The Saturday Seven: Most Popular Topics on This Blog

For me, blogging is a creative outlet. It is a hobby and a pleasant distraction that I primarily maintain for myself. I readily admit that it has morphed into a site that promotes Palm Springs by highlighting the many attractions and goings-on in our fair city, but still it remains just a hobby for me. I've endured my share of detractors-mainly limited to a few people who think I am completely self-absorbed because I write about myself. I think they are just jealous or insecure about themselves. But I digress. Anyway despite the fact that I maintain this blog for myself, I have enjoyed using Google Analytics to study traffic and visitors to my blog. It is a handy tool and quite interesting as well. I thought it might make for an amusing topic for my weekly Saturday Seven Series today to list the most popular, traffic driving topics on my blog. Some may surprise you. So here goes. I am pleased to present another scintillating edition of The Saturday Seven: Most Popular Topics On This Blog:

#1 "Priscilla Presley and Elvis in Palm Springs" continues to be the number 1 most popular topic that brings people to my blog.

#2 Celebrities and the Palm Springs Film Festival are a major attraction.

#3 Surprising as it may seem, the topic of Ascots, or Cravats is the third most popular topic that brings visitors! To this day I continue to receive e-mails from enthusiastic men who want to learn more about wearing ascots. Who knew!

#4 I've blogged about Cesar Millan numerous times, which continue to attract visitors to the site

#5 My recent Provocative Ads post has really been popular in a very short time

#6 Restaurant Reviews in Palm Springs, including this one for Tropicale

#7 Embarrassing Moments Post

Which of these were your favorite? Or do you have a different topic you enjoy reading about on this blog? Go ahead, leave a comment, it's totally FREE and FUN!

-Rick Rockhill

Cesar Millan 100th Episode Celebration Party

Last night I attended a private party in Hollywood to celebrate the 100th episode of The Dog Whisperer TV program, starring Cesar Millan. The event was hosted by National Geographic, the network that broadcasts The Dog Whisperer show. It was not a normal Hollywood or Palm Springs party. Yes, it had celebrities, it had scores of very attractive, well dressed people sipping martinis and it had loud music. But it also had dogs-and lots of them! I just love working in the pet industry because I am surrounded by people who love animals as much as I do. (I was kicking myself for not having brought Sheldon and Koshimi to the party). At any rate, I mixed and mingled with celebrities as usual. Here I am with the lovely and talented Jada Pinkett-Smith. She looked beautiful and had such nice things to say while we chatted about the events of the evening.

above: Jada Pinkett Smith on the red carpet with Cesar Millan. She was being interviewed by the Inside Edition TV show.

above: Cesar shares a laugh with friend Jada Pinkett Smith. Cesar's wife Illusion is holding the yellow roses.

above: Cesar made a few remarks to the audience about his 100th episode of the Dog Whisperer TV show.

above: Here I am with actress Virginia Madsen, who looked absolutely stunning. She has great hair.

above: there were several folks who had been in previous episodes of the Dog Whisperer TV show. Some of you may remember Wilshire the Dalmatian.

above: the party was held inside this nightclub, but was also outdoors in the courtyard.

above: my company had its presence known at the event (notice the name on the green bowl)

Let Them Eat Cake

above: This was one of the cakes they had- this was designed to look like a dog bowl with a tennis ball floating in the water.

above: there were beautiful floral arrangements. Check out the little dog biscuit that reads "Congrats Cesar". It was a really fun evening, but it was a school night so I didn't stay out too late. Thanks for stopping by today!

-Rick Rockhill

Padres Game with Cesar Millan

Last night I went to watch the San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a great game, for two reasons: first, our Padres WON, 8-5! It's been a rough season, so this win was a welcome celebration. The second reason is because Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer was in our company suite as our guest. Cesar was in town promoting his new line of Dog Whisperer dog food and supplies. You may recall me doing a post about it this past Saturday. Last night, Cesar made an appearance before the game started, then was on TV during the game from our suite. He brought two dogs from his pack, "Daddy" and "Junior", who are such great dogs, and very well behaved. If you like Cesar Millan, then check out his special video message.

above: Cesar watched the game from the balcony in our company suite. You can see his two dogs next to him in the photo above left.

above: This was me kneeling down to pet "Junior" who is such a sweet dog with a great disposition. For what it's worth, not only does my company carry the exclusive line of Dog Whisperer products, but I am also using them myself. I am also trying to use Cesar's methods to train our puppy Sheldon. Hopefully it works! Anyway it was a fun night at the ballpark.
-Rick Rockhill

Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer at The Global Pet Expo

Yesterday was an exciting day at the Global Pet Expo in San Diego. Without a doubt, the highlight was an appearance by Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. He was on hand to announce a new line of pet products bearing his name. (Now that the news is public, I can finally mention it on my blog.) Cesar has been closely involved in the development of the Dog Whisperer line of products, which will range from organic dog food & treats, fortified water, toys, beds, and a variety of other supplies- all in support of Cesar's philosophies to rehabilitate dogs and re-train the owners so they understand how to see the world through a dog's eyes. Now for the shameless plug: The Dog Whisperer line of products will be available exclusively at more than 900 PETCO stores nationwide in late spring 2008. Cesar is such an inspirational person with a love for animals, I am certain his new line will be a big hit. I always enjoy meeting Cesar, he is such an upbeat, positive person.

above: Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer stops for photos after he announces his line of organic dog food and supplies. In the photo above right I was petting one his dogs.

above: holding up the package of his new "Cesar Millan, Dog Whisperer" organic dog food. His appearance attracted a large crowd and members of the press as well.

above: The pet industry is an interesting business; I also ran into this wacky duo who were handing out samples of a lint roller type product. It's hard to tell from this photo but she was wearing a wacky get-up. I couldn't resist adding her to my collection of strange pet trade show sightings.
And Now for The Fine Print
As you know, this is a personal blog, and anytime I mention a product specifically it is because of my own interest and not for advertisement. I also know that there are folks from the pet industry who read my blog, so here is my usual disclaimer, what I like to call "the fine print"...

This site is about my personal opinions, experiences and stuff I am interested in. From time to time I express a personal opinion about natural, holistic and organic dog and cat food brands. As the author, I am writing this with no affiliation to my employer, although I am a dog food merchandise manager and have an excellent knowledge of pet foods. There are many kinds of natural, holistic, organic and super premium dog and cat foods available. When looking for a natural, holistic or organic pet food it is important to first consider the needs of your pet.

-Rick Rockhill

Trade Show in Anaheim California

This week I'm in Anaheim, CA attending my company's 17th Annual Trade Show. This is a major event attended by over 1,200 company management and 700 vendor attendees. Aside from the actual trade show itself, there are training sessions, meetings, awards events and special guest speakers during the "General Sessions". Tuesday morning the very special surprise guest speaker was Cesar Milan, "The Dog Whisperer". Regular readers of this blog know that I have met Cesar previously; and once again I was extremely impressed by his presence and personality. The 1,200 attendees in the audience we very excited to see Cesar, and gave him a warm welcome and a standing ovation at the end of his remarks.

Above: Ever the ham, I pause for a photo in one vendor's booth, it was a fun photo backdrop, but I look like an idiot with that fisherman's hat.

Above: One very cool dog poses for me & above right: A vendor called "In Clover" who makes dog/cat supplements had an interesting booth. They served brownies made with their actual hip/joint supplement, and Peach/Passion Fruit Punch, made with their "Fresh Digest"supplement, which promotes healthy digestion for pets, but is safe for humans too.

Above: Tuesday's lunch was a BBQ Cookout for nearly 2,000 attendees. It was a beautiful day to enjoy lunch outdoors.

Above: At dinner time, we made a trip to Disney's California Adventure, which is just across from Disneyland.

It was a fun but exhausting day, but we still have three days to go before I return home to the desert. More to come tomorrow.
-Rick Rockhill

A Visit with The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with Cesar Millan, also known as "The Dog Whisperer". For those of you who have been living in an underground bunker, (or perhaps a foreign country), Cesar is known for his very popular TV program on the National Geographic Channel. Sometimes controversial, but always effective, Cesar has written books, conducts seminars, webinars and trains celebrities & their dogs. Cesar's "power of the pack" methodology rehabilitates dogs and re-trains people. He believes that there no vicious dogs- only people who make them that way. I had a meeting with Cesar yesterday at my company and spent some time with him one on one. We chatted over lunch- he has tremendous charisma and passion. Overall I found him to be a very genuine, personable guy. But what struck me was the calming effect he seemed to have on people-including me. I was not star struck, because I really don't watch his TV show. But he does seem to have a way about him. His eyes are piercing, in a way that makes you feel he is looking directly into your soul, figuring out who you are inside. I think I might buy one of his books and learn what I'm doing wrong with my dog. Oh, and I must say, his signature "TSST" is very effective in person- it stopped me in my tracks!

A Night at the Ball Park

Later that night, I went to see the San Diego Padres take on the Arizona Diamondbacks, in what turned out to be another bad night for our Padres. I am really far too busy at work to be going to a baseball game, but I was invited for a work function and needed to make an appearance. For those of you who may be newer readers, I pitched at the park last season (see my photo lower left on this page, near the "hit counter"). I'm so modest about that too.

Above: The view of the field from our company suite at the park

Above left: I like the way the park looks at night. It's always cool to see my company's name on the park! Above right: Although it's hard to tell, this wall is actually a water fall, with a light projection of the Padre's logo on the wall itself, as water flows over it.

Above: The inside of our company suite at the ball park. There are two large plasma TVs so you can watch the game while inside from the sofas...or while snacking in the kitchen! Most of us usually watch the game live and not from inside the suite, but if you happen to duck inside for some food, it's nice not to miss any of the game.
-Rick Rockhill