Strollerderby : shine

Airing the Parental Dirty Laundry

Brett Singer — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

If you blog, you presumably want readers. And one way to do that is with a snappy headline. One could borrow from supermarket tabloids and go with something sensational and completely fake -- "Sarah Palin Gives Birth To Three Headed Alien" – that would do it. But if you blog about family matters, the truth can work just as well.

For example: this post on Yahoo! Shine.

My son is home!!! And I am really mad at his father.

The title got me to click and see what the heck was going on.

The first sentence was a grabber:

I recently wrote a blog about how I hate it when my son goes to his father's for Christmas.

Then it got better:

So many of you left very nice comments about my tough time while he is gone. There were a few that said I was being petty. Let me Go deeper into this........

I started to feel like a voyeur. This was pretty personal stuff. But it's not like I'm looking in the author's window. I'm reading something she posted on the Internet.

I'm not sure what the initial post was about, but this one tells the tale of a father who brought his son home after Christmas with an injured thumb. The mother was mad because the kid should have gone to the emergency room, and thinks that pop was too cheap to pay the seventy-five dollar co-pay. The injury is described in "ER"-level detail: "When I picked him up, it was black and purple and he could not bend it. We went immediately to the ER. After 2 shots of pain killer, they drilled 2 holes in the nail to relieve the pressure." Presumably the couple is divorced and the boy was spending the holidays with his father, although the post doesn't say that explicitly.

So here's my question. Is this fair to the kid, the father, and everyone else involved? Most of us who blog, whether for pay or play, reveal certain details. But it's one thing to talk about a goofy thing your three year old told you. It's another thing to reveal personal details like the ones on this particular Shine post.

It could be a generational thing. I'm selective about what I share with the world, and I think most folks are. Other people don't mind putting it all out there. (That's why Facebook is so successful.) In this case, I imagine that posting these personal details is therapeutic for the author. It is also interesting to other people; the post has over 100 comments. But if I'm the father, I'd be irritated.

Of course, if I'm the father and I really didn't take my son to the emergency room because I didn't want to spend seventy-five dollars, I'm also a major league jerk. Part of the problem, of course, is that we don't know what the father did or didn't do. It's possible that he weighed in with a comment; I haven't read them all. Still, judgments will be made – by me, the commenters on Shine, and commenters here. That's the nature of blogs. Once it's out there, it's out there. But is there a line that we shouldn't cross when kids and/or our significant others are involved? Can there be such a thing as too much sharing online?

Source: Yahoo Shine

Image (which is completely unrelated to this topic): sas.org.uk

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A photo that has nothing to do with the news

Brett Singer — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

It doesn't have anything to do with parenting either, but it is that rare post that you could show to your kids.

I want to say something cynical, like, "Oh, this is clearly Photoshopped," or even just, "Ah, who gives a crap." But I have to admit that I saw this over on Yahoo! Shine and smiled when I realized what I was looking at. So I figured I'd share. Enjoy.

Source: Yahoo! Shine

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The bra for your butt

Brett Singer — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Remember the manzier aka "The Bro" from Seinfeld? That was a joke. But the Brum, a bra for the female heiny, is real.

Yahoo! Shine covers (no pun intended) this latest trend in undergarments. As Jennifer Romolini puts it, "Butt is the new boobs. In fact, the hottest look in lingerie is actually something let's call butt cleavage and the best way to show off your butt cleavage is with a Brum."

BlackBook magazine offers further insight: "Anal cleavage has gained popularity this century with the rise of low-cut jeans (or should I say descent), the emergence of the whale tale, and most recently, posterior-revealing lingerie."

One of the two times I've been lucky enough to fly first class (frequent flier miles people – save them) I shared the flight with Victoria's Secret uber-model Adriana Lima. When we arrived in New York, Lima stood up and pulled her jeans down so that they revealed a little bit of what, on a fat guy, would be called Plumber Butt. On her, it was, well, something else. As far as I can recall she wasn't wearing ass-enhancing undies, but this was a few years ago so who knows. (And before someone says, "why were you looking at her butt?" it was first class, it was a small cabin, and she looked at me first! OK, no she didn't.) The point of the story is that there are indeed women who like to show off a little of what they've got going on back there (especially in New York, I guess), but is there a need for a specific piece of clothing to help them do it? I always thought that the thong was the preferred garment for showing your nether-cheeks. In fact, the Brum seems to cover more rear acreage than the traditional thong, although that could be in order to push out certain areas.

One commenter on Shine says that this is no different from the Miracle Bra, but to my male eyes it seems a little different. This also isn't the first product to act as a tush-pusher; Shine also covered Booty Pop panties, which are designed to make your booty POP(!).

So. IS this any different from a Miracle Bra? And would you wear a Brum?

image: BlackBook via Shine

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"My First Period" -- Now with DVD and Bracelet!

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:02:00 GMT

When my daugter was born, I read any book I could get my hands on about the relationship between a dad and his daughter, and I have to say I felt a little creeped out at the thought of throwing a "red party," as one book suggested, when that certain, special moment in a girl's life comes around.

Red punch. Red paint. Red banners. Really go to town, the book suggested. Let her know things have changed. Now, it seems, I can just skip the party altogether and buy her a DVD. This sounds so much easier.

My First Period Kit and DVD sells itself as a "modern approach to the traditional chat between mother and daughter," and includes a 99-minute DVD, something about birds and insects, a special maxi-pad handbag and a rubber bracelet to, well I don't know, to look pretty.

Charlene over at Shine wonders if that Judy Blume book might be a better option -- you know the one I mean, "Are you there god? It's me, dying from embarrassment."

I remember clearly when my mom sat me down to have the birds and the bees talk the night before our school held its first sex-ed course, and holy lord, I still am embarrassed by that chat. And my boobs hadn't even grown yet.

So I have to ask, is there a way to make this talk any easier? What worked for you?

You're too pregnant. Can I bang someone else?

Brett Singer — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:23:00 GMT

I think my head just exploded.

Over on Yahoo!'s new site Shine, someone in the "Love + Sex" section posted a query:

"Will U allow your husband 'eat out' while U are pregnant ?"

Now, before you jump to conclusions… well, go ahead. Jump. But read this first:

"A friend of mine is seven month pregnant now. As her figure is out and not convenient to perform sex, her husband request to have sex with somebody else !!!!!"

Oh, would I love to have a tape of that conversation.

"She is now very unhappy about it................."

Ya think?

"If this happen to U , what would U do ???"

In one sense, this guy might have the biggest cojones on the planet. In another, more realistic sense, he might be the biggest a-hole ever to crawl out of the ooze, bonk a woman on the head and start procreating.

So what would you do?

image: Orbitcast

Note: to the best of my knowledge it wasn't Andrew Dice Clay who said this, but his photo seemed the most appropriate.

Top 5 Cheap Kid Dates

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:31:00 GMT

There are plenty of great reasons to have kids... and despite what some companies would like you to believe, they really aren't that expensive. Who else do you know whose day is made by a piece of jelly toast with butter?

With a long weekend ahead and summer looming, here are 5 cheap kid dates to help you enjoy some quality time with your progeny:

1. Take a Walk - Kids of any age enjoy fresh air and a nice walk with the folks. If you employ enough adjectives (magic! fairy! adventure!), even the most television-addicted kid, will easily be lured out of doors. My kids and I go on "nature walks" which is really just a slow meander around a small forested area near our house.

2. Count Clouds - When I was a girl, my grandmother used to sit with me in the backyard and ask me how many clouds I saw, including which animals they looked like. It's unbelievably relaxing and you can do it in a park or a backyard anywhere (providing it's not raining).

3. Whiffle Ball in the Park - Is there anything more adorable than a teeny kid whacking away at a white plastic ball with a big yellow bat? Get the whole family or the neighbor kids in on the game. And hit one out of the park for housebound parents everywhere.

4. Picnic - The joys of eating outside cannot be overstated. And what better audience to appreciate a hotdog under a tree than your favorite toddler? Even if all you do is bring sandwiches and eat them on a blanket in your back yard, it's an excuse to get some fresh air and avoid a huge messy post-meal kitchen. Throw in some music and a board game, and you have a fun day for the whole family, all for the cost of food and gas.

5. Kids Choice Dinner - Want to have some fun? Let your very young kids pick out and prepare what is for dinner. Last night we gave this a whirl and ended up enjoying carrots, cereal, and toast. Not bad for a couple of 6 year old girls who usually complain about dinner incessantly. They were so very proud of themselves and I didn't have to lift a finger (well maybe one or two).

There are also wonderful on-line resources, such as Dancing Meatballs -- a city listing of free /low-cost activities for families in search of some fun.

It's easy to believe that in order to do a good job as parents, our kids need to attend language classes, highly stimulating play spaces, and baby Mozart concerts. Truthfully, especially when young, kids mostly benefit from our time. And when else will someone be satisfied with us just as we are?

For more activities that are free or low-cost, go here.

Family Class Travel? Sign. Me. Up.

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:01:00 GMT

Would you pay extra to fly with other families on an airplane? There's first class, business, coach and now, hopefully, family class?

I just heard about it for the first time from Yahoo! Shine's ultra-~~hot~~ knowledgable editor, Charlene Prince Birkeland, who was on TV discussing some great summer travel tips for families.

The family section idea sounds like a cry room at church but still, at least the kids can all cry together and the parents probably wouldn't find travel so stressful -- because they know the only people their kid will annoy is the family with a kid right next door. I'm all for that. (Also, if your kid happens to be the quiet, polite rock star of the family travel section, you could totally look down your nose at the other parents. Then again ...)