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It's "All blazers All The Time" here at the big 8, so I'm not doing a 5pm health wrap. Some of you will hopefully notice I finally got back to your emails since I had some time!!
But I have boatloads of photos to share (okay, not boatloads.. like a dingy's worth)..
Drew Carney and I are making fused glass plates for Candelighters!!
http://www.4kidswithcancer.org/
Wait, scratch that.. Drew's wife Mia and I are making plates while Drew "supervises". And by "supervises" I mean he does whatever Mia tells him to. He better get used to it with twins on the way.
Mia (and Drew) made that cool flower petal plate. The glass they used is gorgeous!
That picture may make my plate look a little boringZzzzzzz (oops, fell asleep looking at it), but the colors-- the colors are SWEET and will hopefully carry through once we form it in the kiln!!
Sherrie sent this photo of Ed.. she sends 'em every so often. This one is probably my favorite because I like the flowers, too. Ed is a total camera ham!
And McGorge Scott just sent THREE of his now-blog-famous animal photos. From cats to turkeys to deer... I'll post em tomorrow!
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen if you agree that a pregnant woman carrying twins is pretty much the boss of everyone.
Okay, you've got to check out this MSNBC columnist's article on science taking men right out of the whole procreation equation. Very entertaining: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17937813/
Now onto "Brain Gyms".. this is the real deal, folks. Virtual gyms are springing up online where you ((for a fee)) can work on puzzles, etc. to get your grey matter in tip top form ((By the way, your brain also has white matter-- but I had to leave that out in tonite's health wrap because... well, it just didn't have the right ring to it. Learn more here-- http://www.brainexplorer.org/brain_atlas/Brainatlas_index.shtml))
Anyway, I truthfully can't tell you much more about the brain gyms because I haven't done a story on any of them or talked to any of my local experts on the topic. I've pitched the story before so who knows, maybe I'll get to turn it someday. I will say that if you look online you will find critics of these gym as well as staunch supporters. If you're fired up to check them out just head to your search engine of choice and look for 'brain gyms'.
Response time!!
Lynne writes about the doctor fighting for prosthetic coverage: After watching the Part 1 video on Dr. Bradley I was lost. WOW, what an amazing individual! Not only that, you can tell even from that brief video that he is a very nice person too! Thank you Stef!
No, no.. thank you for watching it and taking the time to email me AND thanks to the good doctor for being who he is.
Rick writes about taking the gallbladder up your esophagus and out your mouth: I guess once you are sedated, how they get it out does not make any difference. As a side note, a few years ago in Reno, NV, a 103 year old lady was asked what she attributed to her longevity too. She said stay away from doctors and medications. I did that for most of my life, but at 70 years old I think most of my friends are doctors.
Funny, me too. Oh wait, I am the health reporter... so I meet a lot of doctors.
Dave writes: An addition to Dr. Swanstroms talents. I had esophageal surgery from him. Using the little holes in the chest to remove my esophagus, build a new one out of most of my stomach and reattach it to my upper
throat where the old one was removed. Also, at the same time, he built a valve in my new esophagus that prevents acid reflux. 6 tiny holes including one for a camera. Took about 9 hours and I am still recovering but, for some, a major improvement. He is well known for his work, not only on the esophagus, but other organs and, as you found out, many new procedures. A hard working, excellent Dr. with a happy following, such as, people like me. I am sure your interviews with them went well. He is to be commended for his pioneering work.
Agreed. Anyone who can fetch a pesky gallbladder out of my stomach as opposed to slicing me open is pretty cool in my book.
Bob writes about the disabled bike camp: When I was younger I had the opportunity to help kids with muscular dystrophy swim. Same type of effect when kids re-gained their mobility in the water.
I wonder if they are still doing that now?
Blog Buddy Joe writes: Tell the weather boys they did a fine job on the weather today (Tuesday)! That is SO cool you and Russ got to emcee PSU's graduation! Maybe you can fill in for Mark Mason as the Trailblazers announcer! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME! (sorry, minor geek-out moment there)!
Joe.. funny because Mark (from Mark & Dave) is a buddy of mine. In fact I think I actually took some of his money at the poker table (before getting schooled by his lesser-statured but razor-sharp poker shark and chip-bully Dave). If you only knew just how little I understand about basketball you'd fall over laughing at the thought of me doing play-by-play. I'd probably make comments about how nifty the uniforms look, and why can't everyone just share the ball. Case in point, in my first TV job I did sports on April Fool's day.
Todd writes: You are probably tired of hearing this, but we love your new look and hair !! You look fantastic!
How tall are you ? I saw you this morning standing next to Brenda. Begs the question, is she 6', 2" ??
Yeah, I get sooooo tired of hearing how fantastic I look. Please.
:-) Seriously, Brenda is an amazon.
Look at the heels I wear and I still look ridiculously short next to her.
And Amy Troy makes Brenda look short. Just call me "Squirt".
Lisa writes: I just wanted to tell you that your new style is so much more becoming. It definitely takes years off of you.
Have a great day!
Someone had better card me soon.
See you tomorrow-- pictures of Drew Carney and my latest excursion and one of you sent a very cute dog photo! Gotta fly.
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen
 CLICK to watch Steph's Vlog
Oh yes. The vlog is makin' a comeback. At least while I'm working on health wraps as opposed to longer stories on individual topics (we call them 'packages' or pkg for short).
Speaking of my latest pkg-- let me show you this:
http://www.kgw.com/video/health-index.html?nvid=154313&shu=1
It's the disabled bicycle camp story from yesterday!! You like?
I forgot to post those photos from Russ and I emceeing PSU's graduation on OPB.
And I have to tell you.. you have never heard your voice until it is piped into the Rose Garden. You feel like god. Well, okay, I have no clue what God feels like or how God sounds but I'm just using it as an expression. It's just silly but I get all geeked out for that part. LOVE it!
Hey-- additional info time on these stories:
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/health/news-article.aspx?storyid=85109
Okay, so the golf story wasn't exactly super-sciency.. but it's interesting, right? AND, at least intuitively, it makes sense.
And for the echinacea story you can learn a little more here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-echinacea25jun25,1,5450175.story?coll=la-headlines-nation
Good times. Click to email Stephanie Stricklen
Yup. I was 7 years old when I finally learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels. That's a little old, isn't it? I just didn't have any incentive to take off the two extra, perfectly good wheels that helped keep me upright. I didn't have older siblings I was hoping to keep up with. I'd already crashed once right into a thicket of blackberry bushes and didn't much care for the notion of even less stability. But it was finally teasing by the neighborhood kids that got me to reconsider the necessity of those training wheels.
For some kids, a childhood memory like that may never come at all. They may not have an opportunity to learn to ride a bike-- training wheels or otherwise.
This "Lose The Training Wheels" camp Kurt and I covered is a story we shot this year, last year (and hopefully next year, as well). To see the looks on the faces of those children will make your day. Here is the camp information to either make a financial donation or volunteer your time. The demand is outpacing what the camp can currently provide and it's a shame that not every last family who wants to send a child can..:
http://www.losetrainingwheelspdx.blogspot.com/
I'm writing from home where I can't properly resize photos so it'll have to wait til tomorrow. :-) C U then!
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen
So this NOTES surgery story is downright wild, right??
Now, at the end of the Friday 5pm story I mentioned doctors all over the world are working on these "orifice" procedures in ways that may seem, well, a little surprising.
I figured it would be perfect blog fodder because I just didn't want to have to explain about yanking out a woman's gallbladder through her vagina on the 5pm news. Okay, I'm overstating it just to be dramatic. There is positively no yanking involved. But removing it through the vagina is precisely what some doctors are looking at. And other organs/surgeries through the rectum. And, you get the idea.
In the way way way future, it's *possible* doctors could even do surgeries like gastric bypass through an orifice. WILD.
Now, Dr. Lee Sandstrom and his surgical partner Dr. Mark Whiteford like the mouth for gallbladder removal because, well, only half of us have vaginas so they need something we all have in common.
While the test procedure involves including some extra medical instruments inserted through the abdomen ((leaving only little baby scars)), the final version of it would involve NO exterior incisions. All of it would happen right down the ol' gullet.
I'm out of here (about two hours later than I'd hoped, but what can you do).
Oh wait... I just got this in the mail.
Notice anything? It's a flyer talking about a recent event I attended called "Hats Off To The Hill" which raised $350,000 in the fight against cervical cancer. THAT'S me!! Front and center on the flyer! You open it up and it is full of awesome photos of us ladies in hats. I hung out with Dr. Druker's wife, Alex ((who is incredibly talented and brilliant in her own right)). Talk about an uber-couple. You can't help but feel like a slacker next to them. Let's see, Dr. Druker essentially invented the new frontier of cancer treatment and Alex is a journalist who has written for publications like People magazine, and in her spare time organizes events that raise boatloads of cash to save lives. Hmm, today I ate a burrito for lunch. How does that stack up? :-)
Life is good. See you Monday.
sstricklen@kgw.com
For the record, I have 'princess' tendencies.
And diva tendencies. But only with the best of intentions.
I mention this in the context of tonite's 5pm story on our wonderful Dr. Bradley who we've followed for the past few weeks. His story completely moved me and I wanted to do him (and the children he's fighting for) justice. The last thing I wanted to do is cut-down my story because it was longer than the producers could work with. So, when I had to do that last time.. in May.. when we first introduced you to him.. I had both a diva and princess moment that ended with me in tears. No, I wish I could say I was kidding. I'm not. Picture me.. a woman in my 30's all sniffly and red-eyed storming around the newsroom.. I mean, ridiculous. But hey, I got over it. It's just that I really, really cared about telling his story the way I felt it needed to be told. And for the record, I'm an infrequent cryer around this place. I don't want to give anyone any ideas that I'm walking around this joint in a permanent state of 8000 rpm.
:-)
But with that, let me show you the first story in full-- before we cut it down. It runs 2 and a half minutes.
Watch Part 1
We ran this part one full-version on the weekend morning show, while the shorter version ran during the weekday evening 5pm. And we're doing the same thing again today with part two (no tears this time.. I'm feeling nice and rational, thank you very much). Tonite's part two story is a trimmed down version. The Sunday producer Craig was nice enough to let me run the long version in his weekend morning show this Sunday in the 7am hour. YAY CRAIG!!
Here's a link to Shriner's Hospital for Children here in Portland: http://www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/Portland/
The photographer I worked with on this story is one of the best in the country. His name is Kurt and the moments he captures on tape blow my mind. Here's a photo of the two of us at the recent National Press Photographers Association summit that came to Portland. It was snapped on the fly-- and I'm sure he will love love love the fact that I'm posting a photo that is a) out of focus and b) has him with his eyes closed.
That conference got me all fired up for quality story-telling. I actually skipped the Emmy's up in Seattle (which fell on the same weekend) because I was stoked to watch the work of stellar photographers and reporters.
Two of my fav's (phojos and reporters) are pictured here:
On the left is Scott Jensen. He's pretty much won every award that's out there for phojos and used to work here at KGW. He has this gift for bringing you into someone's life-- telling the story through these wonderful moments he gets on tape. He's now up at the NBC in Alaska.. his blog is one of those I like to check: http://www.ktuu.com/Global/category.asp?C=90618&nav=menu510_5_1_2. You can watch his stories there too and see for yourself why I think he's fantastic.
And on the right is the best feature reporter in the country (period) and my professional idol-- Boyd Huppert. I'd start a fan club or something but he'd probably take out a restraining order. Seriously, if you have some time-- check out his stories here: http://www.kare11.com/news/investigative/extras/stories.aspx
Oh man.. time flys. Gotta go: Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen who is currently not in tears.
Flaming mattresses are a sure-fire way to ruin your day. Pun intended. So these new standards should help change that. But often I hear people concerned about the chemicals used on lots of things (mattresses included) to make things more flame resistant. The question came up on the Today show this morning, and while she didn't elaborate too much because Meredith asked the next question... the CPSC spokesperson said the chemicals are safe and well-tested, and that manufacturers are meeting the standards in different ways-- by using new fabrics and materials (like Kevlar, etc.).
You can listen to it by going here ((http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633)) and then scrolling down to the video section to watch the full interview.
Here is the official CPSC link:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07220.html
I have to say CONGRATULATIONS to the chief phojo at our sister station KTVB in Boise. His name is Xanti (SHAWN'-tee.. who knew the "x" was such versatile letter?) and he's a long-time, good friend of mine. I'm sitting here at work this morning and I get this inter-office message ((we call them 'toplines')), so I get this topline that looks like this:
Yeah, as in Edward R. Murrow. It's a really amazing honor and he totally deserves it. As does Mark who is fantastic!!! As well as Mike and Andy (the other guys mentioned in those toplines). I worked with all these guys over in Torino. Mike and Andy are from our sister station WCNC in Charlotte. In fact, one of the blogs I regularly check is Mike's: http://www.wcnc.com/6newsextra/traveler/.
Anyway, here's a photo of Xanti I yanked off the KTVB website.
Haven't decided if this was taken at the golf course (hence the golf cart and lovely beige sweater he's wearing)... or at some community thing that Boise does often and does well. One quick story about Xanti-- he shot most of the stories on my first demo tape I was shopping around here in Portland to news directors. The photography was so good one of the stations here in town tried to hire him. I was like, "HELLO, people?! *I'm* the one applying here!". He rocks.
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen.. or just click on comments which should now be on-line barring 6 million spam emails, most from overseas selling me things that are either a) gender inappropriate or b) inappropriate inappropriate. I have yet to get ONE that made me want to follow the link.
I don't have any moral objections to gambling, but I know some people do. Truthfully, I actually enjoy playing Texas Hold 'Em and I'm just bad enough to be a bit unpredictable on the table which actually helps me win (or at least play long enough to enjoy myself).
Now the one time I played for charity ((as Annie Duke (who rocks), Phil Helmuth, and Devilfish either played or helped out))-- THAT was a pathetic showing on my part. But, oh, did we have a blast afterward. It was a very fun night and for a good cause!! I still bring the coaster Annie had to make for me so I would know what hands are better than others... now more for 'luck'. Isn't that sad, though.. that I had to have a cheat-coaster?!!!
But, for me it's just a game. It's not that way for everyone. And Oregon health officials are coming up with ways to reach more and more people-- like the video we did the story on Tuesday at 5pm.
To get a copy of the video for your youth group or organization.. call Greta @ DHS (503)945-6187.
To get help with problem gambling call: (877) MY-LIMIT
Here are 4 photos from yesterday's promotional shoot that didn't make the cut. I wonder why? Yes, I'm a total ham. You so don't have to tell me.
It'll be nice to soon have only one haircut on KGW.com. I think I'm up to 4 styles now including these photos. If I had money to offer I'd give away a prize for finding all the different 'looks'.
**Finally** EMAIL response time ((it's about time, eh?))
McGorge Scott sent this little gem-- and I know how you groove on his animal photos:
Amy writes: Love the haircut!! I missed the newscast tonight so I didn't see it live but the pics look good. ;) Speaking of pics...I love the one of your friends kids! Very darling....where did she have them taken or did she do them herself?
I just called her to ask and she tells me she had them taken in Seaside at a place called the Old Tyme Photo Shop on Broadway... so the next time you hit Seaside...
:-)
Rick writes: Well, I caught the noon news, and I'll have to say that the new 'do looks great. I bet that you got more email on this topic than any of the health news items.
Yup. You're right. As some of us joke... it's all about the hair! But hey-- I did ask for your opinions, so, I know... let's hear more about my hair.
Liz writes: I love your hair cut. Its very flattering and looks pretty easy to take care of! Of course you are going to have worse “helmet hair” than ever…
I hope not. I'm avoiding hairspray as much as possible. Let me know if I look like a Leggo toy with snap-on hair.
Evelyn writes: I've never e-mailed you before, but after reading your blog re:your decision to cut your hair, I had to give you my input. Yea!! Good for you. I know changing ones hair is a big decision, however, you look so much younger. The "librarian hair" (your words) always made you look so severe and prim & proper, which from your on-air personality I knew not to be true. You have a beautiful smile and great sense of humor. Your new style will be very freeing and the look more sophisticated. Looking forward to seeing you on the news with your new look!
How sweet are you?? Thank you so much. Yea, truthfully, cutting off the hair doesn't feel like a big decision. It's fun to hear from everyone-- but I'm not very attached to it and if you ask Randi (previous blog posting-- she's my stylist at WACK'S) she'll tell you I start to get stir-crazy when it stay the same for a long time. ((PS. The underside is bright red. It's my way of having a little fun without getting fired.))
Michelle writes: Just saw you on the news, on the navy ship, and I love your haircut. It's looks great, frames your beautiful face, and, YOU ROCK!!!!.
Full disclosure. Michelle is one of my good "diva club" friends (Remember the cookie basket from the Divas?). But I didn't have to pay her for that email. Nor the other diva Sunny who emailed me: I just saw you on the news tonight---you got your hair cut! It is so cute on you! Great story too but your hair... fabulous! But I DO owe Sunny an adult beverage for mentioning the story.
Randy (who also liked the hair) writes: And I appreciate your dedication to your Blog. There is something new almost every day.
We plan on checking out the Body Worlds, it looks interesting. Thanks for covering!
It's just like my last blog entry-- blogs require daily feeding.
John writes: What's this stuff about you co anchoring the 4:30 AM news? I enjoy watching you, but that presents a major challenge to my retired lifestyle. Maybe I'll just have to start staying out later like I did in my younger days and watch you when I get home.
Good luck with the early getups.
Now, that's the attitude. As you get home be sure to look for the Vern Fonk commercial that only runs overnights. It's in our 4:30am show. Shipoopie!! Oh yeah, I'm still doing stories for the 5pm, too.
Julia writes: I don't get home from work in time to watch the 5;00 p.m. news, so this morning when you appeared on the morning news, I realized I hadn't seen you for quite awhile! Just wanted to send you a note to say I just realized I've missed you! You do a great job and I appreciate your skills. You're lookin' good, too! Hope life is treating you well. Keep up the good work!
Your check is in the mail.
Linda writes: So are you doing mornings all the time now? Or just filling in? I tuned in today and I like the new haircut!!
Full time gig. But, again, I am doing stories in the 5pm newscast. It's the best of all possible worlds. I get a little bit of anchoring and a whole lot of reporting!
Sally writes: I am not a blogger, and I'm not really even a very advanced computer user, however, I do watch KGW every morning as I get ready for my day. This morning as I was doing my hair, which I've been unhappy with for a couple of months, I saw you and your new (to me) hair style and really liked it. Is there any way you could update your picture on the web site so I could show my hairdresser your hair cut? I feel a little funny asking, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try.
It's fun to "see" you all every morning and get info about the world. locally and otherwise. I can't imagine working the schedule that you work. More power to you.
What, the goofy promotional pictures aren't working for you? YES-- we are working on updating all the pics and I am REALLY flattered you like the style that much. Thanks for makin' my day!
And with that (there's about 10 more hair emails but I think I'm going to look like an egomaniac if I keep posting your very kind emails)....... I think I'm ready to ask our web guru Frank to turn comments back on for this blog. We'll turn 'em off if I get 600 spam emails, but hopefully the new filter will catch those. Cross your fingers.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR EMAILS!! :-)
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen
Here's the thing about having a blog: you have to keep the content up-- whatever that content might be, you have to have something new on a pretty regular basis or else it gets boring and you stop checking it out (I mean, that's how it works for me, anyway). And I use 'Google reader' and all that, too, to save time-- but let's face it: new stuff is more fun than the same stuff you looked at last week 10 times waiting for a new posting.
So, in the interest of something new, I'm writing this blog from home because I just couldn't get everything done today and get off work on time and I'm a little tired which is why this sentence is just keeps on going. I'm even rambling in my own sleepy little thoughts.
Here's the diabetes info I promised you: http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Diabetes_Issues_640/Older_People_with_Diabetes_More_Apt_to_Suffer_Depression.shtml
And the alcohol and arthritis story which is, of course, interesting but sooo preliminary: http://http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/news/20070615/alcohol-may-cut-some-arthritis-risk
And the saggy faces story (notice this basically a press release, but mirrors what I found on our news wires): http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=74248
Russ and I emceed the PSU graduation this weekend and I have two photos to post but can't get them resized properly on the home computer so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.
Til then.. email me! sstricklen@kgw.com
I hope you liked Friday's 5pm story on the breast cancer boutique!! Wasn't Paula awesome? And Pam, too, for sharing their stories with me (and you). I'm hoping that on this new shift I can do more stories like this. Don't get me wrong, covering the latest/greatest study is wonderfully interesting to me, especially as I've figured out many of the pitfalls that come with covering health stories accurately. It's actually hard to get it right. I joke that if you think it's "easy" to cover health, you're probably doing something horribly wrong.
But, most people who don't normally cover health stories (like studies, etc.) don't know what to look for. It's not their fault. It just takes time. I'll stop before I get into the difference between Phase I, II and III clinical trials, the difference between an "association" versus "cause-and-effect", "risk" versus "rate" and all the other little goodies that I geek-out over that no one else probably cares about, lol!!
You most likely swung by here to learn more about the Transistions boutique at Providence St. Vincent. Here is the website:
http://www.providence.org/oregon/health_resource_centers/breast_cancer_center/transitions.htm
Look what photographer Rod S. dropped off in my mailbox.
It's a photo of a photo of all of us on the ship the USS Vandegrift with the Command Senior Cheif Jeff Baldie from Hillsboro: http://www.vandegrift.navy.mil/
And (for the umpteenth time).. THANKS for your patience on the reply emails.. yet again it's 15 minutes after I'm supposed to be here and I'm still behind! YIKES.
Happy Friday! Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen
That's sort of the take home message from the study we talked about at 5.. but, it's IS small (as I mentioned). Regardless, I wonder what's really going on. If you looked as a borader sample of people it's possible the association would change. And, as always, an 'association' is not proof of cause-and-effect, you know? You can check it out here. I love the medical jargon. It's like a challenge for me to figure it all out. Blows my mind that docs can just read that and immediately comprehend it.
http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/abstract/131/6/1877
And the breif Cliff Notes version (ahh, Cliff Notes): http://www.spiritindia.com/health-care-news-articles-10587.html
More on the Kellog's story here: http://kelloggs.mediaroom.com/file.php/77/Final+KGNC+GDA+press+release+6+14+07.doc
And the hospital story: http://www.phc4.org/
Hey.. my desk smells like a million bucks thanks to the latest flower delivery from my parents!! This is because of me moving to the morning show-- just a nice round of "Congrats" from everyone.... now, you'll recall (or perhaps not, but anyway...) about my Valentine's day flower debacle... so, yeah, you get to see my flower pics because I am LOVING them!! :-)
sstricklen@kgw.com
Yuk.
When I heard that was a possible side effect from Alli I thought long and hard about wether I'd ever try something like that.
I also read somewhere that they suggest starting it on a weekend, and bringing a spare set of pants to the office. Of course, these are worst case scenarios and likely follow the super high-fat meal you weren't supposed to eat anyway...
Really fast: the company has been very good and honest about the drug, which I really appreciate. Better to tell everyone all about the pros AND the cons so no one has false expectations. Love that approach.
Here's more:
http://myalli.com/
Mayo clinic stuff: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alli/WT00030
Business article:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/business/media/09adco.html?ex=1181880000&en=58d6a6e666690ac1&ei=5070
YES.. I have about 20 emails I need to reply to-- again, STILL getting used to the schedule and the changes and the workflow etc. That's why I have no pictures, etc. I'm just treading water to keep the blog content fresh. I WILL get back into it shortly and someday I WILL STOP OVERUSING THE CAPS LOCK.
Someday. CLICK TO EMAIL ME BECAUSE I DO ENJOY HEARING FROM YOU... dratted caps lock.. sstricklen@kgw.com
I'm movin' on up to the mornings... WAY up. As in 4:30am "up". I do like the shift (crazy, I know). AND-- I have gotten each and every one of your emails, but i'm just so not in a groove right now. I WILL get back to you as soon as I can figure out this dratted schedule of mine. It's still new so it will take some time. :-)
Oh yeah, I'm still working on stories for the 5pm newscast-- so here's a quick rundown of what I promised you:
Here is some additional information on the suicide veteran story:
http://www.pdx.edu/news/14708/
AND:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/Depression/tb/5913
And on the 'negative emotions' story:
http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/10101/chronic-worry-tied-to-memory-problems
And on the other sextuplets ((as opposed to the Arizona couple I showed you)): http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2007/06/12/mn/01m0612.txt
AND:
http://www.fftimes.com/index.php/6/2007-06-12/31189
PHEW. I'm out of here!! :-)
CLICK HERE to email Stephanie Stricklen
Man, oh man. It sounds like an SNL skit making fun of TV news... "What you don't know about your bird's feeder could kill it..." but it's totally true. You saw the story (shot largely thanks to my neighbors who let me run around in their yards)-- but here is the press release for you to check out:
http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/release.php?id=jun0607b
And a link to Portland's best resource for all things feathered: http://www.audubonportland.org/
Did you see the ship stuff from yesterday? I swear, we need a phojo to come with us and just shoot the behind the scenes stuff-- like the sailors telling us 3 minutes out from our live shot that everyone has to go inside while they swing this huge crane around.. and me hollering on the phone to the station to do a phoner/sky8 combo since we have no live shot.. to the mad scramble to get our 6pm version on the air.. to the knock that photographer Rod S. took trying to climb up and down through these little tiny portals.. to needing a sailor escort everytime I wanted to use the bathroom because, well, it's basically a ship full of men and someone needs to watch the door.
I had a blast hanging out with Command Senior Chief Jeff Baldie from Hillsboro.. riding in on the ships is always different and always an experience. I think this was time 3 or 4 for me.. here's a shot of phojo and live shot engineer Brian R. trying to tape a camera on the front of the ship for some nice time lapse stuff for the web.
Notice the high-tech mounting system:
And here's poor Brian stuck with all of our heavy gear while he waits for his ride back to the station.
I felt like a pack mule at times during the day, reinforcing my sound decision to give up fake nails long ago. And some of the stuff (like the HUGE battery we used to power all our live equipment) weighed so much I couldn't even lift it.
The saddest part: my legs are actually sore today. Good greif, I need to hit the gym more!
Click here if you've ever had fake nails.
Body Worlds 3 in Portland is slightly different than Body Worlds 3 in Phoenix (I went there in May to check it out for one of those 'special reports' I'm always talking about). For one, the OMSI space is much larger. And, then there's the camel.
The exhibit's creator, Dr. Gunther von Hagens told everyone at the press conference today about finding the camel in Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan-- anyway: it died of a broken leg and he had one heckuva time getting it back into Germany when the Polish government stopped the convoy carrying the deceased animal at the border and refused to allow passage. They eventually worked things out and the camel was on its way to get plastinized. Because of the extra space, etc.. the Body Worlds folks brought the camel to OMSI.
We did a short little story at noon, and a little longer one for our 5pm webcast tonite (Wednesday). It was interesting to meet the creator and his wife who works on determining how to pose the bodies.
The presser was very well attended:
I wonder what they say to each other at night about all the reporter questions they get. I can't imagine any of us ask anything unique, so it must get tedious to face essentially the same 10 questions everywhere they go.
Okay, onto some more photos! In the land of "things that are cute" this photo rules!
My friends Kris and Dan have the most adorable munchkins.
Hey- the hair is gone!! The gal who styles my hair is also a personal friend. Her name is Randi and she works at this place called Wacks (clever name, eh?) here in Portland.. so, I called and texted her yesterday and was like, "Hey, can I come in.. oh.. say like three hours and have you cut off all my hair?"
Who knows, maybe she hid the electic razor wondering if I'd gone and pulled a Britney. But when I showed up we went to hacking.
Sadly, because my hair is bleached I can't donate it to Locks of Love (http://www.locksoflove.org/) which is a crying shame considering the pile I left behind:
But in the end, I was beyond happy with it.. THANKS RANDI!!
And how it looks on air (I snagged this from the noon show):
Hey, look! I got mentioned in someone else's blog!
http://www.lovinggodfellowship.org/greg_johnson_blog/view/3174
That's pretty cool. Thanks!!! :-)
Click here to email Stephanie Stricklen about Body Worlds, Camels, Hair, or Blogs.
I know, I know, I know. Look, while a lot of you like it, my boss doesn't love it and I have to be totally honest with you when I say I just don't put as much thought into it as I should (as witnessed by 4 years of 'librarian hair'-- which is not meant to offend librarians who have awesome hair).
So, tonite I'm cutting it off.
It kind of needs it, frankly.. it looks a little Jon Bon Jovi, circa 1985.
BUT: you have to check out this poll that Frank, our web guru was kind enough to make:
http://www.kgw.com/perl/common/surveys/display_full.pl?poll_id=11714&site=kgw&vaction=voting&thissite=kgw
You HAVE TO vote!! :-)
Losing the length will satisfy my need for "something new" (read = drastic, which is always how I go), but I do have a style that I actually used to wear here at KGW that I like (A LOT)... and after all is said and done, I'm dying to get out of here and get to the salon and get to cuttin'!! It's kind of exciting.
Ps. Here's what I'm thinking about...
I did call John, by the way, to tell him about my plan. He loved that I actually gave him a heads up as opposed to springing it on him by coming home with 7 less inches of hair.
Okay.. Kevorkian feedback: here's what you said!!
Eric writes: 1: I'm entirely in favor of right to die. I know I would not want to live through a painful terminal illness. I would want to go out on my own terms.
2: That said, Kevorkian is more than slightly freaky. Having him as the most visible embodiment of the right to die movement does everyone a disservice.
Jim writes: I don't think he's a villain. He proposed and offered an end for people that were in great distress and not receiving appropriate end-of-life care from the medical profession. I think that the medical profession has come a long way since the advent of assisted - suicide and end-of-life care has improved a great deal. Hospice is one of the great services now available. Our peripheral experience with hospice services has only been good. The medical school systems, slowest to change, need to address end-of-life care in a serious way to our med students and budding doctors.
Rick writes: God bless this man. I am 70 years old and my wonderful wife and I raised four chidren without seatbelts, helmets or airbags.
My point is that governments need to get the hell out of the way and leave us alone. The Socialist of this country want to control everything we do because the think they can do it safer and better than we can. At least, you would think that they would let us chose the way we desire to leave this life.
American Socialist believe saving one life is worth taking all our freedoms away. I disagree.
And remember the Dr. Starr reunion story I did??
http://www.kgw.com/video/health-index.html?nvid=147184&shu=1
Well, Mark writes: Just thought you would get a kick to know Dr. Starr performed open heart surgery on me when I was 6 years old in 1962. I am now fifty and doing fine. I saw your report...
George writes: I live in Camas, Washington. I watched your
story last night about Dr. Starr with great interest and delight. I am
also one of his patients of over 40 years. What is remarkable about my
case is that he not only operated on my heart on March 18th, 1965, but
again on September 9th of 2005. He did a pulmonary valve replacement,
which he was not able to do during my original open heart
surgery....40+ years ago.
It was amazing how similar the story you showed last night was to mine.
My wife & I had a consultation with Dr Starr, in the same conference
room you did your story from. He had the records from my surgery in
1965, & gave me a copy.
As I was being prepped for my surgery 20 months ago, Dr. Starr came in &
chatted with me. He asked, "Has it really been 40 years since we did
your first surgery"?
"Yes, doctor, it has", I replied. He responded, "goodness, we're
getting old, aren't we"?
As so many people do, I owe my life to this gifted man. Thanks very much
for featuring him in your wonderful story. My "heart" also goes out to
the gentleman who had his 40 year reunion.....as did I.
Very nice indeed. I have a great job, yeah? Allows me to meet some really remarkable people!! :-)
Til tomorrow.. Steph
sstricklen@kgw.com
Hopefully you'll have a chance to check out tonite's (Friday's) story on Jack Kevorkian's Portland connection.
After doing this story I realized that people have such differing views of the man and what he did. I wonder what you think? Is Kevorkian a murderer? A saint? Villain or hero??
Please do send me an email and let me know how you feel about this. As always, I will post snippets so you can see for yourself how your opinions stack up against others.
CLICK HERE to sound off!
Have a wonderful weekend. :-)
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