The Rock Father - a 'Daddy Blog' where Mommy is welcome too! Top Dad Blog

HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - "Sports" Turns 30 and Brings "The Heart of Rock & Roll" to a New Generation...

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:31:00 -0500

I was just a month out from my seventh birthday when HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS released their album, SPORTS in September of 1983. As a kid growing up on this new thing called "MTV" (Music Television), a cable network that had just hit the two-year mark a month prior, Huey Lewis & The News became my first rock band. At the same time my young mind was absorbing the sonic stylings and visual accompaniments of artists like Michael Jackson and Duran Duran, Lewis and his crew became my gateway drug into a larger world filled with "The Heart of Rock & Roll" - guitar, drums, bass...

Huey Lewis & The News
1980's
Reissues
Music Education
Stuff I Had When I Was A Kid
Rock Father Musings
dadbloggers
Dad Bloggers
Daddy Bloggers

Watch: How to Get to SESAME STREET? The Rock Father learns, and brings the scoop on Season 44!

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:10:00 -0500

Last week, the world was introduced to the newest neighbor on SESAME STREET, a Writer from Puerto Rico named Armando - or 'Mando as the folks on the 'Street quickly dubbed him. The introduction of this new character is part of a focus on Hispanic Heritage and Diversity that plays a key role in the forthcoming 44th season of the iconic series on PBS KIDS. Mando (Ismael Cruz Cordova) joins Maria (Sonia Manzano), Luis (Emilio Delgado) and Muppets Rosita and Ovejita (Carmen Osbahr) as part of SESAME STREET's bilingual community. This week, my adventures took me to the famed Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach, where I joined my fellow PBS KIDS VIP (Very Involved Parent) Ambassadors at the 2013 PBS Annual Meeting. There, I spent some time with Mando and Rosita... and just may have found the answer to that age-old question: "Can You Tell Me How to Get to SESAME STREET?"

Rosita
PBS Annual Meeting
Ismael Cruz Cordova
Muppets
Rock Father Exclusives
Sesame Workshop
PBS
Educational Entertainment
Sesame Street
TV for Kids
Rock Father Adventures
PBS Kids

THE ROCK FATHER: ASSIGNMENT MIAMI BEACH #PBSam

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:30:00 -0500

If you're reading this midday on May 13, 2013... just know that I'm currently sitting in the aisle seat of a Boeing 737 en route to Miami. Thanks to internet magic, The Rock Father website continues posting new content even when I'm away, and that's just another example of technology at it's finest. This week's adventure is taking me to the PBS Annual Meeting. It's my first trip 'as' "The Rock Father" - and only the third time since becoming a parent nearly four years ago that I've actually gone away on business... or been away from my family.

Rock Father Adventures
PBS Kids
PBS
PBS Digital Studios
PBS Parents
Miami
Educational Entertainment

For All the Moms Who Rock (I Salute You)

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:45:00 -0500

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

As The Rock Father, it's my wife... the mother of my two daughters... that is truly the backbone of this family. I've noted this before, but I could never do what she does. She works full-time outside of the home to support our lifestyle, to provide for our children, and to support my crazy adventures. She's a great Mom, and while our little ones might not fully appreciate just how much she does (yet), the smiles on their faces each night solidify the fact that all is right.

AC/DC
Mother's Day
Holidays
Rock Father Musings
dadbloggers

TEK RECON - Kickstarting More Trouble with Tech Toys?

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:48:00 -0500

This is one of those situations where I get very conflicted. On the surface, there's a start-up company looking to crowdfund a project that they believe in. The intentions seem good, the product solid, and the market is there. Underneath, the problem is that I don't particularly like the product, it'll be obsolete quick, and I wish that the market wasn't there. TEK RECON, which launched it's Kickstarter this week, is being touted as "The First Real-Life Video Game," and was called a combination of "Nerf and Halo" by CNET. It's guns. It's kids. It's tech. So many problems...

Tek Recon
Crowdfunding
Kickstarter
Tech Toys
Apps

TRANSFORMERS: Fan Built Bot enters final voting phase...

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Sat, 11 May 2013 00:16:00 -0500

Last month, the team at Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) invited kids and fans of their TRANSFORMERS line to help in crafting an all-new character through their "Fan Built Bot" promotion. Round One has completed, and the Second and Final Round of Voting is now in effect. This all-new character will be revealed at the summer's San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), after which it will become a permanent fixture in the world of TRANSFORMERS with a place in the TRANSFORMERS: Thrilling 30 line of toys in 2014.

Transformers
TRANSFORMERS: Thrilling 30
Hasbro
San Diego Comic Con
SDCC
Retro Pop Culture
Toys that Rock

Mother's Day: Create a FREE Silly Storybook for Mom with Storypanda...

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Fri, 10 May 2013 23:26:00 -0500

For someone that doesn't have an iPad or tablet, I sure do cover a lot of App-related stuff here on The Rock Father. Why? Because so many of you are rockin' those digital devices with your little ones! If you're an iPad user and are looking for a cool last-minute Mother's Day Gift, the folks at Storypanda have a neat idea: You can make a custom digital storybook with their Apps for FREE through Sunday night. Regularly priced at $1.99 & $2.99, six of their book Apps have been marked to $0. When they hit me with the info on it tonight, they said it was "So Easy a Cat Can Do It." Check out the video below to see how Storypanda works...

Storypanda
Tech Toys
Mother's Day
Books
Apps
iPad
Free Stuff
Free Download

STAR WARS: Episode VII heads for the UK for filming...

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Fri, 10 May 2013 22:47:58 -0500

STAR WARS is returning to it's roots... with production returning to the UK. While all of the previous six "episodic" films all had production activites take place in the UK at one time, the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) had a major connection there. The kid in me (who as an adult, sits under the shadow of an AT-AT in his office) is pretty excited.

Star Wars
Lucasfilm
Disney
Movies
UK
Retro Pop Culture

Watch: SESAME STREET's New Neighbor Revealed!

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Fri, 10 May 2013 22:24:03 -0500

This past Monday, you might've caught the first installment of a three-part video series that chronicled the casting of a new Hispanic Neighbor for SESAME STREET. As of today, the news is out that actor Ismael Cruz Córdova has joined the cast of SESAME STREET as Armando (or “Mando” as the gang on the 'Street has dubbed him) for the forthcoming 44th Season of the show. Armando is a writer from Puerto Rico who will join Maria (played by Sonia Manzano), Luis (Emilio Delgado) and Muppets™ Rosita and Ovejita (Carmen Osbahr) as part of SESAME STREET's bilingual community. Check out the video below for the full scoop, and keep your browser pointed at The Rock Father for more news from SESAME STREET very, very soon...

Muppets
Preschool
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Street
TV for Kids
PBS Kids
Ismael Cruz Cordova
Rosita

Grab the Kids and Celebrate National Train Day this Saturday, May 11...

no-reply@therockfather.com (James Zahn) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:53:00 -0500

Kids love trains. This is a fact I get to see in action on a daily basis, as over 50 trains pass by Rock Father HQ during each 24-hour period. Yes, there's a high-traffic set of tracks that runs right along our neighborhood, and with each passing train comes a familiar and comforting rumble. For awhile, my oldest would tell us that her "Silly Uncle" was on each passenger train - a side-effect of dropping him off at the train station once. At the local park, kids wave as the massive trains whiz by. In fact, as I'm getting to this sentence right here, another freighter is passing by and the coffee on my desk is vibrating like Jack Lemmon's in THE CHINA SYNDROME. For those that love trains, this Saturday (May 11, 2013) is NATIONAL TRAIN DAY, the sixth annual holiday that celebrates all the good that trains provide.

Toy State
Trains
National Train Day
Chuggington
Fisher Price
Disney Baby
Step2
LEGO duplo
LEGO Shop
Toys