Curves ahead! The plus-size models that prove fashion is finally ready to embrace larger women

By TAMARA ABRAHAM

Size matters: Model Tara Lynn wears nothing but a slick of red lipstick while posing for V Magazine's size issue


First there was Dove's 'real women' campaign, then there was Beth Ditto, but to date it seems that larger women have failed to become anything more than a novelty in fashion.

After all, Sophie Dahl, the original plus-size model, eventually lost the weight that made her so famous, Kate Moss continues to live by the mantra: 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels', and only last year Ralph Lauren famously airbrushed a model to look so thin, her head was wider than her waist.

But could 2010 be the year that curves finally come of age?

V Magazine certainly believes that is the case, so much so that it has dedicated an entire issue to women of different shapes and sizes.

'The Size Issue', which hits news stands on January 14, features a high-fashion photo shoot starring no less than five curvaceous bombshells.

The images, by Norwegian fashion photographer Solve Sundsbo, see the models wearing everything from figure-hugging Agent Provocateur bodysuits to cut-out Gucci swimsuits.

One wears Dolce & Gabbana lingerie, while another dramatically poses in nothing but a slick of red lipstick.

The girls unashamedly flaunt full thighs, stomach rolls and love handles - things that would normally be airbrushed out on a high fashion magazine.


Figured out: Candice Huffine and Tara Lynn unashamedly flaunt their curves for photographer Solve Sundsbo


On form: Kasia P models Agent Provocateur's leopard-print bodysuit, while Candice Huffine proves Gucci's embellished cut-out swimsuit is not just for the super-slim


Sundsbo said: 'I loved the opportunity to show that you can be beautiful and sexy outside the narrow interpretations that normally define us.'

The same issue sees famed plus-size model Crystal Renn take on the slender Jacquelyn Jablonski, who at 17, has already modelled for Calvin Klein Jeans and Proenza Schouler.

And the U.S. glossy could well be on the money with its theme. Over the past few months, gap-toothed supermodel Lara Stone - who is currently dating David Walliams - has become famous in her own right thanks to her 'va-va voom' size 8 figure (most models are a UK size 4-6)


Bombshells: Plus-size models Candice Huffine (left) and Michelle Olson (right) work the body-con look


Larger than life: Marquita Pring almost covers up in Pringle of Scotland knitwear, while Michelle Olson dares to bare in a Dolce & Gabbana corset


Gossip singer Beth Ditto's collection for Evans was a runaway success, with some items selling out in days.

And who could forget the media storm surrounding British designer Mark Fast's London Fashion Week show in September, after his stylist allegedly walked out over a decision to use plus-size models.

The models in question proved how sexy Fast's clingy knitted dresses could look on a curvaceous body, making them a sellout at Brown's, the London boutique in which they were sold.


Shaping up, from left: Tara Lynn, Candice Huffine, Michelle Olson, Marquita Pring


So could skinny finally be on its way out? Realistically, no.

Even Stone, who is, by normal standards, very slim, admitted: ‘A lot of people say it’s nice to see someone who won’t break in half when you touch them.

But I am still a woman and a person, and if you’re compared and confronted with your colleagues, and they’re all half your size, you think, “F***, I’m really fat!”’
But it seems that the fashion world is slowly making progress by beginning to accept more varied body shapes, and that there remains plenty of opportunity to embrace women that really look like women.

Photography: Solve Sundsbo
Styling: Nicola Formichetti
Models: Candice Huffine, Marquita Pring, Michelle Olson, Tara Lynn, Kasia P.
The full feature appears in V magazine, on sale from January 14; www.vmagazine.com



source: dailymail

Ice and Snow Festival

Workers shape a snow sculpture at the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province January 6, 2009.



Workers shape snow sculptures prior to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported.



Workers shape a snow sculpture featuring the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest prior to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported.



A worker shapes a snow sculpture prior to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported.



A worker shapes a snow sculpture prior to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported.



Workers shape snow sculptures prior to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported.



HARBIN, CHINA - JANUARY 10: A tourist poses arms outstretched for pictures in front of an ice building at the Grand Ice and Snow World, part of the 22nd Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival on January 10, 2006 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province in north China. Harbin is one of China's coldest cities and each winter hosts an ice festival, with famous buildings and landmarks from around the world recreated in ice



worker polishes an ice sculpture before the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported. Picture taken December 18, 2009.



Visitors play on an ice sculpture before the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, December 18, 2009. The 26th Ice and Snow Festival will kick off on January 5, 2010, local media reported. Picture taken December 18, 2009.

photo: Reuters

In Copenhagen, a Last-Minute Deal That Satisfies Few

By BRYAN WALSH / COPENHAGEN

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and President Obama talk during a meeting at the United Nations Climate Change Conference at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen on Friday, Dec. 18, 2009


The United Nations climate talks that seemed headed for sure disaster were saved from utter collapse late Friday night in Copenhagen, after leaders from the U.S., India, Brazil, South Africa and China came to an agreement to combat global warming. The deal contained no specifics on emissions cuts, but it did commit the countries to look to keep global warming at 2°C or less and to promise $30 billion in funding to battle climate change by 2012. It also created a framework for international transparency on climate actions for developed and developing nations alike. The agreement is far from perfect — and a long way from what environmentalists were hoping from the Copenhagen summit just a few months ago — but it is a start. "For the first time, all major economies have come together to accept their responsibility to combat climate change," said President Obama, visibly tired after a long day of emergency negotiations in Copenhagen. "This is a consensus that will serve as the foundation for global action against climate change for years to come."

But while the five countries that reached the agreement may be satisfied, the deal is far from finalized. Most African nations and small island states have not confirmed that they will agree to its outlines. Environmental groups are split, with mainstream groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council welcoming it as a first step, and more liberal organizations like Greenpeace denouncing it. Indeed, almost immediately there was harsh condemnation. In a hastily called press conference on the steps of the media center, Lumumba Stanislaus Di-Aping, Sudan's U.N. Ambassador and the head of the G-77 negotiating bloc of developing countries, lambasted the agreement and vowed to fight it. "The deal remains just an idea," he said. "Obama acting the way he did definitely established that there's no difference between him and the Bush tradition."

The summit may yet hold a final plenary session, where the countries will vote the agreement up or down. Because the U.N. works by consensus, if it passed everyone would then have to sign on, although some countries could express reservations.

Obama seemed to anticipate this mixed reception in his remarks after the agreement was struck by the five countries. He emphasized that even though new analyses have shown that existing carbon pledges by developed and developing nations are far too weak to head off severe warming, this deal is only meant to be the beginning. "The actions that we are going to set, we know that they will not by themselves be sufficient to get to where we need to get by 2050," Obama said. "That's why this is going to be a first step."

As part of the accord, developed and developing countries would list their national actions and mechanisms for addressing climate change, then provide information on those actions, and how well they're carried out, through "national communications, with provisions for international consultations and analysis under clearly defined guidelines," according to an Administration official. That last point was particularly important for the U.S.: the Chinese were resistant to coming under international scrutiny, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier called transparency a "deal breaker." Though the details of exactly how the monitoring will be carried out remain unclear — like much in the agreement — it apparently fit Obama's requirements. "Transparency, mitigation and finance form the basis of the common approach the U.S. and other partners have embraced here in Copenhagen," he said before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington.

When Obama arrived in Copenhagen on Friday morning, ministers and some heads of state had been up much of the night attempting to craft a workable agreement without success. Obama's day was spent being shuttled from meeting to meeting with major developed and developing economies. He was stood up at one meeting by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao; by some reports he had to finesse his way into a key meeting with Chinese, Indian and Brazilian officials, where the agreement was finally struck. The deal, "if not what we expected, may be a way of salvaging something and pave the way to another meeting or series of meetings to get the full result of this proceeding," said Sergio Serra, Brazil's chief climate negotiator. In fact, the accord drops the expected goal of setting a deadline to achieve a true international treaty by the end of 2010; the details of such a treaty will most likely require months or years of further negotiation.

Obama was quick to note that the deal was not legally binding for anyone — neither the U.S. nor developing nations like China. Each country will list its climate actions in an appendix to the document; then there will be international analysis and reporting similar to what happens under the World Trade Organization. But there will be no legal penalties if countries fail to achieve their targets. "We'll receive a sense of what each country is doing," said Obama. That way the signatories will know "we are in this together, and we will know who is emitting and who is not."

For some, there was a sense of relief and excitement that, after two weeks of stalled talks and a day of frustration and cancelled meetings, at least something was achieved. Fans of the deal focused on its potential to kick-start clean-energy investment. It may also speed the adoption of cap-and-trade legislation by the U.S. Senate, which is seen as key to establishing a more ambitious global treaty. But for activists and many delegates in Copenhagen, the deal fell far short of what science demands to combat global warming. Many countries are already irritated that they were left out of the last-minute negotiations. "This is a declaration that small and poor countries don't matter, that international civil society doesn't matter, and that serious limits on carbon don't matter," said Bill McKibben, the head of the environmental activist group 350.org. "The President has wrecked the U.N., and he's wrecked the possibility of a tough plan to control global warming."

Even if it passes a final plenary vote, the deal will still need to be voted on by the wider U.N. — and with the way the troubled negotiations have gone so far, that's no sure thing. In the end, the compromise was pure Obama: pragmatic, with a little bit for everyone to like and dislike. "This progress did not come easy, and we know that this progress alone is not enough," he said. "One of the things I've felt very strongly over the years is that the hard stuff inspires not paralysis but going ahead and making the best of the situation you are in and then continuing to try to make progress." After two hard weeks, some will argue, it's better than nothing.


source: Time.com

Lost city of Atlantis discovered? Grainy images show city-like formations at the bottom of the Caribbean

The pattern on the sea-bed could be the ruins of a city that pre-dates the Egyptian pyramids, the group said


A group of 'undersea archaeologists' have become the latest to claim they have uncovered the lost city of Atlantis.

The scientists - who have refused to identify themselves - have released a series of images taken beneath the Caribbean.

They insist the snaps show what appear to be the ruins of a city that could pre-date Egypt's pyramids, which appeared after 2600BC.

Could it be? The grainy images, released to a French newspaper by an anonymous group, appear to show grid-like structures that resemble the streets of a city


They even told a French newspaper that one of the structures appears to be a pyramid.
Now the anonymous group wants to raise funds to explore the secret location where the images were taken.

They would not reveal the exact location, however, saying only that it was somewhere in the Caribbean Sea.

The claims have raised eyebrows on the internet, though sceptics refrained from debunking them entirely - just in case.

The legend of Atlantis, a city of astonishing wealth, knowledge and power that sank beneath the ocean waves, has fascinated millions.

Time and time again hopes have been raised that the lost city has been found - only for those hopes to be dashed against the evidence (or lack thereof).

Its location - or at least the source of the legend - remained a tantalising mystery.

In 1997, Russian scientists claimed to have found Atlantis 100 miles off Land's End.

In 2000 a ruined town was found under 300ft of water off the north coast of Turkey in the Black Sea.

The area is thought to have been swamped by a great flood around 5000BC, possibly the floods referred to in the Old Testament.


In 2004 an American architect used sonar to reveal man-made walls a mile deep in the Mediterranean between Cyprus and Syria.

In 2007 Swedish researchers claimed the city lay on the Dogger Bank in the North Sea, which was submerged in the Bronze Age.

And as recently as February of this year, what appeared to be grid-like lines that resembled city streets were spotted on Google Earth - in the ocean off the coast of Africa.

Sadly Google itself quickly debunked the suggestion, explaining that the lines were left by a boat as it collected data for the application.

'Bathymetric (sea-floor) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea-floor,' a spokesman said.

'The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data.'


source: dailymail

Obama arrives in Copenhagen as world leaders make last ditch effort to reach climate change deal

By Jason Groves and David Derbyshire

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the delegates at the conference after world leaders worked through the early hours to try and beat today's deadline for a deal on cutting emissions


U.S. President Barack Obama flew into Copenhagen today to join the final day of climate change talks, amid hints he might improve America's roundly condemned offer to cut carbon emissions by just four per cent.

His arrival comes after world leaders worked into the early hours of this morning trying to hammer out an initial draft of a United Nations climate deal.

The talks had been looking promising late on Thursday night, but fell apart in the early hours when the bitter divisions between rich and poor countries re-emerged.

According to insiders, tired and grumpy delegates got bogged down debating procedure - rather than the bigger issues.

Addressing the delegates this afternoon President Obama said that 'all major economies must put forward decisive national actions that will reduce their emissions, and begin to turn the corner on climate change.'

And he said that climate change 'poses a grave and growing danger to our people'.
He went on: 'I'm confident that America will fulfill the commitments that we have made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.

'Second, we must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our commitments, and to exchange this information in a transparent manner.

'These measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty. They must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we are living up to our obligations. For without such accountability, any agreement would be empty words on a page.

'Third, we must have financing that helps developing countries adapt, particularly the least-developed and most vulnerable to climate change.

'America will be a part of fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10 billion in 2012. And, yesterday, Secretary Clinton made it clear that we will engage in a global effort to mobilize $100 billion in financing by 2020, if - and only if - it is part of the broader accord that I have just described.


source: dailymail

Q&A: The U.N.'s Ban Ki-Moon on Climate Change

As the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon has a wealth of global problems he could turn his focus on: genocide, war, HIV. But the South Korean diplomat has chosen to make climate change his number one priority, even hosting a one-day, high-level summit on warming at the UN in New York this September. Now with a momentous climate change summit under way in Copenhagen, Ban's efforts are bearing fruit. He spoke with TIME's Bryan Walsh about his hopes for the conference, the responsibilities of rich and poor nations and why climate change is ultimately a moral issue. (Read more.... )


source: Time.com

Caught short: Germany's number one goalkeeper takes a toilet break mid-match

Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was lucky to get away with apparently taking a toilet break during a Champions League match.

The former Germany international leapt over the advertising hoardings and appeared to relieve himself just before half-time while play was still going on at the other end of the field.

Luckily for Lehmann, Romanian visitors Unirea Urziceni did not manage to launch an attack towards the vacated goal.

Even more fortunately, referee Viktor Kassai did not notice.

Since Lehmann left the field without permission, he should have been shown the yellow card for his actions, regardless of whether he urinated or not.
But Stuttgart's director of sport Horst Heldt told the Bild newspaper afterwards: 'It reminds me a lot of the Tour de France - sometimes you don't have any other possibility but to let it out.'


Desperate: Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann feels the call of nature (left) during a Champions League game against Romanian side Unirea Urziceni, so vaults over the advertising board for a spot of privacy (right)


He added: 'He did it very expertly. He could have waited until half-time.'
When asked to confirm whether he had been caught short, Lehmann only smiled and said: 'I was more nervous than I have been for a long time.'
Stuttgart already led 3-0 during Wednesday night's match when Lehmann vacated his goal momentarily and they went on to win 3-1 to qualify for the last 16 of the competition.


source: dailymail.co.uk

Carbonhagen: World Leaders Drive to Climate Summit in Gas-Guzzling Luxury Fleet

World leaders and VIPs began pouring into Copenhagen Monday morning for the city's long-awaited climate summit, arriving in style in a fleet of gas-guzzling limos and luxury cars.

Most delegates to the climate change conference haven't exactly been hoofing their way to Denmark's capital, swarming the city's airport with 140 private jets, 1,200 hired limousines and a carbon footprint the size of a small country.

Video shot on the scene Monday shows squads of new arrivals at the green gathering pulling up in BMWs, Mercedes Benzes, sleek Volvos and plush Jaguars. A bus reserved for the delegates rode along empty outside the conference center.

The head of Copenhagen's biggest limo company says her business usually has a dozen cars on the road. But during the conference — which has been billed as the last best chance to save the environment — she'll have 200 vehicles churning out fumes, the Daily Telegraph reported.

"We thought they were not going to have many cars, due to it being a climate convention," Majken Friss Jorgensen told the newspaper. "But it seems that somebody last week looked at the weather report."

France alone has ordered 42 vehicles, she said, and the auto supply in Denmark is very quickly drying up. To make up for shortages, Jorgensen and her competitors are bringing in lines of limos from as far away as Germany and Sweden.

"We haven't got enough limos in the country to fulfill the demand," she said, adding that just five cars in her fleet will be environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles, which are almost impossible to procure in tax-heavy Denmark.

Once the estimated 30,000 delegates, activists, protesters and members of the press arrive this week and next, they'll find a sumptuous and steeply priced spread awaiting them.

Expensive hotels are sold out, and the conference organizers have been busy laying 560 miles of computer cable and 50,000 square miles of carpet, according to the Times of London.

The conference center hosting the meetings has set up four "climate kitchens" to cook healthy, organic meals for attendees, but they aren't coming cheap.

Visitors ordering the regular meal will get finger sandwiches, a quiche, some cheese and dessert, but those going "deluxe" get a mini croissant, canape with smoked salmon, mini pizzas, fancy cheese and some pineapple in chocolate — all for an estimated $40 a person.

The whole conference rings up at just under $215 million, according to a report from the U.K.-based Taxpayers' Alliance, which argued that even though delegates to the climate conference don't expect to emerge with any signed commitments, they're still doing potential damage by making their two-week visit.

Conference organizers have gone the whole nine yards seeking to offset the Copenhagen carbon crunch (the U.N. estimates an output of 41,000 tons of gas), using energy-efficient lights, powering the proceedings with a giant wind turbine, and offering visitors recycled materials instead of wasteful plastic water bottles. They've also purchased carbon offsets to help manage the output from their 12-day affair.

But Matthew Sinclair, the research director for the Taxpayers' Alliance, said their presence means that "a huge amount of money is going to be spent on the summit, and thousands of tons of carbon dioxide emitted to get there, just to give the delegates a good photo opportunity."


source: foxnews.com

Figures from Antony Gormley's 'Amazonian Field, 1992'

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 01: Figures from Antony Gormley's 'Amazonian Field, 1992' on fill a gallery at the Royal Academy of Arts 'Earth: Art of a Changing World' exhibition on December 1, 2009 in London. New and recent work from 35 artists and a selection of commissions from emerging artists is on display at the Royal Academy from December 3, 2009 to January 31, 2010.








credit photo: Gettyimages

The World AIDS Day in India

Students form the symbol of AIDS to mark World AIDS Day in the northern Indian city of Shimla December 1, 2009.




Medical students take part in a candlelight vigil during an AIDS awareness campaign on the occasion of World AIDS Day in the northern Indian city of Amritsar December 1, 2008. India has the world's third highest caseload with 2.5 million infections.



Traditional Bihu dancers participate in an event to mark World AIDS Day in Gauhati, India, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. Nearly 2.5 million people in India are infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, but talking about the disease and sexual health issues in general is still largely taboo.

credit photo: Reuters

People pay tribute for four officers who were killed

LAKEWOOD, WA - NOVEMBER 30: People pay tribute at a shrine outside of Lakewood Police headquarters for four officers who were killed November 30, 2009 in Lakewood, Washington. Police officers Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens, and Greg Richards were killed allegedly by Maurice Clemmons the previous day in a coffee shop near Lakewood.




LAKEWOOD, WA - NOVEMBER 30: Tammy Gallier of Tacoma, Washington sobs for her firend, Ronald Owens, during a visit to a shrine outside of Lakewood Police headquarters for four officers November 30, 2009 near Lakewood, Washington. Officers Owens, Mark Renninger, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards were allegedly killed by Maurice Clemmons the previous day in a coffee shop near Lakewood.



A man prays after leaving flowers at a memorial for four slain police officers in front of the Lakewood Police Department in Lakewood, Washington November 30, 2009. Maurice Clemmons, a suspect in the killing of four Lakewood police officers, is still on the loose. Lakewood Officers Tina Griswold, 40, Gregory Richards, 42, Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Ronald Owens, 37, were killed by a gunman in a coffee house a few miles from the police station on Sunday.


credit photo: Gettyimages

The Thanksgiving Day

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: Young girls wave while sitting and watching the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade travel through the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.




NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: The Buzz Lightyear balloon hovers in between Manhattan high rises during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: Crowds gather to watch the Horton the Elephant balloon as it hovers between Manhattan high rises during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: A boy sits on his father's shoulders as he watches the SpongeBob SquarePants balloon hover over the crowd during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: Crowds gather to watch the Shrek balloon during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.




NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: , NY DAILY , NY Andrea bocelli and his Wife Veronica take part in the 83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 26, 2009 in New York City.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: , NY DAILY , NY Andrea bocelli and his Wife Veronica take part in the 83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 26, 2009 in New York City.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: The George Washington and Abraham Lincoln mascots lead the Statue of Liberty float during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.




NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: A woman waves from her apartment window above the crowd watching the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade travel through the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: The Sailor Mickey balloon hovers over the crowd during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: The foot of the Ronald McDonald balloon pokes out from in between buildings as it hovers above onlookers during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: People prepare the Energizer Bunny balloon during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.




NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: A young girl rides on one of the floats during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.



NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: The Shrek balloon hovers over onlookers during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest.




NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 26: A clown paints the faces of children in the crowd during the 83rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the Streets of Manhattan on November 26, 2009 in New York City. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States and traditionally it is a time to give thanks for the harvest


credit photo: Gettyimages