Category: News

Saturday’s Theme Music

Sunshine! Blue skies. Been wondering when they’d come a-calling again. Beginning to think blue skies and sunshine were ghosting me. I thought we were getting on well but then suddenly, nothing. Honesty, this weather is so fickle.

Back home in the manse. Cats thrilled to see us, demanding that we show how much we missed them. Attention and affection. Treats and food. More attention and affection. More. More.

It’s 54 F outside and feels like a pastoral spring day under development. 6:17 AM saw the sun step into Ashlandia. It’ll be here until 8:01. Weather debates offer us a range of high temps from 67 F to 71 F possible. I’ll take the higher one, thanks.

Came back to news of a death, cousin’s wife. Cousin died two years ago, cancer. Few years younger than me. Nobody has details about her death. Just catching up on more general news, mostly political, and Alphabet’s CEO’s pay of $200M per, local news. Been off the grid basically.

Songwise, Der Neurons plugged “My Generation” by The Who from 1965. I was nine when it was released but I became an enduring Who fan. That line, “People try to put us down,” is pretty apt. We’re boomers and oh how some of the youngsters are pissed with us. Speaks huge tomes about generational attitudes toward one another, doesn’t it? We were being put down as teenagers and put down as oldagers. Well, screw ’em, we say, but with more words. Of course, the most famous line out of the song is, “I hope I die before I get old.” Talkin’ ’bout our cynicism. Let’s not all just f-f-f-fade away.

Stay strong and positive. Hope the sunrise favors you with a satisfying day on each and every one. Here’s the music. Half my coffee is already gone. Good stuff.

Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

“I love the smell of snow in the spring. It reminds me of winter.”

Yes, snow continues in Ashlandia’s April on Wednesday, Apil 19, 2023. Just another inch. Sort of fun, interesting, and unsettling for the cats, who firmly believe winter was supposedly over and sunshine was expected to be ruling. They go and seek it each day in their own way. Papi the young ginger fellow dashes out, finds the sun disappointing and dashes back in. Not trusting just one result, he duplicates his efforts at least three or four times to validate his findings.

Tucker, the black and white low-haired dude with the thick layers and big paws, strolls out, takes the sun he finds, tests the air with his nose and then grooms in the sun until a nap takes over.

Here in Ashlandia, where the coffee is made of ground roasted beans and boiling water, sunshine arrived without an entourage at 6:23 AM and will abandon our valley before eight PM strikes. If it doesn’t get out in time, the sun turns into a car shaped like a pumpkin and stays in Ashlandia giving floof rides. Weather scribes tell us — drum roll — it’s 30 F now, will reach about 50 F, and we can expect rain. Not much change from the last few days.

Today’s theme music is by Bob Marley and comes via The Neurons to the morning mental music stream from a streaming TV experience called Ted Lasso. “Three Little Birds” was released in 1980. I felt like a relaxing and hopeful song was essential for what could be a hump day for so many people.

Stay pos. Take a coffee break now and then. Think I’ll take one now. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Sunshine beats down on snow-plated Ashlandia. Concerns about how this late snow and cold weather affects the growing season circulate among growers and friends. Everyone is reminded, this is just one corner of the growing season puzzle. Can’t worry about it now. Do as needed and press on.

It’s Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Sunrise was at 6:23 AM. 29 F last night, unseasonable for us. The snow is light and already burns off where the sun touched down earlier. Weather functionaries tell us it’ll rain today and the high will be about 50 F. So spring will show up for a bit. Sunset comes a few minutes before 8 PM.

Alexa told us yesterday that snow was going to happen during the night. We were surprised that she was right.

In other news, Nicolas Cage regrets eating cockroaches. Cats ask with puzzlement, “Why? They’re crunchy.”

Trips are being planned. Knowing this, the cats have subverted The Neurons and have them playing “Everytime You Go Away”. I had the Paul Young verson in my head but found this video from Farm Aid 1985 with John Hall singing it, backed by Billy Joel, Bonnie Raitt, and GE Smith. Has sentimental value for me, as I remember watching some of this concert on the telly.

Stay pos as you can. Coffee is being served and I shall partake. It’s my one weakness, along with fifty million other things. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Mooday’s Wandering Thoughts

Heck of a week for guns in the news.

Missouri – A Black teenager is shot in the head and chest by an 85-year-old white male homeowner. Homeowner accused the teenager of trying to break in. Teenager was at the wrong house to pick up his siblings.

Sweet sixteen party was rocked by four deaths and thirty-two injured in a mass shooting in rural Alabama.

A Louisville park saw two killed and four others wounded in a mass shooting this past weekend.

Up in New York, a car full of girls turned up the wrong driveway and was fired upon by the homeowner. One of the girls died. She was twenty.

We were just recovering from the Louisville bank shooting last week where five were killed, along with the young killer, and eight others were injured, and the Nashville Christian school a few weeks before, were three children and three adults were killed, and now we have this weekend to remind us of the effectiveness of thoughts and prayers when it comes to guns and murder.

Monday, the first day of the week, is just closing down. Could be a long week.

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Mooday’s Theme Music

Today’s weather – 30 F, clear skies, rain drying on the ground, clouds circling the valley on the horizons — feels like mid-March. This is Mooday, Apil 17, 2023.

The sun is ‘climbing’ into the sky. Isn’t that a fascinating perception, that the sun is rising into the sky as a matter of the planet’s spin, tilt, and flight around the sun? Went out to see meteors last night but, rain. Clouds. No go.

My house weather system says it’s 37 F out there. Papi galloped in after being in for twenty minutes, wet paws sending him sliding and spinning. He’s no Aryton Senna. Weather spies warn Ashandia to expect more rain today, just showers. Sunrise was 0627 and sunset will be at 1954. Highs will crowd the mid-fifties by teatime and then drop as rain showers take over.

News today continues to focus mainly on the SCOTUS and the abortion pill, and the military ‘leak’ of classified info. Many decry this leak and suggest, shake things up. Change how classified is handled. Based on how many leaks? We had several more mass shootings over the weekend. Thoughts and prayers are being offered for actual loss of life by the pro-life party behind the abortion issues. Surely thoughts and prayers can work for the classified leak.

Weather inspired The Neurons today, coming up with “The Sound of Winter” by Bush (2011 – looked it up) in the morning mental music stream. The line is, “Hold on to yourself, it’s like the sound of winter,” which makes The Neurons ask, “What?”

Stay pos. Enjoy the sunshine as it comes until it becomes too much. So we, my beer friends and I, mused as we watched a snow squall flashed through followed by sunshine and then a rain shower. “Wait,” we told each other. “Probably by next month, it’ll be hot as hell and we’ll be wishing for rain.” Yeah, ‘cuz we’re like that.

I got coffee and music. Here’s the tune. Cheers

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Rideday’s Theme Music

April 14, 2023 emerged, handsome in a classic spring style, blue skies, soft air, an icy flair in his demeanor. “I shall call myself Rideday,” he said. “Cuz I will go on a ride. I will ride until the day’s end. I will let it ride.” So Rideday it is.

The mark was marked 6:29 this morning when the sun bathed Ashlandia with its first rushes. Earth plans to move us from the sun at 7:52 this evening. Though it’s 38 F now, the weather counters say we’ll see 68 F before Earth does its thing. No precipitation is planned although clouds plan a surprise appearance.

The latest intel leak disturbs me. Worked with classified materials in almost of all my twenty-plus year military career. War plans, comm crypto, launch codes, and intel from all manner of source. Never talked to people outside those with a need to know and clearance. Never photographed any or it or took it home. Didn’t even freaking consider it. But some idiot decides I’m going to take some home and photograph it and share it with my online friends. WTF, over?

The thing about our system, while we have checks and balances, it mostly depends on people knowing, understanding, and enforcing the rules. Then it depends upon their integrity and ethics. We’ve seen this approach several times this year. First, by a former POTUS who doesn’t want to give it up, who twists all the guidance to make it seem like he’s done nothing wrong. Then, by a POTUS who, in previous capacities, left the classified elsewhere and forget it. Now we have someone who wanted to impress friends.

I can understand some of the first — it’s his personality — and the second, though both piss me off. But the third? I’ve heard of people leaking classified for ideological and financial reasons but this is new one is an ugly low. Been a bad few years for classified. I will tell you this: much of the classified I saw during my years was overclassified. Much of it was pretty damn boring. Like, what the Apollo astronauts were eating for breakfast, which was almost verbatim given on the news before I saw the docs that day. Don’t worry, it’s been declassified.

The weather view outside the window stirred The Neurons. They said, “I got a song for this.” No shit, I answered. “Surprise me.”

They did.

After rummaging through the brain, they came up with one from 1969. By a group called Vanity Fare, the song is “Early in the Morning”. I laughed when they plugged it into the morning mental music stream. Don’t think I heard it in decades. Not the sort of sound which generally attracted me, it was one of those ubiquitous AM staples back in that era. I think more people are familiar with Vanity Fare’s other song, “Hitchin’ A Ride”.

Well, be a pos peep today and every day. Know it’s tough sometimes. I feel it, too. I don’t just coffee up and power on, but indulge in some self-pity and self-examination, dribble a few sighs, and then coffee up and move on. Or try. Sometimes, moving on is an event.

Here’s the tune. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Thursday’s raised itself out of the Earth and declared, “I am April 13, 2023.” A sun sprinting over the horizon concurred and cast a wide net of shine and warmth over the land.

That was at 6:34 AM. It was 30 degrees F at the time. Faint, indifferent white clouds said, “Yo.” Rain and snow didn’t fail. The spring and winter yo-yo continues.

Sunset in Ashlandia, where the beer is excellent and the children are above average, will be at 7:50 PM. The weather messengers spread word, high will be at 55 F, nice, but a little disappointing. Sunday’s high of 73, with spring buoyancy, spoiled us. There is sunshine, though, so the cats are out there sopping it up.

We toasted friends with beer last night and chatted about the weather. Snow fell outside. It cleared. Then it rained but the sun shined still, converting each raindrop into a falling diamond. What is with the weather this year echoed from person to person.

Politic watching again this morning. Eyeing the Trump trials and tribulations, wondering, what will come? Reading of the GOP’s legislative efforts to protect Trump and the Manhatten DA’s lawsuit against Rep. Jim Jordan. Following the spillage over Justice Thomas and his relationship with a wealthy sponsor, and the emails between his wife and others. Thinking about Connor Sturgeon’s murders and his mother’s frantic 911 call that morning.

Wonder and thought, speculations and reflections.

Then there is the Pythia’s Oasis, fifty miles off the coast of Newport, Oregon.

Oddly quiet on the dream front last night. The Neurons ply me with Cheap Trick and “Dream Police”. That’s been used, I scoff. And it’s so obvious. What else you got?

The Neurons responded with “One of these Days” by Pink Floyd from 1971. Basically an instrumental. Just one line of words: “One of these days I’m going to cut you into little pieces.” Nick Mason delivers it.

Stay positive, endure, and overcome. Here’s the music. I’m going to go overcome a cuppa joe. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

We have safely reached the familiar territory called ‘Friday’. Of less familiarity is the date, April 7, 2023. April has been logged in the past, so we have some expectations sunk into us. 2023 has been going long enough to see how the pattern might be shifting. But humans, you know. They make things change.

It’s 44 today in Ashlandia, with rain expected off and on throughout the day. Clouds have been assembled to make it so. Daylight hours are from 6:43 to 7:43, AM/PM respectively, Ashlandia Time. High temperature will find the thermometer licking the mid fifties.

Much U.S. news is about the different elections held across the nation this week and their results, and what’s it all mean, along with former POTUS Trump’s arrest, and what it means, and Supreme Court Justice Thomas and the gifts he received from a wealthy conservative donor, and what it means. Some columnists and talking heads are suggesting that if the former president is convicted, President Biden should pardon him. One columnist cites former President Ford’s comments about impeached President Nixon:

“Our nation is under the severest of challenges now to employ its full energies and efforts in the pursuit of a sound and growing economy at home and a stable and peaceful world around us. We would needlessly be diverted from meeting those challenges if we as a people were to remain sharply divided over whether to indict, bring to trial, and punish a former president.”

A noble thought. I’m not sure it’s the wisest idea. First, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other countries flexing their military muscle, I don’t know that I’d call the world stable and peaceful, though was it when President Ford pardoned the former president? Richard Nixon didn’t have a base threatening violence while flying NAZI and Confederate flags and pursuing a fascist agenda. Nor was the Republican Party of that era busy stripping the government of regulatory oversight in multiple areas, trying to remain in power through gerrymandering and limiting voting to favor their ranks and candidates. The cultural rollback which the GOP fronts is not supported by the nation’s majority, but they are determined to do it.

Coffee shop eavesdropping once again — Writer 101 — found two young women speaking with an older women. Young = twentyish, older = fortyish. Had me wondering about relationships as I often do watching people meet in the coffee place. They were within my immediate circle, ten feet away. Like everyone, they were noticed, catalogued, and then dismissed as full-bore writing mood was engaged. Their voices were loud, reminding me of one family group we have who have booming stage voices employed non-stop, and a like friend, who was always attracting attention (and counseling at work) because of her loud voice. Two of these women were loud voiced, and their statements kept puncturing the writing barrier. As part of that, one said, “Well, the reason is you.”

Oh, damn. The Neurons immediately dialed up Hobostank with their 2004 song, “The Reason”, because their main refrain is, “The reason is you.” The song gained strength when I was walking later, and now occupies the morning mental music stream. I believe sharing is needed to dislodge it. Here you are. I find this recorded ‘live’ version very engaging.

Stay pos, and storm Friday like it’s a pivotal day for you, because it could be. I’m gonna storm a cup of coffee now. Here’s ‘stank and their tune. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

The house floofs are displeased. That makes them a bit aggro. ‘Tis windy out there, they complain to me. Turn the wind off. I would if I could, kitties, although let me note that winds help the ecosystem. “So you’re not stopping the wind,” they confirmed, and stalked off to sing the blues.

It’s Thursday, April 6, 2023, 48 degrees F., dry with rain coming our way, not too long for now, judging from the uniform gray cloud mass blotting out sun and blue sky from horizon to horizon. 56 F will be our high. Sun shuffles out of the Ashlandia neighborhood at 7:42 Ashlandia Evening Time, while it rose at 6:45.

Could all be worse, yep. Caught by a headline, “478 tornado reports across 25 states: How a mild winter led to destruction”, I read about tornadoes and their destruction in several states. It’s interesting in talking with friends and fam in the northeastern USA that they had a mild winter, not much snow except for a few storms. We in the Pacific Northwest were coping with them it seems. Ah, that’s weather.

I was checking news on Yahoo to mix it up. I like picking random news sites to see what’s being reported around the world. I’m not impressed with Yahoo – haven’t been in a long time – which is why they’re not a regular. After reading Yahoo headlines and clicking to some stories, I read a Dallas newspaper (online) before their paywall blocked me, and FOX59 from Indianapolis.

With tornado stories and the wind whistling past the house here, I suppose it’s natural that The Neurons channeled wind-influenced songs to the morning mental music stream. Last up was “You’re Only Human (Second Wind)” by Billy Joel from 1985. It narrowly beat out “Dust in the Wind”, “They Call the Wind Maria”, and “Candle in the Wind”. Have any preferred winds song on your end, other than Spinal Tap’s “Break Like the Wind”?

Stay pos and be cool. Hope Thursday lives up to your hopes and dreams. The cats have settled. Coffee and lemon cake have arrived. Here’s the tune. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Deceptive-son is here. Ashlandia’s valley is deep with muted sunshine. But on my step out to test it all, winter still holds the ruler’s scepter as cold air keeps temperatures in the low thirties. Birds were plentiful and noisy, urging something that we non-birds didn’t understand. The floofs embraced sunlit spaces and conducted their post-breakfast washup. As J. Denver sang, “Sunshine on my kitties makes me happy.”

It’s Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Beer with friends is in the schedule for this afternoon. Weather spies passed a note that rain is on the way and the high will be 55 F. That’s a twenty-degree step up from now.

Democracy was vigorous in New York yesterday as former POTUS Trump showed up to be arrested. People turned up to protest him and support him, and to challenge ideas and positions. You can say it was an embarrassment for the country or a celebration of the nation’s first amendment.

A series about fast cars ruled the dream sequence. I drove red, silver, and blue cars, Ferraris, Porsches, Mercedes, among others, traveling to different places. Arriving at one place, I’d admired the view and then resume my travels. Sometimes I’d see a different car and know it as mine. Other times, I’d be told it’s mine and given keys. My wife was generally with me. Nothing eventful or untoward happened. I was just driving and enjoying myself.

With cars still revving in my head when I awoke, The Neurons were busy pulling out songs about cars. The one which ended up ruling the morning mental music stream is a ballad, “Drive”, by The Cars, 1984. If you know the song, it’s not about a car, but abut driving. The song embraces rhetorical questions, beginning, “Who’s gonna tell you when it’s too late? Who’s gonna tell you things aren’t so great?”

Enough of this typing. The day awaits. Stay pos and be strong. Here’s The Cars. And, look, coffee, and a slice of iced lemon cake. Ah, good morning.

Cheers

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