Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Murray Floof (floofinition) – Flooflish actor and floof rock (flock) singer from Floofdon, Floofland. His younger brother is Anthony Floof, who is known for his role as Floofpert Giles in Floofy the Vampire Slayer.
In use: “Murray Floof is probably best known for a pair of international hits, “Superfloof” and “One Night in Floofkok”, which charted well in several countries.”
Los Floofos (floofinition) – Floofmerican floof rock (flock) musical group from East Floof Angeles. Formed in 1973, floof and roll, Floof-ex, country, and F&B influenced their sound, along with more traditional genres such as floofbia, floofleros, and floofteña. The band achieved its first major success in 1983.
In use: “Los Floofos most major hit is “La Floofba” in 1983, itself a cover of Ritchie Flooflens’ version of the floofditional folk song.”
Floofsolution (floofinition) – 1. Act of forgiving an animal for a sin or bad behavior.
In use: “Even though the cat had once again knocked over the trash can and picked through it, she scolded him but then gave floofsolution, because he had such a damn cute face and deep purr.”
2. A remedy adopted for the betterment of an animal’s existence or comfort.
In use: “The dog loved eating popcorn, so the only floofsolution was to make enough for the dog, too, and ensure it was safe for him to eat.”
Floofvenient (floofinition) – Item, activity, or process suited for an animal’s comfort, pleasure, or preferences, or to aid an animal.
In use: “As her dogs became elderly and experienced hip issues, Ida indulged several ramps to make it floofvenient for her girls to climb onto the beds and the sofas.”
Quinn was a compact cat. His silky fur and bushy tail made him look larger than he was and often drew compliments. I was partial to his sharp, jade eyes. His nickname was black paws for the dark fur that covered them.
He passed away almost a year ago, succumbing to cancer. With us for about twelve years, he was a refugee from another house on the street. He’d come in during a cold and windy night when I was out calling my felines. We fed him and put him up. I put out posters. He was identified, and his people came and got him, but he kept coming back to ours until the people gave up and moved away without him. I’m flattered that he chose us.
A strong-willed feline, he prompted me to write about him numerous times. My favorite was just called “Quinn”, which I posted just over four years ago.
Life’s a rush,
When you’re Quinn.
If he’s out,
He wants in.
If he’s in,
He wants out.
And to find a way,
He’ll rush about.
He was also my inspiration for one of my favorite posts, “The Catfood”, from a few years ago. He was always a picky eater, forcing me to procure new offerings. Hence I found myself in a Walmart store contemplating chicken and waffle cat food.
I’m thinking about him today with fondness. My wife is harvesting the last of her cherry tomatoes. Plucking them from the vine, she sets them in bowls in the kitchen to ripen.
Today, she’s talking about using some of the ripe ones in an arugula-pasta-cherry tomato salad. One of our favorite dishes, it’s healthy and easy to make. Sorting tomatoes that could be use, she dropped a green one onto the floor where it disappeared from our sight.
That’s where Quinn would’ve come in. He was terrific at finding things on the floor, and then batting them around. Most frequently, blueberries were involved. We’ve picked blueberries almost every year since we’ve lived here. After picking, we set some aside for immediate use, and then freeze the rest. Freezing them meant spreading them on trays and then placing the tray in the freezer. Once they’re frozen on the tray, they’re transferred to plastic storage containers. We’d need to do that multiple times. Inevitably, blueberries would hit the floor.
Quinn would immediately rush to them and sniff the dropped berry. From the look that jumped into his face, he hated their smell. So offensive was it to him, he’d immediately start angrily whacking the blueberry around until a human interceded and took it away.
Such a fun sweetheart, he was also a bit of a slut. More than once, I saw people passing by notice him and say something. He’d hurry up to them for love and attention.
But he always returned to us, and slept snuggled up against me. I could’ve used him during this week, when tension from the combination of pandemic life and presidential elections is higher than the moon. Besides, he would find that cherry tomato that was dropped.
As it is now, we probably won’t find it until one of us steps on it or we move away.
Obfloofsance (floofinition) – Acknowledgment of animal’s importance or superiority.
In use: “The humans paid obfloofsance to the cat and dog, and then presented them with their treats.”
Alannah Floofes (floofinition) – Floofnadian singer, songwriter, and performer. She began performing at twelve years old, covering blues and floof rock (flock) music, developing a sultry, unfloofstakable style.
In use: “No doubt, most people know Alannah Floofes award-winning hit song, “Floof Velvet” best, as it reached the top five (including number one) in multiple countries and charts during 1989 and 1990.”
It began…with work. Although I work for no one but myself now, most of my dreams these days skip around work and identity. It’s an amusing glimpse into my psyche, as if I’m saying, who am I without work? (I don’t consider writing working; don’t like to use that term for writing. Seems like calling fiction writing work debases the fiction. Crazy, right?)
Working for a man somewhere. I don’t know what I was doing, but I was good at it and enjoying it. He was sending me on a business trip. I’d been to the destination before but wasn’t overly familiar with it, so he and I went over a three-D map of where I was to go, to improve my comfort zone.
I had days before I was to leave, and had no reason to hurry. I went home as part of my normal day. We were sharing a house with another family. It was an odd arrangement. We also had young cats. My wife was going around, hiding treats for the cats to find.
I decided that I needed to check my clothing for my trip. I went into the closet and went through my suits and shirts. Nothing in there satisfied me, so I went off to buy more. Nothing in the first store suited my moods and needs so I pushed through stores, seeking the right product. When I finally did find it, after a search that took me from mid-afternoon to late dusk, I held up a suit and smiled, knowing that was it.
The dream ended.
Floofscription (floofinition) – Words inscribed to describe an animal, particularly a pet or floof friend.
In use: “After his first pet passed away, he wrote a floofscription to explain how much the animal meant to him, and then decided from then on he’d write floofscriptions for his pets while they were alive, when he could celebrate them with them. That was the beginning of his private New Year’s Day routine.”
Michael Seidel, writer 