Friday, February 27, 2009

Jack Vettriano Model in White

Jack Vettriano Model in WhiteJack Vettriano Mirror MirrorJack Vettriano Mad Dogs detailJack Vettriano Fetish
: we had to take the test. And in case Nic and I were at risk of spawning a tribe of phlegmy, afflicted runts, I recruited six of my male colleagues to get tested too. If my boyfriend turned out not to be my perfect match, maybe one from my six colleagues. Both companies extract DNA from swabs of cheek cells, then analyse three key MHC or HLA genes. Since we inherit a copy of each gene from each of our parents, six gene variants, or , which found that certain combinations of alleles crop up more frequently than others in successful partnerships.
Two weeks later the results are in. I'm relieved that both companies of them would be.In the interests of I decided to come off the contraceptive pill during the experiment, since that recent paper agrees with what earlier studies have suggested - that it alters your preference for odours.I asked both ScientificMatch and GenePartner to compare DNA from myself and Nic. GenePartner also compared my sample with those alleles, are analysed, of which there are hundreds of common types. Both companies believe that more dissimilarities predict greater compatibility; GenePartner also factors in the results of its own unpublished study of 420 couples

Jack Vettriano Cocktails and broken hearts

Jack Vettriano Cocktails and broken heartsJack Vettriano baby bye byeJack Vettriano AngelJack Vettriano Amateur Philosophers
Adults Study (CARDIA), which is being carried out at four cities nationally.
This report focused on nearly 500 patients at the Chicago CARDIA site.
Participants were black and white men and women aged 35-47 years, measured initially in 2000-2001 and followed up in 2005-2006.
Sleep was Disease
The authors do not know why sleep seems to be associated with less calcification; however, they propose three possible explanations.
First, there may be unknown factors common to both sleep and heart disease -- factors the researchers did not know to measure.
Second, inflammation elsewhere in the body increases the risk of calcification, and this effect measured by a wrist band recording wrist movement on an initial Wednesday through Saturday night period.This wrist recorder is a very good measurement of time spent asleep -- nearly as good as sleep measured in a However, the wrist band is less disruptive to normal sleep than sleeping in a sleep lab, because there is no "first-night" effect -- the disruption of the normal sleep structure of a subject that is often seen with more intrusive testing.The amount of calcium in the coronary arteries was measured by CT scanning of the heart. Linking Zzz's and Heart can be influenced by the body's natural anti-inflammatory

Thursday, February 26, 2009

George Inness Peace and Plenty

George Inness Peace and PlentyGeorge Inness Delaware Water GapLorenzo Lotto NativityLorenzo Lotto Madonna and Child with Saints
, "This is very undignified."
"Shuddup," Said Hrun. He was using Kring to lever the top off the altar. He looked up at Rincewind and grinned. Rincewind hoped that rictus-strung grimace was a grin.
"Mighty magic," commented the barbarian, pushing down heavily on the complaining blade with a hand the size of a ham. "-three sides. He looked up at the ceiling Should it be sagging like that? Hrun hummed a little tune as he began to pull crumbling leather from the desecrated altar.
The air crackled, fluoresced, hummed. Intangible winds gripped the wizard's robe, flapping it out in eddies of blue and green sparks. Around Rincewind's head mad, half-formed spirits howled and gibbered as they were sucked past.
He tried raising a hand. It was immediately surrounded by a glowing octarine corona as the rising magical wind roared past. The gale raced through the room without stirring Now we share the treasure eh?"Rincewind grunted as something small and hard struck his ear. There was a gust of wind, hardly felt."How do you know there's treasure in there?" he said.Hrun heaved, and managed to hook his fingers under the stone. "You find chokeapples under a chokeapple tree," he said. "You find treasure under altars. Logic."He gritted his teeth. The stone swung up and landed heavily on the floor.This time something struck Rincewind's hand heavily. He clawed at the air and looked at the thing he had caught. It was a piece of stone with five-plus

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Frida Kahlo Memory

Frida Kahlo MemoryFrida Kahlo Me and My ParrotsFrida Kahlo Me and My DollFrida Kahlo Luther Burbank
might be floating down the Ankh, how are you going to tell all your friends what a great time you're having? Let's face it, you’ve got to move with the times."
Zlorf and Ymor met each other's gaze.
"We have, have we?" said Ymor.
"Then let through the crowded, flare-lit evening bazaars of Morpork. With the luggage trundling behind him, jostled a tall dark figure, turned to deliver a few suitable curses, and beheld Death.
It had to be Death. No-one else went around with empty eye sockets and, of course, the us move, brother," agreed Zlorf. In one movement he brought his blowgun to his mouth and sent a dart hissing towards the nearest troll. It spun around, hurling its axe, which whirred over the assassin's head and buried itself in a luckless thief behind him.Rerpf ducked, allowing a troll behind him to raise its huge iron crossbow and fire a spear-length quarrel into the nearest assassin. That was the start... It has been remarked before that those who are sensitive to radiations in the far octarine - the eighth colour, the pigment of the imagination- can see things that others cannot.Thus it was that Rincewind, hurrying

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Claude Monet Haystack at Giverny

Claude Monet Haystack at Giverny Claude Monet Cliffs near Dieppe 2Claude Monet ZaandamClaude Monet Woman Seated under the Willows
He shifted his grip on his sword and, as the leading rider drew near, stepped out onto the road with a hand held up and his face set in a grin nicely calculated to reassure yet threaten.
"Your pardon, sir-" he began.
The -loving fleabag partner too, wherever he's hiding."
The Weasel stepped up to the horse and peered at the dishevelled figure.
"Why, it's Rincewind the wizard, isn't it?" he said in tones of delight, meanwhile filing the wizard's description of him in his memory for leisurely vengeance. "I thought I recognized the voice."
Bravd spat and sheathed his sword. It was seldom worth tangling with wizards, they so rarely had any treasure worth speaking of.
"He talks pretty big for a gutter wizard," he muttered.rider reined in his horse and drew back his hood. The big man looked into a face blotched with superficial burns and punctuated by tufts of singed beard. Even the eyebrows had gone."Bugger off," said the face. "You're Bravd the Hublander, aren't you?"Bravd became aware that he had fumbled the initiative."Just go away, will you?" said the rider. "I just haven't got time for you, do you understand?" He looked around and added: "That goes for your shadow

Monday, February 23, 2009

Andy Warhol Neuschwanstein

Andy Warhol NeuschwansteinAndy Warhol Knives black and whiteAndy Warhol GunsAndy Warhol Gun 1982
went, faster and faster, so that she thought no rocket could have left the earth more swiftly. She lay holding on to Roger on the floor of the basket, pressed down by the acceleration.
Lee Scoresby was cheering and laughing and uttering wild Texan yells of delight; lorek Byrnison was calmly unfasteningwere keeping them company into the upper airs.
Little by little Lyra recovered her breath, her balance, and her heartbeat. She sat up and looked around.
The basket was much bigger than she'd thought. Ranged around the edges were racks of philosophical instruments, and there were piles of furs, and bottled air, and a variety of other things too small or confusing to make out in the thick mist they were ascending through. "Is this a cloud?" she said.
"Sure is. Wrap your friend in some furs before he turns into an icicle. It's cold his armor, hooking a deft claw into all the linkages and undoing them with a twist before packing the separate pieces in a pile. Somewhere outside, the flap and swish of air through cloud-pine needles and witch garments told that the witches

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Salvador Dali Melting Watch

Salvador Dali Melting WatchSalvador Dali Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a PomegranateSalvador Dali BacchanaleSalvador Dali Ascension
office. Hey, I bet they're going to pretend the fire drill went off all right. I bet they're scared of her, same as we are...."
For the see if we're asleep?"
"They just look in once," said Bella. "They just flash a lantern round, they don't really look."
"Good. 'Cause I'm going to go and look round. There's a way through the ceiling that this boy showed me...."
She explained, and before she'd even finished, Annie said, "I'll rest of the day, Lyra stayed close to the other girls, watching, saying little, remaining inconspicuous. There was exercise, there was sewing, there was supper, there was playtime in the lounge: a big a few tattered books and a table-tennis table. At some point Lyra and the others became aware that there was some kind of subdued emergency going on, because the adults were hurrying to and fro or standing in anxious groups talking urgently. Lyra guessed they'd discovered the daemons' escape, and were wondering how it had happened.But she didn't see Mrs. Coulter, which was a relief. When it was time for bed, she knew she had to let the other girls into her confidence."Listen," she said, "do they ever come round and

Friday, February 20, 2009

Vincent van Gogh Road with Cypresses

Vincent van Gogh Road with CypressesVincent van Gogh Peach Tree in BlossomVincent van Gogh Orchard in BlossomVincent van Gogh Olive grove I
They usually bring more'n one kid at a time...."
"What do they do?" Lyra managed to ask, gathering her doped wits as Pantalaimon stirred into wakefulness with her.
"We dunno," said the girl who was doing most of the talking. She was a tall, red-haired girl with quick twitchy movements and a strong London accent. "They sort of measure us and do these tests and that-"
"They measure thirty, I reckon."
"More'n that," said the plump girl. "More like forty."
"Except they keep taking us away," said the redhead. "They usually start off with bringing a whole bunch here, and then there's a lot of us, and one by one they all disappear."
"They're Gobblers," said the plump girl. "You know Gobblers. We was all scared of 'em till Dust," said another girl, friendly and plump and dark-haired."You don't know," said the first girl."They do," said the third, a subdued-looking child cuddling her rabbit daemon. "I heard 'em talking.""Then they take us away one by one and that's all we know. No one comes back," said the redhead."There's this boy, right," said the plump girl, "he reckons-""Don't tell her that!" said the redhead. "Not yet.""Is there boys here as well?" said Lyra."Yeah. There's lots of us. There's about we was caught...."

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Guido Reni Joseph and Potiphars' Wife

Guido Reni Joseph and Potiphars' WifeFrancois Boucher Shepherd and Shepherdess ReposingFrancois Boucher Brown Odalisk
aeronaut!" she exclaimed. "Where's your balloon? Can I go up in it?"
"It's packed away right now, miss. You must be the famous Lyra. How did you get on with lorek Byrnison?"
"You know himfrom nowhere in his hand. He riffled them with a snapping noise.
"Now I've heard of the card power of your people," Lee Scoresby was saying, cutting and folding the cards over and over with one hand cigar out of his breast pocket with the other, "and I thought you wouldn't object to giving a simple Texan traveler the chance to joust with your skill and daring on the field of pasteboard combat. What do you say, gentlemen?"
Gyptians prided themselves on their ability with cards, and several of the men looked ?""I fought beside him in the Tunguska campaign. Hell, I've known lorek for years. Bears are difficult critters no matter what, but he's a problem, and no mistake. Say, are any of you gentlemen in the mood for ahazard?"A pack of cards had appeared

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

George Bellows Polo Crowd

George Bellows Polo CrowdGeorge Bellows Gull Rock and WhiteheadGeorge Bellows Fog Rainbow
surprising strength, they had it captured and the lid screwed down tight.
"As soon's we get about the ship I'll run some solder round the edge to make sure of it," Farder Coram said.
"But don't a flannel cloth to stifle the incessant buzzing and droning, and stowed it away under his bunk.
It was dark now, and Lyra watched through the window as the lights of Colby came closer. The heavy air was thickening into mist, and by the time they tied up at the wharves alongside the Smokemarket everything in sight was softened and blurred. The darkness shaded into pearly silver-gray veils laid over the warehouses and the cranes, the wooden market stalls and the granite many-chimneyed building the market was named afterclockwork run down?""Ordinary clockwork, yes. But like I said, this un's kept tight wound by the spirit pinned to the end. The more he struggles, the tighter it's wound, and the stronger the force is. Now let's put this feller out the way...."He wrapped the tin in

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Unknown Artist Still Life with Fruit and Shellfish

Unknown Artist Still Life with Fruit and ShellfishUnknown Artist heda Still Life with a Gilt GobletUnknown Artist heda Breakfast Still Life with Blackberry PieUnknown Artist heda Breakfast of CrabUnknown Artist Abraham Mignon Still Life
don't know, and there she was, as powerful in her way as Lord Asriel was in his. Your parents, both strong in the world, both ambitious, and the Master of Jordan holding you in the balance between them.
"Now the loved you like their own child. They'd do anything to keep you safe, not just because they'd promised to Lord Asriel that they would, but for your own sake. So if the Master gave you up to Mrs. Coulter when he'd promised Lord Asriel he wouldn't, he must have thought you'd be safer with her than in spite of all appearances. And when he set out to poison Lord Asriel, he must have thought that what Lord Asriel was a doing would place all of them in danger, and maybe all of us, too; maybe all the world. I see the Master as a man having terrible Master's got a hundred things to look after. His first concern is his College and the scholarship there. So if he sees a threat to that, he has to move agin it. And the Church in recent times, Lyra, it's been a getting more commanding. There's councils for this and councils for that; there's talk of reviving the Office of Inquisition, God forbid. And the Master has to tread warily between all these powers. He has to keep Jordan c on the . Bernie Johansen was always clear about that. The Master of Jordan and the other Scholars, they

Monday, February 16, 2009

Vincent van Gogh Girl in White

Vincent van Gogh Girl in WhiteVincent van Gogh Four Cut SunflowersVincent van Gogh Fishing Boats on the Beach
interest rates.
This strategyMultiply that by 300 million, and you have a nation that has rediscovered that you can't spend what you don't earn. Houses are no longer ATMs, and credit cards no longer come with each day's mail.
That sudden realization, of course, is what's causing the economy to swoon. But this reckoning was inevitable, so it's best to get on with it. Let's hope these lessons last for decades. requires some patience. Just as real-estate prices don't fall as precipitously as the stock market, they don't rise as rapidly, either. You may have to wait a decade to reap the full benefits.3 Americans will learn to live within their means.Around our house, the crisis is already having a salutary effect. Our teenagers suddenly seem to understand that unlimited dinners out with friends aren't a birthright, and that blue jeans don't have to carry triple-digit price tags.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Eduard Manet Bouquet Of Violets

Eduard Manet Bouquet Of VioletsEduard Manet SpringEdward Hopper Carolina Morning
Lyra heard a confused babble break out: cries of horror, loud protests, voices raised in anger and fear.
"But what-"
"-hardly human-"
"-it's scalping pattern. I think you might be familiar with it, Sub-Rector."
The old man's voice was steady as he said, "I have seen the Tartars do this. It's a technique you find among the aboriginals of Siberia and the Tungusk. From there, of course, it spread into the lands of the Skraelings, though I understand that it is now banned in New Denmark. May I examine it more closely, Lord Asriel?"been-""-what's happened to it?"The Master's voice cut through them all."Lord Asriel, what in God's name have you got there?""This is the head of Stanislaus Grumman," said Lord Asriel's voice.Over the jumble of voices Lyra heard someone stumble to the door and out, making incoherent sounds of distress. She wished she could see what they were seeing.Lord Asriel said, "I found his body preserved in the ice off Svalbard. The head was treated in this way by his killers. You'll notice the characteristic

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Red Hat

Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Red HatDiane Romanello WindsongDiego Rivera The Flower Seller
On, said the alethiometer. Farther, higher.
So on they climbed. The witches flew above to spy out the best routes, because the hilly land soon gave way to steeper slopes and rocky footing, and as the sun rose toward noon, the travelers found themselves in a tangled land of dry gullies, cliffs, and boulder-strewn valleys where not a single green leaf grew, and where the the glare, ignoring the worsening pain from his hand, and finally reaching a state in which movement alone was good and stillness bad, so that he suffered more from resting than from toiling on. And since the failure of the witches' spell to stop his bleeding, he thought they were regarding him with fear, too, as if he was marked by some curse greater than their own powers.
At one point they came to a little lake, a patch of intense stridulation of insects was the only sound.They moved on, stopping only for sips of water from their goatskin flasks, and talking little. Pantalaimon flew above Lyra's head for a while until he tired of that, and then he became a little sure-footed mountain sheep, vain of his horns, leaping among rocks while Lyra scrambled laboriously alongside. Will moved on grimly, screwing up his eyes against

Paul Klee Fire in the Evening

Paul Klee Fire in the EveningPaul Klee FarbtafelClaude Monet Haystack at Giverny
When Will next became aware of things, it was completely dark, and his hand was hurting more than ever. He sat up carefully and saw a fire burning not far away, where Lyra was trying to toast some bread on a forked stick. There were a couple of birds roasting on a spit as well, and as Will came to sit nearby, Serafina Pekkala flew down.. They were astringent, but he felt more awake and less cold, and the better for it.
They ate the roasted birds, seasoning them with lemon juice, and then another witch brought some blueberries she'd found below the scree, and then the witches gathered around the fire. They talked quietly; some of them had flown high up to spy, and one had seen a balloon over the sea. Lyra sat up at once.
"Mr. Scoresby's balloon?" she said."Will," she said, "eat these leaves before you have any other food."She gave him a handful of soft bitter-tasting leaves somewhat like sage, and he chewed them silently and forced them down

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

William Bouguereau the first kiss

William Bouguereau the first kissClaude Monet Water Lily PondEdgar Degas dance class
Because he could hear voices in the hall. The two of them were close enough to touch, Will in his world, she in Cittagazze, and seeing his trailing bandage, Lyra tapped him on the arm and mimed tying it up again. He held out his hand for her to do it, crouching meanwhile with his head cocked sideways, listening hard.
A light ," he said, sipping. "Now, suppose you tell me what you want."
"I want to know where you got the alethiometer."
"Why?"
"Because Lyra had it, and I want to find her."
"I can't imagine why you would. She is a repellent brat."came on in the room. He heard Sir Charles speaking to the servant, dismissing him, coming into the study, closing the door."May I offer you a glass of Tokay?" he said.A woman's voice, low and sweet, replied, "How kind of you, Carlo. I haven't tasted Tokay for many years.""Have the chair by the fireplace."There was the faint glug of wine being poured, a tinkle of decanter on glass rim, a murmur of thanks, and then Sir Charles seated himself on the sofa, inches away from Will."Your good

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thomas Kinkade End of a Perfect Day

Thomas Kinkade End of a Perfect DayThomas Kinkade Beacon of hopeThomas Kinkade The Sea Of Tranquility
closed the door. It was solid oak, with two heavy locks, and bolts top and bottom, though Will thought that no sensible burglar would try the front door anyway. And there was a burglar alarm prominently fixed to the front of the house, and a large spotlight at each corner; they'd never be able to get near it, let alone break in.
Steady footsteps an unusual name. I know a child called Lizzie. And who are you?"
Cursing himself for forgetting, Will said, "I'm her brother. Mark."
"I see. Hello, Lizzie, or Lyra. You'd better come in."
He stood aside. Neither Will nor Lyra was quite expecting this, and they stepped inside uncertainly. The hall was dim and smelled of beeswax and flowers. Every came to the door, and then it opened again.Will looked up at the face of this man who had so much that he wanted even more, and found him disconcertingly smooth and calm and powerful, not in the least guilty or ashamed.Sensing Lyra beside him impatient and angry, Will said quickly, "Excuse me, but Lyra thinks that when she had a lift in your car earlier on, she left something in it by mistake.""Lyra? I don't know a Lyra. What

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Leroy Neiman Hawaiian Sailing

Leroy Neiman Hawaiian SailingLeroy Neiman Harbor at MonacoLeroy Neiman Hall of Famer
This time she asked where she could find a Scholar who knew about Dust. The answer she got was simple: it directed her to a certain room in the tall square building behind her. In fact, the answer was so straightforward, and came so abruptly, that Lyra was sure the alethiometer had more to say: she was beginning to sense now that it. The needle twitched again, and she read: Do not lie to the Scholar.
She folded the velvet around the alethiometer and thrust it into the rucksack out of sight. Then she stood and looked around for the building where her Scholar would be found, and set off toward it, feeling awkward and defiant.
had moods, like a person, and to know when it wanted to tell her more.And it did now. What it said was: You must concern yourself with the boy. Your task is to help him find his father. Put your mind to that.She blinked. She was genuinely startled. Will had appeared out of nowhere in order to help her; surely that was obvious. The idea that she had come all this way in order to help him took her breath away.But the alethiometer still hadn't finished

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Leroy Neiman The Home Hole at Shinnecock

Leroy Neiman The Home Hole at ShinnecockLeroy Neiman The Green TableLeroy Neiman The Great Secretariat
They're trousers," she said. "I'm a girl. Don't be stupid."
He shrugged; the tartan skirt looked unremarkable, which was the main thing. Before they left, Will dropped some coins in the till behind the counter.
"What you doing?" she said.
"Paying. You have to pay for things. Don't they pay for things in your world?"
"They don't in this one! I bet those other kids en't paying for a thing."
"They might not, loose from the walls. It looked as if rather than knock a building down and build a new one, the citizens of Ci'gazze preferred to patch it up indefinitely.
At one point they came to a tower standing on its own in a little square. It was the oldest building they'd seen: a simple battlemented tower four stories high. Something about its stillness but I do.""If you start behaving like a grownup, the Specters'll get you," she said, but she didn't know whether she could tease him yet or whether she should be afraid of him.In the daylight, Will could see how ancient the buildings in the heart of the city were, and how near to ruin some of them had come. Holes in the road had not been repaired; windows were broken; plaster was peeling. And yet there had once been a beauty and grandeur about this place. Through carved archways they could see spacious courtyards filled with greenery, and there were great buildings that looked like palaces, for all that the steps were cracked and the doorframes

Monday, February 2, 2009

Paul Gauguin The Siesta

Paul Gauguin The SiestaPaul Gauguin Tahitian VillagePaul Gauguin Still Life with Oranges
leaping through the branches so far from her, but they had to be careful not to do it when anyone was looking; their painfully acquired witch power of separating had to stay a secret. Once she would have reveled in showing it off to all her urchin friends, and making them goggle with fear, but Will had taught her the value of silence and discretion.
She sat on the bench and.
"Yes," she said. "It's only to meet this headmistress, anyway. It's not to go to the school."
"But we will go, won't we?"
"Yes," she said, "probably." waited for Pan to come to her. He liked to surprise her, but she usually managed to see him before he reached her, and there was his shadowy form, flowing along beside the riverbank. She looked the other way and pretended she hadn't seen him, and then seized him suddenly when he leapt onto the bench."I nearly did it," he said."You'll have to get better than that. I heard you coming all the way from the gate."He sat on the back of the bench with his forepaws resting on her shoulder."What are we going to tell her?" he said

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Thomas Kinkade Seaside Village

Thomas Kinkade Seaside VillageThomas Kinkade Bridge of HopeEdward Hopper Summertime
Mass regularly, I'd thought I had a vocation for the spiritual life. I wanted to serve God with all my heart. I wanted to take my whole it up like this," she said, holding up her hands together, "and place it in front of Jesus to do as he liked with. And I suppose I was pleased with myself. Too much. I was holy and I was clever. Ha! That lasted until, oh, half past nine on the evening of August the tenth, seven years ago."
Lyra sat up and hugged her knees, listening closely.
"It was the pride, too, no doubt.
"Anyway, some of my colleagues were going to a restaurant a little way down the coast, and they asked if I'd like to go. Normally I'd have made some excuse, but this time I thought, Well, I'm a grown woman, I've presented a paper on an important subject and it was well received and I'm among good friends... And it was so warm, and the talk was about all the evening after I'd given my paper," Mary went on, "and it had gone well, and there'd been some well-known people listening, and I'd dealt with the questions without making a mess of it, and altogether I was full of relief and pleasure... And