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posts about #fathersday more →
Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
The President Is Kid-Tested, Father-Approved
Do Dads Get A Raw Deal?
Barack Obama And The Changing Face Of Fatherhood
Happy Father's Day, Love Lisa Simpson
More Modern Dads Are Juggling The Work/Life Balance Alongside Their Wives

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cirocco
06/22/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
My father treated his children much the same way Cosby does in this scene: displaying unconcealed, sardonic contempt at our "stupidity," using humor as a bludgeon to prove how much smarter he was than his children, and occasionally threatening us with bodily harm. I can testify that this method actually does not produce successful, well-adjusted offspring. Instead, it smothers burgeoning self-confidence by forcing minor children into a battle of wits that they can never win. There are ways to make a point that do not rely on humiliation and intimidation.

"I brought you into this world and I'll take you out of it"? As a sitcom tagline it belongs with "One of these days, Alice... Pow! Right to the moon!" A father insinuating that he'll kill his son if the son fails to live up to his father's expections is funny?
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heywhat
06/22/09

@cirocco: Jeez, over-analyze much? It's a comedy show. He was motivating a lazy kid by explaining to him that he should try to achieve better things in his life. "Insinuating that he would kill his son". Honey, take a Valium.
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cirocco
06/22/09

@heywhat: What other interpretation is there for "I bought you into this world and I'll take you out of it?"
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MeganGlass 就是一个古代的三明治
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
Oh yes... one of the great moments. Also the time he stayed home with Rudy when she was sick, that was another amazing cosby dad moment.
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meritxell: an erotic life
06/21/09

In reply to The President Is Kid-Tested, Father-Approved
Dad's got a Clive Owen thing going on, no?
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Trixie from Toronto
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
I actually forget how great that show was from a parenting perspective, because of course I was watching it before I was a parent. I need to go back and see how Dr. Huxtable handled it when he found a dime-bag of weed in Theo's pants pocket, for example. Just wondering.
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HereComesMyBaby
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
I remember watching this episode as a kid and HATING IT. I really didn't think it was necessary to put Theo through all that. The Cosbys need to lighten up.
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dj_chick
06/21/09

@HereComesMyBaby: Seriously? It made me think that the Cosby's were the most awesome family EVER. My family would never clear out most of the house and roleplay just to teach me a lesson.
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eve804
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
So good. My parents and I watched every single episode together when I was little. I have such unabashed love for this show.
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save jinger
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
This was the very first episode of the show. They started out on a great note and never had a bad episode. One of my top five favorite shows of all time. It never gets old.
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i'm going to have my friends call me valerie
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
I remember when The Cosby Show, Roseanne, and Fresh Prince were all on Nick at Nite together. Best lineup ever.
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GreyEminence
06/21/09

@i'm going to have my friends call me valerie: I remember when Nick at Nite used to show "I Love Lucy", "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie." The world I grew up in is gone. :-(

P.S. I'm only 21.
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YourScreenplaySucks
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
I would have loved to hear Cliff's opinion on college majors. I'd argue that most of them will not prepare you or give you the skills to earn much more than these dreaded "regular people" (except the regulars won't have massive loans to pay off).
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meloroast
06/21/09

@Your Screenplay Sucks:

i must, respectfully, disagree. as someone with likely too much education i must say that having each one of the degrees i have has provided me with additional opportunities now and i know will in the future. i'm not saying you must have a degree to get ahead. many innovative people are able to do so without one. but it is more often an advantage than a hindrance. i know the loans suck but they will get paid off.
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YourScreenplaySucks
06/21/09

@meloroast: I'm not talking about being an "innovative" person. I'm talking about being a person who practices a trade that is in demand and will always have job opportunities as opposed to spending thousands of dollars to major in a "soft" subject for a field that may have a handful of openings each year - if you don't get into an elite university & you don't have parents who can subsidize you after graduation, I'd suggest you stay away from those subjects.
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TheFormerJuneBronson
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
This show is just made of awesome, no question. I feel like I somehow was just the right age for it, outgrew it, and then re-grew into it. How is that even possible?

One of my favorites, beyond this one, is the one where they bought that painting at auction. It hung over their fireplace for the rest of the series. I've never seen it in reruns.
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JosephFinn
06/21/09

@TheFormerJuneBronson: Bill and Camille Cosby are serious collectors of art by African-American artists; they bought a lot of stuff long before it came into vogue. Their collection was used for the book The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collec... a few years back, looking at the history of the genre.
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meloroast
06/21/09

@TheFormerJuneBronson:

i am so with you. downloading season 1 now. i remember people saying it was elitist. but for me (a mixed kid with a physician father) it was just kinda cool to see black people on tv not acting all "ghetto black". i think that is part of the culture but not talking/acting like that is also possible!!!
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TheFormerJuneBronson
06/21/09

@JosephFinn: I did not know that! That's amazing. I'm really glad it made it onto the show. I think it resonated with me as a kid because I don't come from people who have art or heirlooms, particularly not ones with cultural significance. I always wanted us to have something like that, that meant as much to us as that painting did to them.
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TheFormerJuneBronson
06/21/09

@meloroast: I know, I kind of struggled with that, but the thing is that like a family, they were like us. They were, in fact, far better off than we were. My parents both went to college, but they weren't doctors or lawyers. To us, the Huxtables were like us in the same way the Keatons were like us. That they were black was less relevant than that they were upper middle class, educated, with kids, etc.
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electrogeek77
06/21/09

In reply to Some Fatherly Advice From Dr. Cliff Huxtable
No, no, no! The BEST episode is where the men all get pregnant and Cliff gives birth to a sub sandwich!
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braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
06/21/09

@electrogeek77: And where the Muppets have to operate on him?
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Giant Squid trumps all
06/21/09

In reply to The President Is Kid-Tested, Father-Approved
OMG. The Dairy Godmother is the shiznit. Best thing in the world is to hit up the Cheesetique across the street for cheese and wine but save some room for dessert at the Dairy Godmother. They have a different flavored custard of the day that they list on their website.

And I will be closer to it once we move to DC next weekend, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
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Hooplehead
06/21/09

@Giant Squid trumps all: I still dream about their blackberry-merlot sorbet. I need to make a road trip there and fill up a cooler.
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tonightineed is actually Mrs. Ziegler-Spock
06/21/09

In reply to The President Is Kid-Tested, Father-Approved
Also apparently England approved. Look at the kid in his kit, n'awwww.
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tscheese
06/19/09

In reply to Do Dads Get A Raw Deal?
You come over to my house, and you set a really nice tomato down on my table.

"Here," you say. "This is from my garden. I want you to have this. I have way too many, and many of my tomatoes are going to die before I can use them. But I think we can get some mutual pleasure from this exchange. This tomato is now yours. It's inside your house and whatever happens to it, happens to it."

"Great," I say. "Thanks."

Now, it turns out that that was a nice heirloom non-hybridized tomato, so the seeds are good for creating new tomato plants. If I decide to plant some of the seeds from the tomato, there's a chance I could get a whole new plant of my own--but then I'd have to water it and take care of it. I could just eat the damn thing, or let it rot. I'd then have to dispose of it safely somehow.

If I decide to grow my own tomato plant, you don't get to come over to my house and yell at me about OH MY GOD YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT, YOU'RE SO IRRESPONSIBLE. If I decide to eat the damn thing or throw it away, you don't get to come over to my house and say YOU ASSHOLE, I WANTED US TO HAVE LOTS OF TOMATO PLANTS TOGETHER.

You see where I'm going with this.
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Maritsa
06/19/09

@tscheese: Nicely done.
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Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
06/19/09

In reply to Do Dads Get A Raw Deal?
Oh I'm sorry - do parents actually give a shit what they get for Mother's and Father's Day? I was under the impression that they were faking it and really just wanted the day in bed.
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