Update: Sabine & Alan’s wedding party was a sumptuous feast for all the senses! The Tuscan hills will be whispering about this party for years to come! About 35 “GLY” members old and new were in attendance from 7 countries and a good time was had by all. The air card I have for Internet here is pretty expensive and we’re pretty remote, so keep checking this link for new pictures as I won’t always be updating Xanga. Until next time, I leave you with our party pictures.
Happy 4th! We’re celebrating Bine & Alan’s marriage in grand style. The party is in full swing at our Tuscan villa. We have 6 Americans, 1 Czech, 3 French, 1 Togolese, 6 Italians, 1 Englishman and 12 Germans. I can’t begin to describe how difficult it has been to get these pictures uploaded. Suffice it to say, it was very involved, nothing is easy in Italy. I think we’ve got it worked out now though, so here are the pictures from yesterday. I’ve had to shrink them to a small size to conserve my SIM card credits, but you get the idea. We’re having a lovely time…hope everyone else in the States is having a Happy Independence Day. Sorry I’m not going to have much time to comment back or email. Thanks for all your well wishes though. And a special thanks to David for making this all possible! Ciao!
hidden behind some old trees… and far away from any civilization… some gnomes got word of a GLY wedding!! In order to find the right spot for a proper wedding greeting they set out on a long, long hike… and with the help of fantastic creatures… …they finally found a charmed spring. A few drops of that precious liquid gave them their final inspiration. In a quiet, peaceful place they created a work of outstanding art…
…to send warm Wedding Greetings to the couple of the year!
BINE & ALAN – ALL THE BEST WISHES FOR YOUR WEDDING AND A LOVE-FILLED FUTURE TOGETHER!
Since
our youngest gnome and GLY-member couldn’t join our incredibly long and strenuous hike he sends his own special greetings and hugs to you!
And she will always carry on, something is lost but something is found. They will keep on speaking her name, something’s change, some stay the same. The above video doesn’t work on all versions of Firefox, so if it doesn’t play, try Internet Explorer or click here.
Regular readers of this space know my friend Sabine, or Bine for short. You know about her resilience, her charm and her joie de vivre. You might also remember what a tough time she had last year at Virginia Tech. You know that her inimitable style and always positive attitude have gotten her, and indeed our entire group of friends, through the best and the worst of times. She is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted world. She approaches everything she does with passion and fervor, and is the glue that bonds our international family of friends together.
What you may not know however, is that she is my wife! Yes, it’s true. We were married in a small civil ceremony in Italy on August 19, 2000. The ceremony was officiated by the great great grandniece of the Red Baron. Her name was Baroness Andrea Von Richthofen (no kidding!). Mick was the maid of honor, Miggl the best man and Eva the flower girl. Now, some background:
I met Sabine at Marcelo’s house in Piracicaba Brazil in 1997. That Christmas many people had converged on Marcelo’s family home; both friends of Marcelo (like me) and friends of his sister Adriana. Many of us did not know each other, but we all soon became great friends, and began our tradition of traveling together for New Year’s each year. I was “homeless” at the time, traveling the world with my job, all expenses paid. One day, we were all sitting by the pool in the backyard eating mangoes, and I was telling this assembled group of new friends my life story. At the end, Sabine said, “Honey, I should marry you. What a great life you have!” To which I responded, “Honey, the only way I would ever marry you, is if we were in Florence Italy, at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio!” We all laughed.
Well, as luck would have it, wouldn’t you know that three years later we all found ourselves in Florence, Italy at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. Our friends had bought some truly rinky dink rings on that same famous bridge earlier that day, and as the sun sank into the horizon, we said our “vows“.
LOL, so there you have it. The story of my phony wedding in Italy. Today, Sabine, the two timing tramp, got married to Alan. In all honesty though, I can’t say that I’ve been entirely faithful in this marriage. So here’s to you Bine, on your wedding day. I wish I could be there with you in Denmark to celebrate, but as you know I’m in Orlando all next week on business. I know that you will have a wonderful day. You always do. You il always carry on, and I will always love you. GLY! xoxo
If you need to talk today, don’t hesitate to call.
xoxo
Carey
From: Bine
Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 4:05 AM
To:
Carey Anthony
thanks! Means a lot!
it is harder than I thought. receiving all these e-mails from
friends at Virginia Tech of what is going on in Blacksburg. Feels like I am at the
wrong place. Hard to focus! All the memories and with it all the
flashbacks of emotions. Painful
talk to you later.
Bine
I’m reposting my blog entry from one year ago today:
What follows is a
first hand account of this weeks tragedy by my friend Sabine,
who thankfully lived through it. Please take the time to read
this. It’s terribly sad, but also hopeful. I
appreciate your condolences to my friend and the loved ones she
lost. She will be arriving in California tomorrow night, and
I know she will be overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.
Thank you. –Carey
“He was an injustice
collector”
Day 3 -
Wednesday
I’m heading to the aiport now to pick up
Sabine. Thank you ALL so much for your messages, comments and
prayers. I will pass them on tonight…
She’s finally here. I hope she can
begin healing,
Day 2 -
Tuesday
———- Forwarded message
———- From: Bine Date: Apr 17, 2007
9:48 PM Subject: the second day To: nye
group
After a day of immense sadness and an
emotional roller coaster I am finally home. I have spent most
of the day with friends from our department. Today the shock has
settled and the magnitude of Monday’s event hit all of us. Especially
when we went back on campus to attend the convocation. Everybody from
our group couldn’t help but sobbing. We hugged each other and we tried
to comfort each other, which indeed helped.
The convocation was good for
our school especially the speech given by Nikki Giovanni who talked
about our morning and our capability to move on. After that we
went back to a friends place to be together and share the time and to
support each other. One of our friends, went to visit Gil, who has been
released from the hospital already, and to talk to him. And for you to
see, what an amazing person Gil is: He said today, one day
after he had been shot, that he is not angry at the shooter, that he
forgives him. this was not only his fault, it was also the society’s
fault our inability to help human beings who are in pain. He forgave
the VT-administration, which failed to close down the campus after the
first 2 homicides. But most importantly he wants to thank his
classmate, who was shot just seconds before him (as of now, I don’t
know the name), and who fell on top of Gil, so when the shooter came
back, his classmate was shot again and this way saved Gil’s life. Gil
said, “he has not only saved my life but the life of my wife, the life
of my son, the
life of my parents”. Gil is so much more at peace than we all are. No,
he has not yet left the shootings behind, but he has already started to
move on.
Maybe you have heard that tuesday night
was a candlelight vigil on the drill field of VT. Our group did not go
there but stayed at the friends house where we organized our own
candlelight vigil. It is not that we didn’t want to show our sympathy
with the others, but as our departments mourns the loss of 10
students/faculty, we just wanted to be closer to them…somehow.
Our classes have been canceled for the rest of the
week and Norris Hall will be closed for the remainder of the semester.
Some of our professors have already announced, that they are not going
to finish their classes anymore, they simply can’t.
Many people from our group of friends are heading
to home to get some healing time, and Youenn has offered me to pay for
a ticket to Providence (thank you so much for this generous offer).
First I thought I needed to stay here, but after today, being so
emotionally drained, I decided to leave Blacksburg for a while. I am
not going north though, I guess I am ready for some sun and ocean (well
and the friends/husband at the west coast, too). Carey, the master of
frequent flyer miles has gotten me a ticket to LA tomorrow afternoon
(Thank you again).
I again want to thank you all for
your help, support, phone calls and love. I just hope everybody here at
VT has a similar circle of friends…
love
bine
From: Carey
Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2007 10:03
PM To:
Sabine Subject: RE: the second
day
You never need to thank me for loving you my friend! See
you tomorrow. xoxo
Sabine was interviewed by one of the bigger papers in
Germany this morning. Sorry if you don’t read German
Our “GLY” family in Brazil in 2002
Update 6:56 PM PDT:
Why Outsourcing is
Bad
After Sabine called me at noon, I called United
Airlines to book a flight. I was a 1K flyer with United for
over 12 years. What that means, is that I flew 100,000 miles
or more, every year, on United Airlines. With this status,
you would think I would have some influence with the airline, or at
receive some perks even though I switched jobs and do not travel near
as much anymore.
When I called United, I was routed to
a call center in India. In the past, 1K customers
could call a number where a human being actually answered the
phone. That stopped on 9/11. When I confirmed that
I was indeed speaking to a customer service rep. in India, I told them
what I was looking to accomplish. I had already checked all
of the flights out of Roanoke, VA (the closest airport to Blacksburg,
VA where the massacre happened) and all of the flights were booked for
frequent flyer seats. I told United that I had assumed they
would have opened up more seats because of the tragedy, and the
customer service rep. said, “What tragedy”. I told her
briefly what had happened, and she said there was nothing she could
do. I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, and no one was
available, so I ended the call.
Now, keep in mind that I am used to getting what
I want. Traveling that much, for as many years as I did,
taught me very well how the system worked and how to work the
system. A few minutes later, when I called back, I was
speaking to someone in the Philippines. I immediately asked
to speak with a supervisor and I was transferred. I then
explained to the supervisor what had transpired, and asked him if he
was aware of the tragedy in the U.S. He told me that he was,
and that he was sorry for all the victims.
Now I’m not ethnocentric enough to expect
everyone in the world to know about, let alone even care about what
happened at Virginia Tech. yesterday, but I would
expect a U.S. based carrier to inform their call centers around the
world that an event had occurred that would change the pattern of air
travel temporarily out of a few cities closest to the event.
I calmly explained this to the supervisor in the Philippines, and he
agreed with me. I asked him to abandon normal protocol and
open up some frequent flyer seats for my friend Sabine.
Again, I know the system very well, and I
know what is possible and what is not. (Most everything is possible by
the way!)
After I had secured flights to and from Los
Angeles for tomorrow thru Sunday, I asked that he transfer me to United
Airlines Corporate Headquarters in Chicago. He said
he could not transfer me, but he would see if he could get
someone there on the line and conference me in. It took a
while, but before long, I was on a conference call with the Vice
President of marketing for United Airlines. I explained the
situation and how the supervisor in the Philippines had helped
me. I also said that the majority of people affected by this
tragedy would not know how to or, in their grief, be able to work the
system like I did. I told him in the nicest way that just
like his industry changed after 9/11 that the average consumer’s world
changed with the advent of blogging.
Never before in history, has the individual
consumer been able to have such a massive effect on the
world. Lately I have noticed how my blog is coming up as the
first or second hit on certain Google searches. The reason
for this is that I post very frequently and tag my entries
well. I told him that if enough people were to blog about
United Airlines indifference to this tragedy at their call centers
around the world, that they could have a public relations nightmare on
their hands, and that I would be more than willing to make that
happen.
I suspect those of you who know me, know what
happened next. The Vice President of Marketing for United
Airlines promised me that he would notify call center
supervisors via systemwide email, that customers flying out of
airports within 2 hours of Blacksburg, Virginia would be offered
special fares and accommodations for the next 2 weeks. To be
fair, they had already instructed individual airports in the affected
area to accommodate travelers affected by the tragedy. What
they did not do however, in this new global economy, was thing
globally. The Internet has made the world a much smaller
place after all. Walt Disney knew this 50 years ago, even
before the Internet.
It’s a world of laughter, a word
of tears. It’s a world of hope, and a world of
fears. There’s so much that we share, that it’s time we’re
aware, it’s a small world after all.
Me and my friend Sabine last
Christmas
Update 12:14 PM PDT: Sabine just called me to say
that 10 people from her department were killed including her
professor. She wants to come to Los Angeles ASAP as students
are leaving the campus in droves, as it’s just unbearable to be
there. I will be looking for plane reservations from Roanoke
to Los Angeles for her tonight, and hopefully she can be here by
tomorrow, at least physically away from all of that terrible, terrible
sadness.
Day 1 -
Monday
At 7:10 this morning, I got an email from one of
my best friends, Sabine. We have spent New Year’s Eve
together for the past 10 years all over the world.
She is from Germany, but she is getting her PhD at Virginia
Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. I’m happy to report
that she is alive and was not injured today, though sadly, some of her
friends were killed. In the days and weeks to follow, we will
find out more about the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
For now however, we remember the victims of this terrible
tragedy. What follows, is the complete thread of emails I
received from Sabine starting early this morning. The emails
are listed in chronological order in Pacific Time, which is 3 hours
behind Eastern Time in Virginia. Note the times on the
emails, and at first, indeed the first few hours, so little was known
about what was happening on campus. Sabine actually makes
light of it, as she forgot to bring her lunch with her today.
The second series of shootings occurred 2 hours and 20 minutes after
the first, yet the campus remained open and students went to
class. Sabine also appended one of her messages with the
first and second emails sent to everyone on campus. Note the
times on these emails, and how progressively worse the situation
gets. Sabine was clearly in shock, and still trying to make
light of the situation despite how scared she was. She didn’t
want her loved ones to worry. Interestingly enough, the
university had 2 bomb threats last Friday. Last year an
escaped convict also rampaged the school, killing two police
officers. Sabine still does not know how many of her friends
were killed. As I write these words the death toll is 33,
with many more injured. I have tried to call her several
times today, and the cell networks are jammed. As you read
these emails, please keep the victims and their friends and families in
your thoughts. –Carey
From: Sabine
To:
Carey
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2007 at 7:10
AM
we got evacuated from our buildings due
to a bomb threat and now we have a gunman…never a dull
moment in Virginia.
that is the last update on the
situation here on campus….craaazy!
bine
P.S: And people wonder, why
I am not finishing up with my thesis
;))
From: Carey
To: Sabine
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2007 at 7:14
AM
Didn’t this happen
last year too??? Stay safe. xoxo
Carey
From: Sabine
To:
Carey
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 7:18 AM
Well, not the bomb
threat, that is an exciting new feature ;))
The only
thing I am annoyed by is: I didn’t bring any lunch with me, and now I
am not allowed to leave the building and will be starving
here….well, lucky me, I do have some “natural reserves” so I
have a higher chance of surviving
:)) bine
From:
Carey
To: Sabine
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 7:24 AM
What a
nightmare! Are you home? You should finish
your PhD at UCLA. Los Angeles seems safer! Did
you see the pics of Bassam and Mariana?
From: Sabine
To:
Carey
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 7:43 AM
No, I am at
school…quite disturbing the whole thing! Check CNN…already
one dead…crazy
From: Sabine
To: Carey,
Eva, Carolina
Date: Mon, Apr 16,
2007 at 8:24 AM
Subject: Fwd:
Second Shooting Reported; Police have one gunman in
custody
ok..getting a bit
nervous. He crossed campus and moves towards us. Norris
Hall is the building right next to ours, they better catch the
second one quickly
plus I am hungry and I need
food..;)
———-
Forwarded message ———- From:
Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007 9:02 AM Subject:
evacuation To: Carey;Eva; Carolina;
Youenn
Our
VT-server must have collapsed, I cannot get any e-mails from there
anymore.
They are evacuating us now. It is quite
some chaos here.
I have to say, this situation
scares the shit out of me…but definitely makes up for a good story
;))
bine
Forwarded message from Virginia Tech Office of the Dean Unirel@vt.edu
Subject: Second Shooting Reported; Police have
one gunman in custody To:
Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU >
In addition to an earlier
shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a
multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris
Hall.
Police and EMS are on the
scene.
Police have one shooter in custody and as
part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for
a second shooter.
All people in university buildings
are required to stay inside until
further notice.
All entrances to campus are
closed.
—– End forwarded message —–
From: Bine
Sent: Monday,
April 16, 2007 2:57 PM To: Undisclosed
Recipients Subject: Today’s
Shootings
ok, for
all of those who are reading about the VT-shootings online and worry
about me. I am fine. We were evacuated.
I am hanging
out with friends here in our house, nobody wants to stay alone right
now. Everybody is under shock. 22 people were shot. The second shooting
happened in the building next to ours, which also belongs to our
department, therefore we don’t know yet, if any of our friends are
among the victims. Cell phones are not working and we are still in
shock!
I will keep you
posted
bine
From: Bine
Sent: Monday, April 16,
2007 3:01 PM To: Carey; Eva; Carolina; Youenn Subject:
Today’s Shootings
…I am just
getting more and more bizarre information and you are probably are not
interested in all the details, but it kind of helps me putting it out
there, this way, I feel it is more real. We are all sitting here numb
and shock…all of us want to cry but we can’t.
A
friend of mine, Gil, who was in the classroom was shot in the head but
was able to call. By the time he called, he hadn’t realized that he was
shot and told his wife, that he was ok. He said that most of the others
where shot including a professor from our department, then he
collapsed. He is right now in the hospital and in surgery.
Another friend of mine, who NEVER skips class, skipped it
today!!
Again, I am not sure, why I am telling you
all this, but it helps.
My friends and I
are sitting here and feel so lucky!
Thank you all
for your concern and help…it really helps
———-
Forwarded message ———- From:
Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007 3:07PM Subject:
evacuation To: Carey;Eva; Carolina;
Youenn
Thank you all again for the support and all the good
wishes.
This is the most inconceivable, hardest and
scariest situation I have ever been in.
The thing
that drives us crazy is that we cannot get a hold of all our friends.
And it is getting harder and harder to stay hopeful and optimistic. It
has been confirmed now, that one of our professors has been shot. No
news on my friend Gil, they say the surgery will take at least 3 more
hours. We heard that they wanted to fly him to a specialist in Richmond
but they couldn’t. Due to the high winds they can’t used helicopters.
aaaaaaaah, I want to scream…everybody here sits and can’t
fathom what was going on. Some started crying now but most of us just
sit here and we can’t, we are still in shock and numb.
We also just heard, that it is not for sure if this
was really only one shooter. Blacksburg police told us to stay inside.
I am not sure, if this are only precautions or if this is really a
threat.
We sit here and just can”t believe how
lucky we were. All of us, have classes in Norris. All of us were so
scared, because suddenly we were afraid that the bomb threats might
have been more severe and as my building was already evacuated on
friday we all started to make connections and getting really scared.
ok, I just got another phonecall, and we heard that
another friend of ours, Dan, has been shot and killed.
———- Forwarded message ———- From:
Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007 5:17PM Subject:
evacuation To: Carey;Eva; Carolina;
Youenn
we
finally couldn’t stand it anymore and went to a hospital to see if our
friends are listed but we only heard about two and they were in
critical condition, on of them Gil. There was also one
friend, Nathanial, and he told the most horrible story, I don’t know
how he will ever be able to live with this
memory.
Nathanial was in one of the classrooms the
shooter went in and he reported the following:
The
shooter entered the classroom, shot the professor in the head and
then every single student in the classroom, all of them in
the head…all of them but Nathanial. He stood 2 feet away from him but
he didn’t shoot him. Then the shooter left, went on
to the next classroom shot people there and came back. Nathanial, in
shock still in the classroom. The shooter tried to spot everybody who
was still moving and shot them again…but again spared
Nathanial…then he left.
No deaths are confirmed
yet, and the only thing we know for sure is, that Gil and Nathanial
have survived but we are sitting here and have no idea how
to deal with this news.
We are all trying
to comfort each other and stay sane!
Again my
friends, thank you for all your support,help and love! It is
much appreciated and really
needed.
bine
p.s.: the phones are
not really working, it is hard to get through but Iwill try
to stay in touch with all of you as much as I can.
———- Forwarded message
———- From: Bine Date: Apr 16, 2007
11:37 PM Subject: last update for
tonight To: nye group
My roommate Lee
and I went finally home and try to get some
sleep/rest.
Throughout the night, we got more bad
news about other friends who got killed during this insanity.
Campus is closed for tomorrow but there will be a
community service at 2 pm on Campus. I want to go there, but
I am a bit scared to go back on campus. I don’t fear that there is
another shooting, I fear facing the sadness and the insanity of this
incident. I am scared, really scared. What shocks most is the
randomness. Why got some people shot and why were other
spared? Why?
Again my friends, thank you so much
for your help and support. You have no idea how much this
helps
From: Carey
To: Bine
Date: Tue, Apr 17, 2007 at 12:30
AM
Subject: last update for
tonight
Do try to at least rest. If
you need to talk in the middle of the night (which is now I guess),
don’t hesitate to call. You may never understand why some
were spared while others were lost. The best you can do is
carry on. For you will always carry on, and we will keep on
speaking your name. Some things change, some stay the same;
like the love of our family and our deep bonds with each
other. God bless.
Happy Easter from Munich
3 messages From: The GLY Gang To: Carey Anthony
Hi, from sunny “Monaco”. As long as it’s not raining or snowing it’s beergarden time here. We had fun, strolling through the city, having Weißwurst for breakfast and watching the Eisbach surfers in almost freezing water.
Not to mention the very expensive but delicious chocolate we had while going for a walk in the English Garden. But the most valuable times we have when sitting around the dining table at the “Casa Kuhn” eating delicious food cooked and served by our fantastic hosts Beate and Matthias, eating, drinking and talking until the early morning hours. In between trying to call the West coast-Crew, which apart from Carey, never answers. Therefore Youenn has to leave very philosophical messages on their answering machines. So it seems that we won’t be able to find out if there is one more Ph.D. hanging around in the Disneyland for adults called Santa Barbara.
This said, we all wish you a Happy Easter, lots of fun and hope to see you very soon!
Enjoy!
From: Carey Anthony
To: “Matthias”, “Beate”, “Bine”, “Youenn”, “Alan”
Friends!
Speaking of Monaco, you all do indeed look like part of the GLY Royal Family. Bine, gives Princess Caroline a run for her money with her gorgeous dark locks and dazzling smile. Beate is clearly channeling Grace Kelly in her olive coat fresh off the runway. Matthias has all the royal je ne sais quoi of Prince Albert with a full head of hair! Alan looks like the cherubic love child of Princess Stephanie and some dashing race car driver. And King Youenn makes Ranier look like an impostor. His royal command over his subjects oozes through every pixel of the photographs. He clearly rules with an iron fist and a warm heart. All hail King Youenn. Long live the King!
Love,
A loyal subject in a the far away outpost of West Hollywood Carey
On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 3:51 AM, youenn@xxxxx.edu> wrote:
Carey,
I love your writing. Maybe some day we should work together on a book…
I had a wonderful time in Munchen, as you could see, and I need to rest at work now… I
do not know if I told you, but I have a sabbatical next year (Spring
semester 2009), which means that I will finally finish my second book
and visit friends. No winter for Youenn…
Take care,
Youenn
From: Carey To: Youenn
My Fabulous French Friend,
Working with you on a book would be like Dr. Seuss working with Victor
Hugo! Suffice it to say though, I’m flattered, and you are ALWAYS
welcome at the Hotel Careyfornia/Writers Sanctuary!
BTW, is this book going to be in English?
GLY! Carey xo
Happy Easter from Rio de Janeiro
2 messages
From: Joelle & Adriana
To: Carey, Beate, Matthias, Bine, Youenn
Oi, queridos!
Our weather was a little different than Munich’s today, but Dri, Caique, their mothers, and I did our share of beer, caipirinha, and coffee drinking as well. We went for a lovely walk on the beach in Barra da Tijuca, enjoyed an incredible and enormous meal of squid, crab, and shrimp, and finished the evening with drinks on Copacabana as the nearly-full moon rose out of the Atlantic.
Naturally, you came up in conversations many times. Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter.
Beijos, Joelle
From: Carey Anthony
To: “Joelle”, “Adriana”
Saudades, Girls From Ipanema!
Seeing Mom Diversi on the beach in Rio was better than any Easter basket! Muito obrigado. Please send abracos fortes to Silvia and grande beijos to all of you.
Easter in L.A. was spectacular and hot. I just posted a bunch of pictures on my blog, so you can see just how hot it was.
I miss you all, and wish I could be there with you and all the morsels. I know Bine will be there soon, so keep the pictures coming!
GLY,
Carey xoxo
My new cousin Geneva Elena with big sister Athena. She was 9 lbs. 5 oz. and 22 inches long. Welcome to the world cuz!
The PowerShot G9 is the best of both worlds, with the flexibility of a Point & Shoot and the power of an SLR:
* 12.1 Megapixels (1/1.7” sensor) with RAW mode for maximum image control * 6x optical zoom lens with optical Image Stabilizer and SR coating* * DIGIC III and iSAPS for lightning fast response, superb image quality and advanced Noise Reduction* * Face Detection AF/AE/FE and Red-Eye Correction in playback * 3.0” high-resolution, PureColor LCD II with extra wide viewing angle * ISO 1600 and Auto ISO Shift * Compact body with dedicated ISO and Multi Control dials * 25 shooting modes including full manual control and 2 custom settings * Extra telephoto reach with Digital Tele-Converter and Safety Zoom* * Hot shoe support for Canon Speedlite flashes and optional lens accessories
Well, I survived Friday without a camera (barely), but had to endure night sweats and a high fever. By Saturday morning, my withdrawal symptoms were in full swing. The methadone (my camera phone) was not doing the trick, so, after consulting with my Dad over the phone for a couple of hours and researching the best prices, I found this coupon at dealcatcher, coupled with a $50 off sale at Circuit City, and I placed an online order for in-store pick up. (All told, I saved about $80.) I mustered the energy to drive to Circuit City, where I got my fix.
When I went to Customer Service to pick it up, the box appeared to have been opened. When I told the woman I wanted a NEW one, she got really bitchy with me. She obviously had no idea who she was dealing with, and, long story short I got my new camera!
After that I met Jessica at the Alcove Cafe in Los Feliz for lunch. We both had a yummy Chicken Curry w/ Lychee wrap.
I’m charging the battery now, and have a LOT of reading to do. I’m looking forward to trying it out next weekend. David is coming from Germany tomorrow with his girlfriend for 3 weeks, but I’m going to be out of town starting Monday for 2 weeks, so they will have the Hotel Careyfornia all to themselves. I’ll come back next weekend for the Oscars though!
Finally, thanks for all of the nice messages that I received after posting the links to Sabine’s Virginia Tech stories. It’s amazing how much traffic my site got after the Northern Illinois University shootings this week. It’s nice to know that the posts I wrote after the Virginia Tech shootings are helping people find hope in the wake of this latest tragedy. In just the last 9 hours, I’ve had visitors from all these places:
United States
Newhope, Arkansas
1,372
United States
Rowland Heights, California
16*
New Zealand
Auckland
6,520
United States
Aliso Viejo, California
16*
United States
Brooklyn, New York
2,440
Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia
1,103
United States
College Station, Texas
1,279
United States
Las Vegas, Nevada
225
United States
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2,123
United States
Los Angeles, California
30*
United States
San Francisco, California
376
United States
Bedford, Massachusetts
2,570
United States
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
1,592
Malaysia
Petaling Jaya, Wilayah Persekutuan
8,812
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Denton, Texas
1,196
United States
Cherokee Village, Arkansas
1,495
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
Grenada
Grenville, Saint Andrew
3,825
United States
Franklin Square, New York
2,452
Australia
Melbourne, Victoria
7,939
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Los Angeles, California
30*
United States
Dekalb, Illinois
1,677
United States
Dekallb, Illinois
1,203
United States
Winter Park, Florida
2,176
United States
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
2,386
Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia
1,103
United States
Elmont, New York
2,450
Canada
Brampton, Ontario
2,144
United States
Marietta, Georgia
1,906
United States
San Diego, California
79
United States
Montebello, California
22*
United States
Los Angeles, California
30*
United States
Aliso Viejo, California
16*
United States
Azusa, California
29*
United States
New York
2,438
United States
Aliso Viejo, California
16*
Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia
1,103
United States
Dallas, Texas
1,220
United States
Dekallb, Illinois
1,677
United States
New York
2,436
United States
Chino, California
22*
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Athens, Ohio
2,011
United Kingdom
Manchester
5,287
United States
Elmont, New York
2,450
United States
Virginia Beach, Virginia
2,349
Hong Kong
Cheung Sha Lan
7,271
United States
Montebello, California
22*
United States
Dekallb, Illinois
1,677
United States
Reidsville, North Carolina
2,157
United States
Irvine, California
11*
United States
Princeton, New Jersey
2,402
Canada
Montreal, Quebec
2,457
United States
Koleen, Indiana
1,755
United States
Waukegan, Illinois
1,727
United States
Aliso Viejo, California
16*
United States
Hayward, California
357
United States
San Francisco, California
374
United States
Los Angeles, California
30*
United States
Los Angeles, California
30*
Canada
Burnaby, British Columbia
1,101
United States
New York
2,435
United States
De Pere, Wisconsin
1,749
United States
Chino, California
22*
United States
Portland, Oregon
851
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
Hong Kong
Tai Po
7,273
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Castro Valley, California
359
United States
San Jose, California
331
United States
Nanuet, New York
2,433
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Quincy, Massachusetts
2,584
United States
Howell, New Jersey
2,427
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Honolulu, Hawaii
2,572
United States
New York
2,436
United States
Salt Lake City, Utah
584
United States
Middletown, New York
2,409
United States
Logan, Utah
647
United States
New York
2,436
Canada
Etobicoke, Ontario
2,154
United States
San Mateo, California
361
Hong Kong
Pa Tau Kwu
7,268
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
United States
Holbrook, New York
2,483
Hong Kong
Central District
7,266
Japan
Tokyo
5,568
United States
Salt Lake City, Utah
584
United States
Surprise, Arizona
316
United States
El Dorado, Kansas
1,212
United States
San Lorenzo, California
361
Canada
Kitchener, Ontario
2,106
United States
Ithaca, New York
2,305
United States
Fairfax, Virginia
2,266
United States
Hopewell, New Jersey
2,395
Jordan
Kingdom of Jordan
7584*
All of this made me think about two recent Ted Talks I watched. They’re really worth your time if you’re so inclined. In the first one, Howard Rheingold talks about the coming world of collaboration, participatory media and collective action — and how Wikipedia is really an outgrowth of our natural human instinct to work as a group. As he points out, humans have been banding together to work collectively since our days of hunting mastodons. The Internet, and social networking and blogging sites, play an important role in this group cohesion, especially in the wake of tragedies like the recent school shootings.
In a preview of his next book, the second video features Steven Pinker’s take on violence. We live in violent times, an era of heightened warfare, genocide and senseless crime. Or so we’ve come to believe. Pinker charts a history of violence from Biblical times through the present, and says modern society has a little less to feel guilty about. This really makes you think about the evolution of political movements like capitalism and socialism and the massive social changes that are happening around the world as a result of us all being linked together via the web.
It’s amazing to think how truly small the world has become in just the last couple of years. Blogging, Facebook, Wikipedia and other types of social networking, all contribute to our shared consciousness and common understanding of the human condition (which explains the exponential increase in traffic to my blog after the shootings). I’m proud to play a small part in that collective.
In an eerie twist of fate, one of the victims of the Valentine’s Day shooting had just updated her Myspace page. RIP
BTW, Freddy’s at it again. Fred Phelps of www.godhatesfags.com and founder and Pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, fresh back from Heath Ledger’s funeral in Australia, will picket the funerals of the NIU shooting victims. Keep it up Freddy! Soon everyone will know what a sick fuck you are, and your filthy protests will surely backfire!
The only thing anyone is talking about on campus at NIU is the
shooter. The only thing anyone is talking about in this wretched land
is all the horrific woes that are happening every day.
No one but us is telling you the truth.
God sent the shooter. God is laughing at your calamities (Proverbs
1:26). You have disobeyed him far too long – now it is time for God to
open his armory and deal with you (Jeremiah 50:25). No other words
apply; any other words are a lie.
The college campuses of Doomed america are overflowing with
impudent, arrogant, immodest, self-indulgent brats. They are the
generation raised to mock God, his standard, and his messengers, by the
parents, teachers, “preachers” and “leaders” of Doomed america. They
taught them to despise the word of God. They taught them it’s OK to be
gay. They taught them to fornicate like there’s no tomorrow. They
taught them that divorce and remarriage is lovely, when God said it is
adultery. They taught them to be greedy idolaters, and anything they
want, pursue it with both fists.
You can see the violent face of these undisciplined beasts in their
reaction. Our phones are ringing off the hook and e-mail in-boxes
filling up with their filthy violent words. They immediately mobilized
to produce a video where they issue threats of warning to God’s
prophets, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEtagtxgknI.
(The little heathen need to get over themselves. We will be there when
you put on a public pretense of mourning, and call it what it is –
you’re raging against God. The prophets of God speak to current events,
with plain words of truth. Those snot-nosed urchins came along way too
late in the game to think they have any power over God’s prophets.)
Adding insult to injury, you pile up so-called “clergy” on your
campuses, so now when you’re in crisis, big-mouth females emerge
calling themselves preachers. They are the picture of this verse: “For
they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,
saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace,” Jeremiah 8:11. If it’s
not a crop-haired pushy woman – who has no Bible basis whatsoever
calling herself a preacher – it’s some simpering coward of a “man,” or
some out-of-the-closet fag. Great comfort at this hour – NOT! They have
no answers and no explanations. We do! God sent the shooter! Stop
sinning, and they’ll stop shooting.
This nation has made proud sin its mores. At every level in every
major institution – especially the education system – this nation lifts
its middle finger to God, and literally expects him to wink, nod and
heel to their depraved wills. It’s grotesque beyond description in how
wrong it all is. Every human is duty bound to fear, obey and keep the
commandments of God. None of you are doing it. Your so-called
“Christianity” is an ugly shiny pink flower purse that you swing around
on your arm, on your way to fornicate, commit adultery, engage in
homosexuality, and worship your idols. Ugh!
The fact is, if any of you ever cracked a Bible open for just one
short minute, you’d find a simple and crystal clear standard: If you
obey God, he will bless you; if you disobey him, he will curse you. As
to this nation, Doomed america is your name, proud vulgar sin is your
game. You disobey God with every breath you take.
So now, God has sent the shooter. There is an epidemic of shooters
in this nation. All the gun nuts are screaming for everyone to arm
themselves. Soon, it will be one giant shoot out – on campuses, in
restaurants, at the movies, at the sports events, in the churches, and
on the streets. Blood flowing; talking heads yammering; false prophets
lying; doom, doom, doom!
That is what you call the curse of God.
If you have the slightest bit of genuine compassion for the children
on that campus, tell them the truth. Tell them if they get in sackcloth
and ashes, shut their me-centered mouths, get a Bible, read it, and
obey it, this will stop.
You won’t; they won’t; the destruction is drawing nigh. “Fear God,
and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and
worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains
of waters,” Revelation 14:7.
I would be remiss not to write about the news today about Virginia Tech.
After months of investigation into the shootings at Virginia Tech, Gov. Tom Kaine of Virginia released a much anticipated report this morning by a panel of experts he convened.
The bottom line: The killer, Seung Hui Cho, had been mentally ill since childhood. Over the years, his family and others had gotten him help — including counseling and medication. But when Cho arrived at Virginia Tech, the systems failed. Read more…
Bassam and I talked about this tonight. My take on it was basically, why did they have to commission a study and spend all that money just to conclude what everyone knew the day it happened? Of course the university should have responded sooner. Of course the “system” should have recognized the extent of Cho’s mental illness and gotten him the help he so desperately needed. And of course, he should not have been able to obtain a gun. I wish they would have spent the money figuring out a plan to send text messages instantly to every student and faculty member, warning them of any potential danger. That shouldn’t be too hard to figure out in the 21st Century!
One need only read my friend Sabine’s first hand accounts of that fateful morning, and look at the timestamps on the emails, to realize that the university was quite late in responding to the shootings. Had systemwide emails gone out, and if even 1 out of 20 students had received the emails telling them to stay inside where they were and lock the doors, word would have spread, and lives may have been saved.
Unfortunately, today’s news also brought out the right wing nutjobs who continue to insist that, had the other students been allowed to carry concealed weapons, that the death toll never would have been so high. This kind of moronic logic absolutely boggles my mind.
So again, we pay tribute to those who lost their lives, and those they left behind. Rest in Peace.
Help, I need somebody, Help, not just anybody, Help, you know I need someone, help.
When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody’s help in any way. But now these days are gone, I’m not so self assured, Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.
Help me if you can, I’m feeling down And I do appreciate you being round. Help me, get my feet back on the ground, Won’t you please, please help me…
Why have I reproduced these Beatle’s lyrics? Because this song happened to be the #1 song the day I was born. While hardly scientific, everyone I know who’s gone to this website to figure out “their” #1 birth song has found it telling in some way (Except for Lloyd, whose song was “I’m Too Sexy”. LOL j/k). I’m going to be 42 in a few weeks, and the older I get the more I realize how much help I need, and that I can’t do it all. I’m sure this isn’t a big revelation to anyone who’s not in their teens or twenties, but as cliche as it is, it’s true.
I got a call today from Billy. He had spent quite some time composing a response to my “Godless Sodomites” post from a few days ago. Unfortunately, as several of my friends outside of Xanga have reported, they have left comments only to find them lost in the Xangaverse. Just a reminder, if you don’t have a Xanga account (which is free and doesn’t require anything besides an email address, no blogging necessary), the way to post comments is:
Click on ”Give eProps or Post a Comment” at the end of the entry
Choose “Anonymous”
Fill in your name, real or fake, no last names necessary if you prefer
Fill in your email. No one will see it but me, and if you don’t want me knowing it, make up a fake one
If you have a website you can fill that in, it’s optional
Leave your comment (It’s a good idea to “copy” it, just in case something goes wrong, you can always paste it into an email or something. My email address is careygly@gmail.com
Type in the “Code You See Below” If you get it wrong, it will give you another chance. This is to prevent SPAM comments
Click “Submit”. Remember to copy your comments before your submit, in case it doesn’t work for some reason.
The gay Pope in his Prada slippers (boyfriend not pictured)
Anyway, Bill called to relay his comments to me directly. As always, his points were well taken. It is easy to pick on anyone with extreme views, be they evangelical Christians or radical right wing activists. As he is a devout Catholic, he urged me to investigate my claims about the Catholic church and the Pope’s recent proclamation. Here’s what Chicago’s Francis Cardinal George wrote recently in the Catholic New World News:
The Catholic Church understands herself as enjoying, only through Jesus’ own will and love, all the gifts that he left for his people. Other Churches and faith communities enjoy most or some of these gifts, depending on their history and their own self-understanding. We should try to understand people as they understand themselves. Many sincere followers of Jesus Christ reject the Catholic Church’s understanding of who the Church is. Some think Catholics are not even Christian; others say the Pope is the anti-Christ. They don’t want to be Catholic, and that should be respected. But the Catholic understanding of Church should also be respected. It has a two thousand year history. It seems somewhat strange that only the Catholic Church’s self-understanding should be a matter of public indignation.
Finally, the recent statement of the Holy See says nothing about any individual’s eternal salvation. The linkage of the Church’s self-understanding about her visible gifts to conclusions about the invisible gift of an individual’s salvation is a different question. Nor does the Church’s teaching about her objective gifts draw any conclusions about an individual’s subjective holiness. One can be baptized and still sin; one can be ordained and still betray the Lord. Nevertheless, both baptism and ordination remain sacramental means of holiness. Read more…
My cousin wrote me today about a family in her neighborhood. They have 3 beautiful children, who I took picture of at Dave’s memorial service a couple of weeks ago. The father was recently laid off of his job due to the slowing local housing economy. A few weeks later he was diagnosed with bladder cancer. His kidney’s are infected and he will need them both to withstand the chemotherapy.
We all need help. Whether you believe in prayer, Karma, the power of positive thought, the “Golden Rule” or even “The Secret“, there is much sadness in this world, but love is still the strongest force we know, and for my cousin right now, ”Love Thy Neighbor” takes on an especially poignant meaning. I like how Lewis sums up religion, as the “pole that supports the soul”.
Finally a shout out to Sabine, who, after a terribly trying year academically and emotionally, is submitting her Master’s Thesis tomorrow. She’s been burning the midnight oil for weeks now, and starting tomorrow she’ll be able to get some rest and concentrate on her upcoming nuptials. Let me be the first to congratulate her, and let her know how very proud our entire group of friends is of her. Congratulations Bine, on a job well done! GLY! This will be you in a week:
And this will be you, once you finally (it’s about time), get a job in the real world and stop being a perpetual student. I still don’t know the name of your degree, I just know you’ll be standing around in rivers a lot! Have fun!!
So in honor of Bine, here’s the Song of the Day, appropriately titled “Rivers Run Red” by the even more appropriately titled band “Midnight Oil”. Congrats!
Finally, if you haven’t already seen this, it is amazing and well worth the next 8 minutes of your time:
I will be taking a couple of days off blogging, but this is surely the most important entry of the week. All of my friends, and regular readers of this space know about my friend Sabine, Bine for short. You know what a tough time she had this spring at Virginia Tech. You know that her inimitable style and always positive attitude have gotten her, and indeed our entire group of friends, through the best and the worst of times. She is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted world. She approaches everything she does with passion and fervor, and is the glue that bonds us all together. Marcelo put it better than I could in an email to her this morning:
Querida amiga! Happy birthday to you!!! And thank God and Carey, if they are not the same dude, for the Yahoo reminders :) I hope you are well, healthier, with most of your toenails in place, and getting closer to finishing your data collection with the poo tanks! May you keep on blessing all of us with your sweetness, solid character, most excellent sense of humor, and, of course, good stories! Beijos carinhosos, marcelo
What you may not know however, is that she is my wife! Yes, it’s true. We were married in a small civil ceremony in Italy on August 19, 2000. The ceremony was officiated by the great great grandniece of the Red Baron. Her name was Baroness Andrea Von Richthofen. Mick was the maid of honor, Miggl the best man and Eva the flower girl. Now, some background:
I met Sabine at the aforementioned Marcelo’s house in Piracicaba Brazil in 1997. That Christmas many people had converged at the “Casa Diversi”; both friends of Marcelo and friends of his sister Adriana. Many of us did not know each other, but we all soon became great friends, and began our tradition of traveling together for every New Year’s. I was “homeless” at the time, traveling the world with my job, all expenses paid. One day, we were all sitting by the pool in the backyard eating mangoes as they fell off the trees, and I was telling this assembled group of new friends my life story. At the end, Sabine said, “Honey, I should marry you. What a great life!” To which I responded, “Honey, the only way I would ever marry you, is if we were in Florence Italy, at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio!” We all laughed.
Wouldn’t you know it, that three years later, we all found ourselves in Florence, Italy at San Miniato at sunset, overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. Our friends had bought some truly rinky dink rings on that same famous bridge earlier that day, and as the sun sank into the horizon, we said our vows.
LOL, so there you have it. The story of my phony wedding in Italy. This year Sabine, the two timing tramp, got engaged to Alan. In all honesty though, I can’t say that I’ve been entirely faithful in this marriage. So here’s to you Bine, on your birthday. I wish I could be there with you to celebrate. I know that you will have a wonderful day. You always do. GLY!!!
And now for the obligatory embarrassing pictures I’ve taken of you over these past 10 wonderful years darling! (And some not so embarrassing this time…just to show how wonderful you are!)
The early years
The Bavarian Princess and Cesar
After 2 years in Virginia you’ve become a true redneck!
What’s up Doc?
That’s certainly not me doing the writing!
Partying with the Vikings
Another drink please!
Peace brother!
Caught again
Muahhhhhh
LOST again!!!!!!!!!!!
Treating your husband they way a wife should treat her man
Just one of the guys
I will love you, until my dying day….come what may
Feeling a bit sad
GLY!!
Just happy to be in LA
Pajamas & beer
Too much beer!
Dream car
One of my favorites of us
Your true character, and a smile that could light Christmas
Here’s a more up-tempo version of “our” song, for your party today
Someone needs to throw rotten fruit in Ann Coulter’s ugly hateful face. This absolutely sickens me. Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat this kind of evil must be stopped. Boycott this woman in any way you can. She’s a filthy, smug, hatemonger. I wish someone would have projectile vomited on her face. And if you haven’t already seen the clip of her referring to John Edwards as a faggot, click here.
Elizabeth Edwards is a real class act, as is her husband, and if you read her blog, she talks about drowning out the hate. So, I take back my hateful words, but I only hope that this raises awareness of what good people the Edwards’ are. To wit: (Update: They duped us all!)
“Now it is our turn to drown out the hate. Find a way — whether it is contribution here that sends a message to Miss Coulter and those who applauded her (which, of course, I prefer) or whether it is a statement on this blog or others or all of the above — but please find a way not to sit silent in acceptance. It doesn’t change until we say we will not be silent when this happens.” Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards.
Ann Coulter is such a right wing nut job that even George Bush hates her!!
I saw a nun yesterday. Not exactly something I’m used to seeing walking down Santa Monica Blvd!! I wanted to stop and talk to her, but she didn’t really seem too interested in the dogs. She made me think about nuns though. Does anyone remember the show “The Flying Nun“? It was, in hindsight, an absolutely ridiculous television show starring Oscar winner Sally Field as a nun who could fly. Yes, fly.
“The show was commended by several Roman Catholic orders in the late 1960s for humanizing nuns and their work. It also offered a difficult typecasting obstacle for star Sally Field to overcome. Its three season run left such an indelible impression upon its viewers that, more than 30 years after it ceased production, it continues to be satirized and referenced in modern films and television.”
The nun I saw yesterday was in the more traditional habit, like this photo I took in 2000 of Mick’s aunt, the soccer playing nun!
Left to right that’s: Kurt, Eva, Mary, Mick’s aunt, Sabine (in liederhosen I might add!!), and Mick. We were having a party at Mick’s parent’s house in Bavaria, Germany. So, in retrospect a flying nun is just plain silly, but a soccer playing nun is absolutely fabulous!!
Seeing yesterday’s nun and remembering Mick’s aunt made me wonder about habits, so of course Wikipedia had the answer:
Catholic Canon Law requires only that it be in some way identifiable so that the person may serve as a witness to Gospel values, simple as a mark of detachment from vanity and greed, and becoming.
Interestingly enough the paradox of veiling a nun in a habit and a Muslim woman in a Hijab is becoming blurred. As reported in The Guardian last year,
“In the 1840s, not long after Catholic emancipation, people were so enraged to see nuns brazenly wearing their habits in the streets that they pelted them with rotten fruit and horse dung. Nuns had been banned from Britain since the Reformation; their return seemed to herald the resurgence of barbarism. Two hundred and fifty years after the gunpowder plot, Catholicism was still feared as unassimilable, irredeemably alien to the British ethos, fanatically opposed to democracy and freedom, and a fifth column allied to dangerous enemies abroad.
Many women, whose mothers had happily discarded the veil, adopted the hijab in order to dissociate themselves from aggressively secular regimes. This happened in Egypt under President Anwar Sadat and it continues under Hosni Mubarak. When the shah banned the chador, during the Iranian revolution, women wore it as a matter of principle – even those who usually wore western clothes. Today in the US, more and more Muslim women are wearing the hijab to distance themselves from the foreign policy of the Bush administration; something similar may well be happening in Britain.”
I guess my point is, things aren’t always as they seem. Though nuns can’t fly, they can play soccer. Though burqas and Hijabs may symbolize the oppression of women, they might also signify their shared identity. Just something to think about.
And to end on something lighter, here are a few photos just taken around the neighborhood:
Saw this while walking the dogs yesterday. It was thrown out of a window. Talk about having yout PC crash!!
Sunset Blvd.
The Hollywood Sign through the smog.
And finally, in the “This is why they hate us so much” category:
Here’s Jake Byrd from the Jimmy Kimmel show. This will crack you up!!
What you may not know however, is that she is my wife! Yes, it’s true. We were married in a small civil ceremony in Italy on August 19, 2000. 
The ceremony was officiated by the great great grandniece of the 
So here’s to you Bine, on your wedding day. I wish I could be there with you in Denmark to celebrate, but as you know I’m in Orlando all next week on business. I know that you will have a wonderful day. You always do. You il always carry on, and I will always love you. GLY! xoxo
I’m going to be 42 in a few weeks, and the older I get the more I realize how much help I need, and that I can’t do it all. I’m sure this isn’t a big revelation to anyone who’s not in their teens or twenties, but as cliche as it is, it’s true.
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