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Milan Fashion Week gets underway

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Models take to the catwalk presenting creations of the Emporio Armani ready-to-wear collection Spring-Summer 2009

The catwalk spotlight moved from London to Milan at the weekend as Italy's fashion week got underway.
Emporio Armani ready-to-wear collection Spring-Summer 2009 created a stir with chic boob tube tops and shimmering jackets, staying focused on black unlike some new designers at London Fashion Week who experimented with vivid colour.
One show saw Hollywood actress Juliette Lewis appear to have a real scream as she hit the catwalk for the Miss Bikini Luxe spring/summer collection

Another model received a dirty look as she prepared to pose for Italian fashion house Frankie Morello with mud spattered on her face.
With the debate over skinny models never far away, the show was praised for opening with a plus-size collection by Elena Miro.
A hint of home will be injected today when designer Christopher Bailey shows his work for Burberry Prorsum

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Daredevils, aged 74, still swimming with sharks

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Valerie Taylor, enjoying a risky retirement

For many, retirement means daytime chat shows on the telly and a slowing of the pace of life.
But it is fair to say Ron and Valerie Taylor are not your average OAPs as they celebrate more than 40 years of getting up close and personal with sharks.
The pair, aged 74 and 71, met as members of a spearfishing club in Sydney but decided to stop hunting fish in the 1960s and turned to conservation instead

They began their quest by making a series of ground-breaking films showing life underwater, and are credited with being the first people to film great white sharks without the protection of a cage.

Valerie Taylor, enjoying a risky retirement

Some of their most famous footage of the creatures, which can grow to more than 6m (20ft), reached an even wider audience when it was used by Steven Spielberg in his 1975 film Jaws.
Their underwater work regularly puts the couple in danger, with Valerie surviving one particularly close call when a shark bit her leg during a dive off the California coast.
'I felt a gentle bump and I looked down and my leg was in quite a large shark's mouth – that was a startling sight,' she said.
Valerie was able to break free after punching the shark in the gills to loosen its grip.
To try to make their job safer, Ron designed a chain mail diving suit.
But, after spending thousands of pounds, he found it was too small for him, so his wife volunteered to be filmed while sharks chewed her arms and legs.
The pair have won dozens of awards and Valerie was made an honorary member of the Order of the Golden Ark in recognition of her conservation work

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Diamond this big could be man's best friend too

Sunday, September 21, 2008

A new diamond has been found in Africa at 478-carat (96g) and is worth tens of millions of pounds

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend but, compared with these massive jewels, other rocks seem like casual acquaintances.
The new 478-carat (96g) diamond is worth tens of millions of pounds, experts say.
In its current state, the gem is the 20th largest rough diamond ever found

'The diamond will go to auction – and then a second auction, once it's cut,' added a spokesman for Gem Diamonds, owner of the mine where the almost flawless diamond was dug up.
Chief executive Clifford Elphick added: 'It will yield a record-breaking stone of the very best colour and clarity.'
Once cut, it is thought the newly mined diamond is capable of producing a 150-carat stone, which would dwarf the 105-carat Koh-i-Noor in the Crown Jewels.
The African mine in Lesotho has already produced three of the world's biggest diamonds.
They include the 603-carat Les­otho Promise the 601-carat Lesotho Brown and the 493-carat Letseng Legacy

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Paris's Blink 182 ex in plane crash

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Blink 182 drummer and DJ caught in plane crash

Celebrity well-wishers have been leading the prayers for Travis Barker, the former Blink-182 drummer and ex-boyfriend of Paris Hilton, and his friend DJ AM after they were injured in a plane crash that left four people dead.
Lindsay Lohan and her DJ girlfriend Samantha Ronson were among the first stars to write messages of support for the pair who are in hospital being treated for burns

Barker, 32, and 35-year-old DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, miraculously survived after their private jet crashed on take-off in Columbia, South Carolina.

Paris and Travis as a couple some time before the crash

Li-Lo, 22, wrote on her MySpace blog: 'Please send your prayers out to Adam Goldstein and Travis Barker – along with the others lost in the plane crash... it's so scary to think that life can end so fast... we must all treasure each and every moment – and be thankful for what we have. 'All my love xoxo.'
Ronson, 31, wrote in her message: 'It's such horrifying news, but I was hoping you guys would please send him your best wishes/prayers because I don't really know what else to do.
'Soooo sad and I'm so sorry.'
Barker starred in the reality TV show Meet the Barkers with his wife and former Miss USA Shanna Moakler.
He filed for divorce in 2006 before his brief fling with Paris Hilton.
Those killed in the crash on Friday night included two members of Barker's entourage, as well as the pilot and co-pilot

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Jamie Lynn breastfeeding pic 'goes missing'

Monday, September 22, 2008

Jamie Lynn and Casey

A missing picture of Jamie Lynn Spears breastfeeding has sparked a pornography investigation by police, it was reported.
Insiders claim the 17-year-old's boyfriend, Casey Aldrige, took the image of his girlfriend feeding their baby Maddie on his digital camera.
He then took his memory card to the local Wal-Mart to be printed but police now think an employee made duplicate copies and has tried to sell them on, breaking prohibited pornography laws because Spears is underage

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Beano book to mark 70 years of Menace

Monday, September 22, 2008

It started with a story about an ostrich being bitten on the bum – now 70 years and 3,452 copies later the official history of The Beano has been written.
The 352-page book gives a complete guide to one of the world's best-loved comics – including the famous troublemaker Dennis the Menace.
The Beano, which also introduced the nation to the Bash Street Kids and Roger the Dodger, first hit the shelves on July 30, 1938

It was an instant hit and at the height of its popularity in the 1950s sold 1.9million copies a week – helped by the arrival of Dennis the Menace in 1951.
A few months after his debut, he was kitted out in his trademark stripey jumper which has survived several attempts to update his image.
One revamp in 1991 saw him kitted out in a trendy tracksuit and headphones but the idea had to be dropped after a public outcry.
Dennis was joined by his sidekick Gnasher in 1968 and since then the pair have been inseparable – apart from six weeks in 1986 when the hound went missing.
Euan Kerr, who edited the Beano for 22 years up to 2006, puts its success down to it anti-authority stance.
'I think there is a real resistance to the overt political correctness creeping into British life and The Beano can hopefully continue to use this to its advantage,' he added.
But the comic's cheeky appeal has not always been appreciated.
Artist Dudley Watkins and editor George Moonie were put on a Nazi hit list after they were accused of showing 'gross disrespect' to Adolf Hitler

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Crew cut schoolboys put in isolation

Monday, September 22, 2008

Snippy school: Max Miller, left, and Kieron Hawkins

Three schoolboys who helped each other cut their own hair extra short have been told they will be taught in isolation because of their crew cuts.
Kieron Hawkins and Max Miller, both 14, and another pupil at Oakmeeds Community College in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, were told the cut was against school rules.
But Kieron's father, Glenn Hawkins, said: 'Having short hair does not affect their education or the way he learns

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Rock artist's amazing balancing act

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Balancing act: These giant rock sculptures were created by Bill Dan without any trickery, he insists

You probably wouldn't want to challenge Bill Dan to a game of Jenga if your life depended on it, as he claims to be a master at balancing things.
The performance artist insists his skill is genuine but some people believe his work could be fake.
Dan started using rocks around San Francisco's shoreline in 1994 and since then has been wowing the crowds

Films of his work on YouTube have clocked up plenty of hits.
But, if you look at some of the gravity-defying objects, it's not difficult to see why some doubters wonder if he is using glue or delving into computer imagery.
'I had so many negative e-mails from sceptics saying it is computerised art that I got tired of explaining it over and over,' says Dan.

Artist Dan shows his skills

The artist, who is in his mid-50s, claims he can also balance shoes, cans and even glass objects. He has become so popular, private galleries and event organisers have requested his sculptures.
Explaining how he does it, Dan said: 'I don't picture what the sculpture looks like beforehand, it just forms as I work. It is not difficult to stack two or three rocks upwards.
'Don't worry if you start with large contact points, you can get smaller and smaller as you build your skills.'
Dan said he enjoyed the art because it was 'uniquely beautiful'.
'Based on curiosity alone I could create a piece of beautiful art, unlike any other,' he added.
Andrew Burton, one of Britain's most respected sculptors, said: 'I would just say that this is possible – after all, he would be found out pretty quickly if it were not

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Big Bang secrets put on hold

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The Large Hadron Collider

We'll have a wait a bit longer for the secrets of the universe – the machine built to do the job is out of action until next spring.
Engineers are investigating a fault in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva.
A large amount of helium leaked into the tunnel on Friday, forcing the £3.6 billion particle accelerator to be shut down, less than ten days after the start of the project which scientists hope will unravel the secrets of the first moments of the universe

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (Cern), which is running the experiment, said an initial investigation suggested a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets could be to blame.
The collider requires temperatures just above absolute zero (-273.15 degrees C) to allow particles to be steered around the circuit.
But as a result of the fault, the temperature of the magnets rose by about 100C.
The affected area of the 27km (16.8 mile) tunnel must be brought up to room temperature to allow engineers to inspect the magnets, and this process will take three or four weeks.
Robert Aymar, director general of Cern, said: "Coming immediately after the very successful start of LHC operation on September 10, this is undoubtedly a psychological blow.
"Nevertheless, the success of the LHC's first operation with beam is testimony to years of painstaking preparation and the skill of the teams involved in building and running Cern's accelerator complex.
"I have no doubt that we will overcome this setback with the same degree of rigour and application."
Cern said the time needed to repair the fault meant there was no chance the accelerator would start up again before the scheduled winter maintenance period, meaning the LHC would not be activated until spring 2009

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Revealed: 'Bottle Banksy' comes out of shadows

Lotta bottle: Etchings of farmyard scenes by Charlotte Hughes-Martin

The identity of a mystery artist who had been delivering amazing artwork to the doorsteps of suburbia has been revealed.
For months, the early-rising talent had been swiping milk bottle empties and returning them etched with stunning pictures of farmyard scenes.
But like guerilla graffiti artist Banksy, nobody knew the identity of the person with a lotta bottle

That is until now. Glass moulder Charlotte Hughes-Martin yesterday claimed she was behind the phenomena.
'What better way to get art to people's doorsteps than by using glass milk bottles,' the 30-year-old said.
'The first time I did it, it felt kind of naughty – like I was doing something a bit weird, not like giving a gift. I guess I got a bit of a thrill.'
Mrs Hughes-Martin's etchings had been the talk of the town in Stourbridge in the West Midlands where she is the artist in residence at the Red House Glass Cone museum.
Before the artist was unmasked Dawn Jones, 81, said: 'I am collecting them for my grandchildren, they are marvellous. I can't wait until I get another one.'
And a 35-year-old who did not wish to be named said: 'My son has been trying to get up early to catch the artist at it. But it's like Santa, you never see him.'
A spokesman for Dairy Crest which delivers in the area said: 'This seems to be a nice idea, so far we haven't had any complaints