sarah palin

  • 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!

  • I’m Entering Rehab

    The following, appeared in the Washington Post last week:

    Though it is embarrassing to admit this in public, I can no longer hide the truth. I have a Sarah Palin problem.

    I have written about her in 42 columns since Sen. John McCain picked her as his vice-presidential running mate in 2008. I’ve mentioned her in dozens more blog posts, Web chats, and TV and radio appearances. I feel powerless to control my obsession, even though it cheapens and demeans me.

    But today is the first day of the rest of my life. And so, I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb. 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin — in print, online or on television — for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February. With enough support, I believe we may even be able to extend the moratorium beyond one month, but we are up against a powerful compulsion, and we must take this struggle day by day.

    I checked, and I have written 39 posts about Wicked Witch of Wasilla, since that fateful morning of August 29, 2008, a day we wish we could all forget. So today, I declare a:

    So starting tomorrow, no posts about the Queen of Darkness. Like Mika Brzezinski, I will not give her the publicity she so craves:


    The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
    Mika Brzezinski Experiences Palin Fatigue
    www.colbertnation.com

    “Mika, you need to buck up! Now I know you think that this story has no purpose other than keeping Sarah Palin’s name in the headlines for another news cycle. I know you think that she has nothing to offer the national dialogue, and that her speeches are just coded talking points mixed in with words picked up at random from a thesaurus. I know you think Sarah Palin is at best a self-promoting ignoramus, and at worst, a shameless media troll who’ll abuse any platform to deliver dog-whistle encouragement to a far right base that may include possible insurrectionists. I know you think that her reality show was pathetically unstatesmanlike, and at the same time, i know you believe it also represents the pinnacle of her potential. That her transparent desperation to be a celebrity so completely eclipsed her interest in public service so long ago, that there would be more journalistic integrity in reporting on one of the lesser Kardashian’s ass implants. Now I know, I know when you arrive at the office each day you say a silent prayer that maybe, just maybe, Sarah Palin will at long last shut up for ten fucking minutes. I know, I can see it in your eyes.”

    I hope my friends and family support me during this difficult time.  During my stint in Palin Rehab, I will occupy my time and blogs with more dogs, kids, and sunsets.  Enjoy!


    I dog-sat for Anjali this past weekend.  Doesn’t she look like the dragon from Never Ending Story?


    I also lost my camera last weekend, so I’m using my old one :(


    Chazz & Rio loved Anjali.  BTW, this is how they sleep with me!


    Reflections of Chazz & Rio at the beach…mirror images. Sorry for the lousy cell phone video!


    We had another great dinner at Unphogettable. It’s Claudio’s new favorite restaurant. Thanks Thai & Phil!


    Boys will be boys…


    A visit from the Oxelson’s early in the week was delightful!!


    Tommy & Andy still growing like weeds!

  • 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!”

  • Sarah Palin Charged With Accessory To Murder

    OK, admittedly a sensational headline…but I did dream it!  Let me explain.  Saturday, my “wife” Sabine flew into Los Angeles from El Salvador on a short layover before returning to Germany and eventually Africa.  We had a wonderful lobster lunch on the marina:


    Back to LAX for the long trip home…as shot from my sunroof

    And now for the reason you clicked this…the dream headline in the title.  Before I left for the airport to pick Sabine up, I posted the following on facebook:

    After 1 day, the post had nearly 60 comments, so it clearly struck a nerve with people.  The lone right wing gun advocate who commented however, was no match for my liberal friends.  After a while, I left the fray, and let the interwebs duke it out.  I devote plenty of space on this blog to my views on Sarah Palin as well as gun control.  My positions are well documented.  Regular readers may remember the eyewitness accounts that Sabine and her friends provided from the Virginia Tech shootings several years ago:

    I stand by my original statement on facebook above.  I even blogged about the lunacy of Sarah Palin’s use of gun crosshairs in my April Fool’s Day post last year.  While Sarah Palin is not directly culpable for the actions of a lone nutjob, her words do have meaning and she should be held accountable (if only to never be elected to public office).  She’s clearly backtracking, as evidenced by the removal of certain tweets and messages.  Meanwhile, bigoted teabaggers like Rush Limbaugh, are pulling out all the stops to direct attention away from themselves and their dangerous rhetoric.  Kudos to Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik for having the balls to call out these cowards on their vitriol.


    Here’s the victim of this attack herself, Gabby Giffords, prophetically admonishing Sarah Palin on her evil actions and how they have consequences!


    Who’s next Sarah?

    As psychologist and neuroscientist Drew Weston said, “Saturday was not the first time Gabby Giffords — or countless other lawmakers, candidates, and elected officials, including President Obama — was confronted at a campaign rally or town hall meeting by gun-toting bullies [sic, Republicans], whose primary goal (at least until this weekend) was intimidation. That bringing a concealed weapon within that proximity to an elected official could be legal in the world’s longest-lasting democracy is both surreal and shameful — and now it threatens that democracy.“

    In my opinion, Keith Olbermann summed it up best:


    Here’s a smattering of the nearly 60 comments from my facebook page.  They speak for themselves:

    In the Daily Beast today, Howard Kurtz says “Don’t Blame Sarah Palin“, but as John Cory points out:

    “Mr. Kurtz is wrong.  The killer is not “a lone nutjob.” He is one of us, clothed and fed on perpetual war and the dialog of destruction.

    We have become a nation of, by …and for perpetual war. Perpetual war is our addiction and our language, and as Kurtz so chillingly admits – war is the metaphor of politics and business and daily discourse.

    But I tell you that a nation of perpetual war and constant fear eventually succumbs to self-hatred and self-loathing. It becomes consumed by the value of extremism in the maintenance of empty empire through the deceit of language. A nation of perpetual war numbs itself to violence by constant repetition of the rhetoric of death and mayhem and the slogans of militarism. A nation of perpetual war does not value human life – but rather the hollow rhetoric about human life.

    Mr. Kurtz and others would have us avert our eyes and avoid looking into the mirror and facing the reflection of our words and deeds.

    I can only imagine what Mr. Kurtz and others would have written had the shooter been named Mohammed Abdullah.

    Christina Taylor Greene was 9 years old. She was born on a day of death and madness, September 11, 2001, and she died on a day of death and madness. She is, in the flippant jargon of perpetual war – collateral damage.

    Words have power.

    Yesterday, 20 human beings were shot and 6 human beings were killed.”

  • They Had a Dream

    I have mixed emotions about the events of this past weekend.  As most people know by now, the draconian ban on homosexuality in the United States military has been repealed.  Tomorrow President Obama will sign the repeal, paving the way for the inevitable Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8 and gay marriage finally becoming the law of the land.  That’s all great news.  But on Saturday, as my friends and I stood in line at a movie theater and heard the buzz of cell phones and twitter feeds announcing the DADT repeal, I actually felt guilty about another far reaching piece of legislation that didn’t pass.  The DREAM Act “would have created a path to citizenship for certain young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children, completed two years of college or military service and met other requirements, including passing a criminal background check.”  “Two Dreams, One Dead“, as Time magazine opined.  That dream is dead, at least for now.  But I for one am glad to know people like David Cho, whose tireless efforts on behalf of the DREAM Act have raised awareness worldwide, and caused him to be named one of the Top Ten Game Changers in education today (along with heavyweights like Michelle Rhee and Jill Biden)!  People like David Cho are the leaders of tomorrow.  Just watch:

    He is American in every way, but on paper.  The arguments against the DREAM Act are nothing but shameful propaganda spread by ignorant neophytes like Sarah Palin.  I urge every American to educate themselves about this important legislation.  David can take solace in Dan Choi’s struggle to repeal DADT.  Don’t be disillusioned by this temporary setback. 

    The DREAM Act is the right thing to do!  I’m glad there are people like David Cho and Dan Choi who fight tirelessly for what’s right, to make this country a better place for all of us.  Keep up the good fight gentlemen!


    David Cho and others speak eloquently on Talk of the Nation, despite the host’s rudeness at times and the ignorance of some of the callers.


    Lt. Dan Choi, an American hero and an eloquent voice in this struggle, and I at at Prop 8 rally

    Dinner with David is always a treat. He’s such a bright light in this world. I can’t say enough about this guy!

    Hanging out in MacArthur Park and having Korean food with David

    In other news, my friend Sabine made her 5th trip to The Hotel Careyfornia in the past year.  Eva joined us and we had a pre New Year’s GLY reunion.  Luci & Mateus are also here from Brazil and Tim flew in from Switzerland.  I’ve lost track of how many trips to the airport I’ve taken in the past 72 hours.  Lots of fun and very little sleep.  Ho Ho Ho!  Here are the week’s photos:


    Bine’s welcoming party and the first of many trips to the airport this weekend!


    Sushi on a rainy night in LA


    Platinum Guests of The Hotel Careyfornia


    Breakfast at The Griddle


    Claudio, Eva & Bine.  More photos here…


    Claudio sneering at LAX before heading to Brazil


    Bine and Eva proclaiming “The King’s Speech” the best movie of the year so far!


    Even Spiderman tried to get out of the rain on Hollywood Blvd.


    Christmas ice skating at the Spectrum.  More photos here…

  • Happy Xangaversary & A Bad Breakup

    Happy Holidays from The Hotel Careyfornia!  4 years ago yesterday I started my humble little blog.  In that time, I’ve written 692 entries and have devoted this space mainly to my photos and random musings.  The Xanga community has been good to me.  And though I micro-blog more often on facebook and Tumblr these days; I still try to come here once a week to summarize my life and write my rants.  As I’ve said before, blogs are like clothes.  Sometimes you look back at them and wonder, “What was I thinking!!??”


    Future Xangan CareyGLY

    It’s often been suggested that I rename my blog:

    “Kids, Dogs, Sunsets & Sarah Palin“ 
    and the occasional rant against corporate America


    She ain’t all that “hot” close up, is she?

    When I look at my most common “tags“, this rings somewhat true.  Here’s a look at the highlights of the past year, filled with lots of dogs, kids, sunsets, Xangalebrities and political rants:

    And here are some photos from the past week with links to photos past:


    Look how Andy has changed in four years!


    Favorite Cousins!


    My new family mantra :)


    Look at him just a year ago!


    He was actually looking in these presents.  LOL


    Look Jin!  New snowmen!


    Garbo & Ruby met director Michael Bay of Transformers fame, coming out of Starbucks the other day.  He thought they would be great in his next movie with Shia LeBeouf!


    And just to make sure I cover all of my bases, here’s tonight’s sunset!

    I also went through a devastating breakup this week.  After nearly 30 years of an on again off again relationship; McRib and I are finally finished.  I broke the bad news to him in a “Dear McRib” letter last night. Both McRib and I hope that the media will respect our privacy during this difficult time.


    Dear McRib,

    I’m writing you to let you know that I can’t see you any longer.  I
    couldn’t say it to your face tonight, so I decided to write it down.
    Trust me, it’s not you, it’s me.  We’ve known each other since 1981.  I
    was only 16 years old, and much skinnier.  Even though we only saw each
    other once or twice a year, my friends told me you weren’t good for me.
    They called you offal (an admittedly clever pun).  They said you didn’t
    have my best interests at heart (your were only interested in clogging
    my heart).  I scoffed at them.  I defended our love.  When they called you
    “fake”, I called you “new fangled”.  But lately, you’ve been calling more
    and more.  I’m no longer the gangly 16 year old who fell in love with
    you all those years ago.  It’s a new world McRib.  A world filled with
    Tender Greens and Trader Joe’s Pad Thai.  I’ve finally realized this is
    not a healthy relationship.  I think we need to see other people (no, not
    McNuggets!).  I don’t think we should even be friends any longer.  You’re
    too tempting.  It was fun while it lasted.  I will always think of you
    fondly and I wish you all the best.

    Sincerely,

    Carey

  • Naploleon Dynamite or Sarah Palin??

     
    My buddy Levi Johnston was on The View recently talking about his run for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska and surprisingly held his own against the cackling bitch hens.  Meanwhile his baby mama continues to pimp herself a few blocks from here on Dancing With The “Stars”; her outfits getting skimpier each week.  Great job advocating celibacy you dumb hick!  And what of Mama Moose Killer Sarah Palin, the Wicked Witch of Wasilla?  Well, as Vanity Fair recently pointed out, the promo for her new reality show “Sarah Palin’s Alaska, has all the linear narratives of another great political scholar, Napoleon Dynamite.”  See for yourself:

    Not to be confused with this trailer

    “While its cinematography resembles that of something like Into the Wild, the dialogue seems to take its cues from Napoleon Dynamite, of all things. See if you can tell the difference between Napoleon Dynamite quotes and the Sarah Palin’s Alaska script.”

    A. “Oh gosh!”
    B. “We are somewhere that people dream about!”
    C. “I spent [summer] with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!”
    D. “Family comes first, it’s just gotta be that way.”
    E. “No boys upstairs.”
    F. “Flippin’ sweet!”
    G. “This is flippin’ fun!”
    H. “Are you guys having a killer time?”
    I. “How come we can’t ever just be satisfied with tranquility?”
    J. “[Wolves] kept tryin’ to attack my cousins. What the heck would you do in a situation like that?”
    K. “I’d rather be doing this than in some stuffy old political office. I’d rather be out here, bein’ free”
    L. “Just tell them that their wildest dreams will come true if they vote for you.”
    M. “Whatever I feel like I wanna do. Gosh!”

    Answers:
    Sarah Palin’s Alaska: A, B, D, E, G, I, K
    Napoleon Dynamite: C, F, H, J, L, M

    Speaking of the great Northwest, I was in Portland again last week visiting my old stomping grounds and having a great time with friends.  Here are some photos from the trip.  Thanks to Marcelo & Emily and Jay & Darlene for their hospitality. 


    The weather started out typically rainy at the Portland Saturday Market.  Mt. Hood still reigned majestic on the flight in though.


    Hanging out with my old college roommate Perry, as well as GLY’ers Marcelo, Emily, Jay & Darlene, was the highlight of the trip!  I also got to spend time with Doug, Susan, Donna, Kari, Cindy and Todd & Laura!


    The Bridges of Multnomah County…over the calm Willamette River on a beautiful fall evening.


    The weather was amazingly gorgeous for October, as the Farmer’s Market in Pioneer Square, (Portland’s Living Room”) shows.


    The dogs in Portland were especially welcoming to me!


    I got to hang with Todd & Laura’s great kids, but missed Taylor!


    Bon voyage Portland, hello L.A.!


    Best of the rest…

    And here’s a bit more from the week as told on facebook:













  • 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…

  • Refudiated Hiatus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


    Looking forward to Cats & Dogs in 3D!


    With Brent & Riye in Koreatown


    A rainbow in Dove Canyon last week…click for more


    Tressa and the rainbow!


    Dinner with Ryan & Chazz


    Hot Dogs


    Poolside at The Hotel Careyfornia


    The LaBrea Tar Pits with the kids…click for more


    Welcome to the Hotel Careyfornia!


    Hollywood with the kids yesterday…click for more

  • A Crude Comparison


    Really Sarah???

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

    “Performing on a flatbed truck beneath a banner declaring “Midnight Oil makes you dance, Exxon oil makes us sick,” the ever-politicized Australian band delivered an inspired set protesting the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  You can watch the entire 30-minute performance, along with interview footage, here.”  For those who may not remember, the Exxon Valdez dumped some 11 million gallons of oil in six hours, just a few miles from the Alaskan shore. (Had Sarah Palin been there, she would no doubt have seen Russia reflected off its shiny black surface.)  While other causes were initially blamed, the Valdez disaster was primarily caused by Exxon’s cost-cutting negligence in regard to the ship’s radar. Already downgraded in the ’80s, it had eventually broken down entirely, and the company decided to save money by not fixing it.  Fast-forward two decades to the current Gulf oil spill, which had executives from BP, Transocean and Halliburton shifting the blame back and forth during this month’s Senate hearings.  Ironically, Dick Cheney’s Halliburton is intimately involved in both the current spill and our two current wars. Something worth remembering this Memorial Day.  “We’re a small screaming voice,” says Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett toward the documentary’s end. “But we’ll keep speaking. If they don’t listen now, someone will be listening tomorrow.”  We can only hope.”  Source: CS Independent.

    Who’s going to save us?

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

    For it was another undersea oil well that 40 years ago spawned the modern day, highly effective environmental movement on the US West Coast and the core of US government environment protection policy.  Compared with the volume of oil spewing into the Gulf every day, what happened five miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, in January 1969, was minuscule. But its aftermath was vast.  An explosion of natural gas at Platform Alpha, operated by the Union Oil company, caused a blowout – releasing an undersea oil gusher. It would be 11 days before the blowout was brought under control. About 3 million gallons of oil escaped, much of into the pristine and ecologically diverse Santa Barbara channel waters, coating the nearby shoreline.

    The damage was enormous. About 4000 dead sea birds and large numbers of seals and dolphins fatally poisoned. The oil also killed innumerable fish and ruined kelp beds.  But then something unexpected happened; tens of thousands of people arrived to help with the clean-up. They laid out mountains of straw to soak up the oil, carted away tonnes of contaminated sand and gathered up the dead and injured wildlife. They were of all ages and affiliations, causing then president Richard Nixon to remark: “The Santa Barbara incident has frankly touched the conscience of the American people.”  The Santa Barbara spill fully awakened the West Coast environmental movement and led directly to the declaration of the first Earth Day in November, 1969, the founding of the US Environmental Defence Centre and the first university Environmental Studies Program. Offshore drilling was banned for the next 16 years – until the Reagan administration came to office.  Read more…

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

     


    Best of the rest…

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

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