Hundreds of years ago, when the Mexica established themselves in what would become the capital of the Aztec Empire, they encountered an alien-looking creature with a permanent grin and a crown of feathery gills. Fascinated, they named it axolotl — water monster — and revered it as a mischievous god who shape-shifted into an amphibian to elude sacrifice. Since then, the salamander with a Mona Lisa smile has become an icon of Mexican culture and inspired countless researchers because of its capabilities to regenerate bits of its body.

If you’re able to maintain your composure during the finale of “Camelot” at Sidney Harman Hall, I commend you for your overdeveloped sense of restraint. When I realized where director Alan Paul was taking us with the stirring reprise of the title song, which King Arthur sings to a child who wants to join his illustrious Round Table, well, I kind of lost it. I won’t spoil the surprise, but the setting of Alan Jay Lerner’s lyric, about the “one brief shining moment” at Arthur’s court, in which a just society is ascendant and the rule of law prevails, will feel something like heartbreak to anyone who grew up thinking of America as the Camelot of our time.

Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, and the credit goes to parents who, year after year, brought their children to get measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. When enough children are vaccinated, say 90 percent or more in a school or community, they reach herd immunity, and the highly contagious measles virus has nowhere to go. Now, a new public opinion survey of attitudes toward childhood vaccines suggests most parents will continue this essential practice — but there is reason to worry about growing skepticism of lifesaving medications.

Roderick On January 10, 1945, David “Rod” Stewart was born in London, England. He is the youngest of five children and the son of Robert Joseph Stewart and Elsie Rebecca Gilbart of British and Scottish descent. His childhood was primarily consumed by hobbies such as model railroading and soccer. He captained the school soccer team and represented Middlesex Schoolboys. Stewart did not become interested in music until the early 1960s when he began to learn the harmonica and later the piano.

Sidney Poitier passed away on January 6, 2022 at age 94 in the United States. Sidney Poitier is well known as a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and ambassador. Sidney Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 which made him the first Black male and Bahamian actor to win the award. Sidney Poitier spouse: Meet Sidney Poitier’s wives Sidney Poitier was a family man who married and brought forth many children.