Kidtoons (National Amusements Theatres)

The National Amusements chain of movie theaters offers a number of "special programs" that give you a chance to do something different than simply going to all the latest Hollywood releases. I've written before (in Movies, Memories and My Dad) about the Silver Screen program--a great series of old (mostly Public Domain) movies that's geared mainly to the senior crowd. They also offer plenty of live broadcasts of various events (concerts, operas, sporting events...). One series that I have been missing for a while is the "Attack of the B-Movies" series, but that's a topic for another time... Anyway, as one might expect, National Amusements also has a number of special programs for kids. There's "The Popcorn Club", "Book Worm Wednesdays" (where kids get free admission to a movie with a book report), and "Kidtoons" among the offerings. This blog will focus on Kidtoons, but information on all the other special programs (as well as participating theaters where they're seen) can be found at the National Amusements website.

I've mentioned before that I don't subject The Little Monster to a constant diet of monster and horror movies. I DO want her to grow up to be a "normal" person and won't want to warp her sense of reality or anything. One of our favorite father-daughter activities of the past few months has been the Kidtoon shows. We started going in February and, other than missing a couple months recently, have been going ever since. The series itself has been running for about four years, so I guess we're late-comers to the party.

Our tickets for today's show

So what is the Kidtoons series? Well, the second weekend of every month select National Amusements theaters offer the program. It runs on both Saturday and Sunday at noon. For only $3.50 per ticket you get to take your kids to a G-rated program. Most of the features we've seen so far have been direct-to-DVD type fare rather than theatrically released movies, but they've all been good fun for The Little Monster. In addition to the low admission price you're also given one coupon per child for a $3.50 Kids Combo, or "Go Box" (a Happy-Meal type box that includes a small popcorn, small drink and a choice of M&M's, fruit snack or snack mix). I believe that these boxes can be purchased at any time, but the regular price is something like $7.00. This means that The Little Monster and I can go to a show and get some snacks for only $10.50 in total ($3.50 for each ticket, plus $3.50 for the Kids Combo). That's less than normal price for a regular movie ticket!

The Go Box (Kids Combo) discount coupon

And the Go Box itself

Contents of the Go Box

We just went to Kidtoons today (July 10th) and watched a Babar video that was featured (which may have come from a recent Barbar TV show that I'm not familiar with). It was a series of short episodes called "Barbar and the Adventrues of Badou: Swing into Summer". Like most of the Kidtoons shows we've been to, this one was a computer animated show (rather than the traditional-style animation of the old Barbar show I remember watching on TV as a kid). Other shows we've seen have included "Barbie: A Fairy Secret", "The Little Engine that Could" and "The Strawberry Shortcake Movie: Sky's the Limit". No, none of them have been "Star Wars" or "Godzilla" movies, but still we've had a great time at all of the ones we've been to so far and hope to get to many more. They tend to have some shows that appeal more to girls (Barbie, Strawberry Shortcake...) and some that might appeal more to boys (The Little Engine that Could, Thomas the Tank Engine...), but luckily The Little Monster is open to pretty much any and all cartoon-based entertainment. She's good like that.

The poster for today's Kidtoons show

And a clearer look at the image on the poster

Heading into the theater

The Little Monster's got her Go Box and is ready to start the show!

SHOWTIME!

And, I should also mention that you don't just get the featured movie or show for that $3.50 ticket price either. As you leave the theater they ask you if you will be joining them for Story Time. If the answer is yes they give you another ticket/coupon to bring to the area where Story Time will be taking place. A staff member chats with the kids a bit and reads a couple books to them. Then the kids sit down to do some coloring. Crayons and sheets for coloring (usually with pictures from--or related to--the show they just watched) are provided. Each kid also gets a slice of pizza too! You simply get in line and give them the ticket/coupon they gave you when you left the movie and they give you pizza for your kid(s). Not only that, but if you put your child's name on the back of the ticket/coupon, they raffle off the books that they had read to the kids during Story Time. This means that for just $10.50 The Little Monster and I get to see a movie (or show), eat some movie snacks, hear some books read, do some coloring, eat some pizza (at least The Monster gets pizza anyway) AND get a chance at winning a free book! The Little Monster actually won the raffle for the "The Little Engine that Could" book that was read at Story Time the day of that show a few months ago! And, of course, it's also just a nice way for us to have some special time together as father and daughter. We will get back to the monster movies soon enough I'm sure...

The Little Monster with her pizza ticket before Story Time

Coloring after the book reading at Story Time

And enjoying a slice of pizza!

Well, that's about all there is to say about our Kidtoons adventure. Please check the website for National Amusements for up-to-date information about what movie will be showing next (and which theaters are participating in the series). I would like to finish up with a few more photos from our trip out to the movies today...

Here's our local movie theater: The Blackstone Valley 14 Cinema De Lux in Millbury (MA)

The cinema has two parking lots--I like to use the one around back because it has a long hallway plastered with posters for upcoming movies. Not only that, but it also leads to...

...A giant window overlooking the lower parking lot and with a nice view into the distance

The Little Monster likes to look at the cars from this window before we head down the escalator to the lobby on the first floor (and afterwards too). These were taken on our way out after the show.

All the excitement was too much for The Little Monster and she conked out on the way home

Drive-In Super Monster-Rama 2011

The 2011 edition of the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama at the Riverside Drive-In in North Vandergrift, PA is rapidly approaching. It's coming up on Friday, September 9th and Saturday, September 10th. While the movies were announced a while back, I kind of thought I had plenty of time to report on the show. All of a sudden it's only a mere two months away! Just like a schlocky monster or psycho killer in a cheesy 1960s drive-in B-movie, the Monster-Rama has crept up on me and pounced. Suddenly I'm scrambling to make sure that I'll be able to go to this awesome show.

2011 marks the fifth year of the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. It's a nice little anniversary and it shows how this event is quickly growing into an institution for drive-in movie fans across the country. The majority of the audience seems to come from Pennsylvania, but plenty of people make the effort to plan ahead so they can make the long drive from all over the place. Last year was the first time I've been lucky enough to make it there. I live in Massachusetts, so it's not the easiest thing to arrange a trip like this. I hitched a ride with some friends (and Monster-Rama veterans) who were coming from even further away than myself (New Hampshire). It's definitely worth the effort if you can possibly make it happen. There simply aren't a lot of drive-ins putting on this kind of a nostalgic retro-show these days. Of course, there aren't a lot of drive-in theaters even still in business these days at all compared to the time the movies featured in the Monster-Rama first made the rounds in the 1960s and 70s. All the more reason to make a pilgrimage to this show.

So what is the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama anyway? Well George Reis and the folks at DVD Drive-In have been putting the show together the past five years, and the good people of the Riverside Drive-In make their theater available for it each year. The drive-in normally ends its season after Labor Day weekend. They stay open for one more week for the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. While it's a labor of love more than a money-making venture for either party, the relationship works out very well for everyone (including the drive-in and movie fans who go to the show).

Over two nights in September (Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9 this year) eight movies are screened at the Riverside. Yes, you read that right--EIGHT movies. Four films are shown each night, along with a whole slew of other entertainment. There are cartoons and shorts between the movies, along with lots of nostalgic old drive-in intermission ads and tons of great (and sometimes rare) trailers for all kinds of movies that would have been shown at drive-ins in the 1960s and 70s. The trailers are heavy on horror and monsters of course, but you're also likely to see biker movies, beach movies and some random surprises that you might not have expected--just to keep you on your toes!

Four movies in a single night (along with all that other ancillary entertainment) makes for a looooong night. Luckily, there are other things to do if you feel the need to get up and stretch your legs. Many people have become regulars at the Monster-Rama and there is a lot of visiting between cars with people catching up and discussing drive-ins and movies. The Riverside's snack bar also remains open throughout the entire show--meaning you can snack on all kinds of drive-in fare whenever you feel the need. Along with the usual popcorn, candy, nachos, hamburgers and hot dogs, the Riverside also features french fries, pizza, chicken sandwiches and many other goodies. There's enough variety that you can eat different stuff all throughout both nights of the show. Here's the Riverside's menu to give you a better idea of what they have to offer:

There is another reason to go to the snack bar besides food though. Creepy Classics also sets up shop in the building with tables filled with books, magazines, posters, T-shirts, toys and more DVDs than you can shake a stick at! It seems to take all of both nights to get through all of the dozens of boxes of DVDs they have stacked up on the tables. The titles range from common stuff you can find in most stores to very rare stuff you'd have a tough time tracking down anywhere else. ...Oh yeah, the Riverside also has a couple cool vintage pinball machines that really complete the whole retro vibe.

So how much does all this fun and entertainment cost? Well, the organizers realize that many people are traveling a good distance to get to the show so they try to keep the price down. Tickets are only ten dollars a person per night. That works out to only $2.50 per movie, not including all the rest of the filmed entertainment you'll see up on the giant screen. Like I said, they're more interested in putting on a good show and trying to establish a nice following than making money off the event. It's not a cheap show to put on either. Everything that is projected on the screen (not only the movies but also the short subjects, intermission and drive-in ads and all the trailers) is coming from 35mm film stock. It would be incredibly easy (and a lot cheaper) to simply project an image from a DVD, but these people are film fans who take their movies seriously. They wouldn't want to see a DVD projected on the screen, and they wouldn't ask people to drive hundreds of miles to go to a drive-in to watch DVDs projected onto a big screen. Nope, everything you'll see at a Drive-In Super Monster-Rama is projected the same as it would have been back in the 1960s/70s heyday of drive-in horror shows like this. It's a very nice touch--and the show wouldn't be nearly as special without it.

So what are the movies that will be featured at this year's Drive-In Super Monster-Rama? Well, the films that will be shown on the first night (Friday, September 9) are:

Boris Karloff in Black Sabbath (1963)

Vincent Price in The Last Man on Earth (1964)

Barbara Steele in Castle of Blood (1964)

Island of the Doomed (1967)

And the second night of the show (Saturday, September 10) will feature the following movies:

Vincent Price in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Price again in Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in I, Monster (1971)

For me personally this is a great lineup. I've seen (or at least remember seeing) exactly half of the eight movies (the first two of each night). This gives me a great variety of films I'm familiar with and enjoy, as well as some "new" stuff that I will be experiencing for the first time. And I'll be able to experience ALL of them as they were originally intended to be seen--on the big screen. The four movies I have already seen were all watched on DVD, so it will be a whole new ballgame seeing them up on the Riverside's giant screen.

I should also mention that the Riverside offers overnight camping at the drive-in for both nights of the show for only ten dollars per night. Not only would it be a very cool thing to be able to say you camped out at a drive-in, it's also another money-saving perk for those coming from a long distance who already have to worry about paying for all that gas. If spending the money on a decent hotel/motel for your stay is a deal breaker, then it might be worth looking into the Riverside's camping offer. See the website for the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama 2011 for more details.

I'm tentatively planning on going to the Monster-Rama again this year. If it all comes together and I do indeed get to go, I'm hoping to see a lot of returning fans as well as a bunch of new people experiencing the fun and frights that a Monster-Rama offers for the very first time (as I did myself last year). It's simply a great time, and if you are a fan of old movies like these and/or a fan of drive-ins then it really is a must.

For a more detailed look at what a Drive-In Super Monster-Rama entails, please check out my three-part look back at last year's (2010) show:

2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama

This one gives a general overview of the whole event

2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama: Part II

A detailed look at what was onscreen during the first night of the show

2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama: Part III

A look at the second night (which was dampened a bit last year by rain)

And, here's a promotional video about this year's show:

Like the song says, See You in September!

Sparklers on the Fourth of July!

TV Guide cover from July 1976

(And there's a reason I picked that year's Fourth of July cover...)

Listening to the sounds of far-off fireworks going of in the distance on a hot summer night near the Fourth of July brings back many memories of Fourths gone by. As a kid I always loved hearing those distant fireworks popping, cracking and exploding as the Fourth of July approached. These sounds came from both big-time professional fireworks in other towns and smaller backyard displays around the neighborhood. I liked playing Army when I was young and the "sound effects" made the perfect background for a pretend battle. Hearing those summer sounds today brings back those old memories and also makes me think of how the Fourth is different (and also the same) for The Little Monster compared to when I was a Monster Kid.

I don't really recall a lot of well-established Fourth of July rituals and traditions in my family. I'm sure we did have some (like our other holiday parties and get-togethers throughout the year), but it seems like they were starting to fade out by the time I came around (I was the youngest of nine children). I do recall some summer cookouts that might have very well been on or around the Fourth. I also remember at least a couple of times that fireworks were brought to our house and set off (and a vague memory of the scary time my sister was burned by one of those fireworks). And I remember going out to firework displays and bonfires in various locales. It seems like every Fourth of July from my early years was different, but the memories are all jumbled and interchangeable in my mind. All except one...

In 1976 I was six when July 4th rolled around. Needless to say, that was a BIG year for the Fourth. America was celebrating its 200th anniversary. The celebration lasted through most of 1975 and 1976, but the country's "real" 200th birthday was on July 4, 1976 of course. I have always had a snippet of a memory that I can't quite confirm is from that Fourth of July, but I'm almost positive that it was. My family was sitting by the side of the road in my hometown of Uxbridge, Massachusetts waiting for the Bicentennial parade to go by. I don't really remember much from the parade itself (or what we did before or after it for that matter) but it always seemed like that was what we were there for. The location is interesting because it wasn't on or near the town's Common--which is where I remember watching nearly every parade I ever saw in town as a kid. This was at the end of a street near where my oldest sister and uncle lived.

It seems a pretty safe bet that this little fragment of a memory is indeed from 1976--mainly because the Fourth of July celebrations in my town didn't usually include a parade. The sheer differentness of this fact is probably why I remember it. And perhaps it's also why I don't remember anything else from that year's celebration. For the most part the rest of my early Fourth of July memories are interchangeable and could be from pretty much any Fourth of July from the mid- to late-1970s. This parade memory is such a fleeting and isolated memory that I feel I need to "exercise" it to make sure it stays with me. It seems that every year at this time I recall this special parade, but now I'm kind of afraid that the only real memory I (believe) I have from the Bicentennial might fade as it's replaced with other information constantly filling my head. I liken the "exercising" of this memory to taking a stick out of a campfire and blowing on the glowing embers at the end to keep them from going out. It won't be long before the ember will grow dark and cold if you forget to blow on them. I don't want that to happen to my little Bicentennial recollection.

Now it's time to discuss what's different about today's Fourth of July celebrations. Obviously the 1970s and the 2010s differ in many ways. But for the most part, my personal memories of Fourth of July celebrations from my youth are filled with things pretty similar to the stuff The Little Monster is experiencing now: family, friends, food, fun, and fireworks. Up until this year The Little Monster was terrified of fireworks and wanted nothing to do with them or their noise. Two nights ago we took the girls to our town's Fourth of July celebration and fireworks display. The Little Monster put on a brave face all day, insisting that she did indeed want to see the fireworks, but we had our doubts. I'm happy to report that she had a great time (even though we were relatively close to the action--and the noise). She didn't cry at all, and barely even covered her ears!

So, if The Little Monster's Fourth of July experiences are so similar to my early ones, then what exactly is different? One word... SPARKLERS! I remember that every Fourth of July celebration when I was growing up included sparklers for the kids to go along with the fireworks the adults would be setting off. How I loved waving those magical things around in the air, watching the sparks fly. Those little metal wands which looked (and acted) quite a bit like welding rods were an important part of those long-ago celebrations. Apparently they have been deemed too dangerous for kids over the past couple of decades, and you don't seem to see them much anymore (at least not in Massachusetts). I can kind of understand this. After all, these "toys" were ignited with fire (matches or a lighter) and then threw off a shower of real, honest-to-goodness sparks. They were also red-hot while in full glory. I never witnessed anyone being hurt by sparklers, but I'm sure some kids did get careless with them and got burned.

Back in the 1970s getting burned by a sparkler would be considered learning a valuable lesson (I'm sure those kids that got burned were a lot more careful the next time--if they ever picked up another sparkler). These days the possibility of getting hurt--and the ensuing lawsuits--make the fun and excitement of playing with sparklers (a fun which was indeed heightened by the potential dangerousness) something that kids today probably don't get a chance to experience. Understandable to some extent, but kind of sad. I suppose that there are a lot of glow sticks and battery-operated blinking and glowing toys that parents can buy for their kids to wave around at parades and fireworks displays, but it's just not the same.

Note to self: Next year, make it a point to track down and buy a package of sparklers for the Fourth of July!

And, finally, here's a look at our town's celebration of this year's Fourth of July, including just a few moments from the parade as well as part of the fireworks show. This fireworks show was the first one for our Littlest Monster. And it also marked the first time that The Little Monster didn't cover her ears and cry herself through a fireworks display. A special moment, and a special new Fourth of July memory indeed!

UPDATE:

It turns out that I was wrong about the memory of the parade as being in 1976 for the Bicentennial. Further research into the past has revealed the truth. Read it here:

Sparklers on the Fourth: Upon Further Review...

Movies on the Common 2011 (Worcester, MA)

Well, once again I've managed to miss an opportunity to blog about an upcoming event (see the three-part look back on the 2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama that I finally got around to writing about nine months later). A group called Worcester Film Works is putting on a series of free movie screenings on the Worcester (MA) Common this summer. The first show was tonight (in fact, it's still probably going on as I start this blog). While it's too late to let people know about tonight's show, the good news is that this is going to be a three-movie series. This means that anyone who reads this and might be interested in attending one of these shows has two more opportunities to do so!

I only recently heard about the 2011 Movies on the Common series, and apparently it was only recently organized by the folks at Worcester Film Works. From talking to members of the group tonight this is something they've been wanting to make happen for a while now. For something only recently put together it was a very nice first effort. The weather tonight (which WFW obviously has no control over) was just about perfect--a warm evening that turned into a pleasantly cool night, no humidity, no precipitation. They couldn't have asked Mother Nature for a better night to start their series.

We showed up around 7:00, with the show scheduled to start at dusk (approximately 8:30). The audience was modest but enthusiastic when we arrived. Over the next hour-an-a-half the crowd swelled to a nice size--especially for a first-time event. I'm not good at estimating crowd numbers, but there were easily a hundred people present by the time the movie started. A couple vendors were present too: Sweet Sister Ice Cream was there with their ice cream truck, and Main Street's Theatre Cafe was there with various sandwiches for sale. We got ice cream for The Monsters, but didn't indulge in the sandwiches this time (though I'm sure they were tasty). Worcester Film Works had a table set up too. They had a popcorn machine there to sell popcorn to the viewing audience. Unfortunately, in what must have been the worst glitch of the first night, the popcorn machine didn't work. Through quick thinking they were able to solve the problem: they ran out, bought a bunch of bags of Smart Food Popcorn and filled the machine with that! Just before the movie started paper bags of Smart Food were selling for a buck apiece. You can't have a movie without popcorn after all!

As for the movie, tonight's feature was "Grease" (1978), which was a nice choice. Not only is it a classic, crowd-pleasing movie that I actually remember watching at the drive-in when it first came out, but it also goes very nicely with this weekend's big annual New England Summer Nationals car show in Worcester which starts tomorrow (July 1, 2011). I was expecting one of those inflatable movie screens to be set up, but was pleasantly surprised to instead see a huge screen set up right behind City Hall. I'm also not good at estimating screen sizes, but it was BIG (see photos below). There were colored lights running up both sides of the screen and the movie was projected from behind. It was a very nice set-up. I suppose that if I had to pick something to gripe about, it would be that the projector being behind the screen meant that there was a circle of bright light from it visible onscreen during the feature. While this wasn't ideal, it was actually less distracting than one might expect. I guess that since it's so blatantly right in your field of view your brain kind of tunes it out. Every once in a while you'd remember it was there when the action of the movie was centered where the light was, but in general it wasn't much of a nuisance at all. On the plus side, the projector being behind the screen also meant that the entire area in front of the screen was prime viewing area, since no projecting equipment was set up there. The picture quality itself was nice once it became dark enough, and the sound was loud and clear. Classic rock was blasting through the speakers before the movie.

The show started with a welcome from a Worcester radio personality and a couple Charlie Chaplin shorts before it was really dark enough for the movie. Then, just as darkness was falling in earnest, "Grease" started up. The movie itself needs no description. We had to leave early--after the "Greased Lightning" number--so we could get The Little Monsters home and put them to bed, but I can only imagine that the rest of the show went smoothly.

Worcester Film Works wanted to pick some very popular mainstream movies that would bring the crowds in for this first season as they try to build interest in the series. "Grease" seems a perfect match for this formula. As for the rest of the series, it runs on the last Thursday night of the month in July and August. After the June 30 showing of "Grease" there are still two more movies coming up before the summer ends: "Back to the Future" (1985) on Thursday, July 28 and "Spaceballs" (1987) on Thursday, August 25. In the case of a rainout, the movies will be run on the following Thursday. Hopefully the show will be successful enough that it will be able to continue for many more years. If tonight's turnout is any indication, it should be a good summer for Movies on the Common. I think the vast majority of the good-sized crowd must have had a fine time. As word of mouth spreads and Worcester Film Works and other media outlets (hopefully) get the word out, I'd expect the audience to grow even larger. See Worcester Film Works for up-to-the-minute updates about the series.

They say that a picture says a thousand words, so why don't we look at some photos from tonight's show?

Entering the Common, we passed by the famous "Turtle Boy" statue (note the screen in the background)

The Little Monster makes her choice at Sweet Sister's ice cream truck

The Worcester Film Works crew manning their table (and their malfunctioning popcorn machine)

The Wife and The Little Monsters give you an idea of the sheer size of the screen

The Little Monster gives you an idea of the sheer messiness of her popsicle

The Little Monster and The Tiny Creature enjoy creating an unholy mess (they actually didn't do too bad, surprisingly)

The Little Monster shows off her sugar-stained mouth while waiting for the show to begin...

...while The Creature shows off her Mommy's sunglasses

A look at the projector behind the screen

A couple members of Worcester FilmWorks survey the scene

As the sun sets the crowd swells

Closeup view of one of the Charlie Chaplin shorts that started the show

The Little Monster getting her first look at Charlie Chaplin!

The second Chaplin short

And finally, wait for it...

Our feature presentation: GREASE!

The Wife and The Little Monster enjoy some Smart Food

And so does The Creature

A last look at the scene as the sky continues to darken

And finally, here's a little bit of video footage from tonight. It starts off with The Little Monsters dancing to Led Zeppelin before the show, continues with part of the introduction and then a few quick clips of the movie itself as it looked on the big screen behind City Hall.

See you on July 28 for "Back to the Future"!

My All-Time Favorite Photo Booth Series

Back in August of 2007 I took The Little Monster to our local mall and saw one of those booths that takes photographs and prints them in a little strip. I took her into the booth and we came out with the following series of four photos. A number of things make this particular strip my favorite one of all time. First of all, it was The Little Monster's very first time in one of these booths. Second, because of the fact that it was her first experience in one you can really see the uncertainty on her face. Her expressions explicitly tell the story of what's going on in her mind during the experience. I have been in these things a number of times and it simply didn't occur to me--until I saw the results--that this was a whole new and unknown experience for The Monster.

Another thing that makes this series of photos special for me is the fact that The Little Monster was three months shy of turning two in this strip. At present she is only a few months shy of her sixth birthday. It's amazing to see how much she has changed over the past four years. My Little Monster is growing up...

Here's the photo strip:

And now let's take a look at each photo individually and try to decipher exactly what was going through The Little Monster's little head during each one. Remember that once the process started (the money was deposited and the camera started clicking) it just continued until all four photos were taken. Of course that's a pretty obvious fact, but an important one to keep in mind when realizing that this was all new and unexplored territory for The Little Monster!

PHOTOGRAPH ONE

I remember telling her to look into the mirror and smile. Of course, she didn't know exactly what she was supposed to be looking at, and you can sort-of see the uncertainty in her eyes. She's not scared or anything, just a bit unsure. "Okay, I'm looking, but just what am I supposed to be looking at?" I love this photo because I know that it's her very last moment of relative calm and comfort for the next thirty seconds or so. It's funny how I just kind of assumed that she'd automatically know just what to do and what to expect out of our little visit to this small booth.

PHOTOGRAPH TWO

Confusion starts to set in. Remember that she wasn't really expecting the sudden flash that accompanied the click of the camera. I think I told her that a photo was about to be taken, but probably didn't properly prepare her for the flash. She seems to be thinking: "What the heck was that?!?". She obviously was not prepared for this second photo in any way.

PHOTOGRAPH THREE

By the third photo The Little Monster is starting to realize what's going on--every few seconds there is going to be a sudden, bright flash. As you can see, she's attempting to look at the correct spot, but can not keep from squinting as she prepares herself for another flash. "Daddy seems to think this pretty normal, but why are we sitting in this little room being bombarded by flashes of light?"

PHOTOGRAPH FOUR

And now, panic starts to set in. It appears that the poor Monster is making a brave attempt to smile, but the shock and horror in her eyes belies her true emotions. Of course, that "smile" might have actually been the beginning of an expression of terror. I don't know how bad this would have gotten if there were any more than four photographs taken. Would she have been permanently scarred emotionally if there had been five, six, seven or eight photos taken instead? Thankfully (and mercifully for her) it stopped after four and we were able to exit the booth and pick up the strip a few moments later. Hopefully seeing the fruits of our labor gave her frightened little psyche some solace and peace.

So there you have it. In general, photographs are just a little bit like a time machine. They create a memento in physical form of a single moment--a moment frozen in time as it were--that allows you to take a look back and remember what was going on at that exact moment. But a photo booth strip actually gives you a bit more than that. In the four photos you not only get four precise moments you can look back on, but you can also piece together the story of what was going on between those four moments. The sweet innocence of The Little Monster at this time when she wasn't quite two years old makes this story very obvious and easy to put together. Unlike most people (including myself in these very photos) The Monster wasn't posing for photographs. No, she was actually experiencing something new and unknown for the very first time! And you can plainly see that experience on her little face.