America's Best Dance Crew is already known!!!

Yesterday finally fans of Jabbawockeez could triumph over their new title of America's Best Dance Crew! 12 best groups took part in this competition trying to win and get this desired title, but as it always happens, wins the best!

Week after week, each dance crew, consisting of five to seven members, worked really hard to demonstrate their most innovative choreography and sick dance skills. The crews were asked to recreate the moves seen in the hottest music videos, use their fancy footwork to reenact their favorite movie scenes and pay homage to the classic grooves (and moves) of the past. All these crews needed to impress the panel of judges, including JC Chasez and choreographer Shane Sparks, host Mario Lopez and, yes, American Idol's Randy Jackson, 'cause after the first dance-off, only the elite eight stayed in the competition. And finally yesterday at 10.00 MTV transmitted the final step of the competition and the winner was discovered! Jabbawockies got lots of support and votes and fought their main opponents Status Quo.

Jabbawockeez is an all-male crew made up of 6 members from San Diego, California. The name originated from Lewis Carol’s book entitled “Through the Looking Glass.” In this children’s book, Jabberwocky is a dragon who roamed the woods. The crew members wear white masks so that people will focus on their dance moves and not on the individuals. They have lots of fans not only in their country, but also abroad. This once again proves that they won this game not accidentally, but deservedly and can be proud of having the title of America's Best Dance Crew!

P.S. All other teams were great and did their best at the competition – this made it even more interesting and exciting! I want to say thank everybody who was somehow connected with this event – it was a great show!

Marriages are made in heaven: there is a proof

Marriages are made in heaven. You are sure to know this saying. And each of us, proposing to our sweetheart or saying “yes” to this proposal hope that our marriage will also be strong, happy and last for ever – will be made in heaven. You will say, not now, at the time of high divorce rate and adultery, at the time when eternal values have turned into bookish things and are almost forgotten. What I can answer you – it is never late to do a good thing, especially when we have such great examples – while they live among us.

Clarence Vail and his wife Mayme have been living together for 83 years. They got married in 1925, survived the Great Depression and World War II, brought up six children. Today the couple shares their secret of their long and happy (though not always easy) married life. They say they don’t have any special recipe or magic spell; they just took seriously what they said to each other in 1925 staying at the altar. “You take your vows, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer,” Mayme said. “I guess you just stick to it, come what may.” And it came. Together with all grand and great-grand children the couple has 186 descendants. Clarence and Mayme are proud of their family and are going into “Guinness World Records” for being married longer than any other living couple on earth.

What is even more interesting and seems almost incredible for all modern people, is that the couple is said to have had no quarrels since 1946!!! That’s a real art – art of communication, art of hearing and listening, art of compromising and forgetting… Isn’t it that recipe or magic spell we all need badly?! It’s a nice lesson to all of us – it teaches how to love, how to live together, how to understand and forget each other, how to be happy in marriage…

I want to wish the long-livers health and more joy from their children, grandchildren, great grand-children and great-great grandchildren! God bless you!

Sophie Sandolo – golf at the Olympics?

Sexy golfer Sophie Sandolo started playing golf at the age of 14 and since that time it is not only her hobby – it became her life, her career, her recognition. At the age of sixteen she entered the Italian National Team. In 2000 she began her professional career and still enjoys it greatly! Sophie is convinced that golf, especially played by women, is more than sports – it is somehow art, an ability to be sportsman and woman at the same time – an excellent opportunity to remain sexy, glamour, attractive and well-known. And Sophie’s fans have to admit that she really manage to achieve all this. At the beginning of 2008 Sandolo has got another idea – to introduce golf into the program of Olympic Games. “Professional sports like tennis and soccer made it, so why not golf” says Sophie. We’ll see whether Sophie really means it!

What may be even more appealing to Sophie’s fans – is her 2008 sexy calendar. After success of several previous ones, Sophie decided to present another one – for year 2008. Sophie worked once again this year with photographer Paolo Ranzani, and with him forged another artistic, adventurous calendar. Sophie says that in this calendar, she wanted to play on her belief that golf should be part of the Olympics, so her poses evoke Olympic sports. With the small amount of nudity, Sophie has taken sports and calendar world by storm, as it is even more popular than 3 previous.

International Women’s Day – past, present and future

When only spring comes, women all over the world celebrate International Women’s Day. Today no one knows for sure when and how this day appeared in the world history and why it gained its worldwide recognition. Wikipedia and some other internet sources explain how and due to what or whom we started celebrating this holiday. I thought it might be interesting to know a bit more about this holiday.

In the past. Humanity got to know this holiday in 1909. The first Women’s Day was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. The idea of having an international women's day was first put forward at the turn of the 20th century amid rapid world industrialization and economic expansion that led to protests over working conditions. According to one of the legends, connected with this holiday, women from clothing and textile factories staged one such protest on 8 March 1857 in City. The garment workers were protesting against very poor working conditions and low wages. The protesters were attacked and dispersed by police. These women established their first labor union in the same month two years later.

More protests followed on 8 March in subsequent years, most notably in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1910 the first international women's conference was held in Copenhagen by the Second International and an 'International Women's Day' was established, which was submitted by the important German Socialist Clara Zetkin. The following year, IWD was marked by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. However, soon thereafter, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City killed over 140 garment workers. A lack of safety measures was blamed for the high death toll. Furthermore, on the eve of World War I, women across Europe held peace rallies on 8 March 1913. In the West, International Women's Day was commemorated during the 1910s and 1920s, but dwindled. It was revived by the rise of feminism in the 1960s.

Demonstrations marking International Women's Day in Russia proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Following the October Revolution, the Bolshevik feminist Alexandra Kollontai persuaded Lenin to make it an official holiday in Russia, and it was established, but was a working day until 1965. On May 8, 1965 by the decree of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet International Women's Day was declared as a non working day in the USSR "in commemoration of outstanding merits of the Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, their heroism and selflessness at the front and in rear, and also marking the big contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples and struggle for the peace" (Wikipedia).
Since that day International Women’s Day has got its popularity all over the world.

At the Present moment. The day remains an official holiday in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, and is observed by men giving the women in their lives - mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc., flowers and small gifts. In some countries it is also observed as an equivalent of Mother's Day, where children also give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers. Each country has its own customs and traditions of celebrating this holiday. In Italy, to celebrate the day, men give yellow mimosas to women. Yellow mimosas and chocolate are also one of the most common March 8 presents in Russia. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia, the custom of giving women flowers still prevails. Women sometimes get gifts from their employers too. School children often bring gifts for their teachers as well.

What about future? I’m not much of a seer, but something prompts me we shall not lose this nice spring holiday. Our women are the most valuable treasure, and we should always remember that. For those who may overwork and somehow forget about it, we have this holiday. We are nothing without our women, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, wives etc. we should be grateful to them for everything we have in our life. And I believe the celebration of this holiday at the beginning of spring is rather symbolic. In spring everyone has new hopes, new expectations, new relations… We want to be better, brighter, happier! And that’s why at this very time we celebrate the holiday of everlasting beauty, love, tenderness. Frankly speaking, we don’t need another holiday to say “I love you”. We can do it every day, every hour, every minute of our life, because a Woman really deserves it!

Happy birthday, “leaplings”!

Do you remember what kind of day it is today? You do? Sure, it is the 29th of February, the date, which occurs once in four years due to the existence of leap years. Especially those who are born this day, have been looking forward to celebrate their real birthday for three years!!! Now you have a chance to do your best, get presents, warm words and plenty of positive emotions, because it is only your day, and you have the right to enjoy it in full!

And what about a leap year in general? According to Wikipedia, February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 (with the exception of century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900) for the Gregorian calendar, which is most widely used in the world today. These are called leap years, and February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year. February 29 is also known as bissextile day or Leap Day.

Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, an extra twenty-four hours have accumulated, so one extra day is added to that calendar to keep the count coordinated with the sun's apparent position.

The leap day was introduced as part of the Julian reform. The day following the Terminalia (23 February) was doubled, forming the so-called "bis sextum". The first day of the bis sextum (February 24) came to be regarded as the intercalated or "bissextile" day. February 29 came to be regarded as the leap day when the Roman system of numbering days was replaced by sequential numbering in the late Middle Ages. It’s worth mentioning that in the European Union, February 29 officially became the leap day only in 2000.

People were always interested in different traditions and superstitions connected with the leap year and the leap day. There is a tradition that women may make a proposal of marriage to men only in leap years, further restricted in some cases to only February 29. There is a tradition that in 1288 the Scottish parliament under Queen Margaret legislated that any woman could propose in Leap Year; few parliament records of that time exist, and none concern February 29. Another component of this tradition was that if the man rejects the proposal, he should soften the blow by providing a kiss, one pound currency, and a pair of gloves (some later sources say a silk gown). There were similar notions in France and Switzerland.

A person who was born on February 29 may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they may celebrate their birthday on 28 February or 1 March. There are not so many people born on the 29th of February. They say there are about 4 million of leaplings in the world. Among those people are Gioacchino Rossini (Italian composer), Pepper Martin (baseball player), Dinah Shore (American singer), Jaguar (Brazilian cartoonist) and many other people. Whether the date of birth influenced their life or not is difficult to say. Even if it does, let’s hope, in a positive way. Happy birthday, leaplings!!!!

Sarah Palin – not just “another” women in the world politics

As a majority of men, I adore women and though we very often fail to understand each other, I’m inclined to think, that we cannot be apart. We need each other as two opposite things which are constantly attracted to each other. Some women are fond of feminism and think they need more rights. But do they? Those times when women’s main duty was to take care of their home, sank into oblivion. Now they, together and very often much better than men, manage the world economy and take an active part in the world politics. Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, Yulia Tymoshenko… These women have done a lot to be part of the world history (and the subject of my article).

Today I’d like to mention another women in politics, who is also does her job in a good way. Even men-politicians cannot but admit this. I mean Sarah Palin, Alaska Governor. She is the youngest governor in Alaskan history (42 years old upon taking office), as well as the first woman to hold the office in Alaska. In addition to being Alaska's youngest governor, Palin is also the first who was born after Alaska achieved statehood. She is also the first Alaska governor not to be inaugurated in Juneau, instead choosing to hold her inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks.

She took office on Dec. 4, 2006. Since taking office, her top priorities have been resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development. Under her leadership, Alaska invested $1 billion in the state’s education fund and implemented the Senior Benefits Program that provides support for low-income older Alaskans. She created Alaska’s Petroleum Systems Integrity Office to provide oversight and maintenance of oil and gas equipment, facilities and infrastructure, and the Climate Change Subcabinet to prepare a climate change strategy for Alaska.

She is married to Todd Palin, a lifelong Alaskan, a production operator on the North Slope and a four-time champion of the Iron Dog, the world's longest snowmachine race.Todd and Sarah have four children – Track, Bristol, Willow and Piper.

Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and enjoys hunting, fishing, Alaska history, and all that Alaska's great outdoors has to offer.

Will you still claim that women do not have enough rights or cannot do their job in a proper way? I can hardly believe that! I admire those women who managed not only to combine career and family (a lot of women say so), but also to achieve recognition and respect in such a “male” thing as politics. But I also think that men play their role here too. Sarah is sure to feel the support of her husband and her children and that helps her to remove mountains!!!

Yulia Tymoshenko – a dark horse in the politics of Ukraine

Yulia Tymoshenko is known as one of the most powerful politicians in Ukraine. Though I don’t quite like to write about politics, I believe, Yulia is one of those who people who are often discussed not only in their own country, but also abroad. The prime minister of Ukraine, a key person in the Orange revolution, an active fighter for the rights of Ukrainians, an iron lady in the history of Ukraine… She has both, supporters and opponents, but among all those politicians who pretend to be working in Ukrainian Parliament, she seems to be the only one, who really tries to do something for the sake of her voters and other citizens of Ukraine.

Nowadays, it is still rather difficult to give a detailed and exact portrait of Yulia Tymoshenko. She entered the politics in the mid-1990s and since that time managed to become a multi-billionaire, worked as prime minister, was sacked and afterwards still got what she wanted. She tries to look like a peasant girl with a plait against the back of her head. But Tymoshenko's peasant look is somewhat misleading. She is in fact a very wealthy woman, who gained her fortune in highly debated circumstances before entering politics. She made the transition from a member of Ukraine's disliked new moneyed elite to a skilled marshal of the anger of the public square three years ago, when she mounted an energetic, if ultimately unsuccessful, campaign to topple the increasingly loathed president, Leonid Kuchma. Her original entry into politics came earlier; but her Hromada party was seen then as only one of a rash of factions cynically created by the new tycoons to advance their business interests.

Now Yulia continues fighting for the rights of Ukrainian people. Her government is said to be the most democratic in comparison with ex-prime minister Victor Yanukovych. The political situation in Ukraine is still uncertain due to different reasons and it still remains unknown whether Yulia Tymoshenko and her government will be able to fulfill all their pre-election promises. At least many Ukrainians believe in this fair-haired woman. And if she really wants to change the situation for the better, she has the age!