I promise this is not turning into a Corgi blog. These are just very popular dogs in Taiwan. And yes, I’m still in Taiwan.
Anyway, here’s a quick hit-and-run update to sing the praises of Pillow Cafe, currently one of my top five favorite Taipei cafes (a list which gets rearranged every week, it seems). They are named thus for the super cozy cushioned seats and back pillows comfortably spread about the cafe (very conducive to glueing your ass in one place for hours on end and getting stuff done)…
… and, perhaps, also for the beautiful, thick pillow of foam atop their lattes.
I find the coffee tastes above average, and it is reasonably priced (for Taipei) at 130NT. I got mine with an extra shot for 150NT (about $5USD). They also have a range of teas, light sandwich sets, freshly made desserts, waffles and some other sweets.
But the sweetest thing, of course, is their CAFE CORGI.
Siapa 夏啪 is this lowrider’s name. I don’t know if Siapa is male or female. That’s the problem with these furry unseen undercarriages. And ungendered spoken languages.
S/he is prone to allergies and muzzle-scratching sometimes, so on goes the cone…
When the cone is not being worn, it’s used to accentuate the furnishings.
Pillow Cafe is conveniently nestled in an area of good eats, so if quick-heat snacks are not your thing, you can time your meals for before or after your stay. Mostly, though, I think you’ll want to stay, because this place is lovely.
Pillow Cafe
Rui’an St. No. 133 瑞安街133號 [map]
Daan District, Taipei City 台北市大安區
Nearest MRT: Technology Building Station 科技大樓
Nearest bus stop: National Taipei University of Education Experimental Elementary School 國北教大實小
Hours: 12pm ~ 10pm, closed on Tuesdays
Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Many, including bar seats and against the wall
Atmosphere: Comfortable seating, warm lighting, mostly inoffensive blend of 80s and 90s pop with the occasional intrusion of a radio hit that surprisingly still grates on your nerves nearly 20 years later…
Tucked away in a quiet alley behind the Brother Hotel 兄弟飯店, off Nanjing East Road 南京東路, you’ll find this hideaway coffeeshop:
The two head silhouettes on their sign are somewhat mysterious. It’s actually the cafe proprietress and her dog, Jeeter 基特 the Corgi.
Jeeter is very welcoming and happy to greet visitors. She’s friendly, but also just fine staying out of your way — after you acknowledge her presence upon entrance!
Traffic here is relatively slow, based on what I saw on a weeknight. Still, as a small capacity cafe, all the tables were occupied, so I got a tall bar seat at the outwards-facing window. Not a bad option for people-watching.
My caramel latte with an extra shot was 130NT (a bit over $4), which I’m now learning is on the lower end of the price scale as far as Taipei lattes go. It was pretty average in taste. The complimentary cookie was a nice gesture.
At the tall bar seat, I didn’t get to interact with the lowrider Corgi very much, but I was there to get some work done, anyway. It was just the right, mellow setting for the tasks I had at hand.
Atlantis Coffee 亞特蘭堤斯咖啡館
Qingcheng Road Lane 16 No. 16 台北市慶城街16巷16號 [map]
Songshan District, Taipei City 松山區台北市
Nearest MRT: Nanjing East Road 南京東路
Nearest bus stop: Nanjing-Fuxing Intersection 南京復興路口
Hours: ? ~ 10PM on weekdays, ? ~ 8PM on Sunday
Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Some, against the wall
Atmosphere: Quiet, friendly, music a rotation of muzakky light jazz and then later, twee female vocals
It is far too hot still to schlep my fancy camera around, so I must content myself with cell phone, Instagrammed shots of local dogs.
There are a couple brindle tugou accompanied by old men who are fixtures on this strip of Zhonghua Rd. in Ximending, including a store dog at one of my favorite record stores. I never noticed that this one was quite so, well, swollen. The weather hasn’t been very conducive to exercise.
Three-month-old tugou puppy faces off with a Mini Schnauzer, a popular breed in Taiwan.
Another popular breed, the Night Owl — I mean, the Corgi, sighted at Cafe Junkies.
And another popular breed, the Beagle. Asians love their Snoopy dog. Maybe not this particular one though. The sign behind her warns, “[This] Dog will bite.”
Temples are generally good places for strays to hang out. Nobody wants to provoke the ire of the gods by abusing innocent creatures in their midst. They’re also highly trafficked, dense sites where scavenging yields rich rewards — especially when temple monks supplement the fare with regular handouts.
The yellow dog on the left was accompanied by the Pointer-esque mix on the right. They were hanging out at the large public square by Longshan Temple, as natural a part of the scene as the throngs of chainsmoking old men. They left as a unit and wound down a side alley, tempting me to follow… Maybe next time.
The two black tugou lingered and hung out like matched companions as well, though only one was collared. The uncollared bitch had a few bald patches on her elbows and her chest, but had a decent amount of weight on her body. No skinny dogs around here…
In honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 60 years as England’s Monarch, The House of Two Bows is pleased to present a guest post by Jen of Volunteers 4 Paws. Enjoy!
Film:The Queen Director: Stephen Frears Performers: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell Breeds Featured: Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Labrador Retriever Production Information: Miramax/Pathe/Granada, 2006 (UK)
The epigraph reads, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” a quote from Henry IV, Part II.
Stephen Frears’ The Queen concentrates on one small part of the Queen of England’s now 60 year reign (Diamond Jubilee!) — the days following the death of Princess Diana in 1997. Helen Mirren brilliantly portrays the stoic Queen Elizabeth II. The ever dignified James Cromwell does an uncanny Prince Phillip and Michael Sheen plays a convincing Tony Blair.
The Queen sticks to tradition, preferring to view Diana’s death as a personal family tragedy. Her instinct to protect her grandsons (Princes William and Harry) takes massive precedence over helping Britain, and the rest of the world, cope with Diana’s death.
Frears beautifully directs a hidden story line with the Queen and a stag. She encounters a beautiful, highly sought after stag when her car gets stuck in a creek. She begs the Stag to leave, shooing it as she can hear stalkers (hunters) in the distance.
A poignant scene follows later in the film. The Queen has found out that stalkers have killed the impressive stag and she takes it very much to heart. Still, the Queen does not let one of subjects see her emotion, turning away to shed a tear for the fallen prized stag.
This is a film that begs to be interpreted by its viewer. Though everyone speaks and the events are clear – there is a lingering question — can we ever really know a person? The Queen is shown at the end of the each day struggling to make sense of it all. Is she just like us? She has a family, she faces hardships, she has feelings and above all she is a fallible human.
One thing that makes her quite human is her attachment to her dogs.
The Queen’s most well known dogs are, of course, her Pembroke Welsh Corgis. She has kept Corgis for 60 years.
The film shows the Queen doing quite normal things like camping and bringing her dogs along.
She speaks to them, walks them frequently and includes them in her matters of State.
The Queen meets with Prime Minister Tony Blair
Where she goes, they go.
The film also shows the Queen with three black Labrador retrievers, although much isn’t said about their significance or level of favoritism the Queen pays them. In one scene, she loads them into her old and rickety Land Rover, asking them if they are ready for “walkies.”
Real attention is paid to the involvement of the dogs in the Queen’s every day life, whereas in other films the dogs play a minor role, a comedic role, or some other negligible function. Though these Corgis and Labs weren’t on Frears’ billing, they seem to play quite a hefty role in how the Queen lives daily. Pretty cool… considering her profile and lifestyle.
With all the current focus on “The Royals,” this film is a must-see. It seeks to humanize the figure head of the British monarchy. Is the Queen just like you or me? Or does she lead a life we will never fully understand – and we therefore have no business criticizing in time of tragedy like that of the loss of “The People’s Princess?” I suppose it is up to your interpretation.
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Following up on Jen’s observations, I tracked down the DVD and rifled through the audio commentary track with director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Peter Morgan. It seemed to me that they were less sensitive to the role of the dogs in the Queen’s daily life than we were, as they themselves were taken aback by the presence of the Labradors. “The Corgis haven’t been dyed black, right?” “No, those are Labradors. I suppose it’s a different kind of walk, isn’t it?” they joke to each other. They also pointed out an amusing goof, where two Labs enter the Land Rover in one scene, but three Labs exit the vehicle.
Nevertheless, no film about the Queen would be complete without some reference to her famous canine companions. Thanks again to Jen for her astute review!
The House of Two Bows keeps a running index of movies blurbed on the site, annotated by breed. If you’re interested in writing a guest blog for a dog film, contact for details.
Film:The Accidental Tourist Director: Lawrence Kasdan Performers: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, Bud (Edward the Dog) Breed featured: Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Wire Fox Terrier (briefly) Production Information: Warner Brothers, 1988 (USA).
The accolades piled upon this crummy film is indicative of just how bad the eighties were for Hollywood drama. I’m not going to bother to summarize it, because you can easily find that info online. Like the marriage between Macon (William Hurt) and Sarah Leary (Kathleen Turner), the film drags on much longer than it needed to. Stiff and slack-jawed performances by a lackluster cast left me feeling woefully underwhelmed. The film’s primary redeeming feature is the adorable Cardigan Welsh Corgi named Edward.
For a non-speaking role, Edward the Corgi is rather versatile, serving as a ballast for some characters, and propeller for others. He’s the most emotionally expressive character in the entire household, straightforward as only a dog can be about his joys, his fears, and his preferences. For Macon, he’s also a haunting reminder of his son, who was killed in a strong-arm robbery gone wrong. Despite his dog’s mounting behavioral issues, Macon just can’t abandon Edward, in part because of his crippling inability to either respond to his own personal tragedies or move on in the present. This dour, withered husk of a man seems an unlikely partner for Muriel Prichett (Geena Davis), a vet tech/animal trainer who inexplicably takes a shine to him and seizes the opportunity to insert herself into his life.
Muriel swoops into Macon’s life by teaching him to control his dog. This could have been a potent way to develop this odd couple’s relationship, but something’s lost in the execution. Instead of appearing skillful, Muriel comes across as a clumsy hack. Instead of revealing a more “nurturing” side that would counterbalance and give depth to her synthetic, flashy exterior, I find her domineering and insensitive, revealing her to be as blind to the dog’s not-so-subtle physical cues as Macon is emotionally passive.
Let’s consider the the initial encounter between Edward the Dog and Muriel. Macon has just informed her that his dog was rejected from his previous boarding place because he bit a caretaker there. So seeing a dog in obvious distress, anxious about being at the animal hospital, and actively trying to avoid eye contact, what does Muriel do?
She bends down and grabs the dog by the face. I’m assuming that even a rank amateur dog trainer, no matter what their background, would have known better than to start off that way with an unfamiliar dog, especially one that supposedly bites. However, Edward just pins his ears back and goes stiff and licks his lips, sparing all audiences the ugly truth. This seems to be his default posture in many of his scenes, from when he’s being lifted off his stubby little feet by choke chain pops (several yanks punctuated by pathetic whimpering added to the soundtrack for deliberate effect), to when he’s left loose and unattended on the sidewalk in an extended sit-stay — all while strangers pass and pet the miserable-looking pup.
Nowadays, if you know your dog has a history of biting and aggression, you’d be incredibly irresponsible to establish this scenario as an immediate training goal. Even if your dog was totally friendly, it’s kind of an odd risk to take… considering this is supposed to be downtown Baltimore!
Times sure have changed. I guess such scenes are a reminder that this was considered by general audiences to be an acceptable standard of training and dog socialization back in the 80s, no matter how implausible a scene it would seem to us now. What further irritates me about Muriel’s character is that her methods are ultimately excused because hey, she’s Geena Davis! Praise for her performance even includes an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
short clip from the film uploaded by YouTube user pershingavenue
What could be potentially damaging or even disastrous in real life is presented as awesome and “quirky” here. I find that problematic not because I’m afraid others will emulate her methods (nobody is going to watch this to learn how to train a dog), but because her methods are enfolded into a more complex construction of character that makes it okay to ignore how your dog feels in favor of what you want him to do. And in this film, that certainly has repercussions for how people treat other people.
I realize I’m probably reading this film anachronistically, looking for more “positive” training methods when such distinctions hadn’t even registered as a problem. Even now, these debates have yet to enter the mainstream, though I witness frequent skirmishes over training methods in my dog-centric circles. At any rate, since this is how Hollywood depicted dog trainers on screen, I wonder what was routine on the set!
To offset these more egregious training scenes, at least there are moments where Edward appears genuinely comfortable and at ease, a reminder of the tender domesticity that a dog can provide, especially in the absence of any other kind of familial warmth.
Edward adequately expresses all the charms of his breed, but a cute Corgi alone cannot redeem this movie. Happily, I tick this one off the list… so I won’t have to watch it (or listen to its awful soundtrack) ever again.
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The House of Two Bows keeps a running index of movies blurbed on the site, annotated by breed. If you’re interested in writing a guest blog for a dog film, contact for details.
You know how there are some dogs at the park who delight in running after other dogs, just because they can?
26 December 2011
That’s Bowpi. Of course, it’s even better if they turn around and chase her. But when the dog in question can’t be distracted from their singularly important task (Ball!!!), she’s happy to run alongside.
There was some amazing fog at the park that day.
At one point, we found ourselves knee-deep in a stream of Corgis. The woman with the Chuck-It had just one, Ruby, whom we’d been watching and listening to during her obsessive game of fetch. Another woman had all the others. It was pretty intense.
There were two or three more that didn’t even make it into this frame. And every single one of them was more interested in cheerleading for Ruby, rather than chasing Bowpi!
WAYTOGO! YOU GOTTHEBALL! ATTAGIRL RUBEEEEEE! Yup, these little guys sure do know how to make a fuss.
The House of Two Bows 雙寶之屋 