I know, I owe you some pictures

But first, let's get some webcam chat going.

By far it looks like the best way for ALL platforms to do a webcam chat with us is to use Skype (www.skype.com). iChat gives the best video performance by far thus far, but has a hard time talking to Windows users. MSN doesn't really have a video client for mac, though there is a thrid-party app that will do video, but no audio. Skype will supposedly do both.

So warm up those webcams, download Skype (or just activate iChat with an AIM or .mac account if you've a Mac) and let's get together.

Soon, more photos. Some work to do first.

iChat & more

Hi everyone -- just a quick note. Last weekend I had the good fortune to visit Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, near Oakland. Had an awesome time courtesy of fellow AFI editor Scott jacobs. On my last day Scott needed a ride to the airport so we were all set to have breakfast, take a little cruise over the Golden Gate Bridge, and then I would drop him and head home. Well, we got as far as breakfast because we emerged to find the driver's side window of my wife's Beetle smashed and my bag with laptop, iPod, all my books and Pixar souvenirs, all stolen.

So after some freaking out, I drove home with the window open all the way from Oakland. Long story short, the result is that insurance has repalced almost all of my goodies, and the good news is that my laptop model is no longer made. So to replace it I have a new MacBook with a built in webcam. So if you can, get yourself AOL Instant Messenger and get in touch, beause Jack-Jack is ready to broadacast baby!! My AIM name is laughograms, so add it to your buddy list.

Some pictures from our trip to Newport Beach will be online later, so check back!

Good news

OK, good news . . . we have access to a digital camera again, so updates can flow once more. And also, I have decided to post videos of Jack's antics regularly. Here is the first, much less fancy than these things will get eventually.

Usually on the weekends Jack wakes early, as usual, and we bring him into bed with us and play for a little while before getting up. A couple of weeks ago Jack began doing these wacky stunts where he climbs up to the headboard, over anything in his way, as high up as he can get, claps his hands and does a full face plant forward into the bed. This is usually followed by some backwards dives and various other stunts. We have come to call this "Jack's Circus Feats" and Genevieve manned the camera for one such performance recently. Enjoy.

Good news, bad news

Hi again everyone. Lots of pics of Jack below from our recent trip to the East Coast, but first, an update for those of you we haven't spoken to in a while.

There's been a lot of news but the biggest and best news is about Genevieve's new job. She just finished her first week as a senior manager at Disneyland. Yes that's right, you read that correctly. Genevieve's group is responsible for show elements, basically all the stuff you see in the park that's part of the environment they are trying to create. She has a lot of artists and artisans reporting to her and couldn't be more thrilled, as Jack and I are, of course. It's a really huge break.

The only bad news is, we went to celebrate her first day at Disneyland and as jack and I walked through a very, very busy park someone unzipped the back pouch on my backpack and STOLE OUR DIGITAL CAMERA! Can you believe it! So as infrequent as updates her have been they are going to be a good deal less frequent until we can buy a new camera, which won't be for a little while, I'm afraid.

But back to good news . . . Jack's Nanny and Pop (Daddy's Mom and Dad) were out in early June for my graduation from AFI. Note, you can save the laurels, asses' milk and fatted calves until the autumn since my thesis films will not be delivered until then and, like 90 out of 115 of my classmates, I will thus not be graduating until then. Pretty stupid, to have a graduation ceremony when literally 90% of the students aren't graduating for at least six months, but hey, it makes the school look legit and it's real convenient for the board of directors so that's the important thing, right? And I wish I could say the ceremony was great but it really wasn't. There was one really good speaker, and then a series of honorary doctorates given out to largely bemused and not particularly impressed folks like James Earl Jones and Sydney Pollack. It was cool that George Lucas introduced JEJ though. Even more cool was James Earl Jones signing my Darth Tater.

I got pretty much the exact reaction I was hoping for when I asked him, "Mr. Jones, would you sign my Darth Tater?" Just a kind of quizzical stare. He signed it on the helmet with a silver marker I brought with me. He mentioned it was the first time anyone had ever asked him that -- imagine that! -- so this is a very rare item.

During Nanny and Pop's visit we went to the El Capitan to see the restored version of Dumbo with the whole family. It was Jack's first theatre experience and of course he promptly fell asleep during the Winnie the Pooh featurette and didn't wake up until Dumbo was complete. (A few days ago, though, we brought him to the El Capitan to see Cars, and he was absolutely rapt and engaged throughout. He kept reaching out to touch the cars on the screen. He was very well behaved although those who know him will not be surprised to hear that!) Pop got a big kick out of the beautiful theatre organ there, rescued from San Francisco's Fox Theatre and played to perfection before every film at the theatre.

Then it was off to Philadelphia to stay with G's Mom and Dad, a/k/a Grammy and Grampy. Grampy scored his ace corporate seats to the Phillies' lovely new park and we saw a Mets/Phillies game which ended well for the Mets. I could really get used to hanging out in the Diamond Club. Then, Grammy and Grampy watched Jack for us for a couple of days while we headed up to Jersey to a friend's wedding. Jack came down with a little illness for a few days but as usual on the flights he was such an angel the other passengers were amazed.

So now we're back, G's job is going great, Daddy's picture-cutting time is done so he can start looking for paying work and a big summer/fall of change is upon us. More updates to follow of course, but for now, here are a few snaps of Jack's recent adventures.

Random shots from home: Jack loves this dancing, vibrating, giggling pig. It is activated by pinching its nose. So Jack sticks it in his mouth, bites and, and his jowls vibrate.
Jack peeping over the railing in the El Capitan . . .
Pop checking out the El Capitan's awesome pipe organ:
A quick family shot at the El Capitan:
On to Philly: The Philly Phanatic startled Jack a bit at first, which surprised me considering how much he's juggled around by all the Disney critters. But of course, Jack was reaching for him the second he left.
Daddy and Jack, ready for the big game!
Note the full-on Lightning McQueen Cars ensemble, complete with light-up sandals:
We ask a guy sitting behind us for a group picture, and we end up with a great souvenir shot of his buddy's silly sun hat. Great.

These shots of Jack atop the Phillies dugout clapping and dancing around were all so great I couldn't pick just one.
Afterwards in the Diamond Club some total stranger came up -- like a lot of people who approached us, he was smitten with Jack -- and gave him a souvenir baseball he had just bought! Of course it went instantly into Jack's mouth. I realize we must sound so full of ourselves the way we talk about Jack but seriously, we constantly have strangers coming up to us -- I mean, it is all the time. Sometimes, it is creepy, like the toothless, evil-smelling crone who approached me today in Long Beach, but mostly it is very flattering, of course, and he makes an awful lot of people smile and feel good. Note to Ray: after the game I got it signed by Endy Chavez and Ron Darling.
After the game, oh heavenly heavenliness, it was off to South Philly for a good old family-style Italian feast at the Villa de Roma. Awesome.Jack and Grampy say, "Buono!"

A few more quick ones

From a recent editors' cookout at my teacher Dave's house. Taken by first year AFI editor Scott Jacobs.

Remote control mania

Jack loves to play with the remote control. We got him a toy one but he saw through that ruse in about a day. So we gave him a couple of old, unused remotes. He loves playing with them, just like daddy does. Today they fell to the bottom of his exersaucer and he devoted much hard work to crawling entirely beneath it to retrieve them.

Aunt Megan's Graduation

As promised, here are a few snaps from Jack's big trip east with Mommy to see Aunt Megan graduate. Here they are, making a cute couple, the two of 'em.
Aunt Elizabeth was a big hit with Jack, too, of course.
Jack is one smooth daddy in his hip Hawaiian shirt.
Yep, just like daddy: "Large bottle of fluids? I'll guzzle it."
I believe this is the first pic we have where you can see all of Jack's shiny new teeth.

Baby steps

No pics today, at the moment -- some are upcoming from Jack's trip east -- but I thought I would announce to the world that Jack took his first official steps last night. Genevieve and I were eating supper and Jack was playing next to us; standing up, he thrust a block toward me. "Do you want to give that to me?" I asked. I was so focused on the block that I didn't notice what he was doing. Genevieve said, "forget about the block, aren't you noticing something?" And suddenly I realized he had taken two steps forward without holding on to anything for the first time. He took a few more, giggling as he went (and we reacted with glee) and obviously very proud of his new skill, before plopping onto his butt to much applause (Jack, of course, joined in -- he loves clapping). As he walked I did my best Dr. Frankenstein impression ("It's aliiiiive!") in honor of Jack's lumbering gait.

Very exciting and delightful. I'll try to get some video of it soon.

A few quick little shots

Jack and Mommy are in Washington, DC giving the president what-for right now, and also attending Jack's Aunt Megan's graduation crom college. Daddy has two days of shooting to worry about this weekend, so he couldn't go, but Mommy has been sending him a few pictures with her camera phone. More pics when they return tomorrow.

Big Boy Haircut

Well, Jack doesn't have a very thick head of hair and what he does have is kind of thin and wispy. Blessed will he be, methinks, with his maternal grandfather's premature glabrousness.

Anyway, thin though his mane be, bits of it were getting long and stringy, and for some reason it was coming in thick and long at the bottom of the back of his head. This gave him the unseemly appearance of nurturing a thick, velvety mullet. So just after his first birthday it was off to an old-fashioned barbershop for his very first big boy haircut.

Jack awaits his first tonsorial experience.


Both Jack and Mommy found the experience stressful. Pay no mind to the female barber's "alakazam!"-style hand motions here. One half expected her to produce a three of clubs at any moment and exclaim, "Is THIS your card?"

Don't tell her I said so but I think mommy squirted a few tears here.
The owner, a typically rosy-cheeked, bewhiskered old gent, sat behind a desk reading, I don't know, Facial Hair Monthly or whatever it is barbers read when they're sitting at desks. I had rather hoped that such an old-fashioned barber, in an old-fashioned barbershop, would have ministered to Jack on this fateful day, leaning over him, reeking of Old Spice and other peoples' hair, but alas it was not to be. Instead we got Belmont Shore's barbershop version of Doug Henning. C'est la vie.

Jack got sick of it pretty quick.

You can notice two things here: a) how fine Jack's hair was and b) how little there was of it. This will be important when I c) receive the bill below.

Jack was pretty pleased at how good he looked afterwards! Note chubby, bewhiskered barber in background.

As we plucked Jack from the chair after perhaps five minutes' worth of snipping and the removal of perhaps two grams of baby hair, the barber went off to the back of the shop and produced a tattered Xerox document comemmorating "Baby's First Haircut," complete with official seal of approval from some mythical governing body. A touching gesture, to be sure. I asked how much we owed and had to cock an ear again when she replied, "$18 dollars." Well. Highway robbery, what? I could see a token ten bucks -- if it were me, I'd be inclined to spring a freebie, after a look at Daddy's dissheveled rat's nest, in the hope of drumming up some paternal business -- but $18 dollars seemed, by my count, to come out to something like 50 cents a hair.

I eyed her shears -- they were within arms' reach and I could have made a clean getaway -- but I had Jack and Genevieve to worry about. Reluctantly I pried $18 from my wallet along with a meagre tip, and we headed off for errands, and for home.

When we got home Jack celebrated his new haircut by standing up and stuffing a sock in his mouth. And who among you wouldn't do the same?

Happy Birthday, Part 1

Many apologies, as usual, for taking sooo long to get these birthday pics online.
The usual excuses apply!

Anyway -- on April 19th Jack celebrated his very first birthday! And of course, we had a party at Disneyland!
It was Jack's first experience of cake and especially frosting. He didn't know what to do with this goopy stuff on his fingers. Initially he just wiped it on hs shirt.But soon, he got into the spirit of things!
After the photo op (see above), which resulted in three or four pics because Minnie and Mickey wouldn't stop playing with Jack, Mickey and Minnie came over to our table and spent a lot more time playing with Jack. Myabe it is just because Jack is so cute but the characters at Disneyland spend way more time playing with him than with the other kids! I swear I am not exaggerating. The little kid on the right in these pics seems chagrined -- they didn't hang with him!

Anyway, Mickey and Minnie came to our table and were enchanted with Jack. . .
Mickey leaned down to play with Jack and Jack smeared frosting on Mickey's nose. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mickey!" cried Genevieve.
But with a "don't be silly" kind of gesture, Minnie took Jack's hand and smeared MORE frosting on Mickey's nose.They had a good laugh and went off to Toontown, presumably to wash up.
After that it was dinner time for ol' blue-eyes. Hey, it's your birthday, you can have dessert first!Then as we walked by the King Arthur Carousel Jack went berserk, staring at it and kicking and laughing. So on we went -- Disneyland was in the throes of spring break season so there were long lines for everything but this anyway -- and Jack LOVED it. He was so happy and having a great birthday for a one-year -old!Jack even gave his reflection kisses!
So there you have it, better late than never -- a thoroughly awesome birthday!