Oscar's Real Winner

Here's to filmmakers, technicians, and Artists alike...

Most of those who nabbed the Statuettes were expected to win, and deserved to... 

(The night's one head-scratcher:  A Big HUH? in the Film Editing category...)

First, a nod to the major winners...

Horray! for  Christopher Plummer...Meryl Streep...Octavia Spencer...Jean DuJardin....

Kudos to "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "The Descendants", "A Separation"...

Bravo! to Mssrs. Hazanavicius... Thomas Langmann... Ludovic Bource....Mark Bridges...

After all of that, the spirit of this year's Oscars was summed up for me in two great photographs found on the web....

Here's to the most deserving victor of the night...in his little bow tie, taking a bow, and offering generous congratulations to his co-star.....

A Caroler at Your Door! A Christmas Journal #2

Remembering old friends this season...especially the humorous, four-legged ones who put up with our fashion experiments. 

If Maggie were still here, she would gladly have sung (er, howled) your favorite carols, right at your door.

Wishing you music and good cheer today.......

The Dogs of "Hugo"

Recently this blog looked at Academy Award-Winning Best Pictures that featured dogs in significant roles. (See "The Dogs of Oscar's Best Picture: Will 2011 Be Dog-Friendly?" December 1).

While dogs have remained mostly in the doghouse as far as the Academy is concerned, I concluded with some hope that this year, Oscar's Best might also feature a Lead Dog. 

"Beginners" and "50/50" are definite long-shots for the top prize, but "The Artist" seems to have legs (four of them) and its adorable Jack Russell Terrier could be the first with a significant role in the Academy's Big Film.

And now "Hugo", another period piece about the early days of filmmaking, is a strong contender with an Important Dog!

The station-master's loyal Doberman follows orders to apprehend orphans who hide in the Paris train station.  Fierce, fast, and frightening at first, this dog carries important segments of the film's plot, and like his owner, is redeemed as a not-so-bad creature by the film's end. 

In addition, two amorous, long-haired dachshunds provide marvelous support in a subplot involving a widow, who is a perennial occupant of the cafe, and her suitor, who must overcome the snapping jaws of the little hot-dog by providing her with a canine companion of her own. 

"Hugo" and "The Artist" have been universally recognized by critic's groups in their list of award nominees and winners.  This gives both films good odds in the upcoming Oscar contest, which could be the most dog-friendly competition since "Babe" was a nominee in 1995.

How can you not love it?

(Read on for my "epic" review of "Hugo" Dec. 13)

A Puppy And An Ice Cube..What The World Needs Now--Wednesday Journal #1

When I saw this video I knew I had to post it! First, to save it for posterity; and second, to share it with anyone who visits here.  (Thank you, Kirk and Mark.)


Tonight, a few brief posts.  Journal #2 below is a small tribute to the late Laura Nyro, a new inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.  Journal #3 is a gut reaction to today's sentencing of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich on multiple corruption charges.


Coming up this week: another long-overdue, posthumous recognition of a Chicago Sports legend; and my thoughts on a movie-review embargo that has the blogosphere abuzz.


But first: enjoy this video of a Welsh Corgi puppy and his encounter with a single ice cube!

The Dogs of Oscar's Best Picture: Will 2011 Be Dog-Friendly?

In its 83-year history, no Oscar-winning Best Picture has ever had a dog as the focus of its story, nor featured a dog as a main character.


From Rin Tin Tin to Lassie, from Asta to Old Yeller, from Hachiko to Benjy, there have been all sorts of well-loved movies with dogs front and center.  Often, it is the dog in a film that is responsible for providing the rooting interest, and emotional attachment, a viewer has with a film.


But, sadly, Oscar's Best Pictures have been all but declared "No Dogs Allowed".


That could change this coming February, to add another record-breaking statistic to an already exciting and unpredictable Oscar year.


I wracked my brain to remember if any previous Best Pictures featured a dog in an important role.  I even looked at lists and Academy Award reference materials. (Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair, as leading "dogs" in 1955's "Marty", don't count.)


Yes, there were some high-profile dogs in movies nominated for the big award.  Toto from "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) is probably the best-known; the goofy animated dog(s) in "Up" (2009)figured most recently; and the comical old bulldog in 1944's "Since You Went Away" is probably the most sadly forgotten. The title of one great film, "Sounder" (1972), was even the name of the family dog.


But which Best Picture winners, if any, had an important canine character?


The most high-profile Oscar-dog is probably the bull terrier "Bullseye" from "Oliver" (1968), the menacing sidekick to the evil Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed).  He was definitely a second-string supporting player, however.  Bullseye has one important scene, in which he betrays his master after witnessing Sykes murder the leading lady. The four-legged informer did well by his very small role, and became a hero of sorts, but was promptly forgotten, and was far from providing a heartwarming center to the film.



In "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), a sly prostitute Cass (Sylvia Miles) uses her poodle, Baby, to help lure potential customers.  The dog has slightly less screen time than Miles (who nevertheless earned an Oscar nomination herself); but is responsible for one of the movie's most rueful laughs, as Baby is an unwitting conspirator in Cass' affair with hustler Joe Buck (Jon Voight).



1970's epic war biography "Patton" gave us another bull terrier, this time an historically accurate one. General Patton's canine companion was named "William", after William the Conqueror. That is, until he is humorously frightened by a Parisian cat, after which the General dubs him "Willie" (which, by the way, was the actual dog's real moniker.)  Far from being a key player in the development of plot or the mover of history, Willie is a prop; but at least he is there to take a final walk into the sunset with the General before the final credits roll.



The sloppiest (and cutest) Oscar-film dog was probably "Butkus", Rocky Balboa's Mastiff and jogging buddy in the original "Rocky" (1976).  A gift from Rocky's pet-shop-clerk-and-soon-to-be-girlfriend (Yo) Adrian, Butkus bounds onto the scene with eager energy and lots of heart.  He accompanies Rocky on a jog or two before, somehow, dropping quietly out of sight (except for maybe a wayward closeup or two...memory doesn't serve.)  But I do know that Butkus' talent was more or less wasted, when he could have been a contender.



Kevin Costner bonds with a more primal creature in "Dances With Wolves" (1990).  Costner's character, Lt. Dunbar, is followed and watched, approached and avoided, by a wild wolf , who finally sheds his mistrust of the human enough to get close to the man.  The wolf provides wary companionship, and a frolic in the prairie, for the wide-eyed white man in his midst.  Hence, Costner's name, bestowed on him by the Sioux.  When the evil white settlers shoot at the animal, it's heart-rending.  Still, the wolf, who I believe was called Socks, provided a good subplot, but not a main story. Besides, he was not exactly what you might call a pet.



The most ghastly use of a dog in an Oscar-winning best picture was the appearance of the otherise sweet little poodle, Precious, in "Silence of the Lambs" (1991).  Catherine Martin, trapped in a well by the insane Buffalo Bill, lures the hapless dog into the well with her, and threatens to kill the dog if Bill won't let her go.  No more than a prop, Precious is a clever symbol of innocence subjected to evil.  Fun for all ages!



A more recent use of a dog in an Oscar-winning Best Film was as a fleeting sidekick to Russell Crowe's Maximus in "Gladiator" (2000).  I read somewhere that the dog, a mixed-breed Shepherd, was added to the opening battle scene, so that confused audience members knew who to root for.  Naturally we assume that whoever is kind to a dog is on the good team.  So Maximus "unleashes hell", as it were, the dog goes tearing off into battle, and is soon forgotten.  (Meaningless trivia: this was Oliver Reed's second appearance in an Oscar-winning Best Picture, and his second with a dog. Was the late Mr. Reed a dog's best friend?)


In last year's "The King's Speech" (2010) two or three corgi's appeared, mainly as set decoration, and an historically accurate detail.  The British Royal tradition of keeping corgi's as pets began with King Edward.  The dogs barely register, but they have personality to spare, and make their scenes memorable, even if they don't do more than serve as characters in the king's bedtime story to his daughters.


And now, in 2011, there are several movies in which dogs provide warmth, support, and laughs in central roles or important secondary ones.  One of them may even be responsible for putting a movie in the Oscar winners-circle.  First there is Skeletor, the melancholy and confused Greyhound that gives Joseph Gordon-Levitt some much-needed unconditional cuddling in "50/50". 



Then there is Cosmo, a heart-melting little Jack Russell Terrier in "Beginners", who communcates telepathically with Ewan MacGregor, and in wry subtitles for the rest of us:


And finally there's Uggie, another Jack Russell Terrier who mugs and mimes his way into the hearts of viewers in "The Artist".  I have not yet seen "The Artist", but I already love this little performer, who actually won an award at Cannes called the Palme Dog!  There's even a tongue-in-cheek on-line campaign out there to get Uggy some Award love (Consider Uggie).   While an Oscar nomination for the dog is pretty unlikely, I do think "The Artist" is wowing enough viewers to have a good shot at Best Picture gold...and that would make it a first among Oscar movies, a best picture with a Lead Dog, and a victory for aspiring dog-performers everywhere.

Let me know who your favorite movie dogs have been...and if I have forgotten any major roles for dogs in the history of Oscar-winning Best Pictures.

Thanksgiving: Loving Friends, Memories of Family Gatherings...and Dogs

Thanksgiving, in spite of the well-intentioned efforts of my sister and I, began in a melancholy way. We did our best to give our aging, ailing parents a nice meal and some company; both of them are in various stages of suffering and stubbornness.  The meal turned out well. We cleaned up.  It was draining and sad, to see what our family has come to. I left feeling subdued.

Later, in the company of Mark, Jillian, his sons Nick and Kirk, and Nick's girlfriend Stephanie, I retreated to a quaint nearby village to enjoy a stress-free meal, filled with anecdotes, and good fun and conversation.  We convened afterward for a thoughtful and emotional new film, "The Descendants", which I will review this weekend.

With so many great films in release, and more to come, I am making up for lost time by viewing and reviewing on this blog as many as I can keep up with.  Perhaps I am at a point in my re-invention where I am finally living the life of a film critic (albeit, as yet, an unpaid one!)

In the process I have neglected some other favorite topics of interest, and have not made too many "personal appearances" of late.  I look forward to adding more variety to my posts as the year comes to a close.

And so I send this message of gratitude for the people who make this world a nicer place for me to be, especially those with whom I spent time this evening,.

And I want to remember some other creatures that keep me sane, and to whom I want to dedicate the holiday... And so, since Mark has fallen asleep on the couch across the room, I will send a short greeting to my canine friends....

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Congratulations to the winner of today's National Dog Show, Steele Your Heart, a four-year-old wire fox terrier.



The Basset Hound in this year's competition was enormously lovable, sweet, and entertaining...to me, all characteristics of the breed in general. I just had to share this video..check out the bounce, and the jowls, and that eager energy... 

Breaking sports news video. MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL highlights and more.

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I miss sharing a meal with a humorous, frantically focused dog companion.  If I had my way....


Hope my readers enjoyed their day.

Mini-Review: Lasse Hallstrom's "Hachi"...Stark, True Story of a Dog

Prologue:

Last week, I took a short break from the Internet, from e-mail (except at work), and the blog.  I needed to reconnect with the feeling of relaxation that "unplugging" often provides.  To "unplug" means there is no need to be "on" all the time, to think of new topics, to work and re-work a post (and writing, of any kind, of the serious kind, is hard work.) 

But there is a danger of becoming addicted to the calmness, like as to Vicodin, and the longer I stay away, the more ways I can "justify" not writing for just one more night....

I caught up on sleep.  My dislocated shoulder is healing.  I am fighting the beast of oncoming winter depression, especially now that family challenges and obligations are weighing more now, like the chill in the winter air.  In spite of this being  a personal Journal, I have chosen not to be open about some matters.  Maybe I can deal with them in my fiction.  Hang in there with me....

I have immersed myself in the movies, logging in a couple of mainstream titles as well as some obscure "festival fodder" which have increased my enthusiasm for moviegoing once again, whetted my appetite for it.

Soon I'll find the energy to roll out a whole new "volume" of film reviews, especially now that at least a dozen new releases show some artistic promise, and have me excited.

I was pushing myself to complete  reviews of two new movies I enjoyed, when this weekend I happened to surf on to a cable movie station....

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I had heard of "Hachi: A Dog's Tale" years ago, and remember being somewhat excited about its release.  Unfortunately it never saw a theatrical release here, and I lost track of it. 

The film, directed by the fine Lasse Hallstrom, is based on a true story from Japan in the early 1900's, and a 1987 Japanese film based on this story, about an Akita dog that was so devoted to its caregiver that it waited at the train station every afternoon at 5:00 for his return.  Hachi even showed up at the station, living on the kind handouts of the townspeople, for ten years after the man died. The story was updated and transported to modern-day New England for this version, but the mystical Far East connection remains.

This is a stark and simple film that is unlike most American movies about dogs and their masters, (other than it made me cry buckets).  It is a haunting tale of loyalty and loss that is profoundly, mysteriously moving precisely because there are no heartwarming resolutions or explanations.  Just as the dog could not quite comprehend the sudden and prolonged disappearance of his deceased master, so the film is scaled to the dog's uncomprehending perspective, and we long to provide impossible comfort to this incredibly loving creature.

I admired Hallstrom's underrated artistry with the camera, his shots from Hachi's point-of-view lightly desaturated, the angles subtle and blending seamlessly with the objective narrative.  The film moves quickly, which is fine, because it would be unbearably sad otherwise.

This is a work of poetry committed to film, in spite of the appearance of American actors not often associated with poetry.  And yet, Richard Gere (a co-producer) is perfect as a gentle family man, a Rhode Island musician and High School teacher, who loses his heart to a puppy found wandering the town's train station after its crate falls from a luggage cart.  Jason Alexander tones down the squinty mannerisms to portray a sympathetic station attendant. Joan Allen overcomes a hastily-written role as Gere's wife who objects to the puppy, at first.  Soon her heart is lost too.

It is in the final thirty minutes that the film works its haunting magic, almost without dialogue, and with the accompaniment of Jan A. J. Kaczmarek's lovely piano score. 

I object to Sony's decision to release the film straight to DVD in 2009 after a number of Film Festival dates.  But I understand it too. This movie would not appeal to hyperactive American audiences who prefer their dog-stories to have lots of slapstick and a happy ending. 

Those who have ever been loved by a dog will immediately warm to this movie.  One wants to believe each of us is worthy of the kind of unending devotion shown by Hachi in this film. 

Pooch Portraits, and a Miracle Beagle--Dog Shelter Laughs and Tears

I want to share two links I had found about dog shelters and their lovable, helpless residents. I hope the first one makes you smile, as it did me; and the second will move you to sign any petition to get "kill"shelters to stop using gas chambers.

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The first is a whimsical story about enterprising shelters across the country.  The article, by Jasmine Aline Persch, an msnbc/Today Show contributor, interviews shelters who enhance the appeal and adoptability of their homeless friends by using professional photographic techniques.  Some shelters provide "makeovers" for the dogs to increase the "cute" factor.  Others provide more comfortable surroundings, better lighting and flattering angles to give dogs a more natural appearance. 

Many shelters post hastily-shot digital photos on their websites that reflect the animal's nervousness, and do not accurately portray the dog's size, temperament, or personality.  The article in the link explains what the more creative shelters are doing, interviews professional dog photographers, and gives readers some tips on how to digitally photograph their own dogs.

(Of course, it is always best to meet the dog in person, and never adopt solely from a photograph.  In fact, be wary of any shelter that does not do a thorough background check of you, your home, and other pets, before adopting any dog to you.)

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The Huffington Post (click here) offered a sobering story and video about Daniel, an unadopted 20-pound beagle in a shelter in Florence, Alabama. He and 17 other unwanted dogs were placed in a gas chamber to be euthanized.  When the door to the chamber was opened after 17 minutes, Daniel miraculously emerged, alive, tail wagging.  According to an interview in the video below, gas can vary in density and weight. Daniel may have found an air pocket that allowed him to breathe until the door was opened.  Many states have banned gas chambers to euthanize dogs--even Alabama (although the law will not go into effect for a year.)  Even so, of the six- to eight-million animals living in shelters each year, three to four million of them are euthanized in gas chambers.  Innocent creatures do not deserve this. Animal lovers need to help decrease the unwanted pet population by putting pressure on legislatures to close down puppy mills, spreading the word about spaying and neutering pets, and insisting on the elimination of gas chambers for animals.

(Pardon the annoying advertisement at the start of the video...)

Movie Review: "50/50" An Unexpected Pleasure

In the 1983 classic "Terms of Endearment", the word "cancer" is uttered, and gets the film's biggest laugh. 

 
Adam, the 27-year-old protagonist in the terrific new dramatic comedy "50/50", remembers that movie, and makes reference to the title as he tries, delicately, to tell his mother that he has been diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer.

"50/50" is infused with the audacious humor that made that particular moment in "Terms of Endearment" so memorable.  Be assured, however, that cancer here is not just a punchline, and that the humor, while sometimes crude in a teen-comedy sort of way, is not offensive.  I went in expecting a weepy sitcom---I worked myself into a mood for that--and was surprised at how unexpectedly warm and honest, and funny, this movie is..  "50/50", cleanly directed by Jonathan Levine, exceeded my expectations, and may be one of my year's favorites.

Most viewers know from the start that "50/50" is inspired by the story of comedy-writer and cancer-survivor, Will Reiser (in the photo above with the film's co-star Seth Rogen), who turned the experience into a screenplay.  (The title refers to Adam's chances for survival. )

Reiser, with help from friends, like Rogen, recalled the unbridled humor of his sad and incomprehensible situation.  They realized that it was the humor that allowed them to get through the shock of the diagnosis, the cold and clinical attitudes of some of the medical caregivers, the treatments, the side effects, the worry expressed by family members, the discomfort of well-meaning friends, the pain, and the despair. 


Knowing that Reiser had survived the ordeal takes away the false suspense of whether Adam will have a deathbed scene, and reassures the viewer that there will be less chance of emotional manipulation by exploiting the disease.


The film has a fun-loving slacker spirit that Rogen embodies throughout.  But the film wisely keeps to an even, thoughtful tone so that Rogen provides comic high points and needed relief, but does not dominate the story. 


The film belongs to Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Adam.  As he plays him, Adam is the quiet center of the movie, a common-sense low-key everyman, a feature reporter for a Seattle NPR station where he works with his best friend Kyle (Rogen). When the pain and discomfort in his back are discovered to be the cancer that will require a possibly fatal surgery, Levine's camera stays close to Adam, and captures  how those closest to him respond. His vulnerability touches everyone in different ways.  

Gordon-Levitt has been a bright spot for me in almost every film I have seen him do.  Here, he resists  temptation toward histrionics. In collaboration with his real-life counterpart Reiser, he is able to express the numbness, deep emotion, and even wry humor in a straightforward portrayal. The result is a lovable, convincing and compelling performance that is also a quiet tribute to Reiser.




I liked many of the details and motifs that lent some depth to what would have been simply a sufficiently involving story:


For instance, hair is seen as a sort of a sign of health, strength, and virility.  Early on, Adam runs out of shampoo and must use his girlfriend's fruit-scented brand, a foreshadowing of his impending dependence on an unreliable partner.  When Kyle gets a whiff of Adam's fruit-scented mane, he riffs on it in his broad, ironic way that gives us the first of many clues that these two are soul mates who are only outwardly platonic. 


Later, Adam, with squeamish help from Kyle, has shaved all of the hair off his head in a remarkable scene that appears to have been the real thing (remarkable in that the actors stayed in character without the need to do retakes!).  Completely shorn, Levitt has a gamine, almost androgynous quality that inspires intense feeling from others, including the audience.  There are a few closeups of his face, his head completely bald as he lays on his pillow, that make one want to weep, or enfold him in one's arms.



There are several times Kyle makes a brash statement to Adam, like a verbal buddy-punch to the arm, which translates roughly to "I love you."  Levitt's Adam gamely puts up with Rogen's constant search for women, even when Adam is too tired from illness or treatment. 

When Adam breaks down from the strain and calls Kyle out for his selfishness, the pain and regret from both of them are palpable.  (This is Levitt's big emotional moment in the film, and he is brilliantly up to the task.)  Adam has finally shattered his demeanor of "Acceptance", spoken his heart, and can now put things back in order.


In another subplot in the chemotherapy room, Adam's two older companions-in-treatment (Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer) offer him some pot-laced cookies (served in a tin painted with a fruit pattern!)  This leads to a goofy and wonderful interlude in which Levitt, stoned out of his mind, wanders the hospital halls while the Bee Gees wail on the soundtrack. Soon after that, there is an sequence in which Adam succumbs to nausea.  Broad humor in this film is often followed by physical or emotional intensity.


Adam's relationship with his doting, anxious but inwardly strong mother (Anjelica Houston), provides another side-plot that is entirely natural but is saved from cliche by Houston's powerhouse presence.  She is so good on film;  As she reacts to the news of her son's illness, Houston dredges up pain from deep inside, and her cries of anguish, even off-screen, dominate the scene's emotional landscape. Houston's character is also caring for a husband with Alzheimer's disease.  As annoying as Adam thinks her to be, her unwavering strength in the face of it all helps Adam break through an adolescent phase in his relationship with her, and allows him to accept, and even be strong for, his parents in a new way.


Best of all is Adam's budding relationship with Katherine, (Anna Kendrick) an apprentice social worker who has been assigned by the clinic to help him deal with the uncertainty and emotional trauma of his cancer. This completes a sort of triangle with his philandering artist-girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard in her smarmy best). 

Kendrick, who won me over as the insecure young professional in "Up In The Air", here does insecurity one better in a role that initially works as a "type":  trying to do what's proper, and go by-the-book,  she reacts awkwardly, realizing that she is out of her depth with her new "patient".  Her tentativeness mirrors some of our own, and their banter is deftly written and often very funny.  There is a definite chemistry brewing, and the movie is smart to allow the inevitable to linger for a while, so we can enjoy how well-matched thes actors are emotionally.

Finally, Katherine learns to be authentic in her treatment of Adam.  Her "touch" on Adam's arm, a professional device that is menat meant to inspire trust, but that is clearly artificial and annoying to him, eventually becomes a warm touch of encouragement and love, as she accepts her romantic yearnings for him.



Kendrick becomes our surrogate and finally our heroine. A viewer understands the difficulty that anyone, even one who is a trained professional, can have in being direct,  not falsely optimistic or avoiding reality.  By the end, we are relieved to see her, and hope that she is will provide the strength Adam that needs to see him through.

Adam allows his cancer to teach him about the people around him, lessons he feels an urgency to learn as he senses his time running short.  Most moving is his discovery that his crude and often selfish buddy (Rogen) has actually been studying books about how to help a friend with cancer, books they originally bought as a ploy to score a date for Rogen with an attractive bookstore clerk.


It is impossible to remain unmoved as Adam's realization of his mortality finally settles in.  He expresses his unabashed affection for his equally reticent pal Kyle, (the camera giving them space as Adam desperately, appropriately hugs Kyle in the front seat of their truck); proclaims his love for his awkward and earnest therapist, (Kendrick); and makes peace with his anxious, smothering but good-hearted mother (Houston).

Finally, I have to give voice to my particular bias for dogs, by stating that the best, funniest closeup of any celebrity in any film this year was scored by...a very perplexed and loving greyhound named Skeletor. Skeletor is adopted for Adam early in the film, and it is to the movie's great credit (in my eyes) that the dog is not used for one joke and then simply abandonded. I felt real love coming from the screen when Skeletor crawls next to a despondend Levitt in bed, and nuzzles his face. 

From out of left field, a movie that got relatively little advanced press has won over audiences in a quietly hilarious way. I think the film, without preaching, will give some people hope.

I hope this becomes Levitt's breakout moment; allows Rogen to move into more sensitive roles; brings Houston back to the big screen more regularly; gives Kendrick a place of stardom next to Amy Adams;  encourages people to save orphaned racing greyhounds; and gets its name called a few times on a certain Sunday night in February. 

Most of all, seriously, I hope contemporary audiences will see this movie, take ot to heart, and make it a perennial favorite, in the same way their predecessors embraced a movie like---well, maybe "Terms of Endearment".

Bassetts On Parade (See Story Above)

A Brief Intermission: If You Want To Sell Me Something....

... let animals make the pitch!
This might be one of the funniest ads I have ever seen.... short and very sweet....



The mellifluous hound is especially suited for a nightclub gig!

Tomorrow I will return with more on the 2011 Movie Season...
(Coming soon: American Politics: Bachman, Perry, and fundamentalism...)

Roxy--A Weekend Canine Visitor

Our home is still dog-less. 


With travel, challenging family responsibilities, and our work schedules, finding a new dog to join our household has been badly delayed.


We do discuss it a lot.  Of course, we discuss it less often during extreme February snowstorms and the severe thunderstorms of June and July. When the weather is as rare and perfect as it has been last week, the topic comes up more often.


This weekend we had a chance to do a "test run",  to see how we would adjust to once again giving our home over to a dog, who in turn would graciously allow us to occupy the space!

My co-worker asked Mark and I to take their Jack Russell Terrier, named Roxy, into our home for the weekend.


Roxy is a little character!  Constantly moving, unless she is sleeping (and she sleeps hard), she showed us lots of affection, and guarded the house almost too well.  Roxy hated other dogs, which made it interesting to leave her out in the yard with the neighboring dogs. 


And the poor people who walked their dogs in front of our house got a full symphony of snarling and barking.  This was unfortunate; I think, given some time and patience, I could work with Roxy to calm her fear.

 Roxy, for all of her fierce posturing, weighs only about six pounds. 

She enjoyed naps....And at night, sprang into bed, and burrowed deep under the covers, like it was a tent!

And she played hard...but knew just how hard to chew (or else I would have lost my entire chin...) 

And she was a very loving little girl....I would catch myself thinking about having Maggie in the house.  How I would get annoyed when her water bowl got in my way, until that day when we didn't need to put her water bowl out any more....

I missed the innocent and enthusiastic play-time, and cute, sloppy gestures of affection....

It seems that I didn't lose my touch for dispensing treats...Roxy preferred baby carrots..

I was reminded how dogs, helpless as they are, demand our focus on their present moment; and in the process, we forget about the stress of the day, at least for a while.


I satisfy my need for canine companionship with my frequent dog-sitting, and my volunteer work at the Buddy Foundation.


Some day, though, we need to fill that empty space, not to replace the irreplaceable, but to provide us with an object of sweet, raucous, forgiving love.  Stay tuned.

Meditations About Quitting, and then An Act Of Kindness From a Fellow Blogger and Dog-Lover

Lately I have thought about bringing my blog to a close.  Life has become much more complex since I began in September of 2009.  So many things have occurred, things that I have chosen not to write about here. Just so many competing responsibilities.

I love writing here, and I try to do it well.  It takes a lot of energy.  It's harder to honor my readers with my best writing at 11pm, which seems to be my only chance to produce this web-journal.

And yet there would be a huge hole in my creative life if I stopped now. I have a lot I want to share here, like the upcoming Italian Odyssey, my new adventures with dogs, and of course my fist love, articles and essays about the movies.

It has been a dilemma, trying to turn out good work on topics that interest people, without taking short-cuts, or letting errors go by unnoticed due to simple exhaustion.

Reading my favorite bloggers, and commenting on their work and ideas, has always been a pleasure, one that I am sure I would easily continue.

And then, I received an overwhelming surprise, one that made me reconsider the idea of quitting.

Tom, who writes sharp and witty Short-Short stories on his blog, Sophisticated Lunacy, was the very first "visitor" to my blog, and wrote the first comment.  In the months that followed we have established a fun and mutually encouraging friendship through our sites.  We have never met. We know about each others' lives solely through the blog, and occasional e-mail messages.

Tom and his wife Teresa love dogs, like I do, and have reacted especially emotionally to my stories about our departed Bassett Hound, Maggie. Even though she has been gone for a few years, she still manages to establish a spot squarely in my heart, the way she would establish her place on the bed some nights, while I fought to keep from falling off the edge!

An e-mail from Tom alerted me to a package that they sent in care of The Buddy Foundation, where I volunteer occasionally to walk and feed the homeless dogs.   

When I finally retrieved it, after a comedy of errors in which it was moved around the shelter, I was overwhelmed to find a beautiful letter with a home-made tapestry.

The tapestry included the entire poem called The Rainbow Bridge, which was written as a comfort to pet owners whose beloved animals had passed away.. (You can read more about The Rainbow Bridge here).  Also on the tapestry was an image of a Bassett Hound with the name Maggie stitched underneath.

Mark and I were overwhelmed, and appreciative, of the thought and the beautiful keepsake, which Teresa made herself.

I have received so much from my followers and friends on this blog; from many of you I get kind words and praise about my work; from others I get a friendly challenge to go deeper into my thoughts and improve my persuasive skills. I have received a chocolate treat as a contest prize from my friend Ben in England, who loyally follows my reviews.  I have bonded with Walter over our love of "Nashville" and other movies. Stan and David still check in to pleasantly surprise me with appreciation for my animal stories.  Luke is always complimentary of my lengthy movie essays, even when we don't agree.  So too, is Andrew.

To everyone else who drops by occasionally, to read, even to comment, once again, I do appreciate it!

And Tom still checks once in a while to boost my writer's confidence.  And now he and Teresa have acknowledged the importance to them of what I have written by sending us this surprising and wonderful gift. We can't thank you enough.

I leave for Rome mid-week.  I'll have a few more posts before then.  In Italy, I won't have a laptop, nor a computer or i-Pad, and no way to connect to the web, or the blog.... I will continue with the journal with good old-fashioned pen and paper, take pictures, and post the highlights upon my return to the States.

This was a personal choice, to disconnect for two weeks, and let the experience of being in a different part of the world transform me. 

I hope it will help me find new reserves of creative strength. 

A Commercial Stirs Up Memories of Missed Pets

Every time it comes on TV it makes me want to cry a little.


It's that "Trouble" ad, for an insurance company, featuring that expressive little white dog who wants to protect his prized possession, a rawhide bone.


The soulful theme song, and the effective narrative in which that  rascal is sleepless with worry, stirs up primal feelings in me. 


It reminds me of my belief that dogs must never worry. It reminds me that one of my best purposes in life is to make a comfortable world for our animal companions.


No matter...The world always, always, takes these friends from us.  Canine, feline, avian... they are with us for such a short time...  And they are gone in spite of our love, and our best efforts to keep them with us forever.

So many animals have been a part of my life.  The ad causes me to think of those times when I helped my beloved animals out of their troubles: my St Bernards, Tippy and Cassie; my cockatiel Cookie;  and all of the other dogs and cats I cared for, past and present.

I mourn for for the creatures that we have all loved, and inevitably lost.


I miss our basset hound Maggie, and how she would dig a hole in the garden with her front paws, drop in her bone, and cover it  by pushing the dirt back over it with her snout.  She would always dig it back up a few minutes later.


I laugh thinking about how she would lay in front of the couch and whine, until we moved the couch to find a little piece of kibble, which she must have flung across the room weeks ago until it lodged there.


Her comfort and safety always came first.


When she ran away once, Mark was frantic, until he found her across the street, sitting with a bunch of kids as they all watched a soccer game. 


When she was bothered by her digestion, or itchy ears, or allergies, or arthritis in her bent little legs, we were consumed by healing her. When July 4th fireworks frightened her, we tried all kinds of comforting remedies, from tranquilizers to distracting play, until we discovered that her beef bone kept her pleasantly oblivious.


She was never mean, never snapped at us, but if we came too close to her bone, she only picked it up and ran from us a short distance.


No matter how much we loved her, it still came down to her last day, and the impossible task of saying goodbye.


And when I see the little white dog in the ad, with "Trouble" on the soundtrack, and his profound little worries, I regret all the trouble Maggie had in her life.


She would not see it that way, of course.  In spite of her having forgiven us (I am convinced), the ad still makes me a bit melancholy.

A Dog Comes Home, On Broken Legs

Here's a story  about a remarkable "dog rescue" in Time Magazine that I will want to remember, and come back to.


Near tornado-ravaged Birmingham, Alabama, a family's pet terrier was hiding in the garage when the storm badly damaged their home, and carried the dog away.  The heartbroken family considered little Mason lost forever.


But Mason was not gone.  The tornado finally deposited him on the ground, and as he landed he broke both of his front paws. In pain and limping badly, but propelled by his need to get home to his familiar surroundings and his family, Mason found his way home. He crawled through the wreckage, and weeks later, his family found him waiting on the front porch.


Vulcan Park Veterinary Clinic in Birmingham took the dog in while the family worked to piece together what was left of their home and their lives.  There, Mason received metal plates in his forelegs, and after six weeks of recovery, will be ready to join his family once again.


A few days ago I posted a story about search-and-rescue dogs who arrived in Joplin (and other disaster-ridden areas) to find those still missing in the devastation.   I am now happy to preserve this tale (pun may be intended) of another dog who rescued himself and in the process saved his family from years of regret and mourning.


Enjoy this great video, which I see as a tribute to all of the scrappy and loyal dogs out there...and as an anecdote to life's recent travails.  Life can't be all bad with dogs around.

Because.....

....it makes me smile.... 

I needed this...and wanted to share it....

It has been a challenging Spring...  Sometimes plunging into one's writing is all one can do.... Read on...

In Joplin Missouri, Help Arrives on Four Legs

Life goes on...But...

Tonight, to me nothing else was as important to write about as tornado-ravaged Joplin, Missouri.

About the confusion, devastation, and loss: nothing more needs to be said. 

About the human tendency to snap to, and provide extraordinary assistance in times of dire need, I can only describe it as the rare bit of poetry I find in being human. 

About those that would exploit others in times of loss and sorrow, like the men who looted the remains of a family home while masquerading as first responders, well...  that is humanity's shameful, overwritten prose.
 
While reading about the search-and-rescue for possible survivors, still living within the rubble; or the urgency to account for over a thousand people still missing; one item lifted me from a recurring sense of paralysis.  This paralysis I have experienced too often lately, in the wake of continuous news of natural and man-made terror.

The item I found gave me feeling of comfort, even elation: as I read all about the eager and energetic rescuers of The National Disaster Search Dog Foundation.  Read this link to learn more about the rescue dogs, their teams, and their success stories.

What helped me regain my perspective, and helped me feel more hopefully alive, were these stories about the innocent and boundless presence of our canine friends.

A team of rescuers from this California-based Search-and-Rescue-dog organization was dispatched to Joplin, and have been doing their work with their characteristic energy and concentration.

(Dog teams from Oklahoma City and other neighboring areas are also volunteering to assist.  Kudos to all of them!)

The human/dog teams from this incredibly fine organization have been deployed to assist in disaster searches everywhere from the World Trade Center, to Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the San Bruno CA gas explosion, and the Japanese Tsunami and earthquakes.

Introducing Huck, and Jagger, and their partners Brent Koeninger and Jason Smith. These four are hard at work in Joplin now.

Both of these dogs were themselves rescued from shelters, brought to the training center, and will never need to be rescued again.  The love and care they were shown, and the sense of purpose they have from their training, they are repaying tenfold.

Huck and Brent Koeninger

Jagger and Jason Smith