Tag: 2008

Thirstda’s Theme Music

Someone kicked the bucket. Grays splashed across the sky. White highlights relieve the gray’s relentless hold and the sunshine skips in through whatever cracks it can find. Still, better than it was at 7:30 AM. I was on the road, northbound to a medical appointment then. Rain drizzled the traffic and motorways. 39 F then, we’ve jumped to 43 F now and may spring up to 50 F. Lot of the horizons were mystified as well, plying us with a wuthering heights vibe.

This is Thirstda, March 6, 2025. Remember, the holiday season begins less than nine months from now. Better get planning.

Coming back from ‘up north’…okay, ‘up north’ is actually almost due west northwest and just fourteen miles up the Innerstate. But it’s north and south on the maps, so, what am I going to do, just declare it differently because I think myself king of the world?

But coming back, heading east, snow topped the low northern mountains. The snow level looked like 2500 feet in elevation. The ridges on I-5’s southern side were snow free. That changed a bit as the valley pinched closed. Turning off the highway and climbing a surface street toward home, snow glazed the evergreens around 3000 feet in elevation. Nothing around our house, though. Typical of the period when seasons change, it all gets a little edgier, swirlier, and more unpredictable.

As far as medical updates from my appointments, my limbs are doing great and show no swelling. But appointments are necessary until the right side’s sock arrives. It seems lost in Truskland.

Didn’t have any sense of what today’s theme music should be. Like The Neurons in charge of that activity went on strike. Maybe they were fired. Terminated for poor performance. Who knows? Lot of that seems to be going around.

Fortunately, Dame Fortune stepped in and guided me to Rock n’ Roll HOF performance from 2008. Joan Jett, Billy Joel, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty and others were doing a cover of a Dave Clark 5 1963 teenbeat, “Glad All Over”. It’s a fun presentation, an excellent example of the thumping and rocking that attracted many to pop and rock. Hope you get a kick out of it, too.

Sunshine has made a breakthrough. Clouds are scurrying clear and blue sky is bowling in. I’m downing some coffee and hitting the writing circuit. Hope the day works out in good ways for you and yours. Cheers

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Monday’s Theme Music

Mood: Sunfresh

Today is Monday 20, 2024. We’re paddling toward May’s end, on course to the middle of 2024.

I awoke to a broadside of sunshine. High white clouds faint as a fading spring breeze streak the blue sky. 68 F already, we’ll brush up against the mid 80s once again.

Yesterday was flat-out wonderful for me. We feted a new sixteen-year-old’s milestone at the littlest sister’s home. Talking around the kitchen table, playing with sis’s wonderful dog (Chloe), and eating made up the gist of the five hours we were there. It was the standard teenager fare of pizza, hoagies, chips, and cake with ice cream. All participants got along well. No fights were heard and very few disagreements. All of this was done under a light summer feel. It was a day of happiness where worries were scarce.

I’m going to brush aside politics and world news for now. I know it’s out there but I’d rather maintain a posture of innocence and hope for one more day.

I had a terrific writing day yesterday morning as well. Disliking breaking away from that activity, I thought, I could use more time. That prompted me to get up earlier today and out the door to get more time. While I was dressing, eager to have more time, “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon (2008) was plugged into the morning mental music stream (Trademark faded). I accepted it as the day’s theme song even though I was about using more time and not using somebody.

Stay strong, be positive, lean forward, and experience a good day. Coffee has begun its journey through my physical being and I’m feeling solid. Here’s the music. Hey, ho, let’s go. Cheers

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Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: nostalgic

Hello, fellow travelers through time and space. Welcome to Thursday, February 8, 2024.

It’s a cold day here, despite sunshine. The weather is deftly nicking us with a cold and sharp northern wind. Growling crowds are creeping in, darkening and getting fat. Rain is expected later this afternoon. It’s now 42 F, not far off from our expected high of 44 F.

Although keeping up with news, I don’t feel up to commenting on anything, so pressin’ on. Today’s theme music is brought to you by Nickelback. “Gotta Be Somebody” was released in 2008. The Neurons let it loose in my morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks) after I experienced deja vu when I stepped outside and breathed in the cold but fresh air this morning. Soaking in sunlight, watching the cats regarding the yard, I thought, I remember days like this from previous years. It was a marvelously bittersweet few minutes. Thinking, déjà vu, The Neurons pumped in more of NIckelback’s song:

It’s just like déjà vu, me standing here with you
So I’ll be holding my breath
Could this be the end?
Is it that moment when
I find the one that I’ll spend forever with?

‘Cause nobody wants to be the last one there
‘Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares
Someone to love with my life in their hands
There’s gotta be somebody for me like that
‘Cause nobody wants to do it on their own (Their own)
And everyone wants to know they’re not alone (Not alone)
There’s somebody else that feels the same somewhere (The same somewhere)
There’s gotta be somebody for me out there

h/t to AZLyrics.com

Keep leaning forward, be strong, stay positive, and register and vote, right? Coffee has blessed my esophagus; time to move on with other activities. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Freeday’s Theme Music

Today is Freeday, August 5, 2022. Today you have the right to declare yourself symbolically free. Sounds like a waste but when you do so, using whatever styles desired short of hurting and killing other beings, it’s invigorating, liberating, stimulating, and intoxicating.

Weather is a very comfortable hazy and cool 72 F after an overnight low of 14 C. Highs of 94 F are expected. Freeday opened with a smooth and deliberate sunrise at 6:08 AM. Daylight hours will continue until the sun ‘drop’ at 8:25 this evening. All times are Pacific.

AQI is good. More fires have started, some have been partially contained, others have been extinguished.

Watched my cat, the ginger prince, study a large raccoon using the top of the back fence as a freeway about six thirty this morning. Meanwhile, as that went on, I tracked a skunk going around the yard. The skunk stayed to the perimeter, going through the leaves and making a lot of noise about it. Papi paid no mind to it. Once the Raccoon departed, Papi hopped up onto his patio condo – guess that’d be a pando – and went to sleep. What did fascinate me about the skunk was that a jay flew from tree to tree, spying on the skunk, never making a sound.

The Neurons had several Beach Boys and Beatles song skirmishing in the morning mental music stream. I called up Kings of Leon with “Sex on Fire” from 2008. The Neurons asked, “Why that song?” Tables turned, I replied, “Why not,” and laughed. It’s because I like the sonic influences, though, innit?

The coffee has commenced issuing its wake-up fragrance. I’m in the mood to have a cup. Stay positive test negative, etc. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Patchy snow is scattered over the ground like confectioner’s sugar on pastry. Weak sunlight bleeds through a porous gray quilt of clouds. Welcome to April 16, 2022.

Yes, we’re having unseasonable weather on this Saturday, as we’ve had unseasonable weather last season and the season before. When it’s unseasonable like this, it’s unseasoned to my taste.

Snow is in the forecast. The high will be 46 F, up ten degrees from the thermometer’s current stop. Sunrise came — look, there’s some shy sun looking our way now! — came at 6:29 AM. Sundown will steal in around 7:53 PM.

Another night of dreams, but it was a car drive with my wife yesterday, running local errands. As we passed a local landmark, we were, like, hey, something is different, and then remembered, oh, that’s where that drunk driver took out the tree used for the holiday lighting. We wanted to see it again, so I turned the car around. Well, just thinking, ‘turn the car around’ inspired the neurons to begin playing “Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O.A.R. from 2008. The song remained in the morning mental music stream today.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, etc. Here’s the music. Now, I’m off on a vision quest. My vision is a cuppa hot coffee. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

A single small, thin white cloud is splattered on the blue sky like an errant drop left by someone painting a room. Today is Friday. The end.

Today is Feb. 2, 2022. The sun glided into the valley on gold white wings at 7:21 AM and will slip out of the valley at 5:29 PM. A new weather routine is in effect. Cold at night, bottoming about 30 to 32 F — so, freezing — then a slow rise as the sun follows its low-bake instructions. Our temperature will peak at 59 F. That’s how the week ahead looks, too, with a few shallow dips of the highs into the lower fifties, and a couple of spikes into the sixties. But no snow. No rain.

Today’s theme song comes from feeding the cats this morning, yeah? As I was about the business, some were shadowing me, chatting up their need for food right now, despite the bowls of kibble throughout the residence. I answered them, “I told you to be patient, I told you I’ll feed you in a minute.” Flash. Bon Iver “Skinny Love” (2008), hopped into the morning mental music stream: “I told you to be patient, and I told you to be fine. And I told you to be balanced, and I told you to be kind.” Off the neurons went.

But it’s an interesting song, so I looked it up on the net and found this acoustic version from Colbert. So, stay positive, test negative, enjoy the music, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Now, somebody mentioned coffee. It might’ve been me. Just catching up here.

Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

Hi. Today is April 2, 2021, Friday. Sunrise is 6:52 AM in Ashland, and sunset will come at 7:38 PM. Weather-wise, spring is establishing its footprint with sunshine, light breezes, and a high of about 70 degrees F. Right now, it’s 50 degrees F outside, so we have a strong start toward that high. Light, intermittent showers are expected back next Monday.

The blues were on my mind this morning. So many great blues songs have passed through my ears over the years. Great artists were and are out there. Eventually, though, a Buddy Guy – Eric Clapton collaboration, “Every Time I Sing The Blues” (2008),  found its way to my mind front. One line was sharpest: “I’m just trying to tell the truth every time I sing the blues.” Oddly, it’s a line I associate with fiction writing. No matter what story genre, writers are digging out the truth behind the story in their head, trying to convey this to the page, hunting for the details that delivers the essence in a satisfying manner, whether that page is ink on paper or bits on a screen. That struggle to capture that truth and tell the story in all its right facets is what it’s all about.

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

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

This is another cat-inspired choice, but also reflects on politics, life, you know…general stuff.

The lines which came to head this AM when cat dealing was, “You’re hot and you’re cold, you’re in and you’re in and you’re out.” Twenty-seven degrees outside, Youngblood (aka Meep, Papa, and the Ginger Blade) was testing a theory that if he came in and stayed two seconds, it’ll magically warm up outside.

With part of that song — Katy Perry, “Hot n Cold” (2008) — already in me, I started reading the latest Trump fiasco. He wants bigger stimulus checks all of a sudden. This after doing jack for months. This after sending in Mnuchen to negotiate with Congressional leaders to deliver the package that he didn’t want to sign, the one with smaller checks, less benefits, and, in Trump’s words, “pork-laden”. But, ahem, your man was in there doing your biddin’. And, ahem, that’s your GOP at work. So, ahem. Ah, hot and cold. He was in and out, as always. Just like his guidance for COVID-19. Wear a mask. Don’t. I never do. But you should. I’m the greatest. Now I’m outta here. Gotta go golf. But I’m always working.

It’s also a good song for NFL teams. Pittsburgh down 24-7, doing nothing, come back to win 28-24. Cold, then hot. Ah, we’re all hot then we’re cold, or cold, then we’re out, in, and then hot. Change is the only constant. You gotta keep up.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, and get vaccinated. Over and out.

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Friday’s Theme Music

You ever think, “Boy, I could use somebody to…” do X? Complete the sentence. Fill in the blank.

I haven’t thought those words in a long time. When I managed people, I often thought that. Juggling resources and priorities was a constant. Not too infrequently, it ended with, “Boy, I could use somebody.”

This came to mind yesterday, after Veteran’s Day in the U.S. As a veteran, I have many veteran friends. Photos of them back in the day rolled into Facebook.

So I was remembering when with some of them. One in particular was an intelligent but withdrawn guy when he worked for me. He seemed like he lacked self-confidence, that he could be a lot more than what he was showing. Another section came to me and said those words, “I could use somebody…”

This guy was the choice. The officer with the need was dubious, but my guy blossomed. From that, you could see the change in him manifest. It was something to behold. Leaving the military after eight years, he went into tech, where his talents and intelligence were applied and rewarded.

The phrase itself, “I could use somebody”, cropped up when I was shopping for cat food during my day out. A woman said that to a store employee. That then triggered a foray into mental writing as I went about my business, creating a scene that I wrote after I returned home, centered on the phrase, “I could use somebody.”

Lot of disparate thinking to reach today’s theme music. But each time the phrase, “use somebody” passed through the mental stream, my strangely wired neurons said, “Playing ‘Use Somebody’ by Kings of Leon, 2008.” So, really, this is about getting a song out of my head. I enjoy Caleb’s enunciation of the phrase in the song. It’s a good song to sing when it hits the radio and you’re alone in the car. Just sayin’.

Have a good one. Wear a mask. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

I remembered the Killers’ song, “Human” (2008) this morning. The song has never been a favorite, and its success surprised me. Different tastes, right?

Many were enamored by the line, “Are we human, or are we dancers?” The line evolved from a Hunter Thompson throwaway line about the United States raising a generation of dancers, afraid to step out of line.

The whole thing came back to me as I noted, with some pleasure and approval, that young people were heavily involved in the Black Lives Matters protests. One of the most disheartening parts of protesting in my fifties and sixties was the absence of young people. Didn’t they care? Or were my values so out of step with their values?

Older generations often malign younger generations. My generation, the boomers, were no different. It takes time to filter the world and yourself. Bursts of rebellion against expectations and norms are required and expected, but the way each generation finds to act out and express itself remains different. Social media is the thing now, not taking it to the streets, so the protests are a throwback, old school.

Yeah, rambling. Not sufficient coffee yet to form coherent sentences. Here’s the music. See if you can spot the line (hah!).

Are we human
Or are we dancer?
My sign is vital
My hands are cold
And I’m on my knees
Looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

[Bridge]
Will your system be alright
When you dream of home tonight?
There is no message we’re receiving
Let me know, is your heart still beating?

h/t Genius.com

That is all.

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