Martin Ruiz - Filed under 'photography'

Lucas debuts and I learn something about Rock-n-Roll

dad photography

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Today Lucas played his first public performance before an audience at Kenny's Castaways in Greenwich Village. He played guitar while his sister, Alex, sang Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes. Naturally he was nervous. He didn't practice much and we decided to switch things up a bit 15 minutes before heading out for the show. Moreover, he and Alex never once rehearsed the song together from start to finish. In spite of all this, he played it better than I ever heard him play it at home.

Much is made and said about practice... but more should be said about what one does while in the moment. That's Rock-n-Roll.

Thanks to the NYC Guitar School for organizing this.

Low-Tech Transportation

dad photography

It's Spring Break, and no, we didn't fly to a far away land where we might find some sun... sorry Cancun. Instead, we stayed home. We've been doing jigsaw puzzles, playing scrabble, watching movies, and today we tried some horseback riding. We live near Prospect Park where the folks at Kensington Stables provide riding lessons. I didn't want to spoil the surprise so I mentioned it 15 minutes before our scheduled lesson with Samsam, our wonderful instructor.

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Needless to say, Lucas wants to go back.

Deux Chattes opened for Titus Andronicus

dad deux chattes music photography

Last week was awesome! My daughter's new band, Deux Chattes, opened for Titus Andronicus at the Mercury Lounge along side Care Bears on Fire and Toy Sugar for a benefit concert in support of the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. Then I won tickets to every Titus show in 2011 to boot... Man, I'm pushing my luck.

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Deux Chattes with Titus Andronicus.

Deux Chattes with Care Bears on Fire. Care Bears on Fire blew me away... funny, smart, and totally rocking.

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Titus Andronicus at the Mercury Lounge

The Mercury Lounge.

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The Mosh Pit

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More Deux Chattes... got more action shots coming with the rest of the band.

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The Practice Sessions.

"A More Perfect Nation" by Titus Andronicus

Alex and Abbie's other band Reverb

My Life in Pictures 2010

dad photography

Every year I create a mosaic of some of the years photos for my twitter background. It's great to look back and appreciate those moments again. This year our trip to Greece and our first Halloween party were the highlights.

Check out the mosiacs for 2009 and 2008.

For a 2 minute glimpse of 3 years of photos see this.

3 years of photos in 2 minutes

dad photography

via vimeo.com

I created this video using a new service, Pummelvision. The vid contains all my flickr photos dating back to 2007.

Thanksgiving 2010 - New Family Tradition Started

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We host every few years or so with modest expectations. Amazingly, the family showed up early this year. We had a great time eating, dancing, and singing. And before the it was over, at 1am, Dolca put the stake in the ground and proclaimed that we'll host every year from here on end. The tradition is official!

Halloween 2010: A few ghoulish pics

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via youtube.com

Just a few ghoulish pics from my Halloween get together... Sweet Dreams.

Forming my own Zombie army

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Those experienced fighting Zombies know that the best weapon against them are Zombies! Lucas, Alex, Dolca, and I have been building up our army outside our house. You've been warned.