I hope you have a really Merry Christmas Eve, if you celebrate it!
Yes, as usual, I am absolutely EXHAUSTED — trying to do all the last minute Christmas Eve stuff last night after a 10-hr. shift, then literally forcing myself out of bed this morning at 4:33AM.
But I’m heading out here soon to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man.
He sort of knows it’s Christmas, but I am probably the only person he is going to see today so I’ll try to make it a merry few hours… (I might stop off at the gas station and pick up one of those pre-made vodka cocktail thingies for him. I have another gift for him, too, but Methinks anything whatsoever with vodka in it will make his holiday a really merry one…)
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Here was the view this morning as the sun was coming up — this is at the bottom of my stairs, looking through the family room to the dining room:
Yes, the kittens have re-arranged all the lights on the Christmas tree, but at least they’re still on there!!
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So, I will have a few things to do in the kitchen the very moment I get home from my shift — a lot of scurrying around before Johnny comes over to celebrate Christmas Eve.
Since I’m working today, I don’t have time to make any type of traditional Christmas dinner. Just a bunch of fun holiday food that still allows me to — YES!!!! — get out all of my many Christmas dishes!! Yay!!!
Just something simple thrown together at the last minute…
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Another quick note about my dad’s Estate —
I got an email from the Trustee of his Estate late yesterday afternoon, saying that they had just FedExed me my “dad’s belongings.”
I did not know there was anything left. I’m guessing when I get the box I will open it and then cry! I have no idea what will be in there, but I’m guessing it will be things my dad had saved for a really long time.
But the timing of the probating of his Will is helping me have truly the best Christmas I could have ever imagined.
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Okay.
Here’s this!
Nick Cave in church?? Apparently listening raptly!
And Nick Cave sent out a Christmas Red Hand File today!
“Dear Red-hand-o-philes,
Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, happy holidays, and a glorious New Year! See you in January!
Love, Nick“
And if you live in Australia or New Zealand, you will really see him in January!! Buy tickets here!
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And here’s this, just ‘cuz it’s Christmas and it makes me so fucking happy to look at it!!
Ronnie and Keith!! Eternal heroes from my wee bonny girlhood!
It serves to remind me that I have officially survived 51 Christmases since the worst Christmas, ever — 1974: Greg’s death, my nervous breakdown, the gang rape in my basement. BUT!! The Stones also released THIS!!! Yay. Worth living for, I guarantee it.
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All righty!!
Before I scoot, I gotta say THANK YOU once again!! You guys keep on downloading those old eBooks of mine over at the Smashwords Christmas sale and I really, really appreciate it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Okay. I better scoot. I am so fucking busy it is ridiculous!!
Have a very, very MERRY Christmas Eve, wherever you are in the world!
I’m going to spend most of today cleaning the house (again!!). (Vacuuming, mostly, because that is a never-ending process with so much carpeting and all these cats.)
But I do have to say that the kittens have been so great about all the Christmas decorations. They still climb the tree occasionally, but all that does is sort of rearrange the lights. No big deal.
But NOTHING has broken!! Their furry little selves have been so well-behaved!!
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Other than cleaning house, and doing yoga, and washing my hair… and making another pot of soup for the week… oh, and doing laundry, I will probably chat with Johnny in the afternoon and then maybe take some time just for myself, to sort of contemplate everything that’s coming up in 2026.
However, I have still not watched:
“A Christmas Carol” — the very old black & white version
“Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” — isn’t Christmas without that
“The Bishop’s Wife” — original black & white version
“Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” — also isn’t Christmas without that
“The Thin Man” — might wait ’til Christmas Day for that one
“It’s A Wonderful Life” — non-colorized version!!
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” — absolutely is not Christmas without that!!!
So, you can see that I’m way behind in my Christmas-watching. I’ve seen about a bazillion repeats of all the “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” Christmas episodes — while continuing to laugh over and over even though I know all the jokes by heart. But that was all I could manage so far this season, before falling dead asleep at night.
I’m planning to just keep the movies going while I clean the house today. That way, I can at least hear it all in the background and then cross everything off my list! Yay.
Me, not at all overdoing the Christmas thing
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Okay.
I don’t know how she got this — she didn’t elaborate. She just said “photographer unknown”. Hmmm… (a strange thing to get so quickly, without knowing who took the photo…)
However.
From Phyllis Stein’s Instagram page last night!! Keith and his birthday cake, from Thursday!!
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Okay.
From last week —
Simcha Jacobovici – Hanukkah: Not a Jewish Christmas (4 mins):
From Ross K. Nichols on Sunday–
What Do the Shapira Fragments Really Say? (1 hr):
And from James Tabor & Myth Vision–
Yes, I couldn’t wait to order this course almost 2 weeks ago, and yet I still have not started it!! Anyway.
An overview of the new course:
Christianity Before Paul: Rediscovering the Jewish Jesus Movement (18 mins):
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And I think that’s it for today, gang.
I’m gonna get things started here. Remember: tomorrow is 10-hr. Tuesday (a 10-hr. shift PLUS last minute insane grocery shopping!!), so I likely won’t be posting here.
Have a splendid pre-Christmas 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!
Nothing says Christmas like Jose Feliciano and “Feliz Navidad”!!!
It’s a clear, sunny — but cold — first day of winter around here!
When I stepped out onto my kitchen porch at 4:30AM this morning, the black sky was so incredibly clear. I could see all the stars for miles and miles. There was a really great feeling in the air.
And the raccoons had been by. They ate up every single solitary morsel of cat food that I’d set out for Kon Tiki & friends yesterday.
Oh, and also yesterday, at my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man’s house, I encountered 5 beautiful deer in his backyard. And, later, while driving back into the village of Crazeysburg, there were about 8 swans in one of the de-frosting cornfields!! This morning, starlings are everywhere in the trees around my property and the cats are sort of glued to the windows. (This bit about the cats is, of course, a figure of speech. I do not allow my cats to get into the glue…)
Anyway, Happy Winter Animal/Bird Day everyone!!
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Okay.
Here’s this!
I’ve had some trouble piecing together what this was all about, but it seems to have been a fundraiser for a new church organ? Not sure. But it took place at St. Bartholomew-the-Great, the oldest parish church in London.
Nick Cave and Colin Greenwood performed by candlelight there on Friday night. (I believe this is the church Nick Cave actually attends?)
I can only imagine how moving this was, gang. Because these two could create magic together out back by a trash bin. And in an old church in London by candlelight??? Wow.
And speaking of Nick Cave—
There is still time to order something over at Cave Things and get it in time for Christmas!! (Maybe.)
For instance!!
Sex Pencils!! They are guaranteed to be sexual, unisexual, hip & sexy, and super sexual!! ($21 + shipping)
And right now, I believe you can get free pencils with every Christmas order. Click Here.
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Okay. I am loving this!
Outlaws, Revolutionaries, and Other Christians in Disguise
I found out about this podcast last evening on Instagram and I am halfway through listening to Episode 16 and I am really loving it:
“The Saint of Holy Groveling, the Hungover Mystic, and a deep, aching longing for God
Jack Kerouac is remembered as the voice of the open road, speed, freedom, and excess, yet beneath the motion lived a deep spiritual loneliness. He carried an intense longing for God that pleasure, travel, and rebellion never resolved. The party always ended in sadness. The road always circled back home. Formed by Catholic prayer, haunted by sin and grace, and bound to his mother in a small house far from the myth, Kerouac lived as a strange solitary mystic, restless for God and unable to escape the ache of faith that followed him everywhere.”
The podcast only started this past January, so there’s a chance I can actually get caught up on their previous episodes: Goethe, Dostoevsky, Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn, Blake, Pasternak, and more. Writers whose works I really love.
You can find the podcast here and then choose your preferred platform.
Subversive Orthodoxy: “Subversive Orthodoxy is a place for people who are burned by politics. We’re tired of culture wars and worn-out ideologies, but still have some hope that the Judeo-Christian story has something real to offer the modern world.”
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And speaking of Kerouac —
From the Kerouac Estate on Instagram:
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And here’s this–
Keith with one of his grandsons (maybe even the first one, judging by the color of Keith’s hair) (in the description below the photo, it said this is a grandson):
And Keith topless! Yay! (Adults only please!!)
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Okay!!!
Thanks again to Phyllis Stein for coming back from her vacation and for posting some more great photos on Instagram!!
Patti with the Patti Smith Group and TOM WAITS peeking in!! (mid-1970s)
And two of Patti and Jim Carroll in San Francisco in the 1970s:
(I loved this man so much, gang. I took a songwriting/poetry course with him at the West Side Y in NYC in 1984. You had to actually submit your writing to get into the class and when I got in, I hit the moon! There were maybe 12 of us in the class. What an incredible experience it was. The course lasted several months. And, wow, was Jim Carroll tall!)
Here’s this. Jim Carroll reading from his second collection of diaries, Forced Entries, in Cleveland, 1991 (1 hr):
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And here’s this!
I listened to it while making my dinner last night (and also texting with Johnny at the same time so it was a wee bit distracting!)
Abraham Hicks – Why Action Won’t Make you Rich (15 mins)
I especially liked the part about “Maintaining Your Vibration Despite Outside Influences” . (Ooops! Looks like you have to listen directly on YouTube. Just click in the box.)
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Phil seems to want everybody to have access to the Justice Department’s Epstein Library. It is searchable!
Word of warning, though. There is a TON of graphic stuff in these court testimonies and some of it will make you sick. (Especially if you’ve ever been trafficked or forced to have sex of any kind.)
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Other than that…Let’s switch gears!!
Wow, gang.
Christmas is almost here. Which means 2026 is also almost here. Which means that my retirement is also almost here!!
Johnny has asked me a couple of times:
HE: “What is the first thing you want to do the moment you know you are free from all the caregiving jobs and can do anything you want?”
ME: “Sit down at my desk and write.”
HE: (Looks at me sort of blankly.)
But that’s it, gang. Yes, I want to go camping (he already has a really long list… It includes cool places like Key West, the Adirondacks, and a place in Georgia). I do want to do that. But as loyal readers of this lofty blog know so well by now — I have a TON of half-finished and almost-started projects on my desk. I cannot wait to be able to give them my complete attention again.
PLUS!
Sandra is just basically sitting there in Rhinebeck NY, waiting for 2026 to get started so that she can send me all of her NOTES on the upcoming play Off-Broadway, the proposed new TV project, and our re-visitation of the screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story”.
I know this doesn’t sound like retirement for most people, but for me, it is finally getting to have my life back and I can’t wait.
Oh, and part of the publishing contract for my new novel includes: When will you be available to come out here and promote the book???
There is a chance that the book might be released by February, gang. But that’s not definite yet.
So, I wake up at 4 in the morning, and I stare at my dark bedroom and I just sort of think, Wow. And soon after that, I get out of bed.
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All righty!
I’ve got some yoga to do and then I have the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat later today! And some more Christmas movies, no doubt! (And while I do have to drive home in the dark, there is no SNOW, no ICE, no HEAVY WINDS!! Yay. Just things like the Ronettes singing “Sleigh Ride” over and over and over for 22 miles!!)
So I’m gonna get all that underway here.
Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you are in the world.
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this. The most amazing Christmas song ever.
I listened to this several times while in bed last night with the lights out and the votive candles flickering and tried to keep my heart from galloping away from me .
I do not know where the years went to, gang. I only know that they flew by. And now both Shane McGowan and Kirsty MacColl are both dead. This song just breaks my heart now but when I listen to it, I am still inundated with all the love I had for this man and his gift for writing incredible, and now incredibly eternal, songs.
“Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues. 1987. Enjoy, gang. And let’s take a word from William Blake while we’re at it: He who binds to himself a joy / Does the winged life destroy; / But he who kisses the joy as it flies / Lives in eternity’s sun rise. See ya!
Wow, was it sort of like the weather from hell yesterday.
Fucking insane winds — luckily I was able to bring all the outdoor Christmas decorations inside before they went sailing down the road.
And because of those 40 mph winds, the already cold temperatures dropped to about 2 degrees Fahrenheit.
And then, yes, it snowed. All day! Why wouldn’t it?? I only had to be out and driving around in it!
Jesus, what a day.
But today, even while it is still cold, it is sunny, with no wind, and so it is basically totally okay out there and me and my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man will indeed be going here today! Yay!
For the first time in 3 weeks. So we are both looking forward to a little bit of sushi, a little bit of sashimi, and a tiny bit of sake (for him)! We’ll see how that goes!
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The quick update about Valerie in Brooklyn is that there really is no update yet. She doesn’t know if they’re going to try to do the surgery again, or if they will try something else entirely.
She was extremely tired yesterday, so we only texted. Today, I’m planning to speak to her on the phone. But she doesn’t really know anything about what to expect next, because the doctor never called her to update her yesterday.
But, for some reason, it might not be really bad news. regarding the condition of her heart, I mean. So we shall see!!
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Oh, don’t forget!
This was released for digital streaming yesterday! I got it on Amazon Prime, but it’s basically at all music streaming platforms:
(I have not listened to it yet, though, because I am deep into Merry Christmas Music Land!! And The Death of Bunny Munro is definitely not a Merry Christmas story!)
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In addition to the weather, the other thing that has completely changed…
Loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall that my dad died over a year and a half ago.
During these 18 months since his death, my relationship with him has truly blossomed into a wonderful spiritual thing. Honestly, he is with me all the time and he helps me keep going, keep finding my way.
Well, yesterday, his Estate was finally probated — over and done now. And I got a copy of his Will.
You know, my own Will is 3 pages long. I was expecting my dad’s Will to maybe be about 10 pages.
Try SIXTY pages! Jesus, when the heck am I supposed to read that?? Curious, indeed.
And even though it was a relief to have that document and to finally have closure on that side of it, I find that I am sort of grieving today. I guess it’s because it’s the official end of his physical life story.
I wasn’t expecting to feel this grief because my dad and I were in a very good place when he died, and it got even better between us after his death. It was kind of a weird and sudden shifting-of-gears this morning, going between the physical and the spiritual realms. Who he was for me while he was alive is now completely over. That story is done.
But I know, I absolutely know without doubt, that he is onboard with my upcoming memoir (about my various father figures in the 1970s). So my spiritual relationship with him is truly just getting started. So I know I’m going to be okay.
Meanwhile, it’s Christmas and I find I’m having an unexpectedly happy one this year. So on we go.
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I guess that’s it for now.
Have a happy Saturday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Okay, let’s close with this!!
Even though it’s nowhere near as old as most of the Christmas songs I usually listen to, it’s kinda getting up there now, isn’t it??
But I absolutely love this! When it comes on the Christmas playlist while I’m driving in the car, it gets absolute full volume!!
Mariah Carey, “All I Want for Christmas is You”. 1994. Enjoy, gang!!
It’s too early for any updates on Valerie yet, but I’m guessing it’s going to require the kind of surgery where they have to open her up now. And I know she will be dreading that. (See yesterday afternoon’s post — the surgeon could not do the less invasive type of heart surgery yesterday that he’d been hoping to do.)
I hope to be able to reach her later this afternoon and find out if she knows anything more yet. And just see how she’s doing. She was, of course, hoping that all of this would be over & done before Christmas.
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Well.
A light dusting of snow here this morning, but the rest of the day is more of those high winds and rain. So I won’t be taking my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man out for sashimi & sake until tomorrow.
With all the bad weather and then the trip to have lunch at the golf course — we haven’t actually been out for sashimi in 3 weeks. So we are both looking forward to that tomorrow!
And I’m just hoping today will be a nice and easy shift. We shall soon see!
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Before I forget–
A huge thank you to everyone who is downloading my really, really OLD but TOTALLY FREE erotic eBooks over at the Smashwords Christmas sale!
It truly does not cease to amaze me that so many people are still interested in these eBooks, year after year. (They contain works from 1994-2011.)
The direct links to the books are on my substack page HERE, if you missed it. The sale runs until New Year’s Day 2026. (For adults only, please!!)
Thank you!!
Yesterday, I noticed on Draft2Digital (the site that has basically taken over Smashwords now), that they have all my eBooks and print books listed from LULU, as well. I was surprised by this and will have to look into that more thoroughly after the holidays are over and I have some time.
Not to un-list them, just to find out what the direct links are.
Because, in my opinion, 1954 Powder Blue Pickuphas all but disappeared since Amazon Kindle killed it in 2021. (Saying it violated their obscenity policies, which is just absolute and total bullshit.)
Anyway, I have actually heard from a couple of long-time readers over the past few years that 1954 Powder Blue Pickup was their favorite book of mine (strictly in terms of erotica, not literature) and yet it hardly sells because no one can find it online.
But it does look like Draft2Digital is carrying it now! I will keep you posted. (But it is absolutely 100% without doubt for adults only. And also totally hetero. “Thank you for your attention to this matter. – DJT”)
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This really cheered me up this morning!
For some inexplicable reason, I had totally forgotten about this! I absolutely LOVED this movie!!
This old photo from the film popped into my Instagram feed this morning–
Nick Cave, playing the character Freak Storm in the Tom DiCillo film, “Johnny Suede” from 1991:
Nick Cave, playing Freak Storm
Oh my god, gang, what a great movie that was. It was just insane. I will have to find it online and watch it again.
Meanwhile, here is a short clip of Freak Storm talking to Johnny Suede (played by Brad Pitt):
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And here’s this!
Posted yesterday by Keith & Patti’s daughter, Alexandra Richards:
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And other than that…
You know that I can’t complain. So much good stuff is going on in my world these days. (And more good stuff is getting ready to happen in the upcoming year). However, I have that undercurrent of stress right now over Valerie’s heart problems. (She has come close to having a heart attack twice in the last couple months.)
So I am trying to stay focused on a positive outcome and just breathe. And sort of pivot my focus to all the good things that are going on right now, too.
And I guess, with that said, I will get ready to head to town.
Have a great Friday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Okay, let’s end with this!
If you have ever wondered what kind of wife I was… well, I think it speaks well for me that both of my ex-husbands remain good friends of mine. But they also each have one of those Official Citations from the Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America, recognizing their Extraordinary Heroism and Bravery in the Face of Constant Insanity, etc.
Something like that!
However, during the Christmas season of 1992, when Wayne and I were engaged, I recall putting this specific song on “repeat” with the volume up loud enough to hear the song playing when you walked in the front door of the apartment.
And in the living room, I had set out a champagne bucket with ice, with a bottle of champagne in it, a couple of champagne flutes sitting next to it, some twinkling Christmas lights on.
I went out and left the apartment like that, knowing that Wayne would find it when he walked in from work that evening and it would make him smile. (It did.) (Listen to the actual song, it’s the swinging-est “Jingle Bells” ever. A great song to come home to, when you’ve been catering endless Manhattan dinner parties and you just want to light a cigarette and have a glass of something/anything on ice!!)
Okay. “Jingle Bells” by Dean Martin! Enjoy, gang!! See ya.
I don’t know why yet, but for some reason the surgeon was not able to perform the surgery on Valerie today and he had to send her home.
I don’t know what will happen next. Val’s partner texted me just to say that Val was back home now, sleeping, and they would know more later.
Apparently, I was really stressing about that surgery stuff today, until I decided to take some ashwagandha. I also went out and took a walk. (It’s 54 degrees Fahrenheit today! No longer 7 degrees. Talk about extremes…)
Anyway. It seems like I knew something was up. So when I got the text about Val, that explained it.
I’m going to do yoga now and try to relax.
Have a good evening, wherever you are in the world.
[A photo I took of Valerie, 40 years ago, in the women’s locker room at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Back then, she was the Pastry Chef at MoMA, and I was the Assistant Pastry Chef!! Curiously enough, we did not get into too much trouble there, although there was a bar next door to MoMA…]
Today, at 9AM in Brooklyn, NY, they’re checking my best friend Valerie in for her heart surgery.
We are all expecting it to go smoothly and she should be back home sometime later today. Prayers still appreciated, gang!!
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Before I forget!!
Wow.
I was finally able to watch “Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness”. (“Modi” in the US.)
What a great film, gang. So fucking intense. And the acting, all across the board, was just spectacular. A really well told story, and just really well executed, all the way around.
Johnny Depp did such a great job creating a sort of entire world of madness that actually made sense. Especially, I guess, if you are an artist of some kind. (After watching it, I immediately phoned Valerie, who is a painter. And she’s planning to watch it during her recovery.)
I don’t know why I was not expecting it to be so intense, but it really surprised me. It has been such a long time since I saw a new movie that didn’t just feel like a ton of AI and weak storytelling. This was nothing like that. It felt like both literature and magic, captured on the screen. I will definitely be watching it again. I’m sure there were things I missed.
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Phyllis Stein is finally back from spending the holidays with her daughter and grandchild — or some such nonsense! And she’s back to doing the truly important stuff–
Posting photos of the NY Dolls in Los Angeles in 1974 on Instagram!!
Photo by Julian Wasser
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And we can’t forget the most important thing!! (Well, except for Valerie’s surgery going splendidly…)
Today is Keith’s 82nd birthday, as well as his & Patti’s wedding anniversary!
I love these photos from their wedding (42 years ago):
Here’s Bill Wyman’s birthday greeting to Keith this morning:
And here are a couple of random shots — from 1964.
Keith smoking and assuring us that “Guinness is good for us”:
(Here, Keith and Brian are smoking by the engine of an airplane. I feel this is an entirely safe thing to do, because the Rolling Stones never once set a dangerous or bad example in anyway whatsoever about anything!)
ALL RIGHT! Who put that there?? Ignore!! Ignore!!
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Anyway!! Happy birthday Keith Richards!! I love you with every fiber of my wee bonny being!!
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Nick Cave sent out a really great Red Hand File yesterday. I just loved it. He spoke sort of rapturously about some live concerts he’s been to recently — and how it feels to be on both sides of the concert arena stage. And some advice to a singer who has stage fright. To this latter question, he said, in part:
“Yet, whether singer, artist, or otherwise, these are the demons we all must face. Whenever we take a risk in life, or do something that might set us apart, or draw the judgement of others, these crippling voices provoke a form of ‘stage fright’ – a fear of existence, a fear of life itself. But, if you can summon the resolve to overcome these inner voices, Manuela, you can conquer anything, and the world will lie trembling at your feet.”
We had a great time yesterday, even though Johnny and I only got to see Kara for a few minutes because the Granville Inn dining room wasn’t actually open yet (Kara works there), and so he and I wound up going to a pub down the block for lunch but we had a really nice time.
And today I’m doing stuff, like:
Signing the contract for my new book!!
Washing the flannel bed linens!!
Vacuuming the upstairs!!
You can probably guess which task I’m most excited about…
And first and foremost — it’s PAY THE BILLS DAY!! Yay! So I’m gonna do that posthaste, and then get on with my glorious day off!
Have a great Thursday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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I leave you with this!!
Another GREAT Christmas collection.
This one from Ultra-Lounge — “Christmas Cocktails”, 1996. Wayne and I used to play this CD all Christmas long in the old days. It is such a fun collection of swingin’ Christmas classics.
Here’s Kay Starr singing, “(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With the Bag”. Enjoy, gang!!
Kara, in summer, smoking a cigarette outside the movie theater. She said, “Don’t take my picture when I’m smoking! It’s unladylike!!” She actually said that…
Anyway.
Not only will I be heading to the Granville Inn after my shift today with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, but my new friend Johnny is meeting me at the inn!! So we are both going to wish Kara a happy birthday together!
Even though they’ve made a lot of changes there recently, this is still my favorite place in Granville. Such great memories, gang:
The Granville Inn; founded in 1924 and a big part of my life out here in the Hinterlands for these past 9 years
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Well, since I was last here on the blog on Monday, a few things have happened.
“…Keith Richards, who turns 82 on Thursday, is said to be unable to commit to the rigors of another tour. Live dates in recent years have shown that he has faced challenges due to a long battle with arthritis, which he has called “benign” and said has forced him to change his style of playing….
…Richards was in fine form during a brief three-song performance at the Soho Sessions in New York last month, however, that is a much different proposition than a multi-country, multi-week tour.
…’When they properly sat down to discuss the tour, Keith said he didn’t think he could commit and wasn’t keen on a big stadium tour for over four months’…
…However, a new album appears to be on track for release next year…” [full article here]
Joe Ely, Texas Country-Rock Hero Who Grew His Fan Base Touring With the Clash, Dies at 78
“…the singer-songwriter who helped drive a new wave of Texas-based music that united rock and country fans in the 1980s and beyond, died Monday….
An announcement from the family said that Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife and manager, Sharon, and daughter, Marie, at his side.” [full article here]
And here is a favorite Joe Ely song of mine, although he didn’t write it. Another great New Country songwriter from back in those great days, Robert Earl Keene, wrote it. “Whenever Kindness Fails”. From Joe Ely’s album Love and Danger, 1992:
“Whenever Kindness Fails”
I crossed the desert in a dining car In the spring of ninety-one I met some people drinking at the bar They were laughing, having fun
I told ’em that I hadn’t heard the joke That was so hilarious They said that I was just a dumb cowpoke I didn’t want to make a fuss
So I shot ’em down, one by one Then I left ’em ‘long the rails I only use my gun Whenever kindness fails
The moon was in the sign of Scorpio The sun was at my back I didn’t know how far the train would go Until the law would find my track
I saw the brakeman and the engineer Drinking wine and eating brie I asked ’em who would brake and who would steer They started pointing back at me
So I shot ’em down, one by one Then I left ’em ‘long the rails I only use my gun Whenever kindness fails
I only have a moment to explain Just a chance to let you know When it’s time for you to board the train There are two ways you can go
You can ride the wheels into the sun Feel the wind upon your face Or you can laugh into a loaded gun And you’ll likely lose your place
So I shot ’em down, one by one Then I left ’em ‘long the rails I only use my gun Whenever kindness fails
Yeah I shot ’em down, one by one Then I left ’em ‘long the rails When I use my gun That lonesome whistle wails
c- 1992 Robert Earl Keene
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A couple from Nick Cave’s official Instagram page!!
His song from the Netflix movie, “Train Dreams”, has also been nominated for an Academy Award!!
And this Friday, December 19th, the music from the TV adaptation of his novel, The Death of Bunny Munro, will be released on digital and streaming platforms! (Soundtrack by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis.)
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Okay!
In other news, tomorrow, I will officially sign the publishing contract with Parisian Phoenix Publishing, for my brand-new 26-years-in-the-making novel, The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. Yay!
Can’t really believe it has found a home after all these years, gang. It is such a strange feeling.
And the publisher is in Easton, PA, and oddly enough, you may recall that this is where I was living with Mikey Rivera, writing my (award-winning!) novel Freak Parade, 23 years ago:
Spring Garden Street, Easton, PA
And if you’ve been a REALLY long-time reader of this lofty blog, perhaps you will recall that Freak Parade was written for Harlequin Romance Publishing and I was set for a 6-figure advance on Christmas 2003, when my agent called to say that at an end-of-the-year staff meeting, the Editor-in-Chief of Harlequin announced that he had read my manuscript and he “wouldn’t publish that piece of filth if it was the last book on Earth”…
Well, what a happy Christmas that was…
HOWEVER.
Eventually I went on to publish the book myself, in 2011, and it took home the Silver Medal at the 2011 Independent Publishers Awards in NYC. And has since sold many, many thousands of copies…
Oh! And it’s still FREE to download over at the Smashwords Christmas Sale until January 1, 2026! Click HERE. (Adults only, please!)
“Freak Parade is a tour de force, a literary erotic novel that doesn’t shy away from the grittier realities of human nature and survival in the city…” – from a review by Saskia Walker, UK, 2011
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Okay!
Here’s this!
Apparently, Johnny launched the opening of his “A Bunch of Stuff” art exhibition in Tokyo, with a brand new painting !
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And I will close today with this.
As a result of my having visited my birth mom a couple weeks ago wherein I also got to see my younger half-brother for the first time in a few years…
He has started texting me in the evenings! It’s too cool. Back in the 1980s – 1990s, he and I were very, very close. We had a falling out, though, over his relentlessly bad temper with my little niece (his daughter).
Anyway. I think it will be interesting when our mom reads all of our texts, because he’s texting me from her phone! But he melted my heart the other night when he brought up my music.
He said, “Is there a copy of that song you wrote about the railroad? That was a great song! I want to hear it again!”
And as luck would have it, I was able to send him over to my YouTube channel!! And he started listening to my songs again. Such a cool feeling, gang.
“Something Like the Railroad”, 1994, with Groovalaya backing me in the studio in NYC! (This song actually got airplay on WMFU in NYC , and also airplay out in Reno, Nevada, where my birth dad lived. And it also garnered me a songwriting publishing contract in Nashville.)
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And that is it! I gotta scoot!
I hope you have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting!
I love you guys. See ya!
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Okay, here’s this!!
Probably from the upcoming soundtrack of Christmas Eve here with my new friend Johnny!!
I have to say, gang, I am SO glad that I not only have today off, but that I also ran whatever errands I needed to run over the weekend, because I so don’t want to go out there today.
The snow looks pretty, but it is once again 9 degrees Fahrenheit out there. While here inside, the milk house heater is giving the regular heat a cozy boost, and of course, CHRISTMAS stuff is all over the place!!
So I am really looking forward to just hanging around indoors today. Plus, the drive to and from town for my shift yesterday evening was so fucking stressful — snow, ice, 12 degrees Fahrenheit (for 22 miles, in the dark).
I was ready to collapse when I walked in the door — HOWEVER!
The minute I did walk in the door, Valerie in Brooklyn texted me to alert me that Britbox was finally offering “new” episodes of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys”!!! Yay. (She and I both watch the old episodes over and over and over, and I was planning to watch yet another old episode before calling it a night.) ( By “new” it just means that Britbox hasn’t offered them before.)
So, wow. That was a great way to end a stressful Sunday night! I watched 2 episodes of “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” that I had never seen before! (While Valerie was watching the same episodes over in Brooklyn, so it was almost like hanging out with her. Almost.) (Also, please remember to keep her in your prayers. Her heart surgery is Thursday.)
(A short clip from one of the older ones that I’ve probably seen about 10 times already.)
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Today should be a really good day.
I was planning on doing some housecleaning, but I’ve decided to just do the laundry and leave the rest until Thursday, because–
Yay!
The contract for The Curse of Our Profound Disorder arrived yesterday from the publisher!! So I want to read that over today and get it back to her.
And then I want to finally sit down and watch “Modi”!! I can’t wait.
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This was on the Allen Ginsberg Instagram page yesterday and it sort of fits in with my 12th Street project.
Allen Ginsberg lived about a half a block away from me, on E. 12th Street, back in the 80s. And all the photos I’ve seen over the years that were taken from inside his apartment — his apartment looked a lot like how mine did. (The apartments in the East Village were tenement walk-ups, built in the late 1800s.)
I’m guessing that, all these decades later, they’ve “renovated” his old apartment the same way they did mine — i.e., took all the life out of it.
Anyway:
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And from Ross A Waterman on Instagram!
Nick Cave (smoking) and Blixa Bargeld in 1997!
Photographer Ross Waterman has been posting lots of photos recently of the Bad Seeds in Melbourne. I’m guessing he’s getting ready for the Bad Seeds to return to Australia in just a few weeks!!
I’m really worn out here. Again. As usual, I seriously need a vacation. But instead of taking a vacation — which the Agency would happily give me without pay — I’m hanging in there until 2026, when I am going to retire.
And then I will take a moment to finally collapse, and then spend the remaining years writing. (And, well, going camping. And shooting guns.)
But until that happens, I am just so worn out, gang. So I want to try to take it really easy today, before the 10-hr. shift resumes tomorrow. Plus I want to do all the grocery shopping for Christmas Eve tomorrow, too (when my new friend Johnny will be coming to my house for the first time!). I don’t want to leave it all until next week, and then have to deal with all the crowds in the grocery store and then maybe they’ve run out of everything I want, etc.
So today should be a really nice easy day. We’ll find out!! (And remember– I probably won’t be posting here tomorrow.)
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Meanwhile, enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting.
I love you guys. See ya!
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Another great one from “A Very Special Christmas” — the first album, from 1987.
U2 doing a great version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Enjoy, gang!!
We did indeed get a big bunch of snow. And currently it is 9 degrees Fahrenheit out there!
And because my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man was so kind to me yesterday, I was able to get back home before any serious snow had accumulated.
Oh, and yesterday, during the 2 hours that I was there, he mentioned our trip to the golf course and the beautiful drive there and back, so many times! He was able to remember it effortlessly. He could even remember the other guests in the restaurant while we were there (there were two large groups of people having Christmas luncheons). And he remembered the two women who spoke to us outside and kindly held the front door open for us.
It just shows how mentally engaged he was by the whole trip. It was a complete success.
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And as the snow was steadily falling outside, and Christmas lights were twinkling everywhere — indoors and out — I finally had a chance to catch up with my new friend Johnny on the phone last evening!!
We discussed some places we might like to visit (go camping, although he also recommended the occasional Holiday Inn Express??!!).
Anyway.
When I mentioned how I’ve wanted to make a trip to the Civil War cemetery in Cynthiana, Kentucky and finally see my great-great grandfather’s grave, Johnny immediately said, “Oh, sure, we’ll do that. That’s easy.” And we even discussed the easiest route to get there from here.
And I finally got the very distinct impression that I am really going to get to see my great-great grandfather’s grave, and I don’t have to make that trip all by myself!!
What a happy feeling.
The Confederate War Memorial, in Cynthiana, KY. Established in 1869 — the oldest Civil War monument still standing in its original location:
My great-great grandfather, David May. He was a Kentucky State Senator, as well as an officer in the Confederate army. He and his horse both drowned in the river during the 2nd Battle of Cynthiana:
He and my great-great-grandmother had 7 children, 4 of whom were boys. And because of the boys, my great-great grandmother was able to survive after the war. Since she was a war widow on the Confederate side, she was not entitled to any financial help from the Government.
(My Aunt Bobbie Jean had my great-great grandmother’s original Bible, with all her handwritten notes about what had happened to her during the war perfectly preserved, and I was able to hold that Bible, and read all her notes, about 25 years ago.)
David May’s 4 sons, late in life. My great-grandfather, Ashbel Patton May, is the man on the upper right. He was a District Attorney in Lexington, KY, for a while:
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All right!!!
It is official!!
“Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness” (simply called “Modi” in the US) is now available on Amazon Prime US!!
I bought it last night, and I am planning to watch it tomorrow, during my glorious day off! I can’t wait!
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And if I wasn’t already feeling lucky enough–
THIS was on Instagram the moment my wee bonny eyes opened at 3AM this morning!!
Nick Cave smoking and looking out an open window!!
Oops! I meant to say “gorgeous” Nick Cave…
And here is the song that goes with that! The beautiful “Song of the Lake,” from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ Wild God, 2024:
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Well, aside from driving in all the ice and snow and freezing temperatures later today, it should be a really nice day around here.
I’m hoping to make more notes on the 12th Street project. And then do yoga, wash my hair. And hopefully spend a peaceful shift with the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!
I forgot to tell you that last Sunday, we all watched “Frosty the Snow Man,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and the special Christmas episode of “Love Boat” from, like, 1978…the retired Minister slept through most of it, although it is hard to imagine sleeping through such gripping entertainment!!
We shall see what awaits us today! I’m not complaining!! (Oh, wait, I am complaining about doing all that driving, but not about the actual shift!)
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Okay, I’m gonna get started here, so have a great Sunday, wherever you are in the world!
Thanks for visiting, gang!
I love you guys. See ya!
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We continue with “A Very Special Christmas” — the first album!
And speaking of E.12th Street, I remember so well listening to this album over and over that Christmas of 1987! I had so many friends back then, gang. And we had so many cocktails, cigarettes — drugs, too. But also Christmas cookies, presents under the tree, and of course NYC in the 1980s!!
“Merry Christmas Baby,” Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band! Enjoy, gang!!
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