Tag: Midnight Oil

Friday’s Theme Music —

Ashland, southern Oregon — Friday, August 7, 2026.

Sunshine rules but smoke threatens. We’re still safe, knock on wood. Our hearts go out to the many, many, many others — animals, people, land — enduring fires and its impacts.

Hit 102.7 at our house yesterday. Project to hit the same today. It’s 80 F right now.

It’s my anniversary with my wife today. 51 years. Some were rocky but we’re still here, growing old together.

Meanwhile, Trump’s economy, now in its second year, continues flailing. The Jobs Report comes on the heels of the report that showed that the economy’s growth is anemic. What happened to all those manufacturing jobs Trump promised?

Paul Krugman again helped me understand what the July Jobs Report means.

News of the Weak (Labor Market)

“The surprise fall in employment — 23,000 jobs lost, when the consensus forecast was for around 80,000 gained — made headlines. As always, it’s important to realize that monthly jobs numbers are noisy, so you shouldn’t overreact to one report. However, this report also revised data for several earlier months down, so the broader picture of job growth in Trump’s “golden age” is significantly worse than it seemed.“

Krugman also shares this graph from Haver Analytics.

Krugman has often talked about a recession vibe. That comes about when everyone talks about how bad the economy ‘feels’ versus what the data shows. The intersection of gas prices what won’t come down, a terrible job market — as show in the Jobs Report and in jobseekers’ perceptions of what the job market is like — and slow growth is what gives us this vibe.

Trump will probably respond with claims of fake news, or attempt to blame Presidents Obama or Biden, or the Democrats. It’s always someone else’s fault when things go wrong, although he’s always hungry to try to claim glory and success.

Your Trump Quote of the Day:

We need to keep repeating this: Trump doesn’t think about anybody except himself. He doesn’t care about anybody but himself. This economy, Trump’s growing wealth, and Trump’s war with Iran is what you get when you vote for Trump and the GOP that enables him.

“Beds Are Burning” are in my morning mental music stream again. This is a 1987 Midnight Oil song. The Australian group’s song is in there because there’s been so — much — fire — this year, around the world. Record disasters. With Trump’s reactive policies, this will get worse. A super El Nino is already forecast for this coming winter in the northern hemisphere. With fires burning so much of the woods and vegetation and a wet super El Nino in the works, the potential for devastating flooding is enormous.

The other reason that “Beds Are Burning” is today’s song is because of the Trump economy. It’s also burning; more money is being poured into the Defense budget and weapons. But Trump and Hegseth are burning through them. Meanwhile, Trump is trying to fund battleships and Arctic ships. It’s surreal as hell. The economy and world is burning, and he’s wasting money not on helping the people, but on building armies to attack others.

I hope you have a safe and healthy day, and it precedes a long string of such days for you.

Cheers

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Wenzdaz Theme Music

Hammering echoes through the neighborhood with a roof repair cadence. My line of sight keeps me from identifying which house is under repair, leaving it a Wednesday morning mystery.

Ashland coasted into January 21, 2026, under a slate of rippled white clouds. Air stagnation still rules, and temperatures hang from 38 (my house and online) to 46 (Alexa) degrees F. Highs in the mid 50s are predicted.

I’m disappointed for myself for failing to see the northern lights the other night. I went out twice — ten PM and midnight — but remained out there only twenty minutes each time. I was hopeful, as it was a clear night, with abundant stars visible, but nothing appeared.

I also missed a green fireball going through the PNW sky. A dogwalker a half mile away from my place saw it just before 10 PM on Sunday. I cursed my timing when I read the reports as I’d been out with Papi just a little bit later. Someone photographed it in Beaverton and shared it.

Photo credit: Benjamin Z. January 2026

I like reminders that we’re just one planet in a big space, with things going on beyond our world. They gently pull me away from concerns about what’s going on in our world.

Trump and his behavior is one of those concerns. Complaining and combative in his speech at Davos yesterday, he’s assured the world that he won’t take Greenland by force.

But he wants Greenland and thinks it should be sold or given to United States. Trump said, “You can say yes and we’ll be very appreciative — or you can say no, and we will remember.”

Such provocative comments are driving increasing worry over Trump’s behavior.

“Calm down the hysteria,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday. “Take a deep breath.”

“America First” does not “mean America alone,” Bessent insisted at a Monday gathering in this Swiss mountain town, where he urged friends “to follow President Trump’s lead for global prosperity, peace and a restored international order.”

If Bessent’s comments are meant to reassure me as a U.S. citizen, they completely missed. Trump announced more tariffs last week against EU members who are NATO allies because another country won’t cede a territory to him. Those actions distinctly say, “America alone.”

I’ll keep watching, worrying about what Trump will do next. It could be in pursuit of Greenland, more actions in Venezuela, or ICE in Minnesota. This behavior doesn’t necessarily shout, “America first,” but it does too often bark, “Trump first.”

Closing, today’s theme music is a Midnight Oil song called “The Dead Heart”. This is simply to honor and remember the drummer, Rob Hirst, who recently passed away. I enjoyed his music and talents, including this song. Watch him drumming in this video. He was having fun, playing music and singing.

Wish you all peace, happiness, and good health as you take on the day. Best of luck, whatever happens. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

“And the beat goes on. Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain. La di da da dee.”

Welcome to this version of Wednesday. It’s July 14, 2021, the only time it’ll ever be this day and date. The future is now.

Sol’s first rays struck at 5:47 AM. Sunset will be at 8:46 PM. Temperatures are cooler today, 90 degrees. That’s good news for fighting and containing the Bootleg Fire. 100 miles to the east, it has burned through over 212000 acres. Although now eight days old, it’s zero contained and has burned down transmission lines, disrupting power to California while filling the area’s air with smoke.

It’s not the only worrying fire. Just the biggest and most fierce. Meanwhile, COVID-19 case numbers are rising again. Only sporadic evidence but I suspect the ABC gang — anything but COVID believers — happily embraced no masks and no vaccines as variants turn up. Perfect storm of ignorance and mutation, giving new life to COVID-19. The stories keep coming out about those people, like the 23-year-old emergency room news who died of it. A denier to the end, she was never vaccinated. Her parents have tested positive for COVID-19 as well. Sad situation. Worse because it could have been averted.

Well, get the vax, wear a mask as needed, stay positive, and test negative. Here’s some Midnight Oil from 1990 with “Blue Sky Mine”. Cheers

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Midnight Floof

Midnight Floof (floofinition) – Australian floof rock (flock) band (informally referred to as the   Floofs) active from 1972 – 2002.

In use: “Midnight Floof had two songs, “Treats are Burning” and “The Floof Heart”, which reached number one in numerous countries.”

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Today’s Theme Music

This protest song, from the nineteen eighties, counters what’s normal for rock, at least as it’s experienced in America. Sure, we have some invasion hits from the Brits, Germans, Dutch, etc., and more than a few from Australia, too.

This one came from Australia with a strong rhetoric against taking the Earth from the people who already inhabited it, along with choice rails against global warm and environmental destruction. Featuring a heavy base line, it also has a fat horn section, pretty unexpected in a rock hit in nineteen eighty-seven. But the lead vocalist’s voice and enunciation will never challenge anyone for smooth delivery.

Know the song? It made news again during the opening of the Olympics in Sidney in two thousand. Sure, it’s “Beds Are Burning,” by Midnight Oil, perfect for a walkabout on an unusually hot spring day – in North America.

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