Yesterday was long but not so terrible!

And it was made even longer by the fact that I had to get my groceries, etc., after my really long shift, because it was the only time I would be able to get to that part of town until next week.

But, anyway. It’s over and it wasn’t so terrible. Yay.

Today, I not only head back to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and most likely, take him to lunch here:

But also, as soon as I get back home, a local handyman is coming over to install bolts to both of my storage closet doors, because the cats are able to let themselves into both of these closets and they destroy everything.

I’ve been having to keep them closed with duct tape, which is really ugly. Plus, whenever I actually need to get into one of these closets (which is often), I have to deal with ripping off the duct tape, tearing paint off the door, and then reapplying more duct tape. So today will be really exciting for me! Not so much for the cats…

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Here’s this!

Keith! Twice!!

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Here are a couple of interesting videos. One short, one long:

From Ross K. Nichols:

“Could the same logic Singer applies to Huff’s Christian apologetic views be applied to Tovia Singer’s Jewish views? Are the views of these two men really so different after all? Dive in to discover how Huff and Singer stumble into a shared pitfall.”

What Do Wes Huff and Tovia Singer BOTH Get Wrong? (5 mins):

And one re-posted by James Tabor (from the BBC, 1962):

T.E. Lawrence 1888 – 1935 (1 hr):

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This was really great. Prime “young Tom Petty” attitude!! I loved this.

Originally on MTV, 1985.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Southern Accents documentary (30 mins):

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Here’s this–

Finally!! It will be opening in movie theaters in the US! (I’m guessing this will involve another 1-hour trip to the movie theater & back with my dear friend Kara!! We shall see!)

[To refresh your memory — Kara, in our hotel room, when we went to see Nick Cave & the Bad Sees, back in May.]

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And here’s this!

Remember when Nick Cave recently donated 2,000 books to charity? (I think, but I am not certain, that these books were merely the ones on his night table and he no longer had room for his coffee cup…) Anyway–

And while we’re at it–

Here’s just one of the MANY great songs on the Let Love In album from 1994, “Do You Love Me?” (I could probably listen to this song over and over and over and — oh, wait! I already have!!):

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And speaking of Nick Cave–

He sent out a very interesting Red Hand File yesterday, that mostly discussed his day. And cereal. He says, in part:

“…the first letter I see is yours, Sammie. “Check your privilege,” you say. I close my eyes, lean back, and do precisely that. I reflect on how music, which started as a hobby, became my calling- my avocation turned vocation- as love and need became intertwined, and how profound a privilege it was to be in this position. I think about all of it, my job, my friends, my family, and how it all could have been so different had fortune not been on my side – extraordinary luck, cosmic happenstance perhaps, the kindness and generosity of the world. I take none of this for granted, Sammie, and in the back of the cab my heart flows with gratitude….”

You can read it in full HERE.

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Okay, so on Monday — as far as “reading the novel over from page one to the end”– actually, Sandra called me, in need of an emergency “bio” update, for her upcoming theater performance in NYC at the end of October.

It took a couple of hours, and by the time I was done with it, I didn’t get to make much headway in proofing The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. I’m only 28 (!!) pages into it, but I have tomorrow off, so we shall see!

Meanwhile… if you are interested in Sandra’s amazing career!

Sandra Caldwell
Bio

“A true entertainer in every sense of the word…”  - NY Times
“A black trans woman of immense poise, beauty, and – pardon me, I can’t help it – charm…” – Variety
“A provocative entertainer combined with powerful vocal skills, Sandra Caldwell has it all…”   –Toronto Star

Sandra Caldwell is a celebrated African American actress, singer, and writer whose 45+ year career extends throughout the worlds of film, television, and theater.
 
Starting out as a jazz singer – her first love – she performed with top orchestras in some of the world’s finest venues, including the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, and the White House Jazz on the Lawn series. In her early days, she was a fixture in the café society set in numerous nightspots across the country, also hosting the radio show, Sunday Afternoons with Sandra Caldwell on Jazz FM91 in Toronto.

On television, Sandra has been seen in recurring roles in The Gilded Age (HBO, seasons 1/3; Dir. Deborah Kampeire), Fantasma (HBO; Dir. Julio Torres), as well as in High Maintenance, The Book of Negroes, 19-2, Soul Food, and, as a series regular, in Little Men. She had guest-starring roles in such hit shows as Law & Order: SVU and Rookie Blue. Sandra was a featured performer in many TV movies, including Good Fences with Whoopie Goldberg, and Disney’s The Cheetah Girls. 

Sandra’s film work includes The Jackie Shane Story (Dir. Michael Engle), Any Other Way (Bangor Films; Dir. Michael Mabbott), along with memorable work in past films, such as Milo & Millie, Murder at 1600, Shall We Dance, and Maya Angelou’s directorial debut, Down in the Delta.
 
In theater, Sandra appeared in the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Shubert Theater); the Original Workshop for Ragtime (Live Ent. Productions); the drama Coming Through Slaughter (Necessary Angel Theater, Toronto); and was nominated for a Dora Award, Canada’s highest theater award, for her work in Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (Sterling Productions, Toronto).

Notably, in 2017 in the NY Times, Sandra came out publicly as transgender while in rehearsals for her transgender leading role in the critically acclaimed "Charm" (MCC Theater).

Additionally, in 2020, she spoke candidly about transgender representation in the media, in the “enlightening and heartfelt” (- LA Times) Netflix documentary “Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen” (Dir. Sam Feder).

A bona fide heroine of today’s LGBTQ+ generation, Sandra’s long awaited self-penned, one-woman show, “The Guide to Being Fabulous”, a jazz musical that tells the real story of Sandra Caldwell’s unparalleled life, was presented, in 2023, by Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto.

From a young runaway, panhandling on the streets of DC, to the Moulin Rouge in Paris, to her role as Mama Morton in “Chicago” at the Stratford Festival (“4-Stars!” – Toronto Star), she has done it all and endured it all, without losing sight of her comedic timing, her turn of phrase, or her compassion.
 
Yes, an entertainer in every sense of the word; ladies and gentlemen, we give you…  Miss Sandra Caldwell

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And now, I guess I’ll scoot!

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!

Late-night listening music!

Yes, after my long day of caregiving, I practically went straight to bed and just hung out there, watching the rain outside the windows as the sun went down. I did a little French. But mostly I just laid there.

And then I listened to this, in the dark, over and over and over…

From Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Sins of My Youth”, from the album Hypnotic Eye, 2014.

So beautiful. Enjoy, gang.

“Sins Of My Youth”

You will find no wicked way in me
Look me over, you will see
You will find no weary change
I’m worn and wounded,
but still the same

Whoa……
Let me tell you the truth
I love you more
Than the sins of my youth

When the past gets up in your face
Memories slide out of place
All those things that were hidden away
Ain’t so bad in the light of day

Whoa……
Let me tell you the truth
I love you more
Than the sins of my youth

You say you love me
wish you liked me more
I’m no angel that’s for sure
Said you forgave me,
each time I was caught
But you still paint me as somethin’ I’m not

Whoa……
Let me tell you the truth
I love you more
Than the sins of my youth

I love you more
Than the sins of my youth

c – 2014 Tom Petty