Celebrities may always look perfectly groomed out on the red-carpet, but behind the scenes they have an entourage that ensures flyways are smoothed away, lip gloss is touched up and false eye lashes aren't awry.
PHOTOS: How the stars get red carpet ready
But luckily with these tips, you can still be on your style A game, sans the professionally-trained hair and makeup team.
PHOTOS: 7 camera-ready hair and makeup tricks
For a flawless face, smooth on a makeup primer like Make Up For Ever's HD Microperfecting Primer ($32, sephora.com). "If you're going to be in photos, applying primer before makeup is essential -- it reflects light, creating the illusion of invisible pores and airbrushed makeup," Kristen Stewart's makeup artist tells Us Weekly.
PHOTOS: Celebrities and their favorite beauty products
When it comes to hair, many stars fake the super-shiny, light capturing effect with a shine spray. "Luster and fullness make any hairstyle pop in a photo," says Hilary Duff's hairstylist, Marcus Francis. (Try Kerastase Chroma Cristal Shine Perfecting Mist, $39 at kerastase-use.com.)
Click here for more camera-ready tricks developed by Hollywood's top beauty pros.
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TOKYO (Reuters) ? Olympus Corp said on Wednesday that it has withdrawn its annual earnings forecasts and that there will be no H1 dividend.
The scandal-struck medical equipment and camera maker also said in its half-year earnings report that it expects to be able to continue to secure funding from financial institutions.
The company made a Wednesday deadline to submit its results for the six months to September, avoiding an automatic delisting of its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It also restated its accounts for the past five years.
(Reporting by Yoko Kubota, Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Joseph Radford)
To those of you who have been keeping track of my story, "Paths Of The Chosen"; first, I would like to thank you all for taking the time to read it, and thank you to those who gave me valuable feedback. Secondly; there will be a delay for any future updates due to increased demands on my time schedule. In short, these delays are mostly caused by the onset of the holiday season. Also, in any future updates, you may find that there are some discprepancies with what has already been posted. This is due to some very constructive criticisms that I have recieved (Thank you, Matt!) and taken to heart. I have actually gone back and reworked the previous chapters to incorporate these changes and, if anyone would like to read the altered work, I will gladly make it available to any who are willing to message me. In addition, while I am still working, I will not be getting back to my previous writing schedule until a week or two into the New Year.
Thank you for your patience and may God bless you.
Gary L. S. West, a.k.a. "Tejas"
Xal Yah alu xuil dos. (May God go with you) Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
How strong of a front-runner is Newt Gingrich? How well does Mitt Romney need to do in New Hampshire and Iowa to throw Gingrich off course? Will there be any late surprises prior to the first nominating contests? Slate's political team will be on hand for the last big Republican debate before the Iowa Caucuses and they'll be taking all of your burning post-debate questions about the 2012 race. Be sure to join us as Slate's chief political correspondent John Dickerson and political reporter and blogger David Weigel take to Facebook for a discussion about the state of the election. Check back here on our Facebook page on Friday at 1 p.m. ET to participate in the chat!
NEW YORK ? Fitch Ratings on Thursday downgraded its viability ratings on eight of the world's biggest banks, citing increased challenges facing the banking sector due to weak economic growth and heightened regulation.
The firm lowered its viability ratings for Bank of America Corp., Barclays PLC, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse AG, Deutsche Bank AG, The Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale.
Bank of America's viability rating was lower to "bbb," which Fitch says denotes "good" prospects for ongoing viability. It had been "a-." The other banks have new ratings of "a-," "a," or "a+," a range denoting "strong" prospects for ongoing viability, according to Fitch.
It also downgraded its long-term issuer-default rating for most of the banks: Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs. The ratings still remain well into investment grade, at "A" or "A+" following the downgrades.
Fitch affirmed its long-term issuer-default ratings for Morgan Stanley, Society Generale and UBS AG.
In addition, it affirmed UBS' viability rating at "a-."
The rating changes follow a review by Fitch of large banks.
Fitch said that the group of large global banks is particularly sensitive to the challenges that financial markets face, including economic jolts and regulatory changes.
While the large banks have made significant progress it building up capital and liquidity to hedge against market challenges, Fitch said it believes the lenders remain vulnerable to market turmoil, especially during periods of financial stress.
The banks' complex business models make it more difficult to assess the size of losses that could emerge from unexpected events, Fitch said.
The firm anticipates market conditions will ease over time, but expects market volatility to remain elevated above historical averages. It also sees economic growth in development markets remaining subdued.
Even so, Fitch said it believes that the large global banks are in a much better position today to deal with difficult market conditions than in 2008, when the financial crisis hit.
GOP candidate Jon Huntsman has replaced Ron Paul in third place in New Hampshire, behind Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, says a new Suffolk University poll.
The latest poll out of New Hampshire (released late Wednesday night) shows Mitt Romney well in the lead, Newt Gingrich continuing to pick up steam but a surprising charge into third place - Jon Huntsman.
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Romney?s pulling 38 percent; Gingrich comes in next with 20 percent (up six percentage points since last month) and then there?s Huntsman at 13 percent, eclipsing former show horse Ron Paul at about eight percent. (See the whole poll for yourself here.)
The rest of the candidates pile up an unimpressive 10 percent of the electorate between them.
What?s behind Huntsman gaining ground? As the director of Suffolk University?s polling center points out, Huntsman is striking a chord with registered independents:
[Huntsman] is scoring his highest numbers in New Hampshire polling this year, largely due to the support of independents, who are eligible to vote in the New Hampshire primary.? Huntsman polled second among independents ? besting Gingrich ? and trailed Romney by just 11 percent.? In New Hampshire there are three registered independents for every two registered Republicans.??If independents participate in a big way next January, Huntsman will benefit,? said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University?s Political Research Center.? ?While other candidates have focused on the more traditional Republican voters, Huntsman has traction among independents, who could dominate the Republican Primary if mobilized.?
Oh, and a Super PAC rumored to be funded by his daddy is pumping money into the state. Probably should mention that.The poll did only connect with voters who said they were ?very likely? to vote in the GOP primary so those independent voters are clearly fired up to get in the fray.What else is remarkable about this poll? Other than Huntsman?s growing strength, the rest of the storyline is pretty much all Romney, all the time. Consider:
Perry?s horrific favorability rating: Of those who had heard of him, a whopping 67 percent disapproved to only 18 percent approval (underwater by nearly 50 percentage points.) By comparison, Sarah Palin is a negative 16 and ?
Mitt Romney?s is plus 50, which dwarfs Gingrich (plus two), Paul (plus seven) and Huntsman (plus 10).?
And guess who Gingrich voters believe has a better presidential temperament? It?s not their man: ?Gingrich voters (43 percent) said that Romney had the personality best suited to be president, compared to 42 percent for Gingrich.?
That?s not the only thing they like: ?Of the two leaders ? Romney and Gingrich ? Romney was trusted more to fix the economy by 59 percent to 20 percent over Gingrich, while 62 percent of voters said Romney would be better at bringing America together than Gingrich (18 percent). Romney was considered to have the personality best suited to be president (70 percent) compared to Gingrich (16 percent).?
But not all is bright in Romneyworld: ?Most notably, Romney?s lead dropped from +48 to +11 in Rockingham County, the second largest county in New Hampshire, located in the southeast along the Massachusetts border.? In addition, Romney?s lead fell from +34 to +12 among likely voters ages 55-74 years.? In other words, Huntsman/Gingrich are chewing him up where it hurts.?
Don?t just sit there, go out and see for yourself:
Like your politics unscrambled? Check out DCDecoder.com
The 'supernova of a generation' shows its stuffPublic release date: 14-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sonia Chernobieff soniac@caltech.edu 626-395-5832 California Institute of Technology
Astronomers determine how the brightest and closest stellar explosion in 25 years blew up
PASADENA, Calif.It was the brightest and closest stellar explosion seen from Earth in 25 years, dazzling professional and backyard astronomers alike. Now, thanks to this rare discoverywhich some have called the "supernova of a generation"astronomers have the most detailed picture yet of how this kind of explosion happens. Known as a Type Ia supernova, this type of blast is an essential tool that allows scientists to measure the expansion of the universe and understand the very nature of the cosmos.
"What caused these explosions has divided the astronomical community deeply," says Shri Kulkarni, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. But this new supernovadubbed SN2011fecan help astronomers solve this longstanding mystery. "SN2011fe is like the Rosetta Stone of Type Ia supernovae," says Kulkarni, who is also the principal investigator on the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). Led by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the PTF is designed to survey the skies for transient flashes of light that last for a few days or months, such as those emitted by exploding stars.
On August 24, the PTF team discovered the supernova in one of the arms of the Pinwheel Galaxy (also called M101), 21 million light years away. They caught the supernova just 11 hours after it exploded.
"Never before have we seen a stellar thermonuclear explosion so soon after it happened," says Lars Bildsten, professor of theoretical astrophysics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, and member of the PTF team, which described its supernova findings in the December 15 issue of the journal Nature.
The PTF team uses an automated system to search for supernovae, and because they were able to point their telescopes at SN2011fe so quickly after its detonation, the astronomers were able to put together a blow-by-blow analysis of the explosion, determining that the supernova involves a dense, Earth-sized object called a white dwarf and, most likely, a main-sequence star (a star in the main stage of its life).
Scientists have long suspected that Type Ia supernovae involve a binary system of two stars in orbit around each other, with one of those stars being a white dwarf. The white dwarf, which is made out of carbon and oxygen, explodes when matter from its companion star spills over onto its surface. But no one is sure what kind of star the companion is. Scientists have suggested that it's another white dwarf, a main-sequence star, a helium star, or a star in a late life stage that's puffed up into a red giant.
Still, because the explosion always involves a white dwarf, its overall brightness and behavior is relatively predictable, making it a useful tool for measuring distances. Since all Type Ia supernovae produce about the same amount of light, those that appear dimmer must be farther away. In this way, by measuring the brightness of supernovae, astronomers can use them as cosmic meter sticks to determine the size of the universeand how fast it's expanding. In fact, the work that earned the 2011 Nobel Prize in physicsthe
discovery that the expansion of the universe is speeding up was based on
observations using Type Ia supernovae.
"This discovery is exciting because the supernova's infancy and proximity allows us to directly see what the progenitor system is," explains Mansi Kasliwal, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science who is a recent Caltech doctoral graduate and a coauthor on the paper. "We have expected for a while that a Type Ia supernova involves a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, but now we have direct evidence."
In the case of SN2011fe, the researchers were also able to deduce, by process of elimination, that the companion star is most likely a main-sequence star. How do they know?
If the companion was a red giant, the explosion of the white dwarf would send a shock wave through the red giant, heating it. This scenario would have generated several tens of times more light than the astronomers observed. Additionally, it happens that the Hubble Space Telescope took images of the location where SN2011fe lived before it blew up. When the researchers looked at the data, they found no evidence of red giants or helium stars.
If the companion was another white dwarf, the interactions between the companion and the explosion would produce light in the optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. Since none of this sort of radiation was seen coming from SN2011fe, it is less likely that the companion was a white dwarf.
These resultswhich they describe in a companion paper in the same issue of Naturealong with X-ray and radio observations that also fail to see any evidence for red giants or helium stars, rule those out as the companion. Caltech postdoc Assaf Horesh is the lead author on the paper describing the X-ray and radio data, which will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The astronomers have also observed, in unprecedented detail, the material that's blown off during the explosion. In particular, the team detected oxygen hurtling out from the supernova at speeds of over 20,000 kilometers per secondthe first time anyone has seen high-speed oxygen coming from a Type Ia supernova, according to the researchers. "These observations probe the thin, outermost layers of the explosion," Bildsten says. "These are the parts that are moving the fastest, for which we have never been able to see this mix of atomic elements."
Not only was the supernova detected quickly, but the data processingperformed by researchers led by Peter Nugent, staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorywas also done within hours. The machine-learning algorithms developed by Joshua Bloom, an associate professor at UC Berkeley, also helped make the fast find possible. And because the astronomers caught the blast so soon after it ignited, and because it's so close, the researchers say SN2011fe will become one of the best-studied supernovae ever.
"The rapid discovery and classification of SN2011feall on the same nightis a testament to the great teamwork between all the researchers from over a half a dozen institutions," Kulkarni says. "The future looks very bright. Soon we should be finding supernovae at an even younger age and thereby better understand how these explosions happen."
###
NOTE: Weidong Li died on December 12, just before the publication of these
papers.
Nugent is the lead author on the Nature paper, which is titled, "Supernova 2011fe from an exploding carbon-oxygen white dwarf star." The lead author on the companion paper, "Exclusion of a luminous red giant as a companion star to the progenitor of supernova SN 2011fe," is Weidong Li of UC Berkeley. The Astrophysical Journal paper is titled, "Early radio and X-ray observations of the youngest nearby type Ia supernova PTF11kly (SN 2011fe)."
The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) uses the 48-inch Oschin Schmidt telescope and the 60-inch telescope of the Palomar Observatory of Caltech for its observations and is a collaboration between Caltech, Columbia University, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oxford University, UC Berkeley, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The 'supernova of a generation' shows its stuffPublic release date: 14-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Sonia Chernobieff soniac@caltech.edu 626-395-5832 California Institute of Technology
Astronomers determine how the brightest and closest stellar explosion in 25 years blew up
PASADENA, Calif.It was the brightest and closest stellar explosion seen from Earth in 25 years, dazzling professional and backyard astronomers alike. Now, thanks to this rare discoverywhich some have called the "supernova of a generation"astronomers have the most detailed picture yet of how this kind of explosion happens. Known as a Type Ia supernova, this type of blast is an essential tool that allows scientists to measure the expansion of the universe and understand the very nature of the cosmos.
"What caused these explosions has divided the astronomical community deeply," says Shri Kulkarni, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences. But this new supernovadubbed SN2011fecan help astronomers solve this longstanding mystery. "SN2011fe is like the Rosetta Stone of Type Ia supernovae," says Kulkarni, who is also the principal investigator on the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF). Led by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), the PTF is designed to survey the skies for transient flashes of light that last for a few days or months, such as those emitted by exploding stars.
On August 24, the PTF team discovered the supernova in one of the arms of the Pinwheel Galaxy (also called M101), 21 million light years away. They caught the supernova just 11 hours after it exploded.
"Never before have we seen a stellar thermonuclear explosion so soon after it happened," says Lars Bildsten, professor of theoretical astrophysics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, and member of the PTF team, which described its supernova findings in the December 15 issue of the journal Nature.
The PTF team uses an automated system to search for supernovae, and because they were able to point their telescopes at SN2011fe so quickly after its detonation, the astronomers were able to put together a blow-by-blow analysis of the explosion, determining that the supernova involves a dense, Earth-sized object called a white dwarf and, most likely, a main-sequence star (a star in the main stage of its life).
Scientists have long suspected that Type Ia supernovae involve a binary system of two stars in orbit around each other, with one of those stars being a white dwarf. The white dwarf, which is made out of carbon and oxygen, explodes when matter from its companion star spills over onto its surface. But no one is sure what kind of star the companion is. Scientists have suggested that it's another white dwarf, a main-sequence star, a helium star, or a star in a late life stage that's puffed up into a red giant.
Still, because the explosion always involves a white dwarf, its overall brightness and behavior is relatively predictable, making it a useful tool for measuring distances. Since all Type Ia supernovae produce about the same amount of light, those that appear dimmer must be farther away. In this way, by measuring the brightness of supernovae, astronomers can use them as cosmic meter sticks to determine the size of the universeand how fast it's expanding. In fact, the work that earned the 2011 Nobel Prize in physicsthe
discovery that the expansion of the universe is speeding up was based on
observations using Type Ia supernovae.
"This discovery is exciting because the supernova's infancy and proximity allows us to directly see what the progenitor system is," explains Mansi Kasliwal, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science who is a recent Caltech doctoral graduate and a coauthor on the paper. "We have expected for a while that a Type Ia supernova involves a carbon-oxygen white dwarf, but now we have direct evidence."
In the case of SN2011fe, the researchers were also able to deduce, by process of elimination, that the companion star is most likely a main-sequence star. How do they know?
If the companion was a red giant, the explosion of the white dwarf would send a shock wave through the red giant, heating it. This scenario would have generated several tens of times more light than the astronomers observed. Additionally, it happens that the Hubble Space Telescope took images of the location where SN2011fe lived before it blew up. When the researchers looked at the data, they found no evidence of red giants or helium stars.
If the companion was another white dwarf, the interactions between the companion and the explosion would produce light in the optical and ultraviolet wavelengths. Since none of this sort of radiation was seen coming from SN2011fe, it is less likely that the companion was a white dwarf.
These resultswhich they describe in a companion paper in the same issue of Naturealong with X-ray and radio observations that also fail to see any evidence for red giants or helium stars, rule those out as the companion. Caltech postdoc Assaf Horesh is the lead author on the paper describing the X-ray and radio data, which will be published in The Astrophysical Journal.
The astronomers have also observed, in unprecedented detail, the material that's blown off during the explosion. In particular, the team detected oxygen hurtling out from the supernova at speeds of over 20,000 kilometers per secondthe first time anyone has seen high-speed oxygen coming from a Type Ia supernova, according to the researchers. "These observations probe the thin, outermost layers of the explosion," Bildsten says. "These are the parts that are moving the fastest, for which we have never been able to see this mix of atomic elements."
Not only was the supernova detected quickly, but the data processingperformed by researchers led by Peter Nugent, staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratorywas also done within hours. The machine-learning algorithms developed by Joshua Bloom, an associate professor at UC Berkeley, also helped make the fast find possible. And because the astronomers caught the blast so soon after it ignited, and because it's so close, the researchers say SN2011fe will become one of the best-studied supernovae ever.
"The rapid discovery and classification of SN2011feall on the same nightis a testament to the great teamwork between all the researchers from over a half a dozen institutions," Kulkarni says. "The future looks very bright. Soon we should be finding supernovae at an even younger age and thereby better understand how these explosions happen."
###
NOTE: Weidong Li died on December 12, just before the publication of these
papers.
Nugent is the lead author on the Nature paper, which is titled, "Supernova 2011fe from an exploding carbon-oxygen white dwarf star." The lead author on the companion paper, "Exclusion of a luminous red giant as a companion star to the progenitor of supernova SN 2011fe," is Weidong Li of UC Berkeley. The Astrophysical Journal paper is titled, "Early radio and X-ray observations of the youngest nearby type Ia supernova PTF11kly (SN 2011fe)."
The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) uses the 48-inch Oschin Schmidt telescope and the 60-inch telescope of the Palomar Observatory of Caltech for its observations and is a collaboration between Caltech, Columbia University, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Oxford University, UC Berkeley, and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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