Confucius

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Triple Feature

These films need to be shown in the following order on a Friday night in October in an old movie theatre. Preferably one with a balcony and an air of mystery like the Colonial Theatre or even Bryn Mawr. They are all creepy, brilliantly acted, and clearly crafted with great care and admiration for a genre so over run with garbage.

(credits: The House of the Devil kidnapped from 365daysofhorrormovies
Entrance kidnapped from bloody-disgusting
and Absentia kidnapped from sdd-fanatico)

Best Way to Spend a Sunday Night

Tonight during Mad Men while I was curled up in my usual corner of Bishop and Pax's sofa, the sleepiness took over and I drifted off to slumber. An hour later I heard Pax in the distant hallway of the waking world say, "Honey, get your camera. Let's post a picture all over FaceBook of Star sleeping." I couldn't help but laugh, as I know they would never. Ya gotta love hanging out with two fabulous men who feed me and serve me wine and let me crash out on their couch for three hours. I seriously have the best friends in the whole damn 'verse.

Me & Little Z

Went to Phoenixville, PA to the Colonial Theatre to see....

On the way, while stuck in traffic on the Blue Route, we broke out the Mad Libs. It was a fabulous afternoon!

(In order, the words are supposed to be dog bowls, hockey sticks, head bands, bikes, toenails, horsetail, butts, garden hose, leapt, barf, church, gingerbread, Clue, kidneys, nipple, gorgeous, 22, and diapers. I love all of Z's misspellings!)

Postcard from Logan

Postcard from my adorable seven year old nephew, Logan. xoxo

Punk Playlist

The Gits - It All Dies Anyway
The Ramones - Judy Is A Punk
Iggy Pop & the Stooges - Gimme Danger
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
The Clash - Clampdown
Rancid - Time Bomb
Sex Pistols - Don't Gimme No Lip Child
Dead Kennedys - Forward to Death
The Cramps - The Way I Walk
Iggy Pop & the Stooges - Dirt
Patti Smith - Land
X - Los Angeles
Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl
Rancid - Olympia, WA
The Gits - Another Shot of Whiskey
Death - Keep On Knocking
The Clash - Death or Glory
Sex Pistols - I'm Not Your Stepping Stone
Gang of Four - Natural's Not In It
New York Dolls - Chatterbox
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
Buzzcocks - Love You More
Plasmatics - It's My Life
Iggy Pop & the Stooges - Search and Destroy
The Cramps - I Can't Hardly Stand It
Bikini Kill - Strawberry Julius
The Circle Jerks - Love Kills
Death - You're a Prisoner
Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant
Patti Smith - Rock N Roll Nigger
The Misfits - Devil's Whorehouse
The Clash - This Is Radio Clash 
X - Johny Hit and Run Paulene
The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop

Spring

Finally winter is over and things are warming up. My house has been like a meat locker these past few months and I'm only just now beginning to thaw. So, I bring you all the things that I think make Spring absolutely fabulous.

bright colours everywhere
flowering trees
bright tall green grass
long walks at night around the lake
Lena's Water Ice opens!!
driving with the windows down
life - baby ducks, geese, kittens and bunnies
the tulip house near Mum's
hoodies! - no more heavy coats
hittin' the drive thru car wash and cleanin' Duke up
Mum's rose garden
Stella's Farmer's Market opens
Syd, Little Z and Kayla's Bdays
income tax return checks = pay off some debt
the sounds of suburbia - lawnmowers!
baseball season begins
Memorial Day cookouts
my bday!!
hitting the playground with the kids
Bellevue Park in full bloom
subtly checking out men as they go for a run (actually i do this all year round...)
late night drives to the beach just as summer approaches
Spring Break and getting to hang out with the kids
retro movies at the old Colonial Theatre (this Saturday is Back to the Future!)
looking at the planets and surface of the moon thru the telescope at Hawkins
Bishop makes his lemon bars (sooooo good)

Matthias Schoenaerts

Divine in every imaginable way.

(photograph by chad pickard and paul mclean for ellisonlee.com)

Auditory

My top five favourite non musical sounds:

~the sound of a passing train - the distant whistle, the roaring and screeching of the wheels against the rails, and the gush of wind as it wooshes past - best sound ever

~little kids giggling - especially the kids I love...

~the far away crashing surf against rocks and cliffs

~the sound of a 1970s American made car door opening or closing - car doors growing up had such a weight to them and they creaked constantly

~the gentle rhythmic tapping of a new cigarette butt against the face of a wristwatch

God Bless America

In a word - refreshing.

(photo kidnapped from alexmovieblog)

My Style Icons

For hair, that is. I'm so not cool or brave enough to dress like Wendy O. Williams and I've no desire to wear cow. Sid looks fantastic in leather, but it's not for me.

(photo of sid vicious kidnapped from last.fm)

Michael Fassbender

I simply adore this man and wait with bated breath for his next sensational performance.

(photo kidnapped from flicksandbits)

Dorianne Laux

Shadowboxing

Happiness is not something that happens to you, it's something you have to create. My life today is not vastly different from my life five years ago. I am not suddenly in an ideal romantic relationship, I did not awake one morning to have the perfect job, a beautiful face, a kick ass figure or complete financial security. The reason I am now happy in my life versus five years ago, is because I woke up one morning and decided to choose to be happy. My job is decent, I can pay my bills, I'm alright looking, I'm working towards a kick ass bod, and if I remain single, so be it. The difference is that I made a sincere change in my focus to not be that girl that I was for all those years; the one who wore a sour puss on her face and felt doom and gloom all the time. Frankly, it was exhausting. Now I'm fuckin' sunshine and roses over here because that is who I want to be and who I want to feel like. Sure, there are horrible days where I find myself facing suicidal thoughts, but those moments dissipate as quickly as they appeared because I am no longer allowing myself to be enslaved and encaged by my despair. I am no longer fighting myself and holding myself back from all the remarkable things that life has to offer. I'm throwin' down the gloves, climbin' out the ring and living this life because it's pretty fuckin' fantastic and I'm not ready for it to end.

Quality Time

The other night I stopped over to finally give Nicole her luggage and got to see Kayla and Jaeden. I was chatting with Kay and reminding her to ask her mother if it's okay for us to get together on May 4th. It's been at least two months since Kayla and I have had a chance to sit and catch up. Jaeden, who is nearly twelve, quietly said from across the room, "I wanna spend time with Aunt Lisa..." I turned to Jae and said, "You want some one on one with Star?" He nodded sweetly and I pointed at him and said, "You're on little man! Ask yer mom if it's cool and you and I will totally hang out." A huge grin broke across his cute lil' face and that's when Kayla felt the need to explain, "Jaeden, if you hang out with Aunt Lisa there's no TV or video games. The TV is in a different room, you basically just sit and talk about your feelings." I'm not sure if Kayla was trying to prepare him or maybe wasn't keen on sharing me with her younger brother, but Jaeden's response was nothing short of adorable. With pure sincerity in his voice he said to his sister, "Well, I was talking to Aunt Lisa upstairs in the hallway and I had a great time." Man, I am just surrounded by remarkably wonderful kids.

Galaxy Shoes

Look what Sydney did! She took boring old five dollars sneaks and transformed them into kick ass Galaxy Shoes. My niece is crazy smart.

Camino, Here I Come!

So, I am giving serious consideration to doing the Camino de Santiago next year. I've wanted to since Christmas Day 2011 and although I won't be able to complete the entire walk at once, I think I might be able to swing half in 2014 and then finish it in 2015. It isn't ideal, splitting up the walk like this, but getting a month off from work is just not possible at this time. This weekend I plan on starting the book Cerpts sent to me - To the Field of Stars - and the latest one I picked up, Gerald Kelly's Camino de Santiago Practical Preparation and Background. Am I utterly mad for thinking about doing this? Not that my insanity has ever stopped me in the past...

(photo kidnapped from amazon)

Ms. Page

Picked this photo up on South Street years ago and it's hung in my home ever since. I just love this lady.

Perfect.

This book is so fun and informative.

(photo kidnapped from modcloth)

Quiet Storm

Side A - December 26, 1996

Gaze - Sweetback w/Amel Larrieux
Protection - Massive Attack w/Tracey Thorn
A Little More Love - Lisa Stansfield
Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder) - Maxwell
Distant Lover - Marvin Gaye
Alright - D'Angelo
Footsteps In the Dark - Isley Brothers
Casanova Brown - Teena Marie
Cherish the Day - Sade

Side B - December 27, 1996

Right Now - Al B. Sure
Never Too Busy - Kenny Lattimore
The Way You Love - Vanessa Williams
Any Time, Any Place - Janet Jackson
Til the Cops Come Knockin' - Maxwell
Brown Sugar - D'Angelo
You Sure Love to Ball - Marvin Gaye
Adore - Prince
Mary Magdalene - Me'Shell Ndegeocello
Chord - Sweetback

Tucker's Adventure in Italy

In Rome

A stowaway in Florence

On the way to Naples

In Positano

(i know i posted pix of this lil' guy like a week ago, but let's face it, one can never quite get enough of tucker.)

Loft

Finally got a chance to see Loft, thanks to my buddy Evan. It's wonderful to be surrounded by geeky men who, at the snap of my fingers, are able to locate, download, and burn to disc a film that is unavailable in the US. However, he neglected to (or maybe it doesn't exist) get a copy with English subtitles. So, I went into it like I was gonna watch an opera. I focused on body language and voice and I pretty much figured it out, cause I'm wicked smart. The acting was excellent and after two hours of listening to all those handsome, but philandering, men speaking Flemish, I was swooning. When I came to I went straight to booking my next vacation. This time to Belgium.

(photo kidnapped from moviezfever)

Nineteen Years

I never stop thinking about what he'd be doing were he still here. Wherever he is I just hope he's at peace. I miss his words and I miss what might have been.

Romance, Italian Style

Found on the beach in Positano among the remains of a bonfire.

To the Field of Stars

Look what I found in an Amazon box on my doorstep last night:

A gift from Blaine aka Cerpts. Ain't he the sweetest?

I Heart Teeth

I Heart Guts now has teeth! I really wanna get this lapel pin for my dentist because he is the best there is - seriously, he is fabulous. And I go see him next month...

(photo kidnapped from iheartguts)

Nebraska

Springsteen - what a class act. He's so damn likeable and so unbelievably gifted. This album is phenomenal and being a Jersey girl, I especially love Atlantic City and State Trooper.

(photo kidnapped from echoesanddust)