Random

<p>First of all, thank you so much for all your kind words & encouragement on my "<a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2012/02/being-honest.html">Being Honest</a>" post yesterday! <p>I loved all your comments…it’s one of my favorite things about blogging!! <img alt="Winking smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU37xZtGAOwe5ZyMj-iPMRfc2Uctm3Zf6rWhSNaIxJ3cxbH0GvXk5ouvZ6dLJ9txSECMG2WsLrp0cQ4zO_f5HPex0ovPsecIhPQBhVA087rXjOoYX07HE0Zyw3hTmXSqebCpt2gvlKkQKj/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none"> I think the comment who wins the award for getting into my head the most was <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/02011827141352005348">Kim</a>! She said:</p> <p align="center"><em>You never know when it is going to click, so just keep trying, and one good day will lead to two good days, and two good days will lead to 3. It's hard to defeat someone who never quits. You'll get there!!!</em></p> <p align="left">I loved the 2nd to last sentence “<strong><font color="#00ff00">It’s hard to defeat someone who never quits</font></strong>”. That’s good stuff!!! Never give up!! I can do this! Just have to keep telling myself that & keep plugging away. </p> <p align="left">My next random item is a few new recipes I made. For supper tonight I made <a href="http://www.ajourneytothin.com/2012/01/baked-creamy-chicken-taquitos-3-points.html">Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos</a>. I found this recipe over on my friend Alissa’s blog, <a href="http://www.ajourneytothin.com/">A Journey to Thin</a>. Click on the name above to get the recipe. 10 points for 3 taquitos! Yum!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3evS4iUJ4FCe2C1NCeOq1lOhZLmTzIyXwKMeonVorf5VD-KLg_YBtRbP0ZGDDBgmvD7MnmUSE7CcI-6kVuIYMulMY12SDyfuOG2JgynNPkU3EODeZRR5Mycx38O47K2OWvuEsVTlQaj2/s1600-h/IMG_1055%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_1055" border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkyrez0pmo5Xhbwg6MxtuQLFEBQEyMU3BXiNzqQvCwXbXiGiV95SHb79ExnVFZlGDp1WxtTQoJMiCJHhdUifuWH42tCmKvJYOO89WO6ATSwomeEPv7F_vZPtOu8nBRNsYz2k0p-x28-kR/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1055" width="404"></a></p> <p align="left">My 2nd new try today was <a href="http://www.bobbimccormick.com/?p=24676">No Bake Protein Energy Bites</a>. These are from one of my favorite bloggers, Bobbie at <a href="http://www.bobbimccormick.com/">Nhershoes</a>! They are SO good and super easy! A must try! I plugged the ingredients into recipe builder and if you make aprox 30, they are 2 points plus each. Not bad for a pre workout snack!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFktJX940YpmA_rL6-21MnYylPly0WAZVxhd7QSg8oljjSEm3cj6tNcOWEIiFDJljVfLXqTx5S_N0q1HTCF1XfnBgRbmCutcO5o9XFMDWVAzA7XMs9P9XYTD1LGmL4EvDvW1RiBnMO_dzg/s1600-h/IMG_1053%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="IMG_1053" border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPIu8U3YJmdHNZWAv_EQ1pHc4KqMVQbkVe5O33FlNkESSFRvKjQSepyWRMvHGv7_2VYOLINd-mzNrHsnJSceThSiN3wb0JIp4jF_0Mg8zIbGdE6ndJtqUZZk6WxTnl0O30I5QKwG6e9aO/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_1053" width="404"></a></p> <p align="center"><em><font size="2">^{(notice I’m getting some use out of my valentine plates!)}</font></em></p> <p align="left">And finally, speaking of working out, I got in a killer workout tonight! I was all ready to head out the door for the gym, 7:30pm, and the hubs said, “Doesn’t the gym close early on Saturdays?” Well darn, it does, 5pm to be exact. What’s up with that?!?!</p> <p align="left">I wasn’t about to let that stop me from burning calories. My workout tonight was another find from the wonderful <a href="http://www.bobbimccormick.com/">Bobbie</a>! <u>Holy kick my butt batman</u>! When they say you don’t need a gym to get a good workout, it’s SO TRUE!! I know for a fact, I’m going to be sore tomorrow! I did living room boot camp session #3, you can find it <a href="http://www.bobbimccormick.com/?page_id=796">here</a>. </p> <p align="left">Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! Make sure to check back tomorrow for my “winning” super bowl recipes! <img alt="Smile" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-smile" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWfDx13MsqE0beVNoBnZOYW62i8IHSSflMWhf9TIt4iTPu-S6RtOWNJmVrKEfmqjRqQXLdS3oFAxmzxphbFDGjJdxe7CrTv1zTvpn3AC_V8bnoiOHqLugT2d4kgstM4a6F9pv6y5ub5yh/?imgmax=800" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none"></p>

Random

First of all, thank you so much for all your kind words & encouragement on my " Being Honest " post yesterday! I loved all you...

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16 job search errors you're probably making

<br /><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px; text-align: left;"><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; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> <div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">Over the years, hiring managers have born witness to every hiring, interviewing, résumé, cover letter and negotiation mistake there is.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">You know what these blunders are. We've told you several times. Yet you (and hundreds of other job seekers) continue to make common job search mistakes.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">From those who see your mistakes over and over, here are 16 common job search mistakes to avoid -- and some of them may surprise you.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>1. You don't keep your options open</b>"Candidates tend to think that if they interview for a job they will get an offer, so they do not apply and interview for multiple positions," says Joanie Spain, director of public relations and career services, School of Advertising Art, a graphic design college.<i> </i>"They wait until one plays out completely, putting their job search on hold until knowing for sure they didn't get the offer."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">"By having many more irons in the fire, you diversify the risk and disappointment that is inevitable when any single opportunity disappears," adds Roy Cohen, author of "The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide: Success Secrets of a Career Coach."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">"You also present yourself as a more passionate and energetic candidate. You're in the 'zone' -- a point where you're in the flow of information and ideas -- and that makes you more valuable."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>2. You turn up your nose at job descriptions</b>"Entry-level candidates are reluctant to apply for a position unless the job sounds like their 'dream job' or they have all qualifications listed," Spain says. "Rather than going on an interview to get more information, they base decisions about applying on the job description alone. They fail to see that all interview experience is good experience, or that, until there is an offer on the table, there is no decision to make."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>3. You haven't perfected the thank-you note</b>"Don't be too verbose with a thank-you note after an interview. Sending out a version of "War and Peace" can come across as desperate and needy for a job. However, sending a one or two sentence thank-you note comes across as flippant, not well thought-out and potentially shows indifference regarding the job to the employer," says Mike Barefoot, senior account manager at Red Zone Resources, a recruitment firm. "We encourage candidates to keep them to four to eight sentences."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>4. You don't check your references</b>"Always give out references that you've pre-screened. We sometimes see candidates give out references that were never checked with and the references feedback isn't always kind," Barefoot says. "Also, make sure they're predominantly managers. An occasional colleague is okay, but contemporaries and friends really don't carry that much weight in helping you land a position."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>5. You've got poor business acumen</b>"Managers are becoming more savvy and are taking candidates out to lunch for interviews. They want to see how you treat a restaurant staff and see the 'real' you. If you're rude to them or don't seem appreciative for their hard work to make your meal pleasurable, managers wonder how you'll treat contemporaries you work with," Barefoot says.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>6. You have a messy briefcase</b>"A messy briefcase can imply the person is unorganized, messy and unprepared, and that their work will be less than optimal," says Ronald Kaufman, author of "Anatomy of Success." "Someone who is neat, clean, organized and prepared in all areas conveys they're serious about getting a job and working."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>7. You discount temporary positions</b>"Many employers coming out of a recession want to hire on a temporary or temp- to perm- basis. We have already seen several contractors be offered permanent positions after they have proven themselves," says Jeffrey Weinstock, Esq. president, Rhodes & Weinstock, a recruiting firm. "Not only will the temporary position pay some bills, think of it as an audition for a potential perm position, or at least a way to get a good reference for another position."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>8. You have a bad attitude</b>"Poor attitudes come through in telephone calls and in interviews. If you are not positive, why would a potential employer want to hire you?" asks Weinstock. "It may take some time, but by being positive, by doing all the right things, by seeing each position as an opportunity, it will happen."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>9. You include too much work history</b>"Many job seekers over 40 think that they have to take their work history back to their first job out of college," says Cheryl E. Palmer, career coach and résumé writer. " All that is needed is the last 10-15 years of your work history."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>10. You use your work email address on your résumé</b>"Some people do not regularly check their personal email, so they use their employers' email instead," Palmer says. "This sends a negative message to potential employers that the job seekers will not hesitate to use their equipment for personal use."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>11. You take "no" as a final answer</b>"No" usually only means "no" for that position, says Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO, Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, LTD.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">"If you are rejected for a job you should send a thank-you note, thank the employer for the opportunity, and wish them well. No one does that. When the next opening comes around, he'll remember you," says Hurwitz.</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>12. You lack tact</b>"Be determined without being pushy. Calling or emailing to ask about the status of your résumé or interview can be a double-edged sword," says Rod Hughes, director of communications, Oxford Communications. "A tactful follow up can place you top of mind with the hiring manager, while incessant calling or emailing can push your résumé right off the table."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>13. You don't search for yourself on the Internet</b>"Your would-be employer is probably going to look you up online, so you should know what is out there," says Amanda O'Brien, vice president of marketing, Hall Web Services. "Clean up what you can, check your privacy settings on social networks and if it is something you can't get down off the internet, you may want to consider talking to the company about it."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>14. You have a 'death by bullets' résumé</b>"Bullets are great but they need context. Keep them to one line, focused on a result and include a figure like a fact, percentage or number," says Adriana Llames, author of "Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game." "Or, put the information in a short summary of the position."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>15. You've got a scattered strategy </b>"Looking for a job in any industry and with two or three résumés is going to get the same result as the strategy: scattered," Llames says. "Job seekers with a clearly defined, focused and organized strategic approach to their job search end up with clear results -- and a new job."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>16. You think it's about you</b>It is not about you and your need for a job -- it is about the prospective employer and their need to run a successful business and make money, says Lori B. Rassas, employment attorney and author of "Employment Law: A Guide to Hiring, Managing and Firing for Employers and Employees."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;">"Many applicants mistakenly believe they will be an appealing candidate if they explain they will accept any type of job offer at any because they have been laid off, unemployed for an extended period of time, have children in college, or are having difficulty making the mortgage payments," she says. "Even if all of those circumstances are true, candidates need to craft a different message, focusing on how they can benefit the employer by saving them money, streamlining processes, creating additional sources of revenue and bringing overall value to the company."</div><div style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 1em;"><i>Rachel Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder. Follow @Careerbuilder on Twitter.</i></div></h1></div></div>

16 job search errors you're probably making

Over the years, hiring managers have born witness to every hiring, interviewing, résumé, cover letter and negotiation mistake there is. You...

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10 job-search tips for 2012

<br /><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="background-color: white; margin-top: -30px; text-align: left;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="clear: left; color: #ff7700; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/gm/ar5l2gs69b38klz5qsgm.gif?time=12/6/2011%203:43:09%20pm" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" /></h1></div></div><br /><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="background-color: white; color: #ff7700; font-family: arial, helvetica; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Justin Thompson, CareerBuilder Writer</span></b></h1><div><b style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></b></div><br /><div class="ArticleContent" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">It's 2012, and with the new year comes a revitalized spirit, gusto and determination to enact your plans and make your dreams happen. With the evolution of career search over the past few years, it's good to take stock of what will make the biggest impact in landing a job this year.<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Some things haven't changed. It's still tough out there. Many people are competing for few opportunities. But with the right tools, you can improve your search, broaden your networking opportunities and align yourself with a career that fits your skills.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Here are 10 tips for a successful job search in 2012:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>1. Create a job-search strategy. </b>Employers hate receiving applications from candidates who are not qualified for positions. So it's time to stop using the shotgun approach to your job search. You're wasting your time, and you're wasting the <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/recruiter/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">recruiter's</a> time. Carefully read job postings and determine whether you could do most of the tasks required if you started tomorrow. A recent<a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">CareerBuilder</a> job forecast reported that employers are not finding qualified candidates for their open positions, so learn how to tailor your existing skills to a job's requirements and spend time preparing better résumés and cover letters instead of just blasting a generic one to every single posting.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>2. Define your goals. </b>It can be challenging to stop and ask yourself, "What do I really want out of a job?" Answers as simple as a paycheck or benefits may be a reality, but the fact is that you do want more out of your job than just cash. Your career needs to satisfy you in more ways than just your pocketbook. By defining what you want out of a job and what you offer as a job seeker, you become better at applying for jobs that are aligned with your overall career goals. By taking the time to define what you want as a job seeker, you can figure out what your best selling points are and the most valuable skills you have to sell to an employer. Make sure your <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/social+media/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">social media</a> accounts are professional if used as part of your search. And if they aren't, keep them under lock and key, since more and more employers are screening applicants via social profiles.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>3. Diversify your search. </b>While employers still use sites like CareerBuilder, many are branching out in multiple ways to connect with job seekers. You should be readily available in each of those channels. Whether it's through social media or local networking events, use today's technology to further spread the message about your job search. Today's job search can be summed up in one word: hustle. The more you switch up your efforts, the more opportunities you'll come across and the more you will place yourself ahead of the pack. Also, know your industry and what trends are happening. <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/manufacturing/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Manufacturing companies</a> may still have you apply in person, whereas digital<a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/advertising/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">advertising</a> agencies may expect a much more elaborate electronic portfolio available via the Internet.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>4. Evaluate your skills and add more. </b>Perhaps your skills aren't up-to-date with most of the jobs you are seeing in the market, or perhaps they are a little rusty. Brush up on your skills with online courses or <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/instructor/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">community classes</a>. You could also consider going back to school full time.<a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/government/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Government</a> funding and other programs are available for out-of-work job seekers who want to enroll in training or continue their education to better position themselves in the current workforce.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>5. Be unique. </b>You already know that defining your goals and skills can help set you apart from the competition. When an employer asks, "Why should I hire you?" you will already have a list of your best qualities. As you come across jobs that you feel confident about, do something that will help you stand out and be memorable to the recruiter or <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/HR+manager/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">human resources manager</a>. Dig around, and before applying, find out the name of the hiring manager or someone who heads up the department the position is in, and contact him directly. Use the information on <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=LinkedIn&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=msns07" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">LinkedIn</a> to your benefit. Reach out with a brief introduction, and let him know you've applied for the position and you hope to be in touch. After applying, it never hurts to follow up with a company via social media to share your excitement about the position.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>6. Listen. </b>Searching for a job can be tedious, and you can get so focused that sometimes it's easy to forget to listen, <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/research/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">research</a> or monitor conversations. Pay attention to how employers are<a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/communication/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">communicating</a> about jobs via social media and through their websites and how you can speak to them in their own language. Connect with other job seekers or career experts, and see what methods you can adopt from their job-search strategies. Join Twitter chats and online career fairs to connect with more employers and broaden your network. Just be sure that while you're out selling yourself, you take the time to listen to how others are finding success in their search.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>7. Set goals.</b> The overall goal may be either get a job or get a new one, but when you break that big goal down into smaller goals, you set yourself up for more success and less frustration. When you only look toward that big goal, it can be disheartening when it takes a long time to achieve it. Choose monthly goals such as joining professional organizations or volunteering at a <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/nonprofit/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">nonprofit</a>that will allow you to flex and use your skills. When you are able to create a to-do list and hold yourself accountable for achieving these goals, you'll feel better about yourself. That initiative can be shown off in your job search and interviews as a great example of your character. By forcing yourself to focus on small goals, you continue networking with new individuals who can assist you in your job search.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>8. Prepare for anything. </b>You can't always predict when you may get called for an in-person or phone interview, so you should always be ready. Go into an interview with at least five examples that demonstrate your best qualities. When they want examples of real-life successes or things you'd do differently, have them prepared. If you volunteered or taught yourself a new set of skills, be sure to mention this. <a href="http://msn.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/actor/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; text-decoration: none;">Rehearse</a> for interviews with mentors or friends so you won't wing it, which can diminish your chances of portraying yourself in the best way. Leave the interviewer with phone numbers of references who will back you up with recommendations.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>9. Positive thinking can lead to positive results.</b> Use your career search as a time to see every situation as a learning opportunity. Of course, every job hunt will have moments of frustration and hopelessness. But don't give up on yourself or on the belief that the right job is out there. Use the time to re-evaluate your career path, which could lead you to a more fulfilling career. A positive attitude is contagious, and the more positive you are, the more likely others will be to go out of their way to help you.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><b>10. Stay balanced.</b> Job searching can take a lot out of you. Create a schedule or routine for yourself, so you don't burn out. Make sure you get plenty of rest, talk to friends and family, stay active and allow yourself time to do things you enjoy.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Finding the perfect job is attainable, but you have to put in the work and effort and have faith that you'll reach your destination. By being proactive, connecting with others and having a can-do attitude, you'll be able to tackle some of the biggest job-search hurdles in 2012.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><i>Justin Thompson is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, </i><a href="http://www.theworkbuzz.com/" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial; 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>

10 job-search tips for 2012

Justin Thompson, CareerBuilder Writer It's 2012, and with the new year comes a revitalized spirit, gusto and determination to enact your...

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I'm still alive, still fat and still struggling

I never understand how I can let almost two weeks go by and not post a single word. I think about posting, but never seem to have the time, or if I have the time, I can't think of anything to say. Usually it means I'm in a midst of a binge, which was very true this time around. I know posting regularly and reading other weight loss blogs has been a huge help to me in the past four years (I've been blogging for four years this month).<br /><br />Life is definitely a struggle these days. Talking to attorneys, rehashing the last four months over and over with them, reviewing the legal documents to be filed in court, and dreading and hating the whole legal fiasco. As much as I detest this phrase, it's the truth in my case, "it is what it is". In other words, I'm screwed and the situation is beyond my control. I have to do what is best for my sister and what is best for me. End of story on that one.<br /><br />My diet and exercise have been bad. Really, really bad. I only made it to the gym three times last week, claiming I was just to exhausted to get out of bed. I walked at lunch a couple days, but my regular walking co-worker is in Geneva this week, so I had to walk with my backup walker, who walks really s-l-o-w. She's about 100 pound overweight and I think has recently gained even more weight. I can barely walk as slowly as she walks. We stopped at Safeway so she could buy some lunch. She bought a big container of barbecued spare ribs and a giant white flour bagel. We've often talked about weight loss and exercise, but I'd never say anything to her about what she eats. I really enjoy her company, but I worry about her. I bought some fresh asparagus to add to my soup for lunch. Even though I was binging at night, I tried to at least eat a healthy breakfast and lunch.<br /><br />To add to my lack of exercise last week, I fell into a binge cycle. Oddly, I read about a binge on a beloved blogger's post, and it seemed to trigger something in me. I haven't bought binge food for months, things like cookies, cheesecake and chips. I just did not care. After three days of stupid, binge eating, I think I may have come to my senses today. I feel like I got it out of my system and now it's time to move on to better eating and better health.<br /><br />Today is busy so I need to finish this up and head out. I've cleaned house a little, just to make it bearable. Next up is the gym first, then shopping for a few items for my sister. I also want to pick up a child's puzzle for her, one with big pieces. Also some games I read that are good for stroke patients. Then I'll head over to her home and visit for an hour or two. Then home to make some homemade soup for dinner.<br /><br />The weather is fantastic here in the Pacific Northwest today. We have S-U-N-S-H-I-N-E!!!! It's suppose to get up to a high of 58. I love it here when the weather is nice. It's been a tough, dark, wet, cold winter. I'm more than ready for some nice weather. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures today. I plan on bundling my sister up and taking her outside in her wheelchair. It'll be the first time she's been outside since her stroke, other than being transferred to or from an ambulance. I think she's really going to enjoy it. <br /><br />Oh, almost forgot to mention my weight. I don't know. I weighed Wednesday and was 187.6. Still terrible, but considering that was right in the middle of a binge I'm pretty sure it's up from Wednesday. I'll find out tomorrow. Weight Watchers again!

I'm still alive, still fat and still struggling

I never understand how I can let almost two weeks go by and not post a single word. I think about posting, but never seem to have the time, ...

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what's my motivation?

Did anyone else want to be an actress when they were little? Just me? Ok, moving on.<br /><br />I am always looking thru Sarah's House episodes on DVR, old issues of Domino, Pinterest, basically anything to get the juices flowing when its time to start a new project. So, to pump myself up for a long to-do list, here is some weekend motivation. Can you hear the Rocky music playing in the background?<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/AVvXsEgnv6m8dQ0ELjvur02hEC6g7dogYHjoVkvJyvOyr_lnJErXmPHYhQx-c7dG6N0tbH7XgSOx7gb_DC-LDP6csWXRqvitsgTDzZGyn6TayH9XqthN1wwqdCszvmry-WpV4xHc7yidH95Arcdj/s1600/http:youpaidmorethanme.blogspot.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnv6m8dQ0ELjvur02hEC6g7dogYHjoVkvJyvOyr_lnJErXmPHYhQx-c7dG6N0tbH7XgSOx7gb_DC-LDP6csWXRqvitsgTDzZGyn6TayH9XqthN1wwqdCszvmry-WpV4xHc7yidH95Arcdj/s640/http:youpaidmorethanme.blogspot.jpeg" width="426" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://youpaidmorethanme.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">You Paid More Than Me</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205648958328/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OSO_M9k3b14snDGfdWgDVattwWnUc26mJRhAMA6EEF73gjfFdc-ejmwj-eBWgoPg11N93jhSJuUf3y263eklVFXjXmARpYUWpoufJgfXlyZT0GIrn32SOQiuM2lgMZ7-t_MARTVLp7hJ/s1600/http:youpaidmorethanme.blogspot-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OSO_M9k3b14snDGfdWgDVattwWnUc26mJRhAMA6EEF73gjfFdc-ejmwj-eBWgoPg11N93jhSJuUf3y263eklVFXjXmARpYUWpoufJgfXlyZT0GIrn32SOQiuM2lgMZ7-t_MARTVLp7hJ/s640/http:youpaidmorethanme.blogspot-1.jpeg" width="490" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205648958329/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbdu2oelsB7rMxHGrKYihsGnxjODDqjr-gHZJk8eqpsjMDAqx4Ugu-bb-Kkr2eMg6sL8c796oAOjTXX7cIyxxU-qCTI9RGqCYakvc48PD9Uyxh-oPcUl_Q-JznNDCaonJHk4961qhSPnR/s1600/yes!+basement+stairs.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIbdu2oelsB7rMxHGrKYihsGnxjODDqjr-gHZJk8eqpsjMDAqx4Ugu-bb-Kkr2eMg6sL8c796oAOjTXX7cIyxxU-qCTI9RGqCYakvc48PD9Uyxh-oPcUl_Q-JznNDCaonJHk4961qhSPnR/s640/yes!+basement+stairs.jpeg" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649134174/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Seeing a theme here? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">How do you get motivated? Any special projects you are ready to tackle? Happy Weekend!</div>

what's my motivation?

Did anyone else want to be an actress when they were little? Just me? Ok, moving on. I am always looking thru Sarah's House episodes on ...

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The truth nothing but the truth

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YFTkKxCmTFN6cDTO1ukn0a-xtEUZTTloCOZgcHGD7KYuixYEglCA7NZLEbueTVA6BCW0I3Ph3EcIBAgwnfm2f2ECv06Sc0pua3VATpsJl4Tz29YNh1YwXm6avIE0Mx1iEsr-Hh4K9b86/s1600/23f78_111219013732-arab-league-ministerial-committee-meeting-to-discuss-the-syrian-unrest-in-doha-on-december-17-2011-story-top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9YFTkKxCmTFN6cDTO1ukn0a-xtEUZTTloCOZgcHGD7KYuixYEglCA7NZLEbueTVA6BCW0I3Ph3EcIBAgwnfm2f2ECv06Sc0pua3VATpsJl4Tz29YNh1YwXm6avIE0Mx1iEsr-Hh4K9b86/s400/23f78_111219013732-arab-league-ministerial-committee-meeting-to-discuss-the-syrian-unrest-in-doha-on-december-17-2011-story-top.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES OBSERVER MISSION TO SYRIA MISSION REPORT </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Mission report confirms what I have been arguing all along: that the situation in SYRIA is not the way it is portrayed by mainstream media and certain WESTERN governments. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNxTtNXjlVjpCbLALackg2_puKVCgdvgQK0vRWPkDstiX8AmkoWwijMlEq8iZVaIo5RXeLKK7y-UrvMNPxeSV-6gaxd2Q3ulDZb6W_UDfj-3Lp3Zx8oad6rijzU8XwDNd1H7Dbp4v5n6i/s1600/blood_channels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNxTtNXjlVjpCbLALackg2_puKVCgdvgQK0vRWPkDstiX8AmkoWwijMlEq8iZVaIo5RXeLKK7y-UrvMNPxeSV-6gaxd2Q3ulDZb6W_UDfj-3Lp3Zx8oad6rijzU8XwDNd1H7Dbp4v5n6i/s400/blood_channels.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Could the real reason for the withdrawal of the LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES OBSERVER MISSION TO SYRIA was not because of violence but the fact that the content of the report did not fit into the agenda of certain WESTERN POWERS who envision a different outcome for SYRIA?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> It seems that mainstream media, under the influence of the world power brokers deliberately “downplay” the content of the report because the results of the findings would in most likelihood change public opinion, something the power elite does not want.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here are some extracts to that effect:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Homs and Dera‘a</b>, the Mission observed armed groups committing acts of violence against</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Government forces, resulting in death and injury among their ranks. In certain situations, Government forces responded to attacks against their personnel with force. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The observers noted that some of the armed groups were using flares and armour-piercing projectiles<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Homs, Idlib and Hama</b>, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the Observer Mission witnessed acts of violence being committed against Government forces and civilians that resulted in several deaths and injuries</b>. Examples of those acts include the bombing of a civilian bus, killing eight persons and injuring others, including women and children, and the bombing of a train carrying diesel oil. In another incident in Homs, a police bus was blown up, killing two police officers. A fuel pipeline and some small bridges were also bombed.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Mission noted that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">many parties falsely reported that explosions or violence had occurred in several locations</b>. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">When the observers went to those locations, they found that those reports were unfounded</b>.<br />The Mission also noted that, according to its teams in the field,</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">the media exaggerated the nature of the incidents and the number of persons killed in incidents and protests in certain towns</span></b>.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to their latest reports and their briefings to the Head of the Mission on 17 January 2012 in preparation for this report, group team leaders witnessed peaceful demonstrations by both Government supporters and the opposition in several places. None of those demonstrations were disrupted, except for some minor clashes with the Mission and between loyalists and opposition. These have not resulted in fatalities since the last presentation before the Arab Ministerial Committee on the Situation in Syria at its meeting of 8 January 2012.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since it began its work, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the Mission has been the target of a vicious media campaign</b>. Some media outlets have published unfounded statements, which they attributed to the Head of the Mission.</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">They have also grossly exaggerated events, thereby distorting the truth.<br /></span><span style="color: blue;">Such contrived reports have helped to increase tensions among the Syrian people and undermined the observers’ work. Some media organizations were exploited in order to defame the Mission and its Head and cause the Mission to fail.</span></b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Mission received reports from parties outside Syria indicating that the number of detainees was16,237. It also received information from the opposition inside the country that the number of detainees was 12,005. In validating those figures, the teams in the field discovered that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">there were discrepancies</b>between the lists that information was missing and inaccurate, and that names were repeated. The Mission is communicating with the concerned Government agencies to confirm those numbers</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Mission noted that the Government strived to help it succeed in its task and remove any barriers that might stand in its way. The Government also facilitated meetings with all parties. No restrictions were placed on the movement of the Mission and its ability to interview Syrian citizens, both those who opposed the Government and those loyal to it.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Arab and foreign audiences of certain media organizations have questioned the Mission’s credibility because those organizations use the media to distort the facts. It will be difficult to overcome this problem unless there is political and media support for the Mission and its mandate. It is only natural that some negative incidents should occur as it conducts its activities because such incidents occur as a matter of course in similar missions.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Last but not least the statement below reiterates what I have claimed regarding communication restrictions in Syria. See:</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/02/syrian-agenda.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/02/syrian-agenda.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Mission communicates with the various groups by mobile phones and facsimile machines</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">connected to the local Syrian telephone network<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. Occasional cuts in service prevent the Mission from communicating with the groups. Internet service is unavailable in some regions, and in other areas it is intermittent, including in the capital.</b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The full report can be viewed under:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/%7Ehauben/Report_of_Arab_League_Observer_Mission.pdf"><b><span style="font-family: Times-Bold; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Bold;">http://www.columbia.edu/~hauben/Report_of_Arab_League_Observer_Mission.pdf</span></b></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkkBZiYzbWmKax8i5peC8goFiMBSdOd6SYR_T3X2Hb_k1WrFbhHooPjgGGe5DgqVnauxAkHHCJbgqD56ZFt3UDuM1XhODIOwp8m6hvK1pdu-p8HG9GKntk1BI8I0_06wTJ7pWRiMtlScK/s1600/Media-Lies-Used-to-Provide-a-Pretext-for-Another-Humanitarian-War-Protest-in-Syria-Who-Counts-the-Dead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkkBZiYzbWmKax8i5peC8goFiMBSdOd6SYR_T3X2Hb_k1WrFbhHooPjgGGe5DgqVnauxAkHHCJbgqD56ZFt3UDuM1XhODIOwp8m6hvK1pdu-p8HG9GKntk1BI8I0_06wTJ7pWRiMtlScK/s320/Media-Lies-Used-to-Provide-a-Pretext-for-Another-Humanitarian-War-Protest-in-Syria-Who-Counts-the-Dead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Times-Bold; font-size: 10pt;">To reiterate my views, here is an interesting article on subject matter from a German Middle East Expert: Professor Günther Meyer :</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><h3 style="color: red; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="DE-AT">Syrien: Orientexperte erhebt schwere Vorwürfe gegen den Westen </span></span></h3><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span lang="DE-AT"> </span></span></h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Als vor wenigen Tagen die Beobachtermission der Arabischen Liga in Syrien gestoppt wurde, war die Sachlage in den Medien klar: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Assad hat die Gewalt nicht beendet</b>, das Morden Unschuldiger geht weiter. Unterdessen liefert die in London ansässige Syrische Beobachtungsstelle für Menschenrechte Informationen über die genaue Situation und die Zahl der Toten. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Überprüfbar sind die Informationen natürlich nicht, dennoch werden sie unkritisch von allen Medien zitiert.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Nun hat der Orientexperte Prof. Dr </span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: Times-Bold; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE-AT; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Bold; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Günther</span><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;"> Meyer <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>von der Universität Mainz in einem Interview des Radiosenders Bayern 2 eine ganz andere Wahrheit verbreitet. Die Frage, ob die Beobachtermission gescheitert sei, verneint er klar. So sei die Zahl der Toten deutlich gesunken, sehr viele Gefangene seien freigelassen worden und überhaupt würden die westlichen Medien das völlig falsche Bild vermitteln, dass es sich einzig um Gewalt des Regimes gegen friedliche Demonstranten handeln würde. Meyer schildert eine völlig andere Sachlage:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Es ist ganz offensichtlich, dass wir es mit einer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">bewaffneten terroristischen Organisation</b> zu tun haben, die für einen sehr großen Teil der Toten im Lande ebenfalls verantwortlich ist. Das ist durchaus auch in dieser Situation herausgekommen. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Das heißt, wir haben eine klare Anti-Sichtweise gegen das Regime, eine Sichtweise, die massiv gestärkt wird durch die Interessen insbesondere der USA, aber auch durch die westlichen Verbündeten England, Frankreich, nicht zuletzt auch Deutschland.</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Es geht in erster Linie darum, die Achse Iran, Syrien, Hisbollah auszuschalten.</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Der Radiomoderator fragt irritiert, es klinge „fast wie eine westliche Verschwörung gegen Syrien“. Meyer erhebt daraufhin schwere Vorwürfe gegen den Westen, der in Syrien einen Bürgerkrieg entfachen würde:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Wir haben es mit einem massiven Eingreifen von außen zu tun. Nicht zuletzt Berichte darüber, dass etwa 600 Mudschaheddin aus Libyen eingeflogen sind, initiiert vom CIA. CIA-Beamte, Geheimdienstbeamte, Frankreich und Großbritannien genauso, bilden Oppositionelle aus, rüsten sie aus in der Nähe von Iskenderia, nahe der syrischen Grenze, rüsten sie aus mit den Waffen, die aus den Arsenalen von Gaddafi herübergebracht werden, um hier einen Bürgerkrieg zu initiieren, um das Land insgesamt zu schwächen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="mso-ansi-language: DE-AT;">Auch betont Meyer, dass Assad nach wie vor die Mehrheit des syrischen Volkes hinter sich hat, wie eine Untersuchung der Katar-Stiftung ergeben habe. Dieses kurze Radiointerview präsentiert die Situation in Syrien völlig anders, als wir es seit Monaten in den Medien zu hören bekommen. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wie schon beim Libyeneinsatz handelt es sich auch hier aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach um geostrategische Maßnahmen des Westens, die durch massive Propaganda verheimlicht werden</b>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="DE-AT">Sollten Meyers Vorwürfe stimmen und tatsächlich durch westliche Geheimdienstaktivitäten ein Bürgerkrieg ausgelöst werden, dann wäre Assad kaum vorzuwerfen, dass er diesen von außen initiierten Umsturzversuch mit Militärgewalt niederschlägt. </span>Die Leidtragenden sind die Zivilisten.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvsjMAMmOTI35MRQO7El1wHke7sh8a5KwoBBz9pl5V_UoOAE2mUGg1S-7FlYzi5uqp-2rvtsENg5rH1HVckeA4imxC7Py29FMiWkllYzAAG1jLHluXOqf9frpxsWNfph4mfB1YB5WBWey/s1600/syria-1_2100474b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVvsjMAMmOTI35MRQO7El1wHke7sh8a5KwoBBz9pl5V_UoOAE2mUGg1S-7FlYzi5uqp-2rvtsENg5rH1HVckeA4imxC7Py29FMiWkllYzAAG1jLHluXOqf9frpxsWNfph4mfB1YB5WBWey/s320/syria-1_2100474b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

The truth nothing but the truth

THE LEAGUE OF ARAB STATES OBSERVER MISSION TO SYRIA MISSION REPORT The Mission report confirms what I have been arguing all along: that t...

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Weigh In Results & What Worked This Week

There are a number of things that I believe contributed to my <b><span style="color: #351c75;">amazing </span></b>loss this week.<br /><div style="color: #351c75;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="color: #351c75;"><b><u style="color: #674ea7;">What Worked This Week</u>:</b></div>1. <b>Decreasing my DPT from 39 to 38.</b>  I've been at a 39 Daily PointsPlus Target for several weeks now.  I wanted to switch things up to see what decreasing it by 1 PointsPlus would do.  Turns out it did a lot!  Though I know this wasn't the only contributing factor, and I'll explain more.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIYrfSrAY9P2uKQnFsAtXziOsqJf_zfJ8NAPmGlJZIrT6jlBNnjCR6NT1-Pbg6WjUCqCMIunBHCvZevTfBRkkiC1vc7pXpd3IA-VXv2LuyMVEuz_IELsxYIboA04lIQOoEGHgiThyphenhyphenDZE/s1600/DPT.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJIYrfSrAY9P2uKQnFsAtXziOsqJf_zfJ8NAPmGlJZIrT6jlBNnjCR6NT1-Pbg6WjUCqCMIunBHCvZevTfBRkkiC1vc7pXpd3IA-VXv2LuyMVEuz_IELsxYIboA04lIQOoEGHgiThyphenhyphenDZE/s1600/DPT.JPG" /></a></div><br />2. <b>Plenty of fruit.</b>  The bulk of my snacks this week were of the fruit kind: strawberries and blueberries.  I've heard some meeting members in the past say that if they eat too much fruit, they either don't lose or they gain. For someone whose sweet tooth is the size of my head, eating fruit in place of chocolate or some other snack that is on the sugary side was a much better alternative.  Not to mention the fact that it was filling AND 0 PointsPlus!  And, let's be honest, I did not get to 263.8 lbs by overeating fruit! <br /><br />3. <b>Filling Breakfasts</b>.  This week I had another oatmeal breakfast. If I give myself a delicious and filling breakfast, it really sets the tone for the rest of my day {<i>most </i>of the time}.  I find I am less ravenous throughout the day.  Oatmeal in and of itself is filling, but add some dried apricots, dried blueberries, and a little splash of milk and it's right on par.  I tried this oatmeal from my Weight Watchers cookbook called Baked Fruit Cinnamon Oatmeal {7 PointsPlus}.  So good!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJXlCNP6Pn0ZRzRcJ7nYu1P3q_FEP2LGstnjCozUxY_czjKAbMObMjB5qfCpDrDNgfvQeQbJ0sBIEOmoX19mc03vqyXx2McB1b4VkzfPgPGfUagGoSfcmNlDMckeTXG-O4pM1UZJI16E/s1600/ww+new+complete+cookbook.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJXlCNP6Pn0ZRzRcJ7nYu1P3q_FEP2LGstnjCozUxY_czjKAbMObMjB5qfCpDrDNgfvQeQbJ0sBIEOmoX19mc03vqyXx2McB1b4VkzfPgPGfUagGoSfcmNlDMckeTXG-O4pM1UZJI16E/s320/ww+new+complete+cookbook.JPG" width="284" /></a></div><br /><br />4. <b>Meeting Weekly Activity Goal.</b>  Again, this week I got in both days of activity.  That definitely helped me drop the weight!<br /><br />5. <b>Not Eating All of My DPT.</b>  There were 3 days this week that I didn't eat all of my 38 PointsPlus.  I didn't do this on purpose, it was just because I was busy and food was not on my mind.  What does that tell you? I typically eat because I'm bored and it gives me something to do.  This week I was busy with school, among other things, and thinking about food wasn't at the forefront.<br /><br />6. <b>Allowing One "Indulgent Meal" Per Week.</b>  I've been living by this rule since the start of the new year.  I allow myself one meal each week where I can eat whatever I want.  Yes, I still count it {even if it puts me in the red for the Weekly PointsPlus}, but I enjoy it without guilt.  I don't feel deprived and when I find myself craving an indulgent meal {which for me, this just means going out to eat and consuming whatever I want}, I remind myself that I can have it next week for my "indulgent meal".<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/AVvXsEgqJwMSM62rTLGTwrCM_sDst4PfoYGXAjNkFd0213i6EynsmS-djh40jGRUts-JdlkIytU8EO3UNZEK8axsrn-0H7YtA5kQqSSX7OsFHR6Y1u1je4uu2nNoyT9uWGJGh9KVnMpN-lVyDCE/s1600/cieling+fan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJwMSM62rTLGTwrCM_sDst4PfoYGXAjNkFd0213i6EynsmS-djh40jGRUts-JdlkIytU8EO3UNZEK8axsrn-0H7YtA5kQqSSX7OsFHR6Y1u1je4uu2nNoyT9uWGJGh9KVnMpN-lVyDCE/s400/cieling+fan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the ceiling fan at a pizza shop where last week's indulgent meal was consumed!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="color: #674ea7;"><b><u>Upcoming Challenges This Week</u>:</b></div><ul><li><b>Super Bowl Sunday.</b>  We are going to a party on Sunday afternoon.  I'm making some food for it, but it's not really PointsPlus friendly food {I don't intend on eating it either, it's just what I was asked to bring}. So, having said that, I do plan to make at least one more dish that is WW friendly, which will most likely be <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/745" target="_blank">these</a>.</li></ul><div style="color: #674ea7;"><br /></div><span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><b style="color: #674ea7;"><u>Weigh In Results</u>:</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uWX9Jh57QroTc3oQaj-bWilwmRw-PI86r7hsAlnAOoOoiZ1ORgCPEdHXGyQBHW3so0_o7oH4HqnrWz9WZonG8vEP_ORRQtLfrF746xMAuCwR8D-zx5NWbNnIQTtrL8gzEktyzgS9iRU/s1600/scale.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7uWX9Jh57QroTc3oQaj-bWilwmRw-PI86r7hsAlnAOoOoiZ1ORgCPEdHXGyQBHW3so0_o7oH4HqnrWz9WZonG8vEP_ORRQtLfrF746xMAuCwR8D-zx5NWbNnIQTtrL8gzEktyzgS9iRU/s1600/scale.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">   <b>Hilary (5'8")</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">Starting Weight: <span style="color: black;">263.8</span></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: center;"><b>Current Weight: 235.9</b></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;">This week I lost 5.1 lbs!  AND I met <i><b>two </b></i><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/p/goals.html" target="_blank">goals</a>!!!!!!!  I reached another 5 lbs goal AND I reached my first 10% goal as well. This means I get two charms and one other reward.  This is what I'm getting:</span><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="color: black;">1. <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/82637669/jewelry-display-holder-cabinet-grade?ref=sr_906ba8f6168e1dde064c918da815dfb5410d78f651f00462338779b1722c3565_1320777427_14107390_necklace_holder" target="_blank">The Jewelry Organizer</a>.  I have an endless supply of necklaces and earrings that are a constant tangled mess.  Not to mention that Charles likes to use my earrings as his toys!  This gem is coming from the Etsy store <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/JewelryHoldersForYou?ref=seller_info" target="_blank">Jewelry Holders for You</a>.</span></blockquote><span style="color: black;"> </span></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFZT3WOeZ4qKy0ua5JrPgtWP5ySJk8sR68A1AMpZMUEs00X_I6no5uRWACgTvSPewf8gtVwLmvadImcAj90OqAdh6wYvDJu9vBoXrT0Rb7ZJNTGTirfFZ2W_R516-eBvJB69tTBiut0s/s1600/jewelery+hanger+reward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCFZT3WOeZ4qKy0ua5JrPgtWP5ySJk8sR68A1AMpZMUEs00X_I6no5uRWACgTvSPewf8gtVwLmvadImcAj90OqAdh6wYvDJu9vBoXrT0Rb7ZJNTGTirfFZ2W_R516-eBvJB69tTBiut0s/s400/jewelery+hanger+reward.jpg" width="326" /></a></div><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="color: black;">2. Charms.  I've already chosen the one charm I am getting for sure, and it's in honor of my beloved alma mater:</div></blockquote><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/AVvXsEit3Nu63X-6V-wSOGE_Tqa3FRyeG9B23mJDshSiBo0MD3-RfTAffGfzFjdaPXwshfRUx_b3pBqfBYZiPrFSzUQOf5irGPm1qhd2Iaq3wWTf3oZycyDrJysXmXwKnpMx8zfn61zxYIejlxY/s1600/psu+charm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3Nu63X-6V-wSOGE_Tqa3FRyeG9B23mJDshSiBo0MD3-RfTAffGfzFjdaPXwshfRUx_b3pBqfBYZiPrFSzUQOf5irGPm1qhd2Iaq3wWTf3oZycyDrJysXmXwKnpMx8zfn61zxYIejlxY/s200/psu+charm.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sold on Ebay by <a href="http://stores.ebay.com/BeadazzlingBeadsdotCom?_trksid=p4340.l2563" target="_blank">Bedazzling Beads</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><insert charm="" penn="" pic="" state=""></insert></span></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: left;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div style="color: black;">I'm going this evening to pick out my other charm.  Sorry Pandora, but I am not going with you this time on the charm selection.  These beauties are on my <a href="http://chamilia.com/" target="_blank">Chamilia</a> wishlist {I'm only getting one}:</div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlk5CbqYurfLP-vqdzbMjcfTXqqRgZ-MdRfvKmComrf0729vGbRMGcsrrbeP88fuYKiWpzfDMZBzR-Y3z5iOAQcRFzHYTVs02GqCl2R0DjUPB-OR-_C2Ohy3Pg0pzsxgqiT8ngFOuYh_k/s1600/chamilia+beads.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlk5CbqYurfLP-vqdzbMjcfTXqqRgZ-MdRfvKmComrf0729vGbRMGcsrrbeP88fuYKiWpzfDMZBzR-Y3z5iOAQcRFzHYTVs02GqCl2R0DjUPB-OR-_C2Ohy3Pg0pzsxgqiT8ngFOuYh_k/s400/chamilia+beads.JPG" width="165" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: black;">I've also updated my <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/p/progress-pictures.html" target="_blank">progress pics</a>, which, I honestly cannot say that I see much of a difference in those pictures just yet.  The most I can see is with my face.  The first set of pictures were taken at an odd angle, and I'm trying to be consistent with the angle now so it more accurately shows the losses.  </span><span style="color: black;">But that's okay, I can FEEL the difference that 27.9 lbs removed makes.... and it's a lot!</span><br /><b><br /></b><br /><b>What is working for you this week?</b> <span style="color: black;"> </span></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><insert jewelery="" organizer="" pic=""></insert></span></div><div style="color: #351c75; text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><insert chamilia="" charms=""> </insert></span><b></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

goals Inspiration Loss Success Weight Loss Weight Watchers Weigh In Results & What Worked This Week

There are a number of things that I believe contributed to my amazing loss this week. What Worked This Week : 1. Decreasing my DPT from 39 t...

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Being Honest

<div><div>I think the best thing about blogging is that you get to "meet" all these new people from all over! And everyone is different! I think some of my favorite bloggers are the ones who are real. They aren't afraid to express their opinion and are very honest. </div><div> </div><div>I think so far on my blog I've been fairly conservative, which is ok. I know there are things that should be kept offline, but the great thing about the blogging community is the support you get. This is why I'm going to be honest!</div><div> </div><div>After I posted on Monday about having "<a href="http://weightloss-stories.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-of-those-days.html">one of those days</a>", Kyle and I took Adelyn on a walk to enjoy the warm weather. It was great! We had a very healthy supper and enjoyed our family time for the evening. </div><div> </div><div><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5705057623020810306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9cEYPcynXsKkOYNWbY7i3lhBTKAg_bT6kdZE8MkinnKrI_iKG1U_Pla5ffTE49K9RZ3YiizwSlFHv__9NwYeXyRxej4kWPdfAYoEKnO2CXWGV2Nuzt7CQwiV9ZG3EymU1mzVEmKXBvies/s400/IMG_0949.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 267px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" /></div><div> </div><div>This is where my healthy living for the week stopped....</div><div> </div><div>Starbursts were consumed. </div><div> </div><div>Cupcakes were made...and eaten. </div><div> </div><div>The gym called my name & I didn't respond. </div><div> </div><div>I missed my WW weigh in for meeting at work.<br /></div><div>I'm in a funk friends. I'm not sure what caused this or why, but I need to get out of it!</div><div> </div><div>Any advice is welcome!!!</div></div>

Being Honest

I think the best thing about blogging is that you get to "meet" all these new people from all over! And everyone is different! I t...

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NOT CARING: FINDING EXISTENCE WITH NOTHING

Caring was my addiction. I cared so much that I psychotically controlled everything to avoid fat gain. Because I cared about being thin, fat gain was what I thought was hell, and what I thought would be the death of my value.   CRAZY.    When I made the choice to not commit suicide, I knew I would have to submit to the fact that when I let go of control, my worst nightmare would happen and I had to just assume I was going to end up weighing 600 pounds.<br /><br />I decided not to care, and to accept obesity if that was indeed the result. I chose to put my ego aside, and to instead trust that if I were to listen to my body, and give it a chance to lead the way, that I was willing to find out what the outcome would be. I would not eat without hunger, I would not control what and how much I ate, I wouldn't judge the food (which always ended in shame, fear and guilt), and I would never again exercise to compensate or to relieve the anxiety. I would surrender my control, feel the physical anguish that was inevitable, and let that feeling of death win. The fight wasn't worth it and the only way out of the battle was to surrender my control.<br /><br />I had nothing to lose because the only other way out was physical death. So I wept on the floor, sobbed as the anguish manifested, and I watched it from afar. I lifted my arms, closed my eyes, and fell backwards over the cliff. It was the cold, damp, dark and cavernous cliff I was running away from. I knew it would cause my emotional death and my loss of existence. The loss of what I thought defined who I was. <br /><br />Who would I be if I didn't judge my body? If I didn't judge, that meant I couldn't have a definition of value, and there wouldn't be rules that I had to follow to feel better about myself. That meant I would have to create my value from within, because if there was a formulated rule or definition to follow, I would still be a slave to the vulnerability of judgment. If I were to live I would have to let go of judgment, and find peace with something inside my soul that existed without judgement, without someone else to tell me what it requires, without needing to do anything to achieve it. Falling from the cliff required I let go of all outward definition of value, and despite what rejection and judgment others way entitle upon my value, I would have to not care.<br />Not caring saved my life. It forced me to seek an existence that didn't require validation from any person, action, or object. My soul exists beyond what my body physically can define. No other person, religion, culture, nor energy of this world could create a fake version of what I am, can duplicate what is me, nor is it possible for me to give you a definition it. I exist. I am undefinable. I am beyond what anything that exists can explain. <br /><br />In that awareness, I cannot define you. I don't judge your soul because you are unique to me, and your existence would diminish if I even attempted to define or control you. I unconditionally love myself, therefore I don't need you to feel better about me. I have no void for you to fill, and I accept all that you are and all that you're not. Because I don't care, I am innately happy. I can live in life without being define by my clothes, make-up, job, and what I do or don't attain. I am creating my own happiness so I can share. I can give and I don't have any expectation or need reward in return. That existence doesn't change. It just exists and there is no need to improve it.

NOT CARING: FINDING EXISTENCE WITH NOTHING

Caring was my addiction. I cared so much that I psychotically controlled everything to avoid fat gain. Because I cared about being thin, fat...

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Hitchcock’s Most Beautiful Shot Ever; Or, A Single Frame So Good, 2000 Words Don’t Do It Justice

<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by guest contributor Joel Gunz </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZBpyK9P0sQyZDDBD8rjYleisi7JMz8cxbgrBjXk8xoZIsXur4KhcMiJYpdi7GdL4HIMAon4jrjlxpFiSLGAcFup27rs343j5KPHXJa6S_JuxEP2YIt6_c0n4FqCW8pUOfkYJ81nlKHXp/s1600/Madeleine+by+bay+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZBpyK9P0sQyZDDBD8rjYleisi7JMz8cxbgrBjXk8xoZIsXur4KhcMiJYpdi7GdL4HIMAon4jrjlxpFiSLGAcFup27rs343j5KPHXJa6S_JuxEP2YIt6_c0n4FqCW8pUOfkYJ81nlKHXp/s1600/Madeleine+by+bay+2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Practically every frame of every movie Alfred Hitchcock made could be blown up and hung on a museum wall. He had such a clear sense of composition that you can turn off the sound, forget the story and set your DVD player to slo-mo, letting the images parade by.* </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Among the many iconic pictures that his camera has captured, the one pictured above is arguably the most sublime.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Practically everything that happens in the first half of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is carefully designed to lead the viewer to Madeleine’s (Kim Novak’s) trip to Fort Point, at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Let’s take a closer look at this single frame from the movie. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Self-consciously artful, the shot is as architecturally balanced as the bridge it depicts. The lighting, the colors, the framing, the composition and, of course, the subject matter leave nothing to chance. For instance, the graceful curve of the bridge draws the eye downward to the lone figure standing before us in the frame’s Golden Mean, while its vertical lines accentuate her statuesque femininity. Likewise, the balance between the man-made (the bridge and sidewalk) and the natural (the bay and mountains) seems to be deliberate as well, signifying Madeleine’s entrapment between these two worlds. Such a composition demanded precise camera placement, blocking and timing to capture the right light. That—among other things—seems to be the point. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is Hitchcock’s most sustained and deeply felt meditation on the art of film and this shot is its pièce de résistance. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The scene is observed from Scottie Ferguson’s (James Stewart’s) point of view. For two days now, he has been following Madeleine at a discreet distance, gradually moving closer as he becomes emboldened by her apparent obliviousness to his presence. Yet, he is still far enough away that he could plausibly deny having anything to do with her if she was to turn and question him. He is as close to her as any voyeur would dare get. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The difference between this framing and what Scottie would have actually seen, however, is worth noting. In real life, Scottie’s field of vision would have been much higher and wider. But here, that’s been cut off by the edge of the frame. (Conversely, because of our capacity to focus on small details at a distance, the framing could have been much tighter. And, if all Hitch wanted to do was further the story along, he would have used a lens that allowed Madeleine to fill the frame, but that’s not the case, either.) In other words, though we look through Scottie’s eyes, we are seeing what Hitchcock has decided to show us. The interchangeable relationship between Hitchcock’s protagonist and his camera—always a fluid proposition—has never been more apparent—or transparent. We may share Scottie’s eyesight, but we’re granted Hitchcock’s vision. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">beauty</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> of this picture! Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to let it simply </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">be</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Look again. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZBpyK9P0sQyZDDBD8rjYleisi7JMz8cxbgrBjXk8xoZIsXur4KhcMiJYpdi7GdL4HIMAon4jrjlxpFiSLGAcFup27rs343j5KPHXJa6S_JuxEP2YIt6_c0n4FqCW8pUOfkYJ81nlKHXp/s1600/Madeleine+by+bay+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeZBpyK9P0sQyZDDBD8rjYleisi7JMz8cxbgrBjXk8xoZIsXur4KhcMiJYpdi7GdL4HIMAon4jrjlxpFiSLGAcFup27rs343j5KPHXJa6S_JuxEP2YIt6_c0n4FqCW8pUOfkYJ81nlKHXp/s1600/Madeleine+by+bay+2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is the moment that VistaVision was made for. Until this point, we have been driving around with Scottie as he follows his charge up and down the streets of San Francisco. Now, however, the camera comes to a full stop at the city’s lowest point: sea level. The camera goes still, along with the actor and even time itself. Now is the time to freeze the frame. It’s as if Hitch was saying to us, “let’s take a bit of time to relax and enjoy the scene I’ve selected for you.” </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Filmed in the late afternoon, Madeleine’s visit to Fort Point occurs during what photographers call the Magic Hour, that special time when shadows deepen and the lowering sunlight results in softer contrast, bringing the subject into almost 3D relief, while the sunset’s golden hues bring out the colors to dramatic effect. (As Dan Auiler notes in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo: The Making of a Hitchcock Classic,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> shooting wrapped at this location at 5:25 PM.) Even if you’re a hack, it’s almost impossible to take a bad picture during the Magic Hour. If the artist is Hitchcock—and the cinematographer is Robert Burks—it can be a masterpiece.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yet, for all its beauty, the Magic Hour is also a melancholy time of day. A lull in the final minutes of sunlight, it’s a prelude to dusk and nightfall, a perfect correlative to Madeleine’s doleful mien. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In fact, everything in this picture is a projection of Madeleine’s character. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Starting with the bridge. As I said earlier, almost everything in the movie up til now is part of a carefully laid plan leading to this moment. The first scene of the film—the rooftop chase—gives us a view of the Golden Gate Bridge at night, enticing us to want a better look. Later, at Midge’s apartment, Scottie muses over the new strapless brassiere that’s modeled on the cantilever bridge. (History nerds will note that the Golden Gate is a suspension bridge. While the original design called for two cantilevers, one at each end, it was rejected because they were as visually unappealing as the cantilevers in Midge’s prototype bra!) In Scottie’s mind (and in the mind of any San Franciscan), the Golden Gate Bridge is the greatest height someone could conquer—or fall from. So, as Scottie pulls out a footstool to stand on in hopes of devising a cure for his acrophobia, he quips to Midge, “Where do you want me to start, with the Golden Gate Bridge?” These moments hint at the scene we’re examining now. As does, of course, Gavin Elster’s yarn (performed by Tom Helmore) about Madeleine’s obsession with Carlotta Valdes and his need for Scottie’s help.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But look again at the framing. While, at the beginning of the film, Hitchcock’s nighttime camera objectively records the entire length of the bridge, this time the nearest end juts out of the top of the frame and the far end is hidden behind a distant suspension tower. As a result, our view of the Golden Gate takes in only its midway point. In effect, it is without beginning or end. And the viewpoint, from underneath, is emphatically </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">subjective</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Such a formal composition emphasizes the artifice before us: sure, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is only a movie, but the events unfolding before us once actually occurred for the benefit of Hitchcock and his film crew. It connects the internal reality of the movie with the external fact of its very real location.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Further, the bridge hanging unanchored in midair echoes Madeleine’s suspended condition, caught halfway between the physical world and the spiritual one toward which she hastens. She is neither here nor there. If the Golden Gate Bridge is a masterpiece of suspension, it is a fitting symbol for Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense. I interpret it to be a symbolic cameo appearance by the director, looking down on his creation. At the very least, it is a signature touch, in the fullest sense of the term.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The scene is classical, formal, idealized. A tip of the hat to such 19th century Symbolist illustrators as Maxfield Parrish or R. Atkinson Fox, with all the goofball Blavatskyesque spiritualism fully intended:</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBZZqd_QW7tXCxQgQ2436xveh91-V6Advhizvn7Gh10GFXkLZnsFANpVSfGzkjVbJY9T08sb0mWMQfCC-wbLQcLsYN-0fjJjvdy2jY8sh6hQeNDdCdXP6S1KEYiRMSGpOBoRZwBjvu9JK/s1600/R+Atkinson+Fox+-+Dawn+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsBZZqd_QW7tXCxQgQ2436xveh91-V6Advhizvn7Gh10GFXkLZnsFANpVSfGzkjVbJY9T08sb0mWMQfCC-wbLQcLsYN-0fjJjvdy2jY8sh6hQeNDdCdXP6S1KEYiRMSGpOBoRZwBjvu9JK/s1600/R+Atkinson+Fox+-+Dawn+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">R. Atkinson Fox, "Dawn"</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In Sigmund Freud’s dream world, bridges are phallic symbols, standing for the male organ that unites man and woman. Deriving further meaning from that basic symbol, Freud added that a bridge “acquires the meaning of something that leads to death, and … at a further remove from its original sense, it stands for transitions or changes in condition generally.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While those phallocentric interpretations might be outdated, I believe there is a great deal of truth in what he had to say. (And I don’t think it’s much of a leap to suggest that the bridge in this scene is, in fact, phallic.) Bridges carry similar import in the Tarot deck, taking on additional meaning as harbingers of spiritual transformation, linking the earthly world and the spiritual. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Golden Gate’s looming presence also emphasizes the low point at which Scottie and Madeleine have arrived. Looked at in this way, the water carries less of an erotic charge than it does the hellish. This is the level on which the diabolical shipping tycoon Gavin Elster operates. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Classical Chinese</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> shan shui </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">art conceives of bridges as a route to the (inaccessible) divine. The landscape painter Shitao (1641–1720) strove "to express a universe inaccessible to man, without any route that led there,… where only the immortals can live, and which a man cannot imagine. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That is the vertigo that exists in the natural universe. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">To express it in painting, you must show jagged peaks, precipices, hanging bridges, great chasms." (Italics mine.)</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hitchcock’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is filled with all sorts of references to Chinese wisdom, and I wouldn’t put it past him to have been aware of, if not inspired by Shitao’s aesthetics, perhaps even this painting, which could be read as a schematic diagram for the film’s conceptual design: (<b>look for the tiny bridge</b>)</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><table 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/AVvXsEjI9w5xcmQw0RmkyfMgbbdMvNU2GC1HMfJ39uMsVdckGg_4-xP7zAknz6fzOnRbtsMyavBCNlt4Nx6TBheGd78BQCrNAFGXwf59NojJKm5ofR0b2DU6AGx2yrOBgk10RoeYwhn0qurzAWLx/s1600/Chinese+painting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI9w5xcmQw0RmkyfMgbbdMvNU2GC1HMfJ39uMsVdckGg_4-xP7zAknz6fzOnRbtsMyavBCNlt4Nx6TBheGd78BQCrNAFGXwf59NojJKm5ofR0b2DU6AGx2yrOBgk10RoeYwhn0qurzAWLx/s1600/Chinese+painting.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At the very least, Hitch participated in this tradition in a general sense.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Not long after it opened in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge gained notoriety as a favored spot for suicides. In 1956-57, while </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was in development and production, no fewer than six people jumped from its heights into the bay, to their death. Thus its status as San Francisco’s most famous landmark is tarnished by this reputation, and Scottie’s earlier crack takes on a darker tone than we might at first have imagined. As such, the location itself points forward to Madeleine’s “suicide,” as well as back to the suicide of her grandmother, Carlotta Valdes.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">For a journeyman Symbolist like Hitchcock, all of this was old hat. Here are a couple more symbols, lifted whole from the Romantic art that provides so much inspiration for the film: </span></span></div><ul style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><li style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the bay itself, representing Madeleine’s fathomless subconscious; her sexuality; her feminine mystique and </span></span></li><li style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the distant mountains rising voluptuously above the bay, as inaccessible as Madeleine herself. </span></span></li></ul><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Adding to the somber mood is Madeleine’s navy blue dress, with its high collar and tea-length hem, fit for a funeral. And notice the lavender scarf tied around her neck that drifts and curls in the breeze like ectoplasm, riffing on the multicolored spirals, many of them lavender, that accompany the opening credits. On one level, it enhances Kim Novak’s beauty, who was promoted by Columbia Pictures as a “lavender blonde.” On another level, in Hitch’s color scheme, the color is often associated with death (recall the  lavender “Rest in Peace” ribbon that florist Phillippe Dubois attached to a funeral wreath in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Topaz,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> prefiguring the lavender dress Juanita de Cordoba wore at her death, which was staged to resemble a blooming flower). So much of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Vertigo</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is rooted in 19th century history that it comes as no surprise that in Britain at that time, lavender was, along with black, the color of mourning. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Special attention seems to have been given to her shoes. With her feet placed one directly in front of the other, we can’t help but get a good look at them. It’s an odd pose, flattening her profile and drawing our attention downward. The camera angle emphasizes the length of the heels and their sharp edges. There’s a hint of danger or fetishism or both. Later, as she is dragged up the stairs of the bell tower, we’ll see those same feet upended by the man who idealized them in this shot.***</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And what is there to say about the nosegay she holds? It’s the bouquet of a bride in mourning.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As beautiful as this shot is, then, upon closer examination, it acquires ominous overtones. You may or may not agree with everything I’ve written above. But on one point we can agree: this picture is at once achingly beautiful and profoundly sad. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Let’s take a closer look at Madeleine herself. We see her in profile, just as we first saw her at Ernie’s Restaurant and at the museum (and, later, bathed in green light, at the Empire Hotel). Shadows in the foreground nearly reduce her to a silhouette, yet in the distance the blue sky also places her out in the open for all to see. The truth about Madeleine hides in plain sight. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Significantly, her body language duplicates the pose she struck moments earlier while standing before the portrait of Carlotta—feet and all:</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3s6wC58fgkNAP8AA74jkECofPZ1YiGLQ5kdbhrK7LhCDmLfwEmSDAhVJKBjFMtolwFYzKDNnPgWDUzldRRP2Ov73WqY5QnybsiYx4OHeRCTZy_WoTsuph_GtSC2w_lQdCmdzRtY44OM5k/s1600/Museum+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3s6wC58fgkNAP8AA74jkECofPZ1YiGLQ5kdbhrK7LhCDmLfwEmSDAhVJKBjFMtolwFYzKDNnPgWDUzldRRP2Ov73WqY5QnybsiYx4OHeRCTZy_WoTsuph_GtSC2w_lQdCmdzRtY44OM5k/s1600/Museum+2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A classical stance, it shows off the beauty of her form while revealing nothing else. Madeleine displays her surface beauty to Scottie while concealing her true self, intentions and identity. As William Rothman writes in his chapter on </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Lodger</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Murderous Gaze</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“It is characteristic of Hitchcock to frame a figure in profile at the moment of his or her most complete abstraction and absorption in an imagined scene to which we have no access. In such a profile shot, the camera frames its subject in a way that does not allow the figure's interiority to be penetrated. Indeed, such a shot declares that impenetrability; it announces that we have come to a limit of our access to the world of the film.”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As beautiful as the Fort Point image is and as rife as it is with meaning and symbol, it is ultimately unknowable. Scottie, for whom “there is an explanation for everything,” has met the limits of his knowledge of Madeleine Elster, of women and perhaps of human nature. Unless something new and dramatic takes place, he, along with us, can do nothing more for Madeleine but watch her. If the plot is to move forward, she needs to make a big splash. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hitchcock’s lesson, delivered from the other side of the bridge, is that, despite the books, the articles and, yes, the blog posts, at the end of the day, we are no closer to the truth than Scottie Ferguson. Watching, always watching, but rarely seeing, until it’s too late.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">--------</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">*If you think this is an exaggeration, drop by </span><a href="http://www.hitchcockwiki.com/wiki/1000_Frames_of_Hitchcock"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">1000 Frames of Hitchcock</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, where you’ll see Dave Pattern’s massive frame capture project, where he copied 1000 high-quality frames from all 52 of Hitchcock’s extant movies and posted them on the Alfred Hitchcock wiki for scholars, students and fans to peruse and use. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Hitchcock framed bridges similarly in previous movies, notably </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The 39 Steps</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (1935), which depicted the Forth Rail Bridge, one of the world’s great bridges and one of the greatest achievements of Victorian British engineering. In a way, this was at the time the Golden Gate Bridge of Britain. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrGSYrhRGYfZmTMtkv7f4z_xu786BjQyc-DDrviQGYinHUluSUwPFHdAc6b5vfAynPceQPsSUm34NlqH9Gj3eFZDmDkeE1MGLn5DPaAZtviBySMTdd-IVZwz_j2am2Jw-CdsYSQDaDF8X/s1600/British+Bridge+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrGSYrhRGYfZmTMtkv7f4z_xu786BjQyc-DDrviQGYinHUluSUwPFHdAc6b5vfAynPceQPsSUm34NlqH9Gj3eFZDmDkeE1MGLn5DPaAZtviBySMTdd-IVZwz_j2am2Jw-CdsYSQDaDF8X/s1600/British+Bridge+2.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Just as Freud suggested, for Hitch, bridges often signify psychological, emotional or spiritual transition. It is at this bridge that Richard Hannay escapes from the train to evade the police and is fully transfigured into his role as a fugitive from the police. It’s generally assumed that Hannay jumped into the river. However, I don’t think that’s the case. For one thing, from his perch, as is clearly shown in the movie, such a leap would have landed him at the concrete base of the bridge and killed him. Even a jump into the water from that height would have been too risky. Instead, I believe that he remained hidden until the train left and that he simply walked off the bridge. The reason I bring this up now  is that, up until this point, we’ve tracked Hannay’s movements very closely. So, from whose point of view is this shot taken? It probably isn’t Hannay’s. Instead, it seems to be Hitchcock’s own view, a case of author intrusion into the story. As such, it anticipates the similar framing of the Golden Gate Bridge being discussed here. As in the 1958 film, time stops for a moment. In this case, it gives us a chance to catch up with the action and Hannay’s radical transformation away from an ordinary bloke as he inhabits his extraordinary new role as fugitive, sleuth and espionage agent. </span></span></i></b></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK_SFyfX7DhOJmxyOZ_D7wqw81mEgBQYTaXCTZ9-bgr0v_BAFzArJYhP4_EfgC4u6545ABJQTsIyGT4HjYmxdcptIj5K8v3TKrmvqgscJ3YfRvedDXSwKkb5OOrx9r3UWUBQHKI0VCTh0/s1600/Scottish+Highlands+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjK_SFyfX7DhOJmxyOZ_D7wqw81mEgBQYTaXCTZ9-bgr0v_BAFzArJYhP4_EfgC4u6545ABJQTsIyGT4HjYmxdcptIj5K8v3TKrmvqgscJ3YfRvedDXSwKkb5OOrx9r3UWUBQHKI0VCTh0/s1600/Scottish+Highlands+2.jpg" /></a></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/AVvXsEjN9W_tmp1H05-5Vq9VnQWCHkKnh7zdteJ_sQMp2t2KF8XbFXk4DxBxwJlF9WBZ7p8QPBUFgSZzisG3mWNSvAW3mYSeunxe-pP1iROio1iG0VK-_n4JwPfzJw8qn_7rc5Sti7b04HVutsT8/s1600/Last+Bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9W_tmp1H05-5Vq9VnQWCHkKnh7zdteJ_sQMp2t2KF8XbFXk4DxBxwJlF9WBZ7p8QPBUFgSZzisG3mWNSvAW3mYSeunxe-pP1iROio1iG0VK-_n4JwPfzJw8qn_7rc5Sti7b04HVutsT8/s1600/Last+Bridge.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.23324399016222996" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the shot immediately following, Hannay crosses a small bridge whose ancient stones are a marked contrast to the ultra-modern Forth Rail Bridge previously shown. The previous montage hints at a spiritual journey comparable to that suggested by Madeleine and Scottie’s destined appointment under the Golden Gate Bridge, but with a very different outcome.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">***While making </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rear Window</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> (1954), Hitchcock spent half an hour arranging a shot of Grace Kelly's shoes. When assistant Herbert Coleman asked why, Hitch remarked blandly, “Haven't you heard of the shoe fetish?” Unfortunately, it was never used in the film. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">~</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qQSbA5vl0WkwmoceHg2ToDV1bcq6nJH25mq8pnJoi4B-2Z46mHki3YQXjSL7ronNl3hLQe_Ar_vPcwT4HdoK1RIAAGfef0xudKKcAd-0jhQBFmAuM1CFcFDA_jIchszDCEOA17Pm8Ug0/s1600/AH+Geek+Image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qQSbA5vl0WkwmoceHg2ToDV1bcq6nJH25mq8pnJoi4B-2Z46mHki3YQXjSL7ronNl3hLQe_Ar_vPcwT4HdoK1RIAAGfef0xudKKcAd-0jhQBFmAuM1CFcFDA_jIchszDCEOA17Pm8Ug0/s320/AH+Geek+Image.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div>Noted for its fresh perspective and first-rate scholarship, Joel Gunz's <a href="http://www.alfredhitchcockgeek.com/" style="color: #990000;" target="_blank">www.alfredhitchcockgeek.com</a> has been described as the "best Hitchcock blog on the Internet." Meanwhile, its social center, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HitchcockGeek" style="color: #990000;" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/HitchcockGeek</a><wbr style="color: #990000;"></wbr>, enjoys an enormous and passionate international following. Joel is preparing to publish his next book, <u>Notes from an Alfred Hitchcock Geek</u>. Watch for it!</div><div><br /></div></div>

A Month of Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock Geek Joel Gunz Vertigo Hitchcock’s Most Beautiful Shot Ever; Or, A Single Frame So Good, 2000 Words Don’t Do It Justice

by guest contributor Joel Gunz Practically every frame of every movie Alfred Hitchcock made could be blown up and hung on a museum wall. H...

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