The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. ~ Linus Pauling

Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. ~ Anonymous

The stuff that dreams are made of. ~ Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon"

If you have not seen The Maltese Falcon, stop reading and go rent it. You will not be sorry.

So, what is The Maltese Falcon about?

I used to think it was a detective story with Sam Spade and his adventure with a gang of treasure hunters looking for the Maltese Falcon.

But now I think, the business about the Maltese Falcon is a smokescreen to disguise the real story.

The real story is a murder mystery: who killed Miles Archer?

The beginning of the movie Miles Archer is murdered and Sam Spade tells you right away he is out to find the murderer of his partner.

The long, middle part of the movie is a big distraction, sucking you into the story of the Maltese Falcon, throwing you off the track, like in a good Agatha Christie mystery.

In the last scene of the movie, Sam Spade catches the murderer and tells you he was out to find the killer the whole time.

Watching the movie again, you can see the little nuances that at first, led you into the fog of the Maltese Falcon story, now, in a new light let you see that Sam Spade never waivers from his intent to track down the killer.

It reminds me of my Argentine Tango dancing. I think what all the teachers are telling me is probably simple and straight forward, but I cannot do it because I am too distracted by making things harder than they are.