“Demers publishes the AmericanDad.com Web magazine out of a small office in the South End. The site, described as “an online resource for guys with kids” has offered parenting tips, advice on academics, ideas for hobbies and activities for children and other resources for dads since August 2003.

But if you do a Google search using the words American and Dad, you’ll pull up a Fox Broadcasting Co. site devoted to the risque animated show “American Dad” long before you find Demers’ parenting site.” - Boston Herald

“At the head of this miserable family is Robin Williams as a sweet-natured husband and father of two, with a good job as a business executive, but his position isn’t secure. So he’s on shaky ground at work, and on shaky ground at home as well, with a dissatisfied wife (Cheryl Hines), a relatively benign son (Josh Hutcherson) and an absolutely vicious daughter (Joanna “JoJo” Lavesque), who’d be the most evil character appearing in a film this week, were it not for the release of United 93.” - SFGate

The A, B, Cs of oldschool hip-hop. T-shirts for toddlers and big kids. Now available in the DaddyDowntime store. Click on right.

POP’S PICK: Sukara Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival this Saturday at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Some friends and I plan on sipping Sake and enjoying the day’s entertainment which includes “The Falling Flowers: A Contemporary Japanese Children’s Tale” reading and book signing for my son and Samurai Sword Soul for me (Yoshi Amao of SSS pictured above, more info here).

[update on last week: x-nay on the par-tay. My wife decided that mingling with hipster-hoppers dancing to celebrity DJ sets was not how she wanted spend a night away from our toddler. Instead she found this awesome play called Mixed Tape (by Another Urban Riff) – 4 plays really, blended together for over an hour of madcap realistic hilarity with characters ranging from a creamy, creepy coke dealer to two roommates that work at Build-A-Bear (and actually the bears themselves too). And it only cost us 8 bucks each]

FRIDAY
(no sitter this week)
AUDRA ROX at Willy Bee’s 302 Metropolitan Ave.
Friday, April 28th, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Admission is $5/person or $12/family
You know her and love her! She’s the coolest member of all our families and she’s back to shake things up with her ultra cool band and new songs. The band is on the heels of recording a brand new CD!!! What better way to wind up the work week than with a little music and refreshments!

SATURDAY
It’s all about the Cherry Blossoms /// Brooklyn Botanical Gardens
Time /// Event Information and Location
12:00–1:00 /// Taiko DrummingSoh DaikoCHERRY ESPLANADE STAGE
1:00–1:30 /// “The Falling Flowers”: Reading and Book Signing A.T. WHITE AMPHITHEATER
1:15–2:15 /// Nihon Buyo Classical Dance CHERRY ESPLANADE STAGE
2:00–3:00 /// Haiku ReadingsSpring Street Haiku GroupA.T. WHITE AMPHITHEATER
2:30–3:00 /// “Sakura: The Soul of Samurai”Samurai Sword Soul CHERRY ESPLANADE STAGE
2:30–3:00 /// Presentation: “Japanese Wagashi (Sweets)” Marybeth Welch AUDITORIUM
2:30–3:15 /// Hanagasa Odori Flower Hat Dance Parade LILY POOL TERRACE
3:00–3:45 /// Butoh DanceCorinna Hiller and Dancers MEADOW
3:30–4:45 /// Gaijin � Go-Go in Concert CHERRY ESPLANADE STAGE
3:30–5:00 /// Shakuhachi Flute ConcertKyo Shin An DojoA.T. WHITE AMPHITHEATER
4:00–5:15 /// Japanese Imperial Court Music AUDITORIUM
5:00–5:30 /// “Sakura, Sakura”: Family Kimono Fashion CHERRY ESPLANADE STAGE
5:45–6:00 /// Shinkendo Swordsmanship CHERRY ESPLANADE STAGE

SUNDAY
TOAST
As part of the TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour, Church Street School for Music and Art hosts a weekend of activities including art projects, musical performances by students, a family sing along with Richard Younger (Sat. at 2pm) and a piano, jazz and rock concert by the faculty (Sun. at 3pm).
When: Sat. & Sun., 4/29 & 4/30, 1-5pm; All ages; Free.
Where: 74 Warren St. (Greenwich & W. Broadway), 212-571-7290, churchstreetschool.org.

Bingo Concert
Join arranger and pianist Roger Davidson and an ensemble of leading Jazz musicians, as they perform classic children’s songs featuring Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms. Legendary Paulo Braga and Marivaldo dos Sontos and vocalist Christy Baron bring back the groove to timeworn classics.
When: Sun., 4/30 at 11am; All ages; $5/Adults $3/Kids.
Where: Bank Street Auditorium, 2871 Broadway, 212-678-1654, bankstreetbooks.com.

Dining for Darfur
What: The Stanton Social, Tia Pol, A Voce, The Red Cat, and others donate 5 percent of dinners’ proceeds to humanitarian relief efforts in Darfur.
Why: It starts with a meal. Here’s more food for thought — give directly to the cause.
When: Sun. Various times.
Where: Various locations. For participating restaurants, go to diningfordarfur.org.

Michael Leyden’s Acoustic Corrale
Willy Bee’s 302 Metropolitan Avenue
Sunday, April 30th, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Admission is $5/person or $12/family
Music and brunch… what a concept! Enjoy a hearty brunchfest and be amused by one of our most entertaining entertainers. The kids will have a blast with Michael… and if you’re lucky he just might play something off his new CD, “Gabdern Chicken!”

On a recent childless evening out with my wife, I picked up two free music CDs in very different locations – the Other Music flyer rack, and Fix’s pre-loo coffee table.

Later in the week I staged a mini listening party with my son to see if either of the discs were worth the price I pay (space in my pocket). I chose to listen to the CD by Isaac Wardell first. As its slickly produced packaging and album title, Bells + Whistles alluded to catchy lyrics and pop rock sounds of a great indie James Blunt.

Instead, after listening to only the first two songs, I realized that the CD was filled with tracks that sounded like a mediocre indie James Blunt. Not fantastic enough to make me listen further, and because I didn’t buy it, I wasn’t under pressure to force myself to like it.

The next CD I was even less sure about. The packaging was akin to those square envelopes you get when you purchase CDRs in bulk, and the label seemed to be printed from a home computer and slapped on a Memorex branded disc. What made matters worse was the title SKEW had chosen for his album – Ballerinas Don’t Have Boobies.

With my finger over the mute button on the remote in order to edit the curses I was sure would be present on every track, I turned up the volume and cued my son to get ready.

The booming sounds that came from the speaker made him immediately break into to manic form of some capoeira ritual dance. He loved it and to my surprise, whatever lyrics there were have been so distorted you couldn’t tell what they were saying. The cacophony that makes up the songs sound like a more street DJ Shadow, or Prefuse 73 sans the clever and well-placed vocals.

We danced all the way to track 7 on the 8 track disc when we got to a song that sounded like the Beastie Boys on crack … wait, the Beastie Boys always sound like they’re on crack. Anyway, the failed analogy should give you some reference point for the sound I’m trying to describe. My son wasn’t sure what to make of it, and neither did I, but we had both come this far on the CD and I stuck it out till the lull of the high then low, fast then slow outro.

I’m sure Isaac Wardell will garner many listeners from his promotional efforts. His sound is very mainstream and I think even I could like it given the right circumstances. SKEW will probably get a few gigs spinning at Manhattan parties, but he’ll most likely fall shy of pop stardom as his sounds require the listener to either be a crazy 18-month-old toddler or posses this particular acquired tatse in music.

“MTV’S ‘POPETOWN’ DRAWS COMPLAINTS - German bishops and conservative leader Joachim Herrmann said yesterday he has filed a complaint with prosecutors accusing music channel MTV of disparaging Christianity in an ad for its Vatican parody cartoon ‘Popetown,’ which depicts the pope as a pogo-stick riding brat.” - Associated Press

“Naheda is a widow with four children. She lives in Al Machri in the Dhi Qar province of southern Iraq.

‘My children are suffering from bad nutrition because we depend on the rations only,’ she says. ‘And with times difficulties increased and it becomes hard to tolerate. But Allah has given them hope and fills this earth with people working for good and helping others.” - War Child (more here)

Every time I get to thinking I’m a cool, hip, alternadad, I get an email from one of those cool, hip, alternaparenting websites and realize that one can’t rest one’s laurels if one is to keep up with cool.

There is just so much stuff out there (or ‘up there’ since cool usually comes with a hard to reach, extremely impractical price tag) that a parent just can’t choose. Slick suites for Junior or manners school disguised as a summer vacation? Decisions, decisions.

1) Lucha Libre: The Man in the Silver Mask (Cinco Puntos Press): “Kids—of all ages—are drawn to the allure of lucha libre and its masked men and women. In Lucha Libre, young fans will see this fascinating world come alive: favorite heroes and much-feared villains, dressed in dazzling and outrageous costumes, strut and prance across the mat and bounce against the ropes, daring anyone to take them to the floor!” - Cinco Puntos Press

2) Hello Duudle: The Duudleville Tales: “A brand new book by Jon Burgerman and Sune Ehlers. The concertina book (approximately 1010 x 75mm) printed on thick matt laminated art-board, folds out to reveal a wondrous inter-connecting sprawl of characters and colour. It can also be displayed as a stunning frieze. Details are hidden amongst the intricate drawings with secret characters popping up throughout in specially screened spot-UV. The reverse introduces you to some of Hello Duudle’s key characters, giving an insight into their eccentric shenanigans. In addition to the book,the package comes with a selection of fun stickers and an original hand-drawn, signed and numbered drawing from either Jon or Sune. Some 1000 individual drawings were made for this project, that’s a lot of doodles!” - The Duudles. View or purchase here.

3) Boys will be men: “What happens when an art major from the Tisch School lands a teaching job at a Manhattan preschool? She takes inspiration from the kids she teaches and creates a new clothing line: Burwell New York. Artist Caroline Burwell spent her days seeing the world through a child’s eyes – the things they are drawn to and the ways they express themselves. She took her firsthand observations and applied them to an all-boys’ clothing line with a look that is prep with a street twist. Prepsta, if you will.” – Urban Baby

4) Gastronomists on the go: On the way to that cool arty water park in Chelsea’s Gallery district and you want to pick up some picnic fare on the way. Where do you go? “The correct answer is Dirty Bird To-Go, a new Southern-comfort takeout/delivery joint that offers healthy, all-natural dishes, such as free-range chicken served three ways (double-dipped fried, slow-roasted rotisserie, fingers with dippin’ sauce) as well as a selection of greens and traditional sides like mac ’n’ cheese, dirty rice, and grilled veggies.” – Daily Candy

5) Sun, sand and social graces: “The Children’s Etiquette Classes at the Don CeSar offer basic manners and social skills to children ages five to twelve. From thank you notes to party manners, children are taught polite conduct and behavior. Each class includes a four-course feast, including soup, salad, main entrée and dessert. This is offered as a five part series. Every class is independent of the others. With each level your child will receive specialized instruction, a four-course gourmet meal, a graduation gift and a diploma. Once all four classes are completed, the 5th class offers the “Masters Degree”. Beginning on February 10, 2006, children are offered basic manners and social skills during Children’s Etiquette Classes at the Don CeSar. The classes will be offered on the second Friday of each month for $65 per child, per class or $325 for all five classes.” - Don Cesar

Cheap, hot, fast and sophisticated. Except for the ’sophistcated’, that could serve as a description of one of my college girlfriends. But instead, it’s a description of last night’s dinner:

Pan-seared Salmon patties with a light powdering of Lawry’s
Herb focaccia warmed in a pan with butter
Mixed-greens salad with a raspberry vinigarette dressing

Eveything from Trader Joe’s (I swear my wife owns shares) and it all took about 15 minutes.

“826NYC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.” - 826NYC

It’s also home to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. 372 5th Ave. between 5th and 6th Street, BK NY

“WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused yesterday to get involved in a fight over a Jesus poster that a Bladwinsville, N.Y., kindergarten student submitted for a class assignment on ways to save the environment.” - Associated Press

It’s 5pm; do you know where your children are? My seventeen-month-old toddler and I are probably at some East Williamsburg bar that still has its shutters half closed. Or at least that’s where we might be from now on.

Yesterday we visited Stain bar (a few blocks from our house at 766 Grand Ave.) during that strange period of the day where has just awakened from his afternoon nap and mom will be arriving home any minute. He’s going a little nutty indoors, but we don’t have enough time to stroll to the park and be outdoors.

My solution? Tell mom to meet us at Stain where we’ll be the extra early patrons for the evening’s planned event – Arts and Crafts.

Well, my son and I were the only one’s there, but that actually played to our advantage. The owner/bartender was pleasantly surprised. “This is great,” she said. “I always wondered why more parents don’t bring their kids here.”

Pretty soon my son had multiple answers for her as he decided that painting and collage work were boring and instead found interest in tweaking the knobs on the house amplifier, scattering promotional flyers, knocking over a glass-topped table, and playing an elaborate game of treasure hunt with lost guitar picks serving as the prized bounty.

As I wrangled him back to the comfy couch in order to share a warm, soft pretzel along with milk and tea, the owner couldn’t help but share here thoughts. “Boy, he sure is energetic,” she said. And I knew that my son and I had just killed any ideas she had been harboring for a planned parent/toddler event at her artsy establishment.

Next we plan to storm Barcade (388 Union Ave.) during their early hours. I’m very interested in seeing what my son will make of the old school arcade games that is one of the bar’s main draw. I am already familiar with the other, their extensive list of locally brewed beer.

I suggest you change your diet Om
It could lead to high blood pressure, if you fry it
Or even a stroke, heart attack, heart disease Om
It ain’t no startin back once arteries starts to squeeze
Take a easy way out phony, until then Om
They know they wouldn’t be takin that bologna in the bullpen

It’s hip-hop Asana at the Jivamutki Yoga Center. With experienced instructors (Jules and Matt) and a live DJ set. Time to get downward-facing, dawg! 404 Lafayette Ave, 3rd Fl. NYC. Open to all levels. 212.353.0214.

Thank goodness the crack fad has come and passed. That’s one less drug I have to lecture my son on the ills of.

I’ve still got a few more years before he enters his tweens , the age at which (according to kidshealth.org) he is most susceptible to drug use related peer pressures. “C’mon, all the kids are hip to it.” But I’m already having fun with this inevitable yet annoying phase of fatherhood.

Tooling around online, I found a few vintage anti-drug ads that will surely make as both laugh while teaching him the bad side of Barbiturates.

My favorite was also the longest (at 21 minutes) and particularly fun. One commentator’s open-source review reads:

This 50s Encyclopedia Britannica anti-drug film is about as campy as I’ve ever seen EB get. It tells the story of Marty, a nice, clean-cut 50s teen who succumbs to peer pressure and tries reefers. Before you know it, he’s a junkie mainlining heroin, and then experiences the inevitable downward spiral of losing his part-time job at the grocery store, worrying his parents, getting snubbed by all the other clean-cut teens, turning to shoplifting and thievery to support his habit, and finally becoming a drug pusher.

Doesn’t it sound like a great watch? If you think so you can purchase the DVD collection here.

CHICAGO—James Evans, a real down-to-earth, no nonsense father is pretty upset with how easy it has gotten for pimps nowadays. “The old term pimping ain’t easy is no longer relevant,” he said. “Today, you have this rap group, Three 6 Mafia being recognized for a pimp blues song. I don’t like it.” - BeanSoupTimes

“Why Turn off the TV?
Television cuts into family time, harms our children’s ability to read and succeed in school, and contributes to unhealthy lifestyles and obesity. Here are just a few of the facts:

On average, children in the US will spend more time in front of the television (1,023 hours) than in school this year (900 hours).
Forty percent of Americans frequently or always watch television during dinner.

As US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher said at the Kick Off of TV-Turnoff Week 2001, “We are raising the most overweight generation of youngsters in American history…This week is about saving lives.” - TV Turnoff