Hugo, Claudio & I have been friends for nearly 20 years. As a child, Hugo had an dream that, without going into detail, prevented him from ever visiting the state of California. When Claudio moved here last year, we both lamented the fact that our good friend would not be able to visit us here. Fast forward to Thursday, when Hugo bravely flew from New York to Los Angeles, to help me and Claudio celebrate our birthdays; and a new tradition began. Then Friday, Marcelo & Emily flew in from Portland and we headed up to Ventura County where we had a big Brazilian barbecue with Eva & Bassam in attendance. Later tonight we head to the Hollywood Bowl for the Rodger’s & Hammerstein spectacular. I’ll let the videos and pictures speak for themselves. Ciao!
Claudio & Ryan had shirts made that say: Hotel Careyfornia VIP Hotel Careyfornia Maintenance and a hooded sweatshirt that says: Hotel Careyfornia CEO
Today, September 2nd, is Claudio’s birthday, as I am sure many of you know. I wanted to get more ideas about his new professorial life and, bingo, found some delightful quotes at RatemyProfessor.com. Here are some highlights, in my view…
“He is very knowledgeable in the subject matter, and even if he is sometimes slightly unclear with his initial explanations,…”
“His accent can be amusing at times, but in a good way. He is perfectly comprehensible.”
“Dr. P. is a world class professor.”
“One of the best professor [sic] I have ever taken in my life.” (lovely insinuating were it not for the obvious sign of poor grammar…my favorite quote in the group)
“This man is helpful, knowledgable [sic] and is willing to help you in whatever way possible.” (Do tell, Dr. World Class!)
“He really knows what he is talking about,…” (Ha! This one had me rolling on the ground)
Happy birthday to you, old friend!
I am looking forward to seeing you all in a few days! Luisao, any chance you can plan a last minute trip to SoCal this weekend?! Claudao, nao se preocupe que vamos falar mal de voce esse final de semana, com aquele carinho de sempre.
Abracos, m
From: Carey Anthony
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 11:18 PM
To: Marcelo
Cc: The GLY Gang
Many of you don’t remember that back in the early 90′s, before the Internet or ratemyprofessor.com, I used to collect Claudio’s evaluations from when he was a T.A at University of Illinois, because he spent summers in Brazil. My all time favorite went something like this:
Q: Did you learn a lot in Professor P’s class?
A: I didn’t learn a thing. I was too busy looking at his dreamy eyes!
15 years later, the eyes are more cloudy than dreamy and we won’t talk about the hair…
I was looking through my old diaries last night, and found this and sent it to Claudio. He wrote this in my calendar in 1991: “Birthday of the nicest Brazilian ever”. I’m sure Marcelo might have something to say about that my dear!
His reply:
From: Claudio
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 9:23 AM
To: Carey Anthony
THANK YOU!!!!
The scheduler was funny! To imagine you still had hair to cut… good times!! :) Ugh, Vicious!!
From: Carey Anthony
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 9:39 AM
To: Claudio
Ugh! You want to talk about hair!!?? Be careful darling. It may be YOUR birthday, but my old calendars hold lots of other secrets as well. Feliz Anniversario
The weatherfinally broke today. It was a little cooler with a touch of humidity in the air. We needed a break! Saturday it was 105° F (41° C) when Lisa & the kids and I took Aunty Lulu & Uncle George out for ice cream:
The fires did make for amazing sunsets all last week:
Whenever I need to smile I’ll just look at this picture of Buster!
Joel and I went to see District 9 over the weekend and we both enjoyed the movie. It was about 1/2 hour too long, but entertaining. Kind of a cross between Close Encounters and The Fly! There were a lot of blatant racial parallels that I won’t go into now. As someone who has been to Johannesburg though, it was a sadly appropriate setting for that movie.
The fires are far enough away that my home isn’t in any danger, but they’re still too close for comfort:
On the way home last night this is what I saw from the car. I’m surprised there weren’t more accidents on the freeway from people looking. It was an amazing sight to see:
The air today was an eerie, quiet yellow making the sky look like Dijon mustard. About 6:00 tonight I went up to my roof and shot this photo.
After taking this, I went back inside with my mask!
And finally, I got some very sad news today from Margie:
From: Margie Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 6:34 AM To: Carey Subject: Daisy
I had to have Daisy put down today. I am very sad. She fell off the bed & broke whatever was misplaced in her back. When I picked her up she immediately lost her bowels & her head started rolling to the side. When I took her outside she tried to stand but could not. Later I will pick her up – couldn’t bear to be with her when they put her down – and bury her on the farm. Can’t stop crying every time I think about it, so I’m going to try not to think about it.
I’ve got a bunch of good friends flying in for the weekend starting Thursday. It’s going to be non stop. We’re going to the Hollywood Bowl for my 44th birthday Sunday. I’ll try to post as I have time. Have a good week everyone!
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE “The state of California is $30 billion in debt, and there’s no way we can pay it back, so what we’ve decided to do is set it on fire and collect the insurance.” – Jimmy Kimmel
Last night, Andy consistently beat me at Wii for hours, and I’m sure I got carpal tunnel in the process!
This morning I woke up early and was unusually tired. Even though I didn’t fly here, I brought my travel bag, full of travel sized items. In my stupor this morning, the toothpaste and the Neosporin looked remarkably similar:
They didn’t taste similar however, as this reenactment shows:
OK, I didn’t really put it in my mouth this morning…but I almost did!
“Lessons learned from Mother Nature [could] help airport security screening checkpoints better protect us from terror threats — if governments are willing to think outside the box and pay heed to some of nature’s most successful evolutionary strategies for species adaptation and survival.
“Biological organisms have figured out millions of ways, over three and a half billion years of evolution, to keep themselves safe from a vast array of threats,” said Raphael Sagarin, a DukeUniversityecologist who co-edited the book with Terence Taylor, an international security expert.
“Arm races among invertebrates, intelligence gathering by the immune system and alarm calls by marmots are just a few of nature’s successful security strategies that have been tested and modified over time in response to changing threats and situations,” Sagarin said. “In our book, we look at these strategies and ask how we could apply them to our own safety.”
“A study of animal behavior suggests that advertising your security procedures and continually conveying to others that there is a state of elevated threat only helps inform potential terrorists of loopholes in the procedures, while keeping the general population uncertain and nervous,” Sagarin said. Species such as marmots, which continually emit warning calls to each other even when no immediate threat is present, force the other animals in their group to waste time and energy trying to figure out if the implied threat is real, he noted.
Evolutionary models and ideas also can be applied to non-terrorism threats, such natural disasters and the spread of infectious diseases, he added.
“Whether you’re dealing with al Qaeda or an emerging pathogen, studying animal behavior teaches us basic principles of survival,” he said. “You can’t eliminate all risks, so you have to focus on the big ones, while adapting to minimize risk from the rest. You have to be aware of your environment, understanding that it’s constantly in flux. And when it comes to adapting and responding to threats, a centralized authority can get in the way. Individual units that sense the environment, with minimal central control, work best.””
And now comes word that you’re no longer allowed to bring snowglobes through airport security! Sorry middle America, time to find a new cheesy souvenir. What will they think of next? Urinals at the X-ray machine, so we don’t bring our piss on planes? Idiots!
“A glass eye, filled with weaponized ebola. A small child with a belly full of C4. A man with his blood altered biochemically to be a powerful explosive. A Muslim that has spent the last two decades training in the art of the Ninja, and has just mastered a technique to deliver fatal nerve-strikes from across the room using only the focused force of his own chi? WHY DO WE NOT WORRY ABOUT THESE THINGS? Oh… yeah. Because at a certain point we have to make the decision to accept the most minute possible risks or to continue rocking back and forth on the floor whimpering while in a pool of our own urine.“
In other news, yesterday, Lisa and I went to The Spectrum to see Inglourious Basterds (I loved it). We also saw that they are auctioning off Designer Dog Houses built by celebrities. Obviously, Chazz needs this desperately, so here’s a real live PayPal button to donate to The Hotel Chazzfornia Fund. Bidding for the auction starts at $20,000.00, so dig deep!!
Chazzitat For Humanity – Put a roof over Chazz’s head!! DONATE NOW!!
Speaking of Chazz, Claudio sent me an email with a video attachment of him playing soccer with some kids. To wit:
Carey Anthony
Chazz Playing Football 2 messages
From: Claudio
Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 8:09 PM
To: Carey
Chazz has made it to 3 soccer practices with kids at the park. He is very popular around there. Several people call him by name and gather around to see him play. The coach has a separate soccer ball for him already. The first-timers get instructions on how to play with Chazz. Although the 8 and younger kids who are his usual teammates were not there today (when I remembered to take the camera), he still had fun.
I got quite a few funny videos, but most are too big to attach… This is the only one that can go. -Claudio
From: Carey Anthony
Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 8:35 PM
To: Claudio
It’s clear he got his football skills from MY side of the family! Ugh!! Too big to attach??? The 90′s called. They want their ridiculously huge email attachments back!!
Ever hear of YouTube, YouDork???
And where the hell did you film that from? The Goodyear blimp??? I can see that when I’m not around Chazz’s care is left to amateurs. We’re going to have to decrease your visits with him.
The boys were here over the weekend and I took Chazz to see his buddy Roscoe. Even though Roscoe weighs twice as much as Chazz, they play really well together. Unlike Daisy, who, when she was here six months ago, did everything she could to avoid Chazz the puppy. Last night I found an old SD card that I thought I had lost. On it was this long lost footage of Chazz & Daisy. It’s funny to see him six months ago. Man, he tormented Daisy:
Ryan’s sister Renea was in town with her boyfriend Matt this weekend, so I headed up to Oxnard for a barbecue. After dinner, we went to see Julie & Julia, which I loved. Meryl Streep can do no wrong! The movie has some great lines about the narcissism of bloggers. Claudio kept elbowing me the whole movie. LOL. Then this morning we took Chazz to the beach and he had a great time playing with some little kids who loved him. On the drive home I listened to the Evita movie soundtrack which I haven’t heard in ages. The more I listened to it, the more parallels to Sarah Palin I drew. After all, Eva Peron was a self obsessed demagogue who impassioned weak minded fools into supporting her. If you listed to Tim Rice’s brilliant lyrics and substitute “Sarah” for “Eva” it’s uncanny how well most of the songs fit Caribou Barbie:
(Children:) Please, gentle Sarah, will you bless a little child? For I love you, tell Heaven I’m doing my best I’m praying for you, even though you’re already blessed
Please, mother Sarah, will you look upon me as your own? Make me special, be my angel Be my everything wonderful perfect and true And I’ll try to be exactly like you
Please, holy Sarah, will you feed a hungry child? For I love you, tell Heaven I’m doing my best I’m praying for you, even though you’re already blessed
(Workers:) Santa Santa Palina Madre de todos los ninos De los tiranizados, de los descamisados De los trabajadores, de la Argentina
And the money kept rolling in from every side Sarah’s pretty hands reached out and they reached wide Now you may feel it should have been a voluntary cause But that’s not the point my friends When the money keeps rolling in, you don’t ask how Think of all the people guaranteed a good time now Sarah’s called the hungry to her, open up the doors Never been a fund like the foundation Sarah Palin.
Would you like to try a college education? Own your landlord’s house, take the family on vacation? Sarah and her blessed fund can make your dreams come true Here’s all you have to do my friends Write your name and your dream on a card or a pad or a ticket Throw it high in the air and should our lady pick it She will change your way of life for a week or even two Name me anyone who cares as much as Sarah Palin.
And the money kept rolling out in all directions To the poor, to the weak, to the destitute of all complexions Now cynics claim a little of the cash has gone astray But that’s not the point my friends When the money keeps rolling out you don’t keep books You can tell you’ve done well by the happy grateful looks Accountants only slow things down, figures get in the way Never been a lady loved as much as Sarah Palin.
I realized early on with horror what I was seeing in Governor Palin: the continuation of the Rove-Cheney cabal, but this time without restraints. I heard her echo Bush 2000 soundbites (“the heart of America is on display”) and realized Bush’s speechwriters were writing her — not McCain’s — speeches. I heard her tell George Bush’s lies — not McCain’s — to the American people, linking 9/11 to Iraq. I heard her make fun of Barack Obama for wanting to prevent the torture of prisoners — this is Rove-Cheney’s enthusiastic S and M, not McCain’s, who, though he shamefully colluded in the 2006 Military Tribunals Act, is also a former prisoner of war and wrote an eloquent Newsweek piece in 2005 opposing torture. I saw that she was even styled by the same skillful stylist (neutral lipstick, matte makeup, dark colors) who turned Katharine Harris from a mall rat into a stateswoman and who styles all the women in the Bush orbit –but who does not bother to style Cindy McCain.
Then I saw and heard more. Palin is embracing lawlessness in defying Alaskan Legislature subpoenas –this is what Rove-Cheney, and not McCain, believe in doing. She uses mafia tactics against critics, like the police commissioner who was railroaded for opposing handguns in Alaskan battered women’s shelters — Rove’s style, not McCain’s. I realized what I was seeing.
Of course, Sarah Palin is so fucking stupid and self serving that she probably doesn’t even know who Eva Peron is. Even the sometimes infuriating Maureen Dowd pointed out in the Times today:
It’s also interesting to read the chapter on “Palinmania” and remember how serene Sarah Palin was before she became unhinged by fame and her fixation with her reviews, especially from conspiratorial and gossipy bloggers [CareyGLY??] The same McCain advisers who later turned against Palin were impressed with her at first, when she earned adjectives like unruffled, self-confident, tough-minded and self-assured.
From Bill Ayers to Reverend Wright, “Sarahcuda” was ready to bite, telling rallies, “The heels are on, the gloves are off.” But by the end, after Tina Fey, Katie Couric and the shopping spree, Palin had lost confidence. She became erratic. [Just like Evita in Europe!] “During a campaign trip in October to New Hampshire, she balked at sharing the stage with former congressman Jeb Bradley because they differed on abortion and drilling in the Arctic wilderness,” the authors wrote. “That same day, she was reluctant to join Bradley and Senator John Sununu for conversation aboard her campaign bus and had to be coaxed out of the back of the bus to talk to them, according to a McCain adviser.”
Palin is still obsessed with the blogosphere, which recently lit up with a rumor started by a fellow mavericky Alaskan, who also no longer has his job — that she and Todd were Splitsville. She sarcastically told Mike Allen of Politico that she loved finding out “what’s goin’ on in my life from the news.” She deserted her post as governor to write her book about the “pioneering spirit,” as she told Allen. The contradiction seems lost on her.
And, as Talking Points Memo reported on Friday, she put up a demented, fact-free Facebook rant trashing the president’s health care plan: “The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘level of productivity in society’ whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.” Do we sometimes drive ’em downright crazy? You betcha!
So don’t cry for Sarah. I’m sure we’ll see her on Broadway someday soon! Maybe she could even test her chops as the witch in Wicked? Now, on to the weekend photos and video:
Ryan, Chazz, Claudio, Me, Renea & Matt
Another delicious meal at the C&R Churrascaria…Chazz was content!
Update: I made it to Rome, but sadly, someone on the plane didn’t. They had a heart attack in flight. When we landed we had to wait on the plane for medics to come on board. Bine, Eva, Alan & Lindsay met me at the airport and we headed towards the coast. More when I get my Internet SIM card….
Update: I’m in the Washington airport waiting for my connection to Rome. The flight was uneventful. I played with Dave Grohl from Nirvana and the Foo Fighters daughter. What a cutie she was! Just catching up on email now thanks to the Red Carpet Room. See you all on the other side! Ciao.
P.S. I’ve set up a Google account for this trip. I may not be blogging much, but I’ll try to post all the photos at:
It’s 1 AM and I have to wake up at 5 and head to the airport to catch my flight to Rome. If you need me for the next two weeks, I’ll be at the “B” below…for beach:
Claudio & Chazz came down tonight to “help me” pack and get ready. This was them 3 hours ago: LOL
I hope to be updating my blog from our Tuscan villa. David was nice enough to send me a European phone and an air card that I can tether to the phone from the remote Italian countryside. Trust me, it’s not easy dealing with Italian bureaucracy. I even needed to get a taxpayer ID number to get a SIM card in Italy. And today, after DHL arrived with my international shipment, I discovered that my laptop didn’t have a PCMCIA slot. It had one of the newer slots that wasn’t compatible. Since there was no time to order an adapter (and they’re hellishly expensive), Seth was kind enough to swap laptops with me for 2 weeks. So…if all goes well, I’ll be connected. It’s been a comedy of errors so far though, so if you don’t hear from me for a while, you know why. I hope everyone in the States has a Happy 4th. It’s my least favorite holiday, so I’m happy to spend it abroad.
Here’s where we’ll be staying. I’m not sure where we’re all going to sleep. There will be 25 of our friends from all over the world. Should be fun! I best get to bed. Luckily I’m flying first class. Thank goodness for frequent flyer miles! Ciao Bello! –Carey
It’s been great having Daniel & David here with their parents. Since they’re Korean and German it’s the best of both worlds. Every morning, Mom & Dad head to the bakery for fresh bread. At 7:30 we have a traditional European breakfast with meat, cheese, vegetables, bread & fruit. Then I start my work day and they head out to see the sites, but not before their Mom makes my lunch. In the evening, she cooks the most amazing Korean food. I’m telling you, I could really get used to this.
The other night we went to a great little Korean Barbecue in Koreatown called Tofu Village. Have you ever noticed how a lot Korean & Chinese restaurants play cheesy American 70′s music? When David and I went to the bathroom to wash our hands, I heard an old Captain and Tennille song I hadn’t heard in years and it reminded me of a story that I relayed to my guests about the first time I went to Paris 15 years ago. Obviously this was pre Xanga and pre Internet, so when we got home, I pulled out my old diary to re-read the story and refresh my memory:
Since I know you can’t read that (I can barely read my own writing…thank goodness for Xanga), I’ll paraphrase:
December 31, 1994 – I arrived in Paris at 7:30 AM on the train from Barcelona. It was New Year’s Eve Day and all of the banks were closed so I was having a hard time exchanging my currency. (This was well before the Euro!) I only had about 23 francs and I was very hungry. I tried eating at a few places but inevitably didn’t like the food and kept giving it away to stray dogs. Finally I found an ATM machine that worked. I phoned Claudio, who would be arriving the next day and coordinated our meeting place (again pre cell phones). By now I was starving, and it was about 8 PM on New Year’s Eve. I had planned to go to the Champs Elysees for the midnight festivities, but I had to find something to eat first. Just then I spied a Chinese restaurant with a buffet in the window. I was elated! A Chinese buffet is the same world wide! I quickly went in and discovered that it was also a karaoke bar, “that was playing American 70′s music on 3 television monitors. If the proprietor of the restaurant saw someone mouthing the words to a song, he would run over and give them a microphone.” The place was crowded with pre New Year’s revelers dressed to the nines. At the table next to me there was a group black French women, with glitter in their hair and fancy dresses speaking with thick French accents and the same gesticulations of African American women. It was really interesting to watch and listen to them, though I didn’t understand a word they were saying. Suddenly, one of them was handed the microphone, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the scene. Paris…New Year’s Eve…Chinese Restaurant…and a black French woman singing The Carpenters hit, “I’m on the Top of the World” in a heavy french accent. It sounded like this:
“I’m on zee tope of zee woold, lookine down on cweeashoe und zee only expleynashone I can find, ees zee loave zat I found aver seence you’ve bean awound, your love poots me at zee tope of zee woold.”
She actually had an amazing voice and the whole place applauded. It was a surreal moment!
Fast forward 15 years. I’m telling this story to Daniel, David and their parents at the Korean restaurant. Guess what song started playing?? You guessed it. The Carpenters, “I’m on the Top of the World“. I probably hadn’t even heard that song in 15 years. I kid you not! We all couldn’t believe it!! It was one of the craziest coincidences of my life. To make it even crazier, Claudio called my cell phone later as I was reading his name from the diary above. Cue the Twilight Zone music, on second thought, cue The Carpenters:
P.S. Thanks for all of the nice comments about the American Idol photos. That post has already been viewed more than 4000 times. I appreciate the kind words.
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:
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!
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??
It’s also interesting to read the chapter on “Palinmania” and remember how serene Sarah Palin was before she became unhinged by fame and her fixation with her reviews, especially from conspiratorial and gossipy bloggers [CareyGLY??] The same McCain advisers who later turned against Palin were impressed with her at first, when she earned adjectives like unruffled, self-confident, tough-minded and self-assured.
No, for once the title of this blog is not referring to 
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