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.

Saturday’s Theme Music

Mood: sunny

Greetings to my companions as we continue our interstellar journey on this spinning orb, racing around the sun as the solar system gallops along and the galaxy chases its revolutions. It’s Saturday, the tenth of Feb. in the common era year 2024, and it’s the start of the Lunar New Year. Let’s celebrate new beginnings.

Sunny and blue-ish describes our day. 49 F now, 58 F is in the running as today’s high. Our house is masked for painting, so the windows were all covered in fluttering clear plastic. Made for interesting window gazing. Everything was out of focus and indistinct. Protected by those, I felt like I was in a nest, womb, or spaceship. A later walk found me admiring a skeletal snow crown atop a peak, glittering with sunshine against a clear blue space of sky.

With the painting going on, Tucker planted himself in a napzone and let nature take him to the land of nod. Papi bolted out and staked out a space where he could alternate between monitoring painting activities, his territory, and napping.

I did a small information-finding exercise last night, visiting the Billboard TicToc top 50 songs just to taste what is listened to in that realm and its inhabitants. Many talented performers are featured on the site, and there are a wide range of sounds and intriguing videos, delivering an entertaining and provocative trip.

One song which engaged The Neurons was “Little Life” by Cordeilia. They caught enough of it to pull it back into the morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks) today as I went through the AM routines. It’s a quiet song, like a small brook bubbling past, exuding an introspective, reflective tone. Lyrics like, “I think I like this little life”, emerges in Cordelia’s gentle lilting voice, striking notes about how life goes as you mature. Listening it to with my mind’s ears, I returned in spirit back to hikes through woods or along shore, quiet moments contemplating sunsets and sunrises, and instances when I yearned to turn my back on secular matters and journey inward.

Stay positive, be strong, keep leaning forward, and register and vote, y’all. Here’s to coffee and the rewards it brings. Let’s enjoy the music. Cheers

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Today’s Wandering Thought

Heading into a store, I encountered a woman standing to one said, leash in hand. On the leash’s other end was a handsome but elderly golden retriever, sitting and yawning. I said good morning to her and then addressed the dog, “What a handsome, yawning puppy.”

Without a beat passing, the woman replied, “I’ll let him know what you said.”

We both burst out laughing.

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Floofgetfulness

Floofgetfulness (floofinition) – A condition where things are forgotten or not done because of an animal.

In Use: “He was planning to vacuum the living room carpet but the little kitten was deeply asleep and looked so sweet, he couldn’t bear to disturb the floof and decided he’d do it later. Then floofgetfunless slipped in, and the vacuuming was not done at all.”

In Use: “Enduring a splash of floofgetfulness, Connor left his sandwich out, giving his dog an opportunity to help herself.”

Recent Use: “Demonstrating the profound floofgetfulness of a newby puppy owner, Maurice left the puppy running free in the house while he ran to a store for a few items, and returned to a disaster zone.”

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Friday’s Theme Music

Mood: enthusiastic

It’s Friday, it’s Febrary 9, it’s still 2024, it’s 40 F and it’s unrelenting cloudy. Layers of clouds, deepest dark in the forefront, light gray white serving as background, all blocking blue sky and warm sun. Sprinter has yielded back to winter. High will be a sweltering 43 F.

They’re masking the house today to begin painting tomorrow. I’m surprised by the conditions they work in, cold and rainy. But if it works, it works. We have two good guys, Brad and Gary, from Rick Stevens painting doing the work. They’re thorough and hardworking, clear professionals who have mastered the processes. Fun cheering them on toward the finish.

The weather has the cats playing in-out-in, a very popular game among floofs. Papi excels. Tucker took one turn, came back in, and headed for the bedroom and sleep. Papi, though, played at least five rounds, taking time between rounds to request food and pets. He’s a sweet little stinker.

I’m late with posting today. A few weeks ago, I wrote a little bit around a prompt about someone named Darla. I shared it with a few friends. They loved it and pestered me to write more. That wasn’t in my plans but I kept thinking about it, playing out different trajectories and concepts, etc. Today I awoke with more Darla in mind. I built out a long scene and then sat at the ‘puter and typed. With a few pauses to dress, eat, talk to the painters and my wife, and drive to the coffee shop, I wrote twenty pages today. It just kept pulling me along. Love writing days like this.

Songwise, nothing was homethere until I thought about the drive to write that piece after I stopped writing. Then The Neurons punted “Got to Get You Into My Life” into the no-longer-morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks, I promise). I guess The Neurons thought the song was playing into my writing urge. Well, okay.

This Beatle song was released in 1966, when I was ten. Paul McCartney wrote it, and in this video, he performs it at the White House for President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, and a few guests in 2014.

Stay positive, remain strong, lean forward, and register and vote. That’s all I ask, except for coffee, security, kidness to animals, etc. Here’s the music.

Cheers

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Déjà Floof

Déjà Floof (floofinition) 1. An animal who reminds people or other animals of another animal.

In Use: “When she saw the kitten available for adoption, Rose experienced déjà floof, because the little character looked just like her old cat, Smudge, which she’d lost the year before.”

Recent Use: “Papi looked nothing like Quinn but the way Papi sometimes behaved frequently triggered déjà floof.”

2. A sense of experiencing or enduring an event with an animal that happened before.

In Use: “The sequence of his dog’s declining health triggered déjà floof for Bob, who dreaded what he knew was going to come.”

Recent Use: “Déjà floof descended on Brenda when she saw her husband notice the hungry young stray cats. Animals in need were always finding him, reducing him to a big softy ready to do everything to save them.”

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: nostalgic

Hello, fellow travelers through time and space. Welcome to Thursday, February 8, 2024.

It’s a cold day here, despite sunshine. The weather is deftly nicking us with a cold and sharp northern wind. Growling crowds are creeping in, darkening and getting fat. Rain is expected later this afternoon. It’s now 42 F, not far off from our expected high of 44 F.

Although keeping up with news, I don’t feel up to commenting on anything, so pressin’ on. Today’s theme music is brought to you by Nickelback. “Gotta Be Somebody” was released in 2008. The Neurons let it loose in my morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks) after I experienced deja vu when I stepped outside and breathed in the cold but fresh air this morning. Soaking in sunlight, watching the cats regarding the yard, I thought, I remember days like this from previous years. It was a marvelously bittersweet few minutes. Thinking, déjà vu, The Neurons pumped in more of NIckelback’s song:

It’s just like déjà vu, me standing here with you
So I’ll be holding my breath
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I’ll spend forever with?

‘Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
‘Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There’s gotta be somebody for me like that
‘Cause nobody wants to do it on their own (Their own)
And everyone wants to know they’re not alone (Not alone)
There’s somebody else that feels the same somewhere (The same somewhere)
There’s gotta be somebody for me out there

h/t to AZLyrics.com

Keep leaning forward, be strong, stay positive, and register and vote, right? Coffee has blessed my esophagus; time to move on with other activities. Here’s the music. Cheers

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The Protection Dreams

My wife and I received another round of COVID=19 vaccinations yesterday. We agreed that one kicked us harder than the others.

We received them at 11 AM. Other than pain and stiffness at the injection site, all was going well. After meeting with friends for beers in the late afternoon, I returned home and exercised. Then, about 10 PM, it seemed like someone encased my body in concrete. My newfound stiffness stunned me. Reaching down, sitting down, standing up, movement of any kind was met with defiant resistance.

Next, cold invaded my body. It reminded me of being in Korea one winter. Heavy shivering gripped me. My hands and feet felt so cold, I stuck my hands down my shorts against my groin to warm them and gasped at the shock of my cold hands. I normally sashay through the house in gym shorts and a tee shirt. Now I applied additional layers, including socks. Socks! The indignation. Then came headaches and a mild fever. I woke up at one point soaked with sweat.

Meanwhile though, I dreamed when I slept. I was heading a horizon. Tall, dark walls were being erected. That’s my protection against COVID-19, I told myself. I had variations of that dream three times during the night. The walls were different each time. In the second dream, I said, “I need bigger, stouter walls, taller walls.” Someone — a male — replied, “They’re coming.”

All three of these dreams were short. They felt like they were less than a minute, and in each, it was only me, darkening skies, and protective walls.

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A Dream Shard

Hearing something — can’t even saw what it was — today when I was in the coffee shop writing, I suddenly see a forgotten dream from last night. Really, just a shard. First person personal point of view, I’m driving in a car along a winding country highway. Leafy green trees blur by on either side. It sometimes seems like someone is with me but that’s inconsistent. I mostly seem to be alone.

Everything is going smoothly. I’m on a long road trip. Ahead is where I’m going to leave the country highway and jump onto the Interstate. The first road is climbing and turning. I split off. Cresting a ridge, the on-ramp veers left and goes down a steep hill and into intense banking as the ramp joins the Interstate and the Interstate goes left. Sunshine bathes the cars and roadway.

I won’t be on this road long, just a few miles. As I hit the banked curve and merge with the traffic, I press the brake pedal and recognize, I’m not slowing. Speed picks up despite greater pressure on the pedal. I announce, “I don’t have any brakes.” Someone in the other seat replies, “What?”

I repeat what I said and lean their way. But no one occupies the seat. I mutter, “I’m not on the road long. My exit is just ahead.” I can see it, a long, lean hill that ends at an intersection with a traffic light. “But I’m going to need to stop. I’ll add some brake fluid when I can. I think that’ll fix it. First, though, I need to stop.”

The car hits the exit ramp. It’s flying over bumps. Grinning, beginning to laugh, I kick out the floorboard. “Just do it like Fred Flintstone.” I put my feet down onto the cement road. Pressing the soles down with all my strength, I drag the car to a stop.

Dream end.

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The Writing Moment

Starting the daily revision work with page 425, I did the math. Just 101 pages remained. Easily done. Can be completed by week’s end.

Then reality spit in my face. Stepping into page 425, I choked on misery. Such clumsiness in the prose. And chaos. Continuity had broken like a quake shook it apart.

Going retrograde, I slipped back two chapters, to where this scene left off. Might be a setback to hopes for a finish this week, but time isn’t nearly as important to me as getting it right.

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Floof Rocket

Floof Rocket (floofinition) – A stunningly fast animal. Origins: United States, 1980s

In Use: “Each kitten displayed unique attributes, but the little female initially called Ruth Bader Kitsburg soon revealed she was a floof rocket, surprising everyone with her explosive speed.”

In Use: “After climbing the fence, it was like the beagle was catapulted away as his owner shrieked for Chester to stop.”

Recent Use: “Claire loved getting into the fenced backyard, becoming a floof rocket with the zoomies.”

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