Natasha Jane Richardson, R.I.P.

I only know her from The Parent Trap (1998) with the then sweet Lindsay Lohan. She was an English actress, daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and Tony Richardson. Sister to Joely Richardson. She came from a long line of famous English actors and actresses, and held her own on various stages.

At the time of her death, she was married to Liam Neeson, with whom she had two young boys. She has been a longtime support of AIDS causes, as her father died from AIDS-related causes in 1991.

Her death highlights the seriousness of closed head injury and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in general, and how followup medical is ALWAYS necessary after and head collision. However minor it seems, even if there is no blood and no immediate sign of distress, PLEASE do not overlook how deadly this is. Brain injury is very high on the list of the cause of death of very young children (if not on the top of the list, actually) and if death is not the result, serious neurological damage can result days, weeks, months, and years later.

Caution first--->CNN expert report on traumatic brain injuries

Oh, and In Case You DIDN'T Know...

I

BLEED

SYRACUSE ORANGE.

Sweet 16 game tonight against Oklahoma, 7:27pm Eastern Standard Time. CBS.
Be there.

13 year old Alfie is NOT the father of this baby. I know y'all heard the story. I repeat, he is NOT the father, of his 15 year old girlfriend, Chantelle's, baby. My issue does lie in the fact that these young ass kids or having unprotected sex (well, not that I don't have an issue with it; I'm just not surprised) Anyway...my issue is that these MINORS are plastered ALL OVER THE INTERNET, in publicity ploys all over the damn world.

I guess the shock to the world is that a 13 year old had supposedly fathered the child as opposed to an older teenager or legal adult, which is typically the case. Why are their parents OK with this? Why is he everywhere, and she is not? (Not that I want her plastered places, as well but...c'mon) This is not cute; it's sad and these childrens' parents should be embarrassed.

And I'm pissed.

Oh, Y'all Thought It Was Over??

So Beautiful.

Musiq Soulchild - "sobeautiful"

4 Years To Go.

A Barnes & Nobles in Coral Gables, Florida. The store issued a statement saying that a customer must have placed the book there playing a cruel joke on their Obama display.

Orthorexia Nervosa...Whuuuuuuuut?

Now, we've all heard of Anorexia Nervosa, characterized as a psychiatric illness; an eating disorder that typically manifests in extreme low body weight and body image distortion with a fear of gaining weight. Individuals with AN usually starve, purge, exercise excessively or use diet pills or diuretics.

And we've all heard of Bulimia Nervosa, too. This is also an eating disorder, however it's characterized mainly binge eating and purging, fasting, using laxatives, enemas and diuretics. However, with BN, there is not typically a low body weight (because of the binge eating). There is a purgingin type and a non purging type of BN.

These two most common eating disorders are typically found in White middle to upper class America, but watch out folks. Eating disorders are DEFINITELY on the rise in minority populations, mainly Black women, as well as in straight and gay men and athletes(thought about these populations for a dissertation on this topic). Eating disorders are absolutely no joke, and are on the top of my list of scariest mental illnesses. Forget a schizophrenic or psychotic client, I'm terrified of working with this population clinically.

Binge Eating is another eating disorder, characterized by recurrent patterns of intense and uncontrollable binge eating, without the purging afterwards. This is very easy to hide, and most individuals do not even realize that they are suffering from the disorder. Overeating is also thrown into the mix with Binge Eating.

Now, there is another eating disorder that many do not know about, but that has impacted Western culture most recently and is steadily and freakishly on the rise out here.

ORTHOREXIA NERVOSA. This eating disorder, (not yet in the Psychological Bible / Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR) is characterized by excessive focus on eating healthy foods, to the point where the individual restricts their diet so much that they can eventually die from malnutrition. There has only been one known case of death from Orthorexia Nervosa, but I'm sure there shall be more as we take on this health food kick. People suffering from this disorder try to avoid various types of "bad" things in many foods like fat, carbs, starches, protein, preservatives, etc. it very much resembles Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in its strict adherence to rules and discipline and the overconcern with eating healthy foods.

DRAKE.

Aubrey Drake Graham, D.O.B. 10/24/86. Look familiar? Nowadays, he goes by the stage name DRAKE, and is one of the hottest up & coming rappers in the scene.

Now, you, as I, may know "Drake" as little Jimmy Brooks, who got shot in Degrassi High School a few seasons ago and ended up in a wheelchair for the rest of his stint on show. (I know, right!) But Jimmy is ALL grown up ladies (22 to be exact) and his name is all over the place.

Some history: He hails from T.O., Canada (which is where Degrassi hails from and was filmed, as well) to an African American father and Jewish mother. He began acting while at Forest Hill Collegiate Institute (high school). He began his role as Jimmy Brooks in 2001 (his largest role to date) but now is more into his rap career.

He has worked with a myriad of artists in the studio, including Trey Songz (Replacement Girl, when I first fell in love!), Lil Wayne, Bun B, Lloyd, Santogold and Omarion as he transitions to the US music scene. He has four self-published mixtapes (Room for Improvement, Comeback Season, Heartbreak Drake, and So Far Gone (set for release this year)) and his first album is also set to drop this year, Thank Me Later.

Oh, and it doesn't help that the boy is QUITE easy on the eyes....check out his websites, and support! You know hip-hop needs it!

http://www.myspace.com/thisisdrake
http://www.thisisdrake.com/
http://www.allthings-fresh.net/
MIXTAPES!

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that I'm seriously considering naming my son, if I have one, Drake. Yes. Drake.