Sunday, December 21, 2008

Oh Christmas Tree



Some people have normal Christmas trees with tinsel and glass balls. My tree is covered in Star Wars and Disney paraphernalia. And a good number of the ornaments light up and/or make noise. Lucy was right -- "We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know."

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Two of a Kind



They say that after a while, married couples start to look alike.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Oyster Bay, NY

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Okay, So I'm Competitive



A nice Pennsylvania family vacation. You'd think that we could just visit Chocolate World, go on a few rides at HersheyPark, and that would be it. But no. We had to stop at the go karts. I can't get into one of these things without doing everything I can to win. It makes me feel a little bit like Dick Dastardly. And look, there's my side-kick, Muttley.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Hershey, PA

Monday, October 20, 2008

Moving

Sorry, no wonderful picture or insightful text this time. Just a note to tell you that the iPont Shuffle has moved to a new address.

www.ipontshuffle.com

If you subscribe to the RSS feed, you will have to update that as well.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Thumbs Up



These are the secret signs for the big soccer game. I'll translate for those of you who have never watched five-year-olds play soccer.

One thumb up: I'll stay over here looking cute. You act like you're not interested in the game and don't know where the ball is.
Two thumbs up: Okay. Try not to get kicked in the shins.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

For Marni



Okay, so I did it. I went to my first Rick Springfield concert. It was kind of hard to avoid. He was in town, and it was outdoors on a nice summer night, and it wasn't too expensive, and my 9-year-old son is a huge fan. So I did it. I saw him work the crowd. I saw the somewhat overly devoted fans. I saw him smash the roses on his guitar.

He looks pretty good for 82 and the show wasn't terrible.

Location: Planting Fields Arboretum, Oyster Bay, NY

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Who Does the Kid Look Like - Part III



Apparently, the red head has the kind of face where he always reminds you of someone. We've already seen that here and here. Since this is a recurring theme, I decided to make a series out of it. So without further ado, here is the third in our series, where we have a comparison to Dark Helmet from Space Balls.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Dressing Up



I am normally not a big fan of putting little boys in shoes, dress shirts, and ties. Little girls can get an early jump on the whole "girly experience" wearing dresses and patent leather shoes. I'm sure that serves them well later in life. Little boys, however, just look and feel dorky and uncomfortable when they dress up. The only times a man should wear a tie is at a wedding, a funeral, or at a job where someone is paying him to wear it.

This is one instance where I will admit that I was wrong. Firstly, the kids above, when dressed up, take on entirely new looks and personalities. Secondly, it wasn't until the red head put on that tie that I noticed the resemblance to Oliver Hardy.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Good Seats - Part IV



There are advantages to being a relief pitcher. Sure, the starting pitchers get all the girls and they get the big bucks and they only have to work about once a week. But the relief pitchers get to hang out in the bullpen away from the manager and coaches. They get to sit in the sun and watch baseball games. And you can't really see it from this picture, but there is a keg of beer and a hibachi setup behind the seats.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Flushing, NY

Monday, June 02, 2008

The Good Seats - Part III



How would you like to be this guy's mother? Now, he gets paid (quite a lot) to play with his friends and get dirty and bruised, but when he was growing up, he did it for free and had nothing to show for it but ripped, dirty clothing and an angry mom.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Flushing, NY

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Good Seats - Part II



Here we have David Wright walking with coach Howard Johnson. Howard Johnson was a big deal for the Mets back in the late 80's when they were serious contenders every year. Having turned 42 myself recently, it is somewhat gratifying to see that even great baseball players can get fat when they get older. Another positive for me is to see that even great baseball players, while they are still young, rich, good looking, and single, can get a haircut that will make them say, "I can't believe I fell asleep in the barber's chair again."

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Flushing, NY

Sunday, May 04, 2008

The Good Seats - Part I



I am a baseball fan. I was a baseball fan when I was a kid and I still am today (with a short hiatus in the middle). I have seen a bunch of Mets games at Shea stadium in the last few years, and I usually have the kind of seats that you would expect a casual fan to have. When you're talking about a contending team like the Mets, that translates to "the nose bleeds". So last season, I decided to splurge. I figured that I would only be going to one game for the whole season, so I bought tickets second hand, paid an arm and a leg, and wound up with the best baseball seats that I have ever had. I don't know if I would ever pay that much for tickets again, but it definitely got me some good photo ops.

This is pitcher John Maine and pitching coach Rick Peterson walking in from the bullpen to start the game.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Flushing, NY

Sunday, March 30, 2008

How Old is "Old Enough" for a Tattoo?



So is this the kid that's going to come home one day with a ring in his nose and a biker-chick girlfriend on his arm? I suppose that if the nose ring comes with his mother's birth stone, Mom will say it's okay, just like she did with this "Mom" tattoo.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Port St. Lucie, FL

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Doesn't This Make You Want to be Somewhere Tropical?



Forget that the actual environment where this picture was taken was nowhere near the tropics. It wasn't even outdoors. Nevertheless, it still makes me want to get on a plane (as much fun as that can be) and go to a place that has flowers and waterfalls. I'll worry about the authenticity later.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Walt Disney World, FL

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Some People Just Know How to Wear a Hat



Disney World has a bunch of cool things to do when you're not visiting the parks. One of them is a cooking class for kids. The space is limited, so you have to sign up way in advance. I assumed that the kids would be measuring ingredients, mixing cookie dough, shaping cookies, etc. When I asked the boys what they did, they said that (besides decorating their aprons) they put sprinkles on the cookies. Yup. That's it. Thirty-something bucks a piece and two hours and they put sprinkles on. If they hadn't come out looking so cute (the boys, not the cookies), Mickey and I might have exchanged words.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Walt Disney World, FL

Friday, January 11, 2008

What I Wouldn't Do for a Couple of Zip-Ties...



There are some moments in life that are just a little too tempting. As much as I love my children, I think every parent has one or two moments when they would like to lock their little angel in the stocks and yell, "Okay, see you tomorrow!" while walking away. Alas, Child Protective Services frowns on that sort of hands-off parenting, so I guess I'll have to stick with taking away the video games when things go awry at home.

Camera: Nikon D70s
Location: Walt Disney World, FL