Search Results for: dad

The American Male at Age Ten

Longreads Pick

Susan Orlean’s classic profile of a ten-year-old boy named Colin Duffy:

“If Colin Duffy and I were to get married, we would have matching superhero notebooks. We would ‘ wear shorts, big sneakers, and long, baggy T-shirts depicting famous athletes every single day, even in the winter. We would sleep in our clothes. We would both be good at Nintendo Street Fighter II, but Colin would be better than me. We would have some homework, but it would not be too hard and we would always have just finished it. We would eat pizza and candy for all of our meals. We wouldn’t have sex, but we would have crushes on each other and, magically, babies would appear in our home. We would win the lottery and then buy land in Wyoming, where we would have one of every kind of cute animal. All the while, Colin would be working in law enforcement – probably the FBI. Our favorite movie star, Morgan Freeman, would visit us occasionally. We would listen to the same Eurythmics song (“Here Comes the Rain Again”) over and over again and watch two hours of television every Friday night. We would both be good at football, have best friends, and know how to drive; we would cure AIDS and the garbage problem and everything that hurts animals. We would hang out a lot with Colin’s dad. For fun, we would load a slingshot with dog food and shoot it at my butt. We would have a very good life.”

Source: Esquire
Published: Dec 1, 1992
Length: 20 minutes (5,081 words)

Alex Bogusky Tells All

Longreads Pick

Alex Bogusky, advertising Dadaist, postmodern media manipulator, pop-culture Houdini, daddy of 21st-century advertising, and now a seeker of meaning on the dirt path of life, invites me and his monk into the FearLess Cottage. … “So, I have to ask,” I start. “Is there any notion of a midlife crisis in this? You do happen to be 46.” Cradling a cup of chamomile tea, Bogusky releases a quiet laugh. “Yeah, just happen to be,” he smiles. “You know, I’m not completely unaware that that’s what this could be.”

Source: Fast Company
Published: Sep 1, 2010
Length: 22 minutes (5,662 words)

The Savior of Conde Nast

Longreads Pick

Someday, when they tell the story of how digital magazines saved Conde Nast, it will begin in San Francisco’s Caffé Centro sometime in May 2009. It was there that Wired creative director Scott Dadich asked Wired editor Chris Anderson to meet him to discuss the creation of a prototype for a new digital tablet. Mr. Dadich knew the iPhone screen was far too small to re-create the magazine experience, but it got him thinking about a Minority Report-like touchscreen that could work. Mr. Dadich took out a cocktail napkin and drew an illustration of what Wired could look like on a 13-inch tablet screen.

Published: Aug 3, 2010
Length: 5 minutes (1,463 words)

A Man Who Could Be Me

Longreads Pick

In this exclusive excerpt from The Council of Dads, Bruce Feiler, having just been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, asks a dear friend to be a father to his young twin daughters. Plus: Read how Bruce Feiler formed The Council of Dads.

Source: The Daily Beast
Published: Apr 27, 2010
Length: 6 minutes (1,593 words)

‘I Have Seen the Promised Land’

Longreads Pick

Excerpt from At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68, on Martin Luther King Jr.’s final days:

“King spent the early weeks of the new year flying around the country trying to drum up support for his poverty campaign but he found one of his toughest audiences back home in Atlanta.

“With his aide Andrew Young, King took a midnight flight through Dallas and reached home early on Jan. 15. They arrived late and exhausted for King’s morning presentation at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he was the pastor. Some 60 members of the SCLC staff were gathered from scattered posts with their travel possessions, ready to disperse straight from Atlanta to recruiting assignments for the poverty campaign. SCLC executive director William Rutherford’s summons had described a mandatory workshop of crisp final instructions—’it is imperative’—but King labored more broadly to overcome festering doubt and confusion about why they must go to Washington. He thanked his father Daddy King and others for fill-in speeches to cover his tardiness. He made a faltering joke about the tepid response of friends with their coats still on—’they act like it’s cold in my church’—and betrayed rare unease in a defensive speech.”

Source: Time
Published: Jan 1, 2006
Length: 23 minutes (5,932 words)

Lost in the Waves

Longreads Pick

Swept out to sea by a riptide, a father and his 12-year-old son struggle to stay alive miles from shore. As night falls, with no rescue imminent, the dad comes to a devastating realization: If they remain together, they’ll drown together.

Source: Men’s Journal
Published: Nov 9, 2009
Length: 25 minutes (6,452 words)

Me and Mrs. Palin

Longreads Pick

When his (pregnant) girlfriend’s mom ran for vice president and he was thrust into the national spotlight, Levi Johnston found his life spinning out of control. In an exclusive look back, the author tells editors at Vanity Fair about everyday life chez Palin—where the kids are in charge, Dad is threatening divorce, and Sarah the moose-hunting, stew-cooking hockey mom of legend is nowhere to be found. He also offers some eye-opening scenes from the campaign trail and the birth of his and Bristol’s baby.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Oct 1, 2009
Length: 21 minutes (5,478 words)

High-Wire Act

Longreads Pick

Neil Patrick Harris used to be an underage doctor on TV. Now he’s another Hollywood first: an out gay actor who can host award shows, play a womanizer, walk the red carpet with his boyfriend, and then get cast in movies as a straight dad. Neat trick.

Published: Sep 13, 2009
Length: 21 minutes (5,283 words)

Ghosts of Mississippi

Longreads Pick

When I was 5 or 6, because of my dad’s political activism in the Mississippi Delta, local white supremacists burned a cross in our front yard. My parents had a decision to make: Wake me up or let me sleep. They chose sleep. On that night, hate and fear would not be passed to another generation.

Source: ESPN
Published: Aug 1, 2009
Length: 59 minutes (14,947 words)

Family Man

Longreads Pick

Bobby Krotendorfer didn’t expect to be a father at 19, or jobless at 20. But he’s determined to be a loving dad and strong breadwinner. The first part comes easily.

Source: Washington Post
Published: Jul 5, 2009
Length: 21 minutes (5,471 words)