Pictures of 2008: Cats!

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

It's the final installment in Fosco's "Pictures of 2008" series, which will end on a feline note. Here's a photo of Oz trying to make Isis care about a stuffed Chococat:

And here are the KITTENS that Fosco and Oz found living under the front steps of a townhouse in Oz's complex last summer:

KITTENS!

Sing it with me, folks: "Oh! Well I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees!"

Pictures of 2008: Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

In October, Fosco and Oz hopped a quick flight up the coast to spend a weekend in Seattle with Fosco's good friend Todd. We cheered for Notre Dame against Washington at the absolutely gorgeous Husky Stadium.

The view is also pretty nice from Seattle's futuristic Sky Needle. That's part of the Seattle skyline with semi-dormant volcano Mt. Rainier barely visible in the distance.

Fosco had never been to Seattle and he was pretty impressed with the city. Next visit, he's going to drag Oz on a Frasier Crane walking tour.

Pictures of 2008: Roy's Hawaiian Fusion

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

This fall, Fosco and Oz went for a romantic dinner to remind Oz of his homeland of the Sandwich Islands. There is an outpost in San Francisco of Roy's, the original Hawaiian fusion restaurant.

Roy's serves some thrilling seafood and it was a wonderful evening. We even saw a past winner of Project Runway at the bar! Sadly, neither Fosco nor Oz brought a camera to dinner that night. However, Fosco has found online some gorgeous pix of his favorite menu items. Like the Ahi Poketini:

The Misoyaki Butterfish lives up to its name: soft and buttery (is there anything bad that is named after butter?).

And dessert is Roy's famous molten chocolate souffle:

Don't you wish Fosco's pictures of food looked this good?

Pictures of 2008: Frigid Baseball

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

Last August (note the month), Fosco and Oz went to a Giants home game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. It's a really nice park (as you've probably seen on TV) with lots of amusements and concessions (including garlic fries! Yum!). However, it is also right on the SF Bay and, when you're sitting in the bleachers on a foggy night it gets COLD. Like really cold. Fosco had a coat and a scarf and still froze.

One neat thing: the Giants were playing the Dodgers that night, who had recently traded for dreadlocked All-Star Manny Ramirez (a trade that would propel them into the second round of the playoffs). Our bleacher seats were in Left Field, so we got a nice view of Manny:

By the fifth inning, we were popsicles (in August!) and so we left (as if we care about the Giants). This was a view of the ballpark as we walked to our car (in the howling wind):

You can even tell from behind that Fosco is freezing. In August!

Pictures of 2008: Oz's Cousin's Wedding

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

In September, Fosco and Oz spent a weekend near San Luis Obispo for the wedding of Oz's cousin Zac. We stayed in the coastal resort town of Morro Bay, which features an inexplicable giant domed rock in the center of its harbor (apparently, it's a dormant volcano! Who knew?).

The area around San Luis Obispo has some incredibly lush wine country and Oz's cousin got married on the grounds of the Meridian Vineyards. The ceremony was on a hilltop overlooking the vineyards, a small lake, and the sun setting behind the coastal mountains. Seriously. The reception was held on a large lawn nearby. It was magical. Here is the beginning of the reception, as dusk settles (yes, those are Japanese lanterns):

A romantic evening all around.

Pictures of 2008: Remembering Vietnam

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

While Fosco and Oz were in DC for Derek and Maria's wedding, they also got a chance to do some very quick sightseeing. Oz had never been to DC, so the National Mall was a must. Here are pix of two of the Vietnam memorials. Lots of tourists took smiling photos in front of this one, which hardly seems appropriate:

And here is the famous Maya Lin design, looking even more stately and somber after more than twenty-five years:

Oz took both of these pictures and you can tell--he's much better with a camera than is Fosco (for one thing, he doesn't have a tremor).

Pictures of 2008: Society Wedding

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

Last June, Fosco and Oz flew to Washington DC for the wedding of Fosco's college roommate Derek Ho to the lovely and talented Maria Glover (read the New York Times wedding announcement here). This was the nicest wedding Fosco has ever seen (black tie for the guests!) and it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with most of his college roommates (except this no-show).

The reception was at the exquisite National Museum of Women in the Arts. Here are two photos from the reception:


Swanky!

The best part of the wedding (besides Derek and Maria's beautiful love, of course) was before the ceremony when Fosco and Oz were sitting in the pew at the church and Fosco turned around to find that Supreme Court Justice David Souter (one of the good Justices, btw) had been seated immediately behind him. For most of the rest of the ceremony, Fosco and his former roommate Dr. Steve scammed to get good candid pix of Souter without being too overt about it. Sadly, Fosco's best attempt is really too blurry; however, it's also the best he's got. And so he includes it here.

That's Souter in the foreground, being charmed by the Mother-of-the-Groom. On the right is the gorgeous Dr. Gloria, wife of Dr. Steve. Do you now see how Fosco got this shot? He was pretending to be taking a picture of Steve and Gloria. Pathetic, I know. A college rooming group with more cojones would have just asked Souter if he would be willing to pose with all of them; but then again, Fosco and his college roommates were always a bunch of eunuchs.

Pictures of 2008: Under the Sea!

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

Last summer, Fosco's extended family visited and we all took a trip to the (surprisingly expensive!) Monterey Bay Aquarium. While there, Oz took these great photos. I don't think you're ready for these jellies:

Just call me "Mr. Barnacle Hands!" Yarrr.

One thing I learned at the MBA? Almost one out of every three fish is delicious!

Pictures of 2008: Mission Inn

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

In June, Fosco presented a paper at a conference in Riverside, California (you don't want to hear more about that). Oz tagged along to make it a fun vacation. For a hoot, they stayed at the elegant and historic Mission Inn. It's a legitimate SoCal landmark, and not just because it was the site of Richard Nixon's wedding. If you ever stay there, be sure to set aside an entire afternoon to explore the place--it's like a medieval monastery with spiral stairways and secret passages. Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our afternoon of exploration:



Yes, this place is a hotel. Not to mention that there is an absolutely superb restaurant across the street (we heartily recommend Restaurant Omakase for an exceptional meal). The only problem is that this amazing hotel and delicious restaurant are in Riverside, a place you will never need to visit.

Pictures of 2008: Please Stay in Vegas

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008. Check out the whole series here.

Last January, Fosco was in Vegas for an academic conference. You certainly see some things of questionable taste in Vegas:

You might not be able to see it, but those pants are desert camouflage. And can you see the sunglasses strap below the mullet? Sadly, Fosco had to follow this troglodyte for an entire block to get this picture.

Pictures of 2008: Holiday in South Bend

Fosco recently realized that, by only blogging for three months last year, he never got to share tons of pictures with you from the rest of the year. So, for the next week or so, Fosco will offer a series of brief posts with some of his favorite pictures from his adventures in 2008.

The first picture comes from Fosco's January 2008 in South Bend, Indiana (where grammar goes to die):

Hmmm. Let's hope they got this guy and not this guy.