Ellen DeGeneres' commencement speech given at Tulane University is funny, uplifting, and life-affirming. She should go back to doing stand-up.

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The Best Links:

1. “Ellen Degeneres delivered what will likely go down as one of the best commencement speeches of all time. “
2. This Video is Shakier But Includes the Dance at the End
3. More Rave Reviews
4. Ellen Degeneres’ Message to Sarah Palin

TV BUZZ: HBO has picked up Wire wizard David Simon's new show about post-Katrina New Orleans. Simon claims it won't be The Wire , but Bunk and Freamon are already on board. I think I just heard the collective hyper-educated urban male demographic squealing in glee.

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The Best Links:

1. The 10- or 12-part drama will be, Simon told the Guardian, “an allegory for the trauma that the country as a whole went through two years later”
2. HBO ordered 9 episodes of Treme.
3. “Treme, set in post-katrina new orleans, centers on a group of jazz musicians, though simon has promised he’ll make the big easy look just as bad as baltimore”
4. “Cast includes wendell pierce, who plays a jazz musician with a new baby and an ex-wife, played by khandi alexander. steve zahn, clarke peters, kim dickens, melissa leo and rob brown also star.”
5. Image via Warming Glow

Spotted in a New Orleans bar: a resurrected Tupac Shakur…or some guy who looks exactly like the late rapper. It's been 13 years since Tupac's unsolved murder and just like Elvis, he is repeatedly spotted across the globe. Make sure you take TMZ's scientific poll which asks, “Is it Tupac?” Answer a) yes or b) definitely yes.

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The Best Links:

1. via TMZ
2. IS THIS THE TUPAC LOOKALIKE?
3. PHOTOS: Evidence That TUPAC is ALIVE!!
4. Rapper Tupac Shakur Is Alive??!! New Photos and Evidence?!

A blogger caught Don Fowler, the former national chairman of the Democratic National Committee, joking about Gustav hitting New Orleans on Monday and saying, “That just demonstrates God’s on our side.” Just some dark humor or a career-ending scandal? Is it fair to use a hurricane as a political tool?

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The Best Links:

1. Fowler Fouls: Hurricane is God’s Favor to Democrats
2. Michael Moore Says Gustav is Proof There is a God
3. McCain May Postpone Convention
4. New Orleans Ports Brace for Hurricane Gustav
5. Bush Weighs Skipping Party Convention Due to Storm

FOOD BUZZ: Invented in 1888 in New Orleans, the gin fizz is making a comeback. A mix of gin, citrus, milk, egg whites, and seltzer — shaken for 12 minutes to make it super frothy. Here are links to some of the best recipes.

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The Best Links:

1. How To Make The Original Ramos Gin Fizz
2. Epicurious.com Gin Fizz Recipe
3. Gin Fizz Step-By-Step on eHow.com
4. Silver Gin Fizz Recipe With Raw Egg Whites For Extra Fizz!
5. Ramos Gin Fizz: Step-By-Step Video
6. The Ramos Gin Fizz California Style
7. Raw Egg Whites and Ramos Gin Fizzes Are Back!
8. IBA Official Ingredients For Gin Fizz

CULTURE BUZZ: A golden retriever is born in New Orleans with green fur. The puppy is supposedly healthy, with fur that will turn white or tan in a few weeks. Awww. This puppy is such an adorable shade of phlegm green. But it’s still not okay when crazy old ladies dye their poodles pink.

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The Best Links:

1. Cute Pics of the Green Puppy
2. Watch the News Report
3. Aww, He’s Named WASABI!
4. There Were Actually TWO Green Puppies Born Last Week?
5. Morgan Spurlock’s New Dogumentary: Green Puppy in America