Unless of course, you’re trickin’ and you’re a lot older now and you just gotta have it… but that’s your business!
Okay!
I’m looking forward to this evening, gang. Mostly because I’m just looking forward to hanging out in my family room, eating (organic) pizza and popcorn, and watching old Halloween movies (you know, the kind that weren’t horrifically disgusting, trauma-inducing and gore-filled….)
“Arsenic & Old Lace”, 1944 — So much fun!!
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” 1966
Yes, I’m actually old enough to remember the very first TV-Network airing of that Charlie Brown classic!! (I was 6.) And, wow, was it fun!! I even remember my dad coming into the den for a moment, while this scene was playing, and he laughed and shook his head:
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Oh, and speaking of Halloween…
You have until TOMORROW (November 1st) to get that 40% OFF on all Halloween Picks over at Cave Things!
This means you have one more day (UK time, that is) to purchase me this, at 40% off, plus FREE — OOPS — Plus $7 trillion in overseas shipping — The “Up Jumped the Devil” Milk Jug:
And lest you forget — or have thus far refused to play it — here is that song again! One of my All-Time Top 5 favorite songs by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Up Jumped the Devil”:
(Includes one of my all-time favorite rhymes!! ‘Me’ rhymed with ‘hilarity’:
Who’s that yonder laughing at me Like I was the brunt of some hilarity Who’s that yonder laughing at me Up jumped the Devil 1, 2, 3
c – 1988 – Nick Cave)
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Okay!
Here’s this.
One of my never-ending inspirations as a writer on Earth, however, I’m not crazy about the tone of this photo, but here it is anyway!
A William Burroughs Halloween in Lawrence, Kansas:
Oh, and here’s this!!
One of my many original Olympia Press treasures!! An original printing, from 1959, Paris, France, when it was mistakenly titled ‘The’ Naked Lunch. Mint condition.
My collection of original Olympia Press titles were all gifts to me from Richard Kasak, the publisher of the legendary Masquerade Books, back in the late 90s.
I have long ago lost track of how much this specific book is worth, but I’m not selling it anyway, so it doesn’t matter:
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And Ronnie Wood has a special collection of prints — Paint It Black — available for a limited time. It includes a Personalized signing of the print, just for you!! (And it’s not outrageously expensive, all things considered!! Each print is $1650, while they last.) (And if you want to get me the ‘Keith’ one, that would be really cool!)
Thanks to whoever is buying the Kindle edition of my novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home. Published in September, 2020. I thank you very much!!
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Well, yesterday.
Wow, gang.
I don’t even know how best to post about this without betraying anyone’s privacy, but my sweet client from yesterday’s shift, is really, seriously, going downhill.
I had not seen her in a mere seven days… but she had a stroke. On Wednesday. So the Agency had not even had time to alert me beforehand that everything had changed.
And still — wow, is that family the most loving family I have ever encountered.
I walked in to a situation that was drastically different from the last time I was there, but there was still that sense of love, of peace. It was just beautiful. And they have no intention of having her “institutionalized” in any way. A second daughter is staying there now, too, so that the family can be with her around the clock, even with caregivers and Hospice nurses there.
It was a very intense shift, and yet I left there with a profound sense of well-being and peace. The client and the family are just so loving.
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Well, I have mixed feelings about whether I should take my favorite 95-year-old Japanese client out for sashimi and sake today, or wait until tomorrow.
It’s really cold here today. Plus, with it being the holiday, a lot of people might be going out for lunch today and Peony Bistro is really small, and really popular even when it’s not a holiday.
I’m leaning more towards waiting until tomorrow, but I just don’t know. It’s cold but it’s also sunny, so the drive would be beautiful and he always loves that. And he loves the sake, of course!!
I guess I’ll just decide at the very last minute! (But he just gets SO cold, so easily. For instance, his furnace might be set at 78 degrees Fahrenheit, and he’ll be wearing 2 shirts and a sweater, and then ask me to “please turn off the AC” because he’s freezing…)
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Okay, I guess I’m gonna scoot.
Enjoy your tricks or treats, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!!
A cute Halloween clip compilation set to “The Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett, 1962. Enjoy, gang!
If you listened to Phil last night, you know that there is a reason to start breathing again and be excited about “Christmas”…
(If you didn’t listen: RV, reset, NESARA, GESARA, worldwide, by end of the year.) He is supposed to go live again Friday at 9PM Eastern, with a Q & A about the RV. Buy silver (and gold) right now if you can afford it.
Replay if you missed it (direct link has more control over ads):
From Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page: Keith and Mick onstage, The Marquee, London, 1971 — isn’t that a beautiful shot?
Photo by Pete Smith
From Hillbilly Talk — Hank Williams:
And while we’re at it, here’s this from me — a demo made in my room in 1992. A song I wrote about Hank Williams. “Long Gone Train”:
BTW — lyrics are in all my videos, just click on “MORE”.
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Oh!
I forgot to post this yesterday because I was in a hurry! I love this photo!!
A photo of Nick by Susie. I think it is a hotel room in Arles, France (?):
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Today, I have a semi-long shift with that sweet woman that I just adore — the one who lives in the huge split-level home in the hills behind the Bryn Du Mansion (in the home that requires a map to find the bathroom).
Even though it’s kind of a long shift, and it will be dark (and raining) when I leave there tonight, I just love spending time with her. Her cognitive abilities are rapidly declining, but she is still just so peaceful to be around.
Before I leave here though, I need to do yoga because my new schedule is not giving me enough time to do as much yoga as I need to keep flexible. (I have to do a lot of lifting, carrying, physical support, etc., on my shifts.)
But other than that, I have enough time to do a little bit of writing today before I leave. (I hope.) (Oh, and Sandra texted yesterday and said that the piece she performed in on Sunday at The CENTER in NYC, was a complete success! SRO.)
Oh, and I got a very quick update from Wayne, who has a copy of the completed first draft of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. He is always really busy this time of year, so it’s taking him a while to read it, but he said:
HE: “Quite fond of Aurora.”
That blew me away, gang, because Aurora Mayhew is easily one of the most regrettable characters I’ve ever created. And she is one of two truly detestable characters in this specific novel.
So I’m taking his comment to mean that the character is well written… (?)
Me, writing the 26-years-in-the-making follow-up novel, “Memoirs of Aurora Mayhew”. (I seriously HOPE I’m just kidding…)
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Excuse me for a minute, I need another cup o’ joe…
Okay! I’m back!!
OOPS! I meant: Okay, I’m back!!
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I’m planning to have a nice evening here tomorrow, gang.
In our tiny village (1300 people live here), the kids do not go door-to-door trick-or-treating. They go to the tiny town hall/park area across from our equally tiny City Hall, one block over from me, and have a party and get their candy there.
But they do wear costumes and walk down my street (and back) to get to the City Hall, so I’m going to set out a big bowl of candy “for the taking” and then hang out in my family room, eat popcorn, and watch the remainder of “Arsenic and Old Lace” and then “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” until the trick-or-treating is officially over.
It’s sort of like being part of the festivities…
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Posted by Ross K. Nichols, to his Patreon group:
The Lost Scroll of Moses (Shapira): Part 1 | Hebrew Voices (50 mins):
From Ross K. Nichol’s recent Sunday School class — I forgot to post this!
The Gospel Before Jesus (1 hr 14 mins):
From James Tabor —
This is GREAT. I cannot believe that Dom Crossan is 91 years old already!!! Wow, is he sharp!
John Dominick Crossan and James Tabor: A Rare Conversation on Rediscovering the Historical Mother of Jesus (1 hr):
Also this, promoting James Tabor’s other new book, Restoring Abrahamic Faith.
Jews, Christians, and Muslims–What is the Historic Abrahamic Faith? (1 hr):
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All righty.
Just a quick note … if you read the Variety headlines every day, wow, gang. So many of the huge entertainment companies in LA are tanking. Directors resigning, hundreds, if not thousands, of people getting laid off… (I wonder if this means that “entertainment” might eventually go back to being entertaining? I guess we shall see.)
Meanwhile, Fox is doing great… hmmmm. (Could be that people are preferring the bigger “movie”? I don’t know…)
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Okay! That’s it! I’m gonna scoot.
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!!
Breakfast-listening music!! (This song is like a balm on my soul, gang.)
Another gorgeous song from the gorgeous album, The Boatman’s Call, by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Lime Tree Arbour.” 1997. Enjoy , gang.
“Lime Tree Arbour”
The boatman calls from the lake A lone loon dives upon the water I put my hand over hers Down in the lime tree arbour The wind in the trees is whispering Whispering low that I love her She puts her hand over mine Down in the lime tree arbour
Through every breath that I breathe And every place I go There is a hand that protects me And I do love her so
There will always be suffering It flows through life like water I put my hand over hers Down in the lime tree arbour
The boatman he has gone And the loons have flown for cover She puts her hand over mine Down in the lime tree arbour
Through every word that I speak And every thing I know There is a hand that protects me And I do love her so
Yesterday was actually kinda good, gang, but I had to keep reminding myself of that by the time I walked in the door last evening.
I am trying my best to “like Tuesdays” because otherwise, well, everything about Tuesdays now are not my favorite thing. And I don’t want to work against myself by having bad energy. So I am trying to find reasons to “like Tuesdays.” (My 10-hr shift days.)
I got an early start, which helped. I was actually able to run FOUR errands before I got to my clients’ home. Including zipping over to the post office to get a Certified Letter from my first husband, in Seattle. A letter that he sends every month now, and it really perks my spirits. He does this because he has very fond memories of our marriage (we got married in NYC, 44 years ago (!!) — I’m not sure how that’s possible!).
Anyway, I have very fond memories of that marriage, too. We were both young, trying to make it in NYC, and from wildly different backgrounds. (He, from Singapore, me, from Ohio.) Intense years, truly. NYC in the 1980s.
Anyway. He is 69 now and starting to have some mild “cognitive issues” which makes me a little wistful, gang. I want to try to speak on the phone with him more often, just to try to keep a better connection to his mind. However, he has a lifetime partner of over 30 years, who does not know he was ever married, let alone married for 9 years, so it gets tricky….
He was the man I was married to when we lived in the Camelot Building, near Times Square:
The photo I took when I was in NYC last November, in a hotel that was 2 blocks from the Camelot apartment building.
Well, I digress!
Yesterday was okay, all things considered. My attitude was good, my energy was good. But then SEVEN MINUTES (literally) before I was supposed to clock out and leave, my client suddenly started asking me to do a bunch of things.
I can’t say “no” because he is not able to easily do these things himself, and so that’s why I’m there. But, you know — do you have to wait until SEVEN MINUTES before I’m supposed to leave??? When I’ve been there all day??
I tried really hard to be empathetic and patient and just cheerfully do what he needed done, but by the time I got into my car, my mood was sort of tanking…. I still had to go to the grocery store and do all that nonsense. And I kept trying not to hate Tuesdays…
But that’s done and now it’s Wednesday, and I’m heading out here soon to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. So on we go.
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Okay!
This is what it looks like when I put the sheets in the laundry and then try to re-make the bed!!!
The cats absolutely love my bed
And, btw, the scroll over the head of the bed is that literal translation of the “Ten Words” (in English, we know it as the Ten Commandments), that I got from Ross K. Nichols recently.
It’s kind of an interesting thing to have in your field of vision at all times.
Even in its literal translation, there are still 4 out of the 10 that I managed to break with ease — and a couple of them, I broke quite a few memorable/colorful times…
Me, 13, enough said…
That 2nd Commandment, though, is one that has always eluded me — rest on the 7th day. As in, do absolutely nothing but light some candles, pray, drink some wine and then sort of peacefully enjoy all of God’s creations.
I can’t even imagine an entire day, let alone, one entire day each week, wherein I do anything that remotely resembles that. But it sure would be nice.
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Nick Cave sent out one of those Red Hand Files yesterday, wherein he answers 50 questions with either a Yes, No, I don’t know, or Go Fuck Yourself. This time, he answered 75 questions, and he had quite a few “go fuck yourself” replies. Plus a little koala bear emoji. And some other emojis and some great art.
I usually find these Q & A’s really fun, but yesterday’s were off the charts with “attitude”. Wow. You can read them HERE.
NICK CAVE – WILD GOD BY SEAN BW PARKER, 2025
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Oh, well, sadly, I gotta scoot now or I’m gonna be late.
Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this. Late-night-listening music!
2 songs I hadn’t heard in a LONG time.
One from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “I Do, Dear, I Do” 1997 (I think).
“I Do, Dear, I Do”
I wish you happy Christmas I do, dear, I do I wish for you the stars, babe I wish for you the moon
You can sit, and you can drink your champagne With your gibbering goon I hope he’s being good to you I do, dear, I do
Ain’t no ill wind blow your way Wish that you will keep safe Up there in your leather, babe With your ivory and ape
Things down here are fragmented In fact, they’ve exploded all over the room I think everything’s a little off-center, babe I do, dear, I do
You said, that to love me you must set me free Now, that may all be very well Still I miss you baby More than words can really tell
Sometimes I cannot sleep The greatness of my hate for you Sometimes I cannot sleep For I miss you
May your day be bright as the eyes Of the girl that I once knew May your sun be happy yellow, babe And your sky be baby blue
I miss your manic scratchings And your howling at the moon Ten steps behind me With your dustpan and broom
I hope you wish for me All the things I wish for you Health, hope, and happiness The sun and the moon
Say hello to the one Who really don’t have a clue I’ll be calling you soon I think I love you
I do, dear, I do
c – 1997 Nick Cave
And one from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ album, Into the Great Wide Open, “All the Wrong Reasons”, 1991.
“All The Wrong Reasons”
Trouble blew in on a cold dark wind It came without no warning And that big ol’ house went up for sale They were on the road by morning Oh, the days went slow, into the changing season Oh, out in the cold for all the wrong reasons
Well she grew up hard and she grew up fast In the age of television And she made a vow to have it all It became her new religion Oh, down in her soul it was an act of treason Oh, down they go for all the wrong reasons
Where the sky begins the horizon ends Despite the best intentions And a big ol’ man goes up for sale He becomes his own invention Oh, the days go slow into the changing season Oh, bought and sold for all the wrong reasons Oh, down they go for all the wrong reasons
The electrician came bright and early yesterday morning and he fixed the problem with the light at the top of the stairs.
Luckily, it was the fixture itself that was so old that it needed to be replaced. The wiring itself was fine. So he actually went out to Lowe’s and got me a new fixture (by way of texting me photos of what was at the store). Then he came back and installed it.
And when he was done, I asked him how much it was going to be, and he said–
HE (thinking): “Fifty bucks?”
ME:
Yay!
I was expecting, like ONE HUNDRED and fifty bucks… I said, “Are you sure?” He said yes.
He’s been here before — he installed my window AC unit this past summer, and the summer before last, he installed a new ceiling fan in my family room.
He’s always really nice and his prices are reasonable, but still. It was Sunday morning, and he had to run an errand for me, and then do the install. So, wow.
He gets along very well with my many cats, too. And he isn’t at all alarmed by how many of them I have. He said that at his house they have 4 cats, 3 dogs, and 2 bunnies…. (and a couple of kids!)
Anyway. Wow. I was really happy about that and also, now my light at the top of the stairs works again!
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I’m not sure what has happened, but we have turned a corner here in Crazeysburg.
The kittens are just about 7 months old now, and they are still playful and frisky, but for the past 2 nights, they have not destroyed anything — at all — during the night!
I have come downstairs braced for just about anything, and the house has looked perfect and exactly as I left it when I’d gone upstairs the night before!
And during the days, if they are poised on the brink of creating havoc, I say, “No!” and then they actually STOP.
What the heck?? When did that happen?? They learned what “no” means!
Yay!
Plus, KonTiki of the Great Outdoors is now using her little cathouse out on the kitchen porch again, which gives me a sense of relief at night, since it’s down in the 30s Fahrenheit. The house, with fresh straw in it, has been out on the porch for a month already and she finally started using it, instead of just sitting on top of it.
PLUS — she comes inside for breakfast again, even though she doesn’t like all the kittens and foster cats that are in the kitchen now, too. They don’t bother her, and she doesn’t attack them. Anymore.
So all is kinda right with the world, all of the sudden!
However…
I’m still sort of bracing myself for Christmas. I get the distinct impression the kittens are gonna LOVE that Christmas tree…
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Okay!
So today is my day off. The only one I have this week. So I’m doing laundry right now. I’m gonna do yoga later. Study some Protestant Reformation (almost done with the course). Probably study French, too.
And then also TRY to figure out what I want to work on, writing-wise, until it’s time to get back to work with Sandra.
I really want to get started on that memoir about my various father figures and life in the 1970s. But every time I look over my notes for that, the despair of that era of my life hits me head-on like a Mack truck…
Still, there was so much that happened to me back then that led to some really beautiful things in my life later on, so I don’t want the memoir to be just filled with despair.
I want it to be some sort of creative nonfiction. But I haven’t found my “way in” to it yet. But we shall see.
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Well, since the folks on Instagram aren’t giving me much to work with today, here are these again from the desktop stash!!
Keith at the Isle of White in 1969
Nick Cave somewhere at some point!
And 12 years ago today, we lost this guy! RIP, Lou Reed. Thanks for everything,
And here’s this again… from 1984, “Lou”.
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And now I will get the day-off underway around here!!
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!!
Driving home from town music yesterday!!
“Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!” from the FANTASTIC album of the same name by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, 2008. Enjoy, gang!!
dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!! DIG YOURSELF, LAZARUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!!!! (dig yourself back in that hole) Larry made his nest up in the autumn branches built from nothing but high hopes & thin air he collected up some BABY-BLASTED mothers they took their chances & for a while lived quite happily up there he came from NEW YORK CITY, but he couldn’t take the pace (thought it was like DOGGY-DOG-WORLD) then he went to SAN FRANCISCO (spent a year in outer space) w/ a sweet little san franciscan girl I can hear my mother wailing & a whole lot of scraping of chairs!!!!!!!! I don’t know what it is but there is definitely something going on upstairs dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!! DIG YOURSELF, LAZARUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!!!! (dig yourself back in that hole) I!!!! WANT!!!!! Y/!!!!!!!! TO!!!!!!!! DIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah, NEW YORK CITY, he had to get out of there & san francisco, well, I don’t know & then to LA, where he spent about a day he thought even the pale sky-stars were smart enough to keep well away from LA!!!!!! meanwhile Larry made up names for the ladies, like MISS BOO!!!! & MISS QUICK!!!!!!! he stockpiled weapons & took pot shots at the air he feasted on their lovely bodies like a lunatic wrapped himself up in their soft yellow hair I can hear chants & incantations & some guy is mentioning me in his prayers!!!!! I don’t know what it is but there is definitely something going on upstairs dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!! DIG YOURSELF, LAZARUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!!!! (dig yourself back in that hole) I!!!! WANT!!!!! Y/!!!!!!!! TO!!!!!!!! DIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well NEW YORK CITY, man SAN FRANCISCO, LA (I don’t know) Larry grew increasingly neurotic & obscene!!!!!!!! HE NEVER ASKED TO BE RAISED UP FROM THE TOMB!!! no one ever actually asked him to forsake his DREAMS!!! anyway, to cut a long story short fame finally found him mirrors became his torturers cameras snapped him at every chance the women all went back to their homes & their husbands (secret smiles in the corners of their mouths) he ended up like so many of them do back on the streets of NEW YORK CITY!!!!!!!!! (crowd) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! in a soup queue/ a dope fiend/ (a slave) then prison/ then the madhouse/ then the grave O POOR LARRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but what do we really know of the dead & who actually cares?????????!!!!! I don’t know what it is but there is definitely something going on upstairs dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!! DIG YOURSELF, LAZARUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dig yourself, LAZARUS!!!!!!!! (dig yourself back in that hole) I!!!! WANT!!!!! Y/!!!!!!!! TO!!!!!!!! DIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so tired today, gang, it’s just crazy. I have no idea why because I slept okay and things, in general, in my life are going pretty good.
I only have one shift today, with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. And he is getting adjusted to the repairman being there now so that’s good. And I’ll get home reasonably early today and then I can just relax.
But tomorrow morning at 9AM, I have an electrician coming to check out the light at the top of the stairs, because it’s suddenly not working. So I may not have time to post here tomorrow before my shift. We shall see!
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I have not posted about this next topic because I really didn’t know what to make of it, and everything is basically optics or a psyop these days, so I tend to leave everything alone.
However, yesterday evening, this was in Charlie Ward’s newsletter, so it sort of made me wonder what really had happened the other day. I re-post it here, but I have no comment really. I’m just going to go ahead and keep praying:
“Thank you all for the love, kindness, and prayers you have sent. Charlie is currently in hospital in the UK, being looked after with the utmost care. Your messages have lifted his spirits more than you can imagine. He is deeply grateful for every bit of support and is holding onto the love you’ve shown him during this time.
He is staying strong, staying positive and looking forward to being back with you all very soon. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers this means the world to him. 🙏”
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Okay.
On the topic of book publishing — I cannot stress enough how much the industry has changed since my first book deals, back in the 90s, when the erotica market (in print) was at its peak. (eBooks didn’t exist yet.)
But here’s a short summary of how much it has changed: publishers won’t publish erotica now because bookstores won’t stock it anymore and so distributors won’t carry it. So writers have to self-publish, except that now most online distributors won’t even carry most erotic titles (in print or in eBooks). So generating PR for self-published erotica is extremely difficult, since there are next to no outlets left for promoting it.
And each year, the market basically just gets worse and worse and is disappearing. I know that it is all somehow connected to trying to dismantle the sex-trafficking business, and especially the sex-trafficking of children.
I’m used to it now and I know that when/if I self-publish a new erotic title, it’s just going to sit there and if you don’t read my blog or follow me on Instagram, you’ll never know I have a new book out.
Yesterday, though, I was reading over an email from the digital publishing partner of Smashwords, just to get an update with the non-erotica eBook publishing world (I don’t publish with Smashwords anymore, but they still carry 4 of my old erotic titles). And I have now come to the conclusion that publishing , in general, regardless of the topic, just really kind of sucks. Unless you write romance or horror.
If you check this link, it will show you a LONG list of content (about 80 items) that they probably won’t publish for you, primarily because their marketing partners will not distribute it.
This is what they said about erotica, though — although I use LULU now for all my self-publishing. (I’ve been using them, in addition to having used Smashwords and Kindle, for 20 years.)
“We accept many types of erotic content, but we require erotic content be properly self-classified using our Erotica Certification System (ECS). Most of our vendors prohibit some forms of erotica. Any attempt to mislead us about the nature of your content could lead to your account being closed. We do not accept content with pornographic images or content that glorifies taboo subjects such as sexual exploitation of children or rape.”
I just found the whole thing depressing. Not so much the erotica market because that’s been dead now for a while, but for instance, if you wrote a cookbook on Mediterranean recipes, this particular digital publisher will not publish it for you, since their distribution partners deem that a “saturated” market.
So much for the glory days of “self-publishing” now, too.
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Here’s this!
Some photos I liked of Bill Wyman from Instagram yesterday. It was his 89th birthday!
Bill by Gered Mankowitz
Gered Mankowitz and Bill at a recent retrospective of Gered’s photos in London.
A photo that Bill took of Keith
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And here’s this:
A great photo of Lou and Sylvia, taken by Allen Tannenbaum in NYC in 1979:
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And!!
James Tabor is getting ready to launch another great online lecture series with Myth Vision, this one about Christianity Before Paul!! (Another favorite topic of mine, so I can’t wait.)
The lectures will cover:
Christianity Before Paul
1. Streams of Emerging Christianity; Jewish-Christian, Pauline, Gnostics, Orthodox
2. In the Beginning: None Greater than John
3. Embedded Sources: Synoptics and Q
4. Recovering a Lost Non-Pauline Gospel
5. James the Just, Successor of Jesus
6. Reconstructed 1 Peter and the Apocalypse
7 The Didache
8. Hebrew Matthew
9. The Nazarenes, Ebionites, and Pseudo-Clementines
10. Afterlifes of Jewish Christianity
Bonus: The Archaeology of “Jewish Christianity”
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And I think that’s it for right now. I gotta try to get my energy going here because I have to leave soon for my shift. Gonna get another cup o’ joe and see if that helps…
Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Okay, let’s do this again, since I always find myself singing it the minute my eyes open on Saturday morning and my heart melts from all the memories I have of days when everyone I knew was still alive…
Pretty soon here, I’m heading out to my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house.
Even though I didn’t have a shift with him yesterday, his private nurse, the repairman, and the family in Florida, texted me a couple of times, saying that my client had once again chased off the repairman yesterday morning. But that the repairman came back after the private nurse got there and he was able to finally start getting some work done on the outside of the house.
Then, late yesterday afternoon, while I was with another client, the repairman texted me to say he would be back at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house this morning –ONE HOUR BEFORE I get there….
Hmmmm….. what planet are these people on? They all know my client has almost no short term memory left. That he’s very hostile to having repairs done on the house. That the only way it will work is to have a caregiver or nurse there with him when the repairman arrives. And yet they’re going back today, an hour before I get there?
I just gave up, you know? I was dumbfounded. The family monitors all the texting, so I just texted back “okay.”
And today, I don’t give a fuck. I’m taking my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man out for sashimi and sake (and fortune cookies!!) and everyone can just deal with whatever happens before I get there.
Sashimi and sake day!!
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And speaking of my favorite clients…
My shift went so much better than expected yesterday. (See yesterday’s post.) My sweet, wonderful client had reasonably good cognitive awareness. She even said she was hungry and asked for something to eat. (This is huge for her!)
Here is a really sweet thing, though. My client has no memory of who I am. She doesn’t remember my name, she only knows that she’s seen me before.
When her daughter came downstairs during my shift to see how things were going, the client told her daughter that I was a classmate of hers from Ohio State, and that we had both gotten our Masters Degrees in English together and that we’d taken all the same classes.
I just thought that was so sweet! That her mind is telling her I’m an old friend from a time in her life that was really important to her. Wow.
She ended up going to sleep really early and the daughter sent me home — with pay — two hours early. So it was still daylight when I drove back home. A nice day all the way around.
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Here’s this!
From Variety:
Johnny Depp to Star in ‘Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol’ at Paramount Pictures, Ti West to Direct
I can’t go into the details about this on the blog, but I did get some wonderful news from the Trustee of my dad’s estate yesterday. So that feels fantastic.
And other than that, I have a few days ahead of me that should be kinda easy, all things considered. No early morning shifts, no driving home after dark. And then I have Monday off.
Sandra’s performance in the theater festival at The CENTER in NYC is this Sunday, so after that, her schedule totally frees up — which, of course, means that my schedule is likely to suddenly get crazy busy. We shall see!! It wouldn’t be the holiday season if I wasn’t too busy to think straight, though, right??
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And here’s this beautiful short about forgiveness (27 seconds):
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And from Ross K. Nichols — this is from last year, but it’s really good.
“…exploring the fascinating details of the biblical flood narratives as presented in two sources: the Priestly (P) and Yahwist (J) accounts. We’ll look at the nuanced differences in these texts—like the number of animals and the duration of the flood—that give insight into the ancient storytelling tradition….”
The Two Flood Stories of Genesis ( 56 mins):
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And I’m thinking that might be it for now.
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!
Such a gorgeous song. From a gorgeous album!!
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “People Ain’t No Good,” (1997) from the album, The Boatman’s Call. Enjoy, gang!
“People Ain’t No Good”
People just ain’t no good I think that’s well understood You can see it everywhere you look People just ain’t no good
We were married under cherry trees Under blossom we made our vows All the blossoms come sailing down Through the streets and through the playgrounds
The sun would stream on the sheets Awoken by the morning bird We’d buy the Sunday newspapers And never read a single word
People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good
Seasons came, seasons went The winter stripped the blossoms bare A different tree now lines the streets Shaking its fists in the air
The winter slammed us like a fist The windows rattling in the gales To which she drew the curtains Made out of her wedding veils
People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good
To our love send a dozen white lilies To our love send a coffin of wood To our love let all the pink-eyed pigeons coo That people they just ain’t no good
To our love send back all the letters To our love a valentine of blood To our love let all the jilted lovers cry That people they just ain’t no good
It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad They can comfort you, some even try They nurse you when you’re ill of health They bury you when you go and die
It ain’t that in their hearts they’re bad They’d stick by you if they could But that’s just bullshit People just ain’t no good
People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good People they ain’t no good
Well, yesterday’s shift with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was an ordeal from start to finish. (If you missed yesterday’s post, it is here.)
I was expecting the repairman to be there by the time I arrived, but he was not.
And when I went inside the house, my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was already awake. Dressed and everything. AND very upset. And long story short — he had chased the repairman away. He had completely forgotten that the repairman was coming: “Why didn’t anyone tell me he was coming??” But he was cognizant enough to know that his family was behind sending the repairman , so he spent the rest of the day saying various versions of “can’t they wait till I’m dead? I’ll be dead in 2 minutes!” and “let them do all these repairs after I’m dead! What’s they’re hurry?? I’ll be dead in 2 minutes!!”
And then he said a whole lot of other really not nice things about his family. Over and over and over and over. He was essentially traumatized. So I was up to my eyeballs in it from the moment I got there.
And then, after I’d only been there about 20 minutes, lo & behold my supervisor arrived. She usually stops in every other month to collect my daily paperwork from the shifts, so it wasn’t a bad surprise or anything, but I wasn’t expecting her. I met her out on the back porch to forewarn her about what my client was dealing with, etc., and we discussed that for a minute and then she said (!!)–
SHE: “Well, I’m actually here today to give you these.”
At that point, I finally became cognizant of the fact that she had a huge bouquet of flowers in her arms.
SHE (continued): “You’ve been chosen Caregiver of the Month!”
I was astounded, gang! I honestly never thought I would be selected for anything like that, since I think of myself as a caregiver who’s always calling, texting, and asking everyone to please cut back on my hours!
Wow. Honestly, I was just thrilled. And they also gave me a really beautiful card–
CARD: “Not everyone can do what you do but anyone can see that what you do makes a wonderful difference. Congrats, Marilyn. We’re blessed to have you on our team. Thank you from all of us!”
Talk about extremes, though, right? I really was just thrilled by this — and those FLOWERS!! And meanwhile, I had my traumatized client to try to sooth, and his family from Florida, and the private nurse, texting me endlessly all day.
But, really. Wow. My whole heart was just smiling.
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On a similar theme —
This evening, I have another shift with that wonderful woman who lives in the enormous, love-filled, split-level house in the hills behind the Bryn Du Mansion — the house wherein you need a map to find the bathroom .
The last time I saw her, I discovered that she had taken a really bad turn in her cognitive abilities. And I was updated yesterday by my supervisor, that the client has gotten worse and that hospice has been called in.
So this is very heartbreaking. Now we are all basically waiting for her to die. She is such a sweet woman, gang. And before her illness, she had been a college English professor. Her bookshelves are lined with the same novels that I remember reading back when I lived in NYC. Intellectual stuff — mostly European, from the 20th Century and earlier — not popular mass market paperbacks.
Anyway. I then found out that at least for the month of November, they have made me a regular caregiver for her — on Saturday nights. So I will still have my 2 days off each week, and Thanksgiving off, too, but I’ll be working double-shifts on Saturdays as we just sort of wait for this lovely lady to die.
Ouch. That hurts the heart so much, right? Whenever I help her into bed at night, at the end of my shift, she really gently says: “What is your name again?”
“Marilyn.”
“Marilyn, thank you so much for taking care of me.”
I’m really going to miss her. So I want to make every moment with her last as long as it can.
And I look at my flowers now, gang, and my heart still manages to smile.
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Okay!
Here’s this!
Keith wearing a hat at some point:
And the Stones in 1968!
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And today is the anniversary of 2 really sad things — the death of my beautiful cat, Bunny, back in 2016. And the death of my best friend in the world, Paul Martin, back in 1999.
Here’s a painting of Bunny that Valerie in Brooklyn made for me when Bunny was still very much alive:
And here’s Paul, sometime in the late 1980s, when he was visiting for Thanksgiving, when I was living on E.12th Street in the East Village (NYC):
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And the big news!!
“LIVE GOD” new live album by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have a LIVE album coming out on December 5th!!
“…a stunning testament to The Wild God Tour, which wowed audiences across the UK, Europe and North America in 2024 and ‘25, and which travels to Australia and New Zealand in 2026….
… The expansive tracklist includes performances of the entirety of the acclaimed 2024 studio album Wild God, as well as mind-blowing versions of catalogue favourites, such as ‘From Her To Eternity’, ‘Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry’ and ‘Into My Arms’.
I think this is the photo they’re talking about. Warren Ellis posted it to his Instagram page yesterday:
I think this video is the song that is the first single from the album:
The video was made while on tour in Columbus — OOPS! Of course, I meant PARIS! So easy to confuse the two cities…
And in other Nick Cave news–
He sent out a new Red Hand File this morning, wherein he addresses some questions asked by a fan, but he also goes on to give the fan advice about addictions. Nick says, in part:
“…You may tell yourself that you are managing your life – your job, your relationship, your children’s well-being – but if you are, as you say, addicted to ice, then the wheels have already come off. I say this with all the love and respect in the world, as someone who was hooked on heroin and amphetamines for twenty years – addict to addict – you need to stop fucking around and get clean.…”
What he had to say in full about addiction and getting clean was really good. You can read it HERE.
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And now, I have a few hours before I have to leave for my shift with that lovely lady who is slowly leaving us.
I have all my monthly bills to pay here, then I think I might take a walk. Think about life versus the absence thereof.
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this.
The first time I went out to Nevada to meet my birth father, I had brought along a cassette of Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks.
The album came out in 1975, and oddly enough, the first time I heard it was in the mental hospital (in summer 1975). One of the other patients had just gotten it as a gift, and we were all listening to it together on the record player in the Music Therapy building.
All of us were teenagers, and we were all really liking the album a lot. But suddenly the music therapist came sweeping in and abruptly shut off the record player. She said, “I’m sorry but I just can’t stand this! It’s not music!!”
Eventually, owning my own copy of this album and playing it whenever I wanted to was a type of freedom for me.
I’m not sure why I brought that specific cassette along with me when I went to meet my birth dad (in 1988). However.
My dad lived in a double-wide trailer in the desert, not too far from Reno. One morning, I was in the kitchen, washing the breakfast dishes and listening to the cassette on his tape player.
And then my father came in from outside and said, “Wow, what is that? I love it!” Worth waiting for — that moment in time.
The song that was playing at that moment was “Shelter from the Storm.”
So, you know, hanging in there and pursuing dreams has always been a really great thing for me. Regardless of how things go or end up.
So I leave you with this.
“Shelter from the Storm”, 1975. Bob Dylan, Blood on the Tracks. Enjoy, gang.
"Shelter From the Storm"
'Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm And if I pass this way again, you can rest assured I'll always do my best for her, on that I give my word In a world of steel-eyed death, and men who are fighting to be warm Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Not a word was spoke between us, there was little risk involved Everything up to that point had been left unresolved Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail Poisoned in the bushes an' blown out on the trail Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Now there's a wall between us, somethin' there's been lost I took too much for granted, I got my signals crossed Just to think that it all began on an uneventful morn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Well, the deputy walks on hard nails and the preacher rides a mount But nothing really matters much, it's doom alone that counts And the one-eyed undertaker, he blows a futile horn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove And old men with broken teeth stranded without love Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose I offered up my innocence I got repaid with scorn Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm Well, I'm livin' in a foreign country but I'm bound to cross the line Beauty walks a razor's edge, someday I'll make it mine If I could only turn back the clock to when God and her were born Come in, she said I'll give ya shelter from the storm
I’m heading out here soon to go see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. But one of his sons-in-law in Florida texted me last night to alert me that a handyman will be in & around my client’s house today, making some repairs.
Which means I can’t take my client out for Japanese food today. Plus, I’ll have to make a dedicated effort to keep him distracted all day. He doesn’t like repairs done to his house, because he thinks his family is hinting at him to “die, already” so that they can sell his property and make a fortune…
I don’t 100% disagree with him, gang, but I can’t really tell him that. You know, so. Hopefully, I can find some old photos that will send his mind off to a happier time & place!! If I can get his mind back to those days when he lived in Tokyo or Hong Kong — or NYC, where he was born in 1930 — he gets into a really wonderful frame of mind, so we shall see!!
Us, later, I hope!
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Ross K.. Nichols sent this out to his Patreon group this morning:
“First time in Jerusalem: Assyrian inscription from the First Temple period discovered!
Exciting archaeological breakthrough in Jerusalem! For the first time ever, a 2,700-year-old Assyrian inscription from the First Temple period (8th-7th centuries BCE) has been unearthed near the Western Wall in the Davidson Archaeological Park. This tiny pottery shard, inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform, serves as direct evidence of official correspondence between the mighty Assyrian Empire and the Kingdom of Judah—possibly related to taxes or obligations during the reigns of kings like Hezekiah or Manasseh….” [full article from Israeli newspaper is here]
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Well, yesterday was an okay day, although I still have not made up my mind about which half-finished book project I want to tackle next.
I read over a few of them yesterday afternoon and felt sort of overwhelmed by each of them. I felt like the writing was really good, really tight, and I wasn’t sure if my brain was up to just diving in and trying to pick up where I left off. So that sort of made me just close down everything.
I’m guessing that the moment I finally decide which project I want to focus on, is when Sandra will call and say, “Do you have a minute?” Which generally means that the rest of the year will be booked solid for me.
Anyway! We shall see!
But I did take a really nice walk yesterday. Also got some reading done — which is so COOL now with these new glasses, gang!!
And I even sat in the family room for awhile and watched part of my favorite Halloween movie of all time!!
Yes! From 1944, “Arsenic and Old Lace,” starring Cary Grant, Peter Lorre, Raymond Massey, Priscilla Lane and a few other famous folks from the old days.
What a fun movie, gang!
I didn’t watch the whole movie yet (I should say “re-watch” because I’ve seen the movie about a hundred times) because I have now discovered that when I’m sitting on the couch, trying to watch a movie in the family room, the cats find this really delightful and want to walk all over me. (I usually watch TV in the kitchen, while sitting at the kitchen table and eating dinner….)
Anyway. They were making it a little complicated so I finally gave up and decided to try again another day.
I had actually been looking for my copy of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” and found “Arsenic & Old Lace” instead. But I also want to find that Charlie Brown movie and watch it, too, before the month is over. I love that movie, too!
The 2-minute intro:
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Other than that, not much is going on. My “retirement” check arrived during the night, which means it’s time to pay bills and watch the check disappear until next month!! Yay.
But, I try not to think about it and just keep moving forward, gang.
Over 50 years ago, this very building used to be a 24-hour grocery store not far from our house, and it had a little diner in it (those windows to the left were in the diner):
Aside from babysitting for about 5 years, that was my first real job — when I was 16. I worked in that diner. I washed dishes, waited tables, and ran the cash register (the old-fashioned kind, where you actually had to do math — and do it correctly or customers would yell at you like you’d done it on purpose and make you want to cry!!). (God, I hated that job!) (Yes! I eventually walked out, in the middle of a shift!)
Anyway. My first real job. Who knew that, 49 years from back then, I would still NOT be retired!!! ACK!
And speaking of not being retired– I guess I better scoot!
Have a 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!
Just a random song that was a huge hit during my first real job!
Barry Manilow, “Looks Like We Made It.” Wow, what a long time ago, gang. Well, enjoy. See ya.
So. Another rainy day in the Hinterlands, but it is BEAUTIFUL in its own right! I just love fall, gang. And October is my favorite month of the year.
And there’s something about rain on autumn leaves that I just love — as long as its not accompanied by high winds…
Yesterday, however, was just plain weird.
The drive to the mall/movie theater was unbelievably gorgeous — as I posted about from the movie theater yesterday. And I am so glad I took that drive. That backroad literally starts right around the corner from my house. And for 7 and a 1/2 years of living here, I never once took that road anywhere.
When I take my walks in the village, I go part way down that road, but I always stop at the VFW hall and then turn and come back into the village. But, wow, gang. It was like driving inside a painting from the early 1900s or something. Especially since it was fall and it was such a glorious day yesterday.
Sort of like this, but REAL
And it is nice to know that I am only 12 miles from an actual shopping mall. Although it was weird being in an actual functioning mall again — one that isn’t dimly lit and mostly out-of-business (like the one that’s 30 miles from here, where the AMC movie theaters are). Totally like being in yesteryear. It brought back so many memories of shopping in malls. And shopping in stores, in general. Stores that aren’t grocery stores or the Rural King.
I can’t imagine really needing to go back to the mall, but one thing I think I will NEVER do AGAIN is go to a fucking movie theater!!
Wow, what an awful experience it has become. (BTW — 2 other people eventually came in to see the movie.)
They showed a full half-hour of coming attractions for films I believe I would rather be bludgeoned to death than have to ever be forced to see in what remains of my life.
It was so hard to block out these coming attractions, gang. After the first one, which was allegedly for a dark comedy, but which was so twisted and gruesome and horrific and sick — I took my phone out of my purse and tried to block out all the rest by scrolling through Instagram. But one after another after another were coming attractions for really violent, horrific films. And these are all coming after Halloween. So these movies are considered just pure “entertainment.”
And the movie screens now are so huge that it is overwhelming. In a really bad way. You can’t really block it out. Sort of like being in “A Clockwork Orange”.
“A Clockwork Orange” — a film that traumatized me when I was 15 years old.
And when the movie I had gone there to see finally started — I waited for another half an hour for it to get funny or even charming. The storyline was so depressing. You know, is this what life is like for most people, so they find it funny? Yikes.
And I finally left.
I decided I would rather wait for it to stream somewhere on the Internet and watch it on a screen that isn’t quite so overwhelming, while waiting for it to be funny and charming.
It affected how I felt about the drive back home, but I tried really hard to block out the whole experience of the movie theater and just appreciate the stuff that God made and forget about the stuff that men and women are making these days in Hollywood and calling “entertainment.”
So, I still felt the trip was worth it to finally have a reason to see that gorgeous scenery on the backroads right around the corner from my house…
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And then the handyman went to the wrong client’s house to allegedly install my new Venetian blind yesterday. And after waiting for him to show up here in my actual house for half an hour, we decided to reschedule and so he is coming this evening, instead. (I guess this is a pitfall of texting rather than speaking on the phone. He thought he was texting a different client.) Anyway. We shall see!!
BUT–
All was not lost, because Valerie from Brooklyn was alone up at her house in Haverstraw (a lovely town along the Hudson River in Rockland County, NY)–
Haverstraw, NY
So we chatted on the phone for almost 2 hours last night! Yay!
An interesting thing about Haverstraw…
Valerie and her family lived in the Bronx when she and her brother were born. And eventually, because of that “white flight” thing in the late 60s – early 70s, her family moved to Haverstraw and bought a house. Which is now her 2nd home because everyone else in her family has passed away.
But another Irish-Catholic family from the Bronx, also doing that white- flight thing and moving from the Bronx to Haverstraw, was Jim Carroll’s family! Yes. The Carrolls lived next door to Valerie’s family.
And, yes, that Jim Carroll. The NYC poet who was one of my all-time heroes. But he and his brother were considerably older than Valerie and her brother, so they didn’t really know each other very well. But still. Wow, right??
Jim Carroll 1949-2009
When Valerie and I first met, I was already a Jim Carroll-worshipper and in conversation one day, she said:
SHE: “Oh yeah, I know him.”
ME: “Oh, you mean you’ve read The Basketball Diaries?”
SHE: “Well, no. I grew up next door to him.”
ME (totally stunned): “You WHAT??!!“
Jim is actually buried in Haverstraw now, in St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery, where Val’s family is also buried:
And, yes, if you’re keeping count — this is the very same Val in Brooklyn who once worked for a couple months, doing specialty painting in Keith Richards’ house (from where she brought me home a strand of Keith’s hair!!), when Keith and Patti and their 2 little girls moved to Connecticut! (Said “little girls” are now fully grown and both of them are moms now.)
And NO! Just because Valerie personally knew two of my ALL-TIME heroes — that’s not why she is my very best friend…
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But here’s this!
Keith and Mick, 1969 (?), in LA– photo by Terry O’Neill. I think this is from when they were there recording Let It Bleed. But I’m not positive.
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And here’s all this!
Two from James Tabor — in support of his new book, The Lost Mary:
How, When, and Why was Jesus’ Mother Mary “Lost”? (45 mins):
Assembling the Missing Puzzle Pieces on Jesus’ Mother Mary (29 mins):
And from Ross K. Nichols–
The END of the Second Temple (1 hr):
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And here’s the official trailer of a new series I’m watching on Netflix: “Pray Speak What Has Happened”. (Japanese, again. I seem to really like Japanese TV.)
“Set in a small theater in Shibuya in 1984, this coming-of-age ensemble drama portrays the dreams, frustrations, and romances of young people chasing their place in the world!”
Pray Speak What Has Happened 【Fuji TV Official】(1 minute):
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And here’s this.
From Instagram yesterday. Someone posted it for Tom Petty’s 75th Birthday–
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And now the sun is out! The rain is over! And I have the DAY OFF!!
I’m gonna go out and take a walk and think about which half-finished book project I want to tackle next.
Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Driving-music from yesterday.
Celebrating a lovely drive, and Tom Petty’s heavenly birthday.
This song was the original demo for one of my favorite Tom Petty songs. He recorded it in his home studio with Stevie Nicks, who had just stopped over after he had just written it. It totally rocks!
“The Apartment Song” (Demo, 1984) from the posthumous American Treasure, 2018. Enjoy, gang.
I don’t have a whole lot to post about today, but mostly I wanted to remind you that I won’t be posting at all tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the dreaded Tuesday. The Terrifying Ten-hour-shift Tuesday!!
Anyway. This will probably be a brief post today. Because it’s a big day!
Yes, I’ll soon be heading out for my big adventure– backroads I’ve never driven on! A mall I’ve never been to! It’s a sunny day!! And I’m going to an actual MOVIE and I’ll be seeing THIS:
The other day, when the furnace guy was here and I was dusting all sorts of things I hadn’t dusted in a long time because now I have these new glasses and I can actually SEE again–
Anyway, I was dusting off a rack of videos — old movies I loved so much when I first saw them that I didn’t have the heart to throw out the videos, even though you can now stream all these movies online — to me, it’s just not the same. (And I always have a working VCR in the house, too). (I haven’t completely mastered the fine art of living in the past, but I’m getting really close…)
Well, there are several Keanu movies in that rack. Movies I loved and have seen many times, but which I no longer remember even the plots to at all! But it was startling to look at the video boxes and see the dates on them, you know? 1980s, early 90s. WTF??
It is so hard for me to grasp that Keanu is 60 years old now. However, I am still really glad that I’m going to see this new film of his in the theater. I almost never get to an actual movie theater anymore. And for most of my life, I lived within walking distance to at least one movie theater, if not several.
(And I also come from a movie theater family — my grandpa ran the local movie house in Mayfield Heights, in Cleveland. And then he built a drive-in movie theater in Alliance, Ohio, that my dad inherited and we went there a lot during the summers when I was a little girl.)
Mayfield Cinema, Cleveland, 1930s
The Park Auto Drive-in when it first opened, in Alliance, OH, 1950s.
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Okay!
Today is sort of a bittersweet day since it would have been Tom Petty’s 75th birthday. Frankly, I cannot imagine Tom Petty being 75 so maybe it’s a good thing that he died a couple weeks before his 67th birthday… he can stay frozen in time now.
I mean, I know it’s not a good thing for his family and friends that he died, but I’m just speaking in terms of the mythology of it all.
And, you know, I almost never post photos of famous people’s kids or grandkids (Keith being a glaring exception, of course), but the other day, on Instagram, I saw a current photo of Tom Petty’s granddaughter, Everly. I think she was maybe 3 years old when he died (?), so now she’s maybe 10 or 11 but, WOW, is she pretty!! And I know that somewhere, he is loving the heck out of her and watching her grow up!! That made my whole spirit smile.
Okay. Here’s a selection of Tom Petty photos from over the years, the last one being taken just a few days before he died.
One of my all-time favorites. Photo by Allan Tannenbaum, taken in a hotel in NYC.
Tom at home, getting ready for his final gig later that night. Sept. 27, 2017
Um….. Excuse me!!!! Hold the phone!! Stop the presses!! WOW!!!!
I just got a text from the Agency that my Terrifying Ten-hour-Shift for Tomorrow is CANCELLED!!!!!
Yippee ki yi yay, gang!!
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Okay, if you love animals and want to help the Goats of Anarchy, a private animal rescue farm in New Jersey, please visit their website!
They are desperately seeking one-time or recurring donations:
“…For a variety of reasons, this year has been in the top two of our most challenging years in the history of GOA. I have watched as our safety net has dwindled, and I am nervous about the future of GOA if things don’t get better. Don’t worry, I promise I will never give up. I’ve lost sleep, lost hair, and lost many hours worrying about our future, but I know our supporters are with us and together we can get through these challenging times…..”
Visit their website, or DONATE here. They rescue goats, primarily, but also rescue other abandoned or abused animals in need.
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I suppose I better scoot, gang. I need to finish up the laundry and head out for my big adventure!
And then, around 6PM, the local handyman is coming back over to install a new Venetian blind in my downstairs bathroom — the old one was completely chewed up, compliments of the CATS!!
Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!
It looks like I will probably be posting tomorrow now, too.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!
According to his wife, Dana, this was the final of his own songs that Tom listened to on the day he died. His hip had been completely fractured that day and he was bedridden. So Dana and Tom were hanging out, listening to his old music.
Tom wrote this song for a girl back in Florida, that he’d had a huge crush on when he was 14. (Dana said that Tom was trying to find that girl on Facebook that day he died.)
“The Best of Everything,” 1985, from the album Southern Accents. Enjoy, gang.
“The Best Of Everything”
She probably works in a restaurant That’s what her mama did But I don’t know if she ever really could’ve put up with it Or maybe she sings in a nightclub ‘Cause sometimes she used to sing But I don’t know if it ever amounted to anything So listen honey
Wherever you are tonight I wish you the best of everything, in the world And honey I hope you found Whatever you were looking for
Yeah and it’s over before you know it It all goes by so fast And the bad nights take forever And the good nights don’t ever seem to last And man, we never had the real thing But sometimes we used to kiss Back then we didn’t understand What we were caught up in So listen honey
Wherever you are tonight I wish you the best of everything, in the world And honey I hope you found Whatever you were looking for, yeah baby Wherever you are tonight I wish you the best of everything, in the world And honey I hope you found Whatever you were looking for
Marilyn's Room 