Chaplin's still got it!

Hi everyone,

It may be Robert Downey, Jr.'s fault that I like Charlie Chaplin so much. Did you see his performance in Chaplin? He should've won that Oscar.

Actually, the guy who really got me into silent film comedies is Harold Lloyd. I should write about him one of these days because it seems Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin had better agents and publicists.

But Charlie Chaplin is the most famous of all silent movie stars. He did it all: he wrote, produced, directed, scored, and starred in his movies.

Every year, Strathmore celebrates Charlie Chaplin's birthday by screening some of his films with live orchestral accompaniment. Last February, I attended this event for the first time because 1) The Kid, my favorite Charlie Chaplin film, which has a moving, memorable score, was billed as the main attraction; and 2) Strathmore sent me an email, offering $85 center orchestra tickets for $20. Score!

First on the evening's program was one of Charlie Chaplin's short films, called The Idle Class, from 1921. This film was new to me and has some wonderful moments. In one scene, for example, his wife sends him a note, warning that she won't stay with him unless he changes his alcoholic ways. Check out his heartfelt reaction:

The Idle Class (crying scene): http://youtu.be/W5vdV6-T4KM

You can watch the full half-hour film online on the Internet Archive.

Also from 1921, The Kid is Charlie Chaplin's first feature-length film. In it, he plays his iconic character, The Tramp, who finds an abandoned baby. He raises the child until the boy's mother rediscovers her son and wants him back in her life. As you can imagine, this film is a mix of comedy, tragedy, and lots of heart. It makes me laugh and cry.

I can't find a singled-out favorite scene for this movie, but here's a compilation of clips that gives you a good taste. Keep in mind that the last clip shared in this collection is not the end of the movie; oh, the drama!

The Kid (medley of scenes): http://youtu.be/RUMDfIaCEu8

You can watch the full 53-minute film online on the Internet Archive.

What's great about silent movies is how universally understood they are and how they bring people together for a unique, shared experience. Watching a silent film isn't like watching a foreign one. Silent movies only use words to set up scenes, like "A lost boy looks for a home..." or "A city girl visits her uncle in the country..." Viewers can easily follow what's happening in scenes by just watching the actors. Everyone in the audience of these events is either a fan of silent films or someone being introduced to silent films by a friend who's already a fan. I was surrounded by people of all ages, from children to seniors, and we laughed together at jokes from nearly 100 years ago.

That's staying power, Charlie!


Credits: Chaplin movie poster © Tristar Pictures (1992); films and film clips © Charles Chaplin Productions (1921)

Sleep...

Hi everyone,

The Kitties are always full of great ideas, like naps. This winter, as a fought off a series of annoying colds, I curled right up with them.

(Illustration Friday: February 13, 2015)

Now that I have my energy back, I'm working on catching up with the rest of the world. Last December, I meant to recap 2014, a year during which I put down my markers and got out of the apartment. A great lesson from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way is that you should  spend time having fun on your own: Take a walk. See a movie. Learn a new hobby. Fly off for a weekend getaway. She calls these Artist Dates. I've always done Artist Dates without realizing their purpose. Last year's number of outings seemed more than usual, even for me. Concerts, plays, exhibits, and more just kept showing up, and I had to go! 

My plan to recap all these fun events was sabotaged by my constant colds, holidays, work, and life in general. But, this month, I'll get started posting reviews of what I saw last year for you all. It's better late than never, right? Here's some of what you're in for:

• Appreciating Charlie Chaplin.
• Experiencing great live jazz.
• Catching up with Sting and company.
• Learning about our best American songwriters.
• Catching up with The Lucy and Rufus Wainwright.
• Partying with the Rainforest Foundation (New York).
• Rocking at 930.
• Joining symphony and dance at The Kennedy Center.
• Flying high with Savion Glover.
• Finding Neverland in Boston.
• Finding The Real Thing in New York.
• Celebrating the work of Danny Elfman for Tim Burton.
• Going on a Broadway Extravaganza (New York).
• Sailing Away with The Last Ship (New York).
• Catching Up with John Cleese.

Eventually, I'll catch up to 2015, so just bear with me while I get these all out of my system. Also, mark your calendar for a new installment of Johnny Kitties on March 9th! I promise to throw in some random Kitties every once in a while too. You know they're always around. 

Best,

Home

When I get home, Lily always greets me at the door for a friendly conversation. For everyone else, though, she sharpens her claws. Don't take it personally: after years of training with the secret service, she's a bonafide watchcat, and it's hard for her to change her ways. 

(Illustration Friday: January 9, 2015)

Where's Melissa?

Hi everyone,

I'm still here! The cold winter weather has plagued me with a series of colds and turned me into a bear, so the Kitties and I have been hibernating. I'm just thawing out this week and will resume Melissa's Kitties very soon....

I hope you are all well. Here's to spring!

Best,

Carsick

Hi everyone,

I bought John Waters's latest book, Carsick, this summer while he was book touring and stopped in D.C. for a conversation with Washington Post reviewer Louis Bayard at the Sixth and I Synagogue. He wore fire engine red pants and a black jacket. (Sometimes, he's worth seeing just for his fashion sense.)

Carsick recounts his adventure hitchhiking from his home in Baltimore, Maryland, to his timeshare apartment in San Francisco, California. Before telling readers what really happened on his trip, he offers two novellas that imagine the best- and worst-case scenarios. Each chapter is new ride. Only John Waters, a 63-year-old cult film director, writer, actor, and performer – who can easily afford faster, safer ways to travel – would consider making this trip in real life. The rest of us conventional types wondered Louis Bayard's very first question: What were you thinking, hitchhiking on your own these days? Noting that his "criminal friends" were the ones who were most against his idea and that made him nervous, he responds, "It's dangerous. But so is driving, and so is staying home. That's very dangerous. Nothing will ever happen to you again in your life!"

John Waters always says interesting things like this, statements that make me think and see things differently. I've been a fan since seeing Hairspray in the '80s and, of course, since he cast Johnny Depp in 1990's Cry-Baby, happy to help steer his film career in the right direction. (You can find my Johnny Kitties tribute to that movie here.) I met him once before at a book signing for his previous (fantastic) book, Role Models. When I met him this time, I told him how much I liked that book and that I was excited to read this one. He thanked me twice for both compliments. He's nice too! Can I consider us friends now?

Carsick is an entertaining, funny, quick read. The novellas offer a glimpse into John Waters's warped, wonderful imagination and introduce readers to all those people the rest of us are afraid to approach. (I always learn new things from John Waters, who in his nonjudgmental way of life, flirts with the fringe of society.) In the best-case scenario, he receives $5 million to finance his next film, experiences magic from outer space, runs into a long-lost friend, meets one of his movie-star idols, and falls in love by the time he reaches San Francisco. On his worst rides, he encounters a drunk driver, torturers, kidnappers, overzealous fans, and death. The pleasant surprise of the real rides is that everyone who picks him up is content and kind.

I finished this book feeling good about the world and the people in it, though I agree with John Waters's personal assistant, who acknowledges how his recognizable face helped move him across the country. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, she said, "if it were my unknown ass, I'd still be [hitchhiking] in West Virginia waiting for a ride." So, you may decide against trying this kind of road trip yourself and, instead, read this book to imagine what would happen if you ever dared it. With John Waters as your guide (complete with a 30-song playlist provided on the last page), I think you're safe.

Buckle up,


P.S. For more of my book reviews, click the new Keep Reading tab below the banner on my blog. This page will be updated as new book reviews are posted.

It's winter?

Hi everyone,

I'd been down and out with a cold for practically the entire month of December, so I'm a little late in wishing you happy holidays. Don't worry, the Kitties have been playing nonstop while waiting for my energy to return. It's not snowing here in D.C., so I don't know where they've been!

Here's to 2015,

Theatre

Hi everyone,

At the end of October, I took the train up to New York for a three-day Broadway Extravaganza. I saw four fantastic shows!

(Illustration Friday: November 14, 2014)

• The River, at Circle in the Square, is a drama about a guy with relationship issues and his love for fishing. In the scene here, our man (Hugh Jackman/B.J.) is surprised by his girlfriend's (Laura Donnelly/Mini) beginner's luck. 

• Cabaret, at Studio 54, is an iconic musical set in 1930s Berlin about a cabaret singer and her relationship with an American as the Nazis begin to gain power. In this scene, the cabaret's emcee, played by Alan Cumming/Simon introduces some of the cabaret's dancers (Ashes and Lily), including its main attraction Sally Bowles (Michelle Williams/Mini). 

• Set to some amazing music by Sting, The Last Ship at the Neil Simon Theatre is a new musical about a man (Michael Esper) who, after 15 years, returns to his hometown  – a working-class shipbuilding community in Northern England, where he faces his first love Meg (Rachel Tucker) and unresolved issues with his father. As Father O'Brien (Fred Applegate), the town's beloved minister, brings the community together to give the dying industry a proper send off by building one last ship, memories arise and old wounds begin to heal. Here, the foreman Jackie White (Jimmy Nail/B.J.) directs his workers (Comet, Gordon, and Simon) as they build the massive ship with Father O'Brien (Norman), Meg (Lily), and her son Tom (Colin Kelly Sordelet/Tyrone) watching the feat.     

• On the Town, at Lyric Theatre, is the classic musical about three Navy sailors (Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson, and Clyde Alves) on 24-hour leave in New York City. In this scene, the boys (Comet, Gordon, and B.J.) get off the boat at 6 a.m. to start their day, just as a construction worker (Philip Boykin/Norman) arrives for work.

I've been slow drawing and blogging these days, but I hope to post reviews of these shows here sometime soon. In the meantime, get your tickets now because these shows are all worth seeing! Cabaret now stars Emma Stone in the role of Sally Bowles! The Last Ship, my favorite of the four, now has Sting himself in the role of Jackie White for a limited time through January 10th! What are you waiting for? Treat yourself and go!

Best,

Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir

Hi everyone,

Photo credit: © Kat Villacorta

A few weeks ago, I caught Cyndi Lauper on "Front and Center" on PBS. This hour-long concert (which you can watch here) celebrates the 30th anniversary of her debut album, She's So Unusual, which she performs from start to finish. And there I was, in the middle of the night, remembering all the lyrics, singing and dancing along like no time had passed.

The last time I saw her in concert was with my dad and sister in Boston Common when she was touring in support of this album. It was my first concert ever. The two things that I remember from it are 1) Cyndi belting out "Money Changes Everything" while fearlessly climbing high above the stage on sound equipment and running along back-wall scaffolding, and 2) the photos I took of her from atop my dad's shoulders, above a sea of bouncing fans. The only thing visible in those photos was the shock of Cyndi's orange hair, a fiery dot from our distance. 

I've lost track of her music over the years, but the same Cyndi-infused delight resurfaces in me whenever she shows up. Were you as excited as I was about her recurring role on "Mad About You" in the '90s? Did you catch her surprise appearance on "The Voice" a few years ago? Didn't the Tonys telecast become instantly cooler with Cyndi there in support of Kinky Boots? I guess I shouldn't have been surprised this year when my mom described an outfit I had just received for my birthday as "very Cyndi Lauper" and that the next gift I opened was her recent memoir. (Thanks, Dad!) 

Cyndi Lauper's memoir is a quick read, maybe because I read it every day since opening the cover. During the first half of the book, I was shocked to learn about this young girl in Queens, who grew up poor in an unstable family situation, struggled in school and with various jobs, and had to run away from home for her own safety. She suffered from illnesses and depression while fighting off hunger and barely paying rent. I stopped reading every once in a while to inspect the front cover: This is Cyndi Lauper – amazing singer, songwriter, and performer, Grammy and Tony winner, and all-around cool, confident artist – right? 

What kept Cyndi going were her singular vision of the artist she wanted to become and her deep connection to music and singing. Just as I felt while watching her climb far above the concert stage all those years ago, reading her story, I was taken aback by her fearless drive to move forward in life to reach her creative goals and her matter-of-fact acceptance of whatever hurdles are thrown in her path.

The second half of the book caught me up on the music I've missed since Cyndi's second album, True Colors. The number and variety – from rock and dance to jazz and blues – are surprising. Cyndi's still doing whatever she can to grow as an artist and offer something new. She lets you into her unique, all-encompassing creative process; the look, sound, and feel of everything she does has artful meaning behind it. She talks honestly about her shortcomings and struggles to grow and be heard in a male-dominated, sales-driven industry. She offers empowering advice about how to lead your life as you want it and inspires with every triumph, including her work, her sense of humor in the face of darkness, and her dedicated efforts toward equal rights for women and the gay community. Throw some wrestlers and drag queens in there, and you've got an entertaining story about the unpredictable, rewarding life of a special lady.

My favorite thing about this book is Cyndi's one-of-a-kind voice and approach. It's as if she is sitting next to you, personally telling her story. As if we were catching up like old girlfriends, she ends some anecdotes with "(Can you believe it?)" or "C'est la vie... (That's French for 'whatever!')" Taking her time when working on an album is for the best, she explains, "I mean, I could have done it really quick, but what was I going to put out – some piece of poop? (You feeling the alliteration?)" And, though she puts herself down for having no filter when speaking her mind and doing things her own way, she takes it in stride, always with her eye on improving: "I'm learning more and more how to do this without ruffling feathers, but I must confess that I don't know how to do it as well as I'd like to. I've plucked a few chickens in my time. I have never been a delicate flower. Hopefully I am getting better. Or, as Yoda would say, 'Better I'm getting.'"

Can you hear her? While reading this book, your internal voice will absorb Cyndi's infectious enthusiasm and boldness and develop a heavy Queens accent. What else can a fan ask for? This memoir is "very Cyndi Lauper." Awesome she is. 

Best,

Paper

They never get tired of this stuff.

(Illustration Friday: November 7, 2014)

Octopus

Norman really loves his Halloween costume this year. No one is sure when he's planning to take it off.

(Illustration Friday: October 10, 2014)

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Hi everyone,

Set in Florida in the early 1900s, Zora Neale Hurston's 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God  shares Janie Crawford's story so far – from her starry-eyed teenage years to wiser womanhood. Through years of ups and downs, she marries a few times, finds love, survives a hurricane, and is tried for murder. She needs a therapist, in my opinion, but just telling her story to her close friend Phoebe is more her style.

Janie is an amazing character who is always growing and striving for what she wants in life, an admirable heroine in whatever circumstance that is thrown at her. I found myself sad and angry whenever bad things happened to her, but with these experiences behind her, she gains earned confidence in her own independence.

I liked this book (and love the cover image), but I admired the writing more than the story. What sets this book apart from others is its authenticity. What I thought would be a quick, easy read felt more like Shakespeare at times. The narration is poetic, sparking imagery that perfectly captures Janie's state of mind. The dialogue is written phonetically to match the African-American characters' dialect, reminding the reader of the reality of Janie's place and time. Like Shakespeare, you get used to the vernacular and appreciate the writer's impressive accomplishment.

This story isn't a particularly happy one, but it's real and timeless. You experience Janie's emotional growth – fearlessness and fear, desire and courage, love and loss, acceptance and wisdom – and you feel richer having gone through it all with her.

Best,

Silence!

You should always listen to your elders.

(Illustration Friday: October 3, 2013)

Wish

During those long nights in the sewer, Tyrone wished for a better home for himself and his family. I can tell you now because it came true.

(Illustration Friday: September 26, 2014)

Fall, Take 2

Hi everyone,

As I did for summer, I've updated the Melissa's Kitties banner this season to include our newest kitty Tyrone. (He's already getting excited about winter.)

What do you think?

Best,
 

Lauren Bacall

Hi everyone,

The cover that got
her noticed, 1943

Last month, we lost one of the world's great ladies, Lauren Bacall, who is probably best known for the love story she shared with Humphrey Bogart. But that's only one highlight in a full life of many shining moments. She got her start in the movies by chance: The wife of director Howard Hawks saw her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in 1943 and urged him to bring her to Hollywood for screen test for one of his upcoming films.

This request led her into a fairytale romance and varied career on screen and stage. At 19, the studio molded her persona, changing her name from Betty Perske to Lauren Bacall and developing The Look, that lowered stare and voice that became her trademark. Her first film To Have and Have Not costarred Humphrey Bogart, who was 25 years older and struggling in a tumultuous marriage. Her sparkling screen debut was unforgettable:

YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/vyerVtcER5U; © Warner Brothers 

Despite their age difference, she and Humphrey Bogart fell in love. (Can't you tell?) They married in 1945, had two kids, and made three other great movies together – The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo – before Humphrey Bogart died in 1957.

Yes, I still have my playbill.

Aside from these timeless films, she showed impressive range in How to Marry a Millionaire (with Marilyn Monroe), Designing Woman (with Gregory Peck), Sex and the Single Girl (with Natalie Wood), Harper (with Paul Newman), and The Shootist (with John Wayne), among others. In 1996, she was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Barbra Streisand's mother in The Mirror Has Two Faces. In later years, she worked with more experimental directors, like Lars von Trier for Dogville and Jonathan Glazer for Birth. She was always working and trying something new.

I was so lucky to see Lauren Bacall in person once. In 1999, she was on stage in Boston's Colonial Theatre costarring with Rosemary Harris in Noel Coward's Waiting in the Wings before it went to Broadway. At the time, I felt elated to be in the same room with her. She won two Tonys in her career, for Applause in 1970 and Woman of the Year in 1981.

Her storybook romance and acting talent aside, Lauren Bacall really won me over through her fantastic memoirs, By Myself (which won a National Book Award) and Now. They introduced me to Betty Perske, a shy, funny girl with lots of guts. I was hooked from the early pages of By Myself, where she relived the thrill of being in an elevator with her idol Bette Davis. These books are fantastic – refreshingly candid, honest, and well written. (We were practically friends by the time I finished reading.) By Myself follows Betty as she's swept into Hollywood and goes along for the ride, with wonder, determination, perseverance, and grace. Now continues her journey, spotlighting earned confidence, experience, and wisdom. Put these on your reading lists.

Lauren Bacall was more than The Look and the wife of Humphrey Bogart. In her profession and in life, she always strove for more – learning, growing, and speaking her mind. I will miss hearing that voice.

You can see some of Lauren Bacall's films on TCM this week! Starting Monday, September 15, at 8 p.m., eastern, my favorite cable channel will be celebrating this classy lady with a 24-hour tribute that will wrap up on what would have been her 90th birthday (September 16). Enjoy it! (And, if you don't get that channel, stock up your Netflix queue.)

Best,

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #46–Transcendence (2014)

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

What fascinated me more than anything is the correlation between technology and power–the idea that a guy who is able to download his sentient being into a machine can become god, or a version of god. Religion is a fascinating black hole to me. 
– Johnny Depp on researching his role for Transcendence. 





What?

When I read the first few blurbs trying to quickly sum up the plot of Transcendence, I rarely made it much farther than the first sentence. Passing by terms like "artificial intelligence," "super computer," and "uploaded consciousness." I gave up and decided to wait for it. 

In this movie, Johnny Depp plays Will Caster, a computer scientist studying the point at which artificial intelligence and human intelligence will achieve singularity or, as he calls it, transcendence. About 15 minutes into it, he is shot by an anti-technology activist using poisoned bullets. When Will finds out that he has about a month left to live, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) convinces him to try to upload his mind into the quantum computer he'd invented. About 10 minutes after he settles into the computer, his ghostly voice asks for more power, and his soul ends up online. 

He instructs Evelyn to buy land in the middle of nowhere, and she contracts the development of an underground facility there so that Will can continue his work. With his heightened capabilities, he is able to heal the sick and disabled, which at first seems like  amazing good fortune. Soon, however, it is discovered that everyone Will heals becomes a part of him, inheriting his strengths, and the townspeople become a kind of superhuman army. Morgan Freeman describes Transcendence pretty well: "The whole movie is about the development of artificial intelligence and a situation that gets out of hand." 

It's a leap of faith.

As far-fetched as this movie sounds, everyone involved who researched it thinks that we are well on our way. Some scientists believe we could reach this kind of immortality in the next 30 years. "The combination of technology and biology–I think it's inevitable," producer Aaron Ryder says. "We did a fair bit of research and talked to a lot of different people in this field. What was astounding to us was how advanced technology was and how close we were at things that I always thought were just science fiction as being reality."

Transcendence got mixed reviews, some of which were as complicated as the movie sounds. Overall, I think this movie has too many big, stretchy ideas for a 2-hour story. But I didn't really mind that. Here are my own issues with this movie:

• As I warned earlier, Johnny starts dying about 15 minutes into the movie, which is depressing enough. Then, he's basically on a TV screen for rest of it. I suppose I'm used to Johnny Movies in which he has more to do. 

• When I first heard about this project, I was most excited by the prospect of Johnny working with Morgan Freeman. It turns out that they only have a few short scenes together, and one of them is when Johnny is already uploaded. Does that one really count?

• There are lots of computers, coding, and typing in this movie, and no matter what you do with it, that's just not interesting–unless you're an artificial intelligence scientist, I suppose. 

But just go with it.
There are things I like about this movie too. Yes, the premise is outlandish, and the creepy half-human/half-machine population Will creates is over the top. Yet, whenever I watch Transcendence, I get into it. Its big, stretchy ideas are fantastic and make me think for a long time afterward, which was apparently one of the goals. "This film will force people to ask questions," Johnny says. "How far should any of it go? That kind of intelligence in the wrong hands could be quite devastating." Adding to that warning, Wally Pfister notes, "It's my hope that people will think carefully whether technology can be used for the betterment of mankind or to its detriment." 

Wally Pfister was Christopher Nolan's cinematographer for many years, so the special effects in this movie are impressive. I love the visuals and the starkness and clean lines of the sets in the laboratory. 

While I'm disappointed that Johnny and Morgan Freeman didn't have much to do together in this movie, Transcendence also offers a great ensemble cast. I particularly like Paul Bettany as Max, Will and Evelyn's old friend, who serves as the voice of reason and gets most of the action in this story. Paul Bettany worked with Johnny previously in The Tourist and has already finished working with him on another upcoming film. Whenever interviewed about these projects, he's often asked how it feels to be in a Johnny Depp movie and responds jokingly that the question should really be asking how Johnny feels about being in a Paul Bettany movie. To me, Transcendence really is more of a Paul Bettany movie (and that's not a bad thing). 

What's really going on here?
For this Johnny Kitties tribute, I wanted a scene that included Johnny with Morgan Freeman, which meant I had few choices. I decided against depicting Johnny in dying mode and instead opted for a healthier-looking computer-generated version. Here, Evelyn (Lily) leads Will's colleague Joseph (Morgan Freeman/B.J.) and FBI agent Buchanan (Cillian Murphy/Tyrone) into Brightwood Data Center's underground laboratory, where Will makes a surprise appearance.

Don't forget to see For No Good Reason too!

Shortly after the release of Transcendence, Johnny showed up at my local theater in a 2012  documentary called For No Good Reason, which explores the life and work of artist Ralph Steadman. Ralph Steadman is most famous for his collaborations with Hunter Thompson, for whom he provided illustrations to pair with the writer's Rolling Stone articles, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and other publications. In this fascinating documentary, Johnny pays his quiet friend a visit  and serves as interviewer from a fan's perspective. 

I loved this documentary for shining light on Ralph Steadman's amazing talent and artistry, which I always felt was considered secondary to the work of his more outspoken, eccentric friend. In the documentary, someone commented that while Hunter was considered the crazy one, Ralph was actually more fearless in his artwork. Check it out, and you will see what he means. One of my favorite parts of this documentary is witnessing the artist create an illustration from start to finish. He just doesn't see things like the rest of us. As Johnny puts it, "Wow." 

What's next?
Johnny Kitties is going on hiatus again until more of Johnny's movies are released on DVD sometime next year. The movies that are next in line, Tusk and Into The Woods, have to hit theaters first. 

Tusk, a horror flick written and directed by Kevin Smith, is due out September 19! While Johnny's role has been kept pretty well under wraps, here's the trailer to get you excited about the creepy weirdness of this story:

(© Demarest Films–YouTube video: http://youtu.be/60EUG-CDC_k) 

For those who are interested, Johnny's daughter, Lily-Rose, appears in this film alongside her friend Harley, Kevin Smith's daughter. You can see them in this trailer as the store clerks. (Lily Rose is the one who doesn't speak.) It was announced recently that these characters will have much bigger roles in another upcoming Kevin Smith movie with Johnny, a comedy called Yoga Hosers! So, if Tusk doesn't freak you out too much, we have another Kevin Smith treat in store for next year!   

But I digress. Into the Woods, a Stephen Sondheim musical directed by Rob Marshall, will be released on Christmas Day! In this fairy tale, Johnny plays The Wolf. I think it's safe to say that all Johnny fans are pacing the floors for this one, and the studio apparently knows it. Here's the teaser trailer that barely gives us a glimpse of what's to come:    

 © Walt Disney Pictures–YouTube video: http://youtu.be/sNVGDZHRJXM)

It's pretty much all I want for Christmas. 

Photo credits: All Transcendence images © Alcon Entertainment. 

King

This happens every time we watch The Wizard of Oz at my sister's house.

(Illustration Friday: August 8, 2014)

For all of you who want to sing along and practice the speech in front of your own mirror (it works for Comet), here's the real thing.... Enjoy! 

(YouTube video: http://youtu.be/Ak3J5DayiCk © MGM)

Golden

Hi everyone,

I just finished this one recently... Tyrone made his way to the top, of course. He's a climber.

(Illustration Friday: July 25, 2014)

This illustration was partly inspired by another piece of golden artwork that I have on my living room wall, which is made completely of fabric by local artist Jamie Langhoff. 

Check out her website, Seeing in Fabric, to see more of her amazing work. 

Best, 

Robin Williams

When I read the news about Robin Williams on Monday, I had two reactions: First, this must be wrong. Second, this must be about a different Robin Williams. By morning, reality had sunken in, and it seemed fitting that I woke to a gray, stormy day of unrelenting, steady rain. The world was upset. 

I've been trying to come up with an explanation and figure out what could have been done to prevent what happened. But I'm giving up this pointless pursuit. Everyone can speculate, but no one will ever know what led him to the darkest of moments. Really, it doesn't matter now. As his wife said, the focus should instead be on "the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions." If anything good can come of this, it will be constructive conversations about the seriousness of depression and ways to address it.

Somehow, it's more shocking when something like this happens to a comedian–someone whose job it is to make you laugh–because you have nothing but happy memories with that person. I clicked on a 2-minute Robin Williams tribute that a fan had created and posted on YouTube Monday night. It was a montage of film and TV show scenes, stand-up bits, talk show moments, and other special appearances that made me realized the constant presence this crazy genius had in my life. 

Like most people around my age, I first knew Robin Williams as Mork, the alien from Ork, who showed up on "Happy Days" and graduated to "Mork and Mindy." (I was hooked by age 4!) In the '80s and '90s, I always looked forward to watching the Comic Relief fundraising events for the homeless that he co-hosted with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal. When Christopher Reeve (my first love) died in 2004, Robin Williams helped me feel better by sharing fond memories of his close friend. Having Robin Williams around was comforting and whenever he showed up anywhere, I smiled, anticipating the laughter soon to come.  

I admit, sometimes, my brain freezes in the middle of watching Robin Williams in his element–on a roll of over-the-top quips combined with invented and dead-on impersonations and boundless improvisation, in no particular order. His comedy is simultaneously exhilarating, exhausting, hilarious, and unlike anyone else's (past, present, and future). The other day, someone likened his comedic talents to turning on a fire hose. It's true, Robin Williams could spew jokes at you at that strength and speed, all the while, making it seem effortless. 

Seeing how insane he could be on his own only made me appreciate him more as an actor. His movies showcase impressive versatility. I love watching him in dramatic roles, like Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King, and Good Will Hunting (his Oscar-winning performance); it's as though we are specially invited to see a quieter side of him that's not usually caught on camera. I love his cameo appearances in The Adventures of Baron Munchaussen and the Night at the Museum series, the adventure he takes us on in Jumanji, and the animated genie he brings to life in Aladdin. His acting is solid and special. No matter the character, Robin Williams is present, and you never know when that energy of his will burst out and shine. His heart was too big to play it any other way.

Although I didn't studiously follow his career, Robin Williams has always reliably been there, like an old buddy or extended family member. My memories of him are of fleeting moments, jumbled into one big, chaotic ball of affection. Among them, one scene from The Birdcage (another great movie) keeps popping in my head. For those who haven't seen it yet, Robin Williams plays a gay cabaret owner, and Nathan Lane is his drag queen partner in life. Robin Williams is actually the quiet one in this relationship, and the main thing I remember about this movie is how much I love his restrained performance. This scene captures a glimpse of what made Robin Williams amazing. 

(YouTube video: http://youtu.be/55Pnw-tEVek © United Artists Pictures) 

How lucky we are that this great man shared so much of his talent, brilliance, and generosity with us. Wouldn't the world be a happier place if we all carried in our pockets just a tiny bit of his joyful spirit? Let's try.

So long, old friend. I miss you and thank you for visiting our planet. 

Contraption

An enthusiastic helper, Tyrone adds some flair to Simon's latest contraption. While their project in the garage remains a mystery, this collaboration is bound for glory.

(Illustration Friday: June 6, 2014)