The bigger brain doesn't mean more intelligence

At Einstein’s autopsy in 1955, his brain was something of a disappointment: it turned out to be a tad smaller than the average Joe’s. Indeed, later studies have suggested a minimal link between brain size and intelligence. It seems brain quality rather than quantity is key.

　

One important factor seems to be how well our neurons can talk to each other. Martijn van den Heuvel, a neuroscientist at Utrecht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, found that smarter brains seem to have more efficient networks between neurons – in other words, it takes fewer steps to relay a message between different regions of the brain. That could explain about a third of the variation in a population’s IQ, he says.

　

Another key factor is the insulating fatty sheath encasing neuron fibers, which affects the speed of electrical signals. Paul Thompson at the University of California, Los Angeles, has found a correlation between IQ and the quality of the sheaths.

　　

We still don’t know exactly how much genes contribute to intelligence, with various studies coming up with estimates rangingfrom 40 to 80 per cent. This wide range of estimates might have arisen because genes contribute more to IQ as we get older, according to a study published last year. By comparing the intelligence of 11,000 pairs of twins, Robert Plomin of King’s College London found that at age 9, genes explain 40 per cent of the variation, but by 17 they account for roughly two-thirds.

How could that be? Perhaps the genes affect how our brain rewires itself as we mature. Alternatively, they may dictate whether someone is likely to seek out stimulating experiences to help their brain grow and develop. “If we are predisposed to have a talent, we may actively seek out an environment to suit it,” says Thompson.

DIY decor creates a palace

Yukiko Murayama has collected more than 100 Starbucks mugs from around the world. The doll and toys are collected by her mother.

Home, for Yukiko Murayama, a Chinese-Japanese freelance writer, is a place where past memories and her present life coalesce. Growing up in Japan, Murayama came to China when she was 20 years old to care for her late mother who ran a film and TV production company in Beijing. Since then, she has spent one-third of her time in the three-bedroom flat her mother bought and furbished near Workers' Stadium in Beijing.

Hundreds of small cotton flannel toys her mother collected are displayed around every corner of the apartment.

"I'm a very nostalgic person," Murayama said. Since she loved Hello Kitty in high school, Murayama has a whole range of Hello Kitty in all sizes displayed on a bookshelf.

"To me, each one is a unique memory. For example, I got this one from Mum at the Hong Kong airport," she said, pointing to a bulky kitty with extraordinarily big head.

"And that one over there, with a flower on her head, was a birthday gift from my first boyfriend."

Although she is unwilling to abandon most of her mother's furniture, Murayama did feel it necessary to redecorate her study.

"The furniture in my study was so old-fashioned that I felt suffocated. I longed for an atmosphere that matched my own character and encouraged efficient work," she said.

Her decoration theme was inspired by the architecture of Paris, a perfect mixture of elements both traditional and modern. Although buildings in Paris are known for their Beaux-Arts stylism on the outside, the interiors are invariably modern.

"What appeals to me most is the transition from the external to the interior is so natural that people have no abrupt feelings. That really inspired me when I was designing the study," she said.

A modern black- and white-striped sofa, against a black flower pattern wallpaper, successfully creates a room with a modern classical style.

"Everybody said I was crazy to put black paper onto the wall. But I just love it. It is just the effect I wanted. And I'm proud of my DIY with the old items," Murayama said.

"Never throw away old things because they've been part of your life and you can always discover new possibilities in them."

The bookshelves covering one wall are tailor-made from Boloni, but without backboard, which Murayama said minimizes her damage to the forests.

She sprayed the crystal chandelier white and asked an artisan from Suzhou to come and upholster the old brown swivel chair in black silky leather.

The dedicated follower of fashion changed a smaller bedroom into a walk-in wardrobe, which displays all her dresses and shoes. A closer look reveals that all the shoes are aligned according to their colors, which helps her choose the pair that best accompanies any chosen outfit.

But above all, her transformation of her mother's bed is perhaps what the DIY fan is most proud of.

She added an iron frame onto the existing tall pillars at the four corners of the bed and decorated it with white fine gauze based on a model she saw at a curtain shop in London.

"Now it looks like a princess's bed," she said.

A master of fabrics, Murayama chose elegant purple drapery for curtains in each room, hiding the plain window frames. She also hung a pair of curtains that reach to the floor at the entrance of the long corridor that leads to bathroom and bedrooms, adding a regal touch to the decor.

She was also excited to show off her beautiful pearl blind at the entrance of her bedroom, which has no door.

The fabulous blind of pearls is used to separate the space. "Why should a door be a must? I don't like being blocked in. Rules are to break, aren't they?" she asked.

Official proposal argues big dogs have big hearts

Beijing officials recently unleashed a proposal to lift the ban on big dogs in the city.

It's unscientific, they said, to assume that size has anything to do with how dangerous a dog might be. This idea raised howls of protest among people who fear big dogs, but experts in canine behavior say they're right.

By sniffing around the Internet, it's possible to dig up lots of useful information about dog bites and the victims of dog attacks. The most horrific example of a dog attack was the fatal mauling of a six-week-old infant in 2000 by the family pet - a Pomeranian. The average weight of Pomeranians is about four pounds.

Some of the gentlest, friendliest, most popular dogs among families with children weigh at least 50 pounds, and include Labrador retrievers and Golden retrievers.

There are also many examples of big dogs, including some belonging to feared breeds like pit bulls and Rottweilers, who performed miraculous feats of heroism to save children or adults from danger. Here are a few:

A two-year-old Rottweiler named Reona heard screams after the first jolt of an earthquake in California in 1989. She bolted out of the house, jumped three fences and barged into the home of five-year-old Vivian Cooper, who was standing terrified in the kitchen. Reona shoved the girl against some kitchen cabinets and held her there, right before a big microwave oven came crashing down from the top of the refrigerator to the spot where Vivian had been standing.

Blue, an Australian Blue Heeler, sparred with an alligator attempting to reach his owner, 85-year-old Ruth Gay, after she fell down behind her home in Australia in 2001. The gator finally gave up and lumbered away, allowing Gay and Blue to escape unharmed.

Jarod, a black Chow Chow, fought off a bear in Canada in 2008 that first attacked a dog chained in the backyard and then turned on their owner, Donna Perrault, when she rushed from the house to drive the bear away. Biting the bear repeatedly, Jarod got the animal's attention and lured him away from the yard, then ran back home to safety. All survived the attack.

Each of these dogs, judged on size alone, might have looked dangerous to some. But identifying dangerous dogs proves to be as tricky as spotting dangerous humans. Convenient as it would be to just lock away people who are likely to be dangerous, it isn't possible to pick them out until after they've hurt someone. It's the same with dogs.

There have been cases where even friendly, gentle dogs such as Labrador retrievers and Golden retrievers have bitten someone.

A study of dog bites in the US and Canada showed that boys between the ages of five and nine were most likely to be the victims; that 61 percent of attacks happened at home or in a place familiar to the dog; and that 77 percent of the dogs bit someone who belonged to their own family, or a friend of the family.

Strangers have nothing to fear from a dog passing by in a park or on the sidewalk. Only those who provoke a dog or invade its home territory uninvited are at risk.

Anyone who has been to European countries has seen even huge dogs peaceably accompanying their owners almost everywhere, even to cafes and markets. Here in Beijing, the small dogs most people own already exhibit good manners in public, mostly ignoring strangers and approaching someone only if invited in a friendly way.

So fear not, Beijingers. Big dogs, kindly treated, are no threat to anyone. As long as the members of their human families know how to behave, nobody will get bitten.

Everybody goes kungfu bill fighting, until they get smart

As I stuffed that last remains of sweet and sour chicken into my mouth, I proudly turned to my Chinese friends to declare that I was full.

But no one was paying attention to me. Instead they were all suspiciously eyeing each other while their hands fumbled around in their respective bag or pockets.

One friend across from me slowly inched toward the edge of his seat; his legs tense and his hands on the table ready to spring from his seat at a moment's notice. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as my friend across the way made the first move.

Soon, everyone was jumping from their seat, money in hand, in a wild race to the payment counter. There was grabbing, pushing and shouting as they made their way to the counter but soon the initial crowd thinned to just my friend and another burly young man. They both reached the counter at the same time and thrust their handful of money at the calm waitress.

"I'm going to pay, so put your money away," the burly boy said in a heightened tone.

"No! Stop being polite and let me pay," my friend also forcefully said.

In the end, the burly boy paid as his longer arms enabled him to outreach my friend to the waiting hands of the waitress.

I was a little shocked until I realized that I had just witnessed a prime example of Chinese bill fighting, the epitome of Chinese hospitality. I was just lucky none of my friends had been drinking.

One time, I was enjoying dinner with some colleagues when we were interrupted by an extravaganza of drunken bill fighting. For those who have never seen drunken bill fighting, it is a sight to behold. On this occasion, at a nearby table, a group of friends were enjoying the moment that only countless bottles of Beijing's beloved Erguotou can provide. When it came time for them to pay the bill, three men got up in an effort to pay. One man quickly slumped back into his chair, obviously over-inebriated, but his two friends continued to stumble toward the counter. Finally, after a few steps, they became entangled in each other's arms. A slurred shouting match ensued for a few seconds until one of the men found his balance and threw the other to the ground.

"I will pay!" he shouted as he staggered off.

By no means is bill fighting a negative thing, but at times, like many other customs, it can get out of hand when alcohol gets involved.

I myself have tried my hand at bill fighting a number of times, but most of the time I fare rather badly. In part, this is because I am a teacher and as the custom goes, a student should always pay for their teacher. With my closer Chinese friends we usually take turns paying or go Dutch, but in a more formal setting, I often find myself getting held back if I try to pay the bill, even if I am the one that invited everyone to eat.

So I have had to devise my own tactic when it is appropriate for me to pay to avoid the awkward bill fighting described above.

The key is a well-timed bathroom break, and by well-timed, I mean in the middle of the meal. No one will suspect you are going to pay the bill and you will meet no resistance.

When you excuse yourself, calmly walk over to the waiter and ask where the bathroom is. When they point the way, ask them to follow you and quietly ask them to prepare the bill and instruct them only to give it to you.

After your visit to the bathroom the waiter should have the bill ready and you can discreetly slip him the money and then go back to your seat, confident that not only have you finally paid the bill after fifty failures, but that you can avoid the whole bill fighting scene.

Your guests will be quite impressed when you let out a sly smile as the waiter gives back the change and you tell them the bill is already paid.

Oh, and don't worry about the waiter. They are sure to understand immediately that you are just getting a jump on the race to pay the bill. In war, they would call it a pre-emptive attack. But if you want to successfully pay the bill you are going to have to engage in a little bit of...pre-emptive bill paying.

45 lines should know and Remember

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind..

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.、

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Always have something beautiful in you

Some peopledon't feel great about the way they look, so they just hide themselves and feel awful. Well, read on and become confident in your looks.

1. Remember that what people think of you doesn'tmatter a bit. The important is what you, and only you, think of yourself.

2. Be natural when made up

Although makeup can do wonders for a person, it can make you look fake or tacky if done the wrong way. Remember, less is more when it comes to makeup, and if you really know how to do it, it will make you moreglamorous on the outside.

3. Accept the way you are.

No matter ifyour hair is curly, straight, wavy or if you're skinny or fat.Whatever you are, you will always have something beautiful inyou.

4. Just because you are confident in yourselfdoesn't mean you must be cocky. Always be kind to people and makethem feel good around you, because that's what makes you trulyattractive.

5.Get a new wardrobe.

Stop, look atyour wardrobe and think is that the style I want? Do I like wearing these clothes? Depending on the answers, you could go outand buy new clothes that suit you and your style, clothes that makeyou feel comfortable and good-looking.

6. Know that skin and hair care are really important.

Make sure to always clean your skin. Wash your hairtwice a week and make sure it really smells good.

7. Pamper yourself.

Take a bubblebath, splurge on a new perfume or outfit, get a manicure. If youset aside some time out of your busy week to do these things, you will feel good, and when you feel good, you feel more confident.

8. Let yourself know how beautiful you are.

Stop in front of the mirrorand smile, see how good you look with your new clothes and niceskin and hair, tell you how pretty you look, how smart and good-looking you are. Look at photos of yourself. Often this willgive you a kinder perception of the person you reallyare.

9. Don't try to be someone you're not; be your ownbeauty.

10. Having "inner beauty" is just as important asbeing outwardly beautiful. Being beautiful on the inside will showyou are a very special girl not worth losing.

3 steps to make full use of your time

Step 1: Find a place to sit without distractions. Think about what is important to you then get your paper and pencil and make a list. This list should include things that you would like to accomplish. Keep it short.

Step 2: Make a realistic deadline. Put some time aside every day to work toward your goal. It doesn't have to be much--maybe only an hour. The important thing is that for that hour you focus solely on completing your task, nothing else should be on your mind. You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish when you focus.

Step 3: Don't be too hard on yourself. If you focus only on your failures or tasks that you still need to accomplish, you'll get overwhelmed and/or depressed and you'll never accomplish anything.

Alcohol does not make you warmer

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol does not make you warmer. It may give you the feeling that you’re getting warmer, but that’s just an illusion: really, alcohol makes you more susceptible to the cold.

In cold weather, the body reacts by routing blood away from the skin toward the internal organs. This prevents loss of heat through the skin and maintains the core temperature. But, alcohol reverses this effect by making you flush red.

This flush makes you feel warm for a few minutes, but you are really losing heat through the skin to the cold air. You could lose enough heat to begin hypothermia and not even realize it. As your skin feels warmer, the core body temperature is becoming colder and colder.

Where the beer drink in summer

1. beach

So I was at the beach over the weekend, and I got to thinking about several years back when The Beer Drinker, myself and a handful of our good friends went camping near a beach where you could bring a cooler and drink all the beer you wanted right there by thesurf.

2. bar

3. sidewalk snack booth

Home is where the art is

Lin Tianmiao's installation Gazing Back sits in her studio.

Hidden within the dusty and unmarked streets of Songzhuang village by the Sixth Ring Road is an oasis of cool green water and soft lilies. The paradise is home to Chinese artists Lin Tianmiao and Wang Gongxin and their 14-year-old son, who are now savoring the fruits of their labor after more than a year of designing and constructing their three-story house.

The space fuses contemporary architecture and dcor with natural elements to create a relaxing and inspiring getaway.

A pair of finches rest in their cage.

"There was no particular style I had in mind when I designed the house. I just used my intuition," said Lin, who works with textiles and prints.

Walking into the living room, visitors encounter a striking juxtaposition of clean white walls with vibrant red, blue and green furniture. One wall is covered with books, which range from Chinese classics to Sculpture Today, while another displays a sizeable collection of CDs and DVDs.

"I'm quite fond of black and white, but the contra

st is too strong, so I decided to add some color," she said. "Looking at a black and white scheme can become tiring.

"I also wanted to distinguish between the living and working space, which is more plain."

In the next room, however, the vivid hues are replaced with gentle pastels and visitors are greeted with a soothing view of the backyard. The room is abundant in fauna and flora, as red-beaked finches nestle quietly in a hanging bird cage and an inky goldfish swims in a cool stone fountain. Outside, the family's rottweiler often lounges idly in the shade of a tree.

A limited-edition wooden sculpture from Africa.

The couple previously lived in downtown Beijing and welcomed the prospect of a cleaner, calmer lifestyle in the village, which is home to many Chinese avant-garde artists.

Both Lin and her husband, who is a video artist, have separate studios in the city center. But they decided to move to the suburbs after realizing that they are "getting older" and don't have as much energy to run around.

They decided to eliminate the commute entirely by dividing the house into living and working areas.

A sofa bed.

In the basement are two studios, an office with a row of flat screen Mac computers, and a well-lit room where workers embroider patterns for Lin. Scattered on the concrete floors of her studio are ivory sculptures shaped like ostrich eggs, in the front of which is a headless crouching figure - Lin's installation, Gazing Back .

Wang's studio includes a sound room, a loft space and recording equipment for shooting videos.

"I work almost exclusively at home," Lin said. "I have my equipment here, my assistants and, of course, my husband and son."

Besides a few pieces from Moscow, the artwork that adorns the walls is mainly their own. The works include some of Wang's oil paintings, which he did before switching to video art, as well as a portrait of a younger Lin in army gear.

Before they dug the basement out and did the landscaping, the couple already had a clear vision of what they wanted. Lin, who had previously designed her sisters' restaurants, carefully planned the layout and decoration.

"For this space, I took into consideration every detail of the design, from the ventilation system to plumbing to electrical lines, as well as the amount of light that each window would let in," she said. "They all have an influence on the ambience of the room."

Lin considers the house to have a "luxury design". Their residence includes an elevator, a sky-lit swimming pool and balconies encircling the house on the top two floors. From the highest floor, visitors have a sweeping view of the neighborhood. They would have added a fourth floor, Lin explains, if there hadn't been a height restriction.

The designing process took five months, and from the engineering of the house to finally moving in took 13 months. Lin said the entire process, including purchasing the land and hiring specialists, cost 2 million yuan. The construction was not without difficulties.

"The measurements and designs for each floor and room were so distinct and unconventional that the company we hired to build it was reluctant to work on it, because the project was so time-consuming and complicated," she said.

A splendid view of the pond, which is landscaped by the artists.

"They were accustomed to building rooms with the same dimensions, but I think following the blueprint makes a building rigid and the result is not as charming."

The end result, Lin said, was incomparable with the original scheme.

"This house is unrecognizable from the blueprints. Much of the design has been changed, and if you look closely, you'll see many flaws," she said.

She conceded it takes time to develop an affinity for a space.

"As they say with Chinese fengshui, there's always a period of adjustment before you can know the different characteristics of each corner," she continued. "I've become more familiar with the space, and I've come to really like it."

For now, the couple, whose son is studying in the US, is focusing on their creative pursuits and relaxing in their work-of-art home.

Glimpse of dancers' world

Dancers perform during Bamboo Blues, a piece about the sensual battle of the sexes

Legendary German choreographer remembered through multimedia event at 798, Wendy Qian reports

Last year, on June 5, legendary modern dance choreographer Pina Bausch passed away. During her heyday as a director and choreographer for Tanztheater , her works added theatricality to dance, establishing a new form called "tanztheater".

In remembrance of Bausch, the Goethe Institute and the Iberia Center for Modern Art have multimedia exhibition, Absolut Pina, in the heart of Beijing's art zone, 798.

Bausch would ask her dancers to create minidramas through their memories, because she was not interested in how people move but in what moves them.

Her method for creating dance pieces has produced marvelous results such as The Rite of Spring and Caf Mller. Her absurd and surreal episodes inspire artists, shock audiences and are imitated in theaters around the world.

Photos, documentaries and dance videos that capture her eternal moments and visions are now on display at the Iberia Center. Documentaries such as Dancing Dreams and With Ladies and Gentlemen over 65 and dance videos are showing.

During the premiere of Dancing Dreams, the theater was packed and many in the audience stood to watch it. After the premiere of each film, Chinese and German cultural figures shared their thoughts on Bausch with the audience.

Invited by the Goethe Institute, the esteemed dance photographer Gert Weigelt, who visited China for the first time, exhibited 18 of his works that are related to Bausch.

Even as a former dancer who has been fascinated by Bausch's works for more than 30 years, Weigelt resists defining her works in simple words.

"Even if you asked Pina to define herself when she was still alive, she likely would not have answered with a specific message or theme she wishes to present [through her dance piece]. Still, if you watch her pieces, you could find countless meanings that she has accumulated," Weigelt said.

Weigelt strives to develop new angles and visions to capture Bausch's fluid expressions.

Weigelt understands that he is "re-portraying" or "re-presenting" an art through his camera lenses. He believes in order to present photography as artwork, to some extent, "you have to distance your creation from the subject" and reorganize what you have observed.

To Weigelt, documenting Bausch's dances through photography is different from documenting through video not just because the former is two-dimensional while the latter is three-dimensional. They are also different "in the sense that video emphasizes the documenting side of the content, it shows the event truthfully, whereas when you use another media to process the subject in an artistic way, you are not only recording."

Weigelt said that in order to keep his photographs from revolving around Bausch's aesthetic standards, he never asked Bausch which one she likes or dislikes.

"It's my conscious effort [to avoid doing so], because artists have their own standards and views on creating," Weigelt said.

He publishes his photos individually. At times when his works are needed for publicity, Weigelt communicates directly with the publicity departments of Tanztheater Wuppertal.

Weigelt said he believes that people from different cultural backgrounds can still easily appreciate Bausch's pieces.

The 67-year-old said he believes that his past experience as a dancer has helped him photograph performances. He said that when watching a performance, a former dancer can sense when the next movement will happen and where the next movement will lead the dancer, which is a great advantage for a performance photographer.

"Once you've been a dancer, you will become much more familiar with the musicality of the movements. You feel the breathing vibe between each movement, and you understand the energy included in the dancer's movements," Weigelt said.

This is especially important for photographing Bausch's pieces because they are less about technique than the energy and emotion, he said.

Taking breaks is better than pretending to be busy

Weeks ago a department manager complained to me that newcomers in his company disappear too long at lunch break. The break was until 1 pm, but quite often these "blockheads" didn't show up again until 1:30 pm.

He then added that how he always goes downstairs to the canteen late and is normally back to his seat within 15 minutes. He said he would grab food and eat in the office, but he is concerned about the smell.

"There are so many things to do," he said. "I wonder what is in these kids' heads?"

As he sat there and kept on whining indignantly, I secretly laughed inside because I am the type of person he was talking about. I always get out of the building to get some fresh air at lunchtime. When the weather is fine I even go across the street to take a stroll in the university opposite my workplace.

I know that being a half hour late is definitely not right, but the way this man treated his lunch break is not a good idea either. And he is not the only case. Many middle and upper managers, and other senior staff are apt to rush through lunch.

And it's not just lunch. Newcomers tend to leave the office right at closing hour, but seniors are more likely to stay much longer.

I don't get these people, these big potatoes. I wonder why they don't take breaks as chances to clear their head and to save energy. Isn't it stuffy, draining and ultimately less effective to stay in the same seat, in the same posture for eight or more hours a day? If indeed there is so much work to do, then these few extra minutes at lunch don't really make much differences at all.

I know that they are busy people, but once you start making room for work out of your private time and you take it for granted, then it's possible that you not only ask yourself, but also others, especially your subordinates, to follow these invisible rules.

I have heard of many workplaces where the closing hour is 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm, but people don't go until 6:30 pm or 7:00 pm because they feel they can't leave if their supervisor is still there. But these people are not working during these extra minutes or hours, they are simply staying there to impress their supervisor.

Or they deliberately save some work until the closing hour, so that they could be indeed busy even after work - as long as the manager is there to see, of course. That's a little trick a friend shared with me and it never fails, she said.

Big potatoes obsessed with habitual extra working hours should realize that they not only waste their own time and that of others, but also promote procrastination and failure to meet deadlines.

Besides, such bad habits can have unintended consequences. The workaholic manager I mentioned at start of this column called me a few days ago. He had a growth of some kind on his butt and just got rid of it through surgery. According to his doctor he got it because he sat for too long.

The doctor apparently does quite a lot of similar surgeries, mostly on middle-aged white-collar workers, who sit in their chairs all day long and don't bother to do exercises. The doctor said the number of such cases is growing.

The manager had to take a sick leave for two whole weeks since he couldn't sit at all. Nothing was wrong in his office during the time he was absent.

"It bled," he said, in a voice of deep grief.

This time I could no longer hold back and laughed out loud.

A martini recipe

Can you imagine James Bond asking for a chocolate butterscotch martini, or an apple martini, lemon drop martini or prickly pear martini? Unlikely for the suave superspy.

Putting a drink in a longstemmed V-shaped glass does not make it a martini. A martini is this: gin and dry vermouth. And maybe an olive or two. Or a twist of lemon peel. It is ice cold and crystal clear, not green or pink.

A martini recipe appears as early as 1882 in a bartender’s manual, although in addition to gin and vermouth, it calls for sweet syrup. Over the years, the martini got drier and drier.

A martini defined cool and modern. 1950s jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond said he wanted the sound of a dry martini. Just listen to his composition Take Five.

From roughly the same era, the TV show Mad Men is careful with period details, so many of the characters drink martinis at bars, cocktail parties or when they get off the train from Manhattan. Mad Men also shows the downside of the three-martini lunch style: car crashes, failed marriages, lost jobs.

The martini’s star faded in the late 1960s and ’70s with opposition to expense account dining rising, health food stores gaining on liquor stores and the popularity of other mind-altering substances.

Classic cocktails made a comeback in the 1980s, and things began to run amok. Frou-frou-tinis featuring flavored vodka, fruit purees, even bacon bits have become common inraucous bars with loud music. All wrong for the drink that writer E.B. White called the elixir of quietude.

To Smile

Smiling is a great way to make yourself stand out while helping your body to function better. Smile to improve your health, your stress level, and your attractiveness. Smiling is just one fun way to live longer read about the others and try as many as you can.

1. Smiling makes us attractive.

We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in.

2. Smiling Changes Our Mood

Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.

3. Smiling is Contagious

When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.

4. Smiling Relieves Stress

Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you'll be better able to take action.

5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System

Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.

6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure

When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?

7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin

Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.

8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger

The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day -- you'll look younger and feel better.

9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful

Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.

10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive

Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.

A joke

Innkeeper: The room is $15 a night. It's $5 if you make your own bed.

Guest: I'll make my own bed.

Innkeeper: Good. I'll get you some nails and wood.

England is becoming the top choice for film directors

In the last decade, National Trust locations have been used for over 50 feature films and are becoming the top choice for film directors.

National Trust-owned Antony house in Plymouth, which featured in Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, has seen figures double since the film's release and they are set to triple by the end of the year.

Not only do these locations benefit the films but the filming helps the local economy too.

"Already this year we have doubled the amount of figures here last year at Antony House and of course whilst filming, Plymouth benefited from using actors from the area," said Harvey Edgington from the National Trust.

"And the crew stayed here in hotels, the hotel bill must have been enormous," he added.

The National Trust has provided locations for the films The Duchess at Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, Pride And Prejudice in Lyme Park, Cheshire.

The recent remake of Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe was filmed at Freshwater West in Pembrokeshire, which is also set to appear in the upcoming Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Mr Harvey says the reason UK locations are the top choice for directors is simple: "We are blessed in this country in the sense that we have historical properties and houses.

"The trust has 250 from every period of history and they are genuine. Yes, you can build a set but why when you have this already."

But he said turning a historic house into a film set is no easy task.

"It is a challenge. As well as the director, the vision and the script we've got the house and they don't always marry," explained Mr Harvey.

Around three film crews a year use National Trust locations every day of the year and the Trust has benefited to the tune of £5m from filming and shoots since 2003.

So, just bear in mind the next time you are watching a film on the big screen, it is likely you could be visiting those same locations one day.

Fox will return CSI season 11

Fox's deal have not been released.As a result, it is not known whether she will be a series regular or recurring guest star in the 11th season.

US network CBS declined to comment on the story.

American face, Chinese kungfu

For singer and songwriter Jess Meider, Beijing is a bastion of relaxed creativity, writes Todd Balazovic

For most Chinese kungfu lovers, the mysterious Oriental martial art involves lightning-quick kicks and punches performed by guys such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. However, a skinny blonde from Boston is exploding this stereotype by standing on stages in Beijing bars and demonstrating her own unique style of kungfu.

With her sonorous vocals, an impressive guitar and vigorous ac-tion, Jess Meider rocks audiences with what she calls vocal kungfu.

Meider, who landed in China in 1997 and has lived in Beijing for 10 years, may be the first foreigner in the city to combine the kungfu idea of qi (a basic energy flow that, according to traditional Chinese beliefs, exist in all humans) with singing. She has already produced four albums in this funky jazzy way.

Graduating from Boston-located Berklee College of music and then developing her early musical career in New York, Meider has played an important role in developing Beijing's music scene, helping to turn a budding movement into a flowering scene.

"When I got here, the scene was so tiny. It's still tiny, but there's definitely more than there used to be," she said.

Like the impromptu nature of her jazz lyrics, Meider's decision to move to China was made on the spot after the person she was in a relationship with at the time came to China for a job. She said once she had the idea in mind, she was eager to go, despite objections from her friends.

"Everyone thought I was nuts to go to Beijing," she said.

However, she soon proved it was a good decision.

Meider quickly found Beijing to be a bastion of relaxed creativity and a place where an artist can live comfortably and free of the pressure.

"In New York, it's such a faster pace of living. It's much more stressful and drains your creativity" she said. "Here, I can relax, it's cheap and you can live comfortably."

Q & A

Q: How do you teach vocal kungfu?

A: I will tell my students to pay attention to their heels and ask themselves - "Do you feel grounded? Are you supporting yourself?"

It's understanding how everything works, that awareness, that deepness.

Q: Have you ever tried to write a song in Chinese?

A: I tried to write a Chinese song once, but my Chinese boyfriend at the time basically told me not to. I have never really written one since, but I want to.

Q: Are you flourishing as much as a musician compared with if you were living back in New York?

A: I think I am flourishing in a different way. Whenever you move into any city, there's benefits to live there as well as downfalls. I think that I have more creative leeway here, but at the same time I am not around high-caliber musicians all the time to push me. I've had to do that myself.

Q: How would life be different if you had stayed in New York?

A: When I go home to see friends I went to school with, I see they're finally at this level, at this place. They're high-level musicians playing with famous people, but they do that with a struggle, because in New York there's a lot of competition.

Q: Do you think the lack of competition helped nourish your music talents?

A: I think I had more liberty to try new things. I was learning how to sing jazz here basically, because when I first got here there weren't a lot of jazz vocalists so I had the opportunity to get on stage more.

Summer life is a bowl of cherries

Cherries are now in season, one of the first fruits to appear after this long and snowy winter in Beijing. The bright magenta red cherries and the golden yellow skin are as beautiful and alluring as glossy adverts for nail polish and lipstick in the pages of fashion magazines. The sea of cherries on vendors' carts on the streets of Beijing remind me of my visit to Pike Street market in Seattle several years ago. It was early summer and the market was loaded with Bing cherries, the most popular sweet variety.

This variety of cherry was developed at the Lewelling Nursery in Salem, Oregon, which was known as the Cherry City because of its fine display of cherries at their annual Cherry Fair. I was surprised to read that the Bing cherry was named after a Chinese helper who worked at the nursery.

A woman picks cherries in an orchard in suburban Beijing. Zhang Kaixin / for China Daily

Bing cherries are the sweet blackish cherries for eating while the smaller Early Richmond, Montmorency and Morello cherries are the sour types for cooking. The last category is a hybrid, a cross between sweet and tart cherries, such as Duke and Royal Anne, which are ideal for both eating and cooking.

The cherry is native to the Black Sea area, but the ancient Chinese are said to have been the first to cultivate cherry trees. The fruit was perfected by the Greeks and Romans, who planted cherry trees across Europe.

The Romans planted cherry trees as a staple for the Roman armies, but the Japanese grew them purely for their beautiful blossoms. It was said that a fifth century Japanese emperor drank his sake under a cherry tree every day. Today, people from around the world visit Japan during springtime to take pictures of the blossoming cherry orchards.

All over Beijing these days, the fruit peddlers' carts are piled high with mountains of cherries, some vendors taking time to bunch them together in a sort of bouquet.

This is the best time to get your dose of fresh cherries as the supply is plentiful and the prices are good. Cherries are selling for between 8 yuan to 15 yuan per jin (1 jin equals 500 g) depending on the size.

Cherries are grown around the Beijing area, in Yantai, Shandong province and Chongqing. The type of cherries we have here are not like the sweet juicy cherries in the United States, but are tart like amarelle-type cherries, with a yellow flesh and clear juice.

The morello, sometimes also available in China, is another type of red-fleshed sour cherry with red juice. Both are perfect for baking or cooking to make a delicious syrup.

The latter is wonderful preserved in sugar and vodka and stored in a jar to make kirsch, a cherry liquor used for making the classic Black Forest cake.

Spanish fine art gets a room at exclusive hotel

Homey rooms and delectable food are no longer the only prime services expected at the capital's top hotels.

Fine art is now checking in.

A newly launched exhibition area, ART+SPACE, on the fifth floor of the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, holds its first exhibition, titled Banquet of Colors, presenting 14 artworks from Spanish artist Ouka Leele.

Leele is among Europe's top contemporary photographers. In the 1970s, she decided that in addition to photography she needed to paint.

She gradually merged the two disciplines in a novel way by hand-coloring black and white photographs with watercolors.

The process takes four steps: take the picture, make the positive of the film, paint it and conserve the image.

Presently, her unique works take one of two paths: portraits, in which she interprets reality with simplicity; or nature shots with a sentimental and intimate approach that harnesses the concept of femininity and the creator of life.

By fusing photography and painting, Leele said her works conjure "a visual poetry, a manner of speaking without words, and a blend of drama, imagination, painting and photography".

The 14 works are in bright and vibrant colors.

The gallery, in a soothingly cooled space, offers a respite from the sizzling summer heat outside.

"The one named Lemons is my favorite," said Judith los Banos, the hotel's director of marketing and communications.

"Its color is very vivid. These lemons look very attractive, especially at the height of summer." The work was reproduced on the flier of the exhibition.

The 14 artworks were chosen and provided by Gao Magee Gallery.

"These works look like pictures of illusions, fashionable and modern, even though some were created in the 1980s," said Nicole Chen, the director of the gallery.

"They go well with the contemporary interior designs of the hotel."

Los Banos said the cooperative venture started one year ago when the gallery's staff came to study the hotel.

The exhibition area is in a hallway between two meeting halls to offer a brief escape from a busy workday as they walk to start a long meeting, she said.

A Nestl employee surnamed Lau, who was attending a training session organized by her company, applauded the idea of the exhibition area.

"These artworks convey different concepts. They are very creative and helpful to arouse our imaginations," Lau said.

"It would be better if there were more descriptions of these works, such as what it is about or an introduction of the artist," suggested a foreign hotel guest.

"That would help me understand them better."

Grace June Young, a regular visitor to art museums and galleries including the National Art Museum of China, said she was happy to find a new place to appreciate art.

"The 798 Art Zone is far away and has become more like a tourist attraction than an art center," she said.

"It is great to have another option, right in the heart of the city and quiet for appreciation."

silk

Name：silk

Director：Francois Girard

Actor：The Girl……Sei Ashina

　　 Herve Joncour ……Michael Pitt

　　 Verdun……Toni Bertorelli

High-quality marriages are the best stress-busters for women

A new study has found that all women need to lower their stress levels is a strong and happy marriage.

A team of researchers led by James A. Coan, a University of Virginia neuroscientist has found that women under threat who hold their husbands' hands show signs of immediate relief, which can clearly be seen on their brain scans.

Coan, an assistant professor in the U.Va. Neuroscience Graduate Program and the Department of Psychology, and his team conducted a study involving several couples who rated themselves as highly satisfied with their marriages.

The researchers designed a functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) study in which 16 married women were subjected to the threat of a very mild electric shock while they by turns held their husband's hand, the hand of a stranger (male) or no hand at all.

They found that the MRI was able to show how these women's brains responded to this handholding while in a threatening situation.

The researchers noted a large decrease in the brain response to threat as a function of spouse handholding, and a limited decrease in this response as a function of stranger handholding.

Moreover, spouse handholding effects varied as a function of marital quality, with women in the very highest quality marriages benefiting from a very powerful decrease in threat-related brain activity.

"This is the first study of the neurological reactions to human touch in a threatening situation." said Dr. Coan.

The study is published in the December 2006 issue of the journal Psychological Science.

Sexual intercourse on the International Space Station doesn't allow

Commanders do not allow sexual intercourse on the International Space Station, it has been disclosed.


"We are a group of professionals," said Alan Poindexter, a NASA commander, during a visit to Tokyo, when asked about the consequences if astronauts boldly went where no others have been.


"We treat each other with respect and we have a great working relationship. Personal relationships are not ... an issue," said a serious-faced Mr Poindexter. "We don't have them and we won't."


Mr Poindexter and his six crew members, including the first Japanese mother in space Naoko Yamazaki, were in Tokyo to talk about their two-week resupply mission to the International Space Station.


The April voyage broke new ground by putting four women in orbit for the first time, with three female crew joining one woman already on the station.


Sexual intercourse in space may appear out of bounds, but astronauts have been known to succumb to earthly passions.


In 2007 former NASA astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak allegedly wore adult diapers when driving hundreds of miles across the United States without bathroom breaks to confront a suspected rival in a romance with a fellow astronaut.

I am sorry to hear that

Peter Fernandez, an actor and voice director who was best known for his work voicing the title character in the "Speed Racer" television series, has died at 83.

Fernandez voiced Speed as well as his brother Racer X and several other characters.

She's the Man

Director：Andy Fickman

Actor： Amanda Bynes

Channing Tatum

Robert Hoffman

Laura Ramsey

James Kirk

Vinnie Jones

David Cross

She's the Man

is an American comedy, from Amandabei Nice, starring Channing Tatum and Robert Hoffman, tells the crazy football fans disguised as a man, entering into the football team's story.

Jeremy London and Rachel Uchitel Head to 'Rehab'

For a while there, Dr. Drew Pinsky was having some trouble finding enough celebs to rehabilitate on his VH1 show 'Celebrity Rehab.' No more. Rachel Uchitel, the most prominent of Tiger Woods' mistresses, and uber-troubled actor Jeremy London have been booked to appear on the show's upcoming fourth season, the network announced on Sunday.

Uchitel, a 35-year-old "infamous party planner" (VH1's words, not ours), will be treated not for sex addiction like her former lover, but for pills. What kind of pills is unknown.

London, of 'Party of Five' and 'Mallrats' fame, will enter Pinsky's world of rehab presumably for assorted substance abuses. According to TMZ, his wife Melissa is also seeking treatment. While Uchitel's inclusion is a bit of a surprise, London's is not. He has been in the spotlight since a bizarre incident last month where he claims to have been kidnapped by a group of men and forced by gunpoint to go on a 12-hour meth and ectasy binge.

Other participants in his go-round of 'Rehab' include a lot of "formers," as in former model Janice Dickinson, former teen idol Leif Garrett and former 'The Hills' star Jason Wahler.

This sorry lot will undergo 21 grueling and filmed days of detox at the Pasadena Recovery Center, run by Pinsky. Episodes will air later this year. VH1 has long been struggling to nail down enough troubled stars to generate a worthwhile season of the hit series.

Sci-fi thriller “Inception” raked in $60.4 million over the weekend to lead the North American box office

Sci-fi thriller “Inception” raked in $60.4 million over the weekend to lead the North American box office.

The film was directed by Christopher Nolan, also known for his directorial efforts in “The Dark Knight” and “Memento,” and stars Leonardo diCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy. It is getting rave reviews from critics and has earned an 84% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Animated feature “Despicable Me” took the second spot with $32.7 million. It features the voices of “The Office” star Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, and Jason Segel. It is also receiving lots of positive feedback from critics.

Buena Vista’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” took the third spot with $17.4 million, another disappointing finish from producer Jerry Bruckheimer. His last film was “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” and it performed below expectations as well.

Rounding up the top 5 were “Eclipse,” which earned $13.5 million and “Toy Story 3,” which earned $11.7 million.

Summer heat: too much of a good thing

The key to life is excess in moderation, according to controversial American stand-up comedian Doug Stanhope. Interpreting this in terms of weather, many residents from cooler countries flock to hotter climates to get an annual dose of sun and sand (returning home lobster red more often than not).

It's hard to follow this way of thinking in Beijing though. The harsh winter temperatures are as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius at times, but the height of summer also challenges thermometers, lately pushing them up to a scorching 40 degrees Celsius. Certainly it's excessive with little sign of moderation.

Of course in Beijing it often feels like a different season indoors than out. In winter, you might freeze to death outside, but end up wishing you'd worn something lighter when stepping into the baking Beijing shopping malls.

And in the summer Chinese businesses fully embrace full-blast air conditioning and transform their places of work into a climate utopia for the heat-wearied among us.

Hot weather is never a bad thing when you're at the beach with the sea at your side, splitting your time between happily lounging with a mojito cocktail and casually cooling off in the refreshing ocean.

But it's certainly less appreciated while working hard in Beijing, where your face feels like it will permanently melt during the brief exposure to the air between the apartment and the subway.

Those who are still wearing trousers or suits must be roasting as most sensibly opt for shorts and skirts in these times of maximum temperature.

The heat isn't exclusive to Beijing. The recent heat wave affecting all of China ensured a new record for national energy use. As of Monday, that record now stands at 12.93 billion kilowatt-hours. Hopefully such high use won't disrupt the nation's power supply.

If you're an older citizen, it's time to take advantage of that air conditioning and stay at home in relative bliss, according to recent government advice. Children should be kept well hydrated.

The national forecaster suggests that the insanely sweltering weather is here until today at least and while they suggest it probably won't exceed 40 degrees Celsius again, it is worth taking sensible precautions.

Standard heat coping advice applies: make sure you drink plenty of water, especially alongside alcoholic beverages and stay sensible about the amount of time you spend in the sun.

Guard against sunburn with plenty of sunscreen or suntan lotion, especially if you want to avoid the lobster look - being red head-to-toe just isn't pleasant, despite the great number of people who manage to end up that way.

The best option for those with some disposable income is to head down to the coast on Friday night for a couple of days and bake in a more appropriate setting.

Beidaihe is a relatively short distance from Beijing and boasts both seaside and marginally cooler temperatures, but there also are plenty of other beachside resorts in China.

For those without the extra cash of beach trip, try to soothe yourselves by remembering how cold you were in December.

Lure of money and jobs draws European model to China

While most people coming to China do so to embrace a sense of rugged adventure, Adrienn Zarka did it to find refuge -and success - from the over competitive nature of the modeling industry in Hungary.

The 19-year-old Hungarian model spent the last three years working in her home country pursuing a career in modeling, while also attending school, but she said the experience wasn't what she'd call a good one.

"At home, it's so much more stressful; everyone is always yelling," she said.

"In Beijing, everyone is very nice." One Time in one instance, while doing a photo shoot, she was forced to model for several hours in the middle of winter, wearing a very small outfit while having fans blow air into her face and a photographer yell at her. The experience left her less than impressed and slightly ill.

"The director couldn't understand anything; he was just shouting," she said and added, since spending a short time in Beijing, she's already noticed a massive difference in how she is treated.

"Here, the agency and clients are much more professional," she said.

The 178-cm slender brunette may be a bit shy on words, but her motivation for coming to China is clear - it's where the money is. She said in Beijing she has found that there is better money, more jobs for foreign models and a wider range of photos being taken.

"Asia and Europe are polar opposites. I tried modeling both back home and in Italy - but it didn't work for me," she said.

But beyond just making cash, Adrienn said it's also a good way to explore new territory.

"I really enjoy seeing new culture. China is perfect for that," she said.

Adrienn Zarka says Asia and Europe are polar opposites in the modeling industry

Q & A

Q: Why did you choose Beijing?

A: I had an agent who was a model and she came to Beijing about five times. She told me I should come to Beijing and I said I would try. But if she had told me to go to Shanghai or Singapore, I would have agreed too. I have been here working for Ilookmodel Agency for two weeks. If I like it, I will stay.

Q: What was your first impression?

A: I was really surprised. I am from a little city in Hungary and we haven't got trains or subways, just buses. Here, the weather is much hotter and there are so many cars, so many roads and so many people.

Q: What do you want to get out of your stay in the capital?

A: I want these three months to be enough to build up new pictures, visit a few places and earn some money.

Q: Are you learning Chinese?

A: No. It's a very difficult language.

Q: Why did you get into modeling?

A: My uncle told me I should think about it. He said I was young and tall and he begged me to audition. I called a photographer and he took some photographs, then gave me an agency address. After that, I started getting jobs.

Q: What have you learned since you started?

A: To have confidence and to do things by myself.

Q: When you are in a Chinese photo shoot, are there ever problems with communication?

A: No, because Chinese people are good at showing what they mean by using their hands. They just ask me to smile.