I have to say, gang, I am SO glad that I not only have today off, but that I also ran whatever errands I needed to run over the weekend, because I so don’t want to go out there today.

The snow looks pretty, but it is once again 9 degrees Fahrenheit out there. While here inside, the milk house heater is giving the regular heat a cozy boost, and of course, CHRISTMAS stuff is all over the place!!

So I am really looking forward to just hanging around indoors today. Plus, the drive to and from town for my shift yesterday evening was so fucking stressful — snow, ice, 12 degrees Fahrenheit (for 22 miles, in the dark).

I was ready to collapse when I walked in the door — HOWEVER!

The minute I did walk in the door, Valerie in Brooklyn texted me to alert me that Britbox was finally offering “new” episodes of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys”!!! Yay. (She and I both watch the old episodes over and over and over, and I was planning to watch yet another old episode before calling it a night.) ( By “new” it just means that Britbox hasn’t offered them before.)

So, wow. That was a great way to end a stressful Sunday night! I watched 2 episodes of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” that I had never seen before! (While Valerie was watching the same episodes over in Brooklyn, so it was almost like hanging out with her. Almost.) (Also, please remember to keep her in your prayers. Her heart surgery is Thursday.)

(A short clip from one of the older ones that I’ve probably seen about 10 times already.)

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Today should be a really good day.

I was planning on doing some housecleaning, but I’ve decided to just do the laundry and leave the rest until Thursday, because–

Yay!

The contract for The Curse of Our Profound Disorder arrived yesterday from the publisher!! So I want to read that over today and get it back to her.

And then I want to finally sit down and watch “Modi”!! I can’t wait.

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This was on the Allen Ginsberg Instagram page yesterday and it sort of fits in with my 12th Street project.

Allen Ginsberg lived about a half a block away from me, on E. 12th Street, back in the 80s. And all the photos I’ve seen over the years that were taken from inside his apartment — his apartment looked a lot like how mine did. (The apartments in the East Village were tenement walk-ups, built in the late 1800s.)

I’m guessing that, all these decades later, they’ve “renovated” his old apartment the same way they did mine — i.e., took all the life out of it.

Anyway:

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And from Ross A Waterman on Instagram!

Nick Cave (smoking) and Blixa Bargeld in 1997!

Photographer Ross Waterman has been posting lots of photos recently of the Bad Seeds in Melbourne. I’m guessing he’s getting ready for the Bad Seeds to return to Australia in just a few weeks!!

Buy tickets HERE.

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Other than that–

I’m really worn out here. Again. As usual, I seriously need a vacation. But instead of taking a vacation — which the Agency would happily give me without pay — I’m hanging in there until 2026, when I am going to retire.

And then I will take a moment to finally collapse, and then spend the remaining years writing. (And, well, going camping. And shooting guns.)

But until that happens, I am just so worn out, gang. So I want to try to take it really easy today, before the 10-hr. shift resumes tomorrow. Plus I want to do all the grocery shopping for Christmas Eve tomorrow, too (when my new friend Johnny will be coming to my house for the first time!). I don’t want to leave it all until next week, and then have to deal with all the crowds in the grocery store and then maybe they’ve run out of everything I want, etc.

So today should be a really nice easy day. We’ll find out!! (And remember– I probably won’t be posting here tomorrow.)

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Meanwhile, enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Another great one from “A Very Special Christmas” — the first album, from 1987.

U2 doing a great version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Enjoy, gang!!

We did indeed get a big bunch of snow. And currently it is 9 degrees Fahrenheit out there!

And because my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was so kind to me yesterday, I was able to get back home before any serious snow had accumulated.

Oh, and yesterday, during the 2 hours that I was there, he mentioned our trip to the golf course and the beautiful drive there and back, so many times! He was able to remember it effortlessly. He could even remember the other guests in the restaurant while we were there (there were two large groups of people having Christmas luncheons). And he remembered the two women who spoke to us outside and kindly held the front door open for us.

It just shows how mentally engaged he was by the whole trip. It was a complete success.

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And as the snow was steadily falling outside, and Christmas lights were twinkling everywhere — indoors and out — I finally had a chance to catch up with my new friend Johnny on the phone last evening!!

We discussed some places we might like to visit (go camping, although he also recommended the occasional Holiday Inn Express??!!).

Anyway.

When I mentioned how I’ve wanted to make a trip to the Civil War cemetery in Cynthiana, Kentucky and finally see my great-great grandfather’s grave, Johnny immediately said, “Oh, sure, we’ll do that. That’s easy.” And we even discussed the easiest route to get there from here.

And I finally got the very distinct impression that I am really going to get to see my great-great grandfather’s grave, and I don’t have to make that trip all by myself!!

What a happy feeling.

The Confederate War Memorial, in Cynthiana, KY. Established in 1869 — the oldest Civil War monument still standing in its original location:

My great-great grandfather, David May. He was a Kentucky State Senator, as well as an officer in the Confederate army. He and his horse both drowned in the river during the 2nd Battle of Cynthiana:

He and my great-great-grandmother had 7 children, 4 of whom were boys. And because of the boys, my great-great grandmother was able to survive after the war. Since she was a war widow on the Confederate side, she was not entitled to any financial help from the Government.

(My Aunt Bobbie Jean had my great-great grandmother’s original Bible, with all her handwritten notes about what had happened to her during the war perfectly preserved, and I was able to hold that Bible, and read all her notes, about 25 years ago.)

David May’s 4 sons, late in life. My great-grandfather, Ashbel Patton May, is the man on the upper right. He was a District Attorney in Lexington, KY, for a while:

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All right!!!

It is official!!

“Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness” (simply called “Modi” in the US) is now available on Amazon Prime US!!

I bought it last night, and I am planning to watch it tomorrow, during my glorious day off! I can’t wait!

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And if I wasn’t already feeling lucky enough–

THIS was on Instagram the moment my wee bonny eyes opened at 3AM this morning!!

Nick Cave smoking and looking out an open window!!

And here is the song that goes with that! The beautiful “Song of the Lake,” from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ Wild God, 2024:

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Well, aside from driving in all the ice and snow and freezing temperatures later today, it should be a really nice day around here.

I’m hoping to make more notes on the 12th Street project. And then do yoga, wash my hair. And hopefully spend a peaceful shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

I forgot to tell you that last Sunday, we all watched “Frosty the Snow Man,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and the special Christmas episode of “Love Boat” from, like, 1978…the retired Minister slept through most of it, although it is hard to imagine sleeping through such gripping entertainment!!

We shall see what awaits us today! I’m not complaining!! (Oh, wait, I am complaining about doing all that driving, but not about the actual shift!)

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Okay, I’m gonna get started here, so have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting, gang!

I love you guys. See ya!

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We continue with “A Very Special Christmas” — the first album!

And speaking of E.12th Street, I remember so well listening to this album over and over that Christmas of 1987! I had so many friends back then, gang. And we had so many cocktails, cigarettes — drugs, too. But also Christmas cookies, presents under the tree, and of course NYC in the 1980s!!

“Merry Christmas Baby,” Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band! Enjoy, gang!!

So, not only will I be celebrating Christmas today with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man by taking him to the restaurant at the golf course that has those spectacular views —

But, whoever it is who’s in charge of the weather around here must be reading my blog because it is going to be less cold as well as SUNNY this afternoon!!

This is just wonderful news, since — as you may recall — my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man has a wooden leg and needs a cane and constant physical support to get around. Sunshine and no snow/ice/wind makes our outings so much easier!! Yay!

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On a serious note–

If you are prone to praying, please say a prayer for my best friend in the world, Valerie in Brooklyn, because she has to get heart surgery next week.

She is claiming it is a simple procedure and that she goes home that same day. However. You know. I just don’t want anything to go wrong!!! So please pray for her and for the surgeon’s steady hands!! Thanks, gang.

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Speaking of my best friends–

Sandra and I had a great chat yesterday, just to catch up and say a pre-“Merry Christmas”.

She has been busy this past month, filming an independent feature film, and some staged readings at the Public Theater in NYC. But in 2026, we hit the ground running, again, on “The Guide to Being Fabulous” as well as our other project that I can’t really tell you about yet, but I’m guessing that by now you know it is related to developing a TV streaming series.

However, we also decided yesterday that I am not going to continue pursuing “Tell My Bones” as a theatrical piece anymore, and will go back to the original screenplay version (also for streaming TV).

That version of “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story” has already won awards and it is a beautiful script, meant for Sandra to star in as Helen LaFrance (the folk art painter from Kentucky). So we are excited, gang! This time, it might actually get made!! So much has changed in the streamer world since my agent first took it around.

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Okay!

Another shot of Johnny not-smoking at the Red Sea Film Festival!! From yesterday:

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And I’m not sure about this one, but I think this is a photo of Keith smoking… (either that, or he’s on fire):

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I am 100% sure, though, that this is a wonderful photo of Nick Cave!!

And the wonderful song that goes with it — “Wonderful Life,” from the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds album, Nocturama. 2003:

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Okay.

So yesterday was really productive, gang. I did so much work on the 12th Street project that I didn’t even have time to do yoga.

Well, I was getting ready to do yoga but then Sandra called, so I said, you know, “fuck it” and spoke with her for over an hour, instead!!

You know, we had to talk about everything — not just our projects. She had to find out all about my new friend Johnny!!

SHE: “Oh, he sounds so nice!!” (He is, gang.)

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In gathering all my notes together for my 12th Street project, I came across this and I had to sort of sit down so that I didn’t fall over.

If you are unfamiliar with my short story, “Night on 12th Street”, I wrote it especially for Karen Finley‘s anthology, Aroused. It came out in hardcover in 2001, from Thunder’s Mouth Press.

But the story was also picked up by several other editors and websites after that.

While the story was written in 2001, it was about my years living on E.12th Street in Alphabet City in the 1980s (NYC’s East Village), and being in love with the guitarist, Blaire N. Bitch.

The thing I came across that made me have to sit down, was page one of the Table of Contents from Karen Finley’s book. Look at the company I was keeping here, gang (and this is just page one of the writers included in the book):

You might not be old enough to recognize all these names but they were heavy hitters back then.

If you’re not into book publishing — where your story gets placed within a collection also has a lot to do with the recognize-ability of your name.

I had somehow completely forgotten about all this that was happening for me back then. Hubert Selby Jr was a friend of mine back then. (His story appears right before mine.) He is the (late) author of Last Exit to Brooklyn, among other classics. And he supported my work so much. He really catapulted me into a new stratosphere.

Anyway. The 12th Street project is about the steady erasure of all the writers back in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, who were writing either experimental sex stuff or literary erotica. And this, of course, includes me.

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Well, I gotta scoot, so more about this project as it develops. I’m still just in the note-gathering stage.

Have a terrific Friday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I gotta leave you with this!!

From the same Christmas collection I posted here yesterday, Darlene Love’s smash-hit Christmas song from 1963!!!!

Now a classic — “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”. From A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. Enjoy, gang!!

Sorry I’m late!!

I did not get out of bed until 5AM today! And so I am getting a slow start here.

Before I forget–

If you want to download any of my erotic eBooks for FREE on Smashwords during their Christmas sale, I posted individual links to all 4 of those titles over on my substack page.

Here is the link to that page.

The sale continues until January 1st, 2026. All titles are for adults only. “Thank you for your attention to this matter. –DJT”

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Yes, it’s snowing again here but I don’t really care. I have to make a quick trip to the Dollar Store, but otherwise, I’m planning to stay in today and work on that 12th Street project that I’ve been putting together for about a week or so.

And other than that, I’m going to try to just sort of “re-charge.” I am once again exhausted.

But I had a great time with Johnny at Tequilaville yesterday! And it turns out we have TWO things in common!! Not only does he like to go camping, he also likes to shoot guns! And he offered to either come with me to the Buckeye Shooting range (which would require me to un-pause my membership there, but I don’t mind). Or just do target practice on his property! Yay!

But since I don’t own my own 22mm Glock, we might end up at the shooting range. I guess we shall see!

So my upcoming retirement is panning out splendidly: go camping; shoot handguns; write novels. (Oh, and I guess have a play produced Off Broadway…)

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And on a sort of humorous note… Johnny told me to be careful about retirement because I might end up with nothing to do all day… (I think I fell out of the booth over that comment).

But to be fair!! He doesn’t know me yet. We’ve only just met. I told him that I had “a lot of writing to do”.

The current tally:

• 3 novels-in-progress (a 4th waiting to get started)
• 2 memoirs to complete; 1 memoir trying to get started, a 4th memoir waiting to get started after the 3rd one finally gets started
• And now this 12th Street project
• Take “The Guide to Being fabulous” to Off Broadway
• Potentially develop another TV project
• Promote The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, once that gets published

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Okay!

I think this is so cool!! I love this novel, gang.

From Variety yesterday:

Johnny Depp Sets First English-Language Adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Classic ‘The Master and Margarita’

“Johnny Depp is set to produce and possibly star in the first-ever English-language film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Russian literature classic The Master and Margarita.

The project, which currently does not have a director attached, is being produced by Depp’s own IN.2 Film shingle in tandem with “Jeanne du Barry” executive producer Svetlana Dali and Grace Loh….” [full article here]

And Johnny (Non-Smoke) is currently at the Red Sea Film Festival. This was taken from some footage on Instagram:

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And since Johnny doesn’t appear to be a smoker anymore…

We will let Keith (from yesteryear — he doesn’t smoke anymore, either) pick up the slack!!

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And Nick Cave seems to have taken 14 seconds off to do nothing and perhaps celebrate the holiday season…

So here’s a re-post of a photo from yesteryear, instead!

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Here’s this!

From James Tabor — a podcast with Professors Helen Bond and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones (UK). Discussing James Tabor’s new book, The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus.

A Ride on the Biblical Time Machine— All Aboard! (47 mins):

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Well, my shift yesterday, with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, went splendidly.

We primarily discussed WWII, Hitler, Roosevelt — oh, and why oh why, if Roosevelt was such a great guy, was he allied with Stalin??? Hmmmm….

Okay, we won’t go into all THAT right now!

And after carefully perusing the weather maps — we have decided that TOMORROW we will return to the restaurant at the golf course that has those incredible views!! AND which is now decorated for Christmas!! Yay!!

So that will happen tomorrow in very cold temperatures and light rain but no ice or snow…

(But now decorated for Christmas)

So that should be fun!! (He always gets to have ONE vodka martini when we’re at the golf course!!)

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And I think that’s it for now!!

Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this!!

Not only is this possibly the best version of this song, EVER!

But while I’m playing it endlessly (on repeat) in the car, I picture Ronnie Spector and Keith Richards snuggled in bed together in, like, 1963 (??!!) (He wrote about her very lovingly in his autobiography LIFE.)

What a great vision that is, gang — to have rolling all over your head while you’re driving 95 mph down the empty freeway in the Hinterlands!!

“Sleigh Ride,” The Ronettes. From the fabulous Christmas collection, “A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector”, 1963. Enjoy, gang!!

I’ll start with the sad update first.

Yesterday, the Mavericks announced that on Monday night, December 8th, Raul Malo passed away from the cancer he was battling.

There had been a huge benefit/celebration of his career in Nashville over the weekend, that Raul’s wife had posted tons of footage from all weekend, so it was kind of a shock that he died on Monday. But she did also post some footage on Instagram of his bandmates serenading him in his hospital bed over the weekend, too, and the shots of Raul looked really startling. It was very clear he was not going to make it, but how poetic that he survived through the celebratory weekend and then died the following day.

Here are some segments of what the band posted yesterday:

And here is the first Mavericks song that I absolutely fell in love with! I used to play this song over and over and over. From their 1994 album of the same name, “What A Cryin’ Shame”:

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In happier news —

Nick Cave has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his song in the Netflix Train Dreams movie!

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And —

Another photo of Johnny Smoke in Tokyo by Ross Halfin:

And I have to add, gang, that in all the TONS of photos and videos of Johnny in Tokyo lately, I never saw him with a cigarette! Not once.

If he doesn’t start smoking again soon, I’ll have to change his name…

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And also!!

A couple of great shots of Keith.

From 1975, as the Stones were preparing for their fucking AMAZING “Tour of America 75”!!

And in 1988 — no longer an addict, married to Patti:

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And here is something that is more personal.

Most of my family, on my birth dad’s side, came from Pikeville, KY.

[Part of my dad’s family in Pikeville, before he was born — my Aunt Bobbie Jean, my Uncle Earl, my Grandad, and a neighbor. Late 1930s.]

And as luck would have it!! A large portion of my new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, takes place in Pikeville, KY. Although I simply call it Pike County in the book.

Wayne and I went to Pikeville on our honeymoon, in May 1993. So he and I are both very fond of Pikeville.

Anyway. From Instagram. A random shot of Pikeville in 1974!

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Okay, so I survived another “10-hr. Tuesday” yesterday. It was nowhere near as intense as last Tuesday’s shift had been, so that was good.

Another nice thing is that, once the really long shift is over, I’m super excited when I finally get back home and unload all the groceries and put everything away!! I can finally collapse. Yay!

And now I can finally collapse with all the Christmas decorations up!! Double yay!!

And today, directly after my shift with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, I will indeed be meeting my new, not-95-year-old, friend Johnny at Tequilaville!! Yay!!

I am really looking forward to it. I don’t care at all that it’s rainy and cold out there, either.

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And now I gotta scoot!!

Enjoy your wonder-filled Wednesday wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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I leave you with this.

This is another one of those poetic things.

The Mavericks also posted that Raul died exactly 36 years after their first professional gig:

I want to take a moment to share Raul Malo’s incredible voice once again.

“O What A Thrill”. 1994. By the great Country songwriter, Jesse Winchester. Enjoy, gang. So beautiful.

"O What A Thrill"

Oh girl any moment
I may kiss your lips
Oh it's been awhile
Since I felt like this
Oh girl please don't refuse me
Oh I'm so scared you will

Oh what a thrill
Oh what a thrill
Stars in the sky
Stars stand still
Oh what a thrill

Woman words fail to me
Your skin is sweet and warm
I want to console you
And hold you in my arms
Oh once you were my baby
You're my baby still

Oh what a thrill
Oh what a thrill
Stars in the sky
Stars stand still
Oh what a thrill

Oh what a thrill...

 c - 1989 Jesse Winchester

Last evening, I was in my family room watching a movie on TV when I heard something at my front door.

My front door doesn’t open. My kitchen door is my main entrance to the house.

I got up and looked out the front door window and saw that a package had been delivered! Yay!

So I went to the kitchen and went outside, walked around to the front porch to get my package, and WOW, gang! It was the first time I’d seen the front of my house, after dark, since all the Christmas stuff had gone up inside.

It looked so pretty through the windows. I could see the Christmas tree, all lit up in the dining room, and my family room looked like somebody actually lived in there! Not just the Christmas stuff, but the TV was on, a cat was curled up on the couch, and there were all my bookshelves filled with books, and photos and art stuff on the walls.

You could see all the way into the kitchen, where there are more Christmas light, more art on the walls, little lamps lit.

And I think what made it all seem really welcoming is that I have incandescent bulbs everywhere. (Except for the Christmas lights, which are LED.) And incandescent light gives such a warm yellow glow to everything.

I have lived alone now for 10 years — this includes 3 different houses. And I’d sort of gotten the impression that I don’t have a “home” anymore. That I live in a house and I do the best I can to make it comfortable, etc.

So seeing into my own house like that last night — all the little lamps on, the TV on, Christmas in full bloom in there, etc. I realized that somehow I have managed to make this now-125-year-old house a home.

It really just felt incredible. I don’t even know how I did that.

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Oh–

This was the movie I was watching (I haven’t finished it yet). Johnny had recommended it. Oddly enough, I had never heard of it before, but I’m really enjoying it.

“Secondhand Lions” 2003.

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Alas!

If you get Sky TV (and all you loyal readers of this lofty blog know so well by now that, here in the humble US Hinterlands, I DON’T!!), you might have watched this documentary, in anticipation of the TV adaptation of Nick Cave’s novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, which launched last night!!! (Thanks to Roger Gaess for sending me these links!)

The Guardian —Nick Cave’s Veiled World: the starry tale of how sometimes the devil doesn’t have the best tunes

The Independent — Nick Cave’s Veiled World documentary is a captivating look at the musician’s songwriting genius

“Sky’s film assembles some of the Australian musician’s closest friends and collaborators for an in-depth look at the dark, mysterious worlds he conjures, and the eclectic characters dwelling in them…”

And on a similar theme–

Here’s this!

I walked into my kitchen after my shift yesterday, sat down at my kitchen table, got on Instagram, and WOW!! Fucking gorgeous!

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And also —

More from Johnny Smoke in Tokyo at Comic Con–

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And that might be it for today, gang.

I need to wash my hair, do yoga, think about life, reply to Johnny’s text about when we can get together again (before Christmas Eve!!), yay, and then head out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

I’m guessing we’re going to watch another Christmas movie today, so that should be easy!! (I hope! But, honestly, you never know what you’re going to find when you show up at a client’s house.)

Meanwhile, enjoy your 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!

My very early morning listening-music!!

I never get tired of it, gang. Never.

“The Ship Song.” 1990, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds from one of my favorite albums — The Good Son. Enjoy, gang!!

“The Ship Song”

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

We talk about it all night long
We define our moral ground
But when I crawl into your arms
Everything comes tumbling down

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Your face has fallen sad now
For you know the time is nigh
When I must remove your wings
And you, you must try to fly

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around

Come loose your dogs upon me
And let your hair hang down
You are a little mystery to me
Every time you come around

c – 1990 Nick Cave

Today is the day!

I finally get to see Wendy and Kara again, and have lunch at Snapshots with them, again.

We text one another all the time, but the last time I actually saw either of them, I was wearing a brand new flowered sundress, had my first pedicure of the summer, and was wearing long dangling hippy-chick earrings…

Today, I’ll be wearing a parka, black jeans, a red Christmas sweater and little gold and pearl earrings in the shape of little snowmen…

Ridiculous how long it’s been. But I am definitely in the Christmas spirit now, and I can’t wait to give each of them their Christmas presents!!

And driving back into my neighborhood from my shift last night, it was of course dark so I was able to see all of my neighbors’ Christmas light displays and it really got me in the mood to get my house decorated….

I’m still aiming for Thursday to be the day. We shall see!

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Here’s this!!

It’s a screenshot from some great footage of Keith onstage with the Stones. This screenshot doesn’t do it justice, but here it is anyway!!

And this is the song they were playing!!!! (I fucking never get tired of this song, gang — Lo! these 50 years later…) “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)”

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And here’s this!

Another great one from Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page. The NY Dolls in NYC in 1971. I have never seen a photo of David Johansen with his hair this long before!!

Photo is by Lee Black Childers:

And speaking of David Johansen…

Last evening, during my shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat, we watched the movie “Scrooged” from 1988. Starring Bill Murray and a ton of other folks, and shot in that era of NYC that I really loved (the 80s).

AND, David Johansen plays the Ghost of Christmas Past — a totally insane NYC taxi driver. I absolutely love him in that role. It was so much fun to watch it again (and, well, get paid to sit there and watch it, to be brutally honest!) A 2-minute clip:

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And if you’re going to be attending the Wild God Tour of Australia & New Zealand next month, the Nick Cave official site released this news yesterday about adding a supporting act — Aldous Harding:

You can buy tickets HERE.

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Other than that, I’m in the middle of doing laundry right now. And then I get to make an exciting phone call to my insurance agent about that loose gutter that’s dangling down from the edge of the roof because of those crazy high winds we’ve had. I’m hoping he can recommend someone local and affordable to come fix it ASAP, before it totally blows off and sails away…

Oh! But some good news — it is not supposed to snow today after all. It is really cold, but sunny!! And NOT windy for a change!! Yay!!

And since Snapshots isn’t too far from where I do all my grocery shopping, I’ve decided to run errands after our lunch today and that way, after my 10-hr shift tomorrow, I can just come straight home. Yay!!

So it’s looking like this could be a really nice day, all the way around.

I guess that’s it for now, gang.

I want to get those presents wrapped, then finish up the laundry. And try to do yoga before I head to town. And maybe even — I don’t know — try to get some writing done before this day is over?? We’ll find out.

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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!

Yesterday I practically had a heart attack. I got into the car to drive to my shift and discovered that the playlist I play almost all the time, had suddenly disappeared from my phone.

This was the playlist I began building when I first started to go visit my dad when he was dying. It was a 3-hr trip each way, so my playlist was long. And it isn’t that I can’t find all those old songs again, but what a colossal amount of work!! And those memories of seeing my dad before he died would kind of disappear… I was so heartbroken.

Anyway, miraculously, it was back on my phone when I double-checked it this morning!!

So while I was lying there, back in bed after breakfast, doing that thing I do, with a cup of coffee near at hand (that thing I do is mostly convincing myself to get out of bed again and start the day…), I listened to some of the songs on the playlist and got sort of wistful, but while also feeling oddly complete about my life.

So I share one of those songs here! I’ve known this song for over 50 years, but now it always makes me think really, really fondly of my dad.

CSN&Y, “Teach your Children”. 1970. Enjoy, gang.

“Teach Your Children”

You, who are on the road
Must have a code
That you can live by
And so become yourself
Because the past is just a goodbye

Teach your children well
Their father’s hell
Did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s
The one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?”
If they told you, you would cry
So, just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

And you of tender years (Can you hear and do you care)
Can’t know the fears (And can you see)
That your elders grew by (We must be free)
And so please help (To teach your children)
Them with your youth (What you believe in)
They seek the truth (Make a world)
Before they can die (That we can live in)

Teach your parents well
Their children’s hell
Will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick’s
The one you’ll know by

Don’t you ever ask them, “Why?”
If they told you, you would cry
So, just look at them and sigh
And know they love you

c – 1970 Graham Nash