| The CD has not left the building
This year began with good news for the beleaguered record industry. In the crucial sales week between Christmas and new year, 3m songs were legally downloaded in Britain, twice as many as in the same last gasp of 2006. But among the figures released by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) was one the digital lobby would probably prefer to have buried. Of all albums sold in 2007, less than 5% were downloads. In the albums market, digital has made barely any inroads. The media may herald the death of CDs, but consumers seem wedded to the shiny silver discs. "The media’s obsession with downloads creates the impression that there is only a digital market for music," says Matt Philips, the BPI’s director of communications. "That is not the case. Singles, certainly, have been revolutionised by legal digital services, but with albums, most people still prefer a physical product.
Stomach ailment link to sweetener
People who eat large quantities of a type of sweetener could be putting themselves at risk of an upset stomach, experts said. Sorbitol, which is widely used in "sugar-free" products like chewing gum, sweets and some cereals, could cause severe weight loss, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, they warned. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), doctors from Berlin said patients eating the equivalent of 14 or more sticks of gum a day suffered severe symptoms. They said medics should ask patients about their intake of the sweetener if there was unexplained weight loss and other such problems. Sorbitol (also called E420) is a bulk sweetener that has about the same sweetness as sugar. It can be added to foods in similar quantities to sugar but contains around a third fewer calories.
If you're buying jeans for a gift, help's on the way
Shoppers should be prepared to answer questions about whether the recipient's jeans typically gape at the waist or cause a "muffintop" above the waistline; whether she has small, average or prominent hips and thighs; what features she'd like to accentuate; and whether she wears flat shoes or heels to determine pant-leg length.
Zafu.com has an eight-question survey to help shoppers find the "perfect jeans in three minutes." Site visitors shouldn't be shy about disclosing information about their "saddle bags" or "stick legs" and need to determine whether they'd like the jeans to make their rear-end look "booty-licious" or make wider legs look "long and lean."
At Levi Strauss & Co., the company has phased out its glass "body scan" booths, introduced in 2005, whose technology traced a customer's body and suggested sizes and styles.
BOOK REVIEW: Nureyev's was a life of drama and dance
Rudolf Nureyev's life was dramatic. He was born on a train in Mongolia. (His mother and sisters were joining his father, a soldier in the Red Army.) In his 20s, on tour with the Kirov Ballet, he defected in Paris. His partnership with Margot Fonteyn of London's Royal Ballet is legendary. Afterward, he danced all over the world as a guest star or choreographer. His promiscuity, a penchant for dancing after his prime, and his passing in 1993 from AIDS form the dark side of the drama. In "Nureyev: The Life," journalist and author Julie Kavanaugh puts us in the midst of the people who surrounded Nureyev, supporting or battling him (or both) throughout his career. Kavanaugh had access to his papers, spoke to the key players in this drama, and traveled to Ufa, the town in the western Urals where he grew up.
Big tour hopefuls ease into action
AFTER journeys lasting up to three days, cyclists from the Tour Down Under's top team were eager to stretch their legs when they arrived in Adelaide yesterday. Denmark's CSC, last year's top ProTour team, were without Australian lead man Stuart O'Grady on their ride from the city to Outer Harbor and back, via Glenelg. O'Grady, who has been riding in the national road cycling championships in Ballarat, took a day off to spend time with his family. He will arrive in Adelaide this morning. Spanish team Caisse D'Epargne also arrived yesterday and rode to Outer Harbor via West Beach and back, led by lead rider Luis Leon Sanchez. CSC's Kurt Asle Arvesen said he was relieved to be on his bike after a marathon journey from Norway to Adelaide.
Festival of Lights-Diwali-The Hindu festival celebrated. Diwali ...
There is a large Indian community in the UK which add to the country's cultural diversity. I wish the Duke of Edinburgh's Award all success in contributing towards better understanding among communities and cultures," Singh said in the message read out by India's acting High Commissioner to the UK, Asoke Mukerji.Among the sizeable number of distinguished invitees who attended the event were Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, Asian of the Year for 2007, Lord Khalid Hameed, NRI industrialist Sir Gulam Noon, Chief of Vitabiotics Kartar Lalvani, and leading NRI hotelier Joginder Sangar.G P Hinduja, President of the Hinduja Group, introduced the Guests to The Earl of Wessex.The 466-year-old St James's Palace, built by Henry VIII, remained one of the principal Royal residences for over 300 years. PTI Sinapore Diwali: One of the festivals that unite the people irrespective of their religion and nationality is Diwali in Singapore.
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