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From the category archives:

Fatherhood

Men as Caricatures

by Caleb on January 26, 2012

Gentlemint

Guys, I get it. I really do.

You’ve been taught all your life to avoid “girly” things. People have told you to be “be a man,” and possibly made fun of you for doing something that appears feminine. You’ve been given an innate fear of weakness, beauty, and other qualities that have somehow become only associated with the fairer sex.

Maybe this led you to play a sport you didn’t really care about. Or pretend to like an action movie you thought was actually poorly produced. Or hide your love of things like poetry, or the “Real Housewives of Orange County.”

You’ve gravitated towards things like man aisles in grocery stores, or sites like The Art of Manliness, because they’ve supposedly made it easy to tell what a real man does – to differentiate yourself from feminine things. New shows like Man Up and Last Man Standing appeal to you for the same reasons.

Enter the new site Gentlemint, which does the same thing online. You’ve heard about Pinterest, the wildly popular online pinboard where people can “pin” images and videos to curated boards for everyone to see your interests. But you’ve also heard that Pinterest is dominated by women, so you’ve hesitated. And now Gentlemint has given you an option that will clearly say, “I’m a man!” Everyone wins, right?

Wrong.

Here’s why I’m going to advocate that you avoid things like Gentlemint. [I want more...]

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Wildlife

January 17, 2012
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One of the benefits of escaping big city life to visit my parents in Oklahoma is the wildlife. Adjacent to my hometown is a big refuge and mountain range, filled with buffalo, longhorns, and other endangered species. We also have a few friends with farms, so the last two holiday seasons we’ve taken Miles to [...]

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Christmas is Magic

December 12, 2011
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… at least, for little kids it still is. It’s been so fun sharing that experience all over again with Miles this year. How’s your season going?

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Wordless Wednesday | Farewell Outdoor Play

December 7, 2011
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Men in 3-D

November 29, 2011
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Recently, Doug French touched on an issue at the new Babble Dads site that I’ve been mentally tossing around for a while now. One that is very relevant to this blog, and in some ways is part of why it was started: What does it mean to be a man?

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(No) Money, Mo’ Problems

November 1, 2011
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By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of Movember, the annual month long mustachioed fiasco where men all over the world grow mustaches in order to raise funds and awareness for men’s health – specifically prostate cancer. Well, my friends. This year’s about to blow it all out of the water.

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Happy Halloween

October 31, 2011
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…From the best little fireman around. PS, For more thoughts on Halloween, see my last Etsy post, where I go into detail about how much fun it’s going to be with Miles in the coming years. Good times. How was your weekend? Did you take your little one(s) trick or treating?

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Babble Recognizes Dads (And TEM)

October 27, 2011
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On the one hand, I always chuckle at lists like this (related: Klout scores), because they’re trying to quantify something very intangible. On the other hand, I’m very honored to be included, because this list includes some of the best dads (read: men, read: humans) that I know. In particular, check out this, this, this, [...]

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Adventureland

October 19, 2011
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A few weekends ago we traveled up to Wisconsin to visit my in-laws, who recently purchased a cabin. On a private lake. On 52 acres of land. Needless to say, it was beautiful and relaxing and just what we needed for a little escape from big city life.

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On Testosterone, Fatherhood, and Non-Controversies

September 30, 2011
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I’ve been trying to avoid this, but I feel compelled to address the non-controversy that has erupted in the dad/man world over a New York Times article about testosterone levels dropping in men after they have children. The article basically asserted that the more time men spend caring for their children, the more their testosterone levels [...]

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