A baby girl was born with two faces in Saini Sunpura, India.  This rare condition known as craniofacial duplication is when a person has one head and two complete faces.  Baby Lali appears to be doing well; she drinks milk from both of her mouths and can open and close all four of her eyes at the same time!  Baby Lali is being treated as a reincarnation of the Hindu goddess of Valor named Durga who had three eyes and many arms.  The family has no intensions of getting any surgical procedures done to correct the child’s face.   

Photo courtesy mmwm, used under a creative commons license.

People all over the country have come together today to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 40th anniversary of his death.  King was gunned down by James Earl Ray with a high powered rifle on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee while on a visit to help organize a strike for sanitation workers.

The Lorraine Motel which is now the National Civil Rights Museum will take you on an amazing journey that literally walks you through the reality of the of the struggle! From the buses to the lunch counters, the letters from Burmingham to Black Sunday, and from the march from Selma to the march on Washington!

Now, we have gone from Martin Luther King having a dream, to living out his dream.  There will be several activities going on in Memphis this weekend that include panel discussions and lectures on Dr. King’s legacy. Congressman Lewis of Georgia gave a speech here in Washington D.C. at the National Cathedral last Sunday in honor of the anniversary of Dr. King’s last speech.

Though we aren't a perfect nation, we have come a long way. I'm thankful for those who have gone before me and sacraficed their lives so that I may enjoy the very freedom that I have today. Dr. King's dream was truly a blueprint for our future.

Today, Yahoo Movies posted a series of lists in which one predicts the top ten movies of 2008. Also highlighted were the films that are most historically inaccurate, the top ten mismatched couples in film, the ten most popular stars of 2007, the most watched trailers, and the biggest money makers of 2007. See if your favorite makes the cut!

The ongoing scare continues as the story unravels about a Las Vegas endoscopy center that has recently been exposed for using unsafe procedures.  Since March 2004 until mid January of this year, this surgical clinic and five neighboring facilities have treated nearly 40,000 people and have used unsafe practices such as reuse of syringes and medicine vials, and improper cleaning of machines.  This has started an investigation by state health officials that will include at least 13 other facilities in the Las Vegas area. In the largest patient notification in history, these 40,000 plus people will need to get tested for Hepatitis C, B, and HIV.  Oh….let me say that one more time….Hepatitis C, B, and HIV!!! Hepatitis C is a blood borne disease that causes inflammation of the liver and can lead to liver failure and possibly death.  The liver is a vital organ in our body that is responsible for some pretty major functions like synthesizing, storing secreting, transforming, and breaking down many different substances in our bodies.  The liver stores glycogen (sugar), vitamins, and minerals, it is responsible for the clearance of waste products, drugs, and toxins.  Six patients have already been diagnosed with acute cases of Hepatitis C which is the major concern of health officials at this point.  Five nurses have surrendered their licenses and the clinic’s majority owner Dipak Desai has refused to give a comment on behalf of his staff.  Apparently these people were absent on the days their schools lectured on communicable diseases!! This is so irresponsible and now at least six people are positively in danger of losing their lives because someone decided to be cheap and careless.  It’s hard for me not to want to inflict the eye for an eye rule here.  There is a big difference when you are ignorant of something and just don’t know any better, but when you have complete knowledge of something and you still choose to do something other than the right thing, then that tells me that you don’t have a conscience and you need to be held accountable.  Forty thousand people?  That’s a town, a large college campus, that’s more than Madison Square Garden could hold at one time!!!

A video made last year by white South African Students at the University of the Free State sparked a stone throwing riot on campus yesterday that resulted in the arrest of five people and police releasing a stun grenade into the crowd.  I know you are asking, what the hell was on this video?  This short film depicted a mock imitation ceremony into a residence hall on campus.  Black workers dressed up as students were conned into eating food that had been urinated on.  The purpose of this video other than to display cruel and blatant disrespect and racism is a myth to me.  What I find to be the scariest part is these are young people…. Is this South Africa’s next generation of leaders?  I would like to think that people who seek higher education would gain the knowledge that the world is so much bigger than just white and black….Racism is still entrenched cross culturally and evidently it is sill being handed down from one generation to the next.  I’m saddened by this truth that the world isn’t ever-changing on this reality of racism.     

Although the hype has died down about the bird flu, it is still running rampant in Asia, Europe, and Africa. This deadly disease has a mortality rate of 70 percent, killing 228 of the 362 people that were infected in the last year.  The most lethal form of the bird flu H5N1 is said to be mutating at such an astronomical rate that it is impossible to prevent the spread of the virus from human to human once they come in contact with an infected animal.  The bird flu has spun seven subcultures of the virus and each are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics and vaccines.  According to the Center for Disease Control, the handful of people reported as having the disease contracted it from a family member or from people who shared the same living space. 

If the bird flu reaches the Western hemisphere some business mogul will invent a way to put a patent on clean air and we will be all be paying our “clean air” bill  just like our Comcast bill!! Only we wouldn’t chance getting a final notice before they disconnect! Avian flu has the potential to be among the most deadly of diseases because is mutates so quickly and its air born! Mainstream media has moved onto other topics while the bird flu is still very much an issue.  The number of civilian contractors (i.e.: former police officers, civil engineers, latent print examiners) who have died in Iraq is almost parallel to the number of people who have contracted the avian flu and died, so this is worth paying attention to.

According to an article in Inside Science News Service, scientists have been testing the components of our most beloved fairytales in efforts to make them a reality.  Fairytales are inspired by the imagination, so tell me who wouldn’t want to ride on a magic carpet if they had the chance?  The first theory was tested around the story of Repunzel.  This is a princess with extremely long blond hair and a beautiful voice who lures a prince that is walking through the forest.  The far fetched component of this story is how Repunzel let’s down her hair for her prince to climb up and into the castle, or is it far fetched?  According to scientists, a single human hair can hold up to 3.5 ounces, and the average head contains 140,000 strands of hair.  So in theory a full head of hair can support the weight of an averagely built man!  So ladies next time you are looking to secure a man…. don’t be afraid to let your hair down!!! The Science of Fairy Tales

Soldiers fighting in the war in Iraq are finding innovative ways to spend their free time. YouTube has been posting a series of mock videos that have been starred in, filmed, and produced all by soldiers.  It’s odd to see the men and women that are defending our freedom, who carry guns around, and who are well trained and prepared to take a life if necessary, behaving like this! Then, I sit and think about the mental burden that weighs in on the soldiers. If I were in this situation, I would have to find ways to lighten my load and keep my sanity as well. They aren’t any different from you or I, they are just trying to cope!  Those who are able to enjoy the full freedoms that these soldiers are providing for us don’t even need a legitimate reason to behave like this!  So soldiers, do what you have to do…what ever gets you through and back home again!

 In yesterday’s observance of Dr. King's life commitment to social equality, racial justice, peace, and a general acceptance of one another as human beings regardless of our differences, white supremacist protested what would have otherwise been a peaceful memorial in Jena.  White supremacists protested the memorial in efforts to abolish MLK day as a national holiday.  This did all but bring an already racially divided city together!  The presence of this group sparked a small riot that resulted in the arrest of at least one person.  This is a prime example of just how prevalent racism is in our American communities.  Although I do wonder, what exactly was their motivation? Is it fear...or hate?  Fear is motivated by ignorance, and ignorance is motivated by miseducation.  Hate is just simply learned.  It is embedded and then past down from generation to generation most of the time without a clear understanding of why!  My only advice for those who decide to close themselves off to the reality of America being a melting pot filled with colorful ingredients that compliment each other.  It takes twice the energy to hate than to love.  We are steadily focusing on the issues that make us different when we are failing to realize we are more or less the same.  We all breathe the same air; we all bleed the same blood.  Besides...don't they have anything better to do?