Featured Things: Teddy Wieczorek

It’s no secret that 10 Things is kind of a girl thing. Not really a dude thing. That’s why we are pleased to present our first contribution from a boy, Teddy Wieczorek, better known to the interweb as tedfoo. Even better, Teddy is not your average Suzy Sunshine. “I am not a very thankful person,” says he. We thought we could prove him wrong.

This Red Phone
A Christmas gift. I love it because of its bright red emergency look.

I feel like I’d use this phone to call a mistress or to report a murder.

PB Toast
I spread peanut butter on toast like it was going out of style. Big thick creamy waves cresting on the cheap bread I buy at the local super market.

In the morning I will eat five or six pieces of it. I’ll cut a small piece off for my two-year-old son Rhen; we’ll sit down and eat our breakfast while we watch cartoons.

Public Radio
Prairie Home Companion, Car Talk, This American Life, The Splendid Table, The Jazz Image, American Roots, Fresh Air, All Things Considered and A Matter of Faith.

I live and breathe Public Radio. I have sat in the car and let it run just so I can hear the end of a program. I cried when they aired a special on Fred Rogers after his death.

Public Radio is the last bastion of intelligence and dignity in media.

A Reliable Back Up
I hate it when I run out of coffee. I’m always tearing through the cupboards looking for something to help me into my morning if I run out of Joe.

My good friend, Earl Grey, always comes to the rescue.

Predicting Flickr

My wife is a photographer: she has a photo journalism degree. I’m happy that she took the time to document our lives in the style of Flickr before it even existed. Coming to Flickr was like coming home to a bunch of people that understood what it was like to photograph every mundane minute of the day. In a lot of ways Flickr brought back that same sense of enthusiasm I had for photography when I first picked up a camera.

A Collection of 78s I Found Last Week
I was digging through the upstairs closet the other week and found this collection of 78s my Mom bought me a few years ago. I had totally forgotten about it.

That old timey music is the best; it’s like listening to a total stranger telling you a good juicy secret about their past.

Drawing for Fun
I hate doing anything creative on spec. Looking at my old journals reminds me of this. I like to draw and let my mind go.

I’m not sure how this picture came about. Usually it’s a reflection of a dream I had. For a while I was having dreams of brightly lit graveyards that smelled of sickly sweet incense. This is a picture of the girl in the distance in my graveyard dreams.

Estate Sale Madness
My wife and I would go to estate sales during the summers before our son was born. We would drift through the crowds of people picking over the merchandise; it was a quiet morning weekend ritual.

The purpose of an estate sale is sad. Usually it is the stuff of the recently deceased that has been picked over by the immediate family and closer relatives. If the owner of the house was a town celebrity people might stop in just to check out their digs. Maybe gossip a little about the interior decorating.

We live in a relatively small town. Sometimes I would see my mom at an estate sale and we would talk as we walked through the rooms our murmuring voices mixing in with the other sale goers. Just small talk. Maybe about the impending storm or the different estate sales going on that weekend.

My Son

Where do you even start? I love him. I love him with all of my heart. I would easily give my life for him without a second thought. It’s that simple. My love for him is the most powerful thing I’ve ever felt.

Hanging Pots of Happiness

Being able to invest a hundred bucks or so into a permanent pot hanger for me was the surest sign that we had finally settled down. It was such a pain in the butt to hang I would have never done it if it were only a temporary thing.