After a Break

Been busy with the cooking and cleaning, minding the debris of life, as it were.  I can hopefully state that Slim has recorded some pretty good songs that you can hear on his Reverbnation page.

A few pictures from this year that I like:

Laguna Beach, below Bette Davis' house.

Laguna Beach

Another from Laguna near the Davis house.

What we saw eating lunch, Laguna Beach.

Things sitting around our back patio in Palm Springs.

Our new cool shark thermometer is on guard in the pool.

Before the Deluge

Waiting for an inspiration on the wind.

Something's in the air. You can smell the rain coming.

The leading edge of a big Pacific storm heading our way.

You've reached the end of the line if you end up here.  This is North Palm Springs - not exactly living up to the legend of its historic neighbor - but one can get a date shake there.

Gas for less.

Looking towards Mt. San Jacinto.

Slims First Music Video

Still It's A Long Road

Things have been a little quiet here for good reason. On the road.

I just finished a very long solo road trip through the heart of America, from Rochester, NY back home here to Palm Springs - beginning in the Great Lakes region, down south through the Shenandoah Valley, across the mid-South, joining the route of old historic Route 66, and finally through the California desert.

It was fun, boring, and mainly tiring. I've been home for 24 hours and am still shaking. Such road trips are for the younger, I believe.

But I made it in one piece and will have some (I hope) interesting things to say and even more interesting pictures to post here in due time.

My Own Backyard

Tin Man: What have you learned, Dorothy?

Dorothy: Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?

So, a few pictures from my own backyard are in order here.

Spring is a great time for things in bloom in the desert.

Sadie the Sometimes Wonder Dog.
She doesn't like to swim, but loves to float.

I don't know the name of this bush,
but it's in spectacular bloom this week.

Economic Indicators - Palm Springs 2009

There are wonderful business lease opportunities here for intrepid entrepreneurs. Get out your checkbooks now - these won't last!

An empty real estate office on North Palm Canyon Drive. Imagine the exciting possibilities!

Bank of America is ready to give you all the cash you need!

OK, this business did not do so well, but gays should just go to Bank of America. Or, if you are thinking about going into the mortgage business, why not simply rename it "Happy Home Loans?" (and you'll only have to replace one word of signage - a big savings!)

A gem in downtown! Ready to move right in.

This location has failed as an ultra-cool bar and a female impersonator nightclub, but it's bound to succeed with the right business plan. Maybe - YOURS?

Who could resist this possibilities here?

Or here?

We simply tore down this shopping center! Now it's ready for you to build something big!

Desert Wildflowers; March Full Moon

The desert had approximately an average amount of rain this winter, so our wildflowers, now blooming, are putting on an average display this year.

They're still lovely to observe, even on our first hot day of the year. Many more and many hotter days are yet to come.

The picture above is taken from the West looking East; our house is just below middle left - somewhere just right of where the desert ends.

The full moon as it rose over the eastern mountains on March 11. The exposure and focus aren't quite perfect, but then - neither am I. Almost....

The Edge of the Mountains

Rising more than 10,000 feet from the valley floor to its summit, Mt. San Jacinto towers over the Coachella Valley. It is one of the most abrupt and steepest valley to peak rise in elevation found anywhere in the world.

These few pictures were taken right at the western edge of Palm Springs, where the mountain begins its steep rise to 10,805 feet. It's impossible to capture on camera this close, of course. One can hike from here to the summit, should one choose. A tram also takes passengers most of the way up year round.

This last picture was taken a few years ago and from about a mile away from the edge (actually, from my backyard). Most of the foreground is the leading edge of the mountain. Only the very top of the actual peak is visible on the far right of the picture.

Last Stop on the Hollywood Express

The Palm Springs area has been home to a good number of celebrities in its time. Tour operators still run tourists around to see the homes of the rich and fabulous.

A fair number are still with us. Desert Memorial Park is the final resting place of some of Hollywood's brightest stars, and today seemed like a good day to visit a few and pay tribute to them.

Busby Berkeley was a flamboyant and complex film and stage director, choreographer, and master showman, famous for his lavish production numbers. Among his films were 42nd Street, the Gold Diggers series, Babes in Arms, and For Me and My Girl. He had a unquestioned and monumental influence on the development of the movie musical.

Curiously, his gravestone contains no reference to his musical career, only one to his service in World War I. He died on my 25th birthday, in 1976.

William Powell is probably my favorite actor of all time. I love his quick wit, gentle charm, and naughty but charming references to the joys of alcohol consumption. He is, for me, the epitome of 1930s life. Mr. Powell, along with Myrna Loy (and Asta) , is marvelous is The Thin Man series, Mister Roberts (his last film - 1955), and in My Man Godfrey - part of a career that ran from the silent era through the end of the studio system.

After retiring from film, he lived in Palm Springs until his death at age 91 in 1984, just 9 days before my 33rd birthday.

Jimmy Van Heusen was a prolific songwriter who wrote many classic songs from the 1930s through the 70s. Among his songs are Swinging on a Star, High Hopes, Call Me Irresponsible, and Love and Marriage. Mr. Van Heusen received four academy awards for Best Song in a Movie. He died in 1990 at the age of 77.

Van Heusen wrote more than 85 songs that were recorded by his good friend Frank Sinatra, who is coincidently (or not), resting quite nearby.....

Frank Sinatra was many things to many people, though I have always had ambivalent feelings towards him. He did some wonderful songs and films, and some very bad ones - can you say High Society (1956 film, with Bing Crosby) or Something Stupid (1967 song, with daughter Nancy)?. His career was long lasting, from a crooner with the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey big bands in the late 1930s and early 40s, through his Duets albums shortly before his death in 1998. The Rat Pack, Ol' Blue Eyes, The Voice - it's difficult to find the real man through all the myths.

My particular favorite is his song It Was a Very Good Year from 1965. I was only 14 but found its bittersweet look back on life very touching.

Windmills of Your Mind

One of the most noticeable landmarks one sees when driving into Palm Springs are the windmills. There are more than 3,500 of them, and they generate about 1 1/2% of California's yearly energy supply. While some see them as eyesores, I find them quite interesting.





































Those of you familiar with the film Mission Impossible 3 might recall the helicopter chase scene, which was shot here at night - the windmills were all lit up for the filming, and we happened to be driving back to Palm Springs that night and the scene was wonderfully beautiful.