Nancy Hilliard
Around the Island
Scene setter: It’s 6:30 p.m., Sunday (Feb. 3), and you’re one of the 90-some million who plan to watch the NFL Superbowl between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.
For those of you who’ll be in the $3,000-$8,500 stadium seats in Glendale, Ariz. — lucky you. However, those of us watching the tube have ringside seats for the super-commercial shootout between car, beer, soft drink, movie, snack food and other pleasure-seeking product touters — worth $2.7 million per 30 seconds of air time.
Social marketing pro Nancy Lee says as Super Sunday gains a broader audience, “it will be interesting to see how the mix of advertisers changes.” Even this Sunday, Victoria’s Secret is among the advertisers.
If you’re a pro-football diehard like Bo and Patti Darling, don’t be surprised if you phone them during the game and you get an answering machine that says: “Obviously this is someone who doesn’t care about the Giants or the Patriots. We will try to return your call at halftime — even though we will be missing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.”
If, perhaps, you’d like more camaraderie for the conquests, The Roanoke Inn, The Islander, El Sombrero and Bennett’s will have big screen stations with plenty of libations and gusto. You might also toast our own NFL-related residents: Jim Zorn, David Kirtman, Michael O’Brien, Mack Strong, Tim Ruskell, Paul Allen and Eric Lane, among others.
High intake antidotes: Local baristas and smoothie vendors say their focus is on health in February, “to help residents keep their New Year’s resolutions,” says Daylon Taunt, manager at one North end Starbucks. “Our skinny platform includes 90-calorie tall non-fat lattes (no whipped cream), and you can even add sugar-free syrups such as mocha, cinnamon, vanilla, caramel or hazelnut. Even reduced-fat coffee cake and rolls contain hundreds of calories, so cut them in half!
“The raves” at Emerald Smoothies are what manager Ashley Welsh calls “meal replacement higher protein drinks.” The 24-ounce, 300-calorie banana-peanut butter crunch is made from organic bananas, crunchy peanut butter, whey protein, flax oil and no-cal syrup. The Sambazon is high in antioxidants, vitamins and proteins, and is full of cranberries and strawberries. The idea is to have two such drinks a day, along with 80-90 ounces of water and one high-protein dinner meal to take off your first 10 pounds, she says.
Value-added drinks are the bags of bulk coffee you may buy at Tully’s to benefit Washington State and University of Washington alumni associations, Sophie’s breast cancer foundation and African growers. Incidentally, the coffee inside the Husky and Cougar packages is identical — medium roast with sweet citrus notes!
Keep heart-healthy: Dr. Richard Page, the “electrician of the heart” from the University of Washington Medical School, told MI Rotarians last week to take heed of risks for heart disease, listen to their body clues and shape up to add years to their lives. He said the most promising assault against heart disease on the horizon is gene therapy, which introduces vectors into our DNA that will produce therapeutic proteins to remove vascular plaque, prevent inflammation and blood clots.
Until then, he urges us to be suspicious of casual online heart tips that circulate on e-mails. The latest hoax, he says, is for someone in the throes of a heart attack to cough deeply and vigorously, taking a deep breath before each cough and repeating every two seconds.
Roosters beware! Hooray for the opening of the North Mercer Park and Ride, delayed many months past original estimates, but earlier than the last-projected March date. A notable feature on the lower level is the spiky plastic fringe on all the pipes and infrastructures. We’re told these deter birds from landing or roosting, thereby protecting our parked cars from the fall-out.
The “Really Big Idea Committee” of the MI School District has been working on its “stakeholder structure” during the past months to ensure a cross section of community voices. Ultimately, the RBI group will bring an overarching educational vision to the MI Foundation to use in its fundraising efforts. When pressured for an “idea about the ideas,” MISD Superintendent Gary Plano said it could be an umbrella concept such as preparing students for global citizenship and all that it would entail, such as service learning, eco-sustainability, multiple languages, international experiences and worldview ethics, among other facets. “Big Idea” anticipation grows as 32 smart folks join the steering committee, facilitated by a not-for-profit consulting representative from The Alford Group.
“Pippin,” the young prince played by MI’s Spencer Hamp, opened last weekend at Youth Theatre Northwest. The music, humor and Fosse-like choreography shepherds Pippin through his medieval coming-of-age trials to appreciate the ordinary. Opening night’s dessert fest was also accompanied by a silent auction to raise funds for the Conservatory Ensemble. Director Mimi Katano says there are still two more weekends to catch the play and make your bids.
No cemeteries on the Island? Not until recently. Now Mercer Island Presbyterian, Emmanuel Episcopal and Congregational churches are selling niches in “Remembrance Gardens.” You may buy a columbarium for one or two, or simply have your names and dates engraved on walls of stone in the church gardens. Mercer Island forever.
E-mail Nancy at nancybobhilliard@msn.com.
