OKC County Health Department announces H1N1 immunization clinic
H1N1 Influenza Immunization Clinic
When: Saturday, November 7th, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: John Marshall High School, 12201 N. Portland, Oklahoma City
Why: Everyone who meets the CDC and Oklahoma State Health Department guidelines should receive the vaccine.
Background: ONLY the following priority groups:
- Pregnant women
- All children ages 6 months to 18 years
- Custodial parents of infants less 6 months of age
- Frontline healthcare workers who have direct patient contact with acutely ill persons
- Adults 19 to 64 years of age with chronic disease
Killers slay audiences with live show experience
NEW YORK (AP) — When the Killers started out, they wanted to raise a ruckus like their favorite rock stars did on the road: Frontman Brandon Flowers heard of the legendary exploits of Led Zeppelin and David Bowie and wanted to emulate those experiences.
But Flowers says the Killers’ indulgence in the stereotypical rock star lifestyle is now in the wind.
“When we got away from cliches, our shows started really getting better,” Flowers points out.
“You become mindful that people are coming to see a band that’s well-rehearsed,” added drummer Ronnie Vannucci. “Burning the candle at both ends could hinder performance.”
By no means, however, are the Mormon-raised Flowers and the rest of the quartet choirboys.
“I think we smartened up and were a little bit more selective of when we were going to go paint the town red,” Flowers says with a smile.
Now on their fourth album, the band’s impressive live show is coming to a screen near you.
“The Killers: Live From The Royal Albert Hall” was recorded earlier this year in London at the prestigious 138-year old venue. The CD/DVD set, to be released on Tuesday, also features extra footage, including backstage interviews, and excerpts from their performances at the Oxygen and V Festivals as well as a Hyde Park concert, also in London.
Flowers credits London as the place where their success began.
“We wanted to capture that and thank them,” Flowers says. “The energy is different (there). It’s not a part of our culture to celebrate music here the way they do across the Atlantic.”
The soft-spoken Flowers is fearless. He commands the stage like a modern-day crooner, except that he fronts a rock band instead of an orchestra, and wears “guyliner” and feather epaulettes on his blazer (at other times, he opts for a gilded suit).
Despite the boldness of his stage attire, the Killers lead singer doesn’t see himself as a style icon.
“I’m just trying not to look stupid and apparently some people don’t think I’m doing a very good job,” Flowers says, then breaks into a gentle laugh.
They’ve been touring for their latest album, “Day & Age,” for more than a year, and expect to be on the road for a good part of 2010. Spreading their flamboyant brand of pop around the world is a highlight for the band, but they’re also cognizant of its drawbacks.
Vanucci reduces the dilemma to a single word: “Airports.” Then Flowers chimes, “To take off in the sky — not natural. I’d rather be on the bus on the ground.” Immediately, Vannucci interjects, “Somebody’s scared to fly,” before both break out in laughter.
That spirit among Killers translates on stage — and that’s where it really matters.
‘Real Cougar’ on the prowl to redefine stereotype
Linda Franklin, author of "Don't Ever Call Me Ma'am"
Cathy Velte
Cathy Velte is not your average 54-year-old. The Oklahoma City woman is a successful medical researcher. Financially secure, she’s single, beautiful and confident. She’s a speed junkie who races cars professionally. And she’s proud to be a cougar.
But wait. Most people think of a cougar as a lonely, desperate woman over 40 who is on the prowl for a younger man. That hardly describes Velte.
That’s because Velte is one of thousands of women on a crusade to redefine the term cougar as applied to women.
“It is an attitude; it’s just a confident attitude,” Velte said. “It’s where you are in your life. … Most of us are very well-established in our careers and know what we want. Sexually, we’re mature, and we don’t play games. It makes us attractive to younger men.”
But Velte doesn’t pursue younger men. They pursue her. That’s the biggest distinction she sees between the popular notion of cougar and Velte’s definition of a “real cougar.”
Velte remembers a time when she was at a racetrack, and a young man approached her.
“You look fabulous,” he said. “I would love to take you out. Can I have your phone number?”
The two chatted for a moment, and the man told Velte he was 22.
“I have a 24-year-old son,” she said, laughing.
“I don’t care,” the young man said.
“I do,” Velte said.
“It was very flattering to me, but I just have the confidence that I think attracts younger men,” she said. “For what I do, motor sports, you have to have that. That’s a ‘man’s world.’ They don’t think we can drive. They think we’re dangerous. But, boy, do they have a surprise coming.”
‘Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am’
Linda Franklin wrote the book on being a “real cougar.” Literally. In “Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am,” Franklin knocks the stereotypical description of a cougar on its ear.
“Why is it that any time a woman breaks free from the conventional box society has placed her in, she inherits a degrading label?” Franklin writes in the book.
It irked her that when an older man dates a younger women, it’s like a badge of honor, but when a woman dates a younger man, she’s viewed as a predatory animal. She decided to put a positive spin on the cougar image and women over 40 in general.
Being a “real cougar,” Franklin said, is not about finding a hot, younger man to date. It’s about being the best a woman can be.
“The very first thing is to stop listening to what other people are saying,” Franklin said. “If you listen to the party line, you’re going to believe all the hype, that at this age, your sexuality goes away, your importance goes away. It just starts to diminish, and at 50, you just pack it in, put on your sneakers and your sweat suit and go play with your grandkids.”
Many women have put their own interests and true selves on the back burner for so long, they don’t even remember who they really are, Franklin said. Rediscovering yourself is important in becoming the best you can be.
“It’s not about the stilettos,” she said. Being a real cougar isn’t about dressing in short skirts, skimpy tops and vamping around singles bars on the prowl.
“Of course you want to look sexy; of course you want to look well put together; you want to look terrific — but for your age. And the women who go out of their way to try to look like they’re 25 in order to get a guy or for anything else, they’re laughed at. They’re not taken seriously.”
Franklin has started an online community for Real Cougar women to relate to each other. At www.therealcougarwomanclub.com, women can join for free, set up their own profile, participate in forums and discussions, ask questions and learn about being the best real cougar they can be.
Franklin also blogs about being a real cougar woman at www.therealcougarwoman.com.
Cougar components
Five components of being a “Real Cougar,” from “Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am”:
She knows how to keep her body healthy.
She knows how to keep her beauty radiant.
She knows how to keep her financial affairs in order.
She knows how to keep her relationships nurtured.
She knows how to keep her spirit fulfilled.
Sexy ‘3SOME’ ‘Gossip Girl’ episode draws criticism, speculation
So, Gossip Girl has done it again. As if their “Chuck Kisses a Dude” story line wasn’t controversial enough, now the show is promoting a Nov. 9 episode in which three of the main characters have a threesome. The storyline has parent groups in a tizzy and die-hard fans dying to know which three characters will be involved in the tryst. Michael Ausiello of EW blogs that his mole won’t tell him which characters it will be but offers nine possible combinations.
I’m not a fan, but I can easily understand why parent groups are up in arms. Though the show claims it isn’t geared toward teens, it clearly is.
Here’s an AP story about the Parents Television Council’s objections:
AP–On-air promos for a sexual threesome on an upcoming episode of “Gossip Girl” have spurred the Parents Television Council to ask affiliates of the CW network to pre-empt the show.
Airing the teen tryst, which is being teased in an ad as a “3SOME,” is “reckless and irresponsible,” said PTC president Tim Winter in a statement Wednesday. The threesome involves three main characters in the show but they are not identified in the promos.
The PTC has urged CW affiliate stations not to air the episode, scheduled for Nov. 9.
In a letter to the affiliates, Winter asked: “Will you now be complicit in establishing a precedent and expectation that teenagers should engage in behaviors heretofore associated primarily with adult films?”
This is not the first time the PTC has complained about the sexy prep-school soap, which Winter said is “expressly targeted to impressionable teenagers.”
In July 2008, the organization spoke out against a racy marketing campaign for its new season. Ads showed intimate moments between the show’s characters (on a couch, in the sack or apparently skinny-dipping), accompanied by headlines like “A Nasty Piece of Work” and “Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate.”
“CW has been defending graphic content on ‘Gossip Girl’ by asserting that they don’t target teenagers,” Winters said Wednesday. “Such a claim doesn’t even pass the ‘laugh test.“’
CW spokesman Paul McGuire said the target audience for “Gossip Girl” is the 18-to-34 demographic, with a median viewer age of 27 years old. The network had no comment on PTC’s complaint, he said.
The Parents Television Council describes itself as a nonpartisan education group advocating responsible entertainment.
What do you think? Leave your comments…
‘Extreme Makeover’ star inspires column
Only 49 days to go before my baby is due. Thank goodness! Pregnancy is miraculous and I am thrilled to be able to experience it but, like I’ve said before, it’s not my favorite state of being. When I wrote previously about some of the problems that come with pregnancy, I got an e-mail from a reader chastising me and saying that “fewer whiny pregnancy and parenting clichés would make you and your column more credible and much more thought provoking.”
I wrote back thanking her for her constructive criticism but said that I am just trying to write honestly about what pregnancy and parenting have been like for me — they’re different for everyone.
Last week, I interviewed Paige Hemmis, from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” She will be in town tomorrow talking about her struggle with depression. At the risk of sounding whiny and making pregnancy clichés, I thought this might be a good time for me to write about the depression that I and many other women have experienced during pregnancy.
Paige admitted that she’d struggled with depression for years before really knowing what she was dealing with. I’ve dealt with it on and off since I was a child.
According to the March of Dimes, as many as 20 percent of women have symptoms of depression during pregnancy and those who have had previous bouts of depression are at much higher risk.
For me, it was the worst during the first trimester but has again reared its ugly head now that I am in the third trimester. Bless my husband and daughter for their patience in dealing with my mood swings. It hasn’t been easy.
The hormonal roller coaster of pregnancy is mostly to blame for pregnancy depression. I’ve researched it as much as possible but found that there is very little information out there beyond the basic definition of depression and the fact that pregnant women dealing with it should talk to their doctors.
I’ve found the biggest help on Internet chat boards where women in similar situations discuss what they’re going through. It’s always good to know that you’re not alone. Depression in pregnancy is a real thing that many women deal with but it doesn’t mean that we love our children any less. Maybe if more people talked openly about it, it would be better understood.
‘Extreme Makeover’ star visited OKC
Paige Hemmis changes lives on a weekly basis. On “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” she and the rest of the show’s cast make a lasting impression on families across the country by rebuilding their homes. Hers is a high-profile life and most people are familiar with the impact the show has on the lives of those it touches.
Wearing her signature pink hard hat on the show, Hemmis seems like a picture of spunky happiness. She tears up often on camera but that’s to be expected, considering the dramatic problems the families she helps on the show face.
But few people realize that Hemmis also helps people change their lives from the inside out.
Tuesday, Hemmis shared her story of battling depression with an Oklahoma City audience at a “Blueprint for Hope” event.
An estimated 33 to 35 million U.S. adults are likely to experience depression at some point during their lifetime. According to a 2007 study by Mental Health of America, more than 17 percent of people living in Oklahoma experience at least one major depressive episode a year.
Like many people, when Hemmis realized she had a problem, she didn’t have a name for it. It started around the time she started the show but she wouldn’t have a diagnosis until well into the show’s second season.
“I wasn’t going out, I was kind of withdrawing. The things I normally like to do, I wasn’t doing,” She was tired all the time and couldn’t sleep. She just didn’t feel like herself.
It seemed the only thing she really wanted to do was to eat, she said.
“When you’re not sleeping, there’s a whole lot of extra time to eat,” she said. She would stay up late munching on snacks in bed. Then, she would wake up early, sleepless, and eat some more food. All the excessive eating caused Hemmis to gain 25 pounds in short order.
She also found herself on the road 10 months out of the year, traveling for the show.
“I would wake up in the middle of the night and not know where I am, what city I’m in, what hotel I’m in,” she said. “I was feeling more and more overwhelmed.”
She went to her doctor thinking that her problems stemmed from traveling so much and her lack of sleep.
“I felt very guilty for admitting that anything was wrong with me. Because the families that we help as part of the show, they’ve gone through these horrible stories and here I am, I’ve got a good job, a good family, a good life,” Hemmis said.
When the doctor told her she was battling depression, she was shocked.
“At first I was like, ‘What? No! I’m happy, see my smile?’” he recalled. “But part of me was really relieved because I was not alone and there are other people going through this and I had a name for what I was going through.”
Though she didn’t have suicidal thoughts, Hemmis realized that if her condition went untreated, it would likely lead to them.
So, working with her doctor, she devised a “blueprint” for how they would treat her depression. It included talk therapy, antidepressants, eating better and exercising.
“It’s like a blueprint for a house,” Hemmis said. “Drywall, wood plumbing …That’s kind of how it is with our lives. We each have our own blueprint.”
Hemmis teamed up with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) and Dr. Jesse H. Wright to form “Blueprint for Hope,” a campaign to inspire people to speak with a health care professional about their depression symptoms and raise awareness of the importance of working with a health care professional to build a personalized “blueprint,” or plan, for managing their illness.
Today, Hemmis is happy and healthy and hopes that by sharing her story, she’ll inspire others to focus on their own “Blueprint for Hope.” For more information about the campaign, go online to www.blueprintforhope.com.
Disney contest seeks artistic kids
Disney Parks and NASA “Launch” Buzz Lightyear Mission Patch Design Challenge
After serving 15 galactic months on board the International Space Station (ISS), Disney Parks and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently announced they are celebrating Buzz Lightyear’s historic space journey with a Mission Patch Design Challenge for children 6-12 years of age in theUnited States and District of Columbia at www.DisneyParks.com/Buzz. The 12-inch action figure returned to Earth in September aboard NASA space shuttle Discovery mission STS-128.
For nearly 40 years, NASA astronauts have designed patches to symbolize their individual space missions and flight accomplishments. Carrying on this tradition, Disney Parks and NASA have launched a search for the most creative mission patch design to honor Buzz Lightyear as America’s first and longest serving space ranger.
Hurry!!! Deadline for entries is Nov. 6, children and parents can go online and download materials to design a custom Buzz mission patch. Kids can choose design templates and art work inspired by previous NASA badges as well as NASA and Disney Parks creative elements and other fun add-ons. Along with their patch, children must also submit a brief essay (up to 100 words) discussing the inspiration for their design. The winner, parent and two guests will receive a three day, two night vacation to Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. as well as a VIP tour of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The Mission Patch Design Challenge commemorates Buzz Lightyear’s achievement and builds on NASA’s educational goals of encouraging students to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. As part of the Buzz Lightyear Mission Patch Design Challenge, children will get the opportunity to learn about the requirements of space flight and the science surrounding NASA programs, helping to create a strong understanding about the importance of space exploration.
Disney Parks is celebrating Buzz’s momentous feat with a “Welcome Home” ticker-tape parade down Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort. Buzz will be joined by International Space Station Expedition 18 crewmate Michael Fincke as well as former Apollo 11 moonwalker, Buzz Aldrin.
“Now that Buzz Lightyear is back home, we are truly excited for the next phase – designing a real NASA mission patch to recognize his historic accomplishment,” said Disney’s Duncan Wardle, Vice President, Disney Destinations. “Disney Parks and NASA feel it’s only fitting that Buzz’s biggest and true fans are given the opportunity to design a one-of-a-kind mission patch to celebrate his dream-come-true. We have no doubt the submissions will be unique and creative – if anything, a very hard decision to make!”
How to Enter:
Children and parents can visit http://www.DisneyParks.com/Buzz.for official Mission Patch Design Challenge rules, templates, examples of elements required for each design as well as judging criteria. Entrants shall:
- Download and print mission patch templates (with the help of parents)
- Using various elements, design a Mission Patch to commemorate Buzz Lightyear’s time in space aboard the ISS
- Write a brief description of the design (up to 100 words)
- Submit artwork and design description (with the help of parents)
- Entries may be submitted via e-mail or mail to specific address
Entries will be judged based on originality, creative execution, appropriateness of theme and clarity of expression of idea. For additional information on the Disney Parks and NASA Mission Patch Design Challenge or to enter, guests may visit www.DisneyParks.com/Buzz.
Finally, a bra that multitasks!
To you, that cute pink bra with black lace trim might conjure up thoughts of sexy lingerie. To Dr. Elena Bodnar, it represents a possible lifesaver.
Behold the bra-mask — a bra that in an emergency can be turned into a pair of protective face masks.
Bodnar’s invention the Ig Nobel Prize, given by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine for achievements that “first make people laugh and then make them think.”
“The brilliance of my idea is that it’s very simple,” said Bodnar, of Chicago, who is the director of the nonprofit Trauma Risk Management Research Institute.
To use the bra mask, the wearer unsnaps the brassiere from under her shirt, which breaks it in two. Because each cup has hooks on its side, the strap is wrapped around the head and hooked to the cup, which goes over the mouth. Bodnar said an experienced user can don the mask in mere seconds.
The bra mask could be used during such disasters as fires, terrorist attacks, dust storms or a swine flu outbreak, Bodnar said. Indeed, she first thought up the idea while treating victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster as a medical university graduate in her native Ukraine.
Bodnar is now pursuing commercialization of her bra mask. She hopes all women will eventually have one.
What about the men?
As Bodnar noted in her Oct.1 acceptance speech at Harvard University, “Isn’t it wonderful that women have two breasts, not just one? We can save not only our own lives, but also a man of our choice next to us.”
source: McClatchey Tribune Information Services
‘Girls Take Action Summit’ coming up
Growing up, I was an active Girl Scout. I started as a Pixie Scout in kindergarten,(Pixies later became Daisies) moved up to Brownies in elementary school and graduated to the Girl Scout green after that. I loved my days as a Girl Scout. I have such fond memories of Girl Scout camps, selling cookies, weekly meetings when we would do arts and crafts, learn self defense, tour interesting places and meet inspiring people.
When my daughter was old enough, I enrolled her in Girl Scouts. I was even a group co-leader for a year. I think Girl Scouts is a wonderful organization and that all girls should at least have a chance to try scouting out for themselves.
This year’s “Girls Take Action Summit” is from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 23 at the Douglas High School Auditorium.
Here’s an e-mail I received in response to my column from October 26 about the unrealistic body image Barbie presents to young girls. The e-mail is from Deborah Gooding, director of marketing and communications for Girls Scouts- Western Oklahoma, Inc.
“I just wanted to let you know how important your column on “image of women” is to girls today. At Girl Scouts, we are working through a program called “Uniquely Me!” to address the very issues you raised in your article. I encourage you to learn more about what we are doing locally to address this issue through Girl Scouts.You can view some of our materials here: http://www.gswestok.org/uniquelyme/ also encourage you to scroll down to the bottom of the page and watch the video called “Onslaught” – it is graphic but the point is very clear.
We are hosting a special event in OKC on Nov. 23 where Uniquely Me will be among the featured topics (along with Forever Green projects, robotics and more). It will be at Douglas High School. You can view the details here: http://www.swiftpage3.com/CampResource/2V0KIOM6DX7GM72Y/3/text.pdf”
Barbie has cankles? Give me a break.
Ok, I know this is awful but it's not that far from the truth. I found this photo at www.wayodd.com.
I just read that French shoe designer Christian Louboutin has had enough of Barbie’s cankles (ankles that blend into calves). Apparently, the designer has taken it upon himself to give Barbie an ankle lift and skinnier legs for the shoes he’s designing for her. “He found her ankles were too fat,” his spokesperson told Women’s Wear Daily.
Excuse me? If Barbie were a real woman, her body would be nonfunctioning, it’s so out of realistic proportion. According to iVillage.com, her feet would be a size 3, her bra size would be a 39FF and her measurements 39-21-33. She would stand 8 feet 9 inches tall. Her neck would be twice the length of a normal woman’s and would be so skinny, she’d have to choose between an esophagus and a trachea. The likelihood of a real woman having Barbie’s bod is less than one in 100,000.
I know, she’s just a doll. But for most little girls, Barbie is the first woman’s body they really get to analyze, besides their mothers’. Little girls (and little boys) are fascinated with Barbie because they can take off her clothes, check her out from all angles and get an anatomy lesson even though she’s missing certain vital parts. Barbie is a little girl’s first ideal — what she hopes to look like when she grows up.
Lately, plus-size models and actresses have gotten lots of attention, but “plus” starts at size 12 to 14! That means more than half of American women are plus-size; the average American woman is 162.9 pounds and size 14.
When plus-size model Lizzie Miller appeared nude in Glamour, smiling broadly with the slight fold of extra skin around her belly showing, the fashion world made a big to-do. I applaud her and the magazine, but her body still is smaller and more toned than the average American woman’s. Plus-size models don’t look fat. They look healthy.
Normally, I am not plus-size, but now that I am 31 weeks pregnant, I am. I know, it will come off after childbirth but that’s not the point. It irks me that I feel fat. I shouldn’t be embarrassed about being bigger than the sickly-looking women fashion wants me to idealize. If Barbie has cankles, mine must be elephantine.
For our daughters’ sake, parents must redefine what we consider beautiful. Talk to them about their body image and tell them they’re beautiful at any size.
