Beauty and The Beads

 More Images »  At Dior, lush, full skirts harkened back to 1947, although some were transparent.Photograph by: PASCAL LE SEGRETAIN ?GETTY IMAGES, The Gazette

He has created sets featuring a merry-go-round of giant pearls and bows, an underwater fantasyland and a starry night at Place Vendôme, all inside the Grand Palais. But haute couture soared to new heights at the Paris shows for spring and summer this week as Chanel maestro Karl Lagerfeld constructed a 250-seat aircraft with a 50-metre runway and fluffy clouds projected overhead on which to present an all-blue collection. And the clothes were wearable: boat-necked suits, day dresses with dropped waists, subtly embroidered evening frocks.

Armani Privé, Versace Atelier, Jean Paul Gaultier and Dior also hit the catwalk this week, showing many styles perhaps destined for the Oscar red carpet. Dior quelled anticipation that a successor to disgraced John Galliano was to be named soon. It appears that Bill Gaytte, with good reviews for this second haute couture effort, will remain in place for the time being.

Here are excerpts of reviews.

Chanel: “But forget the plane. What truly dazzled were the clothes, all in blue. Mr. Lagerfeld said there were more 150 different shades of blue in the collection, which consisted of about 60 outfits. There were powder and sky blues, warm violet blues, electric and royal blues, midnight and navy.” Cathy Horyn, New York Times

“The chic severity of the short dresses, which were suffused in couture details and quintessentially Chanel, was offset by hairstyles that looked like they had been caught in an engine tailspin.” Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune.

Jean Paul Gaultier: “The late pop singer’s (Amy Winehouse) musical spirit and bad girl fashion sense were all over the runway. ‘No, no, no,’ sang the four male Afro-American a cappella singers who kicked off the show, using Winehouse’s husky battle cry ‘Rehab’ as a backdrop to 1950s and ’60s-inspired looks. Sporting pink, red, blonde and black beehives, the leggy models with thick cat-eye eyeliner sported lots of lace, sequins, peeka-boo skin – and even cigarettes.” Alexandria Sage, Reuters

Dior: After a rigorous, correct and undeniably “Dior” show, this question must be asked: Is the elusive successor on the doorstep?

In every sense, this show on the first day of the brief couture season was Dior Light. There was not much personality or charm, yet a careful rendition of the codes of the house, including houndstooth check created with embroidered beading. The lush, full skirts, which shocked the world in 1947, would have given those postwar women the vapors if the skirts had shifted transparently over the legs, as in this 2012 summer show. Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune

Atelier Versace: With its highsparkle, sexy pizzazz, this collection had two primary targets: the Hollywood awards set (Versace’s most recent coup was Angelina Jolie at the Golden Globes) and a solid, growing client base in Russia, Hong Kong and “of, course, the Middle East.” Women’s Wear Daily

“Dazzling decadence was the watchword, with strips of metal plated with real gold circling the dresses like luxury body armour, around a shoulder, across the back or down the side of the ribs.” Agence France-Presse

Armani Privé: “The first cheers went to the U.S. actress Jessica Chastain, who found out live during the show she was nominated for an Oscar as best actress in a second role for The Help. Did Chastain spot something to wear up the red carpet next month? Quite possibly – if she is planning to go in green: the couture collection sent out by Armani Privé feted vivid greens in all their glory, from aniseed to apple, weaving in a subtle reptilian-theme.” AFP

Elie Saab: “Which one to choose for the red carpet? All eyes were on Oscar contender Bérénice Bejo, co-star of the French silent movie The Artist, as she sat front row. The Lebanese designer – a favourite of the red-carpet crowd – sent out a roll-call of evanescent gowns fit for an ‘empress’, all in shimmering, semi-sheer layers of white and gentle pastels. Asked after the show if she was on the lookout for a dress to wear down the Oscar red carpet – and if she would be wearing Saab – Bejo replied only with a smile, but she praised the collection as ‘wearable.”‘ AFP

SPRING COLOUR BLASTS

Jolts of orange and electric yellow are hitting the shops now, with pastels on the horizon.

View a gallery of spring runway trends at montrealgazette.com/style

the ultimate in fashion

Haute couture week wrapped Wednesday and we’ve got the best looks from Chanel, Gaultier, Armani and more picked out for your perusal. montrealgazette.com/style

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette   

But Pakistan’s civilian leadership is standing firm behind its decision to allow the commerce ministry to engage with India on normalisation of bilateral trade relations, and the eventual granting of the most favoured nation (MFN) status.

“There is absolutely no question of backtracking on the cabinet’s approval of trade normalisation with India,” Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Saturday. “I want to completely dismiss any indication that there’s any retraction on what we said.”

Earlier on Friday, an unnamed Indian government official alleged that Islamabad was “backtracking” on the issue in the face of domestic opposition. Many in Pakistan were also sceptical of the cabinet’s approval for such a move, especially after reports of dissent from the military, perceived to be the prime stakeholders in Pakistan’s foreign policy.

Khar, however, dispelled such an impression at a press conference in Lahore on Saturday and said the cabinet’s decision trumps the military’s perceived apprehensions in this regard.

Refuting the news of an emergency meeting with the military at the foreign office, Khar said it was a scheduled meeting with military’s representatives who are important stakeholders on the issue nonetheless.

Gilani backs Khar

Khar was backed by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani who stressed that the cabinet’s approval is necessary for any negotiations with another country and that is precisely what it had provided to the commerce ministry vis-à-vis trade normalisation with India and granting it the MFN status.

The MFN is not a document or a certificate, Gilani said separately on Saturday.

It is a proposal which the commerce ministry would work on with its Indian counterpart, he added.

The two countries’ commerce secretaries will meet mid-November to hammer out the details of the trade agreement, including removal of discriminatory tariffs and non-tariff barriers.

‘Tangible progress’ with India

Khar said the move comes following tangible progress in relations with India.

India’s support to Pakistan in gaining a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council and removal of its blockade at the World Trade Organisation for Pakistan’s preferential access to the European Union markets were cited by Khar as tangible confidence-building measures between the two countries.

Prime Minister Gilani would meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at the Saarc summit in Male next week and further discuss the ongoing dialogue process, she added.

The scepticism across the border also appeared to soothe on Saturday with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai saying the Cabinet decision on MFN is an “indication of forward movement.”

He did urge patience though.

“The actual implementation [of MFN] would be a culmination of the normalisation process which could take some time,” Mathai told reporters in New Delhi. Pakistan’s commerce secretary, however, was more upbeat.

“We are extremely hopeful that there will be a major breakthrough in the next round of commerce secretaries’ meetings on November 14-15 in Delhi,” Zafar Mahmood told reporters. “We will finalise all the details in that meeting.”

(With additional input from AFP and Reuters)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2011.

Colorful Future for These Golden Valley Pets

Photographer Melissa Miroslavich helped to create a new, colorful calendar that includes the Animal Humane Societys annual report, adoptive success stories and photos of adopted pets.

You might think your small dog is safe in a fenced backyard. You might be wrong.

RV Wakefield, an owner of Tri-County Trackers, an organization that looks for lost people and pets, said coyotes can sometimes jump a fenced area, grab a pet and jump back over.

If youve got deer in an area, there will be coyotes, Wakefield said.

Wildlife sightings increase as more rural areas take on urban characteristics theres more food for wildlife because of trash cans and pets. Deer and coyotes will eat corn, apples and vegetables.

Were going into their areas. With more food, there are more coyotes and they can raise more young, Wakefield said. What we think of as garbage, they will eat.

Coyotes kill for a living. They will chase dogs and cats until the pet becomes exhausted and collapses. The coyote will kill it and take it to a safe place to eat it.

Wakefield said people also need to be aware of feral dogs.

Keeping small pets inside at night and during early-morning hours is the best protection, said David Sawyer, a wildlife biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Coyotes have been known to take pets even from the front porches of homes.

To them, its just another prey item, Sawyer said.

Lights and noise might keep a coyote away, he said, but theres no guarantee. He said that since coyotes came to this part of the country, they have adapted to suburban life.

Most people dont realize that coyotes roam. Just because they are seen in a particular place once doesnt mean that the coyote is only in that area. Sawyer said coyotes can cover a territory of a square mile or more.

If you see them in some woods, they dont live there, he said. They may be several miles away within a few hours and not come back for weeks.

Trying to get rid of coyotes is generally not successful. They are prolific breeders and will disperse. Inside the area where the coyotes roam are houses, people and pets. The safest place for pets is within an area with a fence tall enough that it cant be jumped.

Theres no magic coyote be gone powder to make them go away, Sawyer said.

UK shoppers are embracing technology, and at a faster pace than many other countries, a survey of global shopping habits by KPMG has suggested.

Seventy-seven per cent of British shoppers prefer to buy goods like CDs, DVDs, books and video games online – compared with 65% globally.

But when it comes to mobile banking, consumers in the UK are more reluctant than those in other parts of the world.

KPMG surveyed 9,600 consumers aged between 16 and 65, across 31 countries.

When buying goods or services, the majority of customers (both in the UK and globally) now said that they look at social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and online review sites.

Downloading Apps

From buying goods on their mobile phones to keeping up with friends on social networks, consumers are increasingly reliant on a range of technologies that perform important – yet often overlapping – tasks, said Tudor Aw, KPMGs European head of technology.

With summer in full swing many Australians will be looking for a getaway to enjoy the warm weather.

More pets travel advice:
HOTELS FOR DOGS
BARKING MAD
MORE PETS GO ON HOLIDAYS

HOME ALONE

Taking a cat or dog on holiday can offer the chance to spend some quality time with that beloved pet but being away from home can cause the animals some stress. Some pet owners need to consider if their pet will be better boarding in a kennel or under the care of a friend or relative.

For pet owners who do take their four legged friend on holiday there are many things to consider in the interest of the pets health and well being.

Dr Jo Righetti has top 10 tips to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the family and family pets on a family holiday.

Pets like routine. Always take the pets food and water bowl, bed and toys. This will lower the risk of anxiety and following incidents.

Grooming and medication should always be kept up to date. Consult your vet about travel medication and although usually unnecessary it may be the deciding factor between a stressful experience and a relaxing holiday. Remember to have a trial run on any medication; this can avoid the surprise of unknown side effects.

Make sure your pet has a collar and identification tag. Contact details need to be up to date because pets can go missing in a strange environment. A missing pet can be heartbreaking for both children and adults alike.

Pets can become comfortable with a carrier over time so the best option is to leave it open on the floor at home, with some treats and soft bedding inside. A longer period of introduction, to the carrier, the more at ease a pet will be, making it more comfortable for them to travel in.

Air travel with pets can be more complicated than a road or rail journey but plans can be made well in advance. Seven to eight months before departure a check should be made about the airlines policy towards travelling with pets because each airline is different.

Before departure it should be checked if a pet can travel comfortably by using a large pet carrier with a food and water bowl and a light sheet to cover. Cats will need a small disposable litter tray.

As with everyone else pets need a break from travel. If on a road trip remember to stop every couple of hours to give the dog a toilet break and a chance to stretch their legs.

Even if its raining, keep the car window open to allow ventilation for your pet. Also never leave your pet in a hot car, even for a few minutes.

Pet friendly accommodation is becoming more common these days but remember to check if there will be other animals on site. Pet friendly accommodation should allow cats indoors and dogs must be kept on a property with adequate fencing.

Last on the list is to remember what a holiday is all about, having fun. Always take plenty of entertaining activities, for a pet, to prevent them from chewing up the holiday house.

PHOENIX, AZ, Jan 09, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
PetSmart Charities was named a partner in the National Animal
Rescue and Sheltering Coalition (NARSC). Established as a 501 (c)6
organization in 2006, NARSC is an outgrowth of the unprecedented
disaster season of 2005, when major storms — most notably Hurricane
Katrina — impacted more people and their companion animals than any
other time in the history of the United States.

In the years since Katrina, this working coalition of animal rescue
organizations have come together to indentify, prioritize, and find
collaborative solutions to major human-animal emergency issues.
Member agencies have responded nationally and internationally to
wildfires, floods, ice storms, tornadoes, hurricanes and other
natural disasters; as well as man-made animal disasters such as puppy
mills and hoarding situations.

“We’re honored to be included in this coalition of top-level animal
rescue professionals,” said Susana Della Maddalena, executive
director of PetSmart Charities, Inc. “Our emergency relief program
has grown substantially over the past few years and we’re happy to be
able to provide our partner agencies with the critical supplies and
pet food they need to help these animal victims.”

PetSmart Charities provides emergency funding and supplies for pets
affected by large-scale natural and man-made disasters. The
non-profit has funded more than $7.4 million in emergency relief
grants since 2004.

“PetSmart Charities has been at the forefront of assisting animals in
need; working with both local and national animal welfare
organizations for years,” said Sandy Monterose, NARSC Chairperson.
“We are extremely pleased to officially welcome them to the National
Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition.”

To learn about the many ways PetSmart Charities is saving the lives
of homeless pets, visit
www.petsmartcharities.org . Members of the
public can support the emergency relief program and others by making
a tax-deductible donation online, by email at
gifts@petsmartcharities.org or via phone at 623-587-2826 to help save
the lives of homeless pets across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.

About PetSmart Charities
Established in 1994, PetSmart Charities,
Inc. is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates
and supports programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise
awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promote healthy
relationships between people and pets. The largest funder of
animal-welfare efforts in North America, PetSmart Charities has
provided more than $134 million in grants and programs benefiting
animal-welfare organizations and has helped save the lives of nearly
5 million pets through its in-store adoption program. To learn more
about how PetSmart Charities is working toward its vision of a
lifelong, loving home for every pet, visit petsmartcharities.org or
call 1-800-423-PETS (7387).

CONTACT:
Steve Pawlowski
Communications Manager
mediacontact@petsmartcharities.org
(623) 516-3920 – Office

SOURCE: PetSmart Charities

mailto:mediacontact@petsmartcharities.org

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

DIY Beading: Get Crafty and Think Outside the Box!

By: Melissa Stern
Updated: January 5, 2012

US shopping centers had their first
net gain in occupied space in four years as consumer confidence
and job growth began to strengthen, Reis Inc. said.

Neighborhood and community shopping centers (BBRESHOP) — usually
anchored by grocery stores, drugstores or discount retailers –
had a net increase of 3.18 million square feet (295,400 square
meters) in the fourth quarter, the most since 10.1 million
square feet in the last three months of 2007, the New York-based
real estate research firm said in a report today.

“While this represents welcome news, we remain wary about
pronouncing a turnaround until we observe a few more quarters of
improvement,” Victor Calanog, Reis’s head of research, said in
the report. The fourth quarter tends to be the strongest period
of the year for retail leasing, he said.

Confidence (CONCCONF) about the economic recovery grew last quarter
amid reports showing that job creation is accelerating. US
employers added 300,000 workers in November and December,
pushing the unemployment rate down to 8.5 percent, the lowest
since February 2009, according to the Labor Department. Consumer
confidence reached an eight-month high in December, according to
a Conference Board index.

Vacancies at shopping centers averaged 11 percent in the
fourth quarter, unchanged from the previous three months and up
from 10.9 percent a year earlier, Reis said. The fourth
quarter’s rate was the highest since 1990, when it was 11.1
percent, and was driven up by the 1.89 million square feet of
new retail properties that came to market, the researcher said.

Asking Rents Rise

At regional and super-regional malls (BBREMALL), landlords’ asking
rents rose to an average of $38.92 per square foot from $38.81
in the third quarter and $38.79 a year earlier, according to
Reis. Vacancies declined to 9.2 percent from 9.4 percent in the
third quarter, the highest since Reis began publishing mall data
in 2000. The rate was up from 8.7 percent a year earlier.

Retail landlords have struggled since the recession that
ended in 2009 as weak sales cut tenant demand for space and
competition from online stores grows. Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), the
biggest US department-store chain, said last month that it
would close as many as 120 locations after four years of
declining sales. Gap Inc. (GPS), the country’s largest apparel
retailer, plans to open more stores outside the US as part of
a plan to generate 30 percent of sales from international
markets by 2013.

Discount retailers are helping to shrink some of the
vacancies, Reis said. Dollar General Corp. (DG) said Jan. 3 it plans
to open 625 stores in the US this year.

“Some retailers are aggressively pursuing expansion plans
because there are deals to be had for retail space,” Calanog
said in the report.

Vacancies haven’t changed much for most of the past two
years largely because new supply has been restrained, he said.
About 4.9 million square feet of new shopping center space was
completed last year, compared with 4.5 million finished in 2010,
which was the lowest figure in Reis’s 31 years of data.

“Any recovery for shopping centers remains precarious,”
Calanog said.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Hui-yong Yu in Seattle at
hyu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Daniel Taub at dtaub@bloomberg.net

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Q: My 3-year-old lab will sometimes have urinated on her bed
during the night. She is potty trained and most of the time she
does not realize she is doing it. Any ideas?

A: Incontinence is when an animal leaks urine unconsciously when
resting, and this sounds like what your pet is doing at night. This
condition typically occurs in spayed females due to decreased
levels of estrogen, a hormone secreted by the ovaries. Although
rare, it can also occur in male dogs. Once a female animal is
spayed, her estrogen levels decrease and make her more prone to
leaking urine when resting. This also makes her more prone to
urinary tract infections. It is important to have her checked for a
urinary tract infection before deciding this is purely incontinence
because infection can make this condition worse. There is no way to
predict which animal is going to be more prone to incontinence due
to spaying, and the age at which they are spayed has no bearing on
whether they will become incontinent. This condition is treated
with either DES (a synthetic estrogen replacement) or PPA (a
synthetic incontinence medication).

Q: My cat never goes outside — he is the only animal that we
own and never has any contact with other animals. He gets very
stressed going to the vets office, so how necessary are annual
exams and vaccines for him?

A: Keeping your pets vaccines up to date is extremely
important. Even as an indoor only cat, there are airborne viruses
as well as the possible infectious diseases he could be exposed to
if he should ever sneak out. These can be done in a series of
boosters, then discontinued. Another consideration is rabies, which
is prevalent here in Flagstaff. We have seen multiple cases of cats
being exposed, in their homes, to bats that have tested positive
for the rabies virus. So for a strictly indoor cat, I still
recommend a rabies vaccine, whether yearly or every 3 years,
depending on the vaccine your veterinarian is using. It is also
important to remember that your cat will age 4 times faster than
you will. To help compensate for that, we recommend yearly wellness
exams to detect any health issues early so we can keep your pet
healthy and happy as long as possible. Even though your cat does
not like coming to the veterinarian it is in his best interests to
come yearly for a check-up.

Q: My dog just got diagnosed with Valley Fever. What is this and
is it contagious?

A: Valley Fever is an infection by a fungal organism called
Coccidioides Immitis. This fungus is located in the soil of certain
regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The
spores are commonly found in the dirt in specific regions, and when
that dirt is disturbed, the spores are released into the air. A
human or animal must inhale the fungal spores to contract the
disease, and not all humans and animals that inhale the spores will
develop Valley Fever. This disease is not contagious from one
animal to another or from animal to human. The symptoms that occur
due to Valley Fever are varied ranging from fever, pain, loss of
appetite, to difficulty breathing. The diagnosis is made with
x-rays and a series of blood tests. Treatment is long-term
treatment with an anti-fungal medication such as Fluconazole.

Dr. Miller can be contacted at
drmillercph@gmail.com