Friday’s Theme Music

Mood: superfrifeelife

The pendulum is swinging. It’s Friday, August 30, 2024, and the hours of daylight have noticeably reduced. It’s an advantage at sun soars through blue cloudless skies, working with the air to lift the temperature next to triple digits during the day, like 97 F today. But then the clear skies and longer night lets the temps skivvy down to the upper fifties, delivering relief. Slips of autumn have climbed back into my life. Some maples have shifted into fall fashions. Starbucks is offering fall drinks. School is back is session at every level locally. And football is again rolling across TV screens, carrying news through feeds.

But first: we must get through Labor Day. In the U.S., we have the bookend holidays of Memorial Day and Labor Day. To many, MD marks summer’s unofficial beginning, and LD is the unofficial end.

I read several news articles in depth this morning. One was about how Republicans have softened their climate change stance. They rarely outright deny it these days. I guess that with so much extreme weather killing and maiming our world, they recognize that they look and sound like fools when they do. Instead, they like to problemtize the solutions which Democrats — and much of the world — recommends. Like moving to more sustainable forms such as wind and solar. No, these caus more problems, they inform their constituents, even as they lie about what’s happening.

Last day of my theme of time in the song’s title. As many of age and are forced to cope with changes, we lament the same thing. The Neurons brought the song that asks the question into the morning mental music stream (Trademark timed): “Where Have All the Good Times Gone?” It originally popped onto the rock music scene in the hands of the Kinks in 1965. It’s since been covered by a chunk of performers, most notably Bowie and Van Halen. But I stayed with the Kinks for this day. Ray Davies of the Kinks wrote it and said in an interview:

“We’d been rehearsing ‘Where Have All the Good Times Gone’ and our tour manager at the time, who was a lot older than us, said, ‘That’s a song a 40-year-old would write. I don’t know where you get that from.’ But I was taking inspiration from older people around me. I’d been watching them in the pubs, talking about taxes and job opportunities.”

h/t to Wikipedia.org

I certainly feel the question more now as a young elder (68) than I did when I was ten, at the song’s release.

But let’s face it, things are so much easier today. Let it be like yesterday. Please let me have happy days.

Coffee has been extensively sampled. Stay positive, be strong, lean forward, and Vote Blue. Here’s the music, and away we go. Cheers

Today’s Wandering Thoughts

I‘m suffering from usedtoitis today. You may have experienced usedtoitis at some time in your own life. It’s when you start thinking about how it used to be for you and how matters have changed.

Mine is a minor flare up. My wife’s comments to her friend as I was sitting there triggered it. My wife said, “Oh, Michael used to have such pretty curly hair,” and, “Michael used to have such gorgeous sexy legs,” and, “Michael used to be so muscular and skinny.”

Sure, the Positive Neurons chide me, “Hey, at least you were like that once and there was a person who appreciated it.”

The Curmudgeon Neurons reply, “Screw you.”

It ain’t easy going through the aging changes.

Floofmove

Floofmove (floofinition) 1. A stratagem many animals employ involving stealth, slyness, or quickness to get what they want. Origins: early nineteenth century, Europe and the United States.

In Use: “As Jason turned away from the plate, Hercules snatched his sandwich and darted away, a classic floofmove.”

2. Action used by a human in response to animal activities.

In Use: “Wanting to join George in his nap, the cat tapped George until George made a floofmove so the cat had space to join him.”

The Writing Moment

My sloppy and unscientific observations draw me to a bottom line that five minutes of writing in my head requires thirty to forty minutes of intense typing to put the scene into the ‘puter.

Your results may vary. Also, this only applies to this manuscript in progress. Also, beverages might play a role in the outcome. Like beer, wine, coffee.

Deeper study is needed for more insightful results. Donations are requested. Like beer, wine, coffee. Maybe a wedge of pie.

Floofmotif

Floofmotif (floofinition) 1. An associated melodic phrase or image, often only experienced in a mental state, that accompanies the reappearance of an animal. Origins: Circa 1880s, Floofmanic tribes.

In Use: “Howdy often raced into a room and slid to a halt, prompting a heroic floofmotif, such as the start of the old television show, The Lone Ranger, which he watched as a child, to jump into Diego’s mind.”

2. Decor dominated by animal imagery and items.

In Use: “A floofmotif of cat trees, dog and cat beds, various balls and chew toes, along with several bird cages, a terrarium and aquarium, and sculptures and paintings of animals, revealed the homeowners to be serious animal champions.”

Cofloofinate

Cofloofinate (floofinition) 1. To arrange household activities with an attitude that the animals living in the household must be kept safe, healthy, and happy.

In Use: “Whenever Doris planned a get-together with friends coming to her house, she cofloofinated with her dogs to ensure they had a quiet place with food and water where they wouldn’t be disturbed.”

2. To arrange a room or building with animals’ needs in mind.

In Use: “Hoping to keep her kitties happy but safe, Karla cofloofinated the house with several cat trees and bed, along with a floofio accessible from inside the house.”

Tuesday’s Theme Music

Mood: Oceanastic

Good mornin’ all. Tuesday, August 16, 2024, finds me on the Oregon coast, where I’ll be spending the week. It’s 62 but the weather geeks claims it feels like 77 F. Good thing, as it’s sunny with some clouds, but will only crank up to 65 F here.

Our regular cat sitter is staying with the boys, Tucker and Papi. Tucker is happy with her but Papi, ever wary, is like, “Who are you and what did you do with my people?” She has only done this for us about fifteen years. It takes Papi time to trust.

I don’t know what we’re doing today. Been up a couple hours. Had my coffee. Listening to the others slowly awaken and begin talking about the day. Think I’ll just go for a walk on the beach.

Haven’t seen any news for today or yesterday. I’m comfortable with that for the moment. Color in song titles remains my theme concept for this week. I did “Red Red Wine” and “Dirty White Boy” in the last two days. so I’m going with blue today. When you think about songs with blue in their titles, a blue streak of songs roar through my mind. Or so The Neurons say, cranking out melodies from Elvis Presley, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, Foreigner, U2, Badfinger, Willy Nelson, and on and on. The Neurons eventually introduced “Bell Bottom Blues” by Eric Clapton to the morning mental music stream (Trademark blue) but also Kenny Wayne Shepherd with “Blue on Black”. But then The Neurons found an old favorite among my memories, “Devil In A Blue Dress”, a 1966 song by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. We had that puppy on a 45, shorthand for a small vinyl record that runs at 45 RPM. I was ten then, and it made an impact on me like an asteroid hitting the earth.

Stay positive, be strong, and vote blue. Coffee is now circulating through my body. Yes, I know that’s not how it works, but it is how I visualize it, so there. Here’s the music. Cheers

Monday’s Wandering Thoughts

We’re at the beach today. We rented a house in Waldport. The back fronts the ocean but has several hundred feet of sand dunes between us and the waterline.

I was sitting on the back patio, looking over the dunes, watching the distance waves when three young women trudged up the beach over our dunes. My inherent geezer kicked in. “You kids get off our dunes,” I shouted, shaking a fist.

No, not really. I just raised my glass of wine in their general direction.

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