tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2010:/weblog//1 2010-09-13T17:49:48Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2008:/weblog//1.32 2008-04-30T15:24:42Z 2010-09-13T17:49:48Z

According to MSNBC, the shiny, thick lip glosses we smack on our lips can act as red carpet roll-outs for nasty UV rays. OK, maybe not exactly worth a conspiracy theory, but food for thought.

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com afterall! According to MSNBC, the shiny, thick lip glosses we smack on our lips can act as red carpet roll-outs for nasty UV rays. OK, maybe not exactly worth a conspiracy theory, but food for thought. And thanks to my pal Elaine, at least now I have an excuse to get back on this blog site and try to remember how to post things. Not just lip service: Gloss can invite skin cancer Some experts say gloss makes the sun’s UV rays hit harder By Melissa Dahl Health writer MSNBC updated 8:19 a.m. ET, Wed., April. 30, 2008 Right now, 23-year-old Laura Brown has at least six lip glosses on her. They’re in her backpack, her purse, her pocket, her makeup bag — and just in case, she keeps a couple of spares at her desk and in her bathroom. Brown, who lives in College Station, Texas, assumes she takes very good care of her lips. She spends enough money on them, anyway. (A tube of her go-to brand, Mac, can cost as much as $20.) And she’s always gooping something on her lips. That’s got to be enough of a barrier between her skin and the sun. Right? But some dermatologists say that slathering on shiny lip glosses can actually increase your risk of developing skin cancer. Of course, wearing any lip product without SPF doesn’t exactly shield the thin skin from sun damage. But the slick, shiny nature of the gloss could be making the sun’s UV rays hit harder, some experts say. “These lip glosses can make more of the light rays penetrate directly through the skin instead of getting reflected off of the skin’s surface,” says Dr. Christine Brown, a dermatologist at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. (You're covered, however, if you wear lip gloss with SPF.) At worst, say some dermatologists, the resulting sun damage can lead to potentially fatal forms of skin cancer. An estimated 3,500 new cases of skin cancer of the lips are diagnosed each year, and 90 percent of those cancers are squamous cell carcinoma. While that form of cancer isn't usually particularly serious, it can be more aggressive on the lips than on other parts of the skin. If left untreated, it can cause disfigurement, and in very few cases, it can spread to other organs and become deadly. But the less serious effects may grab a lip gloss junkie’s attention more quickly: All that sun exposure could be slowly building gross, non-cancerous disfigurements on your lips. One such effect is actinic keratosis, a small, scaly patch of skin that can morph into a wart-like bump if left untreated. Sun exposure can also cause small brown spots that look like freckles on the lips. The spots are noncancerous but could cause people to whisper, "Hey, you've got food on your lips." Sun damage can also cause premature aging, making the already thin skin on your lips even thinner, which can lead to rips and tears. Ultraviolet light zaps skin of much of its elasticity, leaving the skin lax. That lack of elasticity can prevent the upper and lower lips from lining up properly, which can cause pools of saliva to collect at the corners of the mouth. It's the moisture in lip gloss that's to blame, says Dr. Bruce Robinson, a Manhattan dermatologist. Your lips are equipped with a protective outer layer, but the hydration of a lip gloss "kind of smooshes that down," Robinson says. Once that outer layer is effectively squashed, it's easier for UV rays to penetrate deeper into the skin. "Instead of having to travel through that thicker layer, it's more condensed," Robinson says. "So the UV rays reach are reaching deeper layers of epidermis and dermis because you don't have this forcefield." Sun's laser focus on lips Apart from the extra hydration, the “super shine” and “ultra shine” of the glosses could be damaging as well. “Take a magnifying glass and put it over your lips,” Robinson says. When you apply lip gloss and go out in the sun, “that’s essentially what you’re doing.” But no studies have confirmed the lip gloss-skin cancer link, and not all dermatologists agree that it poses a risk. “The only way I could see it is if you’re thinking you’re protected, and you stay out in the sun longer, that may increase your risk,” says Robin Ashinoff, a dermatologist in Hackensack, N.J. That's what happened to Sherry Duplar, a fair-skinned, horseback-riding redhead who spends as much time as possible outdoors. She always applied lip balm or gloss, and figured that was enough. “I didn’t realize, back then, that our lips were so susceptible,” says Duplar, who’s 59 and lives in Mesquite, Texas. But about 12 years ago, Duplar’s lips were cracked and chapped, and constantly peeling, and nothing she did would heal them. She’d developed actinic cheilitis, a precancerous condition that's sometimes known as "farmer's lip" or "sailor's lip." It often leads to squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Since then, she’s had three laser treatments, to deconstruct the affected skin cells. The treatments which leave her lips raw, swelled up and oozing, for as many as three weeks. “It was nasty,” Duplar says. Now she slathers on lip balm boasting 50 SPF before she goes out in the sun, which makes her dermatologist, the lip gloss-bashing Brown, much happier. Brown wishes women would abandon their lip glosses for lip balm with an SPF of at least 30. But for those who balk at tossing all their lip gloss, Robinson offers a compromise: find a lip gloss infused with SPF, which also protects the lips from ultraviolet light. © 2008 MSNBC Interactive URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24190829/ ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.31 2007-07-09T20:47:56Z 2010-09-13T17:49:49Z

I love that! Deliciously acerbic. It sounds so, well, delicious. Read on...

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com John Charles: TV producer Annabelle Kapner quickly finds herself in the news when it turns out there is more to her story about Cosmetic Relief than an effort by an American cosmetics corporation to help war refugees. Annabelle's attempts to discover the truth about matters not only cost her a job at "New Day, USA," but land her in jail. When "Glossgate" hits the press, Annabelle's hot new boyfriend, White House speechwriter Mark Thurber, suddenly stops taking her calls. Annabelle decides that to get out of jail and get a second chance with Mark, she will have to dust off her investigative journalism skills and figure out who wants her out of the way. Filled with entertaining details about the battle between style and substance on morning news shows and featuring an endearing hero, the sharply written and deliciously acerbic "Gloss" is a rare treat.]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.30 2007-06-30T14:47:25Z 2010-09-13T17:49:49Z

Listen in on Sunday as Dan Raviv interviews Jen about GLOSS, the TV news business, and a few other things... It can be easily found on the homepage of cbsnews.com starting Sunday morning ... also at wcbs880.com

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com cbsnews.com starting Sunday morning ... also at wcbs880.com you can right-click and save the whole program (40 minutes total)... on the radio? Chicago 780-AM starting 12:10 a.m. Sunday .. Los Angeles 1070-AM starting 7:05 p.m. local time Saturday ... Washington 1500-AM and 107.7-FM starting 11:05 a.m. and 6:05 p.m. (unless knocked-out by baseball) on Sunday ... and elsewhere...]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.29 2007-06-19T18:40:49Z 2010-09-13T17:49:49Z

On June 7, Jim Bohannon interviewed me for his nationwide radio show. It was, as always, a lot of fun. But since it aired from midnight to 1 am, many of my fans (read: my parents) were asleep and missed it. But fear not! You can hear it now.... HERE

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com HERE]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.28 2007-06-11T03:58:20Z 2010-09-13T17:49:50Z

Says Marie Claire Magazine: "GLOSS reminds us of another tongue-in-cheek mystery: Carl Hiaasen's LUCKY YOU."

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com Download file ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.27 2007-06-07T16:40:05Z 2010-09-13T17:49:50Z

My blog posting about the Arial font is now alive and well on the Huffington Post!

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com Huffington Post!]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.26 2007-06-07T16:06:33Z 2010-09-13T17:49:50Z

Erica Perl, my pal and children's book author extraordinaire, has posted a fabulous blog about Gloss on her site www.ericaperl.com Writes E: Sometimes, the classics just have to wait. Or so says Barnes and Noble, which shoved Dickens and Dostoevsky aside last night to make room for a new classic: my friend Jennifer Oko's "sleek, sly and irresistibly dishy" new novel, GLOSS. This was a photo op I could not resist: the tower of GLOSS threatening to topple and crash all over the cornerstones of Western Literature.

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com Gloss on her site www.ericaperl.com Writes E: Sometimes, the classics just have to wait. Or so says Barnes and Noble, which shoved Dickens and Dostoevsky aside last night to make room for a new classic: my friend Jennifer Oko's "sleek, sly and irresistibly dishy" new novel, GLOSS. This was a photo op I could not resist: the tower of GLOSS threatening to topple and crash all over the cornerstones of Western Literature. ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.25 2007-06-05T19:30:16Z 2010-09-13T17:49:51Z

I am guest blogging today on The Happy Booker, a sweet lit site out of DC. Today's subject? Well, check it out: thehappybooker.blogs.com

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com I am guest blogging today on The Happy Booker, a sweet lit site out of DC. thehappybooker.blogs.com]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.24 2007-06-02T03:42:41Z 2010-09-13T17:49:51Z

Today I walked into Barnes and Noble and almost tripped over the stack of Glosses. It is an amazing thing to see your book front and center like this!

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com And here it is (with me, looking a little crazy) at Barnes and Noble on 82nd and Broadway in NYC: ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.23 2007-05-29T02:42:46Z 2010-09-13T17:49:51Z

Jeff Bercovici of Radaronline posted a sweet little article about Gloss today. My lips are of course sealed, but far be it for me to put a stop to some of the fun...

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com Radaronline posted a sweet little article about Gloss today. My lips are of course sealed, but far be it for me to put a stop to some of the fun... Check out the article here. ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.22 2007-05-24T17:36:33Z 2010-09-13T17:49:51Z

I am blaming my font choice for a bit o' bad luck. Seem nuts? Read on...

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com Mark Simonson refers to my favored font as both an almost diabolical virus and a shameless masquerader--a rip-off of the esteemed Helvetica, an evil spawn of Microsoft's techno-imperialism (apparently, Microsoft owns the licensing rights to Arial). There are websites dedicated to comparing and contrasting the original to the supposed imposter, and discussion boards fighting it out. It would take some more digging on my part to find out exactly where the truth lies--was the creation of Arial inspired by strange 80's era copyright concerns, as some say, or all about money, as others do? Or, as still others argue, is the font of blameless genesis, just an attempt to make a venerable typeface like Helvetica more readable for the computer screen? Whatever the answer, I admit that my choice was clearly naive (fitting for the childhood associations I have with it), but likewise it is so compelling. My simple, seemingly straightforward typeface has a mysterious dark side. Which is interesting. That said, I am not sure I can look write with Arial anymore without thinking about it, and the last thing a writer needs is to be distracted by her font choice. Which is why I am considering switching to something a little less controversial. Perhaps something like American Typewriter, with its old-school appeal. But then again, who knows where that came from. My sloppy, almost illegible longhand is looking pretty good to me right now.]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.21 2007-05-23T20:20:03Z 2010-09-13T17:49:52Z

Beneath the glossy veneer of my favored font choice lies a dark conspiracy. Who knew?

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com Slate.com. Yesterday, she generously threw my name at another editor who was looking for writers to contemplate the ever present but not often thought about issue of font choice. Yes, font choice. It isn’t something I would have thought had much to do with GLOSS. It isn’t something I had ever given much thought to at all, defaulting as I did to Arial since it was alphabetically advantaged at the top of my word program’s drop down list. But it was definitely fun to ponder... And surprisingly interesting. I discovered, among other things, that Arial actually has, in some circles, slightly satanic implications. It made me think about GLOSS, and about how one of the main themes in the book is that most stories in the news (and in life) are glossed over, but with a little digging, we find them deeper and darker than we could ever imagine. Just wait til you find out about the innocent looking Arial. I’ll post the link to the slate.com article once it is up. ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.18 2007-05-17T19:16:08Z 2010-09-13T17:49:52Z

Find out how you can enter to win free books and a Sephora gift certificate from FreshFiction.com!

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com freshfiction.com ]]> tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.17 2007-05-14T20:18:30Z 2010-09-13T17:49:52Z

Ms. Oko's eye is sharp and her pen as sharp, as she bares the quirks and flaws in an industry she knows from the inside. Yet she sees what it sometimes manages to be. GLOSS's heroine and hero are basically good people caught up in something for which neither is guilty, though they may have forgotten their youthful ideals for a time. In that, don't they personify us all as well as our institutions? Don't let the unappealing cover stop you from picking up the book; you'll understand its significance once you see what Annabelle uncovers. GLOSS is an entertaining, delightfully irreverent, and enlightening work of fiction. --Romance Reviews Today

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com GLOSS - Jennifer Oko MIRA Books ISBN: 978-0-7783-2442-3 June 2007 Fiction New York City and Prison Annabelle Kapner produced a regular segment called American Ideal for New Day, USA, the ZBC network's morning show...until she wound up in jail for supporting terrorists. Her pieces were mainly light in tone -- no one wants anything too serious first thing in the morning. But then her boss told her to do a piece on Cosmetic Relief, an organization that, through donations from Vanity Cosmetics, helps the women in the refugee camps of the small nation of Fardistan feel better about themselves. It was a good piece, people said; then Annie went on to another. She was up to her heavily booted ankles in a snake pit -- it was rattler roundup time in Texas -- when she got the phone call that led to her looking more deeply into Cosmetic Relief and, ultimately, to jail. Now with scandal and danger erupting around her, can she dig her way out? Just before all this started, Annabelle met and connected with Mark Thurber, a senior White House aide and vice-presidential speech writer whom People magazine called D.C.'s most eligible bachelor. The gossip columns made the most of their being seen together. But now that Annie has become a hot item in the press and on the news, where is Mark? Amidst the intrigue that surrounds Annie, she is lucky to have one or two real friends among the hundreds who wish to exploit her; the others are caricatures of the shallow, self-serving sorts. GLOSS opens with a prologue in which Annabelle is in jail; Part One is mainly Annie's voice relating what led up to her imprisonment; Part Two jumps to the present tense and chronicles her efforts to clear herself and find the truth behind what has become a front-page scandal. In this, she has the help of those interesting friends. While the style is unusual, both narrative and dialogue flows smoothly. The changes in tense and voice are not at all jarring. Satire might be too strong a word for GLOSS, so let's call it a humorous send-up of the TV industry and today's pop culture where fame is an end in itself. I must confess a personal bias against books featuring reporters and show-biz personalities, not to mention politicians; yet, against expectations, I enjoyed GLOSS very much. Ms. Oko's eye is sharp and her pen as sharp, as she bares the quirks and flaws in an industry she knows from the inside. Yet she sees what it sometimes manages to be. GLOSS's heroine and hero are basically good people caught up in something for which neither is guilty, though they may have forgotten their youthful ideals for a time. In that, don't they personify us all as well as our institutions? Don't let the unappealing cover stop you from picking up the book; you'll understand its significance once you see what Annabelle uncovers. GLOSS is an entertaining, delightfully irreverent, and enlightening work of fiction. Jane Bowers Romance Reviews Today tag:www.jenniferoko.com,2007:/weblog//1.16 2007-05-13T01:33:54Z 2010-09-13T17:49:53Z

It’s a fascinating, wry send-up of the television morning news industry by a network insider. Jennifer Oko has a sharp pen and a sharp sense of humor. If you like the inside scoop mixed with scandal and lots of little secrets, GLOSS is the book for you!

Jennifer Oko http://www.jenniferoko.com newandusedbooks.com Gloss (STP - Mira) By Jennifer Oko Mira Books June 2007 New York City and Washington, D.C. New York producer Annabelle Kapner has a very successful segment for the morning news show, a report about a cosmetics company planning jobs for refugee women in the Middle East. But as she continues her investigation into what may be of even more interest behind the scenes, the director of the company becomes elusive and she receives some threatening phone calls. Meanwhile, she has met Mark Thurber, Washington's most eligible bachelor according to People Magazine. Mark is speechwriter for the U.S. vice president, so this association slides her right up to an A-list person as far as restaurants and tabloid press are concerned. Annabelle combines her reporting with a trip to Washington to see Mark and the cosmetic company the same day, but when she returns to the company for a clandestine peek at their records she is caught and lands in a non-exective jail cell. That doesn't keep her quiet - the journalist in her begins a segment on corruption and her crusade serves to put her once again in the spotlight. How Annabelle gets out of jail and gets her boyfriend back is the rest of the book, and it’s a fascinating, wry send-up of the television morning news industry by a network insider. Jennifer Oko has a sharp pen and a sharp sense of humor. If you like the inside scoop mixed with scandal and lots of little secrets, GLOSS is the book for you! Jean Hanke, Reader To Reader ]]>