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Friday 26 August 2011

8 Real Fertility Facts You Need to Know

By: Amy Fishbein

When it comes to babymaking, it seems as though everyone -- including your mother-in-law's best friend's sister -- has some insight to share. But chances are, a lot of what you hear is nonsense. "Fertility is a major part of our lives that we don't have a lot of control over," says Alice Domar, PhD, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. "When things don't happen the way we want, we look for explanations -- preferably something we can take direct action on -- and that's where the myths start to circulate." Check out the most common ones debunked below.

You've Heard That...Diet and Exercise Will Preserve Your Fertility

The truth: The quality of a woman's eggs declines with age regardless of how healthy she is, says Mary Jane Minkin, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University.

Some experts estimate that in 35-year-old women, approximately 1 in 2 eggs are likely to have chromosomal abnormalities; and about 90 percent of eggs are abnormal in women aged 42 or older. And with fewer viable eggs, your fertility rate declines.

Research does show, however, that women who exercise regularly during pregnancy may have fewer pregnancy-related aches and pains. Also, eating a low-fat diet full of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will help you stay at a healthy weight, which can improve your chances of getting pregnant at any age. "Overweight or obese women often have more trouble conceiving, and they're prone to developing complications such as gestational diabetes and high blood pressure," says Randy Morris, MD, an associate clinical professor for the division for reproductive endocrinology at the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago.



Gaddafi was obsessed with Condoleezza Rice. Photog...

Gaddafi was obsessed with Condoleezza Rice. Photog...: A bizarre photograph album filled page to page with pictures of Condoleezza Rice has been found at the compound of Colonel Gaddafi after...

Saturday 20 August 2011

How to Do the Perfect Pushup

When was the last time you did a pushup? Choose the most applicable answer:
A)   “Gym class, sixth grade.”
B)   “Why would I ever do a pushup?”
C)   “Yesterday.”
Scoring: If you answered A or B, you’re like most men. If you answered C, you probably work at Men’s Health.
 
Most guys abandon the pushup for the bench press sometime around puberty. That’s a shame—pushups have a lot going for them. You can do them anywhere. They don’t require any equipment. And they’re more effective at building rippling muscles than you probably realize.
In fact, researchers recently discovered that performing pushups as quickly as you can is one of the best ways to build explosive upper-body strength, according to The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. This pushup method was more effective than doing plyometric pushups (think: clapping between each pushup), and fall pushups, where you drop from a kneeling position and try to push your way back up to the starting position.



Why is quicker better? Take a look at a vertical jump: “If you do a quick knee bend before jumping, you’ll always jump higher than if you don’t,” explains N. Travis Triplett, Ph.D., one of the study’s researchers. The same type of action occurs when you do pushups as fast as possible. Dropping your chest toward the ground and pausing ever so slightly enhances the motion of pushing yourself back up—and ultimately helps you build more explosive strength, says Triplett.
You won’t be able to maximize your strength if you don’t perform the pushup correctly, though. Here’s the right way to perform the move:
1. Get down on all fours and place your hands on the floor so that they’re slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Straighten your arms and legs. Your body should form a straight line from you head to your ankles

Thursday 18 August 2011

Crazy D' Banj... lol... : New Track - Oliver twist... Download here.

D'Banj - Oliver (Oliver Twist) (prod. by Don Jazzy)
DOWNLOAD

Notable/Quotable: Amber Rose On Starting A Family With Wiz Khalifa

"I want to be a mom really bad. I really want babies. I’ll be 28 in October and my maternal instinct is ready. We're definitely going to get married and have babies. Not right now because we're still busy and we still want to enjoy each other first. We want to go on vacation, travel and just enjoy each other company, but he’s definitely the one. We're definitely going to lay it down and get it done."
--Model turned fashion designer Amber Rose opens up on settling down with rapper Wiz Khalifa.

Michael Jackson's Art and Studio, Revealed for the First Time

The interior of Michael Jackson's art studio, which he shared with friend and artist Brett-Livingstone Strong  
See more photos in "Michael Jackson Art: An Exclusive Look at the Musician's Drawings and Paintings."
Until now, Michael Jackson's art collection was shrouded in mystery. It was said to be stuck in a legal dispute over possession. Then, people speculated that buyers such as Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberté were interested. It's been valued at the staggering (and slightly unbelievable) sum of $900 million.
One crucial fact: Jackson's art collection isn't art by other people -- it's mainly drawings and paintings that he created himself. So what does that art look like?
Yesterday, LA Weekly was the first to visit the (until now) top-secret Santa Monica Airport hangar that Jackson used as his studio and art storehouse. The collection is currently owned by Brett-Livingstone Strong, the Australian monument builder and Jackson's art mentor through the years, in conjunction with the Jackson estate.
Though the entire art collection has been mired in disputes and battles for rights, Strong claims that he is working with everybody -- the family, the estate, as well as others -- to exhibit and publish as much of Jackson's work as possible.
According to Strong, he and Jackson formed an incorporated business partnership in 1989, known as the Jackson-Strong alliance. This gave each partner a fifty-percent stake in the other's art. In 2008, Strong says, Jackson requested that his attorney sign the rights to Jackson's portion of the art over to Strong. Now, Strong is beginning to reveal more and more of the art as he goes ahead with Jackson's dream of organizing a museum exhibit.
Some of Jackson's original drawings hanging on the wall. Prints of these were donated to the L.A. Children's Hospital.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

#Epic. Unilag Girls Fight on Twitter.

#Epic. Unilag Girls Fight on Twitter.: " This fight happened two days ago. Please continue to see more...ówa incredible.."

Kidnappers demand N20 Million Ransome for Mikel Ob...

Kidnappers demand N20 Million Ransome for Mikel Ob...: " Mikel Obi and father , Michael Obi It's been confirmed that Mikel Obi's father who went missing in Jos on Friday August 14 was kidnapped..."

15year old Nigerian boy builds generator car

15year old Nigerian boy builds generator car: "Ahmed is a 15 year old boy who built a generator car. Here he is driving his self made car along Airport road, Abuja. Great stuff!"

Monday 15 August 2011

Lady Gaga: Oh... So normal!

Couldn't believe it was her at 1st.... lol...

Mikel's father abducted in Nigeria

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel's father is thought to have been abducted after he went missing in Nigeria since Friday.
 
Mikel was informed on Saturday morning that his father had not returned home after work on Friday in the Nigerian city of Jos and had not been contactable by telephone, and he has not been seen since.
Mikel's manager, John Shittu, told Kick Off Nigeria: "At the moment we have not heard from Mikel's father, or anyone else, so we don't know what it is. At this point, we only consider him missing."
Mikel played the full 90 minutes for Chelsea in their 0-0 draw at Stoke on Sunday but Shittu added: "He is totally devastated. We were not sure whether to tell him before the game, but after speaking to the manager, and [Chelsea technical director] Mike Emenalo, we agreed that he had a right to be informed of such a serious incident.
"He was under a lot of stress, but he showed a lot of character and mental strength to play against Stoke."
Shittu added in a statement to the BBC: "It's been tough for the young man. The family in Jos reported him missing at the police station as expected but we're taking all necessary measures to find him. We've told him to be brave and to stay calm."
Mikel's representatives, Sport Entertainment and Media Group, have said it is an abduction.
"SEM confirms that client John Obi Mikel's father was abducted in Nigeria on Friday, August 10," a statement read. "Thus far no ransom [demand] has been received. Mikel was informed by his manager prior to the Stoke v Chelsea match and decided to play so as not to let down his team and family."

Thursday 11 August 2011

Jay-Z, Kanye West, Diddy Top Forbes Hip-Hop List

Jay tops the list because he 'makes brilliant business moves but keeps putting out relevant music,' Forbes writer tells MTV News.

Jay-Z and Kanye West are already poised to seize the top of the charts with Watch the Throne. But before the final sales figures are even tabulated, the superstar hip-hop duo are already rap's top cops, thanks to their #1 and #3 ranking on the Forbes Hip-Hop's Top Earners list.

Entrepreneur Jigga earned the first spot with more than $37 million in earnings, just outpacing another serious multi-hyphenate, Diddy, who was no joke just behind at $35 million. It's the fourth time Jay has worn the Cash Kings crown in the past five years. Kanye was a bit further behind at #3 with a not-too-shabby $16 million.

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Why Is There a Nude Statuette of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez?

And more importantly, is this legal?
After all, Justin Bieber may have a swag overload, but he is still under 18.
Despite this minor issue, infamous sculptor Daniel Edwards grabbed his tools and created a statue of Bieber and his gf Selena Gomez (nearly) completely nakies with only a Canadian Maple Leaf and Texas Lone Star covering their privates, and the words "Justin & Selena Forever" at the base of the bronze likeness.
Apparently he's a fan.


But we're not really that surprised by this intentionally shocking portrait of the pair.
Edwards is known for his over-the-top artwork such as Britney Spears giving birth, Suri Cruise's poop, Octomom in pink, Paris Hilton's insides and Angelina Jolie nursing...
All of these, um, masterpieces created visions in our minds that we could have lived without. And now we have another.
So what do you folks think? Is this kinda cool or kinda creepy?

The Surprising Habits That Can Sink a Marriage

by Oprah.com
Can you spot a good marriage? I was pretty sure I could, starting with my own. My husband and I rarely argued, we had similar careers, we shared common interests. Things weren't perfect, but we seemed to be humming along in harmony better than most other couples we knew. In fact, nobody was more surprised than we were when our 17-year marriage ended in a New Jersey divorce court.

It turns out, though, that the signs of trouble had been there all along, if only I'd known what to look for. Instead, I was judging my marriage by the wrong standards—which, I've since learned, most of us do. In one now-famous study, researchers asked therapists, married couples, and others to watch videotaped conversations of ten couples and try to identify the relationships that had ultimately ended in divorce. The results were abysmal—even the therapists guessed wrong half the time.

So how can you diagnose the health of your relationship? Armed with huge volumes of data on married couples, scientists have identified some simple but powerful indicators that can help couples recognize marital strife long before their relationship hits the skids.

The Way You Were
Imagine a couple that go hiking on their first date. In a happy marriage, the wife might tell the story this way: "We got terribly lost that day. It took us hours to find our way back, but we laughed about how neither of us had a good sense of direction. After that, we knew better than to plan another hiking trip!"

But if the relationship was stressed, she might tell the story this way: "He lost the map, and it took hours to find our way back. After that, I never wanted to go hiking again." Same story, but instead of reflecting a sense of togetherness—using pronouns like "we" and "us"—it's laced with negativity. Research has shown that analyzing what's known as the marital narrative—the way you talk about the good and bad times of your early years together—is about 90 percent accurate in predicting which marriages will succeed or fail.

Had I been paying attention, my own how-we-met story could have told me a lot about how I was feeling in my marriage. Early in the relationship, when asked about our first date, I recounted a magical evening that ended with a walk around the Texas capitol building in Austin. I often laughed about the fact that I was limping the whole time because I'd recently had surgery on my foot. But later in my marriage, I changed the story slightly, always adding, "Of course, he didn't even notice."

Fight or Flight
When my husband and I first married, I felt lucky that we almost never fought. But studies show it's a mistake to judge the quality of a relationship by how much or how little you argue, particularly in the early years.

University of Washington researchers studied newlywed couples and learned, not surprisingly, that those who rarely argued were happier in the relationship than those who fought often. But three years later, the findings had reversed. Couples with an early history of bickering had worked out their problems and were more likely to be in stable marriages. The couples who'd avoided conflict early on were more likely to be in troubled relationships or already divorced.

Obviously, fighting that includes violence or verbal abuse is never acceptable. But most marital spats represent an opportunity to resolve conflicts and make things better. "We need to learn to tolerate conflict in our relationships," says Carolyn Cowan, a longtime marriage and family researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

Nomination List for The Headies(The Hip Hop World Awards)

Nomination List for The Headies: "The Headies, formerly known as The Hip Hop World Awards just released their 2011 nominations list on their website, www.theheadies.com . ..."

C'mon Kelly Rowland, your nip slip was deliberate....

C'mon Kelly Rowland, your nip slip was deliberate....: "Nicki Minaj's nip slip on Good Morning America last week was probably accidental, but Kelly Rowland's wardrobe malfunction at a club where s..."

State Govt Ban 2-year rent in Lagos. Landlords who...

State Govt Ban 2-year rent in Lagos. Landlords who...: "The long awaited Tenancy Bill was passed on Friday August 5, 2011 by the Lagos State House of Assembly and signed by Governor Fashola yes..."

What do Kim Kardashian, Gisele Bundchen, and Katy Perry have in common? Celebrity women who out-earn their mates

These celebrity women are the breadwinners

What do the following celeb couples all have in common—besides the fact that they're gorgeous, famous, and/or way richer than we'll ever be? All of the women earn more than their men. In some cases, much, much more.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Who Tops the Charts as Hollywood's Richest Actor?

In Hollywood, you always have to expect the unexpected.
An A-list celebrity could become a nobody in a year, and that nobody from a year ago could be the coolest thing since sliced bread now (funny how that works). But the guys who stick around and make a name for themselves rack in some major millions.
Forbes has released their list of the five highest-paid actors in the past year. Can you guess who made the cut?

Let's count 'em down and see what they made:

Jennifer Lopez's First Post-Split Interview: "Marriage Is Hard"

Jennifer Lopez may have three failed marriages behind her, but that doesn't mean she's giving up on love.
Lopez is opening up like she's never done before. She's not only talking about fighting with Marc Anthony, but she's even hinting that her return to work (and the spotlight!) may have been the final straw...

"This was the hardest decision I've ever had to face," Lopez says in the new issue of Vanity Fair (on newstands this week). "I really wanted this family to work. That was my biggest dream, and I worked hard at it. We both did. Sometimes it doesn't work—and that's sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love...It's still my biggest dream."

Most of writer Lisa Robinson's interview with Ms. Lopez actually took place before she and Anthony announced their split. But it sounds like Lopez knew the end was near.
"We try, we try," she said when asked about balancing their work life, their children and their marriage. "[But] it's getting increasingly harder. When we were [first] married, most of the time, and even before the babies were born, we were able to go everywhere together. I wasn't working as much. So we kind of had that. I went on tour with him a few times in the first few years of our marriage, and we did a film [El Cantante] together. It's hard, and we're figuring it out. It's tough.

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