BACK ON THE VENGENCE TRAIL

Last year, I wrote a blog on the theme of cinematic vengeance inspired by two movies, Jodie Foster's The Brave One and Charles Bronson's Death Wish .

This past weekend Collette and I watched two movies that once again explored this theme of vengeance, from two very different perspectives. The movies were Kevin Bacon's Death Sentence from 2007 and Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino from last year. These are both Hollywood movies, and both of them are concerned with a lone, male character who goes on the vengeance trail against a group of highly armed bad guys. In both movies, the bad guys are gangs of young men, street gangs if you will.

There the similarities pretty much end. Death Sentence is a straight ahead Hollywood vengeance flick very much in the mold of Death Wish. It was, in fact, written by Brian Garfield, the author who penned the original Death Wish. Garfield began his career as an author of Western novels, not so surprising really. Vengeance is a mainstay theme of Western fiction, both printed word and movies. Death Wish the film makes reference to this Old West myth. Bronson, as New Yorker Paul Kerzey, goes to New Mexico for business, where his client quickly immerses him in a kind of cowboy code mentality, including teaching him how to shoot a six gun. This is all before the act of violence, back home, that sends Bronson down the vengeance trail.


Death Sentence does not make any such overt reference to the cowboy code, but there are several similarities to Death Wish. Bronson's character was an upper middle class architect, Kevin Bacon's character is a high level executive with a fortune 500 company. Both men become the victims of younger, lower class, low (or zero) income men. Single men. Criminals, yes, but the contrast seems to be these young single men, no family, no jobs, no significant possessions, literally attacking these older, more well established men. In both movies, the main characters themselves are not the the prime victims of the initial attacks. It's their families that are attacked, their children. In Death Wish, Bronson's wife and daughter are attacked. In Death Sentence, it's Bacon's son. Later, his wife and other son become victims.

Death Wish throws Bronson into the role of a vigilante, seeking out criminals in the streets of NYC and dispatching them. In Death Sentence, Kevin Bacon focuses his vengeance on the members of the gang who killed his son. This is indeed Old West stuff. Instead of bringing strangers to justice, individually targeting the varmints who gunned down your kin. I think this concept is a much more satisfying fantasy for a lot of people. I've had many conversations with men when, after reading some horrific news report about a child molested or murdered by strangers, the dad I'm talking to declares something like: "If that was my child, I'd hunt that bastard down and castrate him/kill him/rip out his eyes and piss on his brains .." whatever the invective of the day may be. Death Sentence taps into this personal aspect of the vengeance myth .. I was going to say "macho" instead of personal but I've heard moms utter the same kind of sentiments.


To me, the main differences between Death Wish and Death Sentence, is indeed this "personalized" approach to the vengeance. Charles Bronson is a vigilante that becomes the media darling of his city. Kevin Bacon is a wounded dad hunting down the exact, individual criminals who killed his family. Death Wish was released in 1974, Death Sentence in 2007. Is this some kind of sign of the times? Have we soured on the concept of someone taking society's justice into their own hands, or is this simply an offshoot of the "nesting" craze; I care more about my family than I do the bigger, more complex, scarier world.

In The Brave One, although Jodie Foster eventually has her showdown with the baddies who wronged her, she too takes the vigilante turn off the vengeance trail. But as I said, it was a combo kind of thing and once she dispatched the criminals, her hunting ended. Just as with Kevin Bacon, who hangs up his shotgun and automag when he takes out the last of the gang ... If there is any integrity to the story, it should end there. Bronson, as a impersonal vigilante, lived to fight on in several remakes, none of which really bare any kind of review here.

That brings us to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, a wholly different kind of revenge movie. On the surface, this movie has some things in common with all three of the other vengeance movies; innocent people terrorized by gangs of unemployed young men, a failed "justice" system (not sure where you go to find a justice system, in North America, we live under a legal system) and a lone gunman riding in to the rescue .. but it's all really just surface. (OK, they're movies, so they are only about surface but permit me this one conceit .. ok, you have to permit me lots of conceits, I'm a Leo after all).



In Gran Torino, Clint plays a Korean war vet, disenfranchised from his family, recently, watching his old white only ghetto transformed into an Asian ghetto. His neighbours are being terrorized by an Asian street gang. The bare bones of the plot, the expectation of the story, is that as a man of action, Clints saddles up, brushes off his guns and goes after the gang. Well, to a certain extent he does. He uses his guns and his pure onery power of character to intimidate the gang .. which leads them to escalate their violence against the neighbours. Same thing occurs in Death Sentence; as Bacon begins hunting the gang down, they turn their vengeance on his family.

In Gran Torino, as part of the gang's retribution, they rape the young girl with whom Clint has started a friendship. This is a common theme in these vengeance movies. In Death Wish, Bronson's wife and daughter are "violated" by the bad guys and it's this act that sets him on the vengeance trail; avenging the honour of the women folk. Again, Death Sentence takes a slightly more politically correct stance, it's the murder of Kevin Bacon's son that starts the bloodshed, his wife is killed later. This is sort of like the Disney/Pixar of vengeance movies, where it's all about the father and son.

Gran Torino is not really a vengeance movie. Sure, it follows the bare outlines of the genre but it is more a movie of redemption; of Clint Eastwood's character finding redemption for his past coldness to his own family and sins he committed in war, but protecting this Asian family. But he does not protect them as he would have as the Outlaw Josey Wales or the Man With No Name. He protects them by not only removing the threat (the gang members) but by doing so in a manner that leaves them free of any guilt or remorse. It's not about vengeance, or the Old West definition of justice. It's about finishing things. As Walt says in the movie "I finish things. That's what I do"

The ending of the original Death Wish and even The Brave One leaves one with a sense that, even though all the bad guys have been dispatched, things may not be finished. There are loose ends. The very act of vengeance leaves a lot of mess in its wake. If that sense is supposed to be there at the end of Death Sentence, it is far more subtle. This movie struck me as a far more straight ahead, eye for an eye, kick the bastards where they live kind of movie.

So are we becoming more mellow as movie goers? Is Hollywood sensing a tempering of societal bloodlust? Clint Eastwood's movie is a kind of anti vengeance, vengeance movie, or at least "vigilante bad, official vengeance good" Made only two years ago, Death Sentence is not anywhere near so gentle. There is irony afoot here. Clint Eastwood, who has kind of made a career riding the vengeance trail, gives us an almost gentle vengeance movie whereas Kevin Bacon, the good looking hunk with a heart, goes balls to the walls, all guns blazing.

So where will the vengeance trail next take us? I suspect that there will always be an audience for the hapless victim, who, through some judicious editing and a serious suspension of disbelief, turns into Rambo and provides all the bad guys with some biological air conditioning? Or will it be a gentler, kinder trail, where the hero plies the villain with pomegranate juice and arugula, and convince him, that all he really needs is a nice deep tissue massage ...

Saddle up.

SLOUVAKI SAVES THE WORLD

It's that time of year again, for one of Toronto's most popular neighbourhood street fests, the Taste of the Danforth. Danforth Avenue, or simply The Danforth, is Toronto's Greek neighbourhood and they've been putting this fest on for over ten years now. To call it popular is an understatement. Over the course of a weekend, more than a million people will be crawling up and down the street, consuming 3 dollar slouvaki and spinach pie and ouzo.

The festival runs Friday night and Saturday and Sunday, normally we go on one of the two days but the weather forecast was crappy .. wow, there's a shock, a summer Toronto weekend that called for rain. I'm getting pretty fucking tired of this, I have to tell you. Last year we had a great time but I didn't need a repeat of our soggy time last year. So this time we went on Friday night, when the predicted weather seemed perfect.

We started off the evening watching a little rock 'n blues with John Dickey and the Swamp Dawgs, a local act featuring John, who is a kind of Toronto legend. Well, if he isn't, he should be.

After listening to John and the boys for a bit, it was time to wander down the street. You could tell that the weather was great. I swear that all one million of the expected guests were there that Friday ... in one intersection. The crowds got kind of out of control. I'm a tad claustrophobic and there were couple of minutes where I have no memory, just this impression of heat and closeness and restriction .. but the minutes passed and we finally made our way through the log jam of people .. and found food.

Slouvaki on a pita may be the best treatment for claustrophobia. Now that I think of it, slouvaki may be the cure to many of the world's ills. How can you think of pillaging and subjugating and giving out short term high interest loans when you have a face full of marinated grilled chicken, pita bread and tzatziki sauce. Seriously. You can't really think of devoiding someone of their basic human rights while chowing down on slouvaki.

After we had first of several gorgings of the evening, we found another stage where a Cuban band was enticing even the typically conservative Toronto crowd into some spontaneous dancing.

I know, I know .. it's a Greek fest and so far we've had swamp blues and meringue ... well, the Danforth is actually a pretty a multi cultural street in the most multi cultural city in the world so, although last year, we showed up at the stages in time for all the Greek events, pretty much the whole world was represented. One of the biggest line ups for food was for Chinese food .. in the middle of the big fat Greek festival.

I really don't know what it is about street fests. I just love them. Part of it is about wandering along in the middle of the road, ignoring the street lights, gobbling your food without forks or knives .. yeh, I'm a rebel. If somebody had given me scissors, I would have run with them, damnit.

As we wandered along, we came across this couple doing the human statue thing. I guess they were supposed to represent Classical Greek art. Take a good long look at this pair, kids. This is what happens to you when you don't have a post secondary education.

After we stuffed ourselves (spinach pie, slouvaki on a pita and enormous pieces of fruit for ten bucks) we naturally began to seek a place to sit down and imbibe. For this weekend the local bars were able to extend their patios on to the street but pretty much all of them were jammed. No problem, we thought, there are beer tents right here in the middle of the road .. um, no. First tent we went to was all wine and cocktails .. seven bucks for a tiny glass. Nope. The we saw the Motts Clamato tent .. well, hell, I could have a Caesar. I like Caesars. At four bucks, all in all, not a bad deal. You'd think it would be a simple thing ... but of course not. I wanted your classic Caesar ... vodka, clamato juice, Wort shire, hot sauce .. they had classic Caesars, but they so badly wanted me to sell me other kinds .. kinds with gin, with cucumber, with rye whiskey .. I just stared the cute young bartender dead in her barely-out-of-highschool face and said "I've been drinking these since before you were born. I'll take two" But I'll give her credit. It was one of the best Caesars I've ever had.

So, we had a great night. As I write this, Saturday actually turned out to be a pretty great day, but there was no way we could handle the crowds. Though it was, indeed, tempting to go down, score more slouvaki and mail it off to the UN. Ah well, perhaps next year.

Here's the video, short and sweet, just a little taste of the evening.

Taste of the Danforth 09 from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

SURFER GIRL

Yup, it was back to the Beach. Terra (and Miss Hayley of course) had enjoyed her first beach experience so much, we decided to go back a day later. Our summer here has been so cool and rainy that we've decided to take advantage of every actual summer-like day we get this summer. So Collette and the two girls and I boarded the subway and went down to Lake Ontario

On this day there was a fairly stiff breeze off the Lake so we were getting pretty good swells on the first beach the we went to, the offleash area at Kew Beach, for our fellow Trawnaites. The fenced in area is pretty rocky, and I actually don't like letting the dogs go to that beach, the slippery rocks can make it dangerous. But just to the west of the big rocks is a little gravel beach that is much easier for them to get to. It's a bit shallow here as well, so the waves were not breaking to their full potential

After playing at Kew for a bit, we moved east along the boardwalk to the big, unfenced, offleash beaches over at Balmy. Not only are these beaches much nicer, with fine gravel and sand, they are in deeper water, so the waves were really breaking here. In fact, the drop off was much closer to the beach than it had been two days earlier, the big lake was really pounding that day.

Miss Hayley is not overly fond of this kind of surf. The few times that she will swim, she will only do it if the water is very calm and still, and not too deep. Part of this, I think, is because she swims with her head completely flat on the water, her chin right on the surface. Any little swell will go right over her head and she is not too happy with that. Terra does not seem to have these issues. Not only does she keep her head high as she swims, she is just plain fearless. Miss Hayley is not very ball focused; Terra is, and no amount of water will keep her from snaring her prey.

It was fun to watch Terra figure out the whole surfing thing. She learned to time the waves so she could duck her head to get the stick or ball or whatever it was I was throwing. Once she snagged her toy, she turned her back to the waves and rode them in, paddling just enough to steer, riding that wild surf like a true California surfer girl.

And although Miss Hayley is never going to be a surfer girl, she is beginning to appreciate having her very own water sheep to herd along the shore.

And although Hayley is quite happy to herd Terra along the beach, there is no way the old girl is going to pursue the crazy puppy as Terra crashes through the waves to go surfing once more.

So, another successful day at the Beach. Check out the video to see more of Terra's surfer girl adventure. Maybe it's time to buy her a board and perhaps a new collar: Four Legged Gidget

Surfer Girl from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

TERRA'S BEACH DAY

Well, it was only a matter of time, of course. Before we took Terra to one of Miss Hayley's favorite destinations, the Toronto Beaches. We know Terra loves the water. No, not loves the water, becomes psychotic in the water. In a previous post, I've referred to water (to this point, just the water in her pool) as Terra's border collie crack. But now, at six months old and, finally, a summer -ike summer weekend in Toronto, it was time to take her to the really big pool .. that being, Lake Ontario.

So we loaded up both our girls and headed off downtown to the Beaches. In the video a the bottom of this post, you'll see a bit of the journey. Terra has been on the subway before, but only one stop; this journey is significantly longer and includes two different trains and a bus ride. Terra has never before been on the bus, but she handled it, and the long subway ride, very well. Aside from needing to bark at another dog on the train .. but hey, it's all a learning experience.

So there was little doubt that Terra would like the water, but would she swim? Miss Hayley loves the water, but she is not a swimmer. If Collette or I are swimming she will come with us and in very calm water, that does not suddently drop off, she may swim out a couple of feet to catch the ball, but that's about it. Even when herding water sheep, Hayley cannot be enticed into allowing her feet to leave the earth. Terra, at this stage, was an unknown quantity.

Well, there really should never have been a question. Although Terra was a little cautious about going into the water (caution being a border collie character trait, I would say) it didn't take much coaching. We started her on a beach that was shallow and didn't have much of a drop off. Still, this is Lake Ontario, and there were waves but it did not take much encouragement .. and a tennis ball, to get her swimming, even if it was just for a few feet.

So, we have a swimmer. Which works for Miss Hayley .. her very own private water sheep. Yay.

The nice thing about the Beach, aside from that whole giant lake thing, is the social aspect. The girls always meet friends. Like Cane, a friend from out local dog park.

And new friends, like this sweet Lab puppy, about three months old, that Terra decided would make an excellent hand to hand, death match opponent. It's that kind of magical thing that happens between puppies, they look at each other and this communication happens in an instant: Wanna play? Sure, do you? Then it's all legs and tails and teeth. Or, in Terra's case: I'll lie on you and dominate you till you show me that you can play too then they're off to the races .. or the mixed martial arts cage.

After the wrestling, it was back to the lake. This time, stick in hand, it was not difficult to entice Terra to a little dog paddling .. what did you expect, the butterfly stroke?

Normally when we go to the Beach, we like to end the day by going to The Lion On The Beach, a resturaunt on Queen St. They have a patio off to the side and they are very dog friendly. Not only do they let you tie your dog up to the patio, they provide water for them and usually lots of pets (the hand to fur kind). We weren't sure if Terra was yet up to the task. She would be laying on the street, right by a very busy thoroughfare, with lots of distractions. Well, after four hours of walking, running, wrestling, swimming, even a six month old border collie is willing to relax for an hour or so. Having hand made goodies from the Three Dog Bakery certainly doesn't hurt.

All in all, a very happy successful day at the beach. I'm sure many more to come.

Here's the video, Collette and I and our two girls, cavorting on the beach. Cavorting ... is there a sin tax on that?

Terra On The Beach from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A SISTER PART 2

Puppy Terra is growing. She is still a puppy, just turned six months old, but a lot of people seem to doubt that. When we are walking her with Miss Hayley, we often now hear the refrain: "Are they twins?" Of course, Hayley doesn't understand that, but I'm sure she would be flattered if she could

Terra is a big girl. She is actually right now a little bit taller than Hayley and weighs about 36 pounds, that's ten pounds lighter than the old girl. And Terra is far from done from growing, I imagine. How big she's going to get, I can't really say. Hayley is a small border collie, even for a female, but Terra seems to be on track to be, physically, some kind of uber collie. Perhaps something primeval, out of the misty jungles of Scotland (OK, I know there are no jungles in Scotland, bear with me here, I'm waxing poetic), a great fierce, giant herding machine ... the Border Collie of the Baskervilles.

No prey is safe from the Border Collie of the Baskervilles

The relationship between Hayley and Terra is improving. Slowly, perhaps, but definitely coming along. Hayley is actually pretty submissive, she will regularly give up water, toys, even food to other dogs. so she is doing that with Terra. In the parks, however, if a dog comes into Hayley's personal space .. like her butt .. she will assert herself. A few years a go she pinned a 90 pound male Doberman who was getting a little too free and easy with his nose. I would like to see her use that kind of dominance with Terra. She is giving up her bed (that being our bed) to the puppy. In the park, if Terra charges her, trying to initiate play, Hayley will put up a pretty weak defense, she waits for me to put the pup in her place. Here at the house, Terra can fall asleep with her head on Hayley's butt, but if Terra looks at her from several feet away, Hayley gives her the snarl. I think it's all about approach. Eye to eye contact. It's a border collie thing.

They are walking very well together, we get many compliments about them and as always, especially in this city which is not always dog friendly, if your dogs are well behaved, sociallized and calm, people will take time to notice them in a positive way.

I know Hayley has been affording a luxury of behaviour that she grants to all puppies. Now that Terra is getting older, I would expect Hayley will become more adamant with her dominance. But it's certainly obvious that Terra loves her "big sister" All of her behaviour is an attempt to illicit play, or snuggle in, dog pack style. Hayley is not wrestling with Terra, she really hasn't done that in the last few years, but she will do her herding/heeling behaviour when Terra fetches. And yes, she has gotten much better at sharing the couch.

Even though, there are times, Hayley is cuddling under protest. I'm sure, in the pic below, she is asking me "C'mon, one little nip, she's right here, it would only take me a second .."

So, this weekend will be a new adventure. Terra's first sojourn to the beach. Blogs, pics and video to follow.

IT AIN'T EASY BEING A FISH .. OR A POOL

My puppy is insane. I have proof.

She seems to have a particular psychosis related to all things aquatic. Again, I have proof. Below, is a pic of Terra punishing her pet fish. I'm not exactly sure what transgression the fish is guilty of. But this may be extreme and unusual punishment.

In the High Court of Boder Collie justice, there seems to be no leniency, or no reprieve. Terra is quite steadfast in her treatment of the guilty fish and really, expresses no guilt whatsoever.

In the video below, you will see Terra's disdain for seafood extends beyond mere fish. Apparently her stuffed squid (know as Calamari) is also in need of a good need of discipline.

Then there is her pool. As seen in previous posts, Terra loves her pool. Perhaps too much. Lately she has taken to splashing around in the pool and barking incessantly. Quite frankly, my puppy loses her mind in that pool. That pool is, indeed, border collie crack To the point, we decided to empty the pool of water, since that seems to be a trigger for her to go totally berserk out in the yard; amusing at my birthday party, but not so fun for us and the neighbours at 7 in the morning.

Of course, like any addict, Terra does not take too well to going cold turkey. Detox can be an ugly experience.

I guess we have Terra well enough trained that she won't vent her anger on us. So the pool bears the full brunt of her fury. Why something just six months old has so much pent up rage I'm not sure. Maybe it stems from the lack of free running sheep in North York. At any rate, if you thought the poor fish had it rough, the pool may now qualify for workman's comp.

As you will see in the video, Terra's little discipline session with the pool went on for a good length of time. But, Terra is still a female after all. And part way through, she suddenly realized that the pool could be used as a lovely hat.

After her brief fashion foray, Terra remembered her mission and, even angrier that the pool tried to distract her with haute couteur, went at it with even more ire.

I should be careful posting these pics. I'm expecting a phone call from Amnesty International any minute now. So I will move on to the video. I have to put a Viewer Advisory on this one. Some of these scenes may be inappropriate for smaller above ground pools.

Aqua Terra from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

THE GOOD SHIP BIRTHDAY PARTY

Yeh, yeh, I'm a year older. Greyer, crankier, wiser .. OK, only two of those assertions are accurate. I'll let you decide.

Not sure I get the whole point of this "birthday" celebration thing. Sure, another year has gone by. I suppose that means physical changes, more notable once you crank past that half century mark. The only changes I'm aware of at the moment are some new calluses on the palms of my hands. That's from hanging on to the handles of two flexi leashes as two border collies take me for a walk .. no, I mean as I take two border collies for a walk .. I mean .. a run .. I mean .. well, I mean I have two dogs that really like to go out.

But these physical changes are not really anything that one should throw a party to celebrate. It's not like I've grown a third eye, or devil horns, or a leathery lizard crest on the top of my head that flares up whenever I get excited. Now for that, I would throw a party.

So what about the mental aspects of getting a year older. Well, I'm sure in some aspects, the old mental acuity has dissipated. My memory is for sure unravelling like a cheap sweater in a rain storm. I'm having difficulty remembering all the stuff I've forgotten. I suppose I'm somewhat wiser. Not many years go by in which I haven't learned something .. even if it's stuff like: Don't use a really good T shirt to open a stubborn beer twist cap. it creates a hole and pisses off the spouse.

Still, again, nothing to really celebrate. Not like I woke up one day this year and solved the perpetual motion dilemma or figured out how to keep boxer shorts from riding up my private business. And yet, I did indeed have a party. Why? Well, it's summer, there's beer, I get to invite my friends and family, there's beer, I can BBQ, there's beer .. yeh, you get it.

So, one of the real reasons I throw a birthday party here is because my sacred event occurs in the middle of July. When it's hot, and sunny and you can stay outside at night, and you make fun of people's tan lines. In other words, my birthday is a great excuse for a summer party ... but that seems a rare thing in Ontario these days. Not parties. Summer. I do believe that, without anyone telling me, Ontario has moved to the tropics. Because we sure as fuck seem to be getting a rainy season.

My birthday weekend was no exception. Thursday I cut the lawn in the rain. A bad omen. I swear I could feel mushrooms growing around my ankles as I mowed .. and that may make you ask what kind of mushrooms, but I ain't gonna tell you. Friday night my sister Tyna came down. I walked Terra in the rain. Omens, people, omens. I believe in them, but I ignore them. See where that gets me.

So you guessed it. Saturday, day of the party, it rained. No, it didn't rain. It deluged .. I know, it's not a word, but it should be. It deluged all over the fucking place. We had a puddle in the yard that Jacques Cousteau would have made a documentary to film. At one point Collette was bailing water out of it. Yes, my wife was bailing the yard. When I started the BBQ I was standing ankle deep in water. Only time I was at the grille that I needed an apron, a set on tongs and a snorkel.

It was wet. This is the point I'm making.

But I intended to party on. Stood out there at the BBQ in my dive mask and snorkel, border collies paddling by me, sipping beer, pondering whether or not I was in a major shipping lane. But, somehow, the rain stopped. The puddle was transformed into a mud pit big enough for a Woodstock II mosh pit, but the rain let up, guests wandered into the yard, pointing up at the sky and whispering "What's that big bright thing up there?"

More guests showed up, more dogs showed up, a couple of tons of animal flesh was seared and devoured, and empty beer bottles were made into a redoubt to keep any further floods at bay. I decided to pull out my metal fire place. What were once ashes in the bottom had been transformed into more mud. I swear, there were a bunch of half dressed teenagers sliding around in there, flashing the rock on devil horns ... Thanks to a valiant wood chopping effort by our friend Kevin, we did get the fire started.

So we spent the rest of the night, huddled around our fire, imbibing and eating and eating and imbibing and in between courses, working on an ark .. After all, from everything I understand, I'm going to have another of these parties next year.