Let it snow

Lots of updates....Christmas posts may last for a few months, but they will be worth it....oh, will they be worth it.
When I got to Toronto to celebrate Christmas, I had a pleasant surprise - snow. We had gotten snow before, but this was my first real opportunity to frolic in it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=786727189015147821&hl=en

Snow is pretty cool. I like doing with it what I do with most other things - throwing snow is awesome.

Homeless no more

It is official. We have a home to move into as well as having gotten rid of our old one.

I spoke with our lawyer this morning and we are officially closed on both homes.




Az apam was unable to get the deal closed, so I had to step in and knock some heads. The important thing is τετέλεσται.

Our new address is available....just send me an email.

The house is gone

Wunderbar news!!! Az anyam and az apam have sold their old house.

The buyers were idiots who deserve to be mocked for taking so long to get their act together in buying the house. That has been the primary cause of the lack of postage over the last week.

The details aren't fully finalized on the new house so our stuff is spread out all over southern Fairfield county. We should have the new house by the time we return to Connecticut in January, which will be nice.

We're having a party

I had quite an active week last week which is why there was a mega-dearth of posts. This week should be a tad better. I will get into all of the other events that kept me from poster later. Just know that 1 house = sold, 1 house = almost purchased, 1 house's contents = all over the county of Fairfield.



Last weekend, I went to a birthday party for my boy Nathaniel. Here I am in a baby conga line with Nathaniel.

We started off at a petting zoo. We saw all sorts of exotic animals there - sheep and goats and ligers, oh my!
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-4105586873754910048&hl=en-CA

Then we headed off to have lunch at a restaurant where I got to see a bunch of my friends and frolic with them. This was supposed to be a picture with my friend Benji, but az apam has issues with modern technologies like cameras.

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=4245514014415597073&hl=en-CA

It was an OK time. I'm not really a pizza kind of kid. But cake. I like cake. Cake should be a food group. When I rule the world, it will be.

Inanimate objects can be friends

I've got nothing to say today.

Yesterday was all about me admiring my cuteness.

Today I'm giving all of you the opportunity to enjoy my cuteness.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4667549281360146823&hl=en

The cross I must bear

Sometimes it is a challenge to be as cute as I am. I was trying to help az anyam and az apam get ready for the impending move when I happened to glance in the mirror.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6931645678745639925&hl=en

My man John Keats once said, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." He was wrong. It's fleeting. So when I get a chance to enjoy something remarkable, like my cuteness, it would be a mistake not to savor it.

Sting like a butterfly, busy like a bee

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be crazy busy this week. Over the weekend I had a lot to accomplish. I got most of it done despite the bad weather.



Because I've got so many other things going on right now, I don't have time to tell elaborate stories or anything. What little free time I've had available I've wanted to spend with az anyam and az apam.


They need attention sometimes. So I graciously make the time for them.

Getting ready for Canada, eh

Did you know the national tree of Canada is the hockey stick? It's not, but it could be. I'm going to head up to the frigid north on Monday. My task list for my trip really only had two items, since az anyam takes care of all my other needs.

1. Inform my loyal readership that I might be posting less frequently over the next two - three weeks.

2. Work on the hockey skills.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3501015810494623927&hl=en

Az apam has been focusing on my American sports training and sorely neglecting my Canadian sports understanding. I mean, COME ON. How am I supposed to learn hockey with a Swiffer and a football? He could at least spring for a Hoover Floor Mate H3000...

They grow so old so quickly

A happy, 2-day-late birthday, Sagittarius shout out to my boy Kai.

I introduced you to uber-sidekick Kai here. I further discussed our relationship here. You may have even perused his blog here, even though it hasn't been updated in a looooong time.

You may have noticed Kai looking older. That's because he had his first birthday over the weekend.

Are you experienced?

Some people listen to Jimi Hendrix. A truly few can hear Jimi. I feel the same about food. You must truly experience the food to have a righteous appreciation for it. You may have noticed that there are a lot of posts about food. I do eat frequently. Pretty much every day. Usually a few times a day. Being the child of my parents, when I do something this regularly I want to do it 100%. I don't just eat food, I savor it. I abide.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-940661623246756366&hl=en

If you don't relish your food, your palette suffers. Az apam doesn't like ananasz because he has not experienced it.

Mikulas is coming to town

This is the time of year when we honor the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, children, and students in Greece, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, the Republic of Macedonia, Slovakia, Serbia and Montenegro as well as the patron saint of Colombia, Bari (Italy), Amsterdam, Beit Jala in the West Bank of Palestine and Russia.

St. Nicholas did not tolerate pagans and destroyed their temples. We commemorate this by getting gifts from him. If you think that's weird, we celebrate Christ's death and resurrection by getting gifts from a rabbit. Could be worse, we could believe in unconditional election.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4642817908834727112&hl=en

Happy Eltessen

Sappy, happy birthday to Robika. Thankfully this birthday will be spent a little differently than the last one.

He just got back (relatively speaking) from Iraq and had the opportunity to spend some time with Nagymama and Nagypapa in Alaska.

I can't wait to see him again. I haven't seen him in a long few months. I can't wait until I see him again in a few weeks.

Technical Difficulties

I have some amazing video and great pics to post. Unfortunately, I am having some difficulty getting the files off my camera. I think Google has moved beyond screwing up my postings when I post video and has now attacked my postings at the source - the camera.



I was going to work on it all day yesterday, but there was football on TV.

More than one way to skin an egg

Although I'm in to learning about how stuff works now, I also like doing it my own way. As Randy Jackson would say "Know who you are" and "Make it your own."

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5174262343690542497&hl=en

I really enjoy doing this with food. Why can you only drink soup from a bowl? Why not eggs from a plate? Why are people obsessed with putting limitations on themselves?

Becoming Wise in the Ways of the World

I have been racking up the experiences that will make me wise in the ways of the world. I’ve become quite the football player. I’ve found myself a lady (or two). I’ve worked through most of my top-secret plans for world domination. I know how to operate a Swiffer.

I have had trouble with one concept – the tissue, aka, the Kleenex©.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6644633356955111403&hl=en

Blowing one’s nose seems to be more art than science. All y’all are chuckling going, “Silly Máté, ‘tis but a simple exercise.” To which I reply, “Hark, ‘tis only simple for thee, as it has been a constant practice in thine’s life for several score.” I am working on it. Once we are in Fairfield I will start getting tutored in these things, as use of basic hygiene products is a requirement to get on the good preschool waiting lists.

Can't we all just get along?

Back in the day, when I was a young child, az anyam would go to a moms' group in Stamford. There she got to know another mother named Kathy Neni. Kathy Neni's son Christopher and I got along great despite the fact that we are quite different. I have never really been calm, cool and collected, while Christopher is the epitome of quiescence.

I have learned much from Christopher. I have become a little less edgy under his tutelage and for this I thank him.

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

When I'm not busy playing football, one of my favorite past times is playing on the computer. I enjoy playing games and surfing on the web. Sometimes I just want to bang on the keys all day.


My favorite is to play Starfall with az apam, az anyam, a nagypapam, a keresztpapam, anyone. I even play alone, but I find that challenging. I don't quite have the mouse thing mastered.

Larry Krauss is on crack

Werner Karl Heisenberg observed that the simultaneous determination of two paired quantities, for example the position and momentum of a particle, has an unavoidable uncertainty. This mindset is similar to the observer effect which states that the act of observing will make change on the phenomenon being observed.

There are certain things that can never be simultaneously determined or observed - a particle's position and momentum, viewing an electron causes it to interact with a photon and thus change. When you try and film me saying one of my many words, I don't say anything.

For example, last weekend I was all about saying "kesztyű." It's really the first two syllable word I've correctly enunciated. I haven't said it since. I stopped for two reasons: I think my parents were a little offended that I learned how to say an inanimate object's name before either of theirs and I like to keep people guessing.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9220520261743731134&hl=en

In the above video az apam is trying to get me to say víz. I threw him a bone. He has hours of video of me not saying anything and him sounding like a fool trying to get me to say one of my words. I say bye and wave to people as their leaving. I say kész when I'm done with my meals or I want to get out of the tub.

I also say Nooo-ooo. I know most people just say no. I prefer to make it a two syllable word. I usually say it when I don't want something. I sometimes say it for fun.

You are probably saying to yourself, "Self, why is Máté being so silly about being observed saying these words?" You can tell yourself, "He's doing it mostly to annoy az apja, but also so that when he sees his aunts, uncles and grandparents they can be amazed at how far along he is in his development and his plans to take over the world.


But I am not here to talk about me. I am here to talk about az apam's alma mater and the silly physicist there who claims to have a new theory.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/21/scicosmos121.xml

In a pathetic race to get funding this silly, little man has decided to focus on the negative. "We are destroying the universe by observing it." Wouldn't it be just as likely that our observations are changing the nature of the universe in a positive way? Maybe I'm just a glass is half-full kind of guy....I get that from az apam.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

My uncle Robi bacsi is back from Mesopatamia. And by back, I mean on almost real American soil.

He's in Alaxsxaq. He'll be there for a month and then I will get to see him in Cleveland. I haven't seen him in about 15 months. It'll be good to sit down with him and drink some Mike's Hard with him when az anyam isn't watching.

Not just a child among adults

Most of the video and pictures you have seen of me playing on this blog have been of me with adults. Every once in a while I grace children my age by playing with them.

A while back I went to the park with my boy, Kai, and az anyam and Ruth Neni. Of course, this trip was not just about playing. I was also training Kai in some key sidekick skills like crawling through tunnels while being chased.

http://picasaweb.google.com/rjandruth/FivePenniesPlay/photo?authkey=X2LHnw7VS2k#5135867988968821410

A special thank you to Ruth Neni for capturing the video and pictures.

Sleep. Who me?

I haven't discussed my sleep in many moons, mostly because it has been cruising along wonderfully. I normally go to bed around 6:30, get up around 4:30. Az anyam or az apam then gives me a cup of milk. I would drink my milk and then generally doze or just play quietly until 5:30 or so. I'd then take a nap during the morning and one in the afternoon.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8246401049081934625&hl=en

Everyone has been happy with this arrangement. The last week or so, however, things haven't been going quite as smoothly. I don't know if it is time for me to shed one of these naps or if I'm still messed up from the change with daylight savings time. In any event, I haven't always been napping when I've needed it. I'll gladly stay in my crib for an hour or so playing with my macik, throwing my cumik on the ground. My favorite trick in the morning, when I get bored in my crib, is to lay on my back and bang on the crib with my cumik. A szuleim don't find that irritating at all.

Thanksgiving in pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words. I was going to write six thousand words or so about my Thanksgiving. Instead I'm going to write about two hundred words, but include six pictures.


As I mentioned last week, I spent the first park of Thanksgiving watching football. As I may have mentioned earlier, I thoroughly enjoy watching football.

While I was watching the game, az anyam was busy making the turkey. I didn't realize how much I liked turkey until az anyam made her scrumptious, salt-infested, herb-butter coated bird.
Az apam then did his best Jason Vorhees impression and dismembered/carved the bird.

We then went over to my friend Kai's house to eat the bird. His parents, Ruth Neni and RJ Bacsi, made a whole bunch of great dishes. I LOVE Ruth Neni's chocolate chip cookies.

We then hung out in the living room and saw az anyam display her mad, crazy guitar playing skills.
We played a little game called Guitar Hero. I think this game might really take off. Az anyam is awesome at it. She is my Guitar Hero hero.

If it's Thanksgiving....

It's a beautiful day for football...The other day I discussed how I enjoy reading. In case I haven't mentioned it before I love football. You might getting bored with all my talk of football, but it is who I am. If you don't like all this talk of football, you are welcome to read http://sissyboy.blogspot.com.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7863287966990663067&hl=en

Watching Detroit yesterday was like watching a choreographed train wreck in progress. I couldn't turn away. More details on Thanksgiving next week, in particular on az anyam, one of my heroes, my guitar hero.

Not just another pretty face

Thanksgiving is a time to look back, take stock of the last year and do a little soul-searching. I reviewed the last few weeks of posts and realized I might be looking a simple-minded, football-obsessed jock.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5856176725950492053&hl=en

There is more to me than just a finely-tuned athlete. I also like to read. I particularly like books about animals right now. I especially like books with tigers. Two reasons for that: they make the coolest sound in the world and it's closely related to my favorite animal in the world.

If it was the weekend....

VIDEO IS NOW HERE

It means there was football. You are probably saying to yourself, "Self, Mate seems to be playing football all the time. Surely, there is an appropriate time for playing football and an appropriate time for doing other things." WRONG. Any and all time is a good time for football.

This weekend I got to play football with Nagypapa. Note the dark windows and the pajamas. 6am is a great time for football.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1795710338503731097&hl=en

Nagypapa is at least as good as Pal Bacsi at football.

A beautiful day, a beautiful post

Well, we can't have the post be too beautiful. First, a quick dose of reality:

Now, why is it such a beautiful post? Why is it such a beautiful day?


Today's post is numero four hundredo. Az anyam and az apam are buying a new house. That is moving as smoothly as it possibly could. They will be moving out of their house and into their new house on Dec 12. Both the same day you ask. They're crazy. A certain uncle in a certain country formerly known as Mesopotamia should be on his way back shortly. Aaaaannnnndddddd, one of my Freebird videos made it through. WOOHOO:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8655214799067862527&hl=en

Savor me savoring the savorbulous sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

That is why it is a beautiful day and a beautiful post.

Busy like beaver

Today's post is brief.

Happy family. Old house.

Moving.

Happier family in older house.

Inspection today.

Details to follow.

Sunday = Football !!!LINKS FIXED!!!!!

Google Nazis still haven't fixed the first link, but the third one is now correct. It shows my schooling Pal Bacsi. It's awesome.

Also, Saturday = Football.

Also, every day = Football.

Unfortunately, not everyone has the mad football skills I have. I can play better with a remote control in my hand than any two year old with both his hands. Heck, I'm even better than some 25 year olds out there:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7236861251417276331&hl=en

I've really been into football lately. No, I've really been into football lately.

Having the bacsik around over the weekend gave me tons of opportunities to learn new football tricks. I've learned that gripping the seams helps with the spiral. I learned how to obnoxious from Keresztpapa. Here's that lesson:

http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewStrada/Export/photo#5133051148157231362

Here I am practicing what I learned:
http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewStrada/Export/photo#5133050181789589698

Az Anyam said there would be days like this

But she never told me there would be weeks like this.

I was coming off a great weekend of hanging with the bacsik and I had all sorts of exciting stories to tell you, but I am still unable to upload video. I was going to show you video of Keresztpapa using me to pick up women and Pal Bacsi trying to throw a football as well as I do and Peti Bacsi sleeping until noon, but I can't.

Az apam has promised he will not sleep tonight until he figures out a workaround. Do you hear that? That is the sound of me not holding my breath.

I could write opera

I'm thinking of writing an opera. It would be the story of a young man with grand plans, let's call him Tatthew.

Tatthew is a gregarious, young lad. Kind, compassionate, intelligent and magnanimous. Tatthew especially loved to share. He shared his thoughts, his emotions, his ambitions and his plans with the world. All he wanted to do was give.

Tatthew used wonderful tools provided to him by a company that professed to "do no evil." We'll call this company Toogle. Then this company decided this affable soul was a threat and clamped down on Tatthew's ability to share by purposefully adding bugs to its software so that Tatthew can't upload videos to any of its 18 video sharing sites. Click here for the truth about Toogle.

I am still working on the score, but I've got the lead role picked out.

Veteran's Day

In order to properly celebrate the Veteran's Day holiday, I'm taking the time I would normally spend thinking about a deep and profound post thinking about veterans.

I was going to post a picture of me with a Wolfpack, but az apam and az anyam are downers and wouldn't let me anywhere near the wolves at the zoo. But we are thinking of the Wolfpack today and some older veterans, like nagypapa, who valiantly supported his country by valorously typing memos.

Oh to be free as a bird

and not restricted by the NBCU/Viacom/Google nazis.

I had this great post with video about az apam's new Blackberry and how I haven't managed to test this one's water resistance yet.

I tied in the visits this upcoming weekend of Keresztpapa, Pal Bacsi and Peti Bacsi. And then I tried to upload the video that tied it all together and was denied. The video is of me moving and mellowing to Freebird playing from az apam's Blackberry. I think the music is too overpowering and recognizable and the Google nazis feel I am infringing on the copyright.

So I need you to imagine me in the above picture grooving with az apam's Blackberry and then I wrote some funny stuff and you really found it amusing.

Hardcore toddler-dom

I am definitely not a baby any longer. Outside of my independant streak and my foray into the terrible twos, you can see this by the things I'm doing. Recently I started eating at the table. I have a booster seat, but that is no high chair.



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7085546093120894100&hl=en

I get my very own chair and placemat. It's like I'm an actual part of the family.

I also find I can do more adult things at the table. When I'm lucky, I find a computer at the table. When I'm not quite so lucky, I'll find the weekly circulars or the newspaper to peruse while I'm having my meal.