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A little over a year ago, I got this idea (I’m sure after seeing something similar on the internet - I’m really not that creative).  The idea was to take a daily portrait of Swee’Pea and TheMonk starting on their 4th birthday and ending on their 5th birthday.  And so we did.

Over 365 days, Swee’Pea and TheMonk posed for 312 portraits - which averages out to six portraits a week.  So, six out of seven days every week they took their portrait.  The rules were simple.  The kids could make whatever face they wanted and I would try and take only one photo no matter what it came out like (this didn’t always work but for the most part it was one take only).  As you can see, Swee’Pea is not as much a morning person as TheMonk.  The range of her photos from frowns to smiles to one flat-out tantrum is quintessentially Swee’Pea.  TheMonk, on the other hand, liked to experiment with faces and loved seeing them on my digital display each morning.  His photos too capture the true essence of TheMonk.

If I had to do it over again I would have chosen a flat wall rather than the back of our door.  I thought it would create a good center point for the kids but instead it made it very obvious when they moved from their mark.  I also would have put the camera on a tripod rather than me on my knee but this was the last thing we did each morning before leaving and we were often rushed so a quick snapshot was all we could do.  The editing isn’t as sophisticated as I pictured in my head but I still really love watching the transformation.

The music was chosen for the sole reason that they are our most played songs right now.  The kids love both of them and we have been known to boogie to these songs while getting ready for bed.  It just seemed fitting to include them here.

So, without further ado, I give you Year Four of Swee’Pea and TheMonk:

--- Thanks for reading! SecondHand Tryptophan

Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday to one of my great buds, Sybil Law. I hope today brings her lots of gumdrops and gingerbread, maybe some Dave Grohl. Sybil was supposed to be my guest on 2HRadio the other night, but there were technical difficulties, so we had to reschedule. Have a great day, my friend. I’ll be sure to drink one in your honor tonight.

For weeks now, the damn anhedonia has been maddening. Nothing seems to make a dent. When everything you enjoy doing is unenjoyable, believe me, it’s disheartening, to say the least. I’m hoping to kick the anhedonia in the balls tonight.

Tonight, I go to see OK Go. You know, the guys that did the video on the treadmill, plus that other video with the giant Rube Goldberg device? Yeah, them. They don’t like people embedding their videos, apparently, which is insane. I’m really digging the new album. One of my faves is WTF.

I managed to pull this classic Dancing in my Boxers video from my hat (or my Youtube account), which is me dancing to one of their many great songs. Be sure you eat before you watch. It IS me dancing, after all.

If this concert doesn’t work and snap me out of it – at least, temporarily – I’m gonna be highly upset.

UPDATE: I’m highly upset. No concert tonight. My car died. Won’t start even with jumper cables. Grr.

--- Thanks for reading! SecondHand Tryptophan

I need ten seconds of your time.

The “Outrageous Interactions” Video Contest is a contest designed to "acknowledge the sometimes uncommon nature of customer interactions in the call center, and encourages anyone with a customer service experience to create and submit short videos of an unusual customer interaction, real or imagined, based on a phone call, voice mail, email, letter, or web chat."

My friend Casey and I entered said contest, wherein we ended up a finalist, with a grand prize of $5,000. Here is how I would like you to allot the ten seconds:

Seconds 1-2: Click here and vote for "Chicken Sandwich".

Seconds 3-4: Ask anyone in your general vicinity to use their computer and vote.

Seconds 5-8: Tweet and post this on Facebook and ask your followers and friends to vote for us.

Seconds 9-10: Relax and pat yourself on the back for being awesome.

See? 10 measly seconds.

In other Avita-news, today is the birthday of the beautiful, funny Miss! She and I have enjoyed each other's blogs for awhile, and I was disappointed that I didn't get to say more than two words to her at BlogHer last year. However, in December, I took a trip out to Vegas for a Blogger Birthday Bash, and got to hang out with her (along with three other bloggers, not to mention Ren and Whall) for most of the weekend. She has managed to find love through the power of Twitter, which is pretty awesome! Miss has become a good friend over the last few months and even forgave me for using her camera and taking a photo of my nuts when I was a wee bit drunk. Happy birthday Miss!

A very crunk Avitable and Miss

This video is awesome – this guy uses this site called Chat Roulette to chat with random people and improvise songs with the piano, and he has a great experience, chatting with a great variety of people from different races, genders, and ages. I loved the idea so I did what I like to do, and I stole the idea for myself.

I planned on just doing some improv comedy, almost like a stand up picking on people in the audience. I went through 10 different chatters, and here's what I got:

Chatter #1: Man jerking off

Chatter #2: Man jerking off

Chatter #3: Man in ninja costume jerking off

Chatter #4: Businessman in suit who stood up and started jerking off

Chatter #5: Photo of a girl that got torn down to show a guy jerking off.

Chatter #6: Tranny jerking off

Chatter #7: 90-year old grandmother. Who started jerking off.

Chatter #8: Monkey jerking off another monkey.

Chatter #9: Man tucking his junk and asking if I'd fuck him because he'd fuck himself. While jerking off.

Chatter #10: Catholic bishop. Jerking off a little boy.

I think the guy must have rigged his.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Have yourself a Guinness. And yes, I actually am Irish. Partially.

a

Take 43 "umms" and "uhs".
Add three derailments of a train of thought.
Mix well with one shitty conclusion.
Half bake for 4 minutes and voila.
My first vlog in my new house!

Ramblin' Man from Adam Avitable on Vimeo.

Recently, while playing with YouTube on my iPhone, I decided to search for some School House Rock videos to play with the kids. Only, after watching a few, I realized that the twins are probably at least a couple of years away from really benefiting from some of the classics like I’m Just a Bill, Conjunction Junction or Interjection!

But then, I found an old, long forgotten favorite. It’s a Public Service Announcement from the American Broadcasting Company featuring Yuck Mouth - a disgusting dude with awful teeth singing about how his name is Yuck Mouth because he doesn’t brush his teeth. I showed this to Swee’Pea and TheMonk and while both enjoy it, Swee’Pea has taken an instant liking to it. After just a few viewings she had mastered the song. Now, when we brush our teeth, Swee’Pea likes to begin with a round of Yuck Mouth. Enjoy.