4:46 AM
gorgeousgirl
The World’s Wackiest Foreign Homes and Hotels
We thought we’d start the week of with a spot of light-hearted Monday morning humour. They say an Englishman’s home is his castle but in the rest of the world it seems…. Anything goes!
Check out some of the fruitcake houses I found people call home.
9:46 AM
gorgeousgirl
Kisses Can Seal a Couple's Fate
First kiss ... Katie Holmes thought Tom Cruise was worth preserving
IT is a moment of high anxiety in any romantic relationship. But now researchers have found that the first kiss may be even more important than anyone suspected.
While a kiss may just be a kiss for a man, for a woman it is an all-important means of gauging a prospective partner's compatibility. She uses it, the study suggests, to assess a "rich and complex exchange" of romantic and chemical clues that pass between partners as theirromantic
A "good kiss" will help convince her that the partner is worth persevering with but a man who is judged to be a bad kisser is unlikely to find himself invited in for coffee.
In the longer term, the woman treats kissing as a means to induce bonding and assess whether her partner has remained faithful and interested.
For men the kiss is much less important. It might be a source of hormonal information but it's mostly seen as a preliminary to sex. A man tends to regard a good kiss as one in which he's allowed to use his tongue and is rewarded with moans of pleasure, the study found.
"The information conveyed by a kiss can have profound consequences for romantic relationships, and can even be a major factor in ending one," Gordon Gallup, of the University at Albany in the US, said.
"While many forces lead two people to connect romantically, the kiss - particularly the first one - can be a deal-breaker."
The study, published in the online journal Evolutionary Psychology, suggests that clues to a person's health are passed on by kissing. These clues are picked up and understood - consciously or unconsciously - by the kissers but are more important to the female because she is more interested in a long-term relationship.
Women were more likely than men to take into account the smell of their partner's breath, the taste of their mouth and the state of their teeth during a kiss.
Women were less than half as likely to have sex with a man without first enjoying a kiss, and less likely to tolerate tongues on a first date. Men were much more likely both to continue to want sex even with a bad kisser or without bothering with a kiss.
Once a relationship was established, the researchers found, men grew less interested in kissing whereas women continued to give kisses a high priority. They were more likely to kiss a partner after sex than men were.
Researchers from three US universities surveyed 1041 college students, most aged 18 to 25.
9:42 AM
gorgeousgirl
Wedding in the air
Jiang Dezhang kisses his bride Tie Guangju during their special mid-air wedding ceremony in Kunming, West China's Yunnan Province Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. Both Jiang and Tie have been working as high-rise cleaners with a local company for years. (newsphoto)
Jiang Dezhang and his bride Tie Guangju exchange wedding rings during their special mid-air wedding ceremony in Kunming, West China's Yunnan Province Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. (newsphoto)
Jiang Dezhang kisses his bride Tie Guangju during their special mid-air wedding ceremony in Kunming, Yunnan Province Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007. (newsphoto)
9:36 AM
gorgeousgirl
Artworks by handicapped people
Zheng Jieping, handicapped calligrapher from Shanghai, writes during an exhibition held at the Handicapped People's Art Center in Shanghai, east China, Aug. 22, 2007. A total of 134 artworks by the handicapped were displayed in the five-day exhibition, opened on Thursday. (Xinhua/Wang Rongjiang)
9:18 AM
gorgeousgirl
CD Hole Art
Instead of ignoring the hole in the center of CDs and DVDs, the designers mind way to use the negative space in their creations. Take a look to some original discs.
8:07 AM
gorgeousgirl
Ski Dubai - Largest Indoor Ski Resort of the World
Ski Dubai is claimed to be one of the largest indoor ski resorts in the world, with 22,500-square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, which is one of the largest malls in the world.
An extremely efficient insulation system is the key to maintain the temperature of -1 degrees Celsius during the day and -6 degrees during the night when the snow is produced.
It offers an amazing snow setting to enjoy skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing, or just playing in the snow. Young or old, there is something for everyone, from the beginner to the snow sport enthusiast. Ski Dubai is a unique mountain-themed attraction that offers you the opportunity to enjoy real snow in Dubai all year round.
Ski Dubai is part of the Majid Al Futtaim Group of Companies, a leader for Shopping Malls in the region. Ski Dubai has 5 runs of varying difficulties, the longest being 400m.
Some other facts, according to Ski Dubai's website are:
- 22,500m² covered with real snow all year round – (equivalent to 3 football fields).
- 85 metres high (approximately 25 stories) and 80 metres wide.
- Full capacity of 1500 guests.