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  • American Idol Rehash & Rehab

    Update:  It was another Idol upset tonight!  Since the after party is just a block from my house, Daniel and I walked up to Sunset Blvd. at 10:30 just as the limousines were starting to arrive.  And while Kris Allen was basking in his new found fame, Adam Lambert was working the crowd like a seasoned pro, calling the paparazzi by name and dodging questions about homophobic Christian voters.  The guy is about 6’2.  Imagine how tall he was in those platform KISS shoes!?  While last year’s big story at the after party was who hooked up with whom (I broke the story, LOL); this year it was who got the most wasted, and believe me there were several candidates.  The winner by a long shot though was Megan Joy who appeared to have started drinking the night before.  She practically molested me when posing for a picture, and she put on quite a show for the paparazzi later.  She was so drunk that 17 year old Allison had to come and pull her away before she made even more of a fool of herself.  David Hasselhoff also nearly fell drunk into me.  He could barely walk!  The paparazzi were a lot more aggressive this year than last, so much so that the hotel called the police.  While the police videotaped the paparazzi to see if they stepped on private property, I made my move.  I pretended to be on my cell phone and walked right through the front door.  Apparently no one noticed I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and looked like a bum!  I got escorted out once, but I turned around and walked right back in when the guy wasn’t looking.  LOL.  I have a feeling that they’ll change the location of the party next year.  The Mondrian just doesn’t have the privacy or security that you would think an event like that requires.  Oh, and for all of the lonely, bitter haters out there who resorted to personal cyber attacks at votefortheworst.com; comment #50 on the second page here sums it up.  Thanks to whoever sent it.  I thought people who post on VFTW don’t like AI?  They sure seem to take it seriously!  It’s kind of sad.  The commenter is right.  It’s just a TV show guys…it’s entertainment.  It really doesn’t matter “in the grand scheme of things!” LOL.  So now that you know who was the most drunk…here’s a little more dirt from the American Idol Finale After Party: 


    I wasn’t a fan of Adam’s singing, but he sure knows how to work a crowd!

    • Danny “Karaoke” Gokey has a “foundation” now and he wants to start a line of glasses!  LOL.  He kept saying to the paparazzi, “It’s all about my foundation now…”.  Reminded me of Evita! (“Everything done will be justified by my foundation.”)
    • It’s fun eavesdropping on a blind guy (Scott Macintyre) because he never knows you’re listening.  I learned that apparently the Idol producers gave him special permission to open up his MySpace music page again.
    • “Normund Gentle” aka Nick Mitchell is a really nice guy.  He actually had a conversation with me, unlike some of the others.
    • I almost got drunk from Megan Joy’s breath!  Watch for her on Celebrity Rehab next season.  She also ended up taking a cab home when she couldn’t find or wouldn’t wait for her limo (which all 13 got.)
    • Janice Dickinson is dating a 20 year old, and she’s “54″.
    • Poor Jasmine Murray couldn’t get into the party at first.  For some reason she didn’t have her hand stamp and no one knew who she was.  Her mother had to tell the security that she was on the show.  Kind of sad that I walked right in and she couldn’t!
    • Carrie Underwood is just as gorgeous as the first time I photographed her.  As Jason says though, “No one touches Idol Barbie.  She’ll cut a bitch.”  LOL
    • Chris Daughtry was very nice to me.  Smiling from a distance for my camera and then coming over for a photo.
    • Adam Lambert had on more makeup than Paula Abdul and clearly a bigger fan base at the party.
    • “Bikini Girl” is pretty in person, even though she looks like a whore on the show.  She’s a total bitch though, and rolled her eyes when I asked her for a photo.
    • Matt Giraud really does look like Justin Timberlake, but has a rather dull personality.
    • Brooke White is still a sweetheart and remembered me from last year.
    • Little David Archuleta was one of the last people to leave the party after 2 AM, and he rode home with Carly Smithson!
    • Even though David Archuleta’s creepy stage dad wasn’t there, a woman named Sunny Hilden was with him.  She’s a friend of his dad’s and sat next to him at the finale.  She looks like Stevie Nicks and she was incredibly rude.  At one point she was sitting down and I walked in front of her, apparently blocking her view.  Instead of saying “Excuse me”, she tapped my hip quite forcefully and made a waving motion with her hand. 
    • A friend of Marcelo’s was watching videos from Hollywood.tv on YouTube of the afterparty and recognized me.  She emailed me the video on Facebook.  That’s me to the right of Adam at about 20 seconds.  You also see me with Carrie Underwood at 5:58.  Haha!


    Daniel & I outside the Mondrian Hotel.  He eventually got tired and walked back to my house.


    The Top 13 as photographed by me, all with my little Canon PowerShot! 


    A very drunk Megan Joy.


    Alexis Grace


    Kris Allen, the winner, emerging from his limo and not talking to anyone!


    “Idol Barbie” Carrie Underwood.  To see paparazzi video of me snapping this photo, go to about 5:58 on the YouTube video above.


    Chris Daughtry


    The infamous “Bikini Girl”, Katrina Darrell.  You can’t see her new boobs.


    Brooke White looking gorgeous.


    Jason Castro holding court (marijuana court?) with Diana DeGarmo & Casey Carlson (& Blake Lewis).


    David Hasselhoff was actually falling down drunk.  Where’s Kit when you need him?


    Karaoke Gokey blathering on about his foundation.


    Normund Gentle aka Nick Mitchell

     
    David Archuleta at 2 AM without his wacky Dad and the lobby of the Mondrian.


    Best of the rest…
     

    Now, pretty much everybody but Adam will become this (admittedly hilarious) guy:

    “It’s nice for you to meet me!”  LOL

    Now that American Idol is over, Americans can get back to real world. 
    Hey, did you hear we have a black president?

    Update:  I ran into Adam Lambert again last night and told him about one of his fans, Victor from Malaysia, who’s in the hospital.  Victor is a big fan of Adam and chided me for supporting Kris just before he was rushed to the hospital.  Adam Lambert sent his greetings and wishes for a speedy recovery to Victor, and upon hearing the news Victor’s sister said he played air guitar with his tubes!  Get well soon vamp boy!

  • The Great Quake of ’09

      

    ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***
     

    May 18, 12:27 AM PDT

    The Hotel Careyfornia Vows to Rebuild After The Great Quake of ’09

    By: Carey Anthony
    Associated Press Writer, Founder & General Manager – The Hotel Careyfornia

    The staff and management of The Hotel Careyfornia have emerged from the tattered ruins of the once fine luxury boutique hotel and promised to repair the damage and open again as soon as possible.  The 4.7 temblor that shook the Careyfornia’s foundation to the very core, struck at 8:39 p.m. as the staff was watching Kung Fu Panda with their latest visitors from Germany.  The quake was centered east of Los Angeles International Airport and about 8 miles from the landmark hotel that has been catering to the rich and famous since it opened in 2002. Lasting about 15 seconds, the shaking could be felt as far away as the High Desert and San Diego County.

    The earthquake was “a bit deep,” said U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Susan Hough — originating 8.4 miles below the surface. “That tends to make it less sharp — less of a jerky, abrupt motion,” Hough said. As a result, most of the region felt the quake as a rolling motion, though some closer to the center (like the guests at the world famous Hotel Careyfornia) may have felt a jolt.  “It must have been terrifying for out of towners”, said Hough.  “Luckily the Hotel Careyfornia is equipped with an earthquake preparedness kit.”

    “Our main concern is for the safety of our guests”, said Carey Anthony, the flagship’s CEO,  “This disaster has only strengthened our resolve.  If we don’t rebuild, the earthquake wins.”


    Here, an unidentified Hotel Careyfornia guest, left with only a blanket to wrap around himself,  points to the tattered ruins of his once luxurious suite.

    Before disaster struck, guests of the Hotel Careyfornia enjoyed a weekend of fun in the sun, including the red carpet extravaganza for the newest Pixar animated feature, “Up”.  Here they are, in happier, steadier times:


    Pinkberry


    Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills


    The Kodak Theater – Home of The Oscars

     


    Korea Town Korean BBQ


    Best of the rest…

  • The Boy I Helped on the Plane


    10 years ago on a late summer day I was in the Washington DC airport flying to Portland, OR on business.  I was at the gate quite early that day and ended up meeting and talking to a young kid who was in America for the first time as an exchange student.  There had been some confusion at the gate about his ticket and there was a bit of a language barrier so I helped him through the situation.  He was from Hamburg, Germany but of Korean descent and his name was Daniel.  He was a typical European kid.  Bright, polite, curious and mature…so different from most American teenagers.  We became fast friends in the hour or so we talked at the gate, and since I had upgraded to First Class and had some extra vouchers, I invited Daniel to sit with me on the six hour flight to Portland.  (This was years before 9/11, when things were so much simpler for high mileage flyers like me.)  That flight was the fastest six hour trip I had ever taken.  Daniel was such a well rounded young man.  A  piano player, into theater and the arts and wise beyond his years.  I regaled him with stories of the things he would do and see in the Pacific Northwest during his nine months in Oregon.  The Pacific Coast, Multnomah Falls, Mt. Hood, downtown Portland, Mt. St. Helens and so much more.  He was very excited, and as our plane touched down, I handed him my business card and said “Good luck Daniel.  Today’s the first day of the rest of your life.” 

    When we exited the plane he looked around for his host family who was supposed to be meeting him at the gate (which again, was allowed back in those days).  I waited with him to make sure they showed up, and 15 minutes later, there was still no one there to meet him.  I told him that maybe there was a mix up and they were probably at baggage claim.  (Cell phones were not widely popular back then.)  Just as we were about to leave the gate, I noticed a family that could only be described as “out of place”, looking around.  They were dressed in tattered clothes, a father with a long ponytail, a very large mother (think Susan Boyle without the voice and with an extra 200 pounds), and 3 quite unkempt children.  As they were the only other people in the terminal, I approached them and asked if they were looking for an exchange student.  They said yes, and I introduced them to Daniel.  They looked him up and down as if they were looking at a Martian.  I surmised they were expecting a blond/blue eyed German kid in lederhosen; not a nearly six foot tall Korean kid.  As I came to find out, they weren’t exactly what they would call “city folk”.  In fact, they lived about as far outside of Portland as you can get.  After the initial shock of seeing Daniel, they awkwardly introduced themselves. 

    It was painful to witness.  I wish I could have taken him with me and shown him all the things I had told him about.  But I knew I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.  My job was done.  So I shook his hand, and said, “Goodbye and good luck!”  That was that.  I left the airport and pretty much forgot about the whole thing.

    About a month later I got an email with no name from an AOL address I did not recognize.  The email simply read:

    “I’m doing well.  School is great.  Thanks for everything.”

    That was it!  It wasn’t even signed.  I wrote back and said that I was glad things were going well, but that I didn’t know who this was.  I received a once sentence reply:

    “I’m Daniel!  I’m the boy you helped on the plane!“

    To make a long story short, that was the beginning of a ten year friendship.  Throughout those first 9 months, Daniel became my little brother.  As his host family sadly never took him to any of the places I had told him about, Daniel and I did many of those things together. (I got their permission of course, though they could have cared less.  They weren’t bad people, they were just simple and never left their small town.  Why they wanted an exchange student, I’ll never know.)  The photos you sere here are of us in the Columbia River Gorge and Multnomah Falls ten years ago.  I visited Portland on business frequently and even took Daniel to rent his first tuxedo for his first prom.  I attended his school plays and even put him on a budget which his mother later thanked me for immensely.  Daniel made the best of his situation and had an amazing experience in America.

    A few months after he left, I happened to be in Germany.  I wrote to Daniel and he and his family invited me to stay with them at their home in Hamburg.  His mother was so sweet to me, and treated me like a member of their family.  I also became good friends with his older brother David, whom my regular readers may remember visited me earlier this year with his girlfriend and last year for the Oscars.  Daniel has also visited me here in LA before, most notably during the Great GLY New Year’s Eve 2004 at the Hotel Careyfornia:


    Daniel, me & the gang.  It was the most guests the Hotel Careyfornia has ever had at one time! My 950 square foot condo slept 21 people!  What a great New Year’s!


    Other European vacations with Daniel & friends

    Tonight, Daniel and his entire family checked into the Hotel Careyfornia.  It’s his parents first trip to the United States, and I’m so happy they chose to spend it here with me.  To me, Daniel will always be that little boy I helped on the plane, but now he’s a successful sound mixer in Germany who owns his own business!  I’m so proud of my little German/Korean brother! 




    Why can’t most waitresses hold a camera steady??





     
    One of Daniel’s amazing mixes

  • Playing Possum

    I received two emails from overseas this week telling me that my site takes too long to load because of all the photos I post, so I’ll give you a bandwidth break today.  Coincidentally, I backed up all of my personal photos to my external hard drive last night.  How many digital photographs do you think I have on my computer?  How many do you have?  Take a guess…the answer is at the end of this entry. 

    Last year the following sign was posted all around Hollywood.  The guy who posted it, said he was doing it as an art project.  He set up an answering machine to record all of the messages that people left about the “cat”, and then posted them on YouTube.  Some of them are pretty funny!

     

    This reminded me of a poem about, of all things, possums in Los Angeles by Larry Levis:

    The Oldest Living Thing in L.A.

    At Wilshire & Santa Monica I saw an opossum
    Trying to cross the street. It was late, the street
    Was brightly lit, the opossum would take
    A few steps forward, then back away from the breath
    Of moving traffic. People coming out of the bars
    Would approach, as if to help it somehow.
    It would lift its black lips & show them
    The reddened gums, the long rows of incisors,
    Teeth that went all the way back beyond
    The flames of Troy & Carthage, beyond sheep
    Grazing rock-strewn hills, fragments of ruins
    In the grass at San Vitale. It would back away
    Delicately & smoothly, stepping carefully
    As it always had. It could mangle someone’s hand
    In twenty seconds. Mangle it for good. It could
    Sever it completely from the wrist in forty.
    There was nothing to be done for it. Someone
    Or other probably called the LAPD, who then
    Called Animal Control, who woke a driver, who
    Then dressed in mailed gloves, the kind of thing
    Small knights once wore into battle, who gathered
    Together his pole with a noose on the end,
    A light steel net to snare it with, someone who hoped
    The thing would have vanished by the time he got there.

    “The Oldest Living Thing in L.A.” by Larry Levis, from The Selected Levis. © University of Pittsburgh Press, 2003. (Buy now)

    Remember that creepy possum blocking my driveway last year?

    So what did you guess how many digital photos I’ve taken??


    How close were you?

    My first digital photo ever was taken with a camera I bought     in Times Square, New York City.  It was taken on May 9, 1998 and it was of Claudio in the camera store:  http://x92.xanga.com/483f3a5261c33242927453/w192423714.jpg.  That was 10 years and 4 days ago.  Which means, in 10 years, I’ve taken nearly 28,000 pictures.  That’s 2800 a year, 233 a month, 58 a week, 8 a day!

    Claudio’s Response:


    From: Claudio Wed, May 13, 2009 at 8:52 AM
    To: Carey Anthony


    Great example of how averages can be deceiving (will use it in my math class). Nowadays you take 2800 a week (a nightmare). And either the cameras got a lot better or I continue to get younger and more photogenic as I approach 30!  :)

  • Are You Out of Your Vulcan Mind?

    That’s what I get for taking an 8 year old to see Star Trek.  “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?”, is Tommy’s new catchphrase.  The movie was great!  We both enjoyed it immensely.  I’m down here with the the boys this weekend, while their parents attend the Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz concert in Las Vegas.  Originally we were all going to go to Vegas together, but Lisa and Joel haven’t had a weekend alone since before Andy was born.  So they’ll drive back tomorrow afternoon and we’ll have a nice Mother’s Day barbecue at Jenn’s.  After the movie today, we went to Cole’s Little League game where Tommy proceeded to entertain and shock the crowd with his latest phraseology (not everyone knew he was saying “Vulcan”, and when said quickly it sounds like another word!).  Since I know nothing about baseball, I took Andy to the playground and we scouted for rattlesnakes from the safety of the slide.  He had his first visit from the tooth fairy last night, as you can surmise from his new toothless smile.  It make the way he says “Caaaaweee” even cuter! 


    This “Trekkie” group had set up a display in the theater lobby.  We walked up to the table and they all said, “Hi, we’re geeks!”.  They weren’t lying!  Tommy’s 8, and he’s had more girlfriends than all of them!

     


    All he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth!


    Self portraits


    Best of the rest…

  • Young, Gay & Dead

    I’ve been thinking about bullies a lot lately.  Last week I heard about this study on NPR:

    Keiko Fujisawa, from Keio University in Japan, filmed the interactions of three- and four-year-olds at a local preschool. She identified two distinct social networks. One, The Good Boys’-And-Girls’ Club, consisted of sociable kids who did NICE things.

    The other, The Bad, contained aggressive and disruptive kids.

    Then Fujisawa modeled and analyzed the influence of each child on the integrity of the mini society. She did this by removing certain children – say, Bully Number One – from the model and re-simulating the interactions among the rest.

    Deleting Good Kids never affected either social network. Removing a Bad Kid, however, DID.

    Surprisingly, it wasn’t a positive change. Taking away the bad seeds actually led to the breakup of the GOOD Group.

    That is, the mere PRESENCE of diapered despots kept the Good Kids united. . . even IF like a nervous flock of pigeons.

    And THAT means that bullies actually PROMOTE overall classroom harmony.

    I meant to ask Marcelo about this when I Skyped with him last week, but I forgot.  (This subject is closely tied to his field of study.)  While it makes sense that bullies serve some purpose in the grand evolutionary plan (just like gay sheep); the recent drastic increase in teen (and pre-teen) suicide is indeed alarming.  Last weekend, I read Peggy Orenstein’s piece in the New York Times Magazine entitled “The Way We Live Now“.  It basically posits that our children’s youth is being stolen by adult agendas.  The  chart to the left says it all.  Coincidentally, Oprah’s show last night was all about bullying.  She had an expert on that claimed the Bush Administration’s insistence on “No Child Left Behind“, has pushed testing and literacy agendas to the brink.  Just look at what our kindergartners are doing in school.  In order to receive funding, teachers must spend all their time focusing on test scores, even in children as young as 5.  Sadly, bullying is becoming rampant, and it’s not just on the playground anymore.  It’s online…as the case of Ryan Halligan shows.  His father was also on Oprah last night; and the sad story of his son who was bullied to death for being gay was recently profiled on Frontline:

    The recent rash of boys hanging themselves over anti gay taunts is truly alarming.  From Oprah:

    The Truth About Bullying

    Bullying takes place in every school and playground in our country. But what some parents see as a typical challenge of growing up is becoming more serious than ever before.

    On April 6, 2009, 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover’s family says he hanged himself after enduring bullying. Just 10 days later, 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera, another victim of bullying, took his own life, according to his family.

    Carl’s and Jaheem’s mothers are speaking out in hopes that what they say happened to their sons will never happen to another child. “Today begins a national conversation on bullying,” Oprah says.  Read more…

    The more we ostracize and separate gay people in our society, the more we model this behavior for our children.  The problem was also highlighted last year when Newsweek did a cover story on another boy who was murdered here in Oxnard, for being gay:

    As Orenstein wrote, “When I was a (child in kindergarten), we danced the hokey-pokey, swooned in suspense over (Duck, Duck, Goose) and napped on our mats until the Wake-Up Fairy set us free.” Yes, you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around, that’s what it’s all about. That’s all it should ever be about when you’re five.”

    Update:  http://careygly.tumblr.com/post/619238040/this-is-the-saddest-thing-ive-read-in-a-long-time


    On a much lighter and brighter note, and speaking of the hokey pokey, my cousin Andy knows all about it.  He’s such a bright light in our lives.  I wish he could stay 4 forever!


    Our Thursday family dinner tonight

  • Get Off My Intellectual Property!

    I’ve ranted about this before so forgive me, but it’s so irritating when greedy corporate America (in this case, Warner Music Group or WMG) forces YouTube and Facebook to remove videos with original content, that feature music consumers have legitimately paid for.  I’m certainly not the only person who frowns upon this practice.  Artists hate it because they know that original content videos only help to promote their music and can even lead to digital and concert sales.  YouTube and Facebook hate it because it forces their users to upload content to other sites like Vimeo or Daily Motion, just like I did Sunday.  I couldn’t find one comment on YouTube’s own blog that defended this ridiculous policy.  Most were in the vain of these two: 

    officialorganisma (1 week ago)
    Treating everyone fairly? How so? The major labels you so gratefully kiss the asses of allow their musicians and songwriters to only earn about 10 cents a CD. Their biggest fans are not willing to pay 30 dollars for a CD, 29.90 of which goes to the record company for plastic, cardboard, and stickers. Is that really worth that much? Long story short, this is simply to bail out your fucking butt buddies because someone (you) received money to do so. Could this be for the same reason that you’ve decided to make YouTube “family friendly” as well? I am glad to say that I will no longer be using your socialist networking site and WMG will not be eating anymore of my hard earned money either. Not until things are resolved here.

    xXAnimeRomanticXx (1 month ago)
    Treat everyone fairly, huh? Don’t make me laugh. All you’re trying to do is stay on the record industry’s good side so YOU don’t lose money; you don’t even bother standing up for your loyal fans who made you what you are today; rather, you threaten us with account suspension and even dangle the possibility of LAWSUITS over our heads. Do you really think we deserve this kind of treatment? We’re not trying to steal anything or violate anyone’s rights; we’re simply trying to make ourselves, and other people, happy by sharing our creativity with the world. We are artists, not criminals, and we don’t deserve to be punished for the actions of greedy, selfish corporations like WMG who can never be rich enough. Thanks a lot, YouTube. Really.

    If  you’re interested in this subject, Lawrence Lessig has a great TED Talk about how “Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law”.  He’s the pioneer behind Creative Commons, and in my opinion, more people need to listen to him.  He’s doing his best to make sure we don’t criminalize bloggers for creativity.  Until then, if anyone knows how to scramble YouTube & Facebook’s song recognition technology, I’m all ears!

    Gmail Carey Anthony
    Notification of Alleged Copyright Violation
    1 message
    From: Facebook Tue, May 5, 2009 at 6:46 AM
    To: careygly@gmail.com

    Hello,

    We have removed your video entitled “Fabiola’s California Adventure” uploaded at 3:29pm May 3rd, 2009. We did this because it appears to contain copyrighted material owned by a third party, such as a video clip or background audio. If you believe this material was removed by mistake, you may file a counter notice of alleged infringement by following the link below.  Please note that if you re-upload this video without filing a counter notice, or if you upload another video that infringes on the rights of a third party, we may remove the content. This could cause your access to the Facebook Video application, or your Facebook account itself, to be disabled.

    To file a counter notice:
    File a Counter Notification
    For any other questions, view our Help page.
    The Facebook Team

    Information about your video “Fabiola’s California Adventure”
    1 message
    From: YouTube Sun, May 3, 2009 at 7:19 PM
    To: Careygly

    YouTube help center | e-mail options | report spam

    Dear careygly,

    Your video, Fabiola’s California Adventure, may have content that is owned or licensed by WMG.No action is required on your part; however, if you are interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information.

    Sincerely,
    The YouTube Team

    I had dinner with Lora last night and Mica & Sal zoomed by on the Harley.  I hope I didn’t get Swine Flu from that hog!

    Finally, Dom DeLuise died today.  He was in so many funny movies in the 70′s including Blazing Saddles , Cannonball Run and History of the World Part I.  He was the subject of a long running inside joke between me and Claudio that we laughed about as recently as last weekend.  You may remember that his son lives across the street from me.  When I got my free dinner (thanks Oprah) from KFC (no Kanye this time) tonight, I drove past The Laugh Factory and snapped this:

  • Swine Free H.C.

    Valesca’s sister, Fabiola, arrived from Brazil on Friday, and we crammed a lot of site seeing into a little over a day.  Chazz was a real trooper too, walking with us for 8 hours around town yesterday.  He slept like a baby, which I guess makes sense, as he’s only six months old!  Click play below for a video of my weekend photos set to music, and my favorites from the weekend reproduced below:


    Free Swine Flu masks for VIP guests of The Hotel Careyfornia


    Don’t you think Chazz should go into modeling??

     
    Baby Jaden, with Jessica…and Fabiola & me on Rodeo Drive


    Don’t worry, I cropped his Mom holding him, out of the shot!

     
    Inside and outside the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, site of “Pretty Woman“


    Millions of Milkshakes!


    A rare visit (for me) to The Abbey


    Downtown LA


    The Grove


    The Kodak Theater, home of the Oscars

     
    Outside Hollywood & Highland and Grauman’s Chinese Theater


    Santa Monica Beach


    Best of the rest…

  • Gravity Serenade

    The other night, Ken and I went to the Vienna Teng concert at The Roxy on Sunset Blvd.  He came over early and we had a nice sushi dinner before walking up to the club.  We were both hesitant about seeing an artist like Vienna at such an impersonal rock venue, but the crowd was actually quite polite and the show was great! 

    This video is worth watching if you would like an idea of the what her music is like.  That’s actually the audience making noise in the beginning, and Alex Wong of The Paper Raincoat on percussion.  The song is called Gravity, and it’s from her first album in 2001.  I’ve linked to the album version at the bottom of this post.


    Just like last year, she was nice enough to sign a CD, this time for my friend Jonathan who falls asleep to her music every night!

    She shares her name with the Austrian home of Mozart and Beethoven. And she herself studied classical piano from the age of five. But there’s nothing old-world about the music of Vienna Teng, whose Zoë/RounderRecords debut brings to mind artists as diverse as Tori Amos, Simon & Garfunkel and Radiohead. “People used to ask what kind of music I played and I never knew how to answer that,” says Teng. “I work a lot with classically trained musicians, but most of my influences are from1970s-era folk music. So now I call it chamber folk.” She adds: “I’m always looking for the perfect pop song combined with an unexpected amount of depth; that’s my idea of great music.”

    If you haven’t heard of Vienna Teng, you can check out her music here or two of my favorites below.  If you like her, please support her.  (Direct link for iTunes users)

  • 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!