There comes a time in every future Sith Lord’s life when the Queen wants to bang out a couple of kids before she dies. This is true for Anakin Skywalker who *spoiler alert* is bestowed the honor of “Lord Vader” by Darth Sidious. Darth Vader And Son captures the adorable reality of what life would have been like for Darth Vader as a single working father, in Episode III.V… before Episode IV: A New Hope.

Is your dad still using his 5 year old point-and-shoot to take vacation pictures? Or has he abandoned it for his iPhone because it’s small enough to fit in his pocket? It’s time for you to pull your dad aside and tell him to father-up and get a camera that can record some serious family memories. If you’re looking for a camera that’s lightweight but not underpowered, check out the 12.3 megapixel Olympus PEN E-PM1.

With interchangeable lenses, a small form factor and beautiful image quality, the PEN E-PM1 is perfect for dads that aren’t looking to go headlong into professional-level dSLRs. With a price tag of $499, this camera may not be on your radar for a solo purchase, but if you’ve got a couple of siblings, it’s an awesome group gift. And if you’re the father we’ve been talking about and need an impressive camera for your own vacation pictures, this is it.

Many families have made the jump to dSLR cameras; the prices have come down on the entry-level models, and the “Micro Four Thirds” (MFT) class of cameras have driven body size down even more. As a result, you’re able to find really capable cameras at affordable prices.

Episode 031: Can I Dream?

This week’s episode covers the following stories on 8BitDad.com for the week leading up to May 29th, 2012: Ridiculous Kids Products Highlight the End of Civilization / 20 Terrible Baby Names For 2012 / What Makes Kids Popular / Father’s Day Gifts Dads Really Want

We missed Thailand’s National Father’s Day on December 5th – oops.

But here’s a recap: 346 fathers were recognized for their service to their families by the King himself. The fathers received certificates of honour from King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s representative, Privy Councillor Air Vice Marshal Khamthon Sintawanon at Suan Amporn.

Though the article doesn’t mention how all 346 fathers were noticed and awarded, it seems like some of the ones mentioned are publicly-known figures, such as “legendary journalist Manit Suksomjit.”

Aussie IGN writer Luke Reilly talks a little post-Australian-Father’s Day dad celebration. He’s got a list of six movie dads that he thinks we’d all want for our own.

I don’t think I’m ruining anything in the article to tell you that John Matrix from “Commando” and Mufasa from “The Lion King” made the list. Oh, and who could forget Professor Henry Jones, pictured above.

Also, kudos to IGN for watermarking all of their pictures as if they shot the movies themselves…but then in microscopic text, crediting them to the original movie studios. We credit no one, mainly because we make pictures that anyone would be ashamed to call their own.

Who’s Reilly missing? A steam-train-time-machine-riding Doc Brown from “Back to the Future III”? Darth Vader – a father that, even after being brainwashed by evil, still saves his son from a lightning-throwing senior citizen? Dream-diver Cobb from “Inception,” who has to go through the depths of his own mind to get back to his kids?

Most people probably never think of this – but Father’s Day is a different date across the world. This most likely has to do with time zones and moon phases. Well, Sunday, September 4, 2011 is Father’s Day in Australia! Turns out they celebrate it the first Sunday of September.

Well, Australia – even though your country was founded in part as a penal colony, it seems like you’re turning out a-okay.

Also, your country is shaped like a steak I’d like to eat.

Happy Father’s Day!

Jeffrey Sumber isn’t a father, and he’s not a Christian – so quit wishing him a happy Father’s Day and a Merry Christmas.

Sumber’s main point (if you allow me to ruin the lead-up in the first six-ish paragraphs for you) is that while most people identify his good nature, patience, wisdom and personality as fatherly, Sumber is just a good man. “In fact, it is difficult not to confuse the Father Archetype with simply the best of the MALE energy,” Sumber says.

Now, somewhere in here, I’m torn. I like Sumber’s sentiment that basically, people are morons and think he’s a father when he’s just a good guy. Any time you call the general population idiots, I’m on-board. But Sumber might lose me when he declares “that “you want to live in a world where everyone celebrates Christmas because you love it so much and want me to be a part of it,” and by extension, “you wish me a Happy Father’s Day because you love being a father and want me to love it too.”

Or maybe he doesn’t. I want to hear more of the paragraph where Sumber says that he doesn’t think that good normal-dude traits equate to being a good father, since I think that’s an interestingly-true point. Sumber does think, however, that there is “a very real projection from you to me that hopes I will be a good father because good fathers are like gold.”

So are people wishing Sumber a happy Father’s Day because we hope every good man becomes a good dad and passes the trait on to his kids? Probably.