
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232178653_d25c6613d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Nora">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232178653_d595ff2dbd_t.jpg" alt="Nora"/>
</a>

Our most exciting event this month was traveling to the United States for two weeks to visit my parents and grandmother for Thanksgiving. Nora was very excited about the trip and behaved admirably. We got up at 4:00 AM on a Saturday, flew to Frankfurt, and then all the way to Charlotte. The second flight was 9.5 hours long, and Nora slept for only one hour. She quickly learned how to operate her in-flight touch screen entertainment system and watched the same episode of _Baby Looney Tunes_ about a hundred times. After another hour-long drive from the Charlotte airport, we reached my parents' house. Nora has been video conferencing over FaceTime with my parents for at least a half hour every day, and she took no time at all to acclimatize to them. At 8:00 PM North Carolina time, twenty-two hours after she had woken up that morning, I had to insist that she stop playing with her Grandma and go to bed. It took her less than thirty seconds to fall asleep.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232055801_aeae89c296_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Playing with Grandma">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232055801_75203372c9.jpg" alt="Playing with Grandma"/>
</a>

Playing a dominoes-backgammon hybrid with her grandma after being up for 22 hours.

The biggest change in my daughter I've noticed lately is an incredible knack for negotiation.

In my entire life leading up to 2012, I never negotiated as much as I do every single day with Nora. In an effort to not be a totalitarian parent, I let her suggest plans of activities and, when they inevitably clash with what I feel is best for our family, I explain why. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I lose. To illustrate her powers, I'll tell a story of how she rhetorically trounced her grandfather during our recent visit.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232062085_56afc66f37_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sleeping with Sam">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232062085_b4b456f213_m.jpg" alt="Sleeping with Sam"/>
</a>

It was our first morning visiting, and her grandfather asked her what she wanted for breakfast, some toast, perhaps? She agreed to the toast. He then asked her what she'd like to have on the toast, butter or marmalade, or both. She said she wanted chocolate on the toast. Her grandfather knew that was totally out of the question. Certain he could not be budged, he said, "No, you can't have chocolate. You must choose something else." Nora put her finger to her chin, as she does when loading her rhetorical arsenal, and said something very close <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233145700_4db54a10ca_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Playing with Sam">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233145700_38eb2a5159_m.jpg" alt="Playing with Sam"/>
</a>

to, "Here's what I think. When I'm in \[Spain\], I have chocolate milk (cola-cao) for breakfast every day. In America, I don't have that, so I think every day I'm in America, I should have chocolate on my toast." Floored and speechless, her grandfather conceded that that did, in fact, make a lot of sense, and he got some chocolate syrup to spread on her toast. It was only later that he realized that not only had he lost the battle over that one piece of toast, but had agreed to a contract to give her chocolate toast on every visit in perpetuity.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233142288_54d97e73b9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Baking Cookies">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233142288_8523b3c2e5_z.jpg" alt="Baking Cookies"/>
</a>

She enjoyed cooking with her grandma, especially because she could wear her new apron.

While I was writing this, I just offered her a piece of apple, and she said, "I want two pieces. First one, and then another one. Okay? Okay." She does this thing where she asks for validation, "Okay?" and then gives it, "Okay," on your behalf. If you're not on top of your critical thinking game when she does it to you, it's easy to think that an agreement between you has been reached.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232101561_ae201c401f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Playing with Grandpa">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232101561_129273bc14.jpg" alt="Playing with Grandpa"/>
</a>

She enjoyed full reign over her grandparents, who, before they collapsed of exhaustion, were up for anything, such as races from these chairs up the yard to the driveway.

Sometimes when she asks me for a piece of candy, and I say no, she says, "Okay, well if I can't have that, then I want this and this." It's like haggling with a Moroccan rug merchant! Lately she's realized that she needs to start with high demands to have room for compromise, often walking into my office and beginning, "Okay, Daddy, I want five things…" as she pulls out her fist and peels open one finger at at time as bullet points for her demands. It's awfully tempting sometimes to put my foot down and stop the discussion, but I know how invaluable negotiating, asking for more and compromising will be in progressing in her adult life, which is my ultimate goal as a parent.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233133678_8be871dcb5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bowling with Keira">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233133678_7db3466559_n.jpg" alt="Bowling with Keira"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232069891_af1ed2a9ba_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bowling with Keira">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232069891_7c547d8b23_m.jpg" alt="Bowling with Keira"/>
</a>

When in the States, we met up with an old classmate of mine who grew up in Bolivia and is bilingual. She has a daughter about five months younger than Nora, and it was just as fun as I had hoped to get them together to play. We went bowling, which was Nora's first time. She enjoyed it quite a bit, pushing the ball down the lane very, very slowly.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232095131_8113243ef0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Playing with Great-Grandma">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232095131_125be4cdb9.jpg" alt="Playing with Great-Grandma"/>
</a>

I'm so very pleased that Nora got to re-meet and interact with her only living great-grandparent, my grandmother. They did some puzzles together.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aiPj3oC5_-w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Nora learning [pickleball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickleball) from her grandmother. I'd never heard of pickleball until this visit, but it's a real thing, and it's _really_ fun!

Her return back to Spain was relatively easy. She only said a handful of English words to her Spanish grandparents by mistake. However, one of her best friends at school, Claudia, is holding a grudge against Nora for abandoning her for two weeks. Claudia won't let Nora sit near her and has been acting up at home.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232056799_d12bfe1dc5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Blocking Sam">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232056799_b88bc07d0a_m.jpg" alt="Blocking Sam"/>
</a>

One day, soon after we returned, Nora woke up in the middle of the night, crying and saying, â€œI make me an owie!â€ That\\'s her phrase for when she\\'s hurt herself. I rushed to her bedside, expecting to find her fallen off the bed onto the floor, but she was nice and snug in her bed. I asked what was wrong, and she said, â€œI made me an owie, and Grandma was saying â€˜Sorry, sorry!\\', but I was telling her that she didn\\'t make me the owie. I made me the owie all by myself.â€ I suggested she lie back down, and she agreed and was sleeping before I had time to stand up to leave.

It turns out that her grandmother remembers the exact incident, involving a rug that slipped out from under Nora, and Nora getting upset about her grandmother's instinctive use of the word "sorry" despite the accident not being her fault. My theory is that it was this incongruity that saved the incident in her brain to be replayed at night. The truth is that "sorry" has more meanings than just "forgive me".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233170836_713fd476d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Four Generations">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8233170836_e6383e6139.jpg" alt="Four Generations"/>
</a>

Obligatory "four generations" photograph.

The state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232178653_d25c6613d1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-30-state-of-the-offspring-address-november-2012/8232178653_d595ff2dbd.jpg" alt="Nora"/>
</a>


State of the Offspring Address - November 2012


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-27-transatlantic-movie-marathon-5-movie-reviews/8223653709_341bff9593_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="American In Spain On A Plane">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-27-transatlantic-movie-marathon-5-movie-reviews/8223653709_1c408e3a82_t.jpg" alt="American In Spain On A Plane"/>
</a>

During my recent Thanksgiving pond hop, I had the opportunity to watch several movies during my 16.5 hours of air travel over the ocean. I was impressed with the selection available, with a few dozen older classics and about twenty "new releases". With so many movies fresh in my memory, I figure I should tell you about them. 

### People Like Us

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xf670sIACKc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[![](http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B009KHCAFC&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=eriksblog07-20)![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=eriksblog07-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009KHCAFC)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009KHCAFC/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009KHCAFC&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20)

This was the first film I watched. I had never heard of it, but something about the poster caught my eye. I've been a fan of Chris Pine for a few years now; he first wowed me in _Bottle Shock_, which I highly recommend, and then in _Star Trek_ and _Unstoppable_. Elizabeth Banks is a good actress, who I enjoy in everything she's in, but I've never been motivated to learn her name or look her up on IMDB. I've seen an awful lot of her filmography, but she always seems like a fresh face. It could be that she's just that good of an actress, or that she's just that unmemorable; I suspect it's a combination of both. The kid in the movie, Michael Hall D'Addario, definitely has some potential.

The one sentence plot summary is very clichéd: A young handsome money grubbing New Yorker learns What Is Really Important in life. But the actual movie kept surprising me and showing a subtlety of character development that had me very impressed. The one-word description of the movie is one of my favorite words, which I almost never get to use in proper context: **avuncular**.

Watch it; it's good.

### This Means War

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FsAqVvlR5DQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[![](http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B007Y4JQB4&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=eriksblog07-20)![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=eriksblog07-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007Y4JQB4)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007Y4JQB4/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007Y4JQB4&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20)

Impressed with Chris Pine from the previous film, and intrigued by the "It's spy against spy" subtitle, I decided to watch _This Means War_. There's something about Reese Witherspoon that really gets under my skin. I can't think of a single movie she's been in where her character didn't annoy the crap out of me. All her characters come across as whiny and arrogant. I could go on, but let's just say I'm not a fan.

The plot involves two CIA operatives buddies that start dating the same girl and compete to woo her. It was even dumber than it sounds. They cut off the entertainment system for landing about halfway through this movie, and I didn't care one bit.

### The Dark Knight Rises

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kqF8lcKTLw0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[![](http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B009LRE040&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=eriksblog07-20)![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=eriksblog07-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B009LRE040)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009LRE040/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B009LRE040&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20)

I've never been a comic book fan, and don't really like the cinema genre that much, even though Hollywood seems to think it's like printing money. I have, I think, seen all the Batman movies, so I understand the back story and know a little about the characters. I was unaware at the time that Bane, the evil villain, was played by Tom Hardy, the guy I'd just seen playing Chris Pine's rival in _This Means War_.

Despite my low expectations, I was very impressed with _The Dark Knight Rises_, and must declare it my favorite Batman movie so far. Christian Bale is always amazing, Anne Hathaway is usually pretty good (although Michelle Pheiffer was a much sexier Catwoman), and I have a serious Hollywood crush on Marion Cotillard. For me, Marion Cotillard is the exact opposite of how unmemorable Elizabeth Banks is and how irritating Reese Witherspoon is. I particularly liked all the backstory into the Bane character and the prison sequence. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is always fun to see on the screen as well. It must have been quite an _Inception_ reunion on the set. Oh, and how bad can a movie be when Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine have small supporting roles?

I recommend it, even if you harbor an aversion to superheroes, like I do.

### Total Recall

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sWMhADqlPYg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[![](http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00A0SKFLG&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=eriksblog07-20)![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=eriksblog07-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00A0SKFLG)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0SKFLG/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00A0SKFLG&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20)

I've seen the 1990 version of this film, but I can barely remember any of it other than it being a psychological thriller that had something to do with Mars. And the lady with three breasts, of course. The 2012 version is set entirely on Earth, at the antipodes of Australia and England. The actual antipode of Australia is in the mid-Atlantic, of course, with Spain and New Zealand being one of the rare land antipodal pairs. In this dystopian future, there is a tunnel that connects England and Australia via the center of the Earth, called The Fall, and workers commute through it.

It really took a lot of effort to ignore the horrible lack of knowledge of simple free fall physics. The gravity inside the elevator thing is all normal as they free fall toward the center of the planet, and then gravity magically switches to being normal in the other direction. In reality, if the fall were relatively frictionless you'd feel weightless until you stopped at the other side. Also, a frictionless free fall through the center of the Earth [takes 42 minutes](http://www.physicscentral.com/explore/poster-earth.cfm); if you were to do it in the 20 minutes it takes in the movie, the acceleration would reverse gravity when you start and then the deceleration really would flip you over onto your head at the halfway point. Goofy.

If you can bring yourself to ignore the immense implausibility of the scenario, it is a fun action movie. I've always liked psychological thrillers where neither the character nor the audience is certain what is real and what is a dream (_Inception_, _The Others_, etc.). The actors are pretty gorgeous, too. Jessica Biel is very pretty, but she's nothing compared to Kate Beckinsale. Wow! Beckinsale is absolutely stunning in this movie. Colin Farrell is one seriously handsome Irish lad as well.

Oh, and they did include the tri-mammeried freak.

### The Watch

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/y2X-R_PR6xs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[![](http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00A6N773O&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=eriksblog07-20)![](http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=eriksblog07-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00A6N773O)](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A6N773O/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00A6N773O&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20)

Towards the end of my last flight, I wanted some lighthearted fun on my screen, so I chose _The Watch_. The Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn style of humor is one that you really need to be in the proper mindset for. It's incredibly silly, but I will never forget seeing That Scene (you know the one) from _There's Something About Mary_ back when I had no idea who Ben Stiller was, in a fully packed cinema on opening night, and the roar of shared belly laughter. And it was nice to see Richard Ayoade on the big screen, although his character was pretty indistinguishable from Moss in _The IT Crowd_. There were a few moments where I had to cover my mouth to stop from laughing too loud.

We landed before I could finish this movie, and I _did_ mind this time, and I plan to make an effort to see the rest of it sometime this week. Remember, you have to be in the mood for some really silly humor, but if you are, _The Watch_ can be quite enjoyable.

### Conclusion

To recap, the movies above in order of my opinion of best to worst (IMDB ratings in parentheses): _People Like Us_ (7.1), _A Dark Knight Rises_ (8.8), _The Watch_ (5.7), _Total Recall_ (6.3), and _This Means War_ (6.3).


Transatlantic Movie Marathon – 5 Movie Reviews


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-19-house-concert-with-peggy-ratusz/8197702261_59878d87c6_t.jpg" alt="Peggy Ratusz and Jonathan Pearlman" class="post-thumb"/>Sometimes it seems to me like my parents are very often going to concerts and events around my hometown. So when we chose our dates to visit for Thanksgiving this year, I eagerly inquired if there were any events we could attend. Alas, there were none.

Aware of my disappointment, my parents contacted their friend, Clint, who runs _Americana Stage_, the organization that schedules, manages and hosts such concerts in various local venues. Clint suggested a "house concert", which is still a fairly new genre of event. The basic idea is that you host a party in your house, but you charge all your friends an admission fee, and then you pay a band to perform _in your own house_. Not all houses are appropriate for such events, but the one my parents bought three years ago has a very adequate living room. The whole thing was a new experience for almost all involved. The artist that Clint lined up to perform was a woman from Asheville, NC, named [Peggy Ratusz](http://www.myspace.com/peggyratusz2). She has three guitarists that know her songs and can support her; the one booked for our house concert was Jonathan Pearlman, a jazz guitarist. In my mind, jazz guitar is just about the pinnacle of guitar skill. In other words, a jazz guitarist can play pretty much any genre (rock, blues, bluegrass, etc.), but only jazz guitarists can play jazz. My suspicions were only confirmed.

Guests were told to show up at 18:00 with finger food snacks, and to be seated for the concert by 19:30. There is a big difference, you see, between a "concert party" and a "party with live music". For the latter, you may talk over the music and generally appreciate the band as background noise, but for the former, you must stop eating, be seated and attentive to the band. They played for an hour or so before taking a half hour intermission and playing another half hour. The general opinion of all involved was that it was a _huge_ success. No one felt like their $20 entrance fee was wasted, as it covered the music and all-you-can-drink booze, or _barra libre_, as we say in Spain.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Cg9MWW_pxsA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The other success of the evening was that Nora survived all the people and music without once bursting into tears are needing to seek shelter. Last year when we visited and we had a party, she needed to spend the entire party in a separate room isolated from all the strange adults. She wasn't exactly talkative, but she didn't need to take cover, so we considered it a success.

The most exciting part of the show was the song on which my father took the stage to play harmonica. He had been practicing for several weeks, and the song had been drummed into my head during his practice sessions the previous week. He did splendidly, especially considering that he was given a second improvisational solo when the singer found herself not yet prepared to sing the following verse. Such is the excitement of the stage! He coped admirably.

<iframe width="505" height="314" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/57rZrvxs2rc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


House Concert with Peggy Ratusz


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-13-learning-lytro/7163401041_41d9dbcec7_t.jpg" alt="Lytro" class="post-thumb"/>I had never heard of a "light field" camera until I began hearing marketing buzz about the [Lytro](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0099QUSGM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0099QUSGM&linkCode=as2&tag=eriksblog07-20) camera last year. To be perfectly honest, I still don't really understand how the technology works. I have a pretty good layman's grasp of how normal lens optics work to focus an image onto film or a CCD sensor, and how and why focusing at a certain depth works, but the "light field" camera concept still seems a bit like magic. They say that it captures not only the intensity and color of the light hitting each sensor pixel, but the _direction_ of said photon as well. Huh? And somehow this magically allows the focal length (what depth in the image is in focus) to be modified _after_ the moment has been captured, just like they do in Hollywood movies and television where a detective tells a lab geek to "enhance this area of the photograph here" and they can now magically read the perp's license plate. Like I said, it still seems a bit like magic, but it really, really works.  I may have a bit of an early adopter fetish, and I'm an avid photographer hobbyist, so I couldn't really resist buying the first consumer light field camera, the Lytro.

[![Lytro](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-13-learning-lytro/7163401041_41d9dbcec7.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfagerdotcom/7163401041/ "Lytro by kenfagerdotcom, on Flickr")

The Lytro folks like to call what their camera makes "living pictures". I thought that was pretty cheesy at first, but I'm starting to understand, because it really is more like you're physically looking through a window and can focus on any part of the scene you wish, just like you could using your biological eye if you were really looking through a window.

When I discussed this technology with a fellow photographer hobbyist, [Simon](http://simonlitton.wordpress.com/), he had the interesting insight that the camera must have all the focal information available to it, and then the software must be using the depth coordinate of each pixel not to focus on a point, but to blur all the other pixels out of focus. If his theory is correct, then the camera must be able to produce an image with an functionally infinite depth of field. This made a lot of sense to me at the time, but since playing with the device, I'm not so convinced.

You know how when you look through a screen, or a dirty window, you can focus on objects outside the window such that you no longer see the glass you're looking through? The foreground becomes so blurred as to become invisible. I could be wrong, but I think there's something more going on than just software blurring. I think that if it could, the Lytro software would offer an infinite depth of field version of each photograph.

There are tradeoffs, of course. The images are relatively small, with few megapixels. You _can_ export to jpeg, but the quality is so _Meh!_ that there's really no point. The _entire_ value of the photographs are in the interactivity of the viewing. The creator of the Lytro camera, Ren Ng, says that he's not too worried about these drawbacks because the vast majority of photography sharing and viewing these days takes place on a screen with a pointing device available, and most photos that are viewed are already optimized to strip away all that megapixel detail that big cameras provide. I have to say that he's got a damn good point.

So you wanna see some of my living pictures? Be sure to click around inside them all! (double-click to zoom)

<iframe width="500" height="515" src="https://pictures.lytro.com/erik/pictures/437576/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My father's pinball machine.

<iframe width="500" height="515" src="https://pictures.lytro.com/erik/pictures/434833/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Note how the specks on the window only appear when you click on the window frame.

<iframe width="500" height="515" src="https://pictures.lytro.com/erik/pictures/437586/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm quite proud of this one. This is shot looking through a 3D crystal model of my wife and me towards a photograph of my maternal grandfather, with a reflection of a photo of my daughter.

<iframe width="500" height="515" src="https://pictures.lytro.com/erik/pictures/437588/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This is a good example of the type of photo the Lytro excels at.

<iframe width="500" height="515" src="https://pictures.lytro.com/erik/pictures/437592/embed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Textured surfaces from the camera to the subject also work well.

So far I'm very intrigued with my new toy, and my readers should expect to see many more "living pictures" in the future. It's definitely not the best camera ever, but there are certain situations where it can take more interesting photographs than any camera previously manufactured.


Learning Lytro - Light Field Camera Review


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161493260_5c91897797_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Pumpkin Almond Risotto">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161493260_ae81469512_t.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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My wife and I have been slowly expanding our culinary abilities this year via online recipes, trying about a dozen new recipes this past year. I'm pretty sure my favorite is this pumpkin almond risotto that she made once, and I have repeated twice. It is absolutely delicious and dead simple to make, although it does require some attention and stirring just before serving. 

A hearty, warm, autumnal, creamy Italian rice dish with pumpkin, champagne, parmesan cheese and crunchy almonds.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161493260_5c91897797_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pumpkin Almond Risotto">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161493260_ae81469512.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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Published by Erik Rasmussen on November 6, 2012

### Ingredients

- 3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 large onion
- pumpkin (280 grams)
- 1 glass of champagne
- 1 cup of risotto-style rice
- shredded parmesan cheese slices (100 grams)
- parmesan cheese (100 grams)
- a handful of almonds
- a pinch of salt

### Instructions

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161434505_840c7bdc20_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pumpkin Almond Risotto">
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1) Make chicken vegetable broth. You could use a bouillon cube, but if you have the time (or left over veggies) to boil some vegetables and chicken, that's ideal. Use what you have: celery, leaks, peppers, broccoli…anything. Even the chicken is optional if you'd like to go vegetarian. I boiled some long green beans, two carrots, and a chicken breast for about 40 minutes. It would take less in a pressure cooker.

Strain out the vegetables and meat and set aside the broth for later.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161436153_beaa38f1c1.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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2) Finely chop your onion and cook it in a frying pan with some olive oil until it starts turning soft and yellow.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161471156_b11a5f2019.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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3) Dice your pumpkin into small cubic centimeters and add them to the onions. Cook until the pumpkin becomes soft and begins falling apart.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161440649_ce5015f7d5.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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4) While the pumpkin is cooking, chop up your almonds. I was able to cut most of them into between two and four slices. Or, if you can buy almond slivers directly from the store, skip this step.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161476618_e4784ce606.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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5) Add the almonds to the frying pan.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161445239_cbcf4e2062.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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6) Add the rice.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161480230_4f7e7a61d3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pumpkin Almond Risotto">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161480230_3fd765e82d.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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7) Add the champagne.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161482000_6214c18c3b.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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8) Ladle in the broth until the rice is covered. Keep stirring, and as the liquid disappears, keep ladling in more broth. It should take the rice 15 minutes or so to cook like this.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161486932_303a1f300d.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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9) Open your bag of shredded parmesan, and add it to the risotto.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161488900_6f61912c63.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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10) Stir in the cheese.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161482000_2f0c22edd3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pumpkin Almond Risotto">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161482000_6214c18c3b.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161493260_5c91897797_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pumpkin Almond Risotto">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161493260_ae81469512.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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11) Serve with your parmesan cheese slices.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-autumn-recipe-pumpkin-almond-risotto/8161495610_7c1c9146c9.jpg" alt="Pumpkin Almond Risotto"/>
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Of course – and this is my favorite part – you've likely now got an open champagne bottle that needs emptying.

### Conclusion

Without a doubt, it's the almonds that make this dish spectacular. It's a little strange to have a crunchy rice dish, but it absolutely works. The method of adding the broth ladle by ladle makes the rice rich and creamy. The [original recipe](http://cocinandoentreolivos.blogspot.com.es/2010/05/risotto-de-calabaza-y-almendras-paso.html) I learned from suggested adding a tablespoon of butter at the end, but, in my opinion, if there's one thing this dish doesn't suffer from, it's a lack of creamy richness. Enjoy!


Autumn Recipe: Pumpkin Almond Risotto


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As you may [recall](/2012/09/27/state-of-the-offspring-address-september-2012/), Nora's preschool class mascot is a big turtle, named _Tortuga Tomasa_. After some foul play incidents a decade ago, the mascot is now a stuffed turtle, and not a real reptile. We were told that every weekend throughout the year, the Tomasa would travel home with one kid in the class to be cared for at home. However, since there are so many children in Nora's class, the policy was amended to have a child take the stuffed reptile home every single day to maximize participation. I was hoping we'd get lucky and have Tomasa for a weekend, but we got even luckier. Nora brought her home on a Tuesday, the children went on a field trip to a local zoo on the Wednesday (so Tomasa had to stay home), the Thursday was All Saints Day (no school), and then they had Friday off as a [bridge day](/2011/12/05/suspension-bridge-week/), so Tomasa stayed at our house for five days!  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161343230_59a3aa9d0b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161343230_6e9ee609c9.jpg" alt="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa"/>
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She's a big old thing. I've never seen a real sea turtle, but I suspect she's life sized.

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Very soft and very cuddly.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161338984_c70fe5f986.jpg" alt="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa"/>
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The teacher fastened some suspenders to her for easy carrying. Tomasa is too heavy for the actual three year olds to carry her to and from school, so that duty falls to the parents.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161316853_cc71b8898c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161316853_a46be923f3.jpg" alt="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa"/>
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Nora can carry her for short periods, but not enough to make it all the way to school, I think.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161351684_e51a5f5394_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161351684_f579097190.jpg" alt="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa"/>
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Of course Tomasa didn't really get played with much during her stay, but Nora showed her some of her dolls and toys.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161347080_1053898932_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-06-turtle-sitting-tomasa-came-home/8161347080_6d1d9ede8f.jpg" alt="Nora and Tortuga Tomasa"/>
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Turtle power!


Turtle Sitting: Tomasa Came Home


<img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-02-teaching-spanish-kids-about-halloween/8141387706_a125c3eac8_t.jpg" alt="Halloween At Fray Pablo - 199" class="post-thumb"/>For Halloween this year, I offered to give a pumpkin carving demonstration to my daughter's three-year-old preschool class. The teacher was enthusiastic and coordinated with the English teacher, who was already doing some Halloween-themed vocabulary, for a date and time for the presentation. All I could get were some [small pumpkins](/2012/10/28/halloween-2012-pumpkin-carving-with-carmen/) from my local grocer friend who frequents farmers markets. The only way to get a real lantern-worthy gourd is to know a farmer directly, which I do not. My daughter's teacher, however, told me that she was going to her hometown for the weekend before Halloween, and she knew some farmers that grew big pumpkins, and she'd see what she could find. It was a success! She found two gorgeous beach-ball-sized gourds for me to carve.  As a pajamaed telecommuter, I don't do a lot of public speaking, so I was a bit nervous to be giving a presentation to fifty little Spanish kids (they invited the four-year-old class, too). When I arrived, I was introduced. The teacher asked if anyone knew whose father I was, and Nora was too shy to claim me publicly. I explained a little bit about where I was from and what I was going to do, and I pulled out the knives I'd brought and started lobotomizing the first pumpkin.

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The kids sat at quiet attention.

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They were very curious to see what was inside.

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And then came the fun hands-on part, where everyone took turns pulling out a clump of pumpkin goop.

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They seemed to really enjoy it. I was given a box of tissues to hand out to them after they finished.

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While I was carving, the teacher deftly took their attention to have them make possible faces I could carve, ranging from scary to surprised to happy to "what Daddy looks like when he's angry".

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The most fascinated members of my audience were the other teachers, who had never seen this done in their lives. They seemed amazed that I could cut out a face using "just a knife".

While I was carving, the teacher played some spooky sounds from some sort of sound machine she had. Once she said, "Let's see if we can summon a witch! I'll push the button to make the noise, and you guys watch out for a witch!" That seemed a little scary for three-year-olds, but I kept carving. She pressed play, and something moved behind me in my peripheral vision. She did it again, and again a dark shape moved behind me. The kids began shouting "Witch! Witch!". It was somewhat unsettling to say the least. Two kids began crying. Then the witch came into the classroom and revealed that it was really one of the other teachers. She went to hug the kids that were crying.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-02-teaching-spanish-kids-about-halloween/8141265557_1248b0abca_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Halloween At Fray Pablo - 074">
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The witch's identity revealed.

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When I finished the nose and mouth, it was time to light the candles I'd brought.

All the kids assured us that they would not be scared by the glowing face, and we turned off the lights…

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2012-11-02-teaching-spanish-kids-about-halloween/8141317102_800731dbc1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Halloween At Fray Pablo - 102">
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Two scary faces!

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For the second pumpkin, this blond girl nudged herself closer to me.

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On the second carving, the four-year-olds went back to their class, but then the five-year-olds were due to come down for the second lighting.

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My showmanship improved and I let everyone watch as I pushed out the pieces of pumpkin to form each orifice.

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Two goofy faces, this time.

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Goofy and scary, the gourd brothers.

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It was a lot of fun. The kids all seemed to enjoy it, and I have since had several parents come up to me to tell me how much their kid liked my presentation. After school that day, rather than lead the kids outside into the schoolyard for parental collection, the teacher had the parents come inside to see my handiwork. I'm already looking forward to doing it again next year.


7 posts from November, 2012