Positively Puzzled

gingerbread me , originally uploaded by I, Puzzled . Meera's talented cookiecraft. December 2007

dressed in fir , originally uploaded by I, Puzzled . We took our traditional trip to the Christmas tree farm, Crest Ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains, yesterday. Gabriel was cold and wrapped himself in the boughs of a tall fir tree.

Adam's Rib (1949) WALL-E (2008) The Member of the Wedding (1952) Alfie (2004) Grand Hotel (1932) Anastasia (1956) What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004) Talk to Me (2007) Thank You for Smoking (2004) The Lost Weekend (1945) more stills

Doodletown no. 4 , originally uploaded by Elephi Pelephi . The Hudson Valley It's been a while since I posted a single photo. This one just blew me away. A masterpiece, Patty!

Nothing else going on in the world, I guess. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) Intolerable Cruelty (2003) Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) Blackboard Jungle (1955) The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Unstrung Heroes (1995) The Story of Adelle H (1975) Red-Headed Woman (1932) Waterloo Bridge (1931) more stills

Titanic (1997) A Tale of Two Cities (1935) Follow the Fleet (1936) La Vie en Rose (2007) Much Ado About Nothing (1993) Biloxi Blues (1988) Nim's Island (2008) Fanny and Alexander (1980) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) Treasure Island (1934) more stills And one book I finished reading recently... The Complete Calvin and Hobbes , by Bill Watterson

Sailing on Lake Garda , originally uploaded by John Cuddihy .

Here it is! Exquisite, graceful, and sensuous sculpture and music inform this extraordinary ballet performance from the Michael Smuin Ballet. I remember seeing this on the ARTS channel (Classic Arts Showcase) years ago...based on Rodin's sculpture, "The Eternal Idol", a ballet sequence set to the larghetto movement of Chopin's 2nd Piano Concerto by Michael Smuin. Beautiful and sensual. Dancers: Marjorie Grundvig and Lee Bell. YouTube video by eogmi24.

Dancing Sailors About to Get Bashed Originally uploaded by Positively Puzzled 1936 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Follow the Fleet In this scene, Astaire's character is teaching fellow sailors how to dance. Half are selected to lead. Those selected to follow oblige only after mild chagrin. Superior officers arrive to witness what looks like a gay dance party and then proceed to beat up the dancing sailors. Wah-wah-wah. This movie is just about as old as John McCain. Another weird part of the movie for me was a song in which the exceptionally dark biblical phrase "Get thee behind me, Satan" precedes a dilemma about giving in to sexual desires for an obvious cad. I've never heard of this song. It's Irving Berlin, so I suspect I'm just out of touch, but it really was weirdly incongruous. That said, it's a charming movie. The dance numbers in the latter half of the film are particularly good. One of Fred's pulsating syncopated tap routines, on th...

RV (2005) Click (2006) Honeydripper (2007) Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) Bye Bye Birdie (1963) October Sky (1999) No Country for Old Men (2007) National Treasure (2004) Matilda (1996) more stills

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802) 3rd president of US (1743 - 1826) The quote, however, appears to be apocryphal, according to the annotations included in the quote's entry in The Jefferson Encyclopedia .

Camille Conti (CC) host of "The Cutting Edge" KUDO 1080 , Alaska Progressive Radio, and State Senator Bill Wielechowski appeared on The Thom Hartmann Show , Thursday September 18, 2008. They tell an astounding story. I haven't been able to find any pertinent links, so here's a transcript of Thom's interview with CC: Thom Hartmann: The Republicans are sending lawyers to Alaska to shut down the Troopergate investigation. What's the latest on this? Camille Conti: You know, Thom? I have to tell you, I so appreciate this opportunity, because, really, Alaska needs America right now. What is happening in my city could happen in anybody's city. It is so much bigger than you can ever imagine. The McCain campaign has basically high-jacked our government and they have infiltrated our Department of Law. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. This anti-terrorism prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York City Ed O'Callaghan...