Tag: pop

Monday’s Theme Music

Greetings! Happy Labor Day in America! This is a holiday in the U.S. It’s one of the three-day weekend holidays. This was Congress’ gift to the country — particularly the travel industry — in 1968 as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

It’s September 6, 2021. Monday, of course. We’re not doing anything special for the holiday. Wildfire smoke and COVID-19 (and the current Delta variation that’s so virulent here in southern Oregon right now) have muted it for us. Might be different if we had family close to us.

Sunrise arrived at 6:41 AM. Sunset, when the Earth turns away from the sun, will come at 7:36 PM. And I think I need to go back and fix an assertion I made on a previous post that we’ve gone below twelve hours of daylight per day. Blame it on a lack of coffee. Or a lack of cogent thinking. Or poor math skills. Temperatures continue to rise but we’re not hitting crazy levels, topping out in the low nineties. AQI for this morning is 163, Unhealthy. We haven’t had a day rated as Moderate since August 25. They’ve all been unhealthy or extremely unhealthy since then, a fact known in many areas out here in the U.S. western states.

Rickie Lee Reynolds died. 72 years old. Heart attack. He was the Black Oak Arkansas guitarist. Black Oak Arkansas was a southern rock band with some glam influences in their stage performances. They came out with a cover of “Jim Dandy” in 1973, while I was a high school junior. Weirdly, I’d encounter this song often on diner and NCO Club jukeboxes for many years. And I’d play it. Which exasperated my wife. She doesn’t like the song. But it’s a throwback, innit?

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask, avoid crazy cures like ivermectin, and get vaccinated. Have a enjoyable Labor Day, if that applies to you. Gotta get my coffee. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Sunday’s Theme Music

Welcome to Sunday, September 5, 2021. It’s September’s first Sunday, which means tomorrow is September’s first Monday, and that rhymes with Labor Day weekend in America. Yes, it’s the day when summer is considered done. The season is yet to change for a few weeks. That doesn’t matter. Summer is done. Vacations are wound down. Children return to class. Grills are fired up for one last hurrah.

Back east, my family has the grand cookout planned. Sister #3 is coordinating the effort. She is the hostess. Sixteen are attending. Mom is taking dessert: an apple pie, chocolate peanut butter bars, and tuxedo cake. She made the bars, purchased the rest. Yes, it’s overkill. Food overkill is the family tradition on these holidays. My brother-in-law will be at the grill. He’s a master. Wish I cold be there but it’s several thousand miles east of here. Takes a day of flying or several days of driving. Where’s a bullet train when you need it?

They’re two degrees south of us at home in Penn Hills, PA. About 1500 feet lower in elevation. Makes a difference with sunrise and sunrise. Temperatures. Sunrise locally was 6:41 AM. Sunset will be 7:38. Yep, less than twelve hours of sunshine today mitigating the smoke today. Our high will be in the mid-eighties. Mom says it’ll probably be in the seventies at their place. So, cooler there, with a lower AQI. Ours is 237 now. Purple. Very unhealthy to breathe. Penn Hills has an AQI of 16.

My dreams have summoned The Police and their frenetic ballad from 1983, Synchronicity I, to the morning mental music stream (McubedS, patent pending). My dreams didn’t come out wholly baked today. Only mutterings and glimpses in the fog remain. The strongest sensation was of dancing. I was going to a dance or dancing somewhere. Yes, something about a dance but what? No other elements would return.

The thinking sequence stirred me to recall “Synchronicity I” lines: A sleep trance, a dream dance, a shared romance, synhronicity. That became the day’s theme music for me.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed. Get the vax if you haven’t already. Try to remain somewhat sane. I think it’s a spectrum myself. Fluctuating by the hour. Sanity, that is. Here’s the music. Cheers

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Friday’s Theme Music

TGIF. Though working on my own schedule for years, the thought that it’s Friday still gives me a mental boost. Energy jumps. So does happiness. Anticipation. Friday!

Today is September 3, 2021. We have a smoky one here in Ashland. Yep. The sun furtively stole in past the mountains and trees at 6:38 this morning. Temperatures continue the cool trend. Highs around here will be in upper seventies or low eighties. Then here comes sunset about 7:42 in the evening.

For something different on this different Friday (yes, but aren’t they all?), I went with “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes (2007). (I keep wanting to call it the Icky Shuffle cuz of football. You either understand or you don’t.) Another of those songs where I listened because my ears were asking, “Wait, what is he singing?” Plus, I liked the beat and Jack’s gi-tar. Part of the song marks American immigration policies and white’s attitudes. “We’re here, this is our land,” denying others entrance when, after all, we’re not the originals who were here. We came in, killed and destroyed, driving out the people who were here. That’s the past, people say, trying to turn their heads away. Uh-huh.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Good day. La la la la la la la

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Thursday’s Theme Music

September flourishes. Not. Yet, maybe. I feel like a pet chasing the little red dot as I pursue time and life. Damn if it isn’t quite elusive.

Today is Thursday, September 2, 2021. Sunshine began its warming, illuminating trend, red, gold, and orange through thin gray smoke, at 6:37 AM. The sun’s flight away, if like yesterday, will be a dirty peach at around 7:43 PM. The cooling trend given us by the seasons changing continues. High yesterday was only seventy-nine in my niche of existence. Today should be just 80 F. The cooler weather brings the cats in. That pleases me. I don’t like them being in the smoke. They have their own minds about where they go and what they do, though. They know how to floofnipulate me.

I’m reading of a number of disasters this morning. Flooding. Ida. New abortion law in Texas. SCOTUS ruling on it. Caldor Fire. Other wildfires. Smoke pollution. Tornados. COVID-19 deaths. Just the U.S. news so far. Well, it includes accusations about Afghanistan. Yes, we’re leaving a screwed up country after twenty years of war, many lives, and a huge chunk of money. Somehow, though, that becomes Biden’s fault. I mean, he has been in office for almost eight months. Eight months out of two hundred and forty, give or take. Yes, I see the reasoning.

Anyway, I end up with “Wasteland” by 10 Years (2005) in my morning mental music streaming. It’s a song about intentions. Inspired by someone dealing with drug addiction. We could easily make the case that the U.S. — even the world — is dealing with addiction. Addictions to greed. Money. Power. War. Addictions twist and malign intentions. Inculcate bad habits, policies, and practices. Bad results follow.

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask. Get the vax. Unless your addictions to death, suffering, and hatred stop you. Here’s the music. Gonna go get some coffee. Don’t call it an addiction, though. Just a friendly relationship. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

Adieu to August. Hello, September! So many September songs dive straight into the mental music stream. Amazing.

Yes, this is September 1, 2021. 9/1/21. Wednesday. Hump Day. Some interesting holidays are observed on this date.

  • Building and Code Staff Appreciation Day 
  • Chicken Boy Day 
  • Emma M. Nutt Day 
  • Ginger Cat Appreciation Day 
  • Global Talent Acquisition Day – September 1, 2021 (First Wednesday in September)
  • National Cherry Popover Day 
  • National No Rhyme Nor Reason Day 
  • National Tofu Day (UK) 
  • Pink Cadillac Day 
  • Save Japan’s Dolphins Day 
  • Toy Tips Executive Toy Test Day 
  • World Letter Writing Day 

Each one has a story. Like Chicken Boy Day. How did that get started? Ginger Cat Appreciation Day. I do have a ginger cat. Papi, aka Meep, aka Youngblood and the Ginger Blade. I will show him my appreciation. It’s not a choice. He demands it. I willingly surrender.

Sunrise overtook us at 6:36 AM. Sun fade will be at 7:43 PM. Our smoke is back and blah, blah, blah, it sucks. High temperatures will be in the low 80s so a cooler day again, if only we had the air to go out and safely breathe.

The musical mental stream kicked things off this morning with Doris Day singing “Sentimental Journey”. Listened to Bob Dylan’s cover of it. It’s just too mellow for me this September AM, ya know? I wanted something head thrashing. My mind responded with, stop wasting my time. Words which naturally flowed into the song by Default, “Wasting My Time” (2001). No, not head thrashing, but it’ll do. (Did anyone else channel a little of Babe there, and say, “That’ll do, pig. That’ll do.”? No? Hmmm.)

Stay positive. Test negative. Wear a mask as needed, like when it’s smoky as hell or you’re in contact with others outside of your house, like in a store. Get the vax. And be safe. Here’s the music. I’m gonna go get more coffee. Cheers

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Today is August of 2021’s final day, the 31st, a Tuesday. Tuesday’s child – what are they, full of grace? Or maybe they’re lost, out in space.

Sun popped in on us at 6:34 AM. Expect it to hang around and bring moderate warmth — in the eighties — until about 7:47 PM.

A strong and sustained wind blew in from the west yesterday. Cleared the air. Improved our air quality all the way from an extremely unhealthy rating to a moderate. Woo hoo. This was an hour before sunset. Dinner had been et. So we went for a walk. My wife only wanted to go so far due to her RA foot issues but I pressed on. Ended up walking two and a half miles. Coming back, walking toward the east, a huge smoke bank was visible. Gray and blue highlighted with air. My guess is this was the smoke being blown out of our valley. Horrifying, fascinating sight. If the wind shifted to the other direction, that would all pour back in on us. Also, while we were free, how people in that area must be suffering. Wasn’t far: just the end of town. Less than a mile straight down 99. Also, what of all the places in California, Oregon, et al, still on fire. Places where homes, businesses, and forests were still burning down. Also, places where the animals fled, where people evacuated. Couldn’t help but contemplate how miserable, worried, and anxious all of them must be.

I had several crazy dreams last night. Reflecting upon them as breakfast was made and consume and coffee brewed, I thought of crazy songs. Like “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley and friends. Patsy Cline. Ozzy with “Crazy Train”. “Let’s Go Crazy” — Prince. “Crazy in Love”. FYC with “She Drives Me Crazy”. But out of the shuffling came Aerosmith with “Crazy”. Crazy, isn’t it? I thought I’d go with it. Just felt right.

Stay positive, test negative, wear the mask as needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music and my 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

Sunday arrived like a Monday morning, on time and as expected. Cool and smoky.

Today is August 29, 2021. This is it. If you vowed to do things during August — clean cupboards, fly to the moon, bake a cake for a friend, write a novel — you better find the go button.

Sunrise settled its glowing blanket over our dried out brown and green valley at 6:33 AM. Sunset will be 7:49 PM. Our high temperature will be in the mid nineties.

We have a few warnings for you today for Jackson County, Oregon, including Ashland. Excessive heat warning, so don’t go outside. COVID-19 is still raging out here, climbing to levels that bring the national news services to the area to write stories about how bad it is in hospitals, so don’t go anywhere without your mask. Also, the air is rated unhealthy to extremely unhealthy so don’t go outside unless you must. Masking is suggested. Also, don’t exert yourself too much while you’re out there. A red flag warning has been issued for fires, so you know, be careful and don’t use power tools outside. Finally, there’s a drought still underway, so don’t waste water. Other than these stipulations and limitations, feel free to go nuts.

My mind started the morning with pieces of dreams. Most of them evaporated, leaving me to look at fragments and wonder what was going on there, sort of like we do when ancient ruins or old family photographs are found. Then, I thought about “Friends”. Have you heard about this? It was a television show about a gang of people – a brother and sister, and, well, their friends and room mates, and work and relationship entanglements presented in a humorous way. I believe it’s called a ‘sitcom’. On NBC in the states for a while. It’s also been on reruns sometimes after it went out of production. Anyway, I was thinking about the friends’ parents. Liked how the parents were written into their lives and relationships, and the actors who played the parents, but I was thinking mostly about Chandler’s father, played by Kathleen Turner.

Whew. Got that out of my system. I then checked out the landscape, thought about the situation, and concluded, Jesus, get me out of here. That prompted the Gospel song turned rock hit, “Jesus Is Just Alright” to kick off in the morning’s mental music stream. After re-acquainting myself with the DC Talk version and the Byrd’s version, I went back to the Doobie Brothers and pulled a recording of a live version off the net. The song doesn’t have many words. You can learn them quickly, I think. So feel free to sing along.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as necessary, get the vax, and be careful out there. Here’s the music. You listen while I go get my starter fluid, aka, coffee. Also need to turn on the air purifier because it smells like smoke in here. Cheers

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Saturday’s Theme Music

Powerful sunshine kicked in the day. I blinked against the golden warmth. “Sol. What time is it?”

“Time to raise your derriere from the dead.”

“Seriously, time.”

“Time to rise and — “

“Sol, it’s too early.”

“6:32 AM.” Sol sat, flipping rays back from his face. “It’s also Saturday, August 28, 2021, if that matters to you, the last Saturday in August.” Sol sighed. “September is next week, you know. Soon, I’ll be a wintry sun, mourning the cold land from a sad distance.”

“Not everywhere. Just up in the northern climes.”

“True.” Sol sniffed. “An advantage of being omnipresent. I’m always somewhere. Got any coffee?”

“I’ll make some.”

My slumber ended, I peed first, then shuffled into the kitchen. Cats greeted me, falling into step. The necessary feeding detour was executed. “How long are you here today, Sol?” I asked the sun as he joined me in the kitchen.

“Until 7:52 in the evening, thereabouts.” Sol perched himself on the counter. “And I’m in a hot mood. Think it’ll be ninety-five to a hundred today.”

“Ouch.”

Sol watched the coffee making. “Make it strong. I like it strong.”

“Of course.”

“I am the sun, you know.”

“Right, right, got that.”

Sol and I began channeling David Bowie music, falling back into some of his early seventies stuff as coffee brewed, basically working through a compilation album with “Diamond Dogs”, “Rebel, Rebel”, “Space Oddity”, “Changes”, and “Suffragette City”. By the time we finished our first cuppa, we were belting out “The Jean Genie”. Sol and I agreed that should be today’s theme music.

As Sol told me, stay positive — “Like me, I’m always sunny, hah!” — test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax. Here’s the music. Cheers

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