It was Chazz’s second birthday on Friday, and he celebrated in grand style.  Payton & Taylor were nice enough to send him a new “diamond” collar and doggy sunglasses.  LOL:

We had a photoshoot up in the Hollywood Hills and he even got a doggy cupcake.  Over the weekend we saw “The Social Network” (loved it) and enjoyed the cooler weather after last week’s record heat wave courtesy of she devil Sarah Palin.  Speaking of the weather, the heat brought some amazing clouds last week, and even a couple of rainbows.  Below is a video from my roof and the rest of the week’s photos:

Recently, I received the following email message from the good folks at the Animal Planet channel:

Carey Anthony

From: YouTube Service	Thu, Sep 16, 2010 at 8:25 AM
To: CareyGLY
americascutestdog has sent you a message: Animal Planet is interested in your video for television! Julie Cresswell here, with Animal Planet’s television show, “America’s Cutest Dog.” A team of us are currently searching for the cutest dog videos worldwide to air on our second special. I came across the following videos during my search and absolutely loved them . Death of the Easter Bunny:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b20EuJTBYd8 Chazz Coke:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiEGQM2WA9c Dive Dive Birdie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz32LaQjr9Y Chazz & Daisy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B97f1gVs0QE Chazz at the Beach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me-X3ZiY1lQ Andy & Chazz’s Nature Hike: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkyvJ8f6kv4 CJ Teaches Chazz the Rubik’s Cube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1EuJ1oEAEk Chazz & Brockton:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QVPhXExrJA Your videos are really amazing, and perfect for our show. I wanted to reach out and see if you would be interested in submitting your video for “America’s Cutest Dog II”. Maybe you have other clips too! Submitting is easy, and can be done online in just a few minutes. Our show will feature the best videos of dogs and puppies doing the most amazing, hilarious and just plain adorable things, and we’d love to have your clips in the line up. If interested, please email my Production Assistant Heather Scudellari at hscudellari@xxxxxxxx.net with the information below. 1. Please title your email ‘America’s Cutest Dog II’ (Attn: Heather) 2. Please include: • Your full name • The name of the video(s) • The web link(s) of each video • Your dog’s name • Whether or not you own the rights to the video We will reply to your email with instructions on how to upload your video to our server. Thank you for your time. I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Julie Cresswell

This wasn’t Chazz’s first brush with fame.  Last year at the dog park he was approached by an agent who wanted him to come in for a screen test, LOL:

It never panned out because Chazz wanted Lassie’s salary…not Rin Tin Tin’s! 
They probably didn’t know that Chazz was already very close with Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black.

Here now, for your viewing pleasure, are the videos you may be seeing on TV soon!

Death of the Easter Bunny

Always Coca Cola…with Chazz

Chazz getting dive bombed by a bombastic bird!

Chazz finds a surprise under the blanket.  It’s Daisy!  And she isn’t happy!!

Chazz playing ball with the kids at the beach

Chazz and Andy dodging crocodiles!

Chazz as a puppy playing with Brockton at the dog park

CJ teaching Chazz how to solve the Rubik’s Cube!

Chazz certainly loves adventure!  He’s had a busy life! 

---

Here are some photos from the past few days.  Have a good week everyone!

Xangalebrity Chris, aka Cakalusa, paid a visit to The Hotel Careyfornia and even got to meet Elvis!  More here…


Din Tai Fung with Jon!  More here…

Thursday Family Dinner!  More here…

Another exciting edition of Clouds & Sunsets From My Sunroof!  More here…


Dinner with Dennis at Phil’s new restaurant in West Hollywood, UnPhoGettable!  More here…

Thanks to everyone who made my 45th birthday yesterday, so special.  The festivities actually started Thursday night when I had dinner with my family and then drove up to Oxnard to celebrate Claudio’s birthday.  This is our 20th year celebrating our birthdays together.  Last year I made him sit through the Rodger’s & Hammerstein retrospective at the Hollywood Bowl on my birthday.  This year, we celebrated in Santa Barbara on Friday and had a big Brazilian barbecue on Saturday.  The parties continued through yesterday, and I must say I am exhausted…and so is Chazz and his friend Blanca:

Of all the many birthday greetings I received on facebook and on cards and emails, a few really stood out:

This one referenced, one of my favorite songs, “Brimful of Asha” by Cornershop.

There’s a good breakdown of the lyrics here and a short documentary here; but basically, “on the 45″ refers to old fashioned record albums that played records at 45 rpm instead of the standard 33 rpm (rotations per minute).  A life on the 45 may be faster paced and generally more exciting??  That’s what I’ll go with anyway!  I’ve always loved the song…and now I’m 45 years old.  So bring it on life!  Here are more photos from the weekend:

Celebrating with Andy & Tommy!

Beautiful Santa Barbara, CA

The Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market

The dogs had a blast!

Ryan & Eva

The Gang

Claudio the grill master

A Bavarian Bretzel with Nutella!  Nom nom!

Dinner with Meghan, Roberto, their new baby Daniela, Eva, Bassam, & Ken

Ryan framed some of my Chazz photos!

Here are the best of the rest:

It was nice to see the HBO film, “Temple Grandin” starring Claire Danes, take home so many Emmy Awards last night. 

 

For those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Grandin’s work, I highly recommend the movie, which is available on HBO On Demand in the U.S.  There are also several clips on YouTube.  I’ve been a fan of Temple Grandin for quite some time.  Her insights into autism are truly ground breaking.  I also encourage anyone with an autistic relative to take the time (3 hours) to watch her fascinating C-Span interview: 

The first book I ever read by Temple Grandin was called “Animals in Translation“. 

I’d love to read it again, but unfortunately when Chazz was six months old, he destroyed it, along with another book entitled “The Moral Animal“.  Apparently Chazz does not agree with the Academy when it comes to Temple Grandin!

The first time I ever left him alone, this is what I came home to.  See how guilty he looks?

He chose his books very carefully!

He focused in particular on a chapter entitled “Animal Feelings”

He knew he was in big trouble…he “felt” it!

And ripped out the page on “Animal Aggression”  I kid you not!

Another great book by Temple Grandin is called “Animals Make Us Human“.  In it, she:

…brings us together with our dogs by making us understand that in essence dogs feel the same things that we as humans do. Grandin is a person with autism and acutely understands how dogs make us human. She tells us that dogs share the same basic emotions that we as humans do. They feel joy, sorrow, fear, happiness and unhappiness. This book teaches dog owners how to best set up their dogs to live a full and happy life.

In the touching book, the sentimental author shows us how she thinks like an animal in that she pictures words not as letters but in pictures and thus can relate to dogs on their level. It is intriguing and awe inspiring to read how she looks at the world and learns how she believes we should relate to our dogs. It is a fascinating read full of insight and great tips on how to keep your dog a happy one. Anyone who loves dogs will enjoy this book thoroughly. There isn’t a book like it anywhere that’s for sure.  Read more…

So congratulations to Temple Grandin.  I’m sure this Emmy will will expose her important work to many more people around the world.  See?  Hollywood ain’t so bad!  Here are a few more photos from the week:

Great photobomb Cole!!  And I didn’t even have to use this:

What a week!  After arriving from Africa, Darlene & Jay left California on Monday and Rob arrived on Tuesday.  It was a whirlwind week, and he made me realize I’m not as young as I used to be.  I think I slept a total of  six hours all week!  We had a great time though, as these photos will attest.  It was exciting to have him here on Wednesday when the California Supreme Court finally ruled that Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, was unconstitutional.  My feelings on this are well documented.  It was nice to be able to attend the rally in West Hollywood with Rob and celebrate this small victory on the road to equality.  For those of you who don’t agree, please watch this:  :) 

The Colbert Report	Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
How to Ruin Same-Sex Marriages
www.colbertnation.com

For more of my photos from Wednesday’s Prop 8 Rally in West Hollywood, click here.  For last year’s star studded rally (where Chazz met President Obama), click here.

The fabled sign will never be the same!

Psychedelic Rob!

Hooray for Hollywood!

At the historic rally, listening to Ted Olson, David Boies and Chazz’s buddy, Dustin Lance Black

We even managed to meet Thai Elvis at The Palms!

Our friend August’s back yard in Perris, CA was stunning!

Apparently guns are allowed in Perris! :)

August making a ninja catch!

Trying not to laugh or move!

At The Abbey with Ryan & Claudio

It’s late!

Snuggle buddies!

Here’s to good times at The Hotel Careyfornia!

Click here for the best of the rest…

The week was topped off last night with a performance of “Rent” at the famed Hollywood Bowl.  Directed by Neil Patrick Harris, who originated the role of Mark in L.A. in 1997, and starring Vanessa Hudgens, Nicole Scherzinger, Wayne Brady, Tracie Thoms, Gwen Stewart and other Rent veterans, the show was a dazzling, sumptuous feast, set amongst the tranquil Hollywood Hills. Even though this was my 16th viewing (in 7 countries and 5 languages), it never gets old. “There’s only now, there’s only here. Give in to love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way. No day but today.“

The underlying themes in Rent” have resonated with me for nearly 15 years.  When I first saw the play in 1996 in New York City it spoke to me like nothing I had ever seen.  The story is an old one, 159 years old to be exact.  1851 was the year that Henri Murger published the book Scènes de la Vie de Bohème a story about his friends; so called “Bohemians” or “starving artists” living in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the mid 1800′s.  His friends had the same names as the central characters in “Rent” (with American updates; Rodolpho became Roger, Marcel became Mark, etc.).  50 years after the book was published, Puccini turned it into the famous opera La Boheme, which in turn, 100 years later became the musical “Rent“.  The central themes of all three were the same, though the times, plagues and vices were different.  Wikipedia presents this chart:

Character in La bohème	Character in Rent
Mimi, a seamstress with TB	Mimi Marquez, an S&M dancer with AIDS
Rodolfo, a poet with TB	Roger Davis, a musician with AIDS
Marcello, a painter	Mark Cohen, a filmmaker
Musetta, a singer	Maureen Johnson, a bisexual performance artist
Schaunard, a musician with TB	Angel Dumott Schunard, a gay cross-dressing drummer with AIDS
Colline, a philosopher with TB	Tom Collins, a gay computer whiz and Anarchist philosopher with AIDS
Alcindoro, a state councillor	Joanne Jefferson, a lesbian lawyer
Benoit, a landlord	Benjamin ‘Benny’ Coffin III, also a landlord

No matter how hard the characters try to fight it, they all come to the realization that love is the strongest force we know.  Stronger than heroin, AIDS or even death.  Be it the “starving artists” in the Latin Quarter of 19th Century Paris, the American Bohemians like Jack Kerouac in the 50′s or the drug addled, AIDS victims in Jonathan Larson’s masterpiece “Rent”; they all knew this “fact”, and they lived their lives accordingly.  Even in this age of social networking and a truly wired global technosphere; it’s good to be reminded that we are all connected by the powerful force of love, and that a broken heart universally hurts.  “We don’t own emotion, we rent.”  How ironic, that Jonathan Larson, the composer and playwright of “Rent”, dropped dead of an aortic aneurysm the night before the show opened on Broadway in 1996.  After all, “Rent” is about living for today, because you never know what tomorrow might bring.

Last year I had a conversation with an acquaintance I first wrote about in this post, entitled “Perceptions” three years ago (she’s also an evangelical Christian).  She told me that I would be proud of her, because she finally watched the movie, based on the musical “Rent”.  I asked her how she liked it, and she basically thought it was “disgusting”.  At first I was taken aback by her response.  I know the movie wasn’t nearly as good as the play, but it was unfathomable to me how anyone could find these ageless, central themes anything but life affirming and beautiful.  She admittedly shed tears at the sad parts, but implied that all of the tragedy and sadness of the movie was a result of the characters (“Lesbos” was one of the words she used), not seeking the “love of God”.  They were seeking love in the wrong place.  Their addictions, (heroin) and diseases, (AIDS) were their own doing.  I fail to see the Christ-like thinking in this sentiment and told her so.  Coincidentally, the initial person I referenced in the “Perceptions” post in 2007, whose family fled from tyranny, starred in the ensemble of “Rent” this past weekend at the Hollywood Bowl.  A full circle moment.

“To sodomy
It’s between God and me.
To faggots, lezzies, dykes, cross dressers too.
To me….To you….
To people living with….not dying from disease.
Let he among us without sin,
Be the first to condemn.
La Vie Boheme.
Anyone out of the mainstream.
Is anyone in the mainstream?
Anyone alive with a sex drive.
Tear down the wall.
Aren’t we all?
The opposite of war isn’t peace.
It’s creation.
La Vie Boheme.
Viva La Vie Boheme.”

Here are some photos and a video from last night:

 
August is shaping up to be another busy month at The Hotel Careyfornia.  Tomorrow, Rob is visiting for the week before heading to the Philippines.  This past weekend, my friends Darlene & Jay arrived after spending the past year trekking throughout Africa.  I’ve been following their adventures on their award winning blog:  http://elephantcloud.net all year, but it was so great to have them here in person relaying their remarkable stories. (You can read why their blog is called The Elephant Cloud, here.) 

Anyone who has ever visited Africa knows the hold it takes on your heart.  I have written about my own journey there, but what Jay & Darlene have done this past year, surpasses all of my humble exploits; and they have surely left Africa a better place.  Darlene, a physician’s assistant by trade, and Jay a software developer; brought their unique blend of talents and compassion to the farthest reaches of the continent, to the people who needed it most.  The most recent example, before they left, involved Darlene treating patients for a newly rediscovered and debilitating foot disease at the Adventist Hospital in Gimbie, Ethiopia, while Jay followed the progress of the Podoconiosis treatments which the hospital was sponsoring.  Through publicizing this on their blog, they were able to get over 900 pairs of shoes donated to the cause.  See for yourself:

Their adventures are truly inspiring.  Whether it’s helping Tanzania’s forgotten children, being mobbed by Egyptian paparazzi  or communing with lions and giraffes in the Serengeti, they are living life full force.  How many of us have secretly desired to sell our homes and all of our worldly belongings, leave our jobs and travel the world to make it a better place?  As someone who explored the world for many years without a home, I can somewhat relate; but Darlene and Jay’s journey is the definition of epic.  I’m honored that they stopped here to share their wonderful essence and remind me what matters most in this life.  Here are some photos from our weekend together:

They flew from Africa to New York and then made their way west with all of their belongings.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when they arrived, but I was picturing the opening of the Beverly Hillbillies.  Sure enough they drove right through Beverly Hills and made it to the world famous Hotel Careyfornia!


A LONG way from Africa!

In good company!

The bouganvillea in bloom against a stunning foredrop!

They hadn’t had sushi in a year, so to say we “feasted” would be a huge understatement….I’m still full 3 days later!  It was great though!  Thanks guys!

 
This was our second star sighting of the weekend…it’s Busy Philipps from “Cougartown” and E.R.  Our first sighting happened the night before as we walked home past the House of Blues and someone asked us, “Hey, do you want to get high with a celebrity?”  We turned around to see Andy Dick in a dark corner…getting high.  LOL.   Needless to say, we passed.

Chazz waiting for leftovers from Claudio’s Brazilian barbecue

Making s’mores!

 
Ryan and I enjoying the s’mores and the company


Guess who’s up to his old tricks again??  He made his placemat an oxymoron!

Click here, for the best of the rest…

I’ve been away from Xanga for over a month.  Apologies to my loyal readers…but I needed the time away to work on some other pressing matters.  I did manage to keep Facebook and my micro-blog at Tumblr up to date with photos, but that’s about it.  Thanks to those of you who wrote inquiring as to my whereabouts.  I’m still super busy with work, but something happened yesterday that was too good not to blog about.  The stupidest woman in America is at it again, as evidenced by a tweet she sent out yesterday:

Maybe she’s still reeling from the news that her daughter is engaged to my friend Levi Johnston, noted Playgirl model who she calls “Ricky Hollywood“, but “refudiate” is NOT A WORD even in Palinese!!  She also used it in an interview with Fox News:

She tried to smooth over her idiocy with another tweet invoking a Bushism and a hardly noteworthy lexical creation by President Obama, but the damage was done:

Some enterprising folks even bought the URL www.refudiate.com and are now selling T-shirts:

And now there’s a debate over whether to add the word to the dictionary!!??  Tell you what…you can add it, as long as you “refudiate” Sarah Palin!  As reported by Jacob Heilbrunn, author of “They Knew They Were Right:  The Rise of the Neocons“,

All the hubbub overlooked the possibility that perhaps Palin isn’t simply trying to bring down big government, but the English language as well.

It would be foolish to underestimate her ability to succeed, at least in the latter area. She’s already displayed great skill at mangling every word and phrase within talking distance. Imagine what she could do with the bully pulpit.

Indeed, if Palin becomes president, she might well enjoy the opportunity to rewrite not only history, but English itself. Here’s what a high school grammar test might look like under the Palin regime, requiring students to turn any word starting with “re” to substitute “v”s with a “p.” Correct spelling would be the following:

It’s become increasingly clear that President Palin is refolted by the idea that liberals continue to control the news media. She seeks to refair this problem. Refresenting the will of the people is the job of President Palin, who finds it totally refrehensible and refulsive that the media continues to refroach her for pursuing innovative ideas. Liberals, refent, the end is nigh!

Palin is reportedly (sorry, I meant refortedly) thinking of calling it a new campaign to mind your “p”s and “f”s.

Enough of the Wasilla Wombat.  Here are some photos from the past few weeks that you may have missed if you don’t follow me on Facebook or Tumblr:

With the kids at the 4th of July Parade…click for more

Looking forward to Cats & Dogs in 3D!

With Brent & Riye in Koreatown

A rainbow in Dove Canyon last week…click for more

Tressa and the rainbow!

Dinner with Ryan & Chazz

Hot Dogs

Poolside at The Hotel Careyfornia

The LaBrea Tar Pits with the kids…click for more

Welcome to the Hotel Careyfornia!

Hollywood with the kids yesterday…click for more

Four years ago, I traveled to Germany for the World Cup.  Americans aren’t exactly known for their love of football (soccer), but being of Italian ancestry and watching Italy win the Cup with all of my European friends was something I will never forget.  I would like to be in South Africa this month, as it is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever visited.  Cape Town especially is one of my favorite cities in the world.  Here are some of my photos from a trip to Africa I took in 1998-99:

For those of you who are going this year, enjoy!  Take lots of pictures.  And make sure you get your shots.  You don’t want to end up like poor little Misery Bear:

Here are some of my favorite snapshots from when Germany hosted the World Cup four years ago:

Billboard going to the airport….the back was pretty cool too!


Lovers quarrel

Downtown Munich

Watching the finals

Perennial favorite, Brazil

The World Cup!

Viva Italia!

A swan we saw on a picnic to Lake Starnberg

Produce Market

Surfing on the Isar River!  It’s cold…I know

In other news, it was a busy week at The Hotel Careyfornia.  I had Chazz all week and we had a good time.  Tuesday, he voted in his first primary.  Friday, he enjoyed the sights of Beverly Hills.  He also made a new friend this week…a crazy bird in my front yard that kept attacking him.  I think Chazz thought it was playing with him!  LOL…take a look:

Chazz posed with Simon Cowell’s 1.7 million dollar Bugatti Veyron on Rodeo Drive.  More here…

Last night Claudio & Ryan came home and we had a Pre-Pride Pasta dinner.  This morning, once again the movers, shakers and fringe of gay society gathered at the bottom of my street for the annual, over-commercialized Pride Parade. This year featured Sharon & Kelly Osborne, lots of politicians, stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the usual …protesters from Fred Phelp’s loving “GodHatesFags.com” organization. You’ve gotta love the haters!  Happy Pride!

Really Sarah???

Exactly 20 years ago, one of my favorite bands Midnight Oil; played a half hour concert in front of the Exxon building in New York City:

And 40 years ago, the oil spill that spawned the modern environment movement, happened right here on the coast of Santa Barbara, where we visited this weekend.  As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald:

It took Santa Barbara decades to recover.  We may not be so lucky this time…and poor BP, just wants their old life back!  Suffice it to say if Sarah Palin ever becomes president, the number of disasters like this would increase ten fold.  Speaking of Santa Barbara, here are my photos from this weekend.

 

Best of the rest…

I also almost bought an iPad this weekend, but I decided to wait until they could do this:

I also took Chazz on a photoshoot recently, to showcase the beautiful flowers California constantly has blooming.  Enjoy the show: 

 
In preparation for the next wave of guests at The Hotel Careyfornia, I spent the whole afternoon today, cleaning out the closets in my bedroom.  It has been well documented what a packrat I am; and my closets were bulging at the seams.  I’ve lived in California for 8 years now.  I guess I can part with of most of my turtlenecks and sweaters from when I lived in Chicago, LOL.  I even got rid of a bunch of hoodies! I’m sure that will surprise my friends…as I had close to 100.  This is the pile of clothes that’s going to Goodwill:

That’s a pile of 130 shirts, 40 sweatshirts and about 35 pairs of pants…it freed up a lot of hangers!

Ryan’s mother was in town this week from Missouri.  I had never met her before and we had a really nice time.  I took Chazz to the Lake Hollywood dog park and he had a blast: 

Sniffing the Hollywood sign

More photos here...

Sleeping beauties

Dinner with Lora last night

And finally, **BREAKING NEWS** The Rapture is here! Forget everything I said about Jesus in my last post.  Jesus is alive and well and walking the streets of West Hollywood! Chazz and I snapped this photo the other morning. Jesus was walking down Fountain Ave, no doubt heading to Starbucks? Praise the Lord! But that means Chazz (the proverbial pooch) is screwed! Now I need to find a real atheist!

Chazz checking out Jesus Christ...Only in Hollywood!

This is a real call to a televangelist who sells red vegetable oil and claims it is really the blood of Jesus. 
You can't believe it until you hear it!

“It is the final proof of God’s omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us.”  Andrew Mackerel, the hero of Peter De Vries’s 1958 comic novel “The Mackerel Plaza”

Can science answer life's most important questions??  Morals are based on conscience experience.