Yesterday we saw photos of Madonna and co. planting a tree and officially breaking ground on the construction of an all girls school in the African country of Malawi (the place where she adopted two of her children). Today, we learn that Madonna has written a blog for The Huffington Post directed at YOU in the hopes that you will join her attempt to enrich Malawi thru her charitable organization Raising Malawi. Here is the full text of Maddy’s blogpost and some screencaps from an accompanying video plea:

This week, my family and I are in Malawi to attend the ground breaking ceremony for Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. I am making a straightforward request. I’m writing to urge you to join me in saving the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable children. And I’m asking you to do it right away. Raising Malawi, the organization I co-founded in 2006, is dedicated to ending the poverty and hardship endured by Malawi’s one million orphans. By donating to Raising Malawi, you can literally transform the future for an entire generation. To encourage your involvement, I’ve pledged $100,000 to match your contributions dollar-for-dollar. Why Malawi? Seven years ago I might have asked myself this very same question. Why not Afghanistan, or India? There are impoverished children, desperate for health care and education, everywhere in the world. Something about Malawi’s children connected with me and their hardships were too much for me to ignore. So I started learning more about Malawi, and, little by little, I began working with Malawians to improve their communities. Visiting Malawi can be a very humbling experience. In the face of such overwhelming challenges, it’s easy to feel helpless. At the same time, it is impossible not to recognize how much we can do to improve the lives of vulnerable children. Right now, I am particularly concerned about Malawian girls whose lives are made even more difficult simply because of their gender. In 2008 Raising Malawi announced the creation of an all-girls boarding school, the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls. Architects have drawn up plans. We’ve identified a plot of land. And some of Malawi’s poorest girls are eager for the opportunities that a comprehensive secondary education will bring them. But we’re still in need of additional funds to complete this project, and there’s no time to lose. My own daughters will each have a solid secondary education. They have a family that assures them that they can be anything they want to be, that they are not limited in any way. I believe that the same should be true for girls in every part of the world, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. The girls of Malawi are bright and resourceful. They are eager to learn and grow. When I look at my girls and see them thriving, it is my greatest wish that the girls in Malawi will have the same chance for happiness. This is where you come in. Please join me in supporting the work of Raising Malawi. Every dollar we collect will make a huge difference in a child’s life. By matching your donation, dollar for dollar, I will personally ensure that your contribution has an even greater impact. That’s a promise. This is my call to you: Give an opportunity to a child who would otherwise have none. Support the work of Raising Malawi. Will you join me? Please visit www.raisingmalawi.org/madonnamatch to contribute and learn more.

As I mentioned above, this blogpost comes complete with a video message from Madonna about her Raising Malawi charity. After the jump, check out that video in full …

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Madonna has made her way to Malawi this week to plant a tree and officially break ground on the site of a new girls school to be called The Raising Malawi Academy for Girls which is slated to open by 2011. Maddy and her children — Lourdes Maria, Rocco John, David Banda and Chifundo Mercy James — were all in attendance at today’s tree planting/ground breaking ceremony … here are a few photos:

Madonna marked the start of construction of her school for girls in Malawi on Monday by planting a tree at the planned site of the $15 million school. The 51-year-old celebrity arrived in the impoverished southern African country on Sunday accompanied by her four children — daughters Lourdes and Mercy, and sons Rocco and David. Madonna adopted Mercy from Malawi earlier this year and adopted David from the country in 2008. The singer was dressed in a dark summer dress and a colorful shawl during Monday’s ceremony in the town of Chinkhota, some six miles (10 kilometers) from the capital, Lilongwe. Together with eldest daughter Lourdes she planted a Moringa tree, a hardy tree with edible leaves. “If this school is a success — with God-willing it will be — we will replicate it not only in Malawi but in other parts of the world as well,” she said. The new school will be called the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls and will open by 2011 and educate 500 students, said its future principal, Anjimile Mtila-Opponyo. It will be similar to the school built by talk show host Oprah Winfrey in South Africa. Mtila-Opponyo said the curriculum will emphasize science and mathematics. “Madonna did not accept that Malawian women would not study science to become doctors,” she said. The singer told some 1,000 gathered villagers she was inspired by the strength of Malawian girls and women. “In all my travels, investigations and conversations the most recurring thing is how amazing Malawian women are, both young and old, how industrious they are and how much they deserve to be educated,” she said. Madonna’s Raising Malawi, a charity founded in 2006 when she first visited the country, helps feed, educate and provide medical care for some of Malawi’s orphans. Malawi, a nation of 12 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 500,000 children have lost a parent to AIDS. Madonna will also meet with President Bingu wa Mutharika on Tuesday and visit some of the orphanages her charity supports.

Clearly Madonna has big plans to make good on her promise to give back to the country that has given so much to her. It’s very clear that she loves her adopted children very, very much and is working as hard as she can to enrich the region as best she can. It would’ve been very easy for Madonna to adopt her children, throw some money towards Malawi and never look back. I have every confidence that her commitment to the people of Malawi is genuine and true. It is my sincere hope that The Raising Malwai Academy for Girls is a huge success … and will help educate a new generation of girls so that they can forge their own successful futures. This is so great!! If you would like to donate to Raising Malawi and help Madonna in her endeavors, you can find out how to do so HERE. Madonna will MATCH whatever amount you choose to donate!

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

Madonna is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine wherein she talks about (among other things) her early days in the music biz, her divorce from ex-hubby Guy Ritchie and her opinions on Lady Gaga. Here is Maddy’s new (old) RS coverphoto and some excerpts from her coverstory interview:

In January 1984 Madonna had just one album under her belt when she told American Bandstand’s Dick Clark she had lofty plans: “To rule the world.” Over the past three decades, she has provoked, innovated and inspired; she’s set and broken her own records, most recently wrapping the highest-grossing tour ever by a solo artist with her Sticky & Sweet show. And now that she’s released the two-disc retrospective Celebration, the pop superstar who rarely looks back sat down with Rolling Stone’s Austin Scaggs for a revealing trip through her early days in New York, some of her biggest scandals, and of course, her most massive hits in our new issue, on stands today. Even as a seventh grader in Michigan, Madonna reveals she knew how to push her audience’s buttons. For her first ever performance, “I had my girlfriends paint my body with fluorescent hearts and flowers,” she recalls of a rendition of the Who’s “Baba O’Riley” that left her fellow students speechless. “I wore a pair of shorts and a midriff top, and I just went mad. … I’m sure everyone thought I was insane. That was the beginning of my provocative performances, I guess.” But having innate stage savvy didn’t mean Madonna grew up a wild child. Though she tells Scaggs about her days as a graffiti artist when she was running with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat in New York City (her tag: Boy Toy), life was tamer before that. “I was a geek in high school. I didn’t really have a drink until I got divorced for the first time [from Sean Penn] when I was 30,” she admits. ” ‘Geek’ is not a word anyone uses to describe me, except perhaps [Confessions on a Dance Floor producer] Stuart Price, who once said, ‘You know, you’re a nerd at heart, nobody knows it.’ I took it as a compliment.” She credits her first major shift in style — from punky brunette club kid to blonde wedding wonder — to getting dressed and styled for more photo shoots and videos as her career progressed. “I think people put a lot of emphasis on the whole reinvention of my image, and it’s always been a lot less calculated than people think,” she says. ” I think it’s boring to stay the same. A girl likes to change her look.” But if she had to pick her worst fashion moment: “It was the purple lipstick, fluorescent-green sweater combo. … It’s OK, it was the Eighties. It was a bad-hairstyle era. Let’s face it.” But Madonna doesn’t have many musical regrets. She tells Scaggs about writing “Live to Tell” and “Vogue,” returning with a head full of brand-new ideas on Ray of Light and teaming with some of the industry’s biggest hitmakers on Hard Candy. But after all these years, she admits she still can’t sniff out a Number One. “I’ve never been a good judge of what things are going to be huge or not. The songs that I think are the most retarded songs I’ve written, like ‘Cherish’ and ‘Sorry,’ a pretty big hit off my last album, end up being the biggest hits,” she tells RS. ” ‘Into the Groove’ is another song I feel retarded singing, but everybody seems to like it.”

You know, say what you will about Madonna — whether you love her or hate her — you cannot deny that the woman knows what she wants and gets what she wants … no matter what it is that she wants. From the start of her career, her hunger to conquer the world has kept her on point and allowed her to carve out a legendary career. Because she now has everything that she wants, she’s not as hungry anymore and, therefore, isn’t as innovative as she used to be. While I would love for Madonna to be the iconic trendsetter that she is known to be for years to come, I just don’t know that she can really do that anymore … which is why, I think, she is looking to the next generation to take up the reins. After the jump, read some of Madonna’s comments about Lady Gaga and find out what she thinks of the singer …

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While Ryan Reynolds played guest host on last night’s ep of Saturday Night Live, Lady Gaga was tapped as the musical guest. But, Gaga’s appearance on SNL wasn’t relegated to just the musical portions of the show … she also participated in a couple of skits. For the long-running skit Deep House Dish, Gaga was joined by none other than Madonna for her portion of the skit:

While the skit wasn’t all that funny, particularly because it looked as if neither Gaga or Madonna were properly prepared to deliver their lines (it was clear that Madonna messed up a few times), I’m impressed that Madge deigned to participate in the skit. While it’s true that it’s not difficult for Madonna to want to be included in all the fun at all times, it was nice of her to play along with Lady Gaga and the rest of the SNL kids on last night’s ep. After the jump, check out the skit in full …

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Madonna paid a visit to the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC, NY last night to tape an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Madge stopped by to visit with Dave to promote the release of her new greatest hits collection Celebration which hit stores on Tuesday … but she also managed to get a ride into the theater ON The New York Rangers hockey team and share an impromptu pizza dinner with Dave after their interview was completed (supposedly, it was Madonna’s first slice of NY pizza ever). Maddy also clarified the rumor going around that she is contemplating marrying Jesus Luz by the end of the year … a rumor that she shot down completely. Yeah, it was your typical late night talk show interview, I think:

Madonna has laughed off rumours she is preparing to marry her toyboy lover Jesus Luz. The 51-year-old singer, who has been dating the Brazilian model for nine months, says she’d rather get ‘run over by a train’ than walk down the aisle again. It follows claims by Madonna’s biographer Randy Taraborrelli that she hoped to make the 22-year-old the next Mr Madonna before the end of the year. Madonna scotched the idea on the David Letterman show last night, for which she arrived riding in on the shoulders of the ice-hockey team NY Rangers. The interview didn’t get off to a great start, with Letterman saying: ‘Listen Madonna, Madge, how are you?’ She replied: ‘You know that’s one of the reasons I left England, so I don’t have to hear the word Madge again. ‘People say it means two different things. Some say it is a colloquialism for a boring middle-aged housewife – others say it is short for majesty.’ It was Madonna’s eighth appearance on show, which includes an infamous 1994 encounter in which she branded Letterman a ’sick f***’ and told him the only reason she had come on stage was because there was ‘no escape.’ Madonna said of the incident: ‘Every time I’m on the show I feel like a different person. ‘I think I may have made a fool of myself once or twice on your show but it wasn’t because I was excited about you – I think it may have had something to do with the joint I smoked before I came out.’ Promoting her new best of hits collection Celebration, which was released this week, the star spoke briefly about how things had changed since her last appearance in 2007. ‘Last time I was on I had three kids and I was married and you had one kid and weren’t married,’ Madonna said. Letterman said: ‘You were married eight years right?’ Madonna replied: ‘Yeah – the Bush years. It was a good time to be out of America.’ Asked if she would ever consider getting married for a third time, she said: ‘I think Id rather get run over by a train. ‘That said I do miss things about being married. Being a single parent means you’re in charge of everything. ‘You can’t say, “Hey can you give the kids a bath.” There’s no job sharing.’ Letterman asked the singer whether she thought she would fall in love again. ‘I’ve lost perspective, I don’t know,’ she replied. The pop star also refused to comment about last years rumours that she was dating New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez. Letterman said: ‘Here in New York City there was a time we came to associate you with a professional spots star?’ Joked Madonna: ‘Only one?’ Referring to Letterman’s recent scandal over a joke he made about Sarah Palin’s daughter and A-Rod, she added: ‘Didn’t you almost get arrested for bringing up A-Rod’s name?’ Letterman later quizzed the Madonna about being a parent. ‘If you had to be one thing in your life, in this world would you just want to be a parent?’ Madonna replied: ‘No, yikes. I mean it’s a challenging job to be a parent. Letterman said: ‘It’s the most important job isn’t it?’ Maddonna said: ‘Yes – that’s the politically correct answer. It’s a great job. I wouldn’t change my job as a parent for anything but its also extremely challenging. Teenagers right?’ The interview ended with both Letterman and Madonna going to a New York pizza parlor, where the macrobiotic singer sampled her very first pizza.

‘What do you like on your pie?’ asked Letterman. Replied Madonna: ‘I’m not a cheese person. That’s a very personal question. You mean what do you like on top?’ The pair eventually settled on a cheese-free pizza with tomato sauce and black olives.

Yeah … I don’t know that I really believe that Madonna, the Italian princess that she is, has never had pizza before … but, hey, it made for a great way to end the interview. After the jump, check out video of Madonna’s appearance on The Late Show last night to see her hijinks for yourselves …

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Celebrity biographer Randy Taraborrelli gave a new interview to Hello! magazine and claims that it is his belief that Madonna and her much younger toyboy Jesus Luz are planning to get married before the end of the year. Considering Madonna just got out of her last marriage to Guy Ritchie last year, I find this highly unlikely … but in the crazy world of celeb romance, I suppose anything is possible. Here are some excerpts from Taraborrelli’s interview with Hello!:

Madonna is preparing to marry her toyboy lover Jesus Luz, according to reports. The 51-year-old singer is lining up to defy critics of her nine-month relationship with the young Brazilian model and make him the next Mr Madonna before the end of the year. The extraordinary claim came from a biographer of Madonna’s, Randy Taraborrelli, writing in Hello! magazine today. Taraborrelli tells how Madonna speaks openly about her love for Luz, who is 22. She reportedly said of Luz: ‘He’s so sweet. He checks in with me all the time. I probably should do the same, but you know me. I think he gets it now that I’m a little – shall we say –self-involved.’ Taraborrelli writes: ‘The pop queen has been dating Jesus since January and it is thought the pair may marry before the end of the year. Madonna is crazy about Jesus and has been telling close friends and family that “I could definitely see myself marrying him. Yes, it’s definitely on the table”.’ Taraborrelli adds: ‘The pop star is said to want yet another lavish ceremony. “She knows that’s what Jesus wants,” said one of her relatives. “She has a lot of wonderful memories of both of her weddings. She doesn’t want to slip off and do it quietly. She definitely wants a big and rather fantastic affair”.’ Taraborrelli also quotes a friend who says: ‘He respects her, that’s number one. He has learned so much from her. He’s amazed at how well-rounded she is, the way she juggles her career with her life as a mother, for instance. He understands that she’s self-involved, too.’ The friend adds: ‘Of course, the sex between them is scorching hot. To be candid, it’s what’s driving things.’ The pair started dating after kissing for a magazine photoshoot in Rio de Janeiro [last year]. Madonna’s two previous marriages – to actor Sean Penn and director Guy Ritchie – both ended in acrimonious divorces.

Again, I find this contention that Madonna & Child are planning to wed dubious at best. After all, back in May Maddy denied that she and Jesus were in any official relationship … I cannot believe that she would be so stupid as to get married one year after getting divorced. But, again as I mentioned above, anything is possible. I guess we should be watching Jesus’s new My Space profile for news should the couple run off and get hitched! What do ya’ll think … will they marry or is Randy Taraborrelli a needy moron hungry for attention?

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Today we are learning new information supposedly from the late Michael Jackson by way of the King of Pop’s religious leader Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. According to the rabbi, MJ believed that after a few dates in the early 90’s, Madonna fell in love with him and that MJ did not return her love because he did not find her “sexy at all”. HMMMM. Here is a photo of Madonna and MJ from their appearance together at the 1990 Academy Awards and the deets from Shmuley on what MJ really thought of her Madgesty:

The King of Pop befriended the singer in the early 1990s and several dates followed, but Jackson revealed he never had any romantic interest in her during a taped conversation with his close friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. Jackson told Boteach, “I think she (Madonna) likes shock value and she knows how to push buttons on people. I think she was sincerely in love with me and I was not in love with her. She did a lot of crazy things. I knew we had nothing in common. “She is not sexy at all. I think sexy comes from the heart in the way you present yourself.” The Thriller icon believed Madonna was one of several stars who envied his fame: “They admire you and know you are wonderful and great because they are jealous, because they wish they were in your shoes. Madonna is one of them. She is jealous. She is a girl, a woman and I think that’s what bothers her … I get the fainting and adulation and she doesn’t.” The star went on to confess he had considered dating actress Elizabeth Taylor but feared the media would mock their 27-year age gap. He said, “I know that if we ever did anything romantically the press would be so mean and nasty and call us the Odd Couple. It would turn into a circus and that’s the pain of it all.” Jackson also described the late Princess Diana as his ideal woman: “I thought she was very special – very feminine and classy. She was my type for sure, and I don’t like most girls. There are very few I like who fit the mould. It takes a very special mould to make me happy and she was one of them.” Boteach, who is publishing the conversations, maintains Jackson wanted the footage to be released to the public so his fans could gain a better understanding of his personal life.

LOL! It’s funny to hear these supposed comments from MJ especially after hearing Madonna’s heartfelt (and oftentimes rambling) speech about him at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards a couple of weeks ago. It’s funny, she never mentioned in her meandering monologue that she was “in love” with MJ. It’s so strange (and very unprofessional) that a rabbi would be blabbing MJ’s secrets, even if he maintains that MJ “wanted the footage to be released”. It seems so … opportunistic. Whether or not these comments are true or not … they do further enlighten on the man that was Michael Jackson.

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