KLA-Tencor | Careers Mobile Web App

<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/AVvXsEj2Zz0vHpkmU44Y42MAK2TkbFXDrDLjKLqzE8WquNAR6VJodwa9mFkHVqhH7NCXwcKHlVxIs6ScgBxynG3eiYcmlq5_is71wqBIddfPQZctkPruPv-lzJovOwBuBmBLEZ-TCpAwrpU2gdnR/s1600/Mobile+App+-+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Zz0vHpkmU44Y42MAK2TkbFXDrDLjKLqzE8WquNAR6VJodwa9mFkHVqhH7NCXwcKHlVxIs6ScgBxynG3eiYcmlq5_is71wqBIddfPQZctkPruPv-lzJovOwBuBmBLEZ-TCpAwrpU2gdnR/s200/Mobile+App+-+5.JPG" width="105" /></a></div><div class="WordSection1"><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Introducing our New KLA-Tencor Mobile App.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">Follow all our critical job openings and stay up to date with KLA-Tencor news at the palm of your handheld mobile device. Simply <b><a href="http://kla-tencor-careers.mobapp.at/" target="_blank">click here</a></b> and follow the directions. You can download it by scanning the QR code below : </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7XhZDpeA3B1KGD3nbOMFqSfLh_9Fou4IYHmJKvOL5NDZ2dhZKDJEQqdIPcvFMVz8W-U6JtWSM4YlLT0myPZd2lZEuAsZrHI28Wr3MHnZ8OdWXrKQr8l3teFOlRfgw-8avsoSij04OZDy1/s1600/Web+App+QR+Code.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/AVvXsEg7XhZDpeA3B1KGD3nbOMFqSfLh_9Fou4IYHmJKvOL5NDZ2dhZKDJEQqdIPcvFMVz8W-U6JtWSM4YlLT0myPZd2lZEuAsZrHI28Wr3MHnZ8OdWXrKQr8l3teFOlRfgw-8avsoSij04OZDy1/s1600/Web+App+QR+Code.JPG" /></a></div></div></div>

KLA-Tencor | Careers Mobile Web App

Introducing our New KLA-Tencor Mobile App. Follow all our critical job openings and stay up to date with KLA-Tencor news at the palm of your...

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Assistant Library Director - West Haven Public Library

<strong>Assistant Library Director</strong> - The <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>West Haven Public Library</strong></span>, West Haven, CT, seeks a part-time (21 hours) service oriented Assistant Library Director. The Assistant Director assists in the supervision of Technical, Reference, Circulation and Children’s Services departments of the Library and reports to the Director. The West Haven Public Library employs 27 full and part time employees and has an operating budget of $1.6 million, and is a system with a main building, two branches and a bookmobile. As a member of the administrative team, the Assistant Director assists in the planning, directing, supervising, implementing and overseeing of the activities and operations of the West Haven Public Library. The Assistant Director exercises direct supervision over management, professional, and technical staff. The ideal candidate will be an innovator and creative problem solver, a skilled leader and manager of motivating and developing staff, working with a belief in team work and staff empowerment, ability to communicate at all levels, strong multi-tasking skills with the ability to analyze situations quickly and objectively in order to determine proper course of action. The ideal candidate must have experience working in a public library, advanced knowledge of the operational services and activities of a library system, extensive knowledge and experience of public library services in an urban setting. Must be technology savvy. The position requires a Master’s Degree in Library Science, five years of professional experience related to managing or supporting library services, including four years of administrative and supervisory responsibility at the managerial level is required. Salary is commensurate with experience. Please e-mail cover letter and resume to <a href="mailto:dir@westhavenpl.org">dir@westhavenpl.org</a> or Director, West Haven Public Library, 300 Elm Street, West Haven, CT 06516. Deadline for applications: <span style="color: red;">May 4, 2012</span> at 5:00. EOE/MF NO CALLS PLEASE.

Assistant Library Director - West Haven Public Library

Assistant Library Director - The West Haven Public Library , West Haven, CT, seeks a part-time (21 hours) service oriented Assistant Libr...

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happy Domino day!

It's here! It's here!<br /><br />I've got my Starbucks and my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dominomag?ref=ts" target="_blank">Domino</a>. I anticipate being deep in Domino bliss for much of the afternoon.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIvIy0qWnoch2fi4a9oXs5RzyerQbIhlwUOnoUHR12lzAwLk91otKbUrDN72x-nTDe1Zg8qhbxLu1Yw0LWOdiUkTVzxw2j3JXJs3phMh9HM0bxqKJE2-f3DiEawrJlPTWuyFiXIsgwH95/s1600/P4175982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIvIy0qWnoch2fi4a9oXs5RzyerQbIhlwUOnoUHR12lzAwLk91otKbUrDN72x-nTDe1Zg8qhbxLu1Yw0LWOdiUkTVzxw2j3JXJs3phMh9HM0bxqKJE2-f3DiEawrJlPTWuyFiXIsgwH95/s640/P4175982.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>Can't wait to talk about favorite pages, pictures etc. Did you rush out to get it first thing this AM? Or am I the only Domino dork?

happy Domino day!

It's here! It's here! I've got my Starbucks and my Domino . I anticipate being deep in Domino bliss for much of the afternoon. C...

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State Library Division Head - Connecticut State Library

<strong>State Library Division Head</strong> - <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>State of Connecticut, Connecticut State Library</strong></span>. Open To: Public (no exam necessary). Location: 231 Capitol Ave, Hartford CT. Schedule: Full Time, Monday through Friday. Hours: 8 hour days; 40 hour workweek. Salary: $88,505 new state employees (MP67). Closing Date: <span style="color: red;">May 13, 2012</span>. PURPOSE OF CLASS: In the State Library, this class directs and coordinates the administration of all operations of the Division of Library Development. SUPERVISION RECEIVED: Works under the general direction of the State Librarian. SUPERVISION EXERCISED: Supervises a medium number of professional technical and clerical staff of the assigned division. EXAMPLES OF DUTIES: Supervises and coordinates the operations of and services rendered by the Division of Library Development; conducts work flow studies and operational analyses; makes policy recommendations at the division level; coordinates the implementation of division reorganizations; implements program revisions; directs special projects; makes budget recommendations; supervises statewide programs of division structures; conducts management training; supervises and evaluates division staff; does related duties as required. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY: Extensive knowledge of modern principles of library science; established administrative ability; established supervisory ability. Knowledge of information content delivery in an electronic environment; Knowledge of state government, the processes of policy and legislation, and of the relationships of state government to the public, and to local government; Knowledge of public library services, administration, and standards, including current developments, trends and problems; Knowledge of budgeting, public library finance, grant proposals, and applicable federal and state law; Comprehensive knowledge of library administration and practice, current developments and trends; Demonstrated commitment to public service; Ability to provide and oversee consulting in best management and librarianship practices; Ability to develop and build partnerships with agencies and groups at the local, state, and national level ; Ability to be a leader in statewide library development; Skill in working with various library organizations and governance structures; Ability to manage statewide library programs such as Connecticar, Connecticard, and iCONN; Ability to exercise independent judgment and to maintain confidential integrity as required; Ability to actively participate in national and regional library development activities and organizations; Skill in managing personnel, including use of appraisal systems; progressive discipline; developing professional and technical staff; and maximizing creativity and participation of staff in decision making; Skill in managing fiscal resources, including developing budgets, monitoring expenditures within a budget, planning and supervising federal and state funds used for programs; Skill in planning, setting goals and objectives, coordination of implementing programs, and using outcomes based evaluation ; and Ability to communicate effectively and clearly in writing and orally. Ability to keep supervisors and staff informed through a variety of methods. Ability to conduct meetings and participate in teams. Strong interpersonal skills. EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING: General Experience: A Master's degree in library science or information science from a library school accredited by the American Library Association and five (5) years of post graduate degree experience in professional library work. Special Experience: Two (2) years of the General Experience must have been as a library director or assistant director, State Library consultant, or director of a major department of a library or library system and should include personnel and fiscal management. APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: Interested and qualified candidates who meet the above experience and training requirements should submit a cover letter that describes your interest and suitability for the position, resume and application for Examination or Employment (Form CT-HR-12 at <a href="http://www.das.state.ct.us/cr1.aspx?page=13" target="_blank">http://www.das.state.ct.us/cr1.aspx?page=13</a>) to: Deborah Craig, Human Resources Specialist, Department of Administrative Services, Small Agency Resource Team – SmART Unit, 165 Capitol Avenue, 5th Floor East, Hartford, Connecticut 06106. Confidential Fax: (860) 622-4921 (preferred method of submission). The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities and persons with disabilities. Position filled pending clearance of SEBAC/Re-Employment lists.

State Library Division Head - Connecticut State Library

State Library Division Head - State of Connecticut, Connecticut State Library . Open To: Public (no exam necessary). Location: 231 Capitol...

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NIGHTMARE PATIENTS ON THE HCG PROTOCOL

<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is predictability to whether or not people are going to be difficult to work with during the hCG protocol. The most telling information is their denial of emotional eating and their emotional reaction to when food is limited, even without hunger. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These patients complain immediately (even before starting) of their disappointment in the protocol restrictions. Like how punished they are because they can’t put cream in their coffee. How bored they are with the food, within days of starting. They’re miffed by the fact they can’t have cheese, or add oil to their cooking. Usually these patients feel it is their right to eat, and their right to lose fat. These patients are so entitled they are ignorant to their own addiction. </span><br /><br /><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">IT’S YOUR FAULT IF THEY FAIL AND YOUR FAULT IF THEY ARE FAT.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These patients are the most difficult to assist. Why? Because they want you to take on the burden of their issues. They want you to give them a pill so they never have to admit faults. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They complain they are feeling deprived, but admit they aren’t hungry. They obsess over the scale, are disappointed in the fat losses (no matter how miraculous), and believe there is someone else to blame. They admit they continually break the protocol with licks and tastes of foods that aren’t on the protocol, but deny they cheat at all. They ignore the science of leptin, but are astonished by their lack of fat loss eating less than 600 calories (after you include their cheats). These patients think the protocol is flawed and their body is flawed, but not their entitled view of gluttony as virtuous.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These patients don’t want any responsibility and think because they invested money in your program, they are entitled to you as their savior. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you don’t meet their unattainable expectations, you are at fault. They believe a pound of fat loss a day is guaranteed because they were told by some shmucky Internet person (selling an amino product with appetite suppressants) that, “By using our liquid drops, the hCG protocol (even though there is no hCG in their product) would allow your body to release one pound of fat a day!” </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite the fact that you explained thoroughly not to expect that type of loss unless they have a metabolism they requires over 4000 calories a day. Despite the explanation of gains with minor cheats. Despite the warning that the hCG protocol is a hormonal therapy and that there is no guarantee they will adherence to the process, they demand a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>100% return policy, even when they ignore every warning, and break all boundaries of the protocol. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though they paid for real expertise, they go to the Internet for “credible” guidance, and continue to argue that you don’t know how the protocol works. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I saw on YouTube this woman who said you could eat macadamia nuts to lose weight when you stall. I saw another video where they said not to load in the beginning. I called another clinic that said you can eat 1000 calories and the protocol would still work. I’m not hungry but I want an appetite suppressant. Can you prescribe those fat burning injections? I swear you told me fat loss was guaranteed. ” What a nightmare!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some people refuse to read anything. You’ve spent three hours preparing them, given them Dr. Simeons’ Pounds & Inches, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a workbook, blogs, videos, Weight-Loss Apocalypse, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and everything possible so they have the tools to understand the process from every angle. But yet, they only want you to be there so they have someone to blame when they f*ck up. As if there was something you did that made them cheat! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They schedule appointments just to complain about the protocol, and they hate you because you’re the one who is punishing them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>And they want you to spend another three hours to verbally explain (again) how the entire protocol works.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">They grumble about the cost of your program when Internet sales of hCG costs far less. REALLY? There is no value to our expertise and we should work as slaves to your emotional illness? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should we take on this type of abuse, because you are entitled to ignorance? HELL NO.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have very little tolerance for this type of bullsh*t. Ask anyone who comes to our clinic and has immediately been shut down and refused a prescription as soon as the complaining begins and entitlement surfaces. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are not willing to take personal responsibility for your problems, you are not welcome into our practice. Why? Because there is no one but yourself capable of changing your flawed view of yourself. I refuse to work with an abuser no matter how much money they offer. There is no value in accepting that type of abuse.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If this patient sounds like you, you are in denial. DENIAL. Do the medical community a favor and order your hCG on the Internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The people who give FREE help on-line will love to work with you! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Good luck with that and don’t call back. : )</span></div>

NIGHTMARE PATIENTS ON THE HCG PROTOCOL

There is predictability to whether or not people are going to be difficult to work with during the hCG protocol. The most telling informatio...

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Microsoft's AutoCollage is a must for teachers and students

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal</i><br />Nowadays there are so many different things you can do with your photographs. Microsoft AutoCollage is a programme that allows you and your students to get creative with your images and combine them into a single collage. Best, of course, is that it is free. Microsoft Research has really tried to make this programme as simple as possible to use. Basically, you point it to a folder of photos in your My Pictures section and it knits them together to produce an eye catching collage.</span></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like to see examples, Microsoft Research has a whole folder of AutoCollage photos in Flickr. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/autocollage/">http://www.flickr.com/groups/autocollage/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Below is a tutorial video that I found in the UK Partners of Learning YouTube channel. You can see that the opening image is a collage of a number of photos. I think this teacher explains very clearly how to get started with AutoCollage...hope you find it useful. </span></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1GAUW0wRd4A?rel=0" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">How to use Autollage </span></b><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Here are some step by step instructions on how to use AutoCollage.</span><br /><div id="__ss_12524123" style="width: 425px;"><b style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/how-to-use-autocollage" target="_blank" title="How to use Autocollage">How to use Autocollage</a> </b> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/12524123" width="425"></iframe> <br /><div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint" target="_blank">PowerPoint</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">fionabeal</a> </div></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Classroom uses for Autocollage</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /><br />Here are some starting points for classroom ideas for using AutoCollage. Please add some thoughts that you have about ways of using this programme in your classroom. </span><br /><br /><div id="__ss_12524233" style="width: 425px;"><b style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/classroom-uses-for-autocollage" target="_blank" title="Classroom uses for AutoCollage">Classroom uses for AutoCollage</a></b> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/12524233" width="425"></iframe> <br /><div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint" target="_blank">PowerPoint</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">fionabeal</a><br /><br /></div></div></div>

Microsoft tools Tutorials Microsoft's AutoCollage is a must for teachers and students

Submitted by Fiona Beal Nowadays there are so many different things you can do with your photographs. Microsoft AutoCollage is a programme t...

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Weekend Recap

I had a great time on Friday night for the "Ladies Night Out".  It was held at a wine bar.  It quickly went downhill after the first sip of vino.  In fact, I had so good of a time that I failed to make it to my 5K.  Ugh.  Thankfully, all of the donations were electronic so the MS Society received them anyhow. <br /><br />Still, I felt extreme guilt over missing the walk.  So later in the day I mapped out my own 5K and did that around my neighborhood.  It surprisingly helped the recovery from the hangover too.<br /><br />Later on Saturday we attended a 30th birthday party for our friend Margie.  We started off the night at a delicious Italian restaurant followed by karaoke at a local bar.  I stayed sober that night and served as the official birthday photographer.  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl and myself :(.   But I did manage to get this one:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IAMgdTbP8bB7soVF2NxQrLh7pOrTKfh6NWMJEi4a3pq6zz9b-Fwy5yCfKwEhASvLMx-FM3UcLeioaMfliXt1RP_jOtTwkM3FFrWFLI-t-ac0w8JKGgtcadAsWFLzAXpuDJSx-V_qhxU/s1600/joel+hil+30th+bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IAMgdTbP8bB7soVF2NxQrLh7pOrTKfh6NWMJEi4a3pq6zz9b-Fwy5yCfKwEhASvLMx-FM3UcLeioaMfliXt1RP_jOtTwkM3FFrWFLI-t-ac0w8JKGgtcadAsWFLzAXpuDJSx-V_qhxU/s400/joel+hil+30th+bday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Joel also performed a rendition of "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash.  The crowd loved it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx2udTzLo38oyPIyd4AYhHJghRq3JmQwT4bYpQf74i8wiU9R_6nu86aTGSUNuSMg9qVrmZlf6jSSR3_S6bUEUklDstc9cM2aKU_eDdJUFcCZRyu2ojkpp2ojVyGcVg8amhfFk21r7qTI/s1600/joel+johnny+cash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx2udTzLo38oyPIyd4AYhHJghRq3JmQwT4bYpQf74i8wiU9R_6nu86aTGSUNuSMg9qVrmZlf6jSSR3_S6bUEUklDstc9cM2aKU_eDdJUFcCZRyu2ojkpp2ojVyGcVg8amhfFk21r7qTI/s400/joel+johnny+cash.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />I'm now 2/3 done with my workouts for the week.  Today I tried my latest addition to The Wave workout DVDs, the Rock Solid Buns workout.  I found it to be the easiest to follow along with of all the DVDs I've done (three total).  I'm anxious to feel the affect of this workout later today/tomorrow.  Even after having done the other two DVDs several times now, I still feel sore the day after each one.  I still plan to do a full review on The Wave soon.  <br /><br /><b style="color: #351c75;">Did you do anything fun this weekend?</b>

Weekend Recap

I had a great time on Friday night for the "Ladies Night Out".  It was held at a wine bar.  It quickly went downhill after the fir...

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ICELAND opposed successfully prevailing economic orthodoxies of the American, European and IMF model

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALyG0bkVP2PWjp3P0sOhhU3xOJBbMForfGipcm1SuyrC3NDcmrN0rwElfpr9yjwDDkZAQiGTIr0FGD03RVIZDT8wMh_Bn7qefz3aiALpPHzoc-S2fp1CHQU1ui6Wmkk3dE6xLs86FJIZg/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALyG0bkVP2PWjp3P0sOhhU3xOJBbMForfGipcm1SuyrC3NDcmrN0rwElfpr9yjwDDkZAQiGTIr0FGD03RVIZDT8wMh_Bn7qefz3aiALpPHzoc-S2fp1CHQU1ui6Wmkk3dE6xLs86FJIZg/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE PRESIDENT OF ICELAND TELLS HOW HE HAD THE BALLS TO STAND UP TO BRITAIN</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By Adam Taylor</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Via Business Insider</span></i><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The president of Iceland sits in his study drinking tea from an immaculate china set.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If a collapse in the financial sector can bring one of the most stable and secure democracies and political structures to his knees as happened in Iceland,” Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson says to me, “then what could it do in countries that have less stable democratic and political history?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The tiny country is unique not only in its stunning geography but also in its open democracy. This democracy was pivotal in the choice to let three giant banks fail during the financial crisis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Ólafur, the crisis of 2008 was personal. Once the darling of the left wing, he worked as finance minister for several years before he became president of the country in 1996, a largely ceremonial role that he’s inhabited ever since. Like many in the country he was once a cheerleader for Iceland’s financial sector, privatized at the start of the 21st century — and the sudden collapse was a painful reminder that Iceland was a small, isolated place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, of course, most headlines we see about Iceland seem positive. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iceland-imf-loan-2012-3"><span style="color: blue;">Iceland is repaying its IMF loans early</span></a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-iceland-is-seeing-a-really-quick-recovery-2012-1"><span style="color: blue;">unemployment is down</span></a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/another-awesome-fact-from-icelands-banking-recovery-2012-2"><span style="color: blue;">growth is above average</span></a>. The streets of Reykjavik seem calm and happy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other countries, of course, haven’t been so lucky. The crisis remains front page news in Greece, Italy and Spain — countries that followed a very different response from Iceland’s.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ólafur argues that his country’s strength came from recognizing the problem was not just an “economic and financial challenge”, but a “profound social, political, and even judicial” challenge.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the crisis, the country held a full judicial investigation, and went against “the prevailing economic orthodoxies of the American, European and IMF model</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.” Ólafur says that he likes to think that the IMF learned more from Iceland during this time than vice versa.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A key example of this approach is Iceland’s refusal to pump money into failed banks. The decision was controversial at the time, but now looks increasingly wise. “I have never understood the argument — why a private bank or financial fund is somehow better for the well being and future of the economy than the industrial sector, the IT sector, the creative sector, or the manufacturing sector”.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is, of course, another aspect. A tricky situation arose when the U.K. and Holland demanded money for their citizens’ depleted Icesave accounts, and Iceland refused. The incident sparked a major diplomatic scuffle, with Iceland refusing to pay out and the U.K. even using “anti-terrorism legislation” against the state.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Ólafur, it’s also a personal aspect. He was head of state, though he did not control the government — in effect his position was more like being an elected Queen of England than being Barack Obama. But constitutionally he had the right to veto government legislation — though it had never been used by his office previously.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ólafur decided to block government legislation to pay back the U.K. <i>Twice</i>. Both times the legislation went to a nationwide vote, and failed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It was absolutely very tough indeed,” Ólafur says. “Every big financial institution, both in Europe and in my own country was against me, and there were powerful forces, both in Iceland and Europe, that thought my decision was absolutely crazy.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The decision was hugely controversial, and remains a sore spot in relations. For him, it was a matter of history. “What is our primary legacy to countries and nations in modern times?” He says, “Europe is and should be more about democracy than about financial markets. Based with this choice, it was in the end, clear that I had to choose democracy.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He also blames the British for their role, specifically Gordon Brown, by whom he believes Iceland is owed an apology. Ólafur likens the situation to the Falklands war, adding it was a “great offense” that “one of the most peace-loving countries in the world, a founding member of NATO, a strong ally of Britain during the Second World War was put together with al-Qaeda and the Taliban on the official list of terrorist organizations.”</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Iceland essentially had no choice, Ólafur says.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If you take the relative size of the Icelandic economy and the British economy,” he explains, “and you transfer over to the British economy the sum that the British government was asking the Icelandic taxpayers to be responsible for due to the failure of this private bank, it would have been equal [...] to asking the British taxpayer to be responsible for an £800 billion bill [$1,275 billion] for a failed British bank in Spain and Italy and Greece.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To Ólafur’s credit, the Icesave debts are likely to be settled soon, using money from the estate of Landsbanki. He believes that if the U.K. and Holland had waited a while longer there would have been no conflict.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After 2008, Icelandic relations with Europe may have been strained. It was during a dinner with foreign diplomats that year that Ólafur reportedly said <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cms/posts/edit?id=4f86060b6bb3f7c15d000006"><span style="color: blue;">“The North Atlantic is important to Scandinavia, the U.S. and Britain. This is a fact these countries now seem to ignore. Then, Iceland should rather get some new friends.”</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ólafur dismisses the quote, going on to say that his problem isn’t Europe, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the European and American banking system.</b> He says Iceland’s lesson is that “If you want your economy to excel in the 21st century <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a big banking sector, even a very successful banking sector, is bad news.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You could even argue that the bigger the banking sector is, the worse the news is for your economy,” he adds, later blaming the huge growth of Iceland’s banking sector on the prevailing European banking philosophy and incompetent rating agencies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instead, the country is hoping to use not only its creative and intellectual capital, now freed from the finance industry, but also its unique geographical situation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Arctic has become one of the most crucial regions for the future of the world, both in terms of economy, trade and climate and health,” he says, adding that he feels Iceland, a member of the Arctic Council, has a ten year head-start on the issue, which is now attracting the interest of the EU, China and South Korea — countries with no geographical claim on the area.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This future is something that Ólafur clearly sees himself as a part of. He had originally told the country that he would not run for president again — he had been in office for 16 years and felt he could work better without the day-to-day stress.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, <a href="http://www.goiceland.is/2012/03/olafur-ragnar-grimsson-runs-for-a-fifth-term-as-president/"><span style="color: blue;">after an online petition circulating managed to get 30,000 signatures</span></a> last month, Ólafur decided to run for a fifth term. The elections will be held in June.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While other candidates have come forward, that 15 percent of the population who have already signed up would likely give Ólafur reason to believe he will win. He says it was the “public will” of Iceland that caused him to change his mind. “If a large part of the nation wants me to continue, I will bow to that public will,” he says.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But if that turns out to not be the case, that’s also fine with me.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

ICELAND opposed successfully prevailing economic orthodoxies of the American, European and IMF model

THE PRESIDENT OF ICELAND TELLS HOW HE HAD THE BALLS TO STAND UP TO BRITAIN By Adam Taylor Via Business Insider The president of Iceland sit...

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take it outside

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy Monday! I hope that everyone survived the weekend and there is no storm damage outside your window today. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that the pollen has finally stopped falling from our big old Oak trees in the backyard, we can get started on one of the projects I have on <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-goals.html" target="_blank">my 2012 list</a> - the deck.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While there is a lot of unsexy things that need to be done to the deck - new stairs, railings and replacing several boards - there is also a decision to make.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Is our outdoor space going to be a place for dining?<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/AVvXsEjytQjX4s3eQzouTAjTlsq8BNlRxWdaaPoFMQYV7ICaHgYf-n2fdKOlXyttWU86vxCgi1Y-uiNAKA8tqhPHaji0qskw7dpOu9orEMrDDv4VTywXeCAIrASkNGR8hMerbewxCKPqCzv1JT9Z/s1600/7299919771.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytQjX4s3eQzouTAjTlsq8BNlRxWdaaPoFMQYV7ICaHgYf-n2fdKOlXyttWU86vxCgi1Y-uiNAKA8tqhPHaji0qskw7dpOu9orEMrDDv4VTywXeCAIrASkNGR8hMerbewxCKPqCzv1JT9Z/s640/7299919771.jpeg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://buddhainteriors.tumblr.com/post/7299919771" target="_blank">Buddha Interiors</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649608191/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></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/AVvXsEh5l9syk1MmBDJZXjF6HHOdVkgYZ5OCyEzYZFLhBIs5hUAghPCL60Y-t2BtAZnwxI6ptg4kivHOUD4XW-0yZ2AGWDtx0IHRyE1fQ9v7SmCqS1KCqANcXSIIgngAyxUiXlYpjC4XqESuSbYH/s1600/sunniestpatio35pse2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l9syk1MmBDJZXjF6HHOdVkgYZ5OCyEzYZFLhBIs5hUAghPCL60Y-t2BtAZnwxI6ptg4kivHOUD4XW-0yZ2AGWDtx0IHRyE1fQ9v7SmCqS1KCqANcXSIIgngAyxUiXlYpjC4XqESuSbYH/s640/sunniestpatio35pse2.jpeg" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649608233/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></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/AVvXsEi4RjGKzKOT6uYDvhOX-nQFycgiTfublH44NE2i6yiW5iCklH86rzZN0872WrW6TcnfvMhai7qBAFC7zp9kg0R72vv4LYHhFFtH9ake9YzubI5y-pyBYqxkKprguYH_ZKmw2vQvz7Cz0JvH/s1600/backyard-retreat-l.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RjGKzKOT6uYDvhOX-nQFycgiTfublH44NE2i6yiW5iCklH86rzZN0872WrW6TcnfvMhai7qBAFC7zp9kg0R72vv4LYHhFFtH9ake9YzubI5y-pyBYqxkKprguYH_ZKmw2vQvz7Cz0JvH/s640/backyard-retreat-l.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/gardens/front-back-screen-porch-patio-00417000071944/page39.html" target="_blank">Southern Living</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649610367/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Or, will it be for lounging?<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/AVvXsEim-AcXunOfPBoSIKfWWK2Ad0LpYr-0fUPTks746Q1MQEVcwnoG8w0nCiKPUOuHF3vkAA6NidER-s4yQoYYbDzwVi-RqafbGQAPP9syfUtToL6YrEsP3TU-x3roy4VLORLg6KL97ZmEzxyt/s1600/home-tour-cape-cod-style-cottage-in.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-AcXunOfPBoSIKfWWK2Ad0LpYr-0fUPTks746Q1MQEVcwnoG8w0nCiKPUOuHF3vkAA6NidER-s4yQoYYbDzwVi-RqafbGQAPP9syfUtToL6YrEsP3TU-x3roy4VLORLg6KL97ZmEzxyt/s640/home-tour-cape-cod-style-cottage-in.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/cape-cod-cottage-makeover-decorating-ideas-00417000072851/page18.html" target="_blank">Southern Living</a> via <a href="http://www.mixandchic.com/" target="_blank">Mix and Chic</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649454493/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></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/AVvXsEi4U14J0xiQN8ICRdOK4sgYfmfKQDj-bTsTDWyZ6kj7EGYp4tK_JvzeNfcZbmuP-ILymJrtz5t5qXVa8VG3TFvcMz3wxQXIa5Y2I9anILZkuEBuxZeUVXk_tWWb1B3miuUMNTnfRUgNOihA/s1600/outdoor+living.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U14J0xiQN8ICRdOK4sgYfmfKQDj-bTsTDWyZ6kj7EGYp4tK_JvzeNfcZbmuP-ILymJrtz5t5qXVa8VG3TFvcMz3wxQXIa5Y2I9anILZkuEBuxZeUVXk_tWWb1B3miuUMNTnfRUgNOihA/s640/outdoor+living.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649113503/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></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/AVvXsEjpWpCZ1ddpIZprLE-krOacaBieblhqZmdHN7DazOimdczIlDwK2iwTrZxu0DGzTFKFga5iOhNZoqW7fYYoU0aYjYar_VqCRq08jeYeNzOUaHrqhIB17ECeLp4_nPmLVrQbG5bBp_vIOXRA/s1600/updated-traditional-design.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWpCZ1ddpIZprLE-krOacaBieblhqZmdHN7DazOimdczIlDwK2iwTrZxu0DGzTFKFga5iOhNZoqW7fYYoU0aYjYar_VqCRq08jeYeNzOUaHrqhIB17ECeLp4_nPmLVrQbG5bBp_vIOXRA/s640/updated-traditional-design.jpeg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Beautiful via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649113502/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Do you have an outdoor space? Do you use it for hanging out? For eating? Eating while you hang out?

take it outside

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone survived the weekend and there is no storm damage outside your window today.  Now that the pollen has fin...

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A quick, free way to run meetings

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal </i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Today I came across this meeting site which said. “Meet Face to Face Online, hang out with co-workers and teams, run as many meetings as you want, no software or signups needed. Best of all, it's free”. This sounded great – almost like a free group Skype but maybe with video? The site is called ‘<i>meetings.io</i>’ and the address is <a href="http://meetings.io/">http://meetings.io/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuN2Rp6e8OQnZF2bSFQFo-3Jr2k28C4GVLYlNyT19R1o9ECXvERKJDwtUeikrCAMgtjkU2gIavgEewMo6UwQYQzQe5L9zsGQlhRgpECRFOTH00dGyKXIETJVAHCfTJ8kAfM8MMV1fMON0/s1600-h/image%25255B4%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5uoQTJ8l7bz5FDRfFBamJ6PDb8i6_RZGBlbJbY9I1AiY038PAPR2Xa7ScVBUGFxByjhkW4Gw8YhyPneEiLlmeQ3C2Asp5U50gr6qYJk5PV_cl3tczBUNVM71bMiOTb2QfRHzaXj8sBk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 1</u>: To start off you click on ‘Get a meeting room’.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_bfyg66ivmQu_LdFUs7CskGu6janK6s_wiC_mzMmwkNRi4CUhVaLWAbDXdZtBOxwHWMQRuGVth7WV22oDasRErB1KbbjB8hj21b5glQDvKH3Ot39dFGfcaNSOM1vF9KLXfMHAhyphenhyphenEhvs/s1600-h/image%25255B9%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO8Fc4gZZtUTb6I9132mojqbRJJx3_P4Hbx_RxS0yl6097U2hdBeeioZgAxEKVcqeIO5tgZ4KHp3phfcHeBddPcYysaZHZ4KMTM4j97A_EhG-Nbo_DLjS25WHJrFHNXm5rlStvNu08Y4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 2</u>: This takes you to a meeting room number that you can enter at any time.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyt2Uujt7HyY6xhiICIr886TPhzH0fNjWm4cS3vvhHy-zsOzohkLK9XAFhdZKroPKxguoe8RxJzG0jiHfnqcuXYYfMIZdz2kDAPo0P2AM-zEiJQPcVHd4gV34vm8XIc6p50CcudmXOV74/s1600-h/image%25255B13%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq8gicIu8miDRmQO7UTQiL6e7oelskHOmPKDv-RyD4u0giqm5Lze2Ee8AzVe1amHsuYbSg819ihZ427e3ylJ6QX0vqdDVZEaiVyIzvJqY1zUCMuszefC1cpR6hiJcu8cKHsJdVfp70VY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 3:</u> You now enter the meeting room with your name.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl9CxxFfyYBkPPyzM-PIqrwwFjMj9p6ouFi9zsdw68k5VqPrVRMfJSAabq-bm1H8D2C-ESxP-771KJCOIl79mhr38LqpWhQVoGJQ8PMMbOSLPyKddpevHevPqyizJJmwPUIGb0-sf1fo/s1600-h/image%25255B16%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaijrH0o-U_ip2oobB4wIsx5gbnvND8AzpPLKU0vHWUeMjuhh6uklBJqslMYrtbjmIuO_MEZcrbLpSQNdgnK_rREnmvKy_ZXUqFkOFQsXI8za5F3lTEiRA0rBvLiCV9oAXL2DbO7fhjQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 4</u>: You are asked a question about your bandwidth.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcuEKpb321krNKwiP3U3qBmP2SZ4kmDnQ1-WJt8TEMIyeumSdRQbz_-o7NQQQde7ZYot8ouRHL02r47kkzosxSyvgJZJqUCTESOohFwhPwoVduJB2ev_TC-QMp9K-TOOMilFJ8UoCGN8/s1600-h/image%25255B19%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJlEgmH-Uk1r4gyvLNFEiy_3VWoq1l8tCRYzXOg23re9MpgEKTJmJdXnCRbFtfRezcZexjmz8MrjjPIYvaRapv6QbdqYbenXrH7A6FUZYrgeoC5wuZitjTGSePAAe0VbHm-NFq8KCgL0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 5</u>: It asks if you want to allow meetings.io to access your cameras and microphone</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UqxdpgOqlGwKNnhDt3qFE1WHTVfYtTp0tnDvPfIqj_k6drVs4BZfQVLL_qihBgN8kL6ZSXTvYwbbuuUcv9CX0-WcIOka671QvBsIZkcNPGq4rot_jWI-4T27S7bFg4Nh1mF01-uRI1w/s1600-h/image%25255B22%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqF5-eYpR9syrKiFYZLofDSxzKTYYp6hinLwWq_AgylkkRF1tje7OYKLDI7V91FEmI_ZkccxODOC6Uu0WfLbWsGBFNcOhZhRtxhTU9uBrY24welNNas97rJxXAcDOMXQxH6IdGJtxnwyg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="173" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I didn’t go any further than that, but this looks good! I think I’ll try it out on some colleagues later.Another look at the site shows amazing features.  This site looks well worth exploring.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Application for schools</u>:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Groups could use this to discuss and plan group projects at home.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. If you are in a collaborative global project this site could be used for discussions.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. Teachers could have a quick meeting from home when time for a meeting doesn't fit into the school day. <br /></span></div></div>

Web tools Website reviews A quick, free way to run meetings

Submitted by Fiona Beal Today I came across this meeting site which said. “Meet Face to Face Online, hang out with co-workers and teams, run...

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Break out the champagne (again), the '55 Hitchcock...

<div style="color: #990000; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><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/AVvXsEgmeB90vTS5bppAvlRUUmZQzJ0ZU62CAw8bcFRkvcpgBUnzDHqFD8eop3YcqGfOZ9jp0SN68BnhfcvWhe-7m8q1ZzQg4N5wAU8d-iPSm5G-rgii8mSgUjf7OcTQeqGJcw46mCf4ELDibB4T/s1600/to-catch-a-thief-hitchcock-fritz-von-runte+poster++2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmeB90vTS5bppAvlRUUmZQzJ0ZU62CAw8bcFRkvcpgBUnzDHqFD8eop3YcqGfOZ9jp0SN68BnhfcvWhe-7m8q1ZzQg4N5wAU8d-iPSm5G-rgii8mSgUjf7OcTQeqGJcw46mCf4ELDibB4T/s1600/to-catch-a-thief-hitchcock-fritz-von-runte+poster++2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-size: small;">Alfred Hitchcock’s </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">To Catch a Thief</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> screens today at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival. In celebration of the third annual greatest-classic-film-festival-in-the-world, I’m posting this new and improved version of a piece on </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">To Catch a Thief</span><i><span style="font-size: small;"> that first appeared here on New Year’s Day 2011.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Traditionally, champagne is the drink <i>du jour</i> (or <i>nuit</i>) at New Year’s, and so champagne it shall be now. A bottle of ‘96 </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Dom Pérignon Ros</span><span style="font-size: small;">é</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"> would be fitting, but I’m in the mood for something really special…an old favorite… Hitchcock’s distinctive ’55 vintage from the Cote d'Azur. <i>To Catch a Thief</i> (1955), a delectable “Hitchcock champagne,” boasts a rare combination of elegance and flair. Light-bodied with a smooth finish that lingers, it remains unmatched, though it has been imitated far and wide for decades.</span></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><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/AVvXsEh-7Bji7gSXs0Q-kAUD6HU7MuxKxznY-R753bqG2R6uH8kElwg6fVoQKP_JhwQWAKUYV2t8W6JixBBz2kDlepfwlEYVLB4HLXr-ddyzlFJcNP0iL__fy0_gsr6x0TsYpokPev7cnH7zXvcM/s1600/cote+d+azur+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-7Bji7gSXs0Q-kAUD6HU7MuxKxznY-R753bqG2R6uH8kElwg6fVoQKP_JhwQWAKUYV2t8W6JixBBz2kDlepfwlEYVLB4HLXr-ddyzlFJcNP0iL__fy0_gsr6x0TsYpokPev7cnH7zXvcM/s320/cote+d+azur+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"the azure coast" of France</td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">A jaunty score sets the tone as opening credits roll over a shot of an international travel service with a poster in the window, “If you like life, you’ll love France.” The tinkling keys of a grand piano hint at continental sophistication and adventure long before the first scream bemoaning stolen jewelry issues from a Riviera hotel balcony.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;">Quickly the action picks up speed with a colorful cruise through the Cote d'Azur as French police race to the village of Sainte-Jeannet and the hillside villa of retired jewel thief and prime suspect, John Robie (Cary Grant). From these early sequences and throughout the film, cinematographer Robert Burks displays VistaVision/Technicolor to full effect; it was Hitchcock's first use of the widescreen/color process that would become a signature of his color films for the rest of the 1950s.</span></div><br /><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/AVvXsEjmdbwh1cpxzMsbI3MU2c6IEtNAZUKyH2f2bo5ZAte0xH1QQpvsFVVrGnnlFrqtlZQD0cK4-U_1NdlWuJI1URtu9Jo_nvNi4QjgL2v2noPelRHNvuoxTUlM_ISQ4nr1OEv67NrsvHuXdVOF/s1600/robert+burks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmdbwh1cpxzMsbI3MU2c6IEtNAZUKyH2f2bo5ZAte0xH1QQpvsFVVrGnnlFrqtlZQD0cK4-U_1NdlWuJI1URtu9Jo_nvNi4QjgL2v2noPelRHNvuoxTUlM_ISQ4nr1OEv67NrsvHuXdVOF/s1600/robert+burks.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinematographer Robert Burks</td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Burks had initially worked together five years earlier following the director’s return to the U.S. after making two films in England. Hitchcock was beginning production on <i>Strangers on a Train</i> for Warner Bros. and the studio cinematographer assigned to the project was 40-year-old Burks. It would be the beginning of a fabled partnership. Burks began his career at 19 in the Warner Bros. special effects lab when Hal Wallis, who favored shadows and high contrast on the screen, was in charge of production. Burks apprenticed under James Wong Howe, worked his way up to DP and, by 1948, had risen to cinematographer.</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">The early influence of German expressionism on Hitchcock corresponded nicely with the influences Burks absorbed at Warner Bros. and the two would collaborate on 12 films from 1951 – 1964, every picture Hitchcock made during that period except <i>Psycho</i>. Like Burks, Hitchcock had intimate knowledge of special effects and had an affinity for scenes of complex imagery. One of the most memorable in the Hitchcock/Burks canon came in <i>Strangers on a Train</i> with the scene in which Robert Walker’s murder of Laura Elliott is reflected in the lens of her fallen eyeglasses. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><br /><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/AVvXsEiDRImOIG_rk45IZY2kfJ0S-65SAKjHmgHNMxdeF6i99gpOFrc4-ZXZ0KDa8KBiMsam8EBH5P0jr8SlDLJqQD0Iv40A2KusFhnWNxyTOH0VdonewgLxfCOzzGRsLDRzgsmZ2wE43Q6Sfkcq/s1600/filming+TCat+in+VV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDRImOIG_rk45IZY2kfJ0S-65SAKjHmgHNMxdeF6i99gpOFrc4-ZXZ0KDa8KBiMsam8EBH5P0jr8SlDLJqQD0Iv40A2KusFhnWNxyTOH0VdonewgLxfCOzzGRsLDRzgsmZ2wE43Q6Sfkcq/s1600/filming+TCat+in+VV.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitchcock (top center) beside the VistaVision camera</td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Robert Burks was Oscar-nominated for <i>Strangers</i> and again for <i>Rear Window</i>. With <i>To Catch a Thief</i>, he finally won an Academy Award for cinematography. From 1955 – 1958, Burks shot five Hitchcock films in VistaVision/ Technicolor; four of the five were for Paramount Pictures. Paramount had been the only major film studio to balk at the widescreen CinemaScope system when it came on the scene in 1953. The studio set out to develop a process of its own and worked with Eastman Kodak to develop VistaVision, a method that delivered a higher resolution widescreen version of 35 mm. The VistaVision process printed down large format negatives to standard 35 mm, creating a finer-grained print and improved image. The use of Technicolor's dye transfer process was key to VistaVision color image quality. For his first foray into VistaVision/Technicolor, Hitchcock devised a stylish romantic thriller infused with dazzling starpower.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_1252722499"></span><span id="goog_1252722500"></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">When he introduced a recent screening of <i>To Catch a Thief</i>, TCM’s Robert Osborne remarked that it had “the best asset any film could have...Cary Grant.” Good point. This was the third of Grant’s four Hitchcock pictures and it came nearly ten years after their last collaboration, <i>Notorious</i> (1946), one of the best films in either man’s illustrious filmography. In the interim, Hitchcock’s career had gone into and dramatically come out of a slump. During the same period, Grant had continued to make popular films, but had begun to move away from the kind of part he had trademarked – the dapper, self-effacing man of the world. Following <i>Dream Wife</i><b> </b>(1953) Grant retired, dissatisfied with the parts and films he was being offered. But then he was approached by Alfred Hitchcock who had a project in mind with the requisite amount of elegance and humor to attract him. In <i>To Catch a Thief</i> Cary Grant returned to type; John Robie, “The Cat,” is a dashing charmer, “a man of obvious good taste” very few could or would want to resist. Grant seldom departed from type during the remaining years of his career.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN">To Catch a Thief</span></i><b><span lang="EN"> </span></b></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">was the third and final film Grace Kelly would make with Hitchcock, who would have worked with her for the rest of his career had she not left movies to become Princess of Monaco. Hitchcock’s breathtaking onscreen vision of Kelly brings to mind Josef von Sternberg’s ravishing cinematic glorification of Marlene Dietrich 20 years earlier. Kelly was a beautiful woman but among the handful of films she made, it was in her films for Hitchcock that her image as a screen goddess achieved perfection. In <i>To Catch a Thief</i> she plays a spoiled rich girl, the ultimate "snow covered volcano" and "Hitchcock blonde."</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><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/AVvXsEikUDzrHfipmeyoDmjbsJtyBPcAxhaN8aOhc0x6TPLtvYtcWI0dY1aq5-m5Yr2FU6KgNGtk8Za7P2-1J4XJ4NhZbLz8TuaiHQfAvNg479VlFcmU-wqWbj8Fy7idDMacNeoXBUxIyBqQKp_i/s1600/Kelly+and+Grant+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUDzrHfipmeyoDmjbsJtyBPcAxhaN8aOhc0x6TPLtvYtcWI0dY1aq5-m5Yr2FU6KgNGtk8Za7P2-1J4XJ4NhZbLz8TuaiHQfAvNg479VlFcmU-wqWbj8Fy7idDMacNeoXBUxIyBqQKp_i/s400/Kelly+and+Grant+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grace Kelly and Cary Grant</td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Grant and Kelly are captivating together onscreen and both deliver iconic characterizations with ease - Grant as a debonair retired thief/innocent man, and she as a haughty/hot debutante. The pair literally generates fireworks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><br /><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/AVvXsEgNnOshRfPe_U96fJAzoK4DKsBfOCRsZ6l0nG268p-cOkPTv8lEk6iNkXKyg_kHzho8HQxwOLjpUdSm-6Db76iBGPoonyZjlF4lZlXMeA0NvEUkMGTZyjPjs3BlC6zgO8jiuuTUijHxNTF9/s1600/Jessie+Royce+Landis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNnOshRfPe_U96fJAzoK4DKsBfOCRsZ6l0nG268p-cOkPTv8lEk6iNkXKyg_kHzho8HQxwOLjpUdSm-6Db76iBGPoonyZjlF4lZlXMeA0NvEUkMGTZyjPjs3BlC6zgO8jiuuTUijHxNTF9/s1600/Jessie+Royce+Landis.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jessie Royce Landis</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"></div><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">In her first Hitchcock outing, Jessie Royce Landis portrays Kelly’s insouciant and earthy, bourbon-sipping mother. Hitchcock liked to include colorful women as supporting characters in his films, ranging from the ridiculous (Florence Bates in <i>Rebecca</i>) and the oblivious (Patricia Collinge in <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>), to the observant and wisecracking (Thelma Ritter in <i>Rear Window</i>, Barbara Bel Geddes in <i>Vertigo</i>). Royce Landis portrayed two of the most appealing of the latter type in this film and <i>North by Northwest</i>.</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Actor John Williams made his third appearance in a Hitchcock film with <i>To Catch a Thief</i>, this time as an insurance agent helping Robie track down the real jewel thief. His H.H. Hughson is a fine foil for Grant’s Robie. Their early scenes provide Hitchcock the opportunity to have some fun with a favorite theme, the ambiguity of guilt and innocence. Robie tells Hughson flatly that though he “only stole from those who wouldn’t go hungry,” he “kept everything myself.” Chiding Hughson for stealing hotel sundries and cheating on his expense account, Robie comments, “I was an out and out thief…like you.” Robie emphasizes his point with the throwaway line, “I wish I’d known someone in the insurance racket when I went into the burglary business.” Hitchcock toys with subject again when Robie refers to the sensitive hands and delicate touch of his cook and housekeeper, Germaine, who bakes a quiche as "light as air" and who, during the war, “strangled a German general once…without a sound.”</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><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/AVvXsEjWMGGRLIgTGrM5k6S-MP7mqJziokgnGlbK26vbc3ALJo7jUXCQj46ukcLZ8VfG3CA7J0277WzcAEwEAOjb4hOK9RslL9E0iCKJ_c0NKhf9eU6agV4dG4oHptfE0vmU2oo1Tojaelk7Tm5f/s1600/john+williams+grace+kelly+rene+blancard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWMGGRLIgTGrM5k6S-MP7mqJziokgnGlbK26vbc3ALJo7jUXCQj46ukcLZ8VfG3CA7J0277WzcAEwEAOjb4hOK9RslL9E0iCKJ_c0NKhf9eU6agV4dG4oHptfE0vmU2oo1Tojaelk7Tm5f/s400/john+williams+grace+kelly+rene+blancard.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Williams, Grace Kelly, Rene Blancard...costumes by Edith Head</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While some dismiss <i>To Catch a Thief</i> for lack of substance, there's no question that it is a solid film of its genre. With meticulous craftsmanship and tremendous style, Hitchcock delivered exactly what he intended - a voluptuous romantic thriller. All elements blend in harmony, from the John Michael Hayes screenplay to Robert Burks' VistaVision/ Technicolor photography, Lyn Murray’s score, Edith Head’s eyeball-popping costumes, two scintillating stars and the Cote d’Azur setting.<i> </i></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i>To Catch a Thief</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"> was successful and influential, and many later films bear its earmarks...most prominently Stanley Donen’s <i>Charade</i>, as well as his <i>Arabesque,</i> William Wyler's <i>How to Steal a Million</i>, Blake Edwards' <i>The Pink Panther</i> and countless romance/thriller romps ever since.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">~</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="color: #cc0000; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">One of the principal  themes of this year's 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival is </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">Style in the Movies</span><i><span style="font-size: small;">. Kimberly Truhler of <a href="http://glamamor.com/" style="color: #0b5394;">GlamAmor.com</a>, who is attending and blogging on the festival, produced and hosts the following video, </span></i><span style="font-size: small;">Cinema Style File - Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief</span><i><span style="font-size: small;">: </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JFL8npiVibU" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /></div>

Alfred Hitchcock GlamAmor Kimberly Truhler TCM Classic Film Festival The Lady Eve (author) To Catch a Thief Break out the champagne (again), the '55 Hitchcock...

Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief screens today at the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival. In celebration of the third annual greatest-classi...

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SYRIA, IRAN, NORTH KOREA and ISTANBUL

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaU146WveeHqUvI7tZ188aP9KIR1GIlqcxjWx6S-YmMbm08_oUT8_V5uPBWytN4QZg25qJRyOuiEOjeW4kmXoovSWpYMC_DLc-bANRzEezgfT4jw0cIRXTpVaEgikV3AMRDyVybZjKP0z/s1600/chessboard20animation_global.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaU146WveeHqUvI7tZ188aP9KIR1GIlqcxjWx6S-YmMbm08_oUT8_V5uPBWytN4QZg25qJRyOuiEOjeW4kmXoovSWpYMC_DLc-bANRzEezgfT4jw0cIRXTpVaEgikV3AMRDyVybZjKP0z/s1600/chessboard20animation_global.gif" /></a></div><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span class="s1mainStoryHeadline"> </span></span></b><br /><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span class="s1mainStoryHeadline">Obama’s election politics empowers Iran, North Korea, Syria before Istanbul talks</span> </span></b><br /> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="articleDescription">via DEBKA<em>file</em></span> </span><span class="articleDescription red italic"></span><br /><div class="articleBodyWrapper"> <div class="photoContainer" id="photoContainer" style="width: 150px;"> <div class="photoContainerPhoto" id="photo"> <a href=""><br /> </a> </div><div class="photoContainerCaption" id="caption"><br /></div></div><span class="articleBody"> <span style="font-size: large;">In their different ways, the rulers of Iran, North Korea and Syria this week tried to throw US President Barack Obama off balance by exploiting the foreign policy balls he is juggling to win the November election – a combination of tough talk and  maneuvers to avoiding military confrontation.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> Wednesday, April 11, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  chose Abu Musa island near the Strait of Hormuz to offer the Arab Gulf rulers a piece of advance:  “…they should take a look at the map of Iran so that they understand about which great and powerful country they are talking.”<br /> Turning to threats, he said: “Some of these countries give their oil money to the arrogant powers so that it can be used against another country. But they must be aware that their days are numbers and one day, the oil money will be used against themselves.”  </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> Was he setting the tone for the resumed nuclear talks opening in Istanbul Saturday, April 14, between his government and six world powers (US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany)?<br /> Or reminding them that when sanctions were first imposed on Iran to counter its nuclear program oil sold at $25 the barrel whereas it has since soared to $110?</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> As for Iran’s Arab neighbors across the Gulf, Ahmadinejad was giving them an ominous geostrategic lesson:  Saudi Arabia was 1,034 kilometers away from Abu Musa and the Hormuz waterway which carried their oil to market, whereas Abu Musa was only 183.5 kilometers and bristling with a profusion of Iranian military hardware, notably sea-mines, explosives-packed speedboats and shore-to-sea missiles. They are all in position to block the Strait of Hormuz and strike at the lifelines of Gulf oil producers, their wells and infrastructure. No need to wage full-blown war on Saudi Arabia to bring disaster down on the world’s key oil-producing region.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> Therefore, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remark Thursday, April 12, that Tehran has sent “mixed signals, hinting toward a compromise” hardly connects with reality, unless she was referring to signals filtered</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> through secret channels.<br /> The Iranian president was obviously crowing over Tehran’s success in preserving Syrian President Bashar Assad in power and vowing to make Gulf nations pay for backing his enemies.   </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> A large Saudi delegation headed by Defense Minister Prince Salman visited London and Washington this week. In addition to their top-level talks with President Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron and their heads of defense, they also talked to British and US army chiefs dealing with the military side of the Persian Gulf. In London, Prince Salman had a long conversation with Air Chief Marshal Sir Simon Bryant and later in Washington with Gen. James Mattis and the president’s adviser on terror John O. Brennan.<br /> Their focus of concern appeared to have shifted from a possible US or Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program and its consequences over to a potential clash between Iran and Saudi Arabia.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> On Syria, Obama and Saudi King Abdullah are at odds. The former stands solidly against US military intervention against the Assad regime, whereas the latter is pressing for heightened Western and Arab military involvement in Syria including a supply of heavy weapons for the rebels fighting government forces. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was in Riyadh Wednesday but failed to convince the king to line up behind the Washington-Ankara policy on Syria.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> With Iranian and Russian support, Assad has managed to turn the tables on Turkey. Friday’s Saudi newspaper <em>Shawq al</em>-<em>Awsat </em>mocked Ankara and its oft-repeated, never-fulfilled proposal to set up a buffer zone in Syria for refugees with a sarcastic headline: “Did al-Assad set up a buffer zone in Turkey?”<br /> The first two days of the Syrian ceasefire, which was declared as part of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan’s six-point peace plan, were encouraging in that the number of deaths from violence declined from the horrendous norm. At the same time, outbreaks here and there were still current and Syrian troops and heavy weapons remained in the cities.</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> The UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon and peace envoy Kofi Annan are convinced that rushing UN observers into Syria and getting them on the ground will stabilize the ceasefire. But most Syria watchers are skeptical. Assad is firm in the saddle.<br /> As for the Istanbul talks, <span class="debka">debka</span><span class="file">file</span>’s military sources report the conviction in the State Department that Iran is not coming to the table to resolve its nuclear dispute with the world, but rather as a toe in the water to gauge the strength of Obama’s resolve to terminate its nuclear program.  Iran’s resolve is unquestioned. As Ahmadinejad put it, “Iran will not retreat one iota from its nuclear rights.”</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> Like Syria and North Korea, Iran is gambling on Obama dropping back in time to avoid real confrontation with the Tehran-Moscow-Beijing line-up.<span class="debka"> Debka</span><span class="file">file</span>’s military sources report that North Korea is playing on the same pitch. Despite the breakup of the Unha-3 carrier rocket, supposedly to boost a satellite into orbit, shortly after takeoff from Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri Thursday, April 13, North Korea has established four facts:</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> 1. It is very close to the capacity for building multistage intercontinental ballistic missiles and will keep on conducting tests until the technology is fully mastered:</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> 2.  Pyongyang is set for its third nuclear test;</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> 3. It is well on the way to an ICBM with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching Washington and not just Tokyo;</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> 4.   As it forges ahead, North Korea displays extreme indifference to the threats of world powers, United Nations censure or even the cancellation of US food aid just announced.</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> Its rulers are bucked up by the information reaching them about the mood in Washington - not from Chinese intelligence but American mainstream media. They agree that President Obama aims to woo the American voter by sounding tough but staying clear of military confrontations with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Bashar Assad and Kim Jong-un.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> This posture was summed up succinctly by Leslie H. Gelb in the Daily Beast: “Typically, Mr. Obama is reacting like almost all his predecessors in presidential-election years: he is trying to simultaneously show strength and avoid war. He is walking the familiar tightrope…”</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"> Going into critical talks in Istanbul Saturday with a tough customer like Iran on a tightrope, the US president wobbles over dangerous waters, say DEBKAfle’s sources:  A misjudgment could suddenly make him lose his balance; Iran, Syria or North Korea may push him off-balance; in his anxiety to avoid war, he may, as is often the case, cause one - maybe without American involvement but most certainly one that sets up high turbulence across the entire Middle East. </span><br /> </span> </div><span style="font-size: large;"><ins style="border: medium none; display: inline-table; height: 60px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 468px;"><ins id="aswift_2_anchor" style="border: medium none; display: block; height: 60px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 468px;"></ins></ins></span>

SYRIA, IRAN, NORTH KOREA and ISTANBUL

  Obama’s election politics empowers Iran, North Korea, Syria before Istanbul talks via DEBKA file   ...

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