If you're heading out to Lollapalooza this weekend in Chicago and you have little ones along for the ride, the Kidzapalooza stage has some fine, family-friendly music from the likes of BRADY RYMER AND THE LITTLE BAND THAT COULD, PLAY DATE, SCHOOL OF ROCK and more. But this year, something special is happening - performances by the Chicago Kindie All-Stars on Friday (1:30pm) and Saturday (12:30pm) featuring some of the Windy City's best family music stars performing alongside THE HEARTBEATS, best-known as LAURA DOHERTY's backing band. How many All-Stars you ask? Six.

This weekend, moviegoers will hopefully be headed to the cinema in droves to see the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when MARVEL's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is released. I've long-held that it's the most "out there" of the Marvel movies thus far, and one that might be confusing to folks only familiar with the bigger name Marvel heroes like CAPTAIN AMERICA, SPIDER-MAN or THE X-MEN. By now, you've likely seen the marketing materials, and noticed at the forefront a little guy with a very big gun... ROCKET RACOON. Now, you might think that this character is CGI, but you'd be mistaken. While it's true that Bradley Cooper is providing his voice this time around, Rocket is very much the real deal, and in the years prior to his service with Groot and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), he was known to roll with yours truly. Yep, it's time for Throwback Thursday with Rocket Racoon and The Rock Father, circa 2008!

On Monday, August 4, PBS KIDS will debut the Season 7 Premiere of Scholastic Media's WORDGIRL with a week of five “brain-ier” than-ever episodes – each inviting kids to join WordGirl and her friends as they fight the “cheesy” tactics and dastardly tricks of local villain Dr. Two Brains, while learning new vocabulary words all along the way! To celebrate the new season, Scholastic, THE ROCK FATHER and PBS KIDS have teamed-up for a giveaway - perfect for Back-to-School - with a prize pack that includes a book, t-shirt, temporary tattoo and a messenger bag.

As I decided to resurrect my old "Random Rock" Column this week, I started looking at the news in my inbox and having flashbacks to a pre-email era. MELVINS... ALICE IN CHAINS... HARVEY DANGER... REVEREND HORTON HEAT? Was it 1997 again? I say that in jest, of course, since I love all of those bands.

Below, you'll find rapid-fire updates on those artists and more, right here on THE ROCK FATHER.

#ForGrownups: I almost started the 2014 Holiday Gift Guide tonight. Almost. Very tempting, because this is the type of thing that goes well as a gift - so well that the folks at Activision even dropped the word "Holiday" into their announcement, as "upping the ante this Holiday" season. When you think about it, November pretty much is a holiday for COD enthusiasts - myself included, as it's the one game I indulge in like clockwork once a year. On November 4, it happens again with the release of CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE, and today comes news of three special editions... The Atlas Pro Edition and Atlas Limited Edition (available for pre-order while supplies last) and the Digital Pro Edition that will be available for pre-order at a later date. Full details follow.

This coming Sunday (August 3) is National Friendship Day, and for 2014, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE aims to help kids celebrate by offering up a chance to win some cool prizes. Grownups that share a picture of their little one along with their BFF on the Strawberry Shortcake Facebook Page, Instagram or Twitter (@berrybestbits) and hashtagged with #BerryBestFriend will be entered into a drawing to win one of the new Strawberry Shortcake dolls that are being released this fall. Five BFFs will be chosen to win*

Rock Father vs. Rock Father - It's been 30 weeks since James Zahn and Tom George (read the kick-off story here) began a year-long journey to not only lose weight, but get fit. These two Work-at-Home Dads had let time and their jobs take their toll on their personal well-being. For each week of the journey, we've been checking-in to find out how their efforts are paying off. This past Sunday, July 27, 2014, both men did their weigh-in, and these are the results...

Ahhh yes, the end of July. As many of you know, the annual Comic-Con International just wrapped-up in San Diego this past weekend, bringing together the best in pop culture fandom under one roof. While I was not there, I still covered some of the news here on THE ROCK FATHER, all while intently keeping an eye on all things super - because, at the end of the day, it's still Comic-Con, and while it's everything entertainment at this point, the event has a history rooted in the panels of comic books. With that in mind, I'm putting a post-SDCC spin on my Netflix #StreamTeam column this month, highlighting some comic-based, heroic content for you to enjoy with the family on nearly any device.

When we kicked-off our first-ever family road trip earlier this month, my wife and I did a fantastic job of keeping our destinations largely a secret from the little ones. In fact, they only knew of one stop (Chocolate World), and that's because Addie caught me looking at it on the computer prior to our journey. The centerpiece of our trip was kept well under-wraps, and keeping it a surprise until we entered the gates was completely worth it as the reactions were priceless. After spending the night in Philadelphia, the family and I headed for Langhorne, Pennsylvania - home of SESAME PLACE - the Nation's only theme park based entirely on SESAME STREET.

When I last paused my story, we'd arrived in Philadelphia on nearly no sleep after our drive from Chicago, but with two girls that were ready to roll. We'd stopped by the DoubleTree Philadelphia, but knowing how early we were, as expected, our room was not yet ready. Fueled only by coffee, we set out for Independence Hall and The Liberty Bell to jump right into that true Philly experience. Being a Sunday, we were ahead of the crowds, and managed to stop by Carpenter's Hall and the Betsy Ross house as well...

If there's one thing that all parents (or anyone that's been around kids) can agree on, it's that kids love bubbles. It doesn't matter if it's from a simple container or an elaborate blaster, the appeal of bubbles is just universally accepted... but bubbles blasting from your bike? The concept alone is worthy of a mind-blowing response from the little ones, so when the crew over at Skyrocket Toys asked us to take a look at their new FUZE Bike Bubbler, the power of the bubbles was impossible to resist.

This adventure is brought to you by Walmart. THE ROCK FATHER is a Socialstars 2014 #WalmartAuto Ambassador. The Armor All products featured in this story are all available at your local store or at Walmart.com.

Ten years ago, SCION made it's debut here in the U.S., and I - deeply embedded in the entertainment world at the time - found myself enamored by the Scion XB, aka "The Box" after seeing it on the streets of California, where it arrived early. I ordered one brand-new, completely loaded and set to be delivered in June of 2004. In fact, I'm told it was the first black version to be delivered and sold in the state of Wisconsin (and imported to Illinois), but I've never been able to confirm that. I had it decked out with red LEDs to capture that KNIGHT RIDER vibe I dig so much, along with racing pedals, additional performance features, and the top-of-the-line Pioneer sound system. Upon arrival, I bestowed upon it a red Autobot insignia, displayed proudly on it's rear window... a throwback to the TRANSFORMERS debut in 1984. The car and I were ready for adventure, and many adventures were had. Now, in 2014 - I still have the Autobot in my driveway, but things are different. The bazooka tube is out of the trunk (room for a stroller), and in the back are a pair of car seats. 160,000 miles later, my Scion is still rockin', and it's Daddy and Addie that keep it that way.

I could've called this post "What THE ROCK FATHER wants for Christmas." Thing is, I never ask for anything for X-mas because I don't really need anything, and most of the things I want that (that are within reason) I end up getting one way or another, anyway. The classic, 1966 BATMAN television series is perhaps the most-requested home video title of all-time, and when news hit that 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. finally sorted out details of bringing it home on DVD and Blu-ray, heads exploded. Now, the full details are out there, and the sets have gone up for pre-order (Blu-ray, DVD) and that Blu set is worthy - 120 episodes remastered in HD.