After I posted
about the birthday of favored guitarist John 5 my big brother called with
difficult news. Our mother, who endured a long battle with sickening health and
declining cognitive faculties, did not survive her latest surgery repairing a PICC
line insertion.
This is almost a relief, I’m blessed
to say. I can’t remember when she felt well. She is survived by her husband and
four kids, as well as more loving friends than I dare name.
I even heard from an old
acquaintance I couldn’t resist contacting. My first love seemed deserving of
the knowledge and sent email lavishing her with praise.
Thank you, Dad, for doing the
best you could. And to all those who provided therapy, care, and support –
bless you.
I’ve been fortunate to live
in a part of the United
States loaded with great concert venues. I
can’t begin to list all the shows I’ve gotten to see. But seeing Rob Zombie on
tour stands out in mind as the incredible guitarist John 5 celebrates his
birthday today.
Happy Birthday, Dude!
During one unforgettable solo he actually played guitar with
his face. How cool is that? John 5 has done amazing work with Marilyn Manson,
too, which is where I first heard his playing. I learned of his birthday
thanks to Rob Zombie’s Instagram page.
Rob Z and John 5 Tearing Up the Stage
Keep rockin’, Rob and John. You guys are
awesome. Here you can read a short interview with the down-to-earth musician
from 2014.
Have you heard of John 5? His styles range far outside heavy
metal. Having read the article above I may have to buy at least one of his solo
releases.
Yesterday’s humorous
discovery led to another great tell about how lettering makes a difference. Check
this out and tell me you don’t get a different vibe between the two.
Did you ‘hear’ the two notes
read with a different internal voice?
I have a tendency toward
falling into adoration for great television shows about to be canceled and,
worse, talented people after they have passed beyond the mortal coil. Fitting examples
include Japanese drummer Kami of Malice Mizer and the wonderful comedian Mitch
Hedburg.
Today I wish to honor the latter
with a brief early video. Enjoy.
I grew up calling the hottest
days of the year the ‘dog days of summer’, which I thought simply referenced those
smart pets lying low to keep cool. The story is much more interesting.
Forget the Heat, We're Rockin' in the A/C
Our term derives from the
Latin dies
caniculares, or ‘puppy days’, referencing the rising of the dog star Sirius alongside the sun. I
thank Wikipedia for that information, including the cool word ‘heliacal’
meaning ‘related to or near the sun’.
The ‘Blood Moon’ novelette
series I’m working on includes a tale called The Dog Days of Summer. I find it rather fitting as the Greeks and
Romans associated this period of the year with lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and
bad luck. My characters sure endure plenty of that last.
In a converse bit of good
luck the weather on my back porch today is quite temperate. I plan to enjoy
writing out here as long as it stays cool. It will be nice when autumn lowers
the heat index. My backyard is nothing special but does provide a secluded and
overall peaceful place to write.
Thinking of a fabulous
experience the other night I couldn’t resist referencing the classic tune, a
favorite by sixties group The Mamas and The Papas. That aside, what I want to
share is that I’m often blessed by fantastic dreams. More than one has turned
into a short story.
Science fiction or fantasy,
every now and then delving into world history, the scenarios sometimes play out
like a movie. Thursday night I had one so intense that my dream self stood
crying in the midst of watching (reading?) a tragic romance.
That one begged to be written.
As of now I’m up to chapter three and on the cusp of making the main
character’s life change for the better.
It’s been really fun, as well
as emotionally moving at times, fleshing out the details. Yesterday I
researched what one should do upon finding a suicide survivor bleeding out from
slit wrists. Yeah. It’s intense.
I’m thankful to have never
been on either side of such tragedy. But my character Tyler has, and is about to find a reason to
live again. I can hardly wait to keep going. For now I decided to go back to
polishing my fantasy series, letting ideas percolate on where to take
‘Submerged’ next. It’s a working title I may keep as Tyler is a former competitive swimmer forced
to quit after a debilitating accident.
And that’s not even what
brought him so low! The loss of his spouse to cancer undermined his will, so I
guess I shouldn’t let him languish too long. ~grin~ Better get back to writing!
We got official word back
from the veterinarian. Tilly has a bladder infection. I’m actually relieved
considering the possibilities.
Apparently it’s bacterial, meaning
I’ll be giving her a liquid antibiotic for the next two weeks. We’ll see how
that goes. Then she goes back for another urinalysis. Wish us luck.
I was going to post a picture of the sweet, silly cat. But Blogger seems to be having technical issues. At least my kitty should recover. Maybe the messy water play will end, too.
I want to give a shout-out to
The Squirrel Nutwork blog in Reston, Virgina (USA) for introducing me to an
amazing fungus. I have never seen this aptly named coral fungus before in my
life.
Photo Credit to Nutmeg and Co. of The Squirrel Nutwork
Isn’t it the stuff of
fantasy? I wouldn’t want to leave if I found it sprouted somewhere in hopes
fairies, a unicorn, or perhaps some fanciful flying fish might appear.
Early this morning a veterinarian
got a blood sample from Tilly but, bladder
infection being one concern, could not retrieve any urine. Now we need to either get a sample sometime Sunday
night to bring in early Monday or drop her off for however many hours it takes
for them to get a sample.
I foresee her taking another
trip. Poor kitty.
Tilly's Big Paws Absorb an Amazing Amount of Water
We were given a product meant
to simulate litter without absorbing the liquid. But they gave us so little
that I doubt Tilly would use a box with a scattering of this stuff.
Having two cats makes it that
much more difficult. And I’m not about to stress Jezebel over the matter. She isn’t
much younger and I don’t want to disrupt her good litter box behavior.
Meanwhile I had to clean and
refill both water bowls this morning. It’s amazing how fast the water gets
filthy. My socks got wet, too, and the linoleum is starting to look like the road next to a construction sight with wet clay tracked everywhere.
I don’t know what has gotten
into our ‘Silly’ Tilly lately. She’s acting sillier than usual splashing water
all around. Having hyperthyroidism and taking twice daily pills for the condition,
she may need a trip to the vet. It wouldn’t hurt to check her thyroid levels
and kidney condition.
In the meantime, I am trying
to solve the issue of filthy water bowls and wet flooring as she continues
dunking paws in the drinking water put out for her and Jezebel. Thinking the
taller bowls we’ve used for years might be irritating her whiskers I found the
shallowest thing possible.
I put out a serving tray
centered on a storage bin lid to prevent spills leaking into the basement. As you
can see, the results are underwhelming.
This is a Foot Bath, Right?
She really got into paddling
away a moment later, too. At least the lid contained the water.
Do any of you fellow cat
caregivers have any suggestions as to why this behavior would appear overnight?
In the meantime, I guess I’ll call my local veterinarian’s office.
I opened correspondence from
our health insurer yesterday and decided to
share something fascinating. On the back of the last page was a set of
instructions in eighteen different languages.
Eighteen! Sure there are almost seven thousand living languages known worldwide. But still...
They're Listed in English Alphabetical Order;
How Thoughtful
For That Matter, Why Even List the Languages in English?
How did someone choose which
dialects to include? And why isn’t 'French (France)' represented?
I’ve been waiting for
tonight’s Avenged Sevenfold concert for several months and can hardly believe
the time approaches. I’m blessed to have attended many good shows over the
years but it’s been a while. This should be fun.
Seeing as it’s such a special
occasion I did some shopping. I bought new cosmetics, for one thing. The
products look, feel, and hold up great. It’s been ages since I’ve bothered
wearing any because my cheap stuff couldn’t withstand a minor sweat. So that proved
a good investment for day-to-day use.
I also bought a new purse
because my daily use one is super small. The last thing I want is to have
belongings fall out while I’m buying a concert shirt. ~grin~ And the animal
print matches the grey and black outfit I intend to wear.
On that note a new bolero
style sweater should be comfortable over my tank top, and preferable to
exposing lots of skin to the sun. I am taking sunscreen, however. I learned
that lesson after an Anarchy ‘A’ pendant reverse branded my chest with sunburn.
~shakes head~ That made for interesting office conversation back in the day.
Last but not least is an
older investment. Tired of feeling frumpy, I heard about a company called
Orchard Corsets thanks to Josh Clark on the podcast Stuff You Should Know.
Here’s the cool galaxy print one and tank top I intend to wear tonight.
That's an Oregami Crane Print Top
Oh, and I’m taking ear plugs
in case the sound threatens to blow out my ear drums. Now, I’m off to get my hair
styled. In the meantime, you can enjoy a song I expect to hear live, 'The Stage'.
I have liked long hair on
guys for as long as I can remember. Blame the eighties rock and roll scene if
you want. I still like the look if pulled off properly.
Australian Artist Gotye
How Adorable is This Guy?
Lately I keep hearing haters
disparage the ‘man bun’. Personally, it doesn’t bother me. People should be
able to wear their hair however they want. Would you begrudge a samurai from the Edo Period his chonmage?
Topknots Helped Keep a Helmet in Place
Jared Leto Rocking a Chonmage
And for these styles in
particular I approve for two simple reasons. For one, alternatives on how to
wear long hair means more men might do so.
No Complaints Here
Also, you know the old saying, ‘let
your hair down’? Yeah. I want to be there when some
of these guys do that. And I’m talking to you hot dudes at my gym.
To Quote Joe Cocker, You Can Leave Your Hat On
Just don't do comb-overs, fellows, please. At that point let. It. Go. Or if you can't, and I understand, just don't expect to be taken as seriously as this guy:
Captain's Uniform Optional
What’s your opinion? Long? Short? Up? Down? Do you care?
A common mistake many people
make with modern technology is instilling too much trust. Every day someone learns
once it’s too late that a computer crash can take all your data along for the
ride. Knowing some dear folks who have suffered this, I’d like to share a
simple idea.
While I own a solid state
external hard drive I don’t use it on a frequent basis. For one thing, that
hardware is as susceptible to failure as any other. But safeguarding my
fiction, especially in the process of intensive rewrites, is important to me.
So I discovered an
alternative. Rather than trust disks, hard drives, or Internet 'cloud' storage, I email documents to myself.
Having two separate email
addresses using different platforms provides an added layer of protection. One
email saves a copy in the ‘sent’ folder while the other's ‘in’ box (I hope) preserves the
same information. The process is quick, easy, and the document can even remain open.
Do you back up your data? If so,
what’s your method of preference?
Last week my partner and I went
on a whirlwind tour of the southern United States to visit parents, my
mother in hospital. After five straight days of travel and a different motel
every night, I am very happy to be home and can happily say my parents are
doing well as can be expected.
My favorite stay was at Monroe’s On
the Lake. In fact, due to the busy nature of our trip I took more pictures there
than anywhere. It’s an older facility but nicely appointed with cool furniture.
Love the Dresser
Continuing the Spanish Feel
Super Cool Chair
Lake Monroe and the Pool I Never Got to Use
The best part of travel is
coming home. Don’t you agree?
