At last!!

It will be sunny today and in the mid-60s Fahrenheit! The daffodils are still blooming everywhere — they were not killed by the recent freezing temperatures and light snow.

That, alone, is such a relief to see, gang.

Anyway.

Let’s briefly talk about Honda.

It is DONE, gang! My car is fixed. And not only that, but I also had time for them to do a tire rotation and an oil change — which means that if I want to drive to NY in mid-June for the Lammy Awards, the car is ready.

And here’s something that I found really interesting, gang– yesterday, as I was driving along the backroads to town, the thought of driving to NY again did not fill me with dread. (I’ve done the drive many times, but in the last few years, especially since all those stress-filled drives to see my dad when he was dying, I felt like I wanted to fly everywhere from now on, instead.)

It was so cool to feel that change in me. Like I had finally become independent of my grief and was becoming my true self again.

I have already bought my ticket to the Awards show. And I am looking for an affordable hotel in Midtown, in case Sandra will be out of town working that weekend.

And I sent a text to my birth mom to see if she felt like taking care of my cats — especially now that the house has central AC.

But I am intending to be in NYC the weekend of June 12th!! Yay.

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As an added bonus from my trip to Honda yesterday….

Okay, gang. This part is INSANE.

I had a little extra time after they worked on my car to stop in at the Rural King and buy more cat food.

This was the first time I had ever been in there on a Friday and found ‘Wild Thing’ working!! I was not expecting him to be there.

But there he indeed was.

I have been trying to rein it in, inside myself, because he is half my age. I want to just sort of let this go.

But not only was he still (pleasantly) flirting with me, he SPOKE in FRENCH!!

WTF??!!

Okay. He actually has shoulder-length, straight brown hair and a full beard, mustache, etc. He’s got at least 2 noticeable tattoos. He looks like a hippie from days of yore. (And, which I have pleasantly noticed, a lot of young men are looking that way again.)

Anyway.

HE (looking at me as he was tearing off my receipt from the printer): “Enchanté.”

ME (in a tiny 14-year-old-crushing-girl voice): “You speak French?”

HE (putting my receipt in the bag and handing the bag to me): “Voila.”

WTF???!!

I cannot tell you how many people out here in the Hinterlands, let alone young people, do NOT speak French!! Not even a little bit! To the point where I have sort of found it appalling that adults around here can’t read the label on a bottle of French wine…

So, let’s recap: Not only does he remind me of every boy I fell in love with in 1974 who was nothing but trouble, he’s also into GUNS, he’s a SINGER, and he at least knows two words in French, perhaps more! (But I’ll settle for just “enchanted” — I won’t complain.)

(Perhaps the next time I’m in the Rural King, he will either whip out an accordion and start singing old hillbilly songs, or whip out a couple of the paintings he did of Montmartre when he was living in Paris one summer… Or maybe both!)

Jesus, gang. WTF?? Enchanté at the checkout counter at the Rural King??? And me, still studying French everyday since 1968…

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Okay!

I still have about 90 pages of the final proof of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder to do tomorrow before my afternoon shift. And then I will be able to focus on the short story on Monday. I only have about 4 more paragraphs to write before it’s complete. So that’s exciting.

I did take that Stage 32 webinar yesterday afternoon after my shift.

I was wrong about a couple of things , though. Anna Henry was the instructor. The showrunner I was hoping to learn from is Jacob Tierney and the Q&A with him will happen on Tuesday, when I won’t be available.

Still, the webinar was a breakdown of the HBO drama series “Heated Rivalry.” And it was informative.

I’ve heard a lot about the show (a gay erotic drama, based on a popular Harlequin Romance series of novels), but I had never seen it. So I re-subscribed, yet again, to HBO to start watching it last night. I don’t know what it is about me, gang, but it seems that ALL these streaming hit shows that I’ve tried to watch lately — they just do not resonate with me.

I had to literally force myself to watch 20 minutes of the show last night before I gave up and immediately watched 2 re-runs of “Archer” instead and was captivated and laughing the whole time.

Who knows. But I will at least try to finish the first episode of “Heated Rivalry.” If only because so many people love it.

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Meanwhile–

Here’s this!

More reasons to LOVE Bob Dylan!!

Please note: 2 packs of Chesterfields on the table, a bottle of red wine, perhaps even coffee, assuming the red wine is not in the coffee cup… and a typewriter!!

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And here’s this!

Wow, gorgeous.

It has something to do with the Oscars the other night, but I don’t think it was taken then. I do not know where this is or who took the photo. But the producers of the film that Nick’s song was in (which was nominated for an Oscar) posted this photo.

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And here’s this!

The Stones in a publicity photo for “Miss You” in 1978:

And, well, here’s this, while we’re at it! Such a great song!! I was 17 when this came out:

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And here’s this!

Keith. 1992.

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And, judging by the clock, I better scurry or I’m gonna be late!!

Back to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man! (Yesterday, we went out for sashimi and sake, and this time I was really, really careful about how I parked my low-riding Honda Civic. When I helped him out of the car, he said: “You parked about 3 feet away from the front curb.”)

Yes I did!!

Okay. Have a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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I’ve posted this song here many times, but here it is again!!

I probably don’t have to tell you why!

France Gall, “Laisse tomber les filles” !! En francais. So much fun. Enjoy, gang!!

Okay, so it almost feels like today is finally going to be a “normal” day, energy-wise. We shall soon see.

It seems like my life has been on Mars since last Friday, when the high winds, snow, power outage began….

Along with the many trips to the Honda dealership!

But guess what!!

I got back to the Honda dealership early yesterday morning. Only had to wait 45 minutes and then the service guy came and got me from the waiting room. Which, you know, was nice because it wasn’t a long wait this time. However, the dealership is literally 5 minutes from my Tuesday clients and I suddenly had an hour and 45 minutes to kill — and it was 21 degrees Fahrenheit out there with a light dusting of snow everywhere.

But I digress.

The service guy told me: “It needs a different part. We’ll have it here by tomorrow morning.”

Oh, how nice! So I get to go back to Honda on Friday at 9AM!

But the good news is that instead of $245, it’s now only going to cost me $106. Total. Parts and labor. That’s it. So, like, wow.

It has just been so weird around here. But this is a good weird. It’s costing a lot less. And I purposely did not schedule the next Honda appointment for tomorrow because it is my DAY OFF. And NO repairmen are scheduled. (Although I still don’t know when the roofers are coming by to fix my siding…) (Wouldn’t it be cool if they also told me: “It’ll only cost you a total of $106” ??) (Methinks it won’t, but I’m not going to complain.)

Anyway!!

Thursday is all about me sitting at my desk and going over the FINAL proof of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. (Which I was supposed to do over the weekend but you know how that went…) But I’m looking forward to some peace tomorrow. Finally.

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Okay!

Since I haven’t really been posting here in several days, I have way too many “here’s this’s” stored up, so I’m only going to post a few of them today.

First and foremost–

I LOVED THIS!!

Yesterday was not only St. Patrick’s Day, it was also Patti Hansen’s 70th birthday!!

Keith posted 3 photos of them, but this was my absolute favorite!!

Wow. Encroyable! So beautiful.

(And today is their daughter Theodora’s 41st birthday, but he hasn’t posted anything for the “Blonde Teddy” yet.)

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But here’s this–

Still Keith, still beautiful, but a whole different kind of thing–

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And here’s this.

From Phyllis Stein.

Mick and David Jo at Max’s in NYC 1973! (I actually remember this photo from my wee bonny teenaged girlhood. It was probably in CREEM Magazine!!)

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And I was actually able to get a few updates about the upcoming Shane MacGowan tribute album, but here’s this from Johnny Depp yesterday:

And then there was also this over the weekend:

It is not available yet for pre-sale on Amazon US, though.

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And speaking of Johnny–

2 of my all-time absolute favorite photos of Johnny, ever. They were in GQ Magazine back in 1993. (Yes, I had them taped to the wall in front of my desk back then — in the apartment on West End Ave in NYC.)

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And since it was Mother’s Day in the UK this past Sunday, someone re-posted this classic gem!

Nick Cave with his mum in Australia, maybe around 40 years ago?

And here’s this! (Having nothing to do with Mother’s Day, except that his mum was the sort of portal through which he arrived here…)

Nick Cave, happy:

And as a Nick Cave-related aside: Wow, was “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” an incredible movie. I was really just stunned by every moment of it. I am so glad I saw it on a big screen, in an actual theater.

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And on a different note… this is a shorter version of a zoom we had in the “Christianity Before Paul” course.

James Tabor: A Band of Sisters: The Forgotten Treasure of the EARLY Jesus Movement! (30 mins):

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And that is it for now!

It is still cold here, but SUNNY!! And it will be getting warmer again as the days go by. Just in time for Spring.

And now I gotta get ready to go see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man! (I have driven 360 miles since I went to see him on Friday and we had the fateful mishap with my Honda in the parking lot of the Peony Bistro.)

I’m really tired of driving. But off I go, anyway.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Okay!

This one goes out to Patti from Keith!!!

“Wild thing, you make my heart sing!!”

Enjoy, gang. (Again and again.)

The power was only out for TWENTY HOURS.

I am not exaggerating.

The house was fucking FREEZING, since, obviously, the furnace did not come on for 20 hours.

But, of course, the worst part were those high winds for hours and hours and hours. The whole house was shaking for a while there.

And in addition to chasing down the cat houses & lawn chairs that were blowing down off the porch and then all over the back yard or out into the street — while the wind was nearly blowing me over — I also had to chase down the panels of siding that blew off my house, so that when the roofers come back — again — they won’t have to buy new siding. Just replace the old panels.

And the other good part is that, of course, I love those Amish guys. They do great work and it will be nice to see them again. (And if you give them cash, they give you a discount!)

And on to other good news that is house-related.

Remember how I posted here the other day that my mortgage payments are going down starting in May?

On Friday, I got a check from the USDA , and it was a refund for my escrow payment on the house!!

I kept looking for any sort of fine print — you know, anything that said that if I cashed the check, they would come right over and take back my house. But no fine print was on it anywhere at all! So, off to the bank I went!

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And in all seriousness, I don’t know how I would have made it through Friday night without Valerie in Brooklyn.

You can only guess that my PTSD was in high gear for many hours, since the wind storm started while I was still over at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house. And the winds only got worse when I got back here to the village, which is in a valley surrounded by foothills and attracts wind like crazy.

Anyway, Valerie texted me, saying she was keeping her phone in her lap & to keep her updated, and that she was praying for me and for the winds to die down. And every so often, she would text: “How are you doing?”

Thank God we could still text even though the power was out for miles.

It meant the world to me, gang. And it really did pull me out of the PTSD. And when the winds finally dropped from 55 down to 34, I felt like it was her praying that was doing it and I was able to fall asleep.

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Okay.

On yet another topic having to do with Angels appearing in my life!

Tomorrow morning, I have to be at the Honda dealership at 8AM !!! Yes! They are 30 miles away from me and tomorrow is my day off… however, the Honda dealership is not far from the mall where I’m seeing the Elvis movie in the afternoon! So that’s nice…

But the Angel part–

Yesterday, I took my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man out for sashimi and green tea (no sake yesterday because he was having complications with his wooden leg and I didn’t want him to fall down). And when we got into my beloved Honda Civic to head back home, the underside of the car scraped against that little curb thingie in the parking space and it made an awful sound.

Oh shit.

So I got out of the car and tried to see what had scraped loose and immediately a man in the parking lot came right over and actually got down on the ground and looked under the front of my car.

And he not only knew exactly what had happened, he actually had a knife in his pocket and tried to fix it. But he couldn’t. But he pushed it back into place and said it would be okay until I could get to a garage and have it fixed properly.

Where the heck did he come from, right?? What a nice man! And he knew all about cars!

And sure enough, the part didn’t come loose, and I was fine driving the 30 miles back home yesterday afternoon. And, hence, the reason I have to go to Honda at the crack of dawn on my day off tomorrow…

But you know how I love those service guys at the Honda dealership! So it will be nice to see them again, too! (And they also give you a discount if you pay cash, but methinks I don’t have enough cash to be paying everybody cash this week…)

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Of course, this also means that I won’t be posting to the blog tomorrow, since I have to be out of the house by 7:15AM…

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Well, I have lots of “here’s this’s” for today because I didn’t post yesterday, but now I am running out of time here.

I need to shower, wash the gorgeous hair, and be ready to chat with Sandra before I head out later to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat.

But I will post this–

I have no clue if this is true or not. Nick Cave’s boyhood home?

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And here’s this!

Ramblin’ Jack Elliot and Woody Guthrie in NYC in 1954!

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And this song seems so obviously about the death of the kind of radio we used to love listening to in the old days — not sure how people could get the wrong idea about it. But anyway–

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And here’s this —

Keith backstage at Madison Square Garden in 1975!

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And now I better scoot!

Enjoy your Sunday wherever you are in the world!! (I know I sure will! The “high winds” we’re supposed to get today and tonight will only be 18 mph. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get worse than that.)

I’ll be back on Tuesday.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. “The Last DJ,” 2002, from the album of the same name (and also from the posthumous “Best of” collection). Enjoy, gang.

“The Last DJ”

Well, you can’t turn him into a company man
You can’t turn him into a whore
And the boys upstairs just don’t understand anymore
Well, the top brass don’t like him talking so much
And he won’t play what they say to play
And he don’t want to change what don’t need to change

And there goes the last DJ
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say
Hey, hey, hey
And there goes your freedom of choice
There goes the last human voice
And there goes the last DJ

Well, some folks say they’re gonna hang him so high
Because you just can’t do what he did
There’s some things you just can’t put in the minds of those kids
As we celebrate mediocrity all the boys upstairs want to see
How much you’ll pay for what you used to get for free

And there goes the last DJ
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say
Hey, hey, hey
And there goes your freedom of choice
And there goes the last human voice
And there goes the last DJ

Well, he got him a station down in Mexico
And sometimes it will kinda come in
And I’ll bust a move and remember how it was back then

And there goes the last DJ
Who plays what he wants to play
And says what he wants to say
Hey, hey, hey
And there goes your freedom of choice
There goes the last human voice
And there goes the last DJ

c – 2002 Tom Petty

Well, not so much.

But the electricians were here for about 4 hours yesterday and they did GREAT work. And by that, I not only mean that they gave me a new breaker panel–

OLD one (fire hazard):

NEW one:

They also gave me a new outside meter. I wasn’t expecting that, gang. But they took out my recently installed “smart” meter, which I hated because not only are those smart meters fire hazards, too, but it made my head ring & buzz like crazy!

Now the constant noise in my head is gone. What a relief.

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So they did great work. And they were really friendly. And I sat at my kitchen table and worked on my short story (the old fashioned way — pen and paper! Since all the power was shut off for 4 hours.)

And then I suddenly decided to call Sandra. When she picked up her phone, a man in the background shouted out, “Hello, Marilyn!!”

Shit! It was Wayne! Such perfect timing! (If you’re new to the blog — Sandra’s new NYC apartment is one block away from Wayne’s.) (Yes, the home I used to share with Wayne when we were married.)

In fact, in this building on West End Avenue, 10th floor:

Anyway. More good news about “The Guide to Being Fabulous” in NYC. I can’t talk about the details yet but it gets more exciting every day.

I think it is okay if I at least say this– this fantastically talented women is onboard now and really helping us move things along:

“…Singer, songwriter, actress, composer, pianist, raconteur, Barsha is just as comfortable fueling the grooves on a George Clinton album as she is composing the score of an off-Broadway musical about pop-art icon Keith Haring (RADIANT BABY). With a career that includes television soundtracks, one-woman shows, children’s musicals and international tours with post-mod British pop-stars (Thomas Dolby), Barsha manages to put the undeniable stamp of her own musical personality on the full spectrum of her work.”

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And today, Sandra will be checking in with one of the producers we sent our TV proposal to, so I will keep you posted on that, too. I can at least say this — we already have a showrunner onboard!! He is incredible. This does not mean they have offered us a contract yet, but still!

FYI — “A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors…”

So, fingers crossed, everybody!!

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Okay, here’s this!

There is an upcoming tribute album to Shane MacGowan, coming in November. There are over 33 musicans included so far, including Johnny Depp and Tom Waits.

The announcement was all over my Instagram feed yesterday, but it was a reel and I couldn’t get a good screenshot of it yet. I will keep you posted, but here’s this for now:

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And here’s this!

The Stones in Manchester, looking out a window in 1965:

And 4 of the Stones in an airport wearing sunglasses!

And here’s Keith and Mick backstage somewhere in 1975:

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Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of this fantastic album!!!

Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. from 1986!!

Let’s revisit some of it again, shall we??!! Fabulous video for this song, gang. I miss the 80s so fucking much!!

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And here’s this!

Tom Petty, when he was DJ-ing his satellite radio show, “Tom Petty Radio” (you can still listen to the archives of it on Channel 31, Sirius XM):

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And some Nick Cave news!!

Here’s this!

“The official soundtrack to Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is out now.
 The soundtrack features 36 tracks in total, including a newly recorded version of ‘Red Right Hand’ by Nick Cave.

“The film is out now in cinemas and on Netflix 20th March.”

And yes, I have my alert set for it for its release on Netflix!

Not only that, but I have THIS!!!!

On Monday, my favorite Q-following girlfriend and I have tickets to see “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert”!! At the the cineplex at the mall!

When I texted her and asked her if she wanted me to buy tickets to see the movie with me–

SHE: “Yes!! Don’t forget to get the Senior Citizen discount!!”

Crimony, gang! I never ever even think of myself as a Senior Citizen, so I never think about getting a discount… but one was gotten by me yesterday!

And here’s this!!

Just gorgeous, I’m speechless.

Nick Cave, smoking, with “Elvis” hair!!

And here’s this!!

Today is the 36th year anniversary of the release of this incredible song.

I don’t know if it’s my absolute #1 favorite Nick Cave song of all time, but it actually might be. “The Ship Song”:

Let’s — I don’t know — bow our heads and listen again:

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And I guess that’s it for today!!

I gotta scoot because it’s Friday and I want to celebrate that fact. So I’m stopping at the gas station on my way to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house to pick up these, so that he can celebrate Friday, too!!

And with that —

I hope you have a celebratory Friday, too, gang, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

So funny. (2 mins. 40 seconds) Enjoy, gang!!

It’s looking like I’ll be able to post today, after all.

All the many cats are in their closed-up bedrooms upstairs.

I’ve got the world of Marilyn’s Room transported down here to the kitchen table. A sort of piping-hot cup o’ Joe next to me.

I have about 45 minutes before the electrician arrives, and once the power goes out, I’ll still have a full battery charge on the laptop.

So we shall see!

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First off!

Happy heavenly birthday to Jack Kerouac. He would have been 104 today.

Let’s all just say “the hell with it!” and become really creative at last… free, basking, wandering, idly stopping here and there, tasting, enjoying.”

— Jack Kerouac
(From Outlaw Poets substack post today.)

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Before I forget!

If you saw my post yesterday about the Franz Kafka House Museum in Prague, and then the (fake) news about my own house becoming a museum here in Crazeysburg…

I believe I’ve posted here before that the house my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man grew up in in Tokyo, really has become a house museum.

His father designed it and a famous architect built it, back in 1934, after they’d moved back to Tokyo from Ocean City, NJ.

While I was with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man yesterday, I decided to take a photo for you of the front of the brochure from his House Museum. Some neighbors of his went to Tokyo recently and took a tour of the museum and brought him back the brochure. (Well, they also took actual photos, but I thought it would seem kind of weird if his home health aide knocked on their door and asked to take pictures of their photos in order to post them to her blog…)

Anyway. Here it is!

My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man has many very old photos of the house from the 1930s and 1940s, when he was still living there as a boy. It is a really beautiful house. (And it was often occupied by various military officers during the war, while he and his family were still living in it.)

And I find this next bit astounding. Literally, astounding.

I knew that when he was living back in NYC in the 1950s, he had seen the original version of “South Pacific,” starring the legendary Mary Martin, on Broadway.

I would have loved to have seen Mary Martin onstage in anything she did.

I also knew that he and his wife had seen “My Fair Lady” on Broadway, with Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews!! I had the record of that musical and I played it over and over and over, on the record player down in our playroom, when I was a wee bonny lass in Cleveland.

But yesterday, I found out that he had also seen the original “The King & I” on Broadway, too!

ME: ” You mean, with Yul Brynner???”

HE: “Yes.”

ME: “He was right there, live, on the stage??”

HE: “Yes.”

ME: “Was he incredible??”

HE (pausing a moment, remembering, then smiling): “Yes. Very powerful.”

Wow, gang. I would have loved to have seen that!!

(From the movie version)

It really just blew me away.

And as I have said here before, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man has very little short term memory left, but his long term memory is flawless, which is why we never run out of things to talk about when I can get him focused on the past.

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Okay!

Here’s this!

The Rolling Stones at some point in 1968!! (Honestly, I wonder what Keith is thinking about here.)

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And here’s this!!

Nick Cave, with grace beside him, outside somewhere, smoking!

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From Ross K. Nichols’ Sunday School this past Sunday:

Iran and Israel: The Ancient Persian Prophecies (1 hr 27 mins):

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And last night, I started re-watching the “Archer” cartoon series. It is now on Tubi. It is so wonderfully politically incorrect, filthy dirty, and so funny. I can’t believe we have come so far from these days. It was not that long ago... (2 mins):

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I guess that’s it.

I seem to have completed the post before the electrician has even arrived!!

And now I’m gonna get back to work on the short story. I’m guessing Sandra will call today but we shall see.

Other than that–

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

In honor of Mickey Dolenz, the last living member of The Monkees, turning 81 the other day!!

“I’m A Believer”! Written by Neil Diamond. A smash hit by The Monkees, with Mickey on lead vocal. 1966. Enjoy ,gang!!

Perhaps you may recall that a couple of months ago, a cat came in from the cold and I named her Lulabelle:

I had a vague understanding of what her history was — that she had been abandoned by her owner a year and a half ago. But I thought another neighbor had been taking care of her.

So I was surprised when she darted into my kitchen early one snowy morning and then did not want to go back out into the cold.

So she’s been here with us since then, however, she had parasites really bad. I have made progress in helping her get rid of those — and she’s pretty good at using those puppy training pads that I put out all over the floor for her. But I was getting to the point where I was thinking of taking her to the vet.

Aside from worrying about Lulabelle’s health, I was wondering how on Earth I was going to ask my birth mom to stay here when I have to travel again, with this added cat now that is very high maintenance.

I was doing a lot of praying that Lulabelle would just get well.

Then last evening, after my shift, and after I was done taking care of all the cats, I was toying with just going up to my room and calling it a night; but since we jumped ahead an hour yesterday, I was absolutely not tired yet.

So I sat down at the kitchen table and turned on a rerun of Poirot — “Death On the Nile” — yay!!

On the table before me, I had my teriyaki seaweed snacks, organic tortilla chips and salsa, some mixed nuts in sea salt and a glass of organic coconut water with a dash of fresh lime ….

(I know, your mouth is watering over my idea of “snacks”…)

Anyway, I glanced up and saw someone coming up onto my kitchen porch. It was already dark outside but I could tell it was a young woman.

I paused Poirot and went to go see who it was.

I opened the kitchen door and it was a stranger.

She had a huge bag of cat food and a huge bag of cat litter.

And she was very nervous, but very pretty and very polite. She said: “I heard you took in my cat.” She was near tears.

Wow, gang!

Not only was it Lulabelle’s mom (the cat’s name is actually Rasha), but her brother was one of the guys who installed my Central AC and he had recognized Lulabelle/Rasha and told his sister I had taken the cat in during the bad snows.

The young woman was so grateful and I invited her into the kitchen, wherein Rasha recognized her immediately and was so happy to see her.

They had a wonderful little reunion in my kitchen while the woman told me the story about what had actually happened and why she had had to leave the cat behind. (An intense story, having to do with her family and with having just had a baby and her husband had left them.) But she had in fact left the cat with another neighbor down the street, but in an outside cat house thingie. But suddenly, the bad snows came and Rasha was gone.

The young woman said that within a couple of months, she and her son will be in their own place and she will be able to take Rasha back. In the meantime, she borrowed one of my cat carriers because she wants to take Rasha to the vet herself. (Rasha is 10 years old and has been with the young woman a long time.)

Anyway. Wow. So Rasha will be back with her mom in a new home before I have to do a ton of traveling. But the relief that woman felt, the gratitude, when her brother had told her that a woman had taken Rasha in from the cold.

It is so incredible how God works, gang.

I thought I was just helping a sick cat. I had no clue the cat’s owner was going through such a trying time and missing her cat so much.

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Of course, now the whole village will refer to me as the Cat Lady who lives in that house on the corner. As if they didn’t already….

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All righty!

Tonight, the Biblical Archeological Society’s Scholar Series is having a cool online seminar about synagogues in post-Second Temple Israel. I’m really looking forward to that.

And tomorrow night, is that virtual screening of “acclaimed writer & visual artist Rachel Eliza Griffiths’ Green Room presentation at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which coincided with her recent residency at The Merwin Conservancy”.

I’m looking forward to that, too! (I don’t know if I will be snacking during these seminars, but if I am, you will already know what taste-tempting morsels I’ll be eating!)

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Meanwhile, I will be at my desk on this truly Spring-like, beautiful day today, working on at least one short story. So I’m feeling pretty happy, gang.

And —

Here’s this!!

I saw this photo in my Instagram feed and wow, a whole bunch of great memories came flooding back! This was the cover photo for Combat Rock. I had this album while living with my first husband, Chong, in our apartment on W.45th & 8th Avenue in NYC. The Clash was so popular in NYC back then, it was insane:

And here’s this, from the legendary album Combat Rock, the song “Car Jamming”:

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And here’s this!

Richard Hell at CBGB’s in 1978!

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And this!!

David Johansen in 1974!! I love his T-shirt! It is so beatnik: “I made the scene in Greenwich Village”. (I did, too, baby, I did, too!! Just a few years later…)

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And here’s Joey Ramone, at home with his cat in NYC in 1978!

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And don’t forget– this was also going on in NYC in the late 1970s- early 80s:

Keith was falling head over heels in love with Patti!!

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And not in NYC, and from way back in 1967–

Janis smiling in her apartment in San Francisco!

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And last but not least!

I think I’ve posted this photo here before, but it showed up in my Instagram feed this morning. Yay!!

Nick Cave not smoking in another great shirt!!

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And with that, I guess I better scoot.

The laundry is almost done. The sun is shining like crazy. I’ve got lots to get down onto the page today, so I’m off.

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!

I was driving to town yesterday and thinking how fucking exciting it’s going to be to go to that James Tabor’s Research Community Conference in late September (and there’s even a small chance that Simcha Jacobovici will be attending!!!! Fucking WOW!!) And then THIS came on my driving-to-town playlist!!

I’ve posted it here before, but it was just so perfect, gang. It made my whole heart smile.

From my wee bonny Sabbath School days in Cleveland, the joyous Hebrew folk song, “Hinei Ma Tov” !! It brought back so many memories and made me so excited about soon having some new ones, all these decades later. Okay. Enjoy, gang.

Okay, gang. I did it.

Got through the worst morning of the year and I am just fine.

And as I posted yesterday (post is here if you missed it), today I have indeed started a new life.

And I was indeed sitting at my desk at 7AM today, without going back to bed after breakfast, hanging out with my cup o’ Joe.

But it’s okay. Methinks I will be writing a TV pilot with Sandra pretty soon, so I gotta get 2 short stories written, and then the tribute to M. Christian, and then get ready to give 1200% of my focus to writing a new TV pilot. (And then still do all the things left on my “List of Things To Do” before the new novel comes out…)

But actually, I really am totally fine this morning. Which is usually unheard of for me on the first morning of Daylight Saving Time!

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Okay!

I don’t actually have much to post about today. Although, yesterday, I did a bit of texting with my dear pal, Wendy, and she is going to help me throw a very small book launch party in September, in Granville! (I’m paying for it, so it’s going to be very small.)

We’re thinking about having it out on the patio at the old train station, where I used to be the night manager.

I think the conversation with the owner will go something like this:

ME: “Hi!! You remember how I used to be the night manager here for a couple of years and then I quit, without giving you any notice whatsoever?”

HE (looks at me, says nothing).

ME: “Do you feel like doing me a favor?”

We’ll see how it goes from there…. (He still likes Wendy a lot, so I’ll have her stand in front of me.)

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All righty!

Here’s this!

Posted by Keith yesterday, in honor of Peter Wolf’s birthday!

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And here’s this!!

I don’t know when it was taken, but the photo is by Bleddyn Butcher.

Nick Cave! Not smoking in front of a piano!

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From James Tabor. An interview about his new book, The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus.

Evangelist Johnny Ova Interview: The Lost Mary (59 mins):

And that’s actually it.

Gonna get to work on some writing here, before I head out later to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

Enjoy your “Daylight Saving Time” Sunday!! Wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!!

Yet another song that came on the Oldies FM radio station on my retro boombox, as I was getting ready to call it a night last night, that I recognized from the opening “ooh-oohs” and then launched into singing it out loud, remembering every fucking word!

I hadn’t heard this song in decades, gang. It’s so weird how these songs just remain in the brain, somewhere. And then spring forth, in all of their completeness, the moment you hear them again.

So here it is!

The absolutely gorgeous “Being With You, ” by Smokey Robinson. 1981. Sing along. Enjoy, gang.

“Being With You”

I don’t care what they think about me and
I don’t care what they say
I don’t care what they think, if you’re leaving
I’m gonna beg you to stay
I don’t care if they start to avoid me
I don’t care what they do
I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you

Honey don’t go, don’t leave this scene
Be out of the picture and off of the screen
Don’t let them say “we told you so”
They tell me you’ll love me and then let me go

I’ve heard the warning voice
From friends and my relations
They tell me all about your heart-break reputation

I don’t care what they think about me and
I don’t care what they say, no
I don’t care what they think, if you’re leaving
I’m gonna beg you to stay
I don’t care if they start to avoid me
I don’t care what they do
I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you

People can change, they always do
Haven’t they noticed the changes in you?
Or can it be, that like love I am blind?
Do I want it so much ’til it’s all in my mind?

One thing I know for sure
Is really really real
I never felt before the way you make me feel

I don’t care what they think about me and
I don’t care what they say
I don’t care what they think, if you’re leaving
I’m gonna beg you to stay
I don’t care if they start to avoid me
I don’t care what they do
I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you
Being with you
Being with you

I don’t care about anything else
But being with you, being with you
I wanna be with you
I don’t care if they start to avoid me

c – 1981 William Robinson, Jr.

Yes, a little bit of rain this morning, but this afternoon–

Partly sunny and going up into the 70s Fahrenheit!!!

Can you believe it, gang?

My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man is going to LOVE this weather and, obviously, we will head out for sashimi and sake posthaste!!

I’m guessing that when I arrive at his house, it’ll go something like this:

ME (running into his bedroom): “Get up! Get dressed! Get your wooden leg on! We’re hittin’ the road!!”

HE: Sleeps soundly. Until I repeat myself a couple of times and he finally wakes up.

But then…. Off we go!! Yay!!

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All righty!

James Tabor sent out the link to reserve our hotel rooms for the Tabor Research Community Conference in late September!

I booked my room yesterday! A king-sized suite. (I’ll be all by myself in a great big room with a wet bar — unless it’s “pet friendly” then I might bring about 17 cats…)

I don’t know if I’ll be flying down there or driving. I’d like to drive, because I’ve heard it’s a beautiful drive down to North Carolina from here, but we’ll see if I’m up for it. I don’t know. Because then I’ll also have to drive back.

But either way, I will be HERE on Labor Day weekend:

Getting all the updates on the Cave of John the Baptist news, the Talpiot Tomb news, the James son of Joseph/brother of Jesus ossuary news!! Finally getting to meet James Tabor and probably having the time of my life!

(I’ll be drinking Wild Turkey bourbon with Diet Coke on ice, smoking unfiltered Chesterfields, cranking the rock & roll and popping a little speed — Oh, wait! No!! That’s what I do in motels. This is gonna be a hotel. I behave totally differently in hotels.)

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Anyway.

I’m excited.

September is going to be a busy month. a fun month. 2 conferences. My new novel comes out. The Musical Director of our play “The Guide To Being Fabulous” needs me to be available to get back to NYC for the staged reading — no firm date yet, though. But I already know the venue and I’m fucking excited!!

And here’s this!

Also coming in September!

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I finished watching the final episode of Season 1 of “Riot Women” last night. I don’t know yet if there will be a Season 2, but what a great show.

Just so well written, but also extremely intense. And it occurred to me that most of the intense things that happened to each of the women, separately, also happened to me, to one extent or another.

It was a hard show for me to watch, to be honest, but they handled the storylines so brilliantly. With truth but also with compassion.

But crimony, gang. It’s no wonder I’m a walking PTSD factory!!

Jesus.

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Okay.

Here’s this to lighten the mood!

Keith and Mick in LA in 1969!

And then Keith and Mick a handful of decades later:

Then Keith and Mick and Ronnie, onstage somewhere in 1975:

And Keith onstage in 1972, the summer I was 12 and fell in love with him and remained that way for the rest of my life:

And here’s this! The song that made my 12-year-old jaw drop that same summer, when I brought home the double-album Exile on Main St and put that first album onto my portable record player and played it for the first time!! Wow. My world was never the same. (And I wouldn’t trade it for anything, when it’s all said and done, gang.)

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Okay.

James Dean lassos Elizabeth Taylor!! (On the set of “Giant”, in Marfa, TX, 1955.)

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And I believe that’s it!!

I gotta scoot!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!!

Wow.

A friend on Instagram reminded me of this song this morning. I had forgotten all about it. I LOVE this song!! (And the movie it came from: “The Wonder Boys”.)

The song is now cued up on my driving-to-town music!

Bob Dylan. “Things Have Changed.” 2000. Enjoy, gang!