'Nanocoax' Solves Solar Cell 'Thick and Thin' Dilemma

A nano-scale solar cell inspired by the coaxial cable offers greater efficiency than any previously designed nanotech thin film solar cell by resolving the "thick & thin" challenge inherent to capturing light and extracting current for solar power, Boston College researchers report in the current online edition of the journal Physica Status Solidi.

The quest for high power conversion efficiency in most thin film solar cells has been hampered by competing optical and electronic constraints. A cell must be thick enough to collect a sufficient amount of light, yet it needs to be thin enough to extract current.

Physicists at Boston College found a way to resolve the "thick & thin" challenge through a nanoscale solar architecture based on the coaxial cable, a radio technology concept that dates back to the first trans-Atlantic communications lines laid in the mid 1800s.

"Many groups around the world are working on nanowire-type solar cells, most using crystalline semiconductors," said co-author Michael Naughton, a professor of physics at Boston College. "This nanocoax cell architecture, on the other hand, does not require crystalline materials, and therefore offers promise for lower-cost solar power with ultrathin absorbers. With continued optimization, efficiencies beyond anything achieved in conventional planar architectures may be possible, while using smaller quantities of less costly material."

Optically, the so-called nanocoax stands thick enough to capture light, yet its architecture makes it thin enough to allow a more efficient extraction of current, the researchers report in PSS's Rapid Research Letters. This makes the nanocoax, invented at Boston College in 2005 and patented last year, a new platform for low cost, high efficiency solar power.

Constructed with amorphous silicon, the nanocoax cells yielded power conversion efficiency in excess of 8 percent, which is higher than any nanostructured thin film solar cell to date, the team reported.

The ultra-thin nature of the cells reduces the Staebler-Wronski light-induced degradation effect, a major problem with conventional solar cells of this type, according to the team, which included Boston College Professors of Physics Krzysztof Kempa and Zhifeng Ren, as well as BC students and collaborators from Solasta Inc., of Newton, Mass., and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Institute of Microengineering in Switzerland. The research was funded in part by a Technology Incubator grant from the Department of Energy.

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Genetic Secrets That Allow Tibetans to Thrive in Thin Air Discovered

Tibetans carry a special version of a gene called EPAS1 that enables them to live at high-altitude without getting sick. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons, creative commons license.)
A new study pinpoints the genetic changes that enable Tibetans to thrive at altitudes where others get sick.

In the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an international team has identified a gene that allows Tibetans to live and work more than two miles above sea level without getting altitude sickness.

A previous study published May 13 in Science reported that Tibetans are genetically adapted to high altitude. Now, less than a month later, a second study by scientists from China, England, Ireland, and the United States pinpoints a particular site within the human genome -- a genetic variant linked to low hemoglobin in the blood -- that helps explain how Tibetans cope with low-oxygen conditions.

The study sheds light on how Tibetans, who have lived at extreme elevation for more than 10,000 years, have evolved to differ from their low-altitude ancestors.

Lower air pressure at altitude means fewer oxygen molecules for every lungful of air. "Altitude affects your thinking, your breathing, and your ability to sleep. But high-altitude natives don't have these problems," said co-author Cynthia Beall of Case Western Reserve University. "They're able to live a healthy life, and they do it completely comfortably," she said.

People who live or travel at high altitude respond to the lack of oxygen by making more hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of human blood. "That's why athletes like to train at altitude. They increase their oxygen-carrying capacity," said Beall.

But too much hemoglobin can be a bad thing. Excessive hemoglobin is the hallmark of chronic mountain sickness, an overreaction to altitude characterized by thick and viscous blood. Tibetans maintain relatively low hemoglobin at high altitude, a trait that makes them less susceptible to the disease than other populations.

"Tibetans can live as high as 13,000 feet without the elevated hemoglobin concentrations we see in other people," said Beall.

To pinpoint the genetic variants underlying Tibetans' relatively low hemoglobin levels, the researchers collected blood samples from nearly 200 Tibetan villagers living in three regions high in the Himalayas. When they compared the Tibetans' DNA with their lowland counterparts in China, their results pointed to the same culprit -- a gene on chromosome 2, called EPAS1, involved in red blood cell production and hemoglobin concentration in the blood.

Originally working separately, the authors of the study first put their findings together at a March 2009 meeting at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, NC. "Some of us had been working on the whole of Tibetan DNA. Others were looking at small groups of genes. When we shared our findings we suddenly realized that both sets of studies pointed to the same gene -- EPAS1," said Robbins, who co-organized the meeting with Beall.

While all humans have the EPAS1 gene, Tibetans carry a special version of the gene. Over evolutionary time individuals who inherited this variant were better able to survive and passed it on to their children, until eventually it became more common in the population as a whole.

"This is the first human gene locus for which there is hard evidence for genetic selection in Tibetans," said co-author Peter Robbins of Oxford University.

Researchers are still trying to understand how Tibetans get enough oxygen to their tissues despite low levels of oxygen in the air and bloodstream. Until then, the genetic clues uncovered so far are unlikely to be the end of the story. "There are probably many more signals to be characterized and described," said co-author Gianpiero Cavalleri of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

For those who live closer to sea level, the findings may one day help predict who is at greatest risk for altitude sickness. "Once we find these versions, tests can be developed to tell if an individual is sensitive to low-oxygen," said co-author Changqing Zeng of the Beijing Institute of Genomics.

"Many patients, young and old, are affected by low oxygen levels in their blood -- perhaps from lung disease, or heart problems. Some cope much better than others," said co-author Hugh Montgomery, of University College London. "Studies like this are the start in helping us to understand why, and to develop new treatments."

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Florida Ridges' Mystery Marine Fossils Tied to Rising Land, Not Seas, Geologist Says

Sea level has not been as high as the distinctive ridges that run down the length of Florida for millions of years. Yet recently deposited marine fossils abound in the ridges' sands.

Now, a University of Florida geologist may have helped crack that mystery.

In a paper appearing June 1 in the June edition of the journal Geology,Peter Adams, a UF assistant professor of geological sciences, says his computer models of Florida's changing land mass support this theory: The land that forms the sandy Trail Ridge running north to south from North Florida through South Georgia, as well as lesser-known ridges, was undersea at the time the fossils were deposited -- but rose over time, reaching elevations that exceeded later sea level high stands.

"If you look at the best records, there's no evidence that global sea level has come close to occupying the elevation of these fossils since the time of their emplacement," Adams said, referring to Trail Ridge's elevation today, nearly 230 feet above modern sea level. "The only thing that explains this conundrum is that Trail Ridge was underwater, but later rose to an elevation higher than subsequent sea levels."

At the heart of the phenomenon are Florida's unique weather patterns and geology, Adams said.

The state's abundant rain contains a small amount of carbon dioxide, which forms carbonic acid in lake and river water. This slightly acidic water slowly eats away at Florida's limestone bedrock, forming the karst topography for which Florida is so well known, replete with pockmarks, underground springs and subterranean caverns. The surface water washes the dissolved limestone out to sea, over time significantly lightening the portion of the Earth's crust that covers Florida.

A mass of slow-moving mantle rock resides 6 to 18 miles below the crust. As the Florida land mass lightens, this mantle pushes upward to equilibrate the load, forcing Florida skyward, Adams said. The process is known as isostatic rebound, or isostatic uplift.

"It's just like what happens when you get out of bed in the morning. The mattress springs raise the surface of the bed back up," Adams said, adding that the uplift is similar to what takes place when glaciers retreat, with Maine and Norway, for example, also gaining elevation.

Glaciers melt off the land surface to drive isostatic uplift. But in Florida, varying rainfall rates during different periods have slowed or quickened the karstification just below the land. This has in turn slowed or quickened the mantle's push up from below. Additionally, sea level high stands do not always return to the same elevation, which creates a complex history of which beach ridges are preserved and which aren't, Adams said.

For instance, during periods when sea level rose quickly, some pre-existing ridges were overtaken and wiped out. During other periods, however, when sea level rose slowly or did not reach a certain ridge's elevation, a beach ridge was preserved. In effect, Trail Ridge, Lake Wales Ridge and other lesser-known ridges are the remains of isostatically uplifted land that was kept out of harm's way, Adams said. The ridges carry with them the marine fossils that are the evidence of their lowly early beginnings.

Today, the land surface of Florida is rising at a rate of about one-twentieth of a millimeter annually, far more slowly than sea level rise estimated at approximately 3 millimeters annually. Adams noted that Florida's rise is not nearly rapid enough to counteract sea level rise -- and that society should be mindful that low-lying coastal areas are threatened.

Neil Opdyke, a UF professor emeritus and a co-author of the recent paper, first proposed the uplift process in a 1984 paper. Adams tested it using computer models that matched known information about sea levels dating back 1.6 million years with historic rainfall patterns, karstification rates and mantle uplift. The models concluded that Trail Ridge is approximately 1.4 million years old -- and has been preserved because of uplift and the fact that sea levels have not reached the ridge's elevation since its formation. In addition, Florida's one-twentieth of a millimeter rise is twice as fast as previously thought.

"The neat thing about this paper is, it combines many different systems that people work on. There are people who work on uplift, people who work on erosion of karst, people who work on precipitation and paleoclimate," Adams said. "And I knew just enough about all these things to be dangerous. So I said. 'Let's take what we know from the literature and put it together in a simple mathematical model to see how the whole system responds.'"

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Kendra Talks Sex Tape: "It Hurts, But I Know It's Going to Make Me and Hank Better Parents"

Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett is doing her best to look on the bright side.

"The tape has definitely brought Hank and I closer together, made us more of a team, like, 'Let's put our vest on, let's get out there, let's fight!' " the E! star said in an exclusive sit-down with E! News' Ryan Seacrest, in which they discussed the sex tape, made with an ex-boyfriend when Kendra was 18, that reared its ugly head recently.

The whole debacle has been "extremely embarrassing" for the 24-year-old, who said that she warned NFL-player hubby Hank Baskett that the tape existed before they got married because she "didn't want it to just come out and smack us in the face."

But ultimately, "it's going to make us better people, strong people," she said.

"Now that this happened, it hurts, but I know it's going to make me and Hank better parents," Kendra said. "It's really going to make us teach our child what's right and wrong in this world, what's good and evil...We're going to make sure our son is raised with a good head on his shoulders, a person that has morals, that treats women with respect."

As opposed to whoever leaked the tape to cash in on her celebrity status, perhaps.

"I'm a very open person, very honest about my life, but a sex tape is definitely not what I wanted in my life," she said. "I made love to my boyfriend at the time, we just happened to videotape it. It wasn't for anybody else's eyes to see but ours.

"I was going to marry him, we were going to be together forever. And I didn't know I was going to be famous—It was something that we did, and it was for our eyes only."

"I didn't do it out of fame, I didn't do it for money, I did it because I was in love with him," she added. "It just sucks. It's really embarrassing."

Kendra said that, even though she was a "crazy party girl throughout those Playboy Mansion years," what she always wanted was to be a wife and mom.

"That was my dream, it's always been my dream—and I'm here now. I'm here where I want to be, the happiest person I've ever been, and it just so happens my past has to haunt me now."

She said it was of course difficult for her and Hank to tell their respective families about the brewing scandal, not to mention face the public.

But, "Hank and I and our families know the truth [about the story behind the tape] and that's why they're supporting us, that's why they're behind us, and that's why they're going to fight till death with us!"

Kendra also gave a shout-out to her fans, saying that they, along with her husband and other family members, "are the ones that are really giving me that feeling inside that I can go on with my life and live again."

Speaking of which, she and Hank are not planning to add to their family just yet. She said that they'll focus on a second child once Hank IV has made it to elementary school secure that he has the love and support of both parents.

And when they do decide to have another kid, it definitely won't be because they feel as if they have something to prove about the state of their marriage.

"There are rumors out there saying we want to fix our marriage by having another child—that is such crap," Kendra said. "We're not going to have kids just because a sex tape came out. That's just stupid."

Read more...

Kendra Talks Sex Tape: "It Hurts, But I Know It's Going to Make Me and Hank Better Parents"

Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett is doing her best to look on the bright side.

"The tape has definitely brought Hank and I closer together, made us more of a team, like, 'Let's put our vest on, let's get out there, let's fight!' " the E! star said in an exclusive sit-down with E! News' Ryan Seacrest, in which they discussed the sex tape, made with an ex-boyfriend when Kendra was 18, that reared its ugly head recently.

The whole debacle has been "extremely embarrassing" for the 24-year-old, who said that she warned NFL-player hubby Hank Baskett that the tape existed before they got married because she "didn't want it to just come out and smack us in the face."

But ultimately, "it's going to make us better people, strong people," she said.

"Now that this happened, it hurts, but I know it's going to make me and Hank better parents," Kendra said. "It's really going to make us teach our child what's right and wrong in this world, what's good and evil...We're going to make sure our son is raised with a good head on his shoulders, a person that has morals, that treats women with respect."

As opposed to whoever leaked the tape to cash in on her celebrity status, perhaps.

"I'm a very open person, very honest about my life, but a sex tape is definitely not what I wanted in my life," she said. "I made love to my boyfriend at the time, we just happened to videotape it. It wasn't for anybody else's eyes to see but ours.

"I was going to marry him, we were going to be together forever. And I didn't know I was going to be famous—It was something that we did, and it was for our eyes only."

"I didn't do it out of fame, I didn't do it for money, I did it because I was in love with him," she added. "It just sucks. It's really embarrassing."

Kendra said that, even though she was a "crazy party girl throughout those Playboy Mansion years," what she always wanted was to be a wife and mom.

"That was my dream, it's always been my dream—and I'm here now. I'm here where I want to be, the happiest person I've ever been, and it just so happens my past has to haunt me now."

She said it was of course difficult for her and Hank to tell their respective families about the brewing scandal, not to mention face the public.

But, "Hank and I and our families know the truth [about the story behind the tape] and that's why they're supporting us, that's why they're behind us, and that's why they're going to fight till death with us!"

Kendra also gave a shout-out to her fans, saying that they, along with her husband and other family members, "are the ones that are really giving me that feeling inside that I can go on with my life and live again."

Speaking of which, she and Hank are not planning to add to their family just yet. She said that they'll focus on a second child once Hank IV has made it to elementary school secure that he has the love and support of both parents.

And when they do decide to have another kid, it definitely won't be because they feel as if they have something to prove about the state of their marriage.

"There are rumors out there saying we want to fix our marriage by having another child—that is such crap," Kendra said. "We're not going to have kids just because a sex tape came out. That's just stupid."

Read more...

Judge Says Lindsay Lohan Messed Up, Issues New Arrest Warrant

Lindsay LohanDavid Tonnessen, PacificCoastNews.com

UPDATE: The warrant was recalled after a bail bondsman put up $20,000 (a standard 10 percent of the total) to keep Lohan a free woman.
_______________________________

Maybe the next step for Lindsay Lohan will be to actually stay away from the open-bar party scene.

Two days after Lohan's SCRAM ankle braceletsuspiciously lit up Sunday while she was at an MTV Movie Awards afterparty, a judge determined that the actress was indeed in violation of her bail and issued a new bench warrant for her arrest.

"I did not violate anything...at all," Lohantweeted after the news broke.

Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel also hiked the starlet's bail to $200,000, where it was previously $100,000 keeping her a free woman for the time being.

"At this time, the court finds she was in violation of the conditions of her bail," Revel said after she, prosecutor Danette Meyers, and Lohan's attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, emerged from a private meeting in chambers.

"This morning Judge Revel was advised by a SCRAM representative that Ms. Lohan's court-ordered alcohol bracelet had indicated the presence of a small amount of alcohol on Sunday night," Holley said in a statement this afternoon. "Having just received the report, I am not in a position to speak to its accuracy or validity, however Ms. Lohan maintains that she has been in complete compliance with all of the terms of her probation and her bail. Bail has again been posted in Ms. Lohan's case and she will continue to comply with all of Judge Revel's orders."

A SCRAM checks for alcohol consumption every 30 minutes by testing the wearer's perspiration.

And apparently the accessory is smart enough to know if the wearer is drinking or was just splashed by someone else's drink.

"We could see [evidence of spilled alcohol in a report]; however, we can easily tell the difference," SCRAM spokeswoman Kathleen Brown tells E! News. "A spill or something else in the environment would create a rapid spike much faster than the body would ever consume alcohol and would evaporate and burn off much faster than the body can metabolize alcohol.

"Our confirmation process includes an evaluation that ensures there is no chance that an alcohol alert is anything but consumed alcohol."

Though Lohan herself didn't appear in court today, a few media helicopters actually cared enough to hover above the proceedings, and several news trucks and a scrum of photographers were stationed outside the courthouse.

Lohan found herself in hot water after wandering eyes at the MTV party noticed a red light flashing in the general vicinity of her ankle, even through the black suede boots she donned for the occasion.

Despite myriad protestations via Twitter that she wasn't drinking, the judge hauled her (well, her lawyer, anyway) into court after getting the initial report that something was amiss.

"It's from the light-up bracelet Johnny [a pal at the party] put on me—also, they can check probation records for alcohol as i got tested YESTERDAY," she wrote less than an hour before the 3 p.m. hearing.

The 23-year-old has remained a constant fixture on the party circuit despite being fitted for the SCRAM upon her return from the Cannes Film Festival last month.

She's due in court July 6, when the judge will determine whether she violated her probation by skipping a court date when she was in France after having supposedly misplaced her passport.

—Reporting by Lindsay Miller

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Judge Says Lindsay Lohan Messed Up, Issues New Arrest Warrant

Lindsay LohanDavid Tonnessen, PacificCoastNews.com

UPDATE: The warrant was recalled after a bail bondsman put up $20,000 (a standard 10 percent of the total) to keep Lohan a free woman.
_______________________________

Maybe the next step for Lindsay Lohan will be to actually stay away from the open-bar party scene.

Two days after Lohan's SCRAM ankle braceletsuspiciously lit up Sunday while she was at an MTV Movie Awards afterparty, a judge determined that the actress was indeed in violation of her bail and issued a new bench warrant for her arrest.

"I did not violate anything...at all," Lohantweeted after the news broke.

Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel also hiked the starlet's bail to $200,000, where it was previously $100,000 keeping her a free woman for the time being.

"At this time, the court finds she was in violation of the conditions of her bail," Revel said after she, prosecutor Danette Meyers, and Lohan's attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, emerged from a private meeting in chambers.

"This morning Judge Revel was advised by a SCRAM representative that Ms. Lohan's court-ordered alcohol bracelet had indicated the presence of a small amount of alcohol on Sunday night," Holley said in a statement this afternoon. "Having just received the report, I am not in a position to speak to its accuracy or validity, however Ms. Lohan maintains that she has been in complete compliance with all of the terms of her probation and her bail. Bail has again been posted in Ms. Lohan's case and she will continue to comply with all of Judge Revel's orders."

A SCRAM checks for alcohol consumption every 30 minutes by testing the wearer's perspiration.

And apparently the accessory is smart enough to know if the wearer is drinking or was just splashed by someone else's drink.

"We could see [evidence of spilled alcohol in a report]; however, we can easily tell the difference," SCRAM spokeswoman Kathleen Brown tells E! News. "A spill or something else in the environment would create a rapid spike much faster than the body would ever consume alcohol and would evaporate and burn off much faster than the body can metabolize alcohol.

"Our confirmation process includes an evaluation that ensures there is no chance that an alcohol alert is anything but consumed alcohol."

Though Lohan herself didn't appear in court today, a few media helicopters actually cared enough to hover above the proceedings, and several news trucks and a scrum of photographers were stationed outside the courthouse.

Lohan found herself in hot water after wandering eyes at the MTV party noticed a red light flashing in the general vicinity of her ankle, even through the black suede boots she donned for the occasion.

Despite myriad protestations via Twitter that she wasn't drinking, the judge hauled her (well, her lawyer, anyway) into court after getting the initial report that something was amiss.

"It's from the light-up bracelet Johnny [a pal at the party] put on me—also, they can check probation records for alcohol as i got tested YESTERDAY," she wrote less than an hour before the 3 p.m. hearing.

The 23-year-old has remained a constant fixture on the party circuit despite being fitted for the SCRAM upon her return from the Cannes Film Festival last month.

She's due in court July 6, when the judge will determine whether she violated her probation by skipping a court date when she was in France after having supposedly misplaced her passport.

—Reporting by Lindsay Miller

Read more...

Taye Diggs Eyes Guest Spot on Cougar Town, or Whatever It's Called Now

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Give the girl credit: Busy Phillips has some mighty fine taste in men.

Actually, it's her Cougar Town character Laurie who's in love with Private Practice'sTaye Diggs, but guess what? The feeling istotally mutual, and when we caught up with the übertalented twosome at the Monte Carlo Film Festival today, they spilled all the dirty deets on their faux crossover plans. Hells to the yes! Busy also told us what's up with the possible title change for her show...

Yo, Bill Lawrence, how about making that framed picture of Taye next to Laurie's bed come to life in season two...Taye's down with it!

"I didn't know that," he laughed when we revealed the Cougar connection to him. "But I had dinner with [Busy] last night and told her I have TiVoed the entire season."

How's that for coincidence? Taye told us he hadn't been approached to guest on Cougar Town yet, but is "a fan of the show" and "would love to be on it. I don't know if it's possible with scheduling, but I'd love it."

When we caught up with Busy, she gushed at the idea. "It would be amazing if Taye came on the show," she said. "He's such an incredible actor and such a nice, nice guy."

The question is, will there still be a Cougar Town for Taye to guest on? Obviously, the ABC hit has been picked up for more, but those name change rumors are still running rampant—and Busy says they are true.

"It's true, Bill Lawrence and Courteney Cox are talking about it," Busy told us, "and I know that Stephen McPherson, who runs ABC, has said whatever they decide to do he's on board with."

Busy continued: "They just feel like the name Cougar Town is not indicative of what the show became at the end of the series, and I agree with them." Ditto that! "I don't know what changing the title will do—maybe open it up to a whole new audience?"

Cougar Town, Courteney CoxABC/MICHAEL DESMOND

A new audience better be down with the same ol' Laurie, because Busy revealed some season two secrets about her alterna-self.

"Laurie got a serious boyfriend and she's going to continue with her serious relationship," Busy explained. "But I have a feeling she's going to feel too hemmed in and she'll have to go a little crazy again. She and Jules are going to have to have a real pow-wow about the fact that Laurie slept with Grayson early in the season."

Watch out. Courteney is kind of a badass. "I am not looking forward to that," Busy teased. "I like Courteney, and I don't want to have to fight with her."

Join our Taye Diggs to Cougar Town campaign by sounding off in the comments section...you know you want to!

--Reporting by Lisa Abdolian

Read more...

Taye Diggs Eyes Guest Spot on Cougar Town, or Whatever It's Called Now

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Give the girl credit: Busy Phillips has some mighty fine taste in men.

Actually, it's her Cougar Town character Laurie who's in love with Private Practice'sTaye Diggs, but guess what? The feeling istotally mutual, and when we caught up with the übertalented twosome at the Monte Carlo Film Festival today, they spilled all the dirty deets on their faux crossover plans. Hells to the yes! Busy also told us what's up with the possible title change for her show...

Yo, Bill Lawrence, how about making that framed picture of Taye next to Laurie's bed come to life in season two...Taye's down with it!

"I didn't know that," he laughed when we revealed the Cougar connection to him. "But I had dinner with [Busy] last night and told her I have TiVoed the entire season."

How's that for coincidence? Taye told us he hadn't been approached to guest on Cougar Town yet, but is "a fan of the show" and "would love to be on it. I don't know if it's possible with scheduling, but I'd love it."

When we caught up with Busy, she gushed at the idea. "It would be amazing if Taye came on the show," she said. "He's such an incredible actor and such a nice, nice guy."

The question is, will there still be a Cougar Town for Taye to guest on? Obviously, the ABC hit has been picked up for more, but those name change rumors are still running rampant—and Busy says they are true.

"It's true, Bill Lawrence and Courteney Cox are talking about it," Busy told us, "and I know that Stephen McPherson, who runs ABC, has said whatever they decide to do he's on board with."

Busy continued: "They just feel like the name Cougar Town is not indicative of what the show became at the end of the series, and I agree with them." Ditto that! "I don't know what changing the title will do—maybe open it up to a whole new audience?"

Cougar Town, Courteney CoxABC/MICHAEL DESMOND

A new audience better be down with the same ol' Laurie, because Busy revealed some season two secrets about her alterna-self.

"Laurie got a serious boyfriend and she's going to continue with her serious relationship," Busy explained. "But I have a feeling she's going to feel too hemmed in and she'll have to go a little crazy again. She and Jules are going to have to have a real pow-wow about the fact that Laurie slept with Grayson early in the season."

Watch out. Courteney is kind of a badass. "I am not looking forward to that," Busy teased. "I like Courteney, and I don't want to have to fight with her."

Join our Taye Diggs to Cougar Town campaign by sounding off in the comments section...you know you want to!

--Reporting by Lisa Abdolian

Read more...

Letter From Last Night: Actress Alison Pill On Her Visit To Fashion-Land

Actress Alison Pill, who currently stars opposite Edie Falco Off-Broadway in This Wide Night, attended last night’s CFDA Awards (and, naturally, after-parties) with Chris Benz. Below, a few photos from the duo from the prep to the party—with commentary from both.


Alison Pill: We had a fitting in the morning, and luckily Chris makes clothes that fit me. It’s almost like there’s no need for a fitting for his stuff since it hangs so nicely. But his elevator doesn’t have those little security mirrors in the corner.
Chris Benz: It only has the camera, so you can’t look at your hair on the way down.


CB: In the courtyard outside the awards, they had these big orange ottomans—these islands that literally you could lay down on, they were so big. So we just planted out there.
Style.com: Juggling Champagne and cigarettes is a pro-level move. Did you get anything on your dress?
AP: No, it stayed relatively pristine!


CB: That (above) was at the Boom Boom Room. It always feels like some crazy fashion prom—you can’t even believe that literally every single person who has anything to do with fashion is in the same room [Ed. note: including Style.com editor-at-large Derek Blasberg, right], which is what I think is so miraculous about the CFDAs and the parties surrounding it. My friend Mike Nouveau, who’s terrific, was DJing, it so I had a feeling it was going to be a smash even before we got there. We arrived and our entrance song was Shakira’s “She-Wolf.” We were BBMing [BlackBerry messaging] with the DJ on our way down to select it.
Style.com: Alison, how do fashion after-parties compare with their film or theater counterparts?
AP: They’re very similar, but the people are better dressed. I had no idea who anybody was, [so] it was sort of funny to see what the designers actually look like. I guess as a rule, I’d say they’re much better looking than I would have imagined. It’s like many behind the scenes things in theater or film—you’re kind of surprised when people are good looking. But as a general rule, it’s a very good looking crowd of people.

Read more...

Letter From Last Night: Actress Alison Pill On Her Visit To Fashion-Land

Actress Alison Pill, who currently stars opposite Edie Falco Off-Broadway in This Wide Night, attended last night’s CFDA Awards (and, naturally, after-parties) with Chris Benz. Below, a few photos from the duo from the prep to the party—with commentary from both.


Alison Pill: We had a fitting in the morning, and luckily Chris makes clothes that fit me. It’s almost like there’s no need for a fitting for his stuff since it hangs so nicely. But his elevator doesn’t have those little security mirrors in the corner.
Chris Benz: It only has the camera, so you can’t look at your hair on the way down.


CB: In the courtyard outside the awards, they had these big orange ottomans—these islands that literally you could lay down on, they were so big. So we just planted out there.
Style.com: Juggling Champagne and cigarettes is a pro-level move. Did you get anything on your dress?
AP: No, it stayed relatively pristine!


CB: That (above) was at the Boom Boom Room. It always feels like some crazy fashion prom—you can’t even believe that literally every single person who has anything to do with fashion is in the same room [Ed. note: including Style.com editor-at-large Derek Blasberg, right], which is what I think is so miraculous about the CFDAs and the parties surrounding it. My friend Mike Nouveau, who’s terrific, was DJing, it so I had a feeling it was going to be a smash even before we got there. We arrived and our entrance song was Shakira’s “She-Wolf.” We were BBMing [BlackBerry messaging] with the DJ on our way down to select it.
Style.com: Alison, how do fashion after-parties compare with their film or theater counterparts?
AP: They’re very similar, but the people are better dressed. I had no idea who anybody was, [so] it was sort of funny to see what the designers actually look like. I guess as a rule, I’d say they’re much better looking than I would have imagined. It’s like many behind the scenes things in theater or film—you’re kind of surprised when people are good looking. But as a general rule, it’s a very good looking crowd of people.

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Who Was Your Best-Dressed At The CFDAs?

They came, they saw, and some of them conquered. The CFDAs are one of fashion’s big night’s for parading in the best of borrowed finery—even the notoriously uniform-clad can up the night. But who did it best?

There were dresses of every stripe on display—and a few suits, too. Dree Hemingway, who can seemingly do no wrong in Calvin Klein Collection (see also: here), looked amazing in white pants on the arm of Calvin Klein’s Italo Zucchelli. Some went for maximum effect (Iman in Giambattista Valli), and some went mini (Liya Kebede in Proenza Schouler). Some stayed on trend: vide Paz de la Huerta in Yigal Azrouël, who wore one of the floor-sweepers that the designer has been helping to popularize of late.

The best of the bunch, in my personal opinion? It’s hard to argue with Carmen Kass in Michael Kors (pictured). Jason Wu’s good-luck charm, red-lipped Rachel Weisz, looked stunning in her periwinkle dress, too. Among the gents, Zachary Quinto in Simon Spurrwas a standout. But for all-around, there’s no one like the fashion veteran Iris Apfel, in Balenciaga, who came bedecked in Alexis Bittar with the evening’s newly minted Accessory Designer of the Year in tow. She’s living proof that kids don’t have all the fun.

Who were your favorites? Take a look through our slideshow and sound off below.

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Mulberry For Target, Jil On Jil, The Search For The Next Gisele, And More…

Target’s next conquest: Mulberry. The English label will create bags for the mass retailer, which will debut on October 10. [WWD]

A quick word from Jil Sander (the woman, not the brand): Her signature style is “pure,” please, not “minimal,” which “can be very empty.” Noted! [Hint Mag]

Tyra Banks made waves when she announced she’s re-signed with IMG (though, she cautions, for endorsements more than modeling; “don’t expect to see me at any go-sees”), and now her agency Polaroids have surfaced. Future ANTMcontestants, consider these poses your homework. [Fashionologie]

And speaking of models, theTimes heads for rural Brazil with model scout Alisson Chornak as he hunts for the next Gisele. Meanwhile, some Brazilians are wondering why the Brazilian look is so often identified with and exported as light-eyed, straight-haired blondes, when more and more darker-skinned actresses and models are finding success at home. Lais Ribeiro (pictured), could this be your moment? [NYT]

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The World Cup, Kit By Lanvin. No, Really.....

The German stylist, editor, and writer Markus Ebner isn’t exactly overwhelmed with free time—he’s the contributing fashion editor of Die Zeit, writes reviews for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and edits Achtung, the fashion magazine he founded and now runs from Paris. That makes it all the more impressive that every four years, for every World Cup, Ebner—along with his co-editor, Godfrey Deeny—manages to produce another journal: SEPP, the original fashion-meets-football publication. Founded in 2002, when, Ebner says, “few designers, except maybe Armani with the Davids—James and Beckham—and Dirk Bikkembergs cared much about football,” the magazine commissions designers to create jerseys, sketches, and shoots inspired by the beautiful game. (Its first supporter? The diehard Inter Milan fan Donatella Versace, who contributes a jersey design to every issue, almost always in Milan blue.) For the 2010 installment, designers such as Alber Elbaz (above), Giambattista Valli (below), Giorgio Armani, and Dries Van Noten lent their talents, as did Karl Lagerfeld, who sketched a few of his favorite stars as well as one player who we could only hope would take the field. That fellow’s name? Karl Lagerfeld (bottom).

PLUS: Don’t miss our roundup of the World Cup’s best-looking players.

Left: Giambattista Valli. Right: Versace.

Karl Lagerfeld by Karl Lagerfeld.

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