sunset

  • Media Darling?

    Update: Here’s the link to the Wall Street Journal article I was interviewed for as referenced below. They  got a few facts wrong, but there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right?

    Every three to six months, when his most recent promotional deal expires, Carey Anthony blocks out an hour of his day to negotiate with his cable company. Each time, the president of a software company in Los Angeles says he can knock $20 to $30 off his monthly bill.

    “Negotiating works every time,” says Mr. Anthony,46, who estimates he has saved more than $350 a year over the past decade.”Sometimes you have to threaten to cancel service, or switch to another provider, or sit on hold for an hour, but I’ve never failed to get a discount,” he says. “You just have to be diligent.”

    As prices for cable services have surged over the past 10years and the faltering economy has pressured household incomes, a growing number of cable customers face skyrocketing bills. Read more…

    Also here are some photos from Christmas. I’m leaving today for San Francisco to spend New Year’s Eve with the GLY gang and look forward to more sunsets on the shore like this. Happy New Year everyone!


    Best of the rest!


    Video from Christmas Morning

    December 19, 2011
    Got the following email this morning. I called the reporter at lunch and did the interview. The piece should be in the Wall Street Journal late this week or early next. She said I was an amazing consumer advocate with a LOT to say. LOL, that’s an understatement. This is what I love about the age we live in. Power of the people truly exists. Tweets and blog posts can change policies. Keep up the good fight folks!!

    Gmail Carey Anthony
    Wall Street Journal Interview Request
    Schuker, Lauren  Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 9:34 AM
    To:Carey Anthony

    Hi Carey,

    I’m a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. I was writing because I’d love to interview you for a story about cable service– I saw your post on Yelp and thought you’d be a great person for the piece.

    I’m at (212) 416-xxxx or on my cell (below) if you see this – please call me as soon as you can.

    Thank you so much, and I look forward to talking further with you.

    Lauren

    Lauren A. E. Schuker

    The Wall Street Journal

    office. (212) xxx-xxxx

    cell. (617) xxx-xxxx
    Here’s the full post she was referring to. Long, but worth the read:

      -  Sep 12, 2011  -  Public
    My Online Chat With Time Warner Customer Service Today:
    User Carey has entered room
    Analyst Serena has entered room

    Serena> Hello! Thank you for choosing Road Runner Internet Technical Chat Support. My name is Serena, How may I assist you?
    Carey> Fix my internet & phone service
    Serena> Hi Carey! May I know what is the issue with the service?
    Carey> We don’t have much time…it will probably go down again in the next 5 minutes
    Carey> It’s been going up and down for a week. Internet and phone
    Serena> I see, okay.
    Carey> If it goes down again you’ll have to call me on my cell which I entered in the chat intro.
    Serena> I apologize for the inconvenience.
    Serena> Let me run line test on your device.
    Carey> I have had no phone or internet already today at least 12 times…this is unacceptable
    Serena> I see, I understand your frustration.
    Serena> For all services down issue, we need to escalate the problem to our Cable Services Specialist.
    Serena> To fix the problem right away.
    Serena> Let me create a case id number for you here, okay?
    Carey> ok
    Serena> Please give me a minute.
    Serena> I just want to check, have you reset your modem recently?
    Carey> many many times
    Serena> I see, okay. 
    Carey> this has been going up and down for a week. Sometimes it stays down 20 minutes sometimes it’s back in 5
    Carey> crap, there it goes again
    Carey> call me on my cell…my phone just cut off
    Carey> internet will be next
    Carey> it’s back….are you still there?
    Serena> Do not worry everything we’ve discussed is documented.
    Carey> did you see that it just went down?
    Carey> crap, it’s doing it again
    Carey> Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    rrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
    Carey> I can’t live like this
    User Carey has entered room
    Serena> Yes, I am still here, I am waiting for you to enter the session again.
    Carey> I’m back
    Carey> but it will likely go down again soon. What do I do?
    Serena> Great!
    Carey> I can’t live like this
    Carey> I rely on my phone and internet
    Serena> I am now completing all the line test and I will create a case number for you.
    Carey> what’s the problem??
    Carey> now it’s down again
    Serena> I understand Carey, this will be fixed as soon as we can,
    Serena> Yes, I can see it.
    Carey> now it’s up
    Carey> so what is the problem?
    Serena> We are currently checking what is causing of the disconnection.
    Serena> Please make sure all cables hooked up to your modem is securely connected.
    Carey> they are
    Serena> Okay.
    Serena> Thank you!
    Serena> I am now creating the case number for you.
    Serena> Here is your case number is: 7221706. 
    Carey> what do I do with that?
    Carey> I see a Time Warner truck outside. Should I give him that case #?
    Serena> That is for your reference.
    Serena> I just want to check, is your cable service goes down as well, correct?
    Carey> not my tv…just my phone and internet
    Serena> I see.
    Serena> Thank you mentioning the Time Warner Cable Truck, let me check our maintenance dashboard if there are on going outages,
    Serena> I see.
    Carey> This has been going on for a week though. I called last week and was put on hold for 40 minutes then cut off
    Serena> There is an outage in the area.
    Serena> I understand.
    Serena>The description of the outage is Multiple node outages affecting phone and Internet services.
    Carey> When will it be fixed? I’m this close to calling Verizon. I can’t live like this.
    Serena> Our Top Technical Engineers are currently fixing the problem.
    Carey> What are there names and emails? I’d like to write them.
    Carey> now it’s down again
    Carey> I’m back
    Serena> Good.
    Serena> I apologize Carey, I am not authorized to disclose the information you’re requesting.
    Carey> I assume this whole week will be taken off my bill.
    Serena> I understand you.
    Serena> For that you may contact our customer care to raise your concern.
    Carey> I CAN’T EVEN CALL OUT ON MY PHONE HALF THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Carey> and I was on hold for 40 minutes last week before getting cut off!
    Carey> I am NOT calling customer care to raise my concern.
    Carey> I’ve just spent the last 40 minutes raising my concern with you
    Carey> and in that time, my service has gone down 6 times
    Serena> I understand your frustration, we need to wait until our field technicians fix the problem outside.
    Carey> If you can’t have somebody fix my bill, then just cancel the whole service3
    Carey> I’ve wasted enough time.
    Carey> 10 years as a customer and this is how I get treated??
    Carey> I am going on Twitter now to tell everyone to cancel Time Warner if this is the way I’m going to be treated after 10 years of loyalty
    Serena> To fix your bill, I’m glad to get you a billing specialist right now, for your service, we really need to wait until the technicians done with the maintenance.
    Carey> It’s been doing this for a week….just fix the bill! I shouldn’t have to waste any more time with your company
    Carey> Who’s the chairman of Time Warner?
    Serena> I’m afraid I am not authorized to disclose that information Carey.
    Carey> You’re not authorized to tell me who your boss is???????????????
    Carey> http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2011/03/TIME_WARNER_CHAIRMAN_38_CEO_JEFF_BEWKES_TO_PARTICIPATE_03-03-2011.php
    Serena> Yes I am not in the position. I apologize.
    Carey> there, I saved you the trouble…I’m getting his email address too
    Carey> that’s absurd
    Carey> when will this be fixed?
    Serena> I understand Ma’am.
    Carey> It’s SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Carey> 10 years as a customer and you don’t even know my gender?
    Serena> I am sorry.
    Carey> This whole transcript will be posted on my blog and on facebook, to show how absurd this is. Watch for it.
    Carey> What’s the number for Verizon?
    Serena> We do not have the number for Verizon Carey.
    Serena> Let me hand you over to Billing people to take care of your possible credits caused by this trouble on your end,
    Carey> it would save your ex customers time if you just transferred us to them…it’s the least you can do
    Carey> Fine, but when will this be fixed and how will I know? I’d like Jeff Bewkes to call me when it’s resolved.
    Serena> I understand, I will do it for you now.
    Serena> Please hold on to your case id number.
    Serena> I apologize again for all the inconvenience Carey.
    Serena> That is noted Carey.
    Carey> apologies mean nothing…you don’t even know my gender. I’m a human being you know. You work for giant conglomerate who is bent on making my life miserable apparently. If you’re really sorry, you should get another job.
    Serena> For now, since our engineers still fixing it, they haven’t posted estimated time of restoral but I assure you it will be fixed as soon as possible,
    Carey> What website do I enter the case # into to see if it’s fixed?
    Serena> The case number will serve as your reference for this conversation, everything is documented.
    Carey> What website do I enter the case # into to see if it’s fixed?
    Serena> The case number cannot be viewed on our web site, it will serve as your reference for this conversation where everything is documented.
    Carey> What good does that do me?
    Serena> It will server as your reference number for this issue and when I transfer you to billing.
    Serena> Please stay while I transfer you to our billing analyst.
    Carey>Please stay? What am I, a dog?
    Carey> This is gonna look good on facebook!
    Serena> I’m sorry. What I mean please wait and stay in this chat session while I get you a billing specialist.
    Carey> It’s a new world you know? You can’t treat customers like garbage any more and not be held accountable. You will lose customers if you can’t fix these problems. Don’t you realize that???
    Carey> Oh and tell the “billing specialist” to read the entire chat. I’m not repeating myself.
    Serena> I will.
    Serena> I will now transfer you.
    Serena> Thank you for contacting Road Runner Technical Chat Support, again my name is Serena, we value you as a customer. Have a nice day!
    Carey> You sure don’t show it!
    Serena> Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst

    Analyst Serena has left room
    Analyst Gustavo has entered room

    Gustavo> Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable. At the end of our chat you will be given the option of taking a brief survey. My name is Gustavo. Please give me a moment while I access your account.
    Carey> You can either refund the charges for my horrible service the past week, or cancel it completely and I’ll go to Verizon. Your choice.
    Gustavo> Good Afternoon. How are you today?
    Carey> Horrible
    Carey> I feel as if I’ve been raped by corporate America.
    Gustavo> I am sorry to hear that. 
    Gustavo> I understand that your services are down. 
    Gustavo> Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
    Gustavo> I will be more than happy to assist you. 
    Carey> Everyone there is sorry, but no one is doing anything.
    Gustavo> Unfortunately, I cannot apply credits unless the problem is fixed. And as the last analyst mentioned, the outage is ongoing. 
    Carey> It’s been ongoing for a week. When will the credit be applied. I’m not calling in again or sitting on a chat for an hour. This is YOUR problem, not mine.
    Gustavo> As a courtesy, I am applying a $10 credit. You can contact us back once the problem is fixed to receive the rest of the credit. 
    Carey> And when will that be?
    Gustavo> Our technicians are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. At this time, there is no known estimated time of repair. 
    Carey> As soon as possible? It’s been like this for a week! I need a better answer than that. I have to decide today whether to cancel this service I’ve had for 10 years. You obviously don’t care about my business or my loyalty.
    Gustavo> I am sorry but I am just giving you the information we have. 
    Carey> If you were really sorry, you’d try to find out what the problem was and when it will be fixed.
    Gustavo> As mentioned before, our technicians are already working, there is nothing else to do from our end. We need you to understand that this is something that cannot be handled online. 
    Carey> Then you should have told me that an hour ago before I started this chat!
    Gustavo> I gave you all the information I have in the system and applied the credit I could. 
    Carey> I CALLED last week and was on hold for 40 minutes before being cut off. If I can’t call or chat online, how is it supposed to be handled???
    Gustavo> We started the chat 15 minutes ago Sir. 
    Carey> I started the chat with Serena an hour ago!
    Carey> Don’t play semantics with me, because you will lose.
    Gustavo> That is a different department sir.
    Carey> So?
    Gustavo> It is being handle by the technicians who are already aware of the situation. 
    Carey> I’m still the customer. I’m still a human being. You cut me, I bleed. Have you no regard for your customers?
    Carey> So how will I know it’s been fixed? Will they call me? Send me flowers? Sky write? How?
    Gustavo> The services will start working fine. 
    Gustavo> And no, we will not contact you. 
    Carey> So basically you’re telling me I’m out of luck. Just wait, like I have been waiting for a week…for something I pay you $160/month for that should work and doesn’t!
    Carey> This is going to look great when it’s posted on facebook, twitter, tumblr and my blog. I’ll make sure to tag it with #timewarner #customerservicenightmare!
    Gustavo> Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
    Gustavo> It would be a pleasure if there is something else I can assist you with.
    Carey> OK, I’m going to call Verizon now to see if they care any more about me.
    Gustavo> Again, my name is Gustavo. Thank you for chatting with Time Warner Cable. We value you as a customer and are here to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you would like to take a brief survey, please click on “End Session” and the survey will load.
    Carey> LOL, that’s going to be a doozy of a survey.

    Here are the rest of the highlights of the past couple of weeks:


    Birthday dinner with Dreamer David Cho.


    A visit with Arielle and Baby Hazel.


    Roscoe at Runyon Canyon. More here.


    Office Christmas Party.


    Movie night with Claudio & Ryan and Chazz & Rio. More here.


    Orange County thunderheads, followed by a rare California snow storm!


    Late fall in Southern California. More here.


    Thursday family dinner.


    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. More here.


    My brother, sister in law and niece visit The Hotel Careyfornia.


    Merry Christmas from Chazz & Rio.

  • 5 Year Xangaversary

    Happy Holidays from The Hotel Careyfornia! 5 years ago today I started this humble little experiment in sharing my life with the world. In that time, I’ve written 707 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, Tumblr and Google + these days; this site will always have a special place in my heart. Though I’ve pretty much been absent from Xanga the past six months, I have not been idle. I’ve lost 45 pounds, hosted many foreign dignitaries (including President Obama!), and traveled a bit. Here’s a look at the highlights of the past six months; filled with lots of dogs, kids and sunsets. The captions will open links to whole albums of more pictures if you’re interested. I’m not sure when I’ll be back here blogging more often, but I’ll never be gone for good!


    Thanksgiving with the family. The kids are getting so big!


    Mini GLY Reunion in Santa Barbara


    Sweet Home Chicago


    Autumn in Chicago


    We hired Daniel to entertain when we rented out the Museum of Science & Industry!


    Fall on the North Shore


    Autumn Stormclouds


    Pumpkin Carving


    Trick or treat in West Hollywood


    Best Halloween Costumes


    Washington DC sunset


    President Obama’s visit to The Hotel Careyfornia


    More California sunsets


    Walking in L.A.


    Cider House Rules


    Here’s a video of one of the more spectacular sunsets from the roof of The Hotel Careyfornia


    And here’s a video I just made (12/13/11) of every sunset photo I took in 2011, set to music. Enjoy!

  • 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 Busy Season

    It’s been a busy few weeks at The Hotel Careyfornia. Lots of visitors…lots of great meals and very little sleep. If you’re thinking of visiting Southern California, make your reservations soon; as we’re getting quite full for the summer, LOL! I’m getting great use out of my new camera. Here are some shots from the past two weeks:


    B & L brought the kids up to Hollywood and we had a blast! Click here for more photos


    The next weekend, B & L had us over for an oceanfront barbecue in Santa Barbara. Click here for more photos


    Beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. Click here for more photos


    The kids had a great Easter! Click here for more photos


    Jennifer cooked a great Easter dinner! Click here for more photos


    Hugo arrived from NYC last Wednesday and between that and the Royal Wedding, I haven’t slept since then! Click here for more photos


    Of course Claudio hosted a Brazilian barbecue! Click here for more photos


    Hooray for Hugowood! Click here for more photos


    More satisfied guests! Click here for more photos


    My neighbor’s new puppy…she’s a Chiweenie (Dachshund and Chihuahua mix!)


    I managed to squeeze in dinner with Owen last week. Click here for more photos


    Our traditional Thursday family dinner. Click here for more photos


    No, I WILL NOT fix your computer! LOL Click above for video


    We were driving home from the Hollywood Sign last night when the Twitterverse exploded with the news.
    I was with these guys on 9/11 and the year after in NYC. We all watched the President’s speech together last night.
    Now THAT’S what I call “mission accomplished” GW!

  • I’m a Father!

    I don’t have a great track record with electronics. I usually lose a camera once a year, and a phone once every two years. While my family insists I do this purposefully with the intent of always upgrading to the latest model; I’m really just clumsy and absent minded. It was worse in my 20′s, but now that I’m in my mid 40′s I’m noticing a another degradation LOL. Guess I’m somewhere between 45 and Alzheimer’s! I went back to look how many times I’ve blogged about getting a new camera and it’s a little embarrassing. Nevertheless, after losing my beloved Canon Powershot SD3500 in January, I’ve been using my old G9 and waiting for a new model to be released that I’ve had my eye on. So here it is, my new baby:

    I sacrificed a couple of megapixels for a faster CMOS sensor with high sensitivity. The screen is slightly smaller (3.2″ vs 3.5″), and the zoom is slightly lower (4.4x vs 5x) but it has full 1080p high definition video, High Speed Burst mode (up to 8.2 frames per second) and Av/Tv (aperture priority and shutter priority) shooting modes. It also has an neat Vivid Color setting, which makes photos look like paintings, as well as poster and miniature functionality. Take a look:

    12.1 megapixels • 3.2“ screen • 4.4× zoom Compact camera with manual controls, stainless steel body and touch screen interface featuring the company’s ‘HS’ system that promises better low-light performance and high-speed photography through a combination of a 12.1MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor and DIGIC 4 processor. It features an F2.0-5.8 24-105mm equiv. lens and a large 3.2 inch LCD. Users have the option to shoot Super Slow 340 x 240 movies at 240fps and 1080p24 Full HD video. There is also a Movie Digest mode that records a short video clip right before shooting a still image and then combines one day’s worth of clips into a video.


    Of course, the proof’s in the pudding, so here are some photos I took this weekend:


    First photos with my new camera


    Click here for more…


    Dar invited us to Palm Spring for brunch yesterday. Here’s Andy trying to feed Rio an orange!


    Chazz & Rio amongst the spring flowers in West Hollywood


    To the “security” guard who told me it was a “violation of federal law to take pictures outside the Pacific Design Center”, enjoy the photos. I was only pretending to be deaf!


    Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA. Click here for more…


    A boy and his dogs…


    Picking oranges with Andy, Chazz & Rio


    We were taking all these pictures by the lake, when someone yelled at us and told us we were on an active golf course. LOL


    Snow capped Big Bear mountain in the distance


    Andy, Roxy, Chazz & Rio


    Spring in Palm Springs!


    Favorite cousins!


    Happy Easter, Happy Spring!


    Click here for the best of the rest…


    Andy getting stuck in the folding chair…please don’t call Child Services on us! :)


    Chazz & Rio play in the back yard while Andy picks oranges. Click full screen for HD.

  • 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!”

  • 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.”

  • Snowy California – A New Year Detour

    “Southern California began 2011 with a traffic jam for the record books, as a powerful snowstorm stranded and stymied thousands trying to get between Northern and Southern California at the end of a long holiday weekend.  Some motorists said drives that normally took four hours lasted 12 hours or longer as they inched through blinding snow, gridlocked roads and slippery black ice as well as a succession of accidents and stalled cars…“  So said the LA Times today, and they were right.  After a wonderful week in Madera ringing in the New Year with GLY’er Eva and her wonderful family, my trip home was anything but uneventful, due to that snow storm in the mountains.  In the 11 hours it took me to get home, I saw rain, hail, snow, black ice, freezing fog, a rainbow and a most beautiful sunset.  Take a look:


    The first rainbow, hailstorm and snowstorm of 2011…all taken while driving on I-5

     
    It’s 2011.  Shouldn’t we have teleportation by now?

     


    The last sunset of 2010 and a joyous reunion with Eva’s family and Meghan’s new baby


    The first sunrise of 2011 complete with frosty oranges!


    Daniela still needs a little help staying up on her rocking horse from Mom and Aunt Eva

     
    All bundled up, enjoying a walk in the Madera sunshine


    Mugging for the camera!


    New Year’s Breakfast


    I love the way Mom & Grandma are looking at her!


    A hearty breakfast before what I thought would be a four hour drive.  Little did I know!


    Best of the rest…Click for slideshow
    Happy New Year!