Last night I showed Tressa and her little friend this photo I took of Zach Efron on the red carpet of the American Idol finale a while back, and this was their reaction…

Then, I proceeded to “cast” Tressa in High School Musical 3, opposite Zach’s character Troy.  LOL.  Personally, I think I make a better prom date for Troy than Gabriella or Tressa!  What do you think?

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My high school musical experience

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My morning didn’t start out well.  I was driving down Jeronimo Road going 58 in a 40 and sure enough a motorcycle cop got me.  It was my own damn fault.  There’s nothing worse than seeing this in your rear view mirror.  It ruins your whole day!  I hate driving with a passion.   I’ve been pretty good with my tickets (for the past year) up until today. Damn.

Here are a few other pics of the kids and Lisa.

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Finally, if you haven’t already figured out what your name would be if you were born to Sarah Palin, try the Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator.

Carey, if you were born to Sarah Palin, your name would be:
Froth
Moonshine
Palin

Who knows, Froth
Moonshine
Palin
you just might be president one day!

I’m dogsitting for Buster & Roxy this week, so today Lisa surprised me by bringing Andy over for lunch.  (He’s feeling much better by the way, thanks to everyone who asked!) 

I’ve been trying to lose some weight by not eating after 8:00 PM on weeknights for the past 3 weeks.  It’s been going pretty well.  However, when I got here last night I walked in the kitchen and found this:

I have to go to the hardware store to get a padlock for this cupboard now!

Then Jennifer called me tonight and asked me to meet her and Tressa & Lisa S. for Taco Tuesday at Tortilla Flats.  It was a gorgeous night on the lake and a good time was had by all.  On a side note, Lisa’s husband Gary is getting out of the hospital today after 8 weeks and a horrible ordeal that included maggots and lots of chemotherapy.  (Did you know they still use maggots in hospitals for wound care?  I saw the pictures tonight and it was amazingly disgusting, but it really works!)  Keep him and their entire family in your thoughts.

Tressa playing “Spore” on my new iPod Touch.

Jennifer, trying not to look jealous of my iPod Touch.

The always fabulous and amazingly resilient Lisa.

Jenn, Lisa, Tiffany, Tressa & Carey


Tressa with her favorite cousin

I used to sing this song in 2nd grade.  In fact, my Dad has reel to reel tapes of me singing this in 1972.  Here’s the modern, overly dramatic version that I sang for Tressa.  I didn’t realize until the end that the table next to us had joined in on the action.  LOL.

After Friday’s Sound of Music extravaganza, the Hotel Careyfornia prepared for its next wave of visitors.  Emmy weekend is always a busy one at the H.C. and this weekend was no exception.  Adam & Lorenzo flew in from Washington DC.  Sadly their luggage didn’t arrive until 3 AM this morning, but that didn’t stop them from painting the town pink. 

Before heading out for the evening, Claudio cooked up his famous Angel Hair Brasil, named appropriately enough after his own wispy, thin, angel like hair. 

After dinner it was time to try out the Hotel Careyfornia’s newest amenity, luxurious custom towels!!

Body not included.

And lest you think these boys come by their looks naturally, you should know it takes a LOT of preparation!!

No, it’s not Halloween!

Not to mention costume changes:

Ryan looks good in my $400 shirt.  Don’t you think?  LOL

The H.C. even offers complimentary butt massages, if you’re under the weight limit!

This morning we had breakfast, and then Claudio and Ryan headed to a pool party, while Adam and I explored the sites of West Hollywood:

We ran into these guys walking down Santa Monica Blvd.  If you need a haircut, call Alexander Stabler at 310-652-0830.  He’s on the right.  LOL

Since the Emmy’s were downtown tonight, we decided to stay in and not deal with the traffic.  I thought there would be an after party at the Mondrian next door, but it was over at Morton’s and they keep the paparazzi across the street, so it’s hard to get any decent photos.  I’m heading out again tomorrow for the week.  Have a good week everyone!

2008 Emmy Awards – West Hollywood, California

Best of the rest…

…with “The (sing-along) Sound of Music“.  Yes, it’s that time of year again.  Our annual viewing of Rodger’s & Hammerstein’s classic, The Sound of Music, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1965, the year I was born.  It was a perfect night to be at the Hollywood Bowl.  To learn more about the show and what goes on there, check out my blog entry from last year.  Here are some photos and a video from tonight.

Hooray for Hollywood!

The costume parade started at 6:00.

July 1, 2007 & September 19, 2008.  Look how much Hannah has grown!

Hannah is so smart she could even say (and remember) Vivek’s name!

Hannah liked my brownies better than the dessert her Mom brought!

And liked to feed me!


Nighttime falls…

The third place winner in the costume contest was a lady name Sue (who was nice enough to comment on my blog) and this little boy.  They dressed as the mountaintop field from which Julie Andrews sang the title track; and the helicopter that filmed her!  Pretty clever!

The 2nd Place prize in the costume contest went to Austin & Sophie, who were dressed adorably as “A needle sewing thread…”  (Austin’s Mom is a fellow Xangan who found my pictures through Google and wrote to me.)  That’s Charmian Carr on the right.  She played Liesl in the movie and she still looks great.  She’s is 65, going on 66.

And the grand prize went to these cuties dressed as the notes, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti, Do.  They won a cruise on the Mexican Riviera. 

What a doll!

Grrrr, why can’t strangers ever hold the camera steady?

This guy’s costume was great!  He was dresses as Christopher Plumber.  LOL.  Get it?

I thought this was cute…a father and son holding hands.

Best of the rest…

There are 3 parts to this video.  The first part is the end of the costume contest and the introduction of the movie.  The second part is the opening song (“The Hills are Alive”) with Julie Andrews doing her thing.  Part 3 is “Edelweiss” where 18,000 people hold up their cell phones in the dark and it’s quite a sight!

Last year when I went to the Sound of Music at the Hollywood Bowl, I posted this photo:

Soon after, I received this message:

HelloCarey, I am a CareyGLY blog reader and I have always enjoyed yourwriting. I was very surprised when you posted the pictures fromthe sound of music sing along night at the Hollywood Bowl.  One of thepictures you posted of someone in the crowd was a person I dated tenyears ago!!  I am so very surprised that you have become the messenger; ) Thank you!! Daniel from L.A.

The guy dressed as Maria in the photo above, was the guy Daniel had dated.  He didn’t do drag at the time, though Daniel suspected there were tendencies.  Long story short, Daniel and I ended up meeting and the Xangaverse got a little smaller!

Guess who was on my plane flight home today?  Sorry for the crappy cell phone picture, but I was trying to be discreet! 

Here’s a reenactment of how I took the photo.  Do you think she knew??  LOL

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Since Tom & Cathy and Beate & Matthias couldn’t be in Denmark for Sabine’s wedding either; they decided to take a hike through the Bavarian Forest (where Matthias works as a forest ranger and part time master photographer) and make this glorious wedding card for Sabine & Alan!! Our “GLY” Gang is certainly creative don’t you think?

Deep in the heart of the Bavarian Forest…

hidden behind some old trees…

and far away from any civilization…

some gnomes got word of a GLY wedding!!

In order to find the right spot for a proper wedding greeting they set out on a long, long hike…

and with the help of fantastic creatures…

…they finally found a charmed spring.

A few drops of that precious liquid gave them their final inspiration.

In a quiet, peaceful place they created a work of outstanding art…

…to send warm Wedding Greetings to the couple of the year!

BINE & ALAN – ALL THE BEST WISHES FOR YOUR WEDDING AND A LOVE-FILLED FUTURE TOGETHER!

Since
our youngest gnome and GLY-member couldn’t join our incredibly long and strenuous hike he sends his own special greetings and hugs to you! 

Enjoy your day!

Click for some “Making of….” photos

Every year I attend a conference with people I’ve been working with for 18 years now.  And each year, I make new friends and renew old acquaintances.  This year was no different.  It’s late and I have a flight to catch tomorrow, but here are a few photos from Orlando. 

The uber fabulous Cindy & Gail

New friends Dave & James

Brian, me & Dave

No, it’s not a circuit party.

Carey & Cary


One of my regular blog readers, Kelly, who I met for the first time tonight!

ON
THE LIGHTER SIDE
“August was a big fundraising month for the
candidates: Barack Obama set a record for fundraising in August — $66 million.
John McCain raised $47 million. Ralph Nader got a $10 gift card from Jamba
Juice.” — Jay Leno

On my flight to Orlando today, I noticed some suspicious activity in the front lavatory.  I noticed a guy go in, and since I needed to use it myself, I kept glancing up from my book to see if the “Occupied” light was off.  Then I noticed a girl go in.  The light was on for a while, and I forgot about it and got absorbed in my reading.  About 10 minutes later, I looked up and it was empty, so I went in, and saw this:

Imagine!  On a flight to Disneyworld!!


Yes, I keep my camera in my pocket all all times.  

Anyway, it’s hot and muggy here.  I really despise this city (the result of coming here multiple times a year for the past 18 years).  It’s nothing but a big swamp and tacky tourists traps.  That said, I always have fun at this conference, and get to see a lot of old friends.  I had dinner tonight with Len & Cindy, and then Pam, Tobby & Dean surprised me with a birthday dessert.  The clouds were pretty tonight.  Here are a few pictures.  I have to be up early, so good night!

  
Things I’ve surmised/learned/heard this week from Bill Maher, Rush Limbaugh, Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, ABC News, Fox News, CNN, Slate.com, Gawker, Daily KOS, The Huffington Post and my Republican friends:

• McCain
  has 9 homes (not 7) in 3 time zones and a private jet and he says that Obama, the
  guy who was raised by a single mom on food stamps, is an elitist??
• The Sarah Palin interview with Charlie Gibson frightened me (and Michael Seitzman too!).
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-seitzman/sarah-palin-naked_b_125861.html

• Charlie Gibson has now interviewed and vetted Caribou Barbie more thoroughly that John McCain ever did.
• Why can’t Charlie Gibson be Vice President?
• At
  least two politicians in the upper level of American government know
  nothing about “The Bush Doctrine“.  Sarah Palin and George W. Bush.
• Sarah Palin thinks The Bush Doctrine has something to do with not letting her daughters shave “down there“.
• If
  Sarah Palin was any more of a deer (moose?) in the headlights during
  the Gibson interview, she would have shot herself (from a helicopter).
• Sarah Palin (The Spruce Moose) is a Category 5 MORON.  But maybe a
  hockey mom with 5 kids doesn’t have time to read the newspapers.  Can she put the “Ma” in Democracy??

• Upon
  her triumphant homecoming to Wasilla, Alaska last week, Sarah’s
  favorite sign held up in the audience was the one by her youngest
  daughter that said, “I got my period“.
• The “lipstick on a pig” metaphor is unfair, because pigs are smart.  They don’t believe in Creationism.
• This
  is Barack’s election to lose.  He’s running against a “200 year old man
  and a mountain mama who make Bush look like a professor”.
• Sarah Palin’s like a bright shiny penny.  Nice to look at, but not worth the metal it’s made of. 

• Where’s
  Hillary?  She needs to be out there saying, “This woman is not anything
  like me just because we both have tits“.

• The Peter Principle states that people rise to their level of incompetence.  It should know be renamed “The Palin Principle”.
• As ridiculously unqualified as she is, she’s not running for
  president, and if the media doesn’t start focusing on McCain soon,
  there will be a backlash (mainly from so-called hockey moms and ditzy
  stewardesses who haven’t been victims of rape or incest) and Obama will
  lose.  With less than 2 months to go, we can’t afford to let that
  happen.
• “Democrats, as people, are fundamentally more decent“.  (Think
  torture, homophobia, Katrina, global warming, welfare, cultural
  arrogance.)  I’ll let Janeane Garofalo take the heat for that one, but let’s face it, it’s hard being a Democrat!
• If I’m a snob for
  wanting to judge the intelligence level of someone who wants to live in
  the White House, then so be it.  This is NOT American Idol (or a beauty
  pageant).
• If John McCain is such a Constitutionalist, (Did you see Whoopi
  Goldberg on “The View” ask him if slavery would come back if he was elected?),
  then what happened to the separation of church and state? 

• The
  Democrats aren’t going to win this thing by pointing out that Jesus was
  a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor!
• I can only hope that if conservatives are truly honest with
  themselves they will know that this woman cannot become vice
  president.  Far too much is at stake.
• Last year police found 42 meth labs in Sarah Palin’s home county in
  Alaska.  Apparently small town values (like shooting animals with high
  powered weapons from the air and forcing your pregnant daughter into a
  doomed loveless marriage) are easier to stomach when you’re high. 
  There’s so much crystal meth in Wasilla, Alaska, I’m surprised the
  Palin’s didn’t name one of their goofy kids “Tweaker”.

And finally, for those of you who think Americans shouldn’t care what the rest of the world thinks of us, please consider this:

A new face for American diplomacy

Barack Obama is perceived by Muslims abroad like no other candidate.
He would begin a presidency with tremendous potential to heal U.S.
relations with much of the world.

By Hooman Majd

Feb. 21, 2008 |
When I was in Tehran, Iran, a year ago, I was asked by several senior
government officials, including former President Mohammad Khatami, what
to make of Barack Obama’s candidacy for president of the United States.
The young senator from Illinois was still barely on the international
radar then. My response was that I couldn’t see Americans nominating,
let alone electing, a black man whose middle name was Hussein. My
answer, clearly wrong in hindsight, stirred smiles and raised eyebrows
among the Iranian leaders because they’d had no idea that Obama had a
Muslim father. Even more surprising to them was that he carried,
apparently without shame, a Muslim name. From Khatami this elicited an
“Ajab!” — Farsi for, essentially, “You’ve got to be kidding!” There
were also many nods of agreement with my conclusion about Obama’s
chances.  Read more…

http://weblog.xanga.com/CareyGLY/672180578/president-obama–the-beauty-queen.html
Interesting New York Times editorial