The Life
July 2006
07/31/06Marilyn cover posterThe 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 Queen." 1947 was the year after Marilyn: (1) ended her 4-year marriage to Jimmy Dougherty, (2) signed her first studio contract with 20th Century Fox, and (3) stopped using her birth name, Norma Jeane. Marilyn's first movie role, an uncredited bit part, was in 1947's The Shocking Miss Pilgrim.Other Palm Springs Life/Marilyn covers: August 1987, June 1993 and April 1997.Finally, check out the Marilyn Monroe House: This 6,500-square-foot Spanish... |
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07/31/06Taylor Handley quotesFirst: 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 (creator of Dawson's Creek), slated to appear on a brand-new TV network (click thumbnail photo for larger view):"Kevin Williamson is an amazing writer, so being able to work with him is very exciting.""I started doing plays when I was 6 or 7 years old, and ended up doing summer stock every year until I was 13, at which point I decided I wanted to take it to a different level.""When I was a kid, acting was just something fun. I didn't know it was going to be my career. But... |
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07/31/06Hotel CaliforniaOn 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 A Horse With No Name, U2's The Joshua Tree (including Where The Streets Have No Name) and Ray Stevens' delightfully un-P.C. Ahab, The Arab ("...he saw Fatima laying on a Zebra skin rug / Wearing rings on her fingers and bells on her toes / And a bone in her nose ho, ho...").] |
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07/28/06Tribute to 007...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 or delicious Pink Pussies (specialty vodka drink) courtesy of host sponsor Smirnoff.Shown: "Double-O Danger," an original painting by Amanda Visell.Once a King, always a King, but once a Knight is enough. —Ian Fleming |
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07/28/06World Map of Happiness...(interactive). According to Adrian White at the University of Leicester, these are the 3 happiest nations in the world:1. Denmark2. Switzerland3. Austriaand these are the 3 unhappiest countries:176. Democratic Republic of the Congo177. Zimbabwe178. Burundiwhile the rest of us are sandwiched in between:10. Canada23. USA26. Australia31. Saudi Arabia41. UK51. Mexico58. Israel62. France82. China90. Japan96. Iran107. Hungary113. Lebanon167. Russia |
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07/28/06Get Happy!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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07/27/06Desert survival tip: potholder...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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07/27/06Tour de France champ flunks drug test...according to his team's website. (And CBS.)Sigh. Say it ain't so, Floyd. |
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07/27/06Whatchawannadothisweekend? (27Jul06)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 George, depending on which film schedule you want to believe. I hate ambiguity...Friday: Friday Night at the Movies presents "It Happened One Night" with Clark Gable, benefitting Angel View Crippled Children's Foundation. The reception starts at 7:30pm (film at 8) in The Gardens on El Paseo. "A normal human being couldn't live under the same roof with her without going nutty! She's my idea of nothing!" —Peter Warne (Gable)Saturday morning: The CoD Street Fair runs from 7am-noon in Palm Desert. If you find any churros, bring me back a half-dozen. I'm really... |
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07/27/06Palm Springs musicI 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,Palm Springs I Love You by Danney Ball and The HollyWood SongWranglers, andJazz in Palm Springs by Andy Fraga - who actually does have a star.One album (Jack Fascinato's Palm Springs Suite) seems to be available only at used-vinyl suppliers. And there are a whole lotta Palm Springs songs, too. |
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07/26/06Frankie Say Gouranga...(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 penny out on Palm Canyon Drive during my lunch break. Does that count? |
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07/26/06Palm Springs Monopoly?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¢ Monopoly stamp,e) Anti-Monopoly, andf) Gay Monopoly (scroll down to the 5th game).That last one made the whole project worthwhile...Late-breaking news update: a new Brit version uses fake debit cards instead of fake currency. |
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07/26/06Indian wells in Indian WellsThe 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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07/25/06Signs of Life: We've been scooped...by P S Scoops. There's a certain pleasing symmetry in this ice-cream shop sign:[more signs] |
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07/25/06Hyperthermia symptoms...courtesy of WebMD:Heat cramp symptoms include:· Severe cramps, typically in the hands, calves or feet· Hard, tense musclesHeat 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· Fainting· Agitation[Heat exhaustion requires immediate attention but is not usually life-threatening.]Heat stroke symptoms include:· Nausea and vomiting· Headache· Dizziness or vertigo· Fatigue· Hot, flushed, dry skin· Rapid heart rate· Decreased sweating· Shortness of breath· Decreased urination· Blood in urine or stool· Increased body temperature (104-106°F)· Confusion, delirium or loss of... |
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07/25/06BoomersAfter 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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07/24/06The Grid...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 (117°F, set 54 years ago) by four degrees. And according to the California ISO (Independent System Operator), that red line over there indicates how much electricity we're using today. [Click image for up-to-the-minute readings. But don't expect too much: their website is stressed, too.] If we reach the green line, we're totally f***ed. I'm pretty sure that's the technical term. In layman's language, it's when we'll be forced to fry our eggs on the sidewalk. |
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07/24/06Gas Prices Around the Globe...(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 latest gas prices in Palm Springs. I think I want to move to Caracas. |
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07/24/06A little editorial humorOne 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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07/21/06Star Party tomorrowMark your calendar:When - tomorrow evening, starting at sundown (approximately 7:50pm)What - a Star PartyWhere - the Sawmill Trailhead (about 16 miles up Route 74)Host - the Astronomical Society of the Desert:"The public is invited FREE of charge. Telescopes and giant binoculars are provided by club members. All we ask is that you come with lots of questions. A tour of the sky pointing out all of the Constellations and Planets visible that night is given at the beginning of each star party. Observed through our telescopes and binoculars are Star clusters, Planets, Nebulae, Galaxies, Comets, Meteors, and other deep sky objects."[Note: Despite the recent spate of forwarded eMails, Mars will NOT pass extraordinarily close to Earth next month. The event happened 3 years ago.... |
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07/21/067 deadly sinsDo 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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07/21/06Signs of Life: Ped XingThese 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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07/20/06Wide Awake on the Sea of TranquillityOn 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 background."Program alarm," announced Armstrong. "It's a 1202." The code was so obscure, almost no one knew what it meant. Should they abort? Should they land? "What is it?" he insisted.Scrambling back in Houston, a young engineer named Steve Bales produced the answer: The radar guidance system was pestering the computer with too many interruptions. No problem. "We've got you..." radioed Houston.... |
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07/20/06Whatchawannadothisweekend? (20Jul06)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 Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Desert. The reception starts at 7:30pm (film at 8) in The Gardens on El Paseo. "I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue." —Rick (Bogart) to Ilsa (Bergman)Saturday morning: The Desert Film Society screens "Johnny Montana" at the Camelot Theatres. Doors open at 9am for refreshments, and the film starts at 9:30. After the... |
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07/20/06Signs of Life: Swimsuit SeasonThis 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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07/19/06The Thompsons and the Sawtooth Complex FireJohn 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 water. I met John for lunch at Las Casuelas in Palm Springs,... |
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07/19/06Stuart Funk's paintingsStuart 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 display through the end of August at the brand-new Rancho Mirage Public Library at 71-100 Highway 111.Bravo, Stuart! |
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07/19/06Price of your next spaceflight10 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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07/19/06SziasztokSince 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):"Sziasztok" is one of the few words I know in Magyar. When my wife's twentysomething children visited us from Budapest last summer, they often used this group greeting, roughly equivalent to "Howdy, y'all!"Anita and Jenõ desperately wanted to see Las Vegas, even though August at our home in L.A. was pretty darn hot. The Nevada deserts, of course, were even warmer: Hoover Dam's outdoor thermometer registered 136 in the shade. My stepkids loved the inhuman heat and their mom, Anikó, ate it up with a spoon. I was usually dazed by... |
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07/18/06Coachella Valley bloggersPaul 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), Lynda Keeler + others (Palm Springs Swings), The Desert Pun, Dr. Harold J. McLaughlin (Jack's-World), Jerold Heisler (Direct Mail Made Easy), Bob Mahlowitz (Thursday), Jonathan Tufts (JTs Blog), Phillip Smith (The Art Office), Jay Nailor (m modern gallery), Re:Generator Magazine, Trailing Xtabay, Evil Jungle Prince, Lesbian Curves Ahead, The Frippery, PS Metro and Vintage Palm Springs Postcards.Thanks to Anikó J. Bartos for compiling these links on the Snoozeletter, another CV blog. If you're aware of other blogs, please let us know and we'll post 'em here!Updates: Gene Touchet... |
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07/18/06Monitor ChainClick 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 surroundings), and post the resulting pic on your blog. Then the next person photographs your blog post and posts it, and so on. Leave your post URL in the comments so people will be able to follow the chain, and link your image to the post you photographed... this way people will be able to zoom into the monitors by clicking. (Use rel="nofollow" on the links, this is for fun only.) Post these instructions in your blog post... |
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07/18/06Blogger parlays paper clip into house26-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).In other web news, here's PostSecret, the community-art blog of Maryland resident Frank Warren. He's turned the world's secrets into a traveling postcard exhibition and a book.And then there's the blog of Alex Tew, that 21-year-old Brit who earned seven figures in less than a year by selling advertising space at a dollar per pixel on his Million Dollar Homepage.Finally, South Africa's Nelson Mandela will auction himself on eBay, starting in November... |
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07/17/06Desert fauna: cicadaOh 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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07/17/06Palm Springs Fire teeshirtSupport 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 Japan. |
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07/17/06Susie Hansen Latin BandThis 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 music of all types.According to her website, Susie's background combines math, computer science and electrical engineering with Latin music.She's quite the Renaissance woman. ;-) |
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07/14/06Wildfire Simulator...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 she then uses the "fire" icon to start a fire. If the user decides to fight the fire, his or her goal is to stop the fire from reaching the house. To stop the fire, the user can create a fireline with the tool that looks like a pick and widen the fireline by creating... |
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07/14/06Fire Fighter IAt 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 structural PPE [personal protective equipment] within one minute, doff, and prepare for reuse» How to don a SCBA [self-contained breathing apparatus] facepiece with a low-pressure hose» How to service a gas cartridge portable fire extinguisher» How to... |
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07/14/06Bastille Day/Poodle ParadeToday 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 July 15, 1789, a demolition crew was organized by... |
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07/13/06Satellite imagery @ 21:10 UTC...(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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07/13/06Desert flora: smoke treeThe 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 tree flowers, are gray, very hairy and have gland-dots and wavy edges. Since the leaves appear for only a short time each year, the twigs must produce most of the plant's food by conducting photosynthesis themselves.[Click thumbnail photo for larger image.][more flora] |
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07/13/06Whatchawannadothisweekend? (13Jul06)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, Angola's capital, a runaway orphan wanders the streets meeting a cast of characters, while a missionary nun searches for him throughout the bewildering and dangerous city." And here's the other logline: "Nanny McPhee comes to the house of Mr. Brown and his seven ill-behaved children which have dispensed seventeen nannies before her."Friday: Friday Night at the Movies presents "ShortFest 2005" - selections from last summer's Short Film Festival, benefitting The Palm Springs... |
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07/13/06Satellite imagery of the fires...courtesy of NASA: |
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07/12/06Sawtooth FireThis 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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07/12/06Shine on, you crazy diamondPink 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 left a lasting impact on his bandmates. They later recorded an album (The Dark Side of the Moon) which deals largely with the effects of madness. Another project (Wish You Were Here) contains an elegy and tribute to Syd:Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun?Shine on, you crazy diamond.Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.Shine on, you crazy diamond.You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,blown on the steel breeze.Come on,... |
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07/12/06Secret, Sex, Love, God...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 (.182%)2) password (.3780%)1) 123 (.3784%) |
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07/11/06craigslist - Palm SpringsQ: 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 Craig Newmark, in San Francisco, California. A little more history is here. "Using a common sense, down-to-earth approach, craigslist strives to make the 'net more personal and authentic, while advocating social responsibility through the promotion of small, non-profit organizations." Q: How many classified ads does craigslist receive? A: More than 10 million per month. Q: How many new job listings does craigslist receive? A:... Posted at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments: 1 |
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07/11/06Desert flora: oleanderThe 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 size of a small tree. The leaves are lance-shaped, thick and leathery, and grow opposite each other. Sometimes, leaves may grow in whorls. Flowers are showy, grow in large clusters at the ends of branches, and can be white or any shade of pink or red. [Click thumbnail for larger photo.][more flora] |
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07/11/06Blog readers = trendsetters?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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07/10/06Human signposts: KarlName: 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 you'll be doing this much longer?[Laughing] Depends on how I hold up today. It's nice and warm out here. I keep trying to move back, to keep myself out of the sun.Ah, I see - you're following the shade of the light pole. Good strategy. Did you apply directly to this company for the job?No, it was actually arranged through a manual-labor temp agency.So you might be out here only today and... |
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07/10/06CBS and NBC can't quite figure out the blogosphere...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 viewers should be asking a different question: "What would happen if Josh got paid only after he learns how to make the blogosphere relevant to TV audiences?" |
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07/10/06Desert flora: creosote bushThe 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 infections. Creosote has antimicrobial properties, making it a useful first aid. It is also beneficial in the treatment of allergies, autoimmunity diseases and premenstrual syndrome. Creosote serves as an analgesic, antidiarrheal, diuretic and emetic. The bush is used as livestock feed, firewood and roofing material for adobe houses. Creosote can be used to... |
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07/07/06Big weekend in tennis...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, making the complete circuit, the game ended. "Forty-five" was eventually shortened by one syllable, to "forty." The term "deuce" was derived from the French "à deux" (meaning two consecutive successes were needed to win). "Love" is generally taken to be a... |
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07/07/06Google me, baby.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 the new words introduced by Noah Webster's first dictionary.I love to enunciate the word "succotash." I think it should be the official motto of Palm Springs. Try saying it. Out loud. Right now. You know you want to. |
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07/07/06Desert flora: red bird of paradiseThis 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.][more flora] |
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07/06/06Emmy nominations...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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07/06/06PSL cover for Taylor HandleyI 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 paragraphs: A Fresh Face Taylor Handley stands to bring a youthful focus to Palm Springs. By Tod Goldberg. Photography by Taylor Sherrill. It's early on a Tuesday morning and Taylor Handley feels tired: normal circumstances for a 22-year-old visiting Palm Springs during the first blush of spring. There are the bars, the restaurants, and the golf courses to be considered, after all — and one can't fault a young man for going out and painting the town. But this morning, Handley has makeup... |
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07/06/06Whatchawannadothisweekend? (6Jul06)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 Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant) at 7:30pm in The Gardens on El Paseo. "Now it isn't that I don't like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but - well, there haven't been any quiet moments."Saturday morning: From 10am-4pm, the Palm Canyon Theatre will be holding auditions for next season. Ah, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd.Saturday evening:... |
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07/06/06Whispering Palms » Disney in the desertHere's a sample from the Whispering Palms section of our website:When the Desert Was Disney's LandWhat 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 dazzling fantasy for generations of the masses get his own kicks? What did Walt Disney, grand master of the animated film, Lord of theme parks, and daddy of Mickey Mouse do for his own fun and games?Walter Elias Disney would come to Palm Springs.The earliest remembered appearance of him in the desert that was to become his personal retreat was in 1936, when the blossoming genius played polo on the grounds... |
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07/05/06Desert flora: ocotilloThe 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 annually.The plants produce bright red flower spikes at the ends of their branches March through June or later, depending on rainfall. Hummingbirds rely heavily on the nectar of ocotillo flowers to sustain them during their annual migration northwards from Mexico to the mountains... |
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07/05/06Signs of Life: Drifting sandOn 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 eloquently about this area in The Dunes of Vista Chino:"Bulldozers will scoop up the dunes and dump them back onto the desert floor. The plows will scrape up the rest and we humans in our little machines will buzz through, running our individual errands. We chug happily along, knowing we've managed to maintain the slowly expanding border between the area we've dug up and paved over and irrigated and changed to our liking, and the ancient... |
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07/05/061/3 million free eBooksThe 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 upland beast baying the campfire or barking at a lonely prospector, but the wail of a wolf, full-voiced, crying out the meaning of the desert and the night. Hunger throbbed in it--hunger for a mate, for offspring, for life. [...] |
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07/03/06Steve Madaio & FireworksAt 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 Steve Madaio with the loud explosions of a fireworks show which follows.[Click thumbnail photo for larger view.][More local fireworks shows.] |
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07/03/06Fountainworks FestivalTonight 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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07/03/06Four quick Thunderbird facts1. 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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07/03/06Desert flora: tumbleweedA 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 tumbleweeds are in the amaranth family, originally from tropical America. Others might include hedge mustards and several additional members of the goosefoot family, like bugseeds and winged pigweeds.I'm a roaming cowboy, riding all day longTumbleweeds around me sing their lonely... |