Celebs in Black

This former Miss World can carry off many colours with panache, you would still see her in a black evening gown many times, including her famous appearances at Cannes also. In Photo: Former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai of India arrives for the screening of 'Lemming' directed by French director Dominique Moll, opening the 58th international Cannes film festival, southern France, Wednesday, May 11, 2005. The film takes part in the competition.

Not just mystic, black has exudes a sense of power also. Take a look at the power trio of the Bond movie- perfect in black! In Photo: British actors Daniel Craig who plays James Bond, right, and Gemma Arterton who plays Agent Fields, left, pose with Ukrainian actress Olga Kurylenko, centre, for photographers at a photo call for the new Bond film, which has now been titled Quantum of Solace, at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008.

Even a perfect figure needs black! Take a look as Penelope Cruz shows off a mermaid shaped black evening gown. In photo: Actress Penelope Cruz arrives before the screening of her film 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008.

No wonder designers say that black is a must in your wardrobe. Can't think of anything for a formal party or an informal night-out? Trust a black short number which fits everywhere. Meghan Fox strikes a pose in this sexy black dress. In photo: Actress Megan Fox arrives at the premiere of 'Eagle Eye' in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008.

You would take our word on black with the Sexiest Woman of the world picking up a black dress for a fashionable event. Halle Berry looks chic! In photo: Actress Halle Berry attends the Calvin Klein 40th anniversary party during Fashion Week in New York, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008.

Be it anchoring the Academy awards or just another every day party, Nicole Kidman looks ravishing in black. In photo: Actress Nicole Kidman introduces an honorary Oscar to art director Robert Boyle at the 80th Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2008. Kidman is wearing a necklace with 7,645 diamonds totaling nearly 1,400 carats by L'Wren Scott.

Trust black even for wild performances! Madonna has a thing to do with black. She carries it with so much elegance and poise even during one of her performance. In photo: Madonna performs during her 'Sticky and Sweet' tour Wednesday Oct. 15, 2008 in Boston. Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced earlier Wednesday that they are divorcing after nearly eight years of marriage.

A black leather jacket, or a skin tight dress has always light up the imaginations of movie goers down the ages. What if you see one at a party? Nicole Scherzinger attempts it. In photo: Nicole Scherzinger of U.S. pop group The Pussycat Dolls arrives for the Vodafone Live Music Awards in central London, Thursday Sept. 18, 2008.

Did you think that it was just Hollywood which sang praises for black dresses? Even though not considered auspicious, the Indian celebs do make a style statement in black. Abhishek Bachchan along with his wife Aishwarya Rai flaunts black at a photo shoot. In photo: Abhishek Bachchan, left, and Indian actress Aishwarya Rai pose for photographer prior to the premiere screening of the Bollywood film Sarkar Raj Friday, June 6, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. The showing kicked off a weekend-long Bollywood extravaganza of films, fashion shows and awards ceremonies.

The latest rage in Bollywood, Deepika Padukone, trusts black for formal dos. Even if it's the ramp the leggy Deepika looks fab in black. In photo: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone walks the ramp showcasing an outfit from her Bollywood film Om Shanti Om during a fashion show in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007.

Want to make a style statement or show off a lighter moment, then black would be the best option as Katrina Kaif finds out. In photo: Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif models a creation by designer Ashish Soni, at the Grand Finale of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WLIFW) Autumn/Winter 2008 in New Delhi, India, Sunday, March 16, 2008.

Priyanka looks ravishing in a flowing black dress along with Salman Khan in a black suit. In photo: Bollywood actors Salman Khan, left, and Priyanka Chopra walk the ramp during a fashion show held at the launch of the music of Bollywood film 'Salaam-e-Ishq' ('A Salute to Love') in Mumbai, India, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006.

Kareena Kapoor dons the black dress with Shahid Kapur as they walk the ramp. In photo: Bollywood actors Kareena Kapoor, left , with Shahid Kapur, right, display creations by Indian designer Manish Malhotra, during the Wills India Fashion Week in New Delhi, India, in this Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006

Of course you could not deny the fact that black makes you look thin. Especially for the Indian full body it would subtly hide the curves at the wrong places. In photo: Indian actresses Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji, right, smile as they arrive for the screening of their film 'Zeer-Zaara' directed by Indian Yash Chopra during the Bollywood Week in Paris Wednesday, April 26, 2006.

Woman in red drives the men crazy

If a woman wants to drive the men wild, she might want to dress in red. Men rated a woman shown in photographs as more sexually attractive if she was wearing red clothing or if she was shown in an image framed by a red border rather than some other colour, US researchers said. (Text courtesy: ANI) In photo: Kylie Minogue performs on June 26, 2008 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The concert is part of her KYLIE X 2008 Tour.

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury bowled over to catch Wisden

Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury is set to become the custodian of another icon of the world of books: Wisden.

The group whose success was founded on finding JK Rowling, said today it is buying John Wisden & Co, publisher of Wisden's Cricketers' almanack, reckoned to be the world's most famous sports book.

Bloomsbury, which has been a sales partner to Wisden for the last four years, is buying the business from the superrich Getty family.
Cricket nut Sir Paul Getty rescued Wisden back in 1993, and since his death in 2003 it has been run by his son Mark.
Acquiring Wisden is an important step in our strategy to increase our presence in reference and sports publishing,' said Bloomsbury's chief exeutive Nigel Newton.

Wisden sales have fallen back from their 2006 high point of more than 50,000, the edition which celebrated england's first ashes series victory in nearly two decades.

U.S. monthly job losses the worst in 34 years as Obama warns

The U.S. economy suffered its worst monthly job losses since 1974, data showed today, as President-Elect Barack Obama warned the situation was going to get worse before it gets better.

The new data underscores the depth of the global financial crisis which this week prompted a slew of interest rate cuts worldwide.

Payrolls were cut by 533,000 - much worse than the forecast for a reduction of 340,000 jobs.

Market reaction was immediate, with shares, oil and the dollar falling, and U.S. Treasury prices leaping.

Today oil fell to below $45 a barrel, with expert predicting it could plummet as low as $25 if the global recession reaches China.

"These are horrendous numbers... This is an economy that is in absolute free-fall right now. Confidence has collapsed," said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight.

Mr Obama called for a stimulus plan to create jobs over the next two years.

"There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," he said.

Obama has called for a massive government stimulus package that would preserve or create 2.5 million jobs and rebuild crumbling infrastructure in an effort to contain the damage from the recession.

"This painful crisis also provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy, to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early downpayment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come," he said.

Neighbouring Canada registered more job losses in November than any other month since June 1982.

Global sales at BMW, the world's top premium carmaker, plunged by a quarter in November, and Honda backed out of Formula One motor racing, vividly demonstrating the problems facing the auto industry.

With many developed countries either in recession or heading that way, central banks have cut interest rates close to the bone and attention is now starting to focus on what happens if they get to zero.

U.S. interest rate futures leapt after the jobs data, moving to price in a half-point rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets later this month, which would take the fed funds rate to just 0.5 per cent.

Against the bleak economic backdrop, signs of tension marked two days of economic talks between the United States and China.

The Americans fretted that China might be losing the stomach to let its currency keep rising in value and Beijing voiced concern about Washington's management of the world's largest economy - in which China has a huge financial stake.

US. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson described the talks as "robust" and characterised by "straightforward back-and-forth" exchanges.

Assistant Chinese Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, asked whether Beijing would keep buying U.S. debt, responded by urging Washington act to protect China's financial interests.

"We hope the U.S. side will seriously consider the Chinese side's concern and protect the interests of Chinese investors," Zhu told a news conference.

Among the few concrete results at the end of the meeting, the governments agreed to make an extra $20 billion of credit available to finance U.S. and Chinese exports to developing countries that are struggling to get access to trade credit.

Investors have been especially sensitive about the fate of the U.S. automobile industry, the failure of which would hit a chain of parts suppliers and financiers that spans the world.

General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC told sceptical lawmakers they were open to restarting merger talks to secure aid and prevent job losses.

Paulson said the failure of any major U.S. car maker "would be a bad thing".
Interest rate cuts, higher government spending and tax cuts have been introduced to try to restart stalling economies.

Germany's upper house of parliament on Friday approved a package of measures designed to boost Europe's biggest economy as data showed manufacturing orders plunged in October after a record decline the previous month, pointing to a deepening recession in Europe's biggest economy.

The government says the package is worth 31 billion euros ($39.6 billion) over two years, but critics say it is not radical enough.

Sweden unveiled $1 billion worth of stimulus measures to help the job market and the construction sector and also faced criticism in financial markets for taking too cautious an approach given the scale of its troubles.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also bailed out several developing countries.

Turkey is expected to seek a loan agreement with the IMF amounting to $25 billion, government sources told Reuters.

Policymakers have stressed official rate cuts are not having the impact they should because banks are not passing them on or lending freely - begging the question, what to do next?

The Bank of England is considering buying up government debt and flooding markets with cheap cash, an unsourced report from The Daily Telegraph newspaper said.

A chorus of Federal Reserve watchers expect it to lower its key fed funds rate to zero by January and to expand quantitative measures to pump more liquidity into markets, echoing efforts by Japan to revive its economy in the 1990s.

Asked about quantitative easing, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Thursday: "If new decisions are needed we will take new decisions."

If Christmas Presents Were Honest

Every Christmas we're all forced or guilted or shamed into giving presents that we don't want to give. Whether it's for the postman, or the guy three cubicles down from you, or your first born son, Christmas gifts always come with an unspoken message. Here are those messages.

This Is What's Called A "Bad Nose Job"

While we have a fondness for Jodie Marsh's outgoing and friendly (read: whorish) demeanor, her nose leaves us a little frightened. I have no idea what her nose looked like before, but something tells me it didn't have 75 hard angles and look like she's got a couple Goldfish crackers lodged in her nostrils. Let this be a lesson to all you ladies out there who are considering plastic surgery. Your nose may not be perfect now, but it might look like an Olympic ski ramp after you go under the knife. (If your nose currently looks like an Olympic ski ramp, then cut the shit out of it ASAP.)

Perfect Beach Physique

With beach season in full swing, you're probably looking for ways to make the time you spend in the gym more productive in order to get a killer upper body that will garner a second glance from the hot girl tanning a few feet away.

To do so, you have to tone up that body of yours and build some muscle mass in key regions of your body.

muscle groups

The major muscle groups you should focus on are, in order of importance, your abs, chest, biceps, triceps, back, and shoulders. These are all the important muscles in your upper body and the ones that get noticed most.

By performing a full upper body workout up to 3 times a week, you will be sure to hit each muscle frequently enough to see some fast changes, but still allow enough time between sessions for recovery. Also, since you will also be working your triceps and biceps during some chest and back exercises, you will indirectly be stimulating more than one muscle group in a single exercise.

If you are short on time, your best bet is to perform a single set of at least one exercise for each body part. This will still allow you to target all the major muscles and will help you maintain your strength. Here is a list of some great exercises that will give you the most bang for your buck.

abs

Swiss ball crunches
Performing exercises on the Swiss ball is ideal; as it is not a stable surface, you will have to recruit all your core muscles to stabilize yourself and will therefore get a much better complete core workout. To perform this exercise, lay with the center of your back on top of a Swiss ball, your arms out to the side and your hands behind your head. Curl up and do an abdominal crunch, just as you would if you were lying on the floor. This exercise will primarily target your rectus abdominis (the vertical muscle), while calling in your obliques to stabilize you, and will help you achieve the desired "six-pack" look.

Hanging leg raise
To perform this exercise, grab hold of a pull-up bar or another bar that is high enough for you to hang off. Once you have a good grasp, slowly bring your knees up to your chest, and then lower them back down. The slower and more controlled you can perform this movement, the greater the benefit. This exercise will also target your rectus abdominis, as well as your hip flexors.

chest

Barbell chest press
Think of this as the king of all chest exercises, and probably the most frequently performed. Why? It is a compound movement, which causes many muscle fibers to fire and ensures more muscle growth. You will be working your pectoralis major muscle, while also indirectly working your triceps and anterior deltoid muscles. The result will be more defined chest muscles.

To perform this exercise, lay flat on a bench press machine. Make sure your back is touching the bench at all times (to prevent unnecessary stress on the back joints). Grasp the barbell with both hands placed shoulder width apart and push the barbell away from the rack. Slowly move the barbell down to your chest and then drive it back up to the starting position on a count of two going down and two coming up.

To increase the intensity of this lift, use a cambered bar. This will allow you to increase your range of motion and work the deeper tissue of your chest muscles to a greater extent. Watch out with this version, however, as it does place more stress on the shoulder joint, so if injury is a concern, you are better off with the normal barbell.

shoulders

Barbell military press

Using an overhand grip, grasp a barbell with hands slightly farther than shoulder width apart. Bring the barbell up to neck level and then drive it upwards, moving your arms over your head. Extend your elbows completely (be careful to not hyperextend, however), lower back down to neck level and repeat. This exercise will primarily target your anterior deltoid muscle in your shoulders and will give them that rounded shape.

Lateral raise

This movement will focus more on the lateral (middle) deltoid muscle in the shoulder and will give a nice round appearance to this group of muscles. To start, comfortably grasp a pair of dumbbells by your sides. Slowly move your extended arms upward along the lateral plane of the body (sideways). Keep your elbows slightly bent during the motion to prevent strain on the elbow joints. Keep raising your arms until they are in line with your shoulders or just slightly below, and then lower them back down to your sides.

back

Bent-over row
Bend over at the waist with knees slightly bent. Grasp the barbell with hands shoulder with apart using an overhand grip. Focusing on using the middle muscles in your back, slowly pull the barbell up toward your chest. Then, lower the barbell until it is almost touching the floor.

While performing this exercise, it is best to tilt your head up slightly, as it will help to keep your back aligned and maintain proper form. You will be primarily using the trapezius muscles during this exercise, and your rhomboids and latissimus dorsi will be working indirectly, which will give your back a wider appearance.

Lat pulldown
This exercise will help to work your latissimus dorsi muscle and give your back that "V" look -- wider at the top and narrower at the waist. Grab the bar of the lat pulldown machine as you sit down on the bench. Lean back slightly and bring the bar down to your chest level so it almost touches your collarbone, focusing on using the muscles in your back. Once you have lowered the bar, slowly let it rise back up to the starting position.

biceps

Dumbbell curl
Grasp a pair of dumbbells by your sides. In a controlled manner, bring the dumbbells up to your shoulders by bending your arms at the elbow. While performing this motion, be sure to keep your elbows tight against your sides to ensure that your biceps are doing all the work and that your back does not start to sway.

After you have curled the weight up, return it to the starting position in an equally controlled motion. You will be targeting your biceps brachii muscles, along with your brachialis as a helper muscle. Developing these two muscles will help you achieve a greater arm circumference.

Hang your curtains in attractive style?

Curtains increase the aesthetic looks of your home. And hanging the curtain in style makes it look all the more attractive. It changes the way people look at it. Curtain rods enhance the beauty of the curtains. Earlier, very less importance was given to curtain rods. They were simply used to serve the purpose for hanging curtains. But today, the curtain rods are more sophisticated and complement the beauty of the drapes as well.

Curtain rods are available in various designs. They are not a simple wood or a metal rod that is used to hang a curtain. The curtain rods comes in various models, some of them are carved and well polished highlighting the beauty of the wood. Even among the metal rods you have a wide range of choices. A well designed curtain rod adds to the elegance of the curtain and can also transform the looks of a simple curtain to a more sophisticated one.

This means that to hang your curtain in style, the design of the curtain and a well designed curtain rod matters a lot. Now depending on the curtain you want to hang decide on the type and design of the curtain rods. For a heavy curtain or drape, you will need a strong curtain rod. According to the décor of your home, buy the curtain that would compliment it. Before you buy the curtain rod, measure the length of each window.

The size of windows differs and you cannot simply draw your conclusion on a standard size. While buying a curtain rod, make sure that the length of the rod is 5 inches longer than the actual length of the window. This would ensure that the window is fully covered by the curtain. And yes before you buy the curtain rod, you must have a brief idea about the type of curtain that you are going to hang on it.

There are a wide variety of exquisite curtain rods that are available in the market. And the more exquisite the higher is the price since they are made with high quality materials. But you do not have to buy a very expensive curtain rod if it is not affordable. After all what you are buying is just a curtain rod. Just for the sake of decorating, you do not have to buy an expensive curtain rod which is beyond your budget. All that matters is the way you decorate it.