I recently broke down and downloaded a few Michael Jackson albums from iTunes. The last time I purchased a Michael Jackson album it was cassette tape, and before that a vinyl record. Amid all the hysteria during his untimely passing, I resisted the urge to buy any of his albums. I've always thought he was a musical genius and I actually enjoyed most of his music since I was a kid. It may seem odd, but what motivated me to suddenly buy a Michael Jackson album was two new young fans he acquired posthumously. My 3 and 5 year old nieces have suddenly become MJ fans and love to sing his songs. It hit me- why I am I depriving myself of this collection of music that I enjoyed so much for decades? And so off to iTunes I went, and in a few clicks I was the proud new owner of a slew of Michael Jackson songs (again). As I re-acclimated myself with his library of music, one song in particular clicked with me: Off Wall. Check out these lyrics, and then if you feel so inclined, view the YouTube video that follows. These lyrics are actually pretty inspirational in a pop-music sort of way. So go ahead, let the madness in the music get to you.
From time to time I'm asked to represent my company to speak about pet nutrition. It ranges from being a guest on a radio or TV show, contribute to an article, or address a conference. The folks at work who manage these things wanted a few fresh photos to accompany the bio about me they provide to external groups. Apparently all my usual personal photos with a martini glass in hand are a bit over the top if I'm supposed to speak about pet nutrition (I guess I can understand that). Hence the new photo you see here. Its one of a series of photos with me and Sheldon. Duncan was being squirmy that day so he didn't make it in as many shots.
Yesterday was a very relaxing day at home. I woke up early to enjoy sunrise so I sat outside on the patio with a freshly brewed pot of organic cawfee and some toast. It was a beautiful morning, although I needed a sweatshirt because it was still a bit chilly. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason we decided not to host Thanksgiving dinner, so we made reservations for Melvyn's restaurant at the Ingleside Inn. I usually dress up a bit for Melvyn's, in respect to the rich history of the establishment. I selected one of my new ascots to wear and as luck would have it, it perfectly matched a sports jacket I have. Before I got completely dressed, I decided it was a perfect opportunity for a new photo with the kids. So we sat on the porch for this photo. You can see how big Duncan is next to his brother Sheldon. Don't they look cute together? I love my two poodles...Happy Black Friday. Now go out and stimulate the economy!
There is plenty for which to be thankful. Fortunately I am blessed to be able to say there are more reasons than I have time to type up here today, and for that I am grateful. I am quite aware that today there are many people who feel as though they have nothing to celebrate and give thanks. So for that reason I decided to give thanks in solitude today, to my Creator, in the early hours of Thanksgiving day.
Things are starting to heat up in preparation for the Palm Springs International Film Festival, now in its 21st year which will run from January 5-18. Our film fest is recognized as one of the largest in the world; it features 400 screenings of more than 200 films from some 60 countries. It has built a strong reputation for support of independent films, and provides a platform for international film makers whose own home nations barely support their film industry. Each year, the film festival committee tirelessly reviews a huge number of films to present a broad range of quality pictures. Since its inception, the film festival also brings a heavy dose of Ho
llywood glamor, with the Awards Gala, a star-studded red carpet event that attracts throngs of fans, international news media and paparazzi to cover the event. I have a few hot tips to share about the upcoming Awards night. I have learned that Morgan Freeman will receive the Career Achievement Award for Acting. Also, the lovely Anna Kendrick will be honored with the Rising Star Award for her performance in Up in the Air. And here's a surprise: Mariah Carey will receive the Breakthrough Performance Award, in recognition for her performance in “Precious,” about a social worker based on the novel "Push" written by Sapphire. If you have not heard of it yet, Precious opens nationwide this Friday and already has tremendous buzz. As we get closer to the film festival, there will be plenty of other big names announced as award recipients, so stay tuned for more. The host of the Film Fest Awards Gala once again will be Palm Springs' very own Mary Hart of TV's "Entertainment Tonight". So start planning your trip to our desert so you can catch the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Here is what you need to know: 
It has been awhile since my last "Exploring Wines" post here, and with the holidays coming up I thought it might be helpful to resume this series again with some handy tips. (I recycled this photo from a post in November 2007 because I like it so well). As with all my Exploring Wines posts, I wish to remind you that I do not profess to be a wine expert. I happen to collect wines and enjoy what I consume, and I am definitely not a wine snob either! My motto is: drink what you like. It is handy to have a basic understanding of types of wines and the grapes so when you peruse a wine list you'll have an idea of what they will be like. So much of wine tasting is subjective. But the manner in which grapes are grown (including weather and geography), harvested, aged and blended make a huge difference. The type of grape, or variety usually indicate the typical flavor of a wine. However, there are literally hundreds of hybrids and blends that wine maker use, so
nothing is absolute. In addition, winemakers often blend multiple grapes to achieve a particular flavor. The label will usually indicate the type of wine, list the percentages of varieties blended to give an indication of flavor. For today's post, I'll just focus on sharing some information on the grapes. There are some grapes that can be grown anywhere in the world, and others that are more common to a specific region or country. So I've broken these into two groups: International Grapes and Regional Grapes.
r, herbs, cherries, raspberries, truffles and prunes. (Italy- Piedmont) Zinfandel: (red) warm berry flavors, or blackberry, anise & pepper, depending on climate (Northern California) 
rby. The Pageant brings a fair amount of excitement to "The Riv" so the place was buzzing especially later in the evening. Anyway, back to the Miss California USA Pageant. The event will be televised this evening, so of course I don't know who will win the crown yet, but I thought it would be appropriate to at least feature our very own Miss Palm Springs, Katie Polos. I borrowed this photo from The Desert Sun website. She is a lovely young lady, wouldn't you agree?
Tweak99 was created by the respected home stylist Tara Riceberg, a friend of mine with an eye for style and fashion trends. Tara provides home styling services to many Hollywood stars, but she also has clients all over the country from LA to NY. She was sharp enough to understand that frugal is chic among not only her clients, but all social and economic classes. This prompted her to create a website and store that makes it quick and easy to find thoughtful and fun gifts at affordable prices. When Tara first told me about her concept last summer, I knew it would be a hit. A master at design, Tara selected a wide range of items so that she could merchandise her store by price to make it even easier. One side has items up to $49.99 and the other side are items up to $99.99. The gifts at Tweak99 are clever, purposeful and fun, and most importantly, they're affordable. I was reviewing her website again today- there are gifts ranging from kids toys, jewelry, candles, note pads, bath sets, night lights, decanters, all with really unique designs or twis
ts to them too.
One of Palm Springs famous former residents, the late Gene Autry received a new bronze statue in Palm Springs in his honor. Gene Autry was known as "The Singing Cowboy" from a thirty year career in radio, television and movies in the heyday of Hollywood. In addition to being an entertainer, Autry had a number of major hobbies, including owning the MLB team the Anaheim Angels (of Los Angeles). In fact the Anaheim Angels held their Spring training right here in Palm Springs for the entire time he owned the team. He invested wisely and owned a television station, multiple radio stations and a few hotel properties as well. Gene Autry bought his first home in Palm Springs in 1940 and was an active member of our community. He was first discovered by another famous Hollywood cowboy, Roy Rogers who also spent time here in Palm Springs. If you're like me, you probably remember Gene Autry for his signature song "Back in the Saddle" or his legendary Christmas album with his classic versions of "Here Comes Santa Claus", Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman". (Those are among my favorites, with Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song"). This photo below is from The Desert Sun newspaper website:
1. Never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. Never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. Always tell the truth.
4. Be gentle with children, the elderly and animals.
5. Not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. Help people in distress.
7. Be a good worker.
8. Keep himself clean in thought, speech, action and personal habits.
9. Respect women, parents and his nation's laws.
10. Be a patriot.
His "Cowboy Code" still seems to make sense to me, even all these years later, don't you agree? When Gene Autry died in 1998, he was one of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of over $320 million. Today, his widow maintains the nonprofit Gene Autry Foundation, which has donated over $280 million to all sorts of charities here in the Coachella Valley and beyond. Gene Autry Trail is a major street here in Palm Springs, upon which I travel frequently. It is fitting that there is now a beautiful bronze statue in his honor right on the street that also bears his name.
above: another view of the new Gene Autry statue. I also borrowed this photo from the Desert Sun website.
-Rick Rockhill
"The Season" in Palm Springs is in full swing, with scores of snowbirds starting their descent into our fair desert community, just like clock work. Our winter residents come primarily from the Pacific Northwest & Canada, but we do attract some Mid-Westerners too. Of course one of the things I notice right away are the cars with out of state license plate, but the Canadian accents are also fun to hear being spoken up and down Palm Canyon Drive. So why does our little desert community attract so many visitors and winter residents? Checkout these e-cards that I borrowed from Palm Springs.org. Enjoy the show!
Regular readers of this blog know that I have written about actor Dick Van Patten on numerous occasions. I first met Dick through my job, as he is a co-founder and part owner of Natural Balance Pet Foods. But over the years I've come to know the Van Patten family and today consider it an honor to call them friends. Those who know Dickie know that he is a great story-teller, and loves to make people happy. When he first told me he was writing a book, I knew it would be an interesting read because I've heard so many great stories of his life directly from he and his family as well. That's why I can recommend Dick's new book Eighty is Not Enough so highly. As you read through each chapter you will come to know Dick as if he were a next door neighbor you've known for years. Indeed, Mr Van Patten is an endearing person whose words enhance his already squeaky-clean family guy image. Most Americans know Dick Van Patten for his role as Tom Bradford in the top rated US television program "Eight is Enough". Dick became known as America's favorite dad, a regular, down-to-Earth kind of guy. And that is exactly true. But there is much more to Dick Van Patten than Eight is Enough, and this book is filled with the author's anecdotes and recollections of a long career that started as a child actor in New York.
In addition to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Stars, Dick Van Patten was also honored with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. He is a favorite and familiar face to many here in Palm Springs and supports and attends charitable functions in the valley.
Okay, so back in July I was in NYC on business and one night went to the midnight opening preview of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. While at the cinema I purchased a ginormous popcorn bucket, a Coke and a box of Goobers. I was so enthralled with the movie that I barely finished my popcorn or Coke. Needless to say I didn't get to the box of Goobers. Now the reason I mentioned this is that the Goobers cost me $6.00. Yes, six dollars for a 3.5 oz size "movie pack" package of chocolate covered peanuts. Remember that I used to work in the confectionery industry a zillion years ago, and a whole pound of high quality chocolate covered peanuts cost us something like $2.00. Anyway the point is I wasn't about to throw them away. So I carried it back to my hotel at 2:30 AM (after the midnight showing ended). I didn't eat them in NY, brought them back to Palm Springs, where they sat in the pantry all summer. Then I brought the box with me on the cruise to the Aegean Sea- and never ate them. The box traveled to Rome, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and back to Palm Springs CA and landed back in the kitchen pantry. So fast forward to last night, I was relaxing at home and had the midnight munchies. Nothing sounded good and it was too late for me to "make" anything. I found myself staring into the pantry looking for something to "pop" out. Suddenly I saw it-the box of Goobers from the NY movie theatre. I broke open the box and ate the entire contents in the span of a few minutes. Even for "low grade" chocolate, the Goobers were pretty darn good. I miss the double dipped Fannie May milk chocolate covered peanuts I used to enjoy, but these were fine. As I finished the package I was disgusted with myself. Then I read the front panel which read: "5 grams of Protein per serving. is that good or bad I wondered. For a moment I thought, oh there was some redeeming quality to this snack. So I read the nutrition facts. This 3.5 oz package is supposedly 2.5 servings. So in the span of 5 minutes I consumed nearly 500 calories, 50% of my total daily requirement for fat, 16% of daily carb needs. Wow who knew? I'll just need to do some laps in the pool this weekend I guess. So what are your favorite snacks?
This past Saturday I attended a garden party fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). It was held on the grounds of a private estate in Palm Springs at the home of a very famous superstar vocalist who shall remain unnamed. There was a silent auction with all sorts of goodies worth bidding on, although the bidding competition was fierce. The only thing I ended up getting was a gift certificate to a local flower shop. As the silent auction closed, there were some brief remarks by the HRC team, imploring support and membership pledges from the attendees. The highlight of the afternoon was a brief guest performance by a new rising star called Spencer Day. A young budding vocalist/songwriter/pianist, Spencer's music focuses are on the standards, jazz, musical theatre, cabaret and contemporary pop. He performed a brief set of a few songs from his new CD Vagabond. He has a surprisingly soulful voice for a young white kid. He also has good stage presence and enjoys playing to an audience. Spencer has a good career ahead of him, with albums like Vagabond, he has plenty to offer music fans. 
Last night we went to the season opening benefit concert at the Annenberg Theatre starring Rita Moreno. The Annenberg is small, professional first rate theatre at the Palm Springs Art Museum. It boasts a diverse season each year to celebrate the arts, but its actions are interwoven with the mission of the Art Museum to promote arts with children and across the community at large. (PS- this photo of Rita is from Palm Springs Life magazine).
Yesterday I spent the day on the golf course playing 18 holes; it was a bit of business and a but of pleasure. There is an old golf saying that your worst day on a golf course is better than your best day at the office. While I am not a golfer by any stretch of the imagination, that saying holds true. Fortunately I was playing with a few folks who knew I didn't know how to play, so they didn't bother to keep score and quietly winced as I sliced balls, tore up the course and swung madly at a tiny little golf ball that just wouldn't move for me. Despite my shortcomings on the green, I had a great time.
The nice thing about many golf courses these days is that they also offer spa facilities, restaurants and other things to keep you on site and encourage you to spend more money I suppose. This facility was exceptionally beautiful with hacienda-style architecture, perfectly manicured grounds and nice little sitting areas to relax and enjoy the weather. Even this water fountain had the perfect sound of water trickling down that it immediately relaxed me as I wandered past.
