Anti-vaccine ads on Delta planes; Magic and Ellen as celebrity champions for HIV/AIDS prevention...and more- What Am I Reading This Week?

New pop culture and public health stories to check out this week:

1. Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live fame reveals that child abuse led to alcohol/drug use and cutting. He details the horrific abuse in a new memoir, "God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*cked".

2. Fellow Boston University School of Public Health alum Elizabeth Cohen reports on the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson's announcement that he is HIV positive. His announcement had an incredible impact on the public's health- both in terms of reducing stigma of those diagnosed and proving that the diagnosis is not always a death sentence.

3. Delta airlines is seeing backlash from public health organizations and other flu vaccine advocates after airing a 3-minute PSA from the National Vaccine Information Center that describes alternate ways to avoid the flu (besides getting the flu shot).

4. Ellen DeGeneres is named global envoy for AIDS awareness. The hope is that Ellen's enormous platform (from both her TV show and social media channels) will allow her to reach millions of people with the prevention message. Ellen is a partner in other important public health issues, for example- bullying prevention.

5. This week, Evelyn Lauder passed away from Ovarian Cancer. Evelyn was one of the powers behind the creation of the pink ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness.

How about you? What are you reading this week?

#NoHomos on Twitter, "50/50" looks at Cancer, Johnny Depp's Rape Comments, Chris Christie's Weight, and Steve Jobs: What Am I Reading This Week?

Whew- it has been a busy week for Pop Health! Here are the top 5 stories I've been reading:

1. Twitter is no place for #NoHomo: Should Twitter take a more proactive stance regarding hate speech that can result in trending topics?

2. "50/50"- A Hollywood movie takes on cancer: Cancer has been a theme in many movies (e.g., "Funny People") and TV shows (e.g., "The big C" on showtime)- how does this movie compare?

3. Johnny Depp offers apology for rape remarks: Depp offers an apology for comparing being chased by paparazzi to being raped. Forgivable?

4. Chris Christie's Weight- Big problem or none of our business?: Although Gov Christie has recently announced that he will not run for President in 2012, the conversation continues about his weight and its influence on his ability to be a successful Governor or President. What do you think?

5. Steve Jobs and Pancreatic Cancer: There have been many stories about the death of Steve Jobs and the contribution of pancreatic cancer to his passing. I thought Celebrity Diagnosis did a nice job of guiding readers through his diagnosis.

Please use the comment box to tell me what you think about these stories and about others that you are reading this week!