Tag Archives: Half-Moon Bride by Marilyn Jaye Lewis

Big Day Off!

December 8, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Not only is the laundry halfway finished already, but I’ve actually already been out to run my errands here in the village.

It is fucking FREEZING out there today, gang.

So freezing, in fact, that Kon Tiki of the Great Outdoors deigned to come inside for over an hour this morning…. (usually, she graces us for about 15 minutes at a time.)

Now that Big Blackie and Little Blackie have passed away, Kon Tiki is the only cat who lives out on my kitchen porch now, but I still have the four straw-filled cat houses out there that the neighbors made for me last year. And Kon Tiki uses all four of them now. I never know which house she will come out of in the morning when I open the kitchen door and call her in for breakfast… She’s mean but she’s too cute!!

Kon Tiki in the kitchen last April. Go on, give her a kiss! She’ll scratch your fucking eyes out!!

We have sort of a dreadful week coming up — weather-wise. Mixes of snow & sleet with temperatures way down in the teens Fahrenheit almost every morning.

But dreadful weather aside — I’m waiting for a text from Johnny today to confirm if we’re meeting for lunch on Wednesday! (He claimed last night on the phone that a little weather won’t bother him!! Yay.) So we’ll see.

We might actually even go HERE!! (I know that shocks you!!)

Tequilaville! My favorite restaurant in town!!

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Okay.

Today is that sad anniversary that comes every year…

45 years ago, on December 8th 1980, John Lennon was murdered.

And I know I’ve posted this article from Rielpolitik many times… but here it is again, in case you never actually read it:

KILL THE MESSENGER: The Murder of John Lennon by CIA Operation 40 – By Gualdo Hidalgo (from 2022)

“…The presence of Jose Perdomo at the crime scene is the unequivocal proof that CIA murdered John Lennon. Jose (Sanjenis) Perdomo, Chief of the Secret Service at the Presidential Palace in Havana during President Carlos Prio Socarras, a CIA veteran, worked for CIA/Miami station in the early 1960s, and recruited most of the members of Operation 40 – a CIA assassination squad most of whom were Cubans” [full article here]

My first girlhood hero to bite the dust…

And in terms of my upcoming (forever upcoming!) memoir about my intensely troubled but also beautiful life in the 1970s [Joy: The Shortest Season]…

It begins with John Lennon, in 1971, and it ends on Dec. 8th 1980, with the murder of John Lennon about 3 weeks after I had moved to NYC.

It’s all those other pages that come in between those two events that I still have to write….

Yet another reason that I cannot wait until I retire!!

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Okay.

Yesterday, I forgot to mention that it was Tom Waits 76th birthday!!!

I found this great photo at PunkRockGraveyard on Instagram yesterday, but forgot to post it:

And even though it is hard to choose a favorite song of his, this one is usually what I consider my favorite!! “Jockey Full of Bourbon” from his spectacular 1985 album, Raindogs (yes–featuring Keith Richards on many songs!!)

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From James Tabor this morning.

His upcoming new course about Christianity before Paul, that I am eagerly anticipating, was supposed to be out today, but now it is coming out on Friday, December 12th:

“…I like all three of my previous courses–Mark, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Paul, but this one by some measure is the most important in that it pulls together a broader view of the first 100 years of the Jesus movement– or should I say the John the Baptist/Jesus/James/Ebionite/Nazarene movement. Among the extra topics are Marcon’s Gospel, Theophilus of Antioch, Ebionites beyond the Jordan, selected Nag Hammadi and so-called Gnostic texts, the role of Woman in the movement. The Zoom meetings will then have formal presentations, with an hour or so of discussion, and distributed materials. Sorry for the delay, but it will be well worth the wait!”

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And on a sort of similar note…

This article was posted on Bart Ehrman’s site the other day. Very interesting!

Essenes: Beliefs, Significance, Links to Dead Sea Scrolls — By Marco Marina, Ph.D

“There are many paradoxes embedded in the world of the Bible and the origins of Christianity, but few are as striking as this: one group that has become central to modern scholarship on both Judaism and early Christianity is never mentioned in the Bible at all. Not even once. Yet their ideas, writings, and communal life have profoundly shaped the way historians reconstruct the religious landscape of the late Second Temple period. I am referring, of course, to the Essenes, a group many readers first encounter not in Scripture, but through modern discoveries. …” [full article here.]

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And last but nowhere near the least!!

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File today that just astounded me. Not what he said — I really enjoyed what he said — but the tone of some of the questions he was answering today was just — I don’t know, gang. Nick Cave deserves a medal of valor for putting up with some seriously opinionated ~~shit~~ stuff.

Here’s just one of the questions today from a reader in the UK: “Love the Files. Almost. Can you let us know when you are going to mention God, Jesus, etc., so we don’t waste our time reading it? Love ya.”

You can read Nick’s beautiful replies HERE.

And here’s this —

Nick Cave onstage, from some recent concert somewhere — not necessarily thinking about today’s Red Hand Files but I guess we can’t know for sure.

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And on that lovely note, I guess I’m gonna scoot!

I want to finish the laundry and do a bunch of dusting and vacuuming today. And the Amish guys are coming this afternoon to fix the stuff hanging off my roof.

In the middle of all that, I am hoping to get some writing done!! We shall see!!

Meanwhile, 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’m picking up some good vibrations, how about you??

Sent by my new friend Johnny the other day. Enjoy, gang!!

What an incredible feeling

December 7, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Last evening, I was in my family room watching a movie on TV when I heard something at my front door.

My front door doesn’t open. My kitchen door is my main entrance to the house.

I got up and looked out the front door window and saw that a package had been delivered! Yay!

So I went to the kitchen and went outside, walked around to the front porch to get my package, and WOW, gang! It was the first time I’d seen the front of my house, after dark, since all the Christmas stuff had gone up inside.

It looked so pretty through the windows. I could see the Christmas tree, all lit up in the dining room, and my family room looked like somebody actually lived in there! Not just the Christmas stuff, but the TV was on, a cat was curled up on the couch, and there were all my bookshelves filled with books, and photos and art stuff on the walls.

You could see all the way into the kitchen, where there are more Christmas light, more art on the walls, little lamps lit.

And I think what made it all seem really welcoming is that I have incandescent bulbs everywhere. (Except for the Christmas lights, which are LED.) And incandescent light gives such a warm yellow glow to everything.

I have lived alone now for 10 years — this includes 3 different houses. And I’d sort of gotten the impression that I don’t have a “home” anymore. That I live in a house and I do the best I can to make it comfortable, etc.

So seeing into my own house like that last night — all the little lamps on, the TV on, Christmas in full bloom in there, etc. I realized that somehow I have managed to make this now-125-year-old house a home.

It really just felt incredible. I don’t even know how I did that.

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Oh–

This was the movie I was watching (I haven’t finished it yet). Johnny had recommended it. Oddly enough, I had never heard of it before, but I’m really enjoying it.

“Secondhand Lions” 2003.

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Alas!

If you get Sky TV (and all you loyal readers of this lofty blog know so well by now that, here in the humble US Hinterlands, I DON’T!!), you might have watched this documentary, in anticipation of the TV adaptation of Nick Cave’s novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, which launched last night!!! (Thanks to Roger Gaess for sending me these links!)

The Guardian —Nick Cave’s Veiled World: the starry tale of how sometimes the devil doesn’t have the best tunes

The Independent — Nick Cave’s Veiled World documentary is a captivating look at the musician’s songwriting genius

“Sky’s film assembles some of the Australian musician’s closest friends and collaborators for an in-depth look at the dark, mysterious worlds he conjures, and the eclectic characters dwelling in them…”

And on a similar theme–

Here’s this!

I walked into my kitchen after my shift yesterday, sat down at my kitchen table, got on Instagram, and WOW!! Fucking gorgeous!

Nick Cave, smoking. In every sense of the word.

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And also —

More from Johnny Smoke in Tokyo at Comic Con–

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And that might be it for today, gang.

I need to wash my hair, do yoga, think about life, reply to Johnny’s text about when we can get together again (before Christmas Eve!!), yay, and then head out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

I’m guessing we’re going to watch another Christmas movie today, so that should be easy!! (I hope! But, honestly, you never know what you’re going to find when you show up at a client’s house.)

Meanwhile, enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

My very early morning listening-music!!

I never get tired of it, gang. Never.

“The Ship Song.” 1990, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds from one of my favorite albums — The Good Son. Enjoy, gang!!

“The Ship Song”

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

We talk about it all night long
We define our moral ground
But when I crawl into your arms
Everything comes tumbling down

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Your face has fallen sad now
For you know the time is nigh
When I must remove your wings
And you, you must try to fly

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

c – 1990 Nick Cave

A grey but lovely Saturday in the Hinterlands!

December 6, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Oddly, enough, gang, the kittens are seriously LOVING the Christmas decorations!

They love hanging out around the Christmas tree, especially. I do still have to keep them from climbing it, but besides that, they love just laying around it and they also love hanging out in the family room by a specific display, where there are a lot of Christmas lights.

It is so cute.

Plus, the house just has that great Christmas vibe now, so I am really, really grateful that I somehow managed to get the energy to do all that.

AND — my new friend Johnny will be coming over here on Christmas Eve!

So that will be perfect.

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Oh.

And we were talking on the phone last evening and he mentioned that he has cats — indoors and a couple outside — and he asked me if I had any cats…

ME: “Yes, a few. I have one outside and some inside.”

I left out that part that when you’re in my house, at any given moment, 723 cats are watching you from their many hiding places… I mean, why go there right now?? Right? Let’s just enjoy Christmas!!

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Anyway!

Here’s this!

I know that Johnny Smoke was at the Tokyo Comic Con, but I don’t know if these photos are from that event. I only know the photographer is Ross Halfin:

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And don’t forget!!!!

Out now!! Live God!!

The fantastic new live album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds!! From their recent Wild God Tour:

And also don’t forget! The Wild God Tour comes to Australia and New Zealand in just a matter of weeks!!! Buy tickets HERE!

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Oh, and how about this?? Holy shit!

Nonstop Dean Martin Christmas music!! Complete with a lovely burning yule log and Christmas decor!! (I don’t actually need this because my house is already nonstop Dean Martin Christmas music… well, no burning yule log, though.)

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Oh, and I have to say, yet again!! — Thank you to everyone who is buying the Kindle edition of my novel The Guitar Hero Goes Home.

This novel is 5 years old already and suddenly it is now continuously selling. Thank you so much, gang. That makes me really happy!

And from the one & only (lovely) review of the book on Amazon UK, way back in 2021:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Erotic Tour de Force

THE GUITAR HERO GOES HOME, when coupled with NEPTUNE AND SURF and FREAK PARADE, reaffirms Marilyn Jaye Lewis's standing as a preeminent writer of erotic fiction in the English language. Her depth and range, both on a literary and emotional level, is masterful. -- Roger Gaess, journalist and author of WHATEVER COMES MY WAY

Thanks again!!

And if you want to read a timely free excerpt from the novel on my substack page–

“A Christmas excerpt from The Guitar Hero Goes Home, approx. 3 pages.”

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And on a similar note…

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that The Curse of Our Profound Disorder has sold, gang.

And I am very, very curious to see what kind of cover art they’re going to come up with for that book.

I’m also curious how on Earth they’re going to come up with a one-paragraph synopsis for it, too. (For the back cover.)

Most of all what’s on my mind right now is that I haven’t even taken a true moment to just sit back and celebrate it. In the old days, Wayne and I would always go out to dinner when one of my novel’s sold. Now it’s sort of just me. But I’ll think of something.

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And on that note, I better scoot. I gotta head out soon to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house and get his breakfast and coffee underway!

It’s been too cold and icy to take him out for our sashimi & sake this week but next on the agenda is taking him back to the club house at the Golf Course for not just the splendid views, but for the Christmas decorations!! As soon as the ice is completely gone, we’ll do that.

Meanwhile, enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Okay, I don’t know what’s up with that great Oldies FM Radio Station that I keep my retro boombox tuned to, but YET AGAIN —

I was finally getting up out of bed this morning, to get another cup of coffee, get the bed made, get dressed, start the day…

I switched on the radio, and lo! & behold!

ANOTHER Tom Petty classic was just getting started! It’s just so weird how often that happens!

Anyway! His first true mega hit.

“Refugee”, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1979, from their breakthrough album, Damn the Torpedoes. Enjoy, gang.

“Refugee”

We got somethin’, we both know it, we don’t talk too much about it
Ain’t no real big secret, all the same, somehow we get around it
Listen, it don’t really matter to me baby
You believe what you want to believe, you see

You don’t have to live like a refugee
(Don’t have to live like a refugee)

Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have kicked you around some
Tell me why you want to lay there, revel in your abandon
Honey, it don’t make no difference to me, baby
Everybody’s had to fight to be free, you see

You don’t have to live like a refugee
(Don’t have to live like a refugee)
No baby you don’t have to live like a refugee
(Don’t have to live like a refugee)

Baby we ain’t the first
I’m sure a lot of other lovers been burned
Right now this seems real to you, but it’s
One of those things you gotta feel to be true

Somewhere, somehow, somebody must have kicked you around some
Who knows maybe you were kidnapped, tied up
Taken away and held for ransom
Honey, it don’t really matter to me, baby
Everybody’s had to fight to be free, you see

Don’t have to live like a refugee
(Don’t have to live like a refugee)
No you don’t have to live like a refugee
(Don’t have to live like a refugee)
You don’t have to live like a refugee
(Don’t have to live like a refugee)

c – 1979 Tom Petty, Mike Campbell

A fantastic Friday underway in the snowy Hinterlands!

December 5, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Lots of good stuff happening here.

In case you forgot (I almost did, since the snow came and shifted my focus away from the high winds we had) — a man from a small Amish roofing company stopped by this morning to give me an estimate on that piece of my gutter that’s dangling off the side of my roof.

And they’re also going to fix a couple other (small) things that were damaged by the winds. And it is only going to cost me a couple hundred dollars for the whole thing — labor + materials. Yay!! What a relief.

Won’t require quite this many Amish men, but they do bring their own lunches…

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And this is out today!!

You can also get the digital version, at your preferred music-listening site!!

And here’s this! From the new album.

“Joy (Live God Version)” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds:

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I thought this was extremely interesting, gang. (One of those “Hmmmm….” moments.)

From Variety just now:

Netflix to Buy Warner Bros. and HBO Max in $82.7 Billion Deal

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Back to Nick Cave!!

From Ross A Waterman on Instagram–

More Nick Cave in 1996!

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And here’s this!

Another stunning photo of Keith. I don’t know where, when, or who took the photo:

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From James Tabor. (And I believe his new course on Christianity before Paul, goes on sale Monday at Myth Vision. I’ll keep you posted.)

My Slide Show on A Quest for the Historical Mary (39 mins):

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And of course, some of the more important stuff!

I finally got the Christmas tree up, and got the house decorated yesterday. But I decided not to tempt fate too much, and I didn’t put any ornaments on the tree, only lights. I also didn’t put out most of the decorations that I usually put out — I only put out stuff that’s not too easy to bat around the house and destroy.

The kittens did indeed attempt to climb the tree many times yesterday evening, but when I came downstairs at 4:15AM this morning, absolutely everything was exactly as I’d left it when I went upstairs last night!!

So — yay!! Christmas has arrived at my house. Finally.

AND–

Wow, gang. What an incredible time I had at my breakfast yesterday with my new friend, Johnny. Truly one of the nicest men I have ever met.

I don’t want to invade his privacy here on the blog, so I can’t go into too many details here (yet — I have to wait until he says, “sure, go ahead and invade my privacy!”).

But we had breakfast & chatted for 2 hours (fantastic food at the Big Apple Cafe), and our table was directly next to an enormous black & white photo of lower Manhattan in the 1980s. (!!)

[Quite a good omen, don’t you think??]

He is considerably older than me and retired, so as soon as I retire also (right around the corner, gang), we are planning to do a bunch of fun stuff together. Locally, mostly — but also not-so-locally.

For instance, here — a road trip to West Virginia:

Anyway. I really wish I could tell you more right now, but I just can’t. I can only say that he is really kind and sort of shy and just so nice. I will keep you posted!! (But, yes!! of course, I did go on & on about him on the phone with Valerie last night. She was alone in her house up in Haverstraw! But I told him at breakfast that I was going to do that….)

Anyway, since he is a lot older than me, his taste in music is right up my alley!! Yesterday afternoon, he sent me this!

I absolutely loved this song as a little girl, gang. It’s from the Broadway musical ,”The King & I.” But I never heard this version by Bing Crosby, until Johnny sent this to me yesterday afternoon. It just made my whole heart smile.

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Other than that, I am just feeling really happy about so many things right now. My writing, my finances, the future, and Christmas!!

I hope things are going just as well for all of you, wherever you are in the world!!

I’m gonna get ready to head to town now and see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. (Okay, I will say that Johnny is not 95! He’s a couple years younger than my birth dad was, which means he is from the whole Vietnam, rock & roll, surf’s up era!!)

Okay. Have a great day out there.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!!

From that playlist that, thankfully, I recovered! (The playlist from when I was always driving down to see my dad before he died.)

The stunning Voces8 version of “Underneath the Stars”. 2013. Enjoy, gang!

“Underneath the Stars”

Underneath the stars I’ll meet you
Underneath the stars I’ll greet you
And there beneath the stars I’ll leave you
Before you go of your own free will

Go gently

Underneath the stars you met me
Underneath the stars you left me
I wonder if the stars regret me
At least you’ll go of your own free will

Go gently

Here beneath the stars I’m landing
I’m here beneath the stars not ending
Why on earth am I pretending?
I’m here again, the stars befriending
They come and go of their own free will

Go gently
Go gently

Underneath the stars you met me
And underneath the stars you left me
I wonder if the stars regret me
I’m sure they’d like me if they only met me
They come and go of their own free will

Go gently
Go gently
Go gently

c – 2003 Kate Rusby

Okay! I’m Outta Here!

December 4, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I have to leave here soon for my breakfast date!

And I’m hoping that when I get back home, I’m gonna have the energy to put up that Christmas tree!! (It’s 9 feet tall so it takes several hours to do it.)

So there isn’t going to really be a post here today. I don’t have time.

Oh — I did try to get a photo of the earrings Kara gave me for Christmas, of Elvis singing into a microphone. But I can’t get a clear photo of the details. But here they are anyway:

Have a beautiful day, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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The first song that came on the Oldies FM Radio Station on my retro boombox when I turned it on this morning!!

Wow, I hadn’t heard this song in decades!!

Enjoy, gang!!! Belinda Carlisle, “Heaven Is A Place On Earth”, 1987.

Nothing like a little snow!!!

December 3, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

To make you wish you’d already put up your Christmas tree!!

I am so hoping that I have the energy to put the tree up tomorrow, gang. The snow we got yesterday was a pain in the ass to drive around in, but, WOW, was it beautiful to look at.

The perfect dusting on the hillside and on all the trees, for miles and miles. It really put me in the mood for Christmas.

The other day, I bought a couple of cute Christmas floor mats at the Dollar Store. I put one in front of the front door (on the inside), and one in front of the downstairs bathroom.

And YES! The cats have already ruined them!

BUT! They did not destroy them, so I’m gonna just try to stay positive about getting all the decorations up! We shall See!

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So!

If you stopped by here on Monday night, you saw that my 26-years-in-the-making new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, has SOLD!!

I’m still kind of stunned because, you know — what a journey this novel has been. And I still see it as a book that could, well, if not outright offend a lot of people, at least disturb people.

But the publisher is 100% behind it. She said things like: “I know I want this manuscript” and “something in my gut says Yes Yes Yes”.

But even she knows it is not an easy book, gang.

Which was why no publisher would touch it 26 years ago — even though it won 3 literary awards back then (for novel-in-progress).

I am very happy about her position on publishing this book. And I am very happy that the journey for this book is finally continuing. But I am having sort of uneasy dreams at night, you know. Mostly about book signings and readings.

In the old days, I had no qualms whatsoever about going to readings and reading my stuff out loud, about being there in person to sign my books.

My short-short story, “I Like Boys” became a sort of instant classic because I read it aloud in several venues in NYC, including at a launch party in 1998 for Marilyn’s Room Inc. , my multimedia production company — wherein staid (male) journalists from the NY Times, the WSJ, and the Village Voice were in attendance — and you could honestly hear a pin drop.

And then, at the end, everybody loved it. Everybody had so much fun.

But I cannot emphasize enough how different those days were back then. A whole different world. You could say anything, propose anything, challenge anything — it was about ideas. And you didn’t have to fear that you would get totally and completely attacked for your ideas.

Anyway. (Oh, if you never read “I Like Boys”, it’s on my substack page here, but it is absolutely for adults only. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.” DJT)

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Well, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is not erotica. But it is not politically correct in any way shape or form. Plus, it is pretty brutal in some chapters.

Anyway. A huge part of my life is in that book.

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Okay!

Speaking of my erotica from yesteryear–

Another shot of the Parkside Lounge from Instagram! Lower East Side, NYC.

This is the bar where I met Mikey Rivera one fateful night in 2001. (It is now a trans bar, but it wasn’t back then.) And the rest is history — although, in my (award-winning!!) novel, Freak Parade, it is called the Sidecar Lounge.

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Okay.

And here’s this!

Keith without a shirt on!

And Charlie, Keith, and Ronnie, backstage in 1998! (Photo by Ronnie’s then-wife, Jo Wood.)

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Okay.

Johnny Smoke has been VERY active in Tokyo!!

Not only did his “A Bunch of Stuff” art exhibit open there recently (and it was exceedingly well-received — as it should be!!!):

His film “Modi: Three days on the Wing of Madness”, premiered there the other night, as well:

I’m guessing that at some point, I am going to be able to see this movie!!! I’m thinking it starts streaming on Amazon Prime US on Dec. 12th but I’m not positive.

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On another note!

Wendy and Kara and I had a really wonderful time at our Christmas lunch on Monday. It was so great to see them. (And YES!! Kara gave me a pair of gold dangling earrings in the shape of Elvis with a microphone!! Amazing!!)

And in similar news — tomorrow morning, I am meeting a new friend for breakfast. I can’t wait, gang. We’ll see how it goes. But I can say that for some inexplicable reason (the holidays, maybe?), I am suddenly getting a lot of men contacting me through my totally & completely inactive eHarmony profile.

I hadn’t been on the app since meeting Dennis. And Dennis and I are still friends, but there’s stuff going on in his private life that I can’t discuss on the blog. Still, I had no interest in eHarmony. I had other stuff I was focused on.

But then, suddenly, a bunch of traffic on my profile. 99% of which, I just ignored. But for some reason, this one jumped out at me. So we started texting. We chatted on the phone. Decided to meet for breakfast. And we shall see.

We have almost nothing in common but he is so nice. So we’ll see. (We’ll be here –but now picture it when it’s freezing cold outside and covered in a dusting of snow.)

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And I think that’s it!! I seriously gotta scoot now and head back to town to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

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!!

I’ve been singing it a lot the past couple days!

A true classic. John & Yoko, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”, 1971. Sing along and enjoy, gang.

Yes! At long last!

December 1, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Today is the day!

I finally get to see Wendy and Kara again, and have lunch at Snapshots with them, again.

We text one another all the time, but the last time I actually saw either of them, I was wearing a brand new flowered sundress, had my first pedicure of the summer, and was wearing long dangling hippy-chick earrings…

Today, I’ll be wearing a parka, black jeans, a red Christmas sweater and little gold and pearl earrings in the shape of little snowmen…

Ridiculous how long it’s been. But I am definitely in the Christmas spirit now, and I can’t wait to give each of them their Christmas presents!!

And driving back into my neighborhood from my shift last night, it was of course dark so I was able to see all of my neighbors’ Christmas light displays and it really got me in the mood to get my house decorated….

I’m still aiming for Thursday to be the day. We shall see!

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Here’s this!!

It’s a screenshot from some great footage of Keith onstage with the Stones. This screenshot doesn’t do it justice, but here it is anyway!!

And this is the song they were playing!!!! (I fucking never get tired of this song, gang — Lo! these 50 years later…) “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”

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And here’s this!

Another great one from Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page. The NY Dolls in NYC in 1971. I have never seen a photo of David Johansen with his hair this long before!!

Photo is by Lee Black Childers:

And speaking of David Johansen…

Last evening, during my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, we watched the movie “Scrooged” from 1988. Starring Bill Murray and a ton of other folks, and shot in that era of NYC that I really loved (the 80s).

AND, David Johansen plays the Ghost of Christmas Past — a totally insane NYC taxi driver. I absolutely love him in that role. It was so much fun to watch it again (and, well, get paid to sit there and watch it, to be brutally honest!) A 2-minute clip:

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And if you’re going to be attending the Wild God Tour of Australia & New Zealand next month, the Nick Cave official site released this news yesterday about adding a supporting act — Aldous Harding:

You can buy tickets HERE.

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Other than that, I’m in the middle of doing laundry right now. And then I get to make an exciting phone call to my insurance agent about that loose gutter that’s dangling down from the edge of the roof because of those crazy high winds we’ve had. I’m hoping he can recommend someone local and affordable to come fix it ASAP, before it totally blows off and sails away…

Oh! But some good news — it is not supposed to snow today after all. It is really cold, but sunny!! And NOT windy for a change!! Yay!!

And since Snapshots isn’t too far from where I do all my grocery shopping, I’ve decided to run errands after our lunch today and that way, after my 10-hr shift tomorrow, I can just come straight home. Yay!!

So it’s looking like this could be a really nice day, all the way around.

I guess that’s it for now, gang.

I want to get those presents wrapped, then finish up the laundry. And try to do yoga before I head to town. And maybe even — I don’t know — try to get some writing done before this day is over?? We’ll find out.

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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!

Yesterday I practically had a heart attack. I got into the car to drive to my shift and discovered that the playlist I play almost all the time, had suddenly disappeared from my phone.

This was the playlist I began building when I first started to go visit my dad when he was dying. It was a 3-hr trip each way, so my playlist was long. And it isn’t that I can’t find all those old songs again, but what a colossal amount of work!! And those memories of seeing my dad before he died would kind of disappear… I was so heartbroken.

Anyway, miraculously, it was back on my phone when I double-checked it this morning!!

So while I was lying there, back in bed after breakfast, doing that thing I do, with a cup of coffee near at hand (that thing I do is mostly convincing myself to get out of bed again and start the day…), I listened to some of the songs on the playlist and got sort of wistful, but while also feeling oddly complete about my life.

So I share one of those songs here! I’ve known this song for over 50 years, but now it always makes me think really, really fondly of my dad.

CSN&Y, “Teach your Children”. 1970. Enjoy, gang.

“Teach Your Children”

You, who are on the road
Must have a code
That you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye

Teach your children well
Their father’s hell
Did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s
The one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?”
If they told you, you would cry
So, just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

And you of tender years (Can you hear and do you care)
Can’t know the fears (And can you see)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)

Teach your parents well
Their children’s hell
Will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s
The one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?”
If they told you, you would cry
So, just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

c – 1970 Graham Nash

Why not have some more WEATHER??

November 30, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Jesus, gang.

Another dreary cold day with HIGH winds — and a little sleet!! Who the heck is in charge of the weather these days?

Whoever you are, could you quit with the high winds already??? It’s been something, like, 5 days in a row now. (“Thank you for your attention to this matter.” DJT)

If I didn’t have to go back to town later today and then drive home after dark tonight, I wouldn’t mind so much.

And I don’t really care that much that it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, when I’ll be out having an early Christmas lunch with Wendy and Kara. It’s those high winds I can’t handle.

Anyway.

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Okay.

Sad news yesterday.

The playwright, Tom Stoppard, passed away at age 88.

He wrote one of my favorite plays of all time — “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (1966). From my POV as a writer, I thought he achieved something completely spectacular with that play. It’s really funny but it also totally fucks with your head — especially if you are reasonably familiar with “Hamlet”.

“The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the main setting is Denmark…”

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And today marks another sad occasion.

The magnificent Shane MacGowan has been gone TWO YEARS now, as of today. I can’t fucking believe it, gang.

From The Pogues’ Instagram page this morning:

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Well, as long as we’re at it–

From Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page — another great photo of Willy (Mink) DeVille, from 2000.

I had no idea he ever had a horse farm in Mississippi!

Here’s another song of his that I used to love listening to on my Sony Walkman while walking alone around NYC at night in the early 80s! “Just to Walk that Little Girl Home”, 1979.

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And here’s this —

Another gorgeous photo of a Native American. I have no idea from which tribal nation, or when the photo was taken–

(Oh, and, NO, I have not heard anything more yet from Wayne on the manuscript for The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. Nothing since his comments about Jack Kicking Eagle. I’m not tapping my toe and glancing at my watch or anything, because I know he’s busy…. but come on!!!!) (And the publisher has at least been in touch but she hasn’t finished reading it yet, either…)

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Okay– back to Instagram…

And a veritable bonanza of Nick Cave photos on Instagram this morning!!

Mostly from photographer Ross A Waterman:

And Nick in furry ears!!

And Nick in Berlin, in 1987. I don’t know who photographed it:

I could look at this photo all day. Unfortunately, I have to do a bunch of other stuff…

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And an update on how Christmas is progressing here in Crazeysburg!

This morning, I put the Christmas flannel sheets on my bed!!

Jesus, gang. I just can’t emphasize enough how overwhelmed I feel about the potential of getting all the Christmas stuff out with all these frisky young cats in the house now.

But, on Thursday, I am having breakfast with a friend here (oddly enough, NOT in Granville, but only about 2 seconds away from Granville…):

Don’t let this empty parking lot fool you. There is usually not a single solitary place to park!!

And then I think I will spend the rest of Thursday getting the Christmas stuff out.

I’m at least trying to psyche myself up for that outcome, anyway. We shall see!

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Other than that, I have 28 more caregiving shifts until 2026!

(I don’t think I’m going to do a daily countdown, but I guess you never know.)

Meanwhile, I have to go wash my hair now, then do some yoga, then feed my lovely self and then head on out in the sleet and cold and wind… to go look after the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this.

The classic “A Rainy Night in Soho” by The Pogues, 1986. As always, just beautiful. Enjoy, gang.

“A Rainy Night In Soho”

I’ve been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I’ve cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways

We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell

I took shelter from a shower
And I stepped into your arms
On a rainy night in Soho
The wind was whistling all its charms

I sang you all my sorrows
You told me all your joys
Whatever happened to that old song?
To all those little girls and boys

Sometimes I wake up in the morning
The ginger lady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you talking in my head

I’m not singing for the future
I’m not dreaming of the past
I’m not talking of the first time
I never think about the last

Now this song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there’s a light I hold before me
And you’re the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams

Sometimes I wake up in the morning
The ginger lady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you talking in my head

I’m not singing for the future
I’m not dreaming of the past
I’m not talking of the first time
I never think about the last

Now this song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there’s a light I hold before me
And you’re the measure of my dreams, the measure of my dreams

c – 1986 Shane MacGowan

That Went Well!

November 29, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

I’ll just say up front here that the agency managed to find a GREAT substitute caregiver for whoever it was that called off on Thanksgiving Day, and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had a really good holiday!

And he ate a TON of food! Yay!

And my shift with him yesterday went reasonably well. (I say “reasonably” only because with or without the food, he’s still sort of rapidly declining.)

I’m heading back over there soon and I am trying to keep a sort of “positive” outlook.

I can’t help it, gang. The more I think about work, the more I think about retiring. I don’t want to say that I’m “counting the days”, because I don’t know the exact day yet that I’m retiring, but let’s just say I have 29 shifts to go before 2026….

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Okay!

I don’t really have much to post about today, but here’s this–

From the Jack Kerouac Estate Instagram page, from left: John Cohen (back of head), Larry Rivers, Jack, David Amram, and Allen Ginsberg.

And in case I never posted about this before…

Back in April 1993, Larry Rivers turned 70 and his wife had a small birthday party for him at their loft on E. 14th Street , and I was invited to come to the party and sing!

I don’t remember what I sang — no more than 2 or 3 of my songs. I only remember that it was so cool to meet Larry Rivers!!

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And speaking of so cool…

Nick Cave sent out a really cool Red Hand File yesterday! It was ostensibly about a woman who’d had a dream about the spirit of her dead son. But it was more about how a lot of human beings these days dismiss their spiritual side. He said, in part:

“…Sadly, the world we live in now has largely abandoned the mystical and sacred side, treating it as an unserious and unnecessary impediment to human progress. We now dwell in an essentially materialistic age, and weird experiences that disturb this rational world are often met with scepticism and derision. Unloved, this aspect of our nature can wither and die. I believe we ignore this strange and otherworldly activity at our peril….”

You can read it in full HERE.

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And I think that’s it for today!

I’m working on a little project about E.12th Street and I am really enjoying it. It stems from those photos I recently posted here, showing how my “hellhole” apartment there was “renovated” after I moved out in 1992, and is now a sterile over-priced cubicle. And it has made me see those Alphabet City days of the 1980s in a whole different light.

Yep. Hard to believe, but it was actually better back then.

Okay.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys! See ya!

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Okay.

I leave you with this!

One of those songs from my wee bonny 12-year-old girlhood that helped lure me to NYC… (and I’ll point out here that several people he sings about here, were photographed by Peter Hujar and I eventually saw those iconic photos in Peter’s apartment!!! See yesterday’s post.)

Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side” 1972. From his legendary album Transformer. Enjoy, gang.

“Walk On The Wild Side”

Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She says, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
Said, “Hey, honey,
Take a walk on the wild side.”

Candy came from out on the Island
In the back room she was everybody’s darling
But she never lost her head
Even when she was giving head
She says, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
Said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
And the colored girls go
“Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”

Little Joe never once gave it away
Everybody had to pay and pay
A hustle here and a hustle there
New York City’s the place
Where they said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
I said, “Hey, Joe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”

Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets
Looking for soul food and a place to eat
Went to the Apollo
You should’ve seen them go, go, go
They said, “Hey, sugar,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
I said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
All right, huh

Jackie is just speeding away
Thought she was James Dean for a day
Then I guess she had to crash
Valium would have helped that bash
Said, “Hey, babe,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
I said, “Hey, honey,
Take a walk on the wild side.”
And the colored girls say,
“Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”

c – 1972 Lou Reed

“It’s beginning to look a lot like –“

November 28, 2025 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, not so much.

I managed to get out 2 Christmas potholders. The snowman spoon-rest for the stovetop. 1 Christmas placemat for the kitchen table. A Christmas dish towel.

And a Christmas coffee mug from my stupidly large collection of Christmas coffee mugs…

And that was it.

I just wasn’t up for anything more than that yesterday. I figure I’ll wait until I am truly in the Christmas spirit and also have a ton of energy.

I did watch a little bit of Yogi Bear!! (See yesterday’s post.)

Well, I didn’t exactly watch it. It was on the TV in the kitchen while I made a big pot of soup for the weekend.

But that was about as festive as I got.

And now I’m getting ready to head back over to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house and I am really dreading it, gang.

I’m not dreading seeing him, I’m just dreading what I will find. I am really, really hoping the Agency was able to find a good last-minute replacement for him yesterday — a caregiver that would be able to persuade him to get out of bed and to EAT. (I can’t stress enough how difficult he gets when he has a caregiver that he doesn’t recognize.)

One of his far-away family members texted both me and the private nurse yesterday, to wish us a Happy Thanksgiving. And of course I was polite, etc., but I really wanted to text back to the private nurse and say:

ME (texting furiously): “Why didn’t you fucking TELL me you were fucking going away??!! He ran out of FOOD!! He didn’t eat for TWO FUCKING DAYS!!”

(Also see yesterday’s post.)

Anyway.

Instead I just let it go.

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Anyway.

When I wasn’t NOT decorating for Christmas, I did some yoga. Then started yet another new course! I finally finished the course on the Protestant Reformation last week (wow, what an intense course, gang), and while I wait for James Tabor’s new course on Christianity before Paul, I started a 36-lecture-course on Alexander the Great.

I really have no idea why this course jumped out at me, but it did. And I listened to the first lecture yesterday and I was instantly fascinated by it. It’s not just on Alexander but also on the era of Greek history in which he lived. And the sharp divide in people’s opinions of him back then.

I knew none of this stuff so I think it’s going to be very interesting. However, the moment James Tabor’s new course becomes available, I will set the Alexander the Great course aside until later.

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Meanwhile —

This was so cool.

From NYC LGBTQ historic sites on Instagram!! Peter Hujar’s old apartment in the East Village has just been made an LGBTQ historic residence site!

(Here he is in his living room. I remember this room so well, gang. It is where all his most iconic photographs were displayed.)

(If you are new to the blog, back during the AIDS crisis in NYC, during the mid-1980s, I was a volunteer with the Visiting Nurse Services of NY, and Peter Hujar was one of my patients up until he died.)

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And I think that’s it for now.

I need to sort of get myself together for today’s shift and then head into town.

Enjoy your (Black) Friday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visitng.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this.

James Tabor posted this video to his private Patreon group yesterday.

“The roads of the Roman Empire restructured mobility in the Mediterranean area. This animation movie reveals the diversity of Roman roads, from paved roads leading to major ancient cities, over wide camel tracks in the Egyptian desert, to steep roads in mountain passes.”

Travel the Roads of the Roman Empire (8 mins). Enjoy gang.