London, Feb 19: White wine

Cologne, Germany - In the 1950s, people met to watch television in so-called TV parlours. Now, a young Cologne man says he has founded the first cinema living room.

The Ivory Tower living room cinema fills the void between the cinema and a DVD at home, said founder Markus Altmeyer. The room, which seats up to 30 people, is decorated like a cinema with film posters on the walls, but guests sit on sofas and living room chairs as opposed to cinema seats.

Los Angeles - What used to be frowned upon in the fashion world, is now in style: More and more artists in the United States are exhibiting their work in boutiques.

The hip store Confederacy in Hollywood sells etchings by Julian Schnabel along with designer clothes and lingerie, while in New York, Robin Richman decorates her high-priced boutique with works by young artists.

In these dire economic times, boutiques have to be creative, said Richman in an article in the New York Times. Clothing stores want to attract customers with something different, while artists see it as a saving grace at a time when more and more galleries are closing.

Hamburg - A sofa, a love seat and a chair. That's how living room seating has looked for decades.

But in times of constant change, the days of such static seating combinations are numbered. Nowadays, flexibility is in demand. Designers have answered by creating modular sofas or sectionals. Customers select the height, width, colour and fabric that meets their individual needs and essentially put the elements together themselves. This individuality is something experts see as crucial.

Hamburg - Consumers shopping for wine should not consider just the awards and quality seals on a bottle.

Awards are as plentiful as sand on the beach and can be confusing, said can Heike Broek of Germany's union of sommeliers. In order to judge the reliability of an award, the consumer has to know who awarded the prize and under what criteria.

Often journalists or cellarers on the payroll of the vineyard are on the jury. A study in the United States recently found that expert opinions often fluctuate greatly.

Hamburg  - The blonde hair tones seen on many heads could not possibly be attributed to nature. And it's clear that a number of Hollywood stars are helped along, so that their hair shines in white or peroxide blonde.

Blonde hair has always been considered especially attractive. Since supermodel Agyness Deyn brought the short platinum blonde haircut to the catwalk, the hair colour that keeps coming back into style is back again in entirely new looks.