You read the interview with Cedric and Niecy Nash, now sign up and join in on the fun of a Twitter party hosted by BlackAndMarriedWithKids.com. If you're on social media, Twitter parties are great ways to interact and connect with new folks with similar interests and ideas.

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Join me & @blackandmarried for #TheSoulMan Twitter Viewing Party on Wed. 6/19 10:30-11:30PM EST Details: http://bmwk.me/16dLMgG 

From BlackAndMarriedWithKids.com: 

Join us as we tweet along with some of our favorite online friends before and during the show. Our Twitter Viewing Party kicks off at 10:30PM EST and runs until the episode ends at 11:30PM EST and if you’ve ever participated in one of our Twitter events then you know we always have a good time! 

How To Join Us: 

1) You’ll need to have a Twitter account. If you don’t have one you can sign up at www.twitter.com. 

2) It’s a good idea to follow our Twitter accounts for info on upcoming chats (@blackandmarried, @lamartyler, @ronnietyler). 

3) Beginners can follow along during the viewing party here (Tweet Chat): http://tweetchat.com/room/thesoulman 

Party Details: 

Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Time: 10:30PM – 11:30PM EST
Hashtag: #TheSoulManSponsor: @TVLandHost: @BlackandMarriedJoining Us: @mybrownbaby @kiamorgansmith @epaynethedad @stephanspeaks @iluvblackwomen and more!

About The Soul Man

From the creators of Hot in Cleveland, The Soul Man revolves around Cedric “The Entertainer’s” character, Reverend Boyce The Voice Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father’s church. Niecy Nash (“Reno 911″) stars as the reverends wife, Lolli. The pilot also features John Beasley (Everwood) as his father, and Wesley Jonathan (What I Like About You) as his younger brother. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of Hot in Cleveland in which Cedric guest-starred. Season 2 Premieres June 19 11/10C on TV Land!

*This is part of a compensated campaign with TV Land. All opinions are my own. 

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Thoughts? Please, let me know in the Facebook or Disqus comment sections below.

This is a guest post by Jackie Bledsoe, Jr.  Jackie writes a Family Leadership blog at jackiebledsoe.com, which helps men grow in their most important roles.  The roles as husband and father.  He is the creator of the series, "March DADness: Preparing Dads to Make a Championship Run in Fatherhood," and the author of the soon to be released eBook, "Lovers and Fighters: How to Love and Fight Your Way to a Better Marriage."  Read more articles like this on his blog.  You can also connect with him on Facebook and Twitter (@jbledsoejr).

Laughter and family is what you get

Cedric, Niecy, and the domestic sexy husband

Conversation with Cedric and Niecy

Get more of that every Wednesday evening

Father's Day Is For FATHERS: A Public Service Announcement from E.Payne on Vimeo.

When it comes to fathers and Father's Day we always hear about what men need to do to be better fathers, etc. You never hear this conversation in advance of Mother's Day. Father's Day is all about celebrating the fathers that DO in the lives of their children, not the men that DON'T in the lives of their kids. There's no argument that we shouldn't aggressively address the issue of fatherless, especially since it fosters so many societal ills. However on Father's Day lets set this day aside to actually celebrate fathers --- the men who assume the role and responsibilities that come with rearing and loving their children.

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Thoughts? Please, let me know in the Facebook or Disqus comment sections below.

My most prominent memories from my childhood include my father in some way. He was singularly the most impactful force on my life. I remember how focused he was and how at times, he was mature to a fault, or his extreme mature was to my personal detriment. He was seemingly unmoved by many of the things that make kids kids. My dad was and continues to be an exceptionally serious man. His dealings with me oftentimes were not unlike those of a boss who deals with an average employee, mildly satisfied with the workers productivity. Always expecting more. I'll never forget the time I got a B in one of my high school classes and he acted as if I had received an F. I was furious, not in a I can't satisfy this guy kind of way but rather a what the hell is wrong with this guy?

Our relationship, at least from my viewpoint, was testy at best during my teen years. Then one day my mother shared a picture with me from my past. There I was, a big-headed, slobbering baby boy laying across my father's chest and the smile on my father's face was stretched from his left ear to his right. It was the biggest smile I had ever seen. I distinctly remember blurting out, "Dad smiles?!" The next picture (pictured here) was a little bit later on. I was bigger, wearing footie pajamas and my father's smile was still there. In retrospect on the occasions when my father did smile it was when I was in the midst of accomplishing something: running, but not winning in a track meet or posing with me at the conclusion of the many science fairs I won. That's right, science fairs. I was a god of model rockets and measuring drag coefficients.




Tweet: Your favorite Dad moments on Twitter at #powerofdad

I was stunned as I watched the Oral B (yup, the makers of the Oral B power toothbrushes) Power of Dad video. It was put together to honor dads this Father's Day for all the great moments and smiles we have brought to the lives of our families. It captures so many precious, priceless, intimate but fleeting moments between fathers and their kids. I can relate to all of them as a father of a 17 and a 7 year-old. I smiled thinking back on the times when my dad, unbeknownst to me, was grooming me to be the man I am today.

Visit: The Power of Dad and share your favorite memories of your Dad

Now that my daughter is coming into her own she looks to me for approval for the things she's involved in. There's one thing she relies on to let her know that all is right with her and the world: my smile. A father's smile makes all the difference in the world. And when my daughter sees my smile, hers gets even brighter.


I don't ever plan for this to change.

I'm inclined to believe I'm not the only one who has some valuable, wonderful memories of their father. Share your favorite memories via a short testimonial of your father or even your favorite moments as a father here in my comment section, over at The Power of Dad and on Twitter using the #powerofdad hashtag.

Disclaimer: This was a conversation sponsored by Oral-B. The opinions expressed here are my own.

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Thoughts? Please, let me know in the Facebook or Disqus comment sections below.

I was very excited last week when I opened the package sent to me containing the Sonos Play:3 HiFi System and Bridge for review. The last time I was this excited about a speaker was when I opened the box to the original Bose Sound Dock for my iPod (I never purchased any more after that). The time before then was right after I graduated high school and purchased a Kenwood receiver and a set of JBL speakers with money I received in gifts.

Initially, I wasn't on the Sonos bandwagon. Firstly, when Sonos made it's debut I don't think I totally understood what being able to stream music wirelessly even meant. I was an apartment dweller and had forgotten the audio needs that come with being an audiophile and living in a house. Secondly, I didn't trust the sound when I listened to it at stores like Target and Best Buy because, well, everything sounds loud there if you turn it up loud enough.

But eventually I began to come around after an in depth review by tech evangelist, BrothaTech. And by the time of his review not only did I have a full understanding of streaming music wirelessly, I once again became a home dweller and entered a state of reluctant acceptance of the flat and inadequate sounds coming stylish sound docks.

For the purposes of my review I'm not going to go super-tech on you, but rather I'm going to speak to the experience of living with a Sonos Play:3 HiFi System.

It's a Speaker

The Sonos Play:3 isn't a sound dock designed to look nice (or not so nice) in conjunction with the rest of the visible stuff in your living space. No, it's a speaker. Weighty, solid, clearly packed with magnets with the emphasis on style being placed on it's minimalist wedge shape. To me it seems as if it was designed to hide in plain sight or not be seen at all either in a corner or under a chair. There is nothing like a solid state piece of equipment. It doesn't do anything more than what it's intended to do, but it does well what it has been designed to do. The manufacturer describes it as "compact, all-in-one Sonos player with 3 integrated speakers and 3 digital amps for big HiFi sound. Horizontal or vertical. Black or white." A tie isn't capable of accomplishing any of this.

Fill Your House With Music

Once I went through the simple process of setting up the device, especially simple if you're one of the initiated: a sad soul who had to set up a wireless router before your cable provider began doing it for you. I downloaded the Sonos app for my iPhone and loaded it on my desktop so I could stream music from either device. The beauty of the Sonos software is that it although it suggests you set up playlists on Sonos, it gives you the option to connect with all the music sources you normally interact with daily. So if you're on Pandora all you have to do is simply select it from the Music menu, log on inside the Sonos app and boom! You can play all your favorites and play it with all the appropriate bass, midrange sounds and highs. You'll be able to hear how wonderful the sounds you normally pack into earbuds and headphones sound when free to bounce off your walls, floors and ceilings. A tie can't fill your house with music.




With two kids, the televisions are on a lot. My daughter with her pre-teen shows and my son with all his sports. A curious thing has begun to take place since my test Sonos system moved in. The more the music is on, the more the television is off. We're spending more time communally in the living room, singing along or moving with the beats, while talking, eating together, reading and just lazing around (a la white noise). It reminds that home is a place meant to be enjoyed and lounged in, not simply force-fed information from led screens.





Functionality

The Sonos App is the merely the end of the functionality of the Sonos system. In my opinion, the strength of this wireless speaker system lies in a little product called the Sonos Bridge, a little white box that again, can hide easily enough in plain sight beside your wireless router (see the two Vines above). And again the Bridge does exactly what it's name suggests. First, it allows you to set your Play:3 in any room (where there's an outlet) without it being connected directly to your router (this will need to happen without the Bridge) and wait for it: it acts a router for multiple Sonos components. If you want you can have a speaker in every room, eliminating the need to take your speaker from room to room. You can even put two speakers together to create left and right stereo channels. You can also set each speaker's equalization settings to work in the rooms where they are situated and you can play different music in each room or have them all play the same thing --- which is great for entertaining a houseful of people. A tie can't entertain a houseful of people.

Want to Buy A Sonos Wireless HiFi System?

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Thoughts? Please, let me know in the Facebook or Disqus comment sections below.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Jackie Brewton at a college prep workshop she was hosting for recent high school graduates. To my surprise, she called out to me before I was able to introduce myself thanks to her "knowing me" via this blog, my writings elsewhere and my appearance in Men Ain't Boys. After connecting on several topics, most importantly our kids entering adulthood, I told myself I'd pay her blog a visit. When I saw a post entitled, "Why Daughter's Need Their Dads," I couldn't help but share. Especially with this being the week of Father's Day. Please, continue reading:

...What happens when a girl’s father is not actively engaged in her life?

Often times she makes poor relationship choices, becomes sexually active at a young age and spends the rest of her life questioning why her father did not love her enough to want to be a part of her life.

 A teen girl tells us why:

We were discussing the “father issue” in class one day and a young lady gave the following explanation as to why many young ladies make poor relationship decisions and do not always demand to be treated with respect or recognize their value:

A father sets the bar on how girls expect to be treated. Girls know their fathers are supposed to protect, love and cherish them. When fathers aren’t there for them in that way, some girls tend not to expect that from the guys they date. They figure if their own fathers don’t protect, love and cherish them maybe it’s because they don’t deserve it.

.  .  .

 How fathers help keep their teen daughters from becoming sexually active:

1. Fathers provide the love and validation every girl longs for so she does not have to seek love and validation from another male.
2. The teenage girl who has a good relationship with her father AND knows that her father disapproves of her being sexually active is more likely to refrain from sex to avoid disappointing her father.
3. Engaged fathers “school” their daughters about what the average teenage guy is thinking. They also educate their daughters on the manipulative things some guys will do just to get what they want.

What can parents do?

To find out read the rest of this article, which includes more real-life comments from teen daughters over at Jackie's blog.

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Thoughts? Please, let me know in the Facebook or Disqus comment sections below.

I know people love their dogs. I've read countless stories of heroic actions taken by canines in the face of danger and/or destruction. I married into a family of animal lovers. By association, I have evolved from my avoidance of them due to my allergies to being an "animal appreciator."

My feelings on the matter were drastically altered around 4pm on Sunday, June 2, 2013.

It was a hot and humid afternoon and we were dog sitting a toy poodle (and a former stray) owned by one of my wife's friends. It was a little thing. Quite wiry, more scared than friendly and definitely feeling like the little guy compared to my seventy-pound Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog - Aussie Shepherd mix. I had them tethered to one of my weights in the garage while I vacuumed out my car until it began to rain. I took them inside but my dog walked back out into the garage. The poodle followed. I called mine back in and he came. The poodle looked at me trotted out of the garage and took off down the street. The house doors were open my car doors were open. Thinking I could catch him I took off in a full sprint and did nothing to secure my home, car or dog. As little as he is, he's still a dog and was now running full speed on all four of his legs while I was a two-legged man wearing boots and tired from a run first thing in the morning. A car slowed down but eventually kept going. It was raining and I began to panic. All I could think was this dog is gonna die because apparently running down the middle of the street came quite naturally to him. And my next thought was what am I going to tell his owner when she comes to pick him up? I'm three blocks from my house at this point and I begin to worry about my own dog, my open garage and home and my own open and unattended vehicle. If we hit the four way stop another block away, I wasn't sure I'd be able to continue pursuing, screaming the whole way. Just then something caused me to turn around. My dog Leo, short for Leonidas (yes, King Leonidas of Sparta), was sprinting full speed down the middle of the street directly toward me. My heart sank. Now I had two dogs to keep up with. Only I didn't know that Leo was coming to my rescue. He came right up to me. Doubled over and out of breath I huffed, "You gotta help me, baby boy. Go get him. Go!" And just like that Leo took off, blistering down the street in all his instinctual herding canine glory, chasing down the poodle, who is now a good block away from me, in a matter of seconds. The poodle stopped, Leo circled him a bit and then casually trotted back down the street to where I stood. By then we had an audience of passerbyers  comprised of stopped cars. Especially since all of this was happing in the middle of the street. A woman jumped out of her husband's truck and scooped the disoriented poodle off the ground and brought him to me. She asked me if I was okay and I blabbered out my best explanation of what just happened. She said, "you poor thing," and offered to walk back to my house with me and my two dogs who had no leashes. I told her I'd be fine. And I wasn't simply being polite. I knew Leo got the seriousness of what was going on and wasn't going anywhere. I thanked her and her husband for stopping while other cars begin to pull around them. They waved goodbye and I walked quickly back home holding the toy poodle tightly in my right hand while talking to and reassuring Leo, who I've trained to walk to the left of me. He jumped around a bit and hopped along but he never left my left side the whole way home. He isn't even two years old yet.

I made it home to find my home and car untouched. A couple neighbors were putting a soft top on their Jeep and never noticed I was gone or saw me go screaming down the street. Leo walked inside and turned to me. I hugged him and almost broke down momentarily. I gave him half a bag of pepperoni slices and brought myself to give the poodle one. Ultimately it isn't his fault his nature as a stray kicked in while he was at a place unfamiliar to him.

The sun came back out and I went back to washing my car. This time I left both dogs in the house. I couldn't believe my dog got what was going on. It's not that I didn't know he had it in him, but I had no reason to consider it either. I didn't know his instincts, the magical things I read about in all these stores about heroic dogs, would kick in so that he'd know exactly what to do. My dog growls but almost never barks. He's very playful outdoors but spends most of his time inside asleep. Why did he come to me? Why didn't he just leave the neighborhood? What made him decide to come when he did? Why did he come back to me after stopping the poodle without having to be commanded to do so? I literally thanked God for my dog. And I never imagined I'd thank God for any animal other than appreciating His creativity in making so many of them. My dog helped me in a time of need and for that I am eternally grateful. Now I get the stories about the heroic dogs. But what I get even more is the dog behind the heroics.

Has your dog ever done something amazing that left you speechless and gave you a different appreciation for dogs?