Claudia Rogge’s artwork shows 30 genuine homeless people doing just what they would be doing if their were out on the streets. One woman is seen injecting heroin, others are shown drinking and many are caught in violent rages.

The German artist specialises in images of extreme human suffering. Funds raised from selling her photographs will go to homelessness charity “Fiftyfifty.” A complete image sells for 13,000 Euros while individual portraits will fetch 980 Euros.

via Croatian Times.

News Corp paid $580m (£361m) for MySpace in 2005, but users and advertisers left the site for rival social sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The sale terms were not disclosed, but there were unconfirmed reports that price paid was as low as $35m.

Pop star and actor Justin Timberlake will take a stake in the business, Specific Media said.

He will play “a major role in developing the creative direction and strategy for the company moving forward,” the company said.

Specific Media was founded in 1999 by three brothers – Tim, Chris and Russell Vanderhook – and is based in Irvine, California.

MySpace was a leading social networking site when it was bought by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

But the business was eclipsed by rivals, and despite attempts to revive MySpace’s fortunes the site has been a financial millstone.

The Reuters news agency cited a News Corp-owned blogging site as reporting that MySpace was sold for $35m.

Specific Media said: “We look forward to combining our platforms to drive the next generation of digital innovation.”

via BBC News.

The star of the 1968 family movie was shipped to California from England to go under the hammer on Sunday.

The unique vehicle, which is still in working order, is expected to fetch up to $2m (£1.2m).

For the past four decades it has been kept in Stratford-upon-Avon by owner Pierre Picton, the man who looked after it on set.

It has appeared at hundreds of shows and charity road races, but has never been auctioned until now.

Magical being

There were several Chitty Chitty Bang bang cars made for the film, but this was the only one that actually worked.

It was driven in the movie by Dick Van Dyke, who played the eccentric inventor who takes his children on the adventure of a lifetime.

The vehicle was designed by Ken Adam and built by the Ford Racing Team.

Its bonnet is crafted of polished aluminium; the boat deck is hand-crafted of red and white cedar, and the brass fittings taken from Edwardian cars.

The car is powered by a Ford 3 litre V6 engine and has a dashboard plate from a British World War I fighter plane.

Chitty was completed in 1967 and registered with the number plate GEN 11, given to her by Ian Fleming, who wrote the novel the film was based on. The registration spells the Latin word “genii”, meaning magical person or being.

It is being sold by a Hollywood memorabilia company Profiles in History, which says the vehicle is attracting interest from around the world.

“I think it’s the most recognisable car in the world,” said Joe Maddalena, the company’s owner.

“This car is the best of the best. It takes your breath away. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for a car collector or museum.”

via BBC News.

Sheridan Simove’s 200-page book has sold out on Amazon following heavy promotion in student unions across Britain

The £4.69 item, intended as a novelty gift, is being used by students as a notebook, reports Metro.

Nottingham university student Jess Lloyd said: “I bought a copy for my mate as a joke and he started using it as a note pad for lectures. Now everyone seems to have one. It’s started a real craze on campus.”

Mr Simove, 39, an Oxford University graduate, said: “I never anticipated that my book would be used for students to take their lecture notes in.

“In a sense they are proving me wrong by filling my book with content. But I wonder how many of them go back to thinking about sex once the lecture is over. I’d be willing to bet that answer is 100%.

“After many years of hard work I finally realised that men think of absolutely nothing apart from sex. It was a shocking conclusion and I realised that the world needed to be informed of my findings.

“It is very gratifying to see my book outselling many other academic works whose authors claim to have worked even harder than I to break new ground and further the extent of human knowledge.

“I now intend to develop my research further and am planning a PhD at the university of life on the subject of what women think about apart from sex. I hope to publish my findings in another decade.”

via Orange UK.

Picture for illustration only!

Cash-strapped Romanian military leaders put thousands of items of old kit up for auction recently, including second-hand Army-issue pants.

They were then surprised when they failed to get a single bid at the sale in Brasov, Romania.

Perhaps they should have tried Ebay. A recent listing for a pair of WW1 soldiers long underpants were listed as a buy it now price of nearly 80 dollars. Although Ebay do have quite a strict policy on the sale of such items!

So, in a bid to assist them, if the purchase of used pants, worn by genuine soldiers, might be something that interests you, then please contact the Romanian army.

Foot note: It is not known if the clothing has been worn by men or women!

A set of three X-rays of Marilyn Monroe’s chest taken during a 1954 hospital visit have sold for $45,000 (£29,900) in Las Vegas.

The X-rays, sold at a movie memorabilia auction at Planet Hollywood, had a $3,000 (£2,000) pre-sale estimate.

A chair from Monroe’s final photo shoot sold for $35,000 (£23,250).

Earrings worn by Kate Winslet in Titanic sold for $25,000 (£16,600). A dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in musical Funny Face fetched $56,250 (£37,360).

Other Monroe items up for sale included a prompt book from unfinished film Something’s Got to Give and a bottle of Chanel perfume she owned.

A crystal-studded glove which belonged to Michael Jackson fetched $190,000 (£126,000) at an earlier music sale at Julien’s Auctions at Planet Hollywood.

via BBC News.

Mark Perkins, 47, also owns the Flintstones' car, Mr Bean´s Mini, James Bond´s Aston Martin, Starsky and Hutch´s Ford Torino and Del Boy´s Reliant Regal van.

But he has taken the decision to sell his Batmobile, which he bought in 1988, at an auction on June 2 in Surrey, where it is expected to fetch £40,000, reports the Daily Telegraph.

He said: “It is sitting in my garage collecting dust. I don´t really want to sell it. But classic cars, and this one in particular, should be driven to be enjoyed.

“I´ve loved taking it on the road over the years. However, I will have little time to do so in the future, and so sadly it´s time someone else derived pleasure of ownership.”

The property developer has spent 25 years building up his collection, which he says is worth £500,000, at his Ascot home.

It also includes replicas of Batman´s Batbike, the Ghostbusters´ Ectomobile, Noddy´s Toyland car, and he has just agreed a deal to buy The Monkees´ 1967 Pontiac GTO.

“It´s all right to have a Ferrari or a Bentley but it´s not my cup of tea. Classic cars from films and unusual things are my hobby,” he added.

via Orange UK.

The grey ash – from volcano Eyjafjallajokull – is being sold in 160 gramme portions in sealed glass containers as souvenirs of the disaster.

The ash cloud from the volcano caused havoc to the air industry, grounding flights across Europe, a fortnight ago.

One seller, Sofus Gustavsson, says he is giving all his profits to help the clean-up campaign in Iceland which is trying to shift tonnes of volcanic ash.

“I got the idea from a friend who lives abroad who asked me to send him some ash in an envelope,” he said.

“I thought there must be thousands of people out there who want to remember what happened.”

Meanwhile, bookies have slashed the odds on a second Icelandic volcano erupting this year following a flood of bets on active volcano Katla.

Paddy Power has reduced the odds on Katla blowing its top from 6/1 to 11/8 after receiving one bet of £250, and several of £100.

Geologists have growing concerns about an imminent eruption. In the past 1,000 years, all three known eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull have triggered a subsequent eruption of Katla.

A Paddy Power spokesman said: “For all our sakes I hope these punters have got it wrong. Katla is the Big Daddy of Iceland´s active volcanoes and should it blow it would more than likely spell disaster for the airline industry along with misery for millions of air travelers.”

via Volcanic ash for sale online | Quirky News | Orange UK.