Tag Archives: books

How can it possibly be Friday again?!?!

August 21, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Wow, that was a fast week.

And I got a TON of stuff done.

Yesterday was interesting. I did the book editing, and then stopped to attend that Indie Authors livestream — updates on promotion, platforms, eBooks, audiobooks.

I found it so joyless and felt so overloaded, that I was off of there in 20 minutes.

Things have just changed so much in the last few years, gang. Self-publishing used to be easy, quick, even fun. It’s none of those things anymore, so I have decided to just keep going my own way regarding publishing and not make myself completely INSANE over all this stuff!

And speaking of all that stuff–

Beginning this Sunday (8/23) and running until the following Sunday (8/30), the eBook edition of my experimental adult novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, will be on sale for 99 cents in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.

“An American rock & roll legend, in the final year of his life, finally comes clean about sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Experimental Adult Fiction by Marilyn Jaye Lewis ‘As arousing as it is heartfelt, I can give no greater praise for Marilyn Jaye Lewis’s The Guitar Hero Goes Home than to say this is a book written by a wonderful writer at the height of her powers. Highly Recommended!’ — M. Christian, author of The Bachelor Machine“

This book is not erotica, but it has adult themes and is recommended for mature readers only. Thank you!!

And you can always read a free excerpt here on my blog.

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I did make good progress with editing the local writer’s book yesterday, but I think that trying to edit 30 pages a day is too much. I still need to getup from the desk and get outside and take walks! So now I’m aiming for 25 pages a day.

I don’t want to betray the writer’s privacy by saying anything here on the blog — I’ll certainly let you know where you can buy the book once it’s published — but for now I can only say that it is an INTENSE book. A memoir. It kind of takes a lot out of me, just editing it.

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If you are in the film industry in any way, you need to sign up for this great newsletter — if you haven’t already. It cuts to the chase, isn’t loaded with stuff you don’t care about, gives you updates on stuff you do care about, and it’s a quick read.

The Dailies (you can sign up at that link)

“5-minute newsletter that keeps film/tv professionals in the loop, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.“

And most importantly — it doesn’t have a fucking phone APP that pings at you every 2 seconds…

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Okay!!

Here’s this!!

Something I could literally just look at all day and call it a complete life!!

Keith! Drinking coffee and smoking somewhere!!

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And here’s Jack Kerouac on the floor in NYC in 1959!!

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And here’s a lovely photo of George Harrison not smoking as he gets into a car somewhere — maybe 1969, early 1970s?

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And here’s some nice news about the late and absolutely great Shane MacGowan!!

(The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is in New Orleans.)

And while we’re at it, here’s this!! Shane and The Pogue’s version of “Dirty Old Town”!! From the phenomenal album Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash, 1985. I still play this song all the time, usually when I’m out driving alone in the middle of beautiful nowhere, and I always sing along!

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Okay!!

Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos was kind enough to help me study my French last night!!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds will be at Cabaret Vert in France tonight! Buy tickets here!!

And Warren Ellis once again proves that he is a master at wearing the architecture of foreign cities!!

And in the event you suddenly feel like getting loaded and having a good time — Primal Scream, “Loaded” and having a good time!!

And even though there were TONS of photos and videos from the show in Lithuania the other night, here’s this instead!!

Just ‘cuz I fucking LOVE it!

Nick Cave seriously SMOKING onstage somewhere a long time ago…

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And that is it for today. I gotta get down to some editing here. It is a gorgeous day, once again, so I will probably head out for another one of those magical walks later, too.

And I leave you with some truly wonderful news, gang!!

A stray cat has had some adorable kittens — but NOT at my house!!

Here they are, outside my dining room window, but at the house next door! Yay!

Cute stray kittens but NOT at my house!!

Okay. Have a fantastic Friday wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!!

From that fabulous year of 1965!!

The Four Tops, “I Can’t Help Myself”!! Such a great song! Enjoy, gang.

A pleasant day ahead in the Hinterlands!

August 20, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Although it’s raining here this morning, it’s supposed to get really nice out there by this afternoon.

But I will be at my desk the entire day today.

I am editing that local author’s new book (I’m aiming for 30 pages a day for the best turn-around time). But at 2PM this afternoon, the Alliance of Indie Authors is having a live update on everything that’s new in eBooks, audiobooks, formatting, platforms, etc.

So, as much as I’m thinking that will be an overload of overwhelming information, I still want to attend.

And then yoga. Then prepare dinner. Then reading, reading, and some more reading, then study French! And it should be a good day.

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It feels sort of incredible to look at my schedule for the remainder of the month, gang, and all that’s on there is one more Zoom meeting, a visit from the Medicare Insurance nurse — to make sure I’m not dead yet? — and then nothing else for the rest of the month but editing.

Wow.

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Okay!

Not many “here’s this’s” today. Not sure why.

But here’s this!

Speaking of not being sure why, I have no clue what the facial expressions are all about, but here’s Mick and Keith and producer Jimmy Miller not smoking in the studio in LA, while recording the album “Let It Bleed” in 1969!

Photo by Robert Altman/Michael Ochs, Getty images

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And I know I’ve posted something similar before from Allen Ginsberg’s page, but I just love this because it reminds me of the view out my own back window on E.12th Street in NYC back then — just a few apartments down from Allen Ginsberg’s.

So, here’s this! From August 18, 1984! 42 years ago!! (Of course, the view out my own back window was in living color!! And yes! The courtyards in back, between all the tenements, were FULL of trees!!)

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Okay.

Here’s this!!

The Warren Ellis mostly-hair Odyssey!!

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And THIS awaited me upon opening my wee bonny peepers at 4AM this morning!!

Yay!

And even though the above photo was accompanied by a much more raw -sounding song, I could not help but be reminded of THIS song, too, and eventually, I leaped out of bed this morning, singing it!

“Too Young”

They try to tell us we’re too young
Too young to really be in love
They say that love’s a word, a word we’ve only heard
But can’t begin to know the meaning of

And yet we’re not too young to know
This love will last though years may go
And then some day
They may recall
We were not too young at all

Oh, Oh

And yet we’re not too young to know
Oh, This love will last though years may go
And then some day
They may recall
We were not too young at all

c – 1951 Sylvia Dee / Sidney Lippman

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And speaking of Nick Cave —

He sent out a Red Hand File this morning that was rather riveting. All about a young woman’s mother’s addiction. He begins:

“The problem with your mother’s motto is that it is everyone else around her whose lives she is setting on fire, including yours, it seems, and the people who are fanning the flames are those desperately trying to put them out…”

It’s a quick read, but very powerful. You can read it HERE.

FIRE AT NIGHT BY FRANCISCO GOYA, 1793-94

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ Tour of Europe resumes tomorrow in France. You can buy tickets here!

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And that is it for today, gang.

I’m gonna go down to the kitchen and get another cup o’ joe, then put on my editor’s cap and get the day underway!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this today!

Another gem from my wee bonny girlhood!!

INSTANT KARMA! (WE ALL SHINE ON) – Lennon/Ono with The Plastic Ono Band, 1970!! Enjoy, gang.

NSTANT KARMA! (WE ALL SHINE ON)

Instant Karma’s gonna get you. Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together. Pretty soon you’re gonna be dead
What in the world you thinking of? Laughing in the face of love
What on Earth you trying to do? It’s up to you. Yeah you!

Instant Karma’s gonna get you. Gonna look you right in the face
Better get yourself together darling. Join the human race
How in the world you gonna see? Laughing at fools like me
Who on Earth d’you think you are? A superstar?  Well right you are!

Well we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on. Everyone come on!

Instant Karma’s gonna get you. Gonna knock you off your feet
Better recognise your brothers. Everyone you meet
Why in the world are we here? Surely not to live in pain and fear
Why on earth are you there? When you’re everywhere
Come and get your share

Well we all shine on, like the moons and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on, come on and on and on on on

Yeah yeah alright. Uh huh ahh

Well we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on. On and on and on on and on

Well we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on like the moons and the stars and the sun
Yeah we all shine on like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on

c - 1970 John Lennon

Here’s to things getting better and better!

August 19, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, if you can believe it, gang, one month ago today, I retired from professional caregiving to go back to my writing fulltime and, wow. What a difference it has made in the quality of my own life.

And yesterday, my new publisher in Pennsylvania did indeed get back to me, saying that she wants to publish The Muse Revisited Volume 4: Selected Taboo Erotica of Marilyn Jaye Lewis. (A completed manuscript from 2021 that I found in a file while looking for something else!)

Yay!

And also yesterday, one of those local ads I placed, offering writing coach/editing services, got me a book editing job!

So, another yay! (I especially like it when I can help other writers, one on one, with no agency taking a fee.)

It seems like every day, something new pops up that I wouldn’t have had time for, wouldn’t have been able to focus on, only a few weeks ago.

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Okay.

Apparently I’m in the Bart Ehrman- MythVision algorithm on YouTube because it keeps popping up in my stream first thing every morning!

I don’t mind, I love both of them, but I’m just saying…

Anyway. This has some interesting stuff about the discoveries of ancient gospel fragments and how they can differ from what we read in the New Testament and why.

From 3 weeks ago. Everything You Know About the New Testament Could Be Wrong | Bart D. Ehrman (51 mins):

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And here’s Keith not smoking!!

Onstage in 1981:

Not smoking with his family in Connecticut in 1986!! (You’ll note that no one in the family seems to be smoking!!)

And Theodora Richards posted the first photos of her newest baby boy, born back in April!!

Here’s both boys, Gus and Tarka, not smoking!!

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And speaking of people not smoking!!!

My heart hit the jackpot this morning!!

And here are a bunch of photos from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ show in Lithuania!

If you can read it, here’s the set list!!

This was cool. I don’t think this is AI or anything — usually the song lyrics on the big screen are in English!

Here’s ~~Jesus~~! Oops, Nick Cave!

And that’s it. There were tons of photos and videos, though, and it looked like everybody had a really great time.

The Bad Seeds play France on Friday the 21st of August. You can buy tickets here! And then there are only 3 more shows left…

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All righty!

I’m gonna head to town here soon and head over to the Rural King to buy a carload of catfood!

Then stop in at my favorite health & wellness store to say hi to my girlfriends and buy some organic goji berries , some nonGMO bathsoap made from roses in Provence, and then the all-important taste-temptingly delicious organic SNACKS!!

And then it’s back here to my desk in the Hinterlands to begin editing the local writer’s new book.

(Oh, and in case you are interested, there are only FOUR things left on my To Do List, and 3 of them are books that still need to be uploaded to the audiobook submission thing on Amazon, and the 4th thing is get that Writers & Artists podcast thing off the ground with Valerie in Brooklyn!!)

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!!

Breakfast-listening music!!

A great Tom Petty song from 1981!! And it is so 1981!! (About being in London back then.)

“King’s Road”, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Orignally from Hard Promises. Enjoy, gang!!

You Won’t Believe It!

August 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, gang.

Happy Sunday!

You’re not going to believe how yesterday went.

Since I’m in the process of getting the sample “scripts” together for the upcoming audiobooks, I was trying to get all the original manuscripts of my self-published books into one separate folder.

Just trying to get organized.

I have 7 self-published books that are being submitted to become audiobooks. Not only do I have a stack of those books perched precariously on the corner of my really tiny but beloved desk, I also have a stack of books and many papers on my desk for the M. Christian tribute anthology I’m currently editing.

And I am addicted to small notebooks for keeping notes on absolutely every project, phone call, zoom call — including a TON of notes for “The Guide to Being Fabulous”, my play with Sandra Caldwell. And my in-progress play about Caiaphas. Those notebooks are in a stack on my tiny desk, too.

And little scraps of paper are on my desk — notes to myself. And all of those notes to myself amount to my “To Do List”.

So I finally decided I needed to get better organized in order to somehow move the audiobook project forward, right?

Wow. Trying to find the original manuscripts for all 7 of these books — some of them going back to 2005 (!) — I’ve moved 4 times since then, and I’ve had no less than 6 laptops since then.

Anyway.

As I was locating the various original manuscripts and moving them into a new folder on my laptop, I discovered a completed manuscript for a book that never got published:

The Muse Revisited Volume 4: Selected Taboo Erotica of Marilyn Jaye Lewis

Whoa! WTF??

I scrolled through it and it was a completed manuscript, formatted and ready for publication. A collection of previously published short stories, from 1994 – 2021 (!!). All of them in the decidedly “taboo” erotic vein. Volume 4 in a series that had already been really popular for about 10 years.

I had totally forgotten that Black Lotus Books was supposed to publish it, in print, but then they suddenly folded.

They gave me the rights back to everything when they folded, so I immediately moved forward with self-publishing the 2 books of mine they had already published (1954 Powder Blue Pickup and a long short-story, Half-Moon Bride). This was January 2021.

And just prior to that (in 2020), I was absolutely overloaded with projects — screenplays, TV pilots, plays, short stories, novels-in-progress, and I was working nonstop with Peitor Angell on our Abstract Absurdity Production micro-minis — we were taking all kinds of meetings with producers and production companies, both in LA and in Europe.

Then absolutely everything came to a screeching halt because of all the lockdowns. And life suddenly got crazier. (My life as a digital soldier for 4 years…)

As near as I can tell, I just forgot that the other manuscript was ready to go. I definitely remember (now) that I was planning to self-publish it after Black Lotus folded.

Holy cow, I thought. I can publish this in a heartbeat. It’s all ready to go!

But then I thought: Maybe my new publisher over in Pennsylvania might be interested in seeing this…

Long story, short — she emailed me back yesterday afternoon, saying: “Um, yesssss”

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So.

That was a real thrill.

And then I realized that since I made the difficult decision to retire from professional caregiving back in July, and focus on my writing once again– well, what a great decision that was.

I have the new novel coming out in a few weeks. A book signing. The staged reading of the play coming up in NY sometime this Fall. Perhaps give a talk and be on a panel at a writers conference in the Spring.

And the M. Christian antho has helped me re-connect with so many wonderful writers from my past — and that book will come out next year. Plus this new book that materialized out of thin air yesterday! And 7 audiobooks. Plus, even though I cancelled my association with fiverr, I still have ads posted at local places as a writing coach, and school is starting up around here soon.

Wow. It’s like overnight, I finally went back to being a writer.

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Okay!

I discovered THIS amazing website last night. Wow. I am going to spend the next year just exploring it!

TomPettyTrail

Explores sites connected to Tom Petty in his childhood hometown of Gainesville and throughout Florida.

“This is the first website dedicated to documenting and pinpointing Florida sites connected to the life of, and songs written by, Tom Petty. It serves as a roadmap for Petty fans traveling there to learn about — and navigate to — these sites in his hometown, Gainesville, and elsewhere in the state. This website will help facilitate your Tom Petty tourism by giving you the information needed to create a self-guided tour that most interests you.”

And it’s totally free! A labor of love created by Shawn Murphy.

If you love Tom Petty like I do, it is amazing! It is so detailed, it is just incredible. Where he was born, where he lived. Where his family lived. Where his friends lived. All the schools he went to. The store where he bought his guitar strings — immortalized in his song, “Dreamville”…

And so here’s this, again. Tom’s tribute to his rock & roll-loving boyhood in Gainesville — “Dreamville”:

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Okay.

I think this is going to be great!

If you live in NYC, it will be at the Public Theater, September 15th thru October 18th:

“How Shakespeare Saved My Life”

“In the Red Bull Theater production of HOW SHAKESPEARE SAVED MY LIFE, Jacob Ming-Trent dares to rescue himself from the “slings and arrows” of his past. Born with a gift for poetry but rejected as unfit to play the part of the poet, Ming-Trent invites us to take a deep dive into the crevices of his youth. His search for home is relentless, and the results are by turns hilarious and tragic. Calling on the Bard and a host of genius rappers, half-crazed preachers, and soulful poets to throw him a lifeline, he takes us on a propulsive ride that reaffirms the power of language. It all adds up to one man’s attempt to reclaim his life, and through that journey we connect to the deeper parts of ourselves, and, ultimately, to each other. Directed by Tony Taccone.”

You can buy tickets HERE.

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And, well, what can I say?

There are now an absolute TON of photos and videos from the Bad Seeds show in Sweden the other night. Way too many to start posting here.

I’m not positive, but it looked like, at one point during the show, Nick Cave couldn’t find a microphone that worked. I saw that video a few times.

Anyway–

Here are a couple photos from that thing I mentioned yesterday — about Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds chilling and taking in The Cure’s show over on a different stage:

And here are a few from the actual show:

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Finland tonight. Followed by 5 more shows in Europe between now and the end of August. You can buy tickets here!

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Well, we were supposed to have more thunderstorms today, but for some reason, the sun is now out.

So I guess I’ll close this and head out for another splendid walk in ~~Dreamville~~ — Oops! I meant, of course, Crazeysburg! And then I’ll get down to some work.

Have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!!!

One of my all-time favorite songs from my wee bonny teenaged girlhood! By one of my all-time favorite groups!!

It popped up on my playlist yesterday morning, when I ran out to the Dollar Store to run a quick errand for my beloved cats….

“Stayin’ Alive” by the immortal Bee Gees, 1977!!! Enjoy, gang.

Slim pickings but that’s okay!

August 9, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

It’s a really lovely, quiet Sunday morning here in the Hinterlands.

I spent all of yesterday getting caught up on stuff at my desk, so I don’t have too much to post about today.

However!

I did want to at least say that I was finally able to catch up with Sandra out in Los Angeles yesterday. We had a great chat! She flies back to NYC today. Then I think she’s planning on collapsing for a few days up in Rhinebeck and then we will get back to focusing on the staged reading of our play, “The Guide to Being Fabulous”.

While she was in LA, though, Sandra was involved with this amazing project, which happened this past Friday night (8/7)– since I found this posted online, I think it’s okay to post it here on the blog:

Apparently, it was a complete success!

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Okay.

Yesterday was International Cat Day!

Here’s Queenie just now, completely worn out from all the breathtaking festivities!!

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Yesterday, when it was time to do yoga, I wanted something just sort of different to listen to (I usually listen to religious or spiritual stuff).

I found this radio interview with Tom Petty from 2003 and I just loved it. It was at that perfect era in his life — the drugs were well behind him, he was married to Dana, The Last DJ, an incredible album, had already been released and he and the Heartbreakers were, once again, on the road (1 hr 23 mins):

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And as far as yesterday’s installment of The Sealey Challenge—

I decided I wanted to read something totally new. I was sort of worn out from re-reading poetry books from my past that were digging up all sorts of other emotions that weren’t necessarily related to the actual poems.

Since I had bought Drunk on Angel Breath by R. Nikolas Macioci last year and still had not had a moment to just sit down and absorb it, I chose to read that one yesterday.

Wow, gang. What an entrancing book of poems!!

If you’re new to the blog (i.e., you just started reading it this moment), R. Nikolas Macioci is not only an accomplished poet, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, and the author of 18 other poetry books — he was also my first Jr. High School English teacher back in 1972, when I was 12.

After I chose to write a poem as my “book report” for a book we had recently been assigned to read in class, he took an active interest in my writing and he took it upon himself — after class, on his own time — to teach me how to write.

That went on for several years, long after Jr. High School was over.

It was the only formal “training” as a writer that I ever had, but it totally and thoroughly served me well. It gave me an entire career.

Obviously, I have read his poems before, but this specific book had me spellbound. I could not put it down. It is safe to say that I had a really beautiful evening yesterday.

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Well, as far as “here’s this’s” — I only have ONE today!

But it is suitable for a Sunday morning!

From Warren Ellis!! In Bucharest!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Romania tonight. Then they have a few days off before playing Norway on August 13th. You can buy tickets here!

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And honestly, gang, that’s all I have for today.

The laundry is almost done and I’m planning to try to take it sort of easy today. We’ll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, I hope you have a splendid Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

A song I have just loved from the very first moment that I first heard it!!

But my fondest memory of the song, was playing it for my (back then-film production partner) Peitor Angell one night — giving him my iPhone with ear buds, as we walked together along Sunset Blvd. after dark. As I had been, he, too, was blown away by it.

Anyway.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “We Call Upon the Author”, from one of my favorite albums ever, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! 2008.

“We Call Upon The Author”

What we once thought we had we didn’t, and what we have now will never be that way again
So we call upon the author to explain

Our myxomatoid kids spraddle the streets, we’ve shunned them from the greasy-grind
The poor little things, they look so sad and old as they mount us from behind
I ask them to desist and to refrain
And then we call upon the author to explain

Rosary clutched in his hand, he died with tubes up his nose
And a cabal of angels with finger cymbals chanted his name in code
We shook our fists at the punishing rain
And we call upon the author to explain

He said everything is messed up around here, everything is banal and jejune
There is a planetary conspiracy against the likes of you and me in this idiot constituency of the moon
Well, he knew exactly who to blame
And we call upon the author to explain

Prolix! Prolix! Nothing a pair of scissors can’t fix!
Prolix! Prolix! Nothing a pair of scissors can’t fix!

Well, I go guruing down the street, young people gather round my feet
Ask me things, but I don’r know where to start
They ignite the power-trail ssstraight to my father’s heart
And once again I call upon the author to explain

We call upon the author to explain

Who is this great burdensome slavering dog-thing that mediocres my every thought?
I feel like a vacuum cleaner, a complete sucker, it’s fucked up and he is a fucker
But what an enormous and encyclopaedic brain
I call upon the author to explain

Oh rampant discrimination, mass poverty, third world debt, infectious diseease
Global inequality and deepening socio-economic divisions
Well, it does in your brain
And we call upon the author to explain

Now hang on, my friend Doug is tapping on the window (Hey Doug, how you been?)
Brings me back a book on holocaust poetry complete with pictures
Then tells me to get ready for the rain
And we call upon the author to explain

I say prolix! Prolix! Something a pair of scissors can fix

Bukowski was a jerk! Berryman was best!
He wrote like wet papier mache, went the Heming-way weirdly on wings and with maximum pain
We call upon the author to explain

Down in my bolthole I see they’ve published another volume of unreconstructed rubbish
“The waves, the waves were soldiers moving”. Well, thank you, thank you, thank you
And again I call upon the author to explain
Yeah, we call upon the author to explain

Prolix! Prolix! There’s nothing a pair of scissors can’t fix!

c – 2008 – Nick Cave, Warren Ellis

Oddly enough, life continues!!

August 8, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Wow, is it just me, or is life just really strange these days?

Let me just say one more thing about fiverr (see yesterday’s frustrated post)– my tax paperwork got approved and before the day was over, I had already received 6 scam attempts through my new fiverr account.

Needless to say, that shit never used to happen in the old days.

Plus, I recently had a scam attempt through a writing group on the Substack app. I’ve never had that happen before on Substack, either.

And I personally think the semi-scams for writers are endless now on LinkedIn so I try to stay off of there. (LinkedIn started out as a whole different thing 20 years ago, when I first started using it — long before it was an overcrowded phone app.)

Anyway. I won’t go on and on about it, but phone apps targetting writers (that have basically replaced the corresponding websites) are my new pet peeve.

But I have to say, that both the Tabor Research Group and Ross K. Nichols’ private Yachad, now have phone apps and they are fantastic. But they’re private, members-only type apps.

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Okay!

So.

On to happier things!

I had a chance to read the short story Maxim Jakubowski contributed to our upcoming anthology honoring the life of M. Christian, and it was fantastic. It was such a joy to read it — erotic but also an undercurrent of sci-fi. And I know for certain M. Christian would have loved it.

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Before I forget, I thought I would just post a little update regarding me and Sandra and our upcoming staged reading in NY for our play, “The Guide to Being Fabulous”.

Sandra is in Los Angeles, working on a different project right now and we are sort of playing “text-tag.”

If I don’t get assigned to a jury on Tuesday (when I have to report for jury duty), then we will finally get a chance to really catch up.

But if I do get put on a jury, then who knows how long it will be…

Ditto for the podcast that Valerie and I are trying to finally launch. Valerie’s hands have recovered quite nicely from the surgeries and she texted me a photo of her current painting-in-progress yesterday and I just loved it!!

So now she’s just waiting on me and my unkown schedule at this point. But it’s all coming, eventually.

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Okay, on to the Sealey Challenge!

I did indeed re-read half of Lunch Poems (by Frank O’Hara, City Lights Books, 1964) last evening. I will finish it tonight.

And it was indeed very emotional for me. Quite a few of the poems were familiar to me long before I first read Lunch Poems in 1984, because those poems had been included in The Selected Poems of Frank O’Hara, which I’d pretty much had memorized since I first read that in1975.

And yes, I even took the book to school with me back then, even though it quite clearly has a drawing on the cover by Larry Rivers of Frank O’Hara totally naked…

I digress!

The emotional part about re-reading Lunch Poems last night was all those references to places in NYC (and also Paris) that were totally foreign to me when I was first reading his poems at age 15, alone in my room in Ohio in 1975.

Not only are they no longer foreign, but they became places, buildings, shops, museums, even train stops, that I came to know very well.

And now it’s all part of my distant past. When did that fucking happen?

Anyway. I found the short video below online last night and I wanted to share it. It is Frank O’Hara reading 2 poems in 1964 that I came to know by heart as a young girl. (The first poem is about the day Billie Holiday died.)

But mostly, I wanted you to notice at the end of the first poem, when they pull back and show you Frank’s apartment in downtown NYC — my apartment on E. 12th Street looked exactly like that, with the built-in bookshelves next to the old fireplace! And everything painted white. (My apartment had two fireplaces! And they have since gutted the apartment and got rid of all of that cool stuff.)

After Lunch Poems, I will either re-read Baudelaire’s Flowers of Evil (a 1952 edition that I’ve owned for over 40 years, that has the original French alongside the English translations).

Or I will read Drunk on Angel Breath by R. Nikolas Macioci. (He was the the teacher I was so blessed to have in Jr. High School who literally taught me how to write, on his own time, after school.)

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Okay!

There is only one “here’s this” today that is not connected to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds!!

And that “here’s this” is THIS!!

From Johnny Depp’s new Sauvage campaign with Dior!

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Okay.

Here’s an older photo of Nick Cave that I just loved!

And here’s a photo from July, back in Vienne, France, that I also just love!

And the rest are all from Belgrade last night — and I have to say (again), the show looked INCREDIBLE! So many great photos and videos that it was sort of overwhelming this morning.

Here’s Warren Ellis last night:

And the rest are basically Nick Cave.

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Romania tomorrow night. You can buy tickets here!

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And that is it for today, gang!

I have so much to do at my desk today — in preparation for maybe not having anytime at all after Tuesday, if I get assigned to a jury.

I am still hoping that they will let me go but we shall see.

In the meantime, enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Some more of that making-the-bed music!!

From the Oldies FM Radio Station on the retro boombox next to my bed!

Saturday mornings are “Amazing 80s Day” and the DJ launched this morning’s show with this absolute gem!! Talk about memories from my Paradise Apartment on E.12th Street in the East Village in NYC!! I used to play this song so loud!

“Born in the USA”, Bruce Springsteen, 1984. Enjoy, gang.

Sorry I’m Late!

August 7, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Wow, gang.

Just another one of those things that make me insane–

When I awoke this morning, I decided to register over on fiverr again — as a private writing/editing coach.

Many years ago, when it first got started, signing up was easy and everything was sort of immediate and personal.

I could put up an add that I was a writing coach and I listed my contact info — and then I got some students that I really enjoyed.

It was so simple.

Now it’s like you’re applying to be an astronaut. It has taken 3 hours so far– and now I’m waiting to get my tax paperwork approved. That could take a couple more days…

It doesn’t actually matter because it’s not like there’s any hurry or anything — especially since I might be on jury duty next week. I just suddenly thought it would be a cool idea to be back on fiverr. I enjoy helping other writers.

Anyway.

Things on the web that used to be easy and much more person-friendly are now few and far between. (And within a nanosecond, they want you on their phone app instead…)

(And don’t even get me started on the constantly swirling shark-infested waters that now pass for the endlessly, endlessly, endlessly updating “LinkedIn”… Jesus, you know? When do people find time to just write?)

All I can say, really, is that I’m glad I became a professional writer back when it was actually really fun. And full of people and community and in-person meetings.

I don’t know how new writers can even stand it these days. But I am an old-timer now. What can I say??

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Okay!

That aside!

Guess what I discovered about my brand new and super-fast Honda Accord yesterday, gang????

I will try to set this up so that you can feel the joy the way I felt it!

ME (on the highway heading home and going about 20 miles over the speed limit): “Jeez. This new car is so fast! I better slow down.”

MY HONDA ACCORD (woman’s voice suddenly filling my car): “Police reporting up ahead.”

Holy shit, gang! That’s, like, not legal, right??

But I went down to the the speed limit, pronto, and sure enough — up ahead on the left, a black & yellow Sherriff’s car was sitting there, waiting for speeders!!

Wow! I love my fucking new car!!!

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On the “read a poetry book a day” front —

I decided that today, I am going to read a slender, amazing book that I haven’t read in years. It was written by my favorite poet — Frank O’Hara — whose poetry I “discovered” when I was 15 and I absolutely fell in love with him.

By then, he’d been dead for almost 10 years.

But this particular book — which was already legendary — I didn’t find until 1984, when I was already living in NYC (not far from Frank’s old apartment, and I was working where he had worked: the Museum of Modern Art!):

I am really looking forward to reading it. To see how I am going to react to all his wonderful words, and all the fantastic NYC imagery, all these decades later.

I’m guessing it will be a little bittersweet.

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Okay.

Not much in the “here’s this” department, since I spent all those HOURS on fiverr this morning…

But here’s this!

And I’ve posted it here before, but I love this photo of Keith:

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Okay.

If you go to the UK side of the Nick Cave store — you can pre-order some of the Brighton Beach homecoming merch! But it is only on the UK side of the store.

And Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Belgrade, Serbia tonight! If it’s not too late, you can still buy tickets here!!

Then they’re off to Romania!!

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And honestly, that’s actually it for now. I gotta scoot! And a terrific thunderstorm is now filling the skies across the Hinterlands so I want to go down to the kitchen porch and check on a couple of those cats!!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s scoot outta here with this–

Live in Paris, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “God Is In The House”. 2007. Enjoy, gang.

New habits underway in the Hinterlands!

August 4, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, so it’s looking like Tuesdays are now my new day to go to town and get the groceries!

And, wow, it is another really gorgeous day today, gang. It will be such a lovely drive.

And I’ve decided to stop in at the Honda dealership in town, too, and see if there’s any way at all they would let me either re-negotiate the lease on my current Honda Civic, or let me trade it in a year early (on a 3-year lease).

My current lease was negotiated back when I still had really horrible credit, leftover from the bankruptcy caused by the scamdemic lockdowns. And so my monthly payment is really high — over twice what I usually paid on leases before the bankruptcy.

I was really grateful that they still arranged a lease for me on a brand new car when I had such lousy credit, but, well, I thought I’d just see if I have any options 2 years later. (Sometimes they want the cars back so that they can turn around and sell them used for a “truckload” of money…) We’ll see. I still love the car. I just don’t love the high payment.

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All right.

If you didn’t see the recent video on social media of the new Rolling Stones song, “Mr. Charm”, underscoring some really funny footage of Ronnie Wood being, well, annoying in the recording studio… Well, it was really cute!

And now! Ronnie Wood announces a new work of art! Limited to 195 prints, each is hand-signed, numbered, and named. Coming August 7th!! (Order it HERE)

“Mr. Charm”:

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Yesterday, the weekly newsletter from Black Lawrence Press reminded us to take the Sealey Challenge in August!!

“The Sealey Challenge, a community challenge to read one poetry book a day in the month of August, is in its 10th year! Be sure to check out their website for bingo cards, participation suggestions, and ways to modify the challenge if you don’t have the time to devour 31 whole books this month.”

And, yes! Since I have plenty of TIME now, I began the challenge yesterday by reading Thaddeus Rutkowski’s new poetry collection, Tracks In Snow (Finishing Line Press).

I really enjoyed it! (Although I love everything he’s ever written…)

I realized that I easily have at least 31 books of poetry in the house already — about 29 of which I haven’t read in a really long time. Plus, about 15 of them were written by poets that I actually know, so it will be fun to revisit everyone.

Next up is Awakened (2006, Rogues Scholars Press) by Iris N. Schwartz & Madeline Artenberg. Both just wonderful poets! But apparently, I haven’t read the book in 20 years!! I’m looking forward to reading it again tonight.

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Before I forget, I found out some really disturbing news yesterday about the new neighbors across the road from me — the ones who recently bought and are rehabbing the little 125-year-old house that has sat empty for 8 years…

They spend their winters in Florida!!!

I was flabbergasted!

ME (flabbergasted): “You mean, you’re not going to be here for Christmas??!!”

HE: “We’re not into Christmas. Never have been.”

I was so looking forward to seeing how they were going to decorate the little house… Oh well.

(Loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall that I am in no way over-the-top about Christmas…)

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Okay.

Here’s this!

I hear that train a-coming, honey!!

Johnny Cash, in front of Folsom Prison, 1968!!

And here’s this (again), while we’re at it! One of my favorite songs of all time!! Johnny Cash, “Folsom Prison Blues” LIVE, 1968!!

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And here are a few more photos from the Bad Seeds’ show in Dresden on Sunday!!

George & Larry!

And here’s this! Nick Cave in “Fucking Dresden — so beautiful!” I concur!!

And another WONDERFUL shot of Nick–

Tonight & tomorrow, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Croatia! Tomorrow is SOLD OUT, but you can buy tickets here for tonight if you hurry — and if, you know, you , like, live down the block…!!

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All righty.

That is it!

I am off to town to run the various errands.

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!

Speaking of poetry in August…

Yes, I am still reading John Cooper Clarke’s really long autobiography (and still loving it!!) I Wanna Be Yours (Picador UK, 2020).

So, from the punk poet himself, John Cooper Clarke, a punk poetry recital on London TV in 1980: “Beasley Street”. Enjoy, gang!

Monday Swings Around Again!

August 3, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

As you can see, I did not make it back here to the blog yesterday. But never fear, here I am now!

I did go to the Sunday Mass at the Children of Mary convent yesterday. Wow, are the grounds amazing. You would never, ever, EVER, in a million years, guess that a convent was hidden up in those woods — unless somebody told you about it.

Obviously, it is way out in the country. And then you follow a twisting, turning gravel road — up and up, surrounded by trees — and then suddenly there are a bunch of old cabins and barns. Some cows and sheep. Some sacred statues hidden among all the trees. And you are there.

About 20 Sisters live there, and they basically built the chapel themselves (25 years ago), which is like a really large and incredibly peaceful, beautiful log cabin-ish kind of thing.

Really, just beautiful.

It turns out, though, that the convent is not that far from my house but I live directly on the other side of it from where my girlfriend lives (in town). So, coming from her direction, it felt like we were way out in the middle of fucking nowhere yesterday — and that’s pretty much where my house is! In the middle of fucking nowhere!

But I digress!

Anyway, I’m glad I had the opportunity to experience it. Plus, it was supposed to rain yesterday, but it didn’t. It was a beautiful day.

Here’s another photo I found online:

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Today, I have quite a few things to do here at my desk, so I need to get started on that soon.

Plus, since I didn’t post yesterday, I have a ton of “here’s this’s” today!!

So let’s get started!!

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First, this was very, very interesting!

From Ross K. Nichols’ Sunday School, yesterday afternoon:

“The Bible tells us that one family was entrusted with the care of Israel’s most sacred objects, including the ark of the covenant and the scroll of Moses kept beside it. The biblical writers use different terminology for this family. Were they priests or not?

“In this study, we will survey competing priestly claims, disputed genealogies, and traces of an ancient struggle preserved by biblical writers.

“Then something remarkable happens: the ark disappears, the scroll vanishes from view, and the family entrusted with their care is no longer mentioned.

“What happened to the Bible’s most holy things, and could the words of one member of the chosen family help us carry on without them?”

The Disappearance of the Bible’s Most Holy Things (1 hr):

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From the Mid-America Arts Alliance:

Artist and Arts Organization Opportunities and Deadlines:

“(MAAA) is accepting pitches from creators interested in showcasing local artists, cultural events, and creative communities across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and the Native nations that share these geographies. Selected contributors will receive $250 to capture 10 short vertical smartphone videos (15+ seconds each) and provide a brief written description. Arts in Mid-America will edit the footage, add narration, and share the finished videos on its social media channels, with contributors receiving credit. The opportunity is open for events taking place between August and December 2026. Check out this example video for an idea of how your footage will be used.”

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Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of Bill Burroughs!

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Here are the Rolling Stones looking happy in London in 1969!

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And Saturday was the Heavenly Birthday of one of my all-time favorite people, Jim Carroll!

From Phyllis Stein! Jim with Keith in NYC, 1980. Yes, Jim Carroll was TALL!!

Oh, and here’s this. Being retired now (!!) gives me time to do all sorts of interesting things — like look through books I’ve owned for a million years!

I took this book of poems by Jim Carroll down from my bookshelf last week —

The book came out in Spring of 1986, after I’d taken that amazing songwriting class with Jim Carroll at the West Side’ Y’ in NYC for several months in 1984.

I flipped open the book and discovered this on the title page:

And then I remembered how, when I presented the book to him at the bookstore in NYC to have him sign it, in that intensely thick, inimitable, high-pitched NY accent, Jim said: “Marilyn! How ya been?”

It just thrilled me that he remembered me.

Had I not retired 2 weeks ago, I would not have taken that book down from my bookshelf last week, and I would never have remembered that beautiful little moment of my long-lived life…

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Okay.

Here’s this!

From Phyllis Stein!! Information about how to watch this movie online!!

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Okay.

I had tons more photos from the Bad Seeds’ show in Brighton, but it turns out, that couple who were in Brighton — and who I now follow on Instagram — actually attended the show in Dresden, Germany, yesterday and so I will sort of move along to Dresden!

From that same couple:

Oh — well, here’s this. George Vjestica posted this of the crowd in Brighton, nearly 50,000 people:

Warren Ellis, waiting on a plane to Dresden!!

Warren Ellis on an elevator in Dresden!!

The set list!

And this was really great.

This morning, Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File about his homecoming in Brighton. He said, in part:

“…I want to thank everyone who came to the concert – so many faces I recognised from years gone by. It was a homecoming in many different ways, and although part of me is relieved the Preston Park show is behind me – sometimes my job is so completely and emotionally overwhelming – I’m happy we could, for a delirious moment in time, create a place where the absent and the present could dance together. Again, thank you….”

You can read it in full HERE.

NICK AND KYLIE, PRESTON PARK, PHOTOGRAPH BY CHLOE IRVING

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Croatia next — on August 4th & 5th — but the show on August 5th is SOLD OUT. You can buy tickets to Tuesday’s show HERE.

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And that is it for now!!

The laundry is actually already done.

And now I’m gonna head out for another one of those amazing walks because the weather is beautiful yet again.

And then I’m gonna get to work around here.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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A wonderful Saturday is upon us!

August 1, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Cloudy, grey, humid — but still! What a great day!

Before I forget — I will not be posting tomorrow, at least not in the morning, because I am indeed going to attend Sunday Mass at that convent hidden up in the hills! And I need to be at my girlfriend’s house over in town by 8:30AM.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to get any photos because I really don’t like having my phone with me in church, but we’ll see. The grounds are allegedly just beautiful, so I might want to try to get photos of that.

I did indeed tune into the the online Collapse Press poetry reading last night! It was really engaging. But it sure made me miss the poetry readings I used to attend all the time in NYC, before any of that kind of stuff was online.

Back when everything was more personal…

And then I remembered —

ME (remembering): “Oh wait. I was one of the pioneers in getting poetry and spoken word readings online!”

Marilyn’s Room, Inc. sometimes partnered with Broadcast.com and Psuedo.com back in the late 1990s in NYC, and I brought all kinds of writers and poets to be on the live broadcasts for the very first time! Back when all of that impersonal Internet stuff was brand new!

How quickly we forget…

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From Metrograph Weekend, an interview with Tsai Ming-liang!

His 1998 movie, The Hole, is now on 35mm and currently showing at Metrograph in NYC.

I love that movie!!! It’s sort of indescribable and it is so entertaining. (I love all his movies.)

One of my favorite scenes from the film:

The Hole by Tsai Ming-liang | Trailer HD:

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Okay.

Here’s this!!

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers! Smoking in Amsterdam in 1977! I love that HAIR!!!

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And I absolutely loved this!

I thought I knew all of Ethan Russell’s photos of Keith from 1972! But this was a new one!

Keith smoking backstage in LA, on the 1972 Exile On Main St. Tour:

And here’s another one of Keith with Buddy Guy on his 90th birthday.

(Oh, and when I was at lunch with my “buddy” Steve yesterday, he told me that one of our mutual friends from high school will be in NYC with her husband in October to see the Buddy Guy 90th Birthday Bash at Radio City Music Hall!! Buy tickets here!)

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From Phyllis Stein.

A lovely photo of the late, great playwright Sam Shepard!

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And now let’s return to Brighton!!

First — today and tomorrow is the Nick Cave Cinema Takeover at Duke of York’s Picturehouse in Brighton! (It’s probably going on right now. Well, I’ll be, um, curious to see how people respond to some of these films, gang…)

And that random couple I started following around (via Instagram) on Thursday had some great photos from yesterday!!

And the HUGE surprise of the night was when Kylie Minogue joined Nick and the Bad Seeds onstage. There were literally TONS of videos and photos of that, but here are just a couple:

And here’s this, while we’re at it!! From way back in 1995!

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ft. Kylie Minogue – “Where The Wild Roses Grow“:

And a couple more photos from the concert last night:

It really looked like everyone had such a great time in Brighton the past couple of days. I had so much fun scrolling through all the videos and photos.

The tour resumes in Dresden, Germany on Sunday. You can buy tickets here!

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And I think that is it for now!! I gotta lot of work to tackle here at my desk today, so I’m gonna get started!

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

From Brighton, last night!!