Drink wine live longer!

April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life, a new study suggests. Drink beer, and you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer.

Dutch researchers followed 1,373 men for more than four decades, noting their eating and drinking habits. Men who had about 20 grams of alcohol daily -- equivalent to a half a glass of wine -- had 2 1/2 years added to their life expectancy at age 50, compared with men who didn’t drink at all, according to the research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Men who consumed only wine had twice as much added longevity.

Light alcohol intake was linked to lower cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and overall mortality in the study. Researchers had known that moderate drinking is tied to a lower risk of heart disease, possibly because of an increase in high density lipoprotein or so-called good cholesterol as well as a reduction in platelet clumping, making it more unlikely for clots to form. It is the first study to show that one kind of alcohol is superior to others in prolonging life, the researchers said.

“In this study, 70 percent of all wine consumed was red wine,” the researchers, led by Marinette Streppel of the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, said in the paper. “This suggests that the cardioprotective effect of wine could be due to a protective effect of polyphenol compounds in red wine, but other explanations cannot be ruled out.”

Polyphenols are chemical substances found in plants such as tannins and flavonoids.

The research, dubbed Zutphen Study after the Dutch town from which the participants were recruited, followed men born between 1900 and 1920 and examined them several times between 1960 and 2000.

Huh. Now I'm really glad I stopped drinking beer. Wine taste better anyway.

Bloomberg.com via Neatorama

Roger Federer: How to be burglar free

And the really scary thing?, he could probably do that for real! *lol*.

3-D Art on pavement

Pavement art has grown in popularity over the years and there are few major cities left untouched by the paintbrush of these eccentric artists. Like buskers, many may be fortunate to earn a few pennies by passing pedestrian traffic and yet remain anonymous and receive few accolades for their incredible talent. However some street artists are more fortunate and gain international respect and commissions from towns across the globe.

Aside from the traditionalist type pavement paintings where the artist replicates famous works of art, there are also those who very cleverly create optical illusions with their paintbrush. Take a look at some of these mind boggling three dimensional pavement paintings scattered across the globe.

1. Feeding The Fish

Julian Beever is an established pavement painting artist. He has been creating 3D masterpieces for over 10 years and his work is going from strength to strength. In this amazing drawing, Julian has managed to fool the passerby’s eye into believing that the pond is truly three dimensional. It looks like the child is really sitting in the middle of a sunken pond, ready to feed the fish that are near the surface.

Even though the drawing is only two dimensional, looking at it from this angle, there is no way you can convince your mind that it isn’t real.

2. Surfing In London

A dynamic duo, Joe Hill and Max Lowry have made the impossible possible, with their pavement painting of a surfer riding the waves in what looks to be a building site.

It is difficult to distinguish what is real and what isn’t when it comes to looking at edges of the painting but be assured that this is a true optical illusion. The painting is on a flat surface and even though your mind interprets the painting as real, you will not get splashed from the leaping wave, nor will you fall into the depths of the ocean as the water pool suggests.

3. Flash Flood In Canada

Said to be the largest three dimensional street painting ever created, this amazing optical illusion was the brainchild of Edgar Mueller. Over 280 square meter of pavement was painted by Edgar and a few local artists, and the result is truly spectacular.

Standing at the edge of the enormous waterfall at the end of the painting is sure to make vertigo sufferers feel queasy, whilst those people daring to sit on painted makeshift raft look like they are going to be swept downstream any minute.

4. Jaguars

Imagine you are strolling along to the shopping centre and you nearly fall into a deep, dark pit filled with fierce looking jaguars. Frightening, right? Fortunately this pit is just another brilliant 3D pavement painting by the esteemed international street artist Rod Tryon.

Created as part of his series of pavement paintings at the Walk of Jumeirah Beach Residences in Dubai, this incredible work of art really fools the mind into believing that the jaguars are ready to jump out and attack innocent pedestrians.

5. Stunt City

This collaboration between four extraordinarily talented artists stopped pedestrians in their tracks with this outstanding view of the imagined city. Edgar Muller, Marion Ruthardt, Gregor Wosik and Manfred Stader created this masterpiece at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin in just 4 days.

It deceives the observer into believing that they are standing at the top of a skyscraper looking down onto the street below - you can actually feel dizzy as you look down far below into this painted city. Hero wannabes may even feel compelled to leap over the edge and save the men hanging from the helicopter.

6. The Crevasse

One of the most outstanding achievements in pavement painting must be this enormous crevasse painted by Edgar Mueller in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland for the Festival of World Culture in 2008.

At approximately 250 square meters in size, you can only begin to imagine how much printer ink would take to replicate this on paper! This incredible painting is one of the best examples of optical illusion to date. You really do feel like you will fall into the abyss if you stand too close to edge. Perhaps he should have painted danger signs along the perimeter to warn people of the impending danger.

7. Superman

Anyone who loved reading comic books as a child will instantly love this beautifully drawn picture of Superman. It is another superb anamorphic pavement painting by British pair Joe Hill and Max Lowry.

Bursting out of the pavement, Superman looks positively omnipotent and set to put right the injustices of not only his painted world below, but ours too.

8. Street Scene

This rather pretty picture of a street is another of Ulla Taylor’s accomplishments. Like visiting one of those miniature model city attractions, this perfectly proportioned illustration of a street scene is anamorphic, distorting the viewer’s perception into believing that they are standing, or sitting, high in the tree tops looking down on the little street.

It makes you feel like a voyeur, spying on the inhabitants but unlike real people, I am sure they don’t mind.

Source: cartridgesave.co.uk via Neatorama

DWTS: Week 8 Lindy-Hop, Cha-Cha, Samba

We're down to the wire, with only 6 couples left in the competition.

Cheryl & Gilles started things off with the Lindy Hop. I knew that Gilles is the master of sexy latin dances (even though he's French).

But until tonight I didn't know he had a fun side. He's always all business when it comes to his routine, so it was nice to see him acting a little goofy for once.

Despite his continued shoulder problem (with the help of some cortisone injections) he was able to soldier on, and earn a score of 27/30.

Also points to the hair department for the Danny Zuko inspired hairdo.

Kim & Derek followed with the best Paso Doble of the season. It was full of passion and aggration. Kim has wonderful control of her shoulders and arms, which made the dance all the more powerful.

After hearing the judges comments I fully expected them to get a perfect score, but they came in short with 28/30.

Julianne & Chuck were next with a sultry Cha-Cha. Thanks for all the lovely hip action Chuck! ;).

And although this performance wasn't as impressive as last week, I thought they deserved a much higher score then a 26/30. Bruno was being a bit of a buzzkill tonight and only give them an 8 when it should have been a 9.

Mark & Shawn danced the Samba. Len and Bruno were not impressed, but Carrie-Ann loved it. They received 27/30.

I thought Shawn did a great job with it, but the judges are being more tough on everyone now that we're in the home stretch.

Tony & Melissa Poor Melissa suffered a hairline rib fracture and could not perform live tonight. The judges were forced to score the taped rehersal. And give her the lowest score of the evening 21/30.

I really hope people vote for her so she can come back next week (please!). She deserves a spot in the finals. And I would really like to see Tony stick around to the finals for once.

Chelsie & Ty The cowboy can Salsa!. Even though 24/30 may not be enough, I have to give him a lot of credit again for always giving 100%.

Even when completly out of his comfort zone. I don't know too many cowboys who would even attempt a Salsa on national t.v. So good on you Ty!.

You never know we might be in for a surprise tomorrow night and Chuck could go instead. Stranger things have happened on this show.

Next came the team portion of the competition. Team Mambo vs. team Tango.

Team Mambo consisted of Chuck & Julianne, Melissa (who was replaced by Lacey and ignored in the final score due to her being a professional ) & Tony, and Mark & Shawn.

All of them danced to the tune of Beyonce's "Single Ladies". Seeing all the guys in tights made my night *LOL*.

Carrie-Ann may not have liked it, but the tights added a fun element to the whole thing. I also don't think the music overshadowed the performances far from it in fact.

Great routine!. The team score coupled with the individul score give them a total of 46/60. Putting them in second place.

Gilles & Cheryl, Derek & Kim, and Ty & Chelsie formed team Tango.

They all danced to Britney Spear's "Womanizer". Their routine may have been more technically sound (according to the judges) but team Mambo was much more entertaining overall.

I did like the beginning bit with a shortless Ty and Gilles (who knew Ty was so buff!). Team Tango were the winners with a total of 56/60.

But I honestly think if Melissa was there Team Mambo would have kicked their butt.

Night owls more productive then early birds?

Researchers found that in tests those who consider themselves more alert in the morning can concentrate for less time than those who work best at night.

The study by the University of Liege, in Belgium, pitted the early risers against people who stay up late in a test to see who could perform complicated tasks for longest.

The groups were allowed to sleep for the same amount of time and kept awake and asked to perform a number of tasks.

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor the brain activity of early birds and night owls who spent two consecutive nights in a sleep laboratory and periodically performed a task that required sustained attention.

The results, reported in the journal Science, suggest that night owls generally outlast early birds in the length of time they can be awake before becoming mentally fatigued.

After 10 hours of being awake, the early birds showed reduced activity in brain areas linked to attention, compared to the night owls. They also felt sleepier and tended to perform more slowly on the task.

The scientists said that alertness depended on a combination of a person's natural circadian rhythm - internal clock that tells us when to sleep - and actual fatigue due to being kept awake, known as "sleep pressure".

Source: Telegraph.co.uk via Neatorama

I guess that's why I received such great marks during all those all-nighters in College, who knew?.

Save 'Dollhouse'

Nothing gets your attention better then a well done PSA :). I wonder if there's one for Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Don't let your fave 2008/2009 shows die in vain!

Zap2it.com is letting fans weigh in on which shows should stick around and which should get the axe. Terminator, Dollhouse, and Better Off Ted (one of my new favourite shows) are among the few I believe are worth saving.

So be sure to head over to the site and vote for your faves!.