Author: Michael Seidel

Science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. Singer (sorry, no shows) & nudist (in my home). Beer, cat, cheese, coffee, pie and wine friend. Left IBM and Silicon Valley for the southern Oregon life but I miss the ocean. We're too far inland. Gotta move.

The Time Thing

Holy moly, writers, do you grok that it’s already April? March flashed by like the Flash (copyright DC Comics) in a super hurry, which sums up how 2018 is speeding by for me.

I know some of this phenomena of time speeding past is because I keep busy, writing and editing every day. A full schedule keeps me from contemplating too much of the present. Compounding this is how I live in my novels. I’m much more aware of my characters’ timelines and how they’re living their lives than my timeline and how I’m living my own.

That doesn’t bother me. I come up for a daily gulp of reality. Reality is not as much fun as fiction. Then, who said life is about being fun, right? Life is about surviving and procreating, right?

No, life is what you make it. I’m making mine into a writer’s life. I’ll probably pause someday, many books written, and wonder, what happened to the time? I’ll know, but I’ll still present the rhetorical query to myself, because that’s my mental and emotional construction.

Then again, this could be one of many universes where I exist, and when I die, all my selves will come together (cue the Beatles tune, or the Aerosmith cover, if that’s more to your taste) and compare notes. Maybe my other selves will hear about my writing life, and tell me how much they envy me, because I chose to live my life as I wanted. Others will probably chastise me for being selfish. Oh, well, you can’t please all your selves all the time. Best to quickly accept that and move on.

Time to write like crazy, at least one more time.

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Monday’s Theme Music

Not an uplifting song, but one that inspires a sense of hope. “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. came out in 1992. It works as a vehicle for when you’re down and suffering, when the shit’s gone wrong, and you’ve hit the bottom, and you’re ready to start climbing back up again.

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Delecat

Delecat (catfinition) – to entrust a feline with a duty or responsibility.

In use: “In retrospect, he was foolish to think Princess was the best delecat for mousing, as she preferred companionship to hunting.”

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The News Impact

Ever read a news article, like the one from the other day, when a thirty pound tumor was removed from a sixty-something year-old man, and think, hey, I wonder if that’s what’s wrong with me?

No? Just me, then?

(As an aside, I realized this could be tagged as tumor humor.)

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Floofitude

Floofitude (catfinition) – the quality of being a cat

In use: “She wasn’t a large cat but her floofitude, demonstrated by her inquisitive manners, loud voice, and mighty hunting skills, expanded her presence and amplified her impact.”

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Sunday’s Theme Music

I awoke streaming an old song, which led to another and another. My brain was like a golden oldies station, if you can respect that golden and oldie are subjective terms. How you relate to them depends upon where you reside on the age spectrum.

Among the songs streamed today:

Sly and the Family Stone, “I Want to Take You Higher” (on the Mike Douglas Show – remember it?)

The Turtles, “Happy Together”

Dobie Grey, “Drift Away”

Sly and the Family Stone, “Dance to the Music” – such a lively and imaginative song

After posting this partial list, I can see how my mind pivoted through common words, themes, and times. I finally settled on this song because its signal strength had more bars. Here is “Life Is A Rock” by Reunion from 1974. It’s a novelty song, but it’s fun to listen to the lyric’s references. Enjoy.

 

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Virtually

I thought about having a cup of virtual coffee today, but I wasn’t sure that the virtual caffeine would give me the virtual lift I needed. On the plus side, I could think of virtually no health risks to virtual coffee. It came out to be a virtual tie with drinking real coffee, until it came to the taste. Virtual coffee has virtually no flavor.

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Saturday’s Theme Music

“Turn Up the Radio” by Autograph was a party mainstream when I was stationed in Germany in the late 1980s. Drinking guys were fond of gathering in a circle and belting the song out. (At least my circle of military buddies followed this practice, to the dismay of neighbors.)

“Turn Up the Radio” was made for that activity. The lyrics were simple, and the backing music and rhythms begged for a power sing-along. Other than that one song, learned off the radio and at parties, I knew and know nothing about Autograph.

“Turn it up. Yeah.”

 

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Floof-flop

Floof-flop (catfinition) – a cat who likes to flop down on a surface and presents its belly (which isn’t always an invitation to a belly rub); an acrobatic feline move involving dropping to a surface, flipping over, and sometimes stretching.

In use: “Quinn was a natural floof-flop, and did so whenever he had a chance to interact with people he trusted.”

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