Tag Archives: music

We can dream, can’t we??

May 14, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Methinks the day is not gonna look quite as relaxing as this, but I’ll settle for a feeling of “ease & peace” by the end of the day, and maybe even be sporting a smile…

We shall see.

For some reason, I’m feeling distracted today. But I’m just going to let the flow take me wherever it takes me. And not fight it.

And just a head’s up!

I have next Tuesday off, which means 2 days off in a row, which means I’ve decided to do the spring cleaning! Get out the Bissel steam cleaner and get the carpeting in the whole house really clean before I head out to NYC in June (when Rasha’s mom and her little baby will be staying here with a multitude of cats…).

So, this is in my very near future and, actually, I can’t wait:

Well, just add carpeting everywhere… and cats.

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And a week from today, my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn and I will be taping our first mini-podcast for “Marilyn’s Room”. So we will see how that goes!!

It’s just a trial run, I doubt I will actually post the first one. I guess we’ll see. My main concern is learning how to use the editing tools. The rest of the “recording studio” on Substack looks simple enough.

But then we’ll be off & running (or running away), as we leap into the very serious world of painting & writing at a “certain age” after your entire young adulthood was spent getting into nothing but, well, I don’t know — trouble? Life, itself? I don’t know what to call it. But we got into it. And we’re still here! And that, in itself, is newsworthy!!

And FYI — While doing research for the podcast the other day, I came across this postcard online and wow, did it bring back a truckload of memories!! From 1981 — the important part is the description, which I guess is hard to read. I guess you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out why it’s so important!! (It involves a bunch of us dropping acid one night and going to the Wienerwald at W.48th and Broadway…)

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Okay! Onward.

Last night, while re-listening to an audiobook of Kerouac’s Big Sur, I recalled that Henry Miller had also written something about living in Big Sur and so I went in search of a free online reading of that — and found one on YouTube.

It is so interesting. This isn’t the novel, itself. It’s more like a long excerpt from it. But I am quietly astounded by it.

Written in 1957, it’s Miller’s take on Big Sur and about artists and writers in the USA, in general, back in the late 1940s.

Personally, I relate to it because Henry Miller was a writer whose books were constantly getting banned for their erotic content. But what he also had to say about writers trying to, I don’t know, be true to their craft while surviving in America — and how they needed to find the solitude of living in the middle of nowhere in order to exist…

Well, it rang a few unexpected bells for me at this stage of my life.

I’m halfway through it (excerpt is one hour):

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And yesterday, gang…

Yes! One of the other caregivers did do all the grocery shopping!

So I did get to go with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man to have sashimi & sake and we accidentally each got 2 fortune cookies at the end of our meal!!

His were oddly boring, but both of mine were great!!! Wow!

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And here’s this!

Keith and Ronnie clowning around in a closet! It is maybe in 1979:

And back in July of 1975, George Harrison visits backstage in LA, during the Stones’ 1975 tour. (Billy Preston played keyboards for the Stones during that tour.)

And Keith with James Mitchell, in the Royal Recording Studios in Memphis, in 1988:

AND —

I know I’ve posted this one before, but it is one of my all-time favorite shots of Keith (I have it, in 2 different sizes, stuck on my wall). And it was the first photo that popped up in my Instagram feed today!!

Keith, in LA, in 1969!!

Not smoking, but otherwise, so totally Keith!

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Yesterday, Nick Cave sent out a really cool Red Hand File. It was so candid and, just, I don’t know. I just loved it. Mostly, he talked about his sleeping habits — and dreaming habits or lack thereof. He wrote it while in a cab, heading to a recording studio, to perhaps begin a new record with some of the Bad Seeds. (Yay!) He said, in part:

“…I am going to Islington to mess around in the studio with Marty (he’s well now), Thomas (him too), Jim (always robust), and Warren (still lovely and deranged) with the vague idea of perhaps making a new record. …”

However, he also stated that women are generally attracted to men (and women) who wear suits….while I love Nick Cave in anything he chooses to wear, I am totally not in the “attracted to suits” category!! I’m blue-collar all the way!!

But whichever way you lean, you can read the Red Hand File, in full, HERE!!

And meanwhile —

Here’s this!!

A couple of shots of Nick Cave wearing an interesting expression!!

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And that is it for today.

I’m hoping this will be a good day, gang. We shall soon find out.

Have a great 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.

Bonnie Tyler is going through some very difficult health problems. As of right now, she’s in a medically-induced coma, but her condition is stable. But it sounds very serious.

So here’s this. Her fantastic, international mega hit from 1978. “It’s A Heartache.” Thanks, Bonnie. Enjoy, gang.

“It’s A Heartache”

It’s a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it’s too late
Hits you when you’re down

It’s a fool’s game
Nothing but a fool’s game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown

It’s a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Love him ’til your arms break
Then he lets you down

It ain’t right with love to share
When you find he doesn’t care for you
It ain’t wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you

It’s a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Hits you when it’s too late
Hits you when you’re down

It’s a fool’s game
Nothing but a fool’s game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown

It ain’t right with love to share
When you find he doesn’t care for you
It ain’t wise to need someone
As much as I depended on you

Oh, it’s a heartache
Nothing but a heartache
Love him ’til your arms break
Then he lets you down

It’s a fool’s game
Standing in the cold rain
Feeling like a clown

It’s a heartache
Love him ’til your arms break
Then he lets you down

It’s a fool’s game
Standing in the cold rain

c – 1977 – Ronnie Scott, Victor William Batty

A wonder-filled Wednesday in the Hinterlands! Please join us!

May 13, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Well, I have to say that, now that Annie has left us, I have no idea what to expect on Wednesdays at the home of my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

He has been with 2 other caregivers since I saw him 4 days ago.

It is a gorgeous day and I really want to take him out for sashimi & sake because we haven’t been to the Peony Bistro in, like, 2 weeks. But I have no clue what will await me when I walk in that door — mainly, did anybody do any grocery shopping since I was last there??

We can only hope. But we will find out.

I’m hoping someone did, so that our day can be filled with this instead!!

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Meanwhile!

Wayne and some of his family will soon land in Australia!! And yesterday, I got his first official Vacation Text!

Here’s Wayne and his younger brother smoking outside JFK early yesterday, wherein Wayne assured me that from now on, he would be WhatsApp-ing me nothing but fantastic photos from Australia and Vietnam!!

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Wow!

Did my heart leap for joy yesterday, when I fetched the mail and discovered that THIS book had arrived!!

Obviously, I haven’t had time to actually read it yet, but just skimming through it — it’s incredible! So many photos of handwritten notes from Tom Petty to the author (a long-time record promoter & friend of Tom’s). And candid photos from 1976 up to when Tom passed away in 2017.

Tom Petty was never very gregarious with the Press. He stuck to whatever tour or album he was promoting at the time. So when you get a chance to get some access to the real Tom Petty — what a thrill. He was so funny. So smart.

Anyway. I cannot wait to read it. I have, you know, sort of a TON of stuff to do in the meantime, but I’ll somehow slip it in.

(PS: No, my cool Tom Petty Zippo lighter has still not arrived… It takes FOREVER to get anything from the Tom Petty Store. Perhaps he ships stuff out personally from the afterlife…)

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All righty!

Here’s a few great ones from Phyllis Stein!!

Richard Hell in Paris this past December! (I’m pretty sure he was there to discuss lofty French concepts, like “le grenier, le toit, et le plafond” but I’m not 100% certaine…)

And Johnny Thunders at Max’s Kansas City in NYC, 1979!

And The New York Dolls in Los Angeles in 1973!!

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You know, here’s something that reminds me of how incredibly grateful I am to Gram Parsons. Without him, I never would have had Emmylou Harris in my life and her music has meant SO MUCH to me, gang. (Her music career really took off when she became a singer in his band in 1972.)

And here’s this gem, while we’re at it!! From 1975, “Amarillo,” from her wonderful (and first #1) album, Elite Hotel. Give it a listen if you are unfamiliar with her records:

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Something else I’m incredibly grateful for!!

Photographer Peter Milne’s decision to take this fantastic photo and share it with the world! One of my all-time favorites of Nick Cave…

And here’s a couple more of Nick Cave while we’re at it!

Nick with Rowland S. Howard (and the Birthday Party) in Greece in 1982!!

And remember, if you missed the gig in Greece in 1982!! —

While, sadly, you can no longer see Rowland S. Howard or the Birthday Party, you can still see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in Greece this summer!! Tickets are still available for the show in Athens on June 24th! Buy Tickets HERE!!

And here’s Nick Cave a handful of decades later…

Photo by Tricia Yourkevich/BBC:

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Okay!

Here’s this!!

Keith!! Smiling! Smoking! Drinking! And in no way needing sleep in the early 1990s!!

And Keith backstage, not smoking but needing something, not sure what, in either the USA in late 1981 or in Europe in early 1982…

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And late yesterday afternoon, Phil had some really devastating news to share about his personal life. I was really just stunned. He is divorcing his wife, Keri. He went into the very unsettling details about why.

This is the link if you missed it.

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And I guess that is it.

Things here are kind of okay, gang. I am sort of “forcing” myself to keep my mind in some sort of balance between caregiving and my overall life as a writer.

It is working, but I literally have to take it moment by moment.

And with that, I gotta scoot and head to town.

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, whether you’re in the Hinterlands or somewhere else in the far-flung, beautiful world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!!

From the CD in the retro boombox next to my bed this morning!! (Well, the retro boombox is always next to my bed, but this is from the CD that was in it this morning!!)

George, Tom, Bob, Roy, and Jeff!!!

“…I’m so tired of being lonely, I still have some love to give…“

Yes, the Traveling Wilburys‘ first monster hit, from 1988!! “Handle With Care”. I just love these guys and this song!! Enjoy, gang!!

It was a success!

May 9, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 4 Comments

I don’t want to sound too “excited” about it because we were getting him ready for Annie’s funeral, but I arrived at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house at 7:15 am yesterday, and he woke up the moment I stepped into his room.

On some level, he seemed to be aware of the funeral and I was able to get him out of bed and start dressing immediately. He even remembered that his shirt needed cufflinks, although he couldn’t remember the word for it. But he remembered where the wooden jewelry box was that contained them.

I so WISH I could share the photo I took of him after he was dressed and ready to go — I texted the photo to his daughter in Seattle, so that she would be assured that everything was going well.

The photo was GREAT. He looked GREAT in his suit and tie. His daughter was so happy. But obviously, I can’t share a photo that private on the blog.

His stepson – & – stepdaughter-in- law arrived by 8am. And everything really just went so smoothly.

And the stepson texted me late last evening to say that he is taking us to lunch today! So that should really be nice.

Probably not us, but I guess we shall see!

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So I worked for an hour and a half yesterday, then headed over to the old train station, saw Wendy, then had an early lunch with Steve!

Gave Steve the review copy of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. And since he worked as a social worker for about 30 years, we both feel confident that he will not find the novel too disturbing, or hard to handle.

Mainly, he was just really happy for me that the novel is finally coming out.

Remember that you can pre-order it HERE.

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And after my shift today, I’m stopping over at the fully restored Historic Arcade, to drop off a review copy of the novel for Kevin at his beautiful art gallery there.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Arcade is like when it isn’t hosting an art expo in that main hallway. I want to see if the vibe is the same. I just loved it when I visited it a couple weeks ago (for the first time). We shall soon see!

The Historic Arcade in downtown Newark — and please note, there is a really nice used bookstore there!!

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Okay.

Apparently, yesterday was Robert Johnson‘s heavenly birthday!! He was born on May 8, 1911.

From Phyllis Stein!

And here’s this again! I love this song…

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And today is Beat Poet/Buddha Gary Snyder‘s 96th birthday!

I thought this news was so cool, since I am re-listening to the audiobook of The Dharma Bums at night, and one of the main characters in the novel is based on Gary. I’m up to Chapter 27:

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The house that Patsy Cline and her husband lived in when she died is now a renovated retro-vacation home. You can rent it!! It’s not far from Nashville.

Here’s the really cool basement!!

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And here’s this!!

Sort of an odd bit of info:

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And here’s this!

Franz Kafka with his sometimes-betrothed, Felice Bauer!

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Here’s this!!

James Tabor sent this out to us on Patreon yesterday. It’s from the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz:

The Mysterious Copper Scroll and the End of Days

“One stood among the Dead Sea Scrolls: made of metal, and seemingly never meant to be read. Who made it, when and why, and how was Bar-Kokhba involved? Shimon Gibson presents a new theory”

[full article is here]

“**The Copper Scroll, never read by human eyes except the people who commissioned and made it of course”** Credit: Abraham Meir Habermann

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And here’s this!!

Keith in Kingston in 1972!

It’s funny, but during our lunch yesterday, Steve told me that he remembers me telling him, when we were about 13, that I wanted to go on the road with the Rolling Stones. You know, as a performer.

I have no recollection of this, but it sure sounds like me. I was already writing dozens of songs back then. It was my whole world.

But what I think is SO COOL — even though I wouldn’t meet her for another 20 years, right around the time I was saying that to Steve, Sandra was already off in Berlin, with Romy Haag, Bowie and Iggy, and she worked briefly as a female backup singer for the Rolling Stones during the German leg of their European tour!!

Just a reminder — Sandra, back then!! (about 10 years before her transition surgery):

And just FYI — you might want to come see our play, “The Guide to being Fabulous” all about Sandra’s life…

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And what is not to love about this??!!

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds sitting in a fountain-type thingie, lighting cigarettes!!

And what’s not to love about this, while we’re at it??

Nick Cave and Grinderman, not smoking on the stairs!! (It almost seems like they’re refusing to smoke…)

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And speaking of Nick Cave…

He sent out a Red Hand File yesterday, wherein he replied to 2 very different letters. But one of them was about the painter/teacher Philip Guston. Nick said, in part:

“…Bruce, I couldn’t let this one go! I’m stunned that you had Philip Guston as an art teacher. I didn’t know he was one! Such a brilliant artist – an extraordinary colourist and master of paint, subversive, radical, playful, tough. I’m envious! …”

You can read it in full HERE.

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And that is it for now!

I gotta scoot and head to town for what should be a very nice day.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Late night listening-music, after listening to a few chapters of The Dharma Bums audiobook!

My friend Steve recently took his eldest son to see Bob Dylan in concert and Steve said that Dylan was still really great.

He sang mostly songs from the 2020 album, Rough & Rowdy Ways, which I love and hadn’t listened to in a while!

So here you go! It sounds wonderful, lying alone in bed in the dark! Or, I guess, just maybe right now…

Bob Dylan, from Rough & Rowdy Ways, 2020, the song, “I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You”. Enjoy, gang!!

My new “go to” when the brain is trying to surface!!

May 3, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

For some reason, I just love that ad (above). The energy of it. And it reminds me of all the times I’ve made great progress — here at this very desk, in this very Old House — writing.

A not-so-long-ago time of my life that I want to return to now at all times…

I never actually smoked Pall Malls, although my parents did in our first house in Cleveland. Then they switched to Larks:

And of course Eddie Van Halen (or at least his guitar) famously smoked Pall Malls:

And my birth mom still smokes Pall Malls, which is why there was a pack of them that I found in a kitchen drawer in this old house, several years ago, when I was craving an unlit cigarette that I could snap the filter off of and then sit with at my desk, and write….

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Wait!

First of all, I have to say THIS:

I did get a text from my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter yesterday and she is not — AT THIS TIME — planning to put him in a nursing home!!! Those plans are on hold, sort of indefinitely.

Yay!!

Which means that many more tiny vodka cocktails are in our (his) future!!

Yesterday, his wooden leg was being wonky again so we didn’t go out for sashimi & sake (he’s getting a brand new leg on Tuesday). And late in my shift, he was sort of staring at the little end table next to his recliner, where upon there were 2 unopened bottles of protein drinks, some Greek yogurt, an organic ham sandwich, and a little bowl of organic non-GMO potato chips…and the little framed photo of his dad in Tokyo in 1957.

ME: “Are you looking for something?”

HE: “A gallon of vodka.”

So I promptly went to the fridge and got him about an ounce of the Smirnoff pre-mixed cocktail thingie that he loves. And he was delighted.

He also had great mental clarity yesterday, although, sadly, it was about his private nurse:

HE: “What’s going on with Annie? Is she still in the hospital?”

His daughter will be telling him the sad news later today, so I just said that I didn’t know. But I was so relieved that he remembered her name and that she’s been gone for a couple of weeks now.

So, overall, it was a great day but emotionally, I was still worn out.

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Okay.

Here’s this!

I was lying in bed this morning with my coffee. A few of the cats were on the bed with me, happily dozing. The sun was up and it was a beautiful Sunday morning.

Then I heard something clutter to the floor, so I sat up in bed and disturbed all the furry slumberers. But discovered that Calico had selected some reading materials for us from the bookshelf!!

Princess perusing our reading materials for today, selected by Calico.

The Stoned Apocalypse, an erotic classic about the 1960s by Marco Vassi, 1993 edition from Masquerade Books.

The Sick Bag Song by Nick Cave, hard cover, 2014 (and I was, you know, absolutely stunned that this book has been out for 12 years already. Christ. Where does the fucking time go??? But what a great book.)

And the navy blue book is a journal that I bought at the Kirtland Temple in 2018, when I was friends with 2 wonderful young Mormon missionaries. Two blonde girls, from out-of-State.

Original Mormon church from the 1830s, near Cleveland

The Kirtland Temple was incredible, btw. I am so glad I went there. But I forgot that I even had this journal. I opened it and on the inside cover, I’d written that Gus Van Sant, Sr. had died on Jan. 13, 2022. And I had also scribbled the Portuguese chorus from Nick Cave’s stunning song “Foi Na Cruz”.

In the actual journal, on the opening page, I’d written “January 2, 2020” but the entry itself is torn out.

And then the next page is from January 6, 2022, and it is one line from the poem “You, Dr. Martin” by Anne Sexton:

From breakfast to madness

And the rest of the journal that I’d forgotten I even had is totally blank!

And then as I was putting the books back on the bookshelf, right next to where the forgotten journal had been sitting was a composition theme notebook, so I pulled that out and discovered it was filled with all sorts of notes from plays and screenplays I was working on in 2014!!

Oh my god! So many incredible backstory notes for “Cleveland’s Burning” — a TV pilot that was in development forever with Bohemia Group Originals out in LA, until it came to a screeching halt with the scamdemic.

And then — I am not exagerrating (although I am misspelling “exaggerating”) — there were amazing scribbled notes for my in-progress play about the historical Jesus — “The Gospel According to Caiaphas”!! A play that is heavily influenced by Tom Stoppard’s 1967 masterpiece, “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.”

Crap, you know??? When am I going to get all this stuff done??

I’m guessing there are no amount of Pall Malls in the world that can give me actual TIME, but once I get the time, here’s hoping they will still be manufacturing Pall Malls.

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Well, okay.

Other interesting news– apparently my press release for the upcoming release of my forever-in-progress-but-finally-published novel The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, was also picked up by the Columbus Dispatch!!

Yes!! The main newspaper of the city of my rather un-illustrious birth to a 13-year-old Pall Mall-smoking girl!!

Wow. I was kinda stunned to see that. But I figured, you know, my feelings about Columbus and all the terrible things that happened to me there aside, I should probably send that newspaper a review copy…

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Okay.

I do have to get some stuff done around here before I head out to see the retired Minister and his wife and lovely cat.

So, here’s this!!

Bob Dylan!! Photographed by Bent Raj at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, May 1st, 1966. Smoking! In black & white!

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And here’s this!!

2 of my intensely influential literary influences, together in Greenwich Village, NYC, in 1969!!

Patti Smith and Jim Carroll, on Minetta Street!!

(A street that became my stomping ground in 1982. There was a very small folk club there that’s gone now, but I used to hang out there all the time. In fact, the very first time I played “She Ain’t No Virgin At All” — alone with my guitar, I had just written the song the night before — was in that little club on Minetta Street. AND! In 1984, when I brought the demo of the song to the songwriting class I was taking with Jim Carroll at the West Side Y, and he played the tape in class, he said: “I have no advice for this. This song is perfect.” Below is that demo.)

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And here’s Keith smiling onstage, in a blue shirt!

And Keith onstage in 1975 (that Holy Year of Our Lord), in a mostly red shirt!

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And as luck would have it–

I was looking through all the movies I have in my Amazon Prime account last evening, and when I came upon “20,000 Days On Earth” — the Nick Cave film from, yes, 2014!! — which I’ve watched about 3 times, but it’s been a while since I last watched it, and I was thinking that I’d really like to watch that again…

Anyway, this still from one of my favorite scenes from that film was in my hashtag feed on Instagram this morning!

Methinks I’ll probably start watching it again tonight!

And here’s this!!

Nick Cave in the wind in Hamburg, 2024!!

Soon enough, it will be 2036, and I’ll see this photo again and I’ll think: Fuck, that was 12 years ago!! Where is the fucking time going??!!

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And with that, I think I will close and get stuff done before I have to head to town.

Enjoy your Sunday, 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!

I kid you not, gang, when this song came on the Oldies FM Radio Station on the retro boombox as I was making my bed this morning and was singing loudly along to the chorus, the cats came prancing in with their tails up high and they just seemed so frisky and happy. I think they really liked the feel of the chorus to this wonderful song!!

From 1984, by Jon Parr, “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)”. Theme song from the movie, “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Enjoy, gang!! We sure did!!

“St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion)”

Growin’ up
You don’t see the writing on the wall
Passin’ by
Movin’ straight ahead, you knew it all

But maybe sometime if you feel the pain
You’ll find you’re all alone
Everything has changed

Play the game
You know you can’t quit until it’s won
Soldier on
Only you can do what must be done

You know in some way
You’re a lot like me
You’re just a prisoner
And you’re tryin’ to break free

I can see a new horizon
Underneath the blazin’ sky
I’ll be where the eagle’s flyin’
Higher and higher

Gonna be your man in motion
All I need’s this pair of wheels
Take me where the future’s lyin’
St. Elmo’s Fire, ooh

Burnin’ up
Don’t know just how far that I can go (Just how far I go)
Soon be home
Only just a few miles down the road

I can make it
I know I can
You broke the boy in me
But you won’t break the man

I can see a new horizon
Underneath the blazin’ sky
I’ll be where the eagle’s flyin’
Higher and higher

Gonna be your man in motion
All I need’s this pair of wheels
Take me where my future’s lyin’
St. Elmo’s Fire

I can climb the highest mountain
Cross the wildest sea
I can feel St. Elmo’s Fire
Burnin’ in me, burnin’ in me

Just once in his life
A man has his time
And my time is now
I’m comin’ alive

I can hear the music playin’
I can see the banners fly
Feel like your man again
And hope ridin’ high

Gonna be your man in motion
All I need’s this pair of wheels
Take me where my future’s lyin’
St. Elmo’s Fire

I can see a new horizon
Underneath the blazin’ sky
I’ll be where the eagle’s flyin’
Higher and higher

Gonna be your man in motion
All I need’s this pair of wheels
Take me where the future’s lyin’
St. Elmo’s Fire

I can climb the highest mountain
Cross the wildest sea
I can feel St. Elmo’s Fire burnin’ in me

Burnin’
Burnin’ in me
I can feel it burnin’
Ooh, burnin’ inside of me

c – 1984 Jon Stephen Parr

Back on the Happy Track

April 29, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, at least for now, the Agency has added NO ADDITIONAL shifts or hours to my schedule. So it’s looking like they have found other caregivers to help out at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house.

Today will be, well, I don’t know if “interesting” is the right word. But his daughter will be calling him from Seattle while I’m at his house today, to tell him that his private nurse — the nurse who has been a constant presence in his home since about 2018 and taken such great care of him — is dying and will never be coming back.

I don’t know how he will process it. I really don’t. It might go right over his head, at first. But eventually it will register with him. Ultimately, I know he will say that she’s gone to a better place. But how he will actually feel about it — I just don’t know. We’ll soon find out.

Yesterday was rough for me, but today, at least so far, I’m better. One thing about this job — death is part of it. But this one really came out of left field.

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This morning, gang. Wow. Actual royalties in my checking account from Amazon!

And also!! After having been banned for 5 years, and back on sale for less than a week–1954 Powder Blue Pickup is ranked #41 in Historical Erotica!!!!! Thank you so much, gang. This just makes me so happy.

The eBook is still FREE on Amazon Kindle, with or without Kindle Unlimited. But I think that ends today. I’m actually not sure. But the eBook is HERE.

1954 Powder Blue Pickup is absolutely for Adults Only. Thank you!!!

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Tomorrow is my day off. And once again, I am hoping to complete that short story that still only has about 400 more words to go.

I think back on my life, and up until that scam-demic and the lockdowns, I spent so much time every day, getting my writing done. And now, it’s like whacking my way through an emotionally draining jungle of distractions, just trying to get even an hour to write each day, where my brain and heart are focused.

I come up with weird thoughts, like: Am I not getting enough coffee? You know, I cannot figure out how to get back to my old life. I have so much new writing I want to do. Not just to finish the short story that’s been hanging on forever (which is under a deadline now), but I really, really want to get down to writing the memoir about my life in the 1970s.

To the point where I say to myself, Please, God, don’t let me die before I have a chance to write that book!!

Not to mention, an almost-complete erotic memoir, Girl in the Night: Erotic Love Letters to the Muse, and the half-finished erotic novella, Novitiate ’66. And the not even halfway started non-erotic novel, Down to the Meadows of Sleep. And the almost finished non-erotic flash memoir about my childhood years being raised by a narcissist, In the Shadow of Narcissa. And 3 barely started scripts for streamers that have nothing to do with Sandra. And 2 plays.

All this stuff on my desk.

Anyway. On we go. At least it’s finally getting better!

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

Okay.

Here’s this!!

Keith.

Wow, did this make me smile. I don’t think I need to explain why:

And not-so-smiling, but boy, do I remember Keith in 1978!! Keith had finally kicked heroin after the horrible drug bust in Toronto, in ’77.

Keith in South Salem, NY, 1978:

And here’s Keith looking really seriously sleepy (?) at the Excelsior Hotel in Rome, in 1984:

Just because he quit heroin finally, didn’t mean he quit doing other stuff. I remember when my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn was working for Mica Ertegun in the early 90s and doing some specialized painting in Keith’s house in Connecticut, she used to tell me that he’d go down to his basement recording studio at, like, 8 in the morning, with a glass of Vodka and Orange Crush…. something like that.

Anyway….

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

Here’s this!

A wonderful blast from the past!

Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld in 1985!

And from the not so distant past at all!

Nick Cave decides to take John & Yoko’s advice and “Give(s) Peace A Chance”!

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Here’s this, while we’re at it —

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

And I think that’s it because I gotta get ready to head to town and see what this day with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man is going to bring.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

Let’s close with this, while we’re still at it.

From the Oldies FM Radio Station on the retro boombox next to my bed this morning.

From John & Yoko’s final album together, Double Fantasy. Which was released two days after I arrived in NYC (released November 17, 1980), and I remembered looking at the album cover displayed in the window of a record store in Midtown Manhattan and just feeling so happy to see John Lennon looking so happy (and sounding so happy, finally).

My very first hero, gang. I really was so happy for him.

When I was 11, his massive interview in Rolling Stone Magazine introduced me to a new side of Bob Dylan that I’d never seen, to Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones, helped me see Elvis in a whole new way, and tons of other musicians and types of music.

I loved music. By then, at age 11, I played violin, piano, and guitar. (In fact, music was what made me want to go live in NYC in the first place, back when I was only 7 years old.)

Then Lennon was assassinated a couple of weeks later, on December 8, 1980. Jesus. NYC in the 80s was just so intense.

Anyway. When this came on the radio this morning right as I was getting out of bed, my whole adult life went walking across my brain. (And of course, it only made me want to write about it…)

“Watching the Wheels” from Double Fantasy, 1980. Enjoy, gang.

I wish Sunday morning went on all day!!

April 26, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

It’s not raining here, but it’s really grey and cool, and since it’s Sunday, it makes me feel like just being lazy all day.

Here were some of us being lazy about an hour ago — Freddie and Calico snuggling against my legs, on the bed; Cuddles McGee on the corner of my desk:

And here’s a couple of the things we were listening to while I had my coffee (in bed):

These hymns startled the cats because usually they prefer rock & roll…. so I switched back over to rock & roll!

Anyway.

The lawncare guy has already been here and my lawn looks great!! (He got here at 8:15AM. I’m curious if my neighbors appreciated that…)

And my Sunday shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat starts earlier now, so I don’t really have time to just hang out and do nothing…

So I’m up, and dressed (after being awake for 5 hours) and now here I am.

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If you saw my post from late yesterday afternoon, you know that yesterday was a really great day.

My trip to NYC is set. And my books are selling on Amazon!!

Plus, my shift with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was just terrific. About 5 minutes after I got there yesterday, he was up and dressed — had his wooden leg on, his hearing aides in, his glasses on, his teeth in and he had even made his bed. He was still beaming and just so happy from our trip to the golf course on Friday. He made his way into the kitchen and said: ‘Thank you so much for that beautiful trip yesterday!”

He brought it up many times during my shift. It had made him so happy.

I find it so interesting, how he can remember our trips there so well, when he has almost no short term memory. Clearly, when he’s completely engaged in something, his mind connects. (He always remembers when we go out for sashimi & sake, too. And he remembers that I get off the freeway whenever possible and take the backroads, which are so beautiful. He always says: “You are the only one who takes me on this road. I love this road.” I love it, too.)

Anyway. We had another really great afternoon yesterday, just hanging out and chatting in his living room. He was thoroughly engaged.

Several times during the afternoon, he sang me the chorus of “You Are My Sunshine.” (So, yes — the thought of this man stuck a nursing home with no visitors, just waiting to die, breaks my heart. I have not heard anything more from his daughter, but she communicates through the private nurse, who has been really sick this past week.)

Obviously, I’m hoping his daughter will change her mind. But if he does get put away, I can’t imagine not visiting him all the time. And where I would find the time to do that, who knows…

Some neighbors are taking him to a guitar concert tonight in Granville. His neighbors all adore him, too. He is going to love that concert.

Just some random Japanese guy, 72 years ago…

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

Since I get home earlier now on Sundays, this evening I’m planning on watching this on Metrograph:

I’m Not Everything I Want to Be (Directed by Klára Tasovská, 90- mins, 2024):

“Oft referred to as the Nan Goldin of Czechoslovakia, Libuše Jarcovjáková chronicled after-dark Prague in the 1970s and ’80s, her photographs of let-it-all-hang-out gay clubs, factory hands working the third shift, and clandestine parties giving a picture of communist-era Czechoslovakia very different from the official one. Klára Tasovská’s candid and compelling documentary provides Jarcovjáková with a platform to tell her story: that of one woman’s tireless search for liberation in an era of state repression.”

**********

And a slight, though none-the-less cryptic update regarding the streamer channel, BET+, closing down in June — a few of their shows have moved over to Paramount+, and Sandra will be shooting another episode of “The Miss Pat Show” with them in late June — and having a “discussion” with a couple of the producers who have seen our TV proposal and who also moved over to Paramount+….

So I’m extremely, well, interested.

However, this also means that when I’m in NYC in mid-June, I will be able to focus on just hangin’ out in NYC and seeing old friends (we’ll be working on the play later in the summer):

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Okay!

Here’s this!

A triple-play!! And of course, it’s from Phyllis Stein!

Patti, Bob –and Keith!! At the Bitter End in Greenwich Village, 1975!! (And I played on that same stage in the early 1980s, gang. What a history that stage had!! It was so cool.)

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This next one was very long but very informative and had a few photos. But here is the main gist:

Gram Parsons at Harvard in 1965:

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Which, of course, leads to Keith!

I liked these photos because they were just sort of a little strange — Keith, staring at something:

And Keith and Mick backstage in 1972 — on the phone??

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And I loved these!

Two photos of Nick Cave and Blixa Bargeld in Japan in November, 1985. Photos by Midori Tsukagoshi:

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

And I believe that is it for now!

I’m going to do a little yoga and then get ready for my drive to town!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

This is what the cats insisted on listening to after the Sunday-hymn-singing was over!!

A few great ones by The Kinks!

I have narrowed it down to the 2 that they seemed to like best!! (And it turned out they were also long-time favorites of mine!)

From 1981, “Better Things,” from the album, Give the People What They Want:

“Better Things”

Here’s wishing you the bluest sky
And hoping something better comes tomorrow
Hoping all the verses rhyme
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness
I know that better things are on the way

Here’s hoping all the days ahead
Won’t be as bitter as the ones behind you
Be an optimist instead
And somehow happiness will find you
Forget what happened yesterday
I know that better things are on the way

It’s really good to see you rocking out and having fun
Living like you just begun
Accept your life and what it brings
I hope tomorrow you’ll find better things
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things

I know you’ve got a lot of good things happening up ahead
The past is gone, it’s all been said
So here’s to what the future brings
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things
I hope tomorrow you’ll find better things
I know tomorrow you’ll find better things

c – 1981 – Ray Davies

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And from 1983, “Come Dancing,” from the album, State of Confusion. Enjoy, gang!!

“Come Dancing”

They put a parking lot on a piece of land
Where the supermarket used to stand
Before that they put up a bowling alley
On the site that used to be the local Palais
That’s where the big bands used to come and play
My sister went there on a Saturday

Come dancing
All her boyfriends used to come and call
Why not come dancing?
It’s only natural

Another Saturday, another date
She would be ready but she’s always make them wait
In the hallway in anticipation
He didn’t know the night would end up in frustration
He’d end up blowing all his wages for the week
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek

Come dancing
That’s how they did it when I was just a kid
And when they said come dancing
My sister always did

My sister should have come in at midnight
And my mum would always sit up and wait
It always ended up in a big row
When my sister used to get home late

Out of my window I can see them in the moonlight
Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate

The day they knocked down the Palais
My sister stood and cried
The day they knocked down the Palais
Part of my childhood died, just died

Now I’m grown up and playing in a band
And there’s a car park where the Palais used to stand
My sister’s married and she lives on an estate
Her daughters go out, now it’s her turn to wait
She knows they get away with things she never could
But if I asked her I wonder if she would

Come dancing
Come on, sister, have yourself a ball
Don’t be afraid to come dancing
It’s only natural

Come dancing
Just like the Palais on a Saturday
And all her friends will come dancing
Where the big bands used to play

c – 1983 – Ray Davies

A sort of perfect Saturday in the Hinterlands!

April 25, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Except that, of course, I’m exhausted today. But it’s all good stuff.

I ended up driving about 110 miles, total, yesterday because my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and I did indeed go to the clubhouse at the golf course for lunch!

It was spectacular! But it always involves a ton of driving for me. Plus, I decided to go get groceries after my shift.

So I think that’s part of why I’m exhausted this morning. (For some reason, even though the golf course is only about 6 minutes from my house, I never go there from here. I’m always driving there from 30 miles away.)

Anyway!

It was a success! A truly gorgeous spring day and so the scenery outside the clubhouse windows was just so green and beautiful for miles and miles. And the sky was a perfect blue.

And when the waitress set the vodka martini in front of him — straight up with olives in a lovely martini glass — his whole face lit up. And the food there is always really, really good.

He was just so happy. Plus his energy, overall, was just really vibrant yesterday. We really had the best time.

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

Okay!!!

So, day 2 (!!) and both editions of 1954 Powder Blue Pickup remain for sale on Amazon!!

So this could be real, gang.

Although when it got re-published, it lost it’s 5-star review from the first edition (that they banned 5 years ago). So if you have already read 1954 Powder Blue Pickup and want to review it, I would really appreciate it. (You can always just hit the “stars” review button, if you don’t want to use your name while publicly reviewing a hardcore sex book…) (Just sayin’…) The book is here.

Meanwhile!!

The eBook edition of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is now available for pre-sale!! $7.00 (This will not be part of Kindle Unlimited.)

And a huge thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered it!

When I got my advance review copies, I sent a copy of it to a guy I know in NYC who had requested a copy last month. He has probably read everything I ever wrote over the years and often reviewed it.

He texted last night that he has read through Chapter 2 so far and is enjoying it.

So, yay!

This means that now an additional 3 people are reading the book…

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

All righty.

Some quick “here’s this’s” for today because I gotta drive 30 more miles here soon and see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man again!

Another photo from the recent 60th Anniversary Sip-In, at Julius’s Bar in NYC the other night!

This photo is specifically staged to copy the first sip-in, back in 1966. (If you’re new to the blog, it used to be illegal to serve alcohol to suspected gays & lesbians in NYC, and the first sip-in at Julius’s Bar was the first public protest that eventually led to big changes for the rights of the LGBTQ community.)

The man at the far right actually participated in the first sip-in and was sitting in that same spot.

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

And here’s this!

Apparently yesterday was the 37th anniversary of the release of Full Moon Fever!! Tom Petty’s first solo album.

And here’s this, while we’re at it. From Full Moon Fever, Tom’s fantastic cover of The Byrds’ hit, “Feel A Whole Lot Better” !!

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And here’s this!

A great photo of Keith. I have no clue where he’s at here, but gambling seems to be involved (my money is on him!!):

And here’s Keith at the recording session for the Stones’ song “She’s A Rainbow” at the Olympic recording studios in London, 1967:

And, yes! Here’s this! From Their Satanic Majesties Request album, 1967, “She’s A Rainbow”:

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The history of this next photo — according to the Instagram post, it maybe had something to do with honoring his legendary “suck my dick” comment and a girl said “I would!”(!) (I was not “the girl” btw, and whether or not “I would”, is a private thing that I probably wouldn’t post on a blog…)

And if you want to re-live his legendary comment, you can purchase these stickers from Cave Things and stick them everywhere!! ($21 plus shipping)

***********

And here’s this!

More from Johnny Depp and his duet with Imelda May on the upcoming tribute album to Shane MacGowan (you can pre-order the album here):

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And that is it!!

I seriously gotta scoot!

Have a super Saturday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Let’s leave with this!!!

From my retro boombox next to my bed this morning!!

From 1995!!

That wonderfully addicting hit from Musical Youth, “Pass the Dutchie”. Enjoy, gang!!

Big Day in Marilyn’s Room!

April 21, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

We potentially have 2 birthdays today, gang!

Reader Martha is having a birthday today. She is something like 21 years old for the 4-and-a-half-th time!! Yay!

AND–

Iggy Pop turns 79 today!!

While I have never seen both of them in the same room together — ever— I still feel 99.9% certain that they are 2 different people!!

So Happy Birthday, Martha!

And Happy Birthday, Iggy Pop!!

And here’s this fun song to continue the celebration! 1980, “Loco Mosquito” from Iggy Pop’s fantastic album, Soldier:

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Wow, so yesterday wound up being just an incredible day here.

Not only did more alerts continue to come in all day about other wire services that were re-posting the press release for my upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder (i.e., the Palm Beach Daily News??!!)–

But also, my author copies of the new Amazon edition of Twilight of the Immortal arrived, along with my advance review copies of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!! (Hard to believe that it is now an actual book that I can hold in my hand…)

Plus, I had a great chat yesterday with my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn — more game-planning for the upcoming weekly mini-podcast of “Marilyn’s Room”.

And I also had a great chat with Wayne, who’s gearing up to spend a few weeks in Australia and in Vietnam. I made him promise to WhatsApp me a bunch of photos!!

And he also said that while he is in the Mekong Delta and in Saigon (which is, you know, not called that now), but while he’s there, he’s going to keep his inner antennae tuned for Don’s spirit (my birth dad — who served in the US Navy, mostly as a SEAL, throughout the entire duration of that war).

So it was a really fun day off and when I got the email alert from the Tom Petty Store that THIS ITEM was in stock and ready for ordering — YAY!!!!! The day got even better!

This will soon be mine!! A Zippo lighter!! (Featuring lyrics from probably my most favorite Tom Petty song, ever!!)

“Even the Losers”, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1979:

No Chesterfields are included with the lighter…

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Okay — 47 years ago, yesterday!!

This incredible solo album was released!!

Ronnie Wood, Gimme Some Neck, April 20, 1979:

I loved this album, gang, and I also bought the cassette version so that I could play it on my boombox in the car!! Or in the cars of others (for instance my best friend, Paul Martin) and drive them crazy!!

And when I moved to NYC in November of the following year, that same cassette (and same boombox) helped keep me from being totally lonely in my brand new, far-from-Ohio world!

********

And on a similar note–

Ronnie Wood announces the addition of 2 more shows (pre-sales start tomorrow):

Buy pre-sale tickets for the London show HERE.

Buy pre-sale tickets for the Koln show HERE.

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

And some sad news just arrived from Variety.

I just loved these guys when I was a young girl:

“Alan Osmond, Eldest Member of the Osmonds, Dies at 76“

“…As the eldest brother, Alan was often seen as the band’s de facto leader. Both a singer and guitarist, he wrote and produced many of the group’s songs with brother Merrill….”

[full article here]

Alan Osmond — I’m guessing 1970s. Getty Images

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And here’s this!

Sort of a weird photo of Keith smoking in London, I’m guessing 1966?

**********

And here’s this!

Sort of a weird photo of Nick Cave smoking, I don’t know where or when:

And a great photo of Nick Cave onstage in 2017, holding a microphone and wearing GOLD!!

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And I think that is it for now.

I gotta head to town and hit the Rural King for cat food!! And then go to my shift for today.

Have a terrific Tuesday — whether or not it is your birthday — wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Let’s close with this!

Another great song from Iggy Pop’s Soldier album, 1980: “I Need More”. (It was also the title of a short but great memoir he wrote in 1982!!)

Enjoy, gang.

Now there’s way too much to post!

April 19, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

That’s what happens when I take a day off…

But yesterday was so wonderful, gang.

After I left my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house, I went to downtown Newark — Ohio, not New Jersey, as my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn mistakenly said: “You’re driving to New Jersey??!!”

Which is about a 12-hour drive from here. So, no. I made a 10-minute drive…

I went to this newly restored building, called The Historic Arcade. Wow, was the vibe there fantastic, gang. I just loved it. The whole block, in fact, reminded me of Cleveland, a long time ago. Here’s what the Arcade looks like now:

Yesterday, two friends were sponsoring an Arts Fair there, and I wanted to stop in and see the art, and also see their new fine arts & antiques gallery.

So imagine the above scene, lined on each side with artists displaying their creations.

No CGI, no AI, nothing digitally enhanced. Just good old art created by human beings in Ohio.

For me, it was breathtaking, because I hadn’t been to any kind of art show in a really long time. The energy is so different from the type of energy I’m usually up to my eyeballs in, and I just loved it. Plus, I had no idea The Arcade even existed, since I don’t spend much time in Newark, except to see clients in their homes.

I will definitely be going back. The Arcade has a couple of eateries, but also a used bookstore! And just some other really cool shops.

And my friends’ art gallery was wonderful: Ball Hill “petit galerie” at The Arcade. Here is a photo from their website (please note 2 actual Helen LaFrance paintings on the wall, foreground right, top & middle — the barn, and a day at the races!!):

You can’t really see it from this photo, but at the front of the gallery were two chairs on a sort of raised area, and I wondered if maybe a book signing/reading would work in there this September??

I’m not really sure, but I mentioned it to Kevin (my friend — one of the owners), and he wasn’t really sure, either. It’s narrow and small, with a lot of breakable glass and porcelain antiques in the middle. But he was going to give it some thought. I only know about 4 people in this entire area, so I don’t think it would be hard to ask the four of them to “please stand perfectly still” during the entire event…

Anyway! I really just loved the place so we’ll see.

***********

Before I forget, all 3 volumes in The Muse Revisited collection are now up and available for sale on Amazon Kindle. They are free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

These are eBooks only. And very, very old. They have never been in print.

It’s probably easiest to just visit the page here on the blog, for the new links to Amazon, and it also lists the table of contents for each book.

Please remember that all the books in this series are 100% absolutely for ADULTS ONLY!!!! Thank you.

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Okay!

Let’s catch up a little.

Friday, April 17th, was Keith’s daughter Angela’s birthday!!

From Keith:

And RollingStonesBrasil posted this:

Keith, in 2013, with Angela and her daughter, Ava Melody:

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And here’s this!

A couple of older photos that I love!

Keith, smoking onstage in maybe 1965?? Not sure.

Keith with a rose, not smoking, in front of his Bentley. Maybe 1966?

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Apparently, yesterday was the 32nd anniversary of the release of this amazing album!!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds! Let Love In.

And I guess we should take a moment to revisit this amazing classic!! “Red Right Hand”. From Let Love In, 1994!

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And I realize that this film is about 754 years old already, but if you haven’t seen it yet, what is taking you so long???

Anyway.

A still from Nick Cave’s appearance in Wim Wenders’ 1987 incredible film, “Wings of Desire”:

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And we can’t forget this!

Franz Kafka, along with a quote from one of his letters to his sister:

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And I think that is it for now.

I was supposed to attend a local meetup today — lunch with the Southeast Ohio chapter of Simon Parkes’ Connecting Consciousness group, however–

The retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat (well, I’m not sure how much input the cat had with this decision), anyway, they decided they wanted to change my hours on Sundays.

So starting today, I will be with them all afternoon, instead of into the evening. So I can’t go to the meetup. But I am really glad that on Sundays from now on, I should be home by 6PM. Yay!!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

It was another one of those interesting mornings.

I woke up singing a song from the old Broadway musical, “Paint Your Wagon”! A song I really love, but hadn’t thought of in about 40 years.

I was 18 when I saw a road-show version of “Paint Your Wagon” in Columbus, and I loved the whole show, but this song blew me away. It really did. I had to go out and buy the Original Broadway Cast album the next day, so that I could hear this song over and over and over.

I always dreamed that this song, in its own way, would someday come true for me. So far, it hasn’t happened. But how weird that I got out of bed singing it this morning, at 5AM, at the top of my voice and all the cats came scampering in!!

I found this version of the song this morning on YouTube. From 2016. They do a really lovely job.

“I Talk to the Trees”, Lerner & Loewe. “Paint Your Wagon”. 1951. Enjoy, gang.

An interesting morning so far!

April 8, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

First, I read this on Real Raw News.

And I don’t know how much of it is accurate, and/or how much of it was put out there in order to give people yet another rude awakening about AI.

This is about GITMO and Camp Blaz:

“JAG Talks Replacing Tribunal Panelists with AI for Speedier Trials and Verdicts“

In part, it says:

…”“We have forty-seven detainees awaiting full evidentiary hearings,” Gen Flatt allegedly told Gen. Bligh. “Our panels are backlogged for years. The President wants faster justice. The question is whether code can deliver justice. Everyone else uses AI, so why shouldn’t we? AI doesn’t tire, sleep, or have prejudices. AI won’t forget a contradiction buried in a 10,000-page discovery dump.”

…’We’re not talking about a drone strike algorithm. Our proceedings involve human lives and constitutional questions. If we replace panelists with AI, we’ll be handing propagandists a dream narrative: ‘America lets robots judge its enemies.’ What about the ‘human override’ protocol? Who pulls it when the AI downplays torture-derived intel? And who trains the system programmers with zero courtroom hours? It’s frightening,” Gen. Bligh responded.” [full article is HERE]

Scary shit, right? (Those JAG tribunals frequently end with executions.)

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And then a little while later, this song popped up in my YouTube feed: The new single from the Rolling Stones! Ahead of the expected April 11th drop!

I played it and it sounded like a good old-fashioned Rolling Stones hit!

When I looked more closely — it was not the Stones, it was AI.

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Jesus Christ, right??

On an entirely different note (but similar to “what is real and what is AI”), Charlie Ward finally had a news update this morning where he was speaking in plain fucking English for a change (i.e., recent “rockets to the moon” and an alleged “war” with Iran):

CHARLIE WARD DAILY NEWS WITH CHARLIE WARD & DREW DEMI WEDNESDAY 8TH APRIL 2026 (7 mins):

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But, regardless of all that, I actually woke up in the best mood this morning — and none of that AI stuff ruined it for me!! Yay!!

And today I’ll be back with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and I’m guessing things will be back to normal again. (His daughter flew back home on Saturday afternoon, and he’s been with his private nurse again for the last 3 days.)

I’m looking forward to things being “normal”. I hope.

And then basically the minute I get back home from my shift later, there’s another town hall zoom meeting for Lambda Literary donors. An update with how their plans are unfolding so far this year. I’m looking forward to that.

And then TOMORROW!

The AC guys are allegedly coming back, bright & early, to make sure my brand new central AC unit actually works!! Yay! (So, I guess, expect my blog post tomorrow to be a little late, since I will be setting up the laptop at the kitchen table again, etc.)

But as far as I know, after they’re done, that is the last of the repairs that will be needed around here for awhile.

The next project will be that dumpster rental — assuming I can afford it. And then my lovely little 115-year-old barn will be my own again. (See yesterday’s post.)

So everything will be sort of settling down. For awhile, I hope. And I will be able to focus on —

THE WRITING!!

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Okay.

I don’t have too many “here’s this’s'” for today.

But here’s this!

Not AI !! Keith, watering his actual garden!!

And a classic photo of Keith from my wee bonny girlhood!

At Nellcote, in 1971 — “Brown Sugar”!!

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And a lovely photo of Gram Parsons, in Topanga Canyon, 1970, just prior to the release of Sweethearts of the Rodeo:

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And speaking of lovely photos!

Nick and Blixa in Belgium, in 1986:

And Nick Cave in Berlin, in 2024!

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And that is it.

I gotta scoot. I’m running a little late. But I am really looking forward to a lovely drive to town and back today — it’s still cold here but so sunny!!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

Let’s close with this!!

This also popped up on YouTube this morning — an actual song by the actual Rolling Stones, from their legendary 1974 album, It’s Only Rock & Roll !!

“If You Can’t Rock Me (Somebody Will)”. Enjoy, gang!!