Lawrence Peryer, Jr.

2007-11-10T14:38:00.001-05:00

This year's edition of the Peryer Family Cookbook has gone to press!

About 20 new recipes were added this year...don't go buying one yet, just in case you made the xmas list ;-)

2007-11-01T16:41:00.000-04:00

October photos...Foss in the hospital, Foss at home, Foss back in the hospital...

Henry and Foss...Henry and his pumpkins and Henry in his Halloween costume!

2007-10-11T20:44:00.000-04:00

Knights Templar Win Heresy Reprieve After 700 Years, October 11, 2007, Reuters via New York Times. "VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.

A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, "'Processus Contra Templarios -- Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars"' is a massive work and much more than a book -- with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag.

"This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives."

Full story.

2007-10-03T13:55:00.000-04:00

The first batch of photos of Lawrence Foss Peryer, who goes by "Foss"...7 lbs 7 oz, 19 inches.

He's coming home later today...

2007-10-02T08:25:00.000-04:00

Lots of great Henry photos from September...Including his first day at school, our visit to Coney Island, Sunday brunch with his pal Max, picnicking in DUMBO, etc...

2007-09-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

Update to the "Peru Meteorite" post...

Turns out all folks are sick with is mass hysteria!

"Media reports of the number of locals afflicted by a "mysterious disease"--with symptoms such as nausea, headaches and sore throats--after visiting the crater figured in every news article about the Aug. 15 event, with some reporting that as many as 600 people had fallen ill.

But doctors who visited the site told the Associated Press they found no evidence that the crater had actually sickened such a large number of people.

If noxious fumes did emanate from the crater, they were most likely the result of a hydrothermal explosion that could have actually formed the crater, or were released from the ground when the meteorite struck, if in fact one did, according to many geologists.

Arsenic is found in the subsoil in that area of Peru and often contaminates the drinking water there, according to Peruvian geologists quoted on Sept. 21 by National Geographic News. Arsenic fumes released from the crater could have sickened locals who went to look, said one geologist who examined the site.

Some health officials suggest that the symptoms described by the locals, the large number of people reporting symptoms, and the apparently rapid spread have all the hallmarks of a case of mass hysteria.

"Those who say they are affected are the product of a collective psychosis," Jorge Lopez Tejada, health department chief in Puno, the nearest city, told the Los Angeles Times.

This psychosis could have begun as a result of fear of the meteorite and the mysterious "disease" on the part of the residents and spread as official and media reports seemed to confirm it and give it credence.

"The Peruvian event seems to be a rare case where we may be witnessing collective anxiety that is approaching near hysteria," said Benny Peiser, a social anthropologist at John Moores University in England. "The major[ity] of the affected Peruvian town hinted that some of the mass anxiety is due to fear of imminent impacts and psychological stress which is not surprising given the premature speculation and media hype.""

Who wants to bet that the cure for "mass hysteria" is 7 - 10 years of hard labour in a detention camp?!

2007-09-26T09:12:00.001-04:00

Bonds ball to be branded with asterisk. By RICK FREEMAN, AP Sports Writer on Yahoo! News. "NEW YORK - The ball Barry Bonds hit for his record-breaking 756th home run will be branded with an asterisk and sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, its owner said Wednesday.

Fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the ball in an online auction, set up a Web site for fans to vote on the ball's fate, and the decision to brand it won out over the other options, sending it to the museum unblemished or launching it into space...Ecko, whom Bonds called "an idiot" last week, had the winning bid Sept. 15 in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit Aug. 7 to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs...The asterisk suggests that Bonds' record is tainted by alleged steroid use."

Full article.

2007-09-25T14:03:00.000-04:00

Ted Koppel appeared at a forum yesterday at Fordham University in New York City that was put on by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In reading the coverage I came across this anecdote:

"Mr. Koppel also explained why the White House has not let him have a one-on-one interview with Mr. Bush at any time since Mr. Bush has been president.

When Mr. Bush was running for president, Mr. Koppel asked then Governor Bush what qualified him to be president. Mr. Bush cited his experience as governor of Texas, his experience running the Texas Rangers baseball team, as well as the fact that he was a loving husband and father.

Mr. Koppel replied that those qualifications would seem to be good qualifications if one were running for president of the Kiwanis Club, but not for president of the United States.

Ever since then it’s been the big freeze for Mr. Koppel from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave."

Ha.

2007-09-18T12:26:00.000-04:00

Peru meteorite crash 'causes mystery illness', Rory Carroll, Latin America correspondent, Guardian Unlimited, Tuesday September 18, 2007:

"A meteorite has struck a remote part of Peru and carved a large crater that is emitting noxious odours and making villagers ill, according to local press reports.

A fireball streaked across the Andean sky late on Saturday night and crashed into a field near Carancas, a sparsely populated highland wilderness near Lake Titicaca on the border with Bolivia, witnesses said.

The orange streak and loud bang were initially thought to be a plane crashing. When farmers went to investigate, however, they found a crater at least 10m wide and 5m deep, but no sign of wreckage..."

2007-09-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

What a game...from the Associated Press coverage: "Alex Rodriguez limped his way into Yankee Stadium, then got angry when the team sent him to a hospital for tests on his sore right ankle...Rodriguez talked his way into the lineup and became the first Yankees player in 30 years to homer two times in one inning, connecting twice in an eight-run seventh to lead New York over Seattle 10-2. The Yankees opened a three-game lead in the AL wild-card race over the Mariners, who lost for the 11th time in 12 games."

Nice.

I didn't bring a camera, so no photos from this game...I had some great loge seats behind right field...just a terrific game...

Update: I just found out this happened at the game:"Last week, the kids at College Humor pulled off what we'd have to consider a prank of epic proportions; one guy put a fake marriage proposal on the big screen at Yankee Stadium as his friend, the object of the prank, sat agape with his girlfriend, who, amazingly, said "yes" before he had a chance to alert her to the joke. When we first watched it, it seemed too over-the-top to be real. But we've spoken with Amir Blumenfeld, the architect of the prank, and we now can merely salute him. (We think.)"

2007-09-01T15:39:00.000-04:00

Awesome August Photos...

Vacation in Maine...Yankees Stadium...

2007-08-29T09:43:00.000-04:00

A Christopher Walken Video Retrospective from Esquire.com.

I thought I saw all of his SNL appearances, but not the one Esquire included and man, is it a classic...

2007-08-22T12:14:00.000-04:00

"STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Bill Murray could face a drunken driving charge after cruising through downtown Stockholm in a golf cart and refusing to take a breath test...It isn't illegal to drive a golf cart in city traffic in Sweden, but...it is very unusual." Full article.

2007-08-16T13:45:00.000-04:00

Lousy game at the Stadium...details here...first time I left before the end of a game in I can't remember how long, if ever...I did take a few pictures, which I will upload here soon. The new Stadium construction is coming along, starting to actually look like a building...

Update: Here are the photos.

2007-08-14T08:33:00.000-04:00

Great short piece by Roger Angell in this week's New Yorker about Barry Bonds breaking the career home-run record...I am not much for individual pursuits in baseball, to me the ultimate team sport, so I really don't care about Barry Bonds, Tom Glavine or A-Rod for that matter. All I care about is that 10 days ago the Yankees were 4 back in the wildcard and 8 in the division and as of this morning they are leading the wild card and 4 back in the division...

Anyway, I love this line about the so-called "purity" of baseball's records:

"Bonds has been called a cheater, but the word should hardly come up in a sport whose proprietors, if they were in charge of the classic Olympic hundred-metre dash, would stage it variously at a hundred and six metres, ninety-four, a hundred and three, and so forth, and engrave the resulting times on a tablet."

2007-08-11T08:25:00.000-04:00

Pictures from the first few days of August - vacation pictures from Maine.

Click here for the slideshow.

2007-07-31T20:51:00.000-04:00

July family photos.

Click here for the slideshow.

2007-07-01T16:20:00.000-04:00

June family photos.

Click here for the slideshow.

2007-06-17T23:59:00.000-04:00

A buddy came through with tickets he couldn't use to tonight's Yanks/Mets Subway Series game at Yankee Stadium. Nice.

Most energetic game I have been to yet this season. The Yanks were on fire and the fans were way into it...Not bad for a Sunday night.

2007-06-01T09:06:00.000-04:00

May 2007 photos -

Henry in Florida, mom and dad sneaking off to a getaway, Henry in the kitchen, etc...

2007-05-03T16:55:00.000-04:00

Managed to get in a sunny afternoon at Shea Stadium. At least one of NY's baseball teams can win!

The highlight of the day may be the new way I found to get to Shea, the Mets Express from New York Water Taxi. What a blast!

2007-05-01T18:30:00.000-04:00

April photos, with Easter egg hunting, opening day at Yankee Stadium and more...

2007-04-02T21:25:00.000-04:00

The first Yanks game of 2007, my first opening day, and their first win of the season. I snapped some great pictures which I will get uploaded soon.

Baseball!!!

UPDATE: Here are the photos.

2007-04-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

Not a ton of photos this month but some cute ones - not that I am partial...Henry left the crib behind in March and now has a bigger vocabulary than most adults I know...

Click here for the photos.

2007-02-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Pictures from Henry's birthday party! Two years old already! Holy Shmoly!

Thanks to everybody who came over and brought Henry trains, trains and more trains!