Imagine: dads coming together to hang out with other dads and their kids. Building community, sharing struggles and advice, creating memories, and getting much needed support. Sounds like a beautiful utopian pipe dream, right? For Brooklyn-based dad and content creator Joe Gonzales (@joegonzales.co ), the dream became a reality. And he hopes that it will become a reality for others. He tells Upworthy that as a first-time dad, he quickly realized “fathers, like mothers, need a space to connect, share experiences, and support one another.” Only thing is, there aren’t really many spaces like that. Sure, motherhood has its share of society-induced loneliness, but comparatively speaking, moms do have far more outlets to connect with one another. Text threads, mommy groups, etc. Dads…not so much. We’ve only entertained the thought of dads being more than breadwinners for a tiny blip of time, for crying out loud. Photo courtesy of Joe Gonzales So, lieu of finding a space where he could connect with other dads, Gonzales created one. He let other dads in New York that he’d be hosting a meet-up over one weekend, and not only did a ton show up, but several brands reached out to “give some amazing products" to give out. In a video shared to Gonzales’s TikTok, we see a bunch of happy dads with their kids enjoying colorful play areas and just delightfully coexisting among one another. @joegonzales.co Love the community that we are building here at The Brooklyn Stroll Club! If you are a dad or you know a dad in brooklyn then lets connect ????? ♬ Like This (Lofi) - ProdByDave Through the success of this event, Gonzalez realized that fatherhood didn’t have to be navigated alone. “Dads wanna get better. They wanna grow. And they don’t wanna do it alone either.” Down in the comments, people were so, so onboard with this idea.“Love this! Dad need more events and communities like this.” “Yes, dad events are necessary so moms can have a mom day.” “I love this, Dads need support just like moms. They need resources and people so they don’t give up.” “Praying this becomes normalized in our communities.” Looks like this prayer for normalization is getting answered, because Gonzales officially dubbed his now ongoing dad meetups the Brooklyn Stroll Club. Plans are already being made for the next meetup for late January. They’ve also launched a Discord server for NYC dads to discuss all things fatherhood and continue building the community between meetups. If any dads in the area are interested in joining, click here. Photo courtesy of Joe Gonzales If you are a dad searching for community, but don’t live in the area, maybe take a page from Gonzales’ book and start your own group. The National At-Home Dad Network suggests first starting a Facebook page or group, then establishing a consistent meeting day, time and place (if possible) for playgroups. They also have some additional resources for spreading the word and letting more people know about your group, as well as a handy list of already established dad-groups to possibly join. Point being: it’s so, so important for dads to have opportunities for commiseration, connection, and support. And maybe all it takes to start building these types of relationships is actually seeking them out. It certainly worked for Gonzales.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act, which reduced Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on cross-ownership so that major corporations could buy up smaller media outlets nationwide. This deregulation had far-reaching results, and 20 years later, 90% of the country’s major media companies were owned by just six corporations. The consolidation of power over the country’s media into the hands of a few corporations rightfully disturbed many Americans who were worried a few powerful interests could shape the national narrative. “Saturday Night Live” writer Robert Smigel, who created the show’s “TV Funhouse” segment, best known for animated sketches featuring the “Ambiguously Gay Duo” and “The New Adventures of Mr. T,” took dead aim at the corporate media in a 1998 episode with a 2-minute “Schoolhouse Rock” parody called “Conspiracy Theory Rock.” “Conspiracy Theory Rock” was a brave SNL piece because it didn’t hold back when discussing General Electric, NBC’s parent company. The sketch accuses GE of media manipulation, corporate welfare, influencing the FCC, manufacturing nuclear weapons, and producing cancer-causing pollution. The controversial cartoon was reviewed by NBC corporate before hitting the air. “It did go through an extensive note process, beyond the Standards dept, and up the executive ladder,” Smigel recalled in an Instagram post. “I remember adding the ‘voices in my head’ line per their request to make the narrator seem crazier, not that it made a big difference.” But after a few minor notes, the network aired the sketch on the March 14 episode featuring host Julianne Moore and Backstreet Boys. - YouTube www.youtube.com Did ‘Saturday Night Live’ ban ‘Conspiracy Theory Rock’? Over the past 26 years, “Conspiracy Theory Rock” has earned the reputation of being a “banned” sketch, but that may be a bit of a conspiracy in and of itself. Was it cut from subsequent airings because it was controversial or because it simply wasn’t funny? SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels claims the cartoon was cut from reruns because it merely “wasn’t funny,” so they ran the second Backstreet Boys performance instead. It’s worth noting that when SNL episodes are rerun, they are often only an hour long (including commercials) instead of the usual 90-minute runtime. However, Smigel's recollection breathes a bit of life into the controversy. “Months passed, and all was calm until Adam McKay approached me,” Smigel recalled. “A pissed-off crew member had let Adam know the sketch was being cut from the rerun, replaced by a second Backstreet Boys song, which had no mentions of GE polluting the environment. I wasn't especially surprised, but Adam was fired up. He leaked the story to a few TV journalists who'd written about the cartoons. NBC claimed it wasn’t funny (not that it was), and that's why people know and still talk about it today.”The sketch would be included in the 2006 “Best of TV Funhouse” DVD, so Smigel believes it has only been “kinda banned.” However, the cartoon does not appear in the rerun of the March 14, 1998 episode currently streaming on Peacock. The Backstreet Boys performance is also not included due to music rights issues. Ultimately, it’s hard to know whether the cartoon was banned or dropped from broadcasts due to its lack of humor. But we know that Smigel was brave in pointing out the problems posed by corporate media control. His willingness to criticize those in power reminds us how rare it is to see satire that questions the very system airing it. Twenty-six years later, it still makes the rounds online because the problems he pointed out are still with us today.

When family and friends gather together, conversations can go a few ways. If you’re genuinely close and used to sharing openly, conversation may flow naturally with no need for assistance. If you’re getting together with people you rarely see, don’t know very well, or struggle to connect with, however, conversations can feel mundane, stilted or awkward. Even with family, a 50-year-old trying to talk to a 15-year-old extended relative can be difficult without knowing what questions to ask.Whether we’re getting together with people we know or people we are meeting for the first time, it’s nice to be able to go a little deeper than talking about the weather or pop culture. Politics is a minefield, now more than ever, and not everyone wants to share the nitty gritty details of their personal lives, so it can be hard to figure out how to have meaningful conversations without making it weird. Ordinary & Happy offers a list of “reflective topics” that can help improve conversations with anyone of any age. Here are some examples of questions based on their suggestions and some reasons they're so effective. Looking backWhat’s something you learned this past year?Who was an influential person in your life last year?What’s something you accomplished this year that surprised you?The good thing about looking back over the past year is that the experiences are fairly fresh. A year is a good amount of time to think about because it’s short enough to not be overwhelming but long enough to have had some interesting experiences and learnings.Looking againWhat’s something you rediscovered a love for?What’s something or someone you’ve reconnected after a long time?What’s a place you’ve visited that you really enjoyed?A twist on reflection, adding a “re” element by asking someone about something they might have forgotten about or disconnected from but found again can be a fun way to think about the previous year a little bit differently. And of course, places we’ve enjoyed visiting is always a solid topic.Looking aheadWhat’s something you want to improve on next year?What’s a goal you have for next year?What’s something you’re looking forward to next year? It can be a little tricky to ask people about the future, especially young people who often feel a lot of pressure to have their futures figured out. But on a personal level, we all have things we’re looking forward to as well as intentions for our future, even if we don’t know how it’s all going to play out. Looking insideHow has your perception of time changed? Have your values shifted or changed and what prompted it?What’s something you learned about yourself this year? These questions offer a way to get to know someone without asking about too-personal topics. Values might be considered personal, but there are a lot of ways to ask people about how the way they see the world or themselves has changed. These prompts can work in a group or one-on-one conversations.Photo credit: CanvaLooking at being humanWhat do you believe is a key to good communication?What do you believe is one of the best ways to build trust? What do you believe the last year taught you about life?Broadening the questions to more general human experiences rather than focusing them on an individual is a good way to pivot if people seem to feel uncomfortable talking about themselves. The adage “People love to talk about themselves” isn’t always true, but most people will weigh in on a light philosophical question like “What do you think makes someone a good friend?” or “What do you think the world needs more of?”Anyone can come up with these kinds of reflective questions. A few tips to keep in mind, though:- Try to avoid words like “favorite” or “best” unless you preface it with “one of.” You don’t want to force people to sort through their thoughts and put them in a particular order. Some people may have one favorite place or memory, but more often than not there are many things that could compete for that title and trying to narrow down one makes people freeze up.- Stick to universal human experiences. We’ve all discovering things about ourselves and the world all the time, but we’re not all into the same things. “What’s a place that makes you feel peaceful?” works better than “What’s your favorite place to vacation?” Keep questions broad and focused on human characteristics instead of niche experiences people may or may not have had.- Put questions into your own words. You might not say, "What's one thing you learned this year?" For you, it might be, "Hey, tell me about an interesting learning experience you had this year. What stands out to you?" The more natural the question in your own voice, the better. It's the topic that matters, not the wording. Happy conversating!

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