Two ODU alums -- Diaz, Bellinghausen -- making news

Emily is back! Or should we say Noelle Movement (formerly ODU's Nicole Bellinghausen) appears on "House" at 9 p.m. Monday on Fox. Movement stars as Emily, a character that Hugh Laurie is, shall we say, quite fond of.

In other former Lady Monarch news, Natalie Diaz will be in town this week as part of National Poetry Month. Diaz, whose first book of poetry "When My Brother was an Aztec" is due out this month, will be reading her work at the Virginia Beach Higher Education Center on Thursday from 12:30-2 p.m. in Lecture Hall 244.

Diaz will also be at the University Bookstore on Wednesday from 2-3 p.m. signing copies of her book.

The event is followed by a reception and book signing, where you might just ask Nat about her current project. The former Lady Monarch guard lives in Fort Mojave Valley, Ariz., where she is coordinator of the Fort Mojave Language Recovery Program with the few remaining speakers of Mojave to preserve the language. Through audio recordings, visuals and documentation, Diaz is working with elders in the preservation effort, some of which is directed to retaining the bird songs or songs of celebration of the tribe.

Diaz was raised in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, Calif.

ODU's Noelle in the "House"

Yep, that's Noelle Movement (the former Nicole Bellinghausen, an Old Dominion forward) with "House" actor Hugh Laurie. Noelle has filmed another segment of the popular TV drama and promises to tell us when it airs.

Holiday Gift Guide: 13 gifts in 13 days for the WBB fan

On the 13th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me........

It's 13 days before the big day, and we've put together a shopping guide for the women's basketball fan. (We start on day 13 in honor of the 13 Division I schools in our state.)

We will reveal one gift per day (trust us, the one we unveil on Christmas Day doesn't require any trips to the mall). We start with music and artist Noelle, the former Nicole Bellinghausen, a forward from Old Dominion. Her first CD is due out in 2012 and we love the title, "The First Noelle." Noelle, by the way, is Noelle Movement these days.

Until then, create your own CD by downloading Noelle's "It's Personal" from iTunes. The 12 songs for $9.99 are a mix of R&B, soul, hip hop and pop.

We love her smooth, silky voice and like the idea that we knew her when. As an aside, we can't let this post pass without paying homage to The Voice (that would be Frances Albert Sinatra, who would have turned 96 today. If you haven't heard his rendition of "Jingle Bells," -- J-I-N-G-L-E bells, you've missed).

ODU's Noelle back in the "House"

She's back at home in "House." That's right. Former Old Dominion forward Nicole Bellinghausen (now known as Noelle Movement) will guest star in Monday's episode of "House." The actress, singer, songwriter also made an appearance in a March episode. The show airs on Fox at 8 p.m.

ODU's Noelle in the "House"

Last week it was "Rules of Engagement." Next week (March 14 to be exact), Noelle Movement (formerly Old Dominion's Nicole Bellinghausen) has a role, albeit a small one, in the Fox TV series "House." She describes her lone scene as an "intimate" one between her and "House" star Hugh Laurie. Tune in at 8 p.m.