For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Wally’s Bistro
Date: July, 2000
Location: Fair Lawn, NJ

Description: For a show that was probably my least funny comedy (as it was based on a premise rather than an actual series of funny lines), How Horribly… had its fair share of shenanigans.  And I’m sure Bryan Fenkart, who is now understudying the lead role in the Broadway musical Memphis has drawn much from his role as Wellington.  In all reality, though, Bryan well remembers this final dress-rehearsal where he ignored my request and decided to use his short run disguised as “Wally” to deliberately disrupt the play and make Stephanie and I crack on stage.  It worked, but fortunately this was just a rehearsal.  No, we wouldn’t lose it on stage for a good few days later when Bryan had a very unfortunate situation with his spirit gum in what has widely become known as The Mustache Incident, one of only two times I’ve broken character during a play.  Well played, Bryan.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

The Smallest Boombox
Date: ~1980
Location: I have no idea

Description: In recent days, I’ve noticed Landen does more and more things that we do – he will mimick whenever possible.  And because we have numerous phones around the house, one of the biggest things is for him to play with phones, putting them to his ears and occasionally talking.  That’s fine and comletely expected at his age.  But I’ve noticed him doing something similar with this one toy – a quiet music player – where he puts it to his ear to listen to the music, illustrated wonderfully in this racist clipart I found.  I was trying to figure out where he learned that habit, since he clearly knows the difference between a phone and something that plays music.  And then I remembered this picture, that I had never even seen before this DPOD project began.  Suddenly, many things became clear, not the least of which is that apparently everyone wore Adidas in 1980.  So when I assume that Landen just follows what we are doing now, I’m certainly not giving him enough credit for his ability to transcend decades.  I always knew my boy was persceptive, but I had no idea he could copy what I did when I was his age.  He’s a smart cookie.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Not Consoling a Friend
Date: November 2005
Location: Franklin Lakes, NJ

Description: This was a reject photo taken for the high school yearbook – you know the drill, a photographer catches actors being wacky and maybe one will end up getting used, but probably not.  This was taken during rehearsal of the only drama I can remember a high school ever doing (as opposed to a musical or a comedy), Rehearsal for Murder, which still ranks as one of the worst titles of any play ever.  Anyway, there are a few interesting things about this picture.  The first of which is that I didn’t go out and buy a plain black T-shirt for the show, but it appears as though I just turned my OnStage T-shirt inside out and hoped nobody would notice.  Second, this picture always appeared to me to be me consoling Will for something horrendous.  If I remember right, I was a cocky actor (in the play, seriously…) and I was making some dig at him.  It wasn’t the first time I was cast as someone arrogant, and it wouldn’t be my last – perhaps a bit of typecasting of which I was never fond.  Either way, I’m glad I was able to grab a copy of this photo, as it brings me back to the days where I enjoyed acting.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Baby Protector
Date: Late Summer, 2008
Location: Reno, NV

Description: There is little in this world that is comparable to the love a mother has for her kids.  Ask any mother and they’ll be glad to tell you stories, at great length, and without much chance for you to speak in between anecdotes.  But it’s a beautiful thing to watch.  And it doesn’t begin when the baby is born – it begins as soon as that test comes back positive.  I remember Ashley feeling very protective and maternal as early as two months pregnant.  And that’s why I always loved this picture – it just just shows the mama protecting the cub, even from sun.  And since it’s Ash’s birthday today, I figured I’d post a picture of her I really like.  Have a great one, mom, you deserve it!

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Pogonip’d
Date: December 17, 2008
Location: Reno, NV

Living in Reno has a few perks, most notably meteorologically.  Not only do we not contend with things such as humidity, mosquitos, or hurricanes, we also get the benefit of being *technically* in the Pacific Northwest.  This is significant because it is the only place to see Pogonip, a rare phenomenon that results in freezing fog blanketing all around it.  I’ve managed to see this twice in my near three years here.  And unless you’re in the southern hemisphere, you’re probably amidst some sort of heat wave, wishing you could have a layer of frozen mist fall on you.  Well, this is for you.  And for people who like pogonip.  And berries.  And sticks.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Kreepy Monkey
Date: Winter 1999
Location: New Brunswick, NJ

Description: The story of Kreepy Monkey started innocently enough.  Roommate Bryan had this stuffed monkey that he kept that was just a little off – the eyes were spaced too far apart, the mouth permanently frozen in an askew smirk.  He freaked out an awful lot of people.  So Bryan and I would place him in very specific areas in the house to catch each other off guard: in the background of the bathroom so he was visible when looking in the mirror, rooting around in the knife drawer, in someone’s undies.  As the semester grew older, we got more elaborate with our Kreepy Monkey poses.  This one seen here was one of Bryan’s more elaborate ones, which was simultaneously frightening and brilliant.  The story of Kreepy Monkey would ultimately involve cloning, international travel and acclaim, and even death threats.  I assure you, this is not the last you’ve seen of Kreepy Monkey.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Surf Hero
Date: Summer 2001 (?)
Location: NJ Shore

Description: As it may have been ascertained during this project, I have pretty awesome friends.  This is in addition to having very photogenic friends who know what to do in order to capture that 8 mm magic.  Stephanie was only one such example, here posing while down the shore.  I am happy to say that, during our excursion there, no crime befell us, likely because of the vigilant eye of Stephanie, surf hero.  We all owe our gratitude.

This was an interchange Bryan and I had.  It makes me miss him:

ME: You sexy sexy piece of man ham

BRYAN: you delicious slice of man pie

ME: You scrumptious hunk of man-brulee.

BRYAN: you succulent shank of man lamb

ME: you delectable skewer of mantisserie

I only wish it had gone on longer.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Fort Nonsense
Date: Early Spring, 2006
Location: Morristown, NJ

Description: First off, this place actually exists.  Despite the fact that the big N in the sign looks photoshopped, it’s not.  The picture is just blurry.  In fact, it was largely because the picture was blurry that it wasn’t a front-runner for the album cover for my album, Love is Kinda Funny Sometimes.  Originally, I had the idea for the cover to be giving flowers to a cop who was writing me a ticket.  After about a half dozen police precincts and realizing that cops don’t have senses of humor, we ended up at Fort Nonsense to find a new cover.  Thanks to the quick-thinking (and awesome photo-taking skills) of my friend Sam, we were able to take a number of great photos.  How it was decided that the flowers should be primarily stuffed down my pants for this photo shoot is still beyond me, but we did get a number of good photos out of it.  And remember, whenever at Fort Nonsense, you’d best salute in the proper way.

For each day in 2010 (give or take) I’ll be showing a picture from somewhere in my life with a little explanation as to what it is.  Enjoy the trip down memory lane.  (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE ARCHIVES!)

Whoosh
Date: Spring 1988
Location: Wyckoff NJ

Description: I was always a high ball hitter, and a pretty good one at that. While I only ever had one career home run (caught on tape the only time my sister brought a video camera to the ballpark), I was a good line drive hitter and would estimate I was probably around a .280 guy. However, I had trouble laying off the high heat. This year, my fifth grade, was particularly troublesome. As a lowly fifth grader, I had to contend against higher (and more notably bigger) sixth graders, and it was a struggle to keep up. This wasn’t one of my best years, particularly when you consider that I was wearing the smallest pants available (seen in the picture doubled over because they were too long) and had my cap on under my helmet (also pictured) so it would come close to fitting.  Being that tiny would have been a good benefit had I considered my strike zone would also be reduced.  But alas, if the pitch was between the waist and the neck, I was swinging away. (Note how I somehow managed to swing TOO HIGH.) The year before, my team was 1-10, made it to the playoffs (because every team did), and won the next three games including the championship. Needless to say that didn’t sit well with people. I bring that up to make people forget about my lousy swing and miss.