Spring!

 Hi everyone,

Tyrone, Emily, and Walter are ready to play with you...

Do you have spring fever too?

Queen

 Hi everyone,

Recently, I watched Disney's Queen of Katwe, the 2016 biographical film directed by Mira Nair about the discovery and rise of Ugandan chess champion Phiona Mutesi. Aside from the inspiring story and wonderful performances by Lupita N'yongo, David Oyelowo and others, the colorful costumes really made an impression on me by somehow capturing Africa's vibrancy, even in the Ugandan slums. 

Here is Ashes playing the part of the chess prodigy. She won't tell me if she knows how to play chess, but I assume she does because she's smart like that. The background is inspired by the many colors of African flags, from Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe and more. With too many to represent, I couldn't include all of the colors that make up Africa's diversity, but I hope this at least captures the spirit of the whole beautiful continent. 

If you haven't already seen it, watch the movie and let me know what you think. 

Sweets!

 Hi everyone,

Last month, the managers of my apartment building surprised us with goody bags. You'll see below what Chef Simon did with the contents. As usual, Norman helped in his own way. 

I aimed to get this posted in time for Valentines Day, but I just couldn't stop eating the marshmallows and forgot all of my other priorities. Norman and I have some things in common. 

Yum!

Beauty

Hi everyone,

Here's a true story: In 1987, not long after we moved from Massachusetts to Ohio and were steeped in culture shock, Dad heard about a homeless cat who was hanging around the University of Akron, not far from where we lived.

He brought her home as a surprise, leaving her in our garage for us to find. The Kitty was scruffy and gray in spots from spending too much time outdoors, under cars and in other unladylike places. 

But this is how she looked to me when I first saw her. We were instant best friends. 

Mom insisted that The Kitty have a bath in our kitchen sink, which revealed a snow-white, fluffy coat. Afterward, The Kitty said, "Thank you," proceeded to give herself another bath on her own (as cats do), and began to explore her new home. 

The Kitty settled into our hearts for the next 20 years and beyond. She became The Mother Kitty after having six kittens, including her world-traveling son Gordon. 

Later in life, she shared her space with her kind-hearted and entertaining Siamese friend, Simon, who ran literal circles around her daily – just for fun. This pastime has nothing to do with demonstrating his level of intelligence. Instead, it relates to his days as a traveling circus performer. He wants to keep in shape and his skills sharp for whenever the circus comes back to town. 

Granted, we all know who is the smarter one in this odd couple, but The Mother Kitty would never brag about that. When you are Kitty #1, you don't need to brag about anything. 

The Mother Kitty is a one-in-a-million original beauty, inside and out. And she knows it.

Love, 

Intrepid

 Hi everyone,

Happy Inauguration Day! As we begin a new era in the United States, let us be intrepid in our choices, words, actions, love, and kindness towards others. We can make the world a better place for all of us.

I didn't have this in mind when I drew the illustration below. My inspiration actually came from Drew Barrymore (and my cat). I found out about Drew's new daily talk show – launched amid the pandemic in late September – and set my DVR for it because who doesn't like Drew Barrymore? 

At first, I must admit, the overt joy, love, silliness, weirdness, and hippie-dippie positivity that is The Drew Barrymore Show was a shock to my tired, heavy system. But I kept at it and now look forward to this mood board of a show, as she refers to it, as my time to decompress with a cup of tea. It's a daily shot of sunshine, whether you want it or not. 

One day, Drew showed up carrying her personal, giant dictionary and unveiled the show's first Word of the Week: Intrepid. This revelation made me gasp because I had been trying to think of a way to revive my blog with new drawings. 

Until 2019, a website called Illustration Friday posted a new word every Friday that served as my inspiration for a weekly drawing challenge. I had been doing this routinely since 2006 and, eventually, I saw the site repeat some terms, which was disappointing. (Sometimes I drew something newly inspired by the repeated word, but usually these repeats inspired nothing new for me.) 

As a result, some weeks, I skipped the drawing challenges and, as time went on, I found it harder and harder to feel motivated to draw and post because of other things going on in my life. Then, I unintentionally took 2019 off from drawing anything, and my typical schedule faded away. It was during this time that Illustration Friday's website disappeared. You may have noticed that new posts since then has been sporadic at best. 

In my attempt to start fresh in 2021, it occurred to me that I could come up with my own inspiring words of the week, creating my own drawing challenge and schedule. A few hours later, Drew Barrymore showed up with her dictionary and gave me this word – intrepid – to kick things off. 

What are the odds? (This is one of the many reasons I love Drew Barrymore!) This happened before Thanksgiving, and I don't think she has introduced another Word of the Week since then, but still: Thank you, Drew Barrymore, for blowing the dust off and sparking my imagination! 

According to Merriam-Webster, intrepid means being characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance. Here, Lily faces her own daily challenge – a brave leap from our comfy lounge chair to her trusty window seat. 

   

She makes it every time. Go, Lily! 

Until next time, be intrepid, friends...and, also, still keep your distance, wear your masks, and wash your hands! 

Love,

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone,

I don't think I've ever looked forward more to the start of a new year, and I know I'm not alone. While nothing is very different from a few days ago, I feel determined and motivated to make positive changes and look to the future with hope and optimism. 

One of my priorities is to refocus on drawing for my blog and building it into something larger. (I know I have said this before, but I might mean it this time.) 

I am going to find new sources of inspiration and practice drawing and posting more consistently. A new drawing series is swirling in my head, and I aim to get around to building a portfolio website with a store. These are all thoughts and works in progress right now, but I'll do my best to tackle things one at a time. So, please stay tuned!

Step one, here's a new blog banner featuring the growing Kitty family. What do you think of this crowd? They barely fit: It's a good thing they all get along. Shouldn't we all? 

 

Take care, everyone: Until safer times, keep wearing your mask, wash your hands, and stay socially distant – unlike the Kitties, here, but it's okay: They are in their Kitty Bubble.

New drawings and more are on the way. Here's to new beginnings in 2021!

Love, 

Seasons Greetings from The Kitties and me

Hi everyone,

2020 continues to be a crazy year for all of us. But I found that these turbulent, uncertain times are a  reminder to be grateful for every little thing. 

Enjoy your friends and families, near and far, as we await brighter days ahead. (We did just pass the Winter Solstice, so they really will arrive.) 

Remember – now more than ever – we must continue to wear our masks, stay socially distant, and wash our hands. Stay safe and healthy! 

Here's to a fresh start in 2021, full of fun, joy, peace, togetherness, and Kitties! See you soon. 

Lots of love, 

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #58. Waiting for the Barbarians (2019)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details. Visit the Johnny Kitties page for a full list of Johnny Depp's filmography and links to all previous Johnny Kitties blog posts.]

"So, to me, Joll is a series of very strong protective walls he's built to ward off feeling, to escape feeling. I mean, what does he do when he's alone? He may weep in a closet. I don't know. To me he seemed like he was ready to pounce on anything that penetrated his armor. I think Joll is, in a sense, a victim on his own." Johnny Depp on Colonel Joll

"He was very charming and across the camera was very present and focused. A lovely person to act with. He brings up a kind of great vulnerability." Mark Rylance on Johnny Depp

Why are we waiting for barbarians?

The daily routines of a magistrate (Mark Rylance) managing an isolated outpost of an unnamed empire is disrupted by a visit from Colonel Joll (Johnny Depp), who demands a report on the current state of affairs amid growing concerns of an impending uprising by the local nomads or — as the colonel refers to them — the barbarians. His cruel interrogation tactics toward them makes the magistrate question his loyalty to the empire over his conscience. Director Ciro Guerra's Waiting for the Barbarians is a thought-provoking film based on the 1980 novel, written and adapted by Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee. 

I haven't read this novel, but both Johnny and Mark Rylance immediately connected to the story's relevance. "The shocking thing for me, which was the beacon that stayed there, was the fact that it felt all true and relevant to today in many ways in a lot of different places in the world," Johnny explains. "Power begets power, and there are those who decide who follows or who is disposable or unnecessary, and all those decisions are made by the people at the top." Mark Rylance adds, "The way the novel can be extrapolated to almost any circumstance in the world, to any point in history, is staggering." 

Who are the real barbarians here? 
Because of the pandemic, Waiting for the Barbarians was released to streaming services, and I ended up watching it at my desk on my iMac. I prefer a trip to a movie theater for the big screen, but it was nice to be able to prepare my own snacks (hot chocolate and strawberries) and click play on YouTube whenever I was ready. 

I was afraid to watch this movie because I already unintentionally saw headlines of mixed reviews that praised Johnny's terrifying performance. But that didn't stop me. Not only did I watch it, but I liked it! Of course, I prefer no cruelty or torture, but as a whole, I liked the look and feel of everything else in this film. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Chris Menges, it's got a meditative, slow pace and a great soundtrack by Giampiero Ambrosi to match.

The movie opens to this pulsating beat in an expansive desert, following a lone carriage surrounded by soldiers on  horseback.  Colonel Joll, a member of the police from the Bureau of State Security, has arrived at this random outpost to question the magistrate and locals about the current state of affairs. 

Johnny is sinister and stoic with a steadfast frown here: He has always been great at expressing everything with a look rather than a word, and this performance is a good example. He does have some great lines, but mostly, he instills fear by just looking official and menacing. With a nod or other minor gesture, he can get his underlings to spring into action. 

"I find the most interesting thing about bad guys throughout history, or characters like Joll, is that people don't wake up in the morning and decide while they are shaving: 'I'm going to be the meanest or worst human being. I'm going to cause as much havoc as possible,'" Johnny explains. "No, for me, playing Joll, he seemed very different to me than a bad guy. That felt like it would have been too easy. If you try to think about how a man like that is built, how he is turned, how a man like this arrives at that place: Is it really to be without emotion; is it sociopathy or psychopathy? Or is there somewhere in that guy that harbors a broken child in there or that has been hammered into a shape by his father or mother in his upbringing?"

Colonel Joll is a stark contrast to the magistrate, wonderfully portrayed by Mark Rylance. This quiet, thoughtful observer is kind, gentle and respectful toward the natives. Having witnessed the unnecessary pain and suffering that Colonel Joll inflicts on the locals without any real cause, you see the magistrate's frustration grow. The Colonel's explanation — "Pain is truth; all else is subject to doubt." — just doesn't cut it. As Colonel Joll's crew disturbs the peace and leaves the outpost in ruins, the magistrate's loyalty sides with the locals. It's a good thing, too, because these nomads will eventually get it together. 

I like that there's so little action in this movie that it's hard for me to describe. For example, one scene shows the magistrate falling asleep after hours of washing a local woman's injured feet with warm water. Watching this movie, I could focus on and see what the characters were thinking. How often does that happen?

The Kitties will put a stop to any barbaric behavior.

The best part of Colonel Joll is his cool shades. Johnny describes them: "When Ciro came up with the shape, they were threatening, menacing, somehow; and the fact that he wouldn't take them off, he would make the magistrate as uncomfortable as possible. He learnt some tricks over the years. Calmness, stillness and quiet, and holding your response to a question can be quite disturbing to the person on the other side of you. They are levels of maintaining the armor." 

Check out this sketch by production designer/set decorator Crispain Sallis. "Through that characterization, [Johnny] cut Colonel Joll back to the absolute bone, making any additional theatrical flourishes, such as the glasses or the swagger stick, things to absolutely relish," he explains. 

In my own illustration, I'm not sure the shades come across quite as menacing, but Colonel Joll (Gordon) also accessorizes his uniform with a golden hammer that he considers using to beat up the next barbarian. (Did I mention he's not a nice guy?) This is the only moment where Colonel Joll manages a slight smirk, pleased with the fear-induced power he has over these nomads. When the magistrate (Comet) speaks up, pointing out his evil ways, Colonel Joll's face and stance stiffen and his frown returns. Don't worry, Comet didn't get hurt in the making of this illustration. (Also, I realized after I finished this drawing that the uniforms are a deep navy color — not black — but it all depends on the sunlight, right?)

Check out this Crock of Gold!

In other exciting Johnny news, be sure to catch Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, a documentary that Johnny produced about his friend and frontman of the Pogues. It is available now in the United States and Canada for viewing on home digital platforms and DVD. Additional worldwide releases are coming later this month. I am getting ready to watch it with the volume up. 

What's next? 
Look at me, all caught up with Johnny Kitties! Mark your calendars for February 5 to see Johnny as war photographer W. Eugene Smith in Minamata. I am pacing the floors for this one. 

All photos © Samuel Goldwin Films, except the glasses sketch, courtesy of Crispain Sallis, and the Crock of Gold poster, courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. 

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #57. The Professor (2018)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details. Visit the Johnny Kitties page for a full list of Johnny Depp's filmography and links to all previous Johnny Kitties blog posts.]

"The Professor is a quirky comedy of sorts – stark, enchanting, funny, tragic. It's rare to see comedies that tackle the subject of death." Danny Houston

"Accepting one's mortality and the fact that we're going to die shouldn't be a depressing thing." Wayne Roberts

"May we forever remember that in each and every moment, we are composing the stories of our lives. Let's aim to make it a meaningful read or at least an interesting one." Richard Brown (Johnny Depp)

Life is what you make of it. 

After learning that he has terminal lung cancer and maybe six months to live, Professor Richard Brown (Johnny Depp) realizes that he has no time to waste and spends the rest of it teaching his last students to say what they mean, live however they want, and make the most out of life. Taking his own advice, Richard speaks without a filter, indulges in his whims, and creates his own path toward the exit. Through The Professor, writer/director Wayne Roberts poses tough questions and makes bold statements to remind us that death is an important part of life.

The Professor got a failing grade. 

Typically, I don't look for or read movie reviews before I see them – especially for movies I'm looking forward to seeing. Reviews affect my own opinions: Once I read them, I can't forget what was said while I'm watching the movie. In the case of The Professor, the reviews found me and most of them were bad. The sentiment was so universal that the movie was never properly released in theaters in the United States. Instead, it went straight to DVD in 2019. 

I only read a couple of these bad reviews before I decided to deduce the opinions from just the headlines. Some reviewers made the unfair comparison of Richard's behavior to Johnny's own, so I stopped reading and waited to see this thing for myself. 

I see what they mean, but...

Maybe it was because of the reviews, but I didn't like The Professor at first. He and his wife are so mean to each other. He is bad at his job and doesn't care. He's a bad influence on his students. He's making bad choices. Is this really what people think Johnny is doing in his own life? How dismal. 

What I find so jarring is that Richard's choices of how to spend the rest of his days are so different from what I would think to do, but that's probably the point. Anyone who finds out that they are going to die soon probably assumes that they should do whatever they feel like doing in the moment. In Richard's case, that includes drugs, infidelity, and a bender in the middle of the week. 

...The Professor has some good points.

I warmed up to The Professor because there are also moments of reflection, clarity and purpose. In fact, it made me cry by the end, which has got to mean something. 

Like most Johnny movies, The Professor has a great beginning. In the opening scene, Richard is in the doctor's office getting the bad news – a terminal diagnosis and only a few months to live. For the next few minutes that span the rest of his day, the news sinks in and Richard is lost in thought about what it means. Johnny is so good at saying so much without saying anything, but Richard shares his distress and anger every once in a while with a single repeated curse word, expressed in a variety of ways. It's both funny and sad.

I also love the elements that glue this movie together – the structure and soundtrack, the cinematography and scenery, and the script and cast. 

• 
  The Professor is divided into chapters that reflect Richard's thought process: For example, Chapter 1 is I Have Something To Say and Chapter 3 is I'm Really Going to Die. I like how these titles set the tone for the next scenes. 
• Also setting the tone is a great soundtrack that includes refreshing classical and comforting Motown. 
• Filmed in Vancouver, The Professor is full of beautiful shots, highlighting impressive architecture, sets, and scenery that makes me want to plan a vacation there. Given the grim start and Richard's resulting irreverence, I appreciate having something pretty to look at. 
• Unorthodox behavior aside, Richard offers plenty of worthwhile lessons about not letting life pass by unnoticed. 
• 
  This great cast, including Rosemarie DeWitt, Danny Houston, Odessa Young, and Zoey Deutch, seem wholly invested in capturing the balance between life and death, and it's clear that they are having fun doing it. "Johnny's just so alive and present and real in every moment," says Devon Terrell (who plays student Danny). "It's so brilliant to be in a scene with someone who is so kind of almost animalistic in a way that something's going to happen in every moment. You just didn't know what."

I love seeing the relationship between Richard and his best friend Peter (Danny Houston). Danny Houston's performance is my favorite in this movie, maybe because I would likely react the same way to the news of a friend's (or Johnny's) impending death. Apparently, the feeling was mutual: "My experience with Johnny was love at first sight," Danny Houston says. "I don't know if we're playing into what's required for the characters of the piece or whether it's truly heartfelt, but at the moment, it feels absolutely real." I also related to Richard's bond with his daughter Olivia (Odessa Young). In the end, their goodbye is what brought me to tears. (The original title of this movie was Richard Says Goodbye, which makes more sense to me.) 

I'm not sure The Professor deserves all the bad reviews it got. Sometimes, it lays it on thick that life should not be wasted, but is that such a bad message? The humor might be lost on some people because of the seriousness of this subject, but I appreciate the attempt to take the sting out of death. The Professor suggests that we should not be afraid of death but let it help us focus on a well-lived life, there is no time like the present to make changes and do what we need to do, and when the time comes, we should go out however we want. These are themes Johnny has always seemed to live by, so I'm not surprised that he connected to this character. This story may have struck close to home too: The Professor is dedicated to Johnny's mom, who died of lung cancer in 2016.  

The Kitties get it. 

When thinking of how The Kitties could represent The Professor, one scene kept coming back to me. Most of the movie shows Richard indulging in his vices, telling people what he really thinks, imparting words of wisdom to his students, or saying goodbye to those he loves. But in this scene, Richard is alone, dealing with his own thoughts and pain. Maybe I'm reading too much into this moment, but it seems like Richard is realizing that this is really happening, that it's out of his control, and it's something bigger than everything else. He looks up toward the sky, as church bells toll in the background, and it cuts to Chapter 4, titled, It's Really Starting to Kick In. Maybe I'm not too far off. 

I was also struck by the interesting stark angles and textures in this shot of someone huddled in a space with jagged rock, aged wood, and hard tile. It's an uncomfortable but pretty space. 

What's next? 

In Waiting for the Barbarians, Johnny plays a colonel who doesn't have to say much to instill fear in innocent people, waving his misguided authority around with a fancy golden hammer. 

All film images © Global Road Entertainment; illustration © Melissa Connolly

Johnny Kitties Special Edition: Cry-Baby Revisited

Hi everyone,

Surprise! This drawing took me weeks to finish, I think, because I feel like I captured everything I wanted to capture about John Waters' 1990 classic Cry-Baby in my first tribute drawing in 2011. Can you believe it's been almost 10 years?

I've always felt uneasy about including the Confederate flag stage curtain in that original drawing, even though it is accurate to and fits well in the film. The Black Lives Matter movement and recent events only amplified my concern. Yet, that Cry-Baby artwork was drawn with nothing but love, so I will keep it in my Johnny Kitties collection. 

But here's another piece to celebrate Cry-Baby that I think I might love just as much: It's Cry-Baby in the daytime. The nice thing about revisiting this movie to create a new illustration so many years later is that enough Kitties have joined our family to play all the characters. 

Welcome to Turkey Point! 

This scene is early in the movie, just after Cry-Baby talked to Allison for the first time and then serenaded her while driving on the wrong side of the road after school. Now at home, with Allison still on his mind, Cry-Baby and his gang greet Grandma Ramona and Uncle Belvedere. I knew this movie was going to be great when I saw that Director John Waters got Iggy Pop to take a bath outside in a bucket. 

In this illustration, Gordon plays Johnny's character, as always, and Lily, again as Allison (Amy Locane), invades Cry-Baby's thoughts. The Mother Kitty and B.J. also reprise their roles as Ramona and Belvedere (Susan Tyrrell and Iggy Pop). The rest of the Kitties mix it up: This time around, Comet and Ashes play Milton and Hatchet-Face (Darren E. Burrows and Kim McGuire). Mini portrays Cry-Baby's sister Pepper (Ricki Lake), with Stephen and Mew as her little kids (Jonathan Benya and Jessica Raskin). Emily shows her stuff as Wanda (Traci Lords), and Walter plays it cool as Dupree (Robert Tyree). 

But maybe the real star of this drawing is the skeleton head, just in time for Halloween. The Kitties stayed away from that role. 

The only thing missing from this drawing is a snippet of Cry-Baby's fantastic soundtrack. I couldn't fit the lyrics, but I did have "(My Heart Goes) Piddily Patter, Patter" by Nappy Brown in my head the entire time I was coloring: "My heart goes Piddily Patter, Patter/ Piddily Patter, Patter/ Every time I look at you/ Don't I know what's the matter, matter?/ What's the matter, but I think it's cause I love you." That Cry-Baby soundtrack still rocks, '50s style! 

What's Next? 

New Johnny Kitties illustrations, celebrating Johnny's two latest films – The Professor and Waiting for the Barbarians – are swirling in my head and on the horizon. Until next time, I hope you enjoy this flashback.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Hi everyone,

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stood up for and educated us like no other, leading the way to a better future. She created a path, and we must continue to push it forward. 

Here are just a few of her inspiring words to live by:

• My mother told me to be a lady, and for her, that meant be your own person, be independent. 

• If you're a boy and you like teaching, you like nursing, you would like to have a doll, that's okay. We should each be free to develop our own talents, whatever they may be, and not be held back by artificial barriers. 

• So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune. 

• Reading is the key that opens to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams, and more reading helped me make my dreams come true.

• I'm a very strong believer in listening and learning from others. 

• You can disagree without being disagreeable. 

• Don't be distracted by emotions like anger, envy, resentment. These just zap energy and waste time. 

• Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.

• I don't say women's rights – I say the constitutional principle of the equal citizenship stature of men and women.

• I didn't change the Constitution; the equality principle was there from the start. I just was an advocate for seeing its full realization. 

• Women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.

• In my life, what I find most satisfying is that I was part of a movement that made life better, not just for women...gender discrimination is bad for everyone. 

• Fight for the things you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.

• Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time. 

• I would like to be remembered as someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. 

• Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks. That means don't do it just for yourself. You will want to leave the world a little better for your having lived. 

Thanks for all your hard work, R.B.G. Your wisdom, guidance, and spirit are sorely missed. 

Now, everybody, do what she says here and vote – November 3 or (if you can) earlier! Visit BetterKnowABallot.com to find out how and where in your local area.

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Chadwick Boseman

Thank you, Chadwick Boseman for setting an example to follow, providing words of wisdom, and making some really good movies. You were and always will be an inspiration to so many of us.

"We will work to be an example of how we as brothers and sisters on this earth should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe."
- King T'Challa, Black Panther

"Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason that you’re on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose....I don’t know what your future is, but if you’re willing to take the harder way, the more complicated one, the one with more failures at first than successes, the one that has ultimately proven to have more meaning, more victory, more glory—then you will not regret it. This is your time."
- Chadwick Boseman

COVID-19 Prevention, Kitty Style

Hi everyone,

The kitties have a public service announcement. See below and follow these simple rules to save lives. You know it's serious when cats are willing to get their paws wet.

Be careful out there,

Welcome, Byzee!

Hi everyone,
Unlike everybody else in our Kitty family, our second honorary piggy kitty came from a pet store. Usually, buying animals from pet stores is against our principles, but this little one was a thoughtful gift, and soon the Kitties realized that Byzee's origin story was just like theirs. After all, everyone's just looking for a place to be loved.

Like one of his heroes Gil from Finding Nemo, Byzee spent his early days planning his escape from the guinea pig pen in which he and so many others were placed. He knew he was destined for something better.

My sister's work friends picked Byzee out and gave him to my sister after she fell so in love with Carmella, the OG guinea pig who honorably served as a school class mascot before retiring to my sister's home. At first, we thought Byzee was another girl. When we realized our mistake and apologized, Byzee said, "Hey, whatever, man. We're all the same on the inside." Byzee was tiny then, but he had big ideas.

Byzee is named after two legendary beings, the Star Wars saga's Baby Yoda and Avatar's extraordinary fire bender Zuko. Byzee also keeps busy – always on alert, practicing old and new hobbies, and itching to run the growing obstacle course in his new home. Byzee eyes are different colors – one is blue and one is brown – and he and The Mother Kitty discuss this uniqueness endlessly, including their mutual admiration for fellow multicolored-eye glam rocker David Bowie.

Byzee is a wild rock star at heart. Since he moved into my sister's house, he has let his hair grow out like Jerry Garcia, and he's been dreaming of being in a band ever since we watched School of Rock together. He practices all sort of instruments but seems to like the keyboards and drums the best. Most of his favorite musicians play classic rock – The Doors, Cream, The Grateful Dead, ELO, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. But Byzee's got soul too, often grooving to Funkadelic, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Chuck Berry. And, he surprises us all whenever he sings along to newer music, from the likes of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and Alicia Keys. But I guess we shouldn't be surprised – he's always up with the times and trends, exploring the latest things.

Byzee doesn't watch much TV, unless I make him sit still for a movie that provides life lessons, but he loves a good goofy comedy. His favorite actors include Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, Michael Keaton, Holly Hunter, Bill Murray, and Jeff Bridges. His favorite films include Young Frankenstein, Johnny Dangerously, Elf, and any of the Cohen Brothers movies (though he's too young to watch the R-rated ones). Last night, we watched City Lights, so now Comet (our resident silent movie expert) is telling him all about Charlie Chaplin.

But Byzee is more of a hands-on kind of piggy. When not creating music or watching a comedy classic, he likes to build things. He would rather spend his time outside in the wilderness, but his fancy cage is the next best thing. He dreams of remodeling his cage into a guinea pig mansion of his dreams (see below). It's a work in progress, and his new home offers plenty to do and places to run as it is. Most important, there are places to hide and spy: Byzee is always on the look out for his new nemesis Stephen. Don't worry – he's okay with it now that he knows Stephen is everyone's nemesis and, also, Stephen's brain is about the same size as his.)

Like Carmella, Byzee likes to chill with a good book and fresh food, including his favorites, bananas, parsley, and pepper plant leaves. Right now, we are reading The Daily Show (The Book) by Chis Smith together, and he just asked me who Stephen Colbert is. Byzee's still got a lot to learn, but he's getting there – fast.

Welcome to the family, Byzee!

It's Walter, again

Hi everyone,

It's time for a new portrait of Walter, who has grown from a tiny, fuzzy kitten into a sleek, lanky, handsome stud. (That's how Emily describes him anyway – sometimes.)

Happy (almost) summer!

Walter 2020

Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp Film #56. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

[What is Johnny Kitties? See Johnny Kitties: Celebrating Johnny Depp for all the details. Visit the Johnny Kitties page for a full list of Johnny Depp's filmography and links to all previous Johnny Kitties blog posts.]

"The Wizarding World is a mirror of our world, and we're talking about a period in Wizarding history when there was a rise of what I would call Wizarding Nationalism, if you like, so it's a form of a populist hero, a very populist hero. He's a very different baddie. Grindelwald's far easier to like, which makes him quite dangerous." J.K. Rowling

"Grindelwald, to me, represents a side of the Wizarding World. He has the power, the magic of the wand, and all that, but I think, more than anything, he seems to have a psychological edge on most." Johnny Depp

What's happening? 

In 1927 London, Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escapes imprisonment and gets to work winning over followers, most of whom are unaware of his true goal to have pure-blood wizards ruling over everyone else. Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) is on to this scheme and enlists his star student, Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), to help him stop Grindelwald. To help him stop Dumbledore, Grindelwald finds Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who has turned up in Paris. In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the second installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise, almost everyone picks a side as these two leaders prepare for the ultimate battle for supremacy.

How did we get here?
I've never read the Harry Potter books, and I only binge-watched the movies a few years ago, even though I tried watching them with my nephew several times before. Every time I tried to watch the first Harry Potter movie, I fell asleep within five minutes. I realized that this happened because I had no idea what anyone was talking about, using the unique terms of Harry Potter's world. I tuned out conversations as if they were in a foreign language. Once I got passed that initial confusion, however, I loved the Harry Potter movies just as I thought I would! The trouble with binge-watching them is that they have now run together in my head. I am still a Harry Potter beginner, who is always a bit confused and too unfamiliar (so please be kind if I mix up some details).

Still, it was magic that made me catch up on Harry Potter just before it was announced that Johnny signed on to star in the Harry Potter prequel franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and four more related films, uncovering the past of beloved Professor Dumbledore and his rival. Don't you agree?

I didn't create an illustration for 2016's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first Fantastic Beasts movie, which premiered in 2016, because Johnny was only in it for about two minutes. My options were to draw either the back of his head or an action shot of him being whisked away to prison.

I liked this dark adventure in the Potterverse. Newt Scamander arrives in New York to find a lost magical beast and save it in the fantastic beast sanctuary hidden in his suitcase. While there, things don't go exactly as planned.

This film sets up the Fantastic Beasts saga's characters: In addition to Newt, there's his love Tina (an American witch who tried to get him arrested, played by Katherine Waterston), a baker named Jacob (Dan Fogler), and his love (and Tina's sister) Queenie (Alison Sudol). The dark side of this movie stems from troubled teen Credence (Ezra Miller), who was adopted and subsequently emotionally and physically abused for years by his crazy mother (Samantha Morton).

Credence meets Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), who promises to get him away from her if he helps him locate a child with great powers. But it turns out that Graves is evil and Credence is the child with great powers. Credence is possessed by an obscurial, an abstract dark entity. When his rage gets the best of him, the obscurial takes over and causes destruction all over New York.

In the end, Credence is gone. Graves is arrested, and his true identity is revealed: Graves is really Grindelwald!

Now what? 

Are you confused yet? (The Pirates movies seem so much easier to explain than these ones!) I must admit, I liked Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them better than Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. This time, instead of the language putting me to sleep, the special effects did. Don't get me wrong – some of the special effects are really cool! But my admitted newness to and unfamiliarity with this magical world made it harder for me to follow the story, and I found some of the special effects to be too, too much.

Who cares? Johnny looks great! I love his spiky bleach-blonde Billy Idol-ish hair, weird David Bowie-esque eyes, and black outfit! This is a wizard I could get behind, if only he were a good guy. Most of the time, he walks around looking like a menace and gets his followers to do his dirty work while he makes enticing speeches to convince everyone to come over to the dark side. It was a slight letdown after dreaming about Johnny sharing scenes with Jude Law, but I guess I have to wait.

Who's the bad guy?

My favorite part of this movie is the first 10 minutes before the title even appears. The film opens, showing Grindelwald imprisoned in London's Ministry of Magic. He looks weak and defeated with long gray hair and expressionless face, as he watched a fly spark off of the invisible bubble that he's trapped in.

He's been there for six months, and it's time to transfer him back to New York to answer for his crimes. I love how he literally floats up the stairs in chains, past the other jail cells, and ultimately escapes amid stormy skies from the carriage drawn by flying dragon-horse-like creatures, who intended to transport him to America. He was just waiting for the right moment to make his move.

I think The Kitties got it.



Where is Johnny?

© Reynaud Julien/ABACA/INSTARimages.com

Last year, Johnny was touring with The Hollywood Vampires, who released a second album, called Rise. For this album, Johnny wrote several of the songs, and he also sings David Bowie's "Heroes," which the band performed on TV first on Jimmy Kimmel Live and then on The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Then, Johnny went to Europe, publicizing his next film Waiting for the Barbarians (which will be out on demand and DVD this August). He made stops at the Venice Film Festival and received a silver plaque and tribute, presented by Catherine Deneuve, at the 45th Deauville American Film Festival.

This year, everyone's at home because of the global pandemic. Johnny's been in France and he joined Instagram! Also, today is his birthday; happy birthday, Johnny! Later this summer, the third installment in the Fantastic Beasts series should begin filming.

What's next?
Johnny is The Professor, someone who learns to appreciate and live his live to the fullest in the time he has left. 

All film images © Warner Brothers; illustration © Melissa Connolly