Cox Communications plans to add six new High Definition channels to the Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma channel line-up. The channels scheduled to go live on May 20: USA Network HD, Sci-Fi Channel HD, Bravo HD, Lifetime HD, CNBC HD, and the Weather Channel HD. All-in-all the six channel addition really isn’t a lot, but for a network that only delivers us 31 HD channels thus far; it’s not too shabby.

For Tulsa, Oklahoma and the surrounding metropolitan areas, Cox Communications is usually a natural choice for digital television. Ultimately we have three options for telelvision: Dish Network, DirecTV, and Cox. Cox will offer 37 HD channels in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, with the additions of the May 20 channels. Honestly, Cox is really going to have to pump up the pace in order to keep up with the growing HD networks on DirecTV and Dish Network; both offering 75 plus channels each.

Recently, Cox added HGTV, Food Network HD, and The Travel Channel HD. These additions took our HD lineup from 28 to 31 channels offered in High Definition. The only other news, Cox plans to move CNN HD to channel 780, so look out for that!

Dfest, Tulsa’s fabulous musical festival July 25-26, 2008 officially announced their line-up Wednesday. We mentioned to you that there was a coupon code okctix for Okctickets.com online orders. The coupon code allowed you to save an additional $5.00 on the alright advanced ticket price of $30.00.

However, now, and we’re sorry it’s late news, but Dfest is offering a two-day advance ticket sale that puts the tickets at $28.00 each! Use the coupon code df08 when ordering from Okctickets.com and save even more!

The coupon code is good until April 26, 2008. For a break down in prices and available discounts, visit Dfest.com

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Mayor Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City, our state’s beautiful capital has decided to personally endorse a city-wide campaign to motivate his peers and city’s citizens to lose 1 million pounds in 2008. Cornett, like the rest of us, believe that losing weight would definitely not be supported by the variety and notoriously available fast-food chains in his city. However, it seems as though one Yum Brand Food’s company thought differently.

Taco Bell, an international fast-food dining franchise has teamed up with Cornett and the city of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to officially launch the campaign. Taco Bell recently launched their Fresco Menu, a menu containing a variety of low-fat and reduced-fat items. The menu launched at most Taco Bell locations in December and seems to be performing quite well.

The initial idea for the campaign to lose 1 million pounds began after officials with Irvine, California based Taco Bell learned of Oklahoma City’s Major Mick Cornett’s initiative. The officials contacted Cornett, informing him about the new menu items being launched in 42 of his Oklahoma City franchise locations. The stores in Oklahoma City serve an estimated 35,000 customers each day.

Now, Thistulsa.com’s staff are not exactly mathematicians, but we know 35,000 x 350 (giving a few days off for holidays, etc) = 12 million plus people each year! That is 12 million people a year eating at Oklahoma City’s Taco Bell locations alone! Not sure about you, but that’s a whole lot of Tacos. Cornett said it best:

“You start adding that up, and that’s a million people a month,” Cornett said. “There’s no sense trying to fight back. You’ve got to work with them.”

President Greg Creed of Taco Bell met with Cornett for lunch, of course — at a Taco Bell in Oklahoma City. The store had life-size corrugated fiber-board cutouts of Cornett stating, “You can’t lose 1 million pounds by yourself.” Creed made mentions as to why they were interested in the Oklahoma City Mayor’s project, but it was a lot of words we couldn’t keep up with.

Basically, it has been proven that individuals, especially those of us, you, or everyone for that matter — who eat fast-foot; or in technical Creed terms, “use behavior surrounding their chosen eats,” cannot exactly change their behavior surrounding what they eat. However, everyone has the goal of not gaining unwanted wait. True that Mr. Creed!

Obviously, people don’t want to gain a bunch of weight because then they have to fit the gym, cardio, and a diet into their life style. If you’re telling me we can continue to bring Taco Bell to the office and devour it like a bunch of prehistoric herbivorous dinosaurs at a all green buffet; we’re in!

All in all, with over 15% of the total Taco Bell sales now being from the Fresco menu, it just makes sense. Don’t fight a fight you can’t win — but you can totally join in and support fast-food, just healthier menu items. Returning to our original equation, 15% of 12 million people isn’t that bad of a number either; we didn’t really do the math — but we know its decent figures.

So, if you’re going to join in on the Oklahoma City 1 Million Pounds Lost by 2008, eat some Fresco items from Taco Bell! It can’t hurt right? For those of us in Tulsa, why not join in too. Maybe we can get Kathy Taylor to hook us up with some publicity from Taco Bueno.