TV personality loses son to rare disorder

Lyndey Milan and her son, Blair.

The 29-year-old son of a well known food and wine expert has died from a rare blood disorder just days after complaining of feeling tired.

Blair Milan, son of Lyndey Milan, collapsed at his home in Erskineville, in Sydney's inner west, on Thursday after returning home from an overseas trip where he was promoting a new cooking series he completed with his mother.

Blair was recovering from wisdom tooth surgery and thought his fatigue was due to the trip and a slow recovery from surgery.

But he was admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Thursday after a blood test showed he had Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Ms Milan, one of Australia's most recognisable food and wine personalities, was in Sicily when she learned from her ex-husband that their son had been diagnosed with the aggressive form of leukemia.

Ms Milan decided to fly home immediately after doctors said chemotherapy was the only way to save Blair.

"I said if you do it, will he still be there when I get home and they said, 'I cant tell you that'," she told Nine News.

She arrived home at 7am on Saturday morning and went straight to the hospital, where Blair was medically sedated and breathing through a ventilator.

He died on Sunday.

Blair began his TV career at the age of 14 as a presenter for Nickelodeon's Coast to Coast and also launched GO! Channel for the Nine Network in 2009.

A funeral is expected to be held this Thursday.

SYDNEY READY TO EMBRACE ITS BEST RACE DAY - THE GOLDEN SLIPPER

Sydney's best day of racing – and Australia's richest – is ready to unfold at Rosehill Gardens for AAMI Golden Slipper Day tomorrow.

The Australian Turf Club will award more than $7m in prize money across nine races, the first time a Rosehill Gardens meeting has offered an all group-race program.

The 55th running of the AAMI Golden Slipper is the climax of three consecutive Saturday's of racing which form the opening half of the Sydney Carnival and it's expected to draw over 30,000 spectators.

Supporting the AAMI Golden Slipper is the $2.25 million The BMW, the country's sole Group 1 weight-for-age race over 2400m as well as the much anticipated Group 1 Inglis Queen of the Turf Stakes over 1500m for fillies and mares and the Group 1 Daily Telegraph George Ryder Stakes.

FIRST AUSTRALIAN DESIGNER INTIMATE MASSAGER

Click to enlarge

It's not everyday you read about two savvy mothers from Wollongong launching a ground breaking product aimed at the sensuality and well being of women, but then you probably haven't met Kristine Morgan and Lisa Hughes.

These two friends were enjoying a morning run along their local beach in Wollongong when they started talking about women and their conversation turned to vibrators (as friends' conversations sometimes do). 'Do you think any of the vibrators out there are actually designed by women?' Kris asked. 'Seriously, why can't we buy a vibrator that looks great and better still, feels great!'

The friends laughed. Kris had a point.  'We're women. We love beautiful things', added Lisa. 'So what's with all the tacky imagery and packaging?  Why can't normal women, walk into a normal shop and buy a vibrator like it's a totally normal thing to do?' By the time they had finished their run, the girls were sweaty, buzzing with excitement and eager to get some answers. And so their research began.

'We really wanted to understand what other women thought of this whole market,' explains Lisa. 'And who better to understand what women really want, than women who really want it?'

After talking to 'real' women everywhere – mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and girlfriends – Kris and Lisa's company, Love Being Woman was born.

'The brand is really about inspiring and empowering women from all walks of life,' says Lisa. 'We live by the philosophy that 'when you feel good about yourself, you can give the best of yourself to others'.

After holding a series of intimate and fun focus groups Kris and Lisa  knew they were onto something special. They had spoken to hundreds of women who wanted an intimate massager that was enjoyable to use and that they weren't embarrassed to buy. They wanted something that suited their lives, their style, their needs. An intimate massager that was discreet, high quality,feminine, accessible and best of all worked!

From that moment on the girls spent every waking minute (when they weren't being wives and mothers) finding out everything they could about vibrators. They even had their husbands on alert for any information that would help them with their mission.

After months laughing and looking, designing and experimenting, their work finally paid off and THE BE BE  was born, Be beautiful, Be you! 'This is all about making women feel confident in and out of the bedroom,' explains Lisa. 'This is not just about launching a new vibrator. It's about saying it's great for women to explore their sensuality. This is about their health and wellbeing and giving them the right to be in charge.'

'We developed THE BE BE  so women can feel empowered, not embarrassed,' states Kris.

 'THE BE BE  is about feeling sexy, not sex obsessed.

"Happy not inhibited, Frisky not frustrated."

THE BE BE is the first product from Love Being Woman and has been designed to embody the Love Being Woman philosophy. Kristine and Lisa live by the philosophy

'When you feel great about yourself, you give the best of yourself to others'.

They hope you'll discover this philosophy too.

Pizza Hut brings a slice of Italy to Aussie pizza lovers

Aaron Harvie

Pizza Hut has launched its first-ever Stonefired Pizza Base Range that captures the essence of pizza's true origins and gives pizza lovers a taste of authentic Italian-style pizza.

The delicious new varieties feature Italian stonefired pizza bases and Italian-style ingredients that Pizza Hut has never used before including sopressa salami, rocket and cherry tomatoes.

Better still, the range also features a brand new crushed tomato sauce.

TV celebrity cook Aaron Harvie, is already a fan of the six varieties – Antipasto, Diavolo, Rocco, Marco Pollo, Milano and Four Cheese.

"With ingredients like these it's like enjoying a slice of Italy in your own home - you can't choose just one of these fantastic pizzas, you've just got to try them all!" he said.

"The stonefired pizza base range lifts take-home pizza to a whole new level – especially with our stonefired pizza bases direct from Italy. These are premium pizzas delivering Italian-inspired flavours," said Pizza Hut marketing manager Fatima Syed.

"We want to make it even easier to feed family and friends - a great, high-quality Italian-style meal and the great new ingredients we are introducing for the first time do just that," she added.

From just $14.95 for pick up, the Stonefired Pizza Base range is available for a limited time only

(until April 25) – so don't miss out!

47 RONIN Launch Event - Keanu Reeves & Carl Rinsch

UNIVERSAL PICTURES ANNOUNCES START OF PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON 47 RONIN, THE NEW EPIC 3D FANTASY-ADVENTURE STARRING KEANU REEVES

Japanese Superstars Hiroyuki Sanada, Kou Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano and Rinko Kikuchi Join Cast of Epic Inspired by Ancient Japan's Most Enduring Legend

Universal Pictures announced today that principal photography begins March 14 on 47 Ronin, the new epic 3D fantasy-adventure inspired by ancient Japan's most enduring tale. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 Ronin. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.

47 Ronin is helmed by visionary director Carl Erik Rinsch (The Gift). Inspired by styles as diverse as Miyazaki and Hokusai, Rinsch will bring to life the stunning landscapes and enormous battles that will display the timeless Ronin story to global audiences in a way that's never been seen before.

WHAT MALE DROUGHT? THIRTY PERCENT MORE MEN THAN WOMEN LOOKING FOR LOVE ONLINE

Women who think there is a shortage of men looking for love should think again, with Australia's biggest dating website*, Oasis Active, announcing that its male membership is now 30 percent more men than women.

In fact, male memberships online have now reached an all-time record high on the site.

Love is a numbers game according to Oasis Active, which recently achieved one million Australian members since its launch in 2008, securing its 600,000th male member this month.

Oasis Active co-founder and chief executive officer, Dave Heysen said: "We've heard it so often that women can't find a man – well, they're online and waiting!"

"Interestingly, we have seen that more men are logging on as internet and mobile phone technology has become more available and people looking for love can talk in real time," Heysen said.

Heysen said that when looking at the statistics it was predictable that dating online would only increase in popularity.

"Online dating is fast becoming far more acceptable," he said.

An Oasis Active survey also found that this year, 74 percent of people are looking for a long term partner, and 79 percent of Oasis Active members will continue to use the site to find that 'special someone.'

Just two and a half years after launching, the site now has more than 100,000 unique Australian members logging in every day to search for love and 2.5 million global active members in the UK, Europe, USA, China, South and Central America.

Oasis Active is owned by leading-edge, Australian owned technology company 3H Group Pty Ltd.

*Source: Hitwise since May 2010


About Oasis Active
Launched in April 2008, Oasis Active is a 100% free dating site. The site boasts more than 1 million engaged Australian members and 2.5 million global active members. It is also Australia's biggest dating website since May this year (according to visits on Hitwise), with around 40 thousand members joining each month. Oasis Active is owned by leading edge Australian technology company 3H Group and has grown rapidly to now include sites in the UK, Europe, USA, China, South and Central America. Unlike other dating sites, members can talk in real time, helping them find a date or find a mate in a safe, friendly and monitored online environment. www.oasisactive.com

 

What To Do About Everything

A Manual for Domestic Life

RRP: $45.00

“There’s no longer any such thing as an average household. Domestic life is tricky. It’s miles trickier than it was when the average household contained a man and a woman who were married to each other and whose ideal family consisted of a boy and a girl, born in that order, two years apart. Back then there was no identity theft, no interactive online games, no speed dating, no easy credit leading to massive debt, and not much divorce. Smoking, butter and sugar were good for you. Life was slower and less cluttered.”

But things have changed. Our roles are increasingly multi-layered and we tend to be time, cash and energy poor. We want to be free from debt, but borrowing is critical to home-owning. We want to save the planet, but we have to be able to drive, fly and buy cheap imports.

How should we tackle our many domestic dilemmas? Here’s a book that can simplify matters.

What to Do about Everything by Barbara Toner is the ultimate manual for domestic life. It combines expert advice with personal experience as it guides us through the maze of endless challenges from how to sack a flat mate, find a decent plumber, change a tyre, avoid bankruptcy, sell a house, drink safely, get divorced and get moths out of your cashmere.

This comprehensive book will bring daily comfort to time poor, energy poor and just plain poor twenty first century householders everywhere. It covers time and space management, household relationships, having babies, balancing a diet, managing money, deciding where and how to live, home renovations, daily and weekly chores, clothes care, home repairs, grooming and healthcare, life changes (death, job loss, moving) and much more. Written in Barbara’s personable and witty style, this is a book offering tried-and-tested, friendly advice from someone who has been there, muddled through and come out the other side stronger and with her sense of humour intact.

www.whattodoabouteverything.com


Author details

Barbara Toner is an Australian writer and journalist who has written extensively about family life both in books (fiction and nonfiction) and newspaper columns. Double Shift: A Practical Guide for Working Mothers, examined the challenges for women juggling motherhood and jobs in the 1970s. On a lighter note, A Mothers Guide To Life and A Mother’s Guide to Husbands drew inspiration from her long-running column on family life in the UK’s The Mail on Sunday. Its wry observations on the balance of power in modern households attracted six million readers a week. Barbara is married with three daughters. She currently divides her life between London and the south coast of New South Wales.