If you’re interested in making money with real estate, your biggest obstacles are the myths about real estate investing. Naysayers have a way of coming out of the woodwork with their “advice,” including the following―four of the most common bits of “wisdom” that you should never take to heart:

MYTH: You have to start with a lot of money. This is simply not true. You’ll find many opportunities for making money with real estate that require little or no cash up front. Buying foreclosure properties is one way to start making money with real estate without laying out a large down payment. And if you can negotiate a great price on a piece of property, you can find an investment partner who is willing to put up the funds.

MYTH: It’s just too risky. Real estate is one of the safest investments you can make. We all know what can happen with the Stock Market; and savings accounts and CDs don’t bring a high enough or fast enough return for you to enjoy a profit. Real estate investing can bring large and fast profits. Of course, every investment has some risk, but if you educate yourself before investing, you’ll find making money with real estate is not only a fast way to turn big profits, but a sound way to invest.

MYTH: You can’t invest in real estate if you have bad credit. It’s always easier to make any financial move when you have good credit. But you don’t need good credit for making money in real estate. There really are many ways to invest in real estate, even if you have bad credit. Using an investment partner, buying foreclosures, and flipping homes are several ways of making money with real estate―no credit required.

MYTH: It’s a bad market for real estate right now. No matter how the market is at the moment, there are always real estate deals to be had. In a down market, making money with real estate can be easier, because it’s easier to find bargains. And in any market, there are always homeowners who have financial difficulties and end up in foreclosure; this can mean bargain properties for you.

Ignore these four myths and the pessimists who perpetuate them, pay attention to what’s true, and start making money with real estate!

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For more information on making money with real estate please visit PropertyForeclosure.com

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When the advertising slogan “Be Like Mike” caught America’s fancy, it wasn’t because every man decided to go for the Michael Jordan look by reaching for a razor and shaving his head.

Sure, men like Jordan, Charles Barkley, and “Star Trek’s” Patrick Stewart are part of a small minority who are proud of their baldness. But combating and covering up hair loss hasn’t turned into an estimated $1 billion-a-year industry because Americans like the idea of hair collecting in the shower drain.

“It probably represents aging,” says Ken Washenik, M.D., director of dermatopharmacology at New York University Medical Center. “I think our concept of a bald person is of an older person. I think anything that reminds us in the mirror every day of the inevitability of aging is less than optimal.”

When you talk about restoring hair, you’re essentially looking at three different approaches. The first is to medicate, using a 2 percent solution of minoxidil found in Rogaine (and other brands since Pharmacia & Upjohn’s patent expired in February 1996). Minoxidil is the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for regrowing hair.

That doesn’t mean minoxidil is by any means the panacea that men have been searching for since at least 1150 B.C., when Egyptians covered their baldness with a mixture of fats from ibex (a mountain goat), lion, crocodile, serpent, goose, and hippopotamus.

Surgical procedures, including hair transplantation and scalp reduction, are another modern-day approach. And, finally, there’s the solution that Julius Caesar, according to legend, used in ancient days–cover it up. The most powerful man in the Roman Empire is said to have turned to the ceremonial wreath of laurel leaves to hide his ever-emerging scalp. The modern alternative is the hairpiece.

The Thick and Thin of Hair Cosmetics

While Rogaine and other minoxidil-based products are giving consumers hopes of regrowing hair, another part of the hair-care industry has been jumping into the fray.Drugstore chains, beauty shops, and salons are offering a number of products claiming to make hair appear thicker or fuller. While they won’t solve baldness, such products can help women in particular by giving the appearance of more hair–if, and only if, the products are used regularly.

“The reality is,” says Anthony Santangelo, president of the American Hair Loss Council, “[the products] just build hair for the day.”

A quick walk down the store aisle shows a multitude of shampoos, conditioners, gels, mousses, and volumizers competing for your dollars. Many labeling claims target people with thinning hair, while others hint they can regrow hair, creating controversy about whether such a claim constitutes going too far. Any product claiming to regrow hair would have to file a new drug application. The Food and Drug Administration has approved only one product, the drug minoxidil, for regrowing hair.

“It’s marketing; it’s puffery,” Santangelo says. “They’ll take it as close as they possibly can without crossing the line, and they’ll run with it.”

Many of these products seem to thicken hair by coating it with chemicals called polymers. Hair has a negative charge, and the polymers’ positive charge causes the polymers to adhere to the hair shaft, says Charles Fox, a Fair Lawn, N.J., consultant to the cosmetics industry. That results in better hair manageability and shine, he says. The hair also retains moisture, causing the shaft to swell and its diameter to expand slightly.

Also, says Stanley Milstein, Ph.D., special assistant to the director of FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors, some products coat the hair with various oils, waxes and silicone, claiming to restore moisture balance as they thicken hair.

Clarence Robbins, vice president of advanced technology for Colgate-Palmolive Co. and author of Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair, says that if the products work, it’s because they keep hair shafts from sliding past each other (think of the fly-away hair you get after blow-drying on a winter day.) In that way, hair volume appears greater.

If you’re one to use bleach (peroxide) occasionally, he says, the bleach can achieve that sliding effect. Perms also make your hair wavier and fuller looking.

Many promoters of these products say their pro-vitamin B5 (panthenol) formulas can lead to fuller hair. Experts say don’t bet on it, and according to the agency, the claim has never been proved.

By the way, there are products that simply color your scalp to create the appearance of hair. “But get any closer than 20 feet from an individual, they’re gonna see your head’s been spray-painted or covered with powder,” Santangelo says.

by Larry Hanover

The best way to keep yourself and your loved ones safe is to be aware of your surroundings and avoid putting yourself in situations that could be potentially dangerous. The following checklist for parking safety contains a list of things worth keeping in mind when walking to your car in public parking areas:

Parking Lot Safety

• Hide or remove your valuables when leaving your car.
• Park close to your destination, especially if it’s going to be dark when you return, even if it means waiting for a space to become free.
• At night, try to park under a street light.
• Leave your engine running until you’ve gathered everything and you’re ready to get out of the car. Check your surroundings to make sure they look safe before you get out of the car.
• If you’re comfortable backing into parking spaces, it’s a good way to park, because it means you can leave quickly if the situation becomes dangerous.
• When you’re walking back to your car, keep your keys in hand, so you can get into the car quickly or use them as a weapon if needed.
• Always take the most brightly lit path to and from your car.
• After you open the car door, check the front and back seats to make sure no one is hiding inside.
• Lock your doors once you get inside the car.
• If someone suspicious approaches you, honk your horn and flash the lights to draw attention.
• If your sixth instinct suggests danger when you are parking or coming back to your car, leave the area until you’re sure it is secure.

homesecurityinformation.com

“I have these slumber parties with my father (Aerosmith’s Steve Tyler), and when we can’t sleep we stay up all night trading beauty tips. He knows all about the good creams and masks.” -Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler was born July 1, 1977, in Portland, Maine. Her unique first name can be traced after her mother, model and former rock groupie Bebe Buell, saw Liv Ullmann on the cover of a TV Guide the week Liv was born. As for the roots of her last name, Liv always believed that her father was musician Todd Rundgren, who her mother had a long-term relationship with and who helped raise her.

Although her birth certificate stated that Rundgren was indeed her father, a 10-year-old Liv became suspicious after meeting Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler at a Rundgren concert, and even more suspicious after seeing Tyler’s daughter Mia, who could have passed for Liv’s twin, at an Aerosmith concert.

Liv confronted her mother about the topic, and her mother told her the truth: Steven Tyler was her father (Liv was the product of an 8-month relationship between Tyler and Buell).

livin’ à la rock n’ roll

Liv made her biological father’s name her own at the age of 12, and 2 years later, mother and daughter headed to New York. While Liv grew into a statuesque, blue-eyed beauty (she had her father’s unmistakable pouty, Mick Jagger-like lips), she claims she was chubby and awkward while growing up.

But family friend Paulina Porizkova saw the beauty in Liv (as does everyone today), and encouraged her to start modeling. Indeed Liv did, and soon appeared in magazines such as Seventeen, YM and Mirabella.

But modeling became boring, and Liv wanted to start acting. She was offered a part in the 1994 film, Silent Fall, which came and went quietly, and she was also cast as Callie in 1995’s Heavy. Liv also starred in the 1995 bomb Empire Records, which was set in a record store, but she did attract attention while co-starring with Alicia Silverstone in dad’s video for Crazy.

liv was stealing beauty

Finally in 1996, Liv landed the lead role of Lucy in Bernardo Bertolucci’s exquisite film about a teen in search of finding her father and losing her virginity, Stealing Beauty. Although the film was not a moneymaker, it did raise eyebrows in film circles, especially the 1996 Cannes Film Festival.

After a starring role in Tom Hanks’ film, That Thing You Do!, Liv was cast in 1997’s Inventing the Abbotts, in which she co-starred with Joaquin Phoenix, with whom she had a 2-year relationship.

After a tiny role in U Turn and an uncredited role in Can’t Hardly Wait, Liv starred as Bruce Willis’ daughter in the summer blow-up hit, Armageddon, which opened on her birthday.

In 1999, Liv rounded out a stellar cast in Cookie’s Fortune, appeared in Plunkett & Macleane, co-starred with Ralph Fiennes in Onegin, and appeared as herself in the documentary, Franky Goes to Hollywood.

lord of our hearts

Liv starred in the female star-studded Dr. T and the Women (along with fellow celebrity progeny Kate Hudson), and will next be seen in the comedy, One Night at McCool’s, as the scheming Jewel Valentine, as well as the first installment of the film trilogy, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, as Arwen Undomiel.

Liv will be keeping rock ‘n’ roll in the family and will now be a rocker wife, after her Valentine’s Day 2001 engagement to Royston Langdon, Spacehog’s lead singer and bass player, and her steady of 3 years.

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What is an expired Domain Name?

An expired Domain Name is a Domain Name which was previously registered but the owner did not re-register it. If a Domain Name expires, it becomes available for anyone to register.

Why are Expired Domains so Popular?

One reason is that if the domain name itself has a lot of link popularity, it will have an established source of traffic. What this means to you is if you snap up an Expired Domain with an established source of traffic, you will have a site with instant traffic.

To prove that expired Domain Names with traffic not only exist, but exist abundantly, I will show you a site which sells Traffic from Expired Domains. That’s all they do!

The site is: http://www.adbuytraffic.com and they openly state on their FAQ page where the traffic comes from. Expired Domains! Here is that page: http://www.adbuytraffic.com/faq.html#6

How to Locate Expired Domains

I will show you how to locate Expired Domains for Free. The money you save can be used for other things such as web hosting.

But first, just to see how all this works, check out http://www.bizmint.com. They will charge you a monthly fee to access their database of Expired Domains.

Now go to http://www.deleteddomains.com where you can search for Deleted and Expired Domain Names for FREE.

What Program Enables an Expired Domain Name Search?

The above sites all use some kind of Script which will search for Expired Domains. These Scripts are usually written in Perl and will run on a UNIX web host which supports Perl.

There is a couple of ways to get your hands on one of these special programs.

1. Go to http://www.hotscripts.com or http://www.scriptsearch.com and search for the term “Expired Domain Name” You will get several results which contain Free and Fee scripts. Remember to try your own search terms too.

2. Go to http://www.scriptlance.com and post a project up for bid. You will get programmers from all over the world bidding on your project. The beauty about this is that you can specify exactly what you want your script to do and you will most likely pay much less for a full featured script. Plus you will own the rights to the script.

So How Can You Profit from Expired Domains?

In his course, Corey Rudl explains one website model that should interest you right now. The website model goes like this:

Find a service which somebody is charging money for on the Internet.

Offer a similar service for Free and have no sales messages on the site in the early days.

Corey goes on to explain that after thousands of people link to your site, you can convert the site into some kind of profit model by selling ad space, your own product that you have created or affiliate products etc.

So clearly, the ones who make the most money from Expired Domain Names are the ones at the top of the Pecking-Order.

Will you make the most money by joining an Expired Domain names affiliate program or will you make more if you have thousands of Affiliates selling your product or service.

What would you rather do?

Pay 10 bucks a month to access a database of expired domains or pay 10 bucks a month for web hosting and own the whole deal?

What if you offered Free Expired Domain Name Search on your site but also offered Domain Name Registrations on the search results page?

To see an example of a regular Free Domain Name Search and Domain Name Registration business go to http://www.domainsearch.com.

Conclusion:

Always try to be at the top of the Pecking-Order.

Before you join an affiliate program, consider creating a similar product or service. Have thousands of affiliates selling YOUR products and services.

Only sell affiliate products which compliment your own products but do not compete with them.

“At first glance, I almost thought, this isn’t a role for me. I don’t want to play the quintessential dumb blonde, the babe in the woods character.” -Sarah Michelle Gellar, on her character in I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Sarah Michelle Gellar was born on April 14, 1977, in New York City. After the 1984 divorce of her parents, Sarah was raised by her mother, Rosellen. Incidentally, her biological father, Arthur Gellar, was found dead in his apartment in October 2001.

Fate stepped in when Sarah was 4 years old, after an agent discovered her eating at a local restaurant. She made her acting debut with the made-for-TV movie An Invasion of Privacy, and a slew of television appearances soon followed in shows like Spenser: For Hire.

sarah michelle gellar in swans crossing

After small, uncredited parts in films like Over the Brooklyn Bridge and High Stakes, Sarah was cast as the teenage version of Jacqueline Bouvier in the made-for-TV movie on the former First Lady, 1991’s A Woman Named Jackie. She also appeared in the short-lived 1992 television drama, Swans Crossing, along with Mira Sorvino.

sarah michelle in all my children

Already practically a TV veteran with at least 100 commercials to her credit (including a McDonald’s controversy), Sarah was gaining even more recognition with female soap opera fans, thanks to her role in All My Children (she befriended actress Kelly Ripa on set, who was quoted as saying that Sarah was always mature beyond her years). Sarah was even awarded with an Emmy for her portrayal of Erica Kane’s daughter in 1995. Apparently, Sarah had to refuse the role of Juliet in 1996’s Romeo + Juliet, which ultimately went to Claire Danes, because of scheduling conflicts with All My Children.

sarah is buffy the vampire slayer

But if it’s any consolation to Sarah, her biggest role to date was only an audition away. Sarah was aiming for the role of Cordelia in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but after her audition, it was clear that she was meant to play the lead. Sarah slayed vampires and dealt with teenage angst as Buffy Summers, from the show’s debut in 1997 to its demise in 2003. As as result, both the show and Sarah enjoyed a lot of critical and commercial acclaim. The fact that she studied Tae Kwon Do for five years (she has a black belt), and also studied kickboxing, boxing, street fighting, and gymnastics, served to make her butt-kicking role that much more believable.

Despite — or in addition to — the huge success of Buffy, Sarah also turned up in some impressive movie roles in the late ’90s, in films like 1997’s I Know What You Did Last Summer and Scream 2, as well as other teen flicks like 1999’s Cruel Intentions and Simply Irresistible. She also made an uncredited appearance in the Freddie Prinze Jr. vehicle, She’s All That (1999).

sarah michelle in scooby-doo

Speaking of Freddie, the two became friends on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer, and after years of friendship and romance, the couple announced their engagement on April 14, 2001, Sarah’s 24th birthday. The two tied the knot on September 1, 2002.

Currently living in Los Angeles with her “Prinze,” it’s clear that Sarah is enjoying the best years of her life. In 2002, she even got to star opposite her husband in Scooby-Doo, and they both reprised their roles in 2004 for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

sarah michelle gellar in the grudge

Her next role was in the hit horror flick The Grudge (2004). She also did voice work in the TV film 2004: A Light Knight’s Odyssey and the film Happily N’Ever After (2005). In 2005, Sarah Michelle Gellar can add Revolver, Southland Tales and Romantic Comedy to her resume.
 

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quote

“I am confident and I’m comfortable in my own skin.”
-Faith Hill

Audrey Faith Perry was born on September 21, 1967, in Jackson, Mississippi, but she was raised in the nearby town of Star by her adoptive parents. Faith started singing at an early age and showcased her vocal abilities at family gatherings, local rodeos, fairs, and churches.

She enrolled in college, but it only took a few months for Faith to know that she was ready to pursue a career in country music. At the age of 19, she headed to Nashville to realize her dream.

Faith’s first job was at Gary Morris’ publishing company, which would eventually lead her to stardom. Caught singing privately by a writer who worked there, Faith was convinced to produce a demo. Gary Morris himself heard Faith’s rendition of the song and encouraged her to pursue a singing career.

faith hill releases take me as i am

Shortly thereafter, Faith met songwriter Gary Burr and became a backup singer for him. It was at one of Gary’s shows that a representative of Warner Bros. Records heard Faith sing.

The company quickly signed Faith, and her first album, Take Me As I Am, was released in 1993. It sold three million copies and spawned such No. 1 hits as “Wild One” (her debut country single) and a rendition of rocker Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.”

faith hill releases it matters to me

In 1995, Faith followed up with It Matters to Me, which had been delayed due to an operation on her vocal chords. The album was certified four times platinum and the title track became a No. 1 hit.

That same year, Faith began touring with country sensation Tim McGraw. They soon fell in love and Faith broke off her engagement to her former producer, Scott Hendricks. Tim proposed in his tour trailer before one of his shows and they married on October 6, 1996. They have three daughters, Gracie Katherine, Maggie Elizabeth and Audrey Caroline.

faith goes pop with faith and breathe

In 1998, Faith went toward a more “pop” sound with her third album, Faith. The formula worked, as the album sold six million copies, surpassing her previous releases. The single “This Kiss” topped the country music charts and went to No. 7 on the pop charts, increasing Faith’s profile exponentially.

The following year, Faith release her fourth album, Breathe, which cemented her status as a pop singer. The title track went to No. 1 on the country charts and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the longest-running tracks on that chart. Faith won three Grammy Awards for Breathe, including Best Country Album.

faith and tim mcgraw do soul2soul

In 2000, Faith and her husband, Tim McGraw, launched their first joint tour, Soul2Soul. It was one of the most successful tours of the year.

Two years later, Faith released her fifth album, Cry. Although the album shot up to No. 1 on both the country and pop charts, country radio snubbed its singles, considering them too “pop.” Nonetheless, the album went double platinum and Faith won a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Cry.”

faith hill in the stepford wives

Wishing to try her hand at acting, Faith appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Glenn Close in 2004’s The Stepford Wives.

However, the following year, Faith decided that it was time to go back to her country roots and released Fireflies. The single “Mississippi Girl” went to No. 1 on the country charts and restored her reputation as a country music sensation. The second single, “Like We Never Loved At All,” a duet with Tim McGraw, received a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

faith and tim go on tour again

In April 2006, Faith and Tim embarked on their Soul2Soul II Tour 2006, which became the highest-grossing country music tour of all time. In June, Fireflies was certified double platinum.

In November of that same year, Faith caused controversy by making angry faces at the Country Music Association Awards when Carrie Underwood won Female Vocalist of the Year. She later explained that it had been a joke and that she hadn’t meant to insult Carrie.

faith hill releases two albums in 2007

In 2007, Faith is set to release two albums, including one for the holidays. She also sings two duets, “I Need You” and “Shotgun Rider,” with Tim McGraw on his album, Let It Go.

In addition, the third installment of the successful couple’s Soul2Soul Tour is running from June through August.
 

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One of the things you don’t want to be worrying about while you’re on vacation is whether or not your home is secure. The best way to keep your home from becoming a target is to keep it from being obvious that you’re gone. Burglars don’t want to come face to face with homeowners, so they will go for the easier target first, the house where clearly no one is at home.

Here are some tips for making sure it’s not easy for burglars to tell you’re away:

• Don’t tell people the dates you’re going to be on vacation unless they need to know.
• Put a few of the lights in your house on timers so they go on automatically at night. Use a program that suggests the element of randomness (lights go on at different times on different days), so a burglar who might be staking out the place won’t know for sure if anybody is there or not.
• Cancel your newspaper delivery so papers don’t pile up on the stoop.
• Have a friend or relative pick up your mail (or you can arrange to have it held at the post office).
• Leave a car parked in the driveway.

Before you leave home, don’t forget to…

• Doublecheck the locks on your doors and windows before you leave. Make sure you set your alarm if you have one.
• Store your valuables in a secure safe that is hidden from anyone who may be peeking in a window.

If you return from your trip and find that you have been burglarized, don’t touch anything. Immediately leave the premises and call the police from the nearest phone. Remember, the burglar could still be inside.

homesecurityinformation.com

“It was only cool to have blond hair and be a surfer chick [in Sydney]. I could learn how to surf, but I still looked Italian. It took me a long time to realize that was a good thing.” -Natalie Imbruglia

Natalie Imbruglia’s meteoric rise to fame has taken the music industry and the world by surprise. However, it is probably not a surprise to those who knew her in her early days. She was born on February 4 1975, in a small town two hours from Sydney, Australia.

She took tap and ballet lessons as a child and demonstrated her strong will and determination at an early age. She believed in herself and felt she could do anything she set her mind to. Imbruglia credits these years as the source of her strength and perseverance as a woman.

“It taught me discipline and steadfastness”, she said in an US magazine interview. “I wasn’t that good but I was so determined that I used to put planks of wood down in the garage, and practice and practice. I’d lie in bed at night and work my ankle exercises.”

Much to her parent’s dismay, Imbruglia then turned her focus to acting and ventured to Sydney to find acting work. She landed several television commercials for Coke, Bubblicious gum, and a snack called Twisties. The more jobs she landed, the more her parents supported her dreams of acting. They soon let her quit the school for performing arts to concentrate on her acting pursuits.

She got a temporary role on the popular Australian soap opera Neighbours, and became an instant success. She was so well received by audiences that the producers decided to make her character permanent.

Her joy, however, was short lived, as she grew tired of the show and eventually left to find more satisfying work. “I was like, what have I done? I’m not saying it was a nasty, terrible job; it just wasn’t for me”.

She moved to London where she lived in relative obscurity for two years. She did little acting work and became enamored with the London club scene. She refused to use her Neighbours fame to get her ahead in London.

She soon encountered financial difficulty and began writing songs to earn some money. She showed her work to Mark Fox, former Haircut 100 percussionist and current creative director for BMG publishing. Fox, in turn, contacted Phil Thornally, the former bassist for Cure.

The trio proceeded to record “Torn” and got in touch with a high-profile manager named Anne Barrett. She instantly came aboard the Imbruglia train and took “Torn” to its next destination; RCA executive Jeremy Marsh’s desk. Marsh was so impressed that he signed Imbruglia immediately.

Torn hit radio waves as an import on an L.A. station and went on to receive widespread airplay. Next came the video to the song, as well as a much publicized appearance on Saturday Night Live. When the full album, Left of the Middle, was finally released in spring of 1998, it debuted at No.10.

It earned her a host of awards, including MTV Music Video Awards, the Australian Record Industry Awards, the MTV Europe Video Music Awards, and the Billboard Music Awards, three 1999 Grammy nominations (Best New Artist, Best Pop Album, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance), and two Brit Awards for Best International Female and Best International Newcomer.

Imbruglia takes her rise to fame with a grain of salt. “I think it’s just [a matter of] trying to concentrate on your little goal in life and not focus on the big picture too much. That’s what I try and do”. It’s also rumored that she dated David Schwimmer of Friends and singer Lenny Kravitz. Watch for her new album scheduled to be in stores later this year.
 

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Born in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 1991, Emma Roberts has been around the entertainment industry since she was just a baby. The daughter of noted actor Eric Roberts, Emma spent a lot of time on the sets of her her aunt’s, Julia Roberts, movies and even worked as an extra on the 2001 film, America’s Sweethearts. And although her mother initially wanted Emma to have a normal childhood, her obvious passion for performing couldn’t be stifled and her mother finally allowed her to begin the auditioning for parts.

She made her film debut in 2001’s Blow, which is also notable as the first movie she ever tried out for. Ironically, Emma still hasn’t seen the movie due to its R-rated content, although director Ted Demme did make her a tape consisting entirely of her scenes. She followed Blow with starring roles in a pair of family films, 2002’s Grand Champion and the 2006 monkey comedy Spymate. Emma didn’t break through, however, until she landed the lead role on the Nickelodeon show Unfabulous in 2004, where she quickly established herself as a likeable and genuinely talented performer (she sings, too!).

In 2005, Emma released her first single, “If I Had It My Way,” which appeared in the Disney film Ice Princess. A year later, Emma cemented her status as a bona fide teen queen with her role opposite Sara Paxton and JoJo in Aquamarine. And with her appearance as iconic character Nancy Drew in the movie of the same name, it’s clear that Emma is destined to follow in the famous footsteps of her aunt.
 

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“When [people] meet me, they think I’m going to be outgoing, but I like things low-key. I don’t like people to think I’m bragging.” -Laura Prepon

The youngest of five siblings, Laura Prepon was born March 7, 1980, in Watchung, New Jersey. She had a normal childhood and attended the local regional high school. At the age of 15, she caught the acting bug, decided to quit regular secondary school and enrolled herself in a specialized theater college.

Aside from working in plays like A Woman of Property and Ascension Day, Prepon took up ballet and modern and jazz dance. As she continued to improve her theater skills, she began taking the 45-minute drive to New York and attended every audition possible.

uma-oprah, laura-donna

Having little more than an MCI commercial and the Internet series They Go On on her resume, on a whim, Prepon went to the That ’70s Show audition. Right away, the producers knew they had their “Donna.” Laura was Donna, the epitome of the girl next door — a perfect fit. Her audition tape was flown to L.A., and she got the part: A major role on a FOX sitcom at the age of 18.

Although the show was slow to draw big audience numbers, Prepon enjoyed success nonetheless. She modeled in Paris and Milan, and did a new commercial for the skincare line Clean & Clear. When That ’70s Show’s third season came in 2000, it had finally established a strong following. Prepon was able to obtain small parts in lesser-known movies such as The Best and Brightest and The Pornographer: A Love Story.

a refreshing take on hollywood

With a low-key take on her business, Prepon wants to take her rise to fame on the proper path. There will be no appearances in movies like Scream or Can’t Hardly Wait, although she did appear in the 2002 comedy Slackers and the smaller-scale film Southlander. She admits to having taken on minor roles not because they were the only ones available, but because she knew they would help her later on.

Although Prepon is spoken for (she is living with boyfriend Christopher Masterson of Malcolm in the Middle), we could always dream of meeting someone like her: an ideal woman in many men’s opinions.

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How safe is your home? Here is a short home security checklist that hits on the major things you should take a look at in order to make your home less of a target to thieves. Remember, burglars prefer to choose the easy mark, so you want to do everything possible to make your house look undesirable to people looking to make a quick easy buck.

Home Security Checklist:

• Exterior doors should have good quality cylinder locks plus deadbolts with 3 inch screws. This includes sliding doors.
• All door frames should be reinforced so that doors can’t be broken down with a kick.
• Doors should be made out of solid wood or metal. Hollow-core wooden doors are too easy to penetrate and should only be used on interior doorways.
• Landscape for visibility instead of privacy. Though our natural inclination may be to cut ourselves off from neighbors and street passersby, it is better from a security standpoint to eliminate or trim trees and shrubs that could provide a hiding place for burglars or shelter their actions from the house/street.
• Use locks on garages and storage sheds, and keep tools (especially ladders that burglars could use to reach second-story windows) inside and out of sight.
• Use outdoor lighting to keep all entrances to your house well-lit (photosensitive lights go on automatically when night falls, or to conserve energy you can get motion detecting or heat sensing lights that go on when triggered). Again, the object is to eliminate hiding places for burglars.
• Glass break detectors on windows sound an alarm if someone tries to force entry that way and should scare off intruders.
• Make sure door and window hinges are on the inside of the house.
• Keep a home inventory up to date so that if a burglar does make it in, you can provide all the necessary information on what’s missing to the police and your home insurance company.

homesecurityinformation.com

“A Minor is one of my all-time favorite keys to play in. It’s a very moody key, and also ‘A’ is the first letter of my name. It just represents the songs through my eyes.” -Alicia Keys, on the title of her debut album

Since the tender age of 5, Alicia Keys has proven herself a true musical prodigy. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, a great deal of her upbringing was devoted to music and her aspirations to succeed as a performer. Piano lessons beginning at such an early age allowed Alicia to blossom into the exceptionally talented pianist she is today.

She credits much of her success to her mother’s insistence on her continuing with the lessons, and ultimately growing as an artist. Her ultra-supportive mother advised her that piano-playing was the one thing in life that she would not allow her daughter to give up on. While many children may consider this to be a form of punishment, Alicia thought otherwise. Piano-playing proved to become one of her true passions in life and she pursued it.

free as a songbird

Alicia eventually enrolled in the Professional Performance Arts School of Manhattan and chose to major in choir. An all-around outstanding student, her musical talents grew to an even higher level under the guidance of one of her instructors. This instructor helped to train her voice, enabling Alicia to further grow as a multi-talented musician.

At the age of 16, Alicia’s outstanding academic grades allowed her to finish high school early. Columbia University accepted her immediately thereafter, but she was intent on pursuing her love of music instead.

In 1998, major record labels began discovering her, which resulted in old-fashioned bidding wars in her honor. She eventually signed with Arista Records. At this point, she continued the process of writing, producing and recording the debut that she’d been working on since the age of 14.

fallin’ from the sky

In late 1999, Alicia decided to join Clive Davis and his newfound record label, J Records. Davis has supported and groomed many high-profile artists in the past, including Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Santana. Keys saw this as an opportunity to grow and Davis, being the legendary record mogul that he is, has been relentlessly hyping the piano-playing prodigy ever since.

Recently, the 19-year-old musician’s debut album, Songs in A Minor entered the Billboard album charts at #1. The album includes the hit single “Fallin,” along with collaborations from other high-profile artists, including Jermaine Dupri and Isaac Hayes.

The near future looks to be very promising for this hot, young, musical talent. Her next single, “A Woman’s Worth” is scheduled for release very shortly. If it follows in the footsteps of her debut release, it will most likely prove to be a chart-topper. Alicia is also scheduled to perform during the 27th season premiere of Saturday Night Live, which is to be hosted by Reese Witherspoon.

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“I love police officers, firemen, the usual girl stuff… And I like talking dirty — I do.” -Leah Remini

A proud Brooklynite through and through, Leah Remini was born in the New York City borough on June 15, 1970. Her Sicilian father and Jewish mother, who hails from Monaco, encouraged Leah to stick to academics, but she dropped out of high school at the age of 14.

dropping out to hit it big

Lured by the Hollywood opportunities of Los Angeles — her home since her teenage years — Remini saw acting as her salvation. Her mother, a guiding force in her life to this day, encouraged this pursuit, knowing that it would lead to great achievements despite her daughter’s lack of proper education. Before Hollywood really lured her in, Remini worked as a car insurance salesman, waitress and telemarketer.

who’s the boss now?

This tough, stubborn beauty (she was advised to drop her Brooklyn accent, but refused) finally got her first role in a 1988 episode of Head of the Class. Now closer to adulthood, she was able to take more control of her career’s direction and doggedly went to every audition possible. Her persistence paid off when she landed the role of Samantha Micelli’s (Alyssa Milano) friend in two episodes of Who’s the Boss? and landed a recurring role as part of the cast of Living Dolls, a spin-off of Who’s the Boss?, in 1989.

More small-time work molded Remini into the comedian she is today: she played Carla’s (Rhea Perlman) daughter in Cheers and starred in the short-lived sitcom, First Time Out. Though a big opportunity seemingly passed her by after Remini didn’t get the role of Monica in the soon-to-be huge show Friends (of course, Courteney Cox Arquette landed the gig), she continued to work hard in episodes of The Commish, Diagnosis Murder and the 1996 film Glory Daze, with Ben Affleck. And even though the casting directors of Friends overlooked her, she was called in to make a guest appearance in the first season of the “Must-See TV” sitcom.

heating things up

After doing a spot on NYPD Blue, Remini felt it was about time a consistent role came her way. Her wishes came true when, in 1997, she got a lead role alongside Sharon Lawrence in NBC’s Fired Up. Unfortunately, the string of unsuccessful programs that Remini was involved with continued after the sitcom was canceled in 1998.

the queen gets her dues

Her career finally showed promise later that year, when she was cast to play Carrie Heffernan opposite accomplished and rotund comedian Kevin James in the then-new CBS sitcom, The King of Queens. With a great supporting cast, including Jerry Stiller, the show flourished and so did Remini. She was recognized as much for her comedy as her beauty, and remains one of the reasons The King of Queens continues to thrive.

In addition to this success, Remini has captured many men’s attention in FHM and Stuff spreads and cracked people up in the 2003 film Old School. Though it took a while for her to get established in television, she is finally reveling in the limelight of success. And by the looks of it, Remini will be TV royalty for a long time.
 

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Olga Kurylenko was born and raised in the small town of Berdyansk in southern Ukraine, and dreamed of getting away from there to live a more exciting and glamorous life. When she was fifteen, she went to Moscow for a week’s vacation at the suggestion of her mother, and it was there that she was “discovered” by a scout from a modeling agency. Olga was soon living in Paris where she began working immediately. Her first gig was a photo shoot in sunny Cuba.

Olga Kurylenko eventually became interested in acting, as she began studying at a theater school during her spare time. She landed her first big screen role playing Iris in the French drama L’Annulaire. The film became a favorite at the 2005 Toronto Film Fest, and earned her the Certificate of Excellence as Best Actress at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. In 2006, Kurylenko portrayed The Vampire, opposite Elijah Wood’s Tourist, in the ”Quartier de la Madeleine” segment of Paris, je t’aime, and also appeared in the French-Swiss telefilm Le Porte-bonheur.

Next Olga Kurylenko appeared in Suspectes, a mini-series which aired on French television during the spring of 2007. Her other credits for that year included the role of sexy seductress Sofia in the thriller Le Serpent (aka The Snake) as Nika, opposite Timothy Olyphant’s Agent 47, in Hitman, based on the video game of the same name. And as Mina Harud in the sci-fi drama Tyranny, which was introduced as a web-series before hitting the big screen sometime in 2008.

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“I can’t say that any two people want the same career. I don’t want to be a ‘teen star’ because so many people don’t ever grow out of that.” -Lacey Chabert

Though not evident at first, Lacey Nicole Chabert (pronounced sha-bare) is actually a real Southerner at heart. She was born on September 30th, 1982 in Purvis, Mississippi, and her father, Tony, is of Cajun descent. As a child, Chabert immediately gravitated toward the stage, appearing in dramatic and musical performances before reaching double digits in age.

In 1991, this multi-talented actress was a junior vocalist finalist on Star Search. This opened the door to several TV opportunities, the first being a cough syrup commercial. Theater, however, loomed large in her future; Broadway came calling and for two years Chabert portrayed Cosette in the hit musical, Les Misrables.

joining the party

After short stints in a handful of TV projects (including the soap All My Children), Chabert landed her most significant role on the long-running series, Party of Five. Though mainly a supporting player when the drama debuted on FOX in 1994, her portrayal of Claudia Salinger came to the forefront during the show’s later years. When the incredible ride finally ended in 2000, the show had already produced two stars in Neve Campbell and Jennifer Love Hewitt, and few doubted that Lacey Chabert would be the third.

This belief was based on Chabert’s work during the drama’s run. She appeared in the commercial hit but critical flop Lost in Space (1998) and showed a talent for cartoon voiceover work in the Nickelodeon show The Wild Thornberrys (as Eliza Thornberry, among others) and the cult hit Family Guy (as Meg before Mila Kunis took over), in addition to films like Anastasia (1997), The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride (1998) and two installments of the American Tail animated trilogy (1999 and 2000).

getting animated

Coming out of a long-running TV show and reinventing oneself is never easy, even for a talent like Chabert. Her first effort post-Party was 2001’s Tart, a B-movie at best, but she improved with a comedic performance in Not Another Teen Movie later that year, in which she spoofed Jennifer Love Hewitt’s role in Can’t Hardly Wait. But her bread and butter continued to be big-screen cartoon work, as she reprised her animated role of Eliza Thornberry for The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002) and Rugrats Go Wild! (2003).

notable feats of late

Always a stickler for putting out quality work, Chabert turned down several MTV-movie offers and instead took up two independent projects in 2002. Hometown Legend and The Scoundrel’s Wife are both great films in which Chabert shows real talent — they are recommended rentals.

In 2003, she got some great exposure in Daddy Day Care, starring Eddie Murphy. This, along with her animated voice work, is proof that this once shy and innocent woman is now poised for some serious time in the spotlight.
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“I feel a lot healthier when I’m having sex. Physically. I feel all these jitters when I wake up in the morning. Just energy jitters. I take vitamins, I work out every day. When I’m having sex, I don’t have that.”
-Alyssa Milano

Born in Brooklyn, New York on December 19, 1972, Alyssa Jayne Milano is the daughter of Thomas, a film music editor, and Lin, a fashion designer.

After seeing the Broadway play Annie at the age of 7, Alyssa knew she wanted to become an actress. One year later, she made her acting debut as July in the same musical and toured for 18 months. After that time, Alyssa left Annie to star in off-Broadway productions and TV commercials.

alyssa joins who’s the boss?

Milano made her television debut in 1984 with her role as Tony Danza’s daughter on the popular sitcom Who’s the Boss?, which ran for eight years. And only one year into the sitcom’s run, Alyssa nabbed a small role playing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter in 1985’s Commando.

While her role on Who’s The Boss? continued to garner her millions of fans and allowed her to create a best-selling exercise video in 1988 called Teen Steam, Alyssa also starred in a bunch of forgettable TV movies, including The Canterville Ghost (1986), Crash Course (1988) and Voices That Care (1991).

In 1989, a picture of Alyssa served as the inspiration behind Disney’s The Little Mermaid and was used to create the image of Ariel in the classic movie.

alyssa grows up and releases albums

The ’90s were a time when Alyssa wanted to shed her little-girl image and prove that she was a sexy adult woman. She did so by starring in Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1993) and the sexually charged Embrace of the Vampire (1994) and Poison Ivy II (1996). It worked, as popular men’s mag FHM voted her onto its 100 Sexiest Women in the World list four times.

But Alyssa didn’t stop at TV and movies. In fact, she also released five albums — entitled Alyssa (1989), Look In My Heart (1989), Best In The World (1990), Locked In a Dream (1991), and Do You See Me? (1992) — in Japan, all of which went platinum.

alyssa in fear and on melrose place

On the big screen, one of Alyssa’s most important roles came in 1996 when she starred alongside Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg in the surprise hit Fear (1996). Also in 1996, she appeared in To Brave Alaska, a made-for-TV flick about a couple fighting for their lives while abandoned in Alaska.

In 1997, Milano returned to television full time as troublemaker Jennifer Mancini in the primetime Aaron Spelling soap Melrose Place. She was cast as a regular for one season and became the enemy of fellow beauty Amanda, played by Heather Locklear.

alyssa milano on charmed

While her role on Melrose Place was hot in 1997, Milano attended the Sundance Film Festival, where her new movie, Hugo Pool, also starring Robert Downey Jr., Sean Penn and Patrick Dempsey, premiered. At the festival, Alyssa was given the Spirit Award for women.

In 1998, Milano began portraying a witch on the WB’s Charmed, alongside fellow witches Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs (Shannen Doherty quit in 2001 and was replaced by McGowan). She stayed on the show for eight seasons, leaving only when the show came to an end in 2006.

In January 1999, on New Year’s Day, Alyssa wed musician Cinjun Tate (lead singer for the rock group Remy Zero), but she divorced him that same year in November.

alyssa milano in dickie roberts

Alyssa’s major role in Charmed didn’t stop her from appearing in big-screen projects. In 2003, Alyssa starred alongside David Spade in Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, and the following year, she did voice work for Dinotopia: Curse of the Ruby Sunstone.

Alyssa also continued doing TV commercials; she was well-known as the spokesperson for 1-800-Collect and for her very provocative commercials and print ads for Candie’s perfume.

In addition, Alyssa got seriously involved in humanitarian work; in fact, she is a National Ambassador for UNICEF and she works with PETA.

alyssa milano in the blue hour

In 2007, Alyssa appears alongside Rachel Miner in the big-screen drama The Blue Hour.

Before renting, you should make sure you’re moving into a secure area. Here are a few things to check for:

• All the parking lots/garages, sidewalks, stairs, laundry facilities, hallways, and entrances should be well-lit 24 hours a day.
• If apartment doors open to an interior hallway, the building should have a secure admittance system that requires a key or code to enter. 
• If doors open to the exterior of the building, your door should have both deadbolt and lock; the lock should have been changed after the last tenant left.
• Make sure fire escapes are above the ground floor–so you can leave but others can’t enter–and locked from inside.
• Mailboxes should be in a well-lit area and have quality locks to permit mail theft.
• Ensure the landlord has a good reputation for fixing maintenance problems quickly, especially burned out lights (shadows provide places for criminals to hide).

Also, make sure you have renter’s insurance to protect your belongings! You can get quotes online from folks like Netquote.com.

“Some people have active imaginations, but they don’t know me and they’re wrong if they think they do.” -Yamila Diaz Rahi

Yamila Diaz Rahi was born in Argentina, to a doctor father and an old folks home manager mother. Of Lebanese and Spanish descent, Yamila and her two sisters, Maria and Yael, were raised in Argentina.

With no original intention to become a model, everything changed for Yamila when she was spotted by a modeling agency scout in Buenos Aires, where Yamila was an Economics student. After this chance encounter, she flew to Milan where her career as a model began.

It took a while for the exotic beauty to break through, and she started off by doing department store catalogues for several years. But it was after her work in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar in 1999 that Yamila skyrocketed to model status.

Everyone from Glamour to Cosmopolitan took notice, as did the people at Victoria’s Secret. After Yamila modeled lingerie for every man’s favorite catalogue, it was no secret that Yamila would appear on the cover of magazines worldwide.

Since her swimsuit and lingerie modeling stint, Yamila has graced the covers of Marie Claire, Elle (US and Spain), the European editions of Max, GQ and Shape. Yamila also joined the beautiful bevy of models for the 2000 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, including Estella Warren and Laetitia Casta.

In addition to her work with the Newport News catalogue, Yamila has recently appeared as one of the newest “Cover Girl” models, joining Niki Taylor, and has also appeared in ads for Replay jeans, Ungaro’s “Fleur de Diva” perfume, and Italian cosmetics “Bio-Etyc”.

She may not be strutting down the runways for big name designers just yet, but Yamila has just been cast in an important movie role, to appear in an Italian feature film entitled Il pesce innamorato (”Love of the Fishes”), along with Italian actor Leonardo Pieraccioni.

Since it was luck that got her to where she is, Yamila has never allowed herself to develop the diva attitude many models are known for, despite the glamorous life she now leads. With the short life span of models, she recognizes that her looks are not enough of an attribute. This is why the South American beauty broadens her achievements by developing her language skills — learning Italian and English — and delving into literature, most notably Brazilian writers.

Yamila currently resides in Manhattan, with her boyfriend, Italian artist, Giuliano.
 

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Asbestos is a mineral that can occur naturally in the environment, and is also used by man in a range of products. This material was once widely used in many places, but as the dangers of exposure to asbestos began to come to light, this all changed. However, for many people it was too late, as the damage had already been done.

This is because asbestos is responsible for a number of side effects, which can cause anything from discomfort to death. Asbestosis and pleural plaques can result from exposure to asbestos, and more notably so can mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that can take many decades to develop but only a matter of months from the onset of symptoms to kill.

Mesothelioma is caused by ingesting or breathing in loose asbestos fibres, which can then cause scarring and ultimately can lead to this cancer. The cancer can affect the lung, chest, or abdominal cavities, but it also has a very long latency period, which means that it could be thirty years or more before the person even realizes that they have contracted the cancer because this is how long it can take to manifest. The onset of symptoms can take up to fifty years or more in some cases, but once the symptoms have manifested the lifespan of the person can be as short as several months.

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, many people – mainly men – worked in industries where they were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis and for long periods of time. This mineral was so widely used because it was cheap and because of its fire resistant properties. Because the effects of the mineral were largely unknown except for in certain circles at the time, workers did not question the lack of protection or concern displayed with regards to working so closely with asbestos.

However, it is thought that many companies and manufacturers were aware of the deadly effects of this mineral from as early as the 1920s. However, their failure to provide oblivious employees with protection against the effects of asbestos resulted in many people contracting this cancer, and only realizing thirty to fifty years down the line just as they were settling down to enjoy their retirement.

Some of the workers mostly likely to come across asbestos on a day to day basis and therefore most at risk included as insulators, plasterers, electricians, mechanics, bricklayers, carpenters, and other tradesmen. This is because these professionals worked closely with materials and products that contained asbestos. Also at risk were the families of these workers, as they could often ingest or breathe in asbestos fibres from the clothes, skin, or hair of the worker, and this could lead to the same effects.

Millions of workers have been exposed to asbestos over the years, and the unlucky ones have discovered several decades later just what an impact their work had on their health. Many of the cases of mesothelioma coming to light today are in men, as it was mainly men that worked with asbestos several decades ago. These workers are now finding out that they have this cancer and other asbestos related disorders, as the symptoms finally manifest.

The dangers of asbestos exposure have now been far more widely recognised. However, millions of people worldwide have been exposed to this mineral. For these people, living life can be like living on borrowed time, and each year, thousands of new cases of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related cancers are diagnosed.

This figure is likely to increase over the next ten years or so, and many more middle-aged and elderly people could find that they have been harbouring this deadly cancer for the past few decades.

Although it is now known that asbestos exposure is responsible for malignant mesothelioma and other forms of cancer, asbestosis, pleural plaques, and other respiratory and health problems, this mineral can still be found in insulation materials in many places worldwide, and therefore continues to hold its deadly reign over mankind.

mesolink.org 

“I was a sports freak at school — I did a lot of athletics. It was my mum who took me to a modeling agency. She told me we were going to the dentist — and they got me into Hollyoaks.”
- Gemma Atkinson

Gemma was born on November 16, 1984, in Bury, Greater Manchester, England. She went to Castlebrook High School, where she was very involved in school activities. She did quite a bit of athletics and was an avid sports fan. Obviously, she was an extremely popular girl and had a multitude of friends during her school years.

gemma atkinson the model and actress

Gemma Atkinson was too into sports to be interested in modeling and acting in her younger years. Thus, it was Gemma’s mom who introduced her to the glitz and glamour of acting and modeling by deceiving her into her first audition. Gemma started off in commercial acting and photographic modeling, and her natural beauty and adorable face quickly made her quite the commodity.

In 2001, Gemma was cast for the role of Lisa Hunter on the acclaimed English television series Hollyoaks. Her role quickly propelled her into fame and illustriousness. There were few teenage boys who could not pick Gemma out of a lineup, and she was only 17 years old at the time.

gemma atkinson becomes a sex symbol

Gemma soon became a staple of the Hollyoaks brand name. Because of the success of the show and Gemma’s unbelievably huge following, the producers launched Hollyoaks: After Hours in 2004. It was a short-lived program, but it turned Gemma from a teenage star into a sex symbol in matter of seconds.

Since then, Gemma has appeared in two other spin-offs of Hollyoaks. In Hollyoaks: Let Loose, she continued to play the role of Lisa Hunter. However, as the title entails, Gemma’s role in this series was a lot more liberal. Gemma also starred in Hollyoaks: In the City, in which she once again played a more mature and compelling role.

gemma atkinson models her new assets

Gemma Atkinson has grown into one of the most sexual and beautiful models and actresses in England. Her glamorous looks and her enhanced bust have made her a sex symbol that just about every men’s magazine is interested in photographing; that’s why she has been featured in just about every English magazine there is. From Arena and Zoo Weekly to Maxim and Loaded, Gemma is letting herself receive much-deserved exposure.

Gemma’s open, liberal personality has been a great quality in her career. It allowed her to expand upon a show that was limiting her talents and to turn her acting occupation into a superstar modeling career. She also used her open and sexual personality to seize a journalistic opportunity when she agreed to become Zoo Weekly’s regular sex and relationships columnist.

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Home security isn’t just for people who own houses. Just because you have a security guard at the entrance to your building, don’t assume your apartment or condominium is entirely secure. Your safety is up to you. It’s a good idea to make sure the apartment and surrounding grounds look secure before you sign a lease (since you’re limited to the kind of improvements you can make yourself).

Here are some home security tips for those who live in apartments or condos:

Have the apartment’s locks changed when you move in. (The maintenance crew can simply swap lock cylinders with a random vacant apartment, a project that is free and takes only a few minutes.) 

Depending on the neighborhood, you may also feel more secure if you have a deadbolt lock. Apartment renters, make sure to get permission first.

Use your peephole, and don’t open the door for strangers. Demand identification from package delivery services, even if they’re in uniform (uniforms can be stolen).

Even if you’re home, don’t leave the door to your apartment unlocked.

Make sure the building’s public areas aren’t threatening, i.e. lights out in the parking lots, laundry room, or hallways.

Get to know your neighbors, and watch for suspicious people on the premises.

Home security alarms are available for apartment and condo dwellers as well; look into portable door/window alarms or a wireless home security system (things that can move with you when it’s time to find a new home).

Don’t leave your windows open, and make sure they all have secure locking mechanisms.

Likewise, don’t leave a sliding glass balcony door open, even on upper floors. (Balconies can make a handy ladder for burglars to climb to upper stories.) These kind of doors should have not only a lock but a Charley bar (or at least a wood board in the runners to keep the door from being forced).

Just use your last name, or if necessary last name and first initial, on your door or mailbox. This keeps strangers from knowing your gender or how many people live in your apartment.

Lastly, protect your assets by getting renter’s insurance to protect your belongings! You can get quotes online from folks like Netquote.com.

homesecurityinformation.com

“You know, I think, if anything, the toughest part for a female to do is just the actual fact that you’re a female, not whether you have better reflexes, worse or anything like that, but just to have a team that backs you, a team that really believes in you, because it just really hasn’t happened.” -Danica Patrick

Born in Beloit, Wisconsin, on March 25, 1982, Danica Patrick grew up in a loving household with parents T.J. and Bev and sister Brooke. Danica’s need for speed was not obvious from the get-go as, like many young girls, she loved to play with Barbie dolls as a child.

At the age of 10, however, Danica got a glimpse into a world she would come to love. She accompanied her sibling on a trip to a go-karting lesson and quickly fell in love with sitting behind the wheel of a speedy vehicle. While sister Brooke soon abandoned racing, Danica was hooked, and she soon joined the World Karting Association (WKA).

danica patrick is a karting champion

Within two years’ time, Danica had become a racing fiend, and in 1994 she captured the WKA Grand National Championship in the Yamaha Sportsman class. She would win additional karting titles in 1995 and 1996, and soon had established herself as a rising star. Her final season in the WKA came in 1997, and she went out with a bang, winning the Grand National Championship in both the Yamaha Lite and HPV classes.

danica patrick joins formula vauxhall

The next step in Danica’s career would be a big one. She upgraded her competition by joining the Formula Vauxhall Winter Series, moving to England in order to do so. Over the course of 1998, Danica kept up only an abbreviated racing schedule in the UK, because she was also spending time fine-tuning her technique at the Formula Ford racing school in Canada.

Therefore, it was in 1999 that Danica made her true British racing debut. She finished her first full season in ninth place, then showed vast improvement by finishing second the next year at the Formula Ford Festival, the best-ever finish by an American at the British event.

In 2001, her last year in England, Danica made a name back home in the U.S. She won the Gorsline Scholarship Award for ‘top upcoming road racing driver,’ and competed in the tough British Zetek Formula Ford Championship. On the heels of these feats, Danica was touted as the top female open-wheel driver with international experience.

danica patrick signs with rahal letterman

With a long list of accomplishments to her credit, Danica had the leverage to move up to the prestigious Indy Racing League. After trying out for many teams, she finally signed a multi-year contract with Rahal Letterman Racing (of which David Letterman is part owner) in 2002. To prep her for the heightened competitiveness of this league, she was sent to race in the Toyota Atlantic series for two years.

Settling into her new job in 2003, Danica impressed both her team and the competition. She became the first woman in Toyota series history to win a pole position and reach the podium. In 2004, she placed third in the Toyota Atlantic Championship and was ready to officially race in the IRL.

danica patrick in the indy 500

Danica became a third driver for Rahal Letterman Racing, making her big-time debut at the 2005 Toyota Indy 300. Though she was knocked out of the race on the 158th lap, Danica showed signs of brilliance during her rookie campaign, highlighted by an excellent running at the league’s biggest race, the Indianapolis 500.

Danica was only the fourth woman to race in the Indy 500, and the hype surrounding her participation grew each day. Despite all the pressure, Patrick led for a total of 19 laps during the famed event, before falling back in the race’s waning moments and finishing fourth. Still, Danica-mania had officially arrived, and this rookie driver continues to zoom with the men throughout the season. The new face of IRL and American racing in general, Danica, who was featured in FHM magazine, is engaged and lives in Phoenix, Arizona.
 

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“Vodka straight up, nothing in it, just right to the point. I don’t even know what a lot of these fancy drinks are.” -Bridget Moynahan, on her preferred alcoholic beverage.

Kathryn Bridget Moynahan was born in Binghamton, New York, on September 21, 1972, and raised primarily in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. As a child she was a self-professed tomboy, excelling at sports. In high school she was the captain of her basketball team and chose to play soccer instead of attending drama class. As fate would have it, though, drama crept into her life as the years passed.

Upon graduating from Longmeadow High School, Moynahan moved to New York City in pursuit of fame. She gave herself three years to find success, after which point she would reassess her life and perhaps go back to school. This proved unnecessary when she displayed a knack for modeling. Throughout the ’90s she appeared in many fashion magazines, most notably Vogue, New Woman and Shape, as well as on the cover of Glamour.

sexy in the city

Her magnetic looks and fortuitous placement in New York were both factors in her winning her first big role in 1999, on HBO’s successful series, Sex and the City. She portrayed Natasha, the woman who marries Mr. Big, the love of main character Carrie’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) life. Since playing Natasha — on the show she is referred to as “the idiot stick figure with no soul” — she has been greeted with malicious comments while walking the streets.

The exposure from her recurring role on Sex and the City led to movie roles. Her first three films were the indie flicks Whipped (starring Amanda Peet), Trifling with Fate and In the Weeds, all released in 2000. While not huge draws critically and financially, they were excellent experience for Moynahan’s fast-approaching arrival in the spotlight.

coyote not very ugly

Bridget Moynahan became a star thanks to her portrayal of Rachel, the fire-breathing barmaid in 2000’s chick flick, Coyote Ugly. The film was a huge success, despite poor reviews, and it brought a great deal of attention to the female-filled cast, which included Piper Perabo and Tyra Banks. While each actress seemed primed for more success at the time, many viewers perceive Moynahan as having made the most progress since.

In 2001, Moynahan appeared as “the other woman” in the romantic comedy Serendipity, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. That same year, Moynahan decided to challenge herself and auditioned for the “Tom Clancy” thriller, The Sum of All Fears. She was amazed and elated to find herself reading lines with Ben Affleck two weeks later. As CIA agent Jack Ryan’s fiancée, Moynahan proved to be a wonderful presence as the film’s only female character. It went to number one at the box office upon its summer 2002 release.

a beautiful recruit

Her star continued to rise with 2003’s The Recruit, co-starring Colin Farrell and screen legend Al Pacino. She continues to live primarily in New York and is romantically linked to Scott Rosenberg, the screenwriter behind Beautiful Girls.

She is currently at work on two more films: Hating Her, co-starring Selma Blair, and I, Robot, with Will Smith, are slated for a July 2004 release. Despite the exciting Hollywood life she leads, Moynahan admits to a real-life love for knitting.
 

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Whether or not you have a home security system, there are some common mistakes that you should watch out for because they can make your house an easy mark for thieves. Browse through the following no-nos and make sure you are not guilty of committing any of them. (If you are, for your own safety and for the security of your home, correct them immediately.)

Common Home Security Mistakes:

Hide-a-key

Many homeowners, afraid they will lose their keys and lock themselves out, choose to hide a key somewhere on the property. They think they are being sneaky by placing the key under a rock, under a doormat, in a potted plant, or above the door. Burglars absolutely know about all these commonly used hiding places. Under no circumstances should you leave the key to your house where it can be found. If you frequently lose your keys or lock yourself out of the house, consider getting a fingerprint or keypad door lock for your front door. (Related article: Fingerprint Door Locks)

Broken Locks

Some homeowners neglect to fix broken locks right away, putting the job off for tomorrow (or whenever they feel like it). It is important, however, to make sure all your doors and windows have strong modern locks that are in good repair. Don’t think that just because a window is on a second or third story that a burglar can’t figure out a way to get to it.

Burglar Alarms That Aren’t Turned on

A home security system is only useful when updated and activated. Test your alarm on a r