Sunday Art Review: Swines in Art, aka Pig Art

With all the hype about the dreaded Swine Flu pandemic spreading like wildfire, I found myself thinking about every little cough or sniffle over the past few days. Maybe those people coughing on the flight back from Chicago had the Swine Flu. Or was it that person at work who was coughing and hacking all day. But then again I was at the store and the cashier coughed into her hands before she handed me my change. I'm sure it all must be that swine flu! yes, I can be a bit of a hypochondriac at times. But why risk it? I found all this hype about the swine flu inspiration for this week's Sunday Art Review: Swines in Art, aka Pig Art. This first painting above left is "Famous Pigs" by Kathryn Wronski.

above: Purple Pig, by Dale Wicks

above: Pinky Pig painting, by Pamela Munger

above: Shout, by Joselito Jandayan

above: When Pigs Fly, print by L Risor.

above: and finally my favorite: Pig in a Blanket, artist unknown.

All kidding about the Swine Flu aside, be careful, stay healthy and wash your hands frequently, as you would to avoid any flu. I hope you enjoyed this week's rather unusual Sunday Art Review.

-Rick Rockhill

The Saturday Seven: Favorite TV Detective Shows

We don't normally watch much TV, but our TiVo does work overtime to record a number of programs to keep on hand for when we do want to watch TV. Almost all of them are detective shows, well not like Sherlock Holmes, but the more modern variety. There is a whole range of them all similar to one another but I like most of them. This was the inspiration for this week's scintillating edition of The Saturday Seven: Favorite TV Detective Shows:

#1 Criminal Minds

#2 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

#3 CSI: Crime Scene Investigates

#4 Without A Trace

#5 Cold Case

#6 CSI: Miami

#7 Lie To Me

Do you watch any of these? If so, which is your favorite? What are your favorites?

For my readers in the UK, feel free to mention any UK detective type programmes! So go ahead, leave a comment today!

-Rick Rockhill

Philatelic Friday: James Bond 007 Stamps

The weekend is here, so its time for another edition of my weekly Philatelic Friday series. One of the things I like about philately is the seemingly endless range of subjects and themes that have made their way onto government-issued postage stamps. I specify "government-issued stamps" to differentiate from the "create your own" stamps, where people can put virtually any image on a stamp. Instead, I focus on stamps issued by government post office services. This week's theme is one of my favorite topics so far: James Bond 007 Stamps. This sheet of stamps above left was issued by the African Republic of Congo, featuring nine different 007 scenes. For some reason I was surprised this theme was from the Congo. The remaining Bond stamps are various book covers of Ian Fleming novels, all issued by Britain's Royal Mail:

above: Goldfinger

above: Dr No

above: Diamonds Are Forever

above: Casino Royale

above: From Russia With Love

above: For Your Eyes Only

Most of you know I'm a huge James Bond fan so this was a fun subject for Philatelic Friday. I hope you enjoyed it. By the way, what was your favorite or most memorable James Bond movie? Go ahead, leave a comment, it's FREE!

-Rick Rockhill

A Visit to PS Wine

Both John and I consider ourselves to be casual wine connoisseurs, which basically means that we like wine- we drink what we like, but we aren't wine snobs. I don't memorize ratings and reviews from Wine Spectator magazine, but I have been known to read it from time to time.
When it comes to wine, we have our favorites and make the pilgrimage to northern California’s wine country several times per year. But right here in Palm Springs we have a wonderful little wine shop called PS Wine, where there is a great selection of wines, a tasting bar, and some café tables too. I stopped in with cousins Peg and Rich after seeing the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies, which is a post for another day. We were heading to an early dinner at Copley’s and had some time to kill before our reservation, so we popped into PS Wine for a glass of wine. We chatted with Paulette, the proprietor who is knowledgeable and friendly. She has built a nice community of customers in the Palm Springs area who enjoy the social aspect of wine.
I enjoyed a refreshing glass of perfectly chilled Chardonnay on what was a hot afternoon in the desert. As I sipped the wine I perused Paulette’s collection of wines. Sometimes just reading labels can be fun. I have to remember to go back there more often, it’s a fun place. For those of you locals interested in visiting PS Wine, they are located at 188 S. Indian Canyon. Call Paulette at (760) 322-4411

Soon my glass was empty, signaling that it was time to head to our dinner reservation at Copley’s. I’ve written about Copley’s many times here- it’s one of our favorites here in Palm Springs. Being the foodie that I am, I couldn’t resist sharing a few photos of our entrees. (Greg- once again, another delicious meal!).
above left: Halibut with lobster tail, above right: a beef tenderloin with delicious asparagus. Are you hungry yet?
-Rick Rockhill

Pet Food Forum in Chicago

I've been especially busy these past few days and have had no time to update the blog. I'm attending the Pet Food Forum in Chicago, where I gave an address to the pet food industry representing my company. As you know, I avoid discussing specific work stuff on my personal blog, but I wanted to share a few thoughts about the experience these past few days. Having worked in the pet industry for over 12 years, I've accumulated a fair amount of experience and perspective on the business. The Forum is attended by manufacturers, nutritionists, marketing folks, brand managers, and various other pet industry professionals. It was a privilege and honor to address the entire industry at this highly respected annual conference. I had a presentation that ran the full hour- I'm never short on words. As you may have gathered by now, I'm not exactly a shy person when it comes to public speaking. My schedule at the forum has been full; I booked virtually all of my time with an aggressive schedule of meetings, starting at 7:30 am each day right through dinner. At the end of each day I am exhausted from talking but in general I have found it to be fulfilling and mentally stimulating.

A Few Quick Views of Chicago

Few of you know that I called Chicago home for many years, so being back in the windy city is very reassuring. However, I honestly have not had any time to go out and enjoy the city or see any old friends (which I regret). I had dinner downtown one evening and snapped these three photos. I like the angle of these three very different structures.

above: A few of the famed Water Tower Place Mall, right on Michigan Avenue. How I love this city...

above: The actual Water Tower itself...I love this architecture.

Thanks for stopping by today.

-Rick Rockhill

Philatelic Friday: Stamps About People Helping People

Welcome to another edition of Philatelic Friday. I kicked around theme options for today's post, and settled on a broad theme of People Helping People. So I started searching Google for images of stamps and came up with an interesting collection of topics. For example, finding a Jury Duty stamp was an interesting topic for a stamp. It is all about our civic duty to help others. I found myself staring at the silhouettes of the people depicted on this Jury Duty stamp...young/old, male/female, then I tried to guess the intended ethnicity, and then who these people remind me of. How easily my mind wanders. Anyway, onto more of Philatelic Friday: Stamps About People Helping People

above: A Canadian stamp raising awareness about people with Mental Health issues

above: This charming stamp is from Hungary and is literally about People Helping Others. Sweet, isn't it?

above: From France, a stamp raising awareness of tuberculosis and public health

above: Another French stamp about public health, raising awareness of the value of fresh air to life.

above: An unusual stamp from the USA about Retarded children

above: Canada's Fire fighter's stamp...very dramatic, isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by this week's edition of Philatelic Friday. Have a great weekend!
-Rick Rockhill

Some Local Palm Springs Stuff

Being the Palm Springs Savant, I like to maintain a good working personal knowledge of all things Palm Springs. In addition to attending all the fabulous social events, charitable fundraisers and mingling with celebrities, I try to go out on the town regularly exploring restaurants, local stores and attractions. The other day I popped into a store downtown called Crystal Fantasy to pick up a new deck of Tarot cards. When I handed my credit card to pay, the person said: "I thought that was you, from the Palm Springs Savant" It was Joy, who owns Crystal Fantasy. How nice that she recognized me! She has a great store conveniently located downtown across from the Hyatt and also sells some items online if you want to check it out. The store is packed with interesting things like crystals, incense, candles, jewelry, books, fairies, wind chimes, wands, prisms, and lots more.
The other neat place I visited was Jake's restaurant for dinner. It's a cute place with indoor and outdoor patio dining areas. They offer a simple menu with some items that appeared to be part of their ready to go catering menu. Both our meals were delicious, and quite reasonably priced. For those times when you want a light lunch or an inexpensive dinner, Jake's is an option consider. It was good enough for me to consider returning, so that means it passed my strict standards! (As a reminder to any readers, I never feature any paid posts- so whatever I write is my own personal opinion.) Thanks for stopping by today!
-Rick Rockhill