Daddy Types: November 2004 Archives

November 2004 Archives

November 30, 2004

Have You Ever Tried Greek Olive Oil?

I didn't even know it existed. Most people don't. The Italians have olive oil mindshare just about cornered, but then the grocer down the street got all impassioned like I've never seen her when, upon seeing it on the shelf,...
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Hormone Swings: They're Not Just For Women Anymore

One interesting vein of research was presented at the At-Home Dads Convention a couple of weeks ago in Chi-town. Rebel Dad mentioned it, and now, Peter Baylies, the at-est-home dad of them all, expands on it. Turns out that pregnancy,...
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Nissan Cube^3

OK, laugh all you want, but I would buy one of these Nissan Cubes in a second if they ever sold them here. Turns out the Scion B is only the US-legal tip of the Japanese box-car iceberg. The...
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"A Dingo Ate My Bay-Bay"

What is it with kids and dingos? I mean, only ten people saw A Cry In The Dark in 1988 (and I wasn't one of them). Yet somehow, Meryl Streep's anguished, Australian-accented line, "A dingo ate my baby!" has infiltrated...
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Random Name Generators

The random names generated by spammers seem as good a pool as any to look for baby names. You could either sift through your inbox, or use an online random name generator. I think John Cage would approve. Mike Campbell's...
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Crib Notes: Like McSweeney's For Parents Moms

I've seen Elizabeth Weil and Amy Maniatis's book, Crib Notes: A Random Reference For The Modern Parent several times, and have meant to buy it and post about it, then I forgot. Then I'd read McSweeney's, and think, oh, right,...
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November 29, 2004

"To protectbaby form bitting by mosquitoes and files"

Technical Standards sponsors an annual Worst Manual Contest, intended to find the most incomprehensible instruction manuals in the world. Last year, the Xingshiji Baby Bed won Honorable Mention. Scroll down to see a reproduction of their directions. If that bed...
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Safety Solution? More Safety Problems

Naturally, there's nothing the kid likes chewing on more than electrical outlet covers....
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Gecko Fabulous: Bugaboo Kicks It Old Skool

While the ladies are trying all the different colors on their Bugaboo Cameleons, the taller brothers will be standing tall with the extendable handles on their...Bugaboo Cameleons. So who's left to give props to the Bugaboo Gecko, the other...
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Bugaboo Cameleon: Because there's no 'H' in 'Love'

I don't know why Bugaboo spells its new model, the Cameleon, without an 'h'. Maybe it's those rumors I've been hearing about foreign countries, how they have differn't words for everything. But enough of that crazy talk. What's important...
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Frog Gets The Bugaboot

The stroller so nice, they replaced it twice. Bugaboo is discontinuing the Frog for 2005 and will replace it with two new models: the Gecko and the Cameleon ("Leave out the 'h' for Holland."). Details to follow, but if you're...
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November 28, 2004

Are You The Guy Who Doesn't Have A Passat Wagon?

Because I've been wondering who it was. We have several friends who celebrated the expiration of their child-free status by getting a VW Passat wagon. I really liked the clean, geometric lines and face of the redesigned Passat in 1997....
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If it's on an airplane, shouldn't it be a planeseat?

Just got back from Thanksgiving at Grammy's house, and here's the epiphany I had at O'Hare, watching armies of dads lumbering under the weight--and bulk--of gigantic carseats while balancing carry-on luggage and personal pan pizzas, and while screaming after wandering,...
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This Man Wants Into Your Child's Head

"I feel like Bo Derek in Tarzan, where she says: 'I don't know whether to laugh or cry,' McKee said." Of course, I posted about that very clip once on my other weblog, so, like I've got a lot of...
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The Modernist Nursery

Regular readers of Daddy Types can feel a little satisfaction, followed by a little implication, as they read "The Modernernist Nursery," Elizabeth Weil's NY Times Magazine article about, well, modernist design-loving parents grappling with the hideous crap the childrens' mass...
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November 25, 2004

Shotaro's Stokke Xplory Blog

Sure, dads and moms are keeping blogs all over; these days, even kids--even fetuses--have their own blogs. And don't EVEN get me started on all the cat blogs... But, I wondered, what about the strollers? Who blogs for them? Tonight...
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Minimalist Rubber Duck

I spotted this putty grey rubber duck at Kid-O, the cool NYC kid's store. When I researched it online, I turned up dozens of "Deluxe Rubber Ducks," including a silvery Disco Duck, a camo GI Duck, and a UK-inspired Jack...
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Banana Guard? I'm Just Happy To See You

"Our unique, patented device allows for the safe transport and storage of individual bananas letting you enjoy perfect bananas anytime, anywhere. "The Banana Guard was specially designed to fit the vast majority of bananas. Its other features include multiple small...
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Um, Happy Thanksgiving?? Don't Read This

No, seriously, don't read this.Reacting to the news at City Hall, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, "I don't know how anybody could do things like that, but that's the world we live in."At least save it for tomorrow....
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November 24, 2004

Prairie Babies Boardbook

When he's not dispensing disturbingly hilarious and spot-on advice, Matthew over at Defective Yeti is reading Prairie Babies to his kid. According to him, baby woodchucks are called chucklings. And according to the Amazon.com review, the book provides "reassuring and...
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First Shoes for Barefoot Urchins

I bought the kid's first pair of shoes a few weeks ago; what a fiasco. They were slippers, really, alpaca crocheted red mary jane-looking things that seemed cool enough. Well, he Peruvian children chained to their knitting machines need to...
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Mid-Air Vent-aire Refueling

You already know to give a kid a bottle or pacifier to suck on during takeoff and landing, right? [Actually, after the kid had a near-meltdown before we even left the ground, one flight attendant told me they start pressurizing...
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November 23, 2004

One Sad Apple

Sounds like Coldplay may get that album done after all. Oh, and thank you India, for placing ecstatic headlines on cheesy Brit wire service gossip. Gwyneth Paltrow not amused by Chris Martin's 18 hour workday! [New Kerala Times]...
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The Headline Sounded Worse Than The Story

His wife's in on it, and anyway, the kid's only 3-months old. Before I read the story, I had these horrible visions of a musical remake of The Lover flash in front of me. Johnny Hallyday to Adopt Vietnamese Girl...
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On Selecting Music For The Delivery Room

In Main Street Mom ("for modern mothers with traditional values"), Michael Powers writes about getting all emotional and being all clueless while his wife was pregnant with their first child:...after being 3 weeks overdue, the doctors decided to induce labor....
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November 22, 2004

[Another] MoMA Dad

This would be my Daddy Types banner if it didn't belong to someone else. Youngna Park shoots some excellent photos of people, art, and architecture at the new MoMA. [thanks, Jen!]...
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New Fathers Roundtable II: Electric Boogaloo

Not since Infinite Jest, which David Foster Wallace famously wrote in one marathon, Metamucil-deprived bathroom sitting [1] has so much literary talent and education been put into the service of poo. Put the kid in the crib with a bottleful...
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How Many Bad Ideas Can You Fit In One Post?

So some Scottish Queer Eye interior decorator couple is going to "adopt" a baby for their new reality TV series. But they're only going to take care of it for five days of filming, then they'll hand it back. To...
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Operation Baby Freedom

Fort Campbell, KY, home of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, is in the middle of a baby boom. The 101st started coming back from Iraq in January, and for some reason, the number of babies born since September has jumped...
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November 20, 2004

A Babysitter Overheard On The 1/9 Train

A posse of high-school age kids riding the 1/9 train downtown yesterday. The boys all looked alarmingly like Hanson. The lone girl wore her skirt over her jeans and explained about the babysitting gig that was going to keep her...
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November 19, 2004

Good Advice For So Many Situations: Pay Attention To The Nipples

The one situation I'm thinking of right now, though, is when you're giving your kid a bottle. I just bought a new set of bottles. (Playtex Ventaire 3-packs. The kid takes 8 oz. a couple of times a day and...
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Now You Know Who To Blame For Baby Uggs

Do you ever wonder how some patently ridiculous trends--say, diaper cakes, cutesified camo diaper bags, or the worst, Ugg boots (make that second worst. I just remembered baby Uggs)--take hold? Well the Wall Street Journal finally reveals all. They're all...
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Dealing With Childhood Goat Trauma

We like to think kids are pretty resilient, but if the folks at the Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation are to be believed, a single scary-but-innocuous-seeming incident at a petting zoo can leave debilitating lifelong scars. So what treatment does the...
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November 18, 2004

NY Hilton, 1335 Sixth Ave at 54th St - CLOSE ENOUGH

At least not on the second/ballroom floor, up the escalators to the right(north) of the entrance. That said, I'm 6'2" and if I were to ever design a changing table it would be exactly the height and width of the...
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November 17, 2004

Grand Central Terminal, 101 East 42nd St - YES

DT reader and minimalistdad Craig reports:Use the bathroom on the west end of the food level, under the escalators. You'll find the unmarked, but unmistakable changing table built into a nicely lit nook. The table and backsplash are of black...
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It Takes A Metropolis To Raise A Child

Why the recent lack of posts? I've been a single parent the last few days while my wife is away at a conference. The kid's cold has been getting better, and overall, things have been pretty manageable, thanks in part...
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As if Stroller Skis Weren't A Steal At Retail...

If the only reason you've been holding off on getting a set of stroller skis is because they seemed like an indulgent luxury this is your day. No sir, just because you like to save a dollar when you can,...
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November 15, 2004

Oh, Oh, Got To Go To Kid O

With a nearly perfect combination of substance and style, Kid O is the most thoughtful children's store in the city. It opened just over a month ago, and it raises the bar by offering an uncompromising and often exclusive selection...
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It's Raining Men: Gay Dads In New Orleans

Sheesh. Times-Picayune writer Barri Bronston spent so much time following Chris and Dale Liuzza around, it's like having a built-in sitter. I hope they put him to work. The result is a long, engaging tale with stories that'll sound familiar...
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Jeff Bennett's Gay Dads To-Do List

[Catching up on my email backlog, -DT] 1. Get La-Z-Boy. ☑ 2. Select 2nd gay parent-friendly adoption jurisdiction. ☑ [Oregon, FYI.] 3. Decide on birthing method ☑ [surrogate pregnancy w/donor egg] 4. Buy & remodel apartment. ☑. 5. Complete IPO....
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November 14, 2004

Malcolm Gladwell Sniffs Around Diapers

Funny how, in 2001, when this article came out, I just didn't care that much about the fascinating history of innovation in disposable diaper technology. Now I'll be a hit at parties when I explain how, thanks to Harmon &...
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November 13, 2004

Funny How A Kid Impacts Your Productivity

My email backlog extends a couple of months in places, so apologies if you have sent me something, and I haven't gotten back to you yet. I will, unless you're a m0rt ga ge broker (or an obvious nutjob)....
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All the items in Caitlin Flanagan's New Yorker story

For your shoppertainment, and for the poetry of it, here are all the furniture, gear, and "Must-Have!" what-nots mentioned by brand name in Caitlin Flanagan's New Yorker article, "Bringing Up Baby." Items previously on Daddy Types are marked with a...
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Metro North (new) Trains, Grand Central Station [& Points North] - YES

DT reader Craig reports: "While my wife and I would still choose the seat between us for sanitary reasons, the new trains do have fold-down changing tables. I would also worry about a sudden decelleration, which might send your little...
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November 12, 2004

Early Soviet Children's Books

McGill University has published a selection of the 1920's and 1930's era Soviet children's books from the library's special collections. They feature some wonderful Russian futurist and suprematist artwork, as well as many inspiring tales of the country's accomplishments following...
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November 11, 2004

Do you grow up and clean up with a kid?

A little while back, DT reader Dan (aka Vespadaddy) asked a question about houses being cleaner when there's a kid (or a kid on the way). His question boils down to this: If you're an inveterate slob--and he means "cereal...
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The Kid, Now Available in Snot-Nosed Version

So maybe I shoulda listened to that old lady at the grocery store. Maybe I SHOULDA put a hat on the kid for that quick Diet Coke run. Anyway, she's got a cold, is very (and understandably) moody. I can't...
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November 10, 2004

Get my publicist on the phone...

I've never been so angry and offended. In this week's New Yorker Caitlin Flanagan does a takedown on parental consumerism and the baby industry's skill at exploiting both new parents' fears and status-seeking urges, getting them to buy their way...
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November 9, 2004

MoMA By Stroller?

It was my day, and the sitter turned out to have scheduling issues, so I ended up taking the kid with me to a meeting at the new MoMA. [Unless there were some latenight shenanigans during construction, I believe...
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November 8, 2004

MoMA, 11 West 53rd St - YES

Didn't check them all, but the mens rooms I saw on the ground floor and 3rd floor had changing tables in the wheelchair accessible stalls. Stainless steel-cased Koalas....
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At-Home Dads Convention,, Nov. 20

The 9th Annual At-Home Dads Convention is coming up, as if I need to tell you. Unlike most other occupation-related conferences, it's on a Saturday, Nov. 20th, to be precise, at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois. The AHDC...
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Bed, Bath & Beyond, 1932 Broadway at 65th St - YES

Except you'll never find it. LL2, near the shower curtains. The changing table is in the wheelchair-accessible stall....
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The New York Dog Magazine

And you thought children were the not new NYC trend? Clearly, you're not consuming the right magazines, my misguided friends: "Dogs are the new children, so we've created a parenting magazine," said John Ryan, the publisher of the bimonthly full-color...
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No cupholders, but you can dance to it

Now about that music: What's up with the European stroller industry's--or at least the Netherlands regional office of it--penchant for slightly out-of-date techno music? Check out this playlist from Euro-stroller movies: Quinny Zapp: Praise You, Fatboy Slim Quinny Buzz: A...
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Q. How do you keep the table clean? A. Beats me.

In both our small apartments, instead of high chairs with attached trays, we've opted for models that slide up to the table. Which is fine, except that the kid likes to spread her food--solid and otherwise--all over the table. We...
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Coming this week: the 10 coolest, most expensive must haves for your kid

Just kidding....
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Stories About Kids & Music?

Tom Whitwell, music guru/gear guy/dad/DT reader is collecting stories about kids and music over at his Gizmodo-for-musicians, Music Thing. Check out the examples he's given, and if you have or know of any interesting tales, pass them along:I'm planning a...
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November 6, 2004

Going to Reel Moms: The Incredibles

Loews 34th St. It'll be my first time with a kid who doesn't curl up and sleep like a baby possum, but instead crawls all over you like a crazed monkey. Update: The movie was great, although it was weird...
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November 5, 2004

Anyone know what this amazing 70's stroller is?

Stroller connoisseur--and DT reader--Dennis just scored this incredible-looking vintage French stroller on ebay. There's no manufacturer's stamp anywhere, and while the seller said it was from the seventies, they didn't have any info about it. The seat is similar...
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American Gentrifier Magazine

Gawker has the lowdown on Brooklyn's latest magazine, coming soon to a Starbucks near you: American Gentrifier. The first [sic] issue includes feature articles like "Bed Stuy: Still too black?" and "When to start the kids on antidepressants". You'll enjoy...
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Firsthand Exclusive: A Stokke Xplory In The Wild

Kurt's a DT reader in Boulder and one of the first Stokke Xplory owners in the US. I asked him what it's like, and he generously offers up this exclusive account of driving around town with The New Rig:I first...
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November 4, 2004

kid's kinda wiggin' out, and it's my day; posting may be light

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November 3, 2004

X, Y, and Me: Story Books For Your Alt-Conceived Child

We've come a long way from the days when adults would have to confront their sobbing parents with, "Is it true? Am I adopted?" If you're wondering when the book industry would catch up to the myriad possible answers to...
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Taking A Closer Look at IVF

Liza Mundy went to the American Society For Reproductive Medicine conference last week in Philadelphia, and all she got was a bunch of unanswered questions about how IVF kids turn out. And a sperm-shaped pen. Despite phenomenal growth over a...
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Honda's 'Cool Dads' Truck Due Date: Spring 2005

Honda is introducing its first mid-sized truck--a SUT, in fact--to the US market next spring, which will be based on the Pilot SUV platform. Dubbed the Ridgeline, the truck is designed to appeal to "Cool Dads," who like to "tear...
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November 1, 2004

Graco Quattro Tour: Looks Good At Any Price (But It's Only $100)

In 2002, industrial designer Andrew Serbinski was asked by Graco to create a stroller with a new, upscale visual identity. Serbinski took his design cues from the racing bikes and motorcycles his firm Machine Art is known for, and the...
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Bugaboo Maintenance Kit

I am ready for my third box of Prada Lip Balm. Each box contains 30 individually wrapped tubes [shown left at life-size] and sells for $65 or so. That works out to just over $2 per tube, which, if you...
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Quinny Zapp: 'Size Does Matter'

I can just picture Quinny world headquarters, where three shifts of Dutch researchers in white coats open and close strollers around the clock...with circa 2000 dance music blaring over the corporate campus PA system. [More on that later.] The Zapp...
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Quinny Buzz: Yet Another Euro-Stroller You Can't Get Here

Several DT readers--or should I call them readres--abroad have sent links to the Quinny Buzz, a sleek, new 3-wheeled stroller from the large Netherlands-based childrensgear company. Visually striking, with a tough seatframe and safety bar floating above a tripod...
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Raffi's "Bananaphone": The Spoken Word Edition

From what I've heard so far, Raffi is like Barney without the plushie costume, i.e., friggin' annoying. Apparently there's one song he does called "Bananaphone," which one Andy Zebrowitz has re-recorded in a deeply serious voice that sounds like he...
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