07/31/06
Posted by admin
 The cover of the September 2006 Palm Springs Life will feature a photo of Marilyn Monroe taken by Bruno Bernard at the Palm Springs Racquet Club in 1947.
And here's some excellent news: a 24x36" commemorative poster is on sale right now!
Trivia: Marilyn was 21 years old in 1947, the year she was named "Miss California Artichoke...
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07/31/06
Posted by admin
 First: in case you haven't noticed, the entire editorial content of Palm Springs Life magazine is now online!
[Click to read the August issue.]
And here are some quotes from this month's cover boy, Taylor Handley, one of the stars of Hidden Palms, the latest primetime series from Kevin Williamson...
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07/31/06
Posted by admin
 On a dark desert highway / cool wind in my hair / warm smell of colitas / rising up through the air. —Hotel California, 1976. I always thought colitas were some sort of exotic flowers, not the "little buds" of a marijuana plant. Who would have guessed the Eagles knew anything about dope?
[This month's top desert music: America's
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07/28/06
Posted by admin
 ...at the m modern gallery (new location) from 7-10pm tomorrow.
It's billed as "an evening of intrigue, mystery and maybe even some espionage."
· The reception for this group exhibition is free and open to the public.
· Watch 007 clips from a "meticulously put together" CD collage.
· Listen to the sounds of LA-based DJ Victor Rodriguez.
· Sip Martinis...
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07/28/06
Posted by admin
 ...(interactive). According to Adrian White at the University of Leicester, these are the 3 happiest nations in the world:
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
and these are the 3 unhappiest countries:
176. Democratic Republic of the Congo
177. Zimbabwe
178. Burundi
while the rest of us are sandwiched in between:
10. Canada
23. USA
26. Australia
31. Saudi Arabia
41. UK
51. Mexico
58....
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07/28/06
Posted by admin
So I'm on my way to work, driving west through La Quinta ("Lah KEEN-tah") on Highway 111. A few hundred yards past Washington Street, I look up to notice that the shadows on the Santa Rosa Mountains are magnificent at this time of the morning. Then I begin to stare at the rock outcropping that's been split to make way for the road, and I wonder if it has a name.
After a bit of research, it turns out this place has been called Point Happy ever since it became a stagecoach stop along the Bradshaw Trail (1862-1877).
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07/27/06
Posted by admin
 ...to commemorate the final day of this year's temp spike:
When an automobile door handle has been cooked by the desert sun, even for just a short period, it gets hot.
Very hot.
So to avoid burning your hands, be sure to carry a potholder (or oven mitt) in your purse or wallet at all times.
[Click thumbnail photo for larger image.]
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07/27/06
Posted by admin
...according to his team's website. (And CBS.)
Sigh. Say it ain't so, Floyd.
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07/27/06
Posted by admin
 Tonight: You have another choice of 2 free screenings - at 5:30pm in the Annenberg, it's Uniform. At 7pm, Palm Desert's Civic Center Park Amphitheater at 73510 Fred Waring will show either Madagascar or Curious...
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07/27/06
Posted by admin
 I was surprised to find so many CDs with our town's name in the title:
Palm Springs by the Claudio Medeiros Trio,
The Other Palm Springs by Silver Scooter,
Palm Springs Reunion by Ray Bush's BBC Jazz with Geoff Nichols,
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07/26/06
Posted by admin
...(a mixture of two memes). I've received the following 3-line message:
Call out Gouranga be happy
Gouranga Gouranga Gouranga
That which brings the highest happiness!
at my private eMail address several times during the last few years, but this morning marked the first time it's arrived at my work address.
Within certain Eastern religious traditions, it is said that whoever hears, reads, or speaks the name "Gouranga" is blessed with "amazing fortune" and happiness.
Hm. I just found a blazing-hot...
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07/26/06
Posted by admin
 A woman in our office recently claimed that she'd once seen a Palm Springs version of the Monopoly game. My research efforts came up empty-handed... but I did find:
a) SpongeBob SquarePants Monopoly,
b) Cat-opoly,
c) Ghettopoly,
d) a 32¢...
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07/26/06
Posted by admin
 The city of Indian Wells was named after the Cahuilla wells that were dug into the valley floor.
They often went down 30 feet, with steps descending to the water's surface.
[Photo from the Gail Thompson Collection, reproduced in Mayor Bogert's book.]
Sadly, these shafts no longer exist.
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07/25/06
Posted by admin
...by P S Scoops. There's a certain pleasing symmetry in this ice-cream shop sign:
[more signs]
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07/25/06
Posted by admin
 ...courtesy of WebMD:
Heat cramp symptoms include:
· Severe cramps, typically in the hands, calves or feet
· Hard, tense muscles
Heat exhaustion symptoms include:
· Fatigue
· Nausea
· Headaches
· Excessive thirst
· Muscle aches and cramps
· Weakness
· Confusion or anxiety
· Drenching sweats, often accompanied by cold, clammy skin
· Slowed or weakened heartbeat
· Dizziness
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07/25/06
Posted by admin
After World War II, the elation of victory and the large numbers of soldiers returning to America triggered an upsurge in our birth rate. So now, the years from 1946 to 1964 are commonly known as the Baby Boom and if you're between the ages of 42 and 60, you're a Boomer.
Boomers are breathing new life into an area which was once dismissed as a golf-obsessed retirement destination.
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07/24/06
Posted by admin
 ...is somewhat stressed today.
Here in Palm Springs, we're in the midst of our annual temp spike, so everybody's A/C is cranked up to eleven.
We broke Saturday's record temperature (
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07/24/06
Posted by admin
 ...(premium unleaded, per gallon) according to Inc. magazine:
Netherlands: $7.24
Norway: $6.98
Belgium: $6.71
United Kingdom: $6.66
Germany: $6.60
Italy: $6.56
France: $6.32
Spain: $5.18
Japan: $4.53
India: $4.27
Australia: $3.64
Canada: $3.62
United States: $3.13
Kuwait: $1.00
Saudi Arabia: $0.91
Venezuela: $0.17
Here are the
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07/24/06
Posted by admin
One of my editor buddies just forwarded this slightly-rewritten joke (originally about a New Yorker editor, he says):
Some Palm Springs residents were on a safari in the jungles of a little-explored faraway country when they were captured by cannibals.
"Oh, yes," the chief of the tribe exclaimed. "We're going to put you all into big pots of water, cook you and eat you."
"You can't do that to me," the tour leader said. "I'm an editor at Palm Springs Life."
The reply: "Well, tonight you'll be editor-in-chief!"
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07/21/06
Posted by admin
 Mark your calendar:
When - tomorrow evening, starting at sundown (approximately 7:50pm)
What - a Star Party
Where - the Sawmill Trailhead (about 16 miles up Route 74)
Host - the Astronomical Society of the...
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07/21/06
Posted by admin
Do you know your Seven Deadly Sins?
Lust is an out-of-control craving for bodily pleasures.
Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than you require.
Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, also called Avarice or Covetousness.
Sloth is the avoidance of work.
Anger is manifested in fury; it's also known as Wrath.
Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, abilities or situations.
Pride is excessive belief in your own abilities, also known as Vanity.
I try to enjoy at least 3 of the Seven every day...
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07/21/06
Posted by admin
 These traffic signs are not unique to Palm Springs, but I'm sure they're confusing to some of our visitors from overseas.
And every time I go for a lunchtime walk, I remember the crazy Brit writers who were inspired to create an eponymous Oriental character for Max Headroom...
[more signs]
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07/20/06
Posted by admin
 On July 20, 1969 (37 years ago today), humans landed on the moon. Here's an excerpt from the fourth installment of Science@NASA's Apollo Chronicles:
[...] when Armstrong saw where the computer was guiding them--into a boulder field--he quickly took control. The Eagle pitched forward and sailed over the rocks.
Meanwhile, alarms were ringing in the...
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07/20/06
Posted by admin
Tonight: At 7:30pm, the Susie Hansen Band will perform in Palm Desert. Susie tells me it's the third time her L.A.-based band has played in this free concert series. Let's show them a warm welcome! Wait a minute, it's summer here in the desert. All we HAVE are warm welcomes...
Friday: Friday Night at the Movies presents "Casablanca" with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, benefitting
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07/20/06
Posted by admin
This billboard, recently spotted near the eastern edge of town, is a constant reminder that in my case, every season is Beached-Whale Season:
[more signs]
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07/19/06
Posted by admin
John Thompson is a PSL Art Director. His wife Lana wrote this firsthand account of the fire:
Sunday, July 9 - We experienced a rather unusual and dramatic lightning storm early this morning around 6:00 a.m. After rising, we noticed smoke coming up from the ridge in Yucca Valley. We saw more smoke near the ridge in the Big Morongo Canyon area, in central Morongo.
Firefighting aircraft flew overhead on a regular basis for most of the day.
Monday, July 10 - Smoke had diminished. We assumed that the fires had been extinguished.
Tuesday, July 11 - I drove down to Palm Springs and did some shopping at Target. In order to begin a project in the guesthouse, I purchased five 25-gallon Rubbermaid containers for storage, along with a case of...
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07/19/06
Posted by admin
 Stuart is our Creative Director. He's a cool guy. You'd like him.
Awhile back, he did some extraordinary paintings for a A Monument to Treasure, a great children's book about our Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.
And now those paintings are on...
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07/19/06
Posted by admin
10 days via Soyuz - $20,000,000.
2¼ hours via Virgin Galactic - $200,000.
2¼ hours via VG with a black credit card - priceless.
Free rides on a spaceship. Wow. This means I could theoretically *keep* that phony promise I made to my high-school prom date.
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07/19/06
Posted by admin
 Since Palm Springs is now aswarm with foreign tourists—due, no doubt, to this summer's temp spike—this might be a good time to reexamine my nearly-famous Hungarian Heat-Gene Theory (article first published in 2004 by The Edward Society):
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07/18/06
Posted by admin
Paul Krassner, Tod Goldberg, Sunny James (The Short Bus), Maggie Downs (The Desert Diaries and Maggie jumps!), Lisa Snellings-Clark (SlaughterHouse Studios), Ron Gilbert (Ron's Log), MJ (Friday Fishwrap),
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07/18/06
Posted by admin
Click the pix: this is a clickable photo of my monitor, displaying another blogger's drawing of his monitor(s), which depicts a third blogger's photo of his monitor...
Blame Philipp Lenssen of Stuttgart, Germany for starting this iteration: "I'm trying to do a monitor chain. Please photograph this blog post (including your monitor and its immediate...
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07/18/06
Posted by admin
26-year-old Montreal blogger Kyle MacDonald has successfully consummated a series of 14 trades (via his blog and craigslist) which started with a red paper clip, and ended with the title deed to a house at 503 Main Street in Kipling, Saskatchewan (Canada).
![PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives]()
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07/17/06
Posted by admin
 Oh goody. The cicadas have begun stridulating here in Palm Springs.
When you walk past a tree in which a cicada has set up shop, your ears feel like they're being drilled by a dentist.
[more fauna]
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07/17/06
Posted by admin
 Support the Palm Springs Fire Department...
...by getting one of these teeshirts.
Media update: news of the fire (now 70% contained) has spread as far as South Africa, China and
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07/17/06
Posted by admin
 This Thursday night at 7:30pm, Palm Desert's Civic Center Park Amphitheater at 73510 Fred Waring will host a free concert featuring my old pal, Susie Hansen, playing (with her hot band) Latin dance...
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07/14/06
Posted by admin
 ...developed by NOVA (the PBS television program):
Wildfire Simulator is a fire-growth computer model that has two purposes: First, to let users see how certain conditions, such as wind speed and direction, affect the spread of a wildland fire. Second, to show how to use a fireline -- alone or in conjunction with a backfire -- to control a fire. (A fireline is a path along which fuel has been removed, and a backfire is a fire purposely set to burn away fuel.)
To begin, a user sets the wind and fuel conditions. He or...
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07/14/06
Posted by admin
At least nine fire fighters have been injured to date, in the blazing inferno just north of us. I wanted to find out what these brave folks need to learn, in order to fight fires, so I visited the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, then looked at their downloads page, under Fire Fighter I. These are only a few of the hundreds (and hundreds) of topics which comprise their training:
» Characteristics and functions of pneumatic air chisels
» Characteristics of pyrolysis, rollover, flashover, and backdraft
» How to don...
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07/14/06
Posted by admin
Today is Bastille Day, the French national holiday. It is simply called Fête nationale or quatorze juillet in France. This day commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The Fête de la Fédération was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation.
The Bastille was a fortress in Paris, formally known as Bastille Saint-Antoine, located at number 232 on the Rue Saint-Antoine. It became a prison where people were jailed by arbitrary decision of the King; most of the inmates were there for political crimes. On July 14, 1789, it contained only seven prisoners, but the attacking crowd was mostly interested in the weapons stored at the fort.
On...
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07/13/06
Posted by admin
...(2:10pm PDT), courtesy of NASA's Aqua satellite. First, you visit this MODIS page, then figure out from the orbit tracks when either the Terra or Aqua satellite was overhead, and take a look at a bunch of their images. The resolution of this photo is 1 pixel = 1 kilometer, and I haven't done any resizing (just cropping), so it represents a 400-by-314-kilometer chunk of Southern California (248 by 195 miles). The Pacific Ocean is that dark area over on the left, and the Salton Sea is at the bottom. The fires pretty much speak for themselves:
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07/13/06
Posted by admin
 The smoke tree (Dalea spinosa), a member of the pea family, got its name from the plume-like growth and golden-gray color, which makes the tree look like smoke. It is a spiny, intricately-branched shrub that can reach a height of twenty feet. It has a small, crooked trunk with scaly, gray-brown bark, along with a compact crown of smoky gray branches and twigs.
The leaves, which appear for only a few weeks each spring before the...
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07/13/06
Posted by admin
Tonight: Take your pick of 2 free screenings - at 5:30pm in the Annenberg, it's Hollow City. Then, at 7pm in Palm Desert's Civic Center Park Amphitheater (73510 Fred Waring), it's Nanny McFee. Hm. Interesting choice. Hollow City: "Set in the aftermath of revolution in Luanda,...
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07/13/06
Posted by admin
...courtesy of NASA:
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07/12/06
Posted by admin
This is the panorama from the north side of our roof, looking up toward the wildfire currently threatening the Morongo Valley community, about 20 miles from here. Many of our coworkers, relatives and friends live near areas that are in harm's way, so we can't help worrying. That's why I climbed the ladder about ten minutes ago, to capture a wider view.
It's 111°F (44°C) today, so my hands got burned on the metal roof hatch. I was going to whine about it, but then I remembered the courageous firefighters who are braving a flame-filled hell, in their efforts to protect us. [Click photo to enlarge.]
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07/12/06
Posted by admin
 Pink Floyd legend Syd Barrett has left us, to play that great gig in the sky.
After masterminding the group's debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Syd faded from the scene, a victim of mental illness. Some say it was the psychedelic drugs, some claim it was the demands of success.
Whatever the reason, he...
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07/12/06
Posted by admin
...are the 4 most common user passwords. So you might want to avoid using 'em. Your choice.
These are the most common password patterns: pet's name, user's own name or initials, spouse's name, children's names, favorite sport, team, hobby or recording artist. Also: birthdays (women often use their wedding date or children's birthdays, but men never seem to use these).
And here are the top ten UK passwords:
10) thomas (.099%)
9) arsenal (.111%)
8) monkey (.133%)
7) charlie (.139%)
6) qwerty (.141%)
5) 123456 (.163%)
4) letmein (.176%)
3) liverpool...
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07/11/06
Posted by admin
 Q: What is craigslist?
A: Local community classifieds and forums - a place to find jobs, housing, goods & services, social activities, a girlfriend or boyfriend, advice, community information, and just about anything else -- all for free, and in a relatively non-commercial environment.
Q: How did craigslist get started?
A: In early 1995, by
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07/11/06
Posted by admin
 The oleander (Nerium oleander) is a popular freeway divider out here in the desert. It's a member of the Dogbane family and contains the toxins oleandrin and nerioside, which are very similar to the poisonous chemical in foxglove (Digitalis).
These plants should never be placed where animals can have contact with them. Extra care needs to be taken in cases where leaves can fall into a pasture or in the vicinity of a confined, bored or hungry animal.
Oleander grows as a shrub or sometimes to the...
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07/11/06
Posted by admin
Carol Darr, Director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at The George Washington University recently told CBS News:
"Most of the people who read blogs -- they are highly educated. They are middle aged. And they are high income. [...] Cause the people who are reading blogs tend to be opinion leaders and they tend to be trendsetters. So they are influential far out of proportion to what their numbers are."
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07/10/06
Posted by admin
 Name: Karl. With a K.
Location: NW corner of Washington and 42nd, Bermuda Dunes.
Advertising: Esperanza.
Interviewed: Saturday, 10:45am.
How long have you been doing this?
About 45 minutes.
So it's your first day! What made you decide to come out here?
Just for the extra money on the weekends.
What do you do during the week?
I sell welding supplies and gases.
That sign says it's 107 degrees. Do you think...
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07/10/06
Posted by admin
...but they can't leave it alone, either. Yesterday, CBS Sunday Morning told gullible viewers that blogging was born in 2001, while most sources put the date at 1994 or even earlier.
Later that evening, in NBC Dateline's blogging segment, Josh Mankiewicz decided to ask the inane question: "[W]hat would happen if soccer players only got paid for winning and losing teams got nothing?"
I think this might have something to do with the World Cup broadcast rights going to another network.
However, maybe...
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07/10/06
Posted by admin
 The creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) is a hardy desert plant, also known as chaparral, greasewood and stinkweed. One bush up in the Mojave Desert has become famous as The World's Oldest Living Thing.
Creosote is used as a wood preservative, primarily to protect utility poles and railroad ties. It also serves many medicinal purposes: cure of fever, influenza, colds, upset stomach, gas, gout, arthritis, sinusitis, anemia and fungus...
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07/07/06
Posted by admin
 ...finals at Wimbledon: Ladies' Singles on Saturday, Men's Singles on Sunday.
The name of the game comes from the French habit of calling out "Tenez!" ("Take this!") before serving. One possible explanation for the 15/30/40 scoring system is based on the presence of a clock face at each end of the court. A quarter move of the appropriate hand was made after each point, with the score being called as 15, 30, or 45 as the case might be. As the hand was moved to 60,...
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07/07/06
Posted by admin
 Now it's official: google, himbo and drama queen are three of the hundred-odd new words that made it into the 2006 edition of Merriam-Webster's dictionary.
200-year flashback: psychology, skunk and succotash were among...
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07/07/06
Posted by admin
 This is the other bird of paradise...
The red bird of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) is often mistakenly called the "Mexican bird of paradise" (a similar plant, with all-yellow flowers). They are both big favorites in desert gardens because of their hardy, low-maintenance and relatively drought-resistant nature.
They also attract lots of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
[Click thumbnail to see a whole bush.]
[
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07/06/06
Posted by admin
...were announced this morning: click here for the webcast and full list. And here are my favorites, the writing categories: Comedy, Drama, Variety and Miniseries.
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07/06/06
Posted by admin
 I just saw the page proofs of Palm Springs Life's August issue, and Taylor Handley (The O.C.) is our cover story. [Click thumbnail for larger image.] You can get the entire article—along with several more photos—in the mail or on newsstands August 1, but here's a sneak peek at the first few...
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07/06/06
Posted by admin
Tonight: At 5:30pm, the PS Art Museum's Annenberg Theater launches a new Global Film Series with movies from the GFI archives. First up is Fuse - "A small Bosnian town is turned upside down as it prepares for a visit by then-President, Bill Clinton." Hey, Bubba's a movie star!
Friday: Friday Night at the Movies presents a reception+film (Bringing Up Baby with...
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07/06/06
Posted by admin
 Here's a sample from the Whispering Palms section of our website:
When the Desert Was Disney's Land
What did Walter E. Disney do for fun in the desert? He loved to ride horseback. He was crazy for lawn bowling. And more than a few neighbors recall Walt's attempts to get them to invest in some cockamamie amusement park.
How did the man who practically invented good times, entertainment and...
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07/05/06
Posted by admin
 The ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) shrub is often mistaken for a cactus because of its sharp spines. Mature plants have as many as 75 slender cane branches, which can grow to a height of up to 30 feet. [Click thumbnail photo for larger image.]
Ocotillos are leafless for most of the year, except immediately after rain. The leaves sprout in 3 days or so, then quickly wither and fall off when the soil dries out. Depending on the amount and number of rains, ocotillos may gain and lose their leaves 3 or more times...
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07/05/06
Posted by admin
 On certain days, you'll see this sign while driving east near the outskirts of town. However, during thick sandstorms, you might not even be able to see the warning light. [Click thumbnail photo to enlarge.]
We humans installed a road through an active sand dune zone, and that darn sand shows no respect for our road.
Lisa Snellings-Clark blogged...
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07/05/06
Posted by admin
 The World eBook Fair runs from July 4 to August 4, 2006. One of the eBooks you can download from Project Gutenberg is Desert Gold, by Zane Grey:
[...] He bent his head listening. A soft wind fanned the paling embers, blew sparks and white ashes and thin smoke away into the enshrouding circle of blackness. His burro did not appear to be moving about. The quiet split to the cry of a coyote. It rose strange, wild, mournful--not the howl of a prowling...
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07/03/06
Posted by admin
 At 7:30pm tomorrow night, Palm Desert's Civic Center Park Amphitheater at 73510 Fred Waring will host a program blending the big band/pop sound of
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07/03/06
Posted by admin
Tonight from 7-11pm, Cathedral City will hold its annual Fountainworks Festival, in Town Square. The Grammy® Award-winning Poncho Sanchez, leading the world’s greatest Latin jazz band, will head the entertainment lineup, also featuring the Johnny Meza Trio with singer Lola Rossi.
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07/03/06
Posted by admin
1. The Thunderbird is a Native American spirit of thunder, lightning, and rain.
2. Coachella Valley's first 18-hole golf course was the Thunderbird Country Club, which opened in 1951.
3. Ford Motors decided to adopt the club's name and logo for its new sports car in 1954.
4. The electric golf cart was invented for club members by assistant pro Eddie Susalla. At first, the cart could be used only with a doctor's permit.
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07/03/06
Posted by admin
 A tumbleweed [click thumbnail photo to enlarge] could be any of several plants, abundant in this area, that commonly break from their roots at maturity. They dry into rounded tangles of light, stiff branches and roll in the wind, covering long distances and scattering seed as they go. Tumbleweeds have become troublesome pests here in the desert southwest.
Russian thistles (in the goosefoot family, and not really thistles) arrived on our shores from Asia, and are some of the most frequent tumbleweeds. Many common...
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