Between friends who donated directly to me today because they did not want to use GoFundMe because of the fees, and one friend who did use GoFundMe to donate–
I am already HALFWAY to my goal!!! In just a few hours.
I just want to thank everybody for all the help, generosity, and encouragement today.
These are going to be terrific audiobooks, gang. I really mean that!
And I also wanted to share this incredible thing, too.
A poet/friend in NYC, Ron Bass, received an advance review copy of my new novel a while back, and this afternoon, he submitted his review to Amazon. He sent me a copy of it:
“The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is extremely hard to put down. I read through it in just a couple of sittings. I found myself completely wrapped up in this first-person narrative of Jemima Callahan’s life. The author, Marilyn Jaye Lewis, is such an astute observer of human nature. The characters Jemina encounters, both good and bad, as well as those who are a combination thereof, ring totally true and serve to pull the reader further into the story. How to properly classify the novel in the terms of genre could be a bit tricky unless you take the expansive view that it can be shelved in a number of different categories. It’s definitely a coming-of-age novel describing not only the pitfalls facing the young narrator but also her strong will to survive her adverse circumstances. It’s also a spiritual journey in which the narrator’s own very real religious orientation is tested repeatedly. And it’s a worldly exploration of a young woman’s sexual encounters while trying to stay alive, and her later involvement in a love relationship that changes her way of looking at the world. In a sense, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is three books in one, and all three of them fire on all cylinders. I could not recommend it more highly.”
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.
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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.)
Even this photo 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.
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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.
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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.
We love lunch!!
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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):
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Okay.
Here’s this!! It brought a smile to my face.
From Phyllis Stein.
Sid Vicious and friends!! In 1976. (Photo by Bob Gruen)
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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!!)
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And here’s this!
From Dior!!
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And I loved this!!
Blixa Bargeld! Smoking!! In London!! With great hair!! In 1987!! (Photo by Andrew Catlin)
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And speaking of Bad Seeds….
My stash from Facebook!!
Nick Cave!!
Great hair!! Weasels or not!!
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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.”
It’s a gloomy and rainy morning so far, but that often unreliable weather app on my iPhone says that by noon it will be sunny and remain sunny for the rest of the afternoon!!
Yay!!
So I’m going with that thought today, gang! Nothing but sun up ahead!
And since Sunday has become my go-to-town-and-get-groceries day, I’ll wait until noon before heading to town.
I’m hoping I can persuade these guys to go with me again today —
It’s always so much more fun driving anywhere with them!
So, we shall see. (They’re probably in church right now, so I’ll wait a bit before calling them…)
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Okay!!
Wow, you know? What a morning. The first 2 things I saw on Instagram, very early today (5AM), were 2 of my favorite accounts having huge troubles with Instagram & Facebook — the various algorithms there were making them very unhappy.
One was our beloved Phyllis Stein — I so hope she doesn’t leave Instagram, but it was actually Facebook that was threatening to block her awesome account for no valid reason.
The other account was for 2 cute little dogs that I follow in Germany —
Me, following a dog in Germany…
I have followed the account for years and the woman who runs the account is around my age and we interact all the time (luckily she speaks perfect English since my German consists of about 4 words — and I count “gesundheit” as one of them). But she is so fed up with Instagram interfering with her posts now that she is actually leaving Instagram as of today.
I really can’t stress enough how much I do not like Facebook (I recently rejoined it). It has gotten so different now and it is very difficult to post over there.
I don’t interact much on fb at all. I have about 5 followers. Literally. And all of them are people I have known for a long time and, except for Iris N. Schwartz, I also follow them on Instagram. So fb seems sort of pointless to me.
It seems like the only thing I really do on fb is look at Nick Cave photos!! Like I needed another app on my phone to look at more Nick Cave photos!
But here’s one I liked on fb yesterday!!
But as far as Instagram — I love Instagram. I have been active on it every day for about 8 years.
Once in awhile I post something concerning my writing career, but mostly I post photos of my cats. And I just love looking at everybody else’s photos.
I mostly follow other cats, and dogs, birds, alpacas, goats, donkeys, cows! From all over the world!
And a few people in Finland and Norway who take unbelievably gorgeous photos of nature.
And a bunch of Punk and rock & roll musicians — most of whom, sadly, are already dead.
But I just love Instagram, so it makes me sad that people I enjoy following are being bullied by the algorithms now — and enough to leave the platform altogether.
I don’t have a lot of followers on instaramg — sorry, that’s a different app I also use. But on Instagram, I have about 1600 followers.
But I only really interact with about 12 of them on a daily basis. So for me, it’s just fun.
I can’t imagine how awful it must be to try to rely on those apps for career-related stuff. It must be a nightmare.
I am so glad that I have my blog, gang.
You know, even though it is totally old school — no bells & whistles — I have about 100 people a day, sometimes as many as 200, from all over the world, who stop in and read my blog!
That’s about 3,000 views a month, and about 36,000 views a year now!
And I’ve had this same blog for 12 years already. In fact, a few years back, WordPress was after me to update it to a different layout. They wanted to retire the layout I use because it was too old-fashioned. But I love this layout because it is SO easy to use.
So I think I am the only blogger left on WordPress who uses this layout.
Anyway… I digress.
I am really glad that WordPress doesn’t resort to a bunch of terrorizing algorithm stuff.
And I really want to thank you guys so much for stopping by every day to read the blog.
It still means a lot to me, even after all these years.
“Oh, and then I saw a photo of Keith Richards smoking in London back in 1968, It was just SO COOL…”
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All right.
Well, after listening to the new auditions for audiobooks that came in yesterday morning, I have decided that for now, I’m removing the short story collections from the audition queue.
Those are just going to be too complex, since some of the stories are from the female POV, and some from the male POV. I’ve decided to just focus on the novels for now.
But other than that, we are moving forward with perhaps THREE novels to turn into audiobooks! 1954 Powder Blue Pickup, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, and possibly Freak Parade.
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Okay!
Since the Bad Seeds’ tour is over now, I am resorting to a photo of Nick Cave from the desktop stash!!
Singing and smoking!! In black & white!! (He looks so, I don’t know, energetic here!)
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And here’s this!!
If you look REALLY carefully, Keith is smoking — and walking & carrying a package in London in 1986. In full color!! Heavy on the blue!! (Photo by Richard Young)
I can’t say for sure if Keith is smoking here, you have to do your own research on that. But it does seem to be the 1980s, and in black & white.
And if you don’t really know much about Keith–
Back when he was a heroin addict, his teeth started rotting really badly. After he quit heroin for good, around 1978, he had all of his teeth replaced.
But here’s one of the photos from the not-so-great-teeth days. But he still looks so sweet here:
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And that is what I have for now.
The laundry is just about done! I’m gonna check in on the 2 cats outside and see who wants to be fed (again) before I head to town.
Have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world, gang.
And THANKS for visiting!! I really mean that.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!!
Since I have been reading that book, Conversations With Tom Petty (2006) at night now, and we are now up to when he was recording his triple multi-platinum Wildflowers solo album, I put that CD in the kitchen jukebox player this morning!
So let’s listen to “You Wreck Me”. I hadn’t heard it in awhile!! A real rocker.
From the Wildflowers album, 1994!! Enjoy, gang.
“You Wreck Me”
Tonight we ride, right or wrong Tonight we sail, on a radio song Rescue me, should I go down If I stay too long in trouble town
Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two But you move me, honey Yes, you do
Now and again, I get the feeling Well, if I don’t win, I’m a-gonna break even Rescue me, should I go wrong If I dig too deep, if I stay too long
Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two But you move me, honey Yes, you do
I’ll be the boy in the corduroy pants You’ll be the girl at the high school dance Run with me, wherever I go And just play dumb, whatever you know
Oh, yeah, you wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two But you move me, honey Yes, you do
You wreck me, baby Yeah, you break me in two Oh, but you move me, honey Ah, yes, you do
If you saw my quick update from yesterday afternoon — about how all 8 of my self-published books on Amazon got approved for audiobooks at the very same time…
By early evening, I was already getting audition tapes from narrators/producers (are they still “tapes” if it’s all done virtually??)
Anyway.
Wow, were they good!
I got 2 auditions for The Guitar Hero Goes Home, and one for 1954 Powder Blue Pickup. And my jaw kinda dropped open, all 3 guys were just so good.
(And, yes, I have to say that while I was listening to the auditions, I was wondering: Who the heck WROTE this filthy dirty stuff??)
Anyway. Wow. I’m just so happy with how this is developing.
Mommy’s happy. Cat, not so much…
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Okay!
I don’t know about you, but I had great dreams last night. And I woke up feeling like everything had shifted, energy-wise.
I’m in such a positive mood, today.
And THIS was so exciting to wake-up to!!
It appears Warren Ellis is finally satisfied with the shade of blue that the London Council chose for his street sign!
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And it turns out the rumors were true!
Some of the Bad Seeds did indeed have beverages while in Munich recently!!
And it appears that at least 3 of them also play their own instruments!
Colin Greenwood, George Vjestica, and Carly Paradis!
And here, George and Carly are — well, I’m not sure what they’re doing, but at least we now have proof that it happened!
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And here’s proof that both Lou Reed and Mick Rock used to exist.
Thank god.
Lou, taking aim. One of my all-time heroes:
And no, I’m not going to post this song again because I’ve posted it here a million times already… But if I were posting it, it would be my song, “Lou.” Demo produced by Peitor Angell! (1984)
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Oh!
And in case you were thinking I wasn’t busy enough…
Yesterday afternoon, James Tabor sent us 6 pdfs to download and read before the conference in 2 weeks. Along with a couple of books to re-read (did that already!! whew), and some documentaries to watch, and some maps to study…
Yes. Okay. Sounds good… I’m on it.
But wait!!!
When am I supposed to find time to do THIS?? My plane leaves in only 2 weeks!!
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All right.
Meanwhile…
Nick Cave has it figured out.
If there are TWO of him, he can get more done…
Even leaves him time to paint…..
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Anyway!!
All right.
As you can guess, I gotta get started — I’ve got some wrok to do. (And after the “wrok” is done, I have a lot of work to do, too.)
I hope you have a great Thursday underway, wherever you are in the world, gang!
And please don’t forget! TOMORROW, my new novel is officially out!!
If you don’t pre-order it TODAY, then you’ll end up being just like everybody else and having to simply “order” it instead…
So, if you haven’t already, pre-order it HERE!!! Thanks, gang!!
Meanwhile!
Thanks for visiting!
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this today!!
The only song whose lyrics appear in my new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!!
The old Kentucky mountain song–
“On Top of Old Smokey”, 1952, Gene Autry’s version, Enjoy, gang.
On Top of Old Smokey (traditional lyrics)
On top of Old Smokey, all covered with snow, I lost my true lover for courting too slow.
For courting’s a pleasure but parting is grief, And a false-hearted lover is worse than a thief.
A thief will just rob you and take what you have, But a false-hearted lover will lead you to your grave.
The grave will decay you and turn you to dust, Not one boy in a hundred a poor girl can trust.
They’ll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies Than crossties on a railroad or stars in the sky.
So come ye young maidens and listen to me: Never place your affection in a green willow tree.
For the leaves they will wither, the roots they will die, And you’ll be forsaken and never know why.
And I was thinking that this will be my 8th published novel.
And I was thinking that it would be my 21st book, until I really started adding everything up. And it was a LOT of math to do in the dark at 2:43AM!!
Not just the novels, but all the many short story collections of mine that have come out, the books I edited of other writers’ and photographers’ works, and then I also added in the various different editions of my books that came out, too.
Gang, I do not know where the time went. But I do remember every single book I worked on, wrote, or edited, as well as every different edition that came out — in the US, UK, France, Mexico.
And every single one of those events made me so happy. There were just so many publishers back then.
And this doesn’t count the short stories and essays that I’ve had published in other people’s books. I can’t even begin to remember all of those.
There were just so many books over the course of 28 years. And almost all of them are out of print now. So I’d kind of lost track of how many there actually were. (And before the books, my short stories were published in underground zines for 8 years! That whole zine culture was so cool, gang.)
And then next year, The Muse Revisited Volume 4 will come out, along with the M. Christian tribute anthology I’m editing.
I couldn’t wrap my mind around where the time went to, though, you know?
And this doesn’t count the 24 years of songwriting that I did, or the plays, screenplays, TV pilots I wrote or co-wrote. Or the diaries & journals I kept in NYC for 16 years — until I began working online for a film production company in 1997 and then started building publishing-related websites. Which started me writing my journals online and brought my blog into the world!
I’ve continuously kept an online blog now for 29 years.
I don’t know, gang. I felt like I was looking at someone else’s life. Even though I remembered every minute of it.
For instance —
When I was 10 years old (1970), I wrote my first real song. I composed it on the piano. It was a song about air pollution (I was against it!). And it was used in a short film that my art teacher, Mr. Quinn, at my elementary school made. It starred my Girl Scout troop! And we all sang my song in the film. And the film was shown at an exposition in downtown Cleveland.
Wow, was I thrilled!
And then the Synagogue my family attended, printed the lyrics of my song in the members’ newsletter. And my parents and grandparents — and my piano teacher!! — were really proud of me.
It’s like everything I ever wrote came back to me last night while I was trying to go back to sleep. But it took a while.
I don’t really know why I have become so obsessed with TIME. And how fast it’s flying and how little of it I have left, compared to what’s already gone by.
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Okay.
I’m not going to go into the details because it was absolutely traumatizing — it involved a car accident that happened yesterday, right in front of me.
But I had a really bad day yesterday. And then to top it all off, THIS happened when I answered my phone at 5PM!!
Yes! I’ve been called up for fucking JURY DUTY. AGAIN!
Next Tuesday… Jesus Christ.
Here’s hoping it goes pretty much the same way it went last month and then it will just be over for a few years.
But the long and the short of it is — I got NO writing done yesterday!! (But I did get a little writing done over the last 56 years…)
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Anyway.
The Public Theater in NYC announced yesterday that the play I posted about here recently, “How Shakespeare Saved My Life,” has already been extended!
It will now run from Sept 15th through October 25th! The play looks like it will be really great. You can read about it and buy tickets HERE!
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Did you know that Elvis Costello is on a North American Tour??
And in celebration of the 49th anniversary of his fantastic first record, My Aim Is True, he has a special 5-CD box set coming October 2nd. You can read about it HERE!
“Lambda Literary has teamed up with Fine Arts Work Center to celebrate the successes of our Retreat Alumni!
“Join us for a free, virtual event Thursday, September 17th at 6pm EST to hear more about how these storytellers found success in their journeys from emerging writer to celebrated author.“
Simon Parkes had a great update yesterday, about upcoming healing centers and MedBeds, and also banking system changes, worldwide. You need to be a member of Connecting Consciousness to hear Simon’s updates, but it is FREE to join. Check it out HERE.
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Okay!!
And here’s this!!
Mick — bored with golfing??? It seems to be affecting the attitudes of the other Rolling Stones…
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A great Polaroid of Keith! Mid-1960s, in front of Olympia Recording Studios in London!
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Keith and the late, great horn player, Bobby Keys! Drinking!! On a plane!!
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Joe Strummer! Leaning!!
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And last but not least, gang!
Nick Cave and some of those Birthday Party boys! Smoking, not smoking!!
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And that is it for now.
I am seriously hoping I will have a much better day than the one I had yesterday, gang.
We will soon find out.
Meanwhile, have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for vistiing.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!
Tom Petty and the Heartbreaker’s entire story in 60 seconds!!
And I so wish my day was going to be spent bowling with the cats, however…
It is another really beautiful morning here and I am struggling to just be happy and at ease in life!!
We shall see.
I am still up to my eyeballs with doubts about the best way to present the new memoir, but I’m still working on it…
And still up to my eyeballs in doubts about how the new novel will be received — early reviews should start getting posted in 3 days…
But you know, I can’t un-write it, so here’s hoping that at least one advance reviewer liked it!
And if you have not yet pre-ordered The Curse of our Profound Disorder, you can do that HERE!! It gets released on FRIDAY!! (Mature themes, but not erotica.)
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Okay.
Let’s just get to the happy stuff!
Here’s this!!
Not sure what he’s smoking, but here’s Tom! Officially Smoking!!
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And here’s Keith!!
With a towel!!
Keith with no towel, but with Mick!!
And here’s Mick, with tea on Montauk in 1975!
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And this wonderful stuff came up in my feed this morning.
I used to love this Instagram account!! I cannot believe they haven’t posted anything since 2023. Where did the fucking time go??
Anyway.
Old school Nick Cave!! Smoking!!
Nick Cave with old school HAIR!!
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And that is really all I have time for today, gang.
I gotta get down to the hard stuff now (no, not drugs, although, you know, it holds a certain appeal at this point…)
No, I gotta get some brand new words onto the PAGE!! Please wish me luck!
I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, gang, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this.
This was actually great!
If you do not know much about how different “Christianity” was before the official New Testament was created, about 300 years after Jesus’s time, you will learn a lot from this video. Enjoy, gang.
Myth Vision TV — Bart Ehrman REVEALS the CHAOS of Early Christianity (24 mins):
A lovely day for a drive but I’ve decided to just be the passenger today and let my neighbors do the actual driving since they obviously love it so much!
Yes, I am heading back to town here soon. Groceries, cat food, etc. I guess that Sunday is now my day to do that.
It’s still a holiday weekend here in the US — and it’s that end-of-summer holiday weekend, where folks around here head out for the campsites on the lake, and so the highway will likely be deserted. We shall see!
I did indeed spend most of yesterday here at my desk, struggling like crazy with the new memoir.
My main challenge with it is that I don’t want the book to be depressing. And while, for the most part, every single thing that happened to me in the 1970s was unbelievably depressing, the thing that got me through, that kept me alive and filled with joy, was the MUSIC and the guys who made the music.
They were like saviors to me. They literally kept me alive. When I say that men like Keith Richards were father-figures to me, I am not kidding. They were guiding lights to me — to somehow stay alive, get to NYC, and make my music there, professionally.
I remember one afternoon in the cafeteria at my high school, probably around the fall of 1977, I was sitting with a girl I knew. We never really socialized, but we knew each other. And she said that Aerosmith would be staying at the local Holiday Inn after their concert on Friday night and she asked if I wanted to go over there with her.
ME: “Why?”
SHE: “You know, to party with them. Have sex! It’ll be fun.”
I was absolutely flabbergasted by this. I wasn’t a virgin, by any stretch of the imagination by that point, and even though I loved Aerosmith and had their records, it would never occur to me in a million years to have sex with any of them!
Anyway. Music was everything to me and I wouldn’t have survived the 1970s without it. But I am struggling with how best to present the memoir — the reality of my life — and somehow capture the joy that bubbled beneath the surface of my mind because of all those incredible musicians back then.
And I don’t want it to be a book that blames my adoptive parents for anything. They were just as bowled over by trying to live in the huge cultural shifts of the 1970s as I was, but in their own ways.
But everything I had to confront on paper yesterday, about my life in the 1970s, was unbelievably depressing. So I am struggling to find my best way in.
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Anyway.
Speaking of music!
This happened yesterday!!
Happy heavenly birthday, Freddie Mercury!! He would have been 80 yesterday.
And speaking of the 1970s!!! Here’s this!! I absolutely loved this song! Especially those lyrics. What a great story they told. From 1974, “Killer Queen” by Queen.
“Killer Queen”
She keeps Moët et Chandon In her pretty cabinet “Let them eat cake,” she says Just like Marie Antoinette A built-in remedy For Khrushchev and Kennedy (Ooh, ooh) At anytime an invitation You can’t decline (Ooh, ooh)
Caviar and cigarettes Well versed in etiquette Extraordinarily nice
She’s a killer queen Gunpowder, gelatin Dynamite with a laser beam Guaranteed to blow your mind (Pa-pa-pa-pa) Anytime Ooh Recommended at the price Insatiable an appetite Wanna try?
To avoid complications She never kept the same address In conversation She spoke just like a baroness Met a man from China Went down to Geisha Minah (Ooh, ooh) (Killer, killer, she’s a killer queen) Then again incidentally If you’re that way inclined
Perfume came naturally from Paris (Naturally) For cars, she couldn’t care less Fastidious and precise
She’s a killer queen Gunpowder, gelatin Dynamite with a laser beam Guaranteed to blow your mind (Pa-pa-pa-pa) Anytime
Drop of a hat she’s as willing as Playful as a pussycat (Ooh) Then momentarily out of action (Ooh) Temporarily out of gas (Ta-taaa) To absolutely drive you wild, wild She’s out to get you
She’s a killer queen Gunpowder, gelatin Dynamite with a laser beam (Pa-pa-pa-ra) Guaranteed to blow your mind Anytime Ooh Recommended at the price Insatiable an appetite Wanna try? You wanna try
c – 1974 Freddie Mercury
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This happened the other day. I forgot to post it yesterday.
Terry Lemerond, the founder of Terry Naturally supplements, passed away. This guy did incredible research on healing the body naturally. His supplements are a little expensive but absolutely worth the extra money. And he also wrote some great, easy to understand books about health. You can find them HERE.
Thanks for everything, Terry. You got a whole lot of people, the world over, off of pharmaceuticals.
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Okay!!
Here’s this!
Joe Strummer in Hollywood in 1989!! (Photo by Bob Gruen)
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And here’s this!!
A couple of great photos of Nick Cave and Rowland S. Howard!!
Smoking!!
Not smoking!! (Photo by Bleddyn Butcher)
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And these next 2 photos —
Hmmmm, what to say, gang??
Warren Ellis on movie night! Wearing a Sid Vicious t-shirt?? (Not sure.)
And this one — wow.
Lou Reed singing “Vicious”…. (which is not about Sid, btw)
And Warren Ellis’s bedside night table!! I think it technically qualifies as “not smoking” but that’s an awful lot of nicotine… And then the No. 4711 cologne — is that in place of water, since the water bottle is not within easy reach? Or does he just like to smell nice in a hurry? Not sure!!
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And that is it for today!!
Laundry is done! The day out there is glorious! And so I am off to town to get the groceries!!
Then, this afternoon, I will attempt, yet again, to get the memoir into some sort of higher plane. We shall see.
Meanwhile, have a super 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!!
And, NO! It’s not from the 1970s.
It is however from 1999.
Mikey Rivera (of Freak Parade fame! The character of Eddie Ramirez, in my novel Freak Parade, is based on him) — we used to love listening to this CD in the car back then. We lived for awhile in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, right on the Delaware River, in Easton, Pennsylvania. And we used to love to just go out and take drives…
After 9/11, about 150,000 New Yorkers moved to that area of Pennsylvania at the same time, because rents in NYC had gone into the stratosphere, and this part of PA was reasonably close to Manhattan. You could live out there and still work in the city.
It is safe to say that the life-long residents of that part of Pennsylvania did not appreciate us descending on them like that (driving their own rents higher). They hated New Yorkers… However. It was really, really beautiful there.
Lou Bega!! From his 1999 album, A Little Bit of Mambo — “I Got A Girl”!! Enjoy, gang!!
I think today the heatwave officially begins creeping in, so the AC is back on, but other than that, it is yet another really gorgeous morning here!
I did indeed complete the book edits yesterday evening, and this afternoon, I’ll chat with the writer and make sure he’s okay with everything. But as of now, it is complete.
And YES! I’m heading back to town here soon to buy more groceries and never-ending food for the cats! But it should be another really lovely drive to town and back.
Me, going to town! The guy driving is A.I.
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Wow, so, yesterday’s Zoom call with James Taber was so exciting!
Basically, all we talked about was our upcoming conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, the last weekend of September. I can’t discuss on the blog what we will be discussing at the conference, but I can at least say: Historical Jesus, John the Baptist, and things concerning ossuaries!! (This is primarily an archeology conference.)
Even though I have never been to Charlotte, I’m planning to just stick around the hotel, even when the lectures are over for the day. I love hotels, and this one sounds like it will be a really nice one to just hang out in– and of course, chat with other conference goers!!
The Double Tree Hilton, in Charlotte!
And I recently discovered that going there and back, I have a layover in Detroit!!
I have not been to Detroit in a really long time. I realize I will only be in the airport, but I’m actually kind of looking forward to that, too.
So, the plane ticket is purchased, the hotel room is reserved, the cat sitters are lined up, and my girlfriend is taking me to and from the Columbus airport so that I don’t have to pay for an Uber!!
So, pretty soon, off I go!
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Oh, and before the trip, of course, I have a new novel coming out and a book signing!!
And the minute I come back from the trip, I start editing the tribute anthology for M. Christian!!
(I’m guessing that somewhere in the middle of all that, SANDRA will suddenly call and say, “I need you to come to Rhinebeck ASAP…” (I sure hope I am just kidding about that!!)
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Today is the final day of the Kindle eBook sale for my novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home (2020). It is 99 cents in Kindle Unlimited. You can purchase it HERE!!
Thanks, everybody!!
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I don’t really have much to post about this morning, because yesterday was booked solid with the Zoom meeting and the book editing.
But I do have this!
A photo of Keith playing a guitar a long time ago and not smoking in black & white!!
And there were a TON of just beautiful videos of the final Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds show in Paris, but no photos that jumped out at me.
So here’s this instead!
Nick Cave & Mick Harvey not smoking in London in 1981!!
Photo by David Corio
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Other than that, I guess that is it for now.
Tomorrow will be FUN! I get to wait around all day for the Visiting Nurse from my Medicare Insurance Company to stop over and give me my annual “how long until you will be dead” checkup!!
Of course, while I’m waiting I can always do this!! Yay!
All right, gang, I’m going to head to town now.
Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!!
Late-night-listening-in-the-dark music from last night!
I don’t recall why I was suddenly compelled to listen to Neil Diamond’s album of cover songs, Rainbow (1973), but that’s what I did.
My mother was a huge Neil Diamond fan and had a lot of his records. I liked him, too, and would usually abscond with one of the records and take it up to the record player in my room.
Rainbow was an album that I not only absconded with, but kept!!
All these decades later, though, I stream it on my phone… It’s just as beautiful as ever, although it has some really intense memories attached to it, seeing as how it was a record I listened to a lot in 1974 (the Nadir of My Existence year)…
Anyway.
YOU don’t have those memories!!
Here’s the opening song from the record. Neil’s version of “Everybody’s Talkin'”. Enjoy, gang.
And it’s another truly gorgeous day here in the Hinterlands. (I haven’t even needed to have the AC on for about 5 days!) (However, another heatwave is on its way next week…)
I am almost done editing the writer’s book. I will try to complete the edits this afternoon, after the James Tabor Zoom meeting. But I will most definitely have it done by tomorrow. A day before it’s due!
What a book, gang. I do not know how this man lived through what happened to him.
And I also am curious indeed how his book landed on my desk — of all people to be editing a book like this! (Referring to my 4 recent years of nonstop digital soldiering…)
Anyway. It is definitely a story that needs to be told.
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Okay!
Here’s a happy thing!
Last evening, I got a text from my 93-year-old uncle down in Virginia. I had sent him a review copy of my upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.
He has read everything I ever wrote, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to read the new book, since it is just really raw, with some unhappy things that are always sort of just right in the reader’s face. But he said he would try his best to read it all the way to the end.
His text last evening said, in part:
“Just finished reading your book. It was strangely entertaining and a shift from my usual reading material. You have an unusually creative mind…”
He said some other nice things, but I don’t want to spoil the book for you! But it made me really happy that he had not only finished it, but that he also liked it! (You can pre-order it in print or eBook HERE. It will be released on Sept. 11th by Parisian Phoenix Publishing.)
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Speaking of writing!
This newsletter for writers is the best! Not only is it very informative, but she gives you all the information for FREE. Including all sorts of calls for submissions!
I get so disheartened how, nowadays, writers often need to pay someone to get access to calls for submissions or other paying publishing markets. It was never like that in the old days.
But now it seems there are so many people out there who just want to make money off of writers.
You can read her current newsletter HERE and also sign up for it, for free!
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Okay!
Get ready for THIS today!
It’s Australian musician (and former Bad Seed) Mick Harvey’s birthday!! He turns 68 today!
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And on a similar theme–
It’s the 40th Anniversary of the release of the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album of cover songs, Kicking Against the Pricks! From August, 1986!
You can listen to the entire remastered album HERE. (Choose your preferred platform.)
I recently posted this one from that album, but here it is again!! Their cover of “Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart”!!
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And speaking of Nick Cave!!
The final show of the tour is over!! And here’s what he had to say this morning!
Dear All,
Our tour has come to an end: thirty-two shows across Britain and Europe. Thank you to everyone who came along to make it what was, by any measure, a momentous summer. You were the most amazing, engaged and responsive audience, and it has been a true privilege to play for you.
People often ask how I stay so emotionally engaged night after night. The answer is, The Bad Seeds – the greatest live band a singer could wish for. So powerful, so vulnerable, so nimble, gloriously anarchic, and utterly committed to their own brand of lunacy. They really are the best. And it is you, the audience, who give so much. That connection sweeps us all away. People call it transcendent, even religious. Well, it is exactly that. The audience becomes a vast church into which the band pour their love, and that love, that devotion, comes surging back. For me, this is where the power resides. It’s love, plain and simple.
My manager just sat down with me at breakfast here in Paris and said, “The tour’s over. You did a good job. Now, let’s talk about The Bad Seeds and 2029. I have a very interesting idea.” Weirdest thing, I felt a surge of excitement.
Love, Nick
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And here’s a photo from last night’s show in Paris!
Here’s the set list!
And from Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos in Paris yesterday–
And the tour is officially over!!
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Okay, gang.
That’s it for now.
I’m gonna finish up the laundry. Maybe take a quick walk out there in the glorious sunshine, and then settle in for James Tabor‘s Zoom meeting. (They usually last at least 2 hours.)
Then, editing!!
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 up there on Jim Sclavunos’ post from Paris yesterday!!
Perry Como, 1955, “It’s A Good Day”!! It certainly is! Let’s enjoy it, gang.
I decided to make a quick trip to the Dollar Store as soon as it opened today, get it over with so that I could focus on the editing later — I’m going to need to stop early today because of the live Zoom with Ross K. Nichols and James Tabor later this afternoon.
It was about 8:15AM when I ran to the store. And it was only 67 degrees Fahrenheit outside, a very light breeze, blue skies for miles, birds singing — and also for miles, everything was green! The trees, the hills, everyone’s lawns. And over where the Dollar Store is, the cornfields start. The corn is tall and just so green, too.
It kinda took my breath away, gang. Everything was just so beautiful.
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Okay.
Just a reminder — the week-long sale for my experimental novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, (2020) begins this morning at 8AM, Pacific time. The Kindle edition will be 99 cents, in Kindle Unlimited, until next Sunday.
You can buy it HERE. (Suitable for mature readers. This book is not erotica.) Thanks, gang! And if you do buy it and like it, please review it!! Thank you!!
Since yesterday morning, when it launched, they have raised $31,117 of the $40K goal!!
From bassist Sean Seymour:
“I’ve organized this fundraiser for Richard Lloyd, my friend and bandmate in the Richard Lloyd Group. For those who don’t know him, Richard is a founding member and guitarist of Television, the legendary New York band whose album Marquee Moon became one of the most influential records in rock history. In March 2026, Richard was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a serious form of bile duct cancer. He has tumors in his liver, including one located dangerously close to a major blood vessel. Because of its location, doctors cannot safely operate to remove it at this time. Since his diagnosis, Richard has been through an extraordinary amount. He has been in the ICU seven times, dealing with serious complications including sepsis twice, as well as complications involving his liver and kidneys. And through all of this, he’s fighting….”
Please donate! Any amount will help! (I’ve heard that Richard and his wife actually need way more money then they’re asking for.)
“As historical fiction, it is rich with detail and imagery, providing a strong ‘you were there’ experience for the reader…For me, the only disappointing part of the reading experience was reaching the end.” – MB Austen, BiWomenBoston.org
You can purchase Twilight of the Immortal in eBook or print HERE. Thank you!! (It is suitable for all readers.)
And, YES!, while we’re at it–
This is the very same novel that my agent said was my masterpiece, as we sat together, having breakfast out on the sunny patio of the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood.
As she held the lofty manuscript that it had taken me ten years to research, she said, “I can only compare this to F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is just that good.”
Then she added, “Unfortunately, no one is buying F. Scott Fitzgerald right now…”
And she was 100% absolutely correct about that!! Every single publishing house turned it down!!
The self-published book is currently ranked at #2,037 in Historical LGBTQ Fiction on Amazon.
Not too shabby for a 16-year-old book that every publishing house turned down…
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OKAY!!!!
Speaking of not too shabby–
Check this out!
Congratulations, Johnny Depp!
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And from Phyllis Stein–
Another lovely photo of Willy DeVille! In Belgium, 1990. (Photo by Gie Knaeps)
And here’s this, while we’re at it!! “Cadillac Walk,” Mink DeVille, from his debut album Cabretta, 1977!
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And here are some more photos from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ show at the Cabaret Vert Festival in France the other night!
And I’m not sure if this was in France or at a different show, but I love this photo– Nick Cave relaxing with a few of the Bad Seeds!
They play Munich, Germany, tonight. You can buy tickets HERE!
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And I guess that is it for now.
I’m going to get back to editing that writer’s amazing book. (And by amazing, I mean an unbelievably intense memoir.)
And then I will get ready for that Zoom meeting, which promises to be so much fun– Ross K. Nichols and James Tabor discussing the various translations of the Bible — both Hebrew and New Testament — over the centuries, and who did it and WHY. (Because once you get into the various ways the Bible was translated, gang, it practically becomes a whole different book…)
Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this.
For some reason, when I awoke this morning at 5AM, this song was going over and over in my head.
So maybe it can get stuck in your head now, too!
“Letting You Go,” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. From their Platinum-selling album, Hard Promises, 1981. Enjoy, gang.
“Letting You Go”
I used to think that when this was all over You might feel different about me Yeah, I always knew one day you’d come around Now I wonder if dreams are just dreams
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go
Baby look out your window, it’s raining on your summer home You’re by the fire keeping warm and dry There’s no one as honest as those in pain Oh honey can’t you see me, will you let me inside?
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go
And it’s a restless world, an uncertain time You said hope was getting hard to find But time rolls on, days go by What about the broken ones? What about the lonely ones? Honey, I’m having trouble letting go
It’s off in the distance, somewhere up the road There’s some easy answers for the tears you’ve cried And it makes me uneasy, makes me feel different Do you get scared when you close your eyes?
Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go Whoa-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh I’m having trouble letting you go I’m having trouble letting you go
