The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 45

THE NEWS OBSERVER THURSDAY AUGUST 9 2001 Life etc NR 3E Cholesterol drug complaints irk doctor is often a trial-and-error process but you shouldn't have to suffer with side effects i that make you miserable Exercising and losing weight can help I enormously and might make blood pressure control easier We are sending you our Guide to Blood Pressure Treatment for a discussion of popular medications and their potential side effects as well as a discussion of nondrug approaches Anyone who would like a copy may send $2 in check or money order with a long (No 10) stamped self-addressed envelope to: 1 Graedons' People's Pharmacy No B-67 1 I PO Box 52027 Durham NC 27717-2027 Write Joe and Teresa Graedon King 1 Features Syndicate 235 45th St New York NY 1001 7 or e-mail them via their Web site: wwwpeoplespharmacycom KING FEATURES SYNDICATE amount on the label and in the pill The current manufacture4 Abbott Labs has promised to meet the FDA's deadline of Aug 14 so you shouldn't have to worTy about Synthmid disappearing from the market IDI am only 45 but my doctor is concerned about my blood pressure which runs around 15095 lie has prescribed the following drugs: Vasotec Zestril Cardizem CD atenolol and Norvasc Each one caused side effects I didn't want to put up with Some made me cough others upset my stomach or affected my love life and one made my ankles swell Is there a blood pressure pill I can handle? AOnly you and your doctor can determine the best approach to treating your blood pressure This benefits against risks of any treatment especially one that is taken for a long time 1 have been taking Synthroid for 18 years to treat an tmderactive thyroid gland 1 just read that the and Drug Administration is going to take it off the market What's going on? ASynthroid Oevothyroicinei has been prescribed for decades without formal FDA approval But the agency has recently been giving this thy-mid hormone more scrutiny Competitors Unithroid and Levoxyl have been approved by the FDA but the manufacturer of Synthroid has been slow to file its paperwork The dose of levothyroxine is small measured in thousandths of a milligram and the FDA claims that in the past there have been discrepancies between the comp am sick and tired of having patients come into my office way- ing your newspaper column and comp aining about memory problems or muscle pain on cholesterol-lowering drugs Don't you know these drugs save lives? It's hard enough for me to get people to take their medication without you worrying them imnecessarily AElevated cholesterol and a high ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol are certainly important risk factors for heart disease and shouldn't be ignored Medications like Zocor Baycol and Lipitor lower cholesterol and prevent heart attacks Most people can handle them quite well But these medications are not right for everyone We have heard from hundreds of patients who have experienced debilitating muscle weakness or EOPLE'S frightening memory loss -IARMACY while taking such drugs One 80-year-old woman i'--- '7: wrote "I used to go to a cv: health spa several times a ofweek for senior aerobics bduesn IttiotonrImy mtrne 1 anywhere I have become inactive and dont go to the spa anymore I have )e 8c Terry also become very forget1 raedon ful about everyday ordi nary things" When an active older person stops exercising due to a drug reaction the medication might be counterproductive If memory fails quality of life suffers Doctors and patients need to balance PEOPLE'S PHARMACY Joe Terry Graedon Vf IC Minimize computer-related vision problems A few simple changes can help you avoid or reduce vision problems while you work at your computer your monitor 18 to 28 inches from your eyes buying filters or high-resolution monitors your monitor and keep it clean 4 71i 1 Big Daddy Kane performs at Cat's Cradle in Carrbora PHOTO BY ORLANDO SMAL1DTR ENTERTAINMENT 1 1 1 BIG DADDY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 When Mica came forward to kick her verse I saw how more amped the crowd got" Big Daddy Kane knows a few things about amping a crowd The $20000-a-night shows of his late'80searly-'90s days are "a wrap" as he puts it but he still performs often for serious hip-hop fans all over the United States and overseas and he says the charge he gets out of it now is similar to that of his hungrier days in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn NY "When! first started I'd go out there and think hope everything works all right I wanna tip I want this show to come off" Kane says "After you're real successful you ain't thinking about that You walk on to the stage like 'I'm about to tear this down' "Now it's like you walk in there and you hope the crowd is into it And I guess that makes you even more hyper and energetic because you're trying to keep 'em rather than just feeling like 'I am the man'" Kane's status as "the man" was cemented in 1988 with the release of "Long Live the Kane" his debut on the Cold Chillin' label The former Antonio Hardy was not yet 21 when he stepped out solo from the legendary Queens-based Juice Crew also included the great Biz Marlde and racked up such classic hit singles as "Raw" and "Ain't No Half-Steppin'" At the drop of one of his brims his attention-getting style could be as fierce and relentless as the aggressive turntable work of his DJ Mr Cee or as smooth as the pimped-out wardrobe he became equally famous for And then there was the Flattop It was the hairstyle that he more than anyone else of that period would be forever associated with His was immaculate Still Kane never expected the 'do would bring him as much attention as it did "We'd seen Larry Blackmon from Cameo going like that" he says "Next thing I know when 'Raw' and 'Ain't No Half-Steppin' came out everybody started attributing the flattop to me And I'm like: 'OK cool" 0 plir4) 0 1 1 0 1 1 an impact at the Cat's Cradle show For the first half of his set Kane forgoes the pimp gear in favor of a nice purple sweat suit topped off by an Atlanta Falcons cap Tonight it's all about the skills for an appreciative audience of 200 head-nodding fans stabbing the air with their fingers to such classics as 'Warm It Up Kane" which tonight is served up extra hot Other staples of his repertoire follow plus a tribute to rappers who died too young and a freestyle done to the beat of Eve's collaboration with Gwen Stefani "Let Me Blow Your Mind" It's all good Kane introduces Swain with the clever that she's a mouthy audience member who needs to be taken down with a rap battle He nearly flattens her with insults "Left-Eye's stunt double" the normally soft-spoken Swain is transformed into an acid-tongued street warrior and she holds her own After letting the audience in on the joke Kane exits for a wardrobe change while Swain takes another five impressive minutes with Kane's dazzling DJ Skaz Then Kane returns in a toned-down version of his fly style: shiny suit silk shirt There's no more gold around his neck (he says it's too heavy) and the flattop has been replaced with an equally eye-catching lattice work of curved cornrows He is the man Outside the Cradle WNCU radio DJ Bro Rabb raps along to "Ain't No Half-Steppin' as it seeps out of the building Rabb who had done turntable duties between sets knows every word "That's one of the best hip-hop songs ever" he says "He's a legend" The day before Kane reflects on that legend and how he hopes it will prevail through Swain "She could be in the game for a long time" he says "I'll then become Marlon and she'll be Al Pad-no We'll call a big meeting and everyone will come in and kiss her hand Then I'll go lay down in bed" But don't expect Kane to tend his garden like the retired Vito Corleone "No!" he says emphatically after a moment's thought "That's the part where he croaks!" Staff writer Danny Hooky can be reached at dhooleynewsobserveLcom MZ 1111wy ICane's enthusiasm says she draws from experiences in Roper her tiny hometown in Washington County It's the nest she will leave to attend Shaw University in Raleigh as a visual arts major "I grew up on a street called Backwoods She barely gets that out before Kane starts giggling a ritual they've apparently been through before on the subject of her country upbringing "Stop it! Stop it!" she scolds him trying not to giggle herself "I didn't say nothin'" he says still smiling She presses on "It's real small" she says of Roper "I've been through a lot there It's crazy real crazy" Although she won't say how crazy the petite teenager allows that she got in a few scrapes backing up her sisters "I have a big family" she says "They stayed in trouble so when they got in trouble I had to get in trouble" Kane says Swain who has a deal with Durham's DM Entertainment for an album release has given him a new impetus to stay in the business "How long I plan to stay in it pretty much depends on artists like Mica Swain" he says "She'll get out there and bubble do her thing and I'll comfortably hold up a peace sign Because I think that she's very very very talented and can make a serious impact" Clever ruse Swain gets an opportunity to make Remember to take short breaks and blink often to keep eyes moist Check with an eye doctor about whether glasses could help I Keep blinds on windows or place computer to minimize glare EYE STRAIN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the screen all you see is fuzz and dust If you hold a mirror up in front of your monitoryou can find where the light's coming from and turn it off Some people don't even need mirrors because their monitors reflect so much they can tell who's coming into their office behind them by looking at their computer Often people have their desks brightly lit for reading papers But experts recommend using "task lights" instead small lamps that directly illuminate whatever you're working on not the whole room Animators at Serious Robots work with their backs to big windows so they keep the blinds down all day Donley took out some of the bulbs near his desk You can also buy filters for your computers panels that slip over the monitor like sunglasses and keep out some of the bright rays from the sun or overhead lights They're available at computer stores for $30 to $100 Keep your distance You shouldn't have to strain to read the text on the screen 18 to 28 inches away from your eyes is best Nerhood said depending how well your eyes work Straining to read causes headaches said Dr Van Noah of Raleigh Ophthalmology "It's the fatigue one gets in using a computer all day long particularly older individuals" "When I work nose to nose on the computer on a project 10-12 hours a day I can feel the eye strain" Rich said "the tension in the head" Four eyes are better than Iwo You may need to see an eye doctor Rich got glasses to help ease his strain progressive lenses that allow him to see co-workers across the room despite his farsightedness papets underneath his nose and the computer on the desk "I have a focal point for everything" he said wryly Dr John Wood of Chapel Hill Oph LINGERIE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 maced at sheer fabrics "That's too much for them" says Anne Jardine vice president and general manager for VF's Bestform brand Strong sales of skimpy bras and panties don't necessarily reflect an increase in teen sexual activity says Robert Thompson professor of media and pop culture at Syracuse University What's driving the sales he says is teens "posing" as adults It's "a form of dressing up" he says But he adds "this does give me the creeps" As adult underwear evolved from commodity to fashion statement teen underwear was sure to follow Ig 4 ''1 1 'fi Keep Consider Dust On a mission The flattop can be seen in all its glory on the recent Rhino compilation "The Very Best of Big Daddy Kane" which includes excellent liner notes plus amazing photos of him at the top of the game Behind the image though was a thoughtful young man a Muslim "5-percenter" who brought positive lessons to his audience It's a mission he never abandoned although it has become less commonplace in mainstream hip-hop today "I believe that every form of music has its mainstream stra and its fromthe-heart stuff" Kane says "These cats that come from the heart they're speaking what they live "Then there's those that don't really have that type of talent They just do what's trendy It's very simple to talk about how much jewelry you've got or how Laney your car is And a lot of hip-hop fans are impressed by flashy stuff So a lot of people that don't really have that real talent to sit down and put together a tight message or just some real clever lyrics will take that route I'm not Imockin' it you know to each his own" In Swain Kane says he sees the kind of talent and drive that really impresses him "She touches on a whole lot of different subjects" Kane says "She got stuff about things she sees on the street and stuff about her personal life Then she got stuff about how nice of an MC she is how fine she be lookin' you know she covers everything" Swain looking embarrassed by ILS 1 Don't Throw Ott Major Appliances Mattresses Power Tools Televisions and More Keep lighting low and use 'task lights' when you need to illuminate work that's not on the computer Compiled by SUSAN KINZIE ALISA NANCE I The News Observer thalmology Clinic often prescribes' special lenses for computer work Anyone who's having trouble seeing should get their eyes checked he said Quit work Well at least for a bit Sometimes fixing vision problems is as easy as taking a break Even if it's just to blink "People forget to blink when they're using the computer they're so intent" Noah said "They get bumy and teary eyes as a result" Jim Regan notices that sometimes when he's working at Serious Robots Animation "I think wow my eyes feel all dried out I haven't been blink: ing" He doesn't have bad vision problems from the computer he makes an effort to blink take breaks and keep his eyes rested Donley has made changes too He used to have dry burning eyes from staring at the screen all the time "I blink more now" he said "I set up my desk so I'm not staring into a corner so I rest my eyes I just get up and walk around so I'm not constantly staring 2 feet in front of my face" Middendorf suggests a 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes take 20 seconds and look at something 20 feet away Better still go for a walk Read a newspaper Play with a Slinky Throw money at the problem There's also a more expensive way to prevent eyestrain: Buy a better monitor "I've been working on a fiat-panel monitor for a couple of years" Regan said "It's much higher resolution a cleaner crisper picture It's just easier to look al" Rich picked up the flat-screen monitors a few years ago when several of his employees as well as he and his wife were having vision problems At that time they were about $2000 rather than $500 for a normal monitor "But these guys sometimes sit in front of a monitor 18 hours a day" he said "You just can't do that if you have a splitting headache after 12 hours" Staff writer Susan Kinzie can be reached at 829-4760 or skinzienewsobserveccom It's no secret that adolescents like to mimic grown-up fashions so lingerie companies and retailers naturally have turned to them for growth And media images of pop princess Britney Spears prancing about in skimpy outfits have influenced all kinds of youth fashion At Bloomingdale's New York flagship sales associate Derianne Thomas says only 10 percent of her teenage intimate-apparel customers buy traditional styles "Most of them come in for the fun funky stuff" she says That includes silvery-purple and sheer-pink thongs and aqua g-strings priced at $5 each tor four for $18) A teenager recently chose a sheer pastel thong Thomas recalls Her mother objected They bought traditional cotton panties I ri-it 4 '4 Ns I The most important 71 4 school supply pply your 4 otta4014' '40" ti child may need I i I cop-1 could be new glasses' i The most important school supply your tt child may need1' 'cop- could be new glasses: 147111V1K1 0 I I II NOW through Saturday September 1 2001 libirs tliWertilitgi7Z4 Coupon applies to frame moulding only and must be presented when your order is placed '6 1 Discoomi does not apply to Valamming ke" I itty ad 0 4 LO01 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