Tag: october

Thursday’s Theme Music

Mood: Weathwonderizing

Today is Thursday, October 24, 2024. This kicks off October’s final week. Just seven days remain until November is asserted. Once November kicks on, it’ll be a ride. Time change in America, election in America, Thanksgiving in America…then the December holidays in America. Sorry to give the rest of the world short attention. That’s not my intention. It’s only that I expect November to be intense in the U.S. for multiple reasons.

Peering out the window, fog twirled and swirled, stealing in and out of the scene. But brave sunshine soon burst onto the scene.

With the fog, we were creeping through the low thirties. Sunshine kicked in and managed to kick the fog out and prop up a vividly blue sky. Now we’re romping through the forties, racing toward a high in the low 60s. This is autumn for sure but winter is slanting in.

Eyeing the fog’s weave around the trees, houses, and accoutrements of modern urban life brought up Foghat. Just apparently how my brain works. Soon “Fool for the City” rose in the morning mental music stream.

But as I watched, I rejected the song. Just didn’t feel right for the moment. The fog keep shifting, slinking in and sneaking out, coiling around trees and releasing. I kept judging the visibility. Now I could see further away…ah, but it’s back in and I can only see the houses and trees directly across the street.

From that litany of thought arose “What A Wonderful World.” The 1967 recording released by Louis Armstrong was the first, and it’s hard to top. But a while back, I heard a version by Chris Botti with Mark Knopfler. It was used at the end of an episode of the television series, “Bosch.” It struck me and I went off to hear it again on the net.

Besides Armstrong and Botti’s version, Willy Nelson’s soulful rendition and Joey’s Ramone heartfelt fast paced rock version captivated me. It’s hard to go wrong with the song’s words and the sentiments, if you like that sort of thing.

It is a wonderful world. I worry about humans screwing it up. We adjust it to our needs. Sometimes we’re pretty damn cruel and arrogant. I always have mixed conclusions about us exploring other worlds for that reason. I want the technological achievement, and I want to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of what else exists beyond this planet. But I don’t want us to ruin the other places. It remains a conundrum.

Coffee has invaded my body in a benign takeover. Stay positive, be strong, and vote blue. Here’s the music, friends and neighbors. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Mood: Octobergestion

October 1, 2024. Tuesday. Officially time for pumpkins in the U.S. Or so it was when I was an effen grasshopper. Didn’t have all those fancy pumpkin drinks and confections bursting onto the scene. We had pumpkin patches and pumpkin pies. Simpler sales and marketing era.

I remember tasting my first pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks. Living in Califonia, retired from the military. Family visiting circa 2003. Oddly chilly Saturday afternoon. Drove ‘over the hill’ as it was called from Half Moon Bay to visit the San Jose Institute of Technology. Afterward, we were flagging. Coffee and some sitting was needed. Hey, a Starbucks. Hey, I heard about those pumpkin spiced latte. Let’s try those. Sugar, whipped cream, coffee, pumpkin? Why not.

It was okay. Didn’t convert me or anything but rejuvenated my spring for a few hours.

Autumn is hanging all over us this morning. Long morning shadows from the rising sun spill across the land, highlighting golden and yellow leaves blazing in sunlight. We lack trees with oranges, reds, and scarlets in our immediate. Kind of a bummer. Soon as you descend the short hill to the boulevard, they’re abundant. Just not up here. I’m tryin’ not to be personally insulted over it.

55 F now and sunny, expect a high of 86 F. Fire warning is in effect. Dry conditions and warm air deliver the chance that any fire starting can spread fast. Take heed. It’s due to end later this morning.

Tough watching and reading news coverage of Hurricane Helene’s destruction. Flash floods and sudden floods and storm surges, heavy winds and rains. Death and catastrophe mark the spots. Sickening and disheartening for the people of all those states and areas struck. Individual stories arise of bravery, hopelessness, and tragedy. Hope your friends and family are okay, wherever they are. The strength of a nation and a people is that we will respond to help them recover and rebuild however we can.

With weather on my mind, it’s little wonder that The Neurons responded by songs about hurricanes, lightning and storms. While they played in the morning mental music stream (Trademark underwater), I sought they out on my usual, Youtube. Lo’, the expired licensing deal between YouTube and SESAC makes some songs unavailable. Hope that resolves soon. Fortunately for my Neurons, there’s a plethora of storm songs in mind to look for. I ended up with AC/DC and “Thunderstruck” from 1990.

Keep on being strong, register, and vote blue. Coffee and I have begun our daily agreement. I talk nice about it and it helps me adult. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Entering our consciousness just after midnight, Wednesday, October 26, 2022, sailed in under a gray curtain of rain and trumpets of gusty winds. Sunlight’s arrival at 7:36 AM brought up pre-winter conditions. Frost advisories have been kicked out. Temperatures are dropping. Lovely rain extended its visitation rights. Streams and creeks grow swollen with contributions out of mountains, gutters, and drain systems.

It’s 5 degrees C right now. We’re told — and they’re usually pretty close on these things — 51 F will be seen by the afternoon. The sun’s departure at 6:13 PM will kick the temperature back down the stairs toward the lower thirties.

We were reflecting on Halloween’s approach. Until last week, it felt like summer here. Trees hadn’t turned, temperatures remained in the eighties, sunshine and blue skies lorded over the valley. Summer, right? Then a cosmic meteorological switch was turned and autumn crashed down. Suddenly, summer was gone and, hello, it’s Halloween? What? Seriously?

And now October is finalizing its last day plans. Enjoy it while you can. I don’t want to be a spoiler, but I can tell you that there will be a change next Tuesday.

A cat inspired The Neurons for today’s music. Papi, energetic from being housebound when the rains and temperatures dropped suddenly declared last night, “Enough of this! I want out!” Yes, I warned him, it’s no longer summer out there. But he’s a cat. Did he listen? Of course he did. But he ignored me. Because he’s a cat and ruler of whatever he thinks he can get away with ruling.

So he went out. And came back in. And wanted back out. No, in! Out! In! Out! Well, yeah, by the fourth time, I refused to play the game. But my wife was awoken by his efforts to get in and did his bidding, only for him to come to me and say, with pleading eyes, “Please, sir, let me out.”

At some point in all this, I told him, “I love you but you’re driving me crazy.” Well, yeah, Der Neurons liked that and fired up some Sammy Hagar in the morning mental music stream. His song, “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy” (1983), has been playing in my head since serious dark thirty.

Although October may be ending (or maybe not!), keep wearing your positive pants. You know the ones, the ones which you’ve decided brings you good luck because you got a free coffee once when you were wearing them and people compliment you and are nicer, and you were told you got a promotion that one time, and you always get better traffic flow when you have them on, seriously. Also, continue to test negative.

I’m up for coffee. Anyone else? Here’s Sammy. Cheers

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This Is It

I’m wearing a green shirt because autumn is slinking in. Jeans have replaced shorts. I’ve added a sweatshirt as an outer garment but other than that, little has changed. I’m still drinking my quad shot non-fat, no-whip mocha. No pumpkin spice lattes for me, thanks. Lattes always remind me of a “what’s the use?” A WTU is non-fat, no-whip and decaf, without much coffee in it. Tastes like steamed milk to me. Really, WTF, WTU? Yes, I know, drinks are personal matters for humans, and how a person drinks their coffee is between them and their barista. I know many are appalled by my QSM, or abhorred that, ye gods, I have coffee and chocolate mixed together. My preference is a twelve ounce cup of this, so there’s little milk in it. It’s mostly chocolate flavored espresso.

Some people read that and shuddered. I felt it all the way over here.

Yes, autumn arrived a few weeks ago in the world’s northern half, in theory. Although leaves began changing while summer was indulging us with heat and sunshine, green is now saying, “Let’s make like a bird and get the flock out of here.” So I’m wearing green, as a small compensation for nature’s attitude.

October, while not my favorite month, is an important month for me. I can’t say I have a favorite month. I’m too hunkered down to properly celebrate holidays and seasons. I’m working on it but the celebratory gene seems to have skipped me.

October gained its status for me because of choices. I went on military active duty in October, left in October, returned in October, received several promotions in October and put in my military retirement papers in October. Two out of two houses were purchased in October. First airplane flight was in October, etc.

I feel something about October. Regardless of what else transpires globally, October re-invigorates my personal mojo. October may not be my favorite, but I love October.

Here we are, then, in October again. This is it. Time to plunge back onto the CSC Narwhal and the battle between the Narwhal, Intrepid and Missouri. It’s an exciting, intense place for me to be as the writer. The characters, scenes and development haunted and shadowed all other activities yesterday, impatiently tearing at the borders maintained between the writing life and ‘the rest’. I’d take a bite of food, nod at another’s comment, and realize a sentence to add or a detail to include. Those of you who write will understand.

Time to drink coffee and write like crazy, at least one more time.

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