Tag Archives: rock

Maybe A Quiet One Today?

October 30, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Well, yesterday was not exactly what I was expecting.

First off — after going through the entire Spring and Summer around here without ANY cats — indoors or outside — getting fleas…

Yesterday, it became apparent that, on the final days of October, for chrissakes — all the INDOOR cats had become infested.

So … $200 later.

But I caught it in time. It hadn’t taken over the house, or anything. But I did have to drop everything and drive an hour to town and back, and visit 3 different stores to get enough flea meds for all the cats. Since it’s the end of flea season, the stores weren’t exactly stocked anymore. But I eventually found what I needed and now it is done.

Too bad a house full of rescued cats isn’t actually like this…

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Before that, though —

I did make some good progress on the flash fiction piece for the Bill Burroughs anthology. And I at least have an idea of how it will end. Still don’t know how the story will get to the ending but I have about 450 words left to achieve it.

But I was happily working away on it, when suddenly–

I got a text from the investigative journalist again — more questions regarding the photographer RC Horsch, a colleague of mine from over 25 years ago that I had ceased all communications with back in 2001 because I found him very disturbing.

(I noticed that RC Horsch’s Wikipedia page has been very recently updated: “…an American erotic photographer, pornographic filmmaker, convicted criminal and suspected serial killer….”)

Anyway. The journalist asked me if I would be willing to be interviewed on camera. Back in September, I had only agreed to be interviewed through texting, although I agreed that he could use my name.

Well, Part 1 of his investigation is on YouTube now, so I stopped what I was doing and watched it (29 minutes). I felt that, while it is disturbing, obviously, it was not distastefully presented or sensationalized.

So I agreed to do the interview on camera for Part 2. It will happen Sunday afternoon.

Here is Part 1 if you want to watch it. It does not show anything explicit or gorey.

The Fall of the House of Horsch Film | RC Horsch & His Son The Early Years (29 mins):

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I was quietly relieved, though, to find that I was no longer feeling that horrible paranoia that I’d been feeling toward the end of the summer. I was able to handle watching the video just fine.

My life, overall, has definitely moved into a more emotionally secure place — mostly because I’m back in the world among people and working. Not just living alone in my head.

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Okay!

Yesterday, Brown Hound Press posted a new short story– very well written, in my opinion.

“Sound Privacy” by Nicholas Bacci Siegel

You can read it HERE, free.

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Oh, and my best friend Valerie in Brooklyn never did call yesterday…

So yesterday was just nothing like what I was expecting.

And since I was sort of “occupied” all day and into the evening, I don’t have hardly any “here’s this’s'”.

But here’s this–

I don’t really know the details, but Warren Ellis posted this from Oslo this morning:

And it was posted along with this song — Johnny Thunders, “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory” (1978):

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And here’s this!!

The B52s got their star unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday!!

From Fred Schneider:

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And from Facebook!!

And speaking of Nick Cave–

He sent out a new Red Hand File about 3 seconds ago…

A reader wrote in and asked Nick how he had spent his time off from the Red Hand Files. And Nick revealed, in part:

“…I spent the time happily sculpting, firing, and glazing – no distractions, no internet, no phones, no music, no podcasts. Just clay. I fashioned little worlds by hand, devilish things, swept along on that preternatural current where form waits to be found. I felt the world’s anxieties drain away – how quickly they retreated – until I came upon something essential, the spirit freed from the dross, the imagination stripped clean to something pure and wide, and lovely….”

This is a sample from his brand new ceramics collection — the second in his series about The Devil — The Devil in the Afterlife:

THE DEVIL IN HELL (FOR THE FIRST TIME) from *THE DEVIL IN THE AFTERLIFE* by NICK CAVE, 2026

You can read the new Red Hand File in full, HERE.

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And that is it for now.

I gotta get ready to head to work.

Enjoy your Friday-before-Halloween (if you celebrate it), wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

From my drive to and from town yesterday for the cats’ flea meds…

I played this on repeat, loud. And thought a good deal about RC Horsch, and my early career and where it’s led me, and I let the song transport me away from all of it for awhile.

Barry Manilow, “I Write the Songs”. 1975. Enjoy, gang.

Much better this morning, thank you!

October 24, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

For some reason, I slept really great last night, gang, and woke at 5:15AM, absolutely not tired at all!! (See yesterday’s post, wherein I woke up unbelievably tired.)

Anyway. Yay!!

So here’s hoping I will FINALLY get that Foreword written for the M. Christian tribute anthology so that I can finally turn the manuscript in to the publisher.

(It’s actually not overdue. At all. It isn’t due for another week. But I just want it completed and turned in. I need to feel that feeling that it is done. It’s been an emotionally rocky journey for me — editing that anthology.)

But I intend to have at least the first draft of the Foreword done by this afternoon. Then tomorrow, I can do a final draft if needed, then one last edit on the whole manuscript. And then this will be me, sometime tomorrow!!

Me! Sometime tomorrow!! In case you couldn’t read what I just said…

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Okay!!

Guess what fucking day it is, gang??

That’s fucking CORRECT!!

Legendary Rolling Stones’ (former) bass player, Bill Wyman, turns 90 today!!

Happy 90th birthday, Bill Wyman!!

And here’s this! From his album, Drive My Car, 2024 — the song, “Drive My Car”!! I love this song and have played it absolutely countless times over the past couple years while driving my own car!! (And going, well, extremely fast…)

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And it is also THIS today–

Happy Heavenly Birthday, Rowland S. Howard. Born on this day in Melbourne, Australia, in 1959. He would have been 67 today.

And let’s listen to this fantastic song, for the 7 trillionth time!! Written by Rowland S. Howard when he was a wee bonny teenaged lad in Melbourne!! One of my very favorite songs. “Shivers.” Here’s Nick Cave, Rowland, & the Boys Next Door. 1979.

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My dear and long-time friend in NYC, writer/poet Iris N. Schwartz has a new book of flash fiction out from Poets Wear Prada Press!!

“Here are thirteen stories, often simultaneously painfully poignant and devilishly humorous, whether grounded in the familiar, or dreamlike and other-worldly, that tell of the human condition, our all-too-frequent bouts of loneliness and dislocation, and our attempts at survival and resilience… Taking up where she left off with Shame, Iris has lined up her third installment of mostly flash and micro fiction treats, sweet-and-sour morsels, for us to read and re-read, and relish.”

Buy it HERE on Amazon!! ($12.00)

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And here’s this — only because I’d never seen this photo before and thought it was beautiful!

Lou Reed!!

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Okay!

Here’s the info if you want to watch the livestream of the B-52s getting their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!!

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I loved this photo!

From Phyllis Stein!

Iggy and David Johansen , NYC, in 2004!! Photo by the legendary photographer Bob Gruen who also just celebrated a birthday!!

(And as an aside, I also got to meet Bob Gruen once, in NYC. I was coming out of a music conference with my dear friend, the late great music executive, Holly Lane, who was good friends with Bob Gruen. What a thrill to meet him! He was so nice.)

FYI , in case you didn’t know — “…By the mid 1970s, Bob Gruen was already regarded as one of the foremost photographers in music working with major artists such as John Lennon, Tina Turner, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, and Kiss. He also covered emerging new wave and punk rock bands, including the New York Dolls, the Clash, Sex Pistols, Ramones, and Blondie….”

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Okay!!

Speaking of legendary rock music photographers!!

I loved this!! From photographer Allen Tannenbaum‘s Instagram page (soho blues). A look behind the scenes, as it were, of one of my all-time favorite photos of Tom Petty!!

And here is my above-mentioned favorite photo of Tom, by Allen (1977), after Tom’s cigarette was so kindly lit!!

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And this is also from Allen Tannenbaum’s page. And it sent a real chill through me when I saw it, gang.

He took this photo of John & Yoko, just a couple of weeks before John was murdered (on Dec. 8, 1980).

I remember this photo really well. But, yesterday, when I saw the date this photo was taken on — Nov. 21, 1980 — I realized that I had only lived in NYC for 6 days by then. It had felt like a fucking eternity. NYC was just so much endless culture shock for me back then. And then to have my hero murdered only a few weeks after moving there…

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Okay!

Big news!!!

Warren Ellis finally has his outfit all sorted out for the upcoming Dirty Three European Tour, as well as his solo performance at that Armani museum place-thingie in Milan on Monday!! (You can find tickets to the Dirty Three shows HERE, but a lot of the shows are nearly sold out, so you have to hurry.)

Personally, I think it’s wise to go with the jacket and the hat because it’s almost, like, winter, right? And it can sometimes be really fucking COLD in Europe in fucking winter… And they say that all your body heat escapes through the top of your head…

And here’s this while we’re at it!! Dirty Three’s, “Indian Love Song”, from 1995!! That song that you can basically sing while sitting around a camp fire and strumming your ~~violin~~ guitar! (10 mins):

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And from Facebook!!

Legends!!!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds!!

Also legends!!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds!!

And legends-in-the-making!!!

Nick Cave & the Boys Next Door!! 1978!!

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And speaking of Nick Cave–

He sent out a really wonderful Red Hand File yesterday, about his experiences with (and without) Transcendental Meditation. He says, in part:

“…the effect was evident almost instantly. Within a couple of attempts, much of my general pissed-offness, low-level depression, waves of dread, and run-of-the-mill rage at the world, retreated. I felt more alive, more creative, and way happier. So for the next seven or eight years I practised TM, happily meditating twice a day….”

You can read it in full HERE.

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI AND BROTHER LEO MEDITATING BY EL GRECO, 1600 – 1614

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And that is it for this happy Saturday in the Hinterlands.

The laundry is almost done. The sun is shining! The autumn leaves look positively splendid outside all my many windows! And the many, many cats are all taking splendid NAPS!!

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Here’s hoping that the next time you hear from me, I can tell you that the Foreword for the M. Christian tribute anthology is completed!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

To continue with a theme here this morning…

From my breakfast-listening music today!!

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

One of my absolute favorite Nick Cave songs!

“Brompton Oratory” from the incredible album The Boatman’s Call. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, 1997. Enjoy, gang.

“Brompton Oratory”

Up those stone steps I climb
Hail this joyful day’s return
Into its great shadowed vault I go
Hail the Pentecostal morn

The reading is from Luke 24
Where Christ returns to his loved ones
I look at the stone apostles
Think that it’s alright for some

And I wish that I was made of stone
So that I would not have to see
A beauty impossible to define
A beauty impossible to believe

A beauty impossible to endure
The blood imparted in little sips
The smell of you still on my hands
As I bring the cup up to my lips

No God up in the sky
No devil beneath the sea
Could do the job that you did
Of bringing me to my knees

Outside I sit on the stone steps
With nothing much to do
Forlorn and exhausted, baby
By the absence of you

c -1997 Nick Cave

Still dark out there!

October 21, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

It’s at that point now where it is really feeling like fall.

It’s stays dark out in the mornings until 7:30 AM, and by 7:30 PM, I’m lighting the little tea candles in my room and watching TV (or listening to music) by candlelight.

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year, gang — followed extremely closely by Christmas!!

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Okay– the sun is coming up now and it is such a gorgeous morning out there!! Something about autumn leaves against a clear blue sky just makes my heart soar, gang.

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All righty.

Today marks 57 years since Jack Kerouac’s passing. RIP, Jack.

And on a related note — I am currently reading 3 books now. I recently added this one to the stack next to my bed and I am really loving it:

The Beat Hotel: Ginsberg, Burroughs and Corso in Paris, 1957-1963 by Barry Miles (2001)

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This was from yesterday.

Adria’s heavenly birthday post for her dad, Tom Petty:

And here’s this, while we’re at it! “You and I Will Meet Again” by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1991.

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I want to thank Martha for the kind review on Amazon for A Man in her Arms & Other Stories.

If you guys downloaded it last week — when you have a chance to read it, please review it if possible! It helps those algorithms. Thank you!!

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Here’s some great news!!

The B-52s have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!!

From Fred Schneider yesterday–

And here’s this, while we’re at it!! “Love Shack,” by the B-52s, 1989!!

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From Phyllis Stein!

Iggy & the Stooges at Max’s in NYC, 1973!! (Photo by Danny Fields)

And on the subject of Danny Fields, the photographer (above) — I actually met him once, he was good friends with one of my girlfriends, a playwright.

He and I were riding around the East Village one afternoon, in the back of a rented limousine. We were talking about my songwriting career. I was frustrated because everyone was telling me to move to Nashville — that my songs were too Country for NYC. But I just didn’t want to go to Nashville. I loved NYC… Anyway. He was very nice.

And on another related note — I eventually got a song publishing deal in Nashville. But I got it through my uncle, who was a popular Country singer back then and he was very well-connected in Nashville.

He basically got me the deal –I still have the actual contract– but nothing ever happened with it. I was that determined to never go to Nashville…

Me, in my room back then, never going to Nashville!!

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Here’s Rowland S. Howard not smoking in Cologne in 1992!!

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And from Facebook!

Nick Cave, smoking but, IMHO, not laughing… ?? (Such a great photo.)

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Okay, that is it for today.

Well, darn it — now there’s a heavy fog all over the village.

That’s one thing about living in a valley in the foothills: “Sometimes there’s fog, so quickly!!” (To sort of paraphrase Tennessee Williams and “A Streetcar Named Desire”…)

Anyway.

Hopefully it will lift as quickly as it came, and I won’t have to drive to town in the fog. We shall soon see.

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

In honor of Jack Kerouac’s passing… His legendary TV appearance on the Steve Allen Show.

Kerouac – (1959) Steve Allen show (5 mins):

What a great morning!

September 14, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

I’m trying to make the absolute best of it because not only is the weather perfect — and the rest of the week, we’re supposed to have a lot of rain.

But also, tomorrow morning is when I’m supposed to report for Jury Duty again. I will find out later tonight if I do indeed have to show up, so we’ll see.

But regardless of tomorrow, I am trying to just have a really nice morning here.

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Before I forget!!

Facebook is just so strange.

Yesterday, I got another really cool “friend request” from someone I’ve only known for 54 years!!

She was, basically, my best friend all through Jr. High, high school, and most of adulthood… It’s only been a few years since I last heard from her. But we’re supposed to catch up in the phone sometime today!!

We met in the 7th grade, in September of 1972.

Yes!! There is someone still alive on Earth who knew me when I looked like this and wore plaid palazzo pants to school!!

When she and I were teenagers, we had mostly the same tastes in music, movies, literature, theater. We were both really smart and we laughed so hard about so much insane stuff.

I don’t know, but if you’re familiar with the playwright Eugène Ionesco, and his Theatre of the Absurd plays, our lives were kind of like that. 24/7.

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Okay!

Let’s go straight to the “here’s this’s” today!

Apparently, I need to get back to Shanghai by Sunday! (Which is also the start of Yom Kippur, so that’s dicey, right there!)

But I’ve already bought all 150 of the available tickets, so it only seems polite that I make the effort to show up…

Johnny Depp will be appearing at the Modern Art Museum Shanghai, in connection with his exhibit there, “Figures of the Fringe”!

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And here are a couple of great photos of Richard Hell!

Again, from the fantastic Phyllis Stein!!

Here, Richard Hell is seen with the “tiny Richard Hell head” that was really popular back then!

And here he’s seen at CBGBs in 1978 with Elvis Costello, who was also really popular back then!!

And I can’t help it, gang — we gotta hear this one, one more time!! Elvis Costello, 1977, “Mystery Dance”!!

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And here’s this!

Warren Ellis and one of his dogs appear to be very excited by Sundays!!

And taking a cue from Warren’s t-shirt, how about this? An AI version of the other Elvis singing Kris Kristofferson’s song, “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” the way Waylon Jennings sang it… (that’s right, but it’s actually pretty good…)

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And here’s that other thing that Facebook is good for!!!

Old photos of Nick Cave!!

I don’t know if I posted this one here before, but I love this!

And here’s Nick Cave, either taking off his coat, or pretending to wear handcuffs — or perhaps both! A long time ago! In color!

And this wasn’t on Facebook, but here it is anyway!

Nick Cave on TV in NYC, in 1990!

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And here’s this — from my own life!

This movie came out in 1968, when I was 8, and my mom and I went to see it together in Cleveland and I just loved it.

Throughout my whole life, really, I wanted to have a huge family. I really did. I used to think about it all the time. (And by the time I was in my early teens, when things in my home life were getting really bad, I had a huge imaginary family in my head that I would retreat to all the time.)

In fact, the hardest part about leaving Wayne, in 2003, was knowing that I would never have even one child, let alone the 14 or so that I wanted…. I was 43 when I left Wayne and I was already in early menopause. Wayne had finally decided that he didn’t want to have kids. So that whole dream was all over.

Anyway.

I am currently re-watching “Yours, Mine, & Ours” on TUBI. From 1968. A glorious family with 18 wonderful children —

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And that’s it for today.

I will let you know early tomorrow morning if I have to report for Jury Duty again or not.

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

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

This was sort of magical, gang.

I’m still reading the Conversations with Tom Petty book (2006) at night.

And last night, Tom was telling the part where he was going through his divorce, and to pick up his spirits, Rick Rubin had Tom (and the other Heartbreakers) come onboard the Johnny Cash albums Rick was producing at the time, on his American Recordings label.

Tom had such an incredible time doing that — it was very detailed in the book. He loved Johnny Cash.

I knew I had all of those Johnny Cash American Recordings on my phone, but I wasn’t sure which ones I still had on actual CDs. So I got out of bed, went downstairs in the dark, went to one of the many CD racks I have and turned on the light — and the very first CD I saw was Johnny Cash’s American III: Solitary Man–– with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers!! (And others.)

It really felt like magic, gang. I still had it!

I hurried back up to bed, popped the CD in the retro boombox next to my bed, turned out the light and just listened. And, wow, was it good!!

And, oddly enough, it’s the CD that has Johnny Cash’s cover of Nick Cave’s classic, “The Mercy Seat”!

So, let’s listen! From 2000, Johnny Cash’s version of “The Mercy Seat.” So different from Nick’s version, but still so good. Okay. Enjoy, gang.

Quite a mixed bag today, people

September 3, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

Wow.

Well, as usually happens when I miss a day of posting to the blog, I have a lot of stuff to post today.

It is mostly good stuff, gang, but I want to start off with something that is really disturbing to me today, personally.

Some stranger contacted me on Facebook yesterday and asked :

No, this was not me — I did not write it. I believe it is AI-generated.

First of all, I would never have called R. C. Hörsch merely “dysfunctional.”

We were colleagues — even friendly colleagues, I socialized with him when he would come to NYC in the late 1990s . He was a well known Erotic/Fetish photographer, and Maxim Jakubowski and I included Ray’s work in our internationally bestselling book, The Mammoth Book of Erotic Photography (UK, US, 2001).

I was no longer associating with Ray by the time the book came out in 2001, because he’d gotten fucking scary and was fucking nuts. I didn’t want to be anywhere near him anymore. (At different times, he had basically kidnapped, restrained in his home, sexually abused and photographed 2 young women I knew back then — over 25 years ago.)

So, no. Not only did I never write a review of Ray’s work, I wouldn’t have used the word “dysfunctional.” Plus, the photographs of his that we had published were nothing at all like what is described above, so apparently, his work got very extreme.

And now I am seriously disturbed to find out that, even while he’s been dead for over a year, the home he shared with his adult son in Pennsylvania is now linked to the deaths of 4 missing women — 2 of the women were allegedly killed on camera — the films found in the house. (Article is behind a paywall, but it is from only 6 days ago.)

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Okay.

Let’s move on.

On Tuesday, THIS wonderful thing happened to THIS wonderful human being!

The last surviving Bee Gee, Barry Gibb, turned 80! Happy belated birthday, Barry Gibb!!!

And here’s this! My absolute favorite Bee Gees song from back when I was 12!! “Run To Me”, 1972:

And yesterday, September 2nd, Keith wished Billy Preston a happy heavenly birthday!!

And Keith chose THIS beautiful song for Billy, from Exile on Main St, “Shine A Light” (1972):

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And here’s some hopeful news!

Remember I told you about how that beautiful convent here, Children of Mary, the one hidden away in the hills, was shut down recently by the Vatican?

Clergy in the Catholic Church are kind of outraged. Raymond Arroyo is looking into it.

Traditional Nuns SHUT DOWN After 24 Years — What Happened? | Prayerful Posse Clips (7 mins):

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Short story submissions to Brown Hound Press in Kentucky are now officially OPEN until September 30th!

“The time has come. We are officially open to submissions during the month of September!

“Quick reminder: Stories should be about 1,000-3,000 words. Mystery, Literary, Southern Gothic, Dark Humor. No AI allowed. Full details on our website. We pay our writers, and we respond to every submission within two weeks.

Brown Hound Press Season Two will premiere on September 17th with our season opener.”

SUBMIT STORY HERE

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Okay.

Speaking of Kentucky!!

Here’s this!

From Phyllis Stein!

Native Kentuckian, Richard Hell, in a bathtub in NYC in 1977! (Photo by Kate Simon)

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And here’s some wonderful news!

The late John Lennon has become a grandfather!! (And Yoko has become a grandma at age 93!!)

Sean Ono Lennon and his girlfriend had a baby boy, Aurelius Lennon, yesterday!

From Uncle Julian Lennon’s Instagram page yesterday morning

Let’s take a moment to listen to this masterpiece! John Lennon’s song for 5-year-old Sean, recorded shortly before John was murdered. “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)”, 1980:

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Here’s this!!

Incredibly tiny shoes!!

Warren Ellis, allegedly gardening??

And Warren’s tribute to bandmate Conway Savage, who passed away on September 2nd, 2018:

And a great photo of Warren and George Vjestica, taken by Colin Greenwood, when the Bad Seeds played Munich recently!

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Oh! Check this out!!

Another great one from Phyllis Stein!!

A postcard that Bob Dylan mailed to his girlfriend, Suze, from Italy, back in 1963!!!

And another other great one from Phyllis Stein!!

A couple of New York Dolls in Los Angeles in 1973!! (Photo by Bob Gruen)

And another other other great one from Phyllis Stein!!

Here’s William Burroughs and Joe Strummer in Bill’s famous bunker!

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And here’s one that’s NOT from Phyllis Stein… (wtf? how’d that happen?)

Joe Strummer and Ranking Roger!

And here’s this!! The Clash’s awesome remix of “Rock the Casbah” ft. Ranking Roger!! 1982!

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And a lovely shot of Blixa Bargeld!! Don’t know where, when, or by whom!! But it’s in black & white, and he’s not smoking!! (Those are 2 things I do know…)

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And let’s just quickly revisit this!!

Still in black & white, but here Blixa IS smoking!! While the other Bad Seeds abstain…

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Okay!

So, I did do all my many errands in town yesterday, and also had a great time having a late breakfast with one of my girlfriends! Yay!

And the book signing event (for my upcoming novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder) will be sometime in October, at Holland’s Book Nook, inside the Historic Arcade in Newark, OH. There will be a total of 3 writers at the signing.

It will look just like this — except that the writer in the photo won’t be there!!

And in case you’re curious….yes, I have finally begun writing my memoir about life in the 1970s, Joy: The Shortest Season.

(And here’s a disturbing thing I discovered — from Fall 1971, until Fall 1980, I moved SIXTEEN times!!!! Jesus fucking Christ. From the time I was 11, until I was 20…)

That sort of explains a lot right there, doesn’t it, gang??

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All righty! That’s it for now!!

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

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

Even though Tom Petty had recently died by the time I moved here in March 2018, I took this old song of his to heart and I played it all the time back then, and it kind of saved me.

I had been planning to move back to NYC, but on the advice of Gus Van Sant, Sr., who I worked for at the time, I bought a house in the middle of nowhere, instead — in the middle of the foothills of southeast Appalachia, to be exact. And it finally felt like home…

“Wildflowers”, by Tom Petty. 1994. Enjoy, gang.

“Wildflowers”

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
Sail away, kill off the hours
You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, find you a lover
Go away somewhere all bright and new
I have seen no other
Who compares with you

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong in a boat out at sea
You belong with your love on your arm
You belong somewhere you feel free

Run away, go find a lover
Run away, let your heart be your guide
You deserve the deepest of cover
You belong in that home by and by

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me
Far away from your trouble and worry
You belong somewhere you feel free
You belong somewhere you feel free

c – 1994 Tom Petty

Let’s Get This Monday Started!

August 24, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Before I forget, the GoFundMe drive for guitarist Richard Lloyd met it’s goal yesterday!! And now they have increased it to an additional amount.

If you can donate any amount, here is the link! (They have currently raised $47,792!)

From bassist Sean Seymour:

“Richard is currently unable to tour. For a working musician, that’s devastating—not only because performing is what he loves, but because touring is his primary source of income. Richard and his wife, Sheila, are now facing serious financial pressure. Sheila is Richard’s full-time caregiver and is unable to work because Richard needs constant support. …Richard is being overwhelmed by crushing medical expenses and the ongoing costs of simply getting through each month while he is unable to work….”

Please donate if you can!

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Well, yesterday was sort of interesting, gang.

I got a lot done — laundry, a little vacuuming, took a magical walk! Did yoga, washed my hair. Got a lot of editing done of the local writer’s new book. AND–

I listened to that live Zoom meeting I was so excited about — with Ross K. Nichols and James Tabor, discussing important Bible translations.

And after one hour of listening, just as they were getting ready to reveal the best English translation of the Bible out there right now–

YES!!

Sandra called.

How does she always manage to DO that??!! I’d been waiting on her call for 3 weeks… (she was taking a break after having had a really busy summer).

Obviously, I wanted to take her call, but the timing was just too funny.

Anyway. We had a GREAT chat!! And as soon as I can give you additional details about the upcoming Staged Reading of our play “The Guide to Being Fabulous”, I will post it here.

Meanwhile, just know that I am really, really happy with the developments , gang.

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Don’t forget, the Kindle edition of my novel, The Guitar Hero Goes Home, is on sale this week for 99 cents in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon!

This is the link!!

And if you do buy it and you do read it and you do like it, please leave a review! Thanks, gang. (Suitable for mature readers, not erotica.)

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Rolling Stone guitarist Ronnie Wood’s FEARLESS tour is underway, and the set list lithograph of his London show from the other night, is now available!

You can purchase it HERE!

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Meanwhile…

On a sort of related note — here’s another Rolling Stone — someone I really miss. Gone 5 years today:

Life-long drummer for the Rolling Stones

Should we do it again, gang?? Why not! Best rock & roll drummer, ever.

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And here’s Mick, Keith, and BB King backstage in 1969!!

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And here are some photos from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ show in Munich last night!

Here’s the set list — posted by Bad Seed Carly Paradis! (The encore sort of looks as long as the entire show…)

And here’s George Vjestica!

And here’s George and Nick Cave!

And here’s Nick Cave! (Although I’m not 100% positive this is Munich…)

And here’s Warren Ellis!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds play Bonn, Germany, tomorrow (8/25) and then the final show of the tour is on Friday in Paris! Buy tickets here!

(And yes, gang, on Wednesday, August 26th, the kids here in Muskingum County head back to school! Can you believe the summer is over???)

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This morning, Nick Cave sent out another Red Hand File that was sort of heartbreaking. He was replying to a devastated young woman whose husband is in the hospital, dying from cancer. At the end of his letter, Nick says, in part:

“…[you are] a woman of courage measuring her love against the vastness of its tragedy. I wish I had words to comfort you. Perhaps there are no words, except to say that all of us who read your letter can feel the love you have for your husband, and for a while we sit with you, in recognition and love.”

You can read his reply in full HERE.

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Okay.

Before I get down to the editing work today, I need to head back to town for more groceries. (Not sure how this is possible, because it feels like I was just there doing that!)

But it is another gorgeous morning so it will be a really lovely drive.

I hope you have a magnificent Monday, wherever you are in the world, gang!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

Apparently, it is cued up to be first on my playlist for my drive to town!!

The Monkees!! “The Kind of Girl I Could Love”!! 1967, from their album, More of the Monkees. I’m thinking I’ll be playing it really loud. Okay. Enjoy, gang!!

Don’t let this idyllic scene fool you!!

July 29, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

While it is indeed another LOVELY day here in the Hinterlands.

And while I do intend to do things like take yet another soul-enhancing walk, do yoga, chat with Valerie in Brooklyn, and go bowling with the cats…

I have a To Do list that now has 6 items on it, but each of those items will take a TON of time.

But you know what? I don’t mind at all!! Because now I literally have all the time in the world.

Oh, and guess what?

When I went to town yesterday, I stopped in at my favorite health & wellness store–

And while I was chatting there with my friend Debbie, we decided to meet up at the Historic Arcade tomorrow and go listen to the live acoustic music at the Archive Bottle Shop & Lounge!! Yay!!

I had such a nice time there last Thursday, but it’ll be so much nicer to have someone to go with!!

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Before I forget–

If you were among the many who were reading the Blue Moon edition of my 1999 book Neptune & Surf over at the Internet Archive and found it suddenly gone…

I’m not sure what happened there, but, wow, that specific edition is GONE from all over the Internet.

Overnight.

It could be that Hachette UK had it removed. However, they only own the digital rights to that edition. But anyway. You can either go to the Open Library — they still have it listed HERE.

Or you can read the Masquerade edition instead. It’s officially out of print and still available everywhere — including available to read for free at the Internet Archive.

Or, you know, you can BUY the eBook from Hachette UK and then I would ostensibly get royalties…

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Okay, here’s this!

From Dwight Yoakam! The next shows are —

Buy tickets HERE!!

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I loved this!

Not just the photo itself, but it also kind of supports what I said a while back, about how the “renovations” to my old tenement on E.12th Street actually ruined the fucking apartment….

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Apparently it was Alexandra Richards’ birthday yesterday!!

From Keith!

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And from Warren Ellis yesterday!! He’s holding out for a hero, for some reason!!

And speaking of seeing you Friday in Brighton….

Well, gone are the Woodstock days, for sure, gang (wherein everything imaginable happened and you were completely on your own) —

Here, instead, is the multi-page website that gives you all the info about the upcoming festivities at the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ sold out homecoming in Brighton, but also all the things you can and cannot do or bring or have while you’re there!! And what you should expect to WEAR (weather-wise)!!

And, also, here’s this!

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And here’s this!!

It says it’s from July 18th, but not sure! Nick Cave!! Held aloft!!

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And I guess that is it.

I need to get that lovely walk happening, and then settle down and make a serious dent in that To Do list!! Oh, and this is what I’m currently watching on Britbox in the evenings: “Death Valley”. It’s a Welsh police procedural from 2025, and it is SO fun!!

Okay!

I hope you have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world, gang.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!

From the driving-to-town playlist yesterday!!

It popped up as one of my “most listened to songs of 2025”??!! (I’m never gonna let go of my wee bonny girlhood in Cleveland, am I, gang?)

Paul Wilbur. “Hinei Ma Tov (Behold How Good)”. Enjoy, gang.

Are we tired of cake yet?? No way!!!!

July 22, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 6 Comments

Okay, so far, I am having, like, the most perfect birthday.

The weather today could not be prettier. Right now, it’s only 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The AC is off! The sun is shining. The skies are blue. It’s only supposed to go up to 72 degrees today.

And btw, the cats are loving having all these windows open again. And according to the weather app on my phone, the windows might stay open for a couple of days!

And speaking of cats and my birthday–

This came special delivery from Valerie in Brooklyn yesterday afternoon — it’s about 2 inches tall and it’s adorable. Now all I have to do is keep the cats from discovering it and totally destroying it:

And this came from the Cainer Horoscope website (more cats!):

And I thought this was really interesting because I had never heard about this before (and I love eagles):

Oh, and I can’t forget to add this– I share my birthday with my beloved Cleveland, and it is 230 years old today!!

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Well, wow, gang. Yesterday was wonderful.

I spent about an hour on that phone call yesterday morning and I think it’s okay to post here that I’ve been invited to contribute a proposal to speak at a writer’s conference in Pennsylvania this coming Spring.

I will keep you posted with details. But I had been concerned that I didn’t have anything to speak about that would be of interest to today’s writers, you know? (Even though I’ve been a professional writer for over 40 years, the peak of my career was already a few years ago.)

But it became clear, from the conversation, that I actually do have things I can speak about that would be of interest to writers in all stages of their careers. So I’m going to put together a proposal and submit it. And I will let you know if it gets accepted!

So this means a trip to Charlotte, NC in late September. A trip to NY in (I think) November, and maybe a trip to Eastern Pennsylvania in March!

And my new novel coming out in September. Another new book (the M. Christian anthology) already in the works. And the Staged Reading of our play probably in November. And getting down to work on my memoir of the 1970s…

My mind feels just so different from how it felt even just last week. I am so glad I retired. Every shred of all that depression is simply gone.

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Okay!

Here’s this! (Speaking of depression being gone!)

Keith in shades — with curious onlookers!! — apparently imbibing in Jack Daniels at a bar but he does not seem to be smoking! (Although ashtray IS present!!)

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And this was last night! An explosive Iggy meltdown!!

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And this was posted to YouTube a few hours ago. (And the Hollywood Vampires go on tour in UK/Europe beginning August 12th. You can also buy tickets through this same YouTube Page.)

Hollywood Vampires: “Ace of Spades”. Live at Montreux Jazz Festival:

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And George Vjestica is living La Dolce Vita until the SOLD OUT Brighton homecoming bash gets underway on Friday July 31st!!

And this melted my heart yesterday!!

And while we’re at it — here’s this!! From the day after my birthday, 6 years ago… “Sad Waters” by Nick Cave alone at Alexandra Palace:

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Oh, btw– this was extremely interesting. You might want to check it out.

Charlie Reports From Dubai: Was the Airport Really Attacked? | Daily News 22nd July 2026 (8 minutes):

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And I guess that is it for now, gang.

I’m not going to do too much work at my desk today. I’m planning to head to town early. I need to renew my driver’s license today. And I want to stop in at the bookshop over in Granville and see if the owner is in today.

I’m not planning to stop in at that bookstore in the Historic Arcade until next week, but if I have time, maybe I’ll drive over there today, too. We’ll see.

Then it will be OUT TO DINNER with Kara!! Yay! (We’re having pizza at my favorite pizza place!!)

And meanwhile have a wonder-filled Wednesday, gang, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this!!

No explanations needed… Enjoy, gang.

Horrible heatwave gone for now!

July 5, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

The high heat broke last evening, finally.

Starting this evening, we’ll have rain for the rest of the week, but right at this very moment— it is a really nice morning here.

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In case you missed it (or didn’t feel like watching massive fireworks on your tiny phone because you no longer have regular TV):

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It turns out that yesterday we also celebrated this!!

And while we’re at it! (And, yes, this song eerily captures my whole fucking life. I had no clue it was going to do that, though, 50 years ago…):

“American Girl”

Well, she was an American girl
Raised on promises
She couldn’t help thinkin’ that there
Was a little more to life somewhere else
After all, it was a great big world
With lots of places to run to
And if she had to die tryin’
She had one little promise she was gonna keep

Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy, baby
Make it last all night (Make it last all night)
She was an American girl

Well, it was kind of cold that night
She stood alone on her balcony (Ooh)
Yeah, she could hear the cars roll by
Out on 441 like waves crashin’ on the beach
And for one desperate moment there
He crept back in her memory
God, it’s so painful when something that is so close
Is still so far out of reach

Oh yeah, all right
Take it easy, baby
Make it last all night (Make it last all night)
She was an American girl (Ooh)

c – 1976 Tom Petty

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Before we travel to Poland for those Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds photos I didn’t have yesterday–

I hit this weird “Keith Richards paydirt” on Instagram this morning. I stumbled upon a site that has been inactive for 6 years. And they had GREAT photos of Keith!! (Meaning, I had never seen any of the photos before.) Yay!!

Keith draining the Kahlúa?! (Not smoking.)

Keith and Mick, pool, LA, guitar, reading, not smoking:

Keith, Bill, Brian, boarding a TWA or de-boarding, not sure, but not smoking!

Keith looking weirdly clean-cut but SMOIKING!! (Also called “smoking”):

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And I think that these are all from Poland. And I also think it rained during the show (?).

It was one of those shows where there were tons of videos, and then most of the photos that people posted were really small. But here we go!!

Of course, I loved this!

Nick Cave looking really tiny next to a huge window, while reading and drinking something (and not smoking):

Then later… (or maybe on a whole different day, I actually have no idea):

And then also this (much, much larger than the window now):

And this happened:

I love this tie!!

And that’s it for Poland!!

Tonight the Bad Seeds play Montreux. Followed by another show back in Germany tomorrow, but that one is sold out. You can still buy tickets here for Montreux , though!

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I think I forgot to post this the other day.

It’s an edited version of one of our recent zoom calls for Tabor Research Group.

John the Baptist and Jesus: Separating History from Myth (1 hr 18 mins):

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And I just wanted to mention how happy I am that these 2 novels that I recently re-published as Kindle eBooks continue to be my most popular titles now. This makes me so happy, gang. Thank you so much!!

Twilight of the Immortal (my novel about gays, lesbians and bisexuals in Hollywood during the Silent Film Era, told against the backdrop of the short life of the legendary movie star, Rudolph Valentino):

The Guitar Hero Goes Home (“Experimental adult literary fiction. An American rock & roll legend, in the final year of his life, finally comes clean about sex, drugs, and rock & roll.”):

Thank you so, so much, gang!!

And over at the Internet Archive, where you can read a large selection of my out-of-print books for free:

Lust: Bisexual Erotica

And the Blue Moon edition of Neptune & Surf are my top out-of-print titles being checked out for free!!

So, thank you for all that, gang!

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Tomorrow is my day off and I will be getting back to work on the call for submissions for the M. Christian tribute anthology.

So far, it has been great hearing from people I haven’t worked with in years, and getting such a positive response about it. I will keep everyone updated later in the week, in the event you want to contribute something, too.

Meanwhile, that’s it for now.

Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting!

I love you guys. See ya!

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Let’s close with this.

My first encounter with this song was reading the lyrics to it, which were printed on the back of the album I had just bought (The First Born is Dead) while on the subway in NYC, and I could not wait to get home and play that record!! Enjoy, gang.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – “Train Long Suffering”, live at Metronome Prague, June 20th, 2026:

Holiday Weekend Sort of Begins!

July 2, 2026 marilyn jaye lewis 2 Comments

But obviously not for me, since I will be working the ENTIRE weekend!! Yay!!

(And I just this moment received a text from the Agency: “If you have ANY availability left this weekend, please let us know!!”)

Jeepers.

Anyway.

Yes, today is my only day off heading into the holiday. I had an exhausting week so far, and most of the exhaustion came from the added high heat and humidity everywhere I went.

But I made myself promise today that I won’t do ANY housecleaning. I won’t run ANY errands. I won’t do ANY stressing about anything. I will be getting my notes together for the M. Christian tribute anthology, and then I’ll do some more reading, (oh, and study French!!), but that’s it. I’m just gonna try to get my energy back before everybody needs me again.

And thank you, once again, God, for this amazing Air Conditioning!!

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Okay!

This is what I’m watching right now on Metrograph and I absolutely LOVE IT!!

From writer/director Gregg Araki, the first in his Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, “Totally F**ked Up”, from 1993:

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And in addition to the TON of reading James Tabor gave us for what he jokingly calls “summer school” — a bunch of essays and articles connected to the primary book we are also reading right now, which is very interesting:

— in addition to all that, I am also reading a really sweet children’s novel, Palace Beautiful.

“Three girls discover a hidden journal in their attic detailing a girl’s life during the 1918 flu epidemic, leading them to investigate her mysterious fate.”

That new client I have on Friday mornings, gave me a copy of the book.

She didn’t say, “Oh, look at this book, it was really sweet.”

She literally handed it to me and said, ‘Here, take this home and read it. It’s really good.”

We were in the spare bedroom where she has a huge collection of children’s books for her grandchildren.

None of my clients has ever done that — handed me a children’s book and told me to take it home and read it — so I did! And, honestly, it is very well written and a refreshing break from everything else under the sun that is crammed into my brain these days.

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And this came in from Ronnie Wood yesterday– all his Summer Set lists are on sale!

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And on a sort of similar topic, here’s this!

Keith smoking!! Up close!!

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And another great one from Phyllis Stein– Richard Hell! In NYC in 1977!

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And Joe Satriani had an art exhibit in DC ! (And he also gave away some guitars!!)

And he had this song accompanying his post. I listened to a mere few seconds of it and, wow, did it bring back memories!! I played this song a lot while I lived on E. 12th Street! “Always With Me, Always With You”, 1987:

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I thought these were very interesting.

My great-great-grandmother was a full-blooded Black Foot Indian from Montana. These are current photos from the Black Foot Reservation. “It’s all about Jesus”…and pizza:

And here’s an idea of what it looked like when my great-great-grandmother lived there:

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And, as expected, the Bad Seeds show in Berlin looked astounding.

First, the size of the audience was jaw-dropping:

Berlin, in no particular order:

From George Vjestica, photo by Colin Greenwood:

These next 2 photos were so strange!!

And Nick Cave Official just announced that right after the upcoming Brighton show, there will also be a film festival, with films curated by Nick Cave. (I would STRONGLY suggest that if you’ve never seen “Irreversible” — Jesus, don’t go see it on a first date!!) (Probably wouldn’t see any of these on a first date, except maybe “Pinocchio”…) Anyway!