It's the eyeballs, stupid

119 degrees Fahrenheit. Why do people voluntarily live in these conditions?

We arrived safely in Palm Springs. So far, it's pretty, but I've only seen the airport, really. I must say, it's the only airport I can remember where you have to actually leave the building to talk from the terminal to the baggage claim. It was a very pretty walk, enclosed on the sides by walls and decorations. It felt very much like a theme park.

Now, the title of this post - they say it's a "dry heat". What that means at 119 degrees Fahrenheit is "your eyeballs dry out the instant the heat hits you." At least, my eyeballs do, so that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Here are some random views from our hotel, to give you that sense of "hot". Not, this area was previously classified as a desert - meaning no liquid water. But, apparently so many plants have been hauled in, including the irrigation and water to keep them alive, that it has been reclassified as sub-tropical. (Our source was the hotel shuttle driver, who has been here for fourteen years, so I'm inclined to accept what he says on this subject.)

Phoenix Airport, Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix Airport, Phoenix, Arizona, 8 AM, June 23, 2011

There are many reasons I enjoy the movie DOGMA, but one of my favorite scenes is Matt Damon and Ben Affleck sitting in the airport watching people. Every person has a story. Who are they? Where are they from? Are they traveling alone? What the heck where they thinking when they put on those clothes?

We have a two-hour layover here in Phoenix, so I’m having a lot of fun with that last question. Phoenix is a major hub for US Airways and other airports. It’s hot here, with very bright sunlight. There are a lot of people wearing shorts and lightweight clothing. It’s easy to imagine they are locals, heading out of town. The flipside are those wearing long slacks and jackets; presumably they came into town from Northern climates, like us, where it was cold at home.

We just sat and watched people for a while. It was interesting, looking at groups of people. We found a weird pattern where groups (i.e. two or more) tended to dress very similarly. Not identically (unless they were literally a social group with the group t-shirt), but patterns like “all short sleeves” or “all khaki pants”. Some of the patterns were loose, and others were eerily consistent, even among groups that clearly did not appear related to each other.

Off to the plane! More later :)

Rainier Independent Film Festial, Ashford, WA

Ashford, WA, is a small town outside Rainier National Park. Win and Sarah Whittaker put together the Rainier Independent Film Festival. I'm so accustomed to living in the "tree-filled" Seattle sprawl that I forget what real undeveloped country looks like.

The RIFF openning ceremonies were last night. Kristi's film, "Something Special," was the openning film. Warren Etheridge was on hand and got spontaneously tapped to do an interview with Kristi. They both clearly enjoyed themselves, but it was amusing how nervous both were.