Although it's still exciting that I can take videos on my cheap little (still) camera, and upload them onto the Web, I'm already wishing the quality were better.

I'm a selfish...

I don't get much time with Sam anymore, since he has joined the ranks of schoolchildren. But sometimes I do manage a Friday afternoon. It's strange to have him right upstairs and yet miss him. I mean, it's not like I never see him. I am a fortunate grandfather, after all, who can see his grandson every day.

But I do miss our regular Friday "Grandpa Day". Our tours of the City. Our games and adventures...

I wax nostalgic.

But this summer I'll get him all day every Monday. Yeah! Coney Island better be ready for us!

We did manage to pay a visit to the Guggenheim yesterday, and I thought it might be nice to share a couple of videos from that trip.

In the lobby was a remarkable sculpture which can't really be photographed properly. It's a bunch of fresnel lenses wired together, such that when you look at it the sculpture appears to be about three inches in front of where it actually is. Hard for me to explain, but suffice it to say that if you try and touch it, your finger touches only air. Until you poke it in another few inches.

Sam loved it, and I'm a bit surprised the guards didn't rush over to stop Sam from running around.

[note: the awful noise level is what these big museum lobbies are actually like; my least favorite part of visiting them]

[and remember, if you come and visit us I have a pass that gets five of us at a time into every museum in the city for free]



Then, it was up the ramp where he discovered a piece of art that took as its starting point an updated disco floor. Check out my dancing boy:





And oh, what the hell, since I've got a bit of time today, let's throw in some pics from the past few months:

On John's birthday in February we went out to the Renaissance Diner, a favorite place for us in Hell's Kitchen, so that John could indulge in two, count 'em, deluxe peanut butter milkshakes. Sam gave him bandaids that looked like bacon. Desiree was impressed.

In March we paid a visit to the Bronx Botanical Gardens to see the orchid show. Here is Sam giving us a tour of the cactus garden (towards the end of the video he references the Christmas train show, which is a spectacular exhibit of trains in which all the bridges, houses, NYC landmarks, are made of plants):




In April we paid a visit to the old site of the New York World's Fair of 1939 and 1964. The Unisphere is still there, and the rim around it is a nice place to read a book on a sunny Spring day.

On Earth Day we all celebrated in Central Park. I like this picture of Sam and John.

And a few other pictures I like:

At the Frank Stella exhibit on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum.

Playing at the centerpiece of the new Greek and Roman galleries at the Met, the Etruscan Chariot.

On Mother's day.

With Mom on Mother's day.

And finally, Sam becomes a pizza rock:





...

SAM'S FIRST STARRING ROLE

Josh, the father of Sam's best friend Bodhi, recently celebrated his 40th birthday. In honor of that auspicious event, Sam and Bodhi conceived and wrote a film script. Mom was the cinematographer and Grandpa was the film editor. Neither of us had any idea how to put it all together, but I gotta say that Apple's i-movie thingie is pretty easy to use.

With multiple costume changes (the kids kept deciding that what the other was wearing was what they wanted to wear), and an extraordinary performance from Ananda Lu (Bodhi's sister), the film is an existential masterpiece.

The premiere was attended by all the important people in NYC, and the reviews were positive. We'll enter it in Sundance, I figure.








....

...



JAMIE VAN ATTA'S SIMPLY FABULOUS PHOTOS




These are some of my favorite photos ever taken of Sam. From August of last year.

Here he is invoking the setting sun.

Here he has discovered some Power Ranger dress-up clothes at the B&B.

What a smile.

And if this face doesn't melt the hardest of hearts, I will be amazed. But I suppose I am biased.




....

Skating in Bryant Park

Bryant Park is easily the best place to skate in NYC. It's a nice size, and it's free. Unfortunately it's open for only 6 weeks.

For Desiree's birthday we all went skating. They don't allow cameras on the ice, unfortunately, so we don't have good action shots.

But here's a slice of us drinking our hot chocolates afterwards:








...

WE'RE BACK!!

I have just learned that I can upload videos onto the blog. That makes Young Samwise worth reviving, after a 20 month hiatus. There will be few written accounts of our adventures, but a good share of photos and videos. Thus, those interested in checking in on Sam occasionally can now do so.

Brief update:
- Sam returned from Croatia in September of 2005
- Grandpa fridays continued, with a wide variety of adventures, until September of 2006 when Sam started school (which he loves)
- Grandpa went into mourning

But life goes on, and I sometimes get to pick him up from school on Fridays and we get to remember the good old days...

So here's a few summer 2006 highlights. Because I knew that June, July and August were the last Fridays I had left, and because Sam was verbal enough to tell me where he wanted to go, we ended up at Coney Island.

Every Friday.

On our trips to Coney Island our first stop was always for lunch at Totonno's Pizza, a small place about a half mile from the beach and on a street filled mostly with auto repair stores. But it's worth the walk, since Only God makes better pizza


A brief comment on Totonno's: The son was something of a pizza nazi. When the day’s supply of dough ran out he simply told everyone to go home. If you asked for something different, or asked any questions, he’d toss you out. Sometimes he’d get mad at something someone said and throw everyone out of the restaurant. The patrons would stand on the sidewalk for ten minutes or so until things calmed down and then head back in to finish their pizza. Old-timers consider it a badge of honor to have been thrown out by Totonno Jr. His niece, Cookie, worked with him (and runs the place now) since she was young and one day they got into an argument, which ended with each of them refusing to speak to the other. The silence lasted 17 years, while working side by side every day.

Anyway, the pizza is wonderful. And the dough is still made fresh each day, and the place still closes when it runs out.






And then it's off to the beach:



Then it's up the Astro tower for a panoramic view:


Then it's on to the rides, like this cute train,



and the frog hopper,:


and his first and favorite roller coaster, caterpillar:


Finally, a late-in-the-season trip on the Wonder Wheel:


It's a wonderful place, lots of fun. And I noticed, while compiling these highlights, that we didn't get any photos/videos of our favorite arcade games, or of all the other treats we had. We were having too much fun.