Month: April 2009

  • Idols Dancing with Wolverines? Swine Flu be Damned!


    May & June promise to be busy months at the Hotel Careyfornia.  Despite the recent media hyped outbreak of Swine Flu, we have visitors coming from all over the globe for the next two months.  For those of you worried about your health during your stay at the H.C., the management is pleased to announce that we now provide complementary masks to all guests who book a VIP Luxury Suite or higher.  Richard found this out first hand today, when he paid our fine establishment a visit:

    Richard has never been to Los Angeles, so when I asked him what he wanted to do tonight, he said that a low key dinner would be fine.  He wasn’t interested in the whole celebrity or sightseeing thing.  I figured we’d have a nice dinner at The Grove and call it a night.  When I picked him up though we stopped by the red carpet premiere of Wolverine, just because I wanted to say “hi” to Hugh Jackman:


    Hi Hugh!

    We saw a few more sites….downtown and Hollywood, then went to dinner:


    Downtown Los Angeles


    The Hollywood Sign through the smog

    After a nice Italian dinner, we stuck around for a concert by Derek Hough and Mark Ballas from Dancing With the Stars.  Derek’s girlfriend, Shannon Elizabeth (of American Pie fame) was there too, as was Melissa’s partner, Tony Dovolani.
     


    Tony Dovolani


    Shannon Elizabeth

     
    Mark Ballas & Derek Hough


    Best of the rest…

    On the way out we bumped into Allison Iraheta, the 16 year old sole female, top 5 finalist on American Idol this year.  She was very sweet.  In fact, like Jordin Sparks, I like her a lot more now after meeting her.  On TV, her personality doesn’t come through, but in person, she’s got great energy.

     
    Allison Iraheta from American Idol

    Then, as if that wasn’t enough star f***ing for Richard, we rode the elevator with Alec Mapa from Ugly Betty.  Rich had no idea who he was, but happily posed for a photo.  LOL.


    The straightest and gayest men in universe.  LOL

    We had dessert at the original Pinkberry and called it a night.  So much for a quiet Hollywood evening!


    Best of the rest…

    Tomorrow night, Ken and I are going to see Vienna Teng at The Roxy!  Then Friday, Fabiola is arriving from Brazil.  Claudio, Ryan & Chazz will be here too.  David & Daniel arrive next from Germany with their parents, and then Joelle is coming for her second visit of the year from Chile before moving to India.  After that, I’m off to Tuscany!  It’s going to be a busy few months!

  • The Devil With Boobs

    No, for once the title of this blog is not referring to Sarah Palin (though it’s an apt description).  “The Devil With Boobs” is a play, written by  Dario Fo.  He’s an Italian satirist and playwright who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997 and in 2007 he was ranked joint seventh with Stephen Hawking in The Telegraph‘s list of 100 greatest living geniuses.  I went to see the show with Carolina & Bill on Friday night.  I was warned that the humor was “scatological” in nature, and I must say, that was an understatement!

    Broadway World opines, “In THE DEVIL WITH BOOBS, Sub-Devil First Class Barlocco has an important mission: possess the crusading and chaste judge Alfonso de Tristano and turn him into a lecherous sex maniac. When Barlocco possesses the Judge’s housekeeper instead, insanity and gender bending wackiness ensues. Dario Fo’s THE DEVIL WITH BOOBS is equal parts savage political satire and wild lust filled romp!“ 

    I must say, the play was brilliantly performed.  The lead actress, Katherine Griffith, was outstanding.  And Phillip Rhys, from Nip/Tuck and 24 was delightful to watch.  If you’re in LA, and don’t mind salty language and some nudity, check out this play!

     

    Today, Eva & Bassam met me at Claudio & Ryan’s for another Brazilian barbecue.  Claudio’s getting quite good at making pao de queijo!

     
    Though he still hasn’t mastered the blender.   This was some hideous papaya dessert that went terribly wrong!

       

    Finally, here’s a little something to start your week off right:

  • Personal Jesus…What Would Jesus Not Do??

    We went to the free Depeche Mode concert on Hollywood & Vine last night.  The last time I saw them in concert was twenty years ago in 1989 with Daniel!  It was a last minute thought, and we actually walked there from Mike’s house as Hollywood Blvd. was closed.  They were appearing on the Jimmy Kimmel show and promoting their new album Sounds of the Universe.  There were over 12,000 people on Hollywood Blvd.  They performed some new songs and some old classics for about an hour. Here are two of my favorites:  Enjoy the Silence and Personal Jesus:


    The famous Capitol Records building behind the stage

     

    Speaking of Jesus, Tyson found this video and I thought it was worth posting:


    We always hear about the many amazing things that Jesus of Nazareth
    apparently did, but nobody ever asks about the things that Jesus
    supposedly COULD have done, being omnipotent; but either
    didn’t bother to do or didn’t think were all that important. You
    know, things like… reducing human misery and suffering…
    that kind of thing.      Read more…

    Would the believers reading this, die for their faith??  I’ll stick to my own personal Jesus…and hope I find Somebody.

  • Going Solo

    I’ve had some time to formulate my opinion after attending a free screening of “The Soloist” the other night, starring Jaimie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.  There were many things I liked about the movie, and overall I think it is worth seeing.  A few things though, bothered me.  I had some initial questions before even seeing the movie.  I knew it had originally been scheduled to be released last November, in time to garner plenty of Oscar buzz.  The release date however, kept changing; never a good sign for a film.  For a good analysis of why this happened, there are a couple of good articles:

    For those of you who don’t know, the film is based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers, a musician who becomes schizophrenic and homeless. Jamie Foxx portrays Ayers, who is considered a cello prodigy, and Robert Downey Jr. portrays Steve Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist who discovers Ayers and writes about him in the newspaper.  Rather than watch the movie’s trailer (which gives entirely too much away), I suggest watching this recent piece from 60 Minutes about the real Nathaniel Ayers:

    The film preaches an important lesson about how we treat the mentally ill and indeed, the thousands of drug addled homeless people inhabiting LA’s infamous skid row.  I couldn’t help thinking as I watched it though, that Foxx’s portrayal of Ayers was a bit too affected.  In 1985, when I was a sophomore in college I started working in three group homes for the developmentally disabled.  It was the best job I ever had.  I actually got paid to have fun with the “residents”, and as a starving college student, I also got free meals and a place to do my laundry.  I would take them bowling and to movies, shopping and the like.  We would go on road trips to the Special Olympics and day trips to amusement parks and concerts.  I would teach them life skills and generally just try to be their friend; and in the process they taught me volumes about compassion and the joy of living.  Many of the residents I worked with had severe schizophrenia, much like Nathaniel Ayers.  I felt the movie was not quite true to the ailment and tried to tie up the loose ends a little too neatly.  What can you expect from a Hollywood film though??  (Personally, I thought “Shine” did a better job of portraying its subject’s illness.)  That said, it’s a touching story, and it’s a film that will hopefully make people think about attitudes towards the homeless in our society.  In fact, after the screening Tony and I stayed for a panel discussion led by homeless advocates who work in L.A.’s skid row.  They spoke eloquently and poignantly about the problem and how it has changed in Los Angeles since recent initiatives poured money into system.  If anything, I hope the movie will open a dialogue and change the way some people treat the homeless.  Making eye contact and saying hello can sometimes go a long way!

    Here are a few pictures with the kids from dinner tonight:


    ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
    “Newspapers across the country are going out of business. It’s pretty scary. So congratulations to the New York Times this week for winning five Pulitzer Prizes. I read about it online on Google News.” — Jay Leno

  • LaLa Land


    There are so many perks to living in Los Angeles.  The weather is only one of them! (Photo: courtesy of Henry).  I just got back from a free sneak preview of the movie “The Soloist” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.  Fellow Xangan Tony, was nice enough to invite Albert and myself.  I enjoyed the movie, but need to think about it a bit more before I blog about it.  Check back in a couple of days.

    Yesterday, Lisa, Cary, Marie and I all met at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal, where we had free tickets to the 2009 TV Land Awards.  TV Land is a network that shows classic television 24/7.  This year, they honored:

    Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Lucille Ball – Legacy Of Laughter Award presented by Amy Poehler) 
    Don Rickles (Legend Award presented by Jimmy Kimmel)
    The cast of Home Improvement (Fan Favorite Award presented by Jamie Lee Curtis)
    The cast of Magnum, P.I. (Hero Award presented by Matthew McConaughey)
    The cast of Knots Landing (30th Anniversary)
    The cast of Married with Children (Innovator Award)
    The cast of M*A*S*H (Impact Award presented by Martin Sheen)
    The cast of Two and a Half Men (Future Classic Award presented by Terri Hatcher)

    It was a great day and the show was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris from How I Met Your Mother and of course, Doogie Houser MD.  He was hilarious!  He’s such an enigma.  A gay actor, who came out at the height of his career, with little or no fallout.  Fantastic!  I was able to sneak my camera past security and snap a few shots.  We moved seats halfway through the show…higher up, but with a better view.  The quality isn’t great, as I was trying to be discreet, but you get the idea:


    You can see Will Farrell standing at the bottom of the photo


    Matthew McConaughey


    Terri Hatcher


    The host of the show, Neil Patrick…wait for it…Harris


    A musical tribute to Sid & Marty Krofft


    Amy Poehler presenting to Julia Louis Dreyfuss of Seinfeld fame


    Martin Sheen presenting to Alan Alda and the cast of M*A*S*H


    The cast of M*A*S*H reunited


    Earth Wind & Fire


    Best of the rest..with captions


    Click Play for a bit of video from the opening and the closing…sorry for the shoddy camera work, I was trying not to get caught!
    Make sure to watch the show Sunday, April 26th at 8 PM.  It’s fun!

  • Really, Mr. President?

    Dear President Obama,

    You know that I support you 100%.  But I must say I was a little surprised to find this in my Inbox.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered.  I imagine you must really like my Sarah Palin rants.  But, please, keep your eye on the prize!   
    Love,

    Carey

    You’re probably dying to know what I did tonight Mr. President.  Well, Claudio, Ryan, Chazz and I went out for a fabulous Chinese dinner on the Sunset Strip.  A good time was had by all as these photos will attest.  I’m off to bed now, as tomorrow we’re going to the TV Land Awards.  It should be a fun show.  It’s being hosted by Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie) and features:
    • Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Lucille Ball – Legacy Of Laughter Award)
    • Don Rickles (Legend Award)
    • The cast of Home Improvement (Fan Favorite Award)
    • The cast of Magnum, P.I. (Hero Award)
    • The cast of Knots Landing (30th Anniversary)
    • The cast of Married with Children (Innovator Award)
    • The cast of M*A*S*H (Impact Award)
    • The cast of Two and a Half Men (Future Classic Award)  Complete List 

    Have a good night Mr. President.  Oh, and Chazz wants to know when we can set up a play date with Bo??

     

  • “You’ve Got Pluck, Girl”

    I’ve used this space to write about schadenfreude in the past.  Usually, it’s been in relation to American Idol, and the cruelty of the auditions.  When Paula Goodspeed killed herself outside of Paula Abdul’s house last fall, I wondered if the tide had shifted and if people would finally tire of laughing at the misery of others.  Of course, reality TV is rooted in such schadenfreude and it will always be present.  But the eventual success of people like William Hung (who’s now a millionaire) and Paul Potts have given these underdogs the last laugh.  When Susan Boyle’s video went viral, it marked a true tipping point in the medium.  In his blog, Douglas McLennan writes about the “New Arts Gatekeepers”, and Leonard Jacobs expands on this by stating:

    With everyone from the lowliest poor person to the Pope, presumably, atwitter (literally and figuratively) over Susan Boyle — who I hereby predict will become the enduring symbol of this we-have-hope period — I have been reflecting on a blogpost by Doug McLennan on his Diacritical.  McLennan writes:

    Power in the mass culture model is controlled by gatekeepers – the TV networks, radio stations, record producers, publishers. They had power because they could afford expensive cameras and studios and recording equipment essential to making things and getting them to an audience. Some of the “talent” – the musicians, actors, writers, journalists – did very well in this model if their work found a huge audience. The vast majority of musicians, actors, writers, and journalists did considerably less well.

    The mass culture model only works when the means of creation and distribution are limited in some way – a small number of TV channels available, for example. One could think of the record companies or the TV networks as middlemen who were essential for an artist to connect with a large audience.

    But the online world has largely been a revolution of plenty. Now anyone can make studio-quality recordings, professional-looking books or movies or radio shows. So goodbye to the middleman, right?

    McLennan next quotes another writer who views the middleman mythos with a quick-and-dirty  historical mega-analysis that returns him to his point:

    Gone are the days when a Sol Hurok could make a star or a Tchaikovsky Piano Competition winner have an instant career.

    …Now artists can produce their own work and often distribute and promote it better than the old channels could. But one can imagine so many voices braying for attention that just being able to make and get one’s art out to an audience doesn’t mean that there’s an audience interested in it.  

    And that brings us back to Susan Boyle. What is going on in terms of the media hoopla surrounding her proves that mass media is still the gatekeeper, yet it is necessarily a partnered gatekeeper; i.e., TV can launch but the Web must distribute. Just read the comments on this story alone. Indeed, Boyle will now have a career that is so indescribably instant that just three or four days after her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, rumor is she’ll sign a contract with Simon Cowell’s label.

    As Mark Blankenship points out on his blog, Susan Boyle means so much to us now because she “Rebukes the bitchy cynicism that often defines reality talent shows, and she isn’t young.”

    “When we laugh at someone for being a freak, we’re laughing out of fear. We’re laughing because  we want to prove that we are not like that loser over there. If we can shame the people who don’t belong, then we can prove that we do.

    When we embrace an outsider, though, we’re paving the way for our own acceptance in the future. Eventually, we’ll all feel like outcasts, and none of us wants to be laughed at. The Susan Boyle Story suggests we won’t be. Instead of fearing for our own eventual shame, we can count on society to hear what’s beautiful in us. We can trust that if we just show our true selves, we will be embraced.

    Whether or not that moral is true in the real world, it’s alluringly true in the Susan Boyle Story.  By participating in the narrative that television has constructed for her, by cheering her on and watching her video over and over, we can not only feel good about graciously welcoming an outsider, but also feel relief for helping create a world that will someday welcome us.

    It’s the same reason Slumdog Millionaire connected with so many people around the world.  Most people alive today have never lived in tougher times.  These stories connect us all.  DListed reports that, “Even Patti LuPone, the original Fantine in Les Miz, called up Susan and said, “Susan, you’ve got pluck, girl.” Way to slap a ho in the caterpillar-brows, Patti!”  Of course, Susan’s choice of song didn’t hurt either.  It’s always been one of mine and Claudio’s all time favorite songs!   So now we know who’s going to win “Britain’s Got Talent”.  I guess now, only one question remains:

    Update:  Here are some photos I took of Adam and the others at the American Idol after party in 2009.

    I personally, don’t like Adam Lambert (sorry Jason).  He just annoys me.  It has nothing to do with his sexuality.  But let’s face it, Adam Lambert makes Clay Aiken look like Frank Sinatra.  I’m personally rooting for Kris Allen, but if Adam can win American Idol, more power to him.  David Hernandez couldn’t do it.  Danny Noriega couldn’t do it.  Sanjaya couldn’t do it.  Clay couldn’t even do it.  If family friendly Idol viewers can vote for Adam despite their “Prop. 8 voting and Milk watching preferences”, then maybe there’s hope?
    There are still some reasons to enjoy schadenfreude!

  • Good News Bad News

    I’m pleased to inform you that the reports of the Easter Bunny’s death, have been greatly exaggerated:


    Sorry…my camera is missing about 5 screws (just like the middle of this photo), and light is leaking in!  I’m getting it repaired this week!

     


    Best of the rest…

    Unfortunately though, reports of another hare brained mass breeder’s career death are also premature:

    Don’t worry.  I’ll keep doing my small part, even though I know it annoys some of you, who wish we could all just get along…like this:

  • The Death of the Easter Bunny

    It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Easter has been canceled, due to Chazz’s brutal maiming of the Easter Bunny today.  The attack was caught on film…cover the children’s eyes:


    Click below to play the chilling video:

        

    Life must go on however, so we had a wonderful Brazilian barbecue, and  even gave Chazz a bath.  I’m off to bed as I have to wake up early to pick up my aunt and head over to Jenn’s to watch the kids hunt for eggs.  Cheers!


    Chazz with his Easter basket, before the attack


    Claudio made pao de queijo


    Sleeping on his kill


    Best of the rest…

     

  • US Scare

    Update:

    On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 10:55 AM, SkyMall wrote:

    Dear Carey,

    Thank you for your recent inquiry. After management review, I received confirmation that miles will be awarded to your US Airways account for your purchase with Aeropostale. Please allow 8-10 business days for the miles to post to your account.

    If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us back.

    Thank you,
    Dorothy
    US Airways Dividend Miles Mall Customer Service

    Gmail Carey Anthony
    Re: US Air Mileage Reinstatement
    5 messages
    To US Air:

    I bought a $25 gift card at your Sky Mall  a month ago to keep my mileage account active. Why hasn’t it been posted to my US Air account??  Tomorrow’s the deadline.  I better not lose my miles!  Please advise.

    MR  CAREY ANTHONY
    Dividend Miles Number     4002xxxxxxx

    Dear Mr. Anthony,

    Thank you for contacting US Airways.

    If you bought a gift card and it is excluded from mileage credit, the miles in your Dividend Miles account are not excluded from forfeiting on March 31, 2009. The miles from the Shopping Mall are sent electronically from the partner.

    We do not have a way to verify.

    If sufficient time has passed or if you need to verify a recent purchase, please go to www.usairways.com/shop, click on the Customer Service link and submit an inquiry. You may also send an email to dmsm-cs@skymall.com or call 1-800-328-6255.

    Best regards,

    Bobby Hunt
    US Airways
    Dividend Miles Service Center

    To US Air:

    I have no idea what you just said.  I did buy a gift card using the link to the Sky Mall on your website that told me I could keep my miles with a purchase from said website. Don’t pass the buck. Answer the question.  Don’t make be blog about this.  You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.  I make it a point to publicize when Corporate America rapes innocent people:


         Now go back and re-read my email carefully.  I purchased the gift card through YOUR store as directed.  I already have it.  My miles expire TOMORROW.  DO NOT write me back until you have answered my question.  PERIOD.

    Dear Mr. Anthony,

    Thank you for contacting US Airways. If you took action to preserve your miles prior to the 18 month forfeiture date, and the activity date is prior to the forfeiture date, your miles will be reinstated automatically even if your miles forfeit before the activity posts.  Therefore, if your activity for the Shopping Mall posts with an activity date prior to 03/31/2009, your miles will be
    reinstated automatically if they had already forfeited. Generally, miles will be credited within 6-8 weeks from the shipping date. Please be aware that some of the merchants on the Dividend Miles Shopping Mall use the shipping or processing date rather than the original order date for the activity date.  In which case, you would need to purchase far enough in advance for the activity date to be prior to the forfeiture date.

    To US Air:

    FINALLY, someone who knows how to read and answered my question!  It’s still ridiculous that you don’t know when my purchase is going to post to my account. The system is flawed.  FIX IT.  The excuse that Sky Mall is a separate company doesn’t “fly”.  FIGURE IT OUT.  It’s not MY problem that you don’t communicate with your partners.  It’s YOURS.  All this experience has done is make me never want to fly US Air again.  I will get my miles, use them, and be done with you people.  Sheesh, you would think that in this day and age you might want to try to save customers rather than lose them??  Just a thought.   Good luck with your eventual bankruptcy.  You’re going to need it.  Most of your employees can’t answer a simple email.  Good riddance!



    Tonight I headed down to Disneyland to celebrate little Sarah’s 7th birthday.  We had a nice time:

    Can anyone guess the celebrity I shot shopping for wine at the Rock & Roll Ralph’s on Sunset Blvd. the other day?  He’s the guy in the center: