The Life of a Human Lie Detector

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rapeseed and the tree

I was out at a social gathering recently, and someone asked what I do for a living.

Not wanting to throw it out there, I said, “I’m a trainer.”

My talking companion continues, “Oh really?  Who do you train?”

Trying to slow or stop the inquiry of information, I continue to reply with short answers, “Law Enforcement”.

Inevitably, though, the next question comes, “What do you train?”

Not one bit interested to lie, though wishing the inquiry had stopped earlier for their sake, I say, “Human behavior and deception.”

And the funniest things happen when people have secrets.  They bolt the first instant they can.

And the manner in which they bolt is usually so bold, it causes me to watch in disbelief every time.

Every time.

My internal dialogue is always the same, “I can’t believe this” — though, of course, I can.  It just never gets old or boring.

People who do this couldn’t wear a bigger beacon on their back that says “I’m HOT” and not the hot sexy type, folks.  Hot on fire with a story or two!

I then chuckle and wait to find the golden goose and it always comes out from someone.

And this day was no different.  That person didn’t tell me a lie, but they told others a whopper and when I heard others repeat it, I knew it instantly.  Just sadly others fell for it.

I just listen, smile and keep my mouth closed.  It’s not my place to expose one’s secrets, which causes another funny side effect.  Because I don’t call people out on their lies, they think I don’t have any talent.  Sorry to tell them who that joke is on…

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

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A reader has asked me what I see when I look at this painting by Leonardo da Vinci. 

Ironically, I have never connected with this painting, and there could be many reasons for it.

Perhaps da Vinci didn’t accurately replicate the emotion Mona Lisa was displaying on her face  in this portraiture, or he painted her from memory and missed elements or detail to make it realistic?

Mona Lisa’s face just feels empty to me.  Her eyes reflect a smile, but no other elements of her face support it.  Her mouth has a slight tension about it and a hint of contempt, but again, its not natural or realistic.  And her body language conveys a very relaxed person–all conflicting messages to me.

Perhaps da Vinci had conflicting feelings of Mona Lisa as he painted her?

Or he intentionally misaligned her expression to cause mystery?

Many speculate that da Vinci was mentally ill, so maybe he saw the world askew?

I don’t think we’ll ever know. 

Many say the painting is enigmatic.  To that, I would agree.

Norma Patricia Esparza Writes for Huffington Post

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Norma Esparza took to writing a blog post for the Huffington Post.  Have you seen it?

It’s truly worth a read.  What hotspots do you see when you read it?
Perspective on Rape: Can Women Trust the Justice System?

Lottie Spencer Blatz and Waseem Daker on Dateline

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Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you caught Dateline NBC last weekend and watched the featured story, your jaw likely dropped and hit the floor.  The story was a mind-blowing.

A woman, Lottie Spencer Blatz, claimed she had been relentlessly stalked by a younger man, Waseem Daker.  She said they met playing paintball and became friends, but she said they never had a romantic relationship.  Then Daker, according to Blatz, started stalking her and became obsessed with her.

Blatz filed charges against Daker multiple times for stalking and Daker ended up getting locked up for 10 years.

In the middle of all of this, Blatz ‘s attractive neighbor, Karmen Smith, who lived in the same house that Blatz did (on a different floor) was murdered.  When it happened, Blatz told police she knew who it was.  It was Daker, the man who stalked her.

That hit me as very unusual and strange. Stalkers may kill the person they are obsessed with, but not typically their neighbors.

Blatz talks about when she was being harassed by Daker, she took her phone off the hook and as soon as she did, she heard Daker start calling Karmen Smith and shortly after Smith was murdered.  What are the odds?

Over the Dateline broadcast, Blatz does an about face now that Daker is convicted of murder, and she tells us and the courts that she lied.  She says that Daker never stalked her, and that she had a consensual relationship with him after all.  She is now calling Daker the victim here.

When you are watching the show, you are left confused and unsure what to believe.

When I watched Blatz tell her original story, I saw a lot of red flags and I didn’t believe her.  Yet when she did an about face, her clues dramatically subsided.

I think Blatz has some serious mental health issues, but I also believe she is a pathological liar and even worse, she may be a master manipulator.

At the end of the show, from what I saw, I couldn’t help but wonder if Blatz manipulated and toyed with Daker’s emotions, and pulled his strings like a puppet and got great joy out of it.  By pushing his buttons, she may have pushed him to the brink–causing him to do stupid things.

And when I think that Blatz was so sure of who killed her neighbor, I immediately wonder what evidence there was to convict Daker.  Blatz claims she gave a blanket to Smith before she was killed, but only Daker’s hairs were on the blanket — not Blatz’s.  How does that happen?

I can’t help but question if Blatz set up Daker.  I would put Blatz in the target of my investigation.  She would have had the motive to kill Karmen Smith out of pure jealousy if Daker gave her any attention.  Or she could have manipulated Daker to kill Smith and refused all contact with Daker until he did.  Both are plausible.

I fear this story is way more twisted than anyone knows and the dark one behind all of this may very well be Blatz and not Daker.  I can say I do believe Blatz this time around on some elements–enough that the whole case needs to be reassessed, hands down.