The other day, a dear friend observed that my photos on GIAPH have been looking a little funny color-wise lately. I explained that I’ve been playing with an iPhone app called Hipstamatic. It makes your pictures look grainy, off-centered and miscolored, a la old snapshots from the 70s. Why, you ask, would anyone want to screw up […]

It’s not easy, being a tourist in a city you once thought you’d call home. I should know. I’ve skulked around Manhattan on various trips over the years, wasting precious time feeling bitter over the fact that I don’t live there and likely never will. But this time, that didn’t happen. Ray and I took the girls to […]

The girls and I were in full valentine production mode last night, when Annabelle raised an eyebrow from across the dining room table and pointed. “How is anyone going to be able to read those?” she asked, not unkindly. She was referring to the treat bags Sophie was decorating with foam hearts and Yo Gabba Gabba stickers, […]

I always try to put the Halloween stuff away the day after. I might have five overflowing laundry baskets in my dining room at the moment, and be perfectly okay with it — but to me, there’s something unacceptably untidy about having holiday detritus around after the holiday in question is over. Maybe I drove […]

This morning was greeted before dawn and with great excitement. It’s October. The girls and I rolled around in bed and talked about Halloween costumes (Annabelle’s going to be a black poodle; Sophie’s still undecided, maybe Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba, or maybe a cat, or Cinderella to complement Ms. X’s Fairy Godmother costume — […]

Have you heard of Calef Brown? If you haven’t, grab one of the bookstore gift cards you got for the holidays, and run out and buy one of his collections of poetry, which include “Polkabats and Octopus Slacks” and “Flamingo on the Roof” (www.calefbrown.com). It’s the stuff you had children for — this guy’s the Dan […]