Jun 11 2013

Baby Spy With A Jetpack is Cute (Dirty Sock Funtime Band)

The Dirty Sock Funtime Band brings us this cute picture of a Baby Spy with a jetpack. Check it out:

Right? Cute kid, and well-done costume. We particularly like the flames.

For the uninitiated, The Dirty Sock Funtime Band has been described (by me) as the Frank Zappa of the children’s music scene. (It may be tacky to quote yourself, it does make for easy fact-checking.) You may have seen them on Jack’s Big Music Show, or heard their tunes at Chuck E. Cheese.

Here is the video for the Dirty Socks’ song Baby Spies, which inspired the cute photo above.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm86vLDzBAc]

If you like that — and why wouldn’t you, it’s great — you should check out the band’s RocketHub campaign for their new album, The Dirty Socks Come Clean. There a variety of ways you can “Join The Band” (not literally) while getting some cool stuff, such as a signed poster, t-shirts, and an early download of the new album. Learn more here.

via @TheDirtySocks

RocketHub link

Shop Dirty Sock Funtime Band albums


Jun 09 2013

Video – Father And Son Sing Don’t Let Me Down (DaddyTube)

Today on DaddyTube, a father and son singing Don’t Let Me Down. Dad plays guitar. The little boy, presumably his son although to be fair we don’t know this for certain but a bunch of copies of the video on YouTube declare it to be true, sings and strums a ukelele. It is very cute. Watch the video.

Is it just us or does the kid sound like he’s in the correct key when he plucks out some notes halfway through the video?

(Hat tip to Karl Erickson via Facebook for the vid)

Baby boy playing Don’t Let Me Down on the guitar with his dad. – YouTube.

 


Jun 07 2013

Deadpool Digital Comics On Sale (DaddyDeals)

DaddyDeal for today — Deadpool digital comics are on sale at Marvel.com. Or you could sign up for Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited and read as much Merc With The Mouth as you want.

This deal is being offered in part to celebrate Deadpool’s new video game, which will be released on June 25, 2013. The game is Rated M, as in not for kids. Here’s a trailer. Don’t watch it at work. Or near your children.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X33NsF9h6U]

Comics featuring Deadpool are generally not kid-friendly, although at some point you may decide your kids are old enough for the joyful juvenilia that Wade Wilson provides.

If you have no idea what I’m babbling about, that’s OK. Although if you like babbling, Deadpool delivers. He has multiple personalities, a healing factor, and a totally reasonable obsession with Bea Arthur. (Yes, I’m serious.) Plus he’s Canadian!

Bottom line: if you want some Deadpool digital comics, you can get ’em for only 99 cents. Such a deal!

Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Sale! Digital Comic Collection – Marvel Comics


Apr 28 2013

Superhero Animation On Demand

As promised, here is a list of Superhero Animation that you can watch on demand. Some notes/comments/caveats:

DaddyTips Featured Video

– Most recent update: April 30, 2013

– All are available via Netflix unless otherwise indicated.

– Titles listed may suddenly become unavailable… or even better, new titles may show up. Such as Batman Beyond and Justice League which are now on Netflix. The greatness of this fact cannot be overstated.

– This page may be updated when new shows are added. I’m also going to make a different page for live action superhero programming. Because I’m cool like that. And I have a Geek Gold Card.

– This may shock some of you, but I have something to say about every single one of these shows. Therefore I will write posts for each entry as time permits. Check back for updates.

Without further ado, here is the list. If you know of anything I missed, leave a comment or contact me directly. This is important stuff, folks. Read more »


Apr 24 2013

When Your Dead Dad Is Attacked By Commenters

I haven’t yet read this article by Julia Hobsbawm about her father, Eric Hobsbawm, described by the Financial Times as a “historian and champion of the left.” But a quick skim shows that some folks were not, shall we say, fans of Mr. Hobsbawm’s work. I wonder what it’s like when your dead dad is attacked by commenters online.

It can’t feel good, right?

To see what I mean, scroll down to the comments section. It would seem that Eric Hobsbawm was a supporter of Communism, and some people are still rather upset about this. Because, as we all know, writers are the ones who control governments, not politicians. (It reminds me of when Christopher Hitchens died and many criticized his support of the United States invasion of Iraq, as if he was the only person who had any responsibility in that matter.)

As I said, I have not yet read the Financial Times article so I don’t know if Hobsbawm believed that Communism works in theory, as the great Homer Simpson said. Although Homer has also been critical of Democracy:

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lModMATbSMk]

I guess what my point is that it’s possible that the situation is more nuanced than one might be led to believe. I know. It’s just The Hive, a massive pile of opinion, flotsam, jetsam, some valid, some not. I keep a copy of this xkcd cartoon handy whenever I forget that I shouldn’t take such things personally.

XKCD - Duty Calls

All that being said, I still wonder what it feels like to have people say nasty stuff about your dead dad on the Internet. I don’t know, and I imagine Julia Hobsbawm has a thick enough skin to deal with it. But it seems unnecessarily rude. The guy is DEAD.

As for the commenters, perhaps they have a point. Or perhaps they could take a tip from another Simpsons moment:

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoAiyUduyrY]

Remembering Dad – FT.com


Apr 08 2013

Marvel Mondays Digital Comics Sale – Runaways (DaddyDeals)

Here’s my feeling about digital comics. I like comics. I like my iPad. So it’s peanut butter and chocolate, right?

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJLDF6qZUX0]

(Random aside from the YouTuber who posted the video: “Seriously, who struts down the sidewalk munching on a jar of peanut butter???” Never thought of that.)

Here’s the problem. When you buy a comic book, a plain ol’ dead-tree paper comic book, you have a physical object that you can resell or give away. That’s not the case with digital comics.

HOWEVER. Digital comics are SO much easier. You tap, you download, you have comics. (It’s actually a little dangerous with Apple’s in-app purchasing.) On an iPad with a retina screen, they look amazing. Even on an iPad without a retina screen, they look muy bueno. But you don’t really own anything. If the comic behind the digital sales process disappears, who you gonna call? The Digital Comics Police? Good luck with that.

Therein lies the conflict. What’s a fanboy fangirl fanperson person who enjoys reading comics to do?

For me, I draw a line. Not a line in the sand. Just a criteria. Here’s mine.

With digital comics, I’ve decided that if the price is lower than print, I’m in. If the price is MUCH lower than print, I’m all over it like Rorschach on a can of beans.

Enter Marvel Mondays. Today, April 8, 2013, the deal is a bunch of digital Runaways comics for 99 cents each. That’s a good deal. Since the site says Marvel MondayS (with an s) rather than Marvel Monday (with no s), my guess is that there will be similar sales occurring on — wait for it — future Mondays.

So you take the good, you take the bad, you them both and then you have the facts of comic book life.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_GxXRbSFDg]

Runaways Marvel Monday Sale! Digital Comic Collection – Comics by comiXology.


Mar 31 2013

Batman Beyond and Justice League Now on Netflix

Two of the best superhero cartoons ever are now available on NetflixBatman Beyond and Justice League.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaM1FKhrODc]

I’m futzing around on Twitter and I see this from IGN’s Joey Esposito:

 

So I tweets to Joey, I says, what Justice League cartoons? You mean these Justice League cartoons? Probably my favorite superhero cartoon ever? And he’s like, yeah. Netflix streaming. Batman Beyond too. I’m all, whoah. And he’s like…

OK, I can’t keep that going any more. Bottom line — if you have Netflix, you can watch Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and Batman Beyond on demand. Why aren’t you doing that right now?

h/t @JoeyEsposito