New York is a peaceful city, which doesn’t deserve the reputation it earned in the last century; I’ve seen the crime stats, and I’ve been out in the city and felt safe. Therefore, it must just be an unfortunate coincidence that I saw some bloke get shot on my second night in town.
That’s a slight exaggeration. We heard what could have been a gunshot or a car backfiring or a firework, thought ‘ah, it’s just our English paranoia, there’s no way it was a gunshot’. 15 seconds later two black guys dressed gangsta-ishly came running past, one staggering and looking very unwell and the other propping him up and yelling variations on ‘this guy needs a motherfucking ambulance’ to the (many) passers by.
Being pathetic wusses, we walked away very fast until we were a few blocks further downtown, and went to a Starbucks to chill out. I’m still slightly in shock…
Dear John B.:
It won’t upset you terribly, I trust, to learn that the word I hear most often about Laura Bush is "creepy."
Surely, that’s not the usual epithet for a First Lady. Why "creepy"?
I can offer unusual perspective given my unusual line of work, deeper perception. I’m an expert on physiognomy and other aspects of deeper perception. Usually I write books and teach people how to open up their own perception–see http://www.rose-rosetree.com. But with the American election underway, I’ve been writing articles on the major players, including one I’ve just done on Cheney–ask for it if you like.
One of my students recently had one of my articles posted on KOS, then another was posted. And another. Right now a vote is underway over whether mainstream liberals think deeper perception is over the top for a blog. So far, sentiment is running 2 pro-my kind of commentary vs. 1 con. Might you invite me to be an occasional contributor to your blog? You’re invited to publish all or part of the longish article below, so long as you include my contact info. And, of course, let me know if you’d like to hear from me again.
With best blogger’s wishes,
Rose
703-404-4357
Facing up to the First Lady Candidates
by Rose Rosetree
http://www.rose-rosetree.com
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Copyright: CREATIVE COMMONS license
How would you like to make up your own mind about the candidates’ wives, rather than letting the media do it for you? Deeper perception can help. A teacher of personal development for 33 years, my motto is “Find deeper truth through deeper perception.”
Having read faces for thousands of clients, I’ve earned a reputation for accuracy.
Even if you’re initially skeptical about face reading, I invite you to be a true skeptic and keep your mind open. Don’t miss this chance to learn what a professional face reader would say about the First Lady Candidates.
Physiognomists go beyond mere expression to read the truth of character. It takes until a person is 18 for free will to begin shaping it; with each passing year, the face continues to evolve. It’s especially fascinating to research how faces change over time, reflecting inner growth. (See my how-to, Wrinkles Are God’s Makeup: How You Can Find Meaning in Your Evolving Face.)
In my system of Face Reading Secrets (R), every bit of face data corresponds to a talent. But there is also a potential life lesson. Frankly, you can’t tell from reading the face if a person struggles with a challenge or has overcome it. That’s why I refer to potential challenges. The exception, however, is when a person develops facial asymmetries; these occur as a result of personal challenges.
Here, then, is what I’ve learned about the strengths and potential challenges of Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz-Kerry—courtesy of their faces–surprising to me, and maybe surprising to you as well. And here are photo links you can click to follow the conversation, and add to it. Feel free to email your observations to me at [email protected]. J
Laura Bush in 2004
http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2004/EDUCATION/02/20/laura.bush.ap/vert.laura.bush.ap.jpg
A good closeup from Laura Bush: America’s First Lady by Beatrice Gormley:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0689853661/qid=1092314884/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-2952092-0117663?v=glance&s=books
Teresa Heinz-Kerry in 2004
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1077676910208_2004/02/27/john%2Bteresa_kerry,0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/26/1077676901637.html%3Ffrom%3Dstoryrhs&h=363&w=240&sz=40&tbnid=lbjFAN2L864J:&tbnh=116&tbnw=77&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteresa%2Bkerry%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG
LAURA’S FACIAL ODYSSEY
Familiar though Laura’s face may be, have you noticed its growing asymmetry since she moved into the White House?
To see asymmetry, cover up any mug shot with a sheet of paper. Compare the left and right sides. They can vary enormously. As for telling left from right, remember, photo images aren’t like the sight of yourself reflected in a mirror, where your face is reversed. Treat a photo as though you were looking at someone standing opposite you. Cross over in your mind, as if preparing to shake hands.
Interpreting asymmetry hinges on this simple fact. The right side is about what you’re like in public (as in work, including politics). The left side reveals what you’re like in private (with family members, close friends).
Having some differences between right and left is healthy. Pity the rare person who doesn’t know how to “get a (personal) life.” Still, when a politician’s face becomes increasingly crooked, quickly, let’s put it this way. It’s not a good sign. In fact, the term “crooked politician” has definite meaning to a face reader.
Current photos of the First Lady show the whole right side of her face is higher than the left: Eyebrows, eye, nose tip, mouth all are higher on the right side.
No, it doesn’t necessarily mean “right-wing politics.” It means that she values her public image over her private identity—in thinking, social situations, work and communication. As recently as 2000, her face wasn’t that asymmetrical. She has shifted. To compare, click on: http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/07/31/convention.wrap/story.laura.bush.jpg
Nasally, Mrs. Bush has something fascinating in common with her husband. On Inauguration Day, both had noses that angled toward the left. In less than four years, their noses have migrated to the right. What does it mean that Laura’s nose has shifted from left-angled to right-angled? She’s gone from basing her career on her personal agenda to craving fame and power… feeling that, to keep it, she’ll do whatever it takes.
Their chins have taken the same strange kind of journey. Mr. and Mrs. Bush now have chins that are far bigger on the right side, suggesting that beliefs for show (i.e., in public) matter more than authentic, personal beliefs.
CHEEKY TERESA
Compared to the president’s spouse, John Kerry’s wife hasn’t been subject to the same kind of intense public pressure over the past four years. Instead, she’s had a quiet time as a senator’s wife… and a philanthropist, donating millions to carefully chosen causes.
To see that her relatively symmetrical face is constant, click on this earlier photo:
http://www.washjeff.edu/images/theinz_sm.jpg
Just three asymmetries stand out. Teresa’s left eyebrow is higher than the one on the right, indicating that she insists on thinking for herself, unimpressed by authority figures. The potential challenge is embarrassing her husband with ideas that would bomb in a focus group.
Heinz-Kerry’s nose angles toward the left—for now at least. Left leaning noses symbolize work with deep inner significance. The nose’s owner has personal values that drive her career. What’s the potential challenge? It’s having one’s work under-valued. (When the left-leaning nose belongs to a politician, being un-famous isn’t the challenge. It’s having one’s personal agenda taint public leadership.)
The real surprise shows in Teresa’s cheeks, while her face is in repose. On the right side, note her greater cheek prominence, plus the high cheekbone. On the left, there’s less cheek padding; less emphasis, too.
For at least 3,000 years, physiognomists have known that cheeks reveal secrets about personal power. More cheek on the right than the left suggests greater power in her career than her domestic life. The prominence of Teresa’s right cheek augurs an in-your-face, high-impact style of First Ladyship, reminiscent of Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan.
Compounding the potential for controversy, consider Heinz-Kerry’s especially high cheekbone on the right. Her husband has this attribute, too. It’s about using power to take a stand on what they consider to be wrong—making a fuss, even if it diminishes popularity.
DISTINCTIVE SMILES
In physiognomy, smiles aren’t just about expression. The physical display reveals plenty about how a person presents herself in public.
Let’s start with Teresa and her highly unusual smile structure. Check out her smile depth. The amount she opens up is small, the position extraordinary. Usually a small amount of smile depth means that a person parts her lips just enough to show a little of the upper teeth. But look carefully. In the characteristic expression shown in our photo link, Heinz-Kerry reveals only the very tops of her upper teeth, plus a bit of the gums.
Translation? Smile depth is about a person’s style of giving to others. A small amount of smile depth means revealing only a smidge of one’s inner self.
Having gums show in a smile, however, indicates quality of giving in contrast to quantity. Usually, when gums show in a smile, the smile depth is huge. But whether the person is open to revealing herself or not, the message of gums showing is clear: Deep quality of giving, verging on personal sacrifice.
What’s the potential challenge? It’s being generous to a fault. Teresa’s smile suggests a rare form of generosity, where she’ll avoid the more obvious ways to serve others and do only what she considers to be really important. If she does become First Lady, she’ll thwart everyone’s expectations.
Despite having unusual depth, Teresa Heinz-Kerry gives a genuine smile. Body language experts call it a Duchenne smile, where the mouth opens, cheeks lift and eyes crinkle.
By contrast, in her official photos, Laura Bush does not offer up a genuine smile. She prefers a lips-only smile (much like her husband). The advantage? This conveys a Mona Lisa-like mystery, offering a blank screen for viewers to project their fantasies. No wonder this kind of pseudo-smile is so popular on TV!
The potential challenge, however, is emotional aloofness, with only the pretense of giving to others. Beginning with President Nixon, American politicians have given their official photographs with lips parted. George W. Bush is the first in the line of modern presidents to pose with the more secretive style of smile, and his wife has followed suit.
Still, casual photos show a “semi-toothy” smile, genuine, with a moderate degree of opening up.
Whether posed or candid, Laura Bush reveals plenty more with her mouth. Like her husband, she has a crooked smile, higher on the right. This suggests that, putting herself forward socially, she emphasizes the public effect. Crooked smiles are charming; the potential challenge is dishonesty.
(Heinz-Kerry also does this, with just a slight degree of crookedness, on the rare occasions she’s photographed giving a great big smile.)
Finally, Bush’s mouth pulls to the right, also like her husband’s. Ever hear the expression, “Speaking out one side of his mouth?” For Mr. and Mrs. Bush, that happens to be the public side.
FACIAL STRENGTHS
Now let’s explore the “very’s” on each woman’s face. The physical extremes on a face are most important to read because of one central premise of face reading: There’s a reciprocal relationship between the inner person and the physical face.
Therefore, something that’s wildly distinctive physically will be extra-significant inwardly, while less extreme face data will carry less importance. Both Teresa and Laura have plenty of revealing facial extremes.
With the philanthropist, powerline dimples cascade from her smile. These are curved wrinkles that angle upward onto the cheeks. The associated talent is graciousness in the exercise of power. The problem is that there’s only one way to acquire this sign of humility. As you may know from personal experience, humility hurts. You fail or go through a painful loss, and if you lose some ego in the process, you’ll gain some powerline dimple.
Lowbrows—my face reading term literally means that eyebrows placed close to the eyes. For an owner of lowbrows, blurting comes naturally. The spontaneity adds impact and genuineness. Even if one wasn’t in politics, however, there could be potential problems with expressing one’s first, blunt reactions.
Teresa also has chiseled lips, a kind of natural lipliner that gives her mouth high definition, corresponding to ultra-high standards for communication. The potential challenge is being her own worst critic.
Finally, notice Teresa’s distinctive nose: Short, up-angled, with a very large tip. Short noses go with a talent for hard work, with the potential of having one’s efforts taken for granted. Up-angled noses symbolize intense curiosity, the potential challenge being impulsiveness, especially in career.
As for that large nose tip, though it may not be in favor with today’s cosmetic surgeons, but the meaning is nothing to sneeze at. Evidently Heinz-Kerry values financial security, with the potential challenge of worrying when money is scarce. Golly, it’s enough to turn a tender-hearted person to a life of philanthropy.
LAURA’S POINTS OF PRIDE
Bush also has a lowbrow, but only on the left side of her face. On the right, she’s a highbrow. This gives her an advantage with discretion. Although she’ll speak her mind frankly and promptly in private, publicly she thrives on reserve.
Well-padded cheeks dominate her face. For power, this is a plus. She has a gift for attracting support. The potential challenge is a disgruntled form of affability. You’ve seen it, even if you don’t know any presidents’ wives. That good-humored P.T.A. mother who just can’t say no, that buddy bored out of his gourd at a friend’s kid’s basketball game—whenever you se someone who routinely wastes time, secretly resentful, but paying dues as a famously good sport—that’s the downside of well-padded cheeks.
By far the most distinctive attribute for Laura Bush, something you’re unlikely to see on anyone in your neighborhood, is her intensely up-angled eyes, especially her right eye. This indicates that Bush is one of the most extreme idealists you’ll ever meet. And for her public life, that goes double.
What’s the potential challenge? When a politician lives with this level of idealism, it’s polarizing. Steadfast adherence to her beliefs could make her saint material. Yet, to those who don’t agree with her values, she’ll seem more zealot than saint.
Laura’s diamond-shaped face marks her as having the relatively rare power style of a survivor. Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister with exceptional staying power, is another member of the small Survivor Style club. The talent—you’ve guessed it by now. The potential challenge is a siege mentality.
Finally, what happens when you let the candidates’ wives go nose to nose? Schnozzily speaking, Laura Bush has very small tip plus abundant nose width, from the bridge to right above the tip.
The tiny tip suggests that she doesn’t worry much about money. Yes, here’s something she has in common with her husband. It suggests that the always wealthy Bushes don’t worry about saving. This “Prosperity consciousness” can inspire others, as a kind of metaphysical trickle-down economics. Potential challenge? Not planning for the future, as in going into debt—sound familiar? When folks with tiny tips run the White House, don’t be surprised to find their personal style translate into national debt.
Laura’s nose width symbolizes a talent for working with people. The only problem with this team-player mentality is feeling unmotivated when working alone. Under the circumstances, we may safely assume, this is one challenge that won’t bother Laura Bush.
FACING OFF
As these two strong women face off politically, here’s a summary of what their faces show.
Laura Bush lives for her ideals. In their service, she wields the ability to attract loyal support, as evidenced in her cheek padding and nose width. Personal choices have bent her in the direction of sacrificing all for her political ambitions. As displayed in her growing facial asymmetries, speech, work, ethics, relationships and thinking all are weighted toward staying in power. She’s a simple person, strongly driven.
By contrast, Teresa Heinz-Kerry is far more complex and ambivalent. More reflective than most political wives, this thin-skinned woman is highly independent, witness her left-angled nose, power-line dimples, lowbrows and chiseled lips. Should she land, face first, in a position of top-level political power, watch out for her high-cheekboned style. Never will she allow herself to be conveniently scripted. If she’s asked to compromise her ethics, guaranteed, you will see sparks fly.
Does it count as comment spam when it’s done manually? Enquiring minds want to know…