My Internet was down for many hours, but now it’s back and that right there makes everything splendid.

If you saw my quick post from yesterday — wow, gang. What great timing that was!

I discovered that I had $150 in rewards from my Medicare Supplemental Insurance. (And it was great timing because I had just paid the car payment, the car insurance, and the mortgage — so this was like “found money”.)

I had no clue how to use it, but soon discovered that one of the Dollar Stores about 7 minutes away, would honor those rewards. So I stopped in there before work, loaded up on about 3 weeks’ worth of cat food and cat litter, and it was totally FREE!!! (Yes, enough for 14 cats!!)

Yay!

(And I still have $100 left over!! Enough to go back and buy some new Christmas coffee mugs!! We shall see! God knows I need plenty more, I only have about 15 Christmas coffee mugs already!!)

And luckily for the cats, that particular Dollar Store sells all the types of cat food my cats love. (Yay!) (The Dollar Store here in the village only carries 2 brands….)

And then after work, I stopped in at Aldi’s and got about a month’s worth of non-perishables for me, along with my usual groceries — that was not free. But at least I’m prepared in case anything gets seriously wonky down there in DC… I guess we will find out.

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Before I forget!!!!

The eBook edition of my 2011 novel, Twilight of the Immortal, will be FREE to download, starting tomorrow and running through Thursday, Nov. 12th!!

This book has generally gotten 5-star reviews (a couple of readers did not like the fact that I portray Rudolph Valentino as bisexual, but I’m telling you, gang, I researched that novel for 10 years before writing it, and I include a complete bibliography. I did not make that stuff up.)

Anyway– here’s one of the reviews from way back when my novel first came out:

“Unlike her previous books, this is NOT erotica! This is a serious novel that should be enjoyed by the general public. The story is captivating. The characters are very strong and the book is hard to put down.”

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Okay, gang.

I gotta plug another great all-natural product!!

This is another product from Keys — a really great company for all-natural health & beauty products. I use a lot of their products, but I only started using this Wednesday night and I am stunned by how great it is!

I was having some non-stop itching around my ankles, from back when the cats had gotten fleas. The cats were no longer scratching at all, the fleas were gone, but I couldn’t get the flea bites to stop itching.

This stuff took care of it instantly, and by last night, the bites and the scars were already gone. It healed everything that quickly.

You cannot buy this on Amazon. You can buy it at health & wellness stores, or directly from Keys.

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Okay.

By mid-afternoon yesterday, Nick Cave finally made his announcement and I was totally heartbroken, gang.

He’s doing another “In Conversation” Tour, here in the US, in Spring 2027, but he’s not coming anywhere near Ohio.

I cannot believe that I will miss the tour, gang. It was so incredible the last time he did one like this. (That time I saw him, twice, in NYC. But without some sort of weird windfall, I can’t afford to travel like that anymore — planes, hotels, meals, tickets to the show, etc.)

Visit HERE to see which cities he’ll be in that are nowhere near Ohio, and to register for pre-sale tickets.

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But here’s this!

I used to have this photo taped to my wall in my bedroom on E.12th Street in NYC. I loved it! (And still do.)

Keith! 1988, NYC. (Photo by Albert Watson)

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I thought this was just beautiful.

From former Bad Seed/Boys Next Door/The Birthday Party, Mick Harvey, yesterday.

And here’s this, while we’re at it. “Wildworld” by The Birthday Party.

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And as time marches inexorably onward–

Here’s Bad Seed Warren Ellis with his other band, The Dirty Three, in Berlin the other night!

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And a new book is coming from Esther (and Jerry) Hicks! It’s been a long time since they had a new book out.

The Art of Allowing: You Get What You Think About Whether You Want it Or Not (Book Trailer– 8 mins):

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And this was interesting. Good history lesson, if this is new to you.

I listened to it while doing yoga the other day.

From Bart Ehrman’s “Misquoting Jesus” podcast — Early Christians Were Jews. Then 70 CE Changed Everything (46 mins):

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And that is it for today.

Today starts my new 3-days off-in-a-row schedule at work. (I will have Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays off, three times a month.)

I’m hoping to get the flash fiction piece edited and turned in to Alex S. Johnson today, hopefully for inclusion in the Bill Burroughs tribute anthology.

And then I will begin a new short piece for another anthology that Alex S. Johnson sent out a Call for Submissions for this morning: RIOT PINK: An Alphabet Rights Anthology. (That one will be a more personal, nonfiction piece.)

Meanwhile–

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang. Stay safe.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

For some reason, this broke my heart a little bit.

I had gone back to bed with my cup o’ joe this morning, waiting for the Internet to be restored. And then I switched on the Oldies FM radio station on the retro boombox next to my bed–

And this song from yesteryear came on! Wow, did it take me back to my wee bonny girlhood. (If God came to me on my deathbed and asked if I’d like to live my life all over again, I would definitely, without hesitating, say, “No, not even for a minute, but the music was really good.”)

Elton John, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” 1973. Enjoy, gang.