Tag Archives: family

What Lies Ahead!!

October 31, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Here in Crazeysburg, we actually have trick-or-treaters coming out on Halloween!!

In the other nearby towns, trick-or-treat already happened on Thursday night. I guess because it frees everyone up to go to parties on Halloween — or church, if, you know, you’re Satanic or something…

Anyway!!

This is only the 2nd year that our village has had door-to-door trick-or-treaters. The kids used to dress up and then all just meet down by the little Town Hall area and get candy there, and play games, etc.

I really, really love seeing the kids all dressed up, going door-to-door!! They have such a good time. I have no clue if I bought enough candy, but we’ll find out!!

My front door doesn’t actually work, so I decorate the area directly in front of the front door and set a big bowl of candy there, and some lit lanterns, so they can help themselves. And I just sit in the family room and sort of happily watch them while sort of watching TV, too.

This is what I noticed last year: the kids are incredibly polite. They only take one piece of candy, each, and then move on to the next house. Even though it’s a big bowl of FREE candy!! Yay!! But all of them were just really polite.

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Okay!

For some reason, I don’t have much today.

But I do have this!

Someone on Facebook was kind enough to give us 3 for the price of ONE!! Yay!!

Keith!! Smoking!!

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Oh! And I found out yesterday, that me and my co-workers will be going to THIS in early December!

At the Licking County Players Theater!! “Miracle on 34th Street”!! I think it’s a musical, but I’m not sure. Either way, it’s a Christmas miracle and I can’t wait!!

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Okay.

I found out about this documentary on Facebook yesterday. I haven’t had time to watch the whole thing yet, but here it is!

From Melbourne’s The Culture Archivist:

The wild Melbourne world that created Nick Cave (36 mins):

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And speaking of Nick Cave…

Nick Cave Official and The Red Hand Files posted this on Instagram yesterday!!

Something important is going to be announced on Friday, November 6th!!

I think common sense tells us, Nick Cave is going to announce that he’s started smoking again!!! Yay!!!

But, maybe — it’ll be something like a book coming out, with a collection of the greatest Red Hand Files??

Or maybe — Nick is taking the Red Hand Files on tour???!!! And people can ask him questions again, like they did during that fantastic In Conversation tour he did all over the world about 7 years ago??

Obviously, I don’t know but we will find out on Friday!!

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And here’s a couple from Warren Ellis, on tour right now with the Dirty Three!!

And I loved the expressions on everyone’s faces here!!! In Oslo, last night–

And here’s this, because I immediately thought of it!! Paul Simon’s classic “Mother & Child Reunion”, from 1971!!

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Okay.

And here’s this!!

From Facebook!!

Beautiful!!

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And that’s all I’ve got for now!

I’ll be heading out to the store here soon. We are only open for 3 hours on Saturdays, so I’ll probably be right back home before I know it. Plus, I’ll be spending those 3 hours today working with my favorite Q-following girlfriend! So I’m guessing those 3 hours will fly…

We shall see.

However, this means that I don’t get to join in on the live Zoom with James Tabor and the Tabor Research Group today. It’s the first live Zoom since our conference last month in North Carolina. Plus, James will be joining us from Israel, where he is currently staying with Simcha Jacobovici –another one of my favorite people!! — at Simcha’s house.

I will have to watch the replay, but I wish I could be there, live.

But tomorrow!! It’s my favorite day of the year — we turn those clocks back one hour, yay!! And I get one hour of my fleeting life back!!

Meanwhile.

Enjoy your Saturday (and Halloween, if you celebrate it) 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!!

A few days ago, Alex S. Johnson interviewed British metal singer Aaron Stainthorpe!

Aaron Stainthorpe (Ex-MY DYING BRIDE; HIGH PARASITE; TOWARDS THE SINISTER). THE KANDY FONTAINE SHOW (1 hr 28 mins). Enjoy, gang!!

Happily saying farewell to yesterday!

October 28, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 4 Comments

Wow, gang.

I honestly have no idea what happened, but late yesterday afternoon there was just a huge energy shift around here. Negative. Intense. Stressful.

I don’t know if it was strictly coming from me, or if other people were feeling it, too? You know how they say that cell towers can be used to transmit negative radio waves. or micro waves? Things like that?

I just don’t know. But I went from having a very decent day to suddenly feeling like I was on the verge of a mini-nervous breakdown. I couldn’t calm down — couldn’t force myself to do yoga. Couldn’t force myself to go outside and take a walk, even though it was a really beautiful day.

And I do think it’s sort of curious how my blog went from usually getting around 200 visitors a day, worldwide — then yesterday there were only 36 visitors, and most came from Europe. So it made me wonder, if just in general, there was a stressful energy going around.

And then — I was supposed to hear back from Sandra late yesterday afternoon about one of our projects, but she didn’t call. I was awake at 2:45AM, struggling to go back to sleep. I decided to text her, just to remind her that I’m working today and to call me Thursday instead… she texted right back! At 2:45AM. She couldn’t sleep, either.

So who knows! I did eventually fall back to sleep and woke up feeling a lot better. more human. A little tired…

And I did spend a couple of hours on the flash fiction piece for the Bill Burroughs anthology early yesterday afternoon. I’m not really sure how it’s going because I don’t know yet how it will end — I don’t know yet what I’m aiming for, but we’ll see how it unfolds. At least I got started.

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Okay.

From James Tabor– he posted this to the Research Group last night. I think it’s okay to re-post it here:

“Robert Eisenman, Scholar of Early Christianity Who Freed the Dead Sea Scrolls, Passes Away at 89“

“I was very close to Robert since 1991 when we excavated at Qumran. We have spent hundreds of days together over these years. He lived a full and amazing life. I have endless stories to share with you all. Packing and getting ready to head to Israel soon. He was buried yesterday on the Mt of Olives…I will try to visit his grave while in Jerusalem weekend after next.”

James also included this video:

Robert Eisenman & the Dead Sea Scrolls: RIP: Best Interview Ever! (1 hr):

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Well, this really perked my “spirits” yesterday!!

Warren Ellis posted this photo from the after show — after his solo performance in Milan!

Yay!! Look who showed up?? And 2 of them had already been dead for decades!!

But at least a good time was had by all. Richard Hell, Johnny Thunders, and Sid Vicious:

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And here’s this!

Tom Petty in NYC in 1977! (Photo by Michael Putland)

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And this!

Keith and Ronnie, rehearsing in 1978 in NYC. (Photo by Ken Regan)

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From yesterday!

Alex S. Johnson chats with the legendary author, Paul Di Filippo (1 hr):

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And here’s this!!

There was quite a crowd of current and former Bad Seeds on Denmark Street in London the other day!!

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And here’s this!

From 1989!! In Los Angeles! A few of the Travelin’ Wilburys, standing still! With a couple of plates over their heads!! Tom Petty! Jeff Lynne (smoking! drinking!)! And George Harrison!

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And back to the Bad Seeds–

A couple of great ones with great hair! Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld!!

And from Facebook!

(And today, I heartily concur — although, yesterday afternoon, not so much!!)

And that is it for now.

I want to try to just get a little more rest before heading to town. Just to make sure my energy is completely back on track for the store. Since, you know, you can’t really help others if you can’t help yourself…

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.

Perfect accompaniment for my in-progress Bill Burroughs piece.

Jack Kerouac, reading “MacDougal Street Blues” with a jazz piano. (With film footage of NYC in the 1950s-60s.) (3 mins). Enjoy, gang!!

A Happy Tuesday in the Hinterlands!

October 27, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Okay!

I am here.

It’s been an active morning here so far!!

I slept great. Absolutely, totally great.

Then got out of bed at 5:30AM to discover that one of the cats had thrown up on one of the upstairs bathroom rugs. Oh well.

And another cat (the truly beautiful Cuddles McGee) was in the process of peeing on a throw rug in the hallway.

So one load of laundry got immediately underway! And I only got a tiny little bit pissed off…

Then in the downstairs bathroom, off the laundry room, I discovered that the cats had managed to get into the cupboard under the bathroom sink and had shredded THREE brand new rolls of paper towels.

Shredded bits of paper were all over the floor and I had to drop everything and sweep it up.

At this point, it was about 5:43AM.

I only got a tiny little bit more pissed off — if you count hollering, “You FUCKERS!!!” as being a tiny little bit more pissed off…

However.

I was able to easily switch gears when I took the shredded paper towel rolls out to the trash bin beside the kitchen porch, and there sat my beautiful Kon Tiki of the Great Outdoors, on the porch in the dark, and she went trotting into the kitchen to join us for breakfast.

Yay.

And so then we got breakfast underway!!

I made a really big breakfast for myself this morning, because I’ve been missing being in that hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, a few weeks ago — and, NO!, not because my cats weren’t there, but because the hotel had that great breakfast buffet every morning!

So, since I have today off, I decided to make a big breakfast and I’m really glad I did. It really, really shifted my mood back to being in a happy place!!

Okay!

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Today, I’m mostly going to begin working on the flash fiction piece for the William S. Burroughs anthology.

I have an overall feeling about what I want to write, but I’m not sure, yet, how I will put it down on paper. So we shall see how it goes!! I still have about 2 weeks to nail it and send it in.

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If you are a taxpaying US citizen and either have an IRA or need help starting an affordable one (retirement account), go to TrumpIRA.gov and sign up for info, if you haven’t already. (You might have already received a letter from the IRS about doing this.)

The government will be making up to $1000 contributions to our retirement accounts, annually, beginning in 2027, so be sure to sign up!!

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Okay.

Sadly, this happened on this day in 2013–

And, no, I’m not going to post this song here again, because I’ve already posted it here a million times….

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And here’s this–

Speaking of Bill Burroughs!! Here he is with ~~philosopher and former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain~~ — Oops! excuse me — the artist, Francis Bacon!

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And here’s this!

Keith!! Holding a pair of shades! And a half-empty or half-full bottle of Jack Daniels!! (Photo perhaps taken by my little Jewish, Jack-Daniels-drinking school friend, Karen, back in 1972?? Not sure…)

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And here’s this!!

From the show in Milan last night!!!

Warren Ellis!! Plus one of the cutest pups ever!!

And here’s this while we’re at it!! “Cherry Bomb,” by the legendary Runaways, 1976!!

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And from Facebook!!

Here’s this!

Nick Cave, smoking!! Singing! Maybe even sweating a little??!!

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And that is it for today!!

And since it’s Tuesday, it means I get to watch a new episode of Season 2 of “Ludwig” on Britbox during dinner tonight!! Yay!

Meanwhile, have a terrific Tuesday, 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!!

Burroughs on Kerouac (1 min). Just beautiful:

Very quick post

October 23, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Okay, I did get a little nap just now (see earlier post), but I still don’t have time for a regular post today before I have to leave for town.

However, I did want to post this today.

10 years ago today, the sweetest cat on Earth left us!

Bunny! She lived to be 14. I adopted Bunny and her brother Buster as kittens, from an animal shelter in Times Square in NYC. They moved with me 5 times — to 3 different States…

And here’s the portrait Valerie in Brooklyn made of Bunny about 12 years ago:

And I’m posting this just because I saw it while looking for photos of Bunny —

The house I had from October 2006 to October 2016. Huckleberry, on the old piano in the living room!

Also, this happened on this day in 1999–

I lost my best friend on Earth, Paul Martin. He died at a few minutes after 8 in the evening, October 23, 1999. And oddly, it had been an incredibly beautiful fall evening. I was over in Riverside Park, looking out at the Hudson River, overwhelmed by how beautiful everything looked; it was spellbinding. (This was only a few blocks from where Wayne & I lived on the Upper West Side in NYC.)

Then I went home and a little later, got word from Paul’s mom that Paul had passed away. He had suffered from AIDS for about 6 years by then and had been confined to a nursing home for the final year of it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: my life was never the same after Paul died. He was truly my best friend. So funny, so talented. So compassionate. We stood by each other through everything. We met in the Theater Department in high school, in 1977, and remained best friends for 22 years.

Soar in peace, baby! I miss you so much.

And that’s it.

I’ll have a regular post tomorrow. Thanks for visiting. I love you guys!!

And here’s this, just because Paul loved this song so much. I wrote it in 1981.

“Breaking Glass”

I was doomed to live in New York City
On a block where accidental babies
Went out with the trash;
We shared a two-room apartment,
Tiny and cold
To the tune of a love, by winter,
Growing old
And the sound of an angry young woman
Breaking glass.

I recall our lives were never empty
There were tears enough for the third who entered
And beckoned your past;
The hours you kept were deceitful
And it had to show
The passion of time she burned
I couldn’t control;
I was trapped in my raging fury
And breaking glass.

CHORUS
There’s no telling how the coming of love
Will find us
There’s no guessing in what way
It’s gonna set us free
There’s no doubting that the anger of love
Can break us
When our actions don’t even come close
To the people we wanna be most
And our dreams don’t work out as the glories
They’d promised to be.

Without excuses I left the table
Well, I ran like hell while I was still able
I started anew;
I’ve lost some weight and I’m strong
And happy now
I got over the fiery anger, though
I don’t know how;
The songs we knew, they don’t drive me crazy
Well, I stopped the drinking and being lazy
It’s over at last;
The painful sheer rejection has
All gone past;
The tunes of deceit and loneliness
Fading fast;
Gone are the days of anger
And breaking glass.

c- 1981 Marilyn Jaye Lewis
First of May Songs, BMI

A delightful Thursday in the Hinterlands!

October 22, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

All righty, gang!

Today, I am hoping to finally decide the order to put the stories in for the M. Christian anthology. For some reason, I’m having trouble with that. But I am hoping to simply tackle it today.

Then write the Foreword.

Then turn in the anthology to my publisher.

That’s the plan anyway….

If for some reason it goes awry, I still have the weekend to finish it and turn it in.

Oh!

My work schedule has changed. I will now be working Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. And one Saturday morning per month. (Which means that for 3 weeks each month, I will have 3 days off in a row…)

I am still absolutely loving being back at that job, gang. Honestly, it’s like being part of a family again.

And there is so much passion there, and laughter — mixed with a genuine desire to help people (the customers) take control of their own health.

And at the end of the shift, we generally all walk out together and hug each other while saying goodbye and heading out for the night.

That little health & wellness store has been family-owned and on that spot for over 30 years.

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Okay!

I thought this was very interesting. I read it in “The Dailies” this morning:

“WGA East found a way to make scripts AI-proof. The [screenwriter’s] guild is partnering with Cloak, a startup whose tool makes files unreadable to AI but readable by humans, and giving members free access to keep their work out of training data. Cloak claims it holds up against ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, plus the auto-summaries in Gmail.”

You can read about it in full on IndieWire HERE.

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From Singapore Unbound today:

“You are warmly invited to Singapore Unbound’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, wherever you are in the world! Established in 2016, Singapore Unbound envisions and works for a creative and fulfilling life for everyone through the arts and activism. We organize events such as the monthly Second Saturdays Reading Series and the biennial Singapore Literature Festival in NYC. We also publish a literary journal called SUSPECT and books through our close associate Gaudy Boy.”

Singapore Unbound’s 10th Anniversary Celebration (online)
Saturday, November 14, 8.00-9.30 pm ET / Sunday, November 15, 9.00-10.30 am SGT
Featuring Vijay Seshadri, Gina Apostol, and Tania De Rozario
RSVP: HERE

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All righty.

From Phyllis Stein!

Gene Vincent, smoking in 1956!! (Photo from Michael Ochs Archives)

And also from 1956 — Gene Vincent’s HUGE hit, “Be-Bop-A-Lula”!! (I loved this song as a wee bonny lass! It was, by then, already a classic.)

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And here’s a great photo of Keith Richards and the late, great, and very missed, Charlie Watts!

And here’s Mick and Keith goin’ places on a train!! (1964 or 65?) (Mick doesn’t own a cellphone yet so he’s just staring at a bottle…)

Keith thinks staring at bottles is, well, stupid.

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Here’s Ronnie Wood, painting!!

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And here’s a photo by the legendary rock photographer, Lynn Goldsmith!!

3 of my idols when I was in my late teens:

Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, and Tom Petty!!

And why not listen to this, for a change?! Jackson Browne’s huge hit from 1978! “Running On Empty”!

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And here’s this!!

Yesterday, Bad Seed George Vjestica wished Jim Sclavunos a Happy Birthday!!

Happy belated birthday, Jim Sclavunos (aka “Super Hot Dog”)!! (I love this photo: Bad Seeds Jim, Colin, George, and Carly.)

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From Nick Cave Official this morning–

Apparently, it’s been 5 years since Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds released Vol. 2 of B-Sides & Rarities!!

(I can’t believe it’s been 5 years already…)

But this happened, 5 years ago, too! This was such a great conversation. This happened online during the era of lockdowns. I remember listening to it on my (now obsolete) iPad, in bed , in the dark…

Nick Cave & Mick Harvey Talk B-Sides & Rarities (36 mins):

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And from Facebook!!

You know, in case we wanted to have some FUN today!!

Nick Cave!! Smoking!! And, well, having fun…(?)!

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And that is it.

I better get that editor’s cap back on and get to work around here.

Enjoy your Thursday, 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 absolute favorite songs from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ B-Sides & Rarities, Vol. 2!

I do not know how many times I have listened to this song in the last 5 years…

“Fleeting Love”. 2008. Enjoy, gang.

“Fleeting Love”

I wake up and it’s half past four
My baby, she turns her face to the wall
I ain’t gonna cry
But it ain’t that funny no more

I pulled on a blanket made of stars
I wrap up my darling, all nice and warm
I ain’t gonna lie
But I don’t want the truth no more

Everybody knows
Ain’t found this good since the Stone Age
When my undying love
Was just a phase

On her way to the club
I hear her say
She’d dance the night away
Everybody needs some fleeting love

I follow my baby up the hotel stairs
And I’m lying into the back of her legs
I ain’t gonna buy
Whatever it is they’re selling, no more

I wake up later and it’s half past five
My baby, she stretches, opens her eyes
She says, “I ain’t gonna lie
But I could get to like you, babe”

Everybody knows
Ain’t found this good since the Stone Age
When my undying love
Was just a phase

On her way back to the club
I heard her say
As we dance the night away
Everybody needs some fleeting love

Ain’t found this good since the Stone Age
When my undying love
Was just a phase

When she opened her eyes
I heard her cry
Saying, “Darling, don’t you sigh
‘Cause everybody needs some fleeting love”

c – 2008 Nick Cave, Warren Ellis

“Her Tuesdays should just be called ‘sorry I’m late’ day.”

October 20, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 1 Comment

I don’t really know what it is about Tuesdays, now, gang, but since I started back to work at the store, Tuesdays feel like Saturdays to me. And I just seem to get a really slow start here.

Meaning: I go back to bed after breakfast; play with the cats; look around at my world and wonder how the heck I even got here… Etc.

But here I am, now, at my desk! Happy Tuesday!

Before we forget!!!!

Happy heavenly birthday, Tom Petty!!

Believe it or not, he would have been 76 today. I almost can’t fucking believe it. Anyway…

And let’s listen to this one today! One of my all-time favorite Tom Petty songs. “You & Me”, from The Last DJ, 2002.

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Well, I have to say that Rasha’s mom did come to get her and take her to her new home, and I actually miss little Rasha quite a bit.

Yes, even with 14 cats still living here…

But every time I remind myself that Rasha and her mom are finally re-united now — I feel very happy for both of them.

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From James Tabor–

Did the First Witnesses Believe that Jesus’ Body Left the Tomb? (33 mins):

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And here’s this!

A couple of great photos of the Rolling Stones from yesteryear!!

1966–

1980!

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And something else I did not know about Dwight Yoakam!!

(Although I do know that he went to high school in Columbus, Ohio!! But he lived way on the other side of the city from where I lived. Plus, he’s 4 years older than I am, so I was about 13 when he was graduating high school…)

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Here’s this!

Rowland S. Howard smoking and promoting “Swamp Thing”!

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I have had misgivings about posting this photo to my blog, because I didn’t want to invade her privacy or anything.

But, you know, she DID post it to Instagram… so I’m gonna go ahead and post it to my blog!

Blare N. Bitch!! At “Gay C/DC”!! The “All Gay Tribute to AC/DC” in LA the other night!!

She is still a guitar player — but more a heavy metal player than the punk rocker she was when we first started, you know, doin’ that stuff we did in the 1980s…

Anyway. She was the absolute love of my life then, and she still looks fantastic at 67!!

And here’s this, while we’re at it!! The song I wrote for her in 1983! “Where Do Dark Girls Go?” (Back then, the girls she ran with in her punk band had some heroin issues… but she’s been clean now for about 38 years.)

WHERE DO DARK GIRLS GO?

Where do they go
When the night comes down?
They turn up the radio
And they drive around;
When the night comes down.

Where do they hide
When the lonesome road
Is taking its toll again
And the kicks get old;
Where do dark girls go?

Out on the wind
Where the voices call
From the pain of centuries
Through the darkest soul?
Is that where they go?

CHORUS
She takes it in
She breathes it out
She breaks the thing
She cares about
She tries again, cries and in
Anger she breaks it down;
She buys the dream
She holds it then
The passion turns to fire again;
She’s trying it, hiding it
This is her only crime:
She speaks her mind.

Where do they run
When the dreams get lost
And the game goes round & round
And she can’t get off,
And she can’t get off?

Where do they hide
When the fear takes hold
And she’s pushed the needle down
As far as it will go?
Where do dark girls go?

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And here’s this!!

Nick Cave, looking splendid while lounging somewhere, not smoking and holding a pair of glasses!! In black & white!!

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And actually, I think that’s it for now.

I’ve got to run a couple of errands here in the village, then focus on the M. Christian tribute anthology which is just about complete…

I do have to say that I am battling a sort of undercurrent of depression, gang. The anthology has brought some wonderful people back in my life from the old days — but it makes me really miss the old days. I’m trying to just focus on “here & now” and allow the past to be part of what “now” is. If that makes sense? (All of it would probably be easier if I were still living in NYC, however.) But I am so grateful I have the old job back at the health & wellness store, and get to be with my friends when I’m working there. Because at least that makes me really, really happy.

Anyway — I do have this to look forward to today!!

Episode 2 of Season 2 of “Ludwig” started airing on Britbox today! I will watch it during my dinner!

Okay!

Have a terrific Tuesday, 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!

The new video by the Rolling Stones!! Just dropped this morning. Enjoy, gang!

Okay! I’m starting to get used to this!

October 9, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Heading to town in the mornings and having a job again!! Even if it’s only part-time.

Honestly, gang, when I wake up and realize that I have someplace to be, a place I really love being in, around people I really enjoy, it makes me feel so happy to get out of bed!!

I will find out today if I’ll be needed to work on Saturdays, too, but on Saturdays, the store is only open for 3 hours so it’s not really like working…

Anyway.

I’m in a really good place, mentally. Finally.

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All right. So.

The hot water heater is working great, for now. However, as soon as the sun is fully up, I need to head down into my 125-year-old creepy basement and look at the breaker panel, because another fuse has blown on one side of the kitchen wall. I’m guessing that when he was checking the breakers yesterday afternoon, he flipped one that needs to be flipped back. We shall see!

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Okay!!

It’s all about THIS today!!

Happy heavenly birthday John Lennon!! Born on this day in 1940. Rest in glory, baby!!

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And I think this next one should just basically be the new motto for this whole blog!!

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All righty.

A couple of updates on Warren Ellis that are not in any way dog-throwing-up related!!

Coming up on October 26th in Milan, Italy (I think this is in some sort of fashion museum?) —

And here’s this!

Kirsten Krauth’s new podcast, Just Surrender: Creative Conversations, interviews Warren Ellis!

You can listen HERE (45 mins)

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There’s an End of Summer Sale going on at the Nick Cave merch store!!

Shop here for Summer Sale items!!

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Okay. Here’s this!!

The Cars take Osaka in 1980!!

Oh, here’s something, before I forget!

The Cars were really popular when I was in my late teens. And the girlfriend I wrote about here recently who is now really sick and confined to a nursing home — we loved The Cars.

She and I recently re-connected through Facebook. And last night — another girlfriend re-connected with me through Facebook! The three of us were all really close for most of our lives.

Here’s the 3 of us at my 40th birthday, when I was still living in NYC but had made a quick trip back home to Ohio — we’re all 40 in this photo. 26 years ago (we had all been friends for 30 years already!):

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Okay!

Here’s one from Phyllis Stein!!

Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers, in London, 1977 (Photo by Ian Dickson)

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And here’s the playwright, Arthur Miller, smoking at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC in 1960!!

If you’re unclear about who he was, aside from being an incredible playwright, he was married to this gal! (From 1956 – 1961)

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And here’s this!!

From Facebook!!

Nick Cave!! Lying down on a sort of sofa/bed thing, surrounded by Christianity!!

And here’s Nick Cave, all alone on a chair!!

And Nick Cave doing, well, I’m not sure what but his hair looks great!!

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And that is it!

I better scurry down to the dark creepy basement and check that breaker box before heading to town!

Oh, the latest update on my guy is sort of intense, gang.

He is indeed coming back to Ohio for about a week in mid-November in order to spend time doing stuff with me and getting to know me better. He bought his plane ticket yesterday.

We text a couple times a day and chat on the phone every night. We are indeed getting to know each other but he finds phones and texting frustrating. He says that, in person, we can:

HE (on phone): “Make some headway and move forward.”

ME (sarcasm): “Is that the same as spendng time together and getting to know each other??”

Anyway! He’s funny.

I will, of course, keep you posted.

************

Meanwhile, have a great Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

“It had nothing to do with pills and booze!!”

October 1, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

No. I was totally sober.

I simply did not know until after I’d posted to the blog yesterday, that I missed a couple of birthdays!!

Happy belated birthday, Marty Stuart!!

And happy heavenly birthday, W.S. Merwin!! He would have been 99 yesterday!

For his upcoming 100th birthday next year, the WS Merwin Conservancy in Hawaii has plenty of really cool things planned. My favorite is this:

“A new podcast is in the works, by way of a collaboration with Hawaiʻi Public Radio. It will highlight the voices of some of our writers-in-residence, carrying their vision, and the work made while here on Maui, across the ocean.”

To find out about all their upcoming plans, and to sign up for their newsletter, visit HERE.

Meanwhile, here’s one of my favorite poems by WS Merwin:

“A Single Autumn” (2008)

The year my parents died
one that summer one that fall
I moved into the house
where they had lived their last years
it had never been theirs
and was still theirs in that way
for a while

echoes in every room
without a sound
all the things that we
had never been able to say
I could not remember

doll collection
in a china cabinet
plates stacked on shelves
lace on drop-leaf tables
a dried branch of bittersweet
before a hall mirror
were all planning to wait

the glass doors of the house
remained closed
the days had turned cold
and out in the tall hickories
the blaze of autumn had begun
on its own

I could do anything

*****************

Okay!

If you’re a writer doing anything Singapore- or Asia-related, be sure to check out Jee Leong Koh’s Singapore Unbound and sign up for their newsletter:

“A transnational literary organization based in NYC, Singapore Unbound envisions and works for a creative and fulfilling life for everyone. We do so through the subversive, innovative, and empathetic powers of the arts, especially by amplifying underrepresented voices.”

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And here’s a trip down Memory Lane–

My own foray into Singapore unbound in NYC! 1981!

Me and Chong, our first Christmas!! (Chong, my first husband who now lives in Seattle, was born & raised in Singapore.)

************

And here’s this!

Warren Ellis and his pup, Tupac, had an urgent update for us last evening, about vomiting in cars!

*************

And here’s this update from Nick Cave Official:

“Nick Cave has collaborated with PETA on a limited-edition merchandise collection featuring his original illustration of a dog and a rat alongside the organisation’s “Every Animal Is Someone” slogan. The collection includes T-shirts, tote bags and tapestries, with all proceeds supporting PETA’s work.”

You can shop HERE!

************

And that’s really all I have for today. It was already 2PM when I got home from my job “re-application” yesterday (I had to fill out a bunch of tax forms, etc.) —

BTW, this is where I’ll be working again, part-time. My favorite Health & Wellness store! Comfrey Corner of Heath!

And once I got home yesterday, I had a bunch of little things to tend to.

Including but not limited to:

I had the cutest conversation with the man I’m going out to lunch with today.

We were over in his driveway, confirming our plans.

Then he said, sort of quietly, while glancing nervously over at my house, “There isn’t anyone who’s going to, you know, put a gun in my face because I’m taking you to lunch tomorrow, right?”

How cute was that??!!

I assured him that, no, there was no one on Earth who cared if I went out to lunch with him… Then he totally relaxed. He is so sweet.

Anyway.

We’re going here! Applebee’s, in Muskingum County! (Where basically everybody owns a gun!!)

And then tomorrow, he leaves for Florida for the winter.

What is it with all these people who go to Florida all winter and miss the thrill of Christmas in the snow & icy winds of Ohio???

************

Well, anyway. I’m looking forward to lunch today.

And then, when I get back, I will focus on the M. Christian anthology!!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Let’s close with this!

If you have the time — it’s an hour and half long — I am really enjoying this. Although it’s taking me a while. I can only watch it a couple songs at a time before I have to go focus on something else.

However.

Absolutely classic Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers! 1978! I was only 18 back then. So hard to even believe that.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Live at Winterland 1978 (Full Concert Experience) (1 hr 32 mins) Enjoy, gang:

And we’re off!!

September 21, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

We’re getting awfully close to Thursday around here, gang!

Thursday being the day my birth mom arrives to take care of my cats while I’m gone.

All the dusting and furniture polishing is already done, and the mirrors are sneeze-free! (Meaning, where the cats sneezed on them; not that the mirrors actually sneeze…)

So starting today, we’re doing all that heavy duty laundry that you only do when houseguests are coming — all the sheets, blankets, the bed skirt from the guest room. All the extra bath towels.

Then I’ll do the final vacuuming, too.

AND– I’m even gonna touch up the paint on the walls, where the kittens scratched at it when they were younger and totally delighted themselves while making me not quite so delighted.

It’s also time to cut back the rose bushes for autumn. I’ll do that probably tomorrow. Or whenever it stops raining.

You know, just try to not only make everything look like 15 cats don’t live here, but also take away ANYTHING that would tempt my mom to undertake the tasks herself!!

I just want her to be able to relax!

Yes, even though my mom is 79 years old now, she is still a brunette… (And oh yeah, trust me — she imbibes!!)

*****************

Okay.

Well, this happened last night.

I discovered that in 11 days, reruns of the old TV show “Castle” are leaving Amazon Prime.

I loved that show when it first came out. And I only recently re-discovered it on Prime. I always watch it during dinner now and it totally makes me calm down. I love everyone in the show, but I especially love the interactions between Richard Castle (a writer) and his mom and daughter, up in his duplex apartment in Manhattan.

I had purposely been making myself only watch one episode a night, because I wanted it to last…

Now, I can’t possibly watch all the episodes in the next 11 days, unless I watch it around the clock. (It ran for 8 years.)

Dang! I will probably just buy the whole show from somewhere online and keep watching it. Honestly, it settles down all my anxiety.

A clip from 15 years ago, Castle with his teenage daughter (1 minute):

************

And then this happened last night, too.

While I was doing yoga yesterday afternoon, my eye caught site of that children’s book Keith Richards and his daughter Theodora wrote. (Theodora illustrated it.)

Keith wrote it about his grandad, Gus, who taught him how to play, and to love, the guitar.

I’ve had the book since it came out in 2014. I did read it, but that was 12 years ago. So I took it down from the shelf and saw that it had a CD inside, attached to the inside back cover! I never even opened the little pouch! Never played the CD! It’s Keith, doing the audiobook reading of it!!

Wow. I thought it would be nice to listen to it in bed, in the dark!

So after everything was done yesterday, and I was in bed in the dark, and with the CD in the retro boombox next to my bed —

I turned it on and Keith’s amazing voice filled the room.

I was so delighted!!

But since it’s a children’s book — it lasted about 6 minutes. Shit.

Too bad there’s not an audiobook out there of Keith reading War and Peace or something equally indescribably long….

Anyway.

Here’s the audiobook version of the book, but it is not Keith reading it.

Gus & Me by Keith Richards (6 mins 29 seconds):

***********

Okay!

From Phyllis Stein!!

Richard Hell wearing his heart on his sleeve in London in 1977!!

*********

And back to Keith!

Looking intense! In black & white!

Also intense, and equally black & white, but also smiling in 1981!!

***********

And some more great photos from Facebook! (To be honest, it’s basically the only thing I do on Facebook now.)

Nick Cave! Singing, smoking, sweating!! (Apparently, I chose 3 words)

Nick Cave smoking!!

I loved this one!!

Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld, smoking!! Near some alcoholic beverages!! Full color!!

************

And that is actually kind of it for now.

I have a ton of stuff to do around here today.

However!

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**************

Okay, this stuff has got to STOP!

I am already having way too much trouble dealing with TIME passing!!

That said–

Apparently, yesterday was the 22nd anniversary of the release of the phenomenal Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds double-album, Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus !!

22 YEARS!!! WTF??!!

Well, anyway.

Let’s close with this gem!

“Breathless”, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, from the above-mentioned double-album with the very long title!! 2004!! Enjoy, gang. (I sure have — for 22 years…)

“Breathless”

It’s up in the morning and on the downs
Little white clouds like gambolling lambs
And I am breathless over you
And the red-breasted robin beats his wings
His throat it trembles when he sings
For he is helpless before you
The happy hooded bluebells bow
And bend their heads all a-down
Heavied by the early morning dew
At the whispering stream, at the bubbling brook
The fishes leap up to take a look
For they are breathless over you
Still your hands
And still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew

Still your mind
Still your soul
For still, the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you
The wind circles among the trees
And it bangs about the new-made leaves
For it is breathless without you
The fox chases the rabbit round
The rabbit hides beneath the ground
For he is defenceless without you
The sky of daytime dies away
And all the earthly things they stop to play
For we are all breathless without you
I listen to my juddering bones
The blood in my veins and the wind in my lungs
And I am breathless without you
Still your hands
And still your heart
For still your face comes shining through
And all the morning glows anew
Still your soul
Still your mind
Still, the fire of love is true
And I am breathless without you

c – 2004 – Nick Cave

All right! Getting better!

September 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Again, I really want to thank those of you who contacted me privately the last couple days, to just send your good thoughts and prayers.

I truly, truly appreciate that. It helped me a lot.

I am in a much calmer place now, for sure. And I’m trying to just move forward.

I have decided to set up a GoFundMe drive later today, to try to get donations to help me recoup $1700 that was earmarked for the audiobook productions. All of that money is gone.

The recent book editing job I had, and the check I got from Honda last week, would have covered all my production costs, but that, of course, was in my bank account, which got wiped out Monday.

And again, just FYI — I didn’t know this, maybe you do, but don’t answer your phone if the caller ID is from your bank. Call your bank back instead, and ask if they were trying to reach you. That way, you know for certain who you’re talking to.

Also, be alert to anything concerning CHIME online bank. Not that CHIME bank is a scam, it’s not; but the police officer who was taking down my report said that CHIME bank is used a lot in banking/phone scams. And even Wayne said that he had a $45 scam involving a CHIME bank account recently.

So just be aware.

************

I also have 2 pairs of vintage Gucci high heeled shoes, from the 1990s — one, a pair with those silver mirrored sequins designed by Tom Ford, that is reasonably valuable.

The shoes don’t fit me anymore because my feet got too wide. But I have such great memories of wearing those shoes in the 1990s! (And that is an understatement.)

However, I have the memories. I don’t need the actual shoes, so I’m going to offer them for sale online. Maybe get as much as $800, combined.

We shall see.

************

Okay.

Later today, my Q-following girlfriend in town is meeting me at Kohl’s! Not that I can afford to go shopping right now, even though they’re having a huge sale. But we decided it would be good for me to get out of the house for a few hours and just have fun.

I’m looking forward to it. The store has changed a bit over the last few years, but it used to be my favorite store, so it has good memories for me.

************

Another totally mind-blowing thing happened to me yesterday, gang.

Another “I didn’t see that coming” thing — but this time, in a really good way.

I can’t go into all the details yet, but I can say that an older gentleman who lives across the road, who chats with me frequently when I’m outside watering the flowers or getting my mail, was chatting with me yesterday afternoon.

He is very friendly, very chatty. And he suddenly said, “I hope you don’t mind me asking this, but how come you’re not married? You’re so beautiful.“

Long story short, he asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch sometime. And I said, “Yes!!”

He is just so nice. (He’s a widower.)

So we decided that when I get back from James Tabor’s conference in North Carolina, we’ll go out to lunch. That made me really happy, gang.

**************

All righty!

If you missed this last night, here’s the replay! (I really enjoyed this because he is so much younger than me — his take on the whole literary world now is so different from what my experiences were.)

“Rob Macaisa Colgate is the author of the poetry collection Hardly Creatures (2025), winner of the Chicago Review of Books Award and longlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize, and the verse drama My Love is Water (2025). Currently based in Chicago, he serves as managing poetry editor of Foglifter Journal and was the inaugural poet-in-residence at Tangled Art + Disability. A graduate of the New Writers Project at University of Texas at Austin, he is a recipient of fellowships from Creative Capital, the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, and Fulbright.”

Webinar with Rob Macaisa Colgate, Author of Hardly Creatures (51 mins):

**************

Okay.

Here’s this!! It brought a smile to my face.

From Phyllis Stein.

Sid Vicious and friends!! In 1976. (Photo by Bob Gruen)

*************

And I loved the blonde hair…

Again, from Phyllis Stein.

Iggy in the East Village, 1976 (Photo by Roberta Bayley)

(And when I lived in the East Village in the 80s, Iggy lived 4 blocks from me!!)

**************

And here’s this!

From Dior!!

**************

And I loved this!!

Blixa Bargeld! Smoking!! In London!! With great hair!! In 1987!! (Photo by Andrew Catlin)

***********

And speaking of Bad Seeds….

My stash from Facebook!!

Nick Cave!!

Great hair!! Weasels or not!!

***********

And speaking of Nick Cave ( as if there were ever a time when I’m not speaking of him…)

He sent out one of those great Red Hand Files yesterday, wherein he answered 40 questions with very short answers. (He was celebrating the Red Hand Files turning 8 !!)

This was my favorite!! (It took me a minute to get it, I have to confess.)

“Fuck you & fuck Isreal
from MICHAEL, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

“Daer Micheal, a raelly graet plaesure to haer from you again.”

You can read them all HERE!