meta-dad

Additional Toy Recalls

It’s not a good year to be a toy maker. It is fair to say if you are a parent of a small child, this year has proven that trusting that toy makers are making safe toys is officially – off the table. Whether we’re talking about the ongoing audit of Mattel’s (and other companies) manufacturing methods because of widespread use of lead-based paint in their kids products or the safety instructions of the popular Bumbo Baby Seats, it is clear that parents must heed a cautious eye when buying for their children.

In the 30 years since the safety commission has been monitoring lead levels in consumer items, the agency has issued 154 recalls, with 70 of the recalls coming since January of last year.” ~ Maurice Possley, Chicago Tribune

Within the last week, Mattel’s recall list jumped an additional 38,000 toys due to the use of lead-based paint on their popular line of Go Diego Go! line of toys. Considering these massive recalls this year, there is one Boston-based organization, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US-PIRG), which has an email alert system that you can subscribe to regarding toy safety updates. Considering the Christmas season is fast approaching, it may be prudent to consider signing up.

One thing is clear to this parent that Mattel’s remaining shareholders can count on one thing this Christmas, a lump of coal in their stocking.

Sited Links:
Chicago Tribune | 600,000 Toys Join Recall List
US-PIRG | Toy Safety

Related Links:
Bumbo Seat | Recall Information
Fisher-Price Recalls More Toys With Lead
CSPC | Fisher-Price Recalls Go Diego Go! Boats

Cinematical Halloween Costume

It’s quite simple. Dress up your kid for Halloween (and yourself, for that matter), take a picture of yourselves and send it to them. If you win, you get a bunch of horror DVDs – how apropos. There are winning categories for both kids and adults and the movie titles are appropriately rated (i.e. Gremlins and Monster House for kids and Nightmare on Elm Street – Box Set, and The Exorcist for adults amongst others).

Sited Links:
Cinematical | Third Annual Halloween Costume Contest

Semi-Random Meta-DAD Giveaway! | The Answers

Ten Lesser Known Facts About Breasts

From breast cancer to man-boobs there is a little something for everyone to learn in this list generated by the folks at Body Philosophy. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so check it out for yourself — but I have to share my favorite from the list, good ‘ole Number Nine;

9. Man-boobs may be a medical condition

I think many of us mistakenly assume that men with breast-like pectorals are just a bit overweight. Not necessarily so. Obesity can contribute to the phenomenon, but there are many other factors that can contribute, including hormone imbalances, castration, medications, genetic disorders, liver disease, Klinefelter or Gilbert’s Syndrome, or even-possibly-marijuana use. The official term is gynecomastia, which comes from the Greek words meaning “woman” and “breast,” most nearly translating to “woman-like breasts.” While many think this condition is a joke, we should also remember that it can signal medical problems, not to mention serious psychological consequences.”

Sited Links:
Body Philosophy | Ten Facts You May Not Know About Breasts

The Long Halloween

The Long Halloween is heavily influenced by film noir and films such as The Godfather and was the inspiration of the 2005 release, Batman Begins. The series continues the story of Carmine Falcone introduced in Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. Set early in Batman’s career a few months after the events of Year One, the story revolves around the gradual transition of Batman’s rogues’ gallery from simple mob goons to full-fledged supervillains.

It is also the origin of Two-Face, adding along to the story in Batman: Annual 14. It follows the events in a few months following Year One and examines an entire year of Batman’s career as a crime fighter, so it could be considered a “Year One”/”Year Two”, in some form. This story has been accepted into continuity after Zero Hour erased the events of Batman: Year Two from the canon. The plot follows Batman’s struggle to find a mysterious killer, while Harvey Dent’s and Jim Gordon’s marriages are strained during the process. As the story unfolds, Carmine Falcone hires “freaks” (Poison Ivy, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, and the Mad Hatter) in an attempt to stop the Batman and restore power back to the family, only to discover that the freaks are more powerful than he expected. [Overview courtesy Wikipedia]

(Batman; The Long Halloween Via Amazon.Com)

Semi-Random Meta-DAD Giveaway!

I’m rooting for you. I want you to win this thing, really. Whoever answers the question correctly will win a video game title.

The Rules: Unfortunately, this give-away only works if you are in the United States – sorry Canada, sorry Mexico, sorry rest of the planet, nothing personal, I’m just not interested in paying too much for the postal. Let’s see how it goes. I will post the winner by next Monday — assuming someone gets it.

The Prize: The game titles include: Ultimate Spiderman, Wolfenstein, Doom III, Call of Duty 2 or Boogie (Wii). You get to choose one of them. They are all great games.

The Question: This one should be easy — the category (ala Cranium) is Wordworm (think crossword puzzles).

1. Give an example of a parental palindrome.

Think about it.