Sunshine and blue skies are beckoning me out in Ashlandia today. Supposed to be 78 F today, but it’s gonna have to climb from its current 52 F. Feels like the local weather has it in it to do so, though.
This is Wenzda, May 21, 2025. May is splitting past me faster than forked lightening. I’m astonished by its speed. They tell me that time goes faster for you as you age. If I reach 80, I’m be blinking away in the morning and getting ready for bed at the same time. Maybe it’ll just feel like it is.
I’m in a very good mood today. Don’t know what nutrition and hormones and factors out of my dream network and thinking network brought me to this zenith of eagerness and satisfaction. It’s a periodic thing, though. I wrote almost the same words not a few months ago. How the world seems like it’s getting thrown into the garbage disposal and the water is on and the switch is about to be thrown, taking many good things down the drain and into the past. I hear of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” and I just want to puke with disgust and anger, yet here I am, with high spirits and happiness. Probably a high from editing myself. Reading the novel again to fix what’s wrong, I’m happy and pleased. I wrote what I like to read, and I’m enjoying it. Just like that, it’s all about me. Really is a surreal existence.
Today’s music is a ZZ Top cover. Isaac Hayes and Dave Porter wrote it. Sam and Dave recorded and released it. Then along came ZZ Top with their version of “I Thank You.” I do like ZZ’s version best; it just better suits my sensibilities. Why the song has settled into my morning mental music stream is only The Neurons to know. I’ve been reading about recent research on dreams and how they’re made. I was interested because I dream a lot. They speculate now that it’s a network working together using many more functions than originally guessed, and not housed in one specific place, like the hippocampi. Reading that, I wondered if some similar network worked to produce the songs that land in my morning mental music stream.
Going to the music, I’ll give you Sam and Dave and ZZ Top’s offerings, because we all don’t have the same musical tastebuds. Both are terrific.
Coffee is lifting me higher. I’m ready for another day, at least for the moment. Hope you have a great one. Here we go.
We’re a nation of games. How many of us play a computer game or two each day? I am guilty. The NY Times offers me Connections, Wordle, and Spelling Bee. I play them to keep my mind sharp *ahem*. I also play Sudoku at the Seattle Times, again to exercise my brain.
Online gaming is big business. People buy special chairs, headsets, computers and support systems to play hours online. Playing games on phones are an effective way to pass time while waiting for flights, buses, or meetings to begin.
Children begin playing games at a young age. Occupies their minds, helps their brains develop, and gives parents and caregivers a break. Games such as sports like football, basketball, and baseball are idolized as a way to gain fame and fortune. Television game shows offer you a chance for cash prices, as do lottery games. Besides a chance for people to add to their bank accounts, states use lotteries to raise money for education and projects. Indian casinos have increased in numbers, bringing money in for cash-starved tribes, and tax revenues and employment for communities.
The biggest games center in Washington, DC. Trump and the GOTP, along with complicit media, love playing games with The People. For instance, the cost of eggs.
Trump lies and claims that egg prices have dropped over ninety percent. In one speech, he claimed they’d declined over 98%! Ludicrous. Meanwhile, the Dollar Store has raised its prices to $1.25 and plan to raise them more. That comes and goes under the radar as Trump games people into looking elsewhere.
If you’re a coffee drinker, you know that coffee prices have increased. Initially, it’s not Trump’s fault. Weather affected coffee crops in important coffee growing places. This is just like the egg situation; it wasn’t President Biden’s fault that egg prices increased. Bird flu was causing it. Yet, we don’t hear nearly the screams about coffee inflation that we heard about eggflation. Because Trump and his campaign hammered eggflation. The game participants called the mass media picked up the ball and ran with it, trying to score points. But now, thanks to the Trump tariffs, coffee prices are percolating higher and higher. Little is heard, though. Trump has moved their attention to another game.
Meanwhile, funny enough, check out the egg prices on eggprices.org. Their chart shows egg prices have dropped.
But check below on the same page, at the highest price per dozen in the nation, and the lowest price per dozen in the U.S.:
Isn’t that odd? Virginia is cited as having the lowest price of eggs per dozen: $7.39. Yet the chart by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the average price of eggs per dozen is $3.43 a dozen.
Sure seems odd. Almost like someone is gaming the BLS chart.
Trump and Walmart are probably going to game us over prices. Walmart said they’ll increase prices to cope with the tariffs. Trump warned them, you’d better not, you’d better eat them. Walmart said, okay, will do, chief. What they’ll probably do at Walmart is subtly raise prices on specific sets of items and blame other factors. Trump will let them get away with it because they’re not blaming his tariffs. But customers will be paying more; inflation will increase.
In other gaming news, we have President Biden’s prostate cancer. Of course Trump and his surrogates, such as his son and the DOJ, jumped all over it with stories of coverups. They’re gaming the nation by feeding the media distractions, moving our attention away from Supreme Court rulings, Trump failures, and Trump scandals.
Among the failures are Trump’s pretended success with a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire. Check out multiple news sources on this continuing situation.
Trump Says Russia, Ukraine Will Start Ceasefire Talks
Trump says Russia, Ukraine peace talks to begin ‘immediately’ after Putin chat
What superb gamemanship! Trump is playing everybody…in the United States.
Likewise, with Trump’s potential scandal involving the Qatari jet offer, suddenly claims emerge that the Biden administration initiated that process. Ignoring all previous history on the subject, the press dutifully pivots toward that, bringing the Biden administration back into play.
The latest word game Trump is playing is his “Big Beautiful Bill” in Congress. This thing is loaded with strategically placed bombs to undermine the nation. It focuses on making the wealthy wealthier and sinking the poor deeper into poverty. As it’s based on Project 2025 and Heritage Foundation thinking and guidance, you know that this is about easing the burden on the wealthiest, thus encouraging them to create more business for the nation. These are the same people who offshored and contracted out manufacturing jobs. These are people who hoard wealth while others starve, beg, and are rendered homeless.
This is, of course, trickle-down economics. The theory has been disproven but the wealthy and conservatives love it. So we will not hear anyone calling it that this year. But that’s what Trump is leading the GOTP to do in his “Big Beautiful Bill”.
It’s not a surprise that Trump’s approval ratings have improved in polls. Too many people are too easily taken in by the games, or they’re busy playing elsewhere.
Now, I’m off. There are six pangrams today. Let the games continue.
Suddenly, the Qatar jet offer to Trump was started under President Biden.
Says Insurrection Barbie, “So let me get this straight the plane that was a gift from Qatar was actually a conversation that was started a year ago by the Biden administration with the Qataris? You literally can’t make this stuff up.”
Yeah, you literally fucking can make this up. She thinks it’s true without any evidence being proferred. What else is expected of a loyal MAGAt?
Sure seems suspicious from every other point of view. Qatar never mentioned it last year, when President Biden was in office. Nor did President Biden’s office Nor did PINO Trump or anyone else until Sen. Mullin started talking about it.
Snopes notes, The claims circulated alongside a video of U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., appearing on CNN’s “The Lead” on May 14, 2025. During the appearance, Mullin said: “Here’s what’s interesting to me: What the media isn’t telling you, what nobody is talking about, is the same 747 has been in negotiations for a year. The Biden administration is the one that started these conversations. It didn’t start underneath the Trump administration.”
Here’s what’s interesting to me, Senator? Why did nobody else say anything about it before you spewed that lie on national television? As Snopes accurately wonders, why didn’t you mention it in earlier interviews? BTW, when the Defense Department was asked, they referred questions to the White House. Adding to the mystery, Trump claimed that Qatar offered it to him.He toured the offered aircraft and then raved about it.
Now, suddenly, when there’s heat about the legality of Trump accepting the aircraft, his gutless MAGA supporters are trying to spin it to make it appear Trump and his regime are complete innocents in this saga.
One wonders why the Qatari Prime Minister didn’t mention that it started negotiations with the previous administration when he was asked about the aircraft just a few weeks ago.
I personally wonder how Republican Sen. Mullin of Oklahoma knew about it when a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mike Rounds, Republican of South Dakota, didn’t know about it, referencing the offered jet as ‘a modern trojan horse’.
Tell you what. If you believe the claim that the Biden Administration began ‘the negotiations’, I have a fleet of 747s to sell you.
Greetings from Ashlandia to all you Mundaheads. Yes, we’ve reached another Munda milestone in our mostly mundane lives. I’m speaking for myself, of course. I’m sure none of the rest of you deal with a Mundane Munda.
The weather here is mundane, sunshine with clouds, blue skies, and the sometimes drizzle. Out looking for spring last night, Papi, our ginger housefloof, was wet every time he re-entered the house following a nocturnal patrol. I never heard any rain. I assumed Papi was dashing through sprinklers. When I got up, though, I saw that, yeah, it had rained through the night. We’re still looking at a taste of the low 70s F today and an overnight low in the upper 40s. This week promises more time bouncing through rainshine.
Cleaning the garage and taking away the trash yesterday brought an expanse of free time to silently think. I used to do these sort of tasks with a boom box playing. I don’t bring out the boom box any longer. Boom boxes were so ubiquitous last century but I haven’t seen anyone using one for years, it feels like. So my work was done in silence. I didn’t mind the silence, as I practiced fiction writing in my head, a feat which always intoxicates my muses and brings them back to give me more.
The other thing from yesterday was the lack of floofervision. I used to share floofmeciles with several cats. Most were active floofervisors, there to help me open boxes and study the contents. Papi was more of the laissez floof management style. He showed up to see what I was doing and ensure nothing to eat was there but usually left with only a short comment. There was a time when the likes of Jade, Tucker, and Quinn would be stamping things with their paw of approval. Sort of missed that but at the same time, less interruptions to move animals were needed.
Politic news again had me GRRRRRRRRRRRing over my morning coffee. I read that the Roberts Court is allowing the Trump Regime to remove protections for Venezuelan refugees while it’s still being contested in court. A lower court had stopped the deportations and kept protections in place. Trump disliked them because, you know, President Joe Biden had extended those protections. Trump’s regime argued that the protections were not in the nation’s best interests and undermined national security. Therefore, the protections should be removed so the Venezuelans could be shipped out of the United States. Reading that, I thought, “Trump’s actions aren’t in the nation’s best interests and undermine national security. Can’t we depart him?” Then I sipped some coffee and smiled.
Another of my friends took the pledge. She wrote on FB: “I’m done posting shit about the clown. I’m just so sick of his garbage. Im sick of the clowns in Washington too afraid to stick up for the American people, their constituents or just filling their coffers with bribes from the orange clown and his fellow billionaires with the goals of killing off the poor, I’m just sorry for the folks who voted for him and will now have all of their programs and help cut.
“So I’m done. No more. I know what I know and see and read. And hopefully someone will have the balls to throw the garbage out”
We know who she means: PINO Trump. I feel her. He’s only interested in enriching himself and his family, as long as they are also going along with him.
Today’s music came during my work yesterday. As is often the case, The Neurons started song based on something they observed or perhaps a fragment of thought or a fleeting memory. They act on it, and music arrives in the mental music stream. In this case, it was a 1980 song by REO Speedwagon, “Keep On Loving You”. Why in the world did The Neurons snag this song while I was cleaning the garage and cars, etc? I don’t know. It remains in the morning mental music stream, though. Freeing myself of it requires me to offer it to the general public. So here it is, from my head to my computer to the internet to your computer (or other electronic device) and then into your head. Isn’t technology amazing?
Well, that’s the morning stuff. Coffee has been loaded and stored in my energy cells. Now I’m ready to get ‘er done. Pitter patter, here we go — again. Cheers
Rain took its drops and went elsewhere. Though clouds stayed, sunshine rushed in. A swirly, restless day was had. Hot in direct sun, chilly in shadow when the wind played. We did see 66 F at our house. Now it’s dropping, expecting to stoop to the 40s overnight. Tomorrow, we’ll do it again.
For the record, this is Sunda, Mai 18, 2025.
I’ve been busy all day. This was the culmination of a cleaning project. Ashlandia and Recology were taking in trash and electronics free of charge this weekend at the transfer station. This inspired my wife and I to declare we’ll do some cleanup and rid ourselves of unused and broken old items. Beginning Twosda, I pulled, cleaned, inspected, and decided on what to do with stuff which we’d accumulated and didn’t seem to be using. I consulted with my wife as necessary. Like, we have three big boxes of china. It’s a formal dinnerware setting for twelve, acquired in Germany over a period fro 1988 to 1991. We’ve probably used them a half dozen times, and not any time in the last decade. Much of it was awarded to me as prizes in monthly, quarterly, and annual competitions at a base or specific units. Mikasa was one of the sponsors and would often give gift certificates. My wife used ones I won to buy china. No, we didn’t pitch the china. We put it aside to give to a friend who will take it to a charity boutique. A few times a year they have a big sale and include things like china. Proceeds help offset people’s cost for hospice.
My wife’s health kept her sidelined during Operation Cleanup. But I enjoyed the solitary work. While I put in a couple hours every day after writing, today was the load up and drop off. The SUV was backed up and configured. Loading began at 10:15. By 11:30, I was ready for the dump trip. I hit the line at 11:45 and inched the vehicle to the gate at 12:30. They directed me to trash and electronics, which covered my contributions. By 1 PM, I was back home.
Then I cleaned clean the car and reconfigured its seating and all that, and cleaned the garage and rearranged things to be more organized and take advantage of the cleared space. I just finished that at 6 PM. I sweated a few buckets today, and my feet are singing about their unhappiness like a bunch of hounds with the blues. I’m taking advantage of this time to post before I make my dinner.
Today’s song turned out to be “On A Carousel” by the Hollies. They released it in the 1960s. It’s a song about love and the up and down ride you’re on when you’re in love. I was using it to think about Trump. We’re going around and around with him as he whines about the judicial system and courts, ignores the Constitution, threatens anyone who disagrees with him, and then acts like an idiot who mated a jackass. Guess that would be a idioass or a jackiot. Did you hear about him and his video where he’s supposed to be playing “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey in concert? His connections with reality frays more every hour. His supporters don’s seem much better. Guess they’re holding on to their dreams.
Once again, it’s Mai 17, 2025. This time, it’s Saturda. It was a rainy night and a drenched morning in Ashlandia. Irritated me a bit. What’s new? I’m often irritated. In this instance, I’ve been cleaning the garage and had stuff outside and was out of time/energy/daylight. So I asked Alexa, “Will it rain?” They responded with comments about clouds and temperatures. My wife and I asked the machine point blank three times. Same answer each time.
Two hours later, Alexa has a notification for me: it’s going to rain soon. Like, WTF? Shoes and suitable clothes donned, I went outside to rearrange things and cover them with tarps. Yes, I was irritated.
It’s warmer and sunny now, but don’t look for too much heat in Ashlandia today. 55 F and cloudy, the high end of the scale will read 61 before it starts dropping again.
Meantime, when I went to relax with some streaming last night, Prime was no longer available. That WTF moment led to a WTF hour of testing, uninstalling, re-installing, researching, etc. Nothing fixed it, and I could not find information about a greater trend or problem among the masses. No, it seemed to be me alone. No, I could not fix it. Several background pieces: I used Roku to stream television in several rooms. Prime was received fine on those Rokus. Yes, Roku was updated. Yes, the Prime app was updated. Yes, the Internet connection was solid. No, an outage for Prime wasn’t reported. Yes, I rebooted the system. Yes, I uninstalled and reinstalled Prime. Many others have been through this fiasco in the past. Most report nothing worked but the system mysteriously and abruptly returned to normal on its own. I’ll see if that’s the case with us later today. I recognize that this is basically first world blues.
Several songs challenged for supremacy in the morning mental music stream. First, another blogger wrote about a song Connie Francis sang. That inspired The Neurons to shift another Connie Francis song, “Stupid Cupid”, from 1959, into the morning mental music stream. I was three when it came out but Mom played it regularly on her stereo, so I knew it pretty well.
Next, inexplicably, The Neurons introduced “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter“, a song which was released the year before Mom was born. It’s been covered by so many singers and acts. The Neurons sampled several before settling on an old favorite by Willy Nelson.
Dropping into the day’s rhythm, though, reading the news, I ended up with Teddy Swims performing “Bad Dreams”. That song was raised because of Trumpgames. PINO Trump is warning a business, Walmart’s, not to pass on the costs to consumers. “President Donald Trump warned Walmart on Saturday against raising its prices, writing on Truth Social that he will “be watching.” Because, you know, Trump knows that high prices are bad for business, but they’re worse for him because he triggered this unneeded trade war. So his solution to higher prices is to tell corporations to tell their shareholders and employees to tighten their belts for the good of Donald Trump. That’s what it comes down to. He raised the prices and he doesn’t want to face the consequences for what he’s done. As always, he wants to dodge the truth and avoid responsibility. It’s one of his standard routines. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Walmart and their prices, given that Walmart and the Walton family, support Trump and the GOP.
Two, of course, Trump’s warning contradicts how he sold tariffs as a tax which other countries paid.
“She is a liar. She makes up crap … I am going to put tariffs on other countries coming into our country, and that has nothing to do with taxes to us. That is a tax on another country,” Trump said.
So riddle me this, PINO Trump and MAGA: if another country pays the tariff, why is PINO Trump warning Walmart not to raise prices to cover the tariffs?
Well, we know why. It was Trump lying when he accused Vice-President Harris of lying. That is his way.
The other aspect of Trump’s recent craziness is his roll on the new “F55 fighter.” He mentioned the aircraft during talks in Qatar. As with many things Trump says, this is from another reality. No one else was aware of a proposed “F55”. Nor did anyone know about the F22 Super which Trump referenced. Yes, it’s all bad dreams when leaders skid off into surreal rants about things which don’t exist. Trump does so often. That’s why it’s rich bad dreams materials. Who know what the nutter will say next? What was pretty funny was how right-wing leaning media sources touted this as absolutely true, despite baffled defense industry experts. They either never learn, or these media sites are actively promoting lies as facts in order to support Trump. Yeah, no shit, right?
Here we go: Teddy Swims with “Bad Dreams” from 2024.
I’ve cozied up to a cuppa coffee once again. Time to rock and roll, kids. Cheers
Frida, Mai 16, 2025, has evolved as warmer and cloudier in Ashlandia. Noon has slipped past. The temperature has incremented to 67 F degrees and follows a trajectory to lick 71 F. Pervasive sunshine has everyone reaching for sunglasses. Papi, the ginger blade, went to the back early and settled into a sunny spot for a needed nap. A swirly day, sometimes I find myself sweating in full, still sunshine. Moments later, wind muscles in and goose bumps rise from its chill.
As we watch Trumpivision, it’s clear he hit the Mideast trial to cover the gaps his tariffs and behavior generated. After treaties and agreements were trampled underfoot by Trump, China and European allies cancelled aircraft deals and turned off shipping as part of a slowdown generated by broken trust, high prices, and tit-for-tat. Trump’s team said, “Hit the mideast. They’ll buy the stuff the rest of the world is turning their backs on.” This is an extension of the Trump Regime’s willingness to sell access to Trump. It’s cash register diplomacy at its worse.
While there, Trump gave speeches which fortified impressions that he’s aging and his mind is going. Coupled with his shallow thinking, greed, and standard rants about how badly he’s treated, it was an ugly spectacle.
Today’s music comes from encouragement from self to self to get up and start doing things. I often tell myself at those moments, time to rock and roll. The Neurons instantly hoisted Led Zeppelin’s classic offering, “Rock and Roll”, into the morning mental music stream. I found a video I enjoyed of the song being performed live. This was during a Foo Fighters concert. Dave Grohl, the band’s leader, founder, and usual vocalist, took to the drums, a position he held with Nirvana. The drummer, the late Taylor Hawkins, took up the mic. Guest performers from Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, joined them. Pretty fun concert presentation, if you ask me.
I’m already in the coffee shop, indulging my daily writing and coffee fixes. I spoke with a barista about the strike held the other day. She told me the article about it was shared on the business’s Facebook page. “You wouldn’t believe the hateful comments that have been made,” she said. “I had to remind myself that I’m an employee and not respond to them.” I expressed my support for what they were doing, adding, “Those haters can go to hell.”
Wenzda, Mai 14, 2025, is Grayda in Ashland. Gray hangs over us with gravity’s weight. Sunshine comes in and leaves quick. No rain is expected, but neither was Grayda. This is Ashlandia. We’re supposed to be basking in warmth. It has risen to 56 F. 61 F is on the menu. All these gray clouds do something to my mood. Their impact is much different if its over a crashing sea, but that scene is a coupla hundred miles away.
Today’s tune was brought to me by nature. Nature; when you want the very best.
I was out looking for pollinators. My wife and I are down. “I’ve seen one fat bumble bee,” she said, “and one dragonfly, and a looper, but that’s not really a butterfly. So I haven’t seen any butterflies.”
I recounted my count: two bees, no dragonflies, butterflies, wasps, hornets, or hummingbirds. Even the birds are frequenting our area less. We’re used to being a buzzbox of activity. This non-activity disconcerts and worries us.
Papi was with me during my pollinator watch. “Where are the butterflies?” I asked him. He rolled around on his back on the patio cement, his eyes scrunched closed and his paws working the air.
A dog barked. Papi flipped over and studied the area, his ears finetuning themselves to the dog’s position. Not in the backyard, which is fenced. And it wasn’t either of his mortal enemies, the dog to the east, or the wicked dog to the north, Cowdog.
And then, “Dog & Butterfly” by Heart started in the morning mental music stream. The Neurons’ thinking was clear in this instance. That’s often rare so I appreciated the linear clarity.
“I’m going back in, Papi,” I said. Papi yawned and stretched. A jay came to the yard and conversed. I closed the door on the scene.
Ann Wilson said about “Dog & Butterfly”, “This, like a log of songs, came from something iteral and changed to something more poetic. I was upstairs in my music room waiting for my muse. It doesn’t always happen on cue but, in hindsight, it did this time. I looked out of my window and saw the dog chasing a butterfly. He wouldn’t give up; he just kept chasing that butterfly. I thought it was impossible, yet he kept on going. The chase took on another meaning for me. Like so much in life, the spirit is undaunted, you keep going after it.
“Many people have said that it is that thought in this song that has helped them through rough times. When they’re up against the wall I life, thy could refer back to it and keep going.
“Nancy (Wilson) and I, as Heart, were new at the time in 1978 or so, and this became our personal theme song as well. Now if we don’t play it in our set, people are disappointed.” h/t to Wikipedia.org.
I think it’s a good day to help push through graydas. Sometimes these days in Trumpland feel gray and heavy despite the sunshine. I turn to music to help get through. Do what’s needed, without doing yourself harm.
Coffee has been consumed. Here we go again. Three…two…one…
See the news on the new Air Force One? Course you have. You’re not living under a rock.
First, it’s like saying you got a new car when it’s 14 years old. Also, it’s like a deal from a friend of a friend. People, including me, are questioning the legality of this. I’m pretty sure by now that the Trump Regime will do what they want and dare the rest of the nation to stop him. Republicans won’t. DOJ sure as hell won’t. So, you know. There’s gonna be new used Air Force One.
I was more interested in collateral ideas. I’m sure the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, and others will check it over for surveillance equipment. Will they also check to ensure it can’t be taken over from afar? Remember that Trump comment about a ‘killswitch’ on the F35s the US was selling to other countries?
Feels like Trump stirred that pot long ago, but it was only a month. I know, in Trump years, one month equals five years . I base that on the feeling that I’ve aged about twenty years since he took office.
I wonder if Qatar ever considered adding a killswitch to this aircraft gift to Trump — I mean, the United States. Could you imagine that scenario? “Fed up with Trump’s mangling of the global economy, the Saudi royal family pressured Qatar to employ the killswitch on Air Force One. After the aircraft lost power and control, it crashed into the Earth and exploded into a fireball. There are no reported survivors.” I can see a movie or novel in it.
On the other hand, Qatar, the country giving Trump the plane — sorry, the country giving the United State the plane — is telling everyone, “Hold on, this isn’t a done deal. We’re just thinking about it.”
We’ll see. You know how it is with Trump. One minute, he says he’ll never change his mind. Next thing you know, he’s saying, never say never. The aircraft news might be old news by next month.
Michael Seidel, writer 