Some kids have imaginary friends, others don’t. Either way is OK. Peeno Ceeno (pronounced pee-no, see-no) was my imaginary friend. She lived in the wooded wetland behind my house. I was expecting my boys to have imaginary friends too. But so far, neither five-year old Bubba nor three-year old Peter has mentioned any imaginary pals. [...]

Last month, I attended Strong Men Speak, a roundtable discussion at UC Berkeley that considered the definition masculinity in contemporary American culture — how it is changing, and how it needs to change.  Of considerable interest to all of us in attendance was the connection between fatherhood and concepts of masculinity.  It prompted me to [...]

My 5-year-old son earns his first “yellow light” for… giving the finger I was shocked. Bubba’s kindergarten class operates on a stoplight system for monitoring behavior. A green light is good. A yellow light is a warning. A red light is major infraction that includes a note home from the teacher. Students color their behavior [...]

Do your kids get an allowance?  Do they have to earn it? Money is on everyone’s mind these days and it was a spirited topic during a recent Thursday evening Tweet Chat that I host, called #DadChat**.  Tweet Chats are growing as different communities band together for an hour or so and chat with each [...]

I’m not a good soccer player, but I’m a heck of a lot better than my 5-year-old son. The same goes for most backyard games as well as board games, video games and nearly all other competitions. I generally don’t run up the score, but I don’t lie down either. That’s not to say Bubba [...]

How many times have parents heard their kids say, “It’s not fair!”  How many times have older kids called their parents, “Hypocrite?” How many times were the kids right? My older son called me a hypocrite the other day because I was making disturbing noises early one morning, while he and his brother were still sleeping.  Important noises like singing silly ditties [...]

Trevor Gillies is a thirty-two year old forward for the New York Islanders. His position is listed as a left wing, but he is definitely much more well known for his brawling than his scoring. His professional career began in 1996 with the OHL’s North Bay Centinnials. After that, he bounced around between the ECHL, [...]

Beer has been the topic of choice for almost all of my previous articles. I’ve plunged into the land of Italian Amaro and even drank at the table of Jeremiah Weed, but for some odd reason I’ve strayed away from wine for the most part. That changes right now. Today I’m going to tell you [...]

Mike Mottau is a thirty-three year old defenseman for the New York Islanders. The Quincy, Massachusets native was selected with the 182nd pick by the New York Rangers in the 1997 NHL draft. He played his college hockey at Boston College where he amassed 157 points in four seasons and took home the Hobey Baker [...]

                        In honor of Chrismahanakwanzakuh, I have decided to be very generous this holiday season and give each team a special present. Team TW 1 A Vince Lombardi Trophy. Anything less would be a disappointment. 2 Some name recognition for Jimmy Graham. Or at [...]

  Team TW LW 1 1 Fact: the Packers haven’t lost a game since October 3rd, 1987. At least it seems that way. 2 2 I don’t care that the Steelers are the first AFC team to reach ten wins. The Ravens are still better. 3 3 Drew Brees is one of a handful of [...]

Excited for the big Christmas afternoon basketball rematch between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat? If the NBA season isn’t cancelled, that will probably be the first time you will get a chance to see any professional basketball this year. Fear not, there is other basketball to watch. The best part is that it’s already on and [...]

It seems to happen every year – no matter what we budget, many of us get caught up in the holiday spirit and end up spending more money than we can really afford to. Here are five tips to keep your holiday spending in check. Use these tips and tricks to combat the games Madison [...]

For millions of Americans, being out of work one more day is an all too familiar situation. The jobs that people once had have been eliminated, bills are due, part-time jobs aren’t paying well, families need to eat, and unemployment is running out. For those who were the bread-winners, guilt, failure, hopelessness and stress can [...]

A dangerous game of political chicken is being played in our country with the debt ceiling, and it stands the chance of bringing the further downfall of the American Empire. I wouldn’t say that this “crisis” of the debt ceiling would be the major cause of this downfall, it is a symptom of a larger [...]

The aftereffects of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan are still a major cause for concern as the auto industry tries to pull itself up from recession, but that isn’t the only thing that is giving industry experts pause these days. Now the car business has been confronted with new data that is causing yet [...]

I am running the risk of saying something which will upset the millions of orphans who have been spiritually abandoned by their parents and handed over to a surrogate mother named (non-)Music Television and a surrogate father named Facebook. If one is to pick their battles, I think this one is worth it. In my [...]

Dear Chrysler-Dodge, I was just reading about the new Grand Caravan R/T you’re unveiling today. You call it the “Man Van”, inferring that minivans are in fact for chicks. That’s retarded. Historically, manliness was measured in strength, combat ability and virility. Having a lot of kids is manly. Based on that alone, a minivan- designed [...]