Congrats to Uno from Dawson

My beagle Dawson offers his congratulations to Uno, the first beagle to ever win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club! And to make it even more special, Uno comes from nearby Belleville, Illinois.

An update on the German Shepherd

Good news about the German Shepherd that my friend DeJean & I found deserted in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago: He's been adopted and is living in a huge home with lots of land along with two other big dogs -- and all are getting along great! DeJean said it best:

There are so many nice people in this world -- I just can't believe it. The woman who adopted him says she's always wanted to have a German Shepherd. I don't think we could have found a better home.

And his name is now Duke.

"12 Angry Men" on-stage vs. film

My freelance review:

Eleven jurors are convinced that the defendant is guilty of murder. The twelfth isn't so sure, thereby preventing a quick verdict. And so starts Twelve Angry Men, the latest production at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

It's the summer of 1957. Twelve male jurors from various walks of life are gathered for their deliberations while a troubled young man accused of brutally killing his aggressive father awaits his fate, as the jury was instructed that a guilty verdict would be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence. Corralled in a sweltering New York jury room, the twelve men engage in heated debate as hidden preconceptions and assumptions of the jurors are revealed.

Twelve Angry Men was initially produced as a teleplay that appeared on CBS in 1954. In 1957, it was made into a major motion picture by Sidney Lumet with Henry Fonda (as the lone dissenter) among a star-powered cast that included Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman and others. This now-classic film, with its extremely powerful performances and excellent cinematography, sets the bar very high -- perhaps too high.

The Rep's production, directed by Martin Platt, feels like the film version being played out on stage, with the set having a nice period feel to it and the lighting, in particular, by Dan Kotlowitz, being quite effective.

Ironically, though, there's less intimacy in the Rep's version compared to the film version; perhaps this is due to the staging -- it was hard if not impossible to see the faces of some of the jurors during key exchanges, thus distancing the audience member from some of the emotional impact. Usually theatre is more intimate than film!

As the story plays out in real time for one hour and 45 minutes, with no intermission, the dialog is taut and compelling. There were a few parts, though, where the pacing could have been slowed a bit to achieve greater dramatic effect.

Twelve Angry Men plays through Mar. 2 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

Miracles with paws

The following hangs in my vet's examination room, amongst all the charts about vaccinations and general care. I often read through it as I'm waiting for him to come in. I recall it, in particular, two years ago this April, as my elderly dog Brandy lay unconscious, about to be put to sleep. It helped me feel a little bit better, reminding me to focus on the nice times that far outweigh the hard times.

Good food

At the Whole Foods Market earlier today, I ran across something quite delicious. It's a lentil dip called Azeefa. Free samples of it were being offered, and wow -- was it delicious! I tasted (and subsequently purchased) the Azeefa-Hot variety (flavored with spicy jalapeno peppers and lime). There are two other varieties, Medium and Mild.

A couple of noteworthy reasons for writing about this. This dip is 100% vegan -- no animal products of any kind went into the making of it. (It feels good to not fund the mistreatment of animals whenever possible.) Also, the kitchen that makes the Azeefa dip is a startup business in St. Louis -- Berhanu Organic, located on Washington Avenue. Its founder, Sine Berhanu, shown in the accompanying photo, was a delight to talk with.

And she makes a pretty awesome (and nutricious) dip, too!

Next week: There's Super Sunday, Super Tuesday, Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday

Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be so boring, by comparison...

A dog story

My doorbell rang a few nights ago at 11:30. It was a neighbor, from a few streets over. She saw that my living room light was still on. She asked if I had a German Shepherd or knew of someone nearby who has one, because there was one huddled under a parked car at the end of the street. I didn't, but I wanted to help. It was very cold out (around 12 degrees and falling).

My neighbors DeJean, Michael, Joan and I all tried to get the dog to come to one of us. We wanted to take him into one of our warm houses for the night. But he wouldn't come to any of us. And his bark had a distinct "come no further" sound to it. At one point we used dog biscuits as bait to get him to follow us. It worked to only a certain distance; he would always return to the area of the parked car.

So we brought him blankets, food and water for the night.

The next morning, he was still there. He was cuddled up on the blankets. The water in his bowl was frozen solid.

He seemed happy to see us, but continued to keep his distance. Finally, though, DeJean & I coaxed him into the back seat of her car using dog treats. That's where he is in the accompanying photo, finally warm and presumably content -- during the 10-minute drive to the animal shelter, we think he actually fell asleep!

The person at the shelter was a lot braver handling him than we were, and it turns out the dog is a softie! He was just scared. We think he may have been dumped in our neighborhood, probably right where the parked car was, wanting to stay near the parked car so that when his family would return for him, he'd be there for him.

DeJean & I have put "Found German Shepherd" posters around the neighborhood, just in case he is someone's dog who got out and got lost.

But we're not expecting to hear from anyone missing him...