Notitas Sueltas

Haute Couture on the Internet

Sources: REUTERS

Never had an invitation to a glamorous fashion show? Fans of Giorgio Armani did not have to fret about tickets for his summer collection on Wednesday as the Italian designer broadcast his haute couture show live on the Internet. Hollywood actresses Cate Blanchett and Katie Holmes watched on from the frontrow in a Paris art museum, while Armani fans across the world could tune in as the 72-year old designer paraded out girls in shiny trousers and sparkling dresses. "Couture is rooted in fashion history," Armani said. "It is the pinnacle of creativity and craftsmanship, which has always been a closed world to all but a few. Now through the democracy of the Internet we can provide a front row seat for everyone," the designer said in a statement. Armani said his broadcast on www.msn.com was the first time an haute couture show could be followed live online.



Majority of Europeans

Dissatisfied at Euro Currency

By Christos Pagonis

According to a gallop published in today’s issue of the newspaper " The Financial Times", the majority of European citizens of the 13 countries in the eurozone believe that the adoption of the euro currency had a negative impact on their countries’ economies and expressed regret at the abolition of their national currencies. The gallop conducted by the British Harris Interactive Institute in France, Germany, Italy and Spain from January 10 -22 indicates that 2/3 of those questioned underlined the negative impact from the introduction of the euro currency. Over half of the 5.314 Europeans questioned in the above 4 countries expressed preference to their old national currencies. In the meantime 45% of those questioned and 60% of the Germans expressed objection to January, 1, 2007 admission of Rumania and Bulgaria to the EU block. The eurozone was created 8 years ago and unites 317 million people in the 13 of the 27 EU member states.

Panama's Noriega set to be releasedFormer Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, imprisoned in South Miami-Dade on drug-trafficking and racketeering convictions since 1990, will be released on Sept. 9 -- due in part to good behavior and other credits.
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Harry Potter catapulta a una joven periodista al éxito mundial
(PD).- Francisca Solar, una periodista chilena de 23 años, ha logrado reconocimiento internacional y un suculento contrato con una editora gracias a Harry Potter y una cprriente en boga en Internet: fanfic (fan fiction). Se trata de un subgénero literario que, en su caso, y decepcionada por la autora original, le ha llevado a reinventar el último libro del mago infantil, con éxito de masas.

Recoge Lourdes Gómez para El País que

"en 2002 comenzó a escribir su propia versión del aprendiz de mago al sentirse defraudada con la quinta entrega original de J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter y la Orden del Fénix. El resultado, Harry Potter y el ocaso de los altos elfos, de 700 páginas, acumula más de 80.000 lectores online, además de comentarios positivos de internautas de medio mundo.

El éxito del texto despertó el interés de las casas editoriales, que hicieron la corte a la atrevida escritora. Solar ha firmado finalmente un contrato con Random House para escribir, en principio, una trilogía alejada del mundo de magos, internados y monstruos. En su nueva trayectoria profesional explorará otra de sus obsesiones: los fenómenos paranormales."