Tag Archives: Nick Cave Red Hand Files

Here we are in the Hinterlands!

June 7, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 5 Comments

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning here. After thunderstorms all night long…

But the new Central Air Conditioning is unbelievably fantastic. What a godsend, truly. I slept really well. We ignored the thunder and lightning and high winds all night long…

Plus, I had moved all the outdoor potted plants and flower pots onto the kitchen porch yesterday, to keep them safe from sailing away on the wind, and when I went out onto the kitchen porch at 4:45AM this morning , not only was everything perfect, but Tiki was out there, sleeping happily in a veritable jungle of blooming flower boxes.

I am of course trying to just look at the positive stuff this morning, although yesterday was a really difficult one — having to decide to postpone the trip to NYC, which I was really looking forward to.

But now I have a total of 6 days off to just relax — and God knows, the house is CLEAN!!

I found out yesterday that the “trip insurance” is practically a scam. So I am out the cost of the airfare to NYC, but it wasn’t that expensive. Still. It was sort of the final straw (I also found out yesterday, by way of a “little bird,” that Sandra might be going into semi-retirement but hasn’t told me yet… She’s currently in Atlanta, shooting another episode of the “Ms. Pat Show” for Paramount+. So we’ll see how she’s feeling when she gets back.)

When I got home from my shift yesterday, I called Wayne to sort of vent about everything — he and I were going to be having dinner together on Thursday in NYC. He told me the same thing had happened to him once, regarding “trip insurance”, but it had ended up costing him almost 3 times as much money as I’d lost.

Later, during the night, Wayne sent me this on WhatsApp. It made me feel better because I had sent a REALLY nasty email to Travel Guard yesterday, and I hate sending nasty anything’s to anybody, but after reading this, I’m guessing mine was just one of millions they probably receive:

And then, around 3AM, when I got up to use the bathroom, I saw on my phone that my niece had sent me a friend request on Facebook! Yay!

Technically, we follow each other on Instagram but she hasn’t posted there in a few years. She is my half-brother’s daughter — the half-brother who is half-Cherokee and absolutely nothing but trouble.

Here she is at age 6 months, in 1997! I had bought her that little dress she’s wearing:

So that was a very nice alert to find when I looked at my phone at 3AM.

And late yesterday afternoon, I finally got an email from my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn. Mentally, she’s doing better, but she does have to have surgery on both hands on June 15th.

So here’s hoping that when I finally get back to NYC, she and I will both be back to normal.

And as soon as we can get everything sorted back out, we’ll get that mini-podcast up and running, finally.

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At least both of my shifts yesterday were really nice ones. And the torrential rains didn’t start until early afternoon, so my drive back out to that guy’s farm yesterday morning was just lovely.

And his home was almost an hour’s drive from my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house. And from a whole different direction than I usually take, so that was a lovely drive, too.

And, yes! Me and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man had a great day!! Finally, we were alone! The house is back to normal!! And we went out for sashimi & sake and had a really lovely time (ALONE) together!

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As for Tommycakes, I’m just taking it moment by moment, and I hope she will last for the whole summer but when she goes, hopefully I will be here for her final journey.

For readers who are new to the blog — Tommycakes is one of my rescued feral cats. Meaning, she is not domesticated. Feral cats attack people, so they can’t be put into pet carriers– you have to trap them in order to transport them anywhere.

I have (humane) traps in the basement, but the traps are so traumatizing to them that at this stage, since she is so frail and thin, I doubt Tommycakes would survive getting trapped. And even then, no vets around here will handle feral cats. When Daddycakes (her brother) was dying, I found one vet 45 miles from here, who was willing to let me bring him in. He was so far gone and suffering at that point, that I just wanted him to be put to sleep. So the vet was willing to do that for me.

Otherwise, with the ferals, I have to just let God take them in their season. So far, Tommycakes is at least still eating.

Tommycakes with one of her kittens, 13 years ago

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Okay.

Speaking of trying to look at the bright side of things!

74 years ago today, my adoptive parents were married!

Their wedding day was a really happy one. And so was their honeymoon. I’ve decided to just think about that part of it today and let all the rest that came afterward just go…

Happy heavenly anniversary, Mom & Dad. RIP.

And on June 4th, Tom Petty’s 2nd wife, Dana. posted this:

They had gotten married earlier, in Las Vegas, but had their official Wedding Day on June 3rd. Little Richard (on the far right) was the Minister who married them.

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And here’s this!

My birth dad, Don May, and his older brother, Earl, were friends with the Country singer, Johnny Paycheck. They all grew up together in Greenfield, Ohio. My dad’s younger brother, Ralph, who was a professional Country singer as an adult in Nashville, was friends with Merle Haggard.

When Johnny Paycheck met my Uncle Ralph in Nashville and found out he was one of the May boys from Greenfield:

JOHNNY (to everyone in the room): “Those Mays were so poor, that when they had me over to lunch, they fed me mustard sandwiches!”

My dad later concurred that they’d been very poor…

And meanwhile, here’s my favorite Merle Haggard song — a song I first learned about in an interview Rolling Stone Magazine did with Keith Richards!

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And here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in London, 1971!!

And the Rollings Stones at some other time, backstage someplace!

And the Rolling Stones, nowadays:

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And here’s this!!

The Birthday Party by a swimming pool!!

And don’t forget!!

THREE days away!! Buy tickets HERE!!

And Nick Cave sent out a really lovely Red Hand File the other day! Wherein among other things, he had some great things to say about Freddie Mercury!! I loved Freddie Mercury!! And I got to see Queen in concert in Columbus in the mid-seventies. Wow, what a great show!!

But Nick also had this to say about the upcoming live shows this summer — for the band and audience alike — a quote from the song “Rings Of Saturn”:

“This is the moment, this is exactly what we were meant to be“

To read it in full, visit HERE.

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And that is it for now.

I’m gonna do some yoga. Water some flowers. Then head out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.

I am doing my very, very best to just keep moving forward, gang.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with these.

A song from 1980 that ALWAYS reminds me of those first months, living in NYC right after moving there from Ohio.

Queen, “Another One Bites the Dust”, 1980, from their album The Game:

And here’s this!

“Rings of Saturn” by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, 2016, from their breathtaking album Skeleton Tree. Enjoy, gang.

Back At It!!

May 26, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

This will probably be a quick one, gang, because I need to head into town a little earlier than usual today.

But it is a stunning day (so far)!! So the drive to town should be really nice.

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The plot thickens over there in Vietnam!

On WhatsApp from Wayne this morning– he took his brother to get a “massage”!

I put the word “massage” in quotes because I know Wayne and those massages in the Far East. However!! Here it is! (Wayne is taking the photo.)

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From James Tabor–

“…in the Hellenistic world, in which a “Great Reversal” took place. Humans began to look to the heavenly world above as their true Home, whereas the Earth was seen as a dark lower world into which we have fallen–strangers in a strange land.”

When Heaven Replaced Earth (17 mins):

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I thought this was sort of incredible, gang.

I had never heard this interview with Tom Petty before and I started listening to it last night. A 1986 audio interview with Tom, regarding songwriting and the importance of rhythm guitar in a band, etc.

When Jas Obrecht asked Tom who his early influences were when he was just getting into music — I knew Tom was hugely influenced by Elvis when he was really young, but I had no idea that his first big influences were:

John Lennon! And Keith Richards!!

Fuck. That just felt so fucking weird that I stopped the interview there and will continue to listen tonight. (If you’re new to the blog, Lennon and Keith were my two first influences — they utterly changed my life when I was 11 & 12 years old.)

Tom Petty: The Complete 1986 “Guitar Player” Interview on Songwriting and Rhythm Guitar (52 mins):

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Okay!

Here’s this!!

An important lesson on “accountability” from Warren Ellis’s legs (and also his dog’s leg)!!

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Keith!!

In 1973!!

Heading into that Rotterdam rehearsal before the start of the Stones’ European Tour, 1973!! (Not sure if I mentioned that it was 1973, but it was in 1973!!)

(Photo by Adri Steenland)

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Oh, wait. Before I forget!

Some important “cat” updates.

Last night, Huckleberry let me pet her.

This is huge, gang.

She is 14 years old and has been with me for 13 and a 1/2 of those years. But she is a rescued feral — not domesticated. In all these years, she barely let me touch her, let alone pet her, as in, run my hand along her entire body several times.

And she was so content and happy to have me do it! It was amazing. So beautiful.

Huckleberry, on the right, about 9 years ago with one of her feral “kittens”, Weenie. He died last May, at age 12:

And Rasha’s mom came by yesterday, and she brought her little boy (almost 2 yrs old) and the boy’s daddy. They will all be staying here when I’m in NYC.

They were all so incredibly sweet. And the little family is getting back together, which makes me feel really happy for them. Honestly, they couldn’t have been sweeter. And they are so YOUNG!!

Anyway. Rasha was very happy to see her mom, but every single one of my cats hid from them. Except for Tiki, out on the kitchen porch.

I showed them the whole house but there wasn’t a single cat in sight. You’d think the only cat I had was Rasha — which is THEIR cat!!

FIFTEEN cats, gang!! And it literally looked like I had no cats at all.

The minute they left the house and drove away — BOOM — the cats were all back, zooming around.

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Okay.

Here’s this!!

Nick Cave sent out a FANTASTIC Red Hand File this morning!! Essentially about his professional relationship with Warren Ellis all these years. But also!! A whole lot about Spongebob Squarepants!!

I do not want to spoil it for you in any way — it was too fun — so you can read it in full, HERE!

But here’s a hint:

.~~Patrick and Spongebob~~. OOPS! Nick and Warren.

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Okay. That’s it. I gotta scoot!!

Have a Terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

More of that fantastic making-the-bed music from the FM Oldies Radio Station on the bedside retro boombox!! Yay!!

Billy Idol, 1983, “Rebel Yell” !! Play it LOUD!! And enjoy, gang!! We all did!!

None of these shenanigans for now!

May 20, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 4 Comments

My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s daughter is back again from Seattle, and will be staying with him for 10 days.

So I guess we have to settle down and behave until she heads back home. We shall see! (She tends to be very task oriented, whereas I tend to be very “let’s just have a beautiful day while we still can” oriented.)

Meanwhile!

I crossed the road yesterday to ~~get to the other side~~ get the mail from out of my mailbox and when I did, what to my wondering eyes should appear???

ROYALTY CHECKS!! From Lulu.com. Yay! Thanks everybody for buying my books and eBooks. I really, really appreciate it.

And so I got in the car and went to the bank, put the checks in, then headed to the Dollar Store for more cat food and MORE coffee and then me and the cats partied last night like it was 1999!

And I’ll say 2 things about that.

The idea of 1999 is very much worth partying over. The world was still really amazing back then.
In 1982, when we all first started listening to that song and having a blast, 1999 seemed light years away!

I guess I will say a 3rd thing — I can’t believe that 1999 was 27 years ago… Gang, it just flies by in a heartbeat.

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Okay.

Another happy thing about yesterday — it was very, very hot, nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit. And by evening, rain was on its way. So–

We closed all the windows and turned on our brand new Central Air Conditioning for the very first time and it was like heaven!!

Wow. The cats, especially, were completely delighted by the new development. They went from being draped listlessly everywhere, to being frisky and darting around.

So I think we’ll have a good summer around here.

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Here’s this!!

The Cars at a record-signing. at Strawberries record store in 1979!

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And here’s this!

Johnny Cash, not signing anything, not smoking, not drinking or popping amphetamines — just readin’ the paper…

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And here’s this!!

Keith!

Tuning up his dobro, backstage at Madison Square Garden in NYC, in 1969!!

I have always loved the sound of a dobro, gang. I always wished I owned one. In the early 90s, when I was recording the promo CD that accompanied Joe Queenan’s movie, “12 Steps to Death” (I wrote the closing song to the film, “One Step Closer”), the guitar player in the studio band had a dobro!!

This is not the song from Joe’s movie, but it’s on the CD! Yes! It’s that “railroad” song!! With dobro!!

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All righty.

Ronnie Wood has added another show to his tour! Paris!!

Buy tickets HERE.

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And Nick Cave Official posted this about the Bad Seeds show at NOS Alive in Lisbon this summer.

Buy tickets HERE!

And here’s Nick Cave onstage, accidentally getting too close to an electrified piano!!

And Nick Cave, walking around in a suit in 2018, looking at his phone!!

And this was absolutely beautiful.

Nick Cave sent out a Red Hand File yesterday, wherein he addressed a woman’s fears and anxiety about following her destiny and always procrastinating, instead. Nick said, in part:

“… a job left undone is its own torment, a dream unrealised, its own kind of hell. There is a unique joy, the deepest satisfaction and a kind of spiritual appeasement in knowing that something we have made, or worked on, means something to somebody else… live as creatively and boldly as your heart allows. Keep a light grip on the reins, take a breath, step into the unknown and trust. Trust – the active heart of faith...”

You can read it in full, HERE.

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And now I gotta scoot!! Gotta get out there and tackle my own constant fears and anxiety!! (But I do have to say, gang, that getting back on the social media platforms has brought a truckload of people from all over suddenly into my life and that helps enormously. Even though they’re all online, for now. It had gotten to the point around here that everyone I interacted with was either a caregiving client or someone in their family. That is a very narrow field to exist in every day and, creatively, I have been suffocating.)

Okay.

I’m not 100% sure if I will be posting here tomorrow, or not. My best friend Valerie in Brooklyn and I begin the test run of our new mini-podcast tomorrow around noon!! So we’ll see.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

Breakfast-listening music in the air-conditioned kitchen!!

I know I posted this exceedingly addictive song recently, but this is the original “demo” version Tom made in the studio in his home, with Stevie Nicks on supporting vocals — because she had just stopped by and he had just written it!!

I just love this version!!

Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, Stevie Nicks –“The Apartment Song (demo)” 1984!! Enjoy, gang. We sure did!!

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

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!!

Hoping it’s this kind of day!!!

April 30, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes! An unlit Pall Mall (aka “fake Chesterfield”) with it’s filter mercilessly snapped off!!

And me, sitting at my desk!!

It means I’m focused and getting some writing done!!

(Me, not smoking at my desk, back in 2019!!)

You can tell this is an old photo because I don’t have gouges on my chin curtesy of my delightful cat!!

Meanwhile–

I was going to disturb you last night with the following happy update, but I decided to wait until this morning, when you were awake–

1954 Powder Blue Pickup reached #25 in Historical Erotica last night!!

The sale is indeed over today, and so the eBook no longer has “sales rankings”. (Darn it.)

However, I still have access to the sales reports and I want to continue to THANK YOU!! –because it keeps on selling!!!

Yay!!!

She is just being used as a visual emphasis. Not only is she too young to read yet, she’s way too young to read 1954 Powder Blue Pickup! Nevertheless, she’s still really happy because she knows it’s waiting for her in her happy future…

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Okay.

Things continue to be a little strange with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. His daughter texted me at his house yesterday, letting me know she was not going to be able to call him and will tell him, in person on Sunday, about his nurse being in a coma and near-death.

Meanwhile, we decided that it would be best coming from her, so I haven’t said anything to him. Still, he knows something is off. He knows he hasn’t seen the nurse in a while, that she’s been sick, but that’s about all he can process. He can’t even remember her name now.

I still get the feeling the daughter is planning to put him in a nursing home, but she hasn’t said anything to me about it.

I have sort of released my desire to somehow make everything go differently in this. It’s really the only way I can handle anything and still act like everything is okay when I’m around him.

Taking it the proverbial one day at a time. Just being in the here & now with him. And just being his friend. And when I gave him his little vodka cocktail yesterday, he told me again that he loved me and again, he said, “Thank you for showing me what a wonderful life I’ve had.”

And then he also added: “The spirit is more alive than the physical.”

So I think something’s up, but I have to just let life and/or death happen.

*********

All righty!

I don’t want to tarry here, because I want to finish writing that nearly-finished short story today.

So let’s get to the “here’s this’s”!

Here’s this!!

From the Franz Kafka Museum.

And I have to say that I have read everything he ever wrote, including every collection of letters he wrote that were posthumously published and which are all staggering and amazingly honest. And most of his stories and novels were published by his friends after he died (he was only 40 when he died from tuberculosis, and he was not a well-known writer yet). I just love this man’s beautifully neurotic mind; but the whole idea of anything being “Kafkaesque” did not come into being until long after he died. And we would not have ever known his work if his friends hadn’t stepped in and ignored his wishes at the end.

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And here’s this!

Sun Studios!! The birth place of rock & roll records!!

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And here’s this!!

Some rare finds, indeed!

Keith, smoking while holding a guitar!

From NYC 1975 — only a handful of weeks before I got to see the Rolling Stones onstage in Cleveland for the first time!!

And some other place, some other time (1988)!!

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Okay.

Nick Cave sent out another one of those Red Hand Files yesterday, wherein he answers many readers questions with “irreverent answers”! (I’m guessing he is hard at work on writing those new song lyrics and can’t really spend time right now on lengthy replies!!)

Anyway, this wasn’t necessarily my favorite question, but I identified with the reply a lot!!

Q: “On the song ‘Carnage’, there is a lyric ‘sitting on the balcony reading Flannery O’Connor with a pencil and a plan’, that really resonates with me. Now I am reading Flannery O’Connor. Any more recommendations?”

A: “If you are reading Flannery O’Connor, be sure to read her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. If you enjoy Flannery O’Connor, read William Faulkner – As I Lay Dying is a great place to begin.”

I adore Flannery O’Connor!! And that short story is a really great one. A couple of years ago, while I was vacuuming, I noticed that on one of my bookshelves, Flannery O’Connor’s short story collection is right next to Nick Cave’s novel And the Ass Saw the Angel!! So I have never moved them apart!!

I also love William Faulkner and have read all his novels — although Sanctuary was sort of an intense one. (Oh, and if you’re new to the blog — back in 2001, my then novel-in-progress, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, was a finalist in the William Faulkner Writing Competition in New Orleans. I was so thrilled by that!!!) Anyway.

Also from this morning:

And here’s this! A song I love!! (mentioned above.) “Carnage” by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, 2021:

Meanwhile–

You can read the above-mentioned Red Hand File in full HERE.

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And now I better scoot and I am so hoping that today remains stress-free, distraction-free, and full of an easy flow of joy and wonder!!

I guess we shall see…

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Let’s close with this.

Another — but very, very different — song that I love.

Morgana King, “It’s A Quiet Thing.” 1965. Enjoy, gang.

Miracles Springing Up All Over the Place!

April 23, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, gang.

So far, another great day-off is underway!

The weather is perfectly splendid, for one thing! Which means I will get to go outside later and take a walk and just see all the stuff that’s turning green and blooming all over the indescribably peaceful village today.

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As far as miracles go…

Now that I’ve transferred The Muse Revisited Collection from Smashwords over to Amazon Kindle, the eBooks are actually selling again. And not the “free downloads with Kindle Unlimited” but actually selling.

I find this astounding. But in a good way! (The collection has been available for well over a decade, and it is a collection of my erotic fiction from 1997-2009). (Yes! That means that the “newest” piece in the collection is 17 years old already…)

I am going to try to move A Man In Her Arms & Other Stories over to Kindle, as well. Both in print and eBook. I say “try” because I have to start the formatting from scratch with that one, and sometimes that stuff makes me a little looney — it used to be so much easier in olden times.

But I am also going to see if Amazon will let me re-publish 1954 Powder Blue Pickup with Kindle, as well. We’ll see how it goes this time.

Back when I first released it, in late 2021, I was up to my eyeballs in 5gw stuff and Amazon was doing some seriously destructive shit to my career and they were remarkably effective at it.

But now that that seems to be over, I’m gonna try to slide 1954 Powder Blue Pickup back in there and see if it sticks this time.

I love that book so much and it gets more and more difficult for people to find it.

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Another miracle!

If you google my name with The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, now Barnes & Noble comes up!!

They have not carried my books in, like, forever.

I used to have a really, really GREAT relationship with B&N. You used to be able to walk into any B&N in the English-speaking world, and find all of my books for sale there.

And their online bookstore used to carry everything, too.

But now that — what was once — the really burgeoning world of literary erotica has been almost thoroughly erased, BN.com has carried maybe 2 or 3 of my books that are still with traditional publishers.

Anyway, when I saw B & N come up on Google this morning, I was once again really, really thrilled with my decision to go with a private PR firm for my new novel.

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And speaking of the new novel–

Yesterday, I was able to drop off an advanced review copy to the bookstore in Granville, Ohio, that said they will carry my book (!!).

And I was also able to stop in at the old train station, where I used to be the night manager, and lend my dear friend Wendy a review copy, as well. She is helping me brainstorm the whole book launch party thing in September.

It was such a thrill to see her face light up when she saw me walk in to the station, carrying my book! And she gave me a big hug and was just so excited for me.

You know, in the old days, when I actually had people in my life and not just cats, I would have gone to some great restaurant and celebrated.

So it felt really great to hand the book to Wendy. Plus, she is planning on buying the book from the bookstore in Granville in September. And she also said that a couple of the customers from the station who remember me from the old days are really excited about the book, too, and will be buying it at the Granville bookstore, too.

So that makes me feel really, really great, because the owner of the bookstore will get to make some sales.

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And in other miracle-news!

I paid all the bills this morning and I still have money left over…

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All righty!

On a somber note–

Today is the anniversary of the death of Johnny Thunders, who died on this day in 1991.

About 8 years ago, Wayne made us both T-shirts: “Johnny Thunders for President”. So in honor of Johnny’s passing, we are both wearing our T-shirts today.

Here’s me in mine:

RIP, Johnny Thunders.

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I would have posted this yesterday, if I hadn’t had a weird morning.

Back on Tuesday (April 21st) —

The NYC LGBT Historic Sites Sip-In was held at Julius’ Bar in NYC, and in other places across the country.

They ran the opening ceremony in NYC live on Instagram, so it was really cool to watch it happen:

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And over the weekend, Patti Hansen and her daughters and 2 of her grandchildren did a special Mother’s Day ad campaign for Burberry, and yesterday, Patti, Alexandra, and Theodora posted a bunch of photos and videos on Instagram. (Theodora is currently pregnant with her second baby.)

Patti and Alexandra, with comments from Alexandra and Theordora:

And on a related note–

A great photo of Keith from the 1980s, taken by Ronnie’s then-wife, Jo Wood:

And just proof, in case you needed it, that Keith has been able to play the piano for a really long time now:

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Yesterday was John Waters’ 80th birthday!!

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And here’s this — buy tickets HERE:

And speaking of Nick Cave…

He sent out a Red Hand File this morning, wherein he discussed the various podcasts he has time to listen to and some of the books he’s had time to read!! (You can read about those HERE.)

He also said that he is:

“… looking forward to reading Andy Beta’s biography of Alice Coltrane, Cosmic Music, which I’ve just ordered. Thanks for the recommendation, Peter, I had no idea it had come out (I’ve sent a copy to Warren too).“

And apparently Warren received his copy quite speedily as he already posted this today:

And Nick added:

“…I am back in my office writing lyrics at the moment and am particularly in need of quiet, so that the words can find their way – and so that I have something to sing when I go into the studio next week with Warren to begin what may, in some far-flung future, when all the stars align and the planets clap their hands in joy, amount to the next Bad Seeds record.”

So, YAY! (Read it all HERE.)

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And that is it, I think!

The only thing I am completely certain of about today is that I will take a walk later, do some yoga, and VACUUM!!!!

Other than that, we’ll just see what unfolds. (Oh, and BET+, the streamer channel, has announced that they are closing down on June 11th, so that sort of makes the “TV proposal” life a little interesting around here…)

Anyway.

Life seems really fluid right now, so I have no idea what is likely to happen at any given moment.

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys, See ya!

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

I leave you with this!

From my retro boombox next to my bed this morning!

I have always loved this song, from the first moment I heard it, and as fate would have it — it was a huge hit on the Top 40 radio when I went to visit my birth dad in Fallon, Nevada for the first time (1989).

He and I were standing in my stepsister’s living room — I was meeting her for the first time, too — and this song came on her radio.

I quietly thought to myself at that moment that I would never forget that moment, ever, and would think of it every time I heard that song.

And 37 years later, that turned out to be completely and entirely true.

Love and Rockets, “So Alive”, 1989. Enjoy, gang.

"So Alive"

I don't know what color your eyes are, baby
But your hair is long and brown
Your legs are strong, and they're so, so long
And you don't come from this town

My head is full of magic, baby
And I can't share this with you
I feel I'm on a cross again, lately
But that's nothing to do with you

I'm alive, huh, huh, so alive
I'm alive, huh, huh so alive

Your strut makes me crazy
Makes me see you more clearly
Oh, baby, now I can see you
Wish I could stop
Switch off the clock
Make it all happen for you

I'm alive, huh, huh, so alive
I'm alive, huh, huh so alive

I don't know what color your eyes are, baby
But your hair is long and brown
Your legs are strong, and they're so, so long
And you don't come from this town

My head is full of magic, baby
And I gotta share this with you
I feel I'm on top again, baby
That's got everything to do with you

I'm alive, huh, huh, so alive
I'm alive, huh, huh so alive
Doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo
Ooh

 c- 1989 - Daniel Gaston Ash / David Jay / Kevin Haskins

It’s “Create Your Own Title” Day!!

April 16, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Okay, on to happier things.

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

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And here’s a sort of happy/sad thing.

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

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Here’s this.

From Phyllis Stein.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can read it in full here.

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And that is it for now!

Sorry this is so late.

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

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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

Let’s close with this.

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

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

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

Me, soon! Probably!

April 7, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Okay, gang.

Yesterday, I finally watched that (recorded) Zoom class that I missed recently, about how to use the new Substack recording studio and, wow — is it easy!!

I basically wanted to learn how to use it in order to promote the upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder (available now to pre-order in print on Amazon US).

And I will definitely do that, but I also decided it would probably be fun to take one blog post per week and do it as a video (short — 10 minutes). But I also decided it would be fun to promote my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn’s paintings, as well. Have her co-host a short podcast with me a couple times a month. I love her art!! And when I chatted with her about it yesterday, she was actually willing to do it! Yay!

So that will be coming soon. (Honestly, I can’t believe how easy Substack has made it, gang. I have, of course, taken webinars in the past about how to produce podcasts and it just seemed way too much of an expensive headache to deal with , but now. Wow.)

The weekly videos will be posted here, and probably on my YouTube channel, and also to my Substack page!

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And here’s something I only found out about yesterday on Instagram.

It is a charitable organization, dedicated to Mickey Ruskin, the founder of the legendary NYC rock club, Max’s Kansas City — the Max’s Kansas City Project:

“We are dedicated to providing emergency funding and resources to financially distressed individuals in the creative and performing arts for housing, medical and legal aid. One time grants are awarded ranging from $500-$1000…

“We are also committed to empowering teens through the arts with a focus on substance abuse and suicide prevention by mentoring and motivating them to make healthy choices, offering an ongoing process to aid them in building the personal skills needed to inspire them to lead healthy, productive lives. MAX’S FEARLESS YOUth Program is characterized by a positive skills building approach, introducing teens to the creative arts as an outlet to meet the challenges of life in constructive ways, mentoring them and raising awareness on the dangers and consequences of substance abuse and addiction.”

You can find out about them and donate HERE.

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All righty.

Perhaps not the best segue, but here’s this!

Keith helping Marlon learn how to smoke while leaving the Heathrow airport with Anita and Mick, in September 1970!

And for some reason, I really liked how Keith’s feet looked in this photo. (I’m thinking this was around the time that Brian Jones died? Brian’s photo is in the magazine in front of Keith.)

And contrary to what Keith has maintained for well over 50 years now — about how he “needs a love” to “keep him happy”…

Apparently, in a pinch, an airplane will do!!

Keith! Happy!!

And here’s a really great official lyric video!! In case you never knew the words to “Happy”:

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And here’s a lovely photo from a few years ago–

Nick Cave in a chair not smoking at home!

And, of course, Nick in his Blue Period, while his piano was in its green-yellowish period…

Nick Cave also sent out a Red Hand File today, wherein he gives hope to songwriters and musicians, young & old — but also gives a chilling take on AI and music. He says, in part:

“…at the same time I believe we musicians and songwriters are sleepwalking into a situation where we allow this technology to strip the world of one of the last genuine transcendent experiences left to us – man-made music – by surrendering our souls to a machine. What does this say about us, that we so passively acquiesce?”

You can read it in full here.

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So yesterday was actually a nice day, even though I didn’t get a whole lot done besides watch that Zoom class and chat with Valerie. (Oh, and I chatted briefly with Wayne, too!)

However, my neighbors had a big dumpster dropped off in their backyard (they had so much wind damage done to their backyard recently, it is frightening to look at it).

Anyway. I went out to talk to the guy who was dropping off the dumpster, and long story short — I might finally be getting rid of all that stuff the young married couple left in my barn almost 2 years ago…

They just never came back for it. (And in case you’re new to this blog — they never came back for their cats, either. They simply abandoned them here, all 5 of them. 2 years ago.)

It will be a relief to have my barn back. Not that I use it for much, but all that stuff has been a fun place for raccoons to go crazy in. It’s sort of a disaster now.

The guy said that as long as I pay for the dumpster rental, he and his partner will load it up for me (and haul it to the dump) for free. I thought that was really nice.

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Okay, and that is it for now.

I have to head out soon for my shift. It’s really cold out today but very SUNNY. It should be a nice drive.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

I was telling Valerie about that great film I saw on Metrograph the other night, “Downtown 81”, with Jean-Michel Basquiat and all that great music and art from NYC in 1981.

SHE (looking it up online as we spoke): “Wow. Definitely gotta see that!!”

Here’s Kid Creole & the Coconuts, “Mister Softee”. From the film, “Downtown 81.” An incredible long ago world… Enjoy, gang.

Off to such a great start…

March 23, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, not really.

But I’m trying.

It’s still windy here and now it’s cold and grey again.

And when I came back upstairs from the 2-hour breakfast routine this morning, I discovered that some of my cats had relieved me of that awful burden of having that really beautiful Ten Commandments scroll hanging on the wall over my bed!!!

Allow me to remove that awful burden for you!!

The scroll itself is fine, but the really cool scroll hanger that I’d bought for it is now useless. So I gave up and put the scroll away in a drawer. (But only after shouting at the top of my voice: “You fucking fuckers! Why can’t you fucking leave my fucking stuff alone??!!“)

THEM (staring blankly at me, blinking): No reply. (The f-word does not phase them, no matter how many times I am capable of using it in a sentence.)

However.

I guess me and the Ten Commandments are sort of dicey anyway. There were only about half that I was ever any good at keeping. (And the half that I broke, I really excelled at breaking.)

Oops! Methinks I see another Commandment that’s gonna get broken!!

But at least I have another day off today, and I did indeed finish the final edit of the proof of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder yesterday (and the publisher did a beautiful job, the formatting is really nice).

And I did get to take a quick walk yesterday — it was in the low 80s Fahrenheit and sunny — but super-duper windy, so I didn’t last long.

But anyway, today is wide open for working on completing the short story. So I’m going to focus on that, not on the weather.

AND — I went to pick up a registered letter at the post office just now, and in it was a very nice & unexpected Easter gift from my first husband out in Seattle. I put it right into my “going to NYC” stash. And now, suddenly, I have enough money to go to New York. So cool. He is an incredibly generous human being.

And as an aside– in a couple of weeks, it will be the 45th (!!) anniversary of our marriage at City Hall in downtown Manhattan.

45 years, gang. And even though we’ve been divorced since 1990, we still email each other on the anniversary date — lots of silly emojis, etc.

A photo Chong took of me in our apartment on W.45th and 8th Ave. I’m 21:

Our first Christmas together!! Sort of symbolic of how we usually looked together — I drank copiously, he did not:

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Okay!

Not too many “here’s this’s” today, but–

Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones in London for the release of their album Dirty Work, 1986!

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And here’s this!

Also in 1986, but in Berlin —

Nick Cave looking, I don’t know, green-yellowish?

And Nick Cave just sent out a Red Hand File, stating that he’s taking a rest because he is sick. You can read it here.

(Apparently, he even wears a suit when he’s home sick in bed):

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And that is it!

I gotta get started on the short story here.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!! (And get well soon, if you are feeling under the weather!!)

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys.

See ya!

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Let’s leave with this!

This song came on the radio one afternoon, when Chong and I were sitting in the living room of our apartment in the Camelot building. We’d been married maybe a year by then.

I don’t remember what we were talking about, but he lit a cigarette and I said, “You smoke too much.” And he turned up the volume on the radio as this song came on, and said: “Here, this is for you.”

We laughed so hard over that!

Anyway. Enjoy, gang.