The Saturday Seven: Best Stevie Nicks Songs

The Enchanting Stevie Nicks....a true legend in rock and roll. She's had an amazing career with Fleetwood Mac, and an impressive solo career as well. I've seen her live over a dozen times and she never disappoints. Her unique style and staying power makes her the subject of The Saturday Seven this week. For those of you who are also Stevie fans, her "Crystal Visions" CD was released on March 27th, and has a tour starting May 17th. So without further delay, I present:

The Saturday Seven: Best Stevie Nicks Songs

1. Edge of Seventeen ("Bella Donna", 1981). This song is transcendental...

2. Stand Back ("The Wild Heart", 1983) She really rocks out on on this

3. Rhiannon ("Fleetwood Mac", 1975) It's so mystical, and draws you in.

4. Dreams ("Rumours", 1977) Druggie era revisited, and a classic

5. Rooms on Fire ("The Other Side of The Mirror", 1989) Pop modern, but fun

6. Landslide ("Fleetwood Mac", 1975) Her live renditions are life changing

7. Planets of the Universe (Trouble in Shangri-La, 2001) Still relevent to all...

Bonus song: Silver Springs, live ("The Dance" 1997) A connection to the past

What are your favorite Stevie songs??? Go ahead, leave a comment, its FREE!
-Rick Rockhill

Superstars in Palm Springs...at CopyKatz

Palm Springs has plenty of interesting things to see and do. One of the newer hot spots is a venue called CopyKatz, which is billed as a "showroom and backstage bistro". Basically it's celebrity impersonator dinner theatre, although you can just go for cocktails if you don't want dinner as well. It's a first class professional operation for sure, and very well decorated inside. I found the show to be fantastic and lots of fun. In one evening, I saw Madonna, Cher, Bette Midler, Carol Channing, Reba McIntyre, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Micheal Jackson and Charlie Chaplan. It was such a hoot. The impersonators are quite good, quick witted and high energy. If you live in Southern California and looking for something to do, I'd recommend a quick weekend trip to Palm Springs and see a CopyKatz show. If you are flying in, be sure to call ahead to make a reservation. I have nothing to do with the place, but I really think it's fun.
200 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, California - (760) 864-9293
-Rick Rockhill

Useful New Feature

With everything that's been going on at work, I finally decided to upgrade my computer. Yes that's right, I now have the model that includes the much needed red PANIC button.


Perfect for missed deadlines, natural disasters, and for the onset of any crisis where you need an extra moment to think, just before screaming. This new feature should come in handy this morning and for most of today. I'm expecting another long weekend handling a new crisis. We'll see how the day goes....wish me luck.


-Rick Rockhill

Screen printing class

So Meryl, Jeannette and I are taking a screen printing class at CAW here in new haven. Meryl and I finished our first print today, and are ready to jump into the "big project" next week. I'll have it up here soon, I'm sure.

Dead birds galore.

I think I've told everyone I've ever met about how I work at the Peabody Museum on Thursdays doing bird taxidermy. These birds are usually window kills (meaning they've crashed into windows and died) and I take them out of the bird freezer, taxidermy them, and then the Peabody uses them as study skins for school classes and things like that. It's really the most interesting place I've ever been a part of, and I think I'll try to continue doing something like it after I move. Natural science as always interested me, but this is really intense hands on work. I bring my sketchbook and draw them while they thaw sometimes, and every once in a while I'll bring my camera. Luckily for all of you, today I did. The merlin (formally known as pigeon hawk) must have just eaten before it crashed into something, because it's crop was full. So I disected it's stomach also, and found the remains of a bird almost the size of the merlin itself. No skull, but there was this entire foot. I am also showing the picture of the merlin's head, sin eyes.
Dead things with wings, it doesn't get any more beautiful than that.

Lights...Camera...ACTION!

Yesterday I was involved with the production of a short subject film we shot for work. A small group of us worked on the project. I assisted in script writing and was on "set" for to assist Peter, the Director to be sure the right shots were taken. The two "actors" were people from work, and I must say they did a great job. Filming is an art. I quickly learned to appreciate the job of the Director, as he was shooting scenes out of order, but making sure the script translated to screen with smooth transitions. The film crew were great, they were focused on getting the lighting right, and miniming background noise interference. When the Director yelled "Quiet on the Set", he meant it. Without any hesitation, one of the technicians turned, walked over, and unplugged a nearby freezer that had been happily humming along until she realized the source. I was amazed when she unplugged it how noisy it actually had been. No wonder the sound guy noticed it on the audio. It was an interesting experience. All the re-takes were a killer...and oh those stage lights are murder on the skin. I was all dried out, and I was just behind the cameras. Finally around 7:00 the Director yelled: "Its a wrap" and everyone was so relieved to be finished.

-Rick Rockhill

Kick Butts Day

Apparently, today is the 12th Annual "Kick Butts Day", which sounds like a good idea on two levels...#1, smoking sucks and #2, I have a friend named Todd whose last name is the slang for a finished cigarette, and also for the the "gluteus maximus". We tease him incessantly about his last name and through it all, he has yet to slash our tires, key our cars, or beat any of us up.

So if you know Todd, then remind him that it's "Kick Butts Day"

and if you don't know Todd, and you smoke...why not consider quitting???

This falls under the "OH WHY NOT" category:

And one other note. While I was searching for the correct spelling of gluteus maximus so I would sound terribly clever, I came across the definition from wikipedia:

The gluteus maximus is the largest and most superficial of the three gluteal muscles. It makes up a large portion of the shape and appearance of the buttocks. It is a broad and thick fleshy mass of a quadrilateral shape, and forms the prominence of the nates. Its large size is one of the most characteristic features of the muscular system in humans, connected as it is with the power of maintaining the trunk in the erect posture.
The muscle is remarkably coarse in structure, being made up of fasciculi lying parallel with one another and collected together into large bundles separated by fibrous septa.

-Rick Rockhill

CNN Breaking News: Police: Man swiped 1,500 women's undies

I just love it when ridiculous news stories appear on mainstream news sites. This sounds more like somethng for The Onion, but its actually from CNN

Thanks to djbenwu for passing it along...

Police: Man swiped 1,500 women's undies
PULLMAN, Washington (AP) -- A man was charged with theft and burglary after police said they found 93 pounds of women's panties, brassieres and other underwear at his home.
Investigators believe Garth M. Flaherty, 24, took as many as 1,500 undergarments from apartment complex laundry rooms before he was caught, police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said.
A man was seen taking underwear from two laundry rooms Saturday, a witness recorded his license number, and Flaherty was identified from photographs, Tennant said.
Police found enough underwear in his bedroom to fill five garbage bags, Tennant said.
"He said he had a problem," Tennant said.
Flaherty has been jailed on 12 counts of second-degree burglary and one of first-degree theft.
Police had previously received 12 reports of underwear thefts in the northeast part of town, where Washington State University is located.
"We were kind of concerned about how to match up bras and panties with victims," Tennant said. "Based on the unique descriptions from a couple of women, we can tie him to those thefts."
The underwear will be held as evidence until the case is resolved, after which their disposition is uncertain, Tennant said.
"Would you really want them back?" he asked. "I would say not."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

-Rick Rockhill

Wow...its almost Easter

It occurred to me today that we're in the middle of Lent, and Easter is right around the corner. (Lucky for me I already received my shipment of Easter candy from Fannie May, but more on that another day). At the moment I'm feeling reflective and pondering all the sorts of things I could be doing to "renew" myself. While I'm not a religious person, I am "spiritual" and find great comfort in the traditions of Easter. So this evening I decided to see what's new at the Episcopal Church website. Not much. Except I remembered that I forgot to send in my check for "Easter Lillies" this year. I'll have to get right on that...otherwise I'll feel guilty until the Ascension.

-Rick Rockhill

Lesson: Stimulation....

The 6th grade science teacher, Mrs. Parks, asked her class, "Which human body part increases to 10 times its size when stimulated?"


No one answered until little Mary stood up, angry, and said, "You should not be asking 6th graders a question like that! I'm going to tell my parents, and they will go and tell the principal, who will then fire you!" With a sneer on her face, she then sat back down.

Mrs. Parks ignored her and asked the question again, "Which body part increases to 10 times its size when stimulated?" Little Mary's mouth fell open; then she said to those around her, "Boy, is she gonna get in big trouble!"

The teacher continued to ignore her and said to the class, "Anybody?" Finally, Billy stood up, looked around nervously, and said, "The body part that increases 10 times its size when stimulated is the pupil of the eye."

Mrs. Parks said, "Very good, Billy," then turned to Mary and continued, "As for you, young lady, I have three things to say:One, you have a dirty mind, two, you didn't read your homework assignment, and three, one day you are going to be very, very disappointed."


story courtesy of It Occurred to Me
-Rick Rockhill

Random Photos, by request

And seemingly out of nowhere, comes this re-post, with two completely random photos, by request of an out of town historian doing some research on beauty pageants in the desert. So I am posting these photos for the project.

above: A Beauty & Bikini Contest at the Palm Springs Racquet Club in 1963 attracted it's share of sexy, scantily-clad bikini chicks. They were long-legged lovelies competing for a free dinner, no doubt!

above: a more contemporary beauty contest here in Palm Springs. Back in 2007 it was a super- sexy triumvirate of hot babes: Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, posing in the Palm Springs sun. The competition included formal gown competitions, talent contest, and the ever-favorite swimwear competition, where the girls taped up their boobs and toned their asses in the hopes of being voted the sexiest girl alive! It's all in good fun I suppose.

the El 'n' Gee

The El 'n' Gee was a club in New London where lots of rad music shows were put on till 03 or something, when it was turned into Club Hipnotic under a new owner. Well, CT punk rock's Big Daddy Joaquin now owns the place, and set things right by returning it's name to the El 'n' Gee, and it's mission to giving southern CT a place to rock out again.
Aside from seeing some rad shows as a young shawnhebrank, Meryl and I have the Gee to thank for us beginning to date when we did, a billion years ago.
Joaquin needed some new shirts designed for the place, and asked for my help. Taking into consideration the club's location on the water and nautical history, I did up a hard core squid. Not that anything lives in the Long Island Sound anymore. But if you want one, go there soon, or message them on myspace.

Artists and Legends Gala- Palm Springs Art Museum

Special Celebrity Report:

On Saturday the Palm Springs Art Museum held its "Artists and Legends" Gala event, honoring Dennis Hopper, Frank Gehry and Ed Ruscha. Dennis Hopper is an accomplished actor & esteemed director but also a painter and photographer. Apparently he is also an expert on modern art and has one of the most extensive private collections in the United States. Frank Gehry is an artist known for his post-modernist sculptures and architecture. Ed Ruscha is a painter, printmaker and filmmaker. The glittering evening was also a fundraiser for the museum and was attended by the Palm Springs elite and a Hollywood contingent.

Sharon Lawrence (left) was host and emcee, Carol Burnett (right) presented an award to Frank Gehry. Lauren Hutton, presented an award to Dennis Hopper. The evening ended with the extraordinary talents of singer/dancer Maurice Hines, who was the main entertainment.

-Rick Rockhill

The Saturday Seven: Best Movie Quotes

After a long stressful and exhausting week dealing with the pet food recall at work, I decided to keep this post fairly simple. I am somewhat of a classic movie buff, so I couldn't resist a dose of Hollywood. So without further delay, I present this week's installment of:

The Saturday Seven: Best Movie Quotes

1. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, 1962: BLANCHE HUDSON (Joan Crawford): "You wouldn't be able to do these awful things to me if I wasn't in this chair."- Jane (Bette Davis): "But ya AAH Blanche, ya AAH in that chair!"

2. GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, 1953: LORELEI LEE (Marilyn Monroe): Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry a girl just because she's pretty, but my goodness, doesn't it help?

3. THE GODFATHER: PART II, 1974: MICHAEL CORLEONE (Al Pacino): "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

4. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, 1991: DR. HANNIBAL LECTER (Anthony Hopkins): "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

5. SUNSET BOULEVARD, 1950: NORMA DESMOND (Gloria Swanson): "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

6. ALL ABOUT EVE, 1950: MARGO CHANNING (Bette Davis): "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

7. AUNTIE MAME, 1958: MAME DENNIS (Rosalind Russell): "Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!"

And this week a Bonus Quote, at NO EXTRA CHARGE!!!
GRAND HOTEL, 1932: GRUSINSKAYA (Greta Garbo): "I want to be alone."

- Rick Rockhill

Anchors come in waves.

(Ha! That's the best blog post title ever. )
I've been doing lots of anchors lately. Today I did up two on brothers. Here is Rich's on his ankle/foot, the bottom of an already started aquatic leg sleeve.
His brother's anchor is much less weathered looking, but they both have a light colored banner for words that they will be getting in the future.

Shriek Week: What a Scream

What a week its been at work. The wet pet food recall has literally occupied all of my time. At least I found time to take a leak today, which seemed next to impossible yesterday. Sure is a good thing I enjoy my job. Its been constant stress this week and non-stop calls, e-mails piling up and one crisis after another. I now have over 1,500 unread e-mails at work...hopefully I can get through them over the weekend. One thing is for sure- I have no time to get bored! Once again, I realize how fortunate I am to work with a great team of people. We all watch out for each other and things seem to get done. It's a great place to work and if you love animals, we have plenty of dogs in the office everyday. Sometimes I think its the dogs all over the place that help reduce stress. I mean really, aren't dogs the best thing God has given us?

Below: Here are different versions of me this week:

Today I discovered that the tags I use actually work, and those "spiders" get my blog out there. My ridiculous blog popped up on the "radar" screen at work. So my humble blog was reviewed by our communications department and Legal Team! What a riot. Lucky for me I don't have any embarrassing hobbies. It turned out to be just fine. I offered to add a "disclaimer" at the bottom of my blog so when I express my personal opinions about pet related stuff it does not appear as though I am representing the company in an official capacity. Not that I think for one second that anyone takes this crazy blog seriously or anything...

-Rick Rockhill

More stickers ordered!

I had made 3000 of the shark sticker, since I knew they'd go quick, and I needed a lot of them to distribute. However, I only made 250 of the "I heart dead birds" sticker, as I couldn't imagine too many people wanting one for their car or whatever. As it turns out, people seem more excited about that one, and i've almost run out already in just two weeks. So today I ordered another 500.
You can grab the stickers by stopping by the shop on a monday, tuesday, friday or sat, or by emailing me, and I'll send them out for free.

Come to PETCO for some Natural Pet Food

Lots of people are still worried about the wet pet food recall. The media has been exaggerating as usual, scaring people crazy. I can understand, dogs and cats are important members of the family. I just wish more people knew the facts: DRY DOG FOOD HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED. For people whose brand of dog or cat food is not available due to the recall, or if you just want to switch to something else, I recommend either Natural Balance, Natural Ultramix or Organix. These are three excellent brands that I feed to my dog and cat and are really excellent quality too. Natural Balance is Dick Van Patten's dog food company. Above left is Dick Van Patten with his son Jimmy Van Patten cooking up a batch of their human-quality Eatables canned dog food.

OK, so here is the shamless plug for the day: If you are a pet owner and are worried about the recall on WET dog and cat food, don't panic. Come to PETCO and check out all these great brands...you'll find some of the best foods available.

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. What are you feeding now? Are there any issues that your pet is having? How is your pet's skin and coat? healthy? Shiny? Does you pet have any digestion issues? Always consult your vet if you notice any serious problems. In my personal opinion, if you want some of the best natural and holistic pet foods available, try brands such as Natural Balance, Natural Ultramix , Organix, Solid Gold and Pet Promise.

-Rick Rockhill

More Fun with American Idol

It was British Invasion Week on American Idol. Being somewhat of an Anglophile, I enjoyed the 60's Brit music. The vocal coaches were Lulu, and Peter Noone, who were just OK.

Its always tough for people in their late teens/early 20's to sing songs from over 40 years ago.

There were two songs by Dame Shirley Bassey...a classic British Songstress for sure. I was happy to hear Lakisha Jones sing my favorite Bond theme: "Diamonds Are Forever", even if her tempo seemed a little off. Blake Lewis did a great job...I think he has such potential. The biggest surprise for me, without a doubt was Jordin Sparks, who sang the other Shirley Bassey signature song: "I Who Have Nothing" It was Jordin's best performance yet. As usual, Melinda Doolittle kicked ass, so no surprise there at all. She definitely deserves to win this thing.

-Rick Rockhill