First kiss is the key to winning a girl
LONDON, Sept 4: Men had better start working on their kissing skills, for a new study has found that a kiss is all it takes for a woman to decide which man she wants to hook up with.
The study, by researchers at New York's University at Albany, found that the fairer sex has developed kissing as an evolutionary tool to find the right father for their children, and that they often judge men exclusively on the quality of the first kiss that they share.
The study, based on the questions put to 1,000 students about their views on kissing, found that women "place more emphasis on a kiss and are more reliant on kissing as a mate assessment technique" than men.
Psychologist Gordon Gallup, who led the study, said that for many men, the first kiss can be the one that makes or breaks the deal.
"While many forces lead two people to connect romantically, the kiss - particularly the first one - can be a deal-breaker," the Daily Mail quoted him, as saying.
"Kissing is part of an evolved courtship ritual. This may activate mechanisms that function to discourage reproduction among individuals who are genetically incompatible," he added.
The researchers found that bad breath, and being generally unpleasant, are also important factors, for women can interpret them as a sign of health problems.
Tongue contact and the exchange of saliva were found to help both sexes make subconscious assessments about each other.
Women's breath can indicate hormone levels and fertility, while male saliva will have traces of the sex hormone testosterone.
The study is published in the journal Evolutionary Psychology.
Britney Spears having a lesbian affair?
LONDON, Aug 26: Troubled pop star Britney Spears was spotted making out with her personal assistant Shannon Funk during a topless romp in a swimming pool.
Though Spears ordered her people to clear the hotel pool area to be left alone, a hotel source said: "Even though the pool was closed, some people still saw them - and their jaws hit the floor. Britney seemed more into this girl than she has ever been into a guy."
Dailysnack.com quoted Spears' friend as saying: "Britney did get raunchy with the guys, but that was nothing compared to what she did with Shannon. Even though the hunks were hot, Britney made a beeline to cavort with Shannon. She seemed insatiable.
"Shannon's been a great pal to Britney through very tough times. It was inevitable they'd end up very close - but no-one knew just how close."
Friend also added that this was not the first time this has happened. They were caught cuddling and kissing in the street last month. Spears has most recently fired Shannon saying she was leading her astray.
Woman sets fire to ex-husband's penis
MOSCOW, Aug 22: A woman set fire to her ex-husband's penis as he sat naked watching television and drinking vodka, Moscow police said Wednesday.
Asked if the man would make a full recovery, a police spokeswoman said it was "difficult to predict."
The attack climaxed three years of acrimonious enforced co-habitation. The couple divorced three years ago but continued to share a small flat, something common in Russia where property costs are very high.
"It was monstrously painful," the wounded ex-husband told Tvoi Den newspaper. "I was burning like a torch. I don't know what I did to deserve this."
The bra turns 100
NEW DELHI, Aug 22: Bra, the foundation piece of a woman’s wardrobe, has completed 100 years of its existence this year.
Completing a century, the bra, labelled the "brassiere" by Vogue in 1907, has seen many changes from the flat-chested flappers of the 1920s, to bra-burning ceremonies of the '60s and Madonna's cone shaped bustiers of the '80s.
Stylist Lisa Cimmino said that women had lots to choose from when it came to the support fastener.
"The bra is a foundation piece in any women's wardrobe. We would be lost without them," News.com.au quoted Lisa, as saying. "I mean, 100 years on they are making our busts bigger or smaller, sexier or sportier," she added.
Keira Knightley bares all for Chanel
LONDON, Aug 13: Keira Knightley steamed up the lens with her new curvy, nearly bare-all pics for cosmetic giant Chanel.
The 22-year-old, who had a carefully-placed bowler hat in the pic, gave a glimpse of her twin assets.
Earlier, the actress was seen in King Arthur American posters as a buxom beauty, but she told a US magazine that the promotion poster was not original.
"Those things certainly weren't mine. We had an interesting discussion when they said, ‘we want to make them slightly larger and you'll get approval’ and I was like, 'OK, fine. I honestly don't give a s***'" Daily Mail quoted Knightley, as saying.
The new femme fatale Knightley, who has been known for her tomboyish look since she appeared in ‘Bend it like Beckham’, once spoke about her dislike of her chest.
"I don't have any t***, so I can't show cleavage,” she said.
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ beauty insisted that Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle was the first ever ‘women’ perfume she wore.
“It is the first women’s perfume I’ve ever worn. I need something clean,”
Knightley is thought to have signed a one-year contract worth more than 500,000 pounds to be the face of the scent.
Victoria Beckham prefers fashion over Hollywood
LOS ANGELES, July 28: Victoria Beckham, who with football star husband David Beckham makes a much anticipated move to Los Angeles this week, has scoffed at suggestions she wanted to launch a Hollywood movie career.
"I must be the only person in Los Angeles who doesn't want to be in films," Beckham joked.
"I don't think I am that good at acting actually," the former "Posh Spice" member of the 1990s band "The Spice Girls" told reporters in a telephone conference.
Nude blonde, gold stilettos and a Ferrari..
BERLIN, July 24: A mysterious blonde paid a visit to a petrol station shop in the small eastern German town of Doemitz on Sunday -- wearing nothing but a pair of golden stilettos and a thin gold bracelet.
The tall, slender woman strolled into the shop in the town of Doemitz on the warm afternoon and bought cigarettes, petrol station employee Ines Swoboda told Reuters on Monday.
"I wasn't surprised because she's come in naked before -- she's a very nice woman," Swoboda said, adding none of the other customers was bothered. The woman could have faced charges of creating a public disturbance if anyone had complained.
A quick-witted customer did, however, snap pictures of the woman believed to be about 30 years old as she walked back to a waiting Ferrari and climbed into the passenger seat. Several of those photos appeared in the German media on Monday.
Wanna be a "sexecutive"?
SYDNEY, July 10: Condom makers say it's the world's best job, a "sexecutive position." An Australian company is seeking real life testers for its condom products.
"Got what it takes to be an official condom tester?" asks an advertisement launched by Durex Australia next to a photo of a busty young woman in a revealing nurse's outfit.
"With this job on your CV, it really will be a chance to brag to your mates about the special skills you possess, not to mention that your new role will work wonders with the opposite sex," Durex Marketing Manager Sam White told local media.
The "bed-testing" position is unpaid, but 200 selected testers would be up for free pack of Durex products, plus a bonus prize of A$1,000 ($854) for one lucky winner, White said.
In return, testers would have to report back on the feel and performance of the company's products.
Only Australians need apply, and would-be testers will be asked to explain why they should be considered. Humour would help in the application, Durex said.
"To apply, simply explain why you think you're right for the position (missionary is acceptable) and you could be eligible for the employee bonus of $1,000," said the ad on Web site www.durex.com.au.
Tony Parker and Eva Longoria get married
PARIS, July 7: Professional basketball star Tony Parker married "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria at a civil ceremony in Paris on Friday — a prelude to their expected star-studded weekend wedding bash at a lavish and storied chateau.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe officiated and gave a speech saying how happy he was that they were married in the City of Light, said the mayor of Paris' 4th District, Dominique Bertinotti.
Longoria, 32, showed up first in a white stretch limo, wearing a way-above-the-knee pink Chanel dress with striped black and white straps. She was accompanied by about eight guests in cream, pink and purple dresses. She turned, smiled and waved for the crowd of waiting photographers and reporters who were kept well back behind two rows of police barriers.
Longoria then changed into a short white dress for the ceremony, said Bertinotti — whose office acted as the dressing room.
Parker, the 25-year-old San Antonio Spurs star who was born in Belgium and grew up playing basketball in France, arrived about 10 minutes later in a gray minivan, wearing a dark suit. He went straight in without waving. French soccer star Thierry Henry was in his group.
In between, other guests arrived in a Humvee stretch limo.
The ceremony, in a room with blue-and-white trimmed walls, a French flag and a portrait of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, lasted about 45 minutes. Bertinotti said there was a small reception afterward that also lasted about 45 minutes.
French law requires couples who marry to make their vows official at a city hall, even if they have a church wedding as well.
Parker translated Delanoe's speech into English for the guests, who numbered about 40.
"It was very joyous, very nice," Bertinotti said. "The atmosphere was very warm and very authentic."
The couple left in a black Mercedes sedan with tinted windows.
They were thought to be planning a second wedding ceremony Saturday at a Paris church that used to serve French royals. Then, they and their guests were to party at Vaux-le-Vicomte, a 17th century chateau 34 miles southeast of Paris.
In an interview with Le Parisien published Friday, Parker said he was eager to have kids.
"That would be even better than my NBA titles, even if I don't compare private life and sports," he told the newspaper. "Eva talks to me about it all the time. I'd like to have girls, because I come from a world of boys."
He also said he considers himself "the luckiest guy in the world."
A lucky number? 7/7/07
PARIS, July 4: This year, 7/7/07 provides a unique opportunity for superstition and marketing to come together: starry-eyed couples are tying the knot, casinos are over-booked and Live Earth concerts as well as the proclamation of the world's seven new wonders take place that day.
"Number 7 has a magic sacred side and the reputation of bringing luck," said numerologist Jean-Daniel Fermier. So several sevens could bring an extra dose of good fortune.
"Number 7 is the union of 4, symbol of matter, and of 3, symbol of the spirit," said Fermier, author of a French guide to numerology.
"A priori, July 7, 2007 is a good date for a wedding. The marriage may stand a better chance of success, though of course the date is no guarantee."
Among the crowds of lovers in line to wed that day is celebrity couple Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives") and French basketball hero Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs -- said to be superstitious.
Parker said in Paris this week that it was Longoria who chose the setting for their July 7 marriage -- the grandiose chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte outside Paris. "Personally I don't care (where we get married). I've been talking about it every day for the last seven months. It's a girl's day," he said.
But back in March already, a member of a US wedding planning site told AFP that more than 30,000 weddings were planned for July 7, when in ordinary years only 12,000 couples would choose a Saturday in July for their marriage.
"This is the biggest day I've seen in recent years," said Kathleen Murray, deputy editor of theknot.com.
But David's Bridal, the largest US retailer of wedding gowns, says it alone will deliver a record 20,000 gowns for brides for July 7 weddings.
That figure is double the peak figure in a normal year, and the company estimates some 65,000 - 70,000 weddings across the country on July 7.
Even those impulsive types seeking to elope in the US wedding capital Las Vegas are likely to be disappointed, with the city's wedding chapels all booked up, according to the media. One, the Chapel of Flowers, has 113 weddings planned for Saturday, around three time the normal figure.
In Paris this week, one of the city's major department stores, Galeries Lafayette, said it had received 774 wedding lists for 7/7/07, against an average 290 for each of the 13 Saturdays from July to September.
"Reservations for this particular date were made long in advance," said Sonya Willigsecker of Ceremonia, a small French wedding planning company. "We have had to turn down at least 40 couples for this date," she added.
Would-be couples who organised too late can always try their luck in a casino or buying a lottery ticket instead, however.
In casinos, where 777 wins the jackpot on one-armed bandits, managers are offering special July 7 deals such as an overnight luxury stay with spa and dinner for 777 dollars, or the night of your life for 7,777 dollars.
In France, the state-owned lottery is offering a seven-million-euro super-prize on 7/7/07. "We expect four to five million people to buy tickets in comparison with three million for an ordinary draw," a spokeswoman at the Francaise des Jeux said.
But interestingly Friday 13 this July will do better. The French lottery will offer a 15-million-euro prize.
July 7 is also the date chosen to announce the results of a contest to choose the seven new wonders of the world.
Swiss-Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, a former assistant to Italian filmmaking legend Federico Fellini, has launched a website where Internet users can vote and choose the world's "new seven wonders."
Among sites short-listed are the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis in Athens and the Great Wall of China. Greek historian Herodotus chose the original seven, which included the hanging gardens of Babylon, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes and the lighthouse of Alexandria.
And for those more interested in preserving the future than the past, the global Live Earth concerts funding Al Gore's foundation against global warming also take place July 7.
More than seven cities are involved however -- among them notably Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, London, New York, Hamburg and Istanbul.
But one academic brushed off the 7/7/07 frenzy as pure nonsense.
"7/7/07 is not pertinent," said Jean-Pierre Brach, a professor of esoteric studies at Paris' eminent Institute of Higher Studies (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes).
"A number must be interpreted within a given historical context," he said.
The media fuss over July 7, he added, was no more than "divinatory numerology invented in the 19th century and popularised worldwide by the Americans."
"Girl power" back as Spice Girls reunite for tour
LONDON, June 30: "Girl Power" is back with the announcement that the Spice Girls, who topped charts in the late 1990s, are reuniting for a tour and greatest hits album.
Ginger, Sporty, Posh, Scary and a heavily pregnant Baby Spice told a press conference in London on Thursday that the tour would take place in December and January and would be accompanied by a television documentary about the band.
The 11-city tour starts in Los Angeles on Dec. 7 and ends on Jan. 24 next year in Buenos Aires.
"Girl power is back, we're going on the road, we're touring the world," Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton said in a promotional video shown to the press before the five girls appeared on stage at London's 02 arena.
When asked why she dropped her previous resistance to a reunion, Melanie "Sporty Spice" Chisholm replied: "A girl's allowed to change her mind. This is something that we've only seriously started discussing this year."
Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell added: "For me it's about celebrating the past, enjoying each other, it's about our fans. It felt the right time -- it's kind of now or never."
The five-member band is the latest in a long line of pop acts to bury past differences and reform, and they will be hoping for success where many others have failed.
The Spice Girls boasted album sales of 55 million during their meteoric career, and hits including "Wannabe" and "Say You'll Be There" topped charts across the globe.
But their success was shortlived. Halliwell walked out on the band in 1998, only four years after The Spice Girls was created, and the remaining band members went their separate ways after releasing the album "Forever" in 2000.
The singers said comparisons with Take That, a British boyband that enjoyed huge success since reuniting for a tour last year, were inevitable.
"One thing that's very different about the Spice Girls is we were truly global," Chisholm said.
Victoria "Posh" Beckham, who wore her hair short and blond, added: "Take That are starting up again. For us we're celebrating the past, we're going to do a small tour and then that's probably going to be it."
Halliwell called the reunion a "one night stand", joking: "So you can enjoy it more, right?"
All now in their 30s, the singers embarked on solo careers with varying degrees of success after the band split.
Three of the five are mothers and Bunton is expecting her first child in the late summer.
"There's a lot of children, and about to be another one, and our priorities are really our families, as much as we want to have fun," Beckham said.
"One of the main reasons why I think some of us want to do this is (for our kids) to actually see what we used to do. We're definitely going to have a huge creche (on tour)," she said.
Beckham has maintained the highest profile since the band broke up, helped by her superstar soccer-playing husband David and appearances at fashion shows and on tabloid front pages.
The couple are moving to the United States where David has signed to play for LA Galaxy.
Meanwhile, Melanie "Scary" Brown largely disappeared from the public eye until a high-profile paternity case involving Hollywood star Eddie Murphy.
Earlier this month a DNA test confirmed Murphy as the father of Brown's newborn baby girl after he declined to publicly acknowledge paternity.
