Gallery dog Tweeter to be remembered
If you’ve been to Living ArtSpace in Tulsa, you’ve likely met Tweeter, the long time “Gallery Dog.” Poor Tweeter was struggling with arthritis, a nervous disorder and dimentia and sadly, Tweeter recently passed away. She lived for 19 1/2 years, most of which at the gallery.
The folks at the gallery are planning a memorial for Tweeter at 7 p.m. Sunday. Those wishing to attend will meet at Living ArtSpace, 308 S Kenosha Ave for a short memorial and then proceed to Gilcrease Museum, 1400 N Gilcrease Museum, to scatter her ashes during an early evening walk in Stuart Park behind the museum. Dogs on leashes are welcome.
British scientists claim to create human sperm
Researchers at Newcastle University and the NorthEast England Stem Cell Institute say they used a new technique to derive what they described as sperm cells from embryonic stem cells. Stem cells have the potential to become any cell in the body.
Newcastle research leader Karim Nayernia said in a statement Wednesday that the technique would allow researchers to study how sperm develops and possibly help develop treatments for infertile men.
The research was published Wednesday in the journal Stem Cells and Development.
But many other British experts cast doubt on the research. They also said the sperm cells created in the laboratory were clearly abnormal.
“I am unconvinced from the data presented in this paper that the cells produced by Professor Nayernia’s group from embryonic stem cells can be accurately called ‘spermatazoa,” said Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield.
Pacey said in a statement that the sperm created by Nayernia did not have the specific shape, movement and function of real sperm.
Azim Surani, a professor of physiology and reproduction at the University of Cambridge said the sperm produced by the Newcastle team were “a long way from being authentic sperm cells.”
Nayernia said the cells “showed all the characteristics of sperm,” but his group’s intention was simply to “open up new avenues of research” with their early findings, rather than using the sperm to fertilize eggs.
Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell expert at the National Institute of Medical Research said that despite the questions raised, Nayernia and colleagues may have made some progress in obtaining human sperm from embryonic cells.
Nayernia said creating embryos from lab-manufactured sperm is banned by British law.
Some lawmakers said provisions should be made to allow sperm derived from stem cells to be tested as part of potential fertility treatments.
Wes Hayden: “It’s on like a pot of…” huh???
Ok, so I’ve been watching The Bachelorette this season a
nd tonight, I just about fell off the couch laughing at Wes Hayden, the cowboy dip from Austin who has been haunting the show since day one. Basically, for the last few weeks, several of the other guys competing for Jillian’s affections have been saying that Wes, the aspiring country musician with a new album to promote, is on the show for the wrong reasons.
Jake, the adorable pilot, even came back after he’d been booted off the show to warn Jillian about Wes, saying that he has a girlfriend back in Austin and that he’s only on the show to promote his music career.
Wes tried to make Jillian believe that he “rilly lahks” her but the simpleton can’t act his way out of a paper bag. Behind the scenes, he keeps spouting off about how he’s gettin’ some good publicity on the show, blah blah blah. He’s such a tool!
So, tonight, Jillian confronts Wes and he basically can’t form a sentence in defense of himself. It’s an ah-ha moment for Jillian… thank goodness because if she had decided to keep Wes on the show, we were going to boycott.
Anyway, here’s the hilarious part… While the four bachelors are waiting for Jillian to show up at the rose ceremony, Wes is all, “Well, guys, if I’m out of here tonight, you know where I’ll be… back in Austin havin’ lots of sex.” That’s a paraphrase but the “lots of sex” part is a direct quote.
Andy and I just stared, slack-jawed. Finally, his true colors come out.
Then, when he gets the boot from Jillian, he’s riding away in the limo, obviously quite lit up on Spanish beer, waving a cocktail around ranting about how he must have set some record for being the bachelor to stay on the show the longest with a girlfriend… how he has gotten all kinds of good publicity to sell his records… those guys wouldn’t get a nibble back in Texas…”I was born at night but not last night,” ”I’m in Spain and everybody’s gonna know my name,” and “it’s on like a pot of (unintelligible but it sounded like ‘neg bomb’)… ” ***update… just Googled it and apparently he was saying “It’s on like a pot of neckbones.”
Maybe you had to be there watching all season to understand but it was the funniest thing I’ve seen on TV in a while.
I’ve been to his Myspace and listened to a few of his songs. They are predictable, boring country tunes that any hillbilly with a guitar and a piece of straw between his teeth could write but sadly, he just might have gotten the publicity he needed on the show to sell that swill.
Missing ring found but not mine!!!
Luis even took a picture of his daughter's boyfriend, Robert Corbo, diving for the ring!
Some of you may remember reading the article I wrote all about my honeymoon in the U.S. Virgin Islands. In it, I described many of the great activities there are to do in the islands… shopping, boating, off-road tours, snorkeling the reefs…
Of course, one of the most memorable moments of the trip was when my husband, Andy, lost his brand new wedding band while snorkeling off Buck Island.
I posted that article on my blog in March (blog.newsok.com/ofinterest). Recently, I received a comment on that posting.
“We found a wedding band while snorkeling off Buck Island this past weekend…Can you provide a description of it and the inscription?” from a reader named Luis.
Ok, I asked myself, what are the odds? This guy is probably just pulling my leg, looking for reward money or something.
But I emailed him anyway, saying that the ring was a shiny dark metallic Tungsten with no inscription other than the manufacturer’s stamp on the inside.
He wrote back saying that he had been on a cruise when some passengers with “flu-like” symptoms meant the ship would have to abandon its planned course to Antigua and dock, instead, in the United States Virgin Islands.
He went on to say that his daughter’s boyfriend had been snorkeling when he found the ring. He even snapped an underwater picture of the find! But this ring, he said, had a personalized inscription that would be meaningful to the rightful owners.
Well, I had figured the odds were against it being our ring. But the incident made me think. First off, how many men’s wedding rings could there be, buried in the sand at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea? Apparently, more than I thought. But maybe, one day, our ring will turn up!
Even more interesting is how the Internet makes the world a much smaller place. Luis lives in Miami. He just Googled some key terms — lost wedding ring, Virgin Islands — and found my little story on my random blog.
Here’s an idea for some entrepreneur out there — a giant, world wide lost and found web site. Another money-making possibility: underwater metal detecting off the coast of Buck Island!
Michael Jackson remembered
Alicia Mayoral, of Santa Maria, Calif., looks down as she stands near the gates of the late Michael Jackson's former residence, Neverland Ranch, in Los Olivos, Calif., Thursday, July 2, 2009.
A public memrial for Michael Jackson will be held Tuesday, July 7, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, according to several sources.
But all over America, communities are honoring the superstar with rememberances of their own.
President Obama even had something to say about Jackson.
“I grew up on his music — still have all his stuff on my iPod,” Obama said in an AP interview Thursday, adding that Jackson “will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers.
“I think that his brilliance as a performer also was paired with a tragic and, in many ways, sad personal life,” Obama said. “I’m glad to see that he is being remembered primarily for the great joy that he brought to a lot of people through his extraordinary gifts as an entertainer.”
AP–Michael Jackson never visited Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. But when a funeral home director there announced a memorial service for him, it was flooded with reservations so quickly that he added a second service.
Across the country, people and towns with no connection to Jackson are holding services in his honor, showing how completely the multifaceted entertainer permeated American culture. Jackson died June 25 at age 50.
“I believe people honestly, psychologically, have a psychological connection to Michael Jackson,” said Roland J. Criswell, president of Coston Funeral Homes.
Some 125 people are expected at Thursday’s Pittsburgh memorial; the same number is expected July 10 to watch Jackson videos and music, a skit and participate in moderated discussions.
Among the other gatherings:
— In Kettering, Ohio, more than 500 people visited the Routsong Funeral Home to sign a book that will be sent to the Jackson family.
— In Dallas, hundreds of people packed the Golden Gate Funeral Home on Sunday for songs and celebration.
— In Richmond, Va., hundreds of people, including the mayor, attended a memorial at a park, singing and dancing along to “Rock With You” and other songs.
— In New Hampshire, the M/S Mount Washington will next week devote one of its dinner-dance theme cruises on Lake Winnipesaukee to Jackson’s music.
“We take these things very personally,” said Salvatore Didato, a retired associate professor at Seton Hall University from Ossining, N.Y.
Fans can feel a special connection to celebrities such as Jackson, and when they die, it’s not unlike losing a family member — even if they never met, said Dr. Bert Hayslip, a psychology professor at the University of North Texas. Their grief is real and profound, he said.
“When they die, a little bit of you dies, and that’s what grief is all about,” he said.
The memorials springing up around the country serve to legitimize fan grief, he said.
“It gives you the kinds of support that you might not otherwise get when you’re grieving someone in particular,” he said.
Rocky Twyman, a volunteer at a soup kitchen at the First Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, D.C., helped organize a Jackson tribute Wednesday for homeless people.
“The homeless don’t have the Internet and everything. And they wanted to do something to show how much they cared about Michael Jackson,” he said.
Many of the 50 people who turned out to sing spiritual songs signed a memorial book that Twyman hopes can be presented as part of whatever official memorial takes place.
“What I really wanted to bring out that seems to be lost is all the wonderful things that this man did for humanity,” Twyman said, referring to Jackson’s charitable work, such as his involvement in “Feed the World” to raise money for starving people in Africa.
“He was a very selfless person, really,” Twyman said. “He may have been confused, but to me, he really was a child of God.”
Criswell also said he was not a huge Jackson fan but respected his work on civil rights, his philanthropy and his social contributions.
Helen Fitzgerald, who has written several books on grief and works with the American Hospice Foundation in Washington, said Jackson, with his worldwide fame and life lived in popular culture, reminds many people of their own youth.
“It’s kind of like it’s an end of an era,” she said.
Fitzgerald, 70, also admits she wasn’t really a fan, but was nonetheless intrigued by him, especially his dancing.
“I was just curious how a person could move his body that way,” he said.
Fitness camp keeps kids active and healthy
By Heather Warlick-Moore
If you are still looking for a summertime activity for your kids, the Oklahoma City Parks and Recreation Department has an affordable option that is sure to help your kids get into better shape.
Total Fitness Camp at Southern Oaks Recreation Center will keep your kids eating healthy and moving all day long.
“We have to catch kids early,” said Sue Wood, recreation program coordinator. “National health statistics show that childhood obesity and diabetes are both on the rise. If we can help our youth instill healthy lifestyle habits at an early age, we have a greater chance they will remain healthy, active adults.”
Certified physical education instructors lead the campers in a variety of activities including aerobics, tennis, basketball and Pillo Polo, an indoor polo game that uses soft pucks and Nerf-like balls. This is the camp’s first summer to specialize in fitness.
“I came to this camp so I could lose weight,” said Aundria Jackson, an 11-year-old camper. She said she didn’t want to start middle school and get made fun of for her weight. “It’s full of physical activities (that) help you in exercise. It can help you with your health and to get strong bones.”
“The objective here is to entertain the kids so that they’re having so much fun they don’t realize they’re getting fit,” said Steve Brooks, supervisor at the center. A former physical education teacher, he takes the kids for a mile-long walk every morning and coordinates activities throughout the days.
“We wear them out pretty good. They have a good time, though,” he said. The camp is open to kids ages 6 to 18.
Flex Gym and Oklahoma State University’s Oklahoma County Extension Center Community Nutrition Education Program staff members volunteer at the camp daily, coordinating specialized activities for the campers.
“Kids nowadays, their fun is sitting behind a TV playing video games, eating potato chips, stuff like that and they’re not getting out active anymore,” said Garrett Livesay, a Flex Gym trainer. “I don’t want them thinking they’re here for a job, you know, just doing straight exercises. I like to incorporate games and stuff in there where they’re keeping high levels of energy going all the time burning calories, staying in shape.”
The Regional Food Bank provides free breakfast, lunch and snacks for campers and Play in the Park program participants daily.
The camp costs $65 per week and campers can join the camp at any time throughout the summer. Sessions end July 31.
Camp participants have regular weigh-ins and measurements of their body mass index, or BMI, to chart their progress, but only for basic guidelines. The most important goal of the camp is to encourage kids to make healthy and active choices for their lives.
For more information or to register for the Total Fitness Camp, call 631-5441.
