It has become my habit to close out each year with a post featuring a favorite, previously unpublished photo. This one was from a series intended for use on our holiday card but I opted for a pair that only included the kids. 2014 has been a great year for the Calabria family and we are thankful for our health and happiness. Between Nicolai’s gap year and Kyle’s gap semester we have been united under one roof for more time than in recent years, something I am going to miss. Kyle has decided to add a computer science minor to his finance major and returns to Santa Clara University this weekend to complete his senior year. Nicolai leaves for Colorado College mid-January to pick up with his fifth block. Fortunately we get to hold onto Maya for a couple more years. The kid’s rang in the new year at parties with their friends while Jeanine and I enjoyed dining out with her sister, Susan, and family friend Jean Cass at the Vine Brook Tavern in Lexington.
From our family to yours, we wish you joy and good health in the coming year.
Two years ago in August of 2014, Jeanine and I made a whirlwind tour of south central Alaska. Our eleven day adventure took us to more spectacular destinations than I would have imagined possible. We crossed Prince William Sound by ferry, explored the quaint town of Cordova, drove deep into the Copper River Delta, hiked to the summit of Mount Eyak, kayaked to the Shoup Glacier out of Valdez, camped at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park, explored the rustic town of Talkeetna, flew around Mount McKinley and landed on Ruth Glacier, went ice-climbing on the Matanuska glacier, flew by seaplane to the Katmai National Park where we hung out with the costal brown bears (grizzlies). For several months now I have been preparing a photo journal of our exploits and have finally completed the book (best viewed using the full screen option – icon with four arrows pointing outward).
We returned home from New York to a nice article in the Concord Journal that was published last week. I am also posting a photo from this weekend of my mother with a rather impish look about her and my niece, Rachael.
The last game that I will be posting from the 2014 Amputee Soccer World Cup match features the USA against Turkey. The Turkish squad includes professional players who participate in a thriving league in that country. In order to gain a better bracket in the tournament the Turks intentionally lost their first game against Japan. Unfortunately, the US did not realize this at the time and we chose to model our game plan on the “winning” Japanese strategy. Even so, the US team did very well against a very strong opponent which eventually placed third in the tournament. Many thanks to Maya who was the videographer for the match.
This post wraps up my coverage of the 2014 games and we are all looking forward to the next World Cup in 2016. There is also talk of an Americas Cup in 2015 which may come to pass. The folks at Coca-Cola published a nice follow up piece on the World Cup which can be found by following this link.
Widely regarded as the best example of only 20 remaining inland pine barrens in the world, Jeanine and I enjoyed a 3.5 mile hike through the Albany Pine Brush this morning. Located 5 minutes from my sister’s house, it was the perfect location to work off some of last night’s feast. We then joined the rest of the family at the movie theater where we saw “The Imitation Game” which I cannot recommend highly enough. Even more enjoyable was the conversation time with the kids during our post movie left-over meal. Each shared perspectives on their educations and future plans. The 3.5 hour return drive to Concord passed quickly as we all listened to our favorite NPR programs.
We drove to Albany, NY in time to join my mother and sister, Alissa, for lunch at the Reel Seafood Company, owned by long time friends of the family. Next we visited the Atria Crossgate Independent Living Center where my mother is currently living. She gave us the grand tour and introduced us to many of her new friends during happy hour. We finished the day, five minutes away, at my sister’s house where we enjoyed a grand holiday feast.
I managed a few stealth portraits including nephew John William, niece Rachael and Kyle, sporting a nicely filled in and trimmed beard.
This Christmas we tried a new approach to gift giving. Each member of the family was anonomously assigned a Secret Santa responsible for providing a gift to just that individual. Maya took it upon herself to organize the matchings using Elfster.com. This approach was deemed a great success, cutting down on the amount of shopping for everyone and giving us more time to spend with each other. Stockings this year were stuffed by all members of the family in another well received refinement. No changes to our breakfast popover and grapefruit tradition to start the morning or to our late afternoon Christmas dinner, this year featuring a delicious beef tenderloin.
This Christmas has been subject to evolving family traditions. Normally, we dine out at Chang An’s Chinese restaurant with friends before attending the candlelight service at our church. Since Jeanine will spend a good part of Christmas day in the kitchen, this has been a nice way to give her a respite from cooking. This year the kids briefly entertained the notion of preparing a meal themselves but this morphed into a take-out order from Chang An’s as their enthusiasm waned and hunger grew. They did, however, assume full responsibility for making Zeppole Balls when we returned from church, a tradition that I venture to guess they will continue with their own families one day.
With the family all together and Christmas around the corner, there is much to be thankful for at the Calabria household. We are all healthy and pursuing our passions. We have been blessed with good fortune, great friends, and a loving family. Looking ahead to 2015, it is exciting to imagine what new chapters will be written in the Calabria journal even as we pause to enjoy the serenity of the moment.
Each Monday my Vimeo weekly file size limitation resets allowing me to upload and post new full-match videos from the 2014 Amputee World Cup. Next week I will post USA vs. Turkey for the final installment.
Much of today was spent preparing for an intergenerational holiday party for the friends of our kids and their families. Jeanine cooked up a storm while the kids and I were assigned various tasks to get the house ready. The menu included lobster bisque, shrimp cocktails, gravalax (Swedish cured salmon), skewered tortellinis, Calabria meatballs with lingonberries, cranberry and pear topped puff pastry encrusted brie, pigs-in-a-blanket, and chocolate fondue.
As if this was not enough to eat, Maya was quite adamant that we introduce her friends to Zeppole Balls. She supervised dough preparation and took our new deep fryer machine on its maiden voyage with perfect results. I was in charge of honey basting, sprinkle application, and extensive quality control taste testing. Something special happens when you have a party with people of many ages who all share something in common; they engage with one another. Maya announced afterwards that this party was to become a new annual tradition.
Despite rather frigid temperatures, I decided to go for a nature walk this afternoon. Most wildlife had the good sense to be snuggled up somewhere sheltered from the wind. Spotting not a single creature, I was headed back to my car when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed this Barred Owl flying through the trees. When it landed, I approached as close as possible for this shot.
The one downside of our trip to Mexico is that Jeanine and I missed this year’s iRobot Holiday party with the Dropkick Murphys as headliners. Fortunately, I/we were able to attend many departmental and staff parties this week. Last night we dined with the leadership of our Home Business Unit at Brazilian Steak House, Fogo de Chao. This, after I joined members of our Defense & Security Business Unit for a French Toast breakfast and potluck lunch earlier in the day. The Engineering Department’s luncheon, held today, featured an Italian buffet and was held in our newly created common area which is proving to be a great addition to our facility.
Another 2014 Amputee World Cup match is up and posted. Kyle was the videographer for this match and did a great job. File size limits on Vimeo will not allow me to post another game until next week.
I returned today from a 3 day business trip to Pasadena. Nothing breaks up the long flight better than an opportunity to photograph the southwest from 35,000 feet. It never ceases to amaze me how spectacular the terrain is in this part of the country.
We owe Maya a great debt of gratitude for videotaping the entire World Cup soccer match between the USA and Japan. She was perched atop a 6 foot high two tier shooting platform affording her an unobstructed view of the game. In addition to standing on her feet for more than an hour under the intense Mexican sun, she had to sacrifice watching the game which is not possible if you are diligently framing and following the action. Maya did a great job and I hope she knows how much we all appreciate the work she did on behalf of her brother and the US team.
I completed editing all the World Cup videos that we shot in Mexico over the weekend. This includes full games with Japan, Turkey, Poland, and Germany. Unfortunately, my Vimeo account has a bandwidth restriction which will limit how quickly I can upload these. The video above is a highlight reel of Nicolai and is only about two and half minutes long. Maya shot all the footage of Japan and Turkey, Kyle shot Poland and parts of Mexico, and I did Germany. Sad to say but both the kids did a better job than I did. We were all hoping that the US games would be webcast but that was not the case. I know many folks are very anxious to see the full games and I am working as quick as I can to post them.
I have spent virtually the entire weekend post processing photos and videos from the World Cup trip to Mexico. I would have remained inside the entire time if not for my obligation to deliver Maya and her friend Abby to their futsal game in Brookline. While they were warming up, I ventured out and discovered Larz Anderson Park Pond and had time for a few photos before the sun set. This park is very photogenic and I must remember to visit again for a more complete examination.
Once a year I attempt to corral the kids for a family holiday card It is advisable to speak to medical http://www.learningworksca.org/resources/in-the-news/ ordine cialis on line professional about the exact use of this medication may diminish if brought with the fat rich eating routine. The buy tadalafil in australia number of American survivors is expected to top 20 million within the next 20 years, will reach truly epidemic proportions, said Dr. In simple cialis generika 20mg terms, ED refers to the inability of the person facing trouble in attaining sustainable erection. cost of tadalafil This herbal pill also supplements your body with important nutrients, vitamins and minerals. photo. Normally we like to send one out with the whole family in the shot but this image of just the kids is my favorite of the bunch.
I recently purchased a camera that is capable of shooting 4K UHDTV video which I used to capture a cliff diver in Mazatlan last week. Each frame is the equivalent of an 8 MP still image which means I can step through action footage and extract a pretty decent photo from exactly the moment of peak interest. I predict that sports photography as it is done today will be forever changed by this new technology. I hope to post the full video sometime next week.
From each game there usually emerges one signature image. This one from the friendly against Mexico is one of my favorites containing all the elements I look for in great sports photos. This volley from near mid-field missed the upper right corner by two inches. When I get around to posting videos, there is a nice sequence showing the entire play.
I am happy to be home, even with sub-freezing temperatures and snow, but not thrilled with the prospect of processing some 5000 photos I took while in Mexico. My goal is to down-select to less than 1000 before posting in a web album. Compounded by a mountain of work back at the office, I expect this process will take the better part of a week.
Until then I will be posting a couple of images from the trip that did not make it onto the blog. I love this one of Señorita Maya taken while she was conducting an ice cube melting experiment with the straw in the foreground.
I would not say the past week has been anything close to relaxing but there is nowhere else in the world I would have rather been than here with family. We are very much looking forward to our return today but will never forget the great time we had here. The Group E banner shown above was “liberated” from a lamp post by Nicolai as a present to coach Lambert. It was signed by all the players and I know it is a gift he will cherish forever.
On just 15 hours of rest the US played the host nation of Mexico this morning. Nicolai was on fire, contributing three goals to the 4-1 victory and becoming the highest all-time cumulative goal scorer for the US. More importantly, he was unselfish with his passing which is the real strategy for winning at amputee soccer.
Kyle shot more 4K video and captured great isolations of several of the goals which I hope to post when we return to Boston tomorrow.
After the friendly we stayed at the stadium to watch the finals between Angola and Russia. It was a very exciting match. The Russians play a very disciplined team oriented game. The Angolans, a very high energy style, running with seemingly boundless energy. Russia emerged the champions after breaking a 1-1 tie in the final minutes of the game. Turkey placed third and the US finished in 12th place; not bad having entered the tournament unranked.
Throughout the games, the citizens of Culiacan have been most welcoming and also quite eager to have their photos taken with the team and to obtain autographs. Nicolai has been very generous accommodating these requests, some of which he seemed to enjoy more than others.
The team celebrated a successful tournament with a late lunch at an authentic open air taco stand and later with gifts for the coach and staff at the hotel.
An exciting day of semi-final matches, we watched as Russia beat Turkey in sudden death overtime and Angola out ran Poland 1-0. The US took on Argentina, the fourth place finisher in the last World Cup in an officiated friendly. Argentina scored in the first half but the US mustered a response early in the second. The score remained tied until late in the second half when Argentina pulled ahead for the win. Nicolai had a great game and can be seen here taking a powerful shot from distance and challenging the keeper for a header.
Although the US is now out of World Cup contention there is much soccer yet to be played. It is so rare for the entire team to be in the same place at the same time that every opportunity will be taken to get time on the ball. This morning the US faced Germany in an officiated international friendly. Looking relaxed and confident, the US cruised to a 5-1 victory with Nicolai scoring twice, the second a very pretty header off a perfect cross from team mate Noah Grove, the youngest member of the squad. Rather than shooting photos today, I manned the video camera and have a new appreciation for the fine work done by Maya and Kyle over the past week. It is extremely hard to follow the action with the camera if you are trying to actually watch the game. I shot the second half in 4K video and the results are stunning. I will post all games on the blog when we return from Mexico where internet service at our hotel is ridiculously intermittent.
After lunch Kyle and I ventured out to find a barber shop. His beard needed a trim and I needed a hair cut. Even though the prices here are one quarter the going rate in the states, it irritates me that Kyle’s trim cost one third of my haircut even though he had three times as much hair removed.
Nico organized a keeper’s practice at the main stadium late in the afternoon. I drove the guys over and assisted with the training which was interrupted every five minutes for photographs with Mexican fans who are so soccer crazy that they will intently watch practices for hours. I decided to use this to our advantage and recruited some of the younger fans to shag balls for us.
If you had told me yesterday that the US would be tied 1-1 with Poland at half-time, I would have questioned your sobriety and/or sanity. Amazingly that is how things played out this morning. Poland struck first, but the US responded when Nicolai drove a rocket into the lower right corner off a direct kick from well outside the box. I swear he hit it faster than his 57mph kick of yesterday (he agrees, citing the adrenaline rush of the moment). When the ball struck the back corner of the tubular goal frame, it rang out as if to declare, “we are here to win.” I will never forget that sound for as long as I live. Beyond equalizing the score, the goal inspired a belief in team USA that they had a chance of beating this world class team. For the final ten minutes of the half the US was on fire, dominating possession and unleashing a barrage of shots on goal. Unfortunately, the shell-shocked Polish squad regained their composure during the break and returned for the second half in prime form. When they scored again, we had nothing to lose by pushing our players forward in search of an equalizer. Losing by 10 would be no different than losing by 1 in this single elimination round. The team fought brilliantly, but in the end, Poland emerged with a well earned 3-1 victory. The team left the field with their heads held high, knowing they had done the US proud. Although our World Cup dreams have come to an end, the team will arrange friendly matches with other countries that have been eliminated. We are scheduled to play Germany tomorrow.
Later in the day we watched Russia play ¨the beautiful game,¨ demolishing Columbia by a score of 9-1. After a light dinner we returned to a capacity-filled stadium to watch Mexico play Argentina. When Burton and Tito left for the Copper Canyon, the US cheering section was cut in half. Compare that to the 3000 Mexican fans, team mascot (who plucked hairs from his gorilla suit and placed them on my head as I walked past to the delight of the crowd), and a pep band supporting their national team. Several members of the American contingent have decided that the next World Cup needs to be hosted in the US and today we will start working to that end. We also learned that many of the teams are state or commercially sponsored with paid, professional athletes. I would be happy if we could land one generous corporate sponsor who could cover the costs of travel so the team could practice with each other more than twice a year.
Nicolai acknowledges the crowd as he is introduced at today’s Power Shot competition. Each team competing in the Amputee World Cup was invited to enter two players to determine who has the fastest shot in the world. Athletes take 3 penalty kicks which are timed with a radar gun. Highest speed wins. Nicolai placed third with a speed of 57mph. First and second went to El Salvador and Argentina with kicks of 58mph. Interestingly, Nico had the highest average speed of 56.3mph compared to 55mph for the others.
After Nico collected his award, posed for pictures and did a couple of interviews, team USA practiced before heading out for a casual lunch. The US will face Poland in the first match of the elimination rounds tomorrow. We have two chances of beating them; slim and none. Nevertheless, the team is gearing up to put their best effort forward and would be thrilled if we can earn a single goal in the match.
Maya, looking every bit the Mexican senorita, stakes out high ground to record video of the USA versus Turkey match. A professional video crew from Turkey showed up and tried to displace her citing the quality of their equipment. I asked them if they would be recording at 4K UHDTV and that seemed to shut them up. Their tripod can be seen on the next tier down.
Although we won the video showdown, the same cannot be said for the match. The Turkish team controlled the game from the first whistle and it is a credit to our defense that we limited them to a 2-0 victory. Fortunately our goal differential for group play was sufficient to avoid elimination and for the first time in history, the US team has advanced to the elimination phase.
Nico earned a yellow card early in the first half. Everyone other than Nico agrees that he deserved one for the cumulative effect of his punishing style of play. This meant that he had to play with great caution for the remainder of the game to avoid a second card which would have sent him to the bench and left his team a man down. Pictured below, he takes on Turkey’s top player winning the ball high in the air.
After the game we bid farewell to Burton and Tito who are headed to the Copper Canyon by way of El Fuerte. Kyle and I are hoping to join them in a few days but that will depend on how well the US fares against Poland on Thursday.
The US had a day off, accepting a forfiet from Iran. The Mexican World Cup organizing committee is responsible for providing food for all the competing athletes during the games. They had originally committed to ensure that food prepared according to halal principles would be provided for the Iranian contingent. When they reneged on this promise, the Iranian team withdrew. The Calabria contingent, minus Nico who needed to scout Turkey and review Japan game footage, took advantage of the situation to make a day trip to Mazatlan. We arrived by noon, made a brief tour of the old city and had the MOST amazing lunch ever.
We then walked down to the beach and strolled up the promenade where we had a chance to watch a pair of cliff divers taking a 45 foot plunge into 8 feet of undulating seas (I will post video/pics when we return). Kyle ventured to the diving platform but wisely decided not to attempt the feat.
See if you can figure out which part of the statue below is alive.
We concluded our sightseeing with an ice cream break and then made the 2 hour and 45 minute return drive to Culiacan.
This website is dedicated to sharing, with family and friends, the day-to-day adventures of the Calabria family.
