Monthly Archives: August 2009

Go read  What I Learned In Grad School (Brain Development In Infancy) and Why I Was Scared To Join A Book Club (Trust Me They’re Related) today.

A hideous change has taken place in America. Perhaps it came with the popularity of reality TV. Someone believes we all want to see people just like us in the media, be it old or new.

I don’t want to see someone just like me. If I needed someone just like me to read the evening news, reporters would be a little doughy with stained shirts and they’d mispronounce common words while saying “um” a lot.

Folks just like me would not be hitting home runs or getting touchdowns. Cheerleaders would have razor stubble and smile much less.

Sarah Palin would be Vice President. Biden sorta makes this a bad analogy… sorry.

People would be promoted because they’re just average. CEO s would have an IQ of 100. Conferences would have women just like us speaking.

I hate celebrating being average. What didn’t work for me about BlogHer was the size. The panels were too long and the audience was self promoting. Though the panelists were bright and articulate, it’s imperative that moderators are strong.

I’m an elitist. I want to be in a room with people smarter than myself, folks with more integrity and a better value system. I want to stretch myself and work harder to do more.

I don’t want to see people just like me being celebrated in Mainstream or in New Media. I want to see people much better than average being given the spotlight. This has been a disappointing space.

Sometimes this blog is just an albatross

But I’ve got to rant a little more about Mommy Blogging.

I love being a Mommy Blogger. I love that I’m a mother and I can only see the world through a mother’s eyes. I suppose I could try to change that if I thought it was broken and needed changing.

There is a new breed of blogger. They call themselves review bloggers. I call it a splog. Spam + blog = splog. I know it will infuriate people, and I know that they have value, but they don’t have value to me.

What’s sad about the blogging community is that the barrier of entry is set so low. All you need is internet access. There’s no guarantee that a blogger is educated, literate, or even that they’re a real person.

Pages and pages of reviewing products is fine. Just please refrain from calling these Mommy Blogs. There is a wonderful community of women who talk about mothering and daily life without having a big box store behind them. My blogroll is pathetic, but I’m adding 2-3 people a day until I get caught up.

If you want incredible edgy writers (many of the non mom community) check out this site. If you’re a publicist looking to build a massive number of links or if you’re wondering what the worst big box store would like you think then you should continue reading the mom blogs that seem to find themselves in the news.

There is room for PR inside a mom blog, but first make sure it’s a mom blog and not just a bunch of press releases with a few baby pictures tucked inside.

The women with the real influence didn’t need to worry about their relationships with publicists. I dare you, go ask Rebecca if she cares. Methinks not.

I’m not sure which wink it was, it could have been the first, it might have been the thirteenth, but watching Sarah Palin campaign for White House pained me as a woman. I love that we are sexual beings, sex is fun and dirty and funny. Sex can also be a weapon, and I resent that about the GOP.

On day one I liked Palin, but then I realized that she worked a full three months a year. I watched her lose her composure, throw her children under the bus, behave like a lunatic and then she winked at the camera.

I’ve never really wanted to work outside the home so the glass ceiling isn’t something I’ve cared much about. Keeping abortion safe is something I care about. Talking to kids about sex and evolution should be part of the public school curriculum, unless of course we are in the business of raising pregnant little idiots.

I never felt like I had to fight for my daughter’s future. Maybe living in Los Angles has kept me safely ensconced in a bubble wherein women are highly regarded.

Sarah Palin made me a feminist. I’m unwilling to raise a child in a country where a woman like her is held up to be the ideal.

My dear husband is missing a stopgap today, so I’ll be cleaning the house.

Yesterday I did a fun little radio segment at WCCO radio in Minneapolis. Go ahead and give it a listen. The host is Michele Tafoya and she’s just lovely… even if she needs to be told about ears.

We talk about the breastfeeding doll, but I assure you it’s safe for work, and they didn’t even have to bleep me.