Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 35

E9 section RJ mi EM ST. PETERSBURG TIMES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1992 3 i'A TOM i Izucco as Ever hear of a truth In lending act? Li Times files BONO WORK: The lead singer is shown during the group's last appearance here in 1987. Vvv, I ISM" I if 0 The band will also use the civic center 10 days for practice. By ERIC SNIDER Times Pop Music Critic he Irish superstar band U2 will open its "Zoo TV" tour at Lakeland Civic Center on Feb. 29.

In stark contrast to the group's Times photo MACK GOETHE POPULAR POSER: Michelle Zeno performs during Sunday's Ebony Fashion Fair in Tampa. A size 14, she is the show's only "full-figured" model, but that doesn't cut down on her popularity. last bay area appearance, when more than 60,000 fans gathered at Tampa Stadium in December 1987, the Lakeland Arena will be set up to accommodate just 7,000 con-certgoers. No ticket information is available now, but should be later this week, said Ron Cohen of Fort Lauderdale-based Cellar Door Concerts. "Lakeland is there as kind of an intimate opening gig," said Brian O'Neal of Wasser-man Public Relations in Los Angeles.

The "Zoo TV" tour encompasses 32 shows in 31 cities throughout the United States and Canada. After Lakeland, the trek moves to the Miami Arena on March 1, the only other Florida date. The "Zoo TV" shows will be held in arena-style venues such as the Omni in Atlanta (March 5), Madison Square Garden in New York (March 20) and the like. O'Neal added that the band plans to play stadium venues in the summer. Besides premiering the tour in Lakeland, U2 will rehearse at the facility for 10 days before.

The sessions will be, as expected, closed to the public, said Lakeland Civic Center director Allan Johnson. "From my impression, they were very pleased with the size of the facility as far as being able to rehearse a show of that caliber," Johnson like the rest of us, they're pleased at the prospect of being in Florida this time of year." IMPORTANT SCIENCE NEWS ome sperm banks are now offering catalogs that give the vital statistics and more of anonymous donors. Besides height, weight, hair and eye color, ethnic background and so on, donors also can describe their personalities, accomplishments and interests. On the surface, this appears to be a monumental breakthrough, especially for the ailing banking and catalog industries. But think about what's really going on here besides the fact that you can now pick a child the same way you select lawn furniture and draperies.

Men are being asked to describe themselves to get women to notice the'm. As most women know, this task automatically triggers a psychological disorder in men. The event was first described by Freud, in his work Der Man In Der Bier-haus. He called it bolgescheben, which can be loosely translated to "laying it on thick." Here's an example: A man who is trying to impress a woman tells her he's a professor of astrophysics, a vegetarian and a relative of the state's governor. He knows that will work far better than the truth, which is that he's a roadie for The Meat Puppets, he lives on Slim Jims and Bud Light and he recently changed his name to "Space Monkey." Although sperm donors are anonymous and will never know who selected their sperm or even the sperm was selected this same bolgescheben effect could carry over into the baby-making business.

And may already have. An anonymous donor at a California sperm bank described himself as "ruggedly handsome" and an "accomplished judoist" who has "an impressive presence." He may be just that. Then why do you get the feeling this guy has a face like a relief map (ruggedly handsome), is heavy into Bruce Lee movies (judoist) and weighs 680 pounds (impressive presence)? But can you blame him if he exaggerated? Wouldn't you fudge just a little? I would. What I'd Write: "Very stable personality. Graduated with honors from Ivy League college.

Award-winning journalist. Often mistaken for Richard Gere. Own pilot's license. Hobbies include classical music, Save the Whales Foundation and competitive cycling. Rode in Tour de France each year from 1973-79." Which is somewhat different from.

What's the Truth: "One foot on banana peel. Barely made it out of dinky sheepskin mill located outside dead Pennsylvania coal town. Have Dave Barry's autograph. Often mistaken for that "Hey Vern" guy. Had fishing license.

Hobbies include cigars, beer, playing first base on pathetic softball team. Can't remember 1973-79." Who would you pick? At the Repository for Germinal Choice in Escondido, Calif, (which is a real place), the chances of a donor's "dressing up" his resume are nil. They solicit donors. "If we see someone, say, playing concert piano on TV, we might write them a letter," said Neva Asbury, the repository's manager. "Our donors are aerospace engineers, research scientists and several CEOs." Any newspaper reporters? "Ah er no.

But there could be some later." Yeah, sure. Anyway, here's how most commercial sperm banks work: Donors generally are paid about $25 per ejaculation. The sperm is immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and is not used until it is tested for disease and genetic defects. Information about the donor is gathered during an interview and then prospective parents can review the data and play select-a-dad. The cost for a woman to be artificially inseminated is about $300 if her husband is the donor, and about $400 if the sperm bank provides the donor.

For couples who can't conceive a baby, artificial insemination can be an alternative, although the process isn't entirely foolproof. Take the case of Dr. Cecil Jacobson, a former infertility doctor from Virginia. He is accused of lying to his clients and using his own semen to impregnate as many as 75 women. His trial began Monday.

But for the most part, the system works until you start asking about personalties, accomplishments and interests. Fortunately, many sperm banks are finding out about bolgescheben and are verifying the information they get from donors. Which leads to this question: What if everyone starts using the baby brochures? "It boggles the mind," said an official at a Fairfax, sperm bank that offers catalogs. "You wonder why people bother having their own (children) when they can have the perfect child this way." The perfect child? Bolgescheben. women who want to look beautiful no matter what size they are.

Of all the models who take the stage each year in the Ebony Fashion Fair, one of the country's largest traveling fashion shows, no model is more popular than Zeno, a lush size 14 resplendent in sequins. Her colleagues all thin, all conforming to the strictures of the beauty industry earn applause. But Zeno commands cheers. At an appearance at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center Sunday night, Zeno's final bow was met with an ovation and raves from the audience. "A lot of women feel they aren't beautiful unless they are a size 6," Zeno said Sunday night, after the show.

"I want them to know they can be sexy. Any woman can be sexy." At 5 feet 10 and 180 pounds, Zeno bears little resemblance to her rail-thin friends on the tour but can relate to women in the audience who pay up to $50 a ticket for the two-hour fashion show pro Please see BEAUTY 3D Ebony magazine's Fashion Fair offers a look at expensive clothing and beautiful women of all sizes. Real women go in; fantasies waltz out. They are the fantasies of youth, the dreams of magazines. Size 6 beauties with long legs and small waists.

Cheeks that jut and stomachs that are flat. Ten models waiting for the runway, lanky thoroughbreds waiting to run. Then there is Michelle. Where the others are flat, she is round. Where they are angles, she is curves.

Her figure is an hourglass. Her smile is genuine. Michelle Zeno is the queen tonight, the ultimate fantasy for ENSEOE JENNIFER L. STEVENSON Times Staff Writer Help yourself Largo symposium to focus on problems facing our schools 3D TAMPA he dressing room is dark, a surreal stage where the transformation takes place. Movies 2D Television Comics 5D 6D Ann Landers 3D Emm gg fit ij ids? Raj iff 7 Ella Jo Baker received little recognition for her work in the 1960s civil rights movement, but hers was a powerful, significant and long-lasting presence.

PEGGY PETERMAN is nil secretary, says she met Ms. Baker in 1962 in Atlanta, where Clark went to process her application to be field secretary. "She had a head full of thin curls and a powerful voice," Clark says. "A well-designed African face with deep, penetrating, almond-shaped eyes. If she never said a word, Mama Baker got your attention.

She knew everything there was to know about the struggle and could go back in history, clarify it for you and relate it directly to the moment we were living in." There is some documentation of Ms. Baker's life: a film called Fundi, which is Swahili for someone who generously and unselfishly shares his or her knowledge and skills with others, and a book for young people called Ella Baker-. A Leader Behind the Scenesby Shyrlee Dallard. According to the book, Ella Jo Baker was born in 1903 in Norfolk, but her family later moved to North Carolina. She grew up in a black commu- Please see BAKER 4D People who knew Ella Jo Baker say she was a tiny woman with a booming voice.

When she spoke at meetings, everyone grew quiet. They respected her knowledge and her ability. But when you read African-American history, you rarely find her name. She never made the cover of Life or Time, magazines, yet she helped organize and mold the NAACP, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Diane Nash, chairman of the Nashville SNCC organization in the 1960s, says Ms.

Baker never sought publicity for herself. Nash also believes Ms. Baker wasn't recognized as a civil rights leader at that time because she was a woman. Ella Baker was an adviser to SNCC and was known as "Mama Baker" to the students who loved her and followed her advice. Colia LaFayette Clark, a former SNCC field i 1 i HA: Times art ROSSIE NEWSON BELOVED TEACHER: Ella Baker was known as "Mama Baker" to the students who loved her and followed her advice..