Zoie - New Odds and Drunken Shrimps/Setting

Main Room: Blackbird Cafe -- Old Town -- Albuquerque

Walls painted a calm light blue wrap around the room, decorated liberally with a wide variety of artwork: Native American prints mixed amongst Zen drawings and calligraphy, a poster of a Tibetan mandala, and a painting depicting Arthur and the Knights of Camelot at the Round Table. Potted plants dot the room, with one large tree framing the front window, an amazingly lifelike stuffed raven perched in its branches. A ceiling fan turns lazily overhead, helping to circulate the air and clear out the smoke from those patrons who must so indulge. The background music ranges the spectrum from soothing New Age music to classic rock and roll, played at acceptably soft levels.

Small tables and couches are scattered about the room, all of them comfortable and well-worn. On the ceiling there is a great mural of a giant black bird winging its way across the sky as forest gives way to a more desert surrounding, where a coyote lopes lazily. The staff, dressed in black uniforms with the Cafe's logo (a soaring bird), move quickly and efficiently through the room, offering up a 'menu' to those who would like to see one.