The Ring

Back in 2009, Joel and I took our first vacation to Niagara Falls, ON. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyeQJErGQEzlr-fjlGrXq3Ly2CNOeNyav1ig96FCMh0W2mG-aGuUnQIoDW47MOwpQMIYK2BiV030TpxbUQ7_PCzkmjsNz-aEuDLOs95VzXRDnfib7SRjsmjSZM0Hj4x6BTVSTstRwa98/s1600/niagara1+080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyeQJErGQEzlr-fjlGrXq3Ly2CNOeNyav1ig96FCMh0W2mG-aGuUnQIoDW47MOwpQMIYK2BiV030TpxbUQ7_PCzkmjsNz-aEuDLOs95VzXRDnfib7SRjsmjSZM0Hj4x6BTVSTstRwa98/s400/niagara1+080.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Canadian Falls (aka "Horseshoe Falls")</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yrptMFMjrbsoMRgDhOn4CntvC07teU1ncmNYmDtBHuxO1VRh03J0etwgq0-Cz6E94_VXj48TRuwXDm3amGKsRHaV0vTztb1MCvYKcV772AIn7xtmG2AK2hTGI04k2cGGO6SEzSXivnI/s1600/niagara1+079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yrptMFMjrbsoMRgDhOn4CntvC07teU1ncmNYmDtBHuxO1VRh03J0etwgq0-Cz6E94_VXj48TRuwXDm3amGKsRHaV0vTztb1MCvYKcV772AIn7xtmG2AK2hTGI04k2cGGO6SEzSXivnI/s400/niagara1+079.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Falls</td></tr></tbody></table>Have you ever been there?  I LOVED it! <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenFOOfI4xFCY2ht8_mXoYwltIM3j12kJMarvL49caVAFeWP5gv_5Dtqb1puD-Ex94OjTL4EkIoXgAJ7hiy6DdLcDjeKRmSwRRhIUfkE975WLPGvH4JeUrE9TAIIWo_IuiCZPaWBH_47U/s1600/niagara1+070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenFOOfI4xFCY2ht8_mXoYwltIM3j12kJMarvL49caVAFeWP5gv_5Dtqb1puD-Ex94OjTL4EkIoXgAJ7hiy6DdLcDjeKRmSwRRhIUfkE975WLPGvH4JeUrE9TAIIWo_IuiCZPaWBH_47U/s400/niagara1+070.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maid of the Mist</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Canada was a lot like Pennsylvania (what I deem "The Motherland").  It had mild summer temperatures (we were there in mid-July) and the people were sooooo incredibly nice.  Even just outside the huge tourist attraction that are the great and glorious Falls, sprawling farmland was abundant, including many-a-vineyard :). <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDW1kigQBuf2p0QnXblKX8y4bnNTsDWy4qPw2hv1MlWFpl41xc0yLL5T5PZD4h4FywBzMYX987ve5KUOaHmdzMG4JfWDNcsK-7iZ-YAm09yylpI_19UoVXbohVzdTCUnWx0kjZS-ilzk/s1600/Hilary%2527s+Canada+Pics+143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGDW1kigQBuf2p0QnXblKX8y4bnNTsDWy4qPw2hv1MlWFpl41xc0yLL5T5PZD4h4FywBzMYX987ve5KUOaHmdzMG4JfWDNcsK-7iZ-YAm09yylpI_19UoVXbohVzdTCUnWx0kjZS-ilzk/s400/Hilary%2527s+Canada+Pics+143.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />This was all a welcome change compared to what we're used to here in our nation's capital.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vyQ3-izbLOSub4ySEJoOmPmelLK8Wfo-oXN0KxXJlAOgZx6wqcmUOi-yPVH_g0pEPX5Qbb-u5lKv9qiIs_CyoPyIYL5jebsPLeci1VbQivtaq9ihrOzckx5qsS6VRvnjbzWI-xAqL48/s1600/Hilary%2527s+Canada+Pics+099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7vyQ3-izbLOSub4ySEJoOmPmelLK8Wfo-oXN0KxXJlAOgZx6wqcmUOi-yPVH_g0pEPX5Qbb-u5lKv9qiIs_CyoPyIYL5jebsPLeci1VbQivtaq9ihrOzckx5qsS6VRvnjbzWI-xAqL48/s400/Hilary%2527s+Canada+Pics+099.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I took full advantage of <a href="http://www.frommers.com/store/9781118100264.html">Frommer's guide to Niagara Falls</a> (just like with <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/07/hey-yall.html">Savannah</a>) and we hit up as many places on the Niagara escarpment as possible. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDva502bp8lkucQeb5g_E9N8tKua2FCdqmuie709S-B4h68F9bwtxoAY4E2mvyrCbgvP4jzGvmyQUKMoP1XaIySLq0h_2t3GBspPvAyWEH1zGAsBMee34qr5tMiB4Kcw-aBjow0_Q6cE/s1600/Hilary%2527s+Canada+Pics+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDva502bp8lkucQeb5g_E9N8tKua2FCdqmuie709S-B4h68F9bwtxoAY4E2mvyrCbgvP4jzGvmyQUKMoP1XaIySLq0h_2t3GBspPvAyWEH1zGAsBMee34qr5tMiB4Kcw-aBjow0_Q6cE/s400/Hilary%2527s+Canada+Pics+003.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamp posts in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON</td></tr></tbody></table>One place we ventured to was St. Catharines, which had a Made in Canada store.  I like to buy locally when on travel - please do not give me anything that says Canada on the front but says "Made in China" on the bottom.  The store had a jewelry section complete with diamond jewelry (<a href="http://www.fifthavenuejewellers.com/ice925.html">ICE 925</a> was the company/brand) that originated from the northern parts of Canada.  Well, an avid lover of jewelery, I LOVED this concept, and I immediately said to Joel, "If we ever get married some day, I want my ring to come from Canada."<br /><br />And that's just what he did :).<br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyV_qWMblq_CNIe5Nu91fJ9woQIzVCOrkj-XMwPe5F70DlStQ2NWIpxBY0aInowr1GHQwkqOHJcakG-e-oh4GGmYLDatXaSQxg04LuDkIDesqjTMLBF5-wLyggGjtnApS711_-2lsRUjc/s1600/engagement+ring+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyV_qWMblq_CNIe5Nu91fJ9woQIzVCOrkj-XMwPe5F70DlStQ2NWIpxBY0aInowr1GHQwkqOHJcakG-e-oh4GGmYLDatXaSQxg04LuDkIDesqjTMLBF5-wLyggGjtnApS711_-2lsRUjc/s400/engagement+ring+001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCamFbFacy0hT1Zdre7MjkGJZOZycg3XiS5zncLR0pDNV7RtUdPMsW2WKh2a2smzrtdR7sj_JH614dg9YXTpqoF-nQc0mVn8_15hhwGXrA8ZUiRfphsLrQBA8OmxH9ZqvXxV-dmgCKPs/s1600/ring+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBCamFbFacy0hT1Zdre7MjkGJZOZycg3XiS5zncLR0pDNV7RtUdPMsW2WKh2a2smzrtdR7sj_JH614dg9YXTpqoF-nQc0mVn8_15hhwGXrA8ZUiRfphsLrQBA8OmxH9ZqvXxV-dmgCKPs/s400/ring+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>It's hard to determine from the pictures above, but the ring is actually pink gold.  I love pink, and I love gold and this marks the second pink gold ring Joel has bought me - the first one being a diamond band I received for Christmas a few years ago.  <br /><br />I love this ring more and more each day, and I'm so happy and honored to be wearing this beauty for the rest of my life!

wedding The Ring

Back in 2009, Joel and I took our first vacation to Niagara Falls, ON.  The Canadian Falls (aka "Horseshoe Falls") American Falls ...

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THESE AMAZING SHADOWS: The Film Preservation Act and the National Film Registry

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogjUwYYTNIqX552IogP-aPIByboHR3kg9FSji57qXh_xw8mm7imKWQUJS4oNaM_SbJhv10_KFRQ2C_oKxdkLnm5WWnYOP2uPd5CD26jCWdEGRsz-8KE8a1xcmBHMnX73dtI4leqGVox6i/s1600/These+Amazing+Shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogjUwYYTNIqX552IogP-aPIByboHR3kg9FSji57qXh_xw8mm7imKWQUJS4oNaM_SbJhv10_KFRQ2C_oKxdkLnm5WWnYOP2uPd5CD26jCWdEGRsz-8KE8a1xcmBHMnX73dtI4leqGVox6i/s400/These+Amazing+Shadows.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><span lang="EN">Independent Lens</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN">, the Emmy-winning PBS series, <span style="font-size: small;">airs</span> Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton’s <i>These Amazing Shadows</i>, a one-hour documentary, on Thursday, December 29, at 10:00pm (check local listings).</span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN">These Amazing Shadows </span></i><span lang="EN">i</span><span lang="EN">s an often kaleidoscopic swirl of film clips iconic and obscure, from <i>Casablanca</i>, <i>Gone with the Wind</i> and <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> to <i>2001</i>, <i>The Godfather</i> and <i>E.T., </i>plus culturally noteworthy home movies, the odd sound film demo and theater intermission bumper. The documentary also outlines the background of the Film Preservation Act and the creation of the National Film Registry.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFI_kXbSmXL4TEs8m06FcBFrZFMO2-1kpvFF7qn9Zw4h7zM6oBMBpabEpYWG0wJTx2K5Jsk8yWkHAYGwGcMCSJwIpH0w_Aptd8ZougqeWMGv4SHelFOVVqn8CqE69jWWLza5u3Ucx6wDyY/s1600/The+Night+of+the+Hunter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFI_kXbSmXL4TEs8m06FcBFrZFMO2-1kpvFF7qn9Zw4h7zM6oBMBpabEpYWG0wJTx2K5Jsk8yWkHAYGwGcMCSJwIpH0w_Aptd8ZougqeWMGv4SHelFOVVqn8CqE69jWWLza5u3Ucx6wDyY/s320/The+Night+of+the+Hunter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Night of the Hunter</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">When Ted Turner purchased MGM in 1986 for $1.6 billion he sold off parts of his acquisition, but kept the film and TV libraries, which included those of MGM/UA, RKO and Warner Bros. With the hope of expanding the appeal of classic black and white films on his ‘SuperStation’ WTBS and elsewhere, Turner devised a plan to “colorize” them. In September 1986, Turner Broadcasting System released a list of 100 films set for “colorizing” – the list included <i>Casablanca</i>, <i>The Maltese Falcon</i>, <i>The Postman Always Rings Twice</i>, <i>Out of the Past</i> and other legends of black and white American cinema. Turner’s decision met with loud opposition from Hollywood filmmakers. The Director’s Guild was outspoken and an indignant Billy Wilder snarled: “Those fools! Do they really think that colorization will make <i>The Informer</i> any better? Or <i>Citizen Kane</i> or <i>Casablanca</i>? Or do they hope to palm off some of the old stinkers by dipping them in 31 flavors? Is there no end to their greed?”</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">The outcry against Turner’s penchant for colorizing the classics culminated in Congressional hearings.<i> These Amazing Shadows</i> navigates the colorization controversy, illustrating the hue and cry with news footage of directors Sydney Pollack and Woody Allen appearing before Congress and clips of James Stewart speaking out on network TV. In 1988, the Film Preservation Act was passed and, through the Library of Congress’ National Film Preservation Board, brought about the National Film Registry.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7nTb3EQYZNcv3bH1Fd-ha4Uaic8Vog5IqMSuYk5GW7KNc4x_GexTNEDEy98E-bLuxz8gY__BQPGmkZBHeRschf9ZwPgFjxjPRRJhtsJeV_wzF9BVKagHOIjnSqO_NfgnwX4RzQZjoALd/s1600/a+man+and+his+duck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7nTb3EQYZNcv3bH1Fd-ha4Uaic8Vog5IqMSuYk5GW7KNc4x_GexTNEDEy98E-bLuxz8gY__BQPGmkZBHeRschf9ZwPgFjxjPRRJhtsJeV_wzF9BVKagHOIjnSqO_NfgnwX4RzQZjoALd/s320/a+man+and+his+duck.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gus Visser and his Singing Duck</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">Among the tumble of Registry “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” films glimpsed in <i>These Amazing Shadows</i> are dramas, comedies, musicals and animated features. The documentary‘s tone is generally serious, but there is also a fair sprinkling of whimsy. The grim but seared-into-memory footage of Abraham Zapruder’s famous home movie of the Kennedy Assassination is on the list as is a thought-provoking home movie (<i>Topaz</i>)<i> </i>taken in a U.S. internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. Yet there’s the bizarre sound film demo of Gus Visser and His Singing Duck, not to mention the jaunty theater intermission promo, “Let’s All Go to the Lobby (to get ourselves a treat)”…a mélange!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN">These Amazing Shadows </span></i><span lang="EN">covers a lot of ground in an hour. There are nearly as many interviews (Debbie Reynolds, Paul Schrader, Christopher Nolan, Rob Reiner, Peter Coyote, John Waters and many others) as there are film clips. The program features reflections on movies in general as well as specific films and genres but also explores attitudes and issues (race relations, women in film, cold war propaganda). Naturally, D.W. Griffith’s legendary <i>Birth of a Nation </i>has its moment in the spotlight. Though an innovative groundbreaker, this film affects me in the same way Leni Riefenstahl’s <i>Triumph of the Will </i>does. Each is historically and cinematically relevant but promotes deeply offensive propaganda; Riefenstahl extolled the Nazis, Griffith the Ku Klux Klan.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-ZX1rFXGICrgRgHW74a71ot-yrFTwbpEuT6zt_MreFhr1LTPu6cBqIu4wPGl85X3hHp6H1OaXzBtBBHRVGUj3qNC5SCOs3mpPLx23TVEWCrwQQo49pb4JEpBkyj-qDm5WrSxbslyEEt3/s1600/Brando+and+cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-ZX1rFXGICrgRgHW74a71ot-yrFTwbpEuT6zt_MreFhr1LTPu6cBqIu4wPGl85X3hHp6H1OaXzBtBBHRVGUj3qNC5SCOs3mpPLx23TVEWCrwQQo49pb4JEpBkyj-qDm5WrSxbslyEEt3/s320/Brando+and+cat.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Godfather</i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">A central point, hammered home as the documentary comes to its conclusion, is the importance of preservation and restoration. It was news to me that the original negative of <i>The Godfather</i> had been reduced to “tatters.” Overused because of the film’s immense popularity (“loved to death”) it was at one time in dire need of restoration. It’s no stretch to imagine that if <i>The Godfather </i>could nearly come to ruin, a terrible fate could easily befall less prominent, smaller films.  And why would anyone care about saving movies? Well, that’s not a hard question for a film lover/blogger like me. Without film, my soul would shrivel and die. <i>These Amazing Shadows</i> takes the larger view - film is “our family album,” a part of American history and culture.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">Currently there are <a href="http://www.loc.gov/film/registry_titles.php" style="color: #990000;"><b>550 films listed</b></a> in the National Film Registry. Each year the Librarian of Congress, with input from the public and the National Film Preservation Board, picks 25 films to add to the Registry. </span><span lang="EN">To learn more about <i>These Amazing Shadows</i>, an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, <a href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/these-amazing-shadows/" style="color: #990000;"><b>click here</b></a>.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN">A footnote: I can’t ignore the irony that Ted Turner, who eventually abandoned colorization (a prohibitively expensive process), just a few years later launched</span></i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Turner Classic Movies. The channel stands today as a beacon in the night for classic film fans - and airs predominantly black and white films...</span></span></i><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/28aSBRPDfh4" width="420"></iframe></div></div>

National Film Preservation Board National Film Registry The Lady Eve (author) These Amazing Shadows THESE AMAZING SHADOWS: The Film Preservation Act and the National Film Registry

Independent Lens , the Emmy-winning PBS series, airs Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton’s These Amazing Shadows , a one-hour documentary, on Thur...

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Middle East

<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background-color: yellow; font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>The Arab Spring Revisited </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Article by Mark Silverberg<b> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.analyst-network.com/profile.php?user_id=203"><br /></a> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">With all the talk of revolutions, the Middle East continues to slip backwards. We see mobs burning buildings, and President Obama quoting Martin Luther King - “There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom” - while the leaders of this "democratic transformation" read <i>Mein Kampf</i> and are well on their way to establishing Islamic theocracies across the region.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">While the Administration has sought “clarifications” from the Muslim Brotherhood concerning future relations with Israel, and minority and women’s rights, it has not received any formal response. What it did receive was news that Muslim Brotherhood leader Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb had just told thousands of his followers in a major Cairo mosque: “In order to build Egypt, we must be one. Politics is insufficient. Faith in Allah is the basis for everything.” Time and again, a Koran quote vowing that "one day we shall kill all the Jews" was uttered at the site.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Change is indeed coming, but it is not the sort of change this Administration has in mind. For anyone who has the slightest understanding of the socio-political crises gripping the Arab Middle East today, it is clear that the “Arab Spring” is morphing into an “Arab Winter” leaving in its wake political instability, Sunni-Shiite rivalries, bloody clashes, assassinations, bombings, massacres of civilians, sectarian violence, Islamic theocracies, and massive refugee problems – most notably from Syria - everything except liberal democracy as we know it. If anything, it's an "Islamic awakening", and the only winners will be the Muslim Brotherhood (whose political aims are akin to those of the revolutionary Khomeinists in Iran), its ideological ally Hamas, and the Salafists (who are even more extreme in their Islamic views).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">We never learn from history. In 1979, as the Ayatollah Khomeini was seizing power in Iran and turning a largely peaceful secular revolution into a brutal Islamic theocracy, the <i>New York Times</i> ran an op-ed column entitled "Trusting Khomenei." The column argued that Khomeini was being depicted unfairly as an anti-Semitic theocratic reactionary when instead, "Iran may yet provide us with a desperately-needed model of humane governance for a third-world country." We all know how that turned out, but that didn't stop the <i>Times</i> from running another front page "news analysis" in February 2011 extolling the virtues of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. What happened in Iran, it assured us, could never happen in Egypt as the Brotherhood "is a mainstream group that stands as the most venerable of the Arab world's Islamic movements." And then there is the senior member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Kamal al-Halbavi, who said he hoped Egypt would have “a good government, like the Iranian government, and a good president like Mr. Ahmadinejad, who is very brave.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even now, the Administration does not yet fully understand the implications of probable Muslim Brotherhood victories in Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco and the West Bank. To do so, it need only consult the April 2011 Pew Research Center poll results in Egypt (and Egypt is typical of other Arab countries in this regard) where 60% of Egyptians said that <i>Shari'a</i> must be the only source of legislation in their country, 82% said they favored stoning adulterers, and 77% supported flogging or cutting off the hands of thieves. In such a society, acceptance of Islamism and <i>Sharia</i> is to be expected, especially when 30% of the population is illiterate, 40% live on less than $2 a day, and the nation can barely feed itself.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">When these attitudes translate themselves into an electoral victory, the Brotherhood can be expected to prevent parliament from passing any law that contradicts the explicit commands of Allah as conveyed through the Koran, the <i>Hadith</i>, and the example set by the prophet. Uriya Shavit of Tel Aviv University explains the implications of this in the autumn issue of <i>AzureOnline</i> (<i>Shalem Center</i>): “As Islamist scholars have explained repeatedly, human beings cannot permit what Allah has forbidden, nor can they ban what Allah permits.” She continues: “The inevitable result of (the Muslim Brotherhood’s) electoral victory will be the formation of a theocracy. It will not permit the scientific and technological revolution of which Arab societies are in such dire need.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">If<i> Sharia</i> is to become the supreme adjudicator of future legislation across the Arab world, non-Muslims will be excluded from full participation in Arab societies, official second-class status (<i>dhimmitude</i>) will be conferred on them, and their lives and property will be protected only so long as they pay the <i>Jizya</i> – a discriminatory tax that must be paid by non-Muslims under Islamic law. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">It can also be assumed that Islamic law will validate polygamy, the amputation of limbs, gender apartheid, the ethnic cleansing of Jews, mandatory donning of the veil for women, honor killings, the execution of homosexuals, prostitutes and apostates (those who convert away from Islam), female genital mutilation, bans on music, dancing, men and women mixing in public, the blowing up of liquor stores, restrictions on scientific and technological inquiry (the effect of which will suffocate philosophy, art and research), suppression of freedom of expression for artists, journalists and writers, the punishment of those in the media who disagree with their government, and the practicing of any religion other than Islam (witness the recent attacks on Copts and Christian Coptic churches in Egypt).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">In his blog, analyst Daniel Greenfield also notes…“If the Brotherhood achieves its aims, the military will be taken apart and replaced by an Iranian-style Revolutionary Guard. That process is already underway in Turkey where there are more generals in prison than on the front lines. But if the military waits out all its rivals and then picks up Western support for stabilizing Egypt, then a new Mubarak will be in power.” Only the army can prevent the establishment of an Islamic state.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">All this should lead the Western powers to reflect on the true meaning of democracy. It is much more than the process of voting in free elections. When we speak of democracy, we assume it means the same thing to all peoples everywhere. The assumption is that popular power goes hand-in-hand with freedom and tolerance for minorities. It is an assumption not founded on history or reason, but on wishful thinking. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Democracy is no solution in countries where tolerance and the freedom to organize or dissent do not exist. In the Arab Middle East, Islamic democracy will justify democratic tyranny by the majority and will unify countries </span><i style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">by purging them of all their divisive elements</i><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">. And if the rest of the population</span></span> doesn't agree - especially non-Muslim minorities - elections will be rigged, bullets will fly, protesters will be slaughtered in the streets, and the prisons will be full.</span></div>

Middle East

The Arab Spring Revisited  Article by Mark Silverberg With all the talk of revolutions, the Middle East continues to slip backwards. We se...

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THE MEGA BANKS:

<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> GOLDMAN SACHS, JPMORGAN CHASE, ETC. CONTROL EUROPE'S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>by Bob Chapman</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Europe each time a new player is presented we find he is a Goldman Sachs’ alumnus. Recent entries are Mario Monti “appointed” PM of Italy, Lucas Papademas “appointed” PM of Greece and Mario Dragahi “appointed” President of the European Central Bank. The banks blatantly control governments and agencies presenting us with an oligarchy, which controls most of the nations on the planet. In America politicians are bought and paid for. In Europe there is a different mind set, a shared worldview of bureaucrats, technocrats, politicians and the elite bankers of world government and domination. What has happened in this process is that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and other mega-banking has retained power for decades. They control all the players in the field, so the outcome is always in their favor. The bankers and others in turn are paid via billions of dollars in bonuses. Banks are now bank holding companies having become that to avoid failure as brokerage firms. That is the case in the US, UK and Europe.<br /> <br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">One of our subscribers in Brussels sent us a copy of “A European Mechanism for Financial Stability.” The present danger is seen in sovereigns heavily in debt and the heard effect of hedge funds. They say they won’t allow speculators to govern their societies. If they are serious why don’t they ban them from their markets? A universal ban would be even better and they could throw in derivatives for good measure.<br /> <br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Europe still does not have a longer-term structural solution to their debt crisis and none is in the offering. Germany cannot sell its total tranche of bonds and Mrs. Merkel says that if Germany can only sell 65% of its bonds how can Eurobonds or bonds of the six insolvent nations sell theirs? The debt crisis is burrowing even deeper like a large worm undermining the entire continent. Worse yet, we just found out that the Bundesbank usually holds back bonds for market making operations, thus, they only sold about half of the issue. If the crisis continues to deepen Germany and the other euro zone nations will have to reexamine where they are headed. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> As we know all currencies and debt rates are increasing, which ties the banks of all the participants, including the solvent ones. Even with the German bunds, who is going to want to hold debt in a country that will have to guarantee one-half or more of the debt of other countries? At the same time the call goes out for strict supervision and enforcement of budget discipline. We have lived in these countries and that is not possible for any sustained period of time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Spanish election turned out as well as could be expected Calling for a vote on November 20th, the anniversary of Generalisimo’s death, turned out to be the kiss of death for Socialist PM Joe Luis Zapatero. There are too many people who liked Franco. The PP is a pro business party and already governs 11 of 17 of the country’s autonomous regions. If PP beats the Socialists in their stronghold in March, the PP will be in power for a number of years. Zapater’s legacy to the PP will have its work cut out for it with 22% unemployment and almost 7% yields to contend with. They will have to also try to restore the country’s AAA rating. Many voted for the lesser of two evils.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">In France we have another case of government bailing out the banks and other euro zone members. These efforts could cost France its AAA rating. We’ll know in mid-January, but it does not look good.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Funding costs on a 10-year bond level are up and they look like they are going to stay there. Major countries are still paying close to 7%, which is the highest funding cost since the creation of the euro. The spread between French and German rates is about 2%, which is unheard of. The euro continues to be hammered vs. the dollar and the same is happening worldwide in stock markets. Most two-year paper has risen in yield over the past month. France is paying close to 4% versus .40% in Germany and in the US .28%. In Europe these bond markets could not function without the assistance of the ECB and the money and credit creation of sovereign governments, some banks are showing desperate signs. The biggest bank in Italy, Unibank, has to refinance $51 billion of bonds shortly. Their bond yields are now over 10%. Only the ECB can bail them out like the Fed bailed out banks in the US and Europe three years ago.</span><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">While this transpires 70% of Americans are unaware of the seriousness of what is taking place in Europe. Wait until 2012. Banks alone have to raise $660 billion of maturing debt, most 10-year paper is selling above 7-1/4%, which is a sign that they all need the help; Greece, Ireland and Portugal has already received. Remember, we are talking $6 trillion just to bail these countries out and to keep their economies going sideways. The solvent countries cannot come up with that kind of money without failing themselves. You have to ask why did the bankers let things go so far? They deliberately impeded the system, because they cannot be that stupid. Then there is the matter of capital flight. This year Greek banks have lost 20% of their deposits. We hope they bought gold and silver. We ask are Italian and Spanish deposits next? Over in Hungary Moody’s has cut their debt to non-investment grade. In the wake of that announcement France’s Sarkozy and Germany’s Merkel tell us that the ECB will act appropriately, whatever that means. These leaders do not know what to say or what to do. The situation is unsustainable, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this phase lasted into late January. Remember, Europe virtually closes down from December 7th until January 10th. This while the future of the European banking system is in dire trouble. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">While this transpires we wonder how many derivative failures there are and what their consequences could be? At last we heard from the US government, US bank exposure was $670 billion, mostly in credit default swaps. If the six European countries default on their debt, US banks cannot possibly stay solvent. The knack on contagion could take the US banking system down with it. In Europe there is no question that all European banks will have to be recapitalized by the countries in which they do business. In fact, it has already begun, just as it did in the US three years ago. That makes their currencies worth much less and gold and silver worth much more. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">This is the greatest risk the EU has ever faced and as yet no one has any solutions. The euro and the entire 27-country union are at risk. This as we predicted has no solution. The weaker states have to be cut loose and the euro has to be phased out. Article 123 of the EU Treaty, prohibiting monetary financing or central bank funding of government, is illegal. That certainly is a stopper. That means the euro zone and the EU are trapped by their treaty and would have to change the treaty and, of course, the outcome would be massive inflation. If they stick to the treaty the euro will collapse. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">What it comes down to is that desperate violators do not care about the law. All they want is survival. On the other hand, Germans are unwilling to sacrifice their credibility or to abandon the legal path. Crisis or no crisis there is no reason to break the rules for those who have already broken them. Monetary inflation is the direct result of bailout and purging the system is the only solution for the long-term. We do not think Germany will abandon the rules and their principals. That means they are prepared to cut loose the six insolvents and hope the core euro nations can hold together. It is not only inflation, but credibility and trust as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Monetary financing only extends the problem; it is illegal and destroys the credibility and trust in national institutions. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

THE MEGA BANKS:

 GOLDMAN SACHS, JPMORGAN CHASE, ETC. CONTROL EUROPE'S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE by Bob Chapman In Europe each time a new player is presented w...

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Guest Post by Joel

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpTpdWyFc5OGwPCXSQNtzc0k4XWI01YhDez8BBbuUVB2-Wui6fPGcrVDcNUp8ay-GFzeK0gABqPLyz7r00oIh6uQaeG4LZ61pWJgDx1x2x9pTCfexJomEfhSvl4siVMrQ8jBtBQGZWRs/s1600/hiljoelfacebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpTpdWyFc5OGwPCXSQNtzc0k4XWI01YhDez8BBbuUVB2-Wui6fPGcrVDcNUp8ay-GFzeK0gABqPLyz7r00oIh6uQaeG4LZ61pWJgDx1x2x9pTCfexJomEfhSvl4siVMrQ8jBtBQGZWRs/s320/hiljoelfacebook.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September 2011</td></tr></tbody></table>My name is Joel, future husband to the future Mrs. Hilary Busbee.  Hilary has asked me to write a guest post about my weight loss journey.  I’m at a loss of how to go about this because I’m not very detail oriented.  I could simply say I’ve been eating better and losing weight and that would suffice; but, I know Hilary wouldn’t have it.  I will try and draw this out as much as possible for God, country and Hilary!<br /><br />Making better food choices and staying mobile has been my cause for success.  I’m very lucky because there are only a handful of foods that I won’t eat.  I can even eat that mislabeled rabbit food of a cereal, Fiber One, and enjoy it!  Instead of putting the trash in my car and driving it the 1/8 of a mile to the dumpster I walk it.  Even though it seems small, that stuff adds up.  Here’s the big secret folks, I rarely, <i>rarely </i>eat fast food anymore.  Shocker, I know!  Who would have guessed that refraining from a steady diet of McDoubles would help someone lose weight?  <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDyhL5FUZPvWGh6L0jJnrm_DlyFWde2QKk2V6TsnsvgFlu86YyeJ6IDIjB_HUFqxFTa0foJJfKttf510ooPevxq13YlZVaYDBDyoUOrzicnQQElXvp8XelGtE0v_BpxQWGgBgoCmPePE/s1600/Paw+Paws+80th+Birthday+069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDyhL5FUZPvWGh6L0jJnrm_DlyFWde2QKk2V6TsnsvgFlu86YyeJ6IDIjB_HUFqxFTa0foJJfKttf510ooPevxq13YlZVaYDBDyoUOrzicnQQElXvp8XelGtE0v_BpxQWGgBgoCmPePE/s400/Paw+Paws+80th+Birthday+069.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">November 2011</td></tr></tbody></table>Even though I know you’re growing more intrigued with each word you read, I have to say that’s it and wrap this up.  I eat better and feel better.  I also want to quickly say how grateful I am for Hilary doing this with me.  She’s the reason this is happening.  Love you.

Guest post Joel Weight Loss Weight Watchers Guest Post by Joel

September 2011 My name is Joel, future husband to the future Mrs. Hilary Busbee.  Hilary has asked me to write a guest post about my weight ...

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Geopolitics

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1a_JawmNEg9h9VDl0u4hoM2hlpox-ga5xlOBA9EUQUY_jC-5eeImefeVYNGGR-h14Ab2pMMJxe8xuL17GOQ35ZuSRDEJJpFzmdMot51lYVAsVXFXAtwBdXAmVaJjVfJpjGhBZn8yCA9s/s1600/shia-in-ME.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><u>GEO – STRATEGIC RESHUFFLE  </u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">That there is currently a reshuffling of the geopolitical landscape is nothing new. The question is where does all this lead to? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>THE OLD CONTINENT </u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let start in Europe. The current financial crisis in Europe some say is a monetary war between Anglo American establishment and the Europeans. If this is the case the current Rating Agencies hype makes sense for most of them are US Agencies and since we are living in a period where every move of our life is rated it is a easy task for corporate and politically motivated media to conduct a “PSY OPS” style propaganda where everyone seems to think the world is going to collapse because one of rating agency threatens to downgrade a country. Thus the Anglo American axis seems to have the upper hand in the monetary war against Europe. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Another way of looking at it is that Europe’s current crisis is just a natural cycle that was bound to happen since Europe has prospered for more than 60 years and thus has reached its zenith; therefore it is only natural that a decline is imminent. Some even argue that a war in Europe is unavoidable and as a result of which the economy would once again kick start, political echelons of the European Union Powerhouse would shuffle new cards, as a subsequent of which Europe would enter another cycle of prosperity. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The prospect of war in Europe is not such a farfetched scenario if one looks deeper into Europe’s history and how multi cultural diversity triggered armed conflicts in the past.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Last but not least there are the conspiracy theorists who view the current crisis in Europe as something triggered deliberately in order to justify a “new world order” in which Europe is part of one <i><span style="font-style: normal;">sovereign</span></i><i> </i>entity, one government and one monetary control body.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u> </u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>MIDDLE EAST</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The euphoria bubble surrounding the Arab Spring has burst and brought back the harsh reality to its people. Only the naive ones truly believed that with the Arab Spring, true democracy would hold a triumphant victory march into Arab society. Instead we are back at square one. Egypt has and will not see significant changes, not now nor after the elections. Egypt will continue to be governed by an autocratic government. As for the rest of the “Arab Spring” countries, mainstream media naively continue to report that “Moderate” Islamic governments are about to take over and thus democracy is destined to take over in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Well keep on dreaming. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>SYRIA - SUNNI MONARCHIES VERSUS SHIITES AND ALAWITES?</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The situation in Syria on the other hand is becoming increasingly complex and hard to analyze, because of a full out “PSY OPS” style covert operation by foreign entities, starting from the UK, USA and THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES. Monitoring main stream media such as BBC, CNN and the rest of corporate print media, one cannot avoid detecting certain PSY OPS tactics. First of all most of main stream media unquestioningly convey statements given by the Syrian Opposition in the UK and other countries as given fact. Furthermore many mainstream media outlets claim to have obtained information from opposition groups in Syria via cell phone and internet.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HHYF8IBvusM?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">People how lived or visited Syria, know how rigorously mobile phone services and the internet are monitored and controlled by the Assad clan and their security services. Thus it seems rather unlikely that information obtained from the opposition via cell phones and internet social networks are genuine. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In most likelihood these feedbacks are part of a PSY OPS strategy in order to destabilize the situation. One must not forget that SAUDIA ARABIA and TURKY seem to have a very strong geo- strategically interest in SYRIA and thus are eager to tumble the government.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWWPC4Dk8vDi7DOdeA9px9BKE8ID66Pnrf3vCEx9dtn-EMTvt4IZwO1OY5F90uFuAyy6O0JowqeAQYmC8PihnIl6F6a6RL1Oom4bCvFadvC2KoyLRwvtn-C0sPElXQMvlTH7D-IgtYFzj/s1600/shia-in-ME.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaWWPC4Dk8vDi7DOdeA9px9BKE8ID66Pnrf3vCEx9dtn-EMTvt4IZwO1OY5F90uFuAyy6O0JowqeAQYmC8PihnIl6F6a6RL1Oom4bCvFadvC2KoyLRwvtn-C0sPElXQMvlTH7D-IgtYFzj/s320/shia-in-ME.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mainstream media also neglects to provide in-depth analysis as to why suddenly THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES is so desperate to sanction SYRIA. THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES was formed by eight ARAB states, all of whom are governed by ROYAL FAMILIES, BAHRAIN, JORDAN, KUWAIT, MOROCCO, OMAN, QATAR, SAUDI ARABIA and the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES and all of whom are predominantly SUNNI MUSLIMS, (including Turkey) and NATO allies, whereas SYRIA is ruled by the ASSAD clan which are ALAWITES and foster close ties to RUSSIA and IRAN which is predominantly SHIITE. Thus it becomes imminent why suddenly THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES is increasing its pressure on SYRIA. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Geo-Strategically RUSSIA needs to support SYRIA in order to keep its only “foot in the water” in the MEDITERRANEAN SEA with its naval base in TARTUS. A regime change in DAMASCUS would oust RUSSIA and IRANIAN navies from the sea, thus eliminating the only friendly docking facilities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I have mentioned in previous articles in this blog, toppling the current regime will turn the region into utmost chaos and civil war, something ISRAEL and the USA can’t afford to risk.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>USA PACIFIC REACH</u></b> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRjzUSJpWAMHBMxzufpVAcu1-7Y3QHIwdplr9ddfgB0xKMOZ1r-AyvcD7KMZyYooLF8ubEeBCAGDOvo_29WE5A3i4WM7By2paYm0IamtizB1Pb_ckK1TBFWhkv0fy8tdnvDejw0HKwMxB/s1600/malacca-straights.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRjzUSJpWAMHBMxzufpVAcu1-7Y3QHIwdplr9ddfgB0xKMOZ1r-AyvcD7KMZyYooLF8ubEeBCAGDOvo_29WE5A3i4WM7By2paYm0IamtizB1Pb_ckK1TBFWhkv0fy8tdnvDejw0HKwMxB/s320/malacca-straights.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The USA, despite its debt crisis, is always on the quest for new geo strategic advantages and thus does not hesitate to change its geo-political tactics. It therefore does not come as a surprise that the USA currently is trying to gain a footstep in the door of the Pacific Rim. The latest activities being the increase of  number of troops in AUSTRALIA and closer ties with VIETNAM in order to gain more influence in the CHINESE sea which would take them at the doorsteps of CHINA.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WeoyasUz7h4?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately RT is the only alternative video news resource on youtube that covers subjects mentioned in this blog,</span><span style="font-size: large;">which makes this blog not as impartial as intended to be!!</span></div></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CsPqtu7cx3o?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Aside from the pacific quest the USA increasingly are trying to mend relations with certain LATIN AMERICAN countries such as ARGENTINA and BRAZIL in order to gain a share of their economic boom and to have a “foot in the doorstep” in the food supply chain. (Related article will be published on this block in due course).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The current geopolitical seismic shift the world is experiencing will bring about changes upon many generations to come, and for sure they are not for the better.  </span></div>

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Geopolitics

GEO – STRATEGIC RESHUFFLE   That there is currently a reshuffling of the geopolitical landscape is nothing new. The question is where does a...

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Webinar recording: Get the hang of a Google hangout (27/11/2013)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpUjWM6Js0SM5C1VwQvju67THQgulA-ibbgaKNP4g1goeO-VLu4UVmTeVcS2Y936P0hIIzSmOBYL1xX6rp_Yy0LfoAOvOtDzwESZ5byfw9Knj_NVYMz_veOpTamWASyFnuoQqnrbnHv8/s1600/webinar+recording.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpUjWM6Js0SM5C1VwQvju67THQgulA-ibbgaKNP4g1goeO-VLu4UVmTeVcS2Y936P0hIIzSmOBYL1xX6rp_Yy0LfoAOvOtDzwESZ5byfw9Knj_NVYMz_veOpTamWASyFnuoQqnrbnHv8/s400/webinar+recording.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;"><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: left;">What is a Google hangout?</b></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google+ is Google's new social networking tool. I have only just discovered its amazing potential since attending the Google Teacher Academy in New York in October. Google has put a lot of funding into developing Google+ and they are committed to making it work well for education, so it will just get better and better I am sure. Once you have created a </span><a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Create-Circles-in-Google-Plus" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">circle of friends</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in Google+ you can choose to hang out with them on Google+. This allows you to video chat, IM chat, watch YouTube videos together, and more. </span><br /><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Summary of benefits</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google Hangouts are part of Google+, Google's new free social networking tool. On a Hangout 10 people (possible 15 on Google Apps) can:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*video chat</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*IM (instant message) chat</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*watch YouTube videos together</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*collaborate on a Google Doc</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*use a whiteboard collaboratively</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*add effects for fun</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*record the Hangout directly on YouTube</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*live stream for more viewers</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*A minimum of two people </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*and more… </span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A Slideshare showing the steps</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This slideshare was used in the SchoolNet webinar of the same name and shows the steps in creating a hangout.</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/15447237" style="border-bottom: #ccc 0px solid; border-left: #ccc 1px solid; border-right: #ccc 1px solid; border-top: #ccc 1px solid; margin-bottom: 5px;" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="427"> </iframe> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/get-the-hang-of-a-google-hangout" target="_blank" title="Get the hang of a Google+ hangout">Get the hang of a Google+ hangout</a> </strong>from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">Fiona Beal</a></strong></span> </div><strong><u><br /></u></strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Webinar recording:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week SchoolNet had a webinar whih was presented by me (Fiona Beal) on 'Get the hang of a Google Hangout'. Here is the recording</span><u>. </u><br /><a href="http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/p6kgz1ndmhz/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;">http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/p6kgz1ndmhz/</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> (22 mins)</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Ideas for using a hangout in the the classroom</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Read a story</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Bring in an expert/guest speaker/author|</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Share from a Slideshare</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Homework tutoring</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Professional Development meeting</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Work on a project together</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Virtual penpals</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Global classroom discussions</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Career Day wit panelists</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Attend other hangouts (Google has a whole library of hangouts)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Extended discussion on a class topic</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Subject-related hangouts</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">• Conduct workshops and seminars</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Additional reading and viewing</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">a) A tutorial </span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please note that Google updates its products continually so some features in this video might look different.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7K06lHu4gDk" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>b) Further Reading</b></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*<a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Google%2B-Hangouts">How to use Google Hangouts</a> </span><br />*<a href="http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Google%2B-Hangouts-for-Teaching" style="background-color: #f9f7f1; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to Use Google+ Hangouts for Teaching</a><br />*<a href="http://www.google.com/+/learnmore/events/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to create a Google event</a><br /><div><br /></div></div></div>

webinars Webinar recording: Get the hang of a Google hangout (27/11/2013)

What is a Google hangout? Google+ is Google's new social networking tool. I have only just discovered its amazing potential since attend...

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Weight Watchers...it was like going home again

I love Weight Watchers! Actually, I love my Weight Watcher leader, Janis. She is absolutely amazing, and very inspiring. She makes me think, makes me want to do better and best of all, she makes me laugh.<br /><br />The thing about Weight Watchers is that it makes you focus on eating healthy, something that calorie counting alone doesn't really require. I feel excited to be back on a plan. Of course, this means what I eat and how much I exercise will become somewhat of an obsession for me (again). But that's okay. It's what I need right now<br /><br />Now for the weighin, the post Thanksgiving Day weighin where I ate too much, including pumpkin pie and apple pie. The apple pie was a frozen pie made by Plush Pippin. If you've never had a Plush Pippin pie, well, you haven't lived. They're the best! It's all gone now, so now worries about it until Thanksgiving 2012. The Plush Pippin factory is actually in Kent, Washington, very near to where I live. Funny story but about ten years ago they had an overstock sale and you could buy pies for $1.00 each at their warehouse. I remember standing in line and buying ten pies. They were delicious...and I weighed about 240 pounds then. Now I get one pie a year and share it with my husband...only on Thanksgiving. They're off limits the other 364 days of the year. <br /><br />I digress...I went from talking about my weighin to talking about pie. Not good. This is what I weighed this morning at Weight Watchers, after two cups of coffee, breakfast and I was fully dressed (obviously!). It's my true weight.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">184.4</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm really not upset by it, which is pretty amazing for me. I knew I'd gained weight the last few weeks because I wasn't paying attention. I'm one of those people that absolutely must constantly be aware of what I'm eating and how much. I gain weight easily when I'm not being careful.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This is my starting point. I have goals and the first one is to get under 180. I have a very busy schedule this next week, but I will eat carefully, and track my Points on my phone. I have a brand new Android Samsung Galaxy II S (the best phone ever!). The Weight Watcher app is easy to use so I won't have any excuses to not track.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>The hotel I stay at in Fairbanks has a decent gym, with ellipticals and treadmills and a variety of weights. Unfortunately, there isn't a Stairmaster, but there are stairs in the hotel. Only eight floors, but it's something. I can do the elliptical then run the stairs a few times, plus do weights. <br /><br />I just got home from the gym and now I have to pack. My left arm is still really weak. I can do dumbbell curls easily with my right arm at 15 pounds. My left arm can barely lift eight pounds. It's really pathetic. I'm surprised how three months in a cast and then another two weeks in a splint completely weakened my left arm. I don't have any noticeable muscle tone in my left arm. It's all flab. Really awful.. After my workouts it's so sore it aches. My right arm feels nothing because I kept lifting weights with it the entire time I had the cast. The doctor said it'll take at least six months to even get it close to what it was before my accident. More likely a year. Oh well...at least no surgery on it or it would have been a lot worse.<br /><br />I probably won't have time to post while I'm in Fairbanks, but when I get back, hopefully life will calm down a bit and I can get back to reading blogs and posting regularly (and leaving comments on all your blogs!).<br /><br />I'm really excited about Weight Watchers. After four years of being on and off of it, I feel like this is the right thing to do for myself right now. I need the structure and the accountability. It provides both. It's still hard work, but losing weight on any plan is hard work.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

Weight Watchers...it was like going home again

I love Weight Watchers! Actually, I love my Weight Watcher leader, Janis. She is absolutely amazing, and very inspiring. She makes me think,...

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Weight Watchers...again!

I quit Weight Watchers several months ago, right before I broke my wrist on August 6. It had lost it's charm, and I never like the new program that was introduced a year ago. Eat all the fruit you want "until you're full" confused me.<br /><br />I started using the BodyMedia in August and dropped twenty pound in three months, but I've put some of that weight back on. Life happened, and I stumbled.<br /><br />My sister had a major stroke, and I was in Fairbanks for six weeks of the last nine-week period dealing with a lot of family drama. These are excuses for my slip, but for once in my life I'm cutting myself a little slack on gaining weight.<br /><br />The last few months have been hideous. It's not over yet, but I see some light at the end of the tunnel. I'm returning to Fairbanks tomorrow for five days. A lot of very serious financial decisions have to be made to secure my sister's future. I have meetings with a real estate attorney, an estate planning attorney, a tax accountant, two real estate agents, the tax assessor (who highly over-appraised her rental property) and my sister's doctor and her speech therapist.   <br /><br />So here I am, a year later, and I weigh close to what I weighed a year ago...at least I think I do. I didn't weigh this morning, but I know I'm within a few pounds (I was 180.4 January 3, 2011).<br /><br />This means after a year, I've not accomplished much regarding my weight. I guess you could call it maintenance, but at 180+ I really need to lose weight, not maintain. I'm better off than I was in February 2008, when I weighed 240 pounds. I'm happy about maintaining a 60-pound loss, but I really need and want to lose weight.<br /><br />Today, it's back to Weight Watchers. I just signed up online for the meetings. My plan is the 10 a.m. meeting. I have a lot to do today, do laundry and pack, but there are two things I have to do:  Weight Watchers and the gym, in that order.<br /><br />I'll post my weigh-in results later today. Since it's post-Thanksgiving, and I'll be dressed versus not dressed when I weigh at home, I'm sure I'll be up a few pounds. That's okay. I have to start somewhere.

Weight Watchers...again!

I quit Weight Watchers several months ago, right before I broke my wrist on August 6. It had lost it's charm, and I never like the new p...

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Coming Soon to REEL LIFE...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbIJYubHGXO9lipgoQ5l4jReN_OaEcr8NDBS8IXB_K_dfjsm9Qv0f66G1CDM0-Q41bHFy6h8AF7EIE4KiouZeUSgAZcYKn75erYSRg8vRXeizUArIXjpLT8DjHEGY8npccfs3ZgyiEZok/s1600/Some+Came+Running.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbIJYubHGXO9lipgoQ5l4jReN_OaEcr8NDBS8IXB_K_dfjsm9Qv0f66G1CDM0-Q41bHFy6h8AF7EIE4KiouZeUSgAZcYKn75erYSRg8vRXeizUArIXjpLT8DjHEGY8npccfs3ZgyiEZok/s320/Some+Came+Running.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Some Came Running</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A sampling of a few posts and one event (my first!) on the near horizon for <i>The Lady Eve's Reel Life</i>:</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: small;">The Families of Vincent Minnelli</span></u></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A look at some of the director's most memorable family-themed films, including <i>Meet Me in St. Louis </i>(1944), <i>Father of the Bride</i> (1950), <i>Some Came Running </i>(1958) and <i>Home From the Hill</i> (1960). Plus a look at the award-winning artist's own life.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LxofMT1YMiX0ESLFXCg4sKaJehVj7Cuxqm7nibs7Pli7RDtPCvWlzbuiSGULviNoo5BcBnxN0o7HX1jhuFUHBUcN3AaDkzRFnX0zqhqHpZChxeBf4iFvPpUHnYbgaAmhbQNr-_khoMrc/s1600/These+Amazing+Shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LxofMT1YMiX0ESLFXCg4sKaJehVj7Cuxqm7nibs7Pli7RDtPCvWlzbuiSGULviNoo5BcBnxN0o7HX1jhuFUHBUcN3AaDkzRFnX0zqhqHpZChxeBf4iFvPpUHnYbgaAmhbQNr-_khoMrc/s320/These+Amazing+Shadows.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><i>These Amazing Shadows</i></u></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Late in December the PBS series "Independent Lens" will spotlight  "culturally, historically... aesthetically significant" American films included in the National Film Registry with the one-hour documentary, <i>These Amazing Shadows</i>. The registry's beginnings with National Film Preservation Act of 1988 is also covered. I'll be previewing the documentary ahead of its air date.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRO1PX2cADvf1Hm7aRrum8oSbV9CYYb-xzvWrkjs8UaFtEvkb_LmI4A6_tS0ILHNfjs3mSPkiZWe8tuSU8BCvmQaFbiMA2EPzZkinHUNTNJok0xJtGk7xKmv78dfkrdurBbcfkhya2CtkI/s1600/shop+around+the+corner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRO1PX2cADvf1Hm7aRrum8oSbV9CYYb-xzvWrkjs8UaFtEvkb_LmI4A6_tS0ILHNfjs3mSPkiZWe8tuSU8BCvmQaFbiMA2EPzZkinHUNTNJok0xJtGk7xKmv78dfkrdurBbcfkhya2CtkI/s1600/shop+around+the+corner.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Shop Around the Corner</i></span></u></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just in time for the holidays...a reflection on Ernst Lubitsch's 1940 classic. The director's own favorite among his films, it is set at Christmastime in Budapest, features a sparkling ensemble cast led by James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan and Frank Morgan...and 'tis perfection.<i> </i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u><span style="font-size: small;">A Month of <i>Vertigo</i></span></u></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A great group of guest contributors - and me - will blog on myriad facets of Alfred Hitchcock's masterwork. I'm hoping <i>A Month of Vertigo</i> makes for a very interesting beginning to 2012...</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdGtLOI-ui_uWgq6WQJflIQtMXT96tJ0H5xFyuIlZ9wMfpuyBG4wMKy8fZ0uTROz_7iv6WE3X1wb1aG3yB649yM8DVYYAxHv88H0y84ektWA4OCAk42P5ANp4kMCeHmdNu-vNxqgeJJD1/s1600/scottie+and+madeleine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdGtLOI-ui_uWgq6WQJflIQtMXT96tJ0H5xFyuIlZ9wMfpuyBG4wMKy8fZ0uTROz_7iv6WE3X1wb1aG3yB649yM8DVYYAxHv88H0y84ektWA4OCAk42P5ANp4kMCeHmdNu-vNxqgeJJD1/s400/scottie+and+madeleine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>

Alfred Hitchcock PBS The Lady Eve (author) The Shop Around the Corner These Amazing Shadows Vertigo Vincente Minnelli Coming Soon to REEL LIFE...

Some Came Running A sampling of a few posts and one event (my first!) on the near horizon for The Lady Eve's Reel Life : The Families of...

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A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There are five Web2.0 applications that I think make a blog a really worthwhile teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom. They are:<br />1) <i><b>Box.net </b></i>where you can store documents that you have created and link to them.<br />2) <b><i>Embedit.in</i></b> which allows you to embed anything on your blog.<br />3) <b><i>Slideshare</i></b> which maakes an e-book from a PowerPoint or PDF. This is so useful for instructions.<br />4) <b><i>Screencast-o-matic </i></b>where you can explain and show at the same time.<br />5) <b><i>Vocaroo.com</i></b> where you can give verbal instructions to the class.<br /><br />Best of all - they are all free!<br /><br />This slideshare shows you how to use each one of these applications.<br /><br /><div id="__ss_10331058" style="width: 425px;"><strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/your-blog-as-a-teaching-tool" title="Your blog as a teaching tool">Your blog as a teaching tool</a></strong><object height="355" id="__sse10331058" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=yourblogasateachingtool-111125180754-phpapp02&stripped_title=your-blog-as-a-teaching-tool&userName=fionabeal" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><embed name="__sse10331058" src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=yourblogasateachingtool-111125180754-phpapp02&stripped_title=your-blog-as-a-teaching-tool&userName=fionabeal" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal">fionabeal</a>.</div></div><br /></div>

Blogging A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom

There are five Web2.0 applications that I think make a blog a really worthwhile teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom. They are...

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Your blog can be a fantastic teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Recently I have been running a free online blogging course for teachers around South Africa, and I decided to do all the teaching from a blog to model blogging. I suddenly realised what a fantastic teaching tool a blog can be in a technology integrated classroom. </span>I’d like to share a few of the Web 2.0 applications that can really aid a teacher in a classroom.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. Use Box.net to link to documents you have created  <a href="http://box.net/">http://box.net</a></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For example</span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJ4ATF3qbSTkQsg_U1Ev-p8O2Kr6HQgCjE8wrhFt2XqEpjH9DXrYBVTBEIS1GBqizkLVTH9LBbzv02_NzQSTwDM9wR_gAbP-AjGE4ogmVJbpqGg62la5h_3OoTsT5uHTY32ZhkW1scMY/s1600-h/image%25255B58%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSYu2Tb6ddX55p3rDQSA9KjpsFKOjJTH5K8sOqdD7DJL4JittM7qSKK1HT2lmkWo0QYGphRYhHoDSFYsmOoE-M1JOx5gE4JprBeKNrIsXjKLArqYFujIaO4T7uD4neslhmjRmeOzP5sSo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1.1 Join Box.net and upload your document. You get 5GB of free space.</span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6QCr7FAAtehbyOptubot1yX5nifadTJr5t4B8itRF8ra8lnPH_mzRQg8oxeMC19Noe4VodSTe8IVVpEFRP42-tH6Dw0lhKJVGOEHj1sYFFXiShbfEoZ5ZDsdFo9vFkoqaO2AQyCesJ_c/s1600-h/image%25255B59%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1qrvWdItAm2SqbuAZMIkXp4nt9qH504AqPBWk29yQcFkWPuCuBO7q8i4GiLoOnLd09leja_NOUSU5yqqiEYx2dq0bIuouWYVWLvCQK7Hg_ARSzMbad-Pp60tzpqj8cNgw9H8o93gD3c/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1.2 Once your document is uploaded and appears in your list, click on <em>Share</em>. A web address link will appear for you to copy. </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5P73yAwkEVweLMWd4w5wznlNXCwnusgGQfK9m9LV6M1aUvqRnDEBH8jOWbZHjYyxVEwtSHV9EQLdQUGslCIjNgVOWVR23YoBSd1i0eKkorEKhGUvcx50-ZDxxeGAvPiixVdByXEu_I2o/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNIIctWRyl81PE80uynzMIVCNmcdzAkWNb21Wd8DlzjOL9m5g-7mpjIglNraKh7ZWHKkW-xybVtRponQho1EqE76hxyeqRRo__dGV8fX7WhEj-7cNKRlnBXmwnxseWkIQInTKh-IouVw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">1.3 Copy this web address to the spot where you want it in your blog and click on the word<em> link</em> at the top of your blog post to make it an active link</span><span style="font-size: x-small;">.</span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSgbOtX66B_yIoIrXS0RGfX-Q-eC68UFMfxBVLiNCvB14lRoMZzQlSPEXcjbt7ri38YPp4BKfNQVK_baDl8PZzhvg9g6rwBMYuqU4SlkAF44QncrD4gH5mTyHa6U6Lvng2pkj3co9Wx4/s1600-h/image%25255B60%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BavzHsMRa5n2n586PWzNsfwcp1rZDbZK8EYkhSoW1Slv8tBsZgxYjNgXqMd4lify9Iy-cXTLmJR4s3XV3OQ1KA4QbtFexoLKr55mowbaQ9m9za2YmbNOaKjLzW22D8wXECW4uOKGSEY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The result:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"How to add pages to your blog</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Take a look at the Tipsheet for a step-by-step guide for adding pages to your blog. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.box.com/s/0n7mlllvp442syfhqnr1">http://www.box.com/s/0n7mlllvp442syfhqnr1</a>"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. Use Embedit.in to link to documents you have created</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Embedit.in is a fantastic application that allows you to embed all sorts of different documents on your blog by creating an embed code. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0XZb3fQW31YtbJaCxFSZJUNfdFVQm6QKQi5EYn_azuNQhuWbMipqATgHCgi9QbWof5zioH3DS54LyUhwFAVktrhnhdgGeiTWLgdHu8joQIt1sVDqlked2D-xhBmaVxs5xJGMwXyk7jY/s1600-h/image%25255B62%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhoYTeOgB9BXutGyUXAWNnP7Y3YFgfOzhwumSLePOj2mHBtqmKT3nifEsyFAVsydH40uleiBE2mZ3J1ksnrvbFjWiALG93tSHgvk5ImtzNx7yVuKawcpkBdQ4UWXln209DVCK99iJLO4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2.1 Go to <a href="http://embedit.in/">http://embedit.in</a></span> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxk5TibpjjwFwVIPSR7u2Kj6Rrkyhw0i-QP_dDFU2i7yUHBkdObcI8pWsHr9A4QJz3u43wdVaDgsRYoCkybBj-FK6DDgmZ6zUoRI_eptcFM22XkaLVpGkWXvUgT59Gw3hv2yHQ2l6oDg/s1600-h/image%25255B63%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Piqn5DjGpOs2j0YaHCGNPblE9qw5YR5FYTelikmSG3eDC4CVCfJsk9xwEIO8dRhNLa3wTa8dtj0KeFYJ6X0DzwwnYwuM4-94tbxbMUf_-0yCvF7DE6_MO7fG4Iimdow4455q2kD3OiU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br />2.2 Go to <i>My embeds</i> and sign in using one of your accounts – I use my Google account <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3MvOEB8wS_5-n6xcpr9yL0jgF3Nq2epWv7OBllq1qxoWT2insoUXUj7Sa0Y6GW-R3yQUx2-3A1seBJlnLYr2z0ooGeZ6nONoNJBp5n1GLiAo4NnqgKeUEjB-3gXUCxwwCPG4pK97amE/s1600-h/image%25255B64%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSHARdrcx0cWma7jwcUzQxAtr0keHZ5_3AwudofUcy7SQorn6wMkuV0mXMMhJk7_SkYcurp-JXWiIE7mEsNqdEXJJZo9WkPecUa0wqP9LMwDnoL0v_jKxUxxZZBA-vYQ_n8mx0VZW0ni4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2.3 Go to Select Files and find the file you want on your computer. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYr-xVNVXg1RTpzNxac4XueliK3h5g07a0dRub0PwRVxTdsNrxDVeuoZ-7-LLJpgFcGrD10kK8c9UDM_d3vE_mJr7y0iq8-mLj-5lhI8NeDwL9B2UCn66ne9JqIH2BA8uwLcMKqFEsXA/s1600-h/image%25255B65%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6F79XDzYYKxm1-oRGkMNcYNAQkw0BS3o_v4IGVS1-YRoT2KyLG62XGU4fgS6gI49z1udx_3B3Q3m4-4g4zW4j4H1IX23CGOzlmB3_ah8B7fR0rBep4Cv0_RoCB12WyBJ120AGRSkD45I/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">2.4 Copy the embed code into the HTML part of your blog post. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9rYhWkRotgW-ueSsvtCwYZiy06zS1hg6j_h-crusWcEH7gGZeFoHpNhd9R9zsHEylHdfGnMalciY5Li9tO9wDkaiif6kF2zi33o3Whr7_AZwcNg555SKNZUp_wMWz0tWfdcxIy5tQ5Y/s1600-h/image%25255B66%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKa3J2S5Ud4Xp26xrppREbUYRgxzUr5I3BriztcKcJ0KvymV5fDUCxMhLutrBQGUjzvI2EGDEwLw8znmZR3h0Pr3jL1RQ-EsRsvXz1BsAcxDSpwNM5j5x7bjS5ACRQlSB5ejQo9-fleY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br />This is the result<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Read these instructions:</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><embed allowfullscreen="true" height="400" src="http://embedit.in/uJotVorRpi.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420"></embed><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>3. Use Slideshare.com for more detailed instructions</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Slideshare is a fantastic way to present a book-like instruction to a class. You create each page in PowerPoint. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For example</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiuv3VTQjw-HLyEeNCHQQTBPw1x2-P7IQkQ4I9RSlqoVmUe_GrNKwufQC4ITu2I4x3nRv2L4hnaFrwtx7Q08BomrdlV91GRg9Qt0gD4MWxax08XEAMPFmFfLOKeEthygflF3S9284xm4o/s1600-h/image%25255B67%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pSTZJKtMrEmaiSACbwTKcngKol4YibuhfZ04c9QKPJhWQIWBYF8gbdh_EqziinFHGFN-kA19w7HSt49aJB3cRzOMjmVhWug-UNzb38QU8gHp3X3zE-j2b0jFRLyhmYGsmeBNeS-no9w/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3.1 Go to Slideshare.com, join and click on <em>Upload</em> to find the Powerpoint or PDF you want to use.</span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy0rSCWu3jg3QK9hMc5osGoGw9mduYdlGA7DAiZQ10bOaYx3pc4pJcHTDUHboVjcU1fu4GXYTwbuB63EpTaCRPqnwyAmv1-XItdWDYMHp_uNpVzCjNIFotFVXGgoZtHzY9mUIeCsOPnXc/s1600-h/image%25255B68%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9Rh9nLvJR0zN0EjHMTk6mn9DdB62ZeDX1z098yzr1Q7zz7VC6wuJcaGVtSUow0xC73mA7-6AjFe_5PgL9UrWSDuDAH7bpqqb3Cxte0gKJNBPLcbw33Nv7lGj4MgTE2sw3qWInlVTEfs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">3.2 When you document appears click on <em>embed</em> to get the code.</span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPDA2JfkSloEWIRzT-xtghns5_lstVdzz0z9jYBsv1xNNvsFoew4-i8vnzFPedYeLIT_dJocerKJMNr1QdAqoGWrILiY2n-hIwylejEyIopwuCHKKiiAs3hciceNdrayDq_Msg6PFEuqg/s1600-h/image%25255B71%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4csnokwLFeWmF3tbwZ6-C8cO-Ke4aITyRYN_hRb2zs5bexvAq4YjbE9id0PRCSKgRY__gxJG11Kgnnm88RGC44xl0wN6OG-cL8-ee_sFizEmHaXAmEbHRHZG7ukrsvSDBHjqx81eupJ4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">3.3 This is what the code looks like</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitFx-AIAs7_2tJUv5gNAtTME1IqefDhaxG4CodUsrqqYCf03Ul8deN9AxNHk__BTnAcGJfqhhyjSC-ZF-phw8-7WDXbO0zhwTO_Fw_Et18WPN6aakKlQ6BEjwjyxM-Vx3sTE59e3ooXzA/s1600-h/image%25255B72%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZXXSUjxHWLTySvHN_O3NkDjPPu0BbQHsdizGsQhi_1q8vKURbOMIYkqNMsGllzv98ATqniSk6a89X1CNkM_ZQ5xRvC1Z8sW8hvpzZeOeEK2tGe5HtCdfKllPIMiPc15af-0oTCJFvJY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Result on the blog</span><br /><div id="__ss_10209120" style="width: 425px;"><strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0px 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/adding-bells-and-whistles-to-your-blog" target="_blank" title="Adding bells and whistles to your blog">Adding bells and whistles to your blog</a></strong> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/10209120" width="425"></iframe> <br /><div style="padding: 5px 0px 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">fionabeal</a> </div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4. Use Screencasts to explain something more complicated</b></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4.1 Join Screencast-o-matic.com and log in. Start recording by following the instructions.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8pfJlEQ-5sVjzvG-ZQTqgTU8kbM2ErfhW7wkkc7mBoXufIm9Qt4qUlfw_4Cxlnjqr3qf95SSCcCgu2PMvuGPDFx0ogxTEk-UYveZ-FaucP_G-p-Z62NC_GDFuuqAq5mUhdF2UgwQ6Nw/s1600-h/image%25255B73%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNiTLWx81VzRARcxViwHiULwUCZ_KEE1L7_hkZA0bCgD5OVERkgAzgqRRfQaOwHCyPulihuyokWESRNFTitNCeUXTJ4nJE-pIuY5whkK4vGbQEK9iaPjC-64vp17w6BaneW0v0FHyToY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">4.2 This is what it looks like when you are finished. You can embed it, upload it to YouTube, or download it as a movie file.</span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="347" scrolling="no" src="http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/embed?sc=cXXIDnu6G&w=400&v=3" width="402"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>5. Use verbal instructions on your blog using Vocaroo.com</strong></span> <br /><strong><span style="font-size: large;"></span></strong>  <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Vocaroo.com is so easy to use. You can download the result as a .wav file, or you can simply embed it in your blog. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">5.1 Join Vocaroo.com, click to record, record and start speaking when prompted.</span> <br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAot9lZro5AhKutDLApRs_-S-90ysl6XekyscVHJkiPtATAg4P28JxQrLRRsZpJgePhfnpEVYHa6bwmk1XntWvsz3zzhlYRk48-99y_TBuTL-wSrlIMnV8BD6REvcdZRBuiNKqiYvdC_4/s1600-h/image%25255B76%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQWIhK7ZO14-KZ4sD4fjEv84KAa-eWhY2HZVnh79QZ2Rrw9fbEwTIa8Bo6qfbqwikF1xdnSJ2gkxBB0933j27NxnV8lo8gBOw_Egx3TPxQqh_8Kr5IOjiCETtkKqMlyLZ2iPWv56oac8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">5.2 You will be asked to allow your microphone to be used.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBWnbXTTS9hW-zmd20AlP3a6yeTRsxEtWK2gzhVVfY9MS9gtkA8jwUV3vq3XW4RSx23iSJ9NceGRgbjlSrbMSpiksgVHDoesKrvlUNNBTh4PyWiea1kEU8ZOmqIwUS4-U94jw6kQ4tK8/s1600-h/image%25255B78%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1890YwGBovO0YJdb6iNm0xRp-RuaMd5OoGYqp41UOlU9rRn1BzO29RTJ-_-rgNI9f_wTGvn_jpex88tARY_PQNaS68o_RVSdlzJtQ9Qs7wE8URf9I_3DN1Onn0cSTQ1f_Cr4rVfWRzA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">*Paste the embed code into your blog</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrr_UH6bKZetTkrG8uG7hw90cGofQaW1ASeVbmTE4Nx4TDCuyxacmX0paE3pwqcvX65g8rlfZa_BOxXZaKypnC34beY7A4GD9RFS9Abc5GhYuSTECKFPrXmXCEs3qc0ldQJtiyQpaONSU/s1600-h/image%25255B81%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoJxvvxP73T215-Ez2STb1dTIPJRK2lJyZ4qlRxBueATm2OjvypVAcdvdjssvQio8eAIEu1PCCUmRARrpR6kTwzms_gRkCaWO8mryVhzH0p4sV1xHgC5H_oBs70wxCWVOioFTlDA9xDfU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="261" /></a></div><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here is the result</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><embed height="44" src="http://vocaroo.com/player.swf?playMediaID=v4jogT8zyOtglCsmw&server=m1.vocaroo.com&autoplay=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="148" wmode="transparent"></embed> <br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">These are just a few of the ways you can make your blog a great teaching tool. Perhaps you have tried out others that you would like to share?</span></div>

Blogging Your blog can be a fantastic teaching tool in a technology integrated classroom

Recently I have been running a free online blogging course for teachers around South Africa, and I decided to do all the teaching from a blo...

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