Daddy Mojo

Man of Tai Chi: better than average martial arts with great fight scenes

Man of Tai Chi is the story of a tai chi student who is fighting in a tournament in China. The tai chi student is played by Tiger Chen who has been doing stunts in many high profile martial arts movies since Crouching Tiger. His character in the movie is also called Tiger, but anyone who has ever seen a Jackie Chan movie can forgive that bit of name play. The story in Man of Tai Chi is straight forward stuff, but the fight scenes are really good and the movie is better than you would expect.

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A Little Bit of Oomph! is spirited, creative fun for all

A Little Bit of Oomph is the latest book by Barney Saltzberg. It’s a sequel of sorts to Beautiful Oops!, a book that explored the possibilities of things that can happen when you make a mistake. A Little Bit of Oomph! takes that lesson of learning and simply asks the question what would happen if you did it just a bit differently?

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He’s All Boy alphabet cards, just not the way I want it to be done

Alpha Cards, He’s All Boy, are ABC flash cards for boys, but could also be enjoyed by girls. They’re a deck of alphabet cards with non-traditional pictures that go with each letter. There are so many things that I love about the product, but ultimately it’s not something that we could embrace. If your child is not learning the alphabet and is attracted to mild gross humor then this is for you. Think the Garbage Pail Kids teach the alphabet and you’re going in the right direction.

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A chat with Mike von Grey, father of indie/alt/folk rock group von Grey

As a dad to two young boys I imagine how difficult it must be to be a dad to teenage girls. But what if you were the father to four teenagers, all of whom were in a band? And then that band started getting phone calls from Sarah McLaughlin to open up for her on concert, play SXSW, Conan, Letterman, Rock Center on NBC and have their debut EP land in the top 10 on iTunes? Which is more difficult, how to handle four teenage girls or how to manage an up and coming folk/rock group with bookings all across the country and interviews with major publications?

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A parent’s toy gift guide for Cyber Monday and beyond

With the Christmas holidays just around the corner I wanted to share some of the really cool toys that we’ve either purchased or received. On Cyber Monday and pretty much all of December you’ll be able to find some nice discounts on most of these. The toys or entertainment on this gift guide are great for kids from 2 to 10. While not an ultimate parent’s toy gift guide for children, it’s a good starting point if you want a basic primer on gifts that kids in that age range would like.

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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer shines at Center for Puppetry Arts

As if we need another excuse to go to Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, my oldest son and I went to see the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It is so much fun to do mother-son dates now that he is 4 and can sit through short presentations.

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More than meets the eye: The Transformers Construct-Bots giveaway

Having two children means entering the world of block based building toys. On the positive side they encourage analytical thinking, dexterity and creativity. On the negative side they feel like sand spurs when you step on them and you’ll rue the day that you lost that 1 tiny piece. Regardless we jump in with both feet, eagerly dig the Transformers Construct-Bots and are giving away a pair of them!

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