A friend of ours, who happens to also be a friend of yer man’s, had the good pleasure of visiting with Bono after the Liberty Medal award ceremony on Thursday night. Kevin O’Donoghue of A2C Consulting shared a couple photos with us, and said we could share them with you. Enjoy!

Kevin puts an American Flag pin on Bono’s lapel

Kevin & Bono - peace!

Thanks for the pix, Kevin!

@U2 staffer Phil Romans is covering the Liberty Medal Ceremony this evening, and we’ll be giving you updates from Phil in Philly…

8:00 p.m.: Bono has finished his remarks. He begins by saying he is the “Fidel Castro of speechifying.” In a surprising move, he’s created new “bono-isms” this evening such as: “I’m not exactly what you call house trained, or White House trained.” (Bono’s full remarks will be posted shortly.) Other news Bono shared - the rest of the U2ers are in the studio this evening and have chosen not to fire Bono for, yet again, not being with them. Bono said the band understands that Philadelphia is an important city for the band.

There were *many* empty seats at the start of the ceremony. The event organizers brought some of the general admission fans who were standing farthest in back and let them sit in the areas where it looked pretty sparse.

Prior to receiving the medal, former President Bush gave remarks. He described Bono as one of the “brightest points of light.” He also brought some levity and humor to the occasion by suggesting that Bono change his look. He suggested that a pair of shades he wore on a recent trip to Indonesia would be a good choice in shaking up his image. (Those shades were not exactly the best fashion statement - big, black, and well, really ugly.)

Other remarks came from the Mayor of Philadelphia, the Governor of Pennsylvania, the President and CEO of the National Constitution Museum, and the former Finance Minister of Nigeria and fellow DATA Policy Board member Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Her remarks were quite inspiring as she shared the success of the Jubilee 2000 campaign in Nigeria, as well as the attitude Bono and DATA have - to support Africans supporting themselves. There was also a video introduction narrated by George Clooney with interviews by Sen. Rick Santorum, Sen. Barbara Pelosi, DATA’s Jamie Drummond,

6:00 p.m.: There are alot of people wearing (RED) and ONE T-shirts in the audience. There are three main viewing areas - the seats are towards the front, then about 85 yards away is the media stage (where Phil is); behind the media stage is the first of two General Admission standing areas. Across the street from the first GA area is the 2nd GA area outside the Independence Hall Visitor’s Center. Former President George H.W. Bush is “in the house” and because of that, security is very tight for the event.

DATA’s Jamie Drummond came to speak with the media. Phil asked him “How important is Bono to DATA?” Jamie’s reply was that he wanted other people to help out Bono…Bono carries too much of the load for DATA and he’d like to see the load be shifted away from Bono and more towards others. (Phil recorded the whole Q&A time and we’ll have that audio in our next Podcast).

We’ll have photos and more news as Phil’s able to give it to us.

Earlier this week, Bono introduced Japanese architect Tadao Ando at a lecture in Dublin. Some YouTube video from the audience at that event is popping up. This brief video clip of Bono’s speech contains a choice quote in which Bono is describing how “awesome” Ando is.

“Awesome is one of those words that Americans have ruined on us.” —Bono

Awww, thanks B. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but still, that’s awesome of you to mention. Can’t wait for your awesome speech this Thursday!

Loving your awesome new hair color. Extraordinary.

(photo credit)

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One of our forum members dug up this youtube bit showing what a cooking show with Bono might look like. Cheese grater Edge… awesome. Thanks to drealynn42 for sharing it.

This is my abbreviated version of a movie review: “Bono’s starring role (all five minutes of it!) in the movie Across the Universe is way less painful than I expected it to be.”

I saw the movie earlier this week. Although it has gotten pretty mixed reviews, I actually enjoyed it. Bono is barely in it. He is on screen for about five minutes. Just enough time for him to sing I am the Walrus, look ridiculous, spout some corny dialogue, don the worst fake moustache ever, make beyond goofy facial expressions and deliver jokes with imperfect comic timing. So, in other words—he is awesome.

The movie opens nationwide in the U.S. on September 21, and I’m curious to hear what other U2 fans who choose to see it think of Bono’s performance.

For me, the biggest shock at this movie came during the previews. We heard a while back that Robin Williams was “channeling” Bono in developing his character in the upcoming movie August Rush. Interesting attempt, Mork:

Peep the movie trailer below (Robin Williams in Bono gear shows up about halfway into it):

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Nike has announced that they are creating a special edition shoe called the “Dunk SB,” inspired by the U2 song “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”

The design features a combination of black patent leather and red velvet. You can view a photo here at eukicks.com.

I’m all about the song–don’t get me wrong–but of all the U2 tunes to base a shoe on, I might have chosen one less…bloody.

Well, what would you say if your friend in NYC put you on the phone with Bono while you’re on the other side of the country?

Beth shared this link/story with us:

So I was talking to Bono the other day…

U2 fans are funny.

The October 2007 edition of Vanity Fair Magazine has listed their New Establishment power rankings of the top 100 most powerful people. Yer man Bono came in at number 28, down 4 from his ranking last year. The Vanity Fair ranking on page 277 says:

Last Year: 24

Theater of Operations: Having secured near sainthood in the spheres of entertainment and philanthro-politics, Bono, 47, is well under way on another front: corporate finance. Elevation Partners, the $1.9 billion private-equity firm he started with tech-investing savant Roger McNamee and others, has quietly rolled up major stakes in Forbes (reportedly between $250 and $300 million) and Treo-maker Palm, Inc. ($325 million), and, in May, narrowly missed out on the billion-dollar purchase of Primedia Enthusiast Media. Elevation is now snooping around Rodale, publisher of Men’s Health.

Cool Friend: According to ValleyWag, Larry Page landed the Google jet in Fez, Morocco, to pick up Bono, who guest-edited Vanity Fair’s July Africa issue, en route to the TEDGlobal Conference in Arusha, Tanzania.

Higher Callings: More than 134 churches across the world have held “U2charist” services, where traditional hymns are replaced by U2 soul-searchers such as “Pride,” “Mysterious Ways,” and “Yahweh.”

Evidence of Possibly Contradictory Behavior: Urges First World nations to steer tax dollars to relieve Third World debt, while U2’s most lucrative asset, a song-publishing catalogue, is routed through a Dutch company to avoid paying taxes in Ireland.

On the Record: “It’s any kind of sainthood tag that makes me nervous. I much prefer a ‘tough in business’ tag.”

Year Ahead: arrow in the Northeast position

If you missed this news article on @U2, it’ll be news to you that Edge made an appearance last weekend (September 2nd) at MENCAP’s “Race Day” outside Dublin. MENCAP is a charity that supports people of all ages who have learning disabilities.

The event last weekend involved a luncheon and then horse races at the prestigious Curragh race track, and here are a few photos from the day.

By the way, if the young lady in the middle photo looks a little bit familiar, it’s because that’s Edge’s cousin, Ciara, who was kind enough to share these photos with us. She also asked if we’d let our readers know that MENCAP accepts donations of any amount on their web site. Of course! And Ciara also told me that the family all calls him “Edge.”

Thanks for the great photos, Ciara!