Bad Boys of Daddy Humor

The more pervasive and unfortunate strain of fatherly humor is the laughing at dad the dolt type of jokes that make up much of the oeuvre of Seth MacFarlane — he of Family Guy and American Dad — now unleashing in conjunction with Google, a "calvalcade of cartoon comedy:



Expect lots of dumb dads to work their way into the rotation.

Perhaps such excesses of dross make the funny, smart dad even more of a revelation and blessing. Kudos and relief therefore for the more subtle and funnier musings of such as Matt Mendelsohn, whose Father Knows Best brings the rare light touch of political satire to the wisdom of pols' pops.

Offering even greater surprise by finding humor in the nexus of rap and SAHD stories is the Jon Lajoie video celebration of the joys of raucous poop metal, "Stay at Home Dad:"



Laugh last. Laugh best.

Imagine This

This week's objet d'eBay, a 1956 ad peddling Watkins vitamins, suggests there once was a simpler day, when the generation sandwich was one of joyous outings with son, father and grandfather.

Have times changed much from when halcyonish images ruled the imagination? Or is it just advertising mores as an ad for today's dads is more likely to be the one for Sexyland that is part of the Australia and New Zealand fathers' day campaign creating controversy over whether or not it is actually encouraged kids to go into the adult toy stores and pick up a little amusement for pops.

Slicing Through the Nonsense Clutter

More often than not one hears only silliness and the hyped fantasy daddyhood. For example, there is the "revelation" that celeb ditz Jessica Simpson has decided Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo is her FBD (future baby's daddy).

Still, it is important to remember that sometimes the drama of fatherhood slices through the nonsense clutter of our world, breaks your heart. One case of fiction to find has been celebrated, with honors sent to Benjamin Percy's story of sons without fathers, "Refresh, Refresh." The tale will be read aloud and broadcast Sunday, Sept. 7, as part of the Selected Shorts series in a program dealing with war.

Other times, the facts of being a dad are so painful that the world would be a better place if only the facts were fiction. Such is the story of Rafael Sanz, who had to make the only choice he was given, to take his son off life support. It was eight days after his seven-month pregnant wife was knocked to her death under an oncoming bus by an outlaw driver. Delivered prematurely from his deceased mom, Sean Michael Justin Sanz struggled for life for those eight days, but his was not to be. Nor the dreams — the fantasies — of his father.

Dog Days

Ladies and gentleman, we are sniffing around in a "brave" new world. Snuffy done up and got two bitches pregnant.

The progenitor is an afghan (talibark?) hound, also the world's first cloned dog, according to the Korean scientific husbandriers who brought him to be and pimped for him. Heading up the effort that first brought Snuffy (an acronym for Seoul National Univesity puppy) is out-of-favor researcher Hwang Woo-Suk, who has continued in animals after he got kicked out of people in a stem cell research scandal.

So, it is not unlikely we'll be cloning people dads soon, too. Maybe they'll all be like the average Australian dad with his 2.3 kids — cloning can have consequences?

OMG, He's Alive

When Britney Spears says of father Jamie, "I owe him my life," as she did in a recent Daily Star (UK) interview, there must be ever more inducement for those without dads to seek them out ... assuming they weren't already looking.

Richard Terwin spent 30 years trying to find his dad, although all he knew was the name of the ship on which his father came to East London. He "fell in love," impregnated and then returned to marry the girl in Greece to whom he had promised himself. However, Terwin kept searching, ultimately tracking down and visiting pops in Cuba.

Sharon Emery at least had the full name of papa in her 38-year search. Not that she had much else in trying to track down the guy who didn't even remember her mom, much less know there was a daughter left behind. Still, when they met, "After we both stopped crying" Emery claims," I felt instantly comfortable. He said initially it was difficult, but by the time we left each other he said he could feel a bond and that made my day. It couldn't have gone any better. It was brilliant."

And perhaps to experience that "brilliant" is why John Renehan kept an eye out, even after dad "died." And a good thing he did, as he happened to spot the old man on the telly eight years after he was lost and five years after he was "found" and "cremated." Daddy Renehan wasn't, but somebody was. And so there's one more odd family reunion bringing new life to a child.

Never stop looking around for dad.

Teen Dad

In ancient Rome armed men were thrown into the ring against each other, unarmed men were thrown in against wild animals, and, basically, the ancient audience was constantly entertained by one or another man being torn apart or hacked to death. Sometimes, the man won.

And, with an admitted slight difference, the same ethic is often at work for dads today. Even as the people in charge of the Republican convention announce everyone should respect his privacy, they are dragging Alaskan impregnator Levi Johnston onto display for the nation. His MySpace page has already been deconstructed and his family laid siege to.

Johnston, of course, is not alone at being a teen dad dragged through media muck. But the question has to be why? Just for the public's amusement?

King Gone

Sorry to be late to this party, but the most ironic of festivals was celebrated Saturday in Nepal.

According to Nepalese sources, No Moon Day of Bhadra (i.e., Nepal's Father's Day) fell this year on August 30 — wikipedia schedules it for later in September. What made this year's papa party most interesting was that fathers were honored in the context of a new government.

The Maoists were democratically elected mid-August. Their path to power — with their pledge to find a Nepalese way of combining the best of their culture with lessons gained from watching China progress — and their succession to the royal family was paved by Crown Prince Dipendra, who massacred his father, King Birendra, and the rest of the royal family because they denied his desire of bride choice.

So the Nepalese honored the dead fathers, fêted the live ones and gave all dads who think of themselves as kings of the castle something to consider regarding what a Father's Day really means.

Comedia Zelousosity

Too much zealousness and the father spoils the child, who becomes resentful. Too little fatherly zeal and the child and the child also becomes resentful. Finding the right balance is a dad's quest and one that is making the television airwaves sing in a new way.

From Canada came The Tournament



which ran on the CBC January and February 2005.

Now, updated and revised a bit comes the BBC series about overzealous sad dads of Britain and their pursuit (I mean, their kids' pursuit of Under 11's) The Cup.

Since, it does seem possible that fathers' sports dreams could be played out in their kids around the globe — and that when it is someone else who is doing this it is often hilarious — expect that fathers who can't quite find the balance of cheering for their kids and keeping their own internal sports demons where they belong will be television fare localized for its comedic potential in every country soon.