I recently read an article in SHAPE magazine about Kate Rope, a self-proclaimed ‘germophobe.’ She is a pro at using her knuckles at the ATM machine, flushing the toilet with her feet, using paper towels to touch every surface, but the news she discovered from her doctor was surprising- to her, to me, and I’m sure many other readers. She took her concerns to Philip Tierno, Ph.D., director of clinical microbiology and immunology at the NTU Langone Medical Center. He confirmed to Rope that germs are everywhere- “but only 1 to 2 percent of the 60,000 known microbes can do us harm.” Rope and Tierno decided to do a project- she was given two dozen giant cotton swabs that she would rub on the items she touched on a daily basis. Tierno would then analyze the swabs to see the “microscopic invaders” that lived at her home and gym, among other places. The most disturbing news that came back from those labs results- more than half of the specimens had traces of fecal contamination. Common items such as a shopping cart, buttons on the ATM machine, and a playground jungle gym came back contaminated. Tierno says, “This is proof that most people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom.” The number one lesson to take away from that: wash your hands, and wash them often! Tierno suggests washing before and after eating and after using the bathroom. It will help wash off any contamination, and frequent hand washing has also been known to reduce the chances of catching colds and other illnesses throughout the year. Rope says that if you can’t always wash your hands, the next best line of defense is alcohol-based sanitizers. She put the strategies to test. One day, she didn’t wash her hands or use sanitizer, and walked around New York City touching railings, toilets, sinks, and swabbing her hands. The next day, she repeated the process, but cleaned up after touching items. The test results: “At the end of the dirty day, I had E. coli on my hands; on the clean day, the only organisms in the Petri dish are the harmless bacteria that naturally grow on the skin.” The kitchen can be one of the most dangerous places for contamination. Rope, who considered herself a clean freak, found that her kitchen was full of contamination and bacteria. One of the worst items: the sponge. A tip from Tierno: microwave your sponge in a bowl of water on high for at least two minutes each time you use it to clean up after a meal. This can help rid the germs that frequent sponges (including salmonella) and keep your kitchen cleaner. How often do you clean your kitchen? Probably not enough. You should wipe down counters before and after prepping meals, and it is best to use one shot glass of bleach to a quart of water (or an antibacterial wipe such as Clorox) to keep from contaminating food or other kitchen items. But what happens if we are too concerned with cleanliness and keeping germs away from our bodies. According to experts, that can actually do more harm than good. Confused? I was too. Mary Ruebush, Ph.D., an immunologist and the author of Why Dirt Is Good, has this to say, “From birth to adolescence, the immune system is a work in progress. If it isn’t challenged, it won’t develop into a successful germ-fighting force, or worse, it will get into trouble by attacking your own body- so you’re at a greater risk for developing allergies.” So being exposed to germs can help teach the body to fight, helping you in the long run to ward off diseases and common illnesses. So what can we take away from this news? To sanitize or not to sanitize? Wash your hands regularly, especially after going to the bathroom and before and after meals. And use hand sanitizer if you have touched an item that could be especially dirty- such as handrails or a common grocery cart. But there isn’t a need to be a real ‘germophobe.’ If you miss one hand washing, don’t panic. You will be helping you immune system do the work it was made to do. KATE ROPE is a freelance writer in Brooklyn, New York. Thank you to her and her research for the help in writing this article.
Q: I read that you never had the thought to be a writer. What changed your mind? I fell into it completely by accident. Years ago I worked for a television programme presenting a feature on aromatherapy and started to write my own scripts. Then I progressed to articles about aromatherapy for whatever magazine would take it. I also happened to be getting a magazine called Writers’ News which had both market leads for freelancers and also short story competitions. I entered their annual love story competition and, to my amazement, won. Instead of blowing the money on shoes and handbags, I spent it on a writing course. As the course approached, I thought I’d better write something to take with me and started my first novel. The course tutor read it and loved it. She recommended an agent and he took me on straight away. He sold the book a week later. That book became my first published novel – Let’s Meet on Platform 8. Q: What is your favorite part of the writing process? I enjoy all of it – research, planning, creating the characters. There’s no better way to spend a working day. Q: Do you have a favorite book or author? The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I love this book and wish I’d written it. I still can’t bring myself to see the film in case I’m disappointed. Q: Where do your ideas for your story lines or characters come from? Generally, from life, magazines, newspapers, stories that people tell you. There are stories all around just waiting to be told. I'm a great collector of anecdotes. Q: Are any of your characters based on perhaps you or people you know? Not really. You need to know your characters far more than you would a person, but you can sometimes pinch quirks or features from real people. Having said that, I’m way too much like my own heroines! Q: I just finished reading With or Without You and I loved it! Did you do research in the Himalayas to write this novel? This is one of my own personal favourites too. Yes, we did go to the Himalayas. The idea for this book started when I first met my partner, Lovely Kev who makes Indiana Jones look like a sloth. For our second holiday together he booked a three-week camping trek in the Himalayas. I am a five-star hotel kind of woman. All my friends were panicking about how I was going to manage and I was training by jogging on a treadmill in my garage with a backpack full of tinned soup. That gave me the idea for the story. Q: Can you pick one of your novels that you can say would be your favorite? Or the one that you had the most fun writing or researching? Continuing the trekking theme, part of my latest book – It’s Now or Never – features my heroine setting out on the Inca Trail in Peru. The book I’m currently writing is set partly in the Maasai Mara in Kenya on a game safari. It’s nice to be able to feature a few exotic locations in the books. Q: What do you love the most about being a writer? Any fabulous perks you can tell us about? Strangely, for a profession that consists mainly of me sitting in a room on my own, I like meeting my readers most of all. That’s probably why I spend huge amounts of time on Facebook too! It’s not just a marvelous work avoidance technique! One fabulous perk is – again – down to my readers. After writing The Chocolate Lovers’ Club and The Chocolate Lovers’ Diet my readers like to send me gifts of chocolate. Receiving chocolate in the post on a regular basis is a good thing. Q: How long does it usually take you to complete writing a book, from start to finish? I’m contracted to do two books a year, so I need to squeeze one into six months. Q: What would be your advice to aspiring writers? Enjoy your writing. Too many people that I meet on workshops seem to struggle and wrestle and fight with their writing. Relax and let it flow. If you can’t think of anything to write about, then do some crazy things to get your creative juices flowing . Q: What is or would be your favorite place to travel? You know, I’ve been lucky to go to so many different countries that it would be hard to pick a favourite. Somewhere very special was the Galapagos Islands – followed closely by Nepal, China and the Maasai Mara takes some beating. Being just a few feet away from a wild male lion is something that I won’t forget in a hurry.
Jessica Simpson can add yet another collection to her designer resume- swimsuits. The 29 year old star already has designed her own line of shoes, outerwear, handbags, and luggage lines, and is now collaborating with Red Carter and her own mother Tina Simpson on her swimsuit collection. People.com reveals Simpson’s inspiration for her designs, “My spring collection was inspired by my favorite vacations and the jet-setting getaways I dream about,” and describes the look as “fun and flirty, but still so classic.” The singer has been widely criticized in the past about her weight, but she believes women need to find their inner beauty. “You have to be comfortable in your own skin because when you feel good about yourself, you are going to look great no matter what you’re wearing.” The Jessica Simpson for Red Carter collection retails between $40-100 and will be available for purchase at select Macy’s and at jessicasimpsoncollection.com starting December 30.
When mystery writer Taylor O’Toole offers to help her friend Candace with an unfaithful boyfriend, she didn’t expect to get swept into her own mysterious world filled with mobsters, hit men, and death threats. But that is exactly what happens, starting with a mysterious climbing fall, a bouquet of black roses complete with a threat, then getting her own Navy SEAL assigned to watch after her every move. Taylor is confused- what could she possibly know about the disappearance of a Navy scientist and the threat of a deadly drug that international terrorists are after? With SEAL Jack Broussard watching over her, Taylor begins to feel frustrated with the whole situation. She couldn’t be in any real danger, right? But a gruesome wakeup call and the death of an officer opens her eyes to the terrifying world she has stumbled into. Her love for the SEAL begins to cloud both their judgments, and their missteps almost get them both killed. Hot Pursuit by Christina Skye has some good elements to it- specifically the suspense and the mystery. I thought the plot dragged on in the beginning, and you have wait until the end to really get caught up in the story. I liked the mystery, though the whole terrorists and hiding drugs did seem a teeny far-fetched, and the coincidences seemed a little too, well coincidental. I enjoyed the fact that I could not figure out all the guilty players involved until the very end when the criminals are unveiled. That kept the suspense even higher for me, and made me want to keep reading. This wasn’t my favorite book, but still a fun read, and romantic thriller fans will be entertained.
You may know Lisa Loeb for her singing and songwriting, but the recently married celebrity is now adding designer to her resume. Loeb, who consistently wore fashionable eye glasses, is designing her own line of glasses, partnering with Classique Eyewear. Her line of frames will be titled “The LL Collection.” People.com reports that the frames will feature streamlined pieces in black and tortoiseshell, as well as embellished options punctuated with rhinestones and etchings. Loeb says, “I worked with Classique Eyewear to design a line that represents the look I love: one that can be worn from day into night, that’s classic but stylish, that frames the face and lifts the eyes, but doesn’t speak before you have a chance to. My eyewear generally has a cat-eyed look. Think sexy librarian, not retro grandma.” The glasses are designed mostly for women, but can be unisex as well. Each frame will be named after one of her songs, and will be available to purchase in the spring of 2010.
Rapper T.I has been released from prison. He was released on Tuesday after 7 months in a Arkansas federal prison, and will finish the last three months at a halfway house in Atlanta. T.I was arrested in 2007 for attempting to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. He began serving the jail term in May.
It's a boy for Johnny Knoxville and girlfriend Naomi Nelson! The couple welcomed son Rocko Akira Clapp Sunday night in Los Angeles. People.com reports that they baby weighed in at 8 lbs and 20 inches long. The Jackass star, 38, has a 13 year old daughter, Madison, from a previous marriage.
The next celebrity creating their own signature scent...Eva Longoria Parker! The Desperate Housewives actress has just announced her trademark scent, to be titled Eva by Eva Longoria. People.com reports her saying, “I have always been somewhat allergic to all perfumes and really wanted to create something that every woman could wear. So I decided to create my own fragrance that is light, fresh and unique. I think the scent of a woman is extremely sexy and this scent will prove that.” Her scent, which Parker was heavily involved in creating, incorporates citrus, violet, freesia and sandalwood notes. The perfume is set to be in a curvy type bottle, to represent a women’s body, and will debut in April, costing between $45-58.
