FRANKENSTEIN:CREATURES & MAD SCIENTISTS & VILLAGERS, OH MY!

Frankenstein. Not the book by Shelley. Not the book by Brian Aldous. And not the movie, not any of the movies. Not even Young Frankenstein.

This Frankenstein is a play, by Joathan Christenson, staged by Catalyst Theatre at the St Lawrence Centre. The storyline here is a retelling of the original story but the staging makes it an re-imagining.

This production has a little bit of everything: Songs, operetta, a Greek style chorus, Pirandello, classic pantomime, irony, tragedy, romance, satire ... to the point things get a bit too mashed up and the play tends to lose its focus.

Still, the play is very effective but what works most about the story is, well, the story. The story about a man and his overpowering obsession; it could be viewed as an obsession to discover, to breach secrets, to delve into mysteries or you could view it as a man's need to create, to play god, to control the destinies of others and therefore his own.

It's really a story about love. In the play, Victor Frankenstein is overwhelmed by grief at the passing of his beloved parents, a grief that makes death an enemy to him, an enemy that he must conquer and overcome He thinks he misses the love he had as a child.

The creature, too, is motivated by love. Created, then abandoned by its creator, the creature searches for the love that all humans crave, the thing that perhaps makes us human. It's not just love that makes us human, many animals feel love but it's the quest for the love, the hunger for it, the need to define it

The creature needs love. He doesn't really know why. But he's alone in the world, he is aware enough to know that he is alone and it's a feeling that he can't live with. He needs love so much that when denied it, he strikes out with violence

The love that the creature really seeks is the love of Frankenstein, the love of its creator. But Victor can't bear to give it, he is a man who is probably unable to give love. He thinks a need to be loved, to express love is why he made the creature but its clear through his relationships in the play that he has no love to give. Perhaps it left him when his parents died. But he is a man incapable of feeling love or expressing it. He is married to Lucy, a family member but it's clear that their feelings for each other are on a different level. Frankenstein does not want to love, he wants to possess, he wants to control

The creature begs Victor to make him a bride. Frankenstein knows this is wrong and later regrets it yet, still, he makes another creature. He can't help himself. The power of making life, of controlling life, is something he cannot resist. It's like the thrill of a serial killer; the power of taking a life is an intoxicant

The love that the creature feels is a need for acceptance. When rejected by Frankenstein, when rejected by the villagers, he lashes out. Love me damn you, love me, or I'll hurt you!

Yeh, that Austrian village was just a tad dysfunctional.

As I mentioned, the Frankenstein story has been reinterpreted many times. It's not surprising. Love is the heart of most stories. This production looked to present the story in the context of a contemporary myth. I'm not sure if it was entirely successful in that endeavour, but it makes sense. The myths and ancient stories that still resonate with us have love .. the need for it, the lack of it, the hatred of it ... at their core

Did I love this play? No. But I liked it. I'm not lighting the candles and opening the Chianti for it, but for sure, I'll take it to Timmies a couple of times.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HAYLEY

Twelve years.

On one hand, that doesn't seem right. It doesn't feel like it was twelve years ago that I put a cat carrier on the lawn and a tiny black and white ball of fuzz crawled out to meet Collette nose to nose.

In that time Collette has gone from child & youth worker to teacher, I've started my own business, we've moved three times. Hayley has become an integral part of our lives. The twelve years have gone quickly and yet she it's hard to think of our lives without her in it.

We loved Gigs. We love Terra and look forward to our years ahead with her. But Hayley is a special dog. Yes, she is border collie smart, to this day she is full of life and energy, but she has a loyalty and empathy that is truly special. When a person is sad, any person, Hayley wants to comfort them; when one of Collette's nephews was distraught to the point of tears Hayley jumped up on his lap to give him kisses

Hayley just loves to be with you, whether it be on a long walk through the woods, driving in the car, or just curled up on the couch with her head on your lap as you watch a movie. We see many of these tendencies in Terra but Hayley has demonstrated these traits time and again, over all these years

This has been a big year for Hayley. We thought long and hard about the affect a new dog, a puppy would make in her life. We did not want her status in our household to be upset and we did not want her in any way to be uncomfortable.

Terra is a strong dog, you could even say dominant and for a while it was touch and go. She constantly pestered Hayley and of course diverted a lot of our attention. But we fought to maintain Hayley's status and as Terra has matured, Miss Hayley has become more comfortable with exerting her authority. Terra is much more respectful of the older dog and it is not unusual to find them sleeping together.

Terra has had a positive effect on Hayley. Since the puppy has come Hayley has lost a little weight and her energy level has definitely increased. She has taken Terra as being her dog. Hayley is a true herder and her favorite game is to chase dogs who are fetching balls, but she never touches the ball. I've seen balls go right under her muzzle but she backs off it, she wants the other dog to take that ball she it can be herded. Terra is an exception. While Hayley loves to chase and herd the puppy, she will often go for the ball, snatching it away from her. I have seen a lot of her playfulness come back to her and there are times you can still see the puppy in my twelve year old.

I'm happy to know that having the puppy not only enriches our life, it has made Hayley's life more pleasurable as well.

Below is a little slide show comprised of images Collette shot over this past year of Hayley's life. with music by our old friend Georgette Fry. This is our old girl. Everybody loves their dog. Everybody should love their dog. But Hayley is a dog that not only loves us back, but really genuinely seems concerned with our well being. Is that me reading too much into her actions? You could think so

But if you did, you don't really know Miss Hayley.

Happy Birthday Terra from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

THE ROLLER COASTER OF LOVE

Wow

It has been a crazy last few days. We have been on an emotional roller coaster, with Miss Hayley at the controls. Sort of.

Monday, she showed signs of not being well. Diarrhea, vomit but her energy level was OK. What alarmed us was her refusal to take treats. Hayley being fussy with her dinner was one thing, but turning down a treat is something else. That's like me turning down a cookie. Then Collette tried to give her the daily thyroid meds. We give her this pill in a little bit of cheese. Hayley refused it. We became concerned. That's like me turning down a beer.

We phoned the vet, let them know what was going, her symptoms didn't seem too severe, except for her refusal to take a treat. I made an appointment for her later in the afternoon. In the meantime I took the girls out for their long walk. At first Hayley was herself, energetic and showing an interest in the ball and in other dogs. But as time went on, I saw her grow more listless and more disinterested. At one point she lay down and didn't want to get back up when I told her it was time to do so.

Yup, she was not feeling well

So off to the vet we went. They took blood etc but really weren't sure what was wrong with her. She had a bit of a fever but otherwise didn't seem too bad. So we took her home to wait for the test results. Unfortunately, from midnight on, she vomited every couple of hours. She was weak and listless and clearly not feeling at all well. She was not even eating the food the vet sent us home with, canned chicken and rice ... that is like steak and mushrooms to me. Not a good sign

We took her in, the next morning, and they kept her. Her blood tests showed a little weakness in the liver, but years ago, she had some mild poisoning that gave her a mild hit to the liver so it usually responds to illness. They took X rays and this is where it gets scary.

The found something on the X Ray. Firstly, there were gas bubbles in the intestine, in of itself not surprising and not worrisome. But they found something else. A section of the intestine seemed to have an odd shape but they did not know what was causing it. If it moved, it would be more gas, if it did not it would be something else; either a foreign object that Hayley ingested, or a mass, like tumours

Miss Hayley is in excellent condition but she is almost 12 years old so those were things I did not want to hear. If it was a an object, I felt she was healthy enough to be able to endure the surgery and recover well. If it was cancer ...

So she was kept overnight and we waited. The vet thought if she continued to vomit, it was a sign that she was in trouble. And we had to think about the possibilities

It was scary of course. Heart wrenching. I say all the time that I love my girls. Most of the time that means playing with them, cuddling with them, taking care of them etc. But at times like this, I really understand what that love entails. It's a big thing. I've heard the cliche a "piece of my heart" At times like this, I know what Janis was singing about. Thinking about Hayley, there in the hospital, not doing well, I really did feel like a piece of my heart was being rended

It's funny. I am not the most demonstrative of people. I don't always find it easy to express the love that I have for people, like Collette and my family. Generally I try to let my actions express that love; I try to take care of people, to do things that make them happy. And that is a big part of having dogs. I devote a lot of time to them, I do what I can to give them healthy happy lives,that is my love

But when Hayley was at the vet's, with me here, I felt this pain. Yes, by taking here there, I was helping her but I still felt this terrible helplessness. I couldn't hold her, talk to her, stroke her fur, all the things I know make her feel better. I could only wait and prepare my mind for that ultimate expression of love; helping her life end in the most humane way possible. Just as we had done for Gigs, many years ago

Luckily, Hayley passed the night well, with no vomiting. They X rayed her in the morning and the images had not really changed. Generally she was doing better but the vet told me that Hayley just seemed "sad and depressed" I told her that may have nothing to do with her illness and that I was coming there

When I got to the vet offices, the girls at the front were laughing and shaking their heads. It appears that the moment I entered the building, Hayley perked right up. When they brought here out to meet me, hooked to an IV machine, the old girl was wiggling,and crying and licking my face. I took here outside for a few minutes, her ears were up, tail wagging and she had a big pee. Then we went back inside and I hand fed her some of the canned food, and she ate it like a starving dog

All good signs

They kept here for a few more hours, feeding her IV fluid and watching her. She ate a bit more and she did not vomit. She remained alert. They wanted to keep her overnight and I asked if she needed to be on the IV, the answer was no. So I brought here home. She was wiggly and excited. She ate ravenously. And she passed last night with no incidents

So she is here at home with us. She is doing very very well. We still don't really know what was wrong but it seems easy to assume it was something she ate, or perhaps even a stomach virus. At this point cancer is unlikely (though it's always a possibility) because she got ill so quickly. The problem with working dogs in general, and Hayley in particular, is that they are very adept at masking symptoms. She can be in pain and you wouldn't know it. Still, this thing came on fast and seems to have passed so I take that as a good sign

We will take her in to the vet next week for an assessment but at the moment it all looks good, we have her on the special diet and some meds to make her belly feel better. She certainly seems better. The moment she nips at Terra to prevent the puppy from running, I know our old girl is back to normal

Love is a kooky thing. It is so powerful and perverse. Love can cause you so much pain, just from a sad pair of eyes and a little whimper. But it can also give you so much joy, with the wag of a tail

I'll take the pain, for all that I get back from a warm furry head on my lap

LOVE, BLOOD & BONDING

Please note, the word in the title is bonding, not bondage. That will be covered in a later post. Ah-hem.


What this post is really about is the things that people have in common, the things that bring them together, and the things that keep them there. OK, maybe for some of you that could indeed be bondage, but in our household ropes are used to hang pictures.


But what does bring Collette and I together is blood ... and this post is sounding kinkier and kinkier as we go along. What I mean by blood is a blood sport, in particular, the sport of MMA or mixed martial arts fighting. Collette and I are both fond of this sport, in particular the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC. And a blood sport it is; fists land, elbows fly, knees pummel. Blood flows. Sometimes liberally. A Maui thai elbow to the forehead is a pretty effective can opener. And Collette and I love it. No argument, no explanation, no justification, we jut love it.

Both of us.


A couple of weeks ago we ordered our first ever pay per view. Although we both love and devour movies it was not a movie, it was a UFC event. There was no discussion about this, no negotiation, we both knew right away that this particular event (two title fights and a truly kick ass undercard) was worth buying. This sport is a shared passion, perhaps even a binding passion.


Why binding? Because although this is an increasingly popular sport, it is not universally so, in fact many people hate it, calling it brutal and tasteless We call those people wimps. Like any passion you may have, it is always special to find someone who shares it. UFC apparently has a growing female following but I still think it's special to find a woman who is truly into the sport; having that woman be the one I live with is a real convenient bonus.


When Collette and I first moved in together, one of the first things we did was vette each other's record collection (yes, young readers, records, flat black discs of plastic from which sound emanated; like a CD, with soul). Out went Collette's Air Supply records. Out went Vic's John McGlaughlin records. One of the things we had in common was Alice Cooper, we each had three records .... but the exact same three records. Goosebumps, raised hair, feeling of soul mates met and maybe that Alice only ever made three really solid records ....


The first movie I took her to see was Harlan Ellion's A Boy And His Dog ... to all my fellow dog/border collie enthusiasts if you don't know about this movie, fair warning: Lassie it ain't. It is a little post apocalypse special starring a very baby Don Johnson and his telepathic dog; this heart warming duo roam the bombed out countryside seeking out canned peaches, porn, and women in such a state of dehydration and emotional despair they make easy rape targets. Then he meets the young lady from the civilized down under, an artificially happy environment where all the males have become sterile. So down goes Don, whose rampant survivor spunk is used to impregnate e the local female population, one girl at a time. Oh, and then Don must make a choice between his dog and the young lady and the movie ends with a cheerful BBQ ... of a sort. I look at it as a comedy.


But a first date, romantic comedy, feminist movie this ain't ... I could imagine most girls turning and running. But we know Collette is not most girls. It has become one of our favorite movies, and we own a copy on VHS as well as a bootleg in DVD We love this movie and some of the plot points and dialogue have become part of our personal lexicon.

Going back to music, this is another thing that binds us. Nothing unusual there, this is probably one of the most us things that people have in common .. or don't, with all the ensuing issues. I've always had a love of the blues, Collette had a passion for Celtic music when we met and she still does. I certainly enjoy that music but it is fair to say that she is more enthusiastic about it than I. But the blues have become another shared passion, especially the music of B.B. King who we have been fortunate to see many times here in Toronto as well as the Women's Blues Revue, about which I have posted before. We each still enjoy musical tastes that the other may not share but I can hear a piece of music and know, without a doubt, that Collette will enjoy it; that is rare, I can only say that for two other people in my life, my brother Ed and our friend Karen.

I've learned, over the years, to concentrate on the things that we have in common, as opposed to the things that we disagree on. Disagreeing is easy, finding those bonds, outside of members of your own family, is rare. Be it a post apocalyptic movie to the devil's music to a guy ripping another guy's arm out of his socket, these are things that may not have brought us together, but the things that bind us there.