Jimmy Carter

Last night I watched Jimmy Carter on 3 different talk shows in the space of about 2 hours. He's selling his new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. He basically answered the same questions and told the same story on all the shows but I always love hearing him because he's so obviously informed about world events, he is still involved, and I always feel he's telling the truth. Like saying that an honest discussion about Israel/ Palestine is missing in the US, even though it's occuring everywhere else in the world. I was too young to understand his presidency when it was happening, but I think these days that he's one of the few honest voices we have in this country.

Last night we put up our new phony Christmas tree. Once I got the thing out of the box I realized it's 9 feet tall and six feet wide! But the good news is that the lights are on it permanently. We simply hung a few ornaments and congratulated ourselves on a job well done. I realize it's a bit early but since we're leaving on Dec 9...

Happy Thanksgiving

I can't imagine a more gorgeous Thanksgiving Day. Here in the desert it's about 72 degrees , just a few clouds. From our 3rd floor balcony we fed the ducks old bread this morning and I pitched a few carrots to the families of bunnies frolicking in the marsh grass. The only thing spoiling this serene picture is the loud, cigar-smoking old men on the other balconies.

We loved Bond on Tuesday. Daniel Craig is a more serious Bond than the others and I like the way they've removed a lot of the sillier aspects of the genre. The realism makes it more suspenseful. Last night we saw The Fountain. Very surreal, but really engrossing. Hugh Jackman is great.

I guess we won't be having turkey today but what we will be having is repeated trips to the ATM machine at the nearby Agua Caliente Casino.

Thanksgiving in Palm Desert

We are now at our time-share, Marriott's Shadow Ridge, in Palm Desert, a few miles down the road from Palm Springs. It's a beautiful place, very green, sparkling pools, all that. But it's mostly all about playing golf so the place this week is crawling with the whitest bunch of squares you've ever seen. We usually just drift around seeing movies, gambling at the nearby casino and lounging by the pool. Went to see A Good Year yesterday. It's really terrible. Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott should be ashamed of themselves. Today we're seeing Casino Royale. I love Bond. And to continue further in the Hollywood mode, yesterday we saw Carol Channing at Albertsons, looking at fake fireplace logs. So you see that Palm Springs glamour is not dead, even though Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope are.

A Draining Day

I took Hector to the Lipo Clinic at 7 this morning and collected him at 12. He was all doped up and damp and oozy and I barely managed to get him up the stairs and into the [guest room] bed. Now it's 5 pm and he quite literally hasn't moved a muscle in hours. Even though I can hear an occasional snore it's a bit like having a dead body in the house.

Wednesday November 15

In typical Berrier fashion, my siblings are all drifting away from the "Christmas at Steve and Hector's" idea in favor of ideas of their own. After some initial disappointment, I think it will work out well. Hector and I have decided to extend the December Mideast trip so that we fly from Amman to Rome and spend Christmas there with the Pope. There's a Marriott in Rome, so the hotel is on points... and we would have to fly past Rome anyway to get back home...

Wednesday November 8

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Antique Silver and Brass Chandelier

US Customs

We had a nice, quiet weekend. On Saturday I cooked a lovely Beouf Bourginon and had Mark & Arturo & Sonia and Steve & Jeff over for dinner. On Sunday we saw Marie Antoinette, a piece of shit, then came home and watched 8 hours of 24 on DVD. Hector is now in Puerto Rico for 10 days so I am expecting a very quiet weekend ahead as well.

On a different note, US Customs finally released our antique chandelier from Morocco and I picked it up today. What a bureaucratic nightmare. Those Customs guys think they are actual policemen and have to act all tough. However, it was worth the wait. See above.