Lebowski Lunch

I'd like to say that I am completely and entirely above gawking at a celebrity for the sole reason that they are, in fact, a celebrity.

I'd like to, but unfortunately, I can't.

I'm going to cut myself some slack, though. After all, I am just a 20 year old girl - helplessly influenced by the powerful media moguls, slowly succumbing to the desires of the corporate executives world-wide (Shamelessly [ok, shamefully] I've now become one of the millions who click on my way-too-perfectly-tailored Facebook side-panel ads for gorgeous boots that are - in fact - exactly what I've been looking for. Goodness, Piperlime, Ebay & Amazon, how did you know?!)

Today is a perfect example of how I slipped and went just a wee-bit too far out of my way to attend a lecture on childhood hunger for it to be in any way plausible that the subject of the lecture was in fact its only draw.

Jeff Bridges, as you may have guessed from this little foray into Hollywood post's preview, was today's event's real appeal, as interesting as statistics about school lunches and pizza pockets may be.

Pizza pockets? Apparently, according to Mr. Bridges, by eating such abhorrent monstrosities as a child, we then develop a taste for this sort of fare (or as he would put it, "your palette's gunna dig that stuff"), which leads to obesity later on in life.

And so the obesity / hunger conundrum is solved ; we simply need to remove pizza pockets from our nation's school lunches. Oh! And national security too. Improved school lunches make stronger, more able-bodied children, better able to join the ranks of our brave men and women in the military.

And I think that pretty much sums up Mr. Bridges speech today. Not that it was all about gross 7th grade cafeteria food and child soldiers, but it surely was an interesting mix of him being a casual, lackadaisical "dude", and a passionate spokesman and advocate for a respectable cause - The No Kid Hungry Campaign.

His off-puttingly casual demeanor added an alarming spin to the noble call to arms. Alarming, but I'd say much needed, and refreshingly real in a city built on pre-programmed deliveries and dry, repetitious (& consequently meaningless) messages. I'm much more apt to take a cause to heart if I feel it's being advocated for by a human - not some flag-pin-wearing robot.

I should note, however, that Mr. Bridges was not above pulling a Hollywood stunt or two - even resorting to a fake break down when asked what the most difficult part of being a "famous person" was.
"This is", he said, barely audible amidst his choking and gasping for air, "This is! Stopping childhood hunger!".

Really, Jeff Bridges? Really? I mean, I understand the severity of this issue, and I completely support your desire to use your much-too-powerful-role as a celebrity for good instead of evil, but really? You're going to break into tears spontaneously, in front of hundreds of people, in a response to a completely unrelated question, over pizza pocket lunches?? Really?

Props, though. Your response garnered an applause, which really meant a lot seeing as I'm pretty sure the audience would have clapped should you have picked a booger and held it up proudly for the room to see.

Guess I'm not the only one captivated by celebrity.