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A long, long time ago, Nick Coder and Emily Graham were married at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia. For weeks I’ve been promising to post the photos I took during this blessed event, and tonight I’m finally following through. But I must admit I did not take the photo above. None of my pictures accurately captured what the day was all about, unless the day was all about Sean Meakim engaging old German men in impromptu political debates. I stole this one off Emily’s Facebook page. (Apologies for any copyrights I’ve infringed.)

Here’s what else our camera captured…

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Today is our fourth anniversary. As per tradition, I’m posting some photos from the wedding (see how we commemorated the second and third anniversaries).

This year, in addition to a few “look how great we looked!” shots, I’ll be posting some “before they got hitched” pics featuring now-married couples who witnessed our vows.

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Congrats to my father-in-law, who today was elected as a Trustee of his shore community. He ran to shake up Ocean Beach (Unit III), and he was elected by a landslide. I’m not sure what his actual duties will be, but if they involve shaking hands and kissing babies, I know he’s mastered the latter. I look forward to walking the beach with him next summer and feeling important, the way Malia Obama would.

Last month Ellen was asked to take a turn as guest columnist for Towerview, the Duke publication for which she formerly served as editor. Now her cameo appearance is online, and it turned out great. Well, except for the grammatically overzealous copy editor who changed the commonly accepted phrase “five minutes or less” to the awkward “five minutes or fewer.” So don’t hold that part against her.

Head over to DukeChronicle.com and read her story.

Typing with a baby is hard work. But I wanted to make sure I got a few NFL picks on the record:

• Biggest Disappointment: Philadelphia Eagles

• Biggest Surprise: Buffalo Bills

• Final Four: New York Giants 28, Dallas Cowboys 27; Buffalo Bills 13, Pittsburgh Steelers 6

• Super Bowl: Giants 24, Bills 10; MVP: Justin Tuck

• Wishful Thinking Surprise Fantasy Stud: Chester Taylor, Minnesota

[Update (12:24am, Monday, 9-8-2008): In my Denville fantasy league, I had Tom Brady. Please send your condolences. The three-headed monster of Matt Cassel, Jon Kitna and Matt Ryan probably won't cut it. But even without Brady, I still should start both leagues 1-0. And that $25-to-win-$900 bet I made on the Bills to make the Super Bowl is looking slightly less crazy right now.]

Last Friday, Uncle Brett Savage met us at Loantaka Park in Morris Township.

It was good to see him, and good to get out of the house.

Don’t let the sweet photos fool you—Charlotte is not always a happy baby.

We need to make a flip-book. Keep reading for more…

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The whole back-to-work thing really cut into my personal blog time. But we’ve got a Fotomat of pictures to post later tonight. Promise!

Wednesday was my 29th birthday. Highlights included shish-kabobing and the acquisition of a Wii Fit. Twenty-eight will be tough to top, especially on so much less sleep. Here are some of the things that happened since the last anniversary of my birth.

1. I Became The Next Food Network Star

After years of charring hamburgers and serving potentially lethal chicken, I’m coming into my own behind the grill. My culinary point of view is “using random ingredients you didn’t realize you had (as long as they’re not spoiled).” Expect my first cookbook in ’09.

Super Sweet Potatoes.

1. Cut three sweet potatoes into quarter-inch wedges and set aside in a bowl.
2. Pour 1 cup of orange-pineapple-banana juice and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon onto sweet potatoes. Let those ingredients work their magic for 15 minutes.
3. Grill using indirect heat for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from grill. Pour a splash of orange-pineapple-banana juice over cooked sweet potatoes. Serve warm.

You might not believe this, but I have no culinary training.

2. The Giants Won the Super Bowl

An unexpected treat. I need to pick up the highlight DVD to show Charlotte what she missed.

3. My First Fantasy Football Title

As much as the Lombardi Trophy meant to Eli, the check from fellow Duke ATO alum Eric Weinberger meant more to me. I can’t decide whether fatherhood will hurt or help my chances in ’09. I am watching a lot of Sportscenter these days (well, more like these nights).

4. Good Times at mental_floss

A few days after my 28th birthday, I signed on to mental_floss full-time. A series of arbitrary title changes later, I’m now the Managing Editor of mentalfloss.com. I could not have designed a better position. The work is great, the people are fabulous, and we’ve also had a lot of success—in May, the site welcomed 2.7 million visitors, accounting for 10.5 million pageviews. Let’s aim for 15 million pageviews by my 30th b-day. Your gift to me can be taking every quiz every day. Twice if you don’t score well.

5. Family Expansion

Charlotte is a relatively new addition to our lives, but she’ll probably have a bigger impact than even the Giants’ historic Super Bowl run. (Or at least equal.)

Also receiving consideration: 1. My sister getting engaged (and getting a dog)—I left this off because the wedding will end up near the top of next year’s list. 2. Bailey not destroying anything of value. 3. Charlotte not crying the entire time I was writing this post. Even though that was technically after my birthday, it was still pretty remarkable.

We’ll get back to posting baby photos later today.

I need to do a better job keeping up with the ad press. Noah Brier (pictured, on right, at the 2006 Renegade Holiday Party) was written up in Adweek after being named the new Director of Strategy and Planning of The Barbarian Group. They’re the ones who built The Subservient Chicken for Burger King. And, most likely, lots of other stuff.

While he probably didn’t mention it in his interview, Noah helped set up this site, and he’s helped me out of many self-inflicted technical jams. I expect big things. Congratulations!

Ellen’s brother Mark has a new roommate. Keep reading for a few pictures…

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Ellen and I would like to go see Swing Vote, but it opens August 1. Anyone up for some early babysitting?

Better yet, anyone know anyone with the cachet to get an advance DVD copy? That would make a great welcome-to-the-world present. (The baby will also take a copy of Wall-E.)

Ellen’s doctor gave us the go-ahead to come down the shore. We spent the afternoon with my parents and sister in Belmar, then arrived at Ellen’s family’s house in Ocean Beach (outside Lavallette) for dinner.

For dessert, we went to Dairy Queen and I cashed in my secret stash of Weight Watchers points. July’s ‘Blizzard of the Month’ is the Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie Treat. This tasty, somewhat patriotic holiday treat was 16 points—more than half my regular daily allowance—but I’m going to say it was worth it.

Now if you’ll excuse me, Bailey and I need to walk to Cape May and back to work off those calories.

I’m now two months into my Weight Watchers membership. I’ve learned something shocking—sweating more and eating less actually works. To celebrate today’s positive weigh-in, I grilled up a hamburger for lunch.

If I don’t post a status update next Monday, now you know why.

I’m stunned. The only other celebrity death that really shook me was Phil Hartman. Tim Russert will be missed on Sunday mornings, throughout this campaign and beyond. Election nights won’t be the same.

One of the quirkier parts about my job is all the unsolicited email. This message I felt compelled to share:

Hello Mr. Jason english:

The following press release announcing the recycling efforts of 49er Communications, may be of interest to your audience. Any editorial comment or mention that you may give this press release would be greatly appreciated.

49ER COMMUNICATIONS ANSWERS THE CALL TO RECYCLE: JOINS NATIONAL RECHARGEABLE BATTERY RECYCLING PROGRAM

GRASS VALLEY, CA – June 5, 2008 – With its eye on the environment, 49er Communications is supporting a national program called Call2Recycle(TM) that helps consumers conveniently recycle their used rechargeable batteries and old cell phones. 49er Communications, a national two way radio dealer, has joined forces with other members of the rechargeable battery industry to fund the program which educates the public on the benefit of recycling rechargeable batteries, batteries commonly found in products such as cellular and cordless telephones, cordless power tools, laptop computers, two-way radios, camcorders, and a variety of other portable electronic products as well as cell phones.

It goes on for many more paragraphs. Richard Karn is somehow involved.

The program itself is probably a good one. Had the press release been titled “National Rechargeable Battery Recycling Program Aims To Save The World” or “Guess What Richard Karn Is Up To!” I wouldn’t have an issue. But I have never heard of 49er Communication. Why would their recycling efforts be of interest?

I’m torn about unsubscribing. I really want to see what nonsense Majon International—the PR machine behind the email—can dish up next. Also, I actually did unsubscribe after their May 22nd announcement (“INDUSTRY USES SIMULATION FOR GAINED EFFICIENCY, INCREASED PRODUCTION TO MEET REGULATION, OVERSIGHT, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS”) and it didn’t take.

Hope they greatly appreciate the editorial comment.