Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
Bad weather keeps floofs inside
Where they race around, slide, and glide
Kicking dust up with their paws
Damaging furniture with teeth and claws
Picking up speed, they race and jump
Making us freeze as we hear a distant thump
Leaving us to wonder and shake our heads
Wishing they’d calm down and go to bed
It’s going to be 45 F today but for now, it’s 34 F. This is Tuesday, November 8, 2022, the second Tuesday in November, and election day in the U.S. As ads were countered with attack ads, which were then surmounted by counter-attack ads, an anxious mood has been building in the U.S. Concerns about fair elections, democracy, abortion rights, the economy, and disinformation — otherwise known as lies — has contorted what the election is about. It’s a mid-term election, so the Democrats’ concern is that if the Republican take control, they will block every piece of legislation that rises, stymying the Biden administration so it looks bad. It was their playbook as announced by Sen. McConnell and reiterated by several GOP legislators. If the Democrats win, the GOP fears are that it’s not being taken seriously as a party and that one-party role will progress. That’s the view from the moon. It gets much more involved and complex by state, city, and county. Speaking as a voter — I dropped off my ballot last week — it’s been an exhausting campaign cycle.
The rain stopped falling but drips from every leaf, gutter, fence, and line. Sunlight made thin by heavy gray clouds is creepng across the valley. Trees remain rich with golds, scarlets, shimmering reds, and pumpkin. When sunlight strikes one of these, the leaves light up the area. The mountain snow has gained thickness from this vantage, a sight that causes pauses, but I don’t know how it looks elsewhere.
The Neurons have dropped a Heart song from 1980, “Even It Up”, into the morning mental music stream. I asked them why they chose it. They stay mute as a rock in answer. I had another wild night of dreams but nothing that I recall would make me consciously select this song. It’s a subconscious mystery, like, where did I put that thing, and what is that thing that I’m looking for?
Stay positive, test negative, take necessary precautions, like vaccinations and masks, washing hands, and being cognizant of the potentials when you’re socializing. Coffee has landed in the kitchen, so I’m off, yes, in more ways than one, many claim. But what does the wife, family, neighbors, and friends really know, hmmm?
Here’s the music. Cheers
Monday scurried in under a rain cloud shouting, “I’m not late. I’m not late. I’m here. Maybe a little late. Not my fault. All that rain, and there’s snow, too. People are driving crazy. Traffic is a mess.”
Yes, it’s Monday, November 7, 2022. Winter has flexed again. Mists, ice, and snow layer our uppers. Snow hasn’t found its way down into the valley’s lower elevations, but we are surrounded. 6:51 AM is when the sun joined the mix, lightening the black and gray tones embedded in the ocean of thickening clouds above us.
34 F is now the temperature. No fear; it’ll bounce up to 7 C before daylight flees at 4:57 PM, the weather they say.
The Neurons are again floof-influenced with the morning mental music stream selection. (Say that three times fast before you had some coffee.) Weather drove Papi and Tucker in. They follow me around asking for sunshine. “I can’t do anything about the weather, boys.” I don’t explain that only nature and powerful Gods can control weather, as that would shatter their belief system. They think that I can do almost anything. I mean, they practically worship me.
Anyway, the cats were following me about, even after I fed them. To amuse the three of us, I run into the other room. They followed, confirming that they were going to stay right by my side.
Which, boom, caused The Neurons to say, “Hey, that’s just like that Metallica song.” Naturally, I responded, “What Metallica song?” The Neurons then commenced with “Until It Sleeps” from 1996.
“Have some coffee,” The Neurons tell me.
“Okay,” I answer, “is it ready?”
They scoff. “Did you make it?”
So, gotta go get some juice going. Stay positive, test negative. Mask as needed, if it’ll help stay some of the reach of those circling viruses. Here’s the music. I’m getting the coffee going, and then I’ll drink it until I sleep.
Cheers
Well, I did my duty. I popped the time back. I initially screwed up, though, setting it back a thousand years because it was two in the morning, I was cat tired, and had been out bringing a cat in and looking at the moon when a BIG bear ambled through the neighbor’s yard. Suddenly, getting the cat into the house wasn’t a problem. By the time the bear’s sound registered and I looked and saw the bear, the cat had looked, seen the bear, told me, “See you,” and was back at the door, ready to go in. So my mind wasn’t all in on the attention needed to set time back. A few wrong buttons were pressed. No harm, though, I caught it as soon as I stepped out of the time booth and discovered I was outside because the house didn’t exist here back then. Back into the booth I went, hissing to myself, “Oh crap oh crap oh crap,” as I saw in my mind’s memory that I’d done centuries instead of hours. Thank Dogs I only pressed the one instead of the four or nine below.
A heck of a morning. How is your day going?
Today is November 6, 2022, a Sunday. It’s 36 F and sunny outside, a real treat of a fall morning. Rain is forecast for later, when the temperature is 51 F. Then the temp will drop and the rain will turn to snow, 8 – 14 inches in some places, but not mine. Sunrise bulldozed out the darkness at 6:50 AM and the day night shift will begin changover at sunset, 4:58 PM.
In my little morning tale, the part about setting the clock back was my imagination having fun. The bear and cat part were true. I went to the door to see if Papi wanted in. He was sitting there awaiting moment but was clearly interested in something going on out there. Asking him what he was looking at, I noticed the fantastic almost full moon, which was taken advantage of the clouds’ absence to spill light everywhere. Between that moonlight and the cold but fresh night air, I was entranced and went out onto the walk to take full advantage of it. That’s when the bear made their noises and picked up and slammed down a trash can. Fascinating as this was, I thought, oh my, is that the time? Papi and I went in as the bear headed on down the road. I think the bear was really showing off for my benefit, you know?
A 1972 EOL song is in the morning mental music stream. I first heard “10538” when I was sixteen years old. A crazy song, I wasn’t sure what it was about, doing some careful listening before some radio DJ finally illuminated that the song was about an escaped prisoner. My dream wasn’t about being a prisoner, yet this was the song that ended up invading my head when I was thinking about the dream this morning. The Neurons had to drill really deeply into the memory banks to find it.
Remain positive in your attitude and keep testing negative. If you do test negative, take appropriate measures. You know what that stuff is, right? Not like the whole COVID started yesterday. Not unless you’ve been time-traveling.
Here’s the tune. Got my coffee and going outside to enjoy some sunshine and liquid gold. Cheers
Got up early, fed the cats. Went back to bed because, at 7:15 AM, the light cast a feel that it was closer to five AM. Rising an hour later on this Saturday morning, I found the light much improved. Mixed with clouds, sunshine, rains, and mist, the light seemed pretty much perfect.
It couldn’t last. Clouds swarmed the local atmosphere. Rain shadowed in. But I still thought, it might be nice outside, because it was warm and cozy within, right? Papi, my ginger-furred wonder, told me otherwise. He was beating on the front door. I rushed over and opened it. Yelling, “Meow,” as he dashed in, he let me know how incensed he was. It was cold and wet outside and now he was cold and wet, which is not a preferred state. “A little fresh kibble might ameliorate my mood.” I did as I was told. Always do.
It’s 50 degrees F, November 5, 2022, and raining. We turn back the digits and clock hand tonight, if you do that sort of thing. Well, tomorrow morning, actually. as the deed is done in that nether region that’s both late night and early morning, depending on where you stand on the spectrum about when night and morning literally begin. Today’s high will be 51 F. See, that’s the day’s nature, a balance by degrees here.
“Rock Me Baby” is in my morning mental music stream. This song has been around my entire life. B.B. King’s cover was a hit in 1964 and became his signature song. A blues standard, many artists have covered and recorded it. B.B.’ version was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. His arrangement is what’s in my head today, but the cover is by Etta James and Stephen Stills, with the Roots. I’m a fan of all three of those entities, so when I found a recording from 1983 of them doing this song, I sat and listened. The Neurons have nothing to do with my theme music choice for a change.
Well, hope you enjoy it. Give everyone my regards. Stay positive and test negative. The coffee man (that’s me) has delivered. Time to imbibe. Cheers
Cats woke me up before sunrise. “I want cat food,” they cried. Sleepfeeding, I did their bidding.
It’s Friday, November 4, 2022, the last Friday with Daylight Savings Time in the U.S. That requires an asterisk to note that it’s not so everywhere. Nevertheless, it’s true in my little reality slice. Reality seems to be like pizza, a little different for everyone, even though it may look the same.
The sun skimmed into our southern Oregon valley at 7:46 this morning, limning dark clouds, autumn trees, and dark green pines on snowy mountains before climbing clear of them and claiming the day. It’s 41 degrees F now but air currents, sunshine, and fronts will take us to 18 C.
The Neurons are playing “I Want Candy” in the morning mental music stream. This is a floofmage to the cats’ early morning demands for food. Mind, they made this demand with three bowls of kibble available. “It’s not the same as fresh food from the can given by your loving hands,” they purred.
Well, I know BS when I smell it, even when it’s coming from a smiling black and white furry face, and a sweet ginger and cream furred visage. Still, doing their bidding bought another hour of sleep.
“I Want Candy” has been around for sixty years. I went with a later version, by Bow Wow Wow, released in the early 1980s. A female friend of mine loved dancing to this version. Part of our gang, she’d jump up and run off to the dance floor when it came on, if we were out clubbing. If it came on at someone’s home, she curtailed whatever she was doing to dance and sing. Fun when someone enjoys a song so much. I haven’t seen her since 1984. Wonder how she’s doing?
Stay positive, test negative, get vaccines when you can. Here’s the music. The magic brewing magic has stopped its gurgling sound; coffee is ready. Interesting that in a world of pinging, beeping, buzzing, and ringing devices to notify us of important and trivial matters, something as critical as the coffee is done brewing is not announced.
Cheers
Wednesday’s first light on November 2, 2022, arrived about thirty minutes before sunrise at 7:45 AM, pulling the curtain back on snow falling on autumn leaves. The whitening backdrop emboldened the full red and golden leaves dominating our area. The temperature was 1 degree C. Hopes are that the digital mercury will find 45 F. Tonight will drop to 29 F. Winter seemed to be declaring, “I’m taking November.” Summer was off and didn’t care. I haven’t heard a word out of fall.
The snow stopped by 8:15. None stayed on the ground at our elevation. Running errands yesterday, though, the hills and crests surrounding our village was rich with the stuff.
I broke out of a dream while darkness still soaked the land. Not much of the dream stuck around. Memory of it amounted to me dressing a woman, telling her to wear pink because it’ll highlight her caramel complexion and raven hair. While she was nodding and dressing, I recalled for her how I’d build a model of a Corvette when I was a boy and painted the car hot pink on a whim.
The dream naturally titillated Les Neurons about their song ideas. They fired up Prince’s 1983 song, “Little Red Corvette”. “Pink, red,” The Neurons declared, “It’s just a difference of degrees.” I’ve already used the song before and recounted that it came out while I was stationed at Kadena Air Base, so that’s all I’ll say here.
Stay posso and test negative. Nothing is guaranteed but it might help you and your family and community. Coffee, as black as the snow is white — it’s falling again — snow, not coffee — (can you imagine that? “It’s coffeeing, it’s coffeeing.” People would be out there with their mouths open, catching the coffee flakes…) — is available. You know where I’m going with this, don’tcha?
Here’s Prince (or the guy who was formerly known as Prince but that’s a whole other story) with a recording of an acoustic version done at a concert. Cheers
Bellowing, “I am here,” November stomped in. Rain fell. Temperatures fell. Snow flurries fell.
Sun rise came at 7:44, but with November’s presence, the sun became a meek shadow of itself. It’s 2 degrees C now but we expect a slow battle to 48 F before the sun surrenders to the situation at 6:05 PM. With no sunlight and tenuous daylight, we’re forced, for the first time in months, to turn on houselights to see in the morning.
Clarification is needed. The two baths, one lit by a window and a solar tube, and the other illuminated by a skylight, often needs a light turned on in the morning. So, frequently, does the kitchen outside of the summer months. Situated in the west facing side — yeah, ‘the front’ would be the technical expression — the kitchen’s western window doesn’t catch any morning sunlight, either. Not in the autumn, winter, and early spring. Those rooms typically need a light turned on, as does the laundry room. Windowless, it’s in the house’s middle.
But the office, with its huge windows, doesn’t usually need added houselights. Even though it’s also on the western side, it’s just drop the blinds and let in the daylight. Not today, friends, not today. The lights are on even in the office.
This is Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Change the calendar’s page and say good-bye to October. You might catch 2023 peeking around a corner. Give her a wave if you do. She’s coming. It wouldn’t hurt to be chummy with her when she arrives.
BTW, a winter storm warning is out, snow above 5,000 feet. Chain and snow tire season has landed.
Rain songs from multiple decades deluge the morning mental music stream. But the cold wins. Many songs oriented around the cold exist but The Neurons fell back on a Tom Petty favorite, “Out in the Cold”, from 1991. They’re moved that way by memory. 1991’s start find me stationed in Germany, ending a four-year duty as part of a covert intelligence unit. February, I arrived in the SF Bay area, out in Sunnyvale, California, and my new and final duty assignment at Onizuka Air Station. It was pouring freakin’ rain that day, the end of a drought that’d been plaguing the area. It was also cold, and that was the year in which Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers had a hit with this song. It’s a rocking band. Love Mike’s shredding on lead guitar.
I’ve used this song back in June, 2021. A cool morning, I wrote, and rainy. I had three cats then. They were out there with me as I enjoyed the rain and a cup of coffee. Two stayed out while the other went back inside with me.
1991 was also when the first Gulf War was going on. Remember that?
Stay positive, test negative, drink a warm beverage if it’s a cold day, stay cool if it’s a hot one for you. That’s what was always interesting about my travels, finding the new weather of the new location after touching down. The weather announced, “You are here.”
The coffee is also here, hot, black, and ready. Here’s the tune. Cheers
Spread the alarm. Monday has breached the walls. Save yerselves.
Dawn came in a bit before seven. Sunrise came after the way was cleared, arriving to clear blue skies at 7:42 this morning. The temperature has sprinted up to 45 degrees F and will go all the way to 62 F. The Cedar Creek fire is now in its third month but it’s 68% contained. We don’t smell the fire in our sector any longer but I’m sure others are still enduring it, and I feel for them. Sunset will be at 6:06 PM, so set your alarms. It’ll be October’s last.
We used to go trick or treating after dark when I was a child. In fact, that was one of Mom’s stipulations for when we could begin: “It’s not even dark yet.” These days, darkness is an enemy of the event. Most trick or treating is done in more controlled environments. Schools, stores, and malls have joined the Halloween proceedings. We didn’t buy any treats this year. We’ve bought in the past and generally ate it ourselves in the nights after the goblins and monsters’ cries have faded into November. So we don’t do that no more. Kind of miss it but also, c’est le vie.
After reading emails and the mail last night, The Neurons started playing “Money (That’s What I Want)” by The Flying Lizards (1979). Totally understandable. Almost every entity sending emails and missives in my direction are asking for money. Subscribe to this or that. Buy more of this. Get a new one of that, and replace that other. You need more! Donate to me — we need money to stay free. So, yeah, no surprise that Der Neurons brought up “Money (That’s What I Want)”. Les Neurons could have gone multiple directions with this. Could’ve just fired up Pink Floyd’s song, “Money.” “Money (That’s What I Want)” has been released as a Motown hit, a moneymaker by the Beatles, a cover by the Stones, and, of course, The Flying Lizards.
The Flying Lizards’ rendition is a twist against the others, throwing out a simple tune with a bald, straightforward delivery: “Give me money. That’s what I want.” They’re not truly singing it, just deadpan presenting it. That’s why it works so well for all these money requests that inundate my existence. Take Pfizer, for example. They were heroes, one of several, coming up with COVID-19 vaccines. Now they want money so shots will be over one hundred dollars each. Don’t worry, insurance will cover it. No insurance? Oh, no, that’s not good. But Prizer is a corporation. They exist to make money, right?
BTW, has anyone done a new cover of this song recently? Seems like it’s overdue.
Well, you know the routine. Holds even for Mondays, even on October’s final effort. Stay positive, test neggy, etc. Coffee is in the morning’s collection plate. I’m gonna help meself to some. That’s what I want.
Have a good one. Here’s the tune. Cheers
T’was the day before the last day of October and all through the yard, everyone was watching, and staying on guard. Wizards and witches and princesses were coming soon, and monsters and zombies might be around, too. Candy and treats can be offered to still their noise, but you know how it is with young girls and boys.
It’s Sunday, October 30, 2022. Gadzooks but yesterday was a beautiful prototypical autumn day. Today is using the leftovers to bake us another the same way. With the sun cracking the whip at 7:41, the cool night air – 40 F – was pleased with the sun. It’s since gone to 44, a small but welcomed increase, and will hit 64 F before sunset comes at 6:07 this evening and the temperature decrease.
Yesterday afternoon was spent at a concert. The Rogue Valley Symphonic Band always does a Halloween concert which we attend. It was another fun success this year. Many adults and all children dressed up in costumers. One of my favorites was a little girl costumed as Hermione from Harry Potter’s world. She was about perfect. I asked her as we were leaving if she knew any spells. The four-year-old looked at me like I was an idiot. Nothing else was said. Okay, message received.
I have “The Warrior” by Scandal (1984). The Neurons claim they aren’t behind the song’s rise in the morning mental music stream. It could be a series of dreams behind it. I think Dream Neurons are in a different industry than The Neurons. Not sure of The Neurons’ job description. I guess they sometimes help Memory Neurons. Don’t know if they do anything for the Goofing Around Neurons. Although I’m in my sixties, the GANs are very lively while the MNs (that’s said as mins) often decline engagements these days.
Back to the band, Scandal. I was always sorry they broke up so fast. A friend was in love with Patty Smyth. He was always talking about how great she sang and how gorgeous she looked, looking up information about her and sharing it with us. So out of character for him that it was fascinating. He was generally sort of listless and mute until he began gushing about Patty Smyth. We always worried that he had the makings of a stalker. Don’t know what happened to him, as I rotated back to the US at the end year’s end. This is one of those songs which I hear pretty regularly on classic rock stations when I tune into them.
Don your positive energy and keep it flowing. Test negative. Meanwhile, it’s coffee time. Here’s the song. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 