of the Marie Antoinette wig strewn about his bare feet.
@T.Fanty:
You are such a dear. I am feeling a bit better than last night, so I’m hoping to go into work tmrrw, we have a quarterly staff meeting & I suppose I should give face.
I shall keep the lentils for now. Do you know of what material Miss Eyre contructed Tommyanna’s MA wig? Something organic? My dog ate my halloween wig as well as my St Patty’s green punk wig and her coat has never looked so glossy. Perhaps that could keep our darling from weeping during this trial he has undertaken?
@T.Fanty:
Oopsies, I just noticed up above that Miss Eyre has made his wig of cotton candy. We know how our boy loves a good fluff piece 😉
@DocFanty – am I expected to stop munching men? Your foot is going to get awfully tired.
@Lemony – cotton candy. For the wig. Although it isn’t working well. It keeps melting every time I turn up the heat.
But seriously, the hospice situation is upsetting. My neighbor was a hospice counselor. I remember my father-in-laws hospice caregiver coming to his funeral. There is a special place in heaven for people like you.
So, the Heiress just asked Mr. Rochester why Mom (me) “isn’t anything and you do so much? You’re teach at school and make games and have meetings and all that stuff?” I understand that this should be on the Halmek thread but, honestly, how do I respond to that?
Miss Eyre, it’s clear that the inquisitive Heiress has no idea how hard you work here on CB. The knitting schedule alone would cause the ordinary bitch to collapse.
Very troubling question. I hope you sent her to the attic for a time out.
Do you think he reads our comments? I sometimes wonder. *waves to Hiddles*
If he does, he knows we are clever & hilarious & he won’t dare to complain.
@T.Fanty: Lol.
Oh Hiddles… First, McAvoy talking about Cumberb*tches and now Hiddles “immediate” response. I love them. At least they don’t pretend to not know what people say about them. 🙂
I guess one wonders what he COULD do that would be acceptable without all the cynicism?
What would make it OK?
What would be good enough?
He seems like a genuinely nice man who is acutely aware of all he has been given and is trying to make a positive difference.
At least he doesn’t spend his days whining about not finding the right person to get pregnant.
No. Instead I hear he spends all day whining about how he can’t find true love among all those vapid bimbos that he seems to like so much… but then again thems the circles he travels in. Poor thing probably doesn’t know any better.
Do tell.
Which vapid bimbos are we referring to?
Does he complain? I have heard the usual rumors but nothing concrete.
Look all you crumpets! I can fix you up right now with MIT research scientists who climb rocks and practice parkour in their spare time!
You might feel a little intimidated by their accomplishments, their ability to count pi, and their genuine command of five languages, but you claim you are up for that, right?
I would be such a good yenta to celebrities who have promise but need to have certain things explained to them.
C&C Dear,
If you can find a research scientist who not only climbs rocks but will read poetry to me while he is doing that (I will be on the ground, waiting for him in rhapsody) I will get in line.
Oh, I forgot, he has to look just like my darling Cumby (with the same accent of course) & I don’t really care about pi.
It will be easy to find such a creature, won’t it? Hmmm? 😉
@MissThing, have any tea to spill on Tom? *wink*
Miss Melissa,
And it’s so silly of Cumby to whine about that, because here we are, all lined up. 😉
No, that would be Cumbers, I am surprised he hasn’t planted a seed in one of those model types he likes to sleep with.
Good for him for using his celebrity to draw attention to UNICEF. Hopefully this inspires his fans to kick some cash in for a good cause.
This, coupled with producing 10% of one’s food intake a year would SERIOUSLY reduce food issues, but probably not poverty. Not ’til we move away from the idea that you have to break a few backs to get ‘somewhere’.
I read a post by someone on tumblr about ‘Fangirl and Slacktivism’ that sums up this generation perfectly. My prof at uni really got me interested in ‘Slacktivism’ especially with the Kony stuff that happened in 2012.
Anyways the person that wrote the post had some interesting points having lived poor. It is quite long so I am gonna post in a few posts. But this person I feel hits the nail in the head.
‘
Tumblr post starts here:
” Before I begin, I would like to give everyone a friendly reminder that you can like something and still be critical of it. I will not be responding to flat out hate messages or messages that are grossly misinformed. I won’t respond to messages akin to “At least Tom is doing something, what are you doing?!” because that does not invalidate my criticism and I already live on or around a dollar a day.
I’d like to thank everyone who has been brave enough to share their thoughts on the matter.
If you didn’t know already, Tom Hiddleston is heading the “Live Below the Line” challenge which requires that one eat the equivalent of or less than a dollar’s worth of food a day which millions of people the world over do every day. This is to raise awareness and to raise money.
Mr.Hiddleston is only the latest celebrity to take on the challenge of living on the edge of hunger, Corey Booker and Mario Batalli are the latest public people who undertook similar challenges recently.
It’s not to say that the affluent people choosing to live this way for a few days at a time aren’t well-meaning or empathetic or genuine in their motivations. Nonetheless, this approach is problematic….
…Methodology
As a part of the challenge, participants are given a shopping list and menu to get them through their seven (or 5) day challenge. The total price of the items amounts to 7 pounds (or USD) or 1 pound (or USD) a day. On this shopping list are pre-packaged items and foods that require refrigeration. While I feel that the project is trying to achieve the average caloric intake of someone living on 1 dollar a day this is by no means equivalent to the experience of conditions in Africa or other regions of high poverty. The menu they provide is likely to make it so discomfort is felt without necessarily needing medical attention. But the foods on their list are nonetheless luxury foods (I don’t know if the price that UNICEF provided is accurate or is accurate for the UK, but in my shopping experience those things would be a bit more expensive). If you live below the line, you don’t have 7 dollars to drop at a time. If you live below the line, you have to divide that dollar between several people in your family. If you live below the line, it is unlikely that you eat three meals a day and have to settle for one meal or no meals. If you live below the line, your labor is highly strenuous and dangerous. If you live below the line, you’ve likely been living this way for the whole of your life, meaning that at the age of 32 you only have a few more years left to live this struggle. At the end of the day you don’t return to your heated apartment in a bustling metropolis and the creature comforts of living in a post-industrial nation…
…The Causes of Hunger
War, Famine, Government Corruption, Lack of Infrastructure, The Price of Food, Racism, Imperialism, Famine, Disease, Lack of Education, Lack of Equality for Women, Drought, Poverty, Income Inequality, Exploitation. To stop hunger these many issues need to be met. It won’t be easy. Can donating money help? I’m not an expert, but I’m sure you could find the answers for yourself. Ultimately, a bunch of people playing at poverty for a week won’t solve any of those issues…
…Slacktivism and the Fangirl
It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month and you buy a pink ribbon. Kony is out there somewhere, so you share a video on your Tumblr. You live on a small amount of food for a week to live below the line. But what have you contributed? The fact is, many of the young women in this tag aren’t getting the point of this project because they are so enamored with the fact that a grown man can prepare a meal for himself or that he feels a bit hungry. When this actor who doesn’t have to live like this goes a little hungry it’s “admirable” and it makes him “a role model.” Are the millions of people who have no choice to live like this “role models” ? No, they aren’t, shouldn’t be, and in this regard, neither is Tom. Tom probably eats a decent amount to maintain his muscle mass and because of his height. He will lose weight because of this experience and all the fangirls will coo about what a hero he is and how skinny he’s gotten. The point will be entirely missed and already has been. He isn’t tweeting his inane food choices to make you feel guilty, because he’s brave, or because he needs your encouragement…
…In conclusion, when this week is up Tom will return to his already privileged lifestyle. He may have a new understanding about what it’s like to live on the edge, much like I’m sure when people travel to another country to “find themselves” they have a new metaphysical outlook. But whatever conclusion he comes to it will amount to the following totally new conclusion: living on so little food is hard!
Awareness doesn’t mean anything if the systematic structures that cause issues aren’t addressed. As it is, Tom has raised awareness since we’re having this discussion right now, for better or for worse.
If you’re interested in helping, here’s what you can do: donate money to charity. Instead of having people sponsoring your starving, have them donate to charity outright. Better yet, everyone should pool their money and buy canned goods, rice, and other items to give to your local food bank. Spend those hours you would otherwise be contemplating how hungry you are, and when you were going to eat and scrolling through the Tom tag, and volunteer at your local soup kitchen.”
All I have to say is that I think that post is eloquent and really lets people know about the systematic roots of a lot of world issues and that these issues can never go away when people just expect ‘slacktivism’ to play a huge part/ also don’t even consider or try to ignore the deeper entrenchments that have caused the conditions in the first place. My father always says that you can’t expect to solve any problem when you don’t want to fully accept what exactly the true nature of the problems is. Most of these ‘fans’ and people spouting off admiration are exactly like this and therefore Hiddlestons efforts, although admirable will not accomplish much from their platform. Many of them care for him/ his well being without connecting it to the issue. Once he is removed from the issue many won’t care. It was the same with Kony and celeb endorsement of that cause.
+1000, Lauren. This pretty much sums up my feeling.
Thanks for sharing, Lauren!
That’s a great article. There’s something about this whole episode that’s evocative of posting a “share if you don’t like poverty” picture on fb. In the Hiddlestoners’ defence, though, there was a time recently when they all banded together to donate money in Hiddles’ name, and raised a fair chunk of change.
Unfortunately, the only way this kind of fandom is going to be productive is if the celebs themselves get cynical about “using” their brand and exploiting this good will of the fans, which I don’t think many would be willing to do because of a misguided belief of respecting those who currently sustain their career (or simply not wanting to alienate their consumers).
Great article that made many really solid points!
I DO have to point out though, that with Susan G. Komen Foundation and the buy a pink ribbon thing…the money goes to providing breast cancer screenings to impoverished women. Yes, it won’t solve all of the worlds problems, but sometimes a small act of charity can lead to something that makes an acutal different in someone’s life. It isn’t just about wearing a ribbon, it is about donating money to an organization that is actually taking action.
The wank over this is amazing. IMO: He can do something better than photographing his meals day in day out for five days. Donate some of your Loki money to the cause, and get on with it. His twitter feed really is no more than a UNICEF PR feed now anyway.
Bad press is better than No press at all you know…
Sorry no tea to spill (is that a British saying?) I wish I had. I just put together all the things he says in interviews, plus the photos of events plus the usual gossips and make my observations. Given his past attractions to such types though it would follow that he still likes busty brunette bimbos.
Bet he’s got them all lined up like a hook up line, one for every day of the week. So much for his crazy fans thinking he’s chaste.
Jesus!….He’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t.
Lots of critics basically saying “Hiddles dieting for a week doesn’t accomplish anything”, but I think that’s missing the point. The UNICEF campaign manager using Hiddles is running a smart campaign. Think about it …
First step was sending Hiddles to Africa, and getting donations direct from fans.
This is different. As far as I’m aware, there’s no “sponsor Hiddles” option, and he’s doing it before the formal “Live Below the Line” start-date (which is early May). The point is to raise awareness of the event. Not awareness of hunger (which is vague and unhelpful), but awareness of this specific fundraising event – so that more people participate.
If a Hiddlestoner participates, they’d get sponsors from friends and family … people who might not have donated to any other cause. (People are far more willing to sponsor someone to do something than to hand over a simple donation. That’s a basic rule of fundraising.)
It’s a very, very smart campaign. Use the star to tap the fans, then use the fans to tap their family/friends.
Also, I’m not sure if UNICEF-UK have this fundraiser ear-marked for something in particular, but the group running it in Australia use it to build schools & provide scholarships (Cambodia and Papua New Guinea so far). Poverty is a complex issue (as that “fangirls and slacktivism” post noted), but providing education really is one of the best ways to address some of the root causes.
Okay, okay enough of Hiddles! I am now officially in love with his Alexander McQeen dragonfly jacket, and if I ever see it on him I am going tackle him, rip it off his lanky well-attended body, and running away with it.
if he is also wearing the cotton candy Marie Antoinette wig designed by Miss Eyre, I shall be more forgiving of his upper class silliness, so that we can tie him up and take turns eating wig until he is reduced to a sticky quivering mess. But we have to rescue that jacket first!
To let you know how sincere I am:
Yesterday I was hours early for one of my ballet classes (misread the damned schedule!) and so was in downtown Boston with a couple of hours to kill, which I spent fantasy shopping at Neiman Marcus.
Lo and behold, they had several Alexander McQueen dresses– the cost of even one would covering my tuition for the year. I did not see the dragonfly jacket (which looks like it is the highest end of the highest end), but I did see the Dress to End All Dresses.
It was covered in hummingbirds! Hummingbirds! Reader, I married it… I mean, I caved in and prentending I was a rich socialite, tried it on. It had to be the most flattering and well made dress that has ever graced my body. I was transformed into a woodland creature, flying through the treetops filled with song, and not a care in the world. Only little people wear J Crew.
The embarrassing part: if you go I to one of these stores a ting like you might actually buy one of these items, you will have three attendants fluttering around you, fawning, offering champagne. You will be escorted to a dressing room furnished with sofas, flattering lights and music, and they will have you stand on a plinth while a tailor tells you l about how they can tailor the garment to fit your goddess like curves perfectly. I managed to deflect most of this, not feeli g right about accepting glasses of Moët Chadon if I was really going to buy.
It is all forming itself into a metaphor– consumer culture, celebrity culture, luxury lounges for the Goops of the world, then on the other world hunger and extreme poverty and all the celebrities playing at being hungry. People starvi g on the one hand, corporation s wondering how they can turn everyone into anAmerican style consumer.
I’ll stop now. Please forgive me for all my rambling a d cynicism. I lust for that dress. And that jacket. And I want cotton candy and lots of sex. I am going to try to keep it light. Its all too much for me. Hedgehogs. Hummingbirds. Candy wigs and woolens. Crotchshots where needed. Who says we can’t have nice things?
Ahhh the life so many of us dream of. Too bad most of us will never know it. I am not hungry but I am not wealthy either. I am the average schmoe in the first world.
BTW ladies, do share because I intend to climb that tree many times if I ever get my hands on him. Posh or not, I die for the accent (yeah I’m American, it does things to me ok?) … and the hands, and the hair, and the lips, and the.. ahem nevermind then.
Carry on.
I see a lot of problems with the whole thing, and do not like feeling manipulated. Posh would be fine if it were coupled with a willingness to question that hefty suitcase of invisible privilege. Without it, he comes across as a rich boy who took a tour, then came home and did a fashion shoot wearing the hautest of haute coutour.
I want the jacket though, i admit it. And the cotton candy. And the hedehogs. I am human. You can have Hiddles. He does nothing for me.
Dear Crumpets & C,
I enjoyed the hell out of your post, & I am not here to ruffle your hummingbird feathers. But I thought I might mention that if you can get your delicate beak into Hiddles, you can probably have that dress.
My darling Escaped: but Hiddles would have to be wearing that dress for me to rip it off his body and run away laughing! I would settle for the jacket though.
I do kind of like the idea of him lying crumpled on Hampstead Heath, clothed only in a half munched cotton candy Marie Antoinette wig and full makeup, clutching the last shreds of his dignity and maybe a sleepibg hedgehog, while I sit in a tree chirping with delight as I slip into the magical hummingbird dress, which of course turns me into a real hummingbird…..
@C & C Hummingbird,
I like the idea of him lying crumpled on Hampstead Heath too, with Cumby sitting nearby on a park bench. Cumby will have hummingbird nectar!
For God’s sake, I hope they don’t read this.
This is all being to sound like a really disturbing modernist painting, perhaps by Balthus. There would have to be a very predatory cat (an embodiment of the spirit of Margaret Thatcher) watching the scene, the mice of the dispossessed licking Hiddles’s sugar-sticky toes, and of course hedgehogs (symbolizing corrupted innocence) swooning about Cumby’s shoulders.
Crumpets, that was awesome. Beautifully executed setup into that metaphor!
Oddly enough, I was having that same internal discussion with myself last night when I was out running. I’ve been needing a new pair of running shoes for quite some time, but while I was hoofing along last evening, I was wondering if it was something superfluous in my life or a genuine need.
I refrained from speaking my piece about Tom’s latest project because I wouldn’t have been able to tamp my cynical, bitchy side, but I will give him credit for two things: A) He does seem sincere and willing to try (and that’s ALL I will say about that) and B) His “project” has me thinking about what in my life constitutes need vs. luxuries (given my situation right now, it was already a constant topic, though).
Heydee ho (autocorrect tried to turn that into “geyser go”), I have those dialog with myself to, and I think we all need to think about these things.
That said, my Magic 8 Ball says you should get new sneakers.
C&C, I think “geyser go!” should be your exit line. It’d be perfect with your avatar/name. 😛
And yes, I did conclude that I do deserve a new pair of sneakers. Actually, my left knee concluded for me that I deserve a new pair (my current shoes are OLD and I’ve run them into the ground, literally). And I will get a new pair … when I’m right side up on the bills/rent. Priorities, you know? *siiiigh.
You all can have the dress and the jacket. I just want him. Naked. In the park… or anywhere for that matter.
Well tie him up and leave him there for you after we have eaten the wig and all mice and hedgehogs are satisfied. Perhaps his tears will turn into diamonds in your hands. That would be fun, wouldn’t it?
Well, then I’d be rich and sated… Sounds good to me lol.
BTW hasn’t anyone commented that this whole thing is more so he can better pick up women? I mean everything ANY man does is for the sole purpose of getting pootang. I can just hear it now:
“Hello darling, did you know I starved myself to help poor children? I bet that gets you hot right?” XD
Oh my. “Oh no they didn’t” is having a field day with this story. The photo they used is pretty hilarious!
You’re reading that too?!? Hah, how the tables are turning on poor Hiddles – he was ONTD’s Golden Boy for a hot minute there.
Man… they really don’t like him over there do they.
I say let the man be and either donate to the cause or don’t. Either way why such a wank over it.
I just wanna bang him mercilessly. Is that too much to ask?
“I just wanna bang him mercilessly. Is that too much to ask?”
Nope.
And if that’s enough to keep him occupied and, more importantly, AWAY from Twitter and shameless publicity stunts…you have my full support ;).
I admit I think they are being a bit merciless on the poor boy. We are so much better: All we want to do is steal his clothing, dress him up in a cotton candy Marie Antoinette wig, and leave him tied up for the hedgehogs on Hampstead Heath. They want blood.
Bang him mercilessly, please, but afterwards will you also tie him up and make him learn about the causes of world poverty and maybe a bit about poverty in his own country?
We would also be grateful if you his his smartphone after he succumbs to your blandishments.
Well I can assure you that if I had him to myself, the boy would not be able to walk by the time I was done with him…
Then I would lecture him on the realities of poverty and FGM (my personal pet peeve)
Okay, time to take bets:
I bet $20 toward the charity of CB’s choice that Hiddles will reference this stunt in his red carpet sound byte at the MTV Awards this week, while mugging for the cameras wearing very expensive designer couture of course.
If I am wrong and he doesn’t do it, I will make the donation. If he I am right and he does, the Usual Suspects should send me a flock of imaginary hummingbirds on whatever CB thread covers the MTV Awards.
Anyone want to make a bet on this? Surely there is someone who does not expect him to do this….
Well he wore his Armani to the iTV interview this morning… does that count?
Oh and speaking of C&Cs… mmmm I love the cameraman who decided to go with the full frontal shot of Hiddles while he was actually speaking (using his hands) and not covering himself for that brief moment there… This cameraman is doing the Lord’s work.
I think he will wear his leather, which is not cheap, but since the MTV awards are more casual I’d find him in a suit among all the other people strange.
I watched the interview, his cheeks look sunken and he didn’t go into what this challenge is doing to his body. I wonder if he is saving this for a write up. But he did mention his privileges including his house which I am glad because I am so sick of reading posts on tumblr from silly little girls who say he isn’t posh and lives in a cold water flat. That was the most ridiculous argument so far in Tom’s below the line debate. He lives in a tony part of London, with celeb neighbors like Tim Burton, in a converted Victorian farmhouse that he did up.
Ha! He is doing the interview circuit. See?
Of course he is posh. He has always been posh. I know that tony part of London, and it is beyond privileged. It’s one of the richest neighborhoods in the world. His tastes are not bohemian or modest. Which is fine, but it does add to the rich guy playing at being poor, then turning around and claiming the best of the best..
Okay, I want my cloud of butterflies!
Tom’s tweets this week have inspired several discussions among his fans on this issue – from discussions of world food supply to the cycle of poverty closer to everyone’s first-world homes. His usually fawning fans are talking about real issues and exploring solutions to those issues and making commitments not just to participate in Live Below the Line but to really examine their use/waste of food and where there money goes in the food production chain. In addition, he’s encouraging raising funds that are being funneled to UNICEF, the World Food Program, and the Global Poverty Center, among others.
How misguided and pretentious of him.