A Saturday off in the Hinterlands!!

February 7, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

When was the last time I had a Saturday off where I didn’t actually have to do anything at all, but write???

It feels really great, gang.

And I finally had a chance to chat with Sandra yesterday afternoon. She’s been in NYC this past week, moving into a friend’s apartment so that she doesn’t have to stay in so many hotels. Her primary home, with her husband, is in Rhinebeck, NY, about an hour’s train ride up the Hudson. And she’s having to be in NYC a lot right now.

Oh! Before I forget.

If you have the BET+ streamer channel, Sandra has a special guest role on a 2-part episode of “The Ms. Pat Show” sometime next week. It promises to be excellent!!

Anyway.

We had a good chat. And we have both signed off on the synopsis (yay!), so today I begin working on the 2 character breakdowns/arcs for our TV project.

Ever closer to turning it in, gang!!

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Before I forget–

Last night, I started listening to a free audiobook of James Joyce’s 1916 novel, A Portrait of the Artist as A Young Man.

I first read this book back in 1982 and absolutely loved it. I became a diehard Joyce fan from then on.

But as I was listening to the audiobook last night, I found it incredibly peculiar that I could very clearly remember reading the book, and how much I loved it, and where I lived at the time (W.45th Street) and where I worked and who I worked with and I even recalled reading the book while standing in line at the bank and I recalled that a lot of my co-workers were also in line at the bank so it must have been payday–

Anyway, I remembered all that stuff, but I had no memory of what the book was about anymore!! I found that so weird.

And then also, early in the book, one of my favorite lines ever — well, I still knew the line by heart but I had forgotten it had come from that book! (“one time it would come because the earth moved round always.”)

I remembered perfectly lying on my bed in the afternoon and reading “a book” and then reading that line and stopping dead in my tracks. I was so moved by that line that I immediately put down the book and copied the line in the front of my journal, then went back to reading the book!

I remembered all of that stuff, but I had not remembered which book it had come from.

Anyway. James Joyce. Wow. He was definitely a big influence on me, gang.

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And Dennis sent me this yesterday! In honor of the upcoming Super Bowl and my love for Tom Petty —

In Remembrance of Tom Petty: Super Bowl XLII Halftime Show – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (12 mins):

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If you are not aware of the Nag Hammadi Library —

It is “a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945.” There were 52 texts discovered, and they date to around the mid-2nd century AD.

The religious texts, essentially, became illegal after the New Testament was established, so it is assumed these 52 texts were buried to keep them safe.

The texts, collectively, are also considered “the secret teachings of Jesus”. The “Gospel of Thomas” is probably the most well known one.

Here is a free audiobook on YouTube but it had a lot of commercials.

The Gospel of Thomas Full Audiobook (No Commentary) (38 mins):

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And here’s this!

The earliest known photo of Neal Cassidy, from the Allen Ginsberg Instagram page:

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And here’s this!!

If you don’t know who these two are, that’s David Cassidy (R) and Danny Bonaduce (L) from “The Partridge Family” TV show, which was super popular in the early 1970s (I never missed a show and I had all their albums!!):

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And I thought that this was really interesting.

I’d never heard of her before, and I was sort of thinking that gender surgeries didn’t start happening until the early 1950s (in Europe).

The anniversary of her death was yesterday.

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And here’s one more great photo of Nick Cave from the Wild God Australia/New Zealand tour, but I don’t know from which city:

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And I’m thinking that is it for today, gang! I’m gonna get to work now.

Enjoy my Saturday off, wherever you are in the world!!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Yes, I leave you with one more!

From the Special Deluxe Re-issue of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album, Long After Dark, Disc 2.

This song is one of the songs that did not appear on the original album. I really like it.

“Never Be You”. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1982. Enjoy, gang!!

“Never Be You”

Take a look at my eyes
It’s been a long, long time
I used to feel so strong
When I knew you were mine

But since you let me down
I’m hard to be around
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
She could never be you
She could never be you

Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you

I guess it all comes around
Baby, please don’t cry
Love is gonna be a little reckless
Oh, lovers all have to stand trial

But since you let me go
There’s nothing going on
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
She could never be you
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you

Yeah, she knows the rules
She plays the part
But she only has me
She don’t have my heart

She could never be you
She could never be you

So take a look at my eyes
No, you can’t hide the truth
No, you don’t get by on pride
It’ll run over you

But since you let me down
I’m hard to be around
I don’t know what I’m gonna do
She could never be you
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you
Uh-uh, uh-uh, huh
She could never be you

c – 1982 Tom Petty, Benmont Tench

Yes!! To Town I Go!!

February 6, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

And yes, it is snowing again!

But the plumbers were here until the middle of the afternoon yesterday, and I just didn’t feel up to the 30-mile trek to town and back for the groceries after that.

So I stayed at home and did yoga, and listened to the rest of James Tabor’s private zoom meeting with the Tabor Research Group, then made dinner and had a really nice evening.

I absolutely LOVE the new fixtures on the upstairs shower and on the kitchen sink, gang!! (I’m guessing I also love the updated pipes but I can’t really see those…) The plumbers did a great job.

And this also means that I can once again take a bath in that upstairs bathroom! The tub spigot hasn’t worked in several years; only the shower head worked upstairs. But that upstairs bathtub is from the late 1940s and is HUGE!! Which means my long legs can actually fit in there! So I’m really excited about being able to take baths again!

ME, soon!!

OOPS! Of course, I meant: ME, soon!! (I always forget that I’m actually glamorous when I’m in the bathtub.)

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Okay!

So today will be my first day out since Sunday. Even with the snow, it’ll be nice to get out of the house.

I’m planning on stopping HERE first — my favorite Health & Wellness Center! (And this means I’ll actually get to see some of my friends today, too!) (They work there.)

And then it’s off to this place, to buy more cat food than you can possibly imagine!

And with any luck, I’ll be leaving there singing this!! (We shall see. I have no idea if ‘Wild Thing’ works there on Fridays or not…)

And then I’ll swing by the grocery store for some actual food. And then head back home and probably not leave the house again until I head out to see my clients on Tuesday! (When, sadly, my vacation will be over.) (Although I have to say I have actually been missing my favorite 95-year-old Japanese Man. I think about him a lot and I hope it’s going okay with him and the other caregiver.)

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A quick word about the James Tabor private research group (mentioned above).

Assuming all is well, war-wise, he is planning to resume his guided trips to Jerusalem in mid-May. The trip goes to certain Jesus-related archeological sites that James Tabor has personally excavated.

It has always been my dream to go on one of these specific trips — the “Tracking Jesus” tour. With James Tabor. But I just don’t know if I can afford it by May.

There is also a weekend conference for the Tabor Research Group in North Carolina in late September that I am absolutely going to — more archeological stuff about Jesus, John the Baptist, etc. So I am finally going to meet James Tabor this year. (And maybe even Ross K. Nichols, too. There’s talk that he might be coming to the conference, as well. I don’t know.)

But I really want to do that Jerusalem trip, so we’ll see how much it actually costs once he opens up the trip for reservations.

But I know I also have to be available to go to NYC with Sandra for the TV project. Obviously that has to come first, and I can actually afford to go to NYC.

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Anyway!

A guy I interact with on Instagram sent me a photo of the new Tom Petty Valentine early this morning, so I told him I’m accepting it as an actual Valentine!! (I’m guessing it’s the closest thing I will get to a Valentine, but it works for me!)

And speaking of Valentine’s Day…

Over at Nick Cave’s Cave Things, they are having a Valentine’s Day Sale. Up to 20% off certain items. Including, but not limited to, THIS!!

Only $6 after the discount! (Plus something like $24 in US shipping)

The complete Cave Things Valentine’s Collection is HERE.

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In a really wonderful surprise–

Yesterday afternoon, Parisian Phoenix Publishing officially released the cover art for my upcoming novel on social media!

So now I can officially share the cover art, too — which, as you know, I just love:

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And here’s this!

Johnny Depp posted an announcement today about his latest artwork with Castle Fine Art, “Accidents & Underdogs 2026“.

Limited Editions are for sale. And if you order any artwork before 8AM GMT on February 9th, you get a complimentary and signed ‘A Bunch of Stuff’ book (from the “A Bunch of Stuff” exhibit that Wayne & I saw in NYC, which was incredible.)

If you scroll down this page, there is a brief overview about Johnny himself, but it does not mention if he still smokes or not.

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Here’s this!

Yesterday was William Burroughs’ heavenly birthday. There were tons of photos of him on Instagram with various famous folks, but this one, where he’s all by himself, was my favorite — taken by Allen Ginsburg in NYC, 1981:

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And here’s this!!

Keith and Ronnie, smoking and relaxing in Argentina in 1998! (You have to seriously enlarge the photo — which I did– to ensure that they are both, indeed, smoking.)

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And I’ve posted this before, but here it is again!

I just love how Keith looks when he’s looking at Uschi!! (His expression helps my mind fill in the more private interactions that weren’t photographed.)

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And another photo from Keith’s recent birthday, back on December 18th 2025:

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And, yes, the Bad Seeds’ Wild God Tour of Australia & New Zealand is over!

And, no, I am not going to start posting about the Bad Seeds’ upcoming tour of the UK & Europe, which starts in June and you can buy tickets here…

I did find this beautiful photo this morning, though. Nick Cave relaxing, or shopping, or maybe both, in Toorak Village — a commercial shopping district that is not too far from Melbourne. (Yes, I had to google that.)

I’m guessing that Nick is no longer standing right there, but apparently, if you want to go find out, Toorak Village is “easily reached via the No. 58 tram (stop 132) from Melbourne” !

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And that is it for today!!

I’m going to get all my arctic gear on now and head to town!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Last night’s listening-music, in bed by candlelight!!

Yesterday was JD King‘s birthday!

In honor of that, I listened to The Olms‘ self-titled first album, from 2013, and had a splendid end of my evening.

Here’s “Someone Else’s Girl” from that album. Enjoy, gang!!

Me!!! Trying to figure out what time it is in New Zealand right now!!

February 5, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Wow, it’s something like eighteen hours ahead of us over there.

But what this means is that the first of two Bad Seeds shows in Wellington, NZ, is long over and there are already tons of photos getting posted. (They are down below.) (Well, technically, I guess New Zealand itself is “down below” but that’s not what I meant.)

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Anyway!!

I’m waiting on the plumber, which means I’ve got the laptop set up at the kitchen table right now, and two bedrooms upstairs are filled to the brim with cats.

Kon Tiki and Lulabelle are sleeping quietly in the dining room and family room, respectively. It’s a lot easier for me to keep an eye on each of them. The other cats are extremely wily and frisky.

The main problem is that I don’t want any of the cats to find out that this old house has a very scary 125-year-old unfinished basement with several crawl spaces leading under the house.

This would utterly delight the curious, adventurous cats. And if any of them got down there, I might never be able to find them again. It’s crazy down there.

It looks exactly like this!!!

Okay, well, no. It doesn’t look exactly like that. But you get the idea.

Anyway.

Since the main water thingies are down in the basement, the plumber will have to go up & down to turn it off & on, keeping the door open. (And hopefully not killing himself on my old collapsing stairs!!)

My main cats — the ones that have belonged to me for 14 years — have lived in this house for almost 8 years now and have no idea that this house has a basement.

That’s how ~~neurotic~~ efficient I’ve been!!

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Okay.

I’m not sure what today will bring. I am sort of thinking I’m gonna make a run to town today to do the grocery shopping. And then, depending on what time I get back home, maybe work with Sandra over the phone.

It all sort of depends on how long it takes the plumber to get everything done.

Meanwhile….

Here’s this!

Good news!! It looks like Phyllis Stein is going to continue posting to Instagram!! Yay!

(BTW, if you do not know who Phyllis Stein is, this is a great interview with her in Punk Globe.)

Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of Lux Interior. Lux was awesome. And not just because he was from Ohio!! But more because he was co-founder of The Cramps. The psychobilly legends!! (If you were lucky enough to ever see The Cramps onstage, you will never forget their amazing energy.) (I was lucky enough to see them at The Ritz in NYC!) RIP, Lux.

And here’s this!!! I always loved their really unexpected version of this old Black Southern folk song. The Cramps, “Shortnin’ Bread”, from Stay Sick, 1990:

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And here’s this.

Phyllis Stein was also life-partners with Jerry Nolan, drummer of the New York Dolls and Johnny Thunders’ band The Heartbreakers, from the mid-80s until he died in 1992.

Yesterday, she posted a photo of her bedroom shrine where she honors the memories of all those she knew, loved, and worked with who have passed on. Jerry’s photo is the larger one there on the right.

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Okay.

And now some Nick Cave stuff!

This was the first post my wee bonny eyes saw this morning on Instagram when I woke at 3:37AM.

From the final show in Melbourne, with an added comment from Mick Harvey (!!) (one of the original Bad Seeds):

And today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Murder Ballads!! What a great record.

Even though “Where the Wild Roses Grow” is probably the best known song on the record, it has some really, really great songs on it. Here’s one that I really love “Crow Jane”:

And then shortly after I had my breakfast, the photos from the Wellington show began to pour in!! I had to stop taking screenshots because there were too many photos.

But here’s Nick with his biggest fan in New Zealand!

And here are a couple from church…

Another great photo from the show–

And here’s the setlist:

The whole tour just seems like it has been incredible, gang. And it always looks like the band has been having such a great time.

Tonight (?) is night 2 in Wellington, and then the tour is over. You can still buy tickets for the final show HERE. (Although judging by the time zone difference, it may have already ended by now?! I can’t figure it out!)

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Well, on that note!

The plumbers are here and stuff is getting done!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya.

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I leave you once again with the Special Deluxe Re-issue of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album, Long After Dark.

When this album first came out, I was married to Chong and living in the Camelot Bldg. on W.45th & 8th Ave off of Times Square in NYC. This song was my favorite on the album, back then. I felt like it spoke to me personally in those years.

And all these decades later, I think it’s safe to say that I took Tom’s advice. Well, as best I could, without knowing him personally.

“A Wasted Life,” 1982. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Enjoy, gang.

“A Wasted Life”

I know you’re walking down a lonely street
I know you can’t get out of the heat
Baby, it’s alright, don’t have a wasted life
I know you have to feel a little used up
And no one can give you enough
Baby, hold on tight, don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much
Don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much
Don’t have a wasted life
Don’t have a wasted life

They give it to you from the time you’re born
You keep trying to make one more score
Baby, alright, you got to stand and fight
So when you’re lonely and you feel let down
You can call me, I’ll come around and treat you nice
Don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much
Don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much

They give it to you from the time you’re born
Someone’s got to put the pressure on
Baby, alright, you got to stand and fight
So when you’re lonely and you feel let down
You can call me, I’ll come around and treat you nice
Don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much
Don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much
Don’t have a wasted life
I love you too much
Don’t have a wasted life
Don’t have a wasted life

c – 1982 Tom Petty

Yay!! Finally!!

February 4, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes! Day 3 and I finally feel like I’m on my vacation!

Although it actually looks like this:

OOPS!!! Who put that there??!! I meant it looks like THIS:

Yes. That. My vacation looks like that. (But without the NYC skyline outside my window…) (And well, I upgraded from a typewriter a long time ago.)

But you know — when I was in my teens, we had an electric typewriter in the house. But I didn’t get my very first electric typewriter, that was all mine, that I bought with my own money in a pawn shop on 8th Avenue in NYC, until, well, I lived on 8th Avenue in NYC.

I was just thrilled, gang. My very own electric typewriter!!

In fact, here is a photo of my best friend in the world, Paul Martin (who died from AIDS in 1999), sitting at that very electric typewriter, pretending to be me! He was visiting me and Chong in late 1981, shortly after we got married:

I still sit at that same desk — it was a wedding gift to me from Chong (45 years ago!!). But the view I have now definitely does not look out over 8th Avenue & W.45th Street…

A gay hustler bar was directly across the street from us back then. On my trip to NYC in November of 2024, I noticed that the hustler bar had been torn down.

Anyway! Once again! The Camelot Building, where Chong & I lived for the first two years of our marriage:

The Camelot Bldg. 8th Ave & W. 45th Street

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All righty!!

I got great work done on the synopsis yesterday, gang. Waiting to hear back from Sandra but I think the synopsis might actually be finished!! We shall see!!!

Then we move on to the 2 primary character breakdowns, and quick summaries of the first 2 episodes and send it off to the Producer gal who awaits it in Atlanta.

Yay.

Then I did yoga, listened to a private Zoom session with James Tabor’s Research Group, had a sort of quiet dinner — watched yet another rerun of “Poirot”, but KonTiki suddenly got very restless again and wouldn’t stop pacing for the remainder of my evening.

But other than that, I finally started to calm down. To relax. Meaning, relax after spending the last 17 months as a part-time caregiver who was also still trying to be a writer…

And I slept great.

And even though it’s incredibly cold again here today, at least it’s really sunny. And I have absolutely nothing on my schedule that I absolutely have to attend to, so today I can choose what I want to focus on — and that is the part that feels like vacation.

Yay. Yay. And yay!

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Okay.

Chuck Negron, who was known primarily from the hugely famous Top 40 rock group, Three Dog Night, passed away on Monday.

If you’re too young to know who Three Dog Night were, this was probably their hugest hit ever, “Joy to the World”, from 1970:

However. As a wee bonny 11-year-old, listening to the Top 40 radio and to records in my room, this was probably my personal favorite Three Dog Night song — “Never Been to Spain”, from 1971. I loved this whole album:

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And here’s this.

No photo credit, and no description of any kind, but it’s Rowland S. Howard — another Melbourne, Australia connection:

And here’s the song of his that they uploaded with the photo! “Dead Radio” from Teenage Snuff Film, 1999:

And here is likely his most well-remembered song, ever (he passed away in 2009), “Shivers” by the Boys Next Door, featuring the most unbelievably gorgeous black hair and blue eyes — and voice — of Nick Cave:

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Switching gears…

James Tabor uploaded this recent lecture yesterday. About the Lost Mary — the historical mother of Jesus.

Tabor Lecture 28th BAS Bible and Archaeology Fest 2025 (48 mins):

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And here’s this!

George Vjestica, the guitar player for the Bad Seeds, posted these 2 photos from the Australian tour this morning!

And TOMORROW, the 2 shows in Wellington. New Zealand, begin and then the tour is over, gang. But you can still buy tickets HERE!

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And I think that’s it for now!

I’m going to get another Cup o’ Joe and get this fabulous Day 3 of vacation underway!

I will likely be late uploading my post tomorrow, since the plumber is coming at 9:30 tomorrow morning. But I will definitely post eventually!

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

I am currently listening to Disc 2 of the special re-issue edition of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album, Long After Dark. The Special Edition came out in 2024.

Disc 2 is filled with alternate takes of songs on the album and songs that were recorded at the same time but were never put on the album.

Disc 2 is phenomenally great. (For instance, it contains their version of “Wild Thing” which you know I absolutely LOVE!)

But for today, here’s this! “One On One”. I find the song extremely interesting. The lyrics, especially, I mean. Okay. Enjoy, gang!

“One On One”

It was a rough day, a rough town
All alone, coming down
I’m all ice, I’m so low
Somehow you know

I’m gonna get you
One on One
I’m gonna get you
One on One

Four weeks, no light
So asleep but I’m so wired
Sundown, day gone
Somehow you know

I’m gonna get you
One on One
I’m gonna get you
One on One

I know you’ve had your fill of desperateness
But please place me above suspicion
Why must you keep taking on this low profile
I’m just trying to give you my heart
Nothing else matters
You know baby
I’m just trying to give you my heart

I’m gonna get you
One on One
I’m gonna get you
One on One

c – 1982 Tom Petty, Mike Campbell

What A Relief!

February 3, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Sorry I’m late, but I had the phone call with Technica Editorial Services this morning. And it went great.

Everything has become manageable in my life again, gang! Yay.

And the rates, in my opinion, are very reasonable.

Before I forget — since Half-Moon Bride is included in the collection A Man in Her Arms & Other Stories, and since it is a long short story and not even really a novelette and is difficult to price, I’ve decided that I will no longer be selling it as a stand-alone title.

So that one is not coming back as an eBook, but everything else will get reformatted and back in circulation soon.

Yay. What a relief.

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This will probably be a short post because I have to get back to work on the TV synopsis here and the day is half-over already.

So, here’s this!

Phyllis Stein came back to Instagram yesterday, but just for a moment. But, as you can guess, her post was bittersweet and it made my wee bonny heart swoon.

David Johansen, remembered at the Grammy Awards:

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And the Mavericks had a similar post about Raul Malo:

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I thought this was fantastic.

I had no idea Langston Hughes, a favorite poet of mine, had basically grown up in Cleveland!!

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And here’s this!!

I love the outfit!!

Dave Dudley was a Country singer, best known for truck-driving anthems:

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And from Ross K. Nichols Sunday School class this past Sunday:

“The Hebrew Book of the Dead explores what the Hebrew Bible reveals about death, the dead, and, if anything, what lies beyond the grave.”

The Hebrew Book of the Dead (1hr 30 mins):

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And at night, I’m listening to this free audiobook now — maybe my favorite of the Kerouac audiobooks I’ve listened to so far (my 5th in the past month).

Desolation Angels — read by Andy Marin:

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And last but definitely not least!

I’m not sure which cities these great photos of Nick Cave are from, but it’s somewhere in Australia!!

Tickets are still available for the shows in Wellington, New Zealand, Feb. 5th & 6th. You can buy tickets here!

After that, the tour is over!!

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All right. I’m gonna get started around here.

I hope you are having a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

Yesterday was the anniversary of musician, composer, filmmaker Ivan Král’s death.

From Patti Smith Group’s album Wave, a song co-written by their bass player Ivan Král. The classic “Dancing Barefoot.” 1979. Enjoy, gang.

“Happy” is in the eye of the beholder!

February 2, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

All signs point to a high probability of the Deep State somehow infiltrating the humble burrow of Punxsutawney Phil today.

This morning, he proclaimed SIX MORE WEEKS of this hellish winter!! And it is really unlike Phil to vex us to this degree. I suspect ~~fowl~~ foul play.

Meanwhile, though…

WOW!

This is a photo of the full moon as it looked over in Indiana, but last evening, when I was driving home from my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, as soon as I approached Muskingum County on the highway, the full moon rising over the tops of the far off trees on the eastern horizon looked just like this and it was truly breathtaking, gang.

I hope you had an equally spectacular view, wherever you were last evening!

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Yes, it’s true.

Even though it’s probably really hard for you to believe.

For the first time in about 20 years (seriously), I have 8 days set aside with nothing to do but ~~vacuum~~ sit at my desk and WRITE!! And it starts today!!

And while I am a wee bit wistful about not taking any of this time off to go to NYC, all I have to do is look at the TON of snow they have there, too, right now, and I quickly adjust!

I honestly can’t believe that I don’t have anything to do which involves driving to the next county for the next 8 days. I can’t really even process it.

And the even better news!

The plumber texted me last night and moved his appointment from today to Thursday morning.

If you saw my post yesterday — I was really stressing out about his coming here this morning because my house is a mess. Now I can take my time and get it tidy before he gets here on Thursday.

Me and some guy watching TV in my tidy house in Crazeysburg. I don’t recall who took the photo. Probably Alexa.

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First on the list of things to tackle (today, in fact) is completing the one-page synopsis for the TV project that Sandra and I are developing. (A 30-minute drama for cable TV.)

Tomorrow morning, I have the phone chat regarding reformatting my eBooks. We’ll see what sort of tidal wave of work that brings.

Then I want to tackle my contribution to the tribute anthology honoring the late M. Christian.

Then I will likely go back to the TV project for the remainder of my days off, but we’ll see. As loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, I have a TON of half-finished, or even half-started, projects on my desk right now.

But just having this psychological freedom — truly, I can barely even process it.

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If you are a Creative in the US, you might want to sign this petition. It came over today by way of the Copyright Alliance:

“Stealing isn’t Innovation”

It “stresses that the future of innovation, including artificial intelligence innovation, should not be based on unlicensed exploitation and theft of creative works. The campaign states that, ‘Artists, writers, and creators of all kinds are banding together with a simple message: Stealing our work is not innovation. It’s not progress. It’s theft—plain and simple.’…” [You can read and sign it HERE]

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Okay.

Here’s this!

My beloved Cleveland!!

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And here’s this.

The poet Gary Snyder. Photo by Allen Ginsberg, 1991:

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Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in Paris, 1965!!

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And now the Nick Cave avalanche!!

Honestly, there were so many great photos from the Melbourne shows that I can only post a couple more here.

Well, first, my favorite, but it was from Brisbane:

Back to Melbourne…

And there are still tickets available for the Wellington shows, Feb 5th & 6th (except for Paul in New Zealand — and I think you actually have to prove that you are NOT Paul, not sure, though). Buy tickets HERE!

And then the tour is over, gang!

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All righty.

I guess I’m gonna get this day off underway!!

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

I know I posted this recently, but this is the song I was listening to in my car last evening, when I came down the hill and around the bend and saw that incredible full moon.

It was so perfect.

Elvis, singing “Amazing Grace.” Enjoy, gang.

Another Snow-filled Sunday in the Hinterlands!

February 1, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

And I can guarantee you, gang, I am really, really TIRED of this fucking snow.

Of course, it’s not just snow, it was truckloads of snow dumped on us, and now temperatures still hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit every day, so nothing is melting. It makes every shift I go to, that much more difficult.

And of course I stress out about all the animals and birds that need to be fed, etc., etc. ( I currently have 3 additional cats in the house, including Kon Tiki, who wishes to be outside. If you’re doing the math, that equals 796 cats currently indoors and happy as clams except for one…)

But anyway.

Today, I go back to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, however, the shift got moved to the afternoon, so this means I’m gonna be home from there by 6PM this evening and then my 8-DAY stay-at-home-and-write VACATION begins!!!

However….

The plumber called yesterday and wants to try to come Monday and do his part of the home improvement work. Which, normally, would be great.

But since I’ve had a 6-shift week this week, I have had no time to vacuum up cat hair and cat litter yet, and you know how that makes me crazy…

We’ll see how it goes. I might be able to vacuum before I leave for today’s shift, even though I’m already fucking exhausted…

I still think he’s going to have a lot of trouble getting his truck up over the curb in front of my house because the snow is really deep. But it’s his choice.

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Okay.

Well, yesterday, I discovered I am immortalized in the Grokipedia.

It was absolutely staggering. I certainly appreciate whoever it was who decided I should be in there. But it is overwhelming, the amount of info the AI gathered on my life and my career.

But I have to say, gang, that it is 99% accurate. And the inaccuracies are very, very minor. They involve some incidental details, but everything else just made my jaw drop.

I guess I can die now, though, so that’s a relief. Between Wikipedia, Grokipedia, the Internet Archive, and my music demos on YouTube — everyone who is interested will know, for unending millennia to come, that I did in fact live.

So, yay.

Me, when I was alive — and looked a lot like a guy, and there was no snow.

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All right.

I thought this was very cool, but you have to sign up for this newsletter, so I won’t quote too much of it.

Today is St. Brigid’s Day in Ireland. If you are interested in the history of all things “Irish Ancestors” you can visit & sign up for:

A Letter From Ireland

Today, he went into great detail about the Irish name “Brigid” and he said, in part:

“The name comes from the Old Irish “Brighid”, meaning “the exalted one” or “the high one.” Long before Christianity reached Ireland, Brigid (the more usual spelling here in Ireland) was the name of a powerful pre-Christian goddess – associated with poetry, healing, fertility, and smith-craft, and said to be a daughter of King Dagda.” [full article here]

As you probably know by now, one of my great-great-grandfathers came over from Ireland. (And he became a trapper and married a woman from the Black Foot tribal nation.)

And my best friend in the world, Valerie from Brooklyn, is totally Irish, on all sides.

And we recently discovered that our distant ancestors all came from County Cork! Which probably explains SO MUCH! We’ve likely been “getting our Irish up” together for hundreds & hundreds of years!

Back in the days when she and I weren’t really old and didn’t live 500 miles apart, we got up to absolutely no good at all times and we had a fucking blast!

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Since I had to skip yesterday’s post, I have a ton of “here’s this’s” for today! So, in no particular order —

Here’s this!

Another great new publicity photo posted by Sandra on Instagram (If you’re new to the blog, Sandra is my partner in all writing-projects-theatrical):

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And here’s this!

Tom Petty was such a fighter! I loved him so much (and as you might know, he WON that case against his record label in 1979):

And here’s this, while we’re at it! Proof that he WON that battle! His huge hit, now a classic, “Refugee” from Damn the Torpedoes:

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And here’s this!

Keith with a white guitar in Boston in 1988!! (Not smoking, but smiling anyway!)

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As far as I know, these are the first photos from Tim Burton’s upcoming version of “A Christmas Carol” starring the always glamorous Johnny Depp!

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Okay.

A bunch of Nick Cave stuff!

The other day, Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File explaining why they finally let a lowly GIRL into the Bad Seeds!! He explained, in part:

“…Carly is, as you have pointed out, Michael, astonishingly talented. She walked into The Bad Seeds, this grizzled snake pit of unreconstructed masculinity, and blew everyone away, changing the very weather of the band almost overnight. She brought with her not just her immense ability, but also a kind of joy, a loveliness of manner, all laughter and delight, along with a long-overdue dose of female energy. We love her….”

You can read it in full here.

Nick onstage with Carly Paradis, photo by Andrew Trute

And it truly looks like the Melbourne shows were off the charts. Not just for the audiences, but for the band members, as well. (Melbourne is essentially Nick’s hometown.)

So here’s a big bunch of photos:

I’m guessing the crowd went particularly crazy for “Shivers” and “O Wow O Wow” in the encore, since both songs have deep Melbourne connections:

And there are still tickets available (for everyone except Paul) in New Zealand for the upcoming Wellington Shows!! February 5th and 6th. Buy tickets HERE.

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And I leave you with that!

By the time you see me here again, I will be on vacation, baby!!

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

I really leave you with this.

On Friday, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man gave me a beautiful gift.

It was a small, zippered nylon carrying case, filled with the CDs he used to play back in the days when he could still drive a car.

Can you believe that??!! He knows I love all kinds of music, so he wanted me to have it. I was so touched.

It’s mostly classical music CDS, but also Julio Iglesias, a bunch of “Fabulous Fifties” CDs, and also THIS!!!!

Vol. 1 of Elvis singing gospel songs!

I played that one in my retro boombox next to my bed, as I laid in the dark this morning, my cup of coffee always within reach.

That 95-year-old Japanese man and I were absolutely destined to meet in this lifetime, gang.

So I leave you with this fantastic gem!! On this sunny but snow-filled Sunday morning!

“Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho”, by Elvis. It fucking rocks!! Enjoy, gang.

A quick break

January 31, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

No post today, gang. I have to work a double shift.

The Agency needs me to cover another shift this evening with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.

So I’m going to rest a little here before heading into town to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and get the day underway.

Have a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world! I’ll be back tomorrow. See ya! ☃️❄️💖

Me! Coffee! Snow! Off I Go!

January 30, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Although my supervisor is stopping over at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house today, so I might change my outfit before I head to town.

Not sure.

(My supervisor is dropping in for a quick Q&A, as she tries to gather info in order to prepare the caregiver who’s going to replace me while I’m on vacation next week, about how to try to take care of him without being tossed out of the house. Good luck with that.) (I mean it.)

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Before I forget!!!!

Sandra posted this to her Instagram account last night! One of her new publicity photos:

NO! She does not wear a wig!! Oops. I meant to say, she does not wear an inexpensive wig. She does indeed wear more wigs than you can possibly imagine, but generally, just one wig at a time.

But seriously, though. Doesn’t she look fantastic? I just love this photo.

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Okay.

Time is sort of “of the essence” for this one, gang.

If you want to send me this NEW Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Valentine, you still have time to get it to me by Valentine’s Day! If you hurry! (It is only about 20 bucks for a postcard, but it comes with a few other things… You can keep the other things and give them to someone else that you really care about a lot. I only want the postcard.) (Thanking you in advance!!) (Buy it HERE!)

(I would have said “other” affordable gifts (above), because “more” affordable gifts sounds like they have a selection of gifts that you can actually afford…)

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All righty!

Here’s this!

Keith, with either big hair or a low ceiling, or perhaps both!

And, as always!!

Keith, giving us good advice!! (FYI, gang, if Keith is doing anything, don’t try it at home…)

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And here’s this.

I used to love every photo from this photo shoot, gang, back when I was 12 (the photo shoot took place in 1967, though), but I never saw a photo from that shoot that was in color. Only B&W.

I don’t know if this is colorized, or what. But here’s Brian Jones, in color, in 1967:

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Okay. Well. Yesterday was great.

The guys at the Honda dealership looked over my Honda Civic Sport and recommended two things, both of which I had them do, and wow, was my car driving like a breeze when I left there, gang.

The car is only a year and a half old, so I wasn’t expecting there to be such a noticeable difference, but there was. (They changed the air filter and did some type of fuel injection thingie.)

Then I met my Q-following girlfriend from town over at Panera and we had a very nice lunch.

However. Wow, even though the food was good it was really salty. When I got home late yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t get enough water. So I’m thinking I won’t be going back there.

(Tequilaville here we come…)

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I am so excited about next week, gang, and getting 8 days to myself to work on the many projects I have going on!

Primarily the TV project at this point. But I am also eager to have that phone call regarding getting all my eBooks reformatted and back online.

This is the company I’m speaking to:

Technica Editorial Services, in case you’re interested:

“Technica Editorial is a full-service peer-review management and author support company. Our expert services include peer review management, copyediting, full production services, and submission systems support.”

I did have a brief email exchange with Draft2Digital the other day, and I got the FULL guidelines on what is and isn’t distributable for erotica these days, worldwide, and honestly gang, I just don’t think my books are as “nonconsensual” as it lists in the guidelines.

I think I just need to be extremely specific about what’s in my stories and what’s not.

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Okay.

Phil is allegedly doing a live tonight at 8PM Eastern time. He is allegedly going to have intel and not just stuff about his new AI project. Check here later to confirm.

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And as we speak!!

The first photos from tonight’s show in Melbourne!!

And I think these photos are from Brisbane but maybe from Sydney:

Tomorrow’s show in Melbourne is sold out. Sunday’s show still has tickets. You can buy them HERE.

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And now I’m gonna scoot!

Have a great Friday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

And let’s close with this today!

Oddly enough, this song came on the Oldies FM radio station on my retro boombox next to my bed, just as I turned it on this morning.

My first true hero from my wee bonny girlhood! (Yes! He fought for just about everything. And — Yes! They murdered him… Lesson learned.)

“Imagine,” John Lennon, 1971. Enjoy, gang.

Yes! It’s my day off! However….

January 29, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

So. It’s my day off, but I have to take my beloved (leased) Honda Civic Sport into town today for that yearly “let’s look it over and see how we can possibly make this fantastic car even better at almost no cost to you!!”

BUT!!!

After that’s done, my favorite Q-following friend in town and I are meeting for lunch! Yay!!

Nope.

We’re not going to Tequilaville.

This time, we’re going to Panera!!

And to this specific one! Because it’s very close to not only her house, but also the Honda dealership.

Recently, a client sent me out to pick her up some soups and sandwiches from this specific Panera. I hadn’t been to Panera in many years. Just walking in the door filled me with great memories of the one that used to be just down the street from my old house.

So I texted my favorite Q-following friend and asked her if she wanted to meet at Panera’s and she was all for it!!

So, even though it will be, literally, 17 degrees Fahrenheit out there, she still wants to meet for lunch, so it should be great fun!

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Okay.

The bad news first, gang.

Sadly, Phyllis Stein posted yesterday, that she was likely done posting to Instagram:

She’s only posted close to 6,000 posts, and usually each post contains several photos. All of them from her 70s & 80s glam/punk days. Mostly in NYC.

I’m not exactly sure why she thinks that’s enough.

She’s probably going to do something lame, like spend more time with her new grandbaby. Be here now, and let go of the past. Something weird like that.

I was, of course, heartbroken. But on we go.

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Meanwhile–

She posted this early yesterday.

David Johansen and his then-wife Cyrinda Foxe (they married for almost a year in 1977, when she left David to marry Steven Tyler, lead singer for Aerosmith):

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And here’s this!!

Honestly. I could look at this photo all day. I just love it.

Keith, smoking and looking pensive:

And this!

Keith, a handful of decades later, on a boat, wearing a Velvet Underground t-shirt!!

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A friend of mine in London — a writer, poet, archivist, biographer — Rehan Qayoom, tagged me on Instagram yesterday with this lovely image!!

He had recently read the book and had very kind words to say:

(By the way, Freak Parade is only available in print right now. Until I fix everything and all the eBooks come back.)

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Okay. So.

Some really good news!!

From NewstreasonChannel17 — all about the Trump Accounts!! Launching this July 4th!!

“Listen very closely. Listen to just how much money is being donated by private individuals and companies to the Trump Account initiative.

“IMHO this is not just “benevolent” charity, this is the direction of massive amounts of assets to be given to this program.

‘When Trump Accounts officially launch on July 4th of this year, every parent will be able to activate their accounts and access the funds at TrumpAccounts.gov … On that glorious day, we also expect to have commitments from generous private individuals in ALL 50 states who will be making additional contributions for children in their own states.‘”

What a fantastic thing, gang. NESARA (publicly) begins.

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And here’s this!

A couple of photos from the Brisbane show:

The Melbourne shows start tomorrow, but only Sunday’s show still has tickets. You can buy one HERE!

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Okay.

This is excerpted from the James Tabor Zoom meeting that I missed on Sunday, but we can all listen now together!

James Tabor – Is There Archaeological Evidence for Earliest Christianity? (2 hrs):

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And now I gotta try to pay some bills before I have to leave for town.

Honestly, it is such a pretty day out there, even though it’s really cold. I’m looking forward to getting out there and having some fun with my gf!!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

From my playlist yeterday!

Yes! I honestly listen to this stuff. I just love the old Rudy Vallee songs. (Just listen to the opening of this number and tell me it doesn’t make you feel like dancing all over the room, even while driving your car!)

“Page Miss Glory”, Rudy Vallee, 1935!! Enjoy, gang.