But Bono wasn’t on the list. He was asked to write a short essay someone who was: Apple’s top designer, Jonathan Ive. And he invoked a couple Star Wars references in the process:

Jony is Obi-Wan. His team are Jedi whose nobility depends on the pursuit of greatness over profit, believing the latter will always follow the former, stubbornly passing up near-term good opportunities to pursue great ones in the distance. Jony’s values happen to add value — emotional and financial. It takes a unique alchemy of form and function for millions of people to feel so passionately about the robot in their pocket.

You can click the link above for the full essay.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Bono Praises Apple’s Jony Ive

This is part of a display of celebrity-donated shoes that’s currently at St. Patrick’s Hospital in Dublin. Adam has autographed both sneakers, as you can see below. If you’re curious, they’re by Alexander McQueen. (Spendy!)

The official Walk In My Shoes day is coming up on April 12th, but these shoes (and others) will be auctioned online at the end of April. Keep an eye on the Walk In My Shoes websites (link above) for more info.

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PHOTOS: Adam Clayton’s Donated Shoes for Walk In My Shoes 2013

Predictably, “Mysterious Ways” and “With Or Without You” made the cut, but the rest of the selections are painfully mainstream.

On my personal list, I would have included “The Fly,” “All I Want Is You” and “The Electric Co.”

What would have made the cut for you?

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U2′s Best Guitar Songs

With stunning news out of Rome this morning that Pope Benedict XVI is resigning, the oddsmakers are already taking wages on who the next Pope will be. Paddy Power, a bookmaker in Ireland, has issued a list of potential candidates. Concluding the list is Bono, with a 1000 to 1 odds against him!

The world famous atheist and humanist Richard Dawkins actually has better odds than Bono at 666 to 1 (the precise number on those odds will not go unnoticed by those Christians who study the end times). Everyone else on the list is an official member of the Roman Catholic Church, including cardinals and archbishops..

Does Bono have a chance? Probably not, since the candidate has to be single. Still, the odds of Bono becoming Pope might be slightly better than U2 releasing an album in the next year!

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

What are the odds Bono could be Pope?

You might recall that Bono made a surprise appearance at the annual Festival au Desert in Mali just about one year ago. It seems like he’s involved in the event again this year, even though it’s going to be in a much different form.

Due to violence and unrest in the area, the festival has essentially been cancelled. But Manny Ansar, the original founder, said in a recent interview that they’re instead planning “events and caravans across the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US” this year, and that Bono is helping out.

“As for financing, this year there has been very little. Nothing confirmed so far. The Irish star Bono has promised to help after his surprise visit and stage appearance in last year’s edition. He often sends sympathetic messages of moral support. Bono is more involved and committed to the global caravan. He is in charge of this initiative, along with big names in the American cinema and media. At this stage, they are studying the feasibility of the project in different countries across North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia and elsewhere in Africa. The first event in this world tour is expected in April. It is aimed at raising awareness of the conflict and helping to alleviate the suffering of refugees.”

The interview goes on to say that there will be an event in September to coincide with the UN General Assembly meeting.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Bono Involved Again with Festival au Desert

His presence is a bit odd, at least to me, because I’m not aware of U2 ever actually recording in Muscle Shoals. (Did I miss something?)

In any case, Rolling Stone has a little more on the film, and we’ve embedded the trailer below if you haven’t seen it yet.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Bono Appears in New ‘Muscle Shoals’ Music Documentary

The tune has been wildly popular, being covered by over 300 artists. NME reports that some have called for a moratorium on the song.

@U2.com has reported on Bono’s connection to Cohen in the past. There are numerous linkages between U2 and the master song writer.

On a tribute album, Tower of Song: Songs of Leonard Cohen, Bono recorded a memorable and very artistic interpretation of “Hallelujah.”

The whole band joined in on the “Tower of Song” for the film Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.

U2 also included snippets of “Hallelujah” as an intro to “Where The Streets Have No Name” at some concerts on the 360 tour.

A perfect balance between lament and praise, this is song that I would love to see and hear performed live in a future concert.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Bono praises Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

The book is the German-language version, but U2tour.de’s article says the book content is the same in the English-language version. Enjoy the video, and if you’re sitting/watching in a quiet office, note that there’s music playing and some German-language narration.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

VIDEO: Flip Through the New U2 360 Book

It looks like Bono’s contribution was recorded within the past week, but that’s just a guess.

The embedded video below is pretty long, and includes a long-winded speech by actor Richard Dreyfuss. The video tribute begins at the 5:45 mark.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Bono Pays One More Tribute to Steve Jobs

U2 manager Paul McGuinness helped open the exhibit back on May 10, and Brian Foley put together this video showing some of McGuinness’ opening remarks, as well as other sights and sounds from the event.

The exhibit will remain open until September 2nd. You can learn more at the Little Museum’s website.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

VIDEO: Early U2 Photo Exhibit in Dublin