Category: politics

Monday’s Theme Music

5/29/2023

Monday. Memorial Day in the US.

Another pause to honor the military who died in one of our wars.

How each individual arrived in military service begins in a personalized way, and is shaped by their heritage and disposition, education and religion. Propaganda drove people, as did politics and the norms of the day. What it meant to be a man. What freedom and independence means, the rights of individuals and the rights of nations. Some lacked choice; their number was called in a draft. Too many times as lights came on in the aftermath, lies were discovered as well as crimes against humanity. Sometimes those crimes were never prosecuted. Apologies came later.

War is simple — kill more of the rest and undermine their war-making abilities — and complex. Besides tales of atrocities, amazing stories of sacrifice and courage are revealed. Some become legendary, immortalized in books, movies, statues. Others become a name on a plaque. The most fortunate come back, intact as possible.

I served for over twenty years, a kid who walked in on his own, signed up and stayed. What I’ll say of my military brothers and sisters was the same as I’d say for most gatherings. There were some amazing men and women, many average people, a few troubled ones, and some you tried avoiding because they weren’t going do abide by any law or moral code the rest of us used.

Multiple songs about war, the military, and all the matters which those terms encumber came up in the morning mental music stream. The one which stayed with me is “One Tin Soldier” from 1969. Gaining fame from its use in the movie Billy Jack, the song is two stories; one about a war of aggression by one kingdom against another that was fueled by jealousy and envy. The other story being told is about rationalizing bending morality and your code to achieve whatever goal is set.

Go ahead and hate your neighbor
Go ahead and cheat a friend
Do it in the name of heaven
You could justify it in the end

There won’t be any trumpets blowing
Come the judgment day
On the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away

h/t to lyrics.com

Stay pos. My coffee is here. Release the hounds. Time to chase another day.

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Pop quiz, students. It’s Saturday, May 27, 2023 in Ashlandia. Which of these things are not true:

a. Cloudy

b. Spring

c. High will be 78 F

d. Currently 61 F

e. All are true.

That’s right, it’s e in Ashlandia, although there is no e in Ashlandia.

My wife was worried about the cougar getting Papi last night. See, two nights ago, I called Papi in about elevenish. Dude was in his patio condo, but the cat was acting peculiar. Moving slow. Careful. Tail down. Like it was the anti-Papi, doing the opposite of the guy’s usual demeanor. I worried about his health. He usually comes in, gallops across the floor, talks to me, gets some lovin’, and eats. None of that happened, so I prepared him some cat food warm with hot water. Although interested, he showed no great enthusiasm. I coaxed him to his eating site, and he ate it all up. That’s good, right?

But he stayed silent and in. Talking with the other half, she suggested the cougar was seen or maybe Papi escaped something and had a close call. She really thought it was related to the cougar. Papi stayed in that night until dawn. Well, by midday, Papi was his ush, galloping about, tail up, chatting and eatin’.

Back to last night. “I want to keep him in,” she said. “I don’t want the cougar getting him.” So Papi was forced to remain inside. Verily, he was unpleased, talking to me about it in various tones throughout the night. Finally let him out at 6:45 AM, after sunrise. Not a good night sleep for me. Coffee is needed.

Interesting dreams, though. Still reviewing them. Many small dreams, tiny as webisodes.

Tina Turner’s death has The Neurons stuck back in time. Today we’re revisiting “We Are The World” from 1985 in the morning mental music stream. Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, it was a charity single to raise money for famine relief in Africa. Had a who’s who of the United States pop culture stars at that time performing on it, and it was all captured on video. Forty-five pop stars were on hand; fifty were turned away. A few who were invited didn’t show.

Tina Turner was back in the spotlight in a big way, then, so she’s an early featured soloist. Anyway, that’s today’s song. Point after: I’d wondered how many of the performers have now passed away. Someone had already done the research for me. Tina was number ten. Not surprising. Song was done in 1985, after all. Thirty-eight years ago. Many of the performers were already middle-aged.

Side note: I was in Africa that year, participating in an exercise in Egypt’s desert for a month.

Stay pos, enjoy this day and make it memorable by having fun and getting it done, number one. Here’s the retro tune. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Today is Tuesday, May 23, 2024. Like many days which ends with a y, the weather surprised us again. Beautiful sun. Yeah, baby, because it’s bright, but not too hot. Yes, as if the sun changes temperature, right? No, that’s the pesky air and ground changing temps. Today features cool air with a wickedly chill wind. Feels like we’re back to mid-spring now. It’s 46 F but the weather chanters tell us Ashlandia’s high will be in the low seventies. If true, and that wind’s influence dips, it’ll be a gorgeous day. Am I right?

In bummer news, people continue to steal books from little libraries in Ashlandia. I assume it’s people. I suppose it could be animals. Maybe the bears, foxes, and cougars who wander the streets stopped to check out a little library. Maybe they assumed snacks were in there. So they stopped and were like, “Hey, these are books.” Then they took off to read later. I don’t think the raccoons, cats, and dogs are doing this. They’re more familiar with human ways and books.

In local election news, as measure 15-214 trails by 41 votes, it appears it has lost. Nothing official yet. Won’t be official until June. This year.

The mayor and other proponents made comments about what we now can’t afford as a city — like filling vacant police and fire positions — because the measure, which would have given all the revenue from a tax we have on food and beverage the the parks and recs division, has failed. More people on both sides of the issue are nonplussed about the comments, because things like that were never mentioned in the race. A growing majority are asking how and why she’s saying this. Like me, they want to know why this was never mentioned when the measure was being discussed. Focus was always on why the parks needed that money, and other things about the parks, its budget, and its previous surplus that disappeared. Thus, the mayor’s comments struck me as bullshit.

Dreams inspired The Neurons for their song choice today. Apparently. I went through the night’s dream, then left bed and started the daily process. Somewhere along the early stages of feeding the cats, “No Spoken Word” by Stevie Nicks manifested in the morning mental music stream. So, I suspect the dreams were responsible. Can’t connect the dots yet.

The song has that sound and feel to many mid/late 1980 rock & pop offerings. The drum, rhythm, instruments, style. Hear a song like that, and there we are, in the late 1980s, heading to the video store for something to watch, cursing cable TV — all them channels and nothing on — and talking politics, maybe Iran-Contra as it emerged on the scene, or those new things coming out, the Internet and the world wide web. Back then, they were saying that every home would soon have a computer in it. Many scoffed and laughed at the idea…

Stay pos, and use some situational awareness as you navigate Tuesday’s waters. Coffee is being consumed. Drink it if you got it. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

It’s a sunshine slathered Friday in May. We never had the thunderstorms expected yesterday. Out working on the yard — it seems like I’m doing this forever, but I work a section at a time after my writing sessions end — I looked up at the sky and saw no clouds. Not one. Blue as far as vision took me.

Today, the 19th, might be the same. It’s 62F now. Doors are open for breezes. Cats floof* the front and back, washing in the entry ways. They’re contented, it seems. Weather prophets spread news, upper eighties, lower nineties. Sunshine. Maybe clouds, they add, covering.

From yard work came a Joe Walsh song from 1972, “Turn To Stone”. That was in reference to upending weeds. We let dandelions stay because the bees enjoy them but the others must go. One yard section by the driveway is pretty much empty space with decorative bushes. Weeds take over. I don’t use herbicides. That means dig them up. Parts of that area felt like it turned to stone, which invited The Neurons to bring the song into the mental music stream, where it has continued through into the morning. But it’s a song I enjoyed in my yud and it brings back some solidly fun memories.

In other news, as mentioned yesterday, the measure, which would have amended the city charter and changed what happens with the Food & Beverage Tax collected, remains alive but will probably be defeated. I voted for it to go down. Here’s where it gets interesting. Based on how it was written, presented, and debated, it was all about revenue collected via that mechanism being directed to the parks and recs folks. Hold on, many opponents said. The city needs a lot of other things, too. Now, as it’s going down, the mayor and other proponents are stepping forward to say that if it had passed, it would have freed up money in the budgetary process that would have allowed us to hire more, fix things, etc. Wait, wait, wait. All of my reading, all my video watching, and discussions with others, that was never mentioned. Then the major closes her reports by saying that opponents misled voters by lying to them. Excuse me, mayor, but you proponents did a piss poor job of explaining what would happen. It’s freakin’ nuts.

Anyway…

I’m also working on a simple DIY project to replace the slider’s screen door screening. Fairly straightforward process except I can’t get the door off to do it. I’ve reviewed videos, etc, but the door just doesn’t rise high enough to access the wheels and remove the door. Driving me bonkers.

Well, here’s the music. Stay pos, and embrace Friday like it might be your last and make it count for something which matters to you. Coffee’s up! Want some?

Cheers

*In this case, floof is used as a verb, much as man can be a noun or verb.

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Sunshine and thunderstorms are today’s specials. Toaster waffles are on the breakfast plate. Coffee on the side.

It was cool today, Thursday, May 18, 2023, but it’s warming. Started at 54 F. Now 67 F on its way to 84 F. Sun shooed night out before six AM. Night will push back tonight around 8:15 PM.

We’re still holding our breaths about election results. Measure 15-214, which I voted against, is failing at the moment, but it’s by less than 1%. Like many issues, we’re narrowly divided around here.

We’re also celebrating the case against Rudy Giuliani, worrying about fires in Canada and flooding in Italy, and despairing about too many things to write about.

For today’s theme music, I decided to ignore The Neurons’ input and go with the splashy Eurovision winner, “Tattoo” by Lorreen. It’s a dramatic, interesting song and video, catches attention and doesn’t let up. It’s a love song, but not sunny love, a reflection of the modern realization that emotions are tangled and hard to control.

Time to eat and drink up. Stay pos and champion yourself. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Delicious weather in Ashlandia today. Spring at its best. 67 F at the mo, 75% humidity. 88 F expected later, and thunderstorms. Yesterday was delightful, too, relaxing, comforting, an invitation to sit and enjoy yourself for a while. It’s so floofriendly. Tucker has settled but open doors and happy weather invites Papi to prance in and out. He steals up to me, stares up, gets an ear rub from moi, then dashes out, only to return. Sometimes I chase and hide, which he loves doing.

The election is over. We await the outcome. 15-214, which absorbed our attention and discussion, is predictably tight but votes are still being counted.

Today’s music fell into my lap. I’d been sent a video link about tiny computers a teacher was asking my beer group to buy for their class. This video was off to the right. “Two of Us” from 1969 is by the Beatles. The song is pretty lazy but I enjoyed the footage of the lads from Liverpool and others laughing, joking, talking. Nostalgia caught The Neurons, so here we are.

And the coffee has arrived to great cheering from the body and its various elements. Most vociferous cheering is heard from the brain, where neurons are stamping their feet, chanting, “Coffee, coffee, coffee.” The foot stamping is off-putting to the ears, who are gesturing with annoyance at the brain. But in general, it’s a festive air.

Stay pos. Assess, adjust, advance. Here’s the tune. Cheers

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Learning

One of the finest aspects of having a partner is the impact it has on learning and memory. In my case, this spot is filled with my wife, a woman. She’s smart, reads many books, and researches matters. Most of which she researches involves women rights, social justice, and health. She shares all that she learns with me, often piquing my interest to go read more on the subject. Not infrequently, some of what she teaches me ends up in some character in a story. For instance, she taught me two things today.

  1. Men have more collagen and thicker skin than women, in general.
  2. Women donate more kidneys but receive fewer kidney donations. When you think about it, it kinda makes sense. If men are having kidney problems, they can’t donate them. So the next step would be to look for information to vet that.

We also act as memory augmentation for one another, covering the other’s weakness. She’s great with social memes, voices, faces, poetry, cooking and baking. I’m passable with math, science, history, pop culture, and technology. It works.

I think it’d work for most, regardless of gender or pronoun, sexual orientation, and maybe even political persuasion. Everyone should at least should not have the right to try taken away from them. Who knows what we all could learn?

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Monday’s Theme Music

Dateline: Monday. This just in: it’s May 8, 2023. Mother’s Day will be in the U.S. this weekend. Details later in the show.

Ashlandia police suspect that sunrise was a few minutes after six AM. Several alleged witnesses claimed to have seen the sun coming over the hill. Police are saying that the incident is still being investigated. We will keep you abreast of developments.

Now our sunset expert, Joanne McCall will tell us how to best see the sunset. Joanne, what can we expect from sunset today? Thank you, Heather. Our sunset should be after 8 PM in Ashlandia. The best angle for viewing the sunset will be toward the west. A day like today, with the clouds and rain, provide additional challenges. People will need to find a place without clouds to view the sunset.

Okay, thank you Joanne. Later, we’ll talk about the upcoming elections and the issues facing our voters. But first, here’s a word from our sponsor, coffee.

Coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee —

Time to turn that off. Dreams ruled the night. Some were complicated and hilarious. Several television stars visited. For a while, The Neurons turned on the theme music to The Patty Duke Show. After a few hours of that, “People Got to Be Free” by the Rascals, 1968, replaced it. Maybe I’m moving through the sixties this week.

“People Got to Be Free” is a good theme song. Many want to be free. Dare I declare that it’s most? Sure, I’ll step onto that limb. Greatest challenges become, what does it mean to be free? Who has the right to declare what rights others have? Right now, the GOP is insisting that they have the right, and they’re trying to make it so by reducing voting rights, limiting access to books and knowledge, insisting that their religion is the religion and should drive decisions (unless it’s contrary to what their paymasters say), and gerrymandering voting districts to keep themselves in power. Hell of a way to declare freedom, by abolishing them for many.

I’ve had coffee, thanks, but you go ahead and have some. Stay pos, yo? Try to refrain from taking an assault rifle and killing several people. I know that’s becoming more popular, but it really is counterproductive to being free and civilized.

Here’s the tune. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Rain! Rain for sale, precious rain available. Come on and all, get your rain whilst it lasts. Will trade rain for sunshine.

It’s Saturday, May 6, 2023. The clouds have overtaken Saturday as the sun shows reluctance to be here. The sun is all like, “I was just in Ashlandia a few days ago.”

Sunrise was about six hours after midnight. Dawn began an hour before, I saw as Papi changed locations from inside to out again. Sunset is after twenty hundred hours. We’re seeing 46 F with our rain right now, little wind, with an expected peak temperature of 53 F. A sort of dreary day out there.

It’s been announced that the COVID-19 pandemic health emergency will end May 11 in the US. Don’t know if parties are being planned. We’ll probably continue wearing our masks in grocery stores for a little longer. Play it by ear, see what happens.

Love that expression, play it by ear.

The weather and morning’s general feel brought The Neurons to the song, “Comfortably Numb” by Pink Floyd. A personal fave, it’s found itself in the morning mental music stream. A net search brought up a gem of a recording from Remember That Night from 2006. David Gilmour, PF guitarist and vocalist, was doing a solid act, but with several members of the Pink Floyd team, including one of the founding members, Richard Wright. Guest starring as a vocalist for “Comfortably Numb” was David Bowie. It’s a terrific and well-executed guitar solo which steals the show, though.

Stay pos. Coffee up and get it on. If it helps, play “Get It On” by T-Rex. Here’s the theme music. Cheers

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