Life-changing. That’s how Alison Antonio, Executive Director of the Delta Spirit of B.C. Community Committee, characterised her recent experience at the Canadian Olympic Academy.

The week-long course was educational, inspirational and filled with outstanding speakers and worthwhile workshops, Antonio said.Among the speakers were Dr.Gene Sutton, President of the Olympic Academy, Chris Rudge, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Dick Pound from the International Olympic Committee.Academy attendees also heard from many Olympians about “making a difference,” which served as the academy’s theme.

Genetic drugging, fair play, political boycotts, youth Olympics, sponsorship, and judging issues were discussed. Three papers were compiled as a result and submitted for review by the Olympic Committee Executive.Members were encouraged to ask tough questions and to debate.To ensure Vancouver’s 2010 games are Canada’s Games, a nationwide one year countdown celebration will take place.

Many Olympic alumni members will be recruited to spearhead local celebrations. The magnitude of what happens Feb. 12, 2009 exactly one year before the opening of the games is important, but the objective is the “Spreading of the Spirit” for the Olympics, Antonio said.

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There's some big name's been announced for Conde Nast's 4th Annual Fashion Rocks benefit at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

The show will feature performances from Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Rihanna and Lil Wayne as well as a number of other big stars.

The two hour concert will take place on September 5th and will celebrate the relationship between fashion and music (although Christina Aguilera will also be appearing). The event will be hitting the CBS airwaves on September 9th at 9pm.

This year’s concert will benefit Stand Up 2 Cancer. Fashion Rocks also coincides with New York's Fashion Week.

THE world's sexiest fashion week wound up yesterday with the last day of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim.

The fashion week presentations are held annually at the Raleigh Hotel  in Miami Beach and coincide with the swimwear industry's largest trade show.

It's an  invitation only event when fashion, beauty, supermodels and celebrities come together  to celebrate the world's sexiest swimwear designs.Here's a brief look at some of the outfits to turn the heads.

When "Hair" starts previews Monday in Central Park, it will be a flashback to the 1960s, the decade the rock musical debuted. That era that looks a lot like today: an unpopular war was raging, young people were keyed up about activism, and people let it all hang out — Naked Cowboy-style — to express their freedom.

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Madhur Bhandarkar`s latest film sheds some light on the dark underbelly of the modelling circuit. And here are the stars of the high street.Priyanka plays the lead role and the project let her meet up with old modelling friends—Noyonika Chatterjee, Jesse Randhawa and Aanchal Kumar. The actress says the trip down memory lane was the best part about Fashion.

The notion of wardrobe androgyny was the fitting theme of Yves Saint-Laurent's men's collection, the house that kicked off the just-ended Paris men's shows where men's fashion won a feminine touch.

At YSL, designer Stefano Pilati used quotations from Plato to explain why he combined female detailing with a masculine silhouette.

"The original human nature was not like the present ... the sexes were not two as they are now."

Pilati underscored the union of genders with a line for men made in fabrics normally worn by women -- crepe de chine, organza, shantung and silk voile, all fabrics which float rather than fall.

In an era obsessed with global warming and sustainable development, the 44 spring/summer 2009 collections displayed at the four-day men's fashion shows ending Sunday featured light airy see-through linens, silks and soft feathery cottons.

Bright colours, more often the domain of women's wear, also figured strong.

As Gay Pride marches took place across Europe, pink was popular in Paris.

Louis Vuitton, a house with a predominantly masculine view of the world, chose pink for shorts, pants and waistcoat, and even shoes.

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The people’s choice, his peer’s pick - who knows, maybe even the Heat’s No. 1 selection on Thursday night - entered a Manhattan ballroom Wednesday afternoon, straight from the campus in Manhattan, Kan., whispering to himself, "You’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Michael Beasley saw the media crowd parting to offer a path to his NBA-assigned interview table. "Look, it’s like I’m Moses before the Red Sea," he said.

"What’re you doing Thursday night?" he asked across to fellow draftee Kevin Love.

"Um, well ..."

"Oh, right, there’s the draft thing," he said.

That’s the character issue with Michael Beasley, folks.

He’s a character.

O.J. Mayo sat at a table being very personable, very mature and very, very polite in saying, "Yes sir," and "No sir," to questions. Even when he related how at his last-minute workout in Miami on Tuesday he thought rookie Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was, "the team manager, he looked so young," he turned it into a joke on himself.

Derrick Rose sat at another table, very personable, very mature and very, very polite in saying all the good and scripted things. He’ll be happy wherever he goes. He’d pick Beasley first. He’d love to stay home in Chicago. No, he didn’t mean to disrespect the Heat by saying that.

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Sportscenter's lead story is a gossip Web sites' grainy video of Phoenix Suns C Shaquille O'Neal inside of a New York City club performing an "impromptu" rap.

April 1, 2008: Mike and Mike  discuss photos of Cardinals QB Matt Leinart with women in his personal residence enjoying beers.

May 15, 2008: The Sporting News Web site has commentary on photos of Titans QB Vince Young drinking tequila at a party shirtless.

The list of stories similar to these goes on ad nauseam. Just pick up the paper, turn on the computer or the television and everyday there are stories popping up centered around the private lives of athletes. Stories filled with questionable photos, disturbing revelations and extremely private information.

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Divers wriggled into a capsized ferry Tuesday and found only bodies including that of a crewman still clutching a radio three days after some 850 people went down with the vessel during a powerful typhoon, officials said.

Hundreds of people were feared trapped when the ship suddenly tilted and went belly up Saturday at the height of the powerful storm that left dozens of people dead in flooded communities in the central Philippines.

Philippines Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo indicated it was unlikely there were survivors from the ferry. He said the ship's interior was too dark to determine how many bodies were there and lighting was being brought in.

"Most of the bodies were floating inside. They were trapped when the seven-story ship suddenly tilted and capsized," he told dzBB radio.

Arevalo said it was possible some passengers could have survived initially, but the roiling seas from Typhoon Fengshen had kept rescuers at bay too long and suffocation may have claimed some lives.

He said some of the bodies had life vests but many passengers apparently hesitated to jump into the "turbulent waters" before the ship capsized because "it happened too sudden." Survivors said the ship listed and went down in a half-hour or less.

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It’s hot, it’s steamy and Milan is replete with dashing men – it can only be Men’s Fashion Week. And just because it’s menswear, don’t think there’s its any less glamourous than its womenswear counterpart when the likes of Versace, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana are involved, there’s no shortage of beautiful clothing and beautiful people. Suits have been cut, trousers have been turned up, and the boys – well they may have a bit of slap on. Here’s the insider’s guide to Man’s biggest ever fashion bonanza.

Trends on the catwalk

Dolce & Gabbana suits inspired by pyjamas: stripes, silks, shawls. Sounds inconceivable but it worked. How well? Very well.

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