Why not hold a TeachMeet in your area?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Submitted by Fiona Beal</em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I can hear you asking, “A TeachMeet? What is that?” I asked the same question before attending the Partners in Learning Institute in July 2011. Baldev Singh, one of our presenters, who is a founder of imagineeducation.org in the UK introduced the idea to us. He said this informal type of professional development is starting to supercede other forms of professional development in the UK.  If there is one way to enhance the spread of technology integration in the classroom, this is it!  We soon discovered that TeachMeets are also popular in the USA (where they are often called EdCamps) and all over Europe. Oooh, I’d love to introduce this idea in South Africa!</span></div></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/AVvXsEh1KYjJNSo1odxDMC56UxSK0PF2TpTB6YrFlQ5SemwK4gpKaAb5IhUQeYjDwtLg-NYxYEA623GbxffxYUsahAVPzdHTnGAxj67iA_bucSxTnQBPtcUGo0bKgkbByOJYJ8vxbDBVtwB3oOM/s1600/baldev+singh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KYjJNSo1odxDMC56UxSK0PF2TpTB6YrFlQ5SemwK4gpKaAb5IhUQeYjDwtLg-NYxYEA623GbxffxYUsahAVPzdHTnGAxj67iA_bucSxTnQBPtcUGo0bKgkbByOJYJ8vxbDBVtwB3oOM/s320/baldev+singh.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Baldev Singh from </span><a href="http://www.imagineeducation.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">www.imagineeducation.com</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what is a TeachMeet?</span></b><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a nutshell, teachers choose a successful lesson they have done in technology integration, and depending on the time limits set by the TeachMeet organizers (can be 2 minutes, 3 minutes or 7 minutes), they use a data projector and computer and share their lesson. TeachMeets can be held anywhere and at any time. <br /><br />Before leaving for the PIL Institute week we were asked to watch this YouTube video on TeachMeets by Brainpop. </span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://youtu.be/53KUW79lhrg">http://youtu.be/53KUW79lhrg</a></span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/53KUW79lhrg" width="425"></iframe><br /><br /><br /></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some of the ‘rules’</span></b></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;"></span></strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />*<span id="goog_1400297682"></span><span id="goog_1400297683"></span>The teachers listening take notes, photos, videos, they tweet or just listen.<br /><span id="goog_165567202"></span><span id="goog_165567203"></span>*Presentations need to be short and sharp<br />*Can use technology to present i.e.  PowerPoint, video, photos etc.<br />*It is fine to hold up a poster or even sing a song.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> *You need to plan before the time</span><br /><strong><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some of our teachmeets at the PIL Institute week</span></strong></div></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We loved the TeachMeet session where we presented to the USA Innovative Teacher finalists. If I can find any of the presentations on video I'll post them here. One that I did find on YouTube was from Dan Roberts from the UK. He cleverly got us singing a Songsmith song together using wireless microphones scattered around the room.</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u4EIVDZAH0U" width="425"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://youtu.be/u4EIVDZAH0U"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://youtu.be/u4EIVDZAH0U</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What happens if there are too many people wanting to share something?</span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The organiser uses some kind of random selector so that you never know who is next. If you are not selected this time, there will be another time…the next TeachMeet.  I found this random name generator on the internet:</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine">http://classtools.net/education-games-php/fruit_machine</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The organiser could alternatively draw names from a box, or use an Excel spread sheet random selector. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">TeachMeets from our PIL group on other occasions</span></strong></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some more examples of TeachMeets given by two of our PIL Institute group members on other occasions back in the UK. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jan Web, a teacher from the UK,  organises TeachMeets. Here is a video from YouTube where she is presenting a TeachMeet on using Microsoft's free tool called Mouse Mischief.</span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3xCzQe8pTCU" width="560"></iframe><br /><a href="http://youtu.be/3xCzQe8pTCU"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://youtu.be/3xCzQe8pTCU</span></a><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact Dan Roberts from the UK  presented a TeachMeet at the Bett Show this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Jq8IuB5ijAU" width="560"></iframe></div><a href="http://youtu.be/Jq8IuB5ijAU"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://youtu.be/Jq8IuB5ijAU</span></a><br /><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other examples of TeachMeets found on YouTube</span></strong></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are a few more TeachMeet videos from YouTube illustrating the essence of a TeachMeet. You’ll notice that these are slightly longer – 7 minutes. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kerry Turner on a Schools' History Project teachmeet</span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N_Di1PB02X0" width="425"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://youtu.be/N_Di1PB02X0"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://youtu.be/N_Di1PB02X0</span></a><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Julian Wood on 'What is a PLN?' (‘We' is better than ‘me’)</span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMisdq38P_M" width="425"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="http://youtu.be/VMisdq38P_M"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://youtu.be/VMisdq38P_M</span></a></div><div 425?="" allowfullscreen="" class="Mso<iframe width=" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMisdq38P_M"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What happens if the teacher talking goes on too long?</span></b></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The organiser has some way of telling them time is up. They stop immediately, hard as it is. A stopwatch is essential for an organiser. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How long does a TeachMeet session last?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the UK apparently they are very common in pubs from 5 – 7pm.  The length of time depends on who is organizing but often it is a two hour session.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What are the benefits?</span> </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It seems like there are so many benefits in our social media age. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">*Teachers meet teachers from other schools.<br />*Teachers share their great ideas and learn from others. <br />*After the TeachMeet you mingle and ask questions from people who shared something you liked.<br />*They are great fun. <br />*Teachers love building on ideas, and in the wave of technology integration that is happening they will be encouraged to integrate technology with the curriculum which benefits our digitally-minded learners. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Baldev Singh told us, every teacher is a source of knowledge and its our simple ideas which can transform another teacher’s classroom. It’s the power of collective wisdom.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Can you show us a preparation template?</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is the one created by Baldev Singh:</span></div><br /><div id="__ss_8789545" style="width: 425px;"><strong style="display: block; margin: 12px 0px 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/teachmeet-template" target="_blank" title="TeachMeet template">TeachMeet template</a></strong> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/8789545" width="425"></iframe><br /><div style="padding-bottom: 12px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px;">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 style="font-family: inherit;">Please comment here about TeachMeets if you have attended one.  If you live in South Africa and introduce one, please let me know how it went.  If you happen live in Cape Town and introduce one, <em>please</em> invite me!  If you want me to help you organise one in Cape Town please contact me! (schoolnetsablog@gmail.com)</span></div>

teachmeets Why not hold a TeachMeet in your area?

Submitted by Fiona Beal I can hear you asking, “A TeachMeet? What is that?” I asked the same question before attending the Partners in Learn...

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I Love Lucy...A Few Reasons Why

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><br /> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPEoXql9ZPem964Qzcw8U-5FRbH7KmOFQoeVwmW2uxyB_NhY_GRktbGcLBki9sEG4xTHUHRSxoMc81H12fyvbAnZZg8JkzMiTCYGXP6AXC9OFyBqTrws2M4916D26L3DtQ8-DIvgIK6rs/s1600/Lucy+by+Amsel+w+border.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPEoXql9ZPem964Qzcw8U-5FRbH7KmOFQoeVwmW2uxyB_NhY_GRktbGcLBki9sEG4xTHUHRSxoMc81H12fyvbAnZZg8JkzMiTCYGXP6AXC9OFyBqTrws2M4916D26L3DtQ8-DIvgIK6rs/s640/Lucy+by+Amsel+w+border.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr><br /> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lucille Ball by Richard Amsel</span></td></tr><br /> </tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_250145484"></span><span id="goog_250145485"></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">This is my entry in the "Loving Lucy Blogathon" hosted by True Classics...for more, <b style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://trueclassics.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/the-loving-lucy-blogathon-entries/">click here</a></b>.</span></i> <br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><br /> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDOimK1qDWbD7KKg7vEMwG9BZ3_HmYgoegDh8DnRg1xn7wUanqxLMNxj-TTVvmkTSqkQdcvs26viNVOxvgNpMgBGWdbODIdPeNxWuxu_R9HEYNi9kP3SBtHSr6ADGxbIqGqAlsKy-i_c6/s1600/lucy+ewww.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDOimK1qDWbD7KKg7vEMwG9BZ3_HmYgoegDh8DnRg1xn7wUanqxLMNxj-TTVvmkTSqkQdcvs26viNVOxvgNpMgBGWdbODIdPeNxWuxu_R9HEYNi9kP3SBtHSr6ADGxbIqGqAlsKy-i_c6/s200/lucy+ewww.jpg" width="161" /></a></td></tr><br /> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ewwww!"</td></tr><br /> </tbody></table>One reason I love Lucy is that my mom always reminded me very much of her. Both were smart, attractive and there was more than occasionally something they kept from 'the man of the house' (how I remember the phrase, "don't tell your father"). Mom was talented, ambitious, determined and funny, like Lucy. There were times, in certain situations, that she would imitate Lucy's famous "Ewwww!" take. But mom was what was then called a "housewife," a homemaker extraordinaire and PTA queen - Lucy was the greatest comedienne television has yet known.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As has often been noted, Lucille Ball was in Hollywood for years before she broke out on TV. She'd been tagged "Queen of B-Movies," which is something, but clearly not enough for an actress who'd shared the screen with the likes of Tracy and Hepburn, Astaire and Rogers, The Marx Bros., Bob Hope and Henry Fonda. Her popular radio series, "My Favorite Husband" (CBS, 1948 - 1951) was the stepping stone that led to Lucy's television super-stardom on "I Love Lucy," which debuted on CBS TV in October 1951.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I've always been especially fond of the Lucy episodes from seasons 4 and 5, beginning in February 1955, when the Ricardos and Mertzes traveled to Hollywood. These shows included cameos by various stars (including John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Van Johnson and Harpo Marx) and industry legends (Hedda Hopper, Dore Schary) along with the usual Lucy hi-jinks. But I think some of my affection for these shows is also tied to the fact that Lucy and her gang had come to Southern California, my own home ground.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />I don't know how many times I've seen this Lucy sketch with William Holden (Season 4, Episode 17, "L.A., at Last," first aired February 7, 1955), but it still makes me laugh out loud. It's my favorite Lucy routine of them all and one of her two or three very best. The lunacy begins when Bill Holden, whom Lucy has already accosted and made a scene over at the Brown Derby restaurant, arrives at the Ricardo's hotel room with Ricky. Lucy improvises...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z76QqL_AozI" width="425"></iframe></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Not long ago I watched the amusing <i>Miss Grant Takes Richmond </i>(1949), in which Lucy and Holden co-starred. He hadn't yet collaborated with Billy Wilder, a teaming that would launch the actor's great film stardom, and Lucy was still a year or two from her move to TV.  I have to think that the two must've relished working together in this 1955 sitcom classic, two former B-stars now both firmly ensconced on the A List, and having a great time of it.<br /><br /><b style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://evesreellife.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/another-lucy-classic/">Click here</a></b> for another of my favorite Lucy skits.<br /><br /><u><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Turner Classic Movies Schedule of Lucille Ball Films, August 6, 2011</b></span></u><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">6:00 am Eastern/3:00 Pacific, <i>Du Barry Was a Lady </i>(1943)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">8:00 am Eastern/5:00 Pacific, <i>Panama Lady </i>(1939)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">9:30 am Eastern/6:30 Pacific, <i>Without Love </i>(1945)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">11:30 am Eastern/8:30 Pacific, <i>Miss Grant Takes Richmond </i>(1949)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">1:00 pm Eastern/10:00 am Pacific, <i>The Fuller Brush Girl </i>(1950)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">2:30 pm Eastern/11:30 am Pacific, <i>The Long, Long Trailer </i>(1954)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">4:30 pm Eastern/1:30 Pacific, <i>Best Foot Forward </i>(1943)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">6:15 pm Eastern/3:15 Pacific, <i>Dance, Girl, Dance </i>(1940)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">8:00 pm Eastern/5:00 Pacific, <i>Stage Door </i>(1937)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">9:45 pm Eastern/6:45 Pacific, <i>The Big Street </i>(1942)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">11:30 pm Eastern/8:30 Pacific, <i>Easy to Wed</i> (1946)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">1:30 am Eastern/10:30 pm Pacific, <i>Lured </i>(1947)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">3:15 am Eastern/12:15 Pacific,<i>The Affairs of Annabel </i>(1938)</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">4:30 am Eastern/1:30 Pacific, <i>Annabel Takes a Tour </i>(1938)</span></div>

Desi Arnaz I Love Lucy Loving Lucy Blogathon Lucille Ball William Holden I Love Lucy...A Few Reasons Why

Lucille Ball by Richard Amsel This is my entry in the "Loving Lucy Blogathon" hosted by True Classics...for more, click here . ...

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Another New World Order ?

<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; line-height: 115%; padding: 0in;">Austerity and the Destruction of Democracy in Europe</span></b></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;">Implementing austerity measures on PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) countries as envisioned by the IMF, Germany and France will lead to public uprising and undermine democracy. By tightening the screw on common people the establishment will foster radicalism and racism which will play in the hands of the far right as well as the far left political movements who could grab the opportunity to tumble democratic values of Europe by implementing autocratic political systems. </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;">When the economy is in turmoil and unable to recover, in most cases it ends in war. Europe is one of the few places in the world which has not had an armed conflict for more than 60 years. Statistically speaking it is overdue in order to “reboot” its economy and the signs of this to happen are imminent. Historically speaking, it was not rare that European countries waged wars among themselves because of cultural and political differences, thus one cannot rule out that history does not repeat itself and pave the foundation for another NEW WORLD ORDER. See: <a href="http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-world-order-still-a-conspiracy-theory.html">http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-world-order-still-a-conspiracy-theory.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AhMxsu-54pY?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JfvHutiTL9s?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ttHYQUY-PO0?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

Another New World Order ?

Austerity and the Destruction of Democracy in Europe Implementing austerity measures on PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) countries...

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Happy Friday!

As I struggled to wake up this morning after a late night (more on this later), I was delighted when I stepped onto the scale to see a 1.4 pound loss this week!  Thank you Lord - I'll take a loss anyday... even if I have lost these sames pounds over and over again.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteL1GEXjwvmPZ9P4vgPW3SOGaJKDfWxLkx_uswzPAa1DBsAMMZjg81LRmCluzF148JkwG93PMZGwKpmQsUhKIz8hK9Y-2TT7wfh4jC5Body92LqDEe56oe5MsWdgHR9u-dODH17v399I/s400/happy+friday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteL1GEXjwvmPZ9P4vgPW3SOGaJKDfWxLkx_uswzPAa1DBsAMMZjg81LRmCluzF148JkwG93PMZGwKpmQsUhKIz8hK9Y-2TT7wfh4jC5Body92LqDEe56oe5MsWdgHR9u-dODH17v399I/s320/happy+friday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Last night we had a wedding rehearsal dinner for Joel's friends who will be getting hitched this Saturday!  I <3 weddings :).  The wedding is taking place in Baltimore, and that is an hour away from us.  We didn't get back from the dinner until around midnight.  I am a girl who needs her sleep, and so waking up at 5 AM was rather complicated after only a few hours of shut eye...<br /><br />I can already cross off half of an item from my <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-goals.html">August goals list</a>!  I printed out my goals and stuck them up at my desk at work...now I just have to do the same for the fridge at home.  <br /><br />Stay tuned for some wedding pics!

Loss Miscellaneous Random Weight Loss Thoughts Weight Watchers Happy Friday!

As I struggled to wake up this morning after a late night (more on this later), I was delighted when I stepped onto the scale to see a 1.4 p...

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I miss my left hand

Since my bike accident last Saturday when I sprained my left wrist, my left hand has been pretty useless. I can type (although even typing hurts a little), but I can't even lift a coffee cup without wincing with pain. I accidentally lifted my purse with my left hand today, and it almost brought me to my knees with pain. <br /><br />I'm really regretting my decision not to see the doctor after my accident. It took the swelling in my hand three days to go down so that it looked more human (it looked like a fake hand), and it's still a bit swollen. I can't wear my wedding ring or my watch. Since it sort of hurts all the time, I've decided to go see the doctor. Even if there's nothing they can do, at least I'll feel better knowing it will heal someday (I hope!).<br /><br />My most favorite part of going to the gym is the weight lifting. I detest cardio, always have and probably always will. Since lifting even a five-pound dumbbell this week was out of the question, I stayed out of the gym (it kind of broke my heart, but I didn't go). Plus I was trying to give my body time to heal, especially my wrist.<br /><br />My bike accident was actually pretty serious, and I have the bruises all over my body to prove it. The bruise on the inside of my right knee is amazing. I've never seen anything like it. It's eight inches in length and four inches across. It's still a deep reddish purple, and it's still very sore to the touch and kind of burns all the time (maybe the doctor should look at this too). I was looking at it tongiht and thought it looked swollen. I measured my knees and the bruised one is <b>two </b>inches bigger than my undamaged knee. No wonder it looks so fat!<br /><br />Even though I stayed out of the gym all week, my <a href="http://www.bodymedia.com/">BodyMedia</a> really motivated me to still get in my exercise. I set it to give me goals to meet so I would lose two pounds a week. It set my goal at 10,000 steps, one hour of moderate exercise and 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day. Calorie intake at 1910 per day, although I'm aiming more at 1,300-1500.<br /><br />These are tough goals to make but I'm amazed at how motivated I am to make them. This BodyMedia is the best investment I've ever made in my weight loss journey (that and my Polar heart rate monitor - I still use it). I know I sound like a commercial, but I really love this thing. I bought the armband and the Bluetooth display. At first I thought the Bluetooth display was a waste of money (for another $99). But it's really fun to check it during the day to see how many calories burned or how many steps I've taken. It makes me get up from my desk and run downstairs to get water and ice (no ice machine on my floor). Just that little jaunt is 100 steps and they all add up.<br /><br />When I get home, I can't wait to sync up my BodyMedia on my computer to see how I've done during the day and where I am on the calorie deficit. Entering my meals is so much easier than Weight Watchers and a lot more fun because you can see all the details of what you eat.<br /><br />I was surprised that my total calories each day are almost always a balance of the following: Carbs = 50%, Protein = 25% ,and Fat = 25%. It various a little, but it's been pretty close to that every day, and I'm eating different foods and a different calorie amount almost every day so I can't figure out how this is happening. I don't know if that's a good balance or not, but I think the Zone Diet is 40 / 30 /30. I've never done the Zone Diet but I have a friend that swears by it.<br /><br />For my exercise I've been walking/running at lunch. When I get home, if I haven't made my exercise goals I go for another walk/run, usually it only takes another 20 minutes. Tonight at 8pm I went for a 25 minute walk/run. I met and actually went above my exercise and step goals.<br /><br />I've done a fair job of meeting these goals most days. A couple days I either ate too much fruit (darn those nectarines, plums, cherries and apricots!) and/or got stuck at my desk during lunch (like yesterday) and didn't get any exercise. <br /><br />I was down to 189 on Tuesday, but then my weight jumped back up to 191 the next morning, and I didn't overeat. My guess is it's the swelling in my knee, and my other bruised and injured body parts. <br /><br />My night binge eating has basically stopped. I don't really know why, other than I can't bear the idea of entering my binge foods into the BodyMedia website. The one night that I did go crazy on the fruit, I entered in every bite. I was at 2005 calories, which is more than I think I should be eating, but seeing how many calories I'd burned that day made me feel a little better.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscWRU401z4AsBuv2mFdOgvsWlDrS1exCqcmDMy8jhsPReneR7W_5i-a_u68M1NSNzIwHwYeog8CS-kv3aHzb01anqqCs9oa_G32__ddDfoG2Z6fR4FZR_dhtjimgzEeRDRy3tv9dWEKaP/s1600/mon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgscWRU401z4AsBuv2mFdOgvsWlDrS1exCqcmDMy8jhsPReneR7W_5i-a_u68M1NSNzIwHwYeog8CS-kv3aHzb01anqqCs9oa_G32__ddDfoG2Z6fR4FZR_dhtjimgzEeRDRy3tv9dWEKaP/s400/mon.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />Tomorrow morning I'm going to the gym to do some lower body weight machines and maybe the StairMaster. When I ballooned up to 199 a couple weeks ago I couldn't even think about the StairMaster, but I'm feeling more fit and ready to tackle it now.<br /><br /><br />I usually never post what I eat, but just for fun, I thought I'd post my 2005 calorie day from Monday. You can all see what a pig I can be at times. My late night snack was 761 calories!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRZ0qfrNBhN_CmzwpaHCo0YpLKtGndXQKHHwWT-rsvtAcCfd4bp4UAfEqrJdUf9UzHh8BAytFcb5CZD1uQT3MZ7Altf3TCkXFo2d1jpIGM1FBSSs4g4ujdOQT1c3VDY06UbfR6oDoopGE/s1600/2005.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCRZ0qfrNBhN_CmzwpaHCo0YpLKtGndXQKHHwWT-rsvtAcCfd4bp4UAfEqrJdUf9UzHh8BAytFcb5CZD1uQT3MZ7Altf3TCkXFo2d1jpIGM1FBSSs4g4ujdOQT1c3VDY06UbfR6oDoopGE/s400/2005.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsP6cSZCZ1BEM1OB47EOUD4yKKm-BBbtVaVizYN1D8FBRYIUYeinwTECWDwZDDs6RzBrgP7aF2Nf1ejq2mSisnTy2JROvKU-ZC13ap8nr5Pip_Qa6plSHhl_BwhsPAq_rOee7MC-c1Jkj/s1600/2005_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPsP6cSZCZ1BEM1OB47EOUD4yKKm-BBbtVaVizYN1D8FBRYIUYeinwTECWDwZDDs6RzBrgP7aF2Nf1ejq2mSisnTy2JROvKU-ZC13ap8nr5Pip_Qa6plSHhl_BwhsPAq_rOee7MC-c1Jkj/s400/2005_2.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here's a fairly decent review on the BodyMedia & BodyBugg (both made by the same company):</div>http://www.livestrong.com/article/366271-bodymedia-vs-bodybugg/

I miss my left hand

Since my bike accident last Saturday when I sprained my left wrist, my left hand has been pretty useless. I can type (although even typing h...

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Will you be the next to attend a Microsoft Partners in Learning Institute week?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Submitted by Fiona Beal</span></i><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Any teacher interested in integrating technology with the curriculum would jump at a chance to visit Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond to attend their Partners in Learning Institute, wouldn’t they? Well I consider myself in that category and from 24th – 31st July I had the privilege of such a visit! This PIL Institute is a new part of Microsoft's vision for teachers, and you could be one of the next attendees! Microsoft is planning many more of these training events… </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Who attended this training?</span></b><br />Microsoft’s educational wing known as Partners in Learning shortlisted 50 innovative teachers from 31 countries to attend the inaugural training in Redmond. Three South African teachers were selected - Cheryl Douglas, Ngaka Ralekoala and myself.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><i></i></span><br /><script src="http://zoom.it/Onlc.js?width=auto&height=400px"></script><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Where did we stay?</b></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">We lodged at the incredibly luxurious Hyatt-Bellevue Hotel in an area between Seattle and Redmond known as Bellevue. The hotel had magnificent views from the rooms. The conference staff organised a very busy week right down to the last detail late at night – but I must say that every second was well worth it</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></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/AVvXsEj8ouYs1RqjNDygFCwhNZ03TXnRpBa4dz4TYWJE6oOlQeR3TExfWGukCQ0Q1CWZJrA4rln6qA7TTaefiSzuxBW1UCNbdoXe6AbhAWpmDRABN3UphyphenhyphenZ2lz69aIoM-1XU1h1H-9XxLPbgCNA/s1600/hotel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ouYs1RqjNDygFCwhNZ03TXnRpBa4dz4TYWJE6oOlQeR3TExfWGukCQ0Q1CWZJrA4rln6qA7TTaefiSzuxBW1UCNbdoXe6AbhAWpmDRABN3UphyphenhyphenZ2lz69aIoM-1XU1h1H-9XxLPbgCNA/s320/hotel2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">A room with a view at the Hyatt-Bellevue in Bellevue</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><b>What was the purpose of the PIL Institute? </b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">The purpose of the Microsoft Partners in learning Institute is to grow innovative teaching and learning </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">practices</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> around the world through a cadre of teacher trainers who will take what they have learned to their communities to coach and train other educators</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">.</span></span></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/AVvXsEjuc_8VMKBnIxWc0uUEwU7nInffFGZ_5O5Dhuirqp76iE8FWtP5xoqGDjy2fSMtKMR59n0DWB7mfsSOeV-iu963fdXdK7zNSywpttyuHvXEk7bLRKTDzLrudYgspU8QuZUZX4FjhGR1N0E/s1600/baldev1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuc_8VMKBnIxWc0uUEwU7nInffFGZ_5O5Dhuirqp76iE8FWtP5xoqGDjy2fSMtKMR59n0DWB7mfsSOeV-iu963fdXdK7zNSywpttyuHvXEk7bLRKTDzLrudYgspU8QuZUZX4FjhGR1N0E/s320/baldev1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">Baldev Singh from <a href="http://www.imagineeducation.net/">www.imagineeducation.net</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><b>What did we do each day?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">D</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">uring the day we had training, workshops, discussions, field trips, work sessions and some learning excursions around which we created a project. </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">I also enjoyed the </span><i><span style="line-height: 115%;">TeachMeet</span></i><span style="line-height: 115%;">  where we got the chance to give two minute presentations on something successful we have done in technology integration. I would LOVE to introduce this <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">TeachMeet </i>idea in South Africa. It would really enhance technology integration, I think. We also learned at length about 21^st century skills and how to create and assess activities using 21^st century skills. (We have homework to do on this due for the 15^th August). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">It was marvelous to get to talk to teachers from all the different countries and find out how education happens in their country. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Another treat was to be able to view the 102 USA finalist entries for the Microsoft Innovative competition. I always love to see what teachers come up with. </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><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/AVvXsEi-Us1y2BRhphJK3cX1tGvzBinDat53LbqaLZRwJEuyYosc1LAK52Gn4G0NM8QBiOX4sanGSxkyXrdQBO5VCJ3TQ-0mdRxLOwekuymW07b5rwSRyi5ryeN2DysEGn3ifJAjZlQLwURVme8/s1600/DSCF4715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Us1y2BRhphJK3cX1tGvzBinDat53LbqaLZRwJEuyYosc1LAK52Gn4G0NM8QBiOX4sanGSxkyXrdQBO5VCJ3TQ-0mdRxLOwekuymW07b5rwSRyi5ryeN2DysEGn3ifJAjZlQLwURVme8/s320/DSCF4715.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">One of the USA PIL Innovative Teacher entries</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Here is a slideshow of some of the USA PIL Innovative teacher entries:<br /><embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Ffionabeal%2Falbumid%2F5637820872517497249%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="267" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"></embed><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a summary of the USA projects:<br /><a href="http://bit.ly/qfUTvX">http://bit.ly/qfUTvX</a> </span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The winners of the USA IEF have now been announced:</span><br /><div><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/aug11/08-01IEF11PR.mspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2011/aug11/08-01IEF11PR.mspx</span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">One of the highlights was to visit the Microsoft Home of the Future at Their Headquarters in Redmond.</span><br /><div style="clear: both;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/mshome/VideoGallery.aspx">http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/presskits/mshome/VideoGallery.aspx</a></span></div><div style="clear: both;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Who were our presenters?</b></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Institute was run under the Directorship of Maureen Cain. Our presenters were of the highest quality and everyone benefitted from their professional input as well as from the warm friendship and enthusiasm of the fifty teacher participants. <span class="Apple-style-span">One of the conference presenters was a Technology Integration specialist, Sonja Delafosse, from the Lake Washington school district. Now that is a job I would enjoy – helping teachers integrate technology into their lessons, because then both the students and the teachers benefit. What do you think?  Their classes seem to have netbooks at their disposal.  Sonja explained how technology integration in schools is very important to the parents of that area, since Seattle houses Microsoft, Boeing, Amazon.com, and Google also has offices there. In fact while we were participating in our Partners in Learning Institute, Google was holding one of its Google certified teacher courses at the same time.  </span></span></div></div><div style="clear: both;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Did we do a lot of sight seeing? </span></b></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The 50 of us were transported everywhere by luxury coach.  Seattle is a great city. It is very green with beautiful trees and fresh clean air. Some call it the Emerald City. We didn’t have time for much sight-seeing in our busy schedule, but as mentioned, Microsoft cleverly arranged learning excursions in groups, with each group visiting a tourist site, and creating and completing a project about it. We stored these in our Partners in Learning Network shared folder, and shared them with one another. </span></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/AVvXsEg3HvDk0Vm97JS3qH5Fi0o2aZ0MlBHPAEi2SYKGjcJ5GcUHBbi55Wu7HBzilx_sJuFj-j-U71p9UhQwbhBppgR2L1OLwFdBcsxGsU6umgG8D0K1D4oeRpHekHmRX9KIJlEUZcWx4433KKo/s1600/Our+group+for+underground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3HvDk0Vm97JS3qH5Fi0o2aZ0MlBHPAEi2SYKGjcJ5GcUHBbi55Wu7HBzilx_sJuFj-j-U71p9UhQwbhBppgR2L1OLwFdBcsxGsU6umgG8D0K1D4oeRpHekHmRX9KIJlEUZcWx4433KKo/s320/Our+group+for+underground.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">Our group visited the Seattle Underground</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With so many great Microsoft tools tools at our disposal everyone felt as though they had been everywhere...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Seattle Underground via a photosynth made by Wichai...</span></i><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/rntjow"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://bit.ly/rntjow </span></a></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=7fb39566-4f35-4d75-8e13-a44e3f088a10&m=false&i=0:4:2&c=0.00205078:-0.108068:0.00120274&z=595.845555452404&d=2.32396468923907:-2.45784581855064:-2.38653051201723&p=0:0&t=False&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false" width="500"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>The Space Needle via a photosynth made by their group</i>...</span><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/pkSuZD">http://bit.ly/pkSuZD</a></span></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=869b4d72-195a-437c-a1cc-395a544fb4d4&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false" width="500"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>The Pike Place Market via a video made by Jugoslava..</i>.</span><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/ogWCcU">http://bit.ly/ogWCcU</a></span></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CUAS_bcV1_8" width="425"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Seattle using a flashcard application made by Birgy...</i><br /><a href="http://flashcards.educationlabs.com/#/Play/?deckid=4721">http://flashcards.educationlabs.com/#/Play/?deckid=4721</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><i>The Seattle Art Museum via photosynth made by their group..</i>.</span><br /><a href="http://bit.ly/nvcofi"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">http://bit.ly/nvcofi </span></a></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://photosynth.net/embed.aspx?cid=352a6d31-ee70-43b9-97f1-aeaf674bbfc2&delayLoad=true&slideShowPlaying=false" width="500"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><i>A video to sum it all up made by Bram...</i></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r57qWJEOkpM" width="560"></iframe><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 9.65pt;">Honestly I can’t believe Microsoft’s commitment to teachers – it is awesome! The company is playing such an active role in education. We saw previews of how Partners in Learning wants to facilitate change through educators. They are launching a completely new Partners in Learning Network in November, which we saw a preview of, and I think this will facilitate a powerful network of teachers world-wide. I loved this sign at Microsoft. After eventually working out that it stood for ‘Pedestrian crossing’, for me it still seemed to say… ‘Xing into pedagogical change’.  I have come back with a renewed vision for professional development. <i>Thank you</i> to Microsoft. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAXSYN8KsRbW1gVgzQDCMTy-l7aluIDw0OwqJEwt8Cx3A15RO2vR4SCAQQ08x0rSQpVg9RyfJao44YF_4TvZTEyxXdXRSuLxIIp4UalG3mGmeCpAqk5WWVLt4XJVPHcN4TSvfFhQOqGA/s1600/dsc06188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAXSYN8KsRbW1gVgzQDCMTy-l7aluIDw0OwqJEwt8Cx3A15RO2vR4SCAQQ08x0rSQpVg9RyfJao44YF_4TvZTEyxXdXRSuLxIIp4UalG3mGmeCpAqk5WWVLt4XJVPHcN4TSvfFhQOqGA/s320/dsc06188.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 9.65pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">THE END</span></div></div></div>

conferences Microsoft Will you be the next to attend a Microsoft Partners in Learning Institute week?

Submitted by Fiona Beal Any teacher interested in integrating technology with the curriculum would jump at a chance to visit Microsoft’s hea...

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Post Baby Update

<p>Howdy friends! I wanted to give everyone an update! Tuesday I had my 6 week check up with my doctor. I had to wait until this appointment to start any type of exercise and…other things! <img alt="Winking smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0l-x9qkg8mszI7otce9WcWCQEIFsm3c3jdHCBUZbX_lapHZbt-OWw-hu6nO2K6SVFeEZz9csZXkRyqq_LIUbE0MwdRUI8yPhOU445W_mtSw1m5Ld9akRvEA2Zp7wDQUdHVsxSOFCnGxt_/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"> Anyway…she said that I was good to go with exercise, but just to listen to my body, which was my exact plan! </p> <p>I had already researched and decided on using the couch to 5K plan. Click <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml">here</a> to see the program I printed. Yep, I printed it! I’m putting it on my fridge and going to check each day off as I complete it!</p> <p>Wednesday was day 1! I got my (new) running shorts on, grabbed my garmin, buckled Adelyn in our new (to us) jogging stroller, and we were off! Day 1 was a 5 minute power walk warm up and then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6-erMPGxdySLXk7ZOF9H4oF6Ck9Cw6sZ-eVSZuRV3ztTwPr1jRG-5i9-vPhV54sEQITa02mH7sN0KcxHTtQWBPEyCW5JPGoSkscNmSpR51NzRLxOSCgVC4T9HpQRkbLB6nYNtA_Ah5o-1/s1600-h/DSC004815.jpg"><img alt="DSC00481" border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAksa3Gvvj-RryM_fb06N7l08cKChXzsaj3e2plfFyZgomKeBcxokbXBJi9B5QCsXpCCw2g5r2_4YCxxFD8JClITXmKU5yOIdu_eMb44OeN4f07uk8XB1HUl54hJvWHQuYNyXMG1uIecI6/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; padding-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC00481" width="342"></a></p> <p>I didn’t know what to expect, but I sure didn’t expect my rear to feel like it gained an extra 10 lbs!! Seesh!! I felt like I had a ba-donk-a-donk! I talked to a few other fellow new mama’s and happily found out it gets better! Thank goodness!</p> <p>I found day 1 to be completely do-able and I’m looking forward to more runs with my baby girl!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT8Of-ENTnPp0TY-lEvxxv66ADrOb4iNDyZ539D6N66ltiG0SadP9Jn8fEH2EO8K7kurN0pARJ9WhfRJd-rUTnXuiVT5esOUHRiOoi64hoVeWQMXQ9ETdwif8U2-oFBL24skG8_NPe-y6/s1600-h/DSC004865.jpg"><img alt="DSC00486" border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitG9uaKY_RQlT0M1xj6osd6eBnc_IenVkqXDvtmdX8sP-wrDRakXUFJsHV40Dv6wWftE1LivzgNvcD02HXsPCBto0916_PeiAemwYEexw0_Hcqo-jCrATDzNy6Ulau0ulhLqK9QnUVhtTW/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; padding-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC00486" width="351"></a></p> <p>Speaking of Adelyn, check out what she thought of her first time in the bumbo! That toothless grin melts my heart every time!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgymtNETu7ZRoARrfai1HvKyVUtvfoW9xky4HIauNHDAS-NwIuzK5u_kuhoJ375dNNelhjKe2KGXyHQ0uk8ECTlPv1NXJOM2nCRUuNCrzkjwQNMWIZcEb_RUKUxkVxe1hzY64JlVShwdgFr/s1600-h/DSC004784.jpg"><img alt="DSC00478" border="0" height="431" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhESOXVAvd6EvDGHB6_kfkjuah_69CWh3XPaiq3FLYDgWxCau2g8iZkM6YzeQ-pdbKkH850SqdeiOn1JWeHh51mlnt6ARwqaT8asujjxMHfCGexZw-9Muuc8DSoRpCXKboUZELs0c1TWxyj/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; padding-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC00478" width="324"></a></p> <p>So the other part of this post baby plan is focusing on my eats as well. I think it would be hard not to with a fridge filled with all these fruits & veggies! Monday I cleaned, chopped, & packaged carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, grapes, cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon!<img alt="DSC00476" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRV2UbyzzB7GHzuPdKlk2Yu6f-zIJO3gHOkSE48QakF-r9ruOUzOLwy4Z_MdK13ptvbs5eZxML9LmA6kFtmFYvhtoWJ3eWU5VU2nPwVAAQMiUq0Xlr-UOItqRYEVwnOtSLos2aX2H50faA/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-width: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; padding-left: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px auto; padding-top: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" title="DSC00476" width="404"></a></p> <p>I’m hoping with adding exercise into my routine it boost the weight loss and help me tone! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!</p> <p>Adios <img alt="Smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmh4zvEp-d5QWHTgNZGj-vOV4wnW172KR9tqcUzHrMQ0lj5DtFT5QbpfpMmu8zimo8V3uek8nexk0Y6lcqKgeixx4hiCPJd48Ic5h3OLymtIzOOih20LmfZCQNATiKhZaPirxCcmNCKVo/?imgmax=800" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"></p>

Post Baby Update

Howdy friends! I wanted to give everyone an update! Tuesday I had my 6 week check up with my doctor. I had to wait until this appointment to...

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Food for Thought

<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE INCAPABILITY OF THE WEST TO INTERVENE IN SYRIA</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ROqAcX2BJk?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><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;">On 24 and 30 June I mentioned in my blog that the Syrian regime will most likely survive the upraising. We are now into the 6^th month of uprising in SYRIA and the regime is still in power and will most probably stay, the reasons of which have been analyzed by mainstream media and basically reiterate what I have been stating in the first place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The fear of total chaos and subsequent takeover by Islamic fundamentalists, after the tumble of the regime are simply too high. The close proximity to Israel and Lebanon are additional reasons the West is reluctant to intervene. It seems that the West has also learned its lesson with Iraq and thus will not want to do the same mistake with Syria.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thus the regime will stay in power, make one or two cosmetic concessions to calm the international community in order to obtain financial aid for its stagnating economy which is the only real threat that could tumble the regime.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PI6JQ7gjYv8?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/REmG8Zij8EI?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Since Syria has always shared close relationships with Russia and China it will in most likelihood receive aid from these countries easier then Europe or the USA, who are too occupied solving their own financial crisis. In return Syria will purchase arms and at the same time increase its ties with Iran in order to counterbalance the threat from Saudi Arabia who has their own agenda regarding Syria. (See <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD28Ak01.html">http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD28Ak01.html</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;"><b>SUPPRESSED ARAB SPRING</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="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;">Has the so called Arab Spring brought democracy to these countries? What changes have really been implemented by the new governments or interim authorities as is the case in Egypt? The longer the “revolution” is ongoing the less we read in mainstream media and the lesser are the chances that the Arab uprising is likely to succeed. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looking at the current situation it seems that no real changes have occurred to implement democratic systems. Thus the more time elapses, the more the upraise is losing its momentum it originally generated.    There is also the danger that with each month passing without the creation of a democratic government the chances of Islamic fundamentalist taking over are growing.      </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><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;"><b>DOUBLE STANDARDS OF US RATING AGENCIES</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;"><b> </b></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;">It simply is amazing how manipulative US rating agencies are and the double standard they use when it comes to protect US interests. I have voiced my opinion about rating agencies in various articles on this blog. The question is why are the Big 3 US rating agencies not downgrading the USA in the wake of a looming default? The entire hype and influence rating agencies have over countries and international markets reflect the current state of mind financial as well economic wheelers and dealers have in an economic system which is becoming more and more like a casino monopoly game. What has become of society which bases their economy on speculation? ( economics are more complex then portrayed, but  I try to express the current situation in layman’s terms.)      </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hLzP86UZwwM?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="MsoNormal"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /><a href="http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/1233.html"><span style="color: #1c4680;"></span></a></span></div></div></div></div>

Food for Thought

THE INCAPABILITY OF THE WEST TO INTERVENE IN SYRIA On 24 and 30 June I mentioned in my blog that the Syrian regime will most likely survive ...

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...aka/'Ann Newton' of "Shadow of a Doubt"

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; 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/AVvXsEgojZ9jp-etWTxKzSK6L3SownKXy4D6kHkMAbhf3Rd5dAfkL2ILkDHpnl24Gsv7fiRutyiGdoUAhhXAYeFmDaf5RHA9Cahyphenhyphens3chOd7pvCfs94LjXaadHHF04XptKudg80MgLw-woX5nvVtc/s1600/Edna+Ford+and+Carey+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojZ9jp-etWTxKzSK6L3SownKXy4D6kHkMAbhf3Rd5dAfkL2ILkDHpnl24Gsv7fiRutyiGdoUAhhXAYeFmDaf5RHA9Cahyphenhyphens3chOd7pvCfs94LjXaadHHF04XptKudg80MgLw-woX5nvVtc/s1600/Edna+Ford+and+Carey+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, Wallace Ford, Edna May Wonacott, Macdonald Carey</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Early in 2010 I was doing research for a post on Alfred Hitchcock's </i>Shadow of a Doubt<i> and in the process came upon an interesting piece by one of TCM's MovieMorlock bloggers, Medusa. Entitled "My Favorite Book Worm or: Where in the World is Edna May Wonacott?", it focused on the child actress who portrayed Ann Newton in</i> Shadow of a Doubt<i>. I was inspired to locate and contact Edna (now Edna Green) and asked her if she'd like to be interviewed. She agreed, and our conversation evolved into a blog that first appeared at </i>The Classic Film & TV Cafe<i> on her 78th birthday in February 2010, was later published as a Sunday feature in </i>The Yuma Sun <i>and, later still, as an article in </i>Films of the Golden Age<i>. Here is a slightly revised version:</i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May was nine years old and living with her family in Santa Rosa, California, when she caught the eye of director Alfred Hitchcock while he was in town preparing to make <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i> (1943). The director cast her in the role of Ann Newton, younger sister of the protagonist, Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) and niece of the villain, Charles Oakley (Joseph Cotten). Edna May made quite a splash in the part and appeared in small roles in other films over the next few years.<br /><br />That Alfred Hitchcock happened upon Edna May and cast her in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i> is a minor legend, but an imprecise one. In some versions of the story, Joseph Cotten was with the director when they met. Edna clearly recalls the circumstances of that fortuitous day when she and two cousins were on their way home from a shopping excursion:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I was discovered in Santa Rosa, standing on a street corner waiting for a bus. Alfred Hitchcock and producer Jack Skirball were standing at the same corner looking over the town."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh_IUSetapGSq8c8YazjKArQIn83zhN9DH9EI6nzAPWcHRqsgDoIAfjemAHLINhy3FXkgchmJBlJgaWNhc78VcXZulzwBNQUr33FxA4TViyOXBFlkecNq7nyMZQACJb1c5mBtdhh_6Yuq/s1600/Edna+2.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/AVvXsEjnh_IUSetapGSq8c8YazjKArQIn83zhN9DH9EI6nzAPWcHRqsgDoIAfjemAHLINhy3FXkgchmJBlJgaWNhc78VcXZulzwBNQUr33FxA4TViyOXBFlkecNq7nyMZQACJb1c5mBtdhh_6Yuq/s1600/Edna+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitchcock (right) in Santa Rosa, near the spot where he met Edna</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">That particular corner bus stop, in front of a Karl's shoe store, had a view of several prominent downtown locations including the courthouse, a circular green and the bank. Hitchcock and Skirball were looking and talking and jotting down notes on a clipboard. Edna May watched them and was curious. She edged away from her cousins to be closer to Hitchcock and Skirball so she could find out what was going on. The two men noticed her observing them and began to look her over.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"My older cousin made me move away from them and next to her, and the two men kept looking at me and finally walked over to us and introduced themselves and said they were making a movie in town and wanted to know if I wanted to be in it." They asked for her address and said they would be out to talk to her parents that afternoon.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May ran all the way home to tell her mother that she was going to be in a movie. Her mother, well aware of her daughter's vivid imagination, thought she'd made it up until the cousins arrived and confirmed her story.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9KfC9_PbDcYpVYrRJDwGUTE2dz6z4Qb58Ewg3GgeO5uL1URJBmkqdiNeEwIy3b6KSNfo1Y6tDHmNFbXVTMQk2YHDeWrh-UUp-RNmkPQD_f6GqGfupRkHQbZ6RG3lLsPMgYMax9uzeb8P/s1600/Edna+on+the+phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9KfC9_PbDcYpVYrRJDwGUTE2dz6z4Qb58Ewg3GgeO5uL1URJBmkqdiNeEwIy3b6KSNfo1Y6tDHmNFbXVTMQk2YHDeWrh-UUp-RNmkPQD_f6GqGfupRkHQbZ6RG3lLsPMgYMax9uzeb8P/s320/Edna+on+the+phone.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna's first scene as Ann Newton</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next day Edna May and her mother were on the night train to Los Angeles where the young girl would make her screen test. The following morning they taxied from the Glendale depot to Universal Studios, where they were met at the gate and escorted to the audition. Edna May was given a script for the phone scene, the first appearance of Ann Newton in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Hitchcock directed her, basically instructing her on the reactions and expressions he was after. Edna May wasn't nervous, she just followed Hitchcock's direction and aced the screen test. She said she didn't have to be coaxed into taking the part, adding: "What nine year old wouldn't want to be in a movie?"</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The story goes - and it's true - that Edna May had no experience as a performer up to that point, not even in school plays or church pageants, "I hadn't had any acting experience and no interest in ever doing such a thing..."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HI0OZH0w_WoUeJ98iGmUlaASAzUJOYun8RGZqMY39H-fzsrr3OQP2kEpkWxHS9SqdlMKTBWUbvBF6FO6CoaT1wif-DypgPTkKWYyURGd1-_Q8-nmbm9bntLZz2XQ8eFIZiiDYBIKbmyE/s1600/Abbott+and+Costello+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HI0OZH0w_WoUeJ98iGmUlaASAzUJOYun8RGZqMY39H-fzsrr3OQP2kEpkWxHS9SqdlMKTBWUbvBF6FO6CoaT1wif-DypgPTkKWYyURGd1-_Q8-nmbm9bntLZz2XQ8eFIZiiDYBIKbmyE/s200/Abbott+and+Costello+3.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abbott & Costello</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While at Universal, Edna May and her mother ate in the commissary and were entranced as they watched actors and actresses in costume eating lunch. Edna remembers meeting Abbott and Costello, Deanna Durbin and Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame that day. In fact, she and her mother were offered an all-expenses-paid weekend in Hollywood, including a chauffeur-driven car to take them anywhere they'd like to go. Edna May wanted more than anything to visit the Disney studios, but her mother, unsettled at being away from home and on her own for the first time, didn't want to stay - and they were on the train headed back to Santa Rosa that night.  </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Though she was a novice, Edna May didn't receive any special training for her performance. She gives credit to the director: "I had no coaching for the part and just took direction from Alfred Hitchcock." She worked well with him and had no trouble understanding what he wanted from her. She felt it was the same for the other actors in the cast (Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, Hume Cronyn, Macdonald Carey, Wallace Ford). She recalls Hitchcock as a very quiet man who kept to himself much of the time (she often saw him reading comic books on the set).</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ann Newton was a unique character, a confident, self-possessed little girl who loved books and didn't hesitate to speak up. She was an observant child, the only family member who took a dubious view of Uncle Charlie early on. I wondered if Edna May had been like Ann Newton as a child. In some ways, she doesn't think so ("I didn't like reading and would rather be outside riding my bike or playing."). On the other hand, she noted that she was "a very confident kid and never doubted I could do anything I wanted to do." And she was observant; it was her curiosity about Hitchcock and Skirball on that street corner that set her Hollywood adventure in motion.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrE91_4ieDPpcwPNJKhP1_bThyphenhyphenNKR_bR9XPRmJk20b-OoNqfg5b_6DCHRjZW2IQay15SN_TjI2DQRilp9mMYUeSPrEjzKyau6L12aB6oi3jXRSolCFlg3lCiGWQc_Q0taOQHv_XKqISqY/s1600/Edna+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrE91_4ieDPpcwPNJKhP1_bThyphenhyphenNKR_bR9XPRmJk20b-OoNqfg5b_6DCHRjZW2IQay15SN_TjI2DQRilp9mMYUeSPrEjzKyau6L12aB6oi3jXRSolCFlg3lCiGWQc_Q0taOQHv_XKqISqY/s200/Edna+4.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ann Newton is not impressed</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna remembers filming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i> fondly: "The cast and crew were like a happy family. No one was treated any differently than anyone else. I had no favorites on the set other than the fact that I was madly in love with Joseph Cotten and melted every time he talked to me. Everybody knew this and I got kidded a lot!" Her crush on the charismatic Mr. Cotten didn't get in the way of her performance, though. Hitchcock's instructions to Edna May regarding her scenes with Cotten were: "It doesn't matter how nice he is to you, always be suspicious of him and question why he's doing what he's doing." Ann's skepticism of him is reflected the moment Uncle Charlie hands her an ill-chosen teddy bear gift and Edna May screws up her face and gives him a withering sidelong glance.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i>'s exterior scenes were shot on location in Santa Rosa, which was unusual for the time. The interiors were shot at the studio on a soundstage. When the time came to travel to Hollywood again, Edna May's mother and brother accompanied her. Her dad, who was a Santa Rosa grocer, stayed home and minded the store. It was her brother who helped her memorize her lines.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnSiWPQTXKCPkmY7VlvoR8RzNC80jzqwoVT7y5-fTrhxaqhscr6NvlyMflVhC3JLTToiEIPKJCN-_5ORZO8O17JvmOHtzoPNvU6LOMHXuT90ARsVQrKGd0Hf1HORvBqI_Kc3mS5LdWI7T/s1600/Edna+B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnSiWPQTXKCPkmY7VlvoR8RzNC80jzqwoVT7y5-fTrhxaqhscr6NvlyMflVhC3JLTToiEIPKJCN-_5ORZO8O17JvmOHtzoPNvU6LOMHXuT90ARsVQrKGd0Hf1HORvBqI_Kc3mS5LdWI7T/s320/Edna+B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna's classmate, Sabu, 'the elephant boy'</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Filming on <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>began in August 1942 and took three months to complete. While in Hollywood during the school year, Edna May was tutored on the set on the days that she worked. On off-days, she attended classes at the studio's schoolhouse. She particularly remembers one fellow student, Sabu, who captivated the class with stories about the elephants of India. His stories gave Edna May the impression that in India elephants were as common as dogs in the U.S., and treated in much the same way.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May became close to Pat Hitchcock, the director's daughter, and the two often played gin rummy on the set. Both girls had crushes on Joseph Cotten, and when he gave Edna May an autographed picture inscribed "with love," Edna remembers that Pat was a little disconcerted because Cotten hadn't signed his picture to her with the same sentiment.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci5xSC0pS1zqmjbZQLkf3NLdqtt8QGBvzIf6zSAzMwUceb3OiukRgEy0EPuWHIFwBDx8CvRY_gTG5P4cZ58mCzkhk2wWortTKj8GTbHHv4OhNSdZy0qYEL-BibACeGCK100G4kNRtcx_6/s1600/Joseph+cotten3.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/AVvXsEjci5xSC0pS1zqmjbZQLkf3NLdqtt8QGBvzIf6zSAzMwUceb3OiukRgEy0EPuWHIFwBDx8CvRY_gTG5P4cZ58mCzkhk2wWortTKj8GTbHHv4OhNSdZy0qYEL-BibACeGCK100G4kNRtcx_6/s1600/Joseph+cotten3.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Cotten</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Hitchcocks frequently took Edna May to Hollywood's famous Brown Derby restaurant with them, and she spent many weekends as Pat's guest at the Hitchcock home. On most days, their meals would be ordered from the kitchen and sent up to Pat's room via a "dumb-waiter" built into the wall. One day, though, Pat told her there would be a formal dinner that evening and to "wear something nice." Edna May was flustered, not being familiar with the forks, spoons, knives, dishes and glasses used at proper dinners. She hoped to sit next to Pat and follow her lead. But Pat told her they'd be sitting across the table from each other and, when it came to the silverware, "just start from the outside and work your way in." It turned out that the evening's guests were Joseph Cotten, his wife and step-daughter - and Edna was seated next to him. She remembers being so smitten that she was trembling. And she'll never forget that he talked with her all through dinner.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Like so many kids of that era, Edna May had an autograph book. When it was Alfred Hitchcock's turn to sign, he did it as one might expect - with a twist. He signed the last page in the book and with his left hand (he was right-handed): "By hook or by crook, I'll be the last one to sign in this book."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At the end of the shoot, there was a goodbye party in San Francisco. Edna May received many gifts that she still cherishes, including an inscribed bracelet from Teresa Wright, a scarf with a "pigtail" motif from Joseph Cotten and a golden bow from Hitchcock inscribed "to Ann Newton from Alfred Hitchcock." Edna recalls that Hitchcock never called her anything but Ann throughout the making of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHO2mcU15JprMCi9Zy46CpYnsyUfwaHp_trHsXh4bU3SxDrCLDJ3mkm5kloitW67lzg9SbHizWT4Pz_nUKZI8jwEO_LjEfRlbiHeqlrmI9l3l4-c8OTSWWNAZA0fZE6ZfH-H2VgihEdp3/s1600/Edna+autograph+resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHO2mcU15JprMCi9Zy46CpYnsyUfwaHp_trHsXh4bU3SxDrCLDJ3mkm5kloitW67lzg9SbHizWT4Pz_nUKZI8jwEO_LjEfRlbiHeqlrmI9l3l4-c8OTSWWNAZA0fZE6ZfH-H2VgihEdp3/s320/Edna+autograph+resized.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna May Wonacott, child actress</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May, of course, was a local celebrity in Santa Rosa (then with a population of 19,000). "There was a lot of publicity and women would come into dad's store and want to touch the father of a movie star! I have lots of scrapbooks of the publicity and had quite a write-up in <i>Life</i> magazine and was in movie magazines. Little girls with pigtails and glasses suddenly started showing up on the street corners in town."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> was released it premiered in Santa Rosa and Pat Hitchcock came up from Hollywood and attended with Edna May. There was quite a hubbub in town over the film and its release signaled a war bond drive, with Edna May kicking it off at the courthouse in Santa Rosa. She also took a trip to sell war bonds in Salinas when the movie opened there.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When she signed a five-year contract with producer Jack Skirball, Edna May and her parents moved to Glendale following the release of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Her older brother, then in college, stayed in Santa Rosa and ran the family store until he went into the military and served during World War II.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Her first assignment for Skirball was to be <i>It's in the Bag</i> with Fred Allen, and Edna May was to have equal billing. But Allen balked at this and refused to work with her. Ultimately, her contract was broken, but when the film was eventually made without her, Edna May was paid in full.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8eJ6HN3Rw-HpglAqAn4JM8Zo1ciz-mN92OlK3hvt3_yHiyP5319XfV3gMxTjMDCgbyqG7MjZKOoJ2EBhwisiP3c1wY9k882qrZ441YvxQV8JttD4UnK8gsLKScbxREIHFahxTcFGLx8I/s1600/Edna+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8eJ6HN3Rw-HpglAqAn4JM8Zo1ciz-mN92OlK3hvt3_yHiyP5319XfV3gMxTjMDCgbyqG7MjZKOoJ2EBhwisiP3c1wY9k882qrZ441YvxQV8JttD4UnK8gsLKScbxREIHFahxTcFGLx8I/s320/Edna+C.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Bells of St. Mary's</i>,<i> </i>Ingrid Bergman, center, and Edna, right</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At this point, she signed with an agent who handled child actors exclusively. Edna May won small roles in several more films, and she has warm memories of working on Leo McCarey's <i>The Bells of Saint Mary's </i>(1945), a film nominated for eight Oscars and winner of one. She played Delphine, a girl about to graduate from St. Mary's, the one who smacks a baseball through a window in Mr. Bogardus's (Henry Travers) new building. Edna recalls that, like <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, the atmosphere on the set was "just like family." Ingrid Bergman was "a real sweetheart who said hello to everyone from the janitor on up when she came on the set." Edna also remembers that a member of the crew would play a little tune on an ocarina whenever Miss Bergman arrived. She adds, "We had a lot of fun with Bing Crosby - since there was a schoolyard set, he was always playing basketball with the kids."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna continued playing bit parts for the next few years but left acting at the beginning of the 1950s. Though her movie career is now long ago, she remembers those days with pleasure, "I have nothing but good memories of working in Hollywood. It was a different era than it is now and, being as young as I was, I didn't feel like an actress...I was just a kid who did what she was told to do."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Along with her memories, Edna has a treasure-trove of <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>memorabilia. From her scrapbooks, copies of <i>Life</i> magazine and the prized goodbye gifts, to her original script with its cover signed by Hitchcock and the entire cast.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna mused that some friends of hers recently watched <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> after she told them she was in it. They were quick to tell her: "You are just <i>exactly</i> like you were in that movie." And I'll admit that at times during our conversation I could hear a little bit of Ann Newton as I spoke with Edna Green.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; 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/AVvXsEgK4a5xII9BGZhLn5ehPsrSOCsKM-TnrVYQbDS0y9l_y2CHT3FnQvAANI5d-ZVoyMFyCUPJuS3493dc2xkj-mG6iB2nFVIcIESl2T8GtczHymH8Fm91XZAIaHJiqml49qYO1kNtXRJfJ8v7/s1600/Edna+and+cougar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4a5xII9BGZhLn5ehPsrSOCsKM-TnrVYQbDS0y9l_y2CHT3FnQvAANI5d-ZVoyMFyCUPJuS3493dc2xkj-mG6iB2nFVIcIESl2T8GtczHymH8Fm91XZAIaHJiqml49qYO1kNtXRJfJ8v7/s400/Edna+and+cougar+2.jpg" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna on the set of <i>Under Western Skies </i>(1945) with one of her co-stars, a young mountain lion</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://moviemorlocks.com/2008/08/03/my-favorite-bookworm-or-where-in-the-world-is-edna-may-wonacott/">Click here</a></b> for MedusaMorlock's post about Edna; <b><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/shadow-of-doubts-ann-newtontoday.html">click here</a></b> for an update on Edna's life a year after our first interview,<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><b><a href="http://evesreellife.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/from-edna-may-wonacotts-photo-collection/">click here</a></b> to view publicity photos from Edna's personal collection. <b><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-tv-tour-of-hitchcock-film-locations.html">Click here</a> </b>to watch a 2012 TV interview with Edna (courtesy of KPIX TV, San Francisco).</div>

Alfred Hitchcock Edna May Wonacott Henry Travers Hume Cronyn Joseph Cotten Macdonald Carey Patricia Collinge Shadow of a Doubt Teresa Wright Wallace Ford ...aka/'Ann Newton' of "Shadow of a Doubt"

Shadow of a Doubt , Wallace Ford, Edna May Wonacott, Macdonald Carey Early in 2010 I was doing research for a post on Alfred Hitchcock's...

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Shadow of a Doubt Giveaway on Hitchcock's Birthday...the details

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJEu7rw-6-WRm0_4UztirtS1EQmUtfd0BmcU0w6Mld91p7quhZKeuXd1taAmn3q8wfG3r5DNsEBz-4rh3g1AjVf8-2E2cazjNiWt-ON9vBokkKDGf23b19K2TWvBysGNOi3oO7TgFlJUo/s1600/shadow+of+a+doubt+dvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJEu7rw-6-WRm0_4UztirtS1EQmUtfd0BmcU0w6Mld91p7quhZKeuXd1taAmn3q8wfG3r5DNsEBz-4rh3g1AjVf8-2E2cazjNiWt-ON9vBokkKDGf23b19K2TWvBysGNOi3oO7TgFlJUo/s1600/shadow+of+a+doubt+dvd.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In celebration of Alfred Hitchcock's 112th birthday on August 13, Reel Life is giving away a DVD of one of his great masterpieces, <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>(1943). The giveaway will be in the form of a random drawing to be held on the 13th at noon Pacific Time. To enter, send an email to ladyevesidwich@gmail.com and include your name and mailing address (U.S. residents only, please).</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to the DVD, the winner will also receive an 8 x 10 photograph (shown below) personally autographed to them by Edna May Wonacott (Green), who portrayed younger sister Ann Newton in </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shadow of a Doubt</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. </span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></i><br /><br /><i style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Update</b>: </span></span></i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The drawing has been held and Jeff in Ohio is the winner. Thanks to all who participated!</span></span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Lady Eve</span> </span></span></i><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><br /> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGI2Q8wF316aV3YIuojf9Jv1C1zNlqOaVU-SswvEnBehGsEe6xLmgDaZhmnHelNVV3SfIykau-znCyxchJErO1bK58R-TU4c2nZ-M-XNN8C5pkt3bNUf3lBOLaYXiz4mBn0b9P_iJk7if/s1600/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGI2Q8wF316aV3YIuojf9Jv1C1zNlqOaVU-SswvEnBehGsEe6xLmgDaZhmnHelNVV3SfIykau-znCyxchJErO1bK58R-TU4c2nZ-M-XNN8C5pkt3bNUf3lBOLaYXiz4mBn0b9P_iJk7if/s400/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><br /> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna and Hitch on the set of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i></td></tr><br /> </tbody></table>

Alfred Hitchcock DVD giveaway Edna May Wonacott Shadow of a Doubt The Lady Eve (author) Shadow of a Doubt Giveaway on Hitchcock's Birthday...the details

In celebration of Alfred Hitchcock's 112th birthday on August 13, Reel Life is giving away a DVD of one of his great masterpieces, Shado...

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August Goals

It's time for me to check in on how I did at meeting my goals for the month of July, and then figure out what I'm going to do for August.  Perhaps I should rephrase that last part: "I need to make some actual achievable goals for August - ones that are so simple I know I can meet them! I need a confidence boost!"  <br /><br />1. <b>Go to the gym 5 days a week.</b>  This will consist of 40 minutes of cardio and 1 day per week of weight lifting. <i>I made it to the gym on average 3-4 days a week.  I'm not sure that I ever did 5.</i><br /><br />2. <b>Meet my first 10lb goal. </b>I can do this.  I'm 7 pounds away.  I. will. do. this. <i>I. didn't. do. this.</i><br /><br />3. <b>Plan my meals.  </b>By doing this, it will help me stay within my daily Points+ range.  Also, it will help me start going through my cookbooks, as is <a href="http://prittygoodbooks.blogspot.com/2011/04/hungry-girl-cooking-eggamuffin-101.html">another goal of mine</a>.   <i>I actually started off strong with this goal and did 2 solid weeks of meal planning for 5 days.  It helped initially.  Then I got busy and didn't make time to meal plan.</i><br /><br />4. <b>Take my lunch to work every day.</b>  <i>I do a very good job at this, especially lately.  </i><br /><br />5. <b>Divvy up my Points+ balance for each meal and stick to it.</b>  I have a tendency to just eat whatever I want when I want, regardless of the Points+ value.  Sometimes this works to my benefit, most times it does not.  I plan to use a variation of <a href="http://gettingnshape.blogspot.com/">Christina's</a> method and see how that works for me:<br /><div style="text-align: center;">I get a total of <b>41 Points+</b> per day.  They will be divided out as follows:</div><blockquote><blockquote><ul><li><i>Breakfast</i>: 10 Points+</li><li><i>A.M. Snack</i>: 5 Points+</li><li><i>Lunch</i>: 10 Points+</li><li><i>P.M</i>. Snack: 5 Points+</li><li><i>Dinner</i>: 11 Points+</li></ul></blockquote></blockquote><i>This actually worked well for me.  It helped me to break down my day into chunks and focus on those chunks so that I didn't go overboard.  I felt initially that eating 10 Points+ for my main meals was just too much food.  However, I found that when I would eat, let's say, 5 Points+ for breakfast, and start throwing myself off of that plan up above, I would go overboard because I lacked a true structure.  I also found that even though I felt like eating 10 Points+ for breakfast was too much, it kept me full longer.  ALSO, I found that when 7 of my breakfast Points+ are not including my Starbucks chai, I feel a whole lot more satisfied! </i><br /><br />Here's what I'm going to do for August:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.e-acai.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Weight-Loss-Goals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.e-acai.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Weight-Loss-Goals.jpg" /></a></div><br />1. <b>Print out and post my goals on my desk at work and on the fridge.</b>  Let's face it, I type these goals up on my blog, and then I forget about most of them.  If I have them front and center, in my face each day, then surely that will help remind me what I should be focusing on.<br /><br />2.  <b>Begin the <a href="http://www.priorfatgirl.com/2011/07/new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-as-a-group.html">New Rules of Lifting for Women Challenge offered by Jen at the Priorfatgirl.com</a></b>.  I've been wanting to include weight lifting into my daily gym routine, and this challenge could not have come at a better time.<br /><br />3.  <b>Incorporate 1 fruit and 1 vegetable into each meal every single day, and keep track of how often I meet this goal.</b>  Ultimately the goal here is to add 1 additional fruit and veg each month so that I'm meeting the Good Health Guidelines from WW.  But I'm going to start small.<br /><br />4. <b>Keep track of how many days I attended the gym, for how long, and what I did while there</b>.<br /><br />5. <b>Track and stay on plan at least 5 days per week</b> <b>- and actually keep track of whether or not I've done this</b>.  I cannot let my weekend start on Friday and end on Monday.  <br /><br />Weight loss is continuing to be a huge challenge for me each and every day.  It sucks. I'm not too proud of myself right now at all.

goals Weight Loss Weight Loss Challenges Weight Watchers August Goals

It's time for me to check in on how I did at meeting my goals for the month of July, and then figure out what I'm going to do for Au...

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