Black Cat

A giant black cat looks down from the roof.

I'm not really big on Halloween decorations, but I kind of like this giant black cat on Artesia blvd. It's head turns from side to side, as though it is considering pouncing down upon the passing traffic. And the orange nose and demented green eyes look goofy. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

The Miracle of Lasagna

Image from Garfield bookmark "Some Call It Laziness. . ." (1978) by Jim Davis

On June 19, 1978, Jim Davis' comic strip, Garfield, was first published. Featuring a lazy, lasagna-loving cat, this comic strip was a childhood favorite of mine. The jokes were really simple, the gags repetitive, and the smug attitude of the rotund Garfield appealed to my youthful sense of humor.

Eventually, I lost my enthusiasm. Perhaps it was the continuing anthropomorphizing of Garfield, who looked less cat-like over the years, walking upright and possessing obvious human-like hands. Maybe it was just the development of mature tastes in comedy. Or it could have been that the lasagna jokes were getting stale. Whatever the case, this comic strip fell out of my favor.

Nevertheless, there is a warm spot in my heart for Garfield, despite the awful unoriginality to which the comic strips have fallen. And the movies were heinous, especially A Tale of Two Kitties. Yikes!!! That was extremely bad!!!

Image from Garfield bookmark "That's Right. . . 100 Pizzas to Go" (1978) by Jim Davis


Occasionally, when looking through my old book collection, searching for something to donate to the local library, I'll find a ratty old bookmark from my childhood, from the time when Garfield comics were the light of my day. Silly and banal though they may be, they nevertheless fill me with nostalgia and return me to a simpler time when a fictional overweight lazy cat could brighten my life.

Sharks with Friggin' Laser Beams

Mike Myers as Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

It's been a while since I've done a "cinema" post, but, with Blockbuster season starting off this weekend, I figured we could celebrate the fifteen year anniversary since the release of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery on this date in 1997.

It's weird to think about how various phrases from this movie have become pop culture fixtures. From "Yeah, baby!" to "One million dollars!!!", the presence of this movie was hard to ignore in the late '90s. Two sequels later and another in the works, it's certainly become a cult classic.

"100 Billion Dollars!!!" Mike Myers as Dr. Evil

So, lets take the way back machine a couple decades back to the groovy days of the 1990s. ;-)

For Elizabeth

Elizabeth Bishop with her cat, Tobias, in 1954

Chemin de Fer
(By Elizabeth Bishop)

Alone on the railroad track
   I walked with pounding heart.
The ties were too close together
   or maybe too far apart.

The scenery was impoverished:
   scrub-pine and oak; beyond
its mingled gray-green foliage
   I saw the little pond

Where the dirty hermit lives,
   lie like an old tear
holding onto its injuries
   lucidly year after year.

The hermit shot off his shot-gun
   and the tree by his cabin shook.
Over the pond went a ripple.
   The pet hen went chook-chook.

"Love should be put into action!"
   screamed the old hermit.
Across the pond an echo
   tried and tried to confirm it.


Here, I'll demonstrate my equivocation on the matter of determining a favorite poet. ;-)

On the typical day of the year, if asked, I'd say that my most beloved of poets is Emily Dickinson, but today, on her birth date, born in 1911, my dearest admiration goes out to Elizabeth Bishop, who's verse can gently pull my heart through scenes of humor, horror, or heroism.

Elizabeth Bishop was born on February 8, 1911.

I can write about her poetic genius endlessly. I could start another blog dedicated to studying her words. But, I think the best way to honor Elizabeth Bishop is to let her poems speak for themselves.