Tag Archives: 1954 Powder Blue Pickup by Marilyn Jaye Lewis

So far, we are looking at a splendid day

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It’s not raining.

It’s not totally cloudy.

No wind.

Not too hot.

But really high humidity, so the AC is back on!

And the laundry is already underway.

And around noon, Rasha’s mom and her baby — and (!!) her baby’s daddy are stopping over to meet the cats and see the house… (Rasha is the cat I’m currently cat sitting until her mom can get her own apartment again.)

I think that’s too cool. That there might actually be some frisky young people around here while I’m in NYC. (God knows, this house hasn’t seen anything like that since before the scamdemic….)

Pre-scamdemic friskiness

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After the meet & greet and house tour, I’m planning to get more work done on those Caiaphas notes today, including a general outline for the play.

Honestly, I’m really hoping to have a good day here. I just feel so different from how I felt yesterday. The depression has lifted. And I feel really rested, too.

I had a really enjoyable time with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat yesterday, too, so that also helped pull me out of the doldrums.

Oh!

And the cell salts (also called “tissue salts” if you live in the UK) are really making some great progress with my eyes, so that is making me happy, too. (I’m taking #1, #3, #10 & #12.) (And an added bonus is that they’re also helping tame that free-floating anxiety stuff that was getting off the charts around here.)

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Wow, so Wayne’s WhatsApp texts today were incredibel. (Almost as incredible as how the word “incredible” is actually spelled!)

He took a “Tunnel Tour” over there in Vietnam!

The tunnels are leftover from the war and you can actually go down inside them — if you can fit and aren’t totally claustrophobic.

But first–

Wayne, in Vietnam earlier today, doing what the Lewis boys do best!!

And here are some photos from outside the tunnel. About the insides of the tunnels, Wayne said:

“Mind-shattering. Took me 2-3 minutes to duck walk 20 yards. The tunnels are only about 1-meter high. They were dug by hand at night. Different levels, hospital rooms, kitchens, mess halls, attack bunkers up top, bamboo ventilation tubes to lower levels.”

An exposed cross-section of a tunnel:

The 5’7″-tall guide in the entrance to the tunnel. The slash on the tree marked the tunnels entrance:

A ventilation tube hidden in a termite mound:

Wayne added, “God bless Don for what he must have endured.” (Don was my birth dad who was a Navy SEAL throughout the entire Vietnam War. )

Wayne went off to have dinner but he said he will tell me more details about the tunnels later.

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Okay!

Yesterday was apparently Waddy Wachtel‘s birthday, too! He turned 79!!

Birthday wishes to him from Keith yesterday:

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And here’s this!!

Some solid proof, if you ask me, that Johnny Depp was also heavily influenced by my 12-year-old Jewish girlfriend, Karen!!

(See previous posts recently about how Karen introduced me to Jack Daniels and smoking when we were 12…)

I think that one of his tattoos is dedicated to Karen, too, but I’m not 100% positive about that part.

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And, no, I haven’t had time to continue my scroll-through of the Kylie documentary on Netflix yet. (I’m pretty sure I will fast-forward through all the parts with Michael Hutchins because anything to do with him anymore makes me so sad.)

Mostly, I am looking for all the parts with Nick Cave.

And someone posted this lovely photo to Instagram last night, regarding having watched the Netflix doc. (I think that Nick and Kylie really adore each other so much — even now. They always look so freaking happy in photos together.)

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And I’m thinking that is it for today. Gonna get this day started here.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world (and if it’s SUNNY where you are, enjoy your Memorial Day!!).

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

From 7 years ago!

11 seconds!

Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave hug on All Points East stage! Enjoy, gang!!

Another Happy Birthday is Afoot!

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Yes!

Happy 85th Birthday to Bob Dylan!! Yay!!

Happy Birthday, Bob! May you stay forever young…

“Forever Young”

May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the light surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

c -1973- Bob Dylan

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Wayne was active on WhatsApp by 4:30AM, my time, this morning.

He and his brother are in the Mekong Delta now, which Wayne knows has a lot of emotional connections for me, since that was where my birth dad got injured, on a flame thrower, and he was briefly sent back to the US to recover.

While in the hospital in the US, my dad’s understanding of how most Americans felt about the war in Vietnam completely changed. Because of that, he went AWOL for awhile when he got out of the hospital. But then turned himself in. (He was career Navy, so they didn’t put him in the brig. They just sent him back to Vietnam, where he managed to develop a serious drug and drinking problem after that. And, uh, well, let’s say, “an attitude” problem forever afterward….)

Anyway. Here’s a Buddhist temple, enroute to Mekong:

Here’s Wayne and his brother enroute to the Delta. I love this!

And on the actual Mekong Delta:

And Wayne meets a new friend!

Wayne and his brother are soon heading back to Australia to join their other brother and his wife, and finish their vacation there.

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Speaking of Australia!!

Warren Ellis posted this!!

Warren also recommended we all watch the TV show, “Mr. Inbetween”. But it appears I can’t stream it anywhere for free. Maybe you can:

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Here’s this!

Jack Kerouac and cat — and also, some good advice:

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Another lovely photo of George Harrison:

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Apparently, 58 years ago on this very day!!

The Rolling Stones released THIS single and the rest is history…

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And here’s this!

A couple of great photos of Keith with his daughter, Theodora:

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And here’s this!

A young Nick Cave, with great hair and perhaps his pajama top??? Not sure…

And Nick Cave, typing one day….

And a few hours later, still typing…

And don’t forget!!!

This could be YOU with Nick Cave this summer!!

All ya gotta do is BUY TICKETS HERE!!

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And that is it for now.

I have to say that I’m fighting depression around here, gang. I am so sick of this gloomy, rainy weather.

Memorial Day weekend (which came early this year) is usually when I buy all my flowers and get them out on all the porches for the summer, along with all the summer decorations.

I do have 2 really pretty petunia baskets, and I bought 3 colorful new outside doormats for each door. But it’s a far cry from how Memorial Day weekends usually look around here.

I’m planning to go Wednesday to get all the rest of the flowers and just wait until the weather warms up and it stops raining. At least I will have everything sitting on the kitchen porch, waiting.

Tomorrow, Rasha’s mom is stopping over so that I can show her around the house and introduce her to all the cats. She and her baby are staying here while I’m in NYC, to look after everything. So maybe that will perk up my mood — it will make NYC feel that much closer.

Oh, and I saw that the Agency added a very short early morning shift to my June schedule — back with the farmer guy that I was with Friday evening. So it will be nice to see him again. Hopefully, it won’t still be raining because usually it is a really beautiful drive out there.

Okay. Gonna try to do some yoga here and get my spirits up. I have to head out today to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, and I do not want to be depressed around any of my clients.

So, I’m off.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world. (And happy gloomy Memorial Day weekend, to any of you who live State-side.) (Oh, and a belated Happy Shavuot to any of my Jewish followers. And Happy Pentecost, too, if you celebrate it!)

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Last night’s lying-in-bed listening music!

First, I spent the evening studying my French, then studying a bunch of notes for the Caiaphas play. Then re-listened to Part 1 of an interview with Tom Petty, from just 2 years before he died:

Then I spent the remainder of the evening lying in bed, listening to The Essential Leonard Cohen.

So I leave you with this–

“A Thousand Kisses Deep”. 2001. From his album, Ten New Songs. Enjoy, gang.

“A Thousand Kisses Deep”

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it’s done –
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it’s real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck.
I blessed our remnant fleet –
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won’t exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you,
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat . . .

c – 2001 – Leonard Cohen, Sharon Robinson

An interesting bunch of hours

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Well, me and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man did indeed go out for sashimi & sake yesterday — we had a splendid time, even though it rained the whole day and was kind of chilly.

But he was in great spirits and happy to get out of the house.

And look at this most magnificent fortune that was in my fortune cookie after lunch!!!

Finally! Just coming out and saying it!

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So.

I did over 100 miles of driving yesterday, because I had that new client out in the hills on a farm.

And it poured rain throughout most of that driving — including the 40 miles I had to drive to get back home last night.

But what a nice client. What a nice home, on a beautiful farm. He had a great cat. And what an easy shift. The day shift does everything. I was just basically on “standby” all evening. I didn’t need to do much, physically.

However…

That said.

That little extra money I would now be getting from having this new client every Friday night all summer long…

It turned out that yesterday was the final evening shift for that client. He is steadily improving and will now only need help during the days.

The Agency texted me while I was there last evening. Oh well. The extra money for the rest of the summer, evaporated.

However!! The good part was learning that I suddenly had every Friday night off for the rest of the summer…. yay!!

But he was a really nice man.

And you know you’re on a farm in Ohio when you hang out and watch old reruns of “Gunsmoke” from over 60 years ago, while your client has his gun in its holster, draped over the arm of his recliner all evening…

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All right!

I slept in a little this morning because I got in late last night. So let’s get moving!

On WhatsApp this morning!! From Vietnam, finally!

Wayne & I still call it Saigon, even though it’s not called that anymore. But here’s Wayne and his brother in Saigon yesterday!

Wayne does not know what they’re drinking, only that it was “2 for $5”:

Here, Wayne’s brother is learning from a native, how to fit-in in Saigon!

And Wayne took this photo of a photo because he felt my birth dad’s energy coming from it — my dad was on these types of boats a lot in the Vietnam War. This is at the War Remnants Museum:

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Okay.

Here’s this!

More stuff that Johnny Depp is doing!

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And on to another Johnny!

From Phyllis Stein! Johnny Thunders, in Amsterdam, in 1985!

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And here’s this!

Leonard Cohen at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC, in 1967!

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And here’s this!

From that same photo shoot that my favorite Rolling Stones poster came from in my wee bonny teenaged girlhood — only in this shot, Keith is up close and smoking!! Yay!!

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And a couple of great ones!!

First, an old favorite — Nick Cave at perhaps his finest!! And smoking!!

And second — a new favorite!!

Some of the Birthday Party & Lydia Lunch in Berlin in 1982!!

And don’t forget!! Coming up soon!

Buy tickets HERE!!

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And that is it. I gotta scoot or I’m gonna be late!

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Driving in the rain for 40 miles music from last night!

I know I posted it here recently, but here it is again!! Play it loud, over and over, in the pouring rain in the middle of a very green & rolling nowhere for 40 miles, sing along, and you can still smile the whole way home. I did!

“Better Things” by The Kinks. Enjoy (again), gang.

Maybe Us, Today???

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We shall soon see, gang.

When I was with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man on Wednesday, his daughter (who is visiting again from Seattle) said there might be some people coming to clean her dad’s home today and if they are there, she wants me to take him out to lunch.

She knows how much housecleaning agitates him.

So, even though it’s sort of cold and rainy again today, it will still be delightful to take him out for lunch!!

And if so, then of course you know where we’ll be!!

And then this evening, I will be meeting a brand new client for the first time. I will be with him every Friday evening for the rest of the summer.

He lives on a farm way out in the hills, here in Muskingum County, so I’m looking forward to everything being totally NEW for a change.

We’ll see how it goes.

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Okay!

From WhatsApp yesterday–

A sunset cruise on Katherine Gorge, in Australia! (I’m guessing that Wayne and one of his brothers have landed in Vietnam by now, but no word yet.)

Wayne — taking the photo while sitting across from his 2 brothers, and sitting next to his sister-in-law’s arm:

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Another announcement from Johnny Depp’s production company!

Johnny’s new supermarket thriller — excuse me — SUPERNATURAL thriller with Penelope Cruz has a release date!

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Yesterday was Stan Lynch’s birthday! (He was the original drummer for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.)

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Speaking of original drummers–

A beautiful photo of Keith & Charlie Watts! Not smoking, but still happy!

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From Phyllis Stein!!

Johnny Thunders and Stiv Bators , in London, 1985, working on Johnny’s album, Que Sera Sera.

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I don’t know if you guys remember Phoebe Legere, but, wow, was she popular in NYC clubs back then.

The only song of hers that I actually remember is, of course, her song, “Marilyn”! I used to hear it everywhere back then.

In fact, a music producer that I worked with in NYC at that time, also produced Phoebe and was very good friends with her.

I wasn’t crazy about the sound he got for me, though. The only reason that I still listen to the demo below (which he produced) is because Wayne really liked it (and still likes it). It’s a song for a young woman who committed suicide — “Deep Into Frost” (1988):

"Deep Into Frost"

Here is a sound that I know
That cry in the fire is the rose
She tore off her petals and flew
At the blaze that would
Rage at her…

Here is a silence I know
It is frost creeping deep into snow
It clung to her petals like fears
That did quietly keep at her
Haunt her and lead us
To tears

CHORUS
His is the face we might turn to
To gather us in from this darkness
Hers was a garden of silence
Whose blooms turned to ashes
Petals to dust
A rose shaken deep into frost

Now, here is a sound I have heard
An echo of joy undisturbed
In the shadow of peace that abides
By the light that will
Linger here…

Here is a silence we know
It is frost creeping deep into snow
The rose tangled deep in her thorns
Ceases to weep
And surrenders to sleep evermore

CHORUS
His is the face we might turn to
To gather us in from this darkness
Hers was a garden of silence
Whose blooms turned to ashes
Petals to dust
A rose shaken deep into frost

© – 1988 Marilyn Jaye Lewis
First of May Songs, BMI

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I’m part-way through the “Kylie” documentary on Netflix, but since I don’t really know any of Kylie Minogue’s music, I find I am fast-forwarding through it, looking for that part of her career when she was with Nick Cave!!

I haven’t found it yet.

However!

From my desktop stash!

Conway Savage lighting up Nick Cave!

And Nick Cave’s desk!! (About ten years ago maybe??) (I can’t remember if this was his actual office that was in the “20,000 Days On Earth” film, or his office, recreated in an art exhibit…)

And don’t forget!!

This gets underway in just a couple of weeks!!

Buy tickets HERE!

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And that is it for today.

A few days ago, I began a tissue salt protocol (minerals) to help with some problems I’m having with my eyes.

Boy do they make me relaxed… I am definitely not used to being relaxed, gang. But I am already noticing improvement in my eyes. I will keep you posted!!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

A nanosecond of advice from Tom Petty! (Does it matter what he’s talking about?? I don’t think so. It’s still good advice!) (FYI: he’s talking about the Earth…)

Oddly Enough!

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I actually wasn’t planning to post today because, at noon, Valerie and I were going to do our first test run of the mini-podcast and I was planning to go over the Substack recording studio thingie this morning, and get my bearings with that again.

But I ended up doing that part last night, and it does look extremely easy — except that there is no editing feature within the program. You have to use a desktop editor for any of that.

Anyway, I hope I never have to edit anything because I don’t feel like re-learning my desktop-video-editing thingie… (That’s the spirit!! Yay!)

No re-learning of that desktop-video-editing thingie for me, thanks! I’ve had enough! Or, I’m driving! Something like that….

I imagine that at some point, I will be in a peppy-er frame of mind and will be pleased as punch to re-learn the desktop-video-editing thingie.

Anyway.

Valerie, alas, is sick today and stuck in bed. So we have to postpone.

Since I wasn’t planning on posting here this morning, I don’t have much to post about.

Plus, I’m trying to pull myself out of a gloomy frame of mind here. I am so tired of the lousy weather.

We went from having that unbelievably gorgeous day on Monday, to that really HOT day on Tuesday — Central Air-Conditioning and all that.

Yesterday, rain and cooler temperatures.

Today, GLOOMY and cold. I was even tempted to turn the furnace back on, it got so cold in the house…

Until my heating bill arrived and my wee little (but quite bonny) eyes popped out of my head when I saw what I owed for April and I decided to forego kicking that furnace back on.

Anyway!!!

I did begin watching this last night — but I was watching it on my phone, in bed, and immediately realized it was much better suited to watching on the actual TV, so I’m going to watch this today:

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Oh, and Patti Smith posted this music video to her Substack yesterday — “Last Night in Vienna”:

“Last night Jackson, Seb, Tony Shanahan and I performed a small acoustic concert in Vienna. We decided to try our hand at trying out a stripped down version of Fireflies, a song I wrote with Oliver Ray for Gone Again. It speaks of a widows deep longing and I have always found it too difficult, too sad to perform. It’s hard, if not painful, to try something new; the risk of failure walks with you, but it’s necessary to the process. The video was taken by Janine Bub at the side of the stage. It’s quite raw, delicate, and held together by the thread of determination.”

The song is just beautiful. You can listen at the link above. (6 mins.)

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Oh!

This is super important. I know you don’t want to miss this.

From WhatsApp very early this morning — one arm’s worth of Wayne’s mosquito bites in Australia! (He and one of his brothers are heading to Vietnam tomorrow.)

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And yesterday, (the late) Waylon Jennings’ son, Shooter, turned 47!

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I’m not sure if you can actually read this, but it’s an excerpt from one of Kafka’s beautiful letters to Milena, 1920. (I have posted about his love letters to her before and what a profound affect they had on me.)

In fact, here is my copy from the bookshelf just now!

Apparently, I’ve had the book since back when I was still using my maiden name!

The title page (Schocken Books was such a great publishing house. They’re now an imprint of Penguin Random House):

My copy of the book was published in 1962 (you probably can’t see it):

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Okay.

More of Mick & Keith at the Alamo in Texas, at the start of the Rolling Stones’ 1975 tour:

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And very, very soon, we will be getting brand new photos of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from their upcoming UK & European tour (!!) —

Buy tickets HERE!

Meanwhile, from my desktop stash!!

(I can’t remember when this photo was taken, but I love it!) Nick and Warren on a bus! With a cellphone! And some bananas and perhaps coffee and maybe some cookies??

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And that’s it.

Okay I’m going to get on with my day here.

I will say that I hope the mini-podcast thingie works out, because I am already hearing from other writers that they would LOVE to promote their work on the podcast! (We will be happy to help promote other indie writers and painters/artists.)

All right.

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!

My very early morning bedside-listening music, as I eagerly awaited the upcoming day and for the sun to come up!!

The sun never did fucking come up… hence, my mood tanked.

But anyway. I listened to this whole album on my bedside retro boombox! But what prompted me to play it, was that my sweet little cat, Queenie, was snuggling next to me on the bed.

“Little Queenie” — from the Rolling Stones’ incredible live album Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out! — from their legendary Madison Square Garden show in NYC in 1969. Enjoy, gang.

None of these shenanigans for now!

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My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter is back again from Seattle, and will be staying with him for 10 days.

So I guess we have to settle down and behave until she heads back home. We shall see! (She tends to be very task oriented, whereas I tend to be very “let’s just have a beautiful day while we still can” oriented.)

Meanwhile!

I crossed the road yesterday to get to the other side get the mail from out of my mailbox and when I did, what to my wondering eyes should appear???

ROYALTY CHECKS!! From Lulu.com. Yay! Thanks everybody for buying my books and eBooks. I really, really appreciate it.

And so I got in the car and went to the bank, put the checks in, then headed to the Dollar Store for more cat food and MORE coffee and then me and the cats partied last night like it was 1999!

And I’ll say 2 things about that.

  1. The idea of 1999 is very much worth partying over. The world was still really amazing back then.
  2. In 1982, when we all first started listening to that song and having a blast, 1999 seemed light years away!

I guess I will say a 3rd thing — I can’t believe that 1999 was 27 years ago… Gang, it just flies by in a heartbeat.

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Okay.

Another happy thing about yesterday — it was very, very hot, nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit. And by evening, rain was on its way. So–

We closed all the windows and turned on our brand new Central Air Conditioning for the very first time and it was like heaven!!

Wow. The cats, especially, were completely delighted by the new development. They went from being draped listlessly everywhere, to being frisky and darting around.

So I think we’ll have a good summer around here.

Partying like it’s 1977…

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Here’s this!!

The Cars at a record-signing. at Strawberries record store in 1979!

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And here’s this!

Johnny Cash, not signing anything, not smoking, not drinking or popping amphetamines — just readin’ the paper…

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And here’s this!!

Keith!

Tuning up his dobro, backstage at Madison Square Garden in NYC, in 1969!!

I have always loved the sound of a dobro, gang. I always wished I owned one. In the early 90s, when I was recording the promo CD that accompanied Joe Queenan’s movie, “12 Steps to Death” (I wrote the closing song to the film, “One Step Closer”), the guitar player in the studio band had a dobro!!

This is not the song from Joe’s movie, but it’s on the CD! Yes! It’s that “railroad” song!! With dobro!!

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All righty.

Ronnie Wood has added another show to his tour! Paris!!

Buy tickets HERE.

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And Nick Cave Official posted this about the Bad Seeds show at NOS Alive in Lisbon this summer.

Buy tickets HERE!

And here’s Nick Cave onstage, accidentally getting too close to an electrified piano!!

And Nick Cave, walking around in a suit in 2018, looking at his phone!!

And this was absolutely beautiful.

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File yesterday, wherein he addressed a woman’s fears and anxiety about following her destiny and always procrastinating, instead. Nick said, in part:

“… a job left undone is its own torment, a dream unrealised, its own kind of hell. There is a unique joy, the deepest satisfaction and a kind of spiritual appeasement in knowing that something we have made, or worked on, means something to somebody else… live as creatively and boldly as your heart allows. Keep a light grip on the reins, take a breath, step into the unknown and trust. Trust – the active heart of faith...”

You can read it in full, HERE.

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And now I gotta scoot!! Gotta get out there and tackle my own constant fears and anxiety!! (But I do have to say, gang, that getting back on the social media platforms has brought a truckload of people from all over suddenly into my life and that helps enormously. Even though they’re all online, for now. It had gotten to the point around here that everyone I interacted with was either a caregiving client or someone in their family. That is a very narrow field to exist in every day and, creatively, I have been suffocating.)

Okay.

I’m not 100% sure if I will be posting here tomorrow, or not. My best friend Valerie in Brooklyn and I begin the test run of our new mini-podcast tomorrow around noon!! So we’ll see.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Breakfast-listening music in the air-conditioned kitchen!!

I know I posted this exceedingly addictive song recently, but this is the original “demo” version Tom made in the studio in his home, with Stevie Nicks on supporting vocals — because she had just stopped by and he had just written it!!

I just love this version!!

Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Stevie Nicks –“The Apartment Song (demo)” 1984!! Enjoy, gang. We sure did!!

We’re trying this again!

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Meaning, we’re gonna try to have a relaxing day!

Here are some really great things about yesterday, my official “Spring Cleaning” day:

After the Bissell carpet steamer completely broke down, after only owning it for a year–

  • My kitchen door DID NOT get at all damaged when I hurled the fucking machine directly at it.
  • While the fucking machine is too big to go directly into the trash bin, my trash pickup company does not charge extra for collecting broken carpet steamers that do not fit in the bin.
  • The BRAND NEW carpet steamer that I bought on Amazon yesterday to replace it, is twice as expensive but I got one of those payment options where I only have to pay $20 a month, no interest, for the next few hundred years. Yay!
  • It arrives Wednesday. Yay!
  • And I had enough of THIS stuff on hand to spray all over the entire dining room carpeting:

And after it dried and I vacuumed it up, it at least looked better than it had before.

And here’s another great thing about yesterday–

I had plenty of THIS on hand to manage every fucking aching muscle in my entire fucking body:

Methinks that hurling steam cleaners at kitchen doors is something my lower back would prefer I not do.

And, after yoga, I actually felt pretty darn back-to-normal.

And, of course, I vacuumed and dusted the entire house, so I did sort of feel like most of the Spring Cleaning got done.

And today, I have another day off, and there’s no more cleaning I can do until the new super-duper PRO carpet shampooer arrives…

So today might actually be relaxing. We’re gonna find out.

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Okay, so another “Me, Back on Social Media” update:

And this is not a joke at all.

Yesterday, I reconnected with one of my dearest NYC writer-friends that I had lost track of after the scamdemic lockdowns!!

She sent a “friend” request when she saw that I was back on Facebook!!

So we are going to get together next month when I’m in NYC.

I kid you not, for the past couple of weeks, I had been wondering about her and how to try to get back in touch. I miss her so much. This makes me so happy.

She and I worked on so many writing projects together over the decades. (I first met her when I began publishing her amazing poems on Other-Rooms.com, back in 1998.)

So, even though this upcoming trip will be a really quick one, I will now be re-connecting with 2 writer-friends. I’ll be attending the Lambda Literary Awards — the first time the Awards have been presented in an actual room with breathing people in it and not online, for quite a few years — so who knows who I will be re-connecting with there, and who might be brand new people to connect with.

I’m also seeing my Best Friend Valerie from Brooklyn, and at some point, seeing Wayne. I don’t think Sandra will be in the city that weekend.

But I’m feeling like this trip will be a really good one for me, emotionally. All that re-connecting. Including, staying at a hotel in my very old neighborhood. So many memories — most, not so good. But it did lead to some really great paths in my life in the 1980s.

It will be good to be back there, knowing that things worked out.

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Speaking of Wayne!!

From WhatsApp this morning!!

iPhones everywhere?? Even in the remote Australian Outback??

Wayne with his brothers and sister-in-law

And I loved these:

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And here’s this!

Steve Vai and Joe Satriani and the rest of the SatchVai band visited the Rock Hall of Fame in my beloved Cleveland!! (Posted by Steve Vai.)

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And here’s this.

I honestly don’t understand why he posted this photo with this specific song, but now I cannot get the freaking song out of my head!!

Warren Ellis, out with the dogs, draped in furs, perhaps wearing a diamond-encrusted hat?? I just don’t know:

And here’s this, so that you, too, can get this freaking song stuck in your head!! Marilyn Monroe, “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend” (song starts about 1 minute in):

And here’s Warren, prior to the hat (Stooges music, instead):

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And here’s this!!

Tom Petty in 1978!

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And here’s this!!

A lovely photo of George Harrison!!

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And here’s this!

A lovely photo of Nick Cave!! (Another still from the film I recently re-watched! “20,000 Days On Earth”)

And here’s Nick Cave, helping me practice my French!!

“Quelle surprise!” (“What a surprise!”)

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And here’s another one from the Stones in LA in 1972, doing the final mix of Exile On Main St.

Keith is clearly in happyland.

MICK (clearly thinking): “When is this going to be over? I could’ve fucking done that.”

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And that is it for today, my friends.

I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

I love E.B. White‘s essays. And I really love this one. I will never forget how it felt, the first time I read it — about 30 years ago.

I found this reading of it on YouTube last night.

If you have time to listen, it is just wonderful. “Once More to the Lake”, where E.B. White returns, this time with his young son, to the lake he used to vacation at when he was a boy. (16 mins.)

Absolutely Official!!

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Honestly, gang — today is the most beautiful day of the year so far. It didn’t seem like it would ever come.

It is just gorgeous out there. And WARM!! No clouds. And no high winds!! And it is the first of my 2 days off in a row!!

All the windows in the house are open, so the cats couldn’t be happier — the sound of birds singing is basically filling the house.

Just the feeling of fresh air and all this sunshine — wow, has it helped put my mood through the roof. Finally.

As I mentioned the other day, I’m planning to spend these 2 days off getting the Spring cleaning done. And I’m actually really looking forward to it. Mostly, finally getting the carpets really clean. And after that, I can focus better on the writing stuff that needs my attention — AKA: The Caiaphas play.

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Okay!!

Immediately following a WhatsApp text, dashed off from me to Wayne at 5AM this morning—

ME (texting): “Is your camera broken?”

Then this photo appeared! As if by magic!

The Lewis boys, at their lodge in the Australian Outback!!

Wayne, center, his brothers on either side! Methinks the sister-in-law is taking the photo…

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This was so cool.

When I was with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat yesterday —

The lovely wife and I always enjoy talking about local history and little known facts that she discovers about this area of Ohio.

And yesterday — wow! I had no idea about this, gang!! But she discovered that Frazeysburg (where I live) “served as a crucial waypoint within the Muskingum Valley and central Ohio routes of the Underground Railroad.” (The secret routes slaves used to escape slavery and get to Canada before & during the Civil War.)

I guess just another reason why I love this village so much. You can really feel the spirits here, and they are generally really good.

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From Ronnie Wood! You can pre-order a new signed print of his collage, “Back in Your Life”, HERE.

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And speaking of pre-ordering!

You can pre-order the eBook edition of the interview with Nick Cave — On the Fragility of Life — by ERIS gems, HERE!

“A conversation of rare depth and tenderness, On the Fragility of Life finds Nick Cave reflecting on love, loss, faith, and the fragile beauty of being alive. What emerges is a luminous meditation on mourning and meaning—unflinching, compassionate, and filled with the kind of grace that only grief can teach.”

And, well, okay–

Speaking of Nick Cave!!

A couple photos of Nick Cave — listening to the muse, perhaps??

And I guess a photo from after the muse… At an Arts Fair in London. I love his expression!!

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Johnny Depp’s production company is in the news today!!

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On a sad note….

46 years ago today, Ian Curtis, of Joy Division, left us (by suicide):

And while we’re here, I always LOVED this song. Joy Division, “Atrocity Exhibition” from their album Closer, 1980:

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And I know this post is already really long…

So I will post it and then, I will do a separate post, with more from what I wrote about yesterday, regarding Louisa May Alcott being one of my cousins.

So I will be back in a little bit!

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya! (soon.)

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Let’s temporarily close with this!

Yes!

From the retro boombox next to my bed!

I love this song and it is perfect for today!!

The Traveling Wilburys’ “End of the Line,” 1988! Enjoy, gang!

“End Of The Line”

Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand

You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring (End of the Line)
Waiting for someone to tell you everything (End of the Line)
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring (End of the Line)
Maybe a diamond ring

Well it’s all right, even if they say you’re wrong
Well it’s all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it’s all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it’s all right, everyday is Judgment Day

Maybe somewhere down the road aways (End of the Line)
You’ll think of me, wonder where I am these days (End of the Line)
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays (End of the Line)
Purple haze

Well it’s all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it’s all right, if you got someone to love
Well it’s all right, everything’ll work out fine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

Don’t have to be ashamed of the car I drive (End of the Line)
I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive (End of the Line)
It don’t matter if you’re by my side (End of the Line)
I’m satisfied

Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and gray
Well it’s all right, you still got something to say
Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live
Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive

Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

c- 1988 – George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Thomas Earl Petty, Roy K. Orbison

The new printer is up and running!!

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Bu that’s not what the confetti’s about!

The confetti is because I had a very involved dream last night, about getting the “Marilyn’s Room” mini-podcast up and running here soon, and in the dream, there was all this confetti flying around.

I was really happy.

And I was drinking from a really colorful coffee mug — that I thought I actually owned in my waking life. However, when I went to retrieve it from my kitchen cupboard this morning, when the coffee was ready, I discovered that I had only dreamed that I owned this colorful mug. And I had to settle for a different mug with flowers all over it.

Which could mean that a new very colorful coffee cup is waiting in my future!! (But I kinda hope not, since I already have about 50 or 60 assorted coffee cups and mugs that almost never get used since the cats are avid caffeine-abstainers.)

Not mine

Speaking of cats–

Here’s a bunch of cats I found in the hall outside my bedroom last evening when I emerged to use the bathroom.

I have no idea where they came from , or who they belong to, but, actually, they were still here this morning when I awoke (multiplied by, you know, a bunch of others):

From left: Freddie McFee, Cuddles McGee, Billie Jo, Angie, Queenie, Saffie Sue

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Yes, I did get the printer up & running yesterday, and even though it is practically the same printer I had before, it was WAY easier to set up than the last one was.

So I still have all my hair — I didn’t tear any of it out!!

And now I can get back to promoting the new novel, along with getting the notes ready for when I write the play about Caiaphas in its entirety in June.

Right.

(I’m gonna really try, though, and write that play, gang. Honestly.)

And if you recall, on Friday, I posted a photo from Instagram having to do with the cemetery where one of my ancestors is buried — Louisa May Alcott.

When I googled the exact location of the cemetery, I got side-tracked by a bunch of stuff about Louisa and her dad, Amos Bronson Alcott. It was stuff I’d already known, but I have to say that the amount of coincidences between her life (and some of her writing) and mine, just astound me.

Oh, but also — loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall that the May family (my birth dad’s side of my ancestors, and Louisa’s mom’s side) have a reputation for being really intense people (after the Revolutionary War, they practically settled the entire state of Kentucky, sort of) —

Here is what Louisa’s dad said about her as a child: “After Alcott’s birth, Bronson kept a record of her development, noting her strong will, which she may have inherited from her mother’s May side of the family.”

(I’ll go into more of that May-family thing and my own life tomorrow.) But it all just sort of astounds me.

Louisa May Alcott in 1870

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Since I didn’t post yesterday, I have a bunch of “here’s this’s” stacking up. So I will probably save some for tomorrow’s post.

And, if you recall, starting tomorrow, I have 2 days off in a row from caregiving, so I am planning to do the spring cleaning! Yay!

And once that’s out of the way, I can focus on getting all my flowers and plants ready and out on my various porches so that life around here will be ready for summer!! (And then somewhere in all that I’ll head to NYC…)

And speaking of NYC–

If you’re in the area and support the rights of LGBTQs, on June 9th the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project is having a really cool conversation. Free to all but space is limited, so you need to make a reservation (HERE):

“Spanning the 1930s through the late 20th century, the program will reflect on their lasting impact and what that legacy means today.”

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But meanwhile–

Here’s this!!

From Jo Wood (Ronnie’s previous wife)– Mick and Ronnie on a boat off San Francisco!!

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A couple of great ones from Phyllis Stein!!

Iggy!!

In a “shirt” by Michael Schmidt:

And Keith, not smoking and walking past some taffeta! (With comments from Keith’s son, Marlon!)

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And speaking of Keith (when am I not??) —

Here’s this!

Keith smoking, with Marlon when he was still too young to make comments or to type!!


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And speaking of smoking!! (When am I not??)

I think Rowland S. Howard is smoking here, not sure — onstage in Germany in 1982!

And Rowland with the rest of the Birthday Party, in Germany in 1982 (clearly in that one “no smoking” area of Germany in 1982):

And speaking of Nick Cave not smoking!! (See photo directly above!)

Here, he and Colin Greenwood are not smoking in Poland, in 2024! (I know I’ve posted this before (in 2024, in fact), but I just love this photo!!)

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And I’d better stop now because I have stuff I gotta do here before I head out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

Oh, by the way. As part of promoting the new novel, I’ve gotten back on social media. For many years, I was only on Instagram (and Substack and Stage 32). But now I’m back on a few more.

I am not actively following people (yet) but if you are on any of these platforms and want to follow Marilyn Jaye Lewis, please do!!

LinkedIn, X, BlueSky, Good Reads, and Facebook. (And Instagram, Substack, and Stage 32.)

And if the “Marilyn’s Room” mini-podcast does indeed get off the ground — confetti and all– and you have writing or art you want to promote, let me know!!

Okay!!

Have a beautiful Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Since I am reading the Tom Petty & Me memoir by Jon Scott–

Here is the actual recording that finally broke Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers across radio stations all over America!! (Proving that they were a rock & roll band and not Punk.)

“Breakdown” performed live at Capitol Studios, in Hollywood, November 11, 1977. The rest was history (finally). Enjoy, gang.

“Breakdown”

It’s alright if you love me
It’s alright if you don’t
I’m not afraid of you runnin’ away, honey
I get the feeling you won’t

There is no sense in pretending
Your eyes give you away
Something inside you is feeling like I do
We said all there is to say

Baby
Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me
Breakdown, honey, take me through the night
(Take me, baby, breakdown, ooh)
Breakdown, now I’m standin’ here, can’t you see?
Breakdown, it’s alright
It’s alright, it’s alright

Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me
Breakdown, honey, take me through the night
(Take me, baby, breakdown, ooh)
Breakdown, now I’m standin’ here, can’t you see?
Breakdown, it’s alright
It’s alright, it’s alright

c – 1976 Tom Petty

TGIF, MoFos!!

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Although, around here, Friday just means that I’m getting ready to work the entire weekend.

And starting next week, I’m picking up a couple of double shifts on Fridays, but the evening shift will be out here in Muskingum County, on a farm way out in the woods. And since it’s Spring, it will still be light out when I have to drive the 30 miles back home.

So, I’m okay with it.

Meanwhile!

Surf’s up in Australia for the Lewis family!!

The first photo from Wayne arrived on WhatsApp last night! I think I saw it at around 3am and it just made me feel so happy!

Wayne with his 2 brothers and a sister-in-law

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And in case you needed to see this…. (I know I did)…

Yet another photo from yesteryear of Jack Kerouac typing!!

And in case you’re curious —

Through my birth dad’s side of the family, I am cousins with Louisa May Alcott! (Through her mother’s side). Maybe I should go visit this cool place! You know, go on the road …

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And I don’t want to , you know, start trouble or anything, but there appears to be a veritable plethora of lighters in this world–

Keith, contemplating lighters

And I still have not received my really cool Tom Petty Zippo lighter!!

You never know, though, I might get lucky and actually receive it sometime!!

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Speaking of Tom Petty!!

From yesterday–

And last evening, I did begin reading that new book I got the other day, about Tom Petty, written by his long-time record promoter, Jon Scott:

It’s really good, but I did start to cry while reading it.

I had a rough day yesterday, so I was really emotionally worn out, but also I never really knew any of the details about why the first album by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers took so long to break in America. (It was a hit in England first.)

Just reading about what total dickheads the record company was toward them with that first album — even knowing that the story had a happy ending, it still just made me cry.

That said, I am hoping today will be a better day.

It’s sunny and should be nice all day. And I’m taking my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man out to the Rural King to start getting his baskets of flowers for his back deck! (Although Annie was the one who always did that, but we are trying to just move forward and get stuff done and not get too sad.) However, about every half hour or so:

HE (quietly): “Annie is gone now?”

ME:” Yes, she’s gone.”

HE: “She didn’t tell me, you know.”

ME: “I know, she didn’t tell me, either.”

(That she had cancer.)

And later today, I’m picking up my new printer from Best Buy. So my writing/promoting world can get back on track…

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In the meantime–

Here’s a photo of the Stones looking almost happy in 1977!

Photo by Ken Regan

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And in case you also needed THIS —

Here are two more photos of Nick Cave & Blixa Bargeld — this time, doing that thing where they keep their eyes open!! (Or behind a pair of shades, as the case may be…)

And while we’re at it — here’s this fantastic song from Iggy Pop, 1986 — “Shades,” co-written by David Bowie, from Iggy’s incredible album Blah-Blah-Blah. I love this song!!!

“Shades”

You gave me a present
The paper was blue and green
I unwrapped it with pleasure
These are the best shades I’ve ever seen
You can be my girlfriend
Forever and a day
I never thought I was worth much
Or that anyone would treat me this way

[Chorus]
I’m not
The kind of guy
Who dresses like a king
And a really fine pair of shades
Means everything
And the light that blinds my eyes
Shines from you
It makes me come in the night
It makes me swim with delight
I like this pain
I like this mirror
I like these shades

I could have had a problem
I might have never followed through
The other guys are in trouble
They wouldn’t listen to a girl like you
These shades say something
I’ll bet they cost a lot
I hope I don’t break ’em
I hope we don’t break up

[Chorus]

c – 1986 David Bowie, Iggy Pop

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And back to Nick Cave–

From Nick Cave Official:

A reminder that the soundtrack for the TV series, “The Death of Bunny Munro” is available for streaming HERE on the platform of your choice!

And there is an upcoming documentary about Kylie Minogue on Netflix — launching Wednesday May 20th — which will have music contributions and some comments from Nick Cave!

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And I think that is going to be it for today, gang!! I’m gonna head out soon and get the whole thing moving all over again.

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

I find it a little creepy and I still have not been able to watch it all the way through.

It is allegedly not AI — it features “doubles”, actual actors. But still. God knows, I prefer the original “old” Stones to fake ones…

Anyway. The new official video from the Rolling Stones for “In The Stars”. (You can pre-order the upcoming new album, Foreign Tongues, HERE.) Enjoy, gang.