Sunday’s Theme Music

Today is March 20, 2022. Eleven days left before the March madness ends and the April antics begin.

Sunday lived up to its name this morning in the valley with the sun briskly slathering golden light on the greening hills and trees promptly at 7:14 AM. The expected warmth was slower to follow. Overnight lows at my house was 32 F, and it’s just 35 now. We expect a high of 52. Sunset will close the show at 7:23 on the day’s other end. It’s not a clear blue sky, but a gray hazed one where azure dominates.

I read last night that we’re in a megadrought, the worse in 1200 years in the continental U.S. It began in the west, California, Oregon, etc., and is spreading. Fortunately, our local civic leaders have taken note and approved more housing. We don’t have water for the folks here now, but hey, let’s crowd more in. Development, growth, you know: it’s good for business. Of course, the business won’t be good when the wildfires start and smoke fills the skies and drive everyone away, but they apparently don’t think that’s gonna happen this year. Not after it’s happened so many times in recent years. Why, what are the chances?

Sorry, let me turn off the snark mode.

Another article mentioned that the glaciers and icecaps were melting in both Antartica and the Arctic this year, so we’ve got that going for us. Temperatures in Antarctica were 70 degrees warmer than normal, and those in the Arctic were 50 above normal.

On the sick cat front, he bounced back and started eating and drinking yesterday afternoon. After a lethargic start to the day, he grew increasingly spirited. I’ve fed him several times this morning. He’s now at my feet asking for me. Excuse me, gotta got attend a cat. It’s the rule.

Back. You probably didn’t even notice I was gone, did you. Quick as a cat, I was.

I have a Gin Blossoms tune from 1992 in the morning mental music stream. The neurons pulled up “Hey Jealousy” as they watched Tucker sulking as sick cat was fed and given attention. Tucker was all, “What about me? Give me more food. Pet me more, damn it. I’m numero uno in this hold.” I did what I could for him, of course, but Boo is hanging on to his life. (Writing that caused the neurons to bring up The Guess Who with “Hang On to Your Life” from 1970. The neurons are busy this morning.)

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. My wife is immune compromised so we’ll still being masking up for a while as we watch the situation evolve as the masks come off. Here’s the tune. I’m off for coffee. Gotta give the neurons something to settle them down. Cheers

Sunday’s Theme Music

A foggy autumn day. Reds, golds, and greens shimmer faintly in the wet air. Sunshine is diluted and gray as dirty dish water.

This is Sunday, October 10, 2021. Sunrise was at 7:18 AM. Sunset: 6:37 PM. Temperature: 51. Forecast high: 55. The AQI is 13.

Early morning was dependent on minimalism. Basic elements. Breathe. Stand. Walk. Left foot, right foot. (Cue The Simpons.) This way. Feed the cats. They were urging me, faster, faster, me-now. Okay. That got done with little incident (although a lot of feline drama.) Now. Coffee. Nothing else matters. Not yet. Ah, there. A pulse.

But. My mental Alexa (my own private Alexa) had picked up on ‘nothing else matters’. Played the Metallica 1992 tune by that name for me. It’s looping through the morning mental musical stream. My pre-coffee voice sounded like Hetfield’s low, guttural growl employed throughout the song. I pass it on to you.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax. Here’s the music. Coffee is getting cold. See ya.

Thursday’s Theme Music

Glory to you and welcome. Today is the old U.S. tax day, Thursday, April 15, 2021, when taxes needed to be filled, or an extension requested (and even if you get an extension, you’ll pay penalties and interest on any taxes owed). The tax deadline filing date is slipped back to May 17 this year, so you got time if you need it.

Sunrise came to Ashland in southern Oregon — boom — at 6:30 AM exactly. Sunfade is anticipated at 7:52 PM. What a bright sun it is, too, already warming our cool mountain valley air to 55 degrees F.

Been out shopping this morning, the usual Medford supply run for food and treats. Restocked my coffee (we are saved!). Love that French Roast stuff.

My mind started noodling the old 10,000 Maniacs song, “These Are Days”, when I was masking up while I was out. By old, I mean, 1992. These are days we’ll remember, I’m sure. Those just being born will hear about it. Those gathering again at high school reunions in ten years will be talking about, as will those getting married, and those of us just skimming along, doing our thang. Makes it an apropos song for any time, though I wonder what they’ll say about these days in a hunnert years.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get the vax. Cheers

Monday’s Theme Music

“Pour some coffee for me.” You need to imagine this being sung by Def Leppard to the tune of “Pour Some Sugar On Me”.

Bright sunshine has filled this Monday morning, April 12, 2021. Outside temperature is stirring past 42 degrees F. Promise for greater sunshine and warmth are in the air. Sunshine stole o’er this southern Oregon valley at 6:35 AM Pacific time. We wave good-bye to it at 7:49 PM, same time zone.

I’m thinking “Thorn In My Pride” by The Black Crowes (1992) for today’s music. At daybreak, while feeding the cats (thus curtailing their growing demands), the song’s opening lyrics came over me. I like the song’s bluesy sense, with its flashes of acoustics, organ, piano, and electric lead guitar. Add some Gospel elements. It’s a throwback sound to the late sixties/early seventies for me, like a lot of the group’s music.

Wake me when the day breaks
Show me how the sun shines

h/t to AZLyrics.com

I think the floofs were waking me at daybreak so I could see the sun shine. (Or so they claim. I really think it was just about food.) “No need,” I told them. “I’ll catch up with it later, while you’re napping.” They were eating, though, and my retort travelled wholly over their little bowed heads. Then I returned to bed for just a little longer.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, get the vax, and have some coffee. Or tea. I hear tea works well, too. “Pour some tea for me.” Sounds like it works. Cheers

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Hello. Today is Wednesday, the forty-second day of 2021, February 17. 2021. Sunrise struck southern Oregon at 7:05 AM. It’s an assertive sun today, shining down on increased quantities of expanding greenery. Sunset will be at 5:46 PM. All that sunshine is exciting the floofs. Two — Youngblood and Black Beauty, aka Papi and Boo — are out there soaking it up. Not Tucker, though. Today is my wife’s exercise morning (M-W-F), and he likes being in on that.

The skunk declared war on something on Monday night. We were collateral damage as the smell spilled up into the entire house. Fortunately, yesterday was sunny and pleasant (the rain they said we’d get never came). We turned off the heater and opened windows. The skunk’s scent cleared. We went out for a drive. When we returned, she’d struck again. So, do-over, and success again. Then, 9 PM, we went grocery shopping for fresh produce. When we returned…guess what? Yep, she’d struck again. Geuss she was bored or something. This time we fired up the air purifier. That worked. Last night remained skunk free.

Today’s song jumped into the mental stream out of 1992. When I woke up and was still in bed, I thought, “I’m so hot.” Then, writing in my head, I noted, “I’m so excited.” About two minutes later, I said to myself, “I’m so hungry,” and hastened to make breakfast. “I’m so ready,” followed a short while later as I made coffee and then headed in to write. That’s when the Wayback Machine activated Nirvana’s song, “Lithium”.

I’m so happy
‘Cause today I found my friends-they’re in my head
I’m so ugly, that’s okay ’cause so are you
Broke our mirrors

h/t to Metrolyrics.com

Yeah, you know how it goes, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, get vaccinated, do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight. Cheers

Thursday’s Theme Music

We have a 3-F day: freezing, frosty, foggy. So sad it’s Thursday instead of Friday… The temperature is hanging around 28 degrees F.

Today is February 4, 2021. Sunrise came at 7:21 AM. Sunset is expected at 5:28 PM.

Had David Bowie and “Heroes” on my mind yesterday. Then “Space Oddity” was introduced, along with “Diamond Dogs”. But walking late yesterday afternoon brought another song to mind.

Although yesterday started cold and snowy, by late afternoon, it was fifty-two and sunny. I went walking for exercise and as respite from feeling crowded with my wife and cats, but also for writing therapy. I was introducing the progs and wanted to refine my sense of who they are and how they fit. That was happily resolved, which made me think, walking is often the remedy for exploring writing for me. That stream of thought unleashed a stream of song fragments into the mental music stream, including “Remedy” by The Black Crowes (1992).

Stay Positive. Test Negative. Wear a Mask. Get Vaccinated. That’s the remedy for this coronavirus times. Here’s the song.

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Back in 1992, when this song came out, I’d listen to it on the car radio while commuting and think, WTF are they singing?

My commute was short in those days. Assigned to Onizuka Air Station in Sunnyvale, CA, I lived in NAS Moffett base housing in Mountain View. Using the base roads and back gates, it was about a five or six minute drive to work. I didn’t get to hear much of the song.

The net was growing then, but had a long way to go. It was years before I was able to find the lyrics for “Ignoreland” by R.E.M. and verify that it was a political scree, mostly against Republicans, but also against the press for regurgitating whatever was fed to them.

The lines which brought the song to mind this morning were:

I know that this is vitriol
No solution, spleen-venting
But I feel better having screamed
Don’t you?

h/t to Genius.com

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Lot of mornings in the last four years have featured spleen-venting mental rants for me — or rants to my wife, who ranted back at me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. As an antidote, I always look for humorous, non-political stuff or take refuge in sports, or warm animal stories. Anyway, it seems like a song that’s a political scree about ignoring what’s really going on and just voting for a party seems apt as a theme song.

Why’d the song come up today? Trump fatigue. He rants on without evidence about the same crap, apparently doing his own spleen-venting. He never seems to feel better for venting, carrying a bitter, hostile expression on his face and vowing to never change his mind.

What a way to go through life, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Wear a mask, stay positive, and test negative, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Monday’s Theme Music

Crank it up for this Monday gem.

I owe cats – natch – for this. The little beasts were unrelenting in requests for individual attention this morning. Pets and scratches were issued, food was given, words were whispered, and appeasement achieved. But at one point, as impatience was thinning — wanted to get on with writing, you know? — I told one floof, you’re running me ragged today.

That cracked open the song door. In sprang Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble’s 1992 rockified cover of Sonny James’ blues song, “Empty Arms”.

Tuesday’s Theme Music

I found myself remembering some Bob Dylan lines this morning.

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth
“Rip down all hate,” I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull, I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow

[Refrain]
Ah, but I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now

h/t to Genius.com

This song, “My Back Pages”, is by Bob Dylan. I was more familiar with the Byrds’ version which came out in 1967. It struck me as I was moving toward my teens and getting my footing in the music that moved me. I’ve always thought it was about learning and changing, which fit my evolving philosophy.

So I sought the song today, thinking it fit these times, and found this version. Featuring Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, Neil Young, George Harrison, people I think are pretty good musicians, it’s the 1992 Bob Dylan tribute concert from 1992.

Tuesday’s Theme Music

It’s a September in Oregon, the first day of September.

Many have made comments on the net that time is dragging. That’s not the case for me. The hours and days have skittered through on spider legs, and you know fast spiders can go, especially if they sense your fear, or you’re trying to get them.

Anyone songs about September bubbled through my morning stream (sounds like I’m pissing them out). Changing the calendar in my office, though, I saw that one, and U2’s song from 1992, “One” vaulted into mind.

Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to blame

h/t to Metrolyrics.com

Yes, with how 2020 has been going, I think “One” works. Cheers

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