Father’s Day is right around the corner and so I thought I’d take a moment to see exactly what this holiday is all about. I assumed that Father’s Day was another one of those holidays dreamed up by Hallmark executives in order to sell more cards and gifts. What I discovered, however, is that Father’s Day was actually thought up by Sonora Smart Dodd, a woman raised solely by her father after her mother had died.

According to various sources, Dodd came up with the idea for the holiday while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at her church in 1909. Since she had been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, she decided that there should be a day to honor fathers and thank them for their love, dedication and sacrifice. Because Dodd’s father was born in June, she decided to hold the first Father’s Day celebration on June 19, 1910.

Father’s Day began to get some attention in 1913 when a bill was presented to Congress by Rep. Hampton J. Moore of Philadelphia, PA., a father of eight, asking that the first Sunday in June be “designated as Father’s Day” and that the rose be “regarded as the emblem,” (NY Times, 10/3/13). Calvin Coolidge was the first President to support the holiday, but the holiday didn’t get real national recognition until President Lyndon Johnson made it a federal holiday by issue of a proclamation in 1966.

So, now that we know a little bit about Father’s Day history, let’s get to the good stuff: gifts! Here is a list of BlogCatalog’s Top 10 Father’s Day Gifts. All of these great gifts for Dad are guaranteed to put a big smile on his face:

1. Dad-To-Be Set

This Diaper Dude bag is made from 100% recycled water bottles and comes with a 100% organic bamboo “Produced locally” onesie as well as a copy of The Baby Owner’s Manual, which is full of great tips to get new dads through the first year. $98.00

2. Ride in a NASCAR Racecar

Give Dad the thrill of his life by giving him the chance to do some laps in a real NASCAR racecar. Even dads who may not be huge race fans will love the chance to rip around the track in one of these mean machines. $119.00

3. Gas Grill

A gift that any chef or casual Bar-B-Q fan will love.  A sleek, shiny new gas grill will be the perfect addition to Dad’s back yard. $200-$1000

4. Steak Dinner

A way to a dad’s heart is through his stomach right?  Definitely not the best gift for a vegetarian dads, but for every other dad out there a bad ass steak dinner is a gift he will be licking his lips for. $25-$10

5. Baseball Tickets

Sunshine, a warm summer breeze, a cold beer, a hot dog, and America’s Pastime, what could be a better gift? Price depends on team and where tickets are purchased.

6. Blu-Ray Player

What can we say?  If you want to give dad the ultimate home entertainment experience, then you need to give him a Blu-Ray player. Enough said. $200-$500

7. Massage

Massages and spa services are usually given to moms rather than dads, but hey dads like to relax too! Give him a gift certificate to a local spa and let him choose his preferred method of relaxation. $150

8. Mr. Beer

Tired of Dad spending all the family money on beer?  Well then get him a Mr. Beer brewing kit!  Soon he’ll be crafting delicious brews at home and the beer money can go towards more important things…like pretzels! $49.99

9. Ballpark Pens

Not just any ordinary pen, these ballpark pens have a piece of salvaged wood from a stadium seat inlaid at the top. Designed to look like a bat, each pen is engraved with the stadium name, stadium time line, and each comes with a card of authenticity. $180-$260

10. Bike Gear Clock

Add a bit of masculine style to the room with this awesome clock made from recycled bike gears!  The perfect gift for any gearhead or adventurous dad types. $64.00

Sources for father’s day historical information: Wikipedia, Morning-Glow.com, theholidayspot.com

When we here at the BlogCatalog (BC) offices heard we would be enlisting the services of a new intern, Terry Forch, we were all very excited. We all quickly began writing down our daily coffee orders and getting our dry cleaning slips together for pick up. Then, we found out that our intern would be working remotely from Virginia, and thus we will still be getting our own coffee and dry cleaning.  So now you may be asking yourself the same question we were when we heard this baffling news.  “What good is an intern that can’t get coffee or pick up our clean clothes?”

Well, in actuality we think that she will be a great addition to the team.  And, although she won’t be delivering caramel macchiatos or making sure we have clean clothes for our Friday night dates, she will be making some very valuable contributions to the team. Terry will be tracking BlogCatalog in the media and on the web.  She will also be working with our advertising team, contributing to the BC blog, interacting with the BC community via groups and discussions, and whatever else we can think up for her.

Jason recently had a chance to ask Terry a few questions and we wanted to share her answers with all of you so you can get to know her just a little bit.  Also,  if you want to know more about Terry and how her internship is developing, stop by her new blog  Feelin the Love and see what she’s up to. We’re sure she’d love to hear from all of BC’s awesome members and would appreciate any tips you have on the best way to get started on a new blog!

Jason: How old are you?
Terry: 22 years old

J: Where do you go to school?
T: George Mason University

J: Gunston is the George Mason mascot’s name right?
T: Yes it is!

J: Is Gunston a good name for my next son?
T: It’s old school. Gunston has a smart person ring to it, which is good.

J: What is the weirdest job you’ve ever had?
T: Honestly, I haven’t had any weird jobs. The only thing I can think of is when I worked for the Madison Marketing Group. It wasn’t a weird job but they had weird traditions such as ringing a bell at the end of the day, running around the circle giving high fives for receiving a certain amount of applications.

J: What is your favorite recreational activity?
T: Going to Concerts!

J: Ever been on a trip an exotic destination?  If not, what was your favorite trip?
T: When I was 12 years old, my family and some friends rented a sailboat and sailed around the Caribbean.

J: What do you hope to learn from your BC internship?
T: Since I am completely new to blogging and marketing on the internet, I hope to become more comfortable in the blogging community, learn more about marketing to the social web and making a measurable contribution to the development of BlogCatalog.com.

J: What most excites you about the internship, other than working with me ?
T: I had no idea how much knowledge I would acquire from working with Blogcatalog.com. I feel like I have been opened to a whole new world in the blogosphere. I  have already gained so much insight into using the internet as a business tool from talking with [the BC team,] reading Marketing to the Social Web and just spending more time on the computer.

J: What do you think will be the most challenging aspect of this internship?
T: The most challenging aspect of this internship will be learning to blog. I am already comfortable learning and applying new material because being a college student gives me that mentality, but exposing my thoughts and opinions to the world is quite intimidating to me.

J: What is the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
T: One of my best friends is Turkish and her mom has fed me some pretty weird stuff. I don’t know what it is called but it tastes amazing! I have also eaten Escargot which is pretty weird too, I suppose.

J: Do you have a favorite sport team?
T: HHHHAAAIIILLL TO THE REDSKINSSSSS and of course the George Mason PATRIOTS – GO MASON!!

J: Are you OK about working with an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan?  Fly Eagles Fly!!
T: I suppose…jk

J: Do you have a nickname?
T: My mom has a nickname for me..but its kind of embarassing so I’m just going to say no

On May 8th, we announced that BlogCatalog members had the privelege of entering a contest to design a piece of promotional material for the release of the movie What Goes Up.  Well, many of you responded, and as of yesterday the producers of What Goes Up have chosen their winners!

So, without further ado, the winners are:

Placements were decided by the producers of What Goes Up  and descriptions of the individual projects are provided courtesy of the What Goes Up Movie Blog:

First Place — “Countdown” by The Polybore Press

Second Place — “What Goes Up Campaign” by Joren M.

The bus stop shelter is only the the beginning of this campaign. Joren has been busy introducing Holland to What Goes Up with promotional material ranging from small posters to bus stop shelter signage for the better part of a month.

In addition to promoting the movie across The Netherlands, his original treatments of signage, posters, single CD covers, and T-shirts have been shared across the Internet. You can see most of this campaign material featured here. Or, anywhere in Holland. Seriously!

Third Place — “Obi-Wan Kenobi” by Omar M.

Omar M., the 22-year-old who authors Random Nothingness, found himself entertaining a lifelong dream to create movie posters as he worked on his submission. And, according to his post, his submission was called “Obi-Wan Kenobi” because this is his “only hope. (ha!)” The producers appreciated how he adapted the title treatment arrows into the poster design.

Fourth Place — “Imaginary Book” by Meki.

Meki (also known as WagerWitch on BlogCatalog) has a hobby that includes creating fictional book covers for family and friends, and designed a future book cover for an adaption of the screenplay written by Jonathan Glatzer and Robert Lawson. Considering Meki had never seen the film, the producers thought it was intuitive to include the coffin about the title. You can see the work on the new The Choice Movie Reviewer too.

Fifth Place — “Joy is What Goes Up” by Footiam.

Footiam wrote a comparative contrast post that expressed his displeasure for price increases but hope for a future theatrical release of What Goes Up in Malaysia. “It is not simply a joy for Americans who will get to see the movie first but I do think it would be a joy for just anyone who gets the opportunity to watch the movie,” he wrote.

Honorable Mention — “Flying Girls And Talking Dogs” by Tony H.

Although Tony didn’t make the submission deadline, The Insider Team gave him an opportunity to finish his work on an animated Flash file. While quirky, it successfully presents a series of unexpected events. See for yourself.

Congratulations to everyone who participated! And, thank you to the producers of What Goes Up for allowing the BlogCatalog community to take part in such a great contest!

You can read the official article about the contest and the winners on the What Goes Up blog.

What Goes Up Movie Poster

Have you ever wanted to get into the movie biz? Well here’s your chance!

BlogCatalog members are being given the exclusive chance to participate in a movie promo contest being brought to you by the executive producers of What Goes Up, a new feature film opening in select theaters this month and starring Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, Olivia Thirlby, Josh Peck and Molly Shannon.

What to do:

First, create your own promotional material for the film What Goes Up. Your promo material can be anything so be creative! It could be a video, music, poster, shirt, banner, poem, craft, reenactment, or whatever you can think of!

Then post your promo idea on your blog between May 1, 2009 and May 21, 2009. The post must link back to the What Goes Up Movie Blog whatgoesupmovie.blogspot.com.

Contest Rules:

1. Promotional material must include mention of BlogCatalog.com and What Goes Up.
2. You must send an exact link of where you posted your work to whatgoesupinsider@gmail.com before May 21, 2009.
3. You must use “BlogCatalog Exclusive” in the subject of the submission e-mail.
4. You must be a BlogCatalog.com member to enter.

Prizes:

First Place: Prize Pack: DVD, soundtrack CD, and poster, signed by various artists and/or cast members and your work shown at the theatrical premiere on May 28.

Second Place: Prize Pack: DVD, soundtrack CD, and poster, signed by various artists and/or cast members.

Third through Fifth Places: Poster signed by the executive producers and various cast members.

Top Ten Entrants: Will be featured on the What Goes Up movie blog, becoming a permanent part of its history.

All winners will be announced in an email to approx. 200,000 BlogCatalog members.

Additional details: Open to anyone, worldwide, except where prohibited by law.
There are no substitutions. Decisions made by the contest hosts are final, and
they reserve the right to change any element of the promotion at any time. In
accepting the prize, the winner acknowledges that Three Kings or anyone
affiliated with the promotion cannot be held liable for any loss or damages
associated with accepting this prize(s). Approximate value of prizes vary.
Employees and their immediate family of any company associated with the film or
soundtrack are not eligible to win.

Since BlogCatalog is a Texas-based company, we wanted to take just a moment to talk about some very important legislation that is being considered during our current legislative season here in Texas–and for which a BloggersUnite event has just been added for next Thursday, 4/23/09.

House Bill 130 and Senate Bill 21 are two pieces of legislation aimed at increasing the quality and the availability of early childhood education programs here in Texas.  The listing created on BloggersUnite.org asks bloggers to raise awareness about these bills by blogging about the issue and to take action by speaking to their representatives and letting them know they should support this legislation.  

Because we here at BlogCatalog are not experts on the subject of early childhood education advocacy, we thought it would be good to bring in a guest blogger for this post to explain the importance of this issue and what is currently happening in Austin.

The following article was written by Kara Johnson, Executive Director of the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition:

Time Running out for Young Learners in Texas

 Passing legislation in Texas often feels like a long tiresome trek, followed by a sustained and painstaking sprint.  If you didn’t know already, Texas has a unique legislative system.  Our lawmakers meet for just 140 days every two years, thus a lot of time is spent getting ready for the legislative session. When session finally begins, it’s a challenging and exhausting race to line everything up to ensure important bills are passed into law.

The early education movement in Texas knows this process all too well.  During the previous legislative session, the movement focused its efforts on Senate Bill 50, which would have greatly strengthened the quality of early education in the Lone Star State.  Advocates from all across Texas made legislative visits, phone calls, and sent emails, only to see the bill die on the House floor.  When seeking explanation from legislators and political insiders, early education advocates were told that they had not done enough to build consensus around Senate Bill 50, and that they should be more united during the next legislative session.

Supporters of high-quality early education took that message to heart.  During the interim between the 80^th and 81^st Legislature, the early education movement went to incredible lengths to achieve consensus around its priorities for the 81^st  Legislative Session.

For the current session, advocates are supporting the identical companion bills, Senate Bill 21 authored by Senator Judith Zaffirini and House Bill 130 authored by Representative Diane Patrick.  These bills would ensure that many school districts are voluntarily able to provide full-day enhanced quality pre-k to their currently eligible four year olds.  Additionally, the legislation calls for a significant amount of funding set aside to support partnerships between school districts and community child care centers or Head Start programs to serve eligible children in community-based high-quality settings. 

Currently Texas schools have no requirements for pre-k class size or staff-to-child ratios, key indicators of program quality.  Senate Bill 21 and House Bill 130 mandate a class size limit of 22 children and a 1 to 11 staff to child ratio.  Participating districts would also observe other quality guidelines, such as ensuring well-trained teachers are in the classroom and that high-quality curricula are being followed. 

There is great consensus on these bills.  Supporters include: the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition (TECEC), Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TAEYC), United Ways of Texas (UWT), the Texas Licensed Child Care Association (TLCCA), the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), and over 275 other organizations, chambers of commerce, and associations. Many legislators have responded to the voices behind these bills.  Currently one-third of the Texas Senate and nearly 100 Texas Representatives in the House have signed on in support of the bills. 

Advocates have held the meetings, made the phone calls, and worked together to ensure that high-quality early education was placed on the Texas Legislative Agenda. Now with already more than half of the Session over, they are working overtime to make sure that the Texas Legislature finish the deal.

Never in the history of the early education movement in Texas has the call for high quality pre-k been so loud.  Texas Legislators have received over 10,000 letters and emails, witnessed approximately 1,000 advocates visit the Capitol, and heard nearly 100 favorable testimonies all in favor of Senate Bill 21 and House Bill 130.  In the face of such support, any lingering questions about consensus on early education in Texas are unsubstantiated.

Throughout the push to pass these critical bills, the message has been clear and consistent: high-quality early education builds a foundation for success in school and in life for children that experience it.  Advocates have come to the Capitol not with anecdotes, but with a multitude of research and evidence supporting the need for high-quality programs in our state. 

The research is strong and Texas-specific. The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M conducted a conservative cost-benefit analysis of investing in high-quality pre-k in Texas, and found that every $1.00 invested in high-quality programs saves Texas taxpayers at least $3.50. Because early education takes place during most crucial period of human brain development, high-quality programs can reduce the number of referrals to special education, lower the high-school drop out rate, contribute to lower crime rates, and give children the foundation they need to be high wage earners later in life.

The early education movement has brought consensus and broad-based support behind these bills. We are in the last leg of the legislative race, and it is critical that legislators move to pass these bills.  Inaction carries with it a failed opportunity to strengthen our communities and the future of our children. Let’s cross the legislative finish line assured that our state put its young learners in first place.

Please contact your Texas legislator today and urge him or her to support this critical legislation.

To learn more about early education in Texas visit www.tecec.org

Don’t live in Texas but want to support high-quality early education?  Check out Pre-k Now and Zero-to-three.

Kara Johnson is the Executive Director of the Texas Early Childhood Education Coalition 

*A note from BlogCatalog:  We make it a point to be unbiased about political issues on both BlogCatalog and BloggersUnite.  We feel comfortable supporting this legislation because it has bipartisan support in both the Texas House and Senate. 

Blogging Against Abuse is right around the corner and it looks like it may be our most successful challenge yet. We are very excited about it and have created some more badges for you to add to your blogs. Make sure to thank NINE for his great work on these.

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_animal.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_childabuse.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_elderly.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_ozone.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

<a href=”http://blog.blogcatalog.com/category/community-challenge/” title=”BlogCatalog - Blogging For a Great Cause”><img src=”http://blogcatalog.com/~pub/bl_unite/092707/bl_unite_badge_pitbull.jpg” alt=”Bloggers Unite”></a>

On September 27th, join thousands of bloggers around the world in BlogCatalog’s Blogging for a Great Cause Challenge.

This Month’s Blogging Challenge:

Bloggers Against Abuse
September 27th, 2007

The Outcome we are after is to be part of the largest group of bloggers to ever blog about an important cause, all on the same day.

So how do you participate?

On Sept. 27th, blog about putting an end to some sort of Abuse (you decide what kind of abuse to blog about).  In the meantime though,

• Spread the word among all the bloggers you know. Perhaps even give them a link to this Discussion.
• If you are a graphic designer, perhaps you can come up with some small badges announcing the event, that we can then place on our blogs. To share the badge, place it on this thread.
• Let other members know of any organizations who are involved in putting an end to abuse.

What do you get?

• You will receive a link to your Blog Post from the Blogcatalog blog when we list everyone who participated.
• You get to use your blog for an important cause.
• You get to create blogging history.

We chose organ donation because it is a gift of life. So on July 18, let’s all come together again and raise awareness about organ donation and the good it can do. Why organ donation? In Australia, more than 1,700 people are waiting for organ transplants. In Latin America, more than 50,000. In Europe and the United States, more than 170,000. In China, more than 2 million. In Africa, there isn’t enough organization to really know. Without an organ transplant, these people will die.
We’re doing everything we can to help you blog about organ donation. Here is a link to the bulletin board http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/blogcatalog-organ-donor-awareness-challenge with resources in the United States and around the world. You can also visit Transplant Success (http://www.transplantsuccess.org/) to find dozens of success stories.

To participate, on Wednesday, July 18, write a blog post asking all your readers to sign up as a donor. Your post should:

Have the title “BlogCatalog Community Organ Donation Awareness Campaign” (or some variation).
Explain the importance of organ donation and how it is a gift of life.
Link to one (or all three) of the sites we’ve listed or the most suitable site for your country.
And add a link to our BlogCatalog Community Organ Donation Awareness Campaign page so we can give you and your blog credit for being part of it.
If you have any questions, please e-mail tony@blogcatalog.com. We will also be posting some ideas that you can use to tell your story about how organ donation is a gift of life! And please, don’t forget to tell your friends to blog about this too. Together, I know we can raise awareness and prove bloggers can do good!

Happy Blogging,
Your BlogCatalog Team