While it’s Thursday, February 22, 2024, the weather has twisted toward spring here in Ashlandia in southern Oregon. Winds be blowing with a wintry taste but sunshine blinds the eyes and blue sky mixes it up with piecemeal white and gray clouds. None of the clouds are large but they can be something if they unite and stay together.
It’s 54 F now after mid 30s as our overnight lows, and will tweak a few more degrees north of the current temp. The cats are not happy with the situation. “It’s the wind,” they complain. “Too much damn wind for our whiskers.”
The house painting is done and the bill is paid. $7650. Looks fab, though, and we’re happy with it, so I guess it’s worth it.
The Neurons have infiltrated the morning mental music stream (Trademark coming in two weeks) with some Rush flavored prog rock, aka progressive rock or prock. Today’s song is “New World Man” from 1982. I can’t find the roots of its presence in the MMMS, only that sometime while I was in the kitchen after feeding the floof boys, that song was in my head as I prepped my brekkie. It’s a song I know from a military co-worker on Okinawa. Rush music was a big staple of his listening hoard. He considered them severely underrated and unappreciated.
Stay positive, be strong, lean forward, and vote. That’s all we ask of you; is that so much? I hope not. Coffee has been served and sampled. Here we go, into the winds of a new day. And here’s the music. Cheers
More high winds last night. Reports arrived that the 2023 barrage brought trees down a few days ago. Several pines and sycamore trees went down in Lithia Park. Over on Oak Street toward the town’s north side, a large tree landed on power lines, taking out people’s power. A few other trees caused more minor damages and inconveniences. In our neighborhood, I’ve only seen a neighbor lose two smaller fir trees.
No rain last night as the atmospheric river afflicting California leaned south. Beyond these salient pieces, we’ve reached another Tuesday, it’s 40 degrees F but 53 is the projected high, and scattered showers are expected. Yesterday afternoon was worthy of being outdoors, with a high of 56 F, no wind or rain, and plentiful sunshine. They keep that up, we’ll be spoiled.
For the record, this is January 10, 2023. The sun’s presence loomed over the southeastern rim of mountains at 7:39 this morning — same as yesterday — and the daylight portion of the show will begin ending at 4:57 PM. We had sunshine through the southern windows but that’s been doused by a band of clouds.
I felt like a change was needed and was talking to myself about a change of atmosphere. After all, it’s a new year, innit. Something’s gotta change. I was also reading others’ blogs about changes you can make to improve your writing. I’m all in on that. That personal and private conversation with self was overheard by some busybody Neurons who used that to inject the song “Rush” by Big Audio Dynamite II from 1991 into the morning mental music stream. Why that song? Because it has the lyrics, “Rush for a change of atmosphere” in it, I guess.
One of the things about BAD and BAD II was that Mick Jones of the Clash was band’s the driving force. So when I first heard “Rush”, I heard Jones’s vocals and concluded it’s the Clash. I’d not heard of Big Audio Dynamite before “Rush”. Don’t know why but I suspect that it was a combo of the times. I’d been serving in Germany until ’91 and was moving back to the U.S. The Desert Storm & Desert Shield buildup was going on, and we were dealing with the aftermath of the fall of the U.S.S.R., the toppling of the Berlin Wall, reunification of Germany, and the impending dismantling and deactivation of my unit. All that was absorbing a lot of my time and attention.
The other thing about this particular song is that they sample several other songs in it, which sometimes threw me off when I heard “Rush”. If you know it, you’ll see what I mean. Finally, my brain was a little confused about a song called “Rush” when a rock group called Rush existed. It taxed my processing skills, I tells ya. But “Rush” is this day’s theme music.
Coffee is being served. It’s self-serve, so I, you know… Stay positive and test negative. See you on the flip side. Here’s BAD II. Cheers
Sing us a song of Thursday, on this twenty-third day of the month. Yes, it’s still December, 2021, for a few more days. Ticking down, though, ticking down.
Our weather report is about fog with 37 degrees temperatures and a sky without a break in the clouds insisting, “Rain is coming.” That’s for the lower elevations. Above two thousand feet, snow is expected with some heavy accumulation, and lower temperatures. The snow levels will be dropping to seventeen hundred, so the valley floor will probably experience a taste. We’re at eighteen hundred feet and will probably enjoy a winter blend.
Concerned thinking this morning brought out the morning mental music stream inhabitant, “Distant Early Warning”, by Rush (1984).
Have some coffee (or whatever your preference is), stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, do some social distancing, and get the vax and boosters when you can. Onward. Cheers
A stick, a stone, the end of a poem, the beginning of the day, the end of the night.
Hello. Welcome to the new, improved, Wednesday, now with better flavor and new packaging.
Today is November 17, 2021. Last night’s temp dipped to 32 F under clear skies. By sunrise at 7:04 AM, it was back up to 41. But with that rise came a stout series of winds jostling the trees, rattling the windows, and urging the cats, get back into the house. A high of 56 is in the cards if we play them right (yeah, like we can do anything, right, but hold onto the cards as the wind tries blowing them away) before sunset at 4:48 PM.
“They call me the working man, guess that’s what I am,” was bubbling through the morning mental music stream today. Don’t know why the Rush song from 1974 has been called up. I’m not a working man; if anything, I’d call myself a non-working man, a label I attached to myself way back in…well, 1974, when I graduated high school. It might be the guitar solo that sprang to mind. It’s a pretty nifty turn by Alex Lifeson, the Rush guitarist. I’ve always enjoyed the group, but again, sadly, we lost the drummer Neil Peart, last year, and the group says they’re done touring.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax and booster when you can. Stay healthy in general, and keep pressing forward. Here’s my coffee — hot and black — and the music. It’s a ‘live’ version found on the net that entertained me. Enjoy. Cheers
I woke up thinking, this feels like Saturday. I knew it was Thursday and sacrificed about ten minutes thinking about why this Thursday felt like a Saturday. Only thing that emerged was that I had no reason to leap out of bed. No structure of rushing off to work, or hurrying somewhere to meet someone. No urgency to leave the house and go to a coffee shop and write. Yeah, we’re still under COVID-19 restrictions. I haven’t gotten the booster, and my wife has underlying issues. Well, I have some, too. Underlying issues is part of the aging gift package for many of us.
Anyway, today is Thursday, November 21, 2021. Lackluster weather. A bit of sunshine burst through and fired some joy through my synapses. Seeing this, a heavy cloud hurried over and blocked the sunshine. The temperature is 52 F and there’s no indication that it’ll get any warmer than 56 F. Sunrise came at 7:47 AM and sunset will launch at 6:01 PM. Basically, we’re coming down to eight hours of sunshine per day.
I’m a little aggro this morning. Feel like I’m on the precipice of my monthly trough, sliding down toward the dark waves. The cats didn’t help this AM. Opened one of their favorite foods. They all chowed down but one returned, asking for more. I fed him and he gobbled away. Then, as I was preparing my brekkie, he walked in and puked at my feet. Three facets then emerge: why did he puke? Just eating too much too fast? Two, damn it, there’s a mess to clean. Three, damn it, I’m hungry and I need to clean this up before I can eat my oatmeal. Bah.
Trying to get the vax booster is also agitating me. Websites are all, we have the boosters! Make an appointment. But. They then ask about which vaccine I’ve had. I received the J&J. These websites — RiteAid, Fred Meyers, Costco, the three primary sources for COVID-19 shots in our area — all then direct me to get a J&J booster. Which I don’t want; I desire a Moderna. This is per CDC guidance. All their websites say that as a J&J recipient, I can have whichever shot I prefer. Yet their appointment form won’t let that happen.
I complained to my friends last night about it. They clearly weren’t paying deep attention, telling me, “Just go to the Fred Meyers website, just go to the Costco website, just go to the RiteAid website.” Exasperating, n’est pas?
Other acquaintances relate that they made appointments only to show up and discover either the vaccine of the people to administer it wasn’t available. But others made appointments and got the shots, no prob. Seems like a dice game when it comes to getting the booster, just as it was back when we were trying to get the vax.
Oddly, perhaps, all this angst and irritation stems from having strong writing sessions. I get immersed in the writing; pulling out to participate in real world activity requires a major energy shift. I don’t want to give it many times. Just let me keep writing, damn it world.
I had “Sister Golden Hair” flowing through the morning mental music stream. A Rush song, “Show Don’t Tell” from 1989, supplanted it.
How many times do you hear it? It goes on all day long Everyone knows everything And no one’s ever wrong Until later
Who can you believe? It’s hard to play it safe But apart from a few good friends We don’t take anything on faith Until later
Ah, good music for this Thursday for me. Stay positive — hard some days, innit? — test negative, wear a mask as the situation requires, and get the vax and booster when you can. Now, excuse me, but a cuppa coffee is screaming my name. Here’s the music. Cheers.
The wheel has turned, and we’ve come, at last, to Thursday, October 21, 2021. A warmer day here. Dryer. Lively with wind teasing fabulous fall foliage. Red leaves dressed scarlet to merlot are in abundance, competing with warm pumpkin orange leaves, bright yellows, bronzes, and burnished golds. All against the enduring greens offered by firs, evergreens, and pines. While the current temperature is a pleasant 58 F out there, we expect it to get ten degrees warmer. Sunrise overtook us at 7:30 AM and sunset will transpire at 6:20 PM. The cats are generally enjoying it. Winds are not their thing, but they find places for a cozy nap outside.
They don’t know it, but the click is ticking. A cyclone bomb is heading our way. That entails stronger winds and much more rain. The cats will not be happy.
Today’s tune occupying the morning mental music stream is a Rush song called “Subdivisions” from 1982. It came through on the heels of yesterday’s music. After I played yesterday’s selection, I let the music keep rolling on Youtube as I typed with my headphones on. “Subdivisions” was one of the subsequent melodies heard. I haven’t heard it in quite some time. Sort of surprising, as classic rock stations that I tune into often play Rush music. I usually hear “New World Man”, “Tom Sawyer”, “Limelight”, or “Closer to the Heart”. I like “Subdivisions”. As it cut into my thinking, I flipped the puter over to the Youtube tab and enjoyed the live performance.
Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vax or booster when you can, as you can. And remember, drink plenty of fluids. Staying hydrated is very important. I have water and coffee beside me now. Ready to write and roll. Here’s the music. Enjoy.
Hello. Welcome to this edition of Wednesday, brought to you by 2021. “2021. The year that has to get better.” Today is the twenty-fourth of February, meaning that February is fast running out of time. Today’s sunrise came at 6:54 AM in Ashland. We expect sunrise about eleven hours and four minutes later, at 5:55 PM. A sun bomb has gone off but the air is chilly at 40 degrees F. We expect another late charge into the low to mid fifties by late afternoon. The mountains blocks so much sun as it steals over the sky, robbing us of warmth and plunging us into early twilight. Across the valley is the land of sun, where it’s bright all day long, you know?
Rush is the music provider today. “Limelight” from 1981 skipped into the mental music stream as I walked yesterday. Its rhyming lyrics, with their sharp enunciation, are memorable.
Living on a lighted stage Approaches the unreal For those who think and feel In touch with some reality Beyond the gilded cage
Cast in this unlikely role Ill-equipped to act With insufficient tact One must put up barriers To keep oneself intact
Living in the limelight The universal dream For those who wish to seem Those who wish to be Must put aside the alienation Get on with the fascination The real relation The underlying theme
And so the song goes, a good walking song, solid beat except where it slows for the solo, but that’s how prog-rock often goes, innit? Stay positive, folks, and test negative. Persevere, carry on, wear a mask, and get vaccinated. If that all fails, have a drink. Think I’ll go get a coffee, black, thank you, and unsweetened, like my soul.
Masked up and went walking yesterday. Of the ten pedestrians I encountered, one was masked. So, about eighteen percent are masked when out and about, contrary to guidance.
Our little town has a reported ten COVID-19 cases. That’s an unofficial count. The county has had fifty-two cases. Social distancing and sheltering-in-place has been practiced, but most only wear masks when in stores, because the stores demand it. So, I suspect our low count is due to our rural nature, limitations on travel, and luck. I hope it all holds.
While out exercising my legs, I realized I was humming a song and identified it as the Rush song, “Freewill” (1980). I have one friend who was a devoted Rush fan and another who can’t stand Rush because they don’t like Geddy Lee’s voice. The Rush lyrics rushed in with these memories (sorry for the pun).
These lyrics are taken in different ways by different people. (Well, words, right? That’s how it goes with words.) I’ve always thought that the song referred to thinking for yourself. I like to believe I think for myself. I wear a mask because that’s recommended; studies show it helps reduce viral transmission.
Maybe I am sheeple, as non-mask fans charge. Perhaps my twenty plus years in the military conditioned me to obey orders without question. Don’t think so, myself; I was known for challenging orders.
Then again, we select and frame the information and memories that best suit what we want to know as the facts, don’t we? We’re each in our own bubble. We try to control what comes in and goes out but there’s quite a bit beyond our control.
Nebulous? No, complicated. One thing that I’ve discovered as I’ve aged is that I’m not the person who I think I am. My window into myself is as limited as my windows into others. My body is often doing things that I don’t know, responding to chemicals in ways that science knew but I didn’t, and my brain often reacts before I think. We depend on surface impressions and isolated moments to inform our decisions. Some of them are magnified in importance – in our heads – rising on waves of emotions and intellect.
Such complicated beasts we are in a complicated world. Which takes me back to “Freewill” and Rush. You make a choice. Sometimes it seems to work, other times, it seems to flop, but a lot of times, we’re forever waiting to learn the results.
A guy who worked for me at Shaw AFB in South Carolina was a big fan of Ratt, Judas Priest, and Rush. Anniversary dates and weather impressions have kicked memories of the “I was there with <XXX> when…” variety into my stream. So I was thinking of this fellow, Bob, and wondering what happened with him. Smart guy, from Texas, but no Texan accent, he seemed like he was on a slow downward spiral. Going to college but not completing classes, and gaining weight, something we frowned on in the military.
But, thanks to Bob, I’m remembering Rush today and their song, “The Spirit of Radio” (1980). I didn’t get to Shaw until 1985, but Bob loved this song, and played it in our office on a boom box almost every morning.
Today finds me streaming and humming “Tom Sawyer” by Rush. This is another, “WTF are they singing?” song. Here are the lyrics with purchase in my brain matter this morning:
What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
-Catch the mist – Catch the myth
-Catch the mystery – Catch the drift
The world is the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his skies are wide
Today’s Tom Sawyer
He gets high on you
And the space he invades
He gets by on you
No, his mind is not for rent
To any god or government.
Always hopeful, yet discontent
He knows changes aren’t permanent –
But change is
It’s all part of a classic Rush presentation, along with the drumming and guitar work.
Although this song is from 1981, I became aware of Rush in 1974. They were opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann at Pittsburgh’s Civic Arena that year. I knew Heep and Mann (I wore out “The Magician’s Birthday” and “Easy Livin'” by the first) but I had no idea who Rush was. I wanted to attend that concert, but I was living in West Virginia then. Having graduated from high school and feeling pessimistic about the future, I’d already enlisted in the Air Force and was awaiting the day to go onto active duty.
As it was, I was in the military, stationed in San Antonio, Texas, with orders for Okinawa when this song was released. Rush has had many hits and terrific albums, but I think “Tom Sawyer” remains my favorite.
Michael Seidel, writer 