AIRPORT

(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Japan's Narita Airport president Kosaburo Morinaka smiles with Kurara Chibana, first runner-up to Miss Universe 2006, named as a campaign girl of the airport to celebrate its 30th anniversary, at a Tokyo hotel on March 31, 2008. Japan's largest international airport, located suburban Tokyo, will celebrate its 30th anniversary on May 20.

SEE THE USA IN YOUR CHEVROLET

April is Miss USA month with the pageant being held on April 11th. We thought we'd take a tour of some of the home states of previous Miss USA winners to the tune of "See the USA in your Chevrolet," made famous by the wonderful singer Miss Dinah Shore. She had her own television show in the 1950's & 60's, and she always closed out the show by singing the above mentioned song and then giving a big kiss to the audience. Our first stop is New York, the home to the first Miss USA, Jackie Loughery.

OUR CALENDAR GIRL

With the clock ticking towards April 1st, and keeping in mind the old adage "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb," we thought we'd salute a lady who comes from a country that knows its way around preparing lamb. That would be Greece. Miss Greece 2001 to be exact. Evelina Papantoniou, first runner-up to Miss Universe 2001. Oopah!

LADY IN RED

The new Miss Israel 2008, Tamar Ziskind, on the cover of Laisha

HAPPY B-DAY!

Happy Birthday to Miss USA 1995, Shana Moakler of New York
Shana, darling, you still look good in a tiara!
(Photos: WireImage)

COME FLY WITH ME...

Miss Universe 1977, Janelle "Penny" Commissiong of Trinidad & Tobago, is flying high here after her historic win in Santo Domingo. She's holding what looks like a model airplane (students of the 1950's & 1960's will remember them), but its most likely that Penny's plugging a sponsor of the pageant. No matter, what a beautiful lady to have as a spokesperson. She'll always be the wind beneath our wings!

DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is a classic anthem, sung by the likes of Carol Channing on Broadway, Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Madonna, and Nicole Kidman in the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! The song is listed as the 12th most important movie song of all time by the American Film Institute.

The Wendy Fitzwilliam School of Recording Arts here at Beauty School has commissioned Kiah Diamonds spokesmodel Sushmita Sen to record a Bollywood version. In anticipation of the release of the recording, Beauty School is very excited to share these publicity shots.

"...M-shaped or square-shaped
these symbols keep their shape:
Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

(Photos: Kiah Diamonds)

REWIND - NBL 2007

Crowning Moment of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2007...
Alejandra Espinoza and Mayra Muñoz, the final two, await and react to the viewers' veredicto
(Photos: Univision)

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES - 1969

Blimey! Britain's Valerie Susan Holmes is Miss International 1969!

NBL 2008

Beauty School chic, campus hot-spot Café Zulu is even hotter on Friday nights now, attracting huge crowds to watch, on state-of-the-art, large, flat panel TVs, the weekly pageant Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008, airing on the Univision television network.

This year's contest promises to be full of tears and joy. Cattiness, too, from evil judge Osmel Sousa. Working to soften the Simon Cowell of Nuestra Belleza Latina 2008 are co-judges Miss Universe 1991 Lupita Jones (subbing for a preggers Alicia Machado) and telenovela hunk Julián Gil (Beauty School's Deans have dubbed him Nuestro Guapo Latino). Former telenovela star and morning TV show host Giselle Blondet is back again to emcee the weekly contest. Nuestra Belleza Latina continues through May. The winner wins, among other prizes, clothes and a modeling contract from JC Penney. Remember when JC Penney dressed Miss USA, back in the 1980's and early 1990's? Now they are dressing Nuestra Belleza Latina.

Giselle Blondet announces the top 20

El jurado - Julián Gil, Lupita Jones, and Osmel Sousa

Last year's winner - Nuestra Belleza 2007 - Alejandra Espinoza, 20,of California

AN EASTER PAGEANT

Eighteen years ago, the Miss Universe Pageant was held on Easter Sunday. They did not do the "Bunny Hop," which would have been appropriate. Instead, they chose a beautiful lady from Hell, Norway (ironic, eh?) to become the new Miss Universe. Wearing a gown she made herself, Mona Grudt nailed all the semi's and went on to win the title. Talk about a timeless beauty, Mona, we wish you a "Glade Paske."

BEACH BLANKET BINGO

As Spring Break comes to a close, and Beauty School's co-ed student body prepares to resume classes, we share a couple of photos of some noted beauty delegates of years past splashing around in between their last game of beach blanket bingo - the wettest, wildest game in town (at least in the 1960's).

Miss Universe 1963, Ieda Vargas of Brazil

Miss USA 1966, Maria Remenyi of California

SUGGESTION BOX

What were they thinking? Every couple of weeks, Beauty School puts up a classic photo in the Student Lounge for our students to write comments about and deposit in the Suggestion Box. This week we feature a perfect ten, the top ten in the preliminary swimsuit competition at the 1970 Miss Universe Pageant. Some of the suggestions of "what they were thinking" include the idea that Miss Australia and Miss Argentina were flirting with a stagehand off camera, that Miss USA was thinking about becoming a bookie, and that Miss Holland was wondering when she would get the cover of a fashion magazine. Feel free to put in your suggestion by replying to "comments." Personally, we're concerned about those clunky shoes!

CZECHMATES

The Czech Republic has its new representative for Miss World 2008. It is Zuzana Jandová, who won the "Miss ČR 2008" title last week. Present at the pageant were Miss World 2007, China's Zi Lin Zhang; Miss World 2006, the Czech Republic's very own Tatana Kucharova; and Julia Morley, President of the Miss World Organisation.

All photos from web site of the Czech newspaper DNES. Czech out more pix of Zuzana and the pageant here.

TRIPLE THREAT

This being spring break week, Beauty School's deans met with faculty to begin working on next semester's curriculum. Since Beauty School went Co-ed this year it was decided to do a course on male pageants. The deans called up the school librarian, Lorraine, to see what she could find in terms of photos. The phone rang about fifteen times before she picked up. Seems she had been outback working on her tan. When asked about relevant photos, she said we were in luck. The other day she had been in the storage room trying to find a bottle of white out when she came across a box labeled "Beefcake." She figured it was a box full of recipes. But instead it was full of photos of male pageant winners over the years. We are pleased to share some photos of the granddaddy of male pageant winners, Mr. America 1947, Mr. World 1948 & Mr. Universe 1950, none other than "Hercules" himself, Steve Reeves.

INDEPENDENT SPIRIT WINNER

Time to reveal the winner of our Independent Spirit award. We've already cited a beauty queen who was told to not compete in the swimsuit competition by her government, but did so anyway; two fashionistas; a beauty queen who refused to pose in a swimsuit; and a man who founded an alternative beauty pageant. Our students overwhelming choice for this award was none other than the "Pistol Packing Mama" of pageantdom, Venus Ramey, Miss America 1944.

This truly independent spirit, whose heritage dates back to the American Revolutionary War, became the first red-haired winner at Miss America, sold lots of war bonds, and had her image painted on B-17 bombers in World War II. She was the first Miss America to run for public office, hosted her own radio show and published a political newspaper. She publicly disparaged Vanessa Williams, Miss America 1984, and Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998, with words we choose not to quote here (do a Google search for more on that), and she successfully campaigned to have an area in Ohio declared part of the U.S. National Registry of Historical Places. If that is not enough, how about making headlines 63 years after her reign by shooting out the tires of the truck of a couple of thieves? At 82, out on her walker, she pulled out a .38 caliber revolver and held the thieves at bay until the cops arrived. She was quoted as saying about the incident " I didn't ever think twice. I just went and did it. If they even dared to come close to me, They'd be six feet under by now." Talk about spirit and independence, this lady is one of a kind!

A BEAUTIFUL GLOW

Another guest lecturer has been added to the schedule for Miss Chandni's chemistry class this summer. In addition to Miss Puerto Rico Universe 2008, Ingrid Marie Rivera, Miss Chandni will bring in a newly-glowing titleholder to demonstrate how to cause a panel of celebrity judges to have a nuclear meltdown during your catwalk in swimsuit and give you a 9.99. This guest lecturer is none other than the radiant Miss Atom 2008, Yulia Nagaeva.

According to World Nuclear News, Yulia is 26, from Moscow, and works for a Russian nuclear fuel company. She said this about her work in the nuclear energy industry: "Every day carries something new if you see beauty in simple things and strive for more."

Miss Atom 2008 Yulia Nagaeva


Miss Atom 2008 first runner-up Asel Uyibaeva of KazAtomProm

Miss Atom has been organized since at least 2004 by the Nuclear.Ru web-portal, Russia’s leading electronic media covering the nuclear industry. It is open to women working or studying in nuclear energy-related enterprises and organizations, nuclear power entities of former USSR states, nuclear research institutes, and nuclear educational institutions. An on-line vote determines the winner. Visit the Miss Atom 2008 web site for more information, including past Miss Atom contests.

LARA'S THEME

Lara's Theme is the theme music from the 1965 film Dr. Zhivago. It is also the theme for today, but in this case, the theme is India's Lara Dutta, Miss Universe 2000.