Back in the middle of this decade, when I was writing this site with gusto and entertaining 6,000 visitors a day, Yankees fans took a lot of shit. And for good reason. We had the highest payroll but couldn't produce a championship. We blew a 3-0 ALCS lead. We saw A-Rod try to slap his way on base, sun shirtless in Central Park, kiss himself in the mirror, conspicuously escort a stripper into a Toronto elevator, get reduced to a No. 8 hitter by Joe Torre. From 2005-07, ALDS sounded more like a disease than a speed-bump to the World Series.

And all that coincided with the Red Sux cheating their way to two steroid-infused titles.

Myself and all the Yankees fans who visited here celebrated victories along the way, but never the big one. We were deservedly mocked and criticized. But what could we do?

Now we've bookended the decade with titles, and it feels good to be back on top of the mountain. Thanks to all the people who visited here on the way back up.

THOUGHTS ON THE WORLD SERIES

• So much for that Ortiz jersey some dickwad tried to bury under the new Yankee Stadium. Total length of curse: 0 years.

• I personally broke the curse of Don Mattingly by sporting a No. 23 shirt during Game 6.

• It's gonna be a great offfseason on the MLB Network. They gotta be grasping for any ratings in winter, and I imagine they're gonna tap into the biggest market and produce a lot of Yankees stuff.

• When chicks nibble on Hideki Matsui's earlobes, do you think they're full for the next month?

• Speaking of Matsui: bonzai! Sake bombs all around for what will always be remembered as one of the greatest individual performances in a clinching World Series game.

• Look on the bright side, Sux fans. At least you won't be pestered anymore about the "26-time" World Series champions. All those t-shirts and banners and ugly jackets are headed straight for the trash.

• Look on the bright side, Mets fans. At least the Phillies won't be coming back to Citi Field as world champions. But, um, see you in June!

• Yes, we are the Team of the Decade. Again.

Another year of Fantasy Fest — Key West's week-long, debaucherous celebration of pretty much everything — is in the books. For those of you who missed out, I posted a huge gallery of Fantasy Fest 2009 photos.

I reviewed and posted photos from the event in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and I don't have too much to add to those thoughts. It continues to be a great party, and I continute to encourage as much participation as possible.

It was great to meet a ton of people who recognized me from this site. If you saw me and didn't say hello, don't be shy in 2010.

I tried to continue my practice of posting some of the friendliest photos you'll find online. Smiling faces of friends old and new. Side-boob "gotcha" shots of female passers-by aren't really my thing. They're not "candids," they're just lazy and lame. They're not eventful, they tell no stories, they don't make anyone look good.

But sometimes you gotta be "that guy" and just fire away continuously at street scenes to get some interesting compositions. This neck-breaker reminds me of the funny shots of Obama checking out asses. This dancing granny was a Hail Mary, a shot captured by holding my camera high and praying something comes out. This capture of our Capt. Tony's float had unintended results, but I think it looks cool.

I love street photography best because you never know when a girl is gonna sit on 18 bags of ice, when a dog will drink beer on a bar, or when Batman is gonna come running down the street. Those occurances make things exciting every time I take out the camera.

But I spent more time partying than street shooting, and so you'll have to settle for the more conventional party shots of happy women wearing paint.

FANTASY FEST 2009 PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE WEB

NOTE: I will add to this list as I find them. Bookmark this page and come back for more.

• Flikr: Most Recent Photos Tagged "Fantasy Fest" — This gallery will obviously be added to often, as people recover from their hangovers.

• John Chow — To be posted Nov. 11, he is sure to have some great stuff.

• David Epstein — Promises photos soon at this address.

• Bill Klipp — Lots of close-ups of the artistic faces on the street. Great work.

• Ken Bradley — Another excellent PBase gallery.

Last weekend in New York, the people behind GoTopless.org staged a "protest" to fight for the "constitutional equality between men and women on being topless in public."

Sounded like a fun time and a good photo opportunity, and here is my gallery from Go Topless Day in Central Park.

Part serious and part goofy, the funky music and dance mixed with weighty speeches left me confused about the overall message, and I was even more puzzled when I read that "GoTopless was founded by the Raelian Movement, which recognizes that life on Earth was created by advanced extraterrestrial scientists."

This point was also missed (or ignored) in a wrap-up by the Daily News.

Rick Ross has republished a series of articles on Raelians, including a 2003 piece from the Edmonton Sun charging that Realians use sex to recruit. Skeptoid writer Brian Dunning asks, Who Are the Raelians, and Why Are They Naked?

Truth be told, I never caught wind of any spiritual or religious agendas when talking to some of the participants. Seemed like typical hippie/free lovers who live by rules not always embraced by more uptight segments of society.

Last weekend, I braved LIE traffic to join the New York Pin-Up Photography Meetup Group at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale, Long Island. The museum hosts a squadron of operational World War II aircrafts, serving as the perfect locale at which to make some retro pictures.

In an effort to get more practice shooting portraits (as opposed to candid street scenes) and to socialize with local photography enthusiasts, I recently joined the New York Pin-Up Photography Meetup Group. This past Saturday, the group of shutterbugs, models and make-up artists met at Blue Ruin, a Hell's Kitchen bar, to cooperatively work on their crafts.

I posted a host of photos from that event. I'm new to this "directing" stuff, and, in fact, I really didn't do much of it, but it's something I hope to improve upon. Follow my progress on Fotki as I attend more event and hopefully make photos that the models, as well as myself, are glad to add to their portfolios.

While it's always tough to shoot children while remaining respectful of privacy, their sense of wonderment often reminds us of what's plain cool.

• It was nice to watch the ceremony with hundreds (thousands?) of adoring fans in Harlem. The power of music is very real. A bittersweet scene, and it was clear Michael's music and performances brought them countless good times.

• I agree with Berry Gordy that MJ was the greatest entertainer of all time. Let's just say if there's a back-from-the-dead reunion tour with Elvis, Sinatra, Jackson and all the Beatles and members of Led Zeppelin, Jackson is your headliner.

• On Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson: Two adulterers paying homage to a pedophile. Nice. Johnson's tale of sharing a bucket of fried chicken was cool. I must say that the wealth of first-person accounts of MJ as a regular guy have surprised me a great deal. Let's face it, millionaires who play with chimps and sleep with boys (and don't think there's a problem with it) aren't generally people you're gonna split a bucket of fried chicken with.

• Does Rev. Al realize that Michael Jackson taught black people that they could achieve anything ... as a white person? Seriously, it was a powerful speech, but I kept thinking, "Are we talking about the same guy here? Nothing strange about Michael? NOTHING?!?!" Who does Sharpton think is strange?

• Overall, I thought the Staples ceremony was great, except for the huge elephant in the room. Hey, do they come back tomorrow and talk about Michael Jackson post-1993?

• I learned a lot today about the pressures of fame, the same pressures that caused Johnny Carson and Paul Newman to dye their skin black, dress like a martians and go into debt. Wait, no, they were normal and didn't seek the spotlight. Sorry.

• Think anyone was dumb enough to set a phone alert every time someone tweeted about Michael? Damn iPhone would have blown to smithereens before Berry Gordy was off the stage.

• Thank god Justin Timberlake wasn't up there with Janet again.

a) spending time in an airport, the unofficial Elks Lodge of stupid people, whose inabilities to follow simple instructions and work within the respectful codes of society are fascinating
b) surfing the website of Steiner Sports, where baseball "collectibles" are priced at such astoundingly high figures, you'd think they were working directly with the Yankees (oh wait, they are)

While Steiner Sports is still working out the kinks in that "clubhouse air" idea, it does have a host of signs from the old Yankee Stadium that trigger less a feeling of nostalgia than nausea.

Take, for instance, this sign that reads, "CREDIT CARDS ARE NOW ACCEPTED AT ALL PERMANENT CONCESSION & MERCHANDISE LOCATIONS." How much would you pay for a piece of metal that has no more to do with baseball history than a light fixure in a Yankee Stadium broom closet? Try $200.

Yeah, I remember when my pop and I were swiping credit cards while Reggie was blasting homers. What great memories.

My favorite sign, however, is this one that advertisers Steiner Sports itself. Yep, the company cares so much about this "piece of history" that — instead of keeping the sign for its own offices — it's willing to offer it to you in a "once-in-a-lifetime" deal for $750.

That's almost four times the cost of the credit card sign, so you know it's a very sought-after collectible, sure to retain its value for decades.

Tonight I wrap up my photojournalism class at The New School. Throughout the semester, I've been posting my assignments here, and now I can show you the nine photos that make up my final project: Yankee Stadium.

While they may not be works of art, I had a fun time getting more practice at telling stories through photographs. And in this case, not just one or two shots, but an entire essay.