Playboy's smart moves..

Is there anything better than reliving the glory of a half century ago, when the magazine made its biggest splash publishing nude pictures of Marilyn Monroe and was being read by millions? 

What could be better in a bad economy than to retrace the 1960s' good times and give readers a break on the magazine's price?



Indeed, among the hottest fashion trends for men are retro looks inspired by TV shows such as "Mad Men," which no doubt was an inspiration for other period programs like NBC's new "The Playboy Club," a fictional primetime drama about what goes on behind the scenes of one of the '60s-era nightclubs..

Go to Reuters.com to read the whole article.

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Germany's first "sex tax meters"

Just need to think smart..

More or less every country has its ladies of the night,hasn't it?
Why not take advantage of this?
...
(Reuters) - Prostitutes in the German city of Bonn must carry a ticket purchased from a new parking meter-like machine while working the streets or face hefty fines from tax authorities in a scheme launched on Monday night.

In Germany, ladies of the night pay income tax -- the level of which varies from region to region -- but compliance is difficult to enforce with women seeking business on the street.

Refer to Reuters to read the whole article.

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15 minutes of exercise a day can extend life by three years

According to this new National Research, it seems really easy to win three more years of life.. I think it is worth trying. Why not?

"It's for men, women, the young and old, smokers, healthy and unhealthy people. Doctors, when they see any type of patient, this is a one-size-fits-all type of advice," the lead researcher Chi Pang Wen told Reuters in a telephone interview.

(Reuters) - Doing just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day may add three years to your life, a large study in Taiwan has found.

After taking into account differences in age, weight, sex and a range of health-related indicators, they found that just 15 minutes of moderate exercise a day increased life expectancy by three years compared to those who remained inactive.

"The first 15 minutes ... the benefits are enormous," Wen said.

Go to www.reuters.com to read the whole article.

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Travel Picks: 10 of world's most unusual foods

by REUTERS,

While much of the fun of traveling revolves around new experiences, even the most adventurous explorers may draw the line at trying certain foods.

Proving that one man's winged rat is another man's pricey appetizer, members and editors of travel website VirtualTourist.com  have come up with a list of 10 of the world's most unusual foods. Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. Pig's Blood Cake; Taiwan
In Taiwan, pig's blood cake is sold on a wooden stick and eaten like ice cream. Easily found at street markets, it's a sweet treat generally made from pig's blood and rice.

2. Live Octopus; South Korea
Unlike calamari which is dead and still, octopus in South Korea often arrives at the table alive and moving. Connoisseurs of the dish say it's best to eat quickly.

3. Grasshopper; Uganda
Caught during the rainy season and eaten cooked or raw, these are a perennial favorite. Sold with or without wings and legs, they are easily found at the local markets.

4. Pigeon; France
While considered a dirty street animal by many, this poultry dish is an expensive and much-loved delicacy that graces the plates of some of the country's finest restaurants. Considered to have a robust flavor, it still struggles to gain culinary acceptance in much of the world.

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Not enough Facebook friends? Buy them

by REUTERS,

Who says you can't buy friends? An Australian online marketing company is selling friends and fans to Facebook members after offering a similar service to Twitter users.

Advertising, marketing and promoting company uSocial said it was targeting social networking sites because of their huge advertising potential.
"Facebook is an extremely effective marketing tool," Leon Hill, uSocial CEO, said in a statement.
"The simple fact is that with a large following on Facebook, you have an instant and targeted group of people you can contact and promote whatever it is you want to promote," he added.
"The only problem is that it can be extremely difficult to achieve such a following, which is where we come in.
The company offers packages for Facebook, the world's number one social networking site, that start at 1,000 friends up to 10,000 friends at costs ranging from $177 to $1,167.

For the whole article click here

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Kidnapped California girl found 18 years later

by REUTERS,


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California girl who was kidnapped at the age of 11 in 1991 has been found alive, having spent 18 years living in sheds and tents behind the home of her accused abductor, a convicted rapist who fathered two children with her, police said last Thursday


Jaycee Dugard had been missing since she was snatched off a street by two people in a gray sedan while walking to a bus stop near her home in South Lake Tahoe, east of San Francisco, on June 10, 1991.

Dugard, now 29, was found after a parole officer for her accused kidnapper became suspicious, leading to a search of his home near the town of Antioch, about 100 miles southwest of where she was abducted.

Police say the search turned up a hidden "backyard within a backyard" at the home of registered sex offender and convicted rapist Phillip Craig Garrido, where Dugard and the two children were confined in a series of sheds and tents.

"She was in good health but living in a backyard for 18 years must take its toll," El Dorado County Undersheriff Fred Kollar told a news conference.

Carl Probyn, Dugard's stepfather, said on television he and her mother "cried for about 10 minutes" after they were told by authorities that she had been found alive.

BREAK IN CASE CAME TUESDAY

Garrido, 58, and his wife Nancy Garrido, 54, were arrested over Dugard's abduction and prosecutors said they were likely to be charged on Friday.

Authorities said Garrido was suspected of fathering two children with Dugard, girls now aged 11 and 15.

"None of the children had ever been to school, none had been to a doctor. They were kept in complete isolation in this compound," Kollar said.

While the case of Dugard's abduction had remained open for the past 18 years, police had never found a trace of the missing girl or the gray sedan until Tuesday, when Garrido tried to enter the University of California, Berkeley campus with the two girls to pass out religious leaflets.

A campus police officer found his interaction with the girls suspicious and investigated his background, ultimately alerting his parole officer.

During a visit with the parole officer, Garrido brought his wife, the two girls and a woman identified as "Allissa" -- who proved to be Dugard.

Authorities said Garrido had served time in a Nevada prison for a 1971 kidnapping and rape conviction.

The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper reported Garrido was described as strange by his neighbors, who said he conducted religious revivals in a tent and claimed to have invented a device to control sound with his mind.
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