LSJ Lifestyle Pages by Shelley Schaefer

SUNDAY| NOV. 6, 2011

TRAVEL

BOOKS

5C 50 Cent pens young-adult novel 8C DISNEY OPENS AULANI RESORT ON OAHU

Life C

Rapper 50 Cent’s young-adult debut novel, “Playground,” is loosely based on his personal experience. The 36-year-old rap artist has sold more than 22 million albums and earned 12 Grammy nominations, but as he notes, “not everything I’ve done in my life has been role-model material.”

On leeward Oahu, it is 85 degrees, and the trade winds are blowing. Beyond a towering volcanic outcropping, the Paciﬁc Ocean, at a steady 70 degrees, beckons. The afternoon sun begins its lazy descent. This is Hawaii. Do you really need Disney?

WWW.LSJ.COM: Search our complete calendar listings NEED TO REACH US? 267.1392 or life@lsj.com

Your guide to understanding the plans and deadlines » What is changing » Decode the lingo » Fraud prevention tips, 4C » Expert FAQ, 6C

GET BUSY

MEDICARE ROADMAP

NEW DEADLINES

There are new deadlines this year to enroll in or switch Medicare plans. This year, enrollment began Oct. 15 and continues through Dec. 7. The dates were moved up to better ensure that seniors have their membership cards and can begin to receive beneﬁts on Jan. 1. A major exception is if you want to enroll in a top-rated Medicare Advantage (Part C) plan. As a reward for high scores, those plans getting a ﬁvestar rating can enroll new members throughout the year. Next year, between Jan. 1 and Feb. 14, you also can leave Medicare for an Advantage plan that offers prescription drug coverage.

FIND HELP

Free seminars help take confusion out of choosing Medicare coverage Patricia Anstett MCT News Service

WHERE TO GET FREE HELP

» Free one-on-one counseling is available through the Medicare/Medicaid Assistance Program, a statewide organization that works in partnership with Medicare to explain options. You can attend a seminar, or you can get an individual appointment or phone consultation with a trained counselor. The focus of these seminars is to provide helpful, impartial information. Call (800) 803-7174. » Call (800) MEDICARE (800-633-4227) for a booklet on Medicare options, including a detailed explanation of covered benefits and monthly premiums of plans. The site also gives star ratings for many of the Medicare plans. If you need individual help, you can call the Medicare hotline to talk to a counselor who will help you search for options over the phone and will mail you a summary of what you discuss. You also can go to www.medicare.gov and do the comparison yourself. Click on health plan finder, enter your ZIP code or county and the type of plan you want, such as a Medicare Advantage or Medigap policy. The site also gives star ratings, with the best plans getting a five-star rating. » Retiree groups for large workforces, such as the automakers, also may hold Medicare meetings. So do companies that specialize in advising consumers, companies and

PATRICIA BECK/ DETROIT FREE PRESS

unions on insurance beneﬁts. These seminars, however, may focus mostly on the biggest plans that agents sell for a few companies, or they may heavily pitch Medicare Advantage products, instead of what may be cheaper Medigap policies with fewer beneﬁts. » Talk to your pharmacist. Many offer inperson or online help. CVS pharmacies, for example, offer an online Medicare Part D calculator that gives comparisons of Part D plans at www.cvs.com/medicare. » Try other online tools. eHealthInsurance.com, an online source for health insurance, has help at www.eHealth Medicare.com. The site offers various services to compare Medicare plans, as well as a telephone counseling line at (866) 646-7654.

SAY WHAT?

Keith Gresham, a selfemployed painter who hasn’t had health insurance for nearly a decade, couldn’t wait to turn 65 this year. It meant that he finally was eligible for Medicare. “It was a godsend,” said Gresham, of Detroit, who is catching up on getting healthy after skipping yearly physicals and dental cleanings and not buying the new eyeglasses he needs. Trouble is, the federal program that insures 47.6 million Americans, including 1.6 million in Michigan, is confusing to him and millions of others. Health insurance, after all, is an industry with complicated terms, dozens of products and rules and benefits that change from year to year. The task of choosing a Medicare plan is a new one for millions of baby boomers like Gresham. He is getting free counseling about his options through a network of seminars scheduled through December through the federally funded Medicare Medicaid Assistance Program. The events allow seniors to sit with counselors for oneon-one advice about the best plans for them by comparing the price of drugs a senior uses and other benefits. The seminars also help eligible seniors

apply for ﬁnancial help for Medicare programs, including programs that give deep discounts or even free medicines to low-income seniors. That help, along with a much-improved Medicare website (www.medicare.gov), are among the new or expanded offerings for this fall’s Medicare Open Enrollment season — the annual time when most seniors can make changes in their plans for beneﬁts they will receive in 2012. This year, open enrollment began Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, earlier than previous years. There are other important changes, including:

Gold-star ratings

For the ﬁrst time, Medicare is giving gold stars to easily identify the best plans. Ask about a plan’s rating or look up the information on the Medicare website. The site also lets users chart their Medicare spending and medical appointments.

Expanded preventive beneﬁts Medicare now provides nearly two dozen free prevention services, including a yearly wellness exam, a visit that covers many but not all measurements of a routine See MEDICARE, Page 3C

MEDICARE TERMINOLOGY AND WHAT IT MEANS Medicare is a federal health insurance program that provides basic coverage for medical care to seniors and people with certain disabilities. There are two basic plans, Part A and Part B.

PART A

Provides coverage for hospital care, limited nursing home stays, hospice and some home health care. Most people who have been employed get Part A coverage without having to pay a monthly premium.

PART B

Many seniors purchase this coverage for their physician visits,

outpatient services and some medical equipment. Enrollment typically is automatic once you qualify for Medicare. Recipients pay a monthly premium plus a typical 20 percent co-pay and other out-of-pocket costs.

In addition to the plans above, the following policies may be purchased from insurance companies on your own: PART C

Also known as Medicare Advantage, these plans provide more comprehensive coverage for prescription and generic drugs and

sometimes dental and vision care and contributions toward gym memberships, diet-related programs and other care. Medicare Advantage plans include all Part A and B coverage, so you don’t need the two basic plans if you have a Medicare Advantage policy.

PART D

Also known as a prescription drug plan, these policies pay for outpatient prescription and generic drug coverage. If you don’t sign up immediately for one of these plans when you reach age 65, you face penalties for joining later.

MEDIGAP

Also known as supplemental Medicare, these plans pay for additional physician and outpatient care services, but often not prescription coverage. These plans are tailored to people who don’t travel much beyond their home state and who may prefer to ﬁnd drug bargains rather than paying for them monthly in a Medicare plan.

COVERAGE GAP

An interval in some Part D drug plans during which you must pay 100 percent of your prescription costs. Also know as the “doughnut hole,” the gap begins after your

costs reach an initial coverage limit and ends after you have paid enough to become eligible for catastrophic coverage.

CATASTROPHIC COVERAGE

The portion of a Part D plan that kicks in after you have paid a certain amount in a calendar year.

INITIAL COVERAGE

The seven-month period when you can ﬁrst enroll in Medicare (three months before you turn 65, the month of your birthday and the three months afterward).

MCT FILE ILLUSTRATION

www.lsj.com

4C • Sunday, November 6, 2011 • Lansing State Journal

WHEN DO YOU SIGN UP FOR MEDICARE? Retirees who receive Social Security beneﬁts when they are 65 automatically are enrolled in Medicare’s Part A and B, which typically pay for about 80 percent of a bill. Part A covers inpatient hospital and nursing home stays and some other costs and requires a co-pay but no monthly premium cost for most care. Part B covers doctor visits and outpatient care and requires a co-pay and a monthly premium. If you or your spouse have other health insurance, such as through an employer, you can opt out of paying for Part B until the other coverage you have stops. Then, you can sign up for Part B or other Medicare health plans without risk of paying a late fee if you enroll within eight months of the end of the coverage.

Holiday Gift & Craft Sale

HERE’S HOW TO SPOT FRAUD

» Do not let anyone borrow or pay to use your Medicare ID card or your identity. » Be suspicious of anyone who offers you free medical equipment or services and then requests your Medicare number. » Check the Medicare summary notices and your medical bills carefully. If you see anything questionable, call your doctor or health plan. » Be suspicious of health care providers or suppliers who use telephone or door-to-door selling techniques, bill Medicare for services you never received, offer nonmedical transportation or housekeeping as Medicare-approved service, or bill home health services for patients who are not conﬁned to their home. » To report fraud, call (800) 447-8477.

Saturday, November 12 11:00 a.m.2:00 p.m.

Participating vendors include Avon, Pampered Chef, Candles by Gwen, “Tastefully Simple” Rada, and more. Buy ﬂower arrangements, baked goods, maple syrup and more. Santa’s helpers will “gift bag” your purchases.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ofﬁce of Inspector General

Euchre Tournament

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF MUSIC

Friday, November 30 10:00 a.m.1:00 p.m.

JOANNE AND BILL CHURCH

WEST CIRCLE SERIES

Enjoy a day of fun, friends and prizes at this popular event. Enter to win our drawing and enjoy lunch on us. RSVP by November 22.

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Featuring Walter Verdehr, violin, Sunny Wilkinson, vocalist, and pianists Deborah Moriarty, Ron Newman, Derek Polischuk, and Ralph Votapek.

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Joseph Dunn (517) 333-8500

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Music Building Auditorium, West Circle Drive Ken Prouty will give a preview talk beginning at 7:15 p.m.

$10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and free for students

Tickets available at the door or online at music.msu.edu. Call (517) 353-5340. LJ-0100130081

PAID ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR:

Weddings Engagements Anniversaries Birthdays Other special events

Birthday Open House @ Great Lakes Christian Home 2050 Washington Rd. Holt from: 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011 - no gifts-

Savings based on national customer-reported data for new policies in 2010. Actual savings vary. Discounts subject to terms, conditions and availability. Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company, Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL. © 2011 Allstate Insurance Company

Cherishing the Special Moments in Life! Call for information

517-377-1111 or visit www.lsj.com

Happy 85th

Ginny Birney Celebrating 100 Years!

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An Evening with George Gershwin is generously sponsored by Hari Kern and the late Ralph R. Edminster, M.D.

Birthday!!! Still looking good for a young chick!! If you see her around Portland extend birthday greetings. Your are the best mom, grandma, & biggrandama a family could want. With much love, Linda, Diane, Dan, Sharon, Pete, & Annette grandchildren, & great grandchildren

WHAT’S ON

6-30-12 Rebecca Thelen & Justin Childress Mr. and Mrs. Steven Thelen of Grand Ledge are delighted to announce the engagement of their daughter, Rebecca Marie Thelen, to Mr. Justin Steven Childress, son of Tina and Terry Symington of Lansing, Michigan. Rebecca is a graduate of Grand Ledge High School and Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Digital Media Art and Technology. She is currently employed with the Social Security Administration.

Justin is a graduate of Okemos High School and Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Crimal Justice and History. He is currently employed at Wood’s Okemos Marathon, while pursuing his Masters of Science degree in Law Enforcement Intelligence and Analysis at Michigan State University. A June 30th, 2012 wedding is planned in East Lansing, Michigan.

11/12/11 Kyla Farnham & Joe Jackson

Pastor Timothy and Wendy Jackson of Lansing are pleased to announce the engagement of their son Joseph Jackson to Kyla Farnham of Saginaw. Joe is a graduate of West Coast Baptist College. Kyla is the daughter of George and Kathy Gaines of Saginaw. She is a graduate of Grace Baptist College. A November 12, 2011 Wedding is planned. After which the couple will reside in Delta Township, where Joe will continue to serve as Assistant Pastor at Community Baptist Church of Grand Ledge.

11.04.61 Leon & Audrey Reed Leon and Audrey Reed celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary this November 4th. They were married in Bath and made their home there for 35 years before moving to Laingsburg. Their children wish to thank them for all the love and support they have given over the years. Their grandchildren thank them for the hugs, kisses, and goodies they spoil them with. We love you so very much and wish you many more happy celebrations!

Books www.lsj.com

BEST-SELLERS

Source: Publishers Weekly

HARDCOVER FICTION

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MASS MARKET

1. “The Litigators,” J. Grisham 2. “IQ84,” Haruki Murakami 3. “Snow Angel,” G. Beck, N. Baart 4. “The Best of Me,” N. Sparks 5. “Christmas Wedding,” J. Patterson, R. DiLallo

1. “Steve Jobs,” Walter Isaacson 2. “Nearing Home,” Billy Graham 3. “Killing Lincoln,” O’Reilly, Dugard 4. “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” Daniel Kahneman 5. “Every Day a Friday,” J. Osteen

1. “Bring Me Home for Christmas,” Robyn Carr 2. “Crescent Dawn,” C. and D. Cussler 3. “Cross Fire,” James Patterson 4. “What the Night Knows,” D. Koontz 5. “Secrets to the Grave,” T. Hoag

SUNDAY | NOV. 6, 2011

On the ‘Playground’ with rapper 50 Cent

Author shares 14 ‘Barn Stories’

“B

arn Stories” by Morrice author Larry Neitzert (LWN Press, $14.95) is an amazingly good collection of 14 mesmerizing short stories by one of Michigan’s most talented writers. Neitzert, who gained acclaim with his excellent debut novel, “Maggie’s Farm,” last year, has self-published an exceptionally entertaining paperback anthology that smoothly delves into a variety of human emotions. While the central action takes place inside an assortment of Michigan barns, Neitzert covers a lot of territory, beginning with “A Blue Uniform for Jonathon” a thought-provoking story set during the Civil War. Neitzert’s next tale deals with an unusual discovery by four boys in a pile of rubbish on a creek bank. Their journey to the barn and the ultimate resolution is both realistic and hilarious. “Painted Barn” is similar, dealing with two farmers’ wives, their strong beliefs and frustrations; the surprising ending certainly is unexpected. Other stories offer sobering viewpoints from the wives of farmers or their children, examining the changing role that agriculture or livestock production is having in today’s economy. In the haylofts and in the barns, Neitzert showcases his masterful storytelling talents when dealing with aging, proud farmers who face considerable challenges. “Retirement for

Susan Carpenter MCT News Service

Rapper and businessman Curtis Jackson III, known as 50 Cent, poses during an interview in New York last month. Jackson was promoting his new young adult book, “Playground. ASSOCIATED PRESS

» “Playground: The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully” by 50 Cent with Laura Moser » Razorbill, 242 pages, $18.99 » Ages 12 and up

“Playground” also derives fromexperiencesinhischildhood and adolescence with an emotionally driven lead character named Butterball. So called because of his weight, Butterball is a seventh-grader whose parents split up a couple of years earlier, forcing him to divide his time between his dad’s place in New York and his mom’s apartment in the Long Island suburb where he goes to junior high. Told from Butterball’s perspective, the story opens in a psychologist’s ofﬁce, where the overweight teen is sent twice a week to talk about why he smashed the

face of a classmate with a sock full of D batteries. His voice is slang-y, profane, defensive. His attitude is condescending toward authority and remorseless as an aggressor. In therapy, Butterball thinks the doctor is “stupid,” “skinny” and has “zero taste.” Beating up the boy he once considered a friend felt good, he admitted. It was the rare time he’d felt respect from his peers — or gotten much attention from his parents. His mom works double time as an orderly and also is going to nursing school. His dad makes more time for his girlfriends than for his son. These details casually are dropped into the narrative as a backdrop to the action, which has Butterball progressing through his days like so many other disenfranchised teens. School isn’t for learning so much as

escaping what’s happening at home. He goes through the motions of his days without any real effort or learning or connections. There is, of course, the out-of-reach love interest, but there aren’t any real friends. Instead of facing that sad reality, Butterball eats lunch in the handicapped stall of the boys’ bathroom. His only aspiration is a new pair of $300 cobalt-blue sneakers. The therapeutic narrative of “Playground” is somewhat cliche, but it serves its purpose. Butterball’s therapy offers insight into a behavior that few bullies, or their victims, understand. And it shows a path forward that is proactive and redemptive. While few bullies will grow up to be anywhere near as successful as 50 Cent, “Playground,” at least, offers hope.

‘Inferno’ is monumental history of WWII Jerry Harkavy Associated Press

World War II was “the greatest and most terrible event in human history,” Max Hastings writes in “Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945,” and any doubts are sure to be dispelled by reading his gripping and comprehensive account of that epic struggle. From Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland to the atomic bombs that hastened Japan’s surrender, “Inferno” details all the major campaigns, with vignettes and anecdotes that provide a richly textured picture of

what soldiers and civilians on all sides experienced on the battleﬁeld and the home front. Hastings is a former British newspaperman and renowned military historian. “Inferno,” the broadest and most ambitious of his books about the war, draws from letters and diaries of ordinary people and even from novels by Paciﬁc war veterans Norman Mailer and James Jones. There are spellbinding

accounts of campaigns too often overlooked: the 1939-40 Winter War sparked by the Soviet attack on Finland, brutal ethnic clashes in Yugoslavia and the bravery of the British-led troops in jungle fighting that recaptured Burma after inflicting the greatest defeat ever suffered by a Japanese army. Still, according to Hastings, virtually all the combat in the Pacific, the Mediterranean and Western Europe was but a sideshow to the central face-off between the legions of Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Some 40,000 Russian civilians perished — as many as died in the

entire London blitz — during a 14-hour Luftwaffe assault on Stalingrad, and 90 percent of all German combat deaths occurred on the eastern front. “Inferno” is a magnificent achievement, a one-volume history that should find favor among readers thoroughly immersed in World War II and those approaching the subject for the first time.

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Larry Neitzert will be signing books from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Everybody Reads, 2019 E. Michigan Ave.

Louise” focuses on a woman who wants to escape the farm life; her stubborn husband has other ideas. Another story deals with rural racism; others explore many generational differences and similarities. “What to Do With Uncle Paul” is an emotional short story about an elderly relative who grew up on his sister’s farm and has problems adjusting when the farm must be sold. Neitzert’s short stories are best absorbed a little at a time. It’s almost like taking literary vitamins: one a day should make you feel much better. The author is an MSU graduate who grew up on a farm in Coldwater and was a classroom teacher and athletic coach for 31 years. He is an adjunct instructor at Baker College of Owosso in social studies, where he teaches history. Copies of the book can be ordered for $17.95 postpaid from the author at Larry Neitzert, P.O. Box 251, Morrice, MI 48857.

Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing’s Curious Book Shop, has reviewed Michigan books regularly since 1987.

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Just In time for the holidays

The boy who grew up to be the gangster-rap superstar 50 Cent has been more than open about his troubled youth. Raised by a single mother, who dealt cocaine and was murdered when he was just 12, 50 Cent started dealing drugs and carrying guns in middle school. But that isn’t the story he tells in his young-adult debut, “Playground: The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully.” The ﬁctional account of a 13-year-old’s descent into bullydom is loosely based on 50 Cent’s personal experience, only softened. Incorporating enough urban grit to be believable but otherwise smoothing off the rough edges of innercity teendom to appeal to a young and mainstream audience, 50 Cent mines the situational psychology of a child who resorts to intimidation and violence. As a genre, young adult ﬁction is teeming with “issues,” but few are as topical as bullying, which many health professionals now view as an epidemic. Part of the solution to any epidemic is understanding it. And in that regard, 50 Cent is doing a great service to readers by leveraging his from-thestreets credibility and experience as a bully to explore how it can happen. The 36-year-old rap artist has sold more than 22 million albums and earned 12 Grammy nominations, but as he notes in the book’s introduction, “not everything I’ve done in my life has been role-model material. I’ve been on the wrong side of the law. I’ve been in violent situations. I’ve also been a bully. I know how a person gets to be like that. That’s why I wanted to tell this story: To show a kid who’s become a bully — how and why that happened, and whether or not he can move past it.” Like his music, which draws upon 50 Cent’s rise from the streets,

RAY WALSH

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6C • Sunday, November 6, 2011 • Lansing State Journal

TAKE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR MEDICARE COVERAGE ANSWER: The Medicare Advantage program remains strong and stable for ﬁscal 2012, and premiums on average are decreasing. For information about which plans’ premiums will increase in 2012, please consult the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website (www.medicare.gov) for more speciﬁc data by state and county. We expect these programs will continue to be strong in the future. » Q: Many people who are content with their current

coverage don’t want to take time every year to shop around. Should they? Do plans change enough that it’s essential to compare plan options every year? A. The center encourages beneﬁciaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug plans to review their current health and drug plan coverage for any changes their plans may be making for 2012. Beneﬁciaries have or

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The following are excerpts from an interview with Dr. Don Berwick, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in Baltimore. » QUESTION: Medicare just announced that premiums for Medicare Advantage plans will drop in 2012 and that 92 percent of people with Part D prescription drug plans will see premiums go down. Whose premiums will rise in 2012, and what are your projections about premium costs for both types of plans in the next few years?

Continued on next page

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Saturday, Nov. 12 • 10 am - 3 pm Crocheted & Knitted Items, Handmade Painted Birdhouses, Holiday Decorations, Quilted Items, Jewelry, Floral Arrangements, Suncatchers, Baskets, Bakery Goods, Used Books, Puzzles, And Much More!

Various people from the community will join us in selling their crafts. The tables that Delta Retirement will have are: • Bake Sale: 100% proceeds will go to Lansing’s Alzheimer Association • Crafts: 100% proceeds will go to Ele’s Place (a center for grieving children) • Books: 100% proceeds will go to Delta Retirement Library’s Large Print Book Fund

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Lansing State Journal • Sunday, November 6, 2011 • 7C

Continued From 6C

A. To make it easier for beneficiaries plans that have a 5-star rating for 2012. administrative costs? benchmark, the plan bid determines to choose high-quality plans, users will » Q: How would a senior know if A: All of the costs, including the level of extra benefits and premisoon will receive their “2012 find an icon that shows those plans that their plan spends too much money on those for executive salaries and other ums for the plan. If a plan had excesMedicare & You” handbook as had a low overall quality rating the past executive salaries, lobbying and other administrative costs, for a Medicare sive administrative costs relative to its well as a notice from their three years and, new in 2012, will also administrative costs? What is Medicare Advantage plan are included in their peers, the plan would have higher current plan that describes see a gold star icon that shows those doing to control a plan’s spending on plan bid. When compared to the premiums or lesser benefits. any changes from 2011 to 2012. The center provides a number of tools and resources to help beneficiaries make an informed decision about their We have had Kelly for 15+ years and medical benefits. they have always done an excellent » Q: Medicare moved up open job. Our carpet is 22 years old and enrollment this year. Why? A: The Affordable Care looks new....thanks to their cleaning Act advanced the enrollment process and the time they take to do a period to give people more good job. -Mickey B. time to choose a plan and to permit a smoother transition to their new plan. StartBest job ever! Very organized and ing this year, open enrollment quick with excellent results. Never started earlier ... and will last looked cleaner. Very courteous and longer (seven full weeks) to friendly. Will be our only cleaner! give people enough time to review and make changes to -Vicki W. their coverage. The new time MyKellyCleaning.com 517.627.4157 frame should better ensure that people have their new membership cards in hand at the beginning of the year. But also starting this year, you will need to make your final selection for next year’s Medicare coverage by Dec. 7. This change ensures Medicare has enough time to process your choice, so your coverage can begin without interruption on PM PM Jan. 1. In addition, beneficiaMS M MSU S U CONCERT CONC CONCER CO C O NCER NC N C ER ERT E R T AUDI AU AUDITORIUM A U DI DITO D I TORI TORIUM TO T O RI RIUM R I UM U M ries will be able to compare coverage among plans on the center’s website starting this LJ-0100130865 month, including information WHARTONCENTER.COM WHARTONCENTER.COM about plans’ quality ratings. » Q: Many people still find the 1-800-WHARTON 1-800-WHARTON Medicare website overwhelming. What’s ahead to make the site more helpful and userfriendly?

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» The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum will present the annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial service at 7 p.m. Thursday. The service includes reﬂections, music and the Call to the Last Watch Ceremony. » More information: (800) 647-2858 or www.shipwreckmuseum.com

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SUNDAY | NOV. 6, 2011

Disney touch is all over Aulani resort $800 million Oahu complex caters to families Brady MacDonald MCT News Service

KO OLINA, Hawaii — On leeward Oahu, it is 85 degrees, and the trade winds are blowing. Beyond a towering volcanic outcropping, the Paciﬁc Ocean, at a steady 70 degrees, beckons. Honeymooners sip tropical drinks under a thatchedroof hut as the afternoon sun begins its lazy descent. This is Hawaii. Do you really need Disney? My wife, Nancy, and I and our 11-year-old daughter, Hannah, traveled last month to Disney’s new Hawaii resort to see whether Mickey Mouse & Co. could improve on near perfection. Aulani sets out to replace the tourist cliches with a celebration of Hawaii’s history, legends and cultures with just a sprinkling of Disney’s trademark pixie dust. And, for the most part, it succeeds. This $800-million resort delivers on its promise and its considerable marquee name. Aulani opened in late August with 359 pricey hotel rooms and 460 timeshare units. The 21-acre resort, about 30 minutes from Waikiki, is worlds apart in look, feel and spirit from that tourist mecca of high-rise monoliths.

Families are the target audience at the Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa on Oahu in Hawaii.

The negatives MCT NEWS SERVICE

Surf lessons are given at the Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa on Oahu in Hawaii. was time to start exploring. Just as it does in Hawaiian life, water plays a central role at Aulani in such features as the water-park-like pool, the hot tubs, the saltwater snorkeling pool and the adult and youth spas. The centerpiece of Aulani’s pool is a man-made volcanic outcropping where hidden stingrays, squid and crabs are carved into lavalike rock. Two water slides — one a zippy body slide through the dark and the other an inner-tube slide with plenty of airtime — start at the top of the peak. The saltwater snorkeling lagoon, an 8-foot-deep pool filled with 1,000 angelfish, Water everywhere Once we had settled in, it tangs and butterflyfish, was

“It feels like we’re on a different island even though we’re still on Oahu,” said Michelle Blake, visiting Aulani with her family. Three A-frame thatch huts greet you when you arrive at Aulani, along with a pair of towers that rise like modern interpretations of a Hawaiian ﬁshing village. In our 382-square-foot room we found whimsical touches throughout, including the pineapple-patterned quilt woven with hidden Mickeys, an outrigger canoe motif in the headboard and giant hand-carved ﬁshhooks framing the wall mirror.

the most interesting part of the pool area. Hannah held tightly to my arm as we explored the man-made volcanic caverns and coral reefs as fish swam around us. Nancy, meanwhile, had been looking forward to the resort’s Laniwai Spa, choosing the $45 day pass. Her first stop was a fragrant steam room. Out in the garden, she tried the seaweed and eucalyptus vitality pools. Next door to Laniwai, Hannah got her first massage at the Painted Sky teen spa, choosing the 25-minute chair massage ($50). “She massaged my face, my arms, my legs, my feet and even my toes,” Hannah

said. “It was awesome.”

Kids’ activities

What wasn’t quite as awesome for Hannah was not ﬁtting in with the teens or the younger kids, both of whom had their own hangouts. The age at Aunty’s Beach House, a kids’ club featuring a host of activities such as hula lessons and island crafts, topped out at 10, and at 11, she felt a little old for that crowd. She preferred the Painted Sky Spa, which doubled as a teen hangout and offered movie nights, pool parties, beach bashes, stargazing, among other activities. Disney counselors warmly welcomed her at both locations.

For all that was good about Aulani, there were a couple of things that didn’t work as well. Disney generally went light on theatrics, but an afternoon poolside party was an exception. A Disney employee, using a public address system, extolled swimmers to scream, splash and hop up on deck for a hula contest. The pump-up-the-energy vibe shattered the calm and made me cringe. The other issue was the restaurants. They were expensive and limited. In the end, the Aulani was not unlike going to Disneyland: It’s a fun-ﬁlled fantasyland that ends up being far more expensive than you expected. But we did go home with memories that can last a lifetime.

Yosemite plan could limit visitors Outer Banks of N.C. offer wild horses and sand roads the gates, even as some worry whether the park with a hotel with big city YOSEMITE NATIONAL prices has enough access PARK, Calif. — On busy as is for those of moderate days, more than 8,000 cars means. pass through Yosemite Valley in the nation’s third Congestion issues most-visited national park. Yosemite is remarkable But, there are only among the nation’s national 1,100 parking spaces. parks with a combination of The scarcity of visitor stunning beauty, inspiring parking in the narrow gla- hikes and easy driving discial valley is just one of tances from populous metmany challenges facing Yo- ropolitan areas. Despite the semite National Park, of- park’s 1,200 square miles ficials say as they launch of wilderness, 95 percent their third attempt at a of the 4 million visitors master plan to protect its each year end up in the oneheart, the Merced River. by-eight-mile stretch of its After striking out twice valley, where senses are with the courts, park of- overwhelmed by the towficials are asking the pub- ering Half Dome and El lic to do what $65 million Capitan granite monoliths, spent over the course of stands of pines and stair15 years and four park su- step waterfalls. perintendents have failed It means traffic congesto do — come up with a via- tion that can rival a major ble strategy to balance pub- city, degraded air quality, lic access against the strict a lack of parking, and a protections that come with strain on the centerpiece the river’s 1987 congres- river that John Muir called sional designation as “Wild the voice of Yosemite. and Scenic.” “We have very limited The end result could space on which we can do the unthinkable in a build,” said park spokesplace that belongs to the man Scott Gediman. “So people: set limits on the for us it’s always a quesnumber visitors allowed in tion of if we can build.” Tracie Cone

The Associated Press

t’s the Outer Banks, not outer space. Sure, the remote location is part of the charm of the slender slice of sand jutting off North Carolina’s Atlantic shore, but that doesn’t mean it takes a spaceship to get there. A 90-minute drive south from the Norfolk airport in Virginia puts you in Kitty Hawk, N.C., where the ICHAEL Wright BrothATRICK ers’ historic first flight HIELS lasted 13 secTravel onds. The National Monument there is well worth the visit. If you’re so inspired, you can even try flying out yourself. Kitty Hawk Kites, operating from Jockey’s Ridge State Park dunes just to the south, can send you on a 20-second, low-flying guided hang glide experience after a one-hour lesson for about $100 (www.KittyHawkKites.com). Neighboring Kill Devils Hills recently was seen on national television welcoming another airborne visitor — Hurricane Irene. While windblown news reporters were breathlessly talking about the wind while standing in the sloshing surf, the NBC “Today Show’s” weatherman, Al Roker, sought high ground between takes in the swell Sanderling Resort and Spa (www.TheSanderling.com). The Sanderling’s guestrooms and stylish, fourbedroom rental homes are both seaside and soundside because the piece of land on which they exist, just outside Duck, N.C., is so narrow that both the ocean and the massive Currituck Sound are steps away. Spa treatments can be performed alongside the lapping waves or in treatment rooms with windows overlooking the water. Uniquely suited for weddings, Sanderling swooners can get married

M P S

COURTESY PHOTO

The sight of wild horses along pristine beaches often stops visitors in their tracks in the Outer Banks. on the Atlantic beach and then have a sunset reception on the sound. The sound is a playground for ﬁshermen, boaters, kayakers, and golfers, too, since both Currituck Club and Nag’s Head Golf Links play alongside it. Kilmarlic Golf Club, over the Wright Brothers Bridge on the mainland side of the sound, has hosted the North Carolina Open (www.PlayOBX Golf.com). Low-density rentals and an absence of high-rise hotels keep the 60-mile strand of beach and shore stretching across Currituck and Dare counties natural and scenic. The most convenient way to be in the heart of nature is by taking a two-hour “Wild Horse Tour” adventure via Beach Jeeps of Corolla (www.seecorollawildhorses. com). Highway 12 actually turns into a surfside, unpaved road, which allows you to follow the lead vehicle and drive a rented jeep in a convoy to Carova, a beach rental

home community at the Virginia accessible only by sand streets. The homes, overlooking the shipwreck-strewn “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” share 7,500 pristine acres of dunes with 140 roaming wild Spanish mustangs, descendants of the horses brought from Europe centuries ago. You may rent a home or drive your own vehicle independently for a day at the beach provided it is fourwheel drive (www.ComeTo OurBeach.com). Casual dining in unique and colorful eateries such as Barefoot Bernies, Sugar Creek Seafood, and Currituck Barbeque Company offer a relief from the routine of chain restaurants, which are virtually and blissfully non-existent in the Outer Banks. For more information, visit www.OuterBanks.org or www.VisitCurrituck. com.

Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself.com or via www.TravelTattler.com.

Florida By Motorcoach CHRISTMAS IN FLORIDA 12/22-1/4 ......................... $1299 ORLANDO (SEA WORLD, DISNEY) 1/19-27, 2/13-21, 3/6-14 ..... $799 KEY WEST, FT. LAUDERDALE, ORLANDO 2/4-14.............................. 2/4-14 .............................. $1099 32 DAY - KEY WEST, FT. MYERS, DAYTONA, 2/4-3/6............................. 2/4-3/6 ............................. $1999

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CHARLESTON, SAVANNAH, JEKYLL ISLAND NEW YORK

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It’s not just parking that’s complicating the park’s access problems. El Nino’s fury in 1997 caused the river to breach its banks, obliterating hundreds of lower-cost lodging spaces. Stressing the park further is recent acknowledgement by officials that the hazards of boulders sloughing off the granite icons along the valley’s edge are a threat to public safety. Between rock fall risk and floods the park has lost 400 campsites, 500 lodging rooms and 300 employee cabins over the past decade and a half. Many were inside the half-mile-wide corridor that the new plan must set aside to allow the river to ebb and flow as nature intended. The loss of lodging has coincided with increased demands on the revered park. Recreational demands have become so strained that this year the park instituted a daily lottery for permits to climb Half Dome, where congestion often was so bad hikers followed heel-to-toe up the steep, slippery grade.

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Life Motivation SUNDAY| JAN. 8, 2012

TRAVEL

BOOKS

6C Book examines Giffords shooting 7C TOUR HOLLYWOOD LIKE A LOCAL

The best material in Tom Zoellner’s “A Safeway in Arizona” comes at the beginning. There’s a momentby-moment breakdown of the events of Jan. 8, 2011, when, at a Tucson Safeway, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner opened ﬁre, wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others.

WWW.LSJ.COM: Search our complete calendar listings NEED TO REACH US? 267.1391 or life@lsj.com

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE WEIGHT-LOSS PRIZE

Pity the rubes. Those wayward tourists who dawdle in their cars and tour buses along Beachwood Drive, enraging the locals as they haltingly seek that perfect Hollywood sign photo op — they know not what they do. You have savvier Hollywood plans.

Aim to lose 5 percent of your starting weight in three months and 10 percent in six months. “At that point, you can reassess if you want to continue to put more effort into weight loss. Even weight maintenance is hard work.” DAWN JACKSON BLATNER Registered dietitian in Chicago and blogger at yourlife.usatoday.com

READ IT

How to take the hunger out of dieting

Bill Daley MCT News Service

“D

iet” means “denial” no matter how you spell it, but “diet” doesn’t have to mean “hungry,” too. But often it does, which could be why so many righteous January resolutions are forgotten by February. A new e-book attempts to tackle the problem, offering ways to lose weight while still feeling satisﬁed. “But I’m Hungry!”, available for $11.99 at butimhungry.net or on Amazon, promises to help battle “the beast” — hunger — while dropping the pounds and keeping them off. A collaboration of a health writer, a nutritionist and an editor, the e-book promises “the exact combination of healthy foods and lifestyle changes you need to lose weight, feel great and never be See HUNGRY, Page 5C

ACTION STEPS

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TODAY’S THEME:

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Healthier

USA Today

Many people rolled out of bed this week determined to kick-start the new year by losing weight. Some want to shed pounds because they’re on the brink of developing type 2 diabetes, their knees hurt or their blood pressure is too high. Others want their clothes to ﬁt less snugly. Still others were shocked by the number on the bathroom scales. If you are one of these people, experts have some helpful advice to get you started. Research shows that no one motivation is better than another in determining success, says Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia. The key is to ﬁnd the right motivation for you so you do the “hard work” involved in losing weight, he says. “It could be 100 different things.” Throughout your efforts, you have to keep that motivation front and center and remind yourself of why you are doing

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this, he says. Sometimes people are gung-ho in the beginning, especially after they lose 10 to 15 pounds, but then their interest starts to wane when they have to work harder and eat fewer calories to keep on losing, Foster says. If you lose 10 percent of body weight, you need to eat 10 percent fewer calories than you were eating to maintain that lower weight, he says. When you hit a bump in the road, don’t let it get you down, says Dawn Jackson Blatner, a registered dietitian in Chicago and blogger at yourlife.usatoday.com. Learn from it, think through how to do it better next time, and move on, she says. People who just beat themselves up when they don’t do well lose their motivation end up quitting, she says.

HERE ARE SOME KEYS TO SUCCESS: KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL » Research shows dieters who do this lose twice as much weight as those who don’t. If after a few months you get tired of it, then at least try to write down your intake at the times of day that you’re most likely to eat too much, Foster says.

STEP ON THE SCALES REGULARLY » Weigh yourself at least once a week, and no more than once daily, he says.

GET A WEIGHT-LOSS BUDDY. » This might be your signiﬁcant other, a co-worker, a registered dietitian, a family member or a friend, Blatner says. Your buddy can offer encouragement, try new recipes with you and exercise with you.

SET REALISTIC GOALS. » Blatner advises aiming to lose half a pound to 2 pounds a week. If you’re not losing that much, look for “calorie sabotages,” such as big portions, sweets, sugary beverages and alcoholic drinks, she says.

Here are five easy-action steps from the e-book. » Eat three “satisfying” foods: Soup, salad, whole grains. They help you fill up in a good, lower-calorie way so you eat less of the “bad” foods. » Don’t live by bread or pasta alone. Combine carbohydrates with protein or fat in every meal or snack. “A couple of pieces of toast won’t have the staying power that an egg, toast, milk and fruit would,” the authors write. » Buy whole foods instead of processed food. Fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains offer more taste for fewer calories. They are high in fiber, too, giving you the bulk needed to feel satisfied. » Let yourself feel hungry without becoming starved. Don’t eat until you’re hungry, but also, don’t let hunger grow to the point you’ll devour anything. The authors recommend eating a meal or a snack every three to four hours. » Try new, healthy foods. Petrello, in particular, advocates plant protein. Try tofu, edamame, lentils, beans.

‘Downton Abbey’ a true Masterpiece Mike Hughes TV America

In the steady, sturdy world of “Masterpiece Theatre,” change is rare. Over40years,theseriesgot much respect and modest ratings; then “Downton Abbey” arrived. “It is the best thing that has happened to ‘Masterpiece’ in ages,” said Rebecca Eaton, the series producer. There was a big bump in ratings (up 43 percent for the season) and in honors (six Emmys, including best movie or miniseries). Now a second round of “Downton” begins. Why the success? In the past, “Downton” producer Gareth Neame said, “Masterpiece” writers have often felt obligated to stick to the framework of a novel from centuries earlier. This time,

Rose Leslie (left) and Siobhan Finneran are shown in a scene from “Downton Abbey.” ASSOCIATED PRESS

however, writer Julian Fellowes created an original story. “I would say the show is closer to something like ‘Mad Men,’ where you have a period setting, but modern writing.” The era — 1912 in the original, 1916 now — is viewed from a modern perspective. The pace is quick and the events keep piling up, barely

a notch above soap opera. Providing the soapy push are two attractive central characters who almost became engaged: » Lady Mary Crawley, the eldest daughter of Robert, the earl of Grantham. Her one-night stand with a Turkish diplomat — who promptly died in her bed — was tenuously hushed up. “Things

only got worse for Lady Mary,” Eaton said. » Matthew Crawley, her distant cousin. He’s a lawyer who is expected to inherit the estate. Now wartime intervenes. “It’s a bit of a darker storyline for him,” said Dan Stevens, who plays him. Stevens, 29, seems closer to a modern, romantic-comedy star, complete with joltingly blue eyes and an easy manner. He confesses to being “very badly behaved in school” until he discovered acting; then he did the classics, on stage and in the “Sense and Sensibility” on “Masterpiece.” Michelle Dockery, 30, seems fairly close to Lady Mary. Tall (5-foot-8) and wellspoken, she’s done theater and was Erminia Whyte in the “Masterpiece” produc-

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tion of “Cranford.” Now she plays a hesitant character she understands. “I’m very shy … I think a lot of people are like that.” Mary’s relationships are usually careful and understated. “It’s really interesting to play those scenes where the emotions and true feelings are repressed,” Dockery said. These modern young actors transformed at a base camp near Highclere Castle. “It is an incredibly imposSee DOWNTON, Page 4C

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4C • Sunday, January 8, 2012 • Lansing State Journal

Downton Continued From 1C

ing and striking building,” Stevens said. “You get into your costumes and makeup … and then you have this 200-meter walk up to the house and you’re running the lines in your head. It’s a wonderful preparation for playing the scenes in that enormous house.” Actresses made that walk often. “Aristocrats had no function whatsoever,” Neame said. “So for the women, most of their day was spent

changing, dressing, undressing …. There were four or ﬁve or six different outﬁts worn in any one day.” That’s for the half of the cast playing uppercrust Crawleys. For the others, things are simpler. “I’ve got two costumes,” Siobhan Finneran said. “Just two. And they’re both black.” She plays Sarah O’Brien, maid to the countess (Elizabeth McGovern) and often scheming with William Mason, the second footman. Except that William goes to war; so do Thomas Barrow, the

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ﬁrst footman, and Matthew Crawley. Back at the castle, life continues under the earl (Hugh Bonneville), his wife (McGovern) and the dowager countess (Maggie Smith, who won an Emmy in the role). Meawhile, Isobel Crawley — Matthew’s mom — tries to nudge the manor into a modern era. “You see this beautiful world,” McGovern said, “on the precipice of cataclysmic change.” Life changes — even for Downton Abbey, PBS and “Masterpiece Theatre.”

ABOUT THE CHARACTERS THE CRAWLEYS

» Robert, the Earl of Grantham. His adult life has simply involved being head of the estate. » Cora, the Countess of Grantham, Robert’s wife. » Lady Mary, their eldest. The complicated rules tied to the estate say only a male can inherit it; she was going to marry a distant cousin who would run it, but he was reported among the Titanic’s dead. A Turkish diplomat died in her bed. » Lady Edith, the middle sister. She wrote a spiteful letter about Mary’s sinful night; Mary retaliated by sabotaging her romance with a local farmer. » Lady Sybil, the most independent. She’s thought about jobs, political causes and the chauffeur. » Matthew. A small-town, small-time lawyer, he’s suddenly in line to inherit the estate. He asked Mary, his distant cousin, to marry him, but she dawdled so long that fell apart. Now he’s an Army ofﬁcer. » Isobel, Matthew’s mother. She has nursing skills and has already been overhauling the hospital that

the family supports ﬁnancially. » Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Disapproving of most changes, she ranges from a core decency to classic crotchety.

THE HELP » Charles Carson, the butler, runs the estate, with endless honesty and a distrust of the 20th century. » Elsie Hughes, the housekeeper. » John Bates, the earl’s valet. He’s been wounded in the military and in marriage. » Sarah O’Brien, the countess’ maid. She grumbles and schemes a lot. » Beryl Patmore, the cook. A simple soul, she’s good-hearted. » Anna Smith. She’s the head housemaid, with two others under her. She sees the goodness under the solemn surface of the troubled Bates. » Tom Branson, the chauffeur. He’s interested in Irish politics, Lady Sybil and world change. » Thomas Barrow and William Mason, the footmen. Heading to war, they had opposite approaches. William was idealistic; Thomas schemes for light duty.

Cherishing the Special Moments in Life! Call for information

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Engagement Leigh

Kline

Katherine

Kierpiec

73rd Wedding Anniversary Glen and Virginia Root of Charlotte, MI celebrated their 73rd Wedding Anniversary on December 26, 2011. As was on the day of their wedding, being married in front of the Christmas Tree, so the tradition followed on this joyous day. Sensations Home served cake and punch to friends and family. They have three children, ﬁve grand children and seven great grand children.

Joseph Kierpiec (Barb Ellsworth) of Midland, MI, and Carol Duncan-Smith (Robert Smith) of Lowell, MI, announce the engagement of their daughter, Katherine Kierpiec to Leigh Kline, son of Gary and Donna Kline of North Syracuse, NY.

5-19-12 Kataﬁasz & Dollman-Jersey Brian and Teresa DollmanJersey of Mason, MI are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Jason to Dr. Angela Katafiasz, DVM, daughter of Michael and Laurie Katafiasz of Piqua, OH.

University. He is currently enrolled in the College of Veterinary Medicine at MSU. He is also employed by Patterson’s Veterinary Hospital.

An August 4th wedding is planned at Christ Lutheran Church in Lansing, MI followed by a reception at the Country Club of Lansing.

& George

Mary Ann

DUNN Happy 90th birthday to Blanche Dunn of Mason, Mi, on January 14. From husband, Larry, her ﬁve children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren, Gabe and (pictured with Blanche) Anna. We all love you very much.

Vanneste - Smith Happy Birthday Dee is celebrating her 80th Birthday On January 14 with her Family.

We wish her continued good health and happiness.

WE LOVE YOU!

Kagey & Purkiss

Katherine is completing her Doctorate of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Counselor Education at Michigan State University, with an anticipated graduation date of May 2012. Leigh will graduate with his Juris Doctorate in January 2012, from Cooley Law School.

The couple is planning a May of 2012 wedding.

Angela is a 2011 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at MSU and is currently practicing at Patterson’s Veterinary Hospital in Mason. She is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Food Safety. Jason holds Bachelor Degrees in both Zoology and Animal Science from Michigan State

2012

50 Dr. George and Mary Ann Mansour of DeWItt recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 27, 2011. They were married by Rev. Thomas Boyle and Rt. Rev. Fr. Raphael Husson on December 27, 1961, at The Presbyterian Church, Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Dr. Mansour is Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University, and Mrs. Mansour retired from Adult Education, Lansing School District. They have two children Alicia Hostetler (husband Dr. Mark Hostetler) and Philip Mansour (wife Rachele Mansour). They celebrated their anniversary recently with their two children and six grandchildren on a Caribbean cruise.

Don and Julie Kagey of Okemos are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Joanna, to Eric Purkiss, son of Tom and Donna Purkiss of Grand Haven. Joanna is a 2003 graduate of Okemos High School and Eric is a 2002 graduate of Troy High School. They are both Michigan State University alumni. Joanna is a preschool director/teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas and Eric is employed at The Federal Highway Administration as the financial manager. A July 2012 wedding has been planned.

Submissions are paid advertisements that may be edited for length, accuracy and clarity. Submit content either via Email: atrudell@lansing.gannett.com or Fax to (517) 482-5476 or mail to 120 E. Lenawee St., Lansing, MI 48919. In submitting photographs or announcements that include poetry or other material not authored by you, please note that you should only submit material for which you have the right to permit the Lansing State Journal to use and publish. All announcements and photographs submitted to the Lansing State Journal may be published, used or distributed in print, electronic or other media.

Engagement

Saeeda Michelle

Usman

David Michael

Smiadak

Sam and Carol Usman, along with Matt and Pam Smiadak are pleased to announce the engagement of their children, Saeeda Usman to David Smiadak. Saeeda is a 2004 graduate of East Lansing High School and received her teaching degree from Michigan State University. She is currently a science teacher at West Ottawa High School in Holland. David is a 2004 graduate of East Lansing High School and received his engineering degree from Grand Valley State University. He is employed by Gentex Corporation in Zeeland as a process engineer. The couple are planning a spring 2012 wedding in Grand Rapids. They will honeymoon in Grenada in June.

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Hungry

A pork stew that is both hearty and healthy

Continued From 1C

It’s winter. It’s cold. You want something hearty. A lean stew is just the thing you need.

hungry again. No more fad diets, just healthy living.” The e-book’s premise is clear: Feeling full and satisﬁed is the only way to lose pounds and keep them off; paying attention to what types of food you eat, when, and in what proportion will help you succeed in reaching your goal weight. Co-authors Marie Suszynski of Emmaus, Pa., and Crystal Petrello, a registered dietitian based in Las Vegas, along with editor Sue Mellen of Citrus Springs, Fla., make it all seem very can-do-able. They offer a clear explanation of how roller coaster blood sugar levels create feelings of hunger and how the sensible eating of proteins and fats (yes!) bring long-term satisfaction. They discuss how to choose foods that taste good and are healthy, too. The authors cover all the bases from sample menus and shopping tips to physical exercise suggestions and ways to keep yourself psyched for the task. Although there are a number of weight-loss plans and diets that call for a mix of sensible eating and exercise, Mellen thinks what makes this e-book strategy stand out is the emphasis on a “satisfaction solution.” “When people feel deprived, people eat,” she says. “And they eat way too much to compensate for missing something. ... If you have a long-term feeling that life is good, you feel satisﬁed. You’re not hungry, and you continue that lifestyle with no reason to binge.”

GERMAN PORK STEW Start to ﬁnish: 45 minutes Servings: 6 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of fat 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 medium yellow onion, diced 2 leeks, white parts only, sliced 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, crushed 1 teaspoon fennel seeds,

crushed 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon ground black pepper Zest and juice of 1 orange 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage 2 stalks celery, diced Salt, to taste 1/2 cup fat-free plain Greekstyle yogurt 2 tablespoons ketchup

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish Chopped fresh dill, to garnish » Cut the tenderloin into slices 1 1/2 inches thick. In a bowl, toss the sliced pork with the olive oil. » Heat a large saucepan over medium-high. Add the pork and brown, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. It does not need to cook through. Add the onion and leek and continue to cook until the vegetables soften and begin to brown, about 5 to 6 minutes.

» Add the caraway seeds, fennel seeds, celery seeds, mustard, black pepper, orange zest, orange juice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cook until the pork is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. » When the pork is tender, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the liquid. Using 2 forks, shred the pork to bite-size chunks, then return it to the pot. Add the sweet potato, cabbage and celery. Continue to simmer until the

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vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with salt. » In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, ketchup and relish. Serve the stew topped with a dollop of the yogurt mixture and a sprinkling of fresh dill. Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 180 calories; 25 calories from fat (14 percent of total calories); 3 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 50 mg cholesterol; 19 g carbohydrate; 20 g protein; 3 g ﬁber; 280 mg sodium.

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Meet the Author

SUNDAY | JAN. 8, 2012

EXCERPT

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;FATAL INCIDENTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; By Jim Proebstle (Emerald Book Co., $23.95) ABOUT â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;FATAL INCIDENTâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; people onboard the ill-fated ďŹ&#x201A;ight Âť From the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website: â&#x20AC;&#x153;It were ever heard from again. The has been more than 65 years since novel explores the possibility that a Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surrender marked the end conspiracy involving espionage was of World War II. But there are still to blame for the crash.â&#x20AC;? many secrets yet to be revealed, ABOUT THE AUTHOR including what brought down the military transport plane being ďŹ&#x201A;own Âť Jim Proebstle received his bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degrees from by a young pilot from Minnesota. Michigan State University and To this day, the cause of the 1944 remains a loyal Spartan. He and crash in Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mount McKinley his wife, Carole, split their time Range remains a mystery. No bodies between their homes in Deer Park, were recovered and none of the 20

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The storm had come out of nowhere. Nothing on the forecast had given him even a hint of a drop in temperature that would cause hail â&#x20AC;&#x201D; only a gentle rain shower and some clouds, but nothing more. One minute, he and Martha were enjoying a relaxing ride over the farmlands of southern Minnesota, and in the next minute the cloud cover thickened and a noticeable bitter chill ďŹ lled the air. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when the medium-size pellets began to relentlessly drum the surface of the plane.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A Safeway in Arizonaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Author uses shooting to look at culture David L. Ulin MCT News Service

The best material in Tom Zoellnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Safeway in Arizona: What the Gabrielle Giffords Shooting Tells Us About the Grand Canyon State and Life in Americaâ&#x20AC;? comes at the beginning. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a moment-bymoment breakdown of the events of Jan. 8, 2011, when, at a Tucson Safeway, 22-yearold Jared Lee Loughner opened ďŹ re with a 9-millimeter Glock, wounding Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and killing six others. These are the facts, and Zoellner, a former reporter at the Arizona Republic and the San Francisco Chronicle, does a good job of setting them out for us, breaking down the chaos and giving it an order, telling us something of the victims, who they were and where they were standing, as well as the small, essential acts of bravery that prevented Loughner from causing further harm. Once this opening is ďŹ nished, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Safeway in Arizonaâ&#x20AC;? faces some irresolvable problems. In writing about the Giffords shooting, Zoellner has taken on a story that is, for now anyway, open-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Oct. 6 photo, Navy Capt. Mark Kelly hugs his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., after he received the Legion of Merit from Vice President Joe Biden. ended, full of unanswered questions about the congresswomanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recovery and the fate of her assailant, who has yet to go on trial. How, then, do we get to the center of it, when the center has yet to be determined? What gives this the coherence of a book? As it turns out, such issues ultimately derail Zoellnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts, which, of necessity perhaps, quickly turn outward, considering the culture of Arizona and asking whether the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;peculiar oxygen (was) in some way responsible for the decision of a twenty-two-yearold man to go down to the grocery to assassinate his congresswoman?â&#x20AC;?

Zoellnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s answer? Yes and no, which makes for another set of problems, since it leaves us never completely sure of where he stands. This matter of Zoellnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standing, his positioning in the story, is important because, as he acknowledges from the early going, he and Giffords are friends. He worked on her campaigns and hung out with her in her Barrio Viejo neighborhood south of Tucsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s downtown. Some of the most affecting writing in the book, in fact, involves these peregrinations, their visits â&#x20AC;&#x153;to a hipster bar on Congress Streetâ&#x20AC;? or to the shrine of El Tiradito, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the castawayâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a â&#x20AC;&#x153;crumbling brick crib full of ďŹ&#x201A;ickering glass candlesâ&#x20AC;? that dates to the 1870s. Here, we get a taste not just of Zoellnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with Giffords but

also of Arizona history, and the tensions that deďŹ ne the state. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a far stretch from the outcast status of El Tiradito to the immigration battles embodied by Senate Bill 1070 or the desperation of a graying white power structure to maintain its inďŹ&#x201A;uence over an increasingly Latino populace. Such issues come up often in â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Safeway in Arizona,â&#x20AC;? as Zoellner seeks to use the Giffords shooting as a mirror to reďŹ&#x201A;ect the unresolved conďŹ&#x201A;icts of the state. One by one, he cycles through real estate development, immigration, gun rights, the rise of the tea party, the breakdown of community â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all as a way of getting at a larger context, in which the attack might make a twisted kind of sense. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Loughnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feelings of existential helplessness were a distorted ampliďŹ cation of what surrounded him that year in Arizona,â&#x20AC;? Zoellner writes. And yet, if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the case, what of Loughnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s profound psychological derangement, which Zoellner also documents? Here we have a key contradiction of â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Safeway in Arizona,â&#x20AC;? which veers between seeing the Giffords shooting as emblematic and isolated, as a metaphor for a larger social dysfunction and the act of a disturbed young man. Zoellner, it seems, believes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s both, but he never quite articulates that convincingly.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;T

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RAY WALSH Books raywalsh@ voyager.net

vault; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been transformed into a mirrored haven, complete with a pedestal, where bridesto-be can see how they look in â&#x20AC;&#x153;the dress.â&#x20AC;? Zaslow notes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I truly sensed that this was a place that could illuminate the most poignant aspects of a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey to the altar.â&#x20AC;? The book deftly explores a variety of parental and family relationships, focusing on experiences between mother and daughter. The author delves into the background of the eight

brides-to-be, covering many different lifestyle issues, putting the reader on an emotional roller coaster of joy and tragedy. But Zaslow does more, relating the experiences and emotional family history of Shelly Becker Mueller, the latest of four generations of women to own the shop since 1934. With most wedding dresses now being made in China, new challenges arise; Zaslow is never boring as he brieďŹ&#x201A;y discusses numerous changes facing the highly competitive bridal industry. Zaslow, who co-authored â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Lectureâ&#x20AC;? with Randy Pausch, has collaborated on books with pilot Chesley Sullenberger, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.

' ( ) *+ LJ-0100140593

examines the once and future Russian president, whose regime now faces widespread dissatisfaction and protests. Gessen charts the trajectory of a low-level KGB operative anointed by the power brokers; once in ofďŹ ce, Putin managed to systematically halt demo cratic progress. (March 1) Âť â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Song of Achillesâ&#x20AC;? by Madeline Miller (Ecco) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Last year saw Stephen Mitchellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wonderful new translation of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Iliadâ&#x20AC;?; 2012 brings this debut novel, a retelling of Homerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tale about the Trojan War, focused on the powerful bond between the Greek hero Achilles and his comrade Patroclus, the exiled prince. (March 6) Âť â&#x20AC;&#x153;In One Personâ&#x20AC;? by John Irving (Simon & Schuster) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Irvingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 13th novel is the story of a bisexual man named Billy, whose life and loves make him a societal outcast. Irvingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last book didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make much of an impression, but this promises a return to the sexual themes and unconventional characters that are vintage Irving. (May 8)

Capital Area Career Center

Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Curious Book Shop, has reviewed Michigan related books and crime novels regularly since 1987.

Âť www.jimproebstle.com

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a crop of promising new books coming your way. Here are a few titles for a happy 2012: Âť â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Obamasâ&#x20AC;? by Jodi Kantor (Little, Brown) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Jodi Kantorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s portrait of the ďŹ rst couple, which began as a cover story for The New York Times magazine in 2009, has been kept under tight wraps by the publisher. We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seen a copy yet, but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dying to know what makes Barack and Michelle tick and why they seem so in sync after 19 years of marriage. (Jan. 10) Âť â&#x20AC;&#x153;Watergateâ&#x20AC;? by Thomas Mallon (Pantheon) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Mallon, whose previous historical novels have taken on the Lincoln assassination and Joe McCarthyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-communist witch hunts, turns to the downfall of the Nixon administration in his latest. (Feb. 21) Âť â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putinâ&#x20AC;? by Masha Gessen (Riverhead) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A Moscow-based journalist

His most recent book was â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Girls from Ames,â&#x20AC;? which covered the lives of 11 women over 40 years of friendship. Zaslow, an experienced journalist and columnist who lives in suburban Detroit, has created a memorable, entertaining book full of fascinating insights.

!"#$ %&

WEBSITE

Tom Beer

Jeffrey Zaslow will be signing books and talking about writing at 2 p.m. Saturday at Schuler Books & Music in Okemos. He will be joined by special guest Shelly Becker Mueller, owner of Beckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bridal.

! % $ $, " "# "!% % "

Âť Proebstle will give a talk and signing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Schuler Books and Music in the Meridian Mall in Okemos. Info: 349-8840 or www.schulerbooks.com.

MCT News Service

TO READ

LOCAL APPEARANCE

Books for your 2012 to-read list

Bridal shop unites tales in new book he Magic Roomâ&#x20AC;? by best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow (Gotham Books, $27) is an unusual, inspirational book that is subtitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Story About the Love We Wish for Our Daughters.â&#x20AC;? It explores the emotional journey of eight brides-to-be and their family relationships, showcasing their experiences at Beckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bridal in nearby Fowler, one of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest bridal shops. Housed in a former bank building, Beckerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bridal is the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest business; more than 100,000 future brides have visited it. In a town of 1,100 people, there are more than 2,500 wedding dresses displayed on three crowded ďŹ&#x201A;oors. The Magic Room is actually the bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s former

Ill., and northern Minnesota.

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Travel

For more travel information, check out www.greatlakesescapes.com

CLOSE TO HOME: Detroit

» The North American International Auto Show opens Monday and runs through Jan. 22 at Cobo Center; it’s open to the public starting Jan. 14. Tickets are $12, with discounts for seniors and kids. » More information: (248) 643-0250 or www.naias.com

www.lsj.com

SUNDAY | JAN. 8, 2012

Hollywood, step-by-step Tour Tinseltown hot spots with one of these six micro-itineraries Christopher Reynolds MCT News Service

LOS ANGELES — Pity the rubes. Those wayward tourists who dawdle in their cars and tour buses along Beachwood Drive, enraging the locals as they haltingly seek that perfect Hollywood sign photo op — they know not what they do. Maybe you’re not from this neighborhood either, but you have savvier Hollywood plans. Check out these Hollywood micro-itineraries, suitable for visitors from across town or across the planet.

Find new and used music and videos at Amoeba Music store on Sunset Boulevard.

The Bowl, the Greek The Hollywood Bowl (2301 N. Highland Ave.) is such a prime city asset that it’s a wonder nobody has proposed selling it to reduce municipal debt. It was carved into the hills in the 1920s and programmed by the L.A. Philharmonic, seats about 17,000 people and stages mostly jazz, classical works and show-tune performances, June through September. By long tradition, audiences can bring their own picnics, beer and wine. The city’s other prime sumMCT NEWS SERVICE mer pop-concert option, the Greek Theatre, four miles east at 2700 A view of the Melrose entrance to Paramount Pictures in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. You Vermont Ave., is more intimate, can take a two-hour guided tour of the studio on weekdays. with room for just 5,800 and a season that runs from late April through late October. The Greek will not let you bring in your own food or drink.

Hip strip You’re not in a hurry. So you patiently seek one of the rare parking spots off Franklin Avenue near Tamarind Avenue, then meander past the trendy row of shops and restaurants between Tamarind and Bronson avenues. Browse Counterpoint Records & Books (5911 Franklin Ave.), scan magazines at the Daily Planet (5931½ Franklin Ave.). The casual Victor’s restaurant (1917 N. Bronson Ave.) will seat you beneath old photos of the hills. The The Rock Walk at Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard features handOaks Gourmet Market (1915 N. prints from more than 400 musicians. Bronson Ave.) will sell you fancy wines and beers, make you a lunch Redbury has no pool, but every dollar tip if you snap a picture to take away or feed you at the room has a washer, dryer and that includes them. turntable. shop’s one communal table. You’ll see that Starline Tours, As for the W, it’s for those the 800-pound gorilla of the Hollywho can’t resist a slice o’ Vegas wood and homes-of-the-stars bus Musso, Frank and Co. Sit down to an early dinner at — a party hotel where scene- tour business, has a kiosk in front Musso & Frank Grill (6667 Hol- makers rage into the wee hours at of Grauman’s. Maybe you can’t lywood Blvd.), the oldest restau- Drai’s nightclub next to the roof- bring yourself to do such a tourist thing yourself, but maybe you rant in Hollywood (opened 1919), top pool. have a friend. Send that friend on for old-world service, setting and a Monday or Tuesday to catch the menu, with juicy steaks and the Stars underfoot option of Jell-O for dessert. Then Don’t worry about the Holly- hourlong double-decker bus tour nip out back for a high-end cock- wood Walk of Fame — you’ll cov- with guide Brian Donnelly, who tail ($14) at the Writer’s Room er it in the course of meandering has quick wit, good facts and a lot (6685 Hollywood Blvd.), which among other sites. But for the re- of them. (Donnelly also works for feels pre-Elvis but opened next cord, its 2,400-plus terrazzo stars, Dearly Departed Tours, specializdoor a couple months ago. the ﬁrst of which were laid in 1960, ing in crime scenes and celebrity Now you’re ready for a show at now cover 15 blocks of Hollywood graves.) Elsewhere on Hollywood Bouthe Pantages Theatre (6233 Holly- Boulevard and a few neighboring wood Blvd.), whose 1930 Art Deco streets too. To see who’s where, levard, brace yourself for residual lobby is one of the greatest rooms check http://projects.latimes.com/ squalor, T-shirt emporiums, vendors of cheap suits, and enough in the city. Admire the vintage hollywood/star-walk. sign announcing the Frolic Room As for the emblematic Grau- trashy lingerie shops to outﬁt all (6245 Hollywood Blvd.). man’s Chinese Theatre (6925 Hol- the ex-wives of Hugh Hefner and You’ll sleep around the corner lywood Blvd.), by all means Charlie Sheen. It’s a relief to spot at the Redbury Hotel (1717 Vine browse the names and handprints, an independent such as the Larry St.), whose 57 rooms are about but be careful with your camera. Edmunds Bookshop (6644 Hollytwice the size of those at the W Celebrity impersonators swarm wood Blvd.), where the proprietor Hotel (6250 Hollywood Blvd.) and here, some charming, some not, keeps about 1,000 old movie postsometimes more affordable. The and they’ll be quick to ask for a ers behind the counter.

(Stage 25, 1984-2004). Your guide will pull out a tablet computer to show movie and TV scenes shot on the premises, and you’ll probably get a peek at sets from some current shows. After the tour, drive slightly east, stroll prosperous, pedestrian-friendly Larchmont Village and have a great ham sandwich at Larchmont Bungalow (107 N. Larchmont Blvd.). Then hop in the car again, head up to Santa Monica Boulevard and turn south into Hollywood Forever (6000 Santa Monica Blvd.), where you’ll ﬁnd Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone, actresses Hattie McDaniel and Fay Wray and many others. In 2011, the cemetery added a memorial to Toto — the dog, not the rock band. Unlike Forest Lawn and others, Hollywood Forever eagerly offers maps to celebrity graves and hosts parties and DJs. From mid-May through mid-September, there are outdoor movie screenings (www.cinespia.org), where you can recline “above and below the stars.”

Bricks, mortar, music

The Johnny Ramone memorial is at the Hollywood Forever cemetery on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood.

Stars at work and at rest Like Universal and Warner Bros. studios in the San Fernando Valley and Sony in Culver City, Paramount Pictures (5555 Melrose Ave.) opens its lot to paying visitors, offering a two-hour guided weekday tour ($45 a person) by foot and golf cart. The Warner Bros. tour is best at giving outsiders a sense of working Hollywood, including glimpses of prop inventories and sound-effects tools. But Paramount is where “Glee” is shot, where Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers made musicals (Stage 29), where “Citizen Kane” and “Rear Window” were shot (Stages 19 and 18, respectively), where Kelsey Grammer spent 20 years on the sets of “Cheers” and “Frasier”

Start by scavenging for new and used music and videos in cavernous Amoeba Music (6400 Sunset Blvd.). Cross Sunset to Space 15 Twenty (1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd.), a little alt-mall that includes Umami Burger and Hennessey & Ingalls bookstore, which specializes in art and design volumes. For fortification, head to Stout (1544 N. Cahuenga Blvd.), which specializes in burgers and has more than 20 beers on tap. Then drive to the Guitar Center (7425 Sunset Blvd.). If you’re a musician, peruse the vast collection of instruments. If not, scrutinize the sidewalk in front, where Guitar Center has established a Rock Walk with handprints from more than 400 rock stars. You’ll notice several other music shops on the block, along with Aroma Cafe (7373 W. Sunset Blvd.), a good place for a bite. Later you’ll catch live music somewhere — maybe the tiny Hotel Cafe (a club at 1623½ N. Cahuenga Blvd.) — and you’ll cruise past the Highland Gardens Hotel (7047 Franklin Ave.), where in October 1970 Janis Joplin died of a heroin overdose in room 105. Eventually, it will be 3 a.m. on a Saturday or Sunday, and you or someone you love will suddenly feel the need for chicken and waffles. No problem. This is why Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles (1514 N. Gower St.) stays open until 4 a.m. on weekdays. It’s not healthy, but hey, it’s not heroin. Eat heavy, sleep deep.

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BOOKS

6C The celebrity money machine Proponents of capitalism, you’ve got a new idol: Snooki. Sure, the oft-intoxicated star of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” reality show may not be able to take the reins of, say, a Fortune 500 company. But according to writer Jo Piazza, celebrities like Snooki, reality star Kim Kardashian and actress Angelina Jolie are business savants, managing worldwide brands and raking in millions.

TRAVEL

Life SECTION

OHIO’S ROCKY NATURAL BEAUTY The lumpy, flat-topped formations southwest of Lancaster, Ohio, mark the edge of the Appalachian Plateau. They rise above the surrounding farmland and offer views to the Hocking Hills to the south and to the lowland plain to the north. In the West, they would be called buttes. But the tree-covered formations were called the Knobs by early settlers.

The Knobs

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Is little girls’ love of dress-up so wrong?

PARTY CRAZE

Sara Janosz, 4, enjoys a pink cupcake during tea time. MCT

Krista Jahnke Detroit Free Press

I Nicole Billette, 18, shares a laugh with the little princesses. MCT

t’s mid-morning on a weekday early in January, and 11 aspiring princesses are about to have their dreams come true. Sitting on the floor of My Girly Party in Farmington Hills, they’re wearing pastel gowns adorned with sparkles, ruffles and tulle over their jeans and sweaters. Out walks 19-year-old Danae Picklo, a vocal performance student at Western Michigan University. She’s barefoot, wearing a bright red wig and a mermaid tail. “Look at this stuff? Isn’t it neat?” Picklo sings, her voice light and sweet. “Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?” The girls, ranging in age from 3 to 8, stare in awe. To them, Picklo is Ariel, the mermaid-turned-human princess from the Disney movie “The Little Mermaid.” And to them, this experience, which includes a makeup application, story, pink-frosted cupcakes, tiaras and pink princess tea, is bliss. See PRINCESS, Page 7C

Whatever it is, it’s here

Tart cherry has health benefits Susan M. Selasky Detroit Free Press

Eat your tart cherries. They’re good for you. February is National Cherry Month, and Michigan has much to celebrate. Traverse City is the cherry capital of the world, and our state’s growers supply more than 70 percent of the nation’s tart cherries. The Red Report from the Cherry Marketing Institute focuses on the health benefits of tart cherries, which it calls one of “today’s hottest superfruits.” Michelle White, an ambassador for the National Cherry Festival and founder and president of Michelle’s Miracle in Leland, which makes tart Montmorency cherry dietary supplements, includes tart cherries in cooking.

MICHELLE’S VERY CHERRY HEART-HEALTHY STUFFED CHICKEN DINNER » Preheat the broiler or oven to 350 degrees. » Using a meat mallet, gently pound the chicken so it’s about 1/4-inch thick. In a bowl, combine 4 tablespoons any tart cherry juice concentrate, 2 ounces cherry salsa, 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside half of the sauce in a separate bowl to serve with the cooked chicken. To make the rice stuffing » Mix 1 cup cooked brown rice

Julienne Manansala, 3, has her princess makeup done. MCT

with 2 tablespoons tart cherry juice concentrate, 1/2 cup dried cherries, salt and pepper to taste. » Spread the rice mixture on the flattened chicken and roll up. Secure with toothpicks. » Place the chicken on a baking sheet. Brush some of the cherry sauce over the chicken. Broil or bake the chicken, turning and basting it with more sauce, until chicken is cooked through. Remove and serve the chicken with the reserved sauce. For a vegetable side dish » Julienne 6 small carrots and cut half of a red onion into large chunks. Place on a baking sheet and roast while the chicken cooks, or roast under the broiler until carrots are crisp-tender.

THINKSTOCK

www.lsj.com

Lansing State Journal • Sunday, February 19, 2012 • 5C

Tips to exercise safely after dark

THINKSTOCK

Alison Johnson Daily Press

From wearing reflective clothing to planning safe routes, “personal safety must be a top priority for anyone running after the sun sets,” says Jean Knaack, executive director of the Road Runners Club of America. Some tips:

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» Don’t wear ear buds. You need to hear everything around you when you can’t see as well. While listening to just one ear bud is better than two, it’s still too easy to get distracted. » Reflect yourself. Choose bright, fluorescent clothing and wear reflective tape on points of motion such as your elbows and ankles to help drivers spot you from a distance. Also make sure you have reflective material along your sides as well as on your front and rear. If all of your running clothes are darkcolored, be sure to wear an orange or yellow reflective safety vest. » Go against traffic. You can react more quickly to oncoming vehicles than when cars approach behind you. » Run with a partner. Another person is best, although a dog can be a crime deterrent. If you go alone,

tell someone when you’re leaving, when you expect to be back and what route you’ll be taking. » Avoid unlit areas. Deserted streets and wooded trails are especially bad ideas at after dark; stick with familiar and well-lit routes. Also steer clear of bushes and parked cars — where people can easily hide especially after dark. » I dentify open stores. Make sure your route includes businesses that keep nighttime hours, where you can go in case of an emergency. If you’re nervous about a situation or person, follow your instinct and stop in a safe spot. » Carry a cellphone and identification. If you don’t carry any ID cards, write your name, phone number, blood type and any important medical information on an inside sole of your shoes.

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Tues all day for most shows

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE in 3D PG13

SAFE HOUSE R

$5 pricing does not apply to 12:05 a.m. shows SHOWTIMES 2/17/12 thru 2/23/12 @ 3D GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE: REALD 3D PG13 TODAY-THUR: 10:55, 12:10, 1:05, 3:20, 4:30, 5:35, 7:45, 8:50, 9:55

Digital 3D Pricing Applies No Tuesday Bargain Pricing Today – Thur – 12:05, 2:20, 4:50, 6:15, 7:10, 9:35

STAR WARS EPISODE I in 3D PG

JOURNEY 2 THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND in IMAX 3D PG

Digital 3D Pricing Applies Today – Thur – 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 9:30

Special Engagement Pricing Applies

# 2D GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE PG13 TODAY-THUR: 10:00, 2:20, 6:40

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE in 2D PG13

STAR WARS EPISODE I in 2D PG

• Fri-Sun before Noon • Mon-Thur before 6pm

No Tuesday Bargain Pricing Today – Thur – 12:40, 2:55, 5:20, 7:45, 9:00, 10:05

THIS MEANS WAR PG13 TODAY-THUR: 10:20, 12:50, 3:05, 5:15, 7:25, 9:35 THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY G TODAY-THUR: 10:10, 12:20, 2:35, 4:50, 7:05, 9:15 CONTINUING #THE VOW PG13 @ 3D STAR WARS: EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE: REALD 3D PG @ 3D JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND: REALD 3D PG 2D JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND PG SAFE HOUSE R CHRONICLE PG13 BIG MIRACLE PG THE WOMAN IN BLACK PG13 THE GREY R ONE FOR THE MONEY PG13 MAN ON A LEDGE PG13 RED TAILS PG13 EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE PG13 THE ARTIST PG13 CONTRABAND R JOYFUL NOISE PG13 @ 3D BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: REALD 3D G WAR HORSE PG13 THE DESCENDANTS R CHECK OUT OUR SPECIALS ONLINE AT www.NCGmovies.com ★ Due to Movie Company policies no passes are

accepted • @ No $5 rate available • # No $5 Tuesday evening rate • ( ) Fri.-Sat. Late Shows. • RealD 3D Additional $2 • Student Discount with ID • ID required for “R” rated ﬁlms Located at US 127 & Lake Lansing Rd.

THIS MEANS WAR PG13 Today – Thur – 12:55, 3:25, 5:50, 6:55, 8:15, 9:25

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY G Today – Thur – 11:30, 1:50, 4:05, 6:25, 8:40

THE VOW PG13 No Tuesday Bargain Pricing Today – Thur – 12:35, 3:00, 4:10, 5:30, 6:45, 8:05, 9:20

JOURNEY 2 THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND in 2D PG Today – Thur – 11:55, 2:35, 5:05, 7:30, 9:55

Today – Thur – 11:05, 1:40, 4:20, 7:05, 9:45

Today – Thur – 1:00

THE WOMAN IN BLACK PG13 Today – Thur – 12:10, 2:40, 5:10, 7:35, 10:00

CHRONICLE PG13 Today – Thur – 11:00, 1:05, 3:10, 5:15, 7:20, 9:55

BIG MIRACLE PG

No Tuesday Bargain Pricing Today – Thur – 11:10, 1:30, 3:50, 6:20, 8:45

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

SPECIAL EVENT PRICING APPLIES

Check celebrationcinema.com for details Feb 19 – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Feb 19, 21, 23 – Mary Poppins Feb 22 – Ayn Rand: Prophesy of Atlas Shrugged Feb 23 – Re:Generation Music Project Feb 25 – MET Live: Ernani

Today – Thur – 1:00, 3:30, 6:35, 9:05

TUESDAY BARGAIN DAY

THE GREY R

ALL TITLES (unless noted) $4 BEFORE 6PM; $5 AFTER 6PM ADD $3 FOR 3D TITLES

Today – Thur – 11:20, 1:55, 4:35, 7:15, 9:50

ALL SEATS $5.50

Daily 10am – 1pm, M-Th 1pm – 6pm Also Playing: Beauty & Beast, Underworld, Joyful Noise, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Red Tails, One for the Money, Man on a Ledge

Excludes IMAX, DIGITAL 3D, Special Events, Holidays

STUDENT DISCOUNT WITH ID No children under 6 after 6pm in R rated ﬁlms All Shows Presented in DLP Digital Cinema except as noted (#); ( ) = Fri & Sat late shows

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Off Cedar at I-96 393-SHOW celebrationcinema.com PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE FEATURE PRESENTATIONS BEGIN 10 - 15 MINUTES AFTER PUBLISHED SHOWTIMES • IMAX FEATURES BEGIN AT PUBLISHED SHOWTIME

Books

www.lsj.com

BEST-SELLERS

Source: Publishers Weekly

HARDCOVER FICTION

HARDCOVER NONFICTION

MASS MARKET

1. “Kill Shot,” Vince Flynn 2. “Defending Jacob,” William Landay 3. “Catch Me,” Lisa Gardner 4. “Death Comes to Pemberley,” P.D. James 5. “Private,” James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.

1. “Ameritopia,” Mark R. Levin 2. “Hilarity Ensues,” Tucker Max 3. “The End of Illness,” David Agus 4. “American Sniper,” Chris Kyle, with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice. 5. “Take the Stairs,” Rory Vaden

1. “44 Charles Street,” Danielle Steel 2. “The 9th Judgment,” James Patterson and Maxine Paetro 3. “The Girl Who Played with Fire,” Stieg Larsson 4. “Against All Enemies,” Tom Clancy 5. “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Stieg Larsson.

SUNDAY | FEB. 19, 2012

Meet the Author

EXCERPT

‘A PERFECT BLOOD’ By Kim Harrison (Harper Voyager, $26.99)

“Behind them stood the gazebo bandstand, brightly painted and open. It would have been pretty except for the bloody, contorted body hanging from the center of the ceiling like a rag doll, spreadeagled, with filthy cords holding the limbs out. I felt myself pale as I realized the body had hooves instead of feet, and the brown I’d thought was a pair of sweats was actually a bloodsoaked pelt of tightly curled fur.”

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LOCAL APPEARANCE

» “A Perfect Blood” is the 10th book in the Hollows series. In it, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan starts investigating when ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth: a human hate group is trying to create its own demons to destroy all Inderlanders, and to do so, it needs her blood.

» From the author’s website: “Kim Harrison, dark urban fantasy author of the New York Times best selling ‘Pale Demon,’ was born and raised in the upper Midwest. After gaining her bachelor’s in the sciences, she moved to South Carolina, where she remained until recently moving back to Michigan because she missed the snow.”

» Harrison will be at Schuler Books and Music in Eastwood Towne Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Info: 316-7495 or www.schulerbooks.com.

WEBSITE » www.kimharrison.net

Celebrity is capitalism at its best New book looks at their business Molly Eichel Philadelphia Daily News

Proponents of capitalism, you’ve got a new idol. And her name is Snooki. Sure, the oft-intoxicated, self-described “meatball” star of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” reality show may not be able to take the reins of, say, a Fortune 500 company. But according to writer Jo Piazza, celebrities like Snooki, reality star Kim Kardashian and actress Angelina Jolie are business savants, managing worldwide brands and raking in millions of dollars by providing the world with what it desires: more of them. “(Celebrity) is absolutely capitalism at its best because it’s all supply and demand. If people weren’t demanding it, they wouldn’t be supplying it,” Piazza said. “It’s the free market. It’s exactly what America

“Celebrity Inc.” by Jo Piazza Khloe Kardashian (left) sits with her sister Kim Kardashian (center) and their mother Kris Jenner. The Kardashians are among celebrities looked at in a new book. AP FILE PHOTO

wants and celebrities are giving it to them, so they deserve to be paid for it.” Piazza, who splits her time between Philadelphia and Manhattan, is the author of the recently released “Celebrity, Inc.: How Famous People Make Money.” The book delves deep into all facets of the celebrity economy, from making money off shedding excess pounds to selling pictures of progeny for

eight-figure sums to the Machiavellian machinations of Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner. Celebrities can even make thousands in 140 characters or less, by including endorsements in their tweets. “These people are as smart as the CEOs of any company and they’re managing a corporation that makes as much money in some cases as a company,” Piazza said.

“The Kardashians brought in revenue of $70 million last year. They’re not dumb. They know exactly what they’re doing and those that are dumb don’t make it. Tara Reid didn’t make it. It’s capitalism and natural selection at its purest.” The successful celebrities are a brand, and when people no longer desire that brand, the celebrity loses all value.

Consider former “It” girl Paris Hilton: “I saw her at (the) Sundance (Film Festival),” Piazza said. “She was begging paparazzi to take her picture and no one cared about her.” But the celebrity economy couldn’t exist without what Piazza calls the Hollywood Industrial Complex. Piazza describes it in Celebrity, Inc. as “an interconnected web of businesses all working to maximize the value of the industry as a

whole.” These people put too much time and money into making celebrities succeed to let them fail, she said. During Hilton’s heyday, Piazza had a boozy breakfast with Hilton’s manager, a member of the complex, who claimed he “created her out of nothing,” that she was a puppet and he pulled the strings. “We just propped her up and trotted her out,” he told Piazza. And there are no sacred cows. Take the upcoming Academy Awards: Ostensibly, Oscars award the best and brightest of the movie industry. In her book, Piazza outlines how the “little gold men,” as she calls them, are bought through the hiring of high-priced consultants, mailing out DVDs in elaborate packaging, throwing parties and dinners that “coincidentally” have only academy members on the guest list and having stars do appearances to promote their work.

SCHULER BOOKS & MUSIC presents Bestselling Urban Fantasy Author

NYT-Bestselling Author

KIM HARRISON

ELEANOR BROWN

7 p.m. Tuesday. February 21

7 p.m. Friday. February 24

“I wouldn’t miss a Kim Harrison book for anything.” -Charlaine Harris.

“Genuinely funny... buoyant.”—The New York Times “Delightful.” —People

Free tickets available

“A page-turner SCHULER B OOKS & M USIC presents now at Schuler Books in the Eastwood Towne Center.

from the start.” —Ladies Home Journal

THE MIRAGE by MATT RUFF The Conversation-Starting Book of the Year!

“A funhouse-mirror mash-up where H.G. Wells and Graham Greene collide with The Arabian Nights and The Matrix. . . . Ruff dizzies and dazzles the reader with a fantastic-and fantastical-story.” — BookPage

On sale now at Schuler Books!

LJ-0100150611

2820 Towne Center Blvd. • Lansing, MI 48912 www.SchulerBooks.com

Travel

For more travel information, check out www.greatlakesescapes.com

CLOSE TO HOME: Detroit

Âť Check out customized hot rods at Autorama, held at the Cobo Center on Feb. 24-26. Admission is $18, $5 for kids ages 6-12, free for children 5 and younger. Âť For more information, call (248) 373-1700 or visit www.autorama.com.

www.lsj.com

SUNDAY | FEB. 19, 2012

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Islands in the skyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Southwest, JetBlue lead airfare hikes

Ohioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Knobs have great views Bob Downing Akron Beacon Journal

LANCASTER, Ohio â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

The Knobs stand out, in more ways than one. The lumpy, flat-topped formations southwest of Lancaster mark the edge of the Appalachian Plateau. They rise 250 feet above the surrounding farmland and offer views to the Hocking Hills to the south and to the lowland plain of central Ohio to the north. The dome-shaped formations are what biologists call islands in the sky, with the vegetation at the tops that is significantly different from that at the base. In the West, they would be called buttes. But the tree-covered formations were called the Knobs by early settlers: Beckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Knob, Allenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Knob, Claypool Knob and Ruble Knob. The Shallenberger State Nature Preserve encompasses Allen Knob and Ruble Knob. Both are topped by erosionresistant sandstone and feature steep sides and rocky outcroppings. The 87.5-acre preserve lies west of Lancaster in Fairfield Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hocking Township. It is off Beckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Knob Road near the intersection of U.S. 22 and U.S. 33. Trails lead from the parking lot through the heavily forested tract at the base of the knobs. The trails wind upward around the 80-foot-high walls of cap rock to the tree-covered tops. The forest at the bottom is a rich and robust mix of oaks, maples, beech, cherry, walnut, hickory, ash and elm. Blueberries and ferns

Princess Continued from Page 1C

The princess craze is major, from parties, dolls, play castles and books to tiaras, play gowns, play slippers, princess wigs and everything in between. But what message does this booming culture â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which centers on pristine appearances, happy endings and finding a prince to love â&#x20AC;&#x201D; have for little girls? Most experts and parents agree that the princess culture can be a minefield of good and bad. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The age girls are expected to be conscious of their appearance has gotten younger and younger,â&#x20AC;? says Peggy Orenstein, author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Cultureâ&#x20AC;? (Harper Paperbacks, $14.99). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Girls putting on a crown? Big deal,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going from her Disney princess (doll) to her Disney princess lipstick to her Bratz doll to the Kardashians.â&#x20AC;? Orenstein says itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that she believes all girls who play princess at a young age will grow up to have issues. But she is concerned that princesses are â&#x20AC;&#x153;the only game in townâ&#x20AC;? for girls. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s little girls donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just love princesses; they go through a noticeable developmental â&#x20AC;&#x153;princess phase,â&#x20AC;? says Orenstein, who first wrote about the princess phenomenon for the New York Times Magazine in late 2006. Though kids have always engaged in â&#x20AC;&#x153;royal play,â&#x20AC;? she contends, something has

The Associated Press

The top of Shallenberger State Nature Preserve offers a view of Lancaster, Ohio, in the distance. BOB DOWNING/AKRON BEACON JOURNAL

Rocky cliffs of erosion-resistant sandstone dominate. The flat-topped formations are known as The Knobs.

thrive on the forest floor. Spring wildflowers are abundant. The last mile-thick glacier pushed into the knobs 12,000 years ago, but never topped them. It brought rich topsoil where the mixed forest now thrives at the bottom of the knobs. At the top, the trees appear smaller, scraggly and poor because the soil is thin and dry. The dominant tree atop the knobs is the chestnut oak. Some

changed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,â&#x20AC;? Orenstein says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not just play princess but be a princess. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s often scripted play, based on the Disney movies. And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s playing with the 26,000 princess products, most of which are really geared toward appearance and an emphasis on defining the self outsidein rather than insideout.â&#x20AC;? Doug Benson of Mason, Mich., has four daughters who each went through a princess phase. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re now in their late teens and twenties. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a normal thing to us,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It seems like some parents now have a militant perspective about it. My advice is donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sweat about it.â&#x20AC;? Two of Bensonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughters are in college; one is a social worker and the other an environmental engineer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pretending to be princesses didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get in their way,â&#x20AC;? Benson said.

have two or three trunks, all growing from a single stem. Only a few of the tree species found at the bottom are found atop the knobs, and they are generally saplings. A few ferns grow at the top but the forest floor is largely empty. The Blackhand sandstone creates a thin, welldrained, dry and acidic soil where only plants especially adapted to these harsh conditions

can survive. The unglaciated knob tops offer sanctuary for the dry oak forest of the South, a bit of Appalachian habitat that developed there. Mountain laurel also thrives atop the knobs, especially on their southern and western slopes. They are at their colorful best from late May to mid-July. To get to the Shallenberger State Nature Preserve, take Interstate 76 west to Interstate 71 and then go east on Interstate 270. Exit at U.S. 33 and head south to Lancaster. Exit at U.S. 22. Turn left. Turn left almost immediately at Beckâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Knob Road. Head north for a quarter mile. The preserve will be on the right. It is a 2.5-hour drive from Akron. For information, contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, 614-265-6453, www.ohiodnr.com.

Lansing resident Katie Smith (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Snow Whiteâ&#x20AC;?) poses with two girls at a Sweet Little Parties event. COURTESY PHOTO

In 2000, Disney lumped all its princesses together into a brand called â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Disney Princess,â&#x20AC;? which has accounted for more than $4 billion in retail sales, according to a 2011 Disney release. And several local business people have discovered that even in tough economic times, anything you touch with a princess wand can turn to gold. My Girly Party, which opened four years ago, is

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just one Michigan business that caters to budding princesses. Deborah Allen of Lansing has run her princess-party-planning business, Sweet Little Parties, since 1999. Allen has two sons and jumped at the chance to throw her first niece a â&#x20AC;&#x153;girlyâ&#x20AC;? party more than two decades ago. Soon friends asked her for a hand in planning their parties, and the passion grew into a business. She grew into a store-

DALLAS â&#x20AC;&#x201D; If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re buying an airline ticket soon, get ready to pay a few bucks more. According to fare trackers, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines are leading a round of price increases thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll boost the base fare on many medium-length and long flights by $10 per round trip. United, Delta, American and US Airways said Thursday that they had matched the increases. J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker, who tracks fares, said United and US Airways expanded price increases to routes that Southwest doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fly and included Denver, where Southwest hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t raised prices. Rick Seaney, FareCompare.com CEO, said Thursday that all the largest U.S. airlines had raised fares. Baker and Seaney said JetBlue took price increases other airlines limited to a few markets such as Florida and expanded them nationwide last week. Southwest jumped in Wednesday, they said. JetBlue spokeswoman Alison Croyle said it raised prices by $5 each way on some Florida and West Coast routes last week and expanded the increase to other routes Sunday. Southwest spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said her airline raised prices to match JetBlue and â&#x20AC;&#x153;cover operating costs including the high price of jet fuel.â&#x20AC;? Jet fuel accounts for

front location in Old Town, where she stayed for three years, but a tough economy forced her to close her doors and return to taking the party to clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes. She has partnered up with the Mark Taylor School of Dance to hold some clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; events too. The peak ages for princess-themed parties are 4 to 7. Allen expanded her options to include pampering spa parties for older girls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The business side has its peaks and valleys, but the interests of the children in princesses never waver,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anytime you paint their fingernails pink, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re happy.â&#x20AC;? Allen said lots of her Lansing clients are also excited to have parties themed with the story of Tiana from â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Princess and the Frog,â&#x20AC;? the 2009 film that introduced the first African-American Disney princess. Boys invited to Allenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

about a third of an airlineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s costs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; about the same as labor â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the bill has been rising with crude oil prices. This week, the spot price for Gulf Coast jet fuel was 12.1 percent higher than a year ago and up 8.5 percent so far in 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That may mean more fare hikes ahead. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pretty clear airlines will continue to try to recoup fuel increases regularly this year, with passengers telling carriers exactly when the price of middle seats has stepped over the line,â&#x20AC;? said Seaney. Airlines raised base fares about a dozen times in 2011. But at the same time, they sacrificed revenue by simultaneously running sales to fill seats during slower travel periods or in specific markets. This week, even as it raised base fares, American launched a sale on Miami flights. Many consumers are savvy enough to wait for sales before buying tickets. As a result of this yo-yo pricing, average fares donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rise as fast as the number of increases would suggest. The average fare on Southwest, one of the few airlines that discloses such figures, was $140 in late 2011, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Southwest carries more U.S. passengers than any airline and heavily influences prices that competitors charge on many routes.

clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; princess-themed parties usually pick between pirate and knight costumes, but the girls run the show. Allen said girls can wear a sparkly dress without playing the damsel in distress. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can save myself,â&#x20AC;? Allen often hears them tell the boys during pretend play. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The new princesses are set at a new pace for modern girls,â&#x20AC;? Allen said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more independent, like their moms.â&#x20AC;? A Sweet Little Party includes invitations, dresses, tiaras, wands, crafts, cupcakes, tea party china, princess punch and fine linens. In all her years of parties, no one has ever broken a tea cup. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We do a quick manners lesson that includes how to hold a tea cup,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And for a 5year-old, that means with two hands. While sitting in a chair.â&#x20AC;? LSJ reporter Tricia Bobeda contributed to this report.

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