Leroy Neiman Ferrari on the Beach

Leroy Neiman Ferrari on the BeachLeroy Neiman Elephant StampedeLeroy Neiman Elephant NocturneLeroy Neiman Elephant Family
greasy with pork fat. It was very enjoyable, he says in her mind.
"I thought I said there were to be no unaccompanied flights?" she snaps.
I was hungry, Liessa.
"Curb your hunger. Soon there will be horses to eat."
The reins.
"They're gaining," screamed Rincewind. He bent even lower over his horse's neck and groaned. Twoflower was trying to keep up while at the same time craning round to look at the flying beasts. stick in our teeth. Are there any warriors? We like warriors.Liessa swings down the mounting ladder and lands with her legs locked around Laolith's leathery neck."The warrior is mine. There are a couple of others you can have. One appears to be a wizard of sorts," she adds by way of encouragement.Oh, you know how it is with wizards. Half an hour afterwards you could do with another one, the dragon grumbles.He spreads his wings and drops

Thomas Kinkade Spirit of Christmas

Thomas Kinkade Spirit of ChristmasThomas Kinkade Serenity CoveThomas Kinkade Petals of HopeThomas Kinkade Make a Wish Cottage
don’t think so. I think each activity has its own benefits and pleasures.
Is reading better than watching TV? I tend to believe it is, if learning is important to you, but not necessarily so if parents are concerned because their kids aren’t readers. Well, I wouldn’t worry so much. What’s more important is that you are loving and compassionate towards them, that you instill a love for learning (by any means) and give them the tools they need to explore whatever they’re excited about.pleasure is your main concern. Both activities can be pleasurable in their own way.Is reading better than playing video games? This will be controversial, but I’m not so sure it is. Read this article for more about the learning advantages of playing video games.Reading might be better than many activities if your main concern is educating yourself and improving your chances of succeeding in various careers. However … reading is more than a means to an end … reading is an end in and of itself. It’s a joy, and that’s how you should approach it.If you gain a side benefit of becoming better prepared for school and life, well … so much the better!Reading and ChildrenMany

Jack Vettriano Back Where You Belong

Jack Vettriano Back Where You Belong
Using USB peripherals can put a big drain on your system, because your motherboard has to power them, so unplugging everything saves juice. USB sticks, mice and webcams are common offenders, so copy all your information across and eject your devices as soon as possible, and put up with laptop track pads over your USB mouse. Many laptops have function buttons to turn off the built-in webcam, which drains the battery if given the chance.
5. Eject your disc drives
Jack Vettriano WaltzersJack Vettriano The Red RoomJack Vettriano The Letter
Having a disc spinning in the drive is a huge drain on resources, and many programs constantly do this. Simply eject your discs before you switch to battery power to gain vital extra minutes from your working day.
6. Invest in some
Good practice can go some way to extending your battery if you need to use your laptop throughout your working day, you're going to need some help. Most laptops come with a six-cell battery, but many manufacturers

Edward Hopper High Noon

Edward Hopper High NoonEdward Hopper Four Lane RoadEdward Hopper Excursion into PhilosophyEdward Hopper Drug Store
to wish he hadn't.
It was beginning to look like Rincewind. The wizard's mouth was open, and his face was brilliantly lit by the light of - what? Strange suns, Twoflower found himself thinking. Suns men don't usually see. He shivered.
Now the turning wizard was half man-size. At that point the growth was faster, there was a sudden crowded moment, a rush of air, and an explosion of sound. Rincewind tumbled out of the air, screaming. He hit the floor hard, choked, then rolled over with his head cradled in his arms and his body curled up tightly.
When the dust had settled Twoflower reached out gingerly and tapped the wizard on the shoulder.
The human ball rolled up tighter.
"It's me," explained Twoflower helpfully. The wizard unrolled a fraction.
"What?" he said.
"Me."
In one "I don't understand," wailed Twoflower.
Rincewind relaxed slightly; which was to say that he still made movement Rincewind unrolled and bounced up in front of the little man, his hands gripping his shoulders desperately. His eyes were wild and wide."Don't say it!" he hissed. "Don't say it and we might get out! ""Get out? How did you get in? Don't you know-""Don't say it!"Twoflower backed away from this madman"Don't say it!""Don't say what?""The number.""Number?" said Twoflower. "Hey, Rincewind-""Yes, number! Between seven and nine. Four plus four" "What, ei-"Rincewind's hands clapped over the man's mouth. "Say it and we're doomed. Just don't think about, right. Trust me!"

Lord Frederick Leighton Nausicaa

Lord Frederick Leighton NausicaaJean Auguste Dominique Ingres Napoleon I on His Imperial ThroneJean Auguste Dominique Ingres Mme MoitessierJean Auguste Dominique Ingres La Grande baigneuse
High above the disc the second albatross soared; so high in fact that its tiny mad orange eyes could see the whole of from the men around him as they craned over his shoulder to look.
Grinning, Twoflower produced a handful of the Smaller coins Rincewind now recognized as quarter-rhinu. He winked at the wizard.
"I had similar problems when I stopped over in the Brown Islands," he said. "They thought the iconograph steals a bit of their souls. Laughable, isn't it?"the world and the great, glittering, girdling Circle Sea. There was a yellow message capsule strapped to one leg. Far below it, unseen in the clouds, the bird that had brought the earlier message to the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork flapped gently back to Rincewind looked at the tiny square of glass in astonishment. There he was, all right - a tiny figure, in perfect colour, standing in front of a group of Watchmen whose faces were each frozen in a terrified rictus. A buzz of wordless terror went up

Edvard Munch Moonlight

Edvard Munch MoonlightEdvard Munch Girls on a BridgeUnknown Artist Brent Heighton After the RainAlbert Moore silver
Yes, because I am a daemon, like I said."
"Tell me one thing more. What did the Lady Coulter promise me when she was here?"
Once again Lyra went into the empty room and consulted the alethiometer before returning with the answer.
"She "Yes, she did. But she doesn't matter anymore. Excuse me, lofur Raknison, I hope you won't mind me telling you, but lorek Byrnison's only four hours away now, and maybe you better tell your guard bears not to attack him as they normally would. If you're going to fight him for me, he'll have to be allowed to come to the palace."promised you that she'd get the Magisterium in Geneva to agree that you could be baptized as a Christian, even though you hadn't got a daemon then. Well, I'm afraid that she hasn't done that, lofur Raknison, and quite honestly I don't think they'd ever agree to that if you didn't have a daemon. I think she knew that, and she wasn't telling you the truth. But in any case when you've got me as your daemon, you could be baptized if you wanted to, because no one could argue then. You could demand it and they wouldn't be able to turn you down.""Yes...True. That's what she said. True, every word. And she has deceived me? I trusted her, and she deceived me?"

Salvador Dali Argus

Salvador Dali ArgusJohannes Vermeer The Little StreetJohannes Vermeer Mistress and MaidUnknown Artist Vanitas Still Life
cloud-pine branch as if it were a steed, and seemed to rein it in a yard from Lyra's wondering gaze.
"Lyra?"
"Yes!
Great wingbeats told of another arrival, and then he was gliding beside her: the gray goose daemon. He spoke briefly and then wheeled away to glide in a wide circle around the balloon as it continued to rise.
"The gyptians have laid waste to Bolvangar," said Serafina Pekkala. "They have killed twenty-two guards and nine of the staff, and they've set light to every part of the buildings that still stood. They are going to destroy it completely."And are you Serafina Pekkala?""I am."Lyra could see why Farder Coram loved her, and why it was breaking his heart, though she had known neither of those things a moment before. He was growing old; he was an old broken man; and she would be young for generations."Have you got the symbol reader?" said the witch, in a voice so like the high wild singing of the Aurora itself that Lyra could hardly hear the sense for the sweet sound of it."Yes. I got it in my pocket, safe."

Leroy Neiman Elephant Stampede

Leroy Neiman Elephant StampedeLeroy Neiman Elephant NocturneLeroy Neiman Elephant Family
After they had been driving along for such a time that Lyra's body was in torment from cramp, the pace slackened a little, and someone roughly pulled off the hood.
She looked upwas falling and the thick fog she saw how powerful this man was, and the sledge driver too, how balanced in the sledge, how much atthis land in a way the gyptians weren't.
The man spoke, but of course she understood nothing. He tried a different language with the same result. Then he tried English.
"You name?" at a broad Asiatic face, under a wolverine hood, lit by flickering lamplight. His black eyes showed a glint of satisfaction, especially when Pantalaimon slid out of Lyra's anorak to bare his white ermine teeth in a hiss. The man's daemon, a big heavy wolverine, snarled back, but Pantalaimon didn't flinch.The man hauled Lyra up to a sitting position and propped her against the side of the sledge. She kept falling sideways because her hands were still tied behind her, and so he tied her feet together instead and released her hands.Through the snow that

George Frederick Watts Orpheus and Eurydice

George Frederick Watts Orpheus and EurydiceGeorge Frederick Watts Orpheus and Eurydice detailUnknown Artist The SunFlowers
believe in the other worlds in the first place. But it is true: that is his intention. And he is so powerful a figure that they feared he would upset their own plans, so they made a pact with the armored bears to capture him and keep various other forces, some in the spirit world. Possession of the bridge, if it ever existed, would give a huge advantage to whoever held it. Thirdly, Serafina Pekkala's clan-my clan-is not yet part of any alliance, though great pressure is being put on us to declare for one side or another. You see, these are questions of high not easily answered."
"What about the bears?" said Lyra. "Whose side are they on?" him imprisoned in the fortress of Svalbard, out of the way. Some say they helped the new bear king to gain his throne, as part of the bargain."Lyra said, "Do the witches want him to make this bridge? Are they on his side or against him?""That is a question with too complicated an answer. Firstly, the witches are not united. There are differences of opinion among us. Secondly, Lord Asriel's bridge will have a bearing on a war being waged at the present between some witches and

Thomas Kinkade Julianne's cottage

Thomas Kinkade Julianne's cottageThomas Kinkade Heather's HutchThomas Kinkade Forest Chapel
Farder Coram sat up and said, "Here's the physician, Jacob. We'll leave you now. We'll have a longer talk when you're feeling better."
He clasped the woman's shoulder on the way out. Lyra stuck close to him on the jetty, because there was a crowd gathering already, whispering and pointing. Farder Coram gave orders for Peter Hawker to go at once to John said, and for a moment she was tempted to throw the little thing into the middle of the fen.
"I'd see a spirit if there was one in there," said Pantalaimon. "Like that old ghost in Godstow. I saw that when you didn't." Faa, and then said:"Lyra, as soon as we know whether Jacob's going to live or die, we must have another talk about that alethiometer. You go and occupy yourself elsewhere, child; we'll send for you."Lyra wandered away on her own, and went to the reedy bank to sit and throw mud into the water. She knew one thing: she was not pleased or proud to be able to read the alethiometer- she was afraid. Whatever power was making that needle swing and stop, it knew things like an intelligent being."I reckon it's a spirit," Lyra

Thomas Kinkade The Edge of Wilderness

Thomas Kinkade The Edge of WildernessThomas Kinkade St. Nicholas CircleThomas Kinkade Silent Night
powerful revenge. I hope you en't going to let thoughts of mercy and gentleness hold your hand back from striking and striking hard, and delivering a mighty blow to the heart of that infernal wickedness. And I'm sure I speak for placing the satisfaction of your own feelings above the work you have to do. Our work here is first rescue, then punishment. It en't gratification for upset feelings. Our feelings don't matter. If we rescue the kids but we can't punish the Gobblers, we've done the main task. But if we aim to punish the Gobblers first and by doing so lose the chance of rescuing the kids, we've failed.
"But be assured of this, Margaret. When the time comes to punish, we shall strike any mother as has lost a child to the Gobblers."There was a loud murmur of agreement as she sat down. Heads were nodding all over the Zaal.John Faa waited for silence, and said:"Nothing will hold my hand, Margaret, save only judgment. If I stay my hand in the North, it will only be to strike the harder in the South. To strike a day too soon is as bad as striking a hundred miles off. To be sure, there's a warm passion behind what you say. But if you give in to that passion, friends, you're a doing what I always warned you agin: you're a

Unknown Artist Venice Grand Canal

Unknown Artist Venice Grand CanalUnknown Artist Grand Canal sceneCarl Fredrik Aagard Lodge on Lake Como
White House etiquette is any indication, you should be getting a random hug soon. The Obama family was always cuddly on the campaign trail, and last month the President bestowed no fewer than nine hugs on senior male ) and, for someone you're really close to, the full frontal (your standard bear hug). The big squeeze has been on the rise at least since 2006, when the Free Hugs campaign exploded worldwide. It got another boost last year, when hikers from Ohio and Pennsylvania started the Hugs for Humanity project, walking across America to deliver a million hugs. And yet another when John McCain and Sarah Palin embraced, however stiffly, at campaign rallies.staffers at a single meeting.The Hugger in Chief didn't start the trend. At work and at school, even on first introductions--at least among the latest inhabitants of The Real World--the hug is gaining ground on the handshake. There are many iterations, including the hip-hop hug (a manly shake-and-squeeze combo), the ass-out hug (an awkward ordeal that precludes genital contact

Andrea Mantegna Adoration of the Shepherds

Andrea Mantegna Adoration of the ShepherdsAndrea Mantegna Adoration of the MagiThomas Moran Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice
What've I got to do all this for? You don't care about Roger neither, any more than Chef does. I'm the only one that-" Another smack, on the other leg.
"None of that nonsense. I'm a Parslow, same as Roger's father. He's my second cousin. I bet you didn't know that, 'cause I bet and polite, smile nicely and don't you ever say Dunno when someone asks you a question."
She dragged the best dress onto Lyra's skinny frame, tugged it straight, fished a bit of red ribbon out of the tangle in a drawer, and brushed Lyra's hair with a coarse brush.
"If they'd let me know earlier, I could've given your hair a proper wash. Well, that's too bad. As long as they don't look too close...There. Now stand up straight. Where's you never asked, Miss Lyra. I bet it never occurred to you. Don't you chide me with not caring about the boy. God knows, I even care about you, and you give me little enough reason and no thanks."She seized the flannel and rubbed Lyra's knees so hard she left the skin bright pink and sore, but clean."The reason for this is you're going to have dinner with the Master and his guests. I hope to God you behave. Speak when you're spoken to, be quiet

Tamara de Lempicka Portrait of Ira

Tamara de Lempicka Portrait of IraTamara de Lempicka La bella RafaelaTamara de Lempicka Girl in a Green Dress
and watch. Why didn't I realize that before?"
"All right, I do," she said. "Everyone knows they get up to something secret. They have a ritual or something. And I just too. Perhaps she should try to clear them up without his help.
Her main thought was anxiety, and it wasn't for herself. She'd been in trouble often enough to be used to it. This time she was anxious about Lord Asriel, and about what this all meant. It wasn't often that he visited the college, and the fact that this was a time of high political tension meant that he hadn't come simply to eat and drink and smoke wanted to know what it was.""It's none of they want to enjoy their little secrets you should just feel superior and let them get on with it. Hiding and spying is for silly children.""Exactly what I knew you'd say. Now stop nagging."The two of them sat in silence for a while, Lyra uncomfortable on the hard floor of the wardrobe and Pantalaimon self-righteously twitching his temporary antennae on one of the robes. Lyra felt a mixture of thoughts contending in her head, and she would have liked nothing better than to share them with her daemon, but she was proud

Pablo Picasso Studio with Plaster Head

Pablo Picasso Studio with Plaster HeadPablo Picasso Les Demoiselles dAvignonPablo Picasso Le Moulin de la Galette
Once they reached it, they could hold the soldiers off as long as their ammunition held out; but they had only one rifle.
"They're after me, Mr. Scoresby," said Grumman, "not you. If you give me the rifle and surrender yourself, you'll survive. They're disciplined troops. You'll be a prisoner of war."
Lee care. Just tell me this: What I'm a-going to do now, is that going to help that little girl Lyra, or harm her?"
"It's going to help her," said Grumman.
"And your oath. You won't forget what you swore to me?"
"I won't forget."ignored that and said, "Git moving. Make the gulch and I'll hold them off from the mouth while you find your way out the other end. I brought you this far, and I ain't going to sit back and let 'em catch you now."The men below were moving up quickly, for they were fit and rested. Grumman nodded."I had no strength left to bring the fourth one down," was all he said, and they moved quickly into the shelter of the gulch."Just tell me before you go," said Lee, "because I won't be easy till I know. What side I'm fighting for I can't tell, and I don't greatly

John Singer Sargent The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit

John Singer Sargent The Daughters of Edward Darley BoitJohn Singer Sargent Paul Helleu Sketching with his WifeRembrandt Saskia As Flora
same subject as threaded conversations—a design idea that user-interface experts had long been saying would make e-mail easier to use. Switching to Gmail also freed me from worrying about how I preserved my mail—Google, whose at Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters. Keith Coleman, Gmail's program manager, told me that from the beginning, Google aimed to build something suitable for people who got a ton of mail—because in the future, everyone will get a ton of mail. Gmail's main features are all catnip for folks who find themselves buried under the weight of their inbox. There's a search engine worthy of the Google name, a slate of keyboard shortcuts that make organizing your messages brutally efficient, and a crowdsourced
servers are much more secure than my own computer, was taking care of backups for me.What separates Gmail from its rivals is a basic design philosophy: It's built for power e-mailers. Late last year I visited the Gmail team

Claude Monet Monet The Luncheon

Claude Monet Monet The LuncheonClaude Monet Boulevard des CapucinesJean Auguste Dominique Ingres The Grande Odalisque
Reverse of Arcadian League silver stater, Zeus Lykaios seated on a throne with an eagle in his left hand. 5th century B.C. Diameter 2 cm. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Pennsylvania Museum)The Greek god of thunder and .
The discovery challenges the idea that Zeus worship began on the Greek island of Crete, which at least one classical historian names as the god's mythic birthplace. The latest finds on Mount Lykaion, in the mainland province of Arcadia, are as lightning had Earthly beginnings, and scientists think they finally know where.Ancient Greeks first worshipped the omnipotent Zeus at a remote altar on Mount Lykaion, a team of Greek and American archaeologists now think. During a recent dig at the site, the researchers found ceremonial goods commonly used in cult activity and dated at over three millennia old, making them the earliest known "appearance" of Zeus in Greece

George Frederick Watts The Recording Angel

George Frederick Watts The Recording AngelGeorge Frederick Watts She shall be called womanGeorge Frederick Watts Creation
Our common response to tickling may start out as a physiological reaction to perceived threats, but there is no doubt that it serves a social function as we get older. Despite the fact that tickling makes us cringe, it has a playful connotation. However, anyone who has suffered a merciless tickle attack at the hands of an older sibling knows that it isn’t always about being playful—sometimes it’s just a way to get under someone’s skin. Other times it happens without intention, like during a routine pedicure.
Regardless of the role tickling plays in our lives, whether it protects us or brings us closer to others, we can always count on it as a sure source of laughter—even if we’re not sure why. friend, will often attempt to escape the attack, but will laugh when doing so. However, imagine if a random person on the street or even someone you just met tried to tickle you. The response would probably not be laughter—in fact, it would be downright awkward and creepy. That’s because we learn from a young age that it’s only socially acceptable for those we trust to have that kind of contact with us

John William Waterhouse The Siren

John William Waterhouse The SirenJohn William Waterhouse The Lady ClareJohn William Waterhouse Flora

And she stopped. She knew at once she'd made a horrible mistake. So did they, and they were on their feet in a moment to stop her from running out but somehow Dr. Malone was in the way, and the sergeant tripped and fell, blocking the way of the inspector. It gave Lyra time to dart out, slam the door shut behind her, and run full tilt for the stairs.
Two men in doors were opening, and the pale-haired man was running out so fast, so strong—
And the door wouldn't turn! Pantalaimon shrieked at her: they were pushing the wrong side!
She cried out in fear and turned herself around, hurling her little weight against the heavy glass, willing it to turn, and got it to move just in time to avoid the grasp of white coats came out of a door, and she bumped into them. Suddenly Pantalaimon was a crow, shrieking and flapping, and he startled them so much they fell back and she pulled free of their hands and raced down the last flight of stairs into the lobby just as the porter put the phone down and lumbered along behind his counter calling out "Oy! Stop there! You!"But the flap he had to lift was at the other end, and she got to the revolving door before he could come out and catch her.And behind her, the lift

Leroy Neiman Chipping On

Leroy Neiman Chipping OnLeroy Neiman Chemin de FerLeroy Neiman Cal Ripken
Germany, since last summer, all edits to all pages have had to go through flagging. "This will drive away newcomers, create a backlog of massive approval queues, cause an exodus of editors opposed to oversight by the WikiBureaucracy of their edits, cause umpteen edit conflicts, create a system of prior restraint, and place a chilling effect one in 140, as the average time it takes to repair damage is less than three minutes, and even less for heavily tracked pages. However, there are still more than 100,000 damaged pages at any given time, vandalism appears to be on theon the development of Wikipedia and the greater Project," user Katana0182 wrote in response to Wales. "This is like assuming bad faith on a massive scale." How big is the problem really? Reid Priedhorsky, who studies Wikipedia and similar social projects at the University of Minnesota, estimated in a recent paper that the chances of any one visitor seeing a damaged Wikipedia page are about increase and it is impossible fully to measure the scale of the problem.

Leroy Neiman Ice Men

Leroy Neiman Ice MenLeroy Neiman Homage to BoucherLeroy Neiman Homage to Ali
across the case.
"Makes you wonder, doesn't it? No anesthetic, no disinfectant, probably done with stone tools. They must have been tough, mustn't they? I don't think I've seen you here before. I come here quite a lot. What's your name?"
"Lizzie," she said than by anyone she'd met for a long time. On the one hand he was kind and friendly and very clean and smartly dressed, but on the other hand Pantalaimon, inside her pocket, was plucking at her attention and begging her to be careful, because he was half-remembering something too; and from somewhere she sensed, not a smell, but the idea of a smell, and it was the smell of dung, of putrefaction. She was reminded of Lofur Raknison's palace, where the air was perfumed but the floor was thick with filth.comfortably."Lizzie. Hello, Lizzie. I'm Charles. Do you go to school in Oxford?"She wasn't sure how to answer. "No," she said."Just visiting? Well, you've chosen a wonderful place to look at. What are you specially interested in?" She was more puzzled by this man

Leroy Neiman Chicago Board of Trade

Leroy Neiman Chicago Board of TradeLeroy Neiman CasinoLeroy Neiman Carnaval Suite Passistas
have two guests, who will tell us their thoughts. First we shall hear Queen Ruta Skadi."
Ruta Skadi stood. Her white arms gleamed in the firelight; her eyes glittered so brightly that even the farthest witch could see the play of expression on her vivid face.
"Sisters," she began, "let me tell you what is happening, and who it is that we must fight. For there is a war coming. I don't know who will join with us, but I know whom we must fight. It is the Magisterium, the Church. For all its history"What I propose is that our clans join together and go north to explore this new world, and see what we can discover there. If the child is not to be found in our world, it's because she will have gone after Lord Asriel already. And Lord Asriel is the key to this, believe me. He was my lover once, and I would willingly join forces with him, because he hates the Church and all it does—and that's not long by our lives, but it's many, many of theirs—it's tried to suppress and control every natural impulse. And when it can't control them, it cuts them out. Some of you have seen what they did at Bolvangar. And that was horrible, but it is not the only such place, not the only such practice. Sisters, you know only the north; I have traveled in the south lands. There are churches there, believe me, that cut their children too, as the people of Bolvangar did—not in the same way, but just as horribly. They cut their sexual organs, yes, both boys and girls; they cut them with knives so that they shan't feel. That is what the Church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling. So if a war comes, and the Church is on one side of it, we must be on the other, no matter what strange allies we find ourselves bound to."

Winslow Homer Snap the Whip

Winslow Homer Snap the WhipWinslow Homer Gloucester HarborWinslow Homer The Red Canoe
accomplish anything other than to put you in a sour mood. Better to find a way to laugh at life s little annoyances. One way to do that: Think about it as if it happened to someone else, someone you like -- or maybe someone you don't. In fact, keep running through the Rolodex in your head until you find the best person you and write funny captions or one-liners to go with your favorites. When you need a pick-me-up, pull out the album.
7. Every night at dinner, make family members share one funny or even embarrassing moment of their day.
8. When a person offends you or makes you angry, respond with humor rather than hostility. For instance, if someone is always can think of to put in your current predicament. Laugh at him, then laugh at yourself!5. Read the comics every day and cut out the ones that remind you of your life. Post them on a bulletin board or the refrigerator or anywhere else you can see them frequently.6. Sort through family photographs

Jack Vettriano Waltzers

Jack Vettriano WaltzersJack Vettriano The Red RoomJack Vettriano The Letter
Mary thought: Lyra talked to her daemon, didn't she? Would she hear this bird as well as see him? She walked on, glowing with anticipation.
Ahead of them Will was cutting a window, and he and Lyra waited for the women to pass through so that he could close it again.
"D'you know wherehung low over the pavement. To see what would happen, she held out her hand, and he stepped onto it without hesitation. She felt the slight weight, the tight grip of the claws on her finger, and gently moved him onto her shoulder. He settled into place as if he'd been there all her life. we are?" Will said.Mary looked around. The road they were in now, in her world, was quiet and tree-lined, with big Victorian houses in shrub-filled Somewhere in north Oxford," Mary said. "Not far from my flat, as a matter of fact, though I don't know exactly which road this is.""I want to go to the Lyra said."All right. I suppose that's about fifteen minutes' walk. This way..."Mary tried the double-seeing again. She found it easier this time, and there was the chough, with her in her own world, perching on a branch that

Leonardo da Vinci Virgin of the Rocks

Leonardo da Vinci Virgin of the RocksLeonardo da Vinci St John the BaptistLeonardo da Vinci Madonna with Yarnwinder
sit up lightly.
Tell them stories, she said.
When supper was over, the three humans and Atal sat on rugs outside Mary's house, under the warm stars. They lay back, well fed and comfortable in the flower-scented night, and listened to Mary tell her story.
She began just "I did as you told me," she said. "I made a program, that's a set of instructions, to let the Shadows talk to me what to do. They said they were angels, and, well..."
"If you were a scientist," said Will, "I don't suppose that was a good thing for them to say. You might not have believed in angels."
"Ah, but I knew about them. I used to be a nun, you see. I thought before she first met Lyra, telling them about the work she was doing at the Dark Matter Research group, and the funding crisis. How much time she'd had to spend asking for money, and how little time there'd been left for research!But Lyra's coming had changed everything, and so quickly: within a matter of days she'd left her world altogether.