Tuesday’s Theme Music
Blades of sunshine broke over the mountain a while before the sun broke cover at 7:07 AM. We had rain last night — hurray! Not heavy stuff in our area. With the temperature sitting at 37 F, I checked the surrounding mountains for snow. They said we’d get three to six inches about 5000 feet of elevation. And there it was, a creamy white layer topping the northern mountain ridge. Not much but nice to have it, as it’s been too dry this year. Fingers crossed that more will arrive, especially after reading an article that posits the idea that the U.S. West is in a megadrought. Joy.
Feathered clouds streak the sky with cotton candy pink and blue. We expect a high of 47 today, and no more rain around us, alas. Sunset is expected at 5:43 PM on this Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Note to self: February is over half gone.
Today’s song comes out of walking and eyeing the clouds through a cold rain as I took a walk yesterday and from watching the movie CODA the other night. One featured song in the film was “Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell. Released back in 1969, it didn’t make a great impression on this thirteen-year-old American male. It wasn’t until later that I appreciated the song’s nuances and insights about change and perspective.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you’re able. Here’s the music. Guess what I’m doing now? If you guessed I’m going for coffee, you’re wrong. I already have it. I’m drinking my coffee. Cheers
Floofcam
Floofcam (floofinition) – 1. Camera which animals set up to spy on others or monitor activities.
In use: “Remy needed to keep checking on what his human was doing in the bathroom because his floofcam wasn’t sending any images. Turned out that the human had moved the little toy ball where Remy housed the camera.”
2. Camera humans use to monitor animals or their activities.
In use: “Many people establish kitten rooms, puppy rooms, or foster rooms, to help in their activities, and like to use a floofcam to keep track of what the animals are doing, which they’ll often also stream to the web.”
Monday’s Theme Music
The expansion of the daylight hours continues and, um, expands! Yes, I know it happens every year. Still excites me to see our area gain light and emerge from gloominess. The sun’s arc over our region started at 7:09 AM and will stay until 5:42 PM. Temperatures now are 46 F. We saw 66 on the home weather station yesterday, below the seventies which forecasters proclaimed. Clouds have flocked to the sky, shielding us from the blue and sunshine. Today’s high is expected to be 54 F, and there is a call for rain! Yes, there’s a seventy percent chance at ten AM. We’re expecting 0.18 inches.
Now that the Super Bowl is over, we can discuss the halftime show (I read that MAGAts disliked it because it didn’t feature anything about faith), TV commercials (ah, nostalgia and stars — how much old music did you hear?) and start the countdown to the NFL season. Also, the holiday season is on the way. Also, the mid-term elections. Also, the Olympics. Also, time to do taxes. It’s a busy month! Oh, yeah, and today is Saint V’s Day, or as a friend called it, Single Awareness Day (SAD).
Of the Super Bowl commercials, my favorites were the Amazon one (about Alexa reading our minds), and the one for the NFL, where tiny NFL stars broke out of a TV for a game at some children’s home. But I’m a Eugene Levy fan, so top spot goes to the Nissan commercial. It was a send up of so many action movie tropes.
It might surprise some that the Ray Charles from the start of the Nissan commercial stayed in my morning mental music stream. But come on, it’s a cool song. Lit. Here’s “What’d I Say” from 1959.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Here we go. Take it, Ray, while I get my coffee. Cheers
Sunday’s Theme Music
Last night was clear. Ample star and moonshine lit the way into today, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. Sunlight kicked in at 7:10 this morning. NIght comes on shift at 5:41 PM, when sunset begins. We hit 72 F yesterday, according to the home weather station, and will see 72 again today. It’s 46 right now. Nice to have such pleasant weather. Why, it’s spring, really, with trees unfurling leaves and birds bustling about. But we roll through daily ambivalence, contemplating what this dry streak and warm weather is doing to our growing season, fire season, and snowpack and reservoir.
Man, we are so out of cat food in this end of the valley. Only have four grocery stores plus three convenience stores and one drug store; all show almost completely bare shelves where wet cat food should be. I’ve ordered from online, dealing with inflated prices. Forget stockpiling toilet paper. I’m more worried about the cat food. We’ll see what another day, week, and month brings.
Musically, a wide range of songs have been flashing through the morning’s mental music stream. Some, inspired by the moonlight, began last night. A few were about sunrises (and our lack of a tequila sunrise). Then, there was the Monkees’ theme song, a few John Denver tunes, AC/DC, and Tame Impala. Like my neurons are going through the mental drawers and shelves, pulling things out to see what they are.
It all settled down to “Panic Switch” by Silversun Pickups from 2009. I have not heard this song in sooo long. Came up into the theme via a chuckle over telling my cat, “Don’t panic, I’m going to feed you now.” The neurons went, “Can you fall asleep with a panic switch.” Another mind part responded, “Huh?” With the speed of a blazing snail, the bass and rhythm found home in my head, followed weakly by half-remembered lyrics until it all arrived with a shout.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, when needed, and get the vax and boosters as and when you can and need. Coffee is up; I’m off. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 