Dave Brigham's Blog, page 13

American Gypsies

I've become hooked on National Geographic Channel's "American Gypsies". Yes, it's a reality show, and yes it too often comes across as scripted and forced. But I like it because of the peek it offers behind the closed doors of a mysterious ethnicity.

Produced by Ralph Macchio, who isn't a gypsy (or Romany, as those in the culture prefer), the reality show is sometimes a bit over the top for me, but that just comes with the territory.

Here's a brief sample:

I gave Nat Geo's "American Hutterit...

Review: The Slap

The Slap is another paperback I picked up for free at Newtonville Books after buying a full-price hardcover (see July 24, 2012, "Review: That Old Ace In the Hole").

I'd never heard of the book or its author, Christos Tsiolkas, but I liked the premise: a man slaps somebody else's child at a backyard barbecue, and as a result, a group of friends, acquaintances and family members question their parenting abilities, their cultural differences, their ideals and their relationships to each other.

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Hidden History

I'm a history buff, but not the kind who reads tomes about World War I, watches Hitler documentaries on the History Channel or re-enacts the Civil War.

I've researched my family's genealogy, and I enjoy learning about long-forgotten automobile brands, or looking at photos of vanished motels on Route 66. I maintain another blog, The Backside of America, where I post photos and write a little bit about faded parts of this country, from abandoned railroad tracks to moldering factory buildings, r...

Get a Job!

Owen and Amelia are in camp together -- finally! -- and I'm getting a preview of what my life will be like in six weeks when Amelia joins Owen in elementary school.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Amelia gets out of camp at noon, but on Monday, Wednesday and Friday she's there until 4:00, like Owen is every day. So I've got more free time than I've ever had, and have started getting serious about how I'm gonna fill that time, and, with any luck, actually earn some money in the process.

My first p...

Review: That Old Ace in the Hole

Newtonville Books is a great local store. When they were actually located in my adopted 'hood of Newtonville -- before their move to the tonier Newton Centre -- they for a time offered buyers of hardcover books a great deal: a coupon for a FREE used paperback.

I picked up a bunch of freebies through that offer, a few of which I've read. This week I finished Annie Proulx's That Old Ace in the Hole.

Proulx is well-known and highly regarded. She won the Pulitzer Prize for The Shipping News, whi...

Vacation Pix

Here are some shots from our recent Cape Cod vacation, as well as a few from the day after we got back, when I took Owen to a Micro/Mini Auto Show. Enjoy!

We played a lot of ping pong, which I hadn't done since I was a kid. I had a lot of fun, but not as much as Owen did.

When Owen and Max weren't playing ping pong, swimming at the beach or riding on the Cape Cod Railroad, they were side by side, using iPad train simulators.

The kids were very excited for s'mores on the grill.

Owen came u...

Goin'

We're heading out to Cape Cod tomorrow, Saturday, July 7th. This will be our 10th year going to Pocasset, a small village in Bourne, just over the bridge.

Pocasset is a quiet place, but we rent a house with Beth's parents, sister and brother-in-law and their son, Max, so there are few dull moments. After renting the same place for the previous nine years, we're trying a new place this year. The house has plenty of promise, with a backyard that slopes down to a small beach on Buzzards Bay, Wi...

Party Like It's 1949

On Saturday, I hung out in Keene, NH, for the first time in a few years. The occasion was the annual WKNHers & Friends Summer Get Together, at which folks who worked for Keene State's radio station in the '80s and '90s, and those of us, like me, who consorted with them, ate, drank, were merry and passed around vials of Geritol.

All hopped up on too much of Jack Kerouac's 1957 novel, On the Road, in which he details numerous road trips he took with his crazy buddy Neal Cassady in the late '40s...

To the Top!

Owen finished school today, so I can now officially call him a 5th grader!

He had a great year, making strides socially and academically. He became part of a "gang" of six boys who hung out together in school, and at recess played a game called Chicken Monster. He invited the gang over for a hang-out party back in February, something that the kids loved.

He did very well with the MCAS standardized tests in both math and literacy. In meetings wit his teachers, we found out what a good friend...

Pomp

My little girl is almost a kindergartener. Amelia graduated from preschool last week, in what was a very cute ceremony complete with caps, tassels and diplomas. She had a great school year and seems absolutely ready to enter elementary school. She's reading, loves doing arts and crafts and is very fun-loving.

After a pretty good first year of preschool in 2010-11 -- she had a good time but went through an extended period where she didn't say a word to anybody in her class -- Amelia was reall...