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Answering the dreaded ‘weakness’ question

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

Q. How do you answer the biggest weakness question without sounding like it’s a strength? Like, “I’m too detail-oriented” or “I’m a perfectionist.” This question always stumps me and it keeps coming up during my interviews.A. It’s a catch-22, isn’t it at times? You don’t want to admit to a weakness like procrastination while you’re supposed to be marketing the most stellar version of yourself. And you’re right — pointing out something like being too detail-oriented, too organized, too anything of something positive is actually a strength.If you come right out and address a weakness like being disorganized, there’s authenticity to that. When I worked in recruiting, I appreciated the honesty of candidates. The key is not having it be a dealbreaker. They usually followed up with, “I could stand to be more organized at my desk, I’m a work in progress, and it’s getting better, but I need...

Sweet Jailianilize drawn to arts & cooking

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

Jailianize, who likes to be called Lalie, is a sweet and loving girl. She speaks up for herself but does it respectfully. She tries very hard at everything that she does and finds that she can be successful at most things. Her favorite activities are making art projects, playing with peers, being outside, and just keeping busy. Music, singing, dancing, and cooking are also on the top of her “fun things to do” list. Lalie loves animals and would love a pet in her new home. It takes time for Lalie to trust but, through therapy, she is making speedy progress.Lalie loves school and has done well, especially this past year. For a long time, Lalie had to be the parent to her younger sister. It can be difficult at times for her to leave her parental role when she is around much younger children and her younger sister. However, Lalie has learned to be a kid rather than a parent and will thrive in a family setting.Lalie would do best in a home with at least one female caregiver a...

Bergman: Murdering Jews is Hamas’ mission statement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

“O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.”In this injunction in Article Seven of the Hamas Covenant, ratified in 1988, one finds the reason for the invasion of Israel that began on Oct. 7.  Hamas does not merely seek the extermination of Jews.  That is why it exists.  That is why its fighters decapitate Israeli babies, rape Israeli women and burn victims alive.  That is why they humiliate Israel children and grandmothers before killing them.  That is why they slaughter over 200 Israeli teenagers gathered peacefully at a concert.  Everyone in Israel Hamas has murdered were murdered for one reason and one reason only – because they were Jews.  According to the same covenant, which reads like an addendum to Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” Jews are devoid of humanity, a demonic people responsible for everything Hamas objects to in human history, from the French Revolution to World War II.The atrocities Hamas has committed are not a regrettable byproduct of w...

Fiance has blurry boundaries with his ex

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

Q. My fiancé and I broke up for a short while, but we have reconciled, and I moved back in about three months ago. His ex-wife, who seems to enjoy causing trouble with the kids, continues to ask him out for coffee, for dinner, to join her skiing. She just asked him to join her in Cabo with the kids and I hit the ceiling. It’s really maddening, and she won’t stop! What’s good ex-etiquette?A. Although your question sounds like “How can I get my fiancé’s wacky ex to stop coming after my guy,” it’s more about your boyfriend having blurry boundaries and not being honest with everyone concerned (ex-etiquette rule #8, Be honest and straight forward). No one continually invites someone somewhere when they know they’ll be turned down, so something has happened that has given her the impression she might get a different answer. I don’t know what happened during that “short while” when you broke up, but if she’s acting differently now than she did prior to your moving out, it’s time to talk to...

Stylish finds support a great cause

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month continues, I want to focus on one of the most joyful aspects of how the community celebrates and supports raising funds for research and educating the public: fashion.It’s been decades since the first pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness came along under the Susan G. Komen Foundation in 1991. And since then, the pink ribbon has become an almost ubiquitous symbol of the campaign for breast cancer awareness, and is found all over pink merchandise — some of which very legitimately puts proceeds toward breast cancer research, while some other products have been accused of using it as a marketing tool while actually giving little toward the cause.I’m recommending products that I not only love in their own right, but that also give a decent amount, so your dollars actually make a difference.One current partnership I love beyond measure — because 100% of the proceeds are donated and it’s a gorgeous piece that’s absolutely sustainable — is Apaya’s Pink An...

Helping animals injured amid war

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

Dear Dr. John,Like so many people, I find myself devastated and depressed about the events in the Middle East that started with the invasion and atrocities brought about by Hamas in Israel. This has led to an escalation that seems to be having effects all over the entire region. As badly as I may feel, I realize how insignificant that is to the many people who have lost everything, including life.I was struck by a video of the initial attack which showed a dog being shot and killed. I cannot imagine how many animals have been injured or killed in this war. Despite feeling helpless in all of this, can you direct me as to how I may send some money to help the animals that have been caught up in the conflict? I also wonder about animals that have lost legs through injury. Do prosthetics work as well on our four-legged friends as they now do on people? I.A.Dear I.A.,My column is about animals and asking the vet what I think. The one thing that does bond most of humanity is a love for an...

Editorial: Billions in COVID $$ still sitting around

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

Given the magnitude of the amount allocated, it’s unlikely we’ll ever truly know the extent to which con artists, fraudsters and elected officials stole, wasted or misappropriated the billions in taxpayer funds distributed as part of the government’s response to the pandemic.But one thing we do know: Washington showered so much money on states and local governments that most haven’t come close to spending it all. Recently, the Government Accountability Office released a quarterly report that tracks coronavirus spending through March 31, about three years from the onset of the pandemic.“States reported obligating 60% ($118.3 billion) and spending 45% ($88.2 billion)” of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, the office reported. “Localities reported obligating 54% ($67/5 billion) and spending 38% ($47.9 billion) of their awards during the same period.”How was the money distributed?“The states and localities reported spending the largest amount of their awards to replace revenue lost ...

TV Q&A: Will more ‘Suits’ episodes get tailored?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

You have questions. I have some answers.Q: I recently finished watching all of “Suits” on Netflix. I know it ended, but is there a chance of new episodes? I really enjoyed it.A: As you may know, “Suits” became a sensation this summer, four years after its original nine-season run ended, when it spent three months at the top of the ratings for streaming shows. That, of course, led to fans’ hopes for more — and hesitation from “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh, who said “it’s really hard work to come up with plots for a show that you love and care about and want to be great.” But not long ago, the Hollywood Reporter said Korsh “is in the early stages of developing a show set in the world of (“Suits”) … but it’s not a reboot or sequel. Instead, the potential series would feature new characters and a new setting, similar to other multi-show franchises.” The report added that any return of the original shows’ characters “is a question for much further down the road.”Q: When I was a young kid i...

Michael Connelly takes Bosch on ‘Resurrection Walk’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

After 30 years of writing bestsellers, “Bosch” and “Lincoln Lawyer” author Michael Connelly knows, “In television they want you in the writers’ room.  In movies, they don’t want to know you.”Harry Bosch is currently on view in two different guises: The Freevee series “Bosch: Legacy S2” began with Bosch, now a private investigator, trying to save his kidnapped daughter Maddie (Madison Lintz).A very different, older Bosch — a 73-year-old cancer patient undergoing an experimental nuclear medicine trial – costars in Connelly’s new Lincoln Lawyer novel “Resurrection Walk” alongside his half-brother Mickey Haller. Bosch is driving the Lincoln for his sibling in order to qualify for the medical trial.Bosch inhabits these two different spheres because they have always been thus. The Bosch books now number 24 and began in 1992.  “Bosch,” the hit Amazon series, ran seven seasons (2014-2021) followed in 2022 by the “Bosch: Legacy” spin-off.These different arenas work because, Conne...

Do I need to take parenting class amid divorce?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:25:54 GMT

Q. I am getting ready to file for divorce and I am getting very mixed information.  My sister was divorced just before the pandemic in 2020 and said I need to take a parent education class even if we have an agreement on custody.  My best friend was divorced earlier this year and said my sister is wrong because even though they were fighting about custody, she never had to take a class about how to be a parent after divorce.I am trying to be proactive and get as much as possible done up front as I can. If my husband and I need to take a class, I would like to do it now. We do have three children but there is no question about custody.  I am a stay-at-home mom and he travels a ton for work. We know what we are going to do about the children.A. When your sister got divorced, there was standing order dating back many years which required parents to attend a parent education class.  At that time there were a number of approved courses that could be taken to meet the requirement.  Most o...