A Wired News feed in my Gmail tells me that Obama has finally become the Democratic Presidential Candidate, and as I click on the link to read the details I mention it to my son, Tristan, who I’ve been explaining the election process and my affinity towards Obama vs. Hillary or that old guy, etc.

“I know,” he replies.

“No, I just found out right now. It only happened today.” I assume he’s just mistaken or misunderstood something Olivia and I were discussing the other day.

“I know, I saw it this morning on TV.”

My son is officially now more well-informed than I.

Don’t do that, I’m going to get a bloody nose. I got a crispy booger up there.

Out of the blue…

Yeah, I found out today someone really likes me at school. Its Lyla, she’s crazy about me.

While riding his scooter very fast down Squirrel Hill…

You couldve mentioned that this is completely dangerous!

As he has progressed into kindergarten and readies himself for the 1st Grade, however, his thoughts are often decently more complex, certainly less adorably elaborated and probably often focused on more internally than otherwise. However, today he made several remarks which I found compelled to share.

Why does it seem like everyone around here is a different color?

He asked me this while looking out the window of Eat Unique, formerly the Craig Street Deli, as Oakland’s assortment of Indian and Asian peoples made their ways home from school or work. It took me a moment to process the statement, since he’s certainly not lacking in exposure to other races and I just don’t associate his voice and the word “color” with race, but then I took a double take and just as I was about to ask him what he meant…

Yeah, well, everyone looks like the people who try out for Ninja Warrior.

I just had to laugh to myself, wondering what sorts of concepts go through a young boy’s mind when he begins to notice the differences between Asians and the more Western version of white skin.

None of these pics were Photoshopped in any way, other than to resize them to fit in this post.

Are these the legs of his hero?


Here Tristan attempts to capture the young lust of snowball fights that a child trapped indoors must bare.

Here we see the faint semblance of “Undercover SPV” which I can only assume stands for Special Police Victims…

Some random relative and the back of her ear, as seen sunrising her shoulder.

The merriment of Christmas

My dear friend Matthew Kuhar made this painting for me in high school, and Tristan has reinvented it with vigor!

Even the greatest blur photography out there cannot compare to the power of the shaky hand of hell.

He’s cropped this picture to include only the best parts of his dear mother Olivia, the chin

Tristan captures the true spirit of festivities held round the Winter Solstice

Tristan’s father’s aunt, Linda. What a looker!

I can only imagine what wonderment he saw when photographing this grouping of blurs…

Boy waking up from nap: Something stinks…
Girl next to him: I’ll tell you what stinks, George Bush stinks!
Boy: Yeah!
Whole class chants: George Bush stinks! George Bush stinks!

Tristan: Here’s my toybox.
Nico: Yeah I have that same one.
T: No, my dad’s dad made that.
N: Huh? Oh. My dad made me a cabin that even if he stands on it, it won’t break.
T: A person who weighs twice what my dad weighs stood on this toybox and it didn’t even break.

Ah, youthful indiscretion. Apparently, you is cool to lie to make friends.

Alex on harmonica! Nico on the master drums! Tristan on the guitar! You better rock the songs of this band! You better rock this band right this second!

And here are the lyrics to the song he proceeded to play:

This is the song that I like to play
As the number one song
In America

Yeah, yeah yeah!

We’re gonna rock this school,
whatcha gonna do when you play the drums?
Drums and guitars make me cool.

Spoken: “Harmonicas. Violins. Cellos. Beach balls. Basketballs. And Metalbaaaaaaangers!”

Ryan: We didn’t get it at that store, we got it at another store, so we saved $10.
Tristan: Yeah, we saved $10 and we saved some trees since we didn’t have to use the extra money.

The Russians are fearful.

Did you see the London Bridge? You did?!

Was it falling down?

He seemed so proud of himself today as he showed me how to play them, so I told him to keep playing and someday he’ll be better than I am, to which he replied.

“I have been for awhile now.”