Matt Damon at CONTAGION Premiere

As a freelance photographer, Patrycja Adamowska gets many opportunities to watch different types of movies. For example, she recently attended the New York premiere of Contagion and snapped Matt Damon’s photo at this star-studded event. Unfortunately, the film left Patrycja underwhelmed.

“I didn’t laugh; I didn’t cry; I didn’t go ‘wow’ while watching this flick,” she says.

Still, almost any photo of Matt Damon wows me, so I couldn’t resist including the terrific one Patrycja took of him in my blog. Thanks for sharing, Patrycja!

For more information about Patrycja Adamowska, go to her website at www.adamowska.com.

Cliff Robertson Remembered

I’m saddened about the recent passing of Cliff Robertson, one of my favorite actors. Robertson won me over with impressive performances in such films as Gidget, Obsession, Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, Three Days of the Condor, PT-109, Spider-Man, and Charly. His remarkable acting career spanned over 50 years and included roles in over 100 movies and television shows.

It was my good fortune to meet Robertson several years ago when he came to San Diego Mesa College to accept a special award for his Oscar-winning performance in Charly. As emcee of the program, I became concerned because Robertson went over his allotted time explaining why he wanted to make a sequel to Charly -- so I asked him to sum up in one sentence the movie’s most important message.

“Well, that’s the nicest way I’ve ever been kicked off stage,” he announced to the audience. Of course, everyone laughed. But they all knew I would never kick Cliff Robertson off stage!

Besides being a wonderful actor and a very nice guy, Robertson had a great sense of humor. He will be missed. Thankfully, we can still watch his movies on DVD.

THANK YOU, Jane Bernard!

Everyone with a weight problem owes author Jane Bernard a big THANK YOU for her new book, Am I Really Hungry? 6th Sense Diet: Intuitive Eating. Like so many others, I’ve always had a fluctuating weight problem. How have I dealt with this situation? Not very well, I’m afraid. I’ve tried smaller portions at each meal, eating five regular meals instead of three, and even fasting -- but my appetite never subsides. My husband teases me with remarks like, “You’ll ruin your appetite by eating between bites.” That’s why I’ve found Bernard’s “intuitive eating” approach so helpful. I admire the way her book addresses our biggest eating problems, frustrations and desires, then helps us make smart choices for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

Am I Really Hungry? boasts wonderful -- even philosophical -- quotations and advice as well as surprising tools for becoming an intuitive eater. No forbidden foods, calorie counting or elaborate menu planning clutter its pages. Instead, the book focuses on intuition and being in sync with your body. The author also reveals how our emotional reactions to eating can interfere with our real needs. According to Bernard, hunger is “intensely personal, which means satisfying it is individual.” By using the tools presented here along with our five senses, we can learn to know what we really want to eat by listening to our 6th sense.

Added attractions in Am I Really Hungry? include yummy recipes from celebrity chefs who agree that good chefs eat intuitively. (I can hardly wait to try Dorian Bergen’s Pumpkin Pie.)

No more traditional diets for me. After reading this book, I’ve joined the Intuitive Eating Bandwagon. And here’s another plus: Bernard writes with a breezy, appealing style that make her revolutionary book great fun to read!

(Am I Really Hungry? is available on Amazon.com and at www.intueating.com.)