One thing that we’ve been talking about over at Scenic Fights is the rise of AI and how you can take anyone’s likeness and make videos outta them, like this CBS reporter did:
It’s pretty impressive – and horrifying at the same time.
You can literally make anyone that you have pictures of, do anything.
Seriously, anything (I’ll let you fill in the blanks here).
On this note, you may have noticed that I don’t put up any pictures of my kid with his face showing.
I used to write his name in this blog, but I don’t even do that anymore – that’s the main reason I call him “the kid,” here.
As for why I did that, I’ve told you about before; which is that it’s not fair for me, as his parent, to take away his right to privacy/anonymity just because I can.
What if he doesn’t want to be known? What if he wants to write and tell his own story his way?
If I have years of posts about him complete with his face and everything, that will be all the more difficult.
But even in the back of my mind, I knew that technology would improve to the point where anyone could take a picture and animate it to make it appear that the picture person was doing something they never would.
In fact, that was the main subject of my lecture in Spain all those years ago.
The thing is, I never imagined that it would happen so quickly.
So, I’m doubly glad that I’ve not put up pictures of his face and will continue to do so – and I ask that you consider doing the same if you have kids.
If this whole #EpsteinFiles horror has taught us anything, it’s that there are some seriously messed up people out there.
Had an all-day Scenic Fights shoot the other night for a holiday special that we’re doing.
I’m sure you can guess what holiday from the main pic.
Had to cut out of filming at a certain time both to grab my kid as well as to meet an old friend of mine that was visiting from San Francisco.
I first met him about 2004 or so when he needed a place to stay in NYC.
Doesn’t feel like over two decades ago, and yet it was.
At that time, he was dating someone, and he ended up marrying and having two kids with her – both of whom are now in college.
In any case, his oldest is now in NYC – and I think graduating this year – and he and his wife were in town and asked to meet up.
I suggested a buncha places but, because the weather was perfect, I suggested Pier I, and they agreed and met us there.
It was nice catching up with everyone.
Firecracker: We usually have pretty quiet nights. Me: That’s because of her addiction. Firecracker: What addiction?! Me: Big Two – we literally play a few hands almost every night. Friend’s Wife: OMG, we LOVE Big Two! If we had cards, we could play right now. Firecracker: I totally would! He’s right, I am addicted. Me: Plus, I tried to convince her to hustle a buncha old Chinese in Boston.
One little thing that was annoying is that we ordered a pitcher of a mixed drink that – after taxes and tip – cost about $100.
But we were only able to get three drinks outta it.
So, I spoke to the manager who was super nice.
Me: Sorry, I don’t mean to be all Karen about this but…that works out to be about $33.50 per drink. It was like, all ice! Her: Oh, I would be upset too. Can I mix you three more drinks? Me: Oh, that’s a lot. I think two would be fair. Her: (smiling) I’ll mix three, no problem.
So, that was pretty cool.
Afterward, we took mini walk around the hood.
Him: Hey, that’s my old apartment! Me: Yup. Not much has changed with it in over two decades.
We walked by a church which, I’ll have to tell you about one day because – completely by coincidence – it was a major part of the lecture I gave in France all those years ago because it was involved in a seminal US Supreme Court case.
Anywho, the guy that manages the church is a friend of mine and, without our even asking, he unlocked it and let us marvel at the main rectory.
Afterward, they left and we went back home.
Like I said, if you wait long enough, pretty much the whole world filters through NYC, it seems.
Her: They were nice. And it was so cool that your friend gave us a private tour of the church. Me: Yeah. I’ve met alotta really cool and nice people all these years. Hopefully, the kid can do the same.
My kid’s friend: It wasn’t just any fruit. They ate an apple. Me: (shaking head) That’s not true, man. The bible doesn’t say what fruit it was. Him: It is true! It’s in the bible!
When I was around 12, I repeated something about someone that turned out to be completely false.
That woulda been fine except that it ended up hurting a girl that I had a crush on.
Despite my honestly thinking it was true, she never spoke to me again.
Don’t remember the girl’s name at all but I remember the situation and learned a valuable lesson that day:
Don’t repeat something unless really know what you’re talking about.
For example, have you ever heard someone say something like, “Eskimos have XX words for snow?”
That’s complete BS.
See every culture has hundreds of words for water.
Obviously, we have the general word water, just like German does (“wasser”).
But all of the following are also types of water:
lake, which is a body of water surrounded by land (“der See” in German)
pool, which is a small body of water surrounded by land (“die Lache” for a pool of liquid, which I think is what they would use)
river, which is a moving stream of water of a fairly large size (“der Fluess”)
stream, which is a smaller a current of water similar to a river (“der Bach”)
Of course, we could go on here, with brook, tributary, flow, etc.
We also geysers, waterfalls, etc.
In the air, we’ve got clouds, precipitation, snow, hail, rain, sleet, etc.
Underground, we have aquifers, groundwater, water tables, etc.
When it’s solid, we have ice, slush, glaciers, icebergs, etc.
These are all off the top of my head. There are so many more.
My point being is something I told you many times before, which is that there are alla these saying that have the air of truth to it, without a hint of actual truth to it.
No real reason for this entry.
Just a general observation.
Speakinga observations, I note that the government’s shut down.
Wonder what that’s all about.
Me: (amused) That’s because the Latin word for apple is “malum,” which is a homonym for their word for “evil.”
Him: Oh…
Me: Look, you can give advice to adults…but you should make sure you’re right first.
Me: Wait, did that place just say $8 cocktails? Her: (looking) Yes? Me: Let’s get ourselves an $8 cocktail!
The Firecracker and I were walking in the hood the other day, past a diner I’ve been to countless times across all these years.
Evidently, they just added a bar, and she and I were heading someplace to drink anywho.
So, we popped in.
Her: Holy cow, this is fresh squeezed orange juice. I’ve never had a Screwdriver with fresh squeezed orange juice. Me: Really? Me neither – lemme try. (try a sip) Whoa, that’s amazing. Wild what you find in your hood.
But that was just a pit stop, because we really wanted to check out a bar that I’d been to a million times as well, except it had new owners, plus they completely revamped it.
Their fish and chips were pretty good, I gotta say.
Me: I think I’m still hungry. Her: You’re always still hungry. Me: Pizza? Her: We just ate! Plus, I gotta get to [my kid]. Me: Invite him out for a slice of pizza!
Which is exactly what we did.
A few weekends after that, we all headed out to NJ to see my SIL and have the boys swim at her pool.
He’d spent the night at her pad to catch a soccer game – something he was pretty excited about, which explains the main pic of this entry.
In any case, the cab ride we rode there made us laugh.
Afterwards, my SIL drove us to the train station to head home, and we found ourselves in the middle of a street fair, so she dropped us off a touch earlier.
For better or worse, I realized after I stepped outta her whip that she dropped us off right in front of Alison’s old pad.
Wasn’t expecting that so it took my breath away for a moment.
In any case, we ended up walking through the street fair, and the kid walked straight into a concert.
On the one hand, it’s nice having alla these unexpected things that we randomly find at our familiar places, like we did with those drinks.
On the other hand, sometimes jarring to be reminded of a possible past, straight outta the blue.
Me: That was mommy’s old apartment. Him: Which one? Me: We walked past it already. It’s fine. I’ll show you someday.
Me: Can I use this picture of you? Her: What? Why? Me: Because you look so ridiculous, I wanna put it up. Her: What? You don’t think I look cute there? Me: Well, sure, that too…
If you managed to hack into my social media feed, you would find the following types of videos being shown:
Videos about food
Videos about fighting
Videos about wild boar hunting (don’t ask)
Videos about mantis shrimp
For the last one, if you don’t know, the mantis shrimp has one of the most powerful punches on the planet, despite their diminutive size.
Anywho, imagine my surprise when the Surgeon wrote me outta the blue.
Surgeon: I just saw mantis shrimp at a market in sunset park. Haven’t seen those since Vietnam. Steel: Buy a ton of them and I’ll swing by tomorrow to cook them. Surgeon: I got six pounds. Those dudes looked at me like I walked out of a UFO. (I’m regularly the only white guy in all of sunset park.) Me: (laughing)
So, this past weekend, we all went to the Surgeon’s pad and had some.
Steel made a killer herbed butter to cook them…
…and then they prepped them…
…while I held down the rum-drinking portion of things.
They say that it tastes like a mix between shrimp and lobster.
I’d agree with that BUT I feel the texture is a bit softer, which I find slightly off putting but is otherwise, delicious (I prob just need to get used to it).
Afterward, we had some dessert before heading back home.
Unfortunately, there was an uninvited guest on the platform of our train.
Her: Rat aside, tonight was fun. Me: They’re always a good time. Man, I had a lotta rum. Her: At least it wasn’t mezcal. Me: Ugh. Yeah…
Location: home, figuring out middle school stuff…
Mood: overwhelmed
Music: guessing that’s real good news (Spotify) Subscribe! Like this post? Tell someone about it by clicking a button below.
Almost exactly 30 years ago, Seinfeld had an episode called The Pool Guy, which had George increasingly upset when his fiancée, Susan, begins hanging out with Elaine and Jerry.
The reason why is that he sees himself as two distinct people:
Independent George – the version of himself he is around his friends
Relationship George – the version he is with Susan
And he’s upset that the two might possibly merge into one, exclaiming:
If Relationship George walks through this door, he will kill Independent George! A George divided against itself cannot stand!
If you’re at all interested, the scene’s below:
Now, this past month had two notable things happen.
The first one I hinted at earlier this month but now I can tell you – Scenic Fights signed its first deal with a major studio: Apple TV+.
Essentially, we had to do a long-form breakdown of the season finale of Chief of War, and we got our grubby little hands on it way before it aired but couldn’t tell anyone.
I did double-duty, both as on-screen talent and as the attorney for SF in the negotiations.
We had to drop everything to crank it out before the season finale but we’re all pretty pleased with the results.
Here’s hoping it’s the first of many.
The second thing that happened is that I was interviewed for a NY Times article as a lawyer.
I’m predominately an intellectual property attorney – which is what I lectured on both in Malaga, Spain and Paris, France before everything turned to shit.
But I did my first real estate deal with my dad back in 1986, when I was only 13 years old, I’ve run my building since at least 1997, and have done more closings than I care to admit.
Plus, I have this specialized credential of which there are only 350 of us in the entire state of New York so real estate is definitely the area of the law that I know best after intellectual property career.
In any case, I don’t think that – in all these years – I’ve ever let you see my legal work but here’s a (tiny) bit of it – it’s a brief mention but I still think it’s cool:
To end this on a humorous note, remember when I told you I went to Brooklyn last week to see Cappy?
That was because he was giving me his sons’ clothes for my kid and The Firecracker’s kid because he and his wife are just the best.
Her: That’s waaaaay too big for either boy. (looking at them) Wait, I think you could fit these. Me: Me?! They’re clothing for teenagers. Her: Humor me. Just try them on. Me: Fiiiiinne. (later) OMG [the shirt and pants] fit! Her: (laughing) You have GOT to send them a picture a picture of you wearing their kid’s clothes. Me: I’m wearing these. I look fetch. Her: Fetch is not a thing, Logan. Me: (grumble)
Took a knee to my eye and an elbow to my cheek the other day.
Fun times.
Her: You’re 52! Me: I am not unaware. Her: Are you sure about that, Logan!?
My SIL rang me up the other night because Alison’s mom was having a milestone birthday.
So, the next thing you know, the kid and I headed to her place to celebrate.
I spoke to her mom a while ago and she told me not to come for her birthday as it was too much trouble.
Me: You didn’t tell me it was [an important birthday]! Her: I didn’t want to make a big deal. Me: So, you wanna make me look like a jerk and not show up, lady?! Her: (laughing) Thanks for coming. Me: Of course!
My SIL brought some Italian cookies that I absolutely loved.
See, when I was a kid, my dad’s office was right next door to an Italian bakery.
Once in a blue moon, he’d bring home these exact cookies, and it was like the greatest day ever.
Man, I miss my dad.
Speaking of Italian things, we ended up just eating food from their local Italian joint.
I thought it was great but, evidently, I’m super easy because everyone else thought the food was only meh.
Me: I grew up super poor. This woulda been a feast for us. Her: Well, we’re not eating the rest of it, so you can bring that home. Me: Heck, yeah!
Speaking of when I was young, I read Machiavelli’s The Prince way back in 1996 when 2Pac released his like last album under that name (it was his only album I truly disliked).
I remembered the below quote from The Prince and was reminded of it recently what with everything going on in the news these days.
In general men are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, dissimulating, hungry for profit and quick to evade danger. As long as you succeed and do them good, they are devoted to you entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life and children… but only when danger is far distant; when danger approaches they turn against you.
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Ch. XVII
It’s funny how universal some things about humanity are and how they transcend both time and place.
I’m truly interested – and somewhat apprehensive – about what life will be like here in the US in a decade’s time.
Me: When are you two free for the next meeting of the Handsome Mens Club (trademark pending)? NFL Player: Next week or following week? Thor: Absolutely.
It’s been a busy week of catching up with people now that school’s back in session.
It’s funny, before I was a parent, my year began in September just because that’s when it began as a kid.
But as a parent, it begins in September again because the kid’s year now begins in September.
And so does the year of all my friends with kids.
Case in point: Met up with Thor and the NFL Player for dinner around the way at a new joint called Sugarfish because they were both back in town from their summer travels.
The food was very good BUT the rice was warm – warmer than body temperature – and I’ve just never had warm sushi rice before.
Very odd.
Also checked out Thor’s new whip that he got just for fun.
Him: (proudly) Zero-to-sixty in less than three seconds. Me: Jesus.
Then, that weekend, the Firecracker, the kids, and I all went down to the Surgeon’s for a little get-together where we finished an entire bottle of rum…
Me: (to Flutist, the Surgeon’s wife) Your husband almost killed me last time. Surgeon: That’s why we’ve been drinking rum. Flutist: It was that bad? Firecracker: (nodding) Oh, yeah…oh, yeah…
…before we went up to their roof because the weather was just perfect.
Then, the very next morning, bright and early, I went over to Cappy’s like I said in the last entry.
There, I went to his roof and saw more spectacular skylines.
I live in the basement of a townhouse, so my views are of garbage cans and a parking lot.
Maybe someday, I’ll live in a place with gorgeous views.
Him: Can I watch something? Me: Can you read instead? Him: Do I have to?
If there’s anything that’s a source of friction between the kid and me, it’s reading.
As someone that grew up with a total of five channels – ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Channel 55 (which is an in itself entry one of these days) – and zero friends, books were my primary source of entertainment.
So, I don’t understand how my child is so adverse to reading.
It’s a kid’s book but, roughly, the story goes like this:
Mrs. Frisby was a mouse married to a mouse named Jonathan, who was killed. Alone with just her son, Mrs. Frisby discovered that her house was about to be destroyed and needed to be moved, but this was impossible because her son Timothy was sick.
So, she pled with an owl, who refused to help her. Until the owl discovered that she was Jonathan’s widow. Then he helped her. And told her to find the rats of NIHM because they too knew Jonathan would help. They would help because she was his widow, and Timothy was his son.
You see, it turns out that Jonathan was one of only two mice that were left from NIHM. Because of the experiments there, they both had exceptionally heightened intelligence. Because Jonathan used that intelligence to help the rats there escape, the rats always felt in his debt.
Now, when Jonathan met Mrs. Frisby, he hid all this from her. Because he didn’t want her to think any differently of him. He just wanted a normal and quiet life with her.
Man, do I get that.
But that’s neither here nor there.
Anywho, as the story went on, Mrs. Frisby discovered that her husband had this entire crazy life before her and that people loved and respected him.
He gave up everything to just have a quiet life with her but the kindness that he gave to others lived on, long after the relationships faded.
The funny thing is that I always thought that I’d die before Alison. But I often thought of this story while she was pregnant and thought, If anything ever happened to me, I’m going leave her and the kid a crapton of good friends that will make sure the two of them are ok.
Unfortunately, as fate would have it, she died before me.
But I’m still amazed at all the friends I’ve collected throughout these years did exactly what I expected them to do – be there for the kid.
Like, just this morning, I was in Brooklyn picking up three (more) huge bags of clothes that my old college buddy Cappy and his wife saved for the kid.
Alison’s friends have also helped us through these times, good and bad – like the ABFF and my SIL.
So, I’m grateful that we’ve both lived lives where we both collected brilliant and good people along the way, because, man, did we need them.
Me: Dude, just read a book. If it’s a good book, it’ll be just as good, if not better, than anything you see on TV. Him: (resigned) Fine, papa. I’ll read… Me: (laughing) It’s not a punishment, kid.
A lotta people don’t realize that NIMH was a real place.
