Spicy Taco Sauce

Happy New Year's Eve from cloudy, rainy and cool Hollywood - our rainy season has begun; it should be over by Thursday though.

Am just about to dash over to the Beverly Wilshire where Hank and I will be hosting our annual "Hollywood Bachelor's New Year's Eve Party" - more on that in a future post...

...but for now...

...how many times have I been cracking that old joke about Ricky Martin and his South Beach adventures? Oh I don't know... maybe a hunderd times (check out a lot of my early postings and you'll come across them).

With that in mind. What do we make of photos like these:

Yes that is Mr. Martin and a friend...it might be his brother, or his trainer... I have have a brother, and a trainer, and I can safely say, I've never done anything like this with either of them (OK well there was that "motivational guide" I fooled around with in '90 - but that' was a whole other thing..)






OK, here's Ricky and and his brother or trainer engaging in some sort of synchronized swimming or maybe they want to bring back that June Taylor style of dancing ...




And this one, well this one is priceless as Ricky proves that even he can be a top do push ups in the sand...

If you want to see more check out A Socialite's Life.


...and with that, I am out. Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve all!!!

Plum Pudding

Seasons Greetings From Sunny Hollywood!

Been so busy this past week, and we've been hosting a few house guests so things have been hectic to say the least...where to begin?

Faye Dunaway's Christmas Eve party.

Like always Faye outdid herself with this bash, Hank and I arrived around eight and had to park our car three blocks away and walk to Casa Dunaway. Upon arriving at her house, the artificial snow machines were going full blast turning her lawn and garden into a virtual winter wonderland; automated wooden soldiers marched back and forth across the promenade which was decorated with imported Vermont holly and evergreens, and a choir of fifty singers dressed in Dickensian garb stood by the front door greeting each guest with Christmas carols.

Inside, the hostess, dressed in a red velvet Channel original with a plunging neck line swept over to us and gave us both air kisses and proclaimed, "Darling boys, please into the ball-room with you both! EVERYONE is here and it's complete holiday madness!"

To say that this party was overwhelming was an understatement; Brian Setzer and his big-band and orchestra provided music on a make shift stage; scantily clad Santa's, borrowed from the Beverly Center, served food and drink and catering was supplied by Wolfgang Puck ...like usual, Faye plays it low key when entertaining, "Tax write-off, darlings!" she claims.

While at the bar getting a diet Coke, I bumped into Jason Bateman who was as sauced as a Christmas goose, he put his arms around me and slurred, "Dex Fucking Baxter! How the fuck are you, man?" I told him I was fine and asked how the wife and kids were doing to which he replied, "Sent them out of town, are you going to the Sheldrake Room later for the Xmas party?" I nodded in the affirmative while he sucked down another spiked egg nog, "Alrighty then, so I will see you there then. Now I have to go find those assholes from FOX and see what I can do about saving my critically acclaimed but hardly watched sitcom..." I pointed him in the direction of a couple of suits and wished him well ... sipping on my diet Coke, Hank came over with Matthew Perry, who apparently was also into the egg nog, "Look who I found at the bar by the pool!" he said.

"Matt, did you fall off the wagon again?" I asked. He just looked at me with those puppy dog eyes of his and said, "Sorry, Anderson Cooper won't return my calls..." While he blathered I called Ramon on the cell and asked him to come and collect Perry and to keep him away from the liquor cabinet... that squared away, I took Hank's arm and we mingled...

...On the patio, a huge Bill O'Reily pinata hung and I watched as a blindfolded George Clooney beat at that thing until it burst spilling out loofah sponges...Portia de Rossi was dancing with Ellen Degeneres in the ball room ... Jenifer Anniston and Vince Vaughn were roaring drunk on a sofa as they discussed china patterns - good luck, kids ... Doris Roberts, true to form, was passed out at the doorway of the downstairs powder room, Hank and I tried to move her, but she had a death grip on a bottle of Muscatel and the other hand held on to the door jam for dear life...

When Hank and I went out to the veranda to get some air we noticed some guy dressed in a poncho and sombrero lurking near the barbecue pit. Hank was about to call 911 as well as the Border Patrol when I stopped him, "Wait a second, I'd know that gait anywhere!", and with that the poncho wearing guest came from the shadows and said, "Baxter, old fellow! Man, I am in way over my head..." It was Eric Stillman.

We hustled him into the pool house to keep anyone else from seeing him. Word is all over tinsel town about Stillman running afoul of the mob, and then getting in deep with some Colombian drug cartel while in Mexico while shooting El Grande Supra!

Hank found a Santa Claus suit and tossed it to him, "Put this on, and try to be as unobtrusive as you can, OK? We'll hide you out at our place."

Before the three of us went back into the party, Stillman produced the fattest joint I've seen since I was at one of Dennis Hopper's beach parties back in the late 70's. "This maryjane is primo, guys! Mexican! It'll make you see god!", he said firing up the joint - we smoked it and boy howdy, we had to support each other like a trio of drunken sailors back into the party.

After this everything becomes something of a blur. I tend to recall being pulled under the mistletoe by either Madonna or Gwen Stefani, and later on seeing Hank doing the limbo with Robert DeNiro; and then what to my blood-shot eyes should appear? Stillman Claus sitting on a chair on the stage of the ballroom with a heavily inebriated Dunaway perched in his lap. I could hear Dunaway braying, "Now Santa, darling, can I see what you have in your pants? I've been a very good girl this year!"

Stillman, the ham-bone, was eating this up. He had a spray of mistletoe in his left hand raised up over Faye's head, and just as she was about to tear the beard from his face, revealing his true identity to all at the party, a voice boomed out from across the room;"¿Dónde la cogida es Eric Stillman? ¡Vamos a matarle!" (which loosely translated means, Where the fuck is Eric Stillman we are here to kill him).

I turned and saw a group of Colombian men, all the size of small gorillas, and just as one of them reached into his jacket for a gun, Dunaway rose from Santa's lap and howled, "Raoul, Is that you, ya' lousy wetback! You screwed my beautiful lawn up with your two-bit gardening service! I called the I.N.S.!!! Don't fuck with me, Compañeros!!!"

The Columbians high-tailed for the door, but so did the guests, in fact it soon became total bedlam. I was looking around trying to find Hank and Eric when I saw the LAPD come storming in through the patio doors. I felt a hand reach out and yank me; It was Hank and he said, "Come on Dex, let's get out of here!"

We dashed through a doorway and found our way into the garage and there was Stillman, still in his Santa drag making out with Liza Minnelli. "Say fellows", he said wiping Liza's ruby red lipstick from his face, "She's had several gay husbands, I've had several lesbian girlfriends, we are soul-mates!" We did not wait around and hustled him out of the garage as Liza cried out, "Santa don't leave, I know a great lawyer!!!"

The three of us charged down Mulholland Drive to the car whooping and yelping like madcap college kids after a panty raid.

Back home, I set up Stillman in the attic and told him to lay low until I can figure this all out, and whatever he did, not to call Liza!

Later on having Eric stashed away safely and checking in on Matt Perry who was sawing wood in the guest house, we changed and then went to The Sheldrake Room for the annual Xmas Eve party.

Anthony Kiedis was riding his skate board on the bar when we got there and Jason Bateman was playing "strip"gin with Taye Diggs ... a feast was set up next to the bar, and, still feeling the effects of that weed from earlier, I must have ate a pound of the plum pudding...Clooney and Mark Wahlberg were bobbing for apples with Colin Farell (fresh out of Betty Ford), just then I was overcome by the smell of Aqua Velva aftershave and a rather beefy hand landed on my shoulder, I turned to discover James Gandolfini standing behind me, "Baxter, how you doin' ya' sonofabitch? Merry Christmas" and I was treated to a Tony Soprano-style bear hug (James and I go way back)...a few moments later I saw HBO's mob boss and Kiedis disappear into the back room. I was about to go to the bar to get a diet Coke when Hank grabbed me around the waist whispered into my ear that he was beat and maybe we should call it a night. I nodded my head and asked him to go get the car, I'd be there in a second.


Just before I left, I peeked into the back room and caught Ray Romano and Zach Braff enjoying themselves (it was only a matter of time, I figured), and I took a picture of them with my cell phone camera.


Ah Hollywood, the real city of Brotherly Love!

++++++

Christmas Morning.

I woke to the sound of screams coming from the kitchen. I jumped up from bed and dashed down to find Guadalupe in a tizzy standing in front of the refrigerator holding the holiday ham in her hands and saying, "Mister Dexter, Look, something ate this, tore this meat like the demon! I think the Chupacabra has found us, Madre Mia..." When she finally calmed down I told her that we had a few guests staying and that it was obvious that Mr. Stillman must have had a midnight snack.

"El Grande Supra is here?" she said suddenly going from hysterical to coquettish, "He is so handsome, Mister Dexter".

"Guadalupe, are you blushing?" I asked laughing. And handed over a check with a hefty holiday bonus to my sterling house keeper, "Here, Merry Christmas, take the rest of the day off".

Later that morning Hank and I exchanged gifts. I handed him the keys to his Benz which was parked in the driveway covered in a huge red bow, and Mr. Man told me to close my eyes as he led me to the garage and showed me what he'd bought me; a refurbished, 57 Bel Air. I can't wait to open that baby up on the PCH!

We took coffee in the den and were joined by Stillman who gave us both a couple of boxes of Cuban cigars and a couple of pounds of that pot we'd enjoyed last night. Then Matt stumbled in and shocked us all by bestowing a complete line of Haines t-shirts and underwear for the three of us...

Yes, it was a memory filled couple of days, but it was nice to relax with friends and loved ones and enjoy a stress free Christmas...now it's about two AM the day after Xmas and I am reading this fascinating script idea that Stillman handed over; all about this c-list actor and his misadventures with lesbians and drug cartels - it sucks! And it's going to make millions; Liza Minnelli has promised to put up the money for production costs...

...god bless us everyone.

Pomegranate and Vanilla Power Shakes

It's madness I tell ya!

You might have heard about Lillo Brancato, the young actor from "A Bronx Tale" as well as, "The Soprano's" was recently arrested for shooting a cop in (where else?) the Bronx! Did you know that he was friendly with Drea de Matteo who is currently dating my good buddy, Eric Stillman. So, what does this all mean? Well first, Stillman got spooked and took off to Mexico where he is appearing in a film entitled, "El Grande Supra!" - which, from what I understand, is a movie about a Mexican super hero. Stillman is working under the name of "Enrique Rodriquez" - the guy is convinced that if he does not lay low, he might end up sleeping with the fishes. To make matters worse, it seems that Drea is dropping hints with the press that she might be bisexual (LOOK HERE I AINT MAKING THIS UP)...as you know, Stillman has a way of changing straight women into lesbians...poor guy, I hope he's OK.

Meanwhile, here at Casa Baxter, we've been decking the halls. Hank chose a tasteful blue spruce for the foyer as well as two Aspen pines, one for the living room and the other for the rumpus room. We went a little retro this year and trimmed out the trees in bubble lights and miniature cocktail glasses. Gosh, I love the holidays!

Speaking of which, the invitation to Faye Dunaway's Holiday Ball arrived last week and we RSVP'd ... of course, it won't be same what with poor Colin Farrell back in rehab, he's always the life of the party ... sad also to hear that Pamela Anderson's pole dance was cut from that Elton John special, as you know, Pam is no stranger to bumping and grinding around stiff rods; come to mention it, neither is Elton...hung out with Scott Baio the other night at The Viper Room and while Scotty sucked down gin and tonics, and I nursed a diet Dr. Pepper we toasted the fact that "Disco Nation" will NOT be seeing the light of day thanks to Linda Blair's law-suit, later on Baio and I bumped into C. Thomas Howell in the bathroom who was doing a line of coke off of Mackenzie Phillips' thigh, after that CT joined Baio and I for a cup of coffee at Denny's on Sunset Blvd where we reminisced over that night at the Sheldrake Room back in 1991 when Kirk Cameron was given the nickname, 'Hoover'...we toasted the memory of little Mike Seaver and his legendary lips (of course you never heard it from me, but these days little Mister Goodie Two Shoes is legendary for propositioning body-builders down on Venice Beach ... I snapped this photo of him last week while he was passing out his phone number to the beefcake on display...)

Mr. Man is so busy these days; between "The Simpson's" and his Showtime series, "Huff", the guy has been running himself ragged. He does not know this yet, but I just got word that his Christmas gift has arrived, I am hiding his new Benz over at David Blaine's garage. Cost me a pretty penny, but I think he's worth it... I also booked us a suite at the The Regent Beverly Wilshire for New Year's Eve; we are planning a private soiree for some of the Hollywood Bachelors and the staff at the Regent is very discreet ... last year on New Year's we hosted a clothing optional beer bust that caused the police to arrive...let's just say were it not for the hotel's concierge slipping L.A.'s finest some sawbucks, you might have read about the whole sordid affair in the National Enquirer

Today I Fed Exd three scripts over to Columbia and was happy to cash eight checks from Paramount and Metro; yeah, it was a good day... Went to the club for a work out and bumped into John Cusack; we chatted while using the stair master and then retired to the indoor pool for a quiet lunch. Cusack's been busy and he's very happy for Jeremy Piven and his success on "Entourage"... while lounging we indulged in a couple of pomegranate and vanilla power shakes while we discussed the obscenity that is Mariah Carey and her Grammy nominations, "Who's dick is she sucking?" Cusack asked while floating in his inflatable lounge chair, I nodded in agreement and floated in my own water chair while the glass roof of the Beverly Hills Health Club revealed a cobalt blue sky free of any clouds...

Wedding Cake

Bets are being made all through tinsel town today as to when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie will tie the knot; some say it will be any minute now, while others are claiming that it is has already occurred. Whatever the case, I have a Champ HP3 Blender wrapped and ready to ship when the announcement becomes official...

How about them crazy kids? Jolie, no doubt, is one of the hottest broads to grace the silver screen since Liz Taylor slinked across it in her white bra and slip in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"; the fact that she took Pitt away from the gorgeous Jennifer Aniston makes her the new Liz and leaves Jen as this generation's Debbie Reynolds I suppose...

As for Mr. Pitt. What I can I tell you America? He's lived the American Dream. Coming from a small town in Missouri, the kid came out here in the mid-80's, got his teeth fixed, met the right people and the rest is history. Now, I don't want to start any tongues a wagging, but I knew him back when. He was doing little roles in TV shows and few bit parts in films when we crossed paths. I immediately saw in him a spark and took him under my wing for a bit and after I was convinced of his talents I put in a word for him with Ridley Scott and faster than you can say, "Thelma and Louise" he got the role that made him famous. I remember saying to Scott, "Keep his pants tight, his shirt off and his dialogue simple and you'll make this kid a star."

Was I right?

***

Things have been busy around here lately, plus I was laid up with a stomach flu for a few days; meanwhile Hank's been at the studio doing a slew of voice work for some up-coming episodes of "The Simpson's"... Guadalupe's son, Ramon, ran over to Paramount and picked up the scripts that I was working on which included a come-back picture for Whitney Houston called, "A Mother's Love", which, if you can believe it, is a re-make of "Mildred Pierce"!! Brandy is supposed to play her obnoxious daughter ... let me tell you this thing stinks to high heaven, it will probably make box-office history! Carrie Fisher called me this morning with the news that Doris Roberts was arrested for a drunk and disorderly outside of The Vista theater on Sunset Blvd last night...Woody Allen stopped over last night and I was thrilled to see him (some of you might recall that Mr. Man worked for Allen in "Celebrity")...anyway, Allen was in town celebrating his 70th birthday at a Lakers game and dropped off a quart of chicken soup he'd brought all the way from Katz's Delicatessen in Manhattan, "It's good for what ails ya!" he told me as he left to go pick up the little woman who was spending the day at Disneyland...Matt LeBlanc is said to be very angry over NBC pulling his sit-com, "Joey" off of it's Thursday night line up; called my pal Eric Stillman (who as you may recall has announced his engagement to "Joey" co-star Drea de Matteo, but I still can't get through to him. Last I heard he and Drea were somewhere in Greece scouting nuptial locations!

Felt much better on Saturday and went for a brief jog this morning, passed Faye Dunaway's house which is being readied for her annual Christmas Ball. Snow making machines are hidden behind monolithic faux igloos, while a seventy seven foot high Aspen pine decorated with Tiffany ornaments and six thousand strands of imported Italian lighting was flanked by six imported Bavarian snowmen... saw Dunaway on the south lawn of her place raising hell with the one of the workers who were installing a replica of Grand Central Station complete with a working miniature rail road; "Look, fella, if you can't do it right then go back to where ever the hell you came from!!" With that she caught site of me and called out, "Dex darling! Your invitation is in the mail!"... passed Matt Dillon who was running in the opposite direction, high-fived him as he called out, "How they hanging, Baxter?"...saw Phil Spector standing on his roof with a high-powered rifle, thought it best to take a short cut, across Billy Campbell's lawn and managed not to set off his alarm system...

Got home and took a call from Hank who said we have a couple of passes to see "Bareback Mountain "Brokeback Mountain" with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger; finally, a romance film for the rest of us!! Now you never heard me say this, kids, but inasmuch as Brad and Angie met and fell in love on the set of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", who says the same thing can't happen to these two sweethearts? I'm just asking!

Whole Cranberry Sauce

It's a day late, but Happy Turkey Day all!

Before I start, I just want everyone to know that Matthew Perry is doing great. He fell off the wagon for a time there, but things are looking up for our favorite "Friend" -- maybe you've seen his Haines Spot with Michael Jordan...well, those checks have been rolling in as well as the residuals from his old sit com so anyone that says, "Money can't be happiness" might be right, but it sure helps regaining ones sobriety.

Hank got back from Canada on Tuesday and we decided to order out for Thanksgiving and have a few of the "Hollywood Bachelors" over for a little dinner. Guadalupe had the day off so I had to hire a few servers and bartenders for our little soiree ... also, had to take a run to Albertson's on Sunset Blvd and pick up a couple of cans of whole cranberry sauce ... bumped into Brandon Frasier and his wife who were fetching a pre-cooked turkey...before he became a family man, Brandon was quite the party boy in L.A.; many's the event I went to in the early 90's where Frazier would be doing laps in some producer's pool; but success and father hood have settled down the wild boy of yesteryear and I am happy to report that aside from the thinning hair and expanding waist, he looks great!

Also saw Joan Rivers and her daughter shopping for Popsicle sticks, "Binge and purge, Missy!" Rivers was screeching as they made their way, "You can't afford to gain any weight with awards season coming up!!!" -- Poor Melisa, the kid must weigh all of sixty pounds these days ... Melanie Griffith looked fab as she led her kids down the frozen foods aisle, when she saw me she waved me over and said she was heading out to Aspen for a little reunion with Don Johnson while Antonio is in Spain working on a film ... in the check out cue I saw Benjamin Bratt looking into a mirror checking himself out, he looked over and smiled and waved and then went back to his doppelganger, self absorbed narcissist that he is (I knew him way back when, before the face-lifts, the liposuction and the hair plugs; unbelievable twit, that one).

When I got home I saw that that the spread had been set by the staff we hired ... Hank was in the garden smoking a Cuban and I joined him and he gave me a little wrapped box which I opened to reveal a 18K Solid Gold i830 cell phone! I was so happy I flipped, "You can't believe what I went through to get you that", he told me smiling.

At around two the guests arrived. Eric Roberts was the first. Now, Eric is a great guy, no matter what you might have heard, and provided you don't mention his sister, he is good company and very entertaining...Eric and I met many moons ago when we were both young and hungry out here in movie-land ... everyone thought he was going to be the next big thing when "King of the Gypsies" came out, and then later on "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and "Star 80"...but for whatever reasons, his star never rose much higher and of course he was eclipsed by his sister Julia; still though, I love the guy.

Hank and Eric enjoyed a couple of pomegranate martinis, while I sipped some club soda and we discussed life for a bit, just then the door bell rang and Greg Kinnear and Matt Damon showed up. You won't read this in any gossip mag, but I am here to tell you the truth: Matt and Greg have been inseparable since they met at the Bally's in North Hollywood the day after Halloween; while the two had worked together in the past, these days once could say they really are stuck on each other. Frankly I am happy for Damon, ever since Affleck dumped him, the guy has been a wreck...yeah, yeah, I know, Kinnear is supposed to be married and Damon is seeing some woman...come on people, get with the program, this is Hollywood, and their are more beards in this town than at an Amish barn raising!

Dinner was sublime and afterwords we repaired to the hot tub for coffee and after dinner drinks. Matt and Greg got comfortable on their own which left Eric, Hank and I to dish about what was going lately...we were all taking bets on the Cruise/Holmes marriage...Eric wanted to know how much the Scientologists were paying Katie for use of her uterus ... Later on Hank asked me how the match making was going; Eric even chimed in, "Word's all over town about Stillman and Drea De Matteo"; I happily reported that the duo seemed to be doing well and were planning on moving in together, just then Damon called out, "Yeah, but doesn't Stillman change all of his girlfriends into lesbians?" Eric nodded his head, "I heard the same thing...It must be a real bitch to be one of the few 100% straight guys in this town, your choices are closeted dyke's or heterosexual chicks who look like lollipops." We all laughed but wished our pal, Eric Stillman the best of luck...

Frito's

Have you ever swum in a pool with Matthew McConaughey? Well, I have ... the guy can not keep his swim trunks on...

Hosted a little pool party yesterday afternoon and People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive showed up ... and like always, he brought his bongos and his stash of weed; the guy was toked and stoked and pretty much the life of the party...Barbara Streisand and James Brolin were the first to arrive and Babs looked great (did you know she travels with her own personal lighting guy at all times?), once she got situated on a chaise lounge in the shade ... Brolin (who looks even better now than he did when he was in his 20's) manned the barbecue - my god that silver haired devil makes a mean burger! Carrie Fisher showed up with Penny Marshall and the girls went ga-ga over Babs, fetching her drinks, bringing her food, touching up her make up ... McConaughey came with fellow party-boy, Anderson Cooper ... Cooper's such a sweet guy, he brought a case of Frito's and five bags of hot-dog buns ... Tyra Banks also showed up and unfortunately got into a little tiff with another guest, Faye Dunaway; Faye had been tossing back hi-balls and when she set eyes on the host of "America's Next Model",she proclaimed loud enough for the other guests to hear, "Darling, the fat suit stunt was pathetic ... you looked like the Uniroyal tire man!" and then she flung her Virginia Slim's menthol at her just missing her left eye ... luckily, Guadalupe's son, Ramon (who was bar-tending) separated the ladies and no real harm came to anyone ... As I was sitting by the pool chatting up Eric Roberts, McConaughey came up behind me and said in his thick Texan drawl, "Baxter, how's that water, son?" and the next thing I knew I was in the deep end courtesy of my guest ... it took about two minutes of playing "Marco Polo" for his trunks to float up on the surface...when Dunaway saw this she cried out, "Darling, Matthew, come in to the shallow end so I can get a better look!!!"

Toweling off, I had a few moments to talk with Babs - she says she is considering a follow-up to "Meet the Fockers", tentatively titled, "Mother Focker"; "Honey, I'll do it as long as that putz, Stiller is not involved - how did that kid get such a big carreer?"... I was about to answer when I heard a scream and saw that Dunaway had put a cigarette out on the head of Tyra Banks who was sitting in a lawn chair by the bar ... Once more, Ramon separated the ladies and things calmed down ... was enjoying some fabulous potato salad that Penny Marshall had made when I caught sight of Anderson Cooper coming out of the guest house with Matthew Perry - I think they'd make a nice couple, made a mental note to encourage this relationship ... Hank called so I passed around the phone so he could say hi to everyone. He's coming home on Tuesday and then we have to get our Turkey Day plans solidifed ...

Around dusk, an impromptu conga line started with a naked McConaughey and his bongos, leading the line; Dunway had his hips in a death grip and the other guests followed behind her as we congaed around the pool to 'Hot Hot Hot' - it was all so retro in a 1980's meets the Swinging 60's kind of way...

Later on, with most of the guests gone, I found that Cooper and Perry had taken off for that very same hotel that Stillman and Drea went to the other day ... Guadalupe had done a marvelous job of cleaning up the patio ... Carrie and Penny were the last two guests (or so I thought) to leave; Ramon informed me that McConaughey and Dunaway left together (you read it here first!) and that everyone else was gone so he was leaving for the night ... was about to go to my office when a deep voice called out from the living room, "Dex"; it was James Brolin, "I sent the little woman home, she's got a headache; can you stand a little company?"

I fired up the hot tub and got out a box of good Cuban cigars...later on, as we relaxed, Brolin said, "Do you remember that party back in , oh what was it, 82 or 83, me and you and Eric Roberts ...wasn't that your first time at the Sheldrake room?" and we smoked and reminised while the lights of L.A. glowed up at us from the valley below...