A recap. of our South African teachers' involvement in the Microsoft Partners in Learning Forum in 2011

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since the Partners in Learning Forum (formerly known as the Innovative Teachers’ Forum) has opened its 2012 competition and we at SchoolNet are encouraging all teachers to participate in our free online support group <a href="http://partnersinlearningforum-sa.wikispaces.com/Sign+up+for+this+course">http://partnersinlearningforum-sa.wikispaces.com/Sign+up+for+this+course</a> (so that we can support you with your entry), I thought I would write and tell you something about our participants last year. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Face-to-face Courses in 2011 and 2012</span><br /><br /></b>SchoolNet hosted a number of free face-to-face courses for this competition around the country in 2011 so that teachers could find out more about the requirements of the competition. We are doing the same this year and if you want to be included in one and you have heard nothing about them to date please contact <a href="mailto:almah@schoolnet.org.za">almah@schoolnet.org.za</a> to find out more.  </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkw4ff4jofIc5m5ymNC6W7GdBVXnQp8npZ4qcIk5dFJi3FuSJRxuZA4exuvGhM9aPedCbZ9diVpotDqIJTxJNzdu-f91Tw22zLjg5LTfb2oG750pdSGC1Z4_TjmNv_jC8dFNRw5So1Hc/s1600/PIL+wiki.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">New this year – an Innovative Online Support Course!</span><br /><br /></b>This year we are also including a free online support course with daily posts which you can follow at at your own pace. It will include two (optional) webinars a week where you can find out about past finalists and winners and hear what they did. If you miss the webinars they will be recorded and you will get access to the link to listen at leisure. "Where will this link be posted?" I can hear you asking. Well, the course will be run from a wiki and if you sign up we will take an extra special interest in you all the way to the final date for entries! The place to sign up is: <br /><a href="http://partnersinlearningforum-sa.wikispaces.com/Sign+up+for+this+course">http://partnersinlearningforum-sa.wikispaces.com/Sign+up+for+this+course</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkw4ff4jofIc5m5ymNC6W7GdBVXnQp8npZ4qcIk5dFJi3FuSJRxuZA4exuvGhM9aPedCbZ9diVpotDqIJTxJNzdu-f91Tw22zLjg5LTfb2oG750pdSGC1Z4_TjmNv_jC8dFNRw5So1Hc/s1600/PIL+wiki.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkw4ff4jofIc5m5ymNC6W7GdBVXnQp8npZ4qcIk5dFJi3FuSJRxuZA4exuvGhM9aPedCbZ9diVpotDqIJTxJNzdu-f91Tw22zLjg5LTfb2oG750pdSGC1Z4_TjmNv_jC8dFNRw5So1Hc/s400/PIL+wiki.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last year’s entrants</span><br /></b><br />So let me tell you about last year’s entrants. Quite a number uploaded their PowerPoint entries (don’t worry, we’ll guide you through all this) by the required date and 22 were chosen because they offered something that was considered innovative for their schools. Those 22 people were elated when they heard of their success especially as they were to be whisked off to Johannesburg to the South African Finals to present their projects to the judges. They stayed in excellent five star accommodation, and for once in their lives teachers were treated like royalty! They also experienced some really innovative workshops and were sponsored to attend the ICT in the Classroom Conference which SchoolNet hosted last year. The winners received their accolades on the last night of the Conference amidst the cheering of the large crowd of educators from around the country.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They had a ball! Did you think that innovative teacher finalists could be so crazy? Look at this!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBjMk7XIijPLGkYujJlLVcXWFqA_ffBy6WR5WYJGEwf-ZJcakyiuDAa6VvpsTPGZtdnTDGK1NwKmgrdOF_xAB0G-haiI_XdiQEMenutNROSI3mWiP4mJnVEnINH7ISf_zRpI8spviYbgE/s1600-h/image%25255B2%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTg7n5cVCAlQKT7j5XAypexTrHn9UpGtZFxNcJ7GzIBPAJisBxR6jbsyBOlH-Ulrdq4uSIePPeLac_aimbIcLfo2VljOZ-3QtxgjjpkiGJjEdROm18PIKEijClbA2ZklQgp5ZVAD6ojTM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpLMD8i_QKRKNhcPXd0Izel0zFXfCWMrzvTX1-q69HecHZ2J7BC9XervwVpWrOoO2LWeAwuCtPbX6-DlBtOfBJ2MdIDLPWTA7CRXdYzWJ-lcxWkPbrDEF7I0tWSzjHPXJ9soPzPAYX-pE/s1600-h/image%25255B5%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcg8Q9yRJpZIyET3QtH7HW29rwzibME5Ib2xWqJPEFk9O3sS1LORCSAB0cWONy9WkcWuysxtafgGQ5cDEXcvjcS-11UnfxO-5c1mP3BcD1l2W9FlogppQzN8nUY8ylj2e-9QUH2hN9rr0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmTbXItvJAn6SnvelsuIk5I8teczw8lNl27T6w2N2QM0PtF2R1GxEToVEI502dQcdiyBRvkcTnK7Zr5ZOWYUBmV9res9OHPaPeXF4TpW9nIyjR_Y7XHqN_NuioMBNG7IaJYvEHX8NAQA/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJSSjafnSLvzvv148Brl_P-yvt5Gjfz5W33bpX2WvP1ZqOrilsqYvpB7Piieum4tnmWFAcN0NHk2wipBCoAvllwx7dwpp0WeFqDcLt6HSoVVG9iA8-qE67X0T3PRIrwlnH3xX6ucG8Ues/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv1slaowwt8AmGw_ePz-p3SHOiXKCXOMY7CB90s-OmHZvSZoU38mbp74xl6UOsiGQsAqE_gyNArdEUrFsYSUdBgXOHvKLZhbfFRj-q2isaq72AIhQd5paJnBsSaeIrZJ58NeRe_uofkTw/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NeP84pohNGuTotrR-7xocSLiFmJE6auL_FZCIJZ6hVkj2WtDI9C6WW2635kcLW0g66aVTZ0ScBjDtMjFTPQpuHa5nj6w4o62GgW0fiLkwSULbTqCl-18BjwzWT2UXb9NhDPTYOlTkyg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the next video (created by Lisa Gair who was a finalist), you can see them riding trolleys down the ramp at the Oliver Thambo Airport in Johannesburg on the way home, excited and happy after an AMAZING week!</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" class="b-hbp-video b-uploaded" frameborder="0" height="266" id="BLOGGER-video-d75a4589172a86d0-11768" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx-EW5ScNzJsyUB5yB_i1bRkSDiVFSgFC61BbYw98pEewZYsi-lRLrmuEyl01BhO1_7Pq3yKR02CYqkjxLrxgRfD-gHL6TBNwH4jcsjGaBQLNHTitEbxkGDmIIPOw66O-4-qdE4" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The South African winners</span><br /></b><br />The winners were:<br /><br />§ Louise Clarke and Kim Jackson of St Cyprians College in Cape Town for their class project “Tollbooth Movie Maker”; <br />§ Natalie Meerholz of Holy Rosary School in Edenvale for her class project “E-Waste Away”; <br />§ Lyneth Crighton of Brescia House in Bryanston for her class project “DigiGirlz puzzle IT out”; <br />§ Wessel Theron of Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town for his class project “School of Rock”; <br />§ Ryan Galvin of St Nicholas Diocesan School in Pietermaritzburg for his class project “R and J in R and B”. <br /><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Unfortunately we don’t have a photo of the five winners all together, but here is Louise Clarke the overall winner (along with Kim her Grade 4 colleague who was in England at the time) receiving her award and prize.<br /><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2D8cYSKjbApuwarEhw7lmq_P6WeU1_Wyh3tzbaAT0hrHzccCEs7WC2T5Rly_Qgv7hpQhmPhHNRDU9JjDdIUz84xVBTpq_l2LsomavBEGakBn1C_wuy5jVzFz09PZzSzYe7ZB1yncbkE/s1600-h/image%25255B15%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMQSsqmgF3SEzKdFnyDsTNyyIGvpOnnsvx-_7uas_9v5mRKjBBON5zPQkxfqqxOsELVIz2DDR1-Hjw4jWKWg91lyzb5W1M-qbcgG2ADa1sccmMZiQKN4_gwg3wbbB1NI2FIgVFmzLctoU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Jordan finals</span><br /></b><br />The next round of the competition for the five winners was to attend the Middle East and Africa Finals in Jordan in September 2011. I have written a blog post about this if you would like to find out more. Once again it was loads of fun and Microsoft provided the most stunning accommodation. <a href="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/09/snippets-from-partners-in-learning.html" title="http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/09/snippets-from-partners-in-learning.html">http://e-blogschool.blogspot.com/2011/09/snippets-from-partners-in-learning.html<br /><br /></a></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFWhsek9eiLsYwhfxgwpF4vtIFjXeDf6Q_dXTHufmFRQE6FJk7qEFGons0i1h6HpVTwcbZvBDcsLEbeFSLTQAd9dnbmOgZEXYf02cAmx9U2dsI5Yy5CpUHbzZ6vx89-wVrwowvStk_Lc/s1600-h/image%25255B18%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Ib8_KZ7ayw3USohcg5Ya7mBar39_C7-beTIcJthgAd39j7mlf3ZFDvzmmFO7cKiqe6yp_9A2S6ibgKx_vzyxY5fLq_gHW10hD30j9x3VJZ2rAZQBJghhRrcVwL12F1E53KMj1kuO66Q/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi4p-JoJ7uXHkXodXKuWbaajCwFompnxYOEfxdfRUloPOigH3bmdcZamjP-jm7gZ1n2_n3pOovU1_YSDbM10uCOfZ15hcISsEcWpg1lXorpDWpiTRh8-4kGojnl9xTAGEvUiMaqBbNHak/s1600-h/image%25255B21%25255D.png"><img alt="image" border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifaLdOJgMHDNECHlbYAObgO9v1q-q9r0UibQWRYiaJT-uIpSg4JkM20m45tmeUbOWUQjT1oUfkv5x9g6_yztYgNDlIHqB_cgum_Zzn8xhp7AckjkxuQdwfjzPc8GmxAiXcQXlkeuLYQg8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />The South African and Lesotho winners at this event were:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-size: small;">Louise Clarke and Kim Jackson from St Cyprians College in Cape Town won the 'Collaboration' category for their Grade 4 class project 'Tollbooth Movie Maker'.<br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-size: small;">Lyneth Crighton from Brescia House in Bryanston won the 'Cutting Edge' award for her class project 'DigiGirlz puzzle IT out'. <br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-size: small;">Natalie Meerholz of Holy Rosary School in Edenvale came 3rd in the ‘Beyond the Classroom’ award  for her class project 'E-Waste Away'.<br /></span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-size: small;">Malatela  Monaheng from Lesotho came 2nd in the 'Challenging Contexts' category. </span><span style="font-size: small;">§</span><span style="font-size: small;">Wessel Theron from Bishops and Thejani Malakane from Lesotho were part of the group that won the 'group project' award in Jordan, which meant the whole group could compete in Washington.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><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/AVvXsEhT_TEl-MUx4h459h3fVQXaf1zn5rKcllm0t-bYeHU7pFbntErED_hS7HC8lqL39Ql2e1vwwvWekXf3t04uDdAuh24kcrTjXcIsxGHIcQsje5V0FZqOLzpT4ga3-ZtUfspWR8UO5ZREbkg/s1600-h/image%25255B39%25255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6-kvz9WRU_gociDhn8AHdzxnXAIi458YmhWJpNPfCL6e9rmyvVApnT-jW9sNjMA8P028dS1-6MVj8y_4vLkVaXmPlH4ieEHUBUaOYsR-g1Q5UX1V2KVuoQslFQQ9qXV1hRvfN7Zb9WU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Malatela  Monaheng and Wessel Theron (Thejane is seen below)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The World Finals in Washington in November<br /><br /></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The winners from this event went on to the World Finals in Washington in November. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Here they are in Washington:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXJUgiOI7yQnilDRsAK6hIZW-Y5a4Rfytr747vDz-ppPC3_DLowBRKICwOoRJYrs-dEfcogHHq7la74WbK0z5aR-UtKyTtISTRKyZc8saN0Vi_FrNQTdRufsP6layKdQuMcEKDAM2_FE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some of the group with the Whitehouse in the background</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTVHxb80ypLsz-_v1RIQwy3lDoncTMUFYGLY85hCsjkBioyZGelwY_p-pbXpEwKCugP9fEo2W4qpy82V2GmLWg9xRi7DvEUvH-fchbP4PiKBBVbbgIdBbCrTWs61nGCsfEbjUSCHZyiGY/s1600-h/image%25255B30%25255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQimoehDIq2qLt0UZMixxMpkm3om60VjO8QnIrDMyjpqPiHDNJKS1zZqC_23adVbP1qvXQnOK5L8PFJ7o3oox14GcTMBreBYnNRAv3Vq3zU-KKJN0tt41yifYEwBmcb_yv55b6KPso4Q8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="304" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Natalie at her project stand</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><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/AVvXsEiipzwR8Zw2UiORzyVaw46xteY26SX0NS3jrefbuaKyS278Nj-gDC-PVi2kyWBzIAZF2Sw2p0Fg-hvmDCh78XSGI0xsUBptnJwuvI61lfstSVmfLpBElc2xr9-NvIgRvOOelp-Tp4qtBGE/s1600-h/image%25255B27%25255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXQaxP99QDfNwmEiA2YPGJLz4rHCESS-Rh-_JKAZ3SklNWRuTa0QK4UQFEw7OUF-1tpCUptskLE1Ac9AMHJEFllI2qZbST5109aSE72GRFCU1ZWlE7AvGpKOrfLAgSd2Bo5zC6fkJYzN8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kim and Louise at their project stand</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeOfkqS1X1FnJfPlXOrl8yvaRKRojQIn3r9UKjpy31dlKQR_wjcKjQYnBIil7tzS2k2cERgvUJJoxgVnB0qqVNcrkn99eGjI2fx5_UOchVV2ALnelLdJhfrEANkA7Wktn9wO263EIOTo/s1600/blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeOfkqS1X1FnJfPlXOrl8yvaRKRojQIn3r9UKjpy31dlKQR_wjcKjQYnBIil7tzS2k2cERgvUJJoxgVnB0qqVNcrkn99eGjI2fx5_UOchVV2ALnelLdJhfrEANkA7Wktn9wO263EIOTo/s400/blog.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wessel and Thejane with their winning group from Jordan</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5Qy-OztlxNKejsfMucdnJr_qTC3LDEVo5M4nell1aHkdYKfV5aaOtCE2gi6W8ghcc2GTycK5b7jBUFV7jvUyUsUIkR7ay2il6PE0rz_XXl1MPb7z0h0WDh_-X8kctd5vHy59QJ8vj8k/s1600-h/image%25255B33%25255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjECzhMrO7xL5Kmwo9LTbnapoOL6xuz8t9xGSnpCJZTIo-f2zNdmAQCysC8o8cFR1bx2sHYMlPw4AWRCBJ94mcwLFlq2JmLmfPIkD2DlNqyAnS1iflkCIw9Y1xSSjBPqiy5_bXXSmH9gbk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyneth at her project stand</span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyneth Crighton was also interveiwed by the Global Forum team and found herself being featured on YouTube</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">      </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pkHw8M3YhU4" width="420"></iframe></span> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is what Natalie Meerholtz said about the event in Facebook, “Awesome closing gala dinner in Washington DC. No SA awards. The Yanks cleaned up on innovative gaming projects! There should have been a category for most spirited country - no doubt South Africa!”</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK33lewmsrMv5bTxzYgLGN0dOfuifV0dghbJhAyj6HnKtO0eFPtOSqgN7_pFzBXkG8Ae8Ur8CKjqJCPyd1L4iWXo4bbfspizhhT5IDRn9fpW3hSTwIY38lY7ip5FiHSeQqxGIYj4YhGYY/s1600-h/image%25255B36%25255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMyvn-2ejhzKBgGlgAmbLpH1Z0jNcbsQabg10cgvoCw9iKxLD8gMui_kiJS6rj_t8lm0JVgS22tpOP_2DQV_Cl15KIBzJZw0eVSf11bQFu1k5HJy7ohD02sXnHxoirH93BoO04FzJYsI/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The final Gala dinner when the Awards were announced</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">What this means for you!</span><br /></b><br />Please consider entering a project this year. You just never know what can happen!<br />Projects have to be uploaded by March 15th and the Awards will be handed out at the Basic Education conference in Durban in April. The winners will go on the Middle East and Africa forum in Morocco, and the winners from that occasion will participate in the Global Forum in Athens,  Greece. All expenses are paid by Microsoft each step of the way.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Don’t know where to start? Sign up for our  free online support course so that we can take you through the steps and encourage you during the next 8 weeks.  <a href="http://partnersinlearningforum-sa.wikispaces.com/Sign+up+for+this+course">http://partnersinlearningforum-sa.wikispaces.com/Sign+up+for+this+course</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> </div></div>

Competitions Microsoft Project-based learning Teaching Technology integration A recap. of our South African teachers' involvement in the Microsoft Partners in Learning Forum in 2011

Since the Partners in Learning Forum (formerly known as the Innovative Teachers’ Forum) has opened its 2012 competition and we at SchoolNet ...

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Snowmageddon

If you've been watching the weather channel you've probably already heard about our snowstorm here in the Pacific Northwest. They're not kidding! It's really bad. I live on the south end of Seattle (Federal Way), and we got a six inch snow dump early this morning. It's amazing, and I kind of love it. I wish it would stay for more than a few hours. Since it's 31 degrees I'm pretty sure it'll be gone by noon.<br /><br />Like an idiot I got dressed and headed out to the gym. I scraped off the six inches of fluffy, dry snow from my car, the most snow I've ever seen fall here at one time. I really wanted to make a snow angel in the front yard, but I had to get to the gym (or so I thought).<br /><br />I should have had a clue that it wasn't a good idea to drive anywhere when I got stuck in the street in front of my house where there's the tiniest incline. On my way to the gym, about a two-mile drive, I saw two cars in the ditch being pulled out by tow trucks. Then a semi-truck on the hill up to my house stopped in the middle of the road putting on chains. This sort of scared me so I drove right past the gym, and took the long way home (an extra three miles), to avoid the treacherous hill up to my house.<br /><br />Just like everyone on my team, I'm working from home today. Maybe when the snow melts I can head over the gym this afternoon.<br /><br />Last night was a real bust on the diet. I ate 3/4 of a California Pizza (frozen - I had bought two last weekend), barbecue chicken on extra thin crust and a then a big glass of red wine.<br /><br />Yesterday I felt like I was starving to death all day. I'm pretty sure it was my body's reaction to the 800-calorie workout Monday night. Thirty minutes on the StairMaster and then an hour cycle class just about killed me. My eating was good all day yesterday, then last night I spotted the pizza in the freezer (something I haven't bought for years), and I succumbed. Exhausted physically and emotionally drained (niece junk all day  yesterday--will it ever stop?), I just couldn't seem to stop myself.<br /><br />Today I feel better, more in control and more like I care. Last night, I just didn't care. My health didn't seem to matter. I just wanted comfort and sought it in food and alcohol. Stupid, yes. Regrets, no. Sometimes you just have to do what feels good, even if it's bad for you. <br /><br />Okay, so I'm moving on today. My plan for the day: Weight Watchers! I will track my food even if it kills me and work on getting in the healthy guidelines. Exercise this afternoon, after work and after the snow melts.<br /><br /><br />

Snowmageddon

If you've been watching the weather channel you've probably already heard about our snowstorm here in the Pacific Northwest. They...

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Papa Bear Oatmeal & Some Housecleaning

Good Tuesday to ya!<br /><br />Hopefully you all got to enjoy a nice, long holiday weekend.  I had 4 days off, but was busy for every single second of them!  The goal for the weekend was to get my life in order before classes started (today) and also to get our <a href="http://www.davisdeejays.com/" target="_blank">DJ</a> and <a href="http://photography.benpowellmedia.com/">wedding photographer</a> squared away.  Check. Check. Check!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photography.benpowellmedia.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUsPxlL9kePNyff4LCtrIDQZWUGoeowBRld80-jOqECIDfOpKbRfe3qnOdFPBxkzjfN-bVUsithyzpaqHK3MXhjd1Lg1qEiNVXP6TKKKX7hyphenhyphenIZYHwNy30yo_bt2_C-Jc8mHBzJDtLBoJc/s1600/BPP.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><b>Housecleaning</b><br />#1 - I'm <i>still </i>playing catch up on my Google Reader with all of your blog posts!  I try to follow every person who comes to The Big Weight and comments (plus a few others!), and I'm just extremely behind.  Ever since the holidays, I cannot get caught up.  It's going to get worse too because of school.  So having said that, know that I'm still reading your posts, I'm just VERY behind!<br /><br />#2 - I know that from now until the end of April my life is going to be devoted to: work, school, & wedding.  Tumbleweeds may start blowing around these parts.  I just want to put it out there.  I will <i>absolutely </i>check in weekly to let you all know how the weight loss is progressing, but by no means will I be posting daily.  I will <i>try </i>to post as often as I can.<br /><br />Phew! Glad I got that all off my chest.<br /><br /><b>Recipe</b><br />I tried this great recipe over the weekend, thanks to Paula Deen's Deen Family Cookbook.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.betterworldbooks.com/074/Paula-Deen-s-the-Deen-Family-Cookbook-Deen-Paula-H-9780743278133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.betterworldbooks.com/074/Paula-Deen-s-the-Deen-Family-Cookbook-Deen-Paula-H-9780743278133.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><br />I had a hankering for some hearty oatmeal, and boy did I find it in the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/papa-bear-oatmeal-recipe/index.html">Papa Bear Oatmeal</a>.  Now, before you immediately discount it as a healthy recipe, just give it a chance!  It received, on average, 5 full stars on the Food Network website!  <br /><br />I admit that if you follow the recipe exactly as she lays it out, it becomes caloric quickly.  However, with some modifications, you can definitely make this fit within your Daily PointsPlus allowance (or whatever plan you follow).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrP0VkBoSiPHDhsQN9tn9peY8lHxS8-fv_WIdoBOchElf7b_zXuoKkPVLkqmornRJxbOnG9W6eQ_IE0vJqxfsV7Oo7fslzjlBKxuwNNzI0gFkA7-ZUB8NhzropjUpAs9q6-S197aKp2k/s1600/oatmeal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrP0VkBoSiPHDhsQN9tn9peY8lHxS8-fv_WIdoBOchElf7b_zXuoKkPVLkqmornRJxbOnG9W6eQ_IE0vJqxfsV7Oo7fslzjlBKxuwNNzI0gFkA7-ZUB8NhzropjUpAs9q6-S197aKp2k/s400/oatmeal.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>  <br />So, without further adieu:<br /><br /><b><u>Papa Bear Oatmeal</u> - <i>9 PointsPlus</i></b> <i>(don't be scared - make it to suit you!)</i><br /><i><b>Ingredients:</b></i><br /><ul><li>    1/8 teaspoon salt</li><li>    2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick cooking)</li><li>    3 1/2 cups water</li><li>    2/3 cup raisins</li><li>    1 banana, sliced</li><li>    1 cup sliced strawberries</li><li>    1/2 cup heavy cream <i>(I used half & half)</i></li><li>    Brown sugar, for serving</li><li>    Honey, for serving</li></ul><br /><i><b>Directions</b></i><br />In a medium saucepan, bring 3 1/2 cups water and the salt to a boil. Stir in the oats and simmer until almost thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the raisins and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more<br /><br />Spoon the oatmeal into individual bowls and serve. Place the banana and strawberry slices, cream, brown sugar, and honey into the oatmeal bowl. Stir if desired.<br /><br />Makes 4 Servings<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoJUR-Up2rKNx3bT1YR3LNrVQET_Uh-VYQrWTqcCkBnpZvVg1qEOgv8V4B6ngOlG3tRRdFa2YLus0TcKIL63xdwxryb-bdnTAeZzIW30V2XOpGKVYTGS7K-AwpkXsSEmdegfkZSpErdI/s1600/oatmeal+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoJUR-Up2rKNx3bT1YR3LNrVQET_Uh-VYQrWTqcCkBnpZvVg1qEOgv8V4B6ngOlG3tRRdFa2YLus0TcKIL63xdwxryb-bdnTAeZzIW30V2XOpGKVYTGS7K-AwpkXsSEmdegfkZSpErdI/s400/oatmeal+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><b><i>Modifications</i></b><br />Let me just say... I'm used to eating my oatmeal with only water.  Never have I <i>ever </i>put milk/cream in mine.  Boy, what a difference that makes!  So, having said that, here is what I did:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">1. After making the oatmeal, I measured out 1 cup of the cooked oatmeal with the raisins.<br />2. I added 2 tsp of brown sugar, 1/2 sliced banana, 1 cup strawberries, 1/8 cup half & half, and 1 tsp of honey.  </blockquote><br />That is how I got to 9 PointsPlus.  However, you could cut back further on the sugar/honey or reduce your serving size of the oatmeal from 1 cup to a 1/2 cup.  You could eliminate the cream all together, but I would try not to :).... it really adds something to it!  Trust me, it's worth playing around with.  It's incredibly filling AND you're getting to knock out those fruit servings.  If you're someone who struggles with the daily fruit/veggie intake {like me}, then this is a great way to sneak those in.<br /><br /><b style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Do you have a favorite oatmeal combination you like?</span> </b><br /><br />

Deen Family Cookbook Paula Deen wedding Weight Watcher Recipes Papa Bear Oatmeal & Some Housecleaning

Good Tuesday to ya! Hopefully you all got to enjoy a nice, long holiday weekend.  I had 4 days off, but was busy for every single second of ...

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STOP BLAMING FAT FOR BEING FAT

<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The biggest failure of the weight-loss and diet industry is the fixation on the consequence of fat. Fat causes disease. Fat creates hormonal problems. Fat can make you self-conscious in our superficial culture. WE HATE FAT AND FAT IS TO BLAME. I believe the blame on fat as the problem is very misdirected and is the reason why the majority of people who lose fat, gain it back.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Fat is an organ, not a cancer. It doesn’t release fuel or multiply and create more fat cells without having been stimulated, or demanded to do so. Fat gain is a side-effect, a consequence, a reaction that preserves life and prevents death by continually adapting to maintain fueling balance. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Your fat cells provide the majority of fuel your entire body uses, both at night and during the day. It functions as the body’s most influential fueling source and when adequately provided, fat fuel prevents major drops in blood glucose, which prevents death. On the other hand, when fuel has over-saturated your system, and threatens life, fat provides life saving storage. Miraculously, fat is capable of multiplying to meet incredible stocking demand, adapting quickly to create more storage sites, and preventing death by flooding and drowning in fuel. How does fat know how to do release fuel and stock fuel? Leptin.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The key that unlocks the flood gates to fat fuel is the hormone, leptin. How much fuel is released is relative to how much leptin you have. How much leptin you create is relative to how many fat cells you have. How much fuel you get is relative to how big the fat cells are. The bigger the fat cell, the more leptin produced, which means the more fuel is released. That sounds like a good thing right? Wrong.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The problem arises when there’s more leptin than needed, and fat floods the body with fuel without the need, or demand. This threatens life because of fuel flooding. This is comparable to a clogged drain. The spout releases too much water and the drain can’t remove water as quickly as the spout gives water, which causes a back-up and flooding issue. But the incredible adaptability of the body is capable of creating an overspill hole (the same one you have in your own bathroom sink). The spill hole provides an extra drainage site, and prevents over-flow and drowning. But the overflow fuel must have a place to go and this is where fat’s ability to multiply comes in handy. The more fuel overflow you have, the more fat you create and these new fat cells are bigger and can accommodate more fuel spillage. But let’s not forget, these new and bigger fat cells create more leptin and also release more fuel, creating a higher risk of too much leptin, over-fueling, flooding, and even more fat gain as a life-saving consequence. Remember, leptin doesn’t just seep out of fat without cause. It requires a stimulus.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Leptin is created by fat only when there is a stimulus. Hormones stimulate the release of leptin, but the most influential stimulus daily, is food intake. All food stimulates fat cells to produce leptin, especially sugar. This is where hunger comes in. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hunger is an alarm signal from the brain, forewarning that there isn’t enough fuel being released from fat because of a drop in leptin. If we use our example of the sink and the water spout, hunger is a sign that the water is almost completely drained, and the sink almost empty. Eating would stimulate leptin to turn on the spout and for fat to release more fuel. Once enough fuel has been released and the sink comfortabley filled, the brain turns off the warning signal, and hunger subsides. The problem occurs when hunger isn’t used, and eating continues. Then there is a risk of fuel overflow, the need for a spill hole, and accommodation for the excess fuel with new fat cells. Fat is miraculous! The real problem isn’t the fat, but is any stimulus that forces fat to release fuel, without need. This is like turning on the water when the sink is already full. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, eating without hunger. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Have you ever been told by a diet to only eat when you are hungry and to stop when hunger subsides? Probably not. That would eliminate your need for whatever they are selling. By telling you when and how much to eat, you are dependent on them, and need to pay them for their information. If you actually relied on your own body, and used the built in mechanism that perfectly gives notice for when and how much to eat, you wouldn’t need anybody. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The problem is that most people in our culture have lost touch with hunger, don’t know what it feels like, don’t know when it goes away, and have no idea how the body communicates it’s need for food. Why? Our emotionally driven food culture, and emotionally driven diet culture. We emotionalize eating excessively, and emotionalize the need for control. To make matters worse, we blame fat for being the problem.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Until we stop blaming fat for excess fuel release, and start pointing the finger at the unwarranted stimulus caused by eating without hunger, we’ll never take personal responsibility. We’ll continue to be at the mercy of our cultural gluttony, and under the control of the diet industry. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Fat isn’t a cancer, it doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. It requires a stimulus to release fuel, and a cause that forces the need to create new fat cells. If you eat without hunger, you are the problem. If you eat until you are full, you are the stimulus. Stop blaming fat, and start taking personal responsibility for putting food in your mouth before the brain tells you it’s necessary.</span><br /><br /><div align="center" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">IF YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY, DO NOT EAT.</span></div><br />

STOP BLAMING FAT FOR BEING FAT

The biggest failure of the weight-loss and diet industry is the fixation on the consequence of fat. Fat causes disease. Fat creates hormonal...

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Is it Friday yet?!

I'm exhausted. My visits with my sister drain me. I saw her Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It shouldn't hit me so hard, and I don't know why I don't handle it better. The truth is that there is a lot of brain damage from the stroke. She's very much like a little child, maybe five years old. She's fussy, bossy, and throws temper tantrums if she doesn't get her way.<br /><br />She doesn't remember people's names that she's know for years. When I tell her someone called and asked me to give her their love, she often just shrugs her shoulder, and puts her hand out like she doesn't know what or who the heck I'm talking about. I'll asked, "don't you remember -----?" and she'll shake her head no.<br /><br /> Yet when she holds my hand, squeezes it and looks at me with a smile, I know it's all worth it. All the hassle with her children (one in particular who is now calling me a liar and bitch to the rest of the family), the court system, lawyers, and trying to figure out her finances (Lord help me on that one), and all the time spent, it's worth it<br /><br />After my visit yesterday I headed to the gym. Thirty minutes of StairMaster love and then I was going to hit the weights. It was late, almost 5:30 p.m. and the weight section was packed with men. That's the thing I really don't like about L.A. Fitness, the free weight area. It's tiny in compared to what I had at Ballys where I had three free weight lifting areas and one of the areas was huge. L.A. Fitness only has about six workout benches and a ton of men (where are the women in the free weight area?!).<br /><br />Then I noticed the spin cycles had people on them, but more than just a few, a lot of people, and there were available bikes! I was so excited that I ran in, jumped on a bike, adjusted it a bit and off I went for an hour of intense cardio. About thirty minutes into I realized it wasn't a wise decision to do the StairMaster and then an hour of cycle, but it was too late. I couldn't quit in the middle of class. No one does that, right?<br /><br />I made it, but I'm paying for it this morning. I'm exhausted. I didn't get home until almost 7pm. I'm just really tired today. I wish it was Friday.

Is it Friday yet?!

I'm exhausted. My visits with my sister drain me. I saw her Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. It shouldn't hit me so hard, and I don'...

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An Inconsequential Yarn

<span id="goog_932988669"></span><span id="goog_932988670"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">by guest contributor Steven DeRosa</span></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgPE0fsRPY8R6hm6vUeismJ9RLViYNQGoghEjgoCpgD_DbiUks2ZkDOQaRwvj4RV3CngSDg2uPp4PCTxSQnfSaFkaW50bWtWli1gN6YXbNFJBmL0ZJbFRZNFunhDhlAsuGNDLPYjnInpF/s1600/good+finale+graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCgPE0fsRPY8R6hm6vUeismJ9RLViYNQGoghEjgoCpgD_DbiUks2ZkDOQaRwvj4RV3CngSDg2uPp4PCTxSQnfSaFkaW50bWtWli1gN6YXbNFJBmL0ZJbFRZNFunhDhlAsuGNDLPYjnInpF/s400/good+finale+graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 15pt 0.0001pt 42pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">“They say every true San Franciscan has one foot on a hill and the other in the past.”—Kate in Samuel Taylor’s <i>The Pleasure of His Company</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Since <i>Vertigo</i> is a film that garners such personal reactions, I wanted to begin this piece on something of a personal note. It’s not a matter of whether one likes the film or doesn’t.  For those who truly connect with <i>Vertigo</i>, it’s because it resonates with something inside of them. I was in high school when I saw <i>Vertigo</i> for the first time and the build up to seeing it was intense. It was only a few months before that I had begun to seriously study the master’s work, having been introduced to <i>The Lodger</i>, <i>The 39 Steps</i>, <i>Sabotage</i>, <i>Notorious</i>, <i>Rear Window</i>, and <i>North by Northwest</i>. Having become hooked on Hitchcock through that line up in school, I began my own exploration of every Hitchcock film I could get my hands on and by reading the corresponding chapter from Donald Spoto’s <i>The Art of Alfred Hitchcock</i> afterward. Then I’d re-watch the film over again, etc. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Given the laudatory opening paragraphs on <i>Vertigo</i> in Spoto’s chapter, as well as its massive size in relation to chapters on other films, I knew to expect something very special. When I finally did see <i>Vertigo</i>, I was swept away by its beauty, its movement, the emotional punch it delivered, and by its haunting images and score. Over the next five years or so, I would watch it once a month—yes, I was that obsessed (I would perform the same monthly ritual with <i>Rear Window</i> and <i>North by Northwest </i>as well). To this day, I still get goose bumps during certain sequences, and on occasion well up by the final moments of the film.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">After a few years of immersing myself in my own Hitchcock education, I had become increasingly curious about his collaborators, particularly his screenwriters. I was of course familiar with the countless statements Hitchcock made about how for him the most creative part of the filmmaking process was the writing and preparation stage, and that the actual process of shooting the picture was boring. Statements like this fed my curiosity to know how much of an impact his writers had on the finished films. What did they bring to the table? What contributions did they make beyond the dialogue? I found myself becoming more and more fascinated by these writers who had sat beside Hitchcock, not merely observing him create and taking down dictation, but who’d earned a seat in the inner sanctum and engaged with him in creating these films. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12Dv5d1hEpwVf-ChIYDmBCG3xKn91C4l864anpn6TYotN2hxvNnPV4eEXP8MdhJyVGE_WHhMVgyeRLsS_4rMHz43xzLE9mp7F3y1-FRn-VU2NtdoK4olObpBHJ9g5K4md6wXkAVaWekiG/s1600/Vertigo+Taylor+1+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12Dv5d1hEpwVf-ChIYDmBCG3xKn91C4l864anpn6TYotN2hxvNnPV4eEXP8MdhJyVGE_WHhMVgyeRLsS_4rMHz43xzLE9mp7F3y1-FRn-VU2NtdoK4olObpBHJ9g5K4md6wXkAVaWekiG/s320/Vertigo+Taylor+1+b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenwriter Samuel Taylor</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Of the Hitchcock screenwriters of the 1950s and 1960s, Samuel Taylor was not the most prolific. Although he directed a film after having written only two screenplays, Taylor did not adapt quite as well to the Hollywood lifestyle as say John Michael Hayes, Ernest Lehman, or even Joseph Stefano. Each of these writers found their niche—Hayes as adapter of “difficult” material, Lehman as adapter of road-show musicals, and Stefano brought his special touch to the small screen as principal writer for <i>The Outer Limits</i>. Sam Taylor however was more at home writing plays in Maine and then seeing them through to production on the New York stage. Yet, in spite of a short list of screenwriting credits in comparison to say Lehman or Hayes, Taylor played a significant role in shaping and refining Hitchcock’s most dreamlike film.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><u><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">An Unconventional Screenplay</span></i></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTWEpckP4HUK87NjtG28E6o7t09SU3zY_n2SatAtOkuusDH8d8xRUyRA2Y9sCT7pWtdX2jJYukaWBLOWpZC4LHJfEuu8NDkQCVGTpXUm3N6zhVZEVYkw6HIDZ3M8apLeBJ5G2S0CD0UPY/s1600/opening+credits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTWEpckP4HUK87NjtG28E6o7t09SU3zY_n2SatAtOkuusDH8d8xRUyRA2Y9sCT7pWtdX2jJYukaWBLOWpZC4LHJfEuu8NDkQCVGTpXUm3N6zhVZEVYkw6HIDZ3M8apLeBJ5G2S0CD0UPY/s320/opening+credits.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">By conventional screenwriting standards, the screenplay for <i>Vertigo</i> could be regarded as a failure. It contains so many “no-nos,” cheats, and just plain writing crutches that most writers would never attempt to get away with all in the same script—flashbacks, a dream sequence, and a lengthy voiceover where a character composes a letter <i>on screen</i> in order to explain much of the plot. But these devices, to name just a few, are exactly what make <i>Vertigo</i> work. The illusory nature of the movie required an unconventional script.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">By the end of 1956, Hitchcock had already been through three writers in adapting the Boileau and Narcejac novel <i>D’Entre les Morts</i>. Playwright Maxwell Anderson had a go at a first draft which Hitchcock found lacking in mood, direction and structure. Hitchcock then turned to his old friend Angus MacPhail who knocked out a very rough outline—what today might be called a step-sheet. Structurally, the MacPhail outline closely resembles the finished film and Hitchcock hoped he would be up to the task of roughing out a construction or treatment from which Anderson would write a second draft. However, MacPhail opted to bow out gracefully. Hitchcock then turned to Paramount contract writer Alec Coppel, who had provided the text for one of the threatening notes used in <i>To Catch a Thief</i> when a re-take was needed after principal photography. Coppel worked closely with Hitchcock in fashioning a screenplay that followed MacPhail’s structure and now included most of the visual set pieces that Hitchcock envisioned for the film. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">With Coppel’s draft, Hitchcock now had a mysterious, moody love story with elements of the supernatural, and a big twist to be revealed in the final scene—the supernatural elements were merely a hoax conceived to cover up a murder. Hitchcock returned to Anderson to finesse the dialogue and clarify the characters’ motivations, but the writer turned him down. As was custom when he needed a new writer, Hitchcock reached out to his go-to agents, one of which was Kay Brown, who on learning the film was to be set in San Francisco immediately suggested her client Samuel Taylor.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqafi3qSNa1bzo77JGw0Qh9NbMawUCoo9irVuyPTnwwkLtft5tuw1LEW_syKwT9_ppRNg37UF2VUpPPjUsA8PDF7wX9Lu_3GSh_IY3YOFLB2ZJm_5VUHaclEemtvijGz3IjBvlPDOA13S/s1600/SF+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqafi3qSNa1bzo77JGw0Qh9NbMawUCoo9irVuyPTnwwkLtft5tuw1LEW_syKwT9_ppRNg37UF2VUpPPjUsA8PDF7wX9Lu_3GSh_IY3YOFLB2ZJm_5VUHaclEemtvijGz3IjBvlPDOA13S/s400/SF+hill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><u><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Hitchcock’s New Writer</span></i></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Although born in Chicago, Samuel Taylor grew up in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Berkeley, so he was already quite familiar with both the flavor and history of the City by the Bay. In fact, at the time Kay Brown suggested Taylor to Hitchcock, he was busy writing his play <i>The Pleasure of His Company</i> which was also set in San Francisco. No doubt, this appealed to Hitchcock who longed to film the city for the big screen (an early treatment for <i>I Confess </i>and an aborted adaptation of David Duncan’s <i>The Bramble Bush</i> had both been set in and around San Francisco).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Taylor</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> was sent the Coppel script and Hitchcock’s notes and after some initial uncertainty, he accepted the assignment and met with the director. “When I read the screenplay that had been written, I was quite confused because I couldn’t follow it at all,” recalled Taylor. “When I saw Hitchcock after I read the script, I knew what the problem was. I said to him, ‘It’s a matter of finding the reality and humanity for these people. You haven’t got anybody in this story who is a human being—nobody at all. They’re all cut-out cardboard figures.’”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">This was exactly what Hitchcock wanted and needed to hear. When writing for Hitchcock, you were hired because you brought something to the table that Hitchcock, as producer, felt the project needed. In the case of <i>Vertigo</i>, it was the emotional story and characters that needed work at this point. Taylor told Hitchcock he would need to invent a character to help make Scottie real. To Taylor’s surprise Hitchcock said, “Fine.” And with very little discussion about it, he went off and created Midge. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQfSagBoFIi44JLz3mwMbN3ZjT23tTvmm-7sl8yBb7PsTYkeykAg3LDciU3sE-_2dyou73Z_Nmunk3wsKc8R-LGMUEjaM_RMXmxdrFlZMlr4xjQDPa7D3zQsMT8vSFpSM_mxx0jfyIgAP/s1600/midge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQfSagBoFIi44JLz3mwMbN3ZjT23tTvmm-7sl8yBb7PsTYkeykAg3LDciU3sE-_2dyou73Z_Nmunk3wsKc8R-LGMUEjaM_RMXmxdrFlZMlr4xjQDPa7D3zQsMT8vSFpSM_mxx0jfyIgAP/s400/midge.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">According to Taylor, once he invented Midge, the whole picture fell into place for him.  “All the Midge scenes were mine,” recalled Taylor. “He didn’t know anything about Midge until he read the script and liked it.” Midge provided Taylor the opportunity to give Scottie more back story and allowed him to eliminate any scenes with Scottie’s police colleagues. Midge became the cynical voice of reason—much like Stella in <i>Rear Window</i>—not believing in any of the Carlotta Valdes nonsense. Taylor also added to the San Francisco flavor of the story by changing Madeleine’s dead ancestor from the novel’s Pauline Lagarlac to Carlotta Valdes, drawing on the local Spanish history. The Carlotta Valdes back story—that she was of Spanish-American ancestry, had been raised on a mission settlement, and that at a young age was a cabaret entertainer who became the kept woman of a wealthy, powerful man who abandoned her after having his child—added a social/sexual subtext that had been lacking in the previous scripts. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfskzjCignYXMkSChgkTcI-RgsVrruGveWx5NreckzEfuL1QswHHHIWKg8lITwiu3eV1nBcB5zC5Zf6nIdP5QUCs84MGM3QNWcVsLQY4Lzd_XwyGbGgLzMjfLCnyvOtgj-fu__vwrEIYkr/s1600/pop+leibel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfskzjCignYXMkSChgkTcI-RgsVrruGveWx5NreckzEfuL1QswHHHIWKg8lITwiu3eV1nBcB5zC5Zf6nIdP5QUCs84MGM3QNWcVsLQY4Lzd_XwyGbGgLzMjfLCnyvOtgj-fu__vwrEIYkr/s400/pop+leibel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">To speak even more about that history, Taylor added the character Pop Leibel. The Pop Leibel Taylor recalled from his childhood ran a candy store instead of a bookshop. Taylor knew the bookshop atmosphere well from having worked in a similar one while in college. With the invention of Pop Leibel, Taylor introduced a phrase that added to the script’s subtext. “Power and freedom” are used three times in the film significantly—first by Elster to Scottie, then when Pop Leibel refers to the man who left Carlotta but kept her child, and finally by Scottie to Judy. All the talk about “wandering” that pervades the movie also came from Taylor. And with these changes, Taylor helped Hitchcock layer the script into something very special.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">And yet Taylor found that something was still missing. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He told Hitchcock that it was lacking a “Hitchcockian thing.” And then it hit him. Rather than saving the big reveal for the ending, they should let the audience in on the secret—that Judy was the woman who had pretended to be Madeleine. “The whole first act is deception,” said Taylor. “But once you get past the death and actually have destroyed the man, you’ve got to tell the audience that this was a plot. It can’t be a surprise. You can’t go all the way to the end of the picture.” </span></span><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglj8Vfd1Te3EMBB4vdqBQOTuFS3U71GSHHkoIAPbdb-StD9QuIXiTvlmuihN_luB71aN0f1Pel52XvT9d5LP31r1k53vpcWNOhCGkR5QVq1HSi5Ftp9TwaZEaZlzExIPi6syl61F9kznPc/s1600/reveal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglj8Vfd1Te3EMBB4vdqBQOTuFS3U71GSHHkoIAPbdb-StD9QuIXiTvlmuihN_luB71aN0f1Pel52XvT9d5LP31r1k53vpcWNOhCGkR5QVq1HSi5Ftp9TwaZEaZlzExIPi6syl61F9kznPc/s400/reveal.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Hitchcock agreed. Thus the flashback showing Judy reaching the top of the mission tower where Elster was waiting with his dead wife and Judy’s letter writing scene were written. Taylor’s instinct was exactly correct and followed the Hitchcock suspense principle in providing the audience with information. Yet, in retrospect, Taylor felt that the letter writing scene was weak. “I think, Hitchcock and I goofed,” remembered Taylor. “After the Mozart scene, we should have said, ‘What about the girl? This is the time to tell the audience what is happening.’ And we should have gone back to Gavin Elster. We shouldn’t have forgotten about him and the girl that cavalierly.”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Taylor</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> said years later that the letter writing scene was inept; pointing out that he also hated resorting to it in the film adaptation of his own play <i>Sabrina Fair</i>, which he adapted with Billy Wilder. Taylor suggested that the “argument scene” between Judy and Gavin Elster should not have been played offstage. “You would get a much stronger feeling about the girl if she had to face Gavin Elster and say, ‘You’re going away, and without me.’”</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNgTmw4nd-0QRsYInrMI8FtwodJfJc8w70DE_YzLhfIS7CHycAGr-E5FBoL6fjvLOenXGR-89PqXTAGIha8mATLrx7kmvAYmEmXzk7XSIrDQmE2uUMIs1U2_sTWhbJTeNBv7onLv8qn-T/s1600/scottie+and+judy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtNgTmw4nd-0QRsYInrMI8FtwodJfJc8w70DE_YzLhfIS7CHycAGr-E5FBoL6fjvLOenXGR-89PqXTAGIha8mATLrx7kmvAYmEmXzk7XSIrDQmE2uUMIs1U2_sTWhbJTeNBv7onLv8qn-T/s400/scottie+and+judy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Taylor</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> reasoned that primed with this knowledge before hand, the audience would have a much greater sense of apprehension, anxiety, and foreboding at watching Scottie wander around San Francisco looking for Madeleine. On this point, I couldn’t disagree more. The audience needed to meet Judy from Scottie’s point of view <i>before</i> Hitchcock could cut away to hers. Furthermore, Hitchcock’s concern was with Scottie and Judy. There was no dramatic reason to see Elster or Midge again. As the world of the film became smaller—i.e. fewer and fewer characters—the situation between Scottie and Judy intensified. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Perhaps Taylor’s Monday morning quarterbacking was due to the criticism <i>Vertigo</i> received on its initial release. Nevertheless, even with its disappointing performance at the box office, Hitchcock had enjoyed working with Taylor enough to invite him back to collaborate on the screenplay for <i>No Bail for the Judge</i>—after Ernest Lehman turned him down. Sadly, Taylor’s script was victim to the director’s move from Paramount to Universal in 1961 and it remained unproduced. Taylor and Hitchcock would remain friends socially, and the writer came back to help Hitchcock with a rewrite on the troubled <i>Topaz.</i></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Inconsequential Material</span></i></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I’ve always felt that Samuel Taylor best articulated Hitchcock’s approach to film and to working with writers when he said that constructing a film was like putting together a mosaic. And for Hitchcock, that mosaic was comprised of his favorite scenes, but when he didn’t have a good writer, there were pieces missing in that mosaic. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Taylor</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> also understood that to Hitchcock, plot was secondary to story, observing that while the plot of <i>Vertigo</i> may be farfetched, the story is honest and true. “Hitchcock was a very emotional man,” recalled Taylor. “And having a good actor in Stewart, and having a good situation of a man driven almost to madness by what has happened, he was able to infuse it with enormous emotion. He preferred telling an inconsequential yarn, but bringing to it all the artistry he had.” </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Taylor</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> was not denigrating his own work when he referred to <i>Vertigo</i> as “an inconsequential yarn.” To put it in other terms, one could say that the director and his writers were constructing their yarn out of—if not smoke and mirrors—mirrors and some carefully placed fog. The film was constructed and designed to be Hitchcock’s ultimate love story, and in that respect, it succeeded on every level.</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKjVn8deOZe0YqhlwazrSvk1Eb9iBE3qT1-sQlfztA3OFYIwwke8wmWEomh756ILHsIyc1GeQLEUdEPW3qvDEJX12WillRtQ_8qB0iRkPc5xw5BxmApuR2flouyeewD6AOENWkhwfDwfx/s1600/finale+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKjVn8deOZe0YqhlwazrSvk1Eb9iBE3qT1-sQlfztA3OFYIwwke8wmWEomh756ILHsIyc1GeQLEUdEPW3qvDEJX12WillRtQ_8qB0iRkPc5xw5BxmApuR2flouyeewD6AOENWkhwfDwfx/s400/finale+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Samuel Taylor is quoted from a talk he gave at Pace University (my alma mater) in June 1986, and from the BBC’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Omnibus</i> (1986).</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">For more on the structure of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vertigo</i> screenplay see <a href="http://youtu.be/iu6tI8nCslI" style="color: #990000;">The Hitchcock Kiss</a>.</span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">For a complete account of the screenplay’s development, I recommend Dan Auiler’s <i>Vertigo: The Making of a Hitchcock Classic.</i></span></span></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">~ </span></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5aGuc7m8LmI9ymHHj0qdgqG2An1tSob9X94Iq7y7iTsfJadXw6v_Yi99iA1QUbh337BfaQ801-2ba3RUBc-iFOMNnweSKHlmjP1333N4vN0kgEK2_gp3LAIXUnJlrsnw6cW5x5qLz5DL/s1600/Steven+DeRosa+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5aGuc7m8LmI9ymHHj0qdgqG2An1tSob9X94Iq7y7iTsfJadXw6v_Yi99iA1QUbh337BfaQ801-2ba3RUBc-iFOMNnweSKHlmjP1333N4vN0kgEK2_gp3LAIXUnJlrsnw6cW5x5qLz5DL/s320/Steven+DeRosa+3.jpg" width="275" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steven DeRosa</td></tr></tbody></table><i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Steven DeRosa</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> is the author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Hitchcock-Collaboration-Alfred-Michael/dp/0983205604/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326502456&sr=8-1" style="color: #990000;">Writing with Hitchcock</a>. He has lectured on screenwriting and film at NYU's Hitchcock Centennial Conference, The American Museum of the Moving Image, Film Forum, and New School University, and has been a contributing writer to the Writers Guild of America Awards. Steven can be seen on-screen in the documentary, </span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style</span><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">, available on Warner Home Video's 50th Anniversary Blu-ray of </span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">North by Northwest</span><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">, as well as in featurettes on Paramount's forthcoming Blu-ray of </span></i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">To Catch a Thief</span><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">. Steven's website is </span></i><a href="http://blog.writingwithhitchcock.com/" style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Writing with Hitchcock</span></a><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">. He has a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/writingwithhitch" style="color: #990000;">facebook page</a> of the same name and can be found on Twitter as <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/WriteHitchcock" style="color: #990000;">@WriteHitchcock</a>...</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"></ul>

A Month of Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock Samuel Taylor Steven DeRosa An Inconsequential Yarn

by guest contributor Steven DeRosa “They say every true San Franciscan has one foot on a hill and the other in the past.”—Kate in Samuel Ta...

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What gets you through the workday?

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/75/ar5l8gm6j87zbhfsrs75.gif?time=11/4/2011%2011:17:57%20am" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emj.cbdr.com/artieimages/75/ar5l8gm6j87zbhfsrs75.gif?time=11/4/2011%2011:17:57%20am" /></a></div><div class="ArticleHeadline" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-top: -30px;"><div class="hdr_org_bld" style="color: #ff6600; font: normal normal bold 18px/normal arial, helvetica;"><h1 id="articleHeadline" style="color: #ff7700; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><br /></h1></div><b><span id="cbArticle_lblByLine">Rachel Zupek Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder</span></b><br /><br /><div class="cbmsnArticleImage">Distractions in the workplace are inevitable, and they happen for a multitude of reasons.</div></div><div class="ArticleContent" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Perhaps you've been staring at the <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/computer/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">computer</a> for two hours straight and need to tear your eyes away for a few minutes. Maybe it's nearing the end of a long day and you need to get outside for the first time. Or maybe you're trying to get work done, but all the people around you are making that impossible.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It's smart for workplaces to view distractions in two ways, says Rachel Permuth-Levine, Ph.D.,<a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/senior+director/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">senior director</a> of human capital research and outcomes at the blog "toLive."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"It is important to minimize distractions in the workplace and at the same time promote those 'pleasant' distractions that allow us to have a reprieve from the stressors of our job," Permuth-Levine says.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">"Some types of distractions -- too much paperwork, multitasking, too much noise -- are harmful. They can lead to safety issues, lack of productivity or absenteeism. The pleasant distractions -- coffee break, taking a walk, talking to colleagues -- recharge us and help our health and performance on the job."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In a recent survey conducted by GSN Digital, the interactive division of the Game Show Network, nearly 80 percent of respondents who play <a href="http://www.bing.com/search?q=online+games&src=IE-SearchBox&FORM=msns07" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">online games</a> during the workday said they feel more focused on work as a result of periodic mental breaks associated with game play.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Fifty-nine percent of those who play games at work play for 30 minutes or less. These respondents reported that taking just a few minutes off from work to play games helps them refocus, increases creativity and calms them down during stressful situations.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We asked our readers how they get through the workday. Here's what they had to say:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong>Completion is calming</strong><br />"One thing that gets me through the day is to get paperwork or computer work 'completed' during whatever breaks I can get through the day. The feeling of 'completion' is important to me, and I actually feel it improves my overall attitude and effectiveness. When work piles up, I feel more stressed and very time sensitive." <i>-- Len Saunders, public education </i><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/teacher/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><i>teacher</i></a><i></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong>White noise works</strong><br />"White noise on my iPod has become my new best friend in the workplace. I changed jobs recently and the new company has an open office floor plan. The constant chatter in the office can be extremely distracting. <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/music/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Music</a> tends to overstimulate and distract me as much as office chatter, but I find white noise at varying frequencies does the trick." <i>-- Troy Adkins, director of marketing and membership, CoreNet Global Inc</i>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Soothing surroundings</b><br />"In a <a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/creative/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">creative</a> industry, it is super-critical to be able to keep the inspiration flowing and avoid workday burnout. Here are some of the things I do to make sure I stay focused and inspired: 'Bing' your favorite color. Surprisingly, a simple search can result in some gorgeous images to keep you smiling from the inside out. Fresh flowers on your desk make a huge difference; they not only add a lovely and fragrant element, but they greet everyone who walks into your office or work space. Take a few minutes to create a <a href="http://www.pandora.com/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;">Pandora</a> music channel that provides hours of your favorite music to keep you in a happy workplace rhythm. Watch a three-minute travel video to inspire you and have you looking forward to that well-earned vacation. Beautiful imagery and daydreams of that perfect vacation can keep you plugging away another day." <i>-- Gina Samarotto, </i><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/principal/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><i>principal</i></a><i>, The Samarotto Design Group</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong>Working out stress</strong><br />"The workplace distraction that gets me through my day is running at lunchtime. When I run, I can choose to sort out work items in my head or just zone out, not think and listen to music or my feet pounding the pavement. Running at lunch breaks up my day, and I come back for the afternoon energized and productive. Not only am I getting exercise, but my co-workers and clients are also benefiting from my workplace distraction." <i>-- Jenika Scott, channel </i><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/marketing+manager/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><i>marketing manager</i></a><i>, Hall Internet Marketing</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><strong>Video game break</strong><br />"My favorite workplace distraction is the on-site massage. Our company has an in-house masseuse that visits the office once a week. I make sure I am on her schedule, as the quiet down time helps keep me motivated throughout the day. On days when I don't have a massage, I find solace playing one of the many video games found in our office, as they help sidetrack my attention, if only for a few minutes. Pac-Man never gets old!" <i>--Taryn Lomas, </i><a href="http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs/keyword/vice+president/" style="color: #3300cc; font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none;"><i>vice president</i></a><i> of strategic accounts, Underground Elephant</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Rachel Zupek Farrell researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues for CareerBuilder.</i></div></div>

What gets you through the workday?

Rachel Zupek Farrell, Special to CareerBuilder Distractions in the workplace are inevitable, and they happen for a multitude of reasons. Per...

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The Right To Exist

“Ever since the “Holy Land” was invented as a pilgrimage-center by the <br />Empress Helena in the fourth century, it had been the scene of acrimony <br />and violence among the rival religious groups. . . . Throughout four centuries <br />(15th- 19th) it had been the task of the Ottoman sultans to impose, for the <br />sake of civil order, a culture of mutual tolerance . . . . Where religious difference <br />was in question there really was only one political option: live and let live. Muslims <br />and Jews were nearly always able to accept this in relation to one another <br />and to the Christians. The followers of Christ, however, while finding <br />it possible to live at peace with . . . monotheists of the Islamic or Jewish <br />persuasion, could not always resist outbursts of violence against their <br />co-religionists (fellow Christians) . . . .” A.N. Wilson, The Victorians<br /><br /> For a long time, it seems, Christians have been more tolerant of other people of other faiths than we are of each other. Strange, how proximity breeds intolerance. I suspect it is that the closer people are to us, the more they make us nervous about our right to be here.<br /><br /> Today, a sticking point in the search for peace in the Holy Land is “the right to exist.” Israel insists on one key point before making major agreements with its neighbors – that the neighbors acknowledge Israel’s right to exist. Palestinians want to be recognized as a state with the right to defend its borders and preserve its sovereignty, which is essentially the same thing. The situation is admittedly complex. Both God and the devil are in the details. But the threshold question they cannot seem to get past is simple: acknowledging each other’s right to be present.<br /><br /> To deny someone the right to exist is the primal attack. In Madeleine L ‘Engle’s sci-fi book, A Wind In The Door, the galaxy is threatened by death-eater-like beings called Echtroi who go about x-ing or un-naming things, denying their existence. L’Enlge insists on the innate value of each of us and on our right to be here. She challenges us not only to acknowledge that each other belong on this earth but to actively defend each other’s right to exist. <br /><br /> One may well wonder: why is this an issue? Why do we deny each other’s right to exist? Why is there genocide? Why is there war? Why are the different oppressed? Why are English speakers so distressed by the sound of Spanish? <br /><br /> If we are secure in our own place, confident that we belong on this earth, we can allow others to be here too. We can even enjoy the wild diversity of creation. We can delight that God is a unity who proliferates into diversity and that the diversity of creation is rooted in one existential ground, God. But if our self-worth, our sense of belonging, is fragile, then the presence of someone a bit different from us becomes a threat. We need to be the only ones here; or if we cannot be the only ones, then the others must be entirely like us. By being like us, they reassure us that we are the right way to be.<br /><br /> One way to avoid feeling threatened by people who are different is to avoid them. In his book, The Big Sort: Why The Clustering Of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart, Bill Bishop demonstrates that our nation is dividing up into smaller and smaller conclaves of people who look, think, and live more and more alike. Our gated communities are populated by racially, economically, socially, and politically similar people. The new social ghettos are far less porous than the ethnic neighborhoods of old, perhaps because they so intentionally formed out of fear of encountering someone different. <br /><br /> We invest a lot of energy and money so that we can at least pretend each other do not exist – to make for ourselves a seemingly safer but smaller and less interesting world. A political consequence of this fragmenting of society is the polarizing of our politics. Each congressional district has a cohesive ideology and elects people to represent that ideology. A think tank that rates congressional representatives as liberals, conservatives, or moderates notes that the number of moderates has steadily declined until the current congress, which for the first time in their studies, does not contain a single moderate. The moderates are the folks who broker the deals and work things out of gridlock. Without the moderates to negotiate the compromises, each side seeks to make the government work by subjugating the other. <br /><br /> The Episcopal Church, in keeping with the Anglican tradition of moderation, the via media, tolerance, and our identity as a “bridge church” has traditionally resisted such polarization. We have been a people who worship and serve together out of personal affection and a common form of prayer – not theological or ideological agreement. How has that played out in Nevada?<br /><br /> I am continuing my pastoral questioning of the divisions in our Diocese that keep us from flourishing in God’s mission. I am also continuing to look for whatever bonds of affection might run counter to those divisions. The first thing I sense here is a quiet respect for each other’s right to exist, a willingness to sit at the same table. It isn’t a bold statement of conviction. It’s more of a tacit assumption which is probably better. Even this tacit acknowledgement runs counter to secular culture. The divisions in Nevada are not merely North and South. There are divisions of East and West, urban and rural, mining and ranching. The groups so divided resent each other’s presence most grievously. So it is a spiritual accomplishment to be a diocese of people, parishes, and missions that accept each other’s place at the table.<br /><br /> But there is a residue of resentment, a suspicion that others do not respect us, a prickly defense against those who might do harm. That confused me at first since I have so rarely experienced any group here actually hostile to any other. But the sense that someone does not want us here is not pure fantasy. There is real history to our nervousness about each other.<br /><br /> There have been times in the past when people in larger churches said that the smaller churches should be closed – which naturally lead to people in smaller churches saying that larger churches should be closed or rather broken up into small churches. There really were people proposing to close Camp Galilee. Others suggested that saving Galilee could be best achieved by preventing or stopping ministries in cities. Seminary trained priests thought the locally trained should not be ordained; the locally trained thought the seminary trained should not be called. Parishes have divided internally over whether to engage in spiritual renewal of the congregation or commit to mission serving those outside the church – as if either project could succeed without the other. We also participated in “the controversies” as they say – meaning national disputes over the roles of women and LGBT persons in the church. Both sides of “the controversies” eventually tried to exterminate, excommunicate, or deport each other – though those issues have not divided Nevada to the extent that they did elsewhere -- perhaps we had too many other kinds of differences to identify with.<br /><br /> Two things here strike me as noteworthy: First, we stopped x-ing each other years ago. Second, we still feel at risk of being x-ed by our fellow Nevada Episcopalians. For example, I have found only one seminary trained priest and one locally trained priest who actually speak ill of those who were trained differently. But it is not that unusual for me to find clergy who suspect that they are secretly disrespected by clergy of the other species. I never hear people from one area speak ill of the churches in another region, except that they suspect that the people elsewhere think ill of them. It is as if the bullets have been removed from the flesh, but the wounds have not yet healed. <br /><br /> Where then do we go from here? I am sure of only one thing. It is good to trust in God’s grace. It is good to know that we belong here, that God has claimed us as beloved children, that God has named us (Isaiah 49: 1), sealed us with the Holy Spirit in Baptism and marked us as Christ’s own forever. We don’t have to x each other to claim a space. God has given us our space, our right to exist. We know that, we feel it, and we believe it. That is why we have stopped x-ing one another. But what about the wounds that are not yet healed? I do not know the answer to that.<br /><br /> At John 5: 1-17, we read about a man who had been ill for 38 years lying near a healing fountain. Jesus, with his insight, did not assume the obvious. He asked. He said, “Do you want to be healed?” (v. 6) The man’s answer was equivocal. Do we want to be healed? We may have grown accustomed to the wounds. We may have identified with them. We may not be ready to part with them just yet. We are not x-ing each other. We trust in God’s grace. That much is good. Do we want to be healed? What would happen if we were? Who would we be if we were? How might that healing take place?

The Right To Exist

“Ever since the “Holy Land” was invented as a pilgrimage-center by the Empress Helena in the fourth century, it had been the scene of acrimo...

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This is a currency war and the EUROZONE is on the way to lose it.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGksRsoCU8KsNihF20EVJUv0BP7HDBkaGhvpI4wVpjiSzIKOjBj62GeR3yGp_DlHCjeVhdWMi1OLJgcUwulU9rPXFNmR2Bl8jghpTkqx-qQAXqjDJu2p2SMYQ59aP9IQfMKorIf_8NRU3/s1600/Euro-brezinys_EC1-600x449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPGksRsoCU8KsNihF20EVJUv0BP7HDBkaGhvpI4wVpjiSzIKOjBj62GeR3yGp_DlHCjeVhdWMi1OLJgcUwulU9rPXFNmR2Bl8jghpTkqx-qQAXqjDJu2p2SMYQ59aP9IQfMKorIf_8NRU3/s400/Euro-brezinys_EC1-600x449.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">            <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">S&P ON</span> AUSTRIA’S <span style="color: red;">DOWNGRADING</span></span></span><br />                                 <br /><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/AVvXsEjWleJUELCpRhnlIuG_JlxitwDA17AyblEbxQJvbpnZcjGtVN7swEyGNL-xtDgZBLFhYiTHSzlTP3T_2qGWZd6U_yqB6Coc_oTU8UNWG7GVEcYW20Itt2qOPntEBZ1fwqwrRptEuF3BbLWl/s1600/Standard-and-Poor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWleJUELCpRhnlIuG_JlxitwDA17AyblEbxQJvbpnZcjGtVN7swEyGNL-xtDgZBLFhYiTHSzlTP3T_2qGWZd6U_yqB6Coc_oTU8UNWG7GVEcYW20Itt2qOPntEBZ1fwqwrRptEuF3BbLWl/s320/Standard-and-Poor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Via Prudent Investor <br /><br /><b>IF ECONOMIC GROWTH IS WEAKER THAN WE EXPECT, THIS COULD UNDERMINE THE GOVERNMENT'S ATTEMPTS TO CONSOLIDATE ITS BUDGETS</b><br /><br />Austrian banks' balance sheets could suffer from negative developments in major trading and outward direct investment partners (such as ITALY and HUNGARY). In this instance, the banks could require additional government support. Furthermore, if economic growth is much weaker than we expect, this could undermine the government's attempts to consolidate its budgets, and could also render structural reforms ineffective. <br />The outlook on the long-term rating on AUSTRIA is negative; indicating that we believe that there is at least a one-in-three chance that we could lower the rating further in 2012 or 2013. Rating may be lowered if:<br /><br />•    The weakening of AUSTRIAN BANKS' balance sheets stemming from negative developments in major trading and outward direct investment partners meant that the <b style="color: blue;">AUSTRIAN government needed to recapitalize the banks</b><span style="color: blue;">.</span> This could in turn lead to net general government debt rising above 80% of GDP, and could also further increase contingent liabilities; and/or<br />•    Economic growth is much weaker than we currently expect. This could undermine the government's attempts to consolidate its budgets, and could also render structural reforms ineffective. This could lead to an increase in net general government debt beyond 80% of GDP.<br /><br /><span style="background-color: #76a5af; color: yellow;">The ratings could stabilize at the current level if the risks from the banking sector remained contained, and if AUSTRIA were to enter into a more-ambitious consolidation phase by implementing structural reforms, without damaging economic growth prospects and competitiveness</span>. In our view, such consolidation measures would likely enable AUSTRIA to structurally balance its accounts and decrease its net general government debt.<br /><span><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><br />Analysis from “The Prudent Investor” <br /><br /><b>OVERDUE DOWNGRADING LIKELY TO BE REPEATED</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3rYXwzpfTVL-bnYO_iZ2wSyIpAFNxlYGUaJE6AbpmErnhd7JnHzABUhPaPeQFVuHB0s1hmgv_1LK1LewcBkdZDbqcyehsDqY2OGQgrLGg-cKBICgjWfJEobSXopT9ClCzRFtyBE-qmXm/s1600/imagewws.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3rYXwzpfTVL-bnYO_iZ2wSyIpAFNxlYGUaJE6AbpmErnhd7JnHzABUhPaPeQFVuHB0s1hmgv_1LK1LewcBkdZDbqcyehsDqY2OGQgrLGg-cKBICgjWfJEobSXopT9ClCzRFtyBE-qmXm/s1600/imagewws.jpg" /></a></div>While remaining most critical of the opaque rating process of the rating agencies we are even more critical of the whining posture of AUSTRIA'S politicians who act as if this overdue downgrade - that will very likely be repeated in the near future due to the chaos in the EUROZONE-is unjustified.<br /><div style="color: blue;">As a reminder: AUSTRIAN government debt stands currently at EUR 218 billion or 76% of GDP and races higher because the ruling coalition officially attempts to come up with a €3 billion to €10 billion budget cuts package by end of February while it cannot even agree on €250 million savings on the state level of the republic. Place you bet on every ounce of gold that there will be no multi-billion austerity package by the end of February.</div>Statements by the government and central bank governor EWALD NOWOTNY, who called the downgrade incomprehensible, are unrealistic in the light of S&P's warning from December 6 and the ensuing non-action by AUSTRIA'S government.<br /><br /><b>DOWNGRADES WERE A POLITICALLY MOTIVATED ACTION BY S&P WHICH IS OWNED BY MCGRAWHILL</b><br /><br />Unofficial mumblings that markets should not take the downgrade too serious are actually a call to break the law: Bond fund managers are tightly restricted by investment fund laws that oblige them to observe the ratings of the three major rating agencies.<br /><div style="color: blue;">Nevertheless one can agree with governor NOWOTNY that the downgrades were a politically motivated action by <b>S&P</b> which is owned by <b>MCGRAWHILL</b>. <span style="font-size: small;">It seems difficult to establish who the majority owner of this company is, that has so far failed to downgrade the USA despite its much higher level of debt that already stands at more than 100% of US GDP. The rating agencies also veil their rating process in secrecy and it will be interesting to see the math behind a one-step downgrade.</span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAygPCIhM8nRk8oG4xue6EGJQvaMl95B0HiuoynKDgzZoAzet6nAIeie_ioIApIk4iepS4DW0wgcynfDa33CrI4XhXJoZ55m-1exZBwLkTQiVm-IJzjQS6ASz6Z40au1Eqymm0VmWsL-KG/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAygPCIhM8nRk8oG4xue6EGJQvaMl95B0HiuoynKDgzZoAzet6nAIeie_ioIApIk4iepS4DW0wgcynfDa33CrI4XhXJoZ55m-1exZBwLkTQiVm-IJzjQS6ASz6Z40au1Eqymm0VmWsL-KG/s200/images.jpg" width="200" /></a> A look at AUSTRIA'S yield differential to its peer GERMANY shows that spreads have risen dramatically over the past months. AUSTRIA used to pay a spread of 30 to 40 basis points 'liquidity premium' for almost two decades. This has changed dramatically: 10-year government bonds now yield around 3.60% vs. GERMANY'S 1.90%, showing that markets assess AUSTRIA by now much worse than GERMANY.<br /><br /><br /><b>GOVERNMENT NOT ADDRESSING THE KEY OBSTACLES OF THE FUTURE</b> <br /><br />Markets are, as always, most correct in their evaluation of AUSTRIAN debt: Members of parliament and the government waste time haggling about changes in the national hymn while not addressing the key obstacles of the future that are:<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: yellow;"><br /><span style="color: blue;">• </span>  <span style="color: blue;"> a huge pension problem as demographics change (what a surprise for politicians: we all become older),</span><br style="color: blue;" /><span style="color: blue;">•    a growing budget deficit due to a still growing public sector, and</span><br style="color: blue;" /><span style="color: blue;">•    huge problems of several Austrian banks who recolonised Eastern Europe and now face billions in loans in default.</span></b></span><br /> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">The concernment in the EUROZONE about the downgrade 'shock' proves once more that while EU politicians are never shy of trying to cut corners to their advantage they lack creative ideas to save the EUROZONE from rapid disintegration.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><b>TONGUE-IN-CHEEK SOLUTION:</b><br /><br />MCGRAWHILL is currently valued at billion. It would have been a lot cheaper to buy MCGRAWHILL and gag its subsidiary S&P. These billions would have brought ownership of a flourishing publishing company. Now this money will end up in the coffers of JP MORGAN, GOLDMAN SACHS, who can borrow trillions from the FEDERAL RESERVE for next to nothing and buy up higher yielding EUROPEAN GOVERNMENT DEBT.<br /><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">This is a currency war and the EUROZONE is on the way to lose it.</span></span>

This is a currency war and the EUROZONE is on the way to lose it.

            S&P ON AUSTRIA’S DOWNGRADING                                   Via Prudent Investor IF ECONOMIC GROWTH IS WEAKER THAN WE EX...

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And I thought I didn't do that bad yesterday...ROFL!

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>It was a 70-Point day yesterday. Wow! What's so crazy about it is that I thought I was doing okay by not going totally overboard.<br /><br />I eyed all the Valentine's Day candy last night at the grocery store, but walked by it without picking up a single package. I thought I was doing a halfway decent compromise with the somewhat healthy California extra-thin crust pizza and the caramel popcorn as my big splurge. I'm pretty sure if I had calculated out the Points first I would have chosen something different. I have all the Weight Watcher apps on my phone so there's no excuse other than I was very tired and hungry. Lesson learned.<br /><br />Dinner was an entire package of the Caramel popcorn and 3/4 of an entire frozen pizza (it was sort of small on very thin crust but it was 21 Points). Breakfast and lunch were healthy. Oh, and let's not forget the two glasses of sweet red wine. I normally don't have alcohol, but it was just that kind of day. Crazy niece threats, police involvement, brain-damaged sister, snow, fireplace, tired, sad, hungry, husband asleep so no one to vent to = wine on the menu.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I didn't even go to the gym yesterday, because I was too rushed with crazy niece/sister stuff. I know that's just an excuse, but it's true.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In case you're wondering, I didn't get on the scale this morning. I'm not that crazy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know it'll take a few days to undo the damage from last night. My goal for this week was to get down to 176 by next Saturday. I just made it a lot harder with losing my mind last night. Funny how I can talk myself into anything when I'm tired and feeling sad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll give it my best shot this week. Healthy eating, tracking, focusing on the healthy eating guidelines and lots of exercise. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmCn8l3Y3i_mNoMKKyw1Uv4WeVyJRmB73xrvYN4PjJXzWeIU7CFbRXQnWLy6eaAqqVaCqoDWh4FSVQM4jxlF8WEEVp8Bzdp3eW5dumNflSvImCQ-Vv3LdKgShyphenhyphenu0WIWe4jhdOolAFxF6b/s1600/sat2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="53" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihmCn8l3Y3i_mNoMKKyw1Uv4WeVyJRmB73xrvYN4PjJXzWeIU7CFbRXQnWLy6eaAqqVaCqoDWh4FSVQM4jxlF8WEEVp8Bzdp3eW5dumNflSvImCQ-Vv3LdKgShyphenhyphenu0WIWe4jhdOolAFxF6b/s400/sat2.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><img alt="Weight Watchers Online" id="m_imgWWLogo" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/1033/logo_print.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px;" /><br /><img id="m_imgDotLine" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/1033/dots_537.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; height: 1px; width: 537px;" /><br /><br /><b><i>PointsPlus®</i></b> Tracker entries<br /><br /><b>Saturday, January 14, 2012</b><br /><table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="width: 412px;"><tbody><tr><td align="left" colspan="2"><b class="boldgray">Morning</b></td></tr><tr><td><span class="value-ff-left" style="float: none;">1  large banana(s)</span></td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ff-right" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>0</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td>Diana McMuffin</td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ffnon" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>8</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Subtotal</b></td><td><b>8</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2"><b class="boldgray">Midday</b></td></tr><tr><td><span class="value-ff-left" style="float: none;">1  item(s) Light Multi-Grain English Muffin</span></td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ff-right" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>3</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td>1  serving(s) Kirkland Salmon Burger</td><td><br /><center><div class="value-b" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>4</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td><span class="value-ff-left" style="float: none;">2  medium pear(s)</span></td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ff-right" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>0</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td>1  serving(s) Litehouse Dressing & Dip, Lite Bleu Cheese</td><td><br /><br /><center><div class="value-b" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>2</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td><span class="value-ff-left" style="float: none;">1  cup(s) fat-free skim milk</span></td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ff-right" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>2</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td><span class="value-ff-left" style="float: none;">1/3 cup(s) uncooked onion(s)</span></td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ff-right" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>0</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td>1  tsp olive oil</td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ffnon" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>1</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Subtotal</b></td><td><b>12</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2"><b class="boldgray">Evening</b></td></tr><tr><td>4 1/2 serving(s) Orville Redenbacher Caramel Popcorn</td><td><br /><br /><center><div class="value-b" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>22</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td>3/4 serving(s) California Pizza Crispy Thin Sicilian (3/4 entire pizza)</td><td><br /><br /><center><div class="value-b" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>21</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td>8  oz red wine</td><td><br /><center><div class="value-ffnon" style="display: block; float: none;"><b>7</b></div></center></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Subtotal</b></td><td><b>50</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2"><b class="boldgray">Anytime</b></td></tr><tr><td><i>No entries for this meal time.</i></td><td><br /></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Subtotal</b></td><td><b>0</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Food <i>PointsPlus</i> values total used</b></td><td><b>70</b></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Food <i>PointsPlus</i> values remaining</b></td><td><b>0</b></td></tr><tr><td align="left" colspan="2"><b class="boldgray"><b>Activity</b></b></td></tr><tr><td><i>No entries for activity.</i></td><td><br /></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><b class="boldgray">Activity <i>PointsPlus</i> values earned</b></td><td><b>0</b></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2">Check off these important items daily:</td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" width="100%"><table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 386px;"><tbody><tr><td>Liquids<br /><img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> </td><td>Milk & Milk Products<br /><img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> </td></tr><tr><td>Fruit & vegetables<br /><img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> </td><td>Multivitamin/Mineral<br /><img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> </td></tr><tr><td>Healthy Oil<br /><img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox_checked.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> <img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> </td><td>Activity<br /><img alt="" border="0" height="11" src="http://aka.weightwatchers.com/images/checkbox.gif" width="11" /> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

And I thought I didn't do that bad yesterday...ROFL!

It was a 70-Point day yesterday. Wow! What's so crazy about it is that I thought I was doing okay by not going totally overboard. I eyed...

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LEPTIN RESISTANCE: NOT DURING THE HCG PROTOCOL

I have been asked on numerous occasions why I don't discuss leptin resistance, or even mention the fact that all science speculates that the more leptin you produce the less it works. First, I am not an expert. I am a motivated person who really appreciates explanation for why and how things works. If there isn't an answer I'm not afraid to work to find one that might make some sense of things. Second, the idea that there is leptin resistance is because scientists are still not quite sure why the body is doing what it's doing because there is still an incredible amount of research to be done, and leptin resistance is an easy way to explain that something changes from what we'd expect, which creates a point of diminishing returns. To make this easier to understand: leptin resistance = more doesn't function the same as less.<br /><br />I see leptin from two angles:<br />1) Leptin within the endocrine system,<br />2) and leptin within fat cells for fueling purposes.<br /><br />The science of leptin began in the brain, observing the function of hunger. When obese mice have elevated leptin levels they won't eat, even when they have an abundance of food available. The feeding behavior of mice is very predictable based on their hypothalamic (brain) leptin levels. Because the method of thought has been (and for most still is) to assume "calories in vs. calories out" all fat people, based on this concept, have to eat more than they expend in a day (which could total more than 4000 calories per day). Scientists have assumed fatter people must be hungry all the time and therefore must be eating, <em>all the time</em>. NOT TRUE. They first hypothesized the more fat a person had, the less leptin they have which is why they must eat all the time. Well, that turned out to be false. The more fat you have, the exponentially higher your leptin levels are.<br /><br />In order to eat as many calories it requires to gain fat, they speculated there must be a problem with leptin that would force Americans to eat so much. They have to be hungry all the time, so there must be some resistance. Now this is where I have observed the opposite. <br /><br />The more fat a person has the less hunger they have, and the less they eat relative to their expenditure. Per calorie burned they eat less then their leaner counter parts! (ready why skinny b*tches eat more) Mice may not eat when their leptin levels are elevated, but put a bunch of Americans in a room with food, and there is no discussion of hunger but instead, how good the food must taste, how deserving we are to eat it for whatever reason, and it's free! Eat up! Eating in our culture has NOTHING to do with hunger. NOTHING.<br /><br />Here's what I've observed: the more fat a person has the less hunger they experience- whether they are on the protocol or not. More fat = less frequency of hunger.  (read my blog on why breakfast isn't as important as we thought it was)<br /><br /><em>Where leptin resistance does make complete sense is within the endocrine system and team of organs that directly work for and against leptin</em>. As fat cells multiply, and new fat cells are bigger and more explosive than the original fat cells, the amount of leptin a person is capable of producing grows at an accelerated rate. A serious problem occurs when corresponding organs can't grow in size and cannot create the correlated response at the same rate. For example, as fat accumulates and more and more leptin is produced, the pancreas is challenged to match the output of leptin with insulin. As fat cells get bigger, and continue to multiply, the pancreas hits a rate limit that can no longer match the output of leptin, <em>unless the pancreas were to grow in size</em>. There comes a point where it is impossible for the pancreas to excrete insulin at the level that fat is excreting leptin, because fat cells outweigh and outnumber what the pancreas is capable of.  The only solution would be for the pancreas to grow in size (which is impossible) or to inject insulin to match the output of leptin from fat.<br /><br />On the other hand, if leptin suppresses an organ, the more leptin you have the more suppressed the organ becomes. For example, leptin in the anterior pituitary suppresses the signal to the adrenals. The adrenals stimulate your fight-or-flight response and produce hormones that help you feel active, motivated, and excited. The more leptin you have the more suppressed the activation from the brain is to the adrenals. However, there is a point where the adrenals can't suppress any lower because those organs would die. My point is that each organ that corresponds to leptin has a limit and the more leptin you have there does come a point where that organ can no longer respond. <em>This would be leptin resistance.</em><br /><br />Lets discuss leptin and it's function in fat cells. Each fat cell produces over six hormones! Leptin has been the main focus of science because of it's influence on the entire endocrine system, and also because of it's control over fueling from fat cells and energy homeostasis. This is where I believe there is no leptin resistance. Why? Because fat cells can increase in size and can multiply and spread, so there is no limit with the function that leptin has within fat cells for fuel. The more leptin you have the more fuel is released. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">THE MORE LEPTIN YOU HAVE THE MORE FUEL IS RELEASED! </div><br />There is no cap, no rate limit, no resistance. Otherwise, every obese person would be in continual starvation with severe hunger, have severe drops in blood glucose uncountable times daily, would have muscle wasting, and would have difficulty gaining fat. If there was leptin resistance in fat cells, there would be a limit to how much leptin is created, how much fuel is released, there would be a limit to how much fat is gained, and there would be a bell curve graph to fat's function as more fat is accumulated. This is NOT the case. The curve is an exponential curve, that shows only acceleration. As fat increases, leptin levels increase even more. If fat cells were "leptin resistant" there would be a point of deceleration within the function of fat and this is not the case.<br /><br />If leptin resistance does not apply to the function within fat cells and energy fueling, then the body has the ability to adapt, to create more fat cells, and to and store more fuel, which would make sense based on the human body's need to survive chronic famine. I believe, based on what I've witnessed and observed through thousands of hCG protocols, fat metabolism doesn't have resistance to leptin which is why hunger is not resistant to leptin either. Hunger is in direct proportion to fueling and is communicated in response to maintain fueling balance. This is why I never force anyone to eat breakfast, meals, or pre-portioned food  because hunger is a better assessment of fueling needs then anything else.  The more fat you have the more fuel you get, the less frequent you experience hunger, and the less hormonal need you have for food. It is that simple.<br /><br />So I speculate that corresponding organs that cannot grow in size to match fat's growth will absolutely have leptin resistance. Fat on the other hand, has no resistance to leptin due to the fact that as leptin increases so does fat cell count, and so does fat's fueling function. <br /><br />I COULD BE WRONG, BUT IF I WAS- THE HCG PROTOCOL WOULD NOT MAKE SENSE.

LEPTIN RESISTANCE: NOT DURING THE HCG PROTOCOL

I have been asked on numerous occasions why I don't discuss leptin resistance, or even mention the fact that all science speculates that...

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I want my life back

I keep telling myself things will get better, that I will be able to enjoy my old life again. I never thought my life was that great, but after all the BS I've gone through recently I realized I had a pretty decent life. It's funny how you never appreciate what you had until it's taken away from you.<br /><br />I spent yesterday morning talking to the local sheriff's department and the Fairbanks police department. I was trying to find out what I could do to protect my sister from my crazy niece until I get a court ordered restraining order against my niece (which hopefully I can get this week).<br /><br />Everyone was very kind and helpful. They told me to write up a brief synopsis of my niece's issues, along with her physical description and a picture of her, a copy of my guardian papers and strict instructions to call 911 if they see my niece on the premises. Then give the synopsis to the police. I felt like I was putting together a "wanted poster" on her. It made me sad that it has come to this, but she's forced my hand by threatening to get on the next plane and fly down here to see her mother. Luckily it's an adult family home with only six residents and one caregiver, plus the owner that lives across the street and pops over all the time. It's not a huge facility so they can easily keep an eye on who comes into the home.<br /><br />Then I spent three hours visiting my sister yesterday. I cut her bangs short, which she prefers. The hair stylist that cut her hair last week made long bangs that swept to the side. I knew my sister hated them because she kept fussing with them. Then I put makeup on her and gave her a manicure with pretty pink polish. She's still a beauty, even at 73 and all she's gone through. I sat at the dinner table with her and two other ladies as she ate her food perfectly with her left hand.<br /><br />Although my sister was happy when I got there, she was not having the greatest day. For the most part it was good, but she gets really frustrated that I can't understand her. I get frustrated because she gets mad and starts to cry. I can't figure out what is wrong, then she scrunches up her face and tries to hold back the tears. I hate it. I know there's going to be a transition time for both of us and we just have to get through it until things settle down and we fall into a routine. I really wish we could communicate better. That's the hardest part.<br /><br />After dinner she went to bed, which is her normal routine. Under the instruction of the home caregiver I lifted my sister into bed. She weighs almost nothing. Maybe 130 pounds. I expected her to be much heavier. I dressed her in her soft, new pajamas that I had just bought and washed the night before. She was complaining her back hurt her but she'd been up since 7am and it was 6pm. For a woman that had been bedridden 24/7 for the last four months it's pretty amazing that she's up and in her wheelchair or the a recliner all day for the last six days. She takes her meals at the dining room table and not in her bed. She likes to wheel around he huge house in her wheelchair or sit in her favorite recliner in the family room and watch a little TV.<br /><br />By the time I got home I was mentally and physically drained. I'd had a really healthy breakfast and lunch (about 500 calories total), and I was starving. I had stopped at the store to get some groceries. BIG MISTAKE. I was so tired I wanted something easy for dinner. I bought a frozen California Pizza on thin crust, some Orville Redenbacher Caramel microwave popcorn, along with a ton of there stuff, but the pizza and popcorn were going to be my dinner.<br /><br />By the time I got home it was 8pm. My husband was asleep. I ate 3/4 of the pizza (810 calories) and a bag of the popcorn (850 calories). Today I'm actually going to go back and put all this in my Weight Watcher tracker. I know it was more than I was suppose to eat, but what can I say. It was a hell of a day. I'm not use to talking to police departments and putting together wanted posters. I overate. Big deal. Today I'll be back at the gym and back on track (I went to the gym four out of five days last week). I'm not sweating the small stuff anymore, I have too much big stuff to get freaked out about now.<br /><br />My main goal is to settle into some type of routine visiting schedule with my sister. Spending most of my day on sister stuff isn't really working for me. I want to spend time on some Diana stuff too. I just need to find the balance. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

I want my life back

I keep telling myself things will get better, that I will be able to enjoy my old life again. I never thought my life was that great, but af...

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