Oscar Fashions: Best and Worst of the Red Carpet

There were some GOHHH-geous gowns on the red carpet last night, but am I alone in thinking that this years number and caliber of star-turns was somewhat less than usual? I'm not mentioning the men—sorry men—I want to talk gowns.

Best-in-Show: Rachel Weisz
RACHEL WEISZ was wearing a rum pink Vera Wang satin gown with vintage jewels from the house of Cartier. Her hair, her makeup, her poise were flawless. When presenting an award, she was every inch old Hollywood glamour, a lady and a star.
Runner-up: Cate Blanchett
CATE BLANCHETT in Giorgio Armani Privé - a silver one-shoulder Swarovski crystal mesh gown with tulle overlay and jet black paillette floral motif. Jewelry from Lorraine Schwartz. Her whole look was pulled together, glamorous, elegant; when she came to announce an award, she glittered, looking more statuesque than Oscar himself.
Honorable Mention: Penelope Cruz
PENELOPE CRUZ in a blush Atelier Versace gown of silk chiffon, organza and tulle. Jewels by Chopard. A risky gown, with its flluffiness, but Cruz with her ballerina frame carried it beautifully. I found her hair a bit severe for her face and for the dress.

Also of note:
Keisha Whitaker		Maggie Gyllenhaal		Cameron Diaz
Helen Mirren		Reese Witherspoon		Jodie Foster

Worst-in-Show - TIE: Kelly Preston		Meryl Streep
Kelly Preston should read up: one of the questions on the menopause checklist is "Do you suddenly find animal prints appealing?" Not only is this dress hopelessly tacky, it is also extremely unflattering for her belly bulge. Meryl Streep, on the other hand, shows up looking like an aging hippie, wearing a beltbuckle around her neck, and the most horrific ballet toe-shoes gone wrong. And she was up for "Devil Wears Prada" - the irony here is, that this horrible get up is, believe it or not, Prada. Her stylist should be raked over hot coals, and her poor publicist must be pulling out her hair today. Consider both of these get-ups to be on the "DON'T" list for Oscars, or any other occasion.
Runner-up for Worst: J-LO, aka Jennifer Lopez
JENNIFER LOPEZ, a woman with a great body and notoriously poor taste, came in what could only be described as a mumu that made her look like the Michelin Man, with her grandmother's chandelier sewn to the neckline. G'AWFUL. "Gown" by Marchesa.
Dishonorable Mention: Nicole Kidman
NICOLE KIDMAN, on the other hand, showed up as Miss Christmas Present. Her BFF, fellow Aussie Naomi Watts, came in a dress that was entirely not her color, with sleeves that made her arms look deformed. You tell me, doesn't the picture on the right look like Mrs. Santa came to the Oscars with a melting elf?

The Also-Stank: Eva Green		Gwyneth Paltrow		Jennifer Hudson
Anne Hathaway		Kirsten Dunst		Isla Fisher
EVA GREEN decided to come as the undead, wrapped in a mummy shroud, with ghoul makeup. Great career move, if you're auditioning for Ed Wood, otherwise.... GWYNETH PALTROW came as a sad depression-era mermaid.... JENNIFER HUDSON got the dress right, but then decided to wear a 1950s SCI-FI movie capelet that cried, "Beam me up!".... ANNE HATHAWAY wore her great-aunt Hilda's lace bedspread with funeral bow hotglued to the front... KIRSTEN DUNST had an unfortunate accident on the way to the Oscars, involving an exploding ostrich... and ISLA FISHER gets the "Oh my God, my boobs are sooo gonna fall out of my dress" award.

All in all, a weak Oscar Red Carpet year, in my opinion. Shape up, chicks!
 

A Lazy Day

As you all know, I should be updating Luminarium, writing a few papers, cleaning the house, etc. But today is one of THOSE days. The days when you feel like being incredibly lazy and just surfing blogs and writing blog entries (like, for instance, on the Red Carpet fashions). I also want to make muffins (I already grated a lemon for zest, but I'm also too lazy to go buy butter which I forgot when I was at the grocery store). I've already spent a few hours this morning slaying stuff in FFXI.... In my defense, I did shovel my sidewalk, the neighbor's sidewalk, and her driveway already this morning, too. Eeeeek, which is going to win: the lazy devil on my shoulder, or the industrious little angel whispering in my other ear? GAAAAAAAH.

Solution: I talked to my boss (me) who was very understanding, and said she knows I'm usually a pretty hard worker, and that if I promised to be extra diligent tomorrow, I could have the day off. I told my boss (me) that I promised, and she gave me the rest of the day off. Don't tell my boss (me) that I said this, but I was surprised because usually she (I) is such a hardass (yeah, I am).

Aaaaanyways, what I ended up doing is putting highlights in my hair to lighten up one more notch. Tomorrow I will stick on this gorgeous fox-red hair color, that I found at the store. You see, I once again saw the preview for Spiderman 3, and when I saw MJ in the spider net, her hair like a flame, I was a goner (see that brief instant at 2:14 of the trailer—was impressive on the big screen, trust me). I want that color. I want it now. Will let you know how it turns out.


 

QUIZ: Which of Henry VIII's Wives Are You?

via American Girl

Which of Henry VIII's wives are you? - by Lori Fury

The Six Wives of Henry VIII - Luminarium
 

Oscars: The Wrap-up

The women were gorgeous in their gowns (Best: Rachel Weisz), the men equally dashing (Hugh Jackman! slay me now). But, we'll do another dish on the Oscar Red Carpet fashions in a minute. Ellen DeGenerous did a fab job keeping the show running, and the whole shebang was well produced. A very enjoyable evening. The biggest upset for me was Pan's Labyrinth losing out to the German film The Lives of Others—a delightful surprise was the recognition received by the film Little Miss Sunshine.

Here is the list of the winners in the major categories (you can compare with my predictions in the post below.

BEST PICTURE
® Babel
® The Departed
® Letters From Iwo Jima
® Little Miss Sunshine
® The Queen

BEST DIRECTOR
® Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – "Babel"
® Martin Scorsese – "The Departed"
® Clint Eastwood – "Letters From Iwo Jima"
® Stephen Frears – "The Queen"
® Paul Greengrass – "United 93"

BEST ACTOR
® Leonardo DiCaprio – "Blood Diamond"
® Ryan Gosling – "Half Nelson"
® Peter O'Toole – "Venus"
® Will Smith – "The Pursuit of Happyness"
® Forest Whitaker – "The Last King of Scotland"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
® Alan Arkin – "Little Miss Sunshine"
® Jackie Earle Haley – "Little Children"
® Djimon Hounsou – "Blood Diamond"
® Eddie Murphy – "Dreamgirls"
® Mark Wahlberg – "The Departed"

BEST ACTRESS
® Penelope Cruz – "Volver"
® Judi Dench – "Notes on a Scandal"
® Helen Mirren – "The Queen"
® Meryl Streep – "The Devil Wears Prada"
® Kate Winslet – "Little Children"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
® Adriana Barraza – "Babel"
® Cate Blanchett – "Notes on a Scandal"
® Abigail Breslin – "Little Miss Sunshine"
® Jennifer Hudson – "Dreamgirls"
® Rinko Kikuchi – "Babel"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
® Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham,
Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips – "Borat"
® Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata,
Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby – "Children of Men"
® William Monahan – "The Departed"
® Todd Field and Tom Perrotta – "Little Children"
® Patrick Marber – "Notes on a Scandal"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
® Guillermo Arriaga – "Babel"
® Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis – "Letters From Iwo Jima"
® Michael Arndt – "Little Miss Sunshine"
® Guillermo del Toro – "Pan's Labyrinth"
® Peter Morgan – "The Queen"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
® After the Wedding – Denmark
® Days of Glory (Indigenes) – Algeria
® The Lives of Others – Germany
® Pan's Labyrinth – Mexico
® Water – Canada

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
® The Black Dahlia
® Children of Men
® The Illusionist
® Pan's Labyrinth
® The Prestige
 

My Oscar Predictions

Note: How I think the Academy voted, not my own personal picks, necessarily

BEST PICTURE
® Babel
® The Departed
® Letters From Iwo Jima
® Little Miss Sunshine
® The Queen

BEST DIRECTOR
® Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – "Babel"
® Martin Scorsese – "The Departed"
® Clint Eastwood – "Letters From Iwo Jima"
® Stephen Frears – "The Queen"
® Paul Greengrass – "United 93"

BEST ACTOR
® Leonardo DiCaprio – "Blood Diamond"
® Ryan Gosling – "Half Nelson"
® Peter O'Toole – "Venus"
® Will Smith – "The Pursuit of Happyness"
® Forest Whitaker – "The Last King of Scotland"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
® Alan Arkin – "Little Miss Sunshine"
® Jackie Earle Haley – "Little Children"
® Djimon Hounsou – "Blood Diamond"
® Eddie Murphy – "Dreamgirls"
® Mark Wahlberg – "The Departed"

BEST ACTRESS
® Penelope Cruz – "Volver"
® Judi Dench – "Notes on a Scandal"
® Helen Mirren – "The Queen"
® Meryl Streep – "The Devil Wears Prada"
® Kate Winslet – "Little Children"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
® Adriana Barraza – "Babel"
® Cate Blanchett – "Notes on a Scandal"
® Abigail Breslin – "Little Miss Sunshine"
® Jennifer Hudson – "Dreamgirls"
® Rinko Kikuchi – "Babel"

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
® Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham,
Dan Mazer and Todd Phillips – "Borat"
® Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata,
Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby – "Children of Men"
® William Monahan – "The Departed"
® Todd Field and Tom Perrotta – "Little Children"
® Patrick Marber – "Notes on a Scandal"

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
® Guillermo Arriaga – "Babel"
® Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis – "Letters From Iwo Jima"
® Michael Arndt – "Little Miss Sunshine"
® Guillermo del Toro – "Pan’s Labyrinth"
® Peter Morgan – "The Queen"

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
® After the Wedding – Denmark
® Days of Glory (Indigenes) – Algeria
® The Lives of Others – Germany
® Pan's Labyrinth – Mexico
® Water – Canada

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
® The Black Dahlia
® Children of Men
® The Illusionist
® Pan's Labyrinth
® The Prestige
 

Quiz: Which of the "Heroes" Are You?

via Madeline

Hiro Nakamura You scored 50 Idealism, 66 Nonconformity, 45 Nerdiness YATTA! "Congratulations, you're Hiro Nakamura! You're a high-minded idealist, a huge nerd, and you enjoy being a unique and special person. Your combination of positive personality traits makes you impossibly lovable, and your energy and enthusiasm are absolutely infectious. Your dedication to any mission you take on, in addition to your cheerful sense of humor, are qualities anyone should be proud to have."

I was so worried I'd be someone boring like Simone! Hiro is my favorite! Now, if only I could tap into my hidden talent for bending the time/space-continuum....

Take The Heroes Personality Test
 

Rewarding Yourself

Ancrene Wiseass, a medievalist whose blog I like to read, started an interesting thread on her blog about rewarding oneself for a job well done. That made me think of the Eeva Kilpi poem (my mom's favorite) that translates from Finnish roughly as:

Going to sleep, I think: Tomorrow I will heat up the sauna, Pamper myself, Walk, swim, wash, Invite myself to evening tea, Speak to myself in a friendly and admiring way, praising: You brave little woman, I believe in you. - Eeva Kilpi -

Some of the things I like to do to pamper myself are:

Buying:

• a new bookmark ($2)
  
• a gel-pen in a pretty color ($1)
  
• a fruity or flowery soap ($4)
  
• a nice candle that makes the house smell like cookies ($2-8)

If I've been really good, I'll maybe treat myself to a mani-pedi ($35 here) or let myself enter Barnes & Noble ($$$); I also like baking, so maybe I'll make some orange-cranberry muffins and eat far too many of them in one sitting. Starbucks, of course, is a perpetual favorite.

Oh, and before you point it out, I admit, these are all material rewards. I'm shallow, what can I say?  No; the other, rewarding non-material things I already make time for, such as walking with the doggies, taking a bubble bath, watching movies or TV with yummies, reading fluffy chick lit, killing orcs in my jammies, etc.

Anyway, back to the material rewards :P  I had a little extra cash a few weeks back, so I visited another source of splurging—eBay (or, as it is affectionately also known, AnninaBay). I bought an artisan wooden necklace of a rune found on Lappish Shaman drums. The rune is of the shaman/witch doctor, and is thought to bring both good health and fertility. I must say I'm feeling pretty healthy atm, but no, I'm not pregnant :P Whether or not it works as a talisman, I thought it a gorgeous work of art. Here's a pic:


If you click on that, it will take you to the current eBay page for the item. It wasn't bad at all; with shipping, around $13.75. The folks running the store are nice, but their descriptions are on the embellished side —there is no "fertility god" in the mythology. My guess is that they came up with that from the Native American Kokopelli myth, Kokopelli being both a shaman and a fertility god. But, I'll let you know if I suddenly start expecting quadruplets.

Now, what I'd like to know from you guys is how do you reward yourselves after working hard, or succeeding in something, or just to ward off the blues? What do you do to pamper yourselves and say, "hey, you're pretty cool after all"?
 

Oscar Watch Continues: Half Nelson

The indie film Half Nelson is nominated for one Oscar, Best Actor in a Leading Role, for actor Ryan Gosling.

The story of a crack-addicted middle school teacher and coach, who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a 13-yr old girl student, the movie is shot very much like a documentary, on handheld. Nothing glossy or stagey here, which is nice. Gosling does a good job, but I don't think it's an Oscar performance. Here we have the classic "play-a-drug addict-get-an-Oscar-nod" and "play-a-teacher-get-an-Oscar-nod" double whammy happening. If anyone deserved a nod for this pic, it was young Shareeka Epps, who played the part of the student with surprising maturity and humor.

The movie is not at all my cup of tea, and I don't really feel like recommending it. On the other hand, since this type of "indie-ennui" fare isn't my thing, perhaps my assessment isn't fair. But here it is. From me, this film gets a C+.
 

Oscar Watch Continues: Pan's Labyrinth

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro's movie El Laberinto del Fauno, or Pan's Labyrinth, is up for 6 Oscars:

• Art Direction
• Cinematography
• Makeup
• Original Score
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Foreign Language Film

I predict it will get the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, but not the others—it certainly deserves all the nominations, but there are stronger contenders in the other categories.

It is a haunting tale of a little girl named Ofelia, whose mother marries a captain in Franco's army during the Spanish Civil War of the 1940s. Her daily existence is so bleak that she enters the world of her storybooks and begins a quest to open the gateway to fairyland, where she is foretold as the princess returning.

The movie is without question beautiful, with a gruff, harsh beauty. It is not an easy movie to watch—there are such scenes of man's cruelty to man, shown without any apology or euphemism, that it is painful for the viewer. Certainly, do not take small children to see this film. Furthermore, the little girl's journey is so well depicted that I felt emotionally bruised during and after the film, and I couldn't stop crying for a long time. So, caveat emptor: unless you have emotional reserves you can spare, this is a movie to watch in lighter times.

There are two performances most worth mention. The first is by little Ivana Baquero, whose emotions are transparent on her luminous face and soulful eyes. She will be a force to reckon with as she ages. The second is by Maribel Verdú (of Y tu mamá también, 2001, fame), who plays the housekeeper for the captain. The scene right after she is surrounded by the horses and she lets her real feelings show, nearly slayed me.

The music is beautiful, especially the theme, which I know will haunt me at the border of sleep for a long time, but there is too little of it. The rest of the score disappears in the movie.

Del Toro directed, produced, and wrote this film—and the unity and cohesion of the end product is a testament to him as an auteur. The movie is a gem, and considering that he had the budget of a flea compared to big-money films such as Narnia, which are nearly devoid of magic despite their budgets, he acquits himself well. Somehow, somewhere, though, and I wish I could tell you where, this movie falls just a teensy bit short of brilliance. I will give it an A-.
 

Is it possible?

To have a crappy day
       before it's barely started
To feel like crying
       while knowing
              Tears will avail nothing
To help someone
              beyond helping
To love someone
       who hurts you
              by hurting themselves
To be a hero
              ever failing
To believe this crappy day
       could be
              just another day
Is it possible?
 

Oscar Watch Continues: The Departed Delivers

Martin Scorcese's film The Departed is nominated for the Oscar in 5 categories:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Film Editing
• Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg)

Here is a movie that is 2.5 hrs long, and you'll not believe it. The plot moves fast and never gives the viewer a moment's breathing space.

The actors are all at the very knife's edge in their games, and thanks to Scorcese, who is above all an actor's director, are able to deliver their full potentials. If DiCaprio (whom I, frankly, don't usually care for) wasn't nominated for Best Actor in Blood Diamond, which I've yet to see, he would have been nominated for this performance—it is his maturest and most complex performance yet. Everyone in the film is believable and so invested, it is impossible for the viewer not to buy their performances wholesale.

I cannot get into the plot, for fear of spoiling the movie for those who have yet to see it. The script is complex, and with a lesser director than Scorcese, could easily have fallen apart. Scorcese holds all the fragile threads of this film in his masterful grip, and delivers a flawless tapestry. Scorcese's long-time editor Thelma Schoonmaker edits the film with unbelievable finesse. She is what all film editors should aspire to be: the invisible magician behind the curtain. I doubt I'm wrong in predicting this Oscar will go to her.

I haven't yet seen all of the films in the Best Picture and Best Director categories. I would not be sorry if both Oscars went to The Departed. The Academy, however, has never seen fit to give the Oscar to Scorcese, even though past masterpieces like Kundun (1997) would well have deserved it—and he is up against Academy favorite, Clint Eastwood. So chances are slim, if I were to guess pragmatically.

But, the long story short: this movie is all-around excellent. Your money and your time will be well spent on and with this movie. A.
 

The Opiate of the Masses

Oscar Watch Continues: A Tale of Two Shitties

The Black Dahlia, Director Brian DePalma's movie of James Ellroy's book of fiction, in turn based on the real murder of a Hollywood starlet-wannabe, is nominated only in the "Cinematography" category. That is nearly all the film has going for it. I love Film Noir, even the recent ones like L. A. Confidential (1997) and The Usual Suspects (1995), but this film is not anywhere near their caliber.

The art direction is fabulous—the places, sets, and costumes are absolutely flawless—I fervently believe that it should have been nominated for costume design several times over Marie Antoinette, but that discussion will follow shortly. Of the actors, Aaron Eckhart and Fiona Shaw alone give bearable performances. Josh Hartnett is wooden, and Scarlett Johanssen, who ever only has 3 facial expressions (slack, upset, fake-smiley) somehow manages to be even more cartoony than usual.

Direction and editing is where the biggest problems lie. I don't want to fault Bill Pankow for the editing, because he showed how brilliantly he can edit with Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), so the root of the problem, and the failure of the film, must be laid at the feet of DePalma, who must have railroaded how the editing had to be. In duration the film is only about 2 hrs, but half-way through, you would swear on all you hold dear that you had been watching it for 5 hrs already. It is torturously slow and boring. I would take a root canal and 2 wisdom tooth extractions over ever having to see this film again. It is not worth watching. Period. D+

Then, we get to Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, nominated for "Costume Design." Considering, that the costumes are purporting to be authentic period reproductions, the fact that the wigs are egregious and the hem of Marie Antoinette's first dress is A) lopsided B) too short, I don't know what the nominators were thinking.

The actors are miscast outrageously, except for the ever-magnificent Judy Davis, and she must have been cringing to have been part of that film when she saw the end result. Kirsten Dunst, whom I generally like... oh, poor girl, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? If I were her, I'd fire my agent YESTERDAY. She is awful in this film, and it's not all her fault.  Jason Schwartzman's presence and performance in this movie, or indeed that this guy has a career in Hollywood at all, is a total mystery to me. I do not have words in my vocabulary (and that's saying something, folks) to describe that absolute awfulness that is his performance.

Apart from the gorgeous sets, I think this movie ought to be BURNED. It is among the worst pieces of cinematic manure and wastes of LIFE, I have been forced to endure in years. Must be nice to have Francis Ford Coppola as your dad, and one accidental cinematic success, to be able to get the budget for anything you want to do, whether you truly deserve it or not. F.
 

How Much Do You Really Know About Me?

Thanks to Chris of Ruthless Ninja Assassin fame, I made a fluffy quiz about how much you visitors, friends, and family know about moi. Take it at your own risk! :P

How Well Do You Know Anniina?
 

Sonnetsday

I didn't feel like a sonnet. This is what came to me.


 

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

 

Quiz: What Fantasy Creature Are You?

You are a unicorn! You feel quite ordinary, but there is one thing about you that others love and that one thing makes you, you. You like being with others of your kind, but hide from things that are new or strange to you. You are very peaceful and calm and often lose track of time. You daydream a lot. You like a lot of cheerful colors. What Fantasy Creature Are You?

I Have Been One Acquainted With The Night

I'm a mess. As you know, I'm an accidental insomniac. I went to bed, but after an hour of turning, I got up and ended up making the "video" you will find below. Then, I somehow threw my hip out while sitting down (car accident injury from the '90s). This too shall pass.



Acquainted with the Night
by Robert Frost

I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain — and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.


From New Hampshire, 1923
 

Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxoxo,
Anniina
 

Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, and a Snowy Day

One fine winter's day when Piglet was brushing away the snow in front of his house, he happened to look up, and there was Winnie-the-Pooh. Pooh was walking round and round in a circle, thinking of something else, and when Piglet called to him, he just went on walking.
     "Hallo!" said Piglet, "what are you doing?"
     "Hunting," said Pooh.
     "Hunting what?"
     "Tracking something," said Winnie-the-Pooh very mysteriously.
     "Tracking what?" said Piglet, coming closer.
     "That's just what I ask myself. I ask myself, What?"
     "What do you think you'll answer?"
     "I shall have to wait until I catch up with it," said Winnie-the-Pooh. "Now, look there." He pointed to the ground in front of him. "What do you see there?"
     "Tracks," said Piglet. "Paw-marks." He gave a little squeak of excitement. "Oh, Pooh! Do you think it's a—a—a Woozle?"

     "It may be," said Pooh. "Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. You never can tell with paw-marks."
     With these few words he went on tracking, and Piglet, after watching him for a minute or two, ran after him. Winnie-the-Pooh had come to a sudden stop, and was bending over the tracks in a puzzled sort of way.
     "What's the matter?" asked Piglet.
     "It's a very funny thing," said Bear, "but there seem to be two animals now. This—whatever-it-was—has been joined by another— whatever-it-is—and the two of them are now proceeding in company. Would you mind coming with me, Piglet, in case they turn out to be Hostile Animals?"
     Piglet scratched his ear in a nice sort of way, and said that he had nothing to do until Friday, and would be delighted to come, in case it really was a Woozle.

     "You mean, in case it really is two Woozles," said Winnie-the-Pooh, and Piglet said that anyhow he had nothing to do until Friday. So off they went together.
     There was a small spinney of larch trees just here, and it seemed as if the two Woozles, if that is what they were, had been going round this spinney; so round this spinney went Pooh and Piglet after them; Piglet passing the time by telling Pooh what his Grandfather Trespassers W had done to Remove Stiffness after Tracking, and how his Grandfather Trespassers W had suffered in his later years from Shortness of Breath, and other matters of interest, and Pooh wondering what a Grandfather was like, and if perhaps this was Two Grandfathers they were after now, and, if so, whether he would be allowed to take one home and keep it, and what Christopher Robin would say. And still the tracks went on in front of them....
     Suddenly Winnie-the-Pooh stopped, and pointed excitedly in front of him.
"Look!"
     "What?" said Piglet, with a jump. And then, to show that he hadn't been frightened, he jumped up and down once or twice more in an exercising sort of way.
     "The tracks!" said Pooh. "A third animal has joined the other two!"
     "Pooh!" cried Piglet "Do you think it is another Woozle?"
     "No," said Pooh, "because it makes different marks. It is either Two Woozles and one, as it might be, Wizzle, or Two, as it might be, Wizzles and one, if so it is, Woozle. Let us continue to follow them."
     So they went on, feeling just a little anxious now, in case the three animals in front of them were of Hostile Intent. And Piglet wished very much that his Grandfather T. W. were there, instead of elsewhere, and Pooh thought how nice it would be if they met Christopher Robin suddenly but quite accidentally, and only because he liked Christopher Robin so much. And then, all of a sudden, Winnie-the-Pooh stopped again, and licked the tip of his nose in a cooling manner, for he was feeling more hot and anxious than ever in his life before. There were four animals in front of them!
"Do you see, Piglet? Look at their tracks! Three, as it were, Woozles, and one, as it was, Wizzle. Another Woozle has joined them!"
     And so it seemed to be. There were the tracks; crossing over each other here, getting muddled up with each other there; but, quite plainly every now and then, the tracks of four sets of paws.
     "I think," said Piglet, when he had licked the tip of his nose too, and found that it brought very little comfort, "I think that I have just remembered something. I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday and sha'n't be able to do to-morrow. So I suppose I really ought to go back and do it now."
     "We'll do it this afternoon, and I'll come with you," said Pooh.
     "It isn't the sort of thing you can do in the afternoon," said Piglet quickly. "It's a very particular morning thing, that has to be done in the morning, and, if possible, between the hours of— What would you say the time was?"
     "About twelve," said Winnie-the-Pooh, looking at the sun.
     "Between, as I was saying, the hours of twelve and twelve five. So, really, dear old Pooh, if you'll excuse me— What's that?"
     Pooh looked up at the sky, and then, as he heard the whistle again, he looked up into the branches of a big oak-tree, and then he saw a friend of his.

     "It's Christopher Robin," he said.
     "Ah, then you'll be all right," said Piglet.
     "You'll be quite safe with him. Good-bye," and he trotted off home as quickly as he could, very glad to be Out of All Danger again.

Christopher Robin came slowly down his tree.
     "Silly old Bear," he said, "what were you doing? First you went round the spinney twice by yourself, and then Piglet ran after you and you went round again together, and then you were just going round a fourth time."
     "Wait a moment," said Winnie-the-Pooh, holding up his paw.
     He sat down and thought, in the most thoughtful way he could think. Then he fitted his paw into one of the Tracks . . . and then he scratched his nose twice, and stood up.
     "Yes," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
     "I see now," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
     "I have been Foolish and Deluded," said he, "and I am a Bear of No Brain at All."
     "You're the Best Bear in All the World," said Christopher Robin soothingly.
     "Am I?" said Pooh hopefully. And then he brightened up suddenly.
 
(A. A. Milne. Winnie-the-Pooh.)
 

A Snowy Day

I had planned on going to the movies tonight, but Pennsylvania was covered in a thick blanket of white, and we finally had our first decent snow storm of the winter. Fuzzy flakes, big enough for a fairy to sleep on, floated down gently in the afternoon. Now, at 2:43 in the wee hours of Valentine's Day, Father Winter is showing his gruffer side, and the snow is coming down in small, sharp daggers—tiny, stinging ice-knives—and all the fairies have wisely hidden in warm burrows.

The doggies and I stayed snug with the heater on full blast, eating yummies and watching videos wrapped up in a big comforter. I do feel sorry for the little forest creatures out on a night like this and hope that they, too, have found safe havens from the storm.