Since he died of diabetes, those who loved him and over fed him, loved him to death. So sad. Of course fifteen is a respectable age for a cat and a feral to boot. There is something to be said for such a cat living life on his own terms, too.
"Jellicle cats are roly poly, jellicle cats are merry and bright," so the song from the musical "Cats" goes. This one must have been. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Oh! He reminds me so much of my Edgar (of blessed memory) who was a feral and who tamed up nicely after I managed to capture him. Edgar was also a Tuxedo with a nice full face like old George here.
Yes, BooCat, there's much to be said for George having lived on his own terms!
EHC - he made me think more of Gus the Theatre Cat:
Then if someone will give him a toothful of gin, He will tell how he once played a part in East Lynne. At a Shakespeare performance he once walked on pat When some actor suggested the need for a cat...
But it depresses me referring to Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, since the world would have been a better place if Andrew Lloyd Webber had never been born.
PS Ellie - that mad cat who lives near me, the one I was telling you about who insists on escorting me with a magisterial air to the booze shop and back, is also a Tuxedo and looks exactly like George.
Cathy, ouch! You wield a sharp stick, but I concur about ALW. Even my sentimental cat-loving 80-year old mother declined a free ticket to "Cats, the musical".
Just read Doris Lessing's Particularly Cats...and Rufus. The last sentence reads, "Knowing cats, a lifetime of cats, what is left is a sediment of sorrow quite different from that due to humans: compounded of pain for their helplessness, of guilt on behalf of us all." But she was mostly referring to outdoor cats or feral ones, not our 21st century pampered indoor ones.
I can honestly say I have never seen anything by Sondheim and can therefore have no opinion on him. I haven't seen Les Mis either. Or indeed any musical, for a very very long time.
I'm afraid Mad Priest is right about the England/Sir Andrew thing. One of my friends recently remarked about ALW's most recent effort - "Love Never Dies - and sadly, neither does Andrew Lloyd Webber."
Sondheim is wonderful because of the dissonance and discord in his music - he takes risks. Angela Lansbury once pointed out to him that, in one of Mrs. Lovett's numbers there was no place to take a breath. His response: "Then don't take one." Whereas Webber's work is identifiable because it all sounds the same (hence, the wonderful Spamalot duet "The Song That Goes Like This"), Sondheim's is identifiable because of its feel. Webber's music is entertainment - and that's not a put-down, just an assessment - to accompany a story, but Sondheim's music has meaning in its very structure; e.g. - the piece in Sweeney Todd in which Todd has his complete breakdown - "Epiphany" - and the music changes from sharp, discordant clashes, to sweeping, operatic passages at whiplash-inducing speed, reflecting the shattering mind finding its insane "destiny."
Basically, Sondheim, at his best, is creative, imaginative and courageous.
When the "other gentleman" started to become popular in England we played a game that could have been called "Guess where he got it from." The fact that he grew up in a family with an extensive classical record collection may have been his passport to success.
oh, what a sweetheart!! I hope he declaimed to all the other cats he encountered in a plummy supercilious Ian McKellen voice. Rest in peace George.
ReplyDeleteSince he died of diabetes, those who loved him and over fed him, loved him to death. So sad. Of course fifteen is a respectable age for a cat and a feral to boot. There is something to be said for such a cat living life on his own terms, too.
ReplyDelete"Jellicle cats are roly poly, jellicle cats are merry and bright," so the song from the musical "Cats" goes. This one must have been.
ReplyDeleteMay he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Oh! He reminds me so much of my Edgar (of blessed memory) who was a feral and who tamed up nicely after I managed to capture him. Edgar was also a Tuxedo with a nice full face like old George here.
ReplyDeleteYes, BooCat, there's much to be said for George having lived on his own terms!
EHC - he made me think more of Gus the Theatre Cat:
ReplyDeleteThen if someone will give him a toothful of gin,
He will tell how he once played a part in East Lynne.
At a Shakespeare performance he once walked on pat
When some actor suggested the need for a cat...
But it depresses me referring to Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, since the world would have been a better place if Andrew Lloyd Webber had never been born.
PS Ellie - that mad cat who lives near me, the one I was telling you about who insists on escorting me with a magisterial air to the booze shop and back, is also a Tuxedo and looks exactly like George.
ReplyDeleteCathy, ouch! You wield a sharp stick, but I concur about ALW. Even my sentimental cat-loving 80-year old mother declined a free ticket to "Cats, the musical".
ReplyDeleteJust read Doris Lessing's Particularly Cats...and Rufus. The last sentence reads, "Knowing cats, a lifetime of cats, what is left is a sediment of sorrow quite different from that due to humans: compounded of pain for their helplessness, of guilt on behalf of us all." But she was mostly referring to outdoor cats or feral ones, not our 21st century pampered indoor ones.
Descanse en paz, Señor Jorge, y levantarse a la gloria.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed many things by Sir Andrew. I think the world less had I not been able to enjoy them.
Oh dear, Dah-veed. Sometimes you can be so gay.
ReplyDeleteWhat? Writing en Espanol is now gay? Oy...
ReplyDeleteHas been since the days of André Gide and Oscar Wilde, darling.
ReplyDeleteGinny S - he he he! That's funny. Your mum is so right.
ReplyDeleteDah-veed - no!!! no!!!! stop!!!!!! (clutches head, howls in pain)
I like Sondheim as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd in the late 80s we paid US$100 a pop to see Le Miz, twice, at the QE2 theater in Vancouver, BC.
I have impeccable gay credentials in spite of being a poor, ignorant, wet back Mexican.
Sondheim is gay.
ReplyDeleteLloyd Webber is just sad.
Honestly, Dah-veed, if you ever visit England DO NOT mention the Sir Andrew thing.
How about Sir Elton or Boy George?
ReplyDeleteI can honestly say I have never seen anything by Sondheim and can therefore have no opinion on him. I haven't seen Les Mis either. Or indeed any musical, for a very very long time.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid Mad Priest is right about the England/Sir Andrew thing. One of my friends recently remarked about ALW's most recent effort - "Love Never Dies - and sadly, neither does Andrew Lloyd Webber."
Aw. That's a face.
ReplyDeleteSondheim is wonderful because of the dissonance and discord in his music - he takes risks. Angela Lansbury once pointed out to him that, in one of Mrs. Lovett's numbers there was no place to take a breath. His response: "Then don't take one." Whereas Webber's work is identifiable because it all sounds the same (hence, the wonderful Spamalot duet "The Song That Goes Like This"), Sondheim's is identifiable because of its feel. Webber's music is entertainment - and that's not a put-down, just an assessment - to accompany a story, but Sondheim's music has meaning in its very structure; e.g. - the piece in Sweeney Todd in which Todd has his complete breakdown - "Epiphany" - and the music changes from sharp, discordant clashes, to sweeping, operatic passages at whiplash-inducing speed, reflecting the shattering mind finding its insane "destiny."
ReplyDeleteBasically, Sondheim, at his best, is creative, imaginative and courageous.
ReplyDeleteWhen the "other gentleman" started to become popular in England we played a game that could have been called "Guess where he got it from." The fact that he grew up in a family with an extensive classical record collection may have been his passport to success.
That and Sarah Brightman, whom he promptly dumped.
ReplyDeleteI fear his passport to success may in fact have been complete and total lack of taste on the part of the general public.
ReplyDeleteDah-veed - I don't include you, even if you do like his stuff.
Dah-veed does not have a total lack of taste. But he sometimes suffers from minor taste impairment.
ReplyDeleteDah-veed clearly has fabulous taste, just not when it comes to Lloyd Webber.
ReplyDeleteBut he sometimes suffers from minor taste impairment.
ReplyDeleteToo many chilis can do that on occasion.