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SOUTH CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Illinois: Bill Bramanti will love Pabst Blue Ribbon beer eternally, and he's got the custom-made beer-can casket to prove it.
“I actually fit, because I got in here,” said Bramanti of South Chicago Heights, Illinois.
Bramanti ordered the casket from Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home in Chicago Heights, and Scott Sign Co. of Chicago Heights designed the outside to look like a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer label in the company's signature colors of red, white and blue.
The 67-year-old doesn't plan on needing the coffin anytime soon, though.
So on Saturday he threw a party for friends and filled his coffin with ice and his favorite brew.

iht.com

A reception to honor San Jacinto College Central President Monte Blue will be held Wednesday, April 30, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Central campus W.M. Newton Student Center Ballroom.
The event is free and open to the public.
Blue plans to take advantage of an early exit program offered by the college and will remain in the role of central campus president through the remainder of the Spring semester. Blue has been at the college for 37 years, 25 of those at the helm of the central campus.
The longtime educator began his career in education at San Jacinto College. After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Texas, Blue arrived at the College in 1971 as a faculty member in the art department. He was also the director of instructional media, a position he held for four years.
He received his doctorate from the University of Houston in 1979, and moved into the position of Dean of Student Services at the South campus before taking a similar role at the central location in 1981. In 1983 he was named president of the central campus.
Throughout his years, Blue has many fond memories of his time at SJC.
One of those memories that he is particularly proud of is the effort the college’s faculty and staff made to get the school up and running after Hurricane Alicia blew through Southeast Texas in August of 1983 during a period of class registration.
“We had severe damage to the central campus,” he said. “The way our faculty and team pulled together to open the college … I am proud of what we accomplished then.”
Blue has seen the college grow leaps and bounds throughout his time at SJC. When he first arrived, the institution was housed on a single campus in Pasadena.

hcnonline.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: As more of the world opens to tourism, some who treasured undiscovered places mourn what they have lost. This is one man’s lament, from Bangkok Chief of Bureau Denis D. Gray, who has lived, worked and traveled in Asia for more than 30 years.
LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP)—On a chilly pre-dawn in this wondrous and once-secluded place, scruffy European backpackers and well-heeled American tourists have staked out their firing positions.
A fusillade of flashing, jostling cameras and videocams is triggered the moment Buddhist monks pad barefoot out of their monasteries in a serene, timeless ritual. A forward surge breaks into the line of golden-yellow robes, and nearly tramples kneeling Lao women offering food to the monks.
Later that day, a prince of the former royal capital struggling to preserve his town’s cultural legacy, protests: “For many tourists, coming to Luang Prabang is like going on safari, but our monks are not monkeys or buffaloes.”
Nestled deep in a Mekong River valley, cut off from most of the world by the Vietnam War, Luang Prabang was very different when I first saw it in 1974. Fraying at the edges, yes, but still a magic fusion of traditional Lao dwellings, French colonial architecture and more than 30 graceful monasteries, some dating back to the 14th century. It wasn’t a museum, but a cohesive, authentic, living community.
Fast forward to 2008: Many of the old families have departed, selling or leasing their
homes to rich outsiders who have turned them into a guesthouses, Internet cafes and pizza parlors. There are fewer monks because the newcomers no longer support the monasteries. And the influx of tourists skyrockets, the fragile town of 25,000 now taking in some 300,000 of them a year. Throughout Laos, tourism was up an astounding 36.5 percent in 2007, compared to 2006, with more than 1.3 million visitors in the first 10 months of the year, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

mercurynews.com

“+” Anime producer and distributor Right Stuf, Nozomi Entertainment and Kadokawa Pictures USA are pleased to unveil a sneak preview of THE THIRD manga available from TOKYOPOP on March 11, 2008, at www.thethirdanime.com,the official site for THE THIRD: THE GIRL WITH THE BLUE EYE.
Also at www.thethirdanime.com, visitors can:
Preview sound and video clips, including those from next volume of the anime, VOL. 5: SHADOWS OF THE PAST, which streets on March 25;
Read about the series, its origin and characters;
Watch the series trailer; and
Download audio clips, wallpapers, avatars and cell phone wallpapers.
Both the 24-episode anime and the manga are based upon a popular series of novels and short stories written by Ryou Hoshino and illustrated by Nao Goto.
Spanning more than 16 volumes, the original fiction has appeared in Japan\’s DRAGON MAGAZINE since 1999, alongside the serialized novels that inspired the hit FULL METAL PANIC! and SLAYERS anime series.
Additionally, the manga for THE THIRD ran in DRAGON AGE magazine, home to the FULL METAL PANIC!, SLAYERS and CHRONO CRUSADE manga.
XEBEC (D.N.ANGEL, NEGIMA!, FAFNER, ELEMENTAL GELADE) produced the animation for the TV series, which ran on Japan\’s WOWOW satellite channel from April through October of 2006.
Volumes 1 through 4 of the anime are now available, with VOL. 3: GRAVESTONE offered in two variations: a standard, disc-only edition and a limited edition that includes two, exclusive puzzles — featuring artwork from the series — plus an art box, designed to house the entire six-volume North American DVD release.
VOL. 5: SHADOWS OF THE PAST is due to street on March 25, 2008, and the series\’ final volume, DVD 6: FINAL DECISIONS, is due to arrive on May 27.

news.awn.com

[Best Syndication] How did a man get blue skin? Dr. Oz discusses how a regular man now has blue skin on ‘Oprah’ TV show today. Oprah said this is the first time that they ever had a blue man on the show.
It is not makeup. Paul Karason saw an ad that had showed the benefits of using a colloidal silver generator. They would make a glass of colloidal silver for his friend’s petroleum poisoning. His friend had the possible petroleum poisoning and didn’t want to have him feel left out so he would drink the liquid also. He said that he noticed that he had improvement on how his stomach felt.
Dr. Oz said that colloidal silver is an old remedy. Argyria is the name for the medical condition when the blue gets into your cells and causes discoloration. It is the equivalent of getting a tattoo all over your body. Dr. Oz said that colloidal silver was used in an antibiotic and is used in medicine for certain conditions and newborn infants eyes.
He didn’t turn blue until he put it onto his face. His parents were passing away and had a lot of stress. He had a bad rash, and rubbed it on his skin to cure the skin problem. It wasn’t noticed for a while until he already turned blue. He said that he didn’t go out much. Then one of his friends visited and pointed it out that he was blue.
His wife knew him when he was blue and knew of this but talked with him over the phone for quite a while. The family sent a photo of him before they met in person so she could adjust to the blue skin.
Paul gets stares for the blue skin whenever he goes out in public. Dr. Oz said that he will never have regular color skin, and will be blue forever. Dr. Oz wanted to test his blood to see if there are any health problems that he should be concerned about.
Last time, Laura, an audience member on Feb 5th show is 44 years old but found out that her real age tested at 60 years. (She was the one that joked about the blueberries last time.) She agreed to work with Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen to work with her to improve her health. Talking with Dr. Oz she said that her mother quit smoking three packs a day and she gained a lot of weight and died. She is afraid to gain weight because that is what killed her mother. She tries to justify why she still smokes.
Dr. Oz introducers her to a patient that underwent surgery trying to scare her into perfect health and instead empathizes with the man. Dr. Oz said that stress is her worst ager. She cares so much for everybody else’s burdens that it is like she is taking on the stress of others upon herself. Dr. Roizen said that she was overall healthy, but she has a little bit too much fat. The great news all of her health problems are reversible. She said that she has followed Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen program to reverse her aging process.
The next segment on the show was about video diaries of people that were quitting smoking on camera. They kept a video diary of their quitting smoking. They all are having anxiety attacks the first day of quitting. The guy quitting said that he is so depressed. The one lady broke into tears that she wants to quit and said it is one of the hardest things she ever did. The three people that have quit smoking, one 9 days, another 15 days, and another did 6 days. The guy said that every day it gets easier after you quit.
One was the mother of a young daughter who was on her video diary. The little girl was explaining that mom and dad needed to stop fighting. The daughter spoke out about what is going on. The husband isn’t quitting smoking. Dr. Oz said that if someone in your house is smoking, you will likely fail because it will somehow trigger your old habits.
Dr. Oz suggested that she should withhold sex from her husband as incentive to have him quit smoking. Getting mad at him is not the solution. Dr. Oz said that the best way to quit smoking is to do it for somebody that you love, or for yourself.
In the audience were around 50 people that have quite smoking because of seeing the original show on Oprah for quitting smoking. Dr. Oz explained that on the Oprah.com website they have a quit smoking program to help you through the difficult process.
The next segment had a lady in the audience that said that she has multiple orgasms around 8 – 18 of them at a time. Oprah said “and your problem is?” She said that other relatives in her family also have the same problem. Dr. Oz said that the most erogenous portion of body is the brain. It could be genetic. Oprah joked about it, that after 12 you probably lose count. The lady said that the problem is that it is exhausting and she doesn’t want to have it as frequently. Oprah said that is not a problem and she should enjoy.
Another audience member said that she has facial hair on her chin and it really bothers her. She shaves her chin. If you don’t have regular periods and have a hard time losing weight she might have Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. PCOS can also cause infertility, and can pre-dispose the person to diabetes. They tend to have more heart attacks. She didn’t have all the symptoms of PCOS. There are treatments that can help to reverse PCOS and treat the condition. Dr. Oz said that you can shave and it won’t make it come in more. Dr. Oz said that you can take pills to regulate testosterone hormone levels. Birth control pills can be helpful sometimes he said. There are other medications that can help to control the hormones as well he continued to explain. He said that you shouldn’t ignore it. Dr. Oz said that there is a laser treatment that can get rid of the hairs permanently. Dr. Oz said that he doesn’t like plucking as much as the shaving. Plucking can cause little pimples. He said you can also use a waxing technique for facial hair removal.
Jodie is 32 years old had all the symptoms of colon cancer after seeing the show on ‘Oprah’ she went in for a colonoscopy. She had a stage 3 colon cancer tumor. She had treatments for the cancer and is now cancer free. Dr. Oz said that he likes the show because it has helped people. She sought out to have a referral to see a specialist after seeing the show and was very thankful for Dr. Oz being on ‘Oprah.’
“Prescription America” is what Dr. Oz wants every one to take it home and cut out soft drinks. Dr. Oz said that the obesity epidemic is the matter of 100 calories a day. A soda has 160 calories and will eat an extra 125 calories. In a year you could lose about 15 pounds. Dr. Oz said that he is not a fan of diet sodas either but will discuss that at another time. Dr. Oz is asking everyone to cut out soft drinks for two weeks. If you need the caffeine drink green tea or coffee. He is more concerned about the sugar content in the sodas.
This is a tough thing to quite the sodas. We drink diet sodas only in our house and we decided to cut out sodas in January. My husband refused, but after a while he felt guilty and has cut way back. At first the kids were like, HUH! Why? And we restocked the fridge only with water bottles. Guess what they started drinking iced tea and water. We still have diet sodas but save it for family movie night or if we eat out once in a while. At first it is a little rough, but after a while you don’t miss it at all.
By Nicole Wilson
Best Syndication News
A Blueman Groupie? YouTube video

bestsyndication.com