Jack Vettriano Just Another Day

Jack Vettriano Just Another DayJack Vettriano her Secret lifeJack Vettriano Dancer for MoneyJack Vettriano Cafe Days
Remember the cool girls, huddled together in high school restrooms, puffing their cigarettes? Well, here’s consolation for the nerds in the crowd: Those teen smokers are more likely to experience obesity as adults, according to a new study from Finland. (Credit: iStockphoto/Mitar Gavric)American Journal of Public health.
But smoking in adolescence did not necessarily predict weight problems for men, according to the study.
Scientists know a correlation exists between women’s weight and smoking, said lead study author Suoma Saarni, a researcher with the Department of Public health in Helsinki.
However, she added, “We do not know why smoking did not affect men’s weight, as we do not know why smoking affected women’s weight.”
Remember the cool girls, huddled together in high school restrooms, puffing their cigarettes? Well, here’s consolation for the nerds in the crowd: Those teen smokers are more likely to experience obesity as adults, according to a new study from Finland.
Girls who smoke 10 cigarettes per day or more are at greatest risk, particularly for abdominal obesity. Their waist sizes are 1.34 inches larger than nonsmokers’ waists are as young adults, according

Francois Boucher The Interrupted Sleep

Francois Boucher The Interrupted SleepFrancois Boucher Portrait of Marquise de PompadourFrancois Boucher Diana Resting after her BathJohannes Vermeer The Love letter
you pay me some money based on those odds-"
"-and the bit-" Rincewind said, waggling a finger solemnly.
"Then, if the cargo is lost, I reimburse you."
"Reeburs?"
"Pay you the value of your cargo," said Twoflower patiently.
"Oh I get it. It's like a bet, right?"
"A "What?"
"That funny word you used," said Rincewind impatiently.
"Reflected-sound-of-underground-spirits?
"Never heard of it."
Twoflower tried to explain.
Rincewind tried to understand.wager? In a way, I suppose.""And you make money at this inn-sewer-ants?""It offers a ."Wrapped in the warm yellow glow of the wine, Rincewind tried to think of inn-sewer-ants in circle sea terms."I don't think I unnerstan' this inn-sewer-ants," he said firmly, idly watching the world spin by,"Magic now. Magic I unnerstan'."Twoflower grinned. "Magic is one thing, and reflected-sound-of-underground-spirits is another, he said.""Whah?"

William Blake Nebuchadnezzar

William Blake NebuchadnezzarWilliam Blake Jacob's LadderVincent van Gogh The Olive TreesVincent van Gogh Fishing in Spring
Find ways to excel and to improve yourself. There are numerous self help resources around you such as books, magazines, websites and so on. Make 2009 the year that you evolve, grow and fulfil your potential.
Most importantly remember at all times to be kind and gentle with yourself in 2008. Have patience and let your life unfoldyou to inspire you in 2009 - and for the rest of your life:-
“Remember that your life counts – and make it count. You are unique. There is no one like you on this planet. Never has been and never will be.
Do not sell your self short. Do not sell the world short. This is your life – love it, live it. One life, one chance – grab it. like a budding flower. Laugh a lot – after all life is meant to be fun. Develop a sense of humour and do not take life so seriously.It is never too late or too early to have a great year. Start 2009 the way you want to carry on during the rest of the year.I wish you all a fabulous New Year. Make 2009 your best year ever. Get the life you love and live it – you know you deserve it.Here are my final words for

Andy Warhol Knives black and white

Andy Warhol Knives black and whiteAndy Warhol GunsAndy Warhol Gun 1982Andy Warhol Dollar Sign 1981
sound would escape.
But Pantalaimon, in answer, had twisted free of those hateful hands-he was a lion, an eagle; he tore at them with vicious talons, great wings beat wildly, and then he was a wolf, a bear, a polecat-darting, snarling, slashing, a succession of transformations too quick to register, and all the time leaping, flying, dodging from one spot to than ever, until the man holding her gasped and let go for a moment-and she was free, and Pantalaimon sprang toward her like a spark of lightning, and she clutched him to her fierce breast, and he dug his wildcat claws into her flesh, and every stab of pain was dear to her.another as their clumsy hands flailed and snatched at the empty air.But they had daemons too, of course. It wasn't two against three, it was two against six. A badger, an owl, and a baboon were all just as intent to pin Pantalaimon down, and Lyra was crying to them: "Why? Why are you doing this? Help us! You shouldn't be helping them!"And she kicked and bit more passionately

Rodney White Small Change

Rodney White Small ChangeRodney White Share a Random MomentUnknown Artist Woodland Walk
thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.
"I hope that somehow these children grow up into responsible parents but the truth is parenthood is just not something they should be thinking about right now."Secret
PM Gordon after the hospital birth. He tenderly kisses the baby and gives her a bottle.
And Dennis, 45, said: He could have shrugged his shoulders and sat at on his Playstation. But he has been at the hospital every day.
Maisie was conceived after Chantelle and Alfie — just 12 at the Brown refused to comment directly on the story but said it was important that the Government did all it could to prevent teenage pregnancies.Alfie’s dad Dennis yesterday told how the lad does not really understand the enormity of his situation — but seemed desperate to be a devoted and responsible father.He wanted to be the first to hold Maisie

Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida Child's Siesta

Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida Child's SiestaJoaquin Sorolla y Bastida Before BathingJoaquin Sorolla y Bastida Beaching the Boat
used by Serafina Pekkala, and the others have not. Could you tell which is hers?"
"Yeah!" said Lyra, always ready to show off, and she took the alethiometer and hurried out. She was eager to see cloud-pine, because the witches used it for flying, and she'd never seen any before.
The two men Dr. Lanselius nodded.
Lyra, intrigued and eager to fly, held it above her head and jumped, and ran about in the snow trying to be a witch. The consul turned to Farder Coram and said: "Do you realize who this child is?"
"She's the daughter of Lord Asriel," said Farder Coram.
"And her mother is Mrs. Coulter, of the Oblation Board."stood by the window and watched as she kicked her way through the snow, Pantalaimon bouncing beside her as a hare, to stand in front of the wooden shed, head down, manipulating the alethiometer. After a few seconds she reached forward and unhesitatingly picked out one of the many sprays of pine and held it up.

Camille Pissarro Morning Sunlight on the Snow

Camille Pissarro Morning Sunlight on the SnowCamille Pissarro Boulevard MontmarteClaude Lorrain The Rest on the Flight into Egypt
secure what we really want. Sadly, we live in a collective mindset which teaches that the prettiest and the wealthiest are the most successful. Some self-help frauds even teach this message. If you’re rich or pretty, you’re happy. Ifbut we all need connection, acceptance and understanding. Nobody needs to be famous but we all need peace, calm, balance and Happiness. The problem is, we live in a culture which teaches that one equals the other. If only we lived in a culture which taught that you’re both, you’re very happy. Pretty isn’t what we really want; it’s what we believe pretty will bring us. Same goes with money. When we cut through the hype, the jargon and the self-help mumbo jumbo, we all have the same basic goals, desires and needs: joy, fulfilment, Happiness, safety, peace, recognition, love, acceptance, respect, connection.What We Don’t NeedNobody needs a mansion or a sport’s car but we all need love. Nobody needs massive pecs, six percent body-fat, a face lift or bigger breasts

Thomas Kinkade Beacon of hope

Thomas Kinkade Beacon of hopeThomas Kinkade The Sea Of TranquilityThomas Kinkade The Beginning of a Perfect Day
grandeur and sumptu-ousness of their boat. They were princes among gyptians, and Lyra admired Ma Costa greatly, but she intended to be wary of her for some time yet, for theirs was the boat she had hijacked.
One of Lyra's holding your bloody horses for you!"
"Well, he should've stayed there, shouldn't he? Runs off in the middle of a job-"
He got no further, because Ma Costa suddenly dealt him a mighty blow on the side of the head, and followed it up with such a volley of curses and slaps that he yelled brat companions picked up a stone automatically when he heard the commotion, but Lyra said, "Put it down. She's in a temper. She could snap your backbone like a twig."In fact, Ma Costa looked more anxious than angry. The man she was addressing, a horse trader, was shrugging and spreading his hands."Well, I dunno," he was saying. "He was here one minute and gone the next. I never saw where he went....""He was helping you! He was

Arthur Hughes April Love

Arthur Hughes April LoveAlbert Bierstadt The Buffalo TrailAlbert Bierstadt The Shore of the Turquoise Sea
said nothing. His head was ringing; this was no less difficult to understand than anything else.
"All right," he said finally. "I'll come with you. But first I must wake Lyra."
They overhang where she'd been lying. It was Lyra's little canvas rucksack, and from the weight of it he knew without looking that the alethiometer was still inside it.
Will was shaking his head. It couldn't be true, but it was: Lyra was gone,stood aside to let him pass, and he felt a tingle in the air as he went close to them, but he ignored it and concentrated on getting down the slope toward the little shelter where Lyra was sleeping.But something made him stop.In the dimness, he could see the witches who had been guarding Lyra all sitting or standing still. They looked like statues, except that they were breathing, but they were scarcely alive. There were several black-silk-clad bodies on the ground, too, and as he gazed in horror from one to another of them, Will saw what must have happened: they had been attacked in midair by the Specters, and had fallen to their deaths, indifferently.But—"Where's Lyra?" he cried aloud.The hollow under the rock was empty. Lyra was gone.There was something under the

Henri Matisse Still Life with Oranges

Henri Matisse Still Life with OrangesHenri Matisse Open Window CollioureHenri Matisse Blue Nude
Internet scams are by no means a recent phenomenon, but certain scams come back again and again. Here are five popular Internet scams that you should be on the lookout for.
1. Auction fraud. misrepresent a fake item as real, then what is the big deal of throwing in an authentic looking certificate?” Another scam is the “shill” scam: A seller wanting to drive up the price on his auction may bid himself or have his friends bid, just to make you pay more. If you notice a repeat bidder on a seller’s auction history, something’s probably up. One more tip: Never wire money directly
Sure I love cheap stuff on eBay as much as the next guy, but that ’73 Collectors Edition Elvis Plate you’re bidding on might not be that great of a deal. Fake and stolen merchandise aren’t uncommon; even a Certificate of Authenticity doesn’t necessarily mean anything. As ebay Scam Watch puts it, “If a seller is willing to

Mary Cassatt Tea

Mary Cassatt TeaTitian Sacred and Profane Love [detail]Titian Bacchus and Ariadne
built-in aversion to attractive members of the opposite sex may help cement monogamous relationshipsIf your loved one claims to “only have eyes for you” this Valentine’s Day, it might be truer than you think. Research shows that people in a with a square or circle, which participants had to identify by pushing the correct button. Earlier research using this method has found that it takes longer for viewers to
Maner, however, took subjects who were married or living together monoga­mously and asked half of them to write about feelings of love for their partner and the other half to write about a happy experience. Those who wrote about love actually turned their attention away from attractive members of the opposite
committed relationship who have been thinking about their partner actually avert their eyes from attractive members of the opposite sex without even being aware they are doing it.Psychologist Jon Maner of Florida State University and his colleagues flashed pictures of faces on a computer screen for half a second, following it immediately

Mark Rothko White over Red

Mark Rothko White over RedPaul Klee Red BridgePaul Klee Red And White Domes
you want to keep your sanity, look away now. Neuroscientists are almost convinced that free will is an illusion. Their experiments show that our brains allow us to think we are controlling our bodies, but ourThe economic downsizing of the United States presents a good opportunity to address the downsizing of the average American, say doctors in an editorial published today in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. They argue that the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, now being debated in the Senate, should include in infrastructure to decrease obesity.
The idea is that improvements in public health would decrease obesity-related health and economic costs (estimated at $100 billion per year) and would movements begin before we make a conscious decision to move. Some researchers have already been approached to testify in court that the defendant is not to blame for anything they did. A scary legal future awaits.
• Michael Brooks is a consultant for New Scientist and the author of 13 Things That Don't Make Sense, published by Profile on Thursday

Leroy Neiman Kilimanjaro Bulls

Leroy Neiman Kilimanjaro BullsLeroy Neiman KhemosabiLeroy Neiman Kentucky Wildcats
queen. She was wiser by far than any short-lived human, but she had not the slightest idea of how like a child she seemed surged forward, and she darted with them, surfing on the turbulence their pinions caused in the air and relishing the speed and power it added to her flight.
They flew throughout the night. The stars wheeled around them, and faded and vanished as the dawn seeped up from the east. The world burst into brilliance as the sun's rim appeared, and then they were flying through blue sky and clear air, fresh and sweet and moist.
In the daylight the angels were less visible, though to any eye their strangeness beside these ancient beings. Nor did she know how far their awareness spread out beyond her like filamentary tentacles to the remotest corners of universes she had never dreamed of; nor that she saw them as human-formed only because her eyes expected to. If she were to perceive their true form, they would seem more like architecture than organism, like huge structures composed of intelligence and feeling.But they expected nothing else: she was very young.At once they beat their wings and

Leroy Neiman Swiss Race

Leroy Neiman Swiss RaceLeroy Neiman Sweet ServeLeroy Neiman Surfer
You hurt?" Will said.
"Banged me leg. And when I fell down, it shook me head," she said.
But she was more concerned about what was in the rucksack. She felt inside it, brought out a heavy little bundle wrapped in black velvet, and unfolded it. Will's eyes widened to see the alethiometer; the tiny symbols painted ones. I wasn't used to it. But I'm all right now."
"Well, be careful from now on. If you go and walk under a bus or get lost or something, they'll realize you're not from this world and start looking for the way through…"
He was far more angry than he needed to be. Finally he said, "All right, look. If you pretend you're my sister, that'll be a disguise for me, because the person they're around the face, the golden hands, the questing needle, the heavy richness of the case took his breath away."What's that?" he said."It's my alethiometer. It's a truth teller. A symbol reader. I hope it en't broken…"But it was unharmed. Even in her trembling hands the long needle swung steadily. She put it away and said, "I never seen so many carts and things. I never guessed they was going so fast.""They don't have cars and vans in your Oxford?""Not so many. Not like these

Edward Hopper People In The Sun

Edward Hopper People In The SunEdgar Degas The RehearsalEdgar Degas The Bellelli Family
the Yellowstone supervolcano — that's right, Yellowstone National Park sits atop a massive magma chamber — will probably take out most of the people living between the Rockies and the Appalachians next time it erupts, which could literally be tomorrow.
But neither of huge amounts of deadly gas, smoke and soot into the atmosphere. These events went on for tens of thousands of years.
The Deccan Traps eruptions took place just before the dinosaurs disappeared and formed much of the landmass of the Indian subcontinent. The Siberian lava flows happened 251 million years ago and are the likely cause those would end life on Earth. For that, it would take something along the lines of the long-ago prolonged eruptions that created India's Deccan Traps and the Siberian Traps in Russia.In both instances, giant fissures in the ground simply opened up, oozing lava that spread in every direction for hundreds of miles, releasing

Johannes Vermeer Mistress and Maid

Johannes Vermeer Mistress and MaidUnknown Artist Vanitas Still LifeJohn Constable Wivenhoe Park
Kirjava was a cat again. But she was a cat of no ordinary size, and her fur was lustrous and rich, with a thousand different glints and shades of ink black, shadow gray, the blue of a deep lake under a noon skyfirst."
"You didn't! You fought me!"
"Well," she said, "yes. But you attacked me."
"I did not! You came charging out and attacked me."
"Yes, but I soon away. I don't want a memory, just a memory... "
"No," he said, "memory's a poor thing to have. It's your own real hair and mouth and arms and eyes and hands I want. I didn't know I could ever love anything so much. Oh, Lyra, I wish this night would never endsay, I'll always he thinking about it. And if I do end up doing that, I'll be resentful because it'll feel as if I didn't have a choice, and if I don't do it, I'll feel guilty because I should. Whatever I do, I will choose it, no one else."
"Then you have already taken the first steps toward wisdom," said Xaphania.
"There's a light out