“I’ll try anything twice!” is the old joke line.

That’s about how many times people try outsourcing before giving up in frustration and disgust.

But are they really outsourcing – or are they out-tasking by mistake? You need a different kind of programmer and software development process for each. And you can get into trouble doing one when you really need the other.

This Isn’t Really Outsourcing

A few months ago the CEO of a small company called me. He was looking for a local software guru to develop the prototype of his new software product. He couldn’t find one. Instead he hired an offshore vendor referred to him by a friend.

Sound familiar? That is the way most people find an offshore vendor. The problem is this method only gives you a choice of one. Or two, if you have two friends with offshore outsourcing experience. That’s still not much of a choice for such an important relationship.

But this CEO lucked out, even though he was referred to a “body-shop” type of vendor. The vendor assigned a couple of programmers to his project, and the CEO worked with the programmers directly.

It took a great deal of time and late-night effort for the CEO to keep them on track. Overall performance and quality were not very good. The CEO wished he had found that technical guru he tried to find originally!

The CEO kept looking for help. Finally he found an offshore freelancer to complete the programming and polish up the prototype.

Voila! After several months he had a prototype software product at an extremely low cost.

But is this a good long-term strategy?

Each resource he used – the vendor’s programmers and then the individual freelancer – had to be told what to do in great detail. Each had to be managed closely.

What about the second version of the software? Who will the CEO hire to create it? It will take him a significant amount of time and effort to find another couple of programmers, have them come up to speed and manage their efforts.

And how about the third release? Will he start all over again? Yikes! There has to be a better way.

The problem: This CEO is out-tasking rather than outsourcing. If you use out-tasking when you really need outsourcing then you lose out on several things.

Why Out-tasking Isn’t Sustainable

Yes, out-tasking can get you a prototype at a low-cost. But the knowledge and understanding of how your software works is left in the heads of the programmers who worked on it. After your project is finished, then off they go to work on the projects of other clients. They’re unavailable for future updates to your software.

You only want to use out-tasking when you have a small project and need quick, short-term help. You provide a description of what you want, the programmer does the work and you’re done. Everybody is happy.

Out-tasking doesn’t scale. It’s very difficult to manage a group of freelancers scattered around the globe. Out-tasking doesn’t work well in a larger project where you need multiple engineers programming over an extended period of time. And you can waste lots of time looking for the absolute lowest bidder each time a new project or software release comes along.

Instead you should develop a relationship with a reliable offshore vendor that will manage the programming over the months needed for a bigger project.

This is truly outsourcing.

Instead of trying to find the absolute cheapest programmers, look for a vendor that can deliver programmers along with the management infrastructure and software development process that you need to deliver your software on-time, on-scope and on-budget.

This way the offshore programmers become part of your team and an asset to your company. When you need programming work in the future, you have someone you can quickly turn to and depend on.

Out-tasking is fine for one or two short term programming projects. But if developing software is an important on-going part of your business then outsourcing with an offshore vendor you can rely on is a much more efficient and productive strategy.

Use out-tasking to build small software applications. Use outsourcing to build your company.

About the Author:

Steve Mezak, author of the book, Software without Borders, is an international outsourcing expert. He helps companies use offshore talent to build software applications and products. Get free information to reduce the risk of your software outsourcing at Accelerance. Contact Steve Mezak at stevemezak (at) accelerance.com or visit http://www.accelerance.com.

Emily Scott was born in 1984 in Australia and she is a famous swimwear model.

Biography and Career:

Emily Scott was born in Australia but she decided to move to London. She had a degree in design and when she participated in visuals for Robbie Williams’ 2006 World Tour she was remarked.

She is the official face of Lipton Ice tea and become the face of Babelife, Australia’s sexiest swimwear and lingerie brand. She is a very beautiful women and that’s why she is desired by a lot of men.

In 2006 she took part in the ITV reality series Love Island. During this time Paul Danan, a fellow Love Island participant fell in love with her.

Emily Scott also participated in the Reality show Love Shack.

The model is dating David Walliams of Little Britain.

Trivia:

- Height: 175 cm
- Measurements: 87/61/88
- Hair Color: Blond
- Eye Color: Blue
- Shoe Size: 37-38
- Agencies: ‘Paolo Tomei’, Milan
- She likes sports very much and she was an Olympic gymnast before taking a degree in design
- She is the official face of Lipton Ice Tea.
- Advertisments: New Penny
- She collaborated witg Australia’s sexiest swimwear and lingerie brand
- She had a starring role in the visuals for Robbie Williams’ 2006 World Tour.

Quotes:

- “Having two girls and one guy is great. I can’t wait to get into camp. I’m not afraid to have sex on the show. The swing sounds nice.”

- “I’m a real outdoor girl - that’s where sex is best with the breeze blowing through your hair.”

famouswhy.com

quote
 
“I get paid to make out with the hunks!” -Kelly Ripa, on one of the perks of being a soap star.

biography
 
Kelly Ripa was born October 2, 1970 in Stratford, New Jersey. Her father Joe, a labor union president, and her mother Esther, a homemaker, eventually moved to Berlin, New Jersey, where Kelly grew up with younger sister Linda, now a children’s book author.

Kelly’s foray into show business was somewhat of a fluke. After performing in her senior high-school play, The Ugly Duckling, she was encouraged to pursue acting. She had studied ballet since age three and played the piano but had not considered entertaining as a career.

a soapy start

Kelly enrolled in Camden Community College in New Jersey and landed parts in local theater productions, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Wizard of Oz and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

In 1990, Kelly auditioned for and won the role of Hayley Vaughan on the successful ABC television network daytime drama, All My Children. Her turn as Hayley proved to be immensely popular with the devout and loyal audience of the show. This was never truer than in May of 2000, when her character finally married beau Mateo Santos, in a memorable ceremony that drew spectacular ratings for ABC.

The ironic twist for Kelly is that her real-life husband, Mark Consuelos, with whom she tied the knot in 1996 and has two young children, plays none other than the handsome Santos on AMC.

In the span of a decade, Kelly Ripa has become one of the most popular actors on daytime television and has graced the covers of numerous fan magazines. She received the 1996 Soap Opera Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress and along with her husband, the 1997 Soap Opera Award for Hottest Romance. Kelly has also been honored with two Daytime Emmy Award nominations in 1993 and 1999.

a stand-in in every way

Along with four other daytime divas, Ripa was featured in a national Jockey marketing campaign for bras in 1999. The highlight of the campaign was the unveiling of a 90-foot billboard featuring the ladies in the middle of Times Square in Manhattan.

A special achievement for Kelly was being named Best Actress in 1999 by the New York City Independent Film Festival, for her work in the feature film, The Stand-In.

kelly and regis live! on

In February 2001, the irresistible Miss Ripa invaded every household in North America when she replaced Kathie Lee Gifford and joined Regis Philbin as the co-host of the popular syndicated program, Live! With Regis and Kelly.

As she pulls double duty with Live! and AMC, juggling marriage and motherhood at the same time, Kelly’s fan base continues to expand unabated.

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The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of what you can do with SSL in Mac OS X Server and how you can use that to secure as many services as possible. So, first we’ll talk some about SSL in general and how to create the certificates, then we’ll discuss what to do with those certificates.

SSL certificate creationBefore we start I’d like to point out that we are going to be creating home-rolled SSL certificates here. As such you will run into problems when connecting to your Server using applications like a Web browser. Most applications will allow you to ignore the fact that your certificate hasn’t been validated by one of the internationally recognized certificate authorities, but it’s still a pain.

I’ll show you how to get around that by importing in your own certificate authority onto your client machines. This presumes that you have control over all of your clients, so for internal use where you control both the server and the client setups being your own certificate authority is great. If you plan on doing business with the general public, such as using it for credit card processing on a Web page, I would strongly recommend that you invest the money in a “real” certificate.

If you do buy one at least take a look at www.qualityssl.com. They have really good prices and are Mac-based, so you can keep it in the family.

Also all of the openSSL work, such as generating and signing certificates, can be done on Mac OS X client.

1. Make a certificate authority (CA). This should be done in a secure place, since if your CA gets compromised then all of your security goes out the window. A decent place for this would be on your most secure server or on your own machine.

It doesn’t matter where on the filesystem you do this; however, I personally prefer to create a CA directory in /etc:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/certs cd /etc/certs

Right now this folder has fairly relaxed permissions on it. As soon as were done we’ll change that to greatly limit access to the folder. Now that we have our place we need to begin generatng the CA. We do this by making a certificate signing request (CSR). This example will generate a 3DES encrypted 2048 bit key. This is a rather high security key which means it takes longer to process. So if you feel the need you can scale it down to 1024 bits if you like. Although I haven’t had any problems using this with Mac OS X 10.2 and Windows 2000.

openssl genrsa -des3 -out ca.key 2048You will be asked for a passphrase for this key. You need to both remember this phrase and keep it secure. Your entire SSL system will depend on this passphrase being secure.

Now that you have the request you can sign it into a CA.

openssl req -new -x509 -days 4096 -key ca.key -out ca.crtYou’ll be asked for the passphrase that you just set up. After that your certificate authority will be valid for 4096 days.

You now have a full blown certificate authority for your machine. From this we will base all of your other certificates from it.

2. Generate a certificate for your server. You will need one for each domain that you have; i.e., mail.afp548.com and www.afp548.com will each need one if you want to secure both sites.

So first we will generate a new private key.

openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 1024You will be prompted for a password here also. This should be different from the password for the CA. Just remember it because you will need to enter it into Server Admin to get SSL running.

Now you need to generate a request with the private key.

openssl req -new -key server.key -out server.csrAgain you will be asked for a password. This is the one you entered in the step above. Then you will get a bunch of questions. They all really don’t matter except for common name. This needs to be the fully qualified name of your Web server, like www.afp548.com. If this is wrong you will get errors in the browser. Also: leave the challenge password blank.

Now we need to set up a few folders so that we can actually sign the certificate.

mkdir -p demoCA/private cp ca.key demoCA/private/cakey.pem cp ca.crt demoCA/cacert.pem mkdir demoCA/newcerts touch demoCA/index.txt echo “01” > demoCA/serial

You can now actually sign the server certificate with your newly minted CA.

openssl ca -policy policy_anything -in server.csr -out server.crtThe password you are prompted for is the password you assigned to the CA, the first one, not to the certificate itself. If you need to create more certificates you will only need to do the last three steps for each.

Finally to keep things secret and to keep things safe, change the permissions on this folder.

sudo chmod 700 /etc/certsNow you can take all of your pieces and make the sites secure.

3. Securing your web site. Go into Server Admin and make sure that the SSL module is enabled in the modules pane under settings.

Then go to the site that you want to secure. Change the port to 443, click on the security button, and enable SSL by checking the box at the top. Then you need to open up some of the files that you have created in TextEdit, or any text editor, and copy and paste them into the three appropriate spots. Copy server.crt into “Certificate File.” Copy server.key into “Key File,” and copy ca.crt into “CA File.”

Finally, you’ll want to enter the passphrase for the server certificate into the “Pass Phrase” field or else you’ll have to be at the server everytime it starts up.

A few parting thoughts about securing Web connections. You will need a separate IP address for every SSL site that you have. There’s a complicated reason for this, but it involves how SSL connections begin and I don’t know of any way around this. In 10.2 you had to edit the httpd_macosxserver.conf file to get higher level encryption. This requirement seems to be gone in 10.3 as it defaults to using all ciphers.

When you are done your certificates will be stored in /etc/httpd/ssl.crt and /etc/httpd/ssl.key. Your site’s specific config is stashed in /etc/httpd/sites/your site’s name. So look in there for any specific info. Also the passphrase that you used is stashed in /etc/httpd/servermgr_web_httpd_config.plist, which is root-readable only.

If you aren’t going to be using your ssl certs for anything else but securing web sites, you can probably remove anything that doesn’t start with “ca” from /etc/certs just so you don’t have multiple copies of the same thing lying around. Keep the CA pieces, though, in case you need to make a new cert.

4. Securing LDAP We run into a bit of a problem here. OpenLDAP doesn’t like a server key that has a passpharse associated with it. Postfix and Cyrus are going to be the same way. So remove the passphrase.

openssl rsa -in server.key -out serverno.keyNow go back into Server Admin. Select the Open Directory settings and go to the “Protocols” tab. Check the “Use SSL” box and then put the path to your certificates in the three fields.

Certificate: /etc/certs/server.crt SSL Key: /etc/certs/serverno.key CA Certificate: /etc/certs/ca.crt

OpenSSL runs as root, so it will be able to get into /etc/certs without any issues. As soon as you save this config Server Admin will restart OpenLDAP with SSL support.

The SSL configuration for OpenLDAP is stored in /etc/openldap/slapd_macosxserver.conf.

5. Securing SMTP Postfix can be setup to use the same certificate as the one you established for openLDAP. However, it wants to have both the key and the certificate in the same file. This is easily done.

sudo cat /etc/certs/serverno.key /etc/certs/server.crt > /etc/certs/server.pemNow link that file to what Postfix is looking for.

ln -s /etc/certs/server.pem /etc/postfix/Now reload Postfix through the GUI or by doing this from the command line.

sudo postfix reloadAnd start using encrypted SMTP services.

The SSL configuration for Postfix is kept in /etc/postfix/main.cf.

6. Securing POP/IMAP Cyrus can use the same certificate as Postfix, but it needs to be accessible by the cyrus user. That requires relaxing the permission a bit on the certificate store.

sudo chown :mail /etc/certs sudo chmod 750 /etc/certs sudo chmod -R 700 /etc/certs/demoCA

Now you can link the server.pem file into where Cyrus POP and IMAP want to find it.

ln -s /etc/certs/server.pem /var/imap/server.pemNow go into Server Admin and set up POP/IMAP to use SSL in the Advanced button of the Mail Server settings.

Set your mail client accordingly and securely read your mail.

The SSL configuration for Cyrus is stored in /etc/imap.conf.

7. Enable your clients Since your CA is self-signed all of your Mac OS X applications and services will yell at you for using it. You can get around this by adding the cert to the client’s x509 Anchors keychain. Essentially this is the root CA file for your machine.

Do this by copying over to the client machine the ca.crt file that you created in the first step. Then install it by doing

sudo certtool i ca.crt v k=/System/Library/Keychains/x509AnchorsYour client will now trust certificates that you have signed into being with this CA. If you do this right, you’ll use the same CA for all of your servers and their services. That way you’ll only have to import one file into the clients x509Anchors.

8. E-mail certs This bit is for bonus points, but all the cool kids are doing it and so should you. Mail.app in 10.3 allows the use of s/mime certificates. These are PKI certificates that act similar to SSL certificates and can sign and or encrypt e-mail.

The easiest way for a personal user to get a certificate is to head over to www.thawte.com and sign up for their free community mail certificate. Really good instructions for this can be found here:

http://joar.com/certificates/

However, if for some reason you feel like making your own, read on. Note that this is mostly an exercise in what you can do with OpenSSL. Since the Thawte certificates are free and easily available you’re probably better off using them. However, if you want to outfit your entire organization with home rolled certificates, well here you go. Just be careful to only use this between users that have imported your root CA that you created.

To do this you need to first generate a certificate for your e-mail user. This is pretty much the same thing as generating one for a server.

openssl genrsa -des3 -out mail.key 1024Give it a pass phrase to lock it up.

openssl req -new -key mail.key -out mail.csrHere, you’ll want to use your real name for the Common Name. Joel Rennich is what I would use. Then make sure that you fill out the e-mail field with what you have set up in Mail.app as your e-mail address. Capitalization is important here. I would use “mactroll@afp548.com”.

Now sign this cert with your CA.

openssl ca -policy policy_anything -in mail.csr -out mail.crtYou’ll enter in your CA password and then commit the signature.

Finally you can convert the signed certificate into the format that is used for s/mime. When you do this it will first ask you for your mail certificate password that you set up a few commands before. Then it will ask you for an export password. This can be the same of different, it doesn’t matter, but you will need to use the export password when importing this certificate into your Keychain so you can use it with mail.

openssl pkcs12 -export -inkey mail.key -certfile mail.crt -in mail.crt -out mactroll.p12This is your “official” e-mail certificate. Copy this over to your client machine and double-click. Keychain Access should launch and ask you for your export password. The certificate will then be imported into your keychain and immediately usable by Mail.app for the account that you specified in the e-mail field when you generated it.

9. Other odds and ends When you sign your certificates with your CA openssl uses a default config file which can be found at /System/Library/OpenSSL/openssl.cnf. If you want to change any of the defaults go here. For example, certificates that you sign will only be valid for 1 year, unless you edit this file to change that.

by Joel Rennich, mactroll@afp548.com

quote
 
“I think any girl who comes to Hollywood with sex symbol or bombshell hanging over her has a rough road.” -Kim Basinger

biography

Kimila Ann Basinger was born on December 8, 1953, in Athens, Georgia, to Don, a jazz musician and loan-company manager, and Ann, a former model, champion swimmer, and water ballet performer (her mother performed in some Esther Williams movies). Kim was extremely shy as a child, so much so that her parents suspected that she was autistic and had her tested for the condition. One thing was for sure: despite her bashfulness, Kim knew she was going to be an actress.

Since performing is in both her parents’ genes, this was not too hard to believe. Basinger took diving, dancing and gymnastics lessons in high school. She was 16 when she entered the Athens Junior Miss contest, and won by singing a number from My Fair Lady. She later won the “Junior Miss Georgia” title and moved on to compete in the national Junior Miss pageant held in the Big Apple.

kim basinger the model

It was in New York that Eileen Ford of the Ford Modeling Agency met Kim and offered her a modeling contract. At first, Basinger refused the offer since she was more passionate about singing and acting, but she eventually returned to New York after changing her mind while in Georgia.

Basinger had to make quite an adjustment when she moved to New York; the different culture and lifestyle of the fast-paced city were intimidating for a small-town girl like her, but that didn’t stop her from adapting to her new career. She graced dozens of magazine covers and posed for hundreds of ads throughout the early ’70s, and was mostly known as the Breck shampoo girl. Kim also practiced performing by singing at various clubs in New York City, under the stage name “Chelsea.”

Kim moved to Los Angeles in 1976, looking for a fresh start and a chance to break into acting. Though her modeling career was successful, she never gave up her dream of becoming an actress.

kim basinger in dog and cat

Kim’s first six months in L.A. were not so glamorous, as she lived in a motel overlooking the Hollywood Freeway. She finally broke into television with roles in Gemini Man, Charlie’s Angels and The Six Million Dollar Man. After a year in Hollywood, Basinger landed her first role, as the female lead (Officer J.Z. Kane) on the short-lived series, Dog and Cat.

Thanks to her performance in NBC’s Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (in 1978), Basinger won the female lead on the network’s 1979 remake of From Here to Eternity and made her feature film debut in 1981’s Hard Country. Although she was getting roles, Basinger felt that a spread in Play..boy was necessary to increase her status in the public eye, so she posed for the magazine in February of 1983. And it definitely didn’t harm her film career: she took on the role of “Bond Girl” Domino Petachi in 1983’s Never Say Never Again opposite Sean Connery, and was a notch in Burt Reynolds’ belt in the remake of 1983’s The Man Who Loved Women.

kim basinger in 9 1/2 weeks

In 1984, she co-starred in The Natural with Robert Redford and in 1986, she starred in the sexy box-office smash 9 1/2 Weeks, with Mickey Rourke. It was this film that made Basinger more than a hot property; she became the key to high ticket sales. In 1989, Basinger starred as Vicky Vale in the hugely successful Batman, which led to a romance with Prince. Batman was actually her last box-office hit during the eight years that followed.

1989 was also the year Basinger made headlines after purchasing the town of Braselton in her native Georgia. But in 1993, she was sued by Main Line studio for violating a verbal agreement she had made to star in Boxing Helena. She was ordered to pay them $8.1 million, which caused her to file for bankruptcy. Even though she eventually reached an out-of-court settlement with Main Line, Basinger was forced to sell her interest in Braselton.

kim basinger and alec baldwin

She finally found love again in 1991, after her marriage with makeup artist Ron Britton failed (they were married from 1980 until 1988). In 1993, she married Alec Baldwin, after meeting him on the set of 1991’s The Marrying Man. In 1995, their only child — a daughter named Ireland — was born, which prompted Basinger to take a few years off. Even though she was out of the acting spotlight, she kept busy with her activism in animal rights organizations like PETA.

kim basinger in l.a. confidential

Kim returned to the big screen with a vengeance in 1997’s L.A. Confidential, co-starring Kevin Spacey and Russell Crowe, which resulted in Best Supporting Actress trophies at the Oscars and Golden Globes. Basinger’s salary was bumped up to $5 million for 2000’s I Dreamed of Africa, which she followed up with 2002’s 8 Mile. While portraying Eminem’s mother (in a loose biopic of the rapper), rumors even surfaced that Kim and Eminem were an item, but it seems they were just that: rumors.

kim basinger in cellular

After 2002’s People I Know, Kim starred in 2004’s The Door in the Floor, which received positive reviews. Basinger next starred in the thriller Cellular, which did well at the box office and earned her a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2005, she can add Jump Shot to her resume, while The Sentinel will follow in 2006.

On a personal note, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin filed for divorce in February of 2002.

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quote
 
“This is different. We’re like a proper unit, a real band.” -Natalie Appleton, on Appleton.

biography
 
Natalie Jane Appleton was born on May 14, 1973, in Mississauga, near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She grew up with her elder sisters, Lori and Lee, and her younger sister, Nicole, in Toronto and New York before moving to Camden in London, England.
When she was 20, she was briefly married to male stripper Karl Robinson, with whom she had a daughter, Rachel. To make ends meet, Natalie sang in bars and worked as an aerobics instructor.

While she was attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Natalie met Melanie Blatt, who was forming a group, All Saints, along with leader Shaznay Lewis. Blatt invited Natalie to join, and Natalie, in turn, recruited her sister Nicole as well.

However, the decision to join the band was not made lightly. Natalie was concerned about her daughter. In the end, her parents agreed to take care of Rachel while All Saints was establishing itself and, along the way, they reconciled their own troubled marriage.

natalie’s all saints era

In 1998, All Saints debuted with a self-titled album, which introduced the group as a smarter alternative to rival band the Spice Girls.

All Saints won Brit Awards that same year for their single “Never Ever” and its accompanying video. However, a good beginning quickly fizzled when Melanie Blatt became pregnant, tour dates were canceled, and talk of the band breaking up loomed.

Nevertheless, All Saints returned in 2000 with a follow-up album called Saints and Sinners, after a few delays and title changes, and contributed the song “Pure Shores” to the movie The Beach (2000).

Natalie appeared with her sister Nicole and Melanie Blatt in Honest, an All Saints vehicle, but the film was panned. The group’s days were numbered; by the spring of 2001, the group had broken up, this time for good.

Still, a compilation album, All Hits, was later released. It was at this time that Natalie decided to move on to other projects.

appleton records fantasy

Immediately after the demise of All Saints, Natalie teamed up with her sister and bandmate Nicole. They formed a new group, calling themselves Appleton. Appleton recorded a single, “Fantasy” — which peaked at No. 2 — and was all set to release its debut album, Everything’s Eventual.

However, controversy struck again, this time with the release of the Appleton sisters’ tell-all autobiography, and the public relations fallout forced Appleton’s record company, Polydor, to push back the album’s release.

The aptly-named Everything’s Eventual was finally released in early 2003, and it appeared in North America even later.

natalie marries prodigy’s liam howett

On the personal side, Natalie has had fewer setbacks. In June 2002, she remarried, this time to Prodigy’s Liam Howlett. Her second shot at family life seems to be more successful, and in March 2004, Natalie gave birth to a second child, a son named Ace.

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quote

“I have the thickest skin of anyone you’ll ever meet. No one can say anything about me I haven’t heard a million times before.” -Kelly Brook, on the British tabloids

biography

Born Kelly Parsons on November 23, 1979 in Kent, Rochester, England, Ms. Brooke is the daughter of Sandra, a cook, and Ken, a scaffolder. It was clear from the start that Kelly would be much more.

Her talent can be traced back to when she attended the prestigious Italia Conte stage school, where Naomi Campbell and Louise Nurding also studied. After 3 years of training in dance, singing, and acting, Kelly was ready to start her career.

a stream of kelly

Kelly’s mum entered her in a beauty contest, which of course Kelly won, and led to her interest in modeling. After some small modeling jobs at local firms, including the flooring company KMS, Kelly was gracing the cover of GQ, FHM, Sky, Cosmopolitan, Tatler, The Face, and Company by the age of 16.

Her gorgeous physique also slipped into Lee jeans, as part of its advertising campaign, and she was known for playing the game show hostess “Nicky with the Ticky” for a Sure deodorant TV ad. She was finally making a larger salary, as compared to her waitressing job at a tea shop.

More modeling jobs came Kelly’s way, such as print campaigns for Renault Megane, Walkers, Piz Buin, and the Triumph Flaunt underwear and bra line. The latter featured Kelly on a billboard in London, said to be the largest billboard in the world — all the more to see Kelly.

Although Kelly was appearing in ads all over the UK, she hit the big time when she won the position of Big Breakfast presenter on Britain’s Channel 4. It was Kelly’s dream come true, since she was more interested in being a presenter than acting or singing.

no more breakfast

Rumor has it that Kelly quit Big Breakfast after the tabloids published that the show was going to fire her for being “too dumb.” Well, she beat them to it by resigning.

After Big Breakfast, Kelly was busy hosting MTV’s Select. It was the perfect move for her, as she wanted to be involved with presenting hip music to young fans, because of her interest in dance.

Kelly was splitting her presenting duties and television appearances between Select, VLP and Babewatch for Granada, and The T-Spot for Trouble TV. She was also co-host for No Worries, made appearances on Short Change and Fist of Fun, and hosted the Oasis Live at Wembley concert on Sky One.

Forget about TV, Kelly was seen on the big-screen in 2000, in the film Sorted. She also made a guest-appearance in Mojo, and took her acting skills as a table dancer to the stage of the production, Eye Contact, at the Riverside Studios in London. You may also recognize her from Pulp’s “Help the Aged” music video.

We might see more of Kelly, as she was cast in the pilot for The (Mis)adventures of Fiona Plum.

we want to ripher

Kelly released her first official calendar in 2001, featuring all of Kelly, 12 months a year. Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels and Snatch star Jason Statham gets to see her 365 days a year, as they are engaged.

FHM’s 5th Sexiest Brit Girl for 2000 can next be seen in the upcoming film Ripper: Letter from Hell, as Marisa.

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The bright-eyed Pompeo was born on November 10, 1969 in Everett, Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston). Relatively speaking, Ellen established herself in acting late, making her major television debut at the age of 26 on an episode of Law & Order.

Three years later, two short films bookended her first appearance on film, where she was cast in a small role in the coming-of-age movie Coming Soon. In 2000, Pompeo saw a dramatic jump in her face-time on camera as she headlined with Molly Ringwald in the comedy In the Weeds.

Two years later, Pompeo really made a name for herself as she, surrounded by stars Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon, churned out her best performance yet in the romantic drama Moonlight Mile. Many thought she should have been nominated for an Oscar for her career-defining role, and she continued to knock ‘em dead as Leonardo DiCaprio’s lover in Catch Me if You Can and as Ben Affleck’s legal assistant in Daredevil.

Pompeo followed up Daredevil with the hilarious Old School and, after taking a lead role in Hank Azaria’s short Nobody’s Perfect, she was cast in ABC’s new medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy. Playing protagonist Dr. Meredith Grey, Pompeo helped Grey’s become one of television’s most-watched new dramas.

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Is it OK to borrow someone else’s wireless network without their permission? And how do you stop others doing the same to you?

I am faced with a modern ethical conundrum. My flat is very long and thin and, frustratingly, my wireless network does not extend from the office at the back to the lounge at the front. My dreams of sofa-surfing have been thwarted. However, my laptop does pick up my neighbour’s Wi-Fi connection.

It’s called “belkin54g” after the brand of router he is using. A quick Google reveals the default passwords for this router. A few security screens later, I’ve effortlessly hacked into my neighbour’s Wi-Fi. I can now surf on the sofa while watching TV and drinking red wine. Bliss.

Of course, he doesn’t know this, which leaves the conundrum: should I tell him his network is unprotected and risk losing my convenient living room wi-fi? Or should I continue to hijack his connection, risking discovery and a possible neighbourly feud?

I am sure I’m not alone in this situation. Increasing use of home wireless networks has led to a proliferation of free internet access hotspots in every neighbourhood. Wi-Fi uses radio frequencies to broadcast an internet connection in all directions. Depending on the thickness of walls and the quality of the aerial, the area can stretch up to the size of a football pitch.

There are now close to a million Wi-Fi users in the UK. according to research company IDC. About 50% are not running any security. In my south London street alone, wi-fi sniffer program MacStumbler (www.macstumbler.com) picks up seven connections. Only three are protected.

Tapping into a nearby hotspot takes a little luck and gymnastic ability. As with mobile phones, wi-fi is impeded by thick walls and metal. The signals travel better through glass, so sitting by a window or outside helps.

You can invest in a larger, better aerials to boost receptivity or you can opt for the hacker aerial of choice: the humble Pringles can (Google “wifi Pringles can” if you don’t believe me).

A bout of laptop semaphore in your area will probably bring up a selection of networks, usually named after big brands. Look for “Linksys”, “Apple Network” , “belkin54g” or “NETGEAR”. Networks with custom names like “fortknx” or “hax0rheaven” may indicate that tech-savvy killjoys have barricaded their domains. You’re unlikely to get into these. Networks with the default names however usually use default passwords. Try: “admin”, “1234″, “qwerty”, “password” - or “public”, if it’s Apple.

So is it legal to siphon bandwidth from open networks? The answer seems to be yes. There are no UK laws that specifically outlaw it - as long you as you don’t tamper with files or change settings. Then you could be contravening the Computer Misuse Act, or even be classed as a cyberterrorist under the Terrorism Act 2000. SWAT teams descending on your house in the middle of the night may get curtains twitching.

Socially, unwritten rules would suggest that piggybacking is OK. Wi-Fi is more than 20 times faster than broadband, so it can easily accommodate a few squatters. Email and browsing is unlikely to chip into your neighbour’s bandwidth. However, heavy file-sharing or downloading high-resolution Star Wars trailers will most likely get you off the Christmas card list.

I think I went a bit far. Heady with hackerly success, I soon found a way of logging directly into my neighbour’s router admin screen which he had failed to password protect. From there, I could have - if I wanted to - changed the login and locked him out of his own connection. If his security had been lax, or if he had shared folders, I could have gained access to personal data.

With this realisation came the paranoia that he would discover my indiscretions and come round with a bicycle chain to break my signal. So I knocked on his door and sheepishly came clean. He just laughed.

“I’ve been doing the same,” he said. “I can pick up your network at the back of the house.”

“Oh, really,” I said through gritted teeth, silently logging all the personal data he may or may not have rifled through. “How funny.”

We stood on the doorstep for a few minutes cussing technology. Then I went inside and changed all my passwords.

Better safe than sorry.

davidmccandless.com

quote

“I’m half-Cuban — my mother was born in Cuba and came here as a teenager — so it’s got a lot of Latin influence to it. It’s pretty poppish. It’s kind of more on the J-Lo side of things.” -Jamie-Lynn Sigler, on her musical sound

biography

Jamie-Lynn Sigler was born May 15, 1981, in Long Island, to Cuban and Jewish parents (her heritage is a mix of Cuban, Jewish-American and Greek). She was enrolled in dance school at the age of three and was taking acting and singing lessons a mere four years later.

As a teenager, she landed a plum gig playing Anne Frank on Broadway, a role that at one time belonged to Hollywood actress Natalie Portman. Her eventual audition for the part of Meadow Soprano has become legendary, as the young Jamie-Lynn was unaware that the HBO project had nothing to do with singing. When she realized it was not a musical but a mob drama, she was surprised to have landed the part. She has been featured more and more on the hit show as her character has progressed.

unpleaseant meadows

Like Meadow, Jamie-Lynn has had to overcome her fair share of teenage trauma. In the aftermath of a failed relationship, Jamie-Lynn suffered severe mental anguish and came close to developing a major eating disorder — something of which she spoke at length about on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

The struggle was due also to the pressure inherent with being on a major hit show as well as with the stress of juggling a college course load. The producers of The Sopranos even considered dropping Jamie-Lynn Sigler from the show, until she proved that she was in good mental and physical health.

She has since put her degree in Psychology on hold while she pursues her Hollywood dream. In the future however, Sigler would like to work toward becoming a therapist specializing in disabled children.

yes scrubs

Despite her acting success, Jamie-Lynn never gave up her intention to record an album. She signed a contract after an episode of The Sopranos aired featuring Meadow belting out the TLC hit, “No Scrubs.” Hot producers such as TK and Desmond Child were summoned to work on the album sound and Sigler was fortunate enough to contribute to the songwriting.

It was crucial for her to reflect her personal life into the songs and inject her emotions into the fabric of the album. A classically trained pianist and budding guitarist, Jamie-Lynn has set out to prove that she is not some fly-by-night pop sensation, looking for a fleeting taste of fame and fortune.

Her first album, titled Here to Heaven, was released in October 2001. MTV premiered the video for her song “Cry Baby” on Total Request Live. In her future singing endeavors, Jamie-Lynn Sigler hopes to rely on her status as a television star less and less.
 

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quote

“Quite frankly I didn’t become an actor to become a movie star. I have never dreamed about being the most famous person on the planet. I just want to do really good work.” -Anne Hathaway

biography

The daughter of a stage actress and an attorney, Anne Hathaway was born on November 12th, 1982 in Brooklyn, New York. She and her two brothers were raised in New Jersey, where she led a tomboyish childhood and broke many bones.

In high school, though, she fully embraced her love and affinity for singing and acting. She remains the only teen to ever be accepted in the prestigious Barrow Group, an acting workshop in New York. She performed at Carnegie Hall in 1998 with the All Eastern U.S. High School Honors Chorus. Three days later, she was cast in the TV series Get Real, and her career was off and rolling.

Though short-lived, the family comedy-drama Get Real won a legion of committed fans, especially for Hathaway’s character “Meghan Green.” The young cast was nominated for a Young Star Artist Award (ensemble). Despite the minor successes, though, the show was cancelled after one season. Hathaway simply shrugged and got on with her life, enrolling at Vassar College.

becoming royalty

But acting remained an important part of her life. She filmed her first movie, The Other Side of Heaven, in 2000. In it she played “Jean Sabin,” the love interest of a conflicted member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. The role didn’t propel her into the spotlight, but it did give her valuable experience in film, which, in turn, probably helped her win her next role.

During her audition for 2001’s The Princess Diaries, Anne won the lead role, in part, by accidentally falling off her chair. Since the role demanded a klutsy-yet-charming lead actress, Anne’s handling of the mishap convinced director Garry Marshall to hire her on the spot. She filmed in England with legend Julie Andrews and promoted the film all over Europe and North America. The role brought her a lot of mainstream attention and earned her nominations for a Teen Choice Award and an MTV Movie Award.

stage, screen, studies, star

In 2002, Hathaway took part in a stage production of Carnival put on by the esteemed company City Center Encore! She won the prestigious Clarence Derwent Award for her performance, confirming her stage credibility. Meanwhile, she appeared in a solid film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby.

Her latest film, Ella Enchanted, is slated for a spring 2004 release. Hathaway is currently working toward an English Literature degree from Vassar College, and will reprise her role for a Princess Diaries sequel.
 

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You’ve probably seen commercials on TV for Vonage, a popular Voice Over IP Provider. But what exactly is this new phenomenon and how can it make your life easier? While the days of buying a phone card at your local 7-11 are nearly gone, long distance phone calls are necessary. The Internet has connected the entire world, so why not make talking on the telephone to someone on a different continent just as easy?

This is where Voice Over IP Providers come in handy. Not only do they use Internet technology to their advantage, they’re as commonplace as cable TV in the United States. All you need is a broadband Internet connection instead of dial-up. The FCC offers a comprehensive summary of new VOIP technology you may be interested in taking a look at.

These are the Basics you Need to Know About VOIP:

• VOIP converts your voice into a digital signal sent over the Internet.
• If you’re calling someone without VOIP, the service converts your signal into a normal signal compatible with their phone.
• Some VOIP services charge for calls outside your area, so make sure to check terms of service and the fine-print on your application.
• Some VOIP services offer flat rates, making it easier to call long-distance lines without a worry.
• You may be able to make Internet phone calls in wireless-heavy locations like Barnes and Noble or college campuses.
• Some VOIP services allow you to use your traditional phone, while some allow you to speak into a microphone over the Internet.

For people who aren’t familiar with this growing technological trend, a great source we found is 6StarReviews.com, who decided to compare Voice Over IP Providers. Vonage currently has over 2 million subscribers and is growing everyday.

Forget buying a calling card or spending 5 cents a minute to call grandma. VOIP’s are clearly leading the way in digital communication trends and will surely revolutionize the way you connect.

Copyright (c) Kelly Liyakasa 6StarReviews

Kelly Staller is site manager at 6StarReviews.com, a site dedicated to giving YOU, the consumer, the best product and service reviews around. If you like saving time and money by having someone else review leading sites and products, then Visit our site at 6StarReviews.com.
 

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Some actors never experience commercial success, and then there’s Emma Watson. The Oxford schoolgirl made her acting debut in 2001 in an intimate little film called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Based on the best-selling novel by J.K. Rowling, the blockbuster film went on to make $975 million worldwide en route to becoming one of the most lucrative movies of all time. Emma has since shown off her impressive acting chops in the successful sequels Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).

Along the way, Emma has been featured on the cover of Teen Vogue, acted with luminaries like Richard Harris and Gary Oldman and has become a regular on the talk show circuit. There’s simply no telling how high her star will rise after Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007).

Regardless of what the future holds for Emma, one thing is certain: She desperately wants to take on a new challenge. “I want to play something totally different,” she says. “I want to play every kind of character and every point of view, but I’m probably going to be playing Hermione for a while.”

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Born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 29, 1976, Anna Kay Faris wasted no time immersing herself in stage work, as she got her first job at age 9 at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. As she was settled in the Northwest from a young age, Faris’ natural choice for higher education was the University of Washington, where she studied English Literature.

After getting a chance to film a short for the Seattle Film Festival, Anna trashed her goal of moving to London following graduation and instead relocated to Los Angeles. With only two small film roles to her credit, she had little to go on except for raw talent when searching for work in Hollywood. Luckily, Faris’ looks and skills were perfect for the people behind Scary Movie, the horror film spoof that did surprisingly well at the box office.

After scoring the role of Cindy Campbell in 2000, Faris returned in 2001 for Scary Movie 2, and was then seen in 2002’s The Hot Chick and 2003’s Lost in Translation (stealing the spotlight from Scarlett Johansson).

With little worry of typecasting, she signed on to do Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Scary Movie 4 (set for an April 2006 release) before portraying her first true dramatic character in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee.

Anna Faris’ upcoming roles in Vinyl and Super Ex-Girlfriend put her in the forefront of movies not named “Scary Movie” and as a result, it looks like she’s set on diversifying her resume in the years to come. But that doesn’t mean Anna has totally given up on comedy: In 2005, she costarred with Ryan Reynolds in both Waiting… and Just Friends.

Your local phone service provider is looking over their shoulder at what is coming up fast behind them. VoIP – Voice Over Internet Telephony – is gaining ground and is no longer considered a fad, but a strong and viable alternative to traditional phone service. By routing conversations over internet broadband lines, VoIP calls can be made quickly and cheaply thereby saving you, the consumer, plenty of money compared to traditional phone service.

Recent improvements in VoIP technology have prompted more and more consumers to switch to VoIP, permanently altering the way many phone conversations are handled around the globe. Let’s explore the growing trend of VoIP telephony and what this technology has to offer to you.

In its early days, VoIP telephony was considered by some to be a technologically unreliable fad, one that was shunned by mostly everyone who had long relied upon their traditional phone service company to provide them with dependable, if not costly, telephone service. Today, much has changed and VoIP telephony has not only vastly improved, but has attracted millions of new customers thanks to technological advancements and smart marketing.

Initially, voice quality with VoIP telephony was suspect, as conversations between users was often accompanied by crackling sounds and echoing. Indeed, drop offs due to connection problems was common, causing many to avoid making the switch.

Still, as with virtually all emerging technologies, kinks have been worked out as newer, vastly improved versions are introduced. VoIP, for one, has undergone rapid transformation from fad to fixture in many homes and offices as quality levels have picked up while prices remain exceedingly low.

Indeed, price is a huge factor contributing to VoIP’s rapid growth. Many VoIP telephony providers offer comprehensive unlimited local and long distance calling plans that start at less than $25 per month. Compare VoIP prices to those charged by most traditional phone service providers – typically $70-80 per month – and the potential annual savings is well over $500!

Yes, you have to shop around to find a high quality VoIP telephony provider, but all of the top companies offer similar deals with packages usually containing the following important features:

- Free local and long distance calls.

- Portable phone numbers, meaning you can take your existing phone number wherever you move; certain restrictions may apply.

- Special services offered at no extra charge including: caller ID, call forwarding, 3-way calling, call return, call transfer, voicemail, and more.

- Low, fixed monthly rates. No worrying about fluctuating phone bills!

In addition, most governments are taking a decidedly hands off approach to VoIP telephony and are not levying anywhere near the same high level of taxes on VoIP service as they have been on traditional phone service. Yes, take a close look at your current phone bill and you will see that double-digit fees really push up the monthly balance. Not so with VoIP telephony as it is treated in the same way as internet service.

There has been some concern about power outages and the loss of VoIP telephony service during these interruptions. Indeed, most people understand that if your home loses electrical power, then their traditional phone service would continue to work as phone lines are powered separately from electrical lines, while VoIP telephony phone service is stopped when the power goes out.

To get around the problem, many VoIP telephony providers now give users a control panel where they can program their VoIP server to automatically reroute calls to their cell phone in the event of a power outage. So, there is no longer any excuse for you to not make the switch to VoIP telephony and begin realizing big savings today!

About The Author:
Click here to learn more about VoIP telephony: http://www.packet8.net Michael Brito is an internet marketing consultant for small business http://www.michaelbrito.com specializing in SEO and web strategy.

quote

“Some people say I have attitude — maybe I do… but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does — that makes you a winner right there.” -Venus Williams

biography

After seeing how large the prize money was for tennis champions in comparison to the salary he was making, Richard Williams vowed to send his children on the path to success by learning the game. Two years later, in 1980, Venus Ebone Starr Williams was born in Lynwood, California. By the time she was four, Venus was brought to the two rundown public courts in Watts and Compton by her father, to hit cratefuls of tennis balls for hours on end.

It was immediately evident that Venus had more than just an interest in the game her father encouraged her to play — she was incredible at it. In 1988, a young Pete Sampras and John McEnroe visited the child prodigy and hit some balls with her. Even at eight years old, Venus was confident, claiming she could have beaten McEnroe if the bounces had gone her way.

young and famous

Despite showing flashes of brilliance in track (posting a 5:29 mile at the early age of eight) and some regrets by her father after seeing the lengths many parents went to in order to further their children’s careers, Venus kept up her tennis training. As she conquered her opponents in exhibition matches, The New York Times published an article about her, paving the way for a career full of fame.

When Venus was 12 years old, Richard Williams pulled her and her younger sister Serena, out of their respective junior circuits and moved them to Florida. There they attended Rick Macci’s Tennis Academy, practicing six hours a day, six days a week, for four straight years. As their time at the academy ended, Venus turned pro and won her first match in Oakland at the age of fourteen.

a teen millionaire

After playing in only one pro tournament, the hyping up of Venus Williams continued as she signed a five-year, $12 million contract with Reebok in 1995. She made her first big splash on the Women’s Tennis Association tour in 1997 after becoming the first unseeded finalist at the U.S. Open since 1968. Although she lost in straight sets to rival Martina Hingis, fans knew Venus would be in that familiar setting for many years to come.

Just before beating sister Serena in their first match against each other as pros in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open, Venus graduated from the exclusive Driftwood Academy, proving she has brains as well as brawn. Three months later, Williams scored her first title at the IGA Tennis Classic in Oklahoma City, and teamed up with Serena to win the doubles title there too — the first for the unstoppable Williams sisters.

on a whole new high

Venus saw even more results of consistent hard work as her career matured, winning the competitive Lipton Championships in 1999 against her sister and the French Open title alongside her. There were some bumps in the road, however, as it was Serena who won the first of the family’s Grand Slam championships, beating Hingis at the U.S. Open in 1999. Venus also suffered various injuries that sparked rumors of an impending retirement.

The naysayers were quieted after Venus returned from a five-month hiatus in 2000 and throttled Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon to capture her first of the big titles. Amazingly, she followed this up with a singles and doubles gold medal sweep at the Olympics in Sydney, then simply destroyed the rest of the field in the U.S. Open for back-to-back championship wins (making history once again as the second player to win Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open in the same year). These accomplishments motivated Sports Illustrated to award her with the title of “Sportswoman of the Year” in 2000.

a sweet repeat

2001 was practically a case of déjà vu, as Venus once again won in England and Flushing Meadows, New York. This time, she beat her sister Serena for the U.S. title in straight sets. Unfortunately for fans of Venus, Serena got her revenge three times over in 2002, as the younger Williams sister defeated her elder three consecutive times to capture the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Despite this competitive atmosphere, Venus always remains proud of her sister and more motivated than ever to maintain the stranglehold on the history-making number one and two rankings they occupy.

venus aims for the stars

With blockbuster endorsement deals from the likes of Reebok (her $40 million, five-year deal makes her the most highly endorsed female athlete ever), Wrigley and Sega (the latter two are with Serena), her own interior design company “V Star Interiors,” an upcoming associate’s degree in fashion design, and 28 career singles titles, Venus is no ordinary 22-year-old.

Her dominance on the court and vibrant personality make her a great role model as she makes history with equally impressive sister Serena. With revenge on her mind next season as she failed to taste big-time victory in 2002, we simply can’t wait for the next Venus/Serena final.
 

askmen.com

In a competitive environment the ability to control, protect and disseminate information is a necessity in order to gain or maintain your company’s market edge. If your company fails to meet these communication requirements, you will quickly find yourself falling prey to a more agile and innovative competitor. One way of satisfying these communication needs is the use of a document indexing software integrated with a paperless office system.

A strong document indexing software gives your company the ability to store, update and quickly retrieve information within a user friendly environment. When integrated with a paperless office system, you have a systematic process to protect information from disaster, control user access and quickly obtain documents within seconds.

Future Filing, LLC offers a Document Indexing Software, known as KIXZO, that is fully integrated with a powerful yet easy to utilize paperless office system that puts you in total control of your data. This knowledge management system was also designed to easily integrate with your existing processes and systems.

KIXZO is a powerful document indexing tools specially designed to master the art of information security and management. KIXZO protects your critical data by using a multi-layered security system that prevents unauthorized users access to your data. This highly efficient system is beneficial for organizations that value the ability to reduce operational cost while servicing clients faster.

Some advantages of this powerful Document Indexing Software, is:

• Ensure access to your information within seconds
• Strengthen internal and external communications
• Having remote access to your documents wherever you have a internet connection
• Protect information with a tiered security system.

With so many Paperless Solutions available on the market, picking the best system can be daunting. However, KIXZO offers a free no-risk 30 day trial period so your organization can put this remarkable system to the test in your working environment.

For more information about this remarkable document management system that increases efficiency while reducing operational cost, visit www.FutureFiling.com.
 

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quote

“I decided to make news, not give it.” -Daisy Fuentes

biography

Daisy Fuentes was born November 17, 1966, in Havana, Cuba. When Daisy was three years old, the Fuentes family moved to Madrid, Spain, and finally emigrated to Harrison, New Jersey four years later.

While studying communications and journalism at Bergen Community College, Daisy was selected as “weather girl” on WXTV Channel 41, Univision’s New York affiliate. It didn’t take long for the journalism student to move up the ranks, to become news anchor and reporter for the evening news.

The Latino television audience took a liking to the talented and beautiful 19-year-old reporter, and soon did a huge network: MTV. In 1988, Daisy moved on to work as news anchor at WNJU Channel 47, Telemundo’s New York affiliate. That same year, she had the confidence to send a demo tape and letter to MTV. She soon retired her news reports for music reports, as host of MTV Internacional, which later became MTV Latino.

The first Latina VJ, Daisy also became the first crossover VJ to work on both MTV US and MTV Latino. She later became host of House of Style and One on One with Michael Jordan (among others), on the original MTV and Latin MTV. She also counted down the Top 20 videos on American MTV, and the Top 20 videos for MTV Latino.

While hosting and VJ-ing on MTV, Daisy began to develop her acting credits with a role on the ABC soap opera, Loving. She followed up her soap role with appearances on shows such as Dream On, The Larry Sanders Show and Cybill.

From 1994 until 1995, Daisy became host of her own talk show on CNBC named Daisy, as part of the network’s Talk All-Stars. One of her other claims to fame was as host of ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos, for two seasons.

Daisy’s other hosting gig included: The Alma Awards in 1997 and 1998; Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve ‘98; The 1998 World Music Awards; the 1999 Billboard Latin Awards; as well as Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe pageants.

While her intellect and talent have brought Daisy to the broadcasting success she has achieved, her beauty has made her other career — modeling — a huge success. Joining the ranks of Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Halle Berry, Daisy is a worldwide Revlon spokesmodel.

In addition to her multi-year contract with Revlon, Daisy is also endorsed by American Express, Pantene, M&M’s, and Miller Lite. She can also be seen in 1996 and 1997 Landmark calendars, and keeping fit in her own exercise video. Daisy has graced a wide range of magazines, such as Spanish Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as Fitness, Latina and Shape.

Daisy took her acting skills to the big screen in the 1996 Quentin Tarantino film, Curdled, and would gladly take on more projects that pique her interest. Daisy is active in several charitable causes, especially St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Her career accomplishments are due largely to her charm, humor, intellect, and beauty, which are reasons for which Daisy and her career will only continue to bloom.
 

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quote

“It is better to have a relationship with someone who cheats on you than with someone who does not flush the toilet.”
-Uma Thurman

biography

Uma Karuna Thurman was born April 29, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts, and had an eccentric, multicultural upbringing. Her mother, Nena, is a half-Swedish, half-German former psychotherapist, while her father, Robert A.F. Thurman, is a Tibetan Buddhist monk and a University of Columbia professor. Uma was named after a Hindu deity that is the “bestower of blessings.”

As a teenager, Uma did not fit in. As if her name wasn’t different enough, she was lanky and awkward as a child. Her long nose, which today only adds a unique touch to her beautiful face, was part of her misery. Rather than taking part in the typical all-American extracurricular activities, Uma had better things to do: act.

uma thurman moves to new york

After receiving a standing ovation while involved in an elementary school theater production, Uma caught the acting bug and knew this was what she wanted to do with her life. She packed up, and like most aspiring models and actors, she headed for New York — she didn’t even stick around long enough to become a high school graduate.

While in New York, Uma was forced to work odd jobs, including washing dishes and modeling — a more glamorous day job. It didn’t take long for Uma to trade in her dishwashing gloves for scripts, as she landed her first feature film role in 1988’s Johnny Be Good. Uma was on the verge of beginning her career and was about to take on a string of sexual film roles.

uma thurman in pulp fiction

After Johnny Be Good, which was nothing to write to Boston about, Uma was cast in Kiss Daddy Goodnight and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, which raised eyebrows and garnered her critical praise. But it was after her role in 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons that her image became erotic. Choosing to become more than just a passing fad, Uma left for England; however, many offers for movie roles were waiting for her back in America, and she eventually returned. Her role in 1990’s Henry & June showcased her with sexuality streaming out of her pores; it didn’t help that she portrayed a bisexual in the film.

Although she starred in popular movies such as Final Analysis, Jennifer 8, Mad Dog and Glory, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, it was her role as the offbeat, cocaine-junkie Mia Wallace in Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction that garnered her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting actress. With a departure from alternative, more dramatic films to the commercial comedies Beautiful Girls and The Truth About Cats and Dogs, Uma proved that she can also provide some laughs.

Next up for the beautiful actress were roles in the sci-fi films Gattaca and Batman & Robin, as well as her starring role as Emma Peele in the adaptation of The Avengers, which tanked at the box office.

uma thurman in kill bill

Uma went on a brief hiatus to marry Gattaca costar Ethan Hawke and to welcome their first baby, Maya Ray, into the world. They later had another child, but their marriage ended in 2004. Uma had previously been married to actor Gary Oldman, and her dating record includes Timothy Hutton and Robert De Niro.

After a role in Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown in 1999, Uma returned to her former modeling days as a spokesperson for Lancôme. One of Empire magazine’s 100 Sexiest Stars in film history, Uma has modeled for Louis Vuitton as well.

In 2003 and 2004, Uma Thurman played the leading role of cold-blooded kung fu villain Beatrix Kiddo in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, which she cowrote with Quentin during the shooting of Pulp Fiction. Thus, Uma has expanded her talents to not only acting and modeling, but writing and producing films as well.

uma thurman in my super ex-girlfriend

In 2006, Uma Thurman explored her comedic abilities alongside Luke Wilson and Anna Faris in My Super Ex Girlfriend. Her character used super powers to make her ex-boyfriend’s life a living hell.
 

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quote

“Women are like ovens. We need 5 to 15 minutes to heat up.”
- Sandra Bullock

biography

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Washington D.C. on July 26, 1964. This part-German, part-Alabamian was raised in Arlington, Virginia. The oldest of two, Sandra, her baby sister and their mom used to travel to Europe often because her mom was a renowned opera singer. Her mother’s love of music transfered to Sandra early on and she often performed in local children’s choirs or alongside her own mother.

Although Sandra was constantly traveling, she made a habit of fitting in with every crowd she encountered. In her years at Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School, she was even voted Most Likely To Brighten Up Your Day.

After she finished high school, Sandra attended East Carolina University, majoring in drama. Since Sandra knew that fame wasn’t simply handed out, she decided to jump-start her career and with the approval of her parents, she left university before acquiring her degree, packed up and moved to New York.

Once she arrived in the Big Apple, Sandra didn’t waste any time and enrolled in intensive acting classes whilst simultaneously holding a bartending job. Sandra was a bartender for three years while she worked hard at achieving her dream of becoming an actress. Sandra went to every casting call and audition she could.

sandra bullock on bionic showdown

Finally in 1998, a critic named John Simon gave Sandra’s career a push in the right direction when he made a positive comment about her acting talent in a review of No Time Flat, an off-Broadway production that Sandra starred in.

With positivity on her side, Sandra got herself an agent and began acting in television shows, taking on the role of a beautiful bionic woman in the 1989 show entitled Bionic Showdown: The Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.

After her stint on television, she moved to LA and landed her first starring role in NBC’s adaptation of the movie Working Girl. Unfortunately, the show only lasted for six episodes, which meant Sandra had to resort to working various odd jobs until her next Hollywood break came around.

sandra bullock in demolition man

Trying hard to boost her career, Sandra took a role in the 1992 film Love Potion No. 9. Even though the film did not reach incredible heights or land her other, bigger movie roles, it did introduce her to Tate Donovan who became her boyfriend for three years.

As she slowly began making her way into mainstream, Sandra managed to land herself five film roles in ‘93. Her most noticeable film of that year, however, was Demolition Man with costars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. Although her part in the film was not of epic proportions, the producer, Joel Silver, introduced her to his friend and colleague, director Jan De Bont.

sandra bullock in speed

De Bont gave Sandra the female lead in the action movie Speed (1994) alongside Keanu Reeves. Even with opposition from fellow workers — who all thought the lead should go to a buxom blonde — De Bont kept Sandra which evidently proved to be a very smart move.

Speed launched Sandra’s popularity intensely, which led her to star in movies like 1995’s While You Were Sleeping (in which she beat out Hollywood heavyweight Demi Moore for the leading role) and 1996’s A Time To Kill (1996), where she began earning a seven-digit salary.

In 1996, Sandra landed an American Comdey Award nomination as Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture for her work in While You Were Sleeping.

Sandra had a little slump in 1996 with Two If by Sea, a romantic comedy costarring Denis Leary. She chose other bad roles in movies like In Love and War (1996). But Sandra’s worst career move was her starring role in the sequel to Speed – Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997). While the first may have been a hit, the second was a huge flop, no matter how good Sandy looked.

sandra bullock in 28 days

Being the smart woman that she is, however, Sandra began her own production company called Fortis Films. Her first project was Hope Floats (1998), starring Harry Connick Jr. and Gena Rowlands. And even though Hope Floats actually sank (ha ha), Sandra’s career came back in full force when she starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Practical Magic.

Sandra lent her voice to the DreamWorks animated film The Prince of Egypt in 1998 along with Val Kilmer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny Glover, and Jeff Goldblum. In 1999, Sandra landed a role in the romantic comedy Forces of Nature, opposite Ben Affleck. Then in 2000, Sandra starred in one of her more memorable roles as a recovering drug addict in the comedy 28 Days, in which she starred alongside Viggo Mortensen, Azura Skye and Elizabeth Perkins.

sandra bullock in miss congeniality

Proving to be a master of physical comedy, Sandra starred as Miss Congeniality in 2000, and its just as funny 2005 sequel, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. In between the beauty pageant sequel, Sandra also starred in the 2002 thriller Murder by Numbers, proving that she can be just as serious as she is funny. Sandra  can also add Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), costarring Ashley Judd and James Garner, to her movie resume, along with the romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice in which she starred alongside Hugh Grant.

sandra bullock in crash

In 2004, Sandra appeared in a completely different role as a racist in the Academy Award-winning movie Crash.

On July 16, 2005, Sandra married Monster Garage host Jesse James.

Sandra’s career continued to blossom in the coming years; she reteamed with Keanu Reeves for 2006’s The Lake House, and starred in 2007’s Premonition with Julian McMahon.
 

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quote  

“The worst was when my skirt fell down to my ankles — but I had on thick tights underneath.”
-Naomi Campbell, on a fashion show she was part of.

biography  

By her early 20s, the Jamaican-Chinese, British born Naomi Campbell had already conquered the fashion world. In the wake of her conquests she set modeling runways and magazine covers ablaze with a sophisticated, sultry style that has made her both a media star and an international celebrity.

After only a few years in the modeling business, she quickly began breaking new ground: Naomi was the first black model to appear on the covers of Time magazine, as well as the French and British Vogue. Since then, she has become a veritable renaissance woman and proved to be exceptional beyond the realm of supermodel.

noami releases baby woman

In 1995 she made her debut as a recording artist with Baby Woman, released by Epic Records. Her release “La La La Love Song,” with Japanese singer Toshinobu Kubota, reached No. 1 in Japan. Naomi has also appeared in numerous music videos for such artists as Jay-Z, Prince, Usher, Madonna, and in Michael Jackson’s sizzling video “In The Closet,” directed by Herb Ritts.

As a side note, in addition to working with Usher, she has also been romantically linked to the performer. Other high-profile men she has been linked to include, Damian Aspinall, Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Eric Clapton, Joaquin Cortés, and Enrique Palacio.

naomi does film

Naomi has also made a name for herself in the world of film and television — appearing in roughly 20 productions. Her credits include The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), New York Undercover (1995), Miami Rhapsody (1995) opposite Antonio Banderas, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mia Farrow, Spike Lee’s Girl 6 (1996) costarring Madonna and Theresa Randle, Invasion of Privacy (1996), Prisoner of Love (1999), and The Call (2005) with John Malkovich.

In 2006 and 2007 Naomi also appears in Karma, Confessions and Holi and Go Go Tales.

naomi the philanthropist

Naomi coauthored the bestselling novel Swan, published by Heinemann/Mandarin, which she followed up with the photo book titled Naomi. The book is a personal selection of photos from photographers Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel, Richard Avedon, Ellen Von Unwerth, and Peter Lindbergh.

Proceeds from the sales of the book are donated to the Red Cross Somalia Relief Fund. Naomi is also active in many other initiatives supporting underprivileged children.

She has also joined the Dalai Lama in fundraising efforts to build kindergartens for poor communities worldwide, through UNESCO. The first was built in Campbell’s name in her spiritual home of Jamaica.

Giving us guys something to cheer about, she reportedly engaged in a lesbian kiss with Kate Moss for a charity fashion show presented by Nelson Mandela in 2001. Now, there’s a cause we can get behind.

In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Naomi contributed in the organization of Fashion Relief, which raised more than $1 million for the hurricane victims.

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