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.
Although I no longer own a backpack
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!!
The Archive at the Historic Arcade
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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…
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.
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!!)
Harvest Pizzeria in Granville!
And meanwhile have a wonder-filled Wednesday, gang, wherever you are in the world!!
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.
Morning after the big 4th!
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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.”):
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:
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.
And another great one from Phyllis Stein– Richard Hell! In NYC in 1977!
Photo by Roberta Bayley
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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!
And tonight the Bad Seeds play Poland!! I guess if you hurry, you can still BUY TICKETS HERE!
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And that is it.
I am going to get this day-off underway. I seriously HOPE it involves relaxing. We shall soon see!
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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And more breakfast-listening music from the “Rockin’ Down the Block” CD collection (1987)!
The Contours, “Do You Love Me”, 1962. Enjoy, gang!!
It’ll be raining all day again today, though, and then here in Ohio, we will be gearing up for our heatwave.
The 4th of July is supposed to be not only rain, but thunderstorms, and for the whole upcoming week, the temperatures will be in the mid-90s Fahrenheit.
Each day now I just feel so blessed to have this Central AC, gang. It’s incredible, to think that This Old House is 125 years old and this is the first time it ever had air conditioning.
And when I think they gave it to me for FREE. Wow.
Okay.
Even though it was raining off & on all evening, we did indeed have our fireworks here last night in Crazeysburg.
They did a beautiful job. Although I didn’t go over to the actual ball park, where they were doing a bunch of festive stuff before the fireworks. I was exhausted from the humidity, and working my shift, doing all the grocery shopping in town, putting everything away when I got home, then making dinner, etc.
And I didn’t want to walk all the way over to the park just to find out it had been postponed because of the rain.
But, anyway. I have a perfectly clear view of the fireworks from my house. Still, it does sort of lose a little something when the fireworks go off before it’s really the 4th of July…
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So, Valerie had great news regarding her hand!
She got the stitches out and the doctor was really happy with her progress. So they’ve scheduled the surgery for her other hand on July 13th. Yay!
So it is almost over, and she will be able to get back to painting and drawing reasonably soon.
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The Rolling Stones released another track from the upcoming album, Foreign Tongues.
I not only like this track a lot, but I like that this is only an audio track. I haven’t been a fan of the Stones’ videos for many years. (Those videos target a much younger audience than me, and I’m guessing it’s working. But I just don’t like watching them.) (I also can’t stand the cover image on the new album. But, you know, they probably figure they won me over 54 years ago, let’s target someone else now.)
Anyway. Here’s “Divine Intervention”:
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So that workshop on Thursday from the Indie Authors Alliance, regarding book promotion for authors —
Wow, was it depressing. Totally stressful. I finally felt some relief when another writer posted in the chat that the workshop was really depressing…
Anyway. It was worth taking it, I learned a lot. But, wow, gang, publishing and everything that went along with it, has changed so drastically since the Internet and self-publishing kind of wiped out the traditional small presses.
In the not-so-long-ago old days, the publisher, even the small presses, did everything for you once the book was ready to come out. They arranged your readings and book signings– they simply told you where to show up and when (even if you had to go out of town, or overseas, for it). They took care of your PR, arranged your interviews — either Internet radio or they’d send you a Q &A to fill out, and then arrange for an interview for you “in print” (online) drawn from the Q & A.
Now, it seems like only the major houses do that stuff. So even if you’re not self-publishing, if you’re with an Indie press, you have to do a ton of stuff on your own just in hopes that your book will even get noticed.
Since my first book came out in 1999, I must have sold, all titles totaled, close to 200,000 print books worldwide — not including eBooks or my self-published books. Which were incredible numbers for a literary erotica writer/editor. But now I am starting back at square one. ( And I tell you, I am so grateful that the publisher I am currently with put together such an outstanding cover. It definitely gets people’s attention.)
But there is SO MUCH online AI scamming that you have to watch out for if you’re releasing a new book. I must delete at least 10 of those fake AI inquiries every single day.
In the event you’re new to the blog– my new novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder, is coming from Parisian Phoenix Publishing in September!! You can pre-order it HERE.
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However!! That said–
On Thursday evening, I also listened to a live talk with Eileen McKusick, sponsored by Simon Parkes’ Connecting Consciousness group.
Wow, that was really interesting and very uplifting. Although it had nothing to do with publishing:
“For 30 years, Eileen has been exploring the human biofield – the electromagnetic field that surrounds and animates the body – and how sound can bring it into harmony. Her work bridges the gap between traditional healing arts and contemporary science, offering a grounded, evidence-informed approach to health and human potential.”
Here’s a sample of one of the many things she does:
Nervous System Reset (7 mins):
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Okay.
Since I didn’t post anything yesterday, here’s this from Friday.
More about Johnny Depp’s new art offering– “3AM BLOOM”
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And the rest of the “here’s this’s” are basically all connected to the Bad Seeds tour.
From George Vjestica, heading to the show in Italy, which was last night, and which appeared to be another one of those off-the-charts shows:
Here’s Warren Ellis. He appears to be at the airport? Leaving Greece (in the heatwave) and heading to Italy? Not sure, really — but he is wearing a Harbor Freight hat!!
And here’s this, too — to underscore how hot it was??
I found this photo on Facebook, but I don’t know which show it actually came from:
And here’s the set list from the show in Italy last night:
Here’s Nick Cave in Italy:
Photo by Guiseppe Craca, Rolling Stone Italia
Here’s a shot from the jumbo screen last night — but a number of people posted videos of this — where a very happy young boy was onstage with Nick:
And here’s this!
The Bad Seeds will be in Belgium tomorrow. You can buy tickets here!
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And that is it for today.
And I still have 3 and 1/2 hours before I have to head to town for my shift! I’ll be with the retired Chaplain, so it should be a very thought-provoking evening. She usually has so many interesting things to talk about, and the time flies.
But I also want to add that yesterday morning, that new client of mine — the one who lives on that beautiful property surrounded by all those incredibly tall trees– wow, did we have a nice time. She has had quite a life. So very different from mine, and yet we have so much in common. (She’s only about 6 years older than me.)
Anyway, okay!
Have a great Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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And since I’m determined to behave as if we’re finally having a wonderful, FUN summer around here–
Here’s this again!!!
Breakfast-listening music!!
From the CD collection, Rockin’ Down the Block (1987) which I always start listening to when it’s summertime —
The Rivingtons, “Papa Oom Mow Mow,” from 1962!! Enjoy, gang.
But one of those days includes lunch with Wendy over in Granville. Yay!! And one of those days is that Hospice training at the Agency. (Good — but I wouldn’t go so far as to say, “yay”.)
The rest of it — mostly new shifts. Wow. And none of them more than a 20-minute drive from here.
And only one of those days is in the morning (a new double on Tuesday).
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around how much everything changed in my life overnight. And I really, really, really needed it to change, gang. My depression was off the charts.
And me and depression — not a good combination. It honestly feels like I woke up this past Tuesday, and God said: “Here, have a new life.”
And part of the changes around here – I’m trying to make myself sleep in until 5 AM. No more of this getting up at 3 o’clock anymore and scrolling around on my phone. And now that I’ll be working some evenings again, I’m making myself stay up later at night again, just generally.
Well, perhaps not THIS late…
Just those 2 simple changes — feeling like I have more time, just for myself — stress level went way down.
Okay!
Yesterday I had a nice phone chat with Wayne, because when the insurance guy came for the bi-annual meeting, the guy felt that I really, really didn’t need the life insurance policy.
Have you ever heard of an insurance guy not wanting to sell you life insurance?!
“What did you just say??”
It was actually for a good reason (I have to say that I really love my insurance guys). He felt that since I was paying only for a cremation, and since I have more than enough in my savings to pay for a cremation out-of-pocket, the money I spend every month on life insurance would be better spent beefing up my Long Term Care options.
Wow. What a great idea. Since I work in the Long Term Care field, I see what people go through first hand, and I would not want to be without Long Term Care options.
Since Wayne is the one who will handle all my end-of-life stuff, I just wanted to make sure he was comfortable with me giving up the life insurance — he was. (And he even said that if for some reason I had no money at all left when I died, he’d just pay for it himself. Wow. So nice.) (I know. You have to sort of wonder why we’ve been divorced now for 19 years…)
Anyway!!
After the cheerful topic of cremations and money, we had a really nice chat!
And since it was my day off — I did yoga. Did some prep cooking for the next few days. Started reading the new book for James Tabor’s Research Group– it is very interesting. It makes a very good case that the Gospel of John is actually a synoptic gospel:
(I’m still reading John Cooper Clarke’s autobiography, I Wanna Be Yours, and still loving it!)
And I also started re-listening to a lecture series I took from The Great Courses about 12 years ago — taught by Bart Ehrman: The Greatest Controversies of Early Christian History.
You can browse through the course here. (It costs $25 and you can listen to it on a phone app.) It is really fascinating. Some of this stuff, I’d actually forgotten. (But all of it was part of why I gave up pursuing my ministry after I graduated from Ohio Christian University, wanting to study the Historical Jesus, instead.)
And then, last night, I started watching a really great movie on Metrograph — part of their Pride Month collection — Keep the Lights On, directed by Ira Sachs, 2012. Wow, is it good.
Great acting. Deep story — whether or not you’re gay, if you’ve ever been in love with an addict, you will relate to the authentic emotions in this film. And of course it takes place in NYC, in 1998-2008, so I related even more. But it is not over the top in any way. Just very well done:
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Okay, while checking in with all my various new and out-of-print books available online, I discovered this today: you can buy a used copy of my short-story collection from 2004, Lust: Bisexual Erotica, for a mere $110.13 plus shipping.
Just follow the above link. I would recommend clicking the icon for “full screen” and also the icon to read it on a single page, rather than a double page, and voila! The book is right there. Free. (Adults only, though, please.)
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Okay.
Some “here’s this’s” for this sunny Friday!
I thought this was so cute!
From Steve Vai yesterday:
And I also had a really cool little private text exchange with Billy Sheehan on Instagram yesterday, too. About Yngwie Malmsteen. But I won’t repost it here.
However, let’s listen to this! I first became aware of both Billy Sheehan (bass) and Steve Vai (guitar), when they began playing with David Lee Roth after he left Van Halen. I saw this particular tour in NYC, at Madison Square Garden. But this is from Detroit — but in the days before cell phones, when you weren’t allowed to bring cameras into the arena!! (Can you imagine???)
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And here’s this. Just because I like the photo. And Dwight’s music in the 80s was just incredible:
And here’s this, again!! Talk about hillbilly twang!! Yay!!
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Okay!!
Nick Cave was honored with another (!!) Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts, somewhere between the shows in Germany and Denmark!!
And while the show in Denmark looks like it was really great, there was sort of a lack of photos. (Almost makes you think you’re still not allowed to bring cameras to arenas in Denmark!!) Well, there were a few videos. But still. Not a whole lot. At least, not yet.
Here’s the official set list, although I saw another handwritten list that included a REALLY long encore.
Even though I find Facebook really boring now, I do follow Nick Cave fan pages there! This was posted early this morning:
And this was on Instagram:
Tomorrow, the Bad Seeds play Prague(!!) and you can buy tickets here.
The show in Austria, on Sunday, is sold out.
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And I guess that is it for today!!
Gonna go water my flowers. Then do yoga. take a shower, wash my hair… have lunch… and then leave for my evening shift with the retired Chaplain who is finally home from Florida!!
Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s close with this!
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, live in Denmark, 6 years ago!!
Except that, of course, I’m exhausted today. But it’s all good stuff.
I ended up driving about 110 miles, total, yesterday because my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and I did indeed go to the clubhouse at the golf course for lunch!
It was spectacular! But it always involves a ton of driving for me. Plus, I decided to go get groceries after my shift.
So I think that’s part of why I’m exhausted this morning. (For some reason, even though the golf course is only about 6 minutes from my house, I never go there from here. I’m always driving there from 30 miles away.)
Anyway!
It was a success! A truly gorgeous spring day and so the scenery outside the clubhouse windows was just so green and beautiful for miles and miles. And the sky was a perfect blue.
And when the waitress set the vodka martini in front of him — straight up with olives in a lovely martini glass — his whole face lit up. And the food there is always really, really good.
He was just so happy. Plus his energy, overall, was just really vibrant yesterday. We really had the best time.
Not us!! But the energy is the same….
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Okay!!!
So, day 2 (!!) and both editions of 1954 Powder Blue Pickup remain for sale on Amazon!!
So this could be real, gang.
Although when it got re-published, it lost it’s 5-star review from the first edition (that they banned 5 years ago). So if you have already read 1954 Powder Blue Pickup and want to review it, I would really appreciate it. (You can always just hit the “stars” review button, if you don’t want to use your name while publicly reviewing a hardcore sex book…) (Just sayin’…) The book is here.
Meanwhile!!
The eBook edition of The Curse of Our Profound Disorder is now available for pre-sale!! $7.00 (This will not be part of Kindle Unlimited.)
And a huge thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered it!
When I got my advance review copies, I sent a copy of it to a guy I know in NYC who had requested a copy last month. He has probably read everything I ever wrote over the years and often reviewed it.
He texted last night that he has read through Chapter 2 so far and is enjoying it.
So, yay!
This means that now an additional 3 people are reading the book…
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All righty.
Some quick “here’s this’s” for today because I gotta drive 30 more miles here soon and see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man again!
Another photo from the recent 60th Anniversary Sip-In, at Julius’s Bar in NYC the other night!
This photo is specifically staged to copy the first sip-in, back in 1966. (If you’re new to the blog, it used to be illegal to serve alcohol to suspected gays & lesbians in NYC, and the first sip-in at Julius’s Bar was the first public protest that eventually led to big changes for the rights of the LGBTQ community.)
The man at the far right actually participated in the first sip-in and was sitting in that same spot.
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And here’s this!
Apparently yesterday was the 37th anniversary of the release of Full Moon Fever!! Tom Petty’s first solo album.
And here’s this, while we’re at it. From Full Moon Fever, Tom’s fantastic cover of The Byrds’ hit, “Feel A Whole Lot Better” !!
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And here’s this!
A great photo of Keith. I have no clue where he’s at here, but gambling seems to be involved (my money is on him!!):
And here’s Keith at the recording session for the Stones’ song “She’s A Rainbow” at the Olympic recording studios in London, 1967:
And, yes! Here’s this! From Their Satanic Majesties Request album, 1967, “She’s A Rainbow”:
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The history of this next photo — according to the Instagram post, it maybe had something to do with honoring his legendary “suck my dick” comment and a girl said “I would!”(!) (I was not “the girl” btw, and whether or not “I would”, is a private thing that I probably wouldn’t post on a blog…)
And if you want to re-live his legendary comment, you can purchase these stickers from Cave Things and stick them everywhere!! ($21 plus shipping)
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And here’s this!
More from Johnny Depp and his duet with Imelda May on the upcoming tribute album to Shane MacGowan (you can pre-order the album here):
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And that is it!!
I seriously gotta scoot!
Have a super Saturday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Let’s leave with this!!!
From my retro boombox next to my bed this morning!!
From 1995!!
That wonderfully addicting hit from Musical Youth, “Pass the Dutchie”. Enjoy, gang!!
Because what really happened this morning totally upset me.
I was not yet out of bed, but I was awake. Lying there, really peacefully. Really comfortable in my amazingly comfortable bed (come visit & find out!!).
The sun was not yet up so I couldn’t see which CAT did it, but it was one of the large, heavy ones — however, what he or she did was come leaping suddenly over to the bed, landing on my chest and then using my chin as a springboard for their back feet (CLAWS!!) to go springing off into the dark again.
And, yes, blood was suddenly streaming everywhere…
Crap. It really hurt.
My first thought, of course, was that I have my fucking annual review at the Agency today, right?
My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man will not give a hoot that my chin is shredded today, but I was kinda hoping to look sort of professional at the meeting. (This will be my supervisor’s supervisor — so it’s the, you know, Chief BigWig gal.)
Anyway. At least I didn’t get THIS:
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And it could’ve been a huge gouge in my lip, instead. Or it could’ve, you know, punctured my eye. Or god only knows what other horrific thing, so once the bleeding stopped and the pain went away, I decided to be happy that it wasn’t a whole lot worse…
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And so here I am!!
And here’s something else I’m grateful for.
I was at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house yesterday morning (I had just gotten there) and my phone rang.
It was the Amish roofer guy!
HE: “We’re at your house right now, did you still want us to fix your siding?”
Absolutely! So my siding got fixed and then they stopped by again after I got home so that I could pay them. And, once again, they did such a great job. And I was once again grateful to my now deceased dad because I was able to pay them in cash.
And shortly before they arrived, Sandra called from NYC. And we had a very, very good chat. And she said that, even though my trip there in June doesn’t involve work on “The Guide to Being Fabulous,” there’s still a good chance I can stay in that new apartment she shares with that other woman. And perhaps stay for free, but at the very least, for about $60 a night. (The other woman owns the apartment so it’s up to her.)
So we shall see, gang. I have until June 9th to cancel the hotel reservation without getting charged a fee. But $180 compared to 3 nights in a hotel off Times Square… as much as I love hotels, it would save me a fortune. So we’ll just see.
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Tomorrow is the first night of Passover. (Which was also the night of the Last Supper, about 2 thousand years ago.)
As difficult as my family-life was, when I was a little girl, I really loved the first night of Passover, even though it was really long (several hours, literally). We usually spent it at my adoptive mother’s parents’ house. My grandparents were extremely conservative Jews, so we followed the Haggadah from start to finish, the exact same way, every single time, every year.
In fact, this was the brand of Haggadah we used. The story was in English but the prayers and songs were in Hebrew:
I do get sort of “homesick” for those old days, whenever Passover rolls around. I honestly do. I am an extremely family-oriented person and I have about zippo family left now.
And last night, I found this on YouTube — my favorite song from Passover!! (I still remember every word.) The whole family would sing this song together, in Hebrew, at the end of the Pesach dinner. It was a really joyful thing:
And while I did inherit a really beautiful set of fine china (service for 12) from that same grandmother, along with several sterling silver pieces that were always on the Seder table — candlesticks, creamer & sugar bowl set, serving platters and trays. The only piece I inherited from the actual Seder things was this (front & back):
This contained the salt water that you passed around the table and dipped the bitter herbs into (and then ate them, while saying a prayer). It was symbolic of the tears the Hebrews cried while escaping Pharoah and then following Moses endlessly through the desert.
I absolutely love this thing, even though I have never used it on my own.
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Well, anyway. That’s about the extent of my Passover this week!
Meanwhile!!
Here’s this!
Speaking of Eastern European Jews….
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And here’s this!
Also from long ago, and I miss those days, too (although perhaps I don’t miss that mustache…).
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, in days of yore:
And Warren Ellis presently! In America! (I’m not 100% positive, but I think he’s in a really fancy bowling alley here…)
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And I think that is it for today.
The visit between my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man and his daughter continues to go really well. And for some unknown and miraculous reason, the weather has not been as bad as was predicted (yet).
We did go get sushi, sashimi, and sake yesterday, too. And that went well. Today, though, he and I will be on our own because she has a couple of meetings to go to. But it’s been going really good.
All right, well.
Have a terrific Tuesday wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys, See ya!
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Going back to My Aim is True, 1977, by Elvis Costello!
This fine song was singing in my head this morning! (Before the cat attack, that is). This was sort of an iconic song back then. I still love it.
“Less Than Zero.” (Original version.) Enjoy, gang!
"Less Than Zero"
Calling Mr. Oswald with the swastika tattoo There is a vacancy waiting in the English voodoo Carving "V" for "vandal" on the guilty boy's head When he's had enough of that, maybe you'll take him to bed To teach him he's alive before he wishes he was dead
[Chorus:] Turn up the TV, no one listening will suspect Even your mother won't detect it, so your father won't know They think that I've got no respect but Everything is less than zero Hey, oo hey-ey Hey, oo hey-ey
Oswald and his sister are doing it again They've got the finest home movies that you have ever seen They've got a thousand variations, every service with a smile They're gonna take a little break and they'll be back after a while Well, I hear that South America is coming into style
[Chorus:]
A pistol was still smoking, a man lay on the floor Mr. Oswald said he had an understanding with the law He said he heard about a couple living in the USA He said they traded in their baby for a Chevrolet Let's talk about the future, now we've put the past away
Marilyn's Room 