Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. Much has gone back to normal since last week’s apex. Artemis is delighted to be reunited with her sister Demeter. The two Persian cats have celebrated their reunion by cozying up on their climbing apparatus, each on their own tier. The twin Dachshunds Titus and Tyler have been chasing each other around in their front lawn, Charlotte has settled into reading the complete works of Shakespeare, Madeline and Edison meet at each other’s houses for a rousing game of checkers, Ruffles is working on getting his official driver’s license, and Bernard, Belle and I have gone back to having tea in the afternoons.

I had no idea how exhausted I was after all that kafuffle. But I am delighted to have everything back to normal before the summer is over. We are planning an Afternoon Tea celebration and in addition to our usual motley crew we are also inviting Sergio the Squirrel for his brave exploits in getting us the blueprints for the evil man’s house. And of course, our villain turned hero Crispin the Coyote and his coyote friends. They have promised to only eat cucumber sandwiches, scones and cakes and not the guests.

Unfortunately, my novelist took me in for a grooming and although I once again look spectacular the experience was torturous. But the result is stunning and I will look amazing at the soiree. I may even wear ribbons on my ears and my rhinestone collar around my neck. Not the diamond one I dream of, mind you, but a sparkly piece just the same. I was also delighted that yesterday was International Dog Day. The cats were sweet enough to gift me with a brand-new SPOT Skinneeez Dog Toy. These are of course my favorites. They said it was the least they could do since I spearheaded their rescues.

My novelist is glad to have me back to my usual self. She was quite concerned about my comings and goings during the whole ordeal. She wants me to return my focus to writing stories. I tried to tell her my adventure was indeed a story, but she dismissed the whole matter. She is, however, being gracious enough to take me to the Coyote vs Acme movie next week. And I do adore popcorn.

I think we have all learned to be a bit more vigilant in the neighborhood because of the kidnappings and have all promised to go out in pairs from now on. Apparently, one can never be too cautious. We have all had our owners (and novelists) purchase us whistles to take with us should we ever find ourselves in the company of nefarious creatures be they human or animal.

I do believe that wraps up the whole saga. But you never know when another rousing adventure might take place. I thank you all for being patient with me during this tense and tumultuous time. And thus, until next time, 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!

BEST OF THE EMMY NOMINATIONS

PLURIBUS (2026)-APPLE TV+

Of all the shows nominated for the Emmy this year, this one is the crème de la crème. And this best of breed sci-fi drama comes from none other than the best guy working in the television industry today, Vince Gilligan. When I saw the first episode, I was a bit iffy. My thought was, yet another end of the world story. But on further watch, Pluribus is anything but ordinary and easily the most original show on television right now.

Oddly, the most fascinating part of Pluribus is how some audience members cannot tell who the villain is until the last episode of the season…if they can even do it by then. To me, the identity of the villain was quite clear from the beginning but to others apparently it was not so cut and dry. Maybe this is a sly societal statement from our resident INFP about the present state of our world. Or perhaps it is merely an observation about the way people have always been.

The show is like a Milgram Obedience Experiment and a Stanford Prison Experiment rolled into one. I’m not certain if it is personality type, generational placement or exactly what it is that causes confusion around what is sinister and what is not in the show’s world. But it’s concerning to me that this confusion exists. Regardless, I am not going to give away any clues so that if you have never watched this mini masterpiece before, you can decide for yourself.

Pluribus received a whopping eighteen Emmy nominations including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour), Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score), Outstanding Music Supervision, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour), Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Carol Sturka (Rhea Seahorn in a brilliant Emmy nominated best of the year performance) is a highly successful misanthropic, alcoholic romance fantasy writer. Helen (Emmy nominee Miriam Shor) is her beloved spouse and manager. Carol dreams of writing the great American novel one day and give up her day job for good. After flying home from Houston to Albuquerque, the two women head out that evening to Silver Jack’s Saloon. Because of Carol’s drinking their SUV has a breathalyzer that must be blown into to start the car. As Helen doesn’t drink, she drives them to the bar and has a Coke while Carol sips on a Manhattan. After Carol finishes her drink, they go outside to smoke and look at the responses of the fans to Carol’s new book. While outside, Carol gazes up to see a group of planes