Cats, cats, cats, and more cats, part 2

I said I would be back with the random cats around my house! If you are interested, you can find part 1 here in which I said "I have quite a few around the place, some because I fell in love with them myself, others because for some weird reason people think I like cats and have given me a lot of items over the years. Really strange, I know. Why would they think something like that? 😂"

Let's start with a cat in existential crisis. I get you, cat, I really do. I feel like screaming this way a lot these days.
When the resident artist with the fuzzy ears decided to turn my beloved bunny peeler into art - in other words, he knocked it down and broke it - I had to look for a replacement. The bunny peeler had been a gift from my cat food shop (the best blade ever), so I had to settle for a black cat instead. Gundel and I love black cats. As expected, it's not as good as the bunny, but it does the job.
Oh, and those are cat tins behind it. They came with some cat medication and are perfect for holding tea, wire, and beads.

"Are you interested in a Steiff cat?" As I have mentioned before, Steiff has a huge variety of dogs, but not so much of cats, and we already had the most common post-war ones, so our reply to our seller acquaintance was a little lukewarm.
"She has a red ribbon." Steiff cats (and dogs) often had a ribbon around the neck, so that didn't tell us much. "In the ear." Now that made our ears go up like those of a cat. If it was really a red ear tag, that would mean pre-war and was definitely worth looking at.
It was love at first sight. Not only has the lady the beautiful green-blue eyes (we always called them pre-war eyes because after the war the cat eyes turned a more vivid green instead) that we loved so much, she also wasn't a tabby as in striped, but had more of a dotted fur. She was absolutely gorgeous and is - along with Fluffy, but that's another story - still my favorite Steiff cat. She's almost 100 years old, can you believe that?

I deliberately took her photo next to those scratches on my sideboard. Wanna guess? Yes, it's another artwork by the resident artist (Marsha, how's that for the next SIA challenge? 😜). In his defense, he was inspired by an earlier piece of art by Greebo, displayed on the same sideboard.

When I saw this cat keyring at a jewelry shop, I just couldn't resist ... I had to make the ex buy it for me 😂 That sounds worse than it was, really. I just said "ooh, I love her" and he asked me if I wanted her. We were on a shopping tour through antique and thrift shops on a day off and had been prepared to put down a bit of money here and there.
Oh yes, I wanted her. I love my silver cat. She's cute and heavy, and if I can't find my keys in my shopper because they have once again hidden in the bottom corner, I always feel around for her.
Once I thought I'd lost her, the screw of the keyring had unscrewed. Ever since the first thing I do when grabbing my keys is to make sure the screw is tight.

This is another cat I can identify with on some days when I'm not in cat peeler screaming mode.
It's a print by Wiebke Rauers, a German freelance illustrator.

I told you before that Steiff didn't just make plush animals, but also a lot of wooden toys.
Pictures of Steiff animals also appear on a lot of other items, however (which is a topic for another post).
This is one of them. I have three of these little plastic bowls for children in my collection, another one with a Zotty teddy and a cat, and one with two dwarfs. This one has a Cosy Molly and a Cosy Snobby dog watch over a sleeping Floppy Kitty (Floppy animals had embroidered "closed" eyes).
There's just a copyright mark for Steiff on it but no maker, and I never bothered trying to find out more. I have some smaller plush animals sitting in there, so you can still see the design.
Can't you imagine toddlers eating from these? They are cute, sturdy and easy to grab. The bowls, not the toddlers.

I own a small collection of Zippos with cats on them, most of them gifts. I used to use all of them, but now they decorate my cat book cabinet.
Once we were at a pub. It was quite full and when we left the table, the next group was already over it. Right outside the door I noticed I had forgotten my pack of cigarettes - you can tell from that how long ago that was! - and my favorite Zippo. We are talking not even a minute before I was back, but both the pack and the lighter were gone. I asked at the table and just got shaking heads, so I asked the waiter and he said no one had given it to him.
So I went back to the table again and said it was impossible they hadn't seen it. All of them looked at one guy, one of the girls looking mad and giving him a sign, so he slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out my Zippo and cigarettes. I was upset and said "So you really just lied to me?". He didn't even look embarrassed and shrugged. One of them could have caught up with us easily. I admit I called him something when I left. He could at least have apologized. The girl said something I don't remember, but the others just laughed at him for getting caught. Some people!

I didn't try to polish these or anything, the use and wear is telling their own story.

I got this cute little pair years ago as a Christmas gift from a colleague. The pinkish stone is so pretty. I choose to believe that these two are friends.

Have you ever heard of The Kindness Rocks Project?
It's about painting pebbles or rocks and hiding them in public for someone else to find. Children do it, but also grownups. There are Facebook groups where you can share your finds or the rocks you painted yourself. The rocks can have messages, little paintings or both.

An artist friend of mine (I'm not saying the name because she's in web timeout as far as I know) painted rocks for a local project. She showed pictures, and when I said how much I loved this one, she very generously offered it to me as a gift.
It ended up in our customs office. At the time, they picked random private parcels for checks and you had to go to the office to open the parcel as they weren't allowed to, and then they would determine its value to see if fees incurred.
When I put the rock on the table, the clerk took it, turned it around and asked me what it was. "Uh, a rock with a cat painting on it?" "Yes, but what is it?" "It's a rock. There's nothing more to it. There's this project for which people paint and hide rocks. An artist friend participates in her town and sent this one to me because I liked it." "Oh." We looked at each other, maybe she tried to read my mind for the reason why anyone would do any of this. "A rock." "Your friend did that beautifully." "Yes." "Okay, I guess ... that's it then. Have a nice day." And off we went, my rock and I.

I love it when an item comes with an extra story on top of the original story 😁 

That's it for today, but I'm pretty sure there will be a part 3. See you then!

Barbie's Wardrobe - Patio Party

I'm not a fashionista. I'm ... you could say... a wearer of clothing. I like my clothes to be comfortable and the right size and possibly not to have holes or spots (that part is not always easy if you have cats).
There are features I love, like pockets in dresses or 3/4 sleeves, but beyond that, I'm fairly undemanding and not adventurous.
That doesn't mean I don't like to look at clothes at all, especially those that I would never be able to wear myself, due to money, my size, lack of occasion, etc. There are still ways to bring Haute Couture into my life, though. I mean Barbie and her friends.
I have always been fascinated by miniatures and Barbie's vintage outfits with their tiny zippers and buttons and buckles and accessories are incredible. This is my "fashion life", either through my own small collection or pictures.
(And yes, I do know Barbie's body isn't natural, I knew it as a child and I never strived to look like her ... if I had, something would have gone wrong).
Let me give you a glimpse in Barbie's wardrobe every, now and then.

Today we make a little trip into the mod era. Actually, this time both our model and her outfit are from the same time period, 1967 - 1968, that is.

Are you ready for a party? This pretty (not so young) lady is.
She's a TNT Barbie with titian hair. TNT stands for "Twist'n'Turn" meaning she could not only turn her head from sideways, but also her waist (like her British friend Stacey I wrote about the other day). She also had bendable legs.
Her straight hair with the irregular cut and the bangs came in four colors - "Chocolate Bon-Bon" (dark brunette), "Sun Kissed" (pale blonde), "Go Go Co Co" (brown/brownette), and "Summer Sand" (ash blonde). The titian is not an official color and isn't seen that often. It's still discussed if there are some genuine redheads or if it's always a result of oxidization.

Barbie is showing us a fabulous mod outfit called "Patio Party".
Mod designers sure knew how to combine colors.

Barbie is wearing a nylon jumpsuit in a multicolor paisley/floral print with very wide palazzo pant legs.
The asymmetrically colored overdress is from a midnight blue and a contrasting vivid green satin.
I chose this for her to wear because I think it goes great with her titian hair.
The high heels pick up the blue from both the jumpsuit and the overdress.
This hostess ensemble is in the tradition of older ones with the difference of the wide pant legs and of course the colors.

The only accessory is a pair of funky earrings. While the outfit itself - manufactured as #1693 - is one of those 1600s fashions that is easier to find, the earrings are hard to come by and can be replaced by reproduction earrings.
I got this outfit from the original owner, though, completely with earrings. Given how small and easy to lose they are, it is amazing to me that she still had them!

If you wonder why Barbie isn't wearing them, however, let me quickly mention the bane of the green ear. That may sound like the title for one of my early silent horror movies (or a book from the series of The Three Investigators), but it's just silent horror.
The vinyl of the dolls can react with the metal of the earrings and the green can really spread. Better not take chances at all as it's well possible you can't get rid of it!
Even without the earrings, it's such a cool outfit to wear to a patio party, though.

For full disclosure, I edited the doll stand out of the picture, but didn't change anything about the outfit.

Barbie is a registered trademark of Mattel, Inc. I am not affiliated with Mattel in any way.


Sources:

1. Sibyl DeWein and Joan Ashabraner: The Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Dolls and Collectibles. Paducah, KY, Collector Books, 1994
2. Sarah Sink Eames: Barbie Doll Fashion, Vol. II, 1968 - 1974. Paducah, KY, Collector Books, 1997
3. Vintage Barbie Patio Party. On: Fashion Doll Guide
4. Vintage Twist'n'Turn Barbie Doll. On: Fashion Doll Guide

Silent movies - Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman

I hadn't heard of Raffles before when I got the 70s box set cheaply from the UK years ago.
A. J. Raffles is the main character of 26 short stories and a novel around the turn of the century (obviously the 19/20th century). He became so popular that there are several adaptations.
One of them is the movie "Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman" (which was the title of the first collection of short stories) from 1917 with John Barrymore as Raffles.

Anyone surprised that they used
Barrymore's handsome profile
for the theatrical poster? No?
(Public domain via
Wikipedia Commons)

Let's start with the plot as usual (with spoilers).

"Count de Bauderay" is on board of a Mediterranean steamer. There he flirts with the divorced Mrs. Vidal who falls in love with him. Also on board is a swindler who tells Mrs. Vidal about the priceless "rose pearl of India" he has with him. The "Count" finds out he has hidden it in his shoe, steals it, and, when caught, escapes by jumping into the sea and swimming ashore.

In the months after, several daring robberies occur in town, attributed to "The Amateur Cracksman".
At the same time, A. J. Raffles, a champion cricketer, returns from Australia and is welcomed with joy and an invitation for a weekend visit with Lord Amersteth. His old college friend Bunny, who's in love with Gwendolyn, Amersteth's ward, is there and also Mrs. Vidal.
That is unfortunate as she is ready to pick up what she thought to be the start of a love affair while it was just a flirt for Raffles. And when she notices how fondly Raffles is looking at Gwendolyn, she starts threatening to expose him as she is sure that he's the "Amateur Cracksman" (surprise, she's right).

Another weekend guest is Mylord's neighbor, a retired detective named Bedford who is keen on catching the cracksman. He gets his chance thanks to Lady Melrose wearing her famous diamond necklace which is irresistible for Raffles.
The lady doesn't believe in safes and has the empty box locked in while hiding the necklace in her chest of drawers. If only she knew that her maid is in cohorts with a professional burglar, Crawshay. The maid takes the necklace and drops it out of the window for Crawshay to catch, but Raffles is quicker. They fight, the burglar is arrested and taken away swearing revenge - and promptly escapes on the way.

Ouch.
There were prints in which this was censored.

When the theft of the necklace is discovered the next morning, Bedford is sure he can retrieve it. Raffles wagers for 150 pounds that Bedford won't be able to do it before midnight. He wants to give the money to Bunny who has gambling debts. The detective accepts as he already suspects Raffles to be the thief.
Raffles returns to his rooms in the city. When Bunny arrives, he tells him the truth about being the cracksman and his intent to send the necklace back after winning the money for him.
Then Crawshay comes for the promised revenge. When Bedford and his colleague turn up, Raffles helps Crawshay to escape. Bedford goes after the burglar. Next is Mrs. Vidal who has found a letter by Gwendolyn who's worried about Raffles after Mrs. Vidal has hinted at him being the cracksman. (Confused yet?) Bedford comes back and tells Mrs. Vidal he has a warrant to arrest Raffles. Enter Lord Amersteth and Gwendolyn. You know what, just enter everyone, the more the merrier.
It's past midnight and Bedford pays the 150 pounds to Raffles who gives them to Bunny before getting arrested. Then the detective lets Raffles speak to Gwendolyn alone. He's a smart one, that Bedford.
Yup, Raffles escapes - allowed to take Mylord's and Gwendolyn's car -  and Bedford says: "Well, I'm deucedly glad he escaped. He's splendid!" 😂
Of course he is, just look at this guy! Who wouldn't forgive him his daring robberies?

A. J. Raffles is the brainchild of E. W. Hornung, a British writer who happened to be the brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle (I'm not a fan of not acknowledging people for who they are or what they did, but who they are or were married to or a relative of, but in this case I have a reason).

As a teenager, Hornung spent two years in Australia and he also wrote his first stories and novels about Australia.
In 1898, he published his first Raffles stories and dedicated them to Doyle although he had warned against writing them.
Raffles is no Robin Hood, the only poor he's giving to are his friend and accomplice Bunny and himself, and Doyle didn't think a criminal should be made a hero. While some critics agreed to that, the stories were popular and a financial success, and Raffles was even used a synonym for burglars in articles (I read an interesting article on how Raffles actually had an influence on how burglary was seen in the UK before the Second World War).
The stories were told in a style similar to Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, with Bunny as the narrator and chronicler for Raffles, only those two weren't the ones solving the crimes, but committing them.
Most of Hornung's work has been forgotten, but Raffles hasn't and got adapted for radio, TV, and the big screen more than once.

Back to our film.
In those times, it wouldn't have been acceptable to portray Raffles the way he was in the stories, so they made him more of a Robin Hood by noting that he stole from the rich and gave to charity or punished a crook.
As you might have been able to tell from my description, I found it rather amusing, but that has less to do with the plot or the quality of the film. Instead I very much concentrated on John Barrymore again.
If I had thought he had hammed it up a little in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" - much to my enjoyment - I hadn't been prepared for Raffles.
In the second half, I started to think all he did was standing around holding his cigarette and either looking serious or surprised or with a knowing smile on his lips. 
Then, however, he confessed to Bunny that he was a burglar and described the thrill it gave him.

There and then, I regretted that Barrymore never got to play Dracula. I think that could have been wonderful.
Actually, I had to laugh at this scene, but not in a bad way. Like some of the other scenes, it gave me the impression that Barrymore didn't take the character too seriously, and I enjoyed that.

When he was in the study and shot in the air much to the shock of those standing outside, including Bedford waiting to arrest him, and then escaped via the secret opening in the grandfather clock (a scene that Wikipedia needs an update on, by the way, because it says it's not in existing prints), he seemed to have so much fun.

Again, he definitely made the movie for me which was okay otherwise, but I welcomed it being only an hour long. An hour I'd be willing to put in again just for Barrymore's performance.

P.S. YouTube recommended another of his films to me right away, so be prepared to see that profile again!


Selected sources:

1. Fritzi Kramer: Raffles the Amateur Cracksman (1917) - A silent film review. On: Movies Silently, February 4, 2013
2. Eloise Moss: "How I Had Liked This Villain! How I Had Admired Him!": A. J. Raffles and the Burglar as British Icon, 1898 - 1939. In: Journal of British Studies 53(2014), pp. 136 - 161 (doi:10.1017/jbr.2013.209, closed access)

From my children's book cabinet - Der kleine dicke Ritter

Today's book is "Der kleine dicke Ritter". Inside it says it's based on an audio play based on a play called "The Thwarting of Baron Bolligrew" by the British author Robert Bolt.

Before telling you about "the little fat knight" named Oblong-Fitz-Oblong, however, I have to tell you about the "Augsburger Puppenkiste".
Augsburg is a city in the Bavarian part of Swabia and "Puppenkiste" translates to "puppet chest".

Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

The "Augsburger Puppenkiste" is a marionette theater whose predecessor was founded in 1943 and revived under the now known name in 1948. It performs plays for children, but also for adults, even operas.
We grew up with the "Puppenkiste", but not because we went to Augsburg to see it, that would have been out of the question, but because it gained popularity thanks to their TV productions (Liz, in case you read this, there are even two series of the Moomins from 1959/60 that I had never heard about before! I'm looking forward to watching those even if I don't know the books.).

In short, we grew up on stories from the "Puppenkiste", such as the "Jim Knopf" ("Jim Button") series based on the books by Michael Ende, the "Urmel" ("Impy") series based on Max Kruse's books, and among others also "Der kleine dicke Ritter" in 1963 (which obviously means I saw the reruns).
Watching those today still evokes a special childhood feeling in me, the familiar voices of the puppet players, the typical marionette movements, and the melodies. They were classic Christmas programs for example.

I think I knew the puppet version even before the book and even later than that I was really aware that it had originally been a play.
Here's the timeline and it's confusing.
The play came out in 1962 and translated into German by Marianne de Barde. Her translation was used by German writer Carl Mandelartz to retell the story under the pen name Carl Schanze in form of a novel which was published in 1963.
Also in 1963, the TV adaptation of the play of the "Augsburger Puppenkiste" was on air in Germany.
The BBC broadcasted the English audio play on Christmas 1964.

There were bound to be differences between original play and book, so I read the play as well which was quite a surprise.
Let me put it nicely, I guess it was Mandelartz who was very generous with the material and the puppet play was then based on the book. I couldn't find any information on that, though.

Maybe it's about time to tell you a bit about the plot.

The Duke and his knights want to get rid of Oblong-Fitz-Oblong because he's a bit too good a knight for them. After all the dragons in the area have been killed, he wants to move on to where they are needed. The Duke and knights, on the other hand, would prefer a little breather. They dream of sleeping in, some light jousting, and big meals.
So they send Oblong to the Bolligrew Islands as a Royal Knight Errant to stand up to the evil Baron Bolligrew and the dragon on the island. I think I don't give away too much when I say that he succeeds. First he has to gain the trust and help of the peasants on the island and deal with being hit by a magic spell which gives Bolligrew power over him.

Both in the play and the book, Oblong loves animals. One reason for him to accept the task is when he hears that the Baron is hunting all the animals.
In the play, however, he has killed at least one small pink dragon himself although he didn't like doing it and brings its tail tip for proof. In the book, he can't get himself to kill the dragon and instead of the tail tip he brings the whole pink dragon, tames him, and calls him Bonzo - and after him two more dragons!
When the Duke visits the Islands himself at the end, he even brings Bonzo along on the trip with him.

When Baron Bolligrew wants Oblong
out of the way for the Duke's visit,
Bonzo finds him and takes him
back to see the Duke just in time.

The dragon on the Bolligrew Islands is so evil, by the way, that not even Oblong wants to let him live in the book.
The play's dragon is black and has red eyes. In performances, that allows for him to be represented just by two red lights as he's sitting in his cave where he gets shot in the end. In the book he's black and has two tails and in the end he's dying in the ocean.
Bolligrew has an agreement with the dragon, each of them gets half of the island. When the dragon has ravished his half, he wants Bolligrew's half, so the Baron tries to get rid of him.
In the book he offers him poisoned mutton which the dragon is too smart to take.
The wizard putting the spell on Oblong uses an apple in the book, but in the play it's his mantle. The apple he's giving Oblong makes him poisonous, so the dragon will die if he eats him!

The evil dragon in the puppet play

And there are more animals. When Oblong leaves the castle, he takes all the jackdaws from the castle tower with him, including his friend Dolfus. You must know that the Duke's favorite dish is filled jackdaw and Oblong fears for his friends. Dolfus plays an important role when Oblong is put under the magic spell.
In the play, there are no jackdaws. Oblong meets Mike the magpie on the island and it's Mike who helps him with the spell. Also a badger plays a much bigger role in book and puppet play.

So essentially, the plot is the same, but the book and puppet play add more details.
There is a video of a school performance on YouTube. Maybe I should have a look at that sometime, just to see what it could look like on stage.
I will always prefer our version. I have loved it for over 50 years and I hear the voices of the marionettes when I read the book.
It was definitely interesting to find out about the differences, though, not something I had expected!

Random Saturday - Words

This post was inspired by the September 10 on the 10th post on Marsha in the Middle about words ending in -ber.
I didn't participate in that one because I couldn't find it in me to look for ten words for my English and my German blog each because they obviously couldn't be the same except for the four last months of the year.
I only realized that, however, when I had already started looking for -ber words and got a list of both English and German ones some of which were completely new to me.

Picture from pxhere

"Reihenschieber" = "row slider"
A hand cipher system developed in 1957 and used by the German Bundeswehr until the early 60s to encrypt high-grade messages.

"Schlammfieber" = "mud fever"
A different German name for leptospirosis, a disease caused by bacteria often spread by rodents which explains one of the English names - "rat fever".

"Hellschreiber", also called "Typenbildfeldfernschreiber" (you have to love German words)
A facsimile-based teleprinter developed patented by a German named Hell in 1929.

Hellschreiber in
Bletchley Park,
public domain via
Wikimedia Commons

I doubt anyone would have believed me if I said these were among my top ten favorites of -ber words.

I also learned a few fun names of villages in Scotland and Wales (and will forget them again right away, I'm sure) - Ballintubber, Knockentiber, and my favorite Penrhiwceiber. Guess which one is in Wales.

Have you ever had "bonnyclabber"? The Free Dictionary tells me it can simply mean curdled milk, but also "thick, soured milk eaten with cream and sugar, honey, or molasses". My mother used to like "Dickmilch". I haven't had it in ages, but I think I need to get myself some just so I can say I had "bonnyclabber" which sounds so much more fun than just "thick milk".

Picture from pxhere

If you wonder what this post is even about except being proof for my "jumping spider mind", it's about words and language.
Aren't words fascinating? How they roll off your tongue, how they twist your tongue, how one single word can evoke memories, emotions, scents, images? Where they come from?
Or how about writing down a short, really familar word and looking it for a while? Have you ever had the feeling that it suddenly looked very strange and made you wonder how anyone came up with it?
Or have you said a word out loud before and wondered if that is even right because it suddenly sounds weird (which is something my sister happened to do in a call just when I was at this point of the post)?

That's probably one of the reasons why I like to read to the cats and prefer to do it in English than the familiar German, to savor new words or sometimes learn to pronounce words I already know because I never thought about it before when just reading them.

The other day I discovered by accident that the English ebooks I read on Overdrive (other apps probably have the same) have the feature of looking up definitions by marking a word which is for example interesting for slang words.
I can also get lost in etymological explanations in dictionaries. Oh, those rabbit holes everywhere!

I want to apologize in advance as I'm afraid this is going to start a new category on my blog and I'll be back with new words every, now and then. German or English.
(Maybe you should blame Marsha for giving me the idea in the first place 🤪)

Silent movies - The Man Who Laughs

Today I have brought you another film made by German expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni (the last one was "Waxworks") - "The Man Who Laughs" from 1928 based on Victor Hugo's novel with the same title (L'homme qui rit).

Theatrical poster,
public domain via
Wikimedia Commons

The story starts gruesome, just to prepare you, but actually this is not really a horror movie even if this is a publicity still. You'll see why.

Does he remind you of someone?

Here's the plot with spoilers, sorry, it's quite complicated, the movie is almost two hours long.

England, 17th century.
Before Lord Clancharlie, an exiled nobleman, is executed by command of King James II., he and his court jester Barkilphedro inform him that his little son he had come back for has been disfigured by the Comprachico surgeon Hardquannon who carved a grin on his face. (Comprachicos, a term coined by Hugo, probably supposed to be Romani, were said (the emphasis is on "said", we still know today how such rumors get spread) to cripple and disfigure children to make them work as performers in freak shows, at fairs or even at courts, and yes, if you were reminded of The Joker from the DC comics, this movie was the inspiration for him.) His estate goes to Duchess Josiana.
When the King later bans the Comprachicos, they leave the boy Gwynplaine behind. Fighting his way through a snowstorm, he comes upon a dead mother holding her baby and rescues the girl. Ursus, a philosopher and showman, who lives with his pet wolf Homo, takes them both in and notices that the baby is blind. He calls her Dea.

Years later, they travel together and Gwynplaine, called "The Laughing Man" and Dea perform in plays written by Ursus. Gwynplaine is in love with Dea, but feels unworthy of her love. Most of the time he's hiding his mouth under a scarf, his coat or his hand, even around her.

 
Hardquanonne has come back to England and recognizes Gwynplaine at the fair. He sends a letter to Josiana to tell her he has seen the rightful heir of her estate and writes that he wants to be paid for his silence. Barkilphedro, who is now an agent at the court, gets the letter into his hands and forwards it to Queen Anne who doesn't like Josiana's respectless behavior towards her.

Meanwhile, Josiana has seen Gwynplaine at the fair and invites him to her place with the intention of seducing him despite being engaged. Gwynplaine goes there only to see if a a seeing woman could actually be attracted by him which would mean he could also be deserving of Dea's love.
Josiana's flirting is interrupted when she receives a decree from the Queen telling her that Gwynplaine is the rightful Lord Clancharlie and that she is to marry him for the estate. She starts laughing hysterically and Gwynplaine, thinking she's laughing at him, runs away, deeply hurt.

When he comes back to Dea, he has her feel his smile for the very first time. She accepts him as he is and he's finally happy.
Just then he's arrested and taken to prison. Ursus follows the guards and when a coffin is brought out - it's Hardquanonne's who had also been arrested - he thinks Gwynplaine is dead.
Barkilphedro confirms this when he lets Ursus know that he and his troop are banned from the country.
In reality, Gwynplaine is freed and taken to the House of the Lords to become a peer. The Lords are outraged over the clown they think is laughing at the Queen and them. After they see his face, they all laugh at him, though, and he refuses to marry Josiana and escapes.
When he hears that Ursus and Dea have been banned, he follows them to the docks, chased by Barkilphedro's men, but with the help of the villagers he manages to reach the docks which the ship has already left. Homo, however, hears his cries to Dea, jumps off the ship and mauls Barkilphedro just when he has tried to attack Gwynplaine. 
Gwynplaine and Homo swim to the ship and are pulled aboard. Happily reunited with Ursus and Dea, they sail away.

First of all, I didn't read the book and I won't. It has no happy ending and I was so glad the movie had one because I really felt with Gwynplaine.

I mentioned Conrad Veidt before, he was the somnambulist Cesare in "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and Ivan the Terrible in "Waxworks", and also Lord Clancharlie in this movie, by the way.
To achieve the grin, Veidt had to wear prothestics with the corners of his mouth pulled back by hooks to expose the oversized teeth. It must have been extremely uncomfortable and prevented him from speaking. He had to express his emotions with the rest of his face as he couldn't move his mouth, and oh boy, did he deliver.
I had already mentioned Veidt's look in the "Waxworks" post, he had amazing eyes and they worked on me here as well. You could really feel the pain Gwynplaine was going through.
Originally, the role had been intended for Lon Chaney after his movies "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "The Phantom of the Opera", but he had left the studio, so it went to Veidt instead.

Other than Chaney's films, "The Man Who Laughs" was a box office failure. Critics thought it was too gruesome and the audience followed. Take away the grin, however, and the movie really isn't horror, it is "a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film" as Roger Ebert puts it so aptly.
To me, it was about a man yearning for love and acceptance despite his looks.

Mary Philbin as Dea didn't really impress me that much, but of course her role was limited. It was the first time I've seen her, though.
The other woman, however - Duchess Josiana - honestly, she totally creeped me out from the start and I couldn't even tell you why exactly. It was not the seducing vamp role, it wasn't even the perverse way in which she seems to make Gwynplaine's grin a fetish which obviously scares and hurts him. Something just felt off to me.

The scheming Barkilphedro also creeped me out, but differently. He makes a very good and utterly despicable villain and I might have cried "Yes!" when Homo mauled him at the end.

To me, Homo was clearly the hero of the movie, anyway.
I even paused the movie to check "Does the dog die?" because I didn't put it past Barkilphedro to pull something bad. It was really quite satisfying that it ended the other way round.

Ursus tends to exaggerate the wide-eye look
throughout the movie, he's very dramatic.

The only complaint I have about the movie which I enjoyed much more than I had expected - I really didn't know it wasn't horror which is not my most favorite genre - is that it could have been a bit shorter without losing anything.
Oh, okay, and Gwynplaine's hairstyle was very weird at the back which kept distracting me a tad in some scenes.
Definitely a recommendation from me.


Selected sources:

1. Roger Ebert: The Man Who Laughs. On: RogerEbert.com, January 18, 2004
2. Matthew Beck: The Man Who Laughs (1928). On: The Movie Screen Scene, May 1, 2020

Nostalgia - How toys become real

A few weeks ago, I read "The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real" for the first time. The book isn't a children's classic here in Germany, but I had seen it mentioned every, now and then and figured it was about time to read it.
If you don't know it, here's the plot.

Not a velveteen, but an artificial silk plush Steiff
bunny from the 1940s (not complete, but in
wonderful condition)

There are different kinds of collectors.
Collecting can be about diversity of items, a shared detail, about the monetary value or the emotional one, about the perfect or the imperfect look, about color, about use, about rarity, about history, about sentimentality ... I could keep going on like this.

As a collector of Steiff animals, I can say that a unplayed with vintage Steiff, possibly even complete with button, chest and ear tag which get ripped off easily by children's hands (no safety buttons back then), has something very special. It never fails to make me wonder how that is even possible. Has it spent the last 50, 70, 100 years or more in a cabinet, never touched? Has it been living in a bubble (I use the word "living" on purpose, you'll see why)?
I would lie if I said I don't know how breathtaking an old "new" Steiff can be. There are collectors who only look for those, and they are ready to pay the price for the (often) few chosen ones.

And then there are the others.
I'll never forget the fleamarket where I found this little fellow. I ran to drag the ex over to the stand to let him know I had fallen in love.

Now you might not understand how someone can fall in love with the obvious victim of a moth attack that has swingy limbs.
You might even think that this is a bit yucky or disturbing.
I, however, saw an 80 year old friend (over 100 now).

A child loved him so much that he stayed around although he had lost most of his fur, loved him so much that someone made the effort to give this little fellow new paw pads from white leather (now worn as well), sewn on very neatly and secure.
I remember how on edge I was as a kid when my own teddy had holes in his felt paw pads and I watched my mother sew on new fabric ones.

The child is probably not here anymore, but he is, and oh, the stories he could tell! Maybe he was like my teddy and saw his child grow up and get old before ending up at a fleamarket in Marin County just to be found by a pair of Germans and being taken back to within 60 kms from where he once came.

The velveteen rabbit is told: "Real isn't how you are made ... It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." ...
"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
Spoiler alert: The nursery magic Fairy turns him Real, a real little rabbit.

I have no doubt that this teddy became Real to his child like the velveteen rabbit to his boy because he was loved (even though he still has his shoe button eyes). Maybe he's still waiting for his fairy and I'll happily give him the spot with some other teddy friends to do so.

Because that's the kind of collectors we were and there are others like us. They don't just love the perfect ones, they love the loved ones, the played with, the "flawed" ones those we wish could tell us their stories, all of them, not just the good ones ...
Just saying.
Each of them has their own beauty.

Random Saturday - Water

"Can you please just try our mineral water for once?" "Why can't I just get tap water?" "We don't really do that in restaurants here. They usually make their money with the beverages and that means they are not prepared for people asking for free tap water. I'll be honest, I'm a bit embarrassed about asking. They have still mineral water. Couldn't you try that?" "I would rather have tap water."
It was a regular discussion with my friend from the USA when she came here to Germany for the first time many years ago. Why wouldn't she try something new?
We got strange looks, but not always tap water.

Picture from pxhere

The way I was surprised when I first visited the USA in the early 90s for being offered iced water with every meal, my friend just couldn't grasp that tap water in restaurants wasn't something we had - and still don't really have.
In fact, not many people here drank tap water at all back then. We had seen American fridges with water and ice dispensers, but for us that was something very exotic, you couldn't get those easily here at the time. The first time I stayed in my US friend's house, I played with that water dispenser like a little child.

Esme and I loved ice cubes (I still do), she from outside of
the glass, me from inside the glass

That's what I meant by "outside of the glass",
 she liked licking off the condensation 

 
Germans have always loved their water, but that meant mineral water. We have a lot of mineral waters, German and imported ones, most of them in plastic bottles, but also still some in glass bottles (which I prefer), carbonated - medium is the most popular one before the "classic" - or still which comes in third place in Germany (unlike other countries).

No machine-readable author provided.
Rainer Zenz assumed
 (based on copyright claims),
 CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This is the "bead bottle", by the way, designed by Günter Kupetz and produced since 1969 - 5 billion times! This is just a nickname, the official name is really very German, "Normbrunnenflasche" or "Brunneneinheitsflasche" (which could both be translated as "standard fountain bottle").
As a beader, I can't help but love the nickname which is inspired by the 230 glass "beads" which not only mimic the bubbles in the water, but also helps with a safer grip in combination with the narrower part in the center. It works. I like my water cold and I hate smooth bottles with aquaplaning thanks to condensation.
The bottle has won design awards and is so popular that it has even been reproduced in plastic as well.

Actually, my own town has several free filling stations for our local so-called "sour water" which has been a big part of our history, and until a few years ago you could buy it bottled as carbonated water before the plant shut down.
Two of those are next to our local pool and for us kids it was completely normal to go out there when we were at the pool and have a quick drink because we couldn't afford to buy anything. Over the years, some of those stations were closed down temporarily and opened up again, I admit I have no idea what the current situation is.
One of those is the "Brunnenhäusle" (literally "small fountain house") in my neighborhood. It has faucets on each corner and the house itself is a little kiosk where you can get ice cream and beverages, and it's really nice to sit out there.

Many families saved money by filling up their bottles at those stations. Of course the sour water wasn't de-ironed which meant the bottles which kept being reused started looking brownish inside after some time, no matter how much you tried to keep them clean, and it wasn't carbonated which meant if it wasn't cold, it tasted quite flat. Back then, still waters were not popular.
The first documented mention of the bathhouse is from 1404. In the mid-16th century, Christoph, Duke of Württemberg, often visited here because of the water. Other important people followed, but after The Thirty Years' War, interest decreased. In 1839, two physicians bought the bathhouse and surrounding area and opened a hospital there which still exists today.

I have to admit, however, that the carbonated version of our own mineral water was a tad too salty for my taste.
Taste in water is really important for us. We Germans can't just drink any water and like it - unless we are very thirsty and even then chances are we are going to complain.
Water can taste different depending on the minerals, calcium, sodium, sulfate, magnesium, etc.
Water can also change taste. It is possible you have been used to a mineral water and suddenly you don't like it anymore.
It happened to me with my last one (on top of that, they also changed from the "bead bottle" to a smooth bottle!), and since I can't get the one I like delivered, I switched to tap water. That wasn't an easy decision for me. The tap water in my region is rather hard and I had to get used to it first. Some people use filters, I also did that for a while, but then found it didn't make a difference for me, but was a hassle and money I didn't need to spend.
A lot of people here drink tap water now. Not only is it often said that it's our best controlled product, it's also cheaper than bottled water and it's readily available without having to go to the store. For those who can't stand still water - once upon a time I was one of those as well - there are "water bubblers" you can use to make your own sparkling water, as bubbly as you like it.
My town and others have projects to promote tap water, for example by opening filling stations in the city or getting shops on board to offer free fillings.

So yeah, that means you can get tap water in German restaurants now, right?
Yes and no.
According to the EU Drinking Water Directive, it's recommended to improve access by "actions aimed at promoting the use of tap water, for example by encouraging the free provision of water intended for human consumption in public administrations and public buildings or, for free or for a low service fee, for customers in restaurant, canteens and catering services".
That means you can ask, but it's possible you won't get any at all or it may cost you - and the owner decides how much.
According to a survey in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, Germans still don't like to ask for tap water in restaurants.
I guess the reasons are that people want to treat themselves when going out, they think prices are too high for tap water - we all heard one or the other story - or they are simply not used to even think of asking.

By the way, water in restaurants ... did you know there are water sommeliers, about 500 in the world? They often work in the hotel and catering industry and recommend the right water with certain food or offer water tastings.
There are few schools where you can study to be one.

Tired of water yet? 🙃 No worries, I'll let you go now. Thank you if you made it to here!


Sources:

1. Sabine Riker: Das Wasser, das Göppingen berühmt machte. In: Stuttgarter Zeitung, August 15, 2019 (in German)
2. Olivia Logan: How many people dare to order tap water in Germany? On: I Am Expat, June 13, 2025
3. David Hahn: Darf Leitungswasser etwas kosten? On: Südwest Presse, December 6, 2024 (in German)
4. Directive (EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption