McCurry a truly 1 Malaysia eatery

McCurry Restaurant in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur is now a big name in eatery business serving a variety of fresh, tasty and spicy Indian and Malaysian cuisines, delicacies, sweet meats and savouries.

Business has more than doubled at McCurry Restaurant and has been drawing bigger crowds than its usual daily since it won an eight-year legal battle with the fast food-giant McDonald’s over the use of the prefix “Mc” on its business signage.

“We are a truly 1 Malaysia restaurant serving Malaysian chicken curry and other local dishes to Malaysians of different races from all walks of life,” said McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P.Suppiah who is now nicknamed McSuppiah by his regular customers.

“The restaurant brings all the different races together in true 1 Malaysia spirit and it’s a joy to watch my multi-racial customers relaxing and enjoying the food. This is a source of pride for me and McCurry.

Suppiah also saw a rush of new customers and although it's too soon to tell whether they will return for the restaurant's exotic dishes, he believes the customers will definitely be returning for more once they have tasted the gravy lip smacking taste of Malaysian chicken curry dishes.

“We have introduced new scrumptious dishes to tantalize the taste buds of all our customers.

“We have also spruced up the restaurant to make the dining rooms more comfy, casually elegant and roomy enough to host bigger crowds,“ added Suppiah who together with his wife Kanageswary Suppiah had worked hard to setup the restaurant in 1999 then known as Restoran Penang Curry House and renamed Restoran McCurry in 2001.

McCurry stands for Malaysian chicken curry. The food is delicious with the spicy curry chicken being a particularly big hit, along with the fish curry head and other exotic dishes.

The service was great, the atmosphere was a bit noisy but that's what you get at McCurry restaurant that is now drawing big crowds.

Business day lunches bring long lines so its better to come early as the tables are fully occupied. Its definitely worth making a reservation.


See also related posting : McCurry Boleh!

McCurry Restaurant in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur is opened 24 hours and serves about 35 types of chicken dishes and 10 types of vegetable dishes and vegetarian curries daily.


McCurry Restaurant is the favourite place for most of the people to have their breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and family gathering.


Business day lunches and dinners bring big crowd with all the tables fully occupied so come early. While eating, you can watch the TV shows.


McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P. Suppiah a.k.a McSuppiah (standing right) and his wife Kanageswary Suppiah beside him with their Chinese customers who give the thumbs up for McCurry.


McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P. Suppiah posing with his two female Indian customers.


McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P Suppiah shaking hand with his Punjabi customers who give the thumbs up for McCurry and his wife Kanageswary Suppiah stands beside him.


McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P Suppiah and his wife Kanageswary Suppiah posing with their Malay customers.


The fresh, tasty and spicy Malaysian Indian chicken curry that goes great with plain boiled rice.


Customers helping themselves to self-service dishes in stainless steel containers. All the dishes that come out of the kitchen are fresh and perfect as is.


McCurry provide take-away food in disposable food container. It also provide catering for all occasions.


Customers can be assured of freshness as the dishes are replenished every six hours.


Style with substance: Malaysians favourite tea, teh tarik or hot tea beverage prepared by using out-stretched hands to pour piping hot tea from a mug into a waiting glass to bring out the strong aroma and the subtle taste of tea. You get good teh tarik with frothy top here.


Customers queueing up to pay at cashier counter after their hearty meals.


The place is crowded during lunch hour. It is usually packed so expect a queue for a seat or opt to bungkus (take away).


McCurry Restaurant owner A.M.S.P. Suppiah posing with happy and satisfied customers.


McCurry's signboard has white and gray letters against a red background with a picture of a smiling chicken giving a double thumbs-up and serves only Indian and Malaysian cuisine.
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Meg Ryan

Meg Ryan

• 
  
  
  • Birthname: Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra
  • Date of birth: 1961-11-19
  • Birthplace: Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
  • Height: 5' 8"
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: actress, producer 
   Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Hyra on November 19, 1961 in Fairfield, Connecticut) is an American actress who specializes in romantic comedies, but has also worked in other film genres.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Biography

  Ryan was born in Fairfield, Connecticut and went by the name Peggy (also her grandmother's nickname) as a child. Her mother, Susan Ryan Jordan, who had done some professional acting in television commercials and had worked as an assistant casting director in New York, encouraged and supported Ryan's study of professional acting technique when Meg was still in grade school. By age 13, Ryan was studying Stanislavsky's Method Acting Technique. At age 14, through her mother's connections, she booked her first television commercial, doing chin-ups & giggling to promote "Tickle" Deodorant. After graduating from
  Bethel High School in 1979, she studied journalism at New York University. She acted in television commercials to earn extra money while in school. After her first role in a feature film, Rich and Famous (1981), Ryan (now using her screen name) played Betsy Stewart on the daytime drama As the World Turns from 1982 to 1984. Directors for this show especially liked working with her because she could cry on cue.
  After several TV film and smaller movie roles, her first full-blown hit in a leading role was the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989). It was favorably received and typecast Ryan as a bubbly, charming, feisty, but incurable romantic. She made several attempts to break away from this stereotype, and garnered some critical acclaim for her work in When a Man Loves a Woman (in which she played an alcoholic) and Courage Under Fire (in which she played a military officer killed in combat). Many of her films of the 1990s were hits not only in North America, but also abroad. She had a very popular on-screen pairing with Tom Hanks: some compared their chemistry to Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. They starred in three films together, and their last, (1998's You've Got Mail), was Ryan's last major box office success for some years to come.
  Ryan married actor Dennis Quaid on Valentine's Day in 1991, after starring in two films with him. Ryan only agreed to marry him after he kicked his drug and alcohol addiction. Quaid and Ryan have one child together, Jack Henry, born April 24, 1992. The couple divorced on July 16, 2001. Although Ryan had a relationship with actor Russell Crowe, with whom she was working on a movie, both she and Quaid deny it was a factor in their divorce. In a 2006 interview with Allure,
  Ryan indicated that Quaid had not been faithful to her during their marriage.
  It was during Ryan's marriage to Quaid that she had a falling out with her mother, over Quaid's alleged drug abuse. In interviews the actress cast her mother in a negative light, saying that her mother had abandoned her children to pursue an acting career. In response her mother, Susan Ryan Jordan, published a book in 1999 entitled "The Immune Spirit" about Jordan's struggle with breast cancer and her difficult relationship with her daughter, Meg. Her mother has since given many interviews which paint Ryan in a negative light. The two are now very notably estranged from one another.
  In January 2006, Ryan brought her newly adopted daughter, one year old Daisy True, home from China. 
  
  

• 
  
  

  Parkinson appearance

  In 2003, she broke away from her usual roles and starred in In the Cut, an erotic crime thriller which was unpopular with both critics and the public. In October 2003, while promoting this film in the UK, Ryan created a stir after her notoriously terse interview with talk-show host Michael Parkinson on the long-running television talk show Parkinson. Her behaviour, which included short one-word answers and telling Parkinson to "wrap it up", was lambasted by the British press. Their icy exchange would, in a 2006 survey of British TV viewers, even be voted the third "most shocking" TV talk show moment ever. Parkinson later confessed that Ms. Ryan's interview was his "most difficult TV moment" ever, adding, "I should have closed it. But listen, it happens. She was an unhappy woman. I felt sorry for her. What I couldn't forgive her for was that she was rude to the other guests."
  
  In response, via an interview with Marie Claire magazine in 2006, Ryan blamed Parkinson's perceived paternal manner, saying:
  
  
  

  "I don't even know the man. That guy was like some disapproving father! It's crazy. I don't know what he is to you guys, but he's a nut. I felt like he was berating me for being naked in the movie. He said something like: 'You should go back to doing what you were doing'. And I thought, are you like a disapproving dad right now? I'm not even related to you. Back off, buddy. I was so offended by him."
  

  
  The episode also brought into sharp focus the difference between the UK's publicly funded BBC, which has no advertisements, and US commercial networks which, due to their frequent commercial breaks, often allow guests additional time to formulate their answers:
  
  
  

  "I realized it's not like an American talk show where it's seven minutes and then there's a commercial break. I had to do 20 minutes straight with this guy, and I could either walk off — which wouldn't be good — or try to disagree with him very respectfully."
  

  Trivia

  
  
  
• Asteroid 8353 Megryan was named after her.

• Performed back-up vocals on Melissa Etheridge's song Heal Me

• Ryan is an outspoken liberal and supported John Kerry during the 2004 presidential elections.

• Ryan recently talked with Oprah Winfrey (March 1, 2006, The Oprah Winfrey Show) about her work with CARE in India and empowering women in poor countries.

• Ryan turned down the role of Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct.

• 
   
  

Alber Elbaz Speaks at UNESCO

“Do you know anyone who wants to be a seamstress? Do you know anyone who wants to be a tailor? I don’t, either. But I do know many people who want to be models, and not only models, but supermodels. This is the game today: Be famous, and do it really, really fast.”

Croatia For Smokers

 

Our last comment on Croatia’s relationship with smokers was only a few months ago (Croatia Online - Smoking In Croatia) when we reported on the practical implementation of the smoking ban introduced in May 2009. For a country that has a higher proportion of smokers than many other parts of Europe and where cigarettes are still around £2 per packet, it was of some surprise that the ban had managed to stick quite well. However, with winter approaching and recessionary pressures still strong, the government has now bent to pressure from worried bar, cafe, restaurant and nightclub owners, and relaxed the rules a little. From now on, in most cases, designated smoking zones covering no more than a fifth of the premises will be allowed. Venues under 50 square meters will have to decide whether to be “smoking” or “non smoking”.

Non smokers will obviously feel this is a retrograde step but the decision has been met with a big sigh of relief from owners who have seen their taking go down considerably since the ban was introduced. That’s a similar story as elsewhere in Europe but Croatia shouldn’t be criticised too harshly for being practical in this way – don’t forget that England, amongst other western European countries went through a similar early compromise process and then reintroduced a more severe ban later on, after the brief reprieve. No doubt there’s a psychological process in force that will make inveterate Croatian smokers now more conscious and considerate of their non smoking compatriots and perhaps more open towards a total ban in indoor public places when EU pressures eventually win the day. 

Hilary Duff - actress

• Birthname: Hilary Erhard Duff
• Date of birth: 1987-09-28
• Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA
• Height: 5' 4
• Nationality: American
• Profession: actress, musician 

Hilary Erhard DuffMiddle name reference can be found in Hilary Duff: All Access (2005) by Rettenmund, Matthew. U.S.: Berkley Trade. p. 2. ISBN 0-425-20519-3 (U.S.). (born September 28 1987) is an American actress and singer. After gaining fame for her starring role on the television show Lizzie McGuire, she went on to have a film career, and her most commercially successful pictures include Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and A Cinderella Story (2004). The 19 year old has expanded her repertoire into pop music, with four successful studio albums and launched a clothing line and exclusive perfume with Elizabeth Arden, With Love... Hilary Duff.
Duff is currently shooting the 2007 action film with John Cusack and recording her fifth album, scheduled for release in April 2007.

Early life and career

Hilary Duff was born in Houston, Texas, the second child of Bob Erhard Duff, owner of a chain of convenience stores, and Susan Colleen Cobb, a homemaker. After Duff's mother encouraged her to take an acting class alongside her older sister, Haylie Katherine Duff, both girls won parts in various local theatre productions. At the age of six, the Duff sisters participated in the ballet The Nutcracker Suite with Columbus Ballet Met in San Antonio. The siblings became more enthusiastic about the idea of acting professionally, and eventually relocated to California with their mother. Bob Erhard Duff stayed at the family home in Houston to maintain their business. After several years of auditions and meetings, the Duff sisters were cast in several television commercials.Huff, Richard.. New York Daily News. December 1, 2002. Retrieved May 22, 2005.

 

Television and film career

Most of Duff's first few acting roles were small, starting off with an uncredited appearance in Hallmark Entertainment's western miniseries True Women (1997). She also served as an extra, again uncredited, in writer-director Willard Carroll's ensemble dramedy Playing by Heart (1998). Her first major part was as the star of the 1998 film Casper Meets Wendy, playing the young witch, Wendy, who encounters the animated character Casper. Like (1997), the second sequel to the successful Casper (1995), the film was released direct-to-video with generally unenthusiastic reviews.
Duff later appeared in a supporting role in the television film The Soul Collector (1999), which was based on a Kathleen Kane novel and starred Bruce Greenwood as an angel who helps out a female farmer (Melissa Gilbert) whose husband has recently died. Duff ended up winning a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress)".
Duff's first serious shot at fame came when she was cast as one of the children in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Daddio (2000). Actor Michael Chiklis, co-star of Daddio stated, "After working with her the first day, I remember saying to my wife, 'This young girl is going to be a movie star'. She was completely at ease with herself and comfortable in her own skin". Later that year she starred in the film Raise Your Voice. Some critics praised Duff for appearing in a more dramatic role than previously, but the film was heavily panned, with the Las Vegas Weekly writing: "Effortlessly combining Duff's bad acting and bad singing with bad writing and bad direction, Raise Your Voice is an insulting waste of time that begs to be silenced". Reviews were, by and large, negative to Duff's vocals (several critics pointed out what appears to be her digitally enhanced voice
) and indifferent towards her acting performance. Duff received a Razzie Award nomination for "Worst Actress" (in addition to her work in A Cinderella Story). The film received a muted reception at the box office, where it became Duff's least commercially successful film at the time.
In The Perfect Man (2005) she played the oldest daughter of a divorced woman that was played by Heather Locklear, who later moves to New York City as she desperately searches for a man to settle down with. Reviews mostly negative, and the film disappointed at the box office, grossing a mere $16,535,005. That year, Duff was again nominated for a Razzie Award, for both The Perfect Man and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. The 2006 satirical comedy Material Girls was her least commercially successful film to date, earning $11,449,638; the Martha Coolidge-directed film, co-produced by Madonna's independent film production company Maverick Entertainment, starred Duff and her real-life sister Haylie Duff as wealthy siblings who must fight to reclaim their fortune following a scandal.
The Duff sisters are due to lend their voices to the computer animated comedy Foodfight!, which Lions Gate Films is to distribute in 2007. The film's director, Larry Kasanoff, said that he is "absolutely thrilled to have the Duff sisters as part of the cast." Duff is currently slated to star opposite John Cusack in Brand Hauser, due for release in late 2007. The film is set in a futuristic country and Duff and Cusack are currently filiming it in Bulgaria. Duff proved her commitment by pushing back her much anticipated fifth studio album so that she had ample time to work on the movie.

 

Music career

Duff recorded a cover of Brooke McClymont's "I Can't Wait" for the original television soundtrack for Lizzie McGuire in 2002 (see Lizzie McGuire (soundtrack)), and "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" for the first Disneymania compilation album. Her first album was Santa Claus Lane (2002), a collection of Christmas songs which included duets with Lil' Romeo, Christina Milian, and her sister Haylie. Accompanied by the Disney Channel-only single "Tell Me a Story", it peaked well outside of the top 100 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart, but eventually received a gold certification. The album's title track was included on the soundtrack to The Santa Clause 2 and another song (What Christmas Should Be) was used in Cheaper by the Dozen.
Duff sang several tracks for the soundtrack to The Lizzie McGuire Movie (see The Lizzie McGuire Movie (soundtrack)), including "Why Not", which became a modest top twenty hit in Australia. Duff's second studio album, Metamorphosis (2003), included contributions by songwriter-producers such as The Matrix and reached number one on the U.S. and Canadian charts. It became one of the biggest selling albums of the year in the U.S. and has since gone to sell over 3.7 million copies.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1502662/20050520/duff_hilary.jhtml?headlines=true The lead single, "So Yesterday", was a top ten hit in several countries and its music video received heavy airplay on MTV, while "Come Clean" became Duff's first top forty U.S. hit and reached the top twenty elsewhere. The third single, "Little Voice", was not released in the U.S. and was a minor hit in Canada and Australia. In late 2003 Duff embarked on her first concert tour, the Metamorphosis Club Tour and later the Most Wanted tour.
The second Disneymania disc was released in January 2004 and contained a duet with her sister, "The Siamese Cat Song". Another song, "Circle of Life", featured Duff and other Disney Channel Stars. Duff and her sister recorded a cover of The Go-Gos' "Our Lips Are Sealed" for the soundtrack to A Cinderella Story, which included two other songs by Duff. The video for "Our Lips Are Sealed" was popular on MTV's TRL but the song itself failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Duff co-wrote several of the tracks on her third album, the self-titled Hilary Duff, which she had an edgier, rock feel than Metamorphosis. It was released on her seventeenth birthday (in September 2004) and debuted at number two in the U.S. and number one in Canada. The album has sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. to date,http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33921 An Italy-only compilation, 4Ever, was released in 2006.
Duff recorded new songs for her film Material Girls, including a Timbaland-produced cover version of Madonna's "Material Girl" with her sister. According to Total Request Live, Duff's fourth studio album was to be released in the United States in February 2007 because of her commitment to the film Brand Hauser; it was later pushed back to April.http://hollywoodrecords.go.com/girlnext/index.html It is preceded by the single "Play with Fire", which was released to U.S. radio stations in August 2006. Duff has co-written material for the album with Kara DioGuardi, and she also worked with producer-songwriter Rhett Lawrence in Toronto, Canada. She said that compared to her previous music it would be "more dancey" and make use of more real instruments. "I don't know exactly how to explain what we're doing, but it's fun and funky and different, something new for me. It's really cool", she said. She has also described the album's sound as "a little less pop-rock and more electronic-sounding". A commercial for Duff's fragrance, With Love... Hilary Duff, features the song "With Love".

Personal life

Duff began dating singer Aaron Carter in 2002. They met on the set of Lizzie McGuire, when Carter had a cameo role on a Christmas episode. The relationship lasted a year and a half. It was reported that Carter left actress Lindsay Lohan for Duff. Carter said he also cheated on Duff with her best friend, that Duff "got her heart broken" and that he is "sorry" for his actions.

Duff dated Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden for 2 years but the couple split mid November 2006 due to the difference in age between the couple (8 years). Madden claimed that Duff dumped him. However, the breakup has yet to be confirmed by Duff's publicists. Duff's mother Susan announced their relationship in the June 2005 interview for Seventeen magazine, after a long period of tabloid speculation. In a June 2006 interview with ELLE magazine, Duff was quoted as saying "(virginity) is definitely something I like about myself. It doesn't mean I haven't thought about sex, because everyone I know has had it and you want to fit in." Duff later told MuchMusic that she didn't say the quotes attributed to her in the article and that the subject was "definitely not something that I would talk about..."
In late 2006 Duff took legal action against an alleged stalker and the stalker's roommate. The police are currently investigating. On November 3, 2006, Duff's stalker, Maksim Miakovsky, was arrested for threatening to kill her that weekend. He was booked on charges of making criminal threats and stalking. He came to the U.S. "for the sole purpose of meeting and becoming romantically involved with Ms. Duff." Miakovsky is currently being held on $200,000 bail at the Manhattan Beach jail. He was arraigned on November 7, 2006.
Duff is involved with several charities, is an animal rights enthusiast, a member of "Kids with a Cause,"
In August 2005 Duff said she received veneers because she chipped off one of her front teeth on a microphone during a concert. In late 2005 Duff took a month off from work as a belated eighteenth birthday present. She said that she wanted to take a short break after releasing Most Wanted and writing three new songs for it, shooting three films, and embarking on her U.S. "Still Most Wanted Tour". By 2005 Duff appeared to have lost weight, leading the media to speculate that she had developed an eating disorder, although Duff has denied this claim. Duff was interviewed on the Australian current affair show Today Tonight and stated that she lost weight by living a more active lifestyle.
In late August 2006 Duff traveled to a New Orleans elementary school and worked with USA Harvest to distribute meals. In 2005, she donated more than 2.5 million meals to Hurricane Katrina victims in the south. In September 2006 Duff released her perfume, With Love... Hilary Duff, which she premiered on The View.
Duff and her pet dog Lola made an appearance in the Electronic Arts game , which was released on October 2006. In console versions of the game Duff's character will visit public areas and players will be able to let their sims socialise with her and Lola, the dog. However, in the PC expansion pack, players must download the Duff sim from the Maxis website before December 31 she and her dog will be fully playable characters, rather than a non-player character.The Sims Online

Bottega Veneta

10 Vainest Celebrities

Celebrities are a narcissistic breed who tend to value themselves above most. Obsessed with their bodies and worldly assets and terrified that they one day will loose them, many take out quite interesting insurance policies*. We have concluded a list of ten celebs that have done just that.

10. Tom Jones’s chest hair - $7,000,000

Let’s use the 10th place in this top list to clarify one thing: The rumor that music artist and granny-lover Tom Jones had his chest hair insured for $7 million is false. The story has gotten immense attention and space online and even got picked up by larger news sites such as AOL, Fox News and New York Daily News. It is time to put an end to this urban legend.
Special insurance agency Lloyd’s of London confirms being approached with such a request but declines it ever coming from Mr. Jones. However, a little uninsured chest hair definitely deserves a spot in this top list.

9. Rod Stewart’s rusty voice - $6,000,000

What if Stewart’s throat finally healed and his voice changed from rusty to silky smooth? Music artist Rod Stewart must have dreaded this scenario as he has had his voice insured to a total value of $6 million. In the unfortunate event that something actually does happen to Stuey’s voice, at least he no longer has to eat chalk. And with his insurance money he can always buy Bob Dylan.

8. Dolly Parton’s bust - $600,000

Country singer and all American sweet heart, Dolly Parton is not only known for her music career, but also for her recent insurance claims. Making sure her bust is safely insured, Parton has taken out a policy of no less than $300,000, per breast.

7. Jennifer Lopez’s rear - $27,000,000

Perhaps one of the most famous celebrity insurance cases is Jennifer Lopez’s behind. A staggering $27 million: That’s how much Mrs. Lopez butt cost to insure. For you math geeks that’s $100,000 per square inch.

6. America Ferrera’s teeth - $10,000,000

Who would have guessed? Ugly Betty actress America Ferrera turned out to be simply gorgeous. Finally free from those awful rails, Ferrera did not wait long to insure her teeth. $10,000,000 is a fair price for a million dollar smile, don’t you agree?

5. Mariah Carey’s legs - $1,000,000,000

Safe to say, the most expensive pair of legs on this planet. Winning Gillette Venus Vibrance Legs of a Goddess competition in 2005, Carey was quick to secure her two bearing assets for up to $1 billion.

4. Gene Simmons’s tongue – $1,000,000

When extending his tongue surgically Kiss vocalist and music genius Gene Simmons did the responsible thing: He insured it. Being both a trademark of the band and for Simmons himself, that tongue was probably well worth insuring. But I bet his insurance agent was surprised.

3. Keith Richards’s middle finger – $1,600,000

Fearing that his foes will break his middle finger he so often use to flip them off, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has had it insured. No really, Richards probably just figures that the finger making all that sweet music on the guitar deserves its own $ 2 million policy.

2. Shirley MacLaine’s fear of UFO Abduction - $25

 

Alien abduction insurance actually exists. It is offered by a handful of agencies around the country and currently include over 20,000 policy holders. Since the chance of being abducted by aliens is seemingly small and proving it almost impossible, these policies normally cost little and pay out a lot. American actress Shirley MacLaine reportedly has her own UFO abduction policy – just in case.

1. David Lee Roth’s semen - $1,000,000

Topping the list of unusual celebrity insurance claims is no other than Van Halen’s own David Lee Roth. As his music career took off, Roth did what any rock star would do. He got his semen insured. It is however unclear whether the $1 million insurance policy will act as a refund if Roth by mistake gets one of his groupies pregnant or if it is to work more like a giant million dollar condom.

One suggestion if Roth was looking for ways to prevent pregnancy would be to bring Tom Jones on tour and have him up there swinging his hips and snapping his finger to the rhythm. The average age on groupies would increase dramatically, and so decrease the chance of band members engaging in  intercourse and/or impregnation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sofia Vergara

• Birthname: Sofia Margarita Vergara
• Date of birth: 1972-07-10
• Birthplace: Barranquilla, Colombia
• Height: 5' 7"
• Nationality: Colombian
• Profession: actress, model

Sofía Margarita Vergara (born July 10, 1972, in Barranquilla, Colombia) is a Colombian model and actress.

 

Biography

Early life

"La Toti" was the nickname given to Vergara by her five brothers and sisters and many cousins, including television news anchor and reporter Carlos Vergara, who currently works for WTVJ in Miami, Florida. She grew up on her father's farm in Colombia, where for recreation and exercise, she liked to swim in a river and ride horses. She came from a moderately well-off family in Colombia and was sent to private bilingual (Spanish/English) schools there, including elementary school. She got married at the age of 18, and she gave birth to her son Manolo in 1992. The marriage did not last very long, and then she studied dentistry at a college in Colombia for three years.

Public life and Career

Vergara was discovered by a photographer while walking a Colombian beach. Soon, she was presented with attractive offers in modeling and TV work, and followed that course. She made her first public appearance at the age of 17 in a Pepsi commercial that was widely telecast all over Latin America. Considering that she had a son, mother, and younger siblings who needed her financial support in the absence of her father, who had departed the family, gave her further impetus to drop out of college and go to work where she could earn good wages.
Vergara moved to Bogotá at the age of 20, where she worked as a model on the runway and on TV. From 1995 to 1999, she was co-host with Fernando Fiore on Fuera de Serie ("Out of the Ordinary" or "Over-the-Top"), a series which sent her to exotic places all over the world (this is similar to the U.S. Wild On! travel series). It was telecast on the international Univision Spanish-language network, and it made her a star in the Latin American market and gave her some USA TV exposure. She also co-hosted the Univision show A que no te atreves ("I Dare You").
Besides runway and catalog modeling work, Vergara also did independent projects. She was photographed for posters swimsuit calendars in 1998, 2000, and 2002. These were top sellers in Latin America, and also penetrated the North American market. She did South American television ads, and also posed in swimsuits for posters for beer advertising, especially for Miller Lite beer.
Vergara is 170 cm (5 ft, 7 in) tall, and she has naturally blonde/sunbleached hair (for films and TV, she is frequently required to dye it brunette to make her look more "Latina"). As for her figure, she says that she has been built this way since she was 13 years old, and it is all 100% natural.
Vergara was long under an exclusive TV contract with Univision, but that has now expired and she was open to accept a role with ABC in the United States. With ABC, she acted in the short-lived sitcom Hot Properties in 2005.
Vergara has been seen with Enrique Iglesias and Latin superstar Luis Miguel. Sofia has lived in the United States for a while now, mostly in Miami and Los Angeles, and she brought other family members including her mother, sister, and his son to live with her. Her older brother was killed in Colombia. His murder is still unsolved

Versace's Neon Dream

Tribunj Revisited

We don’t have much to add to our last comprehensive review of Tribunj  in July 2008 – see Croatia Cruising Companion - July Update for nautical news and  Croatia Online – Tribunj for onshore news.

We did, however, check up on Villa Diana which had just changed ownership and was intending to refurbish and upgrade to improve on its already fairly harsh two star status. Villa Diana does now have a website of sorts – www.visitdalmatia.info – and the refurbishment program is gradual rather than drastic. However the young Russian owners are charming, they seem to have been discovered by the independent travel brigade, and you can be sure of a good clean room. Bear in mind it’s closed from mid November to early March.

Tribunj remains a charming unspoilt town on one side, and a classy marina on the other side though the two do seem to complement each other quite well.

***

Today’s photo shows what we believe to be a reconstruction of a classic Dalmatian fishing boat in the foreground with the marina building in the background.

Kim Smith model actress

Kim Smith model actress

Birthname: Kimberley Katherine Smith
Date of birth: 1983-03-03
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, USA
Height: 5' 9"
Nationality: American
Profession: actress, model

Kim Kay Smith (born March 3, 1983 in Odessa, Texas) is an American actress/fashion model. She has appeared in the film, Catwoman along side Halle Berry, and has modeled for Victoria's Secret and Guess?.
Smith, a graduate of Permian High School, got her big break into modeling when she accompanied a friend to a Model Search of America contest. She was changed from a spectator to a competitor by the head of the contest, and soon after signed with Clipse Management of Dallas. Her face and figure have been featured for Victoria's Secret, Mac and Jac, Abercrombie & Fitch, Harper's Bazaar, and Andrew Marc. Her big break came in the form of two of Paul Marciano's Guess? campaigns in 2000.
Smith has also appeared in several music videos, including *NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye and It's Gonna Be Me, and Aerosmith's Girls of Summer. She entered the movie business in 2002 with a cameo in Van Wilder as comely coed Casey, and followed with a small role in 2004's Catwoman as model Drina.
The July 2005 issue of Maxim Magazine, which Smith appeared in was dedicated to American troops serving overseas and featured Kim posing with militaria including dog tags and a camouflage hat; the article and pictures are featured in the Girls of Maxim Gallery. The publication named her #91 in its 2006 Hot 100 List.
It was announced that Kim will be the new face of the Italian swimsuit designer Parah and an official spokesperson for the Italian watchmaker Breil in 2006.
She currently resides in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida with boyfriend Tyson Ritter of four years, lead singer of the band The All-American Rejects.
According to a recent issue of YRB magazine (Kim Smith is on the cover), Kim has been filming a documentary TV series about her life as a model/actress which is set to air in early 2007.

 

 

Preview Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2010

D&G

The D&G Women's collection for Summer 2010, inspired by the British woman, elaborates the classic cowboy wardrobe in order to dress urban cowgirls. Suede and perforated leather was used with romantic white lace, chiffon and Mickey or Minnie Mouse printed

Exploring Croatia In The Summer – Itineraries, Travel Costs and Cost of Living

When we set out on our Croatian summer trip, we knew roughly what we had to cover but took our own advice (see previous posting) and didn’t plan the itinerary too rigidly. We were lucky enough to be able to make a base with friends on Čiovo Island, near Trogir, for the duration so explored much of the mainland from there and then bored our mates in the evening with all our new discoveries!

We chose to fly with Ryanair from Stansted to Zadar (see our earlier posting Getting There And Back) and though the basic cost of the ticket was only £59.99, by the time all the extras had been added (1 case check in, taxes, etc, the total cost was £145.73. In fact the flight is the cheapest part of the trip as the real expense on this sort of exploration is car hire at around £200 per week, and accommodation.

For the first few days we caught up with a few old friends and covered the mainland from Zadar to Šibenik and we’ve reported on most of that already in our previous postings. It could be said that some of this area (not of course Šibenik and Zadar themselves) is perhaps the least interesting part of Croatia’s coastline but, again we followed the tips in our previous posting and visited each destination with an open mind.

The next phase of our Croatian journey was to explore Hvar and Brač (or Hvach and Brar as they became after a couple of glasses of wine too many one evening!). With not even an idea of where we were going to stay, we got on the car ferry from Split to Stari Grad (cost 286 kunas for the car and 42 kunas for one person) and drove into Stari Grad (a long walk from the ferry – there’s a bus for foot passengers) where we spent some quality time with the Stari Grad tourist board Director. At that point we decided to make our base in Stari Grad on the grounds that the other main settlements on the islands were mostly in easy reach by car, Hvar Town would be way outside our budget, and Stari Grad is a comfortable size for a lone explorer. We’ll tell you more about these places in subsequent postings but we found a great double room in Stari Grad, with ensuite bathroom and private balcony, for €20 per night.

After two nights in Stari Grad, the days spent exploring Hvar town, Jelsa, Vrboska, and a few places inland, we drove the length of the island to lovely, photogenic Sučuraj. We toyed with the idea of getting the ferry back that evening, staying with our friends on Čiovo overnight and heading back to Split for the ferry to Brač the next day. However that seemed to be cheating and a bit of a waste of time so we had a half hearted look around Sučuraj for a room without much success and ended up in the one and only hotel. It didn’t look too promising from the outside, but the extremely helpful and friendly receptionist offered us a room and breakfast for the night for 220 kunas which seemed an even bigger bargain once we’d seen the large, clean and comfortable room.

The ferry next morning  from Sučuraj (95 kunas for the car and 13 kunas for one person) took us to the little known, and fast upcoming, holiday resort of Drvenik and we’ve got plenty of news to report on that. And from there we explored most of the Makarska Riviera, including Makarska itself, before getting another ferry from Makarska to the town of Sumartin on Brač (140 kunas car plus 30 kunas per person). Again we hadn’t really thought about accommodation but decided to head for Bol and make that our base. There’s almost too much accommodation to choose from in Bol but, by chance, we ended up stopping in one street behind the main town, full of apartments, and told the lady on the corner we were looking for a room. She tried (genuinely we think) to phone her friend next door but after waiting a few minutes said she had a studio apartment available for a couple of nights. Thinking this would be way outside our budget, we were even more convinced that it was when we saw it. A huge modern studio apartment with every mod con, it’s own terrace, luxurious bed and bathroom, etc. It was late, we were tired and ready to agree to anything reasonable. How much? €30 a night. Deal!

There were a couple of disappointments on Brač of which more when we get to them, and partly because one of them took up so much time, there are a few places that we didn’t get to see but already know well. Having said that, there were a couple of highlights too. In any event, three days later we were back on the ferry to Split from Supetar (140 kunas plus 30 kunas) and back with our friends ready to knock off a few remaining destinations – Trogir, Omis, Zadar and most things in between.

Cost of living comments? Not much has changed from our earlier reports - Croatia Online - Cost Of Living Update except for the ever diminishing rate of exchange. Hvar Town remains at least 50% more expensive than most other places but that’s the price of its celebrity status. We were pleasantly surprised by the reality of accommodation prices and the fact that room, villa and hotel owners appear to be far more flexible than of old in terms of letting for one or two days at a time. Food and drink are up just a little but the overall price depends on where you go. Also good was the fact that, on the whole, the ambience was good with those in the tourist industry somewhat relieved that the season had not been as bad as they feared.

The price of the first ferry ticket was a bit of a shock for some reason but after taking a few more, you realise what a wonderful ferry network Croatia has (state company Jadrolinija) . The ferries are mostly modern and spacious, reasonably priced (especially for foot passengers), pretty frequent and generally always on time. We were early for all of them (about an hour ahead of departure time) as the first ferry from Split turned a few cars away, but after that there was plenty of space. Above all, they’re very “easy” – well organised, cafes on most of them – and you could do worse than spending most of your time catching as many as possible to find new destinations. It’s a much better way to travel than by car on a steamy summer day!

Postings on the most exciting parts of our trip are yet to come so keep reading….

Runway Now or Later?

Best of the Rest: Top London Shows Of the Week

By Erin Donnelly for refinery29.com


Time to bust out the aspirin and throw on our "I Survived Fashion Week" T-shirt. As London Fashion Week comes to an end, we reflect on a memorable season that gave us a bridal Dree Hemingway at Henry Holland, a Flintstones acid trip at Jeremy Scott, and enough Geldof sister sightings to last us a century. We've already recapped the best shows from the weekend, but the following shows from Monday and Tuesday also provided plenty of lusting—and here's the cream of the crumpet.


Burberry Prorsum

The classic Brit label's much-anticipated return to the motherland didn't disappoint, and neither did the front row lineup consisting of Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, and Mary-Kate Olsen. Sticking to spring's popular neutrals with shots of pistachio, lilac, lemongrass, butter yellow, icy blue, and baby pink, Christopher Bailey delivered gorgeously draped skirts and dresses mixed with belted cardigans and glimmering tops. The iconic Burberry trench, meanwhile, got a more youthful and feminine revamping thanks to a slimmer and sleeker cut and ultra-glam ruched and metallic details. Please, sir, can we have some more?

Images from Style.com.


Peter Pilotto

The explosive prints we've come to associate with Peter Pilotto seemed more sublime and sophisticated this season. Our hearts yearned for the fitted orange- and blue-flecked snakeskin trench that kicked off the show, along with graphic print tops and frocks generated by images of fireworks (how's that for explosive?). A moody palette of silvery grays and blues blended seamlessly with more intense hues, once again providing the perfect antidote to the standard little black dress. If we can get our hands on some snakeskin pants, we'll be happy campers come spring.

Images from Style.com.

Christopher Kane

Move over, Dorothy. Gingham (yes, gingham) got its fashion groove back thanks to a series of easy day-to-night dresses featuring pleats, well-placed slits and cutouts, sheer panels, and sexy bustier-style details. Kane's palette of navy, white, chocolate brown, robin's egg blue, and pale pink felt just right for spring, especially when paired with an antiquey rose print. Though as a whole the collection felt sweet and dainty, gals can find street-smart and sophisticated looks to chew on, too.

Images from Style.com.


Josh Goot



Goot's autumn/winter 2009 collection was one of our favorites from last season, and it's reassuring to see that the Australian designer hasn't lost his momentum. One of the most vibrant collections of the season, Goot's spring line showcased an '80s-esque, beachy kaleidoscope of scarlet, orange, turquoise, candy pink, lime green, and peach mixed in with black and white polka dots. Think Pucci, but younger and juicier.

Images from Style.com.


Jonathan Saunders



The little white dress is a perennial spring staple, and one with endless opportunities for reinterpretation. That's just what Saunders did for his spring 2010 collection, showcasing airy but edgy pale frocks bisected by sheer cutouts and smeared with screen-printed streaks of color. Saunders' knack for color blocking also reared its head, resulting in a perfectly lovely one-shoulder minidress split into taupe, pale blue, cream, and the petal-pink panels.

Images from Style.com.