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MSN Health & Fitness has come up with a list of surprising places and people bugs cling to that will have you investing in a 1litre hand sanitizer and get some people even more paranoid than they already are.
The Bed
Hubby often complains of my tendency to leave the bed unmade, scoffing at my excuse that I’ll be back there in 12 hours anyway. Now I have a valid excuse. Dust mites live in your sheets and feed on your dead skin, contributing to asthma and allergies.
What to do : Don’t make your bed. Dust mites need humidity levels above 50% to survive and a made bed traps the moisture they need. If the sight of an unmade bed gives you the creepy crawlies, mount an air attack. Bundle a humidifier with an oscillating fan for a double moisture eliminator.
The contact-lens case
A 2007 Chinese study revealed that 34% of contact lens cases tested were crawling with germs that can cause an inflammatory eye disease that can damage the cornea and lead to blindness.
What to do : Throw away your used solution and thoroughly rinse the case in hot water daily. Replace your lens case at least every 3 months. As multi-purpose solutions lose most of their germ-fighting power after a couple of months, buy a new solution bottle every other month even if you haven’t used it all.
The flight attendant
The Journal of Environmental Health Research has discovered that you are 100 times more likely to catch a cold on a plane than on the ground. Flight attendants are exposed to hundreds of sniffling and coughing passengers every day and use the same bathroom you use.
What to do : Pack a green-tea pill. People who take a 450mg green tea supplement twice a day for 3 months have a third fewer days of cold symptoms.
The gym equipment
A study in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found that 63% of gym equipments they tested in fitness centres have bacteria that instigates the common cold. They also discovered that weight equipments contain more bacteria than cardio equipments.
What to do : Don’t touch your face between sets and pack an alcohol-based hand sanitizer in your gym bag.
The lemon wedge in your drink
70% of lemon wedges floating innocently in café/restaurant glasses contain 25 different microorganisms including E. coli and other fecal bacteria.
What to do : Simple. Ask for your drink without the fruit.
The shopping trolley
Yikes! A recent study in the University of Arizona has shown that shopping trolleys contain more bacteria than an average public toilet.
What to do : Apply disinfectant to the handle of the trolley before grabbing hold. It may not be environmentally friendly but make use of those plastic bags in the fruits & vegetables section to pack any unbagged fruits & vegetables.
The restaurant menu
Cold and flu viruses survive up to 18 hours on hard surfaces. We’ve seen waiters spraying and wiping down the tables but have you ever seen them do the same with the menu?
What to do : Don’t let the menu touch your plate or cutlery and wash your hands after you order.
The Vacuum Cleaner
Researchers have found that vacuum brushes contain ‘fecal bacteria’, all packing with mold, transferring the germs from contaminated surfaces to uncontaminated ones when vacuuming.
What to do : Bacteria can survive up to 5 days inside a vacuum even after you take out the dirt so spray the brush with a disinfectant after each use. Also disposable bags promote bacterial growth so buy the bag-less types.
The vinyl shower curtain
The soap scum that sticks to your vinyl shower curtain not only looks ugly but breeds bacteria that causes infection.
What to do : Replace the vinyl curtain with a fabric shower curtain. It will still attract bacteria but is much easier to clean and scrub down than a vinyl curtain. All you have to do is toss it in the washing machine and use the hottest water the fabric can handle. Experts recommend washing the shower curtain once a month or, if you’re prone to allergies and infections, more frequently.
The weight-lifting gloves
A Japanese study has found that a certain type of bacteria sticks strongly to polyester which is used in many gloves. You inadvertently wipe the sweat from your face with your gloved hands and the bacteria are in.
What to do : Ditching the gloves not only ditch the germs but, according to Men’s Health Muscle Guy, doing the weights with your bare hands actually strengthen your grip and forearms.
We all know reality TV wouldn’t be so compelling without those characters that (most of the time) deliberately incite drama to extend their 15 minutes of fame. These are the people we love to hate, boo at via the TV, we wish would shut up and get voted off spectacularly. Yet, when they finally do make their exit, we find them missing their arrogance and diva-like nature.
This article listed the Top 15 Reality TV villains, below are 6 that the Australian audience may be familiar with :
Amber & Rob Mariano – Survivor Marquesas, Survivor Australian Outback, Survivor All Stars, Amazing Race 7, Amazing Race All Stars, Rob & Amber’s wedding.
Can someone say Reality TV whores? After failing to get fair in their respective initial Survivor Stints, they collaborated via romance on Survivor All Stars, with Amber winning the title and the prize money, with Rob naturally sharing in it when he proposed to her at the finale. Not content with their shared win, they competed in the 7th season of The Amazing Race, to the bitterness of other contestants who felt they were more deserving to win the prize money. Rob and Amber’s 2nd place stint made them compete again in The Amazing Race All Stars but were eliminated in the fourth round. A fellow contestant described them as ‘They’re kind of like STD. You’ve got to protect yourself from them.’
Gordon Ramsey – Hell’s Kitchen
Oh, come on, you, Ramsay’s really not a villain, is he? Yes, he swears so much that you find yourself cussing and chucking temper tantrums an hour after the show’s finished. He may throw food, kick at rubbish bins, scream in your face and call you a f*cking donkey but Ramsay really is a leathery-faced blond teddy bear who just wants you to be the best cook you can be. What’s wrong with that? And his outbursts aren’t just for his apprentices either. To one lady customer, annoyed at having been kept waiting and walked up to the kitchen to complain, Ramsay dismissed her with a flick of a hand and a snarl of “Get your breasts off my hot plate”.
Jade Cole – America’s Next Top Model Cycle 6
Jade would have to be one of the most memorable characters in ANTM history. Touting herself as an ‘undiscovered supermodel’, she lets us know from the beginning that she’s had previous experience in modelling. She had a hard time curbing her arrogant, diva-like attitude even in front of the judges who often advised her to learn the act of humility while often putting her in the bottom 2. She intimidated the other girls, gleefully picking on those she knew to be insecure, particularly fellow contestant Gina Choe who seemed to have issues dealing with her Asian background. Her impressive photo shoots catapulted her to the Top 3 and when she made her exit, she just had to farewell us with a heart-felt poem she wrote.
Omarosa Stallworth– The Apprentice Season 1
God love Omarosa, she was a total nut job, wasn’t she? I knew she was screwed up from the time she somehow misinterpreted a fellow contestant’s comment of ‘it’s like a pot calling the kettle black’ as pure racism. And she had the audacity to screen off an important business call so her dinner wouldn’t be interrupted, then blatantly lying to her colleagues on national TV about the incident. What’s funny is that she was fired by Donald Trump with all the clueless, ignorant dignity Omarosa herself could only muster.
Richard Hatch – Survivor Season 1
Probably Reality TV’s first villain, Hatch offended us by insisting on walking around naked, making some of his fellow contestants extremely uncomfortable. He manipulated and tricked the other contestants into finally winning the first season of Survivor, giving credit to the line ‘nice guys always finish last’. Unfortunately, Hatch wasn’t able to trick his way out of a 4 and a half year stint in jail for tax evasion after failing to declare his $1million win from the show.
Simon Cowell – American Idol
I would hate Cowell too if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that he’s the judge that makes sense. What else do you say to the thousands of people that rock in to auditions, thinking they’re the next Justin Timberlake or Mariah Carey before emitting a caterwauling that sends you frantically searching for the remote control to switch channels? Smile and say, “Well, so long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything?’ No. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has cheered on Cowell when he spurted forth his sugarcoat-free wisdom of ‘Your singing is like ordering a ferocious guard dog for your home and getting delivered a poodle in a leather jacket’ to many a deluded contestant.
Australian reality TV hasn’t really produced any memorable, love-to-hate them characters. I guess we’re just too nice. I’m sure previous contestants from Big Brother could be considered but I’m trying to forget I ever watched the damn show so I won’t go there. The only ones I can think of are –
Mark Holden – Australian Idol
But then, he was more of a laughingstock than a villain, surely. His tendency to coo out baby noises to contestants was disturbing, not to mention the emphatic, manic way he would crank up that ancient right arm to issue a joke of a touchdown. I, for one, am very glad to see the back of him
Tarisai Vushe – Australian Idol Season 5
This pocket rocket was initially thought to be quiet with such a polite way of saying 'Thank You’ even when asked a question. But her true persona was exposed when she was accused by most of the judges after a performance that she was fake, resulting in a screamfest at Mark Holden, complete with ‘talk to the hand’ and head-swivelling. Not surprisingly, she was voted off the next night.
Who else do you think should be on the list of top Reality TV villains?
I don’t know if I happened to watch this show on one of my bad days (where the day included a confrontation with a pub owner after becoming outraged that ‘trivia’ was spelt ‘triva’ on their blackboard), but I found this season’s top 13 annoying – as annoying as this year’s BB’s Travis’ put-on blackboard-nail-scratching falsetto. As the promo promised, there would be more bitchfest this season than in previous and I would have to agree with them. The premiere introduced us to The Bitch Crew (Rebecca, Alyce and Demelza) whose idea of fun is to wake up the other girls in the wee hours of the morning to ask who made that stinky poo in the toilet; Alexandra who doesn’t know the difference between honesty and just plain tactlessness, telling the judges she’d make a better model than another girl because she’s ‘whiter’; and the others giggling uncontrollably as ‘kooky’ Belinda fell off the set. So anyway, from first impressions, here are those I think have a good chance of winning and those who’ll fall flat on their faces, sometimes, deservedly so :
Alamela
Jodhi Meares think Alamela has a striking physical resemblance to Kirstie Clements. If I was Alamela and I heard that, I’d be pissed off. The only resemblance I can see is that freakishly-looking smile they both wear on their faces when talking to other people. Like the one Cindy from the Brady Bunch wears but you know inside, they really want to kill you, or eat you, or both.
Chances of winning : the judges, hopefully, will soon catch on that Alamela is really the bride of Chucky.
Alexandra
If Alexandra truly believes that being ‘whiter’ is what makes a top model, then she has this competition in the bag. Alas, the girl is a bitch who has a penchance for designer-name dropping, hates shopping in Westfields (the crowds, darling!), thinks clothes from Bali are crap, feels fat as a size 10 and admitted to looking down her nose at the other girls.
Chances of winning : she’s too much of a bitch for anyone to want her to win. Doesn’t she realise a percentage of the votes come from the audience? Like, duh!
Alyce
The third of The Bitch Crew whom many of the other girls think has a good chance of winning the competition. She won the first challenge, which was shooting the promo for the show and nailed her GI Jane action scenes in the first take.
Chances of winning : she’ll be in the top 2. Her runway walk was deemed one of the best in the bunch and her serious determination when asked by the judges why she wanted to be a top model convinced even me.
Belinda
Some may find her kookiness adorable & her tendency to look absolutely glassy-eyed which was later revealed as her being blind without her glasses. Surprisingly enough, intimidating Kirstie Clements took a liking to her when Belinda seemingly just walked out on set and started talking to her in her airy fairy way. Blonde with a slight buck teeth, she looks like Sophie Monk when made up, but she annoys the sh*t out of me because I smell a fake.
Chances of winning : will probably be there in the Top 5 but judges may later realise she’s not taking the job seriously enough.
Caris
Caris who? Oh the girl with the braces.
Chances of winning : she’ll be out in the next few episodes. Boring does not make a top model, unfortunately.
Demelza
The youngest of the girls, she’s been criticised by the judges as having a ‘soft butt’, aka saggy ass.
Chances of winning : she may not be a forerunner now but I think she’ll prove to be a competition for Alyce later on. Don’t ask me why.
Emma
I thought Emma is the prettiest of all girls. She has the bright-eyed look, that full-lipped smile. Unfortunately, it doesn’t extend to where it matters the most. During the promo shoot, she had absolutely no energy. While she looked stunning, her acting was worse than Elizabeth Berkeley in Showgirls. And in her photo shoot, she may as well be posing as a corpse.
Chances of winning : she was in the bottom two in the first episode. Her personality doesn’t show in the judging panel. If she keeps this up, she’ll be gone next week.
Jamie
Jamie has probably one of the best swimsuit bodies in the competition. As for everything else, she’s a total blank. Charlotte has admitted she likes Jamie better without her clothes on and she has a tendency of taking photos like she’s posing as the next Easter Bunny.
Chances of winning : she’ll be out before you can say FHM covergirl.
Kamilla
Charlotte didn’t like her from the beginning – she deemed the girl too arrogant and that she only looks good from behind. From there, I thought Kamila would stay for sure. Nothing like a bit of bitchiness in a girl’s personality to make the judges want her to stay on to create a bit of spice.
Chances of winning : Unfortunately, Kamilla gave one bland photo too many and thus was the first to be eliminated.
Kristy
Most of the girls seem to think Kristy has it in the bag to win the comp, but I must have missed something. Like Caris, she didn’t stand out for me at all, although the judges said that she had a perfect runway walk.
Chances of winning : She’s flying under the radar at the moment which makes me suspect that she’ll be hanging around for a long time.
Leiden
‘Layden’ definitely didn’t endear herself to me when she proceeded to show her anti-girly-girl nature by burping for ten seconds during an interview. Not surprisingly, she thunders down that runway like a man and when posing for the swimsuit photo, posed like ‘a dog giving birth to puppies’.
Chances of winning : I would have scrapped her at the beginning but the group shot at the end showed that Leiden does have a very photogenic face and can muster up that sophisticated, haughty model look when she wants to.
Rebecca
The ringleader of The Bitch Crew (really starting to hate that name) – her loud, opinionated attitude isn’t favoured by some girls (notably those who are loud and opinionated themselves – Alexandra & Leiden). But seriously, what is with the hair? If it was Tyra Banks judging, she would order Rebecca to do something about that nest on her head.
Chances of winning : While Jonathan may have thought she was a bit too slow to shoot, the judges will keep her around for a while, just to create a bit of racial variety in the group.
Samantha
With black hair, olive skin and light eyes, Samantha has one of the more dramatic features than any of the other girls. Unfortunately, she’s just a little too boring for me. In her photo shoot, she looked like a pleading doe.
Chances of winning : she’ll only be around for the next couple of episodes.
Yay! They finally reduced the hideous A3 photos to A4 so it doesn’t look like Jodhi is buckling under all the weight anymore. And as much as I have to admit that Jodhi ‘seems’ a little more caring toward the girls than many other reality TV hosts I’ve seen, what was up with that seriously hideous white maternity dress with gigantic red flowers during the promo shoot?
I knew it wouldn’t be too long before she let Brangelina and Tomkat dominate the tabloids. In what I’m sure will coincide with an upcoming album or a release of something, Hollywood diva Jennifer Lopez is set to star in her own reality show, focusing on the 3 biggest Ms in her current life. No, they’re not money, mayhem or even Marc Anthony. They’re music, marriage and motherhood.
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Brides of Spring will no doubt be flipping through magazines and/or scouring the net for some ideas on which hairstyle would suit them best for their wedding day. Let me throw some in for you, courtesy of Complete Wedding Hair & Beauty 2008 magazine.
GLAMOROUS UP-SWEEP
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With the endless promo 2Day FM's been doing, I now know Australia’s Next Top Model Cycle 4 will premiere Tuesday, April 22 on Fox 8. The top 13, selected after auditions held throughout October and November 07, moved into their temporary $8m waterfront mansion in Port Hacking in January.
Jodhi Meares - the shoulder-twitching host
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Chilli Jam recently opened on Majors Bay Road, a road that already has a plethora of good crowded restaurants with Chilli Jam quickly becoming one of them.
I didn’t know what to expect from a Thai restaurant décor but grey walls with slashes of orange and red weren’t some of these. The décor is very modern and contemporary. From memory, I saw two long rectangular tables down the middle of the restaurant with more intimate settings along the side. The tables are wooden with comfortable seats, some of them ottomans in different alternating colours
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What do you do when the mere mention of your name evokes titters and images of a freakishly white man-girl bouncing a veiled baby off a hotel balcony? Raise your credibility by starring in your own reality TV show, of course!
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Here's the second installment in the How to Make a Successful Filipino film trilogy. This time, focusing on action films. It still boggles me how my dad can get so excited watching these films, when to me, they all look and sound exactly the same (the bullets, the punches)- just with different leading men. So how do you make a guaranteed box-office Filipino film? Read on :
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If you’re Asian like me, then you’d know that those traditional eye make-up tricks usually written on the back of an eyeshadow case, or in a magazine article, don’t apply to Asian eyes. Going by these tips only made me look like I was a six-year old who went crazy with her mum’s make-up. Light, shimmering colour on eyelids, for some reason, only succeeded in completely wiping out what little crease I have left and made my eyes appear harsher and older. Then I went through the phase where I attempted to put a ‘wider crease’ – applying a light shadow all over and past my lid, then rubbing a dark shadow into the part where I would want my crease to be. While I still sometimes wish for bigger creases and wider eyes, I’ve had to learn to make the best of my Asian eyes with these tips :
Typical Asian eyes - not sure about the make up though
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Hubby often complains of my tendency to leave the bed unmade, scoffing at my excuse that I’ll be back there in 12 hours anyway. Now I have a valid excuse. Dust mites live in your sheets and feed on your dead skin, contributing to asthma and allergies. 
A 2007 Chinese study revealed that 34% of contact lens cases tested were crawling with germs that can cause an inflammatory eye disease that can damage the cornea and lead to blindness. 
The Journal of Environmental Health Research has discovered that you are 100 times more likely to catch a cold on a plane than on the ground. Flight attendants are exposed to hundreds of sniffling and coughing passengers every day and use the same bathroom you use. 
A study in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found that 63% of gym equipments they tested in fitness centres have bacteria that instigates the common cold. They also discovered that weight equipments contain more bacteria than cardio equipments. 
70% of lemon wedges floating innocently in café/restaurant glasses contain 25 different microorganisms including E. coli and other fecal bacteria. 
Yikes! A recent study in the University of Arizona has shown that shopping trolleys contain more bacteria than an average public toilet. 
Cold and flu viruses survive up to 18 hours on hard surfaces. We’ve seen waiters spraying and wiping down the tables but have you ever seen them do the same with the menu? 
Researchers have found that vacuum brushes contain ‘fecal bacteria’, all packing with mold, transferring the germs from contaminated surfaces to uncontaminated ones when vacuuming. 
The soap scum that sticks to your vinyl shower curtain not only looks ugly but breeds bacteria that causes infection. 
A Japanese study has found that a certain type of bacteria sticks strongly to polyester which is used in many gloves. You inadvertently wipe the sweat from your face with your gloved hands and the bacteria are in. 
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I would also have to include Boys Don't Cry up there. 
Comment by Aimzster
on 10 Things (& People) where germs lurk
Health and Beauty
Reality TV
The Jeepney Stop
Michaelie, until you're staring at the carpet and imagining miniscule things crawling all over them, you''re probably better off than me.