Sternflooftation
Sternflooftation (floofinition) – 1. Act of talking firmly or verbally disciplining an animal, especially a pet.
In use: “Despite Becky’s daily sternflooftation before she left for work, the cat and dog always got in trouble while she was away, creating mayhem in a bathroom, bedroom, or living room.”
2. An especially solemn or serious display by an animal.
In use: “After she pretended to throw the toy for the kittens, the three tabbies sat down in coordinated sternflooftation to stare at her.”
Tuesday’s Theme Music
Good morning. Today is Tuesday, August 24, 2021. We’re into August’s last legs. September begins next week. Autum will take over in a few weeks. 2022 is hurtling toward us with comet speed.
Sunrise and sunset are 6:28 AM and 8:08 PM, respectively. Temps are lower. Just 60 F now. Expect mid-80s by the mid-afternoon.
We’re back to reality. Back home. In Ashland. Spent a week on the Oregon coast. Drove home yesterday. Coming south/east, smoke took over as the dominate feature, rendering trees and mountains into sketchy outlines, killing breathability, locking out blue sky and sunshine. Oregon, 2021: another year of smoke.
Yardwork needs tending. I’ll put on a mask and do it, though philosophical reservations pummel me. Is having a pretty yard really so critical when attaining it means risking your health. Hell, no, of course not. But, property values, the marketing forces reply. Image and impressions. Some suggest, hire someone. Sure, take advantage of another’s weak financial security and force them to sacrifice their health. Makes sense. Ah, but their choice, right? And they need the money. And there is capitalism’s doom loom in its essence.
The boys — Tucker, Boo, and Papi — are happy to have us back. Lot of love time spent with each yesterday. Heads were scratched. Purrs were issued. Comforting was done.
Had the Animals song, “It’s My Life”, in my mental music stream this morning. “Comedown” by Bush. Then Duran Duran replaced those with “Ordinary World”. Somehow, Lost Frequencies came through from 2015 with “Reality”. Just a matter of words with this light tune, really:
Decisions as I go to anywhere I flow
Sometimes I believe, at times I’m rational
I can fly high, I can go low
Today I got a million, tomorrow I don’t know
Stop claiming what you own, don’t think about the show
We’re all playing the same game, waiting on our loan
We’re unknown and known, special and a clone
Hate will make you cautious, love will make you glow
Make me feel the warmth, make me feel the cold
It’s written in our stories, it’s written on the walls
This is our call, we rise and we fall
Dancing in the moonlight, don’t we have it all?
h/t AZLyrics.com
Yes, I’m all over the map this AM. Happy to be home. Sad to be away from the ocean. Relieved my fur friends and home are okay. Appalled by the state of the air, the extended drought, the multitude of wildfires. Depressed by the break in routine, the inability to saunter to a coffee shop to write (see Air Quality, COVID-19 restrictions), humble that I have a life where I can make such choices.
Reality can be great. It can also suck. At the same time.
Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax. Have some coffee. Or tea. Wine. Whatever. Enjoy the music. Cheers
Flooficane
Flooficane (floofinition) – An animal that makes a huge mess.
In use: “Little Max was a BIG flooficane — a category one beast — who left things overturned, destroyed, and broken on his floofpages through the house.
Friday’s Theme Music
Sol’s magic numbers for the Oregon coast for Friday are 6:26 and 8:13. That’s AM and PM. If you had those times in the pool, you may already be a winner.
Hello. Today is August 20, 2021. In the news today, COVID-19 vaccinations, cases, and deaths are all up. Locally in my county, the vaccination rate jumped to 2.1% a week. Yeah, progress. Probably because people are becoming woke. ICUs filled. Hospitals running out of beds and staff. Greater reports of people who said, “I’m healthy. I’ll survive it.” Then they succumb. In one case, it was a forty-two y.o. mother and her forty-eight y.o. spouse. They left four orphaned children. Mom’s final request was that her children get vaccinated. Why didn’t you go get it, Mom? Why?
In other news, there are still wildfires burning and a drought going on. Politicians and columnists are wringing their hands over the evacuation out of Afghanistan. Yeah, they apparently didn’t see that coming. Perhaps I’m too cynical but it’s exactly what I saw coming back when George Bush and his administration made their promises in 2001. War was going to pay for itself. A cakewalk. Wasn’t that the gang that said they’d always have an exit strategy? The ones who weren’t into nation building? Yeah, so, sorry, not surprised by this disastrous end to a disastrous war. Should have never been there. In drone news…
Yeah, not going there. Just revving you up a little.
Turning to weather, it’s partly cloudy and cool here on the Oregon coast. Low sixties. High will be in the mid sixties. Breeze of about ten MPH blowing. Clear air.
My mind began playing “Love Hurts” for me this morning. I don’t know why. Decided to go with it. Nazareth. 1975. Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax. Let’s be careful out there. Here’s the music. Cheers
Betrayal
Had happened before. Wouldn’t bet against it again. Always without a hint. Always from unexpected direction.
This time, it was below. A knee went off on an excursion. He was walking up steps. Not hurrying. Nothing special. But that knee took a detour to the right. An action that almost threw him back down the stairs. Made him grab the handrail and gasp. Pause to breath. Swallow pain. Yeah, and fear.
Others saw. “You okay?”
He nodded. Not sure what they saw. “Just.” Didn’t know how to explain it. Didn’t want to. “Caught my toe. Tripped myself.”
They were looking. Mute. Knew what had happened. Understood why he lied. Nodded. Accepting.
Continued on.
He followed. Betrayed by his body again. Worried that another betrayal was imminent. Maybe not a knee. Maybe memory. Or cognitive process. Damn body. No long trustworthy.
Thursday’s Theme Music
Good afternoon. Today is 8/19/2021. Thursday. Still on the Oregon coast. Having a late start because, issues. See, we’re on vacation with others. Everything must be done by committee. With great discussions. Great reluctance for others to make a decision. Want to come to consensus, whether it’s to take a walk, drive someplace, or eat something. “You’re eating something now? What is that you’re eating? Well, are we all going to eat now? Is anyone else hungry now?”
Beautiful weather, thought. Sunrise stole in over the coastal mountains at 6:25 AM. Expect it to slip out over the Pacific’s horizon at 8:15 PM. Temperatures are expected to top out at 68 degrees F. Light sea breeze blowing. Beautiful, you know?
Today’s morning crises was about kayak tie-down straps. One was failing on our friends’ car. New one required. Where can we find it? A hard target search commenced. Meanwhile, other shopping was indulged. Crackers. Cheese. Drat, forgot to procure another bottle of wine. I’m doomed. Must endure with beer. Alas. Took us two hours of searching stores and talking to people to find that strap. Fortunately, I had a large coffee with me to help me cope. Coffee. Good for what ails you.
While I was there, my mind began singing a variation of the Eurythmics song. “Would I Lie to You?” became “Would I Shop with You?” That’s because of that verse that goes, “Watch me walking, walking out the door.” It morphed into “Watch me shopping, shopping in the store.” Then, to amuse myself, I created other verses as critical discussions regarding what chocolate to buy was raised and engaged.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Watch me typing, typing up this post. Cheers
What I’m Watching
Yes, it’s time to tell the world again what I’m watching. Mostly so someone will provide tips on other things to watch but also to spead the word on the good stuff.
- Loki. Finished it. Wasn’t hugely impressed. Wasn’t that impressed with WandaVision either. Neat concepts but both struck me as comic books. I wasn’t wowed as so many critics and audiences were. Not sorry that Loki is over. Not looking forward to the next season.
- Just started the seventh and final season of Grace & Frankie. We enjoyed the first episode. We love their beach house. Gives us house envy.
- Hit and Run. Into the fourth episode of this Israeli – American show. It’s holding our attention and we do root for Segev, but sometimes question some of his decisions and behavior.
- Seaside Hotel. Now watching season 5 of this Danish melodrama. Love the character and relationship arcs, and the world’s changes around them, imparted in small ways. A sweet and gentle show, for now at least.
- The Last Wave. This French production caught my attention as I was drifting through choices the other day. I’ve enjoyed a number of Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Aussie supernatural themed shows, so I was willing to try this one. It’s holding onto us with its tale of a cloud and the impact on the town and some individuals. Looking forward to seeing this through. Hope it doesn’t disappoint.
- C.B. Strike. I started watching this British offering on my own in the evening. Then my wife was going by, stopped to watch, and was drawn in. We completed the series as released to date. Based on the Robert Galbraith novel series (and you know who he really is), they were entertaining fare, although some aspects became tedious and overdone (IMO, of course) by the end.
- We’d already finished Shrill, for which we experienced mixed feelings — she didn’t seem to learn lessons, and, as always on television, life as a writer seemed amazingly easy. Also finished was The Underground Railroad. I finished it; my wife did not. Too brutal for her. I agreed, it was terribly brutal. How we marginalize and treat people as a society based on skin color. Origins. Religion. Whatever little thing is deemed different is unacceptable and used to brutalize others.
- Walked away from Halifax. Strong cast, etc., but I didn’t buy into her role as a psychologist on the task force. Seemed forced and unrealistic.
- While I wasn’t particularly entertained by The Bay‘s first year, the second year was stronger and kept my attention. It came to an intelligent and satisfying conclusion. The last season of Jack Irish was good, bringing us up a lot of ancient history, expanding on everyone’s story, and spilling greater light on the circumstances that led to Jack Irish as we knew him. Helps that I’m a Guy Pearce fan, though, I think.
- Also just about finished is Unforgotten. Satisfying cold-case investigations. I could watch Nicola Walker in anything. She does a great job. I think she’s one of those actors who lifts up the production. One point that always has my wife and I laughing is how they ask people what they were doing on a particular night or weekend thirty years ago. This people always remember! Even thought they’re sixty, seventy, eighty. We’re of the opinion that we need to get on whatever memory diet they’re following.
- Just picking back up on The Sommerdahl Murders. I find this Danish show an intelligent take on relationships and personal histories and personalities as well as a decent murder mystery.
- Still on Thou Shalt Not Kill, from Italy. Hard to believe this thirty-year-old woman is a police inspector — that seems like an amazingly young age and she hasn’t done anything that makes me think it’s because she’s brilliant — but it is well-acted and with sufficient twists that I keep on going back. Not the highest one on my list but still worthwhile.
- Tested Kevin Can F**k Himself. Weren’t blown away. Didn’t go back for more.
There are a number of shows watched and off the list — Sweet Tooth, Chewing Gum, Please Like Me, Work in Progress, The Expanse, Killing Eve, What We Do in the Shadows, The Kominsky Method, The Queen’s Gambit, and Counterpoint all come to mind. And there are comedies where I watched the latest season and I’m waiting for the next: Would I Lie to You and QI. Of course, I’ve gone through all the Bosch, Vera, Hamilton, Varg Veum, and Line of Duty to date, along with Case Histories. Wouldn’t mind seeing more new ones of all these. I also watched, again, the one and only season of Firefly.
I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few. In the meantime, I’ll keep hunting up new things to watch. So what’s on your telly/laptop/streaming device? Any must see?
Cheers
