London:
If you are the one who believes that all men are the
same this one might catch you off the guard. Dr Stephen
Whitehead, gender expert and senior lecturer at Keele University,
has published a handy book describing the A to Z of male
types. The book titled 'The Many Faces of Men' details 27
distinct and recognisable types of men to help women make
their way through the labyrinth of the male mind, reports
the Daily Mail. So have one close look at your man and decide
which category does he fit into. Is he the Alpha Male, the
one who is extremely competitive and lives for the next
deal, or the fashion- conscious, 'Cool Poser'? Or is he
the anti-feminist 'Neanderthal' with outdated views on relationships?
"Over the course of a lifetime, it is possible for men to
change, even if they don't mean to," he said. "No man ever
reaches a final state of masculinity. He is always working
at it, trying to be a man in whatever setting he finds himself,"
the report quoted Dr. Whitehead as saying. "Today many women
don't need a man for financial security. They want something
much more important - love and emotional support. However,
many men find it very difficult to understand this," he
added.
He
goes on to say that "Men can appear brave and committed
one minute, yet hesitant and insecure the next. They can
be macho with their pals but timid in front of their mothers.
They can love their children deeply yet rarely hug and kiss
them."They can love a woman with a ferocious passion yet
be unfaithful to her." He concludes by saying that "To understand
men, you have to understand it is nurture, not nature, that
rules their lives. Masculinity is not something men are
born with."
The
A-Z are: Achilles: sophisticated and charming but also
flawed and needy, Adonis: obsessed with his body,
usually sports a fake tan, Alpha Male: extremely
competitive, lives for the next deal, Backpacker: sexy
but dangerous; a relationship daytripper, Chameleman:
adaptable, smooth, urbane and attractive - but never, the
man you think he is Club Man: blazers, old school
ties, and football shirts. Into male bonding Cool Poser:
fashion-conscious Corporate Man: relishes security,
a follower not a leader, but faithful Gadgetman: techno-freak,
poor eyesight. Insular and socially inept Jeffrey: social
animal in a world of half-truths. Compelling character.
Jester: loves laughter and an audience but prone
to melancholy Libman: pro-feminist male, politically
correct, very well read Manchild: ageing stud with
rich tastes and little dignity Mr Angry: moody, aggressive
but doesn't see his actions as damaging Murdoch: Napoleonic
self-belief, usually justified. Ruthless, untiring Neanderthal:
anti-feminist with outdated views on relationships Preacher:
fundamentalist views. Single-minded, fervent and intense
Risker: optimistic and overdrawn at the bank likes
to push his luck Romancer: calculating seducer dislikes
women but pursues them Rottweiler: lager drinker
who loves his mates and his country Sigmund: lots
of inner angst lows self-esteem but reliable and caring
Teddy Bear: sensitive, vulnerable and a good listener
- but not sexy Trainspotter: middle-aged, plenty
of brown cardigans, and obsessed with data collection Uniform
Man: emotionally insecure. Rigid, brittle temperament
Wallflower: unambitious couch potato with predictable
behaviour Wayne: heroic, unchanging, loyal and steadfast.
Think John Wayne Zebedee: floundering and confused.
Needs nurturing. Unreflective but busy.
Coke's
water contains harmful cancer-causing chemical (Go
To Top)
London:
Coca-Cola is pulling its new bottled water off the UK
store shelves after it was found to contain high levels
of a cancer-causing chemical. According to the Sun, the
soft drinks giant is recalling 500,000 bottles of Dasani
after the samples were found to have amounts of bromate
that exceeded UK legal limits. Coke chiefs took the decision
just weeks after spending seven million pounds on the drink's
launch in Britain. Red-faced bosses have already had to
admit that the drink was tap water taken from the mains.
The bromate formed during a manufacturing process to treat
water taken from a supply in Sidcup, southeast London. The
Food Standards Agency says that long-term exposure to the
chemical can increase the risk of cancer. Coca-Cola said
that the recall would be completed within 24 hours, a spokeswoman
called the decision a precautionary measure. "We have not
been ordered to withdraw the product. It was our decision
because it did not meet regulations," she added. The contamination
occurred during the regular practice of adding calcium.
In a statement, Coke said the calcium "did not meet our
quality standards". US research on rats has shown that high
levels of bromate can cause cancer of the kidney, thyroid
and other organs. Bromate is also derived from bromide,
a chemical used to lower men's sex drive. But when bromide
is combined with oxygen it loses its lust-removing effect
and forms bromate.
High
heel: Scientists' formula for how high it can go (Go
To Top)
Washington:
In an interesting study, physicists at the Institute
of Physics, London have devised a formula to help high heel
fans to work out just how high they can go. Based on your
shoe size, the formula tells you the maximum height of heel
you can wear without toppling over or suffering agonies,
h = Q(12+3s /8) Here h is the maximum height of the heel
(in cm), Q is a sociological factor and has a value between
0 and 1 (see below to work this out) S is the shoe size
(UK ladies sizes).
This
factor makes sure that the base of support is just good
enough for an experienced and sober, high-heel wearer not
to fall over. "Although at first glance our formula looks
scary" said Dr. Paul Stevenson of the University of Surrey;
"It's actually pretty simple as it's based on the science
you learnt at school and which you never thought you would
use in real life. In this case Pythagoras' theorem 1 applying
this to shoes can tell us just how high the heel of the
foot can be lifted above the ground." Dr. Stevenson went
on to describe how 'Q', the essential sociological factor,
had been worked out. "Essentially this part of the formula
explains what women have always known that you don't buy
shoes just because they are comfortable, you can afford
them and they look good, many other variables come into
play."
'Q'
is defined as follows: Q = p(y+9)L / (t+1)(A+1)(y+10)(L+#20)
The variables are: p - the probability that wearing the
shoes will help you 'pull' (in a range from 0 to 1, where
1 is pwhooar and 0 is stick to carpet slippers). If the
shoes' are a turn-off, there's no point wearing them. y
- the number of years experience you have in wearing high
heels. As you become more adept, you can wear a higher heel.
Beginners should take it easy. L - the cost of the shoes,
in pounds. Clearly, if the shoe is particularly expensive,
you can put up with a higher heel. t - the time since the
shoe was the height of fashion, in months (0 = it's the
'in thing' right now!). One has to suffer for one's art,
and if the shoes are terribly fashionable, you should be
prepared to put up with a little pain. A - units of alcohol
consumed. If you're planning on drinking, be careful to
give yourself a little leeway for reduced coordination.
So using this formula, if Sex and The City's Carrie Bradshaw,
who is an experienced high-heel wearer wears her latest
drop-dead gorgeous designer originals when sober, she can
cope with a heel height of a staggering 12.5 centimeters
(just over 5 inches).
However,
if she over-indulges in cocktails, the 'safe' heel height
(and perhaps also Carrie) plummets. Using the same example,
as above, if she consumes 6 units of alcohol she would be
better advised to stick to shoes with only 2cm heels. Laura
Grant, a physicist from Liverpool University welcomes the
Institute's new formula commenting, "many of my physicist
colleagues have no trouble understanding quantum mechanics
but can't figure out how women can wear high heels. Now
I can explain to them how I minimize the probability of
tripping up".
'Lolita'
was created by a Nazi journalist (Go
To Top)
London:
An analysis published in Berlin says that Lolita, the
temptress whose seduction of an older man caused a sensation
when published by Vladimir Nabokov and a scandal when filmed
by Stanley Kubrick, was originally the creation of a leading
Nazi journalist. A novel published in 1916 by Heinz von
Eschwege, describes a girl called Lolita who obsesses and
then seduces the narrator. The narrator, who is lodging
in her house while on holiday, is distraught when the girl
dies at the end of the story that is astoundingly similar
to Nabokov's book, published in 1956, claims Michael Maar-
a literary scholar.
"The name is the same, the title, the fact that it is written
in the first person. There is a close description of first
seeing Lolita, looking into her eyes and seeing she was
more than a girl, more than a child. The narrators are lodgers
and both have passionate affairs and then Lolita dies,"
the Telegraph quoted Maar as saying. Moreover, Maar has
also drawn other parallels between the books, including
several details concerning the sub-plots running through
the stories. He came across the von Eschwege book by accident
while at a party, when a teacher suggested that the Lolita
name and story was not new. "We had quite an argument about
it and he gave me the novella he had. So I started researching
it, which was quite difficult because it was written under
a pseudonym. The author had been a lieutenant in the First
World War before joining the (Nazi) party in 1933," the
report added.
Eschwege,
who wrote under the name Heinz von Lichberg, was a well-known
journalist in the Third Reich. "When you read it today and
compare it with the (Nabokov) novel, you do get a light
feeling of surreality and dij` vu. The accordance of the
stories' cores, the perspective from which they are told
and the choice of name are amazing. Unfortunately there
is not a logical rule which would tell us when a certain
number of coincidences stop being chance," Maar said. Maar
explained that Eschwege and Nabokov lived in the same area
of Berlin for 15 years and that it was possible that the
Russian might have read the earlier work on Lolita. Maar,
however, said that in his eyes Nabokov's reputation remained
undiminished as ever. "What you can see is that the theme
itself is nothing. The first novel is not of great artistic
merit, but then the master takes the subject and creates
a work of art," the report quoted the scholar, as saying.
Prince
Harry to serenade a blonde stunner on safari holiday (Go
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London:
Prince Harry who is all set to go on a safari holiday
has asked a blonde stunner to accompany him, sparking speculation
that she is his first serious girlfriend. According to the
Sun, 19-year old Harry has invited 26-year old TV researcher
Natalie Pinkham to Botswana next month where he will relax
after a two-month African charity stint in Lesotho. She
said, "Harry and I get on extremely well. I have heard from
him, but I am not prepared to comment any further." Rugby
fan Harry met her when she was dating England star Matt
Dawson. However, they eventually split in 2002.
Diaz
saves Justin's house from fire (Go
To Top)
New
York: The "Charlie's Angels" star, Cameron Diaz, has
saved her beau Justin Timberlake's house from burning into
flames. The actress arrived at Timberlake's house for a
romantic meal recently and found his curtains on fire, Teen
Hollywood reported. "Timberlake lit dozens of candles to
create a relaxing mood for his other half, but left them
burning as he showered. Luckily Cameron saved the day when
she came in to find one of them singeing the corner of a
drape," a friend of the couple told the Daily Star.
