H1N1 VACCINE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE STARTING TOMORROW
Printer-friendly version Residents Encouraged to Get Vaccine from Their Doctor December 21, 2009 (San Diego) — With demand from high-risk groups declining and supply steadily increasing, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency is announcing that the H1N1 vaccine will be available to everyone starting tomorrow. “We have been closely monitoring the demand for H1N1 vaccine and have seen a decline in interest from the priority groups at our Public Health centers and in the community,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County Public Health Officer. “While there is not an unlimited supply of vaccine available, with the decline in priority groups’ interest and increased supplies available, vaccinations are now open to non-priority groups who want protection against the H1N1 virus.” More vaccine is now available and additional shipments are expected in the coming weeks. County residents are encouraged to contact their primary care physician since private providers receive most of the H1N1 vaccine. Residents who don’t have a primary care physician or whose doctor did not order H1N1 vaccine can get vaccinated at one of the County’s seven vaccination sites or at evening and weekend clinics conducted by local community health centers. Clinic hours may vary. To date, 833,090 doses of vaccine have arrived in the region and another 88,900 doses are expected in the next two weeks. Currently, the County has approximately 12,000 doses that will be available at the seven public health clinics and is expecting an additional 12,000 doses. The County is also anticipating the arrival of 25,000 doses for distribution at school vaccination clinics. Also, the California Department of Public Health has announced that phase three of vaccine distribution will begin in January. At this time, approximately 6-7 million more doses will be coming to the state, on average 8 to10 percent of the state’s allocation comes to San Diego. From this order, the County will plan to conduct mass vaccination clinics in mid to late January. Subsequent orders will allow for retail pharmacies and all vaccinators registered with the State to begin offering the vaccine. “During the planning stages, we estimated that 1.7 million comprised the five priority groups and that about 50% would be vaccinated. We have reached this estimation,” added Wooten. San Diego County is not alone as other jurisdictions in California have opened up vaccinations to the general public or will be doing so in the weeks to come. For more information on vaccine availability and vaccination hours, visit www.sdcounty.ca.gov or call 2-1-1. Printer-friendly version
ON THE SILVER SCREEN: “INVICTUS” IS ROUSING, WELL-WRITTEN, AND WELL-ACTED
Printer-friendly versionBy Brian Lafferty December 21, 2009 (San Diego’s East County)–Invictus is a movie that brought out a lot of the fan in me. It is a feel good film that had me cheering. It is one of the most rousing films of the year. The movie begins with the release of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) after decades of imprisonment. Through sometimes shocking and powerful real news footage, which includes riots, we see Mandela winning the South African presidency against all odds. This news footage is real from 1994, but in Forrest Gump style Morgan Freeman is digitally, and seamlessly, inserted in the real Mandela’s place. It wasn’t even five minutes in and I was starting to cheer for him to succeed. Mandela inherits a country that has long been torn by political strife over its apartheid policy, which was a legal form of segregation that lasted for almost half a century. Even though it has been abolished, the wounds still remain and Mandela’s life is constantly in danger. At the beginning, a suspicious van seems to follow him and two of his bodyguards on his daily early morning walk. However, it turns out to be someone delivering newspapers. Even the press has doubts, running front page articles that question his ability to run the country. Mandela is a very complex man. Against the vehement objections of his black bodyguards, he hires white bodyguards, men who in the past could have been likely candidates to assassinate him. He refuses to fire them, citing not only the need for additional men but that the need for trust and reconciliation starts here. There is conflict between the two groups both in culture and in language but they put aside their differences to protect the President. Mandela gets an opportunity to unite the Apartheid-torn South Africa. He enlists the struggling Rugby team, captained by Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to win the World Cup in the hopes of bringing together the country’s two factions, the prejudiced whites and the repressed blacks. Invictus is not an average sports movie. There is the Big Game at the end but I still found myself taken and entranced. Perhaps it’s because of the sport, which is very high-contact and exciting to watch. But also, I felt like I was there, in the middle of the action. The cheering, or to be more accurate, roaring of the crowd, the constant grunting of the players, and the exaggerated thud sounds of bodies hitting each other and the ground left me feeling involved. What distinguishes this movie from other formulaic sports movies is that there is much more on the line than just a championship, self-respect and redemption. Many sports movies stop there, but Invictus has something more important riding on it: the unification of a strife-torn South Africa. The ending is predictable, yes, but I found myself caring about the team, the players, and the game because the implications of the outcome would affect more than just the team; it would affect the whole country. The Rugby matches, in addition to having superb sound design, are easy to follow. The editors wisely shun using an average shot length of two seconds in favor of lengthier takes that allow enough time to comprehend the action before moving on to the next shot. As a result, there was not a single instance in which I was confused about the action on screen. The screenplay, written by Anthony Peckham, is well-written to say the very least. There is not a single line wasted. Everyone has something important and substantial to say. Every line of dialogue has thought and 100% effort put into it. Mandela’s speeches, which tend to run several minutes at a time, are rousing, intelligent, and worth the time it takes to listen to because he speaks so well. Even the minor characters, including those seen only once or twice in the entire movie, are given dialogue that is memorable and well-written. Morgan Freeman is the perfect choice for Mandela. Like his character, Freeman is a charismatic actor, which lends credence to a man who was able to overcome prejudice and seemingly insurmountable odds to win an election. All the performances in the movie, even by the minor characters, help enhance the picture by making even ordinary scenes exciting to watch to see what happens next. Invictus is no doubt one of the feel good movies of the year. It is a political movie as well as a sports film but it is never, not even for a single solitary frame, preachy. There is hardly a thing about this movie to not like. Ever since The Bad News Bears was released in the 1970s, many sports movies copied, with little success, its formula of a losing team getting better and winning the big game. This movie does have that formula but it also has what many of its emulators lack: heart and intelligence. I love movies that aren’t afraid to be different; this one succeeds on this and many other levels. A Warner Bros. release. Director: Clint Eastwood. Screenplay: Anthony Peckham, based on the book “Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation” by John Carlin. Original Music: Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens. Cinematography: Tom Stern. Cast: Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Runtime: 134 minutes. Rated PG-13. Brian Lafferty welcomes letters at brian@eastcountymagazine.org. You can also follow him on Twitter: @BrianLaff. Printer-friendly version
EAST COUNTY ORNAMENTS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY TREE
Printer-friendly version By Miriam Raftery December 18, 2009 (San Diego’s East County) – Where can you find Christmas tree ornaments that are unique and reflective of life in the eastern areas of Sa Diego County? Here are a few of my favorite finds, from hand-blown glass to Native American handicrafts to critters crafted from corks at a local winery. ANTIQUES BY FUTURA, 8665 Mission Gorge Road in Santee – Add sparkle and shimmer to your tree with hand-blown glass spires custom crafted by the owner using old-world glass making techiniques. http://www.antiquesbyfutura.com/. ORFILA VINEYARDS, 13455 San Pasqual Road, Escondido – Whimsical animals, all made out of wine corks, adorn Orfila’s holiday tree. Situated close to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, Orfila’s tasting room has a tree displaying a menagerie of lions, elephants, sheep, and other cork critters, each just $7.99. http://www.orfila.com/index.php A TRADING POST, 12473 Woodside Ave., Lakeside – Hand-crafted NativeAmerican options include leather ornaments, miniature dream catchers, tiny hand-painted horses, and stained glass hummingbirds–all at very affordable prices. Love it all? You can buy the whole store, a 15-year tradition in Lakeside now for sale by the owners. APPLE CRATE COUNTRY STORE, 13277 Highway 8 Business, El Cajon – This charming shop has a wide variety of hand-crafted ornaments made by East County artisans and craftsmen. POW-WOWS: This hand-painted ornament depicting Native American images was purchased in late summer at the Barona Pow-Wow in Lakeside. Large pow-wows in East County attract Native American vendors from across the U.S. Watch our calendar of events for pow-wows in our region next year. Printer-friendly version