Month: October 2007

  • Celebrating Fabulousness in the Pumpkin Patch & Hillary gets Pwn3d


    I received this adorable card from my friend Pam.  She’s quite aware of my aversion to snail mail, but she took a chance anyway, and luckily, yesterday I went to my mailbox for the second time in 6 months.  LOL.  In true fashion though, she also send an equally fabulous e-card.  Thanks Pam!

    Here are some pictures of my niece Nicole and her little sister at the pumpkin patch.
     

    Poor Hillary gets no respect

  • Parades & BBQ’s – What a Difference a Week Makes


    My lungs are finally starting to clear from the fire smoke.  Today was a picture perfect day in Santa Barbara.  We started the morning by taking Patrick to the State Street Halloween Parade.  The costumes were great and the kids were adorable.  After that we had brunch, and then enjoyed a lazy afternoon until we retired to Tom & Cathy’s for good food, with good friends.  All in all a delightful Halloween weekend.  Lots of pictures to share…these are my favorites, and the rest are in the slideshow below.  Boo!


    Patrick & friend


    Shrek


    Patrick, Cathy & Snoopy


    Superman, meet…


    Spiderman!


    Scooby, Velma & Shaggy


    Peter Pan


    Alice in Wonderland


    Dragonslayer


    Eva calling Cathy on a land line


    The ocean, from Bassam’s living room


    There’s still residual smoke from the fires, so the sunset was awesome.


    Chariot of Fire


    Is he not the cutest?


    Bassam being gangsta


    Getting tired


    This isn’t what it looks like!  I don’t drink!!  I actually fell off the balcony though.  LOL  We were talking politics, and I was getting animated, and it was dark, and…  Honestly though…I was stone cold sober!!  (And no, that’s not a pun!)  I’m just a dork.


    This is where I fell from.  My butt is still sore!

    The best of the rest!

     

  • Dead Crocodile Hunters and Disheveled Mermaids, et al.

    I drove up to Santa Barbara tonight for a Halloween party at Bassam’s.  I wanted to post a few photos before I went to bed.

    In case you can’t tell, I’m dressed as Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter and that’s a stingray stuck to my heart.  Eva is dressed as a pretty messed up mermaid…with shells and seaweed stuck in her hair.   Had she not been drunk, she could have saved me from that stingray!  Hope everyone’s having a great weekend. 

    OK, it’s not the best costume, but it was simple and last minute.

    IMG_2729 (Small)  steve_irwin_croc

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  • Hollywood VIPs & International Visits During the Blaze


    Seth and I had VIP tickets to see “Real Time with Bill Maher” tonight.  The show airs live at 11:00 PM on HBO.  Lately I haven’t been 100% thrilled with some of his politics, but he usually makes me laugh and his show usually sparks some good discussions. 

    Because of what happened last week we were told that security would be extra tight.  This turned out to be a joke.  We drove right into the gate at CBS Television City without even giving our names or showing ID.  However, when I tried to smuggle my cell phone in to take some pictures, the trouble began.  As I went through the metal detector, I told them that I was a doctor, and that I needed my cell phone to text medical instructions to the hospital.  LOL.  They argued with me and called more security.  When they insisted that I could not bring my cell phone in, I stated that if my patients died, it would be on their conscience.    Oh, well, I tried.  So the only pics I got were these lame ones outside the studio in the dark with my mobile.

     

    The show was pretty good tonight.  The guest were:  former presidential candidate and Four Star General Wesley Clark, tennis great Martina Navratilova, conservative gay blogger Andrew Sullivan, esteemed journalist Sir David Frost and Republican Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.


    The topics the panel discussed tonight were: 

    • The California wildfires and the environment
    • Burqas (which contained an uncomfortable burqa fashion show, and Wesley Clark defending women who wear them)
    • Gay mania & marriage (Question to the Republican candidates:  If you knew you could prevent a terrorist attack, would you have sex with a man? And, if you knew a fetus would become Osama bin Laden, would you abort it?)
    • Richard Nixon’s administration
    • Hillary demonization
    • Arnold for president?  (Wesley Clark was definitely against repealing the Constitutional Amendment that would allow a foreign born person to become president.  I have to agree with him.  He’s really gunning for Hillary.  It made me think that he might be a potential Vice Presidential candidate for her.)

    Anyway, if you want to see a clip from the show, click here.

    It’s amazing how a disaster can draw people to your website.  I’ve gotten hundreds of hits the last day or two, presumably because of the fires.  These are just from the last couple of days:


    I haven’t had this many visitors to my website since I wrote about Sabine’s experience during the Virginia Tech tragedy.

    I even had a hit from someplace called:


    Libyan Arab Jamahiriya   /597779041/spaghetti-di…
    Weblogs     		  10/27/2007 12:37 AM


    Speaking of the fires, this is hopefully my last post for a while about wildfires, but I had to share these photos I got from Jennifer yesterday.  They were taken from the exact spot where I took my photos the day before, just after the fire had been put out.  If you look at these photos, and compare them to my previous entry, you can see exactly how the fire destroyed that area.  Amazing!


    Nothing like a Coors Light while watching your house burn down!

  • Nuclear Winter

     Update: There’s a new interactive fire map below.  Drag & Click.

      smokey

    OK, the title may be a bit extreme, but it’s pretty strange driving through L.A. when it’s 85 degrees and snowing…..ash.  I had to go down to Southern Orange County today, and it was like going to another planet.  I thought that the air in Hollywood was bad yesterday.  It was much much worse when I got past the Orange Curtain today.  I knew that driving down was a bad idea.  My cousins warned me first thing this morning:

    Smokey
    3 messages

    From Jennifer  Wed, Oct 24, 2007 at 8:30 AM
    To: Carey

    Carey, it’s TERRIBLE at my house.  We walk the kids to school every morning (and have been all this week).  There was NO WAY I would let them walk today. I drove them to school.  When I got there, there were parents FREAKING out that teachers weren’t there with their classrooms open (so some kids were waiting outside for their teacher to show up to the class).  Our nanny) has been home all week, and I’m making her stay home again today.  She has degenerative lung disease and has been in and out of the ER for breathing treatments. I have 2 employees that live in SD County, and both can’t get to work today.  One of them has been home all week due to involuntary evacuations and fearing that it might be mandatory at any time.  Rob and I have good friends that have been evacuated from their home (2 families in San Diego county and one family in Santiago Canyon) – and don’t know when they can get back.  Carey – I’m surprised you’re coming down here.  With your asthma, you should stay clear of it down here!!!!!


    From: Lisa
    Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:31 AM
    To: Carey
    Subject: Smokey

    Carey, I’m not sure how it is at my mom’s house (I suspect the same) but it is extremely smoky here.  We woke up this morning to a nice layer of smoke in the house.  It’s just horrible outside.  If I had a mask, I would have made Tommy wear it this morning but instead I made him hold a wet paper towel over his face while walking to the bus.  The bus driver asked if we were going to be evacuated today (not sure where that came from??)?!?!  I’m volunteering at his school this morning (which is only blocks away from my mom’s house) so I’ll see how bad it is there.  Hopefully not this bad, but I have a feeling it will be.  I haven’t talked to Jenn yet this morning either, but I’m sure she has it bad too.  I just can’t believe how much worse it is today from yesterday.  Yesterday I could hardly smell it.  Call me on your way down.  I should be on my cell.  If I don’t answer, it just means I’m probably in Tommy’s class but they only need me for about 1/2 hour so I won’t be long.  Lisa


    From: Jennifer
    Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 11:05 AM
    To: Carey
    Subject: Smokey
     
    Carey – I realize that I’m south of your office by a bit (in San Juan Capistrano)…but I have to say that it is dark brown/orange outside and the smoke is VERY detectible inside my office (the air conditioning does not begin to mask it).  My building borders the 5 freeway, and it’s the air is same color as far as I can see to the north.  I’m sure your office can give you a better idea of what it’s like in Lake Forest than I can.  But honestly, the smoke is getting thicker as the day progresses.  I REALLY think you should stay home.

    Yesterday it was pretty clear – I guess the wind was blowing in a different direction and the fire wasn’t as bad.  Today is a whole different story.  My nanny was going to come to work today – but with her lung condition, we made her stay home.  I don’t want her (or you) having to go to the ER for breathing treatments again.

    All that aside, I’m glad I went because I got some great pictures.  The color of the sky was like nothing I’ve ever seen.  The ash was literally falling like snow as you can see in these photos I took this afternoon.  The kids didn’t seem to mind…their lungs are a lot better than mine.  I have to be down here again tomorrow so I’m staying with my cousin tonight.  The winds have died down a bit, so hopefully the fires will stop spreading so much.  Enjoy the photos!

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    I took this from my sunroof driving south on I-5 near Irvine

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    One thing about the fires, the create the most amazing sunsets

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    I came outside after a few hours and there was this much ash on my car

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    My message to the fire

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    These 2 ASSHOLES were smoking!  As if there wasn’t enough smoke in the air!  They gave me the finger after I took their pic. FUCK YOU, FILTHY DISGUSTING SMOKERS!!

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    See how red and puffy my eyes are?  It’s SO dry here too.

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    I think this picture looks like the surface of Mars

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    All of the splotches in these pictures are ash falling from the sky

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    This tree was completely charred

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    This cactus barely survived

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    These are actually burnt cacti, not piles of wood

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    This snail didn’t make it

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    Nearly full moon rising

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    Tommy didn’t seem to mind the smoke

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    Nor did Andy

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    Carey & Andy

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    The moon

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    This almost looks like a movie set…the color was just surreal

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    Andy laughing in the sand

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    He was imitating me

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    Just another day in Southern California

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    Jennifer sent this one from by her office today.  It’s the parking lot of the Oakley Sunglasses Corporate Headquarters.

     


    View Larger Map

  • Two Americas, Fire Tornadoes & A “Miraculous” Hearty Pup


    “The people are happy.  They have everything here,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Monday night after his second Qualcomm tour.



    As I sit here in my air conditioned home in West Hollywood, California, coughing up what seems like half a lung, I’m pondering the dichotomy between present day Southern California and Katrina rattled New Orleans two years ago.  The differences are night and day.  The reasons behind the differences are as complicated as the differences themselves.  They are differences between rich and poor, conservative and liberal and, black and white.

    I personally know many people who blame the residents of New Orleans for what happened to them.  It’s similar to what I wrote about yesterday when some people in the blogosphere said that rich people in Malibu “had it coming” or didn’t warrant sympathy for losing their multimillion dollar homes.  

    In the coming days, the Bush Administration will insist that the lessons learned from Katrina prepared them for these fires, and the evacuation of what is now estimated at one million people from their homes.  They will claim that the disaster was well managed because of FEMA and Michael Chertoff (“Heck of a job, Gollum!”).  That’s like saying Bush is a good president because his father was once president.  The truth though, is that for all the ridicule California takes, we were prepared.  That’s not to say these fires won’t be utterly devastating to tens of thousands of people, but the loss of life will likely be low once it’s all over.



    The images between Southern California and New Orleans are starkly different.  Night skies here are lit up by deceptively beautiful flames.  Evacuees (in Katrina they were “refugees”) at Qualcomm Stadium (think Superdome without a roof) are enjoying an almost festive atmosphere with completely free amenities like: 
    • Concerts from famous bands (No word on how famous)
    • Lavish buffets serving gourmet entrees (Lots of sushi too)
    • Massage therapist to “relieve stress” (Happy endings?)
    • Acupuncture (I kid you not)
    • Yoga (Only in California)
    • A traveling mariachi band (I couldn’t make this shit up)
    • Valet Parking (OK, I did make this one up, but you get the point.)
    The comparison isn’t all together fair though.  In New Orleans it was much more difficult for people to evacuate in an orderly manner because of the floodwaters.  Still, with one million people evacuating here, the traffic on some freeways is even less than during a normal rush hour.

    So it makes you wonder about the two Americas.  Some people feel the differences are entirely justified in a capitalist society.  It’s not hard to see why.  Some people reduce it simply to money and race.  We must not forget however, that we are all members of the human race and as Americans, even under the hegemonic Bush administration we are all entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Unfortunately, some appear to be not as entitled as others.

    Here is one more thing to ponder.  I had a visitor on my blog from Africa the other day.  I wonder what they thought when reading my blog and looking at my photos?  More than 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, Sudan.  Millions more face murder, rape, torture, malnutrition and disease.  Darfur can’t afford any more delays.  What are they entitled to?
    Now the danger is “fire tornadoes” like this one filmed a couple of months ago a few miles from here in Griffith Park.

    Finally, a little cuteness to end the day.  Meet Heart-Kun:  Just another ordinary miracle…







     
    “Ordinary Miracle” by Sarah McLachlan

    It’s not that unusual when everything is beautiful
    It’s just another ordinary miracle today

    The sky knows when its time to snow
    You don’t need to teach a seed to grow
    It’s just another ordinary miracle today

    Life is like a gift they say
    Wrapped up for you everyday
    Open up and find a way
    To give some of your own

    Isn’t it remarkable
    Like every time a raindrop falls
    It’s just another ordinary miracle today

    Birds in winter have their fling
    And always make it home by spring
    It’s just another ordinary miracle today

    When you wake up everyday
    Please don’t throw your dreams away
    Hold them close to your heart
    Cause we are all a part
    Of the ordinary miracle

    Ordinary miracle
    Do you want to see a miracle

    Its seems so exceptional
    Things just work out after all
    It’s just another ordinary miracle today

    The sun comes up and shines so bright
    It disappears again at night
    It’s just another ordinary miracle today

    ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
    “FBI agents raided a Las Vegas warehouse owned by magician David Copperfield. They seized nearly $2 million in cash. Apparently the entire $2 million was in quarters Copperfield pulled out of people’s ears.” — Conan O’Brien

     

  • Infernos, Entitlements & Heroes

    In times of natural disaster, the best often
    surfaces in all of us. Donations, warm blankets, sandwiches. Whatever is needed,
    we’re at the ready.  Unless it involves Malibu.      In response to a posting about the tragedy of lost structures and
    evacuations, a guy who calls himself Fast Fred had three words of advice.  “DEAL
    WITH IT!” [sic] rich Hollywood celebrity snobs.  That wasn’t quite as caustic as author Mike Davis’ three-word 1996
    valentine to the  Malibu of mudslides and firestorms:  “Let Malibu burn.”  But
    Fast Fred’s posting on The Times’ website ignited a raging exchange about class
    and race and the insanity of building in high-danger wilderness areas. “Why are
    there enough fire assets to park a fire truck in every multi-million dollar,
    10,000 sq ft home in Malibu, but not enough fire fighters to save several
    neighborhoods in Canyon Country?” asked Mike in Northridge.  “When isn’t Malibu
    on Fire?” asked CaliforniaBeachGuy. “The City of Malibu and the County of Los
    Angeles have done absolutely nothing to deal with the brush all over the Malibu
    hills this year.”  Read more…

     
    Click the widget for the latest on the fires in Southern California. 

    The firefighters are doing an amazing job
    48 hour shifts. 
    True heroes.



    Speaking of heroes….
    Best line on “Heroes”     (which is finally starting to get good this season) tonight:

    Micah:  “Don’t even get me started on my Mom”

    On the Lighter Side
    “There was a big fire in Malibu. It did a
    lot of damage. As a matter of fact they say it wrecked more homes than
    Angelina Jolie.” — David Letterman  (Too soon?) 

    “It was so smoky in Malibu today that you could barely see Britney Spears’ vagina” — Jimmy Kimmel

  • Fires Update

    Thanks for all the emails of concern.  Everything is OK where I live, it’s just really hard for me to breathe.  As long as the winds don’t shift towards the Hollywood Hills I should be OK.  I’m a bit more worried about down where my cousins live though.  Here are two pictures that Lisa just sent me from her cell phone.  These were taken from right by the restaurant we always eat at on Thursdays.  There’s a really interesting map below that shows details on all the fires and how they started and how contained they are.  I guess this is the price we pay for being able to eat breakfast on our patios 350 days a year!

    firelisa2 firelisa

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    Courtesy LA Times

    265,000 Evacuated
    Schwarzenegger declares disaster in 7 counties
    • A dozen fires burn in seven counties.
    • Hospital, nursing home patients evacuated.
    • Widespread devastation strains resources.
    • 100,000 acres scorched in San Diego County
    • Buckweed fire doubles overnight
    • Fire-fanning Santa Anas are likely to worsen
    • In Malibu, a terrifying but familiar scene | Past fires

  • Flushing Friends, Beautiful Triangles & Killer Cats

     

    Thought I would post a couple of completely random things tonight, with no particular significance.

    A voice mail I received this afternoon.  LOL.

     
     
     
    This shape was brilliant,
    This shape was pure.
    I saw three angles,
    Of that I’m sure.
     
     
    Why Dogs are Better than Cats – In case you need another reason to hate cats:
     
     

  • Happy Birthday Joelle


     
    Dearest Carey,
     
    Your creativity and editing skills never cease to impress.  Thank you for that delightful tribute.  I love the pictures you chose, and yes, I did catch the plate.  You touched my heart with your kindness, and brightened my day.
     
    I managed to be in Sao Paulo for my birthday (I was working at the Consulate), so I got to celebrate with great people – some of whom were old friends.  It was a lot of fun.  I’m back in Santiago today, and a friend treated me to a massage this afternoon.  Forty one is quite enjoyable so far.
     
    I miss you tons, and I hope we’ll be able to hang out in person some time soon.
     
    With much love,
    Joelle