Movie Sighting: Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a romantic comedy featuring oodles of headlining stars all vying for the limelight in a 125 minute span. The various subplots highlight love in its many stages and permutations: the innocent crush, platonic love transformed into romantic love, parental love, love sustained and nurtured through a long relationship, etc. The stories are all intertwined and virtually all of the characters are suitably paired by the end of the film (though not always with the same partners as in the beginning). Except for one major character deserving of scorn for cheating on his wife and lying to his girlfriend, there seemed to be a "happily ever after" for all of the characters by the film's conclusion— with one notable exception*.

One teenaged couple, played by Emma Roberts (Grace) and Carter Jenkins (Alex), are on a mission to consummate their relationship during a school lunch break. They plan to meet at Grace's home while her parents are at work. When Alex walks in the door, he's greeted by the lovable family Boston Terrier named Pushkin. He brushes her aside and dashes up the stairs to Grace's room where he scatters long-stemmed roses on the floor and gets in a compromising position on the bed, using his guitar as the proverbial fig leaf. Grace's mom arrives home, discovers Alex naked in her daughter's bedroom, high jinx ensue. Pushkin and Alex engage in a brief tug of war with his boxer shorts before he runs out of the house in shame.

Everything works out well for Grace and Alex of course, but what about poor, neglected Pushkin? All she wanted was some attention and affection. On Valentine's Day of all days, was she not entitled to some puppy love too? A treat, a walk in the park, a few throws of the ball: are these things too much to ask for your dedicated canine companion? Oh, Hollywood and your anthropocentric plot lines...

Pushkin says, "I made you a Valentine. I left it in your favorite pair of shoes."

* One notable exception that I can recall anyways. The movie didn't really keep my interest so it's possible that I've forgotten some minor resolution in the plot.

Commercial Sighting: Riley & the Doritos

This adorable video was recommended to me by the wonderful programming over at YouTube:

It was actually a submission for a contest to represent Doritos during the commercial breaks of a certain high-profile football game.

Update 2014: Sadly this awesome video of Riley was set to private status and is no longer accessible :( Fear not though, for I have located two other wonderful Boston Terrier/Doritos commercials for your viewing pleasure!

At least Riley the wonder dog is back for a second video.

Ever wonder what your dog would look like as a human? Well don't, it's just creepy.

Etsy sighting: Pet Potraits by JBarnum

A lot of great artists offer custom pet portraits via their Etsy shops, but when I saw this particular example in a listing today, I knew it was special. I'm sure she could do a lovely rendition of the BT in your life.

Book Sighting: Photobooth Dogs

This find was idly discovered while skimming through the shelves at a local bookstore. Photobooth Dogs is a collection of images of canines and their people spanning the nearly 80 years since the introduction of the photobooth. Despite the sepia tone, and dated clothing and hairstyles, the images still seem so contemporary that it can be hard to believe they are vintage or antique. I think the immediacy of the photobooth lends a very open quality that is often more difficult to come by in the formal, arranged photos we may be used to seeing from those same eras. The images are very warm and relatable.

It's a little small to be considered a traditional coffee-table book, but the minimalistic design which allows the individual photos (or a series of small photos in their original strip format) to really shine is well suited to casual browsing.

While there are many types of dogs represented in its pages, Boston Terriers do have a fair share of the interior content and one cute Mugsy dog is featured on the cover:

I feel this book would make a lovely gift for a sentimental dog-lover and/or someone who appreciates vintage photography.

Etsy Sighting: Multiple Personality

Sara Harvey works in various media and styles. She paints, makes adorable plushies, designs, illustrates, and even hunts zombies on the side. I'm venturing to guess that this is why she has chosen to title her Etsy shop Multiple Personality. I'm featuring her work because BTs frequently wander their way into her both flat and slightly squishy pieces.

Best Friends

BT Pillow Plush

(She does not currently have any of these BT Plushies in stock, but you could inquire via Etsy convo to see if she will have more available.)

Book Sighting: Photojojo!

Boston Terriers seem to be popular with the crafty crowd. I'm not alone in this observation. My second book feature is thus appropriately another craft book.

Photojojo! published by Potter Craft includes projects and ideas to both enliven your photos and the ways in which you display and share them. Learn how to make household objects into unique photo stands and how to transfer photos onto such things as cupcakes, walls, and even your own skin (temporarily). One of the methods suggested to get some interesting perspectives is the doggie cam which involves attaching a camera to your canine friend. In this case, that camera is manned (dogged?) by none other than a Mugsy dog:

This particular BT also makes appearances throughout the book, for example in this awesome little accordion album, so keep your eyes peeled!

Commercial Sighting: Ikea

This BT gets caught in a quick-changing matrix of entertainment center options. He's just sitting there, looking cute and minding his own business, when all of a sudden he falls through a trap door and disappears into particle-board and allen-wrench-assembly oblivion. Don't worry though, the apparent wormhole in the time-space continuum lands him back safely into the arms of his pet parent, but apparently not without consequences. What horrors did he experience in Småland? What seemed like mere seconds to us may have been eons to that traumatized dog. You'll note that as soon as the woman holding him sits down he makes a beeline out of the room.

Movie Sighting: Tron Legacy

I was dragged along to see the new Tron movie by my boyfriend. Since I'm the one with the Netflix account and I often get unusual foreign and/or period drama pieces, I suppose it was my turn to sit through a movie I really had no interest in seeing. Actually, it was better than I thought it would be (the soundtrack by Daft Punk was really energizing), but what really was a pleasant surprise was Marv, the main character's Boston Terrier rescue. He only makes short appearances in the beginning of the film which is a shame because it would be interesting to see what kind of illuminated doggy outfit they could have made for his persona on the Grid.

Although I have not seen the original Tron film, I've been told I'm not missing much. Tron Legacy stands well on its own, but I wonder if the original film might have also been made better with the inclusion of a Mugsy dog.

A Monarch of Mugsy Dog Art?

If I were to bestow the title of "King of BT Art" to anyone, I believe Brian Rubenacker would be the most qualified to receive it. Although his work does feature other breeds, the Boston Terrier is clearly near and dear to his heart as they grace so much of his oeuvre. My personal favorites are the technicolor versions:

His "pop precocious" artwork also features the intersection of various styles and interests, so if you need to purchase a gift for the BT-owning cigar-afficianado, golfer, yogini, or vintage monster film enthusiast who has everything, it's worth checking his shop to see what he has to offer.

If you happen to know someone who is fanatical about both Star Wars and his/her Boston Terrier fur child, you are in luck. For the person who has ever found himself wishing he had a print of a light sabre-wielding, Force-using Mugsy dog to hang over his couch — be troubled no longer!

Book Cover Sighting: Paper + Craft

While at the art supply store the other day, I noticed a book with a Mugsy dog bedecked with a handmade party hat on its cover. The book is Paper + Craft published by Chronicle Books. It features a number of sweet, whimsical projects to make out of paper. If you're at all familiar with Etsy, you'll notice many themes common to the more promoted shops from that site included in this book, for example the ever-present mustache and bunting. There are some great ideas here for party decor and ways to spruce up your gift packages too. The Boston Terrier on the cover does make at least one more appearance in the book, so while browsing through at your local bookstore, be sure to keep an eye our for him!

Introduction & Welcome

Ever since Mugsy (see sidebar) joined our family, I started to notice Boston Terriers emerging from the woodwork; they appear in commercials, magazine ads, books, artwork, craft, movies, etc. They seem to be everywhere. I'm not entirely sure if they've just generally increased in popularity since the time period when we adopted him, or if as a result of having him I just began to really take note of their appearance. It always makes me smile to see them and brings back fond memories of our first Boston Terrier. As a result of his influence and the affection I still hold for him, I tend to refer to dogs of his breed as "Mugsy dogs," hence the title of this blog. While Mugsy has passed on, his mantle of canine silliness has been bequeathed to our two younger Boston Terriers, Kali and Tigger.

This blog is a place for me to highlight all of my sightings of various Mugsy dogs in popular culture, media of all kinds, art, and craft. If you happen to also love this wonderful breed, I hope you'll drop by from time to time to see what new Mugsy dog sightings I've documented, and if you have sighted some Mugsy dogs yourself please feel free to comment and let me know about them.