Rumor has it that Macaulay Culkin was more than just a friend to the late Michael Jackson – he was the sperm donor for MJ’s third child, Prince Michael II, or as he’s known in our world, Blanket. Brit publication The Sun is reporting that MJ wished Culkin was his own child – he thought Macaulay was a perfect human specimen, and since he couldn’t have him as his own son, he did the next best thing. He harvested himself some swimming sperm!

This is kind of weird, no? Wonder what Macaulay sees when he starts with the man in the mirror. Did he make a change by donating his manhood? Because we’d prefer to stick to smaller changes, like switching out our bottled wine for some eco-friendly boxed wine. Don’t hate, boxed wine means a smaller carbon footprint thanks to its packaging. You can transport more boxes than bottles; meaning less fuel is used to get your wine to you. Additionally, most boxes are recyclable. Want to make a change? Start with a box of French Rabbit Chardonnay.

Sarah

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Former Vice-President Dick Cheney criticized the Obama administration's investigation of C.I.A interrogation techniques. Cheney defended officers who used legal techniques, like water boarding, as well as those who used more coercive methods, unauthorized by the Justice Department. While Cheney has emerged as a defender of Bush-era politics, the issue straddles party lines.

OMG is Tyra Banks engaged? The model-turned-mogul sported a big rock on her left ring finger while lunching with her boyfriend on Saturday. Can you imagine how fierce her wedding would be? To mix reality TV metaphors, "Tranny Ferocia Coutura!"

Britpop band Oasis always took sibling rivalry to a whole 'nother level, but this time the Gallagher brothers went too far. Noel Gallagher announced he quit the band after his brother Liam smashed his guitar. Without a frontman, the band canceled a minute before their concert in Paris.

Jon Gosselin finally found a day job. The whiny father of 8, used to wrangling underage girls, hosted a pool party at the MGM Grand in Vegas. Presiding over half-naked wet chicks requires a slightly different skill set, namely an ability to lay on a lounge chair while looking douchey.

Summer's over, but mosquito season is in full swing. Instead of bringing out the old DDT (too soon?), scientists worked out an eco-friendly way to combat mosquitoes: making humans invisible! A UC Riverside research team identified a compound that inhibited insects' ability to detect carbon dioxide emitted by humans, and consequently humans themselves. The compound's not available in a spray form, but hopefully the media can use it for Heidi and Spencer; I wish they were invisible!

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Cue the violins. Jon Gosselin has admitted to People magazine that while he and Hailey “I don’t want to be famous” Glassman are “boyfriend and girlfriend” and he’s in love with her, he’ll always love Kate. Awww, isn’t that sweet?! Coming from the man who wasted no time moving on with a woman over 10 years his junior, we’re tempted to shake our heads and wag our fingers. But truth be told, we’re happy to hear that Jon Gosselin has a heart. We thought we were dealing with a modern Grinch, but Jon tells People that he tried everything, including therapy, to save his marriage. This admittance makes us feel all warm and mushy inside. There is love in the world! It just goes to shit when you agree to a reality TV show.

Speaking of reality TV shows, we wish they’d make one about the evolution of the Greenbird. It’s a land and ice vehicle that’s powered solely by wind. They’re calling it “ecotricity”, and hoping that it’ll one day surpass planes, trains and automobiles. That’s one show we’d have to see.

Sarah

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Star of The Office and leading man in our fantasies, John Krasinski, has gotten engaged. His rep confirms that the actor plans to wed Emily Blunt, of The Devil Wears Prada fame, who he has been dating since November 2008. No word if the happy couple has set a date, but we’re hoping when they do start planning they will take advantage of all the environmentally conscious alternatives that are becoming a big trend in the wedding industry. Congrats to Emily for nabbing such a great guy, but remember: He may be off the market, but John will never leave our dreams.

Mia

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I wasn’t so sure that Fashion’s Night Out would be a success – but after hearing SJP and Ashley Olsen beg me to shop, I might just consider it. As Fashionista smartly points out, you’re much more likely to buy an Elizabeth and James piece when Ashley herself has recommended it, no?

The Rachel Zoe Project returned this week. Zoe’s cut back on the hair extensions but not the fabulosity. Valet interviewed Rachel’s assistant Brad Goreski, who’s still just as lovable as he was last season.

Target is the retailer that just keeps giving. Rumor has it their next collab is with famed London clothier Liberty. The famous British purveyor of prints could be hitting the racks near you as early as next year.

EcoStiletto dug up a great video about how to reupholster a vintage chair – the ultimate in green home décor!

Everyone’s talking about twenty year old Lizzie Miller, a normal (size 12) model who posed in just a thong for Glamour. Do I feel a revolution coming on?

Anna Wintour did Letterman as part of her publicity for The September Issue and she was (dare I say it?) charming! She claims instead of being the devil, she’s “decisive.”

Designer Susan Woo has stints at Chanel and Derek Lam under her belt, but now that she’s setting off her own she’s creating designs that are lower priced ($345 for a dress!), clean and modern, and best of all, green! Woo works with organic wool and cashmere. You can snag the line at Kaight.

Beanstockd had its fifteen minutes and then some this week. Writer Mia’s post on Julia Stiles’ pretend eco-clothing line had the fashion blogger world abuzz.

We also had the pleasure of checking out some new eco-designers at the “Fashion Secrets of the South” event. There was lots to be seen, but I’m going to have to give a few specific shout outs to Mark Edge’s ecovintage line of baubles, Alejandra Dunphy’s gorgeous sustainable textiles, and Zoica Matei’s “slow fashion” white button downs. I’d happily drown my neck in Edge’s necklaces, decorate my apartment with Dunphy’s pillows, and wear Matei’s white button down instead of my boyfriend’s.

MTV reports that Whitney Port’s spinoff The City will be very different this season. Olivia’s going to be working at Elle, presumably under the lovable Joe Zee, while Whit has gone back to working with Kelly Cutrone. They’re claiming it’ll be more like a reality “Devil Wears Prada” – how fabulous!

As rumored, Rihanna does have an editorial in Italian Vogue. Shot by Steven Meisel, it features a fab Valentino dress and some dirrty water.

NYMag discusses why everyone loves the Olsen twins. I’m a diehard fan, so it’s no surprise that I think their fashion endeavors are nothing short of genius. Speaking of the Olsens, Ashley went to last weekend’s Girl Talk concert in Williamburg dressed in corduroys and a turban. In 90 degree weather. Girl is untouchable!

Lauren Conrad’s collection for retailer Kohl’s doesn’t hit stores until October, but you can get a sneak peek here.

Alex Wang told W if he had a fragrance, it would smell like sweat. At what point is being too cool uncool?

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Mischa Barton, former OC star and one of the leads in the CW’s The Beautiful Life discussed her psychiatric hospitalization a month after the fact. She says, “I went through a tough spot where everything compounded on me,” but she’s quick to point out that, “if all this happened in New York, no one would care." Not quite the “I [heart] NY” tagline. While New York University is trying to demonstrate it is green by showing up on Sierra’s third annual most eco-enlightened U.S. College list, NYC won’t be showing up on any ‘most mentally healthy residents list’ any time soon. Though I doubt most New Yorkers will worry, especially when it comes to CW starlets.

LD

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Happy Thursday! Let’s talk about Danyl Johnson, the 27-year old school teacher whose X-Factor (The UK’s version of American Idol) audition has Brits and world citizens alike forgetting all about that frump-a-dump Susan Boyle. After singing The Beatles’ “With a Little Help from My Friends,” Simon Cowell gave him a standing ovation and said it was the best audition he had ever witnessed in his nine years of criticizing no talent hacks. Johnson seems to have the right mix of ability, image and support, but as we know, that didn’t make winners out of Susan Boyle or Adam Lambert.

So a long time ago, someone in the office dripped tartar sauce on my shoe, which prompted me to google the McDonalds Filet-O-Fish sandwich. What I discovered was that the sandwich was by no means eco-friendly because its ingredients were sourced from places as far-flung as New Zealand and Alaska. Now a new sandwich is on my radar, not because it befouled my footwear, but because its entire existence is audacious in and of itself. Hardly a "hoagie," the new KFC “Double Down” features bacon, cheese and the Colonel's secret sauce sandwiched between two fried chicken patties...and that's it. There's nary a carb nor a leaf of iceberg lettuce on this baby, which certainly isn't a recipe for eco-responsible eating—and I'm not even talking about how far the food has to travel before it can put you under for a quadruple bypass. As long time readers know, meat, poultry and dairy are luxuries that carry with them a large carbon footprint on account of the resources required to cultivate them. I'm DEFINITELY getting a Double Down at three in the morning on a drunken Saturday night and forcing Mia to eat half.

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Finally on a more somber note, Ted Kennedy used his life and his 46 years in the Senate to fight for education, the poor and the cause he championed, health care reform. After finally succumbing to brain cancer on Tuesday, President Obama called him “one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy.” During last year’s presidential campaign, Kennedy’s endorsement of then Senator Obama put him at odds with his party’s establishment which threatened to destroy relationships he had worked a lifetime to build. That didn’t happen. Instead, it cleared the path for other leading Democrats to also support the underdog candidate, Obama, which ultimately led to his nomination. Remember all those superdelegates Hillary was counting on? The rest as you know is history.

Now we come full circle. At hand we have a health care bill—an opportunity to drastically change the way medicine is disseminated in our country—the elements of which are fundamentally Senator Kennedy. With the votes potentially in place, though, the status quo offers false security to the cowardly. As President Obama struggles with perhaps the greatest challenge he may ever see in office, Teddy’s leadership is desperately needed. Because, above all the debate about deficits and government inefficiencies is a principle to which Teddy steadfastly adhered: health care is not a privilege, it is a right.

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Jon Gosselin whined to Us Magazine this week about not having a "normal" job, saying, "I wish I had a 9 to 5 job instead of the nightmare I'm living. This is 24/7. I don't even want to do taping for the show anymore." Keep in mind he was saying this outside of his $1.1 million Pennsylvania home, making it even harder to feel sorry for him. Meanwhile, Kate did find a day job, for a few days anyway. On September 14th and 15th Kate will fill in for Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View while Lizzy is on maternity leave. If Kate wants to look professional when she arrives at the show's studio she should carry the ANDO, a black vegan handbag that can also be used as a brief case. The bag is made with 100% recycled grey faux suede and silver hardware. Best part? Its currently on sale for $138 at Mattandnat.com.

Christine

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On Tuesday, Chris Brown was finally sentenced for his attack on ex-girlfriend Rihanna. You may remember that he beat the Bajan beauty to a pulp back in February, and remained mum about it until a month ago. Now, we know ya’ll feel strongly about this, so feel free to comment away. Just remember domestic violence is never okay. Anywho, a judge ruled that he has to stay away from Princess Ri until 2014. He was also sentenced to five years probation, six months community labor in Virginia (removing graffiti and washing cars…rough!), and a year of domestic violence classes.

Apparently, Chris thinks this isn’t all that big of a deal, because just hours after his sentencing he was out at the clubs in L.A. dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.” Sources claim he was “in a great mood”, which is interesting considering that he’d just come from court. In order to get back in our good graces, we’d like Chris to consider offering the So Much to Save campaign along with his next album. The program encourages sustainability by offering free downloads to individuals who recycle both at concerts and at home. If free music’s not an incentive to do something good, we don’t know what is. Jump on it, Chris.

Sarah

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Britney Spears is in New York City this week to perform at Madison Square Garden, and she is taking full advantage of the various forms of transportation available in the Big Apple. Monday morning she took her two sons, Sean, who turns four next month and Jayden, who turns three next month, on a pedicab ride through Central Park. Later in the day, she was spotted hopping on a double-decker sightseeing bus with a friend to check out all of the city's best tourist traps. She looked like she was in a great mood, waving and smiling at fans as she rode around the city. If we didn't' know better we would think she was filming a new reality show about celebrities on various forms of public transportation.

Brit-Brit may soon have even more transportation options while in NYC. Yesterday, New York State applied for stimulus funds to build a high speed rail line that would run from Buffalo to Albany, down to New York City and north to Montreal. The plan is controversial because it comes with a hefty price tag but if the high speed rail is built, it will operate on electricity and produce less emissions than its diesel or fuel-powered counterparts.

Christine

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