Tiger in the Tree: The Tales of a Stay-at-Home Dad

Stay-at-Home-Parent Switch

2009-07-16T13:12:00.003-04:00

Well, Yvette is off for July, so, for most of the month, she's the primary stay-at-home parent. It's no break for me, though--I've been using the time to tackle my freelance work head-on. (Whoa, was that a sports reference? Anyone who knows me will find that odd. Maybe I can pass it off as a Jesus & Mary Chain/Pixies reference.) Okay, back to work.

Since I can't seem to get enough of photos of me and Carina, here's another.

Carina, Carina

2009-07-08T08:30:00.007-04:00

Here's a remarkable portrait shot of Carina taken by my brother, Rick, about a month ago when we were all in St. Paul. He's an outstanding photographer currently based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

The photo really captures the pensive side of Carina's personality. These days, the energetic and restless side is much more on display--she's infinitely curious and rarely stops moving. Her cruising has progressed to full-on walking, but she still likes the comfort of zipping around the floor in crawling mode.

Happy 4th!

2009-07-03T13:36:00.006-04:00

Well, Happy 4th of July weekend to everyone!

Funny how your attitude towards the holiday can change when you actually like your president. Fittingly enough, Yvette and I are currently watching HBO's John Adams miniseries on DVD, and it wasn't even planned to coincide with the 4th. (We were watching Undeclared on DVD, but ditched it--it's not nearly as good as Freaks and Geeks.) Paul Giamatti is great as John Adams, and Danny Huston is excellent as Sam--I really hope there's some reference to beer in there.

I'd like to take the girls to the fireworks at Congress Park, but it begins way past their bedtime...we'll have to think about that. And, of course, there's Elena's aversion to loud noises--Carina probably won't be bothered, though. And then there's my aversion to crowds...okay, maybe we'll try to catch the display from somewhere near the house. Or we'll stay inside, keep the girls asleep, and watch John Adams.

Tiny Dancers

2009-06-24T14:40:00.002-04:00

Here's Elena joining Carina in her silly little kneeling dance:

(S)Mothering? and Cosleeping

2009-06-19T11:32:00.002-04:00

Getting back to my previous post, as a well-read college friend and colleague pointed out to me, there actually is a Mothering magazine. (Something I should have found out myself with a two-second Google search, but oh well.) The publication has been around almost as long as I have, and, yep, it’s super-crunchy, with lots of articles about the many benefits of breastfeeding and cosleeping. While I’m certainly not going to get into breastfeeding, I will say that my experience with cosleeping is very mixed.

On one hand, it’s nice to wake up to a beautifully sleeping toddler in your bed, but it literally puts a barrier between you and your partner, and it can foster needy tendencies in your child, especially if they are already inclined to that sort of behavior. And then there’s the anxiety of worrying about rolling over on your child (which I’ll admit, fades pretty quickly) and the simple fact that once your kid gets a little bigger, it’s just not comfortable to have three in a bed, unless you’ve got a king-size mattress. The second time around, we opted for no cosleeping, and it has worked relatively well.

Anyway, circling around to Mothering, it’s worth checking out, if only to reassert the wisdom of the phrase “Moderation in all things.”

What Mattered Most to Moms

2009-06-17T10:41:00.001-04:00

I’m happy to report that Parenting magazine has (ahem) apparently ditched its lame subtitle, “What Matters Most to Moms.” Now if the magazine had been called Mothering or Mommying, that would have been fine, but this phrase, paired with the general title of Parenting, resulted in an annoying snub to all dads, particularly stay-at-home dads. Because, you know, fathers aren’t really concerned about parenting, right?

The publication has also taken its name somewhat literally, and gone forth and multiplied. Instead of just Parenting, there is now Parenting Early Years and Parenting School Years. (The lack of punctuation makes the titles extremely awkward, by the way.) Of course, one look at the Parenting site, and it’s perfectly clear that the magazine is still very inclined towards those of the maternal persuasion (Join Mom Congress!), so our victory, gentlemen, is a Pyrrhic one. March on, paternal soldiers!

I Never Go to Work

2009-06-11T11:22:00.005-04:00

The children’s albums/DVDs by They Might Be Giants are insanely popular in our household, not only with our girls, but also with me and Yvette, who were both into the band in the late 1980s/early ‘90s. (Yvette would probably like me to qualify that by noting that she was only really into them during the late ‘80s.)

This video—“The 7 Days of the Week” from Here Come the 123s—is fitting for me, not so much with the horn playing (though I did rock the bass clarinet in junior high) as the “not going into the office” part.

Tiger in the Tree Reboot (Again)

2009-06-10T14:15:00.004-04:00

Okay, so nearly a year has gone by since my previous post. The girls are growing like wonderful weeds, and my schedule got a little crazy when I threw teaching a college course into my SAHD/freelance-writing mix. My schedule is still crazy, but, hey, let's give this another try anyway.

To get things up to speed, here's a recent video clip of my girls:

Vacuuming = Visitors

2008-08-13T09:22:00.004-04:00

I'm often amazed at how Elena's three-year-old mind works. This morning, as Yvette was getting ready to go to work, she paused to use the dustbuster for a minute in the kitchen. Elena, hearing the sound of a vacuum, immediately asked me, "Who's coming over?" Not "Why is Mommy vacuuming?," but "Who's coming over?" Granted, we do vacuum when we aren't expecting people, but Elena knows that we always vacuum before guests arrive. Maybe she'll be a detective.

Sailing the Seas of Pee

2008-08-01T17:13:00.002-04:00

Note: Those offended by extensive references to urine may want to skip this posting.

Our household is currently awash in pee. First, I jinxed myself by mentioning to Yvette how nice it was that Carina hadn’t been peeing on us when we hold her or sit with her. This was something that Elena did constantly when she was a baby—I often ran full laundry loads that consisted entirely of things that she had peed in the span of a few days. Sure enough, Carina has been letting the urine fly recently. In thinking about it, though, it was easy to figure out why—whereas Carina didn’t move much up until recently, she’s now moving around actively, turning onto her side and almost flipping over, hence the leakage. Adding to the mess is Elena, who is in the big-girl-underwear phase of potty training, but she often forgets she’s not wearing a diaper. This results in many a puddle around the house, so far (thankfully) not on any rugs. Well, at least we have a nice Energy Star washer and dryer to handle the inevitable heaps of laundry.

Here’s a photo of the offending pee-ers.

Night Nannies?

2008-07-17T10:16:00.006-04:00

Okay, now this is ridiculous--night nannies? If these couples are both working full-time, and they don't even have time to soothe or feed their kids at night, when do they see them? For two seconds in the morning and then only on the weekends?

As a father of two, I know that getting up in the middle of the night can be tough, but it's a basic part of parenting. If you're wealthy and have triplets, I could see maybe getting some help at the earliest newborn stage, but otherwise this just strikes me as a service purchased by people who view parenting as a hobby that they choose to pick up on occasion.

Parenting/Working/Parenting/Working

2008-07-16T16:55:00.007-04:00

Well, juggling being a stay-at-home dad with freelance work has definitely gotten trickier now that I'm here with Carina every weekday--and Elena is with us on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That said (written), I don't have much to add right now, because I'm too busy doing work while Carina's napping. Here's a recent photo taken the day of Elena's third birthday party.

Literature's First Beloved Potter

2008-07-03T13:41:00.004-04:00

Way before fictional Harry, there was real-life Beatrix. When my parents read me her beautifully illustrated stories as a child, I loved her sophisticated talking animals and their very human-like predicaments. (Yes, I was, and still am, kind of a wuss.) When I spotted the BBC's animated adaptations of her stories at the ever-excellent Saratoga library, I was skeptical that they'd be up to par with the originals. Happily, as I watched the DVDs with Elena, I discovered that the short films are very faithful, and they even manage to catch that air of menace often present in the seemingly idyllic tales. Check out this classic Peter Rabbit clip:

Spots and Swingin' Jazz

2008-06-25T14:08:00.006-04:00

Ah, Disney—that bastion of kids’ pop culture gone horribly wrong. People tend to forget that the Mouse House was once an adventurous, envelope-pushing animation company that employed some of the most creative and innovative minds in the field, particularly during the 1930s and ‘60s. In viewing some of the classic Disney films with Elena (some that I’d seen as a kid, some that I hadn’t), I’ve seen everything from surprisingly stunning artistic achievements (most notably the absolutely gorgeous Bambi) to cute trifles (such as Cinderella, which looks like it was rendered by illustrators on leave from the Tom & Jerry TV series). Here’s an unlikely example of vintage Disney firing on all cylinders—it’s the opening to One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and it’s one of the best credit sequences that I’ve seen.

Tiger in the Tree Reboot

2008-06-23T15:10:00.003-04:00

There’s a new tiger in the tree, and her name is Carina Emilia!

She was born in early April, and she’s settling quite nicely into her role as the junior member of the family. She’s got beautiful deep blue eyes, defiantly spiky hair (undoubtedly cowlicks passed down by me), and what both our pediatrician and numerous nurses claim are the longest eyelashes that they’ve every seen on a baby.

With Yvette back at work (after more than two months maternity leave) and Elena at daycare, today is my first day in the house alone with Carina, and so it marks a new phase of my stay-at-home-dad-dom. Before Carina’s birth, my regular weekday life consisted of just Elena and me for more than two years. Then Elena started going to daycare twice a week, and recently shifted to three times a week, since she loves it there, and it gives both Carina and my freelance work more time.

I’m going to try to return this blog to its original focus of stay-at-home parenting, and I’ll also throw in some random pop-culture musings, along with occasional postings on our current base of operations, Saratoga Springs. So if you’ve happened to check this blog again after many moons, welcome back, and if you’re tuning in for the first time: Hi.

Oh, and, yep...that's Carina being held by me in the time-honored "tiger in the tree" move.

I'm Still Here

2008-03-21T15:16:00.003-04:00

Well, I finally skipped this blog for an entire month...almost two months, really. In late February, we moved to a new house in Saratoga, and, since then we've been setting up shop. We've also been preparing for the arrival of our second daughter in April--I guess you could call it "speed nesting."

Elena, now just a few months shy of three, has handled the move like a champ. She seems to like her new room, and she loves having a big yard, even though it's been too cold to enjoy it much. (Happy Spring, folks! It's currently sunny--and 23 degrees with the wind chill.)

One of Elena's new obsessions is pseudo-reading. She'll have us read to the same books to her so often that she'll memorize the words--or at least the gist of the words. Current favorites are Where the Wild Things Are (which both Yvette and I also loved as kids) and The Snowy Day, along with its great sequel, Peter's Chair.

Here is a photo of Elena and her beloved Wild Things.

Aslaug, Borghild, and Gunhild

2008-01-25T19:53:00.000-05:00

Ah, my first posting of the new year, and January is almost over. It's been a busy month, with illnesses and a search for housing. We found a house that we were going to take, then it didn't work out, and now it's another search for housing. Fun.

In the meantime, we've been coming up with name possibilities for Elena's little sister. Since Elena falls more on the Italian/Spanish side of our family (Yvette's side), we're leaning more towards Scandinavian names (my side) this time around. While there are some wonderful Scandinavian-rooted female names, we've discovered that there are some that just don't work so well, especially not with an American sensibility.

Here are some of the more unfortunate Scandinavian girl names that we've come across:

Aslaug - Apparently, in Old Norse, "ass" means "god." Uff da. "Laug" may mean "betrothed woman." Nice.

Bodil - Another Old Norse gem, which means something like "battle remedy." It does sound like some sort of medicine.

Borghild - You got it--Old Norse. A great name if you're really into Star Trek and Lord of the Rings.

Brita - We actually really like this name, but the popular water-filter brand kinda ruins it for everyone.

Gunhild - For if you're really into, um, guns and Lord of the Rings. It translates to something like "war battle." Very tranquil.

Gunvor - Means something like "war cautious." Oh, so feminine...and everyone would call her "guv'nor" with a Cockney accent.

Hjordis - No clue about what it means, but it sounds lovely, huh?

Well, that's enough for now. You get the idea. And that was only from A to H. Let's give another big "Uff da" to those wacky Scandhoovians.

And Then It Really Was Winter

2007-12-21T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here are some photos from earlier in December. This was the first year that Yvette, Elena, and I got a real Christmas tree, and it's also the first time that I ever cut one myself.

Since Elena is now 2 1/2, she's really able appreciate playing in the snow. The snowman that she meticulously directed me to build looks oddly like Elmo, but she vehemently disavows any likeness.

Bye-Bye Fall, Hello Winter

2007-12-06T11:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, I keep getting worse and worse about updating this blog. And, no, I'm not ready to let it go just yet.

What's new? Well, we've got another daughter on the way! This, of course, means that I am now hopelessly outnumbered by the females in my family. Recently, Elena informed everyone present at her daycare that she was getting a "baby sister for Christmas." Although the timing is off (the baby is due in April), she apparently knew we were having a girl even before we did. While the idea of being a big sister is still a little elusive for her, Elena is very excited about Christmas, and likes to run around the house proclaiming, "It's Christmas!" (Well, it is December...close enough.)

Here are photos of Elena on our Thanksgiving visit to Long Island. It was unseasonably warm there one day, which was nice, since Saratoga is now in a deep freeze...brrr.

GMOs & CSAs

2007-11-02T09:28:00.000-04:00

I've written a few articles for Energy Times (a Long Island, NY-based health magazine), but this one is the first to be available online in its entirety. It's about genetically modified organisms (kinda creepy) and community supported agriculture (very nice!). I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and it was good to get back in touch with my Midwestern roots.

Land of Plenty...of Pumpkins

2007-10-26T09:26:00.000-04:00

Okay, yeah…so I’ve gotten progressively worse at updating this blog. I’ve been busy with freelance work (and the never-ending quest for yet more freelance work), and enjoying autumn as much as possible. This is our first fall in Saratoga, and it’s been just as picturesque as I thought it would be. In the past few weeks, we’ve been to the Lake George and Syracuse areas, as well as spots closer to home, Ballston Spa and Schuylerville.

Here's one photo of Elena at a pumpkin farm near Ballston Spa and one close to a restaurant in the countryside by Lake George. She’s been enjoying “crunching leaves,” and is very excited about Halloween, though, like me as a kid, she’s easily scared by creepy costumes and decorations.

Let's Say Bye-Bye to "Pimp My..." and "Fauxhawks"

2007-09-28T11:39:00.000-04:00

A moratorium, please, on the phrase "Pimp My...." The last straw for me has been seeing a big headline on the cover of a recent parenting magazine that reads "Pimp My Stroller." Sorry, folks, that's just wrong on so many levels.

Apparently, the publication swiped the title from this goofy YouTube video from last year, which actually requires a little patience to watch.

And, related to the video, can people just stop giving their kids "fauxhawks?" Seriously, they look silly on children--or anyone for that matter--and they will really undermine your sense of parental judgment down the line. Flash forward 12 years--"I can't get a tattoo?! But you gave me a stupid "fauxhawk" when I was three!"

Young Folks

2007-09-06T12:21:00.000-04:00

I really liked this Peter, Bjorn & John single when I was tipped off to it last year, but the rest of their record, Writer's Block, didn't do much for me. I recently revisited the album, and it's really grown on me. Nothing on it is quite as catchy as this little ditty, though. Oh, and for Victoria Bergsman fans interested in following more of her post-Concretes exploits, her new project, Taken By Trees, is mighty lovely.

No New Tale to Tell

2007-08-15T13:24:00.000-04:00

In place of actually posting any writing, here are a few photos from the last couple of months:

Through the Woods Darkly

2007-07-23T13:48:00.000-04:00

This video simply rules.

Bat for Lashes is the alias of British/Pakistani singer/songwriter Natasha Khan and her album, Fur and Gold, is well worth checking out, especially if you like artists like Bjork, Cat Power, Kate Bush, (later) Siouxsie & the Banshees, and Patrick Wolf.

Adirondack Mountain High

2007-07-18T17:42:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, I went on my first major hike in the Adirondacks with my friend Andy. We decided on Hadley Mountain, which is about 35-40 minutes away from Saratoga, and it turned out to be a great hike. It was somewhat steep and required a decent effort, yet it wasn’t an incredibly tough journey--in other words, perfect for guys who aren’t super-sporty, but are in reasonably good shape, largely due to chasing after their kids.

Here are a couple of photos either on or near the peak of Hadley. If these don’t make you want to climb a mountain, I don’t know what will.

Top Ranking

2007-06-29T10:49:00.000-04:00

So far the new Blonde Redhead record, 23, is one of my favorites of the year. I really like the simplicity of this video for the song "Top Ranking." While I was never a big fan of Miranda July (the person posing)--or performance art in general, for that matter--I was won over by her film Me and You and Everyone We Know, and this video seems like an excellent meeting of Blonde Redhead and July's sensibilities.

Crazy Horse

2007-06-22T17:09:00.000-04:00

I haven't written much about Saratoga lately, and I'm not going to write much about it now, but here's a photo of one of the many funky horse sculptures lining its streets on these fine June days.

Still Lost at Sea

2007-06-18T13:20:00.000-04:00

I've got a few new(ish) reviews posted on Lost at Sea. Writing a book review, my first in years, was fun, and I tried to keep my Queens of the Stone Age album review kinda off-the-cuff, in the spirit of the record.

The Landlord vs. Jordy

2007-06-07T09:14:00.000-04:00

Hey, have you seen that wacky video with Will Ferrell and his cranky infant landlord? Of course, you have. I think it's pretty amusing, but the potential for parental outrage is obvious. And, sure enough, there was a short (i.e. slapdash) clip on the Today Show this morning with some stern bald guy talking vaguely about how the video was irresponsible.

Sure, parents shouldn't encourage their kids to swear and demand beer, but the video briefly brightened the day for millions, and I don't think that cute little girl is going to be damaged from being coached to say a few inappropriate things for one afternoon. (In fact, the director's revenue from that quick clip is probably his daughter's college fund right there...not that Adam McKay is hurting for money after Anchorman and Talladega Nights.)

From my experience with Elena, who is roughly McKay's daughter's age, she doesn't generally pick up and keep words in her vocabulary unless they are repeated over time--as in days and weeks. So unless McKay and his wife are regularly teaching their toddler to swear on a daily basis, I doubt she's going to end up talking like a drunken sailor in the long run.

Now, if you really want to mess with your toddler, stick them in a video like the one below. That'll do the trick.

Muppet Fever

2007-06-04T19:25:00.000-04:00

On a recent trip to Saratoga's wonderful public library, I was thrilled to discover that the entire first season of The Muppet Show on DVD was available to be checked out. Given Elena's love of Sesame Street and music, in general, I figured she would love the program. Sure enough, "Muppet Show!" is now a mantra in our house. And what makes it ideal is that each episode is around 20-25 minutes, which is perfect for toddler viewing. "Look, Elena, it's Jim Nabors! And Vincent Price! And Mummenschanz!"

Interestingly enough, the season aired in 1976 when I was two, and Elena is watching it for the first time when she's just turning two herself. Of course, I don't think I regularly watched (or remembered) the show until a few years into its run, which explains why I didn't recognize a few of the minor characters, who, as it turns out, didn't make the cut to Season Two. (George the Janitor, gone. Hilda the Wardrobe Lady, bye-bye.)

Here's one of the undisputed classics from Season One, with Animal lending his signature joie de vivre to Rita Moreno's sassy performance of the sultry standard "Fever."

Flower City

2007-05-24T20:31:00.000-04:00

Well, I’ve clearly been bad about updating recently. I guess I can partially blame it on being out of town a lot during the last few weeks.

Last weekend, we were in Rochester, NY, which is a hidden gem of a city located a little south of Lake Ontario and to the east of Buffalo. It has lots of culture and natural beauty, and plenty of great dining options, so we really enjoyed our time there.

The photos are from our visits to the Strong Museum of Play, which is an amazing children’s museum, and Highland Park’s Lilac Festival, a renowned annual celebration that we were lucky to catch while the lilacs were in full bloom.

In the Pines

2007-05-03T10:16:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos from a recent visit to Saratoga Spa State Park. It's a great place to bring kids, since there's so much open space.

Black Spider

2007-05-02T15:49:00.000-04:00

On a whim, I wrote a little piece for Associated Content about the origins of Spider-Man’s black costume, which is featured in the new movie. Why? I guess to reaffirm that I was--and, in a way, still am--a raging comic-book geek. I don’t see how Spider-Man 3 can top the second one, but you never know…it could happen. Oh, and don’t get me started on how AC (mis)spelled Spider-Man in the title of the article….

Editing Nemo, Hiding Monsters

2007-04-19T16:00:00.000-04:00

Nemo! Toy! Monster! These exclamations are common in our home, since our daughter, Elena, is one serious Pixar fan. She was first won over by Finding Nemo, and, on a whim, we showed her the Toy Story movies, which she immediately adored. Although there are obviously a lot of things about these films that she can’t understand (she’s only 22 months old), we were surprised that scary scenes--like when Finding Nemo’s Marlin and Dory are chased by a voracious shark or when Woody and Buzz from Toy Story encounter eerily mute toy experiments gone wrong--didn’t phase her at all.

When we played A Bug’s Life for her, however, besides being indifferent to the whole film (maybe she spotted the many scientific inaccuracies--blue ants with only four limbs?), she was terrified of a scene where a bird attacks the movie’s insect heroes. Aside from reinforcing Elena’s strange bird phobia (which extends to many avian toys and objects), it proved that all Pixar films are not subject to her easy approval.

Aiming to test Pixar waters again, but wary of the potential frights, Yvette and I showed Monsters Inc. to Elena, sitting with her to gauge her reaction. While she was interested in the jazzy opening credits, she was utterly terrified of the dimly lit first scene, which involves a monster practicing his (ahem) scare tactics. She screamed, well, like a little baby. Once the main characters, Sully and Mike, were introduced, though, she was totally fine. In fact, now “Monsters” is given the same reverence as “Nemo” and “Toy.” Who would’ve known?

What this all made me realize was that a little parental editing is in order when she watches these movies, particularly Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. When she watches Monsters, I just skip to the scene where Mike wakes Sully up from deep slumber, and, with Nemo, I just skip to the scene where Nemo…wakes his dad, Marlin, up from deep slumber. Although Elena doesn’t appear to be frightened by the beginning of Nemo, it’a a very dark opening that features Marlin losing his wife and almost all of his children, so I figure that can’t be good to see. While I’m sure that not all toddlers will appreciate these films the way Elena does, with a little tweaking of the scene-selection menu, these movies can be suitable for surprisingly young children.

Articles in the Key of X

2007-04-13T10:34:00.000-04:00

Oh, and, due to some weird compulsion, I'm still writing about The X-Files over at Associated Content. You can read my latest article here.

Outdoor Miner

2007-04-13T10:10:00.000-04:00

Ah, upstate New York--land of rolling hills, open fields, majestic mountains, and serene lakes. So, naturally, our move from NYC to Saratoga Springs involved us getting our own nice little piece of the Great Outdoors, right?

Um, no. In a frustrating twist, while we had some sort of significant outdoor space in our last three Brooklyn apartments, our new place in Saratoga has a large chunk of asphalt in what would’ve been a decent-sized yard. Sure, there are little pieces of soil that will have some grass soon, but there’s no fenced-in yard area for Elena to play in. Granted, we do have plenty of room inside, and that has really come in handy during this never-ending winter, but now that spring is (allegedly) here, our lack of outdoor space really hurts.

Well, at least we have a small side deck where we can place a small table and set out some pots of herbs. And, of course, we’ll make sure our next place has a yard…we only had two days to find our current apartment.

Here’s a photo of our backyar…er, parking lot, with our beloved gray Forester in its designated spot. And, yes, we are in Saratoga, not Seattle, though you wouldn’t know it from this shot.

Sea Change

2007-04-06T10:08:00.000-04:00

I’ve started contributing to the online site Lost at Sea, so check it out. It’s a nice publication--mainly music stuff, but there are also film and book reviews, etc. My first review is of a great new album by Jesu, a band that links back to my metalhead days. Rock.

Goody Two Shoes

2007-04-02T19:56:00.000-04:00

Elena has been really into shoes lately, and I managed to get some photos of her sneaking into some rather loose-fitting footwear. The first photo has her stepping out in my way-too-worn Merrells, and the second finds her taking off with her abuelo’s shoes.

Everything's Gone Green

2007-03-22T18:07:00.000-04:00

After reading today’s New York Times article on one Fifth Avenue-residing family’s attempt at “no impact” living (you might have to log in to read it), I had a flood of thoughts. These ranged from “Wow, you need to have a lot of money to make no impact on the environment” to “Hey, remember that movie Deep Impact…” to “Well, there is a lot of great food grown within 250 miles of NYC” to “Wait, they’re still using the washing machines?”

Then I thought about my own family’s impact on the environment. Yvette has never owned a car, and I didn’t own one for the near-decade that I lived in NYC. Even though we have a car now, our Forester is pretty fuel-efficient, and we don’t even use it that often, since Saratoga’s downtown area is only blocks away, Yvette walks to work every day, and I work from home. In fact, I’m pretty sure our neighbors think we’re quite odd, since sometimes our car doesn’t leave the parking lot for a few days straight. (Yes, this does make for an excellent deal on car insurance. “I just saved a ton of money on my car insurance!”)

Of course, despite recycling as much as the city picks up and getting some of those spirally energy-efficient light bulbs, we’re still very far from “no impact.” For example, I have a slight feeling of guilt every time I take a bag of dirty diapers out to the garbage, but the no/cloth-diaper alternatives are just way too messy and stinky. So those Manhattanites can keep their t.p.-less bathroom and fruit-scrap vinegar, I’ll opt for the low-impact things that don’t involve questionable hygiene and strange smells.

Winter (Not) Passing

2007-03-16T16:41:00.001-04:00

It happens every March--a couple of warmer days, and, suddenly, everybody’s convinced that spring is mere days away. And then, like today, it snows again. We’re supposed to get 12”-18” in Saratoga, so winter is definitely not over.

With that in mind, here are some photos from last month of Elena playing outside in the snow.

George, Curious & George, Lake

2007-03-02T17:17:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier posting, Curious George is gaining on Elmo in the battle for Elena’s adoration. She loves the George board books that we have, adapted from H.A. Rey’s original illustrations, and the current cartoon never fails to entertain her. And I finally noticed who sings the show’s theme song. I thought it was either Leon Redbone or Dr. John, and it turns out it’s the latter…I should’ve pegged Mac Rebennack’s classic “N’Awlinz” drawl.

In other George news, we visited lovely Lake George recently. Although the southern part of the area is completely overrun by tourism, and the northern sections of the region are quite beautiful. For more of my ramblings on Lake George, click here.

These photos were taken during a stop at a scenic overview. Elena was pretty cranky, since she’s still not used to extended car travel, and the piles of snow actually block some of the "scenic" part. Oh well.

I Saw the Light

2007-02-21T10:34:00.000-05:00

The novelty of living in an apartment that gets lots of light still hasn't worn off. I still can't believe that we lived in our Brooklyn cave as long as we did. Of course, we did have our own yard there...the irony is that we don't have a real yard now. (A parking lot surrounded by dirt does not a yard make. But, hey, as the locals say, off-street parking is nice.)

Anyway, I really love this photo of Elena with a cool natural-light effect.

My Heart Is a Flower

2007-02-14T10:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Elena’s Grandma Mary (Hi, Mom!) is a preschool teacher, and sent her some coloring projects to work on. Here Elena is coloring some paper hearts.

I should mention that the table that Elena is coloring on, which we recently bought, is great. It’s a Little Tikes plastic table with sturdy attached seats. In addition to being lightweight and affordable, it has nice muted colors (no eye-searing neon hues) and a surface that can be raised or tilted.

Fun with Photo Booth

2007-02-09T16:54:00.000-05:00

As you can see here (and below), I've been goofing around with my laptop's Photo Booth feature. Like her dad, Elena is almost always ready to ham it up.

Bloggin’ ‘Bout Saratoga Springs

2007-02-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

For those interested in local Saratoga Springs culture, attractions, etc., I’ve started blogging about the area for Hotels By City.

You can check out my occasional ramblings here.

Elmo, Monkey, Nemo, Pooh

2007-01-30T15:50:00.000-05:00

Ever since we moved to Saratoga Springs and briefly let Elena watch Sesame Street (particularly our Elmo’s World DVDs) more often than usual while we unpacked, her mantra has been “Elmo, Elmo, Elmo.” She also likes Zoe, Big Bird, Grover, Ernie, and “Cookie,” but none of them rank alongside the all-mighty Elmo. (That’s right…no love for Bert.)

However, there have been some new contenders to challenge Elmo’s supremacy. While Sesame Street was usually on when Elena woke up in Brooklyn, the Curious George cartoon greets her in the morning here, making “Monkey” another big favorite. (The show is actually very cool, with good animation, smart storylines, a jazzy vibes-led soundtrack, and narration by William H. Macy.) Also working in Curious George’s favor are an old-school George-in-space board book, a small new George plush toy, and a bigger old George plush toy.

But wait! There are even newer contestants! Recent DVDs that we checked out from the library--Finding Nemo and Pooh’s Heffalump Movie—have made Nemo and Winnie the Pooh register notably on Elena’s radar, with Nemo (also known as “Fish”) making a particularly strong showing. Oh, the suspense!

Here’s a photo of Elena mesmerized by Elmo’s World.

Six Point of Weirdness

2007-01-26T15:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, I’ve been “tagged” by a good bloggin’ friend o’ mine, so I’ll list “6 weird things” about myself:

1. Although I’ve lived a good portion of my life in states (MN, NY) that border Canada, I’ve never been there.

2. The entire time that I lived in New York City (9+ years), I never listened to the radio.

3. I never ate a McDonald’s Big Mac until I was in my mid-20s.

4. I almost always feel compelled to check out the bonus material on a DVD. Even if the movie sucked, I often look to a featurette, etc. to provide information on how such a sucky movie got made in the first place.

5. I will happily watch Sesame Street, Curious George, and It’s a Big, Big World with my daughter. However, Barney, Teletubbies, and Boobah are strictly prohibited in our household, because they are disturbing and wrong.

6. I love a good rock instrumental. One of my favorites is Metallica’s “Orion,” which never fails to give me chills. There’s a cool cover version of the tune here by the Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela.

(Some of) The Greatest

2007-01-11T16:04:00.000-05:00

Oh, and here is one lingering year-end thing. It's a short piece I wrote on a few (not all) of my favorite albums of 2006.

The New Year

2007-01-09T16:39:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year from Elena, Yvette & Eric!

We’re still busy getting settled up here in Saratoga Springs. Until I post something more substantial, here’s a photo of Elena from our recent visit to Saratoga Spa State Park.

Dreamt for Light Years Before I Went to the Foothills of the Adirondack Mountains

2006-12-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

Well, what do ya know? My two favorite albums of 2006 were also chosen as the top picks by Pitchfork. I’m not exactly sure what I should read into that, other than that I should probably expand my online-music-site horizons. (Unlike Pitchfork, though, I have no Man Man on my list. That name really bugs me. Man Man? Please.)

While the Knife and TV on the Radio are definitely the acts that fascinated me the most during the year, I’d give the Knife a slight lead for creating unearthly synth-pop that is both bizarre and catchy. (As I mentioned in an older posting, “We Share Our Mothers’ Health” got my daughter dancing without fail.) Meanwhile, the TV on the Radio album was described by one friend as sounding like “two records being played at the same time.” (Presumably a soul record and post-punk record.) Though that was a reason that she didn’t like it, I think that quality was a virtue for me.

Anyway, here are my favorite albums of the year, generally in no order, except for the first two:

The Knife – Silent Shout
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
Sparklehorse – Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain
Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
The Futureheads – News and Tributes
Thom Yorke – The Eraser
Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
Phoenix – It’s Never Been Like That
Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit

The Drift, the Information, etc.

2006-12-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

Hey, it's year-end-list time again. These are albums (in alphabetical order) that I really enjoyed (or, in the case, of Walker's record, feared) in 2006, but that didn't make my top 10:

Beck – The Information
Cat Power – The Greatest
Bob Dylan – Modern Times
Goldfrapp – Supernature
Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites
Mojave 3 – Puzzles Like You
Morrissey – Ringleader of the Tormentors
The Pernice Brothers – Live a Little
Scott Walker – The Drift
M. Ward – Post-War

(Looks Like It Won't Be a) White Christmas

2006-12-19T14:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a photo taken in our Brooklyn backyard last weekend. The date was December 16th, and you'll notice that Elena is wearing a light shirt and a hooded sweater. Nope, we aren't training our daughter to withstand the colder temps of Saratoga Springs...it was 60 degrees out. But, hey, global warming doesn't exist, right? I know, I'm obsessing about this...it's just so strange to me.

Oh, and for those keeping tabs, I'm pretty much back to being "Dada" now. Elena had decided that my days of being "Mama" are over, and now Yvette, thankfully, is the sole "Mama" of the household.

(Not Dreaming of a) White Christmas

2006-12-13T10:36:00.000-05:00

Hi to anyone still following this blog. I’ve been really bad about updating it, since my attention has been focused our increasingly busy and inquisitive daughter, our relocation to Saratoga Springs, my constant search for more freelance work, and holiday stuff in general.

I plan on posting a list of places I’ll miss the most in NYC and a list of my favorite albums of 2006, but those may have to wait until January, when Yvette, Elena, and I are settled in our new abode in Saratoga Springs. And, yep, we did find a place to live…the bottom half of a duplex. It’s a nicely renovated apartment with lots of light, but little yard space…pretty much the opposite of our current Brooklyn cave.

One note on the weather [cue Tom Waits’ “Strange Weather”]…while I like pleasant temps as much as the next person, I have been thoroughly disturbed by the ridiculous number of warm days since October. I mean, it’s getting near the 60s this week! That’s just not right for mid-December in Brooklyn, folks. But…that said, I hope the weather stays fairly nice for our move upstate at the end of the month. If any major snowstorms could just hold off until early Jan., that would be great, thanks.

Oh, and here’s a photo of Elena inspecting our little silver Charlie Brown-like Christmas tree.

Hope Springs Eternal

2006-11-29T10:26:00.000-05:00

Well, after years of threatening to leave New York City, I’m finally out of here. Yvette got offered a job at a school upstate, so we’re moving to Saratoga Springs, the scenic land of “Health, History, and Horses.” It’s going to be a big change, especially since I’ve been living in NYC for more than nine years. (Yvette’s been here nearly as long, and, like our daughter, Elena, was born in Brooklyn.) So now it’s packing, looking for a place to live (quite possibly in one of these strange buildings called “houses”), and shopping for a car. (I haven’t driven regularly in nine years, and Yvette hasn’t driven in, well, a really long time.) If we can’t find a house or apartment, we’ll live on the rock in this photo.

While we’ll definitely miss friends and certain places in the city, the move is a very welcome change, since it’ll mean living in a much more laid-back and affordable area with plenty of natural beauty nearby. (Saratoga Springs is close to three different mountain ranges--the Adirondacks, the Berkshires, and the Catskills.)

However, we will not be moving to Disney’s Saratoga Springs, so don’t look for us in Florida.

All Mamas, No Papas

2006-11-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

Elena is calling me "Mama." It started out of the blue during the last month or so, and it shows no signs of stopping soon. She used to call me "Dada" with no problem (in fact, she regularly said "Dada" before she ever said "Mama"), but no...it's all "Mama," all the time. (It seems a little unlikely that she would've already picked up on gender stereotypes, but, hey, you never know.)

It gets a little embarrassing when I'm in line at the grocery store, and she starts up. I try to deflect it - "No Mama's at work. I'm Dada." - but she'll give me a look as if to say, "Yeah, I know who I'm talking to. You're Mama." So...aside from referring to myself as "Dada" every other sentence (which, yes, gets seriously annoying, even to the "dada" in question)...I'm at a loss. I'm just going to have to wait until she decides I'm "Dada" again. And maybe easy up on the mascara.

Here's "Mama" and Elena in Prospect Park on an unseasonably warm November day.

Everyday Is Halloween

2006-10-31T09:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween from me, Yvette & Elena!

I think this may be the best jack-o'-lantern I've ever carved. I didn't even have to attach any of the teeth with toothpicks...aw, yeah.

Autumn Light

2006-10-13T11:24:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos taken at a new cafe in Boerum Hill. The fall afternoon light was really nice, and given our dark apartment, we have a particular appreciation for well-lit indoor photos.

An Article on the Truth Is Out There

2006-10-11T09:54:00.000-04:00

Yvette and I have gradually been watching the X-Files from the beginning, which is proving to be a lot of fun. To test the waters in writing for Associated Content, I wrote an article on the show's first season.

Green, Green Grass of Home

2006-09-28T12:05:00.000-04:00

Elena used to hate sitting or standing on grass, but she's finally warmed up to it somewhat. As long as she's got her funky little Robeez shoes on, and the grass isn't brushing up against her legs, she's fine. I took this photo while we were practicing walking (her walking, not mine) in Cobble Hill Park.

Apple Cheeks

2006-09-13T16:43:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month, we went apple picking out on the North Fork of Long Island. Elena had a great time holding a small apple in each hand, and, given that she has most of her baby teeth, she enjoyed chomping on them, too. (She hasn’t yet met a fruit that she doesn’t like.)

With the rapid rate of development on the North Fork, beautiful fields like this will probably soon be scarce. Hopefully, they’ll rein in the suburban sprawl before it affects this nice spot.

In a Silent, Sleep-Deprived Way

2006-09-01T15:23:00.000-04:00

I’ve been listening to In a Silent Way by Miles Davis on repeat all day. I’m not usually the type to listen to the same album over and over again, but on this particular day, the record perfectly suits the state of the weather (the gray calm before the remnants of tropically depressed Ernesto get here), and my mood, since I’m currently sleep-deprived (due to Elena’s I’m-almost-walking restlessness keeping Yvette and I up until 3:00 a.m.), and fighting either an allergy flare-up or a light cold.

But back to In a Silent Way…it’s the kind of album that you can listen to repeatedly, and notice different elements every time. It’s mellow, funky, and a little psychedelic (recorded in 1969, after all), yet it’s got a rock-like sense of urgency during many passages. Sure, Davis’s trumpet playing draws you in, but, at other moments, John McLaughlin’s crystalline guitar lines are mesmerizing, and the rhythm section of bassist Dave Holland and drummer Tony Williams is hypnotizing in its own right. And with Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Joe Zawinul all contributing percolating electric-piano lines…whoa. And, there’s also Wayne Shorter adding some heft on tenor sax. Rivaled only by Davis’s Kind of Blue for its mastery of mood, this proto-ambient album is pretty much essential for any jazz collection. I think I’ll keep listening to it until I reach something resembling a normal state of consciousness.

No Moose, Just Squirrel

2006-08-23T18:33:00.000-04:00

What you see here (or don’t see…since it’s not the best photo) is the work of one determined squirrel. Granted it’s a Brooklyn squirrel, so it had some extra attitude, but still…I was surprised to see this little piece of animal vandalism. The feisty critter gnawed through a lot of hard gray plastic in an attempt to get at a bag of birdseed in this outdoor container. My only comfort is knowing that the squirrel didn’t get his paws on a single seed, since I moved the bag to our hallway before he made a bigger hole. (To paraphrase Gene Wilder in that traumatic scene near the end of Willy Wonka, “You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!”) Now, of course, if I want to replace the container, I’ll have to walk about 15-16 blocks to the Lowe’s near Red Hook (and the ever-fragrant Gowanus Canal), and carry the bulky thing back, since I, like many Brooklynites, don’t own a car. Ah, the strange things you do (or don’t do), when you live in NYC.

We Share Our Mothers' Goth

2006-08-17T14:53:00.000-04:00

I finally got to hear the new album by the Knife, a Swedish brother/sister synth-pop duo, and I have to say I’m really impressed. While it’s a very quirky, goth-like affair with a lot of bizarrely distorted vocals, a number of the tracks have really catchy rhythms and melodies. In fact, every time I play the oddly titled single “We Share Our Mothers’ Health,” Elena starts dancing, no matter what she’s doing, as if she can’t help but bounce around just like the song’s rambunctious beats. (Maybe she’s tuning in to her mom’s goth-rock history.) If you like the darker side of Bjork and the more dance-oriented tunes by Siouxsie & the Banshees, this is manna from the shadow world. Be warned, though, the Knife’s videos are even weirder than their music…the “Silent Shout” video gives Aphex Twin a run for his money in the disturbing-visuals category.

The Knife’s MySpace site

Heat Wave

2006-08-03T11:16:00.000-04:00

This is what three days of above-100-degree heat does to a previously full petunia plant. Since our yard has direct southern exposure, it’s hard enough to keep most potted flowers and herbs from wilting in late summer, even in partial shade, but this kind of weather makes some of them downright crispy.

The heat has been so severe that I’ve kept Elena inside for most of the last few days, but since it was late afternoon, we went out for a little while. That second photo is her looking back at the apartment door, as if to say, “Um, can we go back in now?”

Eat to the Beat

2006-07-19T18:27:00.000-04:00

To say that Elena has been a fussy eater lately would be an understatement…she’s been wildly unpredictable in both what and when she will eat. Sure-fire favorites such as sliced bananas with vanilla yogurt have recently been dismissed with a haughty “nuh-nuh,” and even her beloved cheese singles have been shooed away on rare occasions. And, on the chance that she doesn’t want to eat something, but it finds its way into her mouth anyway, she’ll spit it out with surprising efficiency. Apparently, this is par for the course with a lot of 12-18 month olds, but that doesn’t make the regular ritual of trying to feed her any easier. So far we’ve had some breakthroughs by staying unpredictable ourselves, and giving her foods she’s not expecting…hopefully soon, as they say, she’ll grow out of it.

Garden Girl

2006-07-11T18:56:00.000-04:00

Here's a recent photo of Elena at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. She's been very coy about pictures lately...getting a shot of her looking in even the general direction of the camera is quite a feat.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2006-06-27T12:16:00.000-04:00

I just did a little math, and calculated that I’ve changed in the ballpark of 1,800 diapers in the last year. Whoa. That’s factoring in diapers that Yvette changed, and it’s actually a conservative estimate.

Does that qualify me for some sort of degree? A MFA in Infant Waste Disposal? (That, of course, would probably be more useful than my MFA in Creative Writing.) Of course, what it really qualifies me for is the honor of changing thousands more. Nice.

Here’s a photo of me and Elena when I was just learning the ropes, and she was only one month old.

Father Bear, Father Bear, What Do You See?

2006-06-23T18:12:00.000-04:00

Well, I’ve obviously been really bad about updating the site this month. Elena, who recently turned one, is considerably more active now--in the past few weeks, she started crawling, and then swiftly moved to speed-crawling (living room to office area to bedroom in 10 seconds flat), so much of my day is now spent literally chasing after my daughter.

Witnessing your child’s first birthday can be pretty mind-blowing…you’re no longer the parent of a helpless newborn, but the parent of a fascinating and curious little person who desperately wants to explore the world and test their abilities (specifically meaning “grab everything in sight”).

As I write this, Elena has crawled up to my chair, pulled herself up to standing, and is balancing by holding tightly on to my pant leg. The determined look on her face tells me that she’s done looking at her Eric Carle board book (one of many), done playing her wooden xylophone, and done tampering with various remote controls. She’s letting me know that she wants my full attention, which, of course, is exactly what she’s going to get.

The Age of Aquarium

2006-06-02T18:12:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday, Yvette and I decided on a whim to take Elena to the New York Aquarium out at Coney Island. Although the aquarium was a bit lacking, and the sea lion show was announced by a loud-talking guy who was clearly on speed, there were some nice fish tanks that Elena was really fascinated with, as you can see in this photo (taken by Yvette).

Dinosaurs, Tiger, and Bears

2006-05-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

I’m a big Johnny Cash fan, and I’m usually aware of any major Man in Black releases, but, until very recently, I had no idea that Cash had recorded a children’s album. Issued for the first time on CD this month, and aptly titled The Johnny Cash Children’s Album, this overlooked gem features 15 kid-oriented songs, mostly penned by Cash himself. These good-natured tunes don’t stray too much from Cash’s signature sound, except, of course, that they’re about magic glasses and dinosaurs, instead of murder and prison.

Charming without being overly cutesy, and fun while still being educational, the album is a fine example of a great kids’ record. It also serves as a nice way to remember the lighthearted side of Cash, a point that his son, John Carter Cash, drives home in the touching liner notes. And for me, it now has special significance: It was originally released in 1975, around the time that I turned one year old, and now it’s been reissued around the time that my daughter is turning one. Thanks, Johnny.

Catch That Zanes!

2006-05-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

Earlier this evening, I saw the musician Dan Zanes on the street near our apartment. (I think he lives in the neighborhood, since I’ve seen him around here before.) I’m not that familiar with his music, but anyone that can get Nick Cave to perform on a children’s album (no, the I Am Sam soundtrack doesn’t count) is okay in my book. Apparently, the new disc by Zanes, the one featuring, not only Cave, but also the Blind Boys of Alabama, Natalie Merchant, and Kronos Quartet, just came out yesterday, and looks to be worth checking out.

Aluminum Tunes

2006-05-15T15:54:00.000-04:00

For months now, Elena’s been enjoying her Baby Einstein activity center (a loan from friends that generously turned into a gift), despite the fact that the one electronic part of it doesn’t work. The component in question looks a lot like a mini-Simon Says toy with big, colorful plastic panels that have animal faces on them. It really began bugging me that this didn’t work, so I decided to open up the circuit board and look inside, despite having almost no technical know-how. Sure enough, the problem was a detached wire, easily remedied with a soldering iron…which we don’t own. So, I went into MacGyver mode, and made an attempt at a repair with a piece of aluminum foil, and, surprisingly, it worked. Suddenly, when the panels were pushed, music came out the tinny hidden speaker, along with corresponding animal sounds.

The end result of this breakthrough? A crying, scared-out-of-her-wits child. It turns out that most of the noises, even on the lower setting, are too abrupt for our sensitive little girl, and, in her defense, I’ll say that I was shocked to hear that the lion’s roar sounds an awful lot like Satan. (Or at least what I’d expect Satan to sound like given the horror films I’ve seen.) Luckily for Elena, the foil must have quickly come loose, because the lion and his friends soon went mute. And, of course, in keeping with our no-shoes/organic-friendly/Satan-free household, we left that toy broken.

Parade of the Ewok

2006-05-04T10:53:00.000-04:00

From out of nowhere in the last few days, Elena has started talking in this high-pitched, fast-paced gibberish that sounds nothing like her earlier babbling. The closest thing I can compare it to is the Ewok speak from Return of the Jedi, though it also calls to mind a drunken Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz. (And, no, she hasn't started looking like a tribal teddy bear or a miniature version of a New Wave/punk rocker...thanks for asking, though.)

So now Yvette and I look forward to these short bursts of lingual wackiness...they seem to be most prominent in the mornings and evenings. She's also been doing that classic cartoon lip-wobbling thing, as seen in this photo taken in our backyard.

Elena on the Beach

2006-04-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

On a recent trip out to Long Island, Elena got her first glimpse of the ocean. It was nothing spectacular, just a little beach spot in a nice park on the south shore that’s known for its inordinate population of deer, but she seemed to enjoy looking out at the salt-water expanse.

Pocketful of Jens

2006-04-20T09:33:00.000-04:00

Recently, in the midst of one of those I’m-sick-of-my-entire-music-collection phases, Yvette brought home a compilation of singles by this Swedish singer/songwriter Jens Lekman. It took a few listens to the entire disc (Oh Jens You're So Silent), but I’m now a convert to his charming brand of indie-pop, which makes me think of British crooner Scott Walker as a Boy Scout armed with a sampler and a sunny Scandinavian disposition (not to be confused with a dark Scandinavian death-metal disposition). In one of his more impressive stunts, Lekman builds a song (“Pocketful of Money”) around a prominent Beat Happening sample, making the tune remarkably catchy, when it could be quite annoying. (I like Beat Happening, but a little goes a long way.) If you’re a fan of Kings of Convenience and/or the Magnetic Fields, there’s a good chance that you’ll be won over by Lekman. And though I wouldn’t necessarily describe his music as obviously baby-friendly, Lekman’s tunes have a charmingly naïve and highly melodic quality that makes him suitable for kids, a sentiment that I think Elena would back up if she could speak much more than her own special language.

Flower Power

2006-04-11T21:17:00.000-04:00

I’m completely fascinated with some of Elena’s toys. In most cases, Yvette and I picked them out, so it’s natural that I’d like them. Some of these funky little trinkets, though, are particularly intriguing to me, especially a lot of the toys we bought that are made by this European-based company Haba, who has a line of wooden toys that are interesting, well-designed, and, of course, cute.

One of my favorites is this flower-like toy made of multicolored wooden “petals” bound together by an elastic string. On one side, each movable petal has either a small bell or mirror on it, and the entire thing can be shaped into various patterns. It may not sound that cool, but, trust me, it’s a pretty mesmerizing toy.

Elena's Swingin' Session

2006-04-03T20:30:00.000-04:00

Hi. After weeks without a new posting, I’m back. I was derailed by a number of factors--including a temporarily hysterical baby (a fierce bout of separation anxiety), a change in my workload, and a general lack of motivation--but I aim to update this site at least once a week for the near future.

As you can see from these photos taken in Brooklyn Heights, we decided to see how Elena would like being in a swing, and I think the pictures make her reaction pretty clear--she loved it. At about 10 months of age, she’s probably already more adventurous than her mom or dad.

Buggin'

2006-03-15T13:28:00.000-05:00

It’s been about a year since Yvette and I bought a Maclaren Techno Classic stroller in anticipation of our daughter’s birth. Elena always seems very comfortable in it, and it handles the sidewalks of Brooklyn really well. While the Maclaren was once the dominant species in our neck of the Brooklyn woods, Bugaboo strollers have officially taken over.

Once a funky curiosity, these ridiculously expensive infant vehicles, which typically cost between $700 and $900, now line the sidewalks of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Brooklyn Heights. Though this isn’t news to parents in the area, it may cause others to question why anyone would pay $900 for a stroller. I mean, they are well designed, but there are so many other things to do with that money. Anyway, we’ll keep kickin’ it old-school like it’s 2005 with our trusty Maclaren…Bugaboos will probably be eclipsed by another even more expensive brand within months.

The Ides of March

2006-03-06T10:43:00.000-05:00

Although I didn’t see many of the films nominated for Oscars last night, I did see Crash and Brokeback Mountain. Crash was essentially a better-than-average made-for-TV movie; Brokeback Mountain was a cinematic achievement. I was under the impression that the Academy was supposed to honor cinematic achievements, but, hey, they’ve passed over plenty of other great films in the past. (Elena passionately protested Brokeback Mountain’s loss with an hour or two of uncharacteristically dramatic crying. Then again, it may have been the teething.)

Other Oscar-related thoughts:

It was nice to see three solid contenders in the Animated Feature category. Corpse Bride was very entertaining, but the Wallace & Gromit movie was even better…that’ll be one to show Elena in a few years. I’m a big Hiyao Miyazaki fan, but I didn’t see Howl’s Moving Castle yet. I’m still thrilled that he won a year or two ago for Spirited Away, which is an excellent and ridiculously imaginative movie.

Though I haven’t seen Capote or Walk the Line, it looks like Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon deserved their respective awards. (Although I did think Heath Ledger was fascinatingly understated in Brokeback Mountain. Viggo Mortensen was also wonderfully subdued in A History of Violence, but he didn’t even get nominated.)

George Clooney is The Man. (Not, of course, in the ominous sense, but in the effortlessly-cooler-than-you’ll-ever-be sense.) He seems like a thoughtful and highly intelligent guy, and he’s really got that classic-Hollywood-film-star vibe down.

Anyway, I could ramble on about all of those perplexing Memoirs of a Geisha wins and gripe about the sad state of the Best Original Song category, but I’m already feeling Academy Award fatigue. In the next few months, my wife and I are looking forward to seeing The Constant Gardener, Munich, Capote, Walk the Line, The Squid and the Whale, Junebug, and other lauded movies--all on DVD and, thankfully, with Oscar hype behind them.

Behind Blue Eyes

2006-02-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

I just find this photo of Elena to be really amusing.

Leave the Gun, Take the Sanguinaccio - Part II

2006-02-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I ended up trying sanguinaccio. The presence of any blood is minimal, and it's basically a thick dark chocolate pudding with some spices in it. While the overall experience was a bit underwhelming, I'm glad I tasted it. Now I can add it to my list of weird foods I've tried, along with sea urchin (pasty) and tripe (spongy).

Talking Netflix Throttling Blues

2006-02-13T19:04:00.000-05:00

Well, after months of Netflix bliss, we’ve been “throttled." We joined the service when Elena was born last June, and we’ve always had swift delivery of the movies in our queue. However, in January, we apparently rented 12 DVDs within 30 days, and this amount flagged us for this whole throttling tactic. Suddenly, discs started arriving days late (which had never previously happened), and one DVD that was shipped out on February 9th wasn’t even scheduled to arrive until the 13th. (It did arrive on time, incidentally.) And trying to rent popular new releases like The Constant Gardener or The 40-Year-Old Virgin? Forget it…there’s either a “long wait” or the dreaded “very long wait.” Apparently, we are now the Netflix equivalent of the guy at Ponderosa who’s being closely watched by management after too many trips to the buffet. Damn you, veiled business practices!

Let It Snow - Part II

2006-02-12T19:58:00.000-05:00

Here are some family photos taken in our neighborhood just as the snowstorm was winding down.

Let It Snow - Part I

2006-02-12T19:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a photo taken from our apartment window on the day of New York City's record-breaking snowfall.

Leave the Gun, Take the Sanguinaccio

2006-02-06T19:12:00.000-05:00

We’re lucky to live in a neighborhood with great Italian bakeries, and one of the area’s finest, Court Street Bakery, is close to our apartment. Given Yvette’s Brooklyn-raised Italian background, we usually get the most traditional goodies--cannolis, pignoli cookies, etc.--so we were intrigued by a sign that recently appeared in the bakery window reading “sanguinaccio.” Neither of us had ever heard of this delicacy, so Yvette went into ask about it while I waited outside with Elena. I didn’t hear the conversation, but it went something like this:

Yvette: Hi. What’s sanguinaccio?

Girl behind the counter: Sanguinaccio? Oh, that’s chocolate pudding. We only make it at certain times of the year.

Yvette: Okay, so it’s a kind of chocolate pudding…

Girl behind the counter: Oh, and there’s pig’s blood in it. Do you want one?

Yvette: Um…no thanks. [Long pause] I’ll take one of those custard pastries over there.

Now I consider myself to be pretty adventurous when it comes to trying strange foods, but I draw a line when there’s animal blood in a dessert. Doing a little online research, I discovered that a) this dish is so old-school that there’s hardly any information available, and b) it’s also a blood sausage. So if any brave souls out there try sanguinaccio of any kind, you’ll have to let me know about the experience. Me? I’ll stick to sfingi and zeppole.

Chromakey Dreamcoat

2006-02-01T10:36:00.000-05:00

In my ongoing quest to pinpoint great music that’s suitable for infants (but not marketed as such), I’ve discovered two more excellent baby-friendly albums:

Boards of Canada – The Campfire Headphase
Ulrich Schnauss – A Strangely Isolated Place

The Boards disc is a bit more accessible (i.e. less cerebral) than past releases; here the duo’s instrumental electronica is warmer and more organic than ever before. Of course, the wonderfully titled Music Has the Right to Children (from 1998) also is ideal for little ones, too.

Schnauss’s disc takes the dreamy Slowdive/My Bloody Valentine shoegazer aesthetic and streamlines it slightly with a pleasant (but never too slick) Euro sheen. His 2001 outing, Far Away Trains Passing By, is also very good, and follows a similarly atmospheric path.

Einstein Within Reach

2006-01-27T16:22:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that when our friends Jen and Andy offered to loan us their Baby Einstein activity center (intended for their lovely newborn Zoe in a few months), I was a little wary. While not a huge contraption, it is a big, bright uber-toy that’s about two feet in diameter, and has the potential to trip clumsy parents (i.e. me and Yvette), especially in a one-bedroom apartment. Long story short, we have avoided injury by Einstein, and Elena loves the crazy thing. If she’s in the right mood, it’ll keep her busy and entertained for at least an hour, which buys me time to write. (In fact, she’s in the Einstein right now just a step away from me, messing with this little caterpillar toy and babbling happily.) So…many thanks, Jen and Andy, for the Einstein loan. Hopefully, Zoe will enjoy it as much as Elena. Ah, Baby Einstein, how could I have doubted you?

Cheek to Cheek

2006-01-24T17:44:00.000-05:00

Elena's cheeks have gotten so big in last month or so that Yvette and I often just call her "Cheeks." (Of course, if we keep that up, she'll start thinking that's her real name.) Here are some recent photos of Cheeks...er, Elena and her parents in Park Slope and at home.

They'll Sweep Out the Ashes in the Morning

2006-01-15T21:42:00.000-05:00

A brief observation on the eccentric nature of our new neighbors: These people (who look to be a hearty middle-aged couple) are seriously set on using their newly cleared outdoor space, which is directly behind our yard. By “seriously,” I mean that they have what is apparently called a “chiminea,” a ceramic outdoor fireplace that sounds vaguely mythological, and have been using it semi-regularly…in January. Granted, it’s been a fairly warm winter here in NYC, but they were sitting outside this evening in frigid, gusty weather that was only six degrees with the wind chill. Yep, that's cold. Only in Brooklyn, folks. (Witness the wonder of a chiminea--clearly not theirs--above.)

Lovely Creatures

2006-01-14T20:36:00.000-05:00

Today I went into Manhattan (a.k.a. the City) to see the Pixar and Odilon Redon exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, while Yvette had a nice afternoon at home with Elena. This was the first time in months that I went into Manhattan without a specific task (work, shopping, etc.), and it was great. Even though it was steadily raining, it was so invigorating to be getting back to the MoMA, one of my frequent haunts during my grad school years. (I could get in free with my student ID.)

The Pixar exhibition was absolutely amazing. I’ve seen and enjoyed most of the company’s movies (everything but A Bug’s Life), but this exceeded my expectations. The collage-like short film of concept art from the various movies and the 3-D Toy Story zoetrope were both stunning. And the rest of the exhibition – sketches, sculptures, landscape paintings, etc. created in preparation for the films – were more stylized and edgy than the finished products. Even those who aren’t into animation will likely be fascinated by this excellent 20-year retrospective.

I knew nothing about Odilon Redon before hearing about the exhibition of his work, but the show is a great overview of his bold, weird art. Many of these paintings, charcoal sketches, etc. are seriously bizarre and macabre, and that’s exactly what makes them so intriguing.

The Redon show ends on January 23rd, and the Pixar show ends on February 6th. Both exhibitions showcase brilliant use of color and imagination, and I recommend them highly to anyone. Pay the $20, use a discount, or try to sneak past the guards…anyway you can get in, these shows are worth it.

Babble

2006-01-10T16:10:00.000-05:00

Well, for a few weeks now, Elena has been babbling with gleeful abandon, and it’s highly entertaining for both her and us, her doting parents. What started out as “baba” and “abba” (That’s my girl, evoking Scandinavian disco with her first constant-based phrases!) has become what sounds awfully close to “mom” and “dad,” though it’s clear that she has no idea what those words mean yet. The only downside to this development is that she can get pretty rowdy as she runs through her new vocabulary. While watching the final episodes of Lost’s first season on DVD, we had to hit "pause" multiple times to allow Elena to complete some very intensely delivered, nonsensical monologues.

Elena: “Baba baba mom-mom da!”

Dad: “Yes, that’s great, Elena, but wait… What did the crazy French woman just do? And what was Hurley freaking out about?”

(Sorry, network television, but Netflix is the way to go, and the pause button is our new best friend. Of course, now there's the torturous wait for season two of Lost on DVD…ugh.)

One Eye Round the Warm Corner

2006-01-04T16:37:00.000-05:00

For parents hoping to keep their tykes up on the latest tunes, these are the albums on my year-end list(s), that I (in my ever-so-limited wisdom) deem to be particularly baby-friendly:

Boom Bip – Blue Eyed in the Red Room
Caribou – The Milk of Human Kindness
Four Tet – Everything Ecstatic (minus the rather jarring first track)
Richard Hawley – Cole’s Corner
Sigur Ros – Takk…

If you live in Williamsburg (Brooklyn, not Virginia), you’re sort of obligated to play that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album, but I wouldn’t recommend it, since that guy’s whiny voice might freak your kid out.

Me and You and Films That I Did and Didn't See

2005-12-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

Given that moviegoers don’t take kindly to bringing infants into theaters (and why should they?), and that most interesting films were released later in the year, I didn’t see too many new movies in 2005. (Elena was born in June.) In fact, the films of 2005 that I missed but want to see almost outnumber the films that I actually saw. (And I used to be such a good cinephile.) Keeping that in mind…

Films That I Loved:

Batman Begins
A History of Violence
Me and You and Everyone We Know

Films That I Liked:

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Kung Fu Hustle
Land of the Dead
Millions
Oldboy

Films That Were Pretty Good Though Shockingly Brutal and/or Nerve-Wracking for Major Hollywood Releases:

Sin City
War of the Worlds

Films with a Few Great Scenes That Weren’t So Good Overall:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Stars Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Films I’d Like to See:

The 40-Year-Old Virgin
2046
Brokeback Mountain
The Constant Gardener
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
Good Night, and Good Luck
Grizzly Man
Howl’s Moving Castle
Munich
The Squid and the Whale
Syriana
Walk the Line
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

So Here We Are

2005-12-22T19:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, so these are my favorite albums of 2005, ranked in no particular order (though Bloc Party, Sigur Ros, and the White Stripes probably made the biggest impressions on me):

Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
Boom Bip – Blue Eyed in the Red Room
Doves – Some Cities
Elbow – Leaders of the Free World
Four Tet – Everything Ecstatic
My Morning Jacket – Z
Pernice Brothers – Discover a Lovelier You
Sigur Ros – Takk…
M. Ward – Transistor Radio
The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan

(Not) Going Underground

2005-12-20T19:30:00.000-05:00

Although there are definite drawbacks to working at home (in my case, dirty diapers, feline hairballs, cave-like light, next-door construction, and one seriously noisy radiator), I had to appreciate my non-commute on this first day of the MTA transit strike. As aggravating as subway travel can be, not having the option to be aggravated in such a way is definitely worse.

Bees

2005-12-16T17:42:00.000-05:00

In continuing with my ridiculous need to create year-end lists, I present…a bunch of albums that I really liked, but that didn’t make my top 10:

Beck – Guero
Caribou – The Milk of Human Kindness
The Clientele - Strange Geometry
Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel
The Fall – Fall Heads Roll
Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better
Richard Hawley – Coles’s Corner
Iron & Wine - Woman King EP
LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
Low – The Great Destroyer
M83 – Before the Dawn Heals Us
Maximo Park – A Certain Trigger
The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
Sun Kil Moon – Tiny Cities

Laughable Butane Bob

2005-12-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

By popular demand (meaning “because I have a compulsive need to come up with year-end lists”), here are my favorite reissues and compilations of 2005:

AFX (Aphex Twin)– Hangable Auto Bulb
Belle & Sebastian – Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - B-Sides & Rarities
Cocteau Twins – Lullabies to Violaine
The Cure – Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography
Gang of Four – Entertainment!
M83 – M83

Waiting for the Sirens'... Zzzz

2005-12-12T19:04:00.000-05:00

Music nerd that I am, I have been pondering my favorite albums of the year. One disc that, despite some potential, definitely won’t be on the list:

New Order – Waiting for the Sirens’ Call

While the venerable British dance-rock group is capable of greatness (see 1983's Power, Corruption & Lies or most of the tracks on the first disc of the new Singles set), the band is awfully inconsistent and rarely comes up with an entire album of decent tunes. One look at the track list of Sirens’ Call tells you that there’s going to be some worthless stuff…I mean, songs with titles like “Who’s Joe?” and “Dracula’s Castle” are doomed from the start. Hello? You’re New Order, remember? You write tracks with abstract, minimalist titles like “Temptation” and “True Faith.” (And I won't even get started on the lyrics...Bernard Sumner is, hands down, one of the worst lyricists ever to be in a generally respectable band.)

A few songs, namely the shimmering title track and the pulsing “Krafty” (which, despite implications, doesn’t really sound much like Kraftwerk), are pleasant surprises, but, overall, it’s a stinky disc. If you download the good songs from iTunes, you can make a mix with the few tracks that didn’t suck on the previous album. Waiting for the Sirens’ Call has a giant “No” on its cover, and that’s the right idea--it’s saying to you, “No…don’t buy this record.” Sorry, New Order, try again.

Photograph

2005-12-09T13:32:00.000-05:00

I have a new level of respect for photographers who take baby portraits.

Earlier this week, I tried at various times (for three days in a row, no less) to get a nice Christmas-y photo of Elena. Now, normally, Elena is quick to smile and look at the camera. In these scenarios, however, I put her in this cool dress that was a gift from her Aunt Heidi, and since Elena’s not used to wearing dresses (we’re big fans of the onesie in this household), she became fascinated with it each time I put it on her. Rather than even glance at the camera (or me making ridiculous noises and faces to get her attention), Elena opted to stare at the dress, shifting around in it gleefully as if it were the best toy ever. Despite many attempts, I never got the perfect picture of her in that particular outfit.

The lesson learned? This sort of thing requires a nearly superhuman level of patience. For those about to snap infant photos, I salute you! Above is one of my many attempts at the shot.