Early Winter Monkeyshines

Just thought I'd share some belated photos of the kids from a recent weekend. Sorry I've been so delinquents.

Gone: Another Boyhood Hero

January 22, 2008 -- REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Chess great Bobby Fischer , who died in Iceland last week at the age of 64, was buried yesterday near the city that hosted his victory over the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky 35 years ago.

In his day, he was the best chess player in the world, maybe the best the world had ever seen. For fans of the game, the tragedy is that his day passed all too quickly. And for the last 30-odd years of his life, Bobby Fischer was the chess world's mad uncle, an embarrassment to be apologized for, belittled or ignored. He died last week at the evocative age of 64 (there are 64 squares on a chess board).

Fischer's claim to unsurpassed greatness was not entirely without merit. He remained the highest-rated player in history for many years after he had stopped playing. On his way to the 1972 championship match in Reykjavik, Iceland, he won 20 straight games against some of the strongest players in the world without allowing so much as a draw. Twenty victories in a row against the world's best was unheard-of, a feat not equaled in chess before or since. He then went on to beat Mr. Spassky -- and, with him, the entire Soviet chess establishment.

Fischer's spokesman, Gardar Sverrisson, said the Brooklyn-raised champion was buried in a private ceremony in the southern Icelandic town of Selfoss, about 37 miles southeast of Reykjavik.

Checkmate.

Monkeyshines - 2008

This past weekend was a bit warmer than average for Brooklyn in January, which meant that Daddy and the Monkeys were able to spend a little time out of doors - what a relief! I dont have much else to say except, "enjoy the photos!"

Because It's There

Edmund Hillary, First Atop Everest, Dead at 88

January 11, 2008 · Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to stand atop Mount Everest, died in Auckland, New Zealand. He was 88. Hillary along with Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, were the first to conquer the world's highest mountain in 1953.

In 1953, Hillary — a beekeeper by trade — and his team reached the mountain's south peak. But, exhausted by the altitude, most team members could go no farther. Only Hillary and a native Nepalese climber, Tenzing Norgay, continued on. David Breashears, a fellow climber said Hillary initially gained fame for the climb, but afterward, he dedicated much of his life to supporting the Sherpas in the Himalayas.

Rest in peace.

Christmas Time Monkeyshines

This Christmas started out, as many do, with the purchase of a tree - a humble tree, but with a little love and care it turned out just fine.

We decided to set up our electric trains around the tree, which Zach thought was even better than any of the presents that he got. Although I don't have any pictures of it, we had great fun putting Squeaky the "mouse" in the flatbed car of the train and watching him go around and around the Christmas tree in the train - it quite literally scared the piss out of the little critter, but he survived just fine.
Eventually Santa came and left presents for young Master Zechariah and young Miss Miranda - in a bit of a non-sequiter, I just noticed that "Santa" is an anagram for "Satan," who knew?
On Christmas day, after all the present opening festivities we went out and about to visit with some friends and share the holiday cheer. The kids enjoyed swinging on the hammock swing at Daddy's friend Chris' house.
Holidays can be pretty exhausting and both little monkeys ran out of gas, collapsing with visions of sugar-plum fairies cavorting in their heads.















Of course opening all those presents is messy work so we took time out of our busy day to clean up our act.





We watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer several times over the course of the vacation - Miranda thought that the abominable snowman was very scary and hid under the blankets when he roared - Zach was unimpressed.












Just two random pics of Zach.







Well that will do it for Monkeyshines for the year of our Lord 2007. I expect 2008 to be fun-filled and action-packed so stay tuned and have a great new year. Peace, Love and Special Sauce.

Passing The Time

It's a quiet day here on Wall Street - even though the markets are open, all the big traders have passed their accounts off to the junior varsity and split out of town for the holidays. It is also a quiet day in our little office - Brent is in Chicago, Efraim is marlin fishing in Key West, Stuart went home to England, Nelson is out with strep throat, Louis is at a meeting and James is missing in action. This leaves me and the mostly quiet phones. It's all good though; it gives me a chance to actually take my time and post a few thoughts.

I will be picking the kids up tonight for the Christmas weekend and will be keeping them until next Wednesday. In preparation, I went out the other day and got a Christmas tree - it is kind of a small sad-looking Charlie Brown kind of tree, but it fit the budget and it will do. This whole Christmas is going to be rather humble, as I am way broke and the kids got a bunch of stuff from the family over Thanksgiving, though I don't think they really remember it that way. I picked up a few things anyway to wrap and put under the tree - art supplies, batteries, glue - you know - stocking stuffers. Fortunately, at this age it is kind of like trading with the Indians - a few beads and trinkets can go a long way. I haven't even put the lights on the tree yet, opting instead to wait for the kids' help/participation in the tree trimming process - mostly I am looking forward to being out of the office for five straight days and getting lots of cuddles and snuggles.

Next week (Thursday and Friday) will also be very slow - Europe seems to be closed for business until January 2nd - so Louis is planning to rig the big screen on the wall with his Xbox so that we can play Guitar Hero - good work if you can get it! I will also resume studying for my licensing exam - something that I had put on hold due to all the legal drama in November and December and all the time that it required. Actually I am looking forward to this, especially since I will be able to really immerse myself in it. I need 4-5 weeks of cramming to get ready, which will mean some very long hours - I'll sleep when I'm dead.

That's about it for now- I'll post some photos (Christmas Monkeyshines) next week, which may be my last post of the year. Stay tuned and Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Joyful Kwanzaa, Good Ramadan, and may Buddha bless you.

Just Thought I'd Share

I was walking by the NYSE this morning at 4am and this is how it looked - pretty groovy, huh? I just thought I'd share.

Winter Weekend Monkeyshines

Well, this past weekend was cold and a nor'easter blew in on Saturday so Daddy and the monkeys were pretty much housebound, but we made the best of it. We did a lot of indoor activities such as jumping on the bed, riding around on Daddy's back, spelunking under the sofa, etc. We played with some of our new "Christmas" toys and did some fine dining, in fact I suspect that young miss Miranda will be entering a growth spurt soon, as she ate like a horse - it was startling. In keeping with the new format, I've given you the large photos and have just captioned the photos to let you enjoy them without my prattle.
Miranda enjoys a pink donut with sprinkles, with Daddy while Zach was at the sensory gym.

Miranda sports her new artist's smock (we couldn't convince Zachy to participate, but he has a cool smock too).












She then proceeds to create a fabulous work of art.




















We had fun doing some camping (in the living room of course) with our new tent from Aunt Heather and Uncle Glen.



Zach and Miranda cuddle on Daddy's thinking chair, while watching Wheels on the Bus - our new favorite video.


















Zach chills out on one of our beanbag chairs.



Miranda "does her work" with Playdoh on one of her Playdoh mats that she got for her birthday.

Zach plays with his Thomas trains - not an unusual activity at all.





Miranda is just Miranda.

Stay tuned for the 5-day festivities of Christmas Monkeyshines 2007!

Panda Update

Just in case you were wondering, Miranda's first day of preschool was a smashing success. She was a bit cautious at first but didn't cry, complain or even seem to notice that Daddy and Mommy weren't there with her - we waited upstairs in a freezing cold room. Her school day ran from 11:30 - 2pm at which time she emerged happy and hungry. More to follow.

School Days

Today Miranda will start preschool at 11:30am at the Our Savior School in Bay Ridge. Daddy and the rest of the crew will be there to wait while our princess enjoys her first day. My how fast they grow!

Hat-Trick Monkeyshines

Well this past weekend saw the third straight weekend of glorious monkeyshines and, as usual we had fun-o-plenty. First I'd like to share this cute picture of the kids on our airplane trip back from the Thanksgiving festivities.
Miranda sports her new/hand-me-down Pooh sweatshirt.
Here Zach is... just being Zach.
Zach admires a piece of artwork that he created for Daddy.
This past weekend was cold and saw the first snow of the season which was terribly exciting, so of course we all got up early and went out to play in it.

Sorry these entries have been so brief and so far between, but I promise that the new year will bring changes that should greatly improve the readability of these humble pages. Stay tuned and happy holidays! Peace.