See and be seen

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENJAMIN KRAIN STORY BY RON WOLFE

People look at animals in the zoo. But there’s another side to the exchange. - Thursday, July 24, 2008

THE TV COLUMN : Fringe from Fox will be don’t-miss show this fall

MICHAEL STOREY

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — It looks grim. Jack Bauer is surrounded by 18 or 20 shiftylooking guys and I don’t see how he’s going to talk his way out of this one. - Thursday, July 24, 2008

TELL ME ABOUT IT : Low-key bickering a bad sign

CAROLYN HAX

DEAR CAROLYN: Recently my girlfriend helped edit my resume, and she suggested I remove a statement that reflected my good multitasking skills. She claimed that I am actually a bad multitasker because apparently I completely tune her out when I am watching television or listening to the radio. - Thursday, July 24, 2008

MAGAZINES : Savvy Smithsonian worth revisiting

BY ELLIS WIDNER

Sometimes a good magazine can become so familiar and comfortable, we begin to take it for granted. - Thursday, July 24, 2008

Caretaker, fan challenge the will of late sci-fi author Andre Norton

BY KRISTIN M. HALL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Andre Norton, one of science fiction’s most prolific female writers until she died three years ago, intrigued her readers by creating hundreds of fantasy worlds during her 70 years of writing. - Thursday, July 24, 2008

WHAT’S IN A DAME : Another milestone in the rites of women

JENNIFER CHRISTMAN

So there’s a pressing issue that I’m relieved to get off my chest. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Designs on success

BY HELAINE R. WILLIAMS

Mabelvale resident Korto Momolu-Briggs has been making a name for herself for several years, hosting New York-style fashion shows and creating custom outfits that were way out of the box for Arkansas. These sexy, flowing, African-flavored and full-figure-loving creations simultaneously radiated big-city sophistication and a sassy Bohemian flair. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

CRITICAL MASS : Bret Favre unwilling to go gentle into the good night

PHILIP MARTIN

Most of us are not required to compete to provide for ourselves and our families. We find a job and so long as we perform at an acceptable level, we generally hold on to it. We might be passed over for promotions, we might be laid off in difficult financial times or fired if we screw up, but most of us need not worry that we will lose our jobs simply because there are other people who might be able to better perform our work. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Korto Momolu-Briggs

— Helaine R. Williams

Information on Korto Momolu-Briggs at Bravo’s Web site Bravotv.com: Korto, 33, Liberia Favorite designers: Tracy Reese, Valentino and Randolph Duke Fashion must: Great bag Bio: Originally from Liberia, Korto moved to Canada to attend fashion school. After school, she moved near Little Rock where she now resides with her husband and daughter. Drawing from her African roots, Korto infuses tribal details into her classic designs. She is inspired by rich fabrics and textures and says her designs are intended for real, full-figured women. In her spare time, Korto works as a freelance fashion photographer, dances in an African dance troupe and does African hair braiding and makeup. She says her family considers her to be fun and easygoing. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

THE TV COLUMN : Naked truth about Lear: PBS unclear on its nudity

MICHAEL STOREY

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — You know it’s going to be a weird press-tour panel session when Paula Kerger, president of PBS, dodges a question about the naked parts of Sir Ian McKellen. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

TELL ME ABOUT IT : ‘Love at first sight’ flunks test

CAROLYN HAX

DEAR CAROLYN: Say, for instance, a few years back, girl meets boy — it’s love at first sight. They eventually get together, although they break up a short time after, and remain very good friends for years to follow. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Social Security Q&A

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

Q. How does Social Security decide if I am disabled? - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Check your knowledge

1. Football and soccer teams each have 11 players. How many players are on a cricket team? 2. Of what is a camel’s hump composed? 3. Does more gasoline than usual blend into an automobile’s engine oil in summer or winter? 4. What is the principal color of the flag of Argentina ? 5. “A” is alpha in the Greek alphabet. What is “E” ? 6. In baseball terminology, what is “MVP” ? 7. What is the cause of most ocean waves? 8. A wild ox may be known as a y____. Complete the word. 9. What is the usual number of strings on a guitar? 10. Does the female or male cricket chirp? 11.The sixth day of the week is named after what goddess? Answers 1. Also 11 2. Mostly fat 3. Winter 4. Blue 5. “Epsilon” 6. “Most Valuable Player.” 7. Wind 8. “Yak” 9. Six strings 10. Male 11. Frigg or Frigga. In Norse mythology, she was the wife of Odin and goddess of heaven, presiding over marriage and the home. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Tablecloth choice brings yawns,but judges eat up tasty kimono

BY HELAINE R. WILLIAMS

A rundown of Project Runway, Season Five, Episode One, which includes Arkansas’ own Korto Momolu-Briggs : The contestants arrive at Atlas New York, the luxury apartment complex in which they’ve been situated. Each is introduced by a vignette. Korto’s self-introduction : “In Little Rock I’ve been in every magazine, but I want to make the real scene, which is in New York.” She says she wants to be the first black designer to win this competition. - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Getting personal

BY KATHERINE BENENATI

People who call Little Rock Athletic Club looking for a personal trainer tend to ask the same questions. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Parks playing high-tech game of hide-and-seek with visitors

BY CELIA STOREY

All 52 of Arkansas’ state parks want to play a game with you and your GPS device. The game is ParkCache. - Monday, July 21, 2008

How it is done

BY KATE SCHUMAN

MARIE SPITZBERG, GYM RAT Age and occupation: 89, retired, “professional volunteer.” What kind of workouts do you do? - Monday, July 21, 2008

MASTER CLASS : Pulsing quick way to tire muscles

BY MATT PARROTT SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Exercise programming is like an art form, requiring creativity, planning and most importantly, flexibility. Your fitness program obviously serves as a road map to success, but it’s also vital that you don’t become too rigid about its prescriptions. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Life lines

BY CELIA STOREY

Going, going... DeGray Lake Resort State Park offers children near Hot Springs and Arkadelphia a Last Chance Day Camp led by park interpreters July 30 to Aug. 1. The $50 program is for boys and girls from 9 to 12. It includes swimming, hiking, kayaking, lake tours, snorkeling, nature programs and games from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Journey of 100 miles begins with 1 pedal

BY CELIA STOREY

Bicycle riders who want to ride a century — 100 miles — can go about it in either of two ways. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Duct tape really does fix a lot — even warts

BY VANESSA RAYMOND MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

When my 8-year-old son developed a plantar wart on his foot, I didn’t want to deal with the drama of a trip to the doctor’s office for cryosurgery or the several-month course of treatment that wart remover can prove to be. So I decided to give duct tape a try. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Check your knowledge

1.Where was the Charge of the Light Brigade, immortalized in verse by Alfred Lord Tennyson? 2.What country occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula and adjoins the Red Sea and Persian Gulf? 3. Is the Book of Hosea in the Old or New Testament ? 4. Of these U.S. presidents — Lincoln, Garfield, Wilson and Coolidge — three were Republicans and one a Democrat. Identify the Democrat. 5. What is the name for a violent tropical cyclone originating in the western Pacific or Indian Ocean? 6. The name of which American river means “big river” in Algonquin? 7. Does the heart receive blood through the veins, or do the veins carry blood from the heart? 8. If a person is officious, that person is. . . 9. Name the “monster” book written by Mary Shelley. Answers 1. Balaclava in the Crimea, on Oct. 25, 1854, between British and Russian soldiers. 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Old Testament 4. Wilson 5. Typhoon 6. Mississippi River 7. Blood flows through the veins to the heart and leaves through the arteries. 8. Meddlesome, or offering unwan - Monday, July 21, 2008

ON TV CONTEST : Pick a Brady from the bunch to take home?

Wouldn’t you like to have a television child in your home? No? Well, pretend that you would. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Old medicine ball endlessly versatile

BY ROGER MOONEY MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

The game had been over for more than an hour, and the diamond at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., was dimly lighted on that May night in 1998, which is why no one noticed the figure standing outside the visiting dugout until the peace was shattered by a loud “Aauuugggh,” followed shortly by the sound of something heavy slamming to the turf. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Vacation is no reason to halt fitness routine

BY CARIN LANE ALBANY (N.Y.) TIMES UNION

With some preparation, I was able to keep up my fitness routine during a five-day family vacation at Walt Disney World. - Monday, July 21, 2008

Robot romance

BY RON WOLFE

Him: a trash compactor in search of love, the title character in Pixar Animation Studios’ movie hit, Wall-E (or “Waste Allocator Load Lifter — Earth class” ). - Sunday, July 20, 2008

LET’S TALK : Venters want ears, not ideas

HELAINE WILLIAMS

I don’t mind when people come to me to vent about their problems. As a reporter I’ve been trained to listen. - Sunday, July 20, 2008

THEATER : A mango and a man in exile

BY MICHELLE PARKS

FAYETTEVILLE — One of Clinnesha Dillon’s newest plays looks a lot different from what she started with a year ago. The only thing that remains is “a leading lady who fails to listen to an inner voice.” Dillon, 24, started working on the play, How to Get the Mango (When the Lizard Is in the Way), a year ago. It had a script-in-hand reading in January and a workshop production in the spring. Then it went through the University of Arkansas’ summer development for new works, along with a play by Larry Mitchell. - Sunday, July 20, 2008

DVDS SEEN : Pair’s Evening Shade still a laugh

For the current state of Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason’s fortunes in Hollywood, specifically with cable giant HBO, you are encouraged to check out today’s Michael Storey TV Column on Page 3E. - Sunday, July 20, 2008

ENTERTAINMENT NOTES : ASO names associate conductor

BY ERIC E. HARRISON

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra has appointed Geoffrey Robson as the orchestra’s new associate conductor. - Sunday, July 20, 2008