Many of the top stars took heat for what fashionistas regarded as unimaginative, derivative or just plain ugly dresses that were seen on the red carpet
By Eric Wilson
Watching the designer Randolph Duke as a commentator for ABC describing what a wonderful impact dressing an Oscar-nominated actress for the red carpet has on a designer's career, it was hard not to wonder how he ended up so far on the wrong side of the velvet rope, speaking from a perch so distant it had to be called the Fashion Skyway.

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Betel-nut beauties have come in for some bad press; a new exhibition shines a more sensitive light on the profession
By Jules Quartly
Anyone who has traveled outside Taipei City will have noticed betel-nut beauties (檳榔西施) brightening the roadsides. Like brightly-plumed birds they flit in and out of their neon-framed stalls to serve drinks, cigarettes and the addictive nut that keeps truck drivers awake as they careen down the country's highways.

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FOR THE JACQUES COUSTEAUS OF YOU OUT THERE

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