March 2005 Archives

We mentioned that Finnegan likes "F is for Fake-Believe" off the latest ABC's record, and that we change the words a bit "F is for Finnegan" and talked to John about that. Classy and fun guy.

John is a consummate showman. Even in a tiny little room to a bunch of employees and their anklebiters, he put out a huge amount of energy. (On the song "Robot Parade" from No!, he had one of those Antares vocoders and went nuts.) He really cares about fans; it was obvious during signings and the picture with us. It's a tiny thing, but the way he asked John "heads up" to get the best picture with us shows he is really into treating fans well.

The instrumentation was cool. John played electric guitar and John on accordian as usual, but they also had a drummer. And John started a song with this miniMoog-sounding analog synth that he played on a ribbon controller with his little pinky finger. It sounded almost random at first, but then it became recognizable as the fiddle intro to Istanbul not Constantinople!

That's his head there blurry on the left. He really was very interested. Things were pretty loud! TMBG is so huge, it seemed like the entire company wanted to fit into that little room to hear them. They sprung for pizza and juice as well, and invited all the kids to come up too. Finnegan was one of the younger ones and couldn't yet dance like some of the other toddlers, but he bounced in time.

Actually I (Doug) became a huge fan too; I got into their stuff in college 10 years ago but recently wanted to get everything so I went on a buying spree.

They Might Be Giants gave a concert at Amazon.com to support their new album "Here Come the ABC's", and Finnegan was there! We forgot our copy of the album for signing but we did get this picture. Finn is a huge fan, ever since their album "No!"

Here's my latest advertising piece for baby business.

I've been talking to several mothers and the use of pacifiers are up for much debate. I say, use the pacifier to save your sanity because he'll give it up when he's ready. He goes to sleep in about seven minutes with his pacifier compared to 45 without. You decide.

He really likes this blanket because it's so soft.

Showing off his outfit.

He was having a little bit of trouble with the bright light from the window. I'll have to work with him earlier in the day.

this is my version of the famous Thomas Gainsborough painting. I was mostly just recording his outfit for future reference.

I finally feel good enough to start photographing Finnegan on a regular basis. This is our neutral and texture phase. Isn't he a good poser?

He's learning to touch with precision.

He moves so fast it's hard to get them in focus.

I see pretty boxes all the time at weddings, but it is the special occasion when one of these comes to me. It's not the expense of the gift that makes it special, it's the generosity of thought and giving wrapped in a blue box with a white bow. Rhonda sent me my very first gift from Tiffany's, a crystal vase for our wedding.
And now this one is for Finnegan.

My friend Rhonda Williams sent Finnegan a traditional baby gift, a monogrammed silver rattle from Tiffany's. I think he likes it, it's shiny and easy to grab.

Everyone says Finnegan looks just like Doug. A few of my friends call him, "little Doug." What do you think?

He's getting so big! Here he is again with his Teddy bear.

Finnegan is growing so fast.