Kamis, 22 Mei 2008

See our Miss Universe picture gallery here


Miss Japan Riyo Mori caused a major boilover today by winning the Miss Universe title in Mexico City.

Miss Mori, 22, wasn't among the top fancies for the event, which also featured Gladstone teenager and Miss Australia Kimberley Busteed, who missed out on the final 15.

Kimberley was a favourite for the Miss Congeniality award, but she also lost out in that category, this time to Miss China.

Kimberley's mother Denise Busteed said far from being disappointed at the results, her daughter would have been delighted to see Miss China take the Miss Congeniality crown.

"Kimberley loved Miss China," Mrs Busteed said from her Gladstone upholstery business today.

"I'm very excited that Kim is coming home - we can hug her, and that's the main thing we want.

"It would have been nice to see her make the Top 20 and show some of those critics, but all of Gladstone is waiting to get her home.

"We're very proud - she is the most beautiful girl, and we couldn't wish for any more."

There was plenty of drama during the finals, when Miss USA fell to the ground after stepping on the hem of her dress in the evening gown section.

After the fall, she still made the top five - but was booed by the crowd, who seemingly thought her chances had fallen flat in the same way she had tumbled to the ground on the catwalk.

The 15 finalists, announced earlier today, were:

Miss Venezuela
Miss Thailand
Miss Denmark
Miss Nicaragua
Miss Angola
Miss Slovenia
Miss USA
Miss Brazil
Miss India
Miss Mexico
Miss Japan
Miss Ukraine
Miss Tanzania
Miss Korea
Miss Czech Republic

The winner of Most Photogenic was Miss Philippines.

THE SCHEDULE OF MOTTO GP 2008


9 Maret Qatar Doha/Losail
30 Maret Spain Jerez de la Frontera
13 April Portugal Estoril
4 Mei China Shanghai
18 Mei France Le Mans
1 Juni Italy Mugello
8 Juni Catalunya Montmelo
22 Juni Great Britain Donington Park
28 Juni Netherlands Assen **
13 Juli Germany Sachsenring
20 Juli United States Laguna Seca *
17 Agustus Czech Republic Brno
31 Agustus San Marino Misano
14 September Indianapolis Indianapolis
28 September Japan Motegi
5 Oktober Australia Phillip Island
19 Oktober Malaysia Sepang
26 Oktober Valencia Ricardo Tormo - Valencia

Ferrari unveils 2006 F1 Contender 248 F1


Ferrari 248 F1 Launch, Mugello, Italy, 23 January 2006.

(L to R): Aldo Costa (ITA) Ferrari Assistant Chief Designer; Paulo Martinelli (ITA) Ferrari Engine Director; Luca di Montezemolo (ITA) Ferrari Team Manager; Pierre Lardi Ferrari (ITA); Luca Badoer (ITA) Ferrari Test Driver; Felipe Massa (BRA) Ferrari; Michael Schumacher (GER) Ferrari; Jean Todt (FRA) Ferrari Sporting Director.

The car, originally known only by its 657 project name, has been christened the Ferrari 248 F1.

Both Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa have already tested the car in shakedowns at Fiorano, but it was Schumacher who drove the first public laps in the 248 F1 at Mugello.


The Engine Design
At the new car's heart is an all-new Formula One V8 engine that is central to the team's hopes for another World Championship title this year.

The new Ferrari V8 was developed in record time. Sweeping technical rule changes announced by the FIA last spring spelled the end of the V-10 era. While still allowed with rev-limits, the 3.0-litre V-10 gives way in 2006 to a new crop of V8 engines limited to 2.4 liters in displacement.

Ferrari’s president, Luca di Montezemolo, then spoke about the technical changes: "We are living in times of significant change from a technological point of view. We had been fans of the V12 for many years and then, in the mid-1990s, were forced to switch to V10 engines with which we had great success. Now we are back to the V8s that we last used in 1964 when we won with Surtees. It is a big challenge in terms of power and reliability. It drives us all on to do our best along with our partners and technical suppliers."

Michael Schumacher. He stepped forward immediately after the contributions of President Montezemolo. Schumacher reflected on the new design and stated that: "it has already given positive results in the little testing that it has been possible to carry out here. Despite the fact that only a few laps were run, the car seemed well balanced and enjoyable to drive even though it is less powerful."

"As to the engine, many have asked me how it will change the style of driving with a V8. It is a question to which I always answer in the same way: that there will not be such a big difference. It is like going back to the levels of power we had ten years ago. What I think will alter radically is the race strategy and not the style of driving."

Reliability will continue to be an important factor for all concerned, as the FIA has kept in place its one-engine-for-two-races rule. Ferrari is ready


CNN is all about breaking news


Coming straight at you from the highly-respected news center that is CNN।com:
"Men want hot women, study confirms"
Another job well done, CNN. Ground-breaking and hard-hitting. I'm looking forward to future newsflashes "Breathing oxygen keeps you alive" and "Lindsay Lohan enjoys an alcoholic beverage from time to time."

Viz Media Presenting ‘Hunter x Hunter’ & ‘Monster’ Anime Series


Viz Media has released a list of the anime properties it will be showcasing at the annual National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) conference and it includes several new properties including the popular Shonen Jump title Hunter x Hunter and Naoki Urusawa’s Monster. While this means that Viz Media does have the rights to distribute these anime series, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Viz Media will put the titles out on DVD.

Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter is an extremely popular manga property in Japan where the first twenty volumes have sold over 37 million copies. Viz Media publishes the Hunter x Hunter manga here in North America and released Volume 18 earlier this month (24 volumes have been published in Japan so far). Like Togashi’s other major creation, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter has made the transition to anime — a 62-episode series from Nippon Animation aired initially in Japan from 1999 to 2001.

While Hunter x Hunter may be a more popular manga series in Japan than the older-skewing (16+) Monster, there is little doubt that Madhouse’s anime adaptation of Naoki Urusawa’s Monster is one of the most eagerly-awaited anime series by North American fans. Viz Media also publishes Urusawa’s 18-volume Monster manga (Volume 14 is due out in April), a tense serial killer drama that deservedly won the Excellence Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 1997 and Shogakukan Manga Award in 2001.

Monster is one of a handful of manga titles that comic retailers tell ICv2 that they continually and successfully recommend to customers who don’t normally read manga. Madhouse’s 74-episode Monster anime, which initially aired on Japanese TV during 2004 and 2005, is an extremely faithful adaptation of the manga with every panel and scene from the book finding its visual equivalent in the anime — and in this case, that’s a very good thing.

The saga of a brain surgeon who defies his administrator’s orders and makes a principled choice to save a young boy instead of an aging politician only to find that the “innocent” life he saved just might be a horrific serial killer, Monster has such a gripping storyline that it’s no surprise that it has been optioned for a live action feature by New Line Cinema with Josh Olson, who adapted A History of Violence, scripting the film for a 2009 release.

Madge Vs. Tyson: The Big Fight...


Boxing bad boy, Mike Tyson and muscley Queen of pop, Madonna would make a formidable tag team: frankly, you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of either of them. But unlikely as it sounds Madge and former heavyweight Tyson have now actually joined forces for a massive fight…

Against world poverty. Apparently the pair met in a VIP room in Cannes, which they were both attending to promote their new documentaries. Sipping over a chilled bottle of champagne Madge got talking to a sympathetic Mike Tyson about the plight of AIDs ridden Malawi, home of her adopted son David Banda. Bruiser Tyson was so saddened by Madge’s tale of poverty in the African country that he sent the bevy of babes frolicking around the VIP area packing. Madge now has Mike on speed-dial, and the ex-boxer has pledged to donate money to Malawi’s orphans. Isn’t that lovely?!

Wait a second, is this the same Madonna who recently flew a helicopter just 37 miles to the Radio 1 Big Weekend gig, took up three dressing rooms with an entourage of 70 people, ordered bottles of Kabbalah water and bouquets of white roses be flown into her dressing room - all for just a 40 minute performance? And is this the same Mike Tyson who served three years in the slammer for rape and drug charges and has a penchant for biting off large chunks of his opponent’s ears? Oh it is, ok then, just checking।

http://www.mrpaparazzi.com/post/2775/Madge-Vs-Tyson-The-Big-Fight.aspx