NY Fashion Week: Wearable, sellable looks for fall (AP)

NEW YORK ? Fashion designers, retailers, editors and stylists settled into their routines Thursday for eight days of previews at New York Fashion Week with barely a blink at all the photographers' flashes: a sign of business-as-usual stability.

The luxury market that most of the runway shows speak to has, over the past year, steadily recovered at the retail level despite the volatile economy. The clothes to hit the catwalk in the early going showed a continued confidence in the colorblocking, tailoring and easy, elongated shapes that have been trickling into stores and will arrive in force come spring.

The brands BCBG Max Azria and Richard Chai Love kept colors basic and used hardly any embellishment, turning out straightforward, wearable clothes. Surely there are more flamboyant moments to come, but fashion is, after all, the marriage of art and commerce. Of course, there's the celebrity element, too, and Tadashi Shoji took care of red carpet looks with his Shanghai-visits-Hollywood gowns.

Cynthia Rowley melded high-tech touches, including a wall of screens simulcasting each look making its way down the runway, with clothes inspired by old-school craftsmen such as cobblers and welders.

Dozens of shows are planned at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents that serve as the hub, with another 12, including Skaist-Taylor and Tory Burch, presenting their shows elsewhere on the Lincoln Center campus.

"We look at every space. The question for me is, `How do you break open the red velvet ropes?'" said Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, director of fashion at Lincoln Center.

Burch's show, for example, while an invitation-only event, is held in an all-windowed spot so Winston Wolkoff expects passers-by to get a peek.

However, big names such as Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, who all show later in the week, will draw the crowd to off-site places and likely enforce the strict guest list.

Here's a look at some of the shows from the first day.

BCBG MAX AZRIA

The collection designed by Max Azria and his wife Luboy continued the colorblocking trend that's already making its way to red carpets and magazine covers for the spring season, but there was also a muting of colors. Neon pink became a muted coral here, and purple a mellow merlot.

Embellishment was sparse. The emphasis was on geometric shapes, intricate pleats and unexpected mixes of fabrics, including several pieces with patchwork-style pieces of recycled-but-real fur.

In the notes prepared for the retailers, editors and stylists who descended upon Lincoln Center's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents for the first of eight days of previews, the Azrias said they were using the palette and textures "to add character."

It seems a continuation of the effort the designers have made in the last few seasons to elevate the brand to a more sophisticated, restrained ? and more expensive? ? level.

Colorblocked garments have geometric chunks of bright colors and have been fashion staples since Yves Saint Laurent's 1965 collection inspired by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian.

RICHARD CHAI

Richard Chai turned menswear into powerful looks for women with top coats, tweed jackets and pinstripe pants for female customers of his Love brand, and he retooled trousers in his men's clothes to be slimmer and shorter than most guys are used to. Some of the best pieces were stadium and duffel coats, appealing to all sorts of customers.

The women looked put together in their mostly gray-and-black blazers and button-down shirts. There were flashes of femininity as Chai also offered some sheer layers and some pieces in pretty red floral print, a contrast to all the tailoring.

TADASHI SHOJI

Tadashi Shoji sent a parade of gowns down the catwalk. Nothing overly complicated or particularly edgy, but glamorous with a hint of sexy. A flame-red washed velvet gown had a dramatic cowl back filled with black beading, and ballgown with a gold-and-black beaded lace bodice had the full Cinderella treatment for its skirt. The green blouson-top gown with mermaid hemline that opened the show was tailor-made for a bombshell.

For more of a delicate look, there was a green lace tiered dress with a handkerchief hem, while the trick of putting sheer black lace over gold fitted linings had a more sultry effect.

CYNTHIA ROWLEY

Cynthia Rowley says her fall collection was inspired by "mechanics, cobblers and leathermen. Welding, oil slicks. Women artists making big, strong work." Showing her own craftsman skills, Rowley somehow turned that into a lovely blouson dress in a blue-flame print, a soft buttery leather shift, and a tweed denim shirtdress. She paired skinny pants covered in a tortoise-shell print with a leather jacket and a jersey jumper with mixed print sleeves.

There were a few gimmicks, including jewel-encrusted coveralls, which was more jumpsuit than uniform, but still perhaps a little too literal. The jeweled collars, however, which created a turtleneck effect, seem like something that could really catch on.

___

Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fashion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120210/ap_on_en_ot/us_fea_ny_fashion_week_day1

montgomery county public schools dr dog the river safe house pinterest syracuse basketball new york knicks

'Shish kebab' structure provides improved form of 'buckypaper'

ScienceDaily (Feb. 8, 2012) ? Scientists are reporting development of a new form of buckypaper, which eliminates a major drawback of these sheets of carbon nanotubes -- 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, 10 times lighter than steel, but up to 250 times stronger -- with potential uses ranging from body armor to next-generation batteries.

Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano.

In the study, Christopher Y. Li, Ph.D., and colleagues explain that there are several ways of making buckypaper, named for Buckminsterfullerene, or carbon 60, which was the basis for the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and helped spawn the emerging field of nanotechnology. In addition to being extremely strong, buckypaper conducts heat and electricity better than most known materials. Made from the same element as diamonds, the space-age material is formed by depositing a very thin layer of entangled carbon nanotubes to create a fiber mat akin to office paper.

Li and colleagues note that no existing post-processing method allows researchers to increase the size of the tiny holes, or pores, between the carbon nanotubes after they form the buckypaper. Li's group looked for a way to do that and to introduce other substances to buckypapers that could make them more useful in electronics or as sensors.

To control pore size, the team grew single crystals of polymers around the nanotubes. The group describes it as a "shish kebab" structure, where the nanotubes are the skewers and the flat crystals serve as kebabs. After the researchers formed the buckypaper, these crystals held the nanotubes apart. Li demonstrated that the crystals allow researchers to control the pores' sizes and change the buckypapers' conductivities, surface roughness and abilities to shed water.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Chemical Society.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. Eric D. Laird, Wenda Wang, Shan Cheng, Bing Li, Volker Presser, Boris Dyatkin, Yury Gogotsi, Christopher Y. Li. Polymer Single Crystal-Decorated Superhydrophobic Buckypaper with Controlled Wetting and Conductivity. ACS Nano, 2012; : 120120151856007 DOI: 10.1021/nn203861s

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120208132713.htm

taco bell breakfast menu pat sajak gop debate republican debate epstein joshua komisarjevsky barney frank

Diet Health and Fitness ? For Lower Back Pain | Anatomy of ...

Article by Brue Baker

Lower back pain is so common and easily induced that 80% of adults have experienced the condition. However, lower back pain can be avoided or eliminated by following the proper diet health and fitness regimen.

If and when you experience pain or soreness in you back for more than one day you should visit your local chiropractor or doctor for x-rays. This is critical as most back pain will not go away on its own and will most likely worsen if ignored.

Most lower back pain is caused by injury, overuse of the back and/or muscle strain. After the initial and chronic pain has healed the best thing you can do for back pain treatment is to begin a fitness program of exercises designed to strengthen the muscles of your lower back.

A simple search in you tube will provide free videos to learn some of the many different types of lower back pain exercises. However, for optimal health and fitness you should try to perform a variety of exercises that will strengthen your entire body, as well as your lower back area.

Back Health And Fitness ? Diet And Weight Maintenance

The first thing I would recommend to dull your pain is that you avoid eating any refined sugar (white sugar), as sugar greatly amplifies any pain within your body. Try to eat as healthy a diet, mostly organic fruits and vegetables, as you can. Don?t overlook your diet health when you have pain or an injury. Your diet plays a very important role in the internal healing of injuries.

Staying slim is essential to avoiding and reducing back pain as well as being healthy in general. Any excess weight is extra strain on your back and aerobic exercise is your key to maintaining a healthy weight. Aerobic exercises like biking and walking are low-impact and can be easy on the lower back.

Back Health And Fitness ? Strengthening

Strength building is important for keeping your back conditioned. When working out you want to strengthen the areas that support your back like your:* Abdominals* Hips * Legs

Unless you are already experienced in the area of fitness and strength training it would be a good idea to do so under the supervision of some type of trainer, doctor or physical therapist.

Back Health And Fitness ? Stretching

Most people, especially males, will overlook stretching as an important part of their health and fitness regimen. Stretching is just as important as the exercises you do so make sure that you spend the proper time stretching every day.

Your flexibility can only change gradually so it is important to stretch every day in order to consistently gain flexibility. Increased flexibility will drastically reduce your chance of injury and will enhance your muscle strength and power.

But, like strength training, stretching should also be done with some type of expert supervision or guidance so you don?t overdo it and hurt yourself. Hopefully some of these recommendations can reduce your pain and help you avoid any future occurences.

Brue M. Baker is an expert on natural health and fitness who has helped people from across the world sky-rocket their health and well-being. Rather than hitting your head against a wall trying to find unbiased health information let Brue take you by the hand and give you the bestnatural health resources on the web. Visit DietHealthAndFitness.com to learn more.

Related Fitness And Strength Training Articles

Source: http://anatomyofstrengthtraining.inetwyoming.com/diet-health-and-fitness-for-lower-back-pain

49 ers saints vs 49ers frank gore frank gore drew brees drew brees nfl games

Republicans, attorney general fight over gun sting (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Republicans in the House of Representatives said on Thursday senior Justice Department officials should have known about the controversial tactics that led to a bungled operation to track guns to Mexico because some details were practically at their fingertips.

President Barack Obama's administration has been under fire for almost a year over the operation dubbed "Fast and Furious," which was meant to determine how guns were being smuggled from Arizona to violent drug cartels.

But U.S. government agents lost track of many weapons. While as many as 2,000 weapons were sold by gun dealers to people believed to be straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels, fewer than 600 had been recovered as of January 2011.

The operation, which ran from late 2009 until early 2011, came to light after two weapons from it were found in Arizona in December 2010 near the scene of a shootout with illegal immigrants that left U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry dead.

The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Republican Representative Darrell Issa, issued a memorandum detailing how other federal authorities were already tracking the drug cartel gun smugglers a year before Terry was killed.

He and other Republicans on the panel said at a hearing that senior Justice Department officials should have known guns were being trafficked without adequate surveillance from wiretap applications and details they had about a similar sting during the Bush administration known as "Wide Receiver."

"All of those people should be ashamed that Brian Terry is dead because they didn't do as good of a job as they should," Issa said during the hearing.

Several Republicans on the committee also expressed disbelief that senior Justice Department officials were unaware of the operation. "To say that we didn't really know about it to me is absolutely preposterous and that's something that I can't accept," said Representative Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder repeated to the panel that allowing guns to go across the border unmonitored was wrong, but he and other senior officials at the Justice Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were in the dark until the operation had ended.

"It's unacceptable, it's stupid, it's dangerous and not something that this Department of Justice can ever do," Holder told the panel, referring to the tactics used in the operation.

RANCOROUS EXCHANGE

The hearing got testy when Republicans questioned Holder's honesty and integrity. New York Republican Ann Marie Buerkle asked "how many more border patrol agents would have had to die as a part of operation Fast and Furious for you to take responsibility?"

Holder became especially angry when Republican Raul Labrador of Idaho brought up unrelated partial remarks he had made more than a decade ago about his involvement in the pardon of financier Marc Rich during the Clinton administration.

"Have I been perfect? No. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Do I treat the members of this committee with respect? I always hope that I do. And what you have just done is, if nothing else, disrespectful," Holder said.

Some Republicans have called for Holder's resignation but he received support from President Barack Obama after the hearing. "He absolutely stands by the Attorney General, thinks he is doing an excellent job," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The attorney general told lawmakers he expected to hold people accountable in a court of law for Terry's murder within six months and possibly by the end of March. He also said whoever authorized the tactics would likely be fired.

Republicans expressed frustration that it was taking so long for disciplinary action.

"You told people that you were mad, you were upset. That to me is silly. You've not taken action, you've not fired anybody," said Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

Holder said further action against those responsible would have to wait for the Justice Department's inspector general to finish her investigation and report, he said.

"To the extent that we find out who precisely was involved in this or who gave that order, I can assure you that unless there is some truly compelling circumstance, that person, those people, will be removed from federal service," Holder said.

Earlier this week, the family of the slain Border Patrol agent filed a $25 million wrongful-death claim against the U.S. government, saying he was killed because federal investigators allowed guns to fall into the hands of violent criminals.

(Additional reporting by James Vicini and Laura MacInnis in Washington and Tim Gaynor in Phoenix; editing by Mohammad Zargham and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120202/pl_nm/us_usa_mexico_guns

punksatony phil groundhog day ground hog donald trump planned parenthood pee wee herman trump

The Social Mind: Brain Region Bigger in Popular People (LiveScience.com)

An area of the brain associated with understanding the minds of others is larger in people who have bigger social networks, a new study finds.

The study is one of several that have linked specific brain regions to an active social life. In research published last year, scientists found that some brain regions that process social signals, facial expressions and names and faces are larger in people with more Facebook friends. Research has also shown that monkeys that live in larger groups grow bigger brains.

The "social brain hypothesis" holds that the reason primates, including humans, have relatively large brains is that they need the processing space to cope with their complex social networks.

But humans range from loner to life of the party, and University of Oxford anthropologist Robin Dunbar and his colleagues wanted to know if there is a brain basis for these differences. To find out, they took anatomical scans of the brains of 40 volunteers using magnetic resonance imaging. The participants also completed some tests to determine how good they were at "mentalizing," or understanding another person's mental state. This process is similar to empathy but goes beyond understanding emotions to understanding another person's goals, needs and reasoning. [Image Gallery: Inside the Brain]

Finally, each person in the study reported how many people they'd had social contact with during the last seven days. This measurement excluded professional interactions and focused on truly social ones, Dunbar told LiveScience. Earlier research has shown that this weekly estimate gives a good sense of the size of a person's social network in general.

"We included any form of contact, providing it was a genuine interaction and not just a kind of 'Twitter,' as it were, to the wider world," Dunbar said. "We were trying to look at the people you get together with on a serious basis."

The social brain

Looking at these factors ? size of social network, brain anatomy and ability to mentalize ? uncovered a trio of links between all three. People with larger social networks seem to have larger orbital prefrontal cortexes, the researchers found. This area of the brain sits right behind the eyes and is responsible for directing appropriate social behavior and interactions with others.

"The orbital part [of the prefrontal cortex] is especially associated with things like emotion and reward," Dunbar said.

Importantly, the relationship between the size of the orbital prefrontal cortex and the size of a social network was explained by a person's ability to envision other people's thoughts and emotions.

"The size of the orbitofrontal cortex in particular determines how good you are at these mentalizing skills, and these mentalizing skills, in turn, determine the number of friends you have," Dunbar said.

Cause or effect?

It's not entirely clear from the research whether big orbital prefrontal cortexes are innate, or whether they enlarge in response to gaining more friends.

Certainly, Dunbar said, a functional orbital prefrontal cortex is key for understanding social situations ? people with damage to these regions are notoriously bad at interacting with others. But the ultimate size of any brain region depends in part on how that area is used during childhood.

For example, Dunbar said, kids with lots of older siblings develop their mentalizing capacities earlier than kids without many brothers and sisters.

"My analogy is that you don't get to be [Rafael] Nadal or any great tennis player just by having the body to do it," Dunbar said. "You have to spend eight hours a day, seven days a week on the court practicing. On the other hand, if you haven't got the body to begin with, no amount of practice is going to turn you into Rafael Nadal."

Likewise, if someone lacks the basic brain space to judge other's mental states, they'll likely struggle to maintain social ties, Dunbar said. But if the hardware is in place, using it may beef it up, especially during youth, when the brain is especially open to growth and change.

The researchers next plan to study the difference between friends and family in the brain. Friendships have to be nurtured, Dunbar said, but extended family relationships seem to come easier.

"We're quite interested in whether that's because family kicks in a kind of quick 'automated circuitry' that's quite cheap to run," Dunbar said, adding, "It may only be the friends who are expensive, and family comes for free."

The researchers published their findings today (Jan. 31) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

You can follow LiveScience?senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience?and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120131/sc_livescience/thesocialmindbrainregionbiggerinpopularpeople

nick diaz michael myers power outage snow storm snow storm reggie bush ufc 137

Julianne Moore Takes On Sarah Palin in 'Game Change'

It takes a lot of courage for an actor to accept the tough task of portraying a living person. Even gutsier was Julianne Moore's decision to take on the role of Sarah Palin in the upcoming HBO film, Game Change (premieres Saturday, March 10, at 9 p.m. ET). Why? Because Palin remains a highly prominent presence in American politics. After the credits roll, HBO viewers could very easily switch over to their network news and catch the real Sarah weighing in on various issues of the day. Moore had to nail it -- and it seems that she did! Watch the trailer below:

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/julianne-moore-plays-sarah-palin-new-hbo-game-change-trailer/1-a-424020?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajulianne-moore-plays-sarah-palin-new-hbo-game-change-trailer-424020

jimmy fallon jimmy fallon michael pineda coachella 2012 constitution day constitution day dolly parton

Barter system part of appeal for Brussels art show (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? In the history of currency, earplugs have, unsurprisingly, never been widely used or accepted. So when a man offered Belgian artist Delphine Bo?l 10,000 earplugs for her print "The Source of Identity" at the Truc Troc contemporary art exhibit in 2006, her reaction was, "God, he's crazy."

Then she thought about it overnight - and became inspired.

"I phoned the guy the next day and I said, 'You've got the print, give me 10,000 earplugs and I'm going to make a work of art with it.'"

Unusual offers are the norm and part of the fun of Truc Troc, which is in its eighth year since restarting in 2004 after initial shows in 1975 and 1976.

The event's concept came from Belgian sculptor Mon de Rijck, who wanted to "democratize" art exhibitions through bartering.

Visitors to Truc Troc post an offer near a piece of art and the artist can choose which offer, if any, they want to accept.

Event organizers said on Sunday afternoon they were on pace for about 20,000 visitors, the same as last year, for the three-day event at Bozar, a Brussels fine arts centre.

The exhibition, which included a party with DJs on Friday night, was meant to attract young people and remove barriers to the traditionally expensive art world.

"Maybe some people come just to listen to the DJ or to drink some beer," said Mikhail Porollo, a photographer participating in the show. "But then at the end of the day, they walk through the exhibition, they know what's happening ... and then they interact with the art."

Most of the artists taking part are also young, just starting their careers and looking for exposure. The exhibition spanned a wide variety of media such as traditional acrylic paintings or photography to more avant-garde materials such as cardboard or metal street signs.

About 100 artists contributed 300 pieces for the exhibition.

PRIVATE THOUGHT

Before Christmas, Delphine Bo?l, 43, completed a couple of prints with the each letter in the word "hypocrite" in a variety of bright colors.

In her living room, there is one version with a white background, "Endless Hypocrites," that says there is not just one hypocrite, but many. Bo?l showed "Private Thought" at this year's Truc Troc, with a black background and a slight twist.

In the centre of "Private Thought," Bo?l put a crooked gold crown on one of the Os - a nod to King Albert II of Belgium.

Bo?l has said she is the illegitimate daughter of Albert and her claim has been widely reported in the media. The palace has declined to comment.

Many of Bo?l's pieces are layered over this background.

"From my experience, I am going to build, and from that I am going to exhibit it and from that I am going to sell it," she said of translating her feelings into art.

"Private Thought" received more than 100 offers at Truc Troc, putting it among the more popular pieces at the event.

Porollo, 33, chronicled multiculturalism in his photography project, "Goddesses," from May 2010 to May 2011. He took portraits of 12 women in Brussels, all of whom were from different countries. He chose four photos for his first appearance at Truc Troc.

Porollo covered each woman in traditional clothing associated with their homeland, so only their faces are visible. He said the choice had little to do with religion and is meant to create a blank background and highlight their faces.

He edited each picture, of women from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America to make their faces perfectly symmetrical - a scientific ideal of beauty.

The photographer and painter, who comes from the northern Caucasus in Russia came away from Truc Troc pleased: the 250 pamphlets he had printed were gone by Sunday afternoon.

Belgian artist Jerome Considerant deconstructed three famous paintings as metal street signs, with two of his inspirations coming from the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels.

The "Tower of Babel" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is imagined as an orange and black construction sign with the partly finished tower rising above busy workers. Considerant also simplified Jacques-Louis David's "Death of Marat" down to a few basic shapes, yet both works remain recognizable.

He also re-examines Theodore Gericault's "The Raft of the Medusa," which depicts the aftermath of a shipwreck whose survivors on a raft endured cannibalism and madness.

(Reporting By Eric Holmberg)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/arts/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120131/stage_nm/us_art_belgium_tructroc

martial law mike wallace mike wallace is jon bon jovi dead jon bon jovi jon bon jovi kim jong il died