Cat Schwartz

Shades of Grey (Dulcie Schwartz)
$28.95
It's a sensation known to many who have loved and lost a pet: a glimpse out of the corner of the eye of a familiar furry shape, the scratch of claws walking down a hallway at night when there's no one left to walk, the sudden weight of something jumping on the bed, only there's nothing really there but memories.

That's the situation for Dulcie Schwartz, still grieving the loss of her beloved cat, Mr. Grey. The rest of her life isn't going any better. She's a struggling graduate student at Harvard, trying to come up with a topic for her dissertation. She's working as a temp at an insurance company, doing endless data entry. Her best friend and roommate Suze has taken a job out of town, so Dulcie is having to share space with Tim Worthington, a spoiled rich kid.

Things are about to get worse.

On her way home, Dulcie is startled to see a cat resembling her late pet and seems to hear a voice say, "I wouldn't go in if I were you." She turns, but sees no one except the cat who is now placidly washing its face.
Whatever the source, it turns out to have been good advice, because once inside she finds Tim has been murdered--with Dulcie's mother's second best carving knife, no less.

What follows is well-crafted mystery with numerous suspects and several intriguing (and topical) subplots that dangle in front of the reader like ribbons teasing a kitten. Readers who enjoy an academic setting will have a field day with Dulcie's struggle to find some new reading of an early novel that might keep her grant money flowing, not to mention the wonderfully atmospheric library, nicely juxtaposed against modern computers which hold key clues.

Then there's a hint of the paranormal with the mysterious messages from someone, offering cryptic advice. Is it the ghost of Mr. Grey, still looking out for Dulcie? Or is it only her subconscious, desperate to hold on to some part of her beloved pet? Or has the stress and strain finally gotten to Dulcie, and she's losing her grip on reality, just like a heroine in a gothic novel?

There are some interesting secondary characters as well. My favorite is Lucy, Dulcie's flower child mother who advises burning sage to clear out the bad vibes from the apartment and offers tarot readings but whose love is unconditional. Let me amend that: Lucy is my favorite human, because Mr. Grey, alive or deceased, is also quite the star.

As someone who ought to join Garrison Keillor's Professional Organization of English Majors, I particularly enjoyed the parts where Dulcie read and reread and reread her chosen novel, desperately seeking something fresh and new to say about it. I suspect some treatments of literature espouse theories that the scholars don't believe for a minute, but just needed to publish or perish.

The only real complaint I have is that the print is a bit small for my taste. A sign of my advancing age, I know. Alas, there doesn't seem to be a large print version available as yet. Let's hope the publisher takes the hint.

First Aid for Cats: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet
$12.95
This book is well-written and has concise, easy-to-follow instructions. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to be prepared for administrating emergency care to their cat.

The Silence of the Lambs (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
$19.98
This is one of my all time favorite movies. This is a five star movie and my two star rating applies only to the Blu-ray transfer. I have the Criterion Collection Edition of this movie. In comparing the Blu-ray edition and the Criterion DVD edition, I found the Blu-ray edition to have a less appealing color palette. It is somewhat bluish, less saturated, and sometimes looks magenta. The Criterion edition has an overall warmer tone. The movie itself also does not seem to benefit all that much from the higher resolution transfer either. I don't know if it's the definition of the film or if the transfer wasn't well done. You are not going to see the kind of sharpness you see on more recent Blu-ray transfers such as The Dark Knight or Revolutionary Road.

Excellent film, though if you have the DVD already it is probably not worth it to get the Blu-ray version.

Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers
$2.99
I have my grandchildren every other week for a Movie Night. They ALWAYS choose Tom & Jerry. I don't know why, but children ages 3-7 love Tom & Jerry. They will watch it over and over and laugh out loud every single time. It's not educational by any means, but at it's not scary or gory.. so for an occaisional fun movie for them, it's a winner.