The rise in the unemployment rate last month to 9.2 percent has Democrats and Republicans reliably falling back on their respective cure-alls. It is evidence for liberals that we need more stimulus and for conservatives that we need more tax cuts to increase demand. I am sure there is truth in both, but I do not believe they are the whole story. I think something else, something new — something that will require our kids not so much to find their next job as to invent their next job — is also influencing today’s job market more than people realize. Read MoreOP-ED COLUMNIST, NYTimes
The Start-Up of You
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: July 12, 2011
We Are All Smith…..more t-shirts. You KNOW how I love ‘em!
The word “Smith” n.- is defined by one who makes or effects anything: like a metalsmith or a locksmith. We get it, because we like to fancy ourselves wordsmiths. We Are All Smith is a new line of clothing that aims to inspire you to be your own smith. Just don’t be a douchesmith. Hand-printed in Los Angeles using only the best (and softest) materials, the designs are clean, simple and on trend. $38
When you took your last rugged, outdoor vacation, did you leave all of your personal essentials at home? We’re not talking about a toothbrush or deodorant, we’re referring to your cellphone, camera, lighter and anything else you need to get by in the wilderness. Those types of things need to stay dry and if you’re just throwing it all in a military duffel or weekender bag, you’re not properly protecting it from the elements. The GearPods Connect Storage System is the perfect way to get (and stay) organized, all the while protecting your most valuable assets from less than perfect conditions. Available in multiple shapes and sizes, each GearPod is made of watertight polypropylene and polycarbonate to give your goods the armor-like containers they deserve. They’re also modular and connectible so you can easily pack, stack, store and not have to worry about losing. It’s Tupperware for dudes. $7+
I promised to post links to the photographers we have used for our kids (here in Southern California). We have 3 that we love and I’ll post them separately so they are all well represented!! :)
Teness = Teness Herman Photography
Teness shot our wedding AND has taking amazingly beautiful pictures of our babies. She lives up in Portland now but comes down to Los Angeles regularly to make us look amazing in her pictures!
LOVE THIS! My better half, my love, my wife sent in pics of our twins to RookieMoms.com Twins Week and they included them. :) All those babies are so damn cute!!
If my kids look older than you expected, they are in fact 4.5 years old although I’ve been blogging chronologically since our fertility issues so I haven’t caught up with their real age yet.
I was looking at this picture (as my computer screen background at home) the other night as I was writing my blog and I kept thinking about how much I love it. I love the kids too! :)
How To Build A Sofa Fort
Ok I have to say that the dads blogging on tumblr are EFFING HYSTERICAL!! You guys really are…keep it up! -heather
The battle is on! Father vs Offspring. Build a fort and decimate your opponent. Take no prosinors. This is for pride, for glory. This is for parents everywhere. Leave your emotions at the door. This, is war.
The Fundementals.
Kids:
Sofa x 1
Blankies x 2
Empty Paper Towel Roll x 1
Teddy x 1
Plastic Balls x 10
Dog Biscuits x 3
Dad:
Tub Chair x 1
Netbook x 1
Webcam x 1
USB Mounted Nerf Cannon x 1
Blankie x 1 (what?)
SkarGorn Denim - these look pretty delicious….I want a pair!
A weary shopper brushes past a bronze lantern. Out pops the Jean Genie, who grants her one wish.
S: I want denim that fits me like a glove, isn’t slavishly trendy, and has some swagger.
(A pair of SkarGorn Jeans magically appears.)
JG: Behold SkarGorn, the new premium denim line by former Levi’s design director Rikke Korff. The collection joins her cult jersey label, The Furies, under her burgeoning design house, The Korff Kounsil.
S: In-jean-ious!
JG: Three classic-but-cool silhouettes run the gamut fromskinny (Bone) to straight-leg (Quill) to cropped cigarette (A). They’ve got just the right dose of stretch, and their moody washes (Violet Fade, Black Indigo) are a sheer rhapsody in blue. The line also offers a few men’s styles.
S: I hope you aren’t just a manifestation of my denim-entia.
Available through July 31 at Markets of the Korff Kounsil, 1639 Silver Lake Boulevard, at Effie Street (310-450-7171 or thekounsil.com), $128 and up.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows trailer…..FUN!
Sculptural Playground in Wiesbaden, Germany
As we continue to wonder why so much more time, energy and attention is lavished on adults’ play and entertainment spaces than on kids’ play and entertainment spaces, we sometimes find a cool spot worth mentioning.
The “sculptural playground” Schulberg located in a formerly neglected area overlooking the historic centre of the city of Wiesbaden in Germany, is one of such great kid-friendly environments. It is both kid- and adult-friendly and big enough to hold even the most active kid’s attention for several visits.
Designed by Berlin-based ANNABAU Architektur und Landschaft http://www.annabau.com/index.php?site=projects&subsite=project&id=6, the pentagon-shaped play area mirrors the city’s historic shape. The playground consists of three elements: A suspended net walkway loop supported by two undulating lengths of stainless-steel pipe; an artificial landscape created inside the loop; and a wide boulevard with benches outside the loop. - Tuija Seipell
I love the things these guys find all over the world. They are THE COOL HUNTER. GORGEOUS!!!
Adam Sandler in JACK AND JILL. What do you think?
Carmageddon videos are taking over here in Southern California….now Hitler is ranting about how the freeway closure is going to ruin his weekend trip to Disneyland. :) Funny though!
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - WOW WOW WOW. This looks amazing!!! Check it out!
“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” is like a well-written bedtime story and an immersive animated movie at once.
E-books are already a fraught subject for many readers, writers, publishers and designers, but children’s e-books are even more so. Is it rotting their minds? Is it as good as good ol’ paper? Is it toointeractive for their own good? Obviously there are no practical answers to such questions, but at least one children’s e-book/app/thingie (what do we call these things, again?) is doing it very, very right. It’s called “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” and it’s like a well-written bedtime story and an immersive animated movie at once – without being “too much” of either. Part of why the book works so well is its top-shelf creative pedigree: authorWilliam Joyce is also an accomplished illustrator and animator who’s published New Yorker covers, won a bunch of Emmys, created character designs for some of Pixar’s first animated classics, and worked on many others for Dreamworks and Disney. With his cohorts at Moonbot Studios, he created an interactive book-app around the story and a standalone animated film – so you can experience “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" however you like. Designing interactive interfaces for kids is no mean feat, and the Moonbot team really made some great choices with "Morris Lessmore.” When you open up the app, it doesn’t waste your time with teaching-screens about how to interact with it – it just smoothly enters the story. (A key feature, I imagine, when you want to get Junior to go the youknowwhat to sleep ASAP.) Gently animated cues surface in the lush visuals at just the right time, encouraging you to explore the app rather than slavishly plod through it: When a house gets picked up in a tornado, you can use your fingers to swipe and spin it around – but you don't have to. In fact, the interface design is so subtle it wasn’t until I was about six pages in that I realized that every page of the app has some delightful feature embedded into it that you have to find for yourself. This is the key to a successful children’s book – inviting them to play and explore and be curious, not just jab buttons to activate cheesy visual effects. And mercifully, every gewgaw in the book has a button so you can toggle it on or off: For example, you can kill the voiceover so you can read to your kid in your own voice the way God intended, or silence the music and sound effects if you want to. But they’re all just a tap away if you change your mind – and the whole experience is so well-produced, you very well just might. [Buy “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” in the iTunes App Store for $4.99]
Wow! This is a fun 3 minutes but wait until the roller coaster goes UP and check out how you can’t even see the track when you start coming back down!!
Pretty much my plan for this summer.
Been cycling everyday for two weeks so far.
Hopefully should improve the cardio.
LOVE THIS!!!!
Have you been invited? Thoughts?
I think this thing seems SMART!! :)
When was the last time you needed to charge something that didn’t require connecting a USB cable to some sort of funky dongle and then hooking it into the wall? The only thing we can think of off the top of our heads is the charger for our cordless drill. Droids, iPads, iPhones, even AA and AAA batteries can all be charged using USB. It only makes sense then that this ubiquitous charging standard would be available without the use of something called a dongle… and now it is. With these USB Wall Outlets from Fastmac and a little bit of elbow grease you can replace the outlets in your place with ones that are fit for the 21st Century, USB powered world that we live in. Dongle might be a fun word to say, but we have more important things to use those outlets for—like charging our drill. $23
I just did, too. I also added your page to the “Favorites” of The Daddy Complex Facebook page.
THANKS!!! I did the same for The Daddy Complex. :)
CARMAGEDDON: The 405 - The Trailer……Hahahaha!!!!