Mural-tastic

Mama always tells me that I'm a piece of work. I choose to believe that this means art work. So I have a habit of standing next to artworks around town. Philadelphia is great for this, as there are murals everywhere.

I kind of fit right into the painting, don't I? And of course, take advantage of the "tree" as any good dog would do.

We did seem to be on a tree theme this evening.

As you can see, it was getting dark. I'm not feeling the darkess during my evening walkie, it's really supposed to be sunny at this time. But the darkness does occasionally yield very interesting things, case in point:

This is a very cool artwork outside of Jefferson medical school. Unassuming by day, at night when it is lit from inside it casts a wonderful light projection on the buildings and sidewalk surrounding it.

Lots of different languages, but I was searching for the one that could be understood by all dogs: a good place to pee. I did not find it at the base of this fine artwork, but did notice a particularly good spot only a few feet away in some grass. All good!

Love,

Bogart

I, Copilot

Me want.

A super-cool Vespa scooter with a bullet-shaped sidecar. OH YES.

I would look AMAZING riding in this. Oh, and mama would look cool too.

Maybe add a snazzy scarf and my Doggles - can we get one mama, PLEEZE???

Love,

Bogart

Airedale Art Critic

So... we are supposed to head over to the waterfront to see some new interactive art-thingy. Apparently mama is still a bit confused, because we crossed over to the other side of the bridge from where it was happening. See those floaty things? I sure do.

They have caught my attention and mesmerized me even from this far away.

Come on, I wanna see the art!

Light Drift is an interactive riverfront lighting experience presented by the Mural Arts Program as part of DesignPhiladelphia here in Philly. Right now it looks like alien pods landing in extremely tight formation on the Delaware.

I am confused.

And kind of excited.

The signage tells us that yes, we are in the right place and these are the soon-to-be-glowing orbs we are looking for.

Soon we began to quickly lose light, and...

Those suckers started to glow! I went in for a closer look and full inspection of these funny pods.

I even tried to hop in to see if I could get to the bottom of what was making them glow and change color. No dice.

But as it got darker they glowed even more and it was really lovely. Some ambient, atmospheric music played over loudspeakers and I was moved.

Aliens... or art? I vote for art (with some cool alien touches). Unless the aliens are just really, really cool.

I tell ya Philadelphia, we are liking you more and more.

Love,

Bogart

Master of the Flexi

Take note, cats in the window, THIS is how us dogs take charge.

Just grab the Flexi while mama isn't looking and RUN.

It will still be attached to you, of course, we wouldn't want to do anything stupid...

Does your mama try to take back the Flexi? There is no reason to stand for that (well, you may have to stand up as I do to grab it).

Your mighty jaws should take care of getting that Flexi back into it's rightful hands (uh, jaws).

Slobber is your friend in this battle. It will make the Flexi more slippery to those non-fuzzy paws the humans have, and apparently they don't like to grab a handful of it. Use this knowledge wisely.

And as always, busting out a huge smile can get you pretty much anything you want. See?

Thank you, mama.

Oh, I shall humor you for a little while, allow you to hold the dog-spit-covered Flexi. At least while we're in the park, then it's mine again ok?

Love,

Bogart

Outfest

Woo-hoo! Outfest! And it's happening on our block just outside of our apartment!

Your intrepid reporter Bogart Handsome Devil here, reporting from Outfest. Today I have seen assless chaps (oh so many assless chaps), feather boas, and lots of (according to mama) extremely attractive men. Most of whom thought I was adorable. GO OUTFEST!

We walked around as much as we could, it got pretty crowded for a dog, and did I mention that there were lots of assless chaps? Remember folks, I am at assless-chap-level. The more you know...

After we wandered away from Outfest, I found this neato cat. Not a real one, to my chagrin, but one that apparently helps out when your shoes are dirty. Awfully - unusually - helpful for a cat, I believe. I don't think that any of my cats would do such a thing. Ever.

Mmm... fall is here, and the good people of Philadelphia have been putting lots of great-smelling things outside of their buildings.

And some really scary things, but lets not focus on that, shall we?

Yummo and scary.

I know which one I choose.

And of course, mama chooses this one (she's so weird).

But we can both agree on this cool cat. Looking good!

Love,

Bogart

The Dale That Never Sleeps

Today seemed like it was going to be a normal day - walkie, sleep, walkie, eat, poop, sleep. The usual. But when mama got home there was a big surprise in store for me... my newest friend Aunt Barb showed up with her car and we were off for an adventure!

Off the highway we made a pit stop and I saw this sign. I read it and thought that it was sad. Then I re-read it and had questions. Number one - exactly how does a toll collector get killed in the line of duty (I can imagine some awful scenarios, but stay with me here)? I was imagining things like rogue change, large objects thrown from passing non-paying scofflaws, or wide loads. And then the dates struck me - he was killed in the line of duty 3 years before the bridge opened to traffic - as a toll collector. Was he practicing? (Again, I'm sure this was a terrible tragedy, but the mind does wander).

Enquiring Dale minds need to know.

But then it was on to more pressing matters - I had to poop. Looking around everything was green and lush. Just the kind of places I enjoy a good poop. But what - what's that in the center of this photo?

Ahem. Two deer. Staring at me. Right next to the highway. I felt it was my duty to protect them from the passing cars (and the depths of the McDonalds dumpster) so after a moment of true "what the hell is that" I chased them back away from the highway. While they didn't look terribly appreciative, I'm sure that they meant to give me a hearty "thanks pal!" as they turned tail and sped off.

Holy guacamole - or pumpkinmole - we're in New York City! And we have a few hours to walk around, just me and mama. She's going to show me all of her old haunts. But first I am fascinated by this giant pumpkin.

Can we take it home mama, can we, can we, can we?

We were rapidly losing light which our camera hates. So sad for no usable photos. But we did walk all the way down to Washington Square Park, stopped for some tasty duck jerky (well I thought it was tasty anyway) and watched some musicians and street performers. Then it was on to a little swing into the East Village.

The coolest surprise of all was then getting to see my pal Oliver - he of recent Bogart Roadtrip Across America fame. We spent the evening having dinner outside (thanks for the pizza crusts my friend - I owe ya for that), talking, and laughing. Come and see me (uh, I mean us) down in Philly sometime!

And I will drag mama back to NYC soon - AMAZING smells here...

Love,

Bogart

A Merciful Man is Merciful to His Beast

Ahem.

Yes I am feeling merciful, and yes I am generally quite merciful to my very own beast. That would be mama. I am the only one with nuts in this household (she is nuts and I have nuts - we're quite a team).

A bit of majestic posing... get your thumbs out of the picture mama!

Here I am, thinking of ways to be merciful to my beast on this cold and rainy day. Hm. Maybe we'll only do an hour-and-a-half walk in the rain as she does look a bit bedraggled.

I don't want to be too merciful to you mama - you'll get all soft and squishy. I've gotta keep you in shape. For more walkies, of course. Yet I am merciful in my own way... my own incredibly cute way.

Love,

Bogart