modern day dad

A good stay-at-home dad rant.

As a fellow at-home Dad, this little piece of commentary particularly hit home with me. Especially this part:

At even the most liberal-minded playgroups I attend with my one-year-old son, the arrival of the only male adult is cause for raised eyebrows and dubious and doubtful glances. Even worse, though, is when I get a pat on the back and a "good for you!" as though I were an elementary school child who's just done something particularly clever.

Of course, this is exactly the sort of treatment that women have gotten in the workplace for decades. That patronizing pat on the back is really a kick in the teeth, make no mistake.

Bingo.

Read or listen to "Commentary: Stay-at-home Dads" by Matthew Broyles [publicbroadcasting.net]

Happy Birthday to my youngest.

I can't believe it's been a year, but my youngest is now a year old, and doing amazingly well. I took her to the doctor's today and she's 105% in height and weight (coming in only about 12 pounds lighter than her (almost) 3 year old sister). She's got eight teeth, she's cruising and pulling up on anything she can get her hands on, and she's pretty much mastered "mama" and "dada."

I just looked back at the post I did for Madame's 12th month developments two years ago, and her sister is doing everything she was, if even a little earlier. I imagine it's because she's got an older sister to follow around so the bar is set higher. Anyway, it's been an incredible and busy (as evidenced by my lack of posts) year, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh, and happy birthday to my Mom, the modern day grandma, too.

My new favorite gift for a boy.

I've got two girls, so when it comes to finding gifts appropriate for boys I'm not always the best. But I found this little gem the other day when shopping for a birthday party Madame was attending, and I've used it twice so far this summer.

It's the Super Hero Starter Kit from the "Klutz" people (the same people who taught me to juggle when I was 13 actually). It's simple and fun. It comes with a cape, masks that you can punch out of the book, emblems you can put on your chest and all sorts of suggestions about what kind of superhero you can be. And like the princess dresses my daughter is so fond of these days, it encourages creative play. Which is better than a Dora video any day.

Get the Super Hero Starter Kit for $14.99 from Amazon.com

Bjorn bassist.

Here's Les Savy Fav bassist Syd Butler bringing the rock with his kid at a concert in Brooklyn. Aside from the green bjorn (is a camo Bjorn far away?) I'm particularly partial to the baby's Vanns Vans [I must have been thinking of the company I bought my TV from. Thanks Gregg. Er, Greg. -mdd]

Best Seat in the House at Citysol [Gothamist via Dan]

How 'bout that? The new TWIB is terrible.

I'm going to use this Major League Baseball All-Star break to complain about something that's been bothering me for a while.

When I was a kid and very much into baseball, I used to love watching This Week In Baseball. Before ESPN, before Baseball Tonight, before "Web Gems," it was kind of a highlight show that showed all the great plays and bloopers of the previous week. Hosted by Mel Allen, it was also a Saturday morning kid's show with youth-focused segments like famous players showing baseball fundamentals (like Ozzie Smith showing you how to stop a ground ball for instance). And best of all it was a show that your mom and dad might like watching with you too. Oh, and it had a classic theme song.

So now that my oldest is rooting for Big Papi right along side me, I figured I could introduce her to TWIB and maybe it could be something that we would enjoy on Saturday mornings. Unfortunately the show isn't even close to what it used to be.

The newest iteration feels like you're watching some kind of lame 30 minute infomercial. They rely heavily on "film look" video and the segments themselves often feel like some third-rate episode of MTV Cribs. A lot of my problem with the show is due to the unbelievably bad voice over work of the current host "Buzz Brainard," who, although he's a fine voice-over guy, has all the narrative excitement of a guy reading a billboard. He even sounds condescending at some points, as if he's talking down to the kids. I'm not saying anyone could replace Mel Allen, but can't MLB Productions find someone with some baseball credibility who can also convey some of the excitement of the game?

You be the judge. Check out the latest TWIB segments at MLB.com (and be sure to click on the "Classic TWIB Theme" link at the top of the page).

Yo Gabba Gabba! So yummy! So yummy!

Has anyone else noticed on Noggin the promo for this new show coming out in August, Yo Gabba Gabba? It's a crazy song with this nutty furry green monster who is eating and singing. And it (mostly) goes like this:

THERE'S A PARTY IN MY TUMMY!
So Yummy! So Yummy!
THERE'S A PARTY IN MY TUMMY!
So yummy! So yummy!

The song is like LCD Soundsystem meets Newcleus, meets The Electric Company, and let me tell you it's freaking infectious. The tag line is "Yo Gabba Gabba! Life Lessons with a Beat." BIz Markie is even going to be a guest host on one of the episodes. THE BIZ for chrissakes!

It's premiering on August 20th, and I for one (oh yeah, and my girls) will be watching.

Check out the "Trailer" for the Yo Gabba Gabba! season at their old web site.