Queen of Soul has cancer

A family friend has announced to the world that The Queen of Soul, 68 year old Aretha Franklin is battling cancer.

Rumor has it the singer has pancreatic cancer, and that family and friends are “very concerned” about the singers health. Some reports are even coming out saying that she has less than a year to live, however these reports have not been confirmed.

The singer has been in hospital and underwent an unspecified operation – Franklin’s cousin has reportedly said that “she I doing better than doctors expected", and also noted the singer is due to be released from hospital this weekend.

Franklin had just last month cancelled all her concerts and personal appearances through to May 2011 on the advice of her doctors.

The legendary singer has had a tough time recently – she broke her ribs in a fall in August this year, causing her to miss two concerts in New York and in September her son, Eddie, was beaten by three men at a Detroit gas station.

Busy day for commemorations

Dec 1^st has been a busy day for commemorations.

Firstly, Dec 1^st marks the Today is the first day of Hanukkah, a Jewish eight long day festival known as the Festival of Lights which commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt during the 2nd century BC. Famous celebrities that may be celebrating on this day celebrities include a cast of thousands - Adam Sandler, Adrian Brody, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and the list goes on – you can check out the list here - 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_American_entertainers.

Secondly Dec 1st 2010 marks the 55th anniversary of the day Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery, Alabama to head home and refused to obey the orders of bus driver James Blake when she was asked to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger, etching forever her place in the modern Civil Rights movement.

Thirdly, and by no means finally, Dec 1st is world AIDS day. For a message on AIDS in the UK from singer and HIV activist Annie Lennox, please view the attached video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7-1daCo0OQ&feature=player_embedded