Modern Day Dad

The Kind of Creepy Elf on the Shelf

The [Elf on the Shelf][1] didn't exist when we were growing up. As a true-believer I loved Christmas and had absolutely no problem with the idea of a man with a white beard somehow getting into our house once a year and leaving behind presents. But it seems to me (at least from my adult perspective) that the Elf on the Shelf takes Christmas magic and pushes it to its limits.

The Smurfs Dance Party for Wii - My Kid's Review

 

Currently my children have Smurf fever. In the early part of the summer they went through a mild obsession with the Smurfs iPad game and spent weeks trying to farm enough fruit and flowers to earn Sumurfette. The iPad game also did a pretty good job of introducing them to all the characters as well as hyping the movie (which releases today - 7/29). They even used their Build-A-Bear gift cards from their birthdays to get the “exclusive” Smurfette and Clumsy Smurf. Trust me, I’m pretty Smurfed-out these days.

Their favorite video game on the Wii however is “Just Dance 2”  - a dancing game where you dance along to pop songs (either by yourself or with friends) and the Wii manages to give you points based on how well you are following along. It’s a great game -  fun to play and probably funnier to watch someone else playing. And the fact that they are up ad moving around kind of assuages the parent’s guilt that they are letting their kids play a video game when they could be outside doing something. Kind of.

So when I got the opportunity to review the new Smurf video game for the Wii - “The Smurfs Dance Party” it seemed like a perfect fit.

Barbie's Dream Car Is Really Dad's Dream Car

Six-Year-Old Daughter: Dad, you know that Barbie convertible that Santa brought me last Christmas?

Me: Yeah. Sure.

Six-Year-Old Daughter: There's a problem with it. None of the boy dolls fit in it. Not Ken or any of the princes.

Four-Year-Old Daughter: Yeah! Them legs don't fit!!

Six-Year-Old Daughter: It's kind of a problem.

Me: Remind me to get you one when you're sixteen.

Barbie Glam Convertible, $24.75 at Amazon.com

iPad App of the Week: Phaidon Design Classics

Phaidon Design Classics is a book (or really, a three volume set) for design nerds like me. In it they curate and chronicle 999 objects that they deem are noteworthy for their innovation, influence and are "perfect in their design." The objects are numbered and ordered chronologically, starting with Chinese household scissors from 1663 and ending with the most modern products of today.

Though you could buy the three volume set at Amazon for $110.25, for $19.99 you can get all of that content and more on your iPad - plus an extra product (product 1,000 - the suitably chosen iPhone). It's an awesome collection of things both historical and current, allowing you to browse through not only the history of object design but human history as well.

CES 2011 - All the Great Stuff for Men

CES was way over a month ago, but I just wanted to point your way to my final posts on the subject that are up now on the man/father super blog Man of the House. Here's the breakdown of everything I saw that was great for men and fathers:

CES 2011: Best New Gear of the Year - Most Useful - The Road Torq from Eton saves your bacon when you've got a flat tire

CES 2011: Best New Gear of the Year - Coolest Toy - The AR Drone iPod-controlled remote control helicopter.

CES 2011: Best New Gear of the Year - Best Television - The Samsung 8000 Series LED Television

CES 2011: Best New Gear of the Year - Most Innovative - The Razer Switchblade

CES 2011: Best of CES for Guys - And these are the "honorable mentions" of the things I saw at CES that were great, specifically for guys.

• Ford Focus Electric - Brand new electric car from Ford
• Ion Vertical Vinyl - Awesome record player you hang on the wall.
• Griffin BlueTrip DualConnect from Griffin - New smartphone car charger / bluetooth solution.
• Blackberry Playbook - New tablet from Blackberry - probably the best "iPad killer" at the show.
• Victorinox Slim Flight - Swiss Army knife with USB instead of a knife

Recreating Joy Division Through Playmobil

via www.youtube.com

I knew there was a reason I "Liked" Joy Division on Facebook. Apparently someone took the audio and (visual cues) from a live television performance of one of my favorite bands, Joy Division, and recreated it with stop motion animation using Playmobil toys.

But which toys? Although there isn't a "Joy Division on BBC 2" Playmobil set, the person who made the video cobbled it together from multiple sets. Here's what I could find...

New Nintendo 3DS Not Safe For Kids Under Six. Really Nintendo?

via manofthehouse.com

Nintendo says their new gaming system the 3DS might hurt the eyes of children under six, but eye doctors are saying that's not necessarily true. Aren't the big bad companies supposed to be putting our kids at risk (for a profit) while doctors are supposed to warn us against this kind of stuff?

It's an interesting swap of expectations, and the subject of my latest post on Man of the House.

New Nintendo 3DS Not Safe For Kids Under Six. Really Nintendo? [Man of the House.com]

LeapFrog Text and Learn - Did Toy Rotary Phones Seem Strange In 1930?

via www.engadget.com

(This post from Engadget is about a year old, but I hadn't seen it before. I found it by following a link from Dave Caolo's Twitter Feed. Apparently it looks a lot like the new Microsoft "Kin".)

My kids take their toy phones and pretend to text and take pictures, so it shouldn't be any surprise LeapFrog figured this out and made something they can really type text into. And the fact that it kind of looks like a Blackberry is kind of funny.

But it looks like just another toy with a horrible monochrome screen and lame "educational" games. Why haven't kids' electronic toys progressed much past Speak 'n Spell? It would be way cooler if they came in pairs and you could send messages back and forth.

Besides, my 3 year old uses my wife's iPhone so much, I'm not sure she'd recognize this as something she was supposed to have fun with in the first place.

Modern Day Dad At CES 2010. Oh. And Lady Gaga Too.

Well, I did the quick calculation this morning, and this is officially the 7th CES I've been to, and while some were fun (the first few) and some were really underwhelming (last year), this year's is proving to be a little better, if only for the fact that I pretty much kicked it off by going to a Lady Gaga press conference at the Polaroid Booth.

Modern Day Dad at CES 2009: The Consumer Electronics Showcase.

So tomorrow I'm heading out to my sixth (can it really be six?) CES - the consumer electronics gadget extravaganza here in Las Vegas. And like last year I'll be blogging about a lot of what I see over at Babble.com. In fact this year I even got a special "Blogger" pass which, as far as I can tell, gets me free lunch in the blogger lounge (while supplies last), extra attention from exhibitors, and the slightly condescending looks from those holding orange "Press" badges.

Oh, and I got a free bag which, even though it says "CES" all over it, is pretty sweet.

I'll be looking mostly for anything related to children, parents, parenting or (of course) dads. If you've heard about anything that I should check out, please leave a comment and let me know. This show is so massive, it's going to be hard to even get to the stuff I'm planning, let alone find stuff I never even thought of before.

Wish me luck.

[Check out my posts from CES 2009 over at Droolicious on Babble.com]