All About "Always Home and Uncool"

About the "author"


Kevin "Uncool" McKeever survived a sheltered suburban childhood on baseball cards, Mad magazine and 8-track tapes of The Knack only to became a newspaper reporter. He then tried making homebuilding executives sound vaguely interested in their employees' well-being. This, not surprisingly, put him on the leading edge of the real estate layoffs in 2007.
 
These days, he's an at-home dad who masquerades as a freelance writer, writes an award-winning local newspaper column, and chronicles his world at the Always Home and Uncool blog. He also contributes to the McSweeney's of dad blogs, DadCentric and serves as a court jester for the talented writing crew at Polite Fictions.

About the cast of characters

My Love -- Wife since 1997, go-to-gal since 1992. Globetrotting executive goddess, full-time.
Thing 1 -- Daughter. The first born and a diva-in-training. She has a rare autoimmune disease called juvenile dermatomyositis.
Thing 2 -- Son. The second born. A mercurial and excitable boy.
Murphy -- The somewhat faithful canine companion.

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The FAQs

Q. How long have you been an at-home dad? Was it your choice?

Following a move in June 2004, I became a full-time corporate telecommuter. When I was laid off three years later, I became a home-bound freelance writer and editor. Both times, the choice was mine. Office camaraderie and face-time with the boss? Whatever. My wife travels frequently for her job and we needed the flexibility of having someone home for the kids, and I jumped at the chance. I love working from home and being at the beck and call of the kids and the dog. Well, most of the time. Sometimes. Let's leave it at, I like being home.


Q. What does your family think of your blog?

My wife likes it because it lets me unleash my sarcasm on someone other than her. My daughter knows I have a blog but isn't into reading so I'm safe for a few more years. If he's not on his Nintendo DS or watching Cartoon Network, my son could care less. The dog only wants to know when I'm feeding him.

Q. Why do you refer to your wife as My Love?

As someone who grew up on Warner Bros. cartoons, I took her nickname -- affectionately -- from the Daffy Duck short "The Henpecked Duck":



Q. How many dogs do you have?
I have one, Murphy (sometimes referred to The Murphinator, Murph or Murp). But I do occasionally mention the dog we had before him, Kiner (rhymes with "finer"), who I'm still trying to give a proper burial.

Q. Why is Murphy the only one using his real name?

He's part publicity hound.

Q. Is that you in your avatar and blog header?

No. It is actor Skip Hinnant portraying The Boy in The Electric Company skit, "Love of Chair," from the early 1970s. Everyone else liked Easy Reader because he was cool, but The Boy was definitely Uncool and I dug that. Skip, BTW, was also the voice of Fritz the Cat in the first-ever mass released X-rated cartoon.


And that's a generic "B" on his cap, not a Boston Red Sox logo. 1986, baby! Go Mets!

Q. Where did the name of your blog come from?

A. From this scene in the movie Almost Famous:



Q. Do you really say "frick,""frickin'," and "freakin'" instead of choicer f-words?

Most of the time, yes, because I try not to swear around my kids. I'm not a prude. I used to work in a newsroom and I attended a Catholic high school so, in a pinch, I can out-curse most of you. Besides, you already know all those words, so why do you need to hear them from me?

And yes, I do drop more Gs than Sarah Palin on a bender at Saks Fifth Avenue.


Q. What is your e-mail address?

HomeandUncool (at) gmail (dot) com but in a real e-mail address format, not that anti-spambot format I just typed it in.