guardedly optimistic

the milestone of milestones

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:34:00 +0000

Forget his first word (bawoo (balloon) - first spoken last weekend), forget the fact that he has a specific hand gesture that means "I want to go outside," what really matters is that my son is now dunking.

musical genius

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:57:00 +0000

This made my week:

locked in a bar

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:34:00 +0000

How would you react if you were locked in a bar overnight? Probably not as calmly and rationally as this guy. There's just so much to love about this article - the assumption that Google can solve ANY problem, the quote from the owner's mother, the fact that the guy was drinking until 4AM and still planning on going to work the next day. Hilarious stuff.

times funny

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 29 May 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Unbeknownst to me, my other blog, Blank is Like Blank, was written up in the Times a few weeks back. Pretty cool.

one year

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:56:00 +0000

Today is Luca's first birthday. It's pretty incredible to imagine what we were doing exactly a year ago at this time. The main goal of your child's first year is survival for all parties involved. So in that case, we have succeeded.

Living in a state of perpetual disarray and exhaustion leaves little time for reflection. In the last year, both Julia and I have definitely pushed ourselves too hard and taken on too much. Poor Julia has had to work what is basically a full time job, while few of her mom friends (all of whom can afford more childcare) have had to work at all.

Since Luca was born, I have taken sleep deprivation and caffeine addiction to frightening heights. Doing freelance work at 3AM knowing I'd be up with the baby in a few hours used to give me a rush of delusional invincibility. Now it just feels irresponsible and neglectful. Fortunately we are both taking steps towards healthier routines.

But time and exhaustion melt away when I get to spend time with Luca. I was excited to be a father, but had no idea of the intensity of the love that comes along with it. It might sound presumptuous or preachy, but you really have no idea of how intense, terrifying and all-encompassing love can be until you hold your sleeping child. I can't imagine anything being more redefining than parenthood.

Luca is now running, eating all sorts of food and making all sorts of sounds. He can't say any actual words yet, but he responds to things like "cheese?" (which he loves) and "do you want to turn off the light?" (he likes to reach up and pull the cord). He has been yelling and growling a lot over the last week or so, which will hopefully just be a short feral phase.

We owe a big thank you to our family and friends for all their support and understanding, especially those with whom we have (temporarily) lost touch. As Luca's awareness of the world and his role in it continues to develop, I feel grateful knowing how much love is waiting for him.

ikea hack

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 18 May 2008 02:08:00 +0000

This is nothing short of brilliant.

(via Gowanus Lounge)

brand tags

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:06:00 +0000

Noah Brier, a friend and former colleague, is getting some much-deserved press for his brilliant Brand Tags project. I am forever indebted to Noah for giving me my first break in the industry (I once used a Ghost Dog analogy to describe our relationship, but he hadn't seen the movie and was thoroughly confused), but you have to admit, the whole concept is pretty cool.

absolute diaper

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:46:00 +0000

ab·so·lute dia·per [ab-suh-loot dahy-per]

–noun

The highly dangerous state in which the only clean diaper in the house is being worn by the baby: "We reached absolute diaper for the first time, this morning. It was terrifying."

eleven months

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:08:00 +0000

make your own pharma TV spot

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:18:00 +0000

It's doubtful this brilliant viral campaign by Holton Sentivan + Gury will pull in any actual pharma business, but it's unquestionably innovative and hilarious. Check out my commercial below and make your own pharma TV spot here.

Grand Theft Auto

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:55:00 +0000

My old friend, Mark's band, "The Greenskeepers" supplied the song for the new Grand Theft Auto commercial. Pretty cool.

eleven months

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:39:00 +0000

Yikes – where to start? Major Luca developments of the last few weeks include mimicry of gesture (waving, sticking out tongue) and sound (bababa, dadada, oh oh, kissing sounds), a sudden interest in books, and (dramatic pause… ) walking!

He can take about five or six steps at a time now, usually from one piece of furniture to another. Predictably, this has enabled him to get into even more mischief. He is particularly fond of pulling books off the shelves and chewing on anything around his eye level. Thankfully, these developments are taking place just as he’s starting to understand what no means.

"No, we don’t chew on the radiator cover."

"No, books are for reading, not eating."

"What did he just put in his– no, no, no, NO! Don’t eat that!" (runs over to baby and removes object from his mouth)

Less welcome, but apparently completely normal, has been the rather sudden development of separation anxiety/shyness. It makes sense that we all must learn to fear the world at some point, for safety’s sake. Otherwise we’d be talking to angry schizophrenics on the subway, ordering the lobster roll at greasy diners and going to open mic singer/songwriter nights.

Still, it’s sad to see the baby that used to smile at just about anyone cringe and turn away from people he’s already met. Last weekend we were lounging in the kitchen when the guy delivering or food rang our buzzer. I immediately jumped up and ran downstairs, which terrified Luca. From his perspective, this makes sense: you’re hanging out with the two people who take care of everything and make you feel safe, and all of a sudden there’s this really loud buzz and one of them runs away? I’d have started crying, too.

Hopefully this will just be a phase and he’ll learn that we always come back, and that it’s OK to be affectionate with friends and family, just not with radiator covers or people who sing Indigo Girls covers.

at least she has her own office

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:33:00 +0000

I just realized that our accountant uses a hotmail address, which does not inspire confidence. But I'm fairly sure our last accountant hadn't heard of the Internet, so at least we upgraded.

the problem with using a baby as an alarm clock:

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:20:00 +0000

He doesn't adjust for daylight savings.

overheard while getting coffee this morning

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:17:00 +0000

girl at the counter: Do you want that toasted?

customer: No, no toast. I don't eat anything toasted. I haven't had toast in seven years.

kung fu fightin'

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:09:00 +0000

charlie bit me

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:13:00 +0000

I'm posting this at Julia's insistence. Hopefully it's just as funny for those without children. Luca only has three teeth, but I think he could bite through steel - Charlie's got nothing on him.

what I've been up to

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 04:30:00 +0000

luca and posse

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:54:00 +0000

a new blog

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:53:00 +0000

A designer friend of mine once told me that my blog posts are too long. While it worries me that the Internet has diminished our collective attention span to the point that five hundred words is too many to read in one sitting, I have been thinking about exploring a shorter form for a while now. With this in mind, I present my foray into microcopy, which is still very much a work in progress:

Blank is Like Blank: Analogies to live by.

Hope you enjoy.

thanksgiving dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:44:00 +0000

I was delighted to find that a hilarious short video my sister made, based on a conversation at a past Thanksgiving dinner, is up on YouTube. She plays all the characters other than the guy. Enjoy.

Visit Rachel's myspace page-->

an explanation in an anecdote

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:32:00 +0000

Last night at 2AM while I was finishing up some freelance work, I started nodding off and falling instantly into dreams from lack of sleep. I was about to write the word "alligator" on the screen, fell asleep for a second, woke up, and had written "octopus" instead. Once I get a grip on things, I'll start blogging again.

olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:49:00 +0000

A piece I wrote about the Olympics is now up on mental floss. Check out some great trivia, quizzes and more by their fleet of well-informed contributors while you're there.

another blog

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:19:00 +0000

Friend, former colleague, future famous screenwriter and current extra, Evan Schiller, recently started a blog (after achieving mixed results with several "gimmick blogs"). Evan is insightful, witty and full of the youthful enthusiasm that allows for frequent, lengthy posting. Coincidentally, he isn't currently raising a child.

six months

noreply@blogger.com (Justin) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:04:00 +0000