Monday, March 22, 2010

Lesbians can dance too, can't they?

After Constance McMillen RSVP'd plus one girlfriend to her senior prom, the school officials at Itawamba Country Agricultural high school in Mississippi told her no.
The reason being that it violated their policy against same-sex couples at a dance. As it is the 21st century, McMillen and The American Civil Liberties Union urged school officials to get rid of the policy to allow her to bring her date and wear a tuxedo.
Instead, the school board announced it would cancel the prom due to "distractions to the educational process caused by recent events."
Since then, McMillen said the school has been hostile towards her for the unwanted media attention and her classmates are blaming her for the cancellation of prom.
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the U.S. District Court to force the Itawamba Country school district to host the prom and allow Constance to bring her date and wear a tuxedo. ACLU attorney Kristy Bennett said in court today, March 22, that the district not only violated McMillen's First Amendment rights, but it was their decision to cancel the prom that caused the disruptions school officials described.
While the decision is still pending, Constance has certainly caught America's attention and is getting support from all over. She has made appearances on many talk shows and was recently on the Ellen DeGeneres show where she received a $30,000 scholarship.

The Buzz on Bee Sting Therapy

Though it may sound like an oxymoron, bee sting therapy is being practiced at a Beijing clinic where patients hope to be stung into good health. Don't get it? Me either...
The therapy, which includes placing live bees on a patient's body at certain pressure points, can be traced back to over 3,000 years ago in China. Doctors believe it is similar to acupuncture except the bees toxin is a natural medicine and the stinger is a natural injection.
Legalized in 2007, it has proved to be effective in curing diseases such as rheumatism and arthritis amongst other illnesses. The bees' poison can help blood circulation, reduce inflammation, and ease pain. Doctors say more than 90 percent of their patients have benefited from the treatment.
Despite the pain, patients have traveled long distances to try out the buzzed about treatment.

Breast Milk Cheese?!

A Manhattan chef and owner of Klee Brasserie restaurant, Daniel Angerer, is stirring up some chatter after he blogged about making cheese from his wife's breast milk.
The quirky idea came about after his wife would freeze her pumped breast milk for their daughter. While his wife thought of donating her milk to Haiti, he had food on the brain and thought of conserving it by making cheese.
He certainly caught his customers attention as they began to call his restaurant begging for a taste. Though it may be a turnoff to those over the age of 1, he began offering samples of breast-milk cheese with figs and Hungarian pepper.
For those who aren't squeamish his recipe for "My Spouse's Mommy's Milk Cheese" includes two cups of mother's milk, 2 cups of milk (any animal), 1 1/2-teaspoon of yogurt, 1/8-tablet rennet, and 1 teaspoon of seal salt.
His blog can be read at http://www.danielangerer.com/

Tiger Speaks

Tiger Woods spoke with ESPN's Tom Rinaldi on Sunday night, one of the first interviews since his cheating scandal broke in November.
No questions were off limits but the golfer didn't go into detail about the night of the SUV accident, rather he choose to focus on how he is getting better. After completing inpatient treatment and now in outpatient treatment, the misty eyed Tiger once again apologized for his actions.
He spoke with sincerity as he told about the changes he's made since therapy and how he's regaining his core values of Buddhism and meditation. He believes that he had lost his way and "felt entitled" before. He and his wife are now working on their marriage.
Tiger is set to play at the Augusta Masters April 8. The last time he played professionally was November 15 when he won the Australian masters. Though he is unsure of what to expect from the fans he said it "would be nice to hear a couple of claps here and there." Judging by this interview, he probably will be hearing at least a couple of claps.