« April 2005 |May 2005 | March 2010 »

Eight years May 31, 2005

Did you know that as of today Geralyn and I have been married for eight years? What's more, we dated for a long time before getting married, so we've actually been a couple for over fourteen years. Before long we'll have been together for over half our entire lives!

Let's hear it for beating the statstical odds!

  Comments (11)  |   Permalink  |       File under: General

Sam's Story: Week 70 May 30, 2005

Sam is feeling much better this week, having put whatever illness she had behind her. She's down to only an occasional wet, hacking cough instead of a constant stream. Her appetite has returned along with her health, so much so that we had to strip her down after one overenthusiastic feeding session.

There are many things I dread about Sam's future. Paying for her school. Her having (or hopefully not having, but let's be realistic) sex. Drugs, alcohol, and artificial DNA manipulation. But the specter that looms bigger, darker, and closer than any of these is that the "terrible twos," the name given to those strong-willed years after children acquire the gift of language and use it to tell you off. Sam has already started to prove herself immune to both negative reinforcement and punishment, both concepts that even Pavlov's mongrel dog was clever enough to eventually grasp, and with about the same amount of drooling.

I mean, we can get down in Sam's face and sternly admonish her for poor behavior, but she usually thinks this is the funniest thing ever conceived of by God or man. She just laughs hautily and toddles off, as if to say "Yeah, you keep saying that kind of stuff, but you may have noticed that it isn't stopping me."

Sam's rampages are such that she has managed to yank one safety gate right out of the wall, leaving twin cavaties in the drywall that forced me to prostrate myself in front of the guy at Home Depot and beg him to tell me what exactly "joint compound" is. Her next target seems to be the home theater equipment, as she seems to take great joy in pressing the "Power" button as soon as I've forgotten where the remote control is. Last night I think I made some headway, though. I sat on the floor in front of the television and behind Sam. Whenever she started heading towards it I grabbed her by the waist of her pants and tugged her backwards until she fell on her well-padded rump. She'd look around for the culprit of this dirty trick, but she'd just see me, whistling and looking up at the ceiling. She'd make another run for the TV and I'd tug her back again. After about a dozen tries, she gave up and went to go throw food at the cat some more. A partial victory, but maybe she IS smarter than some Russian guy's slobbering dog.

Pictures!


I particuarly like this one where she's trying on my shoes and this one where she's trekking through the Congo as she hunts Man, the deadliest of all preys.

Besides frustrating our attempts at instruction, Sam's new favorite thing is Sesame Street. We don't encourage her to watch much TV, but for an hour or so each day it's kind of nice to hand her over to some blathering puppets and their letter of the day. Sam's attention actually wanders to and from the show, but she seems to particularly enjoy it whenever Cookie Monster is on camera. And I have to admit, the way that blue-furred freak inevitably attacks his cookies cracks me up, too. At any rate, Sesame Street is pretty safe, with its lack fo commercials and mild endorsements in the form of "Today's show is sponsored by McDonald's, who wants children to use their imaginations (to think of ways to get parents to take them to McDonald's and eat our fatty, god-awful for you food)." But I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Sam toddles in and asks me for a tasty Quizno's Toasted Sub™. Because that's what Elmo likes.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Parenting , Samantha

Exile's Return May 30, 2005

I'm changing the format of my "now reading" bits to be more "just finished reading" so that I can actually talk about the books. As I've mentioned before, Raymond Feist is one of my guilty reading pleasures, along with Stephen King. Feist is a prolific high fantasy writer whose stuff is, by and large, not wonderful by most literary standards. But it's almost always a ripping good yarn and I enjoy reading it. He's built such a backstory and depth to his world of Midkemia that long-time readers like myself are sucked in like some kind of literary quagmire.

Exile's Return is the third book in his meandering "Conclave of Shadows" series, and it appears to not be the last. The book deals with (former) Duke Kaspar, who was exiles at the end of the previous book. Kaspar is a real bastard who killed a lot of people in his grasping for power, and Feist sets up an interesting premise when he promises to explore what redemption for a guy like this would be like. And for a while it's interesting, but I quickly got the impression that Feist wanted to speed this development up for the sake of the book's plot, which involves the unearthing of an otherworldly suit of armor that could lead to --wait for it-- the destruction of Midkemia. Feist even throws a trite "Eh, Kaspar was really being mind controlled by an evil sorcerer so he's really not that bad a fellow" explanation in there, which made me roll my eyes and knock the estimation of the book down a whole peg.

So Kaspar's development and redemption soon get swept up in the admitidly more exciting but ultimately less meaningful action surrounding the mysterious armor. It culminates awkwardly in a munchkin-fest battle featuring the high-level heavyweights of Feist's D&D-based world. Still, it IS fun and I did find it hard to put down until it was over.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Books

Spinning a little too fast May 30, 2005



Maybe I should slow it down a little.

  Comments (3)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Back yard May 28, 2005



Someone left something in the back yard.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

It NEVER is May 27, 2005

Sometimes while driving on the highways in Southern California, traffic comes to a complete halt for no apparent reason. Just cars stacked up as far as I can see. When this happens, I often catch myself hoping that it's because of a wreck, because you can get past a wreck and things open up again. But then I'm ashamed of myself for hoping that, because it would mean that some person is involved --maybe even hurt-- and I shouldn't be wishing for that kind of misfortune on an innocent person.

So I start hoping that it's a wreck involving Hitler's clone, because, you know, he'd deserve it.

But then I start feeling guilty about that, because the clone has got to be his own person, and maybe he's not that bad a guy if he was brought up in a loving home. Probably not, but maybe. And besides, cloning Hitler would be like a huge story, and if he were killed in a car accident we'd never get to interview the clone on our 24-hour news channels.

So I stop hoping that it's Hitler's clone involved in a wreck, and it NEVER is. Weird, huh?

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: General

More hugs May 26, 2005



More hugs for Mommy.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Mmmmm... Cookie. May 24, 2005



Sam, enjoying the cookie that she mashed into a shapeless blob herself.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

The Chronicles of Narnia May 24, 2005

I vaguely remember reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe back in grade school, and I think I enjoyed it. With the new Narnia movie coming out at the end of this year, I thought now would be a good time to read this whole series. They're written for young adults, but I don't think anyone can consider himself a fan of good fantasy without having read them. So I'd better get to it.

I decided to read all seven books in chronological order of their events, not the order in which they were published. So I'll be reading The Magician's Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and his Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of The Dawn Trader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In fact, since the books are so short, I've already finished listening to the first one. The Christian allegory IS pretty darn blatant. Lewis all but cracks you over the head with it, but that's cool. It's what I expected, and it's a lot more entertaining than the other book of his that I've read on the subject, Pilgrim's Regress.

Also, I love The White Witch already. She's extreme to the point of caricature, but I still love her. :)

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Books

Sam's Story: Week 69 May 23, 2005

Bad news, Sam Fans. Sammy is sick again. It's not that bad this time, but she's got some kind of chest and throat thing that has her hacking up gobs of stuff like a two-pack-a-day smoker. And I know she doesn't smoke anywhere near that much. She seems okay most of the time, but every once in a while she'll cough something up and really get upset. I don't blame her, as it's probably the worst sensation she's experienced in her short life, besides getting a plastic bag taped over her hoo-ha at the emergency room. She's almost over it, though, and it has really only slowed her down a little.

On the development front, below is a list of cute things that Sam does, listed in order of cuteness:

1. The Sammy Dance
2. All other things

"The Sammy Dance" is Sam's newest expression of happiness. If she gets excited about something --for example going for a walk, the theme song from That 70s Show, or getting a cookie-- she'll stamp her little feet and flap her little arms, grinning and giggling like a monkey the whole time. Heck, she'll even do it on cue lately. All you have to do is shout "SAMMY DANCE!" and she starts jamming.

There are a lot of photos this week, so I'll split them up. Part I:


As you can see, almost all of these pictures were taken on the same day. This is partially due to my being in LA all week with the camera, but also we went to a birthday party for the daughter of one of Ger's friends from playgroup. The gig was held at "Wiggles and Giggles," which is like a play gym for kids. The party was the kiddie equivalent of a raging kegger, and it left everybody exhausted. Two coordinators, who could have made a good living as cat herders, led the dozen or so kids through a bunch of different activities, ranging from making cookies to singing in a circle to playing with bubbles. They even played with a giant, multicolored parachute.

The parachute is a long-standing tradition, it seems. I remember very clearly doing that whole thing in my grade school gym class. We'd all flap the thing up and teachers would shout out a month. If your birthday was in that month, you got to run, giggling and shrieking, under the slowly decending parachute from one side to the next. There was always a child that tried to convince the teachers that he was born in March, August, September, and twice in November. That child was usually me.

Pictures, Episode II:


It seems that Sam may be picking up some of my other habits from childhood. While the coordinators tried to coordinate everyone into group activities, Sam would inevitably grow bored after 2.3 seconds and wander off. So one second she'd be eating the cookie she baked (and by "she" I mean "Geralyn"), then the next second she'd be on the other side of the gym, trying to do her own thing.

That's okay, Sam. I used to do that kind of stuff all the time and look at me now. I have a weblog!

  Comments (3)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Parenting , Samantha

Scooters May 23, 2005



Stacked scooters at Wiggles 'n Giggles. When the coordinators got these out and told the kids to "schooch!" I kept laughing and thinking of that Simpsons bit where Christopher Walkin is reading "Goodnight Moon" and telling the frightened children to "schoooootch" closer.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

E3: The photo dump May 21, 2005

Time to wrap up my E3 blogging for the year with a few photos. Okay, over 40 photos. Sorry to those of you not on broadband.

There's a few that I feel like I need to discuss specifically. As in previous years, I stayed late at the L.A. Convention Center where the show was being held so that I could write my articles in the "War Room where IGN/GameSpy had set up space and Internet connections for us to work. When I arrived and hit the show floor around 9 am on Wednesday, the lobby looked like this:


Twelve hours later at 9 pm when I'd finished all my appointments and had written my previews, it looked like this:

The other "time series" pictures I took were of the giant Katamari that Namco had put out in front of their booth. If you remember when I raved about Katamar Damacy here, you may remember that a "Katamari" is a sticky ball that this little Prince of the Cosmos rolls around in the game, acquiring more and more stuff. Namco had their own Katamari, and throughout the show they added stuff to it --just any old bric-a brac that was lying around, plus a few things I suspect Namco had brought along themselves.

Here's a picture from Wednesday morning:


Now one from Wednesday at the close of the show:


And one from right before I left on Thursday:

I'd love to see how the thing looked on Friday afternoon. And now, a gigantic dump of photographs from the show. Enjoy.


Finally, if you're interested in reading what I wrote for the show, here you go:

• Prey
• Serious Sam II
• Alan Wake
• America's Army: Special Forces Overmatch
• Dungeon Siege II
• Spellforce II

I also previewed a turn-based strategy game called "Shattered Union" and an adventure game called "And Then There Were None," but those don't seem to have been posted yet. My favorite bit from stuff that I wrote this year comes from the Serious Sam II preview:

There are also new weapons, like a rapid-fire shotgun and a bizarre parrot -- yes, as in "bird" -- with a bomb chained to its foot. Apparently CroTeam adheres to the adage of, "If you love something, set it free and watch it blow the crap out of something," because setting the bird loose causes it to fly off and deposit its payload on the nearest enemy.

I can't wait to try that.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Gaming , Photography

John Hedgecoe's New Introductory Photography Course May 21, 2005

I actually have a small stack of books and magazines on photography that my buddy Rhys (hi, Rhys!) lent me. I figure I take so many pictures for this website that I should at least make a token effort at improving myself there. I've also been kicking around the idea of investing in a nicer camera setup, and I'd like to know what I should be wanting to do before convincing myself that I need to spend several hundred dollars to do it. Know what I mean?

John Hedgecoe teaches the skills of a professional to the beginner, and inspires the self-confidence to take on any aspect of photography, through guided projects and over 400 examples of his own work. The new photographer first learns the secrets of the camera's make-up and its use. Then all the most popular photographic subjects are covered in 65 easy-to-follow projects, beginning with how to put together the components of a picture and how to make the most of lighting. The photographer will then learn how to photograph nature, still life and dramatic landscapes, to tackle cityscapes, action and architecture shots, to capture candid portraits and to experiment with the range of possibilities in black and white photography. A section on how to process and print photographs is included, showing how to set up a darkroom, and it is followed by a technical guide offering quick-reference data and advice on identifying and solving picture-taking faults from finished prints.

Seems like a good beginner's text.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Books

The center of attention May 21, 2005



I love how this photo came out. That's not Sam there, as you may notice. It's Risa, who has appeared on this site once or twice and who invited us to her 1st birthday party at Wiggles and Giggles this afternoon.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Happy Birthday, Geralyn! May 20, 2005

Hey, everybody, click on the "comments" link below to wish Geralyn a happy birthday! Samantha doesn't speak English and I'm still in L.A. at the moment.

  Comments (6)  |   Permalink  |       File under: General

E3 Day 2 May 20, 2005

E3 is over. Actually, it's still going on today, but I only stayed two days again this year. Just like last year, at the beginning of the first day I thought "Wow, there's no way I'm going to be able to see everything I want in just two days." But then towards the end of the second day I think "Wow, I'm so sick of this and I've seen everything I want." I mean, I'd still like to get more behind-closed-door demonstrations of games and I'd like to get more actual play time with some of the games on the showroom floor, but I don't have the energy or patience for either at this point. So see ya next year, E3.

Funny E3 story for the day:

Around 5:00 yesterday I'm cutting through the outdoor walkway en route to my last appointment of the show. My feet hurt from 2 days of almost constant walking and standing. I mean they ache from my heels all the way up to the top of my calves. Halfway to my destination, I notice a booth with signs saying just "Ouch!". The signs themselves seemed to be filled with some kind of pills. Here, here's a pic:


She's not in this picture because I went back and snapped it later at closing time, but staffing the booth at the time was a woman --a typical E3 booth model with a huge chest and too-blonde hair. I didn't really notice her, though. Partially because I'd seen dozens just like her by that point, but mainly because of what she was holding in her hand and offering to all passers-by: sample packets of Tylenol. Feeling the ache in my legs renew, I walked straight over, pointed at what she was holding, smiled at her, and said "Man, I sure would love a couple of those."

She had seen me coming, but she looked kind of surprised when I spoke and gave me a look like she was trying to figure me out. This threw me off until I suddenly realized that between the time I had pointed my finger at the Tylenol packets she was holding and looked up at her face to make contact, she had moved her hands. I had said what I said while pointing directly at her unnaturally large breasts.

My mind kind of locked for a second while I tried to think of a follow-up that wouldn't dig myself deeper, but thankfully she got what I meant and decided that I wasn't dropping some awful line on her. She smiled back and said "Feet hurt, huh?" as she passed me a couple of Tylenol packets.

Funny thing is, I never even had a chance to take the pills, rushed as I was and lacking anything to wash them down. I still have them, and they're probably the best schwag I walked away with.

Speaking of schwag, I once again succeeded by walking away with as little of it as possible. You can always spot an E3 newbie by looking for the people completely overburdened by tee shirts, inflatable swords, keychains, press kits, mouse pads, balls, and pamphlets. Every year I see people make fools out of themselves for the sake of a black tee shirt riddled with company logos. Or else they're waiting hours in line just to get an inflatable plastic ball with more company logos on it. This stuff not only weighs you down in an otherwise tiring gauntlet of dashing between appointments, but you get home and realize that with few exceptions it's all a bunch of crap that just takes up space. And the only time they wear those tee shirts is at next year's E3 when they want to show how hardcore they are while waiting in line to get more tee shirts.

This year my schwag take consisted of the following:

• One tee shirt for the Alan Wake game (given to me by my PR contact; would have been rude to refuse)
• A poster for some World War II game (again, handed to me by my PR contact)
• A badge holder (picked up to replace the crappy one I got when registering)
• A Myst 5 mouse pad signed by the game's lead developer (that's kind of cool, actually)
• A copy of Magic the Gathering: Online (looked valuable, maybe I can sell it on eBay)
• A playable demo disk for Sly Cooper: Honor Among Thieves for the PS2 (definitely glad to get this)
• Two sample packs for Extra Strength Tylenol (see above)

Not bad. I could have done a lot worse and gotten a lot more.

So that's it for another year. This was my 6th E3 convention, and I hope to be back again next year. I had considered myself a veteran last year, but my friend Sluggo taught me something new this year: how to use the L.A. Convention Center's back hallways. These are the halls that convention center staff use to transport equipment, food, and other items around without having to cut through the crowds. They save MASSIVE amounts of time and frustration by completely circumventing the gawkers and idiot cell phone users who decide to suddenly stand still in the middle of a stream of people. I think the halls are supposed to be off limits to non-employees, it's surprising how few people will give a crap if you just act like you belong there.

I'll wrap up my E3 coverage tomorrow by posting some of the many photographs I took. Some great stuff in there.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Gaming

Caught in the act of enunciation May 20, 2005



This picture from E3 2005 just cracks me up for some reason. I was actually trying to get a shot of the crowd waving their arms in the air like morons trying to get one of the tee shirts this lady was throwing out, but I just missed it. I like it better this way, though.

  Comments (6)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

A small taste of E3 May 18, 2005



A quick look at one of the several E3 showroom floors. Getting around in this mess can be a pain.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Off to E3 May 18, 2005

Just like last year, I'm off to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) to cover it for GameSpy.com. Actually, I'm here right now in the GameSpy/IGN (or IGN/GameSpy, whatever) "war room." Unfortunately the power is out in half of the LA Convention Center, including the Media Registration room. So I can't get my badge to get into any of the show rooms. In fact, one of the HUGE halls where the majority of booths are apparently doesn't have power. It's not a pretty situation, but hopefully it'll get cleared up soon. 'Til then, I'm just kind of sitting on my hands.

Update: Whew, it's the end of the day and as usual I'm exhausted. Given that the power problems knocked the media registration area out, I had to borrow someone else's badge. So, just for today, I was known as "Alfonzo." It's actually better than the first badge they handed me, which read something like "Ying Jin Jang."

Stuff I saw:

1. Prey
2. Allen Wake
3. America's Army
4. Spellforce 2
5. Dungeon Siege 2
6. Unreal Tournament 2007
7. Soul Calibur 3
8. Rise of Nations Rise of Legends

And a bunch of other stuff. Previews to show up on GameSpy.com soon. I've got a lot more to see tomorrow, including a few just for myself.

  Comments (2)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Gaming

Special delivery! May 17, 2005



Sign here, m'am. Sorry it's ...broken ...and covered in my saliva.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Sam's Story: Week 68 May 16, 2005

Sorry, short update this week. I have a couple of projects going on that have leeched away most of my free time. Just as well, since this has been a largely uneventful week. The only thing out of the ordinary is that Sam is being a bit of a pill. She's been refusing to eat more often, to the point where she's all but skipping meals. I won't be particularly worried unless she starts actually losing weight or stops gaining it, neither of which has happened as far as we can tell. But if she does refuse to eat lunch and gets hungry while we're out, the result can be a cranky, hypersensitive Sam. We've learned to pack snacks.

Here are some pictures.


Sam has also started to display that dreaded sense of independence that we've read about and which I conceptualize as a giant, ticking bomb underneath the table in classic Hitchcock style. If Sam wants to rattle the safety gate, for example, she's going to RATTLE THE SAFETY GATE, no matter how many times I tell her to stop or how I explain that rattling the safety gate is causing it to rip out of the drywall there, right there don't you see it what's wrong with you? And if I physically pull her away from the gate, she bursts into tears and runs for her mother. And if her mother is on the other side of the safety gate, the rattling resumes, this time with bawling and more drywall destroying vigor.

I'd start punishing her for such poor behavior, but the thing is I don't really think she's old enough to understand yet, and she's certainly not old enough to understand something like "sit on the naughty mat for two minutes." So she gets away with it. For now. Enjoy your period of delicious ignorance Sam. Enjoy.

Next week will probably be kind of slow, too, since I'm spending a good chunk of it in Los Angeles covering the Electronic Entertainment Expo for GameSpy.com. But that's a whole other post in and of itself.

  Comments (2)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Parenting , Samantha

Reading in bed May 16, 2005



We used to stack Sam's books on a little table next to her crib. One morning this week we went in get her and found that she had reached through the slats and pulled them all into her crib, where she was happilly flipping through them for who knows how long.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Hugs May 14, 2005



Flying attack hug.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Bone: One Volume Edition May 13, 2005

Normally, I wouldn't include something like this in my "Now Reading" section. But Bone: One Volume Edition is kind of special. It's the marvelous collection of the entire 13 year run of Bone comics, all between two covers. I started to read the Bone books way back in the day and they struck me as charming and fascinating. The titular Bone cousins looked like something out of a Walt Disney doodle with their simple lines, exaggerated expressions, and one-note personalities, but they were thrown into a high fantasy setting with much more verisimilitude and things got interesting quickly.

Unfortunately, the author's inconsistent publication schedule meant that I never knew when to expect new issues and the comic shops I went to often quickly sold out of them when they did come out. That, coupled with my general waning interest in comics, meant that I never followed the saga through more than about a third of the way. Thankfully, the artist decided to release this huge volume containing every issue of the book's 13 year run.

An American graphic novel first! The complete 1300-page epic adventure from start to finish in one deluxe trade paperback. Three modern cartoon cousins get lost in a pre-technological valley, speanding a year there making new friends and out-running dangerous enemies. Their many adventures include crossing the local people in The Great Cow Race, and meeting a giant mountain lion called RockJaw: Master of the Eastern Border. They learn about sacrifice and hardship in The Ghost Circles and finally discover their own true natures in the climatic journey to The Crown of Horns.

It's a brick at over 1,300 pages long, but I'm loving it and I'm glad I got to see what ever happened to the Bones, Thorn, Grandma, Lucius, and all the others. Like so many of my favorite books, I can't wait to share it with Sam.

  Comments (1)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Books

An open letter regarding God of War May 12, 2005

The following is an open letter to Sony Computer Entertainment Studios:

Dear SCE Studios,

I've recently been playing your God of War game and I have to ask: What's it like to be possessed of your special kind of idiot savant mind?

You do so much in this game that's so completely, over the top, crotch-hardeningly awesome. The environments are amazing, replete with inspired layouts and scenery that got me to stop every so often just to look at it. That's a rare achievement, so thanks! But out of this entire hearty stew of bad-assitude, the combat in God of War is particularly superlative. I could have spent hours (and come to think of it, I did) just trashing enemies with the tight, easy to learn and fun to master combat, slapping the hordes of Ares around like undead step children. Remember that part where Kratos has the attitude-off with the giant minotaur guarding Pandora's Temple? Dude, I was like totally cheering at the TV at that point, shaking my PS2 controller at the big bad wolf (bull, whatever) and telling him that if that was all he's got, I was going to totally kick his ass. And I did! And it was great!

Then, shortly after that highlight the "idiot" part of the "idiot savant" equation kicked in. It was like you thought to yourself, "Hey, this sublime blend of combat and exploration has worked so well so far, I think it would be great if we utterly screwed it up." And so the game promptly devolves to The Adventures of Kratos, The Amazing Hopping Hoplite. In Hell. Hades, whatever. Log rolling across beams with spinning blades? Death defying (or more often than not, death accommodating) jumps across floating platforms? Are you kidding me? What happened? You had this big tub sloshing over with brilliance and then someone yanked the plug and guffawed like a moron while it all drained away. I quit playing your game when it asked me to climb up a spinning column decorated with also spinning blades. I hear that there's actually more game after that point, but I couldn't get myself to give a crap after the 20th time I died on that thing.

So, to recap: Your game makes me want to come over to Santa Monica and alternatively hug you and punch you in your flabby throat. Thanks a lot.

-Jamie

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Gaming

Sitting down with a good book May 12, 2005



Nothing like sitting on the floor and flipping through a picture book.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Doing squat thrusts May 11, 2005



Sam, blasting her quads.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Catch 22 May 10, 2005

This is another one of those books that I know nothing about, except that it's supposed to be a classic. The kind of thing I may have very well been asked to read at some point in high school, but I didn't because I was too far in the foggy la-la land that characterized those years. Making up for lost time, I guess.

From Barnes and Noble:

Set in the closing months of World War II in an American bomber squadron off Italy, Catch-22 is the story of a bombardier named Yossarian, who is frantic and furious because thousands of people he hasn't even met keep trying to kill him. Catch-22 is a microcosm of the twentieth-century world as it might look to someone dangerously sane. It is a novel that lives and moves and grows with astonishing power and vitality -- a masterpiece of our time.

Actually, that does sound kind of interesting.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Books

Opening presents May 10, 2005



Todd and Emma opening presents and reading cards at Emma's 3rd birthday party.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Sam's Story: Week 67 May 9, 2005

Bath time is one of Sam's favorite times. Or at least it was before I brought the Silver Snake of Horror into the house. Let me explain. We had been using a bucket to rinse the soap from Sam's hair, but she hated getting all that water dumped on her at once. Emboldened by my recent victory over the toilet, I bought and installed one of those shower heads that attaches to a long hose so that we could use it to gently rinse our bathing beauty off. A brilliant plan, if not for the fact that the spitting shower head scares the holy bajeezus out of Sam. The thing has three settings, but they're apparently "Horrify," "Terrorize," and "Emotionally Scarring Spring Shower." All I have to do is say "okay, Sam, we're going to rinse your hair now" and her lower lip starts to quiver as her eyes slide up the white tile wall to where the device perches, coiled like a silver serpent ready to pounce. It builds character, though.

This was actually a pretty busy week. On Saturday we drove up to The Northcutts in Orange County to attend their daughter Emma's third birthday party. As I've mentioned before, parties with kids can be pretty chaotic, and this was no exception. Sam was kind of freaked out at first, but she quickly warmed up when she realized the bonanza of toys in residence at the Northcutts', toys she could happily bite and bite and bite. She doesn't really seem interested in interacting with other kids yet, beyond taking something from one of them if it catches her fancy. I hope she either grows out of this or learns to get away with it better, as screaming is usually involved.

Sunday was Mother's Day, and I gladly took on extra time on Sam Scan for Ger's sake so that she could take the day easy. Well, easier. We went to a craft fair where Ger bought like a thousand bottles of wine and a dress for Sam. A reversible dress. Let that sink in for a second and see if you don't come away thinking it's an awesome idea. Sam can barely make it through one meal without getting herself covered in food (with a clean semicircle where her bib was, thank goodness for that). It'd be pretty darn great to be able to just turn her clothes inside out and WHAM! They're clean! All baby clothes should be reversible. I mean, I guess they are, but they should be reversible in a way that doesn't make people look at her and think "Wow, that kid's retarded parents put her clothes on inside-out."

Pictures ahoy.


As you can see from one of those pictures, Sam has become a budding daredevil when it comes to the stairs. The gate keeps her from going far, but she's already taken to standing up on the first step and trying to step or even jump to the ground. More often than no, this results in a spectacular face plant into the carpet, but she doesn't seem to mind.

Not much else to report. Sam continues to be a finicky eater, though I think some of it may have to do with her teething. She's got four teeth coming in on top now, getting ready to match the two she has on bottom. Her English continues to improve, with a new word here and there each week in addition to the stuff she seems to understand when she hears it. Ger and I were amused to learn that we could recite, word-for-word, the books we most often read to Sam. Next time you see me, ask me to recite "Sheep in a Jeep" or "Is Your Mama A Llama?" I'll blow your mind.

Finally, the Social Security Administration has released its report on the most popular baby names in 2004. To whit:


Sam is still in the top 10, up one from #10 in 2003. My friend Todd noted that his daughter's name Emma is slipping, and that he curses the 2002 episode of Friends where Rachel's same choice of name for her daughter propelled it from #14 to #4, then #2 for the next two years. All just a week after their Emma was born and named. The effect of the popular T.V. show is pretty unmistakable, though I do have to wonder why there aren't more little Baby Oprahs toddling around.

  Comments (3)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Parenting , Samantha

Another rock! May 8, 2005



Sam loves rocks. Whenever she goes into the back yard she immediately grabs these and carries them around with her.

  Comments (3)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Disrespecting the watering can May 6, 2005



In the back yard.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Gabe May 5, 2005



Nope, not Samantha. Last weekend we had David and Michele over, along with their new baby boy Gabriel. This is a typical shot of Gabe, who seems to be on Zoloft or somethething, he's so happy all the time.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Hoodie May 4, 2005



I'm not sure, but I think she's making a gang symbol here.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

"Doo!" May 3, 2005



Lately, "Doo!" has been Sam's all-purpose word. If she wants to comment on something but doesn't know what it's called, she'll point and shout "Doo!" as she is doing in this pic. Or maybe she's just commenting on the ontological mysteries of the universe. Who knows?

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Sam's Story: Week 66 May 2, 2005

When Ger and I decided to become parents, there were 4 things I vowed never to do letst I slip into a cliche like a head trauma victim slipping into a coma:

1. Own a minivan.
2. Show off wallet-sized pictures of Sam to strangers.
3. Do that little apirplane trick with the spoon to get her to eat.
4. Lick my thumb and use it to clean something off her face.

Guess how many I've done by now. Three out of four? Four out of four? WRONG. Try FIVE out of four, because this weekend I used my fingernail to dig a booger out of Sam's nose --in public-- and that would have been on the list if I hadn't been blinded by pre-parental sanity.

But other than that, things are going great!

Sam has become quite an avid reader, and by "reader" I mean she likes to flip through books, point at the pictures, and then bite them. We still read to her on demand (that is, when she throws a book in our direction and yells "Doo!") plus just before naps and bedtime. But it was a happy day when we discovered that if we leave a pile of books on the floor, she'll often wander over, plop herself down, and start flipping through them. Sometimes the calm can last up to five minutes, which gives me enough time to lick my thumbs and clean her face off where the airplane missed the hangar door. Sam's library has been growing by a few books a month (books make excellent gifts), and is now over 50, including:

• 3 Little Monkeys
• Babie Fozzie is Afraid of the Dark
• Baby's First Word Book
• Bread Bread Bread
• Curious George and the Bunny
• Curious George's ABCs
• Curious George's Are You Curious?
• Curious George's Opposites
• Favorite Storytime Tales
• Garfield Big Fun, Little Fun
• Garfield's Favorites From A to Z
• Goodnight Moon
• Guess How Much I Love You
• Happy Birthday To You!
• Hop on Pop
• Horton Hears a Hoo
• I am a Baby
• I Love You, Little One
• Is Your Moma a Llama?
• Max the Market Mouse
• Mein Kampf
• Miss Spider's ABCs
• Mother Goose
• Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
• My First Time Coloring Book
• Night Noises
• Pat the Bunny Sleepy Bunny
• Peekaboo Baby
• Peter Rabit's Storytime Collection
• Sam's Pop-Up Schoolhouse
• Santa Visits the Big Blue House
• Sheep in a Jeep
• Sheep in a Shop
• Sheep on a Ship
• Sheep out to Eat
• Sneetches and Other Stories
• Stories That Never Grow Old
• The Berstein Bears Go To The Doctor
• The Crippled Lamb
• The Cuddly Beasties In & Out Book
• The Easter Story
• The Jungle Book
• The Tiny Seed
• The Velvateen Rabbit
• The Wednesday Surprise
• Toys
• 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
• Ulysses
• Walt Disney's Nursery Tales
• What Makes a Rainbow?
• Where is Baby's Belly Button?
• Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

Of those, my personal favorites are still Is Your Mama a Llama and Sheep in a Jeep, both of which I reviewed here.

Pictures!


Developmentally, there's nothing really earth-shattering to report. Sam keeps aping whatever we do, which makes me as self-conscious as I was that time I had to give that report in my high-school biology class and kept worrying that I'd say "orgasm" when I meant "organism" (didn't happen, though there was a mishap when I tried to say "pistil"). Yesterday I was cleaning some patio furniture while Sam was with me in the back yard. She watched me for a second, then grabbed a rag from the nearby table and started trying to wipe off the chair next to me. It was cute. Subsequent attempts get her to mow the yard were less successful and less cute.

  Comments (9)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Parenting , Samantha

Loitering at the park May 2, 2005



Samantha beginning at a very young age her career of loitering in public places.

  Comments (0)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography

Entranced May 1, 2005



Guess what Sam is so enchanted by in this picture.

  Comments (4)  |   Permalink  |       File under: Photography