We gave our little Yoda a chance to get aclimated in the car seat and he quickly fell asleep.

All ready to go to the pediatrician. The appointment went well.

After the baby’s born, the mother delivers the placenta. Often the butt of many gross jokes, the placenta is actually an amazing part of prenatal life. It forms the barrier between the mother and baby and allows nutrients to pass to the baby via the umbilical cord. In some cultures, the parents eat the placenta, aka placentophagy, after the baby’s born. We did not do that. We are freezing it, to either pulverize at some later date for medicine for Max (need to research this further), or to plant with a new tree somewhere outside of NYC. I guess my fascination with this organ comes from my father who probably would have loved these photographs. For placenta eating tips, go here, or for recipes check here.

The baby’s side, above, with the umbilical cord.

The mother’s side, which is attached to the uterus.

Above, detail where the umbilical cord begins.

Closeup of the umbilical cord, which I cut about forty-five minutes after Max was born. Shortly after that the placenta was delivered and put into a round Chinese food takeout container which we kept in the refrigerator until I took these pictures.

His was a water birth, at home in Brooklyn. Born auspiciously on 8-22-8 at 3:33pm. We’re still debating his name. Stay tuned for many more pictures...

Two days past due...

These are from a project I’m doing with LuLu LoLo, an hommage to Nadar’s photos of Pierrot.

A perfect night of good vibes at Prospect Park with an African Guitar Music festival, barbecued chicken, and a rainbow...

MIT’s Daniel Nocera reportedly has found the holy grail to make solar energy truly useful 24/7: man-made photosynthesis. The biggest problem with solar energy is that the energy stops flowing when the sun stops shining. The usual solution is to store the electicity in batteries which wear out over time and are caustic for the environment. Nocera’s solution was arrived at by studying nature, plants in particular. How do plants get their energy when the sun goes down? Through the process of photosythesis. Nocera’s breakthrough was finding a way to convert water into its components, hydrogen and oxygen, via catalysts that can operate at room temperature and pressure using the electricity produced by the solar cells. The separated hydrogen and oxygen can then be combined in a fuel cell to deliver electricity when the sun is down. The result is clean, self-sustaining energy! Read all about it here. This man deserves a Nobel prize!