Teaching English to a Cat

The other night Lizzie and I were was watching "The Miracle Worker" on TCM. It's one of my favorite films, and in fact, the touring stage production was my first experience seeing professional theatre (at the ripe old age of 10). (Well, I was watching. I'm not so sure about her.)

It sent me on a childhood quest to learn all I could about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. My passion for the play included working crew for it as one of my earliest college experiences. (Let me say that cleaning up scrambled eggs from the end-of-act-one food fight was not particularly fun!)

As I was watching the film I was fascinated with how Annie Sullivan was trying to teach Helen both the words and the connection of the words to their meaning, finger-spelling over and over, saying the words aloud, even though Helen couldn't hear, touching her hand to the doll or door or spoon.

Let me tell you, this method does not work with cats.

They appear to have better things to do.

 
And I don't know why, really. All they do is sleep, eat and watch birds. Can't they learn a little? They are being raised in an English-language environment where those words are heard over and over. And OK, their brains are different and smaller and maybe they can't handle all those words. One thing is certain. It bores her.

But I'm not sure Lizzie Cosette is the tastiest kibble in the treat bag when it comes to brains. She's about three. I think she does know her name (when she chooses to acknowledge it). But I'm having a heck of a time getting her to understand "toy" or "fetch" (or even "bring") or chase.

When we're by the bird window she does seem to get excited when I say "Birds!" and run to the window. But I'm pretty sure it's the whispered, gaspy tone of voice. "Birds, Lizzie! Look!" The exclamation marks are key.


She'll sit on two legs for her food when I say "Releve, sil vous plait" or "Uppity Downie." It has nothing to do with the words. Only the bowl above her head.


Rewards don't seem to help either. She's rather bored by the whole educational focus on vocabulary.

No one ever accused Gypsy of being the Alan Turing of the cat world, but I could inject the words "Fancy Feast" in any tone, in any conversation and he would look up with sparkly eyes. It made for a great photo cue -- no cheese for him!


Well, most of the time the eyes were sparkly. Not always! On occasion they looked at me with disdain.

And his sitting was A+!

 
So, if anyone has any hints on this matter (apart from taking Lizzie's little paw and finger-spelling "toy" into it), pass 'em on. Or tell me to get a life, she's a cat, after all. But right now, I'm not holding my breath waiting for her to say "Wah. Wah."

A Moment In the Woods

"Oh, if life were made of moments, even now and then a bad one...

But if life were only moments, then you'd never know you had one."

               The Baker's Wife (Stephen Sondheim lyrics)

I've been waiting to see "Into the Woods" for months. I first saw the previews this summer and was a bit appalled at how Disney was selling it. You'd never know it was a musical. With a minute's worth of special effects and quick clips of people in fairy-tale dress, you'd think it was a Harry Potter sequel. I had terrible thoughts that when people discovered it was one of Stephen Sondheim's more complex moral allegories -- and a musical on top of that -- they'd stay away in droves.

But Meryl Streep is a trump card. And, because not everyone can sing Sondheim well, the cast was built with capable voices and personalities who could deliver the lyrics clearly so every word was understood. The film has been doing good business, which makes me glad. I may even go see it again.

The Plot 

"Into the Woods" takes the familiar fairy tale characters of the Brothers Grimm, like Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and others. He adds in the story of a witch with a curse placed on her head and a childless baker and his wife, wraps the story with intriguing and sometimes thought-provoking songs and weaves it all into a story that deals with searching for your dreams.

The first half (or act) of the film involves that quest, following various characters into the woods where their lives intersect. Life in the woods is dangerous. There are wolves who will devour you (consider the danger in this case to be your internet stalker or your neighborhood sex offender in modern terms.) In the film he is played with squirmingly delicious malevolence by Johnny Depp. You find things you need to realize those dreams. And, you may lose them -- either through poor decisions or perhaps just because fate steps in. You must be aware on your walk through the woods, keep your eyes open.

In the woods the Baker and his wife learn of witches with spells (it was a witch and spell that sent them there in the first place), princesses who long to be released from their tower prison and another who wants only to be free of her stepmother and go to the festival to meet the prince.

And yes, there can be happy endings. 

But what happens when you get what you want? Every single one of us knows that life isn't so clear cut, so clean and neat. We have the struggle. We may get our prince or that long-awaited child. Life is good. But is it perfect? Does it stay that way?

Happily Ever After?

If one wants to dig deeply, there are plenty of elements of "Into the Woods" that translate to real life. Think of the kids in Joplin, celebrating prom and moments after, a tornado disrupts their world, leaving families without homes, a job and perhaps their loved ones. Consider those affected by any disaster -- or even a terror attack as the one we saw last week in Paris. Even if the circumstances aren't collectively huge, what about the family who must face the unexpected loss of a family member, a job, a home -- or more than one thing at a time. Life is fine -- and then it crashes around us.

"There are Giants in the Sky," Sondheim reminds us. "Big, tall, terrible giants in the sky." And as quickly as our lives can come together, they can fall apart. And then what? How do we move forward when what we love or what we worked so hard to have is lost? Is it the surviving that makes us strong? Or is it the pulling ourselves back together and preparing to face another day. Can we do it alone or will we better survive if we can all help one another move forward?

Or, as the lyrics for "No One is Alone" remind us, "Someone is on your side, someone else is not. While we're seeing our side, maybe we forgot, they are not alone. No one is alone." Those words offer multiple meanings, serving to reinforce the idea that we can work together in times of adversity. They also offer a reminder of tolerance for other beliefs -- and the equally powerful reminder that those with beliefs different from ours have others on their side.

If all that sounds a little grim, remember -- this is a movie musical based on a fairy tale and produced by Disney. The movie's more profound moments are blended easily with comedy and plenty of music. Consider the princely brothers longing for their unattainable women (Cinderella and Rapunzel) and the "Agony" they feel as they try to one-up each other in the misery department. Trust me -- there is nothing grim about this moment! (No pun intended!)

The casting is solid. In addition to Streep's perfectly over-the-top performance and Depp's evil wolf, Emily Blunt (nominated as Best Actress in the Golden Globes) and James Cordon (soon to be the new Late Night host) hold the multiple stories together as the Baker and his Wife. Chris Pine is the handsome prince, raised to be charming -- not sincere. Rounding out the principals are Lilla Crawford (a gluttonous Red Riding Hood), Anna Kendrick and Christine Baranski (Cinderella and her stepmother) and Tracy Ullman as Jack's mother. Daniel Huddleston is a suitably feisty "Jack."

A note on special effects -- Rick and I had a discussion on this one. We've both seen the play. He found the effects of the movie distracting and too much, drawing focus away from Sondheim's lyrics and James Lupine's screenplay (quite faithful to the play with a few cuts and minor changes). He has a point -- there is a lot to see. But I compare special effects to space movies or films like "Inception" and from where I stood, not a problem.

Taking kids? Not the little ones, I think. They won't get it and they might be scared. If you can get your tween and older kids there, do. There is much to learn. And, as Streep reminds us, "Careful the things you say, children will listen; careful the things you do. Children will see and learn." (I've heard good reports from families going with their 10-15 year-old kids and the kids enjoying it.)

For more about the conversion of the play to film, wikipedia offers an well-cited article, including the point that all cuts and changes were approved by Sondheim and music and lyrics were written to accommodate the changes.

Posters from the film copyright Disney.

A New Angel and a Remembrance

There's a new angel today -- and how I wish there wasn't.

I've come to not like January so well. It seems that at this time of year we say goodbye to so many. I just learned of the death of another wonderful human being today, and coming next week and two weeks after that, the anniversaries of two dear friends. And I worry every day about several others whom I hold close to my heart, dreading the phone call or email or Facebook post that shares sad news.

I didn't know Vaughn (V.J.) Rawson well. I knew his wife much better, and even she wasn't one of the "intimates" -- one of those with whom you are in contact on a regular basis. But I had been to their amazing home several times for holiday gatherings and to see their remarkable woodcarving.



If you have followed The Marmelade Gypsy for any length of time, you may remember my posts featuring their work. V.J. carved the most magnificent Santas, snow people, Halloween figures and Dickens characters; Stephanie would paint them. They were known as The Whimsical Whittler.



They had been featured in national magazines, had some of their designs marketed to Midwest for mass production and had their work included on the White House Christmas tree.

For some, cancer is in the gene pool. For others, it's one of those things we never really know. But V.J's fight was long and valiant, his creative legacy large.

His final battle is over and my heart is very sad.

Sad, too, as I remember the anniversaries of blogger Diana ("Oh") and my friend, Mike Lewis. Diana's eloquent, delightful blog posts always enchanted me and when we met in person, I was thrilled that she was everything she was on the blog -- and more.



Mike was a friend from work whose heart was enormous and his dedication to friends incomparable. I can't think of him without a smile as he enriched our hearts -- and made many a tough day far easier to bear.



Both left huge holes in my heart. I mourn for their families and hope they know that these people they knew far better and far longer than I are not forgotten.

Tonight I look for a new twinkling star -- and know that V.J. is in fine company.

Starting the New Year

Well, by the time this post goes live, the new year will be well-started.I will have celebrated, wrapped, baked, dined, sipped, shared, decorated, undecorated (no, probably not), and smiled a whole lot.

So, what does the new year bring for me (besides a few months of very cold weather!)?

In 2015 I will continue the freelance work I've started with WKAR (my former employer) working on activities related to an upcoming PBS mini-series called "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies." We'll be hosting a screening and panel for this important and fascinating program and I'm looking forward to (and enjoying) all the contacts I will be making and have already made. Then comes another project called "Talking Money." Or "Thinking Money." I'd better figure that one out before I dig in too deeply!

I've finished the first two books of 2015 and hope to top last year's reading list with more titles (although I will have to say -- 2014 had a lot of pages!) Both of these books -- "Lost Cat" and "Parisian Cats" had wonderful illustrations and such charm, it was hard to turn the last page!

Yes, I will be back on the spinning bike at the gym. I find I really enjoy bikes that are anchored to the floor! I am still dealing with some painful tendonitis in my arms -- a reaction to the medication I took when I was sick in December, so we'll take the gym gently. The doc warned me about the potential for tendon rupture. That and the eliptical are my gym friends till it's warm enough again to be outside!

I am signed up for art workshops and more workshops at Southern Exposure in the spring! Yay! So, there will be plenty more posts on that wonderful spot.

 

I'm looking forward to getting a little bit "colorful" and play in paint and glue again!

I'm am eager to try lots of new recipes from my cookbook and recipe collection. (This photo is my friend Jane's collection -- huge and vintage!)

And, look for more posts on the Cork Poppers with our wine tasting recommendations!

I'm planning on clocking in some movie time (especially with the pre-Oscar nominations!) and have already seen and fallen in love with "Into the Woods." But then, it's Sondheim -- not everyone's cup of tea, but more than certainly, mine. Look for a post on that very soon!

This year the basement (or at least the stuff going to charity) will be done. I'm so tired of hating to go down there!

There are art projects to finish and new ones to start, poetry to write, photos to edit, more photos to take. There are places to go and friends to play with, flowers to smell, treats to bake!

I've tried hard to focus on a guiding word for the year. Last year I chose "Now." And, for the most part, I held pretty well to it (except for the dreaded dungeon). This year I have been back and forth between several. Quiet. Balance. Gentle. They've all been in the running.

Or maybe it should be "Time." Finding the time to do it all...

No matter what, Lizzie and I will be around to see what the new year brings. (Right now, she's hoping it will bring her dinner. Soon.)

Cork Poppers Go Southern Hemisphere with Chile, Argentina, New Zealand

I'm not sure what happened with our last Cork Poppers gig -- usually we are so organized. Wine from France or Northern Italy or a specific type. This year we'd planned to go with Aussie-New Zealand wines. But then Chile and Argentina were added to the mix, so we enjoyed the wines of the Southern Hemisphere!

Of course, my first stop is always the cheese tray. The array of cheeses, combined with Rick's baguette's (barely out of the oven!) is always the best way to start the day!

As always, everyone brought a favorite to present. And as always, most were red! But we started with the white that Dick and Cheryl brought and for me (and I think many of us) it was a taste revelation!

It was Nautilus 2013 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, new Zealand.If you want to talk about a fabulous aroma, this is it! "I could wear this as perfume," I said, while others called it "Yummy," "Clean and fresh" and lots of "I love it!" Cheryl found it to have a wonderful finish.Dick's notes mentioned a review where it stated that "This is a wine that holds little back and grabs a hold -- kind of like the naughty girl in high school you know you shouldn't like but you couldn't stop thinking about her."

The only downside is that at $17, it probably isn't going to be your everyday bottle of wine. (It has a relatively short cellaring potential, too -- if you are lucky enough to find a bottle of the 2013, note that it should be enjoyed before mid-2015.)

The Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec 2011 brought by Barb and Mike was a 100 percent Malbec from Mendoza at the base of the Andes. This, too, was popular. with our red-loving Poppers who agreed it would be delicious any time! Aged for 12 months in old barrels, it smelled delicious and at $14 was reasonably priced.

Rick and I brought a Malbec, too -- Ruta 22 Malbec, 2012, from Patagonia, Argentina. When I picked this up, the wine guy I spoke with was very enthused about Patagonia, both as a travel destination and as a wine region. Our tasters agreed on the wine -- "Smooth, like a baby's butt," one noted.

Here's a detail I learned about Malbec. It was originally a French grape, always used as a blend in Bordeaux wines. When immigrants brought it to Argentina, the adopted it and found that in the fertile Mendoza region it thrived and became the signature grape of the region. The climate of Patagonia is very dry and has great climate swings, so grapes grown there must be sturdy and consequently produce very concentrated juice. The 2012 was considered a terrific vintage year (cellar through mid-2015 or possibly beyond.) It was $10.49.

My notes get a little sloppy here (we did this the first week in November and only the three above had typed up notes.) Clayton and Anne offered Root:1, a 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchaugua Valley in Chile. We all agreed that it was very tasty and one commenter noted, "I'd buy that again.

The retail on this wine is $16 but they bought it on sale for $12 -- and that's a point worth noting. Most stores have regular wine sales and it's an especially good time to buy a wine that might cost a little more than you would usually buy -- and maybe more than one bottle.

Next was a Castillero del Diablo 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, offered by Pat. It had wonderful cherry and red-fruit overtones. (Or is it undertones?). It would be excellent with red meat, chocolate or a hearty stew. Retail: $11.99 (purchased for (9.99 on sale).

Pat also brought a Trapiche Pinot Noir 2013 from Argentina. I'm not big on Pinots but thought this was quite nice. It comes from the fifth largest distributor of wine in the world. Again, a sale wine -- again, $9.99 for an $11.99 retail.

With a November 1 date, the decorations were still decidedly fall -- like Pat's "Phantom of the Opera" pumpkin! She also had some trick-or-treating games.

And then there was dinner! I think the Cork Poppers like the dinner as much (or maybe even more) than the wine! A beautiful table setting is a wonderful way to start a feast!

And  then there is the food itself -- ham, scallopped potatoes, a delicious salad and carrot cupcakes.


Yes, we were happy!

Our next Cork Poppers is at the end of January and I won't wait so long to write the notes! Look for more on both red and white Bordeaux wines soon!

Happy New Year!

I send you all greetings for a safe and wonderful new year. May it be filled with joy, creativity, friendship, love, treats, treasures, happiness and growth.

The Marmelade Gypsy will be back in a few days with the "word of the new year," favorite books of 2014 and more! Meanwhile...

Happy New Year!

(Thanks to Lorraine -- whose posts often include freebies of vintage postcards! I love these two images!)