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Tuskegee University, AL (February 17, 2005) — Tuskegee University student and Opelika, Ala., native Courtney Lockhart has been selected as a third-team member of USA TODAY’s 2005 All-USA College Academic Team.

“This is an outstanding example of the cadre of students at Tuskegee University,” said Tuskegee University President Dr. Benjamin F. Payton. “Her academic work exemplifies the standard of excellence we expect here at Tuskegee.”

USA TODAY’s All-USA College Academic Team program honors 60 undergraduates as representatives of all outstanding students at the nation’s colleges and universities. The 20 members of the first team had their photos published and accomplishments noted in a two-page color spread in USA TODAY in February and will receive a $2,500 cash award. Forty more students were named to the second and third teams. The criteria are designed to honor students who excel not only in scholarship but also in leadership roles on and off campus.  Tuskegee University is the only Historic Black College and University (HBCU) to have a student selected.

“I was nominated for this award by the head of the Biology Department, Dr. Roberta Troy,” said 22 year-old Lockhart.  “I was selected out of 600 students.”

Lockhart, a biology major and graduating senior, has an overall 4.0 GPA. She has been involved with several extracurricular activities on campus, such as the Campus Digest student newspaper, which she served as the editor-n-chief, and the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS) of which she is the current president .

Lockhart plans to attend medical school in the fall and has been accepted into several schools, including Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, UAB School of Medicine and Wake Forest School of Medicine.  She plans to specialize in an area of pediatrics and focus on public health policy and management.

Lockhart also credits Tuskegee University for giving her the start she needed.

“Being at Tuskegee has opened doors for me,” said Lockhart.  “I gained my research experience, I am participating in the 2005 Ethics Bowl on Feb. 24th in San Antonio, Texas.  The team is sponsored by the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care and I have been surrounded by supportive faculty members and classmates.”

“Incoming students and freshmen,” she said, “ should know that it’s important to get involve in campus activities because nothing is going to come easily to you.  You have to make things happen.”

Andy Warhol once said that everyone gets his/her 15 minutes of fame, I recently got a few seconds posted to my account. By now most people are familiar with the MSNBC/Dateline series called To Catch A Predator hosted by Chris Hansen. The show features adults who have contacted what they believe are juveniles under the age of 15 for the purposes of having sex with them. The reality is that these men have been chatting with decoys and those who follow through with their desires will drive to a house where an actress/actor portrays the juvenile and the “predator” is arrested for attempting to have unlawful sex with a minor. After the men meet the decoy, Chris Hansen comes out and starts interviewing them about why they are there. You get the idea.

Back in October 2007, the KY Attorney General’s Office and the Warren County Sheriff’s Office hosted an internet predator sting with MSNBC. The resulting episode of To Catch A Predator (TCAP) aired on December 28th, 2007. I knew the episode would be airing soon, but exactly when. Well, it turns out that I had a fairly significant showing the episode. My responsibility was to search the suspects’ vehicles (after receiving consent to do so) and to inventory all items we took as evidence.

Last week, I received an e-mail from the Director of the KBI (part of the Office of the Attroney General) congratulating me for my appearance on TCAP. At which point I had no idea. So I went to the TCAP website where they had posted 6-8 short videos extracted from the episode. Well, I make a showing in at least 4 of these web videos (I’ve embedded one video below). Who knew? Some of the guys at my church are now kidding me about “Variety Pack.” (You’ll understand when you see it.)

Let me know what you think.

Update.  LUGOFF, S.C. (Sept. 18, 2006) Elizabeth Shoaf, an abducted teenager who had the presence of mind to secretly steal her captor’s cell phone and send a text message for help is reportedly resting at home after being rescued from the dirt dungeon where she was kept for 10 days.

The 14-year-old girl, who was rescued Saturday from the booby-trapped bunker where she had been held since her abduction, allegedly by a suspected sex offender with a penchant for pornography, cut-rate cigarettes and secret lairs is “holding up strong” her parents told CNN in an interview aired this morning

The story before…. Elizabeth Shoaf was no different than most young girls her age. The fourteen-year-old enjoyed school, had a boyfriend, was popular with her classmates and was known to not be a problem at home. Elizabeth lived in the Columbia, South Carolina community of Lugoff with a sister and their mother, Madeline. Elizabeth enjoyed being called by the nickname Lizzie, and was close to her family.

On Wednesday afternoon, September 6th, around 4:30 p.m., Elizabeth and some of her schoolmates disembarked from a school bus after leaving Lugoff-Elgin High School. Several of the boys recognized a friend driving up in a car and decided to hop in for a ride. They asked Elizabeth if she wanted to join them, but she declined. She looked forward to the quarter-mile walk to her home and knew her aunt was waiting to cut her hair. It was the last time anyone had seen or heard from Elizabeth.

When her daughter failed to come home from school, Melinda went out to look for her, and eventually had to call local law enforcement authorities to report her daughter as missing. Melinda was frightened and devastated. Investigators asked Elizabeth’s sister if she thought Elizabeth would ever run away. “Honestly, I don’t,” replied the upset girl. “I know my sister and I would think if she were running away, she’d tell me about it.”

Authorities started an area-wide search for the missing girl using helicopters, ATVs, horses, bloodhounds and volunteers. Investigators questioned anyone who knew Elizabeth and her family. An Amber Alert was not issued because no proof of an abduction was found, but authorities began to believe otherwise. “We made the necessary phone calls this morning and were advised that we did not meet the criteria to issue an Amber Alert,” said Kershaw County Captain David Thomley. “We still have not established that this is an actual abduction. There is the possibility that this is a runaway. We’re still not sure.”

Family members, friends and volunteers circulated flyers and also aided in the search for Elizabeth. A vigil was held and pleas were made for the public’s help. “If she’s out there, she hears me,” said Madeline. “If anybody sees her, please call. Just let us know where she’s at.”

Law enforcement authorities consider Elizabeth Shoaf to be a missing, endangered and possible victim of an abduction. She was last seen wearing a black jacket with an embroidered letter “L” on it, blue jeans and flip flops. Elizabeth also has double ear piercings. Anyone with information on her whereabouts and/or this case is urged to immediately contact the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (803-425-1512).

I can’t believe that I missed this site for so long. VeryFunnyAds.com is a streaming video site just for commercials. I always thought it was a great idea to have a youtube just for commercials. Everyone wins as visitors get to see that commercial everyone is talking about without watching every channel on TV for 24 hour a day trying to catch it naturally and the advertiser get extra free promotion. You also get to see ads not for your region and even your country.

Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) also known as fish odor syndrome or fish malodor syndrome, is a genetic condition that affects the production of the enzyme Flavin (FMO3).

When FMO3 is not working, the body has trouble breaking down Trimethylamine, a product of the decomposition of plant and animal matter.

Trimethylamine is ingested as part of the diet, and is the substance mainly responsible for the odor associated with fouling fish, bacterial vagina infections, and bad breath.

It is also associated with taking large doses of choline (an organic compound grouped within the vitamin B complex) and carnitine (an amino acid used by the body to digest and dispose of fat).

When trimethylamine isn’t broken down properly, it builds up and is excreted through sweat glands and the urinary tract.

People with the condition usually suffer from fishy body odors, and this can be socially debilitating.

While there are currently no known cures for the condition, the following can help to reduce symptoms:

    * Avoiding foods such as eggs, legumes, certain meats, fish, and foods that contain choline, nitrogen, and sulfur.
* Taking low doses of antibiotics to reduce the amount of bacteria in the stomach.
* Using soaps with a moderate pH, between 5.5 and 6.5.

About a month and a half ago my friend from Boston U, Krista Vernoff, called me to ask if it was okay to give T.R. Knight my phone # to discuss putting together a benefit. (Krista has been a die hard supporter of Hot in Hollywood and she knows it almost kills me every year!) T.R. and I sat down at Susina Bakery (on Beverly) to discuss this benefit he wanted to do to support the out of work crews of Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice (due to the strike). Well, I thought I was good pulling together the first HIH in 5 months… TR and his team did it in UNDER 2 MONTHS!!! It’s called Good Medicine and is this Friday, February 29th at Royce Hall at UCLA.
Tickets are $85.00 and can be bought at 213-365-3500 — or at ticketmaster.com

Here’s what T.R. has to say now that the show is only a day away…

MM: So TR, what inspired you to put together this benefit?
TR: This has definitely been a joint effort on behalf of Tony Phelan and Krista Vernoff (who are writers on GREY’S), Marti Noxon (a writer from PRIVATE PRACTICE), Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes (producer and creator, respectively) and myself. It all started as an idea for Shonda’s birthday that morphed, once the strike was underway, into a benefit to help our family. The crew works the hardest, the longest hours and they have been hit hard by this strike.

MM: Where is the money going?
TR: All the money raised goes into the Solidarity Fund set up by the WGA. Any crew members in need can access this fund. My hope is we will raise so much money that it will benefit even more than just our two crews!

MM: Have you ever sung on stage before?
TR: 14 years ago in a college production of CAMELOT. I was Squire Dap. I had to sing in the jousting number. I didn’t want to though, ’cause I was Lancelot’s squire, why would I be wishing for his demise? When I questioned the director, I was told to sing it “sarcastically.” I still don’t understand that.

MM: Make sure you don’t put yourself after Audra MacDonald or HIH alum Sara Ramirez.
TR: I am following Sara. Someone had to, and no one would, so I threw myself under the bus. If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m not that bright.

MM: Who is MORE nervous than you about performing?
TR: If it is possible for someone to be more nervous than I am, show me. I keep saying to myself, “Self… this ain’t about you, it’s for the crew.” My mantra. It helps. Sometimes.

MM: Your doing a great thing with your time off. Congrats! How soon do you go back to work?
TR: I put on the scrubs again March 16th to film 5 episodes to complete our fourth season.

MM: Who or what do you think is Hot in Hollywood?
TR: My boyfriend.

MM: And the most important question… m&ms: plain or peanut?
TR: Peanut, please (I like the red ones best).

March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD).  Celebrated around the world, IWD is a time to reflect on the advances toward equity made by women everywhere and to look ahead to the challenges that remain.

IDRC is a proud contributor to development projects that focus on overcoming gender inequality and the particular conditions that keep women in poverty.

Remember Jessica Rabbit’s immortal catchphrase, I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way? Those eight words are the antithesis of what makes Willa Ford unique in the pop music universe. Because not only does the 22-year old Floridian refuse to pretend she’s a goody two-shoes but, more importantly, she’s no cartoon character. Willa Ford is a deceptively complex individual, firmly at the helm of her own career.

On her sophomore, yet-to-be-titled Lava full-length album, the singer reveals facets of her talent only hinted at on her 2001 debut Willa Was Here (featuring her smash hit “I Wanna Be Bad”). From the blazing lead single, the dancehall romp “A Toast To Men,” and the sensual electronic throb of “Sexysexobsessive,” to the Smashing Pumpkins-esque orchestral grandeur of “I See You” and the poetic “Pieces,” Willa breaks plenty of new ground.

“I mix a lot more electronics and rock with my urban influences on this record,” she reveals. Skeptics may cock an eyebrow when Willa cites nonconformist icons like Björk and Radiohead among her favorite artists, but the more sophisticated grooves of her new effort substantiates those words of praise. “The arrangements on this new record are not normal,” she admits. “There are lots of very strange harmonies, things that are tricky for a normal person to pick out.” Instead of hiring outside singers, Willa arranged and sang the backing vocals herself. “I do all the orchestrations myself, too. That way, nobody can take my sound… unless I arrange for them.”

When Willa Ford talks about “her” sound, she means it literally. While other artists are content to rely on hired guns, Willa took charge of the making of the new album, limiting herself to just two key collaborators – Toby Gad (Sita, Jaci Velasquez) and Willa Was Here vet Eve Nelson – and working in small studios, maintaining an emphasis on refining her unique sonic identity. “Did I ask for producers who get $75,000 to produce a song? No. They get that money because they’ve created a sound, and it’s their sound. I don’t want their sound. Their sound is not going to help me grow as a person.”

Willa began writing these songs while touring in support of Willa Was Here, working in a small mobile studio in the back of the bus. She took inspiration from a variety of sources; the salacious first single, “A Toast To Men” – featuring the rapid-fire patter of special guest May – borrows its infectious hook from a classic sorority chant. “It’s an old toast in sororities,” she explains. “Almost all sorority girls, from some day and age know it.” It dawned on Willa that its four simple, spirited lines represented an enduring artifact of female empowerment that hadn’t been grossly overexposed or grown dated. “It was something that was still real and contemporary, but women who were 40-years old could remember it, too.”

On a different note, Willa also offers up “Who I Am,” written from the point of view of somebody gay. “The song is basically saying, ‘I’m sorry if I disappoint you, but this is who I am.’ I’m not gay, but I have many friends that are, and I related to their experience in another sense, of being an outcast. Because somewhere in the course of my career, I got stuck in this little container, and became somebody that nobody truly understood.”

Ah, yes. The reality of Willa Ford versus the myth. Contrary to rumor, Willa was no overnight sensation. Raised in a musical family, she began singing publicly in third grade, and by the age of 11 had gone professional. Nor is she the temperamental sexpot some misguided souls have made her out to be. Willa is simply a young woman who is not afraid of her sexuality (”I’m a healthy, 22-year-old female. I’m not abstinent. Sue me”) or speaking her mind.

“It’s funny. When people meet me, they often say, ‘You’re not what I expected.’ What did they expect? Some diva bitch that stomps in and starts breaking things?” Wrong. That’s not Willa. When it’s time to work, she works hard. And, because of her youth and good looks, she works harder than most to gain the respect of her industry peers. “There are so many singers in my genre that are saying, ‘I’m writing my material,’ and they’re contributing two lines. When I go in to write and record with other professionals, it’s exciting to watch people change their mind about me.”

A lot more people can expect to change their mind about Willa after they hear this album. Because this is the work of a seasoned performer coming into her own as a writer, as an artist. “There are a lot of people out there who love to just take direction from somebody else,” she concludes. For Willa Ford, that would never suffice. “It took me a long time to create my sound, but this record was about proving that, musically, I stand alone.” Well then, that calls for another toast: To a job well done.

Meet Nikki McKibbin, a former American Idol contestant recently appearing on Bravo’s “Battle of the Network Reality Stars” and E!’s “Kill Reality”.

Nikki McKibbin Is In Battle of Reality Stars

Nikki McKibbin

Nikki McKibbin hasn’t been seen since American Idol Season 1, but she’s recently been back on the reality TV circuit, appearing on shows on both Bravo and E!.
Nikki McKibbin Biography

As a biography, Nikki McKibbin was born Katherine Nicole McKibbin on September 28, 1978 in Grand Prairie, Texas, so her age is 29. Her measurements are 5′2″. After high school in Texas, where she was a cheerleader, Nikki attended and graduated from cosmetology school. She also founded the karaoke business Angelfire Productions, which she sold in 2005 to pursue her music career.

Nikki has a son, Tristen, age 10, who she supported at one point by stripping.

In 2002, Nikki joined the debut season of American Idol, where she ended up placing third, under Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson. Some questioned whether Nikki’s length of stay was helped by internet auto-dialers, though AI producers said that wasn’t the case.

After the loss, she was offered contracts with 19 Management and RCA Records, but she got out of them because she would have had to record a country album. Nikki was able to garner $125,000 from the deal, even without recording anything. Still, Nikki continued pursuing her music career, releasing the single “The Lie” in 2006, and teaching voice lessons to children on the side. Her debut album with band Rivethead was released on May 22, 2007.

McKibbin also took part in a reality stars’ Christmas album called “Christmas in the Fishbowl” in 2004. In 2006, Nikki appeared on Fear Factor - Reality Stars.

Nikki says her favorite song is “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers. Her first concert was Stevie Nicks.

An identical triplets were born to Allison Penn who currently employed as an education specialist at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island, USA — an event so rare it might happen 1 in 200 million births according to an obstetrician estimate.

Tom and Allison Penn wanted a baby more than anything. Now they have three, all alike. The triplets, Logan, Eli and Collin Penn, born last Wednesday.

Miracle Babies

The babies, developed from a single egg and placenta, were given only a 30% chance of all three surviving by the first obstetrician consulted by the Patchogue, N.Y., couple, said Tom Penn, who called them “miracle babies.”

The triplets, carried to 35 weeks and weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces (Logan); 4 pounds (Eli); and 4 pounds, 11 ounces (Collin) at birth, went home Sunday.

MANHASSET, N.Y. — Tom and Allison Penn wanted a baby more than anything. Now they have three, all alike.

The triplets, Logan, Eli and Collin Penn, born last Wednesday in North Shore University Hospital, faced a battery of TV cameras without a whimper Tuesday at a news conference at the hospital.

They are identical triplets, the first known to be born on Long Island in almost 15 years. Estimates on the odds of identical triplets being born range from one in every 60,000 births to one in 200 million births, said Dr. Victor Klein, who delivered the three boys.

The babies, developed from a single egg and placenta, were given only a 30% chance of all three surviving by the first obstetrician consulted by the Patchogue, N.Y., couple, said Tom Penn, who called them “miracle babies.”

Klein, who specializes in high-risk deliveries, gave them more confidence. This was his 161st delivery of triplets in 20 years, he said, but none of the previous sets were indisputably identical.

The couple, who had been trying for four years to have a baby, opted for an in-vitro procedure but hoped to avoid multiple births. There was no stopping the embryo from splitting once and then splitting again, however, and now they’re happy with their multiple sons, said Penn, 46, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where his wife, Allison, 31, also works as an environmental educator.

When told they would have triplets, the couple experienced “complete shock. We thought, ‘That’s not possible,’ ” Allison Penn said. “Then Tom started laughing and I started crying. . . . I was terrified.”

But she looked at ease Tuesday with a baby on each arm while her husband held the third.

Allison’s mother, Marianne McGuire, 64, of Manchester, N.J., is staying with them to help take care of the babies.

The triplets, carried to 35 weeks and weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces (Logan); 4 pounds (Eli); and 4 pounds, 11 ounces (Collin) at birth, went home Sunday.