Nancy E. Dunne's Blog, page 18

Music Monday: Well, that was unexpected...

I love a good Ozzy ballad as much as anyone else, and the one on my mind when I sat down to write was Close My Eyes Forever with Lita Ford. But this popped up in a search and I was captivated, as much as early uni Nancy was when she was all about a bad boy from Birmingham. Oh, Ozzy. If only I had your skills with eyeliner...



No More Tearsby Ozzy Osborne
The light in the window is a crack in the skyA stairway to darkness in the blink of an eyeA levee of tears to learn she'll never be coming backThe man in the dark will bring another attackYour momma told you that you're not supposed to talk to strangersLook in the mirror, tell me, do you think you life's in danger, yeah?No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)(Tears, tears...)Another day passes as the night closes inThe red light goes on to say it's time to beginI see the man around the corner waiting, can he see me?I close my eyes and wait to hear the sound of someone screaming hereNo more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)It's just a sign of the timesGoing forward in reverseStill, he who laughs lastIs just a hand in the bushSo now that it's over, can we just say goodbye? (I'd like, I'd like)I'd like to move on and make the most of the nightMaybe a kiss before I leave you this wayYour lips are so cold, I don't know what else to sayI never wanted it to end this way, my love, my darlingBelieve me when I say to you in love, I think I'm falling hereNo more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)No more tears (Tears, tears)Is just a hand in the bush(In the bush, in the bush, in the bush...)

The Pickle Paradigm: an excerpt...sort of...

Our Whomping WillowThose that follow me on social media know who this little face is, but if you aren't familiar with her, this is my AmStaff mix, Willow-Pickle. She came to live with us at the tender age of 9 months, after a repeat engagement at the shelter where she was returned for "being just too much." Any of you that have shared your home with any kind of terrier are probably nodding your heads in acknowledgment.

She is the living embodiment of getting what you need rather than necessarily what you want - we got her in November of 2015 and lost Daisy just over a year later. If we hadn't had her, I'm not sure Bryn (or any of us) would have made it through that awful time. She was patient yet insistent as she tried to draw Bryn out of her depression and eventually succeeded. They have been thick as thieves ever since.

But this post is not about any of that. This is an excerpt, hopefully, from WP's own book - she's been a supporting character in the books about her greyhound and wolfhound sisters, and really deserves her own story. This happened just this morning, and I will tell it from my perspective because she hasn't shared hers with me...yet. Enjoy.

In Which Mommy Discovers a Chicken in the Yard...Again

Now there have been other occasions when our neighbors (who CLEARLY do not understand the difference between city chickens and FREE RANGE chickens) have allowed their hens to run freely in our neighborhood and we have had to chase them out of our yard. Many. Other. Occasions. We had landscaping done and they ate some of the grass seed. They have pulled up the borders that Hubs put down in the garden. They walk back and forth by the gate to the fenced yard and, at first, would whip the girls into such a frenzy that I feared they would turn on each other...or at least Willow-Pickle and Ciaragh would. Poor Bryn just wants to see what they are and potentially make friends, if the bunnies she has followed through the yard are any indication.
This morning I was working in the kitchen and Hubs had let the girls outside, leaving the basement door open so that they could come back in when they were ready. I heard a very loud cluck but no growling or barking so I figured the ladies were just outside the fence as they often are, eating all the birdseed from the feeders. But then it happened again. CLUCK CLUCK. Still no growling but I could hear movement on the patio downstairs (thanks to my McDonald ancestors for my bionic hearing ability). I ran down the stairs and found a hen backed into a corner by a Willow-Pickle who was growling low in her chest and a very amused and happy-looking Bryn. No Ciaragh to be seen. Small mercies.
I ordered Bryn in the house and she did as she was told with all of the excitement of a child that is at 2.5 on a 3-count to go to bed. CLUCK CLUCK! I turned back and Willow-Pickle was so close to that hen that she could sniff it, LICK IT, and growl as she ignored me. 

My greyhound owning readers will remember the early days when you were advised to keep a can of pennies nearby to drop in order to break your hound's focus on the whateveritwas that they wanted to chase...well, if I had possessed one of those loud things I could have thrown it at the two and neither of them would have paid me any attention. I finally got as close as I could (Willow-Pickle had pinned the invader behind the Yellow Rose of Texas in the corner of the yard off the patio) and screamed her name. 
The look that dog gave me...Col. Pickle is the master of the side-eye, and she did not approve of me interrupting her game of "Hey, Chicken, why don't you Eff Around and Find Out" that she was meticulously playing with a view toward a chicken biscuit for second breakfast. In addition, the chicken didn't move a muscle, even when I grabbed the Pickle's newest bionic knee and pulled her backward. Reluctantly and slowly she turned around to face the house and I shoved her inside and THAT, MY FRIENDS, WAS WHEN COL. CLUCK-CLUCK MADE HER MOVE. 
That stupid chicken was going to just follow the dogs right into the house until Ciaragh appeared OUT OF NOWHERE and barked from across the patio by the vegetable beds. Well, this has just completed my morning, let me tell you. I eyeballed the chicken who changed her mind about checking out our basement, called into the house to let Hubs know I needed a leash, and then walked slowly toward my nervous Irish puppy to convince her to BACK UP SLOWLY AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT.
She'd seen the chicken. She didn't know what it was, but she wanted it. Mommy was in the way. And then, like the hero in an action movie, Hubs came out onto the deck and dropped her leash down to me. I don't know what its superpower is - maybe it would be like the Lasso of Truth if Ciaragh could talk, but I don't think ANY OF US want that. I put it on her and led her past the feathery foe and into the house so that I could open the gate to let it out.
Only it didn't want to go out until I gave it some gentle encouragement in the form of picking up a nearby vegetable cage and swinging it like a madwoman. Last time it hopped up onto the fence and then flew out of the yard. As God is my witness...

Music Monday: Florence is King, Long Live the King!

I've just discovered this song -  how perfect it is for some upcoming inspiration...it's a new track from Florence + the Machine and, like everything else from them, is like someone opened up my heart and soul and sang about what they found. The part near the end where they all silently scream...just good, good stuff.

And I was never as good as I always thought I was

But I knew how to dress it up

I was never satisfied, it never let me go

Just dragged me by my hair and back on with the show

(no lyrics this time, the video is CAPTIONED and not icky automatic captions)

Whoops Wednesday? Is That a Thing?

So, I clearly forgot about Music Monday this week. It's fine, really. To be very honest, I haven't felt like writing anything lately - with the small fires I keep having to put out for the Day Job and in my own little furry family PLUS Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the 24hr news cycle I'm just about back behind the sofa to live.

And in that vein, here is a bit of fun. Maybe. I was at the Atlanta Steampunk Expo last month and there was a fantastic artist called Dmitri just across the hall from me who had a magnificent playlist running most of the two days we were there. When this song came on, I almost had to get up and dance. I was 16 again, with my first car, dreaming about college and a career in theatre...enjoy.

Peek-A-Boo 

by Siouxsie and the Banshees

Creeping up the backstairs
Slinking into dark stalls
Shapeless and slumped in bathchairs
Furtive eyes peep out of holes
She has many guises
Shell do what you want her to
Playing dead and sweet submission
Cracks the whip deadpan on cue
Peek-a-boo peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo peek-a-boo

Reeking like a pigsty
Peeling back and gagging free
Flaccid ego in your hand
Chokes on dry tears, can you understand?
Shes jeering at the shadows
Sneering behind a smile
Lunge and thrust to pout and pucker
Into the face of the beguiled

Peek-a-boo peek-a-boo
Golly jeepers
Where'd you get those peepers?
Peepshow, creepshow
Where did you get those eyes?

Strobe lights pump and flicker
Dry lips crack out for more
Come bite on this rag doll, baby!
That's right, now hit the floor
They're sneaking out the back door
She gets up from all fours
Rhinestone fools and silver dollars
Curdle into bitter tears

Peek-a-boo peek-a-boo
Golly jeepers
Where'd you get those peepers?
Peepshow, creepshow
Where did you get those eyes?

Music Monday: Because...Here we are again.

I'm going to post this song again, this time with the lyrics because this is happening right now in Ukraine. Right now. People are dying. Russia says they have done nothing wrong, that they must defend themselves against Ukraine. Nonsense. A former KGB fanboi is making moves to recreate his precious USSR and must be stopped.
Listen to this beautiful, haunting song by Jamala, the winner of the 2016 Eurovision song contest regardless of the protests from the Kremlin. Because "They kill you all/and say We're not guilty..."

1944by Jamala
When strangers are coming...1They come to your house,They kill you alland say,We’re not guiltynot guilty. Where is your mind?Humanity cries.You think you are gods.But everyone dies.Don't swallow my soul.Our souls I could not spend my youth thereBecause you took away my landI could not spend my youth thereBecause you took away my land We could build a futureWhere people are freeto live and love.The happiest time. Where is your heart?Humanity rise.You think you are godsBut everyone dies.Don't swallow my soul.Our souls I could not spend my youth thereBecause you took away my landI could not spend my youth thereBecause you took away my land I couldn't have my homeland

Music Monday is on the Struggle Bus

 Y'all. It's that feeling when you've had a great weekend away and now it's Monday and someone poured a bag of sand into your brain and has bolted you to whatever soft surface you're on...and the alarm goes off. As I try to sort out the cobwebs left from a great weekend, enjoy this tune from Taylor Swift that is one of my new on repeats...and speaks to the bullies we all grew up with and moved past. I know that I see certain faces in MY mind when this song is on in the car (and I may or may not be yelling the words as loud as I can). Get your catharsis on, y'all.

And while you do that, I'm off for a second cuppa. Yeesh.

Meanby Taylor Swift
You, with your words like knivesAnd swords and weapons that you use against meYou have knocked me off my feet againGot me feeling like I'm nothingYou, with your voice like nails on a chalkboardCalling me out when I'm woundedYou, picking on the weaker manWell, you can take me downWith just one single blowBut you don't know what you don't know
Someday, I'll be living in a big old cityAnd all you're ever gonna be is meanSomeday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit meAnd all you're ever gonna be is meanWhy you gotta be so mean?
You, with your switching sidesAnd your wildfire lies and your humiliationYou have pointed out my flaws againAs if I don't already see themI walk with my head downTrying to block you out, 'cause I'll never impress youI just wanna feel okay againI bet you got pushed aroundSomebody made you coldBut the cycle ends right now'Cause you can't lead me down that roadAnd you don't know what you don't know
Someday, I'll be living in a big old cityAnd all you're ever gonna be is meanSomeday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit meAnd all you're ever gonna be is meanWhy you gotta be so mean?
And I can see you years from now in a barTalking over a football gameWith that same big loud opinionBut nobody's listeningWashed up and ranting about the same old bitter thingsDrunk and grumbling on about how I can't singBut all you are is meanAll you are is meanAnd a liar, and pathetic, and alone in lifeAnd mean, and mean, and mean, and mean
But someday, I'll be living in a big old cityAnd all you're ever gonna be is mean, yeahSomeday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit meAnd all you're ever gonna be is mean(Why you gotta be so mean?)
Someday, I'll be living in a big old city(Why you gotta be so mean?)And all you're ever gonna be is mean(Why you gotta be so mean?)Someday, I'll be big enough so you can't hit me(Why you gotta be so mean?)And all you're ever gonna be is meanWhy you gotta be so mean?

Music Monday: Well, it's Valentine's Day, right?

When I think of great love stories, I think of my parents. My father spent his entire life convinced that he did not deserve his wife but did everything he could to show her that he was thankful for her. When I first heard this song by Cody Fry, it wiped me out because I couldn't get them out of my mind...and how even though we miss them I'm so happy that their symphony is playing wherever they are now.

I mean, it's Valentine's Day, after all...

Symphonyby Cody Fry
I used to hear a simple song
That was until you came along
Now in it's place is something new
I hear it when I look at you
With simple songs I wanted more
Perfection is so quick to bore
You are more beautiful by far
Our flaws are who we really are
I used to hear a simple song
That was until you came along
You took my broken melody
And now I hear a symphony
Ohh
And now I hear a symphony

Upcoming Book Signing: Atlanta Steampunk Exposition 2022

Hey, y'all in the Atlanta/Dunwoody area, come out and see me starting tomorrow evening at the Atlanta Steampunk Expo!! I will be signing copies of Strid and would love to meet you. Here's a link to a teaser chapter and more information on the book: Strid First Chapter
     
Already have a copy? Bring it! As long as it has paper to sign, I will be happy to autograph it for you. 😀 You can bring your ebook copies too, I'm always happy to see my books out in the wild in whatever format.
To borrow from my writerly friend, Jessica Nettles, I will be cosplaying as an author trying to sell her books. 😀

See you this weekend!

 

Music Monday: So, it's to be vampires, then?

I think I have posted this tune before, but this version jumped out of my television at me and demanded to be heard. I'm not familiar with the movie shown in the video, but I've always had a soft spot for this admittedly WEIRD tune after hearing it in Lost Boys. So...there is a Camp Nano coming up... 


Cry Little Sisteras performed by CHVRCHES

Last fire will rise behind those eyes
Black house will rock, blind boys don't lie
Immortal fear, that voice so clear
Through broken walls, that scream I hear
Cry, little sister (thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (thou shall not kill)
Blue masquerade, strangers look on
When will they learn this loneliness?
Temptation heat beats like a drum
Deep in your veins, I will not lie
Cry, little sister (thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (thou shall not kill)
My Shangri-La, I can't forget
Why you were mine, I need you now
Cry, little sister (thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (thou shall not fall)
Come, come to your brother (thou shall not die)
Unchain me, sister (thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (thou shall not kill)
Cry, little sister (thou shall not fall)
(Thou shall not die)
(Thou shall not fear)
Love is with your brother (thou shall not kill)

Music Monday: Y'all Means All

Okay, I love me some Miranda Lambert. I know, I don't usually ride around blaring country music or have anything other than DEEP DARK EMOTIONAL music in my writing playlists but there are some notable exceptions. Trisha Yearwood, for example, is a member of my sorority from uni. Dolly Parton...well, she is a treasure beyond measure. And women like Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert can get me up and - yikes - dancing.

I also love Queer Eye, not just because the guys are fab and so entertaining but also because their message is so important. Love is love and you have to start with yourself...or if you can't, allow others to show you why you are worth that love. So when Miranda Lambert did this song for the last episode of QE S6...y'all. Too much. Y'all means ALL. Enjoy.

No lyrics this week because THE WORDS ARE ON THE SCREEN THE WHOLE TIME.  Y'all. ❤