That "Sideways Dog Look" + "A Woman Under The Influence"

Happy Late Night, my Darling,

I hope you had a good day. I love those pictures of the doggies! The annoyed chihuahua is classic, he's the only one in the photo who isn't having a good time. He's looking at you like : "Take the picture already"! And the Kissing Dachsund is a riot too, because he's giving James a smooch but he's also looking at you sideways with that one eye, as if to say "I hope you're getting this".  :) Too funny on both counts!

Dogs are especially funny when they do that "sideways glance" look, like when they get caught stealing food or when they think they're getting away with it but look sideways to make sure. :)

No hike today, being a Hair Salon Thursday. Tonight at CSUN we saw Cassavetes most famous film, "A Woman Under The Influence", about a mentally ill woman who is on the verge of being committed to an institution by her brutal but loving husband. "Brutal but loving" is a character description that could only be applied to a Cassavetes film, and once again this is a very hard film to watch because of the violence, both verbal and physical. Blue collar worker Peter Falk does seem to love his nutty wife (a tremendous performance by Gena Rowlands), who - despite her illness - is a good mother who adores her children. But she is spiraling out of control and her not very bright hubby doesn't know what to do with her, except ultimately to smack her around. I think Grimsley walked out once again during such a scene. He had said he was gonna be there, but he wasn't there when the movie ended. Cassavetes is tough, there is confrontation in all his movies, chaos and people screaming at one another, hitting each other. It's all about dysfunctional relationships. At any rate, I had seen this one about fifteen years ago with my Mom, who was hard core and would watch anything (except, like me, Adam Sandler movies and other dumb stuff), and so I was ready for what was to occur, which is pretty depressing. However, Gena Rowlands' character is a revelation, a semi-competent mentally ill but functioning mother, who, with a less angry husband, might be able to live her life as she is. The message is that "there's nothing wrong with her" even though she's more than a tad kooky. But her husband, though he understands her better than anyone else and wants her to "be herself", doesn't have the temperament to deal with her behavior. It's an emotionally complicated movie for sure. One thing is for certain : I am getting a real education with these Cassavetes films in how far you can push an audience. Many moviegoers would rebel against this kind of filmmaking. I have stuck it out, however, and I'm glad I did. The films are by no means "easy viewing", but for some strange reason they are rewarding. Each Cassavetes movie I've seen will stick with me for life.

That was all the news for today. It was also the 43rd anniversary of the California Jam, my first concert, and they were doing a history of it on KLOS, our big FM rock station. So that was pretty cool too.

See you in the morning. I Love You.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)