Whenever I’d got overwhelmed, my dad would say: “You know how to eat an elephant, Kevin? One bite at a time.” -Kevin Devaney

“Don’t tell your mom.” -Gary Sanders

If you ever have to shoot someone, make sure you empty the gun. That makes it look like you were scared. -Sam Murphy

If it can’t be fixed with a pair of pliers and baling wire, it can’t be fixed. -Wade Erickson

Dad: “son, hand me a wrench”
Son: “what size wrench you want Dad?”
Dad: “Doesn’t matter, I’m gonna use it as a hammer!” -Jon Oxford

Read the rest at Make. Link -via Boing Boing

“When he did it the first day, I was in shock,” Rain said. “It’s my first day of my sophomore year.”

The embarrassment was a thrill for his father.

The second day of school, there he was again, only this time Price was wearing a San Diego Chargers helmet and jersey. Day three, it was an Anakin Skywalker helmet, and the next day, swim trunks and a snorkel mask.

Other kids started to take note.

“Most of them like it, and we roll down our windows and wave. It’s fun,” Rain said.

His dad admits it took a lot of effort to keep it up, but said it was “a way of letting him know that we really care about him, but do something a little different.” He described it as “a father’s way” of saying I love you.

Rain’s father wore a different costume almost every day of the school year, including a white wedding dress once. Link to story. Link to website. -via Metafilter

1. Be the doctor don’t marry the doctor. My Dad is a closet feminist. Sure he comes off as a sexist pig and he is the king of inappropriate comments.  What most people don’t know is that my Dad told me nearly every day of my life that I should be the doctor not marry the doctor.

Read the rest at NeatoBambino. Link

1. Man was walking when someone told him that there’s a newborn crying in the dumpster.

2. Man rescued baby.

3. Man found out later that HE was the father of said baby (he didn’t know his girlfriend was pregnant)

Is this a made for Lifetime story? You betcha:

"A girl said, ‘I think I hear a baby in the Dumpster.’ With
no knowledge at the time that this is my kid whatsoever, I went running over there, stood beside the Dumpster, heard the baby cry," he said.

"I jumped in and removed the stuff. I personally opened the bag and uncovered all the stuff off," he said.

"My first sight of my baby was covered in garbage."

Jason van Rassel and Stephane Massinon of the Calgary Herald has more: Link (Photo: Leah Hennel/Calgary Herald) – via XOXO Jes ]]> http://www.neatorama.com/2010/10/25/man-rescued-baby-from-dumpster-found-out-hes-actually-the-father/feed/ 0 http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/01/do-not-vote-for-my-dad/ http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/01/do-not-vote-for-my-dad/#comments Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:23:34 +0000 Alex http://www.neatorama.com/2010/08/01/do-not-vote-for-my-dad/ Usually, people running for election parade their family and children to garner support from their voters. That’s not the case here: Jan Schill, the daughter of a judicial candidate in Oklahoma, has taken out an ad telling people not to vote for her father.

An Oklahoma judicial candidate is fending off a political attack from his daughter, who has taken out a local newspaper ad urging voters: "Do not vote for my dad!"

McClain County judicial hopeful John Mantooth’s daughter and son-in-law paid for the quarter-page advertisement, which features a picture of the daughter’s family, highlights cases in which Mantooth has been sued and lists a website the couple started, http://www.donotvoteformydad.com.

Mantooth said the bad blood stems from his 1981 divorce from his daughter’s mother.

"This is a family issue which should have been kept private," he said Monday. "I’m very sad about this. I’m very disappointed. I’m hurt, but I love my daughter, and I want things to get better, and I hope they will."

Jan Schill, 31, said she never has had a good relationship with her father and doesn’t think he’d make a good judge.

"We just felt like it would be bad if he were to become a judge," Schill said in a telephone interview from her home in Durango, Colo. "I assumed that he would not appreciate it, but he’s made so many people mad, I’m just another mark on his board of people’s he’s had a beef with."

Link – via Gawker | Do Not Vote For My Dad

John Farrier wrote a very interesting post over at NeatoBambino about the parenting customs and techniques of 5 ancient civilizations. Here’s what it was like in ancient Rome:

In theory, under the law and principle of patria potestas — the power of the father — the male head of household held absolute power over his children. He could discipline them as he wished, or even kill them or sell them into slavery. In practice, however, there were many formal and informal limitations to this practice. Exposure at birth was common for unwanted children — provided that it was the father who made the decision — although this infanticide was legally considered murder during the last centuries of the western empire. Valued children were given a bulla or bag of magical charms worn around the neck to protect them from harm.

Childhood lasted until about thirteen for girls, when they were married off, or fourteen for boys, when their medallion of childhood was replaced with the toga of adulthood. Girls were educated in domestic skills at home, and sufficiently wealthy boys attended local schools. Discipline could be harsh, but many Romans realized that the rod was counterproductive.

Link

New at the NeatoShop: magical breath sprays that will let you understand your mother instantly, help you communicate effectively with your father, accept the fact that you’re aging and even (gasp) understand modern art instantly. That is all. Carry on.

I hope everyone finds some sweetness like this in their world this weekend.  I, for one, will be giving my daughter a little extra love and attention!

Link

Ah, the pop culture dad. Is anyone more bumbling? Film and TV have provided us with a bevy of memorable dads, all perpetuating the stereotype of the well-meaning, but dim-witted (or borderline psychotic) pop. (Actually, sometimes it isn’t borderline.) In honor of Father’s Day, we salute a few of the greatest moments in pop culture dad-itude. They all deserve a "Father of the Year" novelty award … and possibly psychiatric counseling.

From martini-mixing lessons to murdering mobsters, see some of the best moments [of pop culture fatherhood]

Link

Kristi Tedesco of KVOA Tucson has the story:

Mendoza wrote commented on his son’s profile with an entry that neither he nor his son will ever forget, "Sorry to post on such a public forum but I’m anxious to get in touch with you soon. Love, your father IX Mendoza."

Chea Mitchell says, "Everyone was sitting down for dinner. I was checking my MySpace account and I get the comment saying it’s from my dad with a phone number. I just stared at the screen for a while and said, ‘Hey, mom. That’s his name, right?’"

They talked on the phone. Mendoza tells us, "It was just like old friends that had been apart for a little while."

Even though Mendoza hasn’t seen Chea since he was an infant, there was an instant connection. He says, "We really like zombie movies and sci-fi movies."

Eventually, Chea came to visit. He says, "I had all these brothers and sisters coming at me and hugging me and it was pretty epic."

Link (with video clip)