Mermaid Girl showcased how Shiloh handled her condition, both mentally and physically, while Mermaid Girl: A New Chapter celebrated her 10th birthday, which extraordinary considering that doctors didn't expect her to live beyond infancy. Shiloh also made an amusing appearance on an episode of Oprah earlier this year. In the clip above, Shiloh talks about sirenomelia and her inspiring outlook on life.

Earlier: "Mermaid Girl" Shiloh Pepin Appears On Oprah

Earlier: "Mermaid Girl" Shiloh Pepin Appears On Oprah

[Image via Oprah.com]

Before his apparent relapse, AM had been sober for 11 years, and his family has given consent to MTV to air the show, hoping that it will help others not meet the same fate as AM. In a statement, his family has said:

After careful consideration we have decided to air the show. Adam felt strongly that by doing this series he could help other addicts who were at a crisis point to get sober. Adam was fully aware that if it were not for his own sobriety he never would have achieved the level of success and happiness he had found. Helping people in their recovery was a huge part of Adam's life. It is our hope through airing this show that people will get to see the side of Adam that we knew and loved, not just the celebrity DJ, but the honest and caring person who gave so much of himself to help others.

How many people have watched Dirty Dancing since Patrick Swayze passed away on Monday? The film has a certain fan base made up of women in their 20s and 30s who were enthralled, at a young age, with its salaciousness, and grew up to appreciate the subversive nature of its storyline of a back alley abortion, thus making Dirty Dancing a pop-cultural touchstone for a new generation of feminists who like to like dancing, but also care about injustice and choice.

In the clip below, from the 20th anniversary edition of the Dirty Dancing DVD, Patrick Swayze discusses how the movie inspired his life, and made him appreciate his wife even more. You've got to love that love story.

Related: Dirty Dancing, Feminist Masterpiece [The Guardian]

This combination of hard and soft — vulnerable and tough — seems to sum up Patrick Swayze as a person, and as an actor. His dad was a rodeo cowboy; his mom was a dance instructor, and his roles — from Roadhouse to The Outsiders to Dirty Dancing to Ghost and Point Break — always seemed to highlight the two sides of his spirit; the rough-around-the-edges dude with a heart of gold. (Jennifer Grey called him a "real cowboy with a tender heart.")

When it came to living with cancer, Swayze told Barbara Walters during a televised interview that he wasn't interested in pursuing experimental treatments. He thought if he were to "spend so much time chasing staying alive," he wouldn't be able to enjoy the time he had left. "I want to live," he said.

In 1985, Swayze starred in the TV miniseries North And South, playing a conflicted Southern soldier. According to the New York Times, he talked to the Associated Press about his character, saying: "People don't identify with victims. They identify with people who have the world come down on their heads and who fight to survive."

More memories of Patrick Swayze below.

Patrick Swayze, Star of ‘Dirty Dancing,' Dies at 57 [NY Times]
Jennifer Grey: I Remember Being in Patrick Swayze's Arms [People]

Family, Leaders Pay Final Tribute To Kennedy [MSNBC]

Greenwich was one of the most successful songwriters in pop music history, a career she begin fresh out of college.


In 1962, she married Jeff Barry and the two formed a songwriting partnership that helped define the Brill Building sound.


A few short years after they were married, Greenwich and Barry divorced. She still had many hits ahead of her, but the experience affected her art and her outlook on the world.


It's easy to see why feminist critics would reprove of Greenwich's contributions to pop culture, and that fact didn't escape her.


Greenwich said: "I think, no matter how much of a feminist one claims to be…Lord knows, if you go by my songs, and the way my personal life has gone, you'd say, "Oh my, this lady was dreaming." It didn't exactly happen the way I was writing it. However, I would have liked it to have gone that way. I am a very firm believer in equality, women and men: if you can do the job, by all means go ahead and do it. But I still feel it would be nice if that romance can be there, birds could sing if you fell in love, and you could hear violins. I think that would be really terrific."


"To hear my stuff on the radio: 'Ooh, ooh, ooh, this is bliss, ultimate bliss.' I really came into the industry with the belief that if you work hard enough, I could have a taste of that. But then, when my marriage did fall apart … well, the disillusionment, you can imagine: the person who wrote 'Doo Wah Diddy' and 'Chapel Of Love' has gotta be devastated. I realized, those words, 'Till death do us part,' they don't really mean anything. Through the good times and bad times - what happened to that? We're having bad times - why should this be over?"


Greenwich managed to be successful in the male-dominated business side of the music industry in the 1960s, but that came with its pros and cons, particularly when producing girl groups. Greenwich said, "At first it was like, 'Well, who does she think she is, giving us orders here or telling us to do?' But on the other end, if you were very open to them, they saw you could be their friend, and then it became an asset to be a woman dealing with girl groups."


Throughout her career, Greenwich not only wrote dozens of songs, but also sang, produced, arranged them.


She also discovered Neil Diamond.


In the 1980s, her autobiographical Broadway musical Leader of the Pack opened, which was nominated for a Tony for Best Musical.


In 1991, Greenwich was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.





You can check out her full song catalog here.





Legendary '60s Songwriter Ellie Greenwich Dies [NPR]
'Be My Baby' songwriter dies at 68 [Variety]

[Image: United States Capitol Building, August 26, 2009. Image via Getty]

Kennedy championed many kinds of legislation over the years, much of it working to narrow inequalities and increase access to basic rights.

His family made the following statement:

Edward M. Kennedy — the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply — died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannisport. We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him.

Perhaps the saddest part about Kennedy's passing is that he has been both one of the most senior members of the Senate and one that worked to pass some of the most important legislation that has made America great. Without him, I fear that the legislative work on behalf of those most in need will suffer without him.

We've gathered a sampling of the work he has done for women and minorities. He accomplished much in his lifetime, but some of the work he started remains unfinished. The list is by no means comprehensive, but is meant to serve as a tribute to his work in public service.

Gender Equity: Kennedy saw the Senate of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which aimed to make men and women equal in the constitution. He reintroduced the legislation again this congressional session, but it has yet to make it into the constitution.

Kennnedy championed Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in 1972, which prevented educational institutions from discriminating against women (afterward, colleges and universities integrated, paving the way for women like Sonia Sotomayor and Hillary Clinton to attend Ivy League institutions), as well as requiring equitable athletic opportunities.

Civil Rights: Kennedy saw the passage of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 as committee chairman, which strengthened the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Afterward, then-executive director of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights Ralph Neas said, "Now you see what happens when you have a civil rights champion in charge of the committee."

He was also chief sponsor on the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which addressed intentional discrimination and harassment in the workplace. He was also a key sponsor of legislation by the same name in 2008, which sought to restore civil rights protections stripped by Supreme Court rulings in recent years (like the Lilly Ledbetter case).

Pay Equity: Kennedy worked on the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which sought to restore the rights of women to sue with each discriminatory paycheck, overturning the Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear.

Voting Rights: Kennedy worked on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed equal access to voting as part of the Civil Rights movement. He also worked to add amendments in 1982 that expanded voting access to Native Americans, Latinos, and others who required language assistance.

Affirmative Action: Kennedy helped defeat legislation that would have ended federal affirmative action in 1998 and joined his colleagues in the Senate in filing a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in 2003.

LGBT Rights: Kennedy has been the chief sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act since 1994, which would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace. The bill has yet to pass.

Hate Crimes: Kennedy worked on the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2007, which would implement more severe penalties for crimes against women, gays, lesbians, and transgender persons. The bill was vetoed by President Bush in 2007, but the legislation has been reintroduced in the 110th Congress.

HIV/AIDS: Kennedy introduced what became the Ryan White CARE Act, which addressed thirteen cities hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1990. When it was up for reauthorization in 2000, it provided nearly $9 billion in HIV/AIDS services over the following five years.

Domestic Violence: Kennedy worked with Vice President Joe Biden on the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. He also worked on its reauthorization in 2000, which allowed immigrant women to apply for permanent status in the United States without their abusive partners.

Disability Equity: Kennedy worked to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which provided much-needed accommodations for those with disabilities.

Minimum Wage: Kennedy worked with Congress in 2007 to pass the first hike in the minimum wage in more than a decade. Women disproportionately make up the population low-wage hourly workers.

Women in Combat: Kennedy championed the repeal a ban of women in combat in 1991. Women are still technically barred from fighting on the "front lines," such stipulations are meaningless in modern combat. By working for legislation that repealed archaic legislation, Kennedy helped women achieve more equality in the military.

Military Child Care: In 1989, Kennedy saw the passage of the National Military Child Care Act, which established the Department of Defense's child care program. This allowed working spouses of military members and women who were enlisted themselves to have access to high-quality, federally funded child care.

Health Insurance for Children and Pregnant Women: In 1997, Kennedy co-sponsored the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), allowing families to have access to health care that previously didn't. Kennedy also introduced legislation that has yet to pass, Affordable Health Care Act, which would expand Medicaid and SCHIP coverage for children, pregnant women, and the disabled.

He saw the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, which made it illegal for employers to fire women for leave taken due to pregnancy. We still don't require employers to provide paid maternity leave.

Minority Health Care: Kennedy championed the The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act in 2000, which provided funding for research for how to reduce disparities in cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and other severe health problems that are found to be significantly higher in minority populations. In 2006, he introduced the Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act, which would address inequalities in health care access and treatment if passed.

The Inclusion of Women in Scientific and Medical Research: Kennedy co-sponsored the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, legislation that called for the inclusion of women and minorities in federally funded clinical research.

Kennedy Dead At 77 [Boston Globe]
Accomplishments Of Senator Kennedy [The Boston Channel]

Sister of JFK, Robert Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy, Shriver had graduated from Stanford with a degree in sociology, then worked with prisoners of war and at a women's prison, before starting a summer day camp for disabled children in her backyard. The camp was inspired by a friend, she once recalled, who couldn't find summer activities for her intellectually disabled child. She told NPR,

I said: ‘You don't have to talk about it anymore. You come here a month from today. I'll start my own camp. No charge to go into the camp, but you have to get your kid here, and you have to come and pick your kid up.'

The camp grew to become the Special Olympics, which had its first international competition in Chicago in 1968. The Special Olympics were inspired in part by Shriver's sister Rosemary, who was institutionalized after a failed lobotomy, and whose intellectual disabilities Shriver disclosed to the world in a 1962 article in The Saturday Evening Post. The Special Olympics provided one of the first venues for intellectually disabled children to excel athletically — many of them had been previously excluded from all sports, leading to high rates of obesity. In a statement today, President Obama said that Shriver "will be remembered [...] as a champion for people with intellectual disabilities, and as an extraordinary woman who, as much as anyone, taught our nation – and our world – that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit."

One of the most striking things about Shriver is that she combined having a family with fulfilling work at a time when this was not particularly easy. She and her loved ones describe these two parts of her life as equally important. Shriver said,

Most people believe I spent my whole life really interested in only one thing and that one thing is working to make the world a better place for people with intellectual disabilities. As important as it has been, it is not the whole story of my life. My life is about being lucky as a child to be raised by parents who loved me and made me believe in possibilities. It is also about being lucky to have had these extraordinary children

Her daughter, Maria Shriver, wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger, recalled in 2004,

She was certainly a feminist before that was cool or out there, and yet she always combined it with talking about motherhood. She raised me to believe you are as good as the boys, as tough and as competitive as the boys, and you need to do something to help the world.

Shriver's father Joseph Kennedy once said of her, "If that girl had been born with balls, she would have been a hell of a politician." Her accomplishments were such that the U.S. News & World Report wrote in 1993 that, "When the full judgment of the Kennedy legacy is made [...] the changes wrought by Eunice Shriver may well be seen as the most consequential." We can only imagine what she would have done had she been born in a time when feminism was cool. That time may not be here yet — but perhaps Shriver's example will hasten it.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Dies At 88 [Wall Street Journal]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Dies [CNN]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Founder Of Special Olympics, Dies At 88 [New York Times]
Obama Statement On Passing Of Eunice Kennedy Shriver [The Page]