'Good Boy' A Review

Good Boy is a horror movie that follows the perspective of the dog Indy as his owner Todd(Shane Jensen) leaves the city to hole up in his deceased grandfather's cabin in the woods. Todd is plagued by a mysterious lung disease(and a mysterious figure), the situation goes from bad-to-worse.

Indy is indeed a good boy and his performance is pretty stunning and emotive if almost exclusively reactive. Jensen and the few supporting characters don't do much and the actual nature of the supernatural threat isn't super explicit. It's a vibe film and the narrative is appropriately fuzzy given we are taking it in from the dog's POV.

It's inspired visually, always tight on Indy catching his reactions, trying to convey his dog-thoughts. The score is simple and effective, the script is a little lean. At 73 minutes it's too long for a short but a bit under baked as a feature.

An intriguing and somewhat satisfying experiment showing incredible promise from co-writer/director Ben Leonberg.

Currently in theaters.

Rent It.

Pepper

She wasn't well-behaved
but she had heart for days

she walked with me

through the darkness

protected me

from the shadow's grip

the only one

who didn't judge

as I sprawled

at the bottom

scraping

at the floor

when I despaired

she loved

simple and fearless.

A good dog.

A beagle.

May her teeth

ever be sharp

and her bark

Thunderous.

Animal Companions

Fundamentally
they are simple

easy to read

-I'm hungry

-Let's play

-Pet me

but why we love them

why we need them

they say without saying

-I am here

they say

-I am here too

Cat Dreams

stalking in the tall grass
a tree perch for pouncing
pathetic prey plodding

meat, fresh or stinking
yummmmm

What's that!?

Ms. Kitty

We say goodbye

to our stalwart cat

who, for two decades,

provided comfort

as well as consternation

solace as well as stress

but above all love, loyalty

unshakeable, unflinching

company and care

when it was needed most

she passed as she lived

with dignity and strength

and now resides in the clearing

at the end of the path

to frolic, fight, and feed

forever.

Street Talk 25

I'm riding my bike north on Ashland after running an errand.
At my cross street I see two bikers off their bikes talking to an old woman.
They all have their phones in their hands.
I notice an orange mass of fur on the curb a couple feet from where they are standing.
At first I think its a cat.
At second glance its a dog. A Pomeranian.
Presumably run over. Dead or Dying.
None of the three people look upset or guilty.
I guess the three have simply found the dog.
Are trying to locate its owner.
They look around in confusion. They seemed harried, helpless.

I ride away separating myself from the little tragedy.
My thoughts go out to the dog's owner.
My prayers go out to the dog.
I pray it is not suffering.
I pray its death was quick and painless.
I pray its spirit goes to wherever dog spirits go.
A place it will be walked, fed, pampered, and loved.
Each pump of the bike pedal another prayer.
A small one for the small dog crumpled at the south west corner of Ashland and Sunnyside in Chicago Illinois at 3:18pm on August 15th 2015.

A Disturbing Dream 17

I am in a large house. I'm staying with a friend or an acquaintance.

I wake up from an afternoon nap and the house is empty.

For some reason I'm drawn to the basement which is also a partial garage.

A begin searching through the boxes, bikes, and miscellaneous equipment.

Behind a box I find my dog Pepper who was put to sleep five years ago.

She has three legs. A new development.

She hobbles out to me, her tail wagging, and I collapse on the floor stunned and elated.

She climbs into my lap, I cradle her, she licks my face.

I wonder if she has been alive this whole time. If my dad did not in fact put her to sleep five years ago. That maybe he simply set her loose, unable to go through with it. And during the course of those intervening years she lost a leg. Or, I think, maybe that was the price she had to pay to comeback.

I find a leash in the garage and take her for a walk. We are in LA and its warm. Pepper is as excitable and joyous as I remember. We walk along basking in the sunlight, I contented and feeling whole, Pepper sniffing everything she can get her nose in front of.

I fade out of the dream and into my bed slowly, filled with a deep melancholy for my loving and loyal companion who has moved on.

Street Talk 21

Waiting at the bus stop

Old Dude: You know what? I saw a new dog breed today!
Me: Um...yeah?
OD: It was the dardenst thing. It was just the darndest thing. A Pomeranian and a, and a, guess...?
Me: Eh
OD: And a...HUSKIE! (laughs) You know Pomeranian is a small dog, I don't usually like those small dogs, always jumping around and talking. But the Huskie, it had those Huskie different colored eyes and that soft, thick, brown fur, just lovely. Called it a, called it a, guess...?
Me: Um
OD: A POMSKIE! (laughs) Can you believe it? Not an official breed yet...but maybe soon!
Me: Uh sure, yeah.
OD: This neighborhood its like everyone has a dog! Not a cat man me, like dogs but medium size ones, or big ones. You know there's a dog breed that can take care of children? Komondor, use them for childcare in Romania.
Me: Ok
OD: You know these big white fluffy dogs they don't like anyone getting too excitable, they PREVENT anyone from getting too excitable, kids never hurt themselves with them around, know what I mean?
Me: Sure
OD: Damn fine breed. Hmm, when's this bus coming I wonder.
Me: Hopefully soon.

Growth

A couple weeks back Marta was visiting and dropped off some plants for me. There's something really fulfilling and comforting about having a couple green things around. I don't think I'd ever want a pet, too much time, too much attention, but having something to care for is fulfilling. The nurturing is reciprocal.

For me dogs are too simple and needy, cats too aloof and entitled, plants however, they have the perfect amount of independence and exhibit tangible growth or neglect.

Dogs and cats can be cute and lovable, I don't refute that. But there is something particularly beautiful about a veined leaf, shades of green in dappled sunlight, the curve of a blooming petal, that surpass the grinning face of a golden retriever or the bent back of a tabby.

Carrot Gypsy

After going back and forth by email today, my phone has sustained water damage and Jillian forgot her phone at home, I met Jillian for lunch. It was the first time I saw her since she moved back to Chicago.

Me: So, tell me everything. How are you? What's been going on? How was the move? How was home? Where are you living?
Jillian: Oh, you want to just jump right into it?
Me: Well, yeah. Unless you'd rather talk about the weather for a while.

So we caught up and it was great. Jillian is one of those friends I feel instantly comfortable around and we freely spill our guts with no reservations.

Jillian: I had to borrow the waitresses phone to let you know I was here. I think she was scared at first but were friends now.
Me: If anyone can instantly befirend the waitstaff here it's you.
Waitress: Are you guys all set?
Jillian: (pointing at tatto) Is that your cat?
Waitress: Yeah that's my little Barry.
Jillian: He's wonderful.
Waitress: Do you want to see a picture?
Me: Um, yes please.
Waitress: Ok I'll grab my phone. I shouldn't. But hell you're already intimate with my phone anyway.

It was the first and possibly the only time where I enjoyed looking at pictures of someones cat.

(as we were leaving)
Waitress: I'm Cori by the way.
Jillian: Jillian.
Cori: Good to meet you.
Me: I'm Steve.
Cori: Good to officially meet you.
Me: And you as well.
(outside)
Jillian: (sighs) Cori...what an unfortunate name.

As we were walking down Clark we found a sack of carrots sitting on the sidewalk.
A perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

A Disturbing Dream 10

I'm at an outdoor music festival. It's grunge or punk or something. It's in a valley in a state park and the site is ringed by trees. The crowd is filled with people wearing dirty jeans and t-shirts. And for some reason everyone has brought their dogs. There are as many dogs as people. I brought my dog Pepper with me, Pepper's is a 14 year old excitable beagle, and I can't find her.

I'm walking around through a bunch of my fellow attendees who are significantly rougher than me. As I go through the crowd I'm getting more and more anxious and scared. I call her name and then start to shout it. There's tons of dogs, some of them beagles, and there's a good amount of fights between them. I feel like I'm about to cry so I make my why to the bathrooms in order to do it privately.

In one last ditch effort I whistle as loud and long as I can. (I can't whistle in real life) Pepper scampers up to me favoring one of her back legs, I'm overcome with joy. It looks like she's hurt and I lean down and take her in my arms. She licks my hands, my neck, and my face. She looks at me and grins her dog grin, takes a deep breath, and sighs. As she lets out the sigh she starts to shake. After the breath has completely left her she lies in the crook of my arm limp and still. She's just died. All the sorrow and fear in me is released, I look up into the dappled sunlight, and let out a long cry as tears begin to flood down my cheeks.

I awoke.

Pepper was put to sleep almost two years ago. She had been battling cancer for the previous three. I never got to say good bye. She was a great dog: beautiful, energetic, and loving.

Random Thoughts 4

I saw an article today that said cell phone devices being implanted in your brain is an inevitability. When this becomes the norm I will go live in the mountains somewhere.

In the past couple years I don't think you can argue that the weather has been more erratic than in years previous. Winters more temperate. I don't know if this confirms global warming but it may confirm the Mayan's prediction that the world will soon suffer some great catastrophe.

I'd rather have carpets and a nice vacuum than hardwood floors and a broom. Although hardwood floors are nice to slide around on in your stocking feet.

What happens when Hollywood has made all the super hero movies based off of comics they can? I would bet they will just start remaking them at a greater frequency. Or maybe start making movies based off of super heroes that were never popular. Like Cannonball.

Are people really that excited about 'The Avengers'? Looks like it's going to be kind of a shit show.

Making inappropriate eye contact with strangers is fun. Kids do it all the time.

If you have a pet that's your business. It's cool that you like your pet, it's cool that it does something for you, brings you comfort or whatever but I want no part of it. Don't complain about or sing the praises of your pet to me. I have no interest. Literally zero.

Batman is going to die this summer. We're all preparing for that right?

If you live in the US and you don't tip, you are an asshole.

Walking on the clouds sounds fun but I bet it would be super cold and clammy.

It seems like, as time passes, people are taking Facebook more and more seriously.

When was the last time you talked to a tree?