Tuesday, July 17, 2007

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July 2007 Newsletter

Welcome! Every month we bring you the latest news from our roster of outstanding speakers. For more information on the speakers below, or to discuss needs for an upcoming event, please call us at 1-800-762-4234, or email us at info@thelavinagency.com.

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Salman Rushdie Knighted

Another honor for one of the great novelists of our time

The Queen has knighted Salman Rushdie—now Sir Salman—for "services to literature." Rushdie is the author of numerous bestselling books, including The Satanic Verses and Midnight’s Children, one of the greatest novels of our generation. For most of the nineties, however, he was in seclusion, the result of a fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini, who viewed The Satanic Verses as blasphemous. Rushdie’s recent knighthood has re-opened important debates over the issue he knows best and speaks most eloquently about: freedom of speech as an essential right.


Salman Rushdie - More Information

National Press Club Honors In The Hot Zone 

Acclaimed solo reporter Kevin Sites pioneers an exciting new brand of journalism to continuing acclaim

Last year, Kevin Sites reported alone from every major armed conflict in the world. In the process, he road-tested—and legitimized—a new breed of multimedia journalism. Both TIME and Forbes ranked his Yahoo News site, In the Hot Zone, as one of the best on the Web. This month, the National Press Club awarded him their top award for Best Site-Online Journalism. In his presentations, Sites shares his experiences from the world’s war-ravaged regions, with particular attention to the untold, human stories, giving us great insight into the current state of the world.

Kevin Sites - More Information 

Sir Bob Outshines President Clinton

At a high-profile European convention, humanitarian Bob Geldof receives perfect marks from audience 

In Yorkshire this month, Nobel Man of Peace Bob Geldof wowed international delegates with a commanding presentation on the problems of the 21^st Century, and what can be done to solve them. From the Yorkshire Post: "His speech had everything: passion, humour, humanity, realism, dreams and urgency. He showed a grasp of economics and politics and an ability to make his blunt diplomacy work. Bill Clinton had probably been the most popular performer in recent years but many delegates felt the man behind Live Aid and Live8 topped him."

Sir Bob Geldof - More Information

Doctor Bugs Entertains, Educates Late Night Viewers

World-renowned ecologist speaks about environmentalism and conservation in an engaging, memorable way

Not every guest on Late Night with Conan O’Brien will lick a toxic frog. But that’s what Mark Moffett, aka "Doctor Bugs," did recently in an interview that is now one of the show’s most popular ever. A research scientist at the Smithsonian, a National Geographic photographer, and an expert on rain forests (where most of the world’s biodiversity lives), Doctor Bugs travels the country to share, with unbounded enthusiasm, the importance of preserving all that is wonderful about Nature (even toxic frogs).

Watch Video of Mark Moffett, aka "Doctor Bugs" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Mark Moffett, aka "Doctor Bugs"- More Information

Film on Defining Moment in Chicano History Honored

Walkout tells the story of the first Mexican-American mass protest against racism

The HBO film Walkout, based on a watershed moment in the Chicano struggle for Civil Rights, has just won two ALMAs, also known as the Latin Emmys. In 1968, to protest the deplorable quality of education Chicanos were receiving, Paula Crisostomo led the largest high school student protest in American history. In her talks, she uses that important moment in history—when a community found its voice for the first time—to explore the ongoing struggle for equal rights from a uniquely Chicano perspective.

Paula Crisostomo- More Information

In This Issue:

Salman Rusdie Knighted
Kevin Sites Honored (Again)
Bob Geldof Outshines Clinton
Dr. Bugs on Conan
Chicano Film Wins Latin Emmy
Chuck Klosterman Talks with Stephen King
Prothero: Are All Religions the Same?

Chuck Klosterman and Stephen King: In Public, On Writing

America’s smartest pop journalist in a rare interview with King in front of howling, sold-out audience

When Stephen King read Chuck Klosterman’s work six years ago, he sensed the arrival of a bright new talent: "Writing about pop culture doesn't get any better than this," he wrote. Indeed, Klosterman is now our most provocative cultural commentator, inspiring a legion of rabid admirers and even some bemused detractors—a sure sign of his influence. He recently paid tribute to King, conducting a rare and wildly entertaining interview with him onstage in Toronto. Though the night was in honor of King, many in the audiences were there just to see Klosterman at his perceptive and comically agile best.

Chuck Klosterman -
More Information

Are Major Religions All The Same? 

Stephen Prothero tells us why it’s dangerous to ignore the real differences between religions

In a recent issue of Newsweek, Stephen Prothero challenges those who claim that all the major religions are basically the same. "Understanding real religious diversity," he notes, "is essential to understanding the powerful role that religious beliefs, practices and institutions play in the world today." It’s a theme echoed in his current New York Times bestseller, Religious Literacy: whether or not your are religious, he argues, academic study of the World’s religions is crucial to your understanding of the cultural, military and political movements shaping our times.

Stephen Prothero -
More Information

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