Capable

Of all The Kitties, Mini is the only one capable of revealing Norman's playful side--
and getting him some exercise.

(Illustration Friday: February 24, 2012)

Fluid

I haven't been able to stop thinking about fabric since the mention of this week's Illustration Friday word. I waited a few days for something else to pop into my head, but Kate Moss has taken over.

Last summer, I traveled to New York to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit, Savage Beauty, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (I remembered seeing some of his fashion shows on TV when I was younger. His show was always considered a major event during London Fashion Week.) I figured the exhibit would be interesting....I didn't imagine that the line to get in would wind through all other exhibits leading up to it. But, it was worth the trip and the wait: I never expected to be so moved by seeing a bunch of clothing. And, apparently, it's still all in my head.

That's how my "Kate Moss (Mother) Kitty" showed up this week. (In her day, The Mother Kitty was the fairest of them all.) One of my favorite parts of the Savage Beauty exhibit was peering through a waist-high slot of a black wooden installation and discovering a hologram of Kate Moss floating in billowing fabric. Rather than strips of cloth, her dress looked like frothy clouds, trickling waterfalls, or fluid watercolors.... Here's our salute to however he created that fantastic work of art.

(Illustration Friday: February 17, 2012)

You can find on YouTube a version of the hologram against a plain black background, as it was at showcased at The Met. It's restricted from playing on my blog. So, instead, here's the real thing: The finale of Alexander McQueen's 2006 Fall/Winter collection. This is better, right? I mean, don't you wish you were there, marveling in person?

Enjoy!

© Alexander McQueen

Finding The Artist's Way...

Hi everyone,

It's been years since I bought The Complete Artist's Way a compilation of Julia Cameron's creativity-inspiring books, The Artist's Way, Walking in This World, and Finding Water. I felt ambitious that day, thinking I'd run home and read them all immediately. Instead, the massive volume landed on my bookshelf after I read the introduction.

This year, I'm getting it done! Well, the first one, at least.

I joined a 7-week creativity circle workshop at Tranquil Space--my D.C. retreat/yoga studio. During the workshop, I--along with about 10 other ladies--will be reading The Artist's Way: Creativity as a Spiritual Practice. This international bestseller is a guide to finding and living a more creative life. Two supplementary books will complement our work: 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women by Gail McMeekin and Hip Tranquil Chick by Tranquil Space founder/workshop leader Kimberly Wilson. Like The Artist's Way, Gail McMeekin's book helps readers find their creative path in life. It offers input and lessons learned from fellow creative women artists. Hip Tranquil Chick is a guide to yogic living on and off the mat. Who can't use more of that in life?  These book offers tips and exercises at the end of each chapter, reinforcing key chapter highlights and helping readers practice what they've learned.

We'll be meeting every 2 week until May 9th, and I'll keep you posted periodically on my progress working through these books.

I hope you enjoy this journey with me! Let's see what happens.

Best,

Popularity

For Christmas, I got my sister Julie's kitties a carrot full of catnip. For a while, it was the most popular toy in the house, and the black-and-white kitties battled it out.

(Illustration Friday: February 10, 2012)

There was one clear winner in this fight.

(Don't worry, Ashes shared eventually--even if she still complains about it.)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #17--The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]


"Johnny's an alien!"

That's what my mom said as we left the theater after seeing The Astronaut's Wife. Here's the story: When Spencer Armacost: (Johnny Depp) and fellow astronaut Alex Streck (Nick Cassavetes) abort a shuttle mission after a 2-minute "incident" in space, their wives notice some peculiar changes in their personalities. Soon after their return, Spencer's wife Jillian (Charlize Theron) learns she's pregnant, which sparks her suspicions about her husband's motives, what really happened up there, and the future of their unborn twins.

"Huh. I wonder why Johnny made that movie."
That's what my dad said as we left the theater after seeing The Astronaut's Wife. I don't know all of Johnny's reasons, but he was fascinated with the idea of the all-American hero not being who he seemed to be. Never in a million years did I imagine Johnny playing an astronaut--Let alone one named Commander Spencer Armacost! A manmade boy with scissorhands didn't phase me, but an astronaut?

I admit, when people have asked me if there's any Johnny Movie that I don't like, this is the one that comes to mind. First, I was already annoyed before I saw the movie because critics everywhere were comparing it to Roman Polanski's classic creepy movie, Rosemary's Baby, just because Charlize Theron had a pixie haircut and became pregnant with babies not of this world. Critics also said that Johnny was unbelievable as a menacing bad guy. I do not agree with that. But, aside from having no stomach for scary movies anymore--no matter how predictable they may be--my main problem with this one was that I never liked Spencer Armacost, even before he became an alien trapped in a human body.

Usually, Johnny somehow finds ways to get you to like his bad-guy characters, so you're practically rooting for them by the end of the movie. And, he'll always interject funny moments that lighten the mood. This movie doesn't seem to have that, and this cocky Southerner never appealed to me. "It was fun to play a redneck, an all-American hero gone wrong," Johnny said. "What interested me was not the idea of some kind of 'being' possibly inhabiting his body. Whatever happened in space just allowed him to reveal who he really is. He's got this image of being an all-American guy, with bleached white teeth and sun-kissed hair, but he's an awful person." Okay, I don't feel so bad now.

This is the photo!

I've never forgotten Johnny's description of his hair--"sun-kissed." (Why, why do I remember these things?) I had a photo of Spencer Armacost on my wall for a while. He is a good-looking alien, at least.

Watching it recently for Johnny Kitties, I discovered that The Astronaut's Wife is actually not that bad. The acting is solid, and I really like director Rand Ravich's stylized shots with sharp graphic shapes and cool lighting. There's a good sense of atmosphere and the sets are all pretty visually interesting.

The Kitty From Another Planet
Aside from Johnny playing an astronaut with awesome hair, the other most exciting thing about this movie--to me--was Johnny's costar, Joe Morton. He's the brother from another planet! I don't remember much about The Brother From Another Planet from when I first saw it in the '80s but, ever since, my family has pointed Joe Morton out whenever they find him in his other movies, exclaiming, "Oh! It's the brother from another planet!" So, now, I can apply that to a Johnny Movie. It's the simple pleasures, right?

So, here's a scene featuring Joe Morton (B.J.) as Sherman Reese, a NASA representative who first uncovers the alien invasion and tries to warn Jillian (Lily) of his discovery. Here, she's on her way up from the New York subway to meet Mr. Reese to discuss it. But she's stopped abruptly when her husband shows up out of the blue. Mr. Reese leaves his bag on the stair railing for her to take, as he heads off to have coffee with the commander. Too bad Spencer snatches it up before she can grab it!(Yeah, this is the G-rated level of suspense I can typically take.)



What's next?
Johnny stays in suspense and takes it to France to work with Roman Polanski in The Ninth Gate.

(Image credits: Astronaut's Wife stills © New Line Cinema; Johnny Depp portrait courtesy of JohnnyDeppFan.com, © unknown; Illustration: © Melissa Connolly) 

Suspense!

(Illustration Friday: February 3, 2012)

Phew!

Forward

It's Kitty Yoga time!

Stand with feet parallel, hip-width apart. Hinge from the hip with a flat back and line up fingers and toes.

Chin to shin, hang like a rag doll. Sway side to side and hold on to opposite elbows, if that feels good. For a shoulder opener, interlace fingers behind your back, making a fist with your paws, and reach toward the front of the room.

Uttanasana: Forward Fold.

(Illustration Friday: January 24, 2012)

Twirl

Gordon can always get The Kitties twirling with a little Django. Can you hear it?

(Illustration Friday: January 20, 2012)

Prepare

And...Mini's ready to nap.

(Illustration Friday: January 13, 2011)

Grounded

Some days, I'm not sure if B.J. is as grounded as we think he is.

(Illustration Friday: January 6, 2012)

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #16--Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1997)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." Samuel Johnson
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas really is a savage journey. Journalist Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) takes his Samoan attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) to Las Vegas for three days. Officially on assignment to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race, they instead end up on a psychedelic search for the American Dream, which they see slowly disappearing at the start of the 1970s. Based on Hunter S. Thompson's classic book and directed by Terry Gilliam, this movie is one crazy, hard-to-describe trip. Really, you just have to follow Hunter Thompson's mantra: Buy the ticket, take the ride.

"Get in."

Hunter Thompson is credited with inventing gonzo journalism, for which reporters become part of the stories they're writing. Fear and Loathing is based on two of those experiences, which Hunter shared with his attorney, Oscar Zeta Acosta. The manuscript originally appeared in Rolling Stone magazine but was later published as a book, which many, many people love--including Johnny and lots of other celebrities. "The thing that's interesting about Fear and Loathing is that it's one of the great American books and, luckily, some of the fans of that had risen to positions of power in Hollywood," Terry Gilliam said. "So, they were the first victims of this project." 

I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but I didn't become a cult follower. In fact, I don't remember much about it. Full disclaimer: I don't remember any books much after I read them. But, I do remember that the writing was fantastic--descriptive, vivid, and exciting--so I understood why people would fall in love with it. I think I just didn't relate to all the extracurricular activities. 

  

Don't see this movie with your parents. 

My parents hated this movie. I can't blame them; the movie is shocking when you first see it (or maybe every time you see it). I felt pretty sick afterward myself. This film polarized people when it was released: Some loved it and some despised it. It was killed at the Cannes Film Festival, but it now enjoys a prolific life on DVD, even becoming a quick member of the Criterion Collection (Awesome!).

The people who hated this movie, mainly saw it as two drugged-out idiots on a joy ride to Las Vegas and claimed that it somehow glorified drug use. While I don't usually let bad reviews bother me, reviews that took this viewpoint really made me angry. (Do you hear me, Roger Ebert?) After seeing this movie, the last thing I wanted to do was drugs. By the end, the state of things--their trashed hotel room, their attitudes toward each other and others--gets disgusting and dangerous.

Terry Gilliam showed Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to people in recovery from substance use. While they got into it quickly, laughing during the first half of the film, they got quieter as it went on. By the end, they were all ashen and white-faced. (I've never had an addiction, but this, basically, was my exact experience with the film when I first saw it. What's that mean?) "There was one particular actor I knew who wouldn't comment. He just had to leave at the end," Terry Gilliam said. "He called back a couple hours later, having escaped, and said, 'No one will ever have to make a drug movie ever again.'"

Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo aren't heroes, and this movie isn't about taking drugs. I always saw it as a period piece, marking the end of the '60s, the decade of love and peace. These two guys are still in that era and wondering what new darkness--the assassinations of the John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon's corruption--is surrounding them. It's about hypocrisy and something lost. "These characters were pretty angry about the system, about how the system had failed them," Benicio Del Toro said. "The '60s had blown up in their faces--their ideals." 

"Never trust anyone in the depths of an ether binge." 

There are a lot of drugs in this movie. It's constant, and you can't help but feel it. But that's what Terry Gilliam was going for: "It was very important to show that the drugs, right from the beginning, were in their brains, that the world itself was what it was, but the way they saw it was completely altered by whatever it was they stuffed into their bodies. The point was to try to disorient the audience as quickly as possible." By the end of it, you feel nauseated and wonder how Hunter Thompson and Oscar Zeta Acosta survived that long weekend. For a long time afterward, Johnny and Benicio Del Toro were asked how they managed to film Fear and Loathing while being under the influence the whole time. (For the record, they both have repeatedly confirmed that no drugs were ever taken. Simply put, Johnny said, "You couldn't do it.")  

Listening to the DVD commentaries helped me understand and appreciate the film better. After listening to all the passion and thought everyone--director, cast, and crew--put into it, you realize that blood, sweat, tears, heart, soul, and guts are in this movie. Terry Gilliam describes the film as a journey through Hell: At first, it's not that bad, then it's horrible, and then you make it to the other side. Others have described the first half as the fear and the second half as the loathing. I see both really clearly!

So what's to love about Fear and Loathing?

Hunter shaved Johnny's head in The Kitchen on Owl Farm.

• Johnny's performance: Genius! If you've ever seen Hunter Thompson in action, Johnny captured it. It's practically uncanny. He spent months with the author, living in his basement, stealing his clothes, voice, mannerisms, and whatever else he could. "He was creepy, always hanging around, mimicking everything I was doing," Hunter Thompson said. "He would do it with other people around!" In that time, they became dear friends and comrades until the author's death in 2005. By the time Johnny got on set, being Hunter was second nature, and I'm pretty sure Hunter Thompson's under his skin now and forever. I'd sing the same praises for Benicio Del Toro, but his performance scares me! (I think that means he did an equally excellent job.)

• Terry Gilliam: I was ridiculously excited when I heard Johnny was to work with Terry Gilliam, whom I grew up watching as part of Monty Python Flying Circus. (If you haven't seen Monty Python, why not? Aside from his parts in the sketches, Terry Gilliam did all the animation on the show.) He also directed one of my favorite movies ever, The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen. I couldn't imagine a better director for this movie. Funnily, the producers were concerned when he confessed to them that he'd never taken acid before. "We worried that he wouldn't know how to do Fear and Loathing," said producer Laila Nabulski. "But what we realized quickly was that Terry's a very different kind of guy and doesn't need to take acid, and hopefully will never take acid because God knows what would happen then!"

• Hunter Thompson: You wouldn't have this movie without the author. What I find interesting about this film is that it's based on a true story. The names aren't the same, but Hunter Thompson and Oscar Zeta Acosta went through it. They were real people, who were highly respected,  and had real jobs. Oscar Zeta Acosta was an important lawyer who became an activist for the Chicano Movement in Los Angeles. Hunter Thompson met him in 1967 while writing an article for Rolling Stone about the injustices in the East L.A. barrios and the trial for the murder of Los Angeles Times columnist Ruben Salazar. It was during that first meeting that they made their first trip to Las Vegas that led to the writing of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. After seeing this film adaptation, Hunter Thompson said,"It was like an eerie trumpet call over a lost battlefield." Johnny was pleased.    

No catnip was used during the creation of this drawing.
Like Terry Gilliam's friends in recovery, I enjoy the first half of this movie most. You can't beat the film's opening sequence with Duke and Dr. Gonzo zooming down the highway on their way to Vegas. My favorite part is when the bats appear: You get your first taste of the visual genius Terry Gilliam's got in store. You're in for the ride--like it or not.

Meanwhile, Johnny revisits William Blake.

 In addition to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Johnny filmed a pretty substantial cameo in another movie in 1998 called L.A. Without a Map. I just saw this film recently. While it was released internationally in 1999, it wasn't available in the United States until years later. Who decides these things?

In this movie, a British writer named Richard (David Tennant) falls in love with a visiting aspiring actress (Vinessa Shaw). In a grand romantic gesture, he follows her to Los Angeles to win her heart and start life anew. Throughout the movie, Richard asks advice from Johnny, addressing a Dead Man poster he has displayed on his apartment wall. It's a the head shot of Johnny as William Blake, aiming his gun. While Johnny doesn't speak from the poster or the other film billboards that Richard sees from his L.A. apartment, he shrugs or gestures what he's thinking. I loved the creativity of this kind of cameo. Later on, Johnny does speak, showing up as himself in a couple of scenes with Richard.

William Blake lives!

This is a cute little movie. I assume Johnny was asked to participate in it, since he's sort of an essential character in the story. I suppose they could have picked any actor to be Richard's idol, but maybe Johnny's name came up because he is friends with some people in the cast (including Vincent Gallo, his costar in Arizona Dream). Or, maybe he was eager to work with the director (Mika Kaurismaki). Or, maybe he was excited to share a scene with Anouk Aimee. I'm not sure, but there are my theories. I think he did it as a favor, since he's uncredited and didn't get paid. He's like that. If you can't find this movie, you can see clips of Johnny's cameo on YouTube.

What's Next?
Johnny is invaded in The Astronaut's Wife!

(Image credits: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas images © Universal Pictures; photo of Hunter and Johnny from Rolling Stone magazine; L.A. Without a Map images © Dan Films, Euro American Films, and Marianna Films; Illustration © Melissa Connolly.) 

There is no one like Zorro.

When I'm reading a good book, it's hard for me to do anything else. Isabel Allende may be the author who started this habit. I've been meaning to read Zorro since October--and I was eager to do it since it's the last book in the pile on my floor! (You may remember that I started posting the books I am reading on this blog to motivate myself to get rid of this pile. I've done it--Yay! Now, I need to tackle the unread books in my bookcases.)

I had trouble starting Zorro because I knew I couldn't devote as much time to it as I'd want to. (Would they let me stay home from work because Zorro is trapped on a boat that's just been attacked by pirates?) Once I was relaxed at home for the holidays with nothing much else to do, though, I read this book in about 5 days.

The story begins in 1790 and spans 50 years. Born to star-crossed parents--his father a Spanish military man and his mother a Shoshone warrior--Diego de la Vega spends his mischievous childhood feeding his love for adventure but also witnessing harsh injustices done to the Native Americans by European settlers. While getting a respectable education in Barcelona, Diego focuses most on learning the art of fencing. But it's the constant oppression he sees around him that ultimately leads to the creation of Zorro and the solidity of his legend and legacy.

I've read most of Isabel Allende's books, and I always recommend them. They are full of intricate details and fascinating characters. She is a master storyteller: Her stories are easy to picture in your head, and her books are hard to put done once you get into them. This one is a guaranteed fun ride.

Settle in and enjoy it!

Highlight

For me, the highlight of 2012 so far is the warm reunion with Lily Cat on January 1 after my 10-day visit home for the holidays. Earlier in the week, she agreed with me on this. But now, in Lily's eyes, I think her introduction to the laser pointer that my sister Julie got her for Christmas has pushed this happy moment out of first place.

(Illustration Friday: December 30, 2011)

Messengers

Happy new year, everyone!

All together now....

(Illustration Friday: December 23, 2011)

See you in 2012!

Hi everyone,

I'm off to spend time with family in Ohio 'til the end of the year. Lily will be here, but she hates using the computer, so....I'll be back in January. See you then!

Happy holidays to you! 

Enjoy!

Sink

In the mornings and evenings as Julie gets ready for work or bed, Ashes waits in the bathroom for some "me" time and a drink from the faucet. If Julie takes too long getting there, she'll start complaining and kicking her water bowl around.

Here, we haven't gotten to that point yet. Just wait.

(Illustration Friday: December 16, 2011)

Separated?

When Lily lounges on her closet cat climber, her back legs hang over the edge in whatever direction they fancy. Sometimes, it makes me wonder if they're really connected to the rest of her body. (They are.)

(Illustration Friday: December 9, 2011)

Brigade

(Illustration Friday: December 2, 2011)

Get ready--It's The Kitty Brigade!

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #15--The Brave (1997)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details.]

Rafael and his son Frankie

"We say all the time, 'I would kill for my family' or 'I would die for my family.' But would you really? I always thought of this story as the ultimate sacrifice." Johnny Depp

How brave are you?
As Rafael, Johnny Depp plays a poor, unemployed, alcoholic Native American who is desperate to provide for his wife and two young children. He wants to get them out of their trailer life in Morgantown, a village set among refuse, but having just served 3 years in prison for robbery and assault hasn't helped in his search for a legitimate job in town. He receives word of a different way out: He hears that a man named McCarthy (Marlon Brando) will pay $50,000 for his life. "Watching a painful death can be a great inspiration to those who are not dying, so that they can see how brave we can be when it's time to go," McCarthy says. "It the final measure of bravery to stand up to death." Yeah, he's crazy. But Rafael makes a deal with him. Then, with one week left to live, he strives to do right by his family and regain their respect before he goes.

Johnny takes it to heart.

Based on the novel by Gregory McDonald, Johnny has always been fascinated with this idea. So much so that, aside from starring in The Brave, he co-wrote the screenplay (with writer Paul McCudden and older brother/author D.P. Depp) and directed the film. Johnny later described some unanticipated complications: "As a director, you have to be in complete control of the set and surroundings. As an actor, you have to be--in a sense--out of control and unaware of what's going on on the set and all those really fun production problems." He said that editing scenes in which his friends were doing such good work was a nightmare task.

I don't think it was Johnny's idea to present The Brave for competition at the Cannes Film Festival, but he felt rushed to finish when it was selected. People were visibly moved by the film as the exited the theater at its premiere there, so Johnny was shocked that some critics panned it in the next morning's papers.

I'll take it!

The Brave wasn't available in the United States for a long time. (Now, you can find it, though it's never been officially distributed here.) I first found it on eBay: a weary video copy with yellow foreign language subtitles. Where it exactly came from, I do not recall--I swear. (I've since upgraded to a legit DVD copy without subtitles.)

I don't know what the critics said about The Brave because I don't often read reviews, especially bad ones. But I side with the moved crowd. When I first saw The Brave, it made me cry too.

A visiting friend looked through my Johnny DVD Collection once and asked me about The Brave. "It's for hardcore fans only," I said without hesitation. "It's depressing." I didn't warn her because it's a bad movie: It's just not for the masses, and I don't think it was ever meant to be.

Marlon is mental.

Still, I've never wanted to see or know about a Johnny Movie more than this one! Knowing what I know about Johnny, it's clear when watching The Brave that there's so much of him in every frame (even if I can't exactly pinpoint everything). And, I love that he brought in his friends--Marlon Brando, Frederick Forrest, and Iggy Pop, among others--to help him create this film.

Yes, the story is bleak, but you have to commend Johnny for even tackling this difficult subject, investing his own money into the project to get it made, and exposing so much of himself in every aspect of the film. Overall, there are some really great moments, and there are some not-so-great moments. It's an earnest effort that I love because its Very Johnny. "I really approached the film as if it were a white big piece of paper, and I was just going to draw a picture on it," Johnny said. "And whether the picture was good or bad, whatever people thought of it, what they could never take away was that it was my picture."

The Kitties are pretty brave....
With such a dark subject, it was hard to choose what to draw for this month's tribute. But it occurred to me that the most powerful takeaway from this movie is realizing that situations like this actually exist.

In the opening sequence, backed by Iggy Pop's haunting score, the camera slowly pans over mountains of trash--and a few random scavenger hunters rummaging through it--until it reaches a trailer tucked in a small clearing. It's someone's home. Someone lives there--surrounded by garbage. You can feel the desperation from the start. And, it pretty much goes downhill from there.

What's Next?
There's fear. There's loathing. It's Vegas.

(Note: Except for my drawing, all images © Acappella Pictures.)

Round

(Illustration Friday: November 25, 2011)