I have more information from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It should be posted shortly, I hope! I am just waiting on a response…or a comment…or both!  Check back soon, all I can say for now is, wow…just wow!

Someone pointed out on Facebook yesterday that there appears to be some damage control going on at Ms. Gretchen Christine’s Website. Remember the little banner I posted a few weeks ago from her site? It looked like this,

and read: Proceeds of the debut single will go to Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society (LLS) & the Jeff Beitzel Foundation

Well, sometime between March 18th and yesterday (my guess is it was yesterday, this someone has a pretty keen eye and would have probably noticed otherwise) the banner changed. It now looks like this,

and reads: A portion of the proceeds of the debut single will go to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in memory of Jeff Beitzel
Umm..you can’t do that!

It’s also said that her Facebook “fan” page is now gone, kaput, vanished! How will she network with her fans now? Could this be part of the damage control?

I stand by my first thought the day this single debuted,

“We all know Gretchen wants to break into the music industry, so is this just a brilliant (I use that word loosely) marketing plan? Jeff was not her fiance, but what better way to make a debut? Capitalize on a tragic situation, a man’s death and a relationship that didn’t exist?”

I really wish I would have been proven wrong. I really do.
Who takes donations to help save lives for a foundation that doesn’t exist? Who takes donations for 2.5 months and then decides only a portion of the proceeds will benefit the LLS. Aren’t people curious where their donation went and what it’s being used for? Are there any answers for that within your creative space?

Edited @ 11:50 p.m.
I received this email this afternoon. I have responded with one more question…this should be interesting!

*Click on preview to view actual size

*Pretty sure it DID say The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has NOT set up a fund in Jeff Bietzel’s name. Hmmm..

Another concerned fan viewer received the same email today, we thought we’d share that one as well! I wonder how Ms. Rossi is going to handle all of this? Remove her Facebook Fan Page? No…that would be silly!

*Click on preview to view actual size

*If you haven’t read the comments yet, please take a moment to do so.
I will call this one Poetic Justice! Well said!

I received the following email from a reader:

“I have been reading your blog about Gretchen Rossi and thought you might like this info.
On her facebook page under photos she posted that she sang her song that she wrote for Jeff LIVE for the first time and someone taped her and put it on the internet.
There was no band there and she sounds just as she did on the playback on the show. Most people, singers don’t sound exactly like their songs on their albums when they are live.
You tell me, is this live or Memorex?
And it was done at Playhouse’s Adult Playground…What were the God fearing Bellino’s doing at a adult club, as she stated Lexi introduced her.” [On stage]

It’s all good Gretchy…
LIVE, Lip Sync. . . Lady Burd, Gretchen Christine Beaute. . .
Jeff Beitzel Foundation, Jeff Beitzel Memorial. . . million, millions. . .
Jay tattoo, Jeffrey tattoo. . . boyfriend, stalker. . . lie, lies…
You say potato. . . we say patahto.

Has anyone checked to see if GCB make-up is available yet? Oooops, never mind! Gretchen Christine Beaute is back on the WWW!

Oh… and remember a few weeks ago I asked if anyone
knew what ever became of  The Gretchen Project? Doesn’t
anybody know? Does anybody know who won the
Make Me The Gretchen Project 2010 Make-Over Contest?

Just askin’…

A few weeks ago I mentioned I had gotten a tattoo as a tribute to my oldest son who is a cancer survivor. (he has been in remission for 317 days…not that I’m counting) Now, I sailed through my last two…this one? Not so much. I had anticipated  pain and I actually kind of like it. Did I anticipate the pain being comparable to that of having 1,000′s of small nails pounded into my veins causing the sensation my toes were seconds away from exploding? Not so much, I kind of didn’t like that. I was a trooper though and after a high-five and a fist bump with the tattoo artist paying for my new ink I hobbled to my car.
It was pretty sore the next few days, and the next few days after that. I hadn’t anticipated the healing process to take so long, nor did I anticipate redness, swelling or the pain that accompanied it. Although my “foot tattoo leads to amputation” “death caused by foot tattoo” Google searches only directed me to encouraging news, I wasn’t convinced. I might have even snapped into O.C.D. mode. You can ask my family, you can ask my friends…heck, you can even ask the sales lady at Target that directed towards the cream you use for red, swollen, painful tattoos.
“Follow me” she says, “I just found it for someone else for the same thing.”
Somebody else might need an amputation too? The tattoo industry sure is going to pot!
“Oh really?” I asked pointing to my foot, “Did theirs look like this?”
“No, I…I think it was a butterfly.”
Clearly that’s not what I meant. The fact that I had even turned to the Target lady was humiliating enough. Responding would only make it worse…if that’s possible.
Suddenly, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I remembered I had a doctors appointment in a few days, I could just have him look at my foot while I’m there. He would be able to assure me everything is fine, or he could tell me having my foot amputated was the least of my worries. Maybe that light at the end of the tunnel is really an oncoming train?
The morning of my appointment, I was thrilled to see my foot was redder and much more swollen. At least I wouldn’t appear to be such an O.C.D. hypochondriac. Right? I finished up the appointment but for some reason was hesitant to bring my foot up, the red, swollen, irritated, tattooed foot. Was I in denial? Possibly, as inevitable as it was, nobody wants to hear, “yes, we will need to amputate your foot. Do you have someone to drive you home today?” I put my big girl panties on and explained my dilemma. The doctor took a quick glance as he walked back over to me,
“Looks like cellulitis ”
“Huh?” I quickly came to my foots defense, “Because it’s swollen…because it’s red and swollen? Both my feet are swollen, look at both of them…they’re fat…I have fat feet!!!” I wailed.
Still standing on the examination table with a syringe in each hand, I warned them not to come any closer. My obsession of being reassured had just backfired on me. After a closer inspection, both the doctor and his nurse were in agreement that it looked o.k. The nurse explained she had a tattoo in the same place, and it did the same thing. (I wonder if it’s a butterfly and she bought her cream at Target? hmm…)
“It’s a very tender area…every time you walk…it takes much longer to heal.” Helllooo?? To be on the safe side, I was given some antibiotics. If all went well, I wouldn’t need my foot amputated. As I walked to my car on my fat feet, I had a skip in my step…I had really handled that pretty well! I took an antibiotic when I got home, and another before bed. I generously applied the topical antibiotic to my (irritated but not infected with cellulitis, newly inked, fat) foot, laid down and closed my eyes. (continue)

*Edited*
I saw this early this morning but wasn’t going to go there.
Fair is fair though, right?
Gretchen clears the air via Facebook

“I want to address a ridiculous rumor being posted. The Jeff Beitzel Memorial Fund is with the Leukemia Soceity in O.C.! People can make donations 2 this fund directly by writing “For the Jeff Beitzel Memorial Fund”, Just as the proceeds from my song will be donated 2 this same fund! Someone stating that it doesn’t exist is ignorant, direspectful, and incorrect! People should stop spreading false & malicious rummors.”

Four Five things about this bug me,
1. The spelling. If you are going to be a celebrity, in the limelight, check your spelling.
2. Jeff Beitzel Memorial Fund with the Leukemia Society in O.C, The Jeff Beitzel Foundation, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in memory of Jeff Beitzel. Which is it?
3. Why does it say proceeds will be donated, where are the proceeds now?
4. I just don’t buy it.
*Edited to add*
5. Why did she say, just last month, “… proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Jeff Beitzel Foundation I started in Jeff’s honor.” Now it’s with the Leukemia Society?!

Yesterday Gretchen took to Twitter to answer the following question,

So there you have it. It’s “The Jeff Beitzel Memorial Fund”…except last month she blogged the following,

…anyways, it’s called something like that.

* Originally posted on 1/13/10
One Sunday morning at a church my sister used to attend, the pastor spoke of someone in the church that was battling cancer. Because they did not have medical insurance they were now facing financial devastation as well. Donations started pouring in from the community. Each week the pastor would speak of this person and how their condition continued to deteriorate. As word spread donations were steadily coming in from all over. Everyone was so caring and so sympathetic. This person that he had been referring to was himself. When the truth was revealed, (as it eventually always is) people were devastated. He did not have cancer and never did. He had used his position to contrive a superficial story, playing on others sympathy…profiting from a tragic situation that never existed.

Written as a tribute to her late “fiance” Jeff, Gretchen Rossi released her first single today, Nothing Without You. Proceeds of the song will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Jeff Beitzel Foundation (which cannot be found) in memory of Jeff Beitzel. Brilliant gesture.

We all know Gretchen wants to break into the music industry, so is this just a brilliant (I use that word loosely) marketing plan? Jeff was not her fiance, but what better way to make a debut? Capitalize on a tragic situation, a man’s death and a relationship that didn’t exist? Why not release a song about Slade, her knight in shining armor? Perhaps next time. Another brilliant gesture? Maybe next time you could donate the proceeds to
The Amazing Gray Fund

Seriously, nothing surprises me anymore.

Title: Nothing Without You
Artist: Gretchen Rossi
Genre: Classic Classless