Ricky Martin Comes Out as Gay

"A few months ago I decided to write my memoirs, a project I knew was going to bring me closer to an amazing turning point in my life. From the moment I wrote the first phrase I was sure the book was the tool that was going to help me free myself from things I was carrying within me for a long time. Things that were too heavy for me to keep inside. Writing this account of my life, I got very close to my truth. And this is something worth celebrating.

For many years, there has been only one place where I am in touch with my emotions fearlessly and that's the stage. Being on stage fills my soul in many ways, almost completely. It's my vice. The music, the lights and the roar of the audience are elements that make me feel capable of anything. This rush of adrenaline is incredibly addictive. I don't ever want to stop feeling these emotions. But it is serenity that brings me to where I'm at right now. An amazing emotional place of comprehension, reflection and enlightenment. At this moment I'm feeling the same freedom I usually feel only on stage, without a doubt, I need to share.

Many people told me: "Ricky it's not important", "it's not worth it", "all the years you've worked and everything you've built will collapse", "many people in the world are not ready to accept your truth, your reality, your nature". Because all this advice came from people who I love dearly, I decided to move on with my life not sharing with the world my entire truth. Allowing myself to be seduced by fear and insecurity became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sabotage. Today I take full responsibility for my decisions and my actions.

If someone asked me today, "Ricky, what are you afraid of?" I would answer "the blood that runs through the streets of countries at war...child slavery, terrorism...the cynicism of some people in positions of power, the misinterpretation of faith." But fear of my truth? Not at all! On the contrary, It fills me with strength and courage. This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids where born with. Enough is enough. This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 5 or 10 years ago, it is supposed to happen now. Today is my day, this is my time, and this is my moment.

These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn't even know existed.

What will happen from now on? It doesn't matter. I can only focus on what's happening to me in this moment. The word "happiness" takes on a new meaning for me as of today. It has been a very intense process. Every word that I write in this letter is born out of love, acceptance, detachment and real contentment. Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution.

I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.

RM"

Doga is Yoga for Dogs

I created the names of the doga poses, like Woofing Warrior, Camel Rides Dog, and the Muttley Mudras, in order to incorporate the dogs fully into the practice. So instead of just practicing yoga with your dog, you are partnering with your dogi to do doga.

The name of the style I teach is called Barking Buddha Doga. It's a heart opening practice I created as a way to use the love and connection we feel for our dogs as a catalyst to a broader connection to all things...union...which is actually what yoga means.

New York Magazine Covers Lady Gaga's Rise to Pop Stardom

"She wants to be crazy, to make statements, make art, channel the past, experiment with performance art, try everything," says David LaChapelle, a collaborator and friend. "In Paris, she took four hours out of four days to visit museums. That's just not done by a pop star at the beginning of a career--not when you're in the bubble, when it's all about you." She's still overly dramatic--talking about monsters, or archly trying to presage her fall by covering herself in blood and hanging from a noose at the VMAs. "I feel that if I can show my demise artistically to the public, I can somehow cure my own legend," she explained recently. She turns down most interview requests, uninterested in combating misperceptions about her work. "Andy said that the critics were right," she says, with a shrug.

Best Buy to Open First UK Store in May

The 50,000-square-foot flagship megastore in Thurrock, East London, will be the first of five so-called big-box stores Best Buy plans open in the U.K. this year. It will be followed by stores in Southampton and Merry Hill, near Birmingham, the following month, and in Aintree, near Liverpool, in the weeks after. Best Buy said it also plans to open a store in Croydon, Surrey, in the fall, adding that further opening dates to be scheduled and announced in due course. The first five stores will range from 35,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet in size.

Miss Ultimo Drops Peaches Geldof as Spokesmodel

"We have been in meetings all morning with regards to the stories that have surfaced over the weekend about Peaches and unfortunately we have no option but to terminate her contract. Miss Ultimo is a brand geared towards a young female audience and as a company we have a social responsibility to ensure we are promoting only positive role models that young women can aspire to. We are thus in the process of removing Peaches from the website and we are working with Debenhams to remove her visuals from all Miss Ultimo shops and window displays throughout the UK."

Bulgari Denies Rumors of Sale to Swatch

"The two companies have never discussed any kind of transactions on shares," Rome-based Bulgari said today in a statement. "The Bulgari family is not interested in selling."

Swatch Group Chief Executive Officer Nick Hayek Jr. called Bulgari an example of an "interesting big brand," Focus reported on its Web site yesterday, fueling speculation that Swatch is interested in an acquisition. Hayek didn't say the Swiss company is interested in buying Bulgari, Beatrice Howald, a spokeswoman for Swatch Group, said by telephone.

*****

"Strategically, such a deal would make sense," said Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Capital Markets. "Swatch wants to develop in jewelry and the Bulgari watch brand would fit well. However, historically it has never done a big deal."

Limited iPad Supply Means Best Buy Stores Get Just 15 iPads

But would-be buyers who show up at the 675 Best Buy (BBY) stores privileged to carry the tablet computer this Saturday better plan to get there early.

According to an internal memo leaked over the weekend to TUAW.com, only Best Buy stores with "Apple Shop" displays will carry the devices. And those stores will receive only five units of each iPad model (16GB, 32GB and 64GB) - or a total of 15 iPads per store - for Saturday.

Wal-Mart Refuses to Do Business With Sugar Producer on Slavery Blacklist

"Cosan had problems with a contractor three years ago and solved them immediately," [Agriculture Minister] Stephanes said. "It has good practices." The slavery blacklist is managed by the Labor Ministry. Stephanes suggested Cosan and Labor Ministry officials meet to discuss its removal from the blacklist. The Labor Ministry said 42 Cosan workers were found and "liberated" from conditions analogous to slavery. Another 163 employers are also on the ministry blacklist, which was created in 2004 and is updated every six months.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA's fuel distribution unit, which buys ethanol from Cosan, may consider "restrictions" on the company, a BR Distribuidora spokesman, who couldn't be named because of company policy, said yesterday. Petrobras is Brazil's state-controlled oil producer.

Developer's Plans Reveal for New Apple Store Prototype in Palo Alto

There it will build an Apple Store that project developers referred to in planning documents as "a new prototype for the company." The facade will be entirely transparent at ground level, vast skylights will flood the store with natural light, and trees will grow inside, fed by the sunlight from above, according to a proposal submitted to the city's architectural review board.

The building at 340 University Ave. is an 86-year-old structure best known as the longtime home of Liddicoat's grocery. More recently it housed Z Gallerie furniture store, and it has mostly stood vacant since that store closed several months ago.

Macy's Closing Five Stores

Macy's recent store closures will be leaving malls already hurt by a wave of national chain closures since 2008, according to Equity Research Analyst Brian S. Sozzi. He added the exit of Macy's could cause others to vacate, creating a "dead mall" syndrome, which is when vacancy rates rise above 70%.

"All in all, the store closures were in cities with unemployment and median income levels significantly worse than state and national averages," Sozzi said. "People in these areas shifted what discretionary purchases they were making to better kept/promoted malls or big box stores able to drive low prices on a range of merchandise in a one-stop format."