Yes, Sun Valley.  My favorite ski destination, and not only am I forbidden to ski by the host of medical professionals advising me on the bulging disk that has kept me horizontal for the past month, but now I've been felled by a miserable cold, with coughing that exacerbates the back pain.  I truly need a raincheck for this vacation. 

This is what it looks like here:

                                

I love this place for its history, its isolation, the photos of movie stars from the past who shlepped out here to promote this wild new activity of skiing, the low-key atmosphere even as you mingle with celebrities (hint: the Governator seems to be everywhere we go), the fine dining, the fantastic local smoked trout . . . Here's one of the original posters of the place:
    
                                                                    

It's just incredibly charming and I'm truly sad to be spending the bulk of my time tied to my tissue box and painkillers.

On the trademark front, I love the name of the kids' clothing store here: Chicken Lipps.  It's a perfect example of an arbitrary mark.  What's interesting from a marketing perspective at the ski area itself is the fact that there's no on-mountain corporate sponsorship — that means no promotional banners at the bottom or top of the chairlifts, no kiosks promoting product lines, no one hawking timeshares in the lodge — truly a welcome respite from the clutter rampant at other resorts.

Other thoughts, as this post is becoming increasingly more random, but I'm savoring the impulse to write while momentarily lucid: I would not want to be in the position of having my client make me argue that "French" is anything other than geographically descriptive.  Isn't it somewhat self-defeating to adopt and apply for the mark FRENCH & FLIRTY for lingerie but then argue that FRENCH means "stinky, over-stated or rated, as well as those things that are illegal, immoral or just generally undesirable"?  Okay, so the product is (a) not from France and (b) stinky?  Non, merci.  I don't think the lawyer does the client any favors by making that argument.  Indeed, I think VF has a big 43(a) problem with the mark irrespective of its registrability.

Finally, and again, without rhyme or reason, I would like to thank the creators and stars of Arrested Development, the funniest television ever made: repeated viewings of the DVDs of this show have kept me laughing through my pain.  With club sauce.