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Michelle Obama charms Queen

stephley — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:13:22 -0700

Apr 2 01:53 PM US/Eastern
By JENNIFER QUINN
Associated Press Writer

So much for the Lady Macbeth cracks...

LONDON (AP) - Michelle Obama's meeting with Queen Elizabeth II began with handshake and ended in a hug.
The first lady arrived Wednesday with President Barack Obama. After separate meetings on the eve of the G-20 summit, the couple attended an evening reception for world leaders hosted by the queen.

Mrs. Obama clearly made an impression with the 82-year-old monarch-so much that the smiling queen strayed slightly from protocol and briefly wrapped her arm around the first lady in a rare public show of affection.

It was the first time Mrs. Obama-who is nearly a foot taller-had met the queen. The first lady also wrapped her arm around the monarch's shoulder and back.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman who asked not to be identified because of palace policy said he could not remember the last time the queen had displayed such public affection with a first lady or dignitary.

"It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection," he said. "We don't issue instructions on not touching the queen."

When the former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating put his arm around the queen in 1992, the tabloids dubbed him the "Lizard of Oz." When his successor, John Howard, was accused of doing the same, a spokesman insisted: "We firmly deny that there was any contact whatsoever." In 2007, President George W. Bush gave the queen a sly wink during a visit she paid to the United States.

The Daily Mail said the "two women clearly took to each other."

Wednesday's reception was followed by a dinner at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street home, where the leaders' spouses were joined by notable British women, including "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and Olympic gold medal runner Kelly Holmes.

"Michelle walks in and she is as she seems," Holmes told reporters Thursday. "So warm, engaging, a beautiful, beautiful lady-and I quickly got my photo in the middle of her and Sarah Brown," the prime minister's wife.

Mrs. Obama also seemed to win over the often feral British press.

The last time a first lady made such a hit in Britain was last year with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, the former fashion model and songwriter Carla Bruni.

But on Thursday, London's Times newspaper had moved on, writing "Carla who?"

The BBC described Mrs. Obama as her husband's co-star rather than supporting act-appropriate for a Harvard-educated lawyer.

Mrs. Obama visited an all-girls school in north London on Thursday afternoon. She told the 240 girls about growing up on Chicago's south side, and urged them to think of education as "cool."

"I never cut class. I liked being smart. I liked getting A's," she said. "You have everything you need. Everything you need to succeed you already have right here."

At the end of the visit, Mrs. Obama doled out hugs to the students, and was swarmed by them-to the extent that some Secret Service agents stepped nervously forward.

Earlier Thursday, Mrs. Obama attended a performance at the Royal Opera House with the other spouses and guests. The program included music by Handel and a dance performance by Ballet Black, a troupe set up to give performing opportunities to black and Asian classical dancers.

Wearing a bright teal blue dress by Jason Wu-who designed her inauguration gown-and a sweater by Junya Watanabe, Mrs. Obama posed for photographs with Sarah Brown, Therese Rein, wife of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's wife Chikako Aso, and Laureen Harper, who is married to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on the stage of the opera house.

Father at the ripe old age of 111

bellaressa — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:10:56 -0800

And this is just the beginning for New Zealand tuatara’s zoo family

The Associated Press
updated 11:07 a.m. CT, Tues., Jan. 27, 2009

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A captive reptile in New Zealand has become a father at the ripe old age of 111 after receiving treatment for a cancer that made him hostile toward prospective mates.

The centenarian tuatara, named Henry, was thought well past the mating game until he was caught canoodling with a female named Mildred last March - a consummation that resulted in 11 babies being hatched on Monday.

Tuatara are indigenous New Zealand creatures that resemble lizards but descend from a distinct lineage of reptile that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say.

An endangered species, the hatchlings born at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery will provide a badly needed boost to the tuatara's genetic diversity, said the gallery's tuatara curator, Lindsay Hazley.

Henry was at least 70 years old when he arrived at the museum, "a grumpy old man" who attacked other reptiles, including females, until a cancerous tumor was removed from his genitals in 2002, said Hazley.

"I went off the idea he was good for breeding," Hazley told The Associated Press, but once the tumor was removed, "he was no longer aggressive."

The museum now has 72 of the reptiles after 42 hatchings in the past two years.

Hazley hopes to use Henry regularly in the breeding program that is helping expand tuatara numbers after they had been savaged by predators.

Tuatara are estimated to number about 50,000, most of them living in predator-free sanctuaries, including offshore islands. A male Tuatara takes 70 years to fully mature but reaches sexual maturity about age 20.

While there's no scientific data on the life span of the ancient reptiles, "they go beyond 100 well and truly," Hazley said. "They can be around for 150 to 250 years."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28875408/

Angelina: Shy about Onscreen Nudity, and Her Thoughts on Working While Pregnant.

LuciLu — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:17:24 -0800

Via People.com

She may be no stranger to taking risks, but Angelina Jolie's latest accomplishment is making her blush.

"I got a little shy," Jolie said Saturday, on the topic of seeing herself in a simulated nude scene for her new computer-animated movie Beowulf.

"I was really surprised that I felt that exposed," Jolie, 32, said at a press confreence for the film in Los Angeles.

"There are certain moments where I felt actually shy – and called home, just to explain that the fun movie that I had done that was digital animation was, in fact, a little different than [what] we expected," she says.

Jolie – who in her role as a temptress killer lizard is painted gold but animated without clothes – explains, "I didn't expect ourselves to come out as much. I didn't expect it to feel as real, and so because of especially the type of character I play, it was kind of funny at first."

Asked which body part she likes the most, Jolie answered with a laugh, "I love my tail."

Worked While Pregnant
The PG-13-rated Beowulf, based on the Old English epic poem, opens Nov. 16 and also stars Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich. Directed by Robert Zemeckis (Who Killed Roger Rabbit, Forrest Gump and The Polar Express), it is actually Jolie's third animated film, after Shark Tale and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Jolie said she completed her two-and-a-half days on Beowulf while carrying daughter Shiloh, now 1.

"I was three months pregnant," Jolie said. "You wouldn't know. We did the mapping of my body before. It was a pleasure."

As for balancing her movie career and family, Jolie said, "You just try to balance, and try not to work too much, and take turns [with your partner when it comes to] working."