Subway Records Andrew Rallo promotes NYC subway buskers (Includes interview)

Subway Record's Andrew Rallo promotes NYC subway's buskers (Includes interview)

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FLIP HD Review- 3 1/2 Stars

I reached out to FLIP few weeks back, to see if there was any interest in advertising on www.DaddysRus.com. The important thing to understand is the last thing I want on my blog is advertising. However, FLIP is a product I simply can not live without and is the only advertiser I would consider having on my website. I recently received the FLIP MINO HD in the mail, an upgrade from my old flip cam. The HD quality, HD sound and how it feels in my hand is enough to make my Blackberry jealous. I love it when a product says what it does.

Having my first flip for more than a year, it never gave me one problem, even after living and banging around in my pocket for most of that time. It never even crashed and the quality on the original FLIP MINO was still better than anything my SONY handy cam produced. FLIP was a 1/4 of the price.

The MINO HD is a WOW product. Love the no nonsense one button technology. Easy one click upload to both Youtube and Facebook is very cool and makes videos easy to share. Plus, no accessories are needed so the baby can still eat! Battery life, when managed, can be as much as 3 weeks without a charge.

It's compatible. I have a MAC air, 3x HP laptops and Dell Desktop and I have plugged the MINO HD into all my computers and have had no problem recognizing the FLIP and playing videos.

I gave it 3 1/2 stars because I like to see the Flip Mino HD made even smaller. It be great to have a cool leather lanyard to pimp around my DaddyYO neck. Are those even available?? Other issues with the camera is the zoom. It's not that good and wont capture anything I cant already see with the naked eye. Also, every time I take out the FLIP cam to shoot video, LittleYO wants to hold it in his hand. It would be a great additional feature to add a LOCK button on the side, to help keep kids from recording 3 second videos of their feet. It's pretty difficult for a kid to delete anything form the cam, but it still can happen. My videos are gold to me.

Live by the FLIP, Share your Flip. For me, there is nothing better than capturing video in HD and those simple moments like your LittleYO sitting outside, playing with his golf club and just singing that we will forever look back on in FLIP HD.

Thank You FLIP!




(Really not happy with how the video was converted on Youtube. It definitely does not do HD quality justice.) I will look into this further.

"Freakonomics"

It can get get hectic! To be true to my thoughts and posts being a DaddyYO is tough, overwhelming and down right confusing at times. It's not all smiles and cute videos. Recently, we went to the store and LittleYO freaked out. These public FREAK OUTS is what I feared most about being a parent. Honestly, when this happens I'm a fish out of water. I don't have a clue what to do, how to handle him or myself. It's a place that reminds me of college at 4:20am in the morning where I cant find my way out of the bathroom. I'm lost.

The following week at a different store, the same thing, another freak out! Seriously? What is going on!? I try and talk him down off the ledge in the middle of the store. He screaming and like the incredible hulk he's trying to stretch free out-of-his-stroller. I'm waiting for his seat belt to snap and his skin to turn green! The eye daggers of parents walking by us, stab me in the back and is not helping my mental or current situation.

I'm not lying, I was profusely sweating and like the current situation, the room was starting to spin out of control. I stood up from my "crouching baby hidden tiger" pose to catch my breath. "I think I'm going to pass out"....It was time to leave.

LittleYO now securely in his carseat has already forgotten about what happen inside the store. Looking back at him in the backseat, he's smiling and having a good ol time. I'm left still feeling angry, disappointed, confused and some other emotions I have yet to classify. Driving home in complete silence....

At what point in our lives do we start to hold onto emotions that carry over into our days and our future experiences? It's because of this "carry over" of emotions from previous experiences that the mind has a way of deteriorating moments for what they actually are, positive or negative. As an adult, this effects everything!

When was last time I experienced a situation without the interference of memories of past experiences? Depending on how the current situation aligns with my expectations, that are based on previous experiences, will then interpret the outcome of the current situation; "good" or "bad". I think I may be living in the past....

Damn, I wasn't planning on getting this deep....I'm going with it...

The point to all of this is based on my last two experiences in store "freak outs" with LittleYO I mentioned to MommyYO that "I'm not going to the store ever again with LittleYO". I was wrong. Being a DaddyYO and living through these situations for the first time is closest I will ever get to experiencing what youth was like as an adult. Like LittleYO, we are experiencing something for the very first time, together. That's what's important. It was during this trip to the store I learned more from LittleYO than he did from me.

"For there is nothing either good or bad, thinking makes it so."
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Hamlet, II.ii

Finding their Passion for Life. Support your LittleYo's urge to drum solo to Rush Chronicles!

It’s been a while since my last post. I have found myself experiencing this holiday season from a much different perspective, a DaddyYO perspective. LittleYo, now 14 months things are starting to happen, QUICK! I found myself multiple times saying out loud “Did he just say that?” “Did he just do that?” “Wait, what just happen?"

This holiday season was truly a miracle as I got to watch LittleYo grow like a leaf that once sat on my college dorm window sill. I turn my head for a second and he went from walking to running to climbing stairs and on my final days off he gave my kisses when I asked him. I really don’t know what else I could say….but for all you DaddyYO’s out there, I know you understand what I’m talking about…

The past 16 days included traveling by plane and car, a family door to door holiday tour, a stomach bug, lots of presents, laughter and love. I even had some time to relax. It was during these busy days I started to realize, during our visits with the familyYO’s, that LittleYo took to certain niece and nephew toys more than others. It made me think about my responsibility as a parent to help LittleYo explore the world and all the toys inside that makes life worth living. I'm going to help him find his passion...

For example, during our visit at Aunt & UncleYO’s house and our nephew EadinYO, now three years old, got a drum set from GrandmaYO for Xmas. The drum set was kept upstairs away from the main room downstairs. With all the gifts now open downstairs, I weaved and chased LittleYo around to be sure not another ribbon or bow was consumed. Holding him in my arms, his heads drifted up and eye contact was made with the ol mighty drum set sitting shiny upstairs. Pushing off my face with his hands, his feet off my chest, I placed him down on the ground. He ran over to the stairs and climbed them like a tiger jumping on rocks to get to the top of the mountain. The stairs twisted and turned. LittleYo was on a “mission”. I knew one thing and that was I was not about to disrupt this possible magic moment.

Following close behind, he never looked back at me. He climbed. One step, another step all the way to the top and at the final step he stood up. In front of him was the ol mighty drum set. He stood there for about a min staring at the snare and the cymbal, not moving, just staring. Wanting to say something to LittleYo, I forced my urge to talk and just watched to see what was going to happen next.

As fast as a tiger spots prey, he spotted the two drum sticks lying on the ground. He instinctively picked them up, sat down on the swivel stool and jammed out a beat that I recognized as RUSH Chronicles. That’s what I heard any way….

Could drums be a possible passion, maybe. I'm sure there will be a lot more interests that come his way. I think as long as we DaddyYO's can recognize these magical moments before we can say "NO!" all will be right in the world.

I now present LittleYO's very first Drum Solo to RUSH Chronicles:

Happy New Year DaddyYO's!

TO VLOG or BLOG....that is my question?

Back from Thanksgiving break, a mini vacation an appetizer for the holiday time that is about to come with XMAS.

....so I'm really digging LaurenYO Vlogs. She has me thinking, maybe I should VLOG instead of blog. Honestly, I'm more likely to watch than read. Was wondering what you thought? Please vote.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Don’t hate the caveman, blame history! Relish in the patriarchal consequences..

The more I write about how we DaddyYo’s need to express and “be there” as much as we can for our LittleYo’s, the more I grow concerned about jeopardizing the good thing we DaddyYO’s have; lower parenting expectations than MommyYO.

Four score and a million diapers ago our fathers brought forth the role of the “DaddyYO” conceived in low expectations, and dedicated to the proposition that all men really don’t want any responsibility, at all.

It’s kind of funny to think back to a prehistoric time of the caveman who habits and role in the family still lurks in the current patriarchal hierarchy. DaddyCaveYO leaving the cave to hunt and gather dinner while MommyCaveYO stayed behind, piercing their nipples and getting butterfly tattoos on their lower back side, teaching and caring for our LittleCaveYO’s. Even though times have changed, just a little bit, and now both parents work, those lessons still run deep in our psyche and are now firmly rooted into the DNA of our current generation. Is this why DaddyYO gets no credit or reference in parenting books and websites? However, I have learned an important lesson.

I don't want credit, give all the credit to MommyYO. More credit equals more work, higher expectations and more responsibility. Rather than complaining about not enough of DaddyYO recognition on websites, TV, and books I'm become a fan of the current societal image of low parental expectations. So let's relish in our DaddyYO images and can I get a prehistoric AMEN!

I’m confident, there will be some naysayer who will oppose and deny this claim. I laugh at you, as I sit on my couch, in my cave, playing Call of Duty, Modern Warfare (Which is Awesome!)

Depending on your perspective, we'll always live in prehistoric times. Do we want to exceed DaddyYO patriarchal expectations and become more involved in areas we don't wish to become more involved in, like changing more diapers. Nope. If we did, the result on our futures roles could be catastrophic. We must fulfill the destiny of our forefathers, maintain low DaddyYO expectations in society and pass on “the good life” to our LittleYo’s .

Therefore, we MUST tell our MommyYO’s how much we love them, how much we appreciate them and how much we desperately need them!. Tell MommyYO EVERYDAY and than REPEAT. Do it for the future DaddyYO's, Do it for our forefather's and history of daddyo kind. Mommy is the center of the family, deal with it or change more diapers. Your choice?

Don’t hate the caveman, blame history! Relish in the patriarchal consequences.

Be a Man and Buy Knee Pads. - haha

Getting on the ground with LittleYO and playing, is very important to both me and LittleYo. It's also been a reminder of my age and how certain parts of my body are not what they used to be; My knees.

Running on my knees chasing LittleYo, to be able to stop, go and spin like a breeze is important if I don't want him catching me on my way to my next hiding spot. It's the most exciting part of my day. However, After 10 min, I'm left coughing up a lung with bruised and busted knee caps. It sucks.

I joined the gym and started running ONCE again this past week. I'm hoping I can keep it up longer than the last time " I started" working out. However, this time, I'm not doing it for myself. This time, I'm doing it for my family, for LittleYO.

So far - so good, ran 9 miles this week. I think back to the time when I ran the NYC marathon and my finish time was 3:51 min. I have no idea how I did that, but I know I could do it. Maybe someday I'll try again.

So feeling better about myself, I was in Target and came across some knee pads. Yes, you heard me right. I picked them up thinking to myself "Please, don't buy knee pads, please!" I felt there was so many (selfish) reasons why not to buy them, more importantly, I needed to buy something else. There was no way I was going up the register with just knee pads. Long story short, came across a "ManChair" for LittleyO and there I was, buying knee pad and manchair at the register.

I ran around last night, on my knees for a good 30 min, my knees feel great. LittleYO laughed like a little elf and when we are are done- we ChillyYo'd in our man chairs.

So be a man and buy knee pads. I guess so.

DaddyYo loves you!

Love is not something DaddyYo's usually talk about, not sure why. I'm going to try and figure it out.

Love is as much a DaddyYO thing as it's a MommyYO thing. Its a human thing. There's no denying it. However, more parenting sites/books speak to MommyYO if at all DaddyYO. Why is that? (Love the Dad-blog!)

Those DaddyYo’s who tell and teach their LittleYo's the meaning of Love from the start, probably went through hard times in their own lives to truly understand the word; which makes these DaddyYo’s tougher than most. However, lack of communicating this LOVE and caught up in the old ways of the world in which we were raised has put DaddYO in the back chapters of parenting books and on the 2nd string "parent team".

Love is a powerful thing, almost alien. Love overrides those less useful emotions like hate, insecurity etc. Therefore, the more we say "I Love you" to our LittleYo’s the more we're both empowered as human beings. The more human powers we can control, like our emotions, the more we control our situational outcomes. The sooner you understand this, the better you are off in this crazy world.

We DaddyYo’s need to step it up and not only be more of a teacher of this most important and powerful emotion but to communicate it more openly. Don’t worry; it won’t make your pecker any smaller.

No Dude wants to share his full range of emotions, especially love. When was the last time you’re drinking beers with your buddies, playing poker talking about love? Sounds funny, not sure why it is…I guess its how we were raised as kids, social acceptance and gender specific behavior that effects who we become as adults. We are taught this from birth like having your room painted blue for boys and pink for girls. I’m not saying for us men to sit around for hours talking about Love…C’mon!

I know, It’s a sensitive DaddyYo subject. We are all at fault. For example when I'm sad, I don't cry, I scream and yell (never at MommyYo!) at the top of my lungs because it more gender appropriate response for a man to scream rather than cry. I’m cool with it. It’s what I learned and how I was programmed growing up. Another example, reading this blog entry about “Love” (I can’t even believe some of the things I’m writing) the whole thing sounds gay. This is all a clear testament of the change that needs to take place within us, DaddyYo’s. I’m not scared.

The lesson learned is simple; by not communicating and sharing this intense emotion we not only dwarf our own spiritual and family growth but have passed on the "meat head" genes to our LittleYo’s. We all want the best for our LittleYo’s, our families and for Meat heads to just go away. Maybe someday parenting sites and books will reference more of the DaddyYO and give us the credit and recognition we deserve.

Remember, DaddyYO loves you!

What you can learn from UncleYO: "Be there" - so easy...so valuable!

I'm not talking about some "solution", maybe I am. DaddyYO for one full year and my responsibilities, no question, have changed. From the younger years of having no responsibility to today, I guess we all change; I guess so does my purpose.

The question is do we have "A Purpose", do we have many purposes, does it even matter?

Its a question, I more often ask myself. I know five years ago, my purpose was to A) get laid B) make lots of money, so someday I can settle down and get married. Never giving "the later" much thought in my youth because it was completely out of my realm of understanding. Looking back, that thought process doesn't even make any sense, but it was my purpose.

Finally, Adulthood. The stage of life I never thought I'd reach. It's different but it also beautiful thing. It almost doesn't seem possible to be where I am now. Ask my friends and they tell you three years ago that A) no women would ever marry me because I'm crazy B) To teach a child values and a purpose according to what I know and learned thus far in my life would be very scary. I agree.

However, somewhere along the way, almost subconsciously, my purpose (values) was slowly changing, almost preparing me for what my future had in store. Looking back, of course, I see this change slowly occurring now. Today, I'm def more prepared, excited (not scared) to teach and show my son his world, to be his guide along the way. To help answer his questions that will open up more possibilities and more questions...This is my new purpose. Is it? Sort of....

During LittleYO birthday party a few weeks back, I turned to my my UncleVinYo and said "WOW, Can't believe he's 1 years old. That was quick. Now what?" UncleYo turned to me and said three words "Just Be There". I wasn't sure what he meant so I asked him. He replied "Be there when he's sick, be there when he's happy, sad, be there for his first game, his first day of school, his first date. Just be there!"

WOWWY Howie! UncleYO is right! and so no doubt I may be over thinking this whole purpose thing and maybe it is easier by "Just being there". It's the best advice I have received thus far as a DaddyYO. So no matter what my purpose is now or what it becomes later it doesn't matter because I will always be there- until he figures this out for himself - at 34 years old!

...JUST BE THERE. That was awesome. Thank you UncleYO!

Happy Halloween_ SuperYO

Halloween for DaddyYO was never this much fun.