Role Models

If you're old enough to have midriff bulge, the fashion stories emanating from television can be a major turnoff. There's no denying the spandex-and-denim set dominates the tube's style waves, from "Melrose Place" to MTV. But a few stylish, mature role models--for whom black leather motorcycle jackets are not the be-all and end-all--do exist.

Re "Scouts end ban on gay youths," May 24 The basic reason that up until last week the Boy Scouts of America excluded openly gay youth has been overlooked. At its most fundamental level, all policy is decided by the national council, as The Times has reported. But it's important to know that the national council members are appointed by the regional councils, whose members are determined by the local councils. Every organization that sponsors a unit gets to vote at the local council.

Can you say "yanked?" That is what Nike did this week to one of its commercials featuring NBA basketball star David Robinson that parodies "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." In the TV spot for the company's Force line of basketball shoes, Robinson ties his shoes, then looks at the camera and asks: "Can you say, 'Kick some butt?' " The commercial premiered on CBS during the World Series.

As one of the first high-ranking Latina administrators at a top American private university, Cecilia Preciado Burciaga inspired and mentored hundreds of Chicano and Latino students and faculty members during 20 years at Stanford University. She taught hesitant young women and men, many the first in their families to attend college, that they belonged and could thrive at the elite private school, and later kept more than a few from dropping out. She soothed nervous parents, persuading them, in Spanish and English, that the university was a safe place for their children and that it would open their eyes to new worlds.

Role Models John Waters Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 304 pp., $25

Fashion models over age 40 who once kept their gray at bay are rediscovering their roots--and capitalizing on a market with potential growth. U.S. magazines such as Mirabella, Lear's and Moxie (based in Woodland Hills), that cater to mature audiences, are filling their pages with, "women who weren't born yesterday," as the Lear's promotional line reads. And, even traditional high fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar are devoting more space to seasoned models.

From hair-color treatments to Botox to surgical "mommy makeovers," it seems there is no limit to the ways women can try to hold on to their fading youth. But are these healthy self-improvements or simply vain attempts to look younger? It depends on whether women can accept that aging is a natural part of life, says Vivian Diller, a New York City psychologist and coauthor of the 2010 book "Face It: What Women Really Feel as Their Looks Change. " In a recent interview, the 58-year-old former model and ballet dancer discussed ways that women can achieve a healthy self-image as they get older.

RE "Runway, Curfew," by Booth Moore, Sept. 20: First, the families of these teenage models are crazy to let them work in such an adult atmosphere at such a tender age. Second, it is an insult by the designers to think that adults would want to buy clothes fit for young adolescents. I will give my money to clothing stores and brands that respect my age, experience and job responsibilities. Carol May Los Angeles

Is John Waters a victim of his own popularity? The pencil-mustached favorite son of Baltimore started out as a purveyor of the outrageous; his greatest star, the 300-pound transvestite Divine, once ate dog feces on screen. (No, it wasn't a special effect.) But Waters' gleeful tastelessness has been softened by mainstream acceptance, beginning with his 1988 film "Hairspray," which became a modest breakthrough hit. The story of a hefty girl who integrates an early 1960s TV dance show, it was eventually turned into a Broadway show that won eight Tony Awards, including best musical — and then was remade as a big-budget film.

Early in his career, an aspiring novelist faces a moment when he must decide to take his vocation seriously or else remain a dreamer, unpublished and unconsidered. Michael Mewshaw's occurred in the office of legendary Random House editor Albert Erskine. In "Do I Owe You Something?" he explains that he sent his first novel, "Man in Motion," to Erskine before learning who Erskine was: "I heard Peter [Taylor] bought Faulkner's house in Charlottesville," Erskine tells Mewshaw, who had studied with Taylor at the University of Virginia.

A man was caught on camera during a Magic vs. Pacer game refusing to share his ice cream cone with his girlfriend. He's watching the game, enjoying his ice cream, when all of the sudden, his girlfriend tries to stick her spoon in it. He nonchalantly pulls away causing her to give him her best "oh-no-you-didn't face. " If you're his girlfriend, or any one of her friends, you're probably thinking this guy is a jerk. She just wanted a little ice cream. What's the big deal?

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. - When Ron Artest first came to town I ignored him, wanting nothing to do with a wacko. "A lot of people do that," Artest says. I thought he was just a thug. "I tell people who call me a thug you're calling the right person a thug," he says. "I was raised to be a thug. " Others insist he's a sweetheart, although Ron Artest and sweetheart don't really seem to go together. But here we are in a Detroit suburb, the wacko thug more sensitive, insightful and sweet than advertised.

Sitting at the top level of the gymnasium bleachers, Harvey Mason Jr. leaves no doubt about his joy as a father watching his son, Trey, play basketball for Los Angeles Loyola. Yes, he has been nominated for Grammy Awards, is recognized as one of the world's most accomplished music producers and songwriters, gets to hang out with the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Aretha Franklin and Justin Timberlake, and once averaged 28 points for his high school basketball team in the 1980s, but the elder Mason looks so content just playing the role of proud dad. "Sitting in the stands is definitely a great thing for me," Mason said.

Emmy Award-winning sitcom writer-producer-director Bill Persky was recently giving a lecture at New York University's film school when the topic of role models came up. Someone in the class wanted to know why he believed only women needed role models in TV and movies. He didn't lose a beat. "Boys are a lost cause," Persky quipped. "Guys have never needed - at least visibly - someone to be their champion. But women have needed it. " GRAPHIC: Faces to Watch 2013 Persky's been one of those champions.

After just one episode, Bravo's new reality TV series on Silicon Valley has already gotten a lot of grief for how it portrays women in technology. Executive producer Randi Zuckerberg said she was aiming to get young women excited about becoming entrepreneurship and technology. Some people feel the show has missed that mark . But cast member Kim Taylor, 30, seems -- at least at the outset -- to be acting the part of female role model in tech (and less like the Silicon Valley version of "Real Housewives")

Just before the opening credits of "The Mindy Project" materialize, Mindy Kaling as her eponymous character has a heart to heart with a Barbie-like doll - and moments later, gets served. "If you don't pull it together, no one will ever love you," the doll warns. Adding insult to injury, the plastic figurine notes that she "at least" has a boyfriend. "When that hot, mean doll pointed out that even she had a boyfriend," Kaling's character says in a voice-over, "that's when I started to cry....

Taylor Swift has finally weighed in on whether she considers herself a role model for impressionable young people. And the verdict is ... she accepts! In an interview to be broadcast this Sunday on "60 Minutes," the singer said she believes she can be an influence among some fans, and she's OK with that. But how influential are celebs when it comes to health-related issues such as drugs, alcohol, smoking and weight? Studies show that teens' habits and choices may be affected by famous people they admire, but they're not the only ones who hold sway.

JERUSALEM - Thirty-six years ago this month, a hostage drama played out in Entebbe, Uganda, that transfixed the world. Militant supporters of the Palestinian cause hijacked an Air France flight bound for Paris from Tel Aviv, eventually flying the plane to Africa, where Israeli commandos carried out a mission that freed more than 100 hostages. Leading the operation was Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu, who became the sole Israeli soldier to die in the raid; three hostages also lost their lives.

Quincy Watts has never been in a time machine. They exist only in science fiction and the movies. But Watts swears he had an experience like a time machine 20 years ago in Barcelona, when he was standing on the podium with a gold medal around his neck after winning the 400 meters in the 1992 Olympic Games. "As you hear the national anthem being played, it's one of the proudest moments in your life," he said. "It was like going back in time. I thought about my grandfather in Detroit who would always have me go get him a Pepsi and would give me a quarter if I was able to bring it back in the time he decided.