Morning Edition - 9/29/05

Yeah, Yeah; Now Get Me My Soda and Nuts
As if rolling a tray down a very narrow isle while catering to impatient customers isn’t enough, now flight attendants are being portrayed as rude, conspiring and potentially even terrorist. Well, that’s what the union that represents nearly 90,000 flight attendants is saying about Jodie Foster’s new blockbuster hit, Flight Plan. Now, they’re asking their members to boycott the film. In the film Foster takes a quick nap and wakes to realize her young daughter is missing. Throughout the film the flight crew is portrayed as bitchy and rude. "This depiction of flight attendants is an outrage," said Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) International President Patricia Friend. "Flight attendants continue to be the first line of defense on an aircraft and put their lives on the line day after day for the safety of passengers." A Disney spokesperson countered, "We are confident the public will be able to discern the difference between fiction and the incredible job real-life flight attendants do on a daily basis.” Right, right… the portrayal of minority groups throughout the years has never skewed the viewing public’s image of any one group. (wink, wink…)

Fingers Crossed That Students Are Negative
West Virginia University has joined the ranks of schools of higher learning that now offer a little more in knowledge to students. They now provide an orally administered HIV test, which means students can now know their HIV status. The test is done by having a cotton swab placed in the mouth between a student’s gum and inside cheek. Five minutes later – presto!; we have results. The results aren’t actually given to the students for up to two weeks after the exam. The FDA backs the test and says it is 99% accurate.

The Fugees Are Back; Take It Easy
For most of us, we first heard the soul wrenching voice of Lauryn Hill while watching Sister Act 2, the musical comedy that brought us Whoopi Goldberg as the wayward lounge singer turned choir director nun. Hill, who along with Wyclef Jean and Pras formed the group The Fugees recorded the number one hip-hop album ever with The Score – selling 13,600,000 copies worldwide. Now after nearly 10 years apart, The Fugees have emerged from a New York studio with a single, Take It Easy. The single will be included in the Fugees upcoming reunion album due to drop in early 2006. The Fugees were the unannounced opening act for the 2005 BET Awards ceremony.

On Blast
Taking the bull by the horns… The years appear to be flying by us and the toddlers of yester-year are now the teens putting dents in your new ride. Each year many of us make new year’s resolutions to do or change something about our lives. Rather than wait until the end of the year, what one thing can/will you commit to changing? What effect do you believe this will have on your life going forward? If the results aren’t what you expect, what measures are you willing to take to achieve the results you’re seeking?

Keep passin’ the open windows…