Cohen was in Portland, and at Earth2World, to talk about his compelling StandUp Foundation—the world’s first foundation dedicated to raising awareness of the long-term, damaging effects of bullying, and funding those doing real-world work to stop it.

In fact, today, November 14 is StandUp Day.

On his site Cohen says: ”…it is time to stop the bullying. Young people’s lives are being ruined and all it takes is the right person at the right time to stand beside them when it matters most to make the difference...The 14th of November marks the death of my father, Pete, who although he is no longer here, has been a massive influence on my life and one of the reasons that I felt compelled to start StandUp…Our aim is to bring awareness to the average person on the street who may not realise the harm that is being caused by bullying. By becoming aware, they may just be able to notice when something is not right and so stand up when needed before it is too late. The concept is simple, but very powerful…I will be asking people to stand up with me by wearing their StandUp T-shirt or wrist band, by telling at least one person about StandUp, posting or tweeting about how they are standing up, or simply changing their profile picture to the StandUp logo for the day...It is time to stand up against bullying and I am proud to be able to ask you to stand up with me.”

This very compelling episode of “Heart of the Matter” will be up soon. Stay tuned.

Jacqueline and Byron at Cargo!

The latest episode of “Have You Heard” was shot entirely on location at Cargo in Northwest Portland. It’s a very special edition of the show dedicated to Halloween, and specifically, this Sunday’s PDX Freak Show!

Here’s all the info on this very cool event benefit the Children’s Cancer Association:

On October 30th, 2011, the PDX Freak Show will be hitting downtown Portland, celebrating Halloween and raising money for the Children’s Cancer Association! The PDX Freak Show is a community organization dedicated to supporting the local film community and using their voice to raise money for charity.  2011 marks the inaugural PDX Freak Show Halloween fundraiser event, and this year the organization has chosen the Children’s Cancer Association to be their beneficiary. Group organizer Ryan Menard and his wife Tina lost a daughter to cancer, so the organization is very near and dear to his heart. “When we decided that our annual event would also serve as a fundraiser,” says Menard, “the obvious choice for us was to give to the Children’s Cancer Association.”

Since the event is being sponsored by members of the Portland film community, they took a creative approach to spreading the word, by creating a series of videos that show the PDX Freak Show Ringmaster coming to town and visiting various local businesses to collect his “freaks”. Videos can be viewed here, and feature the Ringmaster fetching his Assistant (from the Peculiarium), the Strongman (who works at one of the event sponsors, Widmer Brother’s Brewing), a Fortune Teller (from sponsor New Deal Distillery), the Voodoo Priest (who works at Voodoo Doughnuts, of course!) and the Tightrope Walker (who teaches ballet to kids at Vega Dance Lab). The big finale is the yet-to-be released PDX Freak Show Parade that features members of Wanderlust Circus. The videos were written and edited by Jacqueline Gault of Jackal Films, who co-directed the spots with local filmmaker Martin Vavra, and with the assistance of event sponsor Earth2World Broadcasting and Bucket List Productions.

The event will take place on Sunday October 30th from 8 pm to 2am at the former Fantasy store on 15th and Burnside in downtown Portland, and will feature live entertainment, costume contests, FX presentations, music, dancing and more. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and can be purchased via their website at www.pdxfreakshow.com. Limited VIP passes are available for $100 and include special effects make-up application by Dark Soldier Designs, two drink tickets, VIP seating and more!

For more information, please visit the website at www.pdxfreakshow.com or contact the Freaks at pdxfreakshow@gmail.com.

Francine and “the boys” backstage at Portland Fashion Week.

The latest episode of “Tell Me About It” was Francine’s first foray into the glitz and the glamour (and the male models!) of Portland Fashion Week.  She was pleasantly surprised at the camaraderie she and Byron found backstage; after watching Tyra Banks pit Top Model wannabes against one another on reality TV she fully expected a competitive, almost mean-spirited atmosphere but the exact opposite was true:  models, make-up artists, designers thriving in a creative environment where friends were able to hang with their fellow model friends and everyone was working toward an exciting, fabulous event showcasing Portland’s hottest fashion talent.

A highlight was having Tracy Pendergast of Est Ovest put a stunning ensemble together for Francine to model…a gorgeous leather dress and flowing cape from Mario’s and accessories.  The dress felt like buttah and Tracy’s style points were on the mark.  The only problem Francine had was trying to figure out a way she could get her kid to take a term off college so she could buy the outfit!

The lovely gent in the photo above is Kyle. He was just one of the many guests we visited with on the latest edition of “Have You Heard.”

And have you heard that “Have You Heard” has hit the road?

Yes, we taped our first “on the road” episode at Cargo, smack dab in the middle of the Pearl District.

It’s billed as our very special “Halloween” episode, but it’s sooo much more.

On this particular episode we visit with makeup artists, actors, bartenders, ringmasters…why there’s even a belly dancer on the show…but you’ll just have to wait and see.

Until, then…we love you all!

Earth2World was proud to be one of the table sponsors at Friday night’s gala for Basic Rights Oregon called “IGNITE” in support of LGBT rights.

For the full party report click on “Have You Heard” host’s Byronbeck.com here. It was quite the night.