UCLA Hospital Workers Fired For Spears Medical Snooping

By Heather Chin

http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/14604.html (March 15, 2008)

Although no info was leaked to the press, several employees will either be fired or disciplined for unauthorized access to the pop star’s private info.

According to reports by the AP and the Los Angeles Times, more than 13 UCLA Medical Center employees will be fired for accessing the confidential medical records of Britney Spears, who was hospitalized twice at the center, most recently in the psychiatric ward.

The hospital’s director of human resources, Jeri Simpson, confirmed the confidentiality breach, but did not detail the exact number of employees involved, which of Spears’ files were looked at, or when they were accessed. However, the Times reported that those to be fired are various staff members, but that several others, including doctors, will be disciplined through other means.

The confidential records were accessed during Spears’ stay at the hospital in the psychiatric ward. However, the employees in question were only able to access her non-psychiatric records.

While there has been no evidence that any confidential information was leaked about Spears, whose personal life and every action is the focus of relentless tabloid attention, the snooping itself is a violation of state and federal privacy laws.

The Times reports that the Department of Public Health has opened an investigation into the hospital, where employees have previously accessed Spears’ files, back in September 2005, when she gave birth to her first son, Sean Preston.

In response to the new breach, Simpson stated that she feels “horrible” about the incident and the fact that it happened again is “is not only surprising, it’s very frustrating and disappointing.”

Tibetan Monks Protest Chinese Rule As Olympics Draw Near

By Heather Chin

http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/14586.html (March 13, 2008)

As hundreds of monks took to the streets, Chinese security forces surrounded three monasteries and reacted cautiously, likely since the Olympics approach.

Despite a near blackout on foreign media in and around the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, the International Herald Tribune reports that the largest protests in two decades have been occurring in Tibet against Chinese rule. According to advocacy groups and tourist video, the demonstrations have drawn Chinese security forces to the region, where they have surrounded three of the most famous monasteries in Tibetan Buddhism.

China’s Foreign Ministry confirms that protests broke out in Lhasa, but they provided no details and say the situation was caused by “a few monks” and that the situation is now stable.

The protests have arisen despite high security and harsh penalties, and news has trickled out via Tibetan advocacy groups, U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia, and videos posted on the Internet by tourists.

Groups of monks from each of the three main monasteries demonstrated separately from each other and had different demands, but all were peaceful and their actions timed to coincide with the 49^th anniversary of the 1959 uprising that failed and resulted in the Dalai Lama being forced to flee to neighboring India, where he still resides today.

‘Girls Gone Wild’ Founder Pleads No Contest; Released

By Heather Chin

http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/14563.html (March 12, 2008)

‘Girls Gone Wild’ founder, Joe Francis, agrees to plead guilty in exchange for his freedom – just in time for Spring Break 2008.

The AP reported Wednesday that Joe Francis, the founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video empire, plead no contest to the remaining charges against him of one count of felony child abuse and two counts of misdemeanor prostitution. In exchange, the terms of his plea agreement release him from Nevada state custody after nearly a year in jail, although he still awaits trial on charges of tax fraud.

Francis, 34, posted $1.5 million bond and returned to Florida, where he has also agreed that his company would not conduct any filming for the next three years – but only between the Florida counties of Escambia and Jackson Counties. The judge also ordered him to pay $60,000 in fines, court costs and restitution to the counties.

Despite this week’s plea, Francis maintains that he is still innocent and that he only “pleaded guilty just to get out of jail.” Additional pleas of no contest were made by him on behalf of his company, Mantra Films, on two counts of child abuse.

The “Girls Gone Wild” empire is built upon filming topless or scantily clad young women in sexually provocative positions while they are drunk, and Francis makes around $29 million a year in this endeavor.

In 2003, Francis’s company filmed underage women who had signed agreements stating that they were of legal age. His hotel rooms and corporate jets were raided, and in 2007, contraband of sleeping pills and cash were found by Bay County officials – those charges had guilty pleas entered, as well.

Whatever misfortunes he encounters, though, Joe Francis is determined to continue his life and business as usual. “I’m going to go back to making videos this afternoon,” he said.

NYC Mayor Bloomberg Seeks New Radio Outlet for Weekly Address

By Heather Chin

http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/14472.html (March 10, 2008)

After oft-embarrassing statements on his weekly radio address, Mayor Bloomberg leaves one station to seek out another venue.

The New York Times reports today that NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has opted not to accept an offer to continue his weekly “Live From City Hall” vocal appearance on regional radio station, WABC-FM, due to a combination of diarrhea of the mouth, and the effort of radio stations seeking to adapt to changes in everything from the economy to technology’s influence on broadcast communication. However, he may continue elsewhere.

His decision comes after last week’s firing of WABC- AM radio host John Gambling due to budget cuts by the station’s parent company, Citadel Broadcasting. He was replaced with Curtis Sliwa, who is supposed to add a national focus to the show. Where Mr. Bloomberg will move his weekly address is unknown, but offers include NY1 television, a separate hour on WABC-AM, and other radio stations.

Bloomberg’s six years on the air were often filled with amusing peeks into his personality, eating habits and odd humor, but was also filled with useful public service announcements (like ‘311’) time when he would address specific projects, issues and frustrations called in from citizens. The concept is an institution created by New York’s immediate past mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

The mayoral tradition of weekly radio addresses goes back generations and has been used to different effect by many colorful personalities. From Fiorello H. La Guardia in the 1940s, who scolded reporters and bookies while talking about family and Dick Tracy comics,” to TV-friendly Ed Koch and radio-fixture David Dinkins, the tradition has always managed to be useful in different ways.

Former 9/11 Lawyer Sues Casinos For Enabling Her Gambling Addiction

By Heather Chin

http://thecelebritycafe.com/features/14473.html (March 10, 2008)

After losing over $1 million and her career via casino hopping, a once prominent lawyer from Queens who represented WTC victim’s families sues casinos for not stopping her.

In 2000, the New York Daily News named Arelia Taveras one of “21 New Yorkers to Watch in the 21^st Century.” As legal counsel for a Queens assemblyman who fought for compensation for victims of the September 11^th attacks and 2001’s Flight 587 crash in Queens, she did TV spots and was a respected rising star in the community. Now, she works at a call center in Minnesota, where she ended up after being disbarred for forging bank slips to cover up the theft of almost $100,000 from four non-9/11 related clients to fund her gambling addiction

As reported in the New York Daily News this weekend, Taveras is also suing a total of six casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas for $20 million on charges that they failed to notice that she was gambling excessively and instead of stopping her, enabled her to keep playing.

Taveras claims that at some casinos she would stay at the tables for days, without eating and sleeping (or with only candy bars and orange juice that she says staff provided her), passing out and even using disposable wipes to brush her teeth, and that casino staff saw her behavior, so “they had a duty of care to me.” She adds that staff at Atlantic City casinos knew her so well that they let her bring her dog along in her purse and even transported her between casinos.

As a result of her compulsive gambling and losses of up to $1 million, Taveras lost her law practice, her apartment, her parents’ home, and still owes the IRS $58,000, in addition to the criminal charges she faces for theft and forgery.

The casinos deny wrongdoing and responsibility for problems they see as purely Ms. Taveras’s, and according to AP reports, her chances to win the lawsuit are small, as it will be difficult to prove that casino staff failed to notice she had a problem.

Hoax 911 Call Claims Heather Locklear Suicide Attempt

By Heather Chin

http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/14457.html (March 9, 2008)

Fire department officials and paramedics found Heather Locklear alive and well after receiving a false alarm suicide call.

According to a report by TMZ, the Ventura County Fire Department and two paramedics units responded Saturday night to a 911 call made by someone reporting a “suicide attempt” by actress Heather Locklear, only to find the Melrose Place star in good health at her home in Thousand Oaks.

Capt. Barry Parker of the Ventura County Fire Department says that the call did not originate from Locklear’s home.

After speaking with Ms. Locklear, emergency personnel left the house within 10 minutes, as TMZ’s unnamed sources say there was no need to take her on a 5150 hold, which FindLaw.com describes as a California legal code for professional staff taking involuntary psychiatric custody of a person deemed mentally unstable.

Apparently, there was also no concern that Locklear was in any other danger, as a Fire Department source also told TMZ that, “If there was a problem, we would have taken her with us.”

The Dynasty star has a daughter with recent ex, Richie Sambora, and is currently working on two new projects.

No word yet on whether there are any clues as to who made the hoax phone call and whether it was sincere or intended as a prank.

Dr. Seuss’ ‘Horton’ LA Premiere Crashed By Abortion Protestors

By Heather Chin
http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/14462.html (March 9, 2008)

Latching onto the newest Seuss film’s slogan, pro-life demonstrators attempted to utilize children’s entertainment for their message about children... period.

“After all, a person is a person, no matter how small.” – Horton, in Horton Hears A Who!

At the Los Angeles premiere of Dr. Seuss’ “Horton Hears A Who!” on Saturday, pro-life demonstrators arrived at the Mann Village Theater after the film screening and chanted anti-abortion slogans, which included Horton’s oft-repeated mantra in the movie. TMZ.com reports that after they stopped chanting, members of the group plastered red tape that read “LIFE” over their mouths and marched around the event area.

It seems that no police action was taken, but some people in attendance were annoyed enough that a children’s movie was being politicized that they responded with retorts such as, “How dare you?” and “This is a kid’s premiere.”

The use of themes from Dr. Seuss’ work to support the cause of particular interest groups is not new, as Seuss biographer, Philip Nel, notes in a 2004 interview with BookTalk on ABC Radio National in Australia. For example, both the theme of and main character in “The Lorax” have very obvious associations with protecting the environment and conservation (and have been targeted by logging groups and community libraries).

However, it was not Seuss’ intent for the meaning of his stories to be associated with these causes. In the case of Horton and the anti-abortion lobby, the conflict began when Dr. Seuss (aka Mr. Theodore Geisel) threatened to sue a pro-life group unless they took the slogan off their stationery (they did, but the line is still used today by groups in both the U.S. and abroad).

The 1954 story is one of many Seuss stories to be made into TV cartoons, live-action movies, and even Broadway plays. Before writing his stories, Mr. Geisel worked in advertising and as a political cartoonist.

The film, animated by Blue Sky Studio, the production arm of 20^th Century Fox, is co-executive produced by Theodore Geisel’s widow, Audrey Geisel, and features the voices of Jim Carrey, Steven Carell and Mary Tyler Moore, and is set to be released this coming Friday.

Sources:
http://cnn.comwww.tmz.com/2008/03/08/horton-hears-an-abortion-protest/

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/booktalk/stories/s1096785.htm (led to from a line in here: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117936443.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horton_Hears_a_Who!#_note-0

http://www.tldm.org/News11/ProlifeHortonHearsAWho.htm

For St. Patrick’s Day, One NYC Pub Bans ‘Danny Boy’

By Heather Chin
http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/features/14404.html (March 7, 2008)

In a bid to liven up celebrations even further, one Manhattan pub owner bans the traditional Irish song, which was written by an Englishman.

Drunken revelers at Foley’s Pub and Restaurant, in Manhattan, will be banned from singing the song “Danny Boy” for the entire month of March, reports the Associated Press. In its stead, guests will be rewarded with a prize for singing other traditional Irish tunes. And at its annual pre-St. Patrick’s Day karaoke party, free beer will be offered.

Pub owner, Shaun Clancy, explains that since the song is depressing, not usually sung in Ireland for the holiday, and written by an Englishman, there is no historic precedent for it to be sung here. However, the owners of an Irish pub in Detroit apparently disagree: their AJ’s Café will be holding a marathon on the lucky weekend devoted solely to singing 1,000 versions of “Danny Boy.”

With lyrics first published back in 1913 by an English lawyer, Frederick Edward Weatherly, who had never visited Ireland, the song in question was written to the tune of an old Irish song called “The Derry Air.” It became a hit in 1915, when opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink recorded the new version, and big names of the 1940s and 50s sang it, too, from Bing Crosby to Elvis Presley, Judy Garland to Johnny Cash, Cher to Willie Nelson.

The meaning of the lyrics is debatable, as well. Some see it as a mournful ballad by a mother to her dead son, while others interpret the object of lament as a lover or other heart-breaker. It is this emotion that is, in part, fueling the tension today, in the new millennium.

Ultimately, whatever your take on the necessity of this month’s ban at Foley’s Pub, at least there can now be a change of pace. Says parishioner and retired passenger ship waiter Martin Gaffney, “I’m glad!... [The song] is all right, but I get fed up with hearing it – it’s like the elections.”

Traditional Irish ballads that could serve as singing alternatives include “Molly Malone” and Dublin’s “Cockles and Mussels.”

Disney Plans A Japanese “Lilo and Stitch” Program

By Heather Chin

(previously published at www.thecelebritycafe.com on March 6, 2008)

“Lilo and Stitch” TV program just one of several new endeavors by Disney to provide entertainment that accommodates the culture it inhabits.

The Walt Disney Company has announced plans to create a Japanese version of its hit film, “Lilo and Stitch.” Reuters reports that the U.S.-based entertainment and media giant will work with Madhouse Ltd., a Japanese animation company, to create a TV program for the Disney Channel. The program is set to air on Japanese satellite and cable TV, said a Walt Disney Co. Japan spokeswoman to Reuters.

Disney also plans to collaborate with Asia’s huge Toei Animation Co. Ltd. to create a robot adventure computer graphics cartoon to air later this year.

Taken in a broader context, these joint projects are examples of Disney’s innovative global effort, announced to Reuters by Disney Channel Worldwide’s entertainment president, Gary Marsh, to create local teams in Asia to provide local content that would, in turn, be released to a global audience.

Elsewhere in the world, Disney has already transplanted and localized TV programs from one country to another country’s market. This was done with an Italian series that now airs also in Britain, the U.S., and Australia, and inroads are being made with Indian TV.

The story of Lilo and Stitch is about the self-affirming relationship and misadventures of a young Hawaiian girl and the pet dog named Stitch who is really an escaped alien refugee who attracts his own entourage of comedic acquaintances. It opened in the U.S. in 2002, won 8 film awards and was nominated for 20 more.

“Dexter” To Expand Into the Video Game World

By Heather Chin

(previously published at www.thecelebritycafe.com on March 6, 2008)

Showtime signs a deal to design a video game based on their recent hit drama.

“A serial killer isn’t always a bad thing,” said author Jeff Lindsay to describe the idea behind his book series about a man named Dexter Morgan. Apparently not, because with a book series, a unique hit on cable, and most recently an experimental run on network TV (CBS), “Dexter” is now poised to now enter another form of media consumption – the video game franchise.

According to Reuters and The Hollywood Reporter, the Showtime series about a serial killer whose targets are the ne’er-do-wells left behind through his day job as a forensic expert will soon be available on multiple gaming platforms, such as Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. It will be co-developed by Marc Ecko Entertainment.

The character of Dexter Morgan first entered the world through author Jeff Lindsay’s 2004 novel, “Darkly Dreaming Dexter.” Now played by Michael C. Hall, of “Six Feet Under” fame, “Dexter” reaches an average of around 7 million viewers on CBS, compared to the 569,000 copies of all three Dexter chronicles, according to numbers from USA Today.

“Miss Pettigrew Lives” Has a Fairy Tale Cast

By Heather Chin

(previously published on www.thecelebritycafe.com on March 4, 2008)

The fantastic cast, led by Frances McDormand and Amy Adams, bring life and bright humor to an enjoyable musical fairy tale.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the new musical film, “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” is lively, funny and wonderfully cast, but might leave a viewer feeling a bit taken aback by the swiftly moving, lavishly decorated, period atmosphere that creates this self-described “fairy tale for adults.”

Set in a 1939 London full of the nostalgic sounds of Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer and Yip Harburg, “Miss Pettigrew Lives” follows a day in the lives of Miss Guinevere Pettigrew (Oscar-winner Frances McDormand), a down-on-her-luck, middle-aged governess, and Delysia – as in Delicious – Lafosse (Amy Adams, fresh off her Enchanted role), an aspiring American actress trying to “succeed in business without really trying” – by sleeping her way up the entertainment business ladder.

The men in Delysia’s life include Joe (Ciaran Hinds of There Will Be Blood), Michael (Lee Pace of ABC’s Pushing Daisies), Phil (Tom Payne) and Nick (Mark Strong), and it is up to the practical Miss Pettigrew to guide Delysia towards her one true love.

Adapted from the newly rediscovered 1939 novel by Winifred Watson, the screenplay was written by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy, and directed by Bharat Nalluri. The film is set to be released by Focus Features on April 24.

The CW Network Renews Six Shows; Cuts Staffers

By Heather Chin

(previously published on www.thecelebritycafe.com on March 4, 2008)

Renewed CW shows reveal continued dedication to their tried-and-true formula of sex and the supernatural.

As reported by The Washington Post, the CW network announced Monday that they would be renewing six shows for the Fall season. These include raunchy fan-favorites America’s Next Top Model and Gossip Girl, alongside long-running supernatural standbys Smallville (up for its eighth season) and Supernatural (up for its fourth season).

The seeming dedication to familiar programming shows an optimism that is both surprising and understandable. The network is currently averaging only about 2.6 million viewers this season, notes the Post, which is down 20 percent from the same period last year.

Also renewed for next season are the confounding One Tree Hill and Everybody Hates Chris, which is the only comedy on the list of early pickups. Other comedies that have yet to receive word of renewal are Reaper and Aliens in America. Life is Wild has been cancelled.

In the meantime, the CW Network laid off 25-30 employees on Monday as part of a restructuring effort, reports The Hollywood Reporter. This included the removal of its entire comedy department.

Tim Allen Makes His Directorial Debut

By Heather Chin
(previously published on www.thecelebritycafe.com on March 3, 2008)

Tim Allen takes a new turn as a first-time director at the helm of an indie comedy.

After being immortalized as Tim (the Toolman) Taylor, Santa, and Buzz Lightyear, Tim Allen will add another tool on his belt as director of a feature film.

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Allen is set to direct and star in “Crazy on the Outside,” an adult indie comedy about an ex-con who is released from prison and reunited with his sister, whose life he finds even crazier than jail. Actors who are in talks to also star include Ray Liotta, Carrie-Anne Moss, Julie Bowen and Kelsey Grammer.

The 54-year-old actor has previously directed a single episode of “Home Improvement,” where he played the car-loving, accident-prone TV host and father, Tim Taylor. For “Crazy,” he will be joined by producers and crew from his “Santa Clause’ films, and “Just Shoot Me!” alums, Judd Pilot and John Peaslee, who have written the script.

Most recently a star of the semi-surprise hit, “Wild Hogs,” Allen will next be seen in David Mamet’s “Redbelt,” which opens on April 25. He will also reprise his role as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in “Toy Story 3.”

MySpace Plans To Join the Online Music Bandwagon

By Heather Chin
(previously published on www.thecelebritycafe.com on March 3, 2008)

MySpace plans free ad-supported music streams, MP3 downloads and music subscriptions.

According to Reuters, the social networking giant, MySpace, has a plan for music and MP3’s to be shared and sold online through the site. Such offerings would bring the site into direct competition with everything from iTunes to subscription services such as Rhapsody, and, of course, other social networking sites.

This news comes as rival social networking sites, ranging from Facebook to Last.fm and imeem.com, launch their own attempts into the online music business – and increase their audience numbers in the process.

MySpace’s parent company News Corp. hopes to open a music site with the major record labels as partners, says Reuters. In such a deal, the label would get a cut of the advertising revenue generated from the music pages. The goal is for users to create profiles, listen to music, find other users with the same musical tastes, and even buying and downloading songs.

Whether all this competition actually means something or will be significant is unknown. While online music business really might be an alternative to piracy, only 14 percent of Internet users report getting music through social networking sites, said the NPD group, a research group cited by Reuters.

Still, as Martin Stiksel, the co-founder of Last.fm says, “MySpace is always a force to be reckoned with” – despite joining the movement a little late.

Enrique Iglesias Plans to Retire by Age 50

By Heather Chin

(previously published on thecelebritycafe.com on March 1, 2008.)


Iglesias intends to keep going until he makes an ‘It’ album for the ages.

In comments made to The Associated Press, 32-year-old Enrique Iglesias announced his plans to exit the stage by middle-age, assuming that he doesn’t still have the vigor to keep going. “I'm not sure I want to be up on a stage when I'm 64 or 65,” he said. "But that's what I say now. Who knows if I'll have the courage to do it when the day comes."

This would contrast with the career of his father and fellow singer, Julio, who after four decades is still serenading fans with romantic melodies. However, this doesn’t mean the younger Iglesias doesn’t admire such long-term effort. “In my father's case, I think he's going to die onstage and I respect that very much,” he explained. “In my case, in 15 years I'll probably look ridiculous singing 'Bailamos' ('Let's Dance')."

Such a presumption may seems just as ridiculous to fans, but it does leave time for several more albums to be produced. The Madrid-born heartthrob first entered the pop scene in 1995 with a self-titled album and is releasing a greatest hits compilation titled “95/08” this March.

Heartbroken fans can take comfort, though, in the fact that Iglesias considers his musical repertoire a constant work-in-progress. "When I listen to my music I think it can still continue to evolve," he said. "After a couple of months go by, I think I could write a better song."

Then what kind of song and album would he like to end on? As Iglesias put it, "One you listen to 10, 15, 20 years from now and say, 'Oh! I wouldn't change a thing.'"

So until that time comes, the world may still have an Iglesias performing on stage.

BOOK - KILLER OPINIONS

Collecting all those censored cartoons never fit to print

by Heather Chin


“He who dares not offend cannot be honest,” states Thomas Paine at the start of editor David Wallis’ new collection, Killed Cartoons: Casualties from the War on Free Expression. Exhilarating and eye-opening, Killed Cartoons is an invaluable compilation of original “editorial art that had been rejected by newspapers and magazines.” Some of the mind-reeling drawings found homes online or in syndication, while others are just now seeing print for the first time.

With five chapters that address the major themes of sex, death, religion, politics, race and big business as factors in censoring editorial art, Killed Cartoons provides a cross-section of nearly every genre of taboo our society has to offer. Through interviews with Wallis and friends, the cartoonists whose works are featured here provide historical background and context to each piece. These include Pulitzer Prize winners/finalists such as Garry Trudeau, Doug Marlette, Paul Conrad, Herblock and Mike Luckovich, as well as David Kuper, Ted Rall, Mike Keefe, Norman Rockwell, Edward Sorel and Anita Kunz.

For many editors and publishers, rejecting a piece is sometimes necessary in order to muzzle potentially offensive or controversial material; it’s best for a cartoonist if they keep under the radar. However, according to Wallis, who is an outspoken 47-year-old West Village journalist and founder of Featurewell.com, the power of cartoonists and journalists is significant. They inspire discomfort or spark often-overzealous protestations by readers, politicians and governments, who often seek to utilize its influence for their own gain. The violent protests that ensued after the September 2005 publication of 12 cartoons (not included here as they have already been published) featuring a likeness of Mohammad in a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, lends itself to support for both of these arguments. However, in such a climate, where stating an opinion can be deadly for your career—or literally deadly, Wallis believes it is imperative that controversial opinions have a public venue.

Wallis’ first book, Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot To Print, is a similar compilation of slashed journalism. A self-proclaimed advocate for writers, Wallis has an approachable persona and has lectured on media business at Columbia University, NYU and the New School. He’s also contributed to the New Yorker, Wired, the Washington Post and the New York Times Magazine, as well as the London’s Observer and the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot. Through a combination of his own personal and professional experience—and the stories of his colleagues and predecessors—Wallis manages to remind us that we risk stifling our own voices if we, as cartoonist Mike Keefe says, “never cross the line.”


(As published in the Aug. 1st issue of NY Press: http://www.nypress.com/20/31/abouttown/bookreview2.cfm)

Strength of Conviction: Does Understanding HAVE to Versus Creeds?

I remember my high-school years as being, among other things, a time of openness, new explorations and infinite tolerance and curiosity about new things. Everything was open to discussion and questioning; beliefs and creeds were something a bit vague to me. I didn't consider myself racist, sexist, or really any other socially categorical identifying rhetoric, although I was big on questioning the inherent wisdom of experience and authority. I learned about these things through classes and lessons, social relationships and interactions, watching/reading the news, and simply living through the times. These convictions of all-encompassing openness, even to the seemingly most abhorrent of actions, behavior or thought, made me particularly suited to empathize - I truly wanted to understand above all else. My mind was eager to sponge up and contribute to the fascinating, ever-fluctuating world around it.

This perspective continued through my freshman and early sophomore years at college, displayed by my overwhelming and overarching tendency to put my mind in what I sensed to be another person's proverbial shoes. I was often proud of this, defending it to skeptics like my mother as a necessary given to understanding people and getting along with them. In retrospect, I think that even then I knew that much of this urge came from wanting to have friends and make sure they continued to like me. However, although this wasn't quite a bad thing on its own, it also meant that I was putting my own opinions and beliefs aside in favor of trying to grasp those of others. In sophomore year, with the help of interesting social circumstances and lessons, I quickly began reversing this trend.

Today, I am a college graduate, a world traveler (albeit not yet beyond Europe!), a speaker and hearer of tongues (not of language, rather, of confusions), and a young woman full of potential. Cynicism, jadedness, witty banter, reckless actions, foresight, balance, deep disappointments, resistance and hopes have come, gone and changed much about the lens - and eyes - through which I observe. But then, many things have simply become more ingrained or manifested more strongly and noticeably. My convictions have become more pronounced. They have also become more rigid, threatening the openness and willingness to follow-up on all the questions and points-of-view I am inquisitive about. I am still not yet confident in either tendency (open to a fault Vs. convictions with openness on a personal microsocial level). However, I do know that I don't want to "follow the fold", whatever fold that may be, unless I truly believe in it and only a few things fall in that category (i.e. stopping violence against women and children, protecting the envi. and national parks, and certain aspects and degrees of liberty).

And now, the article that sparked the inspiration for this commentary: NYT article on "The Creation Museum", a new natural history museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The museum's concept, as well as the news article, are fasciniating and thought-provoking. Contemplating how and what I feel about the potential validity of this museum endeavor, I began to realize just how closed my mind had become to certain topics and just what I've begun to take as an educational given. I appreciate the opportunity for genuine, quality self-reflection and general analysis/observation. All the good, worthy news pieces spark thought and discussion.

As found on http://jamestravels.com/, below is a press release from the World Food Program announcing that they will be slashing food rations in half for close to 1.5 million people in northern Uganda. This would leave millions of people, most of whom are women and children, starving. Most of the promised financial aid from leading world nations has not come through. Only $6 million per month would be needed to keep the WFP aid running at its current state.

So, call your senators, write your congressman, write an editorial in your local newspaper... do whatever it takes and whatever you can to bring this issue to the attention of our countries' leaders. Whenever humanitarian aid advocates appeal to the wealthy nations of the world, its citizens too often stiffen their backs and wallets in self-righteous indignation, claiming that it's (1) not our business, (2) the way of the world, (3) a divine entity's way of purging society of its poverty-stricken residents, as if they are a plague, or (4) somehow hypocritical to have an outcry now, AFTER the travesty has occurred, instead of BEFORE it happened.
The absurdity of these rationales confounds me, as does the apparent preference for playground antics of pointing the finger instead of taking action when it is needed, WHENEVER it is needed.

So please, take a moment to add another letter to those being written regarding a timetable for our loved ones to come home from war. Aid and compassion are the true medicines of war.

WFP forced to cut food for nearly 1.5 million war displaced in Uganda

KAMPALA – Constrained by a critical lack of funds, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today it would be forced from the beginning of April to cut by half food rations for nearly 1.5 million displaced people and refugees in Uganda.

Though more than 230,000 displaced people returned home in northern Uganda in 2006 with WFP assistance, 1.28 million still remain trapped in squalid camps in the northern districts of Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum and Pader, unable to provide sufficient food for their families.

WFP also gives food to 182,000 refugees in Uganda and they too face reductions in rations. In addition, WFP is providing drought relief assistance to 500,000 people in Karamoja region that is planned to last until June 2007 at a cost of over US$10 million.

Ninety percent of displaced people, mostly women and children, depend on WFP for their survival.

"Until we have sufficient funds to buy food locally, we will be forced from 1 April to reduce by half the amount of maize and beans that we give to each displaced and refugee family in Uganda," said WFP Uganda Country Director Tesema Negash. "If we don't cut them by 50 percent in the next few weeks, the relief operation would grind to a halt in May," he added.

Since 2005, WFP has reduced rations to as low as 40 percent of the minimum daily requirement per person in parts of Amuru and Gulu districts. In March, WFP removed nutritious corn soya blend for children's porridge from the general relief package for families.

If the shortage of funds continues, WFP will also be forced in May to make further cuts in maize and beans rations for 600,000 school children assisted by an emergency food for education programme, as well as some 240,000 people affected by HIV/AIDS.

WFP has so far received only US$37 million of the US$127 million it asked donors and the government to provide for relief and recovery support in 2007 for the 1.2 million displaced, 182,000 refugees and 500,000 hit by drought in Karamoja. In 2007, some 170,000 metric tons of food worth US$90 million is needed to support these programmes.

"Thirty-seven million dollars may seem like a lot of money," Negash said, "but it costs WFP about US$11 million a month to sustain the relief and recovery operation in Uganda."

"Even though the security situation in northern Uganda has improved and the peace process with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is moving ahead, the humanitarian needs of the people remain considerable," he added.

"It is vital that we do not abandon the displaced at this critical stage in the peace process," he said. "Even after they have returned home, we expect them to require humanitarian support until they are able to harvest sufficient amounts of food for their families."

If the security situation remains stable and the government reaches a peace agreement with the LRA, WFP foresees a massive return of people to their homes in Acholiland.

To help displaced people voluntarily returning home, WFP provides a three-month return package to support them until they can plant sufficient food. "We cannot provide that assistance without some buffer stock," Negash said.

Donors to WFP's relief and recovery operation in Uganda in 2007 include: the United States (US$23 million), Britain's Department for International Development (US$13.7 million), Turkey (US$200,000) and Norway (US$83,100).

"You Say Goodbye, and I Say Hello"
The O.C.

I may not have been a fan of The O.C. during its run, but it certainly grew on me - the characters, some of their storylines, and the fanaticism that drove several people I know to watch it almost religiously. It became an indelible part of pop culture in every sense it could, by not only reflecting a certain intellectual teenage angst and need for soapy drama while also eventually shaping the culture that birthed it itself.

I like tonight's ending. Coming full circle was the theme, with the lives and milestones for the characters we've come to know, shake our heads at, hold hands with, and love moving forward in so many wonderful, beautiful, and natural yet still surprising and unexpected ways. Seth and Summer go their separate ways to find themselves, only to return to one another for a magical wedding that everyone felt was coming, but wasn't sure about because this is prime time television and writers and networks almost never give any real closure or make any real sense with a lot of things. Julie Cooper chooses to "marry" and commit to herself by pursuing the college degree she'd never achieved while letting herself and her family love her and each other. The Cohens move back to Berkeley, to the home that has apparently "been theirs" (emotionally speaking) all along, and to a "normal" life and a growing family. And last, but not least, Ryan leaves Newport, goes to college, and makes something of himself (maybe with Taylor, maybe without) - only to grow up and eventually pay it forward when he sees himself in the face of a troubled youth on the sidewalk. The O.C. was a journey built and seen through Ryan's eyes and it is supremely fitting and satisfying for the journey to refocus itself with him and what new, yet familiar paths he will choose to take.

Very rarely does a series ending episode strive to leave viewers with closure, understanding, belief and acceptance. By giving us a sneak peek at a sort of dual epilogue and introduction into our characters' lives, the writers, network, and actors showed us that they truly understand what the entire show is all about - love, laughter, living, and the people who we choose to share it all with. Hats off to that. We've seen their journey; now it's our turn.

The Opening of Doors

It's a new day and yet another turning point in this, my life: I have the options of re-embarking on an academic, artistic and creative quest via short-term night sessions at NYU's SCPS (school of continuing and professional studies). WIth my current steady income and a constant internal gnawing that is characteristic of many full-time employed, post-graduate early twenty-somethings, I can afford to entertain this option and it is definitely a tantalizing one.

Without getting my expectations up prematurely, I can say that I am looking forward to the possibility of regular mental, intellectual and perhaps even social stimulation. I don't want to jump in blindly, but the relative safety, stability and comfort of working from morning to night and then coming home to food, television and family also presents a clear catalyst for stagnation, restlessness and itchy-butt/couch potato symptoms. The goal has always been to prepare for, apply to and begin graduate studies in journalism and/or an additional related field or concentration. Landing a steady job and paycheck was the first step; re-immersing myself in the vigors of generally creative and academic learning will be the next. (After that, the writing flame will hopefully be rekindled and then the GRE tackled head-on.)

At the very least, this thirst of mine has begun to be quenched. I've acknowledged the presence of options and their feasibility for me and my current financial and scheduling circumstances. The opening of this door will lead to the opening of others, and will open my eyes to seeing those that would otherwise have been overlooked.