Can you believe she's nearly 40? Cameron Diaz looks as youthful as ever she shows off her trim figure in a colourful outfit

Cameron Diaz is enjoying the last few weeks of her thirties before turning the big 4-0 later this month.
And by the looks of the actress in West Hollywood last night, it looks like the Charlie's Angels star could get away with claiming to be in her 30s for a few years yet.
Currently in the best shape of her life due to tough fitness regime, the actress showed her toned and tanned legs in a patterned mini-skirt.

Youthful: Actress Cameron Diaz shows off her toned legs in a patterned mini skirt and orange T-shirt as she dines at Mercato Di Vetro last night

Leaving Italian restaurant Mercato di Vetro on Santa Monica Bouelvard last night, Cameron stood out from the crowd in a bright orange T-shirt.
Standing tall at 5ft 8, there was no need for heels for the tall actress, who wore a comfortable pair of gold Christian Louboutin sandals.
It appeared Cameron was enjoying a business dinner at the eaterie and was spotted hugging a man in a suit following the meeting.

Relaxed: Cameron looked a lot more comfortable in her outfit than her dining companion who was wearing a suit

Her evening came just a few weeks before she is set to celebrate her 40th birthday on August 30.
Her night out comes as it was revealed Cameron has signed a publishing deal to write a fitness book.
Next year, she is set to write a book full of fitness and lifestyle advice, which will be published by Harper Collins.

Fitness guru: Cameron is preparing to write a fitness and wellbeing book next year

Farewell: Cameron hugs her dinner companion goodbye outside the restaurant before heading home

The publishing house said Cameron hopes to 'engage and empower women' by sharing tips on looking and feeling good.
Speaking about her fitness regime to Elle magazine last year, she said: 'I love it. I have never, ever watched what I eat in my life, but I do now.
'I'm off the fried foods. I'm very thoughtful about what I eat. If you're gonna do heavy lifting, and you want to stay small, you have to watch what you eat.'

Having fun: The actress is currently single and appears to be loving her freedom

Secret to her healthy regime? Cameron obviously didn't drink during dinner as she drove herself home

Victoria Silvstedt goes from pretty in pink to toned beach babe in tight black bikini

Having showed the world that she can paddle board with the best of them, Victoria Silvstedt decided to relax on holiday yesterday.
The former Playboy model spent a lazy day on the beach topping up her tan and keeping cool in Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
The 37-year-old arrived at the beach in a pink outfit but was quick to whip it off and head straight for the crystal blue waters.

Picture perfect: Victoria Silvstedt looked superb in her pretty pink beach dress which showed off her legs, yesterday, in Sardinia

Victoria looked lovely in her attention grabbing pink dress as she and a group of friends arrived on the beach in a small white boat.
Once on dry land the sun worshipers looked for the perfect spot to sunbathe and dropped their things on some loungers.
With the midday heat creeping up Victoria had no choice but to remove some clothing in an attempt to keep cool.

Quick change: The model slipped out of her beach dress and revealed a lovely black bikini that showed off her toned body

Attractive view: The former Playboy model kept her face protected by wearing a cream fedora with a pair of sunglasses

Making a splash: Victoria was the star attraction on the beach as she cooled off in the crystal blue water

The former Miss Sweden took off her light frock to reveal her amazing beach body in a two-piece black bikini.
She teamed the tight swimwear with a cream fedora and a large pair of aviator sunglasses with her long curly blonde hair falling over her shoulders.
The beautiful model then decided to splash around in the sea but barely got her hips wet as she stayed firmly in the shallow shore.

Soaking wet: Victoria quickly dried off with her towel in the midday Sardinia sunshine

She works out: The Swedish star even looked in shape just lying down casually on her sun lounger

Well known face: The well toned star has been featured on over 500 magazine covers

Once back on the beach Victoria dried off with her blue towel before lying down on her lounger next to one of her friends.
The well toned star, who has been featured on over 500 magazine covers, cheekily jumped onto a bed with one of her girl friends as they play fought over sun protection cream.
Victoria has been sampling the delights of a whole host of sun-soaked destinations in recent weeks, travelling to the likes of St Tropez, Cannes and Monaco, before turning her attentions to the Italian Riviera.

Fun in the sun: Victoria and one of her girlfriends playfully fought over suncream while sharing a lounger

Back to the hotel: The celebrity changed once again from her bikini into her pink dress before heading home

The reality star has enjoyed a fruitful career as a model ever since she became Miss Sweden, working for fashion houses such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani and Givenchy.
She soon caught the eye of Playboy boss Hugh Hefner who signed her up for his world-famous magazine, and was subsequently voted Playmate of the Year 1997.

Calm waters: Victoria arrived at the beach with her large group of friends in a small white boat from their hotel

Men and Boys' Swimwear Fashion - A History

The ancient world

The Egyptians, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks and Romans all had swimming as part of their culture. However, evidence of how men's and boys swimwear looked varies considerably. In southwest Egypt, the 'Cave of Swimmers' wall drawings, thought to be some 10,000 years old, depict nude swimmers; not much fashion there then. However, other pre-Christian art shows men swimming in robes and long billowing trousers, so there was no consistent style of swimwear in the ancient world.

The dark and middle ages

In Europe, the art of swimming was not much practised after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Water was unsafe to drink, and people thought that swimming in the stuff would invite plague. There's even a theory that people did not swim because to show you could float was evidence that you practised witchcraft!
Changing attitudes in the 18th and 19th centuries

It wasn't until the mid-1700s that bathing came back into fashion. Doctors in England started to prescribe sea baths as a cure for all sorts of illnesses. Sea bathing received the Royal seal of approval when George III took to the waters in Weymouth in 1789. The idea of swimming for health reasons quickly spread across the channel. The French aristocracy took to the past time after the Duchesse de Berry, the daughter-in-law of Charles X, took an inaugural dip at Dieppe in 1824. Her first swim even merited a ceremonial volley of cannon fire when she entered the waters in August of that year. In England until the 1830s, the sexes swam separately at different times and places, and so it was common for men to swim nude.
The first swimwear styles

It wasn't until the 1840s when mixed bathing became acceptable in Britain that the first bathing costumes appeared for men. However, because swimming was not yet deemed suitable for children, there was no boys' swimwear fashion at this point. Men's swimwear in the 1840s consisted of colourfully striped short-legged drawers with a drawstring at the waist. This swimwear fashion was imported from France where mixed bathing had existed since the late 18th century. However, a key design flaw - the drawers had a habit of falling off - caused the market to move to a new design: a one-piece with a short-sleeved top and short-legged bottoms. Often the outfit had a broad horizontal striped pattern, which is what many of us imagine, correctly it turns out, was the fashion in Victorian times.
The 20th century

The advent of paid leave for the working man and comprehensive railway networks allowed whole families to take sea-side holidays for the first time. Swimming came to be seen as a recreation and something in which children could participate. This change in attitude created a market for boys' swimwear, which mimicked men's designs. After the first world war, it became fashionable to have a tan, so men's and boys' swimwear lost the sleeves - the tops morphed into a singlet style with narrow shoulder straps - and became shorter in the leg.Knitted wool became common, and in the 1930s, the top half of the outfit disappeared perhaps influenced by the 1932 'Tarzan the Ape Man' film starring a bare-chested Johhny Weissmuller. After the second world war, swimwear fashion started to evolve once more. New man-made fabrics such as latex and lycra made the costumes more like a second skin, and the number of colour combinations exploded.
Modern trends

In continental Europe in the 60s and 70s, the diminutive 'Speedo' style costume took off (figuratively speaking). In Anglo-Saxon countries, fashion went in the other direction from the 1990s. Men's and boys' swimwear covered up more of the leg down to or even below the knee. This Speedos v Boardies clash of styles has even been the source of political strife. In many European countries, local governments have banned board shorts, Bermudas and the like in municipal swimming pools because of hygiene concerns. In 2007, one local authority in Belgium was accused of imposing the rule in order to dissuade Muslims - presumed to want to dress more conservatively - from using its pool. The other big recent innovation is the development of body-covering sun protection swimwear. Through the use of lycra and new finishing techniques, 'rash vests' and one-piece body suits have appeared on the beaches providing 50+ UPF sun-blocking properties.

Watch Satellite TV on Pc & Kiss Satellite Dish Goodbye

Most people, who are unaware of the modern innovations, watch Satellite Dish TV using an elliptical dish antenna. The purpose of this dish is to send and receive electronic signals to and from satellites that are hovering the earth. The installation process is difficult to say the least and involves fixing the satellite dish antenna in an open place for better reception. In addition, LNB (Low Noise Block converter) is attached on the dish antenna which is connected to a device known as decoder. Even then, you might have to spend hours figuring out how to run the entire assembly as a coherent whole.
With technology comes innovation, and innovation in this field has revolutionized the way you used to watch television. Now a personal computer (PC) can take care of the entire process in a simplistic yet effective manner.
You just need to acquire the following to be able to throw your dish antenna away and enjoy the satellite TV on your PC:
1. PCTV Card
PCTV Card makes the PC act as a receiver for satellite signals. It is connected at the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) slot in your PC. Alternatively, you can use an external PCTV card using the USB port, if that is available in your PC. The purpose is to connect the PCTV card to the mother board of your system.
2. Broadband Internet Connection
It is needless to say that you need to be online to connect to the satellites before you can watch satellite TV on PC. The broadband connection with at least a 512 Kbytes connection is highly recommended. This would enhance the quality and speed of transmission.
3. PC Configuration
Having only a broadband connection does not solve the issue. You also need to have a high speed memory, like a 128Mbytes RAM. In addition, your system's bus must be capable to deal with the faster incoming signals. Hence, a Pentium 3 machine is preferred.
4. Optional System Peripherals
If you prefer to have a top class reception, you can add other peripheral devices that will give you the best picture and quality that you can hope for. A high speed graphics card, a good quality sound card and equipment like sub-woofer system would give you an experience of a life time.
However, PC coupled with hardware devices does not provide the most optimal solution. There are various software systems in market nowadays that can assist you watching your television on your computer systems. For a detailed description of how this could be achieved, go to my blog and read up on how you can watch satellite TV on PC with software.

It is the Chinese Lantern Festival and we Celebrate with flying Lanterns

The Chinese Flying Lanterns Festival is full of fun and celebrations that are observed in China in the third lunar month of each new year. The celebration takes place on the first full moon with Chinese lanterns being lit and lighting up the evening sky for everyone to enjoy. The day of the Chinese Lantern Festival is celebrated with plenty of games, eating glutinous rice balls and preparing and hanging lanterns.

Lanterns are made using paper or paper mache. Paper lanterns can be purchased in any variety of bright colors and sizes or you can design and cut out your own made with construction paper. Paper lanterns are then decorated with sequins, glitter, decorative stickers, ribbons and paint. These are hung for celebrations with or without lights. Some have battery-operated tea lights or use regular bulbs. Kids enjoy making paper mache flying lanterns by blowing up balloons and covering them with homemade paper mache. Each unique form is allowed to dry and the balloon is popped and then decorated.

Throughout the day children and adults enjoy playing riddle games with lanterns. Riddles are thought up and created around Chinese folk lore and culture. The riddle is written on paper and placed inside each lantern by the owner. Individuals partaking in the celebrations try and solve the riddle and take the answer to lantern owners who then reciprocate with a small gift in honor of the achievement.

Delicious rice balls called Yuanxiao are filled with savory or sweet fillings and served during the holiday celebrations. The fun may include using other Chinese lanterns such as sky lanterns and flying lanterns .