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  • The Xanga Conundrum

    Update:  Just got back from Chicago and I hope to be back on Xanga this winter. In the meantime, friend/follow me on facebook, Twitter, Google + or  tumblr. Latest photos can always be found here. I’ve applied to be on the Xanga Product Council, so if that happens maybe some of my ideas will be implemented. Thanks! –Carey

    June 13, 2011 6:37 PM
    I’m sorry I’ve been so neglectful of my humble Xanga. Each time I would think of updating, it just seemed to be too much to fit in one post; but of course the less I update, the more things kept happening. For the past month, every time I wanted to blog about Sarah Palin or Armageddon (or the lack thereof) or the Dream Act or Xangan visits or road trips or reconnecting with old friends or birthday parties or frat parties or Rio or Chazz or celebrity sightings or customer service or red carpet events or holidays or fill in the ______; it seemed that it was easier and faster to just upload photos to Facebook with brief captions or write a short Tumblr (I know…traitor!) post or tweet a photo or two. That’s the thing about Xanga that I’m conflicted about. I don’t want it to ever be Tumblr or Facebook, but I wish it was a little more adaptive to the times…so my blog here could evolve and not just languish. (Xanga’s new sign in options for comments should help!)  Oh well, I’m still a proud Xangan…even if lately I’ve only had time for proper updates once a month. In the meantime, here’s what’s been happening the past few weeks:


    Eva received her Ph.D. yesterday and many of our far flung GLY friends from all over the world were in Santa Barbara to help her celebrate!


    Here’s a video of the 12 x 12 photo book I made for Eva, that contains the photos of celebrations we’ve had all over the world the past 14 years. (This can’t be viewed in Germany, so if you’re German, you can view it here).


    After the graduation ceremony last night we went to the beach for a sunset picnic while the Germans played a game of slow motion volleyball!


    We celebrated Tommy’s 10th birthday last week at Farrell’s where I used to work when I was 16!


    Chazz & Rio had a great month in the urban jungle of Los Angeles!


    Reconnecting with old friends is always fun…seeing pictures of yourself from 20 years ago, not so much!


    The unofficial start of summer was spent again in Santa Barbara on Bassam’s oceanfront villa, Unfortunately my dogs got skunked!


    Xangan David (Fongster8) paid a week long visit to The Hotel Careyfornia and enjoyed himself!


    Dinner with dreamy dreamer David Cho who I previously wrote about, is always a treat. He’s such a bright light in this world. I can’t say enough about this guy!

    That’s it for now. For more frequent updates, friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter or Tumblr. Have a great summer everyone!

  • The Splendor of L.A.

    I often write about my hometown, Chicago, being the most beautiful city in America. Over the years, I’ve lived in or spent a great deal of time in New York City, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Washington D.C., but I’ve always considered Chicago home. When I moved to Los Angeles 9 years ago, I never expected to like it as much as I do. L.A. isn’t exactly known for its beauty. It is urban sprawl defined and I could never live here if I had to drive every day. But if you take the time to explore, there’s a lot of hidden beauty in the City of Angels. With sweeping mountain vistas and lush beaches, it’s hard to compete with such natural beauty. Couple that with world class cultural venues and the glamor of Tinseltown; and Southern California really shines. I might even say it has become “homey”. Here’s some recent proof. All photos by me, for use under a Creative Commons license:


    The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s “Urban Light” exhibit is one of my favorite places to take photographs in L.A. It’s even better with a spectacular sunset, like this one last month.
    Click here for more photos.


    Nestled in the heart of a dead end lot in one of the most notorious neighborhoods of Los Angeles, lie the Watts Towers; a 34 year labor of love by an eccentric artist named Simon Rodia. Reminiscent of Gaudi’s, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona or Niki de Saint Phalle’s, Il Giardino Dei Tarocchi in Italy; these towering structures made of discarded glass and steel are a must see treasure off the beaten path. I’ve been meaning to visit here since I moved to L.A., and finally made the trek a few weeks ago. Truly a site to behold.
    Click here for more photos.


    My friends tease me for the sheer amount of sunset  and cloud photos I take…but like snowflakes, they’re never the same. Here’s one example from Venice Beach.
    Click here for more photos.


    You might expect to find a lighthouse like this in coastal Maine or maybe the Pacific Northwest; but the Point Vicente Lighthouse in Palos Verdes is truly a hidden gem along the Southern California coastline. It’s the perfect place for a first date at sunset!
    Click here for more photos.


    L.A. isn’t know for its skyline…save for buildings being blown up in Hollywood action movies. But when the light is right, the city sparkles!


    The Grove is more than just home to Mario Lopez’s “Extra” or a place to star watch, it’s also quite beautiful at dusk on an early spring night.


    The famous intersection of Hollywood Blvd. and Highland Ave. is home to the Oscars as well as superheroes and Marilyn Monroe’s footprints, among others!
    Click here for more photos.


    The Walt Disney Concert Hall is one of Frank Gehry’s masterpieces. It has spawned a renaissance of downtown Los Angeles that has been helped by L.A. Live and the Nokia Theater.


    Though not technically in Los Angeles, Disneyland will forever be associated with La La land!


    Who ever said there’s no nature in the big city? This hummingbird is guarding her nest on my cousin’s front porch last week.
    Click here for more photos.


    I couldn’t leave Chazz & Rio out of a photoblog dedicated to the beauty of Southern California. Here they are walking the beach with Claudio yesterday.
    Click here for more photos.


    Even something as simple as a dandelion can make someplace seem beautiful. This was shot on the grounds of the above mentioned Watts Towers.
    Click here for more photos.

  • T’was The Day of the Oscars…

    Apologies to Clement C. Moore:
    (For this year’s poem, as well as last year’s, the year before and the year before that!)

    ‘Twas the day of the Oscars,
    And all through H-wood.
    Celebrities were fasting,
    Making sure they’d look good.

    The statues were polished,
    All shiny and gold.
    Hoping Natalie or Christian,
    On Sunday would hold    .

    With their crash diets over,
    The celebrities came.
    And fans whistled and shouted.
    And called them by name.

    There’s Marky Mark,
    Looking fresh from a fight.
    And there’s Annette Bening,
    I hope “The Kids Are All Right”.

    Who’s that over there,
    With only one arm?
    Oh just James Franco and Anne,
    No cause for alarm.

    And there’s Colin Firth,
    Just out of reach.
    Stuttering and stammering,
    Preparing his speech.

    So off to the Kodak,
    I went with my guests.
    We took lots of photos,
    And here are the best!


    After a rare Oscar weekend rainstorm on Friday night, Saturday gave way to a clear but cool morning. This photo went viral on Tumblr! 


    Though the forecast called for more rain, the sun peaked through the clouds and stayed with us all day! That wasn’t the case just over the Hollywood Hills though. In fact in Burbank they had 1/2 inch of snow, only 6 miles from Hollywood! That hasn’t happened since the 50′s!


    Even Chanel was in her Oscar finest (channeling Bjork?) up on my roof!


    After a delicious Filipino breakfast, our VIP Guests readied for a day in Hollywood!


    We were granted insider access to all the pre-events!


    This afternoon, this road will only be open to limousines!


    Atop the Kodak Theater, home of the Oscars


    This is what the stars will see when they get out of their limos


    Robin Roberts of Good Morning America. There are also photos of Maria Menounos, one of the other ABC hosts, in the slideshow below.


    And the Oscar goes to…


    Dogsitter of the year!  I’d like to thank the Academy!


    My brother and sister in law win Best Couple!


    What Oscar weekend would be complete without a trip to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to pick our outfits and jewels for the big day?


    The sun sets on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills


    Click here for a slideshow of the best of the rest…

     
    Here’s a quartet of sunsets from the past 2 weeks. I’ve been out of town for work, and absent from Xanga all month (better to help my SP boycott). I have to leave again tomorrow at 4 AM, so no Oscar parties for me tonight. Hope everyone enjoys the Academy Awards!

  • The Dog Days of Winter

    No politics this week….my family has forbidden it:

    So without Sarah Palin to bash again, I’ll have to resort to the other main topics of this blog:

    “Kids, Dogs & Sunsets“

    I was dog-sitting for Roscoe the Rottweiler all weekend, and we had a nice time.  Chazz & Rio came by for a play date, and the beautiful weather made for lots of outings:


    Winter in Los Angeles…dogs in the hood prefer fashion over function


    Another satisfied guest of The H.C.


    Ryan’s holding up the present I got him for Christmas


    Hot dogs in Beverly Hills…where’s the Perrier?


    At the dog park around the corner from my house


    Hooray for Roscoewood!


    The dog that ate Hollywood…in 3-D


    At the dog park under the Hollywood Sign


    Click here for more photos…


    Self Portraits

    Oh, and as for kids, Andrew always delivers.  Here’s how he responded when, instead of asking him what he learned at school, I asked him about the questions he asked at school.  Why this hasn’t gone viral yet, I don’t know:


    “OK, I think that’s enough Carey!”

  • Sorry for the Woody in my Pants Officer!

    To explain how the week ended with me in the back of a police car, we have to back up to the beginning.  It was another busy week at The Hotel Careyfornia.  Mike was in town on yet another stop on his trip around the world.  Darlene came home from her summer in Michigan with fresh pasties.  I took Arielle to the pumpkin patch, which has become somewhat of a tradition.  The night before Halloween was spent at Griffith Park Observatory with Sam & Charlotte.  It was an unusually clear day in Los Angeles and as the sun set into the Pacific, Halloween was upon us.  As I wondered  how I could top my outfit 2 years ago, when Sarah Palin was running for vice president and I was a moose in a bulletproof vest; and last year, when I was Balloon Boy’s dad, taking pictures with all the cute Balloon Boys; it struck me.  This year I would take the conservative route, and dress as a nice, Midwestern, pedophile priest!  It was a lot of fun.  Surprisingly, no one was offended by my costume.  Even the (real) cops asked to take my picture.  The best costume of the night for me was the BP Oil Spill.  There were lots of Chilean miners and Snookies and of course standard Lady GaGa fare.  Let the fun begin:


    I had never been in the back of a police car before…it was REALLY uncomfortable!


    Bless me father for I have sinned!


    No trick or treating, but there was plenty of eye candy…tricks and treats!


    I got to hang out with a lot of other priests, nuns and popes…even  Jesus and the devil!


    Even the kids graced Santa Monica Blvd with 150,000 other revelers.


    The dogs got in on the act too!


    Jad and I even had a Xanga meetup!


    Best of the rest…


    A cousinly Halloween


    Welcome Home Darlene!  More here…


    Mr. Bone’s with Arielle – the Pumpkin Patch to the stars!  More here…


    A gorgeous night at Griffith Park.  More here…


    Mike enjoyed his stay at The H.C.  More here…

  • It’s The End Of The World As We Know It

    Today was the hottest day ever recorded (113° F – 45° C) in the history of the city of Los Angeles, and I know why.  Less than 2.5 miles from where I type this, the Devil herself, Sarah Palin, sits in an air conditioned ballroom to watch her evil spawn dance on Dancing With The Stars. (I wasn’t there this time!)  It’s pretty ironic that the moronic Palin doesn’t even believe in climate change.  By the way, for an excellent look at how corporate interests and racist Republican insiders built the teabagging monster, check out Matt Taibbi’s new article:  Tea & Crackers.

    Despite the heat, it was a busy week at The Hotel Careyfornia.  We went to our annual viewing of the Singalong Sound of Music Saturday night, and then Seth and I attended a benefit at the Hollywood Tower (inspiration for the Tower of Terror at Disneyland) for an organization called The Next Family, that supports an “ongoing, open-minded and sincere dialog between urbanite families, adoptive families, in vitro parents, interracial families, same sex parents, single parents and so on. It is a way to remind people that the Next Generation of families already exists in larger numbers than the old model of a “family unit”.”  Sunday, Stuart and I attended the wacky West Hollywood Book Fair, and hung out with Molly Ringwald (who looked great!) and Sarah Silverman.  I also lost my phone! :(  Here are some photos from the past week.  Enjoy!


    Andy will be 5 next week…hard to believe!  More pics here…


    The West Hollywood Book Fair with Sarah Silverman and Molly Ringwald in 110° heat. More pics here…


    Future husband and wife?


    A picnic before the Singalong Sound of Music


    The hills were alive with the sound of music…


    A traditional shot…look how she’s grown….2007…2008


    Cell phones swaying to Edelweiss….and video below


    This gives you an idea of what it’s like with 18,000 people singing in the Hollywood Hills


    More Hollywood Bowl Sound of Music pics here…


    The 101 freeway and downtown Hollywood


    What a great venue for a great event!  More pics here…


    Earlier in the week, we celebrated the Mid Autumn Lantern festival from my rooftop!  More pics here…

  • A New Era Begins – The Color Purple & Fake Abs

    I’m out of town on a business trip until March 2nd, but before I left this morning, my new camera was delivered!  My old Canon SD850 has been very very good to me.  It’s been through a lot and still takes great pics (as you can see below) but you may have noticed the big scratch on the lens these past few weeks.  I’ve tried to crop it out of most of the photos, but the camera was on its last leg.  This is my new camera:

    Because of the sheer amount of photos I take, (I took over 450,000 with my SD850), I needed a lightweight, powerful pocket camera with a big screen and Canon’s vivid colors.  I chose the brand new Canon PowerShot SD3500 IS.  It’s got a touch screen for all of the controls and some neat features like a fisheye lens setting and a “wink or smile controlled” self timer.  I toll this photo by winking:


    Me in my hotel room tonight…first picture with new camera…taken with a fisheye setting and a wink!

    We had a great weekend.  Friday night we went to see The Color Purple starring Fantasia.  I wasn’t expecting to like her performance as much as I did, especially in light of all her bad press.  But I must say, she did a great job in the role of Celie.  All of the performances were strong in fact, and we really enjoyed the show.  The Color Purple has always been both Claudio’s and my favorite movie of all time, so I’m glad we got to see it together.

    Saturday we took Chazz on a hike and it marked the first time I completed the whole loop of Runyon Canyon.  I was proud of myself, though Claudio & Chazz could run it 3 times over!  It was a gorgeous day:

    Later,  we headed downtown to see an art exhibit by Ryan’s best friend, up and coming artist Keasha Mendez (of Tila Tequila fame), who showed off her remarkable art work against the stunning backdrop of downtown Los Angeles at sunset. If anyone is interested in purchasing one of these pieces, let me know, and I’ll get you in touch with Keasha.

    One of her paintings is actually called “Claudio’s Abs”.  I wonder if she knew they were fake when she painted them?  It’s amazing what plastic surgeons can do these days!!

    Well, the wi-fi connection in this hotel sucks, so I’m going to go read about how to use my new camera.  I may not be able to read your blogs for a while.  I’ll be pretty busy for the next week or so.  Have a good week everyone!

  • Cheesy Food Porn and a Daring Rescue

      
    A week of rare stormy weather was capped off by a beautiful sunny weekend full of friends, flowers and food (porn).  Picasa tells me I took 224 photos this week.  Here are a few of them:


    More storm photos here and here


    Before & After


    It ain’t Jesus, (Cheesus?) but Ebay anyone??  Make me an offer I can’t refuse and I’ll sell you my Cheenis


    A surprise mid week lunch visit from the family!


    This sunset was like a painting!


    Nothing like Grandma’s spaghetti on a rainy day!


    This was the cloud that spawned hail and downpours downtown as you can see


    January showers bring…January flowers


    The rain cleared away the smog and left snow capped mountains over Hollywood


    Owen with downtown Los Angeles as a backdrop


    Shopping at The Grove with Owen


    Hooray for Hollywood!


    Sunset tonight from my roof


    To prove the clouds weren’t Photoshopped, here’s a short video of the last storm

    I’ve been dog-sitting for Buster & Roxy all week.  I have them until Thursday, when I leave for the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.  The poor dogs had cabin fever this week with all the rain, but they got cured of that really quickly after seeing this riveting rescue of a dog trapped in the swollen Los Angeles River this week:

     
    The dog’s owners still haven’t been found.  Maybe I should adopt him and get Chazz a playmate?’
    This was really quite an amazing thing to watch.  The poor dog was so scared and the firefighter was so brave.

  • Civil Lights? Do Smokers Have a Right to Smoke Outside?

    “It’s called smokism.  The systematic oppression of a minority, simply because they were born smokers.”  –Stephen Colbert.  Watch, and laugh at the absurdity.  (Click here for an equally funny bonus clip from 1999)

    The city I live in, West Hollywood, California, is considering a ban on smoking at outdoor patios in restaurants and bars.  It’s already illegal to smoke inside any business in California, and it’s becoming the norm in most of the world.  I recognize that my views on this subject may be considered a bit radical and ostensibly selfish.  Some of my best friends (hi Hugo), disagree with me on this subject.  I maintain my position however, as is stated in these Facebook exchanges with fellow Xangan, David.  This all stemmed from a quote by city council member John Duran:

    “People who want to avoid second-hand smoke already have a place to eat, inside the restaurant. So will this stop people from smoking? Or just keep smokers and their friends from coming to West Hollywood?” West Hollywood Council Member John Duran


     

    If you saw (if not you should), the movie “Thank Your For Smoking” you know how downright criminal the tobacco industry is.  If you read the New York Times article about tobacco companies actually increasing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to make people more addicted; then you know how desperate they are.

    Drinking is not a crime.  But if you drink and drive and end up hurting or killing someone you go to jail.  Being overweight is not a crime.  You won’t end up hurting or killing someone if you’re overweight, except yourself.  Smoking is not a crime.  Yet every smoker who smokes in public runs the risk of hurting or killing someone through secondhand smoke.  And let’s not forget about third hand smoke.

    My mother has always smoked.  She smoked in our house the whole time I lived there, despite me being very asthmatic.  The older I’ve gotten, the more allergic I have become to smoke and the more I’ve resented smokers.  If I even get a whiff of it in a hallway or elevator, I feel my lungs begin to tighten.  That’s how bad it is.  Perhaps some of it’s in my head, but who cares?  I have a physical reaction to smoke.

    I understand that tobacco is one of the hardest addictions to curb.  I understand that tobacco lobbyists are still huge political contributors.  I understand that most smokers want to quit.  But the more I have to walk past a building where people are huddled around smoking, the more I begin to hate smokers.  I shouldn’t hate smokers, I should hate smoking.  I know that.  But I’m beginning to hate smokers, and that’s really sad.  It’s going to be something I have to deal with, because I know, like any addiction, people won’t quit until they want to, and I don’t want to hate every smoker I know.

    If you were a smoker, smoking in a public place, and I walked past you fanning my hand in front of my face with a disgusted look; would you be angry at me? Offended? Would you think I was an asshole?  What about if we were both at a restaurant sitting outside where smoking was allowed.  How would you react if  I came over to your table and politely told you that the wind was blowing your smoke towards me and that I’m allergic to smoke and it was really bothering me?  Would you be angry? Offended? Would you think I was an asshole?   


    Here’s a picture I snapped a couple of years ago at a stop light. 
    This repulsive beast was actually smoking, while driving, while talking on her phone with her foot out the window!!     
    When I snapped the photo she gave me a truly evil glare.  When the light turned green, she put the hand with the cigarette on the wheel and sped away.  Classy.

    I’m writing about this because I’m literally at my wit’s end.  It’s getting to the point where I hate going out to public places that allow smoking.  Here in LA, all of the malls are outdoors.  On a Saturday afternoon it’s like being in a wildfire in the Hollywood Hills!  So, back to the the title of this post.  Is smoking outdoors a civil right?  As defined by Wikipedia civil rights or liberties are:

    …the name given to freedoms that completely protect the individual from government. Civil liberties set limits for government so that it can not abuse its power and interfere with the lives of its citizens. See also civil rights and human rights.

    So, is smoking a civil liberty?  Please weigh in. I’m going to go get my inhaler.

    smoking2smoking2smoking2

    P.S. Here are some photos I took from my roof of the sunset tonight.  All the smoke in the air sure made it pretty! LOL.


    My lens had a smudge on it!

  • Chasing Rainbows for $46,008.02

    My mortgage was sold to Chase Bank last month.  This month I got this email notification that my payment had been made:

    Gmail Carey Anthony
    Your home loan payment alert from Chase
    1 message
    From: Chase Manhattan Sun, Dec 6, 2009 at 6:44 PM
    To: Carey

    Chase
    For your account ending in 0950: Thank you for your recent payment of ($ USD) 46,008.02.

    This Alert was sent according to your settings.

    Excuse me!!!???  I mean, I know The Hotel Careyfornia is one of the finest boutique luxury hotels in Southern California, but if my mortgage payment is $46,008.02 per month, I’m going to need to raise our room rates!!

    A day later, they sent this message.  Not a great way to start a business relationship Chase!!  FIGURE IT OUT!!  You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry!
    		 

    Dear Valued Customer:

    We’re writing to let you know you received an Account Alert on 12/06/09 that contained inaccurate information about your mortgage payment. Please disregard the Alert, and accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience it may have caused.

    If you have any questions about this message or your mortgage account, feel free to call us at 1-800-848-9136. Our service representatives are available to help you Monday through Friday, from 8 AM to 9 PM Eastern time, and on Saturday from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern time.

    Thank you for your business. We look forward to continuing to serve you.

    Sincerely,

    Alexander Krantz
    Senior Vice President
    Customer Care

    Speaking of Chase, people in West Hollywood were chasing rainbows yesterday all over town (how cliche, in a gay city)!  This one was snapped from my rooftop and it ended right at Ryan Seacrest’s office on Sunset Blvd..  Damn that Seacrest.  Does he really need more gold?

    It doesn’t storm very often here in Southern California, but when it does, I head to my roof to take photos as the sky is usually beautiful. The first 13 photos in this video and are all from last night between 4:30 and 5 PM. The rest are from other storms we’ve had the past two years.

    The rain made for some beautiful skies for Chazz to pose against.  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas:

    Tonight, Seth and his band played a set at Crane’s Tavern in Hollywood: