Investigating the House

March 20, 2026 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good evening. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. As you may remember from last week, Artemis and I were perched on the catnapper’s kitchen counter looking down at the long drop to the Pergo floor. I turned my head towards the left and saw the glass topped stove and two kitchen towels hanging down from the bar handle. If we worked our way from the sink to the stove, we could each grab one of the kitchen towels and lower ourselves to the floor.

Artemis considers my idea and nods. She is, however, concerned about the slipperiness of the glass top stove. I agree with her but can see no other optimal way down. Except of course to jump which frightens me and my delicate poodle paws. We begin inching our way down the tan granite counter paw by paw until we arrive at the glass stovetop. Artemis deftly sinks her claws into both sides of the first towel and lowers herself to the Pergo. Unfortunately, my claws are not as deft. I slip and slide on top of the stove as I try to get my bearings. I reach down…grab the towel…and flip! I am dangling in midair about to slip! I could break my nails this way! Artemis quickly pushes a kitchen floor map under me and…plop! I land. Artemis looks at me shakes her head and licks her paw.

We look around at our surroundings and head towards the living room. Much like the kitchen, it is cleaner and neater than we expected. The place has cream-colored wall to wall carpet, a comfortable cloth couch and chair, an old-fashioned desk, a fireplace and a potted tree. I was stunned. Apparently, the catnapper vacuums.

Not noticing anything nefarious in the living room, we trotted on to the foyer. There were two flights of stairs. One that headed up and one that led down. And when you are trying to figure out where a catnapper might be up to something nefarious, down is the more likely choice. However, just to make certain this was indeed the case, we ascended the stairs to check out the rooms on the second floor first. After Artemis and I trotted to the top step, we found there was a narrow linen closet in front of us, and a door to a room. To the right there was one door and to the left there were two doors. We pushed open the first door to the left to find it was a bathroom. We trotted inside and saw it had grey walls and white tile with white fixtures with a dark brown fancy tile bathtub.

Next, we looked in the room to our right. It was set up to be an office. The room was painted mint green and had a computer desk, an office chair, a docking station, a printer, a bookshelf and a couple of file cabinets. Next to the file cabinet there was a wooden chair. I told Artemus there may be a clue in the file cabinet. She agreed. She hopped up on the wooden chair and was just about to open the cabinet when we both heard a car pull up in the driveway. 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: ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS (2025)-NETFLIX**

Stanford University is one of the leaders if not the leader in studying mass shootings and the individuals that commit them. It’s important I point this out because there are some films out there, let’s call them Problem Films, movies and television shows that get awards and accolades which present skewed information, missing information, and/or swaths of false information. They play on emotion over logic because the creators have an agenda. Or as the kids say, these films are rage bait. And being a writer, I’ve run across enough emotional artists to know sometimes they’re idiots. Seriously stupid empathic dolts. They will refuse to do their research and instead follow their misguided arrogance, write with their heart and not their head, and deeply and profoundly annoy those of us who take the time to look up facts.

That said, this movie is not a Problem Film. This movie is superb in delivering not only its message but the reality of the situation. Yes, the movie is emotional, but it is not irrational. And it absolutely without question deserved its Oscar win this past Sunday. But before I get into this must-see short documentary let’s look at some facts from Stanford’s studies:

Stanford researchers were able to study 35 mass shooters and determine a diagnosis on 32. Of the 32 diagnosed 28 met the diagnostic criteria of at least one psychiatric disorder. The most common diagnosis was schizophrenia, which affected 18 of the patients. https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2022/04/investigating-psychiatric-illnesses-of-mass-shooters.html
Other diagnoses included bipolar 1 disorder; delusional disorder, personality disorder, substance use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2022/04/investigating-psychiatric-illnesses-of-mass-shooters.html
The study also points out the following: “None of the assailants had received medication or other treatment before committing the crimes. Most had never been medically diagnosed using scientific criteria.” https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2022/04/investigating-psychiatric-illnesses-of-mass-shooters.html

You think maybe as a society we should make researching mental health a priority?

Moving on: in addition, it turns out, shock of shocks, it’s a very bad idea to have guns in a house where children live. Especially if their parents or siblings have any of the mental health issues listed above. In fact, it’s just a lousy idea to have guns and kids in the same house even if said parents, siblings, etc. are sane. Here’s why:

In 2020, gun violence surpassed car accidents as the No. 1 killer of children in the United States. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/02/children-mass-shootings.html
Lo and behold, 59% of kids who died in mass shootings were at the hands of a family member. Over 22 million U.S. children live in a home with a gun. If a domestic disturbance arises in those homes, the risk of death dramatically increases. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/02/children-mass-shootings.html
And most importantly, “…there may be opportunities to prevent incidents of domestic violence by removing firearms from homes where relationships between adults are deteriorating or mental health concerns are rising.” https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/02/children-mass-shootings.html

The point is there are essentially two problems involved in most mass shootings. Not all but most: mental health and easy access to firearms. It’s both mixed together like bleach and ammonia. It’s getting rid of lax gun laws and addressingthe urgent need to better advance psychology and neuroscience. That’s the bottom line. Some television and movies will often have you believe it’s a myriad of other fallacies from a person’s cultural background to visiting dark web online web sites to witnessing narwhals shooting confetti and glitter out their asses that invoke mass shootings. Where does this asinine stupidity come from? And even more befuddling, why do viewers believe these inane lies? Because they’re too lazy to fact check information? Because some filmmakers are too arrogant to get all the facts to make their film? Because a conglomerate of low-rent critics says said film is good? The last time I checked most critics and filmmakers weren’t scientists or professional researchers.

All that said, this is a profound short documentary about two very brave, and I do mean brave men, correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp. Hartman originally was given the job of going to schools where a mass shooting had occurred and present an upside story on the occurrence. These absurd missions took their toll and after a while Mr. Hartman concluded since he had a soul, he would rather do something useful and profound instead. Along with photographer Bopp, they decided to document and photograph all the bedrooms of children who lost their lives in school shootings. Bopp has an interesting ritual he does which is take what he and his daughter call “the morning picture”. Every day he takes a picture of her in the morning right at the time she is about to leave for school and has done so for years. He does it because you never know what might happen on any given day.

At the time of the filming, Hartman and Bopp had been doing this for seven years, which is remarkable, and they had three bedrooms to go. Looking at one of these rooms is brutal enough. Imagine what kind of courage and compassion it took to do this project for seven years. Their hope is to present their work on air. Everyone should see this short. There is no excuse. It should be required viewing as well as the short If Anything Happens, I Love You which I had as one of my streams of the week last year.

Enter Through the Window

March 12, 2026 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. Artemis and I had to sneak behind the fiend’s yellow house to get to the back door. Artemis, being a Persian cat, is more surefooted than I. However, I am a bold and clever poodle. After we sat in the van with Charlotte, Bruiser, Ruffles and the twins and watched the man pull his white Corvette out of the garage and drive off to whatever nefarious thing he does for work, Artemis and I looked both ways, crossed the street, and headed up to the house.

We had to go around the outdoor catwalk that sticks out at the front of the residence. A rickety disturbing thing if you ask me. I have not once seen a feline walk down it the entire time that we have been scoping out the house. In fact, we have not seen anyone, human or beast, enter or exit the fiend’s abode except the fiend himself. Artemis and I had to jump up and climb a wood fence to reach the rear side. My back foot slipped a little, but I regained my balance and followed Artemis. We tiptoed along the back of the house, surprised to find a rather lovely red wood composite deck. It was rather opulent and looked down a hill. Not the horror house we originally expected. We looked over at a window that according to the blueprints was the rec room. When we climbed up on a deck chair to get a better vantage point into the room, we realized it had blackout curtains which hung across the glass. I looked along the building to my right and saw the sliding glass door. I pointed it out to Artemis and said, “We could see if he left it unlocked.”

“Or possibly try the window,” she said. “He may have cracked it, and we could push it open and crawl inside.”

“Brilliant,” I said and we headed towards the door. We wanted to peer into the house but only saw the slats of Hunter Douglas blinds. I got down as low as I could and attempted to look under them but all I saw was darkness. Artemis and I saw a folding chair standing against the side of the house. It was light enough that the two of us were able to scoot it over. Artemis leaned her weight on one of the legs and I jumped up onto the seat to see if the door was open. I pushed against the handle and tried to get it to move. But my efforts were to no avail.

“We should try the window,” Artemis said. “Humans can be more careless with windows than they are with doors.”

“I indeed hope you are right.”

“Demeter used to talk about slipping into windows of houses at night all the time.”

“Did she get caught?”

“Not…usually.”

“Right. Let’s try it again.”

Artemis and I nudged the chair along till it was under the window. I climbed up on the chair and gave it a shove. Much to our delight it opened… to blinds. I pushed them forwards as I climbed in…and found myself in a kitchen sink. This petrified me because kitchen sinks are slippery and I did not want to be trapped. I put both my forepaws on the counter and hopped up. Suddenly, I noticed it was a long way down to the floor. Artemis scampered up the chair and into the window. She too found herself in the kitchen sink. She hopped up on the counter and looked down.

“It is rather high,” she said.

“We’re going to have to get down from here somehow.”

Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: SONG SUNG BLUE (2025)-PEACOCK**

Sometimes the critics get it wrong. And they certainly failed to give enough appreciation to this underrated sleeper, about a couple of real-life down-on-their-luck musicians, who teamed up to create a sensational Neil Diamond tribute band. The film was directed by Craig Brewer who co-wrote the script with Greg Kohs based on Kohs’ 2008 documentary film of the same name. One of the most heartbreaking things about the movie is Hugh Jackman not receiving an Oscar nod for Best Actor for his electric performance.

Mike (Hugh Jackman) is a Vietnam veteran and 20 years sober alcoholic who has grown weary of performing covers of famous singers. One night he tells his boss Mark Shurilla (Michael Imperioli), a Buddy Holly impersonator, he’s not going to perform as Don Ho at the Wisconsin State Fair but rather wants to create his own persona and call himself Lightning. On that fateful night he meets Claire (Kate Hudson in a well-deserved Oscar-nominated performance), a versatile singer and musician who happens to be performing as Patsy Cline. They chat and flirt a little and then he watches her perform. He is informed by Sex Machine, a James Brown impersonator (Mustafa Shakir) that she is a very versatile performer who can sing just about anything from country to rock and even opera.

The two meet again a year later and Claire tells him he would make a terrific Neil Diamond. Mike thinks over her suggestion, contacts her again, and says he likes the idea provided she performs with him. The two begin to rehearse together and start to put together a Neil Diamond experience show all the while falling in love. Claire introduces Mike to her teenage daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) and son Dana Cartwright (Hudson Hensley). Mike in turn introduces her family to his teenage daughter Angelina (King Princess) who lives with her mother.

Mike gets in touch with his agent and dentist Dr. Dave Watson (Fisher Stevens), who introduces him to Tom D’Amato (Jim Belushi), a bus driver for a hotel that can get them gigs. Shurilla swallows his pride and offers to be lead guitar for the band. But the road to success is rocky and just as the band starts to take off, the unthinkable happens.

The Squirrel and the Blueprints

February 27, 2026 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good evening. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. This week Artemis, Bruiser, Charlotte, the twins Titus and Tyler, Ruffles, and I all called on Sergio Squirrel’s assistance once again. He’d done such a spectacular job getting pictures off the surveillance tape at the 7-Eleven we asked if he could get us the blueprints of the layout of the yellow house with the catwalk. He scampered down to the planning and building department at city hall late in the afternoon. He returned with photos the next day but told us it was a harrowing experience.

He said he had arrived at city hall at four forty-five P.M. just as they were about to close. As a man and a woman who were in a heated argument were coming out, he darted inside without being noticed. He found a place to hide under a vending machine and waited until five o’clock when the place closed.

After that Sergio told us he crawled out from under the machine and headed down the slippery tile hall to find the room where the blueprints are kept. He almost skidded into a copy machine but regained his footing and pressed forwards. He entered what looked like the right place, but found it was only a generic conference room. Someone had left a plate of crackers on the boardroom table and he snatched one. One cannot feel peckish when one is on a mission, he said. He continued down the hall and darted into a couple of rooms he found out were only offices. He was, however, delighted to discover a small bowl of peanut M&M candies on one of the desks and stopped briefly to enjoy the confection.

Finally, he came to a room at the end of a hallway with a double door, but it was locked shut. He didn’t know how he was going to get inside. He scampered back to one of the offices and hopped up on the desk chair. This was no easy feat as the chair had casters on it and rolled around as he climbed to the top of the back of the chair. He almost lost his balance and narrowly missed falling into a round metal trash can.

Once on the top of the backrest, though, he was able to study the window. He noticed it had the ability to open. If he could push the glass forwards, he could escape out the bottom, head outside and then scurry back inside the window of the room with the double door if it also had a window that opened out. Sergio said opening the window was no small feat. He had to push a lever down with all his might. But it worked and the window swung out from the bottom. He crawled onto the window frame and hopped out onto a nearby tree.

He skuttled along the branch and sat studying the position where he believed the double door room was located. It indeed came equipped with a window that opened but said window was closed. Disheartened, he headed back to the other office. Once inside he snatched a couple more M&M candies and munched them down to deal with the stress.

As he was leaving the office, he happened to see a maintenance guy rolling a garbage can down the hall, wearing a pair of headsets and singing off key. Sergio hid in the doorway of the office and when the man moved past him. Sergio jumped onto the rolling garbage can and held on. The man rolled the can all the way down to the double doored room at the end of the hall. He unlocked it with his badge and inadvertently rolled Sergio inside.

Sergio realized immediately this was the place where the blueprints were kept. As the man began cleaning and sweeping the room, Sergio scampered under a plush desk chair and lay low. It took a while, but the man finished cleaning the room. Sergio crawled out thinking he was gone when the man turned around. Sergio stepped back and hid behind a table leg. The man narrowed his eyes and stared straight at him. Our poor squirrel said his heart was beating so fast he could hear pulsing in his ears.

Then the man shut off the lights and left the room, rolling his garbage can down the hall. Sergio waited and then he headed over to a vault at the wall. He knew that under one of the keyboards on one of the desks there must be the code. Humans were always a little careless. He of course was right. He entered the code into the vault, and it unlocked. He scampered inside and found hard copies of the blueprints of houses. After several minutes of figuring out how the blueprints were organized, he found the ones to the yellow house with the catwalk. He took pictures on his phone and carefully put the blueprints away. He went to leave the vault when he heard a terrifying sound.

A guard-dog entered the room. Sergio’s heart nearly stopped beating. Somehow the security guard realized the vault was open and now said security guard and guard-dog were entering the vault. He would have to hide again. He hopped up onto one of the racks and crawled into one of the rolled-up blueprints. He tried not to shiver. He tried not to make a sound. But a guard-dog’s ears are sensitive.

The dog turned towards him and barked and growled viciously at the blueprints where he hid. The security guard turned and told the dog to calm down. Sergio knew he was trapped, cornered, doomed. What choice did he have but to use his talents. Just as the security guard shined his bright flashlight into the rolled-up documents, Sergio drew in a breath and sprung out into the security guard’s face. This stunned the security guard and his horror hound enough to allow him enough time to dash out of the vault, out the open door, back down the hall, into the room with the still open window, leap into the tree, scurry down the trunk and dash for freedom. He was so shaken by the experience he hid in his drey cuddling his acorns until the next day when he mustered up his courage and brought the pictures to us. Thank you, dear Sergio. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

STREAM OF THE WEEK: IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU (2025)-HBO MAX

Easily one of the best films of the year, this excellent piece of independent cinema fabulously written and directed by Mary Bronstein is an all-out attack on parenting and the medical system. Loaded with symbolism and metaphor, it is an original wonder. Some viewers have found it difficult to watch. I did not. Maybe because I’m an INTJ. I could easily rewatch the film and look for more clever layers in this story. Honestly, I’m baffled as to why it was not nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

Linda (Rose Byrn in a phenomenal Oscar nominated performance) is a psychotherapist who has a daughter known only as the Child (Delany Quinn). As viewers we barely get a look at the girl’s face. This is because Bronstein wants the audience to focus on the mother who in other films is often relegated to the background. This is Linda’s story. Not her husband’s nor her daughter’s. The Child has a rare pediatric eating disorder and must be fed through a tube (likely a phallic symbol) in her stomach at night which Linda must always attend to.

One day, after Linda and the Child come home from an appointment with Dr. Spring (Mary Bronstein), the Child’s passive aggressive medical doctor, carrying a cheese pizza for which the Child will only eat the crust, the Child heads into the bathroom of their upper middle-class Montauk apartment. The kid starts crying out that there is water all over the floor. When Linda goes to check out the situation she finds a crack in the ceiling. The crack gives way, and water rushes everywhere leaving her with a large hole in the ceiling.

Finding herself looking directly into womanhood she calls her husband Charles (Christian Slater who, like the daughter we rarely see) and he says he cannot come home because he is busy with his career. Take notice when you do see Charles, he is dressed in white, a wink and nudge to him being a “white knight come to rescue her”.

Linda then takes the Child to a motel near the water. During her stay she will find herself confronting Dr. Spring, Charles, a Parking Attendant (Mark Stolzenberg), a sardonic desk clerk named Diana (Ivy Wolk), sexist contractors who find reasons to stall on fixing her ceiling, and her own psychotherapist (creepily played by Conan O’Brien) a covert narcissistic jerk who makes the Crane brothers look like selfless saints. Her only comfort is escaping from their motel room at night clutching a receiver in one hand and marijuana paraphernalia in the other.

During their stay she meets James (ASAP Rocky), the motel’s superintendent, who provides some comfort and grounding. But this becomes short lived as one of her patients Caroline (Danielle Macdonald) who is struggling with being a new mother does something drastic.

Scuffle at the Park

January 9, 2026 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here and after searching for the past two weeks our beloved neighborhood cats Demeter the Persian and Madeline the British Short Hair remain at large. We held a meeting this week to decide what to do next because we had no idea what to do next. It was decided that Edison the Manx should be used as bait. It was a nearly unanimous decision…except for Edison who was none too fond of the idea. He protested vehemently. But in the end, we convinced him to go to the park and wait to be kidnapped.

For Christmas my novelist had given me a GPS tracking collar which we attached to Edison. We put Charlotte the Chow in charge of surveillance. The dachshund twins Tyler and Titus were on the ground at the park, one at one side and one at the other hidden in the foliage. Charlotte, Ruffles the Bulldog, Bruiser the Jack Russell, and I were all staked out in Ruffle’s owner’s van which was stationed just across the park in front of Ruffle’s house. I made sure we all had ample dog treats on hand and a large bowl of water.

Around eleven o’clock that night, as Edison sat perfectly still in the middle of the grass, a van pulled up on the park side of the street right in front of Ruffle’s owner’s van. We all heard the door open, and a large figure emerged dressed entirely in black. We watched from the window as he crept stealthily around the front of the van.

“He’s going for Edison!” Charlotte said.

“Is this good or bad?” Ruffles asked.

“Do you think the twins see him?”

“I don’t know but we can’t just sit here and let Edison get stolen.”

“Time for operation deux,” I said.

I hopped on Ruffle’s back, and he pushed the back doors of the van open. We stopped to look both ways before crossing the dark street and then dashed towards the nefarious figure looming over our precious feline. The dachshund twins heard us and each dashed towards the villain, one from the right and one from the left. By this time the monster had scooped Edison into his arms. Edison, not liking to be held by anyone but his owner swiped the beast across the face with his left claw. But this proved to be an act in futility. I leaped off Ruffles back as Ruffles barked bounded around the kidnapper. I barked louder and growled viciously. But the thing of evil was not to be overcome. With Edison slashing and clawing the villain hurried to the van, put our precious feline inside and hit the gas. But this time the criminal made one outstanding flaw: not removing the tracking device we’d planted on Edison. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE APPRENTICE (2024)-AMAZON PRIME**

Regardless of your take on the subject matter, this is a superb film about a father and son relationship. Not a normal father and son relationship but a relationship between a young ambitious would-be real estate developer named Donald and a ruthless lawyer named Roy. The movie was written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi. Be forewarned this is not a movie of caricatures, or humor, or lampooning. This is not a Saturday Night Live sketch. This is a straightforward well-told, well-directed movie based on a true story about two men who form a relationship that is somewhat like Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Especially if you have also seen El Camino. And yes, you may find it surprising, despite where you stand on the political spectrum, that in this story there is compassion and respect extended to both characters. This is less a film about debasing two polarizing psychopathic men but rather a respectful one that helps the audience develop a deeper understanding of who they are, good, evil or otherwise.

Donald (brilliantly played by Sebastian Stan who very much deserved his Oscar nomination) is a young man in New York City in the seventies who dreams of advancing himself and strengthening his father Fred’s (the always fantastic Martin Donovan) real estate business. Donald has grown tired of going door to door in his father’s apartment buildings and demanding the rent. He envisions a bigger brighter New York made up of his own properties. But he needs help because his father is in trouble with the government for discriminating against African American tenants. He meets Roy (brilliantly played by Jeremy Strong who also very much deserved his Oscar nomination) at an exclusive club and the two begin to work together to help solve Donald’s problem.

Roy is a ruthless closeted homosexual lawyer who will tromp across anyone or anything to win his battles. He also throws decadent Romanesque parties which Donald finds himself having to navigate. But Donald is not a drinker due to his older brother Freddy (Charlie Carrick), despite being a successful airline pilot is also an alcoholic. This condition is further agitated by their father’s tyranny and dad’s complete inability to see the future. And staying sober helps Donald stay focused on his goals.

Along the way Donald meets a smart and beautiful model named Ivana (well played by Maria Bakalova) whom he falls in love with, and a controversial political consultant and lobbyist named Roger (Mark Rendall).

Happy New Year! One More Gift for You!

January 1, 2026 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Happy New Year! Since our weekly Thursday blog landed on Christmas this year, we put all five Musicology books up for free for three days. This was the first time we have ever offered all the Musicology books for free. As New Year’s Day has also landed on a Thursday, we are going to give out one more gift. From New Year’s Day until the end of Saturday 1/3/2026, we are offering our blog readers my short novel Chicane for free on Kindle. It is our way of saying thank you very much for reading and subscribing to our blog. We hope you enjoy it!

Here is the link for Chicane.

Good morning and Happy New Year. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to make my first spectacular appearance of 2026. As you know, the neighborhood pets and I have been distraught over the disappearance of two of our feline friends: Dimiter the Persian and Madeline the British Shorthair. Everyone has been on edge. It has been a terrifying holiday season as neither one has turned up. Dimiter’s heartbroken sister Artemus has been caterwauling every night because her sibling is missing. A haunting sound if I ever heard one. As there have been coyote sightings, I have started buying groceries for Bernard D. Bunny and his sister Belle. This is no easy task at this time of year. The stores are crowded, and it is most difficult for a toy parti poodle such as myself to navigate my way around the store. I finally managed to learn how to drive the scooter. It is a bit of a stretch, but I can turn it on and navigate my way down the aisles. However, I have somehow managed to upset some of the senior customers. One even had the audacity to tell me poodles are not allowed to ride their scooters. How rude.

All the pets in the neighborhood have decided to spend today comforting Artemis. We are all going to her house for appetizers and sparkling water. Tomorrow we will restart our search for her beloved sister. Next week my novelist will restart her stream of the week. Until then, I bid you Happy Holidays. Adieu.

Merry Christmas! Our Thank You to You!

December 25, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good morning and a very Merry Christmas to you all! This is the first time our blog has landed on Christmas Day, and we decided to do something different. We are grateful to everyone who has taken the time to subscribe and like us, and we wanted to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts and give something back. Starting today, Thursday, 12/25/2025 until one minute before midnight on Saturday, 12/27/2025 all five Musicology books are FREE on Amazon Kindle. This is the first time we have ever offered the entire series for free. The books are as follows:

Musicology: Volume One, Baby!

Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!

Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!

Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie!

Musicology: The Epiquad

Now that my novelist has finished talking, it’s time to pay attention to me. Merry Christmas. I am Gigi the parti poodle and I too wish to thank you for all the support you have given our little blog. The first four books of my novelist’s dramedy satire are a behind-the-scenes look at what takes place over the course of one season of a floundering singing competition reality show. The Epiquad takes place during the four months following the show’s end.

Musicology is about a divorced record producer named Max Buckner whose record label is in chapter 13. Out of desperation, he agrees to be one of the off-stage mentors for the contestants of a TV show called Musicology hosted and produced by his long-time friend Devon Daniels. Devon surprises Max by also hiring a second mentor: the highly successful Ruby Diamonds. Ruby was Max’s first and best client and the love of his life who got away. Begrudgingly, Max and Ruby work together as they start traveling to five different locations across America and holding auditions. But when Ruby surprises Max by telling him one of the contestants is their child, Max finds himself trying to figure out if Ruby is telling the truth and if he really fathered a diva, a grunge rocker, a country singer, an Amish punk rocker or a white guy with guitar or if it’s all just a lie.

Thank you again for all your support and have a very Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel!

Rain

December 11, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. With the onset of coyotes everyone has been on edge. Especially since Demeter is still missing. The rest of my neighboring pets are quite certain she was catnapped but still, there is concern a coyote may have snatched her up and run off with her. I visited Bernard who has been hiding in his warren with his sister Belle. They are quite afraid of coyotes as coyotes like them very much. I brought some tea and we sat in one of his tunnels enjoying our beverage. Bernard had French butter cookies which went scrumptiously with the tea. He was glad about the rain that came this week. He said it keeps the coyotes away as they like to find shelter during such weather.

We discussed the possibilities surrounding Demeter’s disappearance. It took most of the afternoon, but we decided the most likely scenario was Demeter had indeed been kidnapped. The only thing we couldn’t figure out was who and why. There must have been something we missed. Someone lurking around the neighborhood or perhaps at the park. Someone who had been watching her, plotting, planning, deciding her fate. But to what end? What would they want with a Persian cat? Bernard said he didn’t know. Perhaps to sell her or even something more nefarious. We both worried perhaps her sister Artemis could be at risk too. I thought we might go looking around the neighborhood during the daytime to see if we can find any place or anyone who might look suspicious.

I left Bernard’s just before dark and returned home. When I got home my novelist told me she had some bad news. Madeline the British Shorthair is missing too. I am too shocked to tell you anymore. Until next week I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: NOBODY WANTS THIS (2024)-NETFLIX**

Continuing with excellent streamers to watch over the holidays is this gem from Netflix. I am not usually a fan of romantic comedies that weren’t shot in black and white. But occasionally a sleeper will step into the spotlight and surprise me. Cleverly created for television by Erin Foster and well-acted by its cast, this witty and charming tale of mismatched sweethearts keeps you hooked.

A couple of thirty-something blonde gentile sisters named Joanne (Kristin Bell) and Morgan (Justine Lupe) do a successful frank and blunt podcast about dating. But neither one has had any long-term success whatsoever in relationships.

Then one night Joanne, who is an antagonist, attends a party and finds out one of the male attendees is a rabbi. However, she is mistaken as to exactly which man the rabbi is. She is shocked to find out he is an eligible young bachelor named Noah Roklov (Adam Broody) who has recently broken up with his fiancé Rebecca (Emily Arlook). Skeptical but curious, Joanne begins hanging out with him and they start to develop a budding friendship.

Everyone, except maybe Noah’s goofy but likable brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) do not want to see these two together in any capacity, especially Sasha’s wife Esther Roklov (Jackie Tohn). But the more Noah and Joanne get to know each other the more feelings start to develop between them. Not to mention there are quiet, subtle hints that maybe there is something not quite defined developing between Sasha and Morgan as well.

Coyotes

December 4, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. At two-thirty in the morning Sunday night after lying awake for hours, my novelist got up and went to the kitchen table to play a game of solitaire. Immediately after she’d finished dealing out the cards, she heard a horrible animal sound. She got up and hurried to the window to see what was making the noise. Suddenly, she spotted a coyote heading left. But she still could hear the sounds and was concerned the coyote had harmed a neighborhood dog. She ran to the bedroom and woke me up to tell me about the coyote. I sniffed and listened. I heard the creature. I barked incessantly as my novelist grabbed a flashlight and carefully went outside. When she shined the light down to the right, she was surprised to find it reflected the eyes of a second coyote standing there bathing in the streetlight! She swiftly stepped back inside, returned to the bedroom and told me the situation.

I realized then Demeter the Persian could have run into a coyote when she was out on her nightly stroll. The next day I called together Demeter’s sister Artemis, Bruiser the Jack Russell, Charlotte the chow, Edison the Manx, Madeline the British Shorthair, Ruffles the bulldog, the twin Dachshunds Tyler and Titus and of course Bernard D. Bunny. When I told them the story everyone was anxious. Was it possible Demeter wasn’t kidnapped after all but rather the victim of a prowling coyote? We all pondered the possibility. Finally, Ruffles who originally recovered Demeter’s nametag in the park said, “Wouldn’t there have been blood on Demeter’s name tag if that was the case? Artemis let out a loud sigh of relief. “Of course,” she said, tears streaming down her white fur. “And it hadn’t rained so it wouldn’t have washed off.” Edison the Manx said, “That is good to know but two problems remain: Demeter is still missing, and it is suddenly Coyote season. Bernard D. Bunny shuddered. “I cannot take any chances,” he said. “I will need to stay home and guard my younger sister Belle until the coyotes head out on their way.” The rest of us nodded in agreement. We must all be careful out there as we continue to search for the missing Demeter. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE CHAIR COMPANY (2025)-HBO MAX**

Starting last week, I decided it was a good time of the year to put the spotlight on outstanding streamers to watch during the holidays. One of the most surprisingly good shows of the year is this week’s pick: a dark horse for those who are looking for something highly entertaining, addictive, and very different. The show comes from the minds of Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, and the season finale dropped last Sunday so you now have an opportunity to stream the entire first season. If you have passed it over or have not had the time to watch it yet, I genuinely encourage you to give this show a whirl. I will say the final scene of the final episode is downright Lynchian. Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess. To be honest, I almost gave up on the series after the first scene of the first episode which I thought was childish and annoying. But I was delighted I stuck with it because the payoff is quite good.

William Ronald Trosper (Tim Robinson) is a family man. He is married to his lovely wife Barb Trosper (Lake Bell) and has an adult daughter named Natalie (Sophia Lillis) who is planning her wedding and a high school son named Seth (Will Price). Ron has been assigned the position of lead project manager for a new mall development at his place of work Fisher Robay. The head of the firm, Jeff Levjman (Lou Diamond Philips), wants Ron to introduce himself as the lead on the project and give a speech in front of the employees to boost morale. Ron gives a solid speech and then goes to sit down at the side of the stage with the rest of his colleagues. But something terribly embarrassing happens. As Ron goes to sit down in his chair, it completely discombobulates. He lands on his back and finds himself looking up the skirt of his former fellow high school student Amanda (Amelia Campbell).

Ron is mortified by the incident and downright ticked off. He makes a gentle joke on stage to cover his embarrassment. But when the presentation is over, he hides in his office seething with anger and vowing to reign havoc on the chair company who brutally embarrassed him. He locates the broken chair in the garbage and finds the name of the company is Tecca. He starts searching for them on the internet, and his descent down a very bizarre rabbit hole begins.

Rounding out the cast are Joseph Tudisco as Mike Santini, Glow Tavarez as Jamie, Zuleyma Guevara as Brenda and Grace Reiter as Tara.

Holding a Gathering

November 21, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

Good evening. It is I Gigi the parti poodle and Demeter the Persian cat is still missing. The Dachshund twins agreed to host our meeting. Ruffles the bulldog was there, Madeline the white and black cat that lives next door, Charlotte the Chow, Edison the Manx and of course Artemis, Demeter’s sister who is still in shambles. Bernard D. Bunny accompanied me and the group of us discussed what may have caused her disappearance. Madeline said she thought she saw her heading down the hill that night towards the park. Artemis said it is possible as her sister loves to take night strolls by the park. The park is small. A swing set, a climbing apparatus, some trees in the back. It is usually a safe place at night, but I pointed out my novelist saw a raccoon the other day. We all shuddered at this. Sometimes there have even been coyote sightings but not recently. Edison said it might be a good idea if we were to still consider she could have been kidnapped. And the park at night would be an excellent place to disappear. Especially since there is a trail that leads through the woods which is short and comes out in a bright area with houses. We all nodded in agreement. But what to do next? We are thinking of going as a group to the park tomorrow to try and see if there are any clues Demeter may have left behind if she was there. I will keep you informed on the matter. Until next week, I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

**STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE PENGUIN LESSONS (2024)-NETFLIX**

Here’s a heartwarming and poignant comedy-drama told with surprising depth. The movie was directed by Peter Cataneo and written by Jeff Pope and Tom Michell based on Michell’s true-life book about the time he spent as an English teacher in 1976 Argentina. The film varies from the book somewhat as Michell was twenty-three at the time the story takes place, and the arc of the penguin is a little different.

Tom (well played by Steve Coogan) is a risk adverse misanthrope who bounces around teaching at different schools until 1976 when he ends up at exclusive boy’s school St. George’s College in Buenos Aries. The academy is a haven of sorts from the political conflict happening in Argentina. When the school is forced to close for a week due to safety, Tom and his friend, Tapio (Björn Gustafsson) a science teacher at the school, take a trip to Uruguay to pick up women in bars. Tom meets a lady named Carina (Micaela Breque) at a dance club. They spend the night and early morning dancing, talking and walking on the beach. They happen to come across a large group of penguins lying on the sand covered in oil. They appear to be dead, but one starts moving. Carina encourages Tom to save the bird, take it back to his hotel room and wash it. They do and the bird survives. Carina tells Tom she cannot stay because she is married and leaves him with the penguin. Tom then must smuggle the creature through customs and brings it back to the school where Headmaster Timothy Buckle (Jonathan Price) has specifically said the teachers cannot keep pets. Tom hides him on his balcony and day by day the penguin begins to change his outlook on life.

Rounding out the cast are Vivian El Jaber as Maria, Alfonsina Carrocio as Sofia, and David Herrero as Diego.

300

November 7, 2025 ~ gigicatchesair ~ Leave a comment

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

**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.