We’re passing through another day. Today is Thursday, August 22, 2024.
I’m still on the Oregon Coast on vacation. The weather continues favoring us with sunshine, chill temperatures, and clear air. Some friendly clouds pass by with a wave. Right now it’s 60 F, just two degrees from an anticipated high of 62 F. The tide is coming in, so I’ll be going out for a walk along the water.
Rain fell last night. Hearing it, I headed out onto the uncovered patio at a few minutes after midnight, letting it fall over me, breathing in the fresh air, solitude, and sound.
The Internet was mostly down yesterday. While others napped, I wrote or walked along the shore, breathing in the air, enjoying freedom, and thinking, sometimes writing in my head. It was about two miles in each direction. I rarely encountered another. When we did, simple nods and smiles were exchanged, acknowledging the other’s presence. The net returned in time for us to catch the DNC, watching and listening to it as we worked on a jigsaw puzzle.
I continue with the theme of a color in the song’s title today. The Neurons wavered between “Tequila Sunrise” and “Orange Crush” this morning. The 1988 R.E.M. song won my morning mental music stream (Trademark woke). Its energy today just felt right.
Be strong, remain positive, and Vote Blue. Not because I say so but because it’s better for more of us than the alterntive offered by the other party.
Coffee is playing with my body in a welcome way. Here’s the music. Cheers
Come in, come in. It’s Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
We’re still at the Oregon coast, nestled down in a beach house surrounded by sand dunes. Off in the distance is the ocean, colored today by an lightly overcast sky. It’s 64 F, and that’s as high as it will be. Rain visited overnight, and stronger winds are flirting with the sand today. Except for an aerospace vehicle’s occassional propeller drone, it is quiet.
Spoke to the catsitter last night and all is well with the house floofs. They know and trust her. I wasn’t worried about Tucker (pronounced Tuck-ah) but Papi is generally more wary. Not a problem, she told me. He was there, waiting to be fed, came in, and readily ate. It’s good to have someone dependable in that role that we trust and the floofs trust.
The net went out last night and was still out this morning, so our news feed was sparse. We’ve seen one Trump declaration anywhere, and one Harris sign. It’s a sharp contrast to four years ago, when frequent Tump signage was spotted. We’re doing a jigsaw puzzle, a favorite activity with this gang, so the absence of the net wasn’t noticed except the lack of convention news.
We headed out for breafast at The Blue Whale this morning. Then the group splintered. One group went hiking up Cape Despair way. My group returned to the beach house. It’s low tide right now, and the net is back. So, some web surfing to catch up and then down to the water. As I type this up, my wife calls out political news from her perch with her ‘puter. Sometimes she confuses me because she’s talking to her computer when I think she’s speaking to me. “What?” I shout. “Not talking to you,” she returns. She streaming DNC news stories now.
I’ve done black, red, white, and blue for the color theme for my theme music. Staying with that concept today, I think of songs which include green, gold, yellow, pink, and purple. “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix takes over the morning mental music stream (Trademark red) as The Neurons jump onto the song wagon. Songs like “Gold Dust Woman,” “Pink Shoelaces,” “Yellow,” “Purple Rain,” “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” “Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine,” and “Pink Cadillac” are displaced. “Purple Haze” it is.
Coffee has been consumed a couple times. Be strong, stay positive, and vote blue. Here’s the music. Cheers
Good mornin’ all. Tuesday, August 16, 2024, finds me on the Oregon coast, where I’ll be spending the week. It’s 62 but the weather geeks claims it feels like 77 F. Good thing, as it’s sunny with some clouds, but will only crank up to 65 F here.
Our regular cat sitter is staying with the boys, Tucker and Papi. Tucker is happy with her but Papi, ever wary, is like, “Who are you and what did you do with my people?” She has only done this for us about fifteen years. It takes Papi time to trust.
I don’t know what we’re doing today. Been up a couple hours. Had my coffee. Listening to the others slowly awaken and begin talking about the day. Think I’ll just go for a walk on the beach.
Haven’t seen any news for today or yesterday. I’m comfortable with that for the moment. Color in song titles remains my theme concept for this week. I did “Red Red Wine” and “Dirty White Boy” in the last two days. so I’m going with blue today. When you think about songs with blue in their titles, a blue streak of songs roar through my mind. Or so The Neurons say, cranking out melodies from Elvis Presley, Elton John, Linda Ronstadt, Foreigner, U2, Badfinger, Willy Nelson, and on and on. The Neurons eventually introduced “Bell Bottom Blues” by Eric Clapton to the morning mental music stream (Trademark blue) but also Kenny Wayne Shepherd with “Blue on Black”. But then The Neurons found an old favorite among my memories, “Devil In A Blue Dress”, a 1966 song by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. We had that puppy on a 45, shorthand for a small vinyl record that runs at 45 RPM. I was ten then, and it made an impact on me like an asteroid hitting the earth.
Stay positive, be strong, and vote blue. Coffee is now circulating through my body. Yes, I know that’s not how it works, but it is how I visualize it, so there. Here’s the music. Cheers
Today is Monday, August 19, 2024. Our cool weather continues. Cloudy, just 56 F now, only go to pop another 21 degrees today. Only expected to crack 80 F tomorrow. Clear air also continues for us, which is awesome for us.
We get the Democratic National Convention this week, live from Chicago. The countdown to the elections continues. Continuing their tit-for-tat politics, the GOP is trying to make a case for corruption against President Biden. They have become the party that can’t think straight. Chaos, deflection, and hyprocrisy are their tools. Their only plan is to connive, distract, lie, and accuse.
Puerto Rico continues recovering from Hurricane Ernesto. Meanwhile, news of a mercury bomb in the Arctic area broke cover. Oh, good, that’s what the world needs.
Over on the political big screen, extreme right-wingers like Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and Laura Loomer are complaining that Trump hasn’t slid to the right enough yet, and has softened. They believe, apparently a hardline is called for to suck in some undecideds. They don’t mention the gibberish he often spews, lack of coherent policies, or his inability to remember people and places as a reason why he might not be a good POTUS; he’s just too soft for them. That’s why his polls are slumping.
Right.
Staying with colors in the song title as my theme, I spun the wheel of fate. It landed on white. “Nights in White Satin!” The Neurons screamed. “Whiter Shade of Pale! White Wedding! White Punks on Dope! Black or White! White Rabbit!”
“Calm down,” I told them. “Have some coffee. It’ll help you relax.” By then, “Dirty White Boy,” a 1979 rocker by Foreigner about Elvis Presley was already occupying the morning mental music stream (Trademark dirty). So that’s that.
Stay positive, be strong, have some coffee, and vote blue. Here’s the music. Cheers
Went out doing chores this morning while it was cool and the air was fresh, so I’m late to posting duties. Bac then it, was in the mid to upper sixties. Now we’re at 77 F. It’s sunny, with a few clouds coiling up from the earth to the troposphere’s upper reaches. Today’s high will probably be about 85, 86 degrees F. Depends on where you’re at in Ashlandia. The air is mostly clear of smoke for now. But the smoke is rising. We’re into the moderate zone. Bleah.
Went and saw a great performance at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Green Show. Forty-five minutes long, the free Green Shows bring in all manner of performers. Last night was a regional favorite, the Rogue Suspects. They put on a superb display of style and ability with their performance of Tina Turner songs. Regaling us with “Private Dancer,” “Nutbush City Limits,” “Missing You,” “Simply the Best,” “Addicted to Love”, “The Bitch is Back,” they finished with an energetic rendition of “Proud Mary”. You ever get the chance to see them, come and do.
Then, my wife and I left the Green Show and headed over to the bandshell in Lithia Park to see the last of the Ashland City Band’s final summer concert. With the air clear and the temperature dipping into the upper seventies, it capped off a terrific evening of music.
Saw that D.J. Trump is asking the courts to postpone sentencing for his conviction until after the elections. Hope that doesn’t happen. Treatment being given to him keeps broadening the idea that he’s part of a class of people above the law, unaccountable for the shit storms they cause, IMO. It’s really screwing up the already strained sense of justice in the United States.
Someone has pointed out that Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation document setting forth the ways conservatives went to twist and malign our nation, wants everyone in a school receiving Federal funding to complete the ASVAB. That’s the test aspect of the military recruiting system. Interesting that public school attendees will be doing that. Easy to paint a scene where students of wealth attending private schools are more and more exempt from military service while impoverished and lower middle-class students enlist and serve. Just part of conservatives pursuing their goals of setting up a nation of have-nots to serve the wealthy and powerful. Meanwhile, the conservatives love pushing the idea that the liberals are the ‘elites’. They are such a duplicitous group these days.
Meanwhile, down in Florida, led by the mini-Trump known as Gov. DeSantis, universities and colleges are removing books and trashing them. Not selling them, donating them, or giving them away; they are sending the books to landfills, throwing them away. What a waste.
Today music remains true to the dance theme. While ruminating on the theme, The Neurons fired up Justin Timberlake with “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from 2016 in the morning mental music stream (Trademark rising). Technically, it doesn’t meet the standard of having ‘dance’ in its title, except The Neurons kept insisting to me that the title is “Can’t Stop the Feeling! Dance, Dance, Dance.” I called bullshit on them but the song is about dancing, so I gave them another pass. Part of that is just to appease The Neurons, because they’re prone to sulking and pouting, and then quit responding me, which reduces me to an idiot. I already have enough trouble with looking like an idiot, so I gave in to them.
Stay positive, be strong, and Vote Blue, okay? For extra credit, practice saying, “The first female President of the United States, President Kamala Harris.” Because people need to get used to it.
Coffee is being consumed. Here’s the music. Cheers
It’s fresh today. Thursday morning finds the thermometer informing us that it’s 62 F. The high will be 79 F, a surprisingly low number for August 15, 2024. Clouds layer part of the sky. Airnow.gov says our air quality is 18, so it’s good air. Nice to see the numbers, to validate what my eyes are seeing and my schnoozer is telling me.
Skimming through the news. Here’s a small sampling.
Earthquakes in Texas — Scurry County. Seems oil related as they encounter saltwater that must be injected deeper into the Earth. The Railroad Commission is investigating, so we know they’ll get to the bottom of it.
Two astronauts remain stuck at the space station after the new Boeing Starliner failed them. In a way it’s likean old sitcom called Gilligan’s Island. Those folks were trapped on an island for years after a shipwreck when it was supposed to be a ‘three-hour tour’. The astronauts were only expected to be up there two weeks. Unfortunately, the astronauts don’t have the professor there to help them out. He was always coming up with intriguing ideas.
Trump was called out for lying about what the economy was like at the end of his term, trying to make out that it was the greatest in history when it was not.
Montana’s Supreme Court struck down a 2013 law that required minors to get parental permission before getting an abortion. The Reuters article says the court unanimous opinion was written by Justice Laurie McKinnon. She wrote that “a minor’s right to control her reproductive decisions is among the most fundamental of the rights she possesses” and that Montana had not shown that the law was justified to protect minors. Sweet.
The turnout for the Wisconsin primary was an impressively high 26 percent — highest in 60 years. Geez. It depresses me that 26 percent is an impressive turnout. It’s for the primary, though.
Dance week continues. I asked The Neurons what song I should include today, and they shoved “The Safety Dance” into the morning mental music stream (Trademark dancing). The 1982 new wave tune was performed by Men Without Hats, a Canadian group. I was overseas when it started charting, living on Okinawa, and they loved the song in dance clubs over there.
Stay positive. Be strong. Lean forward. Vote Blue in 2024. Here’s the dance music. I’m off to freshen my coffee. Cheers
Oh, what a beautiful morning. I slept fantastically well last night. Only six windows were partially open. We were able to open them on every side of the house because the wild fire smoke had cleared out. It stayed clear all night. I awoke without gritty eyes, a stopped up nose, or sinus congestion, and did not wake up coughing all night long.
The house’s inside temperature dropped all the way to 70 F as the outside air temp plummeted to 52 F. Now it’s up to 60 F outside and will only roll up to 80 F. Yes! Our air quality is good, at 26. Best, I can look across and see the mountains standing tall under deep blue skies.
Ah, read about Musk ‘interviewing’ Trump. That pressed my snark button. There’s an old expression, “I’ll lie, and you agree.” ‘Bout seems up their interactions.
Trump made that old joke that climate change will mean more ocean front property. Yes, how will that develop, fool? He and his supporters can’t see how bereft they are of critical thinking when they say things like that. Each time he says such things and his supporters cheer, I respect them less.
Still going with the dance theme for the week. My Neurons rolled several dance tunes through the morning mental music stream (Trademark line). Like David Bowie’s “Lets Dance”. Or “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”. Then I had some coffee and they got more lively. Energized, they dipped into the childhood memory storage facilities (CMSF), and brought up “The Twist” by Chubby Checkers.
Well, that doesn’t technically meet the theme of songs with dance or dancing in the title which I’d passed down to The Neurons. But I make the rules, and “The Twist” is about doing a dance called ‘the twist’. Good enough for me.
The song came out when I was two. Mom introduced me to the Chubby Checkers version and taught us how to twist. What child doesn’t like an energetic dance like the twist? It’s fun. I also liked Chubby Checkers’ voice and his name. Chubby Checkers. I always thought that a cool name. With all that going for it, I had to accept its nomination as Tuesday’s Theme Music.
Stay positive, be strong, lean forward, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee has been dancing through my system for a while now. Here’s the music. Come on, baby, let’s do the twist.
It’s come to this at last: Monday, August 12, 2024.
82 F here. It’s going to be a cool day, with temperatures pegging the mid 80s on their high point. Air quality is good. Lower elevations are in the green, with higher elevations creeping yellow and rising into the sixties. Another air quality warning has been issued but it’s blue skies and sunshine for now.
We were out delivering food this morning through Food & Friends. We then unironically went out for a late breakfast. Hence, the day’s late posting beginnings.
Just finished reading about the huge rally crowds greeting Harris – Walz. With photos and videos, and all manner of real-world evidence. You know how much this hurts Trump’s ego. He actually said, “I’ve spoken to the biggest crowds. Nobody’s spoken to crowds bigger than me.” Trump’s poor ego is stampeding around his skull, shrieking, “I’m the greatest! I’m the greatest! They can’t have bigger crowds. I may have taken deferments to avoid military service, but I took a bullet for America!” Imagine the anger building behind his sullen face as he witnesses how much better attended his opponent’s rallies are. Wouldn’t be surprised if we read later that his head ‘literally’ exploded, given his history of lying about crowd size and the paucity of attendees at his events this season.
We also have Trump — again — he’s not one for new ideas, is he? — trying to portray himself as ‘America’s hero’, returning to X to pull this one off. It’s bizarre what his fever mind conjures. He’s vowing to “obliterate the deep state.” That deep state only exists in his mind, along with his paranoid base. It is not out there.
I feel for them, honestly, because they’ve so deeply detached themselves from reality. The tragicomedy in this, though, is how the GOP sees this as their best option. This 78-year-old white man, the oldest official nominee in the nation’s history, is their idea of a leader. A convicted felon who repeatedly tells well-documented lies and fantasizes about a reality that doesn’t exist.
That is a GOP theme, though: pretend that it isn’t real and all will be good! Just wish away climate change, police murders, mass shootings, and social progress, and all will be well. Thoughts and prayers, that’s the ticket! Just pretend more of the nation isn’t on fire each year; that more frequent and stronger hurricanes and tornadoes aren’t taking place. Just fake it until we’re wiped out. It’ll be good.
Continuing with the dance theme today. Once I sipped coffee and thought, dance songs, The Neurons supplied the morning mental music streamed (Trademark spinning) with Fall Out Boy and “Dance, Dance”. The 2005 pop-punk-rock (popur(?)) song offers their frenetic take on high school dances and ego. It’s a fun, fast, busy song.
Stay positive, remain fresh and energized, and Vote Blue in 2024. Coffee has been guzzled. Time for the music video. Dance, dance! Cheers
We’ve crashed into another Sunday. It’s August 11, 2024. Jays are busy arguing outside. A whipperwill keeps some background song going. Distant car travel are reminders that others are out there and on the move.
60 F now, 92 F will be the high. It’s a comfy 74 in the house. Meanwhile, the air quality is in the moderate stage again, 82, but smoke discolors the blue sky mountain tableau. Thin smoky tendrils are slithering into the windows so I’ve shut ’em.
Not sure where our fire is from. Haven’t seen any recent models for wind and smoke. The Park fire still blazes away down in California, less than a hundred miles away. Started by a man rolling a car down a ravine, it’s closing on 400K acres of burned land.
Dozens of fires are burning in my state, Oregon. None are too close at this point. Fingers crossed and knock wood that that won’t change. Burning more than 459 square miles, the Durkee fire on the state’s eastern side along the Idaho border, is Oregon’s largest. Started by lightning, it ate through the hot, dry vegetation, killing cattle and wildlife and forcing evacuations. It’s 95 percent contained.
Tucker (pronounced Tuck-ah) and Papi have entered a new state of floofproachment. First, Tucker was giving chase after Papi a few times. Then, as Tucker sailed past Papi, Papi sniffed Tucker’s nethers and tapped his tail. Next, Papi was sitting at the open door. Tucker, walking by to leave, paused and leaned his had Papi’s way. Papi politely tapped Papi on the head, signalling, move on, buddy. Then the two were seen touching noses in a classic flooformational exchange. This is only what we’ve witnessed but we’ve not found any signs of more intense encounters, so we’re assuming they’re moving closer to trusting one another and maybe getting along. It’s only been almost a decade. Time is sometimes needed for these things.
The dancing theme continues for the time being. Pausing to think of songs with dance in the title and songs about dancing, a scroll of titles are unrolled. The one The Neurons seized and plugged into the morning mental music stream (Trademark tapped), “And We Danced”, a 1985 song by The Hooters. Why that dance song, oh Neurons of Mine, I politely inquired. Have some coffee and think about it, they replied. I’m still sipping the coffee and thinking. I got nothing.
Stay positive, be strong, and lean forward. Vote Blue in 2024. Here’s the music. Cheers
Our weather is continuing its pattern in Ashlandia. High today of 92 to 95 F. This is our average temp for the month. Smoke is up, stinging nostrils, bit of a bloody nose, congestd nose and sinuses, turning my throat into aching parchment. It’s 69 F now on this Friday, August 9, 2024. The air quality is moderate, ’bout 83 in my zone. There is an unhealthy air advistory out for us. It was s’posed to expire this morning but it’s been extended until tonight. Still, better than having a raging fire actually in town. And the air is good enough in my area that some windows are open a few inches. I know from observations and experience, the bad air is out in front of us, to the west. East, and north (today), is delivering decent air. It’s about the vegetation and topography.
We continue to check on a friend who just disappeared. He has health issues; so does his wife. He does have children and grands in the area, so he might be with them. He was taken off by EMTs one afternoon, and that’s the last he was seen by friends and neighbors. They haven’t seen him where he volunteers. Haven’t heard from him. The car is gone, no one answers the phone or emails, or the door. It’s been a pensive month looking for a news update on him. He’s always been very private so we’re hopeful that he’s okay but just keeping to himself and fam.
Today’s theme music goes with a free variation. The Neurons have Queen with “I Want to Break Free” alternating with Neil Young with “Rockin’ in the Free World” playing in the morning mental music stream (Trademark taxing). I can’t choose so I’ll go with both.
Both songs are from the 1980s and established rockers. “I Want to Break Free” was released in ’84. The music video caused a social storm in the U.S. because, oh, no, cross dressing. *gasp*. There’s a small but vocal group of Puritanical Americans who always react with hand-wringing and gasps, and hisses, “Oh, the children, think of the children.” Yeay, I’m channeling some Southpark.
Although this is a love song of sorts, we have those apt opening lines for Trump and the MAGAts:
I want to break free I want to break free I want to break free from your lies You’re so self-satisfied, I don’t need you I’ve got to break free God knows, God knows I want to break free
“Rockin’ in the Free World” was released in 1989. I initially thought it was in response to George Bush becoming POTUS but later learned, no, it was because planned concerts to the U.S.S.R. were canceled, apparently because the Soviets said, “Nyet.” As for its lines, they are poignantly political (h/t to Genius.com):
That’s America and our overall priorities: guns and wars, consumer goods and driving.
Stay positive, be free, and remain strong. Vote Blue in 2024. Here is my coffee, here is my cup, part my lips and drink it down. Here are the videos. Let’s rock.
Michael Seidel, writer 