Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle, and today is our 300^th weekly blog. This is a milestone for us as we have not yet quit. My novelist often dreads Thursdays because she knows we will have to post something. It is not always her favorite activity. It is, however, my favorite activity, and like a good novelist owner I kick her with my paw and bark orders. The blog is not going to write itself, don’t you know. Bernard is always encouraging and listens to my exasperation after it is posted. Even as fall is approaching, he has continued to have tea with me in the afternoons and patiently listens to my gripes. Bernard is particularly fond of the green teacup with the gold trim and the dark pink roses painted on the saucer and inside the cup. As for myself, I prefer the white one with gold trim and violets painted on the cup and saucer. We often partake of green tea but on occasion we will try white or even strawberry or raspberry herbal. He tells me this time of year he is growing in his winter coat. He says he must change his diet as well to include twigs, greens, and tree bark. He does not hibernate, however, so we will be able to enjoy the holidays together. We have had to partake of our afternoon meetings indoors as there has been a lot of rain lately. But I do not mind sitting by the window watching the turning leaves fall and the rain drizzle down. I find it inspirational and marvelously moody. I must go now as I hear the kettle whistling and Bernard is already opening a box of French butter cookies. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and all five installments of the Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: FAY GRIM (2006) & BROKEN ENGLISH (2007)-HBO MAX

Parker Posey is a terrific actress known for her independent movie performances and this week I thought I’d suggest two of her feature roles. The first one is Fay Grim written and directed by the fantastic Indi writer/director Hal Hartley. The film is a continuation of Hartley’s film Henry Fool. It centers around Fay (Parker Posey) as a single mother living in the city with her teenage son Ned Grimm (Liam Aiken) who has just been expelled. Fay blames the boy’s behavior on his dead father, Henry Fool (Thomas J. Ryan), an ex-con. Apparently, Henry had notebooks he wanted to publish that contain sensitive information that could put United States security at risk. Fay just wants to live a normal life. She wants to get her brother Simon Grimm (James Urbaniak), a famous poet who used to be a garbage man, out of prison so he can help her raise Ned. That opportunity comes in the form of Agent Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum) who sends her to France to find Henry’s notebooks and bring them back to the United States.

The second movie is Broken English, written and directed by Zoe R. Cassavetes. It is a romantic dramedy about a thirty-something woman named Nora Wilder (Parker Posy) who has never been lucky in love. She is a college educated woman working as a manager at a New York City boutique hotel and does her job well. But she feels she is stuck in her position and that her life is going nowhere. She successfully put her ex-boyfriend Mark (Tim Guinne) and her best friend Audrey (Drea de Matteo) together but finds herself on an endless string of blind dates and dead ends. Her mother Vivien Wilder-Mann (Gena Rowlands, Zoe’s real-life mother) is always trying to set her up. One of her attempts is a man named Charlie Ross (Josh Hamilton) who is still clearly dating his girlfriend. Nora’s most recent dating disaster comes in the form of mohawk sporting film actor Nick Gabel (Justin Theroux) who is one of the regular guests at her hotel. After things quickly go south, she ends up going to a Fourth of July party thrown by her friend Glen (Michael Panes) where she reluctantly meets a younger French man named Julien (Melvil Poupaud) who might be the one to change her life.