Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Floof Zombie (floofinition) – Heavy metal floof rock (flock) band formed in 1985. Based in New Floof City, Floof Zombie first gained notice as a white noise band before settling into heavy metal.
In use: “Floof Zombie’s best known song outside of their hardcore base may be “More Floof than Floof”, released in 1995.
Cyndi Lauper’s 1986 song (wow, so long ago, in retrospect), “True Colors” gave to mind today as I perused the news.
Everything seems like political news in the U.S. in this era. Trump wants to stop Bolton’s book from being released, using the conflicting reasons, it’s all lies, and it’s all classified, making the book classified lies, which I think would be a good name for a music group. “Classified Lies”. Think they might be a one-hit wonder.
Karens — white women who call the police for calling on Blacks for living while being Black — have been caught showing their true colors, smugly declaring how right they are in hateful tones, demanding that Blacks go back to where they came from or stop what they’re doing, or police! The tactic seems to have been solidly ingrained into their psychic, as they have little fear of using it. Oh, how often when the video exposes their true colors do they sob about how sorry they are, how they didn’t realize. Sure, too late; we see your true colors.
More on the right insist that wearing masks and social distancing doesn’t matter, they want to invoke herd immunity. “The economy,” they scream. Many are ‘pro-lifers’ who also screamed against abortion choice and spread rumors of death panels when the ACA was being debated. Now, the possibility of spreading death doesn’t bother them. Life isn’t so precious as the economy. They’ve shown their true colors.
As protests supporting Black Lives Matter and against police brutality rose and spread, some people spoke up for the police even as video evidence of their abuse and disregard spread. True colors were shown.
Yes, the pressure to stand somewhere and declare yourself often exposes true colors. It’s a good song for Juneteenth, 2020, as we see too many people’s true, ugly colors.
Tom Kelly and Billy Steinberg wrote “True Colors”. I didn’t know that until I read it on wikipedia.org. Cyndi Lauper puts a beautiful spin on it. While I mock the true colors of racists and the right wing in the light of current news, the song is an antidote to such trumpshit.
No, “True Colors” is more supportive of the protesters standing for change, because more of us, a majority, are awakening to the wrongs manifested in our names, and are trying to put it right.
You with the sad eyes Don't be discouraged Oh I realize Its hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small But I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid to let them show Your true colors True colors are beautiful Like a rainbow Show me a smile then Don't be unhappy, can't remember When I last saw you laughing If this world makes you crazy And you've taken all you can bear You call me up Because you know I'll be there
h/t to Lyrics.com.
I’ve always enjoyed these lines:
Here’s your ticket, pack your bag, it’s time for jumping overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fighting fire with fire, ah!
h/t to Genius.com
After a night of chaotic dreaming (sometimes I was dictating a novel to others, sometimes they were dictating it to me, which sometimes involved an empty white room but then featured a red jukebox where I made selections but they didn’t come up), I awoke with those lines from “Burning Down the House” dominating my mental stream (along with “Summer Breeze” by Seals & Croft and “This Magic Moment”, as covered by Jay and the Americans). Not really hooked on it (for example, fragments of Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” just skittered through), but why shouldn’t it be today’s theme music? I like the song’s nonsensical connections that hint at something deeper.
Today’s music arrives because of interactions with the cats.
Another cat, one I’d never seen, arrived on the backyard fence yesterday. Alarms went off in my cats. Tucker, who rules the house, lifted himself up, slowly sat down, curled his tail around his body, and watched this newcomer, a tabby with a white chest and white front paws. They gave Tucker a long look.
Then Boo, the resident house bagheera, took note of the newby and sat up so he could watch. And Papi, the ginger blade, emerged from the shadows to sit and watch.
Newby had been thinking about jumping down into the yard. These three’s laser gazes gave them pause. But how should they redirect? Nothing appeared trustworthy.
Which is when I said, “Everyone relax.” They immediately ignored me. No one relaxed but Frankie Goes to Hollywood began thumping in my head.
So here we go, “Relax”, from 1983.
Flock of Seafloofs (floofinition) – Synth floof rock (flock) band formed in Liverfloof in 1979, who achieved significant influence as a floof wave band.
In use: “Flock of Seafloofs was noted for their outlandish fur styles but also created entertaining songs, such as “I Barked (So Far Away)”, which became a top ten song in several major markets.”
Been listening to some blues streaming in my head and decided to share it with you. Here’s Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble with “Pride and Joy” from 1983. Turn it up!
We had a Black Lives Matter/Defund the Police protest and march in Ashland this weekend. My wife and I didn’t attend; her underlying health issues increase her vulnerability.
But we drove down to check it out. Hundreds attended. It was peaceful. Most — probably ninety-plus percent — were masked but social distancing wasn’t observed, so mixed bag. Holding our breath on that as the case count continues rising in Oregon.
Young and old, Black, White, Asian, and Latino marched. Later, as we talked about it during “Sixty Minutes”, my wife asked, “Why do we need to keep doing this? When will it permanently change?”
Good question, one that stayed with me this morning. The question prompted a recall of a 2007 Foo Fighters song and video, “The Pretender”. Dave Grohl said in interviews that 2007’s political unrest influenced him when he wrote it. Watching the video, well, you see the same themes as in 2020: protests, taking a knee, confronting police, violence escalating.
Big difference exist between now and 2007. Videos emerge almost weekly of police killing people, almost always Blacks, for little provocation. Too many times, it was brushed aside, hidden again and again. But as it’s happened, it’s just become, too much. The expression, “Black Lives Matter”, arose to express the gulf we see as Blacks were killed or had the police called by Whites for being black. The expression, “Being Karen”, became the code for privileged White people who called the police for such a list of shocking reasoning about why Black people weren’t supposed to be there, or why they were a threat.
“The Pretender” speaks to these things. All those things done by the police hat were hidden or protected are being exposed, again, again, and again. That’s the momentum that keeps this wheel spinning, and will until, finally, Black Lives Matter.
Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in again
They need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are at the ready
Are you ready?
I’m finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance, that whole defense
Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It’s never ending, never ending
Same old story
Today’s stream music arrived in my head because, what if?
The what if game is always a small diversion. The rules are to ask yourself to imagine how your existence would be different if you made a different decision, followed another path, or handled something in some other way than what you did.
What if you had gone to college?
What if you’d taken that job?
What if you’d married that person?
From that, in trickled Rob Thomas singing Matchbox Twenty’s song, “Real World”. It asks those questions about being in charge, or a superhero, among other things.
And it all has a direct link to writing yesterday. A big portion of my writing process is playing what if? It’s intriguing as part of the process because I’ll think that through, applying different ideas, possibilities, and outcomes, but when I sit down and write, it’s something completely different.
And that’s why writing entertains me.
Here’s the music.
“Thunder only happens when it’s raining.”
It wasn’t raining (at least around our house) but the thunder was relentless. Half the cats did a frenzied thunder-run to hide. The other two yawned.
I listened to the thunder, waited for the lightning, and remembered songs about thunder, lightning, and rain. The mental stream finally selected the Fleetwood Mac song, “Dreams” (1977). Ostensibly a reflective song about ending relationships, the line about the thunder always resonates with me.
It’s a very mellow song.
Seals and Floof (floofinition) – An American soft floof rock (flock) musical duo from Texas.
In use: “Among Seals and Floof soft flock singles that were considered hit songs was “Diamond Floof” in 1973.”
Michael Seidel, writer 