Big-hearted Papi

Red Sox slugger David Ortiz is a big man with a big heart. Last night Big Papi was honored at the Four Seasons Hotel with UNICEF's 2008 Children's Champion Award. Ortiz was cited for his humanitarian work in the Dominican Republic, where the David Ortiz Children's Fund has partnered with Heart Care Dominicana to create the island's first pediatric cardiovascular facility. To date, more than 40 children have undergone heart surgery there. Among the evening's guests was 14-year-old Diana Reyes, who underwent cardiac surgery in December 2006, becoming the first patient to benefit directly from Ortiz's generosity. Also present were Ortiz's wife, Tiffany, father, Enrique, and Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner. Reyes was accompanied by Heart Care Dominicana executive director Nelva Pelaez de Pichardo, who before yesterday's dinner said that what makes Ortiz special is, "He's a regular guy. Authentic, down to earth. It's a trait that has drawn him to children, and children to David as well." Past award recipients include Nelson Mandela, actor Roger Moore, and Jordan's Queen Noor. Papi said, "When I get awards like this, I understand what my Pop meant."

Mailer colony moves forward

A gaggle of literary celebrities gathered at Norman Mailer's old house on Provincetown's Commercial Street to help launch the Norman Mailer Writers Colony, slated to open its doors next June. Filmmaker John Waters, actor-director Andre Gregory, former New York Times editor Daniel Okrent, along with Mailer's sons John and Michael joined about 50 guests to hear the writer's widow, Norris Church Mailer, talk about "making a memorial for Norman" at the rambling waterfront home. Mailer's first cousin and co-executor of his estate, Sam Radin, said the nonprofit writers colony hopes to meet its $14 million fund-raising goal within three years. "We have enough money now to get started," he said. "It's a go."

From local restaurants: philanthropy, fine food

More awards: Allston restaurateur Jerry Quinn, owner of The Kells of Boston and Privus Lounge, was given a "Heroes Among Us" award for his philanthropic work at a ceremony in Los Angeles Friday. Quinn was recognized by the organization Feed The Children in a ceremony to be broadcast July 5 on MYTV. . . . Patrick Connolly of Radius copped best chef-Northeast laurels at last night's James Beard Awards dinner in Manhattan.

An animated commencement speech

Watertown native Matt Selman, 36, Emmy-winning executive producer of "The Simpsons," returned to Beaver Country Day School Sunday to deliver the commencement speech at his alma mater. Selman graduated from the school in 1989. According to Selman, among the pearls of wisdom he dropped were: "If anyone made you feel uncool in high school, remember: All your bad memories are tattooed on your psyche forever." And: "A lot of these speeches are about joining the real world. You're going to just the opposite, though, to college. Or as I call it, booze, sex, and drugs fantasy camp." He finished by urging graduating seniors to break up with their boyfriends and girlfriends, preferably before the ceremony ended.

His keen eye catches over 400 signage typos

Somerville resident Jeff Deck, whose Typo Hunt Across America tour garnered widespread media attention (Boston Globe, ABC, NBC, BBC ) this spring, is back home after covering nearly 12,000 miles in 73 days. Deck and a cast of Wite-Out-wielding cohorts identified 423 instances of signage marred by misspellings, misused apostrophes, disagreeing subjects and verbs, etc. Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) members corrected 231 of these, according to Deck, whose future plans may include publishing a TEAL lesson guide for schoolteachers. Overall, says Deck, the state of the union's grammar is OK - except for chronic problem areas. "You can argue apostrophes aren't that big a deal. But when you see the same mistakes being made over and over, you start to think they're really viral." Adds Deck, "A lot of people felt they were the only ones who cared about this stuff. Maybe we've helped them realize that plenty of others share their frustrations, too."

Brown's 'mini me' "Being Bobby Brown: The Truth and Nothing But . . ." sounds like a horror movie, not a show-biz memoir. Still, fans of the Roxbury native and ex-New Edition singer may want to mine his forthcoming autobiography for treasures such as Brown's narcissistic take on R&B star Usher, whom he refers to as his "little mini me," says BlackVoices.com. It quotes Brown boasting, "I watched one of Usher's shows, and he basically did my whole show. It was as if it was me on stage. The thing about it is, I love seeing that. It's a compliment to me as a performer." Yes, Bobby, it really is all about you.

Pats on course

Shortened by torrential rains a year ago, the New England Patriots' Annual Charitable Foundation Golf Tournament was played yesterday in dry if steamy conditions at the International course in Bolton. The entire Pats roster turned out to drive, pitch, and putt, led by team owner Robert Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick, and perennial Pro Bowlers Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss, Rodney Harrison, and Richard Seymour. Brady, who arrived without a date, recused himself from defending the Longest Drive title he took home a year ago, captured this year by Harrison with a final-round tee shot measuring 287 yards. The hypercompetitive Harrison outdrove punter Chris Hanson after commenting that the "little skinny punter . . . hits the ball pretty long. But I keep it in the fairway, he can't." Later in the day we ran into Harrison at Logan as he was heading home to Atlanta, and it was clear that he'd impressed even himself. "It was like 296 yards uphill into the wind," he said. "That's not too bad." Considering he's been playing golf only for a few years, we'd have to agree.

Mark Shanahan of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.