Boxer, philanthropist, social activist. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky. Once one of the top American boxers, Muhammad Ali has shown that he is not afraid of any fight—inside or outside the ring. Growing up in the segregated South, Ali experienced firsthand the prejudice and discrimination that African-Americans faced during this era. At the age of 12, Ali discovered his talent for boxing through an odd twist of fate. His bike was stolen, and Ali … [Read more...]
Thurgood Marshall 1908-1993
July 2, 1908-Jan. 24, 1993 Baltimore, Maryland, United States Washington, District of Columbia, United States Occupation: Supreme Court Justice, Lawyer Marshall’s work on behalf of civil rights spanned five-and-a-half decades and included the history-making Brown v. Board of Education ruling that led to integration of the nation’s public schools in 1954. As an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Marshall fought to have blacks admitted to … [Read more...]
Strokes are rising fast among young, middle-aged
Strokes are rising dramatically among young and middle-aged Americans while dropping in older people, a sign that the obesity epidemic may be starting to shift the age burden of the disease. The numbers, reported Wednesday at an American Stroke Association conference, come from the first large nationwide study of stroke hospitalizations by age. Government researchers compared hospitalizations in 1994 and 1995 with ones in 2006 and 2007. The sharpest increase — 51 percent — was among men 15 … [Read more...]
Can money motivate weight loss?
Obese people might be more likely to lose weight if they have money riding on their success -- but the pounds may creep back once the financial carrot is gone, a small study finds. Researchers found that a program in which people stood to lose cash should they fail to lose weight seemed to motivate them, but the motivation didn't last. Everyone in the study received weight loss counseling, but some also signed a "deposit contract," in which they put their own money at risk. Those … [Read more...]
Mavis Staples looking her first Grammy win
Mavis Staples still thinks about the advice that her father, the legendary Pop Staples, gave her about awards shows when she was younger. "'You all are singing to get your just reward and you'll get your just reward. It's coming for you. So don't worry about these awards,'" she remembers him telling her when the family's act, The Staples Singers, would be nominated for awards. But this year, she's up for a Grammy in the Best Americana category, and Staples, who has never won the coveted … [Read more...]
Technology helps golfers fine-tune game
Golf is a constant quest for improvement, which is why new clubs, balls, training aids and other gadgets are introduced each year. If gadgets were truly the answer, of course, there would be more top-notch golfers littering the links. Nonetheless, I tested a few new golf devices in the off-chance one might bring me a step closer to breaking 80 on a par-72 course for the first time. Although I didn't manage that, I found some promising companions. • The Callaway uPro ($399.99), from … [Read more...]
Inarritu’s weighty, laborious `Biutiful’
Those concerned that a 2 1/2 hour movie titled "Biutiful" might bear some of the attributes typically characterized as "pretentious" will not be reassured by the opening, whispered dialogue, with the camera trained only on two sets of intertwined hands, and the subsequent scene in which an unknown figure informs that when owls die, "they spit hairballs out of their beaks." You know it's weighty stuff, indeed, when we're talking about owl hairballs. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu … [Read more...]
Soul Music trailblazer Teena Marie dies at 56, ‘Square Biz’
LOS ANGELES – Teena Marie's last album, "Congo Square," was titled after a historical meeting place for slaves in New Orleans, featured a tribute to Martin Luther King's widow and also song "Black Cool," written for President Barack Obama. No matter that Marie, 54, was white. The R&B legend revered and fully immersed herself in black culture — and in turn was respected and adored by black audiences, not only for her immense soulful talents, but for her inner soul as … [Read more...]
Prince: All the critics love him in NY
In a career filled with idiosyncratic twists and turns, Prince made one of his more baffling choices at Madison Square Garden Saturday night, the first New York City date of his Welcome 2 America tour -- he actually gave the people what they wanted. While many of the prolific star's past shows have veered into unfamiliar territory filled with obscurities and lengthy funk instrumental jams, this one was a crowd-pleasing compendium of '80s hits, many of them culled from his landmark … [Read more...]
A tip about tipping
Editor's note: Here is an article that we found online. We found it to be helpful and informative. This will help you become a more valuable member of civilization. So we’ve all been there. You were just handed the check at a restaurant and you find yourself having an internal debate on what to tip your waiter. Before you end your night in a blank stare reverting back to your days of calculus and algebra, don’t sweat it. Tipping shouldn’t be this complicated. It doesn’t have to be about … [Read more...]
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