My father owned the Arena Grill during the '60's. It was a bar and restaurant ajacent to the New Haven Arena, and attracted a lot of the sports fans going to hockey games at the Arena. I was surfing the web a few years back when I found the website Roadfood.com, that chronicles "The most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America". Somebody posted a comment, and it developed into a discussion of the Arena Grill in New Haven. Three guys who knew my parents and Billy Sandella, the other co-owner of the bar, posted comments and reminiscences, and I posted some "updates" as well. Here's the link.

Tags: Arena, Dad

My good friend Susan Sikora was in from San Francisco visiting her mom who lives on the Jersey shore. I met Susan when I was an intern in college on a talk show called 'Morning Live' at channel seven in Boston. One of Susan's college roommates and best friend Vivian Toporek suggested we all meet for lunch at the famous Harold's Deli in Edison, NJ. The Carnegie Deli sandwiches are kiddie sized by comparison. An overstuffed time was had by all. Enjoy the pictures.

Tags: Susan

Our poor little camera's shutter was very tired was very tired after this holiday season. We took loads of photos and movies from Thanksgiving thru New Years. We saw Santa here, we saw him there and everywhere we took pictures...pictures...pictures. I got pictures of the family from every possible angle. Now that the season is over and smoke is still coming out of the camera, let me share some of the highlights.

- Thanksgiving - We enjoyed our annual tradition of feasting and giving thanks at The Grammatico's of East Clover Circle. With Uncle John at the bar, Auntie Mikki at the stove, and Auntie Jo Jo's lasagna starting things off, it's no wonder they are booked solid every year.

- Auntie Carrie's Visit - Olivia’s godmother Carrie came to NYC. She relied on her style consultant Olivia to make sure she looked her best before going out for a night on the town in the big apple.

- "Halloween House" - Halloween was over in October, but it’s spirit lives on. Olivia and her dad made a gingerbread haunted house together in early December. Scary, late, but yummy!

- Santa - Olivia went to visit Santa at the Mall. Santa was so happy that she had been ‘good’ that he came for an early visit to Poppy’s house courtesy of the Orange fire department.

- Christmas Eve - All dressed up with someplace to go. The Calamita’s headed to Renee and Danny’s house for the annual Annicelli Christmas Eve Seafood Festival. Olivia had a great time playing with her cousin Ashley. The girls got really excited when Santa paid a surprise visit.

- Christmas Day - As always, Margaret and Joey opened their home on Christmas day. A new addition to the menu was a delicious Italian wedding soup, homemade by Margaret’s father Vince. With a meal that would serve an entire kingdom, everyone left the table full of Christmas cheer. But wait there’s more…a chocolate fountain, and let’s not forget the cannoli explosion.

- Other Holiday Photos - Here's some more holiday photos that don't fit into a big group. We have Olivia and Poppy, our apartment decorations in New York, Olivia the "football fan" and some pictures at the Fantasy Of Lights in New Haven.

- Visit to Carrie & Pete's - The holiday festivities continued after Christmas, because it was off to Carrie and Pete’s house for another fabulous meal by master chef Carolyn Gaetano. Olivia was too full, so she spent some quality time with ‘Cousin Jackie’.

- Olivia Visit's Alice & Chris - Before we said goodbye to 2007, Olivia celebrated with her new friend Alice. Alice’s mom Chris and Emily have been friends for more years than they wish to discuss. Olivia and Alice had so much fun together that Alice and her mom are planning to come to NYC this summer for a visit. Alice wants Olivia to take her to some great places to eat. I don’t think that will be a problem.

Tags: Olivia, D'Agostino, Carrie, Thanksgiving

I'm posting these pictures a little late but, whatever. The summer of 2007 came to a close with our vacation in the Pocono’s courtesy of the Tepper family. We started out at a wonderful amusement park called Land of Make Believe. There, Olivia may have broken the world record for rides on the tilt-a-whirl. Most of our time was spent swimming at the lake. Then, our friends the Hettrich’s arrived for a visit and the fun continued with more swimming, bowling and a trip to the county fair. The summer ended on a fantastic note! Enjoy the photos!

Tags: Poconos, Vacation

If you are near New Haven in December, you should stop by Lighthouse Point and see the annual Fantasy of Lights. It's a leisurly drive through an enchanted fantasy land of enormous holiday light displays and music. You'll drive through the park past waving snowmen, teddy bears having snowball wars, or elves frolicking in and out of the dazzling imagery that sets the tone for the winter holiday season. We took Poppy and Olivia through the fun and while we were there we said hello to our cousins Nikki & Maureen and our friends Bobby & Judy who volunteer for it every year. The proceeds go to the Easter Seals organization. Its well worth the trip and will get you in the holiday spirit. Happy Holidays!!!

Tags: D'Agostino, Holidays

Everyone had a ball at Logan's 6th birthday party at Chelsea Piers. It didn't matter if you got a strike because their were trophies for all. From the pizza to all the juice and soda you could drink, and finally a yummy cold stone creamery ice cream cake, a wonderful time was had by all. Not even a car fire and massive traffic jam on the West Side Highway could stop us Upper Westsider's from getting our bowling shoes on and partying. Enjoy the pictures and movies!

Tags: Logan, Olivia

In celebration of Jojo and Sal’s 50th wedding anniversary, a fabulous party was thrown by Nikki, Maureen and Sal at Maureen and Nikki’s home. Luckily the happy couple didn’t have to go far to attend the party, since they now live next door. Family and friends filled the house with happiness for Uncle Sally and Auntie Jojo. The living room was transformed into a dance floor complete with a live band. The kitchen was cooking with incredible food. And when you needed to cool down you could step out onto the deck for a drink.

All in all, a golden night for a truly golden couple.

Enjoy all of the pictures of the festivities!

Tags: Jojo, Sally, Murgo, Party

Doctor Olivia, Gemma the Cowgirl and a Transformer named Logan gathered in the lobby on October 31st for the annual Halloween festivities in Olivia's building. It was packed with kids, parents, grandparents and the usual assortment of residents stepping over kids just trying to get home. The party featured music, clowns, balloon animals, chips & Pizza! Following that, everyone went trick or treating through the building. Fun...fun...fun. Enjoy the photos and movies! Earlier in the day, Olivia celebrated "Orange Day" at her school, where everyone dressed up in something orange and they had more fun and games .

Tags: Halloween, Olivia, Gemma, Logan

We thought we going to Carrie's for a simple Sunday supper of chicken stew. As always Fairygodmother Carrie gave Olivia a little gift. In turn Olivia had bought Carrie a little autumnal centerpiece for her kitchen. We all were gathered around the kitchen island when Meredith and her boyfriend Kevin walked in and announced they something to tell everyone...They're engaged!!! Enjoy the dinner photos!

While the stew was simmering and the the wedding planning began...

Lucy and Olivia went on their first play date to the park. Pete used his sling shot to launch tennis balls for Lucy to fetch while Olivia had fun honing her climbing skills on the jungle gym. Here are some pictures of the play date fun!

Tags: Carrie, Olivia, Meredith

Did you know that...

The muscles in your heart have the power to shoot blood 10 feet in the air.

Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

The body's strongest muscle is out tongue.

Statistically, people are more afraid of spiders than of dying.

All polar bears are left handed.

Crocodiles can't stick out their tongue.

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Cockroaches can live 9 days without their heads. It only dies because it can't eat.

Duck's quacks have no echo. Nobody knows why.

Each King on a deck of playing cards represents a real king...
-Spades - King David
-Clubs - Alexander the great
-Hearts - Charlemagne
-Diamonds - Julius Cesar

It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

1111,111,1111 x 1111,1111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

Starfish have no brains.

A statue in a part with a soldier on a horse with two feet in the air means the soldier died in combat.
-If the horse has only one foot in the air, the soldier died of injuries from combat.
-If the horse has all four feet on the ground, the soldier died of natural causes.

Mosquitoes have teeth.

Thomas Edison was afraid of the dark.

Tags: Humor

I found a really interesting photo web site the other day. Blogger.com, the blog hosting site, has a page that shows a continual, never-ending stream of images that were just uploaded to its public blogs. The variety of images, from silly snapshots to professional set-ups to serious photos is really compelling, fun and at times a bit mesmerizing. The site is http://play.blogger.com/. For more info, Blogger has a page set up with a more detailed explanation of what it is here. Take a quick look...you won't be disappointed.

Tags: Blogger, Photos, Web

Our friend Michael Lengyel has acted in a number of independent films over the last couple of years. Have a look at his work on his reel that he posted on YouTube. I've seen one of the films, the first featured in the reel, where Mike reports to work at his office, after it's been hit by a nuclear bomb (!) It's a great film.

Tags: Lengyel, Actor, Reel

This past summer we took what has become our annual summer trek to Coney Island with Olivia and our friends Rich & Shannon. Rich & I rode the Cyclone; Shannon & Olivia joined us on the Wonder Wheel; Olivia rode lots of rides at Deno's; we "lunched" at Totonno's and of course we went to Astroland. Astroland's property was bought by a developer, and after it closed this fall, it may never reopen. The developer wants to build something much slicker and sterile than the current version of Coney Island. Although there is still hope for Coney Island, when big business and big real estate comes a-callin, it never looks good.

Tags: Olivia, Coney Island, Rich & Shannon

Olivia's friend Gemma had a her Sixth Birthday Party in Riverside Park. One of the teacher's from their pre-school, Miss Jeanne came and led all sorts of activities like 3-legged races and a parachute "throw". There was cupcakes, fruit, juice and fun for all!! Here are lots of pictures and movies. Enjoy!!

Tags: Gemma, Olivia

This past summer we took Poppy to the Trolley Museum in Branford, where Poppy took me when I was a kid. We took a trolly ride, had a tour through the car barns and then, of course, took a spin through the gift shop. Here are some pictures and movies. Enjoy!!

Tags: Trains, Olivia, Poppy

We had a really fun and busy holiday season last year. First, here's some movies from all of the holiday festivities. What would Christmas be without Santa visiting Poppy's house. The reindeer were resting so the firefighters pitched in and gave Santa a ride around town in a fire engine. Olivia got a present! Here's some pictures. On Christmas Eve, we went to the Annicelli's where Googie and Rene cooked the pasta together and Olivia played with Ashley. Santa made another appearance, so guess what. Another present! Here are some pictures of Christmas Eve. And after we opened presents Christmas morning we spent the day with the Murgos and Grammaticos at Joe and Margaret's house. We had lots of food and Olivia had lots of fun playing with her cousins and dancing with the mechanical Santa. Here are some pictures of Christmas day. Enjoy the movies and photos and happy belated Holidays! (In August !?!?)

Tags: Christmas, D'Agostino

Olivia's friend Matthew had his sixth birthday party at Bowlmor Lanes in the village. Lot's her friend from the Weekday School were there. It was a wild time and was pretty funny watching all of the little kids throwing those big balls. It was actually Olivia's second time bowling. Since then, she has been bowling a few more times. Here's some pictures of the party.

Tags: Matthew

Last Halloween was a very busy one for Olivia. First, she went to the Pumpkin Festival in Orange, then she participated in "Orange Day" at her school, where everyone dressed up in something orange. And finally, her friend Gemma came over and they celebrated Halloween in our building. Gemma was a princess and Olivia was Dorthy from the Wizard Of Oz. First they went to the party in the lobby, where there was music, clowns & Pizza! Following that, everyone went trick or treating through the building. Fun...fun...fun. Enjoy the photos!

Tags: Halloween, Gemma

Last Thanksgiving, we spent the day at Auntie Mikki's and Uncle John's, as is our tradition. The Murgo's were there as were all of the Grammatico's (of course!) Enjoy all of the photos. There are some great ones of Matthew, Todd and Olivia!

Tags: Thanksgiving, D'Agostino

We had a really great holiday Dinner at Olivia's Aunt Sylvia last fall. Audrey & Lige were there as were all of Sylvia's friends. Lot's of food and reminiscing, especially when Sylvia brought out the old photo albums. Of course, Olivia didn't want to miss a trick. Here are some photos.

Tags: Audrey, Sylvia

Last August, we spent a week in the Poconos at a house of good friends of Millie's. While there, we went to the GDS Fair, a country fair and carnival; a water park; outlet shopping and spent a lot of time in the pool. At the fair, there were lots of rides, the "worlds biggest ice cream sunday," folk music, crafts and a really weird bus that's been rebuilt to look like a steam train, complete with a coal car "rumble seat" section. Lots of fun. Enjoy the pictures.

Tags: Poconos

This really great set of pictures capture some fun and random moments from throughout 2006. There are shots at home, at the playground, Sesame Place, the Poconos, Poppy's and various festivals and events in Connecticut and New York. A lot of them are from our camera phones, so they look a little fuzzy, but are still great pictures. Have a look here.

Tags: Photos

Last August, Matthew celebrated his first birthday party where he enjoyed munching on cheese doodles and birthday cake. Some Grammatico cousins enjoyed playing softball while his cousins Olivia and Todd romped in the bouncy tent. When things got too hot, everyone took a dip in the pool. It was a wonderful afternoon. Enjoy the photos!

Tags: Matthew

Lot's of parties in July and August for Olivia's friends. First, Gemma visited Poppy's house in Orange and we had a little birthday party for her, then Elias had a party at his apartment.

In August, Emma had a Princess Party in a mini "castle" on the East Side. Then Hava had a great "Build-a-Bear" party and finally Annika and Julius had a party at their house in Hastings. Fun fun fun!

Each year around this time we have our family picnic. And each year it is long enough to entail all three meals plus snacks and this year was no different. We started the morning bright and early at the Grammatico's for breakfast and were there until after dinner and dessert. As usual, Olivia wouldn't get out of the pool and Emily ended up a little water logged. A good time had by all? Absolutly! Enjoy the photos. I'll have some movies up by early next week.

Tags: D'Agostino

Last fall Auntie Nettie and Uncle Al were thrown a great anniversary party by their family. Everyone was there and the dancing, drinking and partying went well into the night. Here are some great photos of the memorable and wonderful event. Enjoy.

Last fall Pete threw Carrie a surprise birthday party at Sur La Table, a high end "kitchen store" that has a dining room. When you have a dinner there, all of the guests help to cook the dinner then sit down to a great meal (with wine, of course). We all had a great time. Enjoy the photos!

Tags: Carrie

My poor neglected website. How I've betrayed you! With updated software that makes it much easier to update the site and post pictures, I present the triumphant return of Calamita.Com with great photos of our recent trip to Coney Island via a 1925 era subway train compliments of the New York Transit Museum fan trip that was a Father's Day gift from Olivia and Emily. Also, we have pictures of apple picking at Wilkens Farm in Yorktown Heights, NY. And there's also some great pictures from Olivia's Thanksgiving celebration at her school. And finally we have photos from last Thanksgiving dinner at the Grammatico's. Enjoy.

I tested posting movies on YouTube instead of here, to conserve space and banwith. It's posted here.

Tags: Web

The odds of being attacked by a shark in the United States are 1 in 10 million.

The odds of dying from a pedestrian accident are 1 in 47,273.

The odds of dying from a fall from a ladder or scaffold are 1 in 709,215.

The odds of being struck by lightning in any given year are 1 in 700,000.

The odds of dying from a fireworks accident are 1 in 57,588,244.

The odds of dying from being bitten or struck by a dog are 1 in 15,966,734.

The odds of drowning in a bathtub are 1 in 818,015.

The odds of dying from being burned by hot tap water are 1 in 7,198,531.

The odds of dying from contact with poisonous spiders are 1 in 28,794,122.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 146,107,962.

Sixty years ago this month, the Eniac computer was introduced. It wasn't the first computer, but is one of the most famous from that era. This year, Intel introduced the Core Duo micro processor, which is being installed in many of this years new laptops, including Apple's MacBook Pro. CNET published a really interesting comparison of what state of the art computing power is today vs. 1946. This is the comparison chart, along with a link to an equally interesting article along with some photos and videos of the ENIAC and some other old computers.

Tags: Web

Here are some "new" photos from last fall.

Halloween was a big event this year, a week long extravaganza, actually! First her school had it's annual Halloween party on the roof of the building, complete with a hay ride and the costume parade. Then it was on to Sesame Place for their annual Halloween day, which is always a blast. And then it was our building's Haloween party and trick or treating through the building. Emily helped organize the party in the lobby. "Trick or Treating" in NYC is a very efficient affair, at least in our building. First, people put their names on a sign up sheet if they are going hand out candy. Then, during the party, someone will type up and copy a list of the apartments that have candy. At the end of the party, the kids tend to go upstairs in groups, so the whole thing is over pretty quickly. Here are the Halloween pictures.

Also, we have photos of the "Jamma Ramma Concert" which featured kids bands that are on the Noggin cable channel. It was unbelievably crowded and was in Roseland Ballroom, which is huge. Olivia had a great time as you can see. Here are some pictures.

Finally, here are some pictures from here and there that I took last fall.

Last fall Olivia (and Mommy & Daddy) went to see "Baby Matthew" (as she calls him) and we spent the afternoon at Michael & Michele's. I finially got around to posting some photos here.

I've let this page linger for too long. Lots of updates comming over the next few weeks. Movies. Pictures. The whole packkage!

Recently, Emily turned 40 years old. Her Mom & I threw her a surprise party a couple of weeks after her birthday at the Terrace In The Sky, a restauraunt on the Upper West Side near Columbia on the top floor of an apartment building. We had drinks on their terrace, with their incredible view of the city and then had lunch in their glass enclosed dning room. We told Emily we were going to the restaurant to have lunch with my cousin. I guess that was true, to a point, since Sal was at the party. And so was his sister Nikki, Maureen, Rich, Shannon and my Dad, from Connecticut; Bill & Marco from Boston; Vivian & Yvonne from New Jersey; Inez from the Bronx; Audrey from Queens; Mary Helen from the burbs; Kimberly from DC; and of course the locals from Manhattan...Jackie, Sandra, Millie, Joan, Mara, Ronnie, Susan, Sylvia & Paul. They traveled far and wide (or just a few blocks) for the festive day. Emily says she wasn't surprised, but I'm a little sceptical! Here are some pictures of the party.

Megan had her 12th Birthday Party last weekend. Olivia and Poppy were invited along with lots of her family and friends. We had cake, and played games and Olivia watched Julie make a tornado out of two soda bottles. Here are some pictures and movies. Cake for everyone!

Yesterday we took our second trip of the season to Coney Island, this time accompanied by Rich and Shannon. Olivia absolutely loves the place, and I realized yesterday that except for Sesame Place near Philadelphia, this is the only amusement park she has been to. How New York of us! Last time, we spent most of the day at Deno's, where the Wonder Wheel is, but yesterday we also went to Astroland for the first time and discovered that it has much better kiddie rides than Denos, not to mention The Cyclone rollercoaster. It wouldn't be a trip to Coney Island for us without stopping at Totanno's Pizza, whose pies are close to Wooster Street, certainly the best in NYC. Here are some pictures and movies from yesterday.

Tags: Olivia, Coney Island, Rich & Shannon

Last Sunday, July 3, the D'Agostinos had our annual family picnic at Joe and Margaret's. I took a bunch of photos and used the opportunity to build a D'Agostino page with pictures from past picnics, some Christmas days, Easter Sundays etc. Click here for the pictures and here for a few small movies I posted.

I'll be adding more pictures soon, as I dig them out of boxes and from my old computer.

While you are here please send me a message and let me know you've visited our home page.

Check out the new movies I just added!

I'm still tweaking this site and its look. Post your comments and suggestions below.

I added a bunch of photos from parties of Olivia's friends. Also, some pics of Aunt "Yo's" birthday.

(AP) - The VCR, unquestionably the world's first popular device that allowed people to record television in their homes, died today in a discount bin at Best Buy. It was exactly 30 years old at the time of its death. Long suffering from extreme price reductions that resulted in nonexistent profit margins, the VCR's parents finally pulled the plug on their progeny's life support, turning to newer alternatives in DVD and hard disk recorders. The videocassette recorder leaves behind a legacy of "Be kind, rewind" stickers, shelves sagging with once-watched tapes, frequent trips to the repair shop, and eventually, the dumpster; it will be remembered by its devotees as a source of endless rental movie enjoyment and occasional late fees. The VCR is survived by its four children: the TiVo DVR, age 6; the DVD recorder, age 6; the DVD-R/hard disk recorder, age 4; and the combo DVD-R/VCR, age 3. (Just kidding…this is from CNET.)

We changed our web hosting service to DreamHost this morning. Let's see how things work out...

Check out this interesting flash movie of a Google controlled world, circa 2014. It mixes fact, fiction, Orwellian themes and fantasy about, basically, Google and Amazon merging to form Googlezon. Interesting and funny...

http://oak.psych.gatech.edu/%7Eepic/ols-mattrobin-flash.swf

We're testing the RSS feature. Is it working?

Here's some actual blog stuff...



Today in History:
06/07 (Eugene Henri) Paul Gaugin born, 1848
06/07 George Bryan "Beau" Brummel born, 1778
06/07 Alan Mathison Turing died, 1954
06/07 Blind Faith debuts in concert at London's Hyde Park, 1969

Today in History:
06/04 Roquefort cheese developed, 1070
06/04 Emancipation Day in Tonga
06/04 Queen's Birthday in New Zealand

My 40th was in September. Here's some photos.

This is my first blog entry. Welcome me into the world of blogging.