Today, at 9AM in Brooklyn, NY, they’re checking my best friend Valerie in for her heart surgery.
We are all expecting it to go smoothly and she should be back home sometime later today. Prayers still appreciated, gang!!
***********
Before I forget!!
Wow.
I was finally able to watch “Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness”. (“Modi” in the US.)
What a great film, gang. So fucking intense. And the acting, all across the board, was just spectacular. A really well told story, and just really well executed, all the way around.
Johnny Depp did such a great job creating a sort of entire world of madness that actually made sense. Especially, I guess, if you are an artist of some kind. (After watching it, I immediately phoned Valerie, who is a painter. And she’s planning to watch it during her recovery.)
I don’t know why I was not expecting it to be so intense, but it really surprised me. It has been such a long time since I saw a new movie that didn’t just feel like a ton of AI and weak storytelling. This was nothing like that. It felt like both literature and magic, captured on the screen. I will definitely be watching it again. I’m sure there were things I missed.
**********
Phyllis Stein is finally back from spending the holidays with her daughter and grandchild — or some such nonsense! And she’s back to doing the truly important stuff–
Posting photos of the NY Dolls in Los Angeles in 1974 on Instagram!!
Photo by Julian Wasser
**********
And we can’t forget the most important thing!! (Well, except for Valerie’s surgery going splendidly…)
Today is Keith’s 82nd birthday, as well as his & Patti’s wedding anniversary!
I love these photos from their wedding (42 years ago):
Here’s Bill Wyman’s birthday greeting to Keith this morning:
And here are a couple of random shots — from 1964.
Keith smoking and assuring us that “Guinness is good for us”:
(Here, Keith and Brian are smoking by the engine of an airplane. I feel this is an entirely safe thing to do, because the Rolling Stones never once set a dangerous or bad example in anyway whatsoever about anything!)
ALL RIGHT! Who put that there?? Ignore!! Ignore!!
***************
Anyway!! Happy birthday Keith Richards!! I love you with every fiber of my wee bonny being!!
************
Nick Cave sent out a really great Red Hand File yesterday. I just loved it. He spoke sort of rapturously about some live concerts he’s been to recently — and how it feels to be on both sides of the concert arena stage. And some advice to a singer who has stage fright. To this latter question, he said, in part:
“Yet, whether singer, artist, or otherwise, these are the demons we all must face. Whenever we take a risk in life, or do something that might set us apart, or draw the judgement of others, these crippling voices provoke a form of ‘stage fright’ – a fear of existence, a fear of life itself. But, if you can summon the resolve to overcome these inner voices, Manuela, you can conquer anything, and the world will lie trembling at your feet.”
We had a great time yesterday, even though Johnny and I only got to see Kara for a few minutes because the Granville Inn dining room wasn’t actually open yet (Kara works there), and so he and I wound up going to a pub down the block for lunch but we had a really nice time.
And today I’m doing stuff, like:
Signing the contract for my new book!!
Washing the flannel bed linens!!
Vacuuming the upstairs!!
You can probably guess which task I’m most excited about…
And first and foremost — it’s PAY THE BILLS DAY!! Yay! So I’m gonna do that posthaste, and then get on with my glorious day off!
Have a great Thursday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
***********
I leave you with this!!
Another GREAT Christmas collection.
This one from Ultra-Lounge — “Christmas Cocktails”, 1996. Wayne and I used to play this CD all Christmas long in the old days. It is such a fun collection of swingin’ Christmas classics.
Here’s Kay Starr singing, “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With the Bag”. Enjoy, gang!!
Not only is the laundry halfway finished already, but I’ve actually already been out to run my errands here in the village.
It is fucking FREEZING out there today, gang.
So freezing, in fact, that Kon Tiki of the Great Outdoors deigned to come inside for over an hour this morning…. (usually, she graces us for about 15 minutes at a time.)
Now that Big Blackie and Little Blackie have passed away, Kon Tiki is the only cat who lives out on my kitchen porch now, but I still have the four straw-filled cat houses out there that the neighbors made for me last year. And Kon Tiki uses all four of them now. I never know which house she will come out of in the morning when I open the kitchen door and call her in for breakfast… She’s mean but she’s too cute!!
Kon Tiki in the kitchen last April. Go on, give her a kiss! She’ll scratch your fucking eyes out!!
We have sort of a dreadful week coming up — weather-wise. Mixes of snow & sleet with temperatures way down in the teens Fahrenheit almost every morning.
But dreadful weather aside — I’m waiting for a text from Johnny today to confirm if we’re meeting for lunch on Wednesday! (He claimed last night on the phone that a little weather won’t bother him!! Yay.) So we’ll see.
We might actually even go HERE!! (I know that shocks you!!)
Tequilaville! My favorite restaurant in town!!
*************
Okay.
Today is that sad anniversary that comes every year…
45 years ago, on December 8th 1980, John Lennon was murdered.
And I know I’ve posted this article from Rielpolitik many times… but here it is again, in case you never actually read it:
KILL THE MESSENGER: The Murder of John Lennon by CIA Operation 40 – By Gualdo Hidalgo (from 2022)
“…The presence of Jose Perdomo at the crime scene is the unequivocal proof that CIA murdered John Lennon. Jose (Sanjenis) Perdomo, Chief of the Secret Service at the Presidential Palace in Havana during President Carlos Prio Socarras, a CIA veteran, worked for CIA/Miami station in the early 1960s, and recruited most of the members of Operation 40 – a CIA assassination squad most of whom were Cubans”[full article here]
My first girlhood hero to bite the dust…
And in terms of my upcoming (forever upcoming!) memoir about my intensely troubled but also beautiful life in the 1970s [Joy: The Shortest Season]…
It begins with John Lennon, in 1971, and it ends on Dec. 8th 1980, with the murder of John Lennon about 3 weeks after I had moved to NYC.
It’s all those other pages that come in between those two events that I still have to write….
Yet another reason that I cannot wait until I retire!!
************
Okay.
Yesterday, I forgot to mention that it was Tom Waits 76th birthday!!!
I found this great photo at PunkRockGraveyard on Instagram yesterday, but forgot to post it:
And even though it is hard to choose a favorite song of his, this one is usually what I consider my favorite!! “Jockey Full of Bourbon” from his spectacular 1985 album, Raindogs (yes–featuring Keith Richards on many songs!!)
***********
From James Tabor this morning.
His upcoming new course about Christianity before Paul, that I am eagerly anticipating, was supposed to be out today, but now it is coming out on Friday, December 12th:
“…I like all three of my previous courses–Mark, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Paul, but this one by some measure is the most important in that it pulls together a broader view of the first 100 years of the Jesus movement– or should I say the John the Baptist/Jesus/James/Ebionite/Nazarene movement. Among the extra topics are Marcon’s Gospel, Theophilus of Antioch, Ebionites beyond the Jordan, selected Nag Hammadi and so-called Gnostic texts, the role of Woman in the movement. The Zoom meetings will then have formal presentations, with an hour or so of discussion, and distributed materials. Sorry for the delay, but it will be well worth the wait!”
Me, can’t wait-ing!!
*************
And on a sort of similar note…
This article was posted on Bart Ehrman’s site the other day. Very interesting!
Essenes: Beliefs, Significance, Links to Dead Sea Scrolls — By Marco Marina, Ph.D
“There are many paradoxes embedded in the world of the Bible and the origins of Christianity, but few are as striking as this: one group that has become central to modern scholarship on both Judaism and early Christianity is never mentioned in the Bible at all. Not even once. Yet their ideas, writings, and communal life have profoundly shaped the way historians reconstruct the religious landscape of the late Second Temple period. I am referring, of course, to the Essenes, a group many readers first encounter not in Scripture, but through modern discoveries. …” [full article here.]
*************
And last but nowhere near the least!!
Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File today that just astounded me. Not what he said — I really enjoyed what he said — but the tone of some of the questions he was answering today was just — I don’t know, gang. Nick Cave deserves a medal of valor for putting up with some seriously opinionated shit stuff.
Here’s just one of the questions today from a reader in the UK: “Love the Files. Almost. Can you let us know when you are going to mention God, Jesus, etc., so we don’t waste our time reading it? Love ya.”
Nick Cave onstage, from some recent concert somewhere — not necessarily thinking about today’s Red Hand Files but I guess we can’t know for sure.
***********
And on that lovely note, I guess I’m gonna scoot!
I want to finish the laundry and do a bunch of dusting and vacuuming today. And the Amish guys are coming this afternoon to fix the stuff hanging off my roof.
In the middle of all that, I am hoping to get some writing done!! We shall see!!
Meanwhile, enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting!
I love you guys. See ya!
*************
I leave you with this!
I’m picking up some good vibrations, how about you??
Sent by my new friend Johnny the other day. Enjoy, gang!!
I’ll just say up front here that the agency managed to find a GREAT substitute caregiver for whoever it was that called off on Thanksgiving Day, and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had a really good holiday!
And he ate a TON of food! Yay!
And my shift with him yesterday went reasonably well. (I say “reasonably” only because with or without the food, he’s still sort of rapidly declining.)
I’m heading back over there soon and I am trying to keep a sort of “positive” outlook.
I can’t help it, gang. The more I think about work, the more I think about retiring. I don’t want to say that I’m “counting the days”, because I don’t know the exact day yet that I’m retiring, but let’s just say I have 29 shifts to go before 2026….
*************
Okay!
I don’t really have much to post about today, but here’s this–
From the Jack Kerouac Estate Instagram page, from left: John Cohen (back of head), Larry Rivers, Jack, David Amram, and Allen Ginsberg.
And in case I never posted about this before…
Back in April 1993, Larry Rivers turned 70 and his wife had a small birthday party for him at their loft on E. 14th Street , and I was invited to come to the party and sing!
I don’t remember what I sang — no more than 2 or 3 of my songs. I only remember that it was so cool to meet Larry Rivers!!
Me at Larry Rivers loft April 1993
************
And speaking of so cool…
Nick Cave sent out a really cool Red Hand File yesterday! It was ostensibly about a woman who’d had a dream about the spirit of her dead son. But it was more about how a lot of human beings these days dismiss their spiritual side. He said, in part:
“…Sadly, the world we live in now has largely abandoned the mystical and sacred side, treating it as an unserious and unnecessary impediment to human progress. We now dwell in an essentially materialistic age, and weird experiences that disturb this rational world are often met with scepticism and derision. Unloved, this aspect of our nature can wither and die. I believe we ignore this strange and otherworldly activity at our peril….”
I’m working on a little project about E.12th Street and I am really enjoying it. It stems from those photos I recently posted here, showing how my “hellhole” apartment there was “renovated” after I moved out in 1992, and is now a sterile over-priced cubicle. And it has made me see those Alphabet City days of the 1980s in a whole different light.
Yep. Hard to believe, but it was actually better back then.
Okay.
Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys! See ya!
**********
Okay.
I leave you with this!
One of those songs from my wee bonny 12-year-old girlhood that helped lure me to NYC… (and I’ll point out here that several people he sings about here, were photographed by Peter Hujar and I eventually saw those iconic photos in Peter’s apartment!!! See yesterday’s post.)
Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side” 1972. From his legendary album Transformer. Enjoy, gang.
“Walk On The Wild Side”
Holly came from Miami, F.L.A. Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A. Plucked her eyebrows on the way Shaved her legs and then he was a she She says, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” Said, “Hey, honey, Take a walk on the wild side.”
Candy came from out on the Island In the back room she was everybody’s darling But she never lost her head Even when she was giving head She says, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” Said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” And the colored girls go “Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”
Little Joe never once gave it away Everybody had to pay and pay A hustle here and a hustle there New York City’s the place Where they said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” I said, “Hey, Joe, Take a walk on the wild side.”
Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets Looking for soul food and a place to eat Went to the Apollo You should’ve seen them go, go, go They said, “Hey, sugar, Take a walk on the wild side.” I said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” All right, huh
Jackie is just speeding away Thought she was James Dean for a day Then I guess she had to crash Valium would have helped that bash Said, “Hey, babe, Take a walk on the wild side.” I said, “Hey, honey, Take a walk on the wild side.” And the colored girls say, “Doo do doo do doo do do doo…”
What a great phone conference I had with my accountant in NYC yesterday.
Any way that you look at it — and there are several ways to approach it, it turns out — I will be able to RETIRE early in 2026.
By retire, I mean from working a part-time job. I’m not planning on ever retiring from writing.
And even though I will have to live sort of frugally, I will still be able to take that “Tracking Jesus Tour” of the Holy Land with James Tabor’s group, when it is safe to go back over there. (This is my life’s dream, gang — to do that specific history/archeology tour about Jesus with James Tabor.)
And I will even be able to visit Prague, Berlin, and Alsenz at some point, too. Alsenz, in Germany, is where my ancestors were from–
The church in Alsenz where my ancestors were baptized, married, etc.
And of course, Prague is where Franz Kafka was from–
Where Kafka lived and wrote, from 1916-1917
And Berlin, just because I’ve always wanted to see Berlin.
Anyway.
I can’t tell you the profound relief I felt after that conversation with my accountant.
Even though I seriously doubt that my life will be “full of deadlines” ever again, like it was in the years before the lockdowns, it will still be such a blessing to be able to write again, every single day.
Even though it takes a lot of energy to deal with the many cats all day/every day — they are like having a tiny herd of cattle in the house at all times —
It’s nothing compared to the amount of emotional energy it takes to do the caregiving. It makes it nearly impossible for me to find enough energy to focus and write.
So!
Yay.
I will keep you posted.
*************
In other rejoicing news!!
Nick Cave’s Stranger Than Kindness art exhibit from a few years ago is now virtual — and FREE!!!
Visit this link to start the tour. (I’m not going to do it until later, when I can just relax!)
Today, I am meeting my friend, Steve, for lunch to catch up before the holidays. (Steve is the guy I’ve been friends with since we were both 11 years old.)
We’re going back to Three Tigers Brewing Co in Granville!
Once I get home from lunch, I’m going to take the virtual Nick Cave art tour!!
***********
In other Nick Cave news–
He sent out a very interesting Red Hand File this morning, wherein he answered a question about the song that helps him to feel genuinely joyful.
Ross K. Nichols is one of the speakers in an upcoming online event:
Awaken the Christ Within Summit, a fully online event running:
December 3–9, 2025
If you register through the link below (FREE), you get immediate access to an interview with Ross:
“The Hidden Jesus–Moses Connection & The Moses Scroll: Was the Bible Edited?
A deep dive into the authentic Moses, the original Torah, the Josianic reform, and the surprising historical trail that led to my research on The Moses Scroll.”
Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter ‘Waiting for Godot’ Revival Recoups $7.5 Million Investment (EXCLUSIVE)
“The Broadway revival of Samuel Beckett’s existential masterpiece “Waiting for Godot” has recouped its initial investment of $7.5 million in eight weeks. The show has been a hot ticket thanks to the pairing of “Bill & Ted” stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. Jamie Lloyd, who oversaw recent revivals of “Sunset Boulevard” and “Evita,” directs the show. “Waiting for Godot” is the first production of the 2025-2026 season to make back its investment, a feat that’s growing rarer as producers struggle with the punishing economics of Broadway.”
I enjoyed it, but it focused mostly on his work as an environmental activist, not as much on his poetry. But I’m still glad I finally saw it.
Official Trailer:
************
And I think maybe that’s it for now! I gotta get ready for my lunch date with Steve!
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.
Oh, and you know what? I keep forgetting to thank you guys for continuing to purchase the Kindle edition of my beloved novel from 5 years ago — The Guitar Hero Goes Home. Thank you so much!! That novel means so much to me.
And here’s something that astounds me — even though I have kept this blog continuously (on varying blog sites) since 1997, this year I have already had more visitors to the blog than I’ve had in about 15 years. And the year is not over!!
Thank you so much for this — especially since it is more popular nowadays to have podcasts and not blogs. I really, really appreciate it.
Okay. Thanks for visiting!
I love you guys. See ya!
*************
I leave you with this!!
Yes! I’ve left you with this before!! But here it is again!
My traveling-back-home-from-town music from yesterday! It came up on my playlist and then I couldn’t stop hitting ‘repeat’.
Neil Diamond, “Sweet Caroline”. 1969. Enjoy, gang!! And rejoice.
“Sweet Caroline”
Where it began I can’t begin to knowin’ But then I know it’s growin’ strong
Was in the spring And spring became the summer Who’d have believed you’d come along
Hands, touchin’ hands Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good I’ve been inclined To believe they never would But now I…
…look at the night And it don’t seem so lonely We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt Hurtin’ runs off my shoulders How can I hurt when holdin’ you?
Warm, touchin’ warm Reachin’ out, touchin’ me, touchin’ you
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good I’ve been inclined To believe they never would Oh, no, no
Sweet Caroline Good times never seemed so good Sweet Caroline I believed they never could
Yesterday was actually kinda good, gang, but I had to keep reminding myself of that by the time I walked in the door last evening.
I am trying my best to “like Tuesdays” because otherwise, well, everything about Tuesdays now are not my favorite thing. And I don’t want to work against myself by having bad energy. So I am trying to find reasons to “like Tuesdays.” (My 10-hr shift days.)
I got an early start, which helped. I was actually able to run FOUR errands before I got to my clients’ home. Including zipping over to the post office to get a Certified Letter from my first husband, in Seattle. A letter that he sends every month now, and it really perks my spirits. He does this because he has very fond memories of our marriage (we got married in NYC, 44 years ago (!!) — I’m not sure how that’s possible!).
Anyway, I have very fond memories of that marriage, too. We were both young, trying to make it in NYC, and from wildly different backgrounds. (He, from Singapore, me, from Ohio.) Intense years, truly. NYC in the 1980s.
Anyway. He is 69 now and starting to have some mild “cognitive issues” which makes me a little wistful, gang. I want to try to speak on the phone with him more often, just to try to keep a better connection to his mind. However, he has a lifetime partner of over 30 years, who does not know he was ever married, let alone married for 9 years, so it gets tricky….
He was the man I was married to when we lived in the Camelot Building, near Times Square:
The photo I took when I was in NYC last November, in a hotel that was 2 blocks from the Camelot apartment building.
Well, I digress!
Yesterday was okay, all things considered. My attitude was good, my energy was good. But then SEVEN MINUTES (literally) before I was supposed to clock out and leave, my client suddenly started asking me to do a bunch of things.
I can’t say “no” because he is not able to easily do these things himself, and so that’s why I’m there. But, you know — do you have to wait until SEVEN MINUTES before I’m supposed to leave??? When I’ve been there all day??
I tried really hard to be empathetic and patient and just cheerfully do what he needed done, but by the time I got into my car, my mood was sort of tanking…. I still had to go to the grocery store and do all that nonsense. And I kept trying not to hate Tuesdays…
But that’s done and now it’s Wednesday, and I’m heading out here soon to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. So on we go.
*************
Okay!
This is what it looks like when I put the sheets in the laundry and then try to re-make the bed!!!
The cats absolutely love my bed
And, btw, the scroll over the head of the bed is that literal translation of the “Ten Words” (in English, we know it as the Ten Commandments), that I got from Ross K. Nichols recently.
It’s kind of an interesting thing to have in your field of vision at all times.
Even in its literal translation, there are still 4 out of the 10 that I managed to break with ease — and a couple of them, I broke quite a few memorable/colorful times…
Me, 13, enough said…
That 2nd Commandment, though, is one that has always eluded me — rest on the 7th day. As in, do absolutely nothing but light some candles, pray, drink some wine and then sort of peacefully enjoy all of God’s creations.
I can’t even imagine an entire day, let alone, one entire day each week, wherein I do anything that remotely resembles that. But it sure would be nice.
************
Nick Cave sent out one of those Red Hand Files yesterday, wherein he answers 50 questions with either a Yes, No, I don’t know, or Go Fuck Yourself. This time, he answered 75 questions, and he had quite a few “go fuck yourself” replies. Plus a little koala bear emoji. And some other emojis and some great art.
I usually find these Q & A’s really fun, but yesterday’s were off the charts with “attitude”. Wow. You can read them HERE.
NICK CAVE – WILD GOD BY SEAN BW PARKER, 2025
*************
Oh, well, sadly, I gotta scoot now or I’m gonna be late.
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
***********
I leave you with this. Late-night-listening music!
2 songs I hadn’t heard in a LONG time.
One from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “I Do, Dear, I Do” 1997 (I think).
“I Do, Dear, I Do”
I wish you happy Christmas I do, dear, I do I wish for you the stars, babe I wish for you the moon
You can sit, and you can drink your champagne With your gibbering goon I hope he’s being good to you I do, dear, I do
Ain’t no ill wind blow your way Wish that you will keep safe Up there in your leather, babe With your ivory and ape
Things down here are fragmented In fact, they’ve exploded all over the room I think everything’s a little off-center, babe I do, dear, I do
You said, that to love me you must set me free Now, that may all be very well Still I miss you baby More than words can really tell
Sometimes I cannot sleep The greatness of my hate for you Sometimes I cannot sleep For I miss you
May your day be bright as the eyes Of the girl that I once knew May your sun be happy yellow, babe And your sky be baby blue
I miss your manic scratchings And your howling at the moon Ten steps behind me With your dustpan and broom
I hope you wish for me All the things I wish for you Health, hope, and happiness The sun and the moon
Say hello to the one Who really don’t have a clue I’ll be calling you soon I think I love you
I do, dear, I do
c – 1997 Nick Cave
And one from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ album, Into the Great Wide Open, “All the Wrong Reasons”, 1991.
“All The Wrong Reasons”
Trouble blew in on a cold dark wind It came without no warning And that big ol’ house went up for sale They were on the road by morning Oh, the days went slow, into the changing season Oh, out in the cold for all the wrong reasons
Well she grew up hard and she grew up fast In the age of television And she made a vow to have it all It became her new religion Oh, down in her soul it was an act of treason Oh, down they go for all the wrong reasons
Where the sky begins the horizon ends Despite the best intentions And a big ol’ man goes up for sale He becomes his own invention Oh, the days go slow into the changing season Oh, bought and sold for all the wrong reasons Oh, down they go for all the wrong reasons
Well, yesterday’s shift with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was an ordeal from start to finish. (If you missed yesterday’s post, it is here.)
I was expecting the repairman to be there by the time I arrived, but he was not.
And when I went inside the house, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was already awake. Dressed and everything. AND very upset. And long story short — he had chased the repairman away. He had completely forgotten that the repairman was coming: “Why didn’t anyone tell me he was coming??” But he was cognizant enough to know that his family was behind sending the repairman , so he spent the rest of the day saying various versions of “can’t they wait till I’m dead? I’ll be dead in 2 minutes!” and “let them do all these repairs after I’m dead! What’s they’re hurry?? I’ll be dead in 2 minutes!!”
And then he said a whole lot of other really not nice things about his family. Over and over and over and over. He was essentially traumatized. So I was up to my eyeballs in it from the moment I got there.
And then, after I’d only been there about 20 minutes, lo & behold my supervisor arrived. She usually stops in every other month to collect my daily paperwork from the shifts, so it wasn’t a bad surprise or anything, but I wasn’t expecting her. I met her out on the back porch to forewarn her about what my client was dealing with, etc., and we discussed that for a minute and then she said (!!)–
SHE: “Well, I’m actually here today to give you these.”
At that point, I finally became cognizant of the fact that she had a huge bouquet of flowers in her arms.
SHE (continued): “You’ve been chosen Caregiver of the Month!”
I was astounded, gang! I honestly never thought I would be selected for anything like that, since I think of myself as a caregiver who’s always calling, texting, and asking everyone to please cut back on my hours!
Wow. Honestly, I was just thrilled. And they also gave me a really beautiful card–
CARD: “Not everyone can do what you do but anyone can see that what you do makes a wonderful difference. Congrats, Marilyn. We’re blessed to have you on our team. Thank you from all of us!”
Talk about extremes, though, right? I really was just thrilled by this — and those FLOWERS!! And meanwhile, I had my traumatized client to try to sooth, and his family from Florida, and the private nurse, texting me endlessly all day.
But, really. Wow. My whole heart was just smiling.
************
On a similar theme —
This evening, I have another shift with that wonderful woman who lives in the enormous, love-filled, split-level house in the hills behind the Bryn Du Mansion — the house wherein you need a map to find the bathroom .
The last time I saw her, I discovered that she had taken a really bad turn in her cognitive abilities. And I was updated yesterday by my supervisor, that the client has gotten worse and that hospice has been called in.
So this is very heartbreaking. Now we are all basically waiting for her to die. She is such a sweet woman, gang. And before her illness, she had been a college English professor. Her bookshelves are lined with the same novels that I remember reading back when I lived in NYC. Intellectual stuff — mostly European, from the 20th Century and earlier — not popular mass market paperbacks.
Anyway. I then found out that at least for the month of November, they have made me a regular caregiver for her — on Saturday nights. So I will still have my 2 days off each week, and Thanksgiving off, too, but I’ll be working double-shifts on Saturdays as we just sort of wait for this lovely lady to die.
Ouch. That hurts the heart so much, right? Whenever I help her into bed at night, at the end of my shift, she really gently says: “What is your name again?”
“Marilyn.”
“Marilyn, thank you so much for taking care of me.”
I’m really going to miss her. So I want to make every moment with her last as long as it can.
And I look at my flowers now, gang, and my heart still manages to smile.
************
Okay!
Here’s this!
Keith wearing a hat at some point:
And the Stones in 1968!
************
And today is the anniversary of 2 really sad things — the death of my beautiful cat, Bunny, back in 2016. And the death of my best friend in the world, Paul Martin, back in 1999.
Here’s a painting of Bunny that Valerie in Brooklyn made for me when Bunny was still very much alive:
And here’s Paul, sometime in the late 1980s, when he was visiting for Thanksgiving, when I was living on E.12th Street in the East Village (NYC):
*********
And the big news!!
“LIVE GOD” new live album by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have a LIVE album coming out on December 5th!!
“…a stunning testament to The Wild God Tour, which wowed audiences across the UK, Europe and North America in 2024 and ‘25, and which travels to Australia and New Zealand in 2026….
… The expansive tracklist includes performances of the entirety of the acclaimed 2024 studio album Wild God, as well as mind-blowing versions of catalogue favourites, such as ‘From Her To Eternity’, ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ and ‘Into My Arms’.
I think this is the photo they’re talking about. Warren Ellis posted it to his Instagram page yesterday:
I think this video is the song that is the first single from the album:
The video was made while on tour in Columbus — OOPS! Of course, I meant PARIS! So easy to confuse the two cities…
And in other Nick Cave news–
He sent out a new Red Hand File this morning, wherein he addresses some questions asked by a fan, but he also goes on to give the fan advice about addictions. Nick says, in part:
“…You may tell yourself that you are managing your life – your job, your relationship, your children’s well-being – but if you are, as you say, addicted to ice, then the wheels have already come off. I say this with all the love and respect in the world, as someone who was hooked on heroin and amphetamines for twenty years – addict to addict – you need to stop fucking around and get clean.…”
What he had to say in full about addiction and getting clean was really good. You can read it HERE.
************
And now, I have a few hours before I have to leave for my shift with that lovely lady who is slowly leaving us.
I have all my monthly bills to pay here, then I think I might take a walk. Think about life versus the absence thereof.
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
**********
I leave you with this.
The first time I went out to Nevada to meet my birth father, I had brought along a cassette of Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.
The album came out in 1975, and oddly enough, the first time I heard it was in the mental hospital (in summer 1975). One of the other patients had just gotten it as a gift, and we were all listening to it together on the record player in the Music Therapy building.
All of us were teenagers, and we were all really liking the album a lot. But suddenly the music therapist came sweeping in and abruptly shut off the record player. She said, “I’m sorry but I just can’t stand this! It’s not music!!”
Eventually, owning my own copy of this album and playing it whenever I wanted to was a type of freedom for me.
I’m not sure why I brought that specific cassette along with me when I went to meet my birth dad (in 1988). However.
My dad lived in a double-wide trailer in the desert, not too far from Reno. One morning, I was in the kitchen, washing the breakfast dishes and listening to the cassette on his tape player.
And then my father came in from outside and said, “Wow, what is that? I love it!” Worth waiting for — that moment in time.
The song that was playing at that moment was “Shelter from the Storm.”
So, you know, hanging in there and pursuing dreams has always been a really great thing for me. Regardless of how things go or end up.
So I leave you with this.
“Shelter from the Storm”, 1975. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. Enjoy, gang.
"Shelter From the Storm"
'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved Everything up to that point had been left unresolved Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove And old men with broken teeth stranded without love Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose I offered up my innocence I got repaid with scorn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm
And it was made even longer by the fact that I had to get my groceries, etc., after my really long shift, because it was the only time I would be able to get to that part of town until next week.
But, anyway. It’s over and it wasn’t so terrible. Yay.
Today, I not only head back to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and most likely, take him to lunch here:
But also, as soon as I get back home, a local handyman is coming over to install bolts to both of my storage closet doors, because the cats are able to let themselves into both of these closets and they destroy everything.
I’ve been having to keep them closed with duct tape, which is really ugly. Plus, whenever I actually need to get into one of these closets (which is often), I have to deal with ripping off the duct tape, tearing paint off the door, and then reapplying more duct tape. So today will be really exciting for me! Not so much for the cats…
Cat proof. Finally.
****************
Here’s this!
Keith! Twice!!
**********
Here are a couple of interesting videos. One short, one long:
From Ross K. Nichols:
“Could the same logic Singer applies to Huff’s Christian apologetic views be applied to Tovia Singer’s Jewish views? Are the views of these two men really so different after all? Dive in to discover how Huff and Singer stumble into a shared pitfall.”
What Do Wes Huff and Tovia Singer BOTH Get Wrong? (5 mins):
And one re-posted by James Tabor (from the BBC, 1962):
T.E. Lawrence 1888 – 1935 (1 hr):
**************
This was really great. Prime “young Tom Petty” attitude!! I loved this.
Originally on MTV, 1985.
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Southern Accents documentary (30 mins):
************
Here’s this–
Finally!! It will be opening in movie theaters in the US! (I’m guessing this will involve another 1-hour trip to the movie theater & back with my dear friend Kara!! We shall see!)
[To refresh your memory — Kara, in our hotel room, when we went to see Nick Cave & the Bad Sees, back in May.]
************
And here’s this!
Remember when Nick Cave recently donated 2,000 books to charity? (I think, but I am not certain, that these books were merely the ones on his night table and he no longer had room for his coffee cup…) Anyway–
And while we’re at it–
Here’s just one of the MANY great songs on the Let Love In album from 1994, “Do You Love Me?” (I could probably listen to this song over and over and over and — oh, wait! I already have!!):
************
And speaking of Nick Cave–
He sent out a very interesting Red Hand File yesterday, that mostly discussed his day. And cereal. He says, in part:
“…the first letter I see is yours, Sammie. “Check your privilege,” you say. I close my eyes, lean back, and do precisely that. I reflect on how music, which started as a hobby, became my calling- my avocation turned vocation- as love and need became intertwined, and how profound a privilege it was to be in this position. I think about all of it, my job, my friends, my family, and how it all could have been so different had fortune not been on my side – extraordinary luck, cosmic happenstance perhaps, the kindness and generosity of the world. I take none of this for granted, Sammie, and in the back of the cab my heart flows with gratitude….”
Okay, so on Monday — as far as “reading the novel over from page one to the end”– actually, Sandra called me, in need of an emergency “bio” update, for her upcoming theater performance in NYC at the end of October.
It took a couple of hours, and by the time I was done with it, I didn’t get to make much headway in proofing The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. I’m only 28 (!!) pages into it, but I have tomorrow off, so we shall see!
Meanwhile… if you are interested in Sandra’s amazing career!
Sandra Caldwell Bio
“A true entertainer in every sense of the word…” - NY Times “A black trans woman of immense poise, beauty, and – pardon me, I can’t help it – charm…” – Variety “A provocative entertainer combined with powerful vocal skills, Sandra Caldwell has it all…” –Toronto Star
Sandra Caldwell is a celebrated African American actress, singer, and writer whose 45+ year career extends throughout the worlds of film, television, and theater.
Starting out as a jazz singer – her first love – she performed with top orchestras in some of the world’s finest venues, including the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival, and the White House Jazz on the Lawn series. In her early days, she was a fixture in the café society set in numerous nightspots across the country, also hosting the radio show, Sunday Afternoons with Sandra Caldwell on Jazz FM91 in Toronto.
On television, Sandra has been seen in recurring roles in The Gilded Age (HBO, seasons 1/3; Dir. Deborah Kampeire), Fantasma (HBO; Dir. Julio Torres), as well as in High Maintenance, The Book of Negroes, 19-2, Soul Food, and, as a series regular, in Little Men. She had guest-starring roles in such hit shows as Law & Order: SVU and Rookie Blue. Sandra was a featured performer in many TV movies, including Good Fences with Whoopie Goldberg, and Disney’s The Cheetah Girls.
Sandra’s film work includes The Jackie Shane Story (Dir. Michael Engle), Any Other Way (Bangor Films; Dir. Michael Mabbott), along with memorable work in past films, such as Milo & Millie, Murder at 1600, Shall We Dance, and Maya Angelou’s directorial debut, Down in the Delta.
In theater, Sandra appeared in the musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Shubert Theater); the Original Workshop for Ragtime (Live Ent. Productions); the drama Coming Through Slaughter (Necessary Angel Theater, Toronto); and was nominated for a Dora Award, Canada’s highest theater award, for her work in Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies (Sterling Productions, Toronto).
Notably, in 2017 in the NY Times, Sandra came out publicly as transgender while in rehearsals for her transgender leading role in the critically acclaimed "Charm" (MCC Theater).
Additionally, in 2020, she spoke candidly about transgender representation in the media, in the “enlightening and heartfelt” (- LA Times) Netflix documentary “Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen” (Dir. Sam Feder).
A bona fide heroine of today’s LGBTQ+ generation, Sandra’s long awaited self-penned, one-woman show, “The Guide to Being Fabulous”, a jazz musical that tells the real story of Sandra Caldwell’s unparalleled life, was presented, in 2023, by Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto.
From a young runaway, panhandling on the streets of DC, to the Moulin Rouge in Paris, to her role as Mama Morton in “Chicago” at the Stratford Festival (“4-Stars!” – Toronto Star), she has done it all and endured it all, without losing sight of her comedic timing, her turn of phrase, or her compassion.
Yes, an entertainer in every sense of the word; ladies and gentlemen, we give you… Miss Sandra Caldwell
*********
And now, I guess I’ll scoot!
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
**********
I leave you with this!
Late-night listening music!
Yes, after my long day of caregiving, I practically went straight to bed and just hung out there, watching the rain outside the windows as the sun went down. I did a little French. But mostly I just laid there.
And then I listened to this, in the dark, over and over and over…
From Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Sins of My Youth”, from the album Hypnotic Eye, 2014.
So beautiful. Enjoy, gang.
“Sins Of My Youth”
You will find no wicked way in me Look me over, you will see You will find no weary change I’m worn and wounded, but still the same
Whoa…… Let me tell you the truth I love you more Than the sins of my youth
When the past gets up in your face Memories slide out of place All those things that were hidden away Ain’t so bad in the light of day
Whoa…… Let me tell you the truth I love you more Than the sins of my youth
You say you love me wish you liked me more I’m no angel that’s for sure Said you forgave me, each time I was caught But you still paint me as somethin’ I’m not
Whoa…… Let me tell you the truth I love you more Than the sins of my youth
Although it didn’t get off to its most auspicious start. But we’ll see.
For some reason, I am so tired this morning. And after breakfast, I went back to bed with my cup of coffee, as I always do, but this time, instead of meditating, I fell back to sleep for over an hour.
Ack!
But here I am at my desk now and on we go.
************
So, yesterday was really frustrating. Even though I took the walk, did the yoga, studied the Protestant Reformation lecture, studied French.
I also sat at my desk for about 5 hours and NOTHING came. NOTHING.
I tweaked a tiny bit from Chapter 13, but nothing new for Chapter 14 hit the page. Even though I have a page of notes on things that need to be in Chapter 14. Nothing came.
I finally gave up, closed down the laptop. Did the yoga. Studied the lecture. Made dinner. Then got in the shower...
And suddenly — in the shower, water of course spraying all over me — suddenly, Chapter 14 began regaling itself to me. With many details, including conversations between characters. It couldn’t have been more different from the page of notes I’d already been staring at for 5 hours…
Wow.
So of course, I had to hurry up, dash out of the shower — basically dripping wet and wrapped in a towel — go to my desk and scribble down the notes as quickly as I could before they went off to the ether.
Me, yesterday —
OOPS! No, I meant — ME, yesterday —
So, this is a GOOD thing! And I’m hoping that these new notes make it to the page today.
We shall soon see, gang. When I read over the notes this morning, I was really happy with the direction they were going in.
************
Before I forget — whoever updated my Wikipedia page — Wow, thank you!
I hadn’t actually looked at it in years, and yesterday I saw that some novels had been added. Thank you!
***********
Okay.
Here’s this from yesterday!
I glanced over and saw Bobby McGee asleep under the printer stand next to me! Too effing cute!!
**********
Okay.
Here’s this!
It’s back from Sept. 23rd, when Nick Cave got the new Honorary Doctorate, but I just saw it yesterday. I think it’s the only photo I’ve seen from that day where he was actually smiling!
And dark & early this morning…
Nick Cave sent out a new Red Hand File. It was kind of intense. I was actually kind of amazed that he was willing to answer that specific question — about where he stands on things, currently. Because it seems like then everybody goes after him for what he says. But answer it, he did!
He says, in part (and this is decidedly only in part):
“…I do not believe that silence is violence, complicity, or a lack of courage, but rather that silence is often the preferred option when one does not know what they are talking about, or is doubtful, or conflicted – which, for me, is most of the time. I am mainly at ease with not knowing and find this a spiritually and creatively dynamic position. I believe that there are times when it is almost a sacred duty to shut the fuck up….”
I’m kind of keeping my one stray eye on the talk going on right now in Virginia with Hegseth, Trump and military leaders.
It’s intense.
Not a direct quote from Hegseth but close: “No more dudes in dresses… no more gender delusions. We are done with that shit.”
Needless to say, that only piles on the stress regarding certain projects currently going on in my life (for 11 years). (i.e., “The Guide to Being Fabulous”). But on we go.
**********
Okay, I guess I better close this and get to work on The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.
I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
**********
I leave you with this!
Late night listening music!!
(I really love my new boombox! I was playing Disc 1 of this 4-CD collection last night, after dark, in my bed. Windows open. Crickets. Fall breeze. So cool.)
One of my TOP 5 all-time favorite Tom Petty songs!
“Here Comes My Girl,” 1979. From Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ The LIVE Anthology, 2009. Enjoy, gang.
“Here Comes My Girl”
You know sometimes, I don’t know why But this old town just seems so hopeless I ain’t really sure, but it seems I remember the good times Were just a little bit more in focus
But when she puts her arms around me I can somehow rise above it Yeah, man, when I got that little girl standing right by my side You know, I can tell the whole wide world “Shove it!” Hey!
Hey, here comes my girl, here comes my girl Yeah, she looks so right, she is all I need tonight
Every now and then, I get down to the end of a day I have to stop, ask myself why I’ve done it It just seems so useless to have to work so hard And nothin’ ever really seem to come from it
And then she looks me in the eye, says, “We’re gonna last forever” And man, you know I can’t begin to doubt it No, ’cause it just feels so good and so free and so right I know we ain’t never gonna change our minds about it
Hey, here comes my girl, here comes my girl Yeah, she looks so right, she is all I need tonight
Watch her walk
Yeah, every time it seems like there ain’t nothin’ left no more I find myself havin’ to reach out and grab hold of somethin’ Yeah, I just catch myself wonderin’, waitin’, worryin’ About some silly little things that don’t add up to nothin’
And then she looks me in the eye, says, “We’re gonna last forever,” And man, you know I can’t begin to doubt it No, ’cause it just feels so good and so free and so right I know we ain’t never gonna change our minds about it
Hey, here comes my girl, here comes my girl Yeah, she looks so right, she is all I need tonight
Nick Cave was back with his Red Hand Files yesterday! And what a great one it was, too. Brief, but he explained everything he’s been up to during his break from the Files, and he said the Red Hand Files is now officially 7 years old (!!) — and also, he answered a question about love & freedom, saying in part:
“I thought on your question, Mies, ‘Did love mean freedom to me?’ I reflected on the things that matter most to me on this earth – my family, friends, those within my sphere of influence, my music, my writing, my spiritual life, and the health of the world in general, all these elements that, together, constitute a life lived lovingly. Mies, these things seem far from freedom. Instead, they are forms of containment that place demands upon us, sometimes greatly so. The pursuit of love involves feelings of duty and responsibility, as well as sacrifice, hard work, resilience, patience, forgiveness, and understanding. These are the structural bonds within which supreme love can flourish…“
Since being put on Medicare when I turned 65, I now have to have “a doctor.” And since next Thursday, a nurse from the insurance company is coming to my house to give me my “annual check-up” (insurance-speak for “we might not want to insure you if you don’t let us come over”), I have to have the doctor in place by then.
I am not a fan of traditional medicine, as all of you probably know by now. And I have not been to a doctor in 24 years. But back when I was on Welfare — during the fake lockdowns — they put me on Medicaid and assigned me a doctor “near me”. (30 miles away.)
When I was finally able to get off Welfare, I looked into the doctor they had assigned me and I actually liked his credentials! He has a degree from the University of Pikeville, in Kentucky (!!), where most of my ancestors are from. And more importantly — the University of Pikeville teaches Osteopathic Medicine (and is connected to a Presbyterian Church). (FYI: “Osteopathic medicine is a distinct branch of healthcare that emphasizes the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. “)
So I made a note of the doctor’s name and phone number, etc., and decided that if I was ever forced to have a doctor, he would be it.
University of Pikeville, in Kentucky.
And now that I’m forced to have a doctor, when insurance/medical-type people ask me who my doctor is, I always say him but I haven’t actually ever met him.
But tomorrow afternoon, I will be meeting him. Officially. And he will become “my doctor.” So that everything can go smoothly when the insurance-nurse comes next week. And then they can go back to leaving me alone for another year.
(If you know me AT ALL, you know that I’m just super thrilled about all of this — having to give ANY of my free time to doctors and insurance companies. However, on we go.)
Already waiting for me…
*********
On a related note…
If you know me at all, then you also know that I am 100% totally into natural healing. And I always have been, even though for the first 40 years of my life, I also went through the motions of “going to doctors”. Then I basically gave up and said, I need a different path…
In my current novel-in-progress, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, there is a character based in certain key ways on a Lakota Sioux Medicine Man, Jack Red Eagle, that I knew briefly back in the mid-1980s.
At that time, he had left the Reservation in Oklahoma and was living in a cabin in the woods outside of Nacogdoches, TX. And he was a practicing Medicine Man. He was in his early 60s and looking for someone to train to take over his practice. He wanted to retire. He thought I had what it took to be a Medicine Woman.
We corresponded briefly, I went to Texas, it turned out I was really good at it, and it freaked me the fuck out because I was only 24 years old… (plus I was a singer-songwriter in NYC. I couldn’t see myself moving to a cabin in the woods in East Texas to heal people when I hadn’t even learned yet how to heal myself).
Anyway. So I have a character in my novel, created around Jack Red Eagle. And I created that character 26 years ago, when I first started writing (almost all of) this novel.
As I’ve been revising the novel, and moving forward with it, I had toyed with the idea of changing the character’s name to Jake instead of Jack — but I kept coming back to the very strong feeling that the character’s name needed to be Jack (my character is Jack Kicking Eagle, and he’s in his 30s). And as I first read over the novel, after not having read it in 26 years, I was sort of overwhelmed by how spiritual the character was.
Anyway. I have to focus now on the ending of the novel. And so I do a lot of sitting and staring. And yesterday, I kept getting the feeling that I should dig out those old letters from Jack Red Eagle and read over them. I hadn’t read them in 40 years.
So I finally went and dug them out of storage. And WOW. They blew me away. Not just the unbelievable similarities between what the real Jack believed and what my character believes (like, verbatim, after not having read those letters in 40 years), I was also overwhelmed by what a high opinion Jack Red Eagle had had in my mental/spiritual abilities to heal, way back then.
In fact, he had told me that he was certain I had Native American blood in me (because of certain things I was just sort of eerily familiar with), and this was a few years before I met my birth father and discovered I was indeed descended, in part, from the Black Foot Indian Nation in Montana.
I googled Jack Red Eagle yesterday, and found out he had died back in 1992. And he is buried here, in a very, very old cemetery in Nacogdoches:
And then, of course, through all of this, I kept feeling like he was communicating with me (in spirit) and once I found out he was actually dead, then I knew he was.
And then I “found” a photo of him that I didn’t know I had.
And then I found a frame that it fit into and so I framed it and put it on my bedroom wall! (It’s over by my ministerial ordination certifications.)
Anyway. Wow. Suddenly, he was back in my life and I got the profound feeling that it was HIS essence that had been telling me that the character in the novel had to stay as Jack and not be changed to Jake.
And once I saw — after reading over the original letters yesterday — that my character already had all of the real Jack’s beliefs, etc., I was kind of overjoyed about all of it.
Anyway. Long story short:
Jack Red Eagle, back in my life after 40 years!
************
Okay, I gotta scoot!!!
I gotta head to town and see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. And he has family in town today, “winterizing” the house — and this is making my Japanese man very unhappy. He feels like they just want him to die so they can sell the house…
I’m guessing it will be an emotionally tricky day. I’m hoping to just whisk him off to Peony Bistro, and get sashimi and sake. We’ll see how that goes.
Meanwhile. Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visting.
I love you guys. See ya!
**********
Breakfast-listening music!!
Yes, you guessed it!! Too fucking FUN!! (I have it on a bootleg CD, with better sound quality).
Bob Dylan’s classic, Everybody Must Get Stoned, by Tom Petty live NYC! Enjoy, gang.
It’s cloudy again today, but I am totally digging the 65 degrees Fahrenheit! Everything is always easier when there’s a cool breeze.
I picked up another shift today with that really nice woman who lives out in Granville — who lives in that stunning home, surrounded by that incredible landscaping. (That house where I needed a map to find the bathroom last time I was there!) (Oh, and it actually turned out that I know the owners of the house — the woman’s daughter and son-in-law. Truly nice people. They take such good care of her.)
They live in the hills behind the Bryn du Mansion. If you’re ever in Granville, the mansion is easy to spot from the road…
It’s a long shift, but I don’t have to leave for a few more hours so I’ll actually have time to work on the novel today, too.
Yesterday was nice because it sort of began the “Happy 95th Birthday” wishes for my favorite nearly-95-year-old Japanese man. He got a beautiful birthday card in the mail from a son & daughter-in-law in South Carolina; one of his daughter’s called from Seattle; another son & daughter-in-law from Florida will be in town beginning today and will be stopping in to see him later; and then a nephew he hasn’t seen in years is coming to town from NY on Monday.
It made me feel really good to see him so happy. The son & daughter-in-law from Florida are taking him out to dinner on Saturday, so I decided that tomorrow, he and I will go out to lunch to celebrate — sashimi & sake — instead of on Saturday.
He doesn’t really remember that it’s his birthday, but as each little thing pops up, it makes him really happy. He loves hearing from people. Except for when a caregiver is there with him, he is completely alone in the house, as well as in the entire State of Ohio…
And this is cool!
This is an example of the wooden toy his father used to make — & sell — when he had a stall on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ, back in the early 1930s! A black & white bulldog. He made them by hand. We’re not positive, but this could be one of the actual ones his father made. (We found it online — listed as “Folk Art from the 1930s.”)
************
This is also a cool thing! I ordered one today.
From Ross K. Nichols:
“The Ten Words – Shapira Fragments Poster
“This elegant poster presents The Ten Words as they are preserved in the mysterious Shapira Fragments. Long dismissed, but in the post-Qumran era increasingly regarded by many as ancient and authentic…”
It comes in 3 sizes, plus shipping. You can read about it and order it HERE.
(FYI — The “Ten Words” are also known as the Ten Commandments, but the Shapira Fragments are considered the earliest known form of Moses’ words.)
**************
On a similar note — well, not really, however–
The other day, I began yet another new online course and I am just loving it:
“The History of Christianity in the Reformation Era”.
It focuses on the upheavals of Christianity in Europe in the late 15th to mid 16th Centuries. 36 lectures total, really in depth stuff. From Protestantism, to Radical Protestantism, to Anabaptism, and the transformation of Roman Catholicism.
(It’s on a phone app I use so there isn’t a link to it that I can post here.)
Nick Cave sent out another Red Hand File this morning, wherein he announced, a week early, that he and the Bad Seeds will be doing a Wild God tour of Australia and New Zealand in January!!
He also revealed that he is taking a brief vacation from the Red Hand Files, so I will attempt to not go through any sort of post-partem depression. We shall see how that goes!!
And from last night in Bulgaria!! (And FYI — you can still get ticketshere for the show in Macedonia tomorrow!! That is the final show of the tour that has tickets available.)
And in the event we DO get any sort of post-partem depression, here’s this:
Nick Cave, Berlin 1986 — and, appropriately, quite blue:
*************
And before I toddle off to get to work on The Curse of Our Profound Disorder!!
I rediscovered this gem on Amazon Prime:
My god, I used to love this show!! But I cannot believe it is over 30 years ago, already!! WTF??!! I must say it again: Where did the fucking time go??!!
This is from back in the days when I lived in NYC, on the Upper West Side with Wayne. And my best friend on Earth was still alive — Paul Martin, who died in 1999. We both used to just love this show. And watching these re-runs now, I can easily recall WHY. It is so fucking funny. (I watch it in bed now, after various phone calls, right before going to sleep — and I feel like Paul is right there with me.)
************
And that is it for today!! Time for more coffee and some writing, re-writing, and RE-re-writing!
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
**********
I leave you with this!
Yes, still on a Monkees kick around here! This one is usually going over and over in my head when I am waking up at 4AM.
It was one of those pop gems written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. (Some day, I will regale you with the Carole King story from my wee bonny girlhood!! It includes the first bar mitzvah I attended when I was 11, the first boy I ever slow danced with, and a phone call from Carole King herself!!)
Okay!!
“Take A Giant Step”, 1966. The Monkees. Enjoy, gang.
“Take A Giant Step”
Though you’ve played at love and lost And sorrow’s turned your heart to frost I will melt your heart again. Remember the feeling as a child When you woke up and morning smiled It’s time you felt like you did then. There’s just no percentage in remembering the past It’s time you learned to live again at last.
Come with me, leave yesterday behind And take a giant step outside your mind.
You stare at me in disbelief You say for you there’s no relieve But I swear I’ll prove you wrong. Don’t stay in your lonely room Just staring back in silent gloom. That’s not where you belong Come with me I’ll take you where the taste of life is green And everyday holds wonders to be seen.
Come with me, leave yesterday behind And take a giant step outside your mind.
Marilyn's Room 