After seeing Toy Story 3, my wife knew what she wanted to get me for Father’s Day: Toy Story 3 the video game. My son and I popped the game in as soon as we got home from the movie. Then, I played the game late Friday night after the kids were in bed. Here’s my official review:

Story Mode – the game actually has two different modes. The first is the actual story mode where you beat different levels. Each level is basically a scene from one of the Toy Story movies with some extra stuff thrown in to make it a video game level. The levels are easy, but a little too complex for my four year old because he’s not used to playing video games. The game is rated E10 (everyone 10+), but in reality it is for anyone 6+.

Toy Box Mode – this is where the game shines. In this mode you are the sheriff of an old west town and you are assigned little missions to complete. As you complete the missions, you earn money. With your money you can customize the town and buy more cool things. It’s like Grand Theft Auto…only clean and suitable for little kids. This is where my four year old will learn how to play video games.  My son loved playing this mode even though all he did was walk around and throw balls at buildings.

Graphics – amazing. I’m a big fan of Pixar and the Toy Story movies. This game captured the Pixar look perfectly.

Replayability – it is an easy game and I imagine it won’t take much to finish the story mode. However, my son will hopefully get hours (spread out over several years) of excitement out of this game. The Toy Box mode alone should keep him occupied for a long time.

Cons – the game is available on all platforms, but you can only play as Zurg on the PS3 version. Lame. Also, there is no online play, but honestly the game probably wouldn’t work with online play.

Overall Rating – A+

Please keep in mind this game is designed to be a family game for all ages. It doesn’t have the intensity of Call of Duty (or other hardcore games), but it’s not supposed to.

We finally received the first three Toy Story comics (issues #0 through #2) in the mail. We ordered those three issues after we bought issue #3 at the comic book store a few weeks ago. My son was excited to read them; I had to capitalize on this opportunity.

We struck a deal: if he cleaned his room, put away his toys, ate his dinner, and took a bath, all while being good, we would read issue #0 for bedtime. My son followed through on his part of the bargain. In fact, that was the quickest he’s ever cleaned up his room. I happily completed my end of the deal. After reading the comic book together, he went to bed without a fuss and I got to watch V uninterrupted.

It was a great night.

A man doesn’t send out cards to announce he and his wife are expecting. Nope. A man does this…

Oh, my wife and I are NOT expecting.  I just thought this youtube video was funny.

Saturday was my son’s first experience with Free Comic Book Day. I have to admit, it was my first Free Comic Book Day, too. In fact, it was probably the first time I’ve set foot in a true comic book store. I’ve been in mom & pop book stores, baseball card shops, sports memorabilia stores, board game shops, shaving stores (yes, they exist), but I’ve never been in a real comic book store. That’s pretty sad because I do consider myself somewhat of a super hero / sci-fi geek….I guess I’m just a wannabe geek.

What’s Free Comic Book Day? Check out the website for more details. I didn’t know it existed until Saturday morning when I got an email from my friend. I decided I had to take my son to see what a comic book store is all about.

We both loved it. We walked around the store looking at the different comic book bins. We checked out the posters. We took an extended peak at the toys and lunch boxes. We walked by the tables of some local artists that were signing posters and comic books. With each turn, my son said, “Dad, check out the <insert cool item>!” We were in geek heaven.

Why did I wait until now to visit the store? I would have loved this when I was a teenager.

I wasn’t ready to commit to buying something for myself, but I told my son he could pick out one comic book. He chose a Toy Story comic book. Perfect choice: he’s a big Buzz Lightyear fan and the book was geared for kids his age. We also grabbed a couple of free comics, but because we arrived late the selection was weak (Casper and Popeye…would have been great if it were 1935).

I’ve read the Toy Story comic to my son 4 times in the last two days. I ended up downloading the Marvel comic app for my iPhone, and I read my son the free Super Hero Squad comic on the app just before bed. The trip to the store is the beginning of a new hobby for my boy and me.

Image Source: book-kids.com

Fight enemies to the end. That’s the 3rd Khan rule (read about the 1st and 2nd rules). Sounds easier than it really is. In today’s world, often we are encouraged to compromise, appease, or just give in. Well, I’m tired of it. When I’m right, I’m right…and it’s manly to stand up for what’s right and fight to the end.

Sometimes my kids are my enemy. They whine, they cry, and the beg for stuff. Junk food, stay up late, watch cartoons, not go to church…those are a few of our daily battles. I admit I have lost a few battles (damn kids), but I have some very important ones. A few months ago we took our 4 year old to Target. We were there to buy a few shirts. He found a Spider-Man shirt he wanted. No problem: we wanted to buy him a shirt, he found one we all liked – - win/win all around. Then it went downhill…he found some Spider-Man toys he wanted, too. The battle was on. We firmly told him no. The whining started. We warned him of the consequences of whining. He got worse and the tantrum set in. I wasn’t going to lose this battle. I took the Spider-Man shirt and put it back. I reminded him that was the consequence for not listening to Mom and Dad. His tantrum intensified and we just left the store without making the intended purchases.

I won the battle. Now, we remind him often of that experience. He knows Dad means business when we say “no” at the store.

This is part one (of four) in my attempt to explain why I think Genghis Khan’s four laws are manly and should be followed. These are lessons I want my sons to learn.

Rule 1: Don’t kill women or children

That’s a pretty simple law, and I’m sure Genghis meant that literally.  His men were warriors; so, he had to establish his army’s code of conduct. (Let’s just overlook that fact that he wiped several civilizations off the face of earth…that was just how he rolled.)  But how does this law apply to us, the modern man? Of course, there’s the “don’t kill” part of the law. If you don’t follow that one, you go to prison. Everyone gets that.

I believe a real man takes it one step farther. A real man loves his wife and children. A real man respects and listens to his wife and makes decisions with her. A real man teaches and disciplines (with love) his children. A real man protects his family from harm or danger.

Those aren’t novel ideas. It boggles my mind how many guys don’t live up to those simple standards. Hell, just look at the slimeballs we elect to office: Sanford, Spitzer, Ensign, Edwards, Clinton…and those are just the ones I can name off the top of my head. I could probably come up with similar lists of sports stars, celebrities, preachers, and businessmen if I really wanted to.

Please, be a man. Don’t kill women and children.

I usually tell my 4 year old a bedtime story every night.  It’s part of the nightly routine.  Honestly, sometimes I half-ass it with a short story (yeah, I feel a little guilty about that).   However, last night I turned in a solid performance.

Lately, my son has been into Spider-Man and Super Hero Squad.  We watched a few Spectacular Spider-Man episodes on YouTube (via my blu-ray player) yesterday.  He loved it (and so did I).  When it came time for the bedtime story, he requested a story featuring him and Spider-Man.  No problem.  Here’s the basic outline of the story:

• My son drove a car to visit Super Hero City (that’s where Super Hero Squad takes place)
• He looks for Spider-Man near the tall buildings buildings, but he’s not there
• He looks for Spider-Man at the park, but he’s not there
• He remembers that Peter Parker is Spider-Man so he goes the science lab to find Peter
• He finds Peter and tells Peter that his secret identity is safe
• Peter thanks him buy changing into Spider-Man and taking my son a webslinging tour of the city

That Spider-Man story was a good one.  How do I know?  1) He didn’t get out of bed the rest of the night and 2) that’s all he talked about as I got ready for work this morning.

Image Source: spideytv.com

Dear 1.5 year old,

Stop putting stuff in the garbage!  Seriously.  It’s pissing the rest of the family off.  I don’t know why you think it’s a game.  Trust me: it’s not.  You’re the only one laughing as you run towards the garbage with your toy, my gadgets, your brother’s book, or your mom’s scrapbook supplies.  The rest of us are yelling at you.

Thanks to you, we had to put the garbage in the laundry room and shut the door.  You know how inconvenient that makes cleaning you and your high chair after a meal?  It’s not fun.

Now the whole family is on high alert whenever we hear your feet scampering towards the kitchen.  Please move onto your next phase.  We’re all very tired of this garbage can game you think you’re playing.

Sincerely,

Manly Dad

P.S.  I know you can’t read…you’re only 18 months old.  But someday I’m going to pull this post up for you to remind you how difficult you were as a toddler.

Men and women say “happy birthday” differently.  I know.  It was my birthday recently.  Here’s a rundown of how people wished me a happy birthday and how I rate their salutation:

• The Wife.  I got a nice hug and kiss this morning on my way out the door to work.  She’s my wife, so she gets a 10.  Plus, she didn’t complain about my choice for dinner (check out my Tweets).
• 4 year-old.  He called me at work (with help from my wife).  He didn’t wish me a happy birthday.  Rather, he told me it was my birthday and asked what present he gets.  He gets an 8.  He was deducted a few points for forgetting to wish me a happy birthday, but he scores big points by asking what’s in it for him. He’s learning quickly that men usually only care about how events directly affect them.
• My mom.  She called on my commute home from work.  A simple 5 minute conversation.  Nice and sweet.  She’s my mom, so she gets a 10.
• The interns at work.  I have two interns at work (I know they read this and will probably razz me for saying “my interns”…but they do work under my direction, so that description is perfectly warranted).  The first thing I heard from one intern this morning was “happy birthday.”  He also went to lunch with me.  He gets a solid 9.  The other IM’d me in the morning (on his personal time) to wish me a happy birthday.  Another solid 9.  Good work, interns.
• Brother.  About 11 a.m. I got a one liner instant message that simply said “happy birthday.”  I replied with a “thank you” and that was the end of the conversation.  My brother pulled it off like a man.  No need for extra crap.  He lives several hundred miles away, but there was still no need for a phone call.  A simple IM took care of all the necessary business.  Well played, brother.  Well played.  He gets a 9.
• Friend.  At 11 p.m., with one hour to spare, he sent me an instant message.  Simple and at the deadline.  Another 9.

Looks like everyone did a great job, right?  Not quite.  You see, I have another friend that just forgot.  It wasn’t like he didn’t have a chance to wish me a happy birthday.  On my birthday, I talked to him twice on the phone, exchanged a handful of emails, and had a quick IM conversation.  The week before he even made a big deal about how this year he was going to remember my birthday because he created an event in his iCal to remind him.  I guess it didn’t work.  He still forgot.  His punishment: 0/10 and this blog post.

Throughout the year, my four year old is a typical four year old: he runs, jumps, breaks things, picks on his little brother…basically doing stuff that he just can’t seem figure out when it’s appropriate behavior or not.  Well, over the last week he has been working his hardest to be on the nice list for Santa.  What changed, Manly Dad? Simple.  We have a visitor.

His name is Elrod the Elf.  He visits us everyday between now and Christmas.  But he’s not a normal elf; he’s one of Santa’s helpers.  You see, Elrod likes to find a place high in our house (like above the kitchen cabinets) to sit all day.  He sits there quietly observing our boys’ behavior to help Santa know if they are naughty or nice.  Each night he returns to Santa to give him a status update.  Each morning he finds a new place to watch the boys.

My boys are careful not to talk to or touch Elrod because they don’t want Elrod to lose his magic.

Oh…and a BIG thank you to my mother-in-law for introducing Elrod to our family.

Image source: ManlyDad.com