Category Archives: Dad Takes A Break

Almost 24/7/365, but not quite.

Axe Me About A Cravebox

(See what I did there?)

I don’t expect to look quite like James Bond walking into M’s office when I leave the house, but I was raised to believe that a clean, neat appearance is important.  My father worked for almost 50 years in heavy construction, and whether he was an equipment operator (before I was born), a superintendent (when I was a kid), or the head of an entire division (for the last 20 or so years before he retired), he always left the house clean-shaven, with his somewhat limited hair neatly cropped & combed, and wearing sharply pressed clothes.  In fairness, my mother deserves part of the credit for that last part.  Anyway, like my dad, I very rarely even run out to the store on a Saturday morning without shaving and getting my fortunately-much-more-considerable-to-this-point hair under control.

So I was intrigued when I heard about something new this week:  A service called Cravebox is offering a collection of AXE hair styling products for $12, including shipping.  There are 3 AXE ‘looks’ from which to choose:  spiked, messy, or clean cut.axe_logo_hair_black_vertical

Sounded great, but I had no idea what a Cravebox was.  It turns out Cravebox is “a fun product discovery service that brings you fabulous products in beautiful, themed boxes.”   Each Cravebox is designed around a central theme, and includes 4 to 6 specially selected products.  The price is right for trying out something new:  $12-$18 each.  Craveboxes are themed around dozens of categories, such as:

  • cooking, entertaining, and grilling
  • kids, babies, and family
  • home products and home solutions
  • health, wellness, and beauty
  • hobbies, pets, arts & crafts

This video explains what the AXE Cravebox is all about:

For anyone, like myself, who is new to Cravebox, it gets even better:  There’s a contest.  For information about how to order and about the contest, read on….

  • To order the AXE Cravebox, click here.
  • The contest is for new members.
  • Enter Promo Code AXEMen on the Registration Page.
  • Don’t miss the Promo Code field. It’s right next to Zip Code, so don’t skip it.  (If you submit without it, there’s no going back to add it.)
  • The first 50 people who order an AXE Hair Styling Cravebox Kit will receive a Credit for a FREE future Cravebox.
  • If you’re not one of the first 50, you have a second chance to win.  Cravebox will also randomly pick 50 other people who purchase an AXE Hair Styling Cravebox Kit to WIN a credit for an upcoming Cravebox.

A few final thoughts that might be helpful:

  • Joining Cravebox is free.
  • Quantities are limited, so I would invite you to order today.
  • You can also join Cravebox online to learn more, rate products, and join the fun with Twitter, Facebook and Blog contests featuring cool prizes!

This is an amazing first: I was compensated to share information contained in this post.  All opinions are my own.

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Filed under Cool Products & Services, Dad Takes A Break, Living Well

Thumbs Up Or Down? Sifting Film Ratings

Assemble?!

I can be as (over)protective as just about anyone, but when it comes to deciding which movies my kids can watch, I worry far less about a rating itself than the REASONS for that rating.  PG-13 can mean many things, and the rating has been given to films that I would gladly allow my 9 year old to watch and to other films that I would not want my 13 year old to see.  Likewise, there are a few R films that I have allowed my 16 year old to watch, while there are many others that will have to wait.

Rude language and sex are the touchy issues that give a movie ‘thumbs down’ quickly in my house…at least until the kids are in bed.  If cursing or nudity are the main reasons for a PG-13 rating, that movie is off the list for my elementary and middle school kids.  For example, Austin Powers?  Not for the kids, Baby.  The same goes for Rated R:  As a former-English-teacher-dad of a book-loving high school student, I would like to share Shakespeare In Love with my daughter…but for all its strengths, the movie crosses a few too many lines along the way–for now.

In fact, from my point of view, the entertainment industry lets down families when they salt movies and programs with coarse material that adds little but makes responsible parents think twice about their kids watching.  For example, the Transformers films feature the Witwicky parents making repeated sexual remarks that do nothing to help the Autobots take down the Decepticons.  On the TV front, my son heard the Rock was going to return to wrestling a few weeks ago; he knew the Rock from several family films.  But along the way we discovered that wrestling on TV now includes obscene   between-match dialogue that would have drawn a lecture from the Hulkster in the ’80s when he encouraged the Hulkamaniacs to be good and take their vitamins.  So we will have to pass.

But what about violence?  There has been a lot of talk in the media about film violence desensitizing kids, maybe even leading them to be more violent themselves.  But for me, there is a vast difference between realistic violence and what I consider ‘cartoon’ violence.  To be clear:  I don’t want my kids on brain detail with Jules in Pulp Fiction.  And the first rule of Fight Club?  Don’t let my kids watch Fight Club. 

On the other hand, by ‘cartoon’ violence, I don’t necessarily mean ‘animated’….although Wile E. Coyote and an A.C.M.E. catapult would also fit. I’m talking about violence that moves the story along but that even my elementary age son can understand as pretend fun.  Blowing up an enemy starship?  Fine.  Release the Kracken!?  Bring it.  Pirates that turn into skeletons at night?  En garde.

So this spring we will be heading out to see the new Avengers film, with confidence that it’s a healthy, good time–the modern equivalent to Ultraman and Star Wars from my own childhood.

 

Note:  Dad Knows Better has enjoyed all of the films/shows/etc. mentioned above, but the point here is about when they would be age-appropriate, and Dad happens to be an adult.  Also, Dad has not received any compensation related to mentioning any of the titles in this (or any other) post…unfortunately.

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Filed under Dad Takes A Break, Morality, Movies & Entertainment

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

After a no-time-for-lunch first day back at work after a week off for the holidays, this evening was a welcome chance to relax–mostly.   Outside it’s the coldest it has been all winter; it’s windy and below freezing.  So it was nice not to have any activities to take any of us back out once I picked up our oldest from driver’s ed on the way home from work and Mom got home from a doctor’s appointment with our other two kids.

After dinner & homework, our 8 year old wanted to play chess.  So we built a fire, and then he and I set up his board on the family room floor and played for a while.

We all love the sports and other activities that usually fill our family calendar.  The kids are stronger people on many fronts because of those experiences.  But an easy night once in a while is healthy, and if it happens to fall when it’s bitterly cold outside, so much the better.

Tomorrow, volleyball and swim practices pick up after their holiday break, and driver’s ed meets again.  But for tonight, throw another log on the fire.

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Filed under Activities & Sports, Dad Takes A Break