Men's Health survey doesn't like Toledo
8/13/2008A national magazine survey isn't healthy for Toledo's image.
The city finished last overall - No. 100 - in Men's Health magazine's seventh annual ranking of the best cities for men, trailing Detroit at No. 97, Cleveland at 98, and Charleston, W.Va., at 99.
According to a report on the magazine's Web site, www.menshealth.com, Toledo didn't fare much better in separate categories of fittest cities (No. 94), best quality of life (No. 93), and healthiest cities (No. 99).
The magazine said its ratings were based on such factors as men's death rates from heart disease and cancer, a city's crime rates, job growth, and air quality, and an analysis of how hard and how often men in the various cities worked out.
Raleigh led the list of the Top 10 best cities for men, followed by San Jose, Calif.; Madison, Wis.; Boise; Salt Lake City; Fargo, N.D.; Austin; Seattle; Anchorage; Honolulu.
In a survey of "America's capitals of cosmetic surgery" in the September issue of Men's Health, which went on sale yesterday, Toledo was ranked among the least nipped-and-tucked cities - No. 97 on a list of 100. At the top of the list was San Francisco. Cincinnati was 30, Cleveland was 78, Columbus was 85, and Detroit was 91.
Britney Spears may get a shot at redemption during this year's MTV Video Music Awards.
Widely panned for her performance at last year's show, Spears is in negotiations with MTV to make an appearance at the Sept. 7 ceremony, a spokesman for MTV said yesterday. While the network said nothing has been finalized - only Lil Wayne and the Jonas Brothers are confirmed so far - Spears is already appearing in promotional ads for the telecast.
"This is for real," Spears tells VMA host Russell Brand in one of two spots for the VMAs, which were taped last week, according to MTV. In the ads, Spears, dressed in black with blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, giggles as she and Brand banter flirtatiously. She looks sexy, confident, and fit - the antithesis of her appearance at last year's ceremony.
Spears' 2007 performance was heavily hyped to be her comeback after months of negative publicity and erratic behavior, but her disheveled look and bleary routine during "Gimme More" only became the new benchmark for Spears' decline. Since then, Spears, 26, has appeared to have cleaned up her act.
An actor who played one of star Steve Carell's co-workers in The 40-Year-Old Virgin has been arrested for investigation of attempted murder after his former girlfriend was stabbed more than 20 times, leaving her critically injured, authorities said yesterday.
Shelley Malil, 43, remained in custody on $2 million bail after he was arrested late Monday in Oceanside, Calif., the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said. His arraignment is scheduled today.
Authorities didn't know the condition of his girlfriend, whose name wasn't released. Deputies found the victim Sunday night while responding to reports of screams for help and breaking glass in San Marcos, about 15 miles east of Oceanside.
"Malil and the victim had apparently been in a dating relationship which recently ended," the sheriff's department said in a statement.
Authorities in Memphis say Isaac Hayes apparently died of a stroke.
The deep-voiced soul singer died Sunday after he was found unconscious at his Memphis residence.
Sheriff's spokesman Steve Shular said yesterday that paperwork filed by Hayes' family physician, Dr. David Kraus, lists the cause of death as a stroke.
Shular said no autopsy has been performed. No official determination has been released by the medical examiner's office or filed with the Memphis health department, which issues death certificates.
Family members found Hayes lying on the floor of his home beside a treadmill that was still switched on.
Relatives said Hayes was under a doctor's care but did not give specifics.
Brian Epstein's copy of his management contract with The Beatles, a pact that proved to be worth millions, is being offered for sale in London next month.
The four-page document, signed Oct. 1, 1962, by John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Richard Starkey - Ringo Starr's real name - carries an estimated price of $480,000. The Fame Bureau auction house said yesterday it had scheduled the sale for Sept. 4 at the Idea Generation Gallery.
The contract, also signed by Harold Hargreaves Harrison and James McCartney on behalf of their underage sons, gave Epstein a 25 percent cut of the band's earnings, provided they made more than $400 each per week.
"The word is that he made more money than the Beatles did during his period of time," said Ted Owen, managing director of The Fame Bureau.
He said the contract was offered for sale by a northern England businessman and Beatles collector who has asked to remain anonymous.
Also up for auction: a Bechstein grand piano that can be heard on The Beatles' "White Album" and "Hey Jude."
Owen estimated the piano will sell for $570,000 or more.
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On the Net:
http://www.famebureau.com/
/AP-CS-08-12-08 1117EDT
BC-People-Madonna-Givenchy, 1st Ld-Writethru,0285
Givenchy to help dress Madonna for her world tour
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PARIS (AP) - The upscale French fashion house Givenchy will help dress Madonna for her upcoming "Sticky & Sweet" world tour, a spokeswoman for the label said Tuesday.
Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci worked with the pop star to create two outfits, one of which Madonna is expected to wear during an opening number, Givenchy spokeswoman Caroline Deroche-Pasquier said.
The opening outfit is a frock coat in black stretch satin, she said. The other ensemble, to be worn in the third act of Madonna's, is a long cape worn over a black dress embellished with colored ribbons "to give it a Gypsy look," she said.
Deroche-Pasquier said other designers will also dress the star for the tour but declined to say who.
Madonna has a long history of working with French designers. Frenchman Jean-Paul Gaultier was behind the pointy cone bras that were the hallmarks of Madonna's 1990 "Blonde Ambition" tour.
Her "Sticky & Sweet" world tour kicks off in Cardiff, Wales, on Aug. 23 with stops across Europe, including Berlin, Rome, London and Paris, before going to North America.
Tisci, who hails from the Italian port city of Taranto, has been with Givenchy since 2005. Known for his Gothic-influenced pieces and use of sumptuous, dark fabrics, Tisci's latest collections have garnered rave reviews.
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On the Net:
www.givenchy.fr
www.madonna.com
/AP-CS-08-12-08 1036EDT