Weekend and Billy Reed's

Went to lunch at Billy Reed's, which is a nearly undefinable mix of Transylvania, Old West, family restaurant and...really, I haven't figured it out yet and likely never will.  I suspect though, that it reminds me a little of my own carnival work, which makes it feel a little like home.

  After our wedding reception and before setting out for our honeymoon destination, Pete and I went to a local hotel  changed into jeans and T's, and....ahhhh....comfortable shoes, and went to Billy Reed's.  Don't get me wrong - we had a beautiful buffet at the reception, wonderful food and drink, dancing and (not kidding)  a roving mime compliments of the Mr. Neil Gaiman.
  But the bride and groom rarely get to eat, so we took ourselves to the pentacle of comfort food.

And that's what Billy Reed's is to me.  And so much more.  It's where I take people from out of town because it's fun and worth the experience.


But this weekend, Benton Warren and I went for lunch and to talk about art projects.  Poppet came along and a wonderful time was had by all. (The Swiss Chard was to die for.)  The portions are too big.  When it was time to stop, I didn't.  I just got more selective and ate gravy. 
  By the time we were done, we'd sketched out a plan for a new kinetic piece.  It's been over five years since Ben and I built anything together.  I'm so happy to be here.

Ballroom Floor
 

Ben and Me

Sepia fits, doesn't it?
 

Poppet digs sand dabs, mashed potatoes and gravy, swiss chard.  And gravy.
 

Fish and Turtles outside.
 

Yesterday's Walk in the 'Hood

    Kids are out early for conferences, so Max and Zoya came over.  We took a walk on Broadmoor and I took pictures.  I'd explained to friends at Boskone that winter can be our spring.   These photos aren't intended to tell you all there is to tell about Palm Springs - not by a long shot.  They're here so you see what I saw yesterday.

Orion and Mountains to the North

So Very Palm Springs

Sculptural Roots

Desert Sky

Late Afternoon Sun, Mountains West

Max Razors on Broadmoor

Mountains to the East

Silly Humans

Zoya

Also So Very Palm Springs

Smoke Tree

A Favorite Entry

Three Amigos

Bright Light

There is quite a bit of new sculpture and landscaping in Palm Springs.
It's yawningly mediocre.

Scorching sun shines hard on the playground equipment.
It's dangerously hot.

Who in Palm Springs decides that decoration is more important than shelter?


Even animals with brains the size of walnuts shield their young from damaging light.


*****

Humans are early in their evolution. Human beings are infants---and all that goes with.

Poppets wonder if humans will survive long enough to grow up. Sometimes when I look at The Poppet Who Lives on My Desk, I wish I were a dolphin.

Home, Poppet People and Strange Light

At Balticon on Saturday, it rained. I excused myself from the conversation I was involved in and walked directly outside to relish the downpour for a few moments. I lifted my face to the rain with joyful abandon, but without the usual nostalgia.
Then last night, walking through the micro-cooled mists of downtown Palm Springs, I felt an unexpected and sudden sense of home. Am I falling in love with this desert?

sheesh



In July, perhaps I'll come to my senses.



I truly enjoyed the Poppet Planet Launch party. There were exceedingly nice people there and I heard some insightful and thought-provoking comments.

Poppets tend to keep very good company.



There are some photos of the fun, and the fabulous cake created by Heidi (faeriedusted), here http://www.poppetplanet.com/forums.html in "Spare Parts."





I enjoyed a bit of clowning around with Larry Niven, whose brilliance is complimented by a twinkling sense of humor.
I'm extremely pleased to tell you that he has agreed to adopt the "Strange Light" title in the Strange chapbook series.
The title is Larry's own suggestion, and seems to fit him perfectly. I'm looking forward to creating images for Strange Light. How cool is that? Already I'm clearing a room in my brain. Now to clear my schedule. No better motivation than a project I can't wait to dive into.

There's more...but Blogger imaging program seems to have stopped working for the moment.

In the meantime, I've put some Little Red Poppets up on Ebay, and a few of the "Little Pink" open edition casting as well.

You can find them here: Poppets