Invisible Fence

Narrowly escaping death by electrocution earlier in the week, Dad almost got himself into another voltage related trouble. While jogging around the town, observing the destruction and devastation brought by the storm to some neighbors houses, Dad noticed, not without some healthy Schadenfreude, that the power was still out on some of the properties. The neighbors dogs, already unnerved by the non-stop high-pitch buzz of the chain saws of tree removal crews were barking louder than usual. The sight of Dad happily jogging, made them only madder and they charged full speed towards him. Nonplussed, Dad continued the run while it slowly dawned on him that if the power is down then the 'invisible fence' is down, and if the 'invisible fence' is down, then the only thing keeping dogs from attacking is, well, some reflexes. And shall the reflexes (same as the pump insulation earlier) prove to be less than perfect, Dad's disfigured arms and legs would be an ungainly attraction at the beaches of Dominican Republic, where he was heading in a few days.

Chess Comeback

Thrown by lack of Internet connectivity (due to the storm) practically all the way to the Stone Age, kids turned to chess. This second in a year comeback of chess made us think - what next ... reading ...? But, oh, shucks, the 'net is back, hopes of having them read anything longer than a Facebook post - shuttered.

Great Flood(s)

Last week brought two epic floods of different scale.

First, following how many years of abuse, we finally managed to clog the kitchen drain for good. After some meaningless exercises with the plunger, Dad said it's time to do it "right", opened up the drain and tried to clean it with the power-drill mounted snake. Max was duped into believing that Dad was drilling for oil and was quite disappointed when all 25 feet of snake came back empty. It was time to call professionals. Carlos, his helper and Dad, opened up the pipe full of atherosclerotical built-up and performed a garden-hose colonoscopy, thoroughly showering themselves in the process with bucketfulls of disgusting foul smelling slime... This yet another cleansing experience in a month, made Dad seriously considering going vegan (or, perhaps, investing in a proper garbage disposal device).

On the macro-scale, the event replayed just few days later, when strong wind toppled enough trees to knock off power lines throughout the town. The pouring rain finished the job, flooding what was not blocked by the felled trees. Meanwhile, coming back home late night after having a merry time with friends and family in Brooklyn, we discovered basement flooded and more water loudly dripping in at a steady clip. After finding the power generator in a sorry state of neglect, Dad set off into rain and dark looking for some fresh gasoline and motor oil. By 4 in the morning, the generator came to life, waking up, without doubt, most of the neighborhood. Dad, extension cord in hand, waded through basement waters and plugged the submersible pump into the outlet. It was only after the electrical whining of the pump and the sound of water pouring out brought Dad a moment of reflection (attaboy!), did he realize how close he was to being electrocuted in his own basement, shall the insulation on the pump turned to be anything less than perfect.

P.S. The third plumbing emergency happened a few days later - while trying to clean a clogged drain the bathroom, Dad broke the pipe for good and spent his Sunday afternoon cursing the lack of standardization in plumbing industry up and down the supply isle in Home Dept and re-learning the dark art of teflon taping the joints.

NKK

... and so that Leon doesn't feel bad from not getting his cookie just yet, we sketched one up for him.

A $300K cookie

Max got accepted to SLS. We got a welcoming package, including this giant cookie. 

Happy Birthday Leon

Leon was sick, on and off school for the past few weeks, coughing non stop for hours, until a good doctor figured (we hope) what's wrong and put him on a bunch of meds. This, however, didn't stop us from poking fun on him on his birthday, plastering the house with posters with classic "Leonisms". Here is one.

Artwork by David Nicholson

 

Александра Мироновна Крейнина, б. Саня

1912-2010

A bit of Fry and Laurie

A few months ago, Irene stumbled upon this excellent BBC comedy series with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. It is an absolute categorical best, true comedic and artistic genius. Highly recommend.

Such a stark contrast to SNL, each show hitting new low the season.

Snowed in

We didn't get as much snow as it was advertised, but still, it was too tempting, and before all of this melted away, the cross-country skies were brought up from the basement, dusted off, strapped on and paraded for four proud circles around the house.  Winter Olympics, here he goes.

Cleansing Experience

Last week, all four of us, one after another, fell victim of some violent 24-hour stomach bug. After a day of cleansing experience, we swear never to put in our bodies anything which is unholy and impure...  It did not last long, of course, and we are back in full force, consuming in even larger quantities same junk as before. Because yes, we can!

Avatar

The family outing to see "Avatar" turns disappointing, as the movie, in our 3D-equipped eyes, didn't hold to its praise. The special effects were no better than Harry Potter's or Star Wars'; 3D we've seen before; and the whole idea of innocent and spiritual indigenous culture killing scores of Marines seems out-of-place particular these days, when one innocent and spiritual country is desperately awaiting Marines and supplies in the earthquake-stricken Port-au-Prince.

Warm and Warmer

Last weekend, Max (with generous helping from Dad and project idea from Mom) completed this year Science Project. Among other things, the experiment involved heating up a considerable amount of vegetable oil in a plastic bottle under a very hot halogen lamp, which made Dad somewhat nervous. The concerns were unfounded - thanks to cold January weather and a rather drafty house insulation, the oil temperature never made it above 85F degrees. Still, the experiment was a success - the budding scientist proved that the sand surface is indeed getting hotter faster than deep sand or water. Yes!...

P.S. The project didn't win anything.

Rock Band

Thanks to cousin Kostya (and evil geniuses from Microsoft), we now have a full drum set and other noise making equipment. Kids of all ages were enjoying the set non-stop for the past week. Nothing uplifts the holiday spirit as listening to the rendition of "Final Countdown" for the n-th time.

Click here for more pictures.

Killington 2009

This year traditional (10th!) ski trip to Killington - was the shortest (only two days), the coldest (-3F/-19C) and the "manliest" on record (no ladies). But despite all of that, we managed to make the best of it skiing non stop until the last lift.



More pictures are here.

Russian Vodka Room

Alik and the family is here for the holidays. Which means lots of food and drinking and bonding of cousins from 3 to 16.

On Saturday, we went to the city and while Andra and Irene were getting some culture at the play "Wishful Drinking" - a one-woman show by a recovering alcoholic Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Alik and I were inspecting various flavored vodka at the nearby establishment with the promising name "Russian Vodka Room" (click on the picture on the left). My body was delivered home in the morning in my absence. How ironic.

The next day, while Daddy was still "under the weather", the surrealism continued with Irene and Max going to Brooklyn to see Kuklachev Cat Theater and with more bonding with more cousins from 2 to 22.

Кому рукава мешают...

Here is Max's performance of Brahm's Hungarian Dance No 5 at Steinway Hall in Westport.

Apparently, it was the long sleeves that interfered with Max's playing and made him stumble a couple of times. In his defense, I must say that he played nearly flawlessly during the rehearsals. But of course, the boy had to wear a fancy shirt, right?...

14,975

A surprise gift waits those who can figure out the meaning of this post title.
Another surprise gift (a 2-hour math lesson with Dad) awaits those who cannot.
You have to be younger than 18 to participate.

Bye Bye Birdie

Yesterday, we took a train to New York to see musical Bye Bye Birdie. Max went with us as a last minute, $110 addition. He was excited to see John Stamos, but it turned out that he confused him with the blond actor playing Full House Joey character (who I confused with Jeff Daniels). It was a very frustrating charade, on the way in, trying to figure out who confused who for whom. Actor playing Conrad Birdie (playing, horribly, I must add) was some teen-star Nolan Gerard Funk. Max said that he knew the guy and so happy he was in the play. All this excitement, however, didn't stop Max from falling asleep 10 minutes into the performance. He didn't wake up until the end, 2.5 hours later. Being unable to move or stretch, while Max was resting comfortably on my shoulder, I didn't find show much enjoyable. Also didn't help, being yelled at by an overzealous usher for attempting to drink a soda in the seat during the intermission. John Stamos sucked. The guy cannot sing, ok? The teen star sucked. Gina Gershon's Rosie was good. Bill Irwin's Mr MacAfee and what-her-name Mother character were slightly overcooked. The play was in the newly restored Henry Miller's theater on 43rd, where the mezzanine is at the street level and orchestra is in the below ground pit. After the play, the actors chatted up the audience into giving to some charity, quickly auctioning two sweat-stained John Stamos' t-shirts for $250 apiece. Well-aged female fans of Full House were screaming and yelling like Conrad Birdie groupies. Ah, theater...

Fixing the Wall

Max overheard us talking about the fall of Berlin Wall (today is 20th anniversary) and asked, very concerned - are they going to fix it?

Art in New York City

Despite having to sit in traffic for hours, today's family outing in NYC was a good thing. First, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we saw Robert Frank's The Americans (b&w pictures from his trips around the country in the 50s) []. Max didn't care much for it, making a point that unlike sculptures, the pictures we can study on the Internet. So, we saw some "real 3-D art" - Greek and Roman stuff and then an amazing exhibit of Japanese arms. 14 century samurai swords [], blades smooth and shiny like a brand new Toyota. Then, some Rodin, Europeans, impressionists, until, at a Van Gogh painting[], Max declared that art makes him hungry. We got out, had hot dogs [], walked a bit and sat down for a proper lunch []. We finished the day with a stroll through the Central Park - beautiful colors, soft low late afternoon November sun, faint smell of starting to rot leaves, red berries on graying trees [].



More pictures here

Max's Halloween Special

Max's getting ready for Halloween.

Brick Secret Service - by Max

Caterpillar

Here is what we found on the door outside. Anyone knows what this is? Leave a comment...

See more pictures here.

And thank you, Alik, for positive id on this thing - it is a "Spicebush Swallowtail Prepupa". See more here.

Last Beach Day of the Season

Mazel Tov, Таня и Илюша!!!

Совет Молодоженам от Ветеранов Семейной Жизни - Top Ten Reasons to Get Married

Connecticut welcomes new teen driver Leon

Play: That Championship Season

Saw Jason Miller's play "That Championship Season" - sad and sorry middle-age men in a depressed 70s-era Pennsylvania town remembering evidently the only highlight of their lives - a victory in high-school basketball championship. Yay...

Dad's F-word Birthday

In what emerges as a family tradition, the birthday boy was presented with this video short "Forty is an F-word" by Leon & Max.

Speed Limit 40

On the Labor Day weekend Monday, the friends&family threw Dad a wild party featuring young girls in skimpy skirts, vintage spirits, gourmet food, and, culmination of the festivities, a thriller movie "Speed Limit 40" by Alik.

Due to YouTube limitations, I had to cut the movie into three parts, so watch them in sequence. Total playing time around 15 mins.

Part I


Part II


Part III

Dad Runs Marathon

In what appears to be an early sign of midlife crisis, Dad ran a marathon just days before his birthday.

Since Dad was the only participant of this unofficial marathon of his own design, Leon supposed to play the role of the cheering crowd, a mobile feed area and an EMT. Leon, however, overslept, and Dad had to reserve to drinking questionable quality water in the public restrooms along the way. Leon did eventually woke up, brought Dad some goodies and then organized a finish line celebration.

Here is the route:Dad finished the 26.75 miles in 4 hours 25 minutes. Since he overshot the official 26.22 marathon by more than a half-a-mile, he now claims that he finished the distance in 4:20.