Pulse: Bloody good

LifeSource hopes to tap 'Twilight' fans as donors

Do vampires and blood drives mix?

LifeSource hopes so. With midnight showings of the next installment of the vampire movie series "Twilight: New Moon" selling out more than two months prior to its release, LifeSource is offering fans a way to be among the first to see the movie while helping to save area lives.

LifeSource is hosting a "New Moon"-themed blood drive from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Holiday Inn in Naperville, at Diehl and Naperville roads.

The event will feature a limited appearance by "Twilight: Eclipse" star Booboo Stewart, while the first 250 donors who schedule an appointment at www.lifesource.org and are present to donate blood will receive a free pair of tickets to a special midnight screening of "Twilight: New Moon."

"We are constantly looking for new and compelling ways to build our donor base," said Roxanne Tata, vice president and chief operating officer of LifeSource. "By focusing on what is hot in pop culture, in this case the 'Twilight' craze, we can engage a very important audience."

At least he must have liked her outfit.

Naperville's Molly Shanahan was one of 15 women who strutted their stuff last weekend in front of style guru Clinton Kelly, cohost of TLC's "What Not to Wear."

The event was part of the "Macy's & Clinton Kelly Make Over America" tour, in which women entered an online contest by uploading a photo or video and answering questions on why they should be selected for a makeover by Kelly.

Shanahan had what Kelly was looking for -- before and after.

Here's a corollary to the flu-prevention manifesto: If you can't be sure your hands are germ-free, don't use them.

The DuPage County Board's sort-of-new face belongs to a guy who seems to practice that policy.

Tom Bennington, a board member from 1999 until last year, began a return engagement Tuesday after he was appointed to finish up the last 13 months of District 3 representative Kyle Gilgis' term. Gilgis resigned over the summer.

The Downers Grove Republican had been fighting "whatever it is that's going around," but he felt better enough to make it to Tuesday's board meeting.

Still, as Bennington prepared to step forward and accept the appointment, those who greeted him with an outstretched hand were reciprocated with an outstretched elbow.

In these days of scary flu, one can't be too careful.