The Dark Forest at Sunset

The title of this broadcast was inspired by the gorgeous Kate Bush song and this is without question the most listened to episode of The Dark Forest. It opens with Joni Mitchell's song Court and Spark which sets the cool easy tone of the episode. On the following track our host, Rickster Rick, recites a verse from Kate's song and he does the same before Crowded House's Four Seasons in One Day as well as Sting and Antonio Carlos Jobim's How Insensitive. All three add an air of mystery to the broadcast.

The single best track of this episode was also a song that I left on repeat for days on end - Declan O'Rourke's Galileo - without a doubt one of the most singularly beautiful songs ever written. Following Declan is Nick Drake's One of These Things First and John Martyn's Don't Want to Know. The entire show is rich with fantastic performers like Marvin Gaye, Tommy Dorsey, Joe Tex, The Emotions, Dinah Washington (a personal favourite of mine), along with two of Rickster Rick's faves - Bongwater and Zacherley. As I write this I feel deep sympathy for all of you out there who may never have the pleasure of hearing these glorious broadcasts.

Sandia Crest

(self portrait by melissa ♥♥♥)

Kirsty

Back in the mid 90s I was deep into my Madonna Obsession and (she says blushing) I joined Icon - The Madonna Fan Club. In the back pages were personal ads to become friends with fellow Madonna fans around the globe. One of the closest pen pals I had was Kirsty from Manchester, UK. I still have all the letters she wrote me.

Kensington, Philadelphia

This is a foto I took many years ago of Audra before we went to see Lionel Richie and Tina Turner in Manassas, Virginia. We were driving through Kensington in Philly and I asked Audra to leap out of the car and let me snap a picture of her on this broken road. The church steeple in the background with gorgeous green grass growing up out from the concrete make it one of my most lovely photographs; and I love that Audra's hands are hidden in her pockets.

Moonlight View from New Bridge

May 17th, 1907

Union Road House at Sunset

Mother was wrong!

Back in college, Ray, Winnie, and I all took ceramics. I had made this as a gift for John Palumbo and after I dug out these fotos I got to wondering what's become of John, does he still have this ashtray in his office and mostly I wonder if he remembers me at all.
This ashtray was built at a time when I was obsessed with Anne Sexton and Laugh-In so I scrawled a quote from each into the ceramic ashtray and placed it in the kiln. Please forgive the shoddy photography - it was my first month working with a manual camera and the lighting at my parents is less than ideal at 2am.

Friends from The Loft

Picked up these two fellas this week at Murphy's Loft in Mullica Hill. Any ideas on what their names should be??

Lee Pace

In a word, smoldering.

(photo kidnapped from mynewplaidpants)

Who Would You Rather...

...be in a relationship with? Han Solo or Indiana Jones? (photo kidnapped from starwars.wikia) (photo kidnapped from filmsy)

This was the question of the evening the other night at a little soiree I hosted. I knew instantly my answer, but let's review the characters in question, shall we? Both are rugged, masculine, physical, and intensely attractive. Han has the sense of humour while Indy has education and intellect; both are constantly on the move and both are terribly loyal. Indiana at times goes to great lengths to save lives where as Han tends to be more self-motivated. However, when it all comes down to it, the choice for me, as well as all of my other friends that night, was without a doubt Han Solo, and we all said it was because Indiana Jones is a philanderer. I said it was cuz Han wore those hot black pants and the Jim Morrison-esque belt, plus he's got Chewbacca for a pet...

Cold Beer at Rachel's

Cold Beer by Steve Keene

Coming Out

The best coming out story I have ever heard was from Fr. Michael. When he was fifteen Michael's mother was driving him home from karate class. Out of the silence Sheila said, "Michael. You're gay." Michael wasn't ready to admit it and maybe wasn't ready to even admit it to himself so he immediately told her,
"No, I'm not."
"Michael, you're gay."
"I'm not gay, Mom."
"Michael, I want you to just say it, say that you're gay."
"MOM! I'M NOT GAY!"
"MICHAEL YOU'RE GAY, SAY IT!"
"I'm not gay."
"Michael, you're gay!"
"Okay, Mom, I am gay."
"No you're not!!"
Sheila apparently wasn't quite as ready as she thought she would be. Michael was very nervous of his father's reaction because his father was not only a Marine, but a devout Catholic. Mike, Sr. asked Michael to go for a drive and the two of them went down to the lake to sit on the picnic bench and talk. Father and son sat looking out at the water and Mike said, "Son, I want you to know two things: I don't love you any less, and Michael, neither does God."

Ash at the Park

Ashlee, age six, at the park in Plainsboro, NJ - August 23, 2000

Wawona Tree Tunnel - 1954

The Peacocks of Grounds

Tracie Thoms

(photo kidnapped from playbill)

Tracie Thoms...man, this lady has got it all. Intelligent, gorgeous, always comes across in interviews as down to earth and adorable, and she's so talented - stage, television, film - what can't she do??

(photo kidnapped from baltimoregaylife)

More of Glenn Andreotta

10.30.47 - 4.8.68

Due to the lack of images available on the internet of this man, I felt obliged to post every photo that I have scanned of Glenn.

Helga the Elephant

This adorable picture was mailed to me last week. My 12 year old niece, Isabella Rose, drew it and made me promise not to frame it - she thinks it's terrible and is furious that her mother slipped it in the envelope. I swore not to hang it in my home; I didn't say I wouldn't post it on my blog...

(ps - dontchya love that Helga is sucking up peanut M&M's??)

Roy Grey Hylander

This is my Grandfather's cousin Bud's father. I just refer to him as Uncle Roy Hylander. The above photo was taken March of 1896 when little Roy Hylander was one year old and lived in Chehalis, Washington. Is he the cutest baby that ever was or what?

A Scene In The Park

from Mamma!

Joyful Girl

I just got word that my friend, Joy, who I worked for and with back in 2000 had passed away last week. The photos below demonstrate exactly how easy it is to fall completely in love with her. She was a pain in the arse sometimes, but mostly she was kind and sweet and silly and the most adorable creature who ever lived. (photo by melissa at the philly folk fest 2000)

(all photographs taken by me! lisa star, except where noted) 

Joy Greb. - January 3, 1966-March 25, 2011 ♥