It's a Giveaway!!

I just have to cut to the chase because I'm so excited about this! <br /><br />After writing my <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2012/01/things-im-loving-this-week.html">previous post</a> earlier today, I sent a note to the folks at <a href="http://www.zipfizz.com/">Zipfizz</a> to ask if they wouldn't mind sponsoring a little giveaway for my readers.  Those people really have it together because in almost 10 minutes time I received an email from a real person stating they would forward my request on for consideration.  Not 5 minutes after <i>that </i>I was contacted to say they would be willing to sponsor a giveaway!!  I literally squealed with delight!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9n2kbTtqdis4oXFnpn05UhkQony_Wx_k_GB9mva2sGDZe08uIXxzYLPRZqE_GoVo09VOGj2R92CtoFD0AUqwgV5MbCcU7qE5pHkXEMDT9CyYlMEZ51lQUZzzUZKL2ebJevbPOehGg2Y/s1600/zipfizz+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9n2kbTtqdis4oXFnpn05UhkQony_Wx_k_GB9mva2sGDZe08uIXxzYLPRZqE_GoVo09VOGj2R92CtoFD0AUqwgV5MbCcU7qE5pHkXEMDT9CyYlMEZ51lQUZzzUZKL2ebJevbPOehGg2Y/s400/zipfizz+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>(If you haven't had a moment to check out my review on the Zipfizz product, please go <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2012/01/things-im-loving-this-week.html">here</a>.)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As much as I've loved sponsoring <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/giveaway.html">my</a> <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/starbucks-giftcard-giveaway.html">own</a> giveways in the past, I am really excited to be teaming up with a company this time.  Especially because I can offer you so much more :).</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBUn3DdC9e1jDz2EIfYH8bCnO2BSS9uDlgz3muuAvWOxI7X9FWzsFVMPe_QiVpoY0ZnUCTAVyvYs9_0lPUIzWDHV3k0mn9xYk_EJPDDgTFxskqf7pDK_Vxk_vJTA5qolyb9mR9q1CT8/s1600/zipfizz+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBUn3DdC9e1jDz2EIfYH8bCnO2BSS9uDlgz3muuAvWOxI7X9FWzsFVMPe_QiVpoY0ZnUCTAVyvYs9_0lPUIzWDHV3k0mn9xYk_EJPDDgTFxskqf7pDK_Vxk_vJTA5qolyb9mR9q1CT8/s400/zipfizz+3.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The fine folks at Zipfizz have offered to provide one of their sample Zipfizz packs to <b>TWO </b>readers!  Woo hoo!  </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The sample pack includes 1 of each flavor of Zipfizz (shown below) as well as a BPA-free water bottle. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNYkoGXgaM5om6klXmvvXZV8Cc4d60LiowspieNjIHNJGestJoIzNVLCBxlZdAB8y3BoM8VsTWwYUthZB7BNrGaiXWrclUVNbksVCpDkEFgc2TbmXAruhgM95MFAC6vTXBTEyyfGdnoQ/s1600/zipfiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNYkoGXgaM5om6klXmvvXZV8Cc4d60LiowspieNjIHNJGestJoIzNVLCBxlZdAB8y3BoM8VsTWwYUthZB7BNrGaiXWrclUVNbksVCpDkEFgc2TbmXAruhgM95MFAC6vTXBTEyyfGdnoQ/s400/zipfiz.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Each item below gets you one entry into this giveaway (6 possible ways to enter!).  <b style="color: purple;">Two</b> lucky winners will be randomly selected on <i>Friday, January 13 at 9 AM EST</i>. (US & Canadian residents only please):</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: left;">1. Follow Zipfizz on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/zipfizzcorp">@zipfizzcorp</a>) and leave a comment letting me know you've done so.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Like Zipfizz on <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/zipfizzgiveaway/">Facebook</a> and leave a comment letting me know you've done so (<i>if you choose to search for them manually, this is their name: <b>Zipfizz Healthy Energy Mix- Official Page</b></i>.  <i>Currently, if you like them on Facebook, you can get a coupon for the drink!</i>)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">3.  Share with me which flavor you think you'd like best, and why you'd like to try this product.  </div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: left;"> 4. Like The Big Weight on Facebook (handy link on the right hand side) & comment to let me know you've done so.</div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">5. Follow The Big Weight on Twitter (<a href="http://twitter.com/thebigweight">@thebigweight</a>) & comment to let me know you've done so.</div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">6. Blog/Facebook post/re-Tweet about this giveaway & comment letting me know you've done so. </blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Good luck!  </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>

giveaways It's a Giveaway!!

I just have to cut to the chase because I'm so excited about this! After writing my previous post earlier today, I sent a note to the f...

Read more »

Things I'm Loving This Week

<b>1.  2 New Coffee Mugs</b><br /><br />I received two new coffee mugs for Christmas and both are awesome!  One came from my niece, Grace.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXeoNMbK3CPER9w36nr3nkhEgcoetazhLMhFuxIxGPbQXtUIjKtVd2nTcP2et4b5KHjMbz1WP4jCon2nkpj0ahotGD0l_-hHeyiuqUZHcaPEeL_kgx4GfqrFelPdO8XvFIsmsowYL98M/s1600/grace+mug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggXeoNMbK3CPER9w36nr3nkhEgcoetazhLMhFuxIxGPbQXtUIjKtVd2nTcP2et4b5KHjMbz1WP4jCon2nkpj0ahotGD0l_-hHeyiuqUZHcaPEeL_kgx4GfqrFelPdO8XvFIsmsowYL98M/s400/grace+mug.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The other came from my young cousin, Brice.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCyCCIoP_k7wpWGIyewnXZbwwLwBcejR7B8X3n2okIFa3aMZ0bzGgPCrqo5mdtAxJdXSOzTHUJ37zaHnUSnUrZppKDMOapN7jgHkThSLjiP-e1xYu_jdbf52a_12_jdr-l6_LDWus0tc/s1600/brice+coffeemug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwCyCCIoP_k7wpWGIyewnXZbwwLwBcejR7B8X3n2okIFa3aMZ0bzGgPCrqo5mdtAxJdXSOzTHUJ37zaHnUSnUrZppKDMOapN7jgHkThSLjiP-e1xYu_jdbf52a_12_jdr-l6_LDWus0tc/s320/brice+coffeemug.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br />These have already proved amazing for sipping my morning tea with a 1/4 cup of half and half (2 Points+) or what is left of my pumpkin spice coffee from Trader Joe's... with an 1/8 cup of half and half  (1 Points+)! <br /><br /><b>2.  <a href="http://zipfizz.com/">Zipfizz</a> in Grape and Orange</b><br />While my parents were visiting last week, my mom and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries and stumbled upon this gem.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9n2kbTtqdis4oXFnpn05UhkQony_Wx_k_GB9mva2sGDZe08uIXxzYLPRZqE_GoVo09VOGj2R92CtoFD0AUqwgV5MbCcU7qE5pHkXEMDT9CyYlMEZ51lQUZzzUZKL2ebJevbPOehGg2Y/s1600/zipfizz+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9n2kbTtqdis4oXFnpn05UhkQony_Wx_k_GB9mva2sGDZe08uIXxzYLPRZqE_GoVo09VOGj2R92CtoFD0AUqwgV5MbCcU7qE5pHkXEMDT9CyYlMEZ51lQUZzzUZKL2ebJevbPOehGg2Y/s400/zipfizz+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />They were actually part of a product promotion, so we got to try them right away.  They're called <a href="http://zipfizz.com/">Zipfizz</a> and they are marketed as an all-natural healthy energy drink.  There are 3 tubes to each box.  There are just 10 calories in each tube and 0 grams of sugar. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1VdWdulxoN-9ky4IRQ4SBs51s0oRwFV5DKdKex605RDFWrdhzRrvSM0593ztH2bVzJxXY6HjD-5auY6eWONY9Bgvw6GaHZo8FPATJ7LU-kmEc9nwWaHrDTbya4tO-C2URTBwi5Vxp74/s1600/zipfizz+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin1VdWdulxoN-9ky4IRQ4SBs51s0oRwFV5DKdKex605RDFWrdhzRrvSM0593ztH2bVzJxXY6HjD-5auY6eWONY9Bgvw6GaHZo8FPATJ7LU-kmEc9nwWaHrDTbya4tO-C2URTBwi5Vxp74/s400/zipfizz+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">click for larger size</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So far I've only had the orange and grape because this is all that my Wal-Mart carries.  However, they come in other flavors that sound equally delicious: <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNYkoGXgaM5om6klXmvvXZV8Cc4d60LiowspieNjIHNJGestJoIzNVLCBxlZdAB8y3BoM8VsTWwYUthZB7BNrGaiXWrclUVNbksVCpDkEFgc2TbmXAruhgM95MFAC6vTXBTEyyfGdnoQ/s1600/zipfiz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwNYkoGXgaM5om6klXmvvXZV8Cc4d60LiowspieNjIHNJGestJoIzNVLCBxlZdAB8y3BoM8VsTWwYUthZB7BNrGaiXWrclUVNbksVCpDkEFgc2TbmXAruhgM95MFAC6vTXBTEyyfGdnoQ/s400/zipfiz.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of Zipfizz website</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Other than the flavor, which I think tastes great, the thing I love most about them is that they are somewhat similar to drinking a pop (or soda for the rest of yinz ;) ) because they offer this fizzy flavor.  The only pop I care to drink on a regular basis is Cherry Coke or Wild Cherry Pepsi mixed with Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi (1/4 cherry to 3/4 diet).  But there are still more calories in my concoction of pop than there are in the Zipfizz.  It totally satisfies my craving for a pop, and that is a major win for me!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBUn3DdC9e1jDz2EIfYH8bCnO2BSS9uDlgz3muuAvWOxI7X9FWzsFVMPe_QiVpoY0ZnUCTAVyvYs9_0lPUIzWDHV3k0mn9xYk_EJPDDgTFxskqf7pDK_Vxk_vJTA5qolyb9mR9q1CT8/s1600/zipfizz+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgstBUn3DdC9e1jDz2EIfYH8bCnO2BSS9uDlgz3muuAvWOxI7X9FWzsFVMPe_QiVpoY0ZnUCTAVyvYs9_0lPUIzWDHV3k0mn9xYk_EJPDDgTFxskqf7pDK_Vxk_vJTA5qolyb9mR9q1CT8/s400/zipfizz+3.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br />All you do is pour the tube into a 16-20 oz bottle of water and shake it.  A word to the wise on this... you must do it quickly or it will fizz out of the bottle!  OR, better yet, drink a little bit of the water first to give yourself enough room at the top so you can easily pour it in without concern.  The only other thing I want to say about this is when I went back to Wal-Mart to buy more, I had a small challenge finding them.  I first checked where the Crystal Light stuff is shelved but they were not there.  Of course I was immediately concerned that Wal-Mart didn't have them in stock, but then I tried the coffee aisle (since they are marketed as energy) and still no luck.  Finally I found them over near the pharmacy with the Slim Fast/Atkins/Ensure/whatever else energy drinks.  Voila!<br /><br />The deal breaker for you may be the cost... they are $4 and some change per box, which I thought was a little pricey for just 3 tubes.  Zipfizz, if you're reading this, please offer my readers a giveaway :).  They MUST try this!<br /><br /><b>3. <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hamilton-Beach-Two-Square-Belgian-Style-Waffle-Maker/16913517">Hamilton Beach Waffle Iron</a></b><br />I ended up with this <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hamilton-Beach-Two-Square-Belgian-Style-Waffle-Maker/16913517">waffle iron</a> over Christmas when I learned that my sister was receiving one from her inlaws as well. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZaxMpPUHEJm4Df0DDyd8N1Kd0rVXb5JNn1Q99V67mwHHzDBUTu_9qvr5uu1hF0zYzMa_p0cIqmm3JLduoplezUur96kCnGlseWncng4OIdWf6SOE-px2vwyAMv3teUZ3qfYc8ejL69k/s1600/ww+and+waffle+iron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZaxMpPUHEJm4Df0DDyd8N1Kd0rVXb5JNn1Q99V67mwHHzDBUTu_9qvr5uu1hF0zYzMa_p0cIqmm3JLduoplezUur96kCnGlseWncng4OIdWf6SOE-px2vwyAMv3teUZ3qfYc8ejL69k/s400/ww+and+waffle+iron.jpg" width="387" /></a></div><br />So far I've used it twice (purchased from walmart.com for $14 on sale in December... it's now $19.28 but isn't available online currently) and made Weight Watcher's Buttermilk Whole Wheat Waffles (5 Points+) from their <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Weight-Watchers-New-Complete-Cookbook/dp/047061451X/ref=pd_sim_b_8">New Complete Cookbook</a>.  This is the first time I've ever had homemade waffles and they are sooooo much better than the frozen variety from Kellogg's.  The waffle iron is so simple to use... $14 well spent! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNB2KmdCaQbfbW293gfQj8XSA630VDkjscM8xnPVIohdCw5Ljc19zrvwaZv_tqy8xAudKW6AtbcIcazCHBPDRf7FLleZUvR0jKHTcnWxDJUwun1wS5JsxD-hMmaCjXvmF0Di93u9jPzQ/s1600/blog+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixNB2KmdCaQbfbW293gfQj8XSA630VDkjscM8xnPVIohdCw5Ljc19zrvwaZv_tqy8xAudKW6AtbcIcazCHBPDRf7FLleZUvR0jKHTcnWxDJUwun1wS5JsxD-hMmaCjXvmF0Di93u9jPzQ/s400/blog+008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Do you own a waffle iron?<br />  <br /><b>4. <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/591">Hungry Girl Krispymallow Treats</a></b> <br />I had an entire box of Rice Krispies left over from <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/deen-family-cookbook-meemaws-kitchen.html">Paula Deen's Christmas Cookies</a> and decided to use those up to make this recipe.  I thought these were a phenomenal substitute to the traditional Rice Krispy Treats.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5nfYNriUbN84pKnaxtluiVetxBjTUvZX0HouVIagfbLstBjuNIXUWMD2P_U9il3U_-XssZqvN4qinYNVmkxzJoq94DeV1FF101QXQi3sy8BaTaKdmoOiNDIJIsyiLVCrdxseRyBDl6Q/s1600/krispymallowtreats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy5nfYNriUbN84pKnaxtluiVetxBjTUvZX0HouVIagfbLstBjuNIXUWMD2P_U9il3U_-XssZqvN4qinYNVmkxzJoq94DeV1FF101QXQi3sy8BaTaKdmoOiNDIJIsyiLVCrdxseRyBDl6Q/s400/krispymallowtreats.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The bonus is that you get some added fiber in there from the Fiber One cereal, but the marshmallow and Rice Krispies overpower the Fiber One... still allowing them to taste great.  The recipe says it serves 25, but I had a hard time cutting up the 9x13 dish into just 25 squares (that would be REALLY small and 1 Points+ each).  I cut mine into 18 squares and came to a Points+ value of 2.. still not bad and a nicer size of a serving!  Have you had this version before?<br /><br /><div style="color: purple;"><b>Any particular things you're loving this week?</b></div>

Things I Love Weight Loss Products Things I'm Loving This Week

1.  2 New Coffee Mugs I received two new coffee mugs for Christmas and both are awesome!  One came from my niece, Grace. The other came from...

Read more »

STARTING OVER WITH FOOD--WITHOUT YOUR PARENTS!

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How many of you link your over eating and emotional eating to your parents? There must be some memory you have, sitting at the table, being forced to eat. Or you accomplished something they approved of, wanted to give you positive reinforcement, and rewarded with a cupcake or some other food of their choice. Or maybe you grew up in a large family like myself (9 siblings) and remember the scarcity of food and the frantic feeling when the dinner bell rang. As soon as the blessing was said we were hyenas, fending for ourselves.  I was number 9 of ten children so eating dinner was pretty intense. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5bsaBP4j-HV3h_jmE-Vo_eMMUSvPPcp2dT8aEEOGdnwOdmJNVga0h2mZdLnTI6Wtwv6b6V__whzP4wWVqFaIfCdrG2Toua56ZXM-v0BeuaOhRLt0AVfLbZ8ZVbDg5wQBDPtMzLPwBQvM/s1600/dinner+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5bsaBP4j-HV3h_jmE-Vo_eMMUSvPPcp2dT8aEEOGdnwOdmJNVga0h2mZdLnTI6Wtwv6b6V__whzP4wWVqFaIfCdrG2Toua56ZXM-v0BeuaOhRLt0AVfLbZ8ZVbDg5wQBDPtMzLPwBQvM/s320/dinner+table.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Today I’m 34, have three children and a mild mannered husband who eats methodically and slowly. There is no threat of hunger, and no panic over how much food we have to share, and no need to continue to eat so quickly.  Then why do I continue to eat as if I’m an 8 year old girl competing for food with an 18 year old brother, and everyone in between? The more I observe other adults and their eating habits, much of their eating habits started when they lived at home with their parents, and they’ve never considered if those same habits would still apply today.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For example, one woman started eating excessively at 25. It all started after her parents forced her to get an abortion, which was extremely traumatic for her. She chose to go along with the abortion, not because she wanted to, but to avoid disappointment, criticism, rejection, and possible abandonment from her parents. Although when looking back, she realizes her parents would never have abandoned her if she had kept the baby. However she believed because of their intense opinion as to what she should do, that in order to please them she’d have to go through with the abortion. So she did. Not because she made the decision out of her choice, but out of a reactive emotion to please them.  All along, feeling traumatized by their control and the incredible fear of their rejection.  Immediately she started drinking alcohol and spent the next 5 years drunk. Once drinking became a problem she stopped, and immediately turned to food to replace what was hiding those traumatic emotions. She thought she was an alcoholic, and by letting go of her need to drink, she thought everything was fixed. But instead of drinking she turned to food-- without understanding the behavior that drove her need to hide her emotions.  She would hide in her basement with large amounts of candy and she’d watch TV and movies for hours on end, to distract her from the trauma. The obvious result: obesity.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">She sat in front of me 17 years later. She was happy, content with her life, and was in a loving marriage. We discussed her eating history, she became aware that her need to eat emotionally began after she stopped drinking. She’d never made that connection before. Once she realized that  was an obvious behavioral and emotional lateral move, she began to cry. She recognized that the emotional trauma she thought was fixed when she stopped drinking, had continued, but instead of drinking she ate. She was once again being challenged to process the trauma that started when she felt emotionally forced to get an abortion.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I asked her, “Knowing what you know now, and how your life has turned out, would you go back in time and make the same decision? Would you choose to get the abortion, or would you take the risk of your parent’s disapproval, and keep the baby?”  She sat and thought, and to her own amazement, she said, “I am content with my life today. I am deeplly in love with my husband, and if I was given the choice to go back? Robin, I would go through with the abortion again.” She was surprised by that thought, but I could see the calm and peace in her expression. I could feel and see the incredible emotional weight lifted off of her. I asked her, “Going back in your mind and making that decision regardless of your parents fears, does it still feel traumatizing?” She started to cry in relief. The trauma was over, simply by going back in her mind and processing the decision from a new place of self-worth.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">From that moment forward, her need to eat emotionally began to diminish. She recognized that her behavior today, was continued based on the trauma she felt at 25, which didn’t make sense any more. If she could go back with the level of self-worth she values today, her choice would be the same, but her response to the situation would have been very different. The outcome: less trauma and need to emotionally compensate. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My point with this example is to show how many of us in adulthood continue to eat based on what was appropriate and defining in the past. But if you stop to evaluate those decisions and why they made sense to you in the past, would those reasons to eat still make sense today? Stop and think about why you eat and ask yourself if your relationship with food is still appropriate. </span></div>

STARTING OVER WITH FOOD--WITHOUT YOUR PARENTS!

How many of you link your over eating and emotional eating to your parents? There must be some memory you have, sitting at the table, being ...

Read more »

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:Water

<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6896989063397229776" name="5453974309888478600"></a></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The article below reiterates what I have claimed numerous times on this blog.</b></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>In the Rush for Land, Is it All about the WATER? </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /> </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Article by Christina Daggett </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Wealthy countries with shrinking stores of natural resources have quietly purchased huge parcels of fertile farmland in Africa, South America, and South Asia to grow food for export to the parent country</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1muIqn3zUnRLtfI-BwFXeqn879U6rT_kBie5jwrULrr6wbMQ4QvGbj1MoxVJa6oLiLiOb3xzY8sJQ6GeGiRyLAe3yy4F7LoQ9HvD0P1ZaFT6IwsXlT5UA7XtvkROMNweniQfGQfBi-JZG/s1600/UNCTAD-landgrab-map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1muIqn3zUnRLtfI-BwFXeqn879U6rT_kBie5jwrULrr6wbMQ4QvGbj1MoxVJa6oLiLiOb3xzY8sJQ6GeGiRyLAe3yy4F7LoQ9HvD0P1ZaFT6IwsXlT5UA7XtvkROMNweniQfGQfBi-JZG/s400/UNCTAD-landgrab-map.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Over the past few years, wealthy countries with shrinking stores of natural resources and relatively large populations (such as China, India, South Korea, and the Gulf states) have quietly purchased huge parcels of fertile farmland in Africa, South America, and South Asia to grow food for export to the parent country. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Are growing “land grabs” really about food or more accurately “water grabs”</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">With staple food prices shooting up and food security projected to worsen in the decades ahead, it is little wonder that countries are looking abroad to secure future resources. But the question arises: Are these “land grabs” really about the food — or, more accurately, are they “water grabs”? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>The Great Water Grab</b><br /><br />With growing urban populations, an expanding middle class, and increasingly scarce arable land resources, some governments and investors are snapping up the world’s farmland. Some observers, however, have pointed out that these dealmakers might be more interested in the water than the land. <br /><br /><b><span style="color: orange;">In an article from The Economist in 2009, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the chairman of Nestlé, claimed that “the purchases weren’t about land, but water. For with the land comes the right to withdraw the water linked to it, in most countries essentially a freebie that increasingly could be the most valuable part of the deal.” </span><br /></b><br />Consider some of the largest investors in foreign land: China has a history of severe droughts (and recently, increasingly poor water quality); the Gulf nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain are among the world’s most water stressed countries; and India’s groundwater stocks are rapidly depleting. <br /><br /><b>A recent report from the World Bank on global land deals highlighted the effect water scarcity is having on food production in China, South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, stating that “in contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa and </b><b style="color: blue;">Latin America have large untapped water resources for agriculture.</b><b style="color: blue;">”</b><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>Keeping Engaged and Informed</b><br /><br />“The water impacts of any investment in any land deal should be made explicit,” said Phil Woodhouse of the University of Manchester during the recent International Conference on Global Land Grabbing, as reported by the New Agriculturist. “Some kind of mechanism is needed to bring existing water users into an engagement on any deals done on water use.”<br /><br />At the same conference, Shalmali Guttal of Focus on the Global South cautioned, “Those who are taking the land will also take the water resources, the forests, wetlands, all the wild indigenous plants and biodiversity. Many communities want investments but none of them sign up for losing their ecosystems.”<br /><br />With demand for water expected to outstrip supply by 40 percent within the next 20 years, water as the primary motivation behind the rush for foreign farmland is a factor worth further exploration.<br /><br /><b>Global Farming</b><br /><br />According to a report from the Oakland Institute, nearly 60 million hectares (ha) of African farmland – roughly the size of France – were purchased or leased in 2009. With these massive land deals come promises of jobs, technology, infrastructure, and increased tax revenue. <br /><br />In 2008 South Korean industrial giant Daewoo Logistics negotiated one of the biggest African farmland deals with a 99-year lease on 1.3 million ha farmland in Madagascar for palm oil and corn production. The deal amounted to nearly half of Madagascar’s arable land – an especially staggering figure given that nearly a third of Madagascar’s GDP comes from agriculture and more than 70 percent of its population lives below the poverty line. When details of the deal came to light, massive protests ensued and it was eventually scrapped after president Marc Ravalomanana was ousted from power in a 2009 coup.<br /><br />While perhaps an extreme example, the Daewoo/Madagascar deal nonetheless demonstrates the conflict potential of these massive land deals, which are taking place in some of the poorest and hungriest countries in the world. </span><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">In 2009, while Saudi Arabia was receiving its first shipment of rice grown on farmland it owned in Ethiopia, the World Food Program provided food aid to five million Ethiopians.</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">Other notable deals include China’s recent acquisition of 320,000 ha in Argentina for soybean and corn cultivation – a project which is expected to bring in $20 million in irrigation infrastructure</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">,</span> the <i>Guardian</i> reports – and a Saudi Arabian company which has plans to invest $2.5 billion and employ 10,000 people in Ethiopia by 2020, according to <i>Gambella Star News</i>.<br /><br />But governments in search of cheap food aren’t the only ones interested in obtaining a piece of the world’s breadbasket: Individual investors are also heavily involved, and the <i>Guardian</i> reports that US universities and European pension funds are buying and leasing land in Africa as well. <br /><br /><b>The Future of Land and Water</b><br /><br />Whatever the benefits or pitfalls, large-scale land deals around the world look set to continue. The world is projected to have 7 billion mouths to feed by the end of this year and possibly 10 billion plus by the end of the century. <br /><br />Currently, agriculture uses 11 percent of the world’s land surface and 70 percent of the world’s freshwater resources, according to UNESCO. If and when the going gets tough, how will the global agricultural system respond? Whose needs come first – the host countries’ or the investing nations’?<br /><br /><i>Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.grain.org/landgrab/UNCTAD-landgrab-map.png"><span style="color: blue;">Number of signed or implemented overseas land investment deals</span></a> for agricultural production 2006-May 2009, courtesy of GRAIN and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).<br /><br />Sources: BBC News, Canadian Water Network, Christian Science Monitor, Circle of Blue, The Economist, Gambella Star News, Guardian, Maplecroft, New Agriculturalist, Oakland Institute, State Department, Time, UNFPA, UNESCO, World Bank, World Food Program.</i></span></div>

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:Water

The article below reiterates what I have claimed numerous times on this blog. In the Rush for Land, Is it All about the WATER? Article by C...

Read more »

A fantastic way of integrating technology into your Social Sciences curriculum

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently I have taken interest in integration the curriculum with Social Sciences so I started doing a websearch. Its amazing what treasures you come across when you do that. After looking through and bookmarking an enormous amount of sites including the Edublogs 2011 winner sites, I came across a social studies Ning site that had won one of the Edublogs awards. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://sschat.ning.com/">http://sschat.ning.com/</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLDUkvq3pfueuu4OSEq94zrEvaBDalFJ57xUcDP8my6_c3rhKI-uaxSojf7HU1vfajHvCWvHRI3qvsiWWTjAHXPy6KYZKtXZNbXGjI40DN2LNkhr-0X9fqU9R9mqJVeRzcx9YuoEzVUY/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="367" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LELa5xOB7aIn80ux60H_Pp0w77XG16KUTPpzLI2guxgP6v_9RDpP19BbJujTBKLR_2GcgLdTQeXVMmHBkELOJ9vUpRGRrBP4SYVybhCrFeGfoVfAOW9TTi_rnMuVEMaK3s_iv22wK8U/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="466" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">After looking around the Ning I came across a family, the <i>van Soyes</i>,  who will be taking a 400-day around-the-world journey to raise geo-literacy in K-12 students. They will be publishing emails, photos and video from 50 counties and 6 continents.  Wow, they already have an enormous collection of amazing stuff from just preparing for their travels and they have documented it so well. I thought I would record some of it here as it gives great ideas for the classroom.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Embed PDFs into blogs or wikis</span></b><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a sample from where they plan to be in February. They have created their documents colourfully in a word processor it seems, and have then converted them to PDFs. They then embedded them into their website. </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.trekkingtheplanet.net/docs/W02_Hawaii_Education_Module.pdf">http://www.trekkingtheplanet.net/docs/W02_Hawaii_Education_Module.pdf</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvq6pBtoizAPWeTd933HV-_txpsHIq4t2UlCgyS-Tckl1N1URj8_0Mw3WxQEWMAtkr3TCFr7n9VNGYdKPfYt10DKtdkghyphenhyphenoeMrqu-L5asvczI01SqhyS5VeHo5XjSMiMnCsJKKlESWNc/s1600-h/image21.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRbx7wXwF3RnQcXPcQ3NVdtB7Xm8rQoaxrpR7UjOStpNK2oWsaQKXYeQ_oXW8FPI8eno8-5AENJS781x0_BLgzLYjqd5Ck_F_hPWoxmA983MervNpIhkm7RjL2yYe_NEEyl0WOTDEBPDI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="477" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Actually it looks as though they have been very busy with their planning as they have already done all their research and documented it ready for when they actually get there.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTGEMkpZVS2VBV_2Trhi243dLgvWv125C-sciYnk8Y0KcNyl1LLXYpGj1fY-EnfSPzEgP1yz9YuEKfukQpCuTYNQVNOQdZFv7La_nOiqm1zNAhGbta4SN7LHBKcgqwm9f_haK0VReWTU/s1600-h/image28.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="563" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRdJFa9ZpeIbGnegajWMhAXW4ayCFJvDYvmU8iwcvwVfEoGxtqnasgiw5VAfaiItGCHMjvQh7OuG8BtMiVv2xtXJ2qjQmVkRXQhG6HQPchn5wRpZAN659csSq5ZqqlVeLsx9tGgkQmRAo/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="437" /></a><br /><br /><u><b>Classroom idea</b></u><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">This gives me the idea of getting the learners to study a country using a programme like Microsoft Word to record the details details. They then turn it into a PDF and place it on a blog or wiki. </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Make use of podcasts</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <i>van Soyes</i> have a beautiful website for recording their travels with podcasts, webcasts etc. This will be a good website to keep in mind. They would also like to visit schools along the way. I have just checked and they won’t be visiting South Africa unfortunately or we could have arranged for them to visit a school or two!</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.trekkingtheplanet.net/">http://www.trekkingtheplanet.net/</a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDI1AIyeSKnQ-QvhvzpgaohUE3vIN8wo_x9WQfxaQQ6Trzr-UYDw2RxI23j0jumd89PYRrb85jxevCqGohfYdN0jV83uqVvuay8zqzSmNwRBiiENQdubLm35-mPzPuNGPgohlrPSGvapg/s1600-h/image22.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QSAIk11VVurx-5gSCHfgHTt8a6xzWQTLrB0FGOxa3bwYHoD8lyo5Uk1dwBi11PX0PeeBviCL6TyqnSTCWSVUrGU9MS58gx2Ns_W-NU4KRVqEcNYA0pDx_Eg6UVQxqq-x1vjB0dmYKNM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="482" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u><br /></u></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><b>Classroom idea</b></u><br />This gives me the idea that using audio podcasts and getting the learners to make short videos about various aspects of a trip can add great interest to classroom work. </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Make use of webcasts</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">I see on their website that they made a webcast giving background to their intended journey. You can view it here:</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.spreecast.com/events/trekkingplanet">http://www.spreecast.com/events/trekkingplanet</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZfYPGwKbVBdInQfmrGHAhrV1nDQmXZ5717onp2kfDTseDKq5OS8-ZkSmLz85OnnRxUj6XbYLA_DSrHXmgo-De_OSvi6fWQw61XfDTf3H0xVvtFer2JPUUVnc2HEq0uFmbTK0LX1Kha_0/s1600-h/image33.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="523" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgcsQvIUZHUZTJLwhSPUroOrAwvHnCAIhEjMFC-XUX99C-Kqf95Z5YmXhj9OKxR0Gd-0MelLSZDt6HZ_PWd2f8wfTwAk5QjzdysZomYbhbnFKHxbnW47PBWjcZrqSLcxrPUZJBBd7efU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="387" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><b>Classroom idea</b><br /></u>This gives me the idea of using a programme such as Spreecast for webcasts, (<a href="http://www.spreecast.com/">http://www.spreecast.com</a>)  I have just taken a look at it, and it is a social video platform that allows  people to broadcast together.  It says:<br />Up to 4 people on camera at once. <br />*Unlimited number of people can view (can also be private). <br />*Recorded live and immediately available for playback. <br />*Viewers: Chat, ask questions, join in on camera! <br />*Creators: You control who goes on camera and when. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, this is a project I for one will take a great interest in next year. Why not join me? </span></div>

Technology integration A fantastic way of integrating technology into your Social Sciences curriculum

Recently I have taken interest in integration the curriculum with Social Sciences so I started doing a websearch. Its amazing what treasures...

Read more »

minty fresh

What do you bring over to your dear friends' house that will go well with champaign (New Years Eve champaign) and also make 5 kids under 10 happy? Chocolate - mint cake. I made this for our New Years Eve celebration after drooling over the recipe <a href="http://issuu.com/feaststl/docs/feastmag/63" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TMJ-s06l-3RayF31_98IfoDOsBwZDzLvSa6jWg5nvwiPYfHQ2QzxVv5maKAuzok5-evJj7jhE3LdiCrviAhV2zhWk02evEIxzByG1rjtAOd1QCSbBQE1Lmtb627ePSXoaMgR0I095hFy/s1600/PC312905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TMJ-s06l-3RayF31_98IfoDOsBwZDzLvSa6jWg5nvwiPYfHQ2QzxVv5maKAuzok5-evJj7jhE3LdiCrviAhV2zhWk02evEIxzByG1rjtAOd1QCSbBQE1Lmtb627ePSXoaMgR0I095hFy/s320/PC312905.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My layman's attempt</td></tr></tbody></table>Chocolate, peppermint and almost 3 full sticks of butter? Yes please! All that's missing is bacon and this would be the worlds best recipe. OK, maybe not bacon in the cake, but you know what I mean. And, even better, I had a bag of peppermints left over from my <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/12/good-enough-to-eat.html" target="_blank">wreaths</a>. It was obviously ment to be.<br /><br />You can get the cake recipe from the link above, so I won't repeat it here. Instead I've give you my insider tips. The perfect 'I wish I'd known this' accompaniment for all your baking needs.<br /><br /><br />1. <b>You need some muscle.</b> The thing that makes peppermints perfect for wreath making is what makes them 'challenging' for cake decorating. Those suckas are hard.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzb3Dubb7PP4mb7Q1bWEf6CLTcFwWxopkkK9xpp48LKt0x1d6H3I-p7dsGdtQob8xFws2cnI7HVBUfdGy-GE6EqY0-K2rbggWRgtmLcp3vCZ0p1-2rRb0Vnhn644Shm_1b88BwkCWL7hX/s1600/PC312860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzb3Dubb7PP4mb7Q1bWEf6CLTcFwWxopkkK9xpp48LKt0x1d6H3I-p7dsGdtQob8xFws2cnI7HVBUfdGy-GE6EqY0-K2rbggWRgtmLcp3vCZ0p1-2rRb0Vnhn644Shm_1b88BwkCWL7hX/s200/PC312860.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had them switch to something stronger than serving spoons.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbMOS5AW0kXcG9MzmiUqkWuS_ON53D2An01e1vW9XL2JgPpeM7vwSGvYYGSDfTKXD02nd-1BCn4XSmpLFkqclD0EjdmS5wN1Q9mO6hSn2ZOauDkTKwcVVnknj-Pyx_BGQZF2myZ0mMg4Y/s1600/PC312879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbMOS5AW0kXcG9MzmiUqkWuS_ON53D2An01e1vW9XL2JgPpeM7vwSGvYYGSDfTKXD02nd-1BCn4XSmpLFkqclD0EjdmS5wN1Q9mO6hSn2ZOauDkTKwcVVnknj-Pyx_BGQZF2myZ0mMg4Y/s200/PC312879.JPG" width="200" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The whole 'haphazard, randomly broken into varying shapes and sizes peppermint' is actually hard to attain. I had two helpers whacking away at those suckers for a good 20 minutes. I would recommend 1 - 3 glasses of wine (depending on the strength of your whackers) to drown out the loud ringing in your ears. (hard candies equal hard whacks)<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>2. <b>Invest in a vat.</b> If the cake serves 18-20, then the frosting must serve 40-50. We cooked the frosting in my big pot. The one I use for spaghetti. And that sucker was full. We had enough left over to frost 2 other cakes and a dozen cupcakes. Luke suggested I freeze the rest in a tupperware container and use it the next time I bake a cake. I'm sorry, I don't have a tupperware container big enough to hold a vat of frosting.<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/AVvXsEgW4Lt-CM0cHusk2Ycc_Y7GomXZaXPsu0IzC2LQVr08kLnNQHzeHegXd919HO1pnteg-tdsxytT_FoqOv6AWrhGXUHhS50ERX0PCwVr4ghyphenhyphenKq26JCqyLnQAUj3XGIAkm2qwMmgRwH0qfSex/s1600/PC312868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4Lt-CM0cHusk2Ycc_Y7GomXZaXPsu0IzC2LQVr08kLnNQHzeHegXd919HO1pnteg-tdsxytT_FoqOv6AWrhGXUHhS50ERX0PCwVr4ghyphenhyphenKq26JCqyLnQAUj3XGIAkm2qwMmgRwH0qfSex/s320/PC312868.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leftover frosting</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">3. <b>Its flourless cake with the flour</b>. This cake is three layers. Wonderful layers, but very dense. Almost like fudge. Mmm, fudge. I am an anal freak, bordering on Rain Man precision, when it comes to following recipes but for whatever reason I thought the actual cake would be a bit spongy-er. (that can to be a word).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tu1miUZtwXo5tFzNCdJPHDFWtJnpHZDvWPQYNUypBDThYFnSAxLSm8xSIfVlDg9W7f6fCHFFP5cd95F1Qy7SqkyP6Ry6XCmnLERNPbic3qcE4rO4UJl2OTFwSYV-QNvt5VQRv05NpGc5/s1600/PC312894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3tu1miUZtwXo5tFzNCdJPHDFWtJnpHZDvWPQYNUypBDThYFnSAxLSm8xSIfVlDg9W7f6fCHFFP5cd95F1Qy7SqkyP6Ry6XCmnLERNPbic3qcE4rO4UJl2OTFwSYV-QNvt5VQRv05NpGc5/s320/PC312894.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div> 4. <b>Feeds an army...or 18-20</b>. Wait, what? Had I noticed the small print that says serves 18-20 I might have rethought the whole thing. But as Dr. Phil would say - lets get real - is there ever too much chocolate cake? Turns out the answer to that is yes. A little piece of this goes along way. It is rather tasty, but be sure to enjoy it with your entire neighborhood, church or office...or friends (if you are that popular).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLYAM9nfa2pCSGy73kGpnSJH32HJ7ltmmjuF7yU6Rj1xYWMYOWEF0kKkdzaqDsFmqUdLLVGiGDjqfIeUD3Vb7RlH30ai2NKkMCgFHNq1pJqq15jWjk6cOgyvWwZs2VobikjV5mnXLeLwJ/s1600/PC312896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZLYAM9nfa2pCSGy73kGpnSJH32HJ7ltmmjuF7yU6Rj1xYWMYOWEF0kKkdzaqDsFmqUdLLVGiGDjqfIeUD3Vb7RlH30ai2NKkMCgFHNq1pJqq15jWjk6cOgyvWwZs2VobikjV5mnXLeLwJ/s320/PC312896.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />With all of that said, it <i>was</i> a fun family baking activity. And a tasty treat.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktvCPX-9XapmdDWBBbBd6Vtth0JSC0Z2Y0Rr__msAHxGYdCwpWzJ1tzpKZhmM246jkXXjlgV0biz1ZBeGc4Vqw96HsefAFvjlzioINY9n9xWKl8CH9voS5alUAzvAZgtdpW0oBJW9FIJn/s1600/PC312899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktvCPX-9XapmdDWBBbBd6Vtth0JSC0Z2Y0Rr__msAHxGYdCwpWzJ1tzpKZhmM246jkXXjlgV0biz1ZBeGc4Vqw96HsefAFvjlzioINY9n9xWKl8CH9voS5alUAzvAZgtdpW0oBJW9FIJn/s320/PC312899.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> <br />We finally finished the last piece...yesterday.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIuqSv001w1Jsg1jNreMk-5ztb2rTjHQ35oQILeYZUfteBw0y32AcKNQ6NW5D8-ki8EflDIM5uopWma-_jkJZoX_t6-UfemlAegTNnDWL1kNlhT0hpXB196K9BKoAjBAkVho0W7jnHaJZ/s1600/PC312902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIuqSv001w1Jsg1jNreMk-5ztb2rTjHQ35oQILeYZUfteBw0y32AcKNQ6NW5D8-ki8EflDIM5uopWma-_jkJZoX_t6-UfemlAegTNnDWL1kNlhT0hpXB196K9BKoAjBAkVho0W7jnHaJZ/s320/PC312902.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />

minty fresh

What do you bring over to your dear friends' house that will go well with champaign (New Years Eve champaign) and also make 5 kids under...

Read more »

How to ask touchy interview questions

<br /><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #ff7700; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline">How to ask touchy interview questions</span></h1></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/kd/ar5f26v7935x3s9j0vkd.gif?time=6/28/2011%202:56:31%20pm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/kd/ar5f26v7935x3s9j0vkd.gif?time=6/28/2011%202:56:31%20pm" /></a></div><div style="color: #333333; font: italic normal normal 16px/normal arial, helvetica;"><span id="cbArticle_lblHeadline2">Bringing up salary, benefits and vacation during the interview</span></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder Writer</span></b><br /><br /><div class="cbmsnArticleImage">Unless you belong to a select group of people, you need a job in order to survive. Oprah Winfrey doesn't need to work another day in her life. The rest of us would have a hard time paying the electric bill without a job.</div></div><div class="ArticleContent" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Yet, when we're going through the song and dance of interviewing for a job, we pretend as if money isn't on the top of our list of priorities. Job-search etiquette dictates waiting for the employer to bring up salary, benefits and vacation. Conventional wisdom says that if you bring it up, you appear more focused on the perks than on doing the job, which sends a bad sign to employers. So you interview over the phone and in person, and after days or weeks of conversation about the job, you don't know how much it pays or if you would be able to leave early on occasion to pick up your son from school. These issues can be deal breakers for many job seekers, but they're taboo topics during the interview process.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">If time is money, then both the hiring manager and the job seeker should be happy to get the basics out of the way before wasting time with interviews that might not matter if the salary is too low. We decided to find out if there is a way to bring up these touchy subjects in a more timely manner.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Should you do it?</b><br />Before job seekers can even ponder how to bring up these issues, the primary concern is whether they should even broach the subjects or if they would be making a heinous misstep. For many employers, as long as your approach is reasonable and tactful, you don't need to worry.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"It's definitely fine to ask about the salary, benefits and perks early in the process," says author and corporate recruiter Vicki Salemi. "Think of it this way: Sometimes recruiters will push candidates to give them a ballpark salary requirement and they'll say they can't proceed without knowing so everyone's on the same page. Shouldn't you also feel entitled to knowing information upfront to not waste anyone's time? You're doing everyone, including yourself, a favor by asking and getting an overall idea of the complete package."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">You certainly can ruin your chances of being hired by asking the questions the wrong way, Salemi says, but the topics alone won't overshadow your résumé and experience. Workplace expert Lynn Taylor, CEO of Santa Monica-based Lynn Taylor Consulting, also views these supposedly taboo topics as essential information for job seekers.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"You have every right to know what you will and won't get, so don't be afraid to ask before the end of the second interview," Taylor advises. "During the first interview, you'll want to get a general idea, ideally from the human resources department (assuming you were interviewed by HR), as these are more administrative questions."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That said, Taylor does suggest making this line of questioning one of your last orders of business, but not because it could harm your chances of getting hired. Instead, Taylor says, waiting can help you receive a better salary offer.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Often there is room for negotiation on everything. The more valuable you are as a candidate, the more leverage you have. You are best served to determine how well-suited you are for the job before you begin asking about perks," she explains.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>How to do it</b><br />Now that you know that you can safely bring up sensitive topics during an interview on your own timeline, you need to know how to do it. After all, asked in the wrong way, any question can be damaging during a job interview. Here are five guidelines from career experts on how to raise the questions, get the information you need and stay on the interviewer's good side.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Be assertive but reasonable</b><br />"Simply ask in an assertive way," says Salemi, author of "Big Career in the Big City." "You can couch it with a statement such as, 'I don't want to sound presumptuous as if I expect to already get this job, but I would like to know the salary range before proceeding.' Or, 'I am actively interviewing and evaluating offers right now which include evaluating not only the salary but personal time off and benefits, as well as perks. Would you be able to share this information with me at this point in time?'"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Prove why it's in their interest, too</b><br />"[Recruiters] don't want to waste their time, so remind them of that fact," says Alex Buznego, business development and marketing services manager for marketing organization Inktel. "'Mr. Recruiter, I know your time is valuable and that the last thing you'd want to do is waste your time on a candidate who wasn't a perfect fit. With that in mind -- and I acknowledge these questions are difficult to discuss upfront -- would it be OK if we discussed some uncomfortable questions today?'"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">You want to know about this information so you don't waste your time, and the interviewer probably feels the same way, too.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Be polite</b><br />When you want to bring up an uncomfortable topic, whether it's benefits or work schedules, you can ease into it by asking for the interviewer's permission to ask the question, Buznego says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"It's a simple gesture and somewhat of a rhetorical one," Buznego asks. "'Do you mind if I ask a couple of uncomfortable questions?' Don't worry, they are going to say yes, and it starts to break down the tension."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Wait for the right moment</b><br />Syndi Seid, founder of Advanced Etiquette, a business and social etiquette consulting organization, suggests job seekers wait for a chance to ask their question rather than force it into the interview. When the interviewer asks if you have any questions at the end of the interview, Seid suggests you take this as your cue.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"You then say, 'Thank you for asking. There is one item I realized we didn't discuss ...'" Seid says. "Always couch and sandwich difficult situations by saying something good and nice to start, hit them with the hard stuff, then end with something uplifting and positive."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Ultimately what matters is that you read the cues of the interviewer and ask what makes you feel comfortable and what suits the mood of the moment. As long as you're polite and ask your questions in a reasonable manner, you can walk out of the interview without any regrets.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, </i><a href="http://www.theworkbuzz.com/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>The Work Buzz</i></a><i>. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.</i></div></div>

How to ask touchy interview questions

How to ask touchy interview questions Bringing up salary, benefits and vacation during the interview Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder Write...

Read more »

Manager of Library Public Services - Groton Public Library

<strong>Manager of Library Public Services</strong> - <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Groton Public Library</strong></span>. We are seeking an innovative leader with exceptional managerial and interpersonal skills. The responsibilities of this position include managing, planning, organizing and supervising the Library’s Public Services division which includes all services and activities provided for children, young adults and adults. The Manager supervises 8 professional librarians and 6 support staff, works collaboratively with the Manager of Circulation and Technical Services and reports to the Director of Library Services. We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced individual with excellent technology skills and an interest in programming and public relations activities. The position requires effective verbal and written communication skills and knowledge of budget preparation, collection development, and staff training and development. Qualifications include an MLS and three years of public library experience. Full-time, 40 hours per week, salary range $68,842 - $81,955 with excellent benefits. Job posting and application are available online at <a href="http://www.groton-ct.gov/jobs" target="_blank">www.groton-ct.gov/jobs</a> or Human Resources Office, Town of Groton, 45 Fort Hill Road, Groton, CT 06340. Applications accepted through <span style="color: red;">January 27, 2012</span>. The Town of Groton is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Manager of Library Public Services - Groton Public Library

Manager of Library Public Services - Groton Public Library . We are seeking an innovative leader with exceptional managerial and interper...

Read more »

Reference Librarian - Woodbridge Town Library

<strong>Reference Librarian</strong> - The <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Woodbridge Town Library</strong></span> has an opening for a Part Time Reference Librarian to work approximately 25 hours per week. We’re looking for a positive and organized individual who has superior customer service skills. Responsibilities include: general reference assistance, reader’s advisory, interlibrary loan services, excellent computer skills and ability to learn new technologies, eBook knowledge, materials purchasing, and the ability to relate to patrons of all ages. Daytime, evening, and Saturday rotation hours included. Library experience and MLS preferred. Hourly range $20.00-$22.00 commensurate with experience. Please send cover letter, resume to: Director, Woodbridge Town Library, 10 Newton Road, Woodbridge, CT 06525 by <span style="color: red;">January 26, 2012</span>.

Reference Librarian - Woodbridge Town Library

Reference Librarian - The Woodbridge Town Library has an opening for a Part Time Reference Librarian to work approximately 25 hours per w...

Read more »

LATAM ECONOMIC DOWNGRADING TACTICS BY CORPORATE MEDIA

<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Defying sheep syndrome seems to work. Brazil has overtaken the UK and thus has become the world’s sixth largest economy!</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Reading the <i>Economist</i> and other western corporate media outlets one is made to believe that Argentine and Brazilian economies will stagnate this year and that economic growth will drop significantly due to declining demand on agriculture commodities etc. What you won’t read in mainstream corporate media is that due to economic shifts from west to east and north to south, and a subsequent declining European economy, Brazil has overtaken the UK and thus has become the world’s sixth largest economy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>LATAM not adhering to vulture finance system dictated by IMF, World Bank and Corporations</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">As for Argentina things look promising as well, despite the deliberate negative economic outlook prognosis published by corporate media who simply can’t accept that by defying the IMF, World Bank, Wall Street indoctrinated Global Eco – vulture finance system, still succeeded in achieving economic growth. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">As mentioned numerous times on this blog, even if there is a decline in demand for agricultural commodities, Argentina will still continue exporting agriculture commodities and thus keep on stimulating its economy. Argentina has one advantage over most of other agriculture economies around the world, it still has vast amount of fertile land available, something which other agriculture commodity producing countries don’t have.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FAO: INCREASED FARM LAND PURCHASE BY FOREIGN INVESTORS IN LATAM</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">A prove as to what global impact Argentina’s agronomics have is the high number of foreign agriculture land ownership, the significance of which the current Argentine Government realized and subsequently passed a bill, restricting foreign land ownership. Interest in Argentine fertile farm land also has stirred the attention of the <b>UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION</b>, <b>FAO</b>, who recently warned of intense land purchase in Argentina and Brazil for the production of food. <u>The FAO warns that the region’s governments must find ways of ensuring that the process of land concentration, and land in foreign hands do not have negative effects for the food security and local economy</u>. </span></div><div 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;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>According to the FAO there is a massive resurgence in the interest to invest in land in the region. It is much stronger than presumed be in terms of investment in land or the concentration phenomenon.</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In ten years the value of land in Uruguay and Argentina increased seven-fold and a tremendous concentration process of land in Latin America. By giving away massive land to foreign entities Argentina is giving away the gold of the future: “WATER”. According to a study conducted by the UNEP - <span class="en">United Nations Environment Program</span>, certain countries, including Argentina, bordering the Andes Mountains will be essential for world food export in the not too distant future, because of the combination of fresh water supply and fertile land in order to produce animal feed as well as crops. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Further prove is Saudi Arabia's largest dairy company announcing it was buying Argentine farm operator Fondomonte for 83 million dollars to secure access to a supply of animal feed. Fondomonte operates three farms in Argentina. The acquisition will give Riyadh-based Almarai Co. <b><u>control of roughly</u></b> <b><u>30,000 acres</u></b> of farmland just ahead of the implementation of the foreign ownership of productive land bill, instigated by the Argentine Government to curb in foreign land ownership in Argentina.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Almarai said the deal is in line with Saudi’s policy of “<b>securing supplies and conserving local resources</b>”.In spite of its desert climate, Saudi Arabia for decades produced millions of tons of home grown wheat with the help of generous farm subsidies. It is now trying to wind down domestic production because of concern over dwindling water supplies. </span></div><div 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;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>WATER: THE COMMODITY OF THE FUTURE, even George BUSH junior realized the significance and bought land in ARGENTINA containing various fresh water wells!!!</b></span></div><div 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;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">In view of increasing water shortage, Argentina has the advantage to develop water export industry and ship water to Middle Eastern countries which suffer notorious water shortages. Oil-rich Gulf Arab nations have shown increased interest in buying farmland and other agricultural assets particularly in Argentina to ensure reliable food supplies. Even George Bush junior realized the significance of water and bought land in Argentina containing various freshwater wells!</span></div><div 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;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b> NATURAL RESOURCES BALANCING ACT  </b></span></div><div 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;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4z7u1z_6uRn5DgtmbSiKjD_VymVPb1oCVlHbR20Zt1HSpUvngJdS2d2opytOvAoQSk8YRRbh2L-4azXMcco6TCJqDkmWdFyqYpRG1I9KfNHJfhyphenhyphenQqU0fIYHrcjIA_EYtZxDaJoioHIqE/s1600/0200-water-region-EN.gif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4z7u1z_6uRn5DgtmbSiKjD_VymVPb1oCVlHbR20Zt1HSpUvngJdS2d2opytOvAoQSk8YRRbh2L-4azXMcco6TCJqDkmWdFyqYpRG1I9KfNHJfhyphenhyphenQqU0fIYHrcjIA_EYtZxDaJoioHIqE/s320/0200-water-region-EN.gif.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nevertheless it will need a fine balancing act by the current and future governments of Argentina when it comes to water related issues. On the one hand oil and gas extraction as well as mining are lucrative industries in Argentina, promising large revenues but require enormous amount of water and have devastating environmental impact on the country. On the other side, agronomics are also lucrative and also require water. To make the right choice will be difficult. </span></div><div 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;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN FERTILE FARM LAND AND MINING INDUSTRY PROVES THAT INVESTORS ARE CONFIDENT WITH ARGENTINA’S ECONOMIC STRATEGIES </b></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">If the economic outlook was really as bleak as projected by Corporate Mainstream Media, and entities such as the IMF, World Bank etc. no country or corporation would invest strongly in farm land acquisition or natural resource extractions in Argentina and the rest of LATAM.</span></div><div 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;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE FEAR OF THE 1^ST WORLDS RULING ELITE TO LOSE POWER AND INFLUENCE TO 3^RD WORLD EMERGING ECONOMIES </b></span></div><div 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;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">In view of these facts it becomes evident as to why Corporate mainstream media such as the <i>Economist, Wall Street Journal, </i>to name but a few,<i> </i>try to portray a economic doomsday scenario for Argentina and other LATAM countries, because key players of 1^st world nations fear to lose eco political influence to emerging 3^rd world emerging economies. </span></div>

LATAM ECONOMIC DOWNGRADING TACTICS BY CORPORATE MEDIA

Defying sheep syndrome seems to work. Brazil has overtaken the UK and thus has become the world’s sixth largest economy! Reading the Econom...

Read more »

Book Review: Angels + Demons

On to something a little different.  When I first started blogging, I wrote at <a href="http://prittygoodbooks.blogspot.com/">Pritty Story to Tell</a>, where I did simple book reviews.  Once I began The Big Weight, that blog fell to the wayside.  I enjoy recapping the books I've read and so I'm just making it a small extension of this blog... adding a tab at the top.  Feel free to ignore the rest of this post or future book posts if you'd like :).<br /><br />I'm a little behind the book reading trend.  Angels & Demons was popular about 2-3 years ago and I'm just now getting around to reading it.  You can see why:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CO4Z64LapHXifr0YdXk4GDHgA2uHOwpvrDm4S244ywcqRKblIyqhvrq1ehDRAVbRLJ2_yfmv1__eQBiJdUzL7bi7g-xvQ2MetW99xmj4kUgFc_jg9bZL36J4C0VswqmqP3pMMnIoWgA/s1600/NYE+2012+006.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5CO4Z64LapHXifr0YdXk4GDHgA2uHOwpvrDm4S244ywcqRKblIyqhvrq1ehDRAVbRLJ2_yfmv1__eQBiJdUzL7bi7g-xvQ2MetW99xmj4kUgFc_jg9bZL36J4C0VswqmqP3pMMnIoWgA/s400/NYE+2012+006.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />Those are all of my UNREAD books!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2AkP9w7Pf39d9eTfICQCuhpNDWsap4DM-sS92yFx8cXxwDGkB2gjPtn3QbvZVax5y0vj6yrclgY97EKvnJfgH861hoXV0p9bX4wy2aJf6e3xSvt17D3MPGuE7gKP6ZCC8ai-6aw-2es/s1600/NYE+2012+008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD2AkP9w7Pf39d9eTfICQCuhpNDWsap4DM-sS92yFx8cXxwDGkB2gjPtn3QbvZVax5y0vj6yrclgY97EKvnJfgH861hoXV0p9bX4wy2aJf6e3xSvt17D3MPGuE7gKP6ZCC8ai-6aw-2es/s400/NYE+2012+008.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />A tragedy I know.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA_zlZX-Qp8qs815zz4a11KdXAgETfDCsDMhuDEPJj2VuhjOdLiBTnp0h1b-geTP2lxIGhvGlObkQEAGmqLGrUk6hkatCpQ2rQKXdv1FL_re7z09TOJj3L6q9sILXfuYmWhyJRYVH9oA/s1600/NYE+2012+011.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTA_zlZX-Qp8qs815zz4a11KdXAgETfDCsDMhuDEPJj2VuhjOdLiBTnp0h1b-geTP2lxIGhvGlObkQEAGmqLGrUk6hkatCpQ2rQKXdv1FL_re7z09TOJj3L6q9sILXfuYmWhyJRYVH9oA/s400/NYE+2012+011.JPG" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">seagull wine glass while reading? yes please!</td></tr></tbody></table>I'm such a slow reader, and I'm also addicted to buying books.  Two problems that need rectified in 2012.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRn8Enui6y0qxfl_nD2xQ6X61joPGdga8c60brP_vW2OFY4C592dzxCukxVeTTdvHZ9i-uEH3Yaip3jcra1r6NczynyrKAOtY92coqwKXdLlTy_IovET_wTdI46fn3mmbxehyphenhyphenIXRLzCZd/s1600/914-1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivRn8Enui6y0qxfl_nD2xQ6X61joPGdga8c60brP_vW2OFY4C592dzxCukxVeTTdvHZ9i-uEH3Yaip3jcra1r6NczynyrKAOtY92coqwKXdLlTy_IovET_wTdI46fn3mmbxehyphenhyphenIXRLzCZd/s200/914-1.jpg" width="109" /></a></div>I finally decided to dust off the cover and crack open this book, after having toted it around for 2 moves now.  I have put it off because I wasn't a fan of Brown's Da Vinci Code.  I liked his other books, but the Da Vinci Code took me FOREVER to get through. I mean months and months.  I struggled.  I was concerned that A&D would be the same.<br /><br />Well, I do like Dan's style of short chapters that keep the pages turning, but that's about where it stops for me and this series.  I can't quite pinpoint why I'm not a fan of these books, but I'm just not.<br /><br />In short, for those who haven't read it, the gist of the book is that two scientists in Europe create this highly explosive chemical-like substance called antimatter.  If handled incorrectly, it will vaporize an entire city in a split second.  Well, this antimatter substance is stolen by the infamous Illuminati (or is it???).  Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon is recruited to help crack the code behind the mysterious Illuminati, all the while saving Vatican City (where the antimatter resides after its confiscation).  Of course, the antimatter must be found in less than 24 hours, or Vatican City and it's surrounding area will be no more.  Almost 700 pages are devoted to hunting down the Illuminati and the antimatter with Langdon leading the way, beside scientist and antimatter creator Vittoria Vetra, the Swiss guards, and the "sit in Pope".<br /><br />I jumped at the chance to rent A&D from Redbox when I saw it in my local kiosk a few weeks ago.  It was just what I needed to get me through the remainder of the book.  I stayed up until 10:45 PM Monday night to hull my butt through it.  I did not want to get too far into this year reading a book I clearly wanted to finish ASAP.<br /><br />So, have you read Angels & Demons?  What did you think?<br /><br />The third and final book in this series is The Lost Symbol, which I already own and plan to read later this year.  I am one of <i>those </i>people... once I start something I have to finish it!<br /><br />By the way, this is my book list for 2012.... what are you reading this year?<br /><br /><style media="screen" type="text/css"> .gr_grid_container { /* customize grid container div here. eg: width: 500px; */ } .gr_grid_book_container { /* customize book cover container div here */ float: left; width: 98px; height: 160px; padding: 0px 0px; overflow: hidden; } </style> <br /><div id="gr_grid_widget_1325694252"><h2> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/222778-hilary?shelf=2012-books&utm_medium=api&utm_source=grid_widget" style="text-decoration: none;">2012 Book Montage</a> </h2><div class="gr_grid_container"><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13143.Pop_Goes_the_Weasel_Alex_Cross_5_" title="Pop Goes the Weasel (Alex Cross, #5) "><img alt="Pop Goes the Weasel (Alex Cross, #5)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166543086m/13143.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79378.Roses_Are_Red" title="Roses Are Red (Alex Cross, #6)"><img alt="Roses Are Red" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170966297m/79378.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63033.The_Savage_Detectives" title="The Savage Detectives"><img alt="The Savage Detectives" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GHi0vZnRL._SX106_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71776.At_Home_in_Mitford" title="At Home in Mitford (Mitford Years, #1)"><img alt="At Home in Mitford" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170790148m/71776.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112872.A_Light_in_the_Window" title="A Light in the Window (Mitford Years #2)"><img alt="A Light in the Window" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171663777m/112872.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112874.These_High_Green_Hills" title="These High, Green Hills (Mitford Years #3)"><img alt="These High, Green Hills" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171663787m/112874.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8905140-made-to-crave" title="Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food"><img alt="Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1308973987m/8905140.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6411961-the-lost-symbol" title="The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3)"><img alt="The Lost Symbol" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1303391374m/6411961.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2807199-american-wife" title="American Wife"><img alt="American Wife" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320446676m/2807199.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6314655-flowers-on-main" title="Flowers On Main (Chesapeake Shores #2)"><img alt="Flowers On Main" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255636550m/6314655.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4185796-love-your-life" title="Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole"><img alt="Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266572347m/4185796.jpg" /></a></div><div class="gr_grid_book_container"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7089888-big-girl" title="Big Girl"><img alt="Big Girl" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320474668m/7089888.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><a class="gr_grid_branding" href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/222778-hilary" style="clear: both; color: #382110; float: right; font-size: .9em; text-decoration: none;">Hilary's favorite books »</a> <noscript>&lt;br/&gt;Share &lt;a href="http://www.goodreads.com"&gt;book reviews&lt;/a&gt; and ratings with Hilary, and even join a &lt;a href="http://www.goodreads.com/group/"&gt;book club&lt;/a&gt; on Goodreads.</noscript> </div>} </div><script charset="utf-8" src="http://www.goodreads.com/review/grid_widget/222778.2012%20Book%20Montage?cover_size=medium&hide_link=&hide_title=&num_books=20&order=a&shelf=2012-books&sort=position&widget_id=1325694252" type="text/javascript"></script>

Books Book Review: Angels + Demons

On to something a little different.  When I first started blogging, I wrote at Pritty Story to Tell , where I did simple book reviews.  Onc...

Read more »

How to fit a wide YouTube video into a blog post

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have found that sometimes a YouTube video spreads over to the side bar in a blog, so if you occasionally have that problem and don't know what to do about it, please read on. I am going to explain how to change the width of the video so that it fits in to the body of the blog. <br /><br />1. Open up the YouTube video that you wish to embed, and click on '<i>Share</i>' and then '<i>Embed</i>' <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74tPXPXqph1i89kbPiVBXt_qjLSVDQMhJMzp5H3tx6qxjtUSmtHQ3kTnwunKVh7_nkc7aSQXZJVPXRU_FXZyQEL1wANpTke8San2QtyhmmchkjIqMS58Ae0QcQadO-rQoQXqGA8WUJPM/s1600/Change+your+embed+code1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74tPXPXqph1i89kbPiVBXt_qjLSVDQMhJMzp5H3tx6qxjtUSmtHQ3kTnwunKVh7_nkc7aSQXZJVPXRU_FXZyQEL1wANpTke8San2QtyhmmchkjIqMS58Ae0QcQadO-rQoQXqGA8WUJPM/s400/Change+your+embed+code1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> 2. Copy the embed code but when you have put it into your blog post (in the HTML part), change the width of '560' to '420'. Don't change anything else.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktU1xBnGv_iHPJhwjOr5S30CDQvWG_fYj6x8VsxOkilrNt7FS69hDCC9FR4gmhxsTXPLzhaIIQIIZYfTmwn1vbjnBFIOxUixuyfrmxxirkNM72wghFIk_RTgm7QYjmcKkPmHkk6T0K_Y/s1600/Change+your+embed+code2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjktU1xBnGv_iHPJhwjOr5S30CDQvWG_fYj6x8VsxOkilrNt7FS69hDCC9FR4gmhxsTXPLzhaIIQIIZYfTmwn1vbjnBFIOxUixuyfrmxxirkNM72wghFIk_RTgm7QYjmcKkPmHkk6T0K_Y/s400/Change+your+embed+code2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />3. You'll see that it now fits in perfectly. Save and publish your post. <br /><br /><br />Here is the link if you want to print or download this information:<br /><a href="http://www.box.com/s/sefbs6gvzofu7mexiaq5">http://www.box.com/s/sefbs6gvzofu7mexiaq5</a><br /><br /><br /></div><br /></div>

Tutorials videos How to fit a wide YouTube video into a blog post

I have found that sometimes a YouTube video spreads over to the side bar in a blog, so if you occasionally have that problem and don't k...

Read more »

Free e-book on mobile learning - looks useful!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This free e-book on Mobile Learning, written by Jackie Gerstein (@jackiegerstein, <a href="https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/">https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/</a>), was brought to my attention by a post on the Free Technology for Teachers blog. It could be a great read for South African teachers where students frequently have cell phones that could be tapped into because other technology resources are non-existent. Take a read to see if it could benefit you. You’ll find eighty pages of useful information. You can also download your own copy of this free book by clicking <a href="http://issuu.com/jackiegerstein/docs/mobile_learning#download">here</a>:<br /><br /><div><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="afcc4b4a-b091-ab12-6aa0-744b81171ce1" style="height: 298px; width: 420px;"><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf?mode=mini&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=120103211401-d30cc084464340aca29a91cd0037b216" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" wmode="transparent" style="width:420px;height:298px" flashvars="mode=mini&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=120103211401-d30cc084464340aca29a91cd0037b216" /></object><br /><div style="text-align: left; width: 420px;"><a href="http://issuu.com/jackiegerstein/docs/mobile_learning?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222" target="_blank">Open publication</a> - Free <a href="http://issuu.com/" target="_blank">publishing</a> - <a href="http://issuu.com/search?q=engagement" target="_blank">More engagement</a></div></div><br /></div>

e-books Web tools Free e-book on mobile learning - looks useful!

This free e-book on Mobile Learning, written by Jackie Gerstein (@jackiegerstein, https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/ ), was broug...

Read more »

Executive Director - Wilton Library

<strong>Executive Director</strong> - <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Wilton (CT) Library</strong></span>. Wilton Library - the Center for Discovery in the Heart of the Community - seeks an Executive Director to help continue and enhance the Library’s successful role as the creative, cultural, and intellectual destination of the community. The <a href="http://www.wiltonlibrary.org/" target="_blank">Wilton Library</a>, a non-profit Association Library located in the center of the town of Wilton, CT, serves a community of 18,200 residents. The Library circulated 365,123 items in FY2011 and is ranked #4 among comparably sized towns in <em>Connecticut Magazine</em>. In addition to providing traditional library services, the Wilton Library successfully transitioned to its mission of providing the Wilton community with outstanding adult and children’s programming, vital teen services, and public fine arts and performing arts spaces. The Library collaborates with local government and businesses and has become the “go to” place for local history knowledge, meeting room spaces and digital connections (as seen during the recent significant power outages in Fall 2011). Consisting of a single facility (50,384 sq. ft. building with a new addition completed in 2006), the Library is poised to move forward building on its successes. The new Executive Director will work with a committed staff (31 FTEs), an energetic core of volunteers, an established donor group, a dedicated community and a $3.3 million budget to deliver quality services. The challenge for the next Executive Director will be to move forward on the Library's new strategic plan (currently under development) leveraging strong community relationships and partnerships while developing alternate funding streams to continue the outstanding levels of service and programs. <a href="http://www.wiltonct.org/" target="_blank">Wilton</a> is nestled in the Norwalk River Valley in western Connecticut. Wilton is 55 miles from midtown Manhattan and is within easy driving distance from Westchester County, New York. The Town is accessible from routes 7, 33, 106, and 107. Wilton is only one hour from Grand Central Station on the New Haven Line Danbury branch of <a href="http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/" target="_blank">Metro-North Railroad</a>, which runs daily commuter service. Additional information on the Library, Wilton, and the surrounding area can be found at <a href="http://www.gossagesager.com/Wiltonlinks.htm" target="_blank">Wilton Links</a>. Responsibilities. The Executive Director reports to a 24-member Library Board of Trustees and works with the Board, staff, and major stakeholders to establish the strategic vision for the Library aligning the Library’s mission, goals and objectives with the community’s needs and priorities. The Executive Director’s primary responsibilities are to maintain an outstanding library that anticipates and fulfills the needs of its community utilizing all resources available. The Executive Director is responsible for every phase of library operations including programs, collections and services, personnel, technology, public relations and outreach, marketing, buildings, grounds, equipment, budget, donor relations, and fundraising. For the detailed job description, see <a href="http://www.gossagesager.com/Wiltondirector.pdf" target="_blank">Executive Director</a>. <img alt="PDF icon" src="http://www.ctlibrarians.org/associations/10663/files/pdf.jpg" /> Qualifications. A master’s degree in library science from an ALA accredited program and a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in library administration and staff supervision, including supervision of a major public library department or as a director or assistant director of a public library. A combination of education and experience that demonstrates the ability to successfully meet the requirements of the position may be considered. Essential attributes and skills include: vision, creativity, energy and enthusiasm; superior written and oral communications skills; demonstrated success in effectively promoting library services to the community; political acumen; collaborative and consensus-building skills; experience in recruiting, mentoring, evaluating and retaining an excellent staff; and a thorough knowledge of current trends and “best practices” for library service. Proven success working effectively with a policy-making board is desirable. Compensation. A starting salary range of $110,000-125,000 (with final placement dependent upon experience and qualifications) with an attractive benefits package. For further information, contact Bradbury Associates/Gossage Sager Associates via email or call 816-531-2468. Apply via email with a meaningful cover letter and your resume as Word or pdf attachments to <a href="mailto:DanBradbury@gossagesager.com">DanBradbury@gossagesager.com</a> or <a href="mailto:JobethBradbury@gossagesager.com">JobethBradbury@gossagesager.com</a>. The position closes <span style="color: red;">February 26, 2012</span>.

Executive Director - Wilton Library

Executive Director - Wilton (CT) Library . Wilton Library - the Center for Discovery in the Heart of the Community - seeks an Executive D...

Read more »

Bernard Herrmann - Composer Of Haunting Music and Treacherous Dreams

<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>by guest contributor Whistlingypsy </i></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzF0A5oQmKbye4S5l40RMzi1S22tRf1tKR3yQT52Z3GC3cYEUP853Rq1rdK8G3xerqvqv_NWIKqarXh9DhWrgjyBeOspMPJ0Aq8LZX-JHp3tPM5Ntvj66wSFa-Mck6sTkKueGRM5MhtA/s1600/1aABernardHerrmann1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692811207392367874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzF0A5oQmKbye4S5l40RMzi1S22tRf1tKR3yQT52Z3GC3cYEUP853Rq1rdK8G3xerqvqv_NWIKqarXh9DhWrgjyBeOspMPJ0Aq8LZX-JHp3tPM5Ntvj66wSFa-Mck6sTkKueGRM5MhtA/s320/1aABernardHerrmann1.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0 12px 12px 0; width: 309px;" /></a><br /><i>Just as my fingers on these keys</i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Make music, so the self-same sounds</i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>On my spirit make a music, too.</i></div><div style="text-align: right;">~ <span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">excerpt from </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Peter Quince at the Clavier</i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> by Wallace Stevens</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>"I don’t think Mozart’s going to help at all."</i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: right;">~ Midge in <i>Vertigo</i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">British composer Ralph Vaughn Williams, who greatly influenced young Bernard Herrmann and for whom he had a great admiration, took the subject of film score composition seriously and in encouraging his contemporaries to do the same said, “I believe that the film contains potentialities for the combination of all the arts such as Wagner never dreamed of, and I would therefore urge those distinguished musicians who have entered the world of the cinema to realize their responsibility in helping to take the film out of the realm of hack work and make it a subject of a real composer.” Music constitutes an essential part of the film experience, yet we often fail to acknowledge its importance to the way we perceive film. This is not to say that music is comprehensible only to those who have formal training; to the contrary the ability to appreciate music is a capacity we all share. The often overlooked genius of composing for film in general, and of Bernard Herrmann specifically, is an ability to work within the parameters of music theory while exploiting the viewer's instinctive knowledge of musical conventions, creating a lush musical landscape perfectly suited to the emotional content of the image captured on film.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann was born on June 29, 1911 at New York City’s Lying In Hospital, the eldest of three children born to Abraham and Ida Herrmann. Benny, as he was known to his family, suffered a major health crisis at an early age in the form of St. Vitus’s Dance, which he barely survived. He spent much of his time as a boy and a young man reading biographies of artists and composers, learning musical works through his father’s collection of 78rpm recordings <img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692811316891839074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUE6eqeSxpgDsBTEF1yAjFU36TuyqAOhiRy2vGILKV9T8JsBZwGsHVfLKFxSuPG-y_Oxgrf-KmgEzapDH9fxkWGoamGitHo2kQDmsioITBVQ0X8wu02CseB3poB38gmusuDx7kElumNPA/s320/1aABernardHerrmann2.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 12px 12px; width: 152px;" width="243" />and attending live performances of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. His literary discoveries through the New York Public Library included the <i>Treatise on Orchestration</i> by Hector Beriloz (he was familiar with the composer’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Symphonie Fantastique</span> and later claimed the book convinced him to become a composer). Herrmann wrote many small-scale works as a teenager, most of which remain unpublished. He studied music at the Juilliard Graduate School, and at the age of twenty he formed the New Chamber Orchestra of New York.<br /><br />He joined the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1934 where David Ross, CBS’s top announcer, asked Herrmann to compose music for his poetry reading series. Herrmann’s setting for <span style="font-style: italic;">La B</span><span style="font-style: italic;">elle Dame Sans Merci</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span>(a favorite poem at the time) so impressed CBS executives that he was given a job conducting and six years later became Chief Conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra. Through his many and diverse projects for CBS, in 1938 Herrmann was selected composer-conductor for <i>The Mercury Theatre on the Air</i>, which brought him to the attention of Orson Welles. The young director left no room for negotiation in his meetings with RKO executives concerning his choice to score his film, and he insisted Herrmann should receive a competitive salary despite his inexperience, “If he’s good enough to do my score, he’s good enough to get the best price.”<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1FRrJz3Ksir3QtIA2enzRqsqbptADjyDaA0Q30b9ysUftxO5IEw4z0QtNW5qD1_1DI6ntxGYSWBDtUtNpOGSAxu_oLT-3gmkRr1uQ4YWHhm-39U4NFfmp6k7ESmdoIMBGVFpOv4imyM/s1600/Welles+and+Herrmann+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1FRrJz3Ksir3QtIA2enzRqsqbptADjyDaA0Q30b9ysUftxO5IEw4z0QtNW5qD1_1DI6ntxGYSWBDtUtNpOGSAxu_oLT-3gmkRr1uQ4YWHhm-39U4NFfmp6k7ESmdoIMBGVFpOv4imyM/s320/Welles+and+Herrmann+2.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>Herrmann was no snob about cinema, he was familiar not only with American films and composers but also with their European counterparts, but he was well aware of the obstacles in composing for film. A film composer often completed scores in as little as two or three weeks, rarely had time to do his own orchestration, and once the music was written and conducted had little to say about the sound levels or dynamics of the score in the finished film. Herrmann was confident, however, that working with Welles would be different and it was with no small excitement that he announced his leave of absence to go to Hollywood. His career as a composer for film was demanding and rewarding, in addition to his outstanding scores for <i>Citizen Kane</i> (1941) and <i>The Magnificent Ambersons </i>(1942), he earned his reputation for glorious music on films such as <i>Jane Eyre</i> (1943), <i>Hangover Square</i> (1945) and <i>The Ghost and Mrs. Muir</i> (1947), all of which were about to bring him to the attention of another Hollywood genius, Alfred Hitchcock.<br /><br />The sometimes variable nature of film composition often left the composer without work and Herrmann wrote the score, the first of two "television operas," for a 1954 television adaption of Dickens's classic holiday story. His original compositions for television also included <i>The Twilight Zone</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>from 1959 through 1964, for which he composed the original theme as well as scores for seven episodes (at least three of which were included as part of the Syfy Channel's New Year's Day marathon). His work for <i>The Alfred Hitchcock Hour</i> from 1963 through 1965 included original compositions for seventeen episodes.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><object height="359" width="485"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/H6W_MSxnPAw?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/H6W_MSxnPAw?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="359" width="485"></embed></object></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bernard Herrmann's "Concerto Macabre," <i>Hangover Square</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />Much has been written regarding the turbulent end to the collaboration between Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock, both from the composer’s and the director’s perspective. Herrmann and Hitchcock were, for most of their eleven years of collaboration, friends as well as associates and Steven C. Smith, author of <u>A Heart At Fire’s Center</u>, observes, “The rapport between the two was strong from the start.” The Hitchcocks often played host to the Herrmanns; Benny and Lucy were invited to spend the weekend at Hitchcock’s secluded Bel Air home, where days were spent in leisurely conversation and evenings spent enjoying Alma’s superb cooking.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHR5I1R3U9pf-KFcUE8CswIgi4S9qfkvljaXvo2gqRx4OReNcZ5I3o3fFp1TohTW2ENDYZ9D0Rla-JuYbbt7tHReDkSb3xASAmHbhyZft_Ihnr_9ThkPXn8how6kCmi_vRsJTYWJswck/s1600/hitchcock+and+herrmann+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHR5I1R3U9pf-KFcUE8CswIgi4S9qfkvljaXvo2gqRx4OReNcZ5I3o3fFp1TohTW2ENDYZ9D0Rla-JuYbbt7tHReDkSb3xASAmHbhyZft_Ihnr_9ThkPXn8how6kCmi_vRsJTYWJswck/s320/hitchcock+and+herrmann+2.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>Jack Sullivan, author of <u>Hitchcock’s Music</u>, suggests the director’s relationships with his composers were often passionate, and as often troubled, in part because the director was "intoxicated by and knowledgeable about music.” Hitchcock's music and sound notes for <i>Vertigo</i> were more specific than on past projects, but what finally emerged as Herrmann’s film score is very different from what Hitchcock had planned. The film’s original title, <span style="font-style: italic;">From Among The Dead</span>, was a reference to the French novel on which the story is based, and Herrmann’s composition was to be supplemented by passages from a lost score that had haunted the director for decades.<br /><br />Hitchcock had seen <span style="font-style: italic;">Mary Rose</span>, a dramatic tale of lost love regained written by J. M. Barrie, during the play’s London run in 1920 and became enthralled by the music of Norman O'Neill.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGO28CkdNePKhUtOI7YTTv0KY1qsCRoqqGkml6ocOHQ59SQanPQDF-2es2Yfio9KW82Am6nkw8s3j5hjEj6Cr7qzj9U53QOSlec40v8G25MnVg12LUDA3NUd0mN89thuqo0pkk3tZ5J6c/s1600/herrmann+conducts+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGO28CkdNePKhUtOI7YTTv0KY1qsCRoqqGkml6ocOHQ59SQanPQDF-2es2Yfio9KW82Am6nkw8s3j5hjEj6Cr7qzj9U53QOSlec40v8G25MnVg12LUDA3NUd0mN89thuqo0pkk3tZ5J6c/s320/herrmann+conducts+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><i>The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular,</i><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span>Volume 62 dated March 1, 1921, described the composer and his work for <i>Mary Rose</i> as follows: “A dreamer of dreams and a mystic, Norman O’Neill has the power of expressing in his music the ethereal world in which he dwells. His flights of fancy, intangible though they are, touch a responsive chord in the hearts of the imaginative. . . .The ‘Mary Rose’ call continued to haunt the ear with gentle insistence long after it had reached echo-land.” Hitchcock was especially struck by 'the Call' connected with the heroine's disappearance, he later remembered the sensation as "celestial voices, like Debussy's <i>Sirenes nocturne</i>." Hitchcock twice failed to uncover the music, which he had also intended to use as part of the <i>Rebecca</i> film score, and as usual he deferred to Herrmann with memos and notes reflecting his confidence in the composer, "Mr. Herrmann may have something to say here" and "All of this will naturally depend upon what music Mr. Herrmann puts over this sequence."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div face="Verdana,sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"><object height="359" width="485"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/E5Y7mbfS5r8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/E5Y7mbfS5r8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="359" width="485"></embed></object></div><div face="Verdana,sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Debussy's "Sirenes nocturne"</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />If there is truth in the notion that music is the language of the inexpressible; Bernard Herrmann’s film score for <i>Vertigo</i> has given a voice to an ordinary man who finds himself in extraordinary circumstances. Herrmann’s main title sequence intentionally avoids an identifiable melody, exploits unpredictable rhythmic changes and flirts with tonal ambiguity. Kathryn Kalinak, author of <u>Settling The Score</u> observed, "The combination of violins and tubas played in alternately ascending and descending arpeggiated chords (played in succession rather than simultaneously)" and moving in contrary motion creates an asymmetry (if you will) of sound keeping the viewer continually off guard musically. Herrmann's main title music is heard first, but the musical effect in combination with Saul Bass's visual imagery in the opening credits reinforces the feeling of vertigo. The visual acts as counterpoint to the music; the spiraling images create a visual vortex in the same manner the music creates a spatial vortex and the viewer enters the world of the film suspended between two possibilities. Film criticism often invites the amateur “to see into” the life of a film, which results in as many interpretations of dramatic themes and visual cues as there are viewers. Film music makes a distinction between the life experienced by the characters and the life viewed by the audience.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="goog_150159566"></span><span id="goog_150159567"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffgMiJHmdpQq54wolT32s51Bn9jSEmVfZO_yWlGXRk0-fiktrDIPjOah_lXEu7CeZLPIrT7TdVAIyT8lGpftU3U1tjdlPabNCb5H1sWunRbuqI0o1VkLyks0RVq4oswX4ATZfQaWEshA/s1600/Stewart+hangs+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffgMiJHmdpQq54wolT32s51Bn9jSEmVfZO_yWlGXRk0-fiktrDIPjOah_lXEu7CeZLPIrT7TdVAIyT8lGpftU3U1tjdlPabNCb5H1sWunRbuqI0o1VkLyks0RVq4oswX4ATZfQaWEshA/s1600/Stewart+hangs+b.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />The classical film score can often combine <span style="font-style: italic;">nondiegetic</span> music, music heard by the audience but not experienced by the characters, and <span style="font-style: italic;">diegetic</span> music, music heard as part of the world in which the characters move and live. The two instances in which diegetic or “live” music occur in <i>Vertigo</i> are scenes of emotional significance for Midge and Scottie. The first occurs after a bit of magical thinking on the part of Hitchcock, when Scottie is inexplicably delivered from hanging precariously between life and death. The scene opens on a cozy domestic setting, the man and woman could be husband and wife, could be brother and sister. We learn about both through their comfortable exchanges and through the use of music. John-O, as she calls him, and Midge share a past but appear uncomfortable in their present relationship. Her choice of music, an <span style="font-style: italic;">Overture by </span><span style="font-style: italic;">J. C. Bach</span>, and her taste in contemporary furniture slyly hint that she is comfortable making brief visits to the past while living very much in the present. He is uncomfortable sitting in her Eames style chair and tells her the music is the cause of his vertigo (all important cues in the events that will soon engulf Scottie). The second, and perhaps more significant, occurs in the use of <i><span style="font-style: italic;">Mozart’s 34th Symphony</span> </i>as “a rope from heaven” to draw Scottie from his abyss of acute melancholia with guilt complex.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKULmIfmVoPicvrIXw_WcbMqmiYxCFSYEE1Gt42zSWDtYbu-TGnQdAyWrciWknlv3yMMUOW4QfDzNAj_tNq-w1dnzLUQYdbTVbRdbfr9uAUJlMj9v1rjDiMDx-NA2gUPall7xmilkhYE/s1600/midge+and+scottie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcKULmIfmVoPicvrIXw_WcbMqmiYxCFSYEE1Gt42zSWDtYbu-TGnQdAyWrciWknlv3yMMUOW4QfDzNAj_tNq-w1dnzLUQYdbTVbRdbfr9uAUJlMj9v1rjDiMDx-NA2gUPall7xmilkhYE/s400/midge+and+scottie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Musical therapy was first used after World War I in an attempt to reach veterans suffering from profound mental trauma, and Scottie's musical therapist has told Midge that Mozart is the boy for him (Author and physician Oliver Sacks relates in <span style="font-style: italic;">Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain</span> not only is music haunting, irresistible and unforgettable, but "music occupies more areas of our brain than language does and humans are essentially a musical species"). Scottie responds to Midge, following her with his eyes and turning his head in her direction, but we can't help but agree with Midge that Mozart isn't going to help at all.<br /><br />James Stewart’s Scottie is half enthralled to possibility, but remains half captive to reality. A man no longer content with his passivity in the face of life’s acting on him; he is trapped in a sort of tenacious, immaterial fantasy rendering him incapable of action. In his ability to capture the ineffable quality of this character’s waking nightmare, Herrmann essentially created a film score that can be heard on two levels simultaneously. His use of leitmotifs reminiscent of both Wagner’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Tristan and Isolde</span> and Berlioz’s<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Symphonie Fantastique</span>, share thematic similarities but are by no means derivative. Herrmann is here demonstrating his comprehension that some members of his audience will recognize the reference to these musical passages, while all will understand the emotional content of his music (an equivalent can be found in the screenwriter who includes lines of poetry by John Keats which reference the Romantic era against which the film is set. Those familiar with Keats’s life will understand the specific reference; those unfamiliar with Keats’s life will hear the beauty of the poet’s words).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqLDczLa6WhX3ggvxkXTVyD3HQz6L4lhEX3TAn32awLWaRWOZ8UTD7i4naxhr85CAc8FaUsSXMuRr2cAE8EaXGe3gB2ptjqgpjEjUiAfnLUxqrUK_ixIbTHdZ8zqonPsfg_OhHvDbT5s/s1600/scottie+and+madeleine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqLDczLa6WhX3ggvxkXTVyD3HQz6L4lhEX3TAn32awLWaRWOZ8UTD7i4naxhr85CAc8FaUsSXMuRr2cAE8EaXGe3gB2ptjqgpjEjUiAfnLUxqrUK_ixIbTHdZ8zqonPsfg_OhHvDbT5s/s400/scottie+and+madeleine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Bernard Herrmann has been called "Hitchcock's Maestro," and while he might have been uniquely suited to capture the spirit of the dark and troubling tales the director brought to the screen, his work before the famed collaboration would establish his reputation. His affinity for the Romantic era, equally the composers as the poets, his "pastoral poetic gloom" and artful mourning of that which is irrevocably lost can all be heard in the hauntingly similar <span style="font-style: italic;">Portrait of Jennie</span> (1948) for which he composed the theme song but was not credited. An observation regarding <i>Vertigo</i> highlights the intrinsic nature of Herrmann's score in the film's storytelling: close your eyes and listen to any passage and be immediately transported to locations and scenes in the film. The true power of Herrmann's score is in the music's ability to be heard independently from Hitchcock's images (the dream fades, the music lingers). Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, recognized the art of Bernard Herrmann's film music, performing and recording many of Herrmann's compositions. <span style="font-style: italic;">Scene D’Amour</span> is the moving heart of a poignant film portrayal of a man suspended between action and despair, death and life, love and obsession, themes worthy of any Romantic era composer.<br /><br /><i>In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song</i><br /><i> Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong</i><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>~ excerpt from <i>Piano</i> by D. H. Lawrence.</div><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><object height="359" width="485"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/_naJH44Lk3I?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/_naJH44Lk3I?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="359" width="485"></embed></object></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, "Scene D'Amour" from <i>Vertigo</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />~</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vyqpnmvdPbpAmXB30r_oEdlFzZy-ouKK40C0laQ3fzQhg_Hw4nqLCkk-3zos_Lx6iCUb2XcABgSGtForp04NuaUbp78yuhNoYpAtzOiRp9h_Y_SyY1-jd4sCOcFkEIfLRu5h1HSkop4/s1600/Whistlingypsy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vyqpnmvdPbpAmXB30r_oEdlFzZy-ouKK40C0laQ3fzQhg_Hw4nqLCkk-3zos_Lx6iCUb2XcABgSGtForp04NuaUbp78yuhNoYpAtzOiRp9h_Y_SyY1-jd4sCOcFkEIfLRu5h1HSkop4/s200/Whistlingypsy.jpg" width="147" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><i><b>Whistlingypsy</b>/aka/Karin of </i><a href="http://distant-voicesandflickering-shadows.blogspot.com/" style="color: #990000;">Distant Voices and Flickering Shadows</a><i> is a technical writer working on a contract/freelance basis who lives in the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. She was inspired by The Lady Eve (the blogger not the movie) to begin a blog and share her fascination for Jazz Age music and Silent Era films. She considers herself an enthusiastic amateur with an interest in films, music and writing.</i><i><br /></i></div>

A Month of Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock Barbara Bel Geddes Bernard Herrmann James Stewart Kim Novak Vertigo Whistlingypsy (author) Bernard Herrmann - Composer Of Haunting Music and Treacherous Dreams

by guest contributor Whistlingypsy Just as my fingers on these keys Make music, so the self-same sounds On my spirit make a music, too. ~ ex...

Read more »