Tag: 1970

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Rain drops tune up on windows and vents for a melody I don’t recognize. Wind chases the cats back into the house’s security. The sun crested the southeast ridges at 6:22 AM but sunshine remains a wan, flighty element. Our temperatures will range from 46 F to 54 and back down again before the sunset show at 7:58 PM.

Today is Wednesday, April 20, 2022 — yes, 420. A lot of people have fun with this aspect of calendaring, you know, the code for marijuana or cannabis consumption, but it doesn’t move me much. I’ll probably joke with friends about it later.

I watched a fun drama, Metal Lords (Netflix), about high school boys pursuing a quest to be a heavy metal band. Lot of entertaining references to metal throughout helped, but there was strong acting and directing, and solid production values. While the usual high school tropes permeate, they’re lightly employed, because, come on, the usual tropes of bullying, social awkwardness, hormones, and cliques, do exist in RL HS, DB Weiss, who brought Game of Thrones to HBO, also deftly delivers some intelligent nuances to the tropes. I enjoy it and recommend it.

Anyway, the movie left me with a taste for a favorite of mine when I was on puberty’s cusp. “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath (1970) is in the morning mental metal music stream. Hope you enjoy it. Speaking of taste, my tastebuds are yearning for a little black magic brew. Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, etc. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Today finds us at the juxtaposition of winter and spring and the week called Thursday, April 14, 2022. Snow on the mountains is a hopeful sign for us in our drought-struck state while the buds and flowers remind us of spring’s promise of life and growth.

Sunrise was a solid showing of light and warmth at 6:32 AM. Showers have drifted away, the clouds moving on for the moment, muttering about, “maybe coming back later,” perhaps after they go off to chill and have something to eat or drink, maybe even coffee. Although just 41 F right now, the sun’s presence makes it feel warmer to me. A 44-degree high is all they say we can hope for before sundown at 7:51 PM.

Reading the news, I can’t stop the conclusion from jumping into my head that Putin is a terrorist. “Don’t you dare join NATO, or I will nuke you,” he metaphorically shouts in his cold, threatening tone. Isn’t that the way of war, though, “don’t do that or we’ll do this,” pressing an escalation of tension with fear and the threat of violence. If not a terrorist, he’s certainly a bully. I know, the U.S. has its own version of bully tactics, too. At least we haven’t overtly attacked another nation recently.

The neurons have planted “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison in the morning mental music stream. Released when I was fourteen, its slide guitar, rhythms, and lyrics mesmerized me. Yes, I know of the later copyright infringement action and the obvious connection between “He’s So Fine” and “My Sweet Lord”. While “He’s So Fine” is an excellent song, its lyrics and slide work didn’t have me sitting there listening again and again.

Stay positive, test negative, drink coffee, wear a mask as or when needed, and get the jabs as, when, etc. Sorry about the coffee bit; it just jumped in there because it’s that time. Not trying to influence you or anything, no, about the promise of what that hot, dark beverage can do for the body and soul, no, not at all.

Here’s the music. Look – sunshine! Hey, it’s raining. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Here we go, the end of the month, Thursday, March 31, 2022. About a quarter of 2022 has fled into history. Gray cloud layers in the west fondle the pines on the ridges. Broken clouds up north hover like an anxious herd ready to flee. In the east and south, smaller, tattered pats yield to sunshine and blue sky. Are you up for rain? It might come. Might not, too. Just be a brief spit, probably, if it does.

Sunshine trickled in at 6:55 AM. The sun will do the fade at 7:35 this evening. Temperatures hunker in at 44 F right now, with a cold, northern edge to it, like winter is saying, let me stay. A high of 58, not too ambitious, is possible.

I went out with the cats this morning to feel the air. They found sun pools and stayed. I shivered and slipped back in. Somehow, in that process, the neurons decided “Take Me to the Pilot” by Elton John (1970) fit the moment and inserted it into the morning mental music stream.

Stay positive, etc. Sorry, I need my coffee. Here’s the song. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

It’s Friday, March — no, FEBRUARY* — 25, 2022, another year marked by another war. Sunrise struck at 6:53 AM. The rays’ kisses lifted us from 23 degrees F to our present 33. We reached the upper forties yesterday and expect to see mid-fifties today before we turn our back to the sun again at 5:56 PM. Although the streak of pleasant weather in January and early Feb. were enjoyable, we’re all feeling more relieved to have this wintry weather and normal temperatures, and more snow on the mountains. Maybe, we think, fingers crossing, we won’t have such a hot and dry summer. Maybe food will grow properly, and the skies won’t be dark with smoke blocking the sun. Maybe…

War is on my mind, of course. Images coming from Ukraine show the low value and utter contempt the invading Russians display for human life, all for what? Some friends and relations hope that the images will bring an end to war or at least tarnish its image as a glorious pursuit. But world leaders like Putin have rarely been to war. “Forward, he cried, from the rear, and the front ranks died.” Pink Floyd nailed that didn’t they?

Songs in the morning mental music stream range from “Peace Train” by Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens), to “Warchild” by Jethro Tull, “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2, “Imagine” by John Lennon. But Edwin Starr’s powerful 1970 song. “War” says it well. It came to mind when the US was in Vietnam, and all the subsequent invasions and ‘military actions’ — such a polite expression — since. “War. Good God, y’all, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again.”

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, get the vax and boosters, hold your breath and say your prayers for Ukraine and its people.

*Apparently the cats got on the kb and changed the date on me when I turned my back to drink some coffee. Thanks to the Huntress for pointing it out.

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Rotating and orbiting as the planet has done for billions of years, we now come to February 2, 2022. A Wednesday, it may be memorable to many people for many reasons, but how does it compare to the past trillions of days? Our human lifespans are so short compared to the universe’s life scale that little of what we do is memorable in the cosmic sense. It’s why we narrow our focus down to our personal spaces and calendars. Contemplating the greater scale may well lead to nihilistic conclusions or heavy consumption of coffee, alcohol, or other drugs. Or eating disorders. So let’s just keep focus on our smaller but amazingly impactful days. They are impactful on us and that’s what builds our memories and experiences and skew our emotions.

Anyway, the sun ‘rose’ at 7:23 AM and will ‘set’ at 5:27 PM. I’ll drink some coffee and eat some food. I’ve already done some of the latter. You’re probably doing something similar, eating, or thinking about what you’ll eat, even considering, perhaps, who you’ll eat it with. Here in Ashland, it dropped to 28 F last night. Now it’s 36 with a high of 44 expected for the day. Dollops of congealed gray and white cloud float on the blue sky. We do not expect rain.

I haven’t done any of my daily games. They’ll come soon. I guessed my first word in Wordle in two guesses yesterday. On the other hand, it required all six in two games. Four other games took three or four. Yeah, I like Wordle. Getting it in two is luck. For instance, in the first game when I guessed it in two, the last two letters of my first guess were green. On a whim, I entered poppy as my second guess. That was the word. Yea for me.

Weirdly, I have a song called “If Not for You” living in the morning mental music stream. Bob Dylan wrote and recorded the song. Then George Harrison recorded it, followed by Olivia Newton John. I had the albums for the first two performers. I heard the ONJ version on the radio one day and then turned around and pulled out the vinyl 33-RPM album to listen to Dylan and an eight-track tape to listen to George’s version. Doing that back then in my bedroom in Pittsburgh somewhere around 1973 (all of the versions were out by 1971), I never imagined the technology that would allow me to sit at my computer and pull up the same songs. Trippy, innit? Just think of how it all might be in another fifty years or so, right?

Part of me thinks about memories like this and wonder why it stays so sharply in my memory today that I can look around that room from my vantage here and see and hear the details of my life then. A sliver of me muses that maybe there’s some cosmic entanglement taking place. Another facet of me shrugs and mumbles, who knows?

For today’s theme music, I’ve selected a recording of Dylan and Harrison playing it together. Makes me smile. Stay postive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. I’m off for coffee now. Looking forward to it. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Hey, all you zombettes and zombois, we’re coming to you live from the overworld. Today is Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Rain is drying and fading after a night of water music. The drying process is slow. Fog and clouds break with reluctance, pulling apart and dissolving into white and gray blots as the sun musters heat and impacts the valley. Sun came up at 7:13 AM and will set at 6:44 PM. Its slant has shifted to the south, forcing it to climb over forested mountains before it can greet us. Where the eastern blinds blocked the summer sun, the autumn sun creeps in through the southern windows.

For temperatures, the thermometers are talking 48 F now. Forecasters are talking 60 later. I hazard it’ll be a few degrees higher. Say, mid-sixties. No more rain expected for today, though. It’s okay. The valley has reclaimed some of its emerald hues. Goes well with the fall leaves. Very becoming on the valley.

Grand Funk Railroad is inhabiting the morning’s mental music stream with “Into the Sun”, playing from their 1970 live album. I enjoyed the album; Mom despised it. My older sister, who was trying to be cool, did not like it. But I liked it loud. When the house was mine alone, I’d crank my air guitar up to eleven and push out some power chords.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Follow me down memory lane. Hold up; must get my coffee first. Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Woo-hoo. Welcome to Sunday, September 12, 2021, National Video Games Day! Yes, today is set aside as a day of observance and remembrance to the video games we loved and played. Yeah. A popular social media device is to ask you what your favorite video game was a child. I think mine was Etch-A-Sketch. Does that qualify? I do remember when Pong came out and we all played it for about twenty minutes. Ah, the seventies. What a period for video games.

Sunrise was 6:44 AM today. Sunrise cometh at 7:27 PM as daylight hours accordion down. AQI is moderate, mid seventies, and the high today will be in the low 80s F here in Ashland, southern Oregon.

I’ve already dated myself with my video game recollections. So, nothing to lose. I awoke with “25 or 6 to4” by the Chicago Transit Authority playing in the mental music stream. Its emergence for here and now isn’t clear. What is clear is that it’s stuck and must be shared to be removed. Chicago later dropped the last two words of its name. Its style changed, too. But, that’s how it goes with music.

So here it is, from pre-Internet, pre-worldwide web, pre-video games. Why I listened to this song on vinyl. Then tape. Now I listen to it on digits. Remember, stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get the vax. Now go play a video game while I get coffee. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

The changing season was seen in today’s sunrise at 6:34 AM. The light angled in a different angle. Struck another part of the wall. Was strong and fresh — we’re relatively smoke-free this morning, again, knock on wood — and warm but not hot. A low moved in overnight, dropping temperatures. Today’s high will be in the seventies before the sun bows out at 7:48 PM. Last night’s low was in the upper fifties. The cooler, fresher air is as welcomed as returning heroes.

Today is Monday, August 30, 2021. A dream about a musician friend is on my mind. He played with Janis so a Janis song is in order. He didn’t play on this song, though. Today’s choice is “Mercedes Benz” from 1970, the last song she recorded.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Welcome to the day before Monday, a.k.a., Sunday. This is also known to some as the day before tomorrow, the day after yesterday, and the day after Saturday. Some call it the week’s beginning. Others refer to it as the end of the weekend. It is also July 18, 2021.

The warm but not blazing summer trend continues. Lows in the upper fifties to low sixties at night bring in fresh cool air. Then the sun, rising at 5:50 and setting at 8:43, will heat us up into the mid nineties. It’s a slow burn, not hitting the 90 mark until the early afternoon. Humidity is low, about 3%.

The Bootleg Fire continues burning 100 miles away. Sixteen fires are burning in the region. The Bootleg dominates, burning through almost 300,000 acres. It’s now 22% contained. It’s a surprise that our air is fresh and clear. Favorable winds. Favorable for us means it sucks for someone else, though. There are no winners in this.

Today’s music is brought to you by Sugarloaf. Their biggest hit, “Green-Eyed Lady”, came out in 1970. It reached number one in Canada, number three in the U.S. Why it’s in my head today, I have no idea. One of those wonders of the mind.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask when needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

The annual rewind has begun. Not what’s happening, of course. More about revolutions and rotations. The essence, though, is that our daylight hours are beginning their seasonal wane.

Today is Monday, June 28, 2021. Sol’s golden beating began at 5:36 AM, a minute later than yesterday. By 7:45, the thermometer was climbing past 86 degrees F. We expected 110 in our southern Oregon valley today. We’ll get some relief tonight, after the sun moves on at 8:51 PM. The temperatures are expected to drop to 66 then.

I was in a work groove yesterday. Finished wall number three. On to number four this week, completing the great room saga, I mean, painting. Then it’ll be…other rooms.

While painting, I was writing in my head, going through plot lines and character arcs, imagining new scenes, re-thinking old ones, working my way toward a better ending. With this going on — writing in my head and painting the great room (and dealing with the heat) (yeah, okay, I turned on the A/C) — a song from 1970 entered the mental musical rotation stream. By King George, the song is called “Groove Me”. It’s a nice taste of R&B. I enjoyed the backstory of how this song came to be. King George worked in a factory a few feet from a young woman. They saw each other every day, but he was too shy to say anything. He finally wrote this song as a poem to give her. But he never saw her again.

Stay positive, test neggy, wear a mask when needed, and get the vax. Thanks. Here’s the music.

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