So the big news is that ultra-private celebrity Brad Pitt has finally succumbed to the lure of Social Media. No, he’s not on Twitter. Nor is he on Facebook. His first venture online is on Google +.

And his first post? No, he’s not talking about smoking pot, turning into a doughnut or getting hitched to Angelina Jolie. He already fessed up about marriage to The Hollywood Reporter in the magazine’s cover story this week. His first social media post was about his Make It Right venture in New Orleans.

“Making a big announcement later this week about an event in New Orleans in March to raise money to build safe, sustainable homes for disadvantaged families and disabled veterans. Check back here or on Make It Right’s page”

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On March 10 at Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres will host “A Night to Make It Right” with special guests Randy Jackson and performances by Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Seal and local favorite Dr. John and friends. The benefit gala will raise vital funds for the completion of 150 environmentally friendly homes.

A Night To Make It Right will attract political leaders, philanthropists, artists and entertainers, including Mayor Mitch Landrieu and host committee members Blake Lively, Chris Paul, Sean Penn and many others.

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Comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is coming home on March 10 to help Brad Pitt “Make It Right” in the Lower 9th Ward.

DeGeneres has signed on to host “A Night to Make It Right,” a gala that aims to raise enough money to finish Pitt’s goal of building 150 environmentally friendly houses in the neighborhood that was virtually wiped out after the levee breaches in 2005. Seventy-five ultra-modern homes are finished, and DeGeneres and her fans have raised more than $1.6 million, so far helping 300 people return home.

“I’m so happy I can be a part of this incredible foundation,” DeGeneres said. “Brad Pitt is amazing — not only for what he started, but also because, who else can make a hard hat look like a jaunty fall fashion accessory?”

Pitt probably will leave the hard hat at home in the French Quarter that night, when Mayor Mitch Landrieu serves as honorary co-chair. Details are still being worked out, but a press release promises the party will feature “a guest list of major entertainers, political leaders, corporate donors and philanthropists … a dinner menu celebrating the finest culinary traditions of New Orleans, and grand afterparty.”

Read more. Thanks Gabriella.

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Waiting in a parked car in the Ninth Ward as the rain pounds down, I cannot help but think about the flood in the movie, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

It’s a natural, because I am only a stone’s throw from where the levee broke, and I am here to meet the star of that movie, Brad Pitt, as the finale to our “Building Up America” tour.

The actor targeted this area some years ago with his Make It Right Foundation — an ambitious plan to build up the shattered neighborhood with new, ecologically friendly, affordable houses, and then fill them with residents who had been driven out by Katrina.

When the rain backs off a bit, I hustle into one of the raised houses, where my TV crew is busy setting up lights on a covered upper deck. NBC is also there, but in a different area. I spend a few minutes chatting with Brian Williams. We’ve known each other for years and share a lot of friends, and it’s always nice catching up.

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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Thank you Gabriella.

This Sunday: A special edition of “Meet the Press” live from New Orleans. Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated this historical city and the surrounding region, we take an in-depth look at where things now stand. What progress has been made in rebuilding communities, schools, and businesses? Why was the recovery so long and painful? What lessons did we learn from the government’s botched response? And did those lessons help in dealing with the Oil Spill disaster this summer? Guest moderator Brian Williams speaks with two of the area’s notable political leaders: Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

Next, we’ll have an exclusive interview with actor Brad Pitt, Founder of the Make It Right Foundation – an organization that aims to build 150 green, affordable, high-quality design homes in the neighborhood closest to the levee breach, the Lower 9th Ward.

Read more. Thanks Gabriella & Dulci.

So that is this sunday, August 29th on the NBC Network in the AM.

The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina brought out the best in American volunteerism. Actor Brad Pitt, who has a home in New Orleans, responded with extraordinary creativity and commitment. The Lower 9th Ward houses of Pitt’s nonprofit Make it Right Foundation – individualistic and energy-efficient – are among the most inspired responses to the storm’s ravages. As the fifth anniversary of Katrina approached, Pitt spoke with historian Douglas Brinkley, his longtime friend, about his love of the city and his dreams for its future. Brinkley provided this exclusive interview to The Times-Picayune.

Whenever actor Brad Pitt is in New Orleans, he gets on his old thrift-store bicycle and tools around the city enjoying the architecture and ambiance. It’s his way of staying in shape. His favorite destination is pedaling across the retractable North Claiborne Avenue Bridge to the Lower 9th Ward to inspect his Make It Right Foundation houses.

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You can catch the replay of this documentary that played tuesday on HBO. Thank you Kat and Norma.

Thank you Gabriella.

Is anyone in the USA able to record this for the website? Please contact me asap, even if just on a disc, I can work with it, thank you.

This year’s best sustainable buildings include an elementary school, two universities and a New Orleans home designed for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, according to the American Institute of Architects.

Each year, the AIA picks 10 buildings that show how design can reduce environmental impacts by reusing materials, connecting to public transit, conserving water and energy and improving indoor air quality.

The “Special No. 9 House,” shown above, was designed to provide storm-resistant, affordable and sustainable housing for New Orleans residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The 1,520 square foot, single-family home is poised for mass production as part of Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation.

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