New Year's Eve - Tired Parent Style

I've rung in the new year in Paris, Madrid, and Amsterdam.

I've thrown and attended crazy New Year's parties with all forms of hedonism you'd think possible of a liberal-but-not-stupid straight white guy.

I've seen some great live music. I've been to some most excellent, decadent bourgeois, dinner parties to mark the beginning of a new year.

Tonight, I'm going to try to get both kids to bed by 8pm, myself to bed by 10pm, and prey we all sleep through the night.

Tomorrow, we're having some other tired parents over for brunch where we might have the obligatory mamosa.

Not Exactly a Vacation Destination

After Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, I spent some time reading up on Pakistani politics. That place is a very scary political mess, and has been for a generation.

Aside from an almost constant state of war with India, there was a military coup in 1956, a civil war in 1971, another coup in 1979 that resulted in the death of Bhutto's father - the prime minister of the time, and a third military coup in 1999.

It's got this 10,000 square mile region of territory (the Federally Administered Tribal Areas) that it is technically responsible for, but can barely control. A portion of this territory called Waziristan is where Osama Bin Laden is thought to be hiding.

Oh yeah, and they've got about 50 poorly secured nuclear warheads.

This Year in Music - Help!!!

Friends and Lurkers (You too, Wonder Twins!) -

Maybe it's the new job. Maybe it's the stepped-up family responsibilities. But, for the first time in twenty years, I have ZERO idea about recent releases. So tell me - What came out in 2007 that's worth listening to? If you've got a top ten list - or even a few faves, let me know, and help this music industry refugee retain some modicum of connectivity.

So far: The new Joe Henry and Wilco disappointed. The Shins are nice. Band of Horses was not for me. Still need to check out the National, Spoon, White Stripes, Iron & Wine, Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse, Rufus Wainright, Rilo Kiley, PJ Harvey, John Vanderslice... Ugh! Help me sort through this madness!

You Know You're Lame When... (and other thoughts)

My business meetings in L.A. ended early, and my colleagues went out for a posh dinner. You know the scene - a bunch of thirtysomethings a continent away from familial obligations, awash in booze and eager to relax on the corporate dime.

Me?

I opted for a quick ahi tuna appetizer at the hotel bar, a hot shower, three pages of "The Economist" and eleven hours of sleep. Oh yeah!

The flight home was only delayed by five hours, which meant I got into JFK at 4:30 am. On a positive note, I managed to talk my way into first class.

Quick update on a few other fronts:

I am in dire need of good product managers. Know any?

Our apartment is officially on the market. We've got an open house on Sunday. Stop by.

Leah's got an ear infection. Asher has choo-choo train underpants. Sarah's working on a Bar Mitzvah video.

Life... goes on.

Travel Time

I leave for L.A. tomorrow morning at 5 am. It's my first business trip since Sarah was pregnant with Leah. Thankfully, it's a short one; I return late Tuesday night. Might be just enough time to hit Amoeba.

This weekend was another rough one. All four of us are sick. No one's sleeping. We're trying to sell our apartment, which means we have to keep it relatively clean. At least Sarah and I got some time alone - Her parents babysat on Saturday night while we went down the block to the delectable Rosewater for some duck and halibut.

Did I spell delectable right?

In other news, Asher now knows the word "weltanschauung."

From the Onion

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Ron Paul, John Stossel, and Me

I just sat in on a 60 minute interview that John Stossel did with Ron Paul. It will be available next week, exclusive to abcnews.com (not aired on television).

It's not often you get to see a Presidential candidate be granted a full hour to discuss his beliefs/positions in an unfettered fashion. If you're interested in hearing that from Ron Paul, go to the site on Monday.

Morning Snapshot

Grover's at the bottom of a stairwell, wearing a white t-shirt and yelling "Stella" while Asher watches, nonplussed.

Leah's chomping on a wooden train. I'm frantically throwing things together to get out the door, and Sarah's taking a lukewarm shower.

We've all been up since 5:30 a.m.

What's your morning like?

From Poop Jokes to Profound Epiphanies

This afternoon, Asher was singing "Do Re Me" and replacing the last word in each sentence with "poop."

Traditionally, you deal with this sort of thing by ignoring it. The kid eventually loses interest, and moves on.

I was doing just that until he got to, "Me, a name, I call my poop," at which point I collapsed in hysterics.

* * *

Later today, he asked me why the sun went down every day, which resulted in a fantastic exchange about astronomy.

Life, with a 2 1/2 year-old...