Tag Archives: mental-health

It Has Arrived!

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November, that is.

And my favorite day of the year — wherein I got that extra hour back and I have already used it well! (Making another big breakfast for myself, after feeding and cleaning up after 14 cats… then, yes! I went back to bed for an hour, with my cup o’ joe on the bedside table!)

And now here I am.

I’m not exactly dreading the interview today (at noon — with the investigative reporter, about RC Horsch), but I will be happy when it’s over.

I will also be EXTREMELY happy when this fucking election is over (Tuesday) and all the fucking ADS can just fucking STOP… I am so fucking sick of it.

Anyway! That said, please fucking VOTE.

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Last night was okay. There were a WHOLE lot of kids out there, trick-or-treating. So I’m guessing kids came in from other nearby towns. They were literally just everywhere.

The candy ran out while there was still about 30 more minutes to go, so I took everything down by 7PM, and brought it inside, then turned out the lights and went upstairs.

I am not a fan of Halloween and I am glad it’s over, but the kids had fun.

Meanhwile…

Wayne WhatsApp’d me yesterday about his plans for last night. He’s too funny.

“…I don’t want kids ringing my doorbell, so I’ll leave out my traditional basket of loose cigarettes, strike-anywhere matches and razor blades so the lil’ darlings can help themselves. SAFETY razor blades. After all, I’m not a monster.”

(You know, for a marriage that didn’t last, I still cannot find another living soul that I would rather spend my life with.)

Okay.

I re-watched this magnificent film while the festivities were going on last night, and what another great trip down Memory Lane it was:

I was in my early teens the first time I saw this film (with French Club at school). I remember well how it made me feel — liberated. On so many levels.

It’s so cool to re-watch it, and to know so much more about the French New Wave then I knew way back then, and to have been to Paris a couple of times — and also to have been to Paris for a book signing, to have Neptune & Surf come out twice in French. To know now that I have done things I had no clue I was going to do regarding Paris (and life) when I first saw that film!!

(What I’m going to do for the next however many years I have left, besides take care of rescued cats, is the part that has me really stumped, gang.)

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Okay.

Here’s this . I love this acoustic version. It popped up in my YouTube stream this morning, for some reaason.

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Okay!

We missed this!!

It happened last night, but the post didn’t get into my Instagram feed until this morning.

Bad Seed Jim Sclavunos played Dublin last night with his other band, Transvision Vamp!!

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And I loved this.

From Phyllis Stein.

David Jo and the New York Dolls, in NYC, 1973. Photo by Bob Gruen.

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And also from Phyllis Stein!!

Andy Warhol at Gristede’s in NYC, 1965 — perhaps prepping for Hurricane Sandy! (Photo by Bob Edelman)

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And here’s this!!

Warren Ellis surrounded by FLOWERS!!

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And here’s this.

From Facebook!!

Which reminds me — I watched the rest of that video I posted yesterday — the Nick Cave documentary about his early years in Melbourne.

I really liked it. I liked the sensibility of it and found it actually very informative. I’d heard a lot of that stuff before about the early Boys Next Door years, but this time it all actually made sense.

Here’s the link again, in case you missed it. (36 mins.)

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Okay, that’s all I have for today.

I’m going to finish up the laundry and sort of get my head together before the interview.

Yesterday was intense at work — only 3 hours but they were sort of crazy. The moment we got to the store, the electricity was on the verge of going out.

So the owners came in and the electricity repair guy came. It got fixed but it got the day off to a weird start.

However, a cool thing happened.

A man came up to the cash register while I was standing there and I immediately recognized him from the old days. A really nice man.

He was so happy. He said, “Are you back??” And then he said, “I just found a recipe you wrote for me a long time ago and I was going to come in here and ask what had happened to you — and now here you are!”

i thought that was pretty cool. Sort of Kismet-y.

I’m guessing I wrote him a recipe for how to make your own Hydroxychloroquine at home. We did a lot of that kind of stuff during the lockdowns.

Anyway. It is really good to be back at that store. And nary a lockdown in sight…

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

I got really sick & tired of all the commercials on the oldies FM radio station on my retro boombox this morning…

So I turned it off and turned on my driving-to-town playlist on my iPhone instead, and YAY!!

A little bit of heaven filled my room.

Enjoy, gang. I sure did.

“A Rainy Night in Soho”, 1986, Shane MacGowan and The Pogues.

Getting Social Around Here!

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Okay!!

So, not only do we have a group lunch coming up in early November — with my co-workers at the health & wellness store (including the woman who runs the store).

But on Monday, I’m having lunch with my dear pals Wendy and Kara, to celebrate Wendy’s birthday!!

The 3 of us have not had time to get together for lunch since Christmas. I’m really looking forward to it.

We’re going here !!

So, the main reason I returned to the working world was to be around people again. And it is already a complete success.

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I’m getting a late start here on the blog today because it was “Pay the Bills” day today!!

So the bills are paid — and I have to say, I am managing the expense of the recent trip to Charlotte , NC, and that fantastic hotel, just fine.

Yay!!

Oh, and Sandra texted at 7:15AM and asked if I was up and having coffee yet (I of course was!!), so we had our chat on the phone first thing this morning.

I am still aiming to be in NYC for her Birthday Cabaret the 3rd week of January…

And at some point today, I’m supposed to catch up with my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn!! Yay!!

For some reason, I’m a lot older when I chat with Valerie…

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And then somewhere here today, I’ll be working some more on the flash fiction piece for the Bill Burroughs tribute anthology…

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Okay!

It’s that time again!!

Erica Verrillo’s fantastic monthly free newsletter for writers is out:

73 Calls for Submissions in November 2026 – Paying markets!

“This November there are more than six dozen calls for submissions. All of these are paying markets, and none charge submission fees. As always, every genre, style, and form is wanted, from short stories to poetry to essays.”

Visit HERE. And sign up for her FREE newsletter, while you’re at it!!

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Meanwhile….

Due to the time difference between here and Europe, and my overall schedule–

I’m falling behind in The Dirty Three’s European Tour!!

Posted by Warren Ellis after their tour-opening show in Vicenza, Italy!!

And here’s Warren Elvis, oops, ELLIS, during their show in Geneva last night!!

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Speaking of Elvis….

Here’s Johnny Cash!!

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And speaking of Johnny Cash….

Dwight Yoakam is still on tour!! You can buy tickets HERE!

And in the event you need some Guitars, Cadillacs, and Hillbilly Music RIGHT NOW—

And I have to say, yet again, that experiencing Dwight Yoakam singing this very song live at The Ritz in NYC in the 1980s — it was absolutely unbelievable, gang. Truly one of the highlights of my already indescribably insane life.

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Okay!

Here’s this!!

I might have posted it here before, but you can’t beat a photo of Keith smoking while he’s on fire, can you, gang??!


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And here’s this great song, just for the hell of it!!

Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” from his huge hit album, Born in the USA (1984):

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From Phyllis Stein.

The New York Dolls in London, 1973.

Photographer Ian Dickson passed away recently–

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And here’s this!!

From Facebook!!

Nick Cave looking very, very Nick Cave-y!! In color!! Yay!!

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And I guess that is it, gang.

I gotta get focused here and get some writing done before the day flies away from me and I’m yakking merrily on the phone with Valerie.

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this today!!

This came up in my YouTube stream!

I used to LOVE this song, as a wee bonny teenaged lass. I played this record a lot (on her Greatest Hits album) when I was very very very briefly away at college in 1978… Luckily my 3 other roommates liked Joan Baez, too.

(And if you were ever a stranger that I’ve been in love with, well, then this one’s for you and you know who you are!!)

Joan Baez, 1972. “Love Song To A Stranger”. Enjoy, gang.

“Love Song To A Stranger”

How long since I’ve spent a whole night in a twin bed with a stranger
His warm arms all around me?
How long since I’ve gazed into dark eyes that melted my soul down
To a place where it longs to be?
All of your history has little to do with your face
You’re mainly a mystery with violins filling in space

You stood in the nude by the mirror and picked out a rose
From the bouquet in our hotel
And lay down beside me again and I watched the rose
On the pillow as it fell
I sank and I slept in a twilight with only one care
To know that when day broke and I woke that you’d still be there
You’d still be there

The hours for once they passed slowly, unendingly by
Like a sweet breeze on a field
Your gentleness came down upon me and I guess I thanked you
When you caused me to yield
We spoke not a sentence and took not a footstep beyond
Our two days together which seemingly soon would be gone
Soon would be gone

Don’t tell me of love everlasting and other sad dreams
I don’t want to hear
Just tell me of passionate strangers who rescue each other
From a lifetime of cares
‘Cause if love means forever, expecting nothing returned
Then I hope I’ll be given another whole lifetime to learn

‘Cause you gave to me, oh, so many things, it makes me wonder
How they could belong to me
And I gave you only my dark eyes which melted your soul down
To a place where it longs to be

c – 1972 Joan Baez

Happily saying farewell to yesterday!

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Wow, gang.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Okay.

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

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

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

James also included this video:

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

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

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

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

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

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And here’s this!

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

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And this!

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

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From yesterday!

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

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And here’s this!!

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

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And here’s this!

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

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And back to the Bad Seeds–

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

And from Facebook!

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

And that is it for now.

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

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

Perfect accompaniment for my in-progress Bill Burroughs piece.

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

A Happy Tuesday in the Hinterlands!

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Okay!

I am here.

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

I slept great. Absolutely, totally great.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

However.

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

Yay.

And so then we got breakfast underway!!

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

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

Okay!

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

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

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

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

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Okay.

Sadly, this happened on this day in 2013–

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

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And here’s this–

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

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And here’s this!

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

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And here’s this!!

From the show in Milan last night!!!

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

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

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And from Facebook!!

Here’s this!

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

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And that is it for today!!

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

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Burroughs on Kerouac (1 min). Just beautiful:

Home today!

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Yes, it turns out that I don’t have to work today, so that’s good because I still have a lot of stuff left to do on the M. Christian anthology and I am hoping to have it turned in to the publisher by the end of the month.

So here’s hoping I have a productive weekend!

NO, wait! Of course, I meant THIS!!

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And, YES!!

I did manage to screw up the electric breaker switch thingie yesterday morning while trying to fix the lights in the kitchen and also dash off to the job on time!

But luckily, the tech guy was able to come back out while I was at work and he fixed it in a nano-second, so everything is back to normal. Yay!!

ME! Helping out!!

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Okay!!

This is happening today!!

Happy birthday, David Lee Roth!! He is 72 today!!

And here’s this!! And if you’re not old enough to remember it — this was in the peak years of MTV, when music videos cost a fortune to produce and were like little 4-minute movies. From 1985, David Lee Roth’s huge hit version of “California Girls”!!

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I don’t have a lot of “here’s this’s ” today because, you know, I had to work at a job yesterday and wasn’t able to just sit and scroll through Instagram all day!! (But I had a great time!!)

Anyway.

Here’s this!

Jack Kerouac– confused in Autumn!!

And here’s this bit of absolute loveliness while we’re at it! Chet Baker, “Tis Autumn” from 1959:

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And here’s this!!

From Phyllis Stein.

Lou Reed with Iggy Pop, smoking, at Max’s in NYC in 1972!! (Photo by Danny Fields)

And I’ve posted this once before, but here it is again! The song I wrote about Iggy Pop in 1984, after having read his incredible memoir I Need More. (What a great book that was.)

This is an absolute demo — it’s just me and my drummer using the 8-track in my bedroom on E.12th Street, so the sound quality is not great. The demo is followed below by my lyrics, and then by Jim Carroll’s comments on my lyrics, because I wrote the song and turned it in while taking Jim Carroll’s songwriting class in 1984 (one of the true highlights of my life!!).

“SHAPE YOU’RE IN“
(for Iggy Pop)

She was a tiny girl,
but she felt like a woman to you
In her high-heeled shoes and her
Tanqueray point of view.

You were a man on the edge
She was a girl in chains
When a child comes on
Don’t the night get strange?

CHORUS I:
You’ve broken all the rules but you still need more
‘Til you’re not sure what you’re looking for
But God’s gonna overlook this one sin
‘Cause, honey, He’s seen the shape you’re in.

It was a tiny dream,
It took all the money you had
It was a good little dream, but it shook you
And treated you bad.

When the damage is done
When you fear the change
When the deal’s gone down
Don’t the dark get strange?

CHORUS II:
You’ve taken all the pain but they still want more
‘Til you’re not sure what you do it for
But God’s gonna carry you through my friend
‘Cause, honey, He’s seen the shape you’re in.

Life on the edge
Can cheat you and paralyze
‘Til the voice in your head
Misleads you and tells you lies

If I could give you the moon
In a paper jar
Would you trade it all
For the big rock star?

CHORUS III:
You’ve broken all the rules but you still need more
‘Til you’re not sure what you’re looking for
But God’s gonna carry you through my friend
‘Cause, honey, He’s seen the shape you’re in.

© 1984 Marilyn Jaye Lewis
FIRST OF MAY SONGS, BMI

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And here’s this!

The only Nick Cave thing I have today, but it’s from Facebook!!

Nick Cave and his skateboard!!

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All right, that’s it.

I need to finish up the laundry now and get focused on editing the anthology.

Oh, I will add that I had such a great chat on the phone with my new guy last night. Even though our lives could not have been more different if we’d planned it that way, we have a lot of fundamental things in common.

For instance, does this sound familiar? He said that his parents forced him to go to college. He didn’t want to go. He said, “I lasted about 10 weeks and thought it was just stupid and so I quit.”

Of course the difference between him and me, is that after I quit college, I went off to NYC to become a singer-songwriter and a writer, and he worked on farms and trained horses and did road construction and rehabbed old houses.

HE (on phone last night): “I’m just a dumb hillbilly.”

ME (very encouraging): “You’re not dumb at all!”

(He’s a hillbilly maybe, but he absolutely is not stupid!!)

Plus we also discovered that our ancestral heritage is similar — heavy on the Irish and German.

Anyway!

Okay. I gotta scoot.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

From 1986!

Iggy Pop’s fantastic song “Blah-Blah-Blah”!! From the album of the same name. (I adored this whole album.) Okay. Enjoy, gang!!

“Blah-Blah-Blah”

Pop before the war
lunch before the score
steady as she goes
following my nose
I’m a bull mongrel
that’s me

Shimon Peres
whatcha gonna do
I’m from detroit
blow the reveille
deatho knocko
that’s me little ol’me
glamorous me

Johnny can’t read
blah blah blah
I’ can’t see
blah blah blah
tuna on white
guns all night
blah blah blah

Cat taboo girl-
raped by an ape
cat taboo girl
jam the sucker in
you dig the mongrels
guardian of the state
says you gotta go
bombin’ low

Senator Rambo
merrily you go
monkey butcher knows
a cab to find abank
a bank to find a loan
’cause you can’t be alone
you dig the mongrels

Violent peace
blah blah blah
buy it right now
blah blah blah
we are the world
we are so huge
blah blah blah
johnny can’t read
blah blah blah
I’ can’t see
blah blah blah
tuna on white
guns all night
blah blah blah

blue jeans coolies
everything huge
petrified food
pizza killers
from napalm to nice guy
nifty fifty
hit ’em where they live

the most spoiled brats
on god’s green earth

pop before the war

c – 1986 Iggy Pop, David Bowie

A splendid morning so far!

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Not only is it a really beautiful Fall day here today, gang, but it has also gotten cold enough at night now, that today I am bringing all the green houseplants indoors until next Spring.

Which also means that the 6-month battle between me and the cats gets underway today!

The cats LOVE exploring the houseplants and, whenever possible, toppling the flowerpots onto the floor and spilling soil all over the carpeting!! Yay!!

So this is a time of year that I really look forward to!!

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It has also been a splendid morning because of this!!

Yes! It’s the New Guy In My Life’s birthday today!!

So — Happy birthday to the new guy in my life!

We spoke briefly at 5:03AM (“Happy birthday!”)

Then a little lengthier chat at 6:55AM (other stuff that I won’t go into — but, yay!)

Then a very, very brief chat at about 7:25AM… (him, quickly reiterating stuff that I won’t go into — yet!)

Mostly we laughed a lot. But he also said, “I’m so sick of Florida already! I want to be back there in Ohio!” (He’s been gone about 5 days, with the rest of the entire winter to go…) (If you’re new to the blog — when he’s not at his home in Florida, he lives in the house directly across the road from me. And we decided to start dating, like, the day before he left for Florida.)

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Okay.

Today is also this —

Gone 6 years today. RIP Eddie Van Halen.

And here’s this, from 1984, “Panama”!

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Okay!

Here’s this!!

Keith!! Doing the polka!!

OOPS! Of course, I meant, wearing polka DOTS!!

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And I loved this.

Allen in his apartment just a few steps away from my old apartment on E.12th Street! And I had 2 fireplaces in the old apartment that looked very much like his looked below. PLUS, I love that he has that photo of Mick & Keith stuck on his fireplace!!

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In the “Urgent Dog Update” Department!!

Oh no! It seems Tupac threw up again!! Apparently, this time, right on Warren Ellis’s brown suit and it appears that Warren might have had to change clothes!!

And here’s this! “Back in Black”!! AC/DC, 1980!!

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And here’s this!!

Your guess is as good as mine on this one, gang!!

What I can at least tell you is: Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, black & white!! From Facebook!!

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Well.

So, yesterday! I really, really loved being back at the old health & wellness store, gang.

I’m re-learning some basics– like how to work the cash register and credit card processor.

But, for the most part, it all came back to me. God, I just love that store. I literally love being in it. The energy of it — it’s a privately owned alternative health store, that’s been run by the same family for about 40 years now.

And at the end of the evening, the owner gave me a big hug and a smile and she said, “I am so happy you came back!!” Yay!

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All right.

I guess that’s it for now.

I gotta get busy bringing those plants indoors and then get back to work on editing the M. Christian tribute anthology.

Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Can’t wait for “Ludwig” Season 2 to begin here in the US!! One more week, gang!!

First, a short– (2 mins 22 seconds):


David Mitchell LUDWIG 2 Exclusive Announcement interview 2026 (5 mins):

Happy Labor Day from the sunny Hinterlands!

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Wow, what a spectacular day here today.

The windows are open, the house is cool, the skies are sunny for as far as the eye can see!

I am in a much better mood this morning about everything.

Oh! I forgot to post this, in case you or someone you know was having the same problem– about the wireless printer no longer working right with a new fiber optic Internet connection.

Since I don’t really like wireless printers, in general, and since I could not for the life of me understand the written instructions online about how to fix it myself, and since the HP printer tech support line involves NO HUMAN BEINGS WHATSOEVER and I was ready to tear my fucking hair out….

It finally occurred to me to check the back of the printer for a USB cable port and VOILA!!!! It had one. So I went and bought a USB printer cable and then carefully did this very complicated procedure:

I plugged one end of the cable into the printer and the other end into my laptop and in 0.2 nanoseconds, suddenly the printer was working just fine….

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Okay, gang!

It is official!

On Saturday, October 3rd, from 1-5PM, at Holland’s Book Nook in the really lovely Historic Arcade in downtown Newark, Ohio–

I will be singing — well, I won’t be doing a whole lot of singing, mostly I’ll be signing copies of my brand new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!

2 other local writers will also be there, but I don’t know who the writers are yet.

If for some inexplicable reason you will be in the area that day, please stop by!!

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Okay, I don’t have a lot to post about today since I spent a good chunk of yesterday in town, running errands. And then the remainder of the afternoon working on the new MEMOIR… and I finally found a way to approach it without totally depressing myself.

But here’s this!

From the wonderful Phyllis Stein!

Richard Hell in NYC in 1977!! (Photo by Stephanie Chernikowski)

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And here are 2 great ones from that Nick Cave/Facebook account that I love!

Absolutely SMOKING!! (Nick Cave, and then The Boys Next Door)

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And honestly, that is it for today, gang.

I’m hoping that I have a productive day of writing ahead of me here. We shall soon find out.

Meanwhile, if you live State-side, have a fabulous Labor Day. Otherwise, have a great Monday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Continuing from yesterday’s post…

A little more Lou Bega!! (Get in the car and drive, gang!!)

“Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)”, 1999. Enjoy!!

Can you believe it’s September already??

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Personally, I cannot.

Here’s something else I can’t believe — for the next 7 days, I have no appointments on my schedule.

I get to do whatever I want to do. (Including, I hope, have lunch with one of my girlfriends.)

I’m not sure I know how to handle that — all that free/me time.

The appointment with the Medicare Insurance Nurse yesterday was very interesting. We seemed to have a lot of opinions in common about things like vaxxes and pharmaceuticals vs. supplements, etc.

We chatted about a lot of things, there at my kitchen table. She was here for half an hour, even though her actual “work” was completed in about 10 minutes.

Anyway.

That’s done for another year!

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Even though Summer doesn’t officially end for 3 more weeks, everyone in the village seems to think that since school is back in session, the Summer is over and we should be putting all of our Fall decorations out…

WTF??!!

I feel like I’m the only one left who has “Summer” all over her front porch.

So, sadly, I’m going to at least take the Summer stuff off the front porch today. Move all the flowers to the kitchen porch, and try to conform to everybody else’s calendar…

But I refuse to put out my actual Fall decor until the last week of September. (Here’s hoping I don’t incur some sort of fine for that — you know, the Sherriff showing up on my kitchen porch, saying, “You’re neighbors have been complaining that this porch here still looks a little Summery…”)

I’m actually feeling kind of sad about all this — time racing away. But on we go.

So long, Summer…

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Okay.

As far as having a little window of free time to get some of my own writing done…

That feels really strange, too! My own writing?

We’ll see how that goes. It’s all about focusing and detaching from whatever is going on in the world around me. It’s been a while since I’ve allowed myself to really do that, without feeling sort of guilty about it.

That’s leftover from the caregiving.

But I’m working on moving those feelings out. Last evening, I suddenly decided to delete all the texts on my phone that I was still hanging onto from clients of mine who have since died.

I deleted any texts relating to caregiving at all. It felt like the right thing to do, because my heart needs to move on and I need to get fully back into my own life, while I’m still alive in it.

I hope to make some true progress with all of that this week.

Me, at the end of the week

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All righty!

Here’s this!

Keith, on a boat on the water! Getting plenty of “Keith” time!

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And here’s this!

From the last show of the Bad Seeds tour — Nick Cave in Paris!

And Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File today, responding to an inquiry about his favorite painting. He actually got to see his favorite painting while in a museum in Germany recently. He said, in part:

“… I had heard that they had the Lochner (painting), but once inside I couldn’t find it amongst the museum’s unbelievably beautiful collection of sacred art. In my mind, the painting had become so monumental that I guess I expected it to be huge, to have its own wall, or something.

“As I was leaving, disappointed not to see it, I walked into a small, annexed room and in the far corner, in the half-light, was the Lochner, only twelve inches tall, and rendered with such tender restraint and humility that I found myself overwhelmed….”

You can read it in full HERE.

And here is the painting:

ADORATION OF THE CHILD JESUS BY STEFAN LOCHNER, 1445

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And that is it for now.

The first day in September is off to a sort of slow start, it seems. Even on Instagram.

But enjoy your day, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this…

From that legendary (now a little heartbreaking) album by Frank Sinatra, September of My Years (1965).

“Don’t Wait Too Long”. Enjoy, gang.

“Don’t Wait Too Long”

You are the summer and I am the autumn
Don’t wait too long
Your song’s beginning while mine’s nearly sung
Don’t wait too long

Fall is a lovely time of the year
When leaves turn to golden brown
But soon fall is ending and winter is near
And the leaves start tumblin’ down

Why must the moments go by in such haste?
Don’t wait too long
Winter is coming, I’ve no time to waste
Don’t wait too long

So while my heart’s gay and foolish and free and still can sing its song
Share every precious moment with me, don’t you wait too long

[instrumental-first line of a verse]
Don’t wait too long
[instrumental-second line of a verse]
Don’t wait too long

So while my heart’s gay and foolish and free and still can sing its song
Share every precious moment with me, don’t wait too long

c – 1965 Sunny Skylar

What is this “Friday Again” business???

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How can it possibly be Friday again, gang??

Where the heck is the time going to???

Anyway.

Happy Friday.

For some reason, I am super tired this morning. I don’t really know why. I think it’s emotional because I actually got plenty of sleep.

Okay. Here’s something that bugs me:

I recently switched to fiber optic internet, after having about 30 years of cable. It doesn’t matter to me that it’s faster than cable, it was a lot cheaper. So I switched.

But now my brand new wireless HP printer 99% of the time cannot be found by my laptop or my printer phone app. And vice versa!

But don’t worry! The HP chatbot assures me it’s fixable!! And sent me to the page online that explains everything and what I need to do…

First, though, I need to take time out to get a college degree in “Understanding What the Fuck You Are Talking About”.

Then we should be good to go…

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Remember those faraway days when you had your non-wireless laptop and/or desktop computer and you set up your non-wireless printer and everything just worked?

Or better yet, how about this??

Pen and paper!

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In fact!

Let’s just pause for one minute and 40 seconds to take this in again, and remember how much more FUN life was back when “the wireless” meant the fucking RADIO… (CAUTION: Kleenex might be needed):

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Okay.

Let’s come back to 2026…

Yesterday, this happened!

Happy heavenly birthday PeeWee Herman!!

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All right!

Milkweed Editions and Orion Magazine invite you to a special virtual conversation with celebrated writer Helen Whybrow, author of the beloved memoir The Salt Stones: Seasons of a Shepherd’s Life, and bestselling author Pam Houston, whose new book Animals Taught Me Everything reflects on a lifetime of learning from the creatures who have shaped her life.

Moderated by Neal Thompson, publisher of Orion Magazine, this wide-ranging discussion will explore memoir, place, belonging, and the lessons animals teach us about ourselves, one another, and the living world.

Special thanks to Torrey House Press, publisher of Pam Houston’s Animals Taught Me Everything.

This event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, September 17th

12pm PT | 2pm CT | 3pm ET

On Zoom

Visit HERE to register. Free!

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And speaking of animals–

Here’s Freddie McFee in the family room yesterday!!! (Notice that it’s beginning to look a little bit like Fall around here?? How the fuck did that happen??)

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All righty!

Here’s Keith!!

When he was younger!!

Smoking!!

Less younger!!

Not smoking!!

And a great shot of Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman!

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And it looks like Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds were taking it easy and/or keeping a low profile in Paris, as they awaited the final show of their summer tour TONIGHT!!

There were a ton of recent concert videos on Instagram, but almost no photos and fewer candid photos.

But here’s this! Unusual as it may be!!

Nick Cave in Bonn, Germany!

And in the event that you are maybe on the Metro in Paris right now, heading to Rock en Seine and you don’t have a ticket yet…. you can BUY ONE HERE!

Other than that, gang, the tour ends tonight. And I’m betting that final show will be incroyable!!! We shall see!

Headin’ there now…

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Okay.

That’s it!

I am reaching the homestretch of the book editing. I am hoping to have it completed by tomorrow morning. Then the author and I will do a final overview of the entire book next week.

However, the James Tabor end-of-the-month Zoom meeting for Tabor Research Group starts at noon tomorrow. Our final Zoom meeting before our conference in North Carolina at the end of September!!

So there could be a chance I won’t actually finish editing until Sunday. But we’re going to do our best!!

Meanwhile, enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

For today, and today only, I did something I used to do throughout the entire month of September, back when I was in my 30s, 40s, 50s…

I listened to Frank Sinatra’s incredible album, September of My Years (1965), during breakfast today.

But now that I am actually IN the September of my years, the album is almost too bittersweet to handle anymore.

But I’m gonna at least try to keep listening to it maybe once every year from now until, well, you know, I transition to that glorious other side… it truly is such a beautiful album.

What a gift Sinatra gave to us back in 1965 — a wonderful album to underscore our sunset years…

Here’s the title track, “September of My Years”. Enjoy, gang.

“The September Of My Years”

One day you turn around and it’s summer
Next day you turn around and it’s fall
And the springs and the winters of a lifetime
Whatever happened to them all?

As a man who has always had the wand’ring ways
Now I’m reaching back for yesterdays
‘Til a long-forgotten love appears
And I find that I’m sighing softly as I near
September, the warm September of my years

As a man who has never paused at wishing wells
Now I’m watching children’s carousels
And their laughter’s music to my ears
And I find that I’m smiling gently as I near
September, the warm September of my years

The golden warm September of my years

c- 1965 – Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen

Not only great, but it turned my hair brown!!

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Yes! My first cup o’ joe on my first morning of freedom! So great!

And the stress was so non-existent around here, finally, that it turned my silver hair back to the lovely shade of brown it once was!!

Honestly, gang, it feels so interesting. This freedom thing.

And it is such an incredible morning, here! When I awoke at 6AM (again, second morning in a row — I’m trying really hard to sleep in later and stay up later), it was only 55 degrees Fahrenheit outside! Wow.

When I stepped out onto the kitchen porch to feed Rasha and Kon Tiki, the sun was up and the flowers out there were loving the cooler temperature. They looked so vibrant and full of life.

Anyway. It is just sort of a perfect morning.

I don’t remember the last time I didn’t feel the pressure to “do” something. And what’s weird is that I actually have a ton of things I want to do. But it’s all writing-related. At my desk. Or reading-related, downstairs on the couch.

I do not have to get into the car and drive the 30 miles to town and back until Wednesday — when I meet Kara for dinner to celebrate my birthday!!! Yay!

I actually have stuff on my calendar now that goes clear to November (possibly even to March, depending on a phone chat I’m having tomorrow). So it’s not like I don’t have things to do, but the difference between constant caregiving and just thinking about my own life now and the things that make me happy…

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Okay.

And here’s something that always makes me happy — a midnight text from Wayne, that also had a link to a song on YouTube!

Here’s the song!

“Save It For Later,” covered by Pete Townsend and The Deep End:

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I thought this was very interesting.

From Ross K. Nichols’ Sunday School yesterday–

“We all know who killed Goliath, right? Well, I thought I did until I realized that the biblical writers who told the story were not on the same page.”

The Goliath Story Has a Giant Problem (43 mins):

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And in keeping with my new approach to my own life, here are these!

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And during his break before the upcoming SOLD OUT Brighton bash, Warren Ellis posted some photos that I really thought were great. I think they were from the Australian tour earlier this year (?). Here’s 2 of them:

Colin Greenwood:

Warren himself:

And since the Bad Seeds are indeed on a break until July 31st, we go to the private desktop stash for that photo I love of Nick Cave from yesteryear — smoking and waiting!! Near the water!!

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And, oddly, that’s really all my “here’s this’s” for today.

But in honor of the fact that I now not only have time to get to work on that memoir of my life in the 1970s, but I am also finally in an emotionally calmer place wherein I can actually deal with my memories of my life in the 1970s…

Here’s this from the desktop stash!! Best father-figure ever!! (IMHO)

Keith, smoking…

And with that, I’m gonna finish up the laundry and maybe take a walk before it gets too hot out there.

And then–

Have a lovely Monday, gang, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

From all the way back in 1957, but I mean it more than ever today!! Feel free to join me on this new path in life–

“Come Go With Me” !! The Del-Vikings. Enjoy, gang.