Soccer For Toddlers

Asher and I went to the park this morning to "play soccer" with the other parents and kids from Sarah's moms group.

The event was the brainchild of Oliver, father to one of the toddlers and an avid soccer fan. He showed up in a jersey, soccer shorts and cleats, and spent the first ten minutes trying to get a dozen two-year-olds to line up and kick balls through a goal.

Needless to say, it was like herding cats. The kids all ran off in different directions, fought over the balls, fell down and cried, or just looked at him, blinked, and started talking about the squirrels racing up a nearby tree.

If Oliver weren't so well-meaning, I would have laughed in his face. Instead, I'm writing about him behind his back, I guess... But kudos to him for organizing this. And it was truthfully a lot of fun in the end. Asher got obsessed with scoring goals, and dribbling the ball down the field.

His slide tackle still needs work, though.

New ABCNews.com

We launched a redesigned ABCNews.com today. Check it out.

I just finished two solid days of meetings, and have bailed on the related evening social events to hang out with the family and work on the paper.

The meetings were with everyone director level and above in Disney digital media (ABC is owned by Disney). They happen twice a year, and this time they were in New York – good for me. I’d say the meetings had limited utility, which is high praise for gatherings of this ilk. In truth, it was extremely useful to hear what everyone was doing, and personally satisfying to give a smart presentation that resulted in me being tapped to head a project that involves all the different business units. At the same time, it’s rather difficult to go straight from two weeks’ vacation into two days of meetings. I haven’t really made a dent in my inbox.

Sarah’s gotten plenty of help from her mother and sisters this week. Asher’s been a prince, and Leah fusses a little from 8-10pm, but it’s totally manageable.

It's the nicest day of the year, and I'm back at work.

I have mixed feelings about the end of my two-week paternity leave. On one hand, it was truly fantastic to be able to spend so much time with Sarah, Asher and Leah in a no pressure environment - no schedules to maintain, no vacation plans to execute. On the other hand, I start to freak out when I'm away from work for that long - especially when I dig the job as much as I do here at ABC News.

At any rate, here I am. And after several hours of sifting through connectivity issues (both computer and blackberry), initial catch-up sessions, and a few responses to time sensitive emails, I'm finally ready to assess and move forward. Just in time for a two-day offsite meeting that starts tomorrow. Ugh.

420 Is Their Birthday

For the third year on this blog, I'd like to wish Bernadine, Naomi and Karyn a happy birthday. Hope all is well guys!

The magic number is eight.

That’s according to the Count on this morning’s Sesame Street. And he ain’t kidding.

8:00am ends my only hour of down time in the day. During this hour, Leah and Sarah are sleeping. Asher’s watching Sesame Street, and I get to shower, catch up on emails, and plan the day.

Things are mostly under control here. Asher and I both have colds and Leah has a perpetual tummy ache, but that’s par for the course. The only real bummer is the constant rain. Try entertaining a sniffly toddler indoors for a week.

Actually, my real concern is what’s happening at work while I’m gone. It seems that my projects are not really moving forward, and I’ll have a lot of pushing to do next week.

Of secondary concern is this paper due on May 3. I’ve got a theme – something about the social impact of convergence on the news media (i.e., how it’s giving rise to evolved consumer behaviors), and how news organizations can operate responsibly/profitably in the age of the continuous news cycle. Sound good? Anyone got any academic sources I can cite? Right now, I’m looking at two ill-fitting books that are part of the course, an On The Media interview with one of the reporters from Talking Points Memo, and a few tidbits from other tomes I have laying around. Of course, I can blather on about this topic endlessly, but I think this is supposed to be a paper, not an essay.

Sesame Street’s winding down. Time to bust out the Ernie bowl and get the oatmeal ready.

Leah Bella Josephson

That's the name - in memory of Sarah's grandmother. We also like the initials.

Asher was displaying a remarkable level of belligerence this afternoon. We can't tell if it was Leah or the sugar high from the chocolate ice cream. That's an easy thing to figure out, though. Stay tuned.

Sunshine Edition

And now for something completely unrelated...

It seems that the (now beleaguered) Justice Department's top priority for the past six years has been combating voter fraud. Too bad they have not found any evidence of it aside from a few confused immigrants and poor people.

One of the other great by-products of the attorney purge scandal - It was revealed that several White House staffers (from Rove on down) had been using private email accounts issued to them by the Republican National Committee (which is illegal). Last week, those emails were sobpoenaed. The response? "Whoops! We accidentally deleted all of them."

Obligatory Family Photos

Baby girl Josephson was born this morning at 10:40am. Mother and daughter are doing well. More tonight when I am in front of a computer. Name coming in shul on Saturday.

Still Nothing

Another day of light contractions at regular intervals, but no baby. With my luck, we'll have to head (back) to the hospital right in the thick of rush hour today. Did I mention the hospital is 40 minutes away in no traffic?

False Alarm

After several hours of consistent contractions, we headed to the hospital last night. They sent us home at 3am. We expect we'll end up back there today.

Want to help? Here are some tasks that need to be completed in the next week. Pick one:

1. Taxes - Figure out how to include the long term capital gains from the sale of Centerstage.

2. Class - Outline a paper for me that's based loosely around the theme of news reporting in the age of convergence. Topics to hit are collective intelligence and its impact on investigative journalism, and the "gotcha" ethos perpetrated by the 24 hour news cycle.

3. Work - Clearly articulate to Seattle our development needs for the next generation video player. Project manage the MSO player through to completion. Get sign-off on the user-generated video section designs, sit on Legal until the vendor contract is signed, and get that puppy's development scheduled. Finesse a slide for a presentation on the affiliate player. Hone a mobile product PR strategy.

4. Come up with a place for a Simchat Bat (baby naming). Plan it. Just tell us where to show up.

Okay, who wants what?

Peering Over The Precipice

I haven't done taxes yet. I haven't paid the April mortgage yet. I haven't done a laundry in two weeks. I haven't begun to read the thousand or so pages I need to internalize prior to writing my 20 page paper due at the end of the month. Sarah still has not given birth. Projects at work are piling up to the sky. I haven't been to the gym in ages.

On the bright side, the new Wilco CD is sublime.

Rain is slapping up against the big, floor-to-ceiling windows in my office. I'm listening to Starfish by the Church, drinking coffee, and trying to shake off the residuals of a NyQuil haze.

I was initially turned on to the Church by the Cool Record Store Clerk at Springfield's Appletree Records. My fascination with the band was solidified by MTV's 120 minutes and the only punk/new waver (isn't it funny how conflicting ideologies could be combined in the '80s?) in my youth group - a guy by the name of Neal Posdamer who had the trademark hair in his face, combat boots and monochrome wardrobe.

Sarah's grandmother died at age 94 in her sleep with her family surrounding her. She was lucid to the end. It's the way we all want to go, I think.

Second night of seder was uneventful, though it went until one in the morning. When I went to bed, Sarah's parents, cousins and sisters were still making their way through Hallel.

Where I Am Now

Still no baby.

My brother Micah got married on Sunday in Boston. We couldn't make it because of the pending birth.

Sarah's grandmother died on Sunday. The funeral was yesterday.

Passover Seder went until 1am last night. Sarah and Asher slept over at her parents' house. I came home.

I need coffee.