cousins

  • The Dawn of a New Age – The Reign of Error is Over

    In 12 hours, our long national nightmare will be over and America will begin a healing process that will hopefully restore our tattered reputation around the world

    Smart People Rule

    The forty-fourth presidential inauguration will herald a new era for intellect in the United States. No longer will conjecture and gut instincts substitute for empiricism and analysis. In front of millions around the world, science will be given new breadth, non-believers will be put on equal footing with the faithful and education will be promised true reform.
    Sean McManus
    Executive Editor,
    Bigthink.com

    We started celebrating last Thursday when my mostly Republican family was nice enough to indulge me with a “George Bush is Outta Here” party.  We had hats, plates, cups, a tablecloth and a “To Do” list for our ex Asshole in Chief that included completed items like:
    • Squander the goodwill, love and sympathy of the world by utilizing a misguided, arrogant foreign policy to ensure that the U.S. goes from being one of the most beloved countries in the world, to the most despised country in the world all by the time September 11, 2002 rolled around.

    Thank God for the 22nd Amendment!

    We even played “Pin the Tail on the Ass’s Ass” with a “Mission Accomplished” tail on Dick Cheney protruding from W’s ignorant ass!  Luckily the kids didn’t read the poster!


    Mission not quite accomplished


    Even Betsy was celebrating earlier tonight


    President Bush and his friends celebrated the end of his term with a party of their own at Glen Echo Park. Slate went, for some reason, and their account makes the whole thing sound like the most depressing event in the world. The party, dubbed “Crossing the Finish Line” and held in the park’s giant Spanish Ballroom, was organized by outgoing White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and his predecessor, Andy Card.

    The venue had been somewhat controversial, according to attendees. There was no heating, so a lot of bodies were needed. “Due to the historic nature of the venue, there are limitations on what can be done in terms of climate control,” the hosts warned in an email. “DO: Wear layers and coats. DON’T: Dress like you’re going to Gold Cup or Smith Point.”

    Apparently some of the more climate-controlled venues had been taken. “There weren’t a lot [of places] available,” said Card. “There weren’t a lot of bands available, either.”

    So, basically, everyone was rubbing against each other for warmth and totally unemployed. Just contemplate the multitudes that are contained in this single depressing sentence: “One outgoing Treasury employee had already landed a job as a manager at Abercrombie & Fitch.” The Great Gatsby could have ended with that line.

    Anyway, there they all mingled, freezing their asses off, as Karl Rove talked about Twitter, Alberto Gonzalez walked around with a bloodshot eye, and the president mangled some more grammar.

    Look, people, if you are out the next two days, and you see these mopes walking all despondent down the street, for God’s sake, take them out a plate of canapes or something and call it national service. Then wish them luck at their new jobs, folding on, sweaters against the sale rack, borne back ceaselessly into the past.


    Best of the rest…

  • Christmas with Spike, Lucky & Bad Shrimp

    The two big hits with the kids on Christmas morning, were Spike the Dinosaur and Lucky the Puppy who responds to a multitude of spoken commands, as this video will attest:

    Our Christmas was better than little Bobby’s:  (See warning below.)

                                                                                            

    Warning: Adult Language.  Don’t watch this with kids around!

    After the presents and a yummy Christmas lunch, I headed home to meet Claudio & Chazz for a movie.  We saw Valkyrie and both really enjoyed it.  Here are a few Christmas pictures.  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.  Peace!

       


    Lisa found the perfect stocking stuffer for me!!  Among my other notable gifts were, an Earthquake Preparedness Kit, Tempur Pedic slippers, Mamma Mia, a Pendleton shirt, “Be the Pack Leader” by Cesar Milan and a Facial Spa!!  (These looks aren’t all natural!)


    Best of the the rest…

    As a followup to Bachelor Blues & Puppy Love, Claudio found some year old shrimp in the freezer today while making breakfast.  It reminded me of an old Christmas classic by George Michael & Wham:

    Last Christmas

    Last Christmas, I gave you some shrimp,
    The very next year,
    I threw it away.
    This year,
    To save me from salmonella,
    I’m cleaning out your freezer.

  • A Record Breaking Weekend


    Yesterday, Joel and I took the boys to the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana.  They were celebrating their 10th anniversary.  There was cake and punch, and hundreds of Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts (including my friend Tyson), trying to break the Guinness World Record for the most people solving the Rubik’s Cube at one time.  The last time I took Tommy to a speedcubing event at the DSC back in April, he proclaimed he was the “luckiest kid in the world” for having met Tyson, who is admittedly a celebrity in the cubing world, having starred on the hit reality show, Beauty & the Geek.  (He also  taught Will Smith how to solve the cube for The Pursuit of Happyness.)

    Ever since then, Tommy has been playing with the cube, but hasn’t mastered it yet.  I think it was good for him to see kids younger than him, who could solve it with ease.  He brought his own cube along and I was careful not to let him ask anyone to solve it for him early on, as I knew that once his cube was solved, he would quit trying, because he didn’t want to “mess it up”. 

    At one point though, Tyson was being interviewed by a TV station that sounded Chinese.  He didn’t have a cube in his hand, and since Tommy was shadowing him, Tyson asked Tommy to borrow his cube and to hold some papers for him.  Tommy was elated.  As Tyson proceeded to work his magic fingers, Tommy watched in awe.  I told him he’d probably be on TV in China, seen by a billion people, and needless to say, he thought that was pretty cool!    Of course, now he wouldn’t touch his cube anymore, because Tyson had solved it.  Here’s the video:

    After that, I gave in and bought Tommy another mini Rubik’s Cube on a keychain.  When we were watching the speedsolving competition in the theater, Tommy asked the kid sitting next to him if he would solve his mini cube.  The kid, Justin, a former speedcuber told Tommy that he had been “clean and sober” from the cube for a year.  He said that even touching a cube made him want to do it obsessively, and that he had already been down that road of addiction.  I was watching him though, and he was really tempted to take that little cube from Tommy.  It might as well have been a bag of heroin!  Apparently, speed solving can become quite addictive!  Of course, wouldn’t you know it, a few minutes later some girl came up to Tommy and asked him if she could solve his mini cube.  As he watched her, I could see hearts in his eyes! 

    At the end of the day, Tyson was nice enough to give Tommy a free DVD that he made about solving the cube.  (Makes a great Christmas gift…available exclusively by Barnes & Noble!)  Oh, and lest I forget, Andy had a great time too….running from the dinosaurs, and not jumping into fountains:

    Here are some other images of the beautiful day:

      
    Tommy & Tyson


    Don’t you think my picture is better than the one they put in the newspaper above??


    The kids literally ran from the same dinosaur for over a half an hour.  LOL


    Double trouble!


    Went to see “Rachel Getting Married” at the Sunset last night.  Talk about a dysfunctional family!!


    Best of the rest…

    For more amazing Rubik’s talent, check out my visit with Macky in “A Kaleidoscope Of Mathematics”

    My favorite Christmas song!

  • Plunging Into Christmas With Boys & Their Toys

    The other night we decided to take the boys to the Irvine Spectrum to go ice skating.  It’s weird to go Christmas shopping when it’s 80° and the palm trees are decorated, so ice skating seemed like just the thing to make it feel like Christmas.  Unfortunately though, the ice skating rink was closed for a private party.  So we just had dinner and took some photos of the lights.  Andy however, wanted more.  If he wasn’t going to get to ice skate, he was going to do the next best thing:


    Andy, enjoying the fountain…


    Looks innocent enough, right?  But notice the twinkle in his eye.  Something is going on inside that head, behind those deceptively cute eyes.  Five seconds after I took this picture….


    he started to lean forward….pondering how good the water looked,  And suddenly….


    He jumped full force into the fountain.  I think he thought is was the 4th of July again….not Christmas!  He landed on his feet, so I quickly set my camera down and reached in to grab him.  At that point he fell backwards, completely under water.  For a second I thought I’d have to go in, but I grabbed on to him, and a stranger also came to help grab him.  His mother, father and brother who were on the other side of the fountain watching, ran over too.  Lisa said she knew he was going to jump right before it happened.  Looking at the photos now, you can almost see him thinking about it.  He’s 4 years old, and I have a feeling he will remember this for the rest of his life!


    After the dip…walking back to the car….soaked, but happy!


    Tommy took it all in stride with a little yoga!


    Before the dip, we met a Great Dane


    What a look!


    Nice and dry


    Thinking of things to come…


    No ice skating tonight


    Christmas in California


    Best of the rest…

     
    The Tale of Colin’s Christmas present…

    A few weeks ago I met up with stevew918 because I knew he was going to Hong Kong this week, and I wanted him to deliver some Christmas presents to my little buddy Colin.  You see, Colin is a very special little boy who loves motorcycles and Spiderman.  So that’s what I got him!  Thanks for the special delivery Steve, and for sending the pictures and video!  And thank you Colin for never failing to make me smile.  You are a light in my life, and though you’re halfway around the world, your joy and love knows no borders.  Merry Christmas!

    Gmail Carey Anthony

    Colin


    From: Steve Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 8:13 PM
    To: Carey Anthony


    Carey,  I met the wonder boy Colin and his beautiful family yesterday afternoon.  Colin, his mom, his dad and mommy mom, and I had tea lunch.   Colin really enjoyed the Spiderman toys.  You surely know kids,  hehe.  He said thanks to Uncle Carey several times, he is so very cute.  I was melting, lol.  Attached is a picture and video for your enjoyment.  Btw, Colin’s Mom got us each a nice box of chocolate, we need to meet up so I can give it to you.  Carey, Colin knows many English words already, you need to start learning some Cantonese chinese, hehe.
    Thanks, and hope we will meet again,
    Steve


    Xanga cut off the end of this video, but he says “Thank you Uncle Carey”.  Steve also posted another video here.


    Here’s Colin last Christmas singing Jingle Bells!


    Merry Christmas Colin!! xoxo

  • Turkey & Opie

    Last night we went to see Slumdog Millionaire at the Arclight.  We were sitting behind Ron Howard (Opie), and the theater was packed.  I like seeing movies at the Arclight (despite the $15 ticket price), because it caters to an industry crowd that really appreciates good film making.  When the movie was over it got a standing ovation, and then someone suggested a minute of silence for the victims of the terrorist attacks in India.  Since the movie was set in Mumbai, it was an appropriate gesture and quite touching.  This was honestly the best movie I’ve seen all year.  (We’re going to see “Milk” tomorrow though, which also got a 93 on Rotten Tomatoes.  I’ve heard excellent things about it too, and it’s obviously another timely topic in light of what’s going on with Prop. 8.)  Seriously though, go see Slumdog Millionaire.  If you don’t like it, I will pay you double!!  Honest   The world needs a movie like this right now.  It’s amazing. 

    I hope all you statesiders had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Here are some pictures from feast.  I’m going to slip into a turkey coma now.  Good night!

  • How Do You Measure 43 Years In A Life?

         

    …In daylights, in sunsets in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
    In 22,600,800 minutes…how do you measure 43 years of life?  How about love?

    Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes this weekend.  I kind of know what Albert & David mean now about Facebook, but it’s still nice that people take the time to actually send me birthday greetings!

    Voicemail You’ll Love
    Share this …

    My Aunt & Uncle and cousins had a party for me today in Orange County.  I had a great time and got lots of swag, LOL.

    Kevin & Tommy butting heads


    This is what happens when Cody doesn’t listen to his favorite cousin!!


    Actually, he had a very bad
    skateboarding accident Wednesday and broke his collar bone.  It was
    really nice of him to show up for my party.  He was in a lot of pain. 
    Poor little guy.  I’m pretty sure he won’t be hanging on to the back of
    a moped while skateboarding any more though!  I’m really glad he’s
    going to be OK.
      This was after he got home from the hospitalSee how much higher his right shoulder is?


    Me & my cousins


    Andy attack!


    No fair!


    Say cheese!


    The newest addition to the Hotel Careyfornia.


    Hand embroidered towels!


    This card was hilarious.  It’s from the Republican side of the family!  On the front was Barack Obama saying, “Obviously you’ve had a lot of
    experience with birthdays…”, and inside it said, “But who needs
    experience.”


    Lisa, trying my new foot massager


    My gorgeous cousins


    My wacky cousins!


    Uncle Georgie & Aunty LuLu


    When I got home, I got this from Claudio & Ryan!  I love the wrapping paper!!


    My swag


    All of my cards had lottery tickets in them!


    And I won $8 and a free ticket! 


    Best of the rest!

  • Blog Worthy Flat Tires & Multiple Births

     
    Pehaps my last entry should have been called “One of Those Weeks”.  Continuing my streak of bad luck this week (I didn’t even mention in the previous post that my camera broke again…long sandy story), the rental car had a flat tire when I left work today!  Since Enterprise was closed already, I called AAA.  (No, I don’t change flat tires.  That’s what AAA is for!)  Lisa’s husband graciously offered to come, but AAA got there in less than 15 minutes which was great.  It could have been better though…  As he was changing the tire, I texted Lisa:



    Talk about your flat tires!

    On a brighter note, I went to two birthday parties yesterday!  The first was for my friend Luciana’s 2 year old daughter Amanda.  Luci lives in São Paulo, Brazil and we’ve been friends since 1991.  The last time I saw her, was the night of my attack in 2002.  It was so wonderful to see her and her husband Mateus under much better circumstances!  I had not met her children, Amanda and Lucas, and even though they didn’t speak English (and my Portuguese is limited), we became fast friends!

    Lucas and I spoke the language of peek a boo!


    And soon we were melhores amigos!


    The birthday girl with mamã…


    and paizinho.


    Eu te amo você ama-me


    If you’re interested in the rest, click the photo above.

    From one pizza party at noon to another at 4:00, LOL.  Cole & Tressa’s party was at the pool, and a good time was had by all.  The shark cake was a big hit!


    Doing the limbo.


    This was a $200 cake that Jennifer got for free when a friend of the baker’s called to say they had an extra cake!!  The “sand” was brown sugar and the shells were white chocolate.


    The rest of the photos can be viewed by clicking the above photo.

    Speaking of multiple birthdays…or births…Diane sent this photo of the boys last night.  Isn’t it the greatest?


    Cole, Trey, Jaden, Tyler & Carter

  • California Kids

    We had the first part of Cole’s (Andy & Tommy’s favorite cousin  ) two part birthday extravaganza tonight with all his little friends.  Part two will be Sunday.  Tomorrow, my college friend Luci is coming from Brazil for her 2 year old’s birthday party!   Lots of kids and parties…my kinds of weekend!  I have to wake up early and drive to Newport Beach, so I’ll just post these pictures (more here) now and wish everyone a nice weekend!

  • Civil Twilight – “I Want the Sun Back”


    Carey Anthony


    Re: Dinner Tonight

    4 messages


    On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 8:16 AM, Carey wrote:

    This is just an idea, but what if we got something to
    eat tonight and took it to Laguna Beach and watched the sun set?  Would
    the kids be into that or no?

    Carey


    On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 8:25 AM, Lisa wrote:

    I think that’s a wonderful idea!  I could get
    subway for the boys (and for us too if that’s what you want) &
    I’ll pack a cooler of drinks.  We could put a blanket down on the grass at
    Main beach in Laguna & have a great picnic.  Gosh, every once in a
    while, you come up with some good ones!  See, that’s why you get to make
    all of the decisions!  We could pick up the sandwiches right after
    gymnastics & pick you up at your office…it’s on the way.  What time
    are you off?


    On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 8:28 AM, Carey wrote:

    Sounds great!
    You don’t have to rush though.  Pick me up whenever.  The sun doesn’t even set until 8:03, and civil twilight ends at 8:32!
    http://aa.usno.navy.mil/cgi-bin/aa_pap.pl
    See you later! xoxo

    Carey


    On Thu, Jul 10, 2008 at 8:30 AM, Lisa wrote:

    Civil twilight?  Did you make that shit
    up??? 



    Who’s your favorite cousin???


    If the video below doesn’t work, click here.


    Laguna Beach Sunset – As the sun disappeared, Andy said, “I want the sun back!” 


    Best of the rest!

  • Taco Tuesday, Photoshopping Drool & Returning to Sender

     


    Buster (the one eyed horn dog) & Roxy

    I’m house-sitting and dog-sitting for Buster & Roxy this week and next, down in Mission Viejo.  Tonight I met my cousins and friends for Taco Tuesday at Tortilla Flats.  It was a beautiful summer night on the lake.

     

    After being impressed by Amos’ car and reading my post about The Golden Compass last year, Pang was nice enough to work some Photoshop magic (a skill I don’t have) on the picture of me sleeping through that boring movie!

    It joins the pantheon of other great Photoshopping excursions with my big head, like my most recent and topical profile photo from Tony:

     

    And the not so great ones that I did (without Photoshop), like this one for my Steroid/Rehab post:

    Or this, pre-blogging classic, when the abominable Catwoman movie came out:

    Sometimes, Photoshop isn’t even needed, like in this snapshot Rebecca took on our drive to Michigan last month,  Thank goodness the drool was covered.  And yes, I was cold.  LOL

    Regular readers of this space know that I despise snail mail.  This year, I have decided to only open mail twice a year, in July and December.  Period!  (Christmas cards are a whole other conundrum:  http://weblog.xanga.com/CareyGLY/632811811/the-christmas-conundrum.html).  All of my monthly bills are on autopay, and anyone else who I might owe money better email me!  This is the stack of mail from the past six months that I didn’t even open.  I simply wrote “RETURN TO SENDER” and “REMOVE FROM MAILING LIST”, and stuffed it all in a mailbox on my street corner today.  On some of these envelopes I wrote my email address.  We’ll see how effective my new strategy is.  At least I’m making all these companies pay for postage twice.  If everyone did this, it might start making a difference!!  (Did you know there’s one number you can call to stop all pre-screened offers of credit and insurance?  Also, there’s a # to call to opt out of all of those coupons and circulars that come in the mail.  Simply check the fine print on each item and call the number listed for the publisher.)