Brighton is sold out!
Now, back to work…
Quick happy update!
Tag Archives: writing
Day Off! Yes!!
Let’s see…
I’ve already been to the ATM and back, because I checked my bank balance to see if the car payment had been deducted and what to my wondering eyes should appear???
No, it hadn’t been deducted yet, but I was 50 cents shy of being able to cover it!! And the bank would be opening in 45 minutes. And that would mean a $34 overdraft fee. For being 50 cents short on the car payment.
So out of bed I got; got dressed I got; and while I was heading downstairs anyway, got the laundry started, and then off I went to put more money into the bank. (And it’s another really beautiful morning out there!)
And you know, I’m feeling really blessed around here this morning, because something told me to look at that bank balance!! (No, I don’t keep much money in the bank — only enough to cover bills.) (And did you see the price of GOLD this morning??? $3,800 per troy ounce!!)
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Before I forget —
Look what il donaldo trumpo posted last night:
“WE’LL DEFINITELY NEED MORE POPCORN THIS WEEK!!!😎🇺🇸🍿🍿🍿”
(Like we can handle any MORE of this movie!! I guess we’ll see!)
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And also.
I thought this was interesting, gang.
And I hate to always be prefacing stuff about Richard Grenell by saying that “he’s gay” because he probably has other things going on in his illustrious life that are more important to him than his sexual preferences, but anyway.
You know how people are always trying to say that Trump is against gay people…
Okay, from Grenell’s Truth Social account last evening:
“Where are the Arts reporters now?
This group of wokesters have spent decades not understanding finances or budgeting – pushing for more radical programming for the elites at the expense of the rest of us.
@realDonaldTrump asked us to make changes to the Kennedy Center in order to save it. He was right!
Last year, the Kennedy Center NSO Gala raised $1.3 million.
🚨🚨🚨
Last night we brought in $3.4 million – more money than we have ever raised.
We are saving the Kennedy Center and showing Arts institutions across the country that commonsense programming and responsible budgeting will bring in many more donors and corporate sponsors.”
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Okay, well, speaking of feeling blessed around here.
My shift last evening with the retired Minister and his wife (and cat), was rather remarkable.
During the final hour of my shift, we were all sitting outside (well, not the cat), because it was a really lovely evening. Just perfect. And for that entire hour — for whatever reason — the retired Minister spoke in detail about what it was like when he was in his teens and got the calling to become a Minister. All the various emotions that entailed, and what he did about it, and the schools he attended and why. And his feelings about being a young preacher and then how to help his various parishioners over the years, etc.
And I was spellbound. Because – yes! — I realized that these types of thoughts and feelings were currently missing from the Minister character in my novel and I suddenly saw that I needed to add that whole layer to his character. (The Minister is the primary character at the end of the book.)
I left the shift feeling a little speechless. Like, where did all that come from?? So suddenly? And it wound up being so helpful to me.
And today, I’m guessing I will take a walk. Do yoga. Study another lecture in the Protestant Reformation series. Probably study a little more French before the evening is over.
But other than that!!!
Yay. A whole day to myself to work on the NOVEL!!
My mind is already doing that thing it does when something new is getting ready to hit the page.
I really have to make good use of my 3 days off this week, because not only is October loaded with difficult shifts, the Agency slipped 2 more shifts in at the end of the month. (Meaning, the last 2 weeks of October, I will only have one day off each week.) (But it’s with that woman I really adore, who lives in that huge split-level home, behind the Bryn Du Mansion, that you need a map to find the bathroom in.)
Anyway. I feel like a lot is riding on this week.
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(I can’t tell you how much I want to put in a request for a few days off in November and just go to NYC and hang out by myself in Midtown for a couple of days.)
(But soon enough, I will need to go there to work with Sandra, so I kinda need to save my $$ for that.)
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Okay.
Here’s what 1988 looked like, in case you were too young to experience it!!!
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And I guess that’s it! I’m gonna get started here.
Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!
Yes, more from the playlist of songs I was playing a lot back in 2022!
(And who wouldn’t play this song a lot if they could???) (Preachers seem to feature heavily in my world, don’t they?)
Dusty Springfield, “Son of A Preacher Man”, 1968. Enjoy, gang!!
“Son Of A Preacher Man”
Billy-Ray was a preacher’s son
And when his daddy would visit he’d come along
When they gathered round and started talkin’
That’s when Billy would take me walkin’
All through the backyard we’d go walkin’
Then he’d look into my eyes
Lord knows to my surprise
The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was
Ooh, yes he was
Being good isn’t always easy
No matter how hard I try
When he started sweet-talkin’ to me
He’d come and tell me everything is all right
He’d kiss and tell me everything is all right
Can I get away again tonight?
The only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was
(Ooh…) Lord knows he was
Yes he was
How well I remember
The look that was in his eyes
Stealin’ kisses from me on the sly
Takin’ time to make time
Tellin’ me that he’s all mine
Learnin’ from each other’s knowing
Lookin’ to see how much we’ve grown
And the only one who could ever reach me
Was the son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
Was the son of a preacher man
Yes he was, he was
Ooh, yes he was
The only one who could ever reach me
He was the sweet-talking son of a preacher man
The only boy who could ever teach me
I kissed the son of a preacher man
The only one who could ever move me
The sweet-lovin’ son of a preacher man
The only one who could ever groove me
Ahh, ooh, ahh….
c – 1968 John Hurley, Ronnie Wilkins
Trying to stay in HappyLand over here
Yesterday was — I don’t know — a challenge?
I don’t want to say it was a bad day. But I’m hoping today will be better.
Things with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man were quite beautiful, but he is still declining. But he is making such an amazing effort to communicate with me. Things he wants me to know before he “goes upstairs”. It is such an incredible spiritual gift.
Today, I have decided to ask him if I can have his Bible. He doesn’t read it anymore but he cherishes it. It was given to him by a friend of his in NYC — his mechanic, actually — back in October of 1951.
I feel 100% absolutely certain that his family will simply throw it away when the time comes. And that would break my heart. So I’ll see what he says. But I want to make sure he understands that I want to take it and not bring it back.
Meanwhile — our sashimi and sake went splendidly yesterday. And here were our fortunes. The top one was his — and he read it and nodded his head, and said, “Yes.” (Mine, below that, was sort of the story of my life.)
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Okay.
So the New Testament Conference began last evening — this year’s topic is the Historical Jesus. And as you know I have been really looking forward to it, since that is probably my most favorite topic of all time.
But I was so disappointed in last night’s opening speaker — Elaine Pagles, whom I usually love. I just felt like her presentation was about the theological Jesus — known as Jesus Christ — and not about the historical Jesus at all (Jesus of Nazareth). I found it so frustrating.
I was actually even a little depressed when it was over because my hopes had been so high.
Today’s speakers are happening primarily during my shift, so I won’t be able to access the replay until they release it in a couple of days.
And the same goes for tomorrow — James Tabor’s presentation will be during my shift with the retired Minister and his wife.
But on we go.
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I was also really frustrated with Phil’s livestream last night.
I’m reasonably sure he’s still doing this on purpose– because of new followers, people who are just starting to wake up to what’s really going on out there in the world. And he probably doesn’t want to scare them off.
But I just find it so frustrating. I miss the days when he could just come out and say stuff.
However, if you missed it, here is the replay.
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And Here’s this!
From this morning, when I was having my coffee in bed — and this doesn’t count Saffie, who was at my left shoulder, and Cuddles, who was at my right shoulder (those are my legs down in the middle of all that):
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If you want to contribute to a fundraiser for BigCityLit Magazine in NYC, you can visit here:
“The eclectic online literary journal BigCityLit has been publishing outstanding poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction from a diverse community since 2000. The founders, Nick Johnson and Maureen Holm, had carried the entire financial responsibility of keeping the journal afloat. Now that they are both gone, we are appealing for renewed support.
With the money you donate, the editors will be able to pay for webmaster fees, domain renewals, web hosting, and the maintenance of the website….”
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And I think that’s it for today.
I’m hoping to get some work done on the novel tomorrow, before heading out to my shift with the retired Minister and his wife.
Even a paragraph would be nice, since it’s a new chapter and I’m almost at the end of the novel. So a paragraph would at least give me a sense of where it’s going. Well, I know where it’s going, I just don’t know yet exactly how I’m going to get there!
But as of now, I have 3 days off this coming week. So I hope to take full advantage of that and be planted at my desk.
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And that’s it for now.
Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!
I decided to play the playlist of songs I was listening to in 2022!!
Quite eclectic, I must say!!
I’ve decided to post the Top 3 songs I was listening to that year, because they could not be more different from one another. But I love ALL of these songs, still! Enjoy, gang.
At the top of the playlist!!!
“Fleeting Love” 2008, from B-Sides & Rarities Part II (2021), Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds:
Followed by Trini Lopez singing, “If I had a Hammer”, 1963:
The Seekers singing “Georgy Girl” 1966!!
Everything’s Looking Pretty Good!
Well, not out there in the world, it isn’t, but here in the remote reaches of Crazeysburg, things are actually great.
(And before I forget, Phil is supposed to be live tonight at 8PM eastern, with intel. But check here later to confirm. ) (Although, things are actually going pretty great out there in the world, too, if you’ve got your discernment goggles on!!)
Okay!
I passed with flying colors with the nurse, yesterday. She was only here for about 15 minutes, since I have no long list of Specialists, no meds, no surgeries, etc. She just had to take my vitals.
Actually she said that my feet looked really great (!!), which surprised me — since I’ve been pounding around on them for 65 years already — including about 30 years of concrete in NYC. So now I have a new appreciation for my wee bonny feet!! Yay!
And now I don’t have to see her again for another year.
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Okay!
Today begins general ticket sales for this!
You can buy tickets here!
And here’s this!!
I have always loved this shirt!! (Although I think it was actually more of a greenish color.)
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Tonight, the New Insights into the New Testament Conference 2025 begins officially at 6:30 PM Eastern time, with the opening speaker– and I cannot wait!!
Dr. Elaine Pagels!! I absolutely loved her work on Gnosticism, gang. Wow.
Tonight, she “…will explore how early Christian writings shaped ideas about good and evil in ways that continue to influence Western thought. Her lecture will highlight the profound ways these ancient texts grappled with suffering, morality, and divine mystery.”
I’m guessing I will be glued to the Zoom screen on my laptop.
And at the risk of going on & on about this “Time” thing lately — I kinda can’t believe she is 82 already. Where does the effing time go, gang???
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Well, I have decided to risk it and wait one more week before taking my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man back to that fantastic clubhouse at the golf course with those spectacular views, because I think the autumn leaves will be just perfect next week.
I hope I don’t regret it, but I think they will be better next Friday than they are today. (Here’s hoping they don’t all just suddenly blow away…)
So today, it’s back to this place instead! Yay!
Whoops!!! That’s Keith Richards on the Orient Express. My mistake!!
No, we will be going HERE!
But hot sake will be served with the sashimi, so it will still be pretty darned fun!!
(And yes, I know. It all hinges on how his condition is when I get there this morning. We shall see and then go with the flow.)
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Okay, I got next to nothing done on the novel yesterday (minor tweaks only). Mostly because I am beginning Chapter 14 and I have absolutely no clue what comes next. I need a good chunk of uninterrupted time to sit and stare, and yesterday was not that day.
I did manage to get in a quick walk, in between rain showers. And then I also got to do some yoga, study some French with my new boombox, and study another lecture in the Protestant Reformation series.
But, more importantly, I had a chance to catch up on the phone with Valerie in Brooklyn!! And that is always a high point, no matter when it happens.
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Okay.
Brand new song from the Original Alice Cooper Group! “See You On the Other Side” dedicated to their late bandmate, Glen Buxton, from the new album The Revenge of Alice Cooper:
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And that is it for now. I gotta scoot!
Have a fabulous Friday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this.
From my wild & wonderful world of wandering the night-time streets of NYC in 1984 — while wearing my prized Sony Walkman!!
More from Lou Reed’s New Sensations album, “Turn to Me,” 1984. Enjoy, gang!!
“Turn to Me”
[Verse 1]
If you gave up major vices, you’re between a hard place and a wall
And your car breaks down in traffic on the street
Remember, I’m the one who loves you, you can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, baby, turn to me
[Verse 2]
If your father is free-basing and your mother turning tricks
That’s still no reason you should have a rip
Remember, I’m the one who loves you, you can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
[Verse 3]
When your teeth are ground down to the bone
And there’s nothing between your legs
And some friend died of something that you can’t pronounce
Remember, I’m the one who loves you
Hey baby, you can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
[Verse 4]
You can’t pay your rent, your boss is an idiot
And your apartment has no heat
And your wife says, “Maybe it’s time to have a child”
Remember, I’m the one who loves you and you can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
[Verse 5]
When it’s all too much you turn the TV set on and light a cigarette
And then a public service announcement comes creeping on
And you see a lung corroding or a fatal heart attack
Turn to me, turn to me, baby, turn to me
[Outro]
I’m just a phone call away
Turn to me, turn to me, hey, turn to me
One tenth of a dollar
Turn to me, baby, turn to me
(Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me)
(Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me)
c – 1984 Lou Reed
Almost Ready!
Sorry I’m late.
Made a quick dash to the Dollar Store to get more cat food.
Then wanted to vacuum the downstairs and wipe down the kitchen counters, because the nurse from the insurance company is coming this afternoon for my first annual check-up. I don’t want my kitchen to look as if 723 cats live here…
The insurance company has texted me no less than 4 times to remind me to not keep the nurse waiting, she will be in a hurry. And yet I have a three hour window wherein I will have to wait for her to show up…
Anyway.
So I got that done. The 124-year-old kitchen looks great.
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Okay. So.
Wow! This arrived yesterday!
I absolutely love it, gang!!
Straight out of yesteryear, only better!!
You might wonder how anything straight out of yesteryear could be better… it has a blue tooth!
This means I can listen to my lectures on the Protestant Reformation at a louder volume. For some reason, this particular lecture series is not very loud. So that blue tooth will be great for that.
But yesterday, I put in one of the old cassettes from “Learn French in 3 Months” and immediately, it brought back such great memories.
I haven’t listened to it in maybe 10 years. 2 houses ago. It has this opening theme music that is, like, old-timey French accordion music:
Apparently, I really enjoyed studying with these specific tapes, because that theme music brought such a happy smile to my face!
So we shall see, gang. Who knows if I really have time to study French again to this degree, but I’m going to try.
I also have the Mandarin Chinese cassettes out, too. Haven’t put one of those in yet, though.
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All righty! Come one, come all!!
The magnificent cats have managed yet another astounding disappearing act!!
When I got up at 5AM this morning, and put on my flannel robe in the dark, the sash to close the robe was completely missing.
I turned on the lights and searched the closet and under the bed, but it is nowhere.
I have made a cursory look in every room in the house, upstairs and down, and I cannot find the sash anywhere.
I cannot imagine what they’ve done with it. I’m guessing that maybe 20 years from now, it will suddenly re-appear.
Meanwhile, it’s annoying, but on we go…
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I just want to mention really quickly that my shift with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man yesterday was a little sad, gang. He has gotten over the trauma of his family being there last week, but it is really clear that he is declining. But we just do our best.
Tomorrow, I might take him back to that beautiful clubhouse at the golf course. The leaves are starting to turn now and I know the views will be spectacular.
I’m at least planning on doing that, but I guess we’ll know for sure when I get there tomorrow and see how he is.
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Okay, here’s this!
From the Rolling Stones, to promote the re-issue of Black & Blue, coming November 14th:
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Today is also that Book Talk with the Internet Archive. It starts when I’m also supposed to start waiting for the nurse, but at least it’s being recorded, in case she shows up at 1PM on the dot…
But this also means that I will be setting the laptop up down in the kitchen. I’m hoping that between the book talk and waiting on the nurse, I can get some work done on the novel. But I don’t really like working down at the kitchen table. I focus better at my desk upstairs.
We shall see. (I might just say screw it, and call Valerie in Brooklyn instead.)
Meanwhile.
Tonight is the “mixer” on Zoom, for the opening night of the New Testament Conference that begins tomorrow.
I am already feeling that “stupidly busy” feeling. I really just want to focus on the novel.
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I’m thinking that’s it for today, gang. It’s just really sort of distracting around here this morning.
Enjoy your Thursday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I listened to Lou Reed’s New Sensations while driving to town and back yesterday. I hadn’t actually listened to that whole album in quite a while. (See yesterday’s post.)
So I leave you with this, today!
“Fly Into the Sun”. 1984. Lou Reed, from New Sensations. Enjoy, gang.
“Fly Into the Sun”
[Verse 1]
I would not run from the holocaust
I would not run from the bomb
I’d welcome the chance to meet my maker
And fly into the sun
[Chorus]
Fly into the sun
Fly into the sun
I’d break up into a million pieces
And fly into the sun
[Verse 2]
I would not run from the blazing light
I would not run from its rain
I’d see it as an end to misery
As an end to worldly pain
[Chorus]
An end to worldly pain
An end to worldly pain
I’d shine by the light of the unknown moment
To end this worldly pain
[Chorus]
And fly into the sun
Fly into the sun
I’d shine by the light of the unknown moment
And fly into the sun
[Verse 3]
The earth is weeping, the sky is shaking
The stars split to their core
And every proton and unnamed neutron
Is fusing in my bones
[Verse 4]
And an unnamed mammal is darkly rising
As man burns from his tomb
And I look at this as a blissful moment
To fly into the sun
[Chorus]
Fly into the sun
Fly into the sun
I’d burn up into a million pieces
And fly into the sun
[Chorus]
To end this mystery
Answer my mystery
I’d look at this as a wondrous moment
To end this mystery
[Chorus]
Fly into the sun
Fly into the sun
I’d break up into a million pieces
And fly into the sun
c – 1984 Lou Reed
Off to a great start!!
I heard back from the Agency yesterday and they officially removed 8 hrs of shifts from my weekly schedule in October and gave me an additional day off each week!!
Yay. Back to normal.
Now I can breathe again. (Plus, this also gives me room in my schedule to pick up random shifts with those new patients that I really like if it comes up.)
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Okay!
This was posted to Instagram this morning. I’m guessing it is accurate!
From Nick’s speech, when he got his new Honorary Doctorate yesterday:
And since he has legitimately come up here on the blog today!!
Here’s this–
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And here’s this!!
Back from when Lou was in love with and married to Sylvia. (I have nothing against Laurie Anderson (or Rachel) AT ALL, but, wow, did Lou write some great albums when he was with Sylvia.)
And here’s this — coincidently, Wayne also loved Lou Reed’s music and Wayne and I were falling in love, contemplating moving in together, we were lying together on my bed in my hellhole apartment on E.12th Street, when this song came on the stereo… “Think It Over”, by Lou Reed, Growing Up in Public, 1980.
“Think It Over”
Waking, he stared raptly at her face
on his lips, her smell, her taste
Black hair framing her perfect face
with her wonderful mind and her incredible grace
And so, he woke, he woke her with a start
to offer her his heart
for once and for all, forever to keep
And the words, that she first heard him speak
were really very sweet
he was asking her to marry him, and to
Think it over
baby, think it over
Think it over
baby, why don’t you think it over
She said, somewhere, there’s a faraway place
where all is ordered and all is grace
No one there is ever disgraced
and everyBODY there is wise and everyone has taste
And then she sighed, well la-dee-dah-dee-dah
you and I have come quite far
and we really must watch what we say
Because when you ask for someone’s heart
you must know that you’re smart
smart enough to care for it, so I’m gonna
Think it over
baby, think it over
Think it over
Baby, I’m gonna think it over
c -1980 Lou Reed
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And in case you’re interested, Wayne and I got engaged at Tiffany’s on 5th Ave in NYC, in October 1992. He wanted me to meet him on W.57th Street one day, so I did, and then he said, “I have a surprise for you.” Then he took me to Tiffany’s and we got engaged.
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All righty.
I did get some good editing work done yesterday on The Curse of Our Profound Disorder (on pages I recently wrote). So I feel good about that.
I am almost at the end of the novel and I still am not certain how it ends, but it is getting clearer, gang.
And this morning, I did something I have been putting off FOREVER!!
Yes! While not quite as exciting as Tiffany’s on 5th Avenue, I made an appointment at this very store (!!) to finally get new glasses next week.
I am currently wearing a pair of glasses that are nearly 40 years old because I have 3 other pairs of glasses in the house that all have a reasonably recent prescription, but all of those glasses are broken!!
Anyway. Now that I have Medicare I get a free pair of glasses, so off I will finally go!
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If you’re keeping track–
Somehow I have managed this:
- Made an appointment to get new glasses
- Got on Medicare
- Got great Medicare Advantage insurance
- The insurance’s nurse is coming tomorrow for my first annual in-home check up
- Got a new doctor and saw him last week (I am seriously healthy)
- Got Long Term Care insurance
- Got my burial/cremation insurance
- Got a Home Warranty
- Got a Home Improvement grant to get new basement stairs, new upstairs pipes and bathroom fixtures and Central AC
- Got an additional low interest Home Improvement loan to fix my front porch stairs and get a water softener installed
- Had that old fallen-down tree and all the overgrown weeds by my barn cleared out (after they had been there for about 8 years)
- Took care of a huge amount of foster cats and gave shelter to 4 newborn kittens, one without its 2 back feet (and dug graves and buried 2 additional cats out back that had passed away)
- Kept up the really expensive lease payments on the brand new Honda Civic (because I had such lousy credit after my COVID-bankruptcy) (My credit is no longer lousy!!)
- Went to NYC to get the rehearsals and rewrites underway for our play to go Off- Broadway
- Wrote a couple of episodes and developed a TV pilot
- Found a potential publisher for a novel-in-progress that has sat on my computer for 26 years…
- Just generally maintained a 124-year-old house in a small village in the middle of nowhere
All of that I’ve done, alone, in the past 9 months. And plus I take care of really old people who are teaching me so much about LIFE and how to live it…as well as how to face dying.
I think this is why I am always really, really tired.
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And on that note!!!!
I’m off to town, to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. I am really hoping he is in much better spirits this week, now that his family has gone back home and he’s had a few days to get over that.
We shall soon see.
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Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!!
I used to walk around the NYC streets in the evening, listening to this cassette on my Sony Walkman!! I loved this album so much, gang.
Lou Reed, “New Sensations,” 1984, from his album of the same name. Enjoy, gang!!
“New Sensations”
[Verse 1]
I don’t like guilt, be it stoned or stupid
Drunk and disorderly, I ain’t no cupid
Two years ago today I was arrested on Christmas Eve
I don’t want pain, I want to walk, not be carried
I don’t want to give it up, I want to stay married
I ain’t no dog tied to a parked car
[Chorus]
Ooh, new sensations
Ooh, new sensations
Talkin’ ’bout some new sensations
Talkin’ ’bout some new sensations
[Verse 2]
I want the principles of a timeless muse
I want to eradicate my negative views
And get rid of those people who are always on a down
It’s easy enough to tell what is wrong
But that’s not what I want to hear all night long
Some people are like human tuinals
[Chorus]
Ooh, new sensations
Ooh ooh, new sensations
Talkin’ ’bout some new sensations
Talkin’ ’bout new sensations
[Verse 3]
I took my GPZ out for a ride
The engine felt good between my thighs
The air felt cool, it’s was forty degrees outside
I rode to Pennsylvania near the Delaware Gap
Sometimes I got lost and had to check the map
I stopped at a roadside diner for a burger and a Coke
There were some country folk and some hunters inside
Somebody got themselves married and somebody died
I went to the juke box and played a hillbilly song
They was arguing about football as I waved and went outside
And I headed for the mountains feeling warm inside
I love that GPZ so much, you know that I could kiss her
[Chorus]
Ooh, new sensations
Ooh ooh, new sensations
Talkin’ ’bout your new sensations
Talkin’ new sensations
[Outro]
Ooh new sensations, ooh new sensations
Ooh new sensations, ooh new sensations
Ooh new sensations
c- 1984 Lou Reed
Official update?
Okay, I was just told that this is an official photo from the event today:
Yippee ki yi yay!!!
Now, back at it….
A quiet day in the Hinterlands
Which is good, because I’m exhausted.
And I took a look at my schedule so far for October and almost fainted. Unbelievable amount of hours each week, and only one day off per week.
So I emailed the Agency around 6:30AM to just give them a general heads up that I cannot possibly do that many hours…
Here’s hoping it changes before the schedule is finalized.
So.
Even though today is my big day off (!!), I got out of bed just sort of exhausted from all of this stuff.
But I really liked the new client (and his wife) that I had yesterday. I liked them both so much, which was why I actually checked my schedule this morning in the first place — to see if they were going to be added to my shifts on a regular basis. (They are new to the Agency.)
And then I discovered that — oh, contraire! — there is no room in my schedule for either of these new clients that I’ve had recently that I really like. (And also no room in my schedule for the retired Chaplain that I just adore, and soon enough, she will be heading back down to Florida until next summer.)
Well, anyway.
It was that kind of morning, even though it’s my day off and I have the whole day to myself. I had to struggle to not feel defeated by all the randomness of this caregiving job.
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Okay.
So far, this is the ONLY official photo of Nick Cave receiving the Honorary Doctorate today:
However, they did send out a reminder about this:
“Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds will play Preston Park in Brighton on Friday 31 July 2026 – their only UK show of the year. The fan presale begins this Thursday 25 September at 10am – if you haven’t already signed up, it’s not too late to register for early access to tickets:
Tickets on general sale 10am Friday 26 September.”
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Another announcement–
The 37th Annual Lambda Literary Awards will be virtual, and are being held Saturday October 4 from 10am to 7pm EST.
“Your ticket includes virtual access to the 37th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Ceremony as well as a day packed with readings and panels featuring our finalists.”
Also:
“If you’re local to Seattle, join us for a livestream viewing party with our new Executive Director Jozie Clapp at Charlie’s Queer Books. Reach out to us at donors@lambdaliterary.org if you’d like to hear more about how to attend.”
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And I think that might be it for today.
I need to finish up the laundry and get focused on The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.
If anything comes up later, I’ll be back.
Meanwhile, have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
*************
I leave you with this!
Yes, more breakfast-listening music.
Still from the soundtrack to Pack Up the Plantation LIVE 1985, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers do a GREAT version of their 1976 hit, “American Girl”.
By the time I was a teenager, this song was truly part of the anthem of my whole life. I still love this song and I’m guessing it would be the most appropriate song to play at my funeral/memorial (still undecided on the burial vs. cremation thing).
Anyway. 1985. Killer version!!
Followed by TP & the HBs closing their show with the song at the Hollywood Bowl back on September 25th, 2017. Tom died 7 days later. So “American Girl” was the final song he sang in public.
“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
A beautiful day on Earth!
Yes, today is the day we celebrate Nick Cave’s mom for being kind enough to bring this guy onto our lofty plane!
Happy birthday, Nick Cave!! (I believe it is the 68th time this has come around!)
And let’s pause and play this!
One of my Top 5 favorite Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds songs of all time! “Jesus of the Moon,” 2008, from one of my favorite albums, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
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It also happens to be Rosh Hoshana today, so Shanah Tovah — שנה טובה — if you celebrate it!!
And, interestingly enough!
My favorite 95-year-old Japanese man loves to tell the story about how, during his first year attending NYU, back in 1951, he and 3 “Italianos” were the only students who showed up for class on the Jewish Holidays. (Meaning everyone else at NYU back then was Jewish!)
*********
I actually have nothing to really post about today.
I’m getting ready to go see a new client — and at least the drive there should be lovely because it’s not supposed to start raining until later this afternoon.
It’s one of those intense shifts, so I have to read up on his case notes before I head out. And then “just breathe”, basically — and focus on compassion — for the next several hours.
But tomorrow I will have the day off, so I will be able to write, write, write. And last night, wow, did I have some incredible dreams, gang. So I think I’m ready to sally forth and make the most of this day.
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From James Tabor– in preparation for the upcoming New Testament Conference that begins this Friday. (I will be attending virtually, between shifts.)
The Dead Sea Scroll Teacher, Jesus, and the Making of a Messiah (24 mins):
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Okay.
Have a magnificent Monday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting!
I love you guys . See ya!
*************
I leave you with this!
Since I’m planning to play Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! as my driving-deeper-into-the-Hinterlands-music today!
“Midnight Man”, 2008. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Enjoy, gang!
"Midnight Man"
hold that chrysalis in yr palm
see it split & change
it won’t do you any harm
it’s just trying to rearrange
it was born to live a day
now it flies up from yr h&
(it’s beautiful)
it’s the one they call
yr ever-loving man
wolves have carried yr babies away
o yr kids drip from their teeth
the nights are long & the day
is bitter cold beyond belief
you spread yourself like a penitent
upon the mad vibrating s&
& through yr teeth
arrange to meet
yr midnight man
everybody’s coming round to my place!!!
everybody’s coming round to my place!!!
everybody’s coming round!!!
o baby don’t y/ see
everybody wants to be
yr midnight man!!!!!
don’t disturb me as I sleep
treat me gentle when I wake
don’t disturb me as I sleep
even though yr body aches
even though yr body aches
to serve at his comm&
betwn the wars
she still adores
her ever-loving man
close yr eyes, sleep in him
dream of yr lost sons & daughters
me, I’ll raise up the dorsal fin
& glide up & down the waters
I’ll glide up & down the waters
then I’ll walk upon the l&
& call em out
the ones who doubt
yr midnight man
everybody’s coming round to my place!!!
everybody’s coming round to my place!!!
everybody’s coming round!!!
o darling don’t y/ see
everybody wants to be
yr midnight man!!!!!
it’s early in the morning
& I don’t know what to do
it’s early in the morning
& I can’t believe it’s true
it’s early in the morning
& it’s happening again
I called y/ once
I called y/ twice
ain’t I yr midnight man
everybody’s coming round to my place!!!
everybody’s coming round to my place!!!
everybody’s coming round!!!
they want y/
they love y/
they need to be
yr midnight man!!!
everybody’s coming round
everybody’s coming round
everybody’s coming round
everybody’s coming round
to be yr midnight man!!!
to be yr midnight man!!!
c- 2008 Nick Cave
Hello, Autumn
Today, before I leave for my shift, I’m officially taking all the summer decorations off the porch and putting out the fall stuff.
I don’t have much fall stuff — maybe, like, 2 things. But it is definitely time to put the summer stuff back into the barn until next year.
And just FYI — I am the ONLY person left in my entire neighborhood who still has her summer stuff out on her porch! Everyone else has long ago switched to fall.
***********
Okay.
Yesterday was much more intense than I was expecting. Even though my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s family was, indeed, gone, they left PILES of junk all over the place, and did not order a special bulk pick-up truck to come haul it away.
My client was more upset yesterday than he’d been all week. I was a wreck by the time I got home yesterday. I was just so emotionally worn out from all of it.
Anyway.
We did find this yesterday, and it cheered him — 2 photos of the USS General Gordon, the ship that my client came back to the States on in 1948, when he was 17 years old. After the war, the ship was used as a passenger ship between Japan and the US. My client’s father had bought him a one-way, first-class ticket when the war was over, so that my client could move back to NYC and start his life. My client has wonderful memories of being 17, and on that ship, not knowing what was in store for him in the US, but he was really, really excited.
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And here’s this!
This overwhelmed me and actually kind of made me feel a little discouraged.
In anticipation of my new boombox arriving soon, wherein I will be able to study French from my old cassettes instead of relying on the language apps on my phone —
These are only the cassettes, books, study materials that are actually on the book shelves in my room. This doesn’t count what I still have in storage .
And when I skimmed through the text book that accompanies the “French in Three Months” cassettes above, I was so disheartened to see just how much French I actually used to know!!
I used to do business with French publishers a lot, so I used to actually need to know French. But I have always loved the language, since I was a little girl, when my Grandma first taught me how to sing “Frere Jacques” and taught me some simple French words. (She also taught me a little bit of Yiddish!!)
I have studied French, officially, since I was about 9 years old, back in Cleveland, and then I never stopped. (And even when I was confined to the mental hospital for 6 months at age 15, my mother arranged for a French tutor to come visit me once a week, anything to try to keep me engaged with living.)
And, you know, this doesn’t count that I also studied Chinese (Mandarin), and Hebrew. I used to really know these languages (and these alphabets), too.
It’s overwhelming, reacquainting myself with how much I used to know that I’ve essentially forgotten.
And this doesn’t count the brief times I studied Spanish, Italian, and German, and Portuguese.
That feeling of: where did the time go? And also the feeling of: Why keep bothering?
However. I will.
*************
Okay, here’s this.
It sort of took my breath away because I looked at it and realized: that was where my heart was; that’s where my heart has always been. This weird photo is my whole life.
It looks so strange from this angle, and yet, even from this angle, I know it so well:
*****************
And here’s this!!
This is a pre-cursor to tomorrow, which is Nick Cave’s birthday:
And then on Tuesday, this happens:
So, I’m guessing we will have more “official” Nick Cave photos then!
***************
Okay.
After finding those letters, and the photo, from Jack Red Eagle the other day, and thought that I could not be any more astounded by my own life–
While yet again looking for something entirely different yesterday evening, I found a folder that had all the letters my birth father had written to me.
He did not write many because usually we talked on the phone. A lot. In fact, he was always making these rules about how we had to stop talking long distance (which was expensive back then) and write letters instead. But that never lasted long.
Re-reading this specific letter yesterday, blew me away. And what’s interesting about the envelope is that he didn’t put my last name. I was still a professional singer back then and I went by “Marilyn Jaye.” My birth dad was so proud of my songwriting. He was also a songwriter, guitar player and singer (blues/country). I also like how he wrote “Suite 5” when that was truly a hellhole apartment!
This whole idea of “Time” and how it has really been getting to me this past year, well, finding those letters from my birth father is just a prime example of what I can’t process:
I first became obsessed with finding my birth dad when I was 12. It took me 17 years to find him. I knew him after that for 10 years before he died, and now he has been dead for close to 27 years. And that relationship was the most important journey of my entire life.
I just don’t get it. “Time” and what it is. (Although I am doing better about reminding myself to focus on “NOW” and allowing for how the past shaped the now, and to find joy in that.)
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Okay!!
I guess I’ll get outside and get the summer stuff into the barn. And try to do a little writing before heading out to see the retired Minister and his lovely cat! OOPS! Of course, I meant WIFE!!
Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiitng.
I love you guys. See ya!
************
In keeping with everything fucking with my head these days–
I’m still listening to the 3-CD collection of Tom Petty live radio broadcasts (Transmission Impossible), but this morning, I switched to the 1st CD.
I hadn’t heard it in a long time. In fact, someone I loved very dearly, also named Tom, was still alive and in my life — and also a huge Tom Petty fan — the last time I listened to it.
I was literally sitting at the breakfast table, eating my breakfast when this particular song came on, and so many memories of the “old” Tom just flooded me. And the song lyrics always captured what we were about. Even though it’s an old song, I vividly remember the first time he and I heard Tom Petty’s version, together. And how in love we were. (For 2 months, before he died.)
I started to cry right there at the breakfast table this morning.
He’s been gone 7 years this month. When the fuck did that happen?
This is an old Dave Clark Five song, by the way. From 1965. TP & the HBs knock it out of the park.
Okay. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Any Way You Want It”, 1987, Live at the Coliseum. Enjoy, gang.
“Any Way You Want It”
Any way you want it
You can call me any day, hey, hey, hey
Any way you want it
You can always hear me say, hey, hey, hey
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
Any way you want it
That’s the way it will be
You don’t want money
You don’t want a diamond ring, hey, hey, hey
You say you want my lovin’
More than any other thing, hey, hey, hey
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
Any way you want it
That’s the way it will be
Any way, any way you want it
That’s all right by me
Any way, any way you want it
That’s the way it will be
Any way you want it
You can call me any day, hey, hey, hey
Any way you want it
You can always hear me say, hey, hey, hey
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
Any way you want it
That’s the way it will be
Any way, any way you want it
That’s all right by me
Any way, any way you want it
That’s the way it will be
Any way you want it
You can call me any day, hey, hey, hey
Any way you want it
You can always hear me say, hey, hey, hey
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
It’s all right (it’s all right)
Any way you want it
That’s the way it will be
That’s the way it will be
That’s the way it will be
That’s the way it will be
c – 1965 Dave Clark
Marilyn's Room 