Reporting on What is going on in the World. I'm a Crohn's Advocate and currently a Volunteer for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation Of America San Diego and Desert Area Chapter.
This year, I will be walking in the Take Steps for Crohn's & Colitis Walk. Take Steps is CCFA's national evening walk and celebration and the nation's largest event dedicated to finding cures for digestive diseases. It is a casual 2-3 mile stroll to raise money for crucial research, bringing us closer to a future free from Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Over 1.4 million American adults and children are affected by these digestive diseases. While many suffer in silence, Take Steps brings together this community in a fun and energetic atmosphere, encouraging them to make noise and be heard.
Your donation will help support local patient programs, as well as important research projects. This cause is very important to me and I appreciate your help as we fight for a cure! In addition to donating, you can join me at the event. There will be food, music and kid's activities. The more money we raise, the closer we will be to making life more manageable for patients who live with these diseases every day.
Please join me or donate to my efforts to support CCFA in finding a cure
“I am a survivor of Crohn’s disease. I will share my story with others and fight for a cure so NO ONE has to go through this NASTY disease alone.”
We Take Steps for people like Debbie!
Debbie was attending college when her “stomach problems” started. She was enthusiastic about earning her degree and participating in all of the social activities and clubs her schedule would allow. As her symptoms persisted, she blamed them on the stress and excitement of working and transferring to a new school. It was when her symptoms began prohibiting her from her social activities that she loved so much; she knew there was a serious problem.
Unfortunately, her failing health became so serious that Debbie was forced to move back home and take a break from school. After two years of being in discomfort, visiting different doctors and taking countless antibiotics, she finally received her bittersweet diagnosis: she had Crohn’s disease. Debbie was overwhelmed with emotion – she was finally able to put a name to the disease that had hindered her life in so many ways, but she also knew this meant she would have to face a lifelong battle with the chronic disease. She now knows that all of her fatigue, weight loss and abdominal cramps can be attributed to Crohn’s – but she refuses to let that stop her. She is on a mission to find a cure.
Debbie invites YOU to join her at the Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis Walk in Temecula on October 9, 2011. Register today!!
As I reflect on September 11th I was a young 19 year old who had just graduated from High School trying to find my way in life the night before I was listening to music and asking God what is it that you would have for me to do in this life. I remember waking up to my mother screaming "There is something going on in New York with the Twin Towers" as I awoke to that scream I turned on the TV to Good Morning America and they were reporting that the Twin Towers have been stuck as I was gazing at the TV I couldn't believe what was taking place. I turned to the next channel and I was staring at a picture of the twin towers falling as I was watching it play over and over on the tv I was shock, upset, scared, questionable as to why this was happening in a America. As the reporting continued they also stated the the Pentagon had been stuck, then another plane had went down in a field in Pennsylvania my mind couldn't wrap around what was going on all I keep thinking was is this the end of the world and if so I was ready to go, but it wasn't when I heard that are then President, President Bush had grounded everything I felt for a minute that it wasn't the end of the world just a distraction to tear us down but America got stronger through our Faith and understanding of one another. Now 10 years later we are Stronger, Better, Wiser in our Faith in God and each other the million we've lost on September 11th are not lost or even forgotten BUT they are remembered for there heroinism.There is a song that come to mind when I think about September 11th by a Gospel singer by the name of Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir and I dedicated this 2 ALL the September 11th Survivors.
Hezekiah Walker and the Love Fellowship Choir- We Made It
Early today President Obama address the Congress on creating Jobs in America. Here is the Speech.
Obama Address Congress
Obama Live September 8 2011 pushes Congress to act now on economy - politics - White House WASHINGTON — Calling it an "urgent time for our country," President Barack Obama asked Congress on Thursday night to "stop the political circus" and approve a nearly half-trillion-dollar plan to help the economy by cutting payroll taxes, raising taxes on the wealthy and rewarding companies that hire new workers.
"We continue to face an economic crisis that has left millions of our neighbors jobless and a political crisis that has made things worse," Obama said in an address to a joint session of Congress.
To answer that crisis, Obama was proposing what he called the American Jobs Act, which he said would cut payroll taxes in half for working Americans and most small businesses; boost spending on public works, like roads, by $105 billion; and make permanent a temporary cut in the individual tax rate, which was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent for this year only. 1. Other political news of note 1. First Read: The CBO and short-term fixes The Congressional Budget Office released a report in January that looks at some of the short-term policies the president might ask Congress to enact in his speech Thursday night. 2. Analysis: Perry takes the heat but keeps on smiling 3. Perry's Merck link in spotlight following vaccine order 4. Payroll tax cut likely hub of Obama's jobs plan 5. Congressional debt reduction panel kicks off
Obama calculated that the "typical working family" would get a $1,500 tax cut and that small companies with 50 employees would save $80,000, which he said would "provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled."
Obama didn't say how much the plan would cost, but advisers told NBC News it would run about $450 billion. Obama said he hopes to pay for it by closing corporate tax "loopholes" and by raising taxes on wealthier Americans.
"We need a tax code where everyone gets a fair shake and everybody pays their fair share," he said. "And I believe the vast majority of wealthy Americans and CEOs are willing to do just that if it helps the economy grow and gets our fiscal house in order."
Earlier this summer, Republicans forced a partial government shutdown over their refusal to raise any taxes at all, but Obama told them they should "pass this jobs plan right away," because "the millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don't care about politics. They have real-life concerns.
Aides told NBC News that a key point of Obama's address was that the measure simply wraps in a variety of deficit-reduction and jobs proposals that have drawn support in the past from both parties.
Obama made the same argument, telling lawmakers there was "nothing controversial about this piece of legislation."
"Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans," he said.
Obama challenges Congress Obama promised to release a detailed plan Monday.
In its latest budgetary outlook, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the federal deficits fiscal year 2011, which ends Sept. 30, at $1.28 trillion, down about $10 billion from last year. A bipartisan congressional debt committee met for a first time Thursday , assigned with finding $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions.
Today millions of Fans ALL over the world are celebrating what would have been Michael Joesph Jackson 53rd Birthday as a long time support of Michael Jackson and his music I still can't believe he is NOT here, when I hear a song or see a video of MJ it brings back so many memories as a child waiting for every video to come out so I could get up and learn how to do the dance moves to his video's. Even though he it's here in the Flesh I am thankful for his Legacy in his children, Prince Michael Jackson, Paris Jackson, and Prince Michael Jackson II. Words can't even begin to express how much I LOVE and respected MJ from his dance moves to his voice and MAN that Smile that just melts any woman's heart. As we are celebrating the King of Pop today I am reminded by some of my Favorite Video's and Favorite concert footage of MJ. HAPPIE BIRTHDAY MISSING U.
Prince, Prais, Blanket-Remember there Dad
Michael Jackson-Hollywood Tonight
Michael Jackson-Man in the Mirror(Live in Bucharest'92)
Wow! I can't believe it's been 10 years since Aaliyah has passed away to me Aaliyah is just 1 of my many favorite singer's every time I saw her videos I would try and learn how to do the choreograph because I LOVE 2 DANCE.I remember getting a call from one of my best friends and she told me Aaliyah has just passed away and I was so shook and in disbelief until I turned on the TV 2 watch the news and it was true, after seeing the News I was still N shook but 10 years later I have never forgotten Aaliyah or her music LOVE U Aaliyah A.K.A BABY GIRL. Her is HERstory Singer, actress. Born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, on January 16, 1979, in Brooklyn, New York. Raised in Detroit, Michigan, the young singer competed unsuccessfully on the television program Star Search at age 11. Later that same year, she performed with R&B legend Gladys Knight, the former wife of her uncle and manager, Barry Hankerson, at a five-night stand in Las Vegas.
In 1994, at the age of 15, Aaliyah catapulted onto the R&B charts herself with her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number. Produced by the successful singer R. Kelly, the album quickly sold a million copies and eventually earned platinum status based largely on the success of two hit singles, "Back and Forth" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)." Later that year, tabloid reports surfaced claiming that the sultry teen singer had married the 27-year-old Kelly, but Aaliyah denied the union and the marriage was reportedly annulled.
While a student in the dance program at Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts (she graduated in 1997), Aaliyah released her sophomore album, One in a Million (1996). Helmed by the well-known pop producer Timbaland and featuring rap performer Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, One in a Million portrayed the 17-year-old singer as a sultry hip-hop chanteuse with a self-confidence well beyond her years. The album garnered favorable reviews and sold two million copies.
Aaliyah gained even more recognition in 1997 when she recorded "Journey to the Past," the Academy Award-nominated theme song to the animated feature Anastasia. She also performed the song for the Oscar telecast in 1998. Her next soundtrack effort, "Are You That Somebody?" for 1998's Dr. Dolittle, starring Eddie Murphy, went to No. 1 on the R&B charts, was a pop crossover hit, and earned Aaliyah her first Grammy Award nomination.
In 2000, Aaliyah made her acting debut in the surprise action hit Romeo Must Die, starring opposite martial arts star Jet Li in a Romeo and Juliet-inspired story set in modern-day Los Angeles. She was also an executive producer of the movie's soundtrack and performed the hit single "Try Again," which netted her a second Grammy nomination as well as two MTV Music Video Awards for Best Female Video and Best Video From a Film.
Her third album, Aaliyah, was released in July 2001 and reached No. 2 on the Billboard album chart. Also in 2001, she played the title role in Queen of the Damned, based on the bestselling novel by Anne Rice and set for release in 2002. She scored a major casting coup when she signed to appear in two upcoming sequels to the blockbuster sci-fi thriller The Matrix, starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne.
Tragically, Aaliyah was killed on August 25, 2001, when a small Cessna passenger plane carrying the singer and her video crew crashed and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Abaco Island in the Bahamas, where they had just completed work on a video. The plane was headed for Miami, Florida. Aaliyah and seven other people, including the pilot, were believed to have died instantly, while a ninth passenger died later at a Bahamian hospital. Aaliyah was 22 years old at the time of her death. She is survived by her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, and an older brother, Rashaad. Her are some of my Favorite videos of Aaliyah
Today is Jennifer Lopez 42nd Birthday as Millions of J-LO fans all over the world celebrate the mother of Twins it's unbelievable 2 me that she is 42 years old and DOESN'T LOOK like it. Some may know that Jennifer Lopez is just 1 of my BIGGEST Inspiration I love her because like me she is true 2 herself and no 1 else. I have been following her career ever since she was a Fly Girl on the 90's TV Show "In Living Color" and when my eyes saw her I was hooked I knew she was going 2 be where she is today. So today I celebrate her because she is so Phenomenal when I grow up I want 2 be just like Jennifer Lopez. Here is HERstory Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York, and raised on Blackrock Avenue in the New York City borough's Castle Hill neighborhood. She is the daughter of Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe (née Rodríguez), a kindergarten teacher, and David Lopez, a computer specialist, both born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Lopez was raised Roman Catholic. She has two siblings, Lynda and Leslie. Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at the all-girls Preston High School in the Bronx. She financed singing and dancing lessons for herself from the age of 19. After attending Baruch College for one semester, Lopez divided her time between working as a notary public in a legal office, dance classes, and dance performances in Manhattan night clubs. She had a small part in the 1987 film My Little Girl at the age of sixteen. After months of auditioning for dance roles, Lopez was selected as a dancer for various rap music videos, a 1990 episode of Yo! MTV Raps and as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block and their performance of their song "Games" for the American Music Awards in 1991. She gained her first regular high-profile job as a "Fly Girl" dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color from 1991-1993. Soon after, Lopez became a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and made an appearance in her 1993 video "That's the Way Love Goes".
Acting career
Lopez's first television job as an actress was on the Fox series South Central. She also made guest appearances in Second Chances and Hotel Malibu. She then appeared in the made-for-television film Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. Lopez's first serious screen role was in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama My Family, playing the character of Young Maria in the 1920s. After starring alongside Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in My Family, Lopez starred in the action film Money Train opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. In 1996, she reportedly beat out Ashley Judd and Lauren Holly for the supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams. She then starred opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's well-received noir thriller Blood and Wine.
Lopez's first big break came in 1997, when she was chosen to play the title role in Selena, a biopic of the Tejano pop singer Selena. Despite having previously worked with Nava on Mi Familia, Lopez was subjected to an intense auditioning process before landing the role. She earned widespread praise for her performance, including a Golden Globe Award nomination for "Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy". Later that year, Lopez appeared in two major films. She starred in the horror film Anaconda alongside Ice Cube and Jon Voight, playing the role of Terri Flores, a director who is shooting a documentary while traveling through the Amazon River. Despite being a modest box office hit, the film was critically panned. Lopez then starred as the leading actress in the neo-noir film U Turn, which is based on the book Stray Dogs, starring alongside Sean Penn and Billy Bob Thornton.
In 1998, she had one of her most acclaimed roles, starring opposite George Clooney in Out of Sight, Steven Soderbergh's adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel. Cast as a deputy federal marshal who falls for a charming criminal, Lopez won rave reviews for her tough performance and in the process she became the first Latina actress to earn over $1 million for a role.That same year, she provided the voice for Azteca on the computer-animated film Antz. Lopez then starred opposite Vincent D'Onofrio, in the psychological thriller film The Cell. She portrayed Catherine Deane, a child psychologist who uses virtual reality to enter into the minds of her patients to coax them out of their comas. The film was released in August 2000 and became a box office success opening at number one. The following year, Lopez took a break from acting in films, in order to work on her music career.
In 2001, Lopez starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner. The film debuted at number one, making her the first actress and singer in history to have a film and an album, J.Lo, at number one in the same week.[58] Her next roles were in the supernatural romance Angel Eyes (2001), and in the psychological revenge thriller Enough (2002). Both failed to find an audience, and were met with a negative response from critics. She appeared alongside Ralph Fiennes in the romantic comedy film Maid in Manhattan (2002). Her character, Marisa Ventura, is a struggling single mother who lives in the Bronx and makes her living cleaning rooms in a super-luxurious Manhattan hotel, and gets mistaken for a socialite by a princely politician. Maid in Manhattan was a box office hit, opening at number one. The New York Times compared the film's storyline to her 2002 song, "Jenny from the Block", commenting, "In her new single, Jenny From the Block, Jennifer Lopez declares that despite her enormous wealth and global fame, she has not lost touch with her roots."
Some of her other critically acclaimed films include An Unfinished Life and Shall We Dance?. Two independent films produced by Lopez were well-received at film festivals: El Cantante at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Bordertown at the Brussels film festival. Her modestly successful film career includes Monster-in-Law (2005). Gigli, however, would become a notorious box office bomb.
In 2006, Jennifer was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Diane Warren.
In August 2007, Lopez collaborated on the feature film, El Cantante, with her husband – singer-actor Marc Anthony. Ms. Lopez, who's also a producer of the film, "does enough acting for the two of them in her role as Puchi, Héctor’s wife" while creating a very interesting and edgy performance. The film is in English, with creative use of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics. In 2010, she appeared in the romantic comedy The Back-up Plan.
Lopez is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and the highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood history, though she's never had a film grossing over $100 million in the USA. She was on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the top ten actress salaries in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Lopez received $15 million for her role in Monster-in-Law. Her top-grossing film domestically is Maid in Manhattan which grossed $94,011,225, and her most successful international film, Shall We Dance?, grossed $112,238,000, at the international box office. Domestically, Shall We Dance? grossed $57,890,460 and a total of $170,128,460 worldwide.In 2007, Lopez made the Forbes magazine's list of "The 20 Richest Women In Entertainment," ranking ninth. Her wealth was estimated to be $110 million in 2007.
On January 27, 2010, it was announced that Lopez would guest-star on an episode of How I Met Your Mother as Anita Appleby, a no-nonsense author of self-help books that teach women how to mold men into "relationship machines" through the power of denial. After Robin informs Anita of Barney's womanizing ways, Anita sets out to "break" him.
Entrepreneurship Lopez launched a clothing line in 2003. Named JLO by Jennifer Lopez, the line included different types of clothing for young women, including jeans, T-shirts, coats, belts, purses, and lingerie, a jewelry line, and an accessory line that includes hats, gloves, and scarves. Lopez participated in the Louis Vuitton Winter 2003 campaign. In 2005, she launched a new clothing line called Sweetface. In late 2007, Lopez retired JLO by Jennifer Lopez and launched a new juniors' line called JustSweet. Her fashion lines have featured at many New York Fashion Week events.
Lopez's frequent use of animal fur in her clothing lines and personal wardrobe has brought the scorn of people concerned with animal rights. At the Los Angeles premiere of Monster-in-Law, more than 100 protesters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) held a demonstration to highlight their concerns.
On April 12, 2002, Lopez opened a Cuban restaurant in the South Lake district of Pasadena, California named Madre's.
Lopez ventured in the perfume industry with her debut "Glow by J.Lo". In October 2003, Lopez introduced a perfume called "Still", having revisited "Glow" the previous year by creating a limited edition spin-off, "Miami Glow by J.Lo", in homage to her adopted hometown of Miami, Florida. Lopez also marketed a "Glow" line of body lotions and bronzing products. For the Christmas season of 2005, she launched another fragrance, "Live by Jennifer Lopez". For 2006 Valentine's Day, "Miami Glow" was replaced by yet another "Glow" spin-off, "Love at First Glow by J.Lo". Her following fragrance, "Live Luxe", was released in August 2006, with "Glow After Dark" following in January 2007. The next fragrances by Jennifer Lopez were "Deseo", "Deseo Forever" for Asian market and first fragrance for men called "Deseo for men". In February 2009 Lopez released "Sunkissed Glow". The last perfume is "My Glow", available from October 2009. Lopez is a spokesperson for Lux shampoo in Japan, appearing in the product's television commercials.
Lopez owns the film and television production company Nuyorican Productions. It was co-founded with her manager Benny Medina, who was supposed to receive half the producing revenue from the company. Lopez split with Medina shortly after the company was founded, but they later restored their business relationship.[79]
Lopez has been recognized by People en Español magazine as both the cover subject for the "50 Most Beautiful" issue in 2006 and the "100 Most Influential Hispanics" issue in February 2007.
On April 10, 2007, Lopez made an appearance as a mentor on American Idol. Lopez also became the executive producer of the eight-episode reality show, DanceLife, which ran on MTV and began on January 15, 2007. Lopez helped select the show's participants and made cameo appearances. She then served as executive producer of a mini-series broadcast on Univisión. Named after her CD Como Ama Una Mujer, it ran in five episodes from October 30 to November 27, 2007, and starred Adriana Cruz.
Lopez signed a contract as star and executive producer of an unscripted reality series for TLC, a division of Discovery Communications Inc. The series was to show the launching of her new fragrance, and not focus on her family. The series never materialized.
Philanthropy
Lopez is an avid supporter of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and was presented with the Children's Humanitarian Award at the hospital's inaugural Noche de Niños gala in September 2004. Lopez continues to attend the annual red carpet event and is a regular visitor to the hospital. The singer participated in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon benefiting the hospital in 2008. In May 2009, Lopez formed The Maribel Foundation, with the goal of supporting Children's Hospital Los Angeles and improving health care internationally.
On February 14, 2007, Lopez received the Artists for Amnesty International award "in recognition of her work as producer and star of Bordertown, a film exposing the ongoing murders of hundreds of women in the border city of Juárez, Mexico". Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos-Horta presented the award to Lopez at the Berlin International Film Festival. She also received special recognition and thanks from Norma Andrade, co-founder of Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa A.C. ("May Our Daughters Return Home, Civil Association"), an organization consisting of mothers and families of the murdered women of Juárez.
Lopez has also been involved in promoting vaccination for whooping cough. Lopez is working with Sounds of Pertussis and March of Dimes to promote awareness about the disease and encourage vaccination of adults to prevent spread of disease to infants
Personal Life Lopez gave birth on February 22, 2008 to fraternal twins, a girl and a boy, Emme Maribel Muñiz, and Maximilian "Max" David Muñiz.
Here are some of my Favorite Jennifer Lopez videos
Yesterday millions ALL over the world celebrated July 4th which is called Independence Day. I was reminded that this is an act of Service that our Men and Women have chosen to serve this GREAT United States of America now the Men and Women didn't have to do this GREAT act of Service BUT they did it any way and I want to Honor them and THANK GOD for their act of Service for not only protecting there Freedom but our Freedom as well. Here is the history behind Independence Day
July 4th Becomes A National Holiday
The tradition of patriotic celebration became even more widespread after the War of 1812, in which the United States again faced Great Britain. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday; in 1941, the provision was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees. Over the years, the political importance of the holiday would decline, but Independence Day remained an important national holiday and a symbol of patriotism.
Falling in mid-summer, the Fourth of July has since the late 19th century become a major focus of leisure activities and a common occasion for family get-togethers, often involving fireworks and outdoor barbecues. The most common symbol of the holiday is the American flag, and a common musical accompaniment is "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States.
