Guess what I got??!!

Yes!!

A goat!!

However…

I’m actually just sponsoring him. He won’t be living here.

I’m sponsoring the black goat, named Maverick, on the left:

Remember a couple months ago, I posted here that Goats of Anarchy, the animal rescue farm in New Jersey, needed additional donations?

Yesterday, I changed my monthly “use as needed” donation, to one that sponsors a specific animal. The 2 goats above were just recently rescued and needed sponsors. They are both over 10 years old, and Maverick, specifically, has ongoing medical conditions.

So he’s my goat now!! Yay!!

GOA’s mission: “Goats of Anarchy is a sanctuary for farmed animals with disabilities. Animals come to us broken, battered, and abused, but they never stop fighting—so neither do we. Miracles happen here!”

**************

Before I forget, I listened to this video while making my dinner yesterday, and it was really great, so I’m posting it here, in the event you are interested!

“Every desire that is hatched within your awareness, is not just possible, it’s probable.” (14 mins):

***************

And THIS GUY wants to tell you about a girl….

From the Wild God Tour in Paris — Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “From Her to Eternity”:

And here’s this — part of the soundtrack from my not-so-wee bonny but often crazy bedroom in that Paradise Apartment on E.12th Street, in the East Village in NYC, 1984:

And in TWO MORE DAYS!! Buy tickets here! (Unless you are Paul from New Zealand):

And here’s this!

From Ross Waterman today on Instagram:

************

Well!

Wow, was it cold again last night. Down to about 5 degrees Fahrenheit, with super high winds and snow, so I actually made Kon Tiki stay indoors all night.

She was not happy about that, but at least I knew she was safe and warm.

When I went down at 4:15AM to let her back out this morning, she took off like a big furry rocket into the dark, freezing snow and didn’t even stick around for her breakfast!!

It is still very cold today, and sort of lightly snowing, off and on. I’m not planning on going anywhere, though, so I don’t really mind. I’m going to be working at my desk today, and hopefully just relax a little, too, and even do some reading!

So I am expecting an easy day today. We shall see!

However, I have the milkhouse heater on up here today, to keep the bathroom pipes from freezing, and the entire upstairs is like a fucking sauna!!

So, I’m guessing we’ll have plenty of iced tea up here today, too!! Otherwise, I won’t be able to think…

**********

Here’s this!

I loved this photo. Getting ready for Martin Luther King Day here in the States:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

***********

And here’s this!

Keith, getting ready for something, but I’m sorta thinking it’s not for Martin Luther King Day:

************

Okay, I think that’s actually kind of it for now. People are texting me about various things to do with my home repairs and it is distracting me.

So, have a great Thursday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

I leave you with this today!!

Since the (exceedingly noisy) train is passing by my window right this very minute!

One of my all-time favorite songs, ever!!

From my wee bonny girlhood– live at Folsom Prison!! 1968. Johnny Cash, “Folsom Prison Blues”. Enjoy, gang!!

Just much better all the way around!

Who knows what happens, gang, or why, but I slept great last night and woke happy and ready to bounce out of bed at 4:07AM, and everything just feels so much different from the vibes of yesterday.

Yay.

Before I forget —

I don’t want to get tedious about this, but as of right now (it’s in constant motion, though):

Gold: $4,643.99 per troy ounce

Silver: $92.35 per ounce

And if you want to know more about why this is important — in fact, sort of critical — check this out from Charlie Ward this morning. (7 mins):

And again, if you don’t have a preferred company that you buy gold and silver from, you can check SD Bouillon. I use them because my dad always used them, and I have always found them really easy to work with — fair, reliable, communicative. And they have plenty of gold and silver on offer as of right now.

**********

Okay!

In the continuing Good News Department!

Yesterday, I heard from the carpenter who will be replacing my 126-year-old basement stairs!!

So that makes the carpenter and the plumber, ready to get moving on my home repairs. The only one left is the Central AC guy. (Well, I did, technically, hear back from them, but they’re double-checking on the cost, since it took 6 months for the USDA to have enough money again to give out the home improvement grants.)

But it’s really gonna happen, gang. I can’t tell you how exciting this is!

Not telling you, but I guess, showing you

You know, in the nearly 8 years that I’ve been in This Old House, I’ve had to pay for a few repairs, but these are the grants I’ve been able to get over the years, at absolutely no cost to me:

  • Furnace upgrade
  • New insulation throughout the house including 4 (!!) attics
  • Duct work to get the house ready for Central AC
  • Totally new ceilings in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom
  • New ceiling fan in the kitchen
  • Entirely new roof (!!) (that one alone saved $18K!!)

And now I’m getting: New basement stairs, old water pipes replaced, new fixtures in the upstairs shower and in the kitchen, and Central AC.

I feel very, very blessed, I can tell you that. I really, really love this house but, as you can guess (or perhaps you know from experience) old houses need a lot of attention. And I have zippo skills to do any of the work myself.

**********

All righty.

I guess yesterday was the anniversary of this wonderful woman’s passing:

And, if you are too young to know who Ronnie Spector was, you MUST watch this TV montage of “Be My Baby”, which hit #1 on the charts in 1963:

**********

And speaking of women Keith adored (besides Ronnie Spector)–

Here’s Keith with Anita, in Venice in October, 1967:

I don’t think I have EVER seen a facial expression on Keith that is quite like this one…

And here he is with that other thing he adores–

Keith with a Gibson guitar

***********

Okay.

Speaking of Nick Cave….

Jesus, gang. He sent out another one of those Red Hand Files yesterday, where he answers 50 questions with minimal replies. In the beginning, those things were funny, but now they just kind of make my jaw drop.

And if you don’t get the Red Hand Files in your inbox, this is his reply to the opening question from Paul in New Zealand (whose letter was just sort of staggeringly mean):

So, let’s get this straight – you don’t like me?

You can read the RHF in its entirety HERE.

Photo by Charlotte Hadden

And in 4 days, this begins!! (Except for Paul in New Zealand). Buy tickets HERE!

*********

All righty, I gotta scoot and head out to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

And then tomorrow, I have the day off — I will be working on my contribution to the tribute to M. Christian coming from Parisian Phoenix Publishing. And then doing some work with Sandra.

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

Let’s leave with this!

For no particular reason, just because I always thought this song was so funny.

Yes, another one of those songs that I would listen to on my Sony Walkman, as I bopped around NYC.

“Dog Food” by Iggy Pop, 1980, from his album Soldier. (A great album, btw. “I Need More”, “Loco Mosquito”, etc. ) Enjoy, gang.

“Dog Food”

I’m hanging around that same old scene
My girlfriend Betsy she’s just fourteen
There’s nothing better for me to do
I’m living on dog food

Dog food is so good for you
It makes you strong and clever too
Dog food is a current craze
Eat some every day

I chew up my “Sunday Mirror”
I read about the rich I fear
Dog food is my whole life
Dog food compulses my wife

Yum yum yum – Woof woof woof – Arf arf

c – 1980 Iggy Pop

“Let’s just get it over with.”

I am trying so hard to be in a productive frame of mind today, gang. I’m not sure what’s up with my energy this morning.

I was so tempted to call in sick and just take the day for myself. But, you know. It’s Tuesday.

And now that my shift has changed on Tuesdays, I go to the Rural King before my shift even starts. And, well, you know. Now that there’s a chance that I could maybe get to see “Wild Thing” at the checkout counter for even 4 minutes…

I just sort of sighed and kept moving around here. Did not touch the phone. Well, I touched my phone. I constantly look at the phone for something or other. But I did not dial the On-Call service at the Agency to tell them to find a replacement for me…

And on we go.

And we can only hope that my world will be exciting for at least 4 minutes today. We shall soon see!

(Well, gang, this video alone just perked me up considerably!! “Wild Thing” by The Troggs on The Midnight Special in 1973!!):

**********

Ross K. Nichols posted this in his private Patreon Group today. I thought it was really engaging. A visual poem. Whispers of Moab: Fragments of Stone and Skin (4 mins):

If you don’t know about the controversial Shapira Scrolls, you can check out this book:

***********

And while we’re in a religious frame of mind…

Yesterday, I started Lecture 4 in James Tabor’s new course, “Christianity Before Paul,” and it is another really thought-provoking lecture: “Recovering a Lost Non-Pauline Gospel”. It deals once again with the history of John the Baptist that gets basically erased from and/or misrepresented in the New Testament.

By the way, the course is not anti-Paul, it just deals specifically with what the Jesus Movement was about before the New Testament was created, which focuses almost exclusively on the ideas of Paul.

************

Oh, and I did get that book yesterday that Simcha Jacobovici posted about the other day, She Who Endures: Restoring the Real Artemis, and so far it is really interesting. Definitely a topic I know next to nothing about.

And it is doubly interesting to read it on the heals of having read James Tabor’s new book: The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus.

Carla Ionescu, the author of She Who Endures, maintains that the mythology that grew up around the Virgin Mary had its roots in the goddess Artemis.

**************

Okay!

Here’s this–

Another great photo of Johnny Thunders, from 1981:

*********

And here’s this!

A different Johnny — in the park, in the fall, not smoking:

************

And here are these!

Another photo from just before the Stones US Tour of 1975– Keith cooking:

And in London in 1985, Keith smoking and talking, Mick not smoking and not talking:

***********

And here’s this!!

COMING SOON!

In 4 days, to be exact!! (Buy tickets here!)

Soon come, baby!! Soon come!

And here’s this:

***************

And I’m thinking that’s it for now because I gotta scoot and get this day underway.

Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*************

Around 3AM, I was half-awake and half-asleep and having those disturbing feelings, like everything in the world is foreign to me now, and everything is just frightening these days. Eternally endless.

And in my head, I said out to the world, “Please, somebody, help . Give me something different to feel.”

And then this beautiful song came into my head and took over everything, like a comforting blanket, and I fell into a really deep sleep.

I think a friend of mine, who passed away in 2018, “sent” it to me. He loved Tom Petty. I hadn’t thought about this song in a really long time. It is so beautiful. So calming. So I share it with you.

“Beautiful Blue,” Tom Petty with Mudcrutch, 2016. Enjoy, gang.

“Beautiful Blue”

The shadows from the footlights made you fifty foot tall
I watched you as the music bounced around the hall
You called me in the morning and sent your car for me
I stumbled as I kissed you dropping ashes in your tea

I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I do, I do

Around you there’s a color
A shade unlike the rest
You’re laughing and you’re easy
The way I know you best

I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I do, I do

Gonna move outside the city
I know some friends out there
In a tree with painted bottles
Watch the sun dance on your hair

I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I do, oh, I do

I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I wanna wrap you up in a beautiful blue
I do, oh, I do

c- 2016 Tom Petty

Best Day of the Week!

Monday, being a day off for me, is probably my most favorite day of the week!!

And even though I generally feel super relaxed when I wake up at 4AM on a Monday, I also have so much energy, because the whole day is MINE.

By 5:49AM today, I had cleaned 5 litterboxes (twice), fed and watered and generally catered to 18 cats (!!) (indoors and outdoors, but mostly indoors), made and ate my own breakfast, washed and put away all the dishes, finished one load of laundry, started a second load, said my prayers, then went back up to bed with a cup of coffee and, before actually getting back in the bed (for an hour), I hit the “easy” button!

I actually still have the “easy button” and I love using it! After doing something that is usually fucking endless, I hit that easy button and that guy’s voice sort of resets my energy level.

Honestly. I love it. And it always sort of startles the cats…

************

In the More Good News Department!

The plumber just called about setting up a time to get in here and update all the old pipes and fixtures in my upstairs bath and in my kitchen!!

It’s really happening gang.

All these repairs are gonna get done. And it’s gonna be a grant that I don’t have to pay back! Yay! (Long time readers of this lofty blog might also recall that this includes getting Central AC installed in this old house, too!) (And new basement stairs!!)

Yay!

**********

When I was with the retired Minster last evening, his lovely wife told me about this and I think it is so cool!

Go to this web site:

America250.org

And search for your State. If you live in Ohio, the direct URL is:

America250-Ohio.org

Through the websites, you can find out all the various festivities that are scheduled to go on in your area this July 4th, to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!! Historical tours, art, theater, concerts, fireworks, etc.

You can also sign up to volunteer, or make a donation, or attend local fundraising events before the summer.

***********

Okay.

Here’s this!

Honestly, gang. I talk to Jack Kerouac in my head all the time. Mostly, I say, “Help me get through this, Jack.” In terms of my various novels, novels-in-progress, memoirs getting underway, etc. Because it seems like every single word that comes out of my head and hits the paper, has the potential to provoke people somehow.

When I was 35, 40, 45 — I had no problem with this. It didn’t even register with me, you know? I wrote what I had to write. I still write what I have to write, but now I get so stressed when I think about how many people there are in the world nowadays who want to be confrontational.

Anyway.

I loved his book, The Subterraneans.

**********

Every Sunday on Instagram, Gered Mankowitz has a “Stoned Sundays” post.

He took tons of now very famous photos of the Rolling Stones in the mid-1960s. And he posts a few of them every Sunday.

From yesterday — Keith in the recording studio. I think this was 1966.

Also, this book is GREAT!

***********

And we are now FIVE days away!! Buy tickets here!

And here’s this!! A photo of Nick Cave from last night yesteryear that has absolutely nothing wrong with it!!

I have nothing to say. Everything here is perfect.

**************

Okay.

This was interesting. If you’re into the Old Testament and how Hebrew words and translations evolve over the various thousands of years and gradually come to mean something else once they reach the New Testament…

Ross K. Nichols Sunday School class from yesterday – The Satanic Scriptures (1 hr 14 mins):

**********

Before I forget–

Gold and silver are CLIMBING today, gang!!

As of right now:

Gold: $4,616.53 per troy ounce

Silver: $85.53 per ounce

And this is in constant motion this morning.

************

Now I gotta scoot.

One more load of laundry to do. Then I gotta sign all the paperwork for my home repairs GRANT and get that off in the mail. Then work on the projects with Sandra!!

Enjoy your Monday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

I leave you with this!!

Tom Jones’ fantastic version of “She Drives Me Crazy” — a duet with Zucherro –from the fantastic album, Reload, 1999! Enjoy, gang.

Well, happy Sunday, sort of…

Sadly, late yesterday afternoon, just as I was walking in the door from my shift and getting ready to relax and have a great Saturday night…

I got an email from my new publisher at Parisian Phoenix Publishing, asking me if I wanted to contribute to an upcoming tribute anthology to M. Christian.

I had absolutely no idea he was dead, gang. But it turns out he died of heart failure on New Year’s Day.

Chris and I go way, way back. I first started working with him when Masquerade Books asked me if I would publish an excerpt of Chris’s new book on my website, Other-rooms.com. Back in 1997. He and I were both 37.

I was delighted to and from then on, Chris and I were not just colleagues but friends. In fact, as did most out-of-town writers stopping in NYC back then, he came to visit me and Wayne at our apartment on West End Avenue. We went out for lunch, etc.

Many, many, many anthologies, book reviews, interviews later… suddenly, we were both 65 and now he’s dead.

It was because of Chris, in fact, that I even pitched Parisian Phoenix Publishing about maybe publishing The Curse of Our Profound Disorder. He was already publishing with them and asked if I would review one of his books.

So, of course, I am working on a tribute to him to include in the anthology. I will keep you posted.

M. Christian (Chris Muncy) 1960-2026.

*************

All right.

Well, I’ve just come from my new church, and today’s sermon was all about the crucial need now for discernment, that everything and everyone in our world today has a hidden agenda, to watch out for the dangers of AI.

All topics that I agree with, but none of them topics I want to dwell on in church, since I dwell on them 24/7 already, so that was sort of frustrating.

However, I’m still glad I went. And I got that seat in the 3rd pew, right by the stained glass window. And everyone was still really friendly and seemed happy to be in church.

So onward.

**********

But first!

A tiny bit more politics.

I try to keep politics off the blog these days, however. If you’ve followed my blog long enough, you know that I have posted many, many times about how you should try to buy gold and silver if at all possible, and only keep enough cash in your bank account right now to cover your bills.

I just wanted to post this video because if you are still not aware of what’s going on with silver, worldwide, and now with the imminent return to precious-metals-backed currencies, please take a moment (well, 12 moments) to watch this. It is concise and very easy to understand:

And just FYI, I buy and sell gold and silver through SD Bouillon because that was the company my dad used forever. I have found them to be incredibly trustworthy, reliable, fair. So if you don’t have your own preferred company, you can try them.

As of this morning, they still had plenty of silver. (And they also have plenty of gold.)

**************

Okay!!

On to non-politics!!

After I had sort of recovered from the shocking news of M. Christian’s death, I got back to work on that logline for the TV project with Sandra, and I think I got some really good stuff!

It will still need tweaking, but I’m awaiting Sandra’s response before getting back at it.

And I also managed to wash my hair, do yoga, take another one of the lectures in James Tabor’s new course, “Christianity Before Paul.” AND have a delightful dinner, in the company of many delightful cats. AND watch another 30-minute streamer TV show, taking notes on how they develop the Acts and weave them through the A & B plots , etc.

A lot of work, but I do believe I will not have to watch any more episodes of that particular show. Yay. Because I’m not crazy about it, although it is extremely popular. (I thought “I Love LA” was interesting, but I wasn’t crazy about that show, either. So I’m also done with that show, too. The 3rd and final show is fucking intense, gang. I do not know how I am going to stomach more than 2 episodes of that one, but, wow, I believe it will be very educational as far as how certain key topics are presented on streamer TV shows nowadays.)

Not really even close to how I reacted to the first half of the pilot episode. It was gut-wrenchingly raw.

********

Well, I just got up from my desk, turned around and saw this, so I had to share!!

(In no particular order: Cuddles, Queenie, Princess, Goldie, Calico, Freddie McFee, and Bobbie McGee, and a stuffed animal…)

*********

Okay!

And here’s this.

I liked this tribute to Sir Rod Stewart’s birthday yesterday, from Muscle Shoals Recording Studio:

*********

And I liked this!

Posted by Jo Wood yesterday. Ronnie, at home in NYC, in 1978!!

*********

And this!

From Keith’s “deep blue period”….

**********

And if you can believe it, gang–

Only 6 more days until Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds return to the stage in Australia and New Zealand! Buy tickets HERE. (And you can also start buying tickets there to see them in Europe this summer but I’ll spare you those updates until much, much closer to summer…)

And here’s this!

We don’t often see Nick Cave in ruffles anymore, but maybe he will consider revisiting that look while in Australia…? We shall soon see!!

Nick Cave, ruffly.

************

And I suppose I better close this and get some lunch before heading out to see the retired Minister and his lovely wife and cat!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

I leave you with this.

I was listening to this hymn on my retro boombox at 6:30AM this morning. While lying in bed and thinking about M. Christian. With a few beautiful cats laying with me on the bed in the dark.

It was incredibly peaceful. Enjoy, gang.

Back at it, gang!

Yes, I’m fucking TIRED!

But at least I’m getting everything done, little by little, every evening after my caregiving shift is over.

Currently –working on the logline for the new TV project. And watching those streamer shows that Sandra wants me to watch (it’s not easy, gang — as you know, I’m not super crazy about the type of shows that are popular these days).

But I’m the one who does the “math” as I’m watching the shows — how long is their Teaser, how many minutes for Act One, Act Two, Act Three — which equals how many estimated pages per Act? Where’s our A plot going, our B plot, our super short C plot/Tag…

But, you know, once all that is mapped out, it is relatively easy to drop the story into the framework. And then, voila! A 30-minute-drama, streamer-TV script is born.

Anyway!

**************

Okay!!

Great news!! I finally got all the paperwork from the USDA yesterday about my grant to get all the repairs done to the house!!

So, apparently, money is moving through the Government once again. I am so excited about this, gang. Among other things, the filter in the furnace will need changing soon and, as loyal readers of this lofty blog no doubt recall, my 126-year-old basement stairs are collapsing!

And this will soon be ME, attempting to go down those stairs to change the furnace filter!

So I am super excited that things are proceeding with the repairs on my beloved, very old, home.

***********

Before I forget!!

Again!!

I was halfway to town yesterday morning when I realized I’d forgotten to post this to the blog yesterday:

It was David Johansen’s first heavenly birthday yesterday.

Here’s one of the photos from Phyllis Stein’s post to David on Instagram yesterday:

Apparently, it was also Jimmy Page’s birthday yesterday, too.

I’m not a big Jimmy Page fan or anything. Well, I don’t dislike him, I was just only a moderate fan of Led Zeppelin.

But I saw this photo yesterday and I thought it was fantastic! So I post it here!

Ross Halfin’s photo of Jimmy:

***********
On a sadder note–

It was ten years ago today that one of my wee bonny girlhood heroes left this plane.

David Bowie 1945 – 2016

And here’s this as a sort of odd tribute. “Golden Years,” from 1976:

“Golden Years”

Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop

Don’t let me hear you say
Life’s taking you nowhere, angel
(Come get up, my baby)
Look at that sky, life’s begun
Nights are warm and the days are young
(Come get up, my baby)

There’s my baby, lost that’s all
Once I’m begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Come get up, my baby

Last night they loved you
Opening doors and pulling some strings, angel
(Come get up, my baby)
In walked luck and you looked in time
Never look back, walk tall, act fine
(Come get up, my baby)

I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years
Golden years
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Come get up, my baby

Some of these days, and it won’t be long
Gonna drive back down where you once belonged
In the back of a dream car twenty foot long
(Come get up, my baby)
Don’t cry my sweet, don’t break my heart
Doing all right, but you gotta get smart
Wish upon, wish upon, day upon day
I believe, oh Lord, I believe all the way
(Come get up, my baby)
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

There’s my baby, lost that’s all
Once I’m begging you save her little soul
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop
Come get up, my baby

Don’t let me hear you say life’s taking you nowhere, angel
(Come get up, my baby)
Run for the shadows, run for the shadows
Run for the shadows in these golden years

I’ll stick with you baby for a thousand years
Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years
Golden years
Golden years, gold, whop, whop, whop

c – 1975 David Bowie

****************

Okay.

Before I forget!!

I find this utterly amazing, gang.

Yesterday, I got the final blog stats for the year, and in 2025, over 20,000 of you (!!) stopped in to read the blog.

I really, really thank you for that.

Yes, in the early days, when blogs themselves were brand new (27 years ago or so — they weren’t even called blogs yet), I averaged about 5,000 readers a day, but things were so different back then.

Not just my career, which was basically on a rocket to the moon, but the internet was young (dial-up) and there weren’t that many people on it yet, and once you were on it, there wasn’t that much to do. So my blogs on Otherrooms.com and MarilynsRoom.com got tons of traffic. (I also lived in NYC back then, and I was also heavy into PR and marketing back then, too.)

Nowadays, people mostly do podcasts, not blogs. Blogs are for selling stuff, or for news updates, etc. But my blog keeps me writing everyday. Keeps my brain focused outside myself for a little while each morning.

And people don’t hit the “like” buttons very often, and very rarely interact with me in the “comments” anymore, so I don’t get a good feel for how many readers are actually showing up, even though I knew the blog was getting more traffic than it had in a long time.

But over 20,000 readers last year really just blew me away. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

***********

All righty!

7 more days, gang!! Buy tickets HERE!

And here’s this from the desktop stash!

Nick Cave, fucking gorgeous, as usual

*************

And here’s this again! Just because!

Charlie, Keith, and Ronnie, backstage in 1998! Photo by Ronnie’s wife back then, Jo Wood.

**********

And now I gotta scoot and go see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man!

Don’t forget, since tomorrow is Sunday and is now “church day” for me, I won’t be posting here until later in the morning.

Enjoy your Saturday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*************

I leave you with this!!!

Today is Sir Rod Stewart’s 81st Birthday!!

Let’s celebrate with this!!

From way before the “Sir” thing — my very first favorite song by Rod Stewart (I was 11 years old), “Maggie May”. 1971. A total classic now. Enjoy, gang!!

Yes! In case you were wondering…

We have another cat!

Well, this one just stops in for breakfast and dinner, and then spends the rest of her life in the great outdoors. She and Kon Tiki don’t get along, but they stop by to eat at the very same times.

I’ve named her Lulabelle, and she’s incredibly sweet:

She was abandoned by her owner in the summer of 2024, and then Brandon Mitchell was looking after her until he moved away.

And then she’d stop by the kitchen porch to eat, but only now & then, so I thought someone else had taken her in. But when it went down to 16 degrees Fahrenheit in December, then 9 degrees, she started to want to come inside my kitchen. Which made me realize that she didn’t actually have a home.

So now she sort of belongs to us! She is just so sweet. But, like Kon Tiki, she definitely does not like to stay indoors for very long.

*************

Okay.

Well, yesterday was very productive, gang.

That meeting over at the church with the new Minister was very interesting. And, yes, the moment he found out about my training in the Ministry and also about my studies in Judeo/Christian antiquities, my background in Judaism and Hebrew, etc., his eyes lit up.

Honestly, I could tell he was going to ask me to help out around the church, so I very quickly added stuff about how busy I am right now with caregiving and writing. And then he sort of sat back in his chair….

I am definitely just going to keep it to Sunday mornings, coming & going alone, and keep my private life to myself. But what a beautiful church, what a passionate Minister, and what nice people they all are. I’m really happy with how that developed. Finally.

*************

Before I forget — another quick thank you to everyone who is buying the Kindle edition of my novel from 2020, The Guitar Hero Goes Home.

I really, really appreciate it.

And also, if this is of any interest–

August 23rd of this year will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of the silent film legend, Rudolph Valentino.

If you aren’t familiar with my novel, Twilight of the Immortal, the Kindle edition is here. And while it’s a fictional account, it is a highly researched book — and it’s over 500 pages, but the notes and bibliography alone are 40 pages.

Anyway. It is about the life and death of Rudolph Valentino, primarily his life in Hollywood in the Silent Film heyday. It took me 10 years to research it, then about a year to write it. And after she read the manuscript, my agent met me for lunch at the Chateau Marmont in LA and said, “This is your masterpiece, Marilyn. The only thing I can compare it to is F. Scott Fitzgerald.”

Then she added, “Unfortunately, no one’s buying F. Scott Fitzgerald-type novels right now.”

And she was right. She shopped it everywhere, and even though publishers loved the book, and even though no one balked at my maintaining that Rudolph Valentino was actively bisexual, they all had trouble with his wives allegedly being lesbians. (He was married twice.) “How are we going to market this book with those lesbians in it?”

They really said that. That part astounded me.

And FYI, back in the 1920s, the term “twilight marriage” in Hollywood, meant that a gay guy and a lesbian got married to hide the fact that they were both gay, and that after hours, they were sleeping with people of their own sex.

But anyway, the novel was an enormous labor of passion and love for me. When I first began writing that book, I knew next to nothing about Rudolph Valentino. But Peitor Angell was friends with the people who lived in his old mansion in Beverly Hills, and one day, we went over to visit and, I tell you for certain, gang, Rudolph Valentino’s spirit was alive & well and living in that house!! It was incredible.

New owners have since torn the mansion down, but not before Rudolph Valentino’s spirit came home with me to NYC.

After 10 years of research, and then writing that novel, I absolutely adored that man. He was so passionate, so intelligent, so talented. And he absolutely refused to play by the book, so the bigwigs in Hollywood were determined to destroy him. (They did. He died of horrific complications with a bleeding ulcer, at age 31.)

So if you’d like to know more about the Silent Film era and Rudolph Valentino, and you’re so inclined to mark the 100th year of his passing, check out the book!! (And be sure to buy the one with this cover.)

*************

Okay.

Here’s this!

Keith Richards signing Buddy Holly’s legendary guitar!

And Keith smoking, while wearing a really nice sort of coral-colored shirt!

*********

Here’s this!

Very interesting! I bought a copy of the book this morning.

Simcha Jacobovici – Why You Need to Read “She Who Endures: Restoring the Real Artemis” by Carla Ionescu (3 mins):

********

And this!

Only 8 more days, gang!! Buy tickets HERE!

Nick Cave, getting ready for love!

**********

And now I better scoot and immediately head over to see my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man, or I’m gonna be late!!!

Enjoy your Friday, wherever you are in the world!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

*********

Let’s leave with this today!

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Get Ready For Love” !!! 2004. Enjoy, gang!

“Get Ready for Love”

Get ready for love! Praise Him!
Get ready for love! Praise Him!
Get ready for love! Get ready!

Well, most of all nothing much
ever really happens
And God rides high up in the ordinary sky
Until we find ourselves at our most distracted
And the miracle that was promised
creeps quietly by

Calling every boy and girl
Calling all around the world
Calling every boy and girl
Calling all around the world

Get ready for love! Praise Him!
Get ready for love! Praise Him!

The mighty wave their hankies from their
high-windowed palace
Sending grief and joy down in supportable doses
And we search high and low without
mercy or malice
While the gate to the Kingdom swings
shut and closes

Calling every boy and girl
Calling all around the world
Calling every boy and girl
Calling all around the world

Praise Him till you’ve forgotten
what you’re praising Him for
Praise Him till you’ve forgotten
what you’re praising Him for
Then praise Him a little more

c -2004 – Nick Cave

Such a great day!

Yesterday, that is.

Although I am expecting today to be a really great day, too.

Regarding yesterday, though —

I had another great afternoon with my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. And we did indeed finally get to go out for sashimi and sake. And his clarity, focus, appetite (!!), stamina, were still doing great.

And while at the Peony Bistro, having our sashimi, the son of one of my favorite client’s was there having lunch with two of his own sons. The client was the woman that I adored, who lived in that beautiful split-level home that was filled with so much love, it was palpable. Just the most amazing experience I had ever had with a client.

She passed away unexpectedly a couple of months ago and I was heartbroken. The son and his wife are the owners of that love-filled home my client lived in.

When they saw me in the restaurant, the son and his two sons all came over to me at my table, and the son shook my hand. In his thick German accent, he said, quietly: “It is so nice to see you. I hope you have a very good New Year.”

There was so much emotion in his face, you know? My heart just sort of melted. I tried my best to introduce him to my Japanese client, but my client is easily confused by strangers.

Still, as I was leaving the restaurant, I was really sort of amazed by the world I have over there in Granville. Especially since I don’t — and never have — lived there. But my life intersects with so many people in such a meaningful way (after being in and around it for 8 years now), that it is getting a little breathtaking.

Granville Ohio

It was Gus Van Sant Sr who convinced me to move permanently to this area of Ohio and not move back to NYC. (He had very fond memories of Granville from his boyhood.) What a blessing that turned out to be for me.

Anyway.

After my shift, I came home and had a really great chat with Sandra about the TV project we’re developing (she had just had a really productive chat with the producer who is waiting on our completed proposal).

This recent photo of Sandra is just a small hint, gang. I can’t go into any details yet on the blog!

But it was exciting.

And during my dinner, my accountant in NYC called me and we also had a great chat.

It was the first time he was able to touch base with me after all that stuff happened regarding my dad’s Estate during the holidays. But, since my accountant specializes in the entertainment industry (he is also a theatrical producer, and a lawyer), we focused instead on the 3 projects I have going on right now with Sandra.

And that ended up also being a very, very good chat.

And today, I am still planning to pitch the “Tell My Bones” screenplay to that director who doesn’t direct TV-streamer movies, but I’m going to pitch it anyway and see if maybe he will at least read the script! I will keep you posted… (I will have to go through the usual gatekeepers out in Los Angeles, but I’m hoping they will at the very least say, “Okay, send the script.”)

Also, yesterday, before we left for sashimi & sake, the Minister from my new church called me!

He and I are having a brief meeting at the church later this morning. I met him briefly on Sunday, but since I want to join the church, he wants to find out more about me.

I am really looking forward to the meeting — but I am hoping I don’t leave that meeting having agreed to teach a Sunday School class or something like that. (Fingers crossed, gang…)

***********

Okay!

Today is this guy’s heavenly birthday!!

Elvis!!

And in honor of his birthday, I am wearing those really cool Elvis earrings that Kara bought me for Christmas!!

Terrible photo of the really cool earrings!

Oh, and that means that I will be wearing “Elvis” earrings during my meeting with my new Minister!! Perhaps that will be auspicious? Yay!

********

All right!

Here’s this:

In an interesting connection to James Tabor’s recent video about John the Baptist, Ross K. Nichols Sunday School class from this past Sunday–

“This class examines ancient sources on El Elyon’s enigmatic priest and his ‘eternal’ priesthood, from the Hebrew Bible and Josephus to Hebrews and the Dead Sea Scrolls, to ask what can responsibly be said about Melchizedek based on the surviving sources.”

Melchizedek: El Elyon’s Eternal Priest (1 hr 21 mins):

*************

And, wow, here’s this!

From Instagram yesterday, just gorgeous, right? I don’t know if it’s AI or not but I still love it:

5 fingers on the left hand…

**************

And here’s this!

Another gorgeous photo — this photo was used as the back cover for Keith’s autobiography, Life.

***********

And I liked this photo, too!

From Robert Earl Keen’s Instagram page yesterday:

Robert Earl Keen, 2025

And here’s this: “The Road Goes On Forever”, 1993:

************

And last but absolutely not least!!

From Nick Cave’s Official page — 9 more days, gang!!

Buy tickets here!

*************

And on the home front today–

It is payday here, and when I checked my bank account at 4AM this morning, it turned out that even though I worked in the afternoons on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, I still got holiday pay!! Yay!!

I was totally not expecting that, so that was nice.

And with that, I’m gonna get this day-off underway!!

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

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

**********

Let’s leave with this today.

Although I was not listening to Elvis’s version of this hymn this morning, it was the first song I listened to on my retro boombox today.

I’ve always loved this hymn, but I was surprised, this morning, to discover that I relate to this verse these days, now more than ever:

Through many dangers,
Toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought
Me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

But since it’s his birthday, here’s Elvis’s beautiful version of “Amazing Grace.” Enjoy, gang!

“It’s just basic math. What is her problem?”

I do like to think that I know how to do math, gang.

And while a 6-hr shift is still a lot better than a 10-hr shift, that 10-hr. Tuesday is not a 5-hr shift now, it’s a 6-hr shift.

I didn’t figure this out until yesterday afternoon, when it felt like the “5-hr shift” was dragging on and on and on…

At one point, I looked at the clock in the client’s kitchen and saw that I still had 3 more hours to go, and I thought: How come this day isn’t going anywhere? I feel like I’ve been here forever.

And then I did the math. And I had been there forever. And that’s when I realized it was a 6-hr shift!

And needless to say, I’m exhausted this morning. But I think that part is psychological.

However, the highlight of yesterday! I stopped in at the Rural King around 10:30AM, and there he was again!! (And, YES! He flirted with me AGAIN. And it was basically the only seriously good thing about my day yesterday.)

************

Before I forget– I forgot to post this yesterday. It’s great!

“In this video I relate the remarkable discovery in 2000 of a forgotten Cave west of Jerusalem, at Suba, that has what might be the earliest art work related to the John the Baptist-Jesus movement–right outside John’s village of Ein Kerem.”

James Tabor — Exploring the Lost Cave of John the Baptizer (48 mins):

*************

Okay.

Today it’s sort of mild out there, grey, not too windy. Snow and ice are gone. And so this is in my very near future!

OOPS! My mistake. That’s what I do everyday, regardless of the weather! This is what I’m doing today!

With my favorite 95-year-old Japanese man. We haven’t been out for sashimi and sake since before all the ice and snow!

You know, I can’t remember if I posted it here, but last week, he had his annual physical. (He sees an osteopath, not an traditional MD.) And he is now on only one mild pharmaceutical, the rest of his “meds” are OTC supplements, and the difference in his clarity, his conversation, his alertness. Wow.

He still has serious short term memory issues, but the difference was just incredible. It was like how he was last year, when I first met him. Before he started to sort of dramatically decline.

Anyway. It’s wonderful. I hope it lasts for a while.

************

All right.

I have no idea if all the cool accounts I follow on Instagram are taking these first days of January off, or what. But I still have no cool photos to re-post here!!

However, Cave Things announced this morning, that if you’re a subscriber to the site, you get 30% off of anything in the store!!

So maybe you should go subscribe, if you haven’t already. And then you can get a great deal if you feel so inclined to buy a gift for me!! (Plus, it looks like you get free pencils with your order, too!!)

Perhaps a simple prayer card! Only $6 before the discount! And it’s timely! And sort of auspicious. (I thank you in advance.)

And don’t forget–

Only 10 more days until this!!

And here’s this from yesteryear, just because I love it.

Nick Cave, combing his hair. With a retro boombox by his bed, before they were retro. And, well, other stuff.

And now I seriously gotta scoot because I am gonna be late!!

Have a wonder-filled Wednesday, wherever you are in the world.

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

I leave you with this!

This came on the Oldies FM radio station on my own retro boombox, as I finally got out of bed this morning! I hadn’t heard it in forever.

As a weeny bonny lass, I loved this song. Today was probably the first time I actually understood what it was about…

“Do It Again” by Steely Dan. 1972. Enjoy, gang.

Wow!

Okay, gang.

It was about 6PM last night before I was finally able to just sit down at my desk and re-read the original screenplay for “Tell My Bones: The Helen LaFrance Story.”

I had spent a chunk of the afternoon yesterday just trying to get everything organized — all the original notes, photos, original signed “Life Rights” paperwork, signed by both Helen LaFrance and Wanda Stubblefield. Get a current address on file for Wanda, and make sure she’s still alive (she is). I also had to re-register the script with the WGA because the original registration had expired.

And then separate which notes were from the original screenplay and which were from the theatrical version. (The folders from both versions, when stacked together, weigh about 40 pounds! Not joking. And this doesn’t count an entire briefcase full of stuff that Gus Van Sant Sr gave me regarding Helen.)

When I was finally able to just sit and focus on the script, I was worried about how I was going to feel. There are so many things I love about the theatrical version. But the screenplay version is totally 100% family-friendly and meant for general TV viewing. I was worried that the writing wouldn’t hold up after all this time.

But, wow, gang. Except for a couple of words that need to be capitalized, I would not change a thing.

I sat there for almost 2 hours, just reading. I was so caught up in it. It’s just a beautiful script.

Not that a director won’t want changes (and they might want to pull in aspects of the theatrical version), but I’m totally 100% okay with shopping it as it is. (Back when I first wrote it and sent it around, the feedback was great. And it scored very high at the Austin Film Festival and it won in its category at the Cleveland International Film Festival.)

I had been worried that I would feel too critical of it now, since it’s so “G-rated”, but I absolutely wasn’t. And of course, Helen LaFrance has long-since passed away, but I felt her spirit last night filling my room, wanting her story to finally get told.

It was a really incredible feeling. So I’m excited. And just feeling so blessed.

With Sandra attached, there are producers at both streamers and cable TV channels who will want to read it, but there is also a director I want to pitch it to, first. I will probably do that on Thursday. He’s not known for directing TV movies but I’m going to pitch him anyway.

**********

Okay!

Well, if you saw my quick post from yesterday afternoon, you’re well aware of how excited I am about the publication of my upcoming novel, too! (The Curse of Our Profound Disorder.)

What a thrill that was to find her official “Welcome” announcement in my Instagram feed!

And I was not kidding about needing some help with filing! And a filing cabinet!!

But for now, I stacked everything in the bottom drawer of the dresser in the guest room. At least everything from the last 5 years is in the same place and the cats can no longer get at it.

************

Okay.

And another WOW!

My drive on those backroads to go to the Social Security office yesterday morning — just spectacular. The same roads I took to that mall to ostensibly “see a movie” back in the Fall (I ended up walking out on the movie). There was still some snow out on the fields and the trees and rolling Appalachian foothills, but the SUN was just everywhere. It was so beautiful.

An actual painting of that area from about a hundred years ago

And so now the Social Security stuff is off my plate. (After about 2 years of them taking money out of my retirement check every month.) (And now all they do is take an even larger chunk of money out of my retirement check for Medicare…)

***********

Well, I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had time to be on Instagram much or what, but I still found nothing cool to share here today, so I’m back to the private desktop stash!

This might be of interest!

Here in the US, public schools have the Scholastic Book Club.

Back when I was in the 7th Grade (12 years old), you didn’t have to join it or anything, the magazines came to our classrooms and you ordered whatever you wanted through the teacher.

I practically died and went to heaven when I was able to buy THIS poster through Scholastic!!

The Rolling Stones!!!

And when it finally arrived (the packages were delivered to us at school), I was so excited that I went to the Nurse’s office and said I was sick and needed to go home.

Since I never, ever went home sick from school, she called my mom and let me go home right away.

I went directly up to my room and stuck the poster on my wall, then got in bed (pretending to be sick) and I turned on the radio, and stared at that poster for hours!!

I usually post a cropped version of this photo here on the blog, but in the actual photo you can sort of see the poster!! (The photo of me was taken over a year later, though.)

So that is in lieu of my Keith photo for today.

*********

And it is now 11 days until this! (Buy tickets here.)

And here’s this!

This is from when Bob Dylan saw the Wild God Tour here in Crazeysburg. Oops, of course I meant in Paris.

***********

And I guess I better get going, gang.

Have a terrific Tuesday, wherever you are in the world!!

Thanks for visiting.

I love you guys. See ya!

***********

I leave you with this!!!

This cassette tape is currently in my retro boombox next to my bed. (I can’t believe I saved all these cassette tapes, gang. I must have known this retro boombox was in my future…)

And this morning, when I pressed the PLAY button, this was the song that came bouncing out!!

(I actually sort of knew Fred Schneider when I lived in NYC, gang. Enough to say “Hi, how ya doin’?” whenever I saw him on the street down in Chelsea and he would smile back and wave and say, “Hey!”)

“Dry County” from that terrific album, Cosmic Thing, by the B-52s!! 1989. Enjoy, gang!


“Dry County”

It’s one of those lazy days
I’ve got nothing to do
Let the wind blow round my head
Let a cloud be my bed
When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head
Throw ’em to the floor and kick ’em out the door
When the blues kick you in the head
And you roll out of bed in the morning
Just sit on the porch and swing
Sit on the porch and swing

The heat of the day’s got me in a haze
Those lazy days of summer are here

When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head
Throw ’em to the floor and kick ’em out the door
When the blues kick you in the head
And you roll out of bed in the morning
Just sit on the porch and swing
Sit on the porch and swing

Just let the breezes flow,
Through your mind,
I feel so fine

When the blues whomp you up on the side of the head
Throw ’em to the floor and kick ’em out the door
When the blues kick you in the head
And you roll out of bed in the morning
Just sit on the porch and swing
Sit on the porch and swing

Here come the girls up the road
What they want to do they can’t do
Cause it’s a… Dry County

Kicking stones and laughing low
Nowhere to go. It’s a dry, dry, such a dry, dry,
Dust devils blowing in your hair but what do you care
When there’s nowhere to go
It’s a dry, dry, county

c – 1989 Julian Strickland, Catherine Pierson, Frederick Schneider, Cynthia Wilson

The world of author Marilyn Jaye Lewis