Sun - September 9, 2007

Who was a friend of Virginia Woolf?

Grand literature. Grand passions. History. Crime. Gimlet takes a fancy to a provocative new book.

Gilbert Stuart Meets Matisse. Gimlet Rose.

"Shaggy Muses, the dogs who inspired Virginia Woolf, Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edith Wharton and Emily Bronte" by Maureen Davis. Ballantine Books, 2007.

Deadlines, blank canvases and empty screens, as familiar to me as the path to the owl nesting box in the backyard.
I am never alone on any of my attempts to paint, write or catch rats. Two feet always tread behind me.
There is acceptance, approval, daring and inspiration in the eyes that watch my every move. My morning howls are met with the opening of the kitchen door and the arrival of a biscuit at my paws.
Oh, those Sojos biscuits.
Patience for my bouts of blogging truancy. Praise for my very being. Loyalty in the truest form, yes.
But there is something more.
I have my muse. Much better than a mouse.
Every literary dog I know of, even those with the most tenuous of wordy pedigrees, has had a muse.
Humans have them, too.
It comes as no surprise, then, that psychologist and dog lover Maureen Adams has written a book examining the literary associations, human and canine, of five famous women authors.
Did Edith Wharton give the game away when she wrote
"My little old dog;
A heart-beat
At my feet."

A Pekingese takes a star turn in Wharton's ghost story "Kerfol." Is it possible that she had a canine ghost-writer?
Offering heads for the petting, and tails for the wagging, dogs have helped give voice to wonderful characters and turns of phrases. Think of Virginia Woolf : a dog person? Oh, more than that. A literary genie who shared a bottle with a succession of dogs, one of them a fox terrier by the name of Grizzle. Eventually a black Cocker Spaniel named Pinka soothed Woolf's oscillating moods and just maybe it was Pinka who persuaded her to write "Flush," the biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Cocker Spaniel.
Flush's mistress was remarkable. Imagine that you are a sickly, timid woman, overpowered by life, and you wish to write about one of the loves of your life, your dog. Now imagine that your friends and peers admonish you not to write about your dog, and you desperately want their approval. What do you do?
You tell them to go stuff it and you write about your dog. Inspired phrases trickle from your fingers because you are basking in the glow of your dog, your very own muse.
Flush was ransomed three times by a group of dognappers called "The Fancy." (I wonder if the term "taking a fancy" owes anything to these miscreants.) The third time Flush was taken, it was Elizabeth herself who traveled to Whitechapel (shades of Jack the Ripper) to confront the beasts.
As much as humans inspire us and allow their characters to animate our furry forms, we coax and provide them with creative backbones. And tales.

Be warned, there is cruelty in this book (Emily Bronte brought her own baggage to "Wuthering Heights") but there are walks, laps and fireplaces, too. More great quotes than there are biscuits in the kitchen treat jar.
Because author Adams is a psychologist, there are bits of Freud and Jung to be found here, too (and you thought Freud only thought about cigars). There is no better way to explore the nature of creativity than to take your favorite muse along with you for the journey.
Pick up your leash and take a walk through this book. You'll discover Emily Dickinson and her dog Carlo along the way.


-- Gimlet (suitably shaggy)

Posted at 08:53 PM      

Mon - July 26, 2004

Prattitudes

The search for intelligent seating in the universe.

Artist's conception of the perfect couch by Gimlet Rose
Apologies to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Divan, couch, settee, davenport, sofa. Whatever you'd prefer to call it, we need a new one.
Our couch seeks early retirement. It's been abused. Hostile work environment and all that.
We suspect the bottom may be on its last legs ... if it had them.
The back cushions are terminal. You'd think cushions would become more comfortable as they age. It doesn't work that way.
We need a new couch.
We ran across a big red couch a few weeks ago ... it was an unexpected encounter, the kind that always leads to either grave expenditures or regrets.
We console ourselves with our regrets. We just missed buying that couch ... had to check out a few others. By the time we returned to the store, our big red couch had been abducted by a woman in New York. Nothing less than slavery.
We missed saving that couch from the New Yorker's clutches by one day.
What do you bet she wanted it only for its discounted value? It was marked down to half price, after all. We cared nothing about that. We just wanted the right fit for our home.
There were no more red couches, we learned. Not in the entire country. Discontinued!
The big, red couch remains our ideal. It had a fitted back, little flared arms, and deep, down-filled cushions that a little dog could get lost in.
Then we went on a couch mission ... we found another couch, this one not quite as high-backed as the first, nor as deep and comfortable. Still, it was a fine couch in its own right, and a cousin to the big red one that we loved.
Wrong color and .. discontinued.

The right couch is a haven and a burrow. It's where we bury our bones and sit look out the window, watch the squirrels and birds at the feeder, and generally bask in serenity. Our Doggie Dad will let us rest in his lap. He will read stories to us, or we will read "The Count of Monte Cristo" to him. We will enjoy our morning paper and biscuit, and contemplate our toys.
We have just the right comforter waiting for the couch. We have a coffee table that is the perfect height, and it has wonderful books about dogs sitting on top of it.
Our new couch is waiting out there for us to find it. And we will not rest until we do.
We're too uncomfortable.

Posted at 10:40 PM      

Tue - May 25, 2004

The World of Ozzie and Hairy Earl

Several books by a brilliant artist and writer have landed in our bookshelf. Want a bite?

Photo by Joe the Cat
Books, books, books ... the dog does not stand alone.

Calling all Mutts!
Stand at attention! Stop what you're doing!
If you're a dog, or a dog lover, you have to take a gander at this book. Better yet, shell out the biscuits and buy it.
Ever heard of Patrick McDonnell and his dog Earl? (Earl is a fox terrier, by the way.) Earl has a human, Ozzie, and of course, there is Mooch the cat.


Nothing we write here can begin to do justice to the wit and depth of the art, writing and sheer sincerity of this book. And beyond this opus, there is a Muttomania Empire... a world of lil pink socks and the Fatty Snax Deli... dogs and cats living together... walkies and more walkies. And, of course, books, books and more books ... all from the original comic strip that bears the Mutts name.
Lil dogs, you must run and fetch this one. Don't let it get away!

Posted at 09:26 AM      

Mon - May 17, 2004

All Aboard!

A railroad, a wire and an MG TF sports car? Brother, we'll take that A-train!

Photo by Joe the Cat
Nigel reads "Curiosity" and imagines himself a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Nigel: Dog is in the details, Gimlet.
Gimlet: What?
Nigel: I'm reading "Curiosity" by Gerald Wunsch. This book has absolutely everything .. it's like drinking martinis. They're good, the olives have that extra bite and you know you're coming back for more.
Gimlet: How long have you been drinking martinis? I thought your drink was a gin and tonic.
Nigel: Curious, are you? Well, you should read this book ... It's all about the two little girls who make a startling and very personal discovery about the Underground Railroad, and it features our friend and fellow wire Laird O' the Manor Wunsch.
Gimlet: Is this a Wee Review? Because that's my bailiwick.
Nigel: This is more than a review, this is an endorsement. This is a book that entertains and educates .. an uncommon little gem of a book.
Gimlet: A rare find?
Nigel: Well ... how many recent books have you come across where a wire fox terrier is responsible for digging up a bit of history? And this book makes the effort to give explanations and tie up loose ends. You are not left begging here. You get your serving of history and the then the delicious tidbits of Buffalo Nickels, MG sports cars and wire fox terriers.
Gimlet: That's a lot to dig up, even for a terrier.


Photo courtesy Laird Wunsch
Laird Wunsch, who does double canine duty as the hero and
pet wire fox terrier in "Curiosity", enjoys a cup of coffee.

Nigel: Laird's dad, Gerald, is the writer of "Curiosity." He obviously did a lot of research on the Underground Railroad, But the glory of this writing effort is in its presentation. Laird is joined by two little girls who are looking for a summer adventure. They all find more than they bargained for when they find a part of the Railroad ... right in their own backyard.
Gimlet: What about the Buffalo? and the sports car?
Nigel: It's the Buffalo Nickel ... and you have to read the book to discover its place in the story. The sports car that Laird and his dad drive around in is an MG, a British racing car. Laird has his own special seat in the car.
Gimlet: I am jealous.
Nigel: Me, too. Plus, Laird gets to dig and get dirty ... he has a rabbit toy with a squeaker and a missing eye, too.
Gimlet: What a life!
Nigel: Laird travels a lot to promote his book, too. He has book signings and everything! He's one of the most famous wire fox terriers we have.


Photo courtesy Libby and Bamboozle Murphy

Gimlet: It's like Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker and Harold Ross and the Algonquoin Club! Neat!
Nigel: Well, I would advise people and dogs to grab a favorite comforter, head for their chair, order up a nice drink and settle in for a great read.
Gimlet: Where do I sign up?
Nigel: I want to ride in that sports car....


Photo courtesy Laird Wunsch
Laird and his dad, author Gerald Wunsch, at a book signing for "Curiosity."

Posted at 10:24 PM      

Sun - January 4, 2004

Help yourshelf

Fa la la la la and Great George! A clever scottie and a monkey team up for a tale of fidelity. Gimlet Rose approves.

This is a tale of two animals, of the stuffed variety, and their shelf lives in Mrs. Kay's antique store.
Scottie Tertius finds new life with children Bruno and Rebecca ... but Pliny the Monkey is left behind on the back shelf, his long tail covering the spot vacated by Tertius.
What's a lonely monkey to do?
Wait and see what Tertius dreams up for his old friend.
It's a sweet book, and finely drawn, but you won't find it lingering on the shelves of the nearest bookstore chain. If you want a copy, and I think you will, you will have a quest on your hands. Maybe you'll venture to abe.com or bookfinder.com
If you're interested in dog tales, and naturally, who wouldn't be, this is a great one. Tertius the Scottie is fidelity unleashed, and quite the maverick in the toy department.
When you find a copy of this book, here's how to do it justice:
• take a long walk with your friends
• go home and grab your favorite comforter and some cookies
• jump up on your favorite chair or couch and snuggle up
• open the book and find yourself among good friends
• turn the pages and then ... you're getting ... s...l ... e.... e ....p .... eeeee.
• wake up and ... find yourself among your own good friends.
Read a good book. There's nothing like it.
It's a sweet book, and finely drawn, but you won't find it lingering on the shelves of the nearest bookstore chain. If you want a copy, and I think you will, you will have a quest on your hands. Maybe you'll venture to abe.com or bookfinder.com Whatever you do, try and find a copy and enjoy yourself.

Posted at 10:55 AM      

Tue - August 26, 2003

Read! That's a direct order!

We read "Dear Mrs. LaRue"

Nigel: Obedience school for dogs?! What a quaint notion!
It's been raining here a lot lately, and we've been confined indoors. An excellent opportunity to read.
Gimlet: And a good time to go into the closets and rearrange shoes.
Nigel: Yes, that, too.
Gimlet: I enjoyed this book. It features a wire fox terrier named Ike LaRue. He is sent to obedience school by his human, Mrs. LaRue and he writes a series of letters to her, complaining about the conditions there.
Nigel: The format is clever: each scenario has two illustrated versions. One presents what is actually going on, the other is what Ike imagines.
Gimlet: Hmmm. Schizophrenic perhaps?
Nigel: Possibly. Maybe a persecution complex. Or he has a vivid imagination. Whatever Ike has, it's clever and enjoyable.
Gimlet: Oh, but to think of dogs being sent to obedience! There are so many humans running around that need it more than dogs do.
Nigel: True about the humans, but why would you disparage obedience for dogs? You're a graduate of both puppy and basic obedience programs.
Gimlet: I realize that. But i didn't need it.
Nigel: Anyone could read this book. It's well-illustrated, funny ... and the main character is a wire fox terrier! What else do you need?
Gimlet: The imaginary dog prison sequences are very "White Heat."
Nigel: Dog Noir.
Gimlet: That, too.
Nigel: I'd like to write a book about my experiences.
Gimlet: But you can't, Nigel.
Nigel: Why not?
Gimlet: Don't you know? Dogs can't write!
Nigel and Gimlet: Hahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Posted at 09:16 AM      

Sun - July 27, 2003

The dog gets a wag and gives a wag

Mr. Doodle's Dog scores the first online review of Modern Dog magazine!

Suzanne Doyle-Ingram, Director of Operations for Modern Dog magazine, recently tossed us a bone, saying that Mr. Doodle's Dog had the first online review of her publication.
Woooo woooo!
She asked us if we'd mind writing a review for Amazon.com ... we were happy to oblige. (Amazon appears to be stuck in The Doggy Dark Ages and does not accept reviews from small white terrier dogs. So we used the nom de plume of Pat Kane-Prescott. )
Suzanne was kind enough to send us some stickers for our RAV4! We love stickers!
It's great to know that people and their dogs are reading our little dog blog, and it's fun to receive feedback.
Modern Dog is a well-done and clever magazine, and it speaks our language. If you've never read an issue of this magazine, well ... you can always learn a new trick. We dug ours up at the local Barnes & Noble, and you know Amazon.com sells subscriptions. Or you can ask your library if they have a copy.
We need more dog lifestyle publications, so we need to support and enjoy the ones we have. Go fetch a copy of Modern Dog and see what all the barking is about.
Tell them Mr. Doodle's Dog sent you.

Posted at 11:40 AM      

Mon - July 14, 2003

Another Wee Review

Gimlet reviews "Harry the Dirty Dog" with help from Nigel.

Gimlet: Once again, our Doggie Dad suggested a book to us. We read it yesterday, after our walk and before our dinner. The book is "Harry the Dirty Dog" by Gene Zion with illustrations by Margaret Bloy Graham. This is about a very fetching white dog with black spots named Harry, who, through the alchemy of dirt, becomes a black dog with white spots.
Nigel: He has an aversion to baths, just like you do, Gimlet.
Gimlet: I may not like baths, but I get them all the same. I enjoy playing in the water and rolling in dirt, though.
Nigel: So what about Harry?
Gimlet: Harry, without giving away too much of the plot ... Harry takes a vow of bath-and-scrubbing brush abstinence ...
Nigel: Just say that he refuses to take his bath and buries his scrubbing brush.
Gimlet: Your brother's name is Harry, right?
Nigel: Yes. My brother is Harry Ginsberg, and he lives in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Gimlet: May we see a photo of Harry?
Nigel: Here's a photo of me and Harry at our last reunion. This was taken at the end of October, 1999, in Harry's yard in Poughkeepsie. That's Harry on the left and me on the right.


Gimlet: You can see the family resemblance.
Nigel: Well, it's been said that Harry was the beauty of the family and I was the brains. Harry's a great guy,
Gimlet: What happened with you and Harry? Why is his last name Ginsberg when yours is Prescott? Why does he live in New York while you live in Florida?
Nigel: That's a story I'll tell some other time.
Gimlet: So Harry, the dirty one, buried his scrubbing brush, ran away, got really dirty on many adventures ... You have to read it!
Nigel: The illustrations capture the terrier character, and with just the sparest of lines. Some fine art going on here.
Gimlet: There are three other Harry books in the series. I want them all.
Nigel: You always do.

Posted at 05:39 PM      

Mon - July 7, 2003

Wee Review

Gimlet and Nigel Review "Calling All Puppies."

Nigel and Gimlet share their opinions of author and illustrator Winifred Martin's "Calling All Puppies."

Gimlet: Our Doggie Dad found this book for us on ebay. We read it over the Fourth of July weekend. There are two wire fox terrier puppy protagonists, littermates Bart and Sally. They get into mischief.
Nigel: Mischief is an understatement. They ate a book, shredded shoes and socks and made off with a pair of trousers. And that was in the first seven pages.
Gimlet: I found it interesting that there are no humans shown in this book. There are references made to "scoldings," and their dog mother is shown, but there are no humans pictured. Fascinating.
Nigel: Yes, that's a sharp twist to the typical dog book ... No puppies in danger of being taken to the pound or being hit by cars, no jerking around of the emotions. Just a happy, feel-good tale of doggie mischief. I enjoyed it immensely.
Gimlet: Bart and Sally have lots of friends: Hamish the scottie, spaniels Roddie and Rory, Mr. Wu the Pekinese, the Alsatian Tex and Mitch, the old neighbor dog. And Bart and Sally have a mother, too. But there's no mention of their father. Wonder what that's about. Divorced, maybe?
Nigel: Hmm ... The puppies are well-off, you can tell that by the tailored coats they're wearing in some of the illustrations. Maybe the father is a show dog, a champion, and is out on the circuit.
Gimlet: That must be it.
Nigel: The illustrations are animated, with just a touch of whimsy. The drawings tell the tale as finely as the wording. I recommend this book.
Gimlet: It's a feel-good book for all domestic dogs out there. You don't have to be a wire fox terrier or a scottie to enjoy it.
Nigel: That's right. But potential readers will have to look for it. This was written circa 1953, and chances are your library won't have a copy. There may be copies available through abe.com. or bookfinder.com or through ebay. Just don't bid against our dad if he's looking for another copy.
Gimlet: No, don't bid against him. Please.
Nigel: Here's a photo of the book's cover. You can see it's cool, just from the cover design.
Gimlet: Can I have that toy you're playing with?
Nigel: No.

Posted at 11:08 PM      

Sun - June 22, 2003

Summer Time, and the barking is easy.

Bliss. The summer issue of the bark has arrived!
It's another rainy day today, so I think we'll go to Nigel's comfortable chair by the front window and enjoy some good reading.

Wow. There's an article "The Wild Condition" about a Rolf Belgum photographic exhibition centered around his five-year-old wire fox terrier Jacques. Read this excerpt regarding one funny aspect of Jacques' puppyhood. What a sense of humor this dog has!


December 1997
Isn't it cute how he hides behind the couch when we play. After weeks of this behavior, a smell begins to fill the room. I check the garbage, behind the refrigerator and under the sink. He has been pissing his head off behind the couch. The rug is pitch black from the urine. Numerous scrubbings can't revive this family heirloom.

One less item for The Antiques Road Show!



That isn't Jacques on the cover. The article about him begins on page 56.

Posted at 12:31 PM      

Sat - June 21, 2003

Canadian chien chic! Modern dog magazine!

We've just received the first issue of our subscription to MODERN DOG magazine.
We're sold.

Modern dog. It's Canadian, and has an air of Pierre Trudeau in his heyday ... jaunty, rebellious, wacky ...The cover description is "The lifestyle magazine for urban dogs and their companiions."
There's high fashion. There's high art. And it's obvious that dogs north of the border have all sorts of fun spots to visit in Toronto and Vancouver.
The Summer 2003 issue features "Summer Nights," "Venus, Mars, or Pluto?" and "Fat Dogs."
We'll have to check for the canine liposuction ads.

Posted at 03:36 PM      

Sun - June 15, 2003

The Bark comes after the park.

The Bark is good reading.

After we've taken our walk in the park, we're going to sit in a big comfortable chair, grab a soft comforter, nibble on biscuits and read the latest issue of The Bark .

Posted at 11:40 AM