Dave's Photography

Since I'll be shutting down my Instagram in the next couple months, I'm going through a bunch of my Saved photos and here are some that Dave Gorgone took in Philly back in the late Summer of 2016. They're good enough to save here.

BONUS! Dave as a senior in 1993:

FaceQ Star

Ha! I made this on an old app called FaceQ back in 2014 and can't believe I never posted it, since I look so rad in cartoon-form.

Eldritch

Wicked Game - Chris Isaak

Fade Into You - Mazzy Star

Mad World - Gary Jules

Black - Pearl Jam

Somewherenothere - Alpha

Distractions - Zero 7

Mean Something - Miel

Dice - Finley Quaye & William Orbit

Sad Song - Lou Reed

Hope There's Someone - Antony & the Johnsons

Madame George - Marianne Faithful

Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell

Ghost in This House - Allison Krauss

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me - The Smiths

Live With Me - Massive Attack

Cover Me - Depeche Mode

Into Dust - In This Moment

- February 2025 Playlist

Studio Ghibli Kay and Kenny!

March 2025 Books

♥ I Haven't Been Entirely Honest with You ¹ by Miranda Hart - I was first introduced to this lovely creature through Call the Midwife back in 2013. Then I watched her series Miranda and saw her here and there over the years. She was recently on Graham Norton discussing her latest book. It was available on Audible and I had a batch of unused credits, so what the hell, I grabbed a copy. I'm so glad I did. Miranda talks about her extremely long struggle with chronic illness and not being properly diagnosed with Lyme disease until much later in life. (Should I give her Kathleen Hanna's email address so they can commiserate about the hell that is Lyme disease??) Miranda's words of wisdom and tips on acceptance of self and leading a life of positivity are not to be missed. I need to buy a physical copy so I can make notes in the margins and underline and star all the most important and profound passages.  

* Consider Your Ass Kissed ¹ by Ruta Lee - Prior to reading this, all I knew of Ruta Lee was that she was Ruth in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, is Lithuanian and friends with my beloved Ann Jillian (a fellow Lith-gal), and once saw Dick Gaultier completely nude, save for a cowboy belt and holster. (FYI, I learned this from an old ep of Tattletales.) This book was primarily a collection of stories of encounters with famous pals. Some people think of that as shameless name-dropping, but let's be real here. A good story is a good story and you don't censor it because one of the players is famous. 

* All the Way to the Tigers ¹ by Mary Morris - I originally got this book in physical form as a Date with a Book but never got around to picking it up. Knowing that I probably never would, I decided, before donating the book to Baldwin’s Book Barn, I would listen to the audiobook version. It wasn't unbelievably riveting or life-changing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would listen again. 

* Every Man For Himself and God Against All ¹ by Werner Herzog - I think the first film I ever saw by this one-of-a-kind director was Fitzcarraldo back in maybe 2006. Once I fell in love with documentaries I discovered that he made some of the most unique and extraordinary. That is when I really came to appreciate his talents for storytelling. Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, The White Diamond, My Best Fiend, Wheel of Time, Into the Abyss, Encounters at the End of the World, and From One Second to the Next are some of my personal favourites. It was a privilege to listen to Herzog narrate this memoir and it was wonderful to learn so much more from this true master. of his craft.

** Aggie Morton Mystery Queen: The Dead Man in the Garden by Marthe Jocelyn - I bought this at Birdie Books in Ohio when I was visiting Autumn. The idea of a young version of Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot being pals and solving mysteries was too clever to pass up. Agatha is Aggie Morton and Hercule is Hector Perot - adorable! This is the third book in the series, but it made no difference. It was fun and so well done. I could hear a young David Suchet every time I read Hector's lines. Great, great book.

* The Dollhouse Caper by Jean S. O’Connell - I swear I got this for free at Central Books in Doylestown or maybe one of those Little Free Library boxes. Regardless, it was a short but super cute story of a human family with three boys and the Dollhouses, who come alive when the humans aren't around. Turns out there were a couple baddies casing the joint and looking to break in while the Humans were away on holiday. Well, lucky for them, the Dollhouses were ready to save the day. 

* Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better ¹ by Pema Chödrön - I had a copy of this for years and never picked it up. Earlier in March I took it in to Baldwin’s Book Barn so that someone else could have it. Then before the month was to end, I listened to the audiobook version from Hoopla and absolutely loved it. I'm absolutely listening to it again and taking notes.

¹ - audiobook

² - abridged version
* - liked
♥ - loved
Any unmarked titles were, in my opinion, so-so.

March 2025 Donations

Juicy Body Goddess

I came across this company's Insta page about a year or so ago. I immediately fell in love with watching all these plus size gals (and a couple femme fellas!) try on one stunning gown (or jumpsuit) after another. Every single one of them was praised to the heavens by the owner, Summer Lucille, and every video ends with me in tears. "You look so beautiful, baby." "Oh my goodness, you are absolutely stunning in that, my love." "Look at you!!!" "You look gorgeous." She constantly showers these young, and sometimes vulnerable, people with compliments that clearly come straight from the heart. As someone who never received or receives compliments on my appearance, I cooked up a fantasy in my mind of traveling to Charlotte, NC to try on some gowns and feel like the pretty girl I always wished I was, with Ms. Summer convincing me that "dang girl, you look goooood!"

Juicy Body Goddess was created to keep the everyday woman with curves in mind.  Our fashion ranges from corporate work attire to date night looks. 

Donations:

Juicy Body Goddess gives girls a chance to receive a brand new Juicy Body Goddess dress with the help of our community.  You can purchase a gift card directly from our website and we will give to a beautiful young lady looking for a prom dress.   

Thank you so much

Summer Lucille 

Owner

I'm a Cartoon Duckie

I am calm...

Up All Night - Bishop

Things to eat: pie, sushi, cookies, food...

Songs: Word Girl - What's Going On? - Rio

Places to go: Philly, London, Chicago, my Mom's crib, Seattle, Spain, North Carolina

Movies: LOTR - X-Men - Batman Begins - Rear Window - Victor/Victoria - Bye, Bye Birdie - 300 - Clerks - Big Eden

TV Shows: Lost, Heroes, V(eronica) Mars, X-Files, Golden Girls, Designing Women, SATC, Six Feet Under, I Love Lucy, 3 Stooges, Star Trek, cartoons

Outfit: pants, shirt, shoes

Boys: Kevin Sith, Seth Rogan, M.P., Bill Goldberg, Aquaman, Taye Diggs, Ed Norton, Greg Gruman

My most loveable qualities: I have good hair...

Here's what I want to be when I grow up: President of Cuba

Here's why I love sleepovers so much: Snoring...

Susan Sarandon in Interview

If memory serves, I bought this magazine at a shop on South Street in Philly, sometime in the mid to late 90s. They had a decent stack of them, but either the price or the size of the mags made me just buy the one with Susan Sarandon on the cover. I'm so glad I kept it all these years!

Philly 2013

Back in October of 2013, Kayla and I were in Port Richmond and we did a little photoshoot in a rundown area of town. Here are some of my personal faves that I took of a place in desperate need of some TLC.

Fabulously Famous People...

Three Wishes

I'm a full-time dreamer and so whenever that genie-in-a-bottle question comes up of what would your three wishes be, I tend to ponder it, so as to choose the exact perfect wishes. Here's what I came up with, one for the world and two for me:

- an end to all forms of violence toward children

- infinite financial solvency

- perfect lifelong physical and mental health

I feel like if violence and abuse never touched a person's life throughout their childhood, they would grow up to become more confident and not carry the scars of brutality that so many people take into adulthood. 

People say that money can't buy happiness but honestly, if I had infinite amounts of money I could afford to take better care of myself and have the time to really focus on becoming a better person. I could buy a small home on a decent plot of land, away from noise and people. I could get Bishop to quit his day job and pay him a small fortune to be my personal chef. He could teach me how to cook and have more time to follow his own dreams. I could publish my writing and become a philanthropist, helping those in need around the globe as well as at home in the States. I could make Rickster Rick an offer he couldn't refuse and put his Dark Forest on the radio for real. It would be so nice to be able to help out friends and family with their own dreams, instead of me always being the one to ask everyone else for help.

It's so hard to live with depression and to constantly have to fight back this exhausting hopelessness. I wonder what it's like to feel normal; to not always feel like there's no point. And physically, I miss being able to not think about my body constantly. I'm always thinking about my teeth, my creaking and sore knees, my weight, menopause, watching my skin age, and generally just feeling horrible most of the time. Oh, to have a guarantee of perfect health! Think of all the things I could focus on and all the work I could get done if I wasn't forever stressing over my body.

The National

Wild Cats

This was one of the puzzles that I scored dirt cheap from Badge Bomb last year. They had a pallet that got smashed and therefore some of the puzzle boxes were damaged. This one was fun, but I felt the need to pass it along and the day after I did it I passed it off to Ms. Isabella.

The Fog

Yesterday I took the day off, picked up Xavier at 5:30 and we were off to drive the winding backroads of Chester County to reach The Colonial Theatre. We had dinner at El Burrito and then hit a few breweries before settling in to see John Carpenter's The Fog. I saw the movie for the first time maybe 20 or so years ago. It's not, in my opinion, a masterpiece, but as soon as it was over and back at the DVD menu, I remember instantly hitting play again. It's bright but eerie and chock full of famous faces and solid performances. I've always liked it and loved getting to see it on the big screen. 

Xavier wasn't as taken with it as I was and maybe the lack of smooth conversation on the drives and while eating was because he wasn't feeling 100%, but I can't help but feel we aren't the great pals we used to be. I guess I've lost him to the married-with-kids graveyard, along with Marina, Ashlee, Terri, and Kat. Either that or I've become utterly intolerable. I do worry about when Kayla and Bella start their own families with little ones, but for now I try to push that thought away. The rational side of me realises that working eight plus hours then coming home to help straighten the house and get dinner ready and take kids to drum lessons or after school programs drains any desire to do anything on the little down time available, but it still stings when former besties slowly morph into, at best, acquaintances. Thank gawd I have Amy and Bishop. They may be married but it's the not having kids that keeps them in my life. Sorry for the rant on this! Regardless of the disappointments, one shining moment was before Xave and I left, Mary came home (sporting a new 'do with bangs) and asked what we were seeing. I said The Fog, the original. Xave said about he saw the remake and that it was pretty good, with some people from Walking Dead in it. "Oh wait. I think that was The Mist." Mary did her classic giggle laugh and said, "Different precipitation." So cute.

BONUS: I messaged JeffreyMixed via Instagram because The Fog is one of, if not his all-time, favourite film. He was nice enough to reply. I know it makes me an even bigger nerd that previously imaginable, but I love his posts and how often I've cracked up over them.