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  • Ambassador Carey

    Since my paparazzi career hasn’t allowed me to quit my day job yet, maybe Chicago’s Mayor Daley would like to fly me to Chicago first class every month, so I can continue to bring the city tourism from all over the world!


    Carey Anthony 

    #1 Chicago Google Hit – Prettiest City in America!


    From: Carey Anthony
    Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 12:22 PM

    To:
    MayorDaley@cityofchicago.org

    Mr. Daley,

    Let’s do business!!

    http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=prettiest+city+in+the+united+states

    Check the #1 hit

    Carey

    –
    http://xanga.com/careygly
    310-623-7715

    And the hits just keep on coming!  I’m sure the Ukrainian Hryvnia will go a long way in Chicago Mr. Mayor!  Call me!!

    ON THE LIGHTER SIDE


    “I’ve
    been uplinked and downloaded. I’ve been inputted and outsourced. I know the
    upside of downsizing; I know the downside of upgrading. I’m a high-tech
    lowlife. A cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, bicoastal multitasker, and I can
    give you a gigabyte in a nanosecond,” — Comedian George Carlin, who died
    June 22 at age 71.


  • Superhero Sunday

    SUPERMANlogo

    Mark and I went to see two superhero movies today, Hancock and The Incredible Hulk.  (It was nice change of pace to have a friend visiting that I didn’t have to play tour guide for, not that I don’t enjoy showing friends around L.A.)  I was reminded that about a year ago in this space I wrote that one of my guilty pleasures, as far as television shows, is Smallville; though if I met you on the street I would deny it.   The acting is incredibly cheesy,  but the production values are excellent for a weekly television show.  I love the fact that the show stays true to the original comic with minor exceptions.  I’ve been a Superman fan since I was a kid.  I loved the mythology of Superman before I even understood what mythology was.  When I started reading the comic books in the 70′s, I was struck by how seemingly modern Superman was.  I still have many of my old comics, including the Bicentennial edition from 1976.  When I discovered a batch of Superman comics from the 40′s and 50′s at my grandmother’s house as a kid, I thought I had struck gold.  I read them cover to cover and was so impressed how Superman changed with the times.  In the 30′s he fought Al Capone and organized crime, in the 40′s he helped sell War Bonds and defeat Hitler, and in the 50′s he ushered us into the post nuclear age.  He has always fought for ”Truth, Justice and the American Way“.  Though as a child I didn’t quite realize the extent to which he was used as propaganda:

    a
    Japanazis??

    When Superman Returns came out (two years ago this 4th of July weekend), my friends and I argued about the implication of changing the “Truth, Justice and the American Way” tagline to “Truth, Justice and all that stuff“.  I argued, mainly from a nostalgic standpoint, that changing that phrase was sacrilege to the mythology of Superman.  To me Superman is the quintessential American hero (of course, now we know he’s really Asian), and in the post 9/11 world we need his mythology more than ever.  There certainly aren’t a lot of real role models for kids to look up to. 

    A.C. Grayling wrote in “The Spectator” that,

    “As a nation caught between the terrifying George W. Bush and the terrorist Osama Bin Laden, America is in earnest need of a Savior for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe.”

    But, as the Hollywood Reporter pointed out:

    “The world has changed. The world is a different place,” screenwriter Dan Harris says. “The truth is he’s an alien. He was sent from another planet. He has landed on the planet Earth, and he is here for everybody. He’s an international superhero.”

    Maybe they’ve got a point.  Unfortunately, as an adult, I know that Superman is not a Savior any more than Will Smith or a green CGI giant.  How I long for that childhood naiveté.

    Superman has been compared to a Christ like figure.  In truth I wish we could see all of these superheroes as more progressive in the 21st Century secular world.  I wonder if Bryan Singer was thinking that when he changed the tagline?  If so, I wish he could have come up with something better than “All that stuff”.  How about, “Truth, Justice and an end to Tyranny”?  I think this distinction in important because it relates to how the rest of the world views America through its movies and television.  I wrote about it in a previous post entitled “America’s Most Influential Export, that talked about the world wide popularity of “Desperate Housewives” (except interestingly enough in China).

    Fast forward to today and Hancock and The Hulk.  Like Ironman, and indeed Superman Returns, before them, I was bothered by the ethnic stereotypes in both films.  (Though one could argue that as Hancock, Will Smith overcomes the stereotypes.  Besides, it’s really hard not to like a Will Smith movie that opens on 4th of July weekend.)  Taken at face value, each of the films were entertaining in their own right, but I wanted to like them more (especially Hancock).  Hollywood continues to imbue its schizophrenic values and warped patriotism on the world at large, and the world just hates us more.  Am I taking this all too seriously?

    Coincidentally, I was surprised when I scored 100% on this silly “Which Superhero Are You Quiz” and found out that I am Superman.

    Which Superhero Are You?? 

    Superman
    		100%
    Batman
    		70%
    Catwoman
    		70%
    Spider-Man
    		65%
    Green Lantern
    		65%
    Supergirl
    		50%
    Wonder Woman
    		50%
    Robin
    		50%
    The Flash
    		45%
    Iron Man
    		45%
    Hulk
    		40%
    Like Superman, Carey Anthony is mild-mannered, good,
    strong and he loves to help others.

    Click here to take the “Which Superhero are you?” quiz…


  • “And the Rockets’ Red Glare”

    Best of the rest

    jiazhousarcasmo‘s excellent summation!

  • T’was the Night Before Fireworks


    As I’ve recounted before, I’m not a big fan of the 4th of July (Independence Day in America).  This year should be fun though, as I’m spending the night with my cousins.  This morning we’ll take the kids to the parade and then we have a cabana rented by the lake for the day.  We’ll watch the fireworks, and then I’ll head back up to LA to greet yet another guest at the HC.  If any of you Orange County Xangans are going to be at the parade or lake tomorrow, text me.  My # is on my Facebook badge to the left. 

    We took the boys to Chick-fil-A tonight, and then took Tommy to get a birthday present.  Here are a few snaps:


    Notice the sign to my left.  LOL

     


    I love Chik-fil-A!  Instead of giving out horrible plastic toys in their kids meals, they give out CD to help kid learn another language!

     

    fireworks
    Have a safe, happy 4th everyone!

    It’s OK Or!! xoxo

  • Trooper of the Month & Famous Amos


    My little cousins Logan & Lexie were visiting my Dad this past weekend. Sadly, Logan was the only boy in a group of girls that proceeded to do a makeover on the poor little guy. Logan took it all in stride though, and gets my Trooper of the Month award.  (I was going to do a funny photoblog like Andy’s, but you can’t really improve on perfection.)  I haven’t seen Logan since he was two years old, two years ago.  My Dad said he still remembered me though, which is really cool.  Here’s a photo of us swimming in 2006.  We really bonded, he’s such a great kid:

    And this is one of my favorite photos of Logan when he was sick.  It’s been the wallpaper on my phone for 2 years, so I see him every day.  Isn’t he precious?

    These are the photos my Dad sent from this past weekend:


    That look says it all!


    My cousin Lexie.  If that face doesn’t belong in movie, who’s does?

    Amos took these photos when we went to the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday.  Before we went, we checked on the Hollywood Bowl website and it said “no cameras”.  I’ve always taken my camera to the Hollywood Bowl, but I’ve never taken a professional camera and lenses like Amos has.  So we wrapped his camera and lenses in aluminum foil and put them at the bottom of our picnic basket!  As it turns out, they could have cared less about us bringing that camera in (it also seems they didn’t care about all the pot the people around us were smoking!!); so next time, Amos will bring all of his lenses!  He’s definitely on his way to becoming a famous paparazzi! 


    “ First, I was very worried about getting my camera in, because I didn’t
    really know their camera policy. So, I limited myself to the Tamron
    17-50 and one tele. I decided to shoot with my Sigma 150mm macro lens,
    instead of my Canon 70-200mm f/4. The main reasoning was that I would
    be able to use faster shutter speeds with the Sigma’s f/2.8.



    While I do think the Sigma was a good decision, there were certainly
    times when I would have liked to use the Canon’s range. Oh, and yes, I
    would also have loved to miniaturize the place with my tilt-shift, but
    that’s kind of a luxury.    “

  • Matchmaking

    Tonight I had dinner in Westwood with Brian and Heejin and their adorable daughter Hannah.  I met them a few weeks ago on a flight to Chicago.  Hannah and I played with a cute puppy during the flight, and had a great time.  Tonight we met up at Mr. Noodle and had dessert at Diddy Riese.  I decided that Hannah & Colin would make a perfect couple.  Of course, Colin will have to move to Los Angeles from Hong Kong, but that’s a minor detail.  Let the romance begin!  You two turtle doves are betrothed!


    Beautiful downtown Westwood and the campus of UCLA.


    Hannah watching Nickolodean on my TV phone.

  • A Kaleidoscope Of Mathematics

    Click below to play the video and be amazed!  If it’s not working, click here. 

    Through Tyson, I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of great people in the Cubing community.  None are more talented however, than Macky.  We’ve been trying to get together for some time now, and he was nice enough to head out to the Hotel Careyfornia today before leaving for Math Camp for the summer, and then off to Princeton in the fall.  (He turned down Cambridge and Harvard!)  Over dinner we discussed everything from Game Theory to Phonetics.  You might think that would make for dry dinner conversation, but quite the contrary.  Macky has a unique way of making even the most black and white subjects explode with color.  He makes you think about things in ways you never have.  I always feel so energized after spending time with young people with such drive and intellect.  It give me a hope for a better tomorrow in this country.  Thanks Macky!  I’m looking forward to watching the next few years unfold. 


    He was even nice enough to sign a cube for Daniel with his record solve time of 12.11 seconds.



    ON THE
    LIGHTER SIDE
    “Starting Tuesday, if you’re caught talking on
    the phone without a hands-free device [in California], you get hit with a $20
    fine. That’s almost an eighth of a tank of gas!” — Comedian Jimmy Kimmel

  • The Quintessential LA Evening


    My houseguests finally ended their star studded weekend at the H.C. and returned to Phoenix.  (Actually, the only star we saw this weekend was Tito Jackson driving his Rolls Royce on Rodeo Drive yesterday, LOL.  Cameron Diaz was at The Getty while we were there Saturday, see below.)  Yesterday we had breakfast at the famous Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, then traipsed about Beverly Hills before heading to the Hollywood Bowl with Amos to see Gilberto Gil. For those of you unfamiliar with Brazilian music, Gilberto Gil is anational treasure there.  He’s akin to John Lennon here, and nowtravels the world as Brazil’s Minister of Culture, reporting directly to the president.  That’s all for now.  Tonight I’m having dinner with someone even more famous than Cameron Diaz and Tito Jackson combined! 

    camerondiaz

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    Roscoe’s famous Chicken & Waffle House

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    Tori, channeling Ashleee Simpson, plastic surgery and all.

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    At first I thought the driver of thisRolls was Al Cowlings.  Come to find out, it’s Tito Jackson, Michael’sbrother.  There was a homeless guy in a wheelchair who asked him formoney at the stop light, and Tito saw that I had my camera, and gavethe man money.  It was the homeless guy who told us it was Tito.  LOL

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    Where’s LaToya?

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    Gianni, we hardly knew ya!

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    Tori, Daniel & Amos at the Hollywood Bowl

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    You can just barely make out the Hollywood sign in this picture.  Amos got some great ones that I’ll post tomorrow.

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    Best of the rest…

    If you’ve never been to the HollywoodBowl, here’s a short video to show you what it’s like.  It was prettydark when I shot this, but you can barely make out the Hollywood signat the end, and Amos taking pictures of the crowd.  The first thevideos in this set are of Gilberto Gil, and the last one is of DevandraBanhart who opened for him.  At the end he says “Muito Obrigado” orthank you very much.



  • Happy Anniversary Chinatown

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    Here’s a quick photoblog.  We started the day with brunch on the Sunset Strip, and then headed to Book Soup.  The Getty Center was next on the agenda, and it couldn’t have been a more perfect day for that.  Deep blues skies, a nice breeze and 80°.  For dinner we headed to historic Chinatown for its 70th Anniversary party and had a great time.  Tomorrow we’re off to the beach.  Now, I’ll sleep. 

    chinatown

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    Best of the rest

  • 16 Paws

    The Hotel Careyfornia checked in four more guests today.  2 humans, and 2 more canines, making for a total of four dogs and three people in a 900 square foot condo.  (That’s OK, we once slept 21 here!)  My best friend Daniel and his daughter Tori arrived tonight for their annual visit.  For dinner we went to the grand opening of a new “interactive” restaurant at Hollywood & Highland called uWink.  They had a red carpet there that Tori got to walk, which was neat for her.  The celebrities were minor though, to say the least.  The owner of the place is the guy who invented Atari, Nolan Bushnell.  The restaurant lets you order from touch screen kiosks at your table and play interactive games with other tables.  It also features a 12 ft long interactive multi-touch bar that literally brings the bar top to life, letting customers use fingers, hands and drink glasses to conjure up digital flora and fauna, digitally paint the bar top, play a game of pong and ultimately order food and drinks from a digital menu. 

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    Tori & Dad on the Red Carpet

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    Interactive touch screen at our table.

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    Look Ma, I can use a touch screen.

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    The inventor of Atari

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    Garbo, Ruby, Abbie, Nina & Daniel


    ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
    “There was an interesting study released today which says that people
    who live here in the state of California are less convinced that there
    is a God than the people of any other state in the country. On an
    unrelated note, more than 800 wildfires here in California are
    currently burning out of control.  They were started by a series of freak lightning storms last weekend.”  –Jimmy Kimmel