Doubting Thomasina

Do cats believe in God?

I can hear the jokes now—the Great Litter Box in the Sky…the dog’s the devil (spewing high fructose corn syrup everywhere, no less!)...but I know I’m not the only one to ponder this question.

Bing, per the animal communicator, practices feng shui in the apartment, so at the very least he’s an animist. I’m sorry for him that he has to negotiate with the couch, though—totally low on the energy scale. But, to be fair, very accommodating…

We do know that the main character in Paul Gallico’s novel, Thomasina, did have a belief system—in fact, she thought she WAS God. In the movie version, The Three Lives of Thomasina, the viewer gets to ride shot-gun on her cosmological journey:



Technically, she believes in a Goddess—specifically Bast, known to have been worshipped in ancient Egypt, where cats wore bling and ate whatever they wanted off their family’s plates at dinner.



(OMG, you guys! I think that must have been a divine message from another world. Something compelled me to do an image search of Flavor Flav + cat. Why would I be randomly thinking of Flavor Flav on a Saturday morning, even though Flavor of Love is my hands-down, all-time favorite reality show? I always knew he was inherently a good person, not automatically eliminating Somethin that time she, um, eliminated something (Season 2, “Something Stinkin’ in the House of Flav).

Back to Thomasina, “flying wildly” through space, “diving and spinning” in the mists of time. Or is it “midst” of time? I like the latter—if anyone can navigate through the middle of something that has no beginning or end, cats can!

And you can only imagine how I feel about the cats chosen to protect the temple! They do sound like goats, don’t they? But I like goats, so it’s all good.

Music to travel through the midst of time by
Season Cycle, XTC
It’s growing gre-ee-een! ‘Nuff said.
Feel Flows, The Beach Boys
You go, Carl!

And the Oscar Goes to…

My vote for Best Actress? No one else but Thomasina for her balls-out, over-the-top performance in The Three Lives of Thomasina. Granted, the film is from 1964—and judge for yourself, but I’m getting a major tomcat vibe from the classic red tabby who plays Thomasina—but wouldn’t it be great if cats could be nominated for Academy Awards?

I was planning on reviewing this Disney gem here, but I think I may have accidentally thrown out the VHS so I’ll have to wait until I get the DVD. But you can watch the opening scene and see watchya think:

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Fun, right? The film is set in Glasgow, based on Paul Gallico’s book "Thomasina, The Cat Who Thought She Was God." And if you think that’s juicy, you’ll love the spaced-out scene in which Thomasina visits Cat Heaven (which looks uncannily like the cover of a Yes album…surprising, you wouldn’t think cats would go for prog rock). Leonard Maltin gave this scene a thumbs-up, too, calling it a “wondrous piece of movie magic.”

Stay tuned for my analysis of this important look at one cat’s cosmological journey, and in the meantime, stay for the tunes…

Music to work the red carpet by (that is, if you were Thomasina, if it were 1964, and if cats were recognized by the Academy)
Donovan, There Is a Mountain
For the Scottish connection, of course. And because I attended Donovan’s workshop on storytelling and mythology at the NYC Open Center, where he suggested that I write animal-themed country songs. Just the lyrics, I mean.)

Teenage Fanclub, Sparky’s Dream
More Glaswegian-borne magic.

P.S. I can’t lie, I’ve seen not a one of the 2010 nominees. I DO love movies, but I’m a little behind everyone else. My most recent favorite is Requiem for a Dream , on which I’m still ruminating.