-- Martin Luther King day, Free at Last (video)

"...I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"...I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." (video, 17 minutes)

"...when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

. August 23, 1963 speech in Washington DC. Full text of speech-->

Tragically, Martin Luther King was assassinated about 5 years after he made this speech on April 4, 1968 when he was about my age -- only 39. He might have been alive today to see tomorrow's momentous occasion....

Britney Spears is back in shape

After giving birth to two boys, Britney Spears was out of shape for several years but now she is back with her sculpted body thanks to a strenuous workout.

“I have had to work hard at getting my body back to where it used to be. I used to be obsessed with working out but right now I am not giving my best because I am more focused on making music,” dailymail.co.uk quoted Britney Spears as saying.

Spears started going to the gym and dance training classes last summer where she lost 20 pounds weight.

After making her comeback last year and scoring a number one hit with Womanizer, Spears is preparing to reclaim her pop crown with a world tour “The Circus” which kicks off from her home state of Louisiana in March.

Tags: Britney Spears

-- chicken soup shortcut and other mundane Sunday stuff

So Dan's been sick. We were foodshopping when he started to go downhill again fast so when we got home, I made some of the fastest chicken soup ever. Here was my secret to getting a pot ready in 1/2 hour:

• chicken broth
• lime juice
• cilantro cubes I had in freezer
• sauteed thinly-sliced onions in garlic, olive oil and white wine
• dried mushrooms
• frozen spinach
• carrots, steamed in microwave and sliced into soup (normally they take forever to soften)
• frozen chicken meat (from the last time we had a ready-made chicken)
• rice
• salt & pepper
  

Boil all up and season broth to taste. The lime juice adds a nice touch, I like my broth flavorful and tangy.

Then we watched Dumb and Dumber (a movie I originally avoided because it sounded so stupid until multiple friends vouched for its hilarity). They were right, I recommend it as a fun watch.

Believe it or not, one of my 2009 goals is to... get this... watch movies! Catch up on flicks that everyone knows about but me. I almost never watch TV or have time to get to the cinema so I joined Netflix. (Somehow this is an easier resolution than dropping 10 lbs....)

O'Day Blasts 'Negative' Bloggers

Former Danity Kane star Aubrey O'Day has attacked online gossip blogs - accusing them of spreading "negativity" on the internet.

The singer occasionally updates her personal MySpace.com page with news entries for fans - but she draws the line at excessive amounts of online posting, especially when snide remarks are made about other people.

Let's put something good out there in the world, and if we can have Barack Obama as our president, we can get the new Perez Hilton. The positive Perez Hilton. I'd like to see that in 2009.

She tells Mtv.com, "I think that we have become obsessed with Internet blogging. And I think that there is so much negativity out there, and it's doing no one any good. It's not doing the people that sit there and think of the nasty thoughts and spend the 10 to 20 hours of their Day typing them up (any good).

"It's not doing the people that read them any good (either), because it's just consistently putting negativity in the air. It's not really doing anyone any good, and, you know, we are all so addicted to it. And maybe sit back and ask yourself why."

And she has singled out celebrity blogger Perez Hilton out for particular criticism, and has urged him to tone down his online rants against certain stars: "Let's put something good out there in the world, and if we can have Obama as our president, we can get the new Perez Hilton. The positive Perez Hilton. I'd like to see that in 2009."

And O'Day stands by her word, challenging someone "to go out there and start a blog that just focuses on the positive things people are doing (and) create a positive place for people to go and feel good about themselves."

Tags: Perez Hilton, Barack Obama

Pamela Anderson Bares Bikini (Again)

Pamela Anderson breaks out her bikini as she hangs out with her new boyfriend on the beach in Malibu, Calif. on Friday.

The 41-year-old former Baywatch actress has recently been supporting the cause to sterilize stray dogs rather than to be putting them down. She said, “It is well established that killing stray dogs is not a permanent solution to controlling their populations. Dogs cannot use condoms, but with the municipality’s help, they can be ‘fixed’ — painlessly, quickly and permanently.”

Tags: Pamela Anderson, Bikini, Baywatch, Condoms

Copycat: Harman or Hrithik?

It is no news when Harman Baweja is compared to Hrithik Roshan. The latest is that Harman's dance number in his forthcoming Victory and Hrithik's song in Luck By Chance are said to be similar. So not only will the actors clash at the box office but will also be compared for their dance numbers in the film.

Hrithik is doing a special appearance in a song number in Zoya Akhtar's Luck By Chance and that too in a dance number. The song has been shot in circus sequence. Hrithik has already made it to the top. While Hrithik is said to be the best dancer in Bollywood. The film is being directed by debutant director Zoya Akhtar.

While Harman Baweja is no less, when compared to his dancing capabilities. The actor it is said has already garnered a lot of interest with his two song numbers in the film. 'balla utha chaka laga' has been the most downloaded song number where as 'money money' has also garnered a lot of publicity. This will be Harman's second film and he is at the moment keeping all fingers crossed for the success. The film is being directed by debutant director Ajitpal Mangat.

Tags: Harman Baweja, Hrithik Roshan, Victory, Luck By Chance, Zoya Akhtar, Ajitpal Mangat.

Playboy bunny admits cheating on Hugh

Former Playboy bunny Kendra Wilkinson cheated on ex-boyfriend Hugh Hefner because the iconic men's magazine founder couldn't satisfy her.

The 23-year-old star - who recently moved out of the Playboy Mansion after splitting from the 82-year-old lothario - admits she used to "sneak" out of the famous party house to get the satisfaction Hugh couldn’t provide.

She said: "I had to have sex every now and then, so I had to kind of sneak it."

However, Kendra revealed another of Hugh’s ex-girlfriends Bridget Marquardt, 35 - who has also moved out of the mansion - did manage to stay faithful to him.

She explained to Us Weekly magazine: "Bridget told me that she's been faithful all these years, and I was like, 'How the hell can you do that?' I had to have sex so I could feel my age, like a healthy human being."

Kendra adds she rarely saw Hugh when they were together, sometimes only managing to utter a few words to him a day.

She said: "Besides the nights we went out, I only saw Hef, like, once a day walking through the halls to his office. There were never solo dates.

"The most we kind of say to each other is, 'I love you,' 'Love you too,' 'I hope you have a good day,' 'Did you have a good day?'"

The star admits she found living in the mansion stifling, as she had little freedom.

"Strict" staff always wanted to know where she, Bridget and Hugh’s other ex-girlfriend Holly Madison, were going - noting their trips down in a book which Hugh inspected each morning.

Kendra also revealed the girlfriends were not allowed to spend holidays with their families and insists she disliked being paid an allowance of $1,000 per week, and is now totally against Hugh’s way of life.

She said: “I hate putting my hand out, but we couldn't have jobs other than getting appearance fees. Hef was kind of like my best friend, but a sugar daddy at the same time Hef made me feel beautiful.

"Now I'm totally against his way of life, with three girlfriends and all of that."

Tags: bunny Kendra Wilkinson