From the folks at Ecorazzi comes the number-one reason for rushing out to see The Cove: It saves dolphins' lives.

The annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan, was supposed to start yesterday, but all's quiet in the cove:

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Compare that with last year at this time:

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Ric O'Barry, the famous former (and reformed) trainer of TV's Flipper, has been battling Taiji's dolphin slaughter for years. He reports that instead of being filled with dolphin killers, the cove was filled with news reporters, including—for the first time ever—Japanese film crews.

Looks like Japan's dirty secret is no longer a secret.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

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Seriously, all the cool kids are going vegetarian these days—and with great results. Just as our friend Mike White did, trainer Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser went vegetarian for his health—and his cholesterol count dropped 100 points.

You heard that right: 100 points!

Over at Ecorazzi, they're sayin' Bob went vegetarian after reading Skinny Bitch. I really should start lending my copy to more people.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

After much anticipation, the new music video for Modest Mouse's "King Rat" was released this week—and it was worth the wait. The video, which was directed by Heath Ledger, is great not only for its artistry (I am always in favor of a touch of the Gilliam) but also for its message. It highlights cruel (and illegal) whale poaching by depicting a boatload of whales who capture and slaughter a pod of humans.

Our friends at ecorazzi have the whole story, but this wasn't Heath's only foray into whale protection. Heath was also a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society advisory board and, according to ecorazzi, had expressed "extreme interest" in playing the role of Captain Paul Watson in a film about the captain's life and work.

Because so many people have already been touched by this video, we're presenting Heath—care of The Masses, who finished the project he directed—as well as Isaac Brock and the rest of Modest Mouse with Compassionate Artist Awards for opening so many eyes to the violent reality of whaling.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Normally, I channel surf right through competitive food shows (nobody wants to eat trout ice cream, Iron Chef )—but ever since I found out that vegan Natalie Portman will be a guest judge in the upcoming season of Top Chef, I've been counting down the days until the premiere. Well, it looks like we vegans won't have to wait as long as we thought for our moment in the food TV limelight! Top Chef Masters (a Top Chef spin off) has just announced that next week, its contestants will be preparing food for a dinner party hosted by vegan actor and musician Zooey Deschanel. Check out a sneak peek of the episode, which will air Wednesday at 10 p.m.:

Ah, Mr. Smith, it looks like this'll be an especially good exercise for you if your specialty is greasy, unhealthy fried chicken and mac and cheese!

Big thanks to the folks over at Ecorazzi for shooting this our way.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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If you were paying attention to the news yesterday, you may have seen quite a few stories about PETA—apparently, we were quite busy!

The biggest story came from NPR, which reported on our efforts to save animals from the humiliation of having losing sports teams named after them. Our joint effort with the Humane Society, "Stop Teams Everywhere From Animal Mascots (STEAM)," has reportedly supported legislation in Michigan, Maryland, and Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Tor.com discussed our indecision regarding the Furry community (Animal-friendly? Unfriendly? Too-friendly?), and Aero-News.net announced our intention to seek $250,000 in damages (as well as an apology) for the geese killed in the "Miracle on the Hudson."

Our friends at ecorazzi highlighted Al Gore's new and non-environmentally-hypocritical line of organic vegan frozen foods—first up, "Al Gore's Vegan Nubs." And Groovy Vegetarian lamented the sad news that our president, Ingrid E. Newkirk, was caught chowing down on a Burger King Whopper.

Now, come on, people, you didn't really believe any of these stories, did you? I mean, everybody knows that we'd ask for way more than $250,000 … I kid, I kid. So, yes—we found ourselves the subject of a number of April Fool's jokes. And don't worry, we had our share of the fun too. C'mon—squirrel underpants? Pheromone-fueled hunter-targeting snake attacks? A Photoshop job this bad on a PETA ad?

I hope you all knew better than to fall for that one!

Posted by Amanda Schinke