I have been admiring Ben MacNeill's stunning graphics at the Trixie Update over the past year. It should follow some of the "early" computer art circa 1984. He ought to submit this one or my favorite, the daily feeding cycle (agitated) into the Museum of Modern Art. It should be labeled informational minimalist art so we can get the next art movement started. Ben's latest work of art at left breaks down the famous "two naps to one" event. For those not in the know Ben hits a certain keyboard key every time his daughter does nearly anything. (He has smacked the F9 key three thousand five hundred and thirteen times due to diaper changes). It was fun to check these stats, but the graphs didn't seem to show the trends in the short term. Over the long haul however, you can actually see the agonizingly slow and uneven process of naptimes on his graphs. By taking the emotional element out of the process, it's reassuring to any new dad to step back and see Ben's visual proof that those diaper leaks, naps and bottle routines that seem like they will never end always do.

Playgroup update: I've added 2 new playgroups and a new website to the Network.Tom Henry of Stockton, CA.(tjhenryjr67@yahoo.com), Matthew Feinberg of Missouri City, TX (matthew@feinberg.org) and Seattledads new site at www.seattledads.org.

Like the New England Patriot's Defensive End Richard Seymour (pictured at left with his son by the Globes' Stan Grossfeld), working at-home dads have quietly taken the spotlight in the media in the last several years.  Also like the Pats they don't have a real spokesman either. Sure the reluctant Tom Brady  gets the GQ treatment but that's it. (Remember, Terrell Owens got more attention then the entire New England Team combined in one Ad.). In any case  the media seems to be enjoying putting together the terms  "working dad"  and the "at-home dad" qualifier in the same breath.  Reading through some "working dad" articles just in the past week I kept noticing sentences like...  "As the co-owner and chef of Three Oaks Chocolatier in Torrington, and a stay-at-home dad to three young boys....."  or "He gets to schedule his work to spend as much time as possible with Joey, now 4 ?. He calls himself a stay-at-home dad"  or  "Being a stay-at-home dad three days a week, I've deep-six diapers, cut the crust off PB&J's, and made the ultimate sacrifice: sing along with Barney".  These dads seem to be emphasizing that, yes we do work, but we are still caring for their kids and we're proud of it.  The media isn't the only ones noticing, The Families and Work Institute  note in a 2004 report that Gen-X daddies (working dads between the ages of 23-37)  spend nearly an extra hour (or 3.4 hours/day) with their kids as compared to 25 years ago. What I found even more encouraging is that that the early returns (their samples were are too small to give out numbers) are showing Gen-Y dads (18-22 years old) are trumping the X-ers.  Look for this new generation of dynasty dads to be making more noise in the coming years.

I am done posting for the year  (The kids are out of school)

till then, call the kids in and share a few tunes from your 8-bit past.

01. Yerzmyey - Jesus Holy, Born So Lowly
02. Nullsleep - Silent Night
03. Vim - When A Child Is Bored
04. Paul Slocum - Up On The Housetop
05. Bit Shifter - Let It Snow
06. Goto80 - Last Christmas Hot Digi Rmx
07. Dma-Sc - The First Blip Blop Noel
08. Hally - Xmas Songs Arcade Punk Mix

A chance to help one of our own:  Teri Thompson Children's Fund

I heard a knowing giggle from my two boys as we were walking into the movie "Lemony Snickets:  A Series Of Unfortunate Events".  They were covering their mouths, trying to hold on to their secret.  I looked down at them and nearly ran into their inside joke. It was a huge poster for the Meet the Fuckers Fockers movie.   I could read their minds.  I have an excuse to say a near swear word!  Ok, hurray for Universal Studios for good marketing, but that's not why I'm writing about the movie.  Dustin Hoffman plays an at-home dad in the flick. With the tonnage of reviews, what would the critics call him?  A Mr. Mom or a stay-at-home dad?   The most widely distributed movie reviews were  from AP Movie Writer David Germain and Reuters reporter Sheri Linden. Checking  both sources, they decided to use the stay-at-home dad term. The Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune, (also widely syndicated)  followed suit. The only major reporter using Mr Mom so far was  NewsDay's Gene Seymour.  It was refreshing to finally see an absence of the Michael Keaton descriptor from the major news outlets.  It could be an early indicator that the media may lighten up a bit  in next year Father's Day articles. Below are the early results and links (more reviews will be out today and into the weekend).

Just a few weeks ago, at-home dad Jamie Martin was playing football with his two kids at home. Having been retired for a few years he got a phone call out of the blue from his previous boss, The St Louis Rams. They were offering his old quarterback job back. With star quarterback Marc Bulger recovering from a bruised shoulder, and backup Chris Chandler playing as if he had one, Martin got the nod to take the field last Saturday after Chandler's poor 1st quarter play offered no choice. He ended up completing 16 for 31 passes and gaining 188 yards but did lose the game to Arizona Cardinals 31-7. The St Louis Dispatch reported that Martin hadn't thrown a pass in an NFL game in two years, which, "is a lot different than just tossing the ball around in the back yard." Looks like Bulger will back next week and if he holds up, Martin ought to playing football with the kids on a regular basis again after the season's over.

New playgroup: I'd like to welcome Tom Irwin of Baltimore County, MD to the playgroup mix he's at www.badsoup.com