How Dutch of Sweet Juniper could transform his two year-old daughter's tantrum into a literary masterpiece, I'll never know. I feel for him, reading the story of the Zoo Visit Gone Bad, but I find myself feeling glad it happened so I could bask in the retelling.
My old friend, Dave Pell, has relaunched his fabulous Davenetics newsletter. Dave has opinions on everything -- technology, politics, media, culture, and plenty else. If you're looking for a daily dose of smart and funny, sign up.
One of my favorite parenting writers, Catherine Newman, has written the final entry in her weekly Babycenter journal, Bringing up Ben and Birdy, and a bittersweet, golden entry it is. She has always inspired me with her conversational humor, her touch of melodrama, and her ability and willingness to describe both the pathos and the ecstasy of motherhood.
Thankfully, she'll continue writing a column called Dalai Mama for Wondertime and some bits for Oprah and FamilyFun magazines. There's her book, Waiting For Birdy, for those of you who want a nice, long drag. And, (hooray!), she's just started a blog. If anyone's voice is made-to-order for blogging, it's hers.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Catherine! So happy we're neighbors! Drop by if you need a cup of sugar!
Rael and I have been talking a lot about his (our!) new startup recently, so when this headline popped up in my feed reader, I was entranced:
Geek marketing should be like a good lover
Geeks? Marketing? Lovers? I'm all over it, and you should be, too, if you're interested in enticing techie-dom with your product or service. Thank you, Kathy, for writing about what could be a dry topic (ahem) in such a surprising way.
Parent Hacks is the fourth stop on the MotherTalk Blog Book tour for The Ghost in the House: Motherhood, Raising Children, and Struggling with Depression by journalist Tracy Thompson.
My own transition to stay-at-home motherhood was rocky, and at one point I searched out literature by women whose experiences echoed mine. I read every book, article, essay (and later, blog post) I could find by mothers who were brave enough to reveal their struggles. Suffice it to say that when it comes to literature about motherhood, I'm well-read.
When The Ghost in the House arrived in the mail, I blithely assumed it would be another memoir detailing one woman's difficulty adjusting to motherhood. My jaded attitude surprised me. I am so grateful for the growing body of literature detailing the complexities of motherhood (many of which fly in the face of its popular portrayal), especially those shining light on the demon of postpartum depression. And yet, I found myself resisting reading another story about maternal struggle, perhaps because I've so recently left much of mine behind.
Thank goodness my commitment to this review caused me to crack open the cover, because by page 2, I was hooked.
[Read the rest of this post on Parent Hacks.]
FM, the company that serves up the graphical ads for Parent Hacks, represents quite an illustrious pool of parenting bloggers. As such, I was rather excited when they told me about their plan for a parenting "metaweblog." The metablog would give a quick glimpse of what's happening on the blogs in FM's parenting federation with excerpts of the week's best posts.
I was even MORE excited when they asked me to edit the thing.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you... www.federatedmedia.net/parenting
So now, in addition to my duties at Parent Hacks, I'll also be flexing my formidable editorial muscles on the FM Parenting metablog. (More accurately, I'll be excerpting posts from blogs whose feeds I already read. Sweet.) Here's the roster, with more blogs on the way:
• Amalah
• Celebrity Baby Blog
• DadCentric
• Dooce
• Finslippy
• Laid-Off Dad
• Paper Napkin
• Parent Hacks
• Suburban Bliss
• The Mommy Blog
• Dad Gone Mad
I'm honored to be part of (and now working with writing produced by) such a talented group -- I've admired several of these blogs since before Parent Hacks was a twinkle in TypePad's servers.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, Federated Media, Parenting
My essay, Gender Rolling, appears in this month's "Feminism and Motherhood" issue of Off Our Backs: The Feminist Newsjournal. (Perfect timing, given the recent creation of MomsRising.org.) The essay is about how my habitual, practically inborn feminism took a beating when I found out I was pregnant with a girl.
I wrote the essay over three years ago, when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Mimi. To say "I wrote it," as if it were a discreet event, is misleading: this thing has been through so many edits it only mildly resembles its first incarnation.
Over the years I've submitted Gender Rolling to several print- and Web publications and an anthology, and been rejected by all. A couple near misses, and very kind (even apologetic) rejection letters, but still. I'm not usually one to worry much about rejection, given how fundamental a part of the process it is. But this was getting painful. Three years, for God's sake.
When Off Our Backs accepted it...to say I was excited...well. Indeed I was. My essay would finally see the light of day. But, even more, I was surprised the editors' choice to include it because the essay illustrates the tension between my feminist ideals and my relatively traditional day-to-day life. I respect them for gathering such a diverse collection of material, and I'm proud to be a part of such a long-standing publication (started in 1970).
A Portland mama close to our heart, Ariel Gore (creator of Hip Mama: The Parenting Zine), is kicking off the book tour for her new novel, The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show, at the downtown Portland Powell's on Wednesday, May 10 at 7:30pm. It promises to be a good time, with music and puppetry thrown into the mix. Hope to see an uM or two there!
This is my third go-around on Andi Buchanan's blog book tour: first for It's a Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons, then for Literary Mama: Reading for the Maternally Inclined, and now, for It's a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters. I'm thrilled, because I believe Andi's books are a central part of the growing conversation (in print and online) about the realities of middle-class, American motherhood.
I was fortunate to attend a Mother Talk here in Portland in which four of the contributors to It's a Girl engaged in lively conversation with a fascinating group of 30 or so women. The evening felt much like reading this book did -- like I was among friends, even though I knew few of the people there.
It's a Girl takes on the topics of gender identity, the archetypal pull of those ubiquitous Disney Princesses, the blessing and curse of beauty, the complicated mother-daughter bond, and so much more. Each essay is exquisite in its own way, a glimpse at the mobius strip of daughters mothering daughters.
At first I had to chuckle, because, as expected, a few authors were bewildered by their daughters' strong affinities for the pink, sparkly accessories of traditional girl-dom. And yet, in It's a Boy, presumably similar moms had similar worries about their sons -- except that they were too "boyish." It seems that the nature/nurture gender puzzle inherent in parenting trips quite a few of us up, myself included. I recall being initially offended when people said my son was "all boy." Now, he runs around playing superhero with imaginary super-power laser blasters, while my toddler daughter admires my earrings and pats me gently on the hand when I'm frustrated about something. While I'll never pigeonhole them as "all boy" or "all girl," like it or not, my kids were born with certain classic gender leanings. I enjoyed reading about how other mothers wrestled with similar observations.
I can say, honestly, that all the essays in the book are incredible, and I could fawn about each one. But the ones which grabbed me were about beauty and body image. I've never seen such honest treatment about the treacherous waters we must face as we usher our little girls into a body-obsessed world. In "On Being Barbie," Jenny Block talks about the paradox of raising her daughter to appreciate her inner beauty while Jenny herself has had three cosmetic surgeries. In "Baby Fat," Catherine Newman (is there anything that woman can't write??) gorgeously describes her daughter's chubby-liciousness while noting her own ambivalence about her less-than-sightly postpartum "curves."
There's so much more I could say, but I'll just leave it to you to pick up a copy for yourself or (and!) a friend. Well worth it, I promise.
Technorati Tags: Andrea Buchanan, Parenting
I'll be joining urbanMama Sarah Gilbert and others in a "Room of Your Own" session about group/community blogging on Day 2 of BlogHer 2006. If you're interested in community blogging -- you're part of a community or group blog, you want to start one, or you just feel like hanging out -- join us! "Room of Your Own" sessions are casual affairs (more conversation than presentation) so I imagine there will be plenty of time to chat.
I'll be at BlogHer 2006 both days, so if this session doesn't fit into your schedule, no worries. Day 1 is filling up fast, so if you're thinking of going for both days, sign up quick!
Technorati Tags: BlogHer
Asha Dornfest: FrontPage 2003 For Dummies
The Enduring Classic.
Asha Dornfest: Dummies 101: FrontPage 98
The Dummies 101 series pooped out after FrontPage 98. Too bad -- the format suited people who like lots of pictures.
Asha Dornfest: ABC's of Pagemill 2
Ah, those were the days. Out of print.
