Aesthetics

October 2, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. For the past few days, I have been pondering the word aesthetics. Certainly, I consider myself a poodle of extraordinary aesthetics. However, being an ENTJ and my novelist being an INTJ, aesthetics seems to mean less to us than whether something works. Sensory perceptive and sensory judgement personality types, which we try to keep our distance from, especially the extroverted ones, are all about aesthetics because, well, they are sensory. They will have never ending discussions on how the perfect butter horn should be made or exactly, precisely what color the banister should be painted. Or how to spend shocking amounts of money to sculpt themselves into the perfect body type. My novelist and I prefer to discuss abstract ideas and visionary brainstorming. It isn’t that we dislike beautiful things we just like things to be well-made and/or work well no matter what they look like. Some of the greatest rock stars of all time are not pretty but their music is astounding. Some musical celebrities today are hired for their looks, which is most unfortunate. Especially when someone whose aesthetics are not as exemplary may be much more talented and would pen far better music gets left on the sidelines. Beauty in our society is more than overrated. It’s disturbingly worshiped. If the dull flat metal plane with the small worn brown seats and no first class can take off, fly and land and the shiny sexy one with the neon party lights and the big plush cherry red reclining chairs crashes into the ocean, bursts into flames, is circled by sharks, and everyone and everything on it gets destroyed, which one are you going to board? 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: AKA CHARLIE SHEEN (2025)-NETFLIX**

This week’s film is a biographical documentary on one of Hollywood’s most notorious living movie stars, Charlie Sheen. This two-parter is told mostly through Charlie Sheen’s memories of his life from childhood to present. It is fascinating which celebrities participated in the documentary and what they had to say about the man who include Jon Cryer, Chuck Lorie, Dennise Richards, Sean Penn, Heidi Fleiss, and brother Ramon Estevez. Sheen’s father Martin Sheen and his older brother Emilio Estevez decided not to be a part of the documentary but footage of them is in the film.

The challenge in watching this movie is what made/makes Charlie Sheen tick. His association with other celebrities is fascinating, such as Nicholas Cage and Mathew Perry. His experimental lifestyle and capacity for living the fast life is harrowing. And his relationship with his father and ex-wife Richards is extraordinary. But the real question here is how we decipher what kind of person he really is and why he has lived the life he has. Some experts think he has bipolar disorder. Others believe he has extreme narcissism. Still others think his actions may be linked to drug withdrawal. Some believe he exhibits psychopathic traits. I do agree with most of these thoughts and would add it appears he has a good chance of having the genetic allele MAOA which is responsible for aggression and impulse control. He also might have 5-HTTLPR which is associated with psychopathy and addiction. But only a psychiatrist could make these determinations. He is typed as an ESTP which is the most likely personality type to be psychopathic (and an actor for that matter) followed by ENTP, ENTJ and ESTJ. ESTPs are even jokingly called the Con Artist Personality Type. Interestingly his father Martin Sheen is typed as an ISFJ which is a perfect match for ESTP and probably explains their incredible bond as a father and son. The bottom line however is Charlie Sheen is interesting to listen to and you kind of like him…at a distance…and hope he can and is pulling his life together.

Go To University

September 25, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good morning. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce my blog. This week my novelist’s alma mater commenced fall classes, and it got me thinking about my time at the Sorbonne. I adored studying Literature, Language, and Culture there. One may not realize this, but they have a special program at the Sorbonne for highly gifted poodles. I was delighted to spend time relaxing and studying at the Montparnasse and engaging in intellectual conversations with other highly gifted Caniche. It put a wag in my tail and a spring in my trot. Which makes me think of all those Gen Z students out there who should be going to college right now and are not. How much is this generation getting lied to and cheated? My novelist and I worry that the great scheme is that universities may start only offering classes in business, law, communications, law enforcement, religion, and political science. Or in other words, vocations psychopaths go into. I find it perplexing that most of the individuals who stand on golden soap boxes and tell people not to go to college, go to college themselves. Send their mentally compromised offspring there to boot. I might add there are a fair number of young men out there who should be studying at universities and are not. Do they think they are going to get the woman of their dreams who is likely going to college if they themselves do not go? Do they think an educated woman is going to want an uneducated man? It seems to me that that there is an evil force that wants this generation and the one after it to be uneducated, impoverished fools, draining their parents’ savings by living at home and working menial labor occupations. All this wilst our country’s level of knowledge falls behind the rest of the world, and we collapse into a state of disease, famine and oppression. I am but a mere poodle, but I would say a con artist who tells an intelligent young person who should be getting an education not to go to college should be doused with honey and introduced to a pack of angry rabid chihuahuas. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: SIZU (2022)-HULU**

If you are looking for a smart, intense, amusing action film this cleverly written and directed piece by Jalmari Helander is for you. Set in the Lapland wilderness of Finland in 1944 towards the end of WWII, we meet a man named Aatami (Jorma Tommila who turns in a great visceral performance). Accompanying him are his beautiful horse and his unbelievably cute well-trained Bedlington Terrier. Aatami is panning for gold in the river and isn’t finding all that much…until by happenstance he comes across enough gold to fill a couple of saddle bags. All he wants to do is peacefully return home and be rich. As the three of them begin heading back, they happen to cross paths with a caravan of Nazi soldiers. The soldiers are led by Bruno (Aksel Hennie) and his right-hand gunman Wolf (Jack Doolan). The Nazi’s have captured several young Finish women, including one named Aino (Mimosa Willamo) that they are hiding in one of the trucks and are using for recreational purposes.

Bruno is aware the Germans are going to lose the war, and he and his entire troupe will all be executed. But when Aatami falls and his large and numerous gold nuggets tumble out of the bags, Bruno sees it as the answer to freedom. He thinks it will be easy to overtake the old man and gather up the gold for himself. What Bruno doesn’t want to believe are the reports he gets from headquarters of what kind of a man Aatami is and the unbelievable lengths he will go to so he can stay alive and keep his treasure.

I will add this film is unashamedly gory at points and not for the squeamish, but if you are a fan of tarantinoesque films, I highly recommend this entertaining dark humored thriller.

Science Fiction

September 11, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. Gigi the parti poodle here once again to introduce my blog. I continue to work on my blog story which I am doing differently than ones in the past. I am writing the full story before I post it as opposed to posting one chapter at a time as I go along which I did with my other six stories. The way I did it before was a more experimental attempt for me to craft a story. My novelist, in the meantime, is preparing to take a writing class concentrating on science fiction.

She tells me the most difficult part of writing science fiction is doing research to understand the science one is writing about. Some writers don’t believe in doing research, but my novelist is not one of them. She is stringent about trying to get every scientific or technical thing she writes about correct. I think this attempt to achieve technical accuracy may be a major difference between the two most common types of writers, NTs & NFs.

For instance, in Hollywood one would find most screenwriters to be ENFJs. Many novelists would likely be INFJs. However, when it comes to rational thought, NTs would start to populate the author & screenwriter list. For instance, Arthur C. Clarke (INTP), Issac Asimov (INTJ), Christopher Nolen (INTJ), Quintin Tarantino (ENTP), Stephen King (INTP), Jane Austin (INTJ), Mark Twain (ENTP), Emily Brontë (INTJ), Chuck Palahniuk (ENTP), C.S. Lewis (INTJ), James Cameron (INTJ), etc. In other words, when it comes to thinking rationally and outside the box, NTs tend to creep into the writing realms.

But enough of this blathering. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: ONE OF THEM DAYS (2025)-NETFLIX**

One of the best comedies of the year is now streaming on Netflix. This clever and funny script was written by Syreeta Singleton and directed by Lawrence Lamont. The story takes place over the course of one day in Los Angeles where Dreux Jones (Keke Palmer) is underemployed and working as a waitress. She gets off work in the morning and is picked up by her roommate, a free-spirited artist named Alyssa (SZA). The two are the best of friends but there is a wedge between them named Keshawn (Joshua David Neal). Keshawn is Alyssa’s boyfriend. He’s a get rich quick kind of guy who has been flopping at the women’s apartment. Alyssa made the not well thought out decision of giving Keshawn the $1500 in rent money to give to the landlord Uche (Rizi Timane). However, Keshawn decided to spend the money on printing T-shirts he plans to sell instead.

When Uche comes to the door asking for the rent, Dreux tells him Keshawn paid him. Uche says otherwise and if the two women do not pay the rent by 6:00pm that evening, he will remove all their belongings from the apartment and put them out on the street with ex-neighbor Fabian (Ray Santiago). This is not the best day for this to happen as Dreux has an important job interview that afternoon for a management position.

She heads back in to confront Alyssa about Keshawn and the stolen money and, both women suddenly realize Keshawn has taken off. Turns out he’s been cheating with Alyssa with a woman named Berneice (Aziza Scott) who becomes vengeance driven when the two women head over to her apartment to confront Keshawn. The two friends manage to escape and spend most of the day desperately try to come up with a way to scrape together the rent money in time for Dreux to get to her interview and for both to pay the rent before they find themselves on the streets.

Squirrels

September 4, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good morning. Today I am delighted to report this week I had no baths, no trips to the vet, and no time in the clink. I am a free and happy poodle with plenty of time on my hands to continue penning my blog story and enjoy tea and discussions with Bernard D. Bunny. He was delighted to have me back as well. As we were sipping a lovely Irish Breakfast blend, he mentioned the grass is slowly getting greener and the squirrels are quite active. He said he had a chat with Sergio, one of the resident squirrels and Sergio explained that it is time to save up for winter. I found this whole process rather fascinating. Poodles do not save up for winter. They delegate their novelist to do it for them. I am impressed by the self-sufficiency of these creatures. I even considered applying their methods to my life. Not the living in a tree part, that is gauche. But the way they utilize planning ahead in their daily lives. And of course, the beauty of sporting a bushy tail. Fascinating. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: MANHUNTER (1986)-AMAZON PRIME**

Here is a great blast from the past. A solidly written thriller that sometimes gets overlooked. Although bloody at times, it relies far more on tension and psychology than gore. Michael Mann directed this chiller and co-wrote the script with Thomas Harris based on Harris’s bestselling book Red Dragon, the first in his Hanibal Lecter series.

Will Graham (Willam Peterson) is a gifted former FBI profiler. He has a past with Hanibal Lecter (Brian Cox who reprised the role in Succession) whom he caught, and it is not a pretty one. Will spent a long time in a hospital and later its psychiatric ward after Lecter attacked him before being incarcerated. Will retired after that. But his former FBI superior Jack Crawford (Dennis Farina) comes to him for help. A new deranged serial killer is on the loose who likes to murder a family each full moon. And he likes to make a big bloody mess when he does. They call him The Tooth Fairy (Tom Noonan) and he’s on the hunt again. It is up to Will to figure out who he is and where he will strike next even if it means having to consort with Dr. Lecter and putting his marriage and his safety on the line once again.

Rounding out the cast are Kim Griest as Will’s wife, Molly Graham and Joan Allen as blind film lab worker Reba McClane. Look for Chris Elliot in an early career role.

Déjà vu

August 28, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle and I must tell you I cannot fathom what happened this week. On Saturday at noon my novelist whisked me off and took me back to the clink! Why? Why did she do this to me? I was just there. This time, I was forced to stay with a poodle, a doodle, a chocolate lab and a Shepard mix named Sophie. Sophie and I had met before, so I had at least one familiar companion, and it was a delight to see her. But the point of the matter is my novelist abandoned me yet again. At least I have one element in my favor. In the clink, my name is Emperess. I may be the smallest dog there, but I am the most sovereign. However, I am still sad. I now understand what royalty goes through when its members visit one of their countries that is not their home. They may be royalty there, but homesickness sets in.

Sophie and I went on walks around the grounds. She told me she was delighted I was staying with her. I explained I had just been here two weeks ago. I told her about Gemma, the kind Boston Terrier. She told me she knew Gemma and that she thought she was a kind Canis lupus familiaris as well. She said she was sorry to hear about my plight, but not to despair. My novelist would indeed return.

During the evenings, the standard poodle, the doodle, the chocolate lab, and Sophie and I played Charades. I was superb at it although I lost a few rounds to the standard poodle. He was quite arrogant about it as well. He’d just been to the groomers and constantly pointed out I needed grooming. A bit cheeky, don’t you think? What is it to him whether I’ve been preened and primped? The point of the matter is he won some of the Charades games and I won the others. Next time that pompadoured narcissist is going down.

The biggest insult of all was my novelist did not come to pick me up. Apparently, she had an appointment. So, she sent…Him…and the dogsitter. I was absolutely mortified and confused when they arrived without my precious novelist. How could she be so cruel? They drove me home and when I arrived at my residence my novelist was there to greet me. We had words, let me tell you. Or at least I had words I barked at her. She remained calm and took me outside as if she never noticed my anger.

We are now back in the office; I am on my pillow in front of the window, and she is at her desk. I am calmer now. Miffed but calmer. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: HORRIBLE BOSSES (2011)-NETFLIX**

This week’s pick is raunchy, shameless, and disturbed. And for you lucky Netflix subscribers it’s available to stream. Three good friends in Riverside, California all have one thing in common: they each have a horrible boss. Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) works for a financial firm under Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) who forces him to work long hours and refuses to promote him. Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) is a dental hygienist who made the mistake of exposing himself on a schoolyard playground and works for Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) who sexually harasses him on an hourly basis, and Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) who happily works at a chemical company for owner Jack Pellit (Donald Sutherland) has his life put in a tailspin when Jack dies and his heartless cocaine-addicted son Bobby (Colin Farrell) takes over.

Over drinks at their favorite bar the three of them start to imagine how much better their lives would be if they had their bosses killed. They head for the wrong side of the tracks and at a bar there meet ex-convict Dean “Motherfucker” Jones (Jamie Foxx) who agrees to be their “murder consultant” and begins instructing them in how to carry out their nefarious plan.

The hilarious script was penned by Michael Markowitz and directed by Seth Gordon who directed the fantastic documentary The King of Kong : A Fistful of Dollars which was one of my Streams of the Week and I heartily recommend it.

Under the Bed

August 21, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. Today I am writing this from under the bed. I know that it is bath day, and I am using a new tactic. If I hide under the bed long enough my need for a bath will be forgotten and finding me will become my novelist’s primary focus. I have even put my computer in dark mode. I am not sure that helps. But I am doing it just the same. It is also a good place to work on my blog story. I wish my novelist would…oh, no! I think I just heard the dogsitter come into the room. Was my novelist too cowardly to give me a bath herself? Dreadful! Go away, dogsitter. Go away. The dogsitter is kneeling by the side of the bed…the dogsitter is lifting the comforter. The dog sitter has kidnapped me! Augh! I am kidnapped! Help! Help! I am on route to the bathtub! Rescue me! The water is running! I hate baths! I hate baths! Until next week, I bid you adieu…augh, that’s cold!

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)-PRIME VIDEO**

Psychiatrists Dr. Samuel Leistedt and Dr. Paul Linkowski joined together to determine which characters were the most realistic and dangerous of all the psychopaths portrayed in movies. And topping the list is the chilling villain of this masterpiece of cinema. You can read their research findings here. Based on the book of the same name by Cormac McCarthy with a script written and directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Cohen, here’s a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat till the credits roll. The film deservedly won four Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Achievement in Film Direction, Best Supporting Actor for Javier Bardem and Best Motion Picture of the Year. If you have not seen this one, get to it.

The year is 1980. The place is Terrell County Texas. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is out hunting pronghorns in the desert and comes across a slaughter, the result of a drug deal gone south. He looks around the dead bodies and finds one man in a truck still alive but not for long. He also comes across a suitcase filled with two million dollars. The man in the truck, a member of a Mexican cartel, asks him for water. Llewelyn tells the man he does not have any water and takes the suitcase of money and heads home to his wife a sweet young woman named Carla Jean Moss (Kelly Macdonald). She asks how his hunting went, and he tells her about the suitcase.

In the middle of the night, Llewelyn’s conscious catches up with him and he goes back out to the scene of the crime bring the man in the truck water. But after he parks his truck on the hill and heads down to the scene of the crime, he finds himself being chased and shot at. But what he doesn’t understand is who is shooting at him.

Earlier that day, a man named Anton Chigurh (chillingly played by Javier Bardem) a psychopathic hitman whose name translates to Priceless Follower was picked up by the police. He escaped after strangling the officer with his handcuffs after the two arrived at the police station. Driving the officer’s police car, he pulls over an innocent driver and uses his beloved captive bolt pistol on the man’s forehead. This is the guy shooting at Llewelyn who has been hired to recover the stolen money.

Something is Amuck

August 7, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here and I must tell you I sense something is amuck. My novelist is eyeing her suitcase and carryon. This is never a good thing. She must be planning a trip which means I likely won’t be going with her. I could not sleep on the bed last night. I jumped down and went to the living room and lay in the recliner. It took me a long time to fall asleep and when I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see the sun streaming in the window. I headed outside and had a discussion with Bernard D. Bunny as he often rises early. He was nibbling on grass when I found him. I told him about my concerns, and he listened intently. He asked me about the last time I was dropped off at the canine resort about a year ago and I went in depth about all the horrifying details. He said, but you survived, and she came back and took you home. And I said yes, but that it was unbearably lonely, and I had to spend my days with some rather shady characters, though I did have a private room at night. He said if she is going to do the same thing again, she would indeed return to pick me up and I should consider the time apart from her to be an adventure. And a time to work on my blog story. I made it perfectly clear I did not like adventures as much as I relished order and control. Bernard said I would find a way to maintain order and control even if that order and control was only over myself. I nodded and thanked him for his wisdom. But still, I sense something is amuck, and I am most displeased. I will keep you posted. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: WOLFS (2024) APPLE TV+**

If you are looking for something light, fun and exciting to stream this summer, this is the movie for you. Originally this motion picture was supposed to come out in theatres in a wide release but then was given a limited release and streamed on Apple TV+. I can see where the film would have looked great on the big screen, especially the whimsical chase scene which is great. And I honestly wish it had gotten a wider release. That said I think a lot of folks will have a blast streaming it, what with its fun albeit twist driven script penned by director Jon Watts and terrific performances from its stars.

We start out somewhere in uptown Manhattan with the sound of breaking glass and many expletives from a female character. As the camera draws us closer, we find district attorney Margaret (Amy Ryan) in a panic and running around a high-end hotel suite. She is panicked as she attempts to call someone on her cell phone. She tells the person on the other end she was supposed to call them if she was ever in serious trouble…which she is.

We find out the person she is calling is in a private phone booth in a questionable bar somewhere else in the city. We soon meet Margaret’s Man (George Clooney), a highly seasoned cooler than ice professional cleaner who drives to her hotel and proceeds to clean up Margaret’s problem, a college aged young man known only as the Kid (Austin Abrams) who has fallen off the bed, crashed through a glass drinks cart and is lying motionless on the floor. As Margaret’s Man attempts to go about his job cleaning up the mess, there is a knock at the door. Margaret and Margaret’s Man are confused by this, but the ever cool as a cucumber Margaret’s Man tells her to answer the door casually. She does and to both their surprise in walks another cleaner who turns out to be Pam’s Man (Brad Pitt). Pamela Dowd-Herdry (voiced by Frances McDormand) has recently acquired the hotel and the last thing she needs is controversy. She witnessed the whole thing from a camera in the hotel room. She wants both Margaret’s Man and Pam’s Man to work together to clean up the mess and solve her problem. The two men are skeptical at first but begrudgingly agree to do so. But as they do, unexpected and bizarre events begin pop up which put the pair into continually deeper hot water.

Out To Lunch

July 24, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good morning. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. My novelist got me up early today and demanded we go downtown to run some errands. She promised me lunch, so I feel somewhat pacified by that. I love having lunch downtown. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about it. Also, it gives me a chance to study people for my characters. They certainly have no problem studying me. You’d think they’d never seen a poodle in an eatery before. It is not like I am gauche when I dine. I use a napkin, and I take small bites. What more do they want?

I must say it has been a much calmer week upon the return of my novelist. I am not as distracted by the need to sit by the door and wait for her return. I have been able to enjoy my afternoons outside with her close by. I have also been more focused on my writing and have made headway on my new blog story. It is a change of pace writing further along in my tale instead of week to week.

Bernard and I had tea yesterday and he was glad to see I was in good spirits. It is important to find joy in life, he told me. I wholeheartedly agreed. Joy and success. And money: lots of money. I would love to have lots of money. I am a poodle after all, and poodles have champagne taste. One can never be too curly or too rich. Bernard rolls his eyes at this but c’est la vie. I want that diamond collar and someday it shall be mine. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: STAGECOACH (1939)-HBO MAX**

Every so often I like to feature a must-see classic movie and this week’s is one of the best westerns ever made. It is directed by the legendary John Ford and the script was written by Dudley Nichols and Ben Hecht based on the 1937 short story “The Stage to Lordsburg” by Ernest Haycox. Shot in glorious black and white the film starts out simple enough. The year is 1880. Four people are taking a stagecoach from Tonto Arizona Territory, to Lordsburg, New Mexico. Amongst them are strait-laced Mrs. Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), who is travelling to join her cavalry officer husband, timid whiskey salesman Samuel Peacock, cheery alcoholic medical doctor Doc Boone (brilliantly played by Thomas Mitchell), and heart of gold prostitute Dallas (Claire Trevor). Dallas is being chased out of town by the primarily female “Law and Order League”. The passengers are being transported by their lovable driver Buck (Andy Devine) who just wants to finish the job and get home to his wife. Also, along for the ride is Marshal Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft) who is on the hunt for escaped prisoner Henry the “Ringo Kid” (John Wayne) who broke out of prison to avenge his brother and father’s death at the hands of gunslinger Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler). Plummer and his family helped get Henry imprisoned because they told the law Henry shot their foreman.

As the stagecoach is getting ready to leave, they are stopped by the US Cavalry who tell them that Geronimo is planning an attack. The cavalry offers to escort the stagecoach all the way to Dry Fork station. Professional gambler and former Confederate Army officer Hatfield (John Carradine) notices Lucy as he is playing a game of cards nearby and chivalrously offers to protect her on the ride. They are also joined by a dapper bank embezzler named Ellsworth Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill).

After parting ways with the cavalry, the members of the stagecoach run into Henry the “Ringo Kid”. Despite being friends with Henry, Marshal Wilcox takes him aboard the stagecoach as a prisoner. As the motley crew continue towards Lordsburg, they begin to find out secrets about each other and create bonds without fully realizing the imminent danger looming ahead.

Abandoned

July 17, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good morning. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. Last week when…Him came to the door I ran outside to greet my novelist and realized she was not there. I was most disappointed. The Dog Sitter hurried out, fetched me off the sidewalk and brought me back inside. The two of them seemed upset over my jubilant attempt to greet my novelist and I got a gentle reprimanding. I thought that was most unnecessary. Especially since I was quite saddened to realize my novelist was not there. She had left for her relative’s place. I was forced to spend the weekend without my beloved companion. Not to mention…Him is not generous with treats. In fact, he does not give them out much at all. Neither does the Dog Sitter. I found myself starving. I had to depend on my meals for nutrition, and I find that to be most gauche. I was grateful my novelist made certain my water bowl was filled with cold water and lightly seasoned with Aquadent before she left. Otherwise, I would have suffered from thirst. I don’t think either of them bothered to watch the waterline while she was gone.

Over the course of the next three days, I became quite lonely, and my schedule was altered. I am used to getting up just before six to walk all over my novelist until she gets up and we go outside. But…Him does not get up early. And the Dog Sitter certainly does not get up early. I was forced to watch the morning light stream into my bedroom for two and a half hours before I was able to roam about the grounds. I would spend time sitting in front of the door and looking out the window waiting for her to bring sunshine back into my dismal existence. Occasionally, the Dog Sitter would take me outside where there is an old picnic table. I worked on my upcoming blog story while the Dog Sitter wore headphones and sketched. In the evenings out of sheer loneliness I would cuddle up with…Him. His eye was on the television but mine was on the door.

Finally, sometime in the late afternoon to early evening on Sunday, my novelist returned. You cannot imagine my delight. I jumped up and down with joy as she came to the door and greeted me. You must never leave again, I barked. You must never leave again. I do adore her so. Until next week, may your novelist be there to keep you company during the week until we meet again. I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: MUD (2012)-PARAMOUNT+**

Jeff Nichols is a fantastic indi-film writer-director and this follow-up to his excellent previous movie Take Shelter is a homerun. Set on Mississippi River Island, it tells the story of two young teenagers Ellis (Tye Sheridan in a fantastic early performance) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland who is also excellent) who live on the river in boathouses in a small town. Ellis lives with his fisherman father Senior (Ray McKinnon) and his mother Mary Lee (Sarah Paulson) and Neckbone lives with his uncle Galen (Michael Shannon who stars in all Nichols’s feature films) who dives for muscle pearls. The two boys who know the town like the back of their hand have heard about a boat on one of the nearby islands that has a boat inexplicably stuck in a tree. When they take a speedboat out to investigate, they find someone has been living in the boat and meet a strange man named Mud (brilliantly played by Matthew McConaughey) who lives off the land and is waiting there to meet his longtime girlfriend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). He tells the boys he will give them the boat in exchange for food and supplies.

Neckbone is skeptical but Ellis believes Mud is truly planning to meet Juniper. The distraction is good for him since his parents are presently disputing whether to move off the river or to keep their home which, if they move, will be torn down by the state. As he begins to take more risks to assist his new friend, however, he finds himself in deeper trouble as Mud’s secrets slowly start to emerge.

New Story in the Works

June 19, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. I would like to let you know I am presently working on a new tale for the blog or as my novelist and I like to call it a blog story. The working-title is The Dog Doctor, and it is one of the oddest concepts I’ve penned so far. I will continue to keep you updated about it for the future and let you know when I will be releasing the chapters. I will also be trying a new writing process to craft it and we will see how that goes. Otherwise, it has been a rather dull week. Nothing to report really. I plan to spend the weekend relaxing and watching movies…or at least one movie. Perhaps Bernard and I will put up a sheet outside and invite Belle and baby Brendan to come and watch something wholesome by David Lynch. That would make for a delightful evening. Bernard is suggesting The Straight Story while I think the little ones would find Blue Velvet to their liking. Until next week, have fun at the movies and I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988)-NETFLIX**

Much like Hobson’s Choice which I featured a couple of weeks ago, here is another film all cinephiles should see. One of the earliest movies from the brilliant Studio Ghibli it is one of their very finest, maybe even their best. Based on the semi-autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, this astounding masterpiece is set against the backdrop of WWII Japan but not necessarily focused on war. It is more about society and belonging and the dismissive treatment of a country towards its citizens.

The story starts out with an Imperial Japanese Navy captain’s son Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) whose mother (Yoshiko Shinohara) and his toddler sister Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi) must get to a shelter when an incendiary bombing occurs. Their mother runs for the shelter ahead of them while Seita gathers up Setsuko and her doll. The mother makes it to the shelter, but it is severely bombed, and she dies of injuries shortly after. This leaves Seita and Setsuko on their own.

Seita and Setsuko go to their father’s sister’s house where their aunt (Akemi Yamaguchi) takes them in. Unfortunately, Aunt is a staunch believer in totalitarianism and an all-around bossy jerk (think Skyler White or Nurse Ratched) and forces Seita and Setsuko to sell their mother’s precious silk kimonos to buy rice for the family. After doing so Aunt says they have contributed nothing despite Aunt consuming a large portion of the rice. She also goes against Seita’s wishes and tells Setsuko about her mother’s death and belittles the two kids at every chance. She believes both children should work for the good of the war effort, despite Setsuko being a very young child. Her unrealistic expectations cause Seita to take his sister and leave to try and find a way to survive on their own.