Not Happy with Your Name?

Next time you introduce yourself or sign your name, spare a thought for Barb Dwyer and Paige Turner. They are among those honoured with having the most bizarre and embarrassing names in Britain, according to a survey.Researchers spent a month scouring the UK's online phone records to find those for whom meeting new people or showing their credit card in a shop is likely to be an ordeal. Other top silly names included Hazel Nutt, Lee King, Terry Bull and Mary Christmas, according to the Babywebsite.com, which conducted the study.
They also looked through phone records in the U.S., uncovering the unfortunate Anna Prentice, Carrie Oakey and Bill Board. The website warned parents to be on their guard against names that could attract ridicule.
A spokesman said: 'There must be tremendous embarrassment every time they have to introduce themselves to anyone, especially to a crowd.
'Even their teachers must have had to hold back their smiles sometimes. Parents really do need to think carefully when choosing names for their children.'
The unfortunate bearers of these names confirmed it was no laughing matter. Retired airman Stan Still, of Cirencester, Gloucestershire, told the BBC: 'My name has been a blooming millstone around my neck my entire life.
'When I was in the RAF my commanding officer used to shout "Stan Still, get a move on!" and roll about laughing. It got hugely boring after a while.'

Others whose names did not make the top 20 left comments on the BBC website. A Susan Mee from Doncaster wrote: 'My name was Susan Frame. I am a lawyer. I met and married Robert, who is a banker. Now we are Sue Mee, a lawyer, and Rob Mee, a banker.'

Beware of Make-up Bacteria Risk

The average British woman's make-up bag is out of date by four years, new research has revealed. Eyeshadow, blusher and lipstick were found to be months - or even years - past their use by dates, after a study showed that make-up users were unaware that their products could be a magnet for germs.

The survey, which was carried out by Debenhams, revealed that most women did not know that all cosmetics are required to carry a symbol that indicates how long they can be safely kept. Eighty-nine per cent of the 1,000 women polled were unaware that such information exists, did not understand what the symbol means or were unable to read the tiny writing.

The consequence is a heightened risk of irritation and infection from make-up, perfume and skincare products used after the expiry date. While make-up products do contain ingredients that protect against infection, they lose effectiveness over time. Combined with frequent exposure to air creates an ideal breeding ground for bacteria.

Multi-use products, that can be used in several different ways, carry an even higher risk as they can spread germs from eyes to skin to lips. Sixty per cent of women also admitted to sharing make-up with friends and family, multiplying the chances of infection.

Sara Stern, Director of Cosmetics at Debenhams, said: 'British women are famously loyal to make up brands and products, however, their reluctance to throw away old products is a risky business.

'We wouldn't hesitate to chuck out mouldy or bacteria-ridden food and the same standards should apply to the lotions and potions that we put on our skin. Beauty is timeless but unfortunately, products are not.'

The study found that 68 per cent of women only replace make-up and skincare when they run out, however long that might take. Seventy-two per cent of those surveyed never wash their make up sponges or brushes, even though they should do at least once a week.

And 81 per cent go to sleep without removing their make up at least once a week. Bevis Man of the British Skin Foundation said: 'It's not always obvious when make-up has passed its prime, so it may not occur to people to replace their products.

'It is best to err on the side of caution and if a product looks or smells strange, it is worth throwing it away.

'Cost is probably a major factor in why people do not replace out-of-date cosmetics.

'However, products can dry out and become less effective as they age.

'Your eyes are one area of your face you need to be particularly careful with, as eye infections can be painful and long-lasting.

'Make-up sponges are a particular haven for bacteria, especially if they are kept for a long period of time and are not washed.

'Again, it is best to keep them clean and replace them after a few months' use.'

As a result of its research, Debenhams is now exploring ways in which cosmetic use-by dates can be better communicated to customers. A nationwide 'make-up amnesty' is in the pipeline, and the retailer has also written to the Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham, to push for further legislation to cover the safety of consumers.

'Hopefully this call to action will encourage women to have a ruthless spring clean of their cosmetics collections,' added Ms Stern.KMPS

How Safe is Cleanser for Ms. V?

Cleaning the vagina with antiseptic is becoming a common practice among women. Their reasons vary, perhaps for health, but also for cosmetic reasons, to make sure that Ms. V is fragrant and comfortably dry.

Actually the vagina has its own cleaning mechanism which used a normal bacteria colony to keep the microorganism balance within and around the vital organ. But the balance could be disrupted by external efforts, for example: wearing tight pants that disturb the humidity of the vagina and encourages the growth of bad bacteria.

According to Dr. Hendro Sudarpo SpOG, maternity and obstetrics expert from Siloam Lippo Kawaraci Hospital, vagina cleansers are fine for daily usage, however, he discourages using antiseptic. "Using antiseptic can kill the narutal flora on the vagina and disrupt the pH level, causing it to be alkali. This could kill useful bacteria."

He also mentioned that the normal pH level of the vagina is 3.5 to 4.5. If the pH is unbalanced then other germs, fungi, and bacteria will have a chance to proliferate, and this in turn might cause infections. Disinfectant can be used only if there is indication of fluor albus (abnormal vaginal secretion), and even so must be with a doctor's advice.

Not all women can use vagina cleansers though. Some women are alergic to certain chemicals. A regular vagina cleanser might damange the inner parts of the vagina, and this would instead cause an infection instead of cleaning.

Another safe way to clean the vagina in a daily basis is to wash it with warm water and low soda soap, and take care to clean only the outside of the opening. (AN/C17-09)

Girl Locked in Bathroom for Two Months

A malnourished Arizona girl was locked in a bathroom without running water for two months, beaten with metal rods, and forced to exercise until exhaustion because her father said she had stolen food and cheated on a home-school test, US police said.

Scott and Andrea Bass, the 14-year-old girl's father and stepmother, were arrested on February 4 for investigation of child abuse, kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.

Andrea Bass, 31, was released from custody on Tuesday after posting a $US36,000 ($41,000) bond. Scott Bass, 33, remained jailed on $US45,000 bond.

The girl escaped from the bathroom through the attic on February 4 and contacted police. A medical evaluation showed the girl was in the 25th percentile for weight and the 50th percentile for height among girls her age.

The girl said her father forced her to exercise until she was exhausted and beat her with belts and metal rods or pulled her up by her hair if she stopped the exercises.

The girl, who was evaluated and released from a hospital, was in the custody of Child Protective Services along with four other children living in the home, who police said showed no signs of abuse.

Police Officer Luis Samudio said the girl and her 12-year-old brother were from Scott Bass's previous marriage, and that three girls, aged 3, 4 and 11, were Scott and Andrea Bass's children.

Palin's Ex Levi Loses The Levis to be Nude Coverboy

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The 19-year-old former fiance of Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol is to pose nude for the cover of Playgirl. Levi Johnston - a former cairbou hunter who has also featured in an advert for nuts - fathered a son with Bristol, 19, but the couple broke up in December after baby Tripp was born.

The relationship between him and the Palins since then has often been strained, mostly over visitation issues. His choice of new career is likely to further embarrass Ms Palin, who says she hasn't ruled out running for office again.

Last October. Johnston's lawyer said his client was getting prepared for the close-up by training three hours a day, six nights a week at an Anchorage gym with a local body builder.

Naked pictures of him have appeared on Playgirl's website but now he has been picked to be the coverboy for the February 22 issue under the headline "Levi Johnston Goes Rogue".

In the article, accompanied by a photo spread in which Johnston has a strategically placed hand, he discusses his turbulent relationship with the Palins. Just after Senator John McCain chose Palin as his running mate in August 2008, Johnston was thrust into the national spotlight when Palin abruptly announced her unwed daughter was pregnant and the couple would marry. kmps

One of my male friends is looking to move home, out of the city centre and into the suburbs. I asked where he fancied  -  north, south, east or west. He shrugged. 'I have no say in it,' he said. 'It's not my decision.'

I pointed out that choosing where to live is one of the biggest decisions we make. Plus, he'd be paying for at least half of it. Surely he had some say? He shook his head. 'The wife decides.'

This same friend last year kowtowed to his then girlfriend's desire for a massive wedding with more than 200 guests and costing more than £20,000, even though he admitted that his preference would have been for a much smaller and more intimate affair. I like this friend dearly, but I find myself losing some of the respect I used to have for him. I want to shout: 'Where's your spine, you emasculated fool?'

Perhaps my frustration is related to my own mixed feelings about the complicated business of decision-making in relationships. Last summer, quite early on in our relationship, my partner asked me what colour of shirt and tie he should wear to a wedding. I gave him a look intended to convey: 'I'm your partner, not your mother.'

Needless to say, he wasn't able to mindread or to pick up on my twisted facial expressions and he asked again. By way of reply, I said:

'What colour of dress should I wear? And what colour of nail varnish? And should I wear my hair up or down?' (I know, it's an example of appallingly passiveaggressive and indirect communication.)

He frowned as if he couldn't quite understand the questions. 'Wear what you like,' he said.

'Exactly,' I said. 'And it's the same for you.' He gave me that 'women, I'll never understand them' look  -  and he later told me that his previous girlfriend often told him what to wear, especially on a night out involving her friends.

I'm sure you're probably thinking: the poor confused guy. But why should women bear the burden of decision-making in a relationship?

Why is there an expectation that the woman will make the majority of the choices  -  from the minor and flippant, such as what to wear, to the more major, such as where to live?

It is as if, on top of everything else, she has to become the chief decision-maker, the 'decider.'
Studies appear to confirm that women are increasingly the dominant decision-making force in relationships.

A recent report found that by 2020 women will be driving the world economy and will have the final say in the majority of financial decisions in Britain's homes. Another study found that women make 80 per cent of all purchasing decisions, and 94 per cent of home furnishing purchases.

The study also found that in nearly half of all relationships men have no share in decision-making in the following four areas: household finances, big home purchases, the location of their homes, shared weekend activities and television viewing.

Some have hailed these figures as cause for celebration  -  women have the power. Personally, I think they're cause for concern. If we're really striving for equality, then surely that should reach out into all aspects of life. But most women I know don't feel like this.

One of my friends, a stay-at-home mother to two young children, says she is absolutely 'the decider' in her marriage.

'My husband earns the money and I decide how we spend it,' she says. 'I feed and dress us all. I decide where and when we go on holiday. I choose everything for the house and have just decided to get an extension.

'I even buy my own birthday present from my husband and our children. Actually, I quite often feel as if I have three children, not two. But that's the way it is.'

She went on: 'If I had to consult and strive for equality in every decision, we'd never get anything done. It sounds very old-fashioned, but basically my husband is the provider  -  in financial terms  -  and I am in charge of running the show.

'Some people would no doubt say my husband's "under the thumb" or that I "wear the trousers". Although I hate the thought, it's probably true.'

Jenny, a consultant urologist, sees things from a different perspective. 'I work in a very male-oriented environment. I watch men strut about the hospital. At work, they hold all the power. Some of them clearly revel in it  -  they actually get off on bossing junior people, often women, about.

'But when I see them with their wives, they are completely different people. They are like little boys. They do as they're told. They ask permission to have a drink. It's as if, for a lot of them, their wives are more like their mothers than their equals.

'I am exactly the same person whether I'm at work or at home. I regard my husband as my absolute equal and I treat him as my absolute equal. But my male colleagues aren't like that.

'They're like two completely different people  -  at home I get the impression they don't have much power.

'The wife has it all. At work, they seem to overcompensate for that and strut about like little masters of the universe.' Some experts believe that a lot of men like to have a 'wife-led' relationship, saying it makes them feel relatively 'safe and mothered'.

And there are plenty of celebrity couples who appear to enjoy this kind of partnership.

Last year, at a post-Oscar party Calista Flockhart was heard telling her partner Harrison Ford to go easy on the champagne, prompting celebrity watchers to suggest the actor was well and truly under the thumb.

David Beckham, Brad Pitt and Gavin Henson have also been dubbed at various times 'hen-pecked'.

But the very idea of being in a relationship in which another person makes decisions on your behalf terrifies others.

One male friend said it was watching his friends change from free- spirited, independent individuals to emasculated husbands that put him off marriage. 'I would say the vast majority of my male friends are subservient to their wives.

'They'd never admit this, of course. But it's blindingly obvious. They remind me of that cartoon in which a woman is grinning manically and gripping on to her husband, saying: "Our marriage has been so successful because we are open to each other's points of view, and we always think for ourselves  -  isn't that right, dear?"

'The husband is nodding frantically. It's an exaggeration, obviously, but it's not too far from what I see. I am afraid of ending up like that. Which is why I've decided to give marriage a body-swerve.'

I understand his fears. I come from a family of strong, dominant women. I'm not sure I want the role. But at the same time I'm not sure I want the other extreme. I cherish my autonomy too much. Someone making all the decisions on my behalf is as unappealing as being in charge of everything.

This may all sound terribly petty and insignificant. But it is often a crucial factor in the health and survival of a relationship.

Most of us tell ourselves that, if we are part of a couple, we make decisions together and treat each other as equals with no power relations. This fits with the image of a modern relationship as one of balance, trust and equality.

But this is rarely the case in real life. I remember a famous psychologist saying that, though we all like to think otherwise, competitiveness and potential hostility pervade all human relationships.

As a result, making decisions as part of a couple  -  whether about handling money, housework, social life or children  -  is often fraught at some level (usually an unconscious one), with struggles for power and superiority.

As one therapist explained: 'One of the fundamental conflicts of human nature is the conflict between being an individual with your own sense of self, identity, autonomy and independence, and falling in love with someone, which involves giving up some of your identity, autonomy and independence.

'In an ideal world we would all get the balance right. There would be no dominant partner, no "decider". But in real life there is often a stronger, more dominant partner  -  and it is very often the woman  -  and a more submissive, or "laid-back" partner.

'If it works for both, fine. But problems arise when one begins to resent the role they are playing.'

I am convinced that the friend I mentioned  -  the one who's practically surrendered himself to his wife  -  is going to wake up one morning, perhaps in five years, perhaps in a decade, and think: 'How did this happen?'

And because human beings are generally bad at communicating their fears and resentments, I'm convinced his reaction will be to rebel, and in all likelihood, stray.

There is no doubt that in life it's often easier to have someone else make the decisions for us, no matter how big or small they are. But deep down, human beings like to believe  -  in fact, they need to believe  -  they have some control over their own lives.

Which is why striving for balance and equality in a relationship, though it takes real effort, is the best recipe for success in the end.

So if I were my friend's wife I would resist the urge to make all the big decisions on his behalf. Women shouldn't mother their partners. They're men. Not babies. And if a man wants to be mothered?

If he wants you to make all the decisions on his behalf? It's a red flag. Run a mile.

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St Trinian's Star Reveals Lingerie in Sexy Photo-Shoot

She shot to fame as a sexy school girl in the St Trinian's movies but actress Talulah Riley has ditched the revealing school uniform for barely-there lingerie in a sultry magazine shoot. The 24-year-old shows off her slender frame as she poses seductively on a chaise-longue and is seen holding a cigarette while standing by a staircase in the provocative pictures.

In another shot Riley, who plays Head Girl Annabelle Fritton in the St Trinian's movies, looks coyly at the camera with her hand placed beside her mouth. The sexy photos, which will appear in the March issue of Esquire magazine, mark a busy year for the blonde who will also appear alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Caine in the upcoming movie Inception.

The actress, who was born in Hertfordshire, has moved to Los Angeles in a bid to further her movie career but recently admitted that she is home sick.

‘I live here [LA] now and I'm bereft of all English people,’ she told The Mirror.

‘I miss Cheddar cheese so much - it's plastic and rubbish out here.’

Riley is currently engaged to 38-year-old PayPal millionaire Elon Musk, the couple called off their wedding last year due to their busy schedules, but are said to be planning to marry this summer.

Sunbathing 'Boosts Men's Sex Drives'

A spot of sunbathing boosts men's sex drive, reveals a new study. Testosterone levels in men's blood rise accordingly with doses of vitamin D.

The vital nutrient is produced in the body after exposure to sunlight and can also be obtained from eating oily fish and meat. Researchers at the Medical University of Graz in Austria found men with at least 30 nanograms of vitamin D per millilitre of blood had much more of the main male sexual hormone circulating than those with less.

And the average amount of testosterone over the course of the year was subject to the same fluctuations as the vitamin D level. Both decrease from October - at the beginning of the winter months - and reach their lowest level in March because of the weaker solar radiation during this period.

Ad Brand, spokesman of the Sunlight Research Forum in Veldhoven in the Netherlands, said: 'Men who ensure their body is at least sufficiently supplied with vitamin D are doing good for their testosterone levels and their libido among other things.'

The new findings back up previous research that found an hour of sunshine can boost a man's testosterone by 69 per cent.Testosterone is the most important male sexual hormone. In males it is mainly responsible for the development of the sex organs, the formation and maintenance of the typical male sexual characteristics, sperm production and the controlling of male desire.

Stimulated by UV radiation, 90 per cent of vitamin D in the body is produced by the skin.An average vitamin D level of 30 nanograms per millilitre of blood (30 ng/ml) represents the scientific value from which vitamin D has a sufficiently positive effect. Optimal values are between 40 and 60 ng/ml.(kmps)