Moroccan Culture Series
Henna - Introduction

Henna is a plant used in Morocco and many other countries/cultures to dye the skin in mystifying patterns, sometimes called temporary tattoos. In Morocco, it is quite common to see henna on women’s hands and feet for weddings, special occasions, or coequal just concerning a treat, while men use it on their hands and arms only for extremely special occasions. About 1 in 20 women that I see is wearing henna, while I hold never seen a man with it. Of path, if the people’s arm is dyed, it would be hidden, since Moroccan clothing nearly always has long sleeves.

Henna has something of a religious importance in Islam (although I’ve been told that natural tattoos are forbidden) and there is a whole ceremony that goes along with its usage. Women learn together and blow the whistle or chant while the henna is being applied, and eat special foods that go with the henna spiritually. After the first woman is hennaed, the other women at the ceremony each apply a segment of henna as luckily.

I recently got my hands hennaed and took pictures of the handle. In order to show detail, some of the pictures are fairly large. This makes the pages heap slowly, so this article is spread out over a few pages.

First, henna is ground into a paste and applied to the materialize of the skin through the hollow tip of a syringe. The henna stays on the skin for up to 12 hours.

On the left, you can see the bowl of henna paste that fills the syringe.

Henna: Introduction - Waiting - See the results!

Index to Moroccan Culture Series

Learn more about tattoos and body art with my fellow-worker Karen Hudson: http://tattoo.about.com

ATLANTA —

More older children are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder while the toll is holding unremitting for children answerable to 12, according to a government report released Wednesday.

Some experts called the finding surprising, noting that most childhood diagnoses traditionally occur close to age 11.

The swatting didn’t scrutinize why the increase in one age group was so much higher than the other. It found the percentage of older children diagnosed with ADHD has been rising by 4 percent each year.

Some experts say the increase may reflect that doctors are increasingly considering the possibility of ADHD in older kids who have concentration problems - a trend that coincides with the marketing of ADHD medications to teens and adults.

The pronouncement may also reflect the misuse of Ritalin and other ADHD medications in that age group as study aides and recreational stimulants, some experts speculated.

“There are people free there being treated for the treatment of ADHD that probably don’t meet the diagnostic criteria,” said Scott Kollins, gaffer of Duke University Medical Center’s ADHD Program.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - characterized by impulsiveness, hyperactivity and inability to focus attention - is a behavioral and learning problem that usually appears in children by age 7.

The problem often is identified in school, and most children are diagnosed by age 11. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 4.4 million U.S. children organize been diagnosed with ADHD by medical professionals.

The new study draws its results from an annual survey of 35,000 to 40,000 U.S. households, in which domination researchers go door-to-door to conduct interviews. In households with children, parents are asked if a doctor or health professional had ever told them that their child had ADHD or attention deficit disorder (ADD).

The study’s findings cover 1997 through 2006.

In each of those years, nearly 50 million children fell into the 6-to-17 age range, the study estimates. Roughly 4 million of them were given an ADHD or ADD diagnosis, the study estimates.

For children ages 6 through 11, the poise hovered surrounding 7 percent during those years. But for children 12 through 17, it rose from lately down 7 percent to approximately 10 percent. That increase wasn’t seen in antecedent government estimates, said Patricia Pastor, a CDC strength statistician and the boning up’s lead author.

_”No whining, arguing or annoying teasing,” their mother, Michelle Obama, told People Magazine.

_Make the bed. “Doesn’t have to look assets c incriminating evidence, just throw the fitted sheet over it,” said the mother of 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha.

_Set your own alarm clock. “They get themselves up, away their own clothes,” said their grandmother Marian Robinson.

_And the credit from Dad for doing chores is $1 a week. Barack Obama conceded that “I’m out of town for weeks at a time, so Malia will disclose, ‘Hey you owe me for 10 weeks.’”

The likely Democratic presidential nominee and his wife are determined that his bid not disrupt the normal, happy childhood of their daughters, who would be two of the youngest residents of the White House in 30 years if Obama wins. Amy Carter was 9 when she moved in the White House in 1977.

Malia and Sasha visited the White House in 2005 and were bored until President Bush’s dog Barney showed up and they romped with him on the South Lawn, Michelle Obama said.

While the applicant is on the road, the Obama girls carry on a hectic schedule: soccer, dance and drama instead of Malia, gymnastics and tap for Sasha, piano and tennis for both. Michelle Obama tries to fit in three 90-minute workouts each week and hits the campaign smell two or three days a week — a role that has brought criticism from political opponents.

“When some folks were attacking Michelle, Malia just asked, ‘What was that all take?’ and we talked it through,” Barack Obama said, adding that it was fortunate that “she’s completely assured about her mommy’s wonderfulness.”

“They give birth to a wonderful life in Chicago,” Barack Obama said. “So I’m sure there’s a part of them that won’t be heartbroken if things don’t effective use out.”

The Obamas rarely allow their daughters to be interviewed. After the television show “Access Hollywood” aired a report on the Obama children earlier this month, their father expressed mourn for having agreed to it. “I don’t think it’s healthy and it’s something that we’ll be avoiding in the days,” he later said.

The cover story appears in People Magazine’s latest issue, on newsstands Friday.