On yer bike mate!

BY PAUL REILLY – paul@ragazine.co.uk

IT seems some of Ulster’s top media personalities have been bitten by the ‘green’ bug, but it also appears they may not be as conscious about their safety. 

Within 24 hours I spotted two well known faces biking it through the Belfast city centre traffic.

Meehan – new arrest

CRAIG Meehan, former partner of Karen Matthews, mother of nine year old Shannon, has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of the young girl.

Shannon, who was found alive at the home of Meehan’s uncle Michael Donovan, has still not returned home and remains in the care of social services.

Karen and Donovan will face trial in November. Ms Matthews has been charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice.

Meehan, 22, has already been charged with possessing child porn.

GLAD of the change

WORRIED Sky One bosses have rushed to alter the skimpy costumes for the new Gladiators, after they found that the barely-there attire goes see-through when wet.

It was during rehearsals for water games, at the programme’s multi-million pound Surrey set, that bosses spotted slightly more of the muscle bound ladies and gents than expected.    

One source, who said the programme makers are aiming the show at families, said: “We have to keep everyone decent”.

SMart to return

BBC BOSSES have confirmed that popular childrens’ art programme SMart, formerly fronted by tragic Mark Speight, will return to screens this autumn.

Mark, 42, was found hanged last week after his long term partner Natasha Collins died from a cocaine binge.

The CBBC show will return with regular presenter Kirsten O’Brien, but young viewers will not be told why Mark, who fronted the craft programme for almost 10 years, is not there.

Best foot forward for Brit

FALLEN Pop Princess Britney Spears has been seen hitting the gym in down town LA.

Brit was pictured spinning on an exercise bike, and clocking up some miles on the treadmill.

Brit’s new fitness regime is sure to add more fuel to rumours of a comeback world tour being in the pipeline. The 26-year-old’s recent album, Blackout, has been the mum of two’s most successful to date.

But it wasn’t all hard work at the gym, sources spotted the former Mrs Federline with a sneaky pack of fags in her hand bag. 

Messenger wings it alone

FORMER glamour model Melinda Messenger has been spotted stepping out for the first time without her wedding ring.

Mum of three, Melinda, was seen without her band while collecting her kids from a friend’s home near Berkshire.

The Sun reported earlier this week that Mel, 37, and her husband Wayne, 30, were undergoing a trial separation.

Too busy to exercise but don’t want to look like you’ve eaten all the pies?

BY MICHELLE SMYTH – michelle@ragazine.co.uk

WE all have excuses not to exercise- we can’t afford a gym membership, we’re too busy or too tired.

Banishing the excuses

“I can’t afford a gym membership, I spent my last fiver on a kebab and chip”

It’s much more appealing to spend your last twenty quid on a night out or a new top than an expensive gym membership that will probably only go to waste anyway. These exercises which can be done at home mimic different fitness machines-at a fraction of the price:

The darker side of social networking

BY MICHELLE SMYTH – michelle@ragazine.co.uk

A GROWING trend in web-related suicides and cyber bullying has cast a shadow over the safety of teen social networking sites, if you’re to believe recent media speculation.

People in the UK have taken these sites to heart with 13.7 million users regularly uploading to MySpace, Bebo and Facebook.

It’s a fact – social networking sites have altered the way we all communicate in a major way.

While these sites grow in popularity, negative reports have increased with links to identity fraud, cyber bullying and even online suicide pacts.

Welcome

Hey folks, Michelle is the name and fun, fearless female hack is my game. I hope to bring some nifty news items and fetching features to the site. I get a kick out of asking the questions no-one else will, so if you have any scoops let me know and I will delve into the deep, dark and smelly underbelly of Northern Ireland on your behalf, all in the name of the valid public interest of course.

I get Wiki-ed!

BY PAUL REILLY – paul@ragazine.co.uk

ONLINE encyclopedia Wikipedia is a revolutionary tool for web researchers, or anyone with a general interest in trivia.

The web site’s global reach and international appeal has firmly established it in our popular culture.

Even Snake from The Simpsons has been seen amending his wiki-biography while behind bars.

Looking for facts, on an endless range of matters, from Mary Queen of Scots’ genealogy to a list of contestants on Big Brother 3, has been made simple and extremely surfer friendly.

The web community are encouraged to contribute to the site’s ‘live’ articles.

Journalists, like many academics worldwide, however, have become increasingly weary of the user generated content on the site.

As a reliable resource, many journalists will discredit the merits of the web-based tool.

So, how rigid is the system for evaluating data and content on the site?

I decided to find out.