Jockey Hollow - Morristown, NJ

With temperatures dipping to lows that had not been reached in a decade, the question on everyone's mind is 'Where is the global warming?'. There is an excellent scientific answer to that question and I am sure you could find it somewhere on the internet. However, picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com should not be your source of scientific information. What you should consider is that although the weather outside is currently frightful, the weather during the winter of 1779-1780 was frightfuler. During the Hard Winter of 1779-1780, the main contingent of the Continental Army was stationed in Morristown, NJ. The American soldiers faced the harsh conditions of a Northeastern winter during a doldrum in fighting that occured as a consequence of 18th Century warfare. So not only were the American soldiers suffering from frostbite and hypothermia, but also boredom since there were no British to kill.
The American soldier of the 18th Century was not the only one known to suffer from boredom during the long cold winter. I too found myself with too much time and too little to do during this harsh winter. After a drive to Morristown, NJ, I soon found myself also suffering the cold in Jockey Hollow, like the Continental soldier.
Unlike the soldier, who according to the recording at the visitors center was often coatless and/or shoeless, I was wearing several layers including but not limited to longjohns and a parka. Located in the park are replicas of the huts in which the soldiers wintered. Even with the parka and long underwear, it was not warm in there either. You can see me poking my head out of the window of one of those cold replica huts.

Considering how cold it was during my visit to Jockey Hollow, I was grateful for the fortitude displayed by George Washington and his Continental troops during the American War for Independence.

Chihuly: The Nature of Glass - Desert Botanical Gardens - Phoenix, AZ

Ar, maties, let me tell you scallie-wags about my latest adventure in the desert to visit an exhibit by a great artist and possible pirate, Dale Chihuly. Though not linked to anyone in Somalia, Chihuly is known for his iconic eyepatch which evokes images, at least in my head, of pillaging and plundering on the high seas. However, in contrast to the current romanticized images of pirates, thanks to Johnny Depp and the Disney Corporation, pirates are and were bad people. Blackbeard was not in search of fun and adventure. The pirates currently terrorizing ships off the coast of Somalia are not foppish drunks like Capt. Jack Sparrow. But I am not here to condemn piracy or Dale Chihuly, regardless of him being a parrot and a pegleg away from appearing in Treasure Island. I am here to recount, hopefully humorously, my recent visit to the Chihuly exhibition at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ.


For those of you who do not know what Dale Chihuly does, the photo to the right is an excellent example. I can best describe the exhibits at the Desert Botanical Garden as blown glass gone wild. Since I know most of my audience personally, let me remind you that this is not comparable to those commercials that appear on Comedy Central late at night/early in the morning. The words blow and wild are sepeareted by glass. Blown glass gone wild is like scribbling with glass. Making the exhibit more impressive is the fact that these exhibits are brittle and fragile and located in the harsh desert climate. The brightly colored glass sculptures stand as a striking contrast to the subdued tones of the surrounding Sonoran Desert. You do not see day-glo colors like this in the desert and they provide a striking contrast to the plant species in the botanical gardens. Throw in a few 'ooohs' and a couple 'ahhs' and my reaction to the brightly colored glass is covered. And that concludes my amateur critical analysis of Mr. Chihuly's exhibit.


What may interest the casual picsomeinfrontstuff.blogspot.com fan is the fact I toured the Desert Botanical Garden with non other than Michael Phelps! Michael, or Mike as those in the know refer to him, bought me lunch that day and is engaged to my good friend Lenore. Here's the two of them together at the Deser Botanical Garden.

Mike looks a lot different in person, about 37 years older and a foot shorter than in Beijing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the art as well as the lovely Phoenix weather. Considering it was 70 degrees warmer in Phoenix than picsofmeinfrontstuff.blogspot.com's home base of New Jersey it was very difficult to leave. Fortunately, Lenore, the fiance of Michael Phelps did me the honor of posing for a photo. Who knows, it may help his Q-rating to appear on here....

NFC Championship Game - Phoenix, AZ

Saturday, January 17th found me on an airplane early in the morning for a cross-country flight from Newark, NJ to Phoenix, AZ. Having witnessed a pair of wins, first by the underdog Arizona Cardinals and then by the Philadelphia Eagles, I was guaranteed a ticket with my father to the NFC Championship game hosted in University of Phoenix Stadium.


By now everyone knows the outcome of this game. I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed by how the contest ended. However, there was a shining time before the game when I was filled with excitement for the upcoming contest.


At least I was excited standing in front of that field. My dad, in contrast to Brian Dawkins and me, looks like I woke him up early from his nap. With a chance to go to the Super Bowl, I hoped B-Dawk and the defense would continue their stellar play that had started 2 months previous. However, the Cardinals quickly dashed those hopes as they scored three touchdowns in the first half and took a 24-6 lead into halftime. I was in a state of shock following the offensive barrage by what ESPN had refered to as one the worst playoff teams ever. It was clear that the Cardinals had used that ranking as motivation and were taking out their frustration on the visiting Eagles' defense in the first half. The most entertaining portion of the first half was the fact that my dad was able to forecast the Cardinals' plays before they ran them. The most impressive feat of fatherly prognostication was the trick play that led to Larry Fitzgerald's 3rd touchdown of the afternoon being preceded by my dad stating 'They're going to run a flea-flicker, I can smell it'. Amazingly, he also used his mysterious olfactory perception to determine how the Cardinals would score their first two touchdowns.

Collective Soul played at halftime. Here is a crappy video of it.

Their performance either caused the Cards to enter a slumber or woke the Eagles from theirs because the Philadelphia offense and defense returned to the field with a vengeance. Donovan McNabb replied to the Kurt Warner-Larry Fitzgerald offensive explosion with a big boom of his own. On the day, Donovan had 375 yards passing along with 3 touchdowns, all of which came in the second half. The Eagles went on to take a 25-24 lead in the fourth quarter. The Eagles fans in front of me somehow had tumbled into the row in front of them following the last score, a 62 yard strike bobbled, but eventually caught by Desean Jackson. Fortunately, no one was crushed by their tumbling bodies. It was a high time for Eagles' fans in the desert. Unfortunately, it would not last. However, the defense could not stifle the Arizona offense for the entire second half. The Cards scored with 2-3 minutes to take a 32-25 lead which would not change for the rest of the game.

Amidst all of the Arizona Cardinals excitement, my fellow Eagles fans skulked out of the University of Phoenix Stadium. The 700 Level compared the devastating effect caused by the end of the game on Eagles' fans to this and, having been there, I cannot help but agree. Fortunately, life goes on...

...and pitchers and catchers report in approximately 3 weeks!

Football Playoffs and maybe a Bearfight in Baltimore

Can You Hear Me Now?!

In case you are unable to hear, I will type this blog post rather than just yell at the computer and hope someone on the other end hears it. Yelling would not work anyway because I am still hoarse from yelling at the television this Sunday. The television was really big and it was in Baltimore so if you were in Towson or Hagerstown or Atlanta, GA you may have been able to make out what I was saying. However, if you happen to be one of the deaf readers of picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com you likely missed it. Here is the transcript:

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!

For those of you deaf and without any connection to the outside world, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants in the Meadowlands to advance to the conference championship game next weekend. To the right is a picture of Donovan McNabb booking a hotel room in Atlanta for his teammates and himself. Mac-5 likes to be prepared and wants the best for his teammates. Donovan probably got Brian Dawkins a nice suite in which he can relax and maybe get a massage or some fruit salad.

The night before the Eagles faced their nemesis, the NY Giants, Ben, Justin and I ventured into the city of Baltimore to join in on the festivites linked to the early playoff games. To the left you can see Ben guiding Justin through the exciting journey that was our evening. The most important to game to the locals featured the Ravens defeating the Tennessee Titans to advance and face their nemesis, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The most important game to me was the Arizona Cardinals, 9 point underdogs, challenging the Carolina Panthers in Carolina. Who can say what exactly happened to Jake Delhomme on his birthday as he threw 5 interceptions to the Cardinals? No idea.
Who can say why I was so excited for a Cardinals victory? That is a question I can answer. If the Cardinals and Eagles both won, my father who lives in AZ would provide me with a ticket to the conference championship game in University of Phoenix Stadium. That's more than fair reason for me to be extra excited for the Eagles playoff victory over the Giants.



Since it does not take much reason for Ben, Justin, and I to celebrate, the playoff victories led to a celebratory toast...of Bearfights!

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!!!

New York Public Library - NYC

Though it may not always appear that way, I can read. Picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com may sometimes seem like we gave 10 monkeys 10 typewriters to pound on for 10 years to pop this blog out. Ten is a fair estimate since supposedly it would take one million monkeys one million typewriters to crank out some Shakespeare and I am not Billy Shakespeare.


“We’ve heard that a million monkeys at a million keyboards could produce the complete works of Shakespeare; now, thanks to the Internet, we know that is not true."

–Robert Wilensky


But if I could write and not read this blog would be a statistical anomaly that may or may not squish the universe into a singularity. Fortunately, nothing is squished yet. I am literate, I enjoy books, even those without pictures, and I found myself wandering around New York City near the New York Public Library. Most well known, at least to me, for the opening sequence in Ghostbusters the library also has lots of books. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the books or me pretending to read the books or perusing the books to look a little smarter. Poor choice on my part.


The New York Public Library is huge. Most of it appears to be a huge tourist attraction though there are some areas focused on research and reference. Also, George Washington's protrait is on the wall. I could not find the children's section, young adults section, or books on tape. No ghosts jumped out at me. Overall, it was just a big old building.


I do not have much more to say about it except look at me in front of it!

Playboy - NYC

If there is a compound noun that could be used to describe me, it might be playboy...
Well, maybe not.
However, like most heterosexual, American men I have ogled the fine young women who pose in just their birthday suits for Hugh Hefner. You can find some of Hugh et. al.'s editorial offices in New York City at 730 Fifth Ave.

I was surprised there not more dudes loitering just case something interesting went down.

Rockefeller Center - NYC

The most wonderful time of the year is over.
Let the crapfest of the other 11 months of the year begin!
To hold on to Christmas just a little bit longer, picsofmeinfrontstuff.blogspot.com visiited a Christmas icon in New York City, the giant tree at Rockefeller Center.

Here I am blocking an otherwise lovely view of the Christmas tree and ice skaters.

Here's the same view minus me and my neck fat.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas Village - Bernville, PA

It is that time of the year, when the holidays are in full bloom and the pandas are a little frisky. There is a chill in the air, but the cold weather only serves as a reason to bring us together and share warmth. Or in the case of these Pandas, to share body heat. It is the holiday season. Burl Ives is known for singing that is the wonderful time of the year. If you are a horny Panda Bear, it appears that it might be. It is also a wonderful time of the year if you are someone looking for Christmas cheer. If you happen to be in the vicinity of Bernville, PA there is no better place to search for it than Christmas Village.
For 60 years, Christmas Village has lit up the countryside near Bernville, PA and has served as a quintessential Berks County experience. Being a walking tour instead of the usual driving tour through Christmas lights allowed for many more decorations in a much smaller area. Not only were lights included, but also those unique plywood cutouts seen in the yards of many of the Pennsylvania Dutch inhabitants of Berks County. My Pennsylvania Dutch grandfather who spent his whole life living in around Reading often had multitudes of said decorations in his front yard. Just imagine visiting your grandparents when their house featured a bent over lady lawn decoration like the one pictured below. That was what my childhood included and probably what many children who lived in the area got to enjoy as well. Christmas Village included a multitude of said decorations covering a multitude of themes throughout the entire tour. Though there were no illuminated heinies the themes included but were not limited to Noah's Ark, which was the real reason for the humping Pandas; Jurassic Christmas, which inluded dinosaurs especially my favorite, the Triceratops; Christmas on the farm, which is every Christmas in Berks County; and multiculturalism, which makes sense in a place called Christmas village...

At first glance, that would appear to be me next to a Menorah. Your first glance would be correct, despite the bright red eyes, which may or may not shoot lasers, that is in fact me pictured above. It might be slightly (read:very) ridiculous to include a symbol of Haunakah drowning in a sea of Christmas but Berks County does not include many Jews who would complain and even fewer who would go to Christmas Village. It was just some PA Dutch folks trying to be courteous. The Jewish community could always make Passover City if they were so inclined.

At the end of the walking tour, after wandering through the myriad of themed Christmas dsiplays, we finally got to see the guy who is the reason for the season. Picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com's chief photographer handed off the camera to some stranger and got in the picture to appear with someone this important.

HO HO HO!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Yuengling Brewery - Pottsville, PA

A photograph of me next to a laboratory is nothing original. I have quite a few of them especially from my years in graduate school. I am a chemist and I usually spend most of my weekdays wearing safety glasses and a lab coat. However, this laboratory is not part of any research facility or pharmaceutical manufacturing site but rather the workplace of the brewmaster at Yuengling Brewery, the Oldest Brewery in the United States. Considering I could work in a laboratory with beer, maybe I could reconsider my current career path. Brewmaster Kyle...that certainly would impress my friends and family.

Founded in 1821, Yuengling Brewery has proudly produced beer as America's Oldest Continuous Brewery. Even during Prohibition, Yuengling continued to serve as a brewer of near beer and medicinal beer. That's right, medicinal beer! According to the American Medical Association, beer was prescribed by doctors as treatment for debility, dyspepsia, anaemia, convalescence and old age in general during Prohibition. Yuengling Porter was a therpeutic option due to its wholesomeness. Yuengling also produced dairy products and many children, including my stepdad (What's up with that?), often enjoyed their Yuengling Ice Cream until the early 1980s when the brand was discontinued due to the new food safety laws. The building in which the dairy products were produced still stands across the street from the original brewery.

Currently, Yuengling has 3 manufacturing facilities in Mill Creek, PA; Tampa, FL; and the original in Pottsville, PA. Tours are offered at all 3 facilities though the original brewery in downtown Pottsville serves as a Mecca of Beer, beckoning many towards a trip back in brewing time. Obviously, I was unable to resist the siren song emanating from the coal regions of eastern PA any longer even though I had grown up not far from the Yuengling Holy Land. And once again, I found myself with my faithful photographer, Melissa, roaming towards a locale to serve as a backdrop for my narcisstic need to be photographed. So on a sunny afternoon in December I found myself posing for yet another photograph for picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com!

Holy crap, I look excited!

MOTHER!!! - Ashland, PA

Mother's Day is always the second Sunday in May. However, some people, like Danzig, like to celebrate mothers everyday. Another famous supposed momma's boy was James Whistler who painted Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother also known colloquially as Whistler's Mother. According to Wikipedia, the official internet research source of http://www.picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com/, Whistler's actual levels of affection for his mother remain unknown. The image of a seated Anna Whistler has become an icon for motherhood and affection for one's mother. No where within driving distance of my childhood home is this icon more on display than in Ashland, Pennsylvania affectionately known as The Mom-ument.

Considering I had almost two weeks off from work and little to do while staying in Pennsylvania for the holidays, is there any doubt I would soon have a picture of me standing in front of this statue? If you are unsure of the answer to that question you clearly have not been paying attention during the brief existence of picsofmeinfrontofstuff.blogspot.com.

Not only was I drawn to the unique statue, but you could call me a bit of a momma's boy, too. How could I resist such an opportunity?