Hi Folks, this just in from my dear friend Tracy, I'm sure that all of us feel for what the people in the eye of the storm are going through right now....

Friends,

Most of you know that I am a native of Louisiana and a survivor of many hurricanes (including Katrina and Rita). This combined with all the Earthquakes we have suffered has driven home the importance of timely aid and relief in the aftermath of a catastrophic event. It is extremely hard for me to be limited to watching the potential devastation of Gustav from so far away as our family and friends hunker down to ride out the storm, or are in process of evacuating leaving behind their worldly comforts. We pray that they will not need our support, but in the event that the do, I appeal to you all to join me in a campaign to support them in their time of need.

The Hurricane Gustav Relief and Recovery Fund will benefit all individuals impacted and/or displaced by Hurricane Gustav, as these individuals will face numerous challenges related to housing, food, education, healthcare, and other basic necessities. This fund will support organizations and programs that endeavor to meet the critical needs of these residents, assist communities impacted by a sudden influx of displaced individuals, and assist in the planning and rebuilding of infrastructure to provide basic human services to residents as they return to impacted areas. The Foundation will work with leadership from both governmental and private entities to provide resources to programs and projects that benefit impacted communities in their recovery processes.

Earlier today, I communicated with John Davies and Kevin Lyle of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation who are leading the relief efforts and here is what they had to say:

“We learned a great deal in the wake of Katrina and Rita, and we believe our Disaster Recovery plan is even better equipped to respond quickly to the impact of what appears to be a catastrophic event. We have been working today to update our website and activate a donation portal for a relief and recovery fund established by the Foundation. We have just begun to distribute this information to the media, and I wanted to pass it along to you as well. Our website for Gustav related information is www.GustavLouisiana.org, and the donation portal is now up and running.”

Even the smallest donations are appreciated. Remember that many organizations match charitable contributions allowing their employees to double their impact, be sure to check into whether one exist or initiate establishing one. Donations to the Hurricane Gustav Relief and Recovery Fund can be made using any of the following options:

1. Online : Secure Online Donations to the Hurricane Gustav Relief and Recovery Fund can be made using all major Credit Cards, your PayPal account, or an Electronic Check. www.GustavLouisiana.org

2. By Check : Donations by check to the Hurricane Gustav Relief and Recovery Fund should be made Payable to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, and can be mailed or delivered to the Foundation’s physical address:

Baton Rouge Area Foundation
402 North Fourth Street
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
Federal ID# 72-6030391

3. By Phone : Please note that the offices are currently closed until after the storm has passed, at which time they will be able to accept contributions by phone.

(225)387-6126
(225)387-6153

Please forward this information to your network within your respective organizations as well as socialize the www.GustavLouisiana.org donation portal with your business partnerships, local support organizations who may want to get involved, friends and any media contacts you may have within your reach. Thank you in advance for your generous support!

Sincerely,

Tracy

Tracy Paddock Beam

For information on Hurricane Gustav Relief efforts of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, visit www.GustavLouisiana.org.

I started working on the film Overnight on Tuesday and boy is it hot Santa Clarita! I'm working with Tom Hodges, one of the funniest men on the planet , I have known him for 20+ years...and of course my old friend Valerie Breiman is directing it, check out her movie "Love and Sex" starring Famke Jansen and Jon Favreau...she's a terrific director and it's like being with family on the set...I'll takes some pics soon and post them.
New knife photos coming soon as well..the collection is becoming..well, a collection!
xx cc

Here's a shot from my Godson's 2nd birthday and my 43rd....it was a great day!

here's the first one guys and girls and as you can see it's beautiful! I would like to sell this one for a good cause...suggestions are welcome!
xx cc

my friend Paul suggested that we look for love so that we have someone to bear witness to our lives...an interesting thought because I do notice that my hermit God Father (who has been without human companionship for 50 plus years) has become "invisible" in his mind..as if he is walking on the sands of life and leaves no footprints...I can only communicate with him via letters and he owns no phone nor uses a computer..a modern day hermit....I have written him a letter a couple of times a month since I was 8 years old..he has taught me about opera and classical music and history through letters...I still have them all....I feel blessed to have that in my life yet also saddened by the fact that he must be lonely but cannot admit it...a human condition...I hope any of you out there who ARE lonely can find the strength to reach out to those who will embrace you.
x cc

What is it exactly about love that makes humans so crazy..
.... you know that Buddhists say that you spend your last life (before going to heaven or their version of this) as a dog...because dogs are selfless..
........so I wonder if God made us always searching for "the one" might be because HE had -nor has ever found HIS one....HE must be very lonely.....I wonder if perhaps that's why we are supposed to "pray" and honor our Gods...maybe, just maybe...they are trapped in a place where they cannot reach love...no one to hold them at night...no one to tell them that they are doing a great job at living this life.....I wonder if our prayers keep them motivated...I wonder if that's all they have...

I would like to recommend Neil Gamain's INCREDIBLE book "American Gods" ...the sequel is also amazing please support this talented writer..
xx cc

I re- read Sir Richard Burton's "Falconry in the Valley of the Indus" recenty...this man had an amazing life and his wife Isabelle Burton put up with his absences of years and years with great aplomb. Read "Journey to Mecca" and find out how he infiltrated Mecca disguised with walnut oil (to make him look darker)...an incredible story and life. I also strongly suggest the book "The Wilder Shores of Love" it sounds like a romance novel but it's actually the stories of amazing women throughout history...really fascinating.

I've been thinking about life and dreams and goals (yes, again) and I kind of wish that I was raised in a Buddhist temple because I'm quite sure that they don't stress about what kind of car they drive nor the walls which keep them safe at night...I wonder if being human does actually mean that you keep striving for things that at the end of the day (let's face it) are not really important. Do you think that a mouse cares where he/she lives? Do you think that a cat really worries about his/her complexion? We should all embrace what makes us unique and special and feel good about simply being alive....and maybe be more animalistic.
Selfishness is pervasive and strong and in this era we have become ridiculously selfish....I spoke to Tracey Scoggins and she said that she had just finished dropping off a bunch of books to a VA hospital...she's in the middle of moving yet she found the time to do this simple act of kindness....made me feel like a heel frankly....I think I'll go through my books and dvds and all of that "stuff" today and drop it off at an old folks home...might make me feel like I'm not just breathing up the air on this planet.
Sometimes the impetus to do good comes from sources we never knew could move us.....if I may be cheeky I would ask of you to do the same...
xx

My British friend's band, The 7.20s are supporting the California band The Warlocks at their UK concert at Birmingham's Bar Academy on August 26.

Check out The 7.20s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/720s for all the details.

It's my mom's birthday today...Leos , Leos and more leos! My brother is also in August...I guess people were having "relations" a lot in the winter...:)

David gave me a really cool Panasonic Lumix digital camera so I will take that to the set of "Fly Overs", please be kind when judging my photos..I'm no expert...
I do have a photo of the first knife coming from the new collection..hope you like it, and feedback will be appreciated!
xx cc

so I was thinking about the fact that my God children have become so "human" recently..I mean I can recall when they couldn't speak, eat on their own or even walk! My Gosh time slips by! I had fun at the Karl bday celebration, watching him interact with the other kids and remembering that I married his parents in Scotland (I became a minister for that one) ...time really does pass quickly these days....it seems like yesterday when we were all in Laguna Beach high school...Gosh I sound like an old fart! :)
My best friend from the 80"s arrives from Vancouver (eh?) today and I cannot wait! We met on the set of a Bob Hope movie I starred in a thousand years ago (see, time flies!) and have remained close ever since....old friends are the best....she's a hot shot producer in Canada....I can't wait to show her around LA again...just like the old days..
xx cc

I appreciate every single happy birthday thought, email, facebook message etc. which was sent my way in the last couple of days...you guys and girls ROCK!
xx

Okay so my friend jari sent me this video on the Alaskan oil situation and I feel compelled to share..
mucho love, cc
http://www.reformation.org/energy-non-crisis.html

woke up early..6am....I don't feel any older, in fact I woke up singing "happy birthday to me, you look like a monkey and you smell like one too..." is that normal for a woman of my age?? In any event I am looking forward to now TWO God children visits today! My God daughter Kimberly is making brunch for me with her mother and of course the cake and ice cream with Karl Claudius in the afternoon..I feel a tummy ache coming on! I heard from my friend Simon Lewis (we did Star Hyke together and he is HILARIOUS) who read my blog about "time passing quickly " and he had a great response :
"I've been reading your daily blog, and it seems that we're both thinking along the same lines at the moment. I'm actually convinced that time has very subtly started to move faster in the past three or four years. I don't know why, and it's quite hard to articulate..but it's as though the ground is being cleared for SOMETHING huge to happen. I had a long conversation with a good friend whose opinion I normally respect about just this phenomenon, and the response was, 'Ah..that's because you're getting older'. But it ISN'T. You know when you actually stop, draw a breath and look around yourself, there are some very strange things happening. For example, I've hardly seen a single bee this year..normally the gardens and hedgerows are full of them. And the weather at the moment is very bizarre. Hailstones out of a clear blue sky, sudden, almost tropical rainstorms with inches of rain falling in minutes...and a sunlight that's frankly unpleasant to be be out in - I remember years ago, I used to lie out in the sunshine in the countryside around Bristol for HOURS, and feel great. Now, it doesn't even feel healthy to be exposed to it for more than a few minutes. It's harsh, it's bright, and it BURNS. A couple of days without rain, and the grass is almost scrub! Something's definitely going on; just can't quite put my finger on it at the moment. But it certainly seems to be making people behave strangely. Perhaps I AM getting old. I don't think so, though..*cue TWILIGHT ZONE music*"
There IS something going on and I'm not sure what it is but he's right...the planet HAS changed and it's not because I am missing the 80's...:) Be safe out there in the sun...
xx cc

Okay so I'm milking it a little, my birthday isn't until Sunday but I am starting to celebrate right now! It's blazing hot here on Mulholland drive at the top of the mountain with no breeze and lizards running for their life across the lava like decking. I'm helping to build my birthday present, an outdoor bed..the thing is HUGE! 8 feet high and a queen sized mattress..I must have been mad when I requested it! The tough thing about working outdoors in the heat is that you make mistakes...fried brain I believe is the professional term for it...in any event I am happy to have sunshine and happy to have a pool to jump in (even though it's more of a dog pool...tiny and shallow..why bother digging one??)
On my actual birthday I am having cake and ice cream with the man in my life...my 2 year old Godson Karl Claudius..cool name eh?
If you would have asked me a decade ago if that's what I would be doing on my birthday I would have laughed but there it is...glamorous? no...fun? Indeed!
:)

so I was talking to David and we briefly touched upon the fact that most people keep holding their breath for "something to happen" or they look forward to some elusive "thing" to happen...like looking forward to a holiday or a new job or saying "when I meet someone special..things will be great in my life". It made me think of the fact that most people don't enjoy the "now"..we are ever looking for something to look forward to instead of enjoying what is in front of our faces...LIFE. It may be a tad pedestrian and it might be a little boring ..but it's ours..our life and it's passing us by unless we acknowledge the good, the bad and the ugly of it. So take some time today to look at nature, smell a flower.say hi to a stranger...enjoy the fact that you're breathing...and know that someone out there is wishing you a beautiful day..
xx cc

Please visit my friend Sam Bozzo's site about the war over water....he is looking for financing to finish his documentary...he's very close to finishing and doesn't need much! He's at :www.bluegold-worldwaterwars.com
Long live the Earth..
:)

And, check out Sam's short films...they're great!

In January I moved back to LA after 4 years in London. I moved to the UK for a myriad of reasons.... I was burnt out on LA after 25 years here, the work was becoming sparse and the friends I had were sycophants and good time Charlies. An old friend offered me a job in Bristol, I fell in love with England and voila..4 years went by...however, you can't take the California out of the girl I guess. I missed the sun, oh Lord did I miss the sun...I missed having a car and sushi and friendly people and oh, tons of things...so one rainy, cold grey afternoon in December I had a chat with an old friend in LA and he asked me to be his partner in his entertainment company.. so once again I picked up and moved country for work. I said that I would give it a year..a year to work with him and develop projects and see what happens. Well, today we finally got one of our projects financed and we begin casting next week. The fact that it's my birthday on Sunday makes this a really special gift and perhaps a sign that I am on the right path??? It took 7 months of throwing a heck of a lot of things against the wall but one stuck! As my mom always says..."you get out what you put in" not terribly deep but if you really think about it, it makes sense. I guess my point is that things don't happen overnight the way they used to magically when I was a teenager or in my 20's..now things seem to be more of an effort, the economy has forced people to tighten their belts and not as many projects are being funded. Many of my friends are looking for money for their documentaries, films etc. and many of these are extremely viable, important projects..but they don't give up, they just keep plugging away. Today's lesson was that sometimes perseverance and hard work doesn't pay off at all..I have had ideas stolen, financing fall through days before shooting and have lost roles to people who turned out to be unprofessional or just plain bad...but sometimes...it all does pay off in a small but nice way... I hope all of  you have some "pay off" days soon..they feel really good and they make you carry that hope into the next day...after all, that's all we really are..a bunch of hopeful individuals trying to make our dreams come true. xx cc

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay is a swell read. If you are a lover of esoteric tidbits of knowledge, quirky characters and a fascinating (albeit occasionally naive) protagonist...then this book is for you. If you love book stores and New York you will also love this book, you can practically smell the dust on the shelves and taste the NY seasons...I recommend it highly.

Tracy Scoggins and I have developed a hilarious new show for the two of us to star in. It's Galaxy Quest meets The Gary Shandling Show..."Defying Gravity" is the perfect vehicle for Tracy and I ...the two of us share the same warped sense of humor and of course, we have the Babylon 5 connection of having both played Commanders on the show. Stay tuned for more information as we take the project into the shark infested waters of Hollyweird!

I have a new line of knives  hand made by my good friend Dave Rogers. The Claudia Christian Collection will be an exclusive line of knives and daggers hand crafted from the finest materials. Each knife will reflect my love and passion for edged weapons. Coming soon!

Also I have a new poster by Ran Valerhon please click here to see it (over 18 please)

Books are my life. I've written a couple along the way, and read at least 2 novels a week and will be sharing each and every one of them with you here on my blog.  There's nothing better than passing along a good read to a good friend! Keep watching the "Books On My Shelf" Category. 

'til then, here's a shameless plug for my book "My Life With Geeks & Freaks" click here