It’s a new year. 5774 to be exact. I spent yesterday in synagogue with my mother and son listening to the Rabbi’s sermon. This Rabbi is one of my favorites – he’s a storyteller, weaving in lessons of Torah within … Continue reading
If you’ve just stumbled across this blog, then you may not know about my interest (both personal and professional) with society’s view of kids and gender. I’ve written about it before for Bitch magazine, Bamboo Family magazine, and other publications, … Continue reading
Link Love (I know…it’s been a while). More love than just links…
The past two weeks have been amazing.
A couple Friday’s ago, I had the absolute fortune of attending the MotherWoman fundraising breakfast. MotherWoman is a fantastic organization doing amazing (and MUCH needed) postpartum work in New England. It was over an hour of listening to inspirational stories, invigorating speeches and sweet music from two of my favorite women. I also finally met the fabulous Anne-Marie from Do Not Faint.
This past week I was was lucky enough to see some of my own political action take off. Lisa Duggan (of The MotherHood Blog and my partner in crime) and I organized Blog In 2011. What started out as a venting/ranting session between two women turned into a day of voicing our frustration through a new form of democratic action. Our Blog In brought in many parent bloggers from all walks of life that share our frustration with the local political climate.
My own series over at Bitch has been going really well (hell…if I can self promote, who’s gonna do it for me? ha!). I’ve really been enjoying writing about various pop culture issues and reading people’s feedback. My latest is a rant on the terrible toys that are out there. I’m always on the hunt for new ideas for this series…so if you’ve got any – let me know!
The last few weeks have also given me the opportunity to profile some absolutely amazing folks for the This Is What A Feminist Looks Like series. If you haven’t checked them out yet – what are you waiting for?!
On the same note – there are a bunch of other fabulous feminist projects happening right now. One of them is a photo-based one called “Feminist Photo blog Project.” I had the chance to submit my own picture, and I encourage you to do so as well!
That’s a good chunk of what’s been on my radar the last week or so…what’s been on yours?
* “Pink Scare,” (My article about the media panic over boys & pink) has been published in this month’s issue of Bitch Magazine. They’ve also selected it to be one of the articles featured on their site! Feel free to hop on over there to read it, and drop a thought or two in the comments – would love to know what folks think.
* My friend Sarah wrote about fruit, pie, and contests and combining all three for a good cause.
* So…I still might be fangirling a little over the fact that Ritch participated in my TIWAFLL series. Mostly because his vlogs are cheeky and smart, which is a killer combination in my book! (but not always super safe for work language wise, just FYI). You should check them out.
* Someone on Twitter linked to Postcrossing this past week, and I think it’s just a brilliant idea. I still have fond memories of my pen pal from Manitoba, Canada when I was in 2nd grade. Getting postcards from all over sounds like so much fun, and a neat way to learn about maps and places around the world with the kiddo. Will be signing up soon for sure!
* Why does TLC insist on producing the most enabling, vile shows they can come up with? This new one is about extreme excess as it relates to kids’ parties (okay, so while I don’t actually *love* this link, I just couldn’t let it slip by without comment).
* And just because I can’t get this song out of my head, I’m sharing it with all of you… (also, how cute is it that Jay Leno is holding up a record?)
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| It’s Friday! Make sure to play your cards right… |
* In last week’s Link Love, I linked to an article on Jezebel where Beyonce shared her thoughts on why we need a new word for “feminism.” Well, the Jezebel readership weighed in and…yeah.
* While this isn’t new, I did stumble upon it this week so I figure it’s fair game. Check out Jane Fonda and Gloria Steinem baking a pie on The Colbert Report back in 2008.
* Gender Across Borders has put out a call for writers for their new series: Tsk. Tsk. Stigma, Shame and Sexuality. They’re looking for a variety of voices and the deadline is Sept 2nd – go check it out and flex those writing muscles!
* Larry David: Feminist Hero? What say you?
* Blue Milk recently wrote a post on Game of Thrones and Attachment Parenting…super interesting and food for thought (and a bit spoilery if you haven’t watched the series).
* I’ve been spending way too much time over at turntable.fm lately. It has all the songs that sing to me and more. Being able to play DJ with a bunch of your friends (or new ones. Although to be honest, I’ve stuck with spinning some tunes with one particular fab group of people).
If you have any links you’ve been loving (other’s or your own!), feel free to share them down below or over on The Mamafesto’s Facebook page!
* So…Beyonce has decided that if she renames feminism, it would make it more popular/palatable. My opinion? People just need to get over themselves and their fear of the “F-Word.”
* Cat over at the Hipster Housewife teaches us how to make laundry soap. I will so be trying this over the weekend.
* What happens when you start to plan for a baby while dealing with anxiety and depression? You blog about it! Anne-Marie Lindsey writes about her struggles and triumphs in her journey to figure it all out.
* So, I read Eat Pray Love with the rest of the world when it came out. However, unlike most folks, I just didn’t drink the Kool-Aid love it. If you want to see a non-annoying or overly bougie version of Eat Pray Love featuring 3 men doing it their way, hop on over to The Hairpin.
* Stephen Colbert comments on responses to expanding access to birth control. Because if I didn’t laugh, I would cry over this stuff.
* This is the song that sings to me this week…because why not?
Share links you love below!
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| Friday love in the form of a bicornate uterus…(not min though). It’s in honor of the IUD I just got in my own ute. Now we end the TMI portion of Friday Link Love. Carry on. |
* Actress Rosario Dawson was featured in Shape Magazine, and shared some smart insight into the problem of body pressure on women.
* My friend Ashley wrote about suburban vs. city living. Where do you land on that issue? (Me? I’m all over the place! ha. Get it? All over the place? Yeah…the heat might be getting to me…)
* The NYTimes parenting blog, The Motherlode, talks about the science of sex and babies. Totally nerdy and interesting to me. Thought now I feel like there was some miscommunication going on, since I really had absolutely zero sense of what sex my baby was in utero (despite everyone claiming they knew it was a boy. Mom = zero. Everyone else = one. Awesome.)
* Next up on my summer reading list: Reality Bites Back. Because if I’m not watching my crappy reality shows, I might as well be reading about how crappy they really are!
* Thank heavens Stephen Colbert is around to give the smack down on the new Summer’s Eve ad campaign that is both borderline racist and sexist.
Share your own links or link to things you’ve enjoyed this week down below!
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| Melting heart of love in “honor” of the 3 digit temps on tap for today. Yikes. |
* There is a new website called The Parent DuJour, and even thought it’s less than a week old, I’m loving it already. Everyday they feature a new parent and their goal is that over the course of a year to share stories of moms and dads from around the world. Definitely check them out and maybe you can even add your story!
* Have you seen the racist, sexist ads Summer’s Eve has recently released? I definitely am NOT loving those, but I am loving the fast and furious response from folks. For the life of me, I can’t even fathom who thought they would be a good idea.
* I’m pretty sure that Jon Stewart is the only person who could make me laugh about a Congressman calling a Congresswoman out for “not being a lady.” Oh wait, Stephen Colbert can as well.
* My friend Sarah wrote a great post about friendship & feminism. Makes me both cherish my current friendships and foster my newly found ones.
* Anyone that knows me, knows that I have a soft spot for Acapella music. In fact, I’m already counting down to the new season of The Sing-Off. I also have a soft spot for ’90s pop. Combine the two in an awesome medley and you’ve got the Song(s) that sings to me this week!
What’s been on your radar this week? (And feel free to post links to your own stuff as well!) Share below or on The Mamafesto Facebook page!
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| A little love via Natalie Dee…b/c who doesn’t love ice cream? |
* How about a little self-serving love this Friday? No…not that kind, get your mind out of the gutter! I created a Facebook page for The Mamafesto, so hop on over there are “like” it and tell your friends, neighbors, mail carriers and random strangers you pass on the street all about it! For every “like,” a fairy gets her (or his!) wings. Promise.
* Michelle Bachmann continues to scare me, but at least Stephen Colbert makes me laugh a little over the absurdity of it all.
* Despite the fact that I was stung by a bee this week (grumble grumble stupid weeding), I find these bee ear buds to be absolutely darling (via The Hairpin).
* Not a huge fan of the article’s title, but the concept is interesting. Can a feminist diet?
* I have a piece that will be published over at The Hairpin later this month (oh, don’t you worry, you know I’ll make sure you all find out when it’s up asap). If you’ve never checked them out, please do. You can read up on anything from ‘snappy things to yell back at construction workers’ to French cocktails, and their “Ask a Dude” column always gives me a chuckle.
* The song that sings to me this week is actually a medley of Phish songs, and is the soundtrack for a fabulous (if not super fast and tweaky on the eyes) video that highlights the incredible weekend we had over 4th of July.
Back from vacation and ready to share the love…
* Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely abhor the show Toddlers & Tiara’s, but this? This I can live with.
* I loved reading this post about pit hair from Bust so much that I had to comment. The picture is kind of awesome as well.
* This list of top 100 kid’s books of all time has been making the rounds. A bunch of our favorites are up there and a bunch of books that I’m “meh” about. What’s your take?
These Barnes and Noble coupons might save some money if you want to pick up a few.
* Time for a little self promotion! While I was away, two pieces that I wrote were published. This first one is from an essay contest that I won and the 2nd is all about why we chose to have a doula attend the birth of our son.
* The song that sings to me was one that was played this past weekend at the Phish music festival that we attended. It sums up the weekend perfectly.
Feel free to share links that you’ve been loving on in the comments!
The Mamafesto 