German Olympic stars bare all for Playboy

Picture: Hockey player Katharina Scholz

The Germany women's hockey team's Olympic campaign is in danger of being overshadowed after one of their players starred on the front of today's Playboy magazine.

Katharina Scholz joined three of her Olympic colleagues to bare all for the German edition of the adults' magazine.

And, after her team's 4-2 victory over the US today, she admitted: 'I think now I have to play hockey and later talk about things like that. I think it a good opportunity but now it's not important for me for now.

The most important thing for me is playing hockey. And because I am playing hockey, I got the opportunity to go on Playboy. Otherwise I wouldn't. I have no plans on a career in modelling.'

American Olympic swimming champion Amanda Beard posed naked in Playboy last year, and in Beijing stripped for a campaign to end the fur trade, while British athletes have been photographed naked to advertise a sports drink.

'For me it was a good opportunity, and maybe when I look back after a few years I will be proud of it. Not everybody can go on the cover of Playboy,' the 25-year-old striker said.

'I did it because I am confident of my body and myself.'

Germany's September Playboy will have four different covers for the first time when it is published on Thursday, each dedicated to one of the athletes.

Sailor Petra Niemann, canoeist Nicole Reinhardt and judoka Romy Tarangul are the other German Olympians who will feature.

'It wasn't a group decision, we haven't seen each other. The shooting was separate. Everyone decided it for themselves,' she said without giving details about the picture that will appear.

--The Metro

Chinese Earthquake Victims Suing Sharon Stone for $1 Billion!

Actress Sharon Stone suggested that the earthquake in Sichuan Province that killed 70,000 people was due to “karma” for China’s mistreatment of Tibet. Now, 1,000 Chinese from the region have filed a lawsuit against Stone for “emotional distress”

She said the following in an interview with a reporter during the Cannes Film Festival:

"At first, I'm not happy with the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans ...And then all this earthquake and stuff happened and I thought, 'Is that Karma, when you're not nice that the bad things happen to you?''

Immediately after the comments, the Chinese bloggers and newspapers were very upset with her and demanded an apology. Last month, Stone issued a public apology and said that she misspoke and regretted that she made those statements.

But the Chinese are not satisfied with the apology: about 1,000 Chinese earthquake victims have banded together with a New York lawyer Ming Hai, demanding a $1 billion in damages.

Ming said in a statement:

"For the families who have lost their loved ones or lost limbs or suffered severe injuries, your statement and act has caused extreme emotional distress."

In April, two Chinese women also sued CNN for $1 billion -- a dollar for every Chinese person after CNN anchor Jack Cafferty said on live television that China is led by a bunch of goons and thugs.

I doubt either of the lawsuits will get the Chinese any money, but their future businesses and appearances with China will be affected in a large scale.

-- Digital Journal

Carina Lau's Vera Wang Wedding Dress: Thousands, This woman's custom made dress : ONLY £2.50

Picture : Carina Lau and Tony Leung in wedded bliss

Get this, this woman paid only £2.50 which is $6.70 SGD for her custom made wedding dress. Compared to Carina Lau's wedding dress, the amount she paid is peanuts. She bought her dream wedding dress from a Chinese man on eBay.

"Emma Dunn, 23, had been searching for her wedding dress on the internet and eventually found one she liked with a £1,500 price tag. But she decided to research all her options and it paid off when she found an exact copy of the dress while searching on eBay.

With ten minutes remaining to bid, and no reserve price, Emma quickly put in a bid of £2.50. After a nervous wait, she received an e-mail from China confirming she'd won the auction.

She said: "There were no other bids so I thought I had nothing to lose by typing in £2.50. I got an e-mail back from a man in Shanghai, who said he would make my dress for me, and asked for all my measurements."

Emma, from Melton Mowbray, was delighted when her dress arrived in a Parcel Force van six weeks later.

She said: "It was folded up nicely and neatly and it was an absolutely perfect fit. The postage and packing had cost £16.50 but I didn't mind paying that. People just couldn't believe it when I told them I'd bought it for £2.50."

Emma said: "We had a brilliant day. It shows you don't have to spend loads of money to have a great wedding."

--Ananova

For those who have no idea who Carina Lau and Tony Leung are:

Leung's credits include "Infernal Affairs," which Martin Scorsese remade as "The Departed," and John Woo's recently released Chinese historical epic "Red Cliff." He was named best actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 for his performance in "In the Mood for Love."

Lau, an actress, appeared in "Infernal Affairs II," "Center Stage" and director Wong's "Ashes of Time" and "2046."

I am a big fan of Tony Leung's works and wish them all the best.

Batman Breaks Spiderman Record At Box Office!

KAPOW! The new Batman movie "The Dark Knight" smashed the weekend record set by "Spider-Man 3" last year, selling an estimated $155.3 million worth of tickets during its first three days of release across the United States and Canada, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.

The hotly anticipated film, co-starring late actor Heath Ledger as the anarchic Joker, surpassed the $151.1 million haul for "Spider-Man 3" during its first weekend in May 2007.

Going into the weekend, pundits had forecast an opening in the $100 million range, evidently underestimating the Batmania infecting movie fans across the world.

The Caped Crusader also generated $40 million from 20 foreign markets, highlighted by No. 1 bows in Ledger's native Australia ($13.1 million) and Mexico ($6.6 million), the Time Warner Inc-owned studio said.

With a little help from another new release "Mamma Mia!" which opened at No. 2 with $27.6 million, "The Dark Knight" propelled overall North American ticket sales to a record $253 million, according to tracking firm Media By Numbers. The old mark of $218 million was set two years ago, the company said.

"The Dark Knight" stars Welsh actor Christian Bale as Batman, and was directed by English filmmaker Christopher Nolan. They previously collaborated on "Batman Begins," which earned $48.7 million during its first weekend in 2005, and finished up with $205 million.

"Dark Knight" should hit that level by midweek, Warner Bros. said.

The new film reportedly cost about $180 million to make, thanks in part to the pioneering use of heavy Imax cameras to shoot 30 minutes of the 152-minute film for giant-screen theaters. The filmmakers also blew up bits of Chicago, which doubles for the fictional Gotham City.

-- Reuters