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Superflooficial (floofinition) – Of, or relating to, an animal, particularly a housepet or pet.
In use: “In many superflooficial households, ‘cat trees’ for their felines are prominent, and beds and special furniture, such as smal armchairs, is provided for the household’s cats and dogs’ comfort.”
Proflooftism (floofinition) – An attitude toward animals dominated by desires and efforts to improve animals’ circumstances and improve conditions for animals even if such activities diminish human’s control over animals or challenges cultural traditions.
In use: “With the advent and rise of proflooftism, nations are being urged to eliminate sport or trophy hunting, and cruel sports such as bullfighting and cockfighting.”
We rose to a sky rich with sunshine. It’s Sunday, January 8, 2023. The sunshine is welcome. It’s in the forties here but the cats and wife agree, it feels colder than that. I was out at midnight last night, delivering used kitty litter to a trash can, and paused to check out the night. It smelled like winter to me, if you know what I mean. That sort of element has been missing for this winter except for a few days.
Sunrise finally moved off of 7:40 AM. At last we’ve begun moving toward an earlier sunrise, with the sun sneaking up on us a full minute earlier. Friggin’ rejoice. Sunset is all the way back to 4:56 this evening. By next week, it’ll be setting after 5 PM. I’m looking forward to a longer day. A cougar prowling the town after sunset reduces my willingness to go out there. I don’t think the big cat will attack me, but I really don’t need to test that theory.
Today’s song is by a group called Montrose. The name comes from Ronnie Montrose, the lead guitarist and band founder. Sammy Hagar was the lead singer. The song in the morning mental music stream is “I’ve Got the Fire”. Watching the video and listening, it’s interesting how much Sammy’s voice stayed the same through the decades. Anyway, the song came out in 1974. I didn’t know about it at the time. I entered the military in October of 1974 and the album was released a little later. When in basic, we had little outside contact. This was before the net, personal computers, and cell phones. For people to reach us, they had to contact the squadron office and leave a message. We weren’t permitted to hear radios or watch televisions. Riding in motorized vehicles were off limits until the final week. We had to earn the right to visit the base exchange after several weeks. Funny in retrospect, but we knew little going on outside of our unit. We were allowed to line up and use the pay phone to call home after three or four weeks, if you and your unit were making satisfactory progress.
Anyway, after finishing basic and listening to music again, I discovered the new Montrose album. Montrose was another band that my high school friends didn’t appreciate, except for Scott and Rick. The three of us were considered strange, but we had fun.
The song is in mind today because of ginger cat, Papi. It was pouring rain last night. The wind at one point growled like a large, angry giant, and then slammed the house’s side like it was really pissed off. Of course, Papi doesn’t care about that. Doesn’t care about cougars, either. Just, let me out!
I was going to use an audio only file, but I couldn’t resist this Midnight Special video. “Paper Money” leads off. “I Got the Fire” starts at 4:56 in if you want to cut to it.
I finally did after stern words and ignoring him was ignored. A while later, he banged on the door to get back in. Yeah, he was cold and soaked. I mentioned, “Come in to the heat. We got the fire.” Then I helped him dry off. Meanwhile, The Neurons started several fire songs. I foolishly let my mind wander into the pickets of music I’ve heard in my life, focusing on all the songs that mentioned fire. There are a lot. Somehow, The Neurons dug out this lesser known 1974 song. Voila, it’s our theme music for today.
Stay pos and test neg. I’m off for a cup of coffee, hear what I’m saying. Hope your Sunday trends in a positive way. Cheers
Ah, rain, faded sunshine, and mild winds. Feels like another Ashland winter day, 2023 edition.
We’ve slipped Saturday, January 7, 2023, on. It feels a little loose to me, but it’s possible it’ll shrink. Hope you have a better fit. A loose fit isn’t bad, though. It allows greater movement and flexibility.
Sunrise was — again — at 7:40 AM. I believe the sun is stuck on that time. Maybe we need to turn it on and off or reboot it or something. That works with my Roku. Anyone ever have to deal with a stuck sun before? I might need to do some online searches to see what others have done when their sun keeps showing up at the same time.
Sunset seems okay, shifting back to 4:55. Today’s temperatures will flutter between 44 and 51, a narrow operating zone, with the present temperature wheeling around 47 F.
Today’s theme music comes from looking out the office window. The cats and I were admiring the sunshine flooding the western side from the sun’s southeastern position. I was telling the cats that it looked like a nice day out there, relatively speaking. Of course, on the cats’ side, one was looking at me and saying, “More food.” The other was watching a bird outside of the window and saying, “More food.” They weren’t at all interested in the weather from my POV.
Then clouds slid across the sun’s position, bludgeoning the light out of the day. I told the cats, “Did you guys see how that light faded?” Rain began falling. One cat replied, “More food.” The other said, “Where the bird go?”
Seizing the moment and the part about fading, The Neurons started the song, “(I Know) I’m Losing You”. Yes, this is a repeat; The Neurons aren’t very original, especially if they haven’t had coffee.
If you know this song, you probably also know that three excellent renditions exist by notable performers. First came The Temptations, making it a hit in 1966. Rare Earth covered it in 1970, and that’s a damn fine version, too. The Rare Earth performance felt like it had a lot of play time on the AM radio where I heard my pop and rock music. Rod Stewart and Faces covered and released the song in 1971, and it was more to my preference, so that’s the one I’m going with today, even though it was the Rare Earth version which The Neurons first released into the morning mental music stream today.
Okay, coffee is in the cup and ready for launch into my mouth, and then on down its caffeinating journey. Stay pos and test neg. Here is Rod and the boys. Have a fine one. Cheers
“Away,” the floof cried with a flashing leap,
Traveling faster than their paws.
Their antics amaze us, they are so stupendous,
We literally drop our jaws.
They dash into the room and look around,
Then they’re off again with a single bound.
A super floof in their own eyes,
Super cat, super duper dog, they try to prove they can fly.
And when they wear out all their speed,
They bring their empty tummies to us to fill their needs.
Friday, January 6, 2023 barged in like a lion, gusting like March. Sunshine flickered in at – guess what, 7:40 in the morning, again – ameliorating the gloom, licking off the rain’s remains. Sunset comes at 4:54, just like a Chevy big block (yeah, that’s a 454). It’s 46 F now, gonna be 50 F before the sun’s remains drift away.
A lovely sky, striated and marbled blues, lords over the area. Winds keep coming and will keep coming till this evening, they inform us. Down California way, southwesterly of our location, it’s flooding, with trees crashing down, and rocks and mud slip-sliding away, as the atmospheric river wrecks havoc. I think we should name that river the Shitstorm. Then we can just say, “The Shitstorm is running fast again,” and the rest of us will nod and understand. “It’s coming our way.” Then we’ll all know to batten down the patio and get some books and puzzles and candles, and food that can eaten without being heated, and figure out how to keep warm. Been there in other life segments.
I wasted some of my morning singing to my cat. (What, you don’t sing to your pets? Animal.) I was singing to the tune of “Fell in Love with a Girl” by the White Stripes (2002). It was one of those songs I regularly heard while blitzing errands in that era, living in Half Moon Bay, dashing over the hill to go to work Monday to Friday and shopping on the weekends. The floof in question was Tucker, who was shadowing for attention, so I cheered him up with the song. That was the plan but the boy looked more like he was thinking, “That’s not what I wanted at all.”
Anyway, The Neurons of course delivered the real song by the White Stripes to the morning mental music stream, where Jack White still delivers chords and manic vocals to my head.
Time for coffee, isn’t it? Are you sure?
I’m sure, so here I go again, for the day’s first cup. Have a merry one. Stay pos and test neg. Here’s the Stripes. Cheers
A small floof,
Who liked to goof,
Was such a funny one.
She liked her people’s bed,
And being scratched on the head,
But really loved the sun.
Kibble was tasty.
And she never ate hasty,
Nor was other food shunned.
Then it was off to sleep,
Another day to keep,
And dreams about all that she’d done.
Flooping (floofinition) – To follow an animal or to repeatedly circle back to an animal to check on its health or to play with it.
In use: “He was supposed to leae for work at 7, but his dog was sick, so he called in sick, staying home and flooping back throughout the morning to his pet to see how she was doing.”
It’s a beautiful non-snowy winter day out there. Plants are shimmering and swaying to the wind’s music like it was a 1960s Motown cover band.
It’s a brand-new Monday, Jan 2, 2023. Time to carpe Monday. Sunrise is listed as the same time as yesterday but it felt like it might have been a few wingbeats earlier. The temperature has steadily climbed to 39 F. Clouds filter the sunshine but the sun has a new year’s resolution to be a little brighter and warmer for us in January, so it’s out there trying. The hot part of the day comes later, when we’ll see 44 F. The sun will continue on its journey out of our valley at 4:50 PM, because new year or not, the Earth plans to keep on rotating. Rain is expected.
“Brand New Day” by Sting (1999) seemed like a natural for The Neurons. Looking out at the Monscape, the song rose into the morning mental music stream. Sitting beside me, the cats began singing and swaying to the beat. I may have imagined that part; I really don’t think they could have carried the tune as well as it seemed.
I’m off to carpe some coffee. Stay pos, test neg. Remember, today is the first day after the last day. Here’s Sting with his music. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 