Tag Archives: Half-Moon Bride by Marilyn Jaye Lewis

A glorious day!

April 17, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, even though the TV weatherman up in Columbus on Tuesday, said that today was going to be a rainy, lousy day, I stood firm in my conviction that the weatherman didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about and that it was going to be gorgeous today, and I was correct!!

It is just stunning out there this morning. And all the dogwood trees are in bloom (including the ancient one outside my kitchen window), and all the other trees have their baby “spring-green” leaves. No wind today, either!! And the sky is so blue.

Today, of course, is the day that my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and I go to the golf course to have lunch at the incredible clubhouse with the stunning views! (Photos don’t actually come close to capturing how it feels to walk into this dining room and see miles and miles of trees and rolling foothills and sky, sky, sky!)

It is in honor of today being the day that both his 2nd wife (the love of his life), and my dad passed away (in different years). We are expecting the pleasure of their company, in spirit, at the clubhouse today!!

And the last time we were there (Christmas), I was expecting it to be our final time there together, because I was planning on retiring in January.

Today, will be a wee bit intense for me because, if my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter does indeed stick him in that awful nursing home, this could likely really be our last time at that lovely place together. But I am going to just try to make it the best day, ever. Because being present today, here & now, is all that ever really matters.

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Okay!

Well, my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn and I finally had a chance to catch up on the phone yesterday afternoon!

We are trying to brainstorm (can you “try” to brainstorm, or do you simply brainstorm?) about the best way to structure our upcoming mini-podcast, “Marilyn’s Room”. My writing, her paintings. And then just chat for a few minutes — probably about the free & unbridled years of living in NYC in the 1980s!!

SHE (under her breath): “When I was selling cocaine to absolutely everyone who worked at the Museum of Modern Art…well, maybe I shouldn’t bring that up.”

ME (enthusiastically): “No, no! Bring it up!! Just don’t name any names. But it was 40 years ago already. Most of those folks probably aren’t even alive anymore.”

So it could be entertaining and very, very informative!!

Just don’t expect any make-up or fancy hairdos, gang. The use of a comb is likely going to be the extent of the glamor…(Our minds are still really glamorous, though, and I think that’s the best part of aging gracefully. We shall soon see!)

We’re also thinking, though, that if anyone out there has their own writing or art to promote and wants to chat for 10 minutes, we can have “guests”!!

So keep that in mind, gang. (And don’t name names, for godssakes, but do “elude” in enough detail that we can figure out who you’re referring to on our own!!)

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All righty!

From Variety yesterday:

“Johnny Depp Earns Huge CinemaCon Applause and Debuts Scrooge Transformation in ‘A Christmas Carol’ First Footage“

“…Paramount debuted a first-look at the Yuletide release during its presentation to movie theater owners at CinemaCon on Thursday, with Depp taking the stage in Las Vegas.

“Depp entered The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace to wild applause and catcalls from the rafters. ‘It really has been an extraordinary privilege,’ Depp said on stage, about being asked by director Ti West to take on the role, calling the tale of Scrooge one ‘I have been obsessed with since I was a little child.'”

However, this part here makes me think I might not be seeing this in a movie theater, where I can’t fast-forward through anything:

“…as the ghosts who visit Depp’s Scrooge are intricate, terrifying apparitions not suitable for the whole family.”

Yikes. I am my whole family! Anyway. The complete article is HERE.

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And from Ronnie Wood:

You can pre-order his new print, D’Orsay Blue Horse, at a special price before April 24th and also get a free, green “Wild Horses” t-shirt!!

See details and order HERE.

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I love this photo of Keith!! (I printed it out and it went right on to my wall!!)

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And here’s this!!

Nick Cave smoking at his mom’s house! (He might also be drinking a cup of tea, but I’m not 100% certain about that…)

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And I actually have more “here’s this’s” for today, but I’m out of time!

I gotta scoot and head to town on this absolutely gorgeous day.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Through some blessing and/or miracle, the chorus to this song was going through my head when I awoke at 3:45AM, trying hard not to think about this being the 2nd anniversary of my dad’s death because I just don’t want to be sad today.

I do think there was some type of angelic interference because I have not so much as thought of this song — let alone sang the chorus to it over and over in my head upon awakening — in ages.

“Everything Is Beautiful”, 1970. Ray Stevens. Enjoy, gang.

It’s “Create Your Own Title” Day!!

April 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I can’t decide whether I’m having a good day off or a not-so-good day off, so I decided to just let you guys figure it out and then create your own title for the post…

The not-so-good stuff. And it isn’t terrible, it’s just more stuff for the “List of Things To Suddenly Do” ASAP (as in today).

Over a year ago, Draft2Digital took over Smashwords. And they took basically forever to incorporate erotica titles from Smashwords into their eBook inventory.

I always loved working with Smashwords. I’d had eBooks published over there for 16 years now. I especially loved the bi-annual sales they had, wherein I would watch my incredibly old erotica eBook titles get downloaded for free, over and over and over again.

The most recent sale, however, with Draft2Digital — same titles, still free — zippo, nada, not a single title moved.

Last night, I got the announcement from Draft2Digital that they will now be charging an annul maintenance fee to have eBooks in their store, so I figured that now’s as good a time as any to say goodbye to the whole thing, since Smashwords is essentially gone now.

So, yes! Today — that day off I was really looking forward to, and it’s SUNNY and GORGEOUS out there — I will be re-publishing The Muse Revisited, Volumes I, II, & III, back over at Amazon Kindle. And then update the links for them over at the new Indie Bookstore, at MarilynsRoomBooks, and here on the blog.

I was really, really, really wanting to do something as tedious at that today!! So, yay.

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So, it isn’t the end of the world as we know it, but it just adds to the ominous feeling I struggle with every day now, about how absolutely everything is either changing or simply becoming obsolete in this world of publishing that I used to know so well.

From 1998, in Manhattan, when the heyday was just getting underway! Me and Richard Kasak, founder & publisher of Masquerade Books, at the official launch party for Marilyn’s Room, Inc., and masqueradebooks.com, their online bookstore which I had designed for them — this was right before Amazon was all over the place:

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Okay, on to happier things.

Here are a few photos of my little 115-year-old barn now that it is totally junk-free!! (This is the part of the barn where the buggy was kept in olden days. The other part of the barn, where the horse was kept, still has all my gardening stuff in it.)

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And here’s a sort of happy/sad thing.

Janis in her new Larkspur home that she just loved — in September 1970. (The sad part: she was dead in a motel room, from an “overdose”, by Oct 4th, 1970.)

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Here’s this.

From Phyllis Stein.

Apparently, yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Joey Ramone’s passing:

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And yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the release of the Rolling Stones album, Aftermath, an ominous title, but a career-changing album for them:

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And on June 4th, 1975 — only 10 days before I saw the Rolling Stones in Cleveland for the first time!! (And then 2 weeks later, my life went totally downhill for about 5 years.)

The Rolling Stones at the Alamo in Texas (I remember this photo so well!!):

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Here’s Calico on my bed this morning, as the sun was coming up and it seemed like it was going to be a great day!!

And here’s the song she’s named after — Tommy James, “Calico”, 1973 (I sing it to her quite often!!):

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Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File this morning. A woman in Australia had written to him about her feelings over her 4-year-old son dying from cancer. Nick’s reply was ultimately encouraging, but the letter was also kind of really sad. He said in part:

“…It is not our fault. We must remember our departed loved ones with full and functioning hearts, not ones made narrow by self-recrimination. This is, of course, easier said than done, but do it we must….”

You can read it in full here.

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And that is it for now!

Sorry this is so late.

I’ve been to the bank and back — paid some bills. And answered a bunch of texts, while trying to write this post!!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Since I can’t decide if I’m having a good day or not yet —

Let’s close with this.

The song I sang to my dad (very quietly), as I held his hand and he lay dying in his bed. (He did not wake up again and died about a day and a half later. Tomorrow is the 2-year anniversary of his death.)

My mother hated this song and would not allow me to sing it at home after my dad left us for another woman. I always absolutely loved this song, though. I sang it to him as a sort of victory.

Engelbert Humperdinck, “Release Me,” 1967. Enjoy, gang.

A Peaceful Feeling, Indeed!

April 15, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 4 Comments

My god, gang!

When I came home and slid open the barn door and saw inside my little barn yesterday, my eyes literally popped out (I had to grab them before they hit the ground and then jam them back into my eye sockets) and my heart soared.

The guy did such an amazing job. He didn’t just load the stuff in a dumpster and hall it away, he tidied up the whole place when he was through. Plus he took away junk that had been in the barn since before I bought the house. So I have literally never seen it this clean before.

It made me feel so happy to finally have that done. And to have it be better than anything I could have ever expected.

And so now it is officially official.

Everything is done now around here. For awhile, I hope.

Well, maybe not this, but then this is never done!

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There are only a couple of things I’m going to post here today because I have to get an early start into town.

Here’s this.

Back when I won Writer of the Year in London (2001), for my first book, Neptune & Surf, this organization had a different name. I can’t recall now what it was, but it has been called the Sexual Freedom Awards for a while now.

Anyway.

It’s time for the awards again. If you’re in or around London, here’s the info:

The Sexual Freedom Awards 2026, The 30th Anniversary:

Date: Sunday 10th May 2026

Venue: Heaven, London

Doors:  4pm to 9pm

Tickets:

General Admission: £35 to £55

Disability / Wheelchair Users Admission: £35 to £55, FREE for PAs

Payment Plans:

1.⁠ ⁠Pay Deposit

Pay a 25% deposit today and pay the remaining balance by Sunday 3rd May 2026

2.⁠ ⁠Pay Monthly

Pay a 25% deposit today and pay the remaining balance equally over 2 months

This year's sponsors are HERE

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And if you didn’t already snag a ticket to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in Brighton on July 31st, just ignore the following, because you can’t go, it is SOLD OUT!! (And has been since about 14 seconds after it was first announced.)

The full line-up for the show has been announced. (I probably don’t have to tell you that I don’t know a single one of these acts, but that’s probably because they weren’t ~~even born~~ making records back in 1972):

However, many tickets still remain for a bunch of the other shows this summer in Ireland and Europe.

Buy tickets HERE!!

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And that’s it for today. But tomorrow I have the day OFF, as in completely OFF. The weather isn’t supposed to be that great, but I’m still looking forward to sort of just collapsing. I have a busy weekend coming up, but after that (i.e. Monday), my life should be getting back to normal again.

Which includes, but is not limited to — TEQUILAVILLE:

Oh, and I did go in to the Rural King yesterday. And I did buy my usual ton of cat food.

And I did see ‘Wild Thing’!! And he did sort of amaze me yet again, gang.

What was the topic this time??? Yes!!! If you guessed “Greek Mythology” then you are absolutely correct!

In addition to cat food, I also bought a bottle of dish soap yesterday.

When ‘Wild Thing’ was ringing up the dish soap, he chuckled and said:

HE: ” You know, this stuff was named after Ajax, the hero of the Trojan War — because it’s tough on Greece [grease]!!”

It just sort of stunned me, you know? The stuff he talks about. I am always smiling when I walk out of that store.

Ajax: Hero of the Trojan War — tough on Greece:

Ajax, my dish soap — tough on grease:

And that is it for now. I gotta head into town and see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man! We’re staying close to home today, because Friday is our Big Day Out! We head back to the clubhouse at the golf course to check out those amazing views — in honor of the anniversary of the passing of both his 2nd wife (the love of his life) and my dad.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

Breakfast-listening music!!

Back to Sam Cooke’s Greatest Hits!! Including but not limited to —

“Bring It On Home to Me” 1962. So addictive!!Even at 5AM. Enjoy, gang.

“Bring It On Home To Me”

If you ever change your mind
About leaving, leaving me behind
Baby, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

I know I laughed when you left
But now I know I only hurt myself
Baby, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

I’ll give you jewelry and money, too
That ain’t all, that ain’t all I’ll do for you
Baby, if you bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

You know I’ll always be your slave
‘Til I’m buried, buried in my grave
Oh honey, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)

One more thing
I tried to treat you right
But you stayed out, stayed out late at night
But I forgive you, bring it to me
Bring your sweet loving
Bring it on home to me, yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)
Yeah (yeah) yeah (yeah)…

c – 1962 Sam Cooke

Today could just possibly be the day!

April 14, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Yesterday, it was official.

This 125-year-old house now has central air conditioning! The install is complete, it isn’t blowing any fuses, and it works!

So, even though it took several months to complete, it is still an incredible blessing. It didn’t cost me a dime. Plus, the install guys discovered that corroded breaker panel, which I wouldn’t have known about — and it was a fire hazard and would have just gotten worse.

Plus I also now have those brand new basement stairs!!! I can go down and change the filter in the furnace now whenever I want to, without worrying that I will fall through the rotting stairs and die!!

(Plus, I had many, many carpenters and plumbers and AC install guys and Amish roofers, coming and going. Of various ages. But every single one of them was extremely attractive so it was really great having them swarming all over the place!)

And the last but certainly not least news–

The really nice guy from the small, family-owned dumpster company did indeed call me back. Last evening. He quoted me a fraction of what a commercial junk-hauling company charges. So I said, “Okay!! Come on down!!”

So he’s coming today, while I’m in town at my shift, and he’s going to load up a dumpster with all that stuff that was abandoned in my little barn and then haul it away to the dump.

(If you’re new to the blog — over 2 years ago, a temporarily homeless young married couple stayed with me for 6 months. Then they “temporarily” left their stuff in my little barn and never came back for it.)

So, as of later today — all the home repairs are done and my barn will be my own again.

(I didn’t have to do any of the work, so I’m not sure why I’m so exhausted…)

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Anyway.

Somehow, life is good. And me and this old house carry on.

I don’t really have anything to post about today.

So, here’s this!

From Phyllis Stein — and how fortuitous!!

Johnny Thunders in London in 1977, but he is sitting in front of a movie poster for “The Sheik” starring Rudolph Valentino!! (Star of my masterpiece-recently-re-published novel, Twilight of the Immortal!!)

Rudolph Valentino as “The Sheik”, 1921

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And here’s this.

A few featuring Keith…

Smoking and rehearsing for “Rock & Roll Circus” in a London TV studio, 1968!

(Mick seems happier than Keith here, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that while Mick was filming the movie “Performance” earlier that year, Mick was openly doing it with Anita — Keith’s girlfriend — both on and off the set! The moods pictured here are just a coincidence.)

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And here’s this!

Keith and Bill Wyman onstage, when the Stones played Poland for the first time, in 1967!

Oh, and here’s this while we’re at it! Bill Wyman re-issued the newly restored video for “Stuff (Can’t Get Enough)” on April 10th!

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And here’s Keith, at the Stones’ legendary concert at Madison Square Garden in NYC, 1969:

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And let’s finish with this!

Nick Cave in LA, awaiting the imminent arrival of his wife, Susie! (About 7-ish years ago.)

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And now, seeing as how it is Tuesday, I have to get ready to head to town and stop in at the Rural King for more and more and more cat food!!

We’ll see if that perks up my energy a little bit… depending on who’s working the checkout counter, it usually does.

Meanwhile, have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

My life. Really. Hope it’s yours, too. (15 seconds):

Might as well be happy about it!

February 23, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, more snow today.

But it is a fraction of what everyone in NYC is getting. (And oddly enough, the weather app on my iPhone is still not saying snow, but I can step out onto my sidewalk and get snowed on right now.)

Anyway!

It’s only about an inch.

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Yes, as we speak, the AC guys are here yet again — but this time, it should only take a few minutes. But I’m set up at my kitchen table. And the cats are corralled in the upstairs bedrooms.

Except I discovered that Mean Frannie McFee somehow wound up on a chair in the dining room. But she is so unfriendly that there’s no fear she will get anywhere near the AC guys and discover that we have a basement (that she would love to get lost it, if only she knew!!).

And, yes!!

Yet again, I heard from Sandra right in the middle of all this. It is just so weird. I guess now I know that if there’s ever an emergency and I need to speak to Sandra and can’t get in touch with her, I can just call the HVAC company and have the AC guys come out to the house, and, voila! Sandra will somehow appear.

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Okay.

The good news is that I have also re-published the eBook edition of Twilight of the Immortal over at Amazon Kindle. So that is back in action now, too!

After the promo for The Guitar Hero Goes Home ends on Friday (it is currently free to download at Kindle), Twilight of the Immortal will be free to download for a few days, as well.

Meanwhile, you can download it here for $3.99 if you so choose!!

And just FYI, if you want to buy the print edition of the book, please buy a copy that has the above cover. There is a trade paper edition still floating around out there, with a different cover. It’s from the original print run with a small literary press, but it is loaded with typos and I eventually cancelled that contract and then published it myself.

Oh, and yes, this is the novel that, after having read the completed manuscript, my agent said was “my masterpiece” while we were having lunch together at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. She compared it to F. Scott Fitzgerald and then went on to assure me that “unfortunately, no one is buying F. Scott Fitzgerald right now”. And she was right.

However. I still love the novel and I love that at least my agent considered it my masterpiece! It’s about Hollywood in the early 1920s.

From the back cover: “”…as a feminist deconstruction of a time in American history when the life and career choices women enjoyed were constrained in so many ways, the clear voice of young, bisexual, Rosemary McKisco shines a light on the politics of gender and sexuality in a visceral way that nonfiction almost never achieves. For me, the only disappointing part of reading Twilight of the Immortal was reaching the end.” — MB Austin, author of Running Off Radar

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Speaking of books!!

New York Review of Books has re-released the 2005 novel, Godlike, by Richard Hell!!

If you love the East Village in NYC in the 70s and poets and drugs and sex, you will love the book.

You can buy it here!

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Okay.

Yesterday was the 4-year anniversary of the passing of Mark Lanegan, which I find sort of hard to believe.

Honestly, gang. where does the time fly to???

Mark Lanegan wrote so many great songs, and here’s one I love. “Churchbells, Ghosts”, from his final album, Straight Songs of Sorrow, 2020:

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And here’s this.

From Phyllis Stein, another fabulous photo of Willy DeVille. this one is from the documentary about him, Heaven Stood Still, 2022.

Sadly, the film is not available yet for online streaming, but here is a trailer:

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And here’s Keith at home in Connecticut in 2000!

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And here’s this!

Wow. Nick Cave sent out a really great Red Hand File today. It was about Wim Wenders’ speech at the Berlinale film festival the other day. When I read the speech in Variety that day, I thought to myself: Finally. Someone is getting back to real life and moving forward with ART.

Nick said, in part: “...I think Wim’s words moved me because they might serve to usher in a fresh appraisal of the cultural space before us, where art reclaims its dynamic nature. Perhaps his words will encourage artists to feel confident expressing how they truly see themselves, in all their radical complexity and diversity, to say, ‘This is what I am. This is how I feel.’…”

He also said: “…its lovely openness alone filled me with a kind of relief, a sense of freedom and sudden potential. I expect, beyond the clamour, many felt the same.”

I totally felt the same.

You can read it in full here.

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Okay, I think that’s it for today.

I have to get a revised cover letter over to Sandra so that we can send in our TV project proposal today! Yay!

And then I have to write a back cover blurb for The Curse of Our Profound Disorder so that Parisian Phoenix Publishing can get that much closer to sending my novel off to the printer!! Yay!!

And I am also working on a short story to send to Parisian Phoenix Publishing, for a call for submissions they sent out the other day:

So enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

Just because.

Enjoy, gang.

“Happy” is in the eye of the beholder!

February 2, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

All signs point to a high probability of the Deep State somehow infiltrating the humble burrow of Punxsutawney Phil today.

This morning, he proclaimed SIX MORE WEEKS of this hellish winter!! And it is really unlike Phil to vex us to this degree. I suspect ~~fowl~~ foul play.

Meanwhile, though…

WOW!

This is a photo of the full moon as it looked over in Indiana, but last evening, when I was driving home from my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, as soon as I approached Muskingum County on the highway, the full moon rising over the tops of the far off trees on the eastern horizon looked just like this and it was truly breathtaking, gang.

I hope you had an equally spectacular view, wherever you were last evening!

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Yes, it’s true.

Even though it’s probably really hard for you to believe.

For the first time in about 20 years (seriously), I have 8 days set aside with nothing to do but ~~vacuum~~ sit at my desk and WRITE!! And it starts today!!

And while I am a wee bit wistful about not taking any of this time off to go to NYC, all I have to do is look at the TON of snow they have there, too, right now, and I quickly adjust!

I honestly can’t believe that I don’t have anything to do which involves driving to the next county for the next 8 days. I can’t really even process it.

And the even better news!

The plumber texted me last night and moved his appointment from today to Thursday morning.

If you saw my post yesterday — I was really stressing out about his coming here this morning because my house is a mess. Now I can take my time and get it tidy before he gets here on Thursday.

Me and some guy watching TV in my tidy house in Crazeysburg. I don’t recall who took the photo. Probably Alexa.

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First on the list of things to tackle (today, in fact) is completing the one-page synopsis for the TV project that Sandra and I are developing. (A 30-minute drama for cable TV.)

Tomorrow morning, I have the phone chat regarding reformatting my eBooks. We’ll see what sort of tidal wave of work that brings.

Then I want to tackle my contribution to the tribute anthology honoring the late M. Christian.

Then I will likely go back to the TV project for the remainder of my days off, but we’ll see. As loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, I have a TON of half-finished, or even half-started, projects on my desk right now.

But just having this psychological freedom — truly, I can barely even process it.

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If you are a Creative in the US, you might want to sign this petition. It came over today by way of the Copyright Alliance:

“Stealing isn’t Innovation”

It “stresses that the future of innovation, including artificial intelligence innovation, should not be based on unlicensed exploitation and theft of creative works. The campaign states that, ‘Artists, writers, and creators of all kinds are banding together with a simple message: Stealing our work is not innovation. It’s not progress. It’s theft—plain and simple.’…” [You can read and sign it HERE]

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Okay.

Here’s this!

My beloved Cleveland!!

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And here’s this.

The poet Gary Snyder. Photo by Allen Ginsberg, 1991:

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Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in Paris, 1965!!

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And now the Nick Cave avalanche!!

Honestly, there were so many great photos from the Melbourne shows that I can only post a couple more here.

Well, first, my favorite, but it was from Brisbane:

Back to Melbourne…

And there are still tickets available for the Wellington shows, Feb 5th & 6th (except for Paul in New Zealand — and I think you actually have to prove that you are NOT Paul, not sure, though). Buy tickets HERE!

And then the tour is over, gang!

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All righty.

I guess I’m gonna get this day off underway!!

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

I know I posted this recently, but this is the song I was listening to in my car last evening, when I came down the hill and around the bend and saw that incredible full moon.

It was so perfect.

Elvis, singing “Amazing Grace.” Enjoy, gang.

Another Snow-filled Sunday in the Hinterlands!

February 1, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

And I can guarantee you, gang, I am really, really TIRED of this fucking snow.

Of course, it’s not just snow, it was truckloads of snow dumped on us, and now temperatures still hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit every day, so nothing is melting. It makes every shift I go to, that much more difficult.

And of course I stress out about all the animals and birds that need to be fed, etc., etc. ( I currently have 3 additional cats in the house, including Kon Tiki, who wishes to be outside. If you’re doing the math, that equals 796 cats currently indoors and happy as clams except for one…)

But anyway.

Today, I go back to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, however, the shift got moved to the afternoon, so this means I’m gonna be home from there by 6PM this evening and then my 8-DAY stay-at-home-and-write VACATION begins!!!

However….

The plumber called yesterday and wants to try to come Monday and do his part of the home improvement work. Which, normally, would be great.

But since I’ve had a 6-shift week this week, I have had no time to vacuum up cat hair and cat litter yet, and you know how that makes me crazy…

We’ll see how it goes. I might be able to vacuum before I leave for today’s shift, even though I’m already fucking exhausted…

I still think he’s going to have a lot of trouble getting his truck up over the curb in front of my house because the snow is really deep. But it’s his choice.

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Okay.

Well, yesterday, I discovered I am immortalized in the Grokipedia.

It was absolutely staggering. I certainly appreciate whoever it was who decided I should be in there. But it is overwhelming, the amount of info the AI gathered on my life and my career.

But I have to say, gang, that it is 99% accurate. And the inaccuracies are very, very minor. They involve some incidental details, but everything else just made my jaw drop.

I guess I can die now, though, so that’s a relief. Between Wikipedia, Grokipedia, the Internet Archive, and my music demos on YouTube — everyone who is interested will know, for unending millennia to come, that I did in fact live.

So, yay.

Me, when I was alive — and looked a lot like a guy, and there was no snow.

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All right.

I thought this was very cool, but you have to sign up for this newsletter, so I won’t quote too much of it.

Today is St. Brigid’s Day in Ireland. If you are interested in the history of all things “Irish Ancestors” you can visit & sign up for:

A Letter From Ireland

Today, he went into great detail about the Irish name “Brigid” and he said, in part:

“The name comes from the Old Irish “Brighid”, meaning “the exalted one” or “the high one.” Long before Christianity reached Ireland, Brigid (the more usual spelling here in Ireland) was the name of a powerful pre-Christian goddess – associated with poetry, healing, fertility, and smith-craft, and said to be a daughter of King Dagda.” [full article here]

As you probably know by now, one of my great-great-grandfathers came over from Ireland. (And he became a trapper and married a woman from the Black Foot tribal nation.)

And my best friend in the world, Valerie from Brooklyn, is totally Irish, on all sides.

And we recently discovered that our distant ancestors all came from County Cork! Which probably explains SO MUCH! We’ve likely been “getting our Irish up” together for hundreds & hundreds of years!

Back in the days when she and I weren’t really old and didn’t live 500 miles apart, we got up to absolutely no good at all times and we had a fucking blast!

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Since I had to skip yesterday’s post, I have a ton of “here’s this’s” for today! So, in no particular order —

Here’s this!

Another great new publicity photo posted by Sandra on Instagram (If you’re new to the blog, Sandra is my partner in all writing-projects-theatrical):

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And here’s this!

Tom Petty was such a fighter! I loved him so much (and as you might know, he WON that case against his record label in 1979):

And here’s this, while we’re at it! Proof that he WON that battle! His huge hit, now a classic, “Refugee” from Damn the Torpedoes:

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And here’s this!

Keith with a white guitar in Boston in 1988!! (Not smoking, but smiling anyway!)

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As far as I know, these are the first photos from Tim Burton’s upcoming version of “A Christmas Carol” starring the always glamorous Johnny Depp!

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Okay.

A bunch of Nick Cave stuff!

The other day, Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File explaining why they finally let a lowly GIRL into the Bad Seeds!! He explained, in part:

“…Carly is, as you have pointed out, Michael, astonishingly talented. She walked into The Bad Seeds, this grizzled snake pit of unreconstructed masculinity, and blew everyone away, changing the very weather of the band almost overnight. She brought with her not just her immense ability, but also a kind of joy, a loveliness of manner, all laughter and delight, along with a long-overdue dose of female energy. We love her….”

You can read it in full here.

Nick onstage with Carly Paradis, photo by Andrew Trute

And it truly looks like the Melbourne shows were off the charts. Not just for the audiences, but for the band members, as well. (Melbourne is essentially Nick’s hometown.)

So here’s a big bunch of photos:

I’m guessing the crowd went particularly crazy for “Shivers” and “O Wow O Wow” in the encore, since both songs have deep Melbourne connections:

And there are still tickets available (for everyone except Paul) in New Zealand for the upcoming Wellington Shows!! February 5th and 6th. Buy tickets HERE.

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And I leave you with that!

By the time you see me here again, I will be on vacation, baby!!

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I really leave you with this.

On Friday, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man gave me a beautiful gift.

It was a small, zippered nylon carrying case, filled with the CDs he used to play back in the days when he could still drive a car.

Can you believe that??!! He knows I love all kinds of music, so he wanted me to have it. I was so touched.

It’s mostly classical music CDS, but also Julio Iglesias, a bunch of “Fabulous Fifties” CDs, and also THIS!!!!

Vol. 1 of Elvis singing gospel songs!

I played that one in my retro boombox next to my bed, as I laid in the dark this morning, my cup of coffee always within reach.

That 95-year-old Japanese man and I were absolutely destined to meet in this lifetime, gang.

So I leave you with this fantastic gem!! On this sunny but snow-filled Sunday morning!

“Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho”, by Elvis. It fucking rocks!! Enjoy, gang.

Me! Coffee! Snow! Off I Go!

January 30, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Although my supervisor is stopping over at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house today, so I might change my outfit before I head to town.

Not sure.

(My supervisor is dropping in for a quick Q&A, as she tries to gather info in order to prepare the caregiver who’s going to replace me while I’m on vacation next week, about how to try to take care of him without being tossed out of the house. Good luck with that.) (I mean it.)

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Before I forget!!!!

Sandra posted this to her Instagram account last night! One of her new publicity photos:

NO! She does not wear a wig!! Oops. I meant to say, she does not wear an inexpensive wig. She does indeed wear more wigs than you can possibly imagine, but generally, just one wig at a time.

But seriously, though. Doesn’t she look fantastic? I just love this photo.

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Okay.

Time is sort of “of the essence” for this one, gang.

If you want to send me this NEW Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Valentine, you still have time to get it to me by Valentine’s Day! If you hurry! (It is only about 20 bucks for a postcard, but it comes with a few other things… You can keep the other things and give them to someone else that you really care about a lot. I only want the postcard.) (Thanking you in advance!!) (Buy it HERE!)

(I would have said “other” affordable gifts (above), because “more” affordable gifts sounds like they have a selection of gifts that you can actually afford…)

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All righty!

Here’s this!

Keith, with either big hair or a low ceiling, or perhaps both!

And, as always!!

Keith, giving us good advice!! (FYI, gang, if Keith is doing anything, don’t try it at home…)

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And here’s this.

I used to love every photo from this photo shoot, gang, back when I was 12 (the photo shoot took place in 1967, though), but I never saw a photo from that shoot that was in color. Only B&W.

I don’t know if this is colorized, or what. But here’s Brian Jones, in color, in 1967:

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Okay. Well. Yesterday was great.

The guys at the Honda dealership looked over my Honda Civic Sport and recommended two things, both of which I had them do, and wow, was my car driving like a breeze when I left there, gang.

The car is only a year and a half old, so I wasn’t expecting there to be such a noticeable difference, but there was. (They changed the air filter and did some type of fuel injection thingie.)

Then I met my Q-following girlfriend from town over at Panera and we had a very nice lunch.

However. Wow, even though the food was good it was really salty. When I got home late yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t get enough water. So I’m thinking I won’t be going back there.

(Tequilaville here we come…)

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I am so excited about next week, gang, and getting 8 days to myself to work on the many projects I have going on!

Primarily the TV project at this point. But I am also eager to have that phone call regarding getting all my eBooks reformatted and back online.

This is the company I’m speaking to:

Technica Editorial Services, in case you’re interested:

“Technica Editorial is a full-service peer-review management and author support company. Our expert services include peer review management, copyediting, full production services, and submission systems support.”

I did have a brief email exchange with Draft2Digital the other day, and I got the FULL guidelines on what is and isn’t distributable for erotica these days, worldwide, and honestly gang, I just don’t think my books are as “nonconsensual” as it lists in the guidelines.

I think I just need to be extremely specific about what’s in my stories and what’s not.

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Okay.

Phil is allegedly doing a live tonight at 8PM Eastern time. He is allegedly going to have intel and not just stuff about his new AI project. Check here later to confirm.

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And as we speak!!

The first photos from tonight’s show in Melbourne!!

And I think these photos are from Brisbane but maybe from Sydney:

Tomorrow’s show in Melbourne is sold out. Sunday’s show still has tickets. You can buy them HERE.

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And now I’m gonna scoot!

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

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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And let’s close with this today!

Oddly enough, this song came on the Oldies FM radio station on my retro boombox next to my bed, just as I turned it on this morning.

My first true hero from my wee bonny girlhood! (Yes! He fought for just about everything. And — Yes! They murdered him… Lesson learned.)

“Imagine,” John Lennon, 1971. Enjoy, gang.

Yes! It’s my day off! However….

January 29, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

So. It’s my day off, but I have to take my beloved (leased) Honda Civic Sport into town today for that yearly “let’s look it over and see how we can possibly make this fantastic car even better at almost no cost to you!!”

BUT!!!

After that’s done, my favorite Q-following friend in town and I are meeting for lunch! Yay!!

Nope.

We’re not going to Tequilaville.

This time, we’re going to Panera!!

And to this specific one! Because it’s very close to not only her house, but also the Honda dealership.

Recently, a client sent me out to pick her up some soups and sandwiches from this specific Panera. I hadn’t been to Panera in many years. Just walking in the door filled me with great memories of the one that used to be just down the street from my old house.

So I texted my favorite Q-following friend and asked her if she wanted to meet at Panera’s and she was all for it!!

So, even though it will be, literally, 17 degrees Fahrenheit out there, she still wants to meet for lunch, so it should be great fun!

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Okay.

The bad news first, gang.

Sadly, Phyllis Stein posted yesterday, that she was likely done posting to Instagram:

She’s only posted close to 6,000 posts, and usually each post contains several photos. All of them from her 70s & 80s glam/punk days. Mostly in NYC.

I’m not exactly sure why she thinks that’s enough.

She’s probably going to do something lame, like spend more time with her new grandbaby. Be here now, and let go of the past. Something weird like that.

I was, of course, heartbroken. But on we go.

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Meanwhile–

She posted this early yesterday.

David Johansen and his then-wife Cyrinda Foxe (they married for almost a year in 1977, when she left David to marry Steven Tyler, lead singer for Aerosmith):

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And here’s this!!

Honestly. I could look at this photo all day. I just love it.

Keith, smoking and looking pensive:

And this!

Keith, a handful of decades later, on a boat, wearing a Velvet Underground t-shirt!!

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A friend of mine in London — a writer, poet, archivist, biographer — Rehan Qayoom, tagged me on Instagram yesterday with this lovely image!!

He had recently read the book and had very kind words to say:

(By the way, Freak Parade is only available in print right now. Until I fix everything and all the eBooks come back.)

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Okay. So.

Some really good news!!

From NewstreasonChannel17 — all about the Trump Accounts!! Launching this July 4th!!

“Listen very closely. Listen to just how much money is being donated by private individuals and companies to the Trump Account initiative.

“IMHO this is not just “benevolent” charity, this is the direction of massive amounts of assets to be given to this program.

‘When Trump Accounts officially launch on July 4th of this year, every parent will be able to activate their accounts and access the funds at TrumpAccounts.gov … On that glorious day, we also expect to have commitments from generous private individuals in ALL 50 states who will be making additional contributions for children in their own states.‘”

What a fantastic thing, gang. NESARA (publicly) begins.

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And here’s this!

A couple of photos from the Brisbane show:

The Melbourne shows start tomorrow, but only Sunday’s show still has tickets. You can buy one HERE!

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Okay.

This is excerpted from the James Tabor Zoom meeting that I missed on Sunday, but we can all listen now together!

James Tabor – Is There Archaeological Evidence for Earliest Christianity? (2 hrs):

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And now I gotta try to pay some bills before I have to leave for town.

Honestly, it is such a pretty day out there, even though it’s really cold. I’m looking forward to getting out there and having some fun with my gf!!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

From my playlist yeterday!

Yes! I honestly listen to this stuff. I just love the old Rudy Vallee songs. (Just listen to the opening of this number and tell me it doesn’t make you feel like dancing all over the room, even while driving your car!)

“Page Miss Glory”, Rudy Vallee, 1935!! Enjoy, gang.

Yes! The L-Theanine Worked Great!

January 28, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Honestly, gang. I can’t tell you how effective that stuff is for me.

After taking the L-Theanine before leaving the house, I had a perfectly great day yesterday, even while driving around town in the 12-degree-Fahrenheit temperatures, the high winds, the ice, the mountains of snow everywhere…

And yes, my client needed me to get groceries yesterday — at THREE different grocery stores. But everything went absolutely great because my stress was totally gone.

He needed stuff like cherry pie and baloney.

HE: “You’re absolutely sure you don’t mind going to the grocery store in this terrible weather?”

ME: “I am absolutely sure that I don’t mind.”

And I honestly didn’t, gang. Because some day, I might be housebound and in my mid-80s, and if for some reason, I’m craving cherry pie and baloney and other stuff in a snow emergency, it would really mean a lot to me if someone were willing to go out and get it.

And that is the truth.

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Okay.

So far, I am not feeling stressed at all today. Even though I know the snow is worse over where my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man lives, I think everything will be manageable.

There have been a lot more traffic accidents out there this morning, but once again, they are almost all over near Columbus. So we are just going to see how it goes.

I did have to re-schedule the carpenter who was supposed to come on Monday and put in the new basement stairs. There is no way his truck and all his supplies are going to be able to get anywhere near my house until the snow melts.

But on we go!

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Okay!

On Tuesday morning, I have a phone chat with a company that specializes in all things to do with eBook formatting, so I hope that goes well.

I only have to reformat FIVE eBooks!

Yes! While developing the TV show.

And getting ready for all the PR work I’ll have to do when the new novel comes out.

And getting stuff ready for the Off-Broadway play stuff.

And getting the stuff ready for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story” to be back as a TV movie and not as a play.

But it needs to be done. And then hopefully these five books can get back into distribution the world over.

The situation with almost all of my online books are a real mess right now because of it, gang: over at Kindle, over at Draft2Digital, over at LULU, and on MarilynsRoomBooks. But it’s all fixable. So on we go.

And don’t forget!!

While you’re waiting for one of my newer books to be available to purchase again, you can always buy the companion coffee mug and look at it until you have the book — for something totally outrageous like $18.60 plus shipping and tax!! (Not joking.)

Q: What could be better than a really expensive coffee mug?? A: The $2.99 eBook that goes with it.

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Oh and guess what else happened yesterday??

Just as I was getting ready to leave the house, the US Mail lady came up onto my snowy porch with that registered package for me from the lawyers of my dad’s estate!!

There were a lot more of those personal ID -type things in there. But ALSO!!!

Well.

Let’s just say that today, as of right now, and it keeps going higher, gang:

GOLD: $5,274.08 per troy ounce.

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I can’t tell you how great it made me feel, though, gang. I am still trying to process all this stuff between me and my dad, almost daily.

I talk to his spirit, you know?

ME (heavy sigh): “Honestly, was it really that difficult to be my dad?”

ALSO ME: “Don’t answer that.”

(Let’s trot these out again, just for reference!!)

Me, in the summer of 1972!! (I had just turned 12. Which means that a couple weeks prior to this photo, I was only 11. I was already 5-ft 8-inches tall. That’s insane, right?)

Me, a year later, at 13… (I never get tired of this photo. I remember that girl so well.)

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All righty!!

Here’s this!

I tell you, Phyllis Stein does not disappoint, gang!!

Richard Hell, in NYC, 1976:

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And here’s this.

I love Keith in those sunglasses!

The Stones in Milan, Italy, in October, 1967:

Oh!!!!

And I finally found that photo of Keith playing a guitar!!

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And here’s this.

Jack Kerouac was in the Merchant Marines and the Navy during WWII.

And FYI. I’ve been listening to this free audiobook on YouTube the last few nights. It’s also really well done. (There are a lot of parts to this. I’m up to part 5.) The Dharma Bums.

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And here’s this!!

Nick Cave in Sydney on Friday:

And this, from quite a few years before Friday:

Tickets to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in Melbourne on Sunday February 1st are still available. You can buy them HERE. (The first 2 nights are sold out.)