In a conversation as uplifting as his music, Randy Edelman graced the microphone of the Good News Podcast hosted by the brilliant Paul  Sladkus — delivering an episode that feels like a breath of fresh inspiration.

Recorded with warmth, wit, and heartfelt insight, Randy shared stories from his remarkable career as a composer — from writing unforgettable themes for beloved films to the deeper personal reflections that shape his art. With each answer, he radiated the same generosity and joy that have made his music resonate across generations.

Paul guided the dialogue with thoughtful curiosity, creating space for Randy to open up about the power of creativity, the bridges between emotion and melody, and the moments that define a life in music. The conversation was candid yet poetic, inviting listeners into a rare glimpse of the man behind the scores.

Listeners will find themselves smiling, nodding, and ultimately walking away with something rare: true Good News — a reminder of how beauty, perseverance, and heartfelt expression can uplift the world.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering Randy’s genius for the first time, this episode is an inspiring journey — one that echoes long after the final note.

Tune in, turn up the volume, and let the good news play on.

Watch Randy Edelman on the Good News Podcast with Paul Sladkus here:

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McDonald’s iconic Shamrock Shake is officially back at restaurants nationwide for a limited time, but this Shamrock season is extra special! Over the last 50 years, McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) have partnered to ensure that families can stay together during some of their most difficult times.

To mark the next chapter of the Gift to RMHC® celebration, 25 cents from every Shamrock Shake sold at participating restaurants will support local RMHC families. And, because this moment is all about keeping families together, McDonald’s is reuniting two beloved members of the McDonald’s family for the first time in decades.  

Everyone’s favorite purple bestie, Grimace, recently discovered his family’s original Shamrock Shake recipe, sparking a reunion with his uncle, Uncle O’Grimacey. Uncle O’Grimacey will be touring the country with shakes in hand, championing support for RMHC families.

Here is how fans can support RMHC:

• For every Shamrock Shake purchased from Feb. 10 to Mar. 23, McDonald’s franchisees will donate 25 cents to RMHC with a goal of raising $5 million, which could provide 50,000 overnight stays for families staying at RMHC programs.

• Purchase limited-edition Uncle O’Grimacey merch available for pre-sale beginning on Feb. 4 at goldenarchesunlimited.com, and in the spirit of this campaign, McDonald’s will make an additional donation to RMHC.

• Help support a charity near and dear to Uncle O’Grimacey and Grimace by giving a direct gift to Ronald McDonald House Charities or Round-Up for RMHC at your local McDonald’s.

Since 1974, McDonald’s, its franchisees, and its customers have collectively donated over $1 billion to RMHC — and there’s no intention of slowing down. You can read all the details about this special Shamrock season and Uncle O in the press release here and find hi-res images here. 

Thank you for supporting RMHC families!

Joe Morgan

On Behalf of McDonald’s

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Please join us in celebrating the life of our beloved partner who once welcomed all of you to the Digital Age.
This is a moment to comprehend the tragedy that took Ellen and many others from us. It is also a time to understand how the Digital Revolution needs to bring the rest of America up to date.
Most of all, it is a time celebrate the life of every Entrepreneur’s friend, a beloved wife, mother and an inspiration to everyone she ever met!
The performers include Jennie Walker, gold-record artist Patti Rothberg and Lion Kingperformer Ntomb’Khona Dlamini directed by Joel Arnow a Berklee School of Music graduate. All the artists were friends with Ellen who collaborated with us on various projects.
Seating is Limited – Please Register for this Event (there is no charge)
Please visit the memorial website – bit.ly/ellenmemories – to remember our beautiful friend.
Thanks again for your continued support.
We look forward to seeing you
Sincerely, Alan Brody, Alexa, Julia, Danielle

Convean: iBreakfast – iEvening – eTV World – Startupalooza

NtombKhona Dlamini

Jennie Walker

Patti Rothberg

More about the Memorial concert on Thursday. Over 400 people have signed up!
The performers were all people who knew and in some way worked with Ellen and I.

Patti Rothberg is a Scarsdale based singer-songwirter who had a gold album in the 90’s, who writes and performs very moving songs. Patti and I collaborated on a song entitled Genius Bar after she performed with a then unknown artist. They had both just broken up with people who worked at the same Apple store on 5th Ave. This inspired our song at bit.ly/a5f5cm. The other artist’s song was a little different and turned out to be a little more successful onceChristine Aguilera picked up on it. It is called Say Something and that other artist was Ian Axel. It is also sadly ironic……

Jennie Walker is a terrific singer and songwriter who has charmed us with her performances and collaborated on a musical play I wrote called Broad on Wall. She will sing Its Our Time, a song she once dedicated to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The Clintons got to meet Ellen at her part-time job at ICD Jewelry store, and they too, were taken by Ellen’s warmth and wonderful presence. The Clintons have been very kind and supportive in the wake of this tragedy.

Nthomb’Khona Dlamini is one of the original performers at our legendary South African-style Barbecues (The Scarsdale Braai) that began in our backyard and over the years brought hundreds of people to various parks in Westchester. She and her husband, bass-player,Jimmy Mgwandi were the hit of our events and her voice is reminiscent of a young Miriam Makeba. Even after Disney discovered her and put her in the Lion King, she continued to perform at our events. Ellen loved her version of Pata Pata and many other songs in Zulu and Xhosa whose meanings she may not have understood but whose emotional impact she got completely.

The musical director, Berklee School of music graduate and professional drummer, Joel Arnow is a family member.

This is not a fundraiser but we are asking people, if they wish, to help us offset the cost of mounting this kind of event at a top performance venue in midtown Manhattan.

We have not forgotten the other victims in this tragedy and can only hope this will begin the healing and inspire the best minds of our industry to help those in legacy industries to do better. We never knew we were interdependent. Sadly, now we do.

The post Following a Tragedy – A Joyous Life Remembered! appeared first on Good News!.

Set in one of the author’s most beloved locations, the mist-shrouded coast of Maine, HERON’S COVE offers a gripping story of a priceless collection Russian jewelry that’s about to be stolen … again. For millions of readers, the popular New England author’s books mean edge-of-their-seats suspense, complex plotting, multi-faceted characters and romantic tension. HERON’S COVE, which hits stores August 2012, is no exception.

In the gripping novel, FBI agent and art crimes expert Emma Sharpe and her new love, FBI undercover agent Colin Donovan, fight to uncover the connection between an illegal arms operation and a collection of Russian Art Nouveau jewelry. When Russian billionaire Dmitri Rusakov docks his yacht in Heron’s Cove, he claims he is there to recover a priceless collection of jewelry that was stole four years earlier. Colin suspects he’s there for another reason altogether – and he wonders how much Emma knows about the Russian’s mission. To get to the bottom of the mystery, Emma and Colin must reveal their secrets and trust each other’s expertise to outwit their ruthless enemies.

Carla’s careful research and attention to detail always come into play when she creates the mysterious plots for her characters. “Art has been an ever-present influence in my life,” Carla says. “My mom was very visual, an inspired quilter. One of my uncles, who was captured by the Nazis during World War II, was an avid painter, and my roommates in college were artists. I’m fascinated by high-stakes international art theft and the motivations behind it.”

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David Ippolito is an American singer/songwriter/playwright who lives in New York City. He has self-released eight albums and is best known for his weekly summer performances in Central Park, which are attended by thousands of people. He styles himself as “That Guitar Man from Central Park.”^[1]

Career

In 1992, intending only to make a little lunch money, Ippolito unknowingly began a fascinating journey and an unusual career by performing an impromptu concert on a hill in Central Park in front of a few people who gathered. Among those present was editor Jack Rosenthal from the New York Times, who the next day published an editorial about the performance.^[2] The next week, Ippolito played again, and began to gather a following. For the last 20 years, he has performed on a hill near a picturesque rowboat lake almost every summer weekend to large crowds of passers-by and regulars, including visitors from around the globe, and has become a beloved New York icon, creating an intimate “It’s Just Us” feeling no matter how big his audience.^[1][3]

Ippolito sings covers by James Taylor, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, Jason Mraz, Matt Nathanson, and more.

His latest and 8th CD, “Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way,” released in autumn 2009, includes the song “Resolution,” which seeks investigation of U.S. government officials who approved water-boarding and other torture. This song’s powerful music video, which was posted pre-release of the album on YouTube, inspired a series of prime-time TV ads urging Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor. The album also features “Keep Hope Alive,” which was co-written with Sid Bernstein, the legendary music promoter who brought the Beatles to America.

Ippolito, known for his storytelling skills and sense of humor, has funny conversations with audience members during his shows and sometimes tosses granola candy bars into the crowd. On special holiday weekends, he also gives away hundreds of free hot dogs and slices of pizza. Just-married couples often stop by after their wedding to share their first dance, as Ippolito serenades them with a romantic song and the crowd sings along.

Ippolito also performs at venues throughout New York City, including an annual December performance at Merkin Concert Hall, as well as year-round shows at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space, The Red Lion on Bleecker Street, and Cast Party at the Birdland Music Club.

Yet it is his own original music that impresses fans from all over the world, who check in on his website’s daily blog: www.thatguitarman.com. There are songs about lost love (“Wedding in Danville,” “Another 15 Years,” “Did You Fall in Love Again,” “Some Wounds Never Heal”); romance (“I Can’t Wait,” “The Perfect Girl for Me,” “Oak Beach Inn,” “You Might be Her”); sex (“Internet Angel”); trust (“Just Hafta Trust Me,” “Tired of Being Lied To”); religion (“The Religion Song”); passing of a loved one (“Here Today”); self-improvement (“Next Time Around”); self-belief (“Don’t Let It Hold You Back,” “When Mary Learns to Fly”); friendship and support (“I Love the Company,” “Crazy on the Same Day”); and self-direction (“Any Other Way,” “Wherever I Might Land,” “Don’t Lose Sight of the Dream”), as well as topics of social conscience (“Where’s the Voice?”, “Common Ground,” “The Last Protest Song,” “Can’t You See?” “Hey American”). Ippolito also writes clever, satirical songs about celebrities (“Tom Cruise Scares Me,” “Free Paris (Hilton)”); politicians (“Don’t Know Palin”); pundits (“Bill O’Reilly: The Big Talking Head”); white-collar criminals (“Where’dat Money Go?”); TV personalities (“A Special Kind of Friendship” about Stephen Colbert, and “Glenn Beck Scares Me”); and obnoxious people (“The Cell Phone Guy: Talk Louder”). “Hermione Got Hot!” is an ode to grown-up Emma Watson and the latest Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows film and “Facebook Is a Stupid Idiot” (subtitled “What the F*#k is Farmville?!”) is a hilarious personal spin on the social media force. His newest song, “Can’t You See?” addresses the growing political divide in the United States.

Press coverage

Ippolito’s performances have been covered many times by the New York Times, the New York Post, The Daily News, Parade Magazine, PBS, CBS-TV, ABC-TV, and WB-11 news. He is also prominently profiled in Following Dreams, a one-hour documentary filmed five years ago and released in 2009 from Iron Zeal Films. It is currently airing nationally on American Public Television. Director Susan Polis Schutz and her crew traveled across the United States and South America to explore the lives of ordinary Americans with extraordinary dreams.

Central Park

Ippolito’s concerts are a well-known draw in Central Park. However, in 2000, the Parks Department ordered him (and all other musicians in the park) to unplug his small speaker, which led to public outcry and letters to the New York Times by supportive audience members.^[4] The current arrangement is that he has to select a month in advance which dates he wants to play, as well as pay for each permit, rain or shine.^[5] On the Sunday after the September 11 attacks, approximately 1,000 of his fans filled his guitar case in Central Park with more than $7,000, which Ippolito, the son of a retired New York City firefighter, delivered to Ladder Company 25 and the 9/11 Fund.

I Love the Company

During 2006, Ippolito hosted a daily podcast called “I Love the Company,” which was broadcast globally via Podshow.com. The 365+ podcasts featured new works by Ippolito and music by singers and songwriters around the world, which was joined by an “I Love the Video” videocast.^[6]

Playwriting and other work

As an actor, Ippolito has had roles in national TV commercials and musical theater productions. Ippolito’s song, “City Song,” was used to close NBC‘s television coverage of the 2001 New York City Marathon. He has appeared on ABC‘s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire“, winning $64,000.^[1] A playwright and storyteller, his work has been performed at The Soho Playhouse and The Actors Studio. Ippolito is currently workshopping his new musical project for the stage, “Possibility Junkie.”

Discography

• The People on the Hill (1997)
• That Guitar Man from Central Park…In Person (1998)
• Just a Thought for Christmas (1999)
• It’s Just Us (2000)
• Crazy on the Same Day (2002)
• Talk Louder (the Cell Phone Song) (2003)
• Common Ground (2004)
• I Love the Company (2007)
• Crazy on the Same Day (re-mastered in 2008)
• Wouldn’t Want It Any Other Way (2009)

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