Sunrise was 7:40 AM today in Ashland. Sunset is expected at 5:04 PM. Yes, we have ten hours of daylight but zero hours of sunshine expected. Cloud cover is complete on this 47 degree F day. The high is expected to be 55 F. I’m dubious; we didn’t reach our high yesterday.
For no reason that I can uncover, “Hey Soul Sister” by Train (2009) is occupying the brain’s music stream this morning. It’s a light song that features a ukulele. I guess my mind craved something light. That ties in well with my light dreams, which seemed like they were all sitcom moments, almost like a skit comedy television show.
Four days until Joe Biden is sworn in as the forty-sixth POTUS. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and enjoy life as much as you can.
Todays sunrise in Ashland, OR, was 7:40 AM. Sunset is 5:04 PM. A light gray overcast sky keeps the sunshine at bay. The temperature is 42 degrees F but a high of 56 is projected, along with light rain.
Today’s theme music is “Animal I Have Become” by Three Days Grace, 2006. I chose the music on behalf of the United States and the nation that it’s become. Torn by division, rhetoric and activity turns more violent and urgent. As blacks have been killed by police, people took to the streets to protest the deaths. Many of them were senseless, but officers were exonerated. Several particularly infuriating people, like Breonna Taylor, unarmed, in bed, innocent of everything but being black, killed by police in their zest to ‘serve and protect’. There was also George Floyd, killed by an officer who was busy serving and protecting, by kneeling on his neck until he died while his fellow officers, serving and protecting, looked on. This was apparently for a report of a crime of passing a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. Numbingly, those are just two examples that fueled the anger and protests that swept the nation on behalf of justice in 2020.
Meanwhile, on the right, they got busy protesting those protests, screaming in response, “Blue Lives Matter”. That blue lives really didn’t matter to them became apparent (as if we weren’t sure) as Trump supporters, who are quite right wing, conservative, and white supremacists, battled with the police in support of a coup attempt, beating many police officers, killing one. On the right, they believe that the 2020 election was stolen by ‘the left’. They think that there was all sorts of fraud, uncounted ballots, and thrice counted ballots that helped propel Biden to his landslide (in Trump’s words, as Biden won the EC by the same number as Trump did in 2016). Trump himself, and GOP cohorts, continue feeding this lie. They insist that evidence exists.
This evidence has never been shown.
On the right, they claim the evidence will be shown, and we’ll all change our tune. What’s keeping them from showing this evidence anywhere is the response given by the rest of us.
One note that has everyone (outside of the people who believe that the 2020 election as stolen) shaking their heads, is why would this all-powerful election-stealing apparatus only steal the presidential election? Why would they not steal the Senate and House? Why wouldn’t they also steal the state elections? They use the same ballots. Apparently, though, while the right believes this election-stealing apparatus is all-powerful, it’s not powerful enough to steal those elections. Yeah, SMFH.
With Trump impeached again, Trump unwilling to concede, little change to police policies and practices, and FBI reports that the right have violent plans to change the results of the 2020 election, “Animal I Have Become”, a song about a man struggling with drug addiction, seems right.
On a WordPress note, they appeared to have fixed some issues, in my experience. The site published properly yesterday. Of course, today when I went to post, I couldn’t bring up a page. Took three tries, and the whole ‘post/block’ sidebar had vanished and needed to be called up.
Stay positive, test negative, moderate your drinking, and wear pants (and a mask) when appropriate. Cheers
“Ride My See-Saw” by the Moody Blues, 1968, thundered into my head this morning, partly due to writing, partly to my young ginger feline friend, Papi, aka Meep, aka Youngblade, aka the Ginger Blade.
With writing, it was recognition of how I go up and down about how I feel about the work in progress. It’s like being on a see-saw. With Papi, it was about my sleep getting interrupted. I was up and down, up and down, letting him in and out, in and out. Very floofrupting.
This video and song is a fun slice back to what we were when. Their slender, suited shapes and mod hair. That was rock, then, for a while. Well, no, that look wasn’t universal. I never adopted it. My hair was longer and less styled. (My wife loves the fact that I used to employ bobby pins to keep my hair out my way while engaged in baseball and football. For track and wrestling, I just let it flow.) While skinny, I wore huge bellbottoms and baggy tees. My favorite tee said, “Keep America Green, Grow Grass.” A marijuana leaf was prominent in the tee’s center.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get plenty of sleep. Here’s the music. Enjoy.
Today is a repeat. Used this song a few years ago, but it’s a satisfying song and worthy of being the theme music today.
“Think” by Aretha Franklin came out in 1968. While I love that version, the Blues Brothers version (1980) is a tad stronger. According to Wikipedia, the thing about the movie version is that Aretha had to lip sync the song for the movie. Aretha isn’t used to lip syncing so a number of takes were required. The movie clip also features people no longer with us – John Belushi, Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy, Carolyn Franklin, and Margaret Branch. Technology lets us enjoy them again.
The song arrived in me this morning while I was thinking about dreams. But after reflecting on its words, it’s a good song for this era of lies and insurrection. Think. Think about what you’re trying to do. Think about the consequences. Apparently, many of the insurrectionists didn’t think about the consequences of sedition, and didn’t take it well when they were arrested and put on no-fly lists. Should’ve thought about it. Of course, it starts with the outgoing Prez, who does little thinking about what’s going on beyond the little circle of his ego.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and enjoy the music! Cheers
Afloofcia Bridges(floofinition) – Floofmerican singer and songwriter. Born and raised in North Carofloofa, she became known for a richly diverse style after moving to Nashville to forge a singing career.
In use: “Afloofcia Bridges’ biggest hit was a disco number, “I Love the Flooflife”, which reached number two in the Floofnited States on some charts, and the top ten in multiple other countries.”
I’ve been feeling a change in energy for some months. We’ll see whether this woo-woo sensation of being inordinately optimistic and hopeful is founded in reality or the first stages of dementia or senility. After a particularly rousing dream set, the sensations were sharper today, leading to lyrics from the Spacehog song, “In the Meantime”.
In the meantime, my mind proceeded to bring the song fully to stream. I hope you enjoy it and find a worthy choice as theme music for this Tuesday morning in 2021. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and vaccinate. Cheers
I was watching Vera late last night. Second or third time through it, so the plot twists aren’t surprising. Always love that character as brought to the screen by Brenda Blethyn, and the production team. They mentioned the Romany on the show. My mind barked, gypsies. Cher immediately sang, “Gypsies, tramps, and thieves,” and was gone, making way for “Gypsy Woman”.
“Gypsy Woman” was a 1970 hit song for Brian Hyland. Had to look that up (thanks, Wikipedia!). This was another song for which I knew words and melodies (they’re simple and easy to learn, fitting my learning style) but knew nothing about the song or artist. I remember at the time of its release that I already knew the song, but it sounded different, which puzzled the heck out of young me. Later I discovered it’d been released almost ten before by the Impressions, who had a hit with it. Ah hah!
What I didn’t learn until now was that Curtis Mayfield wrote the song. Here it is for your listening pleasure. Be positive, test negative, wear a mask, and vaccinate. Cheers
Third Eye Floof(floofinition) – Floof rock (flock) band. Formed in 1993 in Califloofia, the band landed commercial success with several hit songs in the late 1990s. The band continues to tour and perform.
In use: “Third Eye Floof’s first hit song was “Semi-Charmed Floof” in 1997, which reached number four in the Floofnited States.”
Attacking issues head-on has always been my preferred style. It doesn’t make me popular with many but to avoid doing things because you don’t want to upset others doesn’t often work. Likewise, fearing of the outcome isn’t a good reason for not doing the right thing. Defining ‘the right thing’ can be quarrelsome. Recent example: Trump supporters are screaming ‘stop the steal’. They think they’re doing the right thing because they’re feeding on false information. Their dear leader, aided and abetted by Fox News, OANN, Newsmax, and spineless Republican politicians at multiple levels, keeps barking about illegal votes and election fraud. Matters have been addressed in court; the evidence has never been found nor presented. That doesn’t stop the mad dog and his followers.
With all of this in my head this AM, my brain tied it up with the Incubus song, “Drive”, the 2000 song all about resisting fear and standing up.
*PAUSE*. I know that there are some out there that’ll respond, well, isn’t that a reason not to wear a mask, lockdown, and practice social distancing? I reply, “No. That’s not the same at all.”
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get vaccinated. Also, keep up with the facts. Don’t allow yourself to wallow in lies and fear. Cheers
Morning, Michael, time to get up, my brain insisted. Then, mimicking an old “Jetsons” routine, added, “Up, up, up, up, up.”
Really, I muttered. Again? Must we go through this every morning?
By now, the cats were aware that I’d returned to life, and were getting in on the efforts to make me rise and shine.
I sighed. Must I endure this every morning?
By then, my bladder was also suggesting it was time to get up, and my stomach was adding that it was ready to get up and eat, and my brain was whispering, coffee (which it knew would stimulate me into activity), so I complied. As I stumbled down the hall, thinking, every morning comes too early, my mind’s word-association processes kicked in. Memory brought up Sugar Ray singing “Every Morning” from 1998.
Oof. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get vaccinated.
