Daddy Types: July 2006 Archives

July 2006 Archives

July 31, 2006

How Special Is "A Very Special Advertisement," You Ask?

You may have noticed the ads now running amidst the posts on the newly moved daddytypes.com, the ones that say, "A Very Special Advertisement." First off, yes, the title is a reference to the "a very special episode of Family...
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Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut

After a dad at her son's preschool vetoed the snacks she was sending--twice, two days in a row!--Emily Bazelon found herself not unsympathetic, mind you, but frustrated in dealing with other kids' nut allergies:But it would be a lot easier...
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It's My Minivan! It's My SUV! It's My Minivan: Forget It, Ford, It's Wagontown.

So Ford's got a whole slew of new vehicles for hauling people and gear. They're all based on the same Mazda-derived platform, they're roughly the same size and capacity. There's one thing we know for sure, though: they're all-new, not...
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Advertisers Make Server Upgrades Easy And Seamless

I wish we had more of them! Actually, I prefer having a very limited number of highly relevant, interesting and value-added advertisers to enhance the experience and improve the lives of Daddy Types' new parent readership. If you are such...
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Mad Max Drives A Graco!!

Let's see, the world's coming to an end, gas is worth its weight in gold, Mel Gibson is a raving lunatic, and some punk dude's blazing down a Brooklyn hill in a soapbox derby racer made from a tweaked out...
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July 30, 2006

BabyTalk Shoves Breastfeeding Agenda In Innocent Infant's Mouth

When are the nursing nazis at BabyTalk Magazine going to get the message? New parents have enough stress in their life without having to worry that their newborn infant might be inadvertently exposed to a naked, engorged breast in the...
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July 29, 2006

Takashi Homma's Tokyo And My Daughter

The Zurich-based art publisher Nieves has just released Tokyo And My Daughter, a book by photographer Takashi Homma. It's the latest in a series of artist titles that includes Sonic Youther Kim Gordon's Chronicles, Vol. 1 and Thumbsucker director...
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More Euros Flying: British Airways Toddler Bassinets

A pond-hopping dad sent this in:Last year, as we took our boys to Finland, we encountered a variation on the typical airline bassiets which was quite useful. According to the BA staff, our 767s had an additional type of bassinet...
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July 28, 2006

Blackwater Teddy Bears

Hi. I'm Blackwater USA. You may know me from such previous private security and military contractor operations as the invasion of Afghanistan, the Iraq War, guarding the Coalition Provisional Authority and the interim presidents of Iraq and Afghanistan, the attack...
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Take "So He Can Date Natalie Portman" Off The List

When the topic has come up around here, we have learned that, colloquially speaking, "so they can get more play" is a not uncommon reason guys give for deciding to have their sons circumcised. Well, if one of your rationales...
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After Luncheon, Arsonist Beats Out Four Others To Win Parent Of The Year

I don't really care one way or the other if one of this year's Parents of The Year, Nabil and Nargues Khalil, is a convicted arsonist. What most interests me is how the revelation exposes the total self-serving BS PR...
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The Elimination Game

Hi-ho. John Biggs here, guest blogger and recent new dad. In an effort to fill the vacuum of my days, I've decided to take a stab at the old Elimination Communciation (EC), a process in which you listen for your...
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No More Bangers & Soy For You, Little Guv'nuh

After reviewing existing research on the health effects of processed soy in Western diets, the British government's Commitee on Toxicity [CoT] and the Food Standards Agency has recommended that infants not be given soy-based formula except on the advice of...
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Guestblogger? I See You've Already Met

I've been a fan of John Biggs' since even before I found out he was a fellow daddy type, thanks to the sweet gear-and-gadget insights he dealt out at gizmodo. So when I heard he'd broken free of the Gawker...
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The New Ikea Rug

Stopped by Ikea yesterday with the kid. It looks like this rug, the Blanka, has been designated to replace that similarly colored, striped rug [the Strib] as the default floor solution for mod nurseries. I kind of prefer the...
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July 27, 2006

Clearly, I Was Wrong About The Angels

I am so sorry. I hope those who might have taken offense at my dismissive tone this morning about the popularity of angels will forgive me. You know me, I was just shooting my mouth off without knowing all...
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"Read My Daddy's Blog" Onesies

Dad Mark McClusky has come up with a way to put the kid to work promoting the family blogs. Check with your accountant to see if this gear can be expensed on your Schedule C. Babies are Great Marketing...
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No Manpurses Here, Fellas: Coolhunting's 12 Bags For Guys

Ami at Coolhunting.com has put together a list of greatlooking, high-function bags "to accommodate the gadget- (or diaper-)toting needs of the modern male. Jack Spade, Engineered Garments, and the Diaper Dude make the list, of course, but there are some...
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The Ghost In The Ghost In The House

Grrr. I get hyper-irritable when I read articles that reflexively namecheck Betty Friedan in their opening sentence and then proceed to discuss the dilemmas, stresses, and oft-ensuing depression that come with parenting, but that don't make a single freakin' mention...
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NYT: Skulls R Kewl

I guess I had my head in the sand a decade or more ago, but according to the NY Times, skulls are the new Precious Moments: Reminiscent of the vogue for angels a decade or more ago �� remember how...
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Mothers Plug For Feed

Sure, it's from Mother's Day 2005, but I don't doubt there are still around 10 million moms and 13 million kids going to bed hungry in the US this year, too. And if I'm wrong, hey, you've raised your...
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July 26, 2006

"I Want A Pony, Daddy. A Gucci Leather Pony."

May that phrase never cross your child's lips. Because the 85th Gucci limited edition pony, in "chocolate Guccissima [1] leather with chocolate leather trim," signature web and gucci 85th anniversary plaque is not available, at least on the website....
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Welcome To The Gesell Dome

More gearhead-y goodness from Ann Hulbert's Raising America, this time from the 1930's and early 40's, when Dr. Arnold Gesell was at his zenith, dispensing systematic, scientifical-sounding childcare advice from his Clinic of Child Development at Yale. Gesell's greatest contribution...
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The Stokke Xplory: One Dad's Love Affair

Here's one dad Aaron's account of life with the Stokke Xplory. There are some ups and downs besides the ones afforded by the adjustable-height seat, but it's most definitely love:Max was born in February 2005 and the Xplory didn't get...
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Whew. You Can Still Be Rich And Stupid.

I was just in Las Vegas, and so I have a hard time believing there was a connection between income and IQ. But apparently, there is. Some recent studies of twins and adopted kids that also factored in family socioeconomic...
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July 25, 2006

Luftikid Inflatable Car Seat: Der Junge In The Plastic Bubble

As Nightcrawler would say, Unglaublich. Sometimes you see a piece of gear that's so completely out of the prevailing paradigm, it's hard to even know how to approach it. The Luftikid is an inflatable car seat. It consists of an...
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It Still Sucks To Be Amy Sohn: The Restaurant Edition

Call me an over-entitled breeder if you want, but I think that eating dinner at six-freakin'-o'clock is fair game for bringing a kid to almost any restaurant. I remember when the Times ran a story on one of our regular...
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Tora Tora Tora

First off, let me apologize if any of your kids have been affected by that Shimajiro the Tiger toilet training video I posted last week. We have banned it in our house, starting today. Both the animated tiger and the...
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Toy Portraits Wig Me Out

Regine posted a link to British artist Peter Jones' portraits of toy monkeys, which kind of creeped me out. But not before reminding me of NYC artist Sarah Blackwelder's even more ominous paintings of stuffed animals, which seem totally fraught...
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The Aircrib: B.F. Skinner's Baby-In-A-Box

During the last few train and plane trips, I've been trying to finish up Ann Hulbert's history of modern childrearing experts, Raising America; turns out all the great gear is in the second half. Like Harvard behaviorist psychologist BF Skinner's...
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Safety Tips From Stick Figures In Peril Photopool

There are over 4,000 photos in the Stick Figures in Peril photopool on flickr, including the above image of an exploding pram, shot by dan in deutschland in Paris. Narrowing the pool to baby-tagged images yields a manageable number...
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Hey Sproutlets! It's Time To Say Good-- PR Move!

Executives at PBS Sprout fired host Melanie Martinez immediately after they learned--from her--that she had made a totally-safe-for-work PSA spoof called "Technical Virgin" seven years ago. PBS management want you to remember this important lesson, Sproutlets: your life can...
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Get The Damn Epidural, Woman! Bos. Ped. Not Feeling Your Pain

Some women don't want to get epidurals, and the good Dr. Darshak Sanghavi just can not wrap his pediatric head around that fact:But is the shunning of obstetrical anesthesia about something more than natural versus modern? The vocal minority who...
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What Carseats Do Euros Use On The Plane?

We just flew in from Las Vegas, and boy, are my arms tired. Seriously, we've been--to use the Henry Rollins phrase that launched a thousand dadblog--baby roadies all day, hauling the car seat around from rental car to shuttle to...
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Next Up: Are Women Evolutionarily Suited For Math?

Since Britney Spears' flaunted her manny in the nation's face, the Washington Post felt compelled to ask the tough questions: are male humans genetically capable of picking up kids from preschool? Fortunately, the answer can be found just across the...
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July 23, 2006

DT Exclusive: Ed Burns Gives Some Good Phone About The Groomsmen

Last week, right before his new movie The Groomsmen premiered in New York and Los Angeles, I chatted with writer/director/producer/star/daddytype Ed Burns about the film. Here's how it went down: DT: It said in the production notes that you'd written...
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gDiapers Now nytDiapers

The Aussie onslaught against America's vital landfill industry continues in stealth mode, and the media just stands there singing its praises. gDiapers, the flushable diaper technology from Australia, got profiled in the hopelessly liberal NY Times Magazine today. The message:...
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Enzo, Yves. Yves, Enzo.

Turns out Yves Behar, known to everyone but readers of the New York Times as the designer of the new Calla high chair for Fleurville, has a thing for Enzo Mari's zoo puzzle. The Wood Menagerie [nyt] Buy Enzo...
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July 22, 2006

7-Up: The Un-Formula

Kaz hits the dadblog ground running with a think-outside-the-nipple solution to the whole breast milk-formula dilemma: 7-Up. Apparently, it's "pure and wholesome for everyone, even the tiniest tots!" Who knew? [via i hate snaps]...
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July 21, 2006

Hellooo, Glorious Advertisers: The Micralite Ed.

I tells ya, you learn the darnedest things from the advertisements on Daddy Types. Like that Sparkability is taking pre-orders online for "late August" delivery of the Micralite stroller for $449. And the newborn system with the carry cot attachment--"Excuse...
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Damon Sucks Bib Back On eBay

A Boston-area at-home mom starts selling bibs and Onesies with "Damon Sucks" on them on her little online baby clothing store, and suddenly Johnny Damon's agent is all up in her biznazz about it, getting her kicked off of...
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Brooklyn Update: Tibetan Nannies Are The New Awesome

Finally, Amy Sohn has some useful information. [Sohn, of course, after getting herself knocked up, had to trade in her NY Mag sex columnist beat for the parenting one. It's been rough going, as you can expect--and as the whiny...
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Vintage Cork Blocks From Jiyugakuen

Another eBay find I can come clean on--only after I won it. This time it's from modernist eBay shark Andy, who tipped me off to these vintage blocks made from cork. They're Japanese, and they're from Jiyugakuen, a pioneering...
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July 20, 2006

Yes, That IS A Toilet Seat In My Suitcase, And Yes, I'm Happy To See You

We're about to fly cross-country with a toilet-training child who is growing wary/weary of diapers, which anyway seem to make her confused sometimes, not always sure if she's OK to go in her pants or not. So after some discussion...
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YouTube Is Now TheirTube

Whoa, YouTube has apparently updated their terms of use to give the company and its successors a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the content you upload to it anyway they see fit. Just so you know. BoingBoing's got a...
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One-Stop Corporate Brand Shop Launches. DT One-Word Verdict: Finally!

Really, what else can I say, but Thank You? Thank you, WithCharacter.com, for bringing exciting and popular licensed merchandise from so many hard-to-find brands and character portfolios--Dora, Blues Clues, Looney Tunes, Jeep, My Little Pony, Thomas, and so many...
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Stroller-Pushing Park Sloper Beans Car In Crosswalk

Beyond, "Lady's lucky she didn't get a cap in her ass, BAM!" I have no real opinion on this, so I'll just throw it out there and see what happens:I saw one woman struggling across the street with multiple bags...
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Scan That Breast To Make An Imprint Custom Nipple

Business Week's got a round up of baby products that take both design and functionality into account. It's about damn time, you say? Yeah, well, most of the examples in the product slideshow are just prototypes or concept studies, so...
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Zapatista Nursing Doll

Whether you think they're separatist terrorists or indigenous freedom fighters, you have to agree: it's fun to say "Zapatista." Zapatista Zapatista Zapatista. And if you ever get bored with that, you can start composing M.C. Escher-like lactivist posters by...
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First Of All, You're All Winners In Your Own Way

The visions of double random number generators danced in my head as I got to the home office last night, but I ended up just printing all the names of people whose reviews were published, cutting them into long, thin...
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July 19, 2006

Where's The Outrage? Minnie BOP My First Nursing Pillow

Mothering Magazine's website is offline at the moment, so I'll be outraged for them: Every little girl wants to be just like Mom and now she can! Girls will love playing Mommy with the Minnie BOP mini-nursing pillow, sized...
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What I'm Reading On The Train: Preeclampsia & Sex Selection

The New Yorker's got a long article about research into the causes and possible early diagnosis and preventitive measures for preeclampsia. THE PREECLAMPSIA PUZZLE Making sense of a mysterious pregnancy disorder. by JEROME GROOPMAN [newyorker.com] Meanwhile, when Manhattanites decide to...
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And The Contest Winners Are... Still Undetermined

I'm traveling today--meetings--and when I get back tonight, the DT Contest Verification Team and I will do the drawing for the prizes in the Bizarre Book Review contest. I'll post the results later tonight, aight?...
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Turn The Other Cheek So I Can Smack That One, Too

A New Zealand Christian "Guide to Smacking". Somehow, I think I got the quotes in the wrong place let me try that again. A New Zealand "Christian" "Guide to Smacking." There, that's better. Grounding, giving children 'time out', making them...
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Thump Thump: Safe Kids Backs Over Some Facts

GM-Chevrolet is one of the founding sponsors of Safe Kids Worldwide, contributing over $25 million, and showing "their dedication to Safe Kids by promoting children's safety in a unique and effective way." One of those unique ways: getting folks to...
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Happy Happy Joy Joy: "Stimpy's Pregnant" On DVD

A little Ren & Stimpy chaser for your Punky Brewster DVD cocktail, perhaps? John Kricfalusi is releasing a new double DVD set, Ren & Stimpy: The Lost Episodes., lost from Spike TV, that is. Among the many tantalizing features...
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Mothering Magazine's International Breastfeeding Symbol Contest

Mothering Magazine is upset, and they're not going to take it anymore:The image of a baby bottle on an airport sign announcing the location of a "parents lounge" infuriated us and got us thinking: Isn��t there an international symbol...
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Moms & Dads Are Different: Punky Brewster Edition

After the baby comes, it can feel like a full house. You try to adapt, but in a small space, everyone's just too close for comfort. You may fight over who's the boss, but it's just one of those facts...
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July 18, 2006

Unidentified Man Drives A Stokke Xplory, Is Famous In Canada

And apparently, his wife has giant black spongy nipples. [youtube via cbb]...
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Mr. French's Citroen 2CV

Has anyone found a TV Primary Caregiver Hall of Fame out there yet? Because Mr. French would be in it. He was the one doing most of the day-to-day work with those Family Affair kids, after all. And would...
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Mrs Beasley Dolls on eBay

By the time my sister was born, Family Affair was off the air, so I have no personal frame of reference for Mrs. Beasley. Frankly, she seems awful Chucky-like to me, ["You may call me Mrs. Beasley, would you...
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Mike Brady, No. Uncle Jesse, Yes. The TV Single Dad Hall of Fame

From an interview Jim O'Kane did with Johnny Whitaker of Family Affair--and The Dr. Zod & Johnny Show: Of course, the fact that there were twins - - I mean, Buffy and Jody made Family Affair - I mean,...
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Safety: Watch Out For Lacerating Tiffany Rattles

Did you get this Paloma sterling silver rattle from Tiffany's this past March? Because the Government strongly recommends you take it away from the baby immediately. Just-published research shows that exposing newborns to overly luxurious products and toys can...
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Kid Got A Problem With Eggs? "I Love Egg" Will Help Or Hurt.

As if intent on proving that Japan doesn't have a lock on Asian Video Weirdness, some egg loving Koreans created this Flash animated song about, well, loving eggs. If your kid has a problem eating eggs, this cutey cute...
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Unpainted Russian Nesting Dolls

Maybe it's just my imagination, but there's a bit of competitive craftiness in our family which I think fairly typical among Mormons. It's what happens when nobody drinks, I guess. Or maybe it's just my guilt kicking in when I...
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July 17, 2006

THIS JUST IN: Moms Kvetch On UrbanBaby. Also, Sun Rises In East

Eight pages and a cover to reveal that, yes, in fact, anonymous moms and pregnant women in NYC still let loose on UrbanBaby's message boards with the rants, the complaints, the criticisms, the angst, and the secrets. In that...
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Hoober Bears

And just like the local news, I follow up a dire warning about babies getting crushed by falling televisions with a story about teddy bears made from vacuum cleaner bags. Weather and sports-- after these messages. Hoover Bear Bags...
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Safety: Beware Of Falling Televisions

Let your kid watch whatever you want, but just make sure the TV is anchored to the wall. According to a single Houston-area hospital's statistics, front-heavy TV's have fallen on toddlers 11 times in the last year, causing five deaths...
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Other Daddies Typing: The Zero Boss Edition

Would you believe that I had this ready days ago, but the server went down just as I was posting it? Actually, I was waiting until Jay "The Zero Boss" Allen came back to the dadblogworld. Now here's a wildly...
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July 16, 2006

No Actual Children Were Harmed In The Creation Of These Characters

For all my paranoia about being subjugated to the tyrannical rule of Disney Princesses, and my ongoing efforts to keep Elmo and Barney and Spongebob and Dora and Thomas and Pooh and Hello Kitty from brainwashing our kid, I...
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Soy Teddy Bear Now Available In Baby Panda Version [& Vice Versa]

To commemorate the first birthday of Tai Shan, the baby panda the National Zoo leases from China [and you thought it was a gift...], the Zoo has issued a rare, special edition Tai Shan plush toy. By "rare," I mean...
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Whoa. Vladimir Kagan Contour Rocking Chair

Yeah, I know, barely back from church for an hour, and I'm already coveting again. Does it matter that I coveted all the way through church, too? And most of yesterday, ever since I saw this rocking chair? We'd...
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July 15, 2006

Sweet Child Child Chair By Maartje Steenkamp At ModernChild

Even though Dutch designer/mom Maartje Steenkamp created a high chair I love--which is now on sale in the US, btw, who knew?--I kind of boycotted writing anything about her other cool children's furniture design just because the name bugged:...
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Baby On Deck? Custom Skateboards

People get tattoos all the time commemorating the birth of their kids. And skaters have been known to put a lot of thought into the design of their decks. But I've never heard of anyone creating a skateboard design...
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Dad-Driven Innovation At The Open Prosthetics Project

This is so cool, I don't know where to start. First, the Open Prosthetics Project is just that, a site and organization dedicated to the development and propagation of improved prosthetics solutions. The site rallies engineering, research, and manufacturing expertise...
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Daddy Tattoo From Flickr

Just spotted this photo in the sidebar; it's from the fathers & babies photoset on flickr, and it's of a dad with his daughter's handprints inked on his back. Reminded me of the dad tattoo post a few months...
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July 14, 2006

Latest Hotel Amenities For Families: Deathtrap Cribs

As you book your summer vacation, be sure to ask the hotel reservations agent if they have a complete supply of outdated or misassembled cribs for your child to sleep in. Also, check to see if they outfit their cribs...
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Getting In Touch With My Feelings About Ed Burns' The Groomsmen

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a screening of The Groomsmen, the latest movie from Ed Burns. [I was not the only dadblogger there, either. It'd be interesting to see how wide the dadblog outreach extended. I get...
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Little Advertiser Shoutout

A big thanks to the advertisers who provide a steady flow of relevant, useful, and entertaining products for daddytypes readers everywhere. If you've got something new dads and dads-to-be should know about, why not go with the flow and advertise...
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Stealing A Baby's Identity Seems Pretty Easy

OK, so the story's a couple of years old now, as is little Andrew, who's probably gotten into plenty of trouble with the credit card companies all by himself now, but still. This story about a 5-month-old baby having his...
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I Can't Stop! These Books...Are Like Crack!

Mr. Crack, that is. For some reason, this "SAVE OUR CHILDREN!" "CRACK WILL MAKE YOU A SLAVE!" book isn't listed on Amazon, but you can buy it online. Or from the guy driving around the Upper West Side in...
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The Hand That Packs The Diaper Bag

Jessica Francis Kane's no Judith Warner, fortunately, but she does take a look at "Supermoms" of her/our generation and the bind she sees them get into when it comes to shared parenting:the woman who ultimately wants to mix work and...
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DTBBC: The End, And One Non-Review

And that's all, folks. If I hadn't consumed an entire handtruckful of Diet Coke posting all these Bizarre Children's Book reviews, I'd say I need a drink. [excuse me for a sec... ok, I'm back.] If I missed any reviews--like,...
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DTBBC: A to Z Picture Book

Title: A to Z Picture Book [1974 pb edition, 2002 hb reissue] Author/Illustrator: Gyo Fujikawa [ALA article on her] Reviewed by: Tiffany A mixture of color illustrations and black and white sketches convey flowers, people, items, animals, holidays, actions, and...
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DTBBC: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Title: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs Author/Illustrator: Judi Barrett Reviewed by Zac from Baby Roadies Actually quite entertaining, and not nearly as disturbing as the guy who was trying to fire a gun with a stick of dynamite,...
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DTBBC: Uncle Wizzmo's New Used Car

Title: Uncle Wizzmo's New Used Car Author/Illustrator: Rodney Alan Greenblat [site: rodneyfun.com] Reviewed by: Cindy I'm an auntie, not a mom or dad, but I know that the book my nephews got the most joy out of as littles was...
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July 13, 2006

Zygote Daddy & The Non-Epiphany

All bizarre books and Danish high chairs aside for a moment. It's stuff like this that really keeps me going: Zygote Dad wrote about that realization of the impending reality of fatherhood:Hmm. So now that I come to it, the...
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"Put Them In The Hardwood Maiden"

They have ways of making children talk in Denmark, and Zygote Daddy's mother has just bought one of them. That kid better eat every bite of herring on its [d'oh, I mean his] plate... sort of a late mother's...
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Los Pollitos Dicen.... !Comprarme!

When some Miami-raised Cubanos met up in Nashville--que paso with that?--and realized there was a serious shortage of cool, latin-inflected baby clothing, they decided to do something about it. The result: Los Pollitos Dicen, named after the first line of...
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RU Kickin' It Old-[Pre]Skool With Community Playthings?

Do you have some awesome Community Playthings gear or furniture that's been going strong for over 30 years? Does your kid's day care center or pre-school? How about your parents or grandparents? Maybe it's something like this 70's-era Variplay...
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Japanese Toilet Training Animation-Palooza

We're right in the middle of toilet training--so far so good, and the only bribes we've been using are the underpants themselves, and the shopping for them, and the opening the package, and the special underwear box to put...
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DTBBC: Goops and How To Be Them

Title: Goops and How To Be Them: A Manual of Manners for Polite Infants [J. B. Lipincott Company, 1900] Author/Illustrator: Gelett Burgess Reviewed by: JJ Daddy Baby Momma When seeing Mr. Yuk caused all my repressed childhood terrors to surface,...
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DTBBC: Yummy Yucky

Title: Yummy Yucky Author/Illustrator: Leslie Patricelli Reviewed by Shauna R. [her oldtimey blog] Have you ever met a parent, perhaps one of your own, who was obsessed with not "giving the kids ideas?" Maybe little Bobby is on his way...
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Now on Flickr: DIY Hippie Furniture, Cardboard Carseat

Alright, I am officially lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy. My copies of Mario Dal Fabbro's 1968 How to Make Children's Furniture and Play Equipment and Hennessey & Papanek's 1973 Nomadic Furniture arrived, and suddenly I feel like we...
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DTBBC: Thomas' Snowsuit

Title: Thomas' Snowsuit Author/Illustrator: Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko Reviewed by: Laura Here's my review... I'm surprised I haven't seen more Robert Munsch titles in the Bizarre Children's Book reviews. Mr. Munsch writes some seriously whacked-out stuff. We've all read "Love...
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DTBBC: The Little King, The Little Queen, The Little Monster

Book: The Little King, The Little Queen, The Little Monster Story and illustrations: Ruth Krauss [wikipedia] Reviewed by: Jennifer What makes the book "The Little King, The Little Queen, the Little Monster (and other stories you can make up yourself)"...
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DTBBC: "In the end, the big bunnies win."

Title: Guess How Much I Love You Author/Illustrator: Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram Reviewed by: Kelli On the surface, this seems like a sweet little book about two rabbits declaring their love for each other. But, why does the Big...
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DTBBC: Maybe My Baby

Title: Maybe My Baby Author: Irene O'Book (O'Really?) Photos: Paula Hible Reviewed by: Matt I can't remember exactly where we got this book; I think maybe the hospital gave it to us. Basically, it features (poorly-lit) photos of babies in...
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July 12, 2006

Where All The Non-Toxic Strollers At?

All that PVC in the raincover traps the carcinogenic off-gassing from the flame-retardant nylon fabric. But then cotton cultivation accounts for a third of all the world's pesticide use. Besides a hemp sling, where's an environmentally conscious parent to turn...
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AJ Pierzynski Singlehandedly Debunks Baby-Parading Theory

More empirical proof that baby-parading doesn't work if: you're on national television. you're talking to Chris Berman. you're at the Home Run Derby. you wrap your kid's head like a Japanese gift melon. you're a total tool. "Dad, I'm...
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DTBBC: Go Go Go Grabote

Title: Go Go Go Grabote Author/Illustrator: Nicole Claveloux (A Harlin Quist Book 1973) Reviewer: Geoff I was looking around my kid's overwhelming book collection, thinking about which ones might be deemed Bizarre. The first to come to mind are the...
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Bizarre: Yes, Contest: No - Popjustice Announces A Boy Named Pete

As in Pete Doherty. In a book for children. Popjustice has taken the classic Roger Hargreaves Mr. Men and Little Miss books as inspiration for Popjustice Idols, a line of popstar biographies for children. [We got a few of...
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DTBBC: Flanimals

Title: Flanimals and More Flanimals Author: Ricky Gervais Illustrator: Rob Steen Reviewer: Julie My four year old son just loves Flanimals, by Ricky Gervais, of The Office fame. He has to show this book to every grup who visits our...
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NO $800 Strollers In My $100,000 Car, Dammit

Thanks to Google, a few of the stroller posts take on a life of their own, attracting advice seekers, firsthand accounts, and some rather excited reactions. For example, a fellow named Too Much Money just posted this on a Stokke...
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DTBBC: Mister Dog

Title: Mister Dog Author/Illustrator: Margaret Wise Brown, Garth Williams Reviewed by: Mark You would think that a book entitled Mister Dog that had a dog with a bowtie and straw hat smoking a pipe on its cover would be about...
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Block Party

All this time, I thought these were wooden beads for stringing on the long cord [included]. But the kid corrected me this morning. They're actually drinks. And coasters. Apparently, there is a large party afoot. Not shown: a Persian...
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The Kid

If I pretend I'm just posting this picture for the gear, it's ok, right? Because I'd hate to be accused of baby-parading or something......
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DTBBC: Who Cares About Disabled People?

Title: Who Cares About Disabled People? Author: No one had the guts to claim authorship, though a copyright is held by M. Twinn. Illustrator: Pam Adams Reviewed by: AJ at Thingamababy ISBN: 0-85953-351-4 I picked this book up at...
[read the full post...]

Whoa. Naef Gloggomobil: A Programmable Wooden Barrel-Organ

OK, This might be it for the elaborate wooden toys for a while. I don't know how I can surpass the Naef Gloggomobil. It's a totally programmable barrel organ, a giant, wooden version of that little metal cylinder that...
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July 11, 2006

8-Layered Apple Puzzle From BorneLund [Japan]

There's a lot of passion in Japan for the wood toys. Naef, the Swiss toymaker I just posted about, is HUGE in Japan, for example. One of the bigger chain of specialty toy shops is BorneLund. [I found them...
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Rainbow-Shaped Xylophone By Naef

Designer Heiko Hillig's first toy for Naef was Rainbow, a remarkable freestanding xylophone made of arced strips of ply colored with non-toxic dyes. If the all the different compositions on Nova68's site are any indication, though, the Rainbow is...
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Worth1000.com: Pop Culture Not-For-Kids Photoshop Contest

March 2: Penguins vs Predator, a scythe-wielding, blood-covered Jiminy Cricket, the always-popular Crack Ho' Barbie. They're all wildly child-inappropriate spins on pop culture, to be sure, but for the new dad, they're also all several years off, in the...
[read the full post...]

DT Bizarre Book Contest: Charlie and the Biggest Bunch of Flowers

Title: Charlie and the Biggest Bunch of Flowers Text, Concept, Illustrations: Janet Allison Brown, Fiona Hayes, Samantha Chaffey Reviewed by: Jack Charlie wakes up and realizes today is his mother's birthday. He jumps out his window to find a gift,...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Put Me in the Zoo

Book: Put Me in the Zoo: A Book of Colors Author and illustrator: Robert Lopshire Reviewed by: Sandi I enjoyed this story when I was a kid, so I bought it without blinking when shopping for board books. I didn't...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: No Kiss For Mother

Title: No Kiss For Mother [image: from a copy on ebay] Written and illustrated by: Tomi Ungerer Reviewer: Marya It's been pointed out by one commentator that some of the books reviewed here are unintentionally strange, while others are...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest Is Closed. Long Live The Bizarre Book Contest.

Thanks to everyone who sent in reviews or links to reviews. Any reviews you keep sending in are still welcome, but they won't be eligible for the prize drawing. I'm working to publish the backlog of reviews, which'll probably take...
[read the full post...]

Better Impregnate While You Can, Fellas; We're About To Be Replaced By Stem Cell Sperm

Sure, at the moment, the British scientists who successfully created 'artificial sperm' from embryonic stem cells, then created embryos with that sperm, then watched 6 out of 7 of the mice born from those embryos grew to adulthood, are claiming...
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Ask A Mormon: What Should I Name My Baby?

When his wife rejected his suggestion of Xena Warrior Princess, Aaron Brown, a contributor to the Mormon groupblog By Common Consent, asked the congregation for some naming suggestions for his soon-to-be-born daughter. His specifics: no "pretentious euro-names," "no Book of...
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Driving Your Children Across The LATCH-less Tundra Wh-ch! Wh-ch!

I had to re-read the announcement of Toyota's recall of Tundra pickups three times to figure it out. Between 2003-2005, Toyota sold its Tundra pickups with an airbag cut-off switch, but without LATCH carseat anchors in the front seat....
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July 10, 2006

Whoa, The Baby Bjorn Recall Almost Applied To Us

Let's face it; most people who bought Baby Bjorn Active Carriers between September 2003 and August 15, 2004 have retired them, so if the rear buckle was going to come off and drop your baby on his head, it's probably...
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Tribeca Stroller Pushers No Like The Cobblestones, Landmarks Hearing No Like The Stroller Pushers

The residents of 44 Laight St, a converted loft condominium building in Tribeca are seeking to have the cobblestones in front of their building replaced with something a little more...stroller-friendly. The Community Board all but chased the petitioners straight into...
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My First Texas Chainsaw Massacre Collectible

Toys R Who? Looks like Amazon's new toy store is gettin' along just fine, thank you very much, now that they're free of that ol' ball-and-chain Toys R Us. They are ready to PARTY! You know what I'm saying? They...
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Utah Anthro Prof Has Tenure, Develops Baby-Parade Theory

By analyzing the way chicks dig a guy with a baby, and comparing it to the parenting technique of the sloth in Ice Age, then performing a regression analysis on the title of a ten-year-old book on how Japanese men...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Punkfarm

Title: Punkfarm [overbaked flash site] Author/Illustrator: Jarrett J. Krosoczka Reviewed by: Jennifer A bunch of barnyard animals stage a raging rock concert after their farmer goes to sleep. And in the morning, they're partied out. I don��t know if...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Barbapapa's Ark

Title: Barbapapa's Ark Author/Illustrator: Annette Tison and Talus Taylor Reviewed by: Tanya Barbapapa and Barbamama are 2 blobs that hatched out of the earth and they have 7 blobby kids. They can all morph into different shapes (animate and inanimate)....
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Time Out.

Although it's more Robert Ryman than Jackson Pollock, it looks like someone's been reading Olivia again. Kids and an Open Can of Paint, What Could Go Wrong? [neatorama via boingboing] [update: here's a link to the peanut butter version...
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Vintage Commercials: All Of These Things Are Not Like The Others

1) All the babies in this early 80's Huggies commercial got the kid pretty psyched. 2) All the Transoformers in this commercial might have a similar effect--on you. 3) This Grape Nuts ["The Energy Flakes!"] ad is stunning. Can...
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Take Your Daughter To Work And To File A Police Report Day

Sorry for the total lack of posts today. My wife got to the train station where she'd left the car for the weekend and found it had been broken into by an amateur who couldn't figure out how to hotwire...
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Vintage Mr. Yuk Commercial

Safety Can Be Fun, you say? Safety can also be a scary acid trip. And for those who saw this Mr. Yuk poison control center PSA in the early 1970's, it can be a nasty flashback. Sorry. Mr. Yuk...
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DTBBC: Go Go Go Grabote

Title: Go Go Go Grabote Author/Illustrator: Nicole Claveloux (A Harlin Quist Book, 1973) Reviewer: Geoff I was looking around my kid's overwhelming book collection, thinking about which ones might be deemed Bizarre. The first to come to mind are the...
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July 9, 2006

The Bizarre Book Contest: T-26 Hours

If you've been itching to write a review of a headscratchingly bizarre children's book, you have about 26 hours to send it into DT's review contest. Come Monday night, the contest will end--though with the backlog, reviews will still be...
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ugh: anyone know their way around mySQL?

You: a mySQL geek sitting at home. it's cold and rainy. You've sprained your ankle and can't play ball. The family's off at the mall. Your cable's out. You hit refresh, but none of the blogs you read has updated...
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There's A Design Public Online Sample Sale RIGHT NOW

ThisisLarry from Rice Daddies just emailed me [what a way to spend a Saturday night, right?] with a tip: Design Public's running an online sample and returned sale. Most everything offered is new-in-package or returned new stuff. So if you...
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July 7, 2006

DT Bizarre Book Contest: Tom and Pippo's Day

Title: Tom and Pippo's Day Author/Illustrator: Helen Oxenbury Reviewer: Nina [blog: superha's speculations] Tom and Pippo's Day is one of several books in the Tom and Pippo series by Helen Oxenbury. It's the only book my husband Ben and I...
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How Sweet Is The iCandy Apple Stroller?

Besides the fact that it will never be sold in the US with a name like iCandy Apple--and I'm surprised the Beatles and/or Apple haven't gone after them already, never mind the Bugaboo folks--I don't know much about this UK...
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Is It So Hard Finding Good Help These Days?

Not anymore. If you're a CEO with more money than time to spend, you're in luck. USA Today's Small Business blog mentions a couple of agencies who can place a well-qualified nanny in charge of your children's lives--or even a...
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CEO's Nanny Drives A Phil & Ted's

Well, the crisis in childcare continues apace. USA Today reports that even some CEO's are feeling the pinch as the cost of quality childcare spirals out of control. Seems that nanny agencies who specialize in placing background-checked, multilingual nannies with...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: The Steamroller

Title: The Steamroller Text: Margaret Wise Brown (published in 1974, 22 years after her death - the copyright is in her sister's name, Roberta Rauch) Illustrations: Evaline Ness [see sample pages] Reviewed by: Eric This book (and the fact...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Baby Animals

Title: Baby Animals Author/Illustrator: Garth Williams Reviewed by: Jason (a.k.a. daddy in a strange land a.k.a. Rice Daddies Jason) Copyright 1952, this one's a "Little Golden Book Classic." Which is fine, for the most part. I mean, who can argue...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Potty Training Special

Title: Too Big for Diapers Photographer: John E. Barrett; Stylist: Danielle Obinger; Art Director: Laurent Linn Title: The Potty Book - for girls Author/Illustrator: Alyssa Satin Capucilli, Dorothy Stott Reviewed by: Jason (a.k.a. daddy in a strange land a.k.a....
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Unidentified Local Man Looks For Garbage Can, Wonders Where The Bassinet Went

image and a lot more stalking at justjared...
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July 6, 2006

4 Days Left To Enter The Bizarre Book Review Contest: And Maybe Win A Javis Davis Custom Crib Bedding Set

The rules and complete prize list is here for the DT Bizarre Children's Book review contest. You have until the end of Monday (July 10) to enter, and to have your name included in the drawing for some truly fabulous...
[read the full post...]

DT Bizarre Book Contest: The Biggest House in the World

Title: The Biggest House in the World Author/Illustrator: Leo Lionni Review by: Noisette's Maman Cautionary tale within a tale about a small snail who wants to have the biggest shell. He ignores the advice of his father and learns to...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Safety Can Be Fun

Title: Safety Can Be Fun Author / Illustrator: Munro Leaf [ed note: ?! He wrote The Story of Ferdinand!] Reviewed by: Chris As a graphic designer, I purchased this original 1938 book for the illustrations and typography, then discovered...
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See See Kai Run: These Shoes Are Made For Walking

On Mister Rogers yesterday, the kid and I watched McFeeley make a visit to a children's shoe factory. I quickly picked up on the narration, "Shoes of made out of a material," and "Here, she cuts that material..." Of course,...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Open Me... I'm a Dog!

Title: Open Me... I'm a Dog! Author/Illustrator: Art Spiegelman Reviewed by: Heather I bought this book B.C. (before Clara) when I worked at a comic store. It was a gamble since the catalog was very vague on the description, so...
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DT Bizarre Book Exhibition Game: Farmer Duck

Title: Farmer Duck Author/Illustrator: Martin Waddell, Helen Oxenbury Reviewed by: "wildhair" (E.A. Canada) [via amazon reviews] The author has written a children's version of George Orwell's "Animal Farm". The story is the same but with the violence omitted. The duck...
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Johnny, Who Is Our Next Contest Prize Sponsor? Alexander Girard Pillows, Come On Down!

That's right, Bob, as design director at Herman Miller, Alexander Girard practically defined the color palette of mid-century modernist American design. His bold use of color and his sensitivity to the way folk art and indigenous design resonated with...
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July 5, 2006

Nomadic Furniture 2: DIY Kidgear Boogaloo

I was still buzzing from my eBay discovery of Mario dal Fabbro's How to Make Children's Furniture... a couple of weeks back when I came across James Hennessey and Victor Papanek's 1973-4 Nomadic Furniture books. They were part of...
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Star Jones Drives A Range Rover

And the valet better make damn sure he brings it before he brings that Honda over here. It's the best "SUV driver abuses the help, confirms assness" story to come out of the Hamptons since Lizzie Grubman backed over the...
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Oliver In A Tutu by Catherine Opie

I just thought this was a cute picture, even though, as Tyler points out, the kid is going to be "scarred for life." No dads, actually, but two moms, including artist--and UCLA professor--Catherine Opie, whose photo of her son,...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Busy Penguins [What, No Penguin Sex??]

Title: Busy Penguins Author/Photographer: John Schindel, Jonathan Chester Reviewed by: Kim This book has beautiful photography, showing all the things penguins do (splashing, dashing, sliding, diving etc.). And I do mean ALL the things... (okay, there's no penguin sex). We...
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Ismodern Isawesome, Ishaving A Sale

They grow up so fast. Ismodern was one of the first parent companies I came across after starting daddytypes, and back in the day, their only product was minimalist silk baby blankets. Since then, they've added a whole range...
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Bizarre Book Contest: Click, Clack Moo: Cows that type

Title: CLICK, CLACK MOO: Cows that type Author/Illustrator: Doreen Cronin, Betsy Lewin Reviewed by: Debbie It's ostensibly about cows learning valuable administrative skills. It's REALLY about labor unions and socialism. Synopsis: The cows request blankets for the barn and withhold...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Bridget and the Gray Wolves

Title: Bridget and the Gray Wolves Author/Illustrator: Pija Lindenbaum Reviewed by: Naomi Lately, our two year old has been asking us to tell her stories, and we have been obliging with off the cuff renditions of Goldilocks and Red Riding...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Muha-Zhokotuha (Buzzing Fly)

Title: Muha-Zhokotuha (Buzzing Fly) [ebay search] Author/Illustrator: Korney Chukovsky [wikipedia entry] Reviewed by: Ana & Sergei Here is a Russian must-have, read and learn rhymes and stories collection. I had it as a kid, and my 4-yo recently got it...
[read the full post...]

Daniel Raeburn's NY'er Essay, "Vessels," Now Online--With A Followup

In the two months since it was published, I've probably received 300 requests from people looking for a copy of "Vessels," Daniel Raeburn's extraordinary New Yorker magazine essay about his and his wife's experience with their stillborn daughter, Irene. So...
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On The Bright Side, She IS Studying Her Numbers

The kid's buzzing around the house, asking to watch The Street, which of course, doesn't start for another 15 minutes. So I suggest to her, "How about if we let Elmer count down for us, and when it's fifteen minutes,...
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Two Ends Of The Quiet Entertainment Spectrum

My wife and mother-in-law spent a good portion of the holiday yesterday working on a quiet book for the kid. It's going to clock in at around 12 pages, and I have a feeling it will be exquisite, beyond the...
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July 4, 2006

Amazon's New Deal: $10 Off Pampers + Gummibears

Hm. It's already the 4th of the month, and Amazon hasn't turned up with a new $99/$30 diaper/gift certificate deal yet. Are they all played out? Or are they just too busy promoting their new Amazon Grocery business? Seems they'll...
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July 3, 2006

Running The Numbers: Micralite's US Invasion Starts August 1

In the global logistics industry, quantities are often discussed in terms of shipping containers. The volume of a 20-foot container [about 39 m^3] is called a Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit, or TEU. A 40-foot container is two TEU's, or one FEU....
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Unidentified Man Drives Eddie Bauer Stroller, Checks Out Famke Jansen

image: via goldenfiddle [correction: dt reader/stroller shark points out that the stroller is an Eddie Bauer Standalone, not a Quattro Tour as originally posted. DT regrets the error. That is still Famke Jansen, though.]...
[read the full post...]

Spy Shots: Dodge Partners With Audi To Bring A2 To US

Audi's revolutionary all-aluminum wagon, the A2, which was one of the coolest not-so-great cars ever [it got phenomenal gas mileage, in the 60mpg range, had tons of trunk space, and came with a glass roof, but you had to...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Underwear!

Title: Underwear! Author/Illustrator: Mary Elise Monsell, Lynn Munsinger Reviewed by: Laura Ok, here is my choice for the bizarre book that we have in our collection. It is in storage at the moment because we just moved across the country...
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DT Bizarre Book Contest: Noisy Nora

Title: Noisy Nora Author/Illustrator: Rosemary Wells Reviewed by: Maya I know this book from my own childhood, but I think this is one I'll be skipping with my babe. Or maybe not. Anyway, it's about a rather neglected child/mouse named...
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Their Low Mercury Content Makes Daddy Types Advertisers Safe For Your Consumption

A shoutout to this week's Daddy Types advertisers, who are working to keep mercury out of our fish, Raffi out of our heads, and tacky schlock out of our kid's rooms: Oceana's Green List works with consumers and grocery stores...
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July 2, 2006

DT Bizarre Book Contest: Itsudemo Aeru

Title: Itsudemo aeru (We can always meet) [amazon japan] Author/Illustrator: Mariko Kikuta Reviewed by: Bakahage This is a Japanese book that I loved when I lived there (trying to get Mom-in-law to send a copy of it to me...) It...
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eBay Finds: Vintage Fisher Price

When the kid goes to Grammy's house, she heads straight for the toy room under the stairs like all the older cousins--and plays non-stop with the old Fisher-Price Little People. You know, the little choking hazard ones. They're not like...
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The Revolution Will Be Turned Into A Plush Toy During Naptime

in today's NY Times Magazine, Rob Walker cites Heidi Kinney's homebrewed toy business and the emerging craft/DIY movement--My Paper Crane, home of such plush toys as toilet paper rolls, used tissues, and tampons--as an historic attempt to build "an alternative...
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Amazon: Babies WERE Us

Amazon sent a notice today--the 2nd--saying that as of July 1st--um, yesterday--Amazon and Babies R Us/Toys R Us would no longer be in partnership together, and that "as a result of the improvements we'll be making to the site, some...
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July 1, 2006

DT Bizarre Book Contest: Hush, Little Alien

Title: Hush, Little Alien Author/Illustrator:Daniel Kirk "Reviewed" by: Mathowie I don't know if he meant to enter it into the contest, but Matt Haughey posted this picture to his flickr photostream today: My favorite page in Hush, Little Alien...
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Larva-Sized Chair From Hivemindesign

design*sponge posted some photos of the latest furniture pieces from hivemindesign. These side tables and chairs look like variations on HMD's chair-4, which is made of folded powder-coated steel with either walnut or upholstery. But the bonus--and the reason, obviously,...
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