Strollerderby : mothers day

Hey Look! Mom Is On The Net!

Brett Singer — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:00:00 GMT

In various outlets (OK, mostly just VH1) people express their nostalgia for the 90's.

But music and movies aren't the only thing from the Whatever Decade (I just made that up) to get all misty-eyed about. There's also the commercials. Like this one.

It's not clear what is being advertised. But one thing's for sure -- these moms know all about technology!

You have to hang in there until the end of the video, when some random long-haired guy arrives. Just trust me on this one.

Source: Buzzfeed Via Everything Is Terrible (Or maybe it's the other way around. I get confused by all this WWW Dot Com Stuff.)

A Really Graphic Homebirth

We're Not Judging You, Pinky Swear

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

10 Year Old Burned By Tanning Bed

Classic Mother Songs For Mother's Day

Brett Singer — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:00:00 GMT

There are lots of songs about moms, some with "mother" in the title. "Mother" by Pink Floyd, for example. But that song isn't really about mom.

However, "M-O-T-H-E-R", written by Theodore Morse and Howard Johnson in 1915, certainly is.

M is for the million things she gave me.
O means only that she’s growing old.
T is for the tears were shed to save me.
H is for her heart of purest gold.
E is for her eyes, with love light shining.
R means right, and right she’ll always be.

And what about the Charles Coleman classic from 1914, "Your Mother Is Your Best Friend After All"? ("When your days are dark and drear-y / Moth-er does not grow wea-ry...")

Unless you have a fondness for early 20th Century tunage, or happen to be very, very old, you probably aren't familiar with these musical portraits of momhood. Lucas Gonze, an accomplished musician and computer programmer, wants to change that by transcribing and recording these songs so that current and future generations can enjoy and play them.

Lucas posts both music that he discovers as well as his own renditions of public domain work on his site SoupGreens.com. A few months ago I noticed that he was working on a series of "mother songs", and Mother's Day seemed like the perfect time to share them with you. Here is an interview I did with Lucas via email, followed by links to the music, all of which can be downloaded, legally, for free.

Q: Why did you decide to do mother songs?
A: Mother songs are a lost genre sitting right under our noses. I had no idea they even existed, but there's a ton of them. And they're a cool idea because they go in the opposite direction of things like gangster rap and death metal. What could be less derivative than songs about how you should pay more attention to your mother? This genre is so over the top shameless about sentimentality that it's practically clawing at you, which is so out of style that it's original.
And I like the way that the primal emotional charge of motherhood draws you into a song. It's dynamic.
Also, I almost never do anything good for mother's day. So I'm hoping to not have to hear about how my brother, who is a total ass kisser, is a better son than me. Once in a while I'll send flowers via the internet but usually I just call my mom at the last minute, right at the end of the day when my guilt is bad enough that I have to do *something* or hear about it for the rest of the year.

Q: Why are you using old songs in the public domain?
A: I go back all the way to historical songs because copyright on compositions more recent than 1920 basically never expires, and doing a cover of a song under copyright means you owe seven cents every time somebody downloads it.

Q: Where do you find the tunes?
A: I learn them from early recordings or sheet music. In this case I transcribed a 1929 hillbilly recording and cross referenced it against a 1904 wax cylinder and an 1893 lyric sheet.

Q: Where do you find the sheet music or (gulp) wax cylinders?
A: It's a scavenger hunt all over the internet. In this case the cylinder was on archive.org, the lyric sheet was in a library folklore collection for researchers, and the 1929 recording was on a commercial CD.

Links:
Three mother songs on SoupGreens, via the Internet Archive:

Your mother wants you home, lad, by Robert Price (recorded on 78 RPM)
Snyder, does your mother know you're out? (1899, Performed by: George P. Watson, recorded on wax cylinder)
Blind Willie Johnson-Mother's Children Have A Hard Time (December 3, 1927, recorded on 78 RPM)

Another mom song can be found here: I’m Taking Care Of Mother (While Daddy’s Gone Away) by The Light Crust Dough Boys

Here is Lucas performing "A Widow’s Plea For Her Son" from 1893.

Lucas also links to a big page of mother songs at ParlorSongs.org.

This is just a small sample, of course. If you have any mother songs that you love, old or new, let us know in the comments.

And I almost forgot -- Happy Mother's Day!

Image: ParlorSongs.org

Hey Look! Mom Is On The Net!

Happy Mother's Day Cute Shots

Kitchenista: The Mother's Day Breakfast I Really Want

The Chubbiest Cheeks You Will Ever See

7 Mother's Day Gift Pitfalls

Nine Year Olds Performing Journey Song

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Poll - Portia and Ellen Most Trusted Moms

Brett Singer — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:30:00 GMT

ParentDish did a Mother's Day poll. Over 10,000 people voted. (For an Internet poll, that's a lot, trust me. Or as Paris Hilton might say, "huge.")

The first question on the poll was the following: "Which celebrity would you most feel comfortable leaving your kids with?"

You know who won? Drum roll, please...

With 31%, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi took the top spot. Rounding out the list were Jennifer Aniston (22%), Rachel Ray (20%), Angelina and Brad (18%) and coming in last was Oprah Winfrey with 9%.

The results are interesting. I probably would have put Rachel Ray first, and Ellen and Portia second. (Carrie Prejean, methinks, would put Ellen and Portia dead last.) Putting Jennifer ahead of Angie and Brad seems odd, but I guess that's the way the celebrity winds are blowing this week.

Obviously the fact that the top choice was a same-sex couple is worth mentioning. Or is it? Have a majority of us progressed past the point where we care what sort of family we would leave our kids with? (In theory of course -- as far as I know, none of the famous folks in this poll are offering babysitting services.)

Out of this group, who would you leave your kids with? Would the sexual orientation of the parents factor in to your decision?

Source: ParentDish

image: Daily News

American Incest Dad Gets 109 Years In Jail

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

Six Word MOMoirs -- Memoirs For Mom

Cole Gamble — Sun, 11 May 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Brett brought you Mom in One Word. Now you have six. If you are familiar with the six word memoirs from Smith Magazine (as complied in Not Quite What I was Planning) here is a mother's day bent. Smith is looking for six word memoirs for Mom this mother's day. Here are a few to get you started:

Naps became the most precious minutes.

Stretchmarks are the roadmap of life.

I really miss seeing my feet.

Could be poop, could be chocolate.

so love him when he's sleeping.

Every day is like groundhog day.

Alright, that should be enough to get you going. If you're a mom, write your six-word memoir below. If you know a mom, write a tribute. It only cost you six words.

Describe mom in one (or three) words

Brett Singer — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:00:00 GMT

CNN has this piece asking people to describe Mom in one word. "Courageous," "everlasting," and "nuts" are some of the results. ("Nuts"?)

I think one word is too limiting. So let's try three. I'll start:

Brave, invaluable, great.

Your turn. (And be sure to check out Cole's Six Word MOMoirs -- Memoirs For Mom.)

image: CNN.com, me

Does your mom really love you?

Video: Happy Mother's Day From Barats and Bereta

5 Mother's Day Do's and Don'ts

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Mother's Day Reconsidered

Honey, Why Don't You Ever Write?

Does your mom really love you?

Brett Singer — Fri, 09 May 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Before you spend too much money on a Mother's Day gift, don't you want to know whether or not your mom really loves you?

If so, try this helpful quiz! You'll get a score that tells you whether or not mom loves you. Handy!

The results are mildly amusing. For example, in response to the question, " When you give your mom a gift, what does she do with it?" 67% said "She treasures everything for sentimental value," and 9% answered, "She gives it back to you as your birthday gift the next year." (So go ahead and get her that bowling ball even though she doesn't bowl – you'll just get it back!)

One question not asked: when you gave your mother plastic surgery for Mother's Day, did she disown you?

5 Mother's Day Do's and Don'ts

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Mother's Day Reconsidered

Video: Happy Mother's Day From Barats and Bereta

Cole Gamble — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Happy Mother’s Day, mom. We took a picture, and we hope this video explains while Brad is on life support.

Love,

Barata and Bereta

Photo: www.media.collegepublisher.com

5 Mother's Day Do's and Don'ts

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:44:00 GMT

Only a fews days until Mother's Day and there's no time like the present to plan a gift that strikes just the right chord of sensitivity, uniqueness and sophistication. To get you steered in the right direction, here are 5 things not to buy for your girl, as well as 5 stylish alternatives:

1. Sappy Statuary - These are lovely sentimental gifts that grandma will cherish, but for today's modern mama messages such as "You Color My World with Love" are likely too cloying.

Alternative: Why not get her some woman-centric art made by a hip mama? Since taste in art is highly subjective, play it safe by buying her Indie Fixx's Art Print of the Month.

2. Keepsake Jewelry - Nothing wrong with jewelry, even jewelry that is commemorative of motherhood, but tread carefully and try and avoid jewelry that says "#1 Mom." A misstep here and all of a sudden lead-filled resentment is coursing through her bloodstream.

Alternative: Try a more unique approach and buy something original and unusual like the necklaces they sell at Childish Boutique.

3. Inspirational Book - A few clues. If you buy a book in the card aisle that begins with "Dear Mom, you gave me everything, you gave me life..." chances are this will hurt her teeth and make her cry (but not in a good way).

Alternative: Have the kids make her a book with photos and handwritten captions, or order a snapbook from Shutterfly. Even better still, how about the new book featured on Babble?

4. Embroidered Wall Art - Of course there's nothing wrong with embroidery crafts, even those expressing love with a small message in a petite wooden frame. The key here is language. If she's under 60, she most likely won't find these words resonant: "Mothers are angels sent to Earth."

Alternative: Instead of a statue collecting dust, why not give her Mommy & Me wearable punk art? She'll be touched and stylin. Or, buy her some beautiful original art from a local artist, something pretty she can put in her office or over her bed.

5. Domestic Gear - Here the key is how the gift is given. If your mama doesn't cook and isn't particularly domestic, giving her anything kitchen or cleaning or domestically related will be interpreted as an insult. And even if she does enjoy preparing meals and entertaining, vacuum cleaners, or cleaning implements of any kind are generally a no-no.

Alternative: If, however, she is a culinary powerhouse, pick out something she wouldn't buy herself, like a beautiful tea set, or a set of le creuset cooking pots.

On the other hand, many mothers are very easy to please.

What is the best or worst gift you were ever given for Mother's Day?

[Hat Tips: Droolicious and Cool Mom Picks]

Edited to add: Clearly the subject of Mother's Day gifts makes some people very very angry. Here's a suggestion: Why not take out some of that anger on all the horrid toys out there?

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Brett Singer — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:30:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone that weighed in here about what would make a good mother's day gift for the wife. Since I still haven't gotten anything, I thought I'd keep asking.

Lots of options out there, of course, including this one that Redsy mentioned. Here are a couple of others:

One that I stumbled onto was CowParade, which sells penguin-themed merchandise. HA! Gotcha! It's all cows. (Fooled you, didn't I? Yes, I need a nap.)

Anyway, they're selling special Mother's Day Figurines that look kind of cute. One problem -- buying a woman anything associated with cows, unless you live on a dairy farm, is probably a bad idea. (In fact, even if you live on a dairy farm it's probably a bad idea.) I'm going to nix this one right off the bat.

A couple of commenters suggested etsy.com. This is a site that sells handmade stuff, sort of a crafty-ebay (crafteBay? nah.) This shop, mangotreejewelry, was recommended. The items look relatively inexpensive, and fairly nice. Here are a couple of examples:

- Green Cluster Earrings, $21

- The Tassel Necklace, $36

The price is certainly right. Not sure what the shipping costs are, and they don't say that they guarantee delivery by Mother's Day, although they also don't say that they don't. So it's probably worth checking first.

So -- what do you think? Yea or nay?

images: mangotreejewelry on etsy.com

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)

Brett Singer — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Reminder: Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11^th. And while I sympathize with Redsy, and even agree to a certain extent, I'm not stupid enough to even try to ignore Mom's Special Day.

That said, I'm out of gift ideas. So I'm asking you, the readers, to help me out. I'll post some items and you give me a "yea" or "nay" in the comments (even a simple "y" or "n" will do.) If you have any items you'd like me to consider gifting, leave that in the comments as well.

First up: Supermom Pajamas. (These would be for my wife.) Because "no one deserves superhero status more than Mom." My gut reaction is that these are a little bit too much like underoos.

So - is $39-49 enough to spend on a gift for the mother of my children? And if so, will the New York Post headline on Monday, May 12^th read "Man Found Strangled With Starry Blue PJ Pants"? Or is this sleepwear just too cute for words?

image: PajamaGram

Strollerderby : mothers day

Hey Look! Mom Is On The Net!

OctoMom's Kid - Bite Mark And Black Eye

A Really Graphic Homebirth

We're Not Judging You, Pinky Swear

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

10 Year Old Burned By Tanning Bed

Classic Mother Songs For Mother's Day

Poll - Portia and Ellen Most Trusted Moms

Hey Look! Mom Is On The Net!

Happy Mother's Day Cute Shots

Kitchenista: The Mother's Day Breakfast I Really Want

The Chubbiest Cheeks You Will Ever See

7 Mother's Day Gift Pitfalls

Nine Year Olds Performing Journey Song

10 Year Old Author Alec Greven Is Back

Poll - Portia and Ellen Most Trusted Moms

Homebirthing Advocate's Baby Dies During Homebirth

American Incest Dad Gets 109 Years In Jail

Did This Woman Commit Suicide Because She Couldn't Breastfeed?

Six Word MOMoirs -- Memoirs For Mom

Describe mom in one (or three) words

Does your mom really love you?

5 Mother's Day Do's and Don'ts

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Does your mom really love you?

Video: Happy Mother's Day From Barats and Bereta

5 Mother's Day Do's and Don'ts

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Video: Happy Mother's Day From Barats and Bereta

5 Mother's Day Do's and Don'ts

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (please)